my inheritance (g.w x o.c)

chapter fifty-nine: the battle of riddles

I came out of the darkness to a blinding light, then to the face of George Weasley. He had me pinned against the wall. "Princess?"

He'd broken the curse by kissing me. What a predictable route to take. We might as well have had birds floating around us. He searched my eyes. Instead of saying anything, I grabbed his shirt with my free hand, pulling him back into a kiss. He smiled into the kiss, letting my other wrist go. I wrapped my arms around his neck as his arms snaked around my waist. I slowly pulled away, both of us breathing hard. He smiled down at me.

"Is this the part where we fall madly in love?" I whispered.

He laughed lightly. "Oh no, darling, that happened a long time ago."

I smiled. "You saved me."

"You saved me," he countered, kissing me again. "Now, let's go finish this thing."

"Let's go," I nodded as he took my hand. We started running through the castle. "Where is everyone else?"

"Ginny went this way looking for Nagini. Harry and Neville went to other parts of the castle, and Hermione and Ron are searching the bottom floor."

"Where's Fred?" I asked, looking down a hall as we passed. He didn't say anything. I stopped running, making him stop with me. "George, where is he?" He shook his head, and my mouth fell open. "No."

"There was an explosion. Harry said it was fast."

"No, there's no way. In my dream..."

"We can't think about it now. We have to find the snake first and-"

"I'm so sick of this," I groaned, running my hands into my hair. "He just keeps killing with no remorse or consequences. Damn it." I hit the wall with my hand. "I just want this to be over." He put a hand on my back, and I sighed. "I'm sorry. This isn't about me. I mean, God, you're the one who lost a brother, and I just...." I shook my head. "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize for him."

I turned to face him. "I know, I just, I feel like I could've done more. I could've, I don't know, found the horcruxes sooner or something. I mean, he was practically dead for 13 years. I..." He rested his hands on my face. I met his eyes.

"Larissa, I love you," he nodded. "I really do, but for all of our sakes, please breathe." I took a deep breath. "Good. Now just forget the what ifs for now. We've got to find that snake."

We found our way to the Great Hall. I gripped his hand tighter as I took in everything in front of me. Duels everywhere, walls destroyed, bodies and screams filled the room.

"Come on, we-"

"Ginny," I gasped, letting go of his hand and rushing toward Ginny as Bellatrix and her dueled. "Bellatrix!" She fired another spell at Ginny before turning to look at me.

"Ah, if it isn't the traitor," she smirked. "I was waiting for you to join us. Though, it seems you've somehow broken free."

"Unlike you, I'm not a mindless drone," I snapped, firing at her.

"Oh, she's come to play," she laughed, blocking the spell. "Come on, Larissa, try harder than that." I glared before we each went back and forth a few times. "Wow, all those private lessons really have paid off, haven't they?"

"Jealous?"

"Not at all. Seems anyone connected to you ends up dead anyways."

"And anyone connected to you ends up in Azkaban. Not sure who's more soul-sucking, you or the dementors."