Elysia

Chapter Eighteen ~ The Prophecy

The crack of spells meant to kill alerted me of the battles birth. Virtually alone in the Great Hall, despite being surrounded by people, I craned my neck to find Viperous. Stay in here, she had said, and Neville and I would be perfectly safe; how stupid had I been?

Gripping my wand I held a new appreciation for it. I had relied almost by habit upon wandless magic, forgetting that truly strong spells came only from the wand that held such an intrinsic bond to its holder. Swallowing hard I found myself faced with no option but to find her and make sure that she was safe; by any means possible.

Hogwarts was fortified by the combined enchantments of the Order, yet Voldemort's army loomed on the outskirts, waiting. Time was melting from us, the fighting concentrated almost exclusively to the bridge connecting Hogwarts with the world.

 Across the stone courtyard I saw Neville amongst his fellow herbology lovers, ear muffs protecting their ears from the squalling of the mandrakes they intended to use as weapons. Protectively I lurched forward and considered stunning him and dragging him away from this; but in reality this wasn't possible.

My searching continued fruitlessly, dragging me through packed hallways and corridors until the flurry of red hair beside that of extreme frizziness alerted me of Hermione and Ron. Between us stood a corridor filled with two Weasley's, Percy and Fred.

Running forward quickly I realised that where Fred is, Viperous must be close too. Percy hurled spell after spell at Minister of Magic Pius Thicknesse, his employer, in an unexpected turn of events. Affection rising for the completely reunited Weasley family, I began to draw closer to Fred and his sibling.

"Hello, Minister!" Percy bellowed, "Did I mention that I was resigning?"

The joke was cheesy enough, but coming from Percy Weasley, the man so loyal to the government that he abandoned his own family, it was the most side splitting tale I had ever heard. My hand hesitated over my wand, I believed the enemy to be subdued enough for me to speak with Fred.

"You're joking, Perce!" Fred exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear.

I felt as if I were intruding on a moment of true warmth, two souls reaching out over a mere joke. Somehow Fred's safety made me feel that Viperous, too, was safe. Closing my eyes and inhaling in this moment of peace, I opened them to Fred continuing.

"You actually are joking, Perce... I don't think I've heard you joke since you were-" An explosion filled the air, cluttering my thoughts and provoking my ears into a deafening buzz.

Chaos ensued. The rubble crushed me beneath it, someone laying across my legs. Head thumping with angry bursts of blood, I lifted myself up to help whoever was on top of me. Numbly, I realised that it was Fred, his face still smiling widely.

"F-Fred..." I whispered, before a scream rose to my throat, followed by wracking sobs.

"No- no- no! No- Fred- no!" Percy cried, shaking his brother almost violently, soon joined by Ron's frozen body.

He- he was dead! Tears streamed openly down my face as I held out my wand, muttering 'Heal' only to see failed wisps of white recede into my wand. The shooting pain in my side warned me of a cracked rib, nothing at all compared to the pain before me.

Ron sat deathly still, tears as heavy as the strongest rain slowly travelling down his cheeks. Crawling closer I laid my hand against the empty bodies cheek, still warm and full of laughter, before he was taken away from my presence. Viperous, Viperous, Viperous....

Those surrounding me hardly noticed my presence, explosions continuing to resound throughout the hallway as Harry shouted commands at his counterparts. Yet in all of this cacophony I was in silence, absolutely empty as a world ended but mine continued onwards. They laid Fred's body behind a suit of armour opposite me, staring blankly into the distance.