Annalise

Chapter 20

"FRED?"

"Here!" he steps out of the living room and catches me around the waist.

"Are you okay?" I ask desperately, grabbing his face.

"Fine, fine," he says, "George, less so."

He leads me into the living room where George is lying on the sofa, a giant hole in the side of his head. I feel my head swim and everything goes black.

"It wasn't the ear, you're just ugly."

"We're identical, you just called yourself ugly."

"Will you two shut up? She's coming around."

I blink to clear my vision, but hold still, feeling very woozy. The twins and Tonks are leaning over me. Someone has put a bandage over George's ear.

"You're alive," I say faintly. George grins.

"Not easy to get rid of," he says, "it doesn't look that bad, does it?"

"It looks really awful."

"Thanks, Anna."

Fred helps me up onto the sofa beside George, on the side that still has an ear. The rest of the Order comes filing into the room.

"What's happened?" Fred demands, his hand on my shoulder.

"Mad-Eye's dead," Bill says. I hear George's sharp intake of breath and look down at the floor. Tonks is crying into Lupin's shoulder. Bill goes to a cabinet, taking out a stack of glasses and a bottle of fire whiskey. He pours it out and passes it around.

"To Mad-Eye."

We all raise our glasses. I throw the whiskey back, feeling it burn in my throat. I lean my head against Fred's arm. I'm sad that Mad-Eye is gone, but so relieved that Fred is still here.

"There's work to do," Lupin sighs, "Bill-?"

Bill nods and together they leave the room.

"I should go too," Harry says quietly, "if Voldemort finds out I'm here..."

"Don't be stupid," I snap, standing up, suddenly angry, "all this was for you, to get you here where you'll be safe. You're not going to go wandering off and make Mad-Eye's sacrifice for nothing."

Harry stares up at me in shock. I take a deep breath.

"No one else is going anywhere," I say, "we're all going to bandage up any wounds and go to bed, is that understood?"

No one seems about to argue, so I sit everyone down, patch them up and order them to bed. Finally it's just me and the twins. I turn to Fred.

"Sit," I say, pointing at the sofa. He sits down beside his brother and I start tending to a gash on his neck. Whatever fire has kept me going suddenly burns out and I bite my lip, trying to keep the tears back, but they flow.

"Hey," Fred wipes them away, "it's going to be okay."

"I know," I sob, "I'm just relieved that you're both alive."

I throw my arms around them, hugging them tightly.

"Can't-Breathe-"

I sit back, wiping my eyes.

"Let's get up to bed," Fred says, "do you want to sleep here?"

"Yeah," George says, "can you throw me a blanket?"

I grab a blanket and tuck it around him.

"If you need anything, just yell," I say.

"Got it," he winks and settles down. Fred leads me upstairs and we climb into bed.