Gred Alone

Chapter One

     I gaze at the bodies strewn across the Great Hall, mediwitches scurrying around between them. I wipe beads of sweat from my brow, and examine the bodies as I weave between them. Colin Creevy's blank face stares up at me. He was the kid that kept annoying Harry, wasn't he? Creepy. I notice Lavender Brown, Ron's clingy girlfriend, lying limp a few feet away. A chill has settled in my chest. So many lives lost. Lupin and Tonks lay prostrate on the stone floor, their fingers barely just touching, as if they were about to begin holding hands. Their son, Teddy.....what will happen to him? I feel like my heart and mind has frozen over.....so many people, gone. The battle isn't even over yet. We have Harry on our side, but he's only seventeen, regardless of how much he's gone through. Who knows how much more he can take? I feel so sick, walking in between the dead and dying as if I'm just taking a stroll along the meadow. I distract my mind with other things, thinking of the joke shop. Fred said he has an idea for a new product. Kept teasing me about it, too. He said he would tell me tonight, but we were called for the battle and, well, it's a bit difficult discussing business propositions while you cast hexes and avoid curses. Not that we didn't try, but we got split up while we were fighting. My thoughts are interrupted by a figure making its way towards me.....a figure with dark skin and long dreadlocks. My face adopts its usual grin, as I exclaim, "Lee!". He continues coming towards me, and I hold out my hand for the signature hybrid high five handshake that belongs solely to me, him, and Freddie. He ignores my hand and pulls me into a hug, which I reciprocate after a second of shock. Lee isn't typically a touchy-feely type person. He steps back, and I take a moment to look at his face. Something is definitely wrong. I'm about to make my usual joke of asking if someone died, as I always do when I notice someone is upset, when I stop myself, the words halfway out of my mouth. That's actually a real possibility, and the fact almost makes my heart stop. That must be, either that or someone's seriously injured.