"She's gone, I swore to protect her and she's gone and it's all my fault," Sirius sobbed loudly when his best mate kneeled next to him to take Madeleine's body away from him.
Remus took Maddie's body from Sirius and held it close to him when he heard a faint sound coming from the girl. He lowered his ear to her chest and heard it clearer. "She has a heartbeat!" he said making Sirius turn to him as if he was teasing him.
"That's impossible, the killing curse can't be shielded from," Sirius wiped the tears from his eyes.
"Sirius, she has a heartbeat! It's weak but it's there which means there is a chance!" Remus said louder.
"Poppy," Sirius mumbled unable to think anything else, making Timothée stare at him confusedly. "POPPY, REMUS! TAKE HER TO POPPY NOW!" he yelled and the man got his feet rushing out of the room as fast as he could.
Remus apparated out of the Ministry and straight to the gates of Hogwarts. Once they had opened, he ran fastly to the hospital wing, adrenaline taking control of his body as he held the barely alive girl in his arms. "We're almost there, stay with me Maddibear," he said as he neared the great oak doors he knew too well.
"I think I'm already done for today Madam Pomfrey, or do you need me to do anything else?" Lizzie let her hair down and jolted when the doors were thrown open to reveal the DADA professor she hadn't seen in years carrying a mop of blonde hair she knew far too well.
"POPPY!" Remus yelled and didn't regard Lizzie, as she rushed to put her hair back up.
"Oh for the love of Merlin, what happened?" the matron said running to the bed where Remus had set Madeleine in.
"Casted a protective shield against the killing curse, we thought she was gone but I heard a heartbeat, please tell me there is something you can do," he said rapidly to Pomfrey.
"I'll see what I can do, Elizabeth bring me all the potions in the cupboard that can deal with waking someone up, quickly now," Poppy said and casted a diagnosis spell with her wand on the girl.
Liz was holding back tears as she fetched all of the potions they had and when she came back with them, the matron administered Madeleine a potion to increase her heartbeat and performed another diagnose spell.
"This is the most impressive thing I have ever seen," Poppy gasped making a Remus with a tear stained face look at the woman who took care of him for many years because of his furry little problem as Sirius and James used to call it.
"What does that mean?" he asked.
"Her body did not sustain any damages, all of her organs are working properly and with the potion I gave her, her hearbeat picked up again and it's pumping blood perfectly to all her organs."
"So she will be fine?" Lizzie asked hoarsely.
"Well, her body is looking perfectly healthy besides some cuts and bruises, but mentally, we really do not have a way of knowing what is happening. By the looks of it she is in a comatose state, but I do not know when she will wake up or whether she will Remus," Poppy patted his back.
"You're gonna be fine, you're gonna be fine Maddibear, I promise," Remus took a hold of Maddie's hand after giving Pomfrey a thanful smile.
"Professor Lupin, I don't know if you remember me but-"
"Lizzie Bennet of course, she speaks highly of you," Remus smiled softly.
"I um, I need to let Fred know Professor, I need to let our friends know," she whispered with tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Not until the others are back Lizzie, I must ask that of you," he said softly to which the girl nodded weakly.
"Elizabeth dear, please change Madeleine into a gown and heal the small wounds in her face and arms as well as the large bruise on her shoulder," Pomfrey said to the curly haired girl who nodded.
Once Remus and Pomfrey were out of sight, Lizzie sat on the edge of the bed where Madeleine laid motionless and let out a loud sob as she clutched her best friend's hand, taking a moment to collect herself before doing what she was ordered to do by the healer. Liz closed the curtains shut around Maddie's bed and delicately undressed her, skillfully healing the small cuts she had scattered around her arms and face as well as the large bruise that had formed in her shoulder before proceeding to change her into one of the hospital wing's gowns. As the brunette was gently brushing her best friend's hair, the doors flung open again and plenty of footsteps were no heard.
"Elizabeth I need more hands here, come quick!" Madam Pomfrey saud loudly.
With one last look at Madeleine, she convienced herself that she was simply sleeping and would wake up soon, laughing and making jokes about what had happened and left to help the Matron assist the large group who had just walked in.
Lizzie quickly healed the minor injuries being Neville's broken nose and Ginny's broken ankle which had been temporarily mended by Madeleine.
Cressida stormed into the hospital wing with Sirius in his animagus form next to her and Clotilde holding her hand. Already there, the doors were closed so that Sirius could transform back to his human self. Timothée appeared moments later carrying Dora who was still knocked out and just like the rest of his family, he gathered around of Madeleine's bed unable to move or speak.
"She's just sleeping, she's just sleeping and she will be okay tomorrow," Clo's lip trembled as she went to hide her face in her brother's chest, Timothée holding her close as she cried in his chest.
Cressida felt how her knees became weak, how her heart was being teared out of her chest cavity once again as she looked at Madeleine. Sirius was silently with his hand placed on Harry's shoulder whose eyes were bloodshot from crying as well. She stared back at her two other children who were embraced together and then again to her middle child, feeling her heart break in more ways than one.
"Is she in any pain?" she asked Poppy without moving her eyes from her daughter's face.
"There is no way of telling if she's in emotional distress but I don't think that she's in any physical discomfort," Madam Pomfrey said pushing a strand of the girl's hair behind her ear and looking at the words tattoed in the skin behind it.
"If she does not wake up in three days, administer the potion," Cressida said without any visible feeling in her face and left the hospital wing, heading towards the gates so that she could apparate away to the first place that crossed her mind.
"Potion? What potion?" Clotilde wiped tears away from her face looking at the adults surrounding her.
"Death potion, it induces it," Timothée cleared his throat once he got past the initial shock of his mother's words.
"No, I won't let her do that," Sirius shook his head and held Madeleine's pale hand tighter.
"This is all my fault, if I would have listened to her none of this would have happened," Harry
"That's right! You better hope she wakes up because if she doesn't I will kill you with my bare hands," Clotilde hissed showing and uncanny resemblance to her older sister when the latter was angry.
Cressida was sitting on a stool in front of the bar in the Three Broomsticks when she sent a patronus to Andromeda, lazily mentioning what had happened. "She's gone,"she chuckled dryly drinking from another glass of wine Madam Rosmerta had brought her, her cheeks tear stained as she drank. She had already lost count of how many glasses she had had in the short time she had been there.
"Cress she isn't gone yet, she just needs to heal," Andromeda rubbed her back as soon as she sat next to her younger sister.
"She's already dead Andromeda," her voice cracked.
"You've lost all hope, haven't you? Ever since Philippe you've lost faith in everything and Madeleine is not dead, she is a strong girl and she will get through it because she always gets through everything, she's one of us after all," Andromeda said firmly.
"It was Bellatrix. Everything always comes back to Bellatrix, and I just rather let Poppy give her the potion and get it over with than get my hopes up for the slightest possibility that she might wake up when I know she will not," Cressida said feeling a sharp pain in her chest.
"Cressida, three days is too little. At least give her a week and we'll go from there but I will not let you do that to her in three days and that is final," Andromeda said sharply.
"At least when she's truly gone she will be with him, he was always the better parent anyway," she downed the rest of her glass and disapparated before her sister could say anything else.
Meanwhile, back in the castle. Lizzie went to hide in a dark cupboard near the hospital wing and immediately sent a patronus to Fred and George once she managed to stop crying. The twins were sitting in the burrow's kitchen talking to their parents and Bill when the silver hedgehog appeared in the middle of the table where they were having dinner.
"Something's happened, Madeleine is hurt and you need to get here now," Lizzie's voice cracked and the hedgehog vanished.
Fred looked at his twin for a second before he was already running out the door and apparating to the gates of the castle accompanied by Molly and George as well. He ran the fastest he had ever done so in his life, knocking kids out of the way and passing by Lee and Alicia without stopping. George was running as fast as he could, trying to catch with him passing his two other best friends, almost knocking Alicia down.
"Were those?" Ali began to which Lee only nodded and began following following them, meeting Mrs Weasley along the way.
"Mrs Weasley what happened?" Lee kissed the woman's cheek and walked next to her.
"I don't dear, a patronus was sent saying that Madeleine was hurt," she said softly as they walked to the hospital wing.
Remus was guarding the doors as Timothée and George tried restraining Fred who was fighting against their grip, his face as red as his hair. From the small gap in the doors he could faintly see her figure covered by a white blanket and he immediately thought the worst. "NO! NO LET ME THROUGH! GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!" he shouted and tried elbowing his twin in the face to make him let go of him.
"Fred you need to calm down, I can't let you go in," Remus sighed.
"Lupin mate I really like you but if you don't let me fucking in I will have to fucking hurt you!" Fred yelled even louder. "George let go of me now!"
"Fred you need to calm down before he lets you in because what you'll see will be upsetting alright!" Timothée said to him still struggling to keep him back.
"Don't tell me to calm down and just let me the fuck through!" Fred growled.
"Frederick watch that mouth," Molly said sternly once she reached the doors where Fred was losing it.
"Mum I don't give a hippogriff's flying shit about language! Something happened to her and she's hurt so don't tell me to calm dow!" the older twin spat and finally managed to get away from George and Timothée and past Remus.
Fred ran inside and dropped on his knees, feeling how the air was punched out his lungs. Madeleleine was lying unconscious on the bed without moving. Her lips were as pale as her skin had gotten and when he took her hand it was freezing. Silent tears were running down his cheeks as he stroked her blonde hair with his hand gently while the other held hers tightly.
"Oh god love, what the fuck did you do?" he cried louder pressing his forehead on her cold, limp hand. "You promised you wouldn't do anything stupid, what the fuck did you do?"
*****
I had never taken the time to give much thought to how I was going to die but I never imagined that it would be in a heroic way. Was it even heroic or was it plain stupid? Who could really tell. Heroes after all, were the stupidest characters to ever exist in books. Reckless, impulsive, willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. Villains on the other hand were always more complex, more fascinating, more selfish as they valued themselves above all.
That of course used to be me. Putting myself above anyone else who surrounded me was simply the way things were supposed to be. Self-preservation above all, but then he came around. When I was younger I always believed that it was better to be feared and respected than to be well liked and loved. Pushing people away was always easier than dealing with them and the issues that they brought into one's life.
Perhaps back then I wasn't as different from Bellatrix, but then again, he came around. He showed up into my life one day and never left. By staying he destroyed all of the walls that I spent years building around myself for self-preservation. By staying he made me question who I really was and who I wanted to be, and by staying, he made me fall madly in love with him and nothing I did could have ever stopped him from doing so.
I could not blame him for anything though. I was alone and let my guards down, but I do not regret letting him in the slightest. I always found ironic that I felt drawn to romance novels. Love. Such an ambiguous concept. For many years I found myself uncapable of such feeling, but with him I just couldn't help myself, and because of him, I finally understood what Emily Brontë and Jane Austen wrote about beyond literary analysis.
"He's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same." Catherine wasn't wrong at all. Fred was my Heathcliff. Fred was the Mr Darcy to my Elizabeth. Fred was the Mr Gatsby to my Daisy and it was crystal clear, anyone could see it from miled away. He showed me that there was light after the darkness. He showed me that love, even if it was unsaid, could conquer absolutely everything. He showed me that the sun would always come out after the storm. Fred Weasley was my sun.
*****
When Madeleine opened her eyes, she was sitting near the Black Lake. Her back was resting against her favorite tree under the cool summer breeze.
"Morning sunshine," Cedric grinned from next to her and put the book he was reading down.
"So this is what dying feels like then?" she joked and looked at the boy who looked as alive as ever.
"You're not supposed to be here," he raised his brow at her.
"Neither are you," she shrugged and closed her eyes to welcome the warmth coming from the sun rays that made their way past the tree's leaves.
"I didn't have a choice, but you have," he said softly making her eyes open up again.
"You know, I haven't a worn sun dresses in a while," she breathed deeply and looked at lake, the water rippling softly. "I used to have quite the collection back in the day."
"So you want to keep talking about sundresses instead of going back?" he chuckled and went back to his book.
"Is going back really worth it though?"
"That's the question of the century Mads, but I've never gotten back so I couldn't possibly tell you," her smiled.
*****
After disapparating from the Three Broomsticks, Cressida could only apparate to the place she and her late husband began their lives in and the place she had lost it all in one night. Standing in the door of their dream house was simply painful, but not as unbereable as watching Madeleine lying on that hospital bed, dancing in the line between life and death.
She walked all over the house, memories flooding her head with every step she took. Each of her kids' first steps had been in that house, their first words, their first laughs. The kitchen stood the same as she remembered, only dustier. Waking up every morning to her the love of her life cooking breakfast, waking up in the middle of the night to her daughter baking because she just couldn't sleep.
The garden where her three little ones had learned how to ride a broom, the drawing room where she taught her daughters how to paint life into a white canvas. The piano in the living room where Timothée, Clotilde and Madeleine learned how to play beautiful symphonies way too advanced for their age and the small library where Madeleine spent most her time when she wasn't in the kitchen cooking with her dad.
Walking up the stairs made her feel unable to breathe. She remembered when each of the babies was born and the first time they put each of them in their respective rooms. Cressida opened the door to her shared bedroom with her husband and finally fell to her knees, sliding down the door with a bottle of liquor in hand. She looked at the room and broke down, crying and screaming at the top of her lungs. Mourning the husband she no longer had and mourning the daughter that she thought soon to be gone.
She remembered all of the love that was in that room. The love she felt for her one true love and the love she felt for each of her children even though she had a hard time showing it. She stared at the bed where the kids would wake them up every morning by jumping on it. The bed where Madeleine cuddled up with her when she experienced her first hearbreak without saying a word to anyone about it. The bed where Timothée, Clotilde and Maddie would sleep in if they had a nightmare and finally her gaze moved to the large family portrait that beamed at her from on top of the fireplace.
"Damn you for leaving me to deal with all of this by myself Philippe! Damn you for leaving me alone and damn you for leaving us!" she screamed with a mixture of angry and excruciating tears running from her eyes. "They still need you and I can't ever replace you!" she yelled angrily and blacked out as more memories drowned her mind.
*****
Fred was unable to sleep that night and refused to leave Madeleine's side by saying that the only way they would make him leave was by dragging his corpse out of the room. Soft snores were filling the hospital wing, most of them being Ron's who had gotten injured in the Ministry. His eyes stung from crying, his hair disheveled from running his fingers through it anxiously. George had gotten back to the dorm with Lee, Alicia and Lizzie to get some rest but Fred found himself at a loss to move.
"You can't leave me, I won't make it if you do so please wake up and come back to me, please," he whispered hoarsely in Maddie's ear feeling another surge of tears washing over him.
It was no secret to anyone that Fred was not the best when it came with feelings out of all the Weasley children. He had a hard time when it came to crying, his anger usually got people physically or emotionally hurt, in some cases even both. But just seeing the person he loved the most in the world between the fine line of life and death was simply too much. That night alone he cried the most he had since he was probably a toddler.
The following morning, dark bags were stationed under his eyes as he watched Madam Pomfrey do another set of diagnose spells pver Maddie. "I have read from a muggle book that talking to comatose patients can help them wake up," the older witch patted his shoulder after giving the girl some nutritional potions.
The rest of their friend group had stopped by and by the looks of it, Fred wasn't the only one who had been crying all night. The five of them sat in silence around Madeleine's whose chest was rising and falling softly.
"Do you remember when she almost froze to death the first time we took her to Hogsmeade," George chuckled hesitantly, the others but Fred doing the same.
"Don't do that, don't reminiscence as if she was dead because she isn't," he snapped at his twin.
"Maybe we can get you some food Fred, that will make you feel better," Alicia said softly.
"I don't want food, I want her to wake up," he said angrily. "Can't you do anything about it?" her said to Lizzie in the same tone.
"There's nothing Madam Pomfrey and I can do, it's just a matter of time if she wakes up or not," Liz said quietly.
"You promised me you would take care of her," Fred snarled at Lee making the other four look at him disbelievingly.
"Anything we would have said to prevent her from going wouldn't have worked! You know how she gets when she settles her head over something!" Lee said.
"Fred, mate, you're not the only one who cares about her alright! Stop being a prick about it," George huffed.
"So I'm being a prick? Why? Just because I'm saying that the three of them could have tried harder to stop her from leaving?"
"Fred stop, you're being mean and we're also worried about her and pointing fingers will not do anything to help Madeleine!" Alicia fumed.
"Here," Lizzie opened her bag and handed the older twin Maddie's battered copy of Pride and Prejudice. "Studies have shown that if you read to her, it improves the chances of waking up without amnesia since she will recognize your voice. We're going to come back later once you stop acting like a dick."
When the rest of them were gone, Fred sighed knowing that he was wrong but again, his anger always got the best of him. He opened the book to find small annotations in her handwritting in nearly every paragraph, most of them questioning the meaning of things or analyzing the true meaning of each word employed by Austen.
He looked back at her and chuckled, still holding one of her hands with his free one while holding the book in the other one. There was a small piece of parchment dividing from where she had left of when reading it to him. Fred opened the book and traced the delicate pages with his finger just like she did before he began reading.
"Don't mind me," a woman with light brown hair and kind eyes sat next to him after making sure her daughter was okay.
"You're Andromeda," Fred looked at her and remembered the family picture Madeleine had on her bedside table.
"The one and only, original disappointment of the Black family," Andromeda smiled and placed her hand on top of Madeleine's free one.
"She talks about you a lot, she really loves you," Fred said softly and looked back at the girl hoping that it was all a nightmare and she wasn't in fact in a coma.
"Carry on reading Fred, don't leave her hanging just for me," Andromeda smiled and took out some knitting supplies. Tonks appeared next to her mother, already looking better than she was the night before and conjured a chair next to her mum's. Fred had never seen the metamorphagus so quiet in the time he had known her, as she just stared blankly into her cousin's pale face.
"Has Cressida changed her mind?" Fred cleared his throat making both women look at him. "About giving her more time if a week goes by and she doesn't wake up? I heard Sirius talking in the morning to Pomfrey and he said she agreed to one week."
"Sirius, Remus, Molly, and I are working on it dear, don't you worry. My sister she's, well, she hasn't had the easiest life and she doesn't have much hope left for anything but I assure you that Sirius and I won't let her give Madeleine the potion after just one week," Andromeda nodded her, the soft smile and kind eyes never leaving her sharp features.
"Thank you," Fred whispered.
"So are you two dating or something?" Dora spoke for the first time since she had sat with them.
"No, she's my best friend and I just don't know what I would do without her," he said hoarsely and carried on reading Maddie's favorite love story.
*****
Madeleine had opened her eyes once more but she was no longer near the Black Lake. In fact she was as far away from the castle as possible. She could hear the waves of the ocean and smell the saltiness in the air. She could feel the cool sand grazing her fingertips and the sun shining brightly in her face.
"Come with me," Philippe said gently and extened his hand to help her get up from the sand.
They walked around the beach in silence for a while around beach the two of them had spent great part of their childhoods in. Mamie's château could be seen in the distance as the sun shone over the turquoise Mediterranean Sea.
"I'm sorry for keeping so much from you Madeleine," he said as they kept walking the endless beach. "When you were born, I made you a promise to always take care of you, to always protect you from anything and I am sorry that by doing so, I kept many secrets from you."
"Well, what's done it's done. We really can't change the past can we?"
"You have always been an extraordinary girl ma chérie, watching you grow up and become who you are has been one of the greatest privileges I've had the chance to have," he smiled softly and took her hand. "But you are not meant to be here just yet, you still have a long and happy life ahead of you and it's worth giving it an opportunity. There will be rough times, I won't try and deny it but life is absolutely beautiful and wonderful and that is why you need to go back."
"If I go back, I'll have to fulfill the prophecy," her voice cracked as a tear ran down her cheek. "I'll have to do bad things to help other people and it said that I would lose myself along the way and I don't want that."
"Étoile, we normally don't choose our destinies but we can always choose how we get there. It's all part of the ride and it's okay that you are scared of what you will have to do to fulfill it, but that is simply one of the rough patches you will have to endure."
"What if it's not worth it? What if I end up doing more bad than good by returning? You're here and I won't be missed too much. They'll mourn and grief and get over it, just like it happened with you."
"That's the thing chérie, when you lose a person you love way too much they never get completely over it."
"So you mean mum?"
"You mother and I had an epic love and it was forced to end sooner than what we anticipated. I love your mother in a way that I can't simply put it into words. It was a love so powerful and so profound that when I was taken from all of you, it ripped her heart out and she put her grief on hold for you, your sister and your brother," he explained.
"That doesn't take the fact that she basically abandonded me and Clotilde, I wouldn't be surprised if she pushes Timothée away soon enough."
"We all have different forms of grieving Madeleine, and your mother's has always been pushing people away just like yours is isolating yourself from everyone," he stopped and sat on the sand. "Your mother grew up completely different to how you and I did. Her childhood wasn't happy, her parents were not loving and caring but rather violent and hateful. Your mother loves you with all of her heart even if she does not show it the way I did. Just like with grief, we all love differently but that does not mean that one way of showing it is superior than others."
"I'll have to think about it, I don't know if I truly want to go back," she sighed and sat next to him. "There's so much pain out there and so much suffering and the war already began and I don't know if it's worth it! Especially now that I know that in due time I'll have to join the darkness because of that stupid prophecy."
"You'll have to go back to see if it is worth it then, if it isn't, I will let you complain and yell at me all you want when you get here again," he chuckled.
"I'll consider it but I want to stay here a little longer, it's peaceful."
"It's the calm before the storm étoile, that's how life works."
*****
On the third night since Madeleine had been in the hospital, Cressida had snuck into the castle and when she stepped inside the grand oak doors she was met with the sight of a sleeping redhead that was still holding her daughter's hand. Fred's cheek was resting on the edge of the bed and she could see by the color and state of his face that he had been crying probably until it became too tiring to keep his eyes open anymore.
Quietly, she walked over to her daughter's side, her eyes flooding with tears as she stroked Maddie's cold cheek with her thumb. Her silent tears were falling to the floor as she bent down to kiss her forehead. "It's okay if you want to let go my little star, it's okay if you want to be with him instead of here and I'm not mad and I'm sorry that I drove you away. And no matter how much you hate me, you will forever be my baby girl and I will forever love you. It's okay if you want to let go," she whispered and left before anyone could see her.
Morning came by and Molly entered the hospital wing, when she approached Madeleine's bed, she saw the older twin sleeping uncomfortably on a chair still holding onto the blonde's hand. The only times Fred had moved since she had been brought in were solely to use the bathroom and his mother could tell that he was in an intense amount of pain emotionally to not give any importance to his physical state.
"Freddie darling," she shook his body, gently waking him up. "Why don't you go get some proper rest? Lee said that you can go to your old dorm, maybe take a shower too dear."
"I can't do that mum cause if she wakes up and I'm not here she'll think that I didn't care," he yawned and moved his face so it could be pressed against her arm.
"Freddie you've been staying here since the day she was brought in, spending the twenty four hours of the day reading to her and holding her hand, she knows that my boy so please get some proper rest and a shower because you smell."
"One hour nap and then I'll be back," he said firmly. "Ali and Lizzie will stay here too," he looked at the two girls who had walked in with bloodshot eyes. Fred kissed Madeleine's forehead and kissed his mum's cheek before sending Ali and Liz a small smile as he walked back to the dorm he knew too well.
"Hi Mrs Weasley," Lizzie's voice cracked slightly when she sat next to the Weasley matron.
"Hello dears, come sit. How are you two doing?" Molly said and inisted Alicia to sit down who was incessantly pacing around Maddie's bed.
"I don't know, it just feels so surreal that she's like this," Alicia wiped a tear from her face and took the empty seat next to Molly.
"She's not like anything Alicia, she's just asleep while her body is healing and she'll be up and about in no time. She's gonna be just fine," Liz said reassuringly earning a soft squeeze on her knee by the redhead woman.
"I like you Elizabeth, I'm glad my Georgie found you so early on and that Fred has Madeleine," Mrs Weasley chuckled. "I have four more boys for you to choose from Alicia."
"Thanks for the offer mrs Weasley but a certain Ravenclaw already has my heart I suppose," she said quietly and her eyes met Timothée's who was walking out of Pomfrey's office, and tried to smash down the butterflies that began fluttering in her stomach.
"My boy is head over heels for her, I've never seen him be so gentle with someone except Ginny," Molly laughed softly. "Reading a book by his own will, that is also new."
"She read to him all the time, it helped him calm down and fall asleep. There's just something about Mads voice that's just soothing," Liz said to Molly.
"So Lizzie, George mentioned that you were to move in with them after school," Molly looked at the girl.
"Yes Mrs Weasley, I hope you don't mind since George and I have only been official for a year but when I tell you that your son is the love of my life I mean it," Liz said blushing heavily under Molly's stare.
"I'm glad dear, so have Fred and Madeleine made things between them official yet? I saw the way they were looking at each other during New Years and I know love when I see it."
"Actually they haven't Mrs Weasley, every time any of us bring up the topic they snap at us but we all know they're in love and I think they know it too, they're just too scared to admit it," Alicia chuckled.
In the fifth year boys' dormitory, Hermione, Ron, Neville, Ginny and Clotilde were trying their best to get Harry out of bed. Madeleine getting hurt took a huge toll on him, mainly knowing that if he had let her see inside his head; she would have been able to tell if it was real or if it was just an implanted memory. Besides the guilt that he was feeling, he felt completely terrified at what Dumbledore had explained to him about the prophecy that involved him and Voldemort and what the future awaited for him.
"Harry you have to come out and visit her, she knows it's not your fault," Hermione said as she sat on the edge of his bed.
He hadn't left his room since they had gotten back to Hogwarts. Just like Fred he hadn't eaten anything in three days nor showered and had dark bags under his eyes due to the lack of sleep. Guilt was eating him alive and he couldn't dare to meet Clotilde's piercing blue eyes that were burning holes through him from the doorframe where she was standing with Ron, Ginny and Neville.
"Listen to me you little piece of self-pitying shit," Clo hissed and walked towards him, forcing him out of his bed. "You may think this is your fault and even though I think so too, she will never blame you for anything because she loves you! Now get your bloody arse up and go visit her because so help me Merlin if you don't, I will kill you before You-Know-Who gets the chance! She might not be your blood sister but that doesn't mean that she's any less your family just because of that and she has proven plenty of times to you and to everyone who has eyes that she adores you so stop whining like a baby and go see her."
"Bloody hell, I've never seen you act so aggressive before," Ron said looking at the blonde with wide eyes.
"That's what he needed, tough love," Ginny grinned.
"He's not the only one who's hurting, we all are but life doesn't stop just because we are pain," Clo whispered and left.
"She hasn't stopped by since the first night has she?" Neville asked quietly when Clo walked away.
"She hasn't-" Hermione began but was interrupted.
"And why the hell would she yell at me like that if she hasn't stopped by to see her?" Harry said annoyedly coming out of the bathroom, already dressed and his hair wet.
"Because Harry, Clotilde and Madeleine haven't had the smoothest relationship and Maddie has been working on fixing it. She promised Clo that after school she would get a flat and that they would live together so she obviously hasn't stopped thinking about the possibility of losing her sister and best friend! You need to learn how to be more empathic every now and then," Hermione said.
When the black haired boy arrived to the hospital wing for the first time in three days, he quietly stood next to his god-father that had a numb expression on his face. Fred was already back from showering and taking a nap and was holding her hand, his expression mirroring Sirius'. Remus who was always calm and put together was eating a chocolate bar anxiously and Molly had fallen asleep on the chair she was sitting. He sat next to Fred in silence, the older twin not even regarding his presence and simply sat there for hours with the rest without uttering a word.
*****
When Madeleine opened her eyes again she was in a different place rather than the beach where she had been mere moments ago with her father. She quickly recognized her surroundings, having spent way too much time in that office causing mayhem while her grandfather tried to work.
"You've gotten old ma belle," said the man with black graying hair she hadn't seen in years.
"And you don't look a day over two hundred," she joked and flung her arms around him.
"How dare my petite fille insult me like that?" his laugh boomed across the room. "You know I died at a very young age for a wizard so I do not look a day over forty."
"Your hair says otherwise and but you can blame the cognac, fire whiskey, and cigars for your premature death," she snickered and sat back on the red loveseat in front of him.
"I believe I can, but I will elect to ignote it for the time being. Now enough chatter and come with me," he chuckled and led her to a room she spent too much time as a kid.
Mamie's solar room looked just like she remembered. The wide windows covered around with bindweeds but the only difference was that instead of the comfortable chairs, the only thing standing in the middle of the empty sun lit room was a stone basin with engraved runes and precious stones fitted around the edges.
"So what papi? Are you going to show my what my life will be if I do go back?" she looked at him.
"Quite the opposite," he said, his eyes glinting with mischief. "I believe you remember what this is?"
"It's the pensieve that used to be in your office back in the Ministry," she said staring at the object. "So you're going to show me what my life has been then?"
"I won't show you, you're going to see it by yourself and see if you can make a decision," he beamed and left the room.
Maddie looked at the mystical object curiously and hesitantly walked towards it. When she was standing in front of it, she plunged her head inside the silvery substance and felt the odd feeling of falling into a deep hole and appearing in a white muggle hospital room where a twenty-one year old Cressida was lying exhaustedly on a bed with a one year old Timothée cuddled next to her.
"She's absolutely perfect," a way younger Philippe turned around holding a bundle wrapped in light pink blankets with happy tears falling from his eyes. He handed the baby to Cressida and sat next to her on the bed, admiring the baby with sparkling jade eyes. "What should we name her?"
"She looks like a Madeleine, don't you think?" Cressida smiled softly, gently rocking the baby. "And Céline for your mother, she's our little star."
The present Madeleine saw the memory and a second later was falling down the black hole again. She was now in the cottage in Devon and looked at the three year old version of herself that was in the garden being carried by a stag and chased by a large black dog who was carrying a four year old Timothée, the two kids laughing loudly as the dog barked contently at the stag.
"James put her down, she's going to fall and Cressida will kill us if she falls!" a young Remus yelled from the window while a pregnant Lily Potter read to baby Clotilde who was cuddled on her lap.
The memory melted into another one and Madeleine found herself back in the coldness of Mafoy Manor in the same room she had been with Narcissa months before. Cressida was sitting in front of her sister with three year old Maddie on her lap bouncing her as the infant babbled nonsense.
"When she gets angry she does this thing and I know it's a veela thing but she hurts Timothée and Clotilde with just looking at them and I don't know how to stop it," Cressida said rushedly and froze when the door was thrown open to reveal Bellatrix in all her glory, the deranged look prominent on her face.
"Cress give me the baby," Narcissa said hurredly and lunged to take a hold of the girl before Bellatrix hit Cressida straight in the chest with the torture curse.
The youngest Black sister screamed in pain while her oldest sister laughed maniacally, demanding to know what was it that her niece could do that terrified her mother until Cressida cracked and revealed what Maddie could do before passing out from the effect of the curse.
"Put her down Cissy, don't make me hurt you," she walked slowly towards her.
"Bella please, she's just a girl, don't do that to her," Narcissa begged.
"GIVE HER TO ME!" she shouted and took Madeleine from her sister who crouched down to check on her unscious sister. "Now you and I are going to play a little game that your auntie Bella likes," she said in a baby voice and put Maddie back on the floor who only stared at her curiously. "Crucio," Bellatrix said pointing her wand at her and her face lit up with delight when instead screaming of crying, Madeleine only laughed maniacally immitating her aunt's laugh despite shaking from the terrible pain.
The memory blurred into another one and Madeleine recognized her nine year old self as she walked with both her great-grandmother and grandmother along the gardens in the Archambeau Estate, the two older women explaining the lenghts of that the girl's magic reached.
It felt overwhelming going through that many memories. Her airways felt constricted after she revisited most of her childhood, watching them as if she was part og the audience of a muggle film playing in the movie theater. Then the memories transformed into her early teenage years showing her the good and the bad hidden between each of them.
Seeing her father die and mourning him felt painful, but the pain stopped once Fred was the one appearing in the majority of her memories, his voice and laugh booming in almost every single recollection. From the first time they spoke on the train to the first time he made her laugh. Their first kiss, their first night together, their inside jokes and their adventures. Every single kiss and embrace and caress was replaying in around her, distant voices and conversations she had with him being the center of it all.
"You almost set the Hufflepuff common room in fire with your fireworks!" she laughed as they cuddled in his bed after a party.
"I wanted to impress you," he grinned cheekily peppering her face with kisses.
"You don't need impress me Freddie, you already got me," she laughed harder when he began tickling her sides.
The present Madeleine fell to the floor gasping for air when her grandfather helped her get up as if he had known what, or better said, the image of who made her back away. "He has been wonderful to you," papi said smiling fondly as they now walked in silence around the garden.
"I can't leave him, can I?" she looked at him with a nostalgic expression. "He's my Achilles heel."
"You mamie was mine, I still remember when I saw her walking down the beach. I knew that she was the love of my life right then and there," he chuckled softly and patted her back.
"Why does everything has to revolve around love?"
"Because life without love isn't life ma belle," he beamed, "well, I must be off because there is someone else who needs to speak with you," he pointed with his head at her great-grandmother who was sitting on the edge of the stone fountain in the middle of the large gardens.
"Go back and live the long happy life that you deserve ma belle, we will still be here to welcome you when time is due," he kissed the top of her head and walked away as she slowly strutted towards the anciet beautiful veela.
"The spirits have given you another chance, it's your decision if you take it or not," the woman said in her thick French accent.
"But I've already lived enough-"
"My dear, you are eighteen years old! You have barely scraped the surface and you have an opportunity to live!" she stood up and linked her arm with hers as they walked around the hedge maze of the property.
"But if I choose to live, what's the price?" Madeleine whispered already dreading the answer.
"What you have been neglecting for a year."
"Close the door, cut any connection I have to the spirits meaning that if I go back I won't be able to see them anymore," Maddie said coming to a halt.
"They are always going to look after you, but there is no way to bring the dead back to life. It's part of the cycle. You are born, you grow up and when time is due you die. And sometimes death can be cruel and unfair and unforgiving but that is just the way the universe works Madeleine," she cupped her cheeks.
"How much time do I have left to decide before they won't let me go back?"
"Not long," the pure veela said and disappeared from view, leaving the blonde alone with her thoughts in the middle of the maze.
*****
Four days had passed and she hadn't woken up. For Fred it felt agonizing waiting for her to do so. He felt as if every fiber of his body was slowly being ripped from him but he was still hopeful that she would wake up. His days now consisted of reading until his eyes completely dried out, talking to her about whatever crossed his mind and at nights when every visitor had left he would cry until sleep would wash over him.
During the day, many people would come and visit but they never stayed at the night besides himself, Sirius and Remus. The three of them knew that the night was the hardest part. The feeling of dread that if they fell asleep and something happened they could not have asked for help or anything of the sort.
That Sunday morning, when Fred returned from taking a quick shower in his old dorm he went inside the hospital wing and greeted Poppy before going over to Madeleine's bed when he saw none other than Adrian Pucey sitting next to her on his seat.
"What are you doing here?" Fred snapped making the boy jump up from the chair.
"I heard that she was hurt so I wanted to see how she was doing and bring her some flowers," Adrian said pointing at the bouquet of pink flowers on the bedside table.
"She told me, what you said to her," Fred sat on his seat and looked back at Madeleine before turning back to the Sytherin. "How you felt about her and what you told her and what you did after."
"Oh I um-"
"We don't really keep secrets between us so she wrote to me as soon as it happened and just for your information, I would rather die than hurt her. I would never break her heart," Fred said lowly now taking her hand into his. "Her favorite flowers are sunflowers and tulips, she thinks roses are way too boring. Now you better leave before I beat the living shit out of you and I don't want you or any of your friends to come near her ever again."
*****
Madeleine was now sitting on the edge of the Astronomy Tower staring deeply into the stars when Regulus who looked no longer bluish sat next to her. "I was starting to wonder when my favorite dead person would appear," she grinned and looked at him.
"So you've made up your mind?" he asked.
"I have, I'm going back but I know that in time I'll have to carry out the prophecy so I'll have to do terrible things to help people," she shrugged.
"You're one of the most amazing people I have ever met Madeleine, thank you for keeping me company," he smiled softly. "Well, with that being said, I believe you're ready to know how it happened."
"Don't keep me waiting, I've already waited long enough," she nudged him smiling.
"When I was sixteen, Bellatrix persuaded me of joining the Death Eaters and of course I did because I was a stupid kid that wanted to be the perfect pureblood son since Sirius had already taken the disappointment spot. At first I had no idea the lenghts that the Dark Lord was willing to go, I was just wanted to make my parents proud but then I started having my doubts when I became part of his inner circle.
"Voldemort asked me to use Kreacher and I of course accepted, I didn't imagine that he would intend for my oldest and most loyal friend to die. You see Mads, Voldemort hid a piece of his soul inside a cave-"
"Horcrux, that's one of the darkest kinds of magic to ever exist," she mumbled quietly.
"That's right. The Dark Lord used to Kreacher to test the defenses in the cave where he had hidden his horcrux, it was the Salazar Slytherin locket in fact, and he left my friend to die afterwards but Kreacher managed to escape from the cave. Kreacher came to me and told me what happened and that's when I figured what he was really hiding and that's what made him truly immortal. So then I asked Kreacher to make a duplicate of the locket. When it was done I placed a note inside of it for Voldemort to find if he ever went to check on it. I told Kreacher to take me to the cave and he guided me past the defenses that weakened me but being a Black I was stubborn so I kept going. Once I drank the potion, Kreacher switched the lockets and I ordered him to leave and never tell anyone what really brought me to my end."
"I don't understand, what was what really killed you then?" she looked at him who was staring at the shimmering sky.
"The potion was a venom that created an insatiable thirst and when I tried getting water from the lake, the Inferi dragged me down and drowned me," he finished.
"You made a mistake when you were sixteen, but you Regulus, you are the bravest person I've ever had the honor to meet," she patted his hand. "Thank you for everything you have done for me in the past year."
"It was my pleasure Madeleine, besides Kreacher you are the only other person I can call a friend, we'll see each other someday but there's someone else waiting for you," he gave her a short but meaningful hug and stood up to leave.
"Reg, am I going to remember any of this when I wake up?" she called out to him.
"I don't think you will but it's not really worth it to reside in dreams when life is waiting for you out there," he smiled one last time before fading out of view.
When Madeleine opened her eyes again she was standing in the hill where Fred and her went to stargaze during the summer but of course the redhead wasn't there. Instead, her father was beaming at her wearing a navy suit, his blue eyes shining under the stars. "What are we doing here?" she asked him when he walked closer to her.
"You know the thing I will never forgive myself for, is leaving before I could give you and Clo away at your weddings and be there to have your father and daughter dance. You are one of the best four things that happened to me," he sighed.
"Let me guess, mum, Tim and Clo are in that list too?"
"Of course they are," he chuckled.
"It was good while it lasted, seeing you again and I'm sorry for the horrible things I said to you a couple of months ago," she whispered.
"I know I won't be physically with you mon étoile but I wanted to ask you for a final dance, take it as the one we would have at your wedding and then I'll let you go," he smiled sadly.
Maddie smiled and place her hands on her dad's shoulders and buried her head in his chest, letting the tears cascade freely knowing that truly this was the last time she would see him until the day she died. Out of nowhere, soft music started playing the song they used to dance to when she was little. Bob Dylan and Billy Joel's voices merging together perfectly as she had one last dance before saying goodbye forever.
"Goodbye dad," she hugged him one last time before beginning to walk away.
"Madeleine!"
"Yes," she stopped and looked back at him.
"Don't wait too long to tell him that you love him," Philippe said.
"I'm scared of it, I'm scared to say it in case he's taken away from me," her voice cracked.
"Love is scary yet it is so wonderful, but you already know that. Go before it's too late, when the time is right we'll see each other again and for the mean time I will be taking care of you from afar," he smiled as a bright light blinded her completely, taking her away from the limbo she had spent the last five days in.
*****
On the fifth day, everyone had gathered around Madeleine's bed who still looked as if she was sleeping peacefully. Fred was still by her side, holding her hand. Remus and Sirius were standing with Harry and Clotilde, who came by for the first time stood next to her brother. Madam Pomfrey was running even more diagnosis with her wand after giving the girl a couple of new potions the night before.
Lizzie, George, Lee, Alicia, Hermione, Ron and Ginny also came in to see if there were any changes but there still weren't. Cressida was standing by herself behind everyone, her blue eyes numb and unable to feel anything because how much sadness had run past her body in those torturously slow five days.
"There are no changes, her vitals are still stable and there is no internal damage. I think it would be best to call a specialized healer in case there is deep brain trauma but there is also the slight possibility that she will not wake up. After all, it is not known where the mind goes once a person falls into a comatose state so we should all consider that," Madam Pomfrey explained.
"And what about a transfer to St Mungo's, Poppy? Will they be able to do anything?" Sirius asked the healer.
"Well perhaps in the Janus Thickey Ward but this is the first time that a person has used a protective shield against the Killing curse and survived so I won't be able to tell what they could do to help her."
Fred ran his free hand through his hair sighing when he felt Madeleine's finger twitch
"She just moved," he said quietly and looked at her hand that was still in his.
"What?" everyone said at the same time with wide eyes.
"She just moved, I felt it!" Fred said louder feeling her finger lightly brushing against his hand again.
"Fred, mate, you haven't slept properly in a couple of days, why don't you get some rest," George said softly.
"I'm not shitting you! She just moved her finger again!" he said desperately as the rest looked at him as if he was trying to play a prank on them. Fred got up in a heartbeat and hovered on top of her, his hand cupping her cheek that felt warmer than it had felt in days.
"Mads, love can you hear me?" he whispered closely to her face and felt how his heart stopped when her eyes tried to flutter open, wincing at the bright light.
"I like this position so much better when we're both naked and not in a hospital bed," she said hoarsely and opened her eyes to meet his which were brimming with tears.
"Mads," he chuckled.
"And by the look on your face, not surrounded by my entire family and yours, so if you'll excuse me I'm going to close my eyes and pretend I did die until everyone's gone," her cheeks tinted pink and she closed her eyes to avoid embarrassing herself any further.
"Oh for Godric's sake!" Sirius cried and pushed Fred out the way, making him collapse with his twin.
"Surprise," Maddie said in a sing sone voice to her godfather and Remus who were now bawling their eyes out. "Won't they send you to Azkaban again if anyone else sees you here?" Maddie raised her eyebrows at her godfather.
"The Ministry cleared my name, I'm a free man now," Sirius laughed and gave her a tight hug.
"So is everyone going to greet me properly from coming back from the dead or what?" she cleared her throat.
"Before that," Madam Pomfrey made everyone step aside to evaluate the girl again. "I'll have to run a diagnose and some simple tests to make sure you are okay, Elizabeth dear can you start while I bring another potion."
"You're crying," Maddie laughed when Lizzie gave her a hug and helped her sit on the bed after making everyone leave before they could say anything.
"You're such a bitch sometimes," she laughed shaking her head and was tackled along with the blonde into a hug by Alicia who was also crying.
"You're so stupid Madeleine, you could have died," Alicia swatted her arm.
"Hey I might be alive but I'm still a wounded woman," she said dramatically and stayed still per Liz's request while she ran the diagnose spell.
Once Lizzie opened the curtains again, everyone went to hug Madeleine but the person who hugged her the tightest was Harry who began crying and apologizing to which she just shrugged him off. "Stop crying like a baby because it wasn't your fault, it was my decision to do what I did."
"I know but you got off because of pure luck and if I would have listened to you-"
"Yes and I hope that you continue to remember from now on that I'm always right, so stop blaming yourself and crying because I'll hit you if you keep going," she teased and stroked his back lovingly.
"Thank you for not going into the light or whatever," Clotilde sat next to her sister and rested her head on her shoulder.
"You're welcome," Maddie chuckled and listened to Clo saying everything that had happened in the past five days.
Nightfall came around and after Madam Pomfrey gave her a nice dinner, she went into her office. The hospital wing was being illuminated by the moonlight which shone through the large windows. The oak doors opened slightly and from the corner of her eye Madeleine could see a 6'3 redhead sneaking towards her quietly.
"Finally they all left you alone," Fred grinned and sat on the chair he had spent the last five days in but she patted the space next to her and he happily complied.
"You were crying," she said when Fred managed to fit himself into the hospital bed next to her once she managed to take a good look at his face,
"I thought you were gone," he whispered and wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her closer to him.
"Nah, not even the killing curse could take down Madeleine fucking Archambeau, if that's not power then I don't what power is," she joked making him roll his eyes playfully.
"Why am I not suprised that you're already joking about this?" he chuckled.
"I learned from a very handsome redhead that making jokes about serious situations always lighten up the mood," she smiled.
"And who may that redhead be?"
"George," she teased him.
"Liar, George's humor is not as dark as mine and you know it," he scoffed.
"It's just strange you know, one second you're alive, you're breathing and next you're hit by the killing curse and time stops forever. Us humans, we like to pretend we're so almighty and powerful but in reality, we're nothing but frail. Anything can kill us at any moment," her tone changed to a more serious one.
"I know, and if you ever pull another stunt like that it's over between us," he said teasingly.
"Deal," she smiled and pressed her lips with his tenderly. "They also told me you cried like a baby and read to me everyday, have you gone soft on me now Red?" she sniggered.
"I have no idea what you're talking about love," he laughed and for the first time in days he could sleep at peace knowing that she was in his arms again and that's all that would ever truly matter to him.
AN: sike, y'all thought I would seriously do that you? highkey cried writing this part ngl, but I spent way too much time on it so I hope you all like it. btw i'm sorry if i scared you in last chapter, love you all from the bottom of my heart. remember to tpwk and also wear a mask because masks save lives (things in my country aren't going well with covid so we're back in a full on lockdown so i guess i'll be able to write more) <3