The three of you were quiet the night after Ron, Fred and George left. You had no idea where they were, or how long they'd be gone. And as you settled down onto the camping cot you'd shared with Fred most nights, you saw that he'd left his scarf, the one Molly had given him for Christmas in Grimmauld Place two years ago, and one of his red jumpers behind.
You picked them both up and held them to your face, and they smelled completely of him, his comforting, sweet and familiar scent, and you let yourself cry as you buried your face into the dark red wool of the jumper. You pulled it on over your head and it was far too big on you, but you didn't care. You curled up under the blankets and breathed in Fred's scent, forcing yourself to imagine that he was still there.
A few days later, the time came for you to leave and continue your journey. You packed everything up and a heavy feeling sat in your stomach as you realised that once you left, it would be impossible for Fred, George and Ron to find you again.
You held back tears as you walked away from the lake and up into the forested hills, and you watched Hermione pull off her scarf and tie it around a tree trunk, just in case they came back to that spot. She cried into her hand for a moment and then straightened up, gathering herself, and you waited for her as Harry walked on, deep in his own thoughts.
When she walked up beside you, she pulled you into a hug, both of you feeling the absence of the others like a hole in your chests. You held onto her tightly for a moment and then you reached down into your enchanted bag and pulled out your own scarf, wrapping it around her neck.
"You'll get cold," you said quietly and she looked down at Fred's scarf which you were wearing around your own neck and smiled sadly at you.
"Thank you," she said as she wiped her eyes once more, then she linked her arm through yours and you stuffed your hands in your pockets against the cold mid-November wind, and walked after Harry.
A short while later, you were a safe enough distance away from your campsite to Apparate without detection, so you and Harry both held onto each of Hermione's hands as you were swept away to another location. You opened your eyes and looked out across the unfamiliar mountaintop you were standing on, and you couldn't help the sob that left your mouth at the realisation of how far away you were from Fred.
Hermione squeezed your hand as she wiped away her own tears with her sleeve, and Harry gave you both sympathetic looks as he walked away to begin setting up the protective enchantments around the area.
On the fourth night without the twins and Ron, you all sat quietly listening to the radio. Thankfully no familiar names were mentioned on Potterwatch, but the increasing number of reported casualties turned your stomach.
You put your bag and coat onto the top bunk of the bed you'd shared with Fred and then sat next to Hermione on one of the steps inside the tent as she listened to the music that played through the radio's speakers. Harry was sitting next to the gas lamp and kettle in the common area of the tent but said nothing, his mind was clearly very far away. Hermione sniffled and you wrapped your arm around her comfortingly, and Harry met your gaze as he looked over at Hermione, whose mood was clearly very low that evening.
He smirked slightly, though at what you had no idea, and then he got up and walked over, stopping in front of where you were both sitting. Hermione looked up in confusion and he held out a hand to her, which she stared at, baffled.
Harry quirked an eyebrow at you, and you could tell he was trying to cheer her up. She looked at you, puzzled, and you reached over and took the locket off her neck and threw it onto the bunk that Ron had once occupied, and then Harry pulled her to her feet.
He dragged her to the middle of the tent and slowly started swaying her along to the music that was playing. You smiled at them as you watched Hermione fighting an eye roll, but an endearing smile played on her lips.
You reached over and turned up the music, and Harry spun her under his arm and she even laughed a bit as they continued dancing, enjoying it more as they relaxed into the music. You watched fondly while Harry danced terribly, but Hermione spun him under his arm and then they both laughed loudly and turned to you.
They both ran over and took a hand each, pulling you up to join them. They spun you around and got you to sway along with the music, and you pushed away your upsetting thoughts and let them lead you in a simple but fun dance around the tent.
You twirled Hermione out and then back into your chest and she laughed, and then you both attempted to dip Harry together, but he gripped onto your arms tightly when you almost dropped him to the floor, which made you all crack up hysterically.
Though your heart ached constantly with the absence of the others, especially Fred now as you thought of the random occasions where he'd pull you up to dance along to music on the radio, you let yourself enjoy the small moment of happiness with Harry and Hermione. The music slowed and you let the other two continue dancing as you sat back down beside the radio, and you felt lighter than you had in days, though your mind was still weighed down with worry for the others.
One afternoon, you sat bundled against the cold next to Hermione, both of you flicking through your collection of books. You spent hours passing theories back and forth, searching for any sort of lead on the location of other Horcruxes, or even what they might look like.
"Hermione! Y/N!" You turned around to see Harry running towards you from the tent where he'd been resting after taking the night watch. There was thankfully no look of panic on his face, so you relaxed as he quickly approached you both.
"Hermione, you were right," he said as he strode across the rocks, "Snitches have flesh memories, but I didn't catch the first Snitch with my hand, I almost swallowed it."
He handed the small golden ball to her as he sat across from you and she held it over to you so you could look at it as well.
"'I open at the close'," you read aloud as you observed the new engraving on the front of the Snitch, Hermione's brow furrowed as she, too, studied it and Harry looked between you.
"Yeah, what do you think that means?" he asked and you shook your head, at a loss of any explanation while Hermione answered, "I don't know." She handed the Snitch back to him and pulled up one of the books you'd both been looking at minutes before, "we found something as well." Harry immediately moved and sat on her other side and you both leaned in to Hermione as she flicked open The Tales of Beedle the Bard, which she'd shown you already.
"At first we thought it was an eye, but now we don't think it is," Hermione told him as she showed Harry the strange symbol you'd been studying for the past hour already.
"It isn't a rune," she told him, and then you held up the other book you had on your lap, "and it isn't anywhere in Spellman's Syllabary."
Hermione ran her finger across the book's front page, "somebody inked it in. It isn't part of the book, somebody drew it."
Harry's eyes widened in recognition, "Luna's dad was wearing that at Bill and Fleur's wedding!"
The three of you looked down at the drawing on the book in contemplative silence, you were beyond puzzled, "why would someone draw it in a children's book?" You and Hermione had looked through the story book multiple times, Hermione could practically recite each story now, but it was just some wizarding fairytales and you couldn't figure out the significance of the symbol.
Harry was also raised by Muggles like you and Hermione, so he wouldn't know much more than you about the stories, and you wondered if Fred, George or Ron would recognise any hidden messages from their childhood spent listening to those stories. Not for the first time that day, your heart ached at their absence, and you felt like there was a huge empty space beside you constantly, where you could usually turn your head to and see Fred there next to you with an easy grin on his face.
It had been at least three weeks since they'd left, if your counting was correct, and each day made it harder as your mind constantly raced with worry at them being in danger, hurt, or worse.
You refused to cry in front of Harry and Hermione, and when you did, which was quite frequently, you waited until you were in your bunk, or when it was your turn to keep watch outside the tent during the night.
Harry's voice pulled you from your thoughts, "look, guys, I've been thinking. I want to go to Godric's Hollow." You both stared at him and he continued, "it's where I was born, it's where my parents died..."
You and Hermione shared a sad look and you looked back to Harry, "that's exactly where he'll expect you to go, Harry," you said and Hermione nodded, "yes, because it means something to you."
She stood up then, and you followed suit while Harry protested, "yeah, but it means something to him too. You-Know-Who almost died there, isn't that exactly the kind of place he'd be likely to hide a Horcrux?" You sighed and looked between him and Hermione, you knew he had a point but it seemed too risky.
"It's dangerous, Harry," you told him but you gave him a look that showed you were giving in to his point, Hermione agreed, "it is, but even I have to admit, recently I've been thinking we'll have to go there."
You smiled slightly as Harry pumped his fists in success behind Hermione's back and you linked your arm through his and followed Hermione across the rocky terrain back towards the tent as you continued your discussion.
"I think it's possible something else is hidden there," Hermione said and Harry gripped your arm as you almost tripped over a crack in the rocks.
"What?" he asked her and she stopped and turned to look at you both, "the sword."
You thought about that for a minute and nodded in agreement, "yeah, you could be right. If Dumbledore wanted you to find it, but didn't want it to fall into the Ministry's hands, where better to hide it than the birthplace of the founder of Gryffindor?"
You were quiet as you let the thought sink in and the three of you helped each other climb down the rocky mountainside to the ledge where your tent was hidden. Harry stopped and looked warily at you both, "Hermione, Y/N, maybe both of you should-"
Hermione cut him off as she brushed back his hair, "don't ever let me give you a haircut again."
Harry looked at her in surprise and realised that there was no point in trying to convince you both to stay behind, so he gave you both a small but grateful smile before you went inside the tent.
You all decided it would be safer to wait a few days to plan your detour before making the trip, so after pulling out some clothes to wear against the snow that was beginning to fall, you sat down at the wooden table to eat some bland, tinned food that you'd been living off of for the last few weeks, and you turned on the radio to tune into the latest Potterwatch broadcast.
You listened as Lee discussed recent disappearances and Bea provided updates on the occurrences within Hogwarts, as reported to her by her student correspondents. Remus and Kingsley both briefly contributed with general updates on how your side was fighting back and the precautions to take and you began to zone out as Lee brought the broadcast to a close.
"That's all from us today here at Potterwatch so- oh wait! We have just received correspondence, a special request if you will, for a message to be passed on," Lee's voice echoed through the small radio speakers and you perked up a bit and even Harry and Hermione looked up from their plates at the change in the typical direction of the broadcast.
"This message is from our very own Rodent- sorry, Rapier - who wants to pass on a message to a very special person who he can't be with at the moment."
Your mouth went dry and Harry and Hermione's eyes turned to you as you stared at the radio while Lee spoke, "he said that he and his companions are safe and to tell her to check the back pocket of her bag, and that will tell her what she needs to know right now, and that they'll see each other again once their...mischief is managed. Very clever, Rapier, I see what you did there. Isn't that sweet? Nothing like a wartime romance to pull at your heartstrings, am I right, listeners?" Lee tried to maintain his optimistic persona as he made the announcement but you could hear him sniffling in the background as he told you where to go.
You didn't even listen to the rest as you shot up from the table and ran to your bunk. You pulled your bag from the top bunk and zipped open the back pocket, where the Undetectable Extension Charm wasn't in effect, and you pulled out a square of parchment that had been folded numerous times. Your name was written on the front in Fred's familiar scrawl and you felt your eyes fill with tears before you'd even started reading.
Y/N, my love.
I don't really know why I'm writing this, if I'm honest. I think it's just as a precaution in case we get separated, which I won't let happen if I have a choice. I'm writing this as you sit outside on watch, George is snoring his head off in his bunk, and I feel your absence next to me even though I know you're just outside. I've always loved writing you notes, especially when I can see you smile while reading them. Although, this one is more of a brain dump on parchment since I don't really know how to say this out loud, even though I know you'd listen like you always do.
The truth is, darling, I'm scared. I'm scared for my family and I'm scared that we won't win this war, and I'm scared that even if we do, not all of us will be around to see it. I'm scared of losing you, above all else.
I can survive in this war-torn world we live in now as long as you're safe and by my side, but I know that if something happened to you, I couldn't survive that, I just couldn't. As I'm writing this I'm also trying to block out all those bloody awful thoughts and focus on the good things instead, like how much I truly, madly, and deeply love you, and how I've been in love with your eyes, your smile, your laugh, your kindness and your courage for a lot longer than I even knew I did.
I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you, Y/N, and that's what I'm trying to focus on rather than how bloody terrified I really am. I'm trying to imagine the life we'll have together, you and me. That's what's keeping me going.
I hope you won't have to read this until after the war is over, but if we do find ourselves apart for any reason, I'll find a way to lead you to it.
Until then, I love you. Forever.
Yours, Fred.
You choked out a sob and Harry and Hermione were on the floor beside you in an instant, trying to figure out what was wrong. You waved them off, "it's fine, everything is fine. Fred, he- he got a message to Lee to lead to me a letter he wrote a few weeks ago. I know he's okay, they're all okay."
You cried properly then, the weight of Fred's absence hitting you like a ton of bricks, and Hermione wrapped you up in her arms while Harry comfortingly rubbed your back. You missed Fred desperately, but you were beyond relieved that he, George and Ron were alright, as was said in the broadcast. But you could only hope that the message was a recent one, and that, as the three of you sat on the floor of the tent, the other three were somewhere else safe, and unhurt.