"You alright, Georgie?" Fred asked quietly, and I hung back underneath the archway.
"Yeah," George replied breathily, still looking up at the sky as our shield began cracking under the weight of Voldemort's onslaught.
"Hey," Fred nudged George's elbow, a nervous grin pulling at his mouth, "Me too."
Something in my chest ached, and I turned to go back into the corridor to wait on them before we left for the tunnels. Soon, death eaters would be leaking in from every crevice they could find. A shaky breath left me as I turned to see Glinda, leaning against the wall and staring up at the ceiling with a stony expression on her face.
"Fancy seeing you here," I shakily joked, approaching her.
"Feels like it's been ages since we've chatted in the hall," she smiled at me, eyes lighting up despite the grim atmosphere that surrounded us. From the way Percy bristled, I could tell he was listening to our conversation.
"We should really head down to the tunnels," I muttered lowly, "The shield isn't looking too good."
"Go get your boy toy, then," she sighed, leaning off the wall to stand with her arms crossed. "Oh, and mine too."
I couldn't help but scoff and roll my eyes, still cracking a smile despite my best efforts to look irritated. The twins were only standing still, now, no conversation for me to intrude on. All they needed was a quick 'Hey', and a nod of my head for them to come back into the castle. After that, it was into the belly of the beast.
"This is rather ominous," Glinda whispered in the silence of the passageways. The only noises breaking the silence were the soft sounds of our careful footsteps. Something echoed from down a thin, windy corridor, the sound of eager footsteps and low voices.
"That's the-"
"We need to get to the seventh floor," George ordered, grabbing onto Glinda's arm and quickly apparating out of sight.
Fred's arm grabbed me before I could blink, and my eyes opened to the corridor directly outside the Room of Requirement. I would've laughed out of irony, our battle of Hogwarts right outside our most cherished place, had there not been a group of black cloaks leaking from the walls.
I turned briefly, hearing shouting from the opposite end of the hall. There were four death eaters in front of us, would I be able to go and-
My thoughts were interrupted by a harsh grip on my arm, and I turned to see Glinda looking up at me with a stony expression on her face. For some reason, the look in her eyes filled me with a fearful feeling that gripped my lungs coldly and made me struggle for breath.
"Look in my vanity, top right drawer," Glinda rushed out, a reassuring smile on her face before she turned. I couldn't help but stare, face twisting with confusion over what to do. I wasn't given the mercy of choice, and I heard a killing curse with my name on it cast behind me.
I swiveled just in time to swing my wand in a defensive arc, sending the cursed green glow into the stone. A movement caught my eye, and I cast stupefy on my assailant before turning to find a death eater had tried to flank us. He looked at me with a certain type of hatred reserved for the deep evilness trapped in the bowels of the earth, and I couldn't help but immediately feel something within me stir as instinct took over to challenge him in a duel.
"Hello, Minister! Did I mention I'm resigning?" Percy taunted behind me as he slung a spell, dodging a green glow by a hair's width. I blinked, momentarily blasted by a stunner that sent me barreling into Fred.
"Was that a joke?" Fred said quietly, an out of place laugh jumping from his mouth. He took my stumble in stride and continued his duel with the death eater seamlessly, "Perce, I don't think I've heard you joke since-"
A horrible crash that set every fiber of my being alight with the urge to suddenly disappear and be swallowed by the earth erupted in the hallway. I watched, as if in slow motion, as rocks and debris suddenly shot out from the left wall--barely giving me time to turn toward the blast as the wall collapsed on top of me and Fred.
Fred's body slammed into mine, and I struggled to gasp as a cracking pain broke out across my chest, warmth blossoming through my shirt.
"Fred?" I wearily responded, my vision dotted with black that I could barely see, but I could still make out his mop of red hair as it laid on my chest, motionless. "No, no," I pleaded. "Not again, I can't-"
My vision cut to darkness as I heard George frantically calling something out. People, too many people, crowded around my fading vision as I weakly looked out from the pile of rubble. I remember desperately wanting to respond, to let him know we were okay--something, anything. But I couldn't feel a single muscle in my body.
Even as I lost the sense of touch, left to sit alone in my mind with no knowledge of what was going on around me, all I could see was Fred's hair. Was he okay? He's fine, he's gone through worse than this.
Constant thoughts, left on a loop, wondering if he was okay filled me. My body ached, and everything felt cold despite the fact I couldn't figure out why. There was nothing but darkness that surrounded me, though I couldn't find it in me to feel confused. Coldness, emptiness, nothing else made sense in this moment.
"Thomas," an unfamiliar voice called for me, and I turned to find myself at that big oak tree once more. My parents sat underneath the shade, calm as the breeze that ruffled my hair.
All I could do was stare, as she got closer than she ever had in all of my night terrors. She was beautiful, with long hair that rippled in the wind. My eyes--they were hers, glittering in the sunlight.
"My brave, brave boy," her voice wavered, a soft palm caressing my jaw as she looked up to me. "Do you know why you're here?"
"Am I dying, Mum?" I asked quietly, gathering up the courage to reach out and touch her. She felt real under my fingers, a living, breathing body beneath her sundress.
"Yes," she whispered, "But it's okay, it's just like falling asleep. Quick as a blink, I swear it."
"I can't die, not yet," I shook my head, "I have a husband, Mum, I really love him. I can't leave him there."
"That's alright," she replied softly, a hint of sadness in her smile, "I knew you'd be important to someone else. You're too kind to not be."
"Can I go back, then? Will you let me?" I whispered, my eyes straying behind her to my father. He was still too far back, his face difficult to make out. I would have to meet him later, at another time.
"It's not up to me, Thomas," she laughed lightly, reminding me of Glinda, "It's entirely up to you."
I felt a painful sadness prick my eyelids, tears rushing over the edges of my eyes as I watched my mother fade to blurriness. She kept her hand on my jawline, the touch feeling more and more faint. Something inside me ripped in half, watching her blurry figure fall forward until the feeling of a softness hit my chest--hugging, she was hugging me.
All I wanted was to hug her back, but her body against me felt fuzzy at best. The only thing I could feel in detail were the tears streaming down my face as I wrapped my arms around her, tucking my head into the crook of where her shoulder should be.
"Goodbye, Mum," I whispered quietly, unable to feel her anymore.