The next morning I woke up feeling refreshed, happy and worried. I hadn't slept that well since before the wedding. Shifting slightly I remembered that mine and George's hand were intertwined. Joy filled my chest, we were together again and nothing was going to separate us again. I gazed at the still sleeping George and an idea popped into my head. I took my hand out of George's slowly and quietly. I watched for any movement but there was none so my legs quickly scurried to my room, grabbed my wand went into the bathroom to grab some of my lotion then stealthily crept back into George's room. After that I quietly poured some of the lotion in George's hand then moved closer to his face, then I started to softly blow on his nose, he stirred a little bit but not enough for the prank to work. I moved all of my hair to one side, grabbed the tips and gently started to brush his nose with it, his hand came up and lotion splattered all over his face. I started to laugh out loud as I watched George's shocked face.
"What the bloody hell is this?" he demanded while I laughed harder.
"Muggle ... prank," I responded between laughs. I looked at George who was looking at his hand. Wiping off the lotion, he stood up and stared hard at me, I had a feeling of what he was about to do so I backed away. "Now George, you don't want to do that," I told him cautiously. He snickered and crept closer to me.
"Oh but I think I do," he replied with a sinister grin. I laughed some more as I ran out the door and bounded down the stairs, screaming and laughing. George chased me outside of the house and around the yard until he finally caught me then smeared the lotion on my own face. I laughed again, swiped some off of my face then hurled towards his face but missed by a land slide. George ran back towards, gathered me up in his arms and kissed me like he had last night.
"The world is such happier place with you both together," Molly commented as we were kissing. Stopping, I forced George to set me back on my feet but he continued to have a his arms wrapped around me.
"Thanks Molly," I responded sheepishly. Suddenly an idea popped in my head and I couldn't keep it from George.
"We need to see Fred," I told George.
"He's on his way now; I told him last night that you were alive and he says that he needs to see you," Molly responded.
"That's fantastic," I replied. While we waited for Fred's arrival the Order filled me in on what I had missed the past few months I was gone. Snape was now the Headmaster of Hogwarts and the once beloved school was now a torture chamber for children, the news sparked an adrenaline rush. Every bit of me wanted to leave the Burrow and go to Hogwarts and attempt to try to fix the mess but I knew that I was also needed here. Fred didn't arrive until mid afternoon through the front gate, he called out to his family and we all rushed to his side. When Fred saw my face it seemed as if he had drifted into a dream or he had died himself. I chuckled at his priceless expression and ran into his embrace.
"It's good to see you Fred!" I exclaimed, still laughing.
"I don't believe it, but your letter – it was written in your hand this can't be possible," he seemed, for once, out of words. I rested my hands on his cheeks forcing his eyes into my own.
"I'm here, I'm alive, all is well, and we are all here together again." Then with that I grabbed George's neck so that we three would be connected back in our innocent days. We went back inside the house but Fred lingered behind, I motioned George to go in without me and went back to Fred.
"Come on Fred, let's go," I urged, taking his wrist but he wasn't moving. Instead, Fred's attention was at his feet. "What's wrong?" I asked. I knew something had to have been up, at first he didn't say or do anything then all at once he hugged me and clung to me as tight as he could.
"I was so afraid I'd lost you, you're one of my best friends and I thought you were gone," he cried. He wasn't actually crying but his voice was shaky and his breathing was trembling. I hugged him back and stroked his hair gingerly.
"It's okay Fred, I'm here and I'm not going anywhere, everything is alright," I soothed. Fred pulled back a little bit, just enough to see my face clearly.
"I need to tell you something but I'm not going to tell you right now, because that 'll ruin everything for you and George and you and George are my best friends. I want nothing but the best for you both," he rambled. Nothing he said made any sense I pretended that it did then we walked into the house where the family was having a discussion.
"We need to help them, I don't know what they are doing to those poor children but Ginny hasn't written since she arrived and that isn't like Ginny at all," Molly told the rest of the Order, with the utmost worry.
"Then we need to leave and help them," I said confidently, eyes were turning towards me.
"I have a feeling Hogwarts is where they are going to attack. When I was at the Manor, every so often they would take me out of the cellar and let me go to the bathroom and let's just say marble is the perfect for eavesdropping . Anyway, one time - about the time Harry, Ron and Hermione came to save us I heard Bellatrix suggesting that the time was nearing for a battle and she was saying something along the lines of going to Hogwarts and letting it burn down and killing every last man, women and child or in her words 'have fun'."
Once I finished the Order seemed to have had an overwhelming look come across their face like they knew the war was going to happen just not this soon. I wish I knew how to lighten the mood, I hated seeing everyone so down. "We knew this day was coming and I know it's coming faster than anticipated but we can't mourn yet. We have to be happy for as long as possible, until the doom actually does come and even then we can't be sad yet. I mean who knows, maybe none of us in the room might die. I understand if you're afraid for your loved ones or yourselves, trust me I am afraid to die but I'm less afraid when I know that I'm going to be dying for the safety of future generations and I pray that I don't die, I pray that none of us die but like I said before, now is not the time to mourn, grieve and mope, now is the time to celebrate being alive and train so that we do live. I am going back outside to train myself - if anyone else is interested then you know where to find me."
As I headed for the door, I heard chairs scraping across the floor, my body turned to face the sound and I gazed at all the faces looking at me with smiles plastered on their faces. George marched to my side and held my hand tightly.
"Anywhere you go, I will be right behind you."
"Yeah, me too," responded Fred going to my side. Soon Molly and Arthur were next me, eventually the whole Order stood up with confident smiles on their faces and we headed outside and began to duel each other without any unforgivable curses but we all knew we would have to use at least the Killing curse during the actual battle we thought would take place soon so we trained, planned and trained some more. Most nights I couldn't sleep so George and Fred and I would talk great memories of the past, of our lives together. We would laugh all night, sometimes we would prank some of the Order during the day sometimes we would go on picnics all together. The whole goal was to create happy memories before the bad ones could engrave themselves inside of our brains. One night I was asleep peacefully until a familiar nightmare entered my head.
My skin color seemed ghostly, my clothes were black, my hair in a bun, my face felt wet, like I had been crying. I looked around the darkness that surrounded me for a familiar face, someone I could call out to for help but there was nothing. I had the urge of opening my hand and I obeyed the urge and in my hand was a peculiar looking gem or a stone, it made think of all people I loved or cared for that had died, when I looked up I saw my mother and father holding hands smiling down at me. Next to them I saw Cedric and Sirius then I saw Remus, Tonks and Fred.
"Mom, Cedric, Sirius, Remus, Father, Tonks, Fred, what are you doing up here?" I inquired of them. They all spoke at the same time, which formed a weird sound.
"You summoned us, with the Resurrection Stone." I had heard of the stone in a book I'd read a long time ago but it couldn't exist.
"But dad, Tonks, Fred and Remus, you aren't dead, how could I have summoned you when aren't dead?" I asked them.
"Darling you must understand that these are the lives that will be taken away," my mother answered, I looked at her and shook my head.
"This is only a dream I can't summon you because first off, I don't have the Resurrection Stone and that's because it doesn't exist, it's a part of a fable," I reasoned. My mother smiled at me then looked to my father. "Plus I don't understand why he's here," I sneered, I meant that comment to my father and both he and my mother's face dimmed. Mother swooped down closer to me but I shied away from her.
"Sweetheart your father isn't the enemy, he's always worked for Dumbledore but you couldn't know because then your brother would know and then Voldemort would know and that could've ruined everything." I wished that's how it really was, I wished that my father had been a double agent all this time but this had been only a dream.
"No, you're only telling me this because it's something I want to be a reality, leave me alone – all of you!" I started to run away but I couldn't escape their cries for me to come back, all my happiness was drained by the pain of seeing my father, all the memories good and bad that he provided for me were now haunting my brain. Finally I allowed my body to curl up in a tight ball, my hand balled into fists and I crushed my fists into my ears, trying to block everyone out.
I woke up sitting upright in my bed and feeling sweat slide down my face. I looked out my window and guessed the time to be about four or five in the morning. I left my room to go to the bathroom, my hair stuck to my face because of all the sweat so I tied it all back into a messy bun while I washed my face with cold water, my towel hung over the sink for a while as I tried to forget about my dream. Fear acted as a snake and slithered into my body, continuous thoughts of people dying, people that I knew, loved dying all around took over my brain. I fought that fear, straining to put the anxiety out of my head and of course my unease brought George into the picture, making me think that he was going to die.
"Go... away..." I whispered to my fears. I fought to replace the unreal thoughts with a more realistic thought of mine and George's wedding day. Slowly the horrors died away as thoughts of the dress, the setting, the service, the reception filled my head. Finally the fearful thoughts were at bay and I walked back to my bedroom, where I sat on the bed thinking of everything and nothing. The Order had received word of Voldemort's move and we were heading to Hogwarts two days from now and we were nearly ready for Voldemort's army.
I didn't go back to sleep I couldn't go back to sleep, even though fear was under control they still hadn't completely vanished. I stayed awake until Fred and George knocked on my door to wake me up. I had spooked them because they had expected me to be asleep but my eyes were focused on the door.
"Morning," George greeted me, half happy half confused. When I didn't respond he and Fred walked all the way in and sat on both sides of me. The both took my hands and I leaned into the brother on my right until I heard George clarify that he was on my left, I moved to my left.
"What's wrong Raven?" Fred asked me, fingers brushing my shoulder.
"It's really happening isn't it?" I asked, my eyes still trained on the door.
"What's really happening?" George asked.
"The war..."
"Yeah, it's going to happen soon," Fred whispered back.
"I guess the fear is finally sinking in," I whispered.
"Raven, we are all going to be okay we just need to have – "
"How can you possibly know that we are all going to be okay? How do you know that we're all going to make it back?" I asked them both loudly.
"Raven, I never said we are all going to make it back, but in the end we are all going to be okay, alright?" George replied.
"If I die, then I want you both to know that I couldn't have asked for any better friends or a better fiancé and my only regret is that I didn't see that I loved you sooner George and for that I can only say I am sorry." I knew that I was contradicting my whole 'Be happy till the end' speech but I needed a sad moment to express myself. "And if one of you survives and I don't then I want to be buried next to my grandparents, okay?"
"Raven you have nothing to be sorry for, the times we've been together have been the best of my existence – sorry Fred, pranking with you has been a blast but love conquers all and I'm sorry that you couldn't find a girl."
"I don't need a girl, you two are the only people I need in my life and five years later when you two are having babies and I'll be finding my own girl and we're going to sit here and laugh about the time when we thought that we were going to die – trust me it'll be funny – of course it isn't funny now but it will be just wait and see, come on there's something we've planned today and it can't start until you get dressed and come down stairs," Fred told me cheerfully as he and George stood up from my bed.
"And don't worry about training, we aren't going to do that today, we have something even more fun planned, so dress nice!" George exclaimed happily kissing me on the cheek before shutting my door. Shrugging at the mysteriousness of it all I stood up from my bed and started to go through my clothes, most of the stuff I had was either ripped or had a hole in it but I eventually found a lavender purple short sleeved shirt that had a higher cut so no cleavage would show. Then I managed to find a pair of blue jeans that nothing wrong with them, I brushed out my hair then let it hang past my mid section. If I live through this war then I am getting a haircut, I've let it grow out too long. I promised myself as I scrutinized the length of my dark hair. I went downstairs and heard music, laughing, for a moment I felt that I had actually gone back to sleep, everything seemed too happy.
"What's going on?" I asked when I reached the bottom of the stairs.
"We thought that for today everyone should just enjoy everyone else's company," Fred answered smiling. My mind seemed to be split in half; one side told me to let go, and have some fun and not to worry about anything but then the other side asked me what was I thinking, why should I have fun when there's going to be a war soon?
I decided to listen to the letting go side.
We danced to the music, Molly and Arthur showed us some of the dances they did as children and tried to teach us that, we did some swing dances, which involved us switching partners occasionally. We laughed all day, sung all day and I remembered a song my grandmother sang tome every year before school would start. I paused the music and asked for everyone's attention.
"Every year for three years my grandmother would sing me a song for good luck, and when she died I forgot about it and I may not be able to sing as good as she did but I just want to take a moment tell you all good luck before we go out there." I paused before I started to sing, trying to remember how it all went.
We've trained and studied and now it's time to put it to the test.
We can't back down now; we're already in too deep,
We're gathered here together as friends and family,
We're going to march into war and we'll come back free
This is it, this is the time we have to show them what we got, don't give up not one time; it's time that they pay for their crime!
We can't give up not now not ever I'll stand for you if you'll stand for me.
Though some must fall, all will be well when the dark is done.
I sing this lullaby for you to have faith in yourself and the things you can do too!
The moment I stopped singing, I felt stupid for trying to attempt at singing, I was never really good, my grandmother tried to teach me but it went down in vain. I watched everyone's speechless face as my face turned tomato red.
"I'm sorry, that was bad I haven't heard that song in such long time I probably missed half the notes and I can't sing very well anyhow. Can we ignore that I just did that?" I rambled, hopelessly.
"Raven I had no idea that you could sing that well," Molly spoke softly.
"You don't need to make me feel better, I know that my talent for singing is a low," I chuckled awkwardly.
"Raven that was fantastic, how come you've never sang in front us before?" George asked.
"Are you sure your ears - er ear were open?" I asked, half joking, half serious.
"That was beautiful you must sing some more later," Tonks urged.
"Let's turn up the music and dance some more," Remus suggested as he turned the music back on and we started to dance some more. We danced, told stories all the way into darkness of night. Finally Arthur Weasley turned off the music and shewed us all to bed. We all hugged each other goodnight, then headed off to bed, we were all exhausted, I kissed George good night then headed into my own bed but shortly after I fell asleep I felt my covers being opened and I felt someone slip inside next to me and that's when I opened my eyes.
"George?" I asked groggily.
"Yeah?" he responded.
"What are you doing?"
"If I'm going to die I would like at least two nights to sleep next to my wife," he answered. Nothing was going to happen so I shrugged then searched for his hand.
"Okay, just to warn you though I toss and turn," I warned him with a smile on my face.
"I think I can manage." He wrapped his hand around my waist and brought me closer to his body. I fell asleep once again to the rhythm of his breathing. My eye lids slowly closed shut and I gave up my mind to my subconscious.
In case you are wondering, I wrote that song myself! Didn't do a really good job haha!
Hope you are enjoying the story! So sad that they are almost over!!!
As you are ALL aware I don't own Harry Potter or its characters!