The Original Heretic

xiv.

the world seemed to have stopped for a second, all of us staring at the motionless boy in grief. we were quickly shocked into reality when harry yelled in warning, and a curse soared over our heads.

"i'm taking him to the hall. he'll be safe." i muttered, devoid of emotion as i picked him up. percy nodded.

"i'm going to give those arseholes hell." he stalked off, and i began walking through the battle, mindlessly holding up a protective bubble to keep me and fred safe as curses and people went flying around. as i was walking, i began talking to fred.

"you remind me so much of kol, and in the few hours i knew you, you've made me laugh harder than i have in a hundred years. maybe that's why i grew so attached so quickly." tears were rolling down my face, but i didn't care. "not romantically, because i don't think i could ever love someone as much as i love kol, but you were just so similar, i couldn't help grow a bond with you right away." i was nearing the doors of the hall. "you bring light into everyone's lives, fred weasley. and to have you disappear so quickly, because of a bloody WALL-" i slammed the doors open in blind anger, being sure to keep the bubble up. "to have you taken from us by a wall is complete and utter bull-" i froze in my tracks as his hand twitched.

"what?" i breathed out. i rushed to the side of the room, where other bodies and injured people were being laud down, and i held my head to his chest, where very faintly, his heart was beating.

"oh my god, fred!" i heard a yell worse than mine come from the front of the room, and i saw molly weasley running toward us.

"molly! molly oh my god, it's okay-"

"my son is dead!" she shrieked. "my son..." she was crying, all the other weasleys were crying, so was i, but i yelled.

"i saved him!" without explaining, i bit into my wrist again, holding it to his throat. slowly but surely, i heard his heartbeat get stronger, and his hand lifted up to hold mine to his face while he kept on drinking. molly sat back, crying harder, and all the weasleys let out cries of relief.

"you idiot." i muttered fondly as i moved fred's hair. "promised me you wouldn't die, then turned around and nearly did?" i was still crying as he properly sat up, moving my hand away.

"whats life without a little risk?" he quipped tiredly, and george smacked the back of his head before pulling him into a tight hug. i quietly stepped away, letting them reunite with fred.

"brit, thank you so, so much." molly had turned to me, pulling me into a tight hug. "you saved my son. if it weren't for you, we-" her voice cracked, and i shushed her softly.

"let's not think about that, molly. what's important is that he's safe and sound." she nodded, and pulled me with her to the rest of the family, who all gave me their thanks.

"now fred. very serious rule here, go into hiding, go be safe. i am not risking you dying by a stray spell, because if you do die, you'll come back like me, just without the magic part. you'll be a vampire." i said seriously.

"well, that sounds kind of coo-"

"no! i'm dead serious. you don't know how hard it is to deal with the bloodlust, to deal with the haunting thought that a single paper cut could head you to lose control and kill your friends. that you might become a monster that nobody wants to be around." he could sense my seriousness, and half heartedly agreed to go into the room of requirements and not come out until a patronus came to let him know it was safe. after i saw that he was safely in the room, i came back to the great hall. the second i did, voldemort's voice rang throughout the air.

"lord voldemort is merciful. i command my forces to retreat immediately. you have all fought valiantly, yet i will let you now take time to treat your dead with dignity. i speak now, harry potter, to you. you have one hour to meet me in the forbidden forest, and face me yourself rather than let your friends die for you. if you do not come in that hour, i will hunt you down myself, and kill every witch and wizard who dared to protect you. one hour."

the great hall descended into a place or organized chaos. people came running in with their injured friends, others came in with bodies, and i got ready to help the nurse. i watched as more and more bodies were laid on the floor, members of the school, the order, and the ministry whos faces i recognized from the room of requirement. fred had come out of his hiding spot for the hour to rejoin his family, who stood grieving over the werewolf lupin, and who i assumed was his wife.

i turned away sadly, and put my mind towards helping the injured. almost mindlessly, i went through the actions i had learned centuries ago to help wounded soldiers, speeding around the hall to receive potions, gauze, and anything that could help. as i was running from the infirmary, i collided with an invisible person, and shot up, seeing harry, looking terrified.

"please don't tell them where i'm going." he pleaded, and i nodded silently.

"just... don't be rash, harry. i believe in you." and with that, he was invisible, and i was back in the hall.

some time later, after an hour or two of mindless working and comforting people, the haunting sentence carried through the air, causing everyone to stop in their tracks.

"harry potter is dead!"