Good Girl || George Weasley

53

"Katie!"

A deafening crack rings in my ears as my hand closes around Harry's arm. I feel our bodies moving, I feel time and space and air pressing in on every side of us, until it all releases and my body hits cold, solid ground.

And everything goes black.

The first thing I hear is ticking. A clock.

The second thing I hear is hushed whispers, accompanied by the weight of hands holding either of my hands. And I recognize them: the size, the warmth, the calluses. And when I focus in on their voices, when I realize that they're truly there and that Voldemort didn't kill me and that I'm alive and with them, I let out a sob.

"Katie?"

"Katie, Merlin-"

It takes me a minute to find my voice, but then they're hugging me from either side and I'm sobbing even more, wrapping my weak arms as tightly as I can around both of them, holding them as close to me as possible. It's only when they pull away and I finally open my eyes do I realize both of them are crying too. Fred starts to laugh first, which makes me laugh, and George comes in last.

"This is a first," I croak, my voice scratchy. "Who would've thought it'd take me almost dying for us to have a crying session together?"

Fred lets out a chuckle, wiping at his eyes. "I'm so fucking sorry," he says, his voice already cracking again, "I thought— I was terrified when I realized that you might be dead and I hadn't apologized yet because I was too busy holding a grudge. I'm so sorry. To both of you." He lifts his eyes up from my face to George's, who smiles sadly, crookedly at him.

"You already apologized to me, mate. Even though I already told you you did nothing wrong."

"No, I'm sorry, Freddie," I say. "We shouldn't–"

Fred just shakes his head wildly. "You stop that. It doesn't matter. You're okay, and you're a fucking badass, and–"

"Language, Mr. Weasley."

We all turn to look in the direction of Madam Pomfrey, who gives Fred a stern look, followed by a small, understanding smile. He just grins an apology and turns back to me, squeezing my hand. I lift my head, which aches, to look at the bed behind George, which holds a sleeping Harry. Before I can even ask, George answers my unspoken question, reaching out to brush my hair out of my face.

"He's alright," he says. "Shaken up, obviously, but alright. And by the sound of it, thanks to you."

I feel the familiar burn of tears pricking at the backs of my eyes again as I start thinking about it again. It was still my idea to both take the Cup; I put Harry into a life-threatening situation. And yeah, I got us out, but what if I didn't? What if I didn't break the Imperius and what if Harry was dead right now because of me? Voldemort is already back because of me, because I brought Harry straight to him.

"K," George says softly. "Darling, what is it?"

"Do you, uh, want me to leave you two alone?" Fred asks, and the awkward edge to his voice almost makes me want to laugh through my tears, through the pain in my chest that's making it hard to breathe.

"No, Freddie, stay." I squeeze his hand tightly, squeezing my eyes shut, too, as I try and put my feelings into words. "I– I just–"

But I don't get the chance to finish, because the hospital wing doors fly open, and two bodies come barreling toward me at full speed.

"Katie–"

"Katie, you're alright, thank Merlin–"

"Boys," Madam Pomfrey scolds, but I don't think they hear her, because Lee and Roger are already practically on top of me, both of them blubbering in either ear that I scared them half to death and that I, under no circumstances, am allowed to do anything like that ever again.