Sinners and Serpents {g.w.}

Chapter 36

a/n: hey yall... wow i am SO sorry for how long this took. i actually had this chapter written and posted like a month ago but forgot to put it on here as well! i promise i haven't forgotten about this story; life has just been crazy and i've had no time to write but i appreciate all of you who have stuck around! <3

For a moment, Umbridge's office was filled with nothing but sickening silence as George's words settled over you like a cold, oily film. You hadn't wanted to believe it; you hadn't let yourself reach that conclusion even when Kreacher had told you and Harry that Sirius had left Grimmauld Place. There was a deep pit in your chest, one that was telling you with bitter finalty that what George said was true.

As Ron asked, "Well, what the bloody hell are we going to do?", your mind whirled and reeled like a train swerving off its tracks. No one answered Ron's question, and it combined with George's words to bear down even harder onto the room.

But you knew instantly what you had to do. The only solution that came to mind was possibly dangerous and absolutely stupid. What else was there to do, though, other than sit and wait? With the way that walls felt as if they were closing in on you, staying put wasn't an option. Looking up, you saw that George already had his eyes on you, his mouth drawn into a thin line of anxiety. Slowly, he dipped his chin, as if he could hear the thought had appeared immediately in your head.

With a small nod of your own, you straightened your shoulders and announced, "I have to try and save him." Before you had even finished speaking, the room was alive with shouts and protests from the three boys.

"You?" George cried, looking at you as though you'd gone quite mad-- and perhaps you had, all things considered. "You think you have the slightest chance of surviving alone?"

"I thought you agreed-"

"That we needed to save Sirius! Keyword being we! " George cut in.

Ron gestured to George, agreeing with his older brother. "There's no bloody way you think us stupid enough to let you go by yourself, right? And like George said, you don't have a damn hope of making it anyway."

Scowling, you argued, "I'm not stupid, and I do have a fucking chance. Besides,  I'm not letting any of you go."

Guilt bit at your throat as you spoke. You did want to keep them safe, of course you did, but you also had an odd feeling that whatever happened at the Ministry, you were going to figure out why you'd played the role you had in the nightmares that had been plaguing you. If your gut was telling the truth, you needed to keep Ron, Fred, and George far away from that. It was already terrible enough that Harry knew you had encouraged the attack on Arthur, but if anyone else were to find that out, things between you and the Weasleys would never be the same. That thought was nearly as painful as the thought of losing Sirius.

Things between you and George would shatter and there would be no hope in piecing it back together. The mere idea of losing George made you ill, though how could you blame him? You had helped attack his father; why should he forgive you for what you did to him? Shame, bitter and nauseating, seeped through you. George loved his family more fiercely than anyone you knew. The chance of him ever looking at you with that gentle, loving gaze that you had begun to see more and more was slim to none, you were certain about that.