Falling Slowly (A Hogwarts Lovestory) - Fred Weasley Fanfiction

21 | Voices

I stared out of the window in our dormitory like I was in trance. It was a cloudy day outside and the sky was more grey than blue, but it was still the most beautiful scenery I had ever seen in my life. The golden sun was about to disappear behind the grey mountains and soon every natural light outside would be turned out. Usually, it was the simmering lights of the castle that would still drew a wonderful picture into the landscape at night. But soon everything would stay dark out here forever.

"You can come with me for a few days", said Angelina to comfort me. "I'm sure my parents are fine with it."
I nodded but I almost didn't care. I certainly couldn't go back to the Burrow after everything I had done. And after Ginny. I felt something warm and wet running down my cheeks and I wiped my tears away with the sleeve of my sweater.

McGonagall has spoken to the remaining Weasleys in private, but it didn't take the rest of us long to understand what was going on. Nobody had ever seen Fred and George so frantic, so desperate, so sorrowful as in the moment they learned their little sister was taken into the chamber and most likely dead. I wished I'd been a better friend. To them and to Ginny. I should have known she was in trouble the way she acted the last couple of months. She had barely talked to anyone anymore and got more pale every day, but I was too busy dealing with my own foolish troubles. I haven't been Ginny's friend and I haven't been her family. I failed. That's why I didn't dare to mourn with her brothers - I didn't deserve to grieve like I was family.

As I walked down the stairway to the common room to wait for someone to take us all to the Hogwarts Express in Hogsmeade, I still couldn't see Ron anywhere. Where was he? Did he even know about his sister? Did Harry and Ron got themselves in trouble once again? Or, a hopeful voice in the back of my head asked, were they both somehow trying to save Ginny at that very moment?
"You should go over to them", Angelina whispered. "They need you. They may not know they need you and you may not know it either, but I do." She smiled encouragingly at me and so I took my friend's advice and took place next to Percy. He raised his head when I sat down on the floor but his forced smile couldn't cover up the redness in his eyes that were still filled with fear and sadness.
Fred and George didn't say anything to me but they didn't look as if they wanted me to leave so I stayed there and we waited in silence together.

I couldn't remember how much time has passed when I woke up. Minutes? Hours? I leant against Percy's shoulder and I found George's head resting on my right knee; we had somehow managed to turn ourself into pillows for each other and the warmth of my friend's bodies felt comforting. George was still sleeping restlessly on my leg and I heard Percy snoring quietly, but Fred was wide awake when I opened my eyes. He leant against the wall in front of us and studied something that looked like an old map out of parchment paper. His fingers drummed nervously on the floor.
"You okay, Fred?", I whispered. He nodded but he didn't take his eyes from the map. What was he looking for? I carefully tried to take a look at that odd map without making any noise or motion to wake somebody, but there was no need to be that careful. The next moment, Fred jumped on his feet and woke up every Gryffindor in the whole room with a loud yell.
"I found them!", Fred shouted happily. "Oy, George, wake up! They're there! They're alive!"
Right at that moment the portrait hole swung open and Professor McGonagall entered again. But this time, she smiled.

Fred has hugged me out of sheer joy after the great news McGonagall had pepared for us - that Ginny, Harry and Ron were all alive and well - and I couldn't be more happy about any of it. Finally, at the end of this horrible school year, it seemed like I had all my friends back. And it wouldn't take long to wake Hermione and the other petrified students; according to Professor Sprout the mandrakes would be ready in a few hours.

We were all sitting together at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall during the final feast of this school year and listened to Ron's fabulous story of how he and Harry had saved Hogwarts again. Fred and George were teasing his brother with how he got himself stuck with that idiot Lockhart, but everybody could see how proud they were of him. George had his arms around Ginny the whole time, who was still quiet but healthier looking than before. Katie sat next to him, claiming his other hand for herself, with Angelina and Alicia next to her and it wasn't even weird for me to sit next to Fred again in this constellation.
"How did you know?", I whispered to him while Ron was telling everyone in detail how Fawkes the phoenix carried them all back up to the castle.
"What do you mean?"
"That they were alive. What was that map you had?"
"What map?", Fred grinned.
"Don't take me for a fool, Fred."
"I don't have to tell you everything, Daniels."
"I will find out either way."
"Good luck with that."
Right when I wanted to reply, the massive entrance door to the Great Hall swung open and the students who had been petrified entered, alive and well, and they all were followed by a tired but happy looking Hagrid, who had to spend the last couple of weeks in Azkaban. At least, now everyone knew that he was innocent.

After a big reunion full of tears and hugs, Hermione wanted to know everything she had missed and so Ron had the pleasure of telling the whole story once again. I noticed that Harry was rather quiet during the feast, as if something was still bothering him, but just when I wanted to ask him we were joined by some Ravenclaws and I got distracted.

Penelope Clearwater and Percy didn't seem to care about keeping their relationship secret anymore now that they were reunited. They received great applause after they kissed passionately and sat down at the Gryffindor table next to each other. Roger Davies was with his friend Penelope, too, and he took the seat right in front of me. I felt Fred's body tensing when Roger smiled at me.
"Hey, Roger", I greeted him, hoping he wouldn't be that angry at me anymore.
"Hey, Julie. Hey, Fred", he said. Fred groaned something inaudible but Roger didn't wait for him to greet properly. "Since everyone is celebrating right now, I wanted to let you know that there are no hard feelings because of what happened. I want us all to be cool with each other. I'm looking forward to beat you in a fair Quidditch match next year, Fred, and Julie - I honestly hope you will join the choir again. You are very talented. Flitwick wants you there, too. What do you say?"
Fred opened his mouth to reply but I was faster, I was glad Roger talked to me again and didn't want Fred to destroy that situation.
"Sounds great, Roger! I wanted to improve my piano skills next year, maybe you can help me with that?"

Roger agreed. We changed the subject and he apologized to Harry for believing he was the heir of Slytherin and started asking Harry all kinds of questions about his recent adeventures. He seemed quite interested in the monster and how it managed to sneak into the school and out, unseen and unheard. Harry patiently answered all his questions, but even if I already heard that version about three times from Ron, there was one thing that made me listen curiously. Harry talked about how he could talk to the basilisk because it was a snake and he was a parselmouth and that he had heard the monster in the castle before while it was crawling through pipes in the wall - and didn't I hear it, too?
Harry said he had already talked to Dumbledore because he was worried that the rumors about him being Slytherin's heir were true but that Dumbledore convinced him that that wasn't true. Speaking parseltongue was indeed a rare ability that usually dark wizards of the Slytherin house were capable of, he had said, but Harry had received the sword of Gryffindor down in the chamber - something that only a true Gryffindor could do.
I could hear from the sound of Harry's voice how relieved he was and I followed his eyes looking over to the teacher's table. Dumbledore nodded towards Harry, but his eyes were focussing... me. I stared back, trying to interpret his expression, but Dumbledore, as always, was a big secret. He knew something. Something about me. I was sure about that. The way his eyes were still focussing me was unambiguous. I felt how I got more and more angry.
It's been only a day ago when he called me to his office and kindly offered me a room at the Leaky Cauldron Inn during the summer holidays in case I didn't want to return to the Burrow, but he didn't say anything at all about me struggeling with myself this school year. He left me in the dark. As always. When I finally let my eyes off him, I had made my decision. I would no longer be groping around in the dark like a complete idiot. If he wouldn't tell me, I would find out myself.
I stood up, excused myself and left the Great Hall. I had now one more important thing to to before the train would take us all home.

Both my hands are numb
And my heart is frozen
You burn
You burn like a fire
- Immanu El