The Sight Of Eternity With You

The Loneliest

"You'll be the saddest part of me
A part of me that will never be mine
It's Obvious.
Tonight is gonna be the loneliest
You're still the oxygen I breathe
I see your face when I close my eyes
It's torturous"
-The Loneliest, Maneskin

****

The Order had finished assessing Harper's memories, Lupin was pale with a tinge of green on his face as if he wanted to vomit. Tonks looked ready to murder, her hair flipping through a mirage of colors as she silently stewed in her own thoughts on the events witnessed. Molly had sent the trio and Ginny away with McGonagall, thinking it wasn't a conversation for them. Fred sat with his head in his hands, his fingers threading around tufts of hair and pulling. Fleur was silently sitting beside bill, wiping her eyes. Arthur sat pressing his palms into his eyes as he shuddered. The horrors they had witnessed still fresh in his mind, worsening after recounting the events to his sons.

"Harper destroyed all her memories," Tonks had said in such a quiet voice, that George wasn't sure if he'd heard her correctly.

George sat in a numb denial, the events his father witnessed from the pensieve swirling in his mind. She had been there in the alley, in the cauldron, she had been so close and he was oblivious, believing he was hallucinating but she had been there the entire time. All the times he imagined he'd seen her resulting in a drink, his stomach lurched at the realization of how differently things could've gone if he'd just listened to instinct and demanded help-simply his wand! If he hadn't let Fred hold onto his wand, then he could've done something when he ran to that alleyway.

He could've done something, anything!

"She was there."

He looked at Fred, he was shaking his head a cold laugh leaving him as he slapped his hands to his head repeatedly.

"She was right there."

George folded his arms across his chest, the small ball of fire in his chest was slowly flaring until his neck felt hot, his breathing becoming shallow. He looked at Lupin, his calm expression morphing into a death glare the longer the silence went on, Lupin met the withering stare with a deep sigh.

"Go on," Lupin said, opening his arms wide before him.

George let out a cold laugh, smirking at the man he truly admired, deep down he never blamed Lupin for the situation, only blaming him for not helping as he promised. "You swore to me that you would get her back. A year ago. You promised me in the joke shop, in front of my brother and mother." The pent up anger he'd been feeling for a year slowly fueled him, his adrenaline kicking in as he licked his lips. "Are you happy with what you saw? What you abandoned for what I can only assume was a failed mission! You could've at least gone looking for her god damn parents if you weren't going to rescue her!"

Everyone was shifting in their seats, Molly rested a hand on George's shoulder as what he'd been waiting to say for an entire year swirled in his mind.

"Look what you've done! Not just you," he wagged his finger at Lupin, "but all of you! Look at the state my girlfriend-who can't even remember that she's my girlfriend-is in because you all thought that taking away my wand and leaving her to literal wolves was best. Because instead of theorizing a single one of my plans was childish and a suicide mission. Well, are you happy now?!"

"George-"

He looked at his father, the mixture of disdain and pain that George was feeling must've crossed his face because Arthur's eyes immediately shimmered with tears.

"You left my girlfriend for months sitting by a fountain that you walked past every single day. She reached out to you and you still did nothing! She begged you for help!" George's voice cracked, he dropped his head in his hands, Molly rubbing soothing circles into his back as he tried to calm his breathing. "Harper doesn't remember a single one of us! Do you not realize how heartbreaking that is going to be for her friends that aren't here right now?! Do you not understand how devastating that it is on Ginny?! Forget about myself for a moment, but Ginny. The only one who realized that something was wrong with Ginny her first year here was Harper! And now the only person who was truly paying attention when her own brothers weren't, doesn't even remember that girl who needed help. Harper meant a lot to Ginny if you hadn't realized."