the gentle moon / george weasley

can you control your dog

Bill had stopped by the next morning. August had apparated into the kitchen at the worst time. Molly and Bill were having their usual argument about Bill's hair.

". . . getting really out of hand, and you're so good-looking, it would look much better shorter, wouldn't it, August?"

"Oh — I dunno —" said August, slightly alarmed at being asked her opinion; she felt two hands grab her wrist and pulled her back into the hallway.

"Should have warned you Bill was here." George laughed

"With a longer ponytail." Fred snorted. They pulled her into the front parlor where Sirius and Buckbeak were at. Sirius had a bloody sack in one of his hands, and a dead squirrel in the other.

August watched Fred's face drained of all his color. She looked him up and down, and then got close to him and smelled him.

"Can I help you?" Fred backed away, "Stop with your weird wolfy thing."

George slapped the back of Fred's head.

"You're an animagus?!" August yelped, "WHEN?!"

"George!" Ginny called from the kitchen, "Come help me really fast!"

Fred smiled at her brightly when George left the room, "Took you long enough."

"I mean, this house is filled with them half the time, I didn't think it was you I was smelling." She huffed, "Are you serious, Fred?"

"He is Fred." Sirius looked back at her.

"Be quiet!" She snapped.

"NO!!" They all heard someone scream, and the group took off up the stairs toward the cries.

All the air seemed to vanish from August's lungs; she felt as though she were falling through the floor; her brain turned icy cold — George dead, no, it couldn't be — But wait a minute, it couldn't be — George was downstairs with Ginny —

"Molly?" August choked.

"Mum..." Fred let out in a breath.

"R-r-riddikulus!'' Molly sobbed, pointing her shaking wand at George's body. Crack. George's body turned into Fred's, spread-eagled on his back, his eyes wide open and empty. Molly sobbed harder than ever.

"R-riddikulus!" she sobbed again.

Crack.

Arthur's body replaced Fred's, his glasses askew, a trickle of blood running down his face. "No!" Molly moaned. "No . . . riddikulus! Riddikulus! RIDDIKULUS!"

Crack. Dead Ron. Crack. Dead Ginny. Crack. Dead Percy. Crack. Dead Bill. Crack. Dead Charlie. Crack. Dead Harry...

Crack. Dead August.

"Molly, just get out of here!" shouted August, staring down at her own dead body on the floor. "Let someone else —"

"What's going on?" Remus had come running into the room, closely followed by Sirius. Remus looked from Molly to the dead August on the floor and seemed to understand in an instant, even as painful it was to see her like that. It didn't matter that August was standing right next to him.

"Riddikulus!"

August's body did not vanish when he stepped in front of Molly. Remus waved his wand once more and August's eyes opened with a smile and yawn and then she vanished with a crack like she was apparating down to the kitchen.

"Oh — oh — oh!" gulped Molly, and she broke into a storm of crying, her face in her hands.

"Molly," said Remus bleakly, walking over to her, "Molly, don't . . ."