stardust ⋮ george weasley

ninety-four :

N I N E T Y - F O U R

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Since December, things had been mostly uneventful – minus a brief scare where Ron accidentally ingested a poisoned drink. However, on an evening in late June, they had gotten word that Hogwarts had been invaded. Adeline hadn't gotten much information before her, Fred, and George were whisked off to Hogwarts – all she had learnt was that there was an invasion of Death Eaters at the school.

Everything was chaos the moment they stepped into Hogwarts. Everyone was running every which way, trying to figure out some sort of strategy. Adeline was quick to jump in and volunteer to get any other Hogwarts students who might've not known what was going on back to their dorms and ensure that they were safe and secure. She had been running through the corridors, running to get any young students and ensure that they were in a safe place.

When Adeline had a group of Hufflepuff first years with her, she heard a distant boom and several screams, and she quickened her pace. When she heard one of them begin to cry, Adeline reached out to grab their hand so she could hold it as they ran. Adeline managed to find the entrance to their common room, and she practically threw them inside, ensuring that they were barricaded and safe with other Hufflepuffs before running back out to join the battle.

Adeline felt a tug on her hand that pulled her out of the way of a tumbling wall that she hadn't even noticed was starting. When she looked up, she didn't even have the energy to cry out with relief upon seeing Estelle looking at her. "Merlin, Adeline, someone needs to be with you at all times whenever we're in a battle like this."

"I'm fine," Adeline protested as the pair ran down the corridor, searching for any Death Eaters, Hogwarts students, or injured wizards as they did.

"You're completely blind in one eye, and you can't swivel your head completely around your neck," Estelle pointed out. "That puts you in twice as much danger already, and you can't exactly control that. You need someone."

"You don't need to–"

Estelle cut her off. "I'm not even letting you finish that sentence because I know what you're going to say."

Adeline chose not to argue, instead focusing on trying to curse any Death Eaters in sight and help anyone she saw struggling against them. Adeline wasn't sure how long she was out there fighting, but it had felt like an eternity. At that point, she was waiting for something extreme – like some sort of humongous explosion or even Voldemort showing up.

But, something even more unexpected happened.

Hogwarts fell still.

All the Death Eaters had faded into dark clouds and had vanished as quickly as they appeared. The walls were no longer falling into pieces around her, and the corridors were no longer filled with spells and students screaming as they ran for safety.

"Are they gone?" Estelle whispered to herself. "Why would they go so suddenly?"

Adeline didn't know, but she wasn't sure if she would like the answer. She turned back at her best friend, who was out of breath and gripping onto the window ledge like it was the only thing keeping her upright. "Are you okay?"

"I've been better. I'm not dead, so that's a start. Are you alright?"

Adeline held a hand to her chest as she attempted to catch her own breath. "I managed to make it out of a battle without any lifelong scars, I think this might be some sort of miracle."

"Addie!"

Her head shot up at the sound of George's voice, and she exhaled a sigh of relief. Adeline bound across the room to him and was quick to wrap her arms around George, burying her face in his chest as she practically cried, "You're okay."