Lost & Found ~ A George Weasley Love Story

Prologue

Saturday, 2 May 1998
Somewhere in the northern parts of Norway

The ground was frost. Despite the occasional glimpses of the spring sun, the air was still on the freezing side. That's how far north they were. Fjords surrounded by sharp mountains made the scene rugged yet breathtakingly beautiful. It had been ages since the last time Aino Kalla had seen this place and now it gave her shills more than ever. She could not help but notice the creeping clouds that were slowly but surely blocking out the bare, bright sun. It looked like storm was rising right in front of them. Something was coming.

Steps creaked underfoot as they neared the destination. Aino reached to her pocket to get a grip on her wand she had been relying on since she was 11 and the wand had chosen her. 14 1/4 inches, larch wood with dragon core and unyielding flexibility. She remembered every single duel she had competed and each spell, charm, and jinx she had learned. Little did she know then that those skills would become essential to her a lot sooner than expected.

"You know they're losing the war, right? They just cannot back up now." Onni glanced at worried-looking Aino. He tried to keep his voice down not to alert the other young witches and wizards walking besides them.

Aino nodded even though she wasn't sure she knew that at all. Radio contact with Scotland had been lost for months. Although rumors of Voldemort's weakening and Harry Potter's rise have been heard, without real-time information it had been impossible to know what the situation was in there. It was impossible to know what his situation was in there. Aino showed the thought in the farthest corner of her mind. This was now her battle, she needed to focus. All she could do was her best and worrying about his fate did not help.

Something they, however, knew for sure was that the Durmstrang Institute had been invaded by Death Eaters. The situation had, however, been calm until recently. Whether it was because the common attitude towards dark magic was favorable in Durmstrang or some other reason, the invasion had happened without injuries. The circumstances only changed earlier that week when the Death Eaters started engaging with witches and wizards who didn't want to join them. Aino knew very well that increased attacks could only mean two things: either the Death Eaters were trying to maximize the caused suffering on the brink of defeat, or they were tightening their grip as Voldemort defeated Harry Potter. Either way, they were needed to protect the Northern Europe from dark arts whose home it had been for too long.

~

"Petrificus Totalus!"

"Crucio!"

"Expelliarmus!"

Verbal and non-verbal spells flew through the air. Thick, dark clouds had covered the whole sky leaving no space for the sun. Only streaks of light against the grey landscape were from the spells casted. The lowered temperature could be seen from the fogged breaths. Aino and Onni fought back against back – casting spells and blocking those coming towards them. They didn't want to be parted, afraid something would happen to the other in the meantime. Battle began to turn in favour of the Nordic allies as the Death Eater forces dwindled. Suddenly, in the middle of hexing one of Durmstrang professors, who was revealed to be one of Voldemort's eager followers, something hit Aino. For a split second she thought she was hit by a spell. The feeling was that forceful.

Onni quickly showed her behind a large pine tree and casted a shielding spell: "What is it?"

Aino was gasping for air and looked even paler than usually. She looked up at Onni with wide eyes. She tried to speak but the words did not come from her mouth. Eventually she managed to let out one word which was just enough to Onni to know what was going on: "Dave."

~

Saturday, 2 May 1998
Hogwarts

"You okay, Freddie?"

"Yeah."

"Me too."

The air stood still at the remains of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The last conversation George Weasley had with his twin brother Fred rang through his head on repeat. It broke him that he wouldn't hear that voice outside of his brain ever again. A searing pain was all that was left not only for him but for all the people around him. the bare emptiness left by the war slowly began to be filled with pain, tears and longing. As the shock wore off people started to feel. Everyone had lost someone but somehow George felt like he had lost the most.

Little did he know that only a dozen metres away there was another family mourning a loss of a son, a brother, and a great friend just as he and his family. And how oblivious George was about the fact his fate was bound with that unknown young man with a way that would pain him in the future.