✔️ 𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐓&𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 → 𝑓. 𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑙𝑒𝑦

90 | D O W N F A L L

•••
so if you love someone,                
             you should let them know.
oh, the light that you left me will
everglow.
•••

   "No ... No no no no NO!"

   Lynnea fell to her knees, shaking Remus' lifeless body. Tears streaming down her face, leaving trades on her dusty skin.

   Someone grabbed her hair, pulling her harshly up, sticking his wand into the flesh of her throat. She didn't feel fear. What she felt was burning rage. Lynnea started squirming in his grip, next thing she felt was the pain of a hundred knifes, as the Cruciatus Curse hit her.

   "Stand still, Potter", the man holding her hissed, and the pain was taken away, leaving her shivering. "The Dark Lord wants you alive, but that doesn't mean you need all your limbs."

   "Let's bring her to him, the boy will follow in no time", Alecto's voice appeared next to Lynnea.

   The stranger's hand was still holding a firm grip of her hair, as she heard Greyback say: "What a shame. She was tasty. We could have so much fun, little Lynnea."

   "Shut up, Greyback, let's go before she's somehow slipping through our fingers again", the man holding her said. "You three make sure to keep the damn Order out of our way, I'll make sure, she won't - ARGH!"

   "Ouch!" Lynnea yelled in pain, as he was thrown away from her, taking not less of her hair with him. Someone grabbed her hand, pulling her aside. She looked up, seeing George's face, his forehead was bleeding, but except of that, he was okay. Tracey, Daphne, Myles, Adrian, Lee, and - to Lynnea's big surprise - Aiden had taken up the fight against the Carrows and Greyback, the man who had torn her hair out was lying on the floor, not moving. It was O'Riley, Aidan's father.

   "Are you okay, Lynnie?", George asked, examining her with his looks.

   "No", she muttered. "Remus and Tonks are ..." But she couldn't finish this sentence. It would make it final. She couldn't deal with that right now. "George, have you seen Harry?"

   "They were on their way to the seventh floor", George said. "Room of Requirement. Maybe they want to close the tunnel, evacuation is done."

   "Then I hope they'd left the place", said a blood-crusted and dirty Neville Longbottom, appearing next to George. "The corridor exploded, I tried to get there to tell my grandma to go back home, but there's no coming through."

   Lynnea felt her stomach fall. "I need to find them", she yelled in panic.

"I come with you", George said, but Lynnea shook my head.

   "Where I'm going, you better not follow", she said and he looked at her, his face becoming pale under all the dust on his skin. "I heard you and Remus talking that night at the Burrow. Remus was right. I have to - go now ... If I can't find Fred before - just tell him, I love him. I'll be with him, always."

   "Lynn, wait!" He grabbed her wrist, pulling her back into a tight embrace, whispering into her ear: "You know, Fred had always been right; you're one hell of a girl, aren't you?"

  Lynnea tried to swallow down the knot in her throat, but it was pointless. New tears started flooding her eyes, and she broke away from George.

   "I have to go. I'm sorry ... Georgie, I love you", she said, not awaiting an answer, but started running, running down the hallway, running away from Remus and Tonks, running for her own end. She stumbled down stairs, jumped over debris, ducked away from spells. She planned to not stop, until she found Harry, but a grip around her waist made her suddenly hang in the air. Lynnea was about to fight for her soon ending life, but suddenly noticed Charlie Weasley standing in front of her, and as she looked up, it was Bill holding her.

   "Where are you going?", the older one asked, placing her back on the ground.

   "I need - to find - Harry", Lynnea caughed, panting.

   "He went to the grounds with Ron and Hermione", Charlie said. "He wanted us to look for you. You need to know that - Hey!"

    Lynnea wriggled herself out of Bill's grip and started running again. "Sorry, guys, I have no time for that!", she yelled over her shoulder.

   But she didn't make it far.

   "You have fought", said the high, cold voice of Lord Voldemort. "Valiantly. Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery. Yet you have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste.Lord Voldemort is merciful. I command my forces to retreat immediately.You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured."

   Lynnea shivered.

   "I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to you. You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, the battle recommences. This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you, and I shall punish every last man, woman, and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour."

   Why wouldn't he speak to her? Didn't he want Lynnea any longer? Was he thinking she was dead yet? But the truth hit her hard; he was not mentioning her on purpose, making Harry believe, he already got her, so he would come to him. She just hoped, Harry would not believe him.

   Climbing down the stairs, Lynnea decided to make it to the great hall. She guessed most of her friends would go there, so maybe would Harry, Ron and Hermione, Fred, George and Ginny. She could tell Fred goodbye, before she had to aim for her unpleasant fortune, but she was not sure, how to tell him.

   Finally she reached the stairs to the entrance hall, which was significantly destroyed on several spots. At the bottom she noticed Harry, standing alone in the entrance of the Great Hall, frozen, his face unreadable, but even from up here she could see his eyes mirroring grief and guilt.

   Lynnea jumped down the steps, taking two at once, running over to Harry, half-jumping into his arms.

   "Lynn!", he breathed, pressing her tighter to his chest. "I almost thought, he got you."

   "I'm so glad you're okay", she whispered back after a long moment. It was not peaceful at all and they both knew, that this was not over yet. She let her gaze sway over the Great Hall, which was full of people, grieving over their losses. Somewhere in there were Remus and Tonks ...

   "Harry, I know now, what this was all up for", Lynnea said. "Dumbledore's mission, his death,and the -"

   But her eyes had caught something, that made her heart sink. In the middle of the hall stood a red headed family; her favourite red headed family, their faces full of pain, unbearable pain. Lynnea's vision got blurry. This couldn't be true. Not the Weasleys!

   Lynnea shoved Harry aside, slowly walking into the Hall. Mrs Weasley was leaning over a body, and Lynnea felt ice cold. Mr Weasley was stroking her back, tear tracks were visible under his glasses. There was Ginny, crying against Bill's shoulder, Bill, Charlie and another redhead with thick black framed glasses had pure shock on their face.

   And slowly it dawned on Lynnea; like poison the realisation dropped inside her, ran through her veins and killed everything, that was left of her. Like in a nightmare her feet started walking without her controlling them. She wanted them to stop, she didn't wanna see, but her legs mercyless walked on.

"Lynn", she heard Harry say like through a long tunnel. He grabbed her hand, but she squirmed out of his grip, shaking him of, her feet dragged her further on.