✔️ 𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐓&𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 → 𝑓. 𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑙𝑒𝑦

94 | E V E R G L O W

•••
Wait a second, let me catch my breath.
Remind me how it feels to
                        hear your voice.
•••

   She was breathing. It was the first thing Lynnea noticed. She was still breathing. Leaving her eyes closed, she inhaled the scent of the earthy ground, the cold night air and the fir tree. When she slowly opened them, Lynnea noticed she was still here in the forest, exact where the spell had hit her. It was dawning. Nobody had taken her away from here. She listened into the silence, wondering why she couldn't hear a thing; no battle sounds, no screams and yells, nothing.

   Slowly Lynnea got onto her feet. When what she just experienced inside her head had been real, she needed to go back to the castle as fast as she could. Her legs were still shaky, as she started slowly walking, then after a few steps running, not stopping, until she got a first glimpse of Hogwarts. It was calm and quiet. No fights, no giants, no creatures, no Death Eaters. She made her way up to the castle, not running anymore, but with fast steps. Nobody was outside, and Lynnea reached the entrance, pushing it open.

   The battle was over, but Harry just didn't feel like anything was won. Too many losses, too many death. And still he had something to do.

   "Where are you going, Harry?", Mrs Weasley asked, when he turned around and started walking away.

   "I have to go back into the forest", Harry replied, stopping in motion. "She's still there. I can't leave her lying there ..." His voice broke. Mrs Weasley nodded, her face showing pity and grief.

   "At least they are together now", Bill said, laying an arm around his mother, looking at Harry with a stern gaze. "Shall I come with you, Harry?"

   "No, I guess I just want to be alone with her for a short while", Harry replied. Even if she couldn't hear her anymore, he just needed her to know he was sorry. Beyond sorry. He wanted to carry her back home alone, with his own bare hands.

   They hadn't have had enough time together, and now that the war was over, her time had run out. Harry threw a gaze back. The death lay in a row. There was a gap between Fred an Lupin, waiting for his sister's corpse.

   "You sure?", Ron asked. "If you want us to come -"

   "No!", Harry snapped harsher than he wanted. "I'm sorry. I just want to be alone with her for a last time", he added way much calmer. "It's stupid, I know, but there are a lot of unsaid things, she needs to know."

   "Then tell me."

   Harry's heart skipped more than one beat, shivers ran down his spine. The strange feeling, when he first saw her back then at Grimmauld Place, it had taken over his body again. With widened eyes he turned around, Harry was close to losing his mind, feeling dizzy.

   "But - but you were - you are - what?", he stammered and saw her chuckling. "How?"

   She didn't answer. She was rushing over to him, wrapping her arms around Harry, pulling him into a tight hug. For seconds he was unable to move a muscle. Completely and utterly dazzled, he felt her arms pulling him closer, her auburn curls tingling his face; everything felt so real, but Harry's brain couldn't handle it. Like in slow motion he raised his hands, burrying one in her hair, almost expecting his fingers would go right through her, but instead her soft hair covered his fingers. Harry laughed in relief, pulling her close.

   "You see her, too, don't you?", he chuckled, looking at Hermione, who was staring at Harry and Lynnea, tears streaming down her face.

   "Y-yes", she sobbed with a shaky laughter.

   "But how - ?"

   "Same way as you, Harry", she smirked, as the twins let go.

   "The Horcrux?", he asked, flustered.

   "Destroyed."

   "I'm so sorry, Lynn", Harry blurted out. "I didn't want to - I didn't mean to -"

   "Shh, Harry", she said, cupping his face in her hand, stroking her thumb over his cheek. "It's okay. You had to. I'm here. You're here. It's okay."

   Still there was a knot in Harry's throat he tried to swallow. But the relief he felt now, seeing her standing here in front of him, alive and well, was more than he could ever have begged for in this situation.

   "Where is he?", she suddenly asked and the mood switched. "Where's Fred?"

   Nobody said a word. Nobody moved. Just George was tilting his head, not looking at her, when he stepped aside, revealing the view of Fred. Lynn's face froze, just something behind her eyes broke. Again. She walked over to him, slowly, hesitating, then kneeling next to him.

   "You know", she whispered, stroking his hair from his forehead. "After what you said, I have to admit I had the quite hope, you'd be part of my welcome back party. But I guess it was just in my head, huh? So don't worry, I don't count that as a broken promise."

   She bowed down, her right hand was resting on his chest, when she lay her lips on his.

   Harry blinked. It might had been just the sun reflecting, but as he opened my eyes again, it was still there. Lynnea's hand seemed to glow. A white light was spreading slowly from her palms, enlighting Fred's chest first, then slowly was widening over his whole body. Her lips were still pressed on his, she didn't even seem to notice.

   "Lynnie ..." George was the first one to find his voice back; bug-eyed he stared down at the scene, like everyone else did.

   Fred's body was shining now, enveloped in white light. But the light seemed to vanish, retreating into Fred's chest, slowly. Everyone's eyes now lay on Lynn and Fred, as the last beam of light was gone.

   He moved. First Harry thought again his brain was playing pranks with him, but as he heard Hermione gasp and Mrs Weasley caugh, he was sure they saw it, too. Slowly, really slowly, his arm raised, his fingers were shaking, when they softly stroke over Lynn's hair. And all of a sudden he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close, her eyes widened, struggling against his grip.

   Finally she managed to squirm out of his grip, eyes still wide open.

   "What - what the bloody hell!", she yelled, staring down at him in panic, and he was smirking up at her, while she was panting, the sweetest shock written all over her pretty face, her body shaking. "F-Fred?"

   "I'm sorry, I didn't want to scare you, love, but I had a promise to keep."