Brontide

Chapter Fourteen

I had the hardest time finding the right song for this chapter, but I love this one (:

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Soon enough, it was back to business as usual and I felt okay enough to start working down in the shop again. The shop was getting busier and busier as the new school year edged closer and the twins, Rae and I were working our arses off. We spent our nights staying up late, helping Fred and George test out some new products. We were sprouting horns, becoming covered in hissing boils and turning into capuchin monkeys, which were only a few of the things we partook in. It was actually quite fun, to be honest, and it took my mind off of the horrors I'd seen at the concert. 

I'd watched as people crumpled in front of me, devoid of any life when they hadn't done anything wrong apart from being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I thought perhaps I could've done more to help. I could've fought harder, and I could've aimed straighter instead of panicking and making my wand hand quiver. Instead, life went on and I tried to move on too, telling myself I'd do better next time.

However, it seemed Fred and George didn't think there would be a next time for me and Rae. They'd stopped telling us when Order meetings would be, and when we found out anyway they tried their hardest to keep us at the flat. It'd become quite bothersome to say the least; as a member of the Order I didn't like feeling excluded, and I knew Rae didn't appreciate George trying to dissuade her from fighting in the war. They were just going to have to understand that we were in this – all of us were in this – until the end.

Mrs. Weasley and the crew all came to visit one particularly hot day near the end of August. They were all immensely impressed at the small empire the twins had created, as they were quickly becoming the wealthiest members of the family. One thing in particular that Ginny had said stuck out to me, making me laugh.

"We've been hearing explosions out of their room for ages, but we never thought they were actually making things," Ginny said wondrously, gazing around the shop, "we thought they just liked the noise."

"I think they do like the noise," I muttered to her, "we wake up to it every morning like clockwork."

After spending many days working endless hours, business began to die down once September rolled around. I had to admit, it was very strange not going to King's Cross Station to catch the scarlet steam engine that would take us to Hogwarts. I felt like I'd forgotten to do something very important, and I spent a few days after the First of September nursing an empty feeling in my stomach as well as a few hangovers. Rae was feeling it too, as she and I shared a few bottles of Firewhiskey consecutively after work. I eventually accepted the fact that I wasn't going back to Hogwarts, though it was hard because every time I thought I was over it something else would remind me, and there I was again, longing to be spending my time up in Gryffindor Tower or pondering life decisions next to the Black Lake. I didn't like change but I pushed through it, welcoming September and the gradual slowing down of business at the shop.

After Sirius Black's death back in June I'd taken to reading the obituaries in both muggle and wizarding newspapers, checking with a looming sense of dread to make sure no one I knew had died. Amelia Bones stood out to me, being the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry. I remembered being at school with a Hufflepuff girl by the name of Susan Bones, wondering if the two of them were related. 

Another one, Emmeline Vance, caught my attention. She'd been a member of the Order of the Phoenix in both wizarding wars and I'd met her once or twice during meetings. She was very kind and talented from what I'd heard, and I knew her death was meant to be a blow to the Order. I was most concerned with my parents, Devon and the people I'd become very close with. My flatmates and I agreed to never travel alone for the sake of safety, always at least partnering up before going anywhere outside the flat.