Lissy walked through the doorway of her flat in Diagon Alley, and immediately knew something was very wrong. When she had first rented the small two-bedroom apartment, she was used to coming home with the lights on and the curtains pulled open. When her boyfriend George Weasley had moved in with her, she had grown accustomed to the many pranks being played at her expense the moment she walked through the ebony door.
Today however, the curtains were closed, every single light in the flat shut off as though it were time for bed. Lissy dropped her bag and ventured into the dark living room, much to her own surprise and great fear. She hated the dark; it felt like she couldn't figure out which was forward or even which way was up. Luckily for her, the light from the outer hallway of the building cast some reassurance, though it caused quite the eerie shadows.
She surveyed the flat with an ever growing concern, but what bothered her the most was that she could see nothing else drastically different. No furniture had been moved; the corduroy loveseat still sat next to the brick fireplace and the grandfather clock still ticked away. The glass coffee table still had cup rim stains on its top from the lack of coasters and there were still empty boxes of takeout food and Bertie Bot's every flavour beans. The deep brown walls and wood flooring seemed intact, yet as far as Lissy cared she would rather have those destroyed than something sharp that Widget could step on.
She went to check the bedroom, but stopped dead in her tracks next to the mantel. Her father had always said she had an eye for the details, and he was proven correct as Lissy looked at the variety of pictures overtop the fireplace. There were many of her childhood, as well as George's, most of which were of her and the twins together. When she came to the square shaped place that had not been touched by dust, she knew exactly which picture was missing. Her heart rose into her throat as she looked for it frantically; she found it lying in the corner, its movement speaking louder than the silence had when she first stepped into her home. She scrambled to pick it up, head pounding, as she pulled it out of the cracked case and examined it.
The picture had been taken just down the street in the summer that Lissy had finished up her sixth year at Hogwarts; Fred and George stood outside their new shop, the three W's gleaming gold behind them as the twins stood between the entrance and a bright red ribbon. With each of their arms wrapped around the other's shoulder, they wore the brightest of smiles, their free hands holding their respective wands which crackled with sparking energy. While they looked identical, the young Ravenclaw had no problem distinguishing them from each other; George was on the left and Fred was on the right.
Lissy wiped away the few tears that had begun to skirt down her cheeks and looked down miserably at her boyfriend's brother, her other best friend. Her mind flew away, leaving her to her feelings, until she heard something heavy slam against a wall in another part of the house.
"George?" She called hesitantly, extracting her long ebony wand. "George, are you there?" For a moment, there was nothing but silence. She began wondering if she had imagined the entire thing and noted that she should really cut down on her Honeyduke's intake. She didn't dare breathe nor call out again.
She did, however, shriek when the shattering of glass echoed suddenly throughout the flat. It had come from the bedroom.
Lissy rushed to the room and cursed for all she was worth when she realized that it was locked. She tried slamming her shoulder against the door; it didn't budge.
"George, open up!" She screamed, heart pounding as she pounded against the wooden barrier. "George!"
Silence.
Now thoroughly concerned and distraught, Lissy took a step back, a deep breath, and held out her wand, her arm straight and purposeful.
"Reducto!" A flick of her wrist, and the door, as well as everything that had apparently been barring it flew backwards in a mountainous heap. Lissy rushed in, her eyes glancing wildly as she took in the destruction.
