Ineffable | Harry Potter - George Weasley // COMPLETED

63 | Goodbye

As daylight broke the next morning, there was still no sign of Harry since he had left for the Forrest, and we all feared the worst. Normally sunlight brought a new day, a new start...but for me, and everyone else in that castle, the pain of the day before still weighed heavily on our hearts.

Our passed loved ones still remained on the floors of the rubble-filled castle. Some bodies surrounded by family, others alone with no one to mourn them; not yet, anyway. There were children, adults, students, teachers and parents. Voldemort's hate knew no boundaries.

When the word first started to spread that Voldemort and his army were approaching the castle again, I barely had the strength or will to stand. But eventually we all made it out to the front again, Neville leading us as he carried a familiar-looking hat in his hands.

As the crowd got bigger─people watching as Voldemort lead his army past our walls─my hand was tucked safely in George's. That's when I saw Hagrid amongst the army; a body in his arms.

"Who is that Hagrid's carrying?" Ginny asked, her voice breaking as she did so. "Neville, who is it?"

"Harry Potter...is dead!" Voldemort announced, a smile on his noseless face. Ginny ran forward, screaming, but Voldemort stopped her with a quick barrier spell. "Silence! Stupid girl. Harry Potter is dead! From this day forth, you put your faith in me. Harry Potter is dead!"

My heart sunk all over again; not that I felt it had risen back up though. I wanted to cry, and on the inside I was, but I had no more tears left. Voldemort and his army laughed at the thought of our friend being dead, and that was the worst thing that a person could do.

"George.." my breathing hitched. "Is he...is he really-"

Instead of answering, George just pulled me into his body, it being his turn to comfort me after the loss of a loved one. This was not how life should be. It should not be taking turns mourning for a loved one. It should not be taking turns seeing the person you love most in pain. It should not be...like this.

"And now it's the time to declare yourself." Voldemort held his arms out wide. "Come forward and join us. Or die!"

"Draco!" Lucius called to his son from Voldemort's army, making us all turn to look at the blonde-haired boy who was still standing with us. He hesitated at first but eventually made his way across the pavement to the other side.

Voldemort sighed. "Ah. Well done, Draco. Well done!"

Then, to all of our surprise, Neville started to limp forward. "Well, I must say I'd hope for better." Voldemort joked, which sort of threw me off guard. "And who might you be, young man?"

"Neville Longbottom."

Voldemort's army laughed again. "Well, Neville, I'm sure we can find a place for you in our ranks."

"I'd like to say something."

"Well, Neville, I'm sure we'd all be fascinated to hear what you have to say." Voldemort sneered.

"Doesn't matter that Harry is gone. People die every day. Friends, family. Yeah. We lost Harry tonight. But he's still with us, in here." Neville spoke loud and proud as he placed his hand over his heart. "So's Fred...and Remus. Tonks. All of them. They didn't die in vain. But you will. Because you're wrong! Harry's heart did beat for us. For all of us! This is not over!"

As Neville drew the Gryffindor sword from the hat he was holding, much like how Harry had in the Chamber of Secrets, Harry jumped out of Hagrid's arms before casting a spell at Voldemort's snake and running off.

Harry wasn't dead.

One by one the Death Eaters took off, turning to black smoke and disappearing into the sky. While Voldemort was distracted, Harry made a run for it as one of the remaining members of the Order put a shield around the front doors.