THE ANGEL OF WOE | RON WEASLEY [BOOK THREE]

16. WE FLY, OF COURSE

The weekend had slipped by quickly, with Gene barricading herself in her dorm as she faced the huge pile of revision that had been waiting for her, just in time for the following week of exams. It meant she could hide from Finn, since he couldn't make it one step to her room, and she could choose to charm her bed-curtains to block Lorelai out.

She felt guilty over the course of the week, what with ignoring all of her friends, but Gene decided she much preferred the guilt than the thought of having to face Ron again. Not much scared Gene these days, not after what she had been through. But the idea of talking to Ron about that night sent chills up her spine.

The only other thing that had that ability, was Umbridge, to her displeasure. She was thankfully close to finishing her fourth exam of the day, the Study of Charms, and found she soon wouldn't have to feel anymore nervous under Umbridge's gaze.

The newly transformed Great Hall remained eerily silent, apart from the clicking of Umbridge's heels. She paced before the high table with malevolence, surveying the student with an eagle eye, when suddenly, a loud rumble caused Gene's head to lift. Umbridge stopped cold, her heels no longer clicking as Gene watched Harry, Ron and Hermione all turn in confusion.

Another rumble sounded, the sound growing closer though it remained outside of the hall. Umbridge looked as though she was positively seething at the interruption of her precious OWLs, striding down the aisle to open the great doors.

It remained quiet for a good few moments when suddenly, a familiar flash of ginger sped through into the great hall, fireworks in every colour filling the hall. Another firework was set off, sending the papers flying off everyones desks and they all rejoiced, standing to watch the Weasley twins' performance.

Gene watched the multicoloured fireworks burst overhead, her head tipping back to watch in awe as Fred released a final firework in the hall, forming into an eighty-foot Chinese dragon, and it headed straight for Umbridge, to everyones amusement. Gene's smile grew wider, finding herself glancing at the other three, and even Ron, just as it swallowed Umbridge whole, before exploding into green and gold sparks.

The smoke cleared, revealing Umbridge choking for air, her hair mussed up and her frock smoking and stained, her eyes narrowed as she watched the twins fly through the doors and target the wall of proclamations .

A jet of fire shot across, causing them to burst into flames, falling through the air like charred confetti, and the crowd went wild in approval, Gene included. The giant front doors swung wide open with the twins soaring out into the courtyard, with the mass of students following after. A crescendo of cheers began, and Gene waved wildly, catching Fred and George's eyes as they waved back at her.

They let a final firework loose and it burst into gold lettering across the blue sky, the letter 'G' being surrounded by a heart with an arrow going through it, and they continued to fly into the horizon, eventually disappearing from view. She laughed, her hands going to cover her mouth in surprise, watching as Fred and George left the school on their own terms, in true Weasley fashion.

But her joy was short-lived, as a pain suddenly struck Gene, one she hadn't felt in a long time, causing her to wince.

It was stronger now, as her hand went to her neck to cup her scar in a measly attempt to ease the pain. The cheering began to die down in her ears, being silenced in her mind as she shut her eyes briefly, only to be greeted with a flash of Sirius, his face contorted in agony.

Gene gasped and her eyes shot open, her hand instantly going to grasp the closest thing which happened to be Ron. Her eyes screwed shut, catching a glimpse of glass spheres, a shadowed figure and another on the ground.