We will meet again ~ Fred Weasley

- The Point Of Letting Go -

"For months I carried the weight of someone else's choices. The moment I finally set it down, I remembered what it felt like to be loved."

_____________________________

The first thing Katherine became aware of was warmth.

It surrounded her from every direction, pulling her slowly back towards consciousness after what felt like an endless darkness. Her body felt impossibly heavy, every limb weighed down as though she had spent days asleep rather than a single night.

For several moments she simply floated there, suspended somewhere between sleep and wakefulness.

A familiar hand was wrapped tightly around hers.

Another moved gently through her hair.

Again.

And again.

And again.

The motion was slow and absent-minded, the sort of touch someone gave when they were exhausted but unwilling to leave.

She knew who it was before she even opened her eyes.

Fred.

The realisation settled warmly in her chest.

For a brief moment she allowed herself to enjoy it.

Then reality returned.

Voices gradually emerged from the haze.

Low voices.

Adult voices.

Concerned voices.

Someone was discussing after effects.

Someone else was discussing security.

Katherine couldn't quite make out who was speaking.

Then another voice shattered through the room.

"Where is he? Where's my Won-Won?"

Katherine's peaceful return to consciousness vanished instantly.

Her face scrunched up in irritation.

Even half-dead she recognised that voice.

Honestly.

She had survived poisoning only to wake up to Lavender Brown.

Typical.

Slowly opening her eyes, Katherine blinked against the bright sunlight flooding the Hospital Wing.

The room swam for a moment before finally settling into focus.

Professors clustered together near the end of the ward.

Madam Pomfrey bustling around with potions.

Harry slumped in a chair looking exhausted.

Ginny curled up nearby.

Hermione standing anxiously beside Ron's bed.

And Fred.

Fred was sitting beside her exactly where she'd expected him to be.

His hand tightened around hers the second he realised she was awake.

For a moment he simply stared.

The relief on his face was almost painful to look at.

His eyes were bloodshot.

His shoulders sagged with exhaustion.

His hair looked as though he'd spent the night repeatedly dragging his hands through it.