Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes and Whatnot

George’s POV:

I had thought it was a dream or something when I saw Caroline, but I knew it couldn’t be because she looked different from before, her hair was longer and she was skinnier as if they hadn’t eaten regularly. Her smile was the same though. She smiled at us and I swear it lit up the whole room.

She was smiling up at me now, too, while we waited for Harry to get back. I brought my hand up to touch her cheek.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” I said.

“Do you need proof?” she asked.

“What kind of proof?”

She leaned up to kiss me and wrapped her arms around my neck. It felt amazing to kiss her again, so I pulled her closer and tangled my hand in her hair.

“I like that kind of proof,” I grinned when she pulled away.

She smiled again and I studied her face. She still looked like herself, just a little worn out and…older. This war had aged all of us really, made us grow up faster than we would have otherwise.

“I’ve missed you,” she said again, looking into my eyes.

“I’ve missed you too. Every day.”

“I never want to leave again,” she sighed, laying her head on my chest.

“Then don’t,” I hugged her close.

“There’s still one thing we have to do. I promise I will come find you, but we’re not finished yet.”

I groaned, “You’re torturing me here, how do you expect me to just let you walk away again?”

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, but we’re really close, and if we could just – “ she turned around, “ – that’s weird, where’re Ron and Hermione?”

I shrugged, “Dunno, I didn’t see them leave.”

Normal POV:

I couldn’t see Ron or Hermione anywhere, but the room was getting more and more crowded. Oliver Wood, Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson, and Alicia Spinnet were all here. In the next minute, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley came through the portrait opening followed by Kingsley and Lupin.

“Harry, what’s happening?” Lupin stepped forward as Harry came back into the room, slipping down the last step in shock, it looked like.

“Voldemort’s on his way, they’re barricading the school— Snape’s run for it—What are you doing here? How did you know?”

“We sent messages to the rest of Dumbledore’s Army,” Fred explained. “You couldn’t expect everyone to miss the fun, Harry, and the D.A. let the Order of the Phoenix know, and it all kind of snowballed.”

“What first, Harry?” asked George. “What’s going on?”

“They’re evacuating the younger kids and everyone’s meeting in the Great Hall to get organized,” Harry said. “We’re fighting.”

There was a great roar and surge toward the stairs, members of the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore’s Army, and the old Quidditch team, all with wands drawn, heading up into the main castle.

Now there was only a small group of people remaining, the Weasleys, Fleur, Harry, Kingsley, Lupin, and me.

“You’re underage!” Mrs. Weasley was shouting at Ginny. “I won’t permit it! They boys, yes, but you, you’ve got to get home!”

“I won’t!” Ginny pulled her arm out of her mother’s grip. “I’m in Dumbledore’s Army—”

“A teenagers’ gang!”

“A teenagers’ gang that’s about to take him on, which no one else has dared to do!” said Fred.

“She’s sixteen!” shouted Mrs. Weasley. “She’s not old enough! What you two were thinking, bringing her with you—”

Fred and George looked slightly ashamed of themselves.

“Mum’s right, Ginny,” said Bill gently. “You can’t do this. Everyone underage will have to leave, it’s only right.”

“I can’t go home!” Ginny shouted, angry tears coming to her eyes. “My whole family’s here, I can’t stand waiting there alone and not knowing and—”

She glanced at Harry who shook his head.

“Fine,” she said bitterly, turning away. “I’ll say good-bye now, then, and—”

There was a scuffling and a great thump: Someone else had come out of the tunnel, lost his balance, and fallen. He pulled himself up on the nearest chair, looked around through lopsided horn-rimmed glasses, and said, “Am I too late? Has it started? I only just found out, so I–I—”

Percy spluttered into silence. He probably hadn’t expected to run into almost his entire family.

There was a long moment of awkward silence, which Fleur tried to break by saying loudly to Lupin, “So—’ow eez leetle Teddy?”

Lupin blinked at her, startled, then said just as loudly, “I—oh yes—he’s fine! Yes, Tonks is with him—at her mother’s—”

Percy and the other Weasleys were still staring at one another, in their frozen silence.

“Here, I’ve got a picture!” Lupin shouted, pulling a photograph from inside his jacket and showing it to Fleur.

“I was a fool!” Percy yelled, so loudly that Lupin almost dropped his picture. “I was an idiot, I was a pompous prat, I was a—a—”

“Ministry-loving, family-disowning, power-hungry moron.” said Fred.

Percy swallowed, then said “Yes, I was!”

“Well, you can’t say fairer than that,” said Fred, holding out his hand to Percy.

Mrs. Weasley burst into tears, pushing Fred out of the way and practically strangling Percy with a hug. He patted her on the back while looking at his father.

“I’m sorry, Dad.” Percy said.

Mr. Weasley blinked rapidly, then he too hurried to hug his son.

“What made you see sense, Perce?” asked George.

“It’s been coming on for a while,” said Percy, wiping the corner of his eyes under his glasses with a corner of his cloak. “But I had to find a way out and it’s not so easy at the Ministry, they’re imprisoning traitors all the time. I managed to make contact with Aberforth and he tipped me off ten minutes ago that Hogwarts was going to make a fight for it, so here I am.”

“Well, we do look to our prefects to take a lead at times such as these,” said George in a good imitation of Percy’s most pompous manner. “Now let’s get upstairs and fight, or all the good Death Eaters’ll be taken.”

He grinned before taking my hand and kissing the back of it.

“Be careful, yeah?”

“You too,” I said, not letting go of his hand.

“And come find me after you finish whatever it is you guys came here for.”

“I will, promise.”

He leaned down and kissed me once more, fiercely. When we broke apart Fred came over and I hugged him.

“Look after yourself,” he said.

“You too, Fred.”

Then he and George both ran up the stairs after Percy, Bill, and Fleur.

“Ginny!” shouted Mrs. Weasley.

She had been trying to sneak up the stairs in between everyone else while they were distracted.

“Molly, how about this,” said Lupin. “Why doesn’t Ginny stay here, then at least she’ll be on the scene and know what’s going on, but she won’t be in the middle of the fighting?”

“I—”

“That’s a good idea,” said Mr. Weasley firmly. “Ginny, you stay in this room, you hear me?”

Ginny didn’t seem to like it, but under her father’s stern gaze, she nodded. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Lupin headed off for the stairs as well.

“Where’s Ron?” asked Harry. “Where’s Hermione?”

“They must have gone up to the Great Hall already,” Mr. Weasley called over his shoulder.

“I didn’t see them pass me,” said Harry.

“They said something about a bathroom,” said Ginny, “not long after you left.”

“A bathroom?”

Harry went to the other side of the room and looked in the bathroom.

“You’re sure that they said bath—?”

He stopped and closed his eyes, pressing his hand to his forehead.

“Harry?” Ginny asked worriedly.

He opened his eyes again and looked at me, “Let's go.”