Into Forever

Eleven Years Later

The smell of freshly baked ham wafted around the kitchen as I turned off the timer and pulled the pan from the oven; the honey glaze shone like gold. I didn’t care if it took half a second to bake a ham with magic- everything tasted more delicious when you put a bit of time and effort into it.

Setting the pan on the counter, I wiped my hands on my apron just as I heard a very excited voice shout from the backyard,

“They’re here!” Grinning to myself, I turned around just in time to catch sight of the two ginger children racing through the house, trying to beat each other to the front door. There was a knock on the door, and a second later I heard excited cries of “Uncle George!” and “Aunt Angie!”; poking my head out of the kitchen, I caught sight of a very-pregnant Angie being helped out of her coat by George. She caught my eye and grinned as the two red-headed kids whirled around and raced up to me.

“Mum, when Uncle Harry and Uncle Ron get here, can we please play a game of Quidditch?” Cameron begged, his electric blue eyes dancing with excitement. Right beside him, just half an inch shorter was Brielle, the same plea lighting up her green-blue eyes. My heart melted just a little bit as I stared down at them. Rolling my eyes up to the top of my head, I pretended to mull it over.

“Well, I don’t know…”

“Please mum!” Brielle begged, wrapping her arms around me and following me into the kitchen as I did my best to hide my grin.

“Do you both promise to eat all your dinner? Veggies included?”

“Yes!” came their excited answers.

“Oh, I suppose you can, then,” I told them, and instantly another set of arms wrapped around my waist.

“Thanks mum!” they cheered in unison, and I ruffled Cameron’s short, spiked ginger hair as I tucked a lock of Brielle’s flaming curls behind her ear.

“Alright, now go keep watch for your cousins, okay?” I told them, nodding towards their door. “Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione will be here any minute.”

“I get Rose on my team!” Brielle announced, racing from the kitchen with her brother right behind her.

“Well then I get James AND Hugo!”

“Only if I get Lilly and Al!”

Angie slipped past them with a chuckle, catching my eye with a mischievous smile.

“Bribery at it’s finest,” she laughed, glancing back at the twins. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a container of potatoes, some drinks, and some very delicious looking potato salad; what would we do without undetectable extension charms?

“Whatever works,” I laughed as I heard the door open again and even more cheers of delight filled the house.

“Uncle Ron, will you play Quidditch with us?” Cameron begged, and I could almost see Hermione rolling her eyes out by the door as she wrestled Rose and Hugo out of their jackets.

“Of course I will!” Ron cheered, and I heard Brielle say,

“Rose, you’re on my team! And so are Lily and Al!”

As the children –Ron included- bickered over teams, Hermione joined us in the kitchen, adding her own bowls of food to the counter. She gave me a warm smile as she pulled me into a hug.

“How’re you doing?” she asked me, and though it was a harmless question, I knew the meaning behind it. I gave her the best smile I could and said,

“I’m holding up alright. How’ve you been? Is Hugo over his cold?”

“Yes, he’s much better now. He’s sad, though, about not being able to go to Hogwarts.”

“Oh, yeah,” I mused, scooping the food Hermione and Angie had brought out onto serving plates. “I’m sure Lily is just as upset, having Al off to Hogwarts now.”

As we chatted idly, I heard the sound of the front door opening up, and more familiar voices filled the hall. Wiping my hands off on my apron, I untied it and tossed it onto the back of one of the chairs as I followed Hermione and Angie out into the living room. George, Ron, and the children were already out in the backyard, pulling out the spare brooms I’d learned to keep around the house.

Though we’d all aged a bit, I could still see my best friends in front of me; Harry’s bright green eyes crinkled around the edges as he beamed at me.

“Kelsey, you look great!” Ginny exclaimed as she pulled me into a tight hug. “I’ve got a vegetable tray here somewhere.”

As Ginny and I pulled apart and she dove into her bag in search of the veggies, Harry and I locked eyes. He gave me a warm smile and maneuvered between his kids to give me a hug of his own. His arms tightened around me, and he said,

“Holding up okay, are we?”

“Just fine,” I assured him with a smile as we pulled apart. As I went to head back to the kitchen, I heard from the garden,

“Lily and Al and James are here! We can start!” And like a herd of wild bison, the children came racing through the back door and gathered around the Potters. Once again, bickering began over the teams, and I saw Harry begin to shepherd the kids into the backyard so I could begin setting up dinner.

“Are they excited about school?” Ginny asked as she carried the veggies out to the patio table; following her with the potato salad, I laughed and said,

“They haven’t been quiet since this morning, but really that’s no different. What about James?”

“Harry has been working him up about it all week,” she sighed, rolling her eyes. “It’s been constant chatter.”

“Oh, I’ve been meaning to ask,” Angie said, setting out the plates for me. “Is James planning on going out for the team this year?”

As she and Ginny dove into the conversation, I returned to the kitchen to get the ham. I saw movement out of the corner of my eye, and wasn’t surprised to see George following me into the kitchen.

“Are you doing alright?” he asked me, leaning up against the counter. I took a deep breath, then forced myself to look up at him. His eyes were full of sympathy, and there was a small smile on his face.

Last week I’d come over to the flat near tears; once the kids were settled into a game of exploding snaps with Angie, George led me into their room and shut the door. I’d collapsed in a heap of silent sobs. It had been almost five months since I’d cried; I couldn’t hold back any longer.

George wrapped his arms around me, and we sat on his bed like that for almost half an hour. I’d managed to stay strong through the months leading up to the twins first year at Hogwarts, but it was Cameron asking me if he was allowed to bring his stash of fireworks to school with him that really set me off.

All through my pregnancy, Fred and I had talked about how wonderful it would be to send our child (since we’d only been expecting one) to Hogwarts. He’d been looking forward to teaching his child the tricks of the trade, how to be the perfect prankster to keep the Weasley Twin Tradition alive.

And now it was just me, and I hadn’t even been able to answer Cameron’s question. George just held me, tears of his own dropping onto my arm as we rocked back and forth. I loved Angie dearly, and I was very close to Ron, Hermione, and Harry even now, but George was who I needed when I felt like the hole in my heart would swallow up all the happiness in my life.

George had the same hole in the middle of his heart that used to be filled with the presence of Fred; with him gone, we both lost so much of ourselves. It had taken me almost two hours to gather enough of my composure to go back out into the living room. And when I had, Cameron and Brielle had come to me. I sat on the couch, doing my best not to cry again, and my twins gathered on either side of me.

So when I looked at George, I couldn’t lie to him. I never lied to George about things like this. I just shrugged and said quietly,

“It’s been really rough.”

George nodded slowly, his eyes falling to the floor. Wordlessly, I passed over to him and rested a gentle hand on his arm. He took a deep breath, squeezing his eyes shut, and then he looked back at me as if nothing had happened. It wasn’t that we wanted to suppress our feelings, but today was supposed to be a happy day, and neither of us wanted to ruin it by crying.

“Here, help me carry the rest of the food out,” I said softly, and George nodded, a sort of lost expression on his face. We sat the food outside on the table, and I looked around my yard, a genuine smile coming to my face.

Angie and Ginny were already serving plates of food for everyone, and Angie caught my eye with a warm smile. Hermione was standing on the edge of the deck, keeping an eye on the children as they played, because Harry and Ron were just as child-like when they got into a game of Quidditch.

“Pass to Uncle Harry!” Brielle cried to Lily as James made a sweep towards his sister. Lily threw the quaffle to her father, and Harry zoomed past the others with Ron hot on his tail.

“Mum, Uncle George, come play with us!” Cameron hollored as he sped after Harry, ready to catch him. Cameron wanted to be a chaser once he got to Hogwarts; from the way he played now, I knew he’d make it one day.

“We’ll play after supper,” I called to him, coming to stand by Hermione. “Now come on, the lot of you, time to eat!”

“Awe mum,” Harry, Cameron, and Brielle complained; I rolled my eyes at Harry. The kids came to a stop in the yard and then raced over one another to get to the table.

“Remember, you promised to eat all your dinner,” I reminded the twins as they plunked down at the table across from me. My comment was directed mainly to Brielle; she was a picky eater.

As we ate, our group chatted heartily. James and Cameron went on and on about how well they were going to do at Quidditch tryouts, while Brielle dove into a discussion with Hermione about how best to go about reading all the best books in the library.

As dinner carried on, I felt my heart growing heavier and heavier. Fred would have loved so much to be sitting right next to me, laughing with Cameron or having a discussion with Brielle. And I would have given anything to have him at my side.

George caught my eye as I began to clear the table; the kids had returned to the yard, and I was busying myself with tasks to keep my mind off of Fred. Like he had promised, George joined the rest of the group in the yard, and even Ginny ended up climbing onto a spare broom.

I scrubbed the dishes until my hands were raw; I could have used magic, but the task kept me occupied, and I forced my mind not to wander. After nearly half an hour I had everything cleaned off, and I reluctantly returned to the backyard. The sun had begun to set, and it was beginning to grow chilly. I grabbed my old cardigan off the back of a chair inside and wrapped myself up, standing by the door staring out at my friends and family.

“You okay?” Angie asked me softly, waddling over to me with a warm smile. I sighed, and reluctantly looked at her.

“I’m fine, really..”

“Kels,” she said, her voice firm. I let out another sigh and murmured,

“I keep wondering what it would be like with Fred here. I wonder… what he’d be doing… “

“He be yelling at you from the field to stop your sulking,” she laughed, giving me a gentle nudge. “Kelsey, you can’t keep dwelling on the past like this. This is a happy day.”

I locked eyes with her; she wasn’t mad at me, she just looked… worried. “Cameron and Brielle need their mother. Don’t dwell on memories, live in the moment and make new ones to cherish.”

I stood there for a moment as Angie waddled back to sit with Hermione and thought over what she said. I constantly thought about what life would be like, and I didn’t give much thought sometimes to the life I was living now.

Fred was gone; that was something I couldn’t change, no matter how hard I cried or how long I longed for him next to me. But I had our children to keep me going, and that was what I had to focus on. And though this brief elation wouldn’t last me forever, it gave me enough strength to take off my sweater, grab another broom from our shed, and join my friends and twins in the sky.

ϟ

“You won this time only because Aunt Kelsey was on your team,” Hugo griped to his sister Rose as I returned to the living room with a tray with cups of hot cocoa for everyone.

“What am I, chopped liver?” Ron asked his son with a feigned sad expression.

“Well you didn’t win for us, did you?” Hugo asked him, and we burst out laughing.

“We’ll have a rematch over Christmas holiday,” James decided, giving his sister and brother a disdainful glare since they had won against him. Lily just rolled her eyes and muttered,

“Sore losers.”

“Who wants hot cocoa?” I asked the group as I settled on the couch. As everyone let out a cry, I waved my wand and served the cups as Albus asked Harry,

“Dad, please tell us a story about when you were at Hogwarts!”

“Yeah, tell us dad!” James and Lily joined in.

“Please tell us, Uncle Harry!” the others begged.

“Well, what do you want to hear about?” Harry asked; with a grin, I said,

“How about we tell them about the battle at the end of our sixth year?”

“Oh yes,” Ron exclaimed, leaning forward. “That was a terrific night.”

“Alright, well lets see. I was off with Professor Dumbledor, searching for one of Voldemort’s horcruxes. Uncle Ron and the others were back at the castle…”

As Harry delved into the story, I sunk back on the couch, my eyes searching for George. He caught my eye, and gave me a small smile.

And as I sat there, listening to my best friends pass on stories of our past, I felt a pang of realization. I shouldn’t be bottling up my memories of Fred. The more I locked them away, the more it hurt. I shouldn’t be hiding my past because parts of it hurt me. I should be sharing stories with the twins about the trouble I got into with their father. Because if I kept the stories alive, I knew Fred would never be forgotten.

So for the first time in almost three months, I turned to George and gave him a wide, genuine smile. He was caught by surprise, and he smiled back just as genuinely as I had. Seeing him smile with sincerity made the pain in my heart ache just a little bit less.

As the story progressed, I leaned forward and waited for my turn.

“And so I took off after Professor Snape, trying to get revenge for Dumbledore. But Draco was right behind me-“

“I saw Draco running after Harry,” I piped up, and everyone turned to stare at me. This was the first time I’d ever spoken of my time at Hogwarts like this. I’d never shared stories about my own personal adventures, and now as I saw the excitement in my twins’ eyes, I realized how wrong of me that had been.

“I went after Draco to make sure Harry could get to Snape,” I said, sliding off the couch and onto the floor so I could talk easier. “But I wasn’t alone. Fenrir Greyback had spotted me, and he came at me. I didn’t even see him lunge for me.”

“What happened?” Lily asked me, her eyes stretched wide. I flicked my eyes up to George and held his gaze as I said as calmly as I could,

“Uncle Fred came to the rescue.”

I had been expecting a pang of remorse, of sadness wishing he was here. But there was only a warm glow as I saw the pride showing in Cameron’s eyes as he heard how his father had saved me.

“He slid right between me and Greyback and knocked the Death Eater back into the wall.”

“Dad was brave,” Brielle said cautiously, watching my face. In the past, when she mentioned Fred, it had brought me sadness, and she tried not to hurt me. But this time, a huge grin spread across my face. It felt good to tell my children about their father. It made the ache in my heart hurt a little less as I spoke of him.

“He was very brave,” I agreed, and I saw Brielle’s spirits lift. “Did I ever tell you lot about the very first time I met your Uncle Fred?”

Everyone shook their head, and as I glanced up at George again, I saw happiness in his eyes. He knew the version I was going to tell; so did Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Angie. They all knew what was coming, and they beamed as I said,

“It was a cold, rainy night. My stepfather didn’t want me going to Hogwarts, but Fred, Harry, George, your Uncle Remus, Aunt Tonks, and Kingsley had come to take me with them. My stepdad tried to stop me, and I had to climb out the window of my room.”

“Were you scared?” Brielle asked me, scooting over to curl up beside me. I wrapped an arm around her as I said,

“I wasn’t scared until my stepdad came out on the roof after me.”

The kids drew in a collective gasp as they listened.

“I lost my balance, and I began to slide off the roof. Harry saw me, but he was too far away. I slid off the end of the roof, and I thought that was the end.”

“What happened?” Cameron asked, enthralled.

“Well,” I told my son with a grin. “Your dad saw me falling, and he raced towards me. He got up, stood on the handle of my broom, and made a dive to catch me. And just before we hit the ground, he grabbed the broom handle and we soared off into the night sky!”

This time, no one corrected the story; this was how we wanted to remember it, the way Fred always told it. And if that’s what Fred wanted, I wouldn’t stop it.

“Woah, dad really did that?!” Cameron exclaimed, his eyes wide with excitement.

“He sure did,” George piped up, catching my eyes and giving me a grin. “I saw the whole thing.”

“That’s so cool!” Al cried, looking around at everyone. “Uncle Fred must has been so brave!”

And that’s how our night was spent; my family and friends gathered around me, listening to stories of our adventures at Hogwarts. It was a great way to end the night, and for once in a long time, I was happy.

ϟ

“Come on Brielle, keep up!” Cameron exclaimed, running ahead of our group to keep up with James.

“Hey now, stay close, I don’t want you getting lost,” I called to him, bustling a bit to keep him in view. Our groups chatter was full of excitement and nervousness as we made our way towards Platform 9 ¾. I still remembered my first time going through the platform, running full speed with Fred and George because we were late.

To my right were Harry and Ginny, doing their best to herd James, Albus, and Lily towards the platform. Ron and Hermione were on my left, with Ron holding Rose’s hand and Hermione holding Hugo’s. George and Angie trailed behind us, chatting softly as we made our way down the stairs.

“Now remember, stay together on the other side,” I called to the twins as they rushed forward. James was right behind them, and Harry stayed behind with Lily and Albus as Ginny and I raced to keep up with our children. James gave Cameron and Brielle a grin before he turned and raced through the platform; Ginny was right behind him.

I came up between my twins and asked,

“Are you ready?”

“More than ever,” Cameron exclaimed; Brielle just nodded, a look of concentration on her face.

“Alright then, go for it,” I said, and then watched as, for the first time, Brielle and Cameron raced side by side through the wall. My heart twisted as I stood there for a moment, but I remembered what I had decided last night: no more dwelling on things that won’t happen.

I wanted Fred to be beside me, watching our children start their new lives together, but he couldn’t be. I took a deep, steadying breath, and then hurried through after them. I lost my breath for a moment as I took in the magnificent sight of the Hogwarts Express.

“Wow,” Brielle and Cameron breathed in unison.

Once the others filed in behind us, our group made their way to where James and Ginny were waiting.

“I’m going to find Teddy,” James exclaimed, hurrying onto the train. Harry, Ron, and George began to load the children’s luggage as I stood off with Hermione, Ginny, and Angie. Brielle and Cameron stood right beside one another, their eyes stretched wide as they took in the amazing sight of it all.

From somewhere ahead, I heard an excited cry of,

“Kelsey!”

My heart warmed at the sight of Teddy, my 16 year old cousin; he hopped off the train and came racing towards me, a huge grin on his face. His hair was a vibrant green, and his eyes were a magnificent blue. His arms wrapped around me as we hugged tight.

“How’ve you been kiddo?” I asked him as we pulled apart.

“Great! I can’t believe it’s already time for the twins to start school.”

“It’s gone by fast, hasn’t it?” I agreed as we watched the twins stare in excitement at the numerous students hurrying past.

“The train’s leaving soon!” James called from a compartment, and Teddy said,

“I’m gonna go say hi to the others, so bye Kelsey!”

“Bye Teddy, keep an eye on the twins, would you?”

“Of course,” he agreed, giving me another hug as he hurried off towards Harry and Ron.

“James, come say goodbye!” Ginny called to her son; at her call, Brielle and Cameron turned and came to give me their farewell hugs.

“Bye mum,” Brielle said, holding me tight. I pulled them both close to me and said,

“Now have fun, but do good in school. No mischief, you hear me?”

“Of course not mum,” Cameron said, his blue eyes stretched wide with innocence. I rolled my eyes.

“Alright, now get going, I don’t want you to miss the train.”

I bent down and gave each twin a kiss on the head; it brought back the memory of the night of the battle, with Fred and I kissing the twins goodbye. I had to fight back tears as I stood and watched them bid goodbye to the others; James gave me a fleeting hug, and then the three of them hurried onto the train.

I stood by myself as I watched the train begin to move; Brielle and Cameron stuck their heads out and waved to me. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I watched my children leave, waving until I couldn’t see them anymore. I turned my face forward, catching sight of my reflection on the side of the train.

For a moment, I felt completely alone. Fred was gone, and now my children were off at school. My heart ached, because I imagined that right now, Fred would be right beside me, his arm around my shoulder.

And then there was someone beside me; George. He stood next to me and then wrapped his arm around me, pulling me close. From behind me, Ginny and Harry stepped up next to me, and then Ron, Hermione, and Angie crowded in. I would never really be alone; I had my friends until the very end.

And though Fred was gone, though I had lost my other half, life would go on. I would miss him terribly, but one day I’d see him again, and I’d make sure I lived a life worth smiling about.

And then George said the same words I’d comforted him with so many years ago after the battle.

“We’ll make it, Kelso. It’ll be alright.”

And I knew what he said was true. Life would be okay. Things would be livable. I had a wonderful life, and though Fred wasn’t there, he would never leave me, not really. He would follow me into forever.

So with a small smile, I wiped my tears away and said softly,

“That it will, Georgie. That it will.”