Till Death Do Us Part

Clara made her way down the halls. She had looked for Fred in all the places she could think he would be. The only place to look now is the Great Hall. She could hear groups talking and some crying. Even some laughing, a sound Clara was happy to hear. She was so ready to laugh with Fred. To start a family, to live in peace. She was so excited to just go home and sleep in her own bed and to have a non microwavable meal. And to go out in public without being afraid of being caught by some henchmen. She had stopped along the way a couple of time to chat and help a few people. Talking about this and that like it was any normal day. It seemed like nothing had just happened for some people. They went on like it was just a normal day at Hogwarts.

As she approached the Great Hall, things started to feel a bit different. The feeling that she got before had quickly changed to sadness. Things were a lot different in here. The dead lined the floor of the hall, with their loved ones around them saying goodbye. She passed a number of people who were mourning the loss of people they loved. The hall echoed with sounds of weeping and mournful cries. Clara could feel every persons pain. Just then, out of the corner of her eye she say a couple on the floor. Not many people around them, she looked over and stopped where she was. Her eyes began to fill with tears as she looked upon the lifeless bodies of Tonks and Lupin. She walked over and knelt beside Professor Lupin. She placed her hand on his chest and whispered to him. "I didn't know you that well, but you saved my life. Thank you."

She wasn't sure if he could hear her wherever he was, but she had to thank him for what he had done for her. Even if she didn't know him all that well. He was sill a part of her life in some small way. But to Clara it was in a big way. It's not everyday someone saves your life. And for that she was grateful for Lupin. She stood there a moment before heading on. Slowly looking at all who were passed and stopping when she saw someone she knew to pay her respects and sometime weeping, for it was someone who she held dear to her. She had forgotten just how big the Great Hall really was. She must have stopped a least a half dozen and she wasn't even to the half way point in the hall. As she got closer to the end of the Great Hall she spotted George standing in a group which consisted mostly of his family.

"George!" She shouted and ran toward him. She gave him a great hug.

"Clara, it's so good to see you." He said letting go and holding her hands in his. He almost looked like he had been crying.

"You too, have you seen Fred?" She asked with anticipation. George's slight smile turned into a frown and his eyes grew sad. Clara looked at him with concern as she awaited and answer. "George?" She asked.

"Clara.." George said his voice cracking a little.

"George, this is no time to play jokes." Clara said looking really worried. George tried to speak but words seemed to disappear before reaching his tongue.

"George where is Fred?" Clara said desperately grabbing his hands tighter. Her eyes began to tear up. George was frightening her with his silence. She could she in his eyes that something terrible had happened. They were filled with sadness and despair.

"Clara...I..." George said softly.

"Where is he George, where is my husband? Where is Fred? Please tell me where he....." Just then Clara saw something over George's shoulder. She pushed him out of the way but George held on to her.

"Clara wait." He said but Clara forced her hands out of his and ran over to the group. They were gathered around someone. As she approached she pushed past Molly and Ginny. They both tried to stop her but she got past them anyway. When she made her way through her heart sank. On the floor, lay the lifeless body of the man she loved. Clara fell to the floor. She could feel her heart breaking. She took Fred in her arms and held him tightly.

"No!" She cried sobbing uncontrollably. "Fred! Please come back to me. Please." She held him close. His body was cold and pale. His eyes were open and Clara could she no life in them as she once did. She saw no spark or laughter. She continued to plead for him to come back to her.

"Please come back. Please don't leave me." She cried. "You promised! Remember? You promised you wouldn't leave me like this. We both promised." She said. Clara kept pleading, she kept asking, and she kept crying. But she knew Fred was not coming back. He was gone. Moments later a man came to take Fred's body away. Clara looked up at him with a tearful face. George came over to explain who he was.

"Clara, this man had to take Fred away now." He said. He saw Clara start to panic.

"No, you can't." She said gripping him tighter.

"Clara he has to." George said trying to get her to let go. Clara struggled. Then she began to thrash about. George was pulling her away from Fred and she saw the man begin to place him in a black body bag.

"NO! YOU CAN"T TAKE HIM!" She screamed. "LET GO OF ME! FRED! FRED!" George dragged her out of the hall as fast as he could. Clara was still yelling for her husband.

"Clara calm down." George said setting her down. Clara tried to run back but he caught her. "Clara please."

"Their're taking him away, we have to stop them." She said.

"Clara he's gone." George said.

"No, he's in there, we have to go back." She said.

"Clara.." George said grabbing her face with his hands forcing her to look in his eyes. She stared at him with sadness in her eyes.

"We have to help.." Clara said softly. George shook his head.

"He's gone Clara. Fred's gone." George said a tear falling down his cheek. Clara began to weep. George held her tightly as she cried into his chest. He felt her body shake and tremble with every sob.

"He promised." She said. "He promised me I wouldn't loose him to this." George held her tighter. "He didn't keep his promise."

George didn't know what to say. He just stood there holding Clara trying his best to comfort her. They held each other for sometime until Mrs. Weasley came to take Clara home. She though it was best if she got here away from Hogwarts as soon as she can.

"Let's get you home dear." She said to Clara. Clara nodded her head and slowly and silently went with her. Once home, Molly led her up the stairs and into her bed. Clara crawled into bed and closed her eyes. She was so tired and drained that she was asleep in seconds. George and Mrs. Weasley stayed downstairs until Clara awoke a few hours later.

When Clara finally did wake up, she was hoping what had happened was a dream. But she knew it wasn't. She sat on the edge of her bed and stared off into the distance. Fred was gone. She had lost the only man she loved. Her best friend. Her heart ached and she felt like she could hardly breath. She had never felt this much pain before. Not even when her parents shut her out. "So this is what its like to have a broken heart." She thought to herself. "So this is what it feels like." She just sat there. Motionless, and expressionless. Her body became numb and cold. All she wanted to do was crawl back into bed and sleep until she eventually passed on and reunited with her beloved Fred. She got up and made her way downstairs. She was meet by Molly sitting on the couch. She saw George sitting next to her. She quickly looked away from him.

"How are you doing?" Molly asked. Clara didn't say anything. She only shrugged.

"Do you need anything?" George asked. Clara shook her head no. She didn't look at him. She just looked down at the floor. Clara just wanted to be alone.

"What do you want us to do?" Molly asked.

"I just want to be alone." Clara said sitting down in a chair next to the book shelf. Her home was still as she remembered it when she left it to hide out it the fall home. Although Molly and George did try to clean it up a bit for her.

"Alright dear. Let us know if you need anything." Molly said. Clara nodded looking off into the distance in the other direction. She made no intention to smile or see them out. She just sat there with a blank stare on her face. George followed his mother out the front door.

"Do you think she is going to be ok?" He asked shutting the door behind him.

"I don't know. Only time will tell." His mother said. He nodded and followed his mother home.

Clara sat in the chair looking at nothing when a picture of her and Fred caught her eye. It was sitting on the bookshelf just and arms length away. She grabbed it off the shelf and looked at it with a blank face. She saw Fred smiling at her. His red hair being blown by the wind and his eyes filled with life. Her body started to tingle and her hands started to tremble. She began to get angry as she continued to stare at the picture.

"You promised." She whispered to herself, eyes filling with tears. "YOU PROMISED!" She threw the picture across the room. It smashed against the wall shattering the glass. Clara got out of her chair and began to tear her house apart. Ripping pictures off the walls, throwing books around. All the while yelling at nobody. She was angry. She was angry at Fred, although she had no reason to be. She was angry about the promise he broke to her. She knew deep down it wasn't his fault at all, but at that moment she didn't care.

"You could have tried harder!" She screamed throwing a picture. "You didn't even try! You didn't even try." She started to grow tired. And the feeling of guilt fell upon her. She stumbled to the floor landing next to the first picture that she threw. She picked it up and held it to her chest. She gripped it tightly.

"I should have listened to you." She cried. "I should have stayed when you told me to stay. This all my fault." She began to cry harder blaming herself for what has happened. "This is all my fault." She kept saying over and over again holding the photo close to her. She sobbed and sobbed until all she could do was whimper here and there. She had cried so much that there were no tears left to cry. All she could do was make noise. She just wanted to go to sleep and never wake up. She couldn't live without Fred. How was she supposed to go on without him? He was her everything and now she felt as though she has nothing. Nothing else left to look forward to. No reason to wake up in the mornings. She sat in that spot for the whole rest of the night. Hardly moving and out of touch with reality. She felt lost and alone. She had checked out, and was determined not to check back in.