PERHAPS DEV SHOULD HAVE EXPECTED IT, but things did not go back to normal. In fact, when they returned to the Kimura manor that night, Fred and George immediately used the floo network to return to the burrow. Dev and May couldn't really blame them, after the trauma they collectively experienced, they needed familiarity. They needed comfort. And the best person to provide those things was Molly Weasley.

Dev had spent the last two days of break at the Kimura household, the girls skirting around the topic of Friday night as best they could. Devora didn't have to tell May what she had seen in her vision, or that she had a vision at all. May was intelligent, she pieced it all together on her own based on the context clues of the night. Still, on Sunday night before they were meant to return to Hogwarts, May couldn't help but shift in the small bed they shared and eye the girl.

"I was meant to die, wasn't I?" The girl whispered, her voice much smaller than Dev was used to.

"Yes."

"So he—" The girl seemed to choke up at the mention of the worker. "He's dead, because of me? I'm only alive because he's gone?"

"He's dead because of me." Dev stated firmly, shifting to her side to eye the girl back. "I made the choice, not you. And I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

May only nodded in response, her eyes boring deeply into her best friend. No words needed to be spoken, because what was there to say? A 'thank you' hardly seemed appropriate, especially knowing that somewhere not far from them, a family was preparing to bury their son. Silence filled the air, and both girls knew they wouldn't be getting any sleep that night.

☽

FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THEIR FIRST YEAR, Dev and May rode the Hogwarts Express without the twins on their side. While Dev wanted to be surprised when the red-headed boys didn't find their way to them, she wasn't. Some part of her had anticipated that they'd keep their distance, at least for a short period of time. So, Dev and May rode the train in silence, looking through their textbooks whilst being unable to actually retain any information.

One week later, there still had been no interactions between them and the boys. They ate dinner in the great hall in silence, something that didn't go unnoticed to Cho and the others around them. The two hadn't sat that silently since the rumors surrounding Dev and the twins swirled a few weeks before, so it was certainly out of the ordinary. Still, no one really pressed them to speak more.

Dev's expression perked up when she spotted the familiar mops of long red hair across the great hall. Some foolish part of her hoped that they'd make their way to her, that they'd finally speak. That hope was squashed the instant that she made fleeting eye contact with George, who quickly averted his gaze and made his way out of the great hall.

"How long do you think they'll avoid us?" Dev sighed. She absently pushed her food around with her fork, suddenly losing all of her appetite.

"I don't even get why they are avoiding us," May shook her head. "We all were there. We all saw it. We should be trying to help each other through it."

"They blame me." Dev lamented, raising her eyes to May's. "Or at least, George does. And I can't say I really blame him. All he saw was me pointlessly ignoring the rules, and someone died because of it."

May was silent for a long while, before eventually she nodded. It had been so apparent to her what happened, the second she saw Dev burst into tears. She hadn't considered how peculiar and distressing the situation would be for the twins, especially George. How could she judge the way they were coping, even if it was away from the girls? Seeing them probably only served as a reminder of what had happened, and perhaps they weren't ready for that.

"Maybe you should tell them." May finally whispered, chewing down on her lip. "You know they wouldn't tell—"

"No." Dev shook her head quickly. As she continued, her words came out in a hushed whisper. "May, I can't. I've already broken so many of my own rules this year, I'm letting things get too suspicious. Can you imagine what people would say? Or how I'd be regarded? If it comes out, my future is decided for me. I don't get to choose a job or have a life outside of these damned visions that I didn't even ask for."

"Okay, okay." May stopped her from continuing, nodding her head slowly. It was clear she didn't quite agree with Dev's way of thinking, but she wasn't going to push it any further. May knew it wasn't her decision to make. "Well, look, I've got to get going."

"Where are you off to?" Dev furrowed her brows, sitting up straighter.

"Meeting up with Mione. Said she needed my help with something for Harry and the next task," May shrugged, pushing her plate away and gathering her things. Once she was about ready to go, she paused and eyed Dev. "You'll be okay, yeah?"

In response, Dev only nodded. Vocalizing a response would be too hard, because Dev knew she couldn't say with confidence that she would be. Truthfully, she wondered if any of them would be. Her feelings of dread had only grown since that night a few days before, and there was nothing Dev could do to shake them. They had to at least try, though. They had to carry on, it was the only thing they could do.

May gave a squeeze to Dev's shoulder as she stood and passed by, exiting the great hall without another glance back. Not longer after, Dev found that she couldn't handle sitting with the other students left in the great hall. While she knew it was only her nerves, it felt as though everyone's eyes were on her. As if everyone knew what she had done, as if that boy's blood was dripping from her slender fingers. So, she quickly stood and left as well.

She found herself wandering the castle without any real destination point, desperately trying to flee the anxiety creeping up her spine. After what felt like hours but could only be minutes, she found herself nestling up in a window sill, the view of the quidditch pitch clear below. The Gryffindors were having a night practice, despite all games being cancelled due to the tournament, and as much as she didn't want to search for her best friends, she immediately found her eye drawn to them.

It was cold out, considering it was early January. Dev drew her knees up to her chest as she watched them from afar, finding that a small smile graced her lips when she saw them laugh. Even if she was in so much pain, some part of her was happy to see that they could still find it in them to joke. That was a good sign, she decided.

Although she wasn't sure how it happened, Dev drifted to sleep with her head resting against the cool window pane. Perhaps her lack of sleep over the past week, which had only gotten worse than it had been the rest of the year, was to blame. It was as if every time Dev shut her eyes, she was in that room, with the faux Fred and every other person whose death she supposedly caused. Now, the boy from the festival was clear among them, and it made Dev sick. Her body had seemed to decide for her that she needed rest, though, and she had no choice in her slumber.

Dev wasn't sure what time it was when she finally awoke, but the castle around her had completely dimmed, save for a few candles lining the corridor. The team was no longer practicing outside, and judging by the position of the large full moon overhead, it was well into the evening. She wasn't sure how she hadn't been found by Filch yet, but she wouldn't question it. Now, she just needed to get back to her dorm without getting caught.

Luckily, it wasn't too far of a walk. She simply had to make it up one moving staircase and down two corridors. With each turn and further step, Dev found herself pausing to listen for the sound of anyone approaching. It was tedious, but she knew she had to be careful if she wanted to avoid a detention.

When Dev just made it past the stairs that would lead her to the Defense Against the Dark Arts tower, she found herself pausing, but not out of paranoia this time. No, she heard laughter coming from a side corridor. She knew that laughter. Some part of her knew she should press on, that she should just keep going and return to her common room, but her feet didn't listen. They took a sharp left, following the muffled laughter.

When they come into view, Dev froze. She wasn't sure what her plan had been, what she was meant to say when she finally saw them, and now she was regretting not hiding at the sound of their laughter. She took in the sight of three of her peers, Fred and George, with Angelina Johnson sandwiched between them. They had yet to see her, as they were turned to one another, causing laughter then shushing one another.

"You've gotta be quiet, Ang." Fred warned, although the smile Dev could make out in the candlelight told her he was very proud to be the reason she was laughing.

"Yeah, it's like you've never snuck out before." George teased.

"Oh, well I'm sorry that I choose to be a good student, unlike—" Angelina's joking tone faded out as her eyes set on Dev before them. Her initial fear seemed to fade quickly to one of relief as she realized it wasn't a professor or Filch. In a loud whisper, she called out. "Oi, Devora? Godric, you scared me."

Fred and George's heads raised slowly, eyes setting on the girl across the corridor. The flicker of candlelight danced across their features, and it made Dev's stomach flip. George had set his lips into a line, casting his eyes downward rather than holding her gaze. Fred was more unreadable, looking as if he almost felt guilty. 

"Yeah, erm, I'm sorry about that." Dev tried to play it off, forcing out a light laughter as she carried herself closer to them. "I just thought I heard you guys, so, uh, I came to see."

"What're you doing out?" Fred furrowed his brows before glancing over her shoulder, seemingly checking if she were alone.

"Oh, it's not as fun as whatever you guys are up to, I'm sure." Dev began to wring her hands, hating the tension between her and the people she considered her best friends. "I uh, I fell asleep in one of the window sills after dinner. When I woke up it was past curfew, so I was just trying to head back without getting caught."

"Ah, explains the hair," Fred teased lightly. He took a step closer to her, reaching out his hand and brushing down the side of her hair that had been pressed to the window. He tucked it back behind her ear, letting his eyes and hand linger on her for a moment before pulling it back and stuffing it in his pocket.

Dev's cheeks burned red at the contact, only tearing her own gaze away when Fred's lowered to the floor. She found herself glancing towards Angelina, who finally seemed to notice the awkward tension looming between the twins and Dev. Her eyes wandered between all three of them, until she finally settled on George. Dev caught a glimpse of her nudging him with her elbow, her furrowed brows wordlessly asking what was going on.

"We, uh, probably should get going," George spoke aloud, rather than answering Angelina.

"Right, right," Dev nodded quickly. "Don't wanna get caught."

The trio went to walk forward just as Dev turned on her heels and went to go back the way she came. They all paused, realizing they were heading in the same direction. Dev swallowed, cursing herself for putting herself in such an awkward position.

"I'm uh, heading this way too," Dev vocalized, to which the others just nodded.

Dev kept her head focused downward as they walked in silence. Her stomach was in knots at the idea of them choosing Angelina to pull off some prank with, something that had never happened before. She understood why they needed space from her, she truly did, but it didn't make it hurt any less. 

When they finally made it to the place, where they'd break off, Dev having to turn right down a corridor to return to the Ravenclaw tower, the group paused. Dev offered the boys a sad smile, because that's all she had the energy to give them. Angelina gave her a small wave of goodbye and with that, the group of three kept walking on. 

Dev was frozen for a moment, watching their backs as they quietly carried on down their corridor. All she wanted was a sign, any little sign, that would tell her they'd find a way to get past this. Anything to tell her that George wouldn't hate her forever, that she hadn't lost both of the boys for eternity.

As if Fred could hear her thoughts, the boy faltered for a moment up ahead. He glanced back, seeming shocked to see Dev was still waiting there. A small smile graced his features, and in true Fred-fashion, he shot her a dramatic wink, just to ease the tension. A soft giggle bubbled inside of Dev, something that hadn't happened in a week, and that seemed to comfort both of them. Letting herself get swept up in the happiness of the moment, Dev pretended to swoon, giggling once again before shooting him a nod and turning on her heels towards the Ravenclaw tower.

Maybe George hates her, and maybe she can't close her eyes without seeing tragedy, and maybe she has no fucking clue what she's doing anymore. But, tonight, Fred Weasley made her giggle. He made her remember what it was like to do so, like he always had. And that was enough to tell her that not all hope was lost. 

author's note !

I'm sorry for the lapse in updating, I worked so much over the past two weeks and had a ton of assignments due. 

This isn't my favorite chapter by any means, but it was needed to set up how much everything that happened hurt poor Georgie.

We're in the second half of their sixth year now, and I'm going to move through it a lot quicker than the first half. This book is meant to make it up until the end of deathly hallows, so I gotta keep it moving lol.

also side note I listened to 'Funeral' by Phoebe Bridgers on repeat while writing this chapter and I think that's why its so emo lmao.

Lemme know what you guys think, I hope you liked it :')

rose <3