For The Houses Competition

Hufflepuff

Potions

Standard

Prompt: Malfunctioning Portkey

Word Count: 1,229

The air feels heavy. The silence rings through the house louder than the noise ever did.

Nothing has been the same since the battle. I never expected victory to feel so much like defeat. We've won, but how can that be good if it caused so many deaths?

Everyone keeps expecting the twins to come around the corner and play a joke. After spending so much time here in the summers, I had gotten used to having to watch my back, just in case my hair is hexed blue or something. Now, Fred is gone and George is rarely seen. The home that was once always buzzing with excitement, is silent, and I haven't heard a laugh in a long time.

"Morning, Mione," I hear a voice from behind me. I spin around to see Ron coming down the stairs.

"Good Morning, Ron," I say with a small smile, "You're up early,"

"Couldn't sleep," he says, shrugging, "Where are you off to?"

"Hogwarts," I answer, "I'm helping clean up the school. We're hoping to repair the damage and be able to open the school back up by Mid-August so students won't have to start late,"

He laughs quietly.

"Only you could worry about kids going back to school on time,"

"Me and every professor, Ronald," I correct him halfheartedly. It's good to see him laugh, even if it isn't as full as it once was. Fred's death has taken a massive toll on everyone.

"Would you like to come? I'm sure we could use the extra help," I ask. His eyes widen just a bit and he sucks in a breath.

"If you want to, of course," I add quickly. The memories of the battle are still fresh in everyone's minds. After a minute, he nods.

"I'll go," he says, "Might be good to get out of the house. I nod. I write a quick note to Mrs. Weasley letting her know we're going to Hogwarts and will be back before dinner.

"How are we getting there?" he asks.

"Portkey," I answer, taking off my necklace. Its small beads are white like pearls, and a red rose is in the center. McGonagall gave it to me. It's charmed so that every morning at six it can become a portkey to Hogwarts if I activate it. Though portkeys wouldn't usually work at Hogwarts, since Mcgonagall is the Headmistress, she can make them.

A few moments later, the watch on my wrist shows 6:00.

"Portus Activus!" I say, activating the portkey. It glows blue, and Ron and I grab on. A moment later, I feel the familiar tug and see the warm colors of the Burrow spinning into the bright colors of the sky. I look at Ron since I can see nothing else clearly. I get ready for the impact of hitting the ground, but it doesn't come.

Suddenly, the colors fade to blacks and browns and greys. It only lasts a moment, before we hit solid ground.

I can already tell something's not right. Instead of the destruction that I remember from the battle, everything is normal. I push myself off the ground and listen. Along with the wind rustling the branches of the Whomping Willow nearby, I can hear voices and laughter.

"What happened?" Ron asks.

"I don't know," I reply. I try to think of all possible ways it could have gone wrong, but none of them fit since we are at Hogwarts.

"Let's go in the school, and see if we can figure out what happened," I suggest. Ron nods, and we make our way to the entrance of the school. Students are spread out of the lawn. I'm not sure why they are here, or why McGonagall would allow them.

We keep walking, but my feet drag. My feet feel like they weigh ten pounds. I turn to Ron and see he's struggling as well. After a few moments, my feet are even heavier and I'm unable to move.

"That works well, don't you think?" I hear someone shout from behind me. My feet are released, and I turn to see who's behind me. My eyes widen in shock when I see George and Fred laughing. How can Fred be here? Fred is dead. I feel Ron grab my hand, and I hold on to his.

I pull Ron away for a moment, and whisper into his ear, "I think something went wrong with time. Ask them the date," I say.

"Why can't you?" he protests.

"Because I always know the date. It will be less suspicious," I reply. We walk back over to Fred and George.

"What day is it," Ron asks. I guess I should have been more specific. The point was to not be suspicious. The twins don't seem to care.

"Saturday," Fred says.

"May 20th," George adds.

"Oh, I thought it was the 19th," Ron covers. I have a terrible suspicion that I need to prove wrong.

"How is your Defense class going?" I ask.

"Alright," Fred responds.

"But Moody really is mad!" George adds.

"Constant Vigilance!" Fred shouts, laughing. I turn to Ron.

"It's our fourth year!" I say in a hushed whisper. Ron nods. Without warning, Ron runs up to Fred and hugs him tight. Fred pats his hat and looks down at him.

"Are you alright?" George asks from beside him. Ron nods, but I can see he's holding back tears.

"It's been a long week," Ron says, pulling back. It's true. Between Fred's funeral and the overall exhaustion, it has been a long week.

Ron steps back, and I pull Fred into a quick hug. I pull away, and we start for the school.

"Thank you both," I say. I wish everyone would have come. I know it will help Ron to be able to say goodbye and see him one last time. When we are back inside the school, we find an empty hallway.

"We need to find a way out of here," I say.

"Can you reverse a portkey?" he asks.

"I'm not sure," I answer, "Let's stop by the library," Ron rolls his eyes, but follows me down the hall. It only takes around an hour to find the right one. Our answer ends up being in the book 'Secrets of Portkeys' in the restricted section. I scan through the chapters and find the right page.

Portkeys can be reversed to take you back to wherever you came from, by simply saying the words, 'Portus Contrarium' While at first glance the may seem like a disaster for security, it will only work if the portkey has been used in the last two hours, and each person has been to the original location within the last 24 hours. This prevents anyone who has not already been there, from entering. You also must be thinking vividly of your destination.

I relay the information back to Ron, and we decide to attempt it.

I take off my rose necklace once again and say, "Portus Contrarium!" We both grab on as the portkey glows red then changes to blue.

"Think of the Burrow," I whisper. Moments later, we feel the twisting of the portkey and are dropped just beyond the Burrow's wards. We run inside the warm house and smile.

"Thank you," Ron says to me, "for giving me one last chance to say goodbye to my brother,"