Chapter Nine: The Only Wizard You-Know-Who Was Scared Of

"Anyone get the post this morning?" George hollered from the bathroom.

Seeing as how Fred and I were still in bed, and hadn't bothered getting dressed from the previous night yet, we had not left the room and obviously hadn't gotten the post. "No, not yet!" I shouted back from our room. "Katie?"

George shouted back at us, "Katie's not here!"

I sighed. "Fine, I'll see." I kissed Fred's forehead and slowly sidled out of the blankets as to not wake him. Throwing on a bathrobe, I went out to the kitchen to check if anyone had written. Sure enough, the Weasleys' bird, Errol, was perched on one of the chair's backs and an envelope lay inadvertently in the middle of the table. "What's this all about...?" I picked up the envelope to see it was addressed to all four of us – being one of the four of us, I didn't see anything wrong in opening it and later informing everyone what it was concerning.

Fred, George, Sara and Katie,

I'm not sure how to put this delicately, but Professor Dumbledore passed away last night. A funeral will be held for him later this week. If you come to the Burrow, we can all go together.

Details will be given in person – I'm not sure a letter is the best way to honour such a wizard.

Hope to see you tonight.

Love always,

Mrs. Weasley

PS. Closing down the shop for a few days won't be a problem. Everyone will understand.

"Bloody hell..." I placed the letter back on the table and backed away slowly. Dumbledore couldn't be... It was impossible. "Fred!" I bellowed. "Fred, George!" I ran into our bedroom and shook Fred awake.

"What is it?" George asked, barging into the bedroom. "Is everything okay?" One look at me in my robe and Fred's half-naked body poking out from under the covers made his eyebrows shoot right up. "What did you two do last night?" He added a wink after his question.

"George, now is not the time." I was becoming frustrated. I didn't know how to react to the news I'd just received, but I'm sure they would.

Fred furrowed his brow. "What's wrong?"

"We've just been given a letter from your mother... Professor Dumbledore died last night."

Simultaneously, the twins' jaws dropped and their eyes went wide. "Are you sure?"

"I'm pretty bloody certain."

George left the room, so he could collect the letter from the table, I imagined. "Shite..." Fred's eyes fell to his lap and he reached over to grab his shirt from the floor. "I can't believe this..."

"What d'you reckon's going to happen now?" I asked, growing nervous.

Fred shook his head unknowingly. "Dunno. Dumbledore was the only wizard You-Know-Who was ever afraid of. Now that he's gone, I've got no idea..."

"Blimey, she's right!" George burst into the room holding the letter above his head. "Listen to this, Fred: 'Professor Dumbledore passed away last night. A funeral will be held for him later this week. If you come to the Burrow, we can all go together...' Merlin... This is mad..."

Upon arriving at the Burrow, the mood could not have been any more sombre. Any smiles that made an appearance were evidently forced ones. Fred and George hugged their mother sincerely as tears fell from her eyes upon our entrance. Katie and I got caught in a family embrace, as well.

"What happened, Mum?" asked George. "The letter said you'd tell us when we got here."

She put a handkerchief up to her nose and nodded. "I did; come in, sit down." Fred and I took one sofa, while Katie and George shared the sofa with Mrs. Weasley. "Alright," she took a deep breath and began. "Harry informed us of what had happened last night. Apparently Draco Malfoy..."

"I always knew that kid was scum..." Katie muttered under her breath.

"...had been repairing the vanishing cabinet in the Room of Requirement and used it to sneak Death Eaters into the castle from a furniture store in Knockturn Alley. They were encouraging Draco to kill Dumbledore but he couldn't do it. In the end it was Severus Snape who... did the deed."

My stomach churned. "Professor Snape? But I didn't think he..."

"I always knew that man was a bloody git," grumbled George. Fred was still speechless.

I couldn't believe it. Why would Snape kill Dumbledore?

The funeral, however beautiful the service may have been, was the most depressing thing I'd ever experienced. Dumbledore had influenced so many witches and wizards to the point they weren't sure how they could carry on without him. Harry and Ginny were sitting in front of Fred and me holding hands, and from the looks on their faces, I assumed they were going through a very rough time.

I overheard Harry tell Ginny that they could no longer see each other while he had to endure the adventure he was about to undergo. When had they even gotten together? I would have been aggravated that no one told me anything, but there were more serious matters at hand.

I couldn't even get excited knowing I was surrounded by friends again. "How're you holding up?" Neville inquired, giving me a very tight hug.

"I'm alright." I shrugged him off and shook my head. "It's just hard to believe one of the most powerful wizards is gone, you know?"

"Uh, Sara?" Fred tapped me on the shoulder and then looked at Neville. "Sorry, mind if I steal her for a moment?"

Neville smiled meekly at the fact that Fred was spending time with me again and nodded. "Yeah, definitely."

Once we were alone, I turned to him. "What?"

"I heard what you were saying to Neville and well... it's a bit more serious than that."

"What do you mean?"

He cleared his throat. "Err, well he was the only wizard You-Know-Who was scared of... and now he's gone." I waited for more explanation, though I had an idea of what he was trying to get at. "Sara, there's going to be a war."

My heartbeat picked up its pace. "I was afraid you'd say that."

"Sara, there's no way to tell when You-Know-Who's army is going to strike – and no matter what we go through, I want you by my side the whole time. I don't want to lose you."

"Me neither, Fred." My eyes had begun to water purely out of fear. I never thought I would be living in the time of war.

He took my left hand delicately in both of his own; his grip gradually tightened. "Marry me."

"What?" The pounding in my chest had just doubled in speed. I thought I might pass out – everything went black.

Fred picked my chin up and stared critically into my eyes. "Marry me."

I did not look away; I did not even blink as I made my reply. "Okay."

Author's Note: I really hope you enjoyed this instalment of my Harry Potter Epic! Go read the sequel to this part – "It's Not Over Before it's Too Late"!

Also, don't be afraid to drop a line. I really appreciate reviews, or any kind of feedback!