S I X T Y - E I G H T

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Midnight patrols were usually uneventful.

Most of the other prefects hated doing the late night patrols around Hogwarts, not wanting to take the time away from their studies or sleep. But Adeline signed up for them at every opportunity she could, loving just how quiet the castle got at night and how she didn't have as much to do if she had chosen to do an earlier shift. The only troubles she seemed to have was dealing with students sneaking out past curfew or having awkward confrontations with couples who had decided to have a midnight rendezvous.

That's why Adeline was so surprised when she heard a large group of footsteps in the distance.

At first, she thought it might've been a large group of students attempting to sneak out to Hogsmeade. Given how close the holidays were, there had been so many more people trying to sneak out to go last-minute Christmas shopping or have a last hurrah with their friends before they separated for several weeks.

But then the group rounded the corner, and Adeline's anxiety went through the castle roof. At first, she could only see Professor McGonagall and Ron were holding up a pale, almost-sickly looking Harry. His neck of his pajama shirt was lined with sweat, and Harry looked so dazed that he would collapse on the floor if the two let go of them. Professor McGonagall noticed Adeline in the distance, but she was so focused on getting Harry and all the Weasleys to Professor Dumbledore that she didn't say anything when Adeline started making her way towards them.

Adeline's worry only seemed to increase – if that was even physically possible – when she saw George, Fred, and Ginny all trailing behind, still in their flannel pajamas and fear clearly etched on their face. When George spotted Adeline rushing towards him, while his worry didn't disappear in the slightest, but he couldn't help but be slightly thankful that they had run into her. George's head had been spinning ever since he had been woken up in the middle of the night by Professor McGonagall.

"What's happening?" She asked quickly as she approached George. "What's going on?"

"Dad's been attacked."

It was such a short sentence, but the absolute panic and heartbreak in George's voice was enough for Adeline to squeeze his hand tightly and let him lead her down the corridor. Next to her, Ginny's bottom lip wobbled as she tried to keep a straight face, wanting so desperately to cry but not wanting to panic her brothers even more by doing so. In an attempt to comfort her , Adeline extended her other hand out to Ginny's, who grabbed her hand and gave her a grateful look.

Professor McGonagall led them up the stairs and into Professor Dumbledore's office, the small light from her wand lighting the way down the dark hallways. When they reached the office, where the Headmaster was already waiting, Fred spoke up and asked, "What's...what's going on? All we could find out is that Dad's been attacked and–"

"Your father has been injured in the course of his work for the Order of the Phoenix," Dumbledore informed the group before Harry could explain the dream. Adeline's heart dropped to her stomach, and George's grip tightened on Adeline's hand so hard that her knuckles paled. "He has been taken to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. I am sending you back to Sirius's house, which is much more convenient for the hospital than the Burrow. You will meet your mother there."

A bright flame suddenly appeared in the middle of Professor Dumbledore's office. Then, just as quickly as it appeared, it soon disappeared and left a single golden feather, which gently floated down to the ground. "It is Fawkes's warning," He stated. "Professor Umbridge must know you're out of bed. Minerva, go and head her off, tell her any story."

Professor McGonagall stood up immediately, but before she did, she turned to Adeline and began to say, "Ms. Reyes, I'm sorry, but you need to go back on patrol–"

"Professor McGonagall, she's already going to be staying with us for Christmas holidays anyways," George begged, gripping even tighter onto Adeline's hand. "Can she please come with us right now?"

Looking back and forth between the couple, Professor McGonagall eventually sighed and relented. "I'll let Professor Flitwick know where you've gone." She then turned back to the group of students and said, "I'll inform Ms. Granger what's happened, and she will join you as soon as she can."

After Professor McGonagall left the office, a voice sounded from a portrait hanging above Professor Dumbledore's desk. "He said he'd be delighted," The man in the portrait said in a bored voice, and Adeline read the plague below the painting and recognized the name 'Phineas Nigellus' from portraits hanging at Grimmauld Place. "My great-great grandson had always had an odd taste in house guests."

Professor Dumbledore nodded at the portrait and then turned back to the students, gesturing for them to gather around his desk. "Come here, then. Quickly, before anyone else joins us," He said as the teenagers rushed over. "You all have used a portkey, yes?" They all nodded as they reached out to touch the Portkey. "Good. On the count of three. One...two...three."

With her eye squeezed shut, Adeline kept one finger on the Portkey, only letting go of George's hand for a brief moment as the Portkey sent them flying into the air. Once the group of teenagers landed on the floor, Adeline opened her eye once more and found herself in the middle of the Grimmauld Place kitchen.

The first thing any of them heard upon arrival was a croaky voice commenting, "Back again, the blood traitor brats...is it true their father's dying?"

"Out!" Sirius bellowed as he stormed into the kitchen. However, upon seeing all the shaken teenagers standing in the middle of his kitchen, he calmed down and began to ask, "What's going on? Phineas Nigellus said Arthur's been badly injured."

"Ask Harry," Fred said, pointing at the dark-haired boy who was still looking shaken up.

"Yeah, I want to hear this for myself, too," George nodded, glancing over at Harry.

With his face still sheet white, Harry began explaining the vision he had experienced to the group and how real it seemed to him. Everyone stayed silent the entire time, even a few seconds after Harry had finished his story.

After a beat more of silence, Fred turned to Sirius and asked, "Is Mum here?"

He shook his head. "She probably doesn't even know what's happened yet. The important thing was to get you away from Umbridge could interfere. I expect Dumbledore's letting Molly know now."

"We've got to go to St. Mungo's," Ginny said urgently, looking around the room and seemingly realizing that they were all still in their pajamas. "Sirius, can you lend us cloaks or anything–"

"Hang on, you can't go tearing off to St. Mungo's," Sirius ordered.

"Course we can go if we want to," George protested. "He's our dad!"

"And how are you going to explain how you knew Arthur was attacked before the hospital even lets his wife know?"

"Why does that matter?" Fred questioned, his voice already beginning to rise.

"It matters because we don't want to draw attention to the fact that Harry is having these visions of things that are happening hundreds of miles away! Have you any idea what the Ministry would make of this information?"

"We don't care about the Order!" Fred snapped so suddenly that it made Adeline jump.

"It's our dad dying we're talking about!" George yelled.

"Your father knew what he was getting into, and he won't thank you for messing things up for the Order!" Sirius shouted, starting to let his anger get the better of him. "This is how it is. This is why you're not in the Order. You don't understand there are things worth dying for."

"Easy for you to say!" Fred bellowed, nearly rising out of his chair. "I don't see you risking your neck."

"Fred, you know Sirius wouldn't be here if he could leave," Adeline interjected quickly, sensing that an argument could break out with how heightened everyone's emotions were. "I know you're terrified right now. All of you are – you have every right to be. But you can't take that out on Sirius, alright? None of us are part of the Order yet, no matter how much we want to be, and none of us are in Sirius's situation. We have no idea what it's like."

Adeline had worried for a moment that she had overstepped, and Fred's anger would turn from Sirius to her. But, Fred didn't say another word, but everyone could tell from the look on his face that he felt at least slightly guilty for lashing out on Sirius so badly.

Suddenly, a bright flame appeared in the center of the dining table, startling all the teenagers around it and causing them to jump. When the flames cleared, a golden feather with a feather remained, which Sirius plucked off the table.

"Fawkes..." He murmured to himself before looking back up at group of teenagers. "This isn't Dumbledore's handwriting, it must be a message from your mother."

Sirius handed it over to Fred, who quickly grabbed and tore open the note. "Dad is still alive. I am setting out for St. Mungo's now. Stay where you are. I will send news as soon as I can. Mum."

"Still alive..." George repeated, his frown beginning to deepen. "That makes it sound..."

George didn't need to finish his sentence – everyone understood what he meant.

Sirius suggested that they all went to bed, but those words fell upon deaf ears. All of them stayed silently sitting around the table, watching the candle light grow dimmer and dimmer until it burned out completely. Fred was the first to doze off, his head hanging to the side. Ginny curled up like a cat in his chair, and Ron sat forward with his head in hands.

Even though everyone had fallen asleep, George and Adeline were still wide awake, curled into each other's side. From a distance, it would seem as if everything was normal. However, Adeline could feel George shaking beside her. Adeline kept holding George's hand under the table as he rested his other hand on her knee, desperate to keep a hold on Adeline as if he was fearful she would suddenly disappear if he let go.

"George?" Adeline asked quietly, and she felt him seize up beside her. "Do you want to talk?"

"Hallway," He mumbled, barely able to get out another word. Adeline nodded and took him by the hand and led him out of the kitchen, their footsteps creaking on the old, wooden floor. Thankfully, no one seemed to stir awake.

Adeline and George were the only ones in the dimly-lit hallway. George didn't say a word, but he didn't need to. Adeline could tell from the tight grip of his hand on hers and the subtle tremor in his voice on the rare occasions he spoke that George was breaking on the inside.

"C'mere, George," She eventually whispered, wrapping her arms around him and allowing one hand to rest on his back and the other on the nape of his neck. George felt himself melting into Adeline's comforting embrace. After trying his best to stay strong for his siblings, the emotions and magnitude of the situation finally hit George like a ton of bricks as he began to quietly cry in Adeline's arms.

A part of her knew she couldn't fully understand the emotions George was going through in that moment. Adeline's relationship with her family was fractured, to say the least. But – despite all the squabbles and complaints – George's love for his family couldn't be denied. She could see it from the loving way he looked at his parents to the way he would tease his younger siblings but defend them until the ends of the earth if needed. Adeline loved the Weasleys, but she didn't have that same familial connection that the red-headed family had with each other. Not even Harry, who was incredibly close to the Weasley family, had that exact same connection.

But, despite the fact Adeline couldn't fully understand what he was going through, she wanted to do everything she could to support George.

"Remember what the note said: your dad's still alive. I know it's terrifying right now, but because Harry had that vision, your dad was able to get help a lot sooner," Adeline pressed a kiss to his temple. "Your dad's going to be okay, I'm sure of it. You should at least try and get a little sleep tonight, alright?

"Well this is certainly a role reversal," He muttered half-heartedly. "I feel like I've said that a million times before."

Adeline would've made another joke in response, but neither of them were in the mood for it tonight. "I'm serious, George," She gently urged. "It's been an incredibly long night for you. You should at least try and get a few hours of sleep."

George wasn't sure if he could even fall asleep that. But when he sat down at the table once again, he found himself hit with exhaustion like a ton of bricks, and he nearly fell asleep on the spot. But, before he did, he silently nuzzled his head into the crook of her shoulder before finally letting sleep take over.

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a/n:

hi guys!!

i moved back into my college dorm and started classes yesterday, and i have the feeling that this semester is going to be HELL. i hope i still update on a regular basis, but if i disappear off the face of the earth, pls know that it's not bc i don't want to write, it's bc i'm Very overwhelmed w classes.

this chapter was originally much longer, but i ended up taking out a scene and am having the next chapter be that scene bc i'm still having a bit of writers block when it comes to it, but i had this whole part of the chapter done and i wanted to get a new chapter out there !!

i hope you all enjoyed the chapter and that you have a lovely day !! i'll see you at the next update !!

- g ♡