Weasley's the Name

Weasley's The Name: Seventh Year

Chapter 13- Visitors From the Past

Taylor had a mission.

Well, not really.

She was actually quite a bit annoyed at what Dumbledore had sent her to do: "Go check and see if the two are in the dorms." Professor Potter had been sent to Hogsmeade, because Anthony had stated that the missing two had gone there earlier, and she was stuck doing lousy easy work.

"Like I'm some first year, incapable of performing a simple spell," she muttered as she shuffled towards Gryffindor Tower. But, she made her way to the dorms, knowing that it was better to trust the Headmaster's instinct then to go off and cause more trouble.

Taylor watched through the windows the blades of grass blow, and she smiled at how beautiful Hogwarts really was. She began down the hall to Gryffindor Tower, and quite suddenly a thought made her stop abruptly in her tracks.

What am I going to do after Hogwarts?

She looked down at her crossed arms, frowning. In her fifth year she and Professor McGonagall had discussed various options, and she hadn't settled on one set career track. Taylor had always just supposed someone would...well; tell her what she could do, like those owls Anthony had received from the Ministry and various other prestigious places...

I'm going to be living with my mother forever, she thought miserably.

And there was no way her mother would approve of her moving in with Anthony, like he had spoke of ("Our own little place, I mean, we're practically married already!").

Pansy Parkinson still referred to him as 'Weasley', though she had been mildly impressed with his Head Boy status. Taylor loved her mother dearly, but...she'd been with Anthony for the past seven years of her life, how was she suddenly supposed to adjust to a life without him?

A clanging of metal knocked Taylor out of her deep thought. She found herself in the Gryffindor hall; standing near the window Stephen had pushed Anthony into those many years ago.

The solitary knight armor that stood in the hall shook slightly, which wasn't unusual; sometimes spirits possessed the suits of armor to scare the little first years. She was sure that if there were a spirit inside of it, it wouldn't be able to see her from where she was standing.

Taylor gasped as the suit of armor fell to the ground, and pieces of it began to skid down the hall. Realizing that the spirit inside was not a good one, she pulled her wand out of her robes, getting ready to send any sort of curse to distract it.

She narrowed her eyes to get a glimpse of the spirit, but still did not see anyone down in the hallway. Muffled screams could be heard, and Taylor began to think that there was more than one...thing possessing the knight. Then, a voice shouted out,

"You'll never get away with diss!" Taylor's heart stopped as she realized that the voice belonged to Soledad. Another growl was heard, and seemingly from nowhere, Soledad appeared, her eyes shut tightly and her back arched. The girl's hands were up in the air, as if pleading innocent to something, and the blonde noticed that some of her hair just...disappeared.

"Hurry up and open the damn door," a male voice grumbled,

Oh God, Taylor thought. He's under an Invisibility Cloak. She pushed herself against the wall and listened for Richard's footsteps. They headed towards portrait of the Fat Lady, and Taylor heard him yelling at Soledad.

"Open the God damn door, you stupid ugly..." He then said some words that Ron Weasley would have gasped at.

"Don't you dare talk to me like that, whoever's there!" Taylor heard the Fat Lady scream along with Soledad.

This is my chance, Taylor thought. She couldn't risk exposing her self, the fact that Dumbledore had stated he had stolen some very dangerous Muggle items kept her from attacking out front. She figured out that Richard was holding Soledad from the back by the way her roommate's body was standing, so if she could get close enough not to hit Soledad...

"Listen, I'm going to say this one more time," the man's voice growled again, and this time, he made a motion that made Soledad fall to her knees with a shriek, and reveal his free hand.

He held a long dagger covered with still oozing blood.

Taylor gasped and dropped her wand in surprise. Soledad didn't have any visible injuries, especially not one that was caused by a dagger that long. That could only mean...

"Jake."

The name barely slipped out of her lips before she realized her dire mistake. Soledad was suddenly thrust into the portrait of the Fat Lady, sliding down into a heap on the floor. The Fat Lady shrieked and disappeared, and Taylor vaguely thought that she was rushing off to find help.

The sound of footsteps racing towards her helped her regain some sense of control and she backed away, stumbling. It was then that she realized she had dropped her wand. Her eyes frantically searched the ground, but it was nowhere to be seen.

Oh God...

He has my wand.

Taylor tensed as she heard another ruffle coming from in front of her. She could hear his breathing. What do I do? If she ran, he'd probably stun her, and if she just stood there...he'd probably stun her too.

For a brief second she wondered if he was powerful enough to perform the killing curse.

"I know you're there, Richard," she said to no one.

Then, an invisible hand grasped her wrist, pulling her towards the invisible body. The invisibility cloak slipped off, and there was Richard Malfoy staring down at her.

He looked just how she remembered him, short and stocky, his facial features sharp and jagged. Only...his eyes didn't have the same spark they used to, when he thought he was one of the rulers of Hogwarts.

Taylor lurched her shoulders back, and she found it hard to keep her stomach down. The malicious grin on her face made something disgusting jump around inside of her.

Richard looked at her, with eyes the exact color as Taylor's.

"You called me Richard," he whispered. She shivered and tried to pull away. Richard eyed her carefully, as if lost for words.

"You're just like every Malfoy, bold, blonde, and beautiful." Taylor had idea why he was talking like this. "I don't know why he got rid of you. Then again, he is a Weasley," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

A lump formed in Taylor's throat.

Jacob.

"What did you do to him? Where is he?" Her voice cracked as she twisted her wrist to try to get out of his grasp.

"Dead."

Taylor couldn't stop her knees from buckling beneath her and Richard let her fall to the hard stone ground. She clenched her teeth and forced her eyes shut so she wouldn't release the tears that had sprung to her eyes. She took deep breaths through the nose, but it didn't help the extreme pain to her heart.

The Weasleys had taken her in like one of their own, and look what she had done...

"I've found what I want," Richard continued, as if he had just told her the weather, "and now, I get to finish what my brother and I never even had a chance to attempt..."

Before Taylor could react, his large hands had grabbed her neck, lifting her up, squeezing tightly.

She hadn't expected to be attacked physically, she was sure that with her wand he would have hexed and cursed her until she was rotting away.

He was strong.

Taylor eyes remained tightly shut as his fingers dug deeper into her neck. Her small hands gripped his wrists, trying to stop the strain of her weight on her neck. Taylor's thin legs hung limply a few inches off the ground. She tried to scream but her mouth just fell open.

Taylor didn't dare open her eyes; she didn't want Richard's victorious glare to be the last image her eyes saw. She continued to think of the of her friends, of her mother, of Anthony...

Anthony's bright, loving eyes faded away into the darkness that engulfed Taylor's mind.

~~~

Anthony Weasley stared at the Sleeping Potion that sat on the night table next to the bed he was in. It wasn't his bed; it was one of the white Hospital Wing beds, those hard, uncomfortable beds.

He hated these beds.

Unknown to his parents, Anthony had slept in this bed many times throughout his years at Hogwarts. When his night terrors would become uncontrollable, Jacob and Brian would sneak him down to the Hospital Wing using The Marauder's Map. Madame Pomfrey, after the fifth time, had set this bed up for him every night, Sleeping Potion ready.

He didn't want to take it though. He hated the taste of it, though he had theorized that it was more of a mind thing telling him he hated it. It tasted like grapes. And Anthony liked grapes...but he absolutely hated the Sleeping Potion.

The redhead listened for the footsteps of his mother and Madame Pomfrey to disappear. He knew that they wouldn't go far, but they were far enough for him to escape.

Without making the bed creak, Anthony slid off and walked towards the curtain. Slowly, he pulled it away and peeked out. His assumptions were correct; his mother and Madame Pomfrey were on the other side of the Hospital Wing, talking into the fireplace.

"How's he doing?" Anthony heard his father ask.

"He just took a sleeping potion, he was a bit shaken up," Hermione answered, although her voice was still just as shaky as Anthony had been.

Without listening to another word, Anthony flipped out his wand, pointed it to his chest and muttered his favorite charm,

"Invisocorpus." His body shook and he was now invisible for seventeen seconds. He crept towards the door of the Hospital Wing, which was barely open.

Slinking into the hall way was much easier than Anthony had anticipated. It was eerily empty, and he assumed that the entire student body was getting in their seats for the Quidditch match. It wouldn't go on, would it...if the Gryffindor Captain was nowhere to be found?

Jacob had told Anthony that he was heading out to Hogsmeade with Soledad. He also told him that he was going to ask her to be his girlfriend, which Anthony thought was pretty brave, considering Jacob had never had a girlfriend before. Maybe the two had gotten caught up in each other and had lost track of time.

Hopefully they're just having a good snog.

His twin's favorite entrance to Hogsmeade was one Jacob and Orion Potter had discovered, one night after a Gryffindor Quidditch party. It was actually right in the hallway of the Gryffindors, hidden behind a suit of armor; it must have been too obvious for past students to find.

So, that's where he was going. If Jacob wasn't back, if Jacob was missing, it must be because of something that had happened in Hogsmeade. There were very few things on this planet that could have stopped his brother from missing this game. And he wasn't going to let his mother and Uncle Harry go off and find Jake without him.

Anthony began to quicken his pace as he rushed by The Great Hall. Peeves was wearing a knight's helmet as he hovered ten feet in the air. The redhead stopped and looked up at the mischievous creature, but he wasn't sure why. The Poltergeist spotted him immediately,

"Oh hello there, your majesty, your great, your royal Head Boy!" he giggled madly, the helmet swiveling around on his head. Anthony sighed softly,

"Hello Peeves, what do you have there?"

Peeves spun around and pulled the helmet off of his head, holding it in his grubby little hands.

"Just some armor I found lying around, skidded out from the Gryffindor hallway, it did."

Anthony's eyes left the helmet to stare at the Poltergeist.

"R-really?" he asked softly, some color draining from his cheeks. Peeves nodded, not noticing the anxious look on the Head Boy's face.

"Oh yes, bounced madly on top of Mrs. Norris, and I snatched it before that wretched Filch could get it. Chased me for a good ten minutes! Here, take a look!" And he tossed the helmet to Anthony, who barely caught it.

"Thanks...Peeves..." he said, staring at the helmet.

As if snapping back into reality, Anthony began to race down the hallway, helmet under his arm.

"Hey! Bring that back!" Peeves screamed, but Anthony was already around a corner, and the Poltergeist wasn't up for a chase over a rusty old helmet.

As he raced past the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, a huge quaver of pain shot down his left side, and his momentum threw him down, the helmet clanging on the ground.

Anthony was able to keep his head from bouncing off the floor by putting his hands out, but his knees weren't so lucky. Now, his legs shook in pain as his stomach continued to throb.

For a few moments, Anthony didn't think he had the strength to lift himself up. He had never felt so weak before...he felt as if all of the energy he ever possessed was slowly floating away...

I have to find Jacob.

With all his might, despite his throbbing knees, Anthony pushed himself up and started towards the Gryffindor hallway.

As he got closer to the hallway, he noticed more pieces of knight's armor lying around, and Anthony pulled out his wand. The redhead reached the corner that turned down to Gryffindor Tower, and a chill slipped through his body; he felt someone's presence.

Slowly, he peered around the corner, and his heart literally stopped.

Taylor was in the grasp of Richard Malfoy, dangling in his hands about a foot off the ground. The speed of the blood rushing to Anthony's face was slow compared to his trek towards Malfoy.

Of course, Malfoy saw him, and he dropped Taylor to the ground, though still holding her neck. Anthony's wand was pointed straight at the man, and Malfoy quickly pulled the girl in front of him, his arm around her neck. A look of realization flashed across his face.

"The other one! Ah, ha!"

"Get-off-of-her," Anthony said, his voice deeper and darker than it had ever been.

Taylor opened her eyes at his words, staring at him as if she didn't believe he was real. The boy's gaze did not soften as her eyes seemed to plead for his help.

He had expected to be terrified confronting Malfoy, but an enormous batch of Gryffindor courage was swelling in his chest, and Anthony knew he was not going to back down.

Richard pulled on Taylor tighter, and she grimaced again, still prying at his wrists. Anthony wondered where her wand was as he took a few steps towards them.

"I wouldn't do that, Weasel," Malfoy growled, shoving his free hand into his pocket. Anthony paused, realizing that Malfoy might have Taylor's wand.

Instead, Malfoy pulled out a long dagger, covered in red. Anthony's stomach dropped as he noticed the heap red and gold behind them. He saw the brown curls of Soledad, and his stomach flipped a little.

"It's very useful, and I'm very good at using it." Unexpectedly, he mimed slashing the dagger across Taylor's neck, making her scream.

Anthony lowered his arm, leaving his wand at his side. He stared at Richard in disbelief, completely caught off guard.

"Listen Malfoy, there's no way you're getting out of here." He knew that keeping Malfoy might buy him some time, give him a few moments to figure out what spell he could use without hurting Taylor. "Dumbledore knows you're here, hell, Harry Potter is on the look for you as we speak, so I suggest you let her go before they find you."

Anthony raised his wand to eye level as he started to approach Richard and Taylor.

"Stay back, Weasel!" Malfoy yelled, tugging on Taylor to make a point. "All I have to do is Apparate out of here, and I'll be free to do as I wish."

The redhead stopped walking, though his arm remained poised to send a spell. Malfoy had gone white at Anthony's mention of Dumbledore and Harry Potter, but now, the smirk on the madman's face made him seem quite sure of himself.

"Apparate?" Anthony repeated with a laugh, "Tsk tsk Malfoy, didn't you ever read Hogwarts, A History? You can't Apparate on in or onto Hogwarts," he said, thinking he had to hug his mother later for introducing him to that book those many years ago.

"LIAR!"

Then Malfoy scrunched up his face, looking a bit like he was going through some excruciating pain. He opened his eyes again, and they filled with what was clearly fear.

Malfoy backed up with Taylor still in his grasp. From what Anthony could tell, the girl was very weak; her eyes had been closed since Malfoy's fake slash.

"Just let her go," Anthony said in a soothing voice. "We'll take you back to St. Mungo's, you'll be better off there."

"NO!" Richard screamed, thrashing the arm with the gun about. "I can't go back there! I don't belong there, I'M NOT MAD!"

"Then I will just have to stun you," Anthony said, as if he was answering a question in class.

Richard shook his head, shutting his eyes. He was breathing heavily and Taylor grimaced at his every movement.

"I dare you to risk it, with me holding your precious little girlfriend."

Anthony growled and took a few more steps towards Richard, but noticed that the Malfoy didn't budge. He had a smug look on his face, which made Anthony's burn even more.

"Let her GO!" he yelled, causing red and gold sparks to fly out of his wand. Richard stepped back slightly, dragging Taylor's feet along the ground.

"Make me," Richard hissed softly.

"NO!" Anthony screamed. His face was crimson, but he knew that he could not risk hitting Taylor with a curse.

"Your aim not good enough to try and hit me?" Malfoy taunted as he slowly made his way towards the passage behind the knight. "Mr. 'I-Survived-The-Cruciatus-Curse-At-Only-Eleven' is not up to par? Come on, hit me with your best--"

"CRU--"

"STUPEFY!"

A ray of yellow light shot out towards Malfoy, hitting him directly in the back.

Richard slumped to the ground, and Taylor fell to the wall, sliding down into a heap. Her eyes were unfocused, and as Anthony rushed over to her, she closed them, slipping into unconsciousness. Breathing heavily, the redhead looked up at who had shot the spell.

Soledad was standing up, shaking terribly. In her hands she had a wand, but it looked to Anthony as if it wasn't hers, by the odd way she was holding it. She looked at Anthony and smiled weakly, tossing him the wand.

"Eets Taylor's," she explained in a soft voice.

Her lip was bleeding, but she didn't seem notice, and her right eye was squinting as it swelled. The ponytail that held her brown curls was now very loose, letting her hair stand up in frizzy ringlets.

"Soledad..." Anthony whispered, standing up and starting towards his friend. Soledad put a hand up, shaking her head. He stared at her hand, which was covered with fresh, scarlet blood.

He watched as tears formed in her eyes as she too noticed the blood, and she sobbed slightly.

"An-tony..." she started, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her jersey.

"Where's Jacob?"

Soledad's sobs became more intense, and she dropped her head, staring down at the ground with wide, helpless eyes, her mouth gasping for air.

"Soledad, you have to tell me where Jacob is!" he shouted, his voice straining to remain strong.

"He's...ay, An--tony!" She fell into him and began to cry uncontrollably, her face buried in his shoulder and her curls.

Anthony's legs trembled and he held her close, trying to remain calm.

"Tell me he's okay?" he whispered, eyes brimming with tears. His entire body was shaking and he felt a huge throbbing in his chest, like he had lost a chunk of his heart. "Soledad, please. Tell me he's okay, please, God, tell me--"

"Why was the Fat Lady--OH!"

Footsteps scrambled towards them, and soon, Dumbledore, Professor Snape, and Hermione Granger were rushing towards them.

Snape immediately bound Malfoy in many different types of ropes and knots, and lifted him off the ground by muttering, "Mobilicorpus."

Hermione raced to the children, and noticing that Anthony was in a better state than Soledad, pulled the girl away to check on her. Professor Dumbledore stopped near Anthony.

"What's happened?" the old Wizard asked Anthony, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I...I don't know...she...she was unconscious, then she woke up and k-knocked out Richard...then she just started crying..." he sputtered, still in shock. He stood up, eyes wide and hands trembling.

Dumbledore frowned and looked back towards the two women. Hermione had managed to stand Soledad up, but it didn't seem like she could get the girl to speak.

"Miss. Diego," Dumbledore said, taking a few steps towards her, "Why are you so upset, is it about Jacob Weasley?"

At Jacob's name, Soledad began to cry harder, and she nodded, turning into Hermione and burying her head into the woman's shoulder. Hermione seemed to be at the brink of tears as well, and she listened closely to the mumbled voice of Soledad.

Professor Snape stood by as well, listening carefully and not noticing that Richard was floating upside down. He bent down slowly and picked up the dagger, examining it.

A small gasp escaped Hermione's lips, and she immediately laid her eyes on Anthony. He just knew.

Oh God...

"Where is he?" he whispered, backing away slightly. Dumbledore seemed to have understood the gaze of her eyes, and put a hand out to stop Anthony from moving. Hermione put a hand to her mouth to stop a sob, and answered,

"He...he's in the Shrieking Shack."

~~~

Jacob Weasley was tired.

He sighed as his hand fell from the wound in his stomach to the floor. The pain intensified now that there was no pressure on it, but he couldn't bear to lift up his entire hand to place it on it.

The Shrieking Shack creaked in the wind of Hogsmeade, and Jacob realized it was a very lonely place.

I wonder what it was like for Uncle Remus.

Another wave of pain shot through his body, and Jacob shuddered violently.

At first, it had just been his stomach that was throbbing with pain. Now, everything was aching and he had no idea how to make it stop. Before Soledad had been taken, she placed a few healing charms on him, to stop the bleeding, but they must not have been strong enough because the stain on his jersey and the floor was getting bigger every time Jacob had the energy to check.

Jacob opened his eyes, and the sunlight that flowed into them burned. He trembled again, this time, moaning.

How much blood can you lose before you die? he thought grimly. I hope it's a lot; I really don't want to die. I've had a pretty good life, though. I mean, I never graduated, and I never got to play in my last Quidditch match...

What else haven't I done?

There's opening a Quidditch shop with Brian, I know he's going to be disappointed by that. Maybe Rigel will help him, although I doubt he knows as much about Quidditch as I do.

I won't be Anthony's best man, and he won't be mine. I'll never get to see how nervous he is while watching Taylor coming down the aisle...because of course they're getting married! If they didn't, I would've had to kill him...

And Emily, oy, I won't see Emily become Prefect and then Head Girl (because she is), or get married...and Delaney, she's can barely talk to me, but I love her so much...

I never went to New York. I told my parents I was going to live there, to start a whole new Weasley clan. Oh bloody hell, Mum is going to be really upset, she's very emotional, crying at every single sappy moment. I've never seen her truly upset, except that time in first year...with Anthony. I never want to see her like that again. Dad'll probably be strong, I mean, if he cries, then Mum will completely lose it. I hope neither of them find me, I don't want them to see me like this...

And Soledad...oy, what a great way to start a relationship...I wanted to kill Malfoy for touching her, for looking at her! When I get back...if I had the chance, I'd kill him on sight... She deserves so much better than a prat like me who's...who's going to die on their first day.

I want so many more days with her.

A shadow passed over his eyes.

Merlin, I think I love her. How couldn't I? She's perfect...well, no; she's not, but...damn. I love her. I love her.

Voices interrupted his train of thought. Had he really heard that? Were there...were there really voices somewhere near him? Maybe...maybe he can call them...for help...

Bloody hell, I'm going to die. Good Godric, I'm really going to die.

He tried to throw himself up, to at least sit up, but it was no use, it was as if his body had given up. He started to shake, and it suddenly became very cold, the freezing air blowing on his cheeks and his eyelids brightened with the light that entered the room.

Jacob opened his mouth to gasp, but he couldn't even do that. He cringed, and shook his head softly, back and forth...back and forth...

I don't want to die.