.:.Told you so.:. A FRED AND GEORGE WEASLEY STORY ... Part 16: Step Towards The Light...

"Another lovely cocktail for the lovely lady please!" slurred Fred to the barmaid, slopping Firewhiskey onto the floor of their third bar of the evening. The girl (Fred could barely remember her name now after all that alcohol) began to laugh hysterically, a laugh which turned quickly into a high-pitched cackle. It was so ridiculous that Fred began to laugh too. Who was this girl? What was with her laugh? It was all so funny that salty tears begun to slide down his cheeks and his sides felt like they were about to split.
The third bar that night. Soon after the girl (what was her name?!) had joined Fred in the first bar the two of them had been kicked out by the bartender who had grown increasingly irritated by the two of them 'larking about' as he'd called it. Just remembering that stupid bartender's face as Fred had eaten his third Nosebleed Nougat and had spouted blood from his nose yet again, causing the bar to be covered with blood made him laugh even harder. Then there had been the second bar. Fred had bewitched the taps behind the bar to spray Butterbeer everywhere at random and the second bartender had physically shoved Fred out of the door, the girl (who by that time was pretty drunk herself) had tottered along down the street after him as they searched for the next place to cause mischief in.
"What's your name again?" asked Fred, hitching a charming grin onto his face between fits of giggles.
"Kate! And you're...?" she squinting at him through the darkness in the bar.
"I'm Fred, at your service my lady" he said, bowing low, grabbing her hand and kissing it grandly. The girl, Kate, giggled.
"My my, aren't we charming." She said and the giggles turned once again into cackles.
"Well I don't know about you, but I am" replied Fred who was now kissing all the way up her arm to her neck.
"I" he kissed her neck softly "am" he kissed her again a little higher up "so" he kissed her higher still, next to her jaw line "charming" he finished, heading for her lips.
They broke apart only when the girl's cocktail arrived (he'd forgotten her name again, it was a hard name to remember).
"You know Fred, you look a lot like a boy I used to know" giggled Carol or whatever her name was over the top of her cocktail glass. The acid pink liquid inside was beginning to sting Fred's eyes and her face began to blur in a swirl of pink. It stung his eyes.
"I fancied him sooooooo much," she continued drunkenly "I know someone who still knows him, Piper someone I think, it's hard to remember," she paused to giggle and flung the rest of the pink cocktail down her throat, "she told me..." and here she leaned in right up close to Fred (who was trying to concentrate on stopping the room from lurching and spinning around him), and lowered her voice to what she must have thought was a sexy whisper, "that he's sleeping with a girl I knew called Sara Lawson... I think his name is George, you might know him".
Through the haze of drink and brightly coloured cocktails being handed out over the bar, Fred's heart gave a painful lurch. His stomach flipped and he was falling and falling and falling down. SARA. The room became suddenly distant from him. He was no longer falling but floating and the bar was far below him. SARA. The laughter and chatter that had filled the bar a few seconds ago ended in a distant scream and then ebbed away into perfect silence. All he could see was her name imprinted in front of him in acid pink. SARA. From nowhere a blinding white filled his eyes, a white which erased her name, which erased everything. All was white.

What?! What's happened??!
You awoke suddenly to a blinding white light. You opened your mouth to scream but a hand covered it immediately, silencing you. Your heart felt as if it had left into your throat. What was happening?
"Shh!" came a voice from somewhere near your face, "It's me, Piper". You breathed a sigh of relief and the hand was removed.
"Nox" The light in front of your eyes disappeared suddenly and you realised that it had been a lit wand. You rubbed your eyes to try and get rid of the brightly coloured circles that now impaired your vision, even in the near pitch-blackness of your bedroom.
"What the hell are you doing here?" you asked, anger now filling your chest. It was the middle of the night for God's sake!
"I had to come, didn't I?" sighed Piper as if it was really obvious. She sat down on the edge of your bed. Through the bright spots of light in front of your eyes you could just make out the dark shape of her down by your knees.
"What are you talking about? I was asleep!!" you answered impatiently, adjusting your pillow.
"Well I've been trying to see you for ages. I keep getting turned away at your front door by your mum who says you're ill. I tried posting an owl, but you didn't reply. I even tried ringing on my mum's muggle phone that she calls her sister on but your mum picked up and said you couldn't talk to anyone at the moment. What's going on?!"
"I'm ill" you replied quickly, silently thanking your mother for being so strict. Youd told her you were ill and she'd let you stay in your room for three whole days, giving you time to think things over. The last thing you wanted was to talk to people.
"No you're not. Something's happened, and don't bother making something up," she said quickly, hearing your sharp intake of breath as you prepared to make an excuse, "I asked George".
So George had spilled the beans? Great.
"What did he say?" you asked, trying to conceal the resigned tone in your voice.
"Nothing. In fact he was pretending to be ill too. That's how I figured something had happened between you and the twins. Now spill."
Out of pure tiredness and a sudden need for comfort you told Piper everything. From Fred's jealousy leading to his disappearance to waking up with George after having drunk all that Butterbeer to Fred running off to his Aunt's house by the seaside and finally to George not wanting to see you after having admitted his real feelings for you. For the first time in three days the tears finally began to fall. Tears of loathing and self-pity and anguish.
"How could I be so selfish? How could I be so stupid?" You sobbed into Piper's shoulder as she embraced you in a comforting hug.
"I wish you'd told me before, Sar. I could have helped" she said in your ear as she stroked your hair.
"I'm sorry! I just felt it was my problem and I didn't want to drag you into it all" you cried.
"We'll work it all out" promised Piper.
You sniffed and broke away from her to dry your eyes, ashamed of yourself for crying so much. Piper looked at the clock on your table.
"I've got to go, my mum should be back from the late-shift soon. I'll see you soon OK? And don't worry too much" She disapparated with a pop, leaving you alone in your room. You sat there for a long time, sure you wouldn't be able to sleep when suddenly there was another loud pop and you had to stifle a scream as another person materialised. A man's silhouette was standing at the end of your bed.
"Sara, it's George" whispered the figure urgently. "Are you awake?" you heard his voice catch mid-sentence.
"What's wrong?" you asked, quickly sitting up in bed. The tone of his voice was scary.
"You have to come with me to St Mungo's" he whispered quickly, making his way swiftly around the end of your bed. He took your hand and pulled you up out of bed.
"Why?" you asked, your voice full of fear, your head felt like it was spinning. What was going on? George's hands were almost as shaky as his voice.
"It's Fred. Something's happened to Fred"

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Thank you for reading! Hope your summer holidays are going well!! Don't expect an update straight way (I doubt you would, you know what I'm like on the updating front by now...) cos I'm visiting relatives until Thursday! Argh I don't want to go, I'd rather write but I suppose that's life.. Anyway, I'm rambling!! I'll get back to you with a new part as soon as I can!
xTabbix