A Time To Grieve, A Time To Change

"Good men must die, but death cannot kill their names."

-Proverbs

Grey skies and light drizzling rain accompanied the mass of grievers, cloaked in black for mourning, as they filed almost silently into the somber, ethereal graveyard. People clung to one another for support and comfort as they crowded around the freshly broken ground and the six foot deep hole that a beloved would soon lay to rest in.

The Weasleys were the first in the line, and closest to the grave, because it was one of their own that lay in the casket. Ginny and Ron held tight to one another, overcome with grief and sorrow. Behind them were Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Next to parents, were the remaining four Weasley brothers, their heads hung as they thought of their loss. Each of the Weasleys was as white as paper, stiff, numb, exhausted, and broken-hearted.

A few feet away from Ron and Ginny stood misty eyed Elspeth Tweedie. She stood, staring at the casket, unable to move, her mind racing with both good and bad memories, then finally settling on the most horrible memory she had-and playing it over and over.

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[Flash Back- - A Few Days Before]

Elspeth jumped from stone to stone up the pathway to Fred and George Weasley´s home. She took each stone with a great leap, and cheered as she landed on the next one. Elspeth had had to do a lot of growing up that year, because she and her close friend, Meara Redmond, were now student teaching at Hogwarts. Meara was born in Ireland; Elspeth in Scotland, but they both attend the school of witchcraft and wizardry in Ireland. The Easter Holidays were a chance for the two to be kids again, and they had decided to visit Fred and George.

As she neared the final two stones, an eerie sort of feeling struck her. She stopped short, and looked around. Seeing nothing suspicious, she shrugged it off and quietly followed Meara onto the porch.

Both girls noticed a piece of paper lying there, but Meara was the one to pick it up. She read it quickly, then handed it to Elspeth, who was too preoccupied with the story her friend was telling her to read it. Meara opened the front door, took a few steps inside, but stopped in mid-step, gasping loudly.

Elspeth quickly moved inside and saw what had startled Meara. There, lying in a fetal position was one of their beloved friends. One of the Weasley twins had been murdered! Horrible thoughts raced through the terrified Elspeth´s mind. Though she loved both Weasleys dearly, the dawn of a life-changing realization had chosen to come at this unthinkable time, and she silently screamed the same prayer over and over in her mind, "Please, not George, please..."

But her best friend was on the verge of hysterics now. "No!" Meara screamed, jerking Elspeth from her prayers. "No! Please! Come on, wake up!" She was now kneeling next to the lifeless Weasley.

Slowly, Elspeth opened the note that had been found on the porch. It read: "Elspeth & Meara: I´ve gone to the store to get something out of our inventory. I´ll be back shortly." It was signed `George´ and at the same instant that Elspeth´s heart gave a great leap, her soul and spirit sunk. This meant that one of her dearest friends was now...gone.

She looked down to where Meara and Fred were, and her heart broke-not just for herself and for all of the Weasleys, but for Meara, who was cradling her own boyfriend in her arms.

At the same instant that Elspeth moved to hug Meara, George Weasley returned from his outing.

[End Flashback]

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Meara silently moved to stand next to Elspeth. Meara was more than likely the most grief-stricken after the Weasleys, and it showed. Her eyes were blood-red from crying, and there were dark circles under them because she hadn´t slept enough in the past few days. Death had become a sort of routine to most of the people gathered that day, but had only struck close to Meara´s heart once before.

Her friends begged her to get some rest, but every time she tried, she relived that awful time repeatedly.

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[Flash Back- - That Awful Time]

Ignoring her friend´s harmless and never ending excitement, Meara quietly and quickly walked along the pathway leading up to Fred and George´s home. Her mind was elsewhere, racing through different ideas for her anniversary with Fred. She really wanted to surprise him, but she knew he hated when she spent a lot of money on him. She was so preoccupied with her thoughts, that she barely noticed the cold, tense feeling that struck her body as soon as she stepped onto the porch.

She saw a piece of white paper from the corner or her eye, and knelt to pick it up. She read the message and wondered what George could have possibly gone out for. After handing the note to Elspeth, she reached for the doorknob, but noticed with confusion that the door was already slightly open. She slowly and cautiously pushed the door open the rest of the way and stepped inside.

The image that met her would live with her for the rest of her life. Her Fred was lying there on the floor in a fetal position. The terrifying expression on his face told that he had gone through a lot of pain. Tears stung her eyes as she went to his side, screaming prayers in her mind, begging for him to be still alive, even if it was just barely.

Alas, she realized with a heavy and pain-filled heart, that he was gone...forever. She was unable to control the sobs that wrenched her body as Elspeth came closer, and from the corner of her eye, she saw George enter the room.

The next several minutes, then hours, were lived in a quiet daze that would only return to her memory for an instant, leaving her heart racing and a sinking feeling in her body.

[End Flashback]

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If Meara´s condition could be described as depressing, heart-breaking, and utterly pathetic, there were no words for how George was. George had never lost anyone close to him, and he felt that for the first person to ever be taken from him to be his twin, Fate was playing some sort of sick, cruel joke.

In one foul and unfair swoop, he had lost his best friend, his brother, his sidekick, and his first companion. He hadn´t eaten more than a few bites of soup in the last two days, and he had immediately thrown up that soup once he had realized it was Fred´s favorite. He was a very sickly pale color, and his face was worn from the countless hours spent sobbing his heart out.

Perhaps one of the most awful things was that even though he was surrounded by friends and family who loved him and each other, he still couldn´t shake the icy feeling that he was now completely alone in the world. He had had to live with that feeling since the moment Fred´s life had been stolen.

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[Flash Back- - The Day Two Became Just One]

George ran his finger along the edge of the lengthy shelves in the inventory for their store. Item by item, he found the different toys that he wanted to bring home for he and Fred to show the girls.

Standing on his tip-toes, he strained to reach an item on the top shelf. His fingers brushed against once, then twice, before he got it to move closer. He reached for it a third time and nearly had it when all at once there was a flash of complete blackness. He felt as if the earth was moving underneath him, and he swayed, causing several items to tumble to the floor.

He crashed to the ground, and when the light returned, his body was ice cold and he couldn´t get warm. Something inside of him felt hollow and lifeless. It was then that he knew something was terribly, terribly wrong.

Forgetting about what he´d come for, he hastily fled the shop, not even bothering to lock up. He ran and jogged most of the way back to the house he and Fred were leasing, hoping that the devious ache inside of him was just his imagination, or a sort of flu he had caught.

However his unhappy suspicions were cruelly confirmed when he saw that the door to the house was standing wide open. He ran most of the way to the house, but when he reached the porch, he stopped dead in his tracks. Even from where he stood, he could hear one of the two girls breathing raggedly and whimpering softly. It was ironic how such quiet things could carry so far at a time like this. Perhaps the most unsettling thing was the uncontrolled,piercing weeping that was undoubtedly Meara´s.

He stepped onto the porch, and walked to the door, taking each step with careful precision to prolong the moment he would know just what had happened in his small, but comfortable home that day.

Elspeth was barely visible from where he was walking, but just as he stepped close to the doorway, she moved toward the crying he was hearing. He stepped inside and what he saw brought a harsh wave of nausea crashing over his body. His knees buckled and he had to grab onto the doorway for support. The confirmation given at this dreadful sight increased the size of the hollow, aching feeling. His mouth went dry as he watched Elspeth try desperately to pull Meara away from his lifeless twin.

[End Flashback]

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Time passes far too rapidly, even at a funeral. Before any of the mourners could have a chance to relish in what little peace the ceremony brought, it was over. The rain, however, remained, accompanying the mourners as they exited the graveyard at a slow pace.

Even when most of the others had gone, George, Meara, and Elspeth remained. Everyone´s tears had returned, and both Meara and George were shaking violently to keep from allowing their weeping to disrupt the quiet of the requiem.

After those who had stayed behind had had the time they needed, they left the graveyard, struggling with each step not to turn back and bid one last farewell to the dearly departed. Meara, George, and Elspeth placed their arms around one another as they walked away, using each other for support both physically and emotionally.