George launched himself away from the small huddle of family that had formed around the still body of a boy identical to him, towards the unmistakable form of his twin walking towards him slowly, looking more depressed than he had ever seen him.
Fred's head snapped up and as he met George's stunned gaze he felt his face shift to mirror his expression.
"G-George?" He choked out, stumbling to a stop.
Both twins turned to stare at the body lying on the ground surrounded by their family, the rest of the family hadn't noticed George leave the group. They'd assumed George had just been unable to stand being so close to his dead twin any longer, thought that he'd exclaimed out of grief rather than disbelief.
"Who…" Fred trailed off staring at the figure on the ground.
"I haven't the faintest idea, we all… we thought…" George broke off with a muffled sob.
"Molly… Molly!" Mr. Weasley shouted, tugging on his wife's arm in an attempt to get her to lift herself off of the body's chest.
She wailed incoherently at him, refusing to budge.
"But, Molly! It's… It's… I'm either seeing double of George or something is seriously wrong about this situation."
In a millisecond Mrs. Weasley was upright and staring over at Fred and George, who merely stared back.
Ginny, Percy, Bill, Charlie, and Ron were all staring by now as well.
No one knew what to say.
Then, all at once, they launched themselves at the twins, not sure which was which. Although George had lost an ear, Fred had fashioned an ingenious contraption out of one of their extendable ears that fused directly onto George's head where his ear had once been. It was nearly as good as new, other than the fact that George obviously had no feeling in it.
After about an hour of blubbering, weeping, and laughing, the family, minus Fred and George, left to go join the celebration being held by remaining members of the order at Number 12 Grimmauld Place.
The twins stood, silently regarding the body lying in front of them.
"I thought it was you." Fred said quietly, "I was fighting along side Percy when he made a joke, a real joke. And I was so surprised and pleased, I was in the middle of congratulating him when you came flying out of nowhere and dragged me under one of those invisibility cloaks we made after studying Harry's. Not even a second later the wall exploded next to us, I was hit by a stunning spell and thrown backwards away from the explosion. The cloak had come with me. Percy, Harry, Ron… They all thought you were me. And I couldn't move. I was dying, George. I thought you were dead and I couldn't move! Maybe ten minutes later the hall was cleared, whoever had stunned me died around then because I discovered I could move. I ran straight to you and, when I could think again, settled on killing every death eater I could come across. I was reckless, I didn't care if I died because I thought you were dead."
"But I… I was on the other side of the school. I know when it happened, it hurt so much I passed out for a minute and a half, Lee was with me. I was distraught." George replied.
Letting out a small gasp of shock, George kneeled down next to the corpse and peered closer at the ear.
"Merlin Fred, it is me! Look at this!"
And with that, George seized the ear and pulled it right off. It was the prosthetic ear Fred had made him out of the Extendable Ear, a one of a kind.Fred dropped to his knees next to George and stared down at his twin's copy.
"But, how…? Wait, what's this?"
Fred pulled on the tiny golden chain around the body's neck and revealed a miniature hourglass.
"A time turner?" George muttered in confusion, "I must have-"
"Gone back in time to save me!" Fred finished excitedly.
They looked at each other in stunned amazement.
Suddenly George looked back to the body, "I know I would have left one… just in case… couldn't know it would happen this way…"
"George what are you looking for?" Fred asked, looking on inquisitively as his brother searched the pockets.
"Found it!" George exclaimed, holding up a crumpled envelope with Fred's name printed across it in George's handwriting.
Carefully the twins opened the envelope and pulled out the tearstained letter, reading it silently.
Dear Gred,
I don't know if or how this is going to work but I have to try. I won't be able to forgive myself if I don't try.
I've stolen Hermione's time turner, she tried to talk me out of this but I just grabbed it and apparated away to that little cave near Hogsmeade we used to sneak out to when we wanted to work on merchandize while we were at school.
You died yesterday Fred, and I can barely think. I can barely remember to breath anymore. My mind just can't comprehend a world in which you aren't right next to me. I can't live in a world where you won't be waiting at the flat above the store for me when I come home, where you won't be sleeping in the bed right next to me at night, where you won't be there to suggest exactly the right last minute ingredient for our latest creation.
I can't be just George. I can't be half of our whole. I'm not as strong as you, you'd be able to do it, you'd be able to find some way to cope. I need the Fred in our Fred and George to know who I am. I'm lost. I need you.
As soon as I could form a coherent thought other than "Fred's gone." or "He's really dead." or another variation of that, my entire focus shifted to getting you back somehow. I knew I could do it. There was never any option of me not being able to do it.
Then I remembered. Back in our fifth year when Harry and Hermione went back in time and saved Sirius and Buckbeak. They were dead and they went back and saved them. I knew I could do it. I began to plan, it was all I could think about.
But now I'm ready to go back and it's occurred to me that I might very well die saving you. And I've realized that I don't know what will happen if I die in the past. So I've written you a letter to explain what's gone on in case I die. I wonder what will happen to the me that was still there fighting if I die.
I'm sorry Fred, because if you're reading this it means that I'm dead and I've selfishly put you in my position. But I'm still happy you're alive. It makes everything else okay. But I'm sorry you have to be the only half of our whole.
Love you more than life,
Forge
P.S. Please don't hate me for leaving you all alone. Please don't hate me.
As they finished, they both had tears streaming down their faces."Idiot! Of all the stupid things- what if you had died! I mean… You did die! What if that you dying killed this you! What if you really had left me all alone!" Fred shouted, halfheartedly swiping at the wetness on his cheeks before slipping his arms around George for a bone crushing hug.
"I'd do it again in a heartbeat if it was a heartbeat without you." George mumbled in a shaky voice, clinging desperately to Fred, still half not believing what he'd just read.
"Thanks Forge."
"Anytime Gred."
And the two stood, trembling but together, and walked hand in hand out of the great hall.
A/N::. Yeah Yeah, I know I know, I've added my own fic to the legions there already are about Fred and George… But I couldn't just let it lie the way it ended in the book. I needed closure. And my closure had to be with them together. So my two options were to come up with a plausible way to save Fred or to have George die, and since I much prefer living twins… Voila!
Please drop me a review and let me know what you think.