Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any other characters in this story, J.K Rowling owns everything.
Harry sat down opposite George at the dining table in the Burrow's kitchen. Wordlessly, he passed a butterbeer to George and took a swig of his own, waiting for George to say something. All day, he had watched the Weasleys trying to get George to come out of his recent depression. George had barely eaten, slept or said anything since they had returned to the Burrow after the battle. Uttering meaningless comforting words and using Fred's memory to try and get George to smile or say anything; nothing had worked and George had just sat in the same chair, staring wordlessly in to space after the funeral.
"Are you going to give me some speech about how we are all grieving and Fred would want me to carry on with my life being happy as well?" George asked suddenly.
"I think you've had enough of them," Harry replied casually. "Besides, it's not what you need to hear." George stared at him for a moment as if unsure of his real intentions. He was aware that his entire family were sitting silently in the lounge, trying to see if Harry could get somewhere. A quick glance towards the lounge and then to Harry had Harry smiling ruefully as he acknowledged their presence but they both ignored their listening family.
"You know, after Sirius died, Dumbledore told me that he knew how I was feeling," Harry began quietly. With a slightly amused smile aimed at a confused looking George, he said, "I trashed his office." George stared at Harry in shock, his mouth gaping.
"You what?" George exclaimed loudly, still gaping at Harry.
"I trashed his office," Harry repeated whilst trying not to laugh at the expression on George's face. "I didn't want to hear about how he understood my feelings, I didn't want comforted or to have someone tell me that everything would be okay and that it was okay to cry, I just wanted to rage and scream," he continued quietly no longer looking at George, but at the Weasley family clock which was now missing Fred's hand.
"Most, of all, I wanted out. I wanted the pain to end and I wanted him back. When I realised I couldn't have him back, I wanted to follow him and stay with him forever. But I couldn't do that," Harry stated, glancing at a shocked looking George, "the world needed me. And my family needed me, just like they need you. I'm not trying to convince you of anything, I'm telling you that, as much as you don't want to hear it, I understand and if you want to rage and scream or hex the hell out of something or even if you just want to talk, then I'm here."
Harry took another large swig from his butterbeer and sat back to watch George who was still looking shocked. The only sound that broke the silence of the house was the muffled sobbing of Molly Weasley from the lounge. Finally George looked up from the hard surface of the table and nodded slowly. He believed him and out of them all, Harry was the person who would understand how he felt. After all, Harry had lost his parents, Sirius, Dumbledore, Remus, Tonks and Fred, all before his eighteenth birthday.
Harry wouldn't tell him everything would be fine because he knew that it wouldn't be.
Harry wouldn't tell him that Fred would want him to be happy because he understood that George had known Fred better than anyone.
And Harry wouldn't tell him that they were all grieving because he knew, better than anyone, how much it was killing George to have someone he loved most in the world gone forever.
Never coming back.
And suddenly, the sluice gated opened and George was sobbing on Harry's shoulder. Harry, who was his brother in all but blood, who truly understood loss and would just pat his back and let him cry in peace.
It took a long time for George to calm down after finally letting it out and he did feel a little better. He glanced embarrassedly at Harry for a second before Harry; understanding again, clapped him on the shoulder, silently got up and left George to compose himself properly before facing his family.
Harry slowly walked into the lounge where everyone was watching the door avidly. He walked in and made it a few paces before he was pulled into a rib crushing hug by Molly. It was the kind of hug that only a mother can do and Harry let himself be comforted by her.
"Thank you, dear," was whispered in his ear before Molly released him and Harry went to sit between Ron and Hermione, who each put an arm around him. He smiled thankfully at each of them as the door opened and a puffy faced George appeared in the lounge. He looked apprehensive and still had a tearstained face but allowed his mother to pull him into a tight hug. Smiling slightly, as she let him go, George apologised to his family who immediately rounded around him for a group hug. Laughing, George permitted his little sister to pull him to a sofa and he sat beside him. When the entire family was sitting comfortably again, Charlie turned to Harry and asked the question they had all wanted answered,
"So Harry, did you really trash Dumbledore's office?"
Life at the Burrow improved as George and the rest of the family began to move on from Fred's death. George did talk to Harry about Fred a few more times and Harry, in turn, talked to George about everything that had happened over that year; the deaths, horcruxes and his parents' graves. When Harry married Ginny a few years later and officially joined the Weasley family, Harry became George's official favourite brother. Despite that, everyone knew that Harry had been a Weasley since he was eleven years old and Ron sat in the same carriage as him on the Hogwarts Express.