House: Slytherin
Category: Drabble
Prompt: "Family, first and forever." (Speech)
Word Count: 498
"George! Come down for breakfast!" Mrs. Weasley called. George grumbled as he practically dragged himself out of his bed.
"Why didn't you wake me up, Fred? Mum wouldn't have yelled so much at me if you had woken me up," George muttered, sounding annoyed. He looked over at the bed a couple of feet away from his. It was empty. Of course, it was. Fred had been dead for less than a month, and George still had a hard time believing the truth. He looked down at his hands, a tear streaming down his cheek and onto his palm. Memories of Fred waking him up, jumping onto him on his bed every morning, started to flood his mind. George wiped his eyes harshly, trying to erase the evidence of his tears. He didn't want the whole family to ask about it.
George stretched his body and made his bed, flattening it down. He glanced next to his bed. The blankets and sheets were neatly tucked into the corners, not a wrinkle in sight. George sighed. I don't think I'll ever get used to this, he thought to himself.
George descended the stairs slowly, recalling the times that he and Fred used to almost tumble down them every morning. "Hurry up, Fred," his mother pressed, helping Ginny set up the table. She looked up at him when he finally reached the bottom of the stairs. "Where's your brother? Shouldn't he already be up with you?"
George looked up at her, a solemn expression overtaking everything else. Mrs. Weasley realized her mistake after a few seconds of staring at George. "Oh, I'm sorry, dear," she said, pulling him in for a tight hug.
The whole family had gathered at the table by that time. George could feel the sympathetic stares burning into him. "It'll be okay, love. These things take time to adjust to," Mrs. Weasley whispered, trying her best to comfort him.
"No!" George snapped. His emotions had been boiling up inside him as soon as Mrs. Weasley forgot that Fred was dead. "It will never be okay! Nothing will ever be okay!"
Everyone stayed silent. His voice echoed through the room. His eyes were filling up with tears, some rapidly spilling down. His voice started to choke up.
"None of you know how it feels. It's like a piece of me is gone. My best friend, my brother, my other half, whatever you want to call him, is gone. I'll never have him by my side again. It feels like my soul is emptier. I don't have the other half." His voice started to trail off, his emotions getting too strong.
"'You're right. We don't. I can't even begin to imagine how it must feel like. But we are here for you. Everyone. We are all in this together, and don't you forget it." Mrs. Weasley said sternly.
Everyone had gotten up and embraced each other in a group hug, George in the middle. "Family, forever and always."