#1 on the list of things no one knows about Gregory Goyle: He's not afraid of admitting he's wrong.
The first time they meet after the war, George is drinking away his sorrows in a muggle bar, far from his friends and family, who evidently don't understand his sorrow. He doesn't expect to find an old acquaintance there. An acquaintance, who fought against him in the war, too. Someone who was on the side of the Dark Lord.
George's temper immediately flares, fuelled especially by the drink in his hand. What ensues is a fair amount of screaming on his part, while the object of his accusations simply stands with his head bowed, as if in shame. The muggles in the bar try but fortunately fail to make sense of his slurred speech about the wizarding war.
The endeavour, and the many glasses of alcohol he drank before it, make George eventually wear himself out, and he finds himself on the floor with his world going black.
When he comes to, he finds that he is in an unknown bedroom, and there are bottles of Sober Up potion and water by his side. He thinks perhaps one of his brothers or friends have found him, and carried him to a bed, but when the figure walks in through the door, he gasps.
It is Goyle.
#2 on the lost of things no one knows about Gregory Goyle: He had a brother without having one.
They are friends, if it can be called that, from that night onwards, and lovers soon after. Two shattered souls, trying desperately to find comfort and grasping at straws. George finds it is not hard to forgive a remorseful former Death Eater, especially if the latter had nothing to do with Fred's death directly.
Besides, Goyle's mansion is quieter, and George is less likely to be intruded upon or poked by his family or friends, so he moves in, eventually, much to the surprise of everyone else.
They barely talk, however. When they do, it is about the war. Goyle tells him how he lost Vincent, who was his best friend and brother and so much more. George mutters back about Fred, almost afraid to say his name aloud.
George wishes that those sparse conversations and those frantic nights of desperation would be enough. They aren't. Both of them are too broken to fix each other. Perhaps they only end up making it worse.
Somedays, they don't eat. They forget, because it's easy to. Other times, they sit and stare into nothingness for hours, completely spaced-out, not knowing why or how.
They turn away any 'friends' , mostly George's, who come to visit, from the door itself. Company is as unwelcome as happiness in their mansion.
#3 on the list of things no one knows about Gregory Goyle: He has never owned a pet, before.
One day, Harry shows up. George opens the door and addresses some curt words at him, telling him to go away, until he sees the bundle in his arms.
"What's that?" George asks. Harry reveals a little brown puppy in his arms.
"His owner was arrested on an Auror raid. So...he's for you. The both of you, I mean," comes the smiling reply. George frowns.
"What are you trying to do, Harry? This is preposterous!"
"No, this is a puppy," Harry retorts smugly. George realises that Goyle is standing behind him now, watching them quietly. He almost closes the door on Harry's face, but something makes him look at the little creature closer. Perhaps it is the pitiful whimper he hears. The dog is thin, emaciated, almost. But what cuts him deeply, is the expression in his eyes. It is the same expression he sees in Goyle's eyes everyday. The exact one he sees when he looks in the mirror too. Pure sadness.
He turns to Goyle, who nods at him, somewhat pleadingly.
"All right," he says to Harry, extending his arms.
#4 on the list of things no one knows about Gregory Goyle: It is not hard for him to break habits.
In the beginning, it is Goyle who takes care of the puppy. George is still hesitant, though he does not reply when asked why. Goyle, however, warms up almost immediately, even going so far as to start waking up early to walk him and waking up in the middle of the night at the slightest bark.
When George asks him about it, Goyle tells him how it relaxes him that they have someone to take care of. It makes him forget about his own pain, he says. George mentally scoffs.
It is only when George notices the change in him, as well as in the puppy, that he offers to help.
"You want to walk Rus tomorrow?" Goyle asks, wide-eyed, when he suggests it. George nods, with a smile. Then, he begins to frown.
"Since when do you call him 'Rus'?" he asks. Goyle chuckles, and the sound of it catches George off-guard.
"Since you decided naming him 'Preposterous' was a good idea."
George rolls his eyes. He had thought it would be funny, given the conversation he had had with Harry when the latter decided to gift them the puppy. Somehow, it had stuck. Oddly enough, it had been George's solitary attempt at humour since...Fred.
#5 on the list of things people forget about Gregory Goyle: He only fell in love once.
Soon enough, it becomes a habit. Waking up to the sound of the familiar bark in the morning, with Rus playing about their feet, excited for a walk. They both walk with him, and when they return, their cheeks are flushed from the cold morning breeze, but their hearts are soaring.
For the first time since the War, they find themselves happy. George wonders how a tiny dog could have brought about the impossible, and his affection for the little creature multiplies.
Rus looks happier too, healthier, and his eyes shine with joy. Preposterous is quite right, George thinks. He would never have believed any of this could happen, only a few months ago.
George and Goyle speak more often now. They actually talk, instead of having to draw painful monosyllabic responses from each other. He learns Goyle is quite a conversationalist when he wants to be.
Everything goes swimmingly, albeit somewhat slowly, in a routine that George realises he has come to feel comfortable in.
Until the day Goyle says something unexpected.
"I love you, George."
And George finds himself saying it back.
#6 on the list of things no one knows about Gregory Goyle: He wasn't prepared to lose everything again.
Sometimes, Greg wakes up and turns to the right side of the bed. It still shocks him that it's empty now, and he breaks down.
The bark that emanates from the bundle in his arms, the same sound that they used to hear first thing in the morning, soothes him somewhat, but it is barely enough.
He had lost Vincent all those years back. It had broken him. It took him so long, and the help of two to heal.
Two, of which one had never come back from that day at work. That day when Greg's world came crashing down. Yet again.
Now, he has only one left.
Rus snuggles in closer to the crook of his arm, and Greg holds him like his life depends on it.
Perhaps it does.
Notes: For the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition.
Word Count: 1241 (Google Docs)
Position: Beater 1
Team: Kenmare Kestrels
Prompt: Write about a pet changing someone's life.
Optional Prompts: bark or mew, preposterous, receiving a pet as a gift.
Also for the Through the Universe Challenge on the Golden Snitch. Prompt: spaced-out
And for the Ollivander's Wand shop. Prompt: Dogwood: Write about Fred or George Weasley.
And for the Dreamcatcher Challenge: Prompt: Write about a Dark Character.
Lastly, for the Jurassic Event: Tyrannosaurus Rex; Write about a Dark Character in need of affection.