The Burrow.

Percy couldn't remember the last time, he had called it home. Nor could he remember the last time he had wanted to be there as desperately as he did now.

He looked down at his hand, poorly wrapped in bandages. The wounds could have been quite easily healed magically. Somehow it felt wrong to do so, considering all the people who lost their lives mere weeks ago. An injured hand seemed like nothing in comparison.

He hadn't left his house for the past few days. His mother's words still rang in his ears. "Come home, Percy. We need you now, more than ever."

Percy shook his head. They had needed him when his father had been bitten by that snake, they had needed him when the truth about You Know Who finally came out and most of all Fred had needed him when that wall came down. Every time he failed to rise to the occasion.

Why should now be any different? He pulled the duvet over himself, blocking out all light.

Percy scrunched his eyes tightly together. Now matter how hard he tried, he couldn't block any of those thoughts out. As far as his family were concerned he had skipped out on nearly three years of their life and for that, he couldn't understand why they didn't hate him as much as he hated himself.

It was true that Percy had desperately wanted to make it up with his family. He had admitted to all his wrong doing, admitted that he had been a fool and vowed to fight side by side them in bringing down the darkest wizard of them all.

All of this was still true. He had been wrong, he had been a fool... but yet, was any of that really good enough?

"Nowhere near." He announced to the empty room.

The sound of crashing glass abruptly tore him from his thoughts. Startled, he threw the duvet off himself and looked over to the source of the sound.

The window had been smashed.

Percy climbed out of bed and confronted the person responsible. "The window was unlocked. There was no need for vandalism." He walked over to his brother, who was struggling to clamber into the room. "What are you doing here, George?"

Ignoring his brother's question, George pulled his wand from his pocket and pointed it at the glass. "Reparo." With that, the window returned to it's previous state. "Bloody hell, Perce. You've sure tightened security on this place, the Floo network is disconnected and I can't apparate in."

Percy's eyes were still transfixed on the rock that lay inches from the window sill. "So you decided to hurl a rock at my window and break in?"

George smirked, picked up said rock and inspected it. "You're feeling pretty stupid now. Aren't you? All those measures you took to keep people out and you were fooled by a mere rock."

"I admit that I hadn't accounted for such methods." Percy said. "It's all rather..."

"Muggle Like?"

"Indeed, although if you wanted to do things in the way of Muggle tradition, you could've simply knocked the door." Percy suggested. "I'd only cut off the floo network and prohibited appiration. There were plenty alternate ways of getting in."

"That could've saved some time. Climbing up here wasn't easy."

"If you'd have brought you broom you could've flown up."

"Why would I have needed my broom if you would've let me in through the door?"

Percy rolled his eyes. "Because you didn't have the intelligence to knock on the door."

"You always were one for the compliments, Perce." George painted on a look of mock insult.

"Are you here for any particular reason? Or did you just think you'd vandalise the place, insult me and go?"

"The only one that has been insulted is me." He pointed to the window. "And you must admit I fixed that window pretty damn well."

"You were the one that broke it!" Percy couldn't hide his exasperation. "It wouldn't have needed fixing if you'd have used the door."

"We could argue about who did what all day, but will we really reach any conclusion as to who was really at fault here?" He said. "Let's just admit we were both in some way to blame and agree to forgive and forget."

"But it was you that broke the window! I had no part in it, I was simply minding my own business when a rock came hurtling in." Percy felt his cheeks flushing red. He was a well mannered, upstanding citizen who wouldn't dare do something as reckless as hurling a rock. How could George suggest differently?

It takes two to tango, my dear Percy." George winked, loving every moment of his brother's unease."

"It takes two to what?"

George shrugged. "Dad went through a phase of learning Muggle expressions. Apparently it means that two people were involved. Or it was something like that, anyway."

"But two people weren't involved. How could you possibly say that I assisted you in anyway? I can testify beyond reasonable doubt that you acted alone!"

George laughed, and playfully whacked Percy on the back, almost knocking him over. "I'm joking. You are so easy to wind up, it's almost too easy."

Percy shook his head and sat back down on the bed. "Maybe I just don't get your humour." He darted his eyes around the room, trying not to face his brother.

George's smile faltered. He hated the way Percy had taken a complete U turn since his return to the family on the night of the battle. "Or maybe you just don't get humour?" George replied, annoyance beginning to show. "Has that thought ever crossed that narrow mind of yours?"

"You believe what you wish to believe." He looked down at the floor, focusing on a stain that marked the carpet. He mentally cursed himself for not noticing it earlier.

"I believe many things about you. You're arrogant, pompous, world's biggest prat even..." George found himself abruptly interrupted.

"How dare you insult me in my own home? Percy walked over his brother and pointed at the door. "Go back to the Burrow. You need to be around your family, at a time like this."

"And you don't?"

Percy took a step back, surprised. "And I don't?" He repeated.

"You say I need to be with my family, do you not feel like you need to be there too?"

Nervous again, Percy began to mumble.

"Sorry, didn't catch that." George said. He spoke several decibels louder than what Percy believed to be necessary.

"You're better off without me." He shouted with a tone that surprised even himself.

"That's not for you to decide." George argued back, his light heartedness from earlier was nowhere to be seen. "I'm never going to see my twin again and now you're telling me that I'm better off without my older brother as well? It's like being kicked in the balls twice!"

"Please refrain from using terms of that kind."

"Keep going! Pick me up on everything I've done wrong, quote some pathetic rule from some stupid book. I just want you to be my brother again."

"George I..." He trailed off, unable to find the right words.

George had seized hold of his brother's jumper and was now shaking him. "Why don't you listen to me...?"He demanded, becoming increasingly hysterical. "You said you'd come back. You said you'd come back..." He repeated it over and over until the words became incomprehensible.

"I am! I am listening." Percy placed a hesitant hand on his brother's arm and made a weak attempt of prising him off.

George blinked furiously. He wasn't about to cry. He had done that a lot recently since the battle, but not today, not now. "You're just so..." He shook him harder, as if somehow it would get the message in more effectively.

"I'm just so dizzy on the account of you shaking me in such a violent manner?" Percy offered. His glasses slipped off and landed with a light clunk.

George suddenly stopped and pushed Percy down onto the bed. He backed away and leant against the wall. "This was not how I planned this."

"How did you plan it?" He pulled himself up into a sitting position.

"I'd apparate in. Tell you that you have to come home and you'd agree without argument." He said. "When we got back home, mum would be so happy to have you back she's stop crying and we'd see her smile for the first time since Fred..." He stopped, winced at the name.

"Oh."

"Is that all you've got to say?"

"I don't know what else to say." He admitted. "I always thought that my family would always be here, even if we weren't talking or if I hadn't seen them in a while."

"We are still here."

"I'm talking about Fred. My younger brother is gone almost as soon as I'm back in his life, one moment we're joking together, the next..." He notes the pained look on George's face and stops, unable to continue.

"So you cut yourself off from the rest of us?" He crosses his arms to show his disapproval.

He shakes his head. "It's not like that. It's not like that at all."

"I don't think you what it's like, you don't know anything anymore." A bewildered look momentarily appears. "For once, Perfect Prefect Percy has no plan."

Percy couldn't disagree with that and neither did he want to. "I'm sor..."

"Stop right there. If one more person tells me that they're sorry, I swear to Merlin I'll..."

"You'll what?"

He shrugged, a look of defeat across his face. "Just don't apologise and you won't have to find out."

"Duly noted. I'll be sure to keep the S word out of future conversations, until you deem it acceptable for me to use it again."

"So, there is a possibility of future conversations?"

Percy went quiet again. George moved across the room and without waiting for invitation he took a seat next to him on the bed.

"Nothing is ever simple with you is it?" Percy remained silent. George reached into his pocket and produced a packet of sweets. "Want one?"

"No, thank you."

George pushed the bag right up into his brother's face and held it there.

"What are you doing?" Percy asked shifting over to avoid the bag.

"I'm offering you one."

"And I said no!"

George ignored his brother's sentence."Would you like a sweet?"

"I just said no!"

Once more, George repeated the question, pushing the bag up close again. He was refused once more.

"Percy, do you want a sweet? Percy, do you want a sweet? Percy, do you want a sweet?" Each time he asked, he became more insistent.

"Would you stop repeating yourself and take no for an answer?"

George removed one from the packet and dropped it on the floor.

"Pick that up!" Percy said in his prefect voice.

A second was dropped to the floor, followed by a third.

Percy dropped to his knees and began gathering them up. "Fine, I'll have one, just stop being so destructive." Slowly he began to remove the wrapper.

"I guess I'll leave now then. I realise I can't force you."

Percy diverted his attention from the wrapper and onto George. "You can't force me, no." He let out a sigh. "But I will come home. That is if you'll all have me?"

"Of course we will." He found himself smiling, the first genuine one since the loss of his beloved twin. "Pack a bag and we'll go."

Percy bent down and retrieved his glasses before unwrapping the sweet.

"Wait... there's no need to eat that." George panicked, moving to take it back.

"Its fine, it's obviously important to you that I eat it." With that, Percy popped it in his mouth.

George let out a nervous laugh. "I really hope we can laugh about this later, you must understand that I had nothing but good intentions, even if it was a little unorthodox."

"What are you talking abou..." Percy was unable to finish his sentence, his legs went weak and suddenly the room was out of focus.

George reached out and grabbed hold of him. "Oh bloody hell, we wouldn't have had this problem if you'd have agreed to come back sooner." He dragged Percy back over to the bed and dropped him onto it. "Don't worry though, this is perfectly reversible. Although there was that one time where a customer remained unconscious for a week but I'm sure that won't happen to you." He emptied the bag on the floor. "Ah, small problem these are actually only one half of the sweet." He explained to the unconscious form of his older brother. "With the old ones, we had it so one half made you faint and the other half reversed it, although that didn't work too well because usually the person was in no state to take the other half by themselves. So we made the other half separately, for a friend to keep hold of and give it to the person who fainted. Genius huh?" He thought for a moment. "Unless, the friend loses the other half, of course." Admitting defeat, George walked over to the bed and gathered Percy up into his arms. "I suppose I could just carry you? After all, you're not that heavy." He said, going red in the face and struggling to take the first few steps.

oOo

Percy awoke to find himself in a totally different room to the one he as last aware of being in. He heard the voice of his mother. "Arthur, Arthur he's awake."

"See, I told you there was nothing to worry about. Just as long as George is more responsible in the future, I see no reason why he should stop selling them."

Percy found his voice. "What exactly did he do to me?"

"They're called fainting fancies." A voice from the end of his bed said. He looked up and came face to face with George again.

"Fainting what?" He sat up.

"Fainting Fancies, they're part of the Skiving Snack Box range at the joke shop. Take one half and you faint. Once you've been let out of class, a friend will help you take the other half and you're free to have fun for the rest of the afternoon."

Mrs Weasley shot him a look of disapproval. "What were you thinking? Forcing it down your brother like that, I hope you're ashamed of yourself."

"I didn't force him. I may have used a bit of deception but it's not as if I held him down."

Percy placed a hand on his mother's arm. "Maybe just this once I can let it go? I'm just glad to be here."

Molly's eyes glistened. "You really mean that?"

He nodded and allowed her to pull him into a rib crushing hug.

Arthur leant over and lowered his voice so only George could hear him. "You've done a great think today, George." He briefly placed an arm around his shoulders. "These past few weeks have been the worst, but I promise you, this will get better."

To his surprise, George didn't doubt his father's words. He looked over at his older brother. "I hope so, Dad."

Molly pulled away and gestured to the door. "C'mon, boys. Percy has had quite the day, he must be exhausted."

"I really don't mind, I want to be here with you all." Percy interjected, more aware than ever before of all the catching up that was to be done.

"We'll just be downstairs. You sleep for now."

He reluctantly agreed. "Very well, if you believe it to be for the best."

With one final glace at her third eldest, she gave a smile and left the room, Arthur trailing close behind her.

George got to his feet, only to be stopped in his tracks by Percy calling after him. He turned.

Percy held up his hands. "My hands they were quite badly burned and covered in bandages."

"I fixed that for you, a simple remedy that Mum kept downstairs did the trick quite nicely."

"Oh... well thanks. That was good of you." He replied, touched.

"There's no need to look so surprised. I don't know why you left them in that state for so long anyway, they were seriously manky."

Then there was silence.

Sensing that his brother had nothing more to say, George changed the subject. "Earlier you said that you and Fred were sharing a joke? I must say that does come as a surprise."

"Oh, yes. It was..." He trailed off, unable to think of the right word.

"How about you give it another go? I'd like to witness this rare phenomenon of Percy Weasley cracking an actual joke."

Percy furrowed his brow in concentration. "Right okay... I think I've got one." He cleared his throat. "How many squibs does it take to change a light bulb?"

George shook his head. "You can't be serious. That one is seriously lame, I mean in terms of terrible joke, that's up there with why did the hippogruff cross the road?"

"In that case, I'll have a bit of a rethink."

George placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "You do that and I'll see you downstairs, later."

Percy reached out and took hold of his arm. "Wait, I just wanted to ask you if you were free tomorrow."

George nodded. "Nothing planned, no."

"Come to Hogsmeade with me? We can have some fire-whiskeys in the Three Broomsticks; get something to eat in Honeydukes, maybe?"

Once more, George found himself smiling. "Yes, I'd like that and I could show you the business."

"I look forward to becoming reacquainted with these Fainting Fancies."

"If you like them, just wait until I show you the puking pastels and nosebleed nougat." He said, thinking of all the pranks he could possibly pull on Percy the next day. "You know, Fred had a list as long as my arm of all the merchandise that he wanted to try out on you."

"Really?" Percy couldn't hide his look apprehension.

"Don't worry, I'll go easy on you." He made his way over to the door and paused just before he exited. "Although saying that, we really should honour Fred's wishes to a certain degree." With that, he was gone, leaving Percy alone.

Percy pulled the blankets over himself and lay back in the bed.

He really was glad to be home.