A/N: Don't own. Credz to imbeingsirius and her awesome FB page, 'Harry Potter and the page of stories'.
Why?
His best friend was dead… His twin… the one single person that understood him. Dead. Never to return. Ever. He didn't cry, Fred would come and haunt him if he did – he's been told as much by his twin at least a dozen times when Fred was still alive. He bit back a sob at the memory. He wouldn't cry. He had to be strong… for mum. For dad. Percy… everyone. No matter what, George didn't blame Percy. It wasn't his brother's fault that his best friend was now gone. They'd been joking, after all. Fred had been so delighted at Percy's joke… his smile forever etched on his face. That gave George some small bit of comfort. Fred had died laughing.
They all looked at him, pitying him. He didn't need pity. He needed to make jokes, to think up some new invention… but was it worth it? His comrade wasn't there – why go on?
George went to the bathroom to splash his face with water. He looked up at the mirror. His heart almost stopped. For a fleeting moment he thought Fred had returned. His eyes were sunken, speaking of a battle fought and of hours without sleep. He lifted his fist and swung it at the mirror. Tiny pieces of glass shattered everywhere. Every time he looked in a mirror he would see his brother. Was it worth it? He'd be reminded that he was alone, now. Sure, Ron had said he would move in and help in the shop, but it wouldn't be the same.
123
It was a busy day at Weasley's. Ron had his hands full, as did George, but Ron tried to take up most of the workload. George saw it, and he didn't complain. It hurt too much to want to joke now. He was sure it would never get better.
The bell rang again, to admit what seemed like the thousandth customer for the day. Immediately upon entrance he heard it. He looked up curiously. Two brothers, laughing merrily and eyeing the things in the shop with great interest. They spotted Ron. The one poked the other and grinned mischievously. They nodded and sneaked on their way to Ron… George saw it, a frog. They were planning to either throw it on Ron or stuff it down his pants.
George grinned at the thought, remembering when he and Fred had pulled the same prank on Charlie, their other brother. George snuck up behind them.
"And what do we have here?" He asked, snatching the warty frog.
"Hello, sir." The one brother greeted him with a wide smile.
"You weren't perhaps thinking of doing something to my dear brother, were you?"
They looked horrified at each other – just like when their mum had caught them, George thought.
"Because… he'd be expecting something like a frog." George put the frog in his hand and transfigured it into a large spider. "This will be way more fun." He winked at the pair of them and threw the spider on Ron's head. The spider scurried around, and Ron freaked. The trio laughed heartily at the jerking movements Ron made. As soon as the spider was squashed, its eight legs on twelve different sides of the shop, Ron rounded on them with a glare. When he saw George's eyes closed in laughter, he smiled and continued his rant – knowing that what George wanted.
George gave each boy a Skiving Snack Box free of charge, and told them to use it wisely and often.