When George is twenty, he sees Fred's body lying cold on the floor of the Great Hall, and his world shatters all around him. He doesn't recall anything that occurs after that - the only thing he remembers is waking up in his bed back at the Burrow, where he was informed by his teary-eyed mother that yes, Fred really, truly is gone. It's the first time he cries aloud in a long time.
He's never felt so alone.
For all twenty years of his life, Fred had always been there for everything, standing beside him as a steady, comforting presence. They had always had one another to fall back on, to depend on, to trust. George had never thought of a life without Fred before, and the notion that he will now have to live out the rest of his life without his brother, his twin, his other half, leaves him hollow and chilled to the bone.
He refuses to leave his room or talk to anyone for the rest of the day.
Hey, Fred, I thought you promised that you wouldn't leave me alone. I thought you said that we were gonna live out our lives together, grow up together, be together forever.
Why was your forever so short?
Why did you leave me here alone?
I miss you.
When George is twenty-three, things are only just looking up for him. Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes is more popular than ever, thanks to Ron's leaving the Auror Department in favor of helping out his brother with the store in place of Fred. George is glad to have his youngest brother move in with him; Ron is one of the only people not to tread on eggshells when around him, and George finds that he could appreciate it a lot. He knows that people still feel like he will break down at the slightest mention of Fred, if the look on his mother's face when she accidentally calls him by the wrong name is anything to go by. Percy still can't look him in the eye for more than a second - Ron says it's because he feels guilty about distracting Fred and causing him to get hit by the explosion.
George thinks it's stupid.
He's never blamed Percy for anything, perhaps save for being a major dick with a stick stuck up his ass for half his life, and for making their mother cry, but nothing else. If anyone is to blame for Fred's death, it's Fred himself for being so utterly stupid as to get himself killed.
But it's not like Fred could've helped it, just like how George can't help but miss his brother with all his heart.
Some days are worse than others. Some days, George will fall asleep in the middle of the night, and he will be back at the Battle of Hogwarts, only this time, he is the one fighting next to Fred, laughing and joking without a care for the world as they strike down Death Eaters one by one, together. Then something George says will be particularly hilarious, and Fred will throw his head back laughing, laughing like there's no tomorrow, and then the dream will flash green and he will hear the 'Avada Kedavra', only that it is too late, simply too late, and Fred will collapse to the ground by his feet with a loud thump, his laughter still etched onto his face even in death. Then George will hear an unearthly scream, a scream more horrific than anything he's ever heard before, and he will wonder where it is coming from, only to realize that he is the one screaming, screaming in agony for his fallen twin, and he will wake up with tears streaming down his face as he reaches out for the person who is no longer there with him. On those days, Ron will come rushing into his room and pull him into a crushing embrace as he throws all dignity aside and sobs into his younger brother's shirt, because he knows Ron will not mind, that Ron will understand his pain, even if it is only a small extent of the pain George experiences every day. Ron will let him cry and cry and cry until he has no more tears left to shed, and when George cries himself to sleep, Ron will envelope his brother in a warm hug and fall asleep right along with him until the nightmares slowly dissipate and everything is somewhat right again.
Ron never mentions anything to the rest of their family, and George is immensely grateful for it.
It sort of makes him regret bullying Ron so much when they were younger.
(It also makes him think that, despite what a lot of people may be led to believe, Ron does not, in fact, have the emotional range of a teaspoon.)
Hey, Fred, our little brother's all grown up now. I wish you could see him now. I don't think you'll believe me when I say Ron is the only one who comes close to ever understanding us.
I miss you.
When George is twenty-five, he marries Angelina Johnson, the former Captain and Chaser of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He finds that Angelina is an easy person to talk to - they'd been friends in school, after all, and she'd also been friends with Fred, and knows the pain of losing him. With Ron now married to Hermione, he could no longer be there for George all the time, but George understands. His brother should not have to put his life on hold simply because George is not yet strong enough to keep it together all the time.
But Angelina changes that. She moves in with him at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, and she turns his world around. She doesn't let him sit around and mope whenever there's a free moment, drawing him into another jestful conversation with her and having him laugh his head off along with her in no time. She is the guiding light that sets him on the road of recovery, that slowly draws him out of the shell he's retreated into after Fred's death.
Gradually, he feels like she's healing the side of him that died along with Fred.
Granted, no one can really, truly replace his twin, but.
Angelina comes pretty damn close.
She drags him to family gatherings he's blown off for as long as he could, forcing him into conversations with his siblings that he would have avoided at all costs before. She forces him to talk, and whenever he attempts to slink into a corner and curl up on himself, she threatens him with bodily harm until he resigns himself to his fate and (attempts to) makes conversation with his family. The first time he cracks a joke, Angelina just grins and shakes her head at him, and reaches over to ruffle his hair fondly. When he glances over to his mother, however, he sees her staring at him, frozen, with her eyes glistening suspiciously with unshed tears, before she seems to remember what she's doing and makes up some excuse about the food burning (really, George's never seen his mother burn food before, did she really think anyone believed her?) and bustles out of the room, his father following her out moments later.
Ron comes up to him later in the evening, when they are alone in the garden, and tells him that it was the first time they've heard him crack a joke in five years.
George only smiles softly and glances fondly at his wife. "She's a special woman."
Hey, Fred, I married your date to the Yule Ball. She's a wonderful person. She helps me get on with my life a lot. Who knows, maybe you would've married her if you'd made it.
Why didn't you make it?
I miss you.
When George is twenty-seven, his first son his born. He doesn't even need to ask Angelina what his name will be; she sees him looking at his son in pure adoration, and she lays a hand on his arm softly. "His name is Fred," she whispers to him gently.
"Fred," George murmurs back, and the the widest genuine smile since his brother's death stretches across his face, there in the hospital room with his wife and son.
Hey, Fred, you've got competition. You're not the only Fred in my life anymore. I wish you could see him. I think he's going to be just like you when he grows up. Merlin, that would be disastrous.
I miss you.
When George is thirty, his daughter is born, and they name her Roxanne in honor of Angelina's late mother. He takes one look at her dark hair and announces, "Not a Weasley." Everyone in the hospital room with them laughs, and George can see it in everyone's eyes that they are relieved that they have their old George, the George before Fred died, back.
He's almost as relieved as they are.
But when everyone leaves, and it's just him and a tired Angelina who is sleeping soundly on the hospital bed, George curls up on the uncomfortable hospital sofa and cries silently to himself, wishing that he'd been able to share this wonderful day with a person he hasn't seen in ten years, yet still loves more than anyone else in the world.
Hey, Fred, you've gotten another niece. If you were here, would you teach her to be a prankster, just like us? I think Angelina would kill you if you did. The kids would love their Uncle Fred.
I miss you.
When George is thirty-six, he attends the 427th Quidditch World Cup Final with his family. Fred is nine, and Roxanne is six.
George is on top of the world.
He, along with the rest of his family, are cheering for Brazil (Ron is all decked out in red for Bulgaria - strange, considering Victor Krum's history with his wife. George wonders if he's put it behind him.) George sees that Angelina is just as excited for this match as he is - she was as much of a Quidditch fanatic as he was in her younger days. Fred and Roxanne are quivering in their seats in anticipation. Fred tells him loudly that once he's in Hogwarts, he'll become the best Beater the school's ever seen. Roxanne quickly reinforces her brother's statement, and repeats his claims even more haughtily, if that were possible.
(George silently wonders if his son will follow in his namesake's footsteps. The thought of his brother causes the grin on his face to falter a bit, but when he catches Angelina's knowingly raised eyebrows, he plasters a wide smile on his face and goes back to listening to his now-arguing children and trying to mediate the shouting match-in-the-brewing.
He can think about Fred later.)
The match starts, and there is no more time to think about anything else for the next three hours other than Quidditch, Quidditch, Quidditch. He cheers as loudly as he can to be heard above the din every time Brazil scores a goal, and groans along with the rest of the green-clad crowd whenever a goal is scored against them. He glances at his children on occasion, and can't help but smile fondly when he sees their slack-jawed expressions, eyes wildly following the players on the field whilst trying to keep track of everything all at once.
An image of him and Fred watching Quidditch for the first time when they were young surfaces in his mind, but it is quickly overshadowed by Gonçalo Flores scoring and quickly sinks back into the depths of his memories.
When Victor Krum catches the Snitch (there is not uproar like last time - Bulgaria catches the Snitch, and Bulgaria wins the World Cup), George groans and bemoans Brazil's loss along with the rest of his red-headed family. Ron is elated and is rubbing it in everyone's faces that he cheered for the right team, and Hermione rolls her eyes at him while wrapping an arm around him affectionately. Soon, Ginny comes back to join them, face flushed in satisfaction as she regales the tale of hexing Rita Skeeter for gossiping about her family with glee. The family laughs at the nasty journalist's misfortune of having crossed Ginny Potter, and George proudly thumps his sister on the back. Ginny turns and looks up at him, grinning mischievously, and George is thrown by how similar she looks to Fred and how he has not noticed this before.
It's so similar, he almost thinks he's seeing Fred grinning up at him after pulling another successful prank at first.
But then the look is gone, and she turns away to laugh at something Harry has said, and he pulls her in and kisses her forehead. Angelina notices (of course she notices; why does she always notice everything?) and sidles up to him, laying her head on his shoulder.
"Alright, George?" She murmurs softly, making sure they would not be eavesdropped on.
He nods back at her, and buries his face in her hair. "She looks like him when she's smiling."
She wraps an arm around him and squeezes comfortingly. "You Weasleys all look the same when you're smiling." She pokes his cheek.
George chuckles a bit, and pecks her softly on the mouth. "Why don't you go for Charlie then, eh?"
Angelina shakes her head and flicks his forehead, making sure he's really as fine as he says before going to mollify an angry Roxanne and a pouting Fred. George finds himself once more wondering how on earth he manage to find such a wonderful woman.
That night, when it is time to travel home, George walks down the path to the Apparition point hand-in-hand with Angelina as his children race ahead with their cousins, giggling and chasing one another down the winding path. George looks up at the starry night and smiles.
Hey, Fred, I think I'm starting to get over you. I still miss you, I still love you, but...I've got to move on, you know? I have a family now. I can't afford to keep...pining after you like this forever.
Nonetheless, I miss you. I hope you know that.
When George is forty-one, he sends both of his children off to Hogwarts. He waves them off as the Hogwarts Express pulls out of King's Cross Station, an arm around Angelina as she laments (dramatically) both her children leaving her. After the two bid farewell to their relatives and acquaintances and leave Harry to flounder in the swarm of people flocking to catch a glimpse at "The Boy Who Lived" (much to Ginny's chagrin, and George sends her a subtle thumbs-up when he sees a witch who is getting a bit too comfortable with Harry get hit in the back with a stray Bat-Bogey Hex. She ran away, wailing in misery, while Harry does not even notice).
When they get home, Angelina dashes around the house trying to gather her supplies to get to her Quidditch game with Alicia and Katie on time. She stops darting around the house for only a moment to ask George in concern whether he wants to join her, but George knows that she needs her time with her friends and brushes her off with an affectionate 'have fun, love you'. After the front door slams shut and the resounding echoes slowly dissipate, George is suddenly extremely aware of how silent the house is without either Fred or Roxanne in it. For the first time in fourteen years, George finds himself with nothing to distract him from thoughts of his twin, and a wave of nostalgia and bitterness washes over him like a tide swallowing up the sand. He walks into his bedroom, planning on taking his mind off of his twin by doing some work he has been neglecting. But when he catches sight of himself in the mirror, he freezes in his tracks. The silence around him is deafening.
Angelina comes home to find her husband asleep on their shared bed, tear tracks running down his face and the last photo he'd ever taken with Fred clutched in his hand.
Hey, Fred. Your niece and nephew have both started school. I worry that Roxanne is going to turn out like the both of us did. I think I know how Mum felt all the time now. I wish you were here to experience this with me. You would have loved to see them grow, and maybe you'd have had your own kids, too. Merlin, now I'm just making myself sad. You do still realize that I miss you, right?
When George is one-hundred and twenty-three, he lies on his bed and stares up at the ceiling, unseeing. His family surrounds him on all sides, some crying silent tears and others talking in hushed voices, glancing over constantly worriedly.
George notices none of this.
What he notices, however, is the faint sound of someone calling his name, if he strains to hear it. The voice is strangely familiar, but he can't exactly place where he has ever heard it from. He feels his mind fog up, and his vision blurs. He can vaguely feel Angelina grasping his hand in a grip that would hurt if he could actually feel it, could hear her crying, her sobbing. He slowly loses his grip on where he is - he can only think of wanting to follow that voice, wanting to find out exactly who it belongs to. He can feel himself slipping away as his eyelids droop close, and he can feel himself lose all sensation.
When he opens his eyes again, he appears to be standing in a train station. George is confused for a moment, until he notices a figure standing by the train tracks, red hair blowing softly along to some non-existent breeze. George steps forward, his bare feet whispering across the floor, and the figure turns around to face him.
George feels the breath rush right out of him.
Once he catches sight of George, Fred bursts out into a wide grin and strides forward, arms stretched wide apart. George is frozen in shock for a millisecond before he throws himself into his long-lost twin's arms, unwittingly letting tears fall from his eyes and letting loose a sob.
Whilst locked in a long-awaited embrace, George hears Fred whisper into his ear.
'I missed you.'
When George is one-hundred and twenty-three, he finally returns home.