How to Hope
AN: This idea has been plaguing me ever since I finished the Deathly Hallows and found no mention of the twins in the epilogue.
"George?" a soft knock echoed in the empty hallway. "George, it's me, Ginny. Open up." From outside the door there was no movement. Honestly, she hadn't really expected him to respond, but it never hurt to try.
Inside the darkened cave that had once been Fred and George's room everything was a mess. Discarded clothes and half-finished magical products lay strewn about the room. The one full-length mirror attached to the back of the door was obscured completely by an old cloak. The bunk beds the twins had formerly occupied were pushed roughly against a wall, towards the closet, and unoccupied. Curled up on top on an old mattress occupying the corner farthest from the door lay George Weasley, half-buried under blankets, clothes and old scrolls.
"George…" Ginny pleaded, but there was still no answer. Finally, with a sigh, she continued. "Mum's made breakfast for us and she'd really like it if you came downstairs and ate."
There was still no reply, yet Ginny wavered hopefully outside the door for another minute. After a moment more she whispered, "We'll keep your pancakes warm," and wondered back downstairs in dejection.
Inside the room George rolled over onto his side, his once handsome face now permanently scarred, not only by his loss of an ear, but by the expression of total abandonment which had not left it since the battle of Hogwarts.
He knew his family was worried about him, but honestly he didn't care anymore. None of them could ever understand what it had been like for him. They'd lost friends in that battle, friends, and a son or brother. But he had lost part of himself.
Fred had not been his brother; he had been his other half. Since birth they had always been lumped together. For nineteen years they had shared friends, toys, a dorm room at school and a bedroom at home. Even their names were said one after another, as if together they were one complete person.
They had gone everywhere side by side, all through Hogwarts ad even after when they opened up their joint-owned joke shop. It seemed impossible that Fred would never again walk through the door and announce a new plan to wreak playful havoc on the wizarding world.
They had just started. They were only nineteen years old, and they'd just barely started planning for the rest of their lives. And now there was no 'rest'. This was it. And it was all over before they'd really even begun.
But George couldn't say it like that to anyone. He knew his family could only sympathize, pitying him but never fully comprehending his loss. They would hug him and cry, but what did they know? If a few years they'd begin to move on. Ron and Ginny would grow up and forge ahead, starting their own lives and forming their own families. But George couldn't do that. Not without Fred.
He was afraid to face his mother, afraid that as soon as she saw him she'd burst into tears. Or even worse, that she would call him Fred by mistake, like she always used to. He didn't think he could handle that.
George was perfectly content to waste away in his room, drowning in his own misery until death finally claimed him. Unfortunately, his stomach had other plans, which it reminded him of with a loud groan. With a sigh, George pushed himself off the bed and sat up, looking for something, anything, to eat. When he found nothing edible, he grudgingly looked around at the clock.
It was mid-afternoon. It was a pretty safe to assume that at least half his family was at work. It wasn't exactly prime eating time, so if he snuck downstairs now to grab something, there was a good chance he wouldn't run in to any unwanted company.
Slowly, cautiously, he moved towards the door. He leaned his ear against it and heard nothing. He opened the door onto the landing, careful not to dislodge the cloak that obscured the dreaded mirror. He couldn't stand to see his own reflection. He hated who he saw staring back.
As he made his way down the stairs he continued to look over his shoulder, checking for any lurking siblings or worrying parents. But, to his relief, George made it to the kitchen unencumbered.
With a sigh he picked up some bread and a slice of meat for a quick sandwich. Then, sandwich in hand, he was struck by an overpowering longing to be outside. He hadn't been outside in days, and now, he thought he might finally be ready.
He slipped out the back door and made his was down a slight hill towards a tiny lake at the edge of their property. All around him birds and gnomes were chatting, the sky was clear and blue, and he felt utterly alone. Basking in the sunlight, lazily eating his sandwich George almost didn't hear the footsteps approaching behind him.
With a sigh, Harry Potter lowered himself onto the grass beside George and stared up at the sky. For a moment neither of the boys said anything, just enjoying the peace and solitude while in each other's company.
"I envy you, getting to grow up here." Harry finally said as he closed his eyes against the bright sun, "The Dursley's was nothing like this. In my mind this is heaven."
George said nothing, but Harry continued on good-naturedly. "This is really a place to be yourself. A place for beginnings… and endings."
"What do you mean?" George finally asked.
"Well," Harry said, "this is the first place where I ever felt at home, yet also the first place I really wanted to protect. That day when the ministry fell, the day of Fleur and Bill's wedding, was what you might call the end of my childhood. I mean, in that moment I realized that even the Burrow wasn't going to be safe forever.
There's a big world out there, George, and it's scary and dangerous. There are some places that feel safe, like so long as you're there, nothing can ever harm you, but those are just illusions."
"Thanks, Harry," George said, "You've really improved my mood. I feel downright cheery now." The corner of Harry's mouth twitched.
"I had a point." Harry said, "Give me a sec and I'll try to remember what it is." He paused, opening his eyes again to stare up at the cloudless oblivion spread out before him. "My point was, you have to keep fighting. Cruel things do happen to the undeserving, but there's nothing you can do about that. My mum and dad shouldn't have had to die trying to protect me, but they did. Tonks and Lupin shouldn't have had to die protecting Hogwarts either. And poor Teddy really shouldn't have to rely on me to raise him now, but that's just the way the world is.
All we can do is fight it, even if that's one battle we'll never win. We can fight for the ones we love who are still alive, and we can fight to remember the ones we lost as the loving, heroic people that they were. And we can fight to live, because it's not always easy. Sometimes you just want to lay down and die so you can join all the people you love who've left you. Believe me, I know. But that's why living is a fight. You have to fight with yourself to remember all the reasons life is worth living."
When Harry finished his speech they once again elapsed into silence, although this time George's mind was racing.
"Speaking of reasons," Harry continued, sitting up now, "I think I'm going to go find your sister. I need to tell her that I love her and hope she forgives me for being an arse."
George smiled as Harry pushed himself off the ground and made his way back towards the Burrow.
"Hey, Harry?" George called.
"Yeah?"
"Thanks."
Then George leaned back and pictured him, Ginny, Harry and Fred playing a game of Quidditch all those years ago, high up in the sky, and for a blissful moment he really understood what Harry'd meant.