Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling, not me. Please don't sue.
A/N: Big Spoiler for Deathly Hallows. Don't read if you don't want anything spoiled.
More Than An Ear
"Wouldn't you have a laugh if you could see me now?" I ask, staring down at the gray granite that bore the name 'Fred Weasley.' "I mean what am I expecting talking to you? That you'll pop out of the ground and answer me? If only…"
"But I did as we both said we would if it came to this," I went on, blinking a little harder than necessary, holding back tears despite the fact that he was alone in the small cemetery. "We promised that we would live our lives to the fullest, but when I wrung it out of you, I didn't expect it to be me to live on."
I gave a short laugh as I thought about the night I got Fred to make that oath.
"I can't believe Snape did this to you! Slimy git! If I ever get my hands on him… And Lupin! How could he let this happen?!?"
"Calm down, Fred, we both know that you're not angry at them. Well, you're probably angry at Snape, but you are more angry at yourself than Lupin."
"Of course I am! I'm the older brother! I am supposed to protect you!"
"By six minutes!"
Fred sighed, deflated. "You could've lost a lot more than an ear."
"We knew the risks as soon as we agreed to do it, and we'd both do it again for Harry."
They were both silent for a moment, knowing it was true. Harry had become another brother to them, with a very strong likelihood of him become one officially, if the looks he and Ginny kept shooting each other were any indication.
"Fred, promise me something," I said, breaking the silence. He looked at me expectantly. "Promise me that if something should happen to one of us, the other will live his life."
"George--"
"Promise, Fred!"
"I promise," he said quietly. "As long as you promise as well."
I nodded seriously.
I shake my head in amusement as I think about that night. Fred had been so angry that he hadn't been there to look out for me. To tell the truth, it was a little strange for me that he wasn't there as well. Lupin had later confided to me that in the delirium of blood-loss, I had been most confused and frightened that Fred was not there, calling out for my twin in pain.
"You were always looking out for me, weren't you?" I ask the silent headstone, smiling sadly with tears beginning to leak out of my eyes despite my efforts to stop them. "I guess I had never really understood how much you did for me until you weren't there anymore."
"Oddly enough, Percy has been great ever since… since the battle. I don't think we truly appreciated how alone he felt in the family, maybe it was partly our own fault that he turned his back on us for the Ministry. Us kids always kinda paired up, you know? Me and you, Bill and Charlie, Ron and Ginny… Percy was the odd man out. He's told me since that he used crave the jokes and pranks we always played on him. Said they made him feel as if he belonged. Go figure." My voice cracks and I take a moment to compose myself.
"I honestly don't know how much longer I can go on like this, Fred. I know I said I would, but it's so hard," I cry, tears streaming down my face freely now. "People stare at me as walk to the store and as I tend to customers. They give me pitying looks when they see, or rather don't see, my missing ear. But they don't realize that I've lost so much more than an ear. And maybe I would be better off dead than to live without the other half of my soul…"
End.
Thinking of doing a story chronicling the lives of the twins. Anyone interested?