"Fred Weasley." The minister spoke. George sat, stonefaced, solemn, emotionless. Ever since he had huddled over his twin's lifeless body he had been crying, but now he was out of tears. He was out of emotion. His family sat near the front, but George sat in the back. He didn't want to see Fred. He didn't want to see Fred's cold and motionless face, a preview as to what his own death would look like.
"We never should have separated, Freddie." George mumbled, burying his face in his hands. The service ended and George stood, contemplating whether or not to go look at his own body. His twin's body. The lifeless, cold, body that he would do anything to have back. He took a breath and stepped forward, getting in line. He kept his eyes on the 5th coffin in the row. There were several coffins, but at the moment Fred was the one that mattered. He had shut off everything else, but something pierced his mind. He looked over and saw Hermione sobbing in Ron's arms. George's fists clenched. How could she move on so quickly? Fred loved her and she had already moved on. George gritted his teeth and let out a quiet growl before leaving the line.
"Georgie, wait. Georgie!" George kept walking, fists and jaw clenched, ignoring his mother's calls. "George, where are you going?" He felt a hand on his arm, but he shook it off.
"Mother, leave me alone. Just leave me alone!" He shouted, kicking over a chair as he stormed out of the funeral.
"Georgie, whe-" The atmosphere shifted as George apparated away, his eyes adjusting to the dim light in his shop coming from the streetlight outside the window. He had closed the store and it was going to stay closed for a long time. George just didn't have it in him anymore. His inspiration for the whimsical gadgets, concoctions, and trinkets that he and his brother used to make was gone. He stripped off his jacket and threw it in a ball against the wall, knocking over a box of anti-gravity hats, causing them to fly up to the ceiling. He sighed and put his head down, closing his eyes and not holding back his tears anymore.
TAP TAP TAP. George sighed and wiped a tear away, looking up to see a mass of long blonde hair framing a familiar face looking in the window. Luna saw him look up and she waved, her typical dreamy look on her face. He got up and moved to the door, unlocking it and opening it.
"We're closed, Luna." George said quietly, clearing his throat. "What do you want?" She smiled and peeked inside a little.
"I was on my way to Ollivanders to ask about a replacement wand. I seemed to have misplaced my previous one." She took a breath before looking up at him. "I believe nargles are to blame." George looked down at her and blinked a moment.
"That doesn't explain why you're here, Luna." George asked, running his fingers through his hair.
"Well, I was passing by and I thought I'd say hello." George rolled his eyes and stepped away from the door, going back to the spot where he was sitting.
"What did my mother send you? Ginny? Dad? Who was it?" Luna raised an eyebrow a little before hearing one of the hats skidding along the ceiling jingle into one of the light fixtures. She pulled her wand out from behind her ear and with a swish the hats fell back into place on the shelf.
"I was just passing by, George. I saw you here and I thought I'd say hello." She said with a pleasant smile before looking at the wand in her hand. "Oh." She muttered quietly, sliding it back behind her ear. George couldn't help but smile a little and let out a quiet laugh at Luna's seeming absentmindedness.
"So, you're just here to say hello?" George said, letting his smile face and his previous expression return. "Well, hello. Now please go." She let out a quiet sigh and nodded softly before heading toward the door. George stood and started walking to the door after her when she stopped, causing him to stop suddenly, going up on his toes to stop from running into her.
"It gets better." She said before turning around, coming face to face with his chest, but quickly adjusting to the difference in height and looking at his face. "It does get better."
"Luna, I really just want to be alone, right now." George said with a sigh. He never thought he'd have that option, but now he had no choice. Luna sighed again.
"It'll never get better if you're moping around all the time." Luna told him quietly. "You need to let people help you." She said, reaching over and putting a hand on his shoulder. He closed his eyes. It felt good to feel a comforting touch again. A genuine one.
"He was my twin brother, Luna." George said, letting himself go for once. This was the first time he had talked about it. He didn't know what it was that was causing him to let his defenses down, but now he didn't want to stop. "Fred is dead and I'm never going to get him back. He was my best friend. When he died it was like a piece of my own body died and I will never forgive myself for not being there to save him." He said all in one breath and Luna stepped forward, wrapping her arms around him. The tears were falling down his cheeks and he finally let himself fall apart in Luna's arms. He couldn't stand it anymore. All of the defensive behavior. All of the pretending that he could handle it. Luna was showing actual concern and it wasn't to tell him how sorry she was for him and it wasn't because a member of his family told them to. She was there.
"George, he chose to fight. He chose to risk his life." Luna said quietly. George could feel her burying her face into his chest, but he didn't care at the moment. "Don't blame yourself." George knew that she was right. He had known that for a while.
"I just miss him so much..." He whispered, putting his face in her hair, inhaling the smell reminiscent of pumpkin pie. George pulled away a moment and looked at her, that same dreamy look on her face and the same pleasant smile on her face. Without thinking, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers and he never expected his heart to beat a little faster. He also didn't expect Luna to put her arms around his neck and kiss him back.
"You just need time and you need to let people help you." George nodded and moved his hands to her hips.
"Luna?" He said quietly. "Will you help me?" He asked quietly. She took a little breath and wiped George's tears away with her sleeve.
"Of course."