Disclaimer: I obviously do not own Harry Potter. I hope you enjoy this fanfic.
Empty. George felt empty. When he first found out, he thought he was going to die. He was in so much pain during the following weeks, and the only way to get through it was to force himself to become numb to it all. It had been three months now. Three months since Fred died. He felt lost.
After it happened, he moved back into the burrow. His parents wanted him close. They were terrified of what he might do if he were left alone with no one to stop him from sinking further and further into his grief. Still mourning his twin, they wouldn't have been able to handle the loss of another child. George didn't protest them too much. What did it matter where he lived? Nothing mattered without Fred.
His family didn't know how to interact with him anymore. It was strange enough that he was on his own now. He and Fred were ever rarely apart. It was always "Fred and George," now it was just "George." George, alone for the first time ever.
His family had also never seen him go so long without telling a joke, or at least without cracking a smile. He knew they wanted him to be happy again. He wanted to be happy too, but he just didn't know how to anymore. The world just wasn't fun anymore without Fred in it.
Still, George was getting bored of wallowing around the house all day. There was nothing to do but hide away in his childhood bedroom, wishing with all his heart that Fred would miraculously appear and make the gnawing feeling in his chest go away. But after three months, he finally realized that he needed to move forward with his life. His mother was so worried about him. George had overheard her crying to his father, telling him how she felt as if both the twins were gone, rather than just Fred. That's why he agreed to go to Diagon Alley with Percy.
George knew Percy blamed himself for Fred's death, but really, it wasn't his fault. Still, Percy was trying hard to make up for his years estranged from the family. He too had moved back into the burrow. George was glad. He knew having Percy back was a consolation to his family after his twin's death. And Percy, who had usually kept to himself growing up, had made an especially big effort to reconnect with George. Maybe he was somehow trying to fill the void that Fred had left, or maybe he was just really concerned about George's mental state. George wasn't sure, but either way he appreciated the sentiment.
Starting a mere two weeks after the loss of Fred, Percy had starting to reach out to George. He invited George to do everything from playing chess to running errands with him, but George never felt up to it. Well, until earlier today that is.
That morning Percy had knocked on George's door, asking him if he'd like to accompany him to Diagon Alley. He decided to buy a bigger cage for Hermes, his owl. Percy was shocked when George – with little convincing – hesitantly agreed to go with him. So now they found themselves entering Eeylops Owl Emporium, trying to ignore the uncomfortable silence that hung around them.
"I really should have gotten Hermes a bigger cage ages ago," Percy explained. "He deserves more space. Most dependable owl there is, nothing like that Errol." Percy grimaced thinking about the inadequacy of the Weasley family owl. "You know, you should really consider getting an owl of your own. You could really benefit from owning one, being a business owner and all."
"Maybe," George replied, absent mindedly glancing around the shop.
"Have you thought about when you're going to go back to work," Percy tentatively inquired. Weasley's Wizards Wheezes was a sensitive subject. Ron had graciously stepped up to run the business while George was still too consumed with grief to even get out of bed. While George was very proud of the store's success, it was the business he had built with Fred, and served as a painful reminder of what he had lost. Nevertheless, he knew Ron was starting to get a bit overwhelmed, and that he would have to return to work in the near future.
"Soon," he told Percy. Percy nodded. "I don't know if I'm ready yet, though," George reluctantly added.
"Well, we're already in Diagon Alley. Why don't we pop in the store real quick and you can see how Ron is handling everything?"
"Yeah, alright," George agreed. He had to go back to the store eventually, and now seemed as good a time as ever.
After Percy payed for the cage he had picked out for Hermes, the two brothers slowly made their way to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. George was admittedly surprised when he first entered the shop. It looked exactly the same as it did the day before the Battle of Hogwarts – the last time George had set foot in the place. It was comforting that nothing had changed, George could almost pretend that Fred was still alive. Almost.
They soon spotted their younger brother. Ron was looking very frazzled as he tried to handle a large group of young witches and wizards, all demanding to know when the store would get in more fever fudge. As amusing as it to see his brother so intimidated by a group of kids no older than thirteen, George couldn't help but feel guilty. This wasn't what Ron wanted. As much as Fred and George had always dreamed of opening a joke shop, Ron had always aspired to become an auror. After the war had ended, he, like Harry, was offered a position as an auror by the Ministry of Magic. However, he had selflessly chosen to help out George in his time of need instead. Ron would never know how grateful George really was for this sacrifice.
The look of surprise on Ron's face was evident when he spotted George and Percy. He forgot about the young group of costumers he was dealing with and walked over to his brothers.
"Percy, George! What are you guys doing here?" He asked, shocked but pleased to see them.
"I decided Hermes needed a bigger cage, and George graciously agreed to accompany me to Eeylops Owl Emporium. Then we thought we'd come and see how you're doing with the shop, since we were so close," Percy explained.
"Everything's going great," Ron tried to assure his brothers. "Yeah, that's right. Things have been running very smoothly since I took over."
"Really?" Percy questioned, eyeing the ever-growing mob of disgruntled children. They were now trying to pick the lock to the back room of the store, apparently thinking Ron had a secret stash of fever fudge hidden away back there. Ron looked alarmed as he finally realized what was happening.
George nudged Percy, hoping he would get the message to be quiet.
"Really Ron, you're doing a fantastic job. No one can handle these kids when school's about to start and they're desperate to get their hands on something that will allow them to miss a few classes," George tried to convince him. Ron grinned sheepishly.
"Thanks," Ron replied. "I'm doing my best, but I just don't think I'm cut out for costumer service," he admitted. Looking at his flustered little brother's face, it only took George a moment to make his decision.
"You know what Ron, I think you're right," George announced. "I think you're much more suited to be an auror. It's time for you to take that position with the auror department, and it's time for me to come back to work."
"Really?!" Ron and Percy asked at the same time, both shocked.
"Yes," George nodded. "I think I'm finally ready."
Both Ron and Percy's faces split into huge grins, and for the first time since he had lost his twin, George smiled back at them.