Pain of loss
Another Harry Potter fanfic...I'm already choking up.Summary: Harry comes to visit the Weasley family (after the Battle of Hogwarts) and finds that a lot has changed...but brotherly bonds have grown stronger as they come to terms with the pain of loss.A/N: Ginny doesn't appear, sorry, explanation within. And this is quite short (for me)
Chapter 1Harry waved goodbye and turned on the spot, focusing on the place Ron had told him to and with a crack, he vanished. And with a crack, he appeared a couple of metres away from the re-constructed Burrow's garden. As he looked up at the house, he marvelled anew at magic. Only a few months ago, this had been burnt to the ground and now here it was, looking better than ever.
"Harry!" Harry grinned as Ron charged out and ran over to him. The two boys greeted eachother with a high five, glad to see one another.
"Hey Ron, how've you been?" Harry asked as they began to walk towards the garden gate, which Ron hadn't closed.
"Err, alright. Bit tired and stuff, but...fine." Ron replied, running a hand through his messy hair. "You?"
"I've been good. Bit busy." Harry shrugged and Ron mock punched him on the shoulder.
"What do you expect, Mr. Boy-who-lived-again !" both the boys laughed. Just then, Mrs Weasley came out of the door and swept over to give Harry a hug.
"Hello Harry, dear." She said fondly
"Hello Mrs Weasley" he smiled, hugging her back. "I've missed you" he admitted.
"Well isn't that sweet of you!" she pulled back, beaming and ushered him into the warmth of the kitchen, where Mr. Weasley was standing by the sink, looking at the stairs.
"Oh hello Harry!" he grinned. Mrs Weasley was looking at the empty table, then up at her husband.
"Is he..." she began softly
"Upstairs." Arthur replied instantly. Molly nodded, then waved her wand at the oven and a batch of cookie soared out, freshly baked. She put them on the table and Ron dived in.
"You didn't tell me you made cookies!" He accused her, tossing one to Harry. His mother laughed
"Well, don't scoff them all down and go get Charlie and Perce, see if they want some." She told him. Rolling his eyes, Ron got up and went up the stairs, bellowing his brother's names as he did so. Mrs Weasley smiled at Harry. "I'm sorry Ginny's not here, by the way." She said "She's at her friend's house for a couple of days. And Bill's still with Fleur; they couldn't come up"
"It's ok." Harry reassured her. The two of them had been exchanging owls and she had pre-warned him that she wouldn't be there. Just then, Ron jumped over the last two steps, with Charlie and Percy following. They greeted Harry just as their mother said
"Percy, while you're on the stairs..." she trailed off slightly, but went on, a tad quieter, "Why don't you go and see if he wants a cookie?" she made a gesture upstairs as she said that.
"Sure." Percy replied, looking down at the table "Has he eaten...?"
"Not much" Mrs Weasley whispered, as if she didn't want Harry to hear. Percy nodded and went back upstairs.
"Charlie, how's your work with the Horntails coming on?" Mr. Weasley asked and Harry listened eagerly as Charlie described (with his mouth full) the journeys he had made following them to their natural habitats in order to preserve them. He was so engrossed in the conversation he didn't notice Percy returning, nor the person with him.
"Hi Harry." Harry glanced up and shock hit him. He heard himself saying,
"Hi George" in reply, but he had to stop himself from staring. It couldn't be George. George Weasley wasn't pale, with eyes full of sadness, pinched features or an incapability to smile. There was no mischievous spark in his eyes, no grin tugging on the corners of his mouth...and no-one to turn and laugh with.
"Oh George, dear, good to have you down here; do you want a cookie?" Mrs Weasley ushered him into a seat next to Ron. George hesitated, then nodded slightly. His mother gave him one and he ate it slowly, avoiding her worried gaze. Harry couldn't help wondering if that was the first thing he had ate today. Judging from Mr. Weasley's expression, it might just well be.
"You alright, Harry?" Ron mumbled, unable to speak through cookies. Harry blinked and nodded.
"Yeah" he replied, faking a smile and helping himself to another cookie "I'm great."
That night, Harry and Ron were messing around, looking at the Marauder's map to see which teachers had returned to Hogwarts over the holidays. Harry's bed was made, opposite Ron's.
"Why? Just why?" Ron scoffed "What would he be doing? Getting more cushions for the new fourth-years?"
"Boys, it's half past ten." Mrs Weasley had appeared in the doorway, her voice stern, but a twinkle was in her eyes. "If we're going to the Quidditch match tomorrow, you need your sleep."
"Alright..." both the boys said, climbing into their beds. Mrs Weasley bade them both goodnight and then shut the door, leaving them in almost complete darkness; the only light was coming from a crack in the second window, which shone on the ginger's face.
"Hey Harry." Ron hissed.
"What?" Harry couldn't see his friend clearly without his glasses.
"Err, if you hear any, um, weird noises in the night...just wake me up, ok?"
"Huh?" Harry didn't understand
"Just if there are any strange cries, don't worry but wake me." Ron rolled over, silently begging Harry not to ask questions. He decided not to, and fell asleep almost straight away.
Chapter 2Harry's eyes shot open and he sat bolt upright, frowning to himself and groped for his glasses. What had woke him up? Then the sound came again, a sort of wailing cry or sob. Remembering what Ron had said, Harry leaned over and poked his friend's shoulder.
"Ron!" he hissed "Ron!"
"Whu-What?" Ron slowly lifted his head "What's going on?"
"Didn't you hear that?" Harry asked
"Hear what?" the ginger mumbled
"That...that cry?"
Ron swore and leapt out of bed, suddenly awake, and rushing out of the door with Harry following in confusion. Ron arrived on the second floor just as Charlie pushed open one of the doors and went in, his youngest brother following. Harry hesitated in the doorway before Percy pushed past, also pushing Harry into the room. Percy immediately sat on the edge of the sobbing George's bed and hugged him. Charlie sat down on the other side, an expression of pain on his face.
"Georgie..." he said softly
"Are you alright?" Ron asked as he crouched by the end of the bed. Harry slowly approached, horrified by how...different George was; crying uncontrollably, in tears, so...alone. it didn't look right, to see him by himself
"George, George..." Percy murmured as he hugged his inconsolable brother.
"F-Freddie!" George wailed. Ron sighed sadly as the twin hugged his knees to his chest and rocked back and forth, tears tumbling down his cheeks.
"What's happening?" Harry whispered
"Nightmare again." Ron muttered back "Tonight's a good night though. Bad nights he's screaming and won't listen to a thing."
Charlie gave the two a warning glance, then gently grabbed George's chin, forcing him to look up, and wiped the tears from his brother's face.
"Remember I used to do that for you when you were younger?" he smiled. George sniffed, but gave a tiny nod.
"F-Freddie d-didn't have b-bad d-dreams, did h-he?" he murmured.
"No, he'd just sleep through." The older grinned slightly
"Charlie..." Percy looked uneasy "Is this the best idea?" Charlie looked up at him
"Look, I know mum and dad don't seem to want to talk about it much but why shouldn't we?" he asked fiercely "We're never going to forget Fred, so why shouldn't we remember him?" more tears flooded out of George's eyes at this, but he nodded and looked at Charlie expectantly. Then he closed his eyes and whispered,
"I-I was dreaming...a-about the time we hexed Hermes." Percy nearly grinned
"You stuck his wings together so he couldn't fly!" he remembered. George nodded, eyes still closed and his voice was shaking when he spoke again.
"We w-were laughing when he f-fell out of the tree, but then Freddie was gone and I couldn't find him! I looked everywhere and I could hear him screaming for me but I couldn't find him and he w-was gone!" his voice broke and he collapsed into sobs again. "He's gone!"
Percy hugged him desperately
"George, you've still got us!"
"Yeah! We're still here!" Ron said. Harry could see that his eyes were full of tears as well. In fact, all of the gingers were crying, just one of them more than the others. Once again, Charlie dried his brother's cheeks and gave the others a tiny smile.
"They're right, Georgie." He said softly. "You still have us. We're still your brothers. All of us are still here for you, as family." George managed to nod, and suddenly a spark appeared in his eyes.
"D-do you remember when we made you exploding presents, Ron?" he mumbled, looking at his little brother. Ron looked disgruntled.
"Yeah...I had those burns for a week!" he grumbled. The tiniest grin twitched on George's mouth, but it was there! A smile! Seizing on this, Charlie laughed, and brought back the twin's 7th birthday, where they had gotten a massive supply of dungbombs and had blown up the lot within an hour, in places such as under Percy's chair, in the oven, under Percy's chair, cleverly disguised on top of a lampshade, under Percy's chair, Harry got the gist.
The Weasleys and Harry stayed up late into the night, remembering, telling old jokes and stories until George's eyes closed and he fell sound asleep, tear tracks still visible on his pale face. Charlie gently ruffled his flaming locks and got to his feet. Percy gave him one last hug and also stood up, lying his younger brother down and tucking his blanket around him. He shook Ron's shoulders.
"Wake up, lazy, and go back to bed! It's still too early to be up." He commanded.
"Urrgg...whatever..." Ron was barely awake. He stumbled out, Harry following and started up the stairs.
"Oh, Harry?" Charlie whisper-called "Sorry about that. He's been worse though."
"It's ok, don't worry." Harry assured him.
Chapter 3"Wake up!" Ron smashed a pillow into Harry's face.
"What was that for?" Harry grumbled, reaching for his glasses
"Today's Saturday! Mum's making pancakes, get up!" Ron hit him with the pillow again.
"Alright, alright; I'm up!" Harry dragged himself out of bed and both the boys got dressed before downstairs.
Percy was already seated at the table, as was George, and Ron's expression was enough to tell Harry that this was unusual.
"Morning, sleepy heads." Mrs Weasley smiled as the pan flipped the pancakes again "Is Charlie up yet?"
"Didn't hear any noise from his room when we passed." Ron replied, sitting next to Percy and Harry sat next to him. Molly sighed
"Well he has to be up before we leave." She commented, waving her wand at the pan, which moved to slide the pancake onto a plate, which then flew over to Percy. After she poured more mixture into the pan and waved her wand to get it cooking, she pulled out the chair next to George (who was staring down at the tablecloth) and sat down, putting her arm around his shoulders. "Now, what can I get you for breakfast, Georgie?" she asked softly. George said nothing at first, but then he opened his mouth and replied,
"Can I have some...toast?"
His mother looked delighted at his faint reply and hugged him.
"Of course. Two slices?" she smiled, getting to her feet again.
"No, just...half a piece please." George shook his head.
"And do you want butter or jam on it?" Mrs Weasley clucked over him. The pause was longer before George answered.
"...jam"
Molly, full of smiles, waved her wand and a slice of toast flew onto the stove and the next pancake, which had been quite thick, split itself into half and landed on two plates, which she gave to Harry and Ron. A minute or so later, George's toast also split into half and landed in front of him. As he very slowly ate it, Charlie stumbled down the stairs, rubbing his eyes.
"And where have you been?" Mrs Weasley pretended to be cross, but she couldn't get rid of her smile.
"Give me a break, mum, I didn't sleep too good." Charlie replied. Harry noticed George had shrunk down in his chair, a self-blaming expression on his face. Charlie also seemed to notice this and gave George a don't-blame-yourself look. Mrs Weasley quickly made Charlie his pancake, then told Harry and Ron to hurry and get their coats so they could set off.
"Will you three be alright for the hour or so we'll be gone?" she asked Percy, George, and Charlie and they nodded. Harry was forgetting all that had happened the night before; he was going to watch a Quidditch match! Admittedly, it was the Chudley cannons, but he had missed the sport so much he wasn't complaining.
"Did you see that score by Terrio?!" Ron was practically dancing all the way home, delighted that at long last, his beloved team seemed to be making a comeback.
"Oliver Wood was amazing though!" Harry protested. Since the game had been Chudley cannons verses against Puddlemere United, the two friends had been supporting different teams.
"We still won!" Ron cheered, charging around as the Burrow came into view.
"Ron, get back here now!" Mrs Weasley called after him "There's no point getting to the door ahead of me, I've got the key!"
"But Charlie and the others are in, they won't have locked the door." Ron replied, finally slowing down. As if on cue, there was a crack, and the other three appeared.
"Hey Mum!" Percy waved, smiling.
"Oh hello, you three." Molly beamed, seeming slightly bewildered "Where have you been?" Charlie, who had his arm around George's shoulder, smiled and said,
"Someplace special." At this, the tiny smile tugged on George's mouth and Harry noticed that for once, he wasn't looking blankly into the distance. He didn't seem as afraid to look people in the eyes, though he seemed unable to do so for longer than a second or two. Molly obviously noticed this, and swept her family into the house, busily hurrying around the kitchen to prepare snacks as Ron and Harry told the other three about the game, seeing Oliver Wood, and all the souveniers they had got.
"Sorry to interrupt your thrilling tale, boys" Mrs Weasley interrupted "But Ron, you need to get all that junk off the table; take it up to your room, and Charlie, your room was a mess last time I saw it; has it been cleaned?"
"Maybe..." Charlie's ears went red, like Ron's did, and it was clear he was lying.
"Well, go tidy it! Perce, go help him or it'll take forever."
"Hey!" Charlie exclaimed as he went upstairs, Percy following with a grin on his face. Ron lifted all their souveniers from the table and started to lug it upstairs, grumbling about how it wasn't junk. That left Molly, Harry, and George in the kitchen, but suddenly Molly clapped a hand to her mouth.
"Oh Merlin's beard!" she gasped "The pumpkins! They should be ripe now!" she turned to smile at Harry "How would you fancy homemade pumpkin pasties for tea, dear?"
"That'd be amazing!" Harry grinned back. He'd missed wizarding food. Mrs Weasley bustled outside and to Harry's surprise, George spoke almost immediately, as if he'd been waiting for his brothers and mother to be out of the room.
"Harry" he said "I j-just wanted to say to you...o-or rather, we wanted to say..." he looked away momentarily on the word 'we' "Thanks"
"um, for what?" Harry wasn't sure how to react. George shrugged.
"Mostly Dumbledore's Army, to be honest. W-We both learnt so much from you there. Especially with Patronuses."
"That's good to hear." Harry was glad to hear something like that. Then George looked at him, a questioning look on his pale face.
"W-We meant to ask, by the way...how common are human Patronus'?"
"Human Patronus'?!" Harry repeated, then shook his head "If they do exist, I've never seen one."
"They exist alright." George said softly. He was looking away again, and there was a long pause before he spoke again, or whispered, "My Patronus was F-Fred." He voice was thick, and Harry could see his eyes were swimming with tears. George turned to look Harry straight in the eyes "I was Fred's Patronus." He choked "What...what does that mean?"
"I-I d-don't know..." Harry stuttered, but thought hard, knowing he had to answer "A Patronus is a protector, so that would mean that you are, literally, each other's protectors." Harry made sure he used the present tense. George closed his eyes, but a tear still escaped his eyelids. He brushed it away.
"Thank you." He said. "We needed to know that." He rose to his feet and said "I'll go and help Ron. He'll have found some old toy and be rejoicing over it." That tiny smile twitch again on the corner of his mouth, but it was solider and lasted longer. "If it's the teddy bear, I'll turn it into a spider this time."
Harry laughed and he could see the mischievous spark in George's eyes that hadn't been there before light up ever so slightly. As he went up the stairs, Mrs Weasley came back in and called after him,
"George? Where are you going?"
"To help ikle Ronnikins tidy his room!" came the reply. Mrs Weasley look half surprised and half delighted at this as she lifted the pumpkins over to the table.
"Something's slightly different today..." she mused, then looked at Harry "He didn't say anything important when I was out, did he?" she asked
"Nope." Harry replied as footsteps and voices on the stairs signalled that Charlie and Percy were coming back. Harry felt that what George had said was something to keep to himself.
The saying went that time heals all wounds, but Harry knew that for the whole family, and the twin, the pain of loss would be there for a very long time.
What a terrible ending...sorry :(