Fighting for Peace

Summary: DEATHLY HALLOWS SPOILERS George searches for peace in this world after the death of his best friend, his brother, and his twin. Perhaps he'll find it as he listens to the tributes paid to the fallen at his brother's funeral.

Warnings: Death.

Disclaimer: The recognizable witches, wizards, muggles, schools, villages, magical alleyways, events, dark and magical artefacts, Ministry departments, broomsticks, owls, books, wands, magical creatures, currency, Floo networks, Apparate licenses, Portkeys, passwords, Quidditch teams, cauldrons, sweets and assorted goodies, spells, jinxes, hexes, curses and any Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes products alike do not belong to me but to J.K. Rowling and others.

"Fred knew how to always knew how to make me laugh..."

"Through all the pranks and jokes, deep down I knew none of them were meant to be cruel. They were always for a laugh..."

"Fred, George and I were friends from day one at Hogwarts when we met on the Hogwarts Express. Anyone who saw us wouldn't have thought we had just met, the way we were carrying on and laughing..."

"Fred was a genius, and he always used his magic to make people laugh..."

"No matter how hard I tried I was never able to make Fred laugh as hard as I did at his jokes..."

George watched on as each member of the Weasley family stood to pay tribute to his late brother, each commenting on his laughter in one way or another. It seemed as though his laughter was the most important thing about Fred to them. George knew that was unfair but to him, Fred was so much more than a prankster. He was a brother, a mate, and just... Fred.

George felt as though he couldn't cry for anymore. He had shed so many tears on that night at Hogwarts and the well was all dried up. His eyes had flickered from guest to guest and watched as each of them had shed a tear for the fallen twin. He had seen his sister break down in Harry's hands as Lee had stood up and said his part, telling everyone about the way the three had met and the memories they had shared. He had watched on as the tears flowed endlessly down Bill Weasley's face as Charlie had stood and recalled the pranks he had helped with during his time at Hogwarts.

George had seen Harry hold Teddy closer and attempted to hide his face in the infant's shoulder as Ginny had struggled through to tell the guests her memories of Fred. He had stared at his youngest brother as he stood passively at Hermione's side; gripping at her hand so tightly that George was surprised she hadn't cried out in pain. He supposed the emotion was just too much for them all to handle and pain seemed to dull in comparison to it.

George had nearly shed his tears when his mother made her way to stand beside her son's coffin. He watched as Arthur had helped her stand, Fleur had reached out and touched her shoulder as she passed Bill and herself. Hermione had cried harder into Ron's shoulder and he shed his first tears since the night after the battle. He watched on as Molly stood with her back to the crowd, peering down at the coffin. Taking a deep breath before she turned, the tears had stopped falling but her once bright and friendly face was now stained with tear streams and was still blotchy. She opened her mouth and began to speak, her voice not failing her but holding steady.

"I disapproved the idea about a joke shop from the beginning, always urging them to follow another path but after the horrors I've witnessed in this war... it seems laughter is going to be a rare treasure. The world seems to have stopped since that night, time slowed and life not worth living but yesterday I gave myself a good talking. Despite everything that has happened, I cannot stop living. Fred wouldn't have wanted it.

'I have a family to support still and I cannot stop everything to mourn. When having… I had a child so full of life how could I possibly stop living? It would go against everything Fred was. It might seem feeble that I just figured out what really made my son kick but I did. Before I was so sure he and George were troublemakers, determined to cause havoc till the day I die but that's not it. It was never it. He was a great boy, right down to his heart.

'They always brought laughter to our household when it was truly needed and even sometimes when it wasn't.'" Molly let a small smile break through her face and the crowd laughed slightly, each of them knowing about Fred's mischievous behaviour.

"I don't want to make the same mistakes again with my other children that I made with Fred. I disapproved of his dream and true heart's desire from the beginning, never giving them a chance to prove themselves or the joke shop." Molly's eyes searched through the crowd before finding George's, "I want you to continue the shop George. We're all going to be relying on you to provide us with a laugh after all this and it was your dream. Fred would've have wanted you to live it out."

George felt his resolve crumble then, he bowed his head and hid his tears. He barely felt Lee's hand squeeze his own and he missed the sympathetic stares. The rest of Molly's speech was lost to him as the tears ran down his face.

When he raised his head again it was Percy who was making his way to stand by the coffin.

"I was with Fred when he was murdered." The sympathetic gazes seemed to intensify for the Weasley boy as he stared out over the crowd gathered and a small hiccup was heard from Ginny. "I'll never forget his last moments.

'I had been a complete fool. I had been absolutely blind to the truth, determined to believe that the Ministry had it right and Dumbledore was a blundering old fool. I should of see it early, but I didn't and perhaps if I had…

'When I finally came to my senses I set off for Hogwarts to help fight and when I got there I was expecting Fred and George to be the least forgiving. I half expected them to curse me right there for being such an idiot. But they didn't. Fred accepted me back without a second hesitation. He brushed aside my foolishness and fought with me, side by side as brothers.

'And that's how he died, by my side as we fought together. But what I'll remember most is what he said before it happened.

'I'd just told the Minister I was quitting which got a laugh out of Fred and he was telling me I hadn't made a joke since my childhood when it happened. I couldn't believe it. He died joking; his last laugh was still etched upon his face when I saw him. I couldn't believe that he was dead. It didn't seem possible. Not like that. Not then when we had finally resolved everything between us. I'll ever forget such a wonderful brother. A brother I didn't deserve." Percy trailed off quietly and with a final glance at Fred's coffin he walked back to his seat, sinking into it and burying his head into his hands.

George couldn't believe it either. Fred had died… cracking a joke. He gripped the seat in front of him for support as the tears cascaded down his face. He tried to steady himself knowing that he was to go up and pay tribute to Fred. He had to. Slowly, he got himself under control and took a shaking step up the aisle towards his brother's body. He was too scared to look at his twin's face. Scared of what he might see.

"I don't know how to say everything I'm feeling at the moment. Losing a brother is hard enough but losing a twin is just… it's like part of my soul is gone. All my dreams… our dreams were always meant for two. Him and me and occasionally Lee. The joke shop, our apartment, our future even our retirement was always Gred and Forge, the Weasley twins. I don't know if I have the strength to live out those dreams anymore.

'Fred and I, no matter how alike, were always different. He's braver than I am and I know he would find the strength to get through this… but me… I'm still searching. Maybe I'll find it deep down one day but I don't think that's anytime in the near future. How can you get over the loss of a twin, a friend, someone like Fred? He was laughter in a shell but still so much more and he was always there. In every moment and every memory he's there. Hell, he was even there on my first date.

'Fred made such an impact on so many people's lives, the majority of you are here today, but the impact on my life is something shocking. I never realised how much until now. He won't ever be forgotten, because I vow to never let that happen. As long as there's laughter and life in this world, Fred's dreams and Fred's beliefs continue to live on. As long as there's peace, Fred will be remembered, because above all the rest, Fred fought and died in the hopes of peace."

Author's Note:

Wow. That was a quick one. Less than fifteen minutes. Hope you enjoyed. Leave a review please and tell me what you think.

Xylia Luna Orion