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That's What Brothers are For

By: ChoCedric

It had been one month. One month since the battle of Hogwarts, one month since George Weasley's world had completely shattered. The twenty-year-old boy didn't know what to do. No matter how hard he tried, he could not shed a single tear for Fred.

It wasn't because he didn't care. Oh, no. It was quite the opposite. He had felt nothing but numb inside for the past month, convincing himself that it was one of Fred's pranks, that he would walk in the door any second. But as the days passed, Fred still didn't come home. The Weasley house was so quiet without the usual loud explosions coming from the twins' room. George had moved back to the Burrow for a while at Mrs. Weasley's request. He did not know what he was doing; he just walked around in a daze.

But this all changed when someone very unwelcome, in his eyes, knocked on the door and came into the house.

It was none other than Percy. At first, George felt a twinge of something when he saw him. He didn't quite know what it was; it was as if he'd felt a tiny something break through the numbness just the smallest bit.

"Hello, George," said Percy stiffly. "How are you?"

"Fine, Perce," said George in a monotone. He had been talking like this ever since Fred's death.

"No, you're not," said Percy. "Everyone's worried about you. Mum tells me you haven't said two words to her for the last month. I know you're upset about Fred's death and ..."

"What do you know, Perce?" scoffed George suddenly, not knowing where this had come from. "You don't know shit about how I feel."

"Don't swear, George," said Percy. This came out of his mouth because of nothing but habit. All through Fred and George's youth, whenever they or Ron or Ginny used a swear word, Percy always called them up on it, if Mrs. Weasley didn't get there first.

"Shut the hell up, Perce," George said. All of a sudden, seeing this boy, no, man, brought feelings to the surface that he hadn't felt in a long time.

"You need to let it out, George," said Percy gently. "It doesn't help to bottle all your feelings up. It's eating you up inside, I know it is."

Rage suddenly swept over George like nothing he'd ever felt before. "Shut the bloody hell up, Perce, dammit!" he screamed, jumping out of his chair. "You don't know shit about anything!"

"That's right, don't be afraid to let it out," said Percy, still talking in that infuriating, gentle tone. "It's okay to be angry. I know how you feel ..."

"No, you don't!" shouted George, coming closer and closer to Percy. "You know what? I wish it had been you instead! You and your Ministry fanaticism, you and your blind following of that idiot Fudge, you and your supporting Dolores Umbridge when you knew all she did was cause hell for all of us! I wish it was you that had died instead of Fred! If you hadn't been there when that explosion happened, if you hadn't distracted him, he'd still be alive! How do you feel, knowing that it's your fault Fred's dead? How do you feel about that, you bastard? How?"

Not being able to control himself any longer, George started punching Percy, every bit of him that he could get his hands on. But the unusual thing was that Percy didn't fight back. He just sat there, a sad expression on his face, letting George beat the hell out of him.

"Go on, George. Let it out," said Percy. He knew that allowing George to show his emotions was good for him. He also did feel responsible for Fred's death. He knew George was just angry right now, but Percy didn't know how many times he'd wished it was him who'd died instead of Fred. Fred was fun-loving, boisterous, and an all-around great person, while Percy was a pompous, Ministry-loving, fanatical git who deserted his family. If only Percy had seen it earlier just how wrong he'd been about the Ministry and Fudge! He'd do anything to change things. But all he could do was listen to a grief-stricken George scream at him and beat him, beat him, beat him up.

George continued to pound him until he grew exhausted. He screamed insults at Percy until his throat was raw. His screams then turned to sobs, and George Weasley finally broke down and cried, the first time he'd cried openly since Fred's death. Percy came to him and hugged him tightly, not caring that he was bruised and bloody from his brother beating him up. He whispered soothing words into George's ear as he wailed out his grief. Percy couldn't even fathom what George must be going through. To have half of your soul ripped out of your body must be the worst feeling in the world.

Eventually, George stopped crying, and looked Percy in the eye. "I-I'm sorry," he stuttered. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean any of it, you don't deserve to die," he said brokenly, more tears starting to fall down his face.

"It's all right, George," said Percy softly. "I know I've been a right prat. Everything you said was true. I would've done anything to stop Fred from dying. I know it seems like the past three years I haven't cared about this family at all, but I was so caught up in the Ministry that I didn't see the error of my ways. I know that's no excuse, George, but I'll do anything to make it up to you."

George clung to Percy like he was a lifeline. "I'm sorry I said all those horrible things. And I'm sorry I beat you up."

"Ah, that's all right," Percy said, smiling. "It's nothing that a few healing spells can't fix. And brothers are allowed to beat each other up once in a while. That's what brothers are for."

George and Percy continued to talk for a while, and they both knew that their relationship was on the way to being repaired. They knew it'd take a while, but they were willing to take it slow and see how things went. George felt so awful for blaming him for Fred's death, but Percy hadn't seemed to take any offense at all. He was patient and understanding, and even offered to help George start up Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes again. George never thought that his stiff, serious brother would offer to work in a joke shop, but it really showed how much Percy wanted to atone for his mistakes. He said he knew he could never replace Fred, but he'd try his best to make the joke shop a laughing, happy place again.

So Percy left the Burrow that day, his heart much lighter, and George knew he was also on the road to recovery. He would never fully get over Fred's death, and he knew that he would, undoubtedly, shed more tears. But he also knew that someday, Fred would come to get him, and they'd laugh and joke like they always had.

So, that night, when George Weasley went to bed, he felt the best he had since the battle of Hogwarts. And he never thought he'd have Percy to thank for that.

Finis