~Fred's Funeral~

Who knows how much time had passed as I stared into my mirror. Until today, I had avoided every mirror in the house. Now, I held the spot where my ear once was, knowing that if I covered it I would be looking at my brother before me.

We had often joked that even with our combined lifetimes we would never run out of pranks. As we jumped over the age line of the Goblet of Fire, we smiled to ourselves, knowing that we'd go through it all together— 'til the very end.

"Cheer up, Georgie," I said to myself, "you've got a tough crowd waiting for you, but you've got to get them to smile, and you can't do that until you've done it."

I walked into the kitchen to reunite with my family before the ceremony. We walked slowly and silently, but once we were outside, it was hard to feel heavy-hearted. The sun lit every shadow in our wake; the clouds had seemingly parted out of respect. It was the perfect day to remember Fred— It was exactly as he would have wanted it. The chairs before the podium and casket lined back so far you would think all of Hogwarts had attended. Even Draco Malfoy was here, albeit he seemed to have slipped into the back with hope of remaining unnoticed. Still, I was glad he came; it meant that he wanted to let Fred know he was sorry, and was even risking being here when he is probably on the run from his past betrayals. It was fitting that so many people came; Fred was a light for all of us and helped us stay strong through his wit and humor.

Kingsley stood in front of us as minister and led the ceremony. About halfway through I realized we were all holding hands, something that we did without planning or conscious knowledge, until I broke the chain and rose to speak.

"Hello," I spoke, my voice catching a bit, but I did my best to be strong. "This morning, I found a stack of papers under Fred's bed. I reckon about a year ago, he accepted that he might not make it out of this, and wrote his will and letters to everyone in his family, including you three and Angelina, because even though there's no blood between you, Fred loved you as if you were his proper family"

"Now I won't stand up here and read them all, but I thought I'd read a bit of mine," I said, reaching into my pocket and unfolding the delicate parchment…

Georgie,

This war is unpredictable and dangerous, and I've decided to write to everyone I love. There is so much I want to say to all of you, but I just can't say it properly without cracking a joke, because if I don't I think I would break down on the spot. This has to be the hardest letter of them all, because you're my brother, my twin, my Georgie. Whenever we were young and no one would play with me, you were there, like an insta-friend. We would play jokes and tease the others; we would know things as if we shared the same thoughts. There is no one I would rather be tied to than you, Georgie, because you're as much a part of me as I am of you. I love you, Georgie.

Fred

I looked up to find that nearly everyone was crying. The first row in particular was waterworks, especially Angelina, who would probably cry herself dry if she kept going at it.

"For twenty years I've lived with this git and never once has he had the guts to speak of any of this. Only in death did he have the courage to speak from his heart. Tell me, isn't he an arse?"

This brought up a chorus of laughter, lighting up their sallow and worn expressions.

"You see, Fred? Everyone agrees with me," I looked over at my brother's coffin.

This brought about more laughter.

"Even though he's an arse, we all love him, because he made up for it by loving us unconditionally, even though it wasn't always voiced. This war has reminded me that life is too short to waste any chance of true happiness and it was Fred's death that helped put everything into perspective. So today I'd like to ask something of all of you; when you leave today, please tell your family and friends how much you love them. Don't wait until it's too late."

I stood there for a moment, a ghost of a smile on my face as I blinked back tears.

"That said, I love you Mum and Dad, for everything you have given me. I love you Bill, Charlie, Percy, Ron, Ginny, all of my cousins, and even you, Aunt Muriel"

Aunt Muriel grunted in displeasure, but I saw Ginny smile at that comment.

"I love my future in-laws, Harry, Hermione, and of course, Angelina, Lee, Oliver, Katie, and Angelina"

The whole place was silent after that. Slowly, one by one, wands were raised into the air as tribute. I turned and walked to Fred's casket and looked at his face for the first time since his death. I took out my letter to him and slipped it into his hand.

"I love you, Fred"

I composed the story and the picture, but in the end they exist only because of Jo Rowling.