After His Death
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Fred was dead. It was like I was split in half. I had always been defined in terms of Fred. Fred and George, Gred and Forge…But now he was gone. Gone!! The world must be coming to an end. Why hadn't the sky fallen and the world explode? It must. It had to. The world couldn't exist without Fred.
I apparated home as soon as I could get away from the castle. Voldemort was dead. So what? Fred was too.
I went to bed and didn't get up for a week. Mum brought me food and tried to get me up.
"C'mon George," she said, "Fred wouldn't want you to be like this." But it didn't have quite the effect she wanted it to, because she burst into tears and hurried out.
I stared at the ceiling and considered suicide. It was white with writing in bright red: "WE, THE WEASLY TWINS, DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR TO BRING LAUGTHER INTO A WORLD THAT SORELY NEEDS IT"
I caught myself smiling and instantly stopped. It had been Fred's idea, of course. The world was in need of humor and we had had enough for everyone.
Had. We certainly did not have any now. Hell, there wasn't a we. Not now.
It was Ginny who finally got me up.
"Get up, dude," she said. Ginny had always been our favorite of the others. She was the most like us, and she definitely had the best sense of humor, besides for us, of course.
"No."
She pointed at the ceiling. "It looks like you're the one who needs it now. Verity has been beside herself at the shop. She can't run it without you."
Verity was our employee in Diagon Alley.
"I can't do it without him."
"Yes you can."
"No, I can't."
"Can."
"Can't."
She threw up her arms in annoyance. "Don't you think you're being just a little ridiculous?" she asked.
I thought about. "No."
"Well, you'll have to get up for the weddings."
I blinked. "Er…Bill and Fleur are already married."
Ginny rolled her eyes at me and tossed that gorgeous red hair, exasperated. "Where have you been?" She flashed a sparkling diamond ring in my face. I stared.
I said the only thing I could think of. "Congratulations."
"Thank you."
"You're only sixteen."
"So?"
"Isn't that a little young?"
"Yeah. Your point being?"
"You're too little."
"Why?"
I stared at her. "You just are!"
"I see." She was twirling her wand absently. I eyed it and decided not to push it any farther. I'm not fond of being attacked by giant booger bats. "Well, Harry and I are so happy, we could never change our minds."
They had no right to be happy. Fred was dead.
Ha, that rhymes.
But it's not funny. Not in the slightest.
"Well?"
"Okay," I said.
"Really?" she said. I guess she wasn't expecting to win.
I nodded and got out of bed.