Disclaimer: JK's not mine
Author Notes: I finally got around to editing it. This was my first fanfic, mind and I couldn't find a single beta. I still have problems finding them, alas! Anywho, enjoy the edited version.
He remembered how distraught he was when he first visited...Then again he'd been drunk beyond redemption. The tears didn't come as easily anymore.
Or maybe they came too easily.
He was one of two now. An individual, when once there was a duo. They'd always wanted to be recognized as individuals. 'Not like this, Merlin, not like this...'
Lycanthropy is a fatal disease...So why hadn't Remus died? Why had it been /him/? Why had they been so stupid? The tears wheedled their way from under his lids.
"D'ya think this is a good idea?" he'd asked.
"In and out, bucko. Not a chance of getting caught," his brother responded. They'd never thought about getting hurt. Only getting caught.
"How did I get involved with this?" Harry grumbled from somewhere behind George.
"You say that as if you weren't curious at all!"
"I'm /not/. You tricked me into coming."
Silence fell over the small group as they walked. Footsteps carried them to the room, which had been hidden, that is, until the twins showed up with the new and improved Extendable Ears. They'd listened through the door while Remus and Sirius talked quietly in bed.
It'd been a miracle they had been on that subject anyhow. A horrible miracle. George cursed the move, the conversation between the lovers...and that damnable curiosity the twins had always retained.
Why had Remus and Sirius been talking of such things that night, anyhow? The full moon wasn't for a couple more weeks.
"Oi! Georgey-boy! How about a bit of light?" Fred had asked too cheerfully.
George had responded with a similar cheer, prompted by adrenaline, "Anything for you, brother dear. /LUMOS/."
The wand-tip flared with a soft blue, after the whispered words, aiding Fred as he worked through the right series of spells and lock combinations. Harry, Hermione, and George watched anxiously. They hadn't been able to wake Ron, though that wasn't much of a wonder, considering the new invention of the twins' he'd happened to swallow earlier that evening. Ginny was nowhere to be found, and neither was Crookshanks, but that told them nothing. Hermione had come, lecturing them the whole way, though they all had sneaking suspicions that she needed a bit of entertainment, after all, books weren't everything. Good luck trying to convince her that she only came for the adventure though.
"Click-ka-click," the door yielded.
Fred and George grinned like madmen at each other, though the look seemed a bit tense and nervous. Hermione shifted her feet and tugged at the hem of her night gown, trying to hide the smile now spread neatly across her lips. Harry nibbled his lower lip, wide eyes glued to the door.
"If you'd do the honors, dearest brother," Fred had prompted George.
The knob nearly slipped out of his sweaty hand and then...
Darkness. Stillness...quiet.
"There's nothing here!" Fred exclaimed, rather loudly, into the empty room. George followed that up with a soft obscenity.
Both had walked in stupidly, without the slightest bit of caution, but George supposed he would always blame himself for crumpling into a ball at the sound. It was hardly a sound anyone might recognize as something threatening...but George had turned, too abruptly, and promptly fell to the ground.
'Right bit of grace there, boy-o,' George muttered internally. He'd only gotten to his hands and knees, when he heard the soft rumble, the hiss of breath through salivating jaws. Eyes wide he turned.
There was Remus, fully wolf and looking none too friendly.
Actually, to say he was a fully wolf, would imply that he was more canid looking than he actually was. Hands, bony and stretched looking when human, were lengthened paws, equalizing the weight of the great animal. Hind legs were haunch-like, though would work on either two or four legs. Torso was a cross between the furred belly of a wolf and the deeply muscled chest of a man.
Amber eyes were aglow with some internal struggle.
"But we're safe, right?" Fred had squeaked, backing up and ultimately losing his balance over the still downed George. "He took the potion...and he's a friendly wolf..."
"I don't think he took the potion." Harry's voice was distant and George had to check if he was still only a few meters away.
Fred grabbed George's pant leg as he made an attempt to get up. Wide terrified eyes flickered from his brother's face to the wolf. The wolf, who's saliva was overflowing his jaws, dripping like fingers reaching for the ground.
A vicious snap and jerking gesture with its head made all jump.
George heard another sound. A soft whimpering. Fred.
"Fred...? Mate...?" George whispered.
Fred didn't answer. George looked just in time to catch the wolf lunging, to realize the heavy weight that now bore down on both the twins, to gaze into those horrible eyes.
"Nicolai, the bartender I told you about? I went to see him the other day...No, no, don't worry, Fred, I quit drinking when I told you I did," George talked conversationally, as if the stone were Fred. "He said to say 'Hallo' and that he thinks you've stolen me away from him. If only he knew that you were what drove me to him in the first place..."
George touched the stone, letting fingers fall to one side of its smooth surface.
"I don't know what to do with myself anymore. But I figure you've guess that by now? Yes, probably." He paused, taking a deep breath of air, then continued on as if the stone had asked a question. "Mione and Harry? No, no. I haven't spoken to them in ages...Not even Mum or Ron or any of them. I just can't. They don't understand. They keep telling me that it will be all right. But they're wrong you know. They don't know what its like to lose your best friend..."
"I did talk to Remus the other week though. Yes, I suppose I've forgiven him. It wasn't really his fault anyhow."
A gray haired gentleman stopped in the middle of his walk to stare up at George on the hill, who was conversing with a gravestone. One bushy eyebrow was raised, and then the soft mutter of, "I've seen worse." And he continued on his way.
"I figured Remus would understand. You know, because he lost Sirius. But he didn't want to talk about it."
Silence.
George remembered frantically gesturing for the other two to run. Neither Harry, nor Hermione, moved.
Hands were dug in under the arms of Fred, who was refusing to move, not even to try to wiggle from under the wolf. The wolf snapped at Fred again. He made a high keening noise that made George's ears hurt.
"Please Fred!" George pleaded softly. He'd begun to think Fred was the dominant twin, now this...Did that make George the dominant? He'd read somewhere there was always a more dominant twin and a more docile twin. George knew he tended to rattle off every once in awhile, but it always seemed Fred was leading the charge when it came to pranks...
"I swear by Merlin, I'll never play another prank if we get out of this unharmed..." George pleaded now with whatever deity might be in charge up there.
That didn't seem to work. Apparently Karma had set in.
George only had time enough to hear the soft tearing of cloth, before Fred let loose an awful cry. George wiggled one leg free from under Fred, and heel to cold, wet nose, he made the wolf left go.
He didn't remember dragging his semi-conscious twin from the room, or even watching Hermione and Harry figure out the lock system...Not even casting the spells to return the door to the state it was in before the small group arrived.
What he /did/ remember was dragging his brother's limp body back to their rooms. He remembered the mutters from the paintings and the sweat drizzling down his back in cold wet lines. And the tears. Their cold was worse than that of the sweat. A burning cold that bit deep into the flesh of his cheeks. 'His fault,' they would whisper. 'All George's fault...look at what he's done to his brother...his twin.'
"What are we going to /do/?" Hermione whispered with an urgent voice.
"What are we going to do?" George whispered, four years later, wiping unexpected tears from his eyes.
The stone said nothing, though another voice murmured, "Move on. It's the only thing we can do."
George tugged up his collar, as if trying to hide himself, though Hermione had obviously already seen and heard him. He didn't want to speak to her.
"You can't keep hiding, George."
"It was nice seeing you again, brother dear."
"Don't ignore me!"
"I'll visit soon, I promise."
"George! /Please/!"
It was too easy to ignore her shrill cry. From lips to stone, fingers touched a kiss to Fred's marker.
"Fine. But you'll have to speak to one of us eventually.."
George walked away. She lied. He didn't need to speak to anyone. Hands were shoved into his pockets, where fists were clenched. Chin was tucked in, cheeks grazed by the folded up collar, avoiding a cool wind that had just begun to affect him.
Hermione watched him go, eyes following as he turned onto the sidewalk. Her head tilted toward the stone as she mumbled, "I wish you were here to do something about him."
The stone, of course, was silent.
"I don't care what you say! He's /going/ to be fine!"
"He was bitten, George. Be reasonable."
"We'll get caught though..." George responded meekly and glassy eyed.
Fred lay quietly in the bed, eyes just barely peeking though his lashes. George sat at the foot of the bed, head in his hands. Harry had wisely decided to stay out of this argument between Hermione and George. Arms crossed, he stood near a portrait, which was occasionally making small talk with him, trying to hide its curiosity at the situation.
"Your brother is /dying/, George. We have to do SOMETHING!" Hermione growled, hands akimbo.
"No...no, nono..." George turned abruptly, tear bitten features staring at Fred. "Fred."
The other twin made a weak motion with his hand; it could've possibly been construed as a wave. "George," the whisper barely audible.
"What should we do, Fred? Should we tell?"
"Why don't we..." He paused, eyes squinting in pain as he tried to shift his position.
"George!" Hermione growled.
He didn't respond. Instead, he crawled up next to his brother, curling up by his side. "I just want to..." a hiccupping sob broke the sentence. "...take the pain away. I just want to make it better."
Mione was quiet, for once, watching Fred's hand graze over his brother's hair.
"Perhaps it is time you said something," the portrait whispered to Harry.
Emerald eyes acknowledged the painting's words, while mussy haired head gave a nod.
"Mione." The statement was firm, as he unfolded himself from the corner, and sounded as if he had more to say to her.
She turned sharply to face him.
Harry ignored her, feet moving languidly across the floor. Knees touched the floor beside the head of the bed.
Hermione was stationary as Harry whispered softly to the twins. One or both of the twins would nod at frequent intervals. Then, after several minutes, Harry stood, taking a moment to stretch and yawn.
As he turned away, a hand hooked itself around Hermione's arm, dragging her from the room as he left himself. Her protests were disregarded, thought she still tried for an answer. "Harry? Harry? What did you say? What's going on? What did they decide?"
Fred and George watched them go. As the door clicked closed, Fred pressed his lips to his brother's forehead. "It'll be /fine/, George."
Scuffling footsteps carried him across the street-lit concrete. He considered raising his wand and summoning the Knight Bus, but decided this was a good enough direction and speed.
/Scuff, clop, scuff, clop, click/. He paused, amber eyes dancing though the shadows and over the empty windowed buildings.
'It must be late.'
He felt he recognized the area, but he couldn't place it. Head was lowered again to glare at the sidewalk once more. Several minutes passed before it hit him.
'I'm near Lupin's place.' He bit his lip and corrected himself. 'No, Lupin gave his place to.../Harry/...And Lupin moved into Grimmauld Place.' Footsteps paused again. 'So, Feet, why aren't we headed towards Grimmauld Place?...Unless, its Harry you want to see and not Lupin.'
'Fred would've laughed himself silly,' George thought. 'I'm talking...thinking to my feet.' He smirked, though it quickly faded.
"Fred."
"You shouldn't talk to yourself..." a voice mused. "People will think you're crazy."
George kept walking, though replied softly. "And do you think I'm crazy?"
"Frankly, George, I don't know anymore."
"Leave me alone, Lee."
"Why? So you can pout? You're so childish, George."
George smiled dreamily, reminiscing. "There was a time when people would call me Fred. Fred and I used to love confusing people. Especially Mum."
"I won't give you the satisfaction of calling you crazy, like everyone else."
"Good-bye, Lee." George continued on his way.
Fred was leaning on George heavily, pale and sweaty. Mrs. Weasley scrutinized both desperately grinning faces. Behind their backs, the twins squeezed each other's hand, each trying to reassure the other.
"No more experimenting on yourselves. You both look horribly ill," she finally concluded, mopping the sweat from Fred's brow with the hem of her apron.
As she disappeared down the hallway, the twins looked at one another, breathing a deep sigh of relief.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you boys had more on your minds than experimenting."
The voice startled both, who promptly jumped, George trying his best not to drop Fred and in the process lost his own balance. George caught his twin as he toppled onto him.
"Nine for creativity, but nervousness loses you a point," Sirius said, offering a hand to both boys. "But the fall was amusing."
Pulled to their feet, Fred tried standing on his own. George moved to hold him up, carefully avoiding Sirius's watchful eyes.
"Spill it. He's hurt and I'm sure you've gotten into something you weren't supposed to," Sirius grumbled, arms crossing as he glared at them. Well...To say glare was to imply he was angry, which he wasn't at all. More of a curiosity seemed to follow the twins. He didn't glare, per say, he merely stared at them, eyes distrusting any words that were emitted from the scamps' mouths.
"I...to say...WE...were...um...We..." Fred and George stumbled over words, for once realizing their silver tongues would be of little use. Sirius could see around any lie, considering he'd done enough in his day.
Sirius raised an eyebrow, leaning back a bit, looking down his nose at both boys.
"It wasn't supposed to happen like that..."
"We should've watched where we were going."
"But we didn't."
"We shouldn't have listened in at all."
"But we did."
Both boys had turned an immaculate shade of scarlet.
"Listening in and fool-heartiness. That's what I hear so far. Continue." Sirius rolled his hand, as if to make them talk more.
"We were just curious, you know."
"Everyone acts like it such a horrible thing."
"But has anyone else seen it?"
"It was..."
"...the most..."
"...wondrous..."
"...magnificent..."
"...unforgettable."
They nodded in unison, in complete agreement about Remus's other form, although Sirius didn't quite understand that it was the resident lycanthrope they talked about.
"You lost me." Sirius chewed thoughtfully on his lower lip.
"You weren't meant to follow," George sighed.
"Neither were we." Fred winced, shifting his position a bit.
"But we did end up telling him...didn't we?" George asked aloud.
He nodded to himself, as if Fred were there to nod instead.
"He was very angry."
"Yes, he was."
"Though we shouldn't have done what we did."
"We were silly stupid."
"We're only boys, what can you expect."
George silenced himself. Talking to oneself thus was not good for the "I really am sane" look.
Sirius stared down at his handiwork, then up at Fred. "Is it too tight or too loose?"
"Neither."
"Good." Sirius paused briefly, "Now I can tell you two apart, finally."
"Is that such a good thing?" George asked warily.
"Depends on what you've done this time."
"Sirius..."
"Yes, we have to tell the other adults. No, I don't want to hear it. And, Fred, stop messing around with the bandages."
"Yessir." The twins stared at Sirius silently, Sirius carefully avoiding their gazes. Busying himself, by wiping off the mantle of the fireplace, he finally gave in.
"You said Harry and Hermione know too?"
"Yessir."
"We'll have to tell Molly and Arthur, of course," Sirius mumbled more to himself than to the boys. "But I think it would be best if we first talked to Remus...it is his area of expertise after all."
"What's my area of expertise?" Speak of the devil. Remus toddled in, looking as if he hadn't slept in days, though he'd slept the last few days. First order of business, a tender kiss was given to Sirius. Secondly, a seat, in which he plopped down on a couch covered by a white sheet and was promptly engulfed in a cloud of dust.
"Transformation," Sirius mumbled blandly.
"What...?" his fellow Marauder was busy waving his hands, trying to get the dust to settle.
"We were..." George started.
"...curious," Fred finished.
"A bit stupid."
"Horribly unwise, at any angle."
"We shouldn't have done it." George bit down on his lower lip.
"I need your help, Professor."
"I haven't been a professor for two years, Fred." Remus turned a critical eye to Sirius. "What's going on?"
"The boys had an accident." Sirius turned to them with the same look.
"You make it sound like we piddled ourselves," Fred muttered.
George opened his mouth to make a comment, but was rudely interrupted by the screams of Sirius's mother's portrait, and then by the screams of Sirius himself, "DAMNABLE WOMAN!" Sirius pounded out of the room, leaving the twins and Remus staring at one another strangely.
"What happened?" Remus questioned softly.
"W...George please stop that...Merlin, you'll make me start up too..."
"I'm sorry, F-f-fred..." George pulled up the hem of his shirt and promptly started wiping at the tears in his eyes.
"Oh dear...it must be bad." The lycanthrope sat up straight, watching them. "You know you can trust me, boys."
"Can we?" George asked in a soft tone.
"We know you can't trust us...Not after that stunt," Fred murmured quietly.
"I hardly think that. Now, please, tell me what happened."
George stood at the doorstep of Harry's apartment. If he rang, he would wake Harry up if he was sleeping. If he wasn't, well, he probably wasn't just waiting for George to pop in.
A buzz made the redhead jump, "Hold on a second, George."
"Damnit all, is everyone up and following me tonight?"
"You came here."
"Righto."
"It's unlocked. C'mon up."
George tested the door, finding it unlocked, he tugged it the rest of the way open. The door opened to a hall, the floor tiled, though many had found their way out of the grout which held them, the walls painted a violent shade of puke green. The stairs beside him were drooping so much in the center of each board, George feared the collapse of the stairs. But then again...It looked much the same as it had years ago.
"We're in quite a predicament," Remus commented.
"You're including yourself in this?" Fred asked incredulous.
"I was the one who bit you, Fred."
"But it was our fault."
"At this point, George, whose fault it was, is or will be doesn't matter. What matters is making sure we can make this as painless and safe as we can for Fred."
"How are we going to tell Mom?"
"You aren't. Not right now, Fred. Right now, she's far too frazzled with everything else. It would be cruel to sic this on her too."
The twins stared at Remus. He stared back rather coldly. Indeed, trust /had/ been breeched. But he was still trying to help them.
Only one thought drifted between the two boys, 'Why?'
Steps creaked ominously as he mounted the stairs. Suddenly the hallway seemed so small and long...Was this worth it? He could still turn back. He could still run from being acknowledged.
No. He couldn't.
The scent of burning incense drifted from a door, interfering with the scent of cigar smoke from a neighbor's apartment. A baby wailed as he passed another door. Silence followed for another three or four doors.
Then he arrived. Apartment nine. A fist was raised to tap lightly on the door. As if he didn't want to actually have the other open the door for him.
In fact, George even plead silently that Harry wouldn't hear. He hoped that this had all been a fluke. The door had opened for someone else named George. The long moments between tapping the door and waiting stretched into minutes. Not many, mind you, but George felt as if he'd stood there an eternity. One final tap...
No immediate response.
George turned on his toes and started walking back the way he came.
"Now let's just sort this out before you all go back to school..." Remus murmured quietly to the group, though his eyes were all for a certain Albus Dumbledore.
"Indeed. This is quite a pressing matter," Albus wheezed softly.
Mione crossed her arms, starting to feel the first tingling of anger roil under her skin. Harry was nowhere to be found...Again. Avoidance wasn't the best tactic. Why couldn't he understand that?
Sirius yawned and received a jab in the ribs from Remus. Sirius did his best to pretend that he hadn't been shocked out of a particularly good yawn, while wrinkling his nose at Remus.
"We'll take care of Molly and Arthur and the rest of the group here while you're back at school. Professor Dumbledore will make sure that you both are well prepared for the Full Moon," Remus started up again.
"Both?" George questioned.
"Yes. Both. People will start to wonder if you are all by yourself, George. Especially after I taught there."
"George...?" The voice was soft, but clear. Merlin, it sounded so much better without the intercom to interrupt it.
He glanced over his shoulder. Just barely seeing those green eyes staring at him. He turned slowly, so afraid to ruin the moment. The moment. Gulp.
"Harry..." it came in a croak. Why was his throat suddenly so dry?
Harry padded out of the doorway, barefoot, reaching for George's arm. George only watched. He couldn't move. He could only watch.
Somehow, Harry seemed to understand. He wrapped an arm around the redhead, pulling him into the vicinity of the apartment. Ushering him gently with one arm, Harry directed George to a chair, kicking the door closed as he passed it.
George flopped rather than sat, looking horribly miserable. With such lovely tear streaked cheeks, reddened, puffy eyes...Sigh. He wasn't going to win any beauty contests any time soon. But that really didn't matter. What mattered was that Harry was speaking.
Shit. What had he just said?
Oh. He wanted to know if the Weasley wanted tea or something to drink.
No. No, he just...is breaking down into sobs...again.
Harry knelt in front of George, eyes staring up at the other, waiting patiently for him to get his bearings. George rubbed at his traitorous eyes fiercely, only to be stopped by a gentle touch.
Harry gathered George's hands into his own, carefully avoiding the other's curious eyes, wisely keeping silent.
"Harry?" George cleared his throat, his throat feeling closer to a desert than ever before.
"Yes?" George was sure he was the powerings of a soft blush assert themselves on the other's cheeks.
Of course, this was the time for his mind to go blank. He had nothing to say. He thought about asking what Harry was doing with his hands, which was nothing more than holding them, but that seemed an awful silly question.
The emerald gaze touched his own, and he felt heat creep up into his own cheeks.
"I missed you, George."
George found he could only nod in response, eyes welling up with tears, ones he was trying his darnedest not to shed. Harry didn't seem to mind, putting a hand to the other's cheek as a singular tear pushed itself down his face.
"I'm sorry." George felt his blush deepen. Nothing like tears to ruin the moment.
Harry smiled softly, leaning forward and pressing his lips to the tear. "You have nothing to apologize for. So don't..." was whispered against his skin, sending a shiver down his spine.
George gathered Harry up into his lap, delightedly receiving a giggle from the dark-haired one. Nuzzling into the crook of Harry's neck, he mumbled a soft, "How did you know?"
"I didn't. I was just being selfish."