Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters and the all the references belong to J.
It was always Gred and Forge
It has been a month since the second wizarding war. Hogwarts Castle, that acted as the stage to the glorious destruction of evil was still in ruins. Clutter of stones and wood were lying in the corners.
Most of the wizarding community was enthusiastic in its reconstruction. The boy-who-lived finally felt at peace sharing a common chore with his friends. His shoulders felt unusually light as the heavy load he had been carrying since he was a baby, lifted off. But a new burden was added in the form of his loved ones deaths.
Remus, Tonks, Fred, Colin creevey and many more proudly gave away their lives. And others have lost parts of their lives with their dear ones. All of them are supporting each other in recuperation. Most of them offered him a shoulder as he passed through them. He stayed with some of them and politely declined some others.
Hermione had been assisting everybody in the hospital wing. She was adjusting her time between restoring the Library and hospital wing. Luna and Neville set off on a quiet journey after the war. But when they returned they carried many exotic herbs that helped in the fallout. On a surprising note, Draco Malfoy also stayed back in the castle to help professor Slughorn in preparing the required healing potions.
A flash of red hair passed Harry's vision. He smiled thinking about the Weasleys. They really are an amazing family. Molly Weasley has taken incharge of keeping everybody fed. Arthur and Percy were aiding Kingsley who was elected as the interim Minister of Magic. Bill went on scouting the remaining werewolves those were under Fenrir's grip. Ron and Neville had personally seen that the wretched creature was blasted into oblivion, so the werewolves needed guidance and Bill was more than ready to take that responsibility. His brother Charlie was happy to accompany him with his own hoard of dragons. Ginny had undertaken the responsibility of rebuilding the Quidditch pitch and it was turning out most beautifully.
As for Ron, he always stayed with Harry. Ron was his rock. Even though everybody thrust the responsibility of a leader on him, he easily sidestepped letting Ron take the reins. Everybody from Hogwarts elves to Professors sought him for suggestions. Harry was happy that for once Ron was in the limelight.
But under their well-kept pretenses, he had seen the obvious loss lingering in their eyes. At night, all the remaining Weasleys huddled together, supporting one another in their grief. Somehow Hermione and he always ended up in the middle of that group. They neither spoke nor cried just held on. Except for one person, who did lose every thing.
The Gaping hole on the castle wall was not filled yet. A person sat there almost every minute of every day. His ginger hair was matted and grew till his shoulders. But only one ear was visible through that mess. His eyes stared into some distant space. He opened his mouth only once a day when his mother shared the space with him and forcefully fed some food into him. His eyes looked all empty when she hugged him closer. He did not respond when her tears soaked into his hair. The tears that were shed for him but not for the twin he lost.
George Weasley lost everything on that fateful night. Fred took his heart, his laughter and his life with him. What left here was just an empty shell. Many tried to move him, but he somehow ended in the same place everyday. Most of them tried to engage in some kind of conversation, but the lost twin never showed any interest. Even Peeves's noisy pranks did not affect him. It was Molly who put a stop to all their efforts urging them to leave him alone. Slowly everybody fell into a pattern, silently wishing for George to come back to them. Days passed without an improvement.
"Hey Georgie", a familiar voice called him.
George was shocked to hear a voice, he was sure would not be able to hear again. He looked around to see a person in dark. But the voice could not be mistaken. Breaking his thought, the person came into light.
He looked just like him, but with a happy and cheerful face, bright sparkling eyes and last but not the least two clear ears.
"Freddie", George choked on his own voice.
"Its rubbish. How can you be here?" George asked.
"What to say, I never left". Fred said sitting down on the floor on the other end.
"What's the other side like?"
"Don't know. I'd won't venture out there without you. It is going to be boring".
They both sat in silence for a while.
"I was always the better looking one. Now look at you, stealing all my charm". Fred said pointing to George's matted hair and unkempt clothes. "What happened to all the good looking Weasleys"?
George wiped his tears and smiled at his almost mirror image. "Let's do it. I am ready to join you on the other side. Take me with you. Lets begin our adventure in the new arena".
"Bloody hell George. What about our unfinished tasks here?" Fred asked pointing towards the kitchens. "What about her? Without both of us, who is going to give her trouble?"
"Do you think it matters?"
'Of course George! It matters. What about little Ronniekins? Who is going to tease him, when he is all flustered up about Hermione? Who is going to cheer for Ginny when she makes a professional Quidditch player"?
George still looked adamant.
"They all need you George. They all need us".
George's was hesitant. "I am scared Freddie. I am scared of being alone here".
Fred said pointing to his heart. "I am still living there. You can be sure of that. You can never get rid of me George. I am always there in any prank you play, any invention you make or any mischief you take up on. Till now it was two bodies and one mind for us. Think about the havoc you can wreck with two minds and one body." Fred waggled his eyebrows mischievously.
George's face finally broke into a smile.
"They all need their naughty pranksters back, who can turn any dark situation into a light one. Especially now!" "Promise me George, you will keep the Wizard Wheezes alive." Fred said looking directly into his twin's eyes.
"It is really hard", George spoke in a whisper.
"I know. But I will be with you all the time." "You will not be able to even kick me out of your wedding night", Fred winked.
"That's likely", George muttered.
They both laughed heartily for a while.
"Go, join the world of living George. They need you. You are the only person who can hold all the Weasleys together", said Fred slowly standing up.
George slowly nodded getting up as well.
"Take care Georgie. I will be waiting for you", said Fred retracing his steps back towards the entrance.
George faced other side unable to see him leave.
After seeing his twin face other side, Fred came out of the room. He leaned against the wall and relieved a sigh.
"Thanks Harry", George's voice boomed from the adjacent room.
Fred tensed and touched his forehead trying to feel the concealed scar.
"Tell Hermione, that her ear was almost convincing." George was now standing near the door, his lips tugged in a slight smile.
"How did you find out? I thought I put up a credible performance", said the person looking like Fred, but sounding like Harry. He slumped down on the ground.
George came closer and sat down beside him. He put one of his arms on his shoulder and spoke, "He never called me George. I was always Forge to him".
"Oh! I guess we missed that small detail", the person said as his ginger hair now sported streaks of black. His scar and green eyes were becoming more vivid.
"Yes you did. It was always Gred and Forge".
The End
A/N : I cried all the night when I read about Fred's death. I never realized if I cried for Fred or George. Please R & R
