"Joy runs deeper than despair." George looked up from the section of floor he had been staring at for the last five or so minutes. In front of him was his sister's odd friend.
"What?"
"Joy runs deeper than despair. It's by some famous Muggle." Luna sat down sat to George. "It means something like…"
"It's better to be joyous than to be upset?" Luna smiled at the red headed boy.
"Something like that. But what I guess what I'm saying is, you shouldn't let Fred's death get to you like this. You can't live your life staring at the floor." George turned his head and looked back down at the floor.
"Yes, I can. Just watch me." George sat there with Luna staring at him, but this time he couldn't concentrate on the floor. He wasn't in a trance like before, and there was also someone else watching him. He sighed and gave up.
"I told you."
"Don't rub it in." George stood up and looked around the store. It was deserted. He had told everyone that it would be closed for a few days so he would have sometime to relax and fix up the store. Of course that had been almost two weeks ago. Since then the store had been cleaned and fixed up but George didn't have the energy to open the store back up. He'd been getting mail orders and those he couldn't really avoid.
"You know the store's going to start collecting dust again if you don't open it back up."
Luna stood and put a hand on George's shoulder.
"I should just close it."
"Why? Isn't this what you loved so much?" Luna gestured to the colorful shelves and shelves of merchandise. "All these pranks, and gags, and Skiving Snack boxes. This is your dream George."
"Is it my dream? I don't know anymore." He shrugged Luna's hand off his shoulder.
"George…"
"No, Luna you don't get it! He was my twin, my best friend, and my partner-in-crime. I feel so empty with him gone! What the point in living?" George sat back down and buried his face in his hands. After about a minute, he felt Luna put her arm around him. This time George didn't shake her off but just let her stay there.
"People are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges." George pulled his face out of his hands and sat up straight.
"Are you saying I should build bridges?" George tried to crack a smile but it quickly faded.
"At least you're trying to make jokes." Luna gave him a warm smile. George turned to the blonde girl sitting next to him. He barely knew her. He knew that she was his sister's friend, and she was also in the DA. He also knew that people had called her 'Loony Luna Lovegood," but right now she seemed as normal as everyone else. She gave him a warm smile and grabbed his hand.
"George, I'm sure it'll all be better in the end. I went through something just like this. My mum died when I was young. I barely knew and then… Well, an experiment went wrong." Luna laughed half-heartedly. "She was a clever witch; clever, but curious, too curious. But look at me now. I'm not still mourning her death am I?"
"Is that why you're in Ravenclaw? You're so clever at coming up with things to say to people?" George's words had a bit of harshness to them. Luna sank back away from him.
"There's no need to be so mean George. I was just trying to help." Luna stood up and headed towards the door. George quickly stood and grabbed her shoulder.
"Luna I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I feel so bipolar right now." Luna turned back to the redhead. "I guess I need to take my anger out on something and you're the only one here right now."
"A man who cannot make mistakes cannot do anything." George let out a small laugh.
"Another quote. Where do you get all of these?"
"I've picked them up. The Muggle world is really interesting."
"I take you spend a lot time with Muggles."
"A decent amount. I like to people watch." George smiled and laughed. It was the first time since Fred had died that he had laughed like that. It felt so good to laugh again and to hear the sound coming out of his mouth. A huge smile cracked on Luna's face. She had just made the infamous George Weasley laugh.
"You're an odd girl you know that Luna?" Luna nodded and looked down thinking about all the teasing she got at Hogwarts. "But I think it works for you. There's just something about you…"
"Well, I think you're odd too, George Weasley. You make practical jokes for a living." George smiled and Luna looked back up at him.
"I guess that does make me odd doesn't it?" Luna smiled and nodded. "Thanks for being here Luna. You've really helped me."
"I'm glad I could do that." George took one more look at the blonde girl standing in front of him. At that moment something looked different about her but George just couldn't place it. It was so weird; she hadn't left his sight yet she looked different. George tried to shake it off. Luna grabbed George's hand.
"Let's go open the store. I'll help you run it." Luna pulled George to the front of the store. When they got to the front of the door, Luna turned to the rest of the store, pulled out her wand and waved it. Instantly, the store came to life. Things began moving and making noises, or squirting liquid or gases. It looked like the mess it had once been. George could almost hear the laughter that so often rung through the store. Luna turned to him.
"Would you do the honors?" George pulled out his wand and with one flick, turned the sign to open and unlocked the door.
"Open for business. Thank you Luna."
Well, this was meant for a challenge… but as I finally got to writing it, I realized the challenge was over. But I felt like I had to finish it.
This was for Ed Westwicker's 32 Reasons Why We Should Love challenge.
Hope you liked it!