"Without You"
*This story takes place during Knights of the Neverending Story #11 (link in bio)
The Battle of Hogwarts had destroyed many lives and altered many others. But in the end, evil had been vanquished and order had been restored to the wizarding community. But while many of those who had lost a loved one would find a way to soldier on and go on with their lives, one person, in particular, had given up on everything.
After the funeral of his identical twin brother, Fred, George Weaselly had lost all willingness to go on. The once cheerful ginger headed young man no longer smiled; he no longer wanted to run the self-started business that he and his brother had put their heart and soul into; he barely even wanted to get out of bed anymore.
It had fallen to his parents and siblings to keep his business running, and of them, only his brother Ron seemed to have fun selling the pranks, jokes, and other assorted oddities that the little shop had to offer. All while George just remained at home, wishing he'd have been able to share his beloved twin brother's fate. His brother, his best friend, his soulmate. He'd been taken away unjustly and there was nothing anyone could do to bring the young man back.
One morning, months after Fred's death, George was staring at himself in the bathroom mirror. His hair had grown long and shaggy.
"You look horrible, George," the reflection said. "That hair doesn't suit you."
George recognized the tone of the voice as he stumbled back. "F- Fred?"
"Who else did you expect, Harry bloody Potter?" the reflection asked. "Come on George, get your ass up already. You're letting Ron run our business, he's probably eaten all the chocolate frogs by now."
"You can't be real," George said as he put his hands on the sink and stared down. "I'm going crazy."
"Are you?" the reflection asked. "Go ahead, ask me something only Fred would know."
"I can't. Everything Fred knows, I know. We never had any secrets from each other, we kept everything from Ron."
"Oh, yeah. But trust me, I'm me."
"But if you're you, why aren't you here instead of talking through my reflection?"
"Probably because I died and I don't have a body."
"So, if you're... you, I can bring you back," George said. "I can make you live again."
"Maybe, but that's some serious dark magic. You'd be hanged if you tried to do that."
"Then how do I get you back on this side?" George asked as a pounding came at the door.
"Well, go on," the reflection told him. "I'm not going anywhere."
George rushed downstairs and opened the door, seeing a teenage boy standing there. From the way he was dressed, he was obviously a Muggle.
"You have to be kidding me," the boy said. "I was expecting Harry Potter or Hermione or even Neville. Wait, are any of them here?"
"No, it's just me, thanks for the kind words," George said as he started closing the door.
"Wait!" the boy said. "If it's just you, then you're the one we were sent to get. My name is Bastian Balthazar Bux, and I've been sent from Fantasia to recruit a wizard."
"Then you really have got the wrong guy. I'm not a wizard anymore."
"Please, I know about Fred, I know about the Battle of Hogwarts, I even read the Cursed Child. You are a great wizard, George. Let me explain."
George just sighed as he opened the door and let Bastian in.
"It all started with a book called the Neverending Story..."
A short while later, Bastian had told George about the Wicked Witch of the Southwest trying to claim AURYN and of his and his group of friends going from world to world trying to find a way to stop her.
"The Childlike Empress said we were to find a wizard here, one who could help us fight the Wicked Witch," Bastian said. "You might be the only one powerful enough to stand up to her."
"You've got the wrong guy," George told him. "I can't help you."
"But without you-"
"I'm sorry," George said as he pushed Bastian toward the door. "Good luck with your war."
George closed the door as he passed by the hallway mirror, looking at his reflection.
"Did you not hear what he said?" the reflection asked. "This AURYN thing sounds all-powerful. Maybe it can bring me back."
"How do we know it's not some kind of dark magic?" George asked. "You could come back a soulless zombie or worse. You could come back and be the next Voldemort."
"Or you could have your best friend back," the reflection told him. "Things could be normal for us again. Isn't that what you want? Isn't that what we want?"
George just stared out the window. He quickly got dressed and rushed out to where Bastian was standing around a well with Huck Finn, Mike Teavee and Nibs of the Lost Boys.
"I'm in," the young wizard said.
"What made you change your mind?" Bastian asked.
"Because you might be able to give me something I want. I want my brother back. If I help you, I want you to use this AURYN thing to bring Fred back."
"Bastian, a word over here?" Huck asked as he led Bastian away from the others. "Can you do that?"
"You saw what happened in Neverland with the Lost Boys," Bastian said.
"You also had more powerful magic helpin' you," Huck said. "This is dark stuff we're talkin' about here. Voodoo level stuff. You don't go messin' with that kind of dark magic."
"What other choice do we have, Huck?" Bastian asked. "We need this guy to stop the Wicked Witch. It'll all work out, I hope."
"What do you mean you're out of fairy dust?" Mike asked as he held Terrance upside down and gently shook him. "Come on, man, give up the stuff!"
"We're not in Neverland, and I don't have an endless supply!" Terrance shouted as Bastian and Huck returned. "Besides, I might have... relieved myself of the last of it while I was being chased by that owl."
"Without fairy dust, our new friend can't fly with us to Oz," Bastian said.
"Uh, guys?"
"Maybe we can fly back to Fantasia. It's connected to Neverland now, we can gas up and be on our way in no time," Nibs suggested.
"Guys?"
"Ain't no time for that, the Witch is gonna make her move any minute now," Huck told them. "Maybe we should-"
"GUYS!"
All heads turned toward the newest member of their group.
"I have an idea. But first, do we have a deal?"
All eyes fell to Bastian, who took a deep breath. "We have a deal."
The two shook hands, with Bastian wondering if he could make good on his promise to bring Fred Weaselly back to life...
Want to see what happens with George and teh Kngihts? Follow the boys into the OZ WAR in Knights of the Neverending Story beginning in issue #11! Follow the link in my bio to the full series!