Remembrance
Chapter 1: Fred: I'll Never Really Get Over Him
Summary: Pretty self-explanatory. George remembering Fred. Any more would ruin the plot.
"One more."
Fill the glass.
"One more."
Fill the glass.
"One more."
Fill the glass.
"George?" a voice asked. Percy.
"What?"
"Please come-"
"No."
"George!"
"If you're going to bug me, than have a bloomin' drink, will you?" he snarled. Percy sat down. The bartender placed a drink in front of him and he took a sip.
"George. You can't live like this," he said.
"I'll live however I want. I'm a big kid now, I can take care of myself," he said after downing a whole glass of fire whiskey. "More."
"Look, Fred's death-"
"Don't preach to me about Fred's death. Yeah, you were there, I'll give you that much. But you have no clue how I feel. You're boring me. Now go home and polish your stupid Head Boy badge," George cut in. He turned away from Percy, back to his drink.
Percy continued to talk, but knew it was hopeless. Fred's death hit all of them hard, but nobody hurt more than George.
"One more."
Fill the glass.
"One more."
Fill the glass.
"One more."
Fill the glass.
"Haven't you had enough to drink, sir?" the bartender asked.
"No."
"Fine," the bartender said. Glass was filled again.
"Anything stronger?" he asked.
Hesitation. Then, "No, sorry."
Liar. George looked into the face of the bartender. She looks familiar…I know her…
"Did you go to Hogwarts?" he asked.
"Yes George, I went to Hogwarts. Or in case you forgot," the voice said, sounding annoyed. He knew that annoyed look. It had been directed at him in numerous cases. It was…
"Angelina?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Haven't seen you in forever," he noted.
"You're not the only one who has lost people in this stupid war," she said.
"How did you know?"
"Why else would you be here drinking? The other bartender moved so he quit the job. But he told me that you were here every day, almost all night," she said. "So I'm guessing it was one of your siblings. Ginny or Fred?" she asked.
"Fred." He flinched. It hurt just to say his twin's name.
"I'm sorry."
"You're not the one who killed him. Why should you be sorry?" he asked her.
"Good point."
"More." He was answered with an icy glare. "Please." She poured another glassful. He downed it in one gulp. He looked around to see if any of his siblings were there to bother him yet. The room spun. "How many have I had?" he asked.
"That would be eleven," she said. He groaned.
"I didn't want to have a hangover tomorrow. I promised Ron I'd open," he muttered.
"Your joke shop still going strong?" she asked.
"Yup. People want to play pranks, it distracts from the pain," he said.
"Or people go out and get drunk every night. That helps too, or so I'm told," she said, smiling. He gave her a look.
"No actually, it doesn't." He remembered what she had said.
"Who'd you lose?"
"Alicia." He flinched again. He liked Alicia. She was kind, and a damn good Quidditch player from what he remembered.
"Did you catch the killer?" he asked.
"Well, technically, there was no killer," she said. George raised an eyebrow. "She was caught in one of the Death Eater riots after the battle. Those bastards tortured her for fun. Neville and usually go together. He sees his parents and I see Alicia." Her voice cracked. She took a shuddering breath, trying not to cry. At least she'll see Alicia. George will never see Fred again.
"How do you deal?" he asked.
The question didn't take her by surprise. Angelina had a hunch that he wanted to know that there was one person who found a way to go on. He needed hope.
"Life goes on. I'm thankful I made it out alive. I talk about her. To Oliver and Katie. I've been trying to find you and your brother. I wanted to get the team back together. Just for old times sake. We could talk, make fun of Oliver, help each other with all this crap, and make fun of Oliver some more," she said. He laughed.
"Not such a bad idea," he said. "More please."
"Sorry, we're out."
"How does a bar run out of fire whiskey?" George asked.
"Why doesn't the king of humor laugh anymore?" she asked.
"I wasn't king of humor. That was Fred."
"I always thought you were funnier," she said. She placed her hand on his. He smiled at her.
Sitting there, with one of his best mates, the only girl he'd ever met who could drive him crazy yet make his day with a simple smile, he realized something.
Things would never go back to the way they were. He'd always be a bit different; he'd never get over his brother's death.
But things would get better, eventually, for one simple reason:
He would embrace his future, but remember his past and his brother.
Yes, I know, it's corny. But you know what?!...yeah, it's corny. I'm not going to deny it. Most of them are, but I like them anyway. So???????? Too corny? Not corny enough?
