Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

We'll Always be Together

By: ChoCedric

George Weasley felt a mixture of excitement and fear as he fought hooded, masked Death Eaters alongside Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, and Percy. With each spell that was cast at him, he dodged it, and on his left was Fred, fighting with him side-by-side like he had always done. Tonight was the night that he hoped Harry would claim victory.

The fear was not an emotion he could ignore. There were nine Weasleys, along with the two honorary ones, Harry and Hermione, and he was sure that there was no way they could all come out of this alive and in one piece. He was positive that by the end of this night, one or more of his beloved family members would be dead. And it scared him senseless. Which one of them would it be? Would it be Ron, who had faced all kinds of danger for seven years? Would it be Percy, who had just come back to them? Would it be his mum, who, no matter how much she got on his nerves, he didn't know how to live without? Would Harry lose his life fighting Voldemort, and would the world be reduced to ruin? Would it be his dad, who had always loved his and Fred's pranks? He fought the images of death and destruction that entered his mind as he battled Death Eater after Death Eater, trying to take down as many of them as possible.

But George covered his fear with humor, making quips while parrying curses back and forth. He could feel the bond that he and Fred shared pulling at his mind, telling him that Fred was feeling the same things. Throughout their twenty years of life, George had always seemed to know what Fred was thinking, and vice versa. They seemed to be able to communicate without words.

After many minutes of dueling, Fred and George had successfully fought the Death Eaters that were trying to hurt them, and they looked at each other and grinned. They sidled closer to Percy, who was still fighting one of his own, ready to lend a hand if their newly returned older brother needed it.

At that moment, Percy blasted the mask off the Death Eater's face. "Hello Minister!" he said cheerfully. "Did I tell you I'm resigning?"

"Blimey, Perce!" George said dramatically, not being able to believe his eyes. "You are really joking, aren't you?"

"Good gravy!" said Fred from beside him, laughing wildly. "I haven't heard you joke since you were-"

BOOM!

Suddenly, there was a huge explosion, cutting Fred's sentence short. None of them, including George, had seen it coming. They were all thrown to the ground, debris covering them.

After a few seconds, George was able to pull himself out of the rubble. He was fine and in one piece, except for ...

Oh, God. Even though his body was whole, he knew something was wrong. Very, very wrong. And it only took him half a second to figure out what.

It was the twin bond he felt with Fred. It felt twisted somehow, knotted. He couldn't exactly explain the feeling, but it was somewhere deep in his heart.

Panicked, he ran to his left and saw, with a sinking stomach, that Fred had not pulled himself out of the rubble, like he and all the others had done. With a strength borne out of desperation, George pulled him out. Once he had succeeded, he looked into his twin's face desperately, searching for signs that his twin instinct was wrong, that Fred was okay.

"Fred! Freddie! No, no, no! Freddie!" he cried, his words a scream ripped straight from his soul. He couldn't believe it was coming out of his mouth. He violently shook Fred's shoulders. "Freddie, please, open your eyes! Please!"

After a few agonizing seconds, Fred's eyes slowly opened, but they had a glossy, glazed look to them, and George felt his heart plummet even lower as shock and horror stole over him.

"Georgie ..." Fred murmured, his voice so hoarse and weak, it was barely audible. "It's okay, Georgie."

"No, Fred, no!" George repeated, still looking into his best friend's eyes. "Don't do this, Fred! You're going to be okay! We'll get you to a Healer and ..."

But Fred smiled softly, weakly putting one of his hands close to George's mouth to silence him. "It's too late, Georgie. I ... I'm sorry."

George sank to the ground, placing his twin's head in his lap, tears beginning to fall as he stroked his soft red hair. "Freddie, please don't leave me," he said, his voice now a whisper.

Fred looked at George, the brother, the twin, the best friend, he could always count on. "Don't cry, twinnikins," he whispered back, his face still bearing a soft smile. "I ... I'll never really leave you. We'll ... we'll always be together. Always. You can't be rid of me that easily." A weak laugh exited his mouth.

George held his brother tighter, forcing out his own smile through his tears. "I love you, Freddie," he murmured in his ear.

"Love you too, Georgie," Fred answered quietly.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Percy were all holding each other tightly as they watched this scene unfold in front of them, Hermione and Percy crying silently, Harry and Ron looking shocked and numb. They didn't interrupt the twins' last moments together; they somehow knew that this was private.

As Fred felt the last of his energy ebbing away, he stared at George, and both twins had a look of love in their eyes which no one usually saw. It was a look that mirrored the words which they had just said. Their eyes conveyed years of trust, respect, and understanding which death could not take away from them. Their bond was timeless, and their love for each other was too.

And so it was then that Fred closed his eyes for the last time. George kept stroking his brother's hair as his breathing slowed and finally stopped, and his hand went limp in his. George Weasley knew that his brother, his twin, his partner in crime, his best friend, had left him. He was gone.

And with an anguished cry, he buried his head on Fred's chest and wept.