Disclaimer: I do not own the fantabulous world of Harry Potter, nor do I own any of the characters except those of Stephanie and her family, although, I do pray to the lord that I did own all of this and that I was married to Shia LaBeouf. ENJOY!

" How is he?" Hermione asked as her boyfriend, Ron, came down the stairs. She leaned up against him and listened to his heartbeat. She looked back up at his face. He sighed and shook his head.

"Terrible. He refuses to come down and won't talk to anyone. I think he got drunk off fire whiskey." He replied.

" You guys suck." A voice came from the living room. All the Weasleys, Hermione, and Harry were there. They had been worried sick about George since his twin, Fred, had died at the big battle at Hogwarts only three months earlier. He hadn't talked to anyone since the funeral and never came out. He had Apparated to get food from the kitchen or use the bathroom. No one had seen him for more than a minute in the last three months.

" I'll go up. If you hear explosions or screaming, don't come up till someone calls." Ginny said, standing up from her spot beside Harry. They all nodded and she ascended the stairs two at a time.

She eventually reached the topmost room and pounded on the door. When there was no reply, she sighed and pounded on it harder.

" GO AWAY! I don't wish to see anyone." George's slurred voice came from the other side. ' Yep, he's drunk' Ginny thought.

" George, if you don't open this door, I'm going to blast it open." She heard no movement and after a minute, she groaned and pulled her wand out of her pocket.

" Okay, you asked for it. BOMBARDA!" she shouted and the door blasted off its hinges and into a million pieces, revealing a very pale and wide-eyed George, holding a fire whiskey bottle.

" I didn't think you'd actually do it! COOL!" he said.

" If you want to be on the receiving end of an Impedimenta curse, I'd pipe down and put that fire whiskey away. You know how I feel about drinking. The whole concept is rubbish" she said. She repaired the door, locked it and put a Muffliato spell so no one would hear.

" The concept is not rubbish. It soothes your pain." He whispered. Ginny turned around, her face beet red.

" IT DOES NOT SOOTHE PAIN! IT CONCEALS IT! HIDES IT IN YOUR DRUNKENESS AND ONLY COMES OUT WHEN YOU'RE SOBER AND YOUR MIND IS OUT OF THE INFLUENCE OF IT!" she shouted. She pulled up the loose floorboard where the twins had kept their drafts of the Skiving Snackboxes and discovered about a dozen or so bottles of firewhiskey. Some of them were full, most were empty. She levitated them into the air and flew them out the window.

" Those are expensive!" George said, running towards the window. She pulled him back by his shirt and sat him on the bed.

" George, listen to me. Listen good, cause I'll kick your ass if you don't. Drinking is not the way to soothe the pain of losing Fred." She started. George looked away, teary-eyed.

" Please, don't." he whispered.

" I know it's hard. It's hard on us all. Even Hermione! She never got along with Fred, but even she feels like a part of her died when Fred did. I know it's harder on you because Fred was half of you. But, you cannot sit here and dwell on it. You need to move on. Mourn his death, yes. Miss him, yes. Dwell on it and waste your life away, no. You need to go run that shop because Fred would kill you if he had known that you had abandoned that shop all on his accord. You need to go talk to your family because he'd slaughter you if he knew you had left them to worry about you."

" He would, wouldn't he?" George asked, a smile creeping on his face.

" Yep." She replied.

" Thanks, Gin." He said and hugged her.

" Did my big brother just show affection towards me?" she playfully asked.

" Don't push it. You can go, just give me a couple minutes to straighten myself out." He said. She smiled and left the room. As she climbed down the stairs, all the Weasley's attention shot towards her. She paused for a moment to create suspense.

" I am the master!" she shouted. The crowd looked at her with awe. " He'll be down soon." She said and helped herself to a biscuit.

You can do this George. She's right. He'd chop your head of if he found out you were wallowing in self-pity. George thought. He took in a couple deep breaths and opened his door. He could smell ginger snaps and beef stew. He hopped down the steps and saw all of his family in the living room. They engulfed him in hugs and, after assuring them that he was all right, they sat down to eat.

When everyone was stuffed, George stood up and stretched.

" I'm going to go to the shop real quick. Make sure that it's okay." He said.

" Are you sure?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

" Yes. Mourn his death, yes. Miss him, yes. Dwell on it and waste my life away, no." They all nodded and he winked at Ginny before Apparating to Weasley Wizard Wheezes.