Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the writing of this story. All characters and places belong to J.K. Rowling.
George Weasley had a twin. They had the same blazing red hair, the same bright blue eyes and even the same flair for trouble making, not to mention the permanent cheeky grin that was always etched on their faces. In fact, to merely call Fred his twin would be an understatement; they were practically identical copies of each other, mirror images even. Which other pair of twins actually does act and behave the same way other than just being biologically similar? They could easily pretend that they were each other and no one would suspect a thing. Even their mother, who would have been thought to be the only person who can tell them apart no matter what, is sometimes confused when the twins decide to play a prank on her.
Which is basically every day.
But George Weasley is no longer one half of a twin, not since Fred Weasley died two years ago during the Battle of Hogwarts. George was glad that his brother had at least died doing the thing they loved the most - laughing. He could still vividly remember the ghost of Fred's last laugh etched on his face that day he got struck by that explosion. Of course, everything after that was a blur. He had after all, lost half of himself.
"It's Harry and Ginny's engagement today, Freddie."
He sat down on his bed and pulled open his bedside drawer, fishing from within it a folded piece of parchment that he had found in that very drawer after the battle had ended. He opened it up to see Fred's familiar sloppy handwriting, and the words that he had now known by heart.
Dear Georgie,
If you are reading this yourself, and not having me read it out to you and having you laugh at me afterwards, I have probably left to go have tea with Dumbledore. I know, you must think when the bloody hell I wrote this, and why I didn't ask you to write it with me. Honestly, Georgie, this is probably the very first thing that I have done without you. Just me, Fred Weasley, alone. Without his twin brother. But really now, why would I ask you to join me in writing a letter to you? Sometimes, brother, I'm right when I say that I am smarter than you are.
Well, I wrote this the night you lost your ear. You had no idea how shaken I was, seeing you lying there losing so much blood. I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if something happened to me. I don't think I can leave without saying something to you, so here I am, half-asleep, writing to you at 3 am in the morning. You had better appreciate it, seeing that we have to wake up really early for Bill and Fleur's wedding tomorrow.
I love you, Georgie. Thank you so much for being my best friend, best partner in crime and most importantly, my twin brother. You'd best not be crying while reading this, because that's my face you are messing up, even though I know I can be way too moving with words. Sorry, I can't help it.
Stay great. We'll always be Gred and Forge. Send my love to mum and dad, and tell them I love them so much even though we always make them angry. I'll always be your twin brother, and always by your side.
Love,
Freddie
George smiled ruefully, folding the parchment and placed it in the breast pocket of his dress robes. Trust Fred to try and be funny and egoistical even while writing his last words. Then again, it's just like Fred. Just like his brother. He stood up.
"Remember when we used to discuss what kind of challenges we would give to the man who would end up marrying our baby sister? Well, I tried the hex one with Harry, and let's just say that if he wasn't Harry and the boy who practically saved the entire wizarding world, we would have kicked him out of the house by now," he chuckled, eyeing his brother in the moving photograph of the two of them standing outside their newly opened joke shop, beaming with pride. He sighed.
"You were supposed to be there too, Freddie. You complete git. We were supposed to be Gred and Forge, but now with me alone, I'm just Forge… or Gred. I don't even know now."
George Weasley turned and stared at the figure in the mirror.
He had changed a lot in the past few years, after the Second Wizarding War that finally put an end to Voldemort once and for all. He was definitely much thinner and more haggard looking. His cheekbones were more prominent and his once bright eyes are much duller now. Well, who wouldn't after spending months under the tyranny of Voldemort and his death-eaters, and fighting valiantly for his loved ones? Thankfully though, his cheerfulness and passion for practical jokes still stayed within him. He laughed as he heard a loud honk coming from downstairs, followed by a loud shriek that he recognized belonged to Mrs. Weasley, thanks to the decoy detonator he had placed under the kitchen table fifteen minutes ago. Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes was flourishing better than ever, and he knew that at least he wasn't letting his twin brother down. When has he ever?
"You know, Freddie? Our shop just opened its branch in Hogsmeade. Bought over Zonko's like we always said we would, you see."
He grabbed the necktie on his bedside table and proceeded to fasten it on himself. Even though he had worn that muggle thing a couple of times, he just couldn't seem to get it right. After struggling for what seemed like eternity, he finally got it to look slightly decent. He beamed at the mirror, feeling slightly proud of himself for conquering it.
"George! Everything's ready, you can come down now!" Mrs. Weasley hollered from the kitchen.
"Coming soon, mum! Just give me a second."
He reached out a hand and gently touched the surface of the mirror. The reflection, of course, mimicked the move. He let out a gentle sigh as their fingers touched. His fingers glided across the surface, and stroked the golden frame with its intricate designs surrounding the mirror, feeling the little dents on the top of the mirror.
He looked at the mirror again. The figure in the mirror is now giving him a smirk – the smirk he knew all too well.
"Alright there, brother?" he grinned.
Fred Weasley returned the grin and nodded.
"I miss you."
Fred gave his brother a rueful smile, as if he was saying that he missed him too.
"How's tea with Dumbledore?"
Fred crinkled his nose. George laughed. His brother never liked tea anyway.
"You git. I thought we were supposed to do everything together? And now you've gone and have tea with Dumbledore without me?"
Fred's blue eyes clouded with remorse, and he gave his brother an apologetic smile. He placed a hand to his chest.
"Always by my side?"
Fred nodded.
"I'll be seeing you then."
Fred's smile widened, and he gave a quick nod and did a careless wave with his hands as if asking George to go back down to accompany his family.
George smiled, and begin to walk to the door of the bedroom – but not before glancing fondly at the words engraved on top of the mirror again.
Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.
George Weasley has a twin. They have the same blazing red hair, the same bright blue eyes and even the same flair for trouble making, not to mention the permanent cheeky grin that is always etched on their faces. In fact, to merely call Fred his twin would be an understatement; they are practically identical copies of one another, mirror images even.
End.
A/N: I really liked the title for this fic, because it had many hidden meanings. First, of course, is the literal meaning of George seeing Fred in the Mirror of Erised. And the second being that they were mirror images of each other. It's not a very good one because my writing has kind of turned rusty after all these years of not writing, but hope you guys liked it!
If you paid close attention, the last paragraph looks exactly like the first paragraph but with present tense.