It was Saturday afternoon, always the busiest time for WWW, when George found himself meeting up with an unlikely enemy again. It was someone who always look down upon his family, someone who wasn't afraid to let them know how much he despised them, and someone who up until recently was a major contributor to the Death Eaters.
Lucius Malfoy.
George was behind the counter, tinkering with a damaged Pygmy Puff while Verity was checking out everyone's purchases, when he heard a loud crack and looked up. A very disheveled looking Lucius apparated not a few feet away from where George was standing.
"Lucius?" George questioned, his eyes turning into slits. He had always hated the Malfoys, especially their retched son Draco, but ever since they got off scotch free from the war, it was probably amplified by a thousand. "What the bloody hell do you think you're doing here?"
"It was obviously a mistake," he snapped, his superior tone replaced by a slurred, drunken one. So that explains the blood-shot eyes and the not-so-neat dress attire, George observed. "I wouldn't be caught dead in a shite hole like this otherwise."
"Oh, sod off, Malfoy," George shot back, feeling heat rise to his face. "I can smell your breath from here, and I have a feeling it'll disintegrate all the products if you keep blabbering on by them." George heard Vanity giggle, and Lucius took a shaky step towards them with a loathsome look. George just picked up his wand and the Pygmy Puff and went back to work, not wanting to pay any more attention to him.
"Why are you so concerned, Weasley?" he heard Lucius's voice taunt mockingly in front of him. "Is it because you don't have enough money to make new ones?" George didn't look up, but shook his head and gave a scoff before continuing on his work. If that was all Lucuis could think of, he was truly losing his touch.
"Or is it because there's only one of you now to come up with ideas?" Lucius's unsteady voice pressed on. George dropped the Pygmy Puff (which gave a squeal of protest), and snapped his head up. OK, now he's gone too far.
"I've been meaning to ask you, Malfoy," George started in a cold voice. "What hobbies are you taking up now that your little clique of Voldemort obsessors have disbanded? I'd suggest something where the leader of the group doesn't try to off your whole family when you fail at everything they ask you to do. "
Lucius's drunken face darkened and he took a step closer to George, bringing them eye to eye. "I'm glad your twin's dead," Lucuis said in a shaky whisper. "Seeing as now there's only half of you to burden the world with."
Everything was a blur to him after that. All he could remember was something felt hard beneath his fists, there was yelling, all he could feel was this intense, burning rage, and that Verity was now holding his arms back. Then suddenly someone was pushing him forward, leading him somewhere else, and a lot of people were staring at him as he passed. George's head span with confusion, but he kept on walking, kept on allowing himself to go where ever the person wanted him to go until they arrived at an office.
He took in the bright orange walls and the wooden desk as he was shoved down onto a big, cushioned chair. He saw Verity slump onto the one facing him, looking both exasperated and shaken.
"George, are you alright?" she asked in a raspy sort of whisper. George could only nod mutely, not really sure how he felt. He supposed it was like he just woke up from a hazy dream, but he doubts that was the case.
"What just happened?" George asked, not really sure if he wanted to hear the answer. But he got it even before Verity opened her mouth. Because at that moment, he looked out the door Verity forgot to close and saw a crowd, and in the middle of that crowd was a man with a bloody face slumped on the ground. George inhaled sharply as he realized who that face belongs to.
"I didn't.." he trailed off and Verity answered his question with her pitying yet alarmed look. And in that moment, he felt his head reel back and recall all of Lucius's cruel taunts: There's only one of you to come up with ideas... I'm glad your twin's dead.. Now there's only one of you to burden the world with.. George pressed his fingers against his eyelids and willed himself not to feel that familiar sense of pain. It was beginning to be a bloody nuisance these days.
"George, what the hell is this?"
George looked up from his soggy cereal flakes to see his older brother coming into view. Weird, he doesn't recall hearing any apparating sounds. Then again, it might just be yet another inconvenience of having one ear. Lately there seemed to be too many to count.
"Morning to you too, Bill," George mumbled, mouth still in the process of chewing. Suddenly he found a copy of the Daily Prophet thrown right next to his bowl.
"What's this?" he asked, looking up at Bill with an understandably confused expression.
"Just read it," replied Bill grimly. With one last uneasy look, George picked the newspaper, and read:
NUTTY WWW CO-FOUNDER VICIOUSLY ATTACKS INNOCENT CUSTOMER
BY RITA SKEETER
George chocked on his Dragonflakes Delight at this.
"Oh, for the love of Godric.." he muttered as the panic started to rise in him. This was not good. This was very not good. Everyone reads this blasted magazine, so everyone must've seen this by now. And did that really say innocent customer?
"They make you sound like a monster in there, George," Bill stated quietly, taking a seat in the chair next to him. George picked up the article, his eyes darting quickly across the words." It goes on and on about how Lucius just walked in and you started relentlessly beating and throwing all off your malfunctioned products at him. And that if it hadn't been for Lucius's quick wit and extreme talent, he would've lost his life in there." Bill sighed and pointed to one section of the article as George continued to stare at the parchment in horror. "Draco even contributed by saying you've always been off, seeing as you and Harry had once assaulted him for no good reason when you were at Hogwarts."
"Remind me to thank the bastard, will ya?" George grumbled bitterly. He suddenly slamed the newspaper down to the table, and stared away broodingly.
"George," Bill said, resting his forearms on the table and leaning forward. "What really happened here? Not that anyone blames you for Muggle fighting a Malfoy, of course. Dad told me he even took a good swing at Lucius once."
"Yeah, but he wasn't made out to be some loon with a violence tendency in the Prophet, was he?" George turns around and faces Bill. "What really happened was the wanker came in pissed, and starting saying some things, alright?" George wished Bill would leave well enough as it is, but he also knew his brother way too well for that.
"What did he say?" Bill predictably asked. George threw him a look that said "bugger off", but realized Bill wasn't going to drop it any time soon.
"He said he was glad Fred was dead because now there's only one of us to burden the world with," George admitted in a rush, struggling to keep his voice even. Which he deeply failed at, mind you.
"Blimeny, George, I had no idea.. he's a bloody berk with too much time on his hands, don't listen to him.." Bill started, looking flustered and his eyes showing nothing short of deep pity. He paused for a second as if to consider what to say next. "How're you doing with all of this?"
George merely shrugged and looked away. It's not as if he could tell Bill the truth; that he spends most of his nights alternating between crying and drinking himself to sleep, that he buries himself in his work just to give him something to do.. that he even considered taking his own life on more then one occasion.
"If you ever want to talk about anything-" Bill started, obviously trying to make an effort.
"Thanks, Bill, but I think I'm good," said George absently, standing up from the table with a scrape of his chair. "Now if you don't mind, I think I'm going to go see Hermione Granger. If I recall correctly, she made a deal with a certain beetle animagus a while back, and since that bloody beetle hasn't held up her end of the deal, I think a lovely trip to Azkaban seems to be in order..