Title: Broken Promise

Author: Fiorae

Series: Harry Potter

Pairing: none, hinted George/Fred

Spoilers: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows

Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any rights to the Harry Potter series. Harry Potter and all associated characters are the property of J.K. Rowling.

Summary: Spoilers for DH. George and Fred have a talk before the Second War at Hogwarts. Somewhat slash and possible out of characterness. Written in George's POV.

Author's Notes: I just finished reading the last Harry Potter book, so I've been inspired to write a fanfiction for George and Fred. Now I know the dialogue here is not quite correct with it comes to the way they talk. But I think it'd be less offensive to people if I just write the story in my dialogue instead of trying to mimic J.K. Rowling's style. I'd do a very poor job at it anyway.

Broken Promise

I'd never forget it. That horrible, gut wrenching feeling I got in the midst of battle.

He'd just been there, right beside me. We were laughing and making jokes as we fought off the Death Eaters. He said he was going to give Percy a hand. Said Percy had spent so long licking boots he probably forgot how to use a wand. And I laughed at the joke, cast another spell at an oncoming Death Eater, and gave him a wink. He smiled, winked back, and ran off.

And as I watched our friends and family fighting it dawned on me. This was for real. It was really a war. People were really out there dying. People we all loved. My chest tightened and I felt dizzy. And as I clumsily shot another spell in a Death Eaters direction, it happened. My heart came to an abrupt stop. I couldn't breathe. My insides felt like they'd been tied in knots. And my mind started racing.

Racing with thoughts of Fred.

We all knew that battle was coming soon. We could feel it in our hearts. And I guess that's what prompted him to pull me aside. To talk to me and confide in me just what he was feeling…

…And how scared he really was.

We found an empty room in Auntie Muriel's house and decided it would be the best place to talk. I locked the door behind us, watching Fred as he made his way over to the wall and leaned against it. He took a deep breath then slowly pointed his gaze from the ground up to me.

"He's going to show his face soon, you know …"

I raised my eyebrows at the tone of his voice. I rarely ever heard him sound like that. So sad and distant...

"Yeah and I can assure you it won't be a pretty sight," I chuckled a bit. Fred smiled briefly at my attempt at a joke. But that serious, distantly sad expression returned to his face. My smile faded too. I slowly moved across the room until I was resting against the wall next to him. I slid down into a sitting position. He did the same.

And we sat there in companionable silence. I could hear everyone off in the distance, chattering away about something excitedly. Fred sighed softly as he rested his head against my shoulder, nestling closer into my side. I watched him for a moment then decided to rest my head atop his.

I could feel his body rise and sink gently with ever breath he took. It was relaxing, comforting. And I felt him take a deep breath suddenly. Then he spoke.

"One of us could die …"

My heart skipped a beat. I closed my eyes slowly. It'd been on my mind since Harry had first told us he was back. Since Dumbledore's death and Snape's great escape. Since the mission to get Harry out of his muggle aunt and uncle's house. I'd always pushed it to the back of my mind. But now it seemed like a good time to bring it back to the front.

"I know … But we can't let that stop us Fred …" I whispered softly against his red locks. His hair was so soft and comfortable. Like a silky red pillow. My hair, though it looked exactly like his, tended to feel more fluffy than silky. I loved his hair.

"I was really scared that night."

The words he spoke so suddenly sent a shiver up my spine. I knew what he was referring to. That night we all disguised ourselves as Harry. And I'd lost my ear to a Death Eater's wand.

I bit my bottom lip then spoke up. "Why? It was just an ear. Heh, you know I have a spare on the other side of my head right?"

I could feel him chuckle a bit silently.

"I was afraid you'd lost more than you're ear … Afraid I'd lost …"

His voice trailed off into silence. I snaked my hand around his shoulder and squeezed him softly. He moved his head to rest against my chest and wrapped is arms around me in a sort of loose hug.

"I'm fine now, Fred …" I whispered to him gently. He sighed again.

"I know you are … but next time you might not be …"

I heard him sniffle a bit and it made my heart ache. I didn't like him being upset like this. I didn't want him worrying himself over me. I trailed my hand down to his and closed my fingers around it.

"Fred … You and I both know when we go into this … we won't come out with everyone we started with …And if one of the ones who happen to not come back is …"

I felt him shiver … I took a deep breath and prepared to voice it …

"If one of us doesn't come back, Fred, the other has to be strong okay…?"

My voice was shaking and I could feel tears threatening to come up. But I couldn't cry. I couldn't tell my brother to be strong and start crying myself. We weren't supposed to worry about this kind of stuff. We were the ones who were always cheerful, always making a joke to keep everyone's spirits up. That was our role.

So why was it so hard to fulfill it now?

"Okay …"

"Promise …not to cry?" I whispered, wagging my pinky in front of his face. He smiled and closed his pinky around mine.

"Promise…"

And there we all were, standing in the Great Hall. My heart was beating out of my chest and I'd really stopped breathing. I fell to my knees at his head. I couldn't hear or see anything else. Not Ginny and Hermione sniffling. Not Mum sobbing in Dad's arms. Not Percy murmuring his name. Not Ron crying over his chest.

He was still smiling that goofy smile of his. That face that looked so much like mine as calm as if he were sleeping. His beautiful, silky red hair covered in dust and ash. I didn't realize I was crying until my tears hit his face. And once it started, I couldn't stop. I pressed my forehead to his…

And I sobbed harder than I ever had in my life.