Title: Smiles and War
Summary: Fred Weasley wasn't smiling. That's how I knew something was wrong. Because Fred wasn't smiling.
Author: Samantha
Characters: Fred Weasley and Grace Prewett(OC). With other cannon appearances
Book: Deathly Hallows
Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to J.K Rolling. Anything else is mine so no touching.
As soon as she walked into the Burrow she knew something was wrong, because Fred wasn't smiling.
Fred was always smiling, even when he's mad or angry or sad there is always that smile on his face. But not now. Now he gaped over the sofa as if he could not believe what he was seeing.
"What happened?" Grace asked right away walking up to him and taking his hand, knowing it must be something terrible. She looked down and her heart caught in her throat, there was George covered in blood. His ear was gone.
"Oh god" Grace breathed tears welling in her eyes.
Harry, Ginny, Molly and Arthur were all standing around him. And, as if he was roused by the presence of his twin George stirred.
Fred was alone, staring out at the sky when Grace found him. "Hey" she said softly walking up next to him.
"Hi." he answered quietly.
"Fred... are you okay?" Grace asked placing a hand on his arm. "Please don't lie to me, you know you don't have to."
Fred scoffed "Don't I?" he asked scornfully. "Don't I always have to lie to everyone? Pretend every thing's alright. Don't I always have to wear a smile on my face no matter what I feel so that everyone else can feel okay?"
"No" she told him, realizing in that moment just how brave her cousin was, because it takes real courage to keep smiling even though you feel like breaking "You never have to lie to me about something like that. I know you're scared. We all are."
He scoffed, and was silent for a long time before he said, "George almost died today." his voice was small and she could hear the fear.
She hugged him then and let him cry for a long time. Her own world breaking crumbling at the seems. Everything she had ever believed in falling apart.
They were at war, but it had never really hit home to her until she stepped into the Burrow that night.
Because something was really wrong with the world when Fred Weasley didn't know how to smile anymore.