Happy birthday George

George apparated to the Burrow. He closed his eyes for a moment and just smelled the familiar smell of grass, listened to the familiar sound of his mother fussing and ordering people about, opened his eyes and saw the familiar home called the Burrow. "Oh, George, it's so good to have you here," his mother had just discovered him standing in the garden and attacked him in a fierce hug. "Congratulations... twenty-five... oh, you're growing up so fast," she said and pulled him away to look at him properly. She gave him a small smile, "thanks," George manage to say with a small smile before she hurried away to greet the 'few' guests she had invited.

For his birthday he really didn't want a big fuss, he didn't want anything at all actually, he never did, but it was a bit hard to avoid a big party when his mum was his mum. The guests arrived, he got his presents, and everything seemed to be fine. He was standing talking to the boy who lived twice when a girl with long, ash blonde hair arrived. She stumbled out off the fireplace and was breathing heavily. Luna looked up at everyone with a smile before excusing herself.

"Sorry I'm late, but when I was going to wrap your birthday present up, I noticed the Nargles were invading my stock of mistletoe," her eyes widened when she mentioned the Nargles, "and I had to get them away before they started to make permanent homes and started to call for Flimpy-Flowers, you all know how that is..." she said, like it was obvious what she was talking about even though no one had a clue. "But I'm here now," she smiled.

Luna said her hello's as she made her way over to George. She gave him his present with a big smile. "Hi, George," she said. He said 'hi' back before she went over to stand with Hermione. George could hear Hermione talk to Luna. "Why didn't you wish him a happy birthday, Luna? Imagine how it must be for him, and then you're not even wishing him a happy birthday," she told her in a voice that implied that she thought she was pretty rude. George frowned. He didn't mind at all that she hadn't wished him a happy birthday, because it wasn't anything like it.

Everyone was smiling, talking, laughing; even he was trying his best to do all those things. No one had mentioned the most important thing of this day though.

"Of course I wish him a happy birthday," Luna said to Hermione while she picked up a plate with some cake and looked at it hungrily before taking a huge bite and smiling happily.

Harry cleared his throat, and made George return his attention towards him. "So, what do you think about it?" he asked. George looked at him, clueless about what he was talking about, "sorry, I didn't quite catch that last part, think about what?" Harry grinned and looked over to Hermione who was trying to get Luna into a discussion before he opened his mouth to explain. "I-" he started, but got cut off by Mrs. Weasley.

"Now everyone have arrived and got some cake, let's sing for George, twenty-five years!"

They all started to sing the birthday song for him, and he tried his best to smile through it all. George was just waiting, preparing for the worst moment in the song. Happy birthday dear George... Happy birthday to you! He tried to smile, he really did, but apparently he didn't do a very good job, because Luna looked at him with a little frown. All the guests clapped his back, congratulated him once more and smiled happily at him. Suddenly a small explosion was heard and small fireworks rose from the pile of gifts on the table. The red and green lights exploded in the air and made him feel miserable.

He had been pretty good at being happy on his birthday, he had been good at that for the last years, but the part where they sang for him, and just him, not... Fred... that had always been the worst part. George smiled and nodded but inside he felt sick. The fireworks had been too much, too much of a reminder. He needed to get out. Suddenly Luna cleared her throat and said loudly "George, I think the Wrackspruts are trying to make you dizzy, you should go out and get some air." George looked at her gratefully and nodded before he almost ran outside. He hoped no one else had noticed how pale he probably looked.

He went quickly through the garden, kicked a tree on the way before he went down to the lake and sat down by the edge. He picked up a stone and threw it in. It just made him angry, all of it. Why did he have to leave? Why did he have to leave him alone? And why did everyone pretend that he was never alive? George picked up another stone and threw it frustrated into the water. Why? He had to have his birthday alone, and it just felt so wrong to hear his name being sung alone. He'd always been one of the two, now he was the only one.

After a while the anger had died down, to be replaced by sadness, an overwhelming sadness that almost broke him. A loud sob escaped from him and he was about to let the tears run freely when he heard someone come behind him. George quickly breathed in and out before turning around to see who it was.

"Fred would've liked it," Luna said and sat down beside him, "the fireworks." George was surprised that she said his name. On his last birthdays no one had even mentioned him. They'd pretended that he didn't have a birthday anymore. She was the first to say his name.

She was sitting close, and he could hear her breathing clearly. Luna looked at him for a while before saying "I brought your present. You had opened everyone else's, and I thought you had forgotten it." She handed him her present which was nicely wrapped up in a purple dotted paper. George frowned; he didn't want to open it. He hadn't gotten anything to lighten up his mood, so why would Luna give him something that wasn't completely inappropriate?

"I don't want it," he told her and moved his gaze out over the water.

"I know," she told him seriously, and he couldn't help but look back at her. Luna was still holding the present out for him.

"Luna, I told you I didn't want it," he said again. Luna hadn't wished him a happy birthday. Maybe she knew that he didn't want this day to be a happy one. She knew that he didn't want the gift, but she still gave it to him. She was a bit curious.

"And I heard you," she lowered her hand and looked down at the grass. "Why don't you want it?" she asked and looked up at him with a small smile and tipped her head a bit in curiousness.

George looked closely at her. She was very different. Had it been someone else, they'd probably frowned in annoyance because he didn't want their gift, but she only smiled. He closed his eyes and said "Because everything I get should've been given to him too. Everything I get reminds me off him." George didn't know why he suddenly opened up to her. He'd never been close to Luna, and he'd never told this to anyone else either. No one but him knew how he felt about his birthday. No one understood how it really was. But maybe she understood some of it.

"I don't like my birthday," he said, without knowing why he continued to talk. "I hate it. And I hate how everyone wishes me a happy birthday, because it isn't. I'll never have a happy birthday, and no one will ever understand that. I can't have a happy birthday when... he isn't here." George felt the tears sting in his eyes, and tried to dry them away, but it didn't seem like Luna noticed. "I'm sorry, Luna, I guess your gift is very nice and all, but..." he's voice was far shakier than he'd like. "I don't want it. It'll remind me of Fred too much."

"Oh, that's nice," Luna said, and George looked at her incredulously through his unshed tears. Hadn't she heard what he had said? "I mean, if I was Fred, I'd want you to remember me and think about me often. And I really think you should open my present, especially if it makes you think about him," she told him with a little smile and held the gift out for him to take. He just eyed it a bit unenthusiastic. Luna took his hand, and for a moment he just looked at that too, her small hand in his bigger hand, but then she opened his hand and replaced hers with her present.

It seemed like she wouldn't give up, so he took it and unwrapped it slowly. He was left staring at an odd shaped green flat book of sorts. George looked up at Luna who smiled and nodded for him to open it more. He did, and the first he saw on the first page was a picture. It was a picture of himself, summoning his broom before flying off. Beside him his twin was mimicking the motion and they were getting applause from the other students who watched. George didn't say anything, but turned the page over. There he was again together with Fred, grinning happily inside their own shop.

He opened his mouth to say something, but it seemed to have gone all dry. He opened and closed it again. Luna smiled, "You don't need to say anything about it... it's home made. You said that everything you were given was supposed to be given to him too. I started to make it for you and Fred in your seventh year. I didn't know you very well, but I always looked up to you." George was still staring at the picture. "This is a gift given to both of you," Luna removed the photo album from his hands and he immediately wanted it back again, but she was holding it for him to see while she turned over to the last page. 'Happy birthday Fred and George!' was written over it.

It was starting to get dark around them, but it was like the pictures had their own light to it. "Does it remind you of him?" Luna asked, and George had to look at her to see if she was joking or not. He really didn't think she would be joking, but it was such an obvious question. "Yes," he choked out, and that little answer was enough for his tears to come. George grabbed the album back and looked through the pictures while silently crying. Luna moved to sit even closer, their sides were touching and she took his hand. She wasn't trying to comfort him. She didn't even look at him. George was a bit embarrassed of his crying and tried to dry his tears away but it was for no good because they just kept coming. He looked at Luna, but she wasn't looking at him. She was looking at the lake, or simply staring out in the air with a small comforting smile on her face. It didn't even seem like she noticed how much he was crying now.

George closed the album and clutched it close and carefully leaned his head on Luna's shoulder. He wasn't sure how she would take it, but she just held his hand a little tighter. It was almost nice, sitting like that, crying. "Thank you, Luna," he whispered thickly. "You're welcome Fred and George."

"Happy birthday George!"

George smiled. It was his twenty-sixth birthday today, and as always, his mother had fixed a huge party. It was a year ago he'd gotten the photo album from Luna. No, he still didn't like his birthday, no, he still didn't like presents, but he did like the people that came with it. Luna came in the door, she was one of the guests that had arrived early. "Hi, George," she said and smiled at him from the other end of the room. "Hi, Luna," he said, and he smiled.

A/N: Inspired by the many birthdays that's going on here at the moment, my own among others. What do you think about it? Review please:)