Author's Note: Hey! This was written for the Globetrotter Drabble Competition on the Harry Potter Challenge Forum posted by why the caged bird sings for prompt #10: Manila. Obviously George reflecting on Fred's death is not a new concept, but I've always felt that there should be some more Lee Jordan parcipitating in the mourning in the weeks after his death. I mean he was the twin's best friend. Don't get me wrong, I love George grieving with his family, but I feel Lee should be there too. I don't own Harry Potter, and most of the time I like to imagine a happy post Deathly Hallows world in which Fred was not killed. Occassionally I come down to reality. Reviews would make me happy.
FREDERICK GIDEON WEASLEY the stone read, but those words had no meaning. At the very least they did not mean what they were supposed to, that somewhere underneath all this earth Fred lay. George stared at the etches that spelled his brother's name until he could not even determine their shape. He kept staring, as if by forcing his eyes out of focus the stone itself would disappear, and Fred would suddenly be returned to him, to offer some laughing comment about how undignified the tears on his face were.
He had no shame about the tears, he knew exactly what his twin would say if he could see them. But he could not see them, could not offer any cheeky remarks and that was the problem.
Nearly every day of his life, until May 2, 1998, had been spent with Fred. Every joke, every laugh, every hair-brained scheme to prank Percy or make Filch's life miserable had been shared with him. Even after they'd left school, they'd built a business together, and fought Voldemort together. He could not think of one significant day of his life that had not been shared with his brother. All except for the day they had put him in the ground.
Beside him, George heard Lee Jordan sniff back his own tears. It was good that Lee had come with him today, so far he'd been out with his parents and his brothers and Ginny, and as much as they had all loved Fred, and as terribly as they would miss him, it was different. He had been a son to them, a little brother to indulge, and an older brother to look up to; but to none of them had he been a best friend and a constant companion. Lee Jordan had been Fred's best friend too, and apart from George no one had spent more time with him. Only Lee could possibly begin to understand how much had been lost when that wall collapsed; so they stood together, as he had stood with his family and stared at the stone.
"He'd hate us watching like this." He said suddenly, his voice cracking on every word.
Lee made a sound that was almost a chuckle. "Probably tell us go get our own lives."
The corner's of George's mouth started to turn up until he remembered the smile that had been frozen on his brother's face. It was probably still frozen on his face he reasoned darkly, somewhere down below him Fred was still caught in the midst of some joke Percy had made.
"Angelina wants to come tomorrow." Lee said after a long moment of silence. "If you wouldn't mind the company."
"Are you coming?" George asked.
"I thought so," he nodded. "I mean it's hard to imagine a day without seeing him."
It was impossible to imagine a day without seeing him, he'd been beside him every day for twenty years.
They turned wordlessly and headed back to the house. George did not know how many days they would come out to see the headstone, poor substitute for Fred's company though it was, but he was fairly certain he would always find it hard to imagine life without him.