A wilted tulip laid over a grave fresher than most of the ones that surrounded it. The sky was downcast, as if it knew that that day was a time when thousands, possibly millions, of people mourned those who were lost. The grave with the tulip was constantly visited, many of the visitors redheads. It read:
FRED 'FORGE' GIDEON WEASLEY
APRIL 1, 1978 – MAY 2, 1998
'May he have fun pranking those in the afterlife.'
The wired gate opened slowly, creaking as if it had been so long a time since it had been oiled. A small woman appeared first, leading – no, dragging – a tall man with her. The woman had bushy brown hair and a determined, yet sorrowful, expression on her face. The man looked positively broken, as if he had lost his other half. In actuality, he had.
The woman led the man to Fred's grave, her steps muffled by the freshly grown grass. She turned towards the man and whispered, "George, you can't keep being sad all of the time. It's like you're a whole other person. Where's the man that invented Puking Pastilles? Where's the man that is usually so full of life? Where's the man that I fell in love with? I know how it feels to lose someone you love, but Fred wouldn't want you to be this way. He would want you to keep on living and pranking. He would want you to keep being who you are."
"It's just s-so hard." George sounded close to tears by the end of the woman's speech.
"I know it is, but you have to accept that he's gone. You can't just close up to the world and bury yourself in his things. If you keep doing that, you would lose everything: the store, a life,…me." The woman had hesitated for a moment before saying that last word.
"Hermione…"
"George, I get what you're going through, but you shut yourself from everyone, including me. How am I supposed to help you if you don't even try?"
George was speechless for once. Before he could object, Hermione had turned around.
" I'll leave you alone so that you could maybe get some closure. When you're done, meet me at the Burrow." Without another word, she disappeared into thin air with a CRACK!
George gulped visibly and looked at his twin's grave out of the corner of his eye. He spotted the tulip and broke down. He fell to his knees in front of the gravestone and finally let the tears he had been holding back free. Only three people ever knew that tulips were Fred's favorite flower. Hermione must have visited the grave before.
"H-hey Fred," George murmured shakily. He cleared his throat and continued. "Uh, I know that I haven't visited since the funeral and I feel really bad about that. I just couldn't believe that you really were d-d- gone. My twin, my brother, my best friend, my other half just couldn't be gone. I remember chasing down Rookwood, yelling 'Get him!' My mind wanted only one thing then. Revenge. And I…I killed him. He took a Stunner to the head and fell out the window.
"I'm not proud of it. I swore to myself that night that that would be the only life I took. Then, I saw you in the Great Hall and my brain just went…dead. I still remember how we used to prank our pet mouse, Olive. I still remember how Mum needed nametags to tell us apart until the hole ear incident." Here, George let out a real chuckle for the first time in a year.
"I bet you're wondering how in Merlin's name I ended up with the Hermione Granger, bookworm extraordinaire. I honestly can't remember. Though, I can tell you that she made the first move." George sighed suddenly. "I don't want to lose her, Fred; I'm in love with her. She makes me feel complete again. She will never take your place and she doesn't try. She understands me. I don't think I can live without her."
George pulled out a loose bouquet of tulips and set them down in front of his dead brother's grave.
"I wish you didn't die. For the past year, I've been empty. It's like a Dementor has sucked out my soul. Now, though, I realized that Hermione's like my Patronus charm. Without her, I'm vulnerable to the horrible soul snatchers. I just wish I knew what to do," he groaned.
A gust of wind blew the tulips away from the grave. As they twirled around, George could've sworn that he heard Fred's voice saying, "Well, what are you doing around here? Go after her!"
George stood up, smiling softly. "Goodbye Fred," he murmured before turning around and going after the love of his life. Those who passed by would swear that they saw the transparent figure of a boy appear and wave at the redheaded man's retreating back.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Sad, ain't it?
A/N: So, I wrote this for May's Twin Exchange Challenge. The prompts were 'mouse,' 'quilt,' and/or 'nametag.' I used 'mouse' and 'nametag.' The quotes were 'Get him!', 'Revenge,' and/or 'Look out below!' I used 'Get him!' and 'Revenge.' The theme was the Anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts. I hope you guys enjoyed this! If you did, please vote for me. Thanks for reading!