Life, Love and Jay
By sprstarinfrance
Of all the things George expected out of the war, parenting his deceased brother's son, with Luna Lovegood of all people, was not one of them. DH spoilers.
Prologue
"Life is only the beginning." – Luna Lovegood
"Fred would have hated this," George thought as countless relatives and mates told him over and over about how sorry they were for his lost. If he heard that one more time George was sure he would get up and scream, but for now was spending his time lost in a sea of firewhiskey.
"Merlin, haven't you had enough of these?" Ginny whispered harshly as George slammed his fifth bottle on the table. "Your killing Mum, do you know that?"
"Sod off Ginny, I don't bloody care what Mum thinks. If she cared what I thought we'd be laughing right now…" Then he did start laughing, rather loud and convincing drunkard. "But I don't know what about."
"You're a git!" Ginny snapped flinging a fist into his shoulder and stomping off.
"Fred would have wanted it," George thought and falling into another fit of laughter. "Isn't that right mate?" He turned to Harry, who looked caught.
"Err right," Harry muttered slowly backing off, "I should go see if Ginny alright."
"Fred would have wanted it," George muttered again, before screaming, "Fred would have wanted it!"
"Are you out of your bloody mind?" A voice suddenly came into clear focus as Angelina Johnson, Fred's secret fiancé, was inches from his face. "This is your brother's funeral."
"Angie!" He smiled and then remembered something, "Will you marry me?"
If steam could have come out her ears, he figured it would come out in heaps at that moment, "Are you trying to hurt me? You bloody bastard!"
George shrugged again repeating his favorite words, "Fred would have wanted it."
She pulled his off the couch by his robes and drug him outside, before exploding. "Are you mental? What makes you think I'd want to marry you? I bloody know Fred didn't 'want it'!"
"He did! He knows how witch's like you are treated when…" George couldn't say the words, "He demanded I protected you."
"Bloody idiot," She soften for a minute before the anger building up again, "Oh, so marrying you would protect me from the stares and gossip?! I don't need you to protect me, George. I don't need him to protect me, Fred!" She screamed into the sky.
"Look Angie, just let me marry you," George whispered, "Please. Fred would have wanted it."
"He might have wanted it, but I bloody know he'd hate the thought of us together!" She started to cry, her normally tough demeanor faulting. "I refuse to even think about it."
"He would have wanted…."
"Don't say it George. Don't you bloody dare!"
"Fred would have wanted it!" He shouted.
Angelina responded with her fist in his eye, "I told you not to say it!"
"It's the truth Angie."
"I don't want the truth, George. I want a dream! I want him to be here right now. I want him to be there in six months, so I don't have to go though it alone!"
"I can be there…"
"It's not your job! It's his!" She hissed before storming back into the Burrow.
George flopped into the ground staring up into the stars muttering once again, "It's what you wanted, mate." He closed his eyes wishing he could take back the past two weeks.
He ventured back into the house a few hours later after he had sobered up a bit. The first person he saw was Angelina sitting on a couch with her face buried in her hands. He stood back across the room watching her afraid to go and apologize for acting like such a git.
People walked by passing her by as if she was imaged by only him, everyone absorbed in their own personal grief. That was until Ginny's loony friend, Luna stopped whispered something in Angelina's ear that made her light up for the first time since she had heard her love had died.
Luna didn't say anything else but sat next to Angelina as she lashed out into a speech about all of Fred good qualities, smiling in off beat way.
Suddenly the grief began to roll off everyone's face. He found Neville recounting the time the twins left school, and remembering how Fred kept trying to spike the punch at the Yule Ball.
"He's the reason I hate spiders, ya know," Ron spoke up smiling despite the story he was telling, "He still takes rejoice in the fact it's caused me this much pain."
Percy didn't smile but had his own story to tell, "He died laughing. I should have laughed more while he was alive."
"He would have wanted us to be laughing right now," Ginny said giving George a wink. "He was the type that like his life to be celebrated not mourned."
Even Hermione had something to add, her too smiling, "My Hogwarts a History belongs to him. I made a stupid bet with him once."
Ron started at her as if she had said the Dark Lord was still alive. "You made a bet with him?"
"Yes, Ron, I did. I told him that you'd never admit you liked me. I was so confident I put my precious book on the line."
"Bloody hell," Harry muttered as he started to laugh, "You would bet that?"
"Oh, shut up Harry," She muttered as she tried not to laugh.
It was like wildfire, the laughter and the achievement of the fallen comedian. George could only smile, too many stories to join in or even try to join, but the sight of it was just enough.
"Life is only the beginning," Luna whispered in his good ear. Time had stopped for that brief moment, or at least it had felt like it for George, and once time had finally caught up she was gone.
"Did you tell 'Moine about the gnomes?" Ron shouted over whatever story Ginny was in the mist of telling.
"I can't believe he would do that!" Hermione gasped, once Ron got to the punch line, smacking her boyfriend in the arm lightly, "That's horrible!"
"Fred would have wanted that," George muttered finding that he was truly happy for the first time in weeks.
Up next: The Secrets Fred left behind
