Implied character death. Implied twincest.
I do not own Harry Potter.
The lyrics are from Ghost of You by Good Charlotte, which I don't own, but inspired this fic.
George lay his head against his pillows and sighed, he really didn't see the point in trying to sleep. ever since the battle he'd been having terrible nightmares and, truth be told, he'd rather stay downstairs than lay here, alone and frightened. He looked at the empty bed across the room, that would have been empty regardless, it was the empty space next to him that bothered George, a tiny smile etched onto his face as he imagined what their mother would have said if she had known that Fred hadn't slept in his own bed for over a year.
George let out another exasperated sigh and stared and the space next to him, tears welling in his eyes. "He's going to make it" he whispered to himself "Fred will come out of St. Mungo's", he turned onto his side, taking care not to roll onto Fred's side of the bed, as if saving it for his return.
I will save this empty space next to me like it's a graveWhere I lay a place for us to sleep eternally together
He must have drifted off because, the next thing he knew, Molly was telling him breakfast was ready and to come down before it got cold. George groggily sat up and swung his legs over the side of his bed, pulling on the first clothes he picked up from the floor and trudging down to the kitchen.
Breakfast was usually a busy time at The Burrow, but in the weeks since Voldemort's downfall, it had been a very subdued time, George suspected he wasn't the only one having trouble sleeping.
It was then that he noticed his father was missing from the table,
"Where's dad?" he asked,
"Um well he, he erm got called to St. Mungo's early this morning" Molly replied, her voice shaking slightly,
"What? Why? What's happened? Is Fred ok?"
Molly left her seat and came to sit beside George,
"The mediwitch said they thought it was nothing to worry about, but there had been a change, and she asked either your father or myself apparate there as soon as possible to discuss it"
"But..but! George spluttered, "If there's nothing to worry about, why as soon as possible?"
"George love" Molly held her arms out and embraced her son, "You dad said he would apparate home immediately if there was any news, all I know is what I've told you"
George let out a sob, something didn't feel right and he didn't like that feeling one bit.
Shortly after they had finished breakfast, there was a loud pop and Arthur Weasley appeared in the kitchen, his face streaked with tears, George jumped to his feet at once,
"Dad?" he said questioningly,
Arthur couldn't look at him, he stared at floor,
"I'm so sorry son" he said, voice shaking and barely above a whisper,
"NO!" George screamed "Not Freddie, no no no no no" and he ran from the kitchen, out into the garden and sank to the floor, tears cascading down his face. He couldn't get his head around this, Freddie, his Freddie, couldn't be gone, he just couldn't, there was no way he could survive without him.
He could hear the voices of his family inside The Burrow, but they sounded so distant, so out of reach, and that was where the only person he wanted right now was, completely out of reach, gone, Fred was gone; it suddenly hit George like a ton of bricks, he had lost the most important person in his life, his brother, his best friend, his first and only love.
A ghost of you is all that I have leftIt's all that I have left of you to hold
George had no idea how long he had sat in the garden, he was simply numb, oblivious to anything around him, Molly called from the door several times but he didn't respond, eventually Bill came out and sat next to him, placing a protective yet comforting arm around his younger brother's shoulders,
"George?" he said quietly,
"Hmm, oh hi Bill"
"Let's get you inside, yeah?"
"No, not yet. This was our place you know, we used to sit here for hours"
"Yeah, I used to watch you from my window when you were little"
"He can't be gone Bill, it's not fair, I feel like half of me is dead, half of me is dead"
"George I'm sorry, I know this must be so must harder for you than the rest of us, Fred was well... I guess... I mean..." Tears had overcome Bill and he was struggling to say what he meant,
"He was my everything"
Bill pulled George into a hug and they sat together, crying, comforting each other, until a summer shower caused Molly to call out that they should come inside before they got wet.
The rest of the day was a blur, George walked around The Burrow a lot, back and forth from the kitchen to the sitting room; he couldn't bring himself to go upstairs, to the room he knew he would never share again, to look at the bed which would always remain eventually settled on the rug in front of the fireplace, he had such fond memories sitting on that rug , from games on exploding snap, to toasting marshmallows in the fire together on cold winters nights. It was almost as if he could sense Fred's presence there now, he thought he was being ridiculous, stupidly hopeful even, when a slight chill passed through the air, he was reminded of when a Hogwarts ghost had glided through him, he looked around but nobody else seemed to have felt it.
Here I am pacing around this house againWith pictures of us living on these walls
I see my breath in the cold of the air that I breathe and I'm wonderingI'm wondering if it's you that I feelIf it's you that I feel here haunting me forever
He sat in front of the fire until after everyone else had gone up to bed, he knew he wouldn't sleep so what was the point in going up. Molly had refused to leave him at first. but, after many hugs and a promise from George that he would at least try and get some sleep, she went to bed, leaving him alone. As soon as she left, he felt the chill again,
"Fred?" he whispered "Freddie? Are you here?" He felt slightly silly, talking to thin air, but he honestly didn't feel as if he was alone, although he thought, maybe he was just wishing that he wasn't.
And I'm not looking for anything but usAnything but what we wereAnd I'm not asking for painted memoriesI only want to know you're here
Eventually, bleary eyed from tiredness and crying, George gave in and wearily climbed the stairs, he lay, fully clothed, on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He had no idea when sleep claimed him, but he awoke with a start when he heard a loud noise, he looked around, half expecting to see Fred, but seeing nothing but the dark room, which was still pretty much empty apart from the furniture and a few of his clothes, all the rest of his, and Fred's, belongings where still at the flat in Diagon Alley, it was almost as if the room had lost their personalities, which it once brandished so clear.
I wake in the night to find there's no one there but meAnd nothing left of what we were at all
Planning to go down to the kitchen and get a drink of water, George picked up his wand and muttered "Lumos", it was then that he almost screamed with shock, for laying on the bed opposite him, was Fred.
"You alright bro? You look like you've seen a ghost"
"But Fred, you're..." he stopped as he saw Fred stand and start walking towards him, he certainly didn't look like a ghost,
"I'm alright Georgie, they let me out, isn't that great?"
"Fred?" George tentatively reached out a hand and Fred took it,
"You're...alive" George whispered,
"Well of course I am" Fred chuckled, "Don't you think St. Mungo's would of informed you lot if I'd snuffed it?" he added as he snuck into George's bed and under his covers.
Suddenly, it dawned on George that he was not, as he thought he had been when he'd gone to sleep. fully clothed and on top of his covers, infact he was wearing the same shorts he had worn to bed the night before. The realisation of what was happening hit him like a wash of relief, his must have been a picture 'cos Fred was staring at him oddly.
"I dreamt that I lost you Fred, oh I'm so happy to see you, I'm sorry if I looked scared at first, I was confused, guess I didn't realise I'd awoken from a dream, I actually though I was seeing a ghost"
"Oh George you silly sod" Fred flung his arms around his twin and held him close, "I'm never leaving you, ever, ok?""Ok, I love you"
"I love you too, I'm so glad to be home, just don't tell mum and dad I apparated home myself" he laughed "Should say port key perhaps? Oh wait, they would probably think it's a miracle I didn't splinch myself"
"Fred?"
"Yeah?"
"Shut up for a minute"
George kissed his twin's forehead and snuggled up to him,
"I can finally sleep properly now you're back where you belong, good night Fred"
"Good night George"