Panacea by Luvscharlie
With the Burrow in disrepair even this many months since the end of the War, and the Weasleys spending most of their time at Hogwarts rebuilding the school, it was hardly fit for the lot of them to spend Christmas there. Hermione had offered her parents' home to host the Weasleys and Harry for Christmas festivities, and it had seemed important to her that they come. The decision had been made that they would celebrate Christmas the Muggle way. Thank you ever so much, Mr. Weasley.
That was how Harry had gotten himself into this, he supposed.
He was standing in front of the bare, artificial tree draped in a string of lights and trying to decide whether to start at the top or the bottom and—
"Mr. Weasley, if you plug that in again, you'll be doing this yourself!" he said, his patience tested as the lights draped over his shoulders lit up once more.
"You know, Harry, if you just hold your arms out, we won't even need a tree," George said, hanging a candy cane from Harry's string of lights.
"Ha, ha. Very funny. You might use some of that energy for a little less cheek and a lot more in the way of assisting me here, you know?"
George started forward. His feet tangled in the string of lights, and he tried to catch himself, but it was too late. He made a grab for Harry's shoulder to steady himself and caught the tree instead, dragging both Harry and the tree down with him into a heap on the floor.
"George," Harry said, attempting to find the spectacles that had been knocked from his face in the fall. "I've changed my mind. I think perhaps it's best if you don't help me anymore."
From beneath the artificial branches and strings of lights came the first real laugh Harry had heard from George Weasley in the months since Fred's death. It rang out throughout the house, bringing family members forward to see the heap of mess in the middle of the Grangers' living room. Soon the room was filled with laughter, most of it sounding more relieved than anything else that perhaps George would make it without his other half after all.
Fin.
A/N: Written for my drabble-a-day challenge in December 2008; Entry 1 of 31