`Disclaimer: Sadly, I own nothing except the plot. Our lovely J.K. Rowling owns the rest. LOVE YOU GUYS.
It had been about half a year since Fred's death. George was finally going to do it. Today would be opening day. Well, for him at least. A Weasley, a Potter, a Johnson, Jordan or Granger had been keeping Weasley's Wizard Wheezes open for him for some time now. His family and friends had been rather nice about it too. Never bugging him with decisions after he had asked them not to, but George knew, one way or another, he would have to face it eventually. Ignoring it could never make it go away, and no matter how many painful memories it brought, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was doing some good in the world, and George wasn't about to stand in the way. Fred would've come back from the grave to tell he was the world's biggest prat if he had closed it down. No way. He was going to do it. He had to.
He walked through the Leaky Cauldron. It was early morning and Tom was leaning against the counter wiping a glass and yawning.
"'Morning, Fr- frogot to, uh, polish these glasses last night."
George smiled. It was not the first time, and would not be the last, someone had called him by the name of his twin. George wasn't bothered by this. In a small way it comforted him.
"Good morning, Tom. Have a lot of customers then did you?"
"Ah," he said looking relieved. "Just the usual crowd mostly, but Hagrid had a lady friend last night at his table. Said she's the Headmistress of Beauxbatons. Those two take a bit more than the average customer if you know what I mean, but nothing wrong with 'at is 'ere?"
"Not at all, Tom. Not at all. Have a good day now."
"Thanks, George. You too."
George walked and tapped once, twice and then a third time on the brick wall behind the pub. Diagon Alley opened up before him; brightly colored and perfectly filtered with the sun rising in the distance. The sky was clear, and shops were beginning to open. George inhaled, smelling the warm summer fragrance that filled him up, but somehow made him feel even emptier. The world was going on somehow. Somehow, the world was going on without Fred and countless others, and the scab that had been forming over his loss was reopened with wrenching force. Diagon Alley was buzzing with life, but they were not. His eyes were blurring, but the pain was not. He continued walking along to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes feeling very lonely and suddenly tired. He should not have come. He wished for someone next to him, some form of comfort in such a sharp environment. He didn't want to, but he kept walking. Stay strong, he told himself tears brimming in his eyes, Fred would want you to stay strong.
And then suddenly, he was lonely no longer. Angelina ran up next to him.
"George!" she cried throwing her arms around him. His ears went red. "You came!"
"Angelina?" he said grinning. "What're you doing here?"
"I've been checking in on your shop for a while, you know that, and I heard you were coming today and thought you might want some company."
"Oh," he said awkwardly, "You really didn't have to-"
"C'mon, George. I wanted to. You know that." She said sincerely. She was silently praying he wouldn't push her away like he had everyone else.
"Er, okay. Thanks."
"No problem." She stated brightly.
And so they continued walking down the street. They turned a corner, and stopped in front of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. It looked the same as it had when George left. The bold paint standing out against the rest of Diagon Alley, the 'Closed, but come back later!' sign sitting idly in the window.
"You ready?" Angelina asked abruptly grabbing his hand to squeeze it.
"Yeah, I think so."
George gritted his teeth and pulled the key out of his pocket with his left hand. Angelina had not stopped holding his right. The key turned silently in the latch. Then the knob.
They stepped inside the store. The vibrant colors were like a smack in the face and the shelves were lined with puking pastilles, nosebleed nougat, and countless other merchandise.
"Please d-don't leave." George stammered. "I don't think I can be alone."
"You don't have to be." Angelina said.
The rest of the day happened fairly with ease. George was more or less himself and Angelina handled the more stressful situations elegantly. At lunch break, George planted some Laughing Elixir in Angelina's sandwich, and Angelina hadn't stopped laughing even when the potion wore off because she was so happy George was acting like himself again. It was the end of the day, when the sign changed from 'Come in we're open!' to 'Closed, but come back later!' that George grabbed Angelina's hand again for support.
"I just can't believe he's gone. It seems like yesterday..."
"I know."
She placed her head on him affectionately, and they stood there for a while, barely noticing as the sunlight slipped into darkness, and shop lights flickered and went out.
"We should go." he said softly.
"Yeah, probably." She looked up at him. "And if I'm here tomorrow...? Would you mind?"
"No!" he said quickly. "No- I, wouldn't mind at all. Maybe if you could come by the rest of the week..."She smiled.
"I think I'd like that."
George was never the same without Fred, but by learning to cope with Angelina, the laughter that had seemed would never return bellowed again through Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. He could still hear Fred's laugh or see him looking back in the mirror, but George was finally healing, and all was well.