Something was wrong. Harry had defeated Voldemort, yet something was very wrong and George knew it. He ran for his life back to the great hall. It took him a second to see the body. It took him a lifetime to work out why they were there. He stopped running. The question of who it was swam round in his brain. It could be anyone, there are hundreds of people fighting, hundreds of people dying, anyone could have been killed. But he knew it wasn't just anyone.
The feeling in his stomach told him he knew exactly who it was. And his world ended. He walked slowly towards the corpse in the corner of the room, trying to postpone the event that would occur. But no matter how long he tried to take, he was advancing quickly. He brushed away the ginger hair, and saw his own face staring back at him. But it wasn't really his face.
'Fred? Fred? Freddie? FREDDIE!' he screamed at the body.
'Freddie please. Please be joking. Freddie wake up. WAKE UP! Freddie this isn't time for joking. LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME AND TELL ME YOU'RE ALRIGHT!' and with that he broke down. He clutched at the boys chest, holding him to his body, trying to wake him up. He found his hand and squeezed it. His tears fell onto Fred's cheeks; his body shook with his sobs.
He wasn't gone. He can't be gone. He'll wake up. He has to wake up. The tears were pouring from his eyes now, he couldn't see anything but his other half's remaining body. No-one else mattered anymore. The most important person in his life was gone now, forever. Fred would never tell another joke, never laugh again, never tell George to man up and move on, never ever speak again. He would never exist. The thought sunk in, and George screamed. His screams drowned out the footsteps of those who approached. Another voice made him turn.
'George, who is it? Honey please, let me see,' Molly's voice came out in barely a whisper. George knew that she too, already knew the answer. He let go of Fred's body. Fred's lifeless face staring at his mum. Molly stopped breathing. And bent over her son. She picked him up in her arms and buried her face in his hair. Her whole body shook with the silent sobs that she made. She slowly looked up into George's face who had stopped crying. He just had a glazed look in his eye. But at the sight of his mother with tear stained eyes, he burst again. She embraced him in her arms and they sat crying and hugging together.
Out of the corner of her eye, Molly saw the rest of the Weasley's enter the great hall. They all ran to where Molly and George sat, they all knew what was happening. Arthur joined Molly and George's embrace, his heavy tears falling into their hair. Charlie had tears running down his face. Ginny fell onto Fred's body, trying to grasp the remains of his life. Her screams could be heard from all over the castle. George had never heard a sound like it. It was the sound of utter loss, if pain was a noise, it was escaping out of Ginny's mouth. But what struck him was Percy. He stood rooted to the spot. No tears fell, he made no sound. He just stood staring at his younger brother. And he walked away.
George couldn't believe what was happening. He let go of his mother and stormed after Percy. Every step he took made him more and more angry, so by the time he had reached his older brother, he was furious. He could have murdered every death eater still left standing.
'HOW BLOODY DARE YOU?'George shouted at his brother.
'You don't see your family for months and the second you show up, your younger brother is dead. And you WALK AWAY? You don't care in the slightest that my other half is never, ever returning to us. That you will never ever hear his laughs or jokes again or his voice. HE'S NEVER COMING BACK! NOT EVER! And you have the nerve to WALK AWAY? You're a bloody disgrace Percy! I bet you never loved him!'
'SHUT UP!' Percy shouted at his George.
George just stared at Percy. Completely speechless at what he had just said.
'Shut up? I've lost half of my soul... and you tell me to SHUT UP!' The hatred was burning inside him now. He hated Percy.
'Yes I'm telling you to shut up! You think I'm not upset? You think that I'm HAPPY to walk in and see Fred lying dead on the ground?'
'Well it certainly bloody looks like it!'
'I walked away, because this is the first time I've seen my family for months. And the second I come back, Fred is dead. That's my welcome back? I'm greeted with the sight of my family in tears, and my brother dead.'
'That still doesn't give you the right to-'
Percy cut him off.
'No-one would care if you died. That was the last thing I said to him. I told him he wouldn't be missed if he died, and look what happens. I see him in a crumpled heap on the floor of Hogwarts. With his family surrounding him, and probably all of his friends, who all care that he's gone. They all will miss him forever, and will wish that it had been them. And the last words he heard from me was the opposite. I TOLD HIM HE WASN'T LOVED!' Percy couldn't stop the tears erupting from his eyes, the sobs that heaved his chest. He knew he would never forgive himself.
'Call me what you like, but don't you dare say I never loved him. I loved him with everything I had, I loved you all. And now he's gone. Forever. And I can never apologise for what I said. The guilt will eat me as long as I live,' the last words were barely a whisper. Percy walked off leaving George alone.
He realised with a start that this might be the last time he would ever see Fred's body. His smile. His eyes. Everything that made him. He ran as fast as he could back to the hall. The sight of everyone mourning over their losses sent a pain worse than before shooting through him. He walked slowly to where his family sat. Three new faces were with his family. Harry had gone over to Ginny to try and comfort her, but instead he just let her cry into his shoulder; he too had tears running down his cheeks. Ron was a mess. He was at Fred's head staring into his face as the tears dripped off of his nose and onto the lifeless smile that was still on Fred's face. Hermione had her arms around him, she too was crying into his back. They both shook from the pain that everyone could feel.
George had never seen Ron cry, except that one time when he led Ron to the kitchen and Fred jumped out at him dressed as Voldemort. Fred. The memory of his laughter brought fresh tears back to George's eyes; the knowledge that they would never prank anyone again. Who could forget the firework dragon that they had set on Umbridge? Or all the times that had pretended to be each other? Angelina didn't even realise that she had danced with Fred for half of the Yule Ball. Or when they had sold bets on the Triwizard Tournament? Ginny had been furious. The memory made him laugh. Which just made him cry more.
Fred would never be forgotten.
