Weasley's. Wizard. Wheezes. The best joke shop in wizarding London.
Things in the shop were fairly normal. Customers were flocking the shelves, trying out this and that, rushing to the registers to make purchases.
The air itself had a friendly feeling to it, as if the shop was a safe haven for wizards and witches to hide from negative feelings. Hide from anger. Disgust. Envy. Grief.
The only one who wasn't in a good mood, ironically, was the man behind it all. George Weasley. He had been feeling down all day, ever since he had woken up and looked at the calender. Seeing the date it displayed, memories found their way into his head.
They were memories George didn't always like to think about, though they weren't necessarily bad ones. In fact, they were great memories. Funny. Exciting. The kind that cheer you up to think about when you're having a bad day. So, somebody may wonder, 'Why is he having such trouble thinking about these memories?'
The answer is quite simple. They always involved him. He was the one beside George in all of them. He was part of the reason the things even happened in the first place. He was the one thing that was always there. He was the one thing that was constant in his life.
But that was all a big was.
He wasn't there anymore. He didn't get up in the morning along with George. He wasn't always beside George anymore. He didn't make jokes like he used to. He didn't help out in the shop. He didn't do anything except haunt George's memories. The ones that were so good, but so bad at the same time.
He was gone.
And that crushed George. It hurt him every day. The pain had been starting to dull, but now this blasted day had arrived. The day George had been dreading. It was May 2, 1999.
In honor of this day, George closed the shop up early. The customers cleared out at the announcement, and George locked up the shop and began walking.
Eventually, he reached a hill full of bright green grass with the occasional tall tree providing shady spots. It looked like such a happy place. Until you kept walking.
Beyond the pasture was George's destination. It was a cemetery. A bit smaller than most, but in it were buried those who had lost their lives fighting in the Second Wizarding War.
It was painful for George to see all of the stones, but he didn't stop. He didn't even have to stop to look for the right stone. He knew the path by heart.
Eventually, he got to where he was headed. It was a small gravestone, nothing fancy, but sat beside it in the grass. Birds started chirping, but that didn't make the situation any less depressing for the Weasley boy.
For a second, he just sat by the grave. He looked away from it, but rested a hand on top of the smooth stone.
Then, he began to speak.
"Hey, Freddie. I'm sorry I haven't been to visit in a while. Things have just been so crazy. Between the shop and family and friends and Angeline... I just haven't had much spare time. I still miss you. A whole lot more than you could probably ever imagine.
I've been well, once you get passed the whole I-barely-have-time-to-pee thing. The shop has become one of the most popular shops in London. It's an exciting thing. I just wish you could have been here to see it happen.
Bill and Fleur are expecting another kid. The poor things. They will certainly have their hands full soon. Fleur says they're going for a total of three. Yikes.
Charlie has finally arrived back home. He's only staying for a while, but it's still nice to see him after so long. He's really sad he couldn't make it to your funeral. I've tried to tell him he shoudn't be sad. You wouldn't have wanted such a sad funeral anyway.
Prissy, uh, Percy has stopped being such a prat. He's quit his job, so he's no longer obsessing over kissing his boss's bum all day. He's gotten a new job. He still works at the Ministry, but a different department. And less demanding superiors.
Ickle Ronnikins has left for Auror training. I love him, but it was kind of a relief when he left. He was getting all bigheaded about being accepted. But it will probably just be worse when he gets back in two weeks.
Ginny has been doing great. I think she's really starting off on her quidditch career. She even has a try-out for a professional team in two days. I think we can agree she is our coolest sibling. No offense to the others.
I can't help but feel a tad bit guilty over this. I have to ask you, even if you won't answer. Things are going great between me and Angela, and they have been great for a while now. I... I think I want to ask her to marry me. Would you mind, though? Is this kind of stealing your girl? What do you think, Gred?"
After a moment of silence, George sighed.
"Yeah, I was silly to think you would actually answer. But I don't think you would mind."
He tried to keep himself talking, as he was worried he would cry if he stopped. But he had run out of things to say.
A single tear escaped his eye and ran down his cheek, but he wiped it away.
"I guess I should leave now. I love you, dear brother."
George swallowed the lump in his throat and stood where he was for a few seconds longer. Just long enough to read the words on the stone.
~Fred Weasley
April 1, 1978 - May 2, 1998~