A flower sat on a hill. Springing out of the ground it flowed with the wind. A small child approached it. She had long dark hair and deep brown eyes that widened with concern and curiosity as she saw a man kneeling over, crying at the flower. Silently, she walked up. The man looked sideways at her, trying to conceal a little of his feelings, but he knew it was no use.
"I made a promise to him," he choked, "That I'd keep his family happy after the battle."
The girl sadly realized that the flower marked the grave, the grave of a fallen hero. She walked up and put her arm around the man. He tried to force a smile.
"Did you, Sir?" She asked, breaking the silence.
"Yes, they're happy, happy as clams, whatever that means," he said. He tried to hold back another flow of tears.
"Then why are you sad? You're just doing what he wanted," the girl comforted him with her flowing voice, "It's hard to keep a grieving family happy."
"They don't even know."
"Know that you're trying to make them happy?"
"Know that he's dead."
The girl backed up a step in shock; she looked at the man and at the grave, "How do they not know, Sir, that he's been dead, since the battle?"
"Drew their attention away, planted a dummy, apparated a lot, that stuff," he mumbled, remembering the 'fun times' he had been having with his friend since his death. He relived all the fake memories, implanted into those whom he had the deepest desire to tell, just to protect them and keep his oath. They had been living in paradise, while he's been through living hell.
"It worked? What's apparition?" The young witch asked, her eyes bulging. The man looked back longingly at the flower, "You really miss him don't you?"
"Apparation is when a wizard or witch teleports themselves someplace. It can be used quite frequently, sometimes you can appear for the smallest of times, and people cannot get a good look at you to tell who you are," the man explained when he finally found his voice, "Miss him? More than everything else in this whole world. There are just some connections you'll never get again, he was the best friend anyone could ever hope for."
She sat next to him, wanting to ask questions, but even her young, inquisitive mind knew that it could hurt the man even more. So she waited, knowing that he would acknowledge when he was ready. He did, after a few minutes; he looked up to her and smiled.
"I'm sorry, I should not be placing this burden of a thought on a young mind such as yours, and you're still too young to bear it. Go have fun, enjoy life!" He motioned towards the countryside down the hill. She shook her head.
"I'm mature for my age, I can take it, you can't bear this burden any longer on your own," The girl stated, definitely mature for her age indeed, probably in her first year of Hogwarts the man assumed.
"It's been eighteen years. Eighteen long years of this ruse…almost as old as we were when…nevermind. I can't believe it," he shook his head.
"I can't believe you pulled off playing him in front of his own family," she replied, rather assured that he wasn't going to break down again at this point; he seemed to be toughening up, as one often does after long periods of pain, "What about anytime they actually wanted to talk to him?"
"I didn't just pull it off in front of his family, but his friends, and at the shop," he said, she gawked, "For close encounters, I just put a hat on and his favorite jacket and presto, acting time!"
"You ACTED as him? Did you use Polyjuice potion?"
"Just needed to hide my noticeable features," he sighed, he looked at her, and she was in shock. He couldn't tell if she was amazed at his acting ability, or if she was shocked that a family could fall for it.
"I…I can't….believe…" She stuttered.
"The man, buried below my feet, wasn't just my friend. He was my life, my everything, my other half…my identical twin," George rushed out, before breaking down yet again, "Everything….he was everything…"
"Oh my gosh!" The girl exclaimed, she looked at the crumpled figure, and finally fell to tears herself. She never realized that the man was mourning a relative, and having pretended to his family that the twin was still alive, pretending to be the dead brother, she couldn't comprehend how horrible it was, but she was starting to realize the magnitude of pain he was really suffering.
She heard a voice, coming up the hill, and suddenly, an identical girl to herself, save a different outfit, came up concerned and sat next to her. She put her fingers to her lips, to stop her twin from saying anything. The twin obliged, though still curious.
The man looked up, and nearly doubled his sound level in bawling, both twins started towards him, putting their hands on his shoulders for support.
"I have a twin too," the girl said softly, "I know what you've lost."
He looked up, tears in his eyes and said six words before disappearing in a thin mist of air.
"Don't you ever let her go."