Red Nosed Reindeer
George – Strange Confessions
Why?
George pushed the memory to the back of his head, but every so often the memory would surface for some stubborn reason. The youngest of the twins didn't know what triggered the memory of that day when his nine-year-old brother came to him. The conversation the two had felt odd, but also offputting. The question remained though every single time George found the memory jogged.
Why him?
Perhaps this had something to do with the fact Fred turned Ron's teddy bear into a spider, and how close they were in age. The situation left George wanting to scrub his skin, so the easiest thing to do was to forget the words Ron said to him that one day the younger twin managed to be away from the older twin. Ever since then George did everything he could to not be away from Fred.
"Would you like me better if I were a girl?"
The conclusion George's mind at the age of eleven jumped to left a sickening feeling in his stomach, and yet now at thirteen he knew there were other explanations. He couldn't forget the gut reaction, but also the fact he never, ever told Fred about the conversation. Fred would have just laughed things off, told George he was over thinking things. Thus the conversation, one line from Ron, never got discussed, just like Ron never attempted to discuss the issue with anyone in the house.
The summer heat led to the Weasley children to play in the pond, splashing each other. George couldn't help but notice how Ron stayed away, dressed in his swim trunks and a tank top, not bothering to get wet with everyone else. Eventually, Ron went in, and Houch showed up, and a burning sensation occurred, bringing the words Ron said rushing back.
"Would you like me better if I were a girl?"
George attempted to brush away the memory, but Fred somehow noticed, and teased him. Ginny finally said she wanted to go in, as the sun started to set, and the twins followed them in as did Percy. The eldest of the siblings there remained oblivious, having read a book in the shade the entire time, not noticing that Ron had separated himself from the group.
The children found themselves asked to head on up the stairs, and he found himself in his room, having pulled Ginny away. His brown eyes drifted over to Ron's blue eyes, knowing full well why Madame Houch was there. The two remained there, waiting for Molly to call them down for dinner. The memory, however, kept surging back, making a nauseated feeling in the pit of his stomach, twisting his gut into knots.
"Would you like me better if I were a girl?"
The feeling didn't go away when Molly called them down to the table, and Ron glanced around, a tad shy about the conversation George knew would be coming. His mind kept wanting to reject the idea. The reactions of everyone felt too simple, with everyone in the family acting as if the coming change were not a big deal.
Arthur seemed like an idiot, but the other siblings acted like no big announcement was made. Molly, if she felt anything, carefully hid her anxieties. George, however, couldn't sit there, pretending if nothing happened, and choose to leave the table. The red-haired twin knew his mirror image would soon follow. "What was that all about?"
"Nothing."
"Not nothing, George. That was rather weird, you walking away like that. Something is bothering you. You're not telling me something." Fred flopped onto his bed, folding his arms behind his head. "Bloody hell, I'm missing dinner because of you."
"I knew."
George knew Fred turned towards him, likely having a questioning look in his eyes. "What do you mean you knew?"
"Ron tried talking to me about it."
A silence fell over the room, and yet George knew the conversation hadn't ended. Fred instead was thinking carefully about what was going on in his twins head. "So, he confessed. What did he say?"
The younger twin turned to see Fred now sitting up, a smirk on his face. "Ron said, 'would you like me better if I were a girl'."
"Would..." Fred burst into laughter, flopping onto the bed, covering his brown eyes with his hand. "Oh my gosh. You thought that?"
"It's not funny. It's not exactly something I can erase from my memory, you know."
Fred sat back up, still chuckling. "Bloody hell George, you thought Ron was trying to confess he had some kind of crush on you. That is funny."
George reached over and grabbed a pillow, tossing it at Fred, not saying a word. Fred pushed the pillow away, a frown on his face. "Still, that wasn't the case."
"I still can't be sure. What if..."
"Come on. You're being paranoid. I'm not sure what to think about this, but Ron's our..." Fred stopped. "Well, right now he's our brother, but soon she'll be our sister. Ron's family, so we've got to support the decision he made."
"I hate change." George flopped back onto the bed. "Doesn't this mean Ron's going to change his name, how he dresses? It's too weird, plus..."
"He likely went to you because I tend to pick on him the most. You are after all the less outgoing of us two." Fred frowned. "Actually, I'm not sure if you'd bloody socialize if I wasn't around. Most people don't know that, though."
"I hate change. You may not, but I do."
"Yeah, well, we'll need to tell Lee. He knows we've got only one sister. Kate and Angelina too. I don't think we told anybody else, but they'll likely not have a problem either."