George was sitting on his couch drinking firewhiskey with the practiced efficiency that comes from routine when there was a loud knock on the door. "Be right there" he shouted as he stashed the bottle in the kitchen. "I said I'm coming" shouted George as he opened the door to the slightly flustered face of Lee Jordan. "Jeez mate no need to bang the door down" George said as he stepped aside to let Lee in. In all honesty George hasn't seen too much of Lee since the final battle. George loved Lee like a brother but more than anyone else it was difficult to be with him now that Fred was gone. With his siblings as least he had memories that didn't involve Fred, not many but some. With Lee everything was tied up with Fred. Every joke, every conversation, every prank, every secret; all of it was between the three of them. With Fred gone everything about their friendship felt off.

Lee hadn't sat down and was standing with his hands jammed awkwardly into his pockets as he looked at George. "I realize I should have owled before showing up.."

"No need mate, you know that. My house is your house and all that" Lee continued to look at him strangely and George realized that while he'd said that a hundred times before, it had stopped being true months ago. There was a time when it wouldn't have been at all out of the ordinary for Lee to show up unannounced and yet tonight George was having a hard time ignoring the tingling feeling in the back of his head that said something was up.

"I know, I mean you've said that…I just wasn't sure what you were up to tonight." Lee continued to look around the apartment as if searching for something.

"Do you want a drink or to sit?" George vaguely gestured around the flat as he spoke.

"Sure" Lee had no sooner sat down on the couch then he jumped up again and started pacing around the room. "I need to talk to you."

"That much I'd gathered, what's on your mind?" George sat down and tried to relax the muscles in his shoulders. He couldn't imagine what Lee had to say to him but whatever it was it was making him nervous.

"I know we haven't talked much since…recently" Lee started.

"We've both been busy…"

'It's more than that….I know things are different. And maybe it's hard to spend time together because it just brings up all these memories and stuff and you've had your family and the shop and whatnot and that's all grand but I need you to know…..Angie and I are dating" Lee let out a breath as he finished and stared at George.

"Oh..wow..I mean that's great, congrats. Never figured you two for a couple for, well for obvious reasons, but good on you mate"

"It's not like we've been keeping it from you or anything. It just happened and I haven't seen you but I wanted to tell you."

The room was getting warmer and George felt like everything around him was speeding up. "Well of course you weren't keeping it from me. It's not like she and Fred were married, can't expect a girl like Angie to be single forever now can you? That's great Lee, really great. I'm happy for you guys." George's voice sounded higher than usual and the smile he could feel on his face wasn't his own, it felt like someone had plastered it there for him.

"Right" said Lee looking at him uncertainly, "we both miss you you know…it would be good to get together yeah? Maybe grab a pint or something?"

"Of course, the three of us sounds grand. Listen mate, I actually have to run back to the shop but thanks for stopping by and letting me know" said George jumping to his feet and ushering Lee towards the door.

"Sure thing. Listen, are you really alright? I mean, I didn't want to upset you or anything but I wanted you to know."

"Not upset at all, honestly I just have to run but congrats again." Lee was looking at him doubtfully as he closed the door and sagged against it. The room was continuing to feel warm and starting to spin as George tried to remember how much he'd had to drink before Lee showed up.

It honestly shouldn't matter George told himself as he walked back into the kitchen. Of course Angie would date someone else at some point, and why the hell not? She was smart and funny and gorgeous. And there wasn't any reason why she shouldn't date Lee. It shouldn't have mattered and yet George felt like everything was spinning and confused and none of it made any sense. He sat down on the kitchen floor, not even having the energy to walk back to the couch. The first gulp of firewhiskey burned as it went down his throat. By the fifth gulp the spinning had stopped, leaving a dull hum that seemed to permeate the air and surround him. He finished the bottle.

Fred was buried on a hill overlooking the Burrow. The stone was relatively plain, Fred would have rolled his eyes at some gaudy monument, and near a tree so that the spot was always shaded. George couldn't see the house in the dark but he knew it was there and that in daylight his mum would have been able to look out her kitchen window and see him. He sat with his back against the tree staring at the back of the stone. The night was chilly and the wind was whipping around him but the alcohol was doing a tolerable job of keeping him warm. "You'd laugh if you could see me mate, sitting here drunk of my ass in the middle of the night talking to your headstone. Feels a bit melodramatic really, like some scene out of one of those sappy novels Mum used to read. Most days it still doesn't feel real, not at first anyway, though if we're being honest it was always going to be one of us right? Not much chance of a family of nine coming through a war intact is there? Angie and Lee though…..never would have guessed that. Kind of makes sense though, friends forever and all that…." George shook his head. "Get up you idiot" he thought to himself, "it's not like he's going to answer." He swayed slightly as he pulled himself up and faced the direction of the Burrow trying to decide if he could come up with a reasonable excuse for showing up in the middle of the night. He didn't relish the idea of being the poor drunk and emotionally wrecked son who couldn't make it home but he also wasn't keen on the idea of splinching himself in an attempt to make it back to his flat. The lane leading away from the Burrow curved down to his left at the foot of the hill. There was no reason he couldn't walk for a bit, sober up and then apperate home. He would be exhausted tomorrow for sure but at least he'd be able to wake up in his own flat. The image of his mothers worried eyes staring at him over the breakfast table made up his mind for him.

Carefully making his way down the hill so as not to lose his balance George set out heading away from the Burrow. The lane ran between large expanses of field on either side, the moonlight illuminating the tall grass that swayed in the breeze as George walked. He had been walking for about twenty minutes when a dreamy voice came from his left "Hello George". Swearing and drawing his wand as he turned George found himself staring at the small figure of Luna Lovegood. She was sitting in the tall grass to the side of the lane. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. I sat up when I heard someone walk by and I saw it was you."

"What are you doing out here?" asked George as he slipped his wand back into his jeans pocket and tried to get his heart rate under control. Luna stood up and George saw that she was dressed in a shabby overcoat covered in pockets. The coat came all the way down to her toes and was much too large for her. She seemed to swim in it as she made her way onto the path where he was standing.

"Oh I like it here. I was watching the stars. Have you ever really watched the stars at night George? They are fascinating. My house is just up the road" she added as an afterthought. George stared at her incredulously.

"But it's 2 o'clock in the morning."

"Oh yes." Shaking his head George continued along the path with Luna falling into step beside him. "You think I'm a bit odd" she stated. George glanced over at her and started to disagree but she continued "it's alright. Most people think I'm a bit odd. Honestly I don't mind. I just thought you might feel better if you knew that I knew you thought that." Luna stopped talking and stared straight ahead as she walked. George sighed. How exactly had he ended up in this situation? He wasn't good with words, at least, words that didn't involve making a joke and he sincerely doubted that he was going to suddenly find the right words while half drunk at two in the morning. Luna was odd. There was no denying that. However she was also sweet, and very observant and she always seemed to want to make other people happy. None of which were bad qualities in George's opinion. In any case he certainly didn't want to make her feel bad, and her wanting to watch the stars in the middle of the night was no stranger than him deciding to go and talk to his brother's grave.

"We're all a little odd I suppose." George offered.

"Yes" said Luna.

"So do you come here often? To look at the stars I mean?"

"Sometimes when I can't sleep. Soon it'll be too cold though" Something in her tone made George glance sideways at her. The casual way she mentioned not being able to sleep was all too familiar to him. It was the same tone that he heard in his own voice whenever his mother mentioned that he looked overtired. He wondered what kind of nightmares Luna had. "How are things at the shop George?"

"Oh, good I suppose. We've been staying busy. I saw my friend Lee tonight." George said, suddenly unsure why he had felt the need to mention that.

"Lee Jordan? I always liked him. He was very funny at school. How is he?"

"Doing well I suppose. He wanted to tell me, that is, he stopped by because he wanted me to know he was dating Angie, Angelina Johnson, wanted me to hear it from him. She used to date Fred you know." George felt his throat tighten as he mentioned his brother's name.

"Is that why you wanted to see Fred tonight?" George stopped walking and turned to face Luna who looked up at him with those astonishingly wide and clear eyes.

"How did you know I went to see Fred? Were you following me?" George could hear his voice rising "Did Ginny tell you to keep an eye on me? Is that it? None of them can mind their own damn business. I don't need anyone looking after me and I certainly don't need someone reporting back to my baby sister about me!" Despite the fact that he was yelling Luna continued to stare unblinkingly at him.

"Ginny didn't ask me to do anything. I just assumed you were coming from the Burrow since there really isn't anything else up the path that way and it seemed late to be visiting. Sometimes I like to go visit my parents at night. Then I know it'll just be us." Luna turned and started to walk again but George caught her arm.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell. I did go see Fred and then I wanted to go for a walk. I didn't mean to accuse you of anything Luna." Luna's lack of reaction to his outburst made George feel sheepish. She was hardly the type of girl to lay in wait for him; if Ginny had asked her to keep an eye on him she probably would have walked right up to him and asked him how he was doing instead of making up a story about being out late watching the stars. No, Luna was nothing if not genuine. If she said she had simply assumed he was talking to Fred than that's what had happened. Luna watched him for a minute and then started walking again glancing over her shoulder after a few paces to see if George was coming. Taking this as an invitation George caught up to her and continued on in silence for a few minutes until asking, "What did you mean? About knowing it'll just be you when you go to visit your parents?"

"I like to go and talk to them. I don't mind if people see me go there, but sometimes I want to know that no one does see me. Sometimes I want to visit my parents and have no one else know I was there."

"But why?"

"I'm not sure. I've never thought about it. I think I just like there to be something private between the three of us. Like we're still a family and some things we don't have to share with everyone else." George smiled slightly to himself. He didn't think he would have been able to put it into words but he knew that was why he most often went to Fred's grave at night. Not because he didn't want people to know that he went there, but because when he went was between him and Fred, it was the only secret the two of them could still share. Even if no one else understood that impulse it made perfect sense to the girl walking next to him and however odd Luna Lovegood may be George found that thought incredibly comforting. Later on George would trace everything back to that one moment. His desire to talk to Luna and everything that came later was born of that moment of feeling perfectly understood for the first time since Fred died.

"That is why I went to see him you know, Lee stopping by I mean. It just felt like I should tell him, which is probably pretty stupid all things considered."

"I don't think it's stupid at all. I'm sure he would appreciate you wanting to tell him yourself."

"That's just it" George snorted "He's dead, he can't appreciate anything anymore." Luna waited a few minutes as though gathering her thoughts.

"He certainly can't appreciate things like you and I can but that doesn't mean it's silly to tell him things. He's not entirely gone afterall, you still remember him. I still talk to my mother you know, she's been dead for years but I still tell her things and I think she's knows that somehow." For someone who had a reputation for being loony George thought that Luna made a tremendous amount of sense.

"I'm happy for Lee really, him and Angie both. It's just strange. I wasn't there while it was happening. I didn't see it coming. I'm not sure it ever would have happened if Fred was here. Not that he and Angie would have gotten married or anything, I just think….Fred dated her first you know? Lee wouldn't have started anything with her."

"I always thought Fred and Angelina were a beautiful couple. Some people just look well together, though she and Lee will look very nice too." George noticed that Luna's voice had taken on the familiar dreamy quality again. It was usually present in her voice but he noticed it seemed stronger when she was remembering something; it was the same tone she had used when she'd been asked about returning to Hogwarts. "Here we are" Luna stopped walking and nodded to a small cottage just off the lane. The cottage seemed to go up instead of going out, it looked to be about three stories high and the top floor seemed larger than the two below. This gave the place the look of something about to topple over. George suddenly remembered Ginny mentioning that Luna's house had needed to be rebuilt after the war.

"Did you design this yourself?" he asked. Certainly the precarious nature of the house wasn't something that an architect would have envisioned.

"Oh yes! Do you like it?" asked Luna as she turned a beaming face towards him. "I had them start and then I kept thinking of new things that I wanted and needed to add on. I think they were rather sick of me at the end. That's why the top is the biggest part, I had to make sure I put everything else I wanted there." George couldn't help but smile at the image.

"It's lovely. It reminds me a little bit of The Burrow, the way it's stacked like that."

"I am glad! I was thinking of The Burrow when I built it. Not exactly like it or anything, but I wanted a home and I can't think of a better home than The Burrow. Your family always reminds me of family." George was once again struck by the way that Luna seemed to share incredibly personal things without giving it a second thought. The Weasley's certainly hadn't spent any amount of time with the Lovegood's in the past, in fact George couldn't remember meeting Luna until she'd come to Hogwarts. He vaguely remembered when her mother died. His mum had sent food and visited Luna's father, but she hadn't taken him or any of his siblings along with her. He remembered her saying how sad it was, especially for the little girl. And yet that girl, who hadn't been a part of their lives until she met Ron and Ginny thought of them when she thought of family. It was sad and sweet and strangely humbling all at the same time. "Thank you for walking me home George. I'm sorry if I interrupted your walk though." Luna gave him a slight half smile before slipping into the house before George had a chance to say anything else. He stood there for a moment wondering at the singular individual that was Luna Lovegood before shaking his head and apperating home.