Usual disclaimer on how I don't own these characters don't belong to me but JK Rowling
Snape watched George sit quietly. Snape came down to merely remind George of the rescue and possible execution. He saw what Remus saw and that was nothing. There was nothing but an empty shell. It was everywhere. The longer tyranny ruled he watched more and more people succumb to the darkness. He remembered when he found Professor Sprout's body just as Hogwarts was taken. It was poison. No one in his dungeons had the luxury of poison or even a large amount of freewill.
"What are you thinking?" Snape asked.
"Not much really," George admitted.
Even though it appeared the twins could care less about potions, they were always thinking. They needed on technique for one product and learned the properties of another to see how far they could manipulate it. It was hard to believe that "not much" was running through his brain.
George asked, "What's the chance of failure?"
"There is always a chance for failure."
"Why are we taking the risk now?"
Snape stood from his chair. He paced and though for awhile. "Now" was always the question. "Why now?" ran through everyone's mind including his. He leaned against a heavy wall.
"I have my reasons."
"Perhaps your daughter?" George asked.
Snape tilted his head and stared into George's eyes. A rare look of triumph glinted for a moment.
"How did I know is your next question," George said. "You may be surprised but I have a bit of deductive reasoning."
"Bravo," Snape drawled out flatly and unenthused. "That is one reason but after I made my decision I was ordered to hunt down your other two brothers and what remains of the Order. That is something that I cannot delay forever."
"Oh well, good reason I guess."
"Do you think you can do it?"
George looked down at his hands. He saw the hands of a Weasley but also the same hands as his twin. The memory of watching Fred die crawled still through his nightmares.
"It leaves a bad taste in my mouth," George answered.
"What does?"
"Surviving."
Snape groaned. "For once I would like to run into someone not completely taken over by guilt."
"I don't believe Remus is. Perhaps you should speak with him."
"You are alive and about to regain your freedom. Can you not take solace in that?"
"I am a Weasley and –"
"I do not care what family you are from."
"Do you know what it is like to be hunted down? Do you know what it is like to fear your own name? Every time I heard my name whispered on the outside I ran for cover."
"Things are different out there now."
"I don't care."
"Everyone is escaping. We are going to rejoin your brother and try to end this madness. Peace is the only thing left that we have to fight for."
"I don't want to know peace!" George yelled.
Snape blinked at him. He felt no concern or sorrow towards him. The only part of his mind that was functioning now was curiosity. This was perhaps the first time in a long war that he felt curious. Years of fighting had numbed certain aspects of one's emotional span and one was curiosity. It was not the curiosity of wondering what the Malfoys were planning but the one that involved the workings of someone's heart and soul.
"No peace," Snape stated.
"Not for me."
"Why?"
"I don't have to bloody tell you."
"I would advise upon it," Snape said.
Goerge shook his head. "You wouldn't understand. My family is gone."
"I silently watched my daughter executed," Snape said. "I may understand more than you think."
"Right, Karis," George grumbled. "At least she is dead. Ron and Bill are still alive but not the same. What happens after the escape? Do I go on dancing through fields of flowers? I cannot live that kind of life knowing I survived and the others didn't."
"Living does not dishonor their memories. In fact, you would actually be spiting Percy."
"Please don't make jokes. That's just creepy."
"So being brutally executed sounds better than escaping?"
George sighed. "I don't know. I've almost forgotten what freedom is like."
"We all have."
"How's Ron?"
Snape decided to leave Ron's visit to Karis' execution out. "He's the same as you left him."
"So a complete stranger, what am I escaping to?"
"Something besides a dungeon."
"I still remember him as our only little brother. He was so easy to order around and aggravate. After everything he went through in school he seemed to keep a bit of innocence. But as the war dragged on and Harry died I saw him change. It was slow but all we could do was watch. Snape, he's one good step off a cliff from being like them."
Snape came and sat back down. There was a lot that should remain unsaid yet George deserved some of it.
"Your brother knew in his heart that hope was lost after the Dark Lord killed Potter. The Ron we knew is dead. Your little brother is never coming back. Loss killed him along with the burdens placed on him. You can take my advise or you can ignore it, but honor your mother by standing by your little brother who needs you. Honor your father by striving to become a better man. And honor your brothers by living. Ron cannot stand alone much longer."
Snape believed enough was said. He did not need to burden George with much more. There had to be a goal and a task for him to perform to survive the escape. HE got up to leave the before the guards grew suspicious.
"And Ginny?" George asked.
"Just get out of here for her sake."
xxxxxx
Ron sat in the ruins of an old castle. He poured over maps. George barged through the doors. Ron did not bother to look up. He kept his focus on the maps.
"Ron," Goerge said to get his brother to at least acknowledge him.
"What do you want?" Ron asked still concentrating on the maps.
"Intelligence came in. They are going to attack London again. We want to-"
"No."
George stared in disbelief. "What do you mean?"
"You heard me."
"Ron, we have to go help. There are still people there who need us. It is an area we still hold that they are going to attack. If we lose that then we have nothing left in London."
"Then we lose it."
"We cannot surrender the entire city."
"The city was lost a long time ago George!" Ron shot George a frightening glance. He threw his arms up and looked around the room in disbelief like George had completely forgotten what we really going on around them. "We are fighting an uphill battle. The Order cannot go gallivanting anywhere we think needs our protection. In case you have not noticed our numbers are running thin. McGonagall just died last night as a result of an ambush from a week ago."
"We cannot abandon them."
"Send a message and have them evacuate."
"There is not enough time."
"Time is never on our side brother. Mum and Dad didn't have enough time to escape the fire. We didn't have enough time to save Hagrid and Harry. Now Ginny, Hermione, and Karis are all taken captive. Please do not lecture me on time management."
George watched him return to his maps. Ron rubbed at his arms like they were irritated. The maps showed various islands long the coast of Ireland. Ron carefully crossed them out one by one.
Footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs. Fred and Charlie fell into the room. Their faces were red and they looked ready for a fight.
"Everyone is ready," Charlie said.
"The answer is no," Ron said sternly without looking up.
Fred looked from George to Ron. "What is going on?"
"Ronald is going through one of his stubborn moods," George answered darkly.
"We have to go now!" a voice from the hall yelled.
Ron still did not look at them. The walls appeared to be more interesting than his brothers.
"What to do. What to do," He sang to himself. "A pickle we are in aren't we."
George walked over to Ron and stood squarely in front of him. George tried to make eye contact but Ron wasn't cooperating. His eyes darted side to side. There didn't appear to be much focus but what George could see was concentration and calculation.
"Look at me Ron," George ordered.
Ron looked at him. There a second they made a connection but it broke.
"We say no."
xxxxxx
George sat alone thinking of his last night of freedom. They rashly ran into the ambush where so many lost their lives. Fred was killed when a giant knocked a building over and Charlie was killed by Greyback. Maybe it wasn't guilt that he lived with. Perhaps it was the jealousy. They are dead now and away from this hell.
"Stop thinking like that," George almost chuckled.
However, the "what if" always haunted him. It was the "what if" they listed to Ron. George figured his life would be just as miserable but with a better view. They were clearly warned not to go, yet they still ran in head first. The idea of this happening some other time entered his mind. Some other mission or rumor of an attack would have gotten them sometime.
"No escape from fate," George muttered.
Even in his resolved, he would have ended up dead or in the same situation. He knew Ron would still be the only constant in the equation. It almost appeared he was invisible. He was a ghost. Karis' training served him well. Even she was captured but that was a different situation. It wasn't supposed to happen the way it did.
But Ron was still free. That was all that mattered for the moment. George knew he was somewhere out there pouring over plans and maps. He knew Ron was keeping a careful count over everyone that he protected. A smile spread over George's face for a second. Freedom sounded good for once. The idea of being swallowed by the night like Ron seemed appealing. His heart lightened with the idea of just disappearing.
"Just wait for me little brother," George said. "I'm coming. You won't be able to leave me out of your evil plans much longer. Perhaps we can teach each other a few things."
George grinned. He wanted to learn Ron's talent at war and to teach Ron to smile again. A small chuckle escaped.
"We don't think it would be a good idea," George said imitating Ron.
He lay down on his back and laughed a bit. Ron seemed amusing all of a sudden. There was an irresistible need to see Ron's face when George emerged from the dungeons. He wanted to know if he even cared. He knew Ron still cared. He just wanted to know if he could show it. It really didn't matter, if he couldn't show it, George knew he could teach him how to again.
George imitated Ron a bit more. "We said no." He laughed some more. "We…" George froze. "Why we?"
Note: I am going to try to finish this up quickly. I have all but one chapter typed up. The others need revising. Reviews are welcomed.