Disclaimer: I will NEVER own Harry Potter. I've accepted that. (Somewhat.)

They approached the Burrow, and their feet seemed to slow as they reached the door. Looking at each other, Bill knew George was worried about rejoining the group with his red eyes, and he felt the same way.

"Hang on," he said quietly, pulling out his wand. Waving it in his brother's general direction, he mumbled a word George didn't catch, and his younger brother immediately felt his face cool down, and his breathing eased. While George gaped in amazement, Bill did the same to himself, and as George watched, Bill's eyes and nose lost their redness almost as if the color were draining off him. George stared at him in surprise.

"I need to know that spell," he muttered as they were readying themselves to walk back in, but to his surprise, Bill shook his head.

"No."

George stopped and looked at him. He'd been almost joking … well, not really… it'd be dead useful given the year he'd been having… but Bill's serious tone took him by surprise.

"Why not?" He was surprised by the edge to his own voice, but Bill wasn't.

"Because it's not a good idea to hide how you're feeling." As George started to protest, Bill held up his hand. "I've never used it on myself before. I only used it now because we're all bound to be in bad enough shape tomorrow. It's not worth upsetting Mum so early."

The protest died on George's lips. He knew his brother was right even though he wouldn't say as much. Without another word, but devoutly grateful for the secret spell, he pushed the door open and made his way back into the house. Everyone was now in the kitchen, and there was a seat next to Ron and a seat next to Fleur, into which he and Bill slid. No one commented on their absence although George was fairly sure he heard his mother's quick intake of breath, but the conversation went on as if nothing had changed.

Ginny was regaling the family with stories of her Quidditch practices, and although the enthusiasm was dim, the Weasleys forged ahead, pretending that this was all they cared about.

"You should have seen our seeker try the Wronski Feint. We weren't sure she'd be able to play for the rest of this season, but luckily, our mediwitch stopped the bleeding pretty quickly. I don't think she'll be trying that again any time soon."

This led to an intense discussion about Quidditch, and even George found that he was able to join in. It was great to have a completely safe topic, he thought, as he argued with Ron about which player had the most important role on the team. They were so caught up in their argument of Keeper vs. Beaters that they barely noticed their mother cleaning up around them, and Molly smiled as she saw that George actually seemed interested in something for the first time in a year. She was well aware that he was trying to be interested in this, so he wouldn't have to think about anything else, but she was willing to accept that.

They moved from the table back into the living room, still arguing, and George would have been perfectly content to let the fight go on all night when Arthur finally interrupted the good natured bickering.

"Listen, everyone," he said quietly, but the seriousness in his voice brought all conversations to a dead halt. "Your mother and I want to know who wants to sleep here tonight. We're leaving for Hogsmeade at 9am, but we don't all have to go together. Let's do it this way. Raise your hand if you want to go with us."

No one looked at each other, but Arthur watched as every hand rose in the air and every face looked at the ground. Every hand except one. Percy was still looking at him, and his hands were firmly by his sides. Arthur didn't say a word. He couldn't. And it was his silence that made the rest of his children raise their heads in time to see the back of Percy's robes flapping up the stairs.

"I thought he was back in the family," Ron said faintly after a moment in which it seemed like no one would ever speak again. No one replied. It seemed as if the ability to speak had gone with Percy.

George felt Bill's eyes on him, but he refused to look at him. He knew he should talk to Percy. Of course he should. But he couldn't.

No one moved until Arthur got up and left the house. He was going to his garage, his refuge more than ever these days, and it was his movement that released the rest of them, and they mumbled their goodnights to Molly as they found their way up the stairs to their old bedrooms. She watched them go, and she felt the tears fill her eyes. This had gone better than she could have expected – excluding what she knew had to have been a hard moment for Bill and George – but the world seemed to be closing in on her yet again. How was she ever going to get Percy to do what she knew he needed to?

George stopped in front of his bedroom. He might have gotten used to living alone over the shop, but he wasn't relishing going inside this room that he and Fred had shared since birth. He hadn't been in here since he'd moved back to Diagon Alley, and he felt the same pit in his stomach that usually meant tears were imminent. He knew he had to go in if he didn't want anyone else helping him. And he didn't. As much as he was almost glad Bill had cared enough to come after him, he knew he should do this by himself. He should be used to doing things by himself by now, shouldn't he?

Taking a deep, shaky breath, he put his hand on the doorknob and pushed open the door. Suddenly, he couldn't see too much, and he tripped over a box in his haste to get to his bed. He fell across the bed and hoped he'd shut the door behind him because there was no holding down these tears. As much as the bed over the shop no longer smelled like Fred… he almost thought there was a lingering smell of him in here, and it caused the lump in his throat to dissolve faster than an ice cube on a hot summer day.

He shoved his face into his pillow, wondering if this would ever get easier, when he heard a sound that made him freeze. It was a sniffle to match his own. And it was coming from Fred's bed.

A/N: Ok, I lied. Another cliffhanger. They seem to work well with these chapters. Don't worry. You know the next update won't be too far behind. Thanks for all of the support. It really inspires me to keep going as fast as I can. (And woooo for this being longer than the last chapter!)