Chapter 13

There was a faint buzzing. It sounded like a fly, the type that would be whizzing around the room for hours and you simply couldn't get rid of it.

There was a bright light shining through his eyelids, and he groaned. It was at that precise moment that he realised the buzzing was actually the pain in his head.

"Owww..."

George jerked awake, and saw, with a flood of relief, his twin shifting in bed. Fred's eyes flickered open, before closing again as he moaned in pain.

"It's too bright..." he whined, and George laughed as he relaxed. Fred was fine, he could see that now.

It was three o'clock in the afternoon, and Fred had been unconscious for almost fourteen hours. The moment he had hit the ground, George had panicked and had somehow managed to get him up to the school with strength he didn't even know he had. He had hammered on the enormous front door (which obviously wouldn't open to let them back in once they had left the school), not caring who he woke. It was only minutes late that none other than Snape had opened the door furiously, his expression more livid than George had ever seen it. George didn't care. All he cared about at that moment was Fred.

Snape had conjured a stretcher and levitated Fred onto it, before beckoning to George to follow him. He stilled looked furious, but he said nothing as they swept through the corridors to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey was already waiting for them, and George didn't even bother asking how she had known.

Snape had then left, not before saying:

"We will discuss this when your brother is well. Do not think this will go without punishment because he is injured."

George rolled his eyes at the thought of this. Snape could do whatever he wanted. He didn't care, as long as Fred was okay.

"What happened?"

Fred was sitting up now, a purple bruise beginning to blossom on his left eye.

George sighed. "You fell."

"Wow, thanks George, I hadn't worked that out," he said, rolling his eyes. "Tell me what happened after I did a loop the loop and almost died."

"Well, I somehow got you up to the school-"

"Well, I'm not exactly fat-"

"-shut up, Fred, I'm trying to tell you the story! Anyway, luck was not on our side today- and I'm not just talking about the fact you almost died. Snape answered the door."

Fred groaned. "Typical. He wasn't impressed, then?"

"Strangely, no. He looked like his eyes were going to pop out. So after he answered the door, and I was sure he wasn't about to curse us to oblivion, he conjured you onto a stretcher and we ran up here. Madam Pomfrey met us as the door to the hospital wing and took you away. Snape said something about our punishment, and then left. And then, I ran in here and Madam Pomfrey was patching you up. She said you'd be fine, but I was worried. Of course I was worried."

"I'm sorry, George. I was stupid. I'm sorry for making you worry about me."

"No, don't be sorry." George smiled. "As long as you're okay, that's all that matters."

There was a short silence. Then Fred said, "So what are my injuries. Anything lasting?"

George bit his lip. "Well, you bumped your head, as I'm sure you'll work out when you see that huge bruise on your face. And you broke your ankle, but Madam Pomfrey mended that in an instant, she said you'll only feel it when you first walk on it. And... and your back, it's scarred. You landed on the broom, smashed it to pieces. It wasn't exactly a good broom. Some of them were an inch deep, Madam Pomfrey said she did what she could, but she could only fully heal a few of them-"

Fred noticed that George looked upset, and took his hand. "George, it's okay. I'm fine, really."

"But you're not!" he replied in agitation. "Scars never go away! People look at you like you're a freak- laugh and whisper, wondering what awful thing must have happened to you!"

Fred fell silent, and waited for George's breathing to slow as he calmed down.

"There's always a good thing, from anything that happens. Sam always used to say that, no matter how hard things got for him."

"What could possibly be good about this?"

Fred smiled. "Now, nothing can distinguish us. Now, we are the same. And if people laugh, who cares? We'll laugh back at them, twice as much. As long as there's the two of us, nobody can hurt us."

George squeezed Fred's hand, which was still in his. "I'd never have thought a month ago that that could be true. But now, I've got you, and I think, anything's possible."

"Anything. The world is just waiting for us, and boy, are we gonna give them something to talk about."

A/N: Sorry for not updating sooner, and sorry this is so short! I'm afraid I'm going to have to hold off updating for a while- I've started revision and these exams are just too important to ignore like I have through the entirety of my school life, my uni place depends on it... But I will get back to it, I promise! Thanks so much for the lovely reviews, and special thanks to LoonyLoopyLuna, RoseQuartz1, Pelahnar, Contashas, Spiralling-Down, LunaWeasley394, OwlSky15678, GeorgieForever, Neil, ctc, AQuestioningMind, potterhead0224, and weasleychick32. You're all fab!