Author's note: So here it is. We get to see George for the first time. It was extremely hard for me to write this chapter; I rewrote it many times. It made me so sad.
"Everyone ready?" Mr. Weasley asked as his pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. He was met with a chorus of "Yeah Dad" and "Yes, Mr. Weasley".
He nodded. "Good. We'll see you on the other side, then. Do be sure to say the name clearly, we don't want any of you ending up in a random shop in Diagon Alley." He put his arm around Mrs. Weasley, who was balancing an assortment of food for George in her arms. Grabbing some floo powder, he tossed it into the fire and clearly shouted "WEASLEYS' WIZARD WHEEZES". The Weasley's stepped into the fireplace and were gone.
"You and Ginny are next, Harry. I don't want to take any chances of you two conveniently being the last one's here on your own." Bill said. Hermione rolled her eyes when she saw Ron vehemently nodding his head in agreement.
"Please, like that would be able to stop us," Ginny taunted.
"Just get in the fireplace, Gin," Bill growled.
Harry looked anxious. "Yeah, Ginny. Let's go. You want to see George, right?"
Ginny looked like she wanted to continue her argument with Bill, but then thought better of it. "Fine. Let's go Harry. We'll have first dibs on the storage room. Pretty roomy in there, wouldn't you say? Definitely enough space to conjure a bed." She shot Bill a nasty look, then grabbed a terrified looking Harry's hand. Shouting their destination, they jumped into the fireplace and disappeared.
"Who does she think she is, saying that to me?" Bill asked.
"Oh hush, William. Let's get going," Fleur spoke. Then, the two younger married Weasley's were gone as well.
Hermione made to grab for some floo powder, but suddenly felt Ron's hand on her shoulder. She turned around, half expecting him to take advantage of the empty house and try to kiss her. Instead, she was surprised to see that he had tears in his eyes. "Ron? What's wrong?" She asked in alarm.
"I can't go, Hermione."
"What do you mean, you can't go? We have to meet your family. They'll be wondering where we are."
Ron's face crumpled. "But that's just the thing, isn't it? It's not my family. Not really, anymore. My family pops over to Wheezes on a Saturday to visit Fred and George. I deal with it when they take the mickey over me fancying you but not doing anything about it, and then maybe they take pity on me and give me a few puking pastilles for free. This is just… my family doesn't have a trip centered around visiting the twin of my murdered brother to see how he's doing and bring him some food, which I know is just code for make sure he hasn't killed himself yet."
Hermione's heart sank. "Ron, it is your family. It's different now, but you guys are still the Weasley's. I know that you're broken, but that doesn't mean you're not a family anymore. You need each other now more than ever."
"I don't think that I can do this, Hermione. I can't see him. I know that it's only been a few weeks, but what if he looks older?"
"Older? Why would it matter if he looked older? Not that I think he would, as you said he was here a few weeks ago…"
"Because," Ron's voice cracked, and he started over. "Because, I'm dreading it. I'm dreading watching him age, knowing that's what Fred would have looked like. Right now, they're both twenty, but what happens next year? Or ten years from now? Fred will always be twenty years old. Looking at George will just be a reminder of what Fred never got to experience. Some brother I am, right? I don't even want to be around George because he reminds me too much of Fred. Imagine how George must feel every time he looks in a mirror."
It was hurting her to see Ron in this much torment. "I'm so sorry Ron. I don't know what to say, other than I'll always be there to help you through it."
"I know, Hermione. And that's what gets me through most days. I just don't think I can do this today."
"I know you don't want to, but you have to. And I know for a fact that you can," she said with certainty.
"Why? Why do I have to? Think anyone will notice if Ickle Ronniekins doesn't show? It's probably better off if we don't go, anyway. Less people for him to deal with."
"Ron! Of course they're going to notice if you don't show! Don't you see that how much you mean to all of them? You're a hero in their eyes. I've seen the way that Bill has been looking at you. He's gained a new respect for you, Ron. You're the glue that's holding this family together."
Ron's eyes lit up at the mention of his eldest brother. "You really think Bill is proud of me?"
"I know he is. So is everyone else. Everyone loves you so much, Ron. I wish you could see that."
"Well, I know they love me in the way that you have to love your family…"
"No! It's not an obligation! You mean the world to them, Ron. I know. Don't you see how devastated your parents are about Fred? They would have been equally devastated if something had happened to you. You're their son as well. All of your older brothers look up to you now, Ron. And Ginny… I know you think that she just likes to take the mickey with you, but she loves you so much Ron. You should hear the way she talks about you. You're her big brother."
Ron's eyes softened. "Well, I guess I knew that. I just feel like the odd one out sometimes, you know? Baby brother complex and all that. Gin's close to my age, but she's a girl, which it what Mum wanted in the first place. The uh… the locket didn't really help with how I thought about that."
Hermione was curious to learn a bit more about his experience with the locket; until now he hadn't spoken a word about it. However, they had already wasted a lot of time, and the others were probably starting to get worried. "It's okay, love. You don't have to tell me about it right now. You can tell me another time."
Ron looked relieved. "Alright. I guess you're right as always though, Hermione. We really should go."
Hermione smiled. "Don't worry, Ron. I'll be right there next to you."
"I know, that's what I'm counting on," Ron said, and with a with a toss of powder and a quick "WEASLEYS' WIZARD WHEEZES", they were spinning through the floo network.
The first thing that she noticed upon making her way into the small living room of George's flat was that it was much darker than she remembered. Grant it, she had only been to the twins' flat once last summer when Fred and George had invited her and Ron over for a butterbeer, then not so subtly informed them that they forgot to do some inventory and left her and Ron alone in the flat with a wink. She smiled at the memory. Ron's face had grown beet red, and the two of them had pulled out a chess set and played in relative silence until the twins returned an hour later. She had remembered the disapproving glares the twins had given Ron when they returned to find the two of them sitting in quiet on opposite ends of the sofa. In the back of her head she had known what they were doing, but thinking about it now it was amusing how even then the twins had been supporters for her and Ron to get together.
That had been last year, though. Their living room had allowed for the sun to stream in through the windows, as their newest inventions whizzed around the room or bubbled in pots on the stove. Hermione had distinctly remembered it as being one of the happiest homes she had ever seen. The fact that Fred and George, who had come from no money at all, had built their home from the ground up seemed to add to the beauty of it all. Now, however, the little room was dark and dreary. The shades were sealed shut, and there was a distinctly foul smell in the air.
Harry, Ginny, Fleur, and Bill were all crammed around the little table in the kitchen, murmuring to each other. They looked up when Hermione and Ron approached. "How is he?" Hermione asked, almost not wanting to know the answer.
"Not good," Ginny replied. "When we got here he was sitting on the sofa, drinking. Took one look at all of us and made off for their… I mean… his room."
Suddenly, George stumbled into the room, quickly followed by Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Hermione slapped her hand against her mouth to keep from gasping in shock. He looked… well, dreadful. His cheeks were sunken in, as if he hadn't eaten in weeks. If he hadn't eaten in weeks, he must have certainly been making up for it in drinking. His nose was bright red and his eyes bloodshot. Hermione surveyed the room with scrutiny for the first time and noticed it was littered with empty fire whiskey bottles. She had never seen either of the twins with a beard before; they had said it was to keep up with appearances and look professional. However, George was now sporting a scraggly ginger beard, and by the looks of it he hadn't shaved or trimmed it since the day his twin had died. Ron was right. He did look older. He had the beginnings of wrinkles around his young eyes and frown lines around his mouth.
"George, please," Mrs. Weasley was frantically whispering. "Please, sweetheart, come home. We can help you."
George whipped around to face his mother, his speech slurring. "No one can help me."
Mrs. Weasley started to cry. "Please, George. Please. We can. I promise. I know that I haven't been of much help lately, but I'm going to do everything I can now. I can't stand to see you like this, my dear boy." She reached for George, but to Hermione's shock, George pushed her away, more forcefully than he had probably intended to. She stumbled back a few feet and landed on the floor.
Mr. Weasley bent down to help Mrs. Weasley, and Bill and Ron were on their feet in a flash. "Oi! George! What the fuck is wrong with you? Don't fucking push Mum like that!" Ron yelled at his brother.
George turned and fixed his eyes on Ron. "What's wrong with me, you ask, little brother? I've lost my brother and best friend, and none of you can understand what that's like. So please do me a favor and get the fuck out of our flat."
"George, I'm so sorry, but he was our brother too. And nothing gives you an excuse to touch Mum like that," Bill growled.
"No! Bill! Don't yell at him! It's fine, Georgie! I'm fine. Let's just forget about it and you can come home with us!" Mrs. Weasley said as she began to shakily dust herself off.
George rounded on Bill, now. "Oh, the gang's all here, then? Here's perfect big brother Bill, come to save the day, with his perfect wife in tow."
Bill didn't react. He just continued. "George, let's get you out of here. Come home for a few days. We can clean up the flat for you, and stock up the shop again."
"No!" George screamed. "Don't fucking touch anything in here! I need to leave everything exactly the way he left it!"
Bill's features softened. "George, it will be good for you. You can't live like this."
George scowled. "I can't live at all, not anymore, big brother. I want to be with him anyway, been thinking about drinking myself to death, you know." George must have been far more intoxicated than Hermione had originally thought, because now he was letting his inhibitions go. He began to stumble about the room. He banged into a wall and turned and hit it, punching a hole right through it. Mrs. Weasley and Fleur screamed.
"George, son, please just sit down." Mr. Weasley spoke up, and repaired the wall with a wave of his wand.
George kept walking and tripped, falling right into Bill and Ron's outstretched arms. "It's okay, we got you mate," Ron said. They carefully walked their brother to the sofa, and set him down. "Easy does it, there you go." Hermione knew Ron was trying his best to be supportive.
"Haha, fuck you Ron," George said with a giggle. "I see you finally bagged Granger over there. We had a bet going to see when you would finally grow some bollocks. I guess I owe Fred-" He cut himself off, and then to Hermione's surprise, tears started to fall from his eyes. It was a strange thing; to see someone who was once so full of joy and thrived on all of the wonderful things in life to be so suddenly and drastically reduced to the shell of a man that sat before her.
Mrs. Weasley was at his side at once. "Oh, Georgie," she crooned as she wrapped her arms around him and stroked his tangled hair. "How about you go lay down for a while? I'll stay and make you some tea and straighten things up a bit. Good heavens, we shouldn't have left you alone for this long. You're still my baby boy."
"I'm not a baby Mum, I'm an adult. I'm fine," George mumbled into his mother's shoulder.
"Nonsense! You'll always be my baby. Now come along, love. Let's get you into bed. And when you wake up, you're coming back with us." George merely nodded his head. Mrs. Weasley stood up with her arms still around his shoulders. He was at least a good head taller than her, but in that moment it seemed as though the weight of George's sorrows rested on his mother, and that she was happy to burden them for him. "That's it darling. I'll walk you back to your bed." They disappeared around the corner.
Mr. Weasley interrupted the silence. "Alright, everyone. Let's give George some space, shall we? Your mother and I will stay up here with him and then bring him back home later. Why don't you kids go downstairs and check out what kind of shape the shop is in?"
"Actually, Fleur and I think we'll go home for a few hours, Dad. We want to check on the cottage," Bill said.
"Alright, kids. See you later, then," Mr. Weasley replied as Bill and Fleur disappeared into the fireplace.
Hermione heard George in the next room crying in earnest now. Mrs. Weasley could be heard cooing and comforting him in a soothing voice.
"Alright, yeah. Let's go downstairs for a while," Ron said, clearly overwhelmed about the fact that his big brother was sobbing in the next room.
She took his hand, and with Ginny and Harry in pursuit, they made their way out of the cavern of sadness that had evidently become George's new world.
Author's note: Once again, Ron's insecurites come into play and Hermione needs to reassure him that he is in fact important and loved. My heart breaks for George, really. I wanted to portray him as being completley out of character and lost now that he doesn't have his other half.