Authror's Note: Oh thank you to stargirlak, xTeionx, DisgracedxMia,hachoo,Bookwormiie, Aris1013, and www. purtydino. org for your fantastic reviews! :D I'm glad you all liked the last chapter, and I hope you like this one just as much :)
Also, I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas! And if your Jewish, a very Happy Hanukah :)
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
Summary: After an accident with a Bludger, George has lost his memory. All of it. And Fred is determined to bring it back.
Rating: K+
Once A Weasley
Lost in My Mind
'Put your dreams away for now,
I won't see you for some time,
I am lost in my mind, I get lost in my mind...
...Oh my brother, your wisdom is all that I need.
And oh my brother, don't you worry about me.
Don't you worry, don't you worry, don't worry about me.'
~ "Lost in My Mind," The Head and the Heart
George and Lee gaped. George's hand was frozen on the handle of the window as he stared until Lee launched himself forward and snapped it shut. He whirled around and leaned against it, eyes wide. "What the bloody hell is he doing here?"
"I don't know," George rushed out in a slightly panicked voice, "but we have to get him back into the forest before anyone sees him! Hagrid will get fired or arrested or something!"
There was a hard bang at the window and Lee was nearly dislodged. "Well we better bloody hurry or he'll take the entire castle apart! Where the hell is Hagrid, anyway?"
"I don't know," George replied, just as perplexed as his friend. "But all we know is that he's obviously not here to bring him back to the forest himself, so we got to hurry!" He turned around and quickly cast a Silencio spell over the dormitory so none of their roommates would awake. Unfortunately, they had to cast it around Fred's bed, as the window was right beside it and they needed to hear each other.
"Should we...?" Lee trailed off, giving a pointed glance at Fred.
But before George could answer, there was another harsh bash at the window. "We don't have time!" George ran to the window but paused, a sudden thought striking him. "Grab the cauldron."
"What?"
"Grab the cauldron!" George ordered firmly before throwing the window open. "Grawp!" he said in an undertone. "What are you doing here?"
"HAG -"
"SHH!" George hissed, throwing a worried glance behind him. It was possible to cause a ripple in the spell if you were loud enough. "Grawp, you can't talk, okay? People are asleep..." he mimed sleeping in an extra effort to get his point across. It worked since Grawp nodded and said nothing.
He looked over his shoulder and suddenly felt the entire world spin. George couldn't supress a yelp as he was unknowingly yanked out of the castle and manhandled into Grawp's grip. "Lee!" George cried frantically, still confused as to what was happening as his breath got knocked out of him.
"Don't get your knickers in a bunch, I got the - bloody hell!" Lee cried, nearly dropping the cauldron on his foot and ran to the window. "George, are you alright?"
"Fine," he rasped, wriggling his hands free and fruitlessly pushing on Grawp's fist around him. "Just get down he -"
But Lee cut him off with a quick and furious hand gesture, standing stock still. George could barely hear Lee's voice and someone else's frantic voice. Lee looked tense, and soon, George saw why. Fred with his ruffled hair and paled face seem to launch itself out the window and search desperately for all of a second before they landed on a certain ginger in a certain giant's hand. And for that one moment everyone stared between Fred and George.
George had his hands frozen in mid-push on Grawp's large fingers, panting a little from how hard Grawp was holding him. Fred in turn had his hands on the window sill, his face white as snow because of what he saw. No one moved for one perfectly silent moment.
"Um..." George said, looking at Fred warily. "Good morning?"
Fred looked like he was either about to explode or faint. "Grawp," he snarled in a low and dangerous voice, glaring at the giant who seemed blissfully unaware of the ginger's quickly building anger. George was leaning more towards 'exploding.' "Put. Him. Down."
Grawp shook his head and pulled the fisted George closer to him like a stubborn child would when they were told to hand over their toy. But still, he said nothing because of the fact that George had told him not to. Apparently he needed something, but he couldn't tell them while they were near the castle. "Grawp, loosen your grip, will you?" George gasped as he struggled for air. Fred's hands curled into fists, baring his teeth a little. A cranky, sleep-deprived, and worried Fred was never pretty. Grawp obeyed, and George gulped the oxygen down, gasping harshly. "Go to the edge of the forest," he panted, "then tell us what's wrong."
Grawp nodded and quickly reached his hand out for Fred and Lee and held them tightly while they yelled out in surprise. "That's not what I meant!" George exclaimed, but Grawp had already started towards the forest. And when they got there, he set the three of them down roughly as he sat himself with a hard thump. All three wizards staggered and fell to the ground before casting quick looks back at the castle.
"George," Fred breathed, hopping up and rushing towards him after he pulled Lee to his feet. "What happened? Are you okay? God, you gave me heart attack when I woke up and you were gone and Lee was by the window -" he babbled, checking his twin over feverishly for injuries.
George gave a small, reassuring smile. "I'm okay." But then his face morphed into that of guilt and concern. "Are you guys? I didn't mean for him to grab you -"
But Lee stepped forward and cuffed him on the back of the head. "Don't be stupid," he admonished gently. "How the hell could you help the fact that a giant appeared outside our window?"
Fred nodded vigorously, still looking at his brother worriedly as George rubbed his chest. It was a little sore due to the fierce hold Grawp had had him in, and he was pretty sure it would turn into a bruise later.
Just then, Grawp pounded his fist against the ground in frustration, a rumbling tearing from his throat.
The three were nearly forced back to the ground again, Fred only kept up because George happened to catch his shoulder before he lost his footing. After making sure Fred was stable, George moved slowly and cautiously, straightening up to full height and looking Grawp in the eye. "What's wrong?"
Fred gripped George's upper arm tightly, glaring at the giant almost as if daring him to try and grab George again. Grawp brought his hands to his mouth and nibbled on them with an anxious expression on his face. He seemed unsure of whether he was allowed to talk again, so he whispered in a voice that was surprisingly quiet, "Ponies."
There was a moment of silence. "Er...come again?" Lee said, baffled and debating between laughing or not.
"PONIES!" Grawp shouted, seemingly thinking that Lee had just not heard him.
"Shh!" George hushed him quickly. "Keep your voice down! What do you mean ponies?" To Fred, George murmured, "Er...what are ponies?"
Fred shook his head at him, and said in a voice that was still hard with resentment but full of confusion, "There're ponies in the forest?" Grawp nodded frantically, chewing on his finger.
"No offence or anything," Lee stated, still looking quite as perplexed as the twins were. "But what is the problem with ponies living in the forest? And where's Hagrid?"
Grawp whimpered and pointed to the castle. "Dumble," he said.
Fred sighed. "Hagrid's with Dumbledore?" Again Grawp nodded.
"What are ponies?" George asked again, sounding a bit annoyed now.
"They're like minature horses," Fred replied. George continued to look lost."Oh, right...you don't know what horses are...um, well, I'll just show you a picture of them later, okay?"
George frowned and looked unhappy, but complied. "Fine. But the question is, why would ponies bother Grawp? Are they dangerous?"
"No...well, yes, I suppose sometimes..." Fred hummed, looking thoughtful. George rolled his eyes at the vague response. "But only if you anger or spook them...hey, you know how he doesn't exactly say words right?" The other two nodded. "Well, what if we can have him..." but he trailed off and his face seemed to light up as a sudden idea struck him. "I got it! Centaurs!"
"How do 'centaurs' sound like 'ponies?'" Lee said, amused.
Fred smacked him on the head. "No, you prat. He's probably refering to the centaurs. They are half horse and all, and I mean, they are vicious aren't they? And they're not too fond of giants themselves."
George shrugged, still put out that he knew next to nothing about what they were talking about. "I guess, I don't know much about either one of them." He kicked at the ground while Lee rubbed his head with a scowl on his face.
Fred gave his brother a sympathetic look. "I'll explain everything later," he promised.
Grawp, however, was getting annoyed himself at the conversation, and hit the ground in frustration once more. This time, George collided into Lee and Fred managed to stay upright.
"Well that's all good and all," Lee grunted as he caught George in surprise and lifted him to his feet. "But how the hell are we supposed to get the centaurs, who hate humans by the way, to leave Grawp alone in the middle of the night and no one knows we're out here? I happen to like living, and I don't want to take on an angry herd of blood-thirsty centaurs. Especially in my pajamas."
"Erm..." Fred murmured, at a complete loss. "I dunno," he sighed.
"Why don't we try out our swamp?" George offered after a few moments. "That's what I meant to do in the first place. I just thought that he got annoyed that we were taking so long with it or something. And anyways, if it fails, well, at least we tried. If it works, the centaurs can't get to him, right? I mean, isn't it sort of like a lake?" He really didn't know, to be honest. He was just going on a whim and hoping it made sense to somebody.
Lee and Fred looked at each other, considering it. "That doesn't sound that bad," Lee commented.
"That bad?" George repeated with a mock insulted expression.
"Yeah, it's worth a shot," Fred agreed, smiling triumphantly for a second before faltering. "But how are we supposed to sneak all the way back to our dormitory, or even in to the castle? It's bound to be locked."
George grinned mischievously. "Why don't you ask Grawp?" The other two wizards' slightly confused expressions cleared as realisation dawned on them.
"You don't think..." Lee trailed off, smiling widely.
"Grawp," Fred called up with a wink in George's direction. "Take us back through our window."
Grawp looked at them distrustfully, and George quickly realised why. "Oh, no we're just going to get something for you. We're coming right back," he promised.
Grawp nodded and grabbed all three of them in a flash and pushed them through the window. They tumbled over each other in a large thump, cursing and swearing as their limbs got tangled up with each other and they sprawled inelegantly across the floor.
"Let's just get this over with so I can get back to bed," Lee grumbled as he tore his foot from underneath George's shoulder blade.
Fred managed to get himself free first and haul his twin to his feet and then helping Lee. "I swear, I'm going to sleep so well when this is done," George sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly.
Fred clapped George on the shoulder. "You and me both. C'mon, let's just get this over with."
Lee pointed his wand at the cauldron and shrunk it only small enough to fit through the window; Grawp wouldn't understand to be careful if it wasn't big enough for him to see.
"I got it," George declared as he bent over to pick it up.
A million little connections seemed to go off in Fred's mind at once. George...window...Grawp...fall..."Wait," Fred said quickly and a little panickally. "I can take it."
George raised an eyebrow as he stopped just as his fingers went to grab the handle. He straightened up and gave Fred a confused look. "Er...why?"
"Because...I want to?" Fred offered more as a question than an actual answer.
Lee and George exchanged a glance until George understood and rolled his eyes. "Oh, Fred," he chuckled, stooping down to pick the cauldron up again. "Don't be so dramatic," he grinned fondly. Fred frowned and bit his lip nervously, wringing his hands as his eyes darted from the window and Grawp's fiddling hand, and George making his way over to it with the cauldron.
"Fred has a point," Lee said slowly, not looking too excited anymore.
George looked like he was waiting for the punchline. "You're serious?" he asked, looking like he wanted to laugh. They remained stony faced. "C'mon guys," he rolled his eyes yet again, "I'm not going to fall out a window."
"Well, I didn't think you'd get hit by a Bludger and lose your memory, but here we are," Fred reasoned gently.
But George wasn't fazed. "Oh come on," he waved his hand at them. "Just because something could happen, doesn't mean it will!"
"Yeah, your luck hasn't proved that theory yet, mate," Lee commented.
"And it won't if I'm not allowed to do anything," George replied in an equally pacified voice as Fred's was.
"Fine," Fred grouched. "But it's your fault if you fall and die, you hear?"
George smirked. "The blame is all mine, dear brother," he chortled as he picked the cauldron up again. Fred was breathing down his neck the entire time, and he smiled and shook his head a little at his brother's over-protectiveness. He made a couple of quick little shuffles once he got close enough to try and prop the cauldron up against the window frame and swing his leg over and on to Grawp's hand.
He staggered spectacularly, however, as his foot caught a little on the window sill, causing Fred's heart to stop for one quick second and Lee instictively jump forward before George caught his balance. "Can you try to not give me a heart attack?" Fred croaked, hand to his chest. Lee didn't look too much better.
"Where's the fun in that?" George mused as he got his bearings, shooting Fred a dazzling grin in return to his twin's glare. He didn't have to look at Lee to know he was giving him the same glower.
But then came the hard part. He was half-way out, but he would have to maneuver himself very carefully to keep the cauldron from spilling and himself from falling. George's eyebrows knitted together as he tried to lean up against the frame so it could support him while he tried to swing his other leg over. Fred was right beside him, crowding him a bit as he tried to help him out. His expression was anxious as he tried to go as slowly as possible.
Suddenly, Lee seemed smack himself on the forehead. "We are so stupid," he groaned. In response to the gingers' confused looks, he explained, "We could've just handed the cauldron to George."
George looked like he wanted to laugh because it was so obvious, while Fred looked like he was about to smack himself too. "Well, I'm nearly out anyway," George shrugged, moving more quickly in his attempt to get free.
"Watch it," Fred remarked, alarmed, reaching out to grab and steady him. It was times like these that he and George switched roles, at least a little bit anyway. George always will be the one more likely to think of the consequences and reign Fred back in when he got too out of hand, but sometimes, like now, he was the more impulsive one. And it was now Fred's job to keep him in check and make sure that no one, more importantly George, didn't get hurt.
The younger twin didn't know why, but he felt more spontaneous, more...lively than ever before, and he simply wanted to enjoy every part of this as much as he could. With Fred's help, George managed to clamber on to Grawp's outstretched hand, albeit wobbly. Grawp himself seemed to be getting bored and irritated, and a rumbling made itself known to the wizards of his displeasure.
"We better hurry up," Lee advised as Fred made to step out of the window. Fred nodded and quickly, yet cautiously, stepped into Grawp's hand as well, and turned around to help Lee out too. And together the two of them forced George to let go of the cauldron so they could hold it instead, claiming that he'd had enough time with it. Both Fred and Lee wound their arm around Grawp's thumb and held on to one handle with one hand, while Fred gripped on to George with his other arm. And once everyone was settled, Grawp took off towards the forest.
Fred, George, and Lee bounced and fought to keep the cauldron steady while remaining on the hand the entire time. And when they stopped, they almost all got unseated. Fred had the harder job, however, because George had pitched forward with a yell of surprise, and it had only been their tight hold on each other that kept him from flying off the side. Not that that stopped Fred's heart from stuttering in terror, mind. Especially when he had almost been torn from his grasp.
George winced as his head pounded, and he used his free hand to masage his temple. "Merlin," he groaned under his breath. Something Fred hadn't failed to hear.
"Are you okay?" Fred asked worriedly as Grawp lowered them to the ground.
"Yeah," he grimaced, though he looked positively worn down.
"You probably shouldn't be straining yourself so much," Fred said quietly, concern etched upon his face. "It'll make your headaches worse."
George gave a wan smile but said nothing as he staggered off of Grawp's hand, nearly toppling over as the world spun. "George!" Fred cried and launched himself forward. He managed to catch him before he hit the ground, and peered anxiously into his twin's face as he lowered themselves down. "Are you alright?"
Grawp seemed to notice that something wasn't right, and began to fuss, making long whining noises like a dog might. Lee set the cauldron down gently and dove beside Fred, looking at George frantically.
George himself looked a little green and in pain. He rolled to the side and gagged violently, half being held up by a panicked Fred, and half supporting himself. George was vaguely aware of a sharp pain in his right hand but he paid it no attention. He hadn't felt like this since the day the Slytherin team had attacked them, and he hadn't a clue why. Perhaps it was because he got so jostled; you didn't have to hit your head to hurt your brain.
"Merlin's beard, George, what's happening?" Lee exclaimed, looking extremely afraid; he hadn't seen this before.
Fred rubbed circles on his brother's back to try and soothe him as he dry heaved, a tormented expression on the older twin's face. And after what felt like years, the nausea seemed to pass, and George collapsed. He felt dizzy and faint and utterly exhausted. All he wanted was to sleep...to rest and never have to move ever again.
"George?" Fred said softly, propping him up a little.
"M'fine," George managed to choke out, closing his eyes for a few seconds as his head throbbed painfully.
"No you're not," Fred snapped, his hands shaking fiercely. "We should get you back into the dorm -"
"No," George murmured adamantly, albeit weakly. "I want to see if this works. I want to be here."
"Don't be thick," Lee retorted, white in the face. He'd never personally seen George like this, and it frightened him. "We...we should get Mr. Rikialria...or Madam Pomfrey...or...someone!"
But Fred merely let out a sigh, and gave a slight shake of his head to warn Lee to be quiet. He knew by now that George was as stubborn of a little bugger as he used to be; he would never voluntarily go to the Hospital Wing or any kind of hospital for that matter. And he would put up a terrific fight if anyone tried to make him. If things remained like this, however, Fred was prepared to drag him tooth and nail to Mr. Rikialria. He probably would've done so already if he wasn't so bloody tired.
"I'm fine," George gritted out again, attempting to sit up on his own. His right hand which promptly bore 'Rulebreakers deserve to be punished,' was bleeding slightly as he seemed to have scraped it on his way down. But his train of thought stopped there as he swayed dangerously, causing Fred to tighten his hold on him, cursing under his breath.
"Lee, get the cauldron," Fred ordered roughly, his voice thick with worry and frustration. "The sooner we get this tested out, the sooner we can duct tape him to the bed."
George pouted, though the effect was weakened due to his cringe, and meanwhile Lee did as he was told. "Fred, I'm not -"
"If you've got any sense left, you'll stop talking," Fred replied harshly. However, his hard demeanor died a quick death when George shot him his infamous, withering glare. It was as cold as steel, and could quite possibly stop even Lord Voldemort in his tracks.
The older twin's eyes went wide and pleading, failing as usual to resist the panic that ensued whenever George was angry with him. "I'm sorry," he told him sincerely and urgently. "But it's just...Georgie, you don't look after yourself." George opened his mouth to protest vehemently, but Fred silenced him with a hand. "You know I'm right," he insisted. "You refused to get help until you were nearly dead before," George winced at this, "and you still continue to refuse to help when you're in pain. What would you have me do, Georgie? If you won't take care about yourself, then I will. Whether you like it or not."
George avoided his gaze. "Have you ever thought that maybe I don't want help, that I don't tell you about any pain I'm feeling, because I don't want you to worry?" he muttered quietly.
But Fred could come up with no answer to this, and even if he had one, he wouldn't have had time to give it; Lee plopped the cauldron down right beside them, startling both of them to his existence. "Let's get this over with," he grunted.
"So how do we do this?" George asked in a false cheery voice, never looking in Fred's direction. Fred, on the other hand, did nothing but stare at his brother as if seeing him for the first time.
Lee looked confused, but decided not to comment. Grawp, he noticed, was being quiet, which was unusual. He shot him a look, and found him contently swatting at a lone butterfly circling his head. He seemed very much like a toddler, and Lee wondered for the first time what his actual age was. But now was not the time to be thinking about such trivial matters. "Erm...well, I suppose what we could do, is put a stabilising charm on it to make it portable so we can, you know, levitate it in the right place. And then, well, we hope for the best."
George nodded, wriggling away from Fred's grasp; he seemed to be in another world completely, and meanwhile unconsciously gripping George tighter. The world had stopped spinning for the most part, and he just wanted to get back to bed. And the only way to do that was to test their swamp. Well, the only way he wanted to do it.
"Conspisso," Lee murmured, pointing his wand at the cauldron. Immediately, the foul liquid inside visibly condensed, making it almost look solid. "Wingardium Leviosa," Lee said again, waving his wand carefully so as to not grab the cauldron accidentally. The liquid was slowly lifted upwards, swirling in its liquid/solid form.
George looked up at it in awe, never having seen anything like it, and in a fit of euphoria, George nudged Fred in the side, beaming broadly. Fred was brought back to reality with a start, his eyes immediately latching on to George's face before noticing where his obviously excited brother was pointing.
Despite his previous musings, he couldn't help but grin in giddy mischief at their somewhat success. "Brilliant," he said happily, trying to push all of his former thoughts out of his mind. "Now...Grawp," he said, directing it at the equally awed giant. "Bring us to where you live in the forest. And be gentle!" he added in a scolding voice as Grawp instantly put his hand on the ground.
Lee, focusing entirely on keeping the potion suspended in air as he moved, was the first to go on to Grawp's hand. Fred grabbed on to George and was just short of carrying him as he followed Lee. "Fred," George protested, a tad embarrassed with himself. "I can walk...I'm fi -"
"Don't you dare say you're fine," Fred replied in a dangerous voice, frustration haven risen alarmingly quick. "You haven't been fine since the day that Bludger hit you."
Wisely, George remained quiet, but Fred would've almost prefered George to argue with him. The silence seemed strained, and he couldn't help but notice that George refused to look in his direction. But what Fred didn't know (though it would've helped his anxiety level) was that it wasn't because he was angry with him.
George felt, well, ashamed of himself. Being reminded of his accident and the fact that he can't do anything without relying on Fred heavily made him feel like a bad brother. Fred had told him that it wasn't his fault...but did his twin really believe that? If he did, then why did he keep bringing it up? And what if he lied when he said that he didn't mind helping him? What if Fred was getting tired of him, and he only stayed out of duty? Because they were twins?
George shook his head as if to shake away the daunting thoughts. He couldn't think like that, even if deep down he wondered if it were true. At least, he could think like that when Fred was around; he could smell discontent in George from miles away, unless the eyes fixated on him meant otherwise.
And with a sudden jolt that nearly dislodged George completely, the hand was lowered; he had been lost in thought the entire way. He hopped off before the hand had fully reached ground level, not giving Fred the option to help him out of 'duty.'
Fred narrowed his eyes slightly, but refrained from comment. Lee carefully stepped off, hovering the swamp in the air.
"Okay...erm, where do we put it?" George asked, looking around.
"It won't matter," Fred replied smugly. "Watch. Lee, place it anywhere."
Lee did as he was told and removed the stabilising charm. It fell back into it's liquid-like state, and it miraculously looked like, well, a swamp. Lee cocked his head to the side. "No offence or anything mate, but it looks...small."
Indeed, it was merely a puddle in the vast forest. Fred grinned cheekily, moving to stand far away. "Not for long. Engrogio." The puddle expanded into, well, not a puddle. George and Lee jumped out of the way and staggered backwards, running up to where Fred stood. They watched in amazement as the swamp continued to grow, seeing Grawp's eyes dance with delight and astonishment.
George and Lee shared an ecstatic glance from their place behind Fred, strong currents of triumph coursing through them. "That's fantastic," Lee laughed, stepping forward to ruffle Fred's hair.
"So I'm guessing it worked?" George said, smiling slightly as Grawp joyously clapped his hands.
"Well, so far..." Fred replied. "We'll see if it can hold back the centaurs and whether it, you know, explodes or not."
"So for now...?"
"We wait."
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