Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter; I do own this story.
A/N: A transition of sorts … but a necessary one. And I'm sure you can all see where this is going. Thanks for the reviews. I can't believe there are so many, and I don't feel like an end is coming any too soon either. (Oh, and I went back and changed the title of the last chapter to something slightly more… fitting.)
George and Ron made their way back to the house and silently went to their own bedrooms, taking care to walk as quietly as possibly. They didn't look at one another or speak again, and once George closed the door behind him, he leaned against it and let out an explosive breath.
He hadn't expected Ron to show up. He couldn't blame him, obviously, but he hadn't been prepared for any sort of emotional scene. Shaking his head, he made his way over to his bed, his reflection in the mirror catching his eye. He stopped and stared for a moment at the face he used to always find by his side and now only found in his own reflection. His eyes burned, and his reflection blurred.
"It'd be easier if I could just hear your voice once more, you know," he whispered to the blurred figure in the mirror. He swiped furiously at his eyes, so he could see more clearly, but once he did, it hurt more. This wasn't Fred, this person he was staring at. It was his own miserable self, looking like Fred never had with one ear, red eyes and an expression of utter despair.
Slowly, he forced himself to turn away and go to bed. Shoving his face into his pillow, he squeezed his eyes shut tightly. The pillow absorbed the silent tears as he fell into an uneasy sleep.
Morning came much more quickly than he could ever remember it doing before, and he forced a smile onto his face as he descended the stairs to find his family at the breakfast table. Ron was sitting beside Hermione, and he looked up when George came down the stairs but quickly looked back down, and George could see the tips of his ears turning red.
Choosing to make everyone's life easier and leave Ron alone, he turned his attention to his parents.
"So what's on your schedule for today," he asked his mother, and she looked at him with a surprised smile. He noticed with a pang how different this look was from the suspicious one he and Fred used to get whenever they so much as sneezed.
She looked down the table at Ron and Hermione and smiled. "Well, now that we have a wedding to plan, I want to sit down and start figuring out how we're going to do this. It might be a bit more complicated than Bill and Fleur's was because Hermione's parents aren't…" Here she trailed off, her face turning pink, but Hermione smiled.
"It's ok, Mrs. Weasley. They're muggles. They know that. It's not an insult. And I'm sure they'll want to meet with you and Mr. Weasley whenever you want to see them so we can plan everything together. I should go see them now, though. I only had the time to send them a quick message last night before we came here, and I think my mother is probably desperate to see me by now."
Molly's eyes widened. "Well, of course you should go there straight away! And Ron should go with you, of course. If you two want to come back here for dinner tonight, Hermione, and invite your parents as well, that would be wonderful. Do you want to do that?"
"Sure," Hermione said with a grin before turning to Ron, a questioning look in her eyes. "Is that ok with you?"
Ron felt curiously numb as the plans swirled around him, and he nodded dazedly.
"Sure, that's fine. Whatever you want."
Hermione beamed at him. "Great. Let me just go get my things, and then we can be off." And she rushed back up the stairs.
The conversation became general again, and under the cover of the noise his family was making, Bill leaned over and whispered to Ron, "If you just memorize that phrase that you just said to Hermione, you'll be set for life, you know."
Ron turned to look at him, still bemused. "What was that?"
Bill tried not to laugh as he whispered back, mimicking Ron, "'Sure, that's fine. Whatever you want.'"
Normally, Ron would have scowled, but now he just nodded, and Bill couldn't help but snort. His brother was really in for it now.
George, meanwhile, relaxed into the hubbub, hoping that his part in the conversation was finished. He thought he might even make it out of breakfast and back to his flat relatively peacefully when his mother turned to him and said, "You'll come back tonight, won't you? And you can bring Katie too, if you'd like?"
He couldn't miss the hope in her voice, and he inwardly winced. This was just what he needed now, for his marriage-minded mother to have her matchmaking senses even more finely tuned.
"I might," he said shortly and then stood up from the table. "I'll owl you later if something else comes up," he said and bounded back up the stairs without another word to anyone. Molly turned her attention back to the rest of her children, but Arthur couldn't miss the glance that passed between Bill and Charlie. He waited until he'd made eye contact with both of them and then said loudly, "I think I'm going to go to the shed. If you need anything, dear, you'll let me know?"
Molly nodded. "Yes, of course. Go on. But don't let the neighbors hear you tinkering with that new taster thing you have in there."
"Toaster, Molly, toaster. Don't worry. No one will hear a thing. They're really quite small, and …"
He trailed off when he realized she was no longer listening, got to his feet and left the house. It took only a few minutes for both Bill and Charlie to join him in the shed.
"Listen," he said quietly, cutting straight to the point. "You two probably already noticed this, but I think George is having a hard time with the engagement, and – well, I might be off on this one, but I think even Ron might not be as happy as he really ought to be. You will keep an eye on them, right?"
Bill and Charlie looked at each other and rolled their eyes, and their father was forcefully reminded of what they'd been like as teenagers.
"Of course we will, Dad," Bill said slowly, as if explaining something that should be self-explanatory by now.
"We always have," Charlie added.
Arthur nodded. "I know you have," he said simply. "You're good brothers. I just think they might need you now more than anyone else. Ron might talk to Hermione, and George might talk to Katie. I hope they do. But even if they do… I don't think they really listen to anyone else as much as they listen to you."
This time, neither Bill nor Charlie rolled his eyes. They merely looked at their father and nodded. They knew he was right.
