Chapter 21 - Realization

Verity instinctively stayed out of her boss' way upon his return. She'd been with the twins since the beginning and had gotten pretty good at reading their moods. It had been tricky with George after his brother's death. Things had been going so well since Luna arrived but now something had obviously happened. The clerk wanted to ask what but held her tongue as she desired to keep both her head and her job.

George went through the motions of checking inventory and stocking shelves until Ron arrived then he skulked down to the lab where he threw himself into a multitude of menial tasks.

After rearranging the countless jars of potion ingredients for the third time (once by size, once by color and once alphabetically) he finally allowed himself time to contemplate why he was so upset about Luna abandoning him.

He shook his head violently at that thought. She wasn't abandoning him. She was taking an opportunity. An opportunity to travel. Travel with a man. A man she'd never met. A complete stranger.

He slammed a cabinet door. What was she thinking? How did she know if he was the right sort? Sure he came from a distinguished family and had a career in a field that fascinated her and was probably incredibly handsome and financially well off but who could tell? He might be some kind of...

George crumpled a stray bit of newspaper and hurled it across the room. He was being stupid. He hadn't been this upset when Lee Jordan and his wife, Angie, moved to Ireland to pursue their dreams. Of course Luna had to do this. She was passionate about the magical world and the endless variety of creatures that lived in it. It was one of the things he loved most about her.

He stopped short and replayed that last sentence in his mind, his brain coming to a screeching halt when it hit the word 'love'.

Why he had used that word?

He was debating whether to give that thought another nudge when he heard footsteps on the stairs.

"George?" Ron's head peeked around the railing. He glanced back over his shoulder. "He's down here."

He entered the room followed by Percy. The pair didn't wait for an invitation. They pulled up stools, made themselves comfortable and stared silently across the table at their brother.

"Hello. How nice to see you," dead panned George. "Do come in. Have a seat. Make yourself at home."

"Thanks. I think we will," replied Ron.

The trio sat, listening to the clock tick until George finally caved. "Okay. I give. Why are you here?"

"We're here," said Percy. "Because you are an idiot and it's our responsibility as your family to inform you of that."

"Yeah," nodded Ron. "It would have been all of us but Charlie's dealing with a poacher and it's the anniversary of Bill and Fleur's first date and they already had dinner reservations. That's why Fleur was out dress shopping. Didn't want to get Bill in trouble with the wife until it was necessary."

"And Ginny?"

"Oh, she's the backup plan," said Percy. "Thought it best we keep this amongst the brothers for the time being. If you're still being thick after this we'll unleash her on you. Possibly include Hermione. Maybe even Fleur. I personally don't recommend that option but it's entirely your choice."

"What are you on about?" sniped George.

"Don't be stupid," said Ron. "We're here about Luna."

"What about Luna?"

"Come on. It's obvious that you have feelings for the girl," said Percy.

George began shuffling a stack of paper in front of him. "Don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, please! Even you can't be that dim!" countered Percy.

"Yeah, mate, if it really takes King Prat and Emotional Range of a Teaspoon to point this out," Ron shook his head sadly, "then you're in worse shape than we thought."

"You're mad, the pair of you."

"Mad are we? Big talk for a man hiding in a basement, trying to organize scraps of used Christmas cracker wrapping," said Percy, pointing towards the burnt bits of colored paper in George's hands.

George hastily dropped the pieces in a nearby bin. "Just trying to tidy the place up."

"Admit it, you silly git," said Percy. "You've fallen for her."

"Have not."

"Really?" said Ron. "Then why did it look like you'd been thrown off a speeding broomstick a hundred feet in the air when the topic of her going away with that Salamander bloke came up?"

"It's Scamander and I did not." George said, averting his eyes. "Anyway, even if I did why would you care?"

"I think the bigger question, Georgie, is why do YOU care?" asked Ron.

George pushed away from the table and scooped up an armful of empty potion bottles. "I've told you. I don't care. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm busy."

Percy made a show of wandering over to study some blue prints pinned up on the far side of the room. "If you say so. Probably a good thing, really. Better for everyone if you don't get involved with someone like her. She's not really the type someone in our family ought to be seen with. Bad enough Ginny keeps company with her. You'd be better off with someone more appropriate. You know, a pretty, respectable girl like Romilda Vane..."

The sound of breaking glass shattered the air as George dropped everything and rounded furiously on Percy, shoving him hard against the wall.

"Romilda Vane?! Have you lost your senses?! I wouldn't look twice at that cow! Luna's worth a dozen - no, a hundred - Romildas! Luna's brave and strong and kind and smart - and not just book smart either! She's clever - really clever! And she's much prettier than that painted up tart will ever...:"

George stopped midsentence when he saw the smirk on Percy's face.

"Wow," said Percy. "It's a good thing you don't care. Hate to see how you'd react about someone you actually fancied."

"Shut up," muttered George, stepping back in defeat. "All right. I care. So what?"

"So what? So tell her, you bloody coward!" exclaimed Ron.

"What's the point? Even if she weren't leaving, I wouldn't have a chance with someone like her." George slumped down on the stool and gestured towards his damaged ear.

Ron raised an eyebrow at him. "I really hope that you are indicating the spot where you want one of us to hit you because if you think Luna is that shallow then you don't know her at all."

"No. Of course not. I'm just..."

"You're just being an idiot! Merlin's beard! Even I've noticed the way she looks at you, Georgie! She's mad about you! Go talk to her now before it's too late!"

"But she deserves..."

"She deserves someone who loves her enough to fight for her. I thought that was you. Maybe I was wrong."

"Fine," sighed George. "I'll talk to her when she gets back from Dorset."

"Who says she's coming back from Dorset?" asked Percy.

George looked up sharply. "What do you mean?"

"Think about it," said Ron. "This Salamander bloke was taken enough with her to track her down. You sat in front of everyone and told her there's nothing keeping her here. We all agree she's a great girl. What's to stop him from sweeping her off her feet and carrying her away for good?"

The color slowly drained from George's face as he ran his hand over his beard.

"That's what's really bothering you, isn't it?" said Percy. "That you've blown your chance and added Luna to your ever growing list of regrets. She flat out asked you for a reason to stay and you didn't give her one. Damn it, man! It will serve you right if you don't even get invited to her wedding."

George sat and stared at the table until Ron finally shook his head. "Come on, Perc. We're wasting our time here."

The younger brother made his way back up the stairs. Percy followed but stopped at the bottom step. He turned back and said, "Don't leave things too long, Georgie. You never know how much time you've got and it's not worth the heartache. Trust me. I know."

After they left George paced the room several times before retrieving a battered and dusty trunk tucked away in the corner. He opened it and shuffled through the contents until he found a photo.

It was a picture of his twin getting ready to leave the flat the day of the Grand Opening. Fred straightened his tie then looked at the camera with a cocky smile and a wink.

George pinned the photo on the wall at eye level in front of him.

"I miss you, Freddie. I've walked around for over two years now feeling lost and alone. I'd convinced myself that was how it was always going to be. I thought by holding onto the pain I was somehow holding onto you but the truth is it was more about keeping everyone else at arm's distance. I thought if I shut down and didn't care then I wouldn't get hurt again. I was wrong. I not only hurt myself I ended up hurting other people as well. I thought the goal was to not feel anything at all but I was wrong about that too. If you want to feel the sunshine you have to risk the rain."

He ran a finger along the side of the photo. "I learned that from a girl. Not just any girl, mind you. It's Luna Lovegood. Remember her? You'd get a kick out of her, Freddie. She's nothing like we thought she was at school. She's warm and smart and wonderful and willing to call me out when I'm being an idiot and I'll be damned if I haven't gone and fallen in love with her."

"But the thing is now it's gotten complicated and I don't know what to do or what to say and Merlin!" He kicked the trunk beside him. "What I wouldn't give to have you here to tell me..."

There was a moment of silence then somewhere deep inside his head he heard Fred's voice. "We always said that we knew each other better than anyone else, Forge. Prove it. Tell me what I'd say."

"You'd say that if I was lucky enough to have found someone like her and there was even a sliver of a chance that it could work then I'd be a bloody fool to let her go without at least trying to tell her how I felt first."

"Close enough. I'd have hit you and thrown in a few more swear words but you got the gist of it. So why are you still standing around having an imaginary conversation with a dead guy? Go on. Anything's possible ...or do you not have enough nerve?"

George wasted no time. He bypassed the stairs altogether and apparated directly into the flat. He ran to Luna's room but it was empty.

He tried the garden. She wasn't there.

He dashed back and threw open the doors to the wardrobe to check for her bag.

Nothing.

It was only then that he noticed that the walls had returned to their original dingy beige. The mural, as well as her few belongings, were gone.

It was if she had never been there at all.

He sat on the mattress with his head in his hands until a thought occurred to him. He produced his wand, closed his eyes and whispered "Revelio Artem."

He breathed a sigh of relief as the painting slowly reappeared. It was more extensive now, covering all the walls and part of the ceiling but it was the addition next to the door that drew his eye.

That section now featured a life size reproduction of the fountain from the play their parents had taken part in all those years ago. It was rendered so expertly George could have sworn the water was actually flowing but that wasn't the most noteworthy thing.

What captured his attention were the figures in front of the fountain. In the photo Luna's parents had been standing in that spot but in the painting it was George and Luna, wrapped in each other's arms smiling serenely. Around the base of the fountain he spotted another difference - a silver fox playfully pursuing a silver hare.

His mind flashed back to a summer afternoon not long after the war had ended. He'd been in the family room and accidentally overheard a conversation between his father and Ron.

His younger brother was expressing concern that he and Hermione's patronuses didn't match like James and Lily Potters had. He was worried that since his was a terrier and Hermione's was an otter, that meant they weren't compatible with each other. Arthur had gently explained that while some patronuses did change to match the person they were in love with, it was also true that people who were already in love before learning to cast the spell would have complementary animals, pointing out that 'terriers rather enjoy chasing otters, don't they son?' "

Until now, George hadn't been able to figure out why his patronus had changed from a hyena to a fox. But what do foxes traditionally pursue?

George finally admitted the truth to himself. He'd been in love with Luna far longer than he'd thought but if he didn't act fast the hare might just slip away and he couldn't let that happen.

He gripped his wand, set his jaw and squared his shoulders. He wasn't out of options yet.

If he ended up losing her it damn well wouldn't be for lack of trying.