AN:Today is the one year anniversary of losing a family member way too soon in life. Writing helps me process through all the emotions. Thanks for reading with me.
Chapter 4
Walking Hermione down the aisle, watching Angelina hold their baby for the first time, dropping the kids off at the platform to head to Hogwarts after their eleventh birthday, all these big moments were surrounded by family. And each was tinged with moments of sadness. With each passing year, the weight in George's chest lessened. Many days even went by without thinking about the losses. There were still the hard days. Major events were easier to pick out and prepare for mentally. It was the casual mentions or remembered conversations that would blindside him.
During those bad times, George would take a deep breath and sit in his feelings. Sure it had been years, but grief doesn't follow any particular timeline. It has its peaks and valleys. His partners were always there to empathize and support him through the hard moments along with the good. And when George needed more than empathy, he'd call on Hermione. Hermione was always there as soon as she was able, as he was for her.
Once when one of her kids was going through their second growth spurt in a few weeks, Hermione broke down. Being a new parent brings challenges. Doing so without one's parent to guide them can be heartbreaking at times. When it's a choice rather than a necessity, it's a special sort of pain. It was one of those moments when Hermione needed to let her emotions explode out while clinging to her best friend. Understanding this, Viktor flooed George and took the kids out for the day. Later that night, Hermione talked through what she was feeling and why while cuddling her spouse in bed. Before she fell asleep she reflected on all the positive relationships in her life which help lessen the hurt from the bad ones.
Loss is inevitable. The healing process is long and never fully complete. Accepting this fact helps the friends get better. Platitudes from good meaning people sometimes hurt more than silence. When they come up, Hermione will just raise her eyebrow at George, making them both chuckle. Neither of them were perfect, and neither ever felt as whole as they did before the loss. They never really moved on, but they continued moving forward a day at a time.