A/N: The sin is pride, and the prompt is "so this is how it is". Please review! :)
George and Percy had been sitting in a dark corner of the Leaky Cauldron for nearly five minutes, but neither of them had said a word.
"Okay," Percy said, finally breaking the silence. "Where's Fred? Is he going to pop out of somewhere to scare me? Did you two put something in my drink?"
"Fred isn't here," George sighed. "I told you I wanted to talk to you alone, Perce."
"About what?" Percy asked. "I think I've made it clear that I don't want to talk to any of you."
"Then why did you show up?" George retorted.
Percy looked away, and George smiled at his small victory.
"Look, Mum is crying all the time," George explained. "Normally, we'd be happy that she's so distracted, but it's bad. It's really bad."
"What do you want me to do about it?" Percy asked, sounding bored.
George's fingers curled into a fist.
"Don't you care at all?" he said lowly. "It's okay to admit that you were wrong, you know. We're family."
"Can't I live my life the way I want to?" Percy snapped. "Not everything is about family. I have to make some decisions for myself."
"I understand that!" George protested. "Fred and I went into business against Mum's wishes, and it turned out fine. You working at the Ministry did not turn out fine. And that's alright. It's alright to be wrong sometimes."
Percy glared at George.
"There can be change," Percy declared. "And it can come from the inside, you know. Just because it hasn't happened yet doesn't mean that it can't."
"Bloody hell," George muttered. "After everything that's been happening, how can you say that? What the hell is wrong with you? Fred told me that it wasn't worth coming."
"Neither of us should have come," Percy sneered, standing up. "It was a waste of time."
George stood up too and looked his brother straight in the eye.
"So this is how it is," George said.
"This is how it is," Percy replied.
He left without another word.