Chapter Three:

After their cake adventure, which had amazed Fred greatly, seeing as how he's never been to a muggle town before, the two of them headed back to the Burrow. Hermione's heart was racing throughout their entire walk, and even then, it did not cease. She was so utterly confused, stubborn, and annoyed by how she was feeling about this particular Weasley. Frankly, she thought it was all very random. She couldn't be falling for Fred. It was...well, it was Fred. He was the complete opposite of her. It seemed so illogical to her, so unfitting. So she merely pushed it away, hoping, praying, these absurd feelings would go away.

"But they didn't." Hermione said softly to herself, and stroked the precious memory one last time before putting it safely back into the album.

Suddenly, the sound of her doorbell went off. Hermione furrowed her eyebrows carefully. She wasn't expecting anyone. Jumping from the bed, and walking out of her bedroom, she fixed herself before answering the door.

A second later, her breath caught her throat, and she nearly choked. She restrained herself from jumping into the arms of the person in front of her. She knew she couldn't though, because she knew it wasn't the person she was thinking of. It wasn't him. Not at all.

It took her awhile to adjust. For about a minute they stood there staring at each other. Merely staring, until Hermione finally spoke.

"George." she smiled softly, after putting herself together. He looked better. Much better than she remembered. His hair was a bit shorter now, still slightly messy, but it looked clean. His clothes weren't rumpled anymore either, and a genuine smile was on his face.

"Hey." was all he said before more silence befell them.

Hermione didn't know what to do. Her and George were so close after the war, sharing the same grief. The entire Weasley family had grown closer, and when George started slipping away, Hermione was there for him. Together, they got through it, day by day after Fred's funeral. It was going well for a few months, until one day, out of nowhere, George finally broke down. More than ever, as if his very soul had been ripped apart, and couldn't be sewn back together. She thought he was getting better, but she was wrong. He wasn't getting better since the beginning. She remembered that day very clearly.

It was about a year ago, 4 months after Fred's death.

Hermione was staying the night once again, trying to help as much as she could around the house. She knew Molly was strong, but she also knew, she was still a mother, broken by her son's death. She needed Hermione's help, no matter how many times she has said otherwise.

"Don't worry Molly. I'm here for you. I'm here for all of you. Besides, I love Fred very much too." Hermione gave Molly a small smile, and it was returned to her.

Molly sniffed, and gave Hermione a sudden hug. "Oh dear, here I am telling you to leave when you had loved Fred just as much as we did. He loved you very much also, I could tell. A mother could always tell."

Hermione chuckled. "I know. I know he did."

"GEORGE. George just calm down!"

Hermione and Molly turned around at the sudden volume of voice. The ricketing stair case tumbled, and out came George with his trunk by his side, his face red and his eyes swollen. He looked miserable. Worse than miserable. Hermione couldn't help but gasp at the sight of him. Molly stepped up cautiously, but she didn't say anything. It seemed, she was at a loss for words. What would she say to her son, when she was breaking also? She merely looked at him, and tears filled her eyes. She saw Fred. Shaking her head, she blinked again, hard, and George was back again, but it was a horrid sight. She's never seen her son look like he did.

"George. You don't know what you're doing!" it was Ron's voice that said this. Followed by him were Bill, Percy, Harry and Charlie. Ginny came last, her lips trembling as she stared at her older brother. Ron looked at George angrily.

"You're just going to leave then? Leave us?" his voice rose with every word. George didn't say anything. He merely looked at his younger brother, confusion in his eyes.

"Ron. That's enough." Bill acted fast, not wanting an argument to form in front of their mother. He looked at her. She was so small, and so frail. She didn't need her sons fighting. Not now. Not when they needed each other most.

"No way. He thinks he could just leave his family whenever he wants? He thinks we're not hurting too? You can't just do that! You can't just leave us. You-I..." Ron's voice broke. He looked at his brother, his eyes filled with angry tears. Harry put a comforting hand on his best friends shoulder, though he knew it wouldn't do much.

"You don't understand." George spoke up. He looked at Ron, guilt running through his eyes. "I'm sorry little brother, but you do not understand at all."

"What are you talking about? Of course we do. We're his family too." Percy said, an edge to his voice, though his eyes looked sad. Hermione took this opportunity to speak as well.

"They're right George. Your family...your mother, me, we're all here for you. You don't have to go through this alo-"

"NO." he said firmly, making Hermione jump. "NO, YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND. NONE OF YOU DO."

"Come on mate. Don't do this. Don't do this in front of mum." Charlie whispered carefully. Mr. Weasley took Molly's hand, and squeezed tightly. The comfort was overwhelming. The warmth of his hands would always make Molly feel better. She smiled at her son.

"George dear, just...just tell us what's wrong. We want to help." she couldn't say more. There wasn't much else to say.

George stared at his mother. He couldn't bear the sight of her. Her eyes were misty, as if she were fighting for her life to not let the tears fall. She was being strong for him, and now, it was his turn to do the same. He wasn't running away. He was leaving to find himself again. It went missing the day Fred died.

"Fred was-He was a part of me. When he died, it was like half of me died as well. Do you understand?" he looked straight into his mother's eyes as he said this. All he wanted was for her to understand. "I have to do this. I want to do this. Let me go. I don't want to hurt any of you, but I must leave." His gaze never faltered, but his voice broke with every word.

Molly looked at her son, and a sob escaped her lips. She rushed towards him and engulfed him in a hug. She cried against his chest, while George hugged his mother with such tightness, he almost didn't want to let go.

"Mum..." he choked. "Mum, please don't cry."

Molly looked up, and gave her son a watery smile. She stayed silent, and merely nodded, while patting him tenderly on the cheek. Their hug broke, and George knew, his mother understood every single word he said.

"George..."

This time it was Ginny's turn to cry. Hermione couldn't take all of this. She didn't want to see any of this. A family, so together, so loving, was almost breaking right in front of her eyes. She moved next to Harry, and he immediately put his arm around her, letting her bury her face into his shoulder. He knew exactly what she was feeling.

"Ginny, don't do that." George gave his baby sister a small smile before she jumped into his arms, tears streaming silently down her pale face.

"You better come back. You better come back soon, okay? Or else, I will never forgive you." Ginny mumbled into his shoulder. George gave a rare chuckle.

"I promise baby sister. With all my heart."

And with that, after giving his brothers one last glance, to which Ron responded by rushing upstairs, he gave his last farewell, and left without another word.