A/N: Big thanks to chocolateMnMs, MaddyGervais, midnightstar19 and everyone else who reviewed. It means a lot that you guys took the time, and I'm glad you're interested so far. Also thanks to everyone who put this on story alert; I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 2

As it turned out, Fred and George only had to wait two days before they received an encrypted message from their mother giving them the all clear.

"Fred! It's safe to go back home!" George called to his brother upstairs. Fred came pounding down the stairs, still struggling to get his shirt on.

"Did you get a letter from mum? What does it say?" He asked frantically, trying to button up his shirt.

"Fred, you missed… well, all of them," George said, pointing at Fred's completely lopsided shirt. Sighing, Fred began undoing the buttons, before looking at George expectantly.

"Well?" He prompted.

"Oh right. It says that Ginny's preparing to go to Hogwarts, and she'd like to see at least two of her older brothers before she goes, because Ron's not much company at the moment with his spattergroit."

"So basically the only people at home are Mum, Dad and Ginny. The others must have all left," Fred concluded, successfully buttoning his shirt.

"Exactly."

"Well, I guess we'd better pop in then!" Fred exclaimed, grabbing a jacket slung over the chair.

"Oi, that's mine!"

"Oh right, sorry…"

George shrugged on his jacket and turned back to Fred, who had apparently summoned his own, too lazy to go back upstairs.

"So umm… however are we getting there?" George asked, trying to sound nonchalant, although inside his heart was racing at the thought of side apparating again. Fred looked at him, frowning in concern.

"Well, I originally thought Floo powder, because you didn't take well to apparating. But I don't think it's any better; if anything it might be worse. What do you think?" He asked George.

George swallowed, considering his two options. Apparating was terrible. It had made him feel sick and dizzy, and he could only think of two worse ways to travel. Unfortunately, Floo powder was one of them (the Knight Bus was the other).

"I suppose…. apparition," he said, shifting uncomfortably. Fred eyed him carefully.

"Are you sure you want to come?" He asked gently. "I can explain to mum-"

"No," George said stubbornly, shaking his head. "I'm coming." Fred sighed, knowing when to give up.

"Alright, well, you'd better apparate with me. I don't want you ending up collapsing half way across the country or something," Fred said he grabbed George's hand tightly in his own. George closed his eyes and waited for the uncomfortable sensation with a held breath.

A few seconds later, they landed in the field close to their house, just beyond the wards that had been put in place. Fred immediately grabbed at George, who had begun to sink to his knees, clutching at his head.

"Hey, hey, easy George," he coached, trying to hide the worry from his voice. George's eyes were unfocused, his face tinged green.

"Fred," he gasped out, trying to focus on his brother unsuccessfully. "I don't feel good."

"I know, I know George," Fred said sympathetically, wishing he could do more than offer words of comfort. By now George was leaning completely on Fred, unable to do anything more than focus on his own breathing. Fred had his arms wrapped around George, keeping him on his feet.

"Breathe, George, remember? It'll go away, the dizziness will go away," he said soothingly as he adjusted his grip slightly, taking on more of George's weight. He could feel George try to take his advice, taking deeper breaths, closing his eyes as he willed the wooziness away. It was several minutes later when he could finally stand on his own without Fred's assistance.

"I'm never going to get used to that," he murmured, rubbing his eyes as though clearing his vision. Fred sighed resignedly.

"Join the club," he mumbled as they began the trek to the Burrow.

The minute they walked through the back door, Molly was on them in a flash.

"Boys!" She cried before pulling them into her arms.

"Mu-um," Fred protested half heartedly, but he wrapped his own arms around her, relishing in the fact that she was fine. George was doing the same beside him.

"Are you both alright?" She asked when she finally pulled away.

"Yeah, we're both fine," Fred said, before shooting a quick glance at George. "But mum, we've got something to-"

Fred was interrupted as a red haired missile flew into his arms.

"Oomph!" Fred exclaimed in surprise, glancing down. He found his youngest and only sister clinging to him tightly.

"Hey, what about me?" George asked, pulling off an impressive pout. Ginny giggled and let go of Fred to hug George.

"How are you doing, George?" She asked quietly, gaze flickering for a moment to the hole in his head.

"Can't complain," he said with a shrug, ignoring Fred's pointed stare.

"Well good. I'll prepare lunch, shall I?" Molly asked enthusiastically, already making her way to the kitchen. Fred, George and Ginny trailed behind her, all eager to catch up.

"So what happened after we left?" George asked immediately. Ginny sat down at the table, her brothers quickly following suit.

"Well the few Order members who were left eventually fought off the death eaters. But by then we knew others would be coming, so we had to make a run for it. Mum and I went with Bill and Fleur to their new home, and dad took off with Charlie. We thought it would be better if we split up. Ron, Harry and Hermione took off together as well, but I don't think we'll see them for a while," she finished sadly.

"So no-one's come around asking questions yet?" Fred asked incredulously. Ginny shook her head.

"No, but dad says it's only a matter of time," she replied glumly.

"You two had better be careful too," Molly's voice sounded from her position near the stove.

"Why?"

"They'll probably come to question you as well. Your father thinks they'll try and contact the whole family, to keep tabs on us."

Fred and George exchanged a glance as Molly set their lunch on the table.

"This looks great, thanks mum," George said gratefully as they tucked in. Fred, whose mouth was already full, nodded enthusiastically.

"Chew, Fred!" Ginny said in alarm as she watched Fred stuff an entire potato into his mouth.

"You have been eating properly, haven't you?" Molly asked warningly as she watched her sons eat.

"Yeah, but there's nothing like your cooking, mum," Fred said when he had finally swallowed. Molly beamed at him as she served them more food.

"You should see what Fred can do to eggs," George muttered to Ginny. "Turns them completely hard, I don't know how he manages it!" Ginny giggled.

"As I recall George, your eggs ended up purple," Fred remarked lightly, stealing a piece of chicken from George's plate. They both looked distinctly pleased as Ginny's laughter echoed through the kitchen.

After lunch, both twins felt absolutely stuffed. The four headed to the living room, where they collapsed onto the couches.

"So, what happened to you two?" Ginny asked as she curled her legs beneath her.

"Actually, we kind of have a question about that. Mum, is it safe to go to St Mungo's?" Fred asked.

"St Mungo's? Why do you need to go to St Mungo's? What's happened?" Molly asked frantically, jumping up from her seat.

"It's nothing, just a small issue," George said soothingly.

"Hardly small," Fred muttered darkly.

"But is it safe, mum?" George asked after shooting a glare at Fred.

"Well yes, it's St Mungo's, of course it's safe. But why do you need to go there?" Molly probed.

"Well it's kind of hard to explain-"

"We think something's wrong with George's ear. When we were fighting before, at the reception, he fainted-"

"I didn't faint, Fred-"

"-and he gets dizzy easily. Especially when we apparate," Fred added.

"Oh no," Molly said, a hand over her mouth in horror. Ginny was staring at her brothers with wide eyes.

"So when I saw you both crouched on the floor behind a table…" Molly began, and Fred nodded.

"That was when George collapsed."

A silence fell over the room.

"But why is it happening?" Ginny finally asked. The twins shrugged.

"Well, Fred's theory is that the curse that hit my ear damaged the inside too. But we don't know for sure, which is why we wanted to go to St Mungo's and check." George said.

"Of course. We'll go there right now, I'll message your father," Molly mumbled distractedly, rising from her couch.

"No, its okay mum, we'll go later. No need to drag you and Ginny with us," George said with a slight smile.

"Oh but-"

"Mum, we're old enough to go in for a simple check up on our own," Fred said soothingly. "Besides, it might be nothing."

"Well… if you're sure," Molly said, still looking worried.

"We're sure," George reassured her.

"So Gin, you're still going to Hogwarts then," Fred said, changing the topic. Ginny nodded.

"Well of course I am," she said.

"Bit dangerous though, isn't it? With Dumbledore gone and You-Know-Who on the loose?" George asked, looking at his mother strangely. If there was anything she should be concerned about…

"Your father and I were discussing that, but we decided that there was no need to disrupt Ginny's education. There's nothing else for her to do here, especially with everyone else gone," Molly explained as she stood up to leave, although her tone suggested that if she'd had it her way, Ginny would not be leaving the house for a long time. Ginny looked faintly relieved at her father's apparent intervention.

"Well you be careful there, alright?" Fred said, poking Ginny's ribs lightly. "No big brothers to protect you anymore."

"Oh please, as if you lot did anything while I was there," she said laughing, but both Fred and George could tell the thought had been plaguing her for a while.

"Aww, you know you'll miss us," George proclaimed, getting up from his own couch and squashing himself between her and the armrest. Ginny squirmed, trying to move away but Fred came and sat on her other side, effectively keeping her in place.

"Guys," she complained, still struggling, but there was a wide grin on her face.

"Ginny," Fred mimicked.

"Is your ear really bad George?" She asked seriously.

"It's nothing for you to worry about, Ginny. I just get a bit dizzy, that's all." George said comfortingly, but Ginny was never one to accept babying.

"If you're considering going to St Mungo's, then it's obviously serious," she said with a slight frown.

"We don't know for sure yet. It's just a precaution," Fred added, but they could both tell Ginny wasn't convinced.

"Well you come and tell me as soon as you know, alright?" She said warningly, making more of a demand than a request. The twins nodded solemnly.

"Now Gin, tell us all about Bill and Fleur's new house," Fred prompted, snuggling deeper against the couch cushions.

"You want to hear about their house" Ginny remarked, eyebrows raised.

"Oh yes, I'm all ears," Fred said, winking. George stifled a laugh with the back of his hand.

Ginny groaned and threw a pillow at Fred's face.

Several hours later after dinner, Fred and George decided to stay at the Burrow for the night. Although they both said it was because Arthur had yet to return home from work and they wanted to see him, Fred knew that George wasn't looking forward to apparating anytime soon. George was well aware that Fred knew, and silently thanked his brother.

By midnight Ginny decided to head off to bed, although not before making the twins swear they would stay until morning to say goodbye to her. They agreed immediately, and she went to bed with a smile on her face. Fred and George slumped on the couch next to each other, both feeling their eyes beginning to flicker as they fought off sleep.

"George?" Fred asked sleepily.

"Hmmm?" George replied.

"We should go to St Mungo's tomorrow," Fred said. George turned to look at him.

"… yeah, alright," he said after a pause. Fred nudged his shoulder, knowing exactly what the problem was.

"They'll be able to fix it, George. And if they can't, then we'll figure out a way ourselves," he said firmly. George nodded silently, although he didn't possess the same optimism Fred had.

What if it never went away?

Next chapter: We find out exactly what's wrong with George.

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