A/N: Right, the chapter most of you have probably been waiting for: where we find out what's wrong with George. Just so you all know, I'm not a doctor and I've had no training in the medical field. The information I included in here was stuff I found off the net. So it might not be right, but hey, magic remember? It can do weird things sometimes. Or at least that's my explanation for anything that doesn't make sense. Also, massive thanks to MaddyGervais, runeaglerun, chocolateMnMs and midnightstar19 for your awesome reviews. And also everyone who put this on alert. As well as everyone who is following this. Hope you guys all enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 3

The next morning, the twins woke to find they had fallen asleep on the couch the previous night.

"Oh Lordy," Fred moaned, feeling his back twinge in protest as he tried to stand. George was massaging his neck, which had not taken to the couch very well.

"Why did no one wake us?" He grumbled, getting to his feet as his knees creaked. Both he and Fred look down in alarm.

"Blimey, we're getting old!" Fred said in shock, listening to their bones whining at their movements.

"That's it, I'm never sleeping on a couch again," George muttered, glaring at the offensive piece of furniture.

"Oh good, you two are up! We were going to wake you last night, but you looked so peaceful sleeping there," Molly said happily. "Come on, breakfast is ready. Your father's in the kitchen already."

The twins trekked to the kitchen, still massaging their sore muscles.

"Boys!" Arthur exclaimed as he pulled his sons into a hug.

"Morning Dad!" They chorused, taking the seats opposite him. Molly placed several plates full of bacon, eggs, sausages and toast before them.

"Your mother told me about your ear, George," Arthur began immediately. George winced slightly, having forgotten that he and Fred were going to St Mungo's.

"Yeah, we're going to St Mungo today," Fred said with a quick glance at George. "The only problem is getting there."

"Can't you just apparate?" Arthur asked as he devoured a sausage.

"Well yeah, but George's ear doesn't take well to apparating at all," Fred commented. George nodded silently in agreement.

"Well the floo network is down. How about the Knight bus?" Arthur suggested. George's eyes widened in alarm.

"No, not the Knight bus," he said immediately, placing his form and knife down. "That's bad enough on a good day."

"Well it sounds like apparition is the only option," Molly said as she sat down herself to eat.

"We could have taken some form of Muggle transport if Hermione or Harry was here, but I don't want to risk it alone," Fred said, sounding almost apologetic towards George.

"Apparating is fine," George said, once again picking up his fork and knife, trying to hide the slight tremble in his hands by immediately stabbing at his sausage, and failing to notice the glance his parents and brother exchanged.

"George, are you sure you don't want us to come with you?" Arthur asked gently. "I could take a day off work, I'm sure they'd understand…"

"No, it's fine. Fred's coming with me, so I'm okay," George said quickly. Fred opened his mouth, about to suggest something, but stopped at the look George shot him. At that moment, Ginny came running down the stairs.

"Oh good, you're still here!" She said happily as she slid into the seat next to George, and the previous conversation was brought to a halt.

Once the breakfast table had been cleared Arthur went upstairs to grab some work papers while Ginny went to get changed. Molly fussed over her two sons, straightening their shirts, trying to flatten their hair.

"Mum, we're going to a hospital, not a wedding," Fred complained as he battered her hand away.

"I know, I know, I just want you both to look presentable," Molly said, fidgeting with George's collar.

"I hardly think the healers care whether we look presentable," George commented.

"You would be surprised," Molly said, shaking her finger at him.

At that moment, Arthur came bustling down the stairs, his hands full of papers. "Righto, I'm off then- whoops," he said as a large bundle of files fell from his grip.

"Oh honestly Arthur," Molly huffed as she helped him pick them up. Arthur looked slightly ashamed at his clumsiness.

"Thank you, Molly dear," he said, planting a kiss on her cheek before turning to the twins. "Good luck today boys. Be careful."

"We will, thanks dad," George replied with a slight smile. Molly removed the wards around the house for Arthur to disapparate and a second later Ginny came down.

"Are you both leaving now?" She asked, looking slightly concerned. At Fred's nod, she moved to hug George tightly.

"I'm sure it'll be fine, George," she said reassuringly before moving to hug Fred.

"Right, now, you two be careful there," Molly instructed. The twins nodded.

"We will, mum. Stop worrying!" Fred said, laughing slightly. He turned to George.

"You ready?" He asked bracingly. George swallowed and nodded, gripping onto Fred's arm tightly.

"Here we go then!"

With a loud crack, they were gone from the Burrow.

A second later, they appeared in an alleyway next to Purge and Dowse Ltd. George felt Fred grab at him as they both sank to the floor, George's vision swirling once more. He felt the nausea rise in his stomach and shut his eyes, hoping to stave it off. George felt Fred's hands gently move his head until it was resting against Fred's shoulder, and he gave a small sigh of relief as the stability eased his dizziness slightly.

"You okay George?" He heard Fred ask quietly, and George tried to make an intelligible reply but all that escaped his mouth was a pained humming noise. Fred chuckled weakly and kept his hold on George for several minutes, until George finally felt the sense of vertigo ease and he was able to get back onto his feet.

"Better?" Fred asked as he too rose to his feet.

"Yeah," George mumbled, blinking blearily. "We made it?"

"Course we made it," Fred said, frowning. "Are you questioning my apparition skills?"

"Honestly Fred, you take comments like a girl," George remarked as they exited the alleyway and approached the window of the run down department store. "And yes, I was insulting your apparition skills."

Laughing, he dodged Fred's hand, ignoring the slight pain lingering in his head, and stepped in front of the window with a dummy wearing a green dress. Together, the twins stepped through, entering into St Mungo's. Looking around at the particularly crowded reception area, Fred let out a low whistle.

"You-Know-Who's been busy, hasn't he?" He remarked. George nodded, staring at the floor guide.

"Come on, fourth floor," he muttered, tugging on Fred's jacket. Fred followed him up several flights of stairs until they finally reached the fourth floor, panting. George looked around at the corridors; the number of people with spell damage was quite alarming. The twins approached a small desk situated against a wall, where a young woman was assisting a tall man who had a severed arm. George's eyes widened and he found himself feeling grateful that it had only been his ear.

"Excuse me," Fred asked politely once the man had gone.

"Hello, what seems to be the problem?" She asked.

"Umm, it's my brother, we think there's something wrong with his ear," Fred began, but the young woman interrupted him.

"Follow me," she instructed, and led them to a door. "Through here," she said, and they walked through the doorway to find a clean, sparse room painted a light green. There was a bed pushed up against one wall, a desk and several chairs on the opposite side.

"Hello," a deep voice said. The twins turned around to see a middle aged man dressed in lime green robes smiling at them. "I am Healer Gwellmyne, how can I help you today?"

Fred and George exchanged a glance before George began to explain the situation. Healer Gwellmyne listened carefully, nodding every so often.

"Well Mr Weasley, if you could please sit here," he gestured to the bed. George sat down, Fred hovering at his side. Healer Gwellmyne proceeded to conduct several tests on George's ear, while the twins watched on. Eventually, he brought a chair towards the bed and sat down on in, regarding George.

"Mr Weasley, you were right to be concerned," he began, and Fred felt his heart sink. "As you are no doubt aware, the ear aids in our balance. Within your ear, there are fluids in the semicircular canals. I believe that when you were hit by this curse, the fluids were inflamed. This internal damage is why you've been experiencing dizziness and nausea recently."

"But I only began feeling dizzy at my brother's wedding. That was several days after I lost my ear," George replied after a moment.

"When you're not moving, the fluids are not in motion. However as soon as you move, they shift. From what you've told me, I believe that you experienced nausea and dizziness at that moment because you were under attack and moving around rapidly. Also, I'm assuming there would have been a lot of loud noises. That can worsen the situation, as your ear is sensitive at the moment." Healer Gwellmyne finished.

George opened and closed his mouth several times before looking to Fred for help.

"Is there any cure? Anything to make George better?" Fred asked, half afraid to hear the answer.

"Well, it's difficult to say. Certainly, there are potions that can temporarily ease the nausea you feel, although only slightly, and the effect varies for each person. But in terms of a permanent cure or treatment, I'm afraid there is none."

Fred closed his eyes for a second before asking the question he had been dreading ever since he had first discovered George's problem.

"Is it going to get worse? It is serious, can it… can it be…" Fred couldn't say it, but the healer seemed to understand.

"Using the potions will cause a reliance on them. If you stop using it, the dizziness will be worse. In terms of it being life threatening…"

Both Fred and George held their breath.

"It is not," Healer Gwellmyne finished with a smile. The twins let out a simultaneous sigh of relief.

"However, there is a chance that your condition may worsen as time goes by." Fred's smile fell.

"Healer Gwellmyne? Can we have a few minutes alone to discuss all this?" George asked suddenly.

"Certainly," and with a small bow the Healer left the room. As soon as the door closed, George turned to Fred.

"So," he said.

"So," Fred repeated.

"It's permanent." George stated glumly. Fred sat down next to him.

"There are always the potions."

"Yeah, but I don't know whether I want to grow dependent on them. He said that if I stopped using them, it would be worse. Worse, Fred, I'm barely coping as it is now!" George swallowed. Fred looked at his brother, wishing they had received better news, wishing that they weren't in the situation to begin with.

"What do I do?" George moaned, burying his head in his hands. Fred wrapped an arm around George's shoulder and gave him a little shake.

"Hey. Whatever you do, I'm right here with you George. So is everyone else. You're not going to go through this alone," Fred said comfortingly. George sighed and stayed silent for several moments before raising his head from his hands.

"I suppose I'd better get those potions then," he said with a forced smile. Fred squeezed his shoulder tightly before letting go, his heart still heavy. Why did it all have to happen to George? It was bad enough that he lost his ear, but now this?

George moved to open the door, letting Healer Gwellmyne back in.

"So have you decided what to do?" the Healer asked. George nodded.

"I'll take the potion," he said. Healer Gwellmyne nodded, and handed George a piece of paper with writing on it.

"This is the one you'll need. You can buy it from most medical stores. I also need you to sign here…" Once George had filled out all the medical forms, they were free to go. Thanking Healer Gwellmyne, they left, George tucking the paper into his pocket. On the way out, they stopped to buy the potion Healer Gwellmyne had prescribed. George looked at the bottle of blue liquid distastefully.

"You gonna take it now?" Fred asked curiously. George shrugged.

"Do you think I should?"

"Well, we're going to be apparating soon, so yeah, probably," Fred said. George nodded, and after reading the instructions on the back took a small sip of the potion.

"Oh bleurgh!" he exclaimed, scrunching up his nose and holding his mouth open in disgust. Fred bit his lip hard to stop himself from laughing. Unfortunately he didn't bite it hard enough.

George glared at Fred, who was trying to stifle his laughter with his hand unsuccessfully.

"Sorry, sorry," Fred said, although the large grin he was still wearing lessened the impact of his words. George huffed and strode off, Fred trailing him, still giggling slightly. They exited St Mungo's and ended up back outside Purge and Dowse Ltd.

"So where to now? The Burrow?" Fred asked George, who hesitated before shaking his head.

"I… I don't really feel like breaking the news to mum and Ginny yet," he said tentatively. Fred nodded in understanding.

"So where?" He asked as they walked back to the alleyway.

George was quiet, before a small smile spread across his face.

"I think I know just the place," he said as he turned to Fred. The two exchanged a glance, and a look of realization spread across Fred's face. He nodded, smiling, and George reached out to grab his arm.

With a crack, they were gone.

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