Take a Closer Look

"Minka! Over here!" George's voice came out in a loud rasp. Attempting to not cause too much attention to his voice. Minka followed the voice in the shadows. She eventually saw his silhouette behind a pillar and quickly ran to it, avoiding the light of the street.

"You know, when you said we would be going on a date, I didn't think that also meant breaking into a building." She muttered to him.

"Relax, I do this all the time."

"Not exactly helping me relax."

They stood behind a pillar that connected to one of the buildings in a town Minka wasn't familiar with. The roads were made of cobble and every house and building was made of marble that gleamed in the moonlight.

George turned to Minka and kissed her hard and fierce. Minka felt herself panic for a moment, thinking this wasn't the time and place. But the adrenaline from trying to hide soon began to find its way to her lips, and she felt herself kiss back just as fierce.

After a few minutes, they broke apart. She couldn't see his face in the dark lighting and simply focused on the sound of their jagged breathing and his hands entangled in her hair. He slowly brought one of his hands back and slid it down her cheek, sending tingles right down to her toes.

"Besides…" He began to say, making Minka jump from the sudden noise. "it's technically not a building."

She felt her face twist in confusion, knowing it was washed out from the darkness. He tugged on her hand and they made their way around the building and were now on the outskirts of the town. Fields went on for miles, but just a few feet away from them lay a very large tent. It stretched out into the sky, making all of the buildings in town look like doll houses. Lights were shining every which way from inside, and several smaller tents dotted the ground next to it. People were walking from tent to tent.

"Welcome to the circus."

"Circus?"

"You've never been to a wizard circus before? My dad used to take us when we were younger. I come back every now and then." Minka stood in awe for a moment, watching the lights dance around in the night sky.

"So…we're not breaking into anywhere?" She looked up into his gleaming face. She could now see the flush in his face, the area around his lips particularly red. She brought a hand up to smooth down her hair, knowing she looked just as flustered.

"No."

"Then why were we sneaking around in the night like we were going to rob somewhere?"

George laughed and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, guiding her towards the tents.

"Just wanted to have a bit of fun is all." Minka rolled her eyes but couldn't help but smile. George took her through the circus, explaining the different attractions and shows as they watched. Minka was utterly fascinated the whole time. As amazing as the shows were, she found herself studying George's face more closely than the shows. She could see the excitement that radiated off of him like a live wire. And yet, it never touched his eyes. They remained calm and almost sad. She started to wonder that maybe it wasn't excitement after all, it almost seemed like nerves.

'What could he be so nervous about?' She asked herself several times over, too afraid to say anything out loud.

Later in the night, George handed a coin to a man who had a basket of sticks. The man plucked one of the sticks out of the basket and handed it to George, who in turn handed it to Minka.

"Uhm…thank you." Minka's voice faultered in appreciation, unsure of what he had handed to her. As she felt it between her fingertips, she realized it wasn't a stick, but a stem. As her mind clicked, the top of the stem began to move and grow into a bud. She looked up at George, who was biting his lip in what seemed to be anxiety. She looked back down at the budding flower just as it made a light popping noise. She was now holding a perfectly bloomed red rose.

"It's always a real joy when I see a red one." Said the man with the basket of stems. George let out a breath she didn't realize he was holding.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"The rose this young man just bought you is very special. The colour it blooms when given to someone is a symbol of your true feelings for one another. White is friendship. Pink is unrequited love. And purple is lust. This flower will never wilt as long as your relationship remains strong."

"What does red mean?" George asked. The man simply winked. Minka and George both blushed, avoiding eye contact with one another. George gave him one more coin and took another stem.

"What? Want to double check?" she asked him.

"I have something else I'd like us to do tonight. The main reason I brought you here tonight." He started to guide her towards the far end of the circus where the tents and people started to become fewer and fewer.

"It's high time you met someone." His voice was so low and quiet, Minka strained to hear it.

"Who?"

Her question was answered when they arrived at the fence the circus was enclosed in. There was a flat stone that was carved into the shape of a circus tent. All around it were flowers, some planted and others placed near it. Two candles floated delicately on either side of the stone and Minka realized there was an enscription on the stone.

Her stomach did a large flip as it all came together in her mind. It wasn't just a stone; it was a grave.

"Minka…this is-"

"Fred." She finished in a whisper. The enscription read

'Frederick Weasley

Beloved son and brother

He will always make us smile'

George knelt by his brother's grave and placed the stem in front of the stone. The flower bloomed slowly into the colour blue. Minka felt her heart stutter. She remembered what the man had said. It blooms with mutual feeling. Which means…Fred was responding.

"Hi Fred, I miss you too."

"Blue means…lost love."

George nodded.

"It's for love that isn't gone, just…unable to move forward.." his voice trailed off as his eyes continued to stare at the grave.

Minka knelt slowly beside George and turned to look at the grave.

"Hi Fred. It's so nice to finally meet you." She placed her hand over George's.

"Fred loved the circus. He always loved coming here, even after our father stopped taking us. I knew…I knew this is where he'd want to be. Not in some boring old cemetery, but the place that made him smile…made him laugh." He took in a harsh breath. "I haven't been here since the funeral. I haven't…"

Minka turned to George and placed her hand on his cheek, making him look at her.

"Fred knows better than anyone why you haven't. Don't do this to yourself." There was a long pause as George looked into her eyes and then finally nodded. "Besides, this is something good. I'm finally meeting your brother. What was he like?"

"Fred? Much more trouble than me. He was definitely the one went looking for trouble. He always found the best kind, and I always followed."

They sat for hours, George recollecting different stories of Fred and himself growing up. Minka found herself in tears most of the time from laughing.

She was clutching at her stomach as she leaned forward, loud guffaws of laughter coming from both of them. A few tears were even in George's eyes. She watched as his face suddenly went from being happy to cringing. His mouth coiled into a different shape, no longer smiling. He lowered his head, taking in a sharp inhale. He was crying.

Minka closed the space between them and cradled his head in her lap. She stroked his hair away from his face and simply let him cry. She felt her own tears begin to well behind her eyelids, hating how much he was hurting.

"He was my twin, Minka. I can't even…put into words how lost I've felt."

"And I can't even begin to imagine it. Even just thinking about it feels like my heart is being crushed. But…this isn't what Fred would want for you. We can't exactly know what he would have wanted but I know for absolute certain he wouldn't want you to keep hurting like this. What was the one thing Fred was flawless at?" She paused. "Making people laugh." She leaned down and kissed his temple. "And you have such a beautiful laugh. My only wish is that I could hear it more."

They sat there in silence for a while longer. Minka wasn't sure, but she thought he may have fallen asleep after a while.

"Thank you." He suddenly whispered. He sat up and looked at her. She began to wipe the tears from his face. "We seem to be diving into a lot of emotional territory."

"I'm okay with that."

"Really?" His face lit up the slightest bit.

"Really." She leaned in to kiss him when someone cleared their throat behind them.

"Sorry George, but we're closing up for the night."

"That's okay. We were just leaving."

They made their way to the exit of the circus with the crowd of people also leaving. Minka squeezed George's hand tightly the whole way home, feeling all the more closer to him.

"Thank you, for introducing me to your brother. I feel like I know a lot more about the both of you."

"You're welcome. I think he really likes you."

They exchanged a few more goodbyes and gave each other one more soft kiss before Minka stepped into her flat for the evening. George went home feeling much lighter than he had in years. It was as if the weight of his brother's death had slightly lifted from his fatigued shoulders. He knew then that he was falling in love with Minka.