A/N: Hi all, I know this was originally meant to be a one shot but I had a lot of ideas come to me and I thought it would be a shame not to get them down.

Percy found himself being shaken awake. Disorientated, he reached over to the bedside table and retrieved his glasses. "What time is it?" He focused his eyes to find it was George who had awoken him.

George placed down a bag on the bed. "You didn't have a chance to pack last night, so I went back to yours and threw some stuff in."

"Thank you, I'm sure it should be fine." He leant over and pulled it towards him.

"Get dressed and meet me at the breakfast table." With that, George sent his brother a wink and apparated downstairs. Shortly after, Percy heard a startled shriek belonging to his mother.

He sighed to himself. How could George carry on like this, when Percy was finding it hard so hard to see a way forward?

oOo

Down in the kitchen, George got to his feet and shuffled away from his mother who had a stunned look on her face.

"Sorry, Mum." He said, looking extremely embarrassed.

"What have I told you about being careful when you apparate? You're getting worse!" Molly's warning was unconvincing. She no longer had the same flare that she used to.

Before George could reply, Arthur ran into the room, closely followed by Harry and Ginny. "Is everything alright? I heard screaming."

"George apparated onto my lap." Molly replied.

Harry put an arm around Ginny. "He accidentally ended up in the bathroom whilst I was in the bath." He said to no one in particular, cringing at the memory.

"I offered to scrub your back whilst I was in there." George sat down at the table and made a blind grab for the first piece of food that was there. "It's not my fault that you're easily embarrassed."

Molly and Arthur exchanged concerned looks. Neither said anything.

Ginny looked at her parents and crossed her arms. "Well?" She narrowed her eyes in disapproval.

George looked up from his breakfast. "Well what?" He asked through a mouthful of toast, spraying crumbs in the process. "What's up with your face?"

Ignoring George, Ginny looked at her parents again. "Are you just going to stand there and say nothing?

George interrupted." Say nothing about what?"

"About whatever it is that is going on with you! We only lost our brother a few weeks ago and you're making out like everything is fine, when everybody knows that you're not!" Ginny shrugged Harry's arm off and walked closer to the table. "You think you're fooling us but you're not."

George diverted his eyes away from her. "Fred wouldn't want us to fall apart." His voice was barely audible.

"You're not exactly holding it together." She turned her attention to her mother. "Did you know he feel off his broom the other day? He couldn't take off and when he did, he fell straight back down."

Harry intervened, hoping to keep the peace."Maybe he just needs a new one?"

"There's nothing wrong with the damn broom stick, it's him!" She raged. "He's been splinching himself and everything."

Molly look horrified. "Georgie, is this true?"

"I obviously didn't splinch myself deliberately." He waved a dismissive hand. "I may have left a little bit of myself behind, last week, but it wasn't anything to worry about."

"C'mon George, you've got to admit it was more than just a little bit." Harry reasoned, looking wary. "It's nothing to be ashamed of. We're all struggling to get back to the normal since..." He stopped himself. "Well, you know how it is."

"Harry, you're getting way too deep here. We've all been there, making small mistakes whilst apparating."

"Small?" Ginny despaired, furiously shaking her head. "He left both his legs, an arm and the remaining ear behind. The Accidental Magic Reversal Squad had to be sent out to fix him.

There was a moment's silence. Arthur looked his son up and down, taking in this new piece of information. "You never used to be this careless, son." He paused, carefully thinking about what he would say next. "Tell you what, I'll take a trip down to the apparition centre and ask them if it's possible for you to take some extra lessons."

Molly nodded. "Yes. That could help."

"I don't need any extra lessons; I passed my test years ago." George argued back, irritation beginning to show through in his voice.

"And now you're not able to do it without getting splinched or ending up where you shouldn't be!" Ginny said, her voice breaking.

"Okay, I admit that I've become a little..." The sound of feet walking down the stairs brought the conversation to a close.

Percy peered around the doorway. "Is everything alright? I heard arguing."

Ginny turned. "Maybe if you'd been here more, you'd know."

"I'm back now."

"For how long this time, until something better comes along?"

Percy desperately tried to hide the look of insult on his face. He failed. "I understand that you're grieving, Ginny, but..." He thought for a moment, unable to finish his sentence - when he looked at her again, there were tears brimming in her eyes; a mixture of frustration and heartbreak. "Oh Merlin, don't cry. I didn't mean to make you feel this way."

She wiped at her eyes. Of recent weeks, Ginny had reminded herself of Cho Chang shortly after Cedric Diggory's death. She too had found herself bursting into tears over the littlest of things at any given moment.

"I think she needs a moment alone." Harry took hold of her hand and guided Ginny towards the door. "It's not you, Percy. It's just the whole situation." With an apologetic look to the rest of the family, Harry closed the kitchen door behind him and Ginny.

Frustrated, Molly threw a tea towel down on the table. "Do you see what you're doing to your sister, George?"

"I splinched myself, it's not as if I murdered anyone."

"What's this about splinching?" Percy spoke up.

George placed his fork down and pushed the plate away from myself. "That's nothing for you to worry about, older brother." He placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you ready for today?"

Percy looked over to the closed door. "Do you think I should talk to Ginny before we leave?"

"I wouldn't, if I were you." Arthur said. "She'll be alright later on. She just needs time."

Percy looked unconvinced. "Right, okay then." Hoping to change the subject, he turned his attention back to his younger brother. "Should we get going?"

Molly stepped in."You're using the Floo network." Her voice was stern and left no room for argument (at least not off Percy, anyway.)

"Have you got a fireplace in the shop, George?" Percy asked.

"Yes, but we're not children, if we want to apparate we'll bloody well..."

"Do as your mother tells you to." Arthur interrupted.

George sighed and without a word to his parents he pulled Percy out of the room. "I never use the Floo network."

"Let's just do it, to put mother's mind at rest. She's obviously concerned about us using apparition." He looked thoughtful. "It's only natural that she should be feeling protective after everything that has happened."

They paused by the fire and started preparing.

Arthur entered the room, hoping to reason with his son. "George, you must understand that your mother is only trying to do her best for you. There's no shame in receiving extra lessons, it will do you good."

"I don't need extra lessons and I don't want to use the Floo network."

"I know it can be frustrating, but until you have improved, it would be safer to use the Floo network."

Percy stepped in before George could protest. "Father, I have a compromise."

"A compromise?"

"Yes, a compromise." Percy gestured to his bare feet. "George didn't pack me any shoes when we came here last night. So, how about if we side apparate back to mine, we'll then use the Floo network to get from my place into Hogsmeade?"

A look of outrage was clear to see on George's face. "I'm not side apparating."

"Then it's the Floo network, or nothing." Arthur attempted to sound as no nonsense as Molly did when she was talking to their kids. George muttered under his breath and reluctantly took hold of Percy's arm.

"Don't worry, Father. I'll make sure he's alright."

"I'm still here. Don't talk about me as if I'm not in the room." George said. "Of course, I'm going to be alright. " He added as an after thought, trying to convince his father.

Arthur mustered a weak smile, that wasn't fooling anyone. "Of course you are, son. Just be careful, okay?"

George merely nodded.

Percy took a firmer grip of George's arm. "Are you ready?"

"Ready." He confirmed.

Arthur and the rest of the Burrow soon disappeared from sight and within seconds they found themselves stood in Percy's bedroom, where they had been less than a day ago. George found himself feeling dizzy and he clung to his brother for support.

"Are you alright? You look like you're about to faint."

"I'm fine." He insisted, becoming increasingly pale by the moment.

Percy tilted his head to the side. "What's wrong? It's as if you've never done this before." He held him up for a few seconds, unsure of whether to let go.

"Just get off I'm ..." Before George could finish his sentence, he leant forward and was sick over the carpet.

"That's odd, most people vomit the first time, but it's very rare for it to happen after having the level experience that you have." With a flick of his wand, Percy cleaned the floor. "Not to worry though, it's easily cleaned."

George wiped his mouth, embarrassed. "I just ate breakfast. I guess we should've left it a bit later before we went." He let out a laugh, more of an attempt to convince himself than Percy.

"Yes..." Percy mumbled. "That's probably what happened. I'll get my shoes and we can prepare the Floo network." Just as he was about to take a step towards the wardrobe he found himself distracted by the sight of shattered glass sitting on the window ledge. "George, didn't you fix that yesterday?"

George looked over to where Percy was pointing. "I did! It must of have just been kids that broke it or something like that."

"It's a possibility that the spell didn't hold, that can happen sometimes."

"Not to me." George insisted. "I'm telling you, something else re-broke that window after we left."

Percy offered no reply. Instead, he reached into his pocket and produced his wand.

"Stop!" George reached over and pushed Percy's arm down. "I fixed it yesterday; I can fix it again, today."

Percy put the back in his coat pocket. "If you must."

George lifted his wand and pointed it determinedly at the glass. "Reparo." The glass rearranged itself back into shape, however -unlike the day before, it didn't look as good as new. In fact, the glass looked so fractured that it was impossible to see out.

"George... how about you let me...?"

"No." He lifted the wand again. "Reparo." It was possible to see out. Yet, one large crack, right down the middle, still remained.

Percy shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, biting down on his tongue in restraint.

George wasn't about to give up. "Reparo." He smiled, almost as if nothing had happened at all. "There you go. I told you I could fix it."

"Yes you did." He took a breath. "George... Has this ever happened before?"

"What do you mean has this ever happened before? There's nothing wrong with me, the window must have some sort of magic repellent on it."

Percy knew this not to be true. He could remember having it installed. The salesman had reassured him that in the event of a breakage the glass could be easily mended by the Reparo spell. "Let's just go to Hogsmeade, forget all about it?" In truth, Percy didn't want to forget all about it.

"Yes and if I were, next time you get a new window, try a more reliable company – you know like the one just around the corner from the Hog's head?"

"That's actually where I..." He stopped himself. "Okay, I'll bear that in mind for next time." Percy lit the fire and the emerald flames began to burn brightly. "You first." He passed the Floo powder over to his brother. "I'll follow on, after I've found the appropriate footwear."

George stepped into the fire place. "Weasley's Wizard Wheezes." With that, he disappeared into the flames leaving Percy alone.

A shattering noise could be heard from behind. Percy turned to find that the window had once again fallen apart.

He sighed to himself and reached for his wand. "Reparo."