Pairing - George/Verity
Prompt - Celebrate
Word Count - 524
The weather was perfect, the invitations sent out, the decorations looked beautiful and everything but the groom was ready. George sat in his old bedroom at the Burrow, the bedroom he once shared with his twin. His other half. His better half, if truth be told. Today should be a day to celebrate he knew, it should be a day he was excited about, it should be a day he was glad to be alive. As he looked in the mirror, all George could think, was that it should be Fred.
It should have been Fred getting married to a beautiful woman. It should be Fred all decked out in wizarding robes. It should be Fred who was alive.
He wished his twin was here with him, laughing at his nerves, taking the mickey about him finally tying the knot, so to speak. He wished Fred could be standing for him, could be his best man, the way he always had been before. He wished a lot of things, none more so than he wished Fred was still alive.
Movement caught his eye, and he glanced around expecting to see his mother, his father, or maybe one of his brothers. What he didn't expect to see was a floating image of himself. His jaw dropped as the ghost moved closer, and he felt the chill emanating from it.
"You didn't think I wasn't going to see you on your wedding day, did you?" Fred asked, a huge smile on his face as he watched tears well in George's eyes. "I'm proud of you, so, so proud of you. I told you she had a crush on you."
"How...When..." George stumbled over his words. Surely if Fred had come back as a ghost he would have visited before now.
"I'm not a true ghost, Georgie. The powers that be granted me a favor. I knew you would struggle more today than most, and I needed to come and see you. I needed to tell you that I'm okay, and that, after you've lived a long and happy life, that I'll be waiting for you. I love you Georgie, but you need to get on with your life."
"I...I can't. I don't know how," George replied, tears running freely now as he made no attempt to control them. "I'm lost without you."
"You aren't. Today proves that. Go and marry that beautiful woman, George, because she loves you, and I know you love her. I'll be watching, I always am. I have to go, but George, I'm always here with you. Never forget that."
Fred faded from view, and George stared at the space for a long time, waiting, hoping for him to reappear. He only moved his eyes when his Father told him it was time.
As George thought about his brother's words, he knew they were right. It was time to start living for the both of them.
xxxx
As he waited at the alter for his wife, a laughing whisper in his ear made him jump. "Make sure you name your first born after me, or I'll come back and haunt you."