This one has taken quite a bit longer than the other chapters, mostly because it's so long! I've had to split this one into two chapters, just to make it a decent size. It's a lot longer than the other chapters, as you can see, but this one is where everything happens. Fred's funeral, the reunion between everyone, the question about the pairings. I've tried to stay true to George's character as much as possible but I'm not quite sure of how I'm doing. Any kind of feedback would be great. :)
Friday came in a daunting speed, and before The Burrow knew it, Bill, Fleur and Charlie had arrived at its doors.
Embraces, hand-shakes and kisses were exchanged in a sense of hope and despair. Mr Weasley exchanged looks with each of the Weasley children, and all of them knew at once to crowd around their mother, offering comfort and warmth. Mrs Weasley was a chaotic heap. Her hair looked as though she had not brushed it for a month, her apron was worn crookedly and her cheeks bore the obvious stains of tears. Looking around, the tears crowded her eyes once again as she gazed at the faces of all her children: the scars and determined look on Bill's face, the equally numerous scars on Charlie's face and his lopsided grin, the stern but caring eyes of Percy, the downcast but significantly brighter eyes of George, Ron's unruly hair and slightly red eyes, and Ginny's grievous smile. The mass of red hair filled her vision and she knew that she had to count her blessings. Her family, though scarred, remained whole. Others, like Teddy Lupin, had lost his family before he was even aware of it. Yes, she knew to count her blessings.
Harry and Hermione stood at the side of the kitchen, watching the Weasleys. A pang struck Hermione's heart, as the absence of the warmth of her parents began to eat away at her. She wanted, at that very moment, to apparate in front of their doors, repair their memory and dive in their arms. She missed the soft vanilla scent of her mother's hair, the tangy smell of her father's aftershave and the comfort of their embrace. She missed the way her mother would caress her hair as though it were silk and the way her father always breathe his smile into her hair. She missed counting the wrinkles on her mother's hands and the white hairs on her father's head. She missed knocking on their door at night and wedging herself in between her parents when she had a particularly frightening nightmare. She missed linking their arms as they took afternoon walks in Muggle parks. She missed it all; she missed them.
As if sensing her misery, Harry held her hand and gave it a squeeze. He smiled at her when she turned to look at him, knowing that warmth was what she needed. The warmth of a friend could never compare to her parents', but it helped considerably. She noticed a faint sadness in his green eyes when he smiled at her, and it struck her that while she had parents to miss, he did not. Before she could offer her comfort, however, Mr Weasley had come up to them and included them in the Weasley family's embrace. At that moment, though she missed her parents sorely and he longed for parents to miss, they felt a sense of contentment as they became part of the Weasley magic.
It had been five days since Harry, Hermione and Ron had decided on inviting Draco Malfoy to Snape's funeral. Harry and Ginny still remained silent to each other, save moments where it was absolutely necessary to communicate. Ron and Hermione, too, shared no more awkward and blushing moments. The ghoul had been turned into a mockingbird by Hermione (with Ron's overwhelming pleading and gratitude), whose songs now fill The Burrow with a strange mix of sadness and hope. Harry slept in Charlie's old bedroom while Hermione slept in Bill's old bedroom. Not surprisingly, Bill's bedroom was now filled with books and extremely tidy, unlike its former self.
However, with The Burrow filled with its former inhabitants, the sleeping arrangements were altered. Hermione now shared a room with Ginny and Harry with Ron. That night, Hermione and Ginny each received an invitation to Fred's funeral, slipped under the bedroom door. It was from George. He had convinced his mother to let him take care of the funeral proceedings, as well as the invitations. Though reluctant and sceptical of George's ability to get everything done by Friday and Saturday, Mrs Weasley agreed, most probably because she knew that it was the last thing she could do to help George find closure.
Hermione opened her invitation, which was enveloped in purple and written on magically coloured parchment. The colour changed by the colours of the rainbow every minute. Odd, she thought, this is a funeral invitation, right? Ginny seemed to be sharing the same thoughts; though she had long accepted the eccentric character of her brothers. The parchment read:
Dearest Brilliant-headed Hermione,
You are most warmly invited to the celebration of Fred Weasley's short yet action-filled life. You have provided knowledge and scolding to Fred (and myself, I must add) in times of dire need, such as exams, exams and exams.
Before you begin to retrieve that horridly dull and boring black robe of yours from the depths of your trunk (though, I dare say it would be at the very front of a certain spectacle-wearing Weasley's wardrobe) I must implore you to cease the torment. Instead, retrieve that beautiful dress robe of yours (yes, the one you wore to the Yule Ball and successfully made Ronald Weasley look like he was about to jinx, fail to jinx and vomit slugs into dear Viktor's face) and wear it to the celebration.
Of course, you have a list of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes products to consider before you attend the funeral tomorrow:
Anti Gravity Hats
Aviatomobile
Headless Hats
Punching telescopes (though I guess your personal experience with these would be a slight deterrent)
An assortment of quills
Trick wands
An assortment of Muggle magic tricks and pranks
Choose wisely.
Lots of cunning love,
Holey George
"Oh, I can't help imagining mum's face when she sees this!" exclaimed Ginny in delight, an expression that had not been seen on her face for a long time. Hermione chuckled. Surely enough, a door violently opened on the second floor and Hermione heard a bellow: "GEORGE WEASLEY! I TRUSTED YOU WITH ORGANISING THIS! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? WE INVITED PROFESSORS AND MINISTRY OFFICIALS! WHAT WILL THEY THINK WHEN THEY SEE THIS?" Yep, she could definitely imagine Mrs Weasley's expression. It seemed that The Burrow had finally regained some of its former vigour.
"George said not to go out to the marquee until ten," mumbled Ron as he gulped away at his breakfast, determined not to look again at Hermione. She had transformed into her Yule-Ball self, but even prettier as she was now showing every sign of a full, grown woman. The sleeves of her blue robe fluttered slightly as she walked across the kitchen and into her seat, as though she were floating mid-air. Harry chuckled slightly as he saw Ron's jaw fall and eyes widen, choking on his milk. Thinking that no one had caught him, Ron had quickly buried himself in his breakfast. Seated, Hermione smiled at Ron and Harry, slightly unsure of how she looked, obviously unaware that she really looked quite beautiful. But the second that Ginny stepped into the kitchen, Harry had no space in his mind for anyone else.
Hermione knew that it was wrong yet right, in some strange way, to feel this way. She felt elated, now dressed in the blue robe and silky hair that had attracted loathsome stares from girls back in Yule Ball. Perhaps George was once again working his magic, transforming her in a day that was supposed to be filled with grief. She felt light, as though some sort of a weight had been lifted off her chest.
Ron was wearing a new dress robe, black lined with midnight blue. She felt her cheeks warm when she realised she was blatantly staring at him and quickly diverted her eyes. Harry was sitting – well, staring – slightly agape in Ginny's direction and Hermione knew instantly the reason when she turned to look at her. She had always the reputation of being very pretty, Ginny, but now she looked truly amazing. Her hair was loose, cascading over her shoulders, dancing about the cream-coloured robe that contrasted the red of her hair. Her brown eyes were alive, unlike their state of emptiness and sorrow for the past few weeks. In short, Harry's reaction reflected exactly how beautiful she was. Hermione chuckled at this, and began her breakfast.
Welcome to Cele-Fred-tion! Say the name of the product you have chosen and tap your wand on your nose.
Ron stared at the writing floating in front of him, just before the opening of marquee, said "Aviatomobiles" before tapping his nose with a wand. He watched in horror as a daisy grew from the tip of his nose, only to find the writing now changed:
Gotcha.
Snarling, he frantically grabbed at the words, as if it were the antidote to the dangerously large flower on the tip of his nose. An aviatomobile appeared into his arms, its size no larger than a child. Hermione stopped withholding a chuckle, and with a barely contained smile, tapped her wand on Ron's nose and watched the daisy float into the air. Growling, Ron rubbed his nose as he watched Hermione request for trick wands in elegance and without any sort of object growing out of her skin.
Once inside, Harry, Ron and Hermione could not help but stare and smile. The old energy of the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes was in every way visible inside the marquee, and they could not help but turn their heads in surprise when they heard a familiar voice hovering above their heads.
Peeves floated around the marquee, chanting "Weasley is our King!" while directing a horrible-sounding orchestra. The floating orchestra, much to Hermione's surprise, consisted of gnomes dressed in oddly looking miniature robes and hands glued to their instruments. All three of them laughed as the ridiculous image of Peeves directing a gnome orchestra presented itself in front of them. They laughed as they had not for a long time.
"George! How'd you get the gnomes up there? And so many of them!" laughed Ron, asking when George appeared from the crowd. With a mischievous smile he answered,
"My dear brother, I'd hardly waste my time talking to gnomes unless I could get them to do something for me."
"That's interesting, seeing the gnomes did not seem so willing when you confounded them and glued them to instruments," came Ginny's jeer, her eyes all laughter. George looked indignant as he hissed at her:
"I knew I would regret it when I decided against the Unbreakable Vow…"
Ginny shrugged. "Well, sooner or later – the former being the more probable – people are going to notice that ugly, resentful expression written across their faces." A sly smile appearing on his lips, George put his around his little sister.
"Ginny, Ginny, Ginny. No one, I assure you, no one, will even be looking up once I get this party started." With that, and a flick on Ginny's nose, George disappeared into the crowd once more.
Now it was the four of them. Hermione nervously looked backwards and forwards at Ginny and Harry, fully aware of the tension in the air. Ginny broke the silence first: "Hi Harry." She even managed a warm, genuine smile. Harry opened his mouth, looking as though he wanted to say something; but nothing came out. Hermione, sensing the difficulty Harry was experiencing, pulled Ron away with her, knowing that two pairs of staring eyes were the last thing Harry needed.
For the first time in one week, Ron and Hermione were alone. Ron seemed to notice this, as he became slightly fidgety. Hermione, too, was quite anxious, uncertain what this solitude with Ron would lead to. After a few moments, she decided to break the silence and saw that Ron, too, had spun around, about to say something. At this moment, George reappeared from the crowd, floating mid-air, side-sitting on a broomstick, one leg over the other.
"Dear wizards and witches, welcome to Fred's celebration party. Now, before I let you all go bonkers with our products, I'd like to establish some ground rules. Firstly, if I catch anyone saying the word "funeral" today, I swear in Merlin's name that a Puking Pastille will be shoved down your throat. Secondly, if you catch a floating gnome, well, do what you usually do with gnomes. Thirdly, you must put your Weasley product to good use today. Lastly, watch out for dear Peeves.
"I know that all of you must be expecting some sort of a tear-wrenching, noble speech from Fred's twin (that's me, by the way, for those daft ones who have not realised). Well, I'm afraid you're not getting one, because during Fred's life, he neither caused tears and nor was he particularly honourable. He, in short, was my brilliant partner in crime. And Merlin, did Hogwarts become our stage. He always had a cunning eye for genius hexes, although I must say I had the upper hand in executing them." At this, George gave them mischievous grin, though Hermione thought she saw a glint of tear in his eyes.
"Fred liked to call himself the Merlin of Beaters, even presented himself with an Order of Merlin, First Class, for his contributions towards the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. Of course, in no time, dear, wonderful Katie here changed it to the Order of Muddy, which I personally thought makes her deserving of an Order of Merlin.
"Many of you have questioned me about this wonderful way of… of sending away Fred," George coughed, and for a minute he did not recover from this fit. Tears crowded Hermione's eyes as she watched George, knowing that he did not want to reveal to everyone the truth behind his cough – but Hermione, too often the master of tears, knew that he was trying to fight the lump in his throat. She looked around the room, and saw that tears were rolling down many cheeks, but smiles plastered onto every face.
George, after a minute, cleared his throat and resumed, "The truth is, Freddie would have wanted it. If I had allowed anyone else to run this like a dull, depressing ceremony, I know that he would hex me like there's no tomorrow once I step into the other world when it's my time to go. So, without further ado, drink up your butterbeers! – but for the little ones, there's always pumpkin juice."
As George and his broom descended, he waved his wand and the gnomes, begrudgingly, each threw the Weasleys' Wildfire Whiz-Bangs into the air. Fireworks followed, and the entire room was glittering in an assortment of bright colours. With another wave of his wand, pictures of Fred appeared and floated around the room. Pictures of the twins when they were just born, of Fred receiving his first toy broom and George hitting his head with it, of the twins with their Hogwarts letters, of the twins in their uniform on Platform Nine-and-three-quarters, of Fred and George's wizard chess battles, of their first Zonko's trip, of the opening of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes and numerous others that featured George, Harry, Hermione, Angelina and the rest of the Weasley family.
"Fred always told me that the day he and George were born, Voldemort stopped his killings to honour their birth," Ron chuckled and choked on his tears as he showed Hermione the picture of the twin's birth. They walked through the marquee, looking at every photo that floated mid-air, occasionally ducking when Peeves flew past. By the time they got through half the photos, Harry and Ginny appeared beside them, hand in hand. The two blushed when Hermione threw them a jubilant smile and Ron threw them a growl. Together, the four looked through the photos that defined Fred Weasley's life, all the while Ron and Ginny gave commentaries and further explanations on the subject of the photos.
"Harry! Ron! Hermione! Ginny!" came a shout from behind. All four of them turned around, only to find Neville and Luna, the other two of the six friends who led Dumbledore's Army, fought at the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, again at the Astronomy Tower, revived DA and fought together to destroy Voldemort. All six smiled at each other, grateful for the fact that they were still alive, still here. Together, they walked around the marquee, watching as Fred Weasley's life played before them in a series of pictures, celebrating the life of the master of humour and pranks.
In a bout of mischief, Ron, Harry and Neville began to play with their aviatomobiles and flew around the marquee. Shaking her head, Ginny led Hermione and Luna to a table. "Are you and Harry back together now, Ginny?" asked Luna in her characteristically dreamy voice. With a blush, Ginny replied in the affirmative.
"That's wonderful, I always thought you two should have gotten together," said Luna, her line of vision swimming around the marquee.
"What about you, Luna? Surely, someone has to have fallen for your beautiful strangeness," teased Ginny, a twinkle in her eyes. With a smile, Luna directed her eyes at Ginny, the dreaminess still there, but now with an additional hint of happiness.
"Yes, Neville has asked me to be his girlfriend."
I do feel obliged to add this little A/N at the end. I didn't want to spoil the surprise before the chapter so I didn't mention it, but I've tried really hard to capture Luna's character. I honestly don't know how I'm doing, so feedback would be great! The next chapter is currently still in progress, but I'll post it up as soon as I finish it. Thank you for everyone who's reading and following my story; I can't begin to describe my joy and gratitude! :)