Here's the next part. Not to sure what you will all think. But this is how it came out when I wrote it. I haven't written much in the last few years, but my stories do tend to have a habit of things walking in, or happening that I didn't expect when I sat down to write, and then I can't seem to write them out again.
But I hope you enjoy it.
"Wow what a mad house out there." Lee exclaimed as him and Percy entered the Burrow just before the service was about to start.
"Yeah, it was a good idea of Kingsley's to rope the area off and have a path way up to the entrance of the wards. Something he learnt from his time working for the Prime Minister apparently." Percy added looking around the room. Most of the extended family had now gone to take a seat in the Meadow, but all those staying at the burrow were waiting for Percy and Lee to join them so they could take their seats at the front.
"Do you think you let all the right people through?" Molly asked, handing Percy and Lee a butter beer each. "Here you go dears, thank you for doing that. If it was anything like yesterday it must have been hard. Picking the people out of the crowd."
"It wasn't too bad actually. Once they roped off the area, everyone who tried to get in had to walk up the path they had made." Percy explained.
"The crowd all cheered when the teachers from Hogwarts turned up. It was awesome to see." Lee half laughed. "I think the Auror's will be working overtime to wipe the memories of the village down the road. A few were driving up to see what was going on."
"Well I suppose a few hundred screaming teenage witches would do that." Hermione sighed. "You would think they had no one to idolise."
"Ah, but they do in Harry." Charlie half rolled his eyes. "Don't worry I'm sure some of them are here to see you too Ron." He patted Ron on the head like he was a puppy.
Ron waved his hands trying to stop Charlie. "Well I did help as well you know. It wasn't all Harry."
Harry half smiled at Ron, and nodded to George who was finally coming down the stairs to join his family. Harry couldn't decide if it was good or not George hadn't been down when the girls were in the house. But there was plenty of time after today to let George know about Alicia.
"Right, I think it's time we started." Arthur said looking at his watch. He glanced at the family cloak and sighed. The hand which had been Fred's lay dormant at the base of the cloak clearly having fallen off when he passed on from this world neither Arthur or Molly had had the heart to remove it just yet.
There was a knock on the door just as everyone was standing up to head outside and Arthur who was to lead the family out opened it.
"Minevra, what can we do for you?" He asked standing aside so that Headmistress McGonagall could step into the Kitchen carrying with her a large flat rectangular box.
"Well, there's someone here who wants to attend the service. I'm not sure it's entirely appropriate, but well he won't give anyone any peace about it, and has joined in with Peeves to make sure he's here today." Minevra explained placing the box on the table.
Everyone looked at her strangely and then looked at the box as she pulled out something wrapped in bubble wrap.
"I wanted to present this to you all tomorrow after the Public Memorial Service and the unveiling. But this was one of the first finished and of course he hasn't shut up about being here today so I finally gave in." She finished pulling the wrapping off what looked like a large picture frame. She half frowned at it adding. "Well I hope your happy now." To the picture she was looking at before turning it around to show all of the family.
Much to Molly's delight and everyone's amazement Fred grinned back at them with laughter in his eyes. "You didn't expect me to miss out on my own funeral did you?" He asked with a gleam in his eye looking very proud of himself. "It's great McGonagall had 3 made. One for Hogwarts, one here and of course one at the shop. So sorry George you're still going to have to run all the ideas past me. Hey Harry old mate. Congrats on beating death yourself for a second time. It's a pity you didn't let me in on your secret before….well you know."
It was a good 15 minutes before the family finally made it outside, Fred's portrait being carried by Molly and Arthur after they had warned him not to talk too much during the service. Harry couldn't help but notice Arthur looked a little like he agreed with Headmistress McGonagall that Fred's portrait should not be at his own memorial. George, Harry had to admit was looking a little more like his normal self. He had told Fred of Percy's prank on himself that morning and Fred had told Percy that maybe just maybe he wasn't quite ready to join the ranks of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes just yet.
Arthur and Molly placed the Portrait on an easel Minevra had thought to set up on the side to right the far right of one of the first rows.
"Do you think I could get a good look at the crowd?" Fred had asked his father clearly a little too excited.
Arthur had just frowned and shook his head. "You can talk to people afterwards, but not now."
Molly sniffed and sat down next to the Portrait. Like if she let someone else near it, it would disappear.
Harry had to admit to himself that the service went better than he could ever have imagined. Not that he would admit it to most of the family but he wasn't sure the tears he shed throughout the service were from grief or just sheer amusement at the silly things Fred's portrait would call out.
Even though Harry would admit it wasn't that easy to get through what he wanted to say with Fred adding in bits and pieces all the time like how cute Harry had been when he first started school and how Fred and George had seen the need to take him under their wings so that he didn't get to serious. Harry had glared at him after that comment, while Fred had just sat back in the chair in his portrait and smiled at him. "Come on, Harry we all know you tend to take life a little too seriously."
George who had been the last to speak had seemed to enjoy having Fred adding the odd comment here and there to start with. But after having an argument with him about just whose idea one prank had been much too some side splitting amusement of the crowd. George had almost given up trying to finish what he had to say declaring. "If you want me to say anything nice about you, you better shut your mouth or you won't be hanging in the shop, you'll be in the broom closet."
"You wouldn't." Fred had called back.
"Watch me." George had called back pulling his wand out of his robes and levitating the Portrait in to the air. "Better yet I might just transfigure you into something else. Shall we see how you like being a puking pastille?"
"Alright, I'll shut up." Fred had held up his arms in surrender. Harry who was standing behind George with Lee in support just shook his head, and glanced out at the family again. Molly was reaching for the portrait, and Arthur giving a frowning look to Fred in the Portrait while Ginny and the rest of the Weasley's just shook their heads and smiled.
George lowered the portrait again and Molly grasped it to her tightly before placing it back on the stand.
George took a deep breath looking at his notes once more and sighed. "As much as it may look that I am to be stuck with Fred's opinion on everything for the rest of my life." He glanced at the portrait. "I am aware that now he is no longer here beside me. He won't grow old with the rest of us. He won't grow mature no matter how much our mother would still like us too. I will forever grow a year older on our birthday while his 20 year old self gloats at me from this portrait." George gestured to the portrait without looking at it and sniffed. "He was a half of me, a mirror image as people often joked before the last year when I've had a marked difference." George gestured to his ear. "What I'm trying to say…" He paused. "I thought we would always be together. I always saw us growing old, living next door to each other with our wives and kids. Now I have to face the future without someone who's been there with me every step of the way. Without the one who can finish my sentences and add to my ideas just like I could with his. I know I still have family and good friends. But Fred I'm still going to miss you, so much more than I ever missed my ear."
Harry smiled through some tears at George's finish and looked at Ginny who seemed to be doing the same with a slight shake of her head. George really would never stop trying to make people smile even if his heart was breaking at the same time.
Harry had to admit that the magical way of burying people was pretty cool and a lot quicker than the muggle way. Dumbledore's tomb and just appeared over his body. Tonk's and Remus were always going to be together in their urn and Fred well his siblings had carried his coffin to a place under a large apple tree that Harry had heard they all claimed as kids, and Arthur held the celebrants wand this time, and on the celebrants signal Arthur flicked his wrist and the Coffin disappeared to be replaced by a fresh mound of dirt and a headstone.
Everyone mingled after the service. Fred's portrait had been left at the front, and people could approach it as they wished.
Food was brought out by the family and with help from extended family, and the meadow slowly turned into groups of people talking, turning chairs around to be placed in groups, and everyone seemed to relax a little. Auror's still stood on guard where the break in the wards were to let people come and go, but over all apparently the crowd outside had died down and returned home on realizing that the family was all staying at the burrow and that they were unlikely to see any of their hero's coming to or leaving the funeral.
Harry was getting a drink with Lee for George when Lee saw the girls for the first time. Katie and Angelina were still guarding Alicia one on either side of her.
"Mate, have you seen Alicia. She looks bad." Lee mumbled to Harry. "What the hell did I miss? I better go and find out if she lost her parents or something."
Lee said taking off in their direction. Harry had to admit to himself that he was pleased Ron and he never had the same taste in girls. Alicia had somehow over the years managed to date three best friends. Two of them being twins, Harry shivered slightly at the thought.
Taking back a butter beer to George, he sat down next to him. "Lee's talking to the girls. Alicia's taking Fred's death pretty hard." Harry commented wondering if George really didn't know about Fred and Alicia.
"The first one of the 6 of us to go." George commented taking a drink of his beer. "I think I could do with some fire whiskey." He sighed at the bottle.
Harry nodded. "So you and Fred really never talked about girls and who you were dating?"
George shook his head. "Not since Lee and Alicia got together. I was pretty cheesed off at the time. It wasn't even that I still liked her. It was just that Lee and her, well you probably remember they were just a little all over each other." He shook his head. "Fred made a few rules and got Lee and I to agree to it somehow. We would never again go out with someone one of us had already dated, and well the first to mention they liked a girl…..well they got her or no one did. Why do you think I've never made a move on Angelina? Fred claimed her first."
Harry nodded thinking about the fact Fred had broken his own rule and clearly wouldn't fess up to Lee and George about it, and now Lee and George still weren't breaking Fred's rules. Harry could now see why Lee hadn't made a move on Katie yet despite the fact they did everything pretty much together. Fred had dated her while George was going out with Alicia in their 5th year.
Let me know what you think. Please R & R.
Hopefulled.