In My Solitude

George sat with his back against the door, waiting for the potion to work.

“George? Where am I?”

His heart leapt. It worked. That was his twin’s voice. Fred was on the other side of the door.

George scrambled to turn and open the door. His hands trembled. His heart was stuck in his throat and his eyes were already watering and he was opening the door and he was standing and in front of him—

In front of him stood Fred.

Fred, who looked the same as he did that day two years ago. The day he died and the day George’s life had ended.

Fred’s mouth was moving but George couldn’t hear him over the pounding in his ears. He crossed the room in two long strides and finally, finally he was holding his brother again and this time he could feel the warmth of his body and as he fell to his knees and pressed his remaining ear against Fred’s stomach he could hear the echo of his own heart beating in Fred’s chest.

“George. Georgie. I died, George. Where am I? Why are you here?” Fred’s voice grew more frantic as looked down and grabbed at George, tilting his face up gently but insistently. “Wait, you git why are you here? George don’t tell me you—”

“I—I didn’t die Fred, promise. You died. Youleft me.” George bit the words out through his tears.

“Then how are you here? Where are we?”

“Remember the potion I was working on? The Personality Polyjuice?”

“Oh, George.” Fred’s face fell. “Who did you even get to—”

“A friend.” George answered hastily. “You’ve never met her. We’re in her house. And you don’t get to judge me.” He knew what the look on Fred’s face meant. “You don’t—you don’t understand. You left me. You died. You don’t know what it’s like to be the one left behind. It was this or kill myself to be with you again. And I couldn’t break my promise to you.”

“George.” Fred fell to his knees and drew his brother close, his hand on the nape of George’s neck. Their foreheads pressed together. “George,” he pleaded. “George, it’s not really me.”

“Isn’t it? Don’t you feel like you?”

“Yeah, yeah I do.”

“Then isn’t that enough?”

“I don’t know. How long does the potion even last?” Fred buried his face in the nape of his brother’s neck.

“An hour, I think.”

O