George's Mail
It was around three o’clock when George finally got home. Three o’clock and his brother was nowhere to be found. It wouldn’t have been surprising, everyone had friends, except this was Percy we were talking about. Percy Ignatius Weasley, AKA the huge introvert, who was also disabled. So when George met with complete silence, he got kind of panicked. Panicked enough to accidentally break one of the plates, while trying to get something to eat. Panicked enough to loose his appetite, even if he was hungry as a beast before. And when the strange muggle machine on the wall started buzzing, beeping and vibrating, he almost shit his pants.
See, George was never a wimp. Between the two twins, he was the braver. Once, he ran into the abandoned forest all alone in the dark for a dare. Fred was too scared to do it, so George pretended to be Fred, so Fred could not be called a scaredy-cat. It was one of the many things they had done for each other in the past. In return however, Fred had to give him his dessert for a week.
They had their share of fun back in Hogwarts, though George would never admit out loud, sometimes it was too much, and sometimes they went too far. There were several occasions where Fred would do something George didn’t approve of, yet was scared to speak up, afraid to be judged. George might’ve been the braver, but Fred was still in control. It was always Fred and George after all. Never George and Fred.
The muggle thing never stopped ringing and moving and it was driving George mad, so he decided to do something about it. The boy carefully approached it, and gently pulled the phone away. A thick string was keeping him from pulling it far. When he picked up the phone, it stopped moving and ringing all together. And for a moment, George thought he heard a faint voice from it. Could it be…? No, he was imagining things- ‘George?’ he heard it again. And the Weasley shook his head again. ‘George!’ okay, he was definitely not imagining it. He lifted the phone to his mouth and spoke:
“Hello?” he spoke into it, feeling like an idiot for a second.
“Oh, merlin’s sake George! Do you not know how to use a phone?” an angry voice spoke to him through the device. George was dumbfounded. Was it Audrey?
“Err, no…?” he chuckled, trying to hide the nervousness in his voice. The woman on the other side saw right through it.
“Nevermind… Later about that, right now I’m calling you because Percy asked me to,” Percy? Was Percy at the hospital? “Yes, yes he is George. He told me he didn’t leave a note and thought you might get worried.”
“He was right. I did get worried.”
“Well, good. Would you like me to give him the phone?”
“Yes,” George had no idea what that meant but trusted the woman, who he thought was Audrey.
“Hello?” a different voice spoke. George recognized it immediately.
“Percy?” he asked, a bit unsure.
“Yea, it’s me. Got scared of the phone?” the teasing tone came across a tad too clearly.
“Me? Nah, never…” he laughed. “So, how long will you be staying?”
“I’m unsure. Maybe a couple more hours, perhaps more than that… I really don’t know George, I am so sorry. I promised to cook dinner, but I’m not sure if I’ll be able to,” this was Percy alright. The same Percy who would apologize for things like that. George smiled.
“No worries Perce. Do what you have to there. Don’t worry about me, I won’t be bored, I’ve got loads of shit to do anyway,” he wasn’t sure if he said it to reassure Percy or himself. Even if he had been locked up in his room for a long time in the Burrow, he still required someone to always come and check up on him. Percy hummed in the phone.
“Alright, that’s good. I’ll try to get home as soon as possible! Bye George!”
“Bye Perce!” the device gave out a weird beeping sound, then the line went silent. George put the thing back and sighed. He was lying when he said he had things to do. In truth, he had no idea how to spend his time other than sulking in his room and grieving. He had no idea what to do, he wasn’t used to being alone. Fred was always there, Fred always helped, he always kept him in company. But now that Fred was gone, George felt like an unfinished artwork. Without his twin brother, George felt so alone, so lost. He had no idea how to fix that.
When the boy stepped into his room, he was slightly taken aback. There were around twenty letters in his window.
“Already?” he spoke out loud, slightly laughing. That was a surprise. It couldn’t have been more than an hour since he put that sign onto the shop’s window. Yet there were so many letters already. Why?
George put them onto his work desk, and got to work. He opened the first one; a white envelope with a small doodle on it. The name on it was familiar. It made the Weasley smile.
‘To George “Feorge” Weasley from Lee Jordan’
George didn’t hesitate, he basically tore it apart, pulling the paper out. The writing was familiar. Messy, big letters with some symbols, like triangles or random circles. Lee’s ADHD made things more childish, yet it always brought a smile on the faces of the twins.
“Dear Feorge!
I’m glad you’re finally back with us! It took you a bit too long to crawl out of your shell, aye? Well, now that you, my dear friend has returned to the land of the living, we could meet up some time! Obviously, I would love to get my job back at your shop, but maybe our first chit-chat could be arranged earlier? Answer ASAP, ‘cause I’m anything but patient.
Love: your best-best-beeeeest friend Lee Jordan”
George opened one of his drawers and took out a quill and some papers.
“Dear Jordan Lee!”
“Good to hear from you too! I guess I just needed some time to heal alone time. Ironic, isn’t it? Anyway, we could meet up in a cafe or a pub, or anywhere you’d like. Perhaps we could go on a lady hunt, just like the old times. Or if you turned gay since we last met, we could arrange that too if you know what I mean. ;D
Sincerely yours: Feorge Fucking Weasley!
Ps.: You’re hired :)”
“Hermes!” he called out. The owl came in flying and stood on George’s desk. The Weasley put his letter in the envelope, wrote the address and other necessities on it, then gave it to the animal, who took it with it’s beak. “Bring it to Lee Jordan. You know where he lives, don’t you?” Hermes looked like he did, so George let him go. This wasn’t the first time Hermes had to get to Lee. There were numerous times when the twins ‘stole’ Percy’s owl, so they could send letters to people. The older Weasley had his suspicions but he never voiced them out loud. As long as Hermes got back safely, there was nothing he could be mad about, other than the stealing. And his siblings loved to take his stuff without permission, but they returned it in one piece most of the time.
Instead of falling into nostalgia, George took another letter. It was a job application from a guy named Luke Ashmint. George remembered the name. The boy was a Slytherin, yet he got along with every single house. He was a ray of sunshine in everyone’s eyes. He helped the twins sneak around the castle multiple times, so they were in good terms.
“Luke Ashmint!
I am here to announce you that you’re officially hired to Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes! I’ll see you on Monday. Bring anything you’d like from snacks to even friends! We always welcome new or old faces.
Sincerely: George Weasley AKA the owner”
Already two employees. To get the shop working properly, they’d need at least five people, considering the paperwork, packing out, the cashier and customer service. Obviously, more people meant more efficiency, so George kept digging. He got multiple “get better” letters, which he treated with great care. By the time he was through around 15 letters, there was a knock on the door. Who was looking for him?
George stood up and went to the main entrance. By the time he got there, the person on the other side knocked again, more inpatient this time.
“Okay, okay, I’m coming!” he shouted. The Weasley opened the door and met with the face of none other than his neighbour, Tom Liverpool. “Yes? How can I help?” he didn’t even notice how heavy the boy’s bag was, until he got it shoved in his hands.
“These are yours,” he said. The Weasley frowned.
“What? All of these? When… Where did you get them from?”
“From the mail, obviously,”
“The… What?” Tom blinked once. Then again, and again. Then he realized.
“Oh, you don’t know what a mail is!” he slapped his forehead. George grinned, frustrated.
“No, I don’t Tom. But if you’d tell me…”
“Oh, right! Did you see the boxes down by the main entrance to the apartment?” George nodded. “Well, a guy who we call the ‘mail man’ comes regularly to bring us the letters we received. These include bills, messages, promotions… Basically everything you can imagine. Those boxes down have names on it. Yours is 233, matching the door number. The mail man drops the letters into those boxes, and I believe you got a key to open it. Is that correct?”
“Maybe?” George reached into his pocket, getting the keys out. There were three keys on the key-chain. Two to lock the main entrance and one the Weasley had no idea what to use it for.
“Yes, that’s it!” Tom pointed on the third one. George nodded, making a mental note to himself to tell Percy of his new discovery.
“Okay. Thanks for helping me once again,” Tom nodded, then turned around to leave. But when George looked down to see how many letters he got, an idea crossed his mind. “Wait!” Tom turned around.
“Yes?”
“Can you help me with something else?”
* * *
“So, basically. You see those numbers?” Tom pointed at the small booklet George was holding. It’s cover was blue, and it’s pages were yellowish. Ronald gave it to him, saying that he’ll need it. There were many notes about muggles and the muggle systems, so George had a small cheat sheet which he kept expanding as he learned more and more. There were also a series of numbers on the first page, each attached to a name. There was one for Ronald, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Bill, Charlie, the Burrow, and surprisingly Lee and Angelica found their way on the list too.
“Yes, I do. What about them?”
“There are numbers from zero to nine on the phone. So, you look at the numbers and start the push the same ones on the device,” George ‘ooh’-d, a clear image of amazement crossing his face. “Now, who do you want to call?” the Weasley opened his mouth to answer, but in reality he wasn’t sure. Bill and Charlie had work, Ginny was on some Quidditch stuff, he hadn’t interacted with Harry, Hermione, Lee or Angelica in the past few weeks (or even months), the only option was Ron. George was close with his youngest brother. Sure, sometimes they were kind of mean to him, but they still loved each other very much. Ron used to be bubbly and childish, but the war and the constant stress changed him. He became a lot more serious than most of them, a lot more quiet and a lot more wary. Yet he was still their little brother, and as much as it hurt to admit, there was nothing they could do to get the old, innocent Ron back. So they had to adapt and accept, and they did as much as they could. George still adored Ronald the same, even if he became colder. The smallest Weasley boy never gave up on him along with Percy. They kept trying to make him feel better, no matter the costs. Maybe that’s why he decided to choose him instead of everyone else. Maybe that’s why he made excuses to why nobody else but him could come.
“I want Ron,” George answered after a moment of thought. Tom nodded, and slowly guided him through the magic of telephones. The Weasley lifted the device to his ears. He smiled when he heard a familiar voice come through it.
“Hello?”
“Sup Ronnikins. I’m learning to use this awesome device called telephone! Isn’t it crazy?” he heard chuckling from the other side.
“I knew you would like it.”
“Like it? Like it? This is amazing!” he was grinning like a six year old child, who just got a treat for behaving good.
“Great to know. Why was I your choice? Was it because my number was on the top?” George bit his lip.
“Actually, no. I need your help,” there was a moment of silence.
“You do? Where’s Percy?”
“He’s out, working.”
“So soon? Wow, he really is an overachiever.”
“Well, he met one of his friends, and they offered him a place to work.”
“That’s great! But where exactly?”
“St. Mungo’s.”
“Yea… There had been a lack of employees for a while now. The hospital needs all the help they can use. What does he do? Paperwork?”
“I’m not exactly sure, but definitely not paperwork.”
“Wow,” Ronald sounded surprised. “Percy not working in a cramped office? Okay, that’s a shock. Anything else you can surprise me with?”
“Nah, not really. I mean, Percy and I are good now, I’ve realized how big of an asshole I’ve been these past months, which I’m really sorry about by the way, we had some bad news, some good news, we almost got arrested… Just the usual.”
“Do I even want to know?”
“I’ll tell you when you get here.”
“Get there? Oh, wait. You need my help. But with what anyway?”
“Letters. I’ve put up a sign on the shop, because I’m looking for employees. I’ve got shit loads of them, and it hasn’t even been a day!”
“Well, duh,” Ronald didn’t sound astonished at all. “People loved Weasleys Wizard Wheezes. Hang on there George, I’m coming, just let me dress up and grab a bite.”
“We have food here!”
“Well, we have mum’s biscuits,” George cleared his throat. “-which I will bring to you and we’ll eat together.”
“There we go. I knew I could count on you little Ronnikins,” Ronald groaned.
“Georgeeee, I’m not little anymore! I’m literally taller than you!”
“Still. You’ll always be my sweet, little brother.”
“Bleh. Goodbye, see you in a bit,” and Ronald hung up. George looked at Tom, who was standing there all along, smiling at the Weasley.
“Do you need anything else to help with?” he asked sweetly. George shook his head.
“No, thank you Tom. I’ll invite you to a bottle of firewhiskey someday for all your help.”
“Nah, you don’t have to.”
“Well, I insist,” Tom giggled.
“Well, goodbye George. Have fun with your brother.”
“Bye Tom. Have a nice afternoon and night,” instead of using the door, Tom apparated. And people thought George was lazy… Then when he heard a sound in the living room, his earlier thoughts and worries immediately turned into ash. George turned around and a smile found it’s way onto his face. When was the last time he smiled so willingly? He didn’t know.
“Sup Georgie!” his little brother was holding something in his hands. As George went closer to examine it, he gladly stated that it was a cookie box.
“Hey Ronnikins! You brought those for me?” he gestured towards the mentioned, and Ron face palmed.
“Yes, I did. But that is not what I came here for in the first place, right?” George grinned.
“No, not at all! You’re here to help me.”
“Yes, I figured that much. Now show me where these lovely fan letters are.”
“On my shoulders, dear brother,” Ron’s expression fell, along with his whole face.
“Excuse me?” he blubbered out, blinking like a light.
“Yeaaa…” George said, looking away. Ronald however remained shocked.
“Fucking excuse me?!” he gaped the rest of his sentence, clearly not finding the air to form louder words. He slapped his forehead, hard. George shrugged, as he began to go towards his room. The bag was starting to pull him to the ground. Ron stood there silently for a couple of seconds, then managed to snap out of his daze. He went after his brother.
“So, we should get this done pretty quickly,” George poured the containment of the bag onto the floor. There were around 80 letters, perhaps more. They both died a little inside, seeing all the work in front of them.
“Yea, we’ll need a lot of cookies for this,” Ron said, crouching down to get one of the many envelops.
“And coffee. Loads of coffee. Speaking of which, I’ll go make some,” and George left, leaving his poor little brother to do everything by himself.
Hours went by, faster than usual, but slower than it should’ve and it had already passed nine by the time they were done with most.
“Mate, I don’t know about you, but I’m done for the day. The rest can be finished tomorrow,” George said suddenly, throwing a very colourful letter across the room. Ronald put down one too, ink smudging on it immediately, ruining the sheets. Neither noticed tho. They were so exhausted.
“Where the hell is Percy? Is he going to sleep there or something? If so, I hope he brought some sheets and pillows, ‘cause hospital beds aren’t too comfortable,” Ronald muttered, rolling over on George’s bed, crushing a couple of ‘to trash’ letters.
“I dunno. Should we call him?”
“Nah. He probably doesn’t want to be bothered. You know how grumpy he got back then, whenever we interrupted him. ‘Ministry duties’ he said, ‘important for the wizard community’ he said, and where the fuck did it get us?” Ron’s speech was slurred, and so was his low laugh. Okay, they may have opened a bottle of firewhiskey and drunk some of it, but they weren’t too drunk… Okay, maybe the ‘some’ means the whole bottle, but who cares? They almost finished!
“Yea… Nowadays, we get along really well. Funny story actually! I hurt him, can you believe that?” Ronald perked up at the word ‘hurt’.
“You did? How?” he blinked away the haziness that came, when he lifted his head. George no longer looked happy, rather sad. And guilty, extremely guilty.
“Oh Merlin, you won’t believe me…” the older Weasley buried his face in his hands. “I… I hit him,” Ronald raised his eyebrows spectacularly.
“You did what???” he sounded shocked, angry, confused and almost disgusted.
“I know, I know and I said I was sorry for it! I’ve been trying to make it up since then, but he seems to be so damn afraid of me, and I have no idea what to do!” he was close to crying by the time he was done. “And sometimes when he doesn’t dare to look at me, I can’t decided whether it’s because I hurt him, or because all he can see is… Him,” Ronald stayed silent. He wasn’t sure what to say, or even if he were, he couldn’t have worded it. What comfort can he offer now? The younger Weasley hated this. He hated how hard it was to be there for someone. It used to be so easy, but lately he’d been lacking empathy. He’d been lacking emotions. And it’s hard, it’s so hard Ron could go crazy from it any minute. But he always kept his composure and smiled, not daring to break the mask he was capable of keeping up for so long. But when George mentioned him, the boy just couldn’t take it anymore. A tear rolled down his cheek, then another came crashing after it’s friend, and more joined the race, acting like raindrops on the windows of those muggle creates called cars.
“I know it’s difficult,” Ron breathed out, and when George looked at his brother, the puffy eyes, the tears, the endless pain, he broke too. The younger Weasley took a deep breath. “No one is expecting you to act like everything is fine, because it’s not. But you have to understand our point of view too. You can’t just go around, doing whatever you want. That’s not getting better, that’s being selfish. And being selfish hurt the people around you too, Georgie…” Ron’s voice broke at his brother’s name, even if the other words rolled off his tongue so easily. “Ginny and I made this plan so that you could finally work out your differences, and not tear our family apart, because that’s what you were doing. You attacked everyone you saw, you never thought, George, you were like an animal!” he was sobbing by now, slightly pulling on his hair. “Hearing the fact you’re getting along is like the sweetest music to my ears, but knowing the cause makes the notes sound distorted… Oh, Merlin, I don’t know what to tell you, I don’t know how to help you… I’m sure Percy will forgive you. He forgives everyone, and you have a huge place in his heart, but I don’t know if he’ll ever be able to look at you the same again,” George hugged him. He wasn’t the one who needed comfort, yet his brother still gave him something he did not need or deserve.
“I’m sorry, Ronnikins. I shouldn’t have put this on you…” George sobbed into his shirt, the one he got this weekend. It had a big arrow on it, pointing upwards. Beneath it, ‘Police’ was written out in big letters.
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t help,” Ron apologized too, tightening his grip on the other. After some heartbreaking sobbing and loads of apologies, they were able to look into each other’s eyes.
“Do you want to sleep here tonight? I have a spare sleeping bag,” Ronald snorted.
“For what?”
“Well, you know… Potential one-nighters. You know how much I hate to share beds,” they both shared a giggle.
“Well, sure. Mum and dad won’t be home until the end of the week anyway.”
“How come?”
“They went on a vacation.”
“Excuse me?!” George exclaimed, his jaw dropping.
“Yea! We were surprised too when dad announced it. Although, mum didn’t look too happy to leave us, we were able to get her to leave.”
“Oh, bless her heart.”
“Yea,” Ron wanted to ask, whether they should call Percy to check on him or not, but he was afraid of George’s reaction if he’d brought the man up again. So instead, he tried to settle the typical worry in his chest and decided to go to sleep instead.
Both of them slept like a log that night.