Running
Harry had wondered about ‘destiny’ since he was six. He sat in his bed that had been forcibly shoved into the cupboard under the stairs and thought about what he was meant to do. He wondered if his destiny was to be the Dursley’s butler all his life or if he was meant for more. Sorta like a modern-day male cinderella of sorts, an orphan who came from an abusive home growing up to become a scientist and making extraordinary discoveries or maybe a lawyer bringing justice to the people brought down by an unfair life. He was six. He had no clue what he would be facing in just five more years.
Now here Harry was collapsed on his hands and knees after he saw the demise of his enemy. The man that took his parent, the man that caused the death of Sirius, Remus, Fred, and so many more. For the past well, Godric only knows how long he thought his destiny was to die at the hands of Voldemort. But now, he was alive and had no idea where to go or what to do from here. He felt breathless. That much he knew; he also knew the crowd behind him was crying and cheering and celebrating. But he couldn’t seem to look up at any of them. He stayed there for a while, and he heard the people begin to quiet. He heard Hermione’s footsteps walk toward him wearily, asking if he was okay. He didn’t respond.
Instead, he lifted his head and searched for something, he didn’t know what or who he was looking for, but his eyes settled on George. George looked the way harry felt broken, empty, and lost. His eyes pierced through Harry’s mind and into his soul. There was almost a silent understanding between them. They wanted this all to be over. ‘This being the day the lifetime the world they lived in, they felt lost to the point of confusion. George confused and unable to comprehend that he, although alive, was half of a person and would have to learn how to live again in almost every sense of the word. Harry would have to learn how to live again too. Live with what he had done. Live with the lives it cost. Live his own life. Because now he knew that he hadn’t; Dumbledore and Voldemort took that away from him the minute he was born. He had lived and died for the wizarding world, and now, when he thought about what he wanted, his mind was blank. The silent conversation they had ended with something that could almost be called an agreement. ‘Healing can only be done alone.’
Finally, after his mind stopped racing, he looked up at Hermione and now Ron. He wasn’t sure when he had joined her, but he took both their hands and stood up on his feet. As he stood, he looked down to the elder wand in his hand. He looked at his wand in his hand, and that is when he knew what he was going to do.
“Are you alright, mate?” Ron asked again. Harry still didn’t reply.
“Harry,” Hermione questioned. He finally looked up at her.
“I’m sorry,” Harry said, taking his friends in his arms and holding them both close to his chest, “I just can’t do this anymore.” He looked up at George one more time nodding. George seemed not to question it. And in one swift move, he pushed his friends back and apparated away.
“Wha-” Hermione said to the air harry once occupied. She shook her head, confused as to what he meant. Hermione understood what he was feeling to a certain degree since, like him, she was also a part of the war, fighting for her life day after day and coming close to death numerous times in the past year and the past twenty-four hours. She turned her brows furrowed, contemplating what just happened.
“What do you think he meant?” Ron asked as they walked up to the rest of the Weasleys. To everyone’s surprise, George was the one who spoke, offering the group of spectators answers.
“He is doing what he needs to do,” George said flatly. Everyone looked at him, slightly shocked as he had hardly spoken much after seeing his twin in the infirmary, “He’s healing.”
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George refused to explain what he had meant no matter how many questions were asked or confused glances were sent towards him. He had stayed silent for the rest of the night, refusing to speak to anyone as he had done before. After the events in the courtyard, everyone heads back into the Great Hall to collect their dead. Molly and Arthur and the two eldest Weasley boys helped families find their loved ones and transport them back to their homes. Ginny and Ron were sat somewhere in the great hall crying and grieving for the lost twin, and Hermione was off somewhere helping with something, precisely what that was George didn’t really care. He wanted to go. Like Harry, George didn’t want to be there anymore. The place he continuously fought and endangered his life, the place where his twin saved his life on multiple occasions, and the place he failed to do the same haunted him. George sat on the bench in front of his brother, looking at his unmoving face. He hoped for a moment he would see some sort of movement in his brother’s body, but none came. For a moment, he wished that the brother he was looking at had been Percy. If it had been Percy, he would have felt sadness and enraged all at the same time. He would be sobbing and a complete mess in his family’s arms. But it had been Fred, and he couldn’t even muster up the energy to break down or have any emotion at all. He felt numb and lost; what was he supposed to do with that?
He didn’t remember when but at some point, Percy had come to sit next to him. A hint of guilt crept up on George’s heart as he looked at his older brother. He could tell he hadn’t been the only one wishing Fred was replaced with someone else.
“If I could, I would give my life to give him back to you,” Percy said quickly, looking back down at his lap. George wanted to add that their father and mother also lot a child, but Percy quickly added to his previous statement, “I know that he wasn’t just a brother to you. He was a brother to all six of us and a son to mom and dad, but we all were okay growing up and leaving the nest independently. Bill as a curse breaker, Charlie at the dragon reserve, me in the ministry, Ron will probably get a job as an Auror, and Ginny will most lily get a job of her own if she isn’t signed with a quidditch team by the time she graduates. But you two, although we knew you would move out of mom and dad’s house like the rest of us, we never thought you would leave each other like the rest of us. You would probably find a ridiculous living situation with him, like the burrow where you and your wives could live together with your own kids. We would probably all laugh at the idea you came up with and tease your wives relentlessly. But I would have been expected.” Percy stopped for a minute sensing the stiffness and tension in George. “The point is he was your brother more than anything else.”
George took a minute to take in his brother’s words. He was so distracted by his thoughts he didn’t even feel his tears starting to well up in his eye and slowly blur his vision. Because he could see it all, they talked about it all. How they would live in their apartment above the shop until one of them was going to get married. Hopefully, by that time, the other would also be in a relationship as well; that way, they could buy their own plot of land and start plans on their own house. Designed by themselves and taking into account the input of their wives because they would have to be supportive of their joint plans; otherwise, they wouldn’t have been their wives in the first place. He could see their kids, although technically cousins, being raised as siblings. And all the laughs they would get from their kids mixing them up when they were babes. And how they would send each kid a joint gift from themselves and them and their wives. He could see the kids organizing and planning jokes and pranks to pull on the pair for their birthday only to be foiled by both of them until it became a contest to see if they could outsmart them. He could see them all playing pranks on their kids and wives together. A house, A home full of love and laughter. Now it was all gone.
George looked down in his brother’s direction as he let his tears silently slip down his face. He blinked, allowing his vision to clear, and looked down at his brother’s hand. A tear from his face fell on Percy’s hand, startling him. His gaze finally lifted to see George looking down at him, not quite meeting his eyes. George still refused to say a word. He did, however, take Percy’s hand in his own, gripping him tight as if that were the only thing keeping him tethered to the world. Percy quickly reacted, holding his brother’s hand firmly because, to him, this was the only thing keeping him from drowning in his own mind full of guilt, shame, and regret.
The brothers didn’t let go of each other, not even when they all left back home to the burrow. George and Percy stood silently side by side, holding on to each other, one scared of sinking and the other scared of floating away.
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Harry had apparated to the burrow first, quickly gathering his things from Ron’s room and Ginny’s room. His mind was finally catching up with his actions as he grabbed his muggle watch from Ginny’s room and looked through her closet for any clothes of his she might have stolen. Harry finally walked out of her room and closed the door leaning back on it as he stopped and thought about what he was about to do. He thought about how worried Hermione would be about him and how she would try to find him at Grimmauld place almost immediately after arriving back at the burrow. He needed to get out of there before the rest of them caught him there; that way, he would have enough time to alter the wards to keep them out.
Harry was about to apparate when he thought about leaving them a letter to explain what was happening to him. But looking out at the darkening sky, Harry knew he didn’t have enough time to address all the members of the Weasley family and their particular concerns. Besides, it was not going to really be a secret that he was at the black estate anyhow; therefore, he could always write them later, and they would most likely send him multiple owls back to him. The thought of what they would say made harry sigh in both guilt and annoyance. But as he thought of what he would have to say to the family to get them to stop worrying about him, Harry’s thoughts roamed back to George.
Harry didn’t necessarily have a strong connection with the twins, but the way George looked at him in the courtyard made him think about the times the twins made him laugh and all the times the twins, unbeknownst to them, brightened his day and now how they both followed him to battle. Harry fondly remembered the Joy the spread across their faces when he gave them his ‘Reward’ from the Triwizard tournament. The look on George’s face today made him look like a completely different person. All of them looked changed or in some way altered by the war; no one leaves from a war completely whole. George looked the way he felt. That one thought floated in and out of Harry’s mind. He sighed and looked out the window again, not knowing how long he had been there just thinking through all his thoughts, but as Harry looked outside, he saw the Weasley family apparate into view at the edge of the field next to the burrow.
Harry swore outwardly. He needed to do this fast and get out some time in the next five minutes. He ducked out of view from the window seeing Arthur with his wand drawn, sensing that the wards of the house had been broken. Quickly, he ran up to the twins’ room, locked the door behind him, and cast a muffilio charm on the door to buy him time. He searched for a piece of scrap parchment in the twin’s room; not finding one, he resorted to looking for anything to write on. He suddenly heard the front door of the burrow swing open, followed by numerous footsteps. That’s when he found a stray chocolate wrapper. He conjured a muggle pen as he had no time to waste on a frivolous quill and ink bottle. Writing his message down his slipped it onto the nightstand in the middle of the room and set down his pen there, hoping it would cause George to look into the location he had tucked the wrapper. He heard the footsteps of none other than Arthur Weasley walk up to the twin’s floor down the hall; Harry braced for his next apparition. The last thing he saw was the door handle start to turn and the door unlocked.
Harry landed at Grimmauld place wearily; he could feel his magic start to strain under his exhaustion. He quickly dumped all his belongings he had retrieved from the burrow onto the sofa as he reached into his pocket for his wand and immediately started to close up the wards and limit the people who had access to the property previously. The first people he took the wards recognition off of the Weasley parents. Then he removed Ron and Hermione from the wards and slowly moved down the list of people he didn’t want to disturb him. In the end, there were only two people who were now allowed to apparate into Grimmauld place. He could sense multiple people trying to apparate in but quickly shut out. He could only guess that to be Hermione and Arthur.
Harry was about the collapse onto the sofa when he heard the floo startup. But in one quick move, he shut it off any and all attempts to gain access into the house. He could change that later, but for now, it would do. He quickly went back to adding extra layers of wards to the house, putting his strongest magic behind each spell he cast. He knew that he wasn’t the best at warding as he had hardly had any experience with it, but he had hoped the use of the elder wand would help him as he tried to keep the Weasley’s out. Finally, Harry couldn’t handle exerting any more energy, and he looked up at his work, hoping it would be enough to keep out the eldest Weasley son as he was still one of the best curse breakers there were out there. He made his way up to one of the many rooms, and as he reached the nearest bed, sleep took over his body before he felt the bed underneath him.
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When George saw the burrow again, he thought he would feel relieved to be home, but instead, he felt hesitant and just as haunted as he was at Hogwarts. He saw Fred everywhere and it pained him. Finally, the numbing sensation left, and all he felt was pain. His mother was still shaking and crying as she levitated Fred back in through the wards. He looked at his twin and approached his mother.
“Mum,” George said. She was crying harder now that Arthur had gone ahead to search the house. Her tears filling her eyes as she looked up at George; he looked like a ghost to her. Both because he was the exact replica of her other boy and because George himself looked pail with dark bags under his eyes. “You’re levitation is failing.”
Mollie looked down at Fred’s body and cried even harder as she saw him shake and drift closer to the ground as she lost concentration on the spell. Her energy and magic had just like all of them been overexerted. George could tell she was about to break and in one swift motion, he let go of Percy’s hand, not even remembering he was there to begin with. He caught Fred’s body a couple inches from hitting the ground. The whole family, even Hermione, stopped when they heard Mollie start to wail about how she couldn’t save her son; and how she couldn’t even do this for him. Bill and Percy rushed to her side, trying and failing to calm her sobs.
George stood up with Fred in his arms. He closed his eyes, almost refusing to look at his brother’s face, but he knew he couldn’t run from it even if he tried. When he opened his eyes, Charlie was in front of him.
“George, let me do this.” Charlie pled with him. The look in Charlie’s eyes had been soft and full of sorrow. George didn’t move; he only stared a moment longer into his brother’s eyes before once again his vision became blurred and tears silently filled his eyes. “George, I can-”
“No,” George all but screamed, tears ran down his face like a waterfall. His grasp on his brother tightened as he gathered himself and straightened up. Charlie stood there stunned, not knowing entirely what to think of George’s actions. George stared back at Charlie, almost daring him to try to take Fred away from him. He opened his mouth to say something, but George gave him a look of desperation. Charlie fell silent as George looked down at his brother and carried him to the house.
The sight of George caring his twin into the burrow broke Charlie’s heart even more. After a moment, he followed him in, ready and willing to help George if he needed it. He looked at the rest of the family; Ron was sobbing into Hermione’s shoulder, unable to see his brother being carried into the house by his twin. While Ginny stared at the ground, tears flowing down her face as she choked back sobs next to a somber Flur. Charlie wanted to run to his baby sister and hold her tight to his chest and comfort her. But he couldn’t let himself be pulled away from George.
When he was younger, Charlie hated being part of such a big family. He didn’t get enough attention, and he was eventually stuck acting like a fourth parent along with Bill. He vividly remembered his anger and rage when his parent announced their pregnancy with Ron and then again a year later with Ginny. He had bit his tongue when he saw Percy and the twins excitement for the arrival of the younger siblings, but he and bill had about demolished there room in pure anger and frustration after the family had gone to bed.
Once Ron and Ginny had actually been born, Bill and Charlie kept their distance from them for at least the first four years of Ron’s life and the first three years of Ginnys. The fights they had were chaotic and explosive, with Bill and Charlie both in Hogwarts and slowly gaining strength behind their magic and would make cups burst out of nowhere and lights flicker on and off. Everything had come to a head when their mom had finally snapped at Charlie for breaking so many cups saying: “CHARLES WEASLEY, You had better get a grip before we haven’t any money to replace those broken cups!” Bill had been the one to answer his mother by stating, “Maybe he should keep braking things around the house that way we know that as long of you don’t replace the bloody cups you won’t have anymore kids!” This had cause the whole house to fall silent, which had been a near-impossible feat.
The next year they both made amends and reclaimed their rolls in the family without another complaint. Molly and Arthur’s relationship with their eldest sons had never fully recovered until they had both graduated Hogwarts and started their own lives. They could have an adult-type relationship with their parents most kids come to have as they grow older, but the earlier nurturing relationship most children grow up with had been lost to them. Their mother would try to treat them like regular kids and parent them as if nothing had happened, but their father would let the boys be for the most part he knew they couldn’t pretend they hadn’t messed up with them. They had single-handedly cut the boys childhood short, and Arthur could see it by the way they both acted, thought, and even spoke. Arthur never stopped apologizing to them.
Bill and Charlie both lived with the guilt those years had brought to their relationship with their younger siblings they didn’t deserve to be in the middle of a family dispute. Bill had told Charlie that the only good thing that came from their family rebellion had been their ability to form a relationship with their siblings, if they hadn’t taken time away from being their parent’s extra set of hands, they would have probably come to resent them all. Their siblings were ultimately the reason why Bill and Charlie decided to make amends with their parents.
Percy had taken on there roll they had ignored to fill for those years and as a result, he had come to see their parents like Bill and Charlie had but his relationship with them had still been salvageable. Bill and Charlie had feared that Percy would hate them for sticking him with their responsibility but Percy understood and eventually forgave them.
Fred and George retreated to each other for comfort and support and embraced their inner troublemaker to distract themselves from the family’s tension. He remembered their words as clear as day. “Don’t worry, Billy” “Or you too, Charlie” “Were gonna give you guys a run for it.” When they had asked what they were talking about, they both answered together, “Family Disappointment of course.” The twins saw straight through their eldest brothers and saw just how much pain they had endured. The relationship the twins had with them had been irreplaceable to the both of them. Although they gave them a hard time, the twins also sent them cards, drawings, and gifts while they had been at Hogwarts and after. Bill and Charlie were both embarrassed and a bit excited by the twin’s seasonal howlers they would send them when they would win a quidditch game. And even after they had graduated, they would still receive howlers from the twins congratulating them for their newest accomplishments. The twins made sure their eldest brothers felt loved even if they were distant from the family, both mentally or physically. And when they finally made amends with their parents, the twins were their brightest light in their darkest days. Charlie had been proud to be the “first” to invest in the twin’s business when he heard they had dropped out of Hogwarts Bill had been the second and proud to be the twin’s first official customer at the shop.
Ron and Ginny had been too young to remember the family’s troubles and the eldest brothers had been thankful for that. After those years, they had learned to love all their siblings and loved having a big family it made their hearts swell. But in that moment, Charlie hated it again he wished he could hold them all and help them all through this, but he knew they would all at one point or another have to grieve alone. He would inevitably try and take their grief onto himself. The feeling would overwhelm him and just about burn him alive. But Charlie knew he could take the heat. He and Bill would have to make sure the family survived this. As he walked into the burrow, he met his older brother’s gaze and knew he had been thinking the same thing too.
Bill was the first to see George walk in the house as he comforted his mother in the kitchen. Instinctively he hugged his mother to his chest, shielding her from the heartbreaking sight. Bill hadn’t cried in front of his family yet. He had snuck away to sob into his wife’s arms back at Hogwarts before quickly fixing himself up and joining his parents to help the families of the other lost souls. But when Bill saw his little brother carrying his twin into the house, his heart felt like it had been shredded into a million tiny pieces. Tears sprang to his eyes and down his face before wiping them away and nuzzling into his mother’s hair, trying to distract her from looking back at the door. He and Charlie shared a glance delegating their tasks to one another instantly. Bill and Charlie would focus on the family first. Bill taking Ron and Ginny while he keeps mom close to his side until their dad came back down. Charlie would handle Percy and George in the meantime. Later they would inevitably have a conversation with their father before checking on each other. Bill didn’t know what he was more worried about his mother, his father, or Charlie. George was a completely separate subject. The rest of the family was also just as torn up and broken it made Bill’s head spin just thinking about what all his other siblings must be thinking.
Charlie’s thoughts were most likely running a mile a minute while at the same time being preoccupied with the family. The family being their number one priority, would distract Charlie long enough until tonight when his “True feelings” would come bursting to the surface. Percy and Ron were personifications of survivor’s guilt. Percy thought he deserved to die more than Fred. While Ron thought it should have been him because “I was on the run for a whole bloody year.” And Ginny looked like she was full of regrets and shaken to her very core. The twins had just about been the single reason ginny was the way she was strong-willed and a fighter. These things naturally came with having six older brothers but more so because of Fred and George as older brothers; Constant teasing and pranks made her willing to stand up to the twins and get them back just as bad as they got her. Now one of the people that she looked up to and spent most of her time with was gone. George’s mind was in a place even Bill couldn’t even imagine.
Bill was sucked out of his analyzing thought as he focused his attention on his father’s voice. Arthur Weasley had come down the stairs at some point and was now talking with George and Charlie. Flur, meeting Bill’s gaze, slowly ushered the younger Weasleys to Bill and their mother.
“Percy,” Bill whispered in a hushed tone. Percy looked up to Bill from his mother’s side, where he had been trying to soothe her. Bill nodded toward their father and their other siblings then looked back toward Percy. “He needs you right now.” Percy hesitated for a while before listening to his eldest brother and moved toward George, Charlie, and Arthur.
Molly continued to sob on Bills shoulder as she began to regain her composure she looked over to Ginny and held a hand out to her before pulling her into her and Bill. Ginny relaxed in Bills arms as their mother pulled away, but Bill pulled her back not wanting her to see Fred limp in Georges arms. He quickly shot a look to His father and them glances at George who was still holding Fred looking increasingly more livid and desperate. Quickly his father had George Place Fred's body onto the dinning room table and begrudgingly accepted that George wouldn't leave Freds side or let him go anytime soon. Arthur had began to place preservation and protecting charms on Fred's body as George watched his twins face still unmoving while he held his hand. Percy had taken his brothers other hand and stood by him silently trying his best to comfort him while Charlie watched his father work one hand on each of his younger siblings shoulders.
"I need to go help your father," Molly said, pulling away from Bill again. This time he didn't stop her deeming the sight he saw 'bearable' for his mother to see. It was Ginny's turn to cry on Bill, but unlike her mother, ginny was silent as she let her tears fall. Bill tightened his hold on her and let her sink into his chest while moving one hand up to the back of her head.
"Wake me up, Bill," Ginny's voice was low and stuffy as she clutched his shirt. "Please wake me up." loosening his embrace, he looked down at her, taken aback and a bit confused; he said nothing and waited for her to continue. "This has to be a dream, that's it…." Ginny rambled, pulling her head away from Bill's shirt. "I was hit with a formido charm. I had to be, Bill, I just had to be."
"Gin-"
"No, Bill, please," Ginny choked out; she tried to pull away from his chest, but Bill's grip kept her close to him. Bill again felt his chest clench; his little sister, his little fighter, was breaking apart. The look in her eyes only confirms what he's thinking. Eventually, her sobs increased, and she started to hit Bill's chest with her hands, and then when he finally let her go, she hits him with a clenched fist. "Bill!" She pleaded to him; everyone in the burrow was now looking back at ginny with glossy eyes. Bill felt the tears spring to his eyes, but he willed them not to spill out. His little Gin-Gin that use to cry over being so small and too young, now stood before him, having seen and felt the tragedies of war, and no words could make her smile or giggle or lessen her pain like he could have before.
"Ginny-" Hermione spoke up, extending her arm out to the younger witch.
The ginger witch looked down at herself for a moment before coming to some silent conclusion. Choosing to ignore Hermione; Ginny whipped around as she started stocking to the dining room table where Fred's body lay.
"Frederik Weasley, that is enough; you get up right now; I don't know what kind of joke this is, but it isn't funny!" Ginny begged; the burrow had become abruptly quiet at her outburst. Percy and Charlie both visibly winced at their sister's words while both their mother and father stared at her in utter horror. "Come off it, Fred," Ginny's voice was strained as she continued to plead with the body that sat stiffly below her gaze. Her voice continued to fill the burrow as Bill let a tear slip down from his eyes before quickly wiping it away. Ron, Hermione, and Flur were looking at Ginny with pleading eyes, and yet none of them dared to say a word as her own pleas were met with deaf ears. Bill only stared at his younger sister as she continued to plea and cry and shake, all her fury and anger coming out all at once.
Her tirade was eventually cut short as George suddenly stood up; the sound of his chair's screeching legs as it flew back caused ginny to stop and look at her brother, taken aback. George was practically vibrating in anger soon; the Lumos spells began to flicker on and off rapidly as the family started to bustle around before turning to George, unable to chastise him in the situation. The burrow's support beams began to rumble slightly, sending dust falling from the ceiling. Molly and Arthur gasped in surprise before casting stabilizing spells and charms to counteract what George's magic had been doing while his siblings tried to snap him out of it. But it was no use George's emotions only amplified and strengthened his magic, and as soon as his magic stopped attacking the house, it created this shield that not only closed over himself but Fred as well; this sent multiple people such as Ron, Ginny, Percy, and Charlie hurling across the room.
"Georgie," Bill started calmly as he walked toward the shield of translucent magic shimmering in the newly lit dining room. "Georgie?" Bill tried again as he saw the shield strengthened at his words. "Let me in?" Bill coaxed his younger brother. But George kept his eyes firmly shut as the tears pooled in his eyes and freely flowed down his face; his sobs were raking through his body viciously as he clutched his twin's hand and shoulder in his arms. "Georgie, Look at me." Bill soothed as the family fell silent. George turned his head towards his brother's voice but made no effort to look at him. "Georgie, it's me. It's Billy; I need you to look up at me. Come on, Georgie, I know you can do it." The whole family was looking at him now. Charlie moved over to Bill and laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Georgie look at us," Charlie started; the shield began to shrink considerably but still cover the two twins, "Come on, Georgie, it's only us." When George looked up at the pair of older brothers, Bill's hand found its way to Charlie's as it rested on his shoulder. George's face was red with anger and grief; his normally paled freckled cheeks were painted blush, his eyes were as red as the blood stains on his shirt, and his gaze was lethally piercing. "Georgie, we're not going to hurt either of you." Charlie began.
"And we're not going to take you away from him," Bill added Immediately. George did his best to choke down his sobs.
"Do you think this is a JOKE?" George demanded, looking over to the rest of the family. "Do you think this is an act? Do you think we would do this to you? Do you think Fred would do this to me?" The last of his words were strangled in his throat. "Augustus Rookwood did this!" George let out in a hoarse voice as he turned towards ginny. "Go and yell at him in Azkaban! Go and watch as he gets the kiss. But don't EVER yell at him!" George growled, sinking his sobs into his brother's chest.
"Georgie," Bill questioned, "Look at us," George turned his head on freds chest to meet their gazes. "When have we ever hurt you? When have we ever came between the two of you? Come on, drop the shield, and we can take you and Fred up to your room, eh?"
"The hell with the lot of us, Come on, we can get you upstairs, and you can be with Fred all you want." Charlie softly soothed, extending a hand on the shield. "We're here, Georgie, me and Billy, we never let you down, have we? You can trust us, right?"
"Don't you trust us, little brother?" Bill asked as his tears slid from his cheeks, and suddenly George let the shield dissipate. Bill Jumped forward and let himself wrap his arms around the crying twin. "It's alright, Georgie, I've got you." Bill picked George off of Fred as Charlie swept to the other side of the table and picked Fred up in his arms.
"What's-" George started lunging for Fred's hand.
"Come on, Georgie, let's get you upstairs." Bills shushed, letting George grasp Fred's hand as he laid limp in Charlie's arms. But as they walked to the stairs, George let go of his twin's hand as he swayed back into Bill. "Okay, Georgie, I got you," Bill said as he swooped George into his arms as his body finally gave in to his exhaustion. "We've got you."
Bill looked up to Charlie as they exchanged glances down the stairs; both remember Christmases, birthdays, and other celebrations that all ended in the twins having to be carried up to their room, but now as both the eldest Weasley boys turned and carried them up the stairs like they had done so many times before. There had been no celebration, and this time,would be the last time the elder brothers would carry them up the burrows stairs together. This time only one of them would be waking up to see the morning. Bill and Charlie made no efforts to hold back their emotions as they made their way into the twins room. As Bill placed George in his bed and covered his tall slim figure in a blanket, Charlie placed Fred in the bed not 3 feet away. Both of the older boys kissed the twins's foreheads and left the room without another word.
Together they stood outside the twin's room, neither needing words to communicate their thoughts or feelings. The air in the burrow was full of so many emotions words could do very little to change it. Charlie leaned back on the burrows railing trying to regain his composure. But the air in the burrow only made Charlie feel like he was suffocating. Finally, Bill wiped his tears and dusted off Charlie’s shirt. Charlie did the same, wiping the imaginary dust off Bill's jacket taking a moment to finnish collecting themselves. In a look a silent promise was made between them; to take care of one another. Making their way to the rest of the family neither remembered when their hands gravitated to one another’s but neither brother commented on how their lungs seemed to take in the tension filled air just a bit easier.