Obsidian & Bronze {Fred Weasley}

47. It ends when it begins

"Deep breaths, Georgie" I attempted to sooth, my hands on his shoulders as I demonstrated deep and extended breaths, watching as his heaving chest attempted to copy, "That's it, keep breathing"

"I can't" He shuddered, a particularly shallow breath taking over his body, a tremble in his tone, "It's all so stressful, and Fred's acting like this isn't the biggest day of our lives, and Oliver isn't here, and-"

Oliver and George had broken up two days before New Year's Eve, it was a mutual and amicable split, or so I'm told, and yet it was evident that George was struggling to squash that little voice in his brain that told him he needed Oliver.

And now it was the 2nd of January, just a few days before we were due back at Hogwarts, and Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was finally opening to the public, and the twins were in disarray, or half of them anyway.

"George, you need to breathe. Look, copy me, in...and out. Good" I whispered, sitting him down on the chair to his desk in the office we were currently hiding in, "Now listen to me. You don't need Oliver, you and Fred have done all of this," I gestured around the room and out toward the shop, "alone, you don't need anyone. Remind me, why did you want to open the shop?"

George's breathing had evened slightly, although he was still panting every few breaths, his pupils not so dilated and his cheeks cooling down from their flushed crimson hues.

"I wanted to make people happy" He whispered, a distant smile pulling at his lips, a far away look of reminiscence taking over his features.

"Then go out there, and make people happy" I smiled, offering him my hand to help him up from the chair, his tall frame suddenly towering over me as he stood.

"I love you" He whispered, dropping his forehead to mine and closing his eyes. I imitated him briefly, clutching to this moment tightly before letting it go once again, hearing it hit the floor, yet it did not shatter.

"I love you too Georgie"

We slowly emerged from the office in the back of the shop and entered the chaos that was opening day. Fred was upstairs in the flat above, likely getting himself dressed into uniform, Ron and Harry were wandering around resisting the urge to unbox half of the items on the shelves, Ginny and Bill has sucume to those urges as they has a bubble fight in the back corner of the shop, and Hermione was sitting behind the register checking over the boys paperwork like they had asked of her.

The queue that had formed outside the shop stretched far beyond the eye could see, excited squeals of children clutching impatiently onto their parents hands, jumping, bouncing, jittering uncontrollably, groups of friend with smiles plastered across their rosey cheeks, mums and dads watching their kids in awe as I don't suppose they had ever seen their children so excited.

"Oi Bill, c'mon man, you're supposed to the adult" George snapped, snatching the bubble machine form his brothers hands and clapping him upside the head, "Ardelle, can you go and get Fred and remind him we open in" he glanced at his watch, "Eighteen minutes!"

"I'm going now" I smiled warmly, ruffling Harry's hair on my way through, further disheveling his messy locks, starting my ascent on the spiral staircase in the back end of the shop that led to the twins' apartment.

"Fred? Freddie?" I called as I pushed open the door to the flat, stepping over discarded clothes and countless cardboard boxes. Despite the twins having 'officially' moved out of the burrow, they spent most of their time over the past few months working on the shop, and so unpacking had not exactly been their main priority.

"I'm in the bathroom, darling" He called, husky and strained, as if he was lifting something heavy, his voice rough and crisp although slightly shallow.