Harry Potter One Shots (Vol. I)

Helping Him Move On (George Weasley)

The news that Voldemort was dead took a while to travel to the remotest parts of the castle, but it reached the great hall quickly. A stillness followed the announcement, everyone desperately wanting to believe the news but having the slightest bit of doubt in their minds. But once the first group of people began to celebrate, so did the rest of the hall.

Some were eager to make their happiness known but others could only seem to focus on those we had lost. This entire war had left a bitter taste in my mouth; I had left Hogwarts 2 years ago and had started my life outside of the school. In those two years the children had been forced to take up arms against an ever growing threat and because of their defiance, many were lying on the floor now.

My best friend included.

The celebrations continued on around me and I was pulled into a hug by Ginny. She squeezed me tight but it wasn't a hug to celebrate the victory. I squeezed my arms around to let her break down in my arms for even a little. She had been so strong during the battle and was the only one in her family to not cry when she received the news about Fred. But now she broke down into tears in front of my eyes.

I did my best to comfort her but most of my attention was focused George's tear marked face as he fell to his knees beside Fred. Rubbing soothing circles on Ginny's back I watched as Molly set a hand onto George's shoulder. She squeezed his shoulder and George rose to his feet, shrugging her hand away and walking silently through the great hall.

"Go after him," Molly said, meeting my eyes. Taking Ginny into her arms, she consoled her daughter. I glanced between Ginny and George. "Go, he needs you right now."

Following George through the great hall I manoeuvred my way through the crowd and into one of the now severely damaged hallways. He walked through the castle, in a route familiar to the two of us, still unaware of my presence. He sat down outside the Gryffindor common room, in front of the empty frame that should have contained the Fat Lady. With a deep sigh, he dropped his head in his hands and I stood a metre or so away from him, wondering if I should approach him.

Making up my mind, I walked over and silently sat down beside him. I was waiting for him to do something. Feeling the brush of my shoulder against his, he looked up at me and I caught a flash of his red rimmed eyes. He quickly buried his head in his hands again, avoiding my searching eyes.

"He died doing something he loved," I murmured, choosing to break the silence between us.

When my words had carried over to him, he looked up at me, his eyes fixing me into place.

"Yeah? And what was that?" He asked angrily, his eyes hardening so much that I could hardly see the remains of the old George Weasley no matter how much I searched for them. I couldn't find the George Weasley that I was in love with. "Fighting?"

"Of course not." I looked down at my hands that I was clasping tightly in my lap; I hadn't had the chance to cry over Fred yet. "He died laughing Georgie."

George nodded, staring off into the space ahead of us. A few minutes of silence passed between us until George turned his head into my neck. Feeling the tears fall onto my skin, I ran a hand through his hair with a heavy sigh. Letting my hand run through his hair over and over again, I allowed George manoeuvre me onto his lap with my legs wrapped around his waist. He burrowed himself into my neck, trying to disappear completely into me as his tears fell even more rapidly. I let my hands wrap around his chest and returned his embrace by pressing my face into his neck. Only then did I let my tears fall.

I had no idea how long we had sat there, wrapped up in each other but at some point George had cried himself dry and had subsequently fallen asleep. If I moved, I might have woken him up and so I stayed where I was. At the sound of approaching footsteps, I looked up at Charlie who made his way towards us.