Shit, I'm Falling For A Weasley || George Weasley

Chapter 73 - In which Operation Rescue Lily commences

"Shhh, I think I hear something," Fred whispers to his brother as they crouch behind the abandoned Muggle car. Both of them are silent for a moment, listening to the distant crash of waves. 

"All clear."

"Of course it's all clear, who else would be here?" George mutters annoyed, pushing past Fred. Ben's instructions were easy enough to follow. They Apparated as close as they possibly could, but due to Ben's paranoia, there was about a 3 mile radius around Thomas' house that you could not Apparate into. 

"We have to be careful," Fred replies curtly, not at all missing the edge to his brother's tone. The last hour had been eventful to say the least. In a short space of time, everything they knew or thought they knew turned out to be a lie. The most important being that the diamond they spent the past few months searching was actually Lily herself. A fact that they now have to try and prevent her from realising as it will probably cause a similar "episode" to when she was a child. 

"Surprisingly, that is the least of my worries," George mutters almost inaudibly. But with years of practice in reading facial expressions and body language, silent communication with his twin brother was something Fred Weasley was well-versed in. 

"Are we going to talk about the elephant in the room?" he asks with a sideways glance at George who frowns. 

"Elephant?"

"It's a muggle saying, I heard Dad use it once."

"Right."

"Well? We're going to have to talk about it before we find them." 

But Fred's insistence is met with stony silence. Instead George keeps his eyes focused on the shore line ahead. All they had to do was follow it until they found a valley of some sorts. 

"There's a real possibility we're going to walk into a catastrophic situati-"

"What do you want me to say?" George yells into the quiet beach, stopping suddenly. Closing his eyes, he inhales deeply. "When she cracks, it's going to be my fault. Don't you think I know that?" He continues in a more controlled voice, resuming his power walk. No matter how many times his memory found another way he almost caused Lily to feel completely alone, he has to believe she's stronger. He has to believe he taught her that she doesn't need anyone to feel complete. He has to believe she'll be okay without him because the alternative is no longer an option.

"If," Fred corrects automatically, gently placing a hand on his brother's shoulder. To think a few hours ago he broke his nose for being a jerk. No matter what physical pain he could inflict on George, it would be incomparable to whatever was running through his mind. 

"It's just so messed up." 

"That is an understatement," Fred grins lightly patting George's cheek. "Listen, she won't lose control. Not this time. She didn't when Snape killed Dumbledore and that's cause some part of her knew she had us. No matter how alone she felt, she knew we wouldn't just leave her."

"I mean she became a Death Eater and erased you. Yet she can't have felt completely alone," Fred continues with a small smile playing on his lips. "She knows we've got her back. She knows we're coming for her. No matter what your relationship status may or may not be, she knows she's got us."

"Yeah," George replies, his throat feeling very tight. "But what if we're too late?"

Both brothers exchange a look as they simultaneously quicken their pace. It was not out of this world for George to consider Lily's doubts. With their recent history, it would a miracle if she trusted him enough to know that he still cared. It seems like every reunion they had would be cut short by yet another dangerous development in the search for the diamond. The search for her.