American Teen-the Sequel

Struck

*George's POV*

Margaret came into my bedroom and left Teddy with me. I can't believe she thinks I can't take care of a baby; how hard can it be? It's a child. Simple. Easy. 

At least I thought so until he started crying. By now I'm already halfway through a bottle of firewhiskey. The tears are giving me a pounding headache. 

"Can you be quiet for like one second?" I spat at the child. I was trying to remember Fred and this particular prank we pulled back in sixth year. The tears were disrupting my concentration. It didn't sit well with me, so I drank the rest of the firewhiskey in order to drown out the tears. This did not work, so I went to a bar where there were no babies and unlimited alcohol. That way I can just forget everything. 

---

Blackout drunk, I stumbled into the kitchen. It was well into the morning, but according to the bar tender it  when was about 30 minutes before the end of Margaret's shift. Or so I thought. When I entered the flat, I saw Margaret there waiting for me-anger etched into her face. This was not the plan. I was supposed to come home and just pretend like I had been in bed the whole time. But, even with alcohol clogging my brain, I could tell she was absolutely pissed. It was a scary kind of different from her usual sobbing. 

"You're home early." I told her. It was the only thing I could think of to say at the moment. 

"It was slow so I convinced my boss to let me go early. I see you got busy tonight. Forget something, did you?" It was obvious from her tone of voice that I had indeed forgotten something. I knew I wasn't supposed to drink, but she was way too mad for it to be about that. Then I saw the teal-haired baby next to her. Shit. I had momentarily forgotten the reason why I had left in the first place. 

"It's not my fault Mags." I decided to just tell the truth. She's like a human lie detector, and lying just gets me in more trouble.  "The kid started crying and it was giving me a headache. The firewhiskey didn't make it any better so I had to leave the house." 

"You LEFT because Teddy, that's his name by the way, started crying? Most people who are annoyed by a child's tears try to stop it by taking care of the child, not getting drunk and leaving it in the flat all alone. How long were you gone for?" I had never seen her this upset before. She was usually super composed during arguments-something about 'making the other person think about their actions' or some bullshit. Only once before in my recent memory had she exploded like this. It was after my dad got attacked at Grimmauld. It happens when she gets too emotional to be able to control what she's saying. 

"None of your business." I replied to her. I didn't remember how long I was gone for, so I didn't have an answer to her question anyways. 

"It is my business, George Fabian Weasley. Because this kid is my everything. This kid is the reason I'm alive. This kid is the only connection to Tonks I have, and Tonks was my best friend. You cannot just abandon a baby like that. You can't leave because you can't handle the responsibility! It was one night! He could've DIED George! Then what? Why can't you see that other people suffer too; it's not just you! The battle impacted ALL of us George! You think I want to be taking care of my dead best friend's kid? NO! I would much rather her be taking care of Teddy, but I don't get to have that. I don't get to lay in my bed all day sulking because I had a job because someone needs to pay rent and someone needs to provide food and someone needs to be alive! You need to get help!" She was yelling through tears. 

I can't comprehend how she still  doesn't realize the full impact Fred's death had on me. It wasn't just losing someone close to me. It was losing part of me. Like half of my soul, heart, and mind were violently ripped from my body. I wasn't just feeling sad; I was feeling empty.  So I decided to tell her. "You don't understand what it's like to lose a twin! Fred was always there for me always! He was part of me. We weren't just close. We were part of each other. I feel empty without him!"