"I Know" (George, PG)
Author: sekitou
Requestor: creative_khaos
Claim: #45 -- George first finding out that Fred’s dead.
Rating: PG
Pairings: none
Summary: The last time he saw Fred, they had shared an identical look and grin. The unspoken thought passed between them, See you soon.
Warnings: character death
Author's Notes: I’m a long time fanfic writer, but this is my 1st published HP fic. Thanks to my fellow Write Club members, supashoppa and demented_mei. And many many thanks to pikkalam_sri, for betaing and extremely helpful advice. Thank you! :)
“I Know”
by Adrienne Sekitou
Others might think it odd, seeing and knowing things happening somewhere else. But the Weasley twins had always enjoyed their not-quite-normal connection that no one else could understand. They had always been able to finish each other’s sentences, to know what the other was thinking, what the other was feeling. This not-quite-normalness was normal for them, and George had never realized just how much so until that moment. The moment when he knew.
And with that knowledge came the realization that nothing would be not-quite-normal ever again.
The battle at Hogwarts was on. Fred and he had volunteered to lead the defense of the secret passageways into the castle. They’d chosen their old Quidditch mates and members of the D.A. to take with them. The teams had been formed and everyone split up, off to guard all seven secret passages, including the ones that were blocked.
The last time he saw Fred, they had shared an identical look and grin. The unspoken thought passed between them, See you soon. They ran off with their teams, each confident that soon enough they’d be back and laughing together.
George was guarding the passage to Honeydukes with Oliver, Angelina, Alicia, and Katie. The statue that normally stood at the passage entrance was gone, off to fight with the other statues and suits of armor. George loudly mourned the missing one-eyed witch by cracking one-eared jokes, and the girls loved it. They blocked the passage and took their positions. They didn’t have to wait long though, for from the grounds below came the sound of explosions and screams. It had started.
Their corridor stayed silent and still, as the battle raged below them. And as George debated sending part of his team to help the others, they heard a loud rumbling in the secret passage. The Death Eaters were clearing the way through the tunnel. On his orders, the team positioned themselves around the opening. And when the tunnel was blown open by a curse, they were ready with curses of their own. Their curses hit their mark, and the lead Death Eater was sent screaming and toppling back into the others. It was a good start.
And so the battle went. He was fighting with his hand-picked team. They stood together, fought together. They weren’t going to let anyone past them. Didn’t they know no one could beat the Gryffindor Quidditch team? But they were missing parts of their team. Their Seeker was off seeking. Harry had always had his own job apart from them, his own mission to fulfill. And the Beaters had their job too: protect the Seeker. But they were one Beater short at the moment.
The team would all get back together when the war was over though. And laugh, and joke, and make plans for the next time they’d meet. And there would be time for a ‘next time’. Things would go on. Maybe Oliver would finally get the starting Keeper job for Puddlemere United. Maybe Lee would find a job on the wireless after his success on PotterWatch. Maybe Fred and Angelina would quit playing around and get serious. Maybe they wouldn’t. Maybe they didn’t really need any of those things. Maybe old friends just needed to be together. But it was okay that they didn’t have any of the answers now. They’d figure it all out soon enough. Because soon it would all be over. This was the end; one way or another the war would soon be over. He was sure of it.
Explosions were rocking the castle now. There was no rhythm, no pattern, just thunderous bangs, shaking walls, falling dust, and painful, horrible screams. The battle went on and on, and his team fought, dueling Death Eater after Death Eater that had breached the castle.
And then George laughed.
Oddly, out of place, and right in the middle of a duel, he laughed. Katie looked at him strangely, but they kept fighting. He couldn’t help it and he didn’t bother to try to explain it, but something was funny. Nothing there. What was funny in the middle of a battle like this? But something was funny somewhere, and it deserved a much needed laugh.
He subdued his opponent, and looked around for another.
And then...
And then.
And the world turned. The fight went on around him. Time continued to tick away.
But George didn’t notice it at all.
A hand grabbed his arm, pulling him out of the way of a curse.
Oliver gripped his shoulder, shaking him, asking if he was okay. If everything was all right.
And it wasn’t. It wasn’t. And it never would be again.
There was a silence that didn’t fit with the battle around them. A silence he’d never experienced before in his life. A silence that drowned out all sound and feeling. A silence he didn’t know if he would ever get used to, even though he knew it would be with him for the rest of his days.
And he knew.
He shook off Oliver’s arm, taking in their surroundings, their situation. The team was okay, and running off to help in the next corridor. George waved off Oliver, and started walking in the opposite direction. Ignoring the calls of his name. Ignoring the battle sounds that he couldn’t quite hear. All as he listened to the silence that surrounded him, echoing within him.
Moving through the castle was slow work. But he didn’t stop. He didn’t detour. Slowly, purposefully, unerringly he walked toward his destination. His travel was impeded repeatedly by battles and damage to the castle. He moved on, defending himself when necessary, but he didn’t let anything keep him from going forward. He just kept walking.
At one point he encountered Lee, who had been on Fred’s team. They must have split up in the fight. Lee was okay and holding his own with other members of the D.A.. And George knew, he could tell... that Lee didn’t know. But he just kept walking.
And suddenly the battle stopped. Somewhere You-Know-Who’s voice echoed as if right beside him. But he barely heard it. Didn’t listen. Didn’t acknowledge it. He just kept walking.
The Death Eaters retreated, and the castle’s defenders were picking themselves up and heading for the Great Hall. But he just kept walking.
Here and there people tried to stop him, talk to him, and ask him if he’d seen whoever they were looking for. He made his way down several corridors filled with debris and people moving quickly in the opposite direction. More people called out to him. But he just kept walking.
The shouts to him continued, but they all went unacknowledged. Even with his missing ear, he was still mistaken for Fred. It didn’t matter though. Soon enough everyone would always know which twin was which. And he just kept walking.
Finally he turned a corner, and stared down the mercifully empty corridor. He stopped, for the first time since he’d begun his walk, staring down into the darkness. The torches were out, but large sections of the wall were gone allowing in the starlight. It was far too quiet. The silence that engulfed him was worse here. It was as if every sound was muffled in the unearthly stillness.
In the quiet his attention was drawn to the descending staircase on his left. As the footsteps neared the top, he could make out Percy trudging slowly up the stairs, head down, tears streaking the dirt on his face. That was almost enough to make George pause. Not the tears, but the dirt. Percy not looking as clean and pressed as if he’d just walked out of the laundry added to the unreality of the moment.
As he reached the top of the stairs, Percy gasped in shock to see George standing there. His face crumbled as he reached out for his younger brother. George glanced at him, but started walking again, not wanting to put it off any longer.
“George?”
He didn’t stop. He didn’t turn. He didn’t wait for him to catch up. He just kept walking.
“I know,” he said softly. And in the stillness, he felt sure that Percy heard him. And understood.
He picked his way down the corridor, stepping over rubble, sliding on the debris as he went. Rock continued to shift, tumbling into the hall as the walls crumbled. Dust hung in the air, giving everything a hazy look in the dim light. He heard Percy fall into step behind him.
Halfway down the corridor he came to a halt. He braced himself as he turned to the right, knowing what he’d find but wishing he was wrong. He was hidden well in the rubble-strewn corridor, but really, there was no way George wouldn’t know where his twin was, even now.
He pushed the sections of wall out of the way, piece by piece, Percy working silently beside him. Slowly the niche was uncovered, and he saw the dust-covered red hair. He paused and stared. He’d known. From the moment it had happened, he’d known. But seeing was another matter entirely.
Finally he moved, reaching for Fred, pulling him out of the niche with Percy’s help. He looked down at Fred. At his twin. His mouth still quirked in his last smile. Their smile. Their face. George had the eerie out-of-body feeling of staring down at his own face with his own smile, as he lay dead in a hallway.
But it wasn’t him. It was Fred.
He heard Percy sob beside him, and didn’t bother to hide his own tears. He held his twin in his arms, knowing that the long trek back to the Great Hall and the rest of their family lay ahead of him. Knowing that the others didn’t know yet. Knowing they would find out when he walked in, carrying Fred’s body. Knowing that was the last thing he wanted to do right then. But also knowing that was exactly what he had to do.
He wouldn’t be alone. His entire family would be there for him. But at the same time, he was the most alone he’d ever been in his life.
He shifted Fred in his arms and staggered to his feet. Percy stood with him, and gripped his shoulder with a shaking hand. A silent show of love and support. It wasn’t much, but he was too numb to process much else. Unable to meet his eyes, he offered Percy a small half-smile that was more pained than anything else.
“I know.”
THE END
Requestor: creative_khaos
Claim: #45 -- George first finding out that Fred’s dead.
Rating: PG
Pairings: none
Summary: The last time he saw Fred, they had shared an identical look and grin. The unspoken thought passed between them, See you soon.
Warnings: character death
Author's Notes: I’m a long time fanfic writer, but this is my 1st published HP fic. Thanks to my fellow Write Club members, supashoppa and demented_mei. And many many thanks to pikkalam_sri, for betaing and extremely helpful advice. Thank you! :)
“I Know”
by Adrienne Sekitou
Others might think it odd, seeing and knowing things happening somewhere else. But the Weasley twins had always enjoyed their not-quite-normal connection that no one else could understand. They had always been able to finish each other’s sentences, to know what the other was thinking, what the other was feeling. This not-quite-normalness was normal for them, and George had never realized just how much so until that moment. The moment when he knew.
And with that knowledge came the realization that nothing would be not-quite-normal ever again.
The battle at Hogwarts was on. Fred and he had volunteered to lead the defense of the secret passageways into the castle. They’d chosen their old Quidditch mates and members of the D.A. to take with them. The teams had been formed and everyone split up, off to guard all seven secret passages, including the ones that were blocked.
The last time he saw Fred, they had shared an identical look and grin. The unspoken thought passed between them, See you soon. They ran off with their teams, each confident that soon enough they’d be back and laughing together.
George was guarding the passage to Honeydukes with Oliver, Angelina, Alicia, and Katie. The statue that normally stood at the passage entrance was gone, off to fight with the other statues and suits of armor. George loudly mourned the missing one-eyed witch by cracking one-eared jokes, and the girls loved it. They blocked the passage and took their positions. They didn’t have to wait long though, for from the grounds below came the sound of explosions and screams. It had started.
Their corridor stayed silent and still, as the battle raged below them. And as George debated sending part of his team to help the others, they heard a loud rumbling in the secret passage. The Death Eaters were clearing the way through the tunnel. On his orders, the team positioned themselves around the opening. And when the tunnel was blown open by a curse, they were ready with curses of their own. Their curses hit their mark, and the lead Death Eater was sent screaming and toppling back into the others. It was a good start.
And so the battle went. He was fighting with his hand-picked team. They stood together, fought together. They weren’t going to let anyone past them. Didn’t they know no one could beat the Gryffindor Quidditch team? But they were missing parts of their team. Their Seeker was off seeking. Harry had always had his own job apart from them, his own mission to fulfill. And the Beaters had their job too: protect the Seeker. But they were one Beater short at the moment.
The team would all get back together when the war was over though. And laugh, and joke, and make plans for the next time they’d meet. And there would be time for a ‘next time’. Things would go on. Maybe Oliver would finally get the starting Keeper job for Puddlemere United. Maybe Lee would find a job on the wireless after his success on PotterWatch. Maybe Fred and Angelina would quit playing around and get serious. Maybe they wouldn’t. Maybe they didn’t really need any of those things. Maybe old friends just needed to be together. But it was okay that they didn’t have any of the answers now. They’d figure it all out soon enough. Because soon it would all be over. This was the end; one way or another the war would soon be over. He was sure of it.
Explosions were rocking the castle now. There was no rhythm, no pattern, just thunderous bangs, shaking walls, falling dust, and painful, horrible screams. The battle went on and on, and his team fought, dueling Death Eater after Death Eater that had breached the castle.
And then George laughed.
Oddly, out of place, and right in the middle of a duel, he laughed. Katie looked at him strangely, but they kept fighting. He couldn’t help it and he didn’t bother to try to explain it, but something was funny. Nothing there. What was funny in the middle of a battle like this? But something was funny somewhere, and it deserved a much needed laugh.
He subdued his opponent, and looked around for another.
And then...
And then.
And the world turned. The fight went on around him. Time continued to tick away.
But George didn’t notice it at all.
A hand grabbed his arm, pulling him out of the way of a curse.
Oliver gripped his shoulder, shaking him, asking if he was okay. If everything was all right.
And it wasn’t. It wasn’t. And it never would be again.
There was a silence that didn’t fit with the battle around them. A silence he’d never experienced before in his life. A silence that drowned out all sound and feeling. A silence he didn’t know if he would ever get used to, even though he knew it would be with him for the rest of his days.
And he knew.
He shook off Oliver’s arm, taking in their surroundings, their situation. The team was okay, and running off to help in the next corridor. George waved off Oliver, and started walking in the opposite direction. Ignoring the calls of his name. Ignoring the battle sounds that he couldn’t quite hear. All as he listened to the silence that surrounded him, echoing within him.
Moving through the castle was slow work. But he didn’t stop. He didn’t detour. Slowly, purposefully, unerringly he walked toward his destination. His travel was impeded repeatedly by battles and damage to the castle. He moved on, defending himself when necessary, but he didn’t let anything keep him from going forward. He just kept walking.
At one point he encountered Lee, who had been on Fred’s team. They must have split up in the fight. Lee was okay and holding his own with other members of the D.A.. And George knew, he could tell... that Lee didn’t know. But he just kept walking.
And suddenly the battle stopped. Somewhere You-Know-Who’s voice echoed as if right beside him. But he barely heard it. Didn’t listen. Didn’t acknowledge it. He just kept walking.
The Death Eaters retreated, and the castle’s defenders were picking themselves up and heading for the Great Hall. But he just kept walking.
Here and there people tried to stop him, talk to him, and ask him if he’d seen whoever they were looking for. He made his way down several corridors filled with debris and people moving quickly in the opposite direction. More people called out to him. But he just kept walking.
The shouts to him continued, but they all went unacknowledged. Even with his missing ear, he was still mistaken for Fred. It didn’t matter though. Soon enough everyone would always know which twin was which. And he just kept walking.
Finally he turned a corner, and stared down the mercifully empty corridor. He stopped, for the first time since he’d begun his walk, staring down into the darkness. The torches were out, but large sections of the wall were gone allowing in the starlight. It was far too quiet. The silence that engulfed him was worse here. It was as if every sound was muffled in the unearthly stillness.
In the quiet his attention was drawn to the descending staircase on his left. As the footsteps neared the top, he could make out Percy trudging slowly up the stairs, head down, tears streaking the dirt on his face. That was almost enough to make George pause. Not the tears, but the dirt. Percy not looking as clean and pressed as if he’d just walked out of the laundry added to the unreality of the moment.
As he reached the top of the stairs, Percy gasped in shock to see George standing there. His face crumbled as he reached out for his younger brother. George glanced at him, but started walking again, not wanting to put it off any longer.
“George?”
He didn’t stop. He didn’t turn. He didn’t wait for him to catch up. He just kept walking.
“I know,” he said softly. And in the stillness, he felt sure that Percy heard him. And understood.
He picked his way down the corridor, stepping over rubble, sliding on the debris as he went. Rock continued to shift, tumbling into the hall as the walls crumbled. Dust hung in the air, giving everything a hazy look in the dim light. He heard Percy fall into step behind him.
Halfway down the corridor he came to a halt. He braced himself as he turned to the right, knowing what he’d find but wishing he was wrong. He was hidden well in the rubble-strewn corridor, but really, there was no way George wouldn’t know where his twin was, even now.
He pushed the sections of wall out of the way, piece by piece, Percy working silently beside him. Slowly the niche was uncovered, and he saw the dust-covered red hair. He paused and stared. He’d known. From the moment it had happened, he’d known. But seeing was another matter entirely.
Finally he moved, reaching for Fred, pulling him out of the niche with Percy’s help. He looked down at Fred. At his twin. His mouth still quirked in his last smile. Their smile. Their face. George had the eerie out-of-body feeling of staring down at his own face with his own smile, as he lay dead in a hallway.
But it wasn’t him. It was Fred.
He heard Percy sob beside him, and didn’t bother to hide his own tears. He held his twin in his arms, knowing that the long trek back to the Great Hall and the rest of their family lay ahead of him. Knowing that the others didn’t know yet. Knowing they would find out when he walked in, carrying Fred’s body. Knowing that was the last thing he wanted to do right then. But also knowing that was exactly what he had to do.
He wouldn’t be alone. His entire family would be there for him. But at the same time, he was the most alone he’d ever been in his life.
He shifted Fred in his arms and staggered to his feet. Percy stood with him, and gripped his shoulder with a shaking hand. A silent show of love and support. It wasn’t much, but he was too numb to process much else. Unable to meet his eyes, he offered Percy a small half-smile that was more pained than anything else.
“I know.”
THE END