The Haunting of Judith Wagner{George Weasley}

Chapter Ten

Fred stayed with Judith trying his best to comfort the woman, but it seemed the only thing that seemed to help her was actually allowing herself to cry. He wondered how much she had bottled up in order to appear strong.

Eventually, she fell asleep on her bed, holding onto her pillow tightly, every so often hiccuping from when she had worked herself up in a frenzy.

He arose from where he sat on the bed and found himself leaving Judith's flat. The night greeted him quietly as he found himself passing through empty streets, until he found himself standing outside of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

Staring up at the sign, he frowned.

He remembered all the long hours spent between him and George planning out the joke shop. From their early days of heading to Zonko's to gather inspiration for their inventions to actually running their own business, Fred allowed his head to droop in despair.

He was no longer to live his dream, it had all ended with his death. But it wasn't only his dream that ended, he and George had entered the business with the plans of running it together.

Now, George ran it alone.

Passing through the doors of the shop, Fred glanced around. Nothing had really changed but the atmosphere felt different. It didn't hold the joyous vibe like when they had first opened for business.

Making his way to his old flat that he had shared with George, he entered to find George awake in the small kitchen. He stood leaning against the counter near the stove, boiling some water with cup for his tea nearby.

Fred watched as George grazed his hand over where his ear was missing, back and forth as if he was waiting for it to return eventually.

"George?" he called out, hoping for some reason that his brother would be able to hear him. They had shared such a strong connection as twins that he could only hope it would hold true even after death.

George didn't move and didn't acknowledge Fred's call to him.

Suddenly, the tea kettle of the stove cried out for George to pour the boiling hot water over his tea bag.

Fred tried everything in his might to move something to show his brother that he was there, and that he wasn't alone. Show him that while he wasn't there in physical form that he was watching over his family.

But no matter what, George sat in the silence at the small wooden table.

As much as he hurt, Fred wanted to cry like Judith did to relieve the pain he felt. But he found himself incapable of producing tears. He was unable to cry as a spirit which made it all much worse.

George held the tea cup in his hands looking out the window in the dark.

Fred sat in front of him trying to read George's face when George abruptly began talking.

"Fred?"

"Yes?!" Fred answered.

"I know you probably can't hear me," George continued, as Fred's heart broke.

"I can hear you Georgie. I can hear you."

"Anyways...I just wanted to say that you were right..." George smiled down at his hands. "I remember how much you teased me about that Judith girl, I really did think she was something else. Even though I denied the hell out of it. I've run into her a couple times in such a short time that it can't just be a coincidence. She's still the same girl that I remember...knows her quidditch stuff. Although, she won't believe me that Davies fouled during that game...remember that one?"

George paused.

"Yes, I remember it. Angelina was out for blood after that." Fred whispered.

"I remember Angelina was ready to get him." George chuckled to himself. "Well....I plan on hanging out with Judith, see where it goes, like you suggested back in school. I wonder how different things would have been if I had spoken back to her in school. I said she was still the same girl, but you can tell the war has effected her a great deal. Then again, I think everyone was left with a scar from the war even if the good prevailed."

Fred's frustration from being unable to communicate with George grew more and more as he tried to reach out to him.

"I miss you Freddie. We all do...Everyday that I'm working, I feel wrong standing there alone. Ron shows up quite a bit to help though. The rest of the family well...Mum and Dad can hardly bring themselves around...Mum gets upset quickly. Just the other day I went to go see her. She was cooking and asked me to hand her her wand. Only she didn't ask me...she called me Fred. Even with only one of us around, she still manages to mix us up."

Fred let out a painful laugh.

"And she calls herself our mother." the two of them said together.

George finished his tea and let out a yawn.

"I have to say this stuff works fast." he said dropping the cup into the sink. He turned away from the sink and shoved his hands into his pockets staring around the room. "Night Fred."

Fred walked over and placed his hand on George's shoulder.

"Night George."