It's Just A Ear, Fred

1

"I'm listening, Freddie. I'm always gonna be here."

Fred sniffed. "Yeah, Georgie." He wiped his eyes. "Just like I'm always gonna be here for you." He said, stopping the tears at last. "It's what twins do. Stick together, just like glue. Right?" He asked.

"Right. Just like glue." George whispered back.

~~)(~~

George woke up sweating. That dream, again. Well, it was a memory, really. It was a scenario that had happened often back when they were kids, but that particular one happened when they were around seven, or eight.

But it didn't matter. It was gone now. He was gone now.

Emotionally, George had always been the stronger twin. He could take it, the Weasley shaming, the poor shaming. Fred sometimes cried about it, and when he did, George was there. And nobody else really had to know. Nobody else really cared enough to ask. It was them against the world. Nobody had ever seen either of them cry.

So when George's ear got blown off, it was a surprise to everyone that Fred freaked out as much as he did. George had smiled at Fred's lame joke, an attempt to get away from the anger and hurt that he was feeling. Anger, and hurt directed at the person who did this to his precious twin, his best friend. He cried more than George did, and it was his ear.

"Fred, really I'm fine. It's just an ear. I'm not… I'm fine."

Fred looked angry.

"George, that was your ear. Do you even realize, that means your ear is dead? And whenever I think about that, I think about you being d-. I need you to listen to me, Georgie," He said, intensely, bringing back George's old nickname, "but now you can only listen with one half. I don't even know why it bothers me so much."

George had smiled.

Emotionally, George was always the strong twin. So when Fred cried, George held him. When he was sad, he never said anything. Fred often brought this up in conversation, usually after he had calmed down.

"How come you never cry, George?"

"Because you can't cry when you're protecting someone."

Emotionally, George was always the stronger twin. So when Ginny was in the chamber of secrets, all those times Ron got hurt, when their friend Harry was in the hospital wing, when Dumbledore died, and all the times alike, George never cried. It wasn't healthy.

Most people who don't cry in front of others find time to comfort themselves, alone. Fred always knew that wasn't true for George. He worried about George all the time, because he knew for a fact that George hadn't cried since before they entered Hogwarts.

"George, are you sad? At all?" Fred asked the question again. It was different today though, because Fred hadn't been sad, at all. He had seemed a little off today though, and now George knew it was just worry, for which he was relieved.

"No, Not at all Fred." He threw a smile at Fred. It was fake, but they had been for years, so George assumed he didn't see the difference.