Chapter Text
Chapter 1 - Confrontation
George Weasley crawled underneath the large hydrangea in his parent's garden, groping around in the dark in a futile attempt to locate the least damp area in which to sleep for the night. He ultimately gave up and plopped down on his back. He pulled his jumper as tight as he could around him for warmth and tried not to think about what had lead to his current predicament.
xxx
The day had started off badly and only gone downhill from there. He'd woken with another raging hangover and the cold, dank weather had done little to improve his headache or his mood. Problems with a supplier and fewer customers than normal in his shop compounded the issue so by the time a wizarding family from Ireland (in town to visit an elderly aunt) stopped in with a set of young twin boys - red haired, no less - well...that pushed George past his breaking point.
He held it together long enough to ring up the sale and half heartedly wish the group a pleasant stay in England. As soon as they left George checked his watch.
One hour to close.
There were no other customers in sight so he sent his clerk, Verity, home early and retrieved an unopened bottle of Firewhiskey he'd stashed under the counter. He normally tried to abstain from drink during working hours but today he decided that one shot wouldn't hurt anything.
Or a second.
Or a third....
With five minutes left until closing and only a few scant drops of Firewhiskey remaining in the bottle, George winced as the bell over the door rang, announcing the arrival of a customer. Realizing too late that he was without any sober up potion, he shoved the bottle back under the counter, popped a breath mint and tried to force his eyes to focus. It took a moment longer than it ought to for it to register that he knew the witch standing in the doorway, quietly taking in her surroundings.
The petite blond drifted down the aisle, running a delicate finger along one of the shelves. It appeared as if she was staring at everything and nothing at the same time. After a full minute George cleared his throat and tried unsuccessfully to keep the irritation out of his voice.
"Can I help you find something, Lovegood?"
Luna Lovegood turned and peered at him with her unusually large grey eyes. She adjusted the sleeve of her robe before answering. "Hello, George Weasley. I most sincerely hope that you can help me find something. A very specific something, actually."
George would be the first to admit that he didn't know the girl all that well but something about her demeanor seemed a bit off, even for Luna. Unfortunately he was too drunk to discern what it was - or to even care. He made a show of consulting the clock on the wall, hoping she would take the hint. "Well, if you tell me what it is then maybe I can tell you where to find it."
Luna stepped towards him. "It would seem that I have lost my ability to laugh. So I thought perhaps I could find something in your establishment that could help remedy the situation."
"Lost the ability to laugh..." repeated George slowly as he tried to walk around the counter like a sober person. "O-okay. Right. Umm..." He realized that, as the proprietor of a joke shop, this request shouldn't be as perplexing as he was finding it. "Let's try something over in the gag section, shall we?"
She followed him over one aisle, where he began pointing out a variety items, all of which failed to produce any reaction greater than a forced, polite smile and a slight shake of her head. This went on for several minutes until what little patience George had started with began to run thin.
Luna reached for a long, brightly colored box. "What's this?"
"It's a boxing telescope," said George, with more than a touch of pride in his voice. "When someone tries to look through the lens a tiny fist comes out and punches them in the face, giving them a black eye that can't be healed with any standard remedy. It can only be removed with our patented bruise removal paste."
Luna considered that for a moment. "Oh. Fred must have come up with that idea."
George flinched. People tended to avoid the topic of his deceased twin in his presence. His tone took on a slight edge. "And why, may I ask, do you assume that?"
"Because its rather mean, isn't it? And of the two of you, Fred was always a bit...harsher, I suppose."
George's voice dropped to a low growl. "What did you just say?"
Luna blinked and tipped her head. "Fred. He was usually the instigator between the two of you and he tended to be more unkind when it came to pranks. Slightly..."
George snatched the box out of her hands and snapped, "Get out." Luna stood frozen until George shouted, "You heard me! Get out of my shop!"
The force of his anger caused Luna to pull back. "I'm sorry, George. I didn't mean..."
"I don't give a damn what you meant, Looney! You've got a hell of a nerve coming into my shop and insulting my brother!" George's bloodshot eyes were wild with fury as he took a menacing step in her direction. "So take your stupid face, your googly eyes, your idiotic ideas..." He was so lost in his rant that he hadn't even heard the bell over the door ringing again. "...and go bugger off to wherever that half wit father of yours is hiding out these days!"
There was a loud gasp behind him but before he could investigate the source, Luna recoiled as if she had been struck. She gathered her composure long enough to say, "My apologies, George Weasley. I was wrong. It would appear that Fred wasn't the unkind one." There was a loud pop as the girl apparated away.
George turned and saw Ginny, Ron, Hermione and Harry staring dumbfounded at him. His sister then drew her wand and lunged forward. "You bloody bastard!" Ron made a quick grab for her wrist while Harry took hold of George and apparated him upstairs to his flat.
They landed with a loud thud on the worn wooden floor and George scrambled to his feet. "Oi! A little warning would have been nice, Harry! You might have splinched me!"
"Would have been kinder than whatever your sister was about to do to you!" Harry snarled, pushing George away. "Although after what I heard, I'm wondering why I didn't let her have a go at you."
George squinted in confusion as he dusted off his trousers. "What? So I yelled at Looney. You didn't hear what she said..."
Harry smacked the man hard on what remained of his left ear causing George to yelp in pain. "I don't give a damn what she said! You have no right speaking to Luna like that ever and certainly not today of all days!"
Before he could respond Ginny, Ron and Hermione stormed through the door. George instinctively moved to place Harry between himself and the angry group. "What do you mean - today of all days? Is it the little nutter's birthday or something?"
Now it was Ron's turn to draw his wand. He stepped forward and barked, "Move out of the way, Harry. I'm going to hex him into the next century."
"Merlin's Beard!" George shouted. "What is going on?!"
Ginny's eyes flashed. "Do you not pay attention to any of the owls we send you?! Luna buried her father this morning, you complete arse! The surviving members of the DA were supposed to serve as an honor guard out of respect for her. We've all just come from the Rookery to see why you didn't show up."
"Oh...I...I didn't know that." George turned pale and stammered, "B-but why would she have come here just after..."
Hermione scowled at him. "I fear that was my fault. I saw she was getting overwhelmed by the crowd after the burial. We slipped outside and she confided in me how it had been ages since she'd laughed. She was beginning to fear she'd lost the capacity do so. I mentioned your shop might be a good place to look for a remedy. Didn't realize she meant right away. Regretting giving her the idea now."
"Okay, I admit my timing was not...ideal." Four sets of eyebrows shot up and Ginny and Ron again raised their wands. "But you didn't hear what she said about Fred!"
"Fred? What are you on about?" asked Harry.
Desperate to hold on to his righteous indignation, George related the conversation as best he could remember it. "See? She said Fred was unkind! Where does she get off saying something like that?"
He looked at the others, expecting an instant change of heart and a thunderous round of agreement for his position.
He was sorely disappointed.
Harry stared at him blankly. "Sorry. Failing to see the issue here."
George spluttered. "Failing to see the issue?!"
Ron folded his arms. "How drunk are you, mate? Just how much of our childhood have you forgotten?"
"What do you mean?" sniped George.
"Oh, let's see..." Ron began counting on his fingers. "You transfigured my teddy bear into a giant spider when I was three, you tried to rope me into taking an Unbreakable Vow when I was five and don't even get me going on the time you used my pet puffskein for Bludger practice. And that's just for starters. I haven't even mentioned the constant teasing and taunting and bullying. Face it Georgie, neither of you were ever the poster boys for kindness."
"That was just brother stuff," huffed George.
Hermione piped up, "Brother stuff doesn't cover the litany of offenses at school, including testing your products on poor, unsuspecting first years."
"Oh, the ickle firsties were fine," retorted George. "No one got hurt....that badly."
Hermione stormed across the room and smacked George on his good ear. "They were bloody children, some of whom ended up in the hospital wing, not that either of you gave a damn!"
Somewhere in the back of his brain an alarm sounded. Hermione was swearing and violent. If George were sober this would have been more than enough for him to reverse course. Sadly, he was far from sober.
The bushy haired witch placed her hands on her hips. "Besides, whatever Luna said I'm certain her intent wasn't to hurt you. She simply suffers from an inability to speak anything other than what she sees as the truth. In this case the fact is that you developed a product that injured people who then have to pay you before they can get better. I think 'unkind' is putting it rather lightly."
"But you don't understand..." George whined.
Ginny grabbed hold of his shirt. "I understand that you told my best friend, who just buried the only family member she had left in the world, that she should be dead just like her father."
"That's not what I said!"
"You told her to bugger off to wherever her, and I quote, 'moronic father is these days'!" She threw up her hands in frustration. "You know what? I'm done wasting my breath on you. I'm going to go and take care of Luna the way she took care of us when Fred died."
"Took care of...What do you mean?" asked George.
"You can't be serious! Who do you think kept the Burrow going those first two weeks?! You were locked in your room, Mum couldn't get out of bed and all Dad's energy was focused on keeping her in one piece. Ron, Harry and Hermione left to find her parents in Australia and the rest of us were a wreck so Luna stayed with us. She cooked and cleaned and intercepted the press and cast silencing charms so no one would hear us screaming and crying at all hours!"
She spun around to face Ron. "Tell Mum I'll be at Luna's." She didn't wait for an reply before apparating out of the room.
"I'm going to check on Luna as well," said Hermione. She glanced at Ron. "Are you coming with me?"
"Sure." Ron took her hand before turning to Harry. "Joining us?"
"Yeah. Give me a few minutes and I'll be right there."
Ron glared at George. "Let's get one thing straight, Georgie. Brother or not, business partner or not, know this. If I ever hear you talk to Luna like that again, there won't be enough bits of you left to bury."
With that he and Hermione apparated away. George dropped onto the sofa and shook his head. "Okay. I get why Ginny's upset. She and Luna have been friends since they were little but why is everyone else so furious?"
"Sweet Circe! Where the hell were you during the war?!" Harry raised his arm again but this time George had the presence of mind to duck. "Luna is the reason you even still have a younger brother and sister!"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Honestly?" Harry stared in disbelief. "The Department of Mysteries. When we got attacked by Voldemort and his Death Eaters. You know. When Sirius died." Harry spat the words out. "Before the Order members got there we were getting our arses kicked. Badly. We got separated. Ron was hit with a curse that left him incapacitated. Then Gin's ankle got broken. The two of them only managed to escape because Luna jumped in front of a bunch of Death Eaters to cause a distraction then guided them both to safety. If she hadn't been there...."
Harry paled at the thought. "The whole lot of us came bloody close to dying that day. Luna didn't have to be there and she certainly didn't have to risk her life for us. Yet she did. So I'd say that we all have a right to feel a bit protective of her, wouldn't you?"
George knew Harry was right, but the alcohol made him determined to hold onto to his foul mood. He stammered another protest but Harry cut him off.
"Stop! Don't even!" The dark haired man produced a small, dark green vial from the pocket of his robe. He shoved it in George's face. "Drink." George sat motionless until Harry snapped, "Now!"
His friend's tone of voice left no question that he meant business. George meekly reached for the bottle. "What is it?"
"Something that will hopefully make you a bit more reasonable."
George uncorked the vial and gave a tentative sniff. Harry growled so George closed his eyes and downed it all in one go. He wasn't sure which was worse - the taste of the brew or the feeling that shot through his body as soon as he swallowed it.
"Ugh! Bloody Hell! What is that?"
Harry grinned sadistically. "Salazar's Sober Up Potion. Compresses the entire hang over process down to a concentrated half hour."
"Half hour? There are instant sober ups with no side effects that taste a hell of a lot better," gagged George.
"Oh, I know. Got some of that with me as well. Just didn't think you deserved one of those."
Harry moved to the middle of the room and began casting a series of summoning spells. Soon a variety of bottles in all shapes and sizes drifted towards the kitchen and began emptying themselves into the sink.
George tried to stop him but Harry retaliated by vanishing the empty bottles and disarming George all in one swift motion.
"Hey! Give that back!"
Harry tucked the wand into the inside pocket of his robe. "You'll get it back. Once you've met two conditions."
It briefly crossed George's mind to rush Harry and try regaining the wand by force but he immediately nixed that plan. His dueling skills had deteriorated since the war and Harry's auror training would most certainly ensure his victory in any such confrontation.
The redhead's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Fine. What are the conditions?"
"Condition one - you apologize to Luna. Tonight."
George sighed and nodded. "Fair enough. Condition two?"
"Your mother misses you. It's been ages since you had a nice sit down with her. Pop by in the morning for a chat. Enjoy some tea and biscuits," Harry said, looking quite pleased with himself.
George cringed. It had been over two years since his twin died but he still found it difficult to spend time alone with their mother. In his mind he was sure that he served as nothing more than a painful reminder of what she'd lost.
Harry's voice interrupted George's thoughts. "So...do we have a deal?"
George made a face. "Deal." As the men shook on the agreement he asked, "But how am I to get to Luna's without my wand? Floos not connected and I doubt you're going to let me fly in my condition."
"Oh, I'd be happy to pop you over there!" With a savage glint in his eye, Harry grabbed George's arm and apparated them to the gate outside of the home of the Lovegood family.
George moaned and leaned against a rickety gate. Side apparating while drunk was bad. Side apparating while hung over was even worse.
"There you are!" Harry announced cheerfully. He opened the gate and gave George a not so gentle shove in the direction of the front door. "Now, go. Apologize. Once you've obtained Luna's forgiveness, ask her nicely if you can floo back to your place to get some sleep. You can floo to the Burrow tomorrow morning for your visit with Molly. I'll give your wand back then."
George took a couple of unsteady steps towards the house then stopped as an unnerving thought occurred to him. "Harry? What if Luna doesn't forgive me and I can't use her floo?"
"Then I hope your wearing comfortable shoes. It's a long hike to your folks' place." There was a loud pop and George found himself standing on the worn flagstone path alone. He took a deep breath, made his way to the porch and rang the bell.
Seconds later the door flew open and George found himself face to face with his sister, whose anger had not cooled in the slightest since he last saw her.
"What do you want?!" she hissed.
"I've come to apologize to Luna?"
"She's in the bath then going to bed. She needs her rest and I'm certainly not dragging her out here simply to ease your conscience."
"Please, Gin? I won't be long. I just need..."
"You NEED to start thinking about other people for a change, George!" She took her brother's arm and dragged him far enough into the garden so they could talk without fear of Luna overhearing them.
She pushed him down onto a worn wicker bench next to an overgrown patch of mistletoe. "Now you listen to me, George Weasley! We are all sick and tired of prancing about on eggshells around you. It's been over two years and we still can't say Fred's name in your presence without worrying about whether it's going to trigger some sort of meltdown."
"I can't stop missing him, Gin."
She sat next to him on the bench. "Nobody ever asked you to stop missing him! All anyone has ever asked of you was to stop acting like you are the ONLY one that misses him! You keep putting up these walls and isolating yourself from all of us. It's like we've lost you as well! Please stop carrying on like you are the only one in pain!"
"You don't know what it's like."
"You're right. I don't know what it's like to lose a twin. On the flip side, you don't know what it's like to lose both your parents." She gestured in the direction of Luna's house. "Your pain is no more and no less important than hers, George. Grief isn't some pissing contest to determine who hurts worse. Damn it! It's like you've placed your pain on a scale against everyone else's and found the rest of us to be somehow deficient."
She struggled to compose herself. Her voice softened as she said, "Don't you remember how it felt when Dad was in the hospital for a few days after being attacked by the snake? Well, Luna's father was sick for months..."
George's body tensed as he cut her off. "You can't compare that with how we lost Fred. Luna was lucky. She got a chance to prepare and say goodbye."
"Lucky? Really?" Ginny's hands balled into fists. "Please, George, remind me how lucky she was to watch her father slowly waste to nothing in front of her - carrying him to the loo and cleaning him up because he no longer had the strength to walk or stand. Enlighten me about the good fortune she had listening to him call out for her mother night after night because he had forgotten she had passed away years ago. Come on, educate me on how blessed Luna is to be an orphan!"
She was on her feet, trembling with rage. "You know, all Luna wanted tonight was someone to listen to her and perhaps offer a tiny bit of comfort. I'm sorry you found that beyond your capability."
George reached for his sister's arm. "Ginny, I..."
She jerked away as if his hand caused her physical pain. "Don't touch me. Don't talk to me." As she stormed off she called back, "And don't you dare come anywhere near Luna until you've pulled your head out of your arse!" He heard the door slam behind her then felt a barrage of protective wards being cast from inside.
George sat and stared at the ramshackle cottage before slowly rising to his feet and starting the trek to the Burrow.
It was going to be a very long night.