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"Harry..?" George asked softly, trying his best not to alarm the boy who lay curled up in a tiny ball in the middle of the bed. He was aware that he was probably asleep but he'd felt that he had to check on him. The two hadn't spoken since George had left Hogwarts in a literal cloud of smoke and now here he was in his house, in his youngest brother's room. Fortunately, Ron had already gotten up for breakfast, but the Weasleys had opted to let Harry sleep for just that little bit longer.
All but George. George, who needed to know that he was okay, even if he didn't think that there was any possible way that Harry could be okay considering everything that had happened since they had last seen each other.
Slowly Harry stirred as George took a seat on the edge of the bed. He knew there was a chance that Harry was going to kick him out. He wasn't Fred after all and they all knew that it was Fred that Harry was in love with, that it was Fred that he would want if he wanted anyone.
"Hi." He mumbled as he stretched himself out and sat up to look at George properly. George tried to ignore the thought that he'd seen a look of disappointment flash across Harry's features but the voice in the back of mind that said he could easily go and get Fred didn't help.
"I…" George began but trailed off. He wanted to ask how Harry was but that seemed like a dangerous question to ask. He'd just spent the beginning of his summer in a house where he wasn't at all well looked after and was actually abused. And to top it off, it hadn't been that long since he had lost his godfather. George pulled in a deep breath. "I'm glad you're here." He wanted to follow it up with 'I missed you' but even though he was worried about Harry, he was still determined to keep him at arm's length, especially if the boy still had feelings for his twin. He still had to protect himself.
"Yeah, thanks," Harry muttered as he pulled his legs up to his chin, visibly closing in on himself.
George wondered if that was a sign that he should leave, but he found that he didn't want to so instead he ended up just sitting there pulling at a loose thread of the throw, his eyes downcast. He couldn't make himself move; as much as he didn't want to let himself catch feelings for Harry, he already had.
"You don't need to stay," Harry whispered, his voice shaking in a way that made Geroge feel as though he was just about holding back tears. A small part of him wanted to see Harry cry, not because he wanted to see his tears but because he wanted Harry to be able to let it all out.
"No, I don't need to, but I want to," George said quietly. "I want you to know that you have a friend here, in me."
"I thought we couldn't be friends," Harry muttered, an almost bitter time to his voice but George did his best to ignore that on account that he was hurting on more than one level.
"I didn't say that. I said I couldn't pretend to be your boyfriend any more." He said quietly, moving a little closer to Harry. He had thought that the younger boy understood the reasons that he had called off their little arrangement but it seemed that he had been mistaken.
Harry was silent for a few moments before he slowly looked up at George. "So you want to be friends?" He asked slowly.
George couldn't help but let out a sigh at that. He couldn't deny that he had pushed Harry away but he hadn't meant to push him away so well. "Yes. I want to be friends." He nodded.
Harry paused for a moment before he reached out to take George's hand, which George decided to take as a good sign - the fact that he was actively seeking comfort from him couldn't be a bad thing, could it?
They sat like that for a while, with Harry just holding George's hand tightly in his own. George wanted to ask about Sirius, about how Harry was coping with the loss of his godfather, but he decided against that as he figured it might only lead to one or both of them bursting into tears.
It wasn't how George had expected to spend any time during his summer but he supposed that he couldn't really complain; he had gotten to spend some time with Harry and that was irreplaceable. He didn't know how long they sat there like that for before he heard Fred calling his name from downstairs.
"I guess that's my cue to leave." He whispered, not wanting to move but also not wanting to impose in case Harry wanted to see Fred. They hadn't really talked since they had broken up last year, but that didn't mean that Harry's feelings had gone away. And Fred - well, he never talked to George about who he had feelings for anymore, but George couldn't blame him for that. As far as Fred was aware, what he had shared with Harry was completely real after all.
"I…" Harry began slowly, his voice shaking ever-so-slightly. "I do actually want to talk to you, later." He said quietly as he slowly looked up to meet his gaze. "Can we? Talk?"
George blinked a couple of times before he gave a short nod. "Yeah." He said quietly as he got up off the bed. "We can talk later." He had no idea what Harry would even want to talk about, but for the sake of his sanity, he decided not to obsess about it. "Make sure to go and get breakfast before Mum has a fit though." He added before he left the room, heading off in search of his twin to see what he wanted.