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May 2, 1998 is a date that has forever been etched into the memory of the Weasley family, leaving a large, bleeding wound in their souls that will never heal. Fred's sudden, tragic death affected everyone, but George took it the hardest.The first night after the event, he woke up every half hour, drenched in cold sweat. Each time, he was absolutely convinced that the events of the previous day were just a bad dream. And each time, he had to face the terrifying reality. His brother was dead. And nothing could change that."Let's use a time turner! There must be someone who didn't take part in the battle and could travel there without the risk of meeting his past self!" he shouted at Percy as soon as the next morning came.He was ready to sacrifice anything to reverse the death sentences. To get back his twin who had been so brutally stolen from him. Souls that should have always been together had been illegally separated! Twins are like two halves of the same apple. Separated from each other, they rot and become bitter."George, even if I wanted to... no one would agree to this. After all, sometimes it's enough to change one thing for the entire future to fall apart. What if instead of bringing Fred back, we cause Voldemort's victory?" Percy tried to argue, who didn't quite want to reveal to his brother that all the time-turners would be destroyed that day. He was afraid that George, driven by despair, would do something stupid. Like breaking into the Ministry."Stop talking nonsense. I'm not saying to save everyone. Besides, the Ministry doesn't need to know about it at all! We'll go back in time, save Fred, and come back. After all, in this new reality, no one will know that Fred ever died!""George, Fred's death hurts me as much as it hurts you. I saw him die and I've never felt so helpless in my life. I tried, but it wasn't enough. I'll never forgive myself for this, but I won't put our whole family at risk." Percy was already on the verge of tears. He understood his younger brother's determination perfectly. However, he couldn't agree to his demands. It wasn't just about the Ministry's decisions anymore, but also about George's safety. Terrible things happen to those who play with time."Percy...""George, I know that in school you and F... studied, you studied very selectively. But playing with time isn't as easy as you think. Even if you go back and save someone's life, you will have to pay for it. For every life saved, someone else will lose it. What's more, death claims its victims. Sometimes after a year, sometimes after two. It always comes back."George looked down silently, clenching his fists. The moment the rest of the household entered the kitchen, he ran out like he had been scalded, unable to stand their company. Because, seeing them all together, he couldn't shake the thought that his family would never be complete again. Not for holidays, birthdays or weddings. Not even funerals. They would never be together there again. Because Fred was gone.Filled with rage, he rushed into the room he had once shared with his twin, and there, unable to control his emotions, he grabbed a random book and threw it halfway across the room, until it hit the wall with a bang, causing several posters to fall off. Right after that, he burst into tears and fell to the ground. He choked and repeated "no" over and over again, as if that would make the whole situation cease to be real.He couldn't even look at the room filled with mementos of his brother's presence. Every little item reminded him of Fred. Even those stupid posters that were now lying on the floor. He remembered perfectly how they had hung them together, before starting their fifth year at Hogwarts. And the thought of going back to their flat, visiting their shop... everything they had created together, made his stomach turn inside out. He couldn't and didn't want to face it. He curled up in a ball on the floor, trying to catch his breath. Until he finally fell asleep on the ground, exhausted from crying. That day, his family had let him experience it his way. None of them could even imagine what he felt, they had lost a family member, which was painful in itself. George had lost much more. He had lost a part of himself.In the evening, the two oldest brothers carried George to his bed and carefully covered him with a blanket. Then they left, not wanting to wake the boy with their conversations. Because staying in that room was still too difficult for them. The wound after Fred had left was too fresh. Too painful. George didn't sleep peacefully though, he was tormented by nightmares in which he kept seeing his brother's death over and over again.He finally woke up late in the evening, it was almost midnight when he dragged himself exhausted towards the bathroom to wash his face with cold water. However, as soon as he saw his reflection in the mirror, all his emotions boiled up again. If it weren't for the severed ear, he would have been looking at a perfect copy of Fred. For a moment he stared at his own reflection, until suddenly, in a fit of rage, he punched the mirror with his fist. Shards of glass scattered all over the bathroom and a large number of shards also got stuck in his hand.However, George didn't feel pain, only this overwhelming emptiness. For a moment he stood there numb, staring at the empty mirror frame.Fortunately, Percy had always been a light sleeper and, alerted by a strange sound, he decided to check what was going on. When he opened the bathroom door, worried, and noticed the chaos reigning in the room, he ran in as if scalded."Reparo." he mumbled and the shards of glass fell back into place, as if nothing had happened. Right after that, Percy took a few quick steps forward and wrapped his brother in a tight hug, waiting for him to calm down enough to safely dress his wounds."He's gone, and I can see him." George mumbled, as if he was repeating a mantra. The boy's tears soaked into Percy's nightshirt, while he soothingly stroked his younger brother's back. Finally, George stopped crying and sniffling. He didn't even have the strength for that. That's when Percy reached for his wand again, dressing his wounded hand."In the morning, Mom will dress it better. You know I'm not very good at healing magic. But it's better than nothing, right?" said Percy, who didn't quite know how to behave now. When George didn't respond, or even laugh at Percy's confusion, the older brother felt a painful pang in his heart. This wasn't the George they knew, and worse, there was a real chance that George would never be the same. After a few minutes of silence, George spoke again, his voice cracking with emotion."Please, Percy, I want to see Fred."It broke Percy's heart. If he could, he would take all this burden off his shoulders, but unfortunately he couldn't. Despite his rather rational nature, at that moment he himself began to consider using a time turner. However, he quickly reprimanded himself for it in his mind, after all, it was not only dangerous but also illegal. But what did the good of the majority matter when it came to the good of his family?That night neither of them slept a wink. Not that any of the household members were able to sleep peacefully. Molly would burst into tears every few hours, and the only thing that calmed her down were the warm embrace of her husband, who was holding back his tears with his last strength. He wanted to be strong and give his wife the support she needed. And yet every evening when he went to wash up, he would cry in the shower, remembering his child. He hated himself for every time he did too little to understand the complicated nature of the twins. Every time he did not support their passion in a sufficient way. And then he would emerge from the bathroom, strong again and ready to support his beloved wife.The oldest of the brothers, Bill, couldn't even stay at home overnight. He used to prefer sleeping outside because he was afraid the twins would play some nasty trick on him, like dyeing his hair pink. (It happened.) And now? He couldn't stand the knowledge that Fred would never pull such a prank again. That's why he and his wife Fleur spent their nights at their home and returned to their home every morning to support their parents and siblings.Fleur was the only one who saw the man crying his eyes out. She blames herself for not being there to protect his younger brother. How he tosses around in bed, tormented by nightmares, the content of which he didn't want to tell her for anything.Charlie had it much harder. He couldn't just teleport from one country to another, every day. So he had to stay at home, where every corner reminded him of how it was and how it would never be again. Back then he hated himself, he thought he had not devoted enough time to his family, that his trip to Romania had taken away the time he could have spent with his siblings as a whole. He was terrified by how much of their lives he had missed out on, after all, you can't tell them everything through letters sent every now and then.And the younger ones, that was a real shock. To see someone you admired your whole life just disappear from your life. Just like that, as if they had never been there. Ginny couldn't even say her brother's name without bursting into tears, she spent hours cuddled up to Harry, telling him all the happy memories she had of Fred and George. That night she even mentioned that she had lost two brothers in the Battle of Hogwarts, because George would never be himself without Fred by his side. Just like Fred wouldn't be himself without George.Ron, there was nothing to be seen of him. He was quiet and lost in his own thoughts. Locking away all his emotions and pain. At that moment, he was very much like his father, he believed that someone had to be strong so that the others could afford to grieve. And although he would like to deny it, he couldn't shake the thought that if certain decisions had been made differently, Fred would still be with them.The days passed and the pain didn't get any less. Until finally, May 9th came, the day when the ceremonial funeral of the victims of the Battle of Hogwarts took place. The rebuilt castle was decorated with white flowers, and the air was filled with sadness. Each family spoke about their deceased. And the most striking were the speeches of parents whose children didn't even survive to adulthood. For example, Mr. and Mrs. Creevey, who lost their son - Collin. The boy was only fifteen years old.There was definitely too much death. Families were in despair, countless mothers screamed in agony as the coffins with the bodies of their children sank into cold graves. Friends were saying goodbye to their friends for the last time, and teachers were heartbroken to say goodbye to students they had known for a large part of their lives. Nevertheless, George couldn't let the events unfold around him sink in. The only thing he could focus on was the marble statue of his brother, on which a moving photo of the redhead waved at them cheerfully. It was as if nothing had happened, and Fred was about to jump out from behind a tree and announce that it was all just a joke.But that didn't happen. Fred was dead and nothing could change that.George was the last to leave the cemetery, it was well after midnight and he couldn't bring himself to go home or even to his apartment. So he wandered around the city until he finally ended up in one of those bars where you could get absolutely anything. From a one-night stand to hard drugs and dark magic items. He got so drunk there that he couldn't even remember his own name. Beer after beer, then one glass of whiskey after another.Even the bartender of questionable morality finally refused to serve him. That's when George staggered out into the street, swaying and falling twice. In his pocket was a letter he had written when he was still... relatively sober. It weighed on him now like it was made of stone.May 9, 1998LondonHi Freddie,Today was the funeral of the heroes of the Battle of Hogwarts, you have no idea how much pain it caused me to say goodbye to you. Seeing you there in that coffin and then watching it disappear into the ground. I bet even the Cruciatus Curse doesn't hurt as much as losing you.I can't eat, I can't sleep. I can't live normally knowing that you won't be around. How could I run Weasley's Wizard Wheezes without you? How could I...I can't even think straight. You have no idea how pathetic I feel right now, how many times we've laughed at people who drown their sorrows in alcohol. And now I'm one of them. Because only this burning in my throat and the haze of consciousness can bring me relief now.Why, of all people, did it have to be you?Why did you leave me?Your loving brotherGeorgeFinally, while he was reading the letter in an alcoholic frenzy, he fell for the third time. This time he didn't get up. He just lay on the ground, feeling that if he even tried to get up he would throw up.A stranger approached him, in a black cloak and a hood over his head."Someone's had too much alcohol here." he asked as he barely managed to help George to his feet."What do you know?" George stammered, tearing his arm out of the stranger's grip and staggering back. "You don't know anything.""I may not know why you drink. But that doesn't mean I don't know anything. Try me, what's troubling you, child?" the stranger asked, and George suddenly realized that he was dealing with an elderly person."I lost my brother." he said finally, he didn't know if it was the need to talk or the alcohol he had drunk, but here he was standing in the middle of the sidewalk, confiding in a stranger whose face he couldn't even see."Oh... losing a family member can be awfully hard. Were you close?" the Old Man asked and carefully took George by the arm so that he wouldn't fall again. This time the redhead didn't pull his hand out of the old man's grip, instead he burst into tears and answered."Of course. We were twins, we were always together. We understood each other without words. He was... the other half of me. Without him it's like I'm going to live without a soul.""You have no idea how sorry I am for your loss. How did he die?" the old man asked, and although George couldn't see it, a mischievous spark appeared in the old man's eyes."In the Battle of Hogwarts." George replied. "A Death Eater named Rockwood blew up the wall right behind him, the rubble crushed him. Even the protective spell our older brother cast didn't help. It happened too fast...""I understand. You blame yourself for what happened, don't you?" the man probed, adjusting the hood on his head."Of course I do. And I will never forgive myself for not being able to save him. - George replied, stumbling."You know, I lost my brother a long time ago too." The old man said. "Just like you, we were twins. We did everything together until one day he was cruelly taken away from me. For seventy years of my life I couldn't accept it, until today.""What changed after seventy years?" asked George, who couldn't even imagine that the pain of losing Fred could ever go away."Because I got a chance to fix the past." After these words the old man pressed an object hanging on an ornate gold chain into his hand. It was a time turner. "Use it wisely, because it will only work once." He said and after these words he disappeared into thin air.