Those Left Behind

Twenty-One

George stared at his trembling hands, slowly turning them over to expose his bloody knuckles. As he bent his fingers, he felt the skin tear and the joints ache, bruised by the immense force he had used against Charlie's face. The warm summer breeze blew past and he winced in pain, his open wounds stinging. 

Ashamed and embarrassed by the way he had acted, he continued to look down, not wanting to see the look of disappointment on Olivia's face. He heard her exhale deeply and he slowly raised his gaze. Her eyes were closed as she inhaled, letting the fresh air fill her lungs. Her black hair blew around her head, swaying with the tall grass that rustled around them. When the wind had settled down she opened her eyes, locking onto Georges.

She looked him up and down, closely examining his appearance. His hair appeared to be wet, a combination of sweat and humidity. If it wasn't for the blood on his hands and the dirt on his clothes, one could assume that he had gone for a brisk jog. Olivia continued to replay the fight in her mind, the sickening sounds of George's fists making contact with Charlie's face. 

"Olivia-", George began to speak, a look of guilt spreading across his face. Before he could get out more than her name, she raised her hand to silence him.

"We should take care of that.", she muttered, glancing down at his hands, her quiet voice void of all emotion. 

"They'll be fine for now-"

"Let's go.", ignoring his protests, she stormed past him on her way back to the house. George let out a sigh of defeat and followed close behind her, knowing that he was in no position to argue. When Olivia got to the front door, she paused and waited for him to catch up, before they walked inside together. When Molly spotted them she jumped from her seat, her eyes locked on George.

"Arthur. Take the baby. Now.", she insisted calmly, lowering Beau into his arms. Arthur gave George and Olivia a nervous look as Molly made her way across the room. She went straight to Olivia, placing her hands onto her stomach in a protective manner. "Are you okay dear? You didn't get hurt did you?"

"No..no...I'm fine.", Olivia whispered, glancing down at Molly's hands.

"Thank goodness.", she gave her a small smile and reached up to caress the side of her face before turning to George, her face dropping. "As for you, George Weasley! Would you care to explain yourself?", as she approached him, he backed up against the wall, cowering under his mother's disapproving glare.

"Mum, please. It was just a misunderstanding.", he mumbled, his voice quiet and meek. Although Molly was much smaller in stature compared to George, at that moment she seemed to tower over him. Olivia had never seen him look so defenceless as if being scolded by his mother, had somehow turned him into a small child once again.

"Misunderstanding!? Your brother is bleeding. This behaviour is completely unacceptable!", she snapped, taking a step closer.

"I know. I'm not a child-"

"Then perhaps you should stop acting like one, especially when you have two of your own on the way. Is this the type of father that you want to be? One that starts fights for no good reason?"

"No...", he choked out, his bottom lip quivering slightly. The expression on his face broke Olivia's heart and all she wanted to do was hold him close and promise that everything would be okay. Instead, she stayed rooted to the spot, watching helplessly while he tried not to fall apart in front of his family.

"Oh, Sweetheart.", Molly's voice and face softened as she watched the tears pool in George's eyes. "I know that you miss Freddie, we all do, but he wouldn't want this. You know that don't you?", she took his hand in hers and he nodded silently before wincing in pain. Concerned, she looked down, noticing the damage that had been done. "Look at what you've done to yourself! My poor boy..."