On Sunday morning, George awoke filled with apprehension. In a few hours, Angelina would be arriving to help him clean out Fred's bedroom. Part of him wanted to write to her to cancel. They could tackle it another day. Maybe he'd get lucky and she'd get cold feet and not come over at all.
It was just much easier to pretend as if the room didn't exist.
It was only when Eloise told him as he was getting dressed that she'd be leaving soon that the dread began to sink in. She had no qualms with leaving the flat early that morning, she understood completely that this was something he needed to handle without her. But George still felt that the very second she left, he wouldn't be able to balance his anxiety and grief any longer.
As George buttoned up his flannel shirt, Eloise bid her farewell. The promises of her return later in the evening were drowned out by the worried thoughts going through his head.
The two shared a brief kiss and a lingering touch as Eloise's cupped the side of his face. The furrow in her brow as she gazed at him expressed all of the concern in her mind and George smiled at her half-heartedly.
"I'm okay, promise." he assured her as he laid is hands over hers, leaning into her touch.
Eloise remained silent as her eyes scanned his own, looking for the truth his lips refused to tell. She could tell he was feeling uneasy and her caring heart urged her to stay by his side at least until Angelina arrived. However, he soon convinced her that he would be okay and she finally left in a flash of green flames after one more kiss.
Now, George was sat alone at the kitchen table, occasionally peering at the fireplace in the living room counting the minutes until Angelina appeared within the hearth. The tea in the mug before him had grown cold, long since forgotten as the gravity of George's decision to clear out Fred's room finally weighed down on him.
That door had remained closed since he moved back in two months after his twin's death. He and Charlie lived as if the room didn't exist at all, as though the purple door was merely a decoration, a trick door that never opened and never led anywhere.
As easy it would be to simply go about each day ignoring the room, George didn't want to live a life of trying to forget anymore. Avoiding thoughts of Fred had gotten him nowhere over the last two years. All it did was cause more problems. He felt as though he had gone through every stage of grief six times over. Every stage, that is, except acceptance.
He hoped that finally going through his brother's belongings with Angelina would help make acceptance seem a bit more attainable. She was the only person, perhaps other than Ginny, who George felt comfortable enough with to do this particular task.
With her, he would be understood. Angelina was a no nonsense kind of woman, much like his sister. No matter what inevitable emotions George would unleash, she would never give him a canned response about time healing all wounds and grief growing smaller over the years.
Angelina was always a stickler for arriving on time, especially when she was Quidditch captain in their seventh year. So, when she arrived the very second the clock struck nine, George wasn't surprised at all.
The green flames flickered in his fireplace and faded away to reveal a woman who somehow looked both optimistic and mournful.
George offered her a cup of tea as she dropped her bag on the couch and she accepted. The two of them caught up on the happenings over the last few weeks they had been apart.
He politely asked how the remainder of her Quidditch season went, as if he hadn't already seen the results printed in The Daily Prophet. Even though he could tell she knew he was already aware of the outcomes, she went into great details about the matches.
Eventually, when the focus was finally off of her life over the last few weeks, Angelina asked if George had made any progress on his profession of love to Eloise. It was unlikely that she had expected any real change in the situation, but he assured her that he was 'working on it' and 'had a plan', despite the skeptical look in her eyes.
Finally, the pair decided they had stalled for long enough and the topic of the day had finally presented itself as George cleared the table of their empty mugs.
"Seems a bit daunting, don't you think?" Angelina muttered with her chin in her hand as she watched George cross the kitchen.
A chuckle formed in his throat as he shrugged, "A lot of things feel that way."
Angelina hummed in agreement and placed her eyes on the knob to Fred's bedroom. A mere turn of the handle stood between the two of them and perhaps the last puzzle piece they needed to finally gain closure. George turned around and studied the furrow in Angelina's brow and the way the pads of her fingers tapped the side of her face thoughtfully.
"We don't have to do this if you're not ready." he offered.
His words had visibly broken her away from whatever thoughts were swimming around in her mind as she brought her attention back to him. A pause fell between them, as if Angelina had briefly considered giving up and trying for another day. But eventually she shook her head.
"No sense in putting it off any longer."
That was all the confirmation George needed to gesture his head towards the hallway. Angelina rose from the table and followed him the short distance to the door. They stood there for a moment, side by side. The silence loomed as the only sounds that could be heard were the drip from the tap in the kitchen sink and the birds chirping outside, enjoying the summer weather.
George glanced down at Angelina and gestured towards the handle, "Did you want to?"
She shook her head without meeting his eyes, "You should."
The silence resumed as George merely nodded in response. He hesitated, secretly hoping Angelina would have been the one to bite the bullet so he didn't have to. But he finally took in a deep breath and reached for the handle. As he turned the knob, it felt like time was moving in slow motion. A creek from the hinges cut through the silence as he pushed the door open.
A hazy glow filled the room as the summer sunshine filtering through the blinds caught every piece of dust that fluttered through the air. The two of them remained in the doorway. Crossing the threshold was the next hurdle and they were taking their time.
Their eyes glanced around the room, not landing on any object in particular. They were merely taking it all in as a whole, the finer details could wait until they were brave enough to actually enter the room. Fred's belongings were all covered in a thick layer of dust, as if the universe wanted to give the two of them a cruel reminder of just how long it had been since he had stepped foot inside.
Angelina was the first to enter and George breathed a sigh of relief as he followed her. It looked just as it had when George first moved back in and came across the open door. The same pieces of parchment littered Fred's desk and the floor beneath it. The dirty laundry he was too lazy to put in a hamper and the clean laundry he was too lazy to put away were scattered all over the floor. The sheets on his bed were unmade, as they always had been, thanks to his mild rebellion once he wasn't living under Molly's roof anymore.
George ran his fingers over the wooden dresser by the door, leaving a trail through the dust. Angelina skimmed over the notes and drawings on his desk. Eventually, the two met in the middle and sat side by side on his bed. The silence had returned, only this time the occasional sniffle broke through.
It took a solid fifteen minutes of them sitting in Fred's room, soaking in the emotions it held within. In that time, Angelina had leaned her head on George's shoulder and he wrapped his arm around hers in return. They were together but still felt so alone.
Finally, Angelina lifted her head and looked at George, "Well, where should we start?"
A sigh fell from George's lips as he scanned the room. Eventually, his eyes fell to Fred's desk and he decided it was as good a spot as any to begin.
So, the two of them began sifting through each drawer, deciding whether anything was worth keeping and, if so, who would be the one to take it. George had the stressful task of trying to determine whether anyone in his family would want Fred's old clutter and resorted to keeping anything that wasn't an immediate no, just in case.
He thought Ginny might be interested in Fred's first sketch of the Pygmy Puff display. Maybe Ron would want his ancient Chocolate Frog card collection, even though he knew that his younger brother already owned at least double of every card that had ever been printed.
Nearly everything he saw, George thought of at least one person that might like to hold onto it - if not himself or Angelina. The discard pile was rather sparse as a result, and clearing out Fred's room suddenly seemed like it would be difficult for a reason entirely unrelated to their emotions.
Eventually, Angelina suggested designating a box to each of his siblings and his parents and George agreed it was a brilliant idea. So, the two busied themselves. At first, they remained silent beyond Angelina's occasional inquiry of who would want whatever item she came across. But after a while, they began to reminisce and even laugh as they recounted stories to one another over photos, toys, t-shirts, and notes.
Soon, Angelina found an old polaroid buried deep within Fred's side table drawer. The square photo was held tightly in her grasp as she watched the scene replay over and over again. When she didn't answer a question George had just asked, he looked over to see what she was doing. Curiosity took over his feet as he walked behind her to get a look at the photo over her shoulder.
George remembered this moment well.
Angelina and Fred had been dating for only a little while when Gryffindor decided to throw a New Year's Eve party in the common room. Since most fourth year students and higher had decided to stay at the castle over the holidays, thanks to the Yule Ball, it seemed like a perfect opportunity for the older students to celebrate. This photo in particular was taken by none other than Lee Jordan, of course while being egged on by George and Verity.
Lee and George were in the midst of a drunken game of Exploding Snap with an equally as intoxicated Verity sitting right beside them. Every time one of their cards would explode, the blonde Hufflepuff would let out a loud yelp.
"Pipe down, Verity. You're making it hard to concentrate." George scolded after the fifth time it happened.
"Oh, I'm making it hard to concentrate, am I? Or is it the fact that Alicia's spending time with Oliver and not you that's really distracting you?" she grinned as she took a swig of butterbeer.
"Shut up." he muttered.
Since the ball, he and Alicia had been hanging out more often but he had yet to pluck up the courage to actually ask her out. That was on his to-do list for the new year - his resolution. In the meantime, all he cared about was not losing the six Sickle bet he had against Lee on this card game.
Verity fell silent again, avoiding George's glaring gaze every time the cards startled her. Soon, her eyes fell on Fred across the room.
"Reckon he's finally gone off the deep end?" she asked vaguely.
The boys first looked at each other in confusion before glancing at Verity and following her gaze across the room. Fred and Angelina were sitting on the sofa by the fire, looking positively smitten with one another. The pure puppy-love radiating from them was quite sweet, if not a bit nauseating to the trio.
"Where's that camera your mum sent you for Christmas?" Lee suddenly asked Verity with determination.
"In my bag, why?"
Instead of answering her question, Lee's lips formed a wide grin, "Give it here, then."
With furrowed brows, Verity dropped her eyes to the cross-body purse she had on her at all times, as if it were another appendage. She dug around and pulled the small Polaroid camera out and handed it to Lee. After snatching it from her hand, he held it up to his eye and pointed the viewfinder directly at the new couple. However, after a moment, he dropped it just a bit with a frown.
"We need to get their attention."
George smirked, "Would you prefer a wolf whistle or a cat call?"
"Why not both?" Verity suggested.
With wicked grins, the three of them quickly came to a silent understanding. As Lee brought the camera back up to his eyes, George and Verity's voices harmonized in an obnoxious symphony of hoots and hollers that caught the couple by surprise. Just as the camera flashed, Fred and Angelina shot apart from each other and she swore at them from across the room with a look in her eyes that looked as though she wouldn't hesitate to murder all three.
As soon as the square photo dispensed, Verity quickly snatched her camera from Lee and placed it safely back into her bag to prevent Angelina's wrath from causing it any harm. George stepped out of the way as Angelina marched over, trying her best to pry the photo from Lee's hand.
Being the second shortest of the group - only reaching a few inches taller than Verity - Lee was struggling a bit to keep the photo out of Angelina's reach but luckily George towered over everyone but his twin, so when he took it from Lee's grasp, Angelina's fury only grew. All the while, Fred was still sitting on the sofa with his head thrown back in laughter.
"Hand it over, Weasley." Angelina ordered.
"Where are your manners? Can't even say please to your future brother-in-law?" George taunted as he held it high above her head.
"I'll show you manners next week at practice when I take your broom and shove it right up your-"
"Alright, alright." Fred interrupted with a laugh as he finally approached them, "Give it here."
His arm draped casually over Angelina's shoulder as he took the photo from George and placed it in the back pocket of his jeans without even pausing to glance at it. Although Angelina didn't look any more pleased with it now being in his possession instead of his twin's.
"It's safe with me." he smiled down at her.
But his assurances didn't seem to help, Angelina's arms were still crossed tightly over her chest as she rolled her eyes, "Whatever, I'm going to bed."
She slipped away from Fred's embrace and marched up the stairs to the girls' dorms in a huff, with only ten minutes to spare before the New Year.
"Sweet dreams, love!" Fred called out to her.
"Bite me, Weasley." they heard her reply before they all burst into a fit of laughter.
Despite her attitude, and his friends laughing at his expense, the smile on Fred's face never wavered.
"Oh no, we've already lost him. I told you he's gone off the deep end." Verity teased as she jabbed her elbow into Fred's ribs.
The painful feeling caused his face to finally fall into a frown as he rubbed his side, "Piss off, you're just jealous that Cho decided to spend the evening with pretty boy Diggory instead of coming with you to this party."
A furious blush grew over the girl's cheeks, "I- well, that's not- I mean."
"Alright, calm down half-pint, don't let Freddie get your knickers in a twist." George intervened.
"Me calm down?! He's the one who-" she started but was cut off by Fred.
"One day you lot will know how it feels, then maybe you won't give me so much shit. You'll all be like 'Oh, Freddie, you were so right, being single was hell. What were we thinking?!' So, I don't wanna hear it." he ranted before focusing on George and Verity specifically, "Especially you two. You'd best get a move on before someone swoops in and takes your girls for good. Oliver and Cedric clearly have similar tastes."
Verity's mouth was agape but George's smile only grew as he remained highly amused at the turn of events. Angelina's fiery attitude was clearly rubbing off on Fred already.
"You're welcome for that picture, by the way." Lee finally spoke in an effort to break the tension.
"Oh yeah." Fred chuckled as he pulled it from his back pocket.
As the boy gazed at the picture, he let out a loud laugh and shook his head, "Oh man, we can never let her see this. She'll kill all of us."
He turned the photo around to show the group the scene. At first, the shot was merely a candid moment of Fred and Angelina sitting by the fireplace, sharing a relatively innocent kiss. However, the loud interruption from George and Verity had gathered their attention as Lee snapped the photo and captured Angelina yelling with quite an unflattering expression on her face.
The four of them forgot all about their bickering throughout the night as they laughed about the photo that had quickly become one of Fred's most treasured possessions.
A smirk grew on George's face, "That's a good one, you should keep it."
He expected her to chuckle, or nod, or anything. But Angelina merely stood there, staring at one of her first memories of dating Fred replay over and over.
"Alright, Ang? We can take a break if you want."
More silence. George's brows knit into a frown as he stepped from behind her, instead placing himself right in front of her face so she couldn't ignore him anymore. Finally, she looked up at him.
"I have a date on Friday." she said somberly, as if she were confessing to the worst crime a person could commit.
George could see the guilt and worry in her eyes, almost as though she were expecting him to be upset with her attempt at finally moving on.
The sense of shame she felt, despite Fred's soul having long since departed, had clearly been eating away at her. The only way she could think to justify her feelings were to tell George. If he considered the news to be an act of betrayal of the highest magnitude, all of her fears would be realized. But a warm smile grew on his lips, taking her by surprise.
"Angie, that's great! Tell me about him."
Relief washed over her as the smile returned to her face. Angelina glanced down at the photo once more before placing it into the box that had been marked with her name. She then sat on Fred's bed and told George about the man she had met suddenly, only a few nights ago.
Apparently, he was a coach for a rivaling Quidditch team, so for now the budding relationship was being kept pretty quiet. But she laughed when she said the potential of a forbidden romance did feel a bit exciting. Evidently, they had met by pure happenstance at an end of season party - one where Angelina had more than a few glasses of firewhisky to drink.
She told George about how she had accidentally bumped into him while not paying any attention to where she was going. Unfortunately for both of them, this caused him to spill wine all over his pristine white shirt. Not only that, but she had also drunkenly attempted to perform a cleaning charm on it before even muttering a single apology. In her inebriated state, the spell backfired making the stain a million times worse.
As she relived the memory, Angelina was desperately trying to hold back her nervous laughter as she suddenly felt embarrassed all over again.
As far as first impressions went, George had decided that Angelina may have taken the cake for the worst introduction in the history of humanity. But, as she recalled, the guy simply laughed it off as he offered her a handshake and introduced himself to her. With a smile, she told George that's when she knew she needed to get to know him.
George smiled. By the sounds of it, this guy was exactly the kind of person Angelina needed. He didn't hesitate to tell her that, either. Whether she was really looking for his blessing or not didn't matter to him, he simply wanted her to know that she had his support no matter what.
The weight of the announcement seemed to visibly shed from her shoulders and the two went right back to work. They soon finished the task that only a short while ago seemed like it would be impossible.
The ominous presence of George's neglected grief that was locked in Fred's old room had been lifted. Instead, part of the departed twin's memory went with each item that held infinite emotions, no two items evoking the same feeling. All that remained behind the purple door now was the dust that danced through the air like snowflakes.
There was no more looming stress, George no longer had to live each day wishing to avoid the pain of recollection. Once the door to Fred's room closed behind them, it was like the beginning of a new chapter. One that still lacked the most important person in his life, but one that didn't feel so heavy.
While each of them left with their own unique boxes filled to the brim with old memories, the one thing that George and Angelina needed most from Fred was brand new. It was a gift the man had never intentionally left behind in his bedroom for them to discover in his absence. It wasn't expensive or hard to find, it wasn't even a thing at all.
What George and Angelina needed most, and finally got on that warm July afternoon, was a sense of closure.