4MY AWESOME BETA WAS LISSY OR LISSY STAGE
For Quidditch Season Two Round One: CHASER 2: family role: aunt/uncle. Prompts: ("Every family has bad memories." Mario Puzo, "Beyond the darkness", "Don't tell me what to do!"
Star Light, Star Bright Challenge: Black Hole
One Million Words Competition: 1324 words
Delirium Quotes Competition: 18. "If you hear the past speaking to you, feel it tugging up your back and running its fingers up your spine, the best thing to do - the only thing - is run."
Disney Character Competition: Archimedes
If You Dare Challenge: 25. I'm Alive
Let It Be
It was one of those moments when you've fallen asleep, but suddenly woken up, and found yourself unable to go back. Suffering from such a situation, Albus lay in his bed with his eyes closed, willing himself to go back to sleep.
With a sigh, he dragged himself up from his bed and headed for the kitchen to get a glass of water. Being Winter Hols, Albus and his siblings, along with his various cousins, were at the Burrow, visiting Grandpa Arthur and Grandma Molly along with Uncle George, who lived with them.
Albus drowsily rubbed at his eyes, before stifling a yawn. Filling a cup with water, he sipped at it, when he heard a scream sound from upstairs. Albus nearly dropped the cup in his fright, managing to get a few splashes of the liquid on his night clothes. Putting the cup down on the counter, he ran up the stairs, trying his hardest to make sure his footfalls weren't loud enough to awaken his sleeping grandparents.
Nearing one of the rooms near his own, he heard the unmistakable sounds of sobs, and the comforting, soft tones of his Grandmother Molly.
"There, there," she shushed.
Albus crept towards the open slit of the door, and was shocked to see his Uncle George lying in bed, crying into his mother's arms. He was obviously crying about his deceased twin brother… Uncle Fred.
"It's alright," she murmured.
"No, it's not! F-he's gone, mum. He's dead, and I'm alive," his Uncle George cried pitifully.
"He's still here, though. With us, in our hearts," she said.
Wincing, Albus stepped back from the door, feeling as though he'd just intruded on a private moment. As he escaped for his room, he thought back on what he'd heard and seen. Uncle George, it seemed, had had a nightmare about Uncle Fred.
Uncle Fred was a taboo subject in their family, especially when Uncle George was around. Uncle George usually pretended to be fine, but at even the slightest mention of Uncle Fred, he usually stormed away, secluding himself within a room and not speaking to anyone for as long as he felt he had to.
Frowning, Albus settled beneath the covers of his bed, and closed his eyes. He fell asleep two hours later.
"Dad?" Albus called, head ducked.
"Yes, Albus?"
"Were… Uncle Fred and Uncle George close?" Albus asked.
He was met with silence, before he heard his father clear his throat uncomfortably.
"Yes, they were. They were twins, Albus. Nearly no one could tell them apart, not even your Grandmother Molly, and Merlin did they use that trait to their advantage. They constantly finished each other's sentences, to that effect, and the pair of them, they could make anyone laugh, whenever." his father said, trailing off.
"After Fred died, George was never quite the same. He acted like everything was okay… but… everyone knew that he wasn't okay. Those little things… it was weird without them being there to pester everyone. It was so quiet without them. The whole family was heartbroken, but at that time everyone was going through something. Everyone had lost someone. Every family has bad memories, and the time after the War had ended was the worst for us. Uncle Percy was back but he felt like he was supposed to replace Fred... George was in shock for so long, he couldn't even speak to anyone without bursting into tears.
"Ron and Hermione had finally confessed their love for each other, and although they wanted to quickly get married, they couldn't say anything about it because they atmosphere was too tense and depressive. Ginny cried for days, she had really looked up to Fred, as well as George, of course. Molly and Arthur… Arthur tried his best to keep the family together, and Molly just cried and cried. It was terrible.
"Fred was an amazing man. We all loved him and miss him still. And of all people, George misses him the most. George… can barely live without him. With twins it's always hard, but especially with them…" his father sucked in a deep breath, glancing outside the window of the dining room. When he'd recovered his composure, he asked, "Why are you so curious about this all of a sudden?"
"I heard him crying last night. He was with Grandma Molly, crying and calling out Uncle Fred's name," Albus said quietly.
Harry sighed. "Please, don't tell anyone I mentioned this to you. This is a very sensitive subject. Don't mention it to him either, okay? It might break him even more than he already is."
Albus nodded in reply.
"George, it's been twenty years. It's time for you to move on," Grandpa Arthur said weakly.
"I already have," Uncle George said in reply.
The kitchen was tense, and everyone was silent.
"No, you haven't, George. Your mother and I are heartbroken to see you suffering like this. We all miss Fred, George. But he's dead. You've got to face the truth! I know you're still there somewhere. The real you. It's still there, behind the darkness," Arthur wheezed.
"Don't tell me what to do!" Uncle George lashed out as he slammed his hands against the table, stood up, and walked away.
Albus quickly went after him, and nobody stopped him.
"Uncle George?" he called.
He heard quiet sobs of pain. His Uncle was a grown man. But everyone hurts. Everyone feels.
"Are you okay?" he asked, going up to his uncle.
"Go away! Let me be," his Uncle said between sobs.
"If you hear the past speaking to you, feel it tugging up your back and running its fingers up your spine, the best thing to do - the only thing - is run," he said quietly.
"No. I have to face the past like a man. It's what Fred would have wanted," Uncle George said, wiping away his tears.
"I strongly disagree. Because once you face the past like a man, it'll pass you. It'll hit you hard, and pass you. And then you'll be behind it. You're caught in the middle of the past and you're drowning within it. You're stuck. Uncle George, you face it every night when you cry.
"You're drowning, Uncle George. And everyone is trying to save you. You just need to reach out a hand, and let yourself be saved. Just let it go. Because once you've run and won the race, you can watch it as it chases you. You can remember the past. And you can learn from it.
"You can treasure it. That's the way to survive in this world," Albus said.
Uncle George took a shaky, deep breath. "It's going to be hard," he said.
"It's going to be hard," Albus agreed.
"Can I do it?" Uncle George asked.
It was so easy to doubt himself when doubting was all he had been doing during the past twenty years.
"Yes, you can," Albus said firmly. "I know you can."
"It'll take a long time," Uncle George said, hands quivering. "It's going to be scary."
"It's going to take a long time. It's going to be scary. But you can do it, Uncle George," Albus said, grinning at him.
His Uncle George smiled back at him weakly. It was a small and full of pain, but a true smile, nevertheless. Not like the ones Albus had seen in the past.
His Uncle George nodded at him, and closed his eyes. Albus watched him, silently It was the destruction of his Uncle George's terror and diffidence he was seeing right now.
The destruction of the barrier that was blocking Uncle George. Blocking Uncle George from running from the past.
And now, finally, Uncle George was free. Albus smiled.
Uncle George smiled back. A real smile. Not like those fake smiles from before. A real, and genuine. Sure, it was weak. But it was real, and that was all that mattered.
~End