A year today. Wow. It seems like forever since I last saw you. After 20 years of spending every single moment together, a year is like an eternity, I guess.
I just wasn't ready for it, Freddie. The thought of losing someone I cared about was always in the back of my mind, but I never thought it would be you. The idea of you not being around was simply unthinkable. It felt like half of me was just ripped away, without a warning. I'd heard that losing someone you loved felt like a punch in the gut, well for me it was like a knife through the chest.
I went away afterwards. Everyone else had something new to live for. Ron had Hermione, Ginny had Harry, mum and dad had Ron and Percy back, Bill finally got to enjoy his marriage to Fleur, and Percy had mum and dad back. To be honest, me and Perce were hurting the most. He couldn't quite get his head around the idea that he'd just got you back when you were taken away from him, right in front of his eyes.
As for me, you can imagine. Every time anyone saw me, I was just a walking reminder that you weren't there anymore. They looked up, expecting to see you standing next to me, and then it hit them all over again that you were gone. Even when I looked at myself in the mirror, I expected you to be there. I felt completely lost, everything I'd ever done, I'd done it with you.
So I went away for a while. I didn't tell mum or dad, or anyone, I just left. It was a spur of the moment thing, I just packed a bag and walked. The Knight Bus picked me up and I went to Diagon Alley and went to the shop for the first time since the Battle. I just sat in there, surrounded by Extendable Ears, Skiving Snackboxes, and Pygmy Puffs, wondering what I was going to do about the place. Running it without you was just not possible. Not running it at all would've been even worse.
I stayed there for a few days, trying to keep busy by re-organizing the stock, trying to think up new things, working on complete rubbish. It was like half of my brain was gone too. Angelina came in one day, and found me obsessively trying to charm a Muggle toy snake in to a sort of Nagini replica. Awful idea, I must admit! She was looking for the same thing as me, a bit of alone time to think about you. She convinced me to stop working and to be honest, that was the first time I really let go. Seeing her again reminded me of your life, your own personal life that you had lived. It reminded me that it was gone. I completely broke down. Pretty embarrassing really, breaking down in front of Angelina. Felt like a right prat afterwards. She did the same, but she seemed to have a much more sensible mind than me.
She convinced me to go home, so I did. Mum murde-- she hit the roof as expected. She was convinced I'd "gone and done something stupid". The idea of ending it had entered my mind, but I was still in denial. If I'd have been alone for any longer, I probably would've tried.
So I stayed at home for a little while, trying to find some sort of purpose, something that I could do without you. I'd warn Harry to treat our sister with respect, give Ron really bad advice about Hermione, but I couldn't look either Mum or Dad in the eye. Anything I did that was "normal" was something I did with you.
After a little while, Angelina stopped by the Burrow to check I was doing okay. I wasn't. It's actually pretty incredible how easy it is to just drop everything and be honest around her. It made things that little bit easier, you know? Even Mum and Dad began noticing how much happier I was getting. Well, not happy, just upbeat, really. Angie visited a few more times, and then Mum and Dad sat me down to explain to me that they thought I should move in with her.
By that time, you'd been gone for over seven months. Things just started to look up, but the hardest thing was saying goodbye to the life I'd lived for the past twenty years. That part of me just doesn't exist without you, Freddie. But me and Angie are building something new, something a bit more grown up, I have to admit, but at least it's something of my own, and not just another reminder that you're not here.
I celebrated our birthday at home with mum and dad, and for the first time, we sat down and talked about it all. It was nice to finally have them back, and they saw me as someone new.
Now, a year on from the Battle, Fleur's a few months pregnant, Ginny's graduating Hogwarts along with Hermione, they, along with Harry and Ron, are all going to move in at Grimmauld Place together, I'm living with Angie and you've taken over as the Ghost of Gryffindor Tower. Life goes on, Freddie, but we know that you're with us every step of the way.
Love Georgie.
Fred smiled and closed the letter as he floated cross-legged in the air. He looked at his twin brother, who was staring up at him, and took a final peek at the parchment.
'Is this your extremely subtle way of telling me that you're sleeping with my ex-girlfriend?' he asked.
George shrugged sarcastically and both brothers burst out laughing. The anniversary of The Battle of Hogwarts had been a slightly happier day, with more reason for celebration, than the Battle itself.