Barely Holding On

Chapter Three: Let's Go...Home.

George followed his mother into the kitchen. "Thanks, Mum," he told her as she began to pull out bread and cheese from the pantry.

"Oh, George, you have nothing to thank me for," she told him with a pat. "That poor girl," she murmured as she began to peel potatoes. "I can't even imagine what she is going through," she whispered sadly. George glanced at his mother to see a tear roll down her face. He quickly made his way over to her and engulfed her in a hug.

"Mum, I am so sorry. I shouldn't have stayed away so long," he spoke into her hair.

"Oh, George! I was so afraid I would lose you, too!" she sobbed into his chest. "I couldn't bear it!"

George held onto her harder at those words. He was ashamed of his behavior. He wished he could take everything back, that he could be there for her everyday since Fred's funeral, not locked away in his flat planning his suicide. "I'm here now, Mum, I swear," he told her with tears in his eyes. They pulled apart to find Ginny leaning against the door jam. "Gin," he greeted his sister with a sheepish smile, remembering his behavior the day before.

"About time, George," she told him with a smile, running over to throw her arms around him. "I missed you," she told him. He pulled back to get a good look at her. The first thing he noticed was how pale she was. Dark circles shadowed her eyes. The usual dark brown depths were lifeless and dull. He felt his heart go out to her.

"Ginny, what's wrong," he asked, concern filling his voice.

"Nothing," she assured him, not meeting his eyes. He placed a finger under her chin and raised her face.

"Gin, I am so sorry for the way I treated you yesterday. I...I wasn't myself," he apologized, silently praying for her forgiveness.

"George, it's okay, really, I forgive you," she told him earnestly. He gave a small smile before engulfing her in another hug. Ginny gently pulled away before going over to her mother to help with lunch.

"Ginny, dear, could you please pull an extra chicken out of the cooler? We have a guest for lunch and I want to make sure there is enough food," his mother asked her daughter.

Ginny quickly whipped her head around. "A guest!? Really?" she asked, a hint of excitement in her voice. "Who?" she asked, unable to hide the hope in her eyes.

"Angelina Johnson," she told her youngest. George watched as the light in his sister's eyes burned out.

"Oh," she muttered before going about the task her mother had given her.

George pondered his sister's actions for a moment. He knew something was wrong, something besides his abandonment, but he couldn't tell what. Giving up his musings for the moment, he walked over to the table to sit down by his mother. "Mum, I was thinking about asking Angelina to stay with me. I mean, I know Katie has to be getting back to her Quidditch team and I don't want her to be alone," he rambled on, coming up with any excuse to give his mother so she wouldn't see the real reason for his suggestion. His mother just gave him a knowing smile.

"I think that is a marvelous idea. I'm sure she could use your support right now," she told her son, smiling to herself. "Now, why don't you go rest in the living room and allow us girls to finish up in here," she suggested.

"Okay," he agreed, giving mother and daughter a chance to talk.

Angelina awoke from her dream feeling comfortable and at peace, a much different feeling than she was used to. She glanced around at her surroundings for a moment before remembering exactly where she was. Slowly it all came back to her. She remembered she had come with George to the Burrow to tell Mrs. Weasley the news. Her heart ached at the reminders of Fred that were strewn throughout this house. She slowly brought her hand down to rest on her stomach and thought of the life growing in there. The little piece of the man she loved. She was through her first trimester and the medi-witch told her the morning sickness and tiredness should be dissipating. Thank the gods for small favors. No sooner had that thought crossed her mind when her stomach gave a hard roll. Jumping up from the couch she sprinted to the loo. Dropping to her knees before the toilette, she began heaving. It only took a minute for her to empty her stomach completely. When she glanced up, she noticed George standing behind her holding a damp face cloth.

"Here," he offered, holding it out for her.

"Thank you," she murmured, taking the cloth and patting her flushed face with it. Flushing the toilette, she went to the sink to wash her face. George used his wand to conjure a toothbrush and handed it to her. She smiled at the thoughtfulness of the young man standing before her. She was very grateful for everything he had done in the last two days. She knew this wasn't easy for him, but he hadn't once complained. He had done everything he could to make things easier for her. She would have to find a way to repay him.

"Angelina, are you okay?" he asked, placing a gentle hand on her back.

"Yes, I'm okay. The morning sickness is going away and it only gets to me every now and then," she told him honestly. He gave a small smile.

"If you're feeling up to it, I'd like to talk to you about something," he told her, leading her out into the living room again.

"Okay," she told him, wondering what he had to say.

George had been worried when he had seen Angelina run down the hall like a bat out of hell and had been even more worried when he had found her on the floor of the loo, heaving into the toilette. He vaguely remembered his mum being sick all the time when she had been pregnant with Ginny and he hoped she wouldn't have to go through that. He was glad to hear that the sickness should be going away. He hated to throw up and he assumed Angelina probably wasn't too fond of it either, but then again, who could be?

George led Angelina back into the living room and sat next to her on the sofa. He wanted to talk to her about staying with him at his flat, but was afraid of how she would respond. Taking a deep breath, he gently took her hand in his. "Ang, what are you going to do now?" he asked. He wanted to make sure she didn't have any plans before throwing out his suggestion.

"Honestly, George, I don't know," she told him with a small frown. "Katie is a reserve Chaser for Puddlemere, and she has to leave later this month when the team resumes. She said I could stay at her flat for as long as I needed to, but...well, I don't want to be alone," she finished in a whisper.

"What would you think about staying with me?" he asked in a rush. He was afraid he would lose his nerve if he waited any longer. He quickly looked up to judge her reaction. She looked stunned, then thoughtful.

"That's really sweet of you to offer, but I couldn't. I have been too much of a bother already," she told him hesitantly.

"Nonsense! You are not a bother," he told her vehemently. "I would...I would really like it if you would come and stay. It gets downright depressing being there by myself," he told her truthfully. She pondered his admission for a moment before smiling slightly.

"Okay, George, but only until I can find a place of my own, and I want to pay you," she told him.

"You don't have to pay me," he told her, surprised at her words.

"I want to earn my keep," she told him, refusing to budge.

"Okay, how about this: you can do the cooking. I suck," he admitted with a smirk and a wink. Angelina laughed at his admission.

"Okay, I will cook, but I'm not very good at cleaning, you may wish you hadn't offered after a week," she told him, laughing at his expression.

"Who ever told you I was a neat freak and would care about a clean house?" he asked in mock outrage.

"Okay, so maybe we're perfect room mates," she said with a laugh. "Seriously, George, you don't have to do this," she said as her smile faded slightly.

"I know, but I want to. Fred...Fred loved you and I know he would want the best for you. He would want someone to take care of you and help you," he told her, his gaze going down to her stomach. "That...that is all I have left of him, please, let me do this for you, for both of you," he begged, his voice breaking.

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Angelina wrapped her arms around him, tears blurring her vision. "Okay," she agreed as the tears spilled over onto her face. She held onto him as the sobs came, her entire body shaking until it hurt. His voice was gentle and soothing. His hands drew slow circles on her back. Slowly the tears stopped. She gently pulled back to see that he had been crying, too. Maybe this would work out. Maybe they would be good for each other. "Thank you, for everything," she told him. They sat there in companionable silence for a few minutes more before Mrs. Weasley's voice called from the kitchen.

"Lunch is ready! George, your father is home, come into the kitchen!" she called. George and Angelina slowly made their way into the family kitchen and sat down at the large table, covered in food.

George looked up at his father as he walked in. "Hello, Dad," he greeted.

"George! It is so good to see you, son. Tell me, how are you doing?" his father greeted with a warm smile and a firm hug.

"I've been better, but I'll be okay," he answered honestly. "Has Mum told you the news?" he asked with a glance at Angelina.

"Yes, she has," he answered then turned to the dark haired woman sitting at the table. "Congratulations, my dear. I'm sure Molly has already told you this, but if there is anything, anything at all, that we can do for you, please, don't hesitate to ask," he said as he placed a gentle hand on her back.

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley," Angelina replied, giving him a slight smile.

"Please, call me Arthur, you are practically family now," he insisted.

"And please call me Molly, dear," his mother added.

"Well, thank you, Arthur, and you, Molly," she said with only a slight hesitation.

"Now, let's eat. Ginny, pass the pumpkin juice please," his mother said as she began to scoop potatoes onto her plate.

"By the way, you can call me Ginny," his sister added with a smirk. George watched as Angelina broke into laughter.

"Or you could call her 'runt'. That's what we always called her," a voice spoke from the doorway.

"Ron! Come in, come in. We were just starting, grab a plate!" his mother said while waving the youngest boy in.

"Sorry, Mum, I can't stay. I'm helping Harry watch Teddy today; I just needed to grab a change of clothes. George, it's good to see you. Oh! Angelina, Katie was looking for you yesterday, I promised to tell you if I saw you," he said in a hurry before running upstairs to his room.

"That boy, always a whirlwind," his mother muttered. George smiled then looked at Ginny to share a laugh about the "runt" comment. Immediately he noticed something was wrong. His sister had a haunted look on her face. She was staring at her plate but hadn't touched a thing.

Ron came back down rather quickly. He stopped for a moment by the table. "George, it really is good to see you out of your flat. You should come down to the shop some time. I bet it would really cheer you up," he told his brother sincerely. "I'm sorry I can't stay, Mum. I'll come by again after dinner, okay?" he told his mother.

"That sounds wonderful, Ron. Why don't you try to bring Harry," she suggested, glancing briefly at Ginny.

Ron looked uncomfortable for a moment. "I'll mention it, but you know how he is...always busy and stuff...but, you know, I'll see what I can do," he stumbled over his words. "Anyway, take care, you lot," he nodded again at George, kissed his mother on the cheek and gave his father a quick one armed hug before heading out the door. Before the door could close all the way, Ginny had jumped up and followed Ron out.

"What was that all about?" George couldn't help but ask. He noticed his mother looked uncomfortable.

"Well, there's been a bit of a problem with Harry," his mother began. She placed her fork back on the table and took a sip of tea before continuing. "He's been avoiding us. He won't speak to Ginny, he won't visit the Burrow, Ron says he is feeling guilty about...about Fred. He's been hiding out at Andromeda's, helping with little Teddy," his mother told him.

"Oh...well, he shouldn't feel that way. Fred...Fred knew what he was getting into. He knew the risks, we all did," George told his mother quietly.

"Oh, dear, I know, but getting Harry to understand that is another story," his mother sighed as Ginny came back in. George could tell she had been crying. Her eyes were red and her face was splotchy. She continued on past the table, then up the stairs heading, no doubt, for her room. His heart went out to his little sister. Someone would need to talk some sense into that boy. Then the thought came to him. Maybe he should talk to Harry. He was, after all, the closest to Fred. If he proved he didn't blame him, maybe Harry would be able to let it go and return to the family that loved him. With that settled, he turned back to his lunch.

"Excellent, as always, Mum," he complimented the lunch with a smile, feeling more at peace than he had since that horrible day in May.

After lunch, George could see that Angelina was exhausted. "Mum, I think we are going to head back. She could use a nap," he told his mother.

"Oh, okay," his mother answered, sounding disappointed.

"Don't worry, we'll come back soon," he promised before walking over to stand beside his dark skinned friend. "Are you ready to go..." he paused for a moment; "home?" he finished.

She gave a small smile. "Yes, I am," she answered.

A/N: Well, tell me what you think. I love reviews, they make it worthwhile, after all, that is the only payment we get...I am currently beta-less, so if anyone is interested, let me know!!! Thanks!