Barely Holding On

A/N: I'm sorry this took so long to get out but I had another idea insert itself into my head and I couldn't concentrate on this until I wrote the other story. It is a short one-shot that I hope to get out there in a couple days. Well, here it is, Chapter Four. I want to thank my beta, Creative Touch for all the work I'm sure she will have to put in to keep me on my toes. I also want to thank one of my best friends, Mizco (try her fics if you like Robin Hood, they are fun!!) for keeping me on track and always taking the time to listen to my ideas and being kind enough not to laugh! As always, I adore Reviews..in fact I thrive on them!!! Again, I want to say: I am SORRY! The twins birthdays are in April according to canon, well, I don't want to rewrite the entire story to change the time-line when so many things are suppose to happen that just wouldn't make sense if they happened eight months later, so, please, just consider it AU in which the twins were born at the end of August.

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Chapter Four: Life at #93 Diagon Alley

George awoke early on Monday morning. He sighed and glanced at the rising sun out his bedroom window. He had made a promise to himself two nights ago and now he was going to keep it. He was going down into the shop today to help Ron out. They were steadily getting busier and busier as the school year approached. His brother and Verity had been busting their arses for the last week and he knew they needed help. He also knew he had been avoiding his beloved shop for far too long.

George slowly made his way down the hall to the flat's single bathroom only to find Angelina had beat him to it. That's it, I am adding another loo, he thought to himself. Since the former Gryffindor had moved into the flat, he had seriously regretted his and Fred's decision to forgo the second bathroom. He had had no idea at the time that he would ever have to share the flat with a pregnant woman. Now, he was quickly changing his mind. That woman spent more than half her time in the bathroom. Of course, he had learned his lesson the first time he made a small comment about it. He hadn't meant to be mean, he only pointed out that she made quite a few "bathroom runs" during the course of the day. He would never make that mistake again. "You try holding your piss with a baby sitting on your bladder!" she had yelled at him. Nope, not making that mistake again.

George gently tapped on the door. "Ang, are you okay?" he asked timidly.

"Yeah, just give me a second and I'll be out," she called back.

"Okay," he answered before heading towards the kitchen to get a start on breakfast. He passed Angelina's room on his way. Her room had originally been a storage room for his and Fred's discarded experiments but he had thoroughly cleaned it out the day she had come home with him. The flat had three bedrooms. His, Fred's and the spare, but he couldn't bring himself to clean out Fred's yet, so he had given her the spare. The kitchen had undergone a dramatic change in the few short days she had been here as well. There was actually food in the cupboards and pantry along with pots and pans tucked away here and there. He and Fred had survived on takeout and various Muggle frozen dinners Harry had introduced them to. Now with a pregnant woman and unborn baby to feed, George had gone on a food shopping spree. He had taken Ang along and attempted to buy all her favorites, telling her more than once that he had no intention of letting her go hungry while she was under his roof. By letting her pick out most of the food, he had ended up with some rather odd things. Ice cream, pickles, artichokes, chocolate bars, and pineapple juice were just a few of the odd items they had returned home with that day. The ice cream and chocolate he could deal with, everything else was a little too wild, even for him.

"Hey!" Angelina greeted him with a smile as she entered the kitchen. "Sorry about that," she apologized, motioning towards the bathroom. "It's open now."

"Thanks," he replied with a smile.

"So, you are going to help Ron and Verity out?" she asked.

"Yeah, I think I've been hiding long enough," he answered. He motioned towards the counter. "I have some sausages and some toast ready. Help yourself." He turned and made his way to the bathroom.

It only took him twenty minutes to shower and change. He re-entered the kitchen to find Angelina devouring the entire plateful of food he had prepared. He smiled to see her feeling better. His hair was still damp from the shower; he had never been one for drying charms, caused his hair to poof out too much. He preferred to let his hair dry naturally.

"George, do you want me to fix you something for lunch later?" she asked when she noticed him behind her.

"No, don't worry about it. I think I'm going to take Ron out for lunch. We haven't had any time to talk in awhile," he answered, touched that she would offer.

"Okay. I may go over to Katie's later this morning. She leaves tomorrow for training and I would like to say good bye and thank you," she told him, handing him what was left of the sausages and toast.

"Thanks," he said with a smile, accepting the plate of food graciously. "Tell her I said good luck," he added before heading to the door that led to the shop.

"Okay, have fun," she waved at him before he disappeared down the stairs.

~*~

George made his way down to his shop, food plate in hand. Verity was already there, arranging various items in the front window in hopes of drawing attention to those that did not sell as well. "Hello," he greeted happily, pasting a smile on his face. In truth it was painful to be in the shop with reminders of Fred everywhere he looked, but he was determined to get over this.

"Mr. Weasley! I didn't know you were going to be in today!" she gasped, spinning around to stand face to face with him.

"Please, call me George, how many times do I have to ask?" he reprimanded her good-naturedly.

"Sorry, George," she apologized with a smile.

"Much better."

"Is your brother going to be in as well?" she asked, walking over to the cash register.

"Yes. I thought with all the students getting ready for the school year, we would need the extra hand," he explained, throwing on his work robes.

"I agree," she smiled up at him as the bell over the door tinkled. Verity turned towards it and smiled. "Ron! Come and look who decided to join us today," she called over her shoulder.

"George!" his youngest brother exclaimed in surprise.

"Oh, so he's Ron and I'm Mr. Weasley?" George commented wryly. Verity blushed. "How are you, little bro?" he asked with a smile.

"Good. Better now that I see you have escaped from your lair," Ron told his older brother.

"Ha!" George barked with laughter. "You sound like Mum."

"Ouch, way to insult a guy."

"Oh, come now, there are worse things I could have said. I could have compared you to Hermione," the older Weasley laughed, then grew quiet when he noticed the dark expression on his younger brother's face. "Sore topic?" he asked.

"Something like that," he mumbled before turning to Verity. "Have you found those extra boxes of Skiving Snackboxes we couldn't find Saturday?" he asked.

"Yeah, they were hidden under the Fake Wands," she told him, eyeing George's confused face.

"Good. I was getting worried. They are such a large seller and all," he continued as if the subject of Hermione had never come up. George just shrugged and made his way behind the counter, content to just watch for a little while until he got reacquainted with the shop. Today was going to be an interesting day, of that he was sure.

~*~

Before George knew it, it was lunchtime. Verity offered to watch the shop while he and Ron went to grab a quick bite at the Leaky Cauldron. They quickly grabbed their cloaks and headed off before the shop could become crowded again.

"So, tell me brother, what is the deal with Harry?" George asked as they entered the Leaky Cauldron's quaint bar.

Ron sighed, "He is taking everyone's deaths very hard. You know how he is. He is blaming himself. He keeps telling himself he should have just given himself over to V...Voldemort earlier, he says so many people wouldn't have died if he hadn't been a coward, blah, blah, blah."

George shook his head in disbelief. "He doesn't honestly think that everything that happened was solely his fault, does he? If anyone is to blame, it's the bloody bastard Voldemort," he spoke vehemently.

"Oh, I know that, but Harry always takes these things to heart. He'll come around, eventually."

"So, tell me about Hermione. I thought you two had hit if off," George changed the subject, hoping to surprise an answer out of his younger brother.

Ron's expression darkened again. "I don't want to talk about her."

"Come on, it might help to talk about it," he prodded gently.

Ron sighed. "I told her I loved her," he blurted out. "She just stared at me, then told me she was leaving for Australia and wouldn't be back before she had to leave for Hogwarts. I'm an idiot. I thought...I thought she felt, well, something for me. I guess it was just adrenaline and the fact that we might die that made her..." he stopped then and blushed. "Well, I see things clearly now."

George's heart went out to his brother. First loves were always the hardest to get over. He decided to change the subject. "Listen, about Hogwarts, if you want to go back, that's fine with me. I plan on staying in the shop more. I don't want Mum accusing you of giving up your future for me," he offered.

"Actually, if you don't mind, I would rather stay at the shop. I've really enjoyed the time I've spent there. I don't think I really want to be an Auror any more. I've had enough of Dark Wizards to last a lifetime," Ron admitted to his brother.

George smiled. "I knew Fred and I would be a good influence on you! Although I have to admit I was a little worried when you were made Prefect," he whispered, acting as if it were a great secret. Ron just laughed. "We...I...would be happy to have you stay and help out at the shop. Just make sure you tell Mum when she is in a very good mood"

"I can do that," his brother told him with a smile.

Just then a movement off to the left caught George's attention. Harry had just walked into the bar, a turquoise haired baby on his hip. "Harry!" he called, catching the raven-haired young man by surprise. Harry's gaze jerked to his and he saw a look of horror come into those emerald eyes. Teddy began to whimper against the boy's shoulder, sensing the change in atmosphere. Harry shushed a little and rubbed circles on the baby's back to comfort him.

"George. How...how have you been," the black haired young man asked awkwardly.

George gave a reassuring smile. "I'm getting better," he told his brother's best friend. "Sit down for a little bit why don't you? I'll buy you a drink," he offered.

"I can't. Teddy's going to need a nap soon. I promised Andromeda that I would grab a couple potions at the apothecary and hurry back. Maybe some other time," he stammered. "Ron, I'll see you Friday, right?" he asked, turning his gaze to the younger Weasley.

"Yeah, sure," Ron answered, wishing Harry would sit and talk. He really thought he would feel better if he heard that he was not to blame from George's own lips, but that would have to wait for another day.

The two Weasleys watched Harry and Teddy rush out through the back of the bar. George sighed. Maybe next time, he thought to himself. He turned back to his brother. "Mum said everyone was suppose to come to dinner Wednesday. Ginny's going back to Hogwarts Thursday so we are all suppose to come say good-bye. Do you think she would mind if I tried to get Harry to come?" he asked.

"Are you kidding? Mum and Ginny would be thrilled if you could talk him into coming," Ron told his brother. George just nodded. He decided he would floo over to Andromeda's and physically drag the stubborn man to the Burrow if he had to, anything to make his mum and sister smile again. If he couldn't hide, neither could Harry.

The two boys finished their meals and walked back to the shop. Verity smiled when they entered. "Good lunch?" she asked.

"Excellent. You can take your break now if you want. We'll watch the shop," George told her.

"Thanks. I brought my lunch so I'll just crash in the back for awhile," she replied with a smile. George watched as she made her way to the back room, smiling shyly at Ron on the way. He smirked. Well, well, well, it looked like little Ronniekins had an admirer. He could hear Fred laugh in the back of his mind. Ronnie and Verity sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G, his brother's voice sang in his mind. George laughed. Yeah, right, he thought before walking over to the counter to straighten the barrels of Fake Wands.

~*~

Angelina sat her book down on the side table next to the couch. She had been tired this morning so she had spent most of it lying on the sofa, reading an old favorite of hers. It wasn't until her stomach gave a loud growl that she realized she had missed lunch. Deciding she was too hungry to take the time to cook something, she got up and headed for the door. She would just grab a bite at the sandwich shop next door. Slipping on her cloak, she opened the door and started down the stairs. She made it down two stairs when she knew something was wrong. The world had started to teeter dangerously and her next step missed the stair entirely. She felt everything slow as up became down. She felt her elbow contact with the floor as a stair ground into her back. From somewhere down below she heard George call out her name. It felt like she was falling forever when she finally came to land in a heap at the foot of the stairs. The last thing she saw before she lost consciousness was George's pale worried face.

A/N: I found that I was confusing people with the whole Hermione waiting three and a half months to go get her parents. She didn't wait that long. The conversation between Ron and Hermione happened a couple months ago, I just couldn't get that into the convo here without making it too choppy. It will come up later, and don't worry, I don't plan on splitting them up permanently. So, click that button!! Thank you!