Angelina stepped through the door to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes just before closing. George had sent an owl to her over the weekend asking if she could come over to help him with something.

Honestly, she had no idea what kind of situation she was stepping into, but she'd do anything for George. He was the last piece of Fred she had left and her closest childhood friend other than Alicia. But knowing George meant he could be asking her something as simple (though heart wrenching) as reorganizing Fred's old bedroom or something as potentially dangerous as testing out a product on her.

Sometimes it was better to just agree and then ask questions later when it came to George.

As soon at the bell above the door chimed, Charlie peered around a nearby shelf, "Oh, hey Angelina. George said you'd be coming by. I think he's already upstairs, you can head on up."

"Thanks Charlie."

Angelina made her way up the spiral staircase, and into the flat. Knowing Fred wasn't on the other side of the door was honestly the most difficult part about visiting George this evening.

She was able to avoid these feelings when she had come over for Verity's birthday party, being surrounded by all of her friends made for a good distraction. But now that she was alone, she couldn't stop herself from reminiscing.

Had it been a few years ago, Fred would have been waiting for her, hiding just around the corner so he could sneak behind her and wrap his arms around her waist the moment she entered the flat. Though she should have expected it, it caught her by surprise nearly every time. Eventually he'd let her go when she'd swat at him playfully as he ran away from her snickering to himself.

What she wouldn't give to relive those moments again.

"George?" Angelina called through the apartment.

"In here!" his distant voice called back.

Angelina had visited the twins so often after they opened the shop, she practically lived in their flat right after leaving Hogwarts. To this day, she remembered the flat well enough to know he was in his bedroom. As she approached the hallway, she found herself glancing at Fred's old bedroom door. Of course curiosity took over, making her want to see the room she'd spent countless nights in.

Even though they had broken up for the final time shortly before the twins decided to abruptly leave Hogwarts during their last year, Fred and Angelina's relationship never really was over. They were on-and-off for years, never making anything official but never falling out of love with each other. He'd dated other girls casually and she'd also attempted to move on, but for Angelina it was always Fred.

Behind that orange door was where she confessed all her deepest secrets and fears to Fred, where she told him she still loved him after a long night of drinking, and where he told her his family needed to go into hiding.

Angelina dropped her Quidditch equipment at the foot of Fred's bed before plopping down on the mattress with a loud groan. Fred, who had been sitting at the desk in his bedroom working the entire evening let out a laugh. She hadn't even said hello to him when she came in, she merely welcomed herself in as if it were her own room.

"Rough day at practice?" he asked, swiveling around to face the woman who already had her face buried in his pillow.

"They cancelled the season indefinitely." she mumbled in return.

Honestly, she shouldn't have been shocked by the news. The war seemed to have no end in sight but she still couldn't prevent herself from selfishly feeling disappointed that her first pre-season training as a professional Quidditch player had abruptly come to an end.

Fred understood how she was feeling though. Things hadn't been going well at the store lately. More and more shops were closing down on Diagon Alley and he and George were quickly headed down that path as well if they didn't do something to prevent it. It didn't help that the two of them had just found out they essentially needed to flee before nightfall the next day.

That's what he had been working on when Angelina walked in. If he and George had to leave the shop, they were going to make sure they stayed in business one way or another. Going back to their roots, they had decided to use a mail order system for their products. Whether their plan worked or not, only time would tell.

But he still needed to tell Angelina the situation. The last thing he wanted to do was disappear without telling her. In all honesty, he was quite nervous. Alicia hadn't taken the news well at all when George told her the night before. It ended up in a screaming match between the two before she vanished into the night. But knowing them, Fred had no doubt they would work it out in the end.

As for him and Angelina though, he could never be sure. They dated for a few months in their sixth year only to break up over the summer. Then they tried again towards the end of their seventh year only for it to come to a screeching halt when he and George dropped out of school. Up until now, they sort of just accepted whatever grey area they were in.

Refusing to put a label on it seemed to work out better for them anyway.

"Ang, sit up for a minute. I need to talk to you."

"Am I in trouble?" she asked, her voice still being muffled by the pillow.

"Only if you want to be." he smirked.

With a laugh she threw the pillow at him and sat up, "You're so stupid."

Fred caught the pillow and set it aside. The smile spread across Angelina's lips filled his heart with joy and shattered it at the same time. He didn't want to leave. Suddenly every silly break up they had felt like he'd wasted time. Time he could have spent loving her.

"I love you Angie." he said suddenly.

That smile Fred loved so much disappeared instantly as the words left his lips.

"What?" she asked, unable to hide the shock in her voice.

The last time either of them confessed their love to one another was after a long night of drinking on Angelina's nineteenth birthday when she told him she loved him as he helped her to bed. Although the memories were foggy, she remembered Fred laughing and saying "No you don't."

But now they were both completely sober.

"I love you." he repeated.

Rather than reciprocating his feelings, she merely frowned at him, "Why are you saying this?"

Fred stood up and went to sit by her on his bed, grabbing her hand so she couldn't somehow run away. The worried look in her eyes wasn't making this easy on him. He couldn't tell if she was afraid to love him back or if she could read his body language well enough to know that he was about to give her some bad news.

"Georgie and I need to go away for a while."

"What does that mean? And what does that have to do with you loving me?"

"I can't explain everything, I'm hoping it won't be for long. I just needed to tell you that before we left."

"Where are you going?" she asked, confusion painted her face as her eyebrows furrowed.

"I can't tell you that either, love. I'm sorry."

"What can you tell me then?"

"That I wish I hadn't spent the last four years being a prat when I could have spent all that time with you instead. When I get back I'm gonna make this right. It's me and you, Angie."

She shook her head, clearly not understanding why the chaotic and mischievous boy she'd grown up with suddenly seemed so intense and serious. As if this was a confession he had to make urgently before it was too late.

"Why are you acting like one of us is going to die tomorrow?"

"No one's dying." he laughed, "If I thought I was going to die, I would've just gone to the grave with that secret."

The sound of his laughter seemed to calm her nerves slightly, though she still didn't fully grasp the situation.

"So you don't know when you'll be back?"

"I'm hoping it'll only be a few weeks."

"Well, I'll be able to write to you won't I?"

He shook his head with a frown, "I'm sorry love, it's too dangerous."

"So you're going to tell me you love me and then disappear? What am I supposed to do?"

"Wait for me to get back. I promise I'll make it up to you." he replied with a devilish grin.

But that wasn't the case.

The walls in which Angelina had fallen in love with Fred were that walls that took him away from her just as quickly.

She sometimes wondered if mourning Fred would have been easier if she never knew that he had intended on getting back together with her. Was it really easier to lose your best friend instead of your lover? Either way, a huge part of Angelina's heart had been ripped away from her that night.

"You can go in there if you like." George said from the doorway to his bedroom.

The sound of his voice made her jump as she glanced over her shoulder, "Have you been in?"

"Not since I first moved back, it's still the same as how he left it."

The thought of the room being untouched sent a shiver down her spine. If she set foot in there she was convinced she'd be sent back right to that moment where Fred told her he loved her for the last time. The thought overwhelmed her, it was too much.

"Maybe another time." she replied quietly.

"Come with me then." George beckoned as he stepped across the hallway into the bathroom.

Furrowing her eyebrows in confusion, Angelina followed closely behind George to see him standing in front of the sink. The only thing out of the ordinary in the bathroom was that mirror had been covered with a bright orange towel.

"This is why I asked you to come."

Angelina looked around, "To show me your bathroom?"

George let out a laugh, "No, not quite. You're the one person who knew Fred as well as I did. At least the one person I'm not related to. So I need you here for this."

"I'm not sure what you're asking of me here, George."

"I need your help looking at my reflection."

"How would I be able to help you?"

"You could always tell us apart. When I look at myself all I see is Freddie and it hurts too much. I need you to point out everything different about me so I can start seeing myself again."

A lump formed in Angelina's throat. When she saw George for the first time after the battle at the funeral it was so difficult because she too saw Fred in him. Even now that George had started keeping his hair shorter again, Angelina couldn't deny that she sometimes had to remind herself that Fred really was gone.

But that didn't mean she still didn't remember every single detail of Fred's face and what made him so unique.

Angelina let out a quiet sigh and stood beside George next to the sink and gave him a nod, urging him to pull the towel away from the mirror. When he did, he kept his eyes on the counter top, refusing to meet his own gaze.

"Look at me." Angelina urged.

George began turning his head, but she stopped him.

"No, in the mirror."

He brought his gaze to her, making eye contact with her reflection, earning him a soft smile.

"Should we start with the most obvious thing?" Angelina asked as she gestured to her own left ear.

George rolled his eyes at her, but watched as she reached up to brush his hair back, revealing the scar that had been left behind when he lost his ear. Of course that was the most obvious difference between the two of them shortly before Fred's death. But Angelina still remembered all of the more subtle details about Fred's face, even after not seeing him for a year and a half.

"You have these moles on your neck that Freddie didn't have, and you have a bump on your nose that he didn't have either." she mentioned.

Studying all of his features, George's eyes silently followed the map of his face that Angelina was creating as she pointed out each and every difference.

"Freddie never had facial hair, he said he hated the way it felt."

George almost always had a bit of stubble nowadays, even though he too hated the way it felt. It was quite difficult for him to get a close shave though, given the fact that he refused to look at his reflection after all.

"I think the biggest difference is your smiles, though." Angelina said after a moment and he finally glanced down at her.

"Our smiles?"

"You always had a way bigger smile than Freddie. The shape of your lips makes you look like you're always smirking. If I didn't know you two I would have thought you were the more mischievous one. You always look like you're up to something." she explained with a laugh.

George brought his eyes back to the mirror, noticing how his lips did naturally curve to the left without him even really trying. He honestly never noticed before, but of course Angelina would be able to tell the difference between George's lips and the lips she'd kissed numerous times.

His eyes darted across his features, making mental notes of all of his differences. Maybe one day he could come to appreciate their similarities again, but for now he wanted to be able to simply stomach looking at himself without having a meltdown.

After what felt like an eternity, he tore his eyes away from himself and turned to face the woman beside him, "Thanks, Ang."

"Any time." she smiled.

George didn't think Angelina truly understood how big of a step this was for him, and he honestly couldn't picture himself going through this with anyone but her. Having Ginny or his mum try and talk him through this would have been too hard, but Angelina always made him feel comfortable and safe.

"While you're here, there's actually something I've been meaning to show you." he said suddenly as he stepped behind her to leave the bathroom.

She parted her lips, but he retreated into his bedroom before she could even ask him what it was.

"What are you up to?" she called out to him.

"Go wait in the living room, it's a surprise."

The words 'George' and 'surprise' usually never ended well. Either a prank or some sort of chaos was almost always quick to follow.

She made her way to the living room, sitting in the armchair that faced the hallway so she could see him coming, just in case he was planning some sort of silly joke.

Soon he came back holding a folded piece of crimson cloth with a smile on his face. Coming to a stop near the couch, he unfolded it and held it up to show Angelina Fred's old Quidditch robe.

The shock of it caused her to shoot up out of her seat and quickly walk over to George. Somehow thinking it couldn't possibly be real, she ran her fingers over the fabric almost expecting her hand to go straight through as if it was a ghost. But the feeling of the cloth on her skin caused her eyes to begin welling up as she shook her head.

"I don't understand. How? When?" she asked, gazing up at him.

"Ginny, last Christmas. She said McGonagall didn't even hesitate to give it to her."

"That's incredible." she beamed as a single year fell from her eyes.

Seeing this piece of Fred was bittersweet for Angelina. Everything she had that reminded her of him had been safety stored away out of sight. Part of her believed she'd never move on if she was constantly being reminded of him. But seeing his Quidditch robe made her want to rush home and go through everything she had of him.

Every diary entry she wrote about him, every letter from him she had saved, every t-shirt she'd stolen from him.

After folding up his robe and laying it over the back of the couch, George noticed when he returned his attention to Angelina that she seemed to be doing her best to hide her emotions from him. But he couldn't blame her, guarding one's emotions was something he understood completely.

"I know what Fred meant to you, and what you meant to him too. You were his everything, Angie. I want you to know that. It was always you, and you can believe me because I never heard the end of it." he laughed.

Without a word Angelina rushed to George, wrapping her arms around his torso and burying her head in his chest to hide her tears. He held her close, knowing just how painful losing Fred was. For the first time in forever he felt understood.

How the two of them had managed to go so long without really opening up to one another was almost impressive. It was as if they had beaten some sort of world record at bottling up their trauma.

After a moment Angelina pulled away, wiping her eyes quickly before glancing up at him, "Sorry about that."

"Don't be sorry." he said kindly, meeting her gaze.

Looking into his best friend's eyes made him realize there was one more thing he needed from her. Only she could understand where he was coming from. He needed her advice. Or maybe for her to knock some sense into him. He just wanted a confirmation that what he was thinking wasn't actually a horrible idea.

"Can I make you some tea? There's something else I need to ask you."

Her face fell slightly, unsure of what else he could possible need from her, "Sure."

The two of them made their way to the kitchen, George reached for his wand on the table before waving it towards the stove, not feeling the energy to do everything himself. A gentle stream of water emitted from the end of his wand to fill the kettle with water before he lit the stove beneath it to heat up.

"So, what's going on?" Angelina asked as George took a seat across from her.

"I want to invite Alicia to dinner." he started, and before he could even fully finish his thought he saw Angelina's eyes widen, "With all of us. Me, you, Katie, Lee, and Verity."

Angelina relaxed when he'd finally finished his thought, but she still seemed unsure of the idea, "I don't know, George. You know I love Allie, but aren't things still a bit tense between you? I know you left my party with her and she told me you two talked. But is it really that easy to just move on from that?"

This kind of reaction was what George was honestly expecting, even from her. The only person in his group of friends from school who didn't completely cut off Alicia after the funeral was Angelina. If it was going to be challenge to convince her to get the group back together, it was going to be nearly impossible to get the other three to agree with meet up with her.

"I know, it's just that I've been going to therapy and she told me to reconnect with people I've pushed away. I feel like if I hold this grudge over Alicia for the rest of my life, I'm never going to heal."

"Sometimes unhealthy relationships are best left in the past." Angelina said firmly.

George let out an exasperated sigh, "It's not like I want to get back together with her. I just feel like if we could be friends again then maybe it would be good for me."

"I'm not going to agree to this without knowing what's going on between you and Eloise." she replied bluntly.

Knowing Angelina, he should have known better than to think this would be a simple conversation. Much like Verity, she always had George's best interest at heart, and while Angie may have had a bit more tact compared to their feisty blonde friend, she was still just as forthright with her opinions without fear of his reaction.

"I don't want to get into it." he muttered.

"I know Eloise wasn't too busy to come to my party, I'm not an idiot. Something happened between you or you wouldn't have taken Alicia home that night. You're not that kind of guy."

"We had a bit of a falling out, but we're fine now. We talked through it." he explained, hoping that would be enough of an answer to satisfy her.

"What happened?"

"We just weren't on the same page with certain things." he said vaguely.

"George."

He let out a groan, realizing he wasn't going to be able to tip toe his way around the subject, "She told me she had feelings for me and I rejected her."

Angelina's eyebrows shot up, "Why on Earth would you do that?"

"Because I'm not ready. I'm not good enough for her anyway."

"Why do you think that?"

"I can't make her happy. No matter what I do I'll just make her miserable in the end and she'll leave me."

"So you want to be with her but you think it's doomed from the start? Am I understanding that correctly?"

"More or less." he mumbled under his breath.

"Have you considered the way you've already been treating her might be making her miserable?"

"All the more reason to not be with me then." he replied sarcastically.

"No, you numpty." Angelina said, rolling her eyes, "I'm saying this on-and-off thing you two have going on is the problem."

"Well I can't go and beg her to be with me now." he replied, rolling his eyes.

"And why not?" Angelina asked, as if that was the exact solution she had in mind.

"She's been spending time with this guy from Flourish & Blotts lately." he shrugged.

"Is that what this Alicia thing is about then? Is that why you want to see her?" she asked with a worried look on her face.

George shook his head adamantly, "No, I really just want us all to get together like old times."

The look on Angelina's face showed that she didn't fully believe what George was saying. The last thing she wanted was either of her best friends getting hurt. While she wished things could go back to how they were before the war, that just wasn't possible.

"Take it from someone who was on-and-off with your brother for nearly four years, eventually you're going to run out of chances, and I don't think seeing Alicia will help." Angelina said cautiously.

"I think my chances have already run out." he replied hopelessly.

"Not if you fight for her, George. You're giving up too easily."

"We agreed we needed to be apart while I focus on getting better. I think me rushing to my brother's house right this second and professing my feelings to her would do more harm than good."

"I'm still not sure about this whole idea with Alicia." she said frankly.

"It's just a group of friends getting dinner." he replied earnestly.

Angelina felt more and more as if she wasn't going to be able to convince George to give up on his plan. As much as she didn't want to be an accomplice in anything that could drive a wedge between his and Eloise's relationship, she also didn't want to stop him from doing something he felt would help him heal in the long run.

She just hoped they weren't making a mistake.

"If you're really sure, then I'll talk to her about it. It's your responsibility to convince Verity though. I think she'd do anything for you, but asking her to sit at a table with Alicia might be pushing it."

"I know, I know," George chuckled, "Thanks Angie."

The kettle let out a loud whistle and George rose from his seat. After pouring both he and Angelina a cup of tea, he returned to the table slid one of the mugs over to her.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked when he sat back down across from her.

"Anything."

"If or when you decide to clean out Fred's room, can I help?" she asked, glancing towards the hallway.

"Of course." he nodded.

"Thanks." she said before taking a careful sip of her tea.

While George still had the chance to mend his relationship with Alicia, Angelina simply didn't have that opportunity with Fred. There'd be no closure, no moving on, just a constant pang in her chest every time she considered going out with someone else. As if she were somehow betraying him.

In that way she was jealous of George. While Alicia seemed to be a roadblock between him and his recovery, at least he still had the chance to come to some sort of resolution with her.

Whether that was to rebuild their friendship, to cut each other off completely, or to end up falling in love with each other again, no one could predict.

But at least George had the opportunity to decide for himself what would happen with her. Angelina, however, just had to accept the fact that her first real love was gone and there was nothing she could do about it.

-

A/N: Outside of writing this fic I'm usually a George and Angelina girl through and through, but I hurt my own feelings with this one.

Fred and Angie forever 😭