Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Only my OC!

Silence filled the cluttered living room as George maintained his gaze, determined to remain where he was. For a few moments Nava stood her ground, unable to come up with a response for his gesture of sincere kindness. He leaned back on the couch, expressing the certainty of his decision.

She furrowed her brow, still infuriated by his intrusion of her privacy. Taking in a deep breath, she then shifted her gaze towards the corner of the room, unwilling to acknowledge him further.

"I am fully capable of dealing with this alone." The words were muttered under her breath as a small frown furrowed her brow.

How bloody stubborn can you be? George thought to himself as he continued to stare at her, his body still firmly planted on the couch. How could you possibly cope with such a loss alone?

"Oh really?" A mocking laugh followed his words as he slowly shook his head. Why can't you just accept that I'm here? The thought repeated itself over and over, hoping she would eventually understand that he had no intention of leaving no matter what she said.

"Yes, really. I was able to go through the deaths of Cedric and my parents all on my own. I don't see why this would be any different." Her eyes remained glued to the dark corner, still unwilling to look back at him.

"You really don't think this is different? You and Harry had a special bond, marriage, Nava. No one takes his loss lightly, especially after all those we've lost during the war." George's tone remained calm and collected, despite his growing frustration at her stubborn disposition. She gave a sound of annoyance that sounded much like a grunt.

"This is utterly ridiculous! I know how to cope!" She finally turned to face him, her growing impatience evident. "You're acting like I won't see the light of day!"

"You haven't, Nava! Look around you!" He leaned forward and stretched out his arms, gesturing towards the mess. "All you've managed to do is ruin your home!"

"We've already gone over this, I did what I felt I needed to do!" She scanned the room briefly, as if not really seeing the chaos she had created.

"Then you'll understand that I am doing what I need to do by staying put!" George looked at her pointedly and crossed his arms over his chest as if to make a point.

"No, you're leaving." Nava spoke sternly.

"You know no matter how many times you say it I won't be moving." He tilted his head and stared her down with determination.

"You are unbelievable!" She rolled her eyes and averted her gaze, annoyed at his persistence.

"And you, my dear, are in denial!" George looked at her with certainty.

"Am not!" She declared as she clutched her fist in annoyance.

"Are we really going to act like children now? I mean don't get me wrong, I can retaliate quite well but I mean seriously Nava?" He raised his eyebrows as if trying to prove a point.

"I am not acting like a child!" She mentally winced at how whiny her voice sounded.

"You're right, silly me." He rolled his eyes. She folded her arms across her chest and huffed. George smirked. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

"Fine, if you're staying I might as well lose myself in a bottle of fire whiskey because I have no idea how I can handle you sober." She walked towards the liquor cabinet.

George gave a short, humorless laugh.

"Was that an attempt at an insult?" His eyebrow rose slightly as if to state that is was pathetic.

"Believe what you want, Weasley." Nava spoke nonchalantly, rolling her eyes.

"Well, if you're going to shoot those kind of mediocre insults at me I might as well drown myself away in some fire whiskey as well." He patted his knees as he sighed dejectedly.

She smirked a bit and grabbed the bottle of fire whisky from the cabinet along with two glasses. She then walked towards the table and sat down beside George and filled the glasses, passing one to him.

"To Denial!" George mocked.

"To Hope!"

"Hope?" George raised one of his eyebrows in confusion.

"Yeah, hope that you'll leave." She smirked at her retaliation and took a large swig of the amber liquid.

"Genius." He smirked back following suit.

A few hours later...

The clutter of books, quills and parchment still lay strewn across the living room floor. All that differed was the presence of two fire whiskey bottles, one drained and the other half empty. Despite Nava's persistent complaints George remained where he sat, only moving to refill his glass. She glanced at him once more, eyeing him down a bit more sternly before draining the remaining liquid from her own glass. Eventually she pointed at him, the glass still in her hand.

"You know... You're no better than I... You can't judge me, George Weasley!" Her hand was a bit shaky as she spoke.

"Again? Aren't you ever going to give it a rest?" He rolled his eyes, as if to convey a sense of mild irritation.

"Me?" She laughed dryly at the thought. She pointed at herself her eyebrows knitted.

She scoffed as she raised her glass, "I never give up."

Shaking his head, George smirked. "So bloody persistent...should channel that towards something useful!"

"Hey!" She sat up a bit straighter. Her eyes narrowing at his attempt at an insulting comment. "Why don't you make yourself useful and pour me some more fire whiskey!" He leaned forward, grabbing the bottle firmly before refilling his own glass.

"And what if I think you've had enough?" He laughed, waving the bottle in front of her empty glass.

"Ugh! Why must you be so unbearable?" She leaned towards him, trying to grab onto the bottle. As she reached for the bottle he retracted his arm slightly. "Give me the bottle, George!"

"And why must you be so damn stubborn?" He questioned, she sat there silently, leaving his question in the air. She leaned back in her chair, the glass still in her hand as she looked into it silently. After a few moments he sighed, knowing that she wouldn't comply, and tipped the amber liquid into her glass. "Tell me...what honestly makes you think you can handle this alone?" She intently watched him as he filled her glass before swirling the amber liquid. For a few moments she stared it, hesitating before taking a large swig.

She lowered the glass from her face and softly answered, "I just can. There is no explanation needed." She didn't bother to look at him, simply remaining focused on the contents of her glass.

Scoffing, he shook his head once more. "You think I'd actually buy that? The way you've been acting says otherwise!" He drained half his glass before returning his attention to her, his eyes solely focused on her. "I'm not even going to consider leaving until you do something other than deflect."

"George, I can handle myself!" She sat up a bit more. "This isn't the first time I've lost someone! I have had no one but myself before. You... You have a family. And you left them!" She looked at him with intensity, her eyes blazing with confined anger.

George's eyes widened, a bit hurt from her choice of words. He silently sat back into his chair as she continued on.

"They were there waiting for you, George! But you just left... like nothing. You didn't even give Harry or I a chance and we did nothing to you!" She shook her head before scoffing at him. "A sense of understanding is hard to come by you know... I knew what you were going through... But chances weren't up for grabs for you now were they?" She drank the rest of the contents of her glass and slammed it on the table as she stood up.

She continued to glare down at him, never faltering. He stayed immobile in his chair, only once did he take a small sip from his glass before she began once more.

"You go around acting like you know what is going through my head, like I have no idea how to cope. Why don't you go home to your family, George, they are the ones that need you... not me." She grabbed the bottle of fire whiskey on the table and began to walk towards the hall.

His fingers had gripped the glass tightly as she finished. He was angry, but it wasn't directed at her. He was angry with himself; he knew that nearly every word she said about him was true

He closed his eyes a bit before softly speaking up, "You're right." He started, "you and Harry didn't do a thing... And I'm sorry for pushing you two away." He remained motionless, his eyes now staring at his glass. "But my family... they treated me like a fragile child. As if I would break at the mere mention of his name! It made moving on impossible." He drained the remnants of his glass and stood up, starting to follow her.

He left the glass at the table as he walked briskly towards her, "But do you really think this is coping? Trashing your house...drowning yourself in fire whiskey?" Upon catching up to her he placed a hand firmly on her shoulder. "It's no different from what I did... You're Just running away from the situation. I wanted to help you avoid this..."

She moved her shoulder from his grasp roughly, not wanting to be touched. He braced himself against the wall, caught off guard by her shoulder's movement.

"To be quite frank George, I don't care." She took a swig of the bottle in her hand steadily dropping it at her side as she looked at him. "All I want to do is kill who ever took away the one good thing I had. I don't want to try and cope with him being gone. I want revenge... I want justice." She took another swig and lost her footing a bit.

"And what would that accomplish?" He narrowed his eyes in a sense of frustration. "All you would be doing is putting yourself in harms way. How very brave and noble of you! I can see it now, newspaper headlines everywhere!" He erupted in a deeper voice "Nava Potter: Nobly ... Dead. That's how you want it right?" Regaining his footing, he bowed mockingly. "Such an honorable way to go, don't you think?" He looked up at her, her eyes softened a bit. But the vulnerability faded as quickly as it came.

"Shut it, Weasley!" She pushed him roughly. "First off, I will not go off killing myself!" She shoved him once more harder, "And Second off... Don't go mocking my idea. It's what I need to do." She took a step away from him as her eyes lowered in resignation. "It's what Harry would do..."

"No, I will not shut it, Potter!" He shoved her roughly, grabbing the bottle from her in the process. "What makes you so sure you won't die?" He took a quick swig before taking a step forward. "If they were able to get Harry do you really think you could handle them?"

"Yes, Maybe. I have to try at least. I can't just sit here mourning George... I have never been good at just sitting just accepting things. I need a distraction." She looked at him as she turned to the wall next to her. There hung a picture of her and Harry at their wedding, both of them laughing with their arms around one another. She grabbed it off of the wall and stared at it closer. "They took the one thing that meant the most to me... I can't go on just trying to move on. I can't..."

"Well, what do you suggest then? Because this..." he said motioning at her current state, "this isn't going to help at all." He raised the nearly empty bottle of fire whiskey, swirling the contents around and then pointed towards the living room area, "And neither is tearing down your home. If you need a distraction it should be something less destructive!"

"Like what? Knitting? A silly joke shop?" She watched his eyes flinch at the last words she muttered before she grabbed her wand from her back pocket, aiming it precisely at her target. "Confringo!" The bottle in George's hand exploded into flames. Her chest rose and fell as she quickly turned around the corner down the hall.

He leapt sideways against the opposite wall as the bottle exploded. "What the hell are you thin-" he cut his sentence short as he saw her run off. Infuriated, he grabbed his wand and pointed it down the hall. "Stupefy!" But he was too late; she had already rounded the corner, leaving the spell to hit the wall. "Come back here!" Gripping his wand tightly, he ran after her, determined to make her see reason.

"Expelliarmus!" He cast it as he turned the corner, but to no avail. Once again the spell hit the opposite wall. "Dammit." He muttered to himself through his teeth.

"She must have run into a room." His frustration growing by the second, he proceeded to unlock each door along the hallway. With each open door an empty room greeted him until the master bedroom remained. Standing before it firmly, he pointed his wand at the lock. "Alohamora!" The lock fidgeted for moment before clicking in place. With an angry kick he opened the door, wand ready. "What did I say about running away? You really think this is going to help? You really think this is a healthy distraction?"

She glanced up at him from the corner of the room. She let her wand slowly fall to the ground as she sunk to her knees, burrowing her head in her arms. "I want it to go away George..." Tears slowly filled her eyes. "You want to know why? They came here... A simple, plain low on the chain ministry man... with a letter of condolence!" She looked up at him and pointed towards the bed where the letter laid next to the cloth. "A letter from the Minister like it was no big deal, Harry Potter, the boy who saved us all, was worth a letter...a letter and all that remained of him. his glasses, his wedding band, and his wand, all of which were probably meddled with at the Department." She brushed the tears from her face roughly. "That's all that's left of him."

His frustration gradually ebbed away as his eyes darted from Nava's huddled form to the carefully placed items on the bed. After taking in what she had said he pocketed his wand and knelt down next to her, "It will be alright." Without another word he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close as she cried. I wish I could say more. He thought to himself as he knelt there beside her. Anything else to put her mind at ease. He waited until she stopped crying before he brushed back the hair the covered her face as he noticed she had fallen asleep. Picking her up gently, he placed her in bed.

She grabbed onto his hand, "George, don't leave me..."

His hand closed around hers. "Of course I won't leave, Nava. I'll stay right here." He sat on the edge of the bed, his hand still in hers as she drifted off into sleep. How could they do such a heartless thing? His eyes glanced over at the letter and bundle of cloth, both of which appeared undisturbed for days. They treated his death like any other. It's not surprising she left his funeral so soon. That hollow casket would only remind her of that letter and his possessions. He rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb, caressing it as she slept. You don't have to go through this mess alone. I'll stay right here. His thoughts became drawn out as his body shut down. Carefully, he edged himself off the bed onto a nearby chair, his hand still wrapped around hers. Within moments he too was peacefully asleep, the last sensation he felt being the warmth of her hand against his.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The sound of an owl's beak against glass echoed throughout the home, eventually reaching the room where George and Nava slept. George stirred groggily, rudely awoken by the irritating sound. Instinctively, he attempted to move his right hand to rub his eyes, but found that it still held Nava's. He squeezed her hand gently, smiling lightly before looking up at her. To his surprise she was waking up, her eyes struggling to open. After adjusting to the light she glanced at their joined hands, looking upon them briefly before pulling hers away.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

"Bloody hell..." She attempted to sit up, starting to rub the side of her head with her left hand.

He smirked lightly and taunted. "Got yourself a headache now?"

She shot a glare his way as she quickly sat up, attempting to retaliate. The color from her face drained quickly, "Oh, Hell..." Without further warning she sprang up from the bed, running towards the bathroom with a hand over her mouth. The sound of her vomiting was soon followed by George's light chuckle.

"Can't hold your Liquor well, can you?" He leaned back in the chair, stretching his arms as he tried to ignore his own headache.

"It's your bloody fault. If you just left when I asked you to I wouldn't be in this situation." Nava returned to the room slowly, wiping her mouth with a small towel.

"Hey, you're the one who decided to break out the fire whiskey to 'cope'" he grinned mischievously as he accentuated the last word.

"Don't mock me!" She pointed her finger at him threateningly.

"Woah, watch where you're pointing that!" He raised his hands, palms forward as if terrified of her.

"I said don't mock me! I'm not in the mood, Weasley!" She threw the hand towel at him in anger, her eyebrows pulled together slightly.

"Last names again?" He laughed tauntingly, "And for what reason do I deserve such treatment?" She grunted.

"Oh shut it!" She then huffed and stomped out of the room in annoyance.

George sighed dejectedly and got up, "There you go, running away again..." His voice trailed off as he walked down the hall toward the kitchen. The owl had finally stopped its incessant pecking, leaving the paper on the windowsill. As George entered the room Nava opened the window and grabbed the paper, starting to read it immediately. "What? No snappy retort? No childish deflection? Nothing?" After a few moments of silence he glanced at her. He was surprised to see her eyes wide and focused, almost transfixed by the paper. "What's so interesting that you're giving up an opportunity to insult me?" He then walked up behind her, eying the headline of the day's paper.

Potter: Definitely Dead or Merely Missing?

Her eyes darted through the paper, seeking out the article in question. She wrinkled her forehead at the words or phrases she came across.

"Merely missing...? What could they mean?" She whispered the questions to herself and continued reading aloud. "His deserted widow left to mourn the loss of his undeserving love...He is rumored to have left because of his famous best friend's sister...."

George furrowed his brow a bit at the papers obvious nonsense.

Nava raised an eyebrow at the last words, "Wait...Ginny?"

Annoyed and curious, George finally stepped up, ripping the paper out of her hands. "Okay, enough of this rubbish! Let me see that." He then skimmed the article, silent as Nava continued talking. "I am not fragile! And I am definitely not undeserving of his love!" She walked towards a window, looking at her reflection.

"This is pure rubbish, Nava! Harry would never have left you. Stupid Prophet is itching to stir some gossip, just to make some money." His words failed to reach her as she continued to look at her reflection, eyeing every one of her features. After a few moments of silence she spoke. "I know he wouldn't leave, George! I know what we had..." She turned around and ripped the paper from his hands, briskly walking towards the fireplace. Without another glance at the insulting headline she chucked it into the flames, watching the edges char to a dark black quickly.

She huffed lightly, "I need to get out of here."

"Again? Is that your only solution? Running away?" He followed her into the living room, shaking his head with disappointment, "You can't keep running away, Nava."

She then walked past him, pushing against his shoulder as if he said nothing.

"Hey! Don't ignore me, Potter!" Annoyed, he followed her once more, grabbing onto her shoulder. Without warning they apparated, eventually ending up in the outskirts of Hogsmeade.

He looked towards her, "Hogsmeade? This is your place of sanctuary?" Not bothering to respond, Nava walked past him.

"Hey! Wait up!" He called after her, but she didn't bother to turn once instead she kept walking eventually picking up pace to a jog. "Nava! Ugh! Women."

He ran after her through the trees, weaving through them. He didn't take notice where they were headed; he just continued to follow her.

She eventually slowed down her jog as she passed through a clearing and began to walk.

"Thank you for waiting!" He took a deep breath and was about to grin until he surveyed his surroundings.

"Wait...Wher-"

His voice caught in his throat; he recognized this place. He knew exactly where they were.

Surprised, he stood still, unable to comprehend why she would take him here. He remained motionless as Nava walked on, her eyes glancing at the stones beside her feet.

The war hero graveyard.

He swallowed the lump in his throat and continued to watch her movements. She moved carefully through each of the headstones making sure to not step on any until she stopped at one. 'No.' It was Fred's grave.

Fred...

He smiled at his brother and patted him on the back. "Come on, Freddie, let's get up to our post."

His twin laughed a bit and nodded as they began to walk up the stairs.

"Oh, Georgie, remember the great memories we had here?" He nudged his brother lightly.

"I can never forget them, Freddie!"

"We owned these halls! Ha! Remember our firework display during Ronikins' OWLS?"

"That old bat deserved a taste of our newest assembly line!" He barked out laughing along with him as they reached the top of the stairs. They walked out towards the pathway.

"Well here we are!"

"Still above them all, Georgie!"

"That we are, Freddie!"

"Ready?"

"Ready!"

They nodded at one another and pointed their wands ahead of them.

A muffled sound pulls him from his memories. He looked ahead of him; Nava was kneeling in front of Fred's grave.

"Tell me George. When was the last time you came here?"

The question took him by surprise, "I...I don't know."

Nava glanced over at him, "You know, when I look at you I don't see him. I see you."

He remained both motionless and speechless, taken aback by her remark.

Silently, she drew her wand and waved it across the headstone. A wreath of brightly colored flowers appeared upon it.

Moved by her gesture, George walked towards his brother's headstone, falling to his knees beside her. "I'm sorry Fred...I haven't seen you since the funeral. Freddie, I'm so sorry."

A light smile on her lips, Nava patted him on the back comfortingly as he gazed upon his brother's headstone in silence. After a few more moments of respect they slowly got up and walked towards the lake. Instead she looked up at a point beyond the trees. He followed her gaze, Hogwarts. "It almost looks the same." She spoke softly.

"Almost?"

"Yeah, It won't ever be the same, not after everything we've been through." Her eyes lingered upon the castle for a brief moment before looking down, eying her reflection in the water.

"Maybe it won't be the same, but is that really so bad?" He looked at her closely, observing her movements before looking down at his own reflection.

"I guess not, but we all fought so hard. Yet, we were still left with wounds that will take forever to mend?" Her shoulders slumped a bit.

"Nonsense, things can only get better with time." He looked at her with a reassuring smile.

"Yeah I guess you're right." She turned to him slightly before looking back towards the lake.

He watched her as she bent down and picked up a stone from the edge of the lake, eyeing it before skidding it across the water.

"You know I've been thinking." She picked a few more stones from the rocky floor.

"Hmm?" He raised his eyebrows as she threw another stone.

"I've been thinking of becoming an auror." She turned to him and looked at him with certainty. The faint sounds of the pebble skipping across the water fading into a silence that lingered.