Hi! The idea for this came to me, and I've had it floating around in my head for awhile. I finally decided to type it up, so here you go! This story's a bit like death; it comes from my other side of GeorgeXAngelina, unlike the first part of Nine Minutes Forty-Two Seconds and Dear Dad, P.S.
It was the last day of my fifth year. I couldn't think of anything wrong. Scorpius and I were going out, Fred had finally worked out his issues with Erica, and we were all ready to leave Hogwarts on a high note with a big prank. The only problem was we couldn't think of anything.
"I wish Uncle George and Uncle Fred were here," James announced as we sat by the fire in the common room. "They'd know a prank we could do."
"Uncle Fred?" Fred inquired.
"Yeah, Uncle Fred," James answered. "You know- your dad's twin? The one who died in the war? The one you were named after?"
"Our dad didn't have a twin," I argued. "Fred was just a random name like mine was."
James laughed. "You two are so slow. But, I suppose it's not your fault. Your dad must've been pretty cut up not to tell you about Uncle Fred. Does he even talk about the war?"
"Dad says that the war is something he'd rather leave in the past," I answered.
"You're dad's a coward," James replied, howling. "My dad fought bloody Voldemort, and he was willing to tell me about the war."
Fred and I shared a look. I didn't know if it was a look of confusion or anger. Our last day, though, had taken a dark turn. Mentally, that second, we decided to corner Dad when we got home.
"Who was Uncle Fred?" I asked when we got home.
"Who?" Dad inquired.
"Don't play dumb!" Fred snarled. He had been particularly stung by Dad's betrayal, as he hadn't talked at all the whole train ride. "James told us that Uncle Harry told him that you had a twin named Fred, and you two were the biggest pranksters of all time!"
Dad shot Mum one of those help-me looks. Mum shook her head.
"You've waited long enough," she answered. "They need to know."
Dad sighed. "Why would you believe James over me? Isn't he always pulling your leg?"
"I believe Uncle Harry," Fred argued.
Dad sighed again and bowed his head. He looked like he was about to cry. Mum left after saying something about finishing dinner. Dad began to shake and tremble. I sat down beside him and wrapped my arm around him. Fred, however, looked even angrier.
"How come the only pictures we have are after the war?" Fred demanded. "How come the only scrapbooks we have start after the war? How come whenever you're talking to Grandma or Percy and the war comes up and we're listening, you always steer the conversation in the other direction? Why?"
Dad got up and walked over to a closet that Fred and I had always been forbidden to go in. Of course, we had tried, but we had never succeeded in opening it. Dad, however, walked over and simply opened it. Letters, pictures, books and a lot of other junk flew out. Dad ignored them and reached deep into the closet. He pulled out a worn scrapbook, displacing many other things as he did so.
He walked over to the couch and opened the book; they were pictures from his sixth year. Fred and I joined him on either side. The first picture was him at right before he went to the Quidditch World cup. He looked so happy then, and he still had two ears. The next picture was a boy that looked so much like him; I almost mistook him for Dad. But there were little details- his hair was darker, when he smiled his front teeth came just short of his bottom ones, he had fewer freckles, his eyes were lighter, and he was just a centimeter taller- that made him different than Dad.
"Uncle Fred," I murmured absent mindedly. Dad nodded.
The next pictures were all of the Quidditch World cup ones. Then there were the pictures of the Triwizard Tournament. My favorite was Harry battling the Hungarian Horntail. Then we reached the Yule Ball. Uncle Fred was with Mum, and Dad was with a girl I had never seen before with her hair died silver.
I read the caption aloud. "Aria Danruss. That's Erica's mum!"
Dad nodded and turned the page. I found it a little odd that Dad had dated Fred's girlfriend's mum. But, I dismissed the thought and turned back to the pictures. It seemed that in a flash, we were done. Dad stood up and took the book back to the closet. Then he sat down like that explained everything. I realized that Dad really didn't want to talk about Uncle Fred. He had spent almost all of his life after the war trying to bury the memory of Uncle Fred; it must've been Mum's idea to name Fred Fred. I understood Dad's pain, but Fred still looked distraught.
"That's no explanation!" Fred exclaimed.
Dad didn't answer. "Can't you see he doesn't want to talk about this?" I demanded.
"I want an answer!" Fred exclaimed. "I want to know why I was lied to my whole life!"
"Fred, he lost his bloody twin!" I exclaimed. "It was like losing a part of himself, and all he wants to do his forget about him! Can't you think about what it would feel like if you lost me?"
"I'd be sad, but I wouldn't lie to my children," Fred snapped. "I thought my dad was a war hero that was brave and strong like a Gryffindor should be, but James was right; you are a coward."
With that, he stormed upstairs. Dad began to shake and cry. I hugged him tightly. Mum came in, and she shooed me away, telling me to go to my room. I went without any resistance.
If that happened to me, I thought as I flopped on my bed, I would want to forget, too.
Well... that certaintly didn't come out as I imagined it to. R&R!