Chapter One; Fred

The edging of frost on the window was the first sign that fall was truly here. Fred liked it, the warning of cold and gloom to come; the rising grey matched his mood perfectly. He had risen early and gone on a walk to the neighboring town. The air was still frozen, forcing him to debut his winter coat. These morning walks had become a ritual of sorts; he would wake up, the pit in his stomach and the look of longing in his eyes, and immediately go outside in an attempt to keep this side of himself hidden from everyone, especially George. Hence the walking. Walking without a purpose was something that none of the Weasley's would ever take part in, therefore, Fred had a solid hour alone to get his act together. And think a hell of a lot. About everything.

It was exhausting.

The crunch of frosty grass underneath his boot brought him out of his reverie, his walk was complete, all too soon. A stream of smoke gave the Burrow life; the dead sleep that had captured the household was long gone, that much was obvious. Fred sighed, rolled his shoulders back, gritted his teeth and walked through the threshold.

Molly was the first to take note of Fred's presence. He noted her slight frown at the sight of his pink cheeks. He knew she didn't like his morning strolls, but she shrugged off whatever discomfort she had and beamed at him.

"Oh Fred! There you are, I have great news! Harry's replied to our letter, he's coming to the World Cup! Come celebrate!" Without waiting for a response, Fred found his mum's steel grip pulling him into the living room. It was quite a sight. From Ron and Hermione dancing around what must have been Harry's letter, to George and Ginny tempting Crookshanks with some Gnomes, to Bill and Charlie trying to take Percy seriously about some cauldrons or other, it was a wonder the house was still standing. It was chaos. His father, however, was no where to be seen.

"Oi! Freddie, get over here! We need another pair of hands, we caught too many of these buggers!" His twin's call brought Fred to the attention of everyone. Feeling the pressure of the spotlight, Fred forced a light laugh, and put his hands up in surrender,

"Gimme a min George, I'm roasting in this darn coat!" With that, Fred bounded up the stairs.

When he finally entered the safety of his bedroom, he sank to the floor. George could hardly be blamed for Fred being so...withdrawn as of late. He buried his hands in his hair, Fred himself had no clue as to what the cause was. He just felt...empty. There was no logic in it, he had a loving family, a great twin, a great school, he was handsome, wanted by several women, but even still, there seemed to be a black hole in him that just wanted more. He groaned. He was being selfish. His father had given them all a once in a lifetime opportunity, they were going to the WORLD CUP for Merlin's sake! Fred had to snap out of this, and he would, if anything for his family. He would be the Fred they knew and loved, and they would be happy and enjoy themselves at the World Cup. Shrugging off his parka, Fred pulled on a fresh t-shirt and some jeans and then headed back downstairs.

After the World Cup fiasco, Fred felt even more unattached. The whole thing, the muggles, the fires, the dark mark had left everyone in a kind of horrified daze, yet the bonds between them had strengthened, and Fred still felt hollow. The thought of his mum's last memory of him being a fight, his stomach twisted at the notion; and the worst part was, the death eater's that had destroyed the campground, marched in his dreams. He would wake up in a cold sweat and a silent scream at his lips. The first nightmare he had caused him to bite his tongue to stop himself from waking George, he couldn't even talk the next morning.

On the bright side, he would be leaving for Hogwarts in the morning, maybe all he needed was some time away from home. The morning of their departure was gloomy as ever, rain pounding on the windows, even breakfast was a bit on the rubbery side. By the time they reached the platform, Fred was getting ready to blow a socket. He rushed through the brick barrier and felt a sense of relief wash over him when he saw the crimson train.

Steeling himself and he plastered a smile on his face, Fred headed toward the train. He felt George's hand on his shoulder,

"You doing all right Freddie? You seemed a little down this morning..." Fred looked into his twin's eyes, they were sincere and for a moment, Fred almost told him everything he had been feeling. But only for a moment.

"Nah Georgie!" Fred took up a light tone, gently pushing George's shoulder, "Never been better! It's our year to shine mate." There was nothing left to be said, the duo quickly became the trio as Lee Jordan caught up with them. Fred laughed at the right times, threw in his witty banter when necessary, and gave himself a mental pep talk. You can do this. You are Fred Weasley! The comedian of the school. You are going to have a great, fun filled year, starting right now! Nothing will get in the way. Nothing, this black hole ends now. He knew it was no good though. The feeling of longing was still in the back of his mind, the pit grew in his stomach. He opened the door to their compartment and disappeared inside.