A red-headed youth was busily working among the clutter in his room with an exuberant expression on his face. He tweaked, prodded, and adjusted. Within minutes, he let out a whoop and a holler, "YES! I did it!" he leapt on to his feet and looked around. Where was his brother? He scurried downstairs, "Oy! George!"

No answer.

"George, where the bloody hell are ya?"

The front door creaked opened and in came another red-headed youngster, the mirror image of the other.

"Hey! Come up and see what I've gone and done. I'm a genius, I tell you!"

George did not answer but he silently followed his overly-excited brother to their room.

"Sit and look," he clamored about the room and held out a complicated-looking device, "It took me a while to make this baby but check it out. This is..."

George merely drowned out the ramblings of his brother and stared blankly into his face, nodding ever so often as if he was paying attention.

"Aren't I a modern day Einstein?" he beamed, "I swear, once we send this out into the world, the Galleons will come pouring in! Whaddaya say? Go on, praise me."

"Fred..." his twin spoke for the first time. "This won't work."

"What are you talking about?" Fred twisted his face into a grimace. "Are you damaged in the brain? This plan is totally fool-proof—"

"I'm not talking about that," George interrupted. "I'm talking about us."

"You want to break up with me?" Fred said mockingly, laughing a bit. "Wow, George. I didn't know we were a couple—"

"Be serious, you dolt!" his twin snapped. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. I'm tired of this double act! I don't want to go the same path as you!"

"George, old boy," there was still a smile on Fred's face. He did not have enough time to react to his brother's outburst. "This is our future. It's all we talked about ever since we were even old enough to talk! We planned this!"

"It's all you ever talked about. You planned this!" George stood up quickly. "I was the shadow and you were the sun. I just followed you, Fred! Don't you know that? I just followed you!"

Fred's expression suddenly seemed pained and desperate, "C'mon, kid. You don't mean that... Be serious..."

"I've. Never. Been. More. Serious," George said through clenched teeth.

Fred reached out to touch his brother but George abruptly stepped back.

"You don't want to do this..."

"I do and I will. I'm moving out."

"For chrissake, George! You're bloody seventeen!"

"And that's bloody old enough to break away from you!"

Fred's hand shot forward as he grabbed a hold of his brother's arm, "You're not leaving. We do everything together! I can't... I can't live without you! You're my twin!"

"You'll survive, I'm sure," George said sardonically.

"You're going to abandon our dreams? Our goals? Our future?"

"Dammit, Fred," George yanked his arm back. "Damn you and damn it all..."

"George—"

"I'm not you!"

There was a short silence.

"I'm not you and I'll never be you. I'm me, kid. You just have to accept that."

Without further argument, George turned on his heel and walked out of the room.