Fred had come up with the idea of a haunted storeroom to keep children out, and it was brilliant. But all these years later it came around to bite George in the arse. The new employees had been raised with the false tale and were still too wary to go back there.
"It just feels wrong," one had told him. "I'm not going back there!"
George sighed as he went to the storeroom to retrieve the Pygmy Puff Care Kit. It really was a cozy little room, once you lifted the Clammy Curse off it. He'd told his employees, but they weren't having any of it.
The bell above the door rang and from the counter girl's squeals, George surmised his wife and son had arrived.
He came out and handed his counter girl the box as his wife came around the counter to give him a kiss.
"Something in stability's gone off. The sidecar shook him up so bad I'm surprised he still isn't vibrating." She looked at him apologetically.
"Well, we can't have that, can we?" George tickled his son before going into the storeroom and transfiguring him a pen and setting him down.
Angelina fished a stuffed bunny and blanket out of her purse to set beside her son. "Daddy has to look at a malfunctioning prototype!"
They both waved as they left him, but Freddie didn't cry. In fact, his eyes were round and serious.
When the curtain fell a small pinpoint of light formed over the playpen. Freddie stared at it as it floated down, forming into a ghost that looked like his father.
The ghost held out his hand and Freddie laughed as his own hand passed through it. "Hello little namesake. I have some quick things to tell you."
Freddie squealed in delight and the ghost nodded.
"That's a good boy. Now, study hard so you can come up with new tricks to make us all proud. You're going to have a lot to live up to when you're at Hogwarts. Just make sure you don't break anything you can't fix or replace. And spend some proper time on a broomstick before you get there."
"It's up to you to make your cousins into proper Weasleys. If your Uncle Percy still has all his hair by the time he's forty I will consider your efforts a failure."
Freddie cooed at him and the ghost gave a satisfied smile.
"I'll be watching over you," the ghost said softly. "But you won't see me again."
The little boy made a grumpy noise and the ghost chuckled. "Now, don't be like that. Your mother'd have me exorcised if she thought we'd be running through Hogwarts together."
The boy smiled and laid back to use his bunny for a pillow.
"Sleep now, Freddie, and don't forget you're part of a long line of mischief makers."
Freddie giggled to himself and closed his eyes as Fred retreated to a shadowy corner to fade. The counter-girl popped her head in to check in on the little boy and smiled at his little sleepy form.
"I bet you could make anywhere feel safe and cozy, couldn't you?" She reached out a hand to tickle the little boy under the chin.
"I thought you were as scared as the others of the back room," George joked as he returned.
The girl shrugged. "Oh, I guess it's not so bad. It feels different now. Like whatever was in here left. Maybe the baby did it."
George rolled his eyes, but he felt a wave of warmth go through him as he looked down at his son.