Blow The Candles Out
"Happy Birthday to Fr- George, happy birthday to you!" everyone sang with a little awkwardness at the mistake glancing at the lone ginger-headed man sitting down. He did not smile, how could he? This was an event supposed to be celebrated by two of them, not one. He thanked each and every one of them with sincerity, cut the cake stiffly and blew out half the candles. He stopped everyone else who wanted to blow out the other half. He brought the cake to the small table and set it down. "Leave it there. " he said with a trace of excitement in his voice. Fred II looked exceedingly sad and said," Alright everyone, party's over. Thanks for coming. We'll see you soon. "
Once everyone had either flooed or apparated away, Fred II went upstairs to make sure his father was asleep. Then he cleaned the entire house of any evidence that there was a party, all except for the cake. He made sure a second time that his father was asleep, then went to blow out the other half of the candles. All the while thinking about how no one had gotten used to singing-or doing anything for that matter-with only one twin alive.
" He was here! Look! Your namesake was here Freddie!" his father shouted and danced with glee. " Yeah, I guess he was dad." Fred II said nervously, as he always did when his father got excited when he saw the other half of the candles blown out every other year. Then he would turn around and stare at Fred II about to hug him but freezing mid-hug staring at the familiarity of his face. Then he would turn around again and walk slowly to his bed and sob quietly for the rest of the day. It was heartbreaking, hearing his father break down every other time after he thought of Fred for too long whilst staring at Fred II.
But then again, no one knew what it was like. No one could sympathise with him. No one had lost their twin. Fred II doesn't mean to snoop or pry but sometimes he looks in his fathers journal and see's every entry start with 'Dear Fred'. One especially sad one was,
'Dear Fred, sometimes I wish that Charlie hadn't caught us making the unbreakable vow. If we hadn't been caught, I would've been dead by now. Love always, George'. Fred II had vowed to someday make George look at him in a different view, other than a ghost or a shadow. He would look at him like his son.