The Way I Am
"Your uncle was a great man, lots of potential."
"When I was in school with your Uncle, he had all the best pranks. But you should study more on your work."
"Your Uncle and Father this-"
"Your Uncle and Father that-"
How can I be something I'm not and never was?
Fred often thought when people compared him to his predecessor. At one time he even told them this, but they just laughed and said, "That's just what Fred would say."
Finally, Fred just gave up trying to convince them that he wasn't Uncle Fred. He was just Fred.
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"I bet you pull the best pranks just like your Father and Uncle."
Fred never liked pranks. He was afraid to hurt other people. He much rather stay inside and read the Muggle books that Aunt Hermione had given him for Christmas.
His sister, Roxanne, she was a born prankster. She used every opportunity to prank her twin. She and Cousin James always had something planned, and when they headed out to Hogwarts, nothing was out of their deviant plans. But Fred never had any part of them.
One birthday, Roxanne and Fred got Filibuster Fireworks from their Uncle Ron. First thing Roxanne did was run off to make plans with James. Fred just sat at the breakfast table and opened the rest of his presents. Ten minutes later, Roxanne and James came running down the Hall and sat down by him.
As it had turned out they had set the whole teacher's lounge in a mess of fireworks, and since Fred did not think to hide his present, he was issued the same punishment as them. He hadn't even been near the lounge at the time, yet he was lumped in the group because Professor Longbottom did not know that Fred was not like his sister, let alone his father, who Longbottom kept comparing him to. All he could do was suck up his complaints and accept the punishment.
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"Gryffindor, the whole Weasley lots in that House. Nowhere else to put them."
He actually had an option. The Sorting Hat had asked him where he wanted to go.
"Don't be crazy, Fred." His father said to him, the day before he left for Hogwarts. "Of course you are going to be in Gryffindor. Not a single Weasley in the last three generations has been anywhere else. It's the family house."
Fred didn't want to be a Gryffindor but he knew his family was always. So in the end he chose to go. If for nothing more than the family. Apparently, he was the only one who was told had to be in Gryffindor. Other than James and Victoire (who he never really was fond of even if they were family), they were all put in different houses. Dominique, Rose, Molly and Lucy all were in Ravenclaw; Louis and Hugo were in Hufflepuff; and Roxanne, Albus, and Lily were in Slytherin.
Not even his own twin was in the same House, but that didn't shock him. Roxanne always had that Slytherin air about her. Thinking she was better than everyone else. Her constant need to embarrass others. Fred had at least hoped that their father had given her the same talk, but if he did she must not have listened. He did though. Funny, his dad told him not to be crazy, but that's what happened.
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"He'll be a Beater just like the twins."
Did they also forget that his mother was one of the school's best Chasers? Not that he would be a Chaser; they just never seem to remember.
Actually, when Fred played Quidditch with his cousins, he would much rather plays Seeker. The rush of finding the Snitch just as the opposing team is distracted, sent shivers every time he got on a broom, but being a Seeker was out of the option for him. From when he joined the Quidditch team, he was handed a bat and sent out with as little as a second opinion.
Trey Bell, the moron who happened to get Gryffindor Seeker, rarely ever caught the Snitch. Fred tried helping him during matches but he never listened to him.
"I know what I'm doing, Weasley." He snapped at him, after one particularly humiliating defeat.
"I'm just trying to help, Bell."
"Don't."
The next match, Fred didn't block any Bludgers that were aimed at Trey. He pretended he never saw them. When a particularly nasty one hit Trey right in the face, he couldn't finish the game.
With no replacement Seekers, Bruno Wood, the team captain, had only one choice to make.
"Fred. Can you finish the game as Seeker? You're the right build and we need to win this game to even be considered for the Cup."
Fred was ecstatic. Gryffindor won that match 210 to 100. The team was never more excited. They were in first place now for the Cup.
The next game, Fred was sure that he would be asked to be Seeker again. But Trey was back and wasn't giving up his spot that easy.
"Sorry, Fred, but we need you as a Beater. You a bloody great one." Bruno said, handing him the bat and heading out to the pitch.
That was the first and last time Fred had ever got to be Seeker.
"Bet he is just the apple of his father's eye. Looks just like Fred."
Fred often felt that his father hated him. He knew deep, deep down that his father really loved him, but he never actually said it. In fact, George often busied himself at the shop just so he didn't have to come home to "the replacement."
"The Replacement." What everyone called him, but no one said right to him. He knew why too. Once he was playing Hide and Seek (a Muggle game Aunt Hermione had taught Rose) with his cousins, he was quite good at it. He was never found in all the places he hid. He was hiding in the attic in between boxes. He shifted to get a better view of the door and knocked over all the boxes. He tried to hurriedly put all of the contents back before James found him. He picked up and old photo album that he had never seen.
As he flipped through it, he came across to identical boys. They were both sticking their tongues out at the camera and winking. Under the photo was written Fred and George, but the names kept switching. His guess was the person who wrote the names didn't know which twin was which; this happened with him and Roxanne even if she was a girl. But that's not what caught his attention. Both of the boys looked just like him. He sat their staring at the picture for a long time.
"Fred!" His father's voice called into the room.
"I'm in here." He said not taking his eyes off the album in front of him.
"What are you doing in-" George stopped. "Where did you get that?"
"Found it in a box." Fred said simply.
"What have I told you about going through stuff up here?" George yelled at him.
"I'm-I'm sorry. The box kind of fell. I was picking it up. I just stumbled across it. I'm sorry, Dad." He stuttered.
"Don't ever come in here again." George said taking the album from him. "Go downstairs. Your mother is finishing dinner. Go help her set the table."
Fred ran to the door. He turned to tell his dad something and saw him open to the page he just closed. He was staring attentively at the page. Fred saw his father's eyes water up. He shut the book and placed it back in the box. He turned and saw Fred standing at the door.
"Fred, I thought I told you to go help you mother." George said wiping his eyes.
Fred ran to the kitchen and set the table. George didn't come to the dinner for another twenty minutes. When he did, his eyes were puffy and red as though he had been crying.
That's what Fred hated. The tears he would see his father get after he yelled at him. Or the one's he got when he caught him staring at him. Fred hated seeing his father cry. It was always his fault, and there was nothing he could do about it.
He couldn't do it. He was never Fred Weasley, prankster, typical Weasley. He was only Fred Weasley the second, wannabe Seeker, and disappointment. Things that none of them wanted. They all wanted another Fred but they couldn't have him. They were stuck with him, the replacement of what they had lost.
A/N: This was written for Hogwarts Online October/November Challenge of the month. Tell me what you think!
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the story idea