This is one of many submissions to the Prompt Relay Challenge in the Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges forum. For those of you not familiar with the challenge, there are ten stages we have to write for, each stage having anywhere from five to twenty-plus story prompts we must fill before moving onto the next stage.
Stage Three: Paranormal
Coming back as a ghost wasn't the worst thing that had happened to him, Fred decided.
Hogwarts had always been a second home to him in life; it only made sense that he should spend his afterlife within its walls as well. The other ghosts took him in as one of their own quite quickly, and were even impressed with the amount of control he held over Peeves. Another perk was all his new found free time allowed him to fully explore every inch of the castle, finding more secrets than anyone had ever cared to search out before.
Fred especially enjoyed scaring the first and second years. Taking possession of a plant that could wrap itself around students not paying attention in Herbology, or a cup of juice that would pour itself over a rude little Slytherin; he always gained a cheer of laughter.
But by far his favorite thing about being a ghost was his ability to help George during his lesions. When Professor Flitwick decided to retire, George had been his personal recommendation to take over this post. Charms had always been the twin's best subject and the only one they ever truly paid much attention to (or at least allowed people to see them pay attention to). And Fred couldn't have been happier for the opportunity to spend time with his twin.
And while George loved and needed the time just as much as Fred did, Fred could see just a hint of hurt behind his twin's eyes.
George was aging, in his fifties with a wife and children. Fred was still nineteen years old. Would always been nineteen years old. The jokes that always tickled Fred's fancy no longer held George's interest. His kids had taken over the joke shop, allowing him to settle down into the groove of teaching and the steadiness that came with a normal career. George was growing old, growing dull, and he liked it that way.
For Fred, however, it was torture. To watch what he saw as the life seep out of his brother was the worst thing he'd ever seen. And try as he might, there was nothing he could do to bring the light back into his twin's eyes.