This is a one shot inspired by a Fred/George/Hermione fic I read recently. I started wondering what would happen if George and Fred feel in love with the same person… and then I remembered canon, and this fic was born.
It wouldn't have been such a problem, if they hadn't been identical twins.
From a young age, they were inseparable – you never saw one without the other. Fred, George, Gred, Forge – what did it really matter? They always did everything together, anyway. And it wasn't like anyone was able to tell them apart – their father used to maintain that even the exact positioning of their freckles was the same.
It wasn't a problem when they realised they would be sorted into houses when they got to Hogwarts. Fred was going to Gryffindor, he maintained, and George never questioned the fact he was obviously going with him. If anyone else was uncertain of this fact, all that was needed was a quick, identical eye roll from both Weasley twins to shut him or her up.
It never occurred to them there could be other problems when they got to Hogwarts.
First and second years always did classes with those in their house, even when they were combined with another one, and obviously they lived and ate with their house as well. It was natural, therefore, that housemates in the same year would see an unprecedented amount of each other.
Out of the five boys sorted into Gryffindor that year of 1989, Fred and George only really became close friends with one – Lee Jordan. The girls however, were a different matter – they were friends with all of them, especially Alicia and Angelina.
By the time they started their second year, it was only natural the two most daring/idiotic boys in their year, and indeed maybe in the school, would try out for the Quidditch team. After all, they'd always had a talent for hurling things at people – usually Percy, their older brother, and the things were usually garden gnomes – but what no one had suspected was that in addition to Fred and George, there would be two more second years on the team that year – strangely enough, Alicia and Angelina. (Feeling left out, Lee Jordan somehow inveigled his way onto the commentator's podium. Neither twin ever did work out how he'd done it).
By their fifth year, when Fred and George were doing exactly the same new subjects as each other and generally terrifying the teaching population with a whole new range of outrageous pranks, someone – no one could remember who – had an idea which would prove to be disastrous.
Otherwise known as –
"Spin the bottle!" the unknown person announced to the Gryffindor fifth years at large. It was late – they'd stayed up past curfew watching Alicia and Lee play a game of Exploding Chess – a prototype of Fred and George's, inspired by Exploding Snap. It was essentially chess with the added attraction of annoyed pieces blowing up at any time they felt like it, sometimes destroying others in the process. It was such a deeply unfair invention that it ensured anyone with practically no knowledge of the actual game could play, as long as they didn't insult the pieces. However, for anyone who was actually good at it, for example the twins' brother Ron, it was completely pointless.
An especially volatile knight of Alicia's erupted into flame, destroying a pawn as well, leaving Lee to put her in checkmate.
"Okay," Angelina agreed, dropping a disgusting sock belonging to one of the boys onto the chessboard. The remaining pieces screeched and simultaneously burst into a mini inferno, consuming the sock neatly until all that was left were a few ashes.
Lee expertly shut the empty drawers and opened them again to see two nearly full sets of pieces appear again.
"One of the black pawns still won't reappear!" he called.
"Damn." Fred got up and inspected the box. "Geminio!" he said, pointing his wand at another black pawn. It duplicated itself neatly, filling the gap.
"We need to fix that," George noted, pulling out a pad of paper he always carried and jotting it down in extremely bright magenta ink.
"Anyway. Someone suggested Spin the Bottle?" Alicia asked in the pause that followed. "I'm in."
"Yeah, okay."
They crowded into a circle, someone pulling an empty Butterbeer bottle out of their bag and throwing it to George, who dropped it into the middle of the circle.
"I'll go first," Fred grinned wickedly. With a lazy flick of his wand, he caused the bottle to start spinning wildly.
"Is that even fair?" asked Lee. "Couldn't you make it land on whomever you want?"
"I'm flattered you have such confidence in my magical abilities," Fred said, fluttering his eyelashes and clasping his hands to his heart.
The bottle landed on Angelina.
She blushed and looked anywhere but Fred. "Does it have to be on the lips?"
"We're Gryffindors!" Alicia laughed. "So, yes."
Fred swooped in and planted an exaggerated kiss on Angelina's lips.
Something turned in George's stomach.
Was he… jealous of his twin?
No. Definitely not… right?
Okay, Angelina was pretty. And clever. And sporty. And he definitely liked her, but… did he like her?
Okay, maybe a little bit.
"George?" Fred waved a hand in front of his eyes. "Don't you want to see Alicia forced to kiss Lee? I mean, I do feel sorry for her…"
Recovering quickly, George quipped, "I think my eyes have taken enough without having to watch her go through that."
"Hey!" Lee protested.
George was under the impression he had managed to be fairly subtle about his crush, or whatever it was.
Obviously, the Yule Ball had to ruin that illusion.
"Hey, George," Fred asked one morning when they were alone in the dorm. "Do you, um, like Alicia?"
He blinked. Well, he hadn't been expecting that. "No," he said, in slight confusion. "Why?"
"I just thought you always seemed to be looking at her."
Only because she's always around Angelina. It's like they're the twins around here.
"No," he said casually.
"Oh, okay. So, listen. I think I'm going to ask Angelina to the ball."
What?
Well, shit. "Oh, well, that's fine," he said, trying to keep his voice calm. "Why?" he repeated stupidly.
"Because I like her?"
That really, really hadn't been what he'd meant.
The Yule Ball was not all it was cracked up to be.
Alicia looked nice – nowhere near as nice, however, as Angelina. Even Ron's hideous dress robes could not distract George from that fact, and the fact it was Fred at her side, not him.
When midnight came he was already sitting in the common room, tired enough to pass out there and then.
The portrait hole swung open. George looked up hopefully, but it was just a few fifth year girls giggling about something. It was a full fifteen minutes, in fact, before the portrait admitted someone else – Fred.
"Hey, Georgie," he muttered, collapsing on an armchair next to his twin. "We need to talk."
"What about?" George said carefully.
"I watched you the whole evening, George. You like Angelina."
He never could lie to Fred for long. "Yes." He admitted.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"You like her too."
"That's not the point! I can tell her we're not dating if you want-"
"It's fine! Really," George added quickly.
Fred looked morose. He stared at the fire, still burning at the opposite end of the room, as if willing it to divulge the secret of how not to like the person your twin does.
"I thought you liked Alicia."
"I do. She's great. Come on, Freddie, I'm tired. Let's go get some sleep."
He only saw Angelina a few times after they flew away from Hogwarts.
Every time it was in the same place; the shop in Diagon Alley. The only time she saw him was the last… right before they went into hiding.
There was no one else there; Fred was out grabbing a meal for them both and the customers had all gone; it was nearly seven o'clock closing time.
"George?" she asked, and he gave an exhausted smile.
"Actually, it's Fred."
"Shut up," she rolled her eyes. "I can tell you two apart, you know."
He grinned feebly. "I know you can."
Did he love her? Maybe he did. Yes, yes, he did. She didn't love him – he was pretty sure she and Fred loved each other.
"It's dangerous for you to be here," she said flatly. "I don't want either of you to get hurt, George, and your family's not exactly welcome under the new regime. They're targeting blood traitors! Your little brother is Harry Potter's best friend!"
"Someone has to raise people's morale," he said.
"Yes, well, I doubt your dead bodies will raise anyone's morale," she snapped.
"Except the Death Eaters'."
"Oh, so the rumours are true. I thought they must be. Which only makes it worse for you."
"'Lina, I'm fine."
"Don't call me Lina."
There was a crash which made them both jump, but it turned out to be just Fred coming in.
He looked at them in surprise. "Angelina?"
"Fred," she murmured.
George tactfully backed out of the room. He never did say goodbye to her.
When George finds out later about horcruxes, he thinks they're like twin brothers. Part of your soul… but there's no way to tell when you lose one.
Fred died on the 2nd May 1998.
George only knew once Percy and Bill appeared in the Great Hall with his twin brother's broken body floating behind them like a marionette whose strings have all been severed.
He didn't scream. He didn't cry. He just felt a dull, empty ache consume his chest. He blinked once, maybe twice.
Then he collapsed onto Fred's corpse.
He married Angelina.
He remembered what she'd said about being able to tell them apart… he's not sure that's still true.
Then she accidentally calls him Fred, just a careless slip of the tongue as she asks him to pass the salt, and he knows it isn't still true.
She doesn't heal him or whisper words of encouragement. He just sits with him and they remember Fred, who is dead now. And they are alive.
They both know they loved Fred more than they love each other.
But that's okay.
Every second they keep living brings them closer to Fred.
Please review?
~thaliatheawesome