Disclaimer: I don't own.. anything T_T.
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In His Eyes
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In all honesty, Fred had never liked Ron being too close with Harry. It meant danger. And it wasn't even that trouble was attracted to Harry, Harry went looking for it. Had some kind of thing that it was his duty. That was great and all, but why he dragged Ron along for the ride was beyond Fred's understanding. Of course, he knew what Ron would say. He always tells me and Hermione not to come, he's worried about us too… Right. Let me tell you everything to make you worried and then tell you not to come along. Because you know, the whole wizarding world won't point fingers at me and accuse me of betraying a friend. Fred just couldn't see the reason. Maybe, he thought, purely out of spite, if Ron had never because close to Harry, then everything would be good. He wouldn't be having these thoughts, George would still have his ear…
Strange how long you have before your thoughts disappear. Avada Kedavra was supposed to be quick and painless. It was painless, but it sure wasn't quick. He was floating here, listening to Percy bawl, listening to Ron scream his name. No, Percy, you idiot, he thought. Don't bawl over me, I'm already dead. Go protect Ronnie.
When Percy left his body just laying there, Fred fell back to his thoughts. Bashing Harry made him feel strangely better about everything. It's always easier to blame things on other people, he thought. But it was true Ron had always gotten hurt trying to make sure nothing got in Harry's way. He got hurt during chess, got a leg broken, had to face spiders, got hurt by mutated brains and treated his life as if it was nothing compared to Harry's.
Spiders. Fred felt like smiling, and realized he had no body to smile with anymore. Strange feeling, that. He remembered turning the well-loved teddy bear into a spider. He remembered how terrified the baby Ron had been, screaming his head off. His mom and dad had gave him a pretty sound whipping. He supposed he'd deserved that one. Before that Ron had wanted to do everything his older brothers did, and after that he had gotten scared of Fred. He clung on to George more often than he clung on to Fred, and Fred had to admit it made him a bit jealous.
He had gotten Ron a new teddy bear long time ago. He'd missed the timing and had promised himself he'd give Ron the bear once Lord Voldemort was gone. Poor bear. Now it would stay in his closet, and its only companions would be the necklace he'd also gotten for Ron and the letter he'd written. He prepared himself for the stinging of the eyes he would feel when tears rushed to them, but nothing. Right. He was dead, just floating here.
He remembered the Unbreakable Vow that he and George had made Ronnie take. Their father had caught them, but before that they had been able to complete one Vow. Fred felt happy just thinking about it. His father had given him a pretty good spanking that night, but it was still done. Promise to love his older brothers forever. He wondered why that had been the first thing that came out of his lips. As a little boy it had always scared him that one day Ron would forget about his older brothers completely. That had probably been why.
Hogwarts came along and he thought Ronnie did, and he got scared Ron would die because he'd break the Unbreakable Vow. But no. Ron always had his brothers in his heart, and he remembered Harry and Hermione telling him and George that Ron always talked about the twins. He wondered sometimes if that was because of the Vow or because Ron really loved them, but he was quite sure Ron did love them. After all, they were brothers.
He was really angry that time when Ron came back from the Shrieking Shack with a broken leg. It was Harry's fault. If Harry hadn't decided to try to be a hero, then Ron would never have gotten hurt from that tree. But he'd gotten even angrier after the break in at the Ministry. Ron had gotten really badly hurt with those stupid brain-like things, and he'd never really been quite the same Ronnie. He wasn't as happy-go-lucky and was never as hyper. Fred never knew what Ron had seen when those brains attacked him, and he had wanted to know, but every time he'd asked Ron, he had just shook his head and curled up into a ball.
One day Ron had come to him with what he called a problem. He liked Hermione. Fred had almost laughed in his face. Almost. Hermione was a sweet girl. Smart enough for both of them, Fred decided. She would probably keep Ronnie out of trouble. Hermione had enough brains for both of them, and Ronnie had enough humor for both of them. They were a pretty good couple. He'd always thought Hermione would go for Harry, but she'd seen the better person in Ron. Smart girl, he thought. Harry was, in his opinion, of course, never too special. He'd only gotten through everything because of Ron and Hermione. People already had an expectation to see greatness, so they saw greatness. Fred saw just an ordinary wizard with two loyal friends and too much experience in defending against the dark arts.
But then again, he was getting a bit too angry with someone who didn't deserve it.
I wish, he thought, Ronnie would find that teddy bear. And then he stopped thinking.
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The hype was over. It had been a year since Lord Voldemort had died, and it had been one year since Fred died. Everyone had basically gotten over Fred's death, though his mother still teared up and George was still not the same. He shared the room with George most nights, and George would even make him sleep on the same bed.
The day was bright, and for some reason all his family members were gone. Oh, right. Dinner with Aunt Muriel. He hadn't wanted to be there, even though Aunt Muriel had wanted the little hero at her side. He snorted. He'd never gotten that much love from her and he didn't want it now. He threw open Fred's closet. He didn't know why, but something was calling to him. He dug through the messy clothes that his parents had never had the heart to clean out, and his hands brushed across something that was definitely not clothing. He pulled it out of the corner, and his eyes teared.
A teddy bear. It was wearing a small golden necklace with RBW as its pendent, and was wearing a miniature version of the Keeper's gloves. It was also holding a letter, and Ron shakily opened it.
Dear Ronnie.
Hey! Look, it's the teddy bear again. Don't throw this one out the window, or I'll kill you, got it? I was supposed to give this you a long time ago, but I missed the timing so I'm adding little details to it. I'll give it to you when you and Harry and Hermione defeat Lord U-No-Poo. Like the gloves? I also got that necklace hand made, so don't you dare lose it, or it's the last thing you're getting from your loving older brother. I swear I won't turn this one into a huge spider, no matter what you do.
Well, maybe.
Lots of Love,
Fred.
For the first time since Fred had died, Ron cried his eyes out. "You dummy." He sobbed. "It is the last present you'll ever give me."