A/N: Tomorrow is April First. April Fools' Day.
Happy birthday, Fred and George.
-C6
Disclaimer: I don't own any of Ms. Rowling's characters, settings, plots, etc. Which makes me sad. There are days when I wouldn't mind owning a few of her characters... drool.
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Fred woke up with a snort at the sound of his alarm clock. "GET OUT OF BED, YOU LAZY ARSE!" He turned to look at the piece of mechanics and smiled fondly as he waved his wand to silence it. "Reminds me of mum, really," he mused as he forced himself to get out of bed. Fred took his time getting dressed that morning; he didn't really know why, but he felt a certain reverence for the day. There was a little voice in his head telling him that there was something he was forgetting. Fred snorted; the thought was completely absurd. His memory was as sharp as a tack!
Still, there was no sense in arguing with the little voice in the back of his mind. That's where the best of his ideas came from. Well, that and George.
George... yes, the special-ness of the day had something to do with George. But what could it be?
Might as well go ask him, the voice suggested. He'll probably know.
"Right!" Fred asserted with a nod. Abandoning his strenuous efforts to choose his apparel for the day (the right mismatched pair of socks was a tricky equation), he exited his bedroom and walked the three-point-four steps to his twin's door. The door was currently closed, which puzzled Fred. Neither of them ever closed their doors. Well, only when one or the other had a girlfriend over. That was really the only reason they had separate rooms, actually. Fred and George were a matched set; they'd grown up as a pair since birth, always sharing a room, sharing schoolbooks, sharing clothes, sharing... well, everything. But there were some things that just shouldn't be shared with your brother. Namely, girls.
Fred pounded on the door. "George! Oi! What's special about today?" He waited for a few moments and received no answer. Frowning, the red-head tried again. "George! Are you in there?" No answer. He sighed. "Make some noise or I'm coming in, whether you're starkers or not." Met with silence, Fred grimaced and pushed the door open.
The messy bedroom looked almost identical to Fred's; practically everything was in the same place. But there was no George in the bed. Nor was there a George under the bed, or in the closet (or out of the closet, for that matter), or sitting at the desk, or even in the room at all. That was strange. Fred turned and exited the room, walking out to the small kitchen of their flat in hopes of finding his misplaced twin. But George wasn't in the icebox, nor was he in any of the cupboards or under the table (but George wasn't much of a drinker... in the morning anyway).
Needless to say, Fred was beginning to feel worried. Not only was he unable to remember what was so great about the day, but he couldn't find his twin! Frustrated, the man sat down in one of the four chairs around the small kitchen table. The rush of air from his sudden flop into the seated position caused a few envelopes to flutter to the floor. Seeing his name on one of them, Fred perked up a little. He leaned over to pick them up and grinned as he noticed the return address; one Miss Angelina Johnson. Fred happily tore open the envelope and began to read the letter from his girlfriend. His happiness turned to horror in a matter of moments.
Dear Fred,
I'm sorry it has to be like this, but we can't be together any more. I've realized that my heart just isn't in our relationship. It's not you, it's me.
There the paragraph stopped. Fred leaned back in his seat, completely shocked. He almost tore the letter into shreds, but he noticed there was more writing further down the page.
April Fools! Oh, Fred, I wish I could be there to see the look on your face. Although it's not likely that I've been able to prank the prank master. You probably expected this. But that's alright with me; you've got the humor, and I've got the quidditch talent.
Again, just kidding! Wow. Your self-esteem must be microscopic by now. And on your birthday, too! So I'll make it up to you with a date tonight. Meet me at the Leaky Cauldron after you close the shop and we'll go from there. I love you. Happy birthday!
-Angelina
Oh, god, that was a relief! The thought of Angelina leaving him... well, it wasn't a happy one. And on his birthday...
Wait. Birthday? April Fools? Fred whirled around to look at the calendar. Yes, there it was, circled in bright red crayon: April first. That's why the day was special! It was his birthday!
And if it was his birthday, then it was George's birthday too. So it was their birthday!
But where was George?
Utterly confused, Fred began a search of every nook and cranny in the kitchen, hoping to find a clue as to George's whereabouts. But no such luck; there wasn't even a note. Dejectedly Fred shuffled back to his room to finish dressing. His mind was so preoccupied with the fact that his twin seemed to have forgotten their birthday that he didn't even notice that his clothing matched and that his tie was on straight and his hair looked positively combed. He was so distracted that he actually locked the door on the way out.
Upon arriving at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, he found that a rather enthusiastic crowd was gathered outside the door. He pushed through the crowd and unlocked the door, allowing access to the eager horde of customers that had been looking forward to the April Fools' Day sale since Christmas. In the middle of the crowd was Fred and George's assistant-of-the-day, namely, Alicia Spinnet. Also known as George's girlfriend. The ex-Gryffindor chaser took one look at Fred's not disheveled appearance and let out a low whistle. "Wow. You look terrible," she pronounced, earning a glare from the gloomy red-head. "Are you sick?"
"Worse," Fred moaned. "I can't find George."
"Did you try whistling for him?" Alicia asked jokingly.
"Yes!" Fred replied vehemently, not catching the look of incredulity on his future sister-in-law's face (although technically neither of the twins were engaged, both they and their girlfriends knew that it would only be a matter of time). "But he didn't come!" He sighed heavily, walking across the room to separate two boys that were fighting over the last of the Skiving Snackboxes. He pulled one out of his pocket for one boy and let the other take the last from the shelf before turning back to face Alicia. "It's not like him to forget something this big."
Alicia walked over and placed a hand on Fred's shoulder comfortingly. "He'll turn up, don't worry. It's not like he would forget his twin's birthday."
Fred shook his head as he turned to go to the back of the store and begin restocking. Despite Alicia's finest attempts, he wasn't convinced.
Fred stocked and restocked shelves all day as the steady stream of customers came and went, every hour his mood becoming more and more depressed as George failed to show up or even send an owl. Not even the thought of his upcoming date with Angelina that evening could pull the man out of his slump. Finally, towards the end of the afternoon, Fred watched the last person leave the store with a sack full of pranks just waiting to be unleashed on the world. He stood up from his stool behind the front counter, making his customary rounds in the shop and checking to see that nothing irreplaceable was beyond repair. As he was straightening the display below the window, a brightly colored object sitting outside the door caught his eye.
Curious, Fred opened the door and stepped outside. Immediately a squeal of glee erupted from the man; the brightly colored object was an enormous box wrapped in bright pink and green polka-dotted wrapping paper and tied off with a yellow bow. A large tag was hanging off the bow that read "To Fred" in large blocky letters.
It was an unexpected development, that was for certain. For a moment, Fred wondered if he should wait for George to show up before opening the gift. After all, it wasn't just his birthday. But the tag did say "To Fred", not "Fred and George". Full of excitement, Fred bent over and untied the bow.
No sooner than he had moved his hand away, the top popped off and out jumped George. "Happy birthday, Fred!" he shouted as loud as he could.
Fred glared at his brother before slamming the shop door shut. He stomped across the store to where his brother's girlfriend was standing, eyes wide in disbelief. Fred huffed angrily and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Glancing back at the twin still shut outside, he growled in the back of his throat. "That idiot George! I wanted a puppy."