1. Lucky

Fred Weasley:

They say I was lucky. Not many wizards get hit by two curses and a heavy brick wall at the same time and live to tell the tale.

So what if I'm practically blind now because one of these curses hit me square in the face? I quite literally stood at heaven's door – blind or not blind, I'm one lucky bastard to still be alive.

But I don't feel lucky. I don't even feel alive, I feel like a walking, breathing dead man.

I wish I really was dead. Then at least no one would see me so fucking helpless.

* * *

"It's not working."

"I gathered as much!" Fred Weasley snapped.

His younger brother Ron hat to bite his lip to keep himself from screaming in response.

"Oh dammit!" Fred shoved the cauldron that was sitting on the lab table in front of him away. It landed on the ground with a loud bang, its reeking content spilling over the floor in a greyish mess.

"Very productive." Ron muttered under his breath. Thinking about it, he should have been used to this kind of behaviour on Fred's part by now.

Ever since Fred had opened his eyes for the first time after the Battle of Hogwarts nearly one year ago, to find that the world had become a mostly dark place with only dim shadows moving around him, his mood swings and outbursts had become worse and worse.

Ron looked up at his older brother standing next to him, eyes hidden by dark glasses but obviously fixed on the now empty table top. His hands were clenched to fists.

You had to hand it to him: Fred lashed out quickly these days but he always got back in control immediately. One day he won't be able to anymore, Ron thought for what must have been the hundredth time.

"I'm off." Fred waved his wand in the vague direction of the mess on the floor, probably wanting to clean it. He missed completely.

Ron prayed that he would leave without noticing but could already tell that Fred knew; the messed up potion stank so badly, Ron was sure even the customers and George in the front of the building could smell it, not to mention Fred who stood mere metres away. Fred's jaw muscles clenched as he turned and walked towards the stairs leading up to his and George's apartment.

"You should check if George needs help out front." He said over his shoulder, not sounding like he really cared.

"Sure." Ron watched his brother take a hold of the bannister and climb the stairs one at a time. He didn't apparate every two steps anymore, like he used to.

He didn't do a lot of things anymore.

* * *

"I just don't get why it matters so much to you."

Fred shook his head. "It doesn't. Just forget it."

If Katie couldn't tell herself why he minded not being able to do the most basic things any grown wizard could, he didn't want to be the one to open her eyes. He frowned. Her eyes...

What colour were they again? He could still picture her face clearly. Her eyes were... blue. Yeah. That was it: blue.

Or green.

Damn. It didn't matter either way. All he saw of her (or would be able to see if he took his sunglasses off) was a dark shadow moving in front of an even darker background and that was all he would see of her for the rest of his life.

She could have grown four extra eyes by now for all he knew.

He heard her sigh and felt her move closer to him on the sofa, coming to rest in his lab.

"You need to relax. Give yourself a break. You're expecting too much."

He pursed his lips. Too much, yeah. Like cleaning up a small puddle. Talk about challenging... or challenged.

"Relax..." Katie cooed, taking his glasses off. He quickly closed his eyes, not wanting her to see the pale blue, surely unfocused and empty, mess they'd become.

When she started kissing him it was only a matter of time until he started to kiss back, despite his sour mood.

But like so often in the last few months, he felt strangely detached. Like he wasn't there at all.

* * *

Harry Potter looked around nervously, searching the crowd around him for any signs of wizard folk.

Ron chuckled. "Don't get your knickers in a twist. Nobody here knows who you are."

Harry wasn't convinced so easily. Even though he and Ron had chosen a pub in Muggle London for a drink after work, he was still wary of people jumping him for autographs and photos.

"So..." He said, eyes never stopping to dart around. "How's work? Figured out the problem with that new product yet?"

Ron narrowed his eyes, staring at the table top much like Fred hat earlier in the day.

"No. Fred was pretty aggressive again. I tried to talk to George about it but you know how he gets... Doesn't want to hear a word about it. I really wish I would have joined the Auror Squad with you."

"You can still join." Harry reminded the redhead, grinning as he took a sip of his beer. He knew Ron wouldn't do that. At least not yet. He enjoyed working with his older brothers too much and even though Fred's condition left much to be desired, he was too glad to still have him around to push him or George about the aggressive outbursts that all of them had already witnessed at least once.

"Had another letter from Hermione?" He asked, hoping to lighten Ron's mood.

Wrong move, apparently.

"No." Ron answered, his voice as grave as his face.

"Ah..." Harry wasn't sure what to make of that. When Hermione had decided to go back to Hogwarts alongside Ginny to finish her education there, it had seemed pretty clear that she and Ron would keep in touch and... well, bring their friendship to the next level, he supposed. All had been good just three weeks prior when Ron had told him something along the lines of: "Hermione this... Hermione that... Hermione says... Hermione likes... Hermione, Hermione, Hermione."

Probably not the best time to mention that he himself had received a rather long letter from said girl just two days ago, telling him everything he could possibly and never wanted to know about NEWTs.

"I don't..." Ron started blushing furiously now.

Oh no, Harry thought, not now. Please don't let him try to have a moment now.

"I don't think she wants me... like that." Ron mumbled quickly and before Harry could even open his mouth, the words began spilling out at top speed:

"I mean, I think she really wanted me as her boyfriend before the war and some time after but she got more and more detached. I know I usually don't pick up on these kind of things quickly and if I noticed that a while ago... Well, then that's bad, isn't it?"

Harry drained the last of his beer in one big gulp.

Looked like they were going to have a moment now.

End Part 1

A/N: Okay... a rather short first chapter to see how things go... I'm currently writing at chapter 5, so I have a good idea about the direction this is going...

Review please :)

and sorry for messed up grammar and/or spelling