It was dark by the forest on that still night. The only light coming from far in the distance; hardly bright enough to illuminate the figure pacing by the edge of the woods.
"Well, he's done it then, hasn't he?" the figure started, looking up at the starry sky. "Harry. He's- he's finally defeated You-Know-Who… Err, Voldemort." The figure fought off a shiver at the name. Old habits die hard, after all.
Shaking his head in amazement, the figure said, "Oh, if you'd only seen it, Freddie. It was- it was brilliant. Harry- he- I swear, we thought he was dead for a second there." The figure paused to shiver, despite the stillness of the air around him. "But, no. Our Chosen One proved us all wrong. Of course, we should've known better, eh? I mean, that poor bloke has been famous for his surprises."
The figure sighed and kicked a stone with the toe of his shoe. "Although, seeing Harry come to life like that- it was brilliant, Fred. I only wish you could've seen. Though, maybe you have. I reckon you'd be up there with Tonks, placing bets on how long it'd take the rest of us to come to our senses." He chuckled now, though it had a dark edge to it.
"Oh, Freddie. As fantastic as it was to have Harry come back- it really only left me with one thought." The figure began to tremble, his voice shaking.
"Why couldn't it be you?"
He ceased his pacing to bring his hands up to his head, twining his fingers within his hair and pulling desperately at it, as though it would somehow halt the pain pounding within his chest.
"I- I know, Fred. That's... bad of me to say. The world needs Harry to survive… but, Freddie… I-I need you." The figure sucked air in through his teeth and buried his face inside his hands.
"Fred, it's- it's going to be hard. I can't even imagine a world without you. But, I know I've got to be strong about this. Mum- she was a mess when she saw. Thought it was scary to see her when we almost knocked Ron off the roof that one time? This was so much worse. Freddie, even- even Percy couldn't stand it. We all- we just couldn't believe it." He broke off for a moment to stare bleakly into the dark forest.
"It hasn't even been a day yet, Freddie, but it feels like eternity already. I just wish I could've been there to say goodbye to you properly. To tell you I loved you one last time." The figure wrapped his arms around himself tightly, attempting to take slow and steady breaths before continuing. "Of course, maybe you'd joke and tell me I'd gone soft on you, but- but that would be okay, Freddie, because then you'd know. You'd know why it's going to be difficult from now on."
Eyes closed, the figure pinched the bridge of his nose lightly as he went on, "But, I promise you, Fred, that I'll try to be strong. For you. I- I know you wouldn't want everyone else to suffer, so I'll put a brave face on and try to tough it out because I want you to know that I would do anything for you, my brother- my twin."
After a long moment, the figure took another deep breath and proceeded to straighten his back. "I love you, Freddie," he murmured as he walked slowly in the direction of the bright light in the distance, leaving the forest behind him.