Birthday Bliss
Fred and George had arrived in the shrieking shack for one of their usual mid semester plotting sessions. Turning over a well used crate, Fred's foot kicked something round and feather light, sending it sprawling through the dust. Interested, considering they'd never found anything in the shack before, he went grasping through the dust and old flyers to retrieve it. It was wrapped in what must have one day been black silk, dusty and gray with neglect.
"Oi, Forge! Have a look at what I found…"
"What is it, Gred?" he asked, coming over to join his twin with his hands on his hips. Fred held up the tiny metal ball, with gold and silver rings surrounding it. He brushed the object with his sleeve, shining it up so they could see it clearly. They could see something written on one of the rings.
"Tempus… fugid?" Fred said, questioningly, as he tried to make out the rest of the inscription.
"Oi, I know what that says," George exclaimed punching Fred in the shoulder almost outraged he hadn't see it himself. "I solemnly swear…"
"Wait, George, NO!"
"…that I am up to no good" George finished before he could help himself.
A feeling akin to apparition overtook the twins, and their world started to spin at first slowly, and then faster and faster until both of them felt like they'd lose their lunch.
When everything finally stopped moving, Fred and George looked around examining their environment. It was the exact same. Nothing had changed. They looked at one another with similar expressions of relief that nothing truly horrendous had happened.
Fred smacked George upside the head.
"OW! What the bloody hell was that for!?"
"Who doesn't know that reading inscriptions on mysterious bloody objects out loud is a completely foul, loathsome idea? YOU, George. You don't, you git."
"C'mon, we've been saying those words with great success for so long, I didn't even think twice!"
"Well that's plenty clear…"
"Leave off Fred, no harm done" George said easily. It was then that the boys heard conversation coming from the pathway they knew went back to the whomping willow. They both froze, unclear what they should do. George grabbed Fred's arm and motioned for him to stay completely still, adopting a casual stance and a devil may care attitude that came naturally to them both. When the trap door opened, and in walked three wizards talking animatedly about the latest quidditch match between Slytherin and Gryffindor, Fred and George started to relax. That is, until they got their first real look at the boy who led their way into the room. Black messy hair. Glasses. Same lanky frame, completely different eyes.
"Bloody hell," Fred breathed, as he caught a look at a younger James, follow by Remus and Sirius.
The three new arrivals froze when they heard Fred speak. The group stared at one another briefly, completely shocked at finding each other, until they all came to their senses at once, drawing wands and shouting. Fred and George knew exactly where they were, if not exactly when, so they drew their wands simply in self defense; it really did look like their beloved mentors were going to hex them into oblivion.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," George said loudly, hoping to reach them through the din of noise. "Lads, let's all just take a breath. If you make me hex my mentors, I'll never forgive you." That stopped Sirius who looked at them curiously, confused at being called anyone's mentor.
"Mentor?" Lupin inquired, eyebrows knitted together, sensing something strange was afoot. "I have no bloody clue who you are lad, so how can I be your mentor?"
"Because of this," Fred said, tossing what he knew now to be some sort of combination between a time turner and a portkey. James jumped and caught it easily mid air, bringing it down so the rest of the boys could look at it.
"Guess we know where Harry gets it," George said, tossing Fred a grin.
"Who's Harry?" James asked, eyeing them curiously.
"One thing at a time Prongs," Fred cautioned. All of the marauders froze, staring at the twins incredulously.
"What did you just call him?" Lupin asked, raising his wand again. Fred and George looked at each other, communicating silently, and decided to go for it.
"I called him Prongs, Moony," Fred admitted, nodding to Remus.
"Easy there Padfoot," George said, noticing that Sirius had made a move to put Fred and George between him, James and Remus.
"How do you know those names?" Sirius growled, clearly feeling threatened.
"Because of this," said Fred pulling out their beloved Marauders Map saying "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," and they watched the ink run across the page forming the myriad of rooms in the castle, and watching the dots pace back and forth.
James stared at the map, completely slack jawed, until he managed to pull a considerably less weathered version of the exact same map from the back pocket of his trousers.
"Sit down, and explain yourselves. Now." Remus demanded, gesturing at the over turned box and using his wand to conjure a matching one.
"Come on now Remus, surely your considerable skills could have produced something a bit more plushy? Perhaps an armchair, or an ottoman?" Fred quipped, nervous at trying to explain this situation completely.
"I reserve those kinds of creature comforts, for my friends," he retorted, conjuring a plush sofa for himself, James and Sirius.
"Creature comforts," Fred snorted, touching his nose. "I see what you did there," joined George, chuckling to himself.
"Alright, let's see if we can sort this all out, shall we? Do you mind if I take the lead Forge? I mean, this is completely your fault, so I feel like I have the right…"
"Absolutely Gred, though if I'm being entirely historically accurate, you were the one that found the blasted thing in the first place, so you share at least a modicum of the responsibility for our current situation."
"Point taken."
"What the hell kind of names are Gred and Forge?" Sirius demanded, feeling like he was being put on. Fred and George did nothing to dispel this feeling when they practically fell off their perches, laughing hysterically. "I don't see what's funny, and I asked you a question!" Sirius yelled.
"Right, right, our apologies," Fred said, bowing his head in apology. "Let us properly introduce ourselves. My name is Fred Weasley, and I was born April 1st 1978."
"My name is George Weasley, and I'm Fred's better looking twin, so I was also born on April 1st, 1978."
You could have heard a doxy's breath in the silence that filled the room.
"Merlin's beard," Lupin breathed, taking in the flaming red hair, the freckled faces and tall lanky frames. "You wouldn't by chance belong to… Arthur Weasley, do you?"
"Yup!" the twins chorused proudly, "That's our dad!"
"Blimey," James murmured, while Sirius let loose a more impressive stream of foul language.
"Nice one," beamed Fred, "Inspired!" George exclaimed wishing he had a pen so he could take notes. Though I don't suppose I'll be forgetting this particular experience any time soon, he thought to himself.
Once the marauders got their legs back under them, so to speak, they began asking the twins as many questions as they could about who they were in the future, how they came to possess the map, and what pranks they'd pulled with it. Fred and George had briefly had a chat among themselves, and vowed not to speak to them of anything regarding the war that was ongoing in their time– they didn't know what affects this little jaunt in time might have on their futures, and they didn't want to ruin anything. And so, the twins went on and extolled all of their previous pranks, concluding with their ultimate prank that they'd been planning for weeks and hadn't actually exacted yet, but if it came off like they thought it would… Epic.
"And then, a whole collection of fireworks is going to take the shape of a dragon and chase the stupid bint right out of our school…" Fred finished, to thunderous applause.
"Sweet Merlin," James exclaimed, slapping his knee. "You're saying you got your ideas from us?" he asked, clearly pleased with the idea.
"Oh, so many of our ideas were inspired by your genius." George assured him, patting him on the back. "You three are legends in our time, if only among members of the Order…"
Too late, George realized what he'd said and he looked at Fred in horror.
"You know about the order?" Remus asked quietly, wheels turning in his head. "But, if you're from 1978…"
"We don't finish it then," James stated, shocked to his core. Some part of him truly had believed they'd finish Voldemort and win the war.
"We shouldn't say any more," Fred rushed, before they could ask anymore questions. "We don't know what effect, if anything, us telling you even that could have on our future. Please don't ask us any questions, we really shouldn't answer."
"Of course not," Remus assured them, glaring at Sirius who looked like he'd been about to do exactly that.
All of the sudden, James leapt out of the couch with a cry, pulling the metal object with the gold and silver rings out of his pocket where he'd put it for safe keeping. He started tossing it from hand to hand, and yelled out "It's hot!", before tossing it to Lupin like a magical game of hot potato.
Remus tossed it to Sirius who immediately threw it at the twins. George's hand reached out and grabbed it, almost of its own accord. When he caught it, he didn't find it hot at all, but it started to glow, brighter and brighter.
Before anything could happen, George shouted "Don't trust Pettigrew!" and then their world started to turn, slowly at first, until they were stuck in a whirlwind with their breath being squeezed from their lungs.
This time, George woke in his bed. He looked over to Fred's bed, only to find that it wasn't there. Where's Fred's bed? He thought to himself, starting to panic.
It was only then that George remembered. Fred was dead. It had all been a dream. His breath left him in a sob, which he struggled to stifle with his hands. He reached behind him, grabbed his pillow and screamed full bore, releasing all of his grief over losing his twin. When the door opened, he struggled to wipe his face and hide his tears, turning his back on whoever had come into the room.
"Oi, Forge, why'd you take a nap in Percy's room?"
George froze, too overcome with hope to turn around lest this all be a cruel, cruel joke. "What's going on Georgie? C'mon, talk to me mate…" Fred said, walking into the room, sitting next to his twin and slinging his arm around his shoulder.
The second Fred made contact with George he turned and gave his brother the biggest, rib cracking hug he'd ever given him.
Startled, Fred squeezed back, willing to sacrifice a few ribs if it meant consoling his best friend from what had to have been one hell of a nightmare.
"What the hell is going on George? Geroff mate, you're doing me in," he said finally, trying to release George's death grip.
"You're… you're alive. You're not dead," George stammered, unable to believe it still.
"I do believe you are correct, sir. By virtue of the fact that I am alive, I am not dead." Fred replied, tossing a perplexed grin at his brother.
"Fred… What day is it? What year?"
"Georgie, it's our birthday! April 1st 1999 you git, we're finally twenty-one. We can drink in America you know. I hear there's a wizarding school over there on the island of Alcatraz, the Wizarding Academy of Magic? I think they could do with some Wizarding Wheezes products don't you? That's why we're headed to San Francisco tomorrow with Harry and his parents."
"Harry's… what?" George said, completely aghast.
"Harry's parents, you know, the people who spawned him? Did the mattress mambo and popped out a squealing, pooping mess?"
"Harry's parents are dead Fred…" George insisted, trying to figure out what the hell had happened.
Fred stared at his twin, frowning seriously saying "George mate, come off it, that's not even funny considering everything they've been through…"
"Everything they've been through? Fred, listen to me!" George shouted, shaking Fred by his shoulders to stop him from interrupting. "I've done something terrible, and I need you to help me fix it. I changed the past and now I'm in a different future, and I don't know how the bloody hell it all happened!" he urged, trying to get him to understand.
Fred stopped trying to interrupt and really looked at his brother. He knew that expression, and he wasn't having a laugh.
"Tell me exactly what happened Georgie," he whispered, afraid to ask.
"Remember that time we went to the shrieking shack to plan the final details of the assault on Umbridge?"
"Umbridge? Who's that? He sounds dreadful."
"FRED! Do you, or do you not remember going to the shrieking shack with me and stumbling across a small metal object with silver and gold rings around it?"
"Yeah, of course I do, like I would forget that," Fred said, irritated.
"Do you remember what I said as we left? 'Don't trust Pettigrew'?"
"Yeah, come to think of it, over the years I've always though that was a bit barmy, but I figured your brains were a bit addled with having spent time with your favorite pranksters.."
"No, Fred! My brains are not addled, I changed the bloody future with that one phrase you stupid GIT!" George said, losing his patience and incredibly scared about what else he'd changed. "In my time line Peter Pettigrew became secret keeper for the Potters and betrayed them to Voldemort. He killed them Fred! Harry, their son, he survived a killing curse aimed at him from Voldemort, and became The Boy Who Lived. In my time line, Voldemort is still alive and he's coming for us all!" he finished frantically.
Fred sat there, gobsmacked. "George mate, let me tell you what happened," he said calmly.
"Sirius never trusted Peter Pettigrew, and he remained secret keeper for the Potters. Voldemort never found them Fred, he was caught and killed in a duel between him and James. James became The Chosen One, and is a highly decorated war hero. Harry and Ron became friends on the train to Hogwarts, and that's how we became friends with their family," he finished, patting George on the back.
George sat there, shoulders shaking as silent tears fell down his face. "They're all alive then? James? Lily? Sirius and Lupin? What about Dumbledore?" he asked, all of this questions rapid fire.
"Tonks and Remus, are they married? Does the name Teddy mean anything to you? What about Snape, is he a good guy, or a bad guy?"
"George. GEORGE!" Fred yelled, clapping his hand over George's mouth to prevent any more questions. "Come down stairs mate, it'll answer all of your questions." He grabbed his twin by the hand and led him down the stairs to be met at the bottom by the most incredibly loud chorus of "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" he'd ever heard in his life as he looked into the faces of every person he'd known and loved.
"Best. Birthday. Ever," he said, launching himself at the Marauders who were all waiting for him with open arms, and tears in their eyes.