Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Next-Door Neighbors
By: ChoCedric
Fred and George do not understand why their mother treats them the way she does. Their whole life, their entire existence, is based on making other people laugh, but Molly can't seem to understand that. She's always telling them they need to do better, need to achieve more, need to be more serious. The more the years go by, the less the twins feel like they're part of her brood.
They don't show it, but when Molly makes the delighted comment that everyone in the family have been prefects when Ron gets his badge, Fred and George feel extremely bitter and angry. What are they, next-dor neighbors? Must they be cast away just because they have dreams in different areas? Doesn't Molly understand that with all the hard and dark times that are forthcoming, laughter is needed more than ever? When one of the twins makes the comment about them being next-door neighbors, Molly totally ignores them. She continues to go ballistic over her darling little Ronnie, making Fred and George feel more unappreciated than ever.
When they open their joke shop, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, they just don't get why Molly can't be happy for them. They're disgusted when she compares them to Percy all the time, telling them that they should take a leaf out of their older brother's book and learn to be more respectful.
"What, so you want us to abandon you and side with the bloody Ministry?" snarls Fred.
"Fat chance of that," spits George. "Why can't you accept us for who we are?"
"Don't be silly, boys," snaps Molly. "Of course I accept you. And you know what I mean about Percy, so don't get smart with me."
You may think that all the conversations Fred and George have in their room above the shop pertain to their products, but that's not true. They often share stories of how they feel ostracized by Molly, feeling as though they're not part of the family. It seems like she never has a kind word for them, only being able to give forced smiles at their pranks when the rest of the family are chortling with glee. As the war progresses, they can feel the strain emanating from Molly, but what they want to feel the most from her is acceptance, happiness for them that they're achieving their dream and creating laughter through the turmoil.
And now, George is sitting in the Great Hall at his dead twin's head, crying out peals of agony. And his mother is lying across Fred's chest, moaning, "No, no, no, no, no, Freddie, no, no, no, no, no, no! Wake up, Freddie, please! Wake up!" She's beyond hysterical, and George can't help thinking, through his anguish, that it's too little, too late. All the years of underlying insults to the twins, all the times she yelled at them, are not overshadowed by this moment of grief. George thinks that Molly may be regretting everything now, but Fred is not going to be here to hear her apologies.
And he can't stand the way Molly looks at him. Her eyes are full of pity, and George thinks viciously that she never understood him or his brother. In this moment of the whole family coming together and grieving one of their own, George truly feels like an outsider. And the only person who ever truly understood his hopes, fears, and dreams is lying dead on the ground. He turns his stricken eyes to his mother for a moment, and gives her a look of complete disgust before turning away. And he knows, that for this moment and for the rest of his life, he will truly feel like a next-door neighbor.