1 April, 2005
By: LittleLauren:]
Just a little something I thought of while piecing together my revised Rose and Scorpius story. Enjoy, you Fred and George fans ;)
It was a dreary day in Diagon Ally. George was taking care of the kids while Angelina was called in to talk to their lawyer about the finances of the joke shop. They have recently been getting a lot of thefts lately, and they couldn't afford any more. George insisted on going instead, but Angelina would not have it.
"It's your birthday," she had told him, while putting on her coat. "You relax with the kids, and I'll be back before you know it."
And there he was, in the sitting room, looking over his wonderful Fred drawing a picture and his lovely Roxanne trying to mount her toy broom. He smiled at the sight of his pride and joy being so content with their lives. He then looked out the window again, looking over Diagon Ally. It was really a dreadful day. He had no energy to figure out something to make the day more exciting, even if it was his birthday.
He was turning twenty-seven, or as Percy liked to say: Almost thirty. Has it really been that long?
Glancing at the clock, he saw that it was close to three. He stretched out wide in his seat, and gave a great yawn. This action made Roxanne giggle. He smiled at this as he closed his eyes. His son nudged him, jumping him out of his nap. It felt like he was resting for two hours, but in fact it was only a few minutes. The two year old handed his father his latest drawing, pride emanating in his face.
"Well, what have we here, Freddie?" George asked, amused by his son's excitement. George scrutinized his son's work quickly while Fred explained:
"That's the shop. And that's our flat. And that's me. And that's Roxy. And that's mummy. And that's you."
"Hang on. Who's that?" George said, pointing to a figure that was next to his drawn self.
"His birthday too."
This took him by surprise. Neither he nor Angelina had ever told Fred and Roxanne about his twin and how he died. They were both way too young to understand. Maybe they had found some old photos lying around. It seemed like a practical explanation mainly because he and his wife would always catch their rambunctious toddlers exploring into many cupboards and drawers that were not meant for exploring.
Still, George couldn't help himself but ask, "How do you know?"
And without saying a word, little Fred put his hand over George's heart. George felt this overwhelming emotion of pure happiness that he could not describe, and he began to cry.
This made Fred frown and Roxanne teetered over to join her brother's confusion. "Daddy?" she said quietly.
He then scooped up his children in each arm and gave them both a huge embrace. "You two are the best birthday presents a father could ever have." And as if he was recharged by an unknown energy, George began to partake in his children's antics. It was then that he realized that his twin was with him, protecting him and his family. Because the gift that Fred gave George was the joys of living in the present.
