Disclaimer: I don't own any HP characters or places.

A/N: I got an idea for this from seriouslykelsey, one of my reviewers for "Regrets of a Prankster". Yes, it is a sequel to that same story. Hope you enjoy!

Fred picked himself up from the ground and looked around at his surroundings. He couldn't see anything. At least, nothing of interest. There was only a grayish-white mist, as far as the eye could see. Nothing else. No one else.

That caught his attention. Where were all the people? Last he remembered, he had been inside the Hogwarts castle. There had been a battle and there had been lots of people. Where were they now? Where was he now? It most certainly wasn't Hogwarts. What about George? He couldn't recall a time when his twin hadn't been right next to him.

"George!" he called out. Nobody answered. There was only silence. Or… not quite silence. There was a slight whispering far off in the distance. Maybe it was George and everybody else.

He started walking towards the whispers…

The mist swirled around him like a blanket, revealing nothing, if there was anything to revealed at all. It got no denser, nor did it disperse. It was just there.

After what seemed like a long while later, Fred stopped. Nothing had changed. It was as if his surroundings had been moving with him. He was still surrounded by the mist. The whisperings hadn't gotten any louder. They were still unrecognizable as words. It started to annoy Fred. What were they saying?

"Ron?" he called out. "Is that you? It's not funny!" There was no answer.

"Percy! Stop playing around!" The silence was almost deafening.

"Ginny! I'll teach you to prank if you'd like! Stop trying to annoy me!" The whispering continued at the same agonizing level, so close to being understandable that if this place was anything like the real world the listener would only have to take another step to hear words instead of sounds.

"Bill? Charlie? Mum! Dad!" Still no one replied. Fred's words echoed around him as he reviewed last memories he had before being here. Wherever "here" was.

The last thing he remembered was laughing and a green flash. After that, all he remembered was this seemingly never-ending, misty place. Maybe the green flash was the cause of all this.

Suddenly, he remembered back to his sixth year at Hogwarts, when he had been taught Defense Against the Dark Arts by a Death Eater. Of course, he hadn't known at the time, but still… He had showed them the Unforgivable Curses, one of them being the Killing Curse. It had been green.

Fred inhaled sharply. He was dead. That bloody Death Eater had killed him! That must be why nobody was here. Why he was alone. He wiped bitterly at his eyes. He was not going to cry. Even if the thought of being alone was entirely new to him. He had never been alone before. People had always surrounded him wherever he went. He felt very exposed now that he was on his own. It wasn't a good feeling.

Something tugged at the back of his mind. Fred looked around. The mist was thinning. He thought he could see little bits of green on the ground and maybe some blue when he looked up. The whispers were gone. He strained to hear them. Nothing. He reached into his pocket to take out an Extendable Ear, but there were none. His pockets were empty. Things were getting weirder and weirder in… what would you call this place? The Land of the Dead? Sounded like a Muggle horror movie. Heaven…or the other option?

Footsteps came from behind him. Fred whirled around, reaching for his wand, but found it missing. Of course. How was he supposed to defend himself? The rational part of his mind reminded him that he was dead, making defense less than important… But he still longed for the reassuring weight of his wand in his hand.

"Who are you?" he called out to the footsteps. Why was he scared? If he was as dead as he was starting to believe he was, surely nothing could be done to him. Right?

A laugh came from the direction of the footsteps. He didn't immediately recognize that laugh, but it did ring a bell.

"Take it easy, Fred. I'm won't harm you," a voice called back to him. It sure was nice to have someone answer him. "As for who I am, my name is Sirius Black. Surely you remember me?"

Fred's jaw dropped in surprise. Sirius Black? Sirius was dead too, Fred realized. But in death, weren't you supposed to see the people that changed your life, or dead grandparents or something? Fred hardly knew Sirius.

Fred realized that he hadn't said anything yet. He tried to say something but he couldn't make any sound come out of his mouth. Sirius appeared out of this mist. He was smiling. Finally Fred managed to get out a pathetic, "Oh."

"There's no one here that knows you besides me. Well, except Peter Pettigrew, but he didn't seem an appropriate choice. I think you've figured out what's happened to you. Otherwise you wouldn't be able to see me."

"I'm dead, aren't I?" Fred said quietly.

Sirius nodded. He had a sad look in his eyes. "Yes. You've died. I don't know how, but at the moment you're in between worlds."

"Worlds?"

"Of the living and the dead. You haven't accepted that you're dead yet."

"Yes, I have," Fred retorted.

"No, you haven't," Sirius answered. "Knowing, or at least figuring that you're dead is much different from accepting it. Don't feel rushed, of course. It takes time to come to terms with something like this."

"Wait, I don't understand." Fred said. "What's the difference? If I know I'm dead, if I realize that there simply aren't any other options, then I've accepted it. Haven't I?"

"You still think you have a chance at going back," Sirius said quietly. "You still think that you don't belong here."

"But—"

"Do you know how long it took me to accept that I was dead? I figured out, as you have, that I must be dead within minutes of awakening. But it wasn't until just a week later that I could accept my fate." Sirius gave him a small little smile. Fred guessed that it was supposed to reassure him. It didn't quite work.

Sirius took a breath and continued. "You must accept it. And you do belong here. You'll be joined by other people soon enough. There's a war going on down there. You're not going to be the only person who dies."

Fred's eyes widened. "My family?" he choked out. "Are they okay?"

Sirius shook his head. "I don't know. I'm hoping that they'll all live through this. I don't know anything about who's going to die and who's not. I'm no Seer Fred. All I can do is watch and hope. That's all any of us can do, here, and farther on. Once you've accepted that you've died that is."

Fred took a deep breath to steady himself. He was dead. He knew that. He didn't want to be dead. Who did? He had once read that suicide was not the wish to die, but rather the wish to hide. He didn't want to hide. He had died too young. What would the rest of his life have been like? What would George do now that he was alone in the world?

"There's no going back now," he said aloud. "I suppose I don't mind being dead. It will be…an adventure." He sounded less than convinced, but went on, "And I will watch my family and friends' lives unfold. We can see what is happening, can't we?"

"Yes, of course," said Sirius.

"Well, I didn't plan on dying, but there's nothing I can do about it now, I suppose." He swallowed hard. "I am dead. I am no longer part of the world of the living. I accept the fact that I have died."

Sirius nodded. He held his hand out. "Then come with me. I'll take you to where you can watch the battle."

Fred nodded. He took a deep breath and grabbed hold of the older man's hand. Sirius smiled warmly and led him away.

Fred smiled as well. This would be his new life, or… death…or… the rest of his existence as a spirit. He might as well enjoy it. And there were worse people to spend it with. Sirius was a pro prankster. They would be able to swap hundreds of stories about the pranks they had played at Hogwarts on the fellow students and teachers. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad after all.