Title: Study in Death

Notes: Thanks for the feedback on the last chapter everyone! I love each and every one of you guys, and I hope you like this chapter. Also, a quick thing, if there are any American words in this, it's because a lot of American culture has filtered into England over the years so I'm just used to them. Anyway, hope you like the chapter, don't hesitate to leave a review, or follow the story!

Ciao, Mint~


Chapter One

"For God's sake James, can't you for once in your existence show a little bit of sympathy?"

Fred had noticed very quickly that people spoke more about existence than life. It made sense to him though, they were all dead, not alive. They merely existed. It was a horrifying feeling that Fred had to try and push away and not muse upon.

Currently, James was being yelled at by a fiery red-headed woman, who kept hitting him in the shoulder as screamed at him. Her arms were crossed, and for a moment she reminded Fred of his younger sister Ginny.

The others in the room were acting as if what was happening was simply an everyday occurrence. As the two argued, it seemed very likely that this was the answer.

The inside of Dumbledore's – well, the principal's – office had changed an awful lot since Fred had last been there. Instead of being an office, it had been successfully converted into a lounge area, where people were talking and pacing to and fro.

"Of course I do Lils! But what exactly do you say that's sympathetic when telling someone they're dead?!" James argued back, "what do you expect me to say? Sorry you're dead but if it helps, I am to?"

Fred pinched the rims of his nose – This was all very stressful. Without George around to crack a joke, he wasn't sure he could find any light in the situation. Who would have thought that death was so… confusing?

George… Fred hoped that George wasn't around. If what he'd been told was true – that he was in the afterlife – then Fred hoped that he wouldn't see his twin for a long time.

"This is why you need some empathy! Things will be calmer that way and you don't have to leave people in shock about their death!"

The ginger winced at the word 'death'. From behind him, a blonde woman sat down beside him. She held a cup out to him.

"It's lemon tea. It'll help calm you down."

Fred took the cup from the blonde, nodding slightly as a way of saying thank you. Taking a small sip out of it, he tried not to grimace. The tea was sickeningly sweet, and it seemed to burn his throat slightly.

"Ugh- I..." Fred stared at the tea in slightly disbelief. Tea couldn't possibly taste that bad – it wasn't that hard to make. The blonde woman was watching him when he looked back up at her, and he smiled weakly, "tastes… good."

The blonde laughed gently, looking down at the cup. She smiled slightly. "I'm sorry, I forgot to say, it'll take a while for things to taste the same as they used to."

It was odd, thinking that tastes were different than what he'd always known. Then his expression changed to one of slight horror.

"Does that mean that all tea will taste strange?"

Another laugh. Fred felt a bit more comfortable knowing that there were still a lot of people who were happy despite being stuck in the afterlife.

"No." The woman said, kindly. "Not necessarily, just a bit stronger than it normally is. Maybe I shouldn't have put any sugars in?"

Fred smiled, before introducing himself, like he'd been taught to by his mother. It was strange not to hear George introducing himself straight afterwards. The woman smiled slightly, although now she seemed slightly sad.

"I'm Dorcas Meadows."

Fred went to say something else when a loud banging noise and a yell sounded from outside the room. The red headed woman that James had been arguing with – the Weasley twin had recognised her as Harry's mother, Lily – turned upon hearing the sound.

James turned as well, though he looked mostly like he was going to laugh. "Oh god, he hasn't gone and fallen victim to those traps again did he?" he said. Running a hand through his hair, James paced over to the entrance.

Fred went to follow after him, mostly out of curiosity, but Dorcas put a hand on his shoulder, shaking his head. "I don't think that you want to see that… the traps out there… They tend to be a bit… bloody…"

Fred settled back down on his seat, taking another sip of his tea. He grimaced this time.

While James had gone to check on whoever had been… fallen victim to traps, Lily had decided to focus on Fred and sat down opposite him. He noticed that she wasn't wearing shoes. Slightly confused, he passed it off as a quirk.

"How are you holding up?" Lily said, smiling reassuringly at him. Fred hoped that he looked okay, because other than the slight shocked and an overwhelming feeling of confusion, he felt fine.

He nodded, as if confirming his own thoughts, before realising that Lily wasn't reading his mind. "Uh, I'm fine. Really," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "A bit shocked, but otherwise, pretty good."

Lily sighed. However, she let the subject go, with a quick reassurance that the Weasley twin could talk to her if he needed to. 'It's the least I can do. We're all a family here, in our own way.' She added, before standing up and leaving Fred to his own devices.

The ginger hadn't noticed Dorcas leave, but he imagined that it was because of the victim outside that she had left. Or maybe she'd gone to stand guard, like James had been when they'd first met.

Fred continued to sip on the tea every few minutes – it had been enchanted to stay warm – as he watched everyone around him. It was strange to see people that he had once seen in photographs with the description 'rest in peace' under their name.

"I still can't believe that you fell for it again!"

Fred turned to look back at the entrance, waiting for James to come back in the room. He did. The raven haired man walked through the doors, looking backwards as he wiped his glasses on his shirt.

"You can't really blame me prongs…" a familiar voice responded. Fred's eyes widened – it couldn't be. "Those traps are bloody hard to get past."

The Weasley twin waited in suspense waiting to see the face to the voice. Then, soon, a shaggy haired man walked into the room. He'd looked younger than the last time Fred had seen him, less haunted. But Fred recognised him anyway.

Sirius Black wasn't someone you could easily forget.

The last time Fred had seen the man he'd been miserable. The animagus had always seemed keen to talk with the twins whenever they were talking about their joke shop though and the ginger had always appreciated Sirius' enthusiasm.

"Yeah," James agreed, walking up a few steps. "I have to admit, it takes a while until you know exactly where they are."

Sirius opened his mouth to respond, but then closed it. Having focused on James when he'd been speaking, he hadn't noticed Sirius staring at him. Turning back to Sirius however, he was greeted with a horrified expression.

"F-f-Fred?" Sirius spluttered, rushing up to him with a slightly broken expression. Fred hadn't even turned twenty one yet, and it obviously hurt him to know that he'd never see that day.

"Hey Sirius," Fred said, trying to shrug of his presence in the afterlife. "What kind of traps caught you off guard?"

To be continued…