"Not another," moaned James, running a hand through his hair, making him, Fred thought, look more like his son than ever.
"Another what?" Fred asked, looking around at the saddened, although curious faces. He didn't understand why a sunrise was such a big deal, aside, maybe, from the fact that it came so soon after the one Fred had seen when he arrived.
James headed back towards the front door.
"Someone else is here to join us," he said hurriedly, before swinging the door open and jogging outside, as he probably had when he had spotted Fred.
He freckled man turned to the others, who peered out the window to see if they could catch a glimpse of the new arrival. He joined them, only to be stunned. He hadn't been so overwhelmed at the idea of the second sunrise at first, but seeing it for himself made him the slightest bit uneasy.
"What's happening?" he asked, craning his neck to see better, as though the sky were performing some sort of optical allusion.
Lily turned to him slightly, but keeping her eyes on the grounds. "Whenever there's a new addition, the sunrise starts again. It symbolizes the start of their new life."
Fred snorted. "Silly me, and here I was thinking symbolism didn't matter after you died."
Before anyone could even laugh, the front door was opened with a bang and a woman with the brightest of pink hair ran into the room and threw herself into Remus' arms.
The brown-haired man had no words. His eyes wide with both surprise and, though he probably didn't think it as obvious as it was, terror.
"D-Dora?" he sputtered, refusing to allow his arms to wrap themselves tightly around his wife, as though feeling her, touching her, would make her real.
The watery eyes and teary face of the young woman were immediately noticeable and she shook her head wildly as though trying to wake herself from a dream.
"Remus!" she wailed, clinging to his every limb, holding him so tight it looked at though the man might break right in two.
Fred averted his eyes from the weeping woman, with a hint of shame. He felt as though he were intruding upon something private that he need not see or even listen to. Her cries and sobs for her husband were hysterical and Fred clenched his eyes shut, as though trying to force every thought and sound out of his mind. He had never seen Tonks, or any person for that matter, in so much pain before in his life. It scared him.
He was jarred from his futile attempts when finally, Remus spoke again.
"I'm here, darling," he whispered. It was barely audible, but enough to shake Fred's eyes open.
"Love, my love," Remus hushed, and finally he wrapped his arms around his wife. He held her close to him, pressing her head to his chest and burying his face into her hair. Fred thought maybe it was to hide the tears that, not a moment afterwards, travelled the length of her hair and fell onto her shoulders.
Fred watched on, and could feel their pain, palpable in the air. The cries of Dora hadn't simmered down, and she cried just as hard as Remus held her. Fred winced as she began screaming for her infant son, and even more so when he saw Remus' shoulder begin to slowly shake.
The brown haired man smoothed her hair, fingers tangling ever so slightly, and hushed her, though his voice was hoarser than usual.
Fred felt a hand on his back and, without turning to see who it was, felt it steer him back to the sitting room he had first seen when he arrived.
Sitting in one of the comfortable-looking armchairs, Fred did not feel comfortable in the least. He looked up as he saw the person who had guided him sit on the sofa that was positioned diagonally from his chair.
"I think we ought to let James and Lily talk to them," Sirius said quietly. "They know this loss better than you or I."
For a moment, Fred felt outraged, and it was such a strong, though inner, feeling that it brought him to his feet. But the look on Sirius' face said it all. It was a different kind of loss. One that he couldn't comprehend. And with a sudden, sinking feeling in his gut, he realized.
It was a type of loss he would never comprehend.
Falling back into his seat, Fred closed his eyes and rubbed his temples as they pounded, echoing against his skull.
So much had happened so fast, it was too much for his to take all at once. Without warning, he vomited on the carpet. He groaned, feeling both shameful and overwhelmed with sudden fatigue.
His eyes fluttered open just long enough to watch the dispelled contents of his stomach slowly disappear, as though someone were magicking it away, but no one was. It was the last thing he saw before his eyes shut once more and he fell into a slumber.
"He'll be awake any minute now," whispered Sirius' voice as Fred drifted into consciousness once more. "Can we please send for him, James?"
"I think it's a worthy idea," James' voice replied, moments later. "You think it'll make him feel more at home?"
Fred didn't hear Sirius say anything but he assumed the man nodded because James said "It's settled then." and the sound of footsteps, slowly getting harder to hear, travelled from the room.
Finally, the freckled man opened his eyes. He wasn't in the sitting room anymore. Instead he was in a large bedroom, tucked into a large and generously sized bed. It was plain, but in an elegant sort of fashion. The walls were eggshell white, with simple, light green bordering encompassing the very top edge. Across the room stood a large armoire, appearing to be made of deeply red mahogany.
"I thought you'd be up soon," Sirius said lightly.
Almost forgetting that he wasn't alone, Fred jumped just a little. Sirius stood, leaning on a wooden chair, seemingly made from the same wood as the dresser.
Fred gave the older man a light smile, expecting it to hurt his head to move his face anymore. However, he was wrong, and noticed that he felt a great deal better than he had before falling asleep. He smiled a little wider.
"Feeling better, then?" Sirius asked, returning Fred's gesture.
"Much," Fred replied, with a small sigh of relief as he propped himself up against his multiple pillows.
Sirius chuckled lightly. "We thought so. Fainting spells are common when you're new. It's just your body adjusting to this Place."
Fred nodded. "Place..." he smiled, furrowing his brow slightly. "This 'Place' is gonna take some getting used to, huh?"
The man let out his barking laugh and sighed contentedly. "Just like anything else, Fred." He paused, his eyes staring out at no point in particular. "But this is a magical place," he said slowly. "It's full of beautiful things, and not all of them are a burden. You're going to enjoy it here, I'm sure of it."
Smile growing, Fred peered up at the out-of-focus man that stood before him.
"I feel the same way."
"Sirius, oh," said Lily's voice, and the red haired woman had appeared in the open doorway of the bedroom, shaking both men from their moment. "Fred, how're you feeling, better I expect?" she asked maternally, coming into the room to feel the man in question's forehead.
Fred smiled at the warm touch of her skin. "Loads better, thanks."
Lily smiled warmly at him before turning to Sirius. "James has just sent for him, he said he'll be here tomorrow, when he's done visiting his grandfather."
"Great, great," Sirius said, eyes darting for just a moment towards Fred.
Furrowing his brow, Fred looked at both of them questioningly.
"Who's coming?" he asked.
Sirius and Lily exchanged a look, then a small smile.
"Just someone," Lily said slyly.
"Not a big deal, really," Sirius added, grinning mischievously.
Although it was painfully obvious that they were hiding something, Fred didn't ask any further questions. He could wait, after all, what else did he have to do?
