"Past the party, through the woods
Hear the message, misunderstood
Listen closely, the word is ours
Family secrets inside our hearts."

-Subseven

*No flashback for this chapter because it's a continuation of the last one. So this picks up where Roxy left off, but in Fred's POV. Holla!*

Fred had secretly been praying for any kind of excitement during this Christmas break. Usually around this time he'd be playing around with Dom and James, but he Dom had spent a lot of the holiday in Spain with Sol and Kenna. James "wasn't into pranking anymore" which he claimed was because they were in fourth year and should be acting more mature; Fred knew it was because he didn't have time to prank when he and Linden were always off having secret discussions. He had never hung out with Rose and Al alone, and he didn't think he wanted to anyway, simply because revising books was not at all fun to him. It always felt more like babysitting than hanging out when he was with Hugo and the gang, and he didn't think there was enough money in the world to get him alone with Molly. He wasn't interested in being made-over, taking a bunch of quizzes about boys that she would try and fix to make about girls, or hearing his horoscope that never really applied to him. He wouldn't go as far as hanging out with Molly, but at this point he'd truly even go to Shell Cottage and hang out with Teddy and Vic, who had become obsessed with baby books and research to make sure their child isn't, as Victoire put it, "a weirdo with a cone-head."

So more or less, he was out of his mind bored if he would willingly listen to Vic talk about hormones, prenatal pills, c-sections and birthing classes. He didn't even know there was a class on birthing, he thought everyone kinda just figured out what to do when they go to the hospital. Either way, that wasn't an option because they had decided to spend a week alone, sans family, in an undisclosed location. Fred wasn't sure that these weeklong hideaways were a good idea considering that was how they got pregnant in the first place. Regardless, Fred was bored, and ever since he had made some "changes" last year, being bored was not something he was used to. Ever since he started saying yes to everything, he had found himself really living life to the fullest and not being bored. He had skinny dipped in the black lake, jumped off of the astronomy tower, discovered almost every secret passageway in the castle, successfully pranked the entire Slytherin common room, and started a party in the middle of a charms lesson. That last one had earned him a detention, but it was so worth it that he didn't even care.

Along the way he had created a lot of good memories, met a lot of cool people, and most importantly, had succeeded in not being bored. So for him, these last few days of silence and lack of activity had been practically driving him crazy. He needed to have something interesting to happen soon or he might resort to spending quality time with Molly. He had even considered writing a letter to his ex-girlfriend Leah, but she wasn't even in Europe this Christmas. He'll never forget how awkward being her boyfriend had been. Leah was a cool girl- probably the closest to being as cool as his older sister- but actually being boyfriend and girlfriend had been really uncomfortable. Neither of them really wanted it that much to begin with, and that added with the fact that they were 12 had just made being in a "relationship" flat out awkward. Basically, 2 months later, they had decided being friends was better, and she'd become like his partner in crime. She came up with the best ways to keep him entertained and was always game for some fun or an adventure. Unfortunately his best option to spice up this break was his least accessible option, so he had to resort to staring at his wall, reflecting on his year.

Just as Fred was about to close his eyes, he heard a loud crash in the kitchen followed by male and female voices that sounded a lot like Roxy and Alvarez.

"Mom! Dad!" he heard Roxy yell.

"Rox, please think about this before you do something stupid."

"Did you just call me stupid?"

"No! I think that barging in your parents' house ready to accuse them without knowing the whole story could be a really bad idea!" Lex screamed. Fred was really confused now and was torn between eavesdropping and going to the kitchen to be a part of the action.

"I wouldn't have to accuse if they hadn't been lying to us all these years."

"Roxy-"

"Lex, just stop it! I can handle this."

"Are you sure?"

"This is between me and my family. Please, go. I'll write you later." She said. It sounded like her anger was dissolving into tears, and she never cried, so that fueled his decision to go down and see what could be bothering her so much.

"Roxy, sweetheart, what's wrong?" their dad asked.

"Dad, where's mom?" Roxy asked.

"She's in the shower. I almost had a conniption when you came in. Is everything ok?"

"Does everything look ok, dad? I just ruined the dinner party, I learned some disturbing news, I yelled at my boyfriend, and the ceiling is leaking! Mom!"

"The ceiling isn't leaking honey."

"Well then why the hell is my face wet?" she asked as she trailed a drop of water from her chin back up to her eye. "Am… I crying? Oh my god, I'm crying! MOM!"

"What the hell is going on?" Fred asked, when he entered the kitchen. His dad looked equally confused, but Roxy spoke up.

"That's exactly what I'd like to know Fred. Go upstairs."

"No, I want to know what's going on! Was it Alvarez? What did he do?"

"Upstairs, now!" she screamed. Roxy was very intimidating, but Fred was not scared of her-a fact that she knew very well- so whatever had upset her was obviously big for her to think he'd follow her orders.

"Roxanne, honey, calm down." Their mother soothed as she came downstairs looking extremely flustered and concerned. She had clearly jumped out of the shower and ran in concern of Roxy's cries, which is pretty much what they were all doing. She tried to hug Roxy, but she pulled away. "Roxanna, what's wrong?" At the sound of the nickname something seemed to snap inside of Roxy and she looked at their mother with disbelief, annoyance, and most surprising of all, disgust.

"Don't! Don't try to be all motherly and comforting now. You're a cheater and a slag!" Now Fred was really confused. Roxy and their mother had an irritatingly friendly relationship. They'd never yell at one another.

"Roxanne Aurora, mind your mouth."

"No daddy, I'm sorry. I can't just keep my mouth shut and hold on to secrets like you guys. I can't sit here and ignore the fact that I have an older brother like mom ignores the fact that she has another son." Now Roxy was lying too? Lex must've slipped her something while they were at dinner because this was all just unbelievable. Fred was going to go upstairs and ignore her little fit, but his parents hadn't moved or said a word and were looking guilty. This surely couldn't be true.

"Mom? She's kidding, right?" He asked, only to be greeted with silence. "Do you have another son?" Silence. "The little inflection at the end of those sentences imply that I'm asking a question, and those generally are responded with these cool things called answers."

"Roxy, who told you?"

"Who do you think? He told me! Gideon, your firstborn son told me something that should never been kept from me in the first place. Then you lied to me when I asked how you knew each other! Were you just going to keep him a secret the rest of your life? Was that your plan?" Roxy asked, "Did you think you could just dump him and use me and Fred as replacements? You're sick."

"Roxanne, enough!" their dad screamed. He grabbed onto Roxy's arm and apparated them away so fast that Fred wasn't even sure it had really happened. That just left him and his mother, standing in the aftermath of Roxy and their dad's screaming, which had left a pretty thick air of uncomfortability in the tiny kitchen. It had been pretty silent, until he heard his mom trying to keep in tears, which made him snap into action. He immediately walked toward her and pulled her into a hug. His mom was pretty tall, and at only fourteen he was almost just as tall as she. He definitely wasn't used to comforting her, but he had to admit he was the most sensitive of the Weasley guys. Funny enough, he lived in a house with two of the toughest Weasley girls, so he never really had to comfort them.

"Thank you Freddy, but I'm not going to cry."

"I know you're not." He responded, even though he continued to hug her. "It's ok if you do though, you know? I'll still think you're the toughest mom out there."

"Thanks, honey."

"You're welcome. I think maybe if you and Roxy cried more often, it might spare us these outbursts of crazy emotion." She actually laughed at that, so he let go and sat at the table, where they always sat to have the more serious discussions. "So, a brother huh?"

"Geez, we're gonna get right to it then."

"It's easier that way, right?"

"Yes it is. You promise to listen and try to understand?"

"You promise to tell the truth?"

"Of course. And before anything I want to make sure you know that your father and I love each other very much. You know that right?"

"Well, yeah. But…?"

"But, he's not the only man I've ever loved, just as I'm probably not the only girl he's ever loved."

"Ok. So I'm assuming this Gideon guy isn't dad's son?"

"No," she said slowly.

"But Roxy said he looked like me-"

"That's because Gideon is your father's nephew."

"Wait, what? His nephew? How can he be your son, my brother, and dad's nephew? That doesn't make any sense." Fred said slowly, as he tried to put the pieces together. If he looked like him, and he was dad's nephew, that meant that this Gideon character was still a Weasley. It was something about the name Gideon that was just driving him crazy, because he thought this was the key to figuring out this puzzle. He only knew of two people in the world with that name, and one, his great great uncle or something, was too old to have conceived a child with his mother. The other person he knew with that named was the man that he was named after. His Uncle Fred. "You didn't."

"Fred, you have to understand-"

"Did you cheat on dad with his brother?" he asked horrified.

"Honey, I've kept my promise. I've been completely honest with you and you promised you'd listen. So, will you please listen?"

"Fine." He said. He loved his mom more than anything, nothing could change that, but he couldn't help but look at her differently now. He'd much rather she had had a son with some random guy, not his dad's brother. That just sounded wrong on so many levels.

"When we were back in Hogwarts, I used to date your Uncle Fred. He was a huge pain in the ass, but he was fun and carefree and he brought out a side of me that was less uptight. He helped me become confident and appreciate my heritage and my skin, rather than shy away from it. I loved him so much, Freddy; I still do. Not in the way that I love your father, but I do still love him and even though I hide it well, I think about him every day." Fred's late uncle was not a subject that they brought up, ever, in this household. So for his mom to be so open about it now, it made him really want to try harder to understand where she was coming from. It made sense about her not loving only his dad all her life. Everyone doesn't just end up with their soul mates, but it was hard for him to think of her being with anyone else. Especially his uncle Fred, who he hadn't even known was friends with his mom, let alone her boyfriend.

"So did you get pregnant with Gideon before or after he died? Did he even know?"

"At first, he was the only one that knew. It took me a while to gather the courage to tell him, but by that time the war was really starting to heat up. It just...it wasn't a time when pregnancy news was exciting, considering the mess we'd be bringing a baby into. Funnily enough, Nymphadora Tonks suspected, as she was pregnant with Teddy at that time. We were all going to tell everyone our news after Fleur's wedding, but the death eater's invaded and everything just got crazy from there. Your Uncle really wanted me and the baby to stay safe, so he begged me to go back to Scotland with my parents and stay there until it was over. We had no clue it would take so long for things to actually be over. When Gideon was born, your father was still here helping with the war doing whatever he could. I would stay up all day and all night to listen to his radio broadcast just so I knew that he was ok. He visited every now and then, but it was hard with everything that was going on. Our friends were dying; Harry, Ron and Hermione were missing; we didn't even know what Ginny was going through at Hogwarts until much, much later. Things were getting chaotic and messy and I was really scared and worried for not only Fred, but the entire Wizarding World. We knew it was all going to have to end, but I don't think anyone was really prepared. I begged Fred not to go to the battle and he swore he wouldn't." Fred didn't really need her to go on; he had read the books and heard the stories and he knew how it ended. He didn't want her to keep going because it was obviously hurting her to relive those dark times. He felt horrible for lashing out at her earlier and he didn't want to hear the rest.

"It's ok mom, you don't have to-"

"I want to, ok? I want you to really understand why we did things the way we did." She said, before taking a deep breath. "The day of the battle, Gideon had been driving me insane. He wouldn't stop crying and asking for his dad and I didn't understand it. When you're in a war, you get attached to signs; all kinds of signs and omens and superstitions. I couldn't help but feel that Gideon crying out for your uncle was a sign that something was wrong. As upset as I knew it would make him, I came here to London as fast as I could. I went straight to the Burrow but it was scarily empty. Not even your grandparents were there and I couldn't help but feel like something was wrong. I searched the house for hours looking for a radio, but the station your father and uncle ran wasn't on. I freaked out, but there was nothing I could do but wait for them to get home. And when they got home-"

"I'm so sorry, mom." Fred said, his voice thick with emotion, " I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"You have nothing to be sorry about baby. Yes, I was sad; but it didn't compare in the slightest to the way your father took it. He was the only one that really understood it from my perspective and it hurt me to see him look so sad and alone and lost. I wanted to do for him what his brother did for me; comfort him, understand him, make him comfortable in his own skin and help him gain back his confidence. I just wanted to be there for him, you know? He was like a brother to me at the time and I loved him, even then. It killed me to see him in pain and I was all alone."

"What about Gideon? Where was he all this time?"

"With my parents. Even though the war was over, the time following was hard. It wasn't bright and shiny with heros being honored in parades and everything going back to normal. There were funerals; hundreds and hundreds of funerals. After they started the reconstruction of the castle there were more bodies found, more funerals, more sadness, more depression. It took a long time for people to realize the danger was gone and it took a lot of time for Voldemort's follower's to realize they had no fight. They had been manipulated and dictated by a half-blood with a vendetta against muggle borns and they still couldn't see their mistakes. There were trials, hearings, statements to be made. It weighed down on everyone, and I didn't think Gideon should have been raised with your father and I considering the state we were in. I couldn't let him grow up here."

"But you and him are close?"

"We were able to stay in touch when he was younger through my parents, but it was hard on both of us. I knew he was beginning to tell that his father wasn't coming back and he reminds me so much of your Uncle Fred that it was hard to even look at him sometimes. I was really young and I felt like a terrible mother and a failure to both Gideon and Fred Sr.; I thought it would be better to just let him live there and have no contact, but your father really wanted him to have a proper mother because he knew that was what Fred would have wanted. I visited him often for a while, but then I just couldn't take it anymore and the visits became farther apart and fewer." She said as tears began to form in her eyes. Fred could tell that she was really sad about choosing to leave him, but he was a little offended that she thought she was a bad mother. She was a great mother.

"I still got frequent updates from my mother, though she was not happy with my decision. It's part of the reason we aren't very close with that side of the family. Over time I was able to come to terms with my decision and it allowed me to let myself heal from everything that had happened. Soon after that things started falling into place; your father and I married, we had established careers doing what we loved, and we were mature enough to have children. When I got pregnant with your sister I was over joyed, but it brought back up those memories of Gideon. I tried reaching out to him but my mother told me that he wasn't interested in having any form of contact with me. By this point we had been sending him cards and things for holidays so he knew of me."

"Knew of you? Did he know about Rox and me?"

"He knew he had a brother and a sister, but I specifically requested that my mother not let him get wrapped up in the Weasley fame and craziness. I was asking a lot of her when I asked her to take him in, but she agreed as long as I agreed to some terms. We were allowed to communicate, but I was not to use any names or give any information that could be used to find me. All letters were signed 'Love, your mother' or 'From mom.' I did slip up once and sign my name, but I didn't think it was a big deal considering there might be 1,000,000 Angelina's all over the world. The last term was that I was to legally give my mom custody and change his last name to Johnson instead of Weasley. It was heart-breaking, but I figured it was best. It had clearly worked, because when I saw him at a Quidditch camp about ten years later he acted as if he'd never met me before in his life. I thought I could keep working there since he didn't know I was his mom, but it was weird. He would just sit and stare at me all day, whenever he could, like he was reading my mind or something. Towards the middle of the camp they always have a pro-Quidditch expo where you watch all the coaches play and can get autographs later. Of course he was first in line to get my signature and he had this knowing look in his eyes. I hadn't even finished writing my name before he was snatching the picture away and walking back to his bunk."

"So he knew who you were? He probably had that card you sent where you signed your name!"

"I think that when I signed my name on that letter I was subconsciously hoping that something like that would happen some day. It was a stupid thing for me to have done, to give him hope like that. I was young and stupid."

"But it worked! Why didn't he try to find out more about you and come live with us?"

"I don't know, and I wonder those same things. He's a grown man Fred; a few months older than Teddy actually. He's been old enough to decide whether or not he wants to contact me for a while now and so far he hasn't. It's his decision and he's not ready; I don't know if the world is ready either. He may never live with us or forgive me, but believe me when I say that I want nothing more than for you to meet him and for him to be a part of this family someday."

"And when will that day be?"

"Someday. Maybe sooner than I have previously imagined, but that day will come."

"Can I ask a question?"

"Ask me anything."

"Are you ok?" she broke out into a wide smile and hugged him tightly.

"Yes, I'm ok. Anything else?"

"No. I just need to think all of this over. It's kind of a lot."

"I know," she said, squeezing him tightly before releasing him from their hug, "I love you Freddy; so much that I can't even explain it. You are my world and I have so much love and respect for you; don't you ever forget that."

"I won't. I love you too mom."

He followed his mum upstairs and watched cautiously as she closed the door. She had really opened up to him and he hoped they hadn't re-opened any old wounds. It wasn't until he was in his room and shut the door that he let go of the breath he'd been holding. He had never imagined, in his wildest dreams, that he had an older brother. Admittedly he had always wanted one. Teddy had always been like a brother to him but he wasn't actually his brother. He'd wanted someone to look up to that could understand him and give him advice about clothes and girls and stuff. He wanted to know his brother and he wanted the world to know him too, but his mom was right; he didn't think the world was ready for this.

Fred had always been happy that there wasn't much focus on him and his sister when it came to the Weasley fame. Unless it was the memorial service for the battle and they were honoring his Uncle Fred, Rose, Hugo and the Potters got the large brunt of the paparazzi and all that stuff. If this ever came out people would automatically point the finger at his mother. They would probably assume she had cheated on his dad, just like he had, and he didn't want to think of the grief that it would cause his family.

"Fred?" Roxy called as she walked into his room quietly.

"Ever heard of knocking?" he asked.

"Nope, why don't you tell me more about it someday?" she joked. She wasn't screaming or puffy eyed so he assumed her talk with their dad had gone well.

"Did you talk to mum?"

"Yeah. Are you going to apologize to her for being an asshole?"

"I wouldn't use the word asshole but yes, I'm going to apologize." Fred was glad that she was going to apologize. The only person he hated seeing upset more than Roxy was his mum, even though she was tough as nails and rarely showed when things were bothering her. "Are you ok with everything?"

"Yeah, I guess. You?"

"Shocked, but I'm alright."

"Good." Talking with Roxy had never been this awkward before. There was an uncomfortable feeling in the air and it was like they had been given a shiny new toy but neither of them wanted to play with it first. Fred decided to say the obvious. "So I assume we're keeping this between the four of us? Well I guess five now."

"Definitely," she answered, "It's really up to mom, dad, and Gideon to tell anyone anything, right?"

"Probably. But, there's no way the aunts and uncles don't know about him. Mom told me he was at The Burrow with her waiting for everyone to come back from the battle. They had to have seen him and I'm sure it raised questions."

"Well if not, Grandma and Grandpa have to know; dad couldn't keep that from them."

"True."

"So anyone that knows now will just have to know, but anyone else will just have to wait. That means you have to keep it from James and Dominique." Fred couldn't help but snort at that statement.

"Right, because I'm dying to tell Captain Insensitive and the Heartless Wonder about my family drama. You can't tell Lex or Molly."

"You've lost it if you think I'd tell Molly, and Lex already knows because he was there."

"If he knows, Leah should be able to know."

"Leah? But you don't feel about her the way I feel about Lex-"

"Do you care about him?"

"Yes."

"Would you trust him with your life?"

"Yes."

"Then we feel the same way." She looked at him skeptically for a while but finally rolled her eyes and caved.

"Fine, tell Leah. But that's it."

" Fine." He agreed. It wasn't like Leah was going to tell anyone. "So, I guess we have a brother."

"I know!" she screamed, finally sounding like her usual self, "It's freaking weird right?"

"It's really, really, really weird."

"You'll feel even weirder if, no, when you see him. It's creepy."

"What's he like then?"

"Well, first of all he goes by G. Personally, I think that's a bit thuggish but it's probably too early to start criticizing his choice in nicknames. Other than that, I don't really know what's he's like at all. He reminded me of you a little bit, which is crazy."

"How?"

"He was just really nice and very overprotective of people he's close to. He's a lot different than you though too. You're more daring and outspoken whereas he's cautious and sits back to takes things in. I swear we were staring at each other and having a full conversation without even talking. It was strange."

"I want to meet him."

"You should. Do you think mom will forgive me for yelling at her earlier? I can't believe I called her a slag, she probably hates me."

"She doesn't hate you. But she did say in our talk that she loved me more than you, but that's to be expected." He joked.

"You're such a liar. But I should tell you that when I had my talk, dad finally admitted to me being funnier than you."

"Now that's a lie." He said, making both of them laugh.

"Fine, don't believe me. Look Fred, as cliché as it sounds, we're in this thing together. It's always been you and me right?"

"Frick and frack." he said, using the names their parents used to call them when they were both up to no good.

"Exactly. Nothing's going to change that; no boyfriends or girlfriends or crazy family secrets. We've never kept anything from each other before now and I don't want us to start. Ok?"

"Come on, that's never going to happen. You're my favorite sister, and the only one I have as far as I know." Roxy gasped loudly and hit him on the head. "What? Too soon?"

"Yeah, just a bit."

"Sorry."

"No you're not." She said as she kissed his cheek and walked towards the door.

"Hey Roxy?"

"What?"

"I love you."

"Love you too, Freddy."

A/N: I liked it! Did you like it? Let me know! Also, starting yesterday I will be updating EVERY DAY! This will continue indefinitely so check daily for updates!

-Jazz