"Ohana means family. Family means no one gets left behind. Or forgotten."

-Lilo (Lilo and Stitch)


Fred didn't know how he was making it through every day that Scarlett continued to be held captive by Umbridge. It was almost Christmas and Scarlett still wasn't home. Normally, Fred would have looked forward to bringing Scarlett to the Burrow like he had done the year before. He would have looked forward to sitting in front of the fire as Scarlett leaned against his side. He would have played with her hair and they would have talked about anything and everything. Or even if they didn't, it still would have been comfortable.

Instead, he had to remind himself that none of that would happen this year and it made him feel sick. Then again, he always felt sick these days. He felt like he couldn't do anything without being reminded of Scarlett. His Peter Pan book reminded him of her, the roof and looking at the stars reminded him of her, Every Flavor Beans reminded him of her, and even Binky reminded him of her. The pygmy puff had noticed not only Scarlett's absence, but Fred's sadness as well, and in turn, he had become sad as well. He tried to make Fred feel better by constantly attempting to play with him and by snuggling up to him at night, but it was actually making Fred feel worse. Scarlett had loved Binky and Binky had loved Scarlett. He didn't want to show his real feelings, though, so in the end, he always let Binky hang around as he tried not to think about how upset he was.

He, George and Lee had also started Potterwatch, a radio station they had created to report news about not only Harry, but about everyone and everything. They reported deaths and attacks of wizards, witches and Muggles, and they offered any information they heard about You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters. They reported from a new secluded location every week and had a password to make the station more secure. While it was exciting in a way, it only took Fred's mind off of things for a little while and every week he found himself wishing one of them would come across any news about Scarlett, even if it was just how she was doing. All he knew right now was that she was alive, but it wasn't enough.

As for Umbridge and her stupid requirements, Mrs. Callaway had made the wanted ads and wrote the article praising the Muggleborn Registration Commission. She had hated it, but she had done it. Erica had stayed with her the day she finished and sent everything in and the next day, Erica had reported that Mrs. Callaway had actually broken down and cried from all the stress. The one thing Mrs. Callaway couldn't bear to do, though, was pose as Scarlett and write to St. Mungo's to quit her job, and it was the one thing standing in the way of Umbridge letting Scarlett go. Or at least considering it. Fred couldn't blame Mrs. Callaway for not fulfilling this requirement. He felt just as torn as she did, and Erica and George did as well.

St. Mungo's had actually contacted Mrs. Callaway about a week and a half after Scarlett's disappearance to inquire about where Scarlett was, seeing as she hadn't shown up for work and hadn't contacted them saying she wouldn't be coming in. Mrs. Callaway simply said that Scarlett would simply be on leave for the time being. This was able to buy everyone a little more time while they continued to think of how to possibly get Scarlett back without having to ruin her career.

Mrs. Callaway had been holding up fairly well as far as Fred knew. But then again, he also knew that she wouldn't let him see her fall apart. Erica was a little more comfortable with showing how upset she was. She spent a lot of her free time with either Scarlett's mother or with Fred and George. She hated being alone at the flat she once shared with Scarlett.

As for Fred, well, he didn't think he would have even made it as far as he had if it hadn't been for George. George kept him occupied, talked things through when Fred felt like it, listened to Fred rant, even when he began to repeat himself, and made sure he ate three meals a day. If it wasn't for George, Fred would have either gone insane or starved to death by now.

The only thing George wasn't able to make Fred do was sleep. Fred had been telling his twin he was sleeping okay, but he was sure George noticed the dark circles under his eyes and just hadn't said anything. Yet.

The truth was that most nights, Fred only got three to five hours of sleep. Sometimes he even tossed and turned all night. It was a pain and Fred certainly didn't enjoy or ask for it, but he just couldn't help it. Every day he expected George to say something, but it never happened. That is, until two days before Christmas.

"I know you're not sleeping," George said as the two of them worked the registers at the shop. They usually needed two people during the holiday season as the shop was usually mobbed up until Christmas Eve. Usually, Fred enjoyed it, but not today.

"I figured you knew," Fred answered dully, handing a hassled looking witch her bag of merchandise. "What gave it away? The fact that I now yawn so much that I'm more effective at catching flies than a Venus Fly Trap? Or is it the fact that I have circles under my eyes that are so dark, it looks like Grawp punched me?"

"Neither," George said, fighting to keep a straight face. "The flat has been eerily quiet in the absence of your troll snores."

"Shut up," Fred muttered as George laughed. "I don't snore." He nudged his twin with his elbow and cracked a tiny smile of his own. He found himself rarely smiling anymore, and in the instances when he did, they were only small smiles and usually brought out by George. Fred hated the lack of smiling and laughing that was going on, but again, he couldn't help it. He was miserable and had been since Scarlett had gone missing.

"Honestly, though, Fred, it's obvious you aren't sleeping. And I didn't want to say anything, but I don't think I can ignore it anymore. Do I have to put Sleeping Charms on you now? Or give you a Sleeping Potion every night? Because I can and will do one or the other."

"No, George," Fred sighed, shaking his head and internally rolling his eyes as a witch approached the counter with a screaming toddler propped against her hip. "You've been doing enough for me as it is."

"I'm worried," George answered. He actually stopped what he was doing and looked at Fred, causing the man at his register to frown. "I'm worried about your health."

"And I'm worried about unhappy customers," Fred answered, gesturing to the frowning man.

George rolled his eyes and turned back to the customers. "Seriously, Fred, you need your sleep."

"You think I don't know that? I can't control it, though. I just can't get myself to sleep, no matter what."

"Sleeping Potion or Sleeping Charm. Take your pick," George replied, emptying a handful of Galleons into the drawer of the register.

Before Fred could answer, a familiar redhead appeared at Fred's elbow. "Ginny!" he exclaimed. Then, he saw the person standing beside her. "Hi, Neville."

Neville held up his hand in a wave, but didn't say anything. He seemed somewhat sad. It was then that Fred noticed that Ginny looked sad and upset as well. He was instantly angry. Nobody messed with his sister and her friends.

"What's up?" George asked, his face etched with concern. He paused in ringing up customers, but some rude woman shoved a pile of merchandise into his arms.

"I'm on a schedule," she snapped.

George didn't respond. Instead, he started ringing up the woman's merchandise, but with a little more force than necessary. Fred knew he was biting his tongue. It wasn't a good idea to snap at the customers.

"What's going on?" Fred asked Ginny. He could tell George was listening in as he practically threw the irritable woman's things into a bag and shoved it at her.

"We just got off the Hogwarts Express," Ginny said.

"I figured seeing as you're standing in front of me." He paused. "You do realize I was asking you why you seem so upset, don't you? I wasn't literally asking you what's going on."

"Of course I knew that," Ginny snapped. She sighed. "Sorry, it's just...Luna got taken off the train."

"What do you mean she was taken off the train?" Fred repeated, nearly dropping the money a customer had just handed him.

"She was taken off the train," Ginny repeated, slower this time. "Death Eaters stopped the train halfway through, came on and dragged her away."

"Why?" Fred asked the question anyway, despite the fact that he thought he already knew the answer.

"Her father still refuses to print the wanted ads that Scarlett's mother made," Ginny explained. It was exactly what Fred had expected her to say.

"He has guts," George said, shaking his head. "More than we had."

"Yeah, but his kid wasn't being held hostage before. Now, he might not be as brave," Fred pointed out. He looked at Ginny. "What is he going to do now that Luna's being held captive?"

Ginny shrugged. "I don't know. We haven't talked to him."

Fred glanced at Neville, who had been totally silent and was looking completely shell-shocked. "You okay?" he asked.

Ginny smirked knowingly. "He likes Luna. I'd even argue that he's in love with her."

"I am not!" Neville protested, snapping out of his trance.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Fine, Neville, whatever you say." She turned back to the twins. "Anyway, I thought you'd want to know. Mum knows already. I told her at King's Cross and then she took my trunk home and let me come here with Neville."

"How is Mum?" George asked.

"She's okay. I think the news about Luna worried her even more, but…." She trailed off and shrugged. "Any news on Scarlett?"

"None," Fred responded, shaking his head.

Ginny slowly let out a breath. "I hate this."

"Me too, trust me," Fred answered.

"Me three," added George.

"Well, if you hear anything, let me know," Ginny said.

"Yeah, same goes for you," George said. He glanced at Neville. "Are you sure he's okay?"

Fred looked up to see that Neville was nervously fidgeting around and looking as pale as ever.

"He's just panicking," Ginny said, looking at Neville over her shoulder. "It's what Neville does. Throw in the fact that he likes Luna—"

"I don't!"

"You do. Anyway, throw that in and he's a nervous, pale, clammy mess."

"Why don't you take him up to the flat and get him some water or something?" George suggested. "He's clearly not focused enough to Apparate you home and I don't want either of you getting splinched. You can both stay for dinner, too, if you want. Fred and I like having company. Especially lately."

Ginny nodded. "Okay, good idea."

Fred let out a puff of air as Ginny and Neville headed into the back room where the stairs to the flat were. "So I guess that's their thing now, huh? Kidnapping kids and bribing their parents?"

"It's completely twisted, but pretty smart in a way," George said, taking money from a customer's outstretched hand and putting it in the cash register. "They want everyone to behave without having to kill too many magical people. And Umbridge is just naturally unstable anyway."

"I wonder if they're keeping Luna with Scarlett," Fred said. "They'll have each other for company that way. And Luna would actually be pretty great to be held captive with. She'd manage to see the bright side of things."

George shrugged. "Maybe, but Umbridge and the Death Eaters are separate people. Umbridge has Scarlett to force her mother to behave, but she also just likes to pick on them because of her own sick personal reasons."

Fred sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know what to do. Part of me feels like we should meet Umbridge's last requirement because it'll get us Scarlett back alive. But then I remember doing this actually only gets us a consideration. And just imagining Scarlett's face when she finds out she no longer has a job—a job that she absolutely loves."

"I know," George whispered. He glanced at Fred. "Do you think…well, if Mrs. Callaway is up to it, do you think she should meet with Umbridge?"

Fred shot his brother a look as he completely stopped what he was doing causing the customer in front of him to roll her eyes and cross her arms in impatience. Was George crazy? Fred had already explained why he thought they shouldn't reason or negotiate with Umbridge.

"I don't mean to try to negotiate or reason with her," George explained quickly when he noticed Fred's face. "But maybe just to see why she'll only consider giving Scarlett back. Just to get a clearer view on things. And maybe negotiation can happen, too. Given that Umbridge behaves in a civilized manner, of course."

"When's the last time you saw a civilized toad?" Fred muttered. "They're animals. Slimy ones at that."

George half-smiled before he continued speaking. "And if you want my opinion, I don't think Umbridge will actually kill Scarlett. She needs to hold on to her to continue bribing her mother to behave."

"If Mrs. Callaway ends up flat out refusing to put Scarlett out of a job, maybe Umbridge will kill Scarlett. The truth is, I have no idea how to deal with any of this without someone getting hurt in some way."

"Neither do I," George whispered. There was a pause. "But if we drag out our decision as long as possible, Umbridge will most likely keep Scarlett alive. So all we have to do for now is delay giving her an answer until we can figure out a definite way to get Scarlett back."

"Do you think we could lie?" Fred asked suddenly. "Do you think we could tell Umbridge we did what she asked? It's not like her other requirements where she would know if we did them or not."

George shrugged. "I get the feeling that she'd want proof or she'd check to make sure we did it."

Fred's shoulders slumped dejectedly. George had a point. Was there really no way out of this mess without making someone unhappy?

George noticed Fred's expression and nudged his arm. "Hey, I promised you we'd get her out of there, didn't I?" he asked when Fred looked up.

"Yeah…."

"I intend to keep that promise," George said sincerely. "We'll get her back, Fred. And everything will be okay. Well, as okay as it can get considering this whole war thing…."

Fred actually let out the tiniest of laughs. "Thanks, George."

"Don't mention it. Just promise me one thing in return."

"What's that?"

"Well, I actually never thought I'd say this, but I want you to promise that I'll hear you snoring tonight."

"I don't snore! It's Binky that snores."

"Fine, but I want you to sleep, okay? It's not healthy for you to be lying awake every night."

"Maybe you should've become a Healer."

"Maybe you should shut up," George grinned. "Anyway, promise me you'll at least try your very hardest to get a good night's rest from now on?"

Fred sighed. He couldn't say no. This was his twin and his best friend asking him to do this and because of that he had to agree, no matter how little faith he had in his ability to fall asleep. He had to at least try. If not for himself, then for George. "I promise," he said.


"Fred? Fred, dear, what are you doing out here? It's snowing and it's cold out."

Fred didn't even turn at the sound of his mother's voice. He was sitting on the back steps of the Burrow with his chin in his hand as he drew shapes in the snow with a stick. "I'll be inside in a minute," he said quietly.

"We'll be having dessert soon. And after that, we'll be opening presents. Your two favorite parts of Christmas," Mrs. Weasley added hopefully.

Mrs. Weasley was quiet for a moment. "You hardly touched your dinner and I know you've only been sleeping the past few days because you took a sleeping potion. You know how I feel about those. They aren't good to take all the time."

"I know, but I promised George I would sleep and I can't do that on my own." He knew his family was worried about him and he appreciated that, but he wished they would stop pestering him about his sleeping and eating habits. He wasn't happy about them either, but he couldn't help it. Even though he knew they missed Scarlett, too, sometimes it felt as if they didn't care or understand at all.

Mrs. Weasley was quiet for another moment. "It's so cold out here, Fred. At least put on a coat."

Fred shook his head. "No, like I said, I'll be coming inside in a minute. You should go in, though, and get warm."

"It's Christmas, Fred," Mrs. Weasley said, as if she were pleading with him. Fred wanted to ask her what she wanted him to do. Did she want him to act as if nothing was wrong? Did she want him to act as if he were happy?

"Yeah, it's Christmas and Scarlett's off locked up somewhere," Fred said, finally half-turning and craning his neck to look at his mother. "That's only going to make me feel worse than I do on a normal day where she's missing. And I don't see the point of me faking happiness simply because it's Christmas."

"I don't want you to fake it," Mrs. Weasley said, lowering herself down so she was sitting next to him. "I just want you to come inside and spend Christmas with the family. At least physically considering you aren't really here mentally." She paused. "We all miss her, Fred."

Fred didn't answer as he continued to draw shapes in the snow.

"Have you talked to Angelina since the two of you broke up?"

Fred glanced up at his mother. "Why are you asking me that?" he asked wearily.

"I was just wondering, well, where exactly the two of you stood."

"I haven't talked to her at all. She was furious at me and I wanted to give her some space, but I have no idea how she feels about me now. Lee still keeps in touch with her and I know she's been busy. She joined Puddlemere United, so she's on the same Quidditch team as Wood, but other than that, I haven't heard much."

"Ah," Mrs. Weasley said. "And you're okay with this?"

Fred shrugged. He wondered what exactly his mother was getting at. "She was a good friend and I wish we were still friends now, but…." He trailed off and stared out at the backyard.

"But you don't regret the breakup?" Mrs. Weasley asked with a smile.

"No, actually, I don't," Fred said, looking at her and blinking a few times. He had never really thought about his feelings towards his breakup with Angelina before. "Is that bad?"

Mrs. Weasley grinned. "No, it's not. I think it just wasn't meant to be."

Fred nodded and looked down at the snow again, returning to swirling the stick around absentmindedly. His realization about his nonchalant feelings towards not dating Angelina had gotten him thinking about how different his relationship with Scarlett was and he was beginning to believe his mother had brought this up on purpose.

"I wish there was something I could do to help," Mrs. Weasley finally sighed. Between you and Scarlett's mother…she's barely said a word all night either, you know."

"It was nice of you to invite her over tonight," Fred said.

"I couldn't let her spend Christmas by herself," Mrs. Weasley said, waving her hand. She stood up and put her hands on her hips. "Now I'm going to have to insist that you come inside. You're going to freeze if you stay out here any longer."

Fred sighed and tossed the stick to the ground before standing up. Mrs. Weasley smiled and gently patted his cheek. "Good boy," she said. "I'll even let you open the first present later."

"And have my pick of what radio station we listen to?" Fred asked hopefully.

Mrs. Weasley laughed. "I'm afraid not, Fred dear. Celestina Warbeck is a tradition."

Fred groaned and rolled his eyes.

"One day you'll grow to like her and I'll be able to say I told you so."

"Doubt it."

Mrs. Weasley laughed again and ushered Fred inside. "Come on, let's get dessert served before everyone starts a riot."

Fred cracked the tiniest of smiles and headed inside, feeling completely grateful towards his mother for knowing what he needed, even if he didn't want it.


Later that night, when everyone had gone to bed, Fred snuck downstairs. He and George were staying at the Burrow that night and Fred hadn't bothered to take a sleeping potion. His mother was right. They weren't exactly the best thing to take every night and besides, they tasted awful. Unsurprisingly, Fred wasn't able to get to sleep, so he found himself getting out of bed and heading for the living room.

Once he was there, he knelt down in front of the Christmas tree. Despite the absence of Scarlett, Ron, Harry and Hermione that Christmas, everyone had gotten them gifts. It just didn't feel right not getting them anything. That would be like acting as if they didn't exist. All four of them should have been celebrating Christmas at the Burrow, but all four of them couldn't under uncontrollable circumstances.

Fred knelt down and crawled over to Scarlett's pile. He traced his hand over the gifts that lay there, stopping when he saw the gift he had bought her. It was her own copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard. He thought she would find it funny considering she had claimed to like Muggle fairy tales better. He smiled faintly as he pictured her reaction to the gift before scanning the rest of them. His hand closed over a familiar gift and he smiled a little wider. The gift was familiar because he opened one just like it every year. It was obviously a Weasley sweater. Unable to stop himself, Fred found his hands acting completely on their own accord as he unwrapped the sweater. It wasn't a big deal. He could fix it later. The paper tumbled to the floor as he pulled the sweater free and held it up. It was dark blue with a green 'S' in the middle. Fred sighed as he realized it matched Scarlett's eyes. His mother had obviously done it on purpose.

It was then that Fred felt his throat constricting and tears coming to his eyes. He hadn't really cried since Scarlett had disappeared; he had been too angry and scared at first. But now, in the last hour of Christmas Day, he couldn't stop the tears from falling as he held Scarlett's sweater in his hands. And the one person who could make him feel better was the one person whose absence was making him cry.


A/N: I hate seeing a miserable Fred. :( But Scarlett will get out eventually. I'm not going to say anything else until it actually happens, though, but she will get out relatively soon because, let's face it, her being stuck with Umbridge and continuing to have a miserable Fred aren't options.

Thanks for reading! :)