Chapter 2 – Meeting the ghost of ...

The next morning, she felt better, she felt like a weight was lifted from her shoulders. The methods she was taught years ago to relieve stress before bed, truly still worked like a charm. She sighed happily as she stretched her arms above her head. She laid there in bed a while, just slowly waking up, taking her time since she didn't need to hurry off to work. When she finally left her bed, it was almost 11 o'clock and started to pick up her dirty clothes from her bedroom floor with one hand. Her room wasn't that messy, it was just filled with scattered clothes. So, once she tossed everything in the hamper, her room was clean. Her bed stood against the back wall, a small dresser on it's right and a wardrobe on the left, next to the small window overlooking the city. And of course, a chair in the corner, next to the door where her pile of clothes usually starts.

The bathroom, that was adjoined to the bedroom, was about the same but mostly just towels on a heap in the corner. Her small bathroom had an old shower, one sink to her left with a mirror cabinet above it, and on her right a toilet, all in those awful green seventies colour, if she stretched her arms and twirled around, she had an inch to spare before she touched something. She stuffed her towels in the washer and pushed the on-button before she walked to the living room. A second-hand two-person couch stood in the middle facing the TV. Most of her furniture was from the thrift shop that she refurbished herself. The TV was stationed on a long 70's TV cabinet, next to it a vintage 1940's bronze floor lamp with ecru cap. A dark carved coffee table with glass top separated the couch and the TV. A 1960's cabinet with two slide doors and under six drawers was placed against the wall.

To her right was the half open kitchen, and small kitchen-bar separated the two spaces. Two barstools on the side of the living room and two in the kitchen. Next to the kitchen was her front door that led to the hallway of her building. It was a small and older building with only 4 apartments in total. The kitchen too, was outdated and she had to fix the cabinets doors on repeat. But this was her home, she's been living there alone for 2 years since her last year in college. She poured herself a bowl of cereal and sat down on one of the barstools, looking out the kitchen window. On the far right, she saw the trees of Regent's Park and wondered. She shook her head and turned back to her bowl of cereal. After she finished, she took a painkiller and went to the bedroom to change. She changed into a navy-blue maxi dress with orange flowers on it, putting her jean jacket over it. Back in the kitchen she made herself a bag with a large bottle of water and something to eat and headed out.

FW

She just walked around the city, not really knowing where she was heading. About thirty minutes later, she stood in Regent's Park. Frowning she looked around her. How did I get here? The park again was quiet, only a handful of people in sight. She walked the pathway and found her favourite place to sit, near the lake. After putting her bag on the ground, she lowered herself on the ground and pulled out her notebook and wrote down her ideas for her game. An hour later, she was laying on her stomach as she scribbled down on her notebook when she felt like someone was watching her. She looked up from her notebook and looked around. Her breath hitched when she saw a mop of red hair quickly disappear behind a tree.

"No, no, no." She whispered to herself. "This isn't happening!" She was pounding her head on her notebook. Then a flashback from her and her grandmother crossed her mind. She groaned to herself and sat up, looking at the tree, he was hidden behind. "Carrot top! Come here!" She called over, after a few seconds he appeared from behind the tree nervously, before he walked over slowly. When he was towering over her, hand folded behind his back, rocking on his heels as he looked anywhere but her. "Sit down."

His head snapped to her, looking confused. She patted the space next to her and he finally sat down.

"Who are you?" She asked, looking at him curiously.

"Fred Weasley."

"W-what are you?" She asked, already knowing the answer, pulling her knees up and resting her head on them.

"A ghost, I presume." He said looking at his hands, that laid down on his lap. "How can you see me?" He asked, looking up at her, with those blue eyes.

"I was just about to ask the same thing." She chuckled. "Am I the only one that can see you?"

"Up to now, yes. Who are you?"

"Leah Derijker."

"Are you a muggle?"

She frowned up at him, confused. "A what?"

"Hmmm." He hummed, looking over at the lake. "That answers that question."

Leah didn't know what he was talking about, but let it slide, for now. "Yesterday, you asked where you were. You've never been here?"

"No, I'm from near Devon." He said as he knit his brows together.

"Have you tried to leave the park? Try to go see your family." She immediately regretted her question as she saw all the heartbreak cross his face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean..."

"No, it's okay, it's just I'm not always here. I come and go. I never know how much time has passed between. I don't know where I go when I'm not here. I don't even know what day it is."

"It's March 15, 1999." She said pulling a newspaper out her bag.

"Oh, almost a year." He whispered, clenching his fists.

"A year?" She asked, putting the paper away again.

"Since I died, since the war..."

"Which war? Where you in the army?"

"Sort of." He grinned to himself, thinking back to the DA. "You know... I've seen you around before."

"What?" She asked, looking away from the lake in surprise.

"Yeah. I've seen you cycle through it almost every day. At least I think it was every day."

"Oh." She said looking back to the lake. "And in between?"

He let his head fall in his hands, sighing. "I don't know." Then he looked back up and looked her up and down. "Perhaps it has something to do with you. You're the only one who can see me, and every time I'm here, so are you. Maybe it's connected."

"But how, why? Why me?"

"I wish I knew, Leah."

The sat in silence for a while thinking about everything that happened, about everything they found out or yet to find out. A holly blue butterfly just landed on her knee, on one of the printed flowers on her dress, when Fred spoke up.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." She said, still looking at the butterfly on her dress.

"Why aren't you more freaked out by this? I would think you would be running for the hills."

"Believe me, when I tried to touch your arm yesterday, I really thought I lost it. I blamed it on the alcohol and weed from the night before. But it was something my grandmother said when I was younger that made me accept it. I think she had a similar experience, but my parents thought she was getting dementia and a few years later, they discovered a brain tumour, so they blamed her strange behaviour on that, even though she's been like that for as long as I can remember." She said with a trembling breath, thinking about how much she suffered. "She died only four months after that. We all thought it was the brain tumour that made her see things, but now..."

"I'm sorry about your grandmother." He said as his hand hovered over her back. He didn't understand everything that she said, he didn't know what weed was, or a brain tumour but didn't ask as the girl next to him was shaking slightly.

"Thanks, it was... hard." She wiped away a single tear that escaped and suddenly leaped up. Fred looked up at her surprised. "Let's go."

"Huh?"

"I want to try something." She said as she stuffed everything in her bag and placed it over her shoulder. Fred stood up and followed her up to the path. She stopped at the edge of the park and glanced to the side, up at him. "Ready?"

Fred looked behind him, at the park, the only place he's seen since his death. He looked back at the busy street in front of him, he took in a deep breath. "Yes.

"On three." He nodded in agreement. "One, two, ..." Together they took one step forward, then another. Both looking at each other with every step they took, a smile growing on their faces as they walked into the city.

"So, where to?" Fred asked looking around.

"Follow me." She said as she took a left. Fred hurriedly followed her, afraid to lose sight of her, afraid to disappear again. After about ten minutes of walking, they arrived at an old apartment building. She opened the door and let Fred pass. Walking up the stairs Fred asked.

FW

"Where are we?"

They reached the third-floor landing, and she took out her key and opened the door. "My place. I thought this would be easier. If someone heard me talking to myself..."

"Right." Fred grinned.

"So welcome to my home. I know it's not much but-"

"It's brilliant!" Fred said looking at the microwave. "What is this?"

"A microwave." She said slowly before chuckling. "Fred?"

"Hm? Yeah?" He asked, tearing his eyes away from the device. Leah leaned against the bar, arms folded, looking at him with knit brows.

"Is there something you need to tell me?"

"About?"

"First: I can see you, second: you said something about a muggle, whatever that is. Then you looked confused when I talked about the brain tumour and now you don't know what a microwave is."

"I-" Fred looked flustered at the girl, thinking he was being subtle. "You better sit down." He sighed and waved at the couch. She unfolded her arms and walked over to the living room.

"Can you sit?" She asked as she sat down.

"One way to find out." He shrugged and lowered himself to the couch. He let out a breath of relief as he didn't fall to the ground. "Comfy." He grinned.

"So..."

"So, there is no easy way to say this but... I am – I was a wizard."

"A wizard?" She asked confused.

"Yes, there are wizards and witches. Some of them live among you guys, muggles."

"Muggles." She repeated, leaning her head against the back of the couch.

"Non-magic people."

"Oh." She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You're not making this up, are you?" She asked tilting her head to him. He shook his head as her eyes landed on him.

"No, the most of us live secluded or in a wizarding village. My whole family are wizards, goes back as far as our history goes."

"And they couldn't bring you back?" She asked curiously, not accusingly.

"No, even with magic there are limits." He said, casting his eyes down to the couch.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, reaching her hand over to his and letting it pass through his, both hands laying down on the couch. "Can you tell me more about your family?"

Fred looked up from their hands with a sad smile. "I have six siblings, five brothers and one sister. One of them was my twin, George."

"Identical?" She asked, after she gasped.

"Yes, how -?"

"I had an identical sister, Addie... She died when we were 12 years old." She said as she looked out the window.

"I'm sorry."

She shook her head and looked back to the ghost next to her. "Tell me more about your family."

"Leah..."

"Just tell me, please."

"Alright so there is George, my identical twin, albeit not as handsome as me." He grinned, trying to light the mood. "Bill, the oldest is a curse breaker, Charlie works with dragons. Then there is Percy, h worked at the ministry before..." He cleared his throat and continued, counting them down on his fingers. "Then George and I, we had a joke shop on Diagon Alley. Ron… don't know what he's doing now, he was still in school, same with Ginny. She should probably graduate this year." When all his fingers were down, he looked up at her.

"So, I have some questions." She said tilting her head.

"Thought so." He grinned.