THC

House: Ravenclaw

Class: Head of House

Category: Drabble

Prompt(s) chosen: [Action] Discovering a Secret

Word Count: 701

Well-kept Secrets

It had been difficult to take care of Fred's things when he died. No one wanted to do it, but they all knew it had to be done. In the end, Percy had been the one to volunteer. After all, it'd been his fault in the first place that his younger brother died. Despite what his family told him he just knew that it had been his fault, and he'd have to live with that for the rest of his life. So, he knew he had to do the dirty work when it came to his mistake.

Fred's room hadn't been touched but the mess that laid before Percy had Fred's name written all over it. His brother kept his room in a state that he called "chaotically organized" and Percy definitely understood what that meant now. The room that the twins shared at home wasn't as much of a disaster because their mother would have their heads if it looked like that.

Percy started by picking up the clothes on the ground. He'd wash them before separating them to figure out what to do with them. He wasn't sure if anyone would want to keep them, but he also couldn't imagine his family wanting to donate it all. He tried not to think about how the room still smelled like Fred. That the last remnants of Fred's life were hidden in between the clutter that he left behind.

A small, black book stuck out to Percy as he cleared the floor up. He picked it up, not thinking much of it, and flipped it open when he noticed nothing was written on the cover. He didn't expect to see Fred's handwriting on the pages. There were splotches of quill ink that bled through some of the pages. But that's not what caught Percy's eye. The little journal had tabs on some of the pages and on those pages were letters that addressed someone important to Fred. It felt wrong to read them, but Percy guessed that's why Fred wrote them in the first place, just in case something happened, and that something had happened.

Percy skimmed through the journal until he found a letter for himself. He honestly thought that Fred might have skipped him. His heart soared upon the realization that his brother had written one for him.

Dear Percy,

I hope that you never read this. It's terribly embarrassing to have to admit things like this, but I'm glad that you're my older brother. I know it must have been difficult having to live up to Bill and Charlie while trying to make your own path. I know you tried to keep it a secret, that you felt bad that Mum tried to push your success onto us. It's why George and I made you the butt of almost all of our jokes. I'm sorry about that. It wasn't your fault that Mum had this image that she wanted us to follow. I know she doesn't mean any harm. That's just the way it turned out.

With the war happening, I thought it would be good to write everything down. Just in case. Especially after George lost his ear. I'm hoping if you ever do read this you understand that my words are sincere. You took care of us in your own way, and I appreciate you for that. I love you and I hope that you love me as well.

Love, Fred

Percy felt a sharp pain in his chest when he realized that Fred thought there was a possibility that Percy didn't love him. He fell to the floor as he clutched the book in his hands and began to cry. There should have been no second-guessing for Fred that his brother loved him. Percy shouldn't have made it seem like a secret that Fred had to find out.

And the only reason why Percy found this out was that he read Fred's secret journal. A journal that was only going to be found if something bad happened. He wouldn't know any of the information he just read if Fred had lived, and Percy didn't know if that would have been better or worse.