Disclaimer: They're not mine and they never will be :-(
Three cheers for Ms Rowling!!!
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Fred woke.
For a moment he had trouble remembering where he was. Panic struck him. The darkness around his bed was oppressive in a way he had never experienced before.
He heard someone turning over in their sleep nearby. George. Fred was comforted by the presence of his twin. Especially since he had been separated from him for so long. It was good to back at The Burrow.
On second thoughts this wasn't The Burrow. This was Grimmald Place.
Fred wondered what had made him think of The Burrow. He hadn't lived there since he was a small child. Since his parents had joined the order. Strange.
He sat up and shook his head trying to clear it. He'd had the strangest dream. Something about meeting members of the order as Hogwarts students. Something about fighting with Sirius. Something about James and Lily being a couple.
He snorted softly at the ridiculous thought. Those two couldn't hate each other more if they were on opposite sides of the war.
On the other hand they did have a son. Wait. Son? No that wasn't right. James and Lily didn't have a son.
And come to think of it, he, Fred, had never been separated from George. Why was he so glad to hear him in the next bed? He'd seen him at dinner the previous night. A loud raucous affair with many members of the order present, including the elder Weasley brothers. It had been a good night. One of few good nights in these dark times. Molly had come close to tears at the sight of her six sons together after seven years of not being able to gather them all into the same house long enough for a meal.
Fred reflected that she had become quite dependant on her sons since Arthur's death. Dependant and also terribly over protective. Fred was fairly certain Ron and Percy had not been to any location that was not Hogwarts, Grimmald Place or the ministry in the last three years.
"Too dangerous." "Just think of what happened to your father." "I'd really prefer to know that you were under the protection of aurors."
Fred and George of course had found means of escape to keep themselves from going mad. They were working fairly successfully at corrupting Ron. Not that Ron needed a lot of corrupting these days.
The youngest Weasley sibling had a way of letting his temper rule him. Letters were sent to Molly on nearly a weekly basis while he was at school concerning the fights he started and his antisocial behaviour.
Not to mention the howler about the flying car Ron and Harry had flown to . . . .no that wasn't right. Arthur had died right before tinkering with that car. What car?
Fred's breathing quickened as he began to realize that something more than a bad dream was affecting his thinking.
Fearing he might be loosing his mind he hopped out of bed and made his way to the bathroom.
As he walked his head began to ache, and the more it ached the more confused he became. By the time he made it to the sink the pain was so intense he felt as though he would vomit.
He needed to sort himself out right quick.
He gazed blearily at his reflection. Had he always been so pale? No. Only since he had been forced to spend his summers in this dark, richly furnished horror of a house. Ever since his father had died and his mother had insisted her younger children live under the protection of the Order of the Phoenix who had for some time been using the house as its base of operation.
Fred had wished more than once that Sirius had come from a slightly less psychotic family. The house, while full of interesting little dark surprises to keep you on your toes, was for the most part dull and dreary. Fred had often had to fight the feeling that he was wasting his life away in these halls. Hindered from taking his place in wizarding society by the watchful eyes of his mother and lack of financial standing. Fred felt a sting of guilt as he thought, not for the first time, that Arthur might have left them with better means of supporting themselves.
He thought of Arthur as he had been. Kind. Excitable. Bone weary for the last few years of his life. The war had taken its toll on Arthur Weasley.
Fred thought of Arthur shouting at Fred and his twin after they had given magic sweets to Dudley Dursley. Thought of Arthur asking after their flight to Surry in the flying car. Thought of Arthur chatting away to ministry officials at the Quidditch World Cup. Thought of Arthur giving Ron the highly embarrassing 'how to deal with girls' talk while the twins listened in. Ron had been thirteen.
But Ron had only been twelve when Arthur was lost.
Fred felt like punching something as he felt those memories fading. He wanted so much to hold onto his father.
He reached out with his mind for the happier times. Where they still lived at the Burrow. Where Ron had friends. Where Fred had a little sister. Where Lupin was still alive. Where James and Lily had a son. Where . . . . . .. .
Fred felt as though his head was being split in two, both physically and mentally. The pain was like nothing he'd felt before. It was as if he had lived two lives. As if he was being forced to choose between them. His mind could not accept both versions of reality. Choose, it told him. Choose or go mad.
"I can't" he grated out, his face screwed up in agony as his knees buckled and he fell to the floor.
For one tiny instant Fred felt the pain cease. For a moment everything was clear. He thought of the timeturner. Of Dumbledore's warnings. Of Harry crying on James's shoulder.
He whispered, "Harry what have you done?"
Then all went dark.
……………………………………………………………..
Sirius heard the thump from the kitchen.
"Prongs. Did you hear that?"
"Hmm?"
"Did you hear that? Sounded like someone fell over upstairs."
"Maybe one of the twins found some alcohol."
"Maybe Kreacher finally decided to knock one of them off."
James smirked in amusement. Then he thought about it. Sirius had been joking, but as James caught Sirius's eye there was a panicked understanding between them.
"Wouldn't put it past the little bugger."
"Let's go."
They hurried upstairs, not really expecting anything drastic. They checked in on Ron. Sound asleep. Percy, out like a light. Fred and George…….. Fred was missing.
Sirius sighed. "Alright, bathroom check?" he said.
James lead the way and quietly knocked on the door. When no one replied he shoved it open, a move he instantly regretted as the door bounced against Fred's unconscious head.
The boy was lying on the cold stone floor in his pyjamas, blood pouring from his ears and nose. His eyes were closed.
Sirius's first panicked thought, even as he bent down to feel the boy's pulse, was that Molly would murder him if one of her sons were found dead on his watch.
"Is he..?" asked James.
"He's alive," said Sirius, relieved. "We need to get him to St. Mungos."
James nodded and bent down to lift the teenager bodily from the floor. Fred's head rolled back disturbingly.
Sirius opened doors for them, leading the way down to the fireplace connected to the floo network for emergencies only.
A minute later James and Fred were gone, leaving Sirius to the thankless task of breaking the news to the boy's family.
……………………………….
A/N
Hahahahahahahaha. How's that for leaving you all in the dark? Why's everything changed? Who changed what? Wait and see.
Do you all get exactly what happened to Fred or was it unclear?
Thanks to all reviewers!
PrincessofBarzel - Thanks, hope this chapter lived up to expectation. Hope your holiday was good. I'll tell you what though, I'm jealous of all you people having Summers right now. I'm freezing my ass off down here! It's the middle of winter!
Silvercrystal77 - Sorry, left Lily in the dark. J hehe
Katyana - Don't worry I intend to finish if it kills me. I have the chapters planned out and everything.
Kristie - I figured Sirius would be more concerned with losing his best friend than with coddling the Godson who willing to let him die. He's not perfect.
Stahducky - They never even got to take the potion, everything went too wonky for that. And James heard all!
Gaul - Yeah I thought it was complex enough without taking Fred to the Burrow.
Tapdancing Parakeet - They never got to the potion. All will become clear soon.
Templa Otmena - Oohh I like that interpretation! I'd like to say I did it on purpose, but no. Still no Wormtail. Probably no Wormtail for a while actually. Glad you liked the James/Harry scene. Like I said it was the major reason I started this fic in the first place.
Friends 16-uk - The prophecy is still their. People have wrongly assumed that it refers to Neville. Nope, no self fulfilling stuff with Wormtail. He would have turned evil without Fred.
Bosworth - Sorry, no Harry/Lily angst in this one. Some James/Lily coming up though.
And thanks to all else who reviewed!!!
Cheers,
Whiskey.
Three cheers for Ms Rowling!!!
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Fred woke.
For a moment he had trouble remembering where he was. Panic struck him. The darkness around his bed was oppressive in a way he had never experienced before.
He heard someone turning over in their sleep nearby. George. Fred was comforted by the presence of his twin. Especially since he had been separated from him for so long. It was good to back at The Burrow.
On second thoughts this wasn't The Burrow. This was Grimmald Place.
Fred wondered what had made him think of The Burrow. He hadn't lived there since he was a small child. Since his parents had joined the order. Strange.
He sat up and shook his head trying to clear it. He'd had the strangest dream. Something about meeting members of the order as Hogwarts students. Something about fighting with Sirius. Something about James and Lily being a couple.
He snorted softly at the ridiculous thought. Those two couldn't hate each other more if they were on opposite sides of the war.
On the other hand they did have a son. Wait. Son? No that wasn't right. James and Lily didn't have a son.
And come to think of it, he, Fred, had never been separated from George. Why was he so glad to hear him in the next bed? He'd seen him at dinner the previous night. A loud raucous affair with many members of the order present, including the elder Weasley brothers. It had been a good night. One of few good nights in these dark times. Molly had come close to tears at the sight of her six sons together after seven years of not being able to gather them all into the same house long enough for a meal.
Fred reflected that she had become quite dependant on her sons since Arthur's death. Dependant and also terribly over protective. Fred was fairly certain Ron and Percy had not been to any location that was not Hogwarts, Grimmald Place or the ministry in the last three years.
"Too dangerous." "Just think of what happened to your father." "I'd really prefer to know that you were under the protection of aurors."
Fred and George of course had found means of escape to keep themselves from going mad. They were working fairly successfully at corrupting Ron. Not that Ron needed a lot of corrupting these days.
The youngest Weasley sibling had a way of letting his temper rule him. Letters were sent to Molly on nearly a weekly basis while he was at school concerning the fights he started and his antisocial behaviour.
Not to mention the howler about the flying car Ron and Harry had flown to . . . .no that wasn't right. Arthur had died right before tinkering with that car. What car?
Fred's breathing quickened as he began to realize that something more than a bad dream was affecting his thinking.
Fearing he might be loosing his mind he hopped out of bed and made his way to the bathroom.
As he walked his head began to ache, and the more it ached the more confused he became. By the time he made it to the sink the pain was so intense he felt as though he would vomit.
He needed to sort himself out right quick.
He gazed blearily at his reflection. Had he always been so pale? No. Only since he had been forced to spend his summers in this dark, richly furnished horror of a house. Ever since his father had died and his mother had insisted her younger children live under the protection of the Order of the Phoenix who had for some time been using the house as its base of operation.
Fred had wished more than once that Sirius had come from a slightly less psychotic family. The house, while full of interesting little dark surprises to keep you on your toes, was for the most part dull and dreary. Fred had often had to fight the feeling that he was wasting his life away in these halls. Hindered from taking his place in wizarding society by the watchful eyes of his mother and lack of financial standing. Fred felt a sting of guilt as he thought, not for the first time, that Arthur might have left them with better means of supporting themselves.
He thought of Arthur as he had been. Kind. Excitable. Bone weary for the last few years of his life. The war had taken its toll on Arthur Weasley.
Fred thought of Arthur shouting at Fred and his twin after they had given magic sweets to Dudley Dursley. Thought of Arthur asking after their flight to Surry in the flying car. Thought of Arthur chatting away to ministry officials at the Quidditch World Cup. Thought of Arthur giving Ron the highly embarrassing 'how to deal with girls' talk while the twins listened in. Ron had been thirteen.
But Ron had only been twelve when Arthur was lost.
Fred felt like punching something as he felt those memories fading. He wanted so much to hold onto his father.
He reached out with his mind for the happier times. Where they still lived at the Burrow. Where Ron had friends. Where Fred had a little sister. Where Lupin was still alive. Where James and Lily had a son. Where . . . . . .. .
Fred felt as though his head was being split in two, both physically and mentally. The pain was like nothing he'd felt before. It was as if he had lived two lives. As if he was being forced to choose between them. His mind could not accept both versions of reality. Choose, it told him. Choose or go mad.
"I can't" he grated out, his face screwed up in agony as his knees buckled and he fell to the floor.
For one tiny instant Fred felt the pain cease. For a moment everything was clear. He thought of the timeturner. Of Dumbledore's warnings. Of Harry crying on James's shoulder.
He whispered, "Harry what have you done?"
Then all went dark.
……………………………………………………………..
Sirius heard the thump from the kitchen.
"Prongs. Did you hear that?"
"Hmm?"
"Did you hear that? Sounded like someone fell over upstairs."
"Maybe one of the twins found some alcohol."
"Maybe Kreacher finally decided to knock one of them off."
James smirked in amusement. Then he thought about it. Sirius had been joking, but as James caught Sirius's eye there was a panicked understanding between them.
"Wouldn't put it past the little bugger."
"Let's go."
They hurried upstairs, not really expecting anything drastic. They checked in on Ron. Sound asleep. Percy, out like a light. Fred and George…….. Fred was missing.
Sirius sighed. "Alright, bathroom check?" he said.
James lead the way and quietly knocked on the door. When no one replied he shoved it open, a move he instantly regretted as the door bounced against Fred's unconscious head.
The boy was lying on the cold stone floor in his pyjamas, blood pouring from his ears and nose. His eyes were closed.
Sirius's first panicked thought, even as he bent down to feel the boy's pulse, was that Molly would murder him if one of her sons were found dead on his watch.
"Is he..?" asked James.
"He's alive," said Sirius, relieved. "We need to get him to St. Mungos."
James nodded and bent down to lift the teenager bodily from the floor. Fred's head rolled back disturbingly.
Sirius opened doors for them, leading the way down to the fireplace connected to the floo network for emergencies only.
A minute later James and Fred were gone, leaving Sirius to the thankless task of breaking the news to the boy's family.
……………………………….
A/N
Hahahahahahahaha. How's that for leaving you all in the dark? Why's everything changed? Who changed what? Wait and see.
Do you all get exactly what happened to Fred or was it unclear?
Thanks to all reviewers!
PrincessofBarzel - Thanks, hope this chapter lived up to expectation. Hope your holiday was good. I'll tell you what though, I'm jealous of all you people having Summers right now. I'm freezing my ass off down here! It's the middle of winter!
Silvercrystal77 - Sorry, left Lily in the dark. J hehe
Katyana - Don't worry I intend to finish if it kills me. I have the chapters planned out and everything.
Kristie - I figured Sirius would be more concerned with losing his best friend than with coddling the Godson who willing to let him die. He's not perfect.
Stahducky - They never even got to take the potion, everything went too wonky for that. And James heard all!
Gaul - Yeah I thought it was complex enough without taking Fred to the Burrow.
Tapdancing Parakeet - They never got to the potion. All will become clear soon.
Templa Otmena - Oohh I like that interpretation! I'd like to say I did it on purpose, but no. Still no Wormtail. Probably no Wormtail for a while actually. Glad you liked the James/Harry scene. Like I said it was the major reason I started this fic in the first place.
Friends 16-uk - The prophecy is still their. People have wrongly assumed that it refers to Neville. Nope, no self fulfilling stuff with Wormtail. He would have turned evil without Fred.
Bosworth - Sorry, no Harry/Lily angst in this one. Some James/Lily coming up though.
And thanks to all else who reviewed!!!
Cheers,
Whiskey.
