Chapter 3

Ron awoke with a loud snore. He rolled over in the bed and stretched. He froze as he sensed someone leaning over him.

"Boo!" a voice yelled in his ear.

"Ahh," Ron yelled, falling out of bed. He leapt to his feet, reaching for his wand.

"Looking for this?" said a familiar voice.

Ron looked up at the person twirling his wand between their fingers. His red hair looked windswept. His blue eyes twinkled merrily and his grin was from ear to ear. He wore long pink robes and a neon green cloak.

Ron gaped. "It can't be," he croaked.

"Fr," he began.

"Go ahead," his older brother said. "Sound it out, I remember how slow you are. Come on; say it with me, 'Freeeddd.""

"But you're dead," Ron blurted.

Fred giggled. "Eloquent as ever," he chortled. "You're right, I am dead, but I'm here to help you."

"Your clothes," Ron said stupidly, staring at Fred's pink robes.

"You like it," Fred said, twirling on the spot. "Personally, I think the pink really clashes with my hair, but pranking and fashion don't really go together."

Ron's lower lip trembled. "Things haven't really been the same since you died."

Fred's boyish grin faded. "Yeah," he said soberly. "I know. My once loving family has alienated one of their own."

Ron flinched. "Well," he mumbled. "It is his fault. He should've…"

'Crack!' Ron flew backward from the force of the punch, crashing into the wall behind him.

Fred glared down at him. "You're just a parrot. Do you have an original thought in your head? Hell, Dad even knows that Mum's gone too far, but you still can't see it."

Ron struggled to his feet, rubbing his swelling jaw. He stepped up to Fred, glaring right into his face. "You haven't seen me in a year. You've been dead. You have no idea what it's been like, but that doesn't matter, does it? No, you're taking Harry's side. Doesn't anyone care about me?"

Fred stared at his brother, a disgusted expression on his face. "So that's what this is about. You're jealous again. Bloody hell, have you always been this childish?"

Ron stiffened. "What do you mean?"

"You have everything Harry ever wanted. Do you have any idea what Harry would give for a loving family?"

"Well, he stole my girlfriend."

Fred huffed in exasperation. "Ron, he didn't steal her. You can't steal something that was thrown away."

"I never threw her away," Ron snapped.

"You forced her to choose between the two of you."

"And she is with Harry," Ron said sulkily. "What does that tell you?"

"It tells me that she is with the person that needs her most. You have our entire family to be with you. Who does Harry have? Besides, you aren't broken up. She's just pissed at you. Can you really blame her?"

"It always comes back to him, doesn't it?" Ron roared. "Harry this, and Harry that. He gets everything. He has money, fame, and his own home."

"Enough!" Fred yelled. "I've had enough of your whining, little brother. "It's time that you see what Harry's life is really like. Touch my robe," he said, smiling suddenly.

Warily, Ron gripped Fred's shoulder.

"Lower," Fred said.

Ron ran his hand down Fred's arm.

"A little to the right," Fred said.

Ron moved his hand onto Fred's chest.

"Lower," Fred said.

Ron's hand moved down Fred's stomach, right above his crotch.

Fred laughed. "I always knew you batted for the same team."

Ron snatched his hand back, cheeks flaming. Fred gripped Ron's shoulder.

"Seriously, it's time to go."

There was a bang, a puff of blue smoke, and Fred and Ron were gone.

XXX

When Ron became aware, they were standing in Bill's cottage. "Why are we here?" he asked Fred.

"Because this is where Harry is," Fred said as if it should be obvious.

"Right now," Ron said incredulously. "It's the middle of the night."

Fred scowled down at the ground. "A few hours ago, idiot," he said, pointing at the windows. "I thought the sunset would've made that perfectly clear."

Ron blushed. Before he could say anything, they heard laughter. Following the sound, they entered the kitchen of the cottage. Sitting around the table was Bill, his wife Fleur, Hermione, Harry, and a girl with dirty blond hair and silvery blue eyes.

Ron Frowned. "What is Luna doing here?"

Fred stared at Harry and Luna, a slight smile on his lips. "They've been getting closer over the past year."

Ron followed Fred's gaze and noticed how Luna kept touching Harry, how she kept piling food on his plate, and how she smiled at him sometimes for no apparent reason.

"I don't like this," he said turning to Fred. "What about Ginny? He's playing with her."

Fred didn't take his eyes off Harry and Luna. "What about Ginny? She's been stringing him along for a year. Do you think Harry should wait forever? Besides, nothings been decided yet. Harry and Luna are just really close friends."

Ron watched Hermione watching Harry and Luna. There was a small smile at the corners of her lips and a soft expression in her eyes. It was clear that she didn't have a problem with Luna's actions. "Even Hermione seems okay with it. What, are you going to tell me that Harry ends up with her too?"

Fred shrugged. "Anything could happen. I don't think Luna would be opposed to sharing."

Their conversation was interrupted as Bill laid his fork down on his plate. He leaned back in his chair and belched contentedly. "Thanks Fleur," he said smiling at her. "It was great as always."

Fleur smiled back, kissing his cheek. "You are welcome." She turned to the three sitting across from them. "Did you enjoy?"

Harry smiled at her. "It's been a while since I've had cooking that good. I'm not bad in the kitchen, but I think you've got me beat."

Fleur flashed him a pleased smile. Luna and Hermione made noises of agreement.

"So," Bill began. "I hear that you went to see Ginny today. How did that go?"

Harry's smile faded. "Not good. She's still asking me to wait for her. She says that her Mum and Ron will come around soon. I think she's under the impression that your entire family besides your Dad is angry at me."

"You haven't told her that you've been coming to our house?" Bill asked surprised. "Why?"

Harry looked distinctly uncomfortable. He scratched his head and looked down at the floor. "Your family already hates me. I didn't want to cause a rift between you and them."

Bill frowned at Harry. "Harry," he said firmly. "I'm twenty-five years old. I can make my own decisions." His voice and expression softened. "It's not your job to save everyone."

Hermione giggled. "Nice try Bill, I've been telling him that for over a year and it still hasn't sunk in." She smiled playfully at Harry. "He's quite thick when he wants to be."

Ron scowled. Hermione was supposed to be his girlfriend, damn it. Why was she smiling that gentle loving smile at Harry? He glared at Harry.

"If Potter steals my girl," he growled. "I'll kill him."

Fred opened his mouth to say something, but Bill's voice stopped him.

"Harry, Ginny is my sister. I love her to death, but I think it's time you started looking elsewhere for love."

Ron stared at Bill in shock. How could his brother suggest that? Harry and Ginny were supposed to be together.

Harry stared at Bill, his mouth hanging open. "What?" He muttered. "I thought you'd… well…"

Bill looked at him seriously. "You thought I'd tell you to continue to wait. Harry, I would be thrilled if you married my sister, so would my Dad, but it's not fair on you. You can't just wait forever for her to decide she wants to be with you."

Harry looked down at the table, fiddling with his fork. "I love her," he said quietly.

"I know you do," Bill said, "But you need to start putting your life back together. Try dating a little. Who knows, maybe you two will end up together after all, but you can't keep going to see her every day. You'll never get over my Mum's rejection if you keep going back to be hurt again."

Harry looked at Hermione. Obviously seeing what he wanted, she reached across the table and laid her hand on his.

"Bill's right. "We've both been waiting for a long time. "You've been waiting for Ginny to come back to you and I've been waiting for Ron to grow up and realize that he's not the only one who's lost someone. Honestly, I'm getting tired of waiting."

"Yes," Luna said dreamily. "Ginny needs to get the nargles out of her head if she wants to be with you."

Harry smiled at Luna. "Thanks," he said. "I'll think about what you all have said."

"It is your decision, Harry," Fleur said. "For what it's worth, I think they're right. You've put your life on hold long enough."

Ron stared at the occupants of the table in horror. He whirled on Fred. "Hermione's going to break up with me," he shouted into his face. "What am I going to do?"

Fred seemed totally unconcerned at his brother's anger. "I don't know if there's anything you can do," he said gently. "It may already be too late."

"There has to be a way to fix it," Ron said beginning to pace.

Fred's shoulders lifted in what might've been another shrug. "I don't know. The Future is not my department." He laid a hand on Ron's shoulder. "Come on, we have more to see."

XXX

Ron blinked. It took his eyes a few seconds to adjust to the darkness. "Where are we?"

"Don't you mean when are we?" Fred asked, smirking.

Ron scowled. "I thought you said you couldn't travel to the future?"

"This isn't the future," Fred said patiently. "This is the past."

Ron stared at his brother. "What are you talking about? Why are we here?"

"We only have three more scenes, counting this one. I showed you what was happening in the present. Now, I'm showing you a few scenes from the past."

Ron started to ask what he meant, but stopped as a younger version of himself appeared out of nowhere. Ron gaped. This version of himself looked dirty and had lost some weight. Hermione came bursting into view behind him."

"Ron," she called. "Come back."

The past Ron twisted on the spot, and vanished with a crack.

They heard Hermione's sobs before she vanished. Fred grabbed Ron's arm and dragged him forward.

Ron felt as if he'd stepped through a door made of ice water. They appeared in a small living room. Hermione lay on a sofa, crying loudly. Tears ran down her face as she stared at Harry.

"He's g-gone," she choked.

Harry took a blanket and gently covered her with it. He sat beside her, stroking her hair until she fell asleep.

"I'm beginning to think Harry would be better for her than you," Fred said matter-of-factly.

"What are you talking about?" Ron snapped. "I love her."

"Do you?" Fred asked, staring hard at his brother. His blue eyes were chips of ice. "If you love her as you claim, then why did you leave them alone in the tent? This is the second time you've abandoned your friends when they needed you. Do I need to remind you of your fourth year?"

"I apologized…" Ron started, and then paused. He looked down at the floor.

"No, you didn't," said Fred quietly. "You abandoned your friends three times and you haven't apologized once. First, you left them during fourth year. Second, you abandoned them during this horcrux hunt. Lastly, you abandoned Harry when Voldemort was defeated. Each time your friends needed you."

Ron glared at his feet. "Harry knew I was sorry," he mumbled.

"How?" Fred asked. "How would he know? He can't read minds. I hate to break it to you Ron, but Harry's only human. He's been through enough. He needs time to rest, both physically and mentally."

Ron wouldn't look at his brother. Could Fred be right? Was he really that bad a friend to Harry? Before he could think more about that, Fred spoke.

"Come on, two more things to see."

Ron gripped his brother's arm, and they vanished.

XXX

When they reappeared, Ron shrieked like a girl.

"What the hell?" he screamed as a snake exploded out of the corpse of an old woman. The snake lunged at Harry, knocking him to the ground. Ron heard Hermione's voice.

"Harry? Is everything alright?"

Harry grunted, rolling away from the snapping fangs of the serpent. There was the sound of pounding feet. A few seconds later, Hermione rushed into the room. Seeing the snake, she grabbed Harry, fired a blasting curse, and disapparated.

There was a scream of rage. Ron turned and took an automatic step backwards. Voldemort stood in the doorway, glaring at the snake. His wand flashed out, and the wall of the house burst into flame.

Ron looked at his brother as the cottage burned all around them. "Why show me this?"

"I know they told you what happened while you were gone, but seeing it and hearing about it are two different things. You needed to see what your actions caused.

"I didn't cause anything," Ron said. "If I'd been here, one of us may have died. Harry and Hermione barely made it out as it was."

Fred sighed. "Come, one more thing to see."

XXX

Ron looked around the forest and shuddered. He crouched lower, staring up at the skeletal trees towering above him. Gulping, he turned to Fred. "There aren't any spiders here, are there?"

"No," said Fred seriously. The giant spiders are currently attacking Hogwarts. Look."

Ron looked where Fred was pointing just in time to see Harry walking deeper into the forest. He was surrounded by silver light. He moved quietly, trying not to step on the tree branches littering the floor. Ron gasped as he noticed the people walking with him.

They looked solid, but their feet left no tracks on the ground. One was a tall man with untidy black hair and hazel eyes.

A woman walked with the man. Her red hair fanned out behind her.

Harry's parents," he whispered.

"Sirius and Remus to," Fred said, pointing at a handsome man with grey eyes and a man with grey streaked hair and amber eyes. "They're walking with him. He asked them to walk with him until it was over."

"Until what was over?" Ron asked.

Before Fred could answer, Harry spoke.

"Does it hurt?" He asked his voice trembling slightly.

"No," Sirius said, his gruff voice echoing slightly. "It's like going to sleep."

"What are they talking about?" Ron asked.

Fred ignored his question. He led Ron deeper into the forest. They stepped into a clearing. Ron shivered as he saw Voldemort standing beside a small fire.

"I thought he'd come," he whispered. "I guess he doesn't care about his friends as much as I thought."

"Not quite," Harry said loudly. "I'm here."

Voldemort turned to Harry, smiling widely. The smile revealed long pointed teeth. "So you do have courage," he whispered, his red eyes gleaming.

His wand moved, there was a flash of green light, and Harry fell to the ground, unmoving.