Can you believe it? Vol 1, a harry potter fanfic

A/N: I should be finishing out, my Draco/Hermione story… and I will, but I just read my writing buddy missick93's one shot called My Brother's Eulogy, really good story by the way. Anyhoo, it's time to start facing facts, some people are gone, and damn it if JK didn't tell us squat about them in the Epilogue. And maybe she did it just for us Fan Fiction writers, but I'd felt a damn sight better if she gave us her view. But what can you do??? So here I go taking a crack at something…

Disclaimer- I never want to own the Harry Potter, it too a few deaths to realize this… This is JK's.

Hey Fred, It's been a year… can you believe it? I can't. Most days I still expect to wake up and see you lying in the bed across from mines, in our little room above the shop. But you're not there… and it hurts. How are we ever going to be ok? Sometimes I'll look into a mirror I didn't know was there, and think it must be you there… like I said, it's been a year… can you believe it?

Five years, mate. I'm doing better than before… I mean I still miss you of course, but I can look in a mirror now and be alright. Family's well. Bill and Fleur's daughter Victoire is getting big already. She loves hearing your story. The shop's doing well. Now that I'm talking to you, I have to ask you… was it your doing that day? You know, the day Percy volunteered to work in the shop when I decided to open it back up? I thought so… you always did know how to make me laugh best. Then again I bet you laughed something serious on his first day at the job when he blew himself into the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder and walked into the firework's with his wand… had to wait another week for the grand re-opening after that. Missed you a lot right about then…

Ten years. A decade. Of course you know Harry and Ginny are married, Harry came to you to make sure he got all her brother's blessings… and when he said Fred consented, nobody doubted him for a second. Of course their oldest son James is quite the joker already to be so young… he's already torturing his little brother Albus Severus. I told him not to turn his little brother's Teddy bear into a spider like you did to Ron, told him it could make for terrible consequences later and Al would be afraid of spiders…

And Ron and Hermione, well you know they're married as well too. He proposed right here, didn't he? Hermione told the story to anyone that would listen; of course we already knew… he asked all our opinions first, and just wanted to get yours too. Of course they just had their first child too, a daughter- Rose. Already smarter than Ron will ever be, takes after Hermione, thank Merlin. I wish you could see this…

It's been fifteen years and I think you've probably been waiting for me to say this to you for a long time. I'm getting married. But before I get into that, I need to say something. A part of me has always wondered why everyone is so keen to have your opinion on 'Serious Matters' after you've died… but when you were alive, nobody hardly asked our opinion on anything that was serious, did they? They just assumed we'd laugh and joke about whatever it was. Like we could never be serious… ok we couldn't, but still?

I say all this to you Fred because it seems in your dying that you've become a very serious individual- whose looked to for permission and advice and blessings and I just won't have it anymore… And I've told the family this too, and they agreed. But they all thought I should ask you something as well, since they all had. So I'm here to tell you I'm getting married- you do remember Alicia don't you? That wonderful Gryffindor Chaser in our year? Yes, her. And so I'm not here to ask you for your permission, because I've done it already. And I'm not here to ask you for your blessing, because I know I have it. But… do you forgive me?

We made a promise a long time ago, that no matter what happened to either one of us, that we would never have a more better half than each other. But I feel perhaps that Alicia has become my better half in your absence… and I didn't mean it to happen… I feel like a stupid great prat sometimes for letting it happen, but it has… and I need to know how you feel about it. We've always been able to figure out what the other is thinking, so I'll know I'll have your forgiveness as soon as you decide to give it…

4 and 3

It's been four years to the day since I asked your forgiveness. And it's been three years to the day since I married Alicia. For a while I thought you weren't going to give me your forgiveness… it had been over six months and I still didn't have any feeling that you forgave me. But then, one day Alicia and I were closing down the store in Diagon Alley, and I had been feeling a bit down. She offered me a snack… Nosebleed Nougat (I said I was down)… and as I chased her around the shop for the piece to make it stop, I remembered the moment when mum first caught us after we'd used them. Remember how she thought we'd been dueling, and you said 'Dueling mum? Us? There's nothing we don't forgive each other for, doesn't even need to be asked? Why would we need to duel?' Mum just shook her head at us.

I stopped chasing Alicia at once. Alicia saw me stop and thought the blood loss had perhaps made me weak. Bloody well shoved the other half of the Nougat down my throat, she did. But once she saw to it that I was thoroughly cleaned up enough, I told her we could get married. She ran and kissed me. When she stopped, she asked me 'why did Fred forgive me right now?' I told her, you forgave me before I even knew I needed forgiving, I didn't even need to ask'. Can you believe she shook her head at me like mum did?

So it's officially been 19 years since you died Fred. Albus and Rose will start Hogwarts in a couple of months, James keeps telling Al he'll be in Slytherin- much to Ginny's displeasure. And Ron keeps telling Rose if she's not in Gryffindor he'll disown her… much to Hermione's displeasure. Remember Teddy, Remus and Tonk's son? He's dating Victoire… not that anyone else knows yet… caught him telling her that he was sick and the only way he could morph was if she kissed him… I'm sure if Fleur finds out I told him that she'll kill me… good times, eh?

And I hope you didn't think I would make it today. It's kind of late, but… Alicia just had Triplets. Two girls and a boy. I told everyone I would name my son after you… something clever like Daft or Gitt… I even suggested Gred, but no one except Harry seemed to think it was appropriate. Alicia talked me into Frederick in the end. We're using Ginny's name for our first born girl. Ginny wants to hold her all day. And we had a bit of a struggle on the last girl's name; Alicia says she comes from a long line of boys in her family, and that her mother's name was actually Alicia as well. And then she said Dora… Alicia had long told us some time ago that Tonks had saved her life during that final battle and so I agreed to Dora. But not Nymphadora- Tonks hated that name.

So that's everything I think… I hate to rush, but with all those red headed men around the kids might not remember which one is actually their father… can't have that, can I? I mean, they have to realize it's their father having a very important discussion about the uncle they'll never know.

I usually tell you I miss you… and nothing's changed, I do… a lot. But for the first time, I feel like I should add something else, because as a father I just realized it's not all about me. So for once I'm going to say: Don't miss me too much… as loveable as I am, I know that can be a hard thing, but don't… I used to think we'd never be ok again, but we are… we are.

Can you believe it?

I couldn't get the ending to work for me… but if I went to bed to sleep on it, I'd never put this out.

Thanks again to missick93 whose story encouraged me to write this. I feel better about Fred already actually. I think I may do one for all the characters that died who I'll miss. I have a lot of frustration built around Sev…

Anyhoo, leave a review if you don't mind. It'll add to my new feelings… :)