Stolen Time

A Little Oblivion

Fred unconsciously tied and untied the laces of his trainers.

He had refused to leave the small room, much to Gideon and Fabian's dismay. He preferred to stay closeted away from everyone else.

It wasn't that Fred was miserable in any way. Quite the opposite. He was angry, furious even. Not because George had lived. Because he had died.

Fred had never once seriously entertained the idea that he would die during the war. Not after the night they brought Harry to the Burrow from his relatives' house when Moody was killed and George nearly died when Snape severed his ear from his head. Not even in the debacle after Bill's wedding when the reception was overrun by Death Eaters. Not in all those weeks and months later, when they dreaded the sound of the door opening of the shop. It could have been one of Voldemort's minions who would drag you away, never to be seen again. Nor even that night when George, white-faced and eyes wide and staring, forced Fred to promise to have "Mischief Managed" put on his tombstone if he died. It was a promise Fred readily agreed to, but mostly to make George hush up about it. Not even after George solemnly swore to do the same for Fred if he died. Not even as he and George fished out their DA coins and sent messages telling all the old DA members to go to Hogwarts.

Up to the moment when he stood next to Percy, battling Death Eaters in the corridor, cracking jokes, and feeling an odd sense of pride that his swotty older brother had finally made a joke, Fred didn't think he was going to die.

He never heard the explosion that sent the wall crashing down on him.

Fred had lashed out at everybody in the beginning, decrying it all as an elaborate joke, especially since Remus and Tonks were there. He had heard stories about the kinds of pranks Remus and his mates could pull when they were at school, and Fred wouldn't put it past him to yank his chain like this - just to prove the old dog could still teach the young pup a thing or two. He even thought Harry and Ginny were in on it, too, until he realized the man with Harry's face and hair wasn't Harry, and the woman had bright green eyes, and not Ginny's wide, dark ones.

That was the moment Fred knew he was dead.

He had turned into the first building he came to, as he ran away from the group of people, unable to face the reality to which he had awakened.

Fred heard the door open slowly, but ignored the person who walked into the room. They had come in every so often - Remus, Sirius, Dumbledore, Fabian, Gideon, Tonks, even Lily and James - to try and persuade him to leave the room. But Fred merely continued to ignore them in stony silence until they gave up and left.

'Nobody wants to be here, Fred,' Gideon said softly. 'Especially when you've been forced to come before your time.'

Fred said nothing, and continued to incessantly fiddle with the laces of his trainers.

Gideon sighed, and settled on the window seat next to Fred. 'Look, I know how you feel...'

Fred's head snapped up violently. 'You don't know,' he spat. 'Your twin died with you.' He slid off the window seat and began to pace restlessly. 'And mine... Mine is still alive.'

'You think George wanted it to be this way?' Gideon asked incredulously. 'The only reason Fabian and I died together is that we were ambushed by eight Death Eaters while on our way to the Burrow after a meeting with the Order.' Gideon's head slowly swiveled as he watched Fred's progress across the room. 'If they'd sent even two or three fewer goons, one of us would probably have lived. We took down three of them before they got us,' he added, a hint of pride creeping into his voice.

'At least you didn't have to be alone...' Fred muttered despairingly. 'It's like I can't even think without him.'

'You're not alone, Fred.' Gideon unfolded his lanky frame from the window seat and started to leave. 'It's just different than what you're used to.' He opened the door and turned back to Fred, standing in the middle of the room. 'One day, George will be here. And it'll be like you two were never apart.'

As Gideon closed the door, Fred thought he heard him say, 'I promise you that...'

xxxxxx

Keep Myself Away

'Can he hear me?'

Fabian shook his head. 'No. He'll think it's a dream or something. Even if he was awake he'd not be able to hear you.'

'Can I touch him?'

Fabian shrugged. 'He won't feel it. Well, that's not entirely true. He'll feel it, but he'll think it's the wind. It's like what Tonks does with her son.'

Fred reached out tentatively and experimentally ran a hand over George's hair. George twitched in his sleep, one hand brushing over his face. 'How come he can't hear me?'

'Because you don't really exist here,' Fabian explained. 'You're not like a ghost.'

Fred snickered. 'Do you know how funny that sounds? He can hear Nearly-Headless Nick, but he can't hear me...'

'That is one drawback to not being a real ghost,' Fabian allowed. 'But they always stay like that...'

Fred pulled at his shirt fretfully. 'Can I be alone with him?'

'Sure. I'll be just outside, then.'

Fred waited until Fabian had left then turned back to George. 'Hey, bro...' He paused, unsure of what to say next. 'Will you stop being such a girl?' he exploded. 'Grow a pair and tell Katie how you feel. I'm almost embarrassed to call you my twin!' Fred stopped and rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. 'I don't mean that... But, honestly, George... You can't just hide yourself away like that... Just because I'm gone doesn't mean you have to stop living. But if you do end up with her, you have to name your firstborn son after me. Is that a deal? Good.

'Ron's doing... I'm... He's doing a good job,' Fred said grudgingly. 'Who knew Ickle Ronnikins knew so much about what people want?'

Fred pushed his hands into his pockets, swallowing heavily. 'It... It w-w-wasn't Percy's fault... I mean it wasn't his fault about me... Knowing Perce, he's buried it so far down he hasn't had a chance to deal with it yet. None of us could have seen that explosion coming. It was just bad luck. It could have been Perce, or Ron, or Hermione, or Harry, just as easily as it was me...

'See you around, bro...'

Fred turned and began to walk toward the door, disappearing before he could walk through it.

George's eyes opened suddenly, and he sat up, his pajamas twisted around his body. He glanced suspiciously around the room. He could have sworn someone had been in there, talking to him, but the door was still firmly shut. He slid back down into the bed and closed it his eyes. Must have been a dream...