The Special Brother

By. SadieAnnabethMellark

Summary: The night before her wedding, Ginny can't help but wish that all of her brothers could be present for her big day. But, after a very special dream from a very special person, she knows that everybody she had ever wanted to be there will be present when she says 'I do'.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I am not J.K. Rowling. If I was I would own Harry Potter.

Everything was set. The decorations had arrived. The cake was ordered. My dress fit perfectly. The invitations were sent and the wedding party was all here. Everything, to anyone else, seemed perfect. There had been no complications so far.

It was quiet, with the occasional clatter from the ghoul upstairs, in the house. Everybody else was asleep, except for me. I just couldn't sleep. It felt like a there was a rather huge hole in all of the plans for tomorrow. Like there was something missing.

Fred.

That's who was missing...and I knew it without a doubt in my heart that that was it. One of my six older brothers was not going to be attending my wedding.

You're probably thinking, 'Just be happy that the other five will be there'. And you're right, I should be happy. Bill and his wife, Fleur, would be attending though Fleur just had a little girl named, Victorie, a few days ago and was still recovering. Charlie had come all the way from Romania. Percy was taking off work from the ministry, his pride and joy, to be at the wedding. George was going to be closing the shop for a whole day. And, Ron had come back from his first auror mission in Munich two days early to be the best man.

Everybody was making sacrifices to be here. But still, I wished my older brother, the only one who couldn't in anyway possibly attend, could attend. Fred was not coming. Fred could not come. Fred was gone. Fred Weasley, my 4th eldest brother, was dead...and he had been for three years.

Tears streamed down my eyes as I thought of my older brother. Even three years later, it was still painful to tell myself that Fred was no longer here; that Fred was gone. Fred would never make me laugh again. He would never hug me when I was sad. He would never tell me to 'Stop staring at Harry and to pass the damn potatoes!' again. Right now, Fred was just a hollow shell buried six feet under the ground underneath the old peach tree in the yard.

I squeezed my eyes shut tight and took a steadying breath. If Fred was hear, he wouldn't want me to cry. He would want me to be strong; to be happy and to have a good laugh.

I didn't open my eyes for a long time.

In fact I didn't open them until I felt the bed dip down next to me and a warm on my cheek. My eyes fluttered open to see a smiling George...something I hadn't seen in a long time.

"Don't cry, GinGin." He whispered as he looked down on me.

"George?" I whispered back. George smiled wider and then chuckled as he brushed his shaggy hair behind his right ear. His right ear was still in tact. This wasn't George. Where George's right ear shouldn't have been...it was. That's when I noticed that this George was slightly younger and his eyes didn't show constant sadness.

"Even from the other side I'm still confusing you."

Fred. Fred was here. My brother Fred was here. I didn't know how it was possible, but I didn't care. I sat bolt up right and pulled my brother into a bone crushing hug as I started to sob. He was solid. He was warm. He was actually here.

"God, Fred, I've missed you." I howled. He wrapped his arms around me tightly and squeezed me gently.

"I've missed you to Gin-bear." He told me as he rubbed my back trying to calm me.

"Freddie."

"Shh, Gin, don't cry. We can't have the bride looking like she got run over by a hippogriff on her big day." Fred soothed and joked at the same time. Yep, this was diffidently my Freddie.

I continued to sob, and Fred held me the whole time in his arms. I still couldn't believe it. He was here. And he was real. He breathed and he had a steady heart beat. He was not the shell that we buried three years ago. He was...just Fred. Just as I had left him. And he was home.

"George and Mum and everybody will be so excited your here." I said through my tears. I felt Fred tense slightly.

"Let's go for a walk Gin." Fred told me as he slowly started to pull us up and out of my bed.

"But, what about-"

"I'll explain, Gin. Later. But, lets just go and take a walk for now. Just the two of us."

Though I was still crying, Fred and I moved silently through the halls of the Burrow; our childhood home. Every creaky step, and every squeaky floorboard didn't even make a sound as we moved through the halls and down the staircases. It was quiet and peaceful, two things I never thought would happen when one of the twins was present, but then again...Fred had been dead and now...well, he was standing in front of me, very much alive.

Fred had his arm around my shoulders as we made our way through the kitchen, out the kitchen door, and out into the back garden of the burrow. The grass was soft under my bare feet and the night was warm; it was a perfect night for the middle of June. And I couldn't have felt happier.

Fred steered me away from the house and towards the old peach tree, on of his favorite childhood spots, hence the reason why George wanted him buried there.

When we reached the tree, I still saw the bright orange and purple headstone bearing the name, Fredrick Gideon Weasley and I thought about how to get rid of it. We wouldn't need it anymore, because Fred was here...and he was alive!

"I like George's choice of colors." Fred told me as he leaned up against his own headstone. I smiled a watery smile as I sidled down next to Fred and curled up next to him, comforted by my big brother's presence.

We were silent for a few minutes; my sniffles, the quiet hoots from the owls, and the slight rustling of branches and leaves making the only sounds around us.

Then Fred spoke in a quite serious voice, "Gin, do you know why I'm here?"

I looked at him puzzled, "Of course. You're here, because we're your family. You've come back to us."

Fred bit his lip and gave me an look that I had never seen before. It was a look of longing.

"I wish Gin-Gin." he told me as he brushed a stray strand of my fiery orange hair out of my brown eyes; the ones that matched his.

"You're not...staying." I whispered, "but, you just came back. I don't understand."

"Gin, Gin-bug I'm not...alive." Fred seemed to choke on the word, like it was hard for him to say.

"Of course you are. You're right here. You're solid, and warm, and...and you're breathing." I told him, the streams of tears becoming heavier. No, Fred was being crazy. Of course he was alive.

"No, Gin." he sighed, "No, I'm not alive. I'm not really even here. You're dreaming, Ginny. This is all a dream."

"No, no." I mumbled to myself, "No. It can't be."

"But, sadly, Gin it is. I wish I could say it wasn't, but I can't." he told me tears pricking his own eyes now, "I wish this was real."

I felt my chest contract. This was all a dream. This was all going on in my head. I'm imagining Fred being here. I'm imagining his warmth and the smell of his cologne that I remember him always wearing that always made me feel good ever since he started wearing it. This wasn't real.

I pulled my knees to my chest as I started to cry again. God, why was this happening? Why did my mind have to play such cool tricks.

"Hey, hey, Gin." Fred, no my imagination, told me as he pulled me closer and wrapped his arms around me tighter, "Just because this is a dream, doesn't mean its not real. I am really visiting you. I wanted to see my baby sister before she becomes Mrs. Harry Potter." He smiled and then chuckled, "I never thought I would see the day when Ginny Weasley married Harry Potter. I take it back all those times George and I laughed at your obsession over him."

"Freddie -" I started to whine.

"No, Gin." he seemed to know exactly what I was going to say, "That's not what I came here for. Let's pretend this is all real. I want it to be." And then his smile grew wider, "You'll make a beautiful bride tomorrow. Harry is one lucky man. Save me a front-row seat will you? Right in between George and Lee?"

I nodded, even though I knew that he wouldn't be there. He was dead, after all.

"You promise you'll be there?" I whispered even though I knew the truth. He wouldn't. He couldn't.

"Of course. Sorry, I couldn't get my RSVP in before today. Our mailing system on the other side is very very slow." I giggled. I couldn't help it. I giggled as I wiped away the tear tracks on my eyes.

"It's alright."

And then we were quiet for another few minutes.

"I love you, Gin-Gin." he told me as he squeezed me tighter.

"I love you to Freddie."

"Harry's a good man. And I know he'll treat you right." Fred's smile turned into a big toothy grin then, "But if he doesn't then the still living Weasley men give him hell here in this life, and I'll give him hell in the net one. There is no escaping the wrath of the Weasleys!" Then I burst into giggles, because I knew it was true. And for the first time since Fred came to visit, I felt a big smile come onto my face.

"There's that pretty smile I've been waiting for." he told me, "Our time is almost up."

"Do you have to go so soon?" I asked, my smile fading. Fred's smile softened.

"Sadly, yes, Gin." he told me and then helped me to my feet, " I wish we had longer, but I'm afraid we don't. Just remember that I'm always right here." and then he took my hand and placed it over my heart.

"I love you Fred."

He kissed my cheek, "I love you too. Remember I'm never very far away. Sweet dreams, Gin-bug."

And then my eyes snapped open and I was laying in my bed; the covers pulled on top of me with care. My hand was still close to my heart, right where George had left it and I could swear on my life that I still felt the warmth of where his lips has kissed my cheek. But, most of all, I could still hear the soft whisper of his voice, 'Sweet Dreams, Gin-bug.'.

A/N: (Its been a while since i've posted anything. I can't believe it's been almost a month. I've had this idea for a while. I've never come across something quite like this before and well, I just had to write it. I know Ginny and Fred are slightly OCC, but I did my best trying to write them. Anyways, Read. Favorite. Review. Follow (I may add another small chapter later on). Check out my profile and other stories. Thanks. S.A.M. :D)