Family
Rating: T
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry or any other affiliated characters. They are JK's creations that I am simply borrowing for the purpose of this fanfiction.
5 – Fred
I awoke; oddly pain free, to see something white and shimmery inches from my face. I blinked, my mind trying to register what the odd thing in front of my face was.
"We have an ickle Weasel!" shouted a voice with glee – a voice that came from the shimmery shape. Screaming, I shot up – and through – the shape.
"Calm down Weasel," said the voice again, cackling and zooming round the room. It was then I realised that I was back at Hogwarts. I shook my head.
"Looks like you're missing something, Weasel!" cackled the voice again, "Weasel's lost his marbles!"
"Peeves!" called a voice. The cackling stopped, only to be replaced by a smarmy suck-up voice. As quick as a flash, the resident poltergeist of Hogwarts was propelled away. I looked around to see The Bloody Baron – the Slytherin Ghost. He had a slight look of annoyance on his face which seemed to dim into a serious look after Peeves' disappearance.
"Come with me, Weasley," The Baron ordered, "You won't get anywhere sitting there looking lost."
I followed him until we came to a dead end. As the Bloody Baron went through the wall, I stayed where I was.
"Hey!" I called, "I can't –"
The Baron stuck his head back through the wall, gave me a sarcastic look and dragged me through. I went through a wall… as if I were a ghost or something. Inside the elaborate room sat the ghosts of Hogwarts: Nearly-Headless Nick of Gryffindor, The Grey Lady of Ravenclaw, The Fat Friar of Hufflepuff, Moaning Myrtle, and a number of others that I had seen but never heard of before.
"Ah Fred Weasley," Nick said, "Welcome to your first death-day party!"
"Hang on…" I said, "Whatya mean 'death-day'?"
Every single ghost in the room shook their heads, and I caught whispers of 'he's in denial' and 'poor little thing…'. Frustrated I banged my fist against the table… only to have it go through. The ghosts looked at me in increasing pity.
"Ok…" I said calming down, "Explain it to me… how did I end up here?"
Nick went on to explain that during the Battle of Hogwarts, I had been hit by a killing curse. There was no need for further explanation. I nodded and took a large plate of cake that the Grey Lady – the Ravenclaw resident ghost – had offered me. Eagerly, I wolfed the large slab of cake down, only to be met by raucous laughter on behalf of the ghosts. Looking down, I saw the large slab of cake splattered on the floor.
"Don't worry…" came a sulky voice from the corner, "You don't need to eat anyway." I spun around to see a girl with horn-rimmed glasses wearing a school uniform. I had heard of her before, Ron had mentioned her to me on a few occasions. All I knew of her was that she generally haunted the girls' bathrooms on the first floor and spilt water everywhere when she was being – in Ron's words – melodramatic.
Insulted that I didn't remember her name, she wailed and left the room with the assistance of one of the pipes that carried water to the upper floors. The rest of the guests were not phased by her behaviour.
As the party wound down, Nick pulled me aside and told me that I could 'haunt' other places I had been in my life that I had left some of my 'essence' as a wizard. Without explaining, he left me to my thoughts.
Thinking hard, I imagined 'The Burrow' – my childhood home. If it were any other day, mum would be in the kitchen pointing her wand furiously at pots, pans, and other kitchen utensils in order to make enough for six growing boys, a sprouting girl, a hungry husband, and whoever else decided to join. Ginny would be outside, secretly practicing Quidditch, and Ron would be furiously scratching a note to Harry or Hermione.
Dad would be half way between the office and home; Percy would be hiding in his room reading about boring things like Ministry policy on the trade of cauldrons, and if Bill and Charlie were home, they would be helping mum cook dinner and telling her about their latest adventures in their foreign homes.
"AGGGGGHHHHHH!!" came a scream. Looking around frantically, I saw that I was in the familiar surrounding of the kitchen in The Burrow. It was Ron who had let out the uncharacteristic girly scream.
"I almost mistook you for a girl, Ronerella!" I laughed, my voice oddly echoing around the room. Within moments; Ginny, George, mum, dad, Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Harry, Hermione, and our cousin Mafalda were crowding the small kitchen gaping at me.
"Ah, you'll get used to it!" I said, grinning like a madman. And like old times, George wore an identical look. It was certainly going to be fun to be a ghost!
Author's Note: I always had a hunch that Fred would be one of those wizards who became a ghost, so because I haven't yet seen anyone put that into the fanfiction realm I did it myself! Also I added Mafalda – the "character that might have been" – she was one of JK's characters that was going to be included in book 4 but got written out. She is a Weasley family member but would've been in Slytherin.