Brixham House (On Temp. Hold)

6. Are you listening?

June 2007

Hermione downed the sobering potion like it was going to save her from this mess. As she kept her eyes closed, swallowing it down, she willed the nightmare to leave. To open her eyes, and find herself in bed with George and Rose squished between them.

That did not happen, and instead she opened her eyes to find Fred seated across from her, though his gaze was fixated on George who was sat next to her.

George had his head bowed, forehead pressed to the table as he took deep breaths.

Seemingly unable to look his brother in the eye.

"I think-" Alex began, clearing her throat. Charlie's hand was comforting on her lower spine, but the tension in the room was steadily rising as everyone stared at Fred. "I think you ought to start from the top Fr-Fred." Alex stumbled, as Fred was just someone she heard stories about, she had never met the man.

She was staring at a ghost.

"I asked him not to send me back." Fred whispered, his voice hoarse. Without even thinking about it, Harry summoned a glass of water and set it down in front of the man, that claimed to be Fred yet looked nothing like him.

"Who." Hermione stated at once, her old Order day mindset coming to surface. She needed answers. "Who did you ask not to send you back?" She demanded. Rose squirmed, curled up in her mother's lap pressed against her chest.

"Ron, I asked Ron to send someone else. Anyone else but he said it had to be me." Fred whispered, and Hermione jerked away. She blinked, her eyes searching the room until she found Ginny.

"He..I..I don't know, Hermione." Ginny whispered, sounding entirely fearful of the fact.

"Ron is dead Fr-fucking hell-you are dead, Fred!" Hermione shouted, turning until her knees crashed into George's. George's hand shot out, gripping one of her knees tightly, where he then took in three deep breaths but yet could not lift his head.

"I know! I know I'm dead!" Fred shouted back, his fists landing heavily on the table, the water sloshed, spilling over the edges. "One moment I'm lumbering around this train station, lost and-"

"Did you just say train station?" Harry interrupted quickly, hand coming down to land on Fred's shoulder.

"Yes, and I was alone until well-fuck, Ron shows up one day, right." Fred rambled, his hands moving as he spoke. "And he told me that he was going to help me but I had long since accepted what happened." Fred spoke, his fingers drumming together. Twitching. "I told him to save someone else, give Harry's parents a chance or fuck, Teddy's parents but he told me it was me, that I was the one..I don't know what that means?" Fred turned sharply, grabbing Harry's wrist.

"How am I the one, Harry?" He asked, sounding every bit as broken as he looked.

"I don't-Fred, I don't-" Harry tried, pulling his wrist but Fred had a grip on it.

"What were we going to call the Canary Creams before?" George asked, though he was speaking down into the table.

"What?" Harry asked, turning sharply to George, eager for someone to save him from Fred's mental anguish.

"I said." George snapped, lifting his gaze. "What were we going to call the Canary Creams, before we called them the Canary Creams?" George asked, for the first time he stared into Fred's eyes.

Fred stared back, his mouth fallen open as he got over the shock of being addressed by George.

"It's not-" Bill started, sounding disappointed.

"Dick-About-Desserts." Fred whispered, the realization slowly clicking in.

"How much money did Harry give us to start the shop?" George asked, and Molly's hand flew up to cover her mouth, realizing at once what George was doing.