Coming Home

Joke Shop

Fred was dreading this so much. He did not want to go in there. He was not ready to face the shop. His shop. Following his son, he turned the corner and looked up from the ground. 

There it was. Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes in all its glory. At first glance, it still looked the same. It still felt like it projected fun, pranks, and magic. It looked colorful and happy. There was a buzz of people entering and exiting the door. A rush of emotions hit Fred. At the top of these emotions were sadness and affection. He was sad that he was not inside the store right now, pranking customers and joking with George. But he felt so much pride and affection, that his shop somehow looked even grander than before. He was so proud of George, that he had carried on even without him.

As Fred and his family got closer, he could make out some of the signs on the windows. Most of the products Fred did not recognize, but one caught his eye. Canary Creams. Fred snorted at the memories that product name brought. Memories with George, who he had not seen in 17 years. Suddenly, Fred came really close to tears. He knew he could not go into that store.

"Sofia," Fred said, squeezing his wife's hand. "Why don't you take George into the store. I am going to wait outside. I'm sorry, but I'm not ready to go in there yet."

Sofia took one look at Fred's almost tearful face and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. She gave him a slight peck on the lips.

"All right. We will be in there." He handed her the money.

"Hey George!" Fred called his excited son over. "The shop is run by some people in my family. One of them is my twin, who probably looks a lot like me. Well, not like I do now, but how I normally do. You may think it is me, but he is not and please try not to tell him I'm here. Okay?"

"Yeah dad," George said. "Don't make the one who looks like you suspicious. Got it."

"Oh, one more thing," Fred said, cursing himself for almost forgetting something so important. "The last I saw of your uncle, he only had one ear." Fred gave a painful smile at the memory. George looked aghast and amazed at the same time.

"Cool! Can we go inside now? I promise I'll be good!"

Sofia chuckled. "Don't make promises you don't intend to keep. Let's go." And with one last look at her husband, they went inside the store.

Fred sat down and looked in what little of the windows he could see. There were so many happy people inside and he wanted to be one of those people so bad. Just then, a certain red-haired man walked into Fred's view and his heart stopped. He could only see the back of his head, but he could see that this man was missing an ear. As soon as Fred saw George, something happened.

Suddenly, Fred was inside the store, he was looking around very confused. It appeared he was standing right where George was a second ago. As sudden as that started, it stopped and Fred was back where he was a second ago. He knew what that was. It had first happened to the twins years ago. It was then that they learned they could see what the other was seeing. Somehow, just seeing George again had triggered that back up.

What?

The thought rang clear in Fred's head, but it wasn't him who thought it. He was hearing a voice similar to his own. It was George's. He forgot they could communicate telepathically.

Oh.

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George Weasley was having a good day, just like most days. The shop was full of business and he always loved helping customers prank each other. 

Just then, his son Fred and his nephews James and Louis ran through the shop. All three were in different states of disarray and it was evident that they had fallen for many of the others' pranks. 

"Stop it or I'll hex you!" Fred yelled, pulling out his wand. George walked over and grabbed the wand right out of his hands.

"No underage magic. You're not at Hogwarts yet." He pocketed the wand, but not before taking a close look at it. It was an 11 1/2 inch pear wood wand with a core from the fur of a certain animagus. It brought back a pouring of memories. It had taken him and Fred almost a whole year to figure out how to make the wands work. He had completely forgotten about the wand by the time his son was matched with it.

Over the years, George had been able to look at his memories without the sad taint that they used to have. Yes, every once in a while the pain would come back, but he mostly was able to remember his time with Fred as a happy time and he still craved for it again.

George walked through the store, heading over to Ron who wanted to talk to him for something. As he was walking, he suddenly stopped in his tracks. He was outside, looking at himself in the store. What was going on? It ended as quickly as it started and George was really confused. It felt like what had happened when him and Fred used to see through each other's eyes. But that was impossible. 

Fred was dead. This made him no closer to figuring out what was going on.

What?

The thought rang out in George's head. It felt different than a normal thought though. It seemed to travel away from his brain, much like words travel away from a mouth.

Oh.

The word was as prominent in George's mind as if he had heard it. And it felt like he did, but it was different. It sounded just like the telepathic thoughts used to sound like, all those years ago. It sounded like Fred.

In a flash, George ran out the door. Ron saw and followed, confused. But George did not care. Fred was out here. He had to be. He looked around and did not see Fred, and he felt his heart sink. But then there was this total stranger staring at him. The stranger's eyes were full of emotions and tears. George felt sure he did not know this man, yet something told him he did.

Slowly, a grin spread across the man's face. George stared at that grin. It was the same one that he saw in the mirror everyday. This unfamiliar man was Fred. George was sure of it.

Hey Georgie.

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