Finding Yourself : Fred Weasley

40

      After Saunders leaves Lupin sits back down and Sirius walks back in. This time in human form. I have only ever seen photos from the wanted posters of him.
    He is a tall, very handsome man with long back hair. He has a thin face and is rather scrawny. I would imagine it is from his imprisonment due to the accused murder of his friends, Lily and James Potter. My new found parents.
      Bill and George stay in the kitchen. They probably overheard everything and is giving me some time. I thank them for that. Right now I really want to sit alone and process everything. Though I know I can't. And I know George and I have to leave soon.
      I look at the time. It's almost 10. If we leave soon we can still go to the end of the ball. I will have to pull myself together and think about all this later. I don't want George's night to be ruined too badly.
     "You two were their friends right?" I ask quietly just to be clear. They nod. "Yes," Lupin says. I look at Sirius. "You are Harry's Godfather?" I ask. "Yes. As well as yours," he says softly.
      I look between them. "You had a theory about it?" I ask trying to make this fast. "Yes. When Remus told me your situation I brought up who you may be," Sirius explains. "We had to find out. For James and Lily," Lupin adds.
     I lightly nod. "What's my real name?" I ask a little more slowly. They look at each other. "Danielle Lily Potter," Sirius answers slowly.
      "So what now? Am I supposed to use that name now?" I ask confused. "That is your decision. I suggest thinking about it first," Remus answers. I lightly nod. I definitely will.
     "Why did no one find me?" I ask quietly. "Your parents and we searched for a very long time. The ministry searched too. But they only did for so long. The ministry has never been much help at anything," Sirius says bitterly.
     "You went missing three months before your third birthday. Harry was almost a year old. They never stopped looking for you. Even when the ministry did. Every time I saw them they talked about you. And kept trying to come up with new ways to find you," As Remus talks, I can hear how his tone has changed from when he was talking to me before. He is more protective now.
     I look down then stand and look at them both. "George and I really need to go. I have a lot to think about and I don't want to deprive him of the ball any more than I already have," I say as an excuse to leave. I really just want to go sit alone in bed.
     They both stand. "Write. Please," Sirius says, a sad look in his eye. I lightly nod. "I will." George and Bill walk out as if on command. They both look at me. I can tell neither of them really know what to say.
    Bill clears his throat. "The Portkey is ready. It will take you back to the Shrieking Shack." I lightly nod then look back at Remus and Sirius. Remus also has a sad look in his eyes.
     "How do I tell Harry this?" I ask, feeling stupid for not having thought of that problem before. "How do I tell anyone?" They are both at a loss for words. "I really hate to break this up but you have three minutes," Bill says quickly. I sigh.
     "Thank all of you again. I really appreciate it," I say before taking hold of the umbrella that George us holding out. "We were happy to help," Remus says with a small smile. I force myself to smile back.
      Before anyone can say anything else we are pulled through the Portkey and are in the shrieking shack. I really feel like I am going to throw up this time. I take a few minutes before I stand up. I don't say anything as I walk over and open the door then let him walk out first.
      As soon as I step foot outside I shiver. Though I do still have George's jacket on. No pants and not the proper shoes do make it colder though. We walk fast, but not as fast as when we were getting here. 
      Out of all the possibilities I thought of that was not one of them. I never for a second even considered the fact I could be a Potter. Maybe I'm not. Maybe Saunders just lied to us for the money. Maybe Harry and I could get one of those DNA tests. I would still have to tell him. 
      How am I supposed to tell him that? Just walk up and be like 'Hey, did anyone tell you that you had a missing sister? Yea it's me! Surprise!' Yeah no. I don't think that would go over very well at all. 
       "You heard what he said didn't you?" I ask George, breaking the silence. He looks at me and nods. "Don't tell anyone, please. I want to figure out how to do it on my own."   "I understand," He says softly before giving me a light smile. 
       We don't speak again until we get in the tunnel. "You know, Fred and Angelina went to the ball as friends," George announces once we are about 5 minutes into the tunnel. I look at him, slightly shocked. "They did?" He nods. "How do you know?" I ask wanting to be sure. He lightly laughs.
     "Because I am his twin. Trust me. I know," he says sounding very sure of himself. "So what do I do then? He won't even smile at me anymore." The knot is back, and it has tied itself into the worst knot it has yet.  
       He thinks for a few seconds. "Ask him to dance with you. You are going back to the ball right?" I shrug. "I dunno... I really just-"  "- okay. As your date, I insist that you come back to the ball so I can at least get one dance with you. After you dance with my twin so you can confess to each other that you are madly in love," George interrupts, amusement in his voice. 
       I lightly laugh out of slight embarrassment. "Woah, slow down. I never said anything about being madly in love with him. I never even said that I fancy him," I defend. He laughs. "You didn't have to." I lightly push him. He laughs more. "So you might as well admit it." 
      "What exactly might I as well admit?" I ask playfully. "That you fancy him. It is pretty obvious. Just as it is pretty obvious that he fancies you." My face burns, I am really happy we are in a dimly lit tunnel and he can't really see my face, because it would be giving it away. 
    "What will you do if I do admit it?" I ask a little worried. "Nothing. I just like teasing you. It's funny." I roll my eyes. We stop talking so we can focus more on hurrying back to the ball. 
     When we get to the end of the tunnel George carefully peeks out to check and see if the coast is clear. When he sees that it is he steps out and looks around to be sure. He waves me out and I walk out. The witch stature resumes her normal position. 
     I take off George's jacket now that we are in the warmth of the school and he slides it back on and straightens it out then looks at me and lightly laughs. "What?" I ask worriedly. "You have some snow and dirt on your dress. And your hair is kind of messy," he says amused. I roll my eyes. I knew my hair wouldn't stay looking nice. 
      He pulls out his wand. "Scourgify," he mutters. I look down at my dress and watch as the dirt and snow get cleaned away. I give him a smile of appreciation. "We need to hurry," I say while looking at the time. 10:40. "We still have a little over an hour," he says with a smile. 
     We quickly walk down back to the Great Hall. On the stairs, there are couples snogging and girls crying. Some of them are crying alone, and some are being comforted by their friends. George and I walk past them without being noticed and walk into the Great Hall. There are a lot fewer people there since when we left. Though a lot of them are still dancing as the wizarding band The Weird Sisters continue to play.