Freddie

Fred

It was decided that Fred would stay in George's flat until he could get a job and buy his own place. Fred would be perfectly fine with this if it weren't for George's newfound sickeningly sweet relationship with Angelina. The lovebirds called each other zillions of times a day, and were one step away from, "No, you hang up first". Despite his grumblings about it, Fred was happy that his brother had someone. He knew that in spite of everyone's hopes, he wouldn't be here for very long, and he didn't want George to shut himself out from the world again.

George grabbed his keys and started to walk out of the door.

"Where are you going?" asked Fred.

"To work," said George, "I do have to feed myself, you know. So, you stay here if you want. There's food in the refrigerator, and you can turn on the telly." Fred scoffed.

"Yeah, because I'm going to stay in a flat and watch telly all day. I want to go with you, check on my brother. Where do you work?" he asked.

"Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, of course," said George. "You didn't think I'd give up on our business, did you?"

"Well, I guess I did. You gave up on almost everything else in your life after all!"

"Point taken." George walked out of the door and then reappeared a few seconds later. "Right! I keep forgetting we can apparate! Let's go."

Fred grasped George's arm and felt like his stomach was turning in on itself and he was being squeezed through a very tight rubber tube; the usual. He opened his eyes and blinked to get used to his new surroundings. They were in Diagon Alley, close to their joke shop. Fred gasped when he saw it. It was still there, but all of the lights were dim, and the gloomy feeling surrounding it surely drove away customers. "I thought you said you kept it open!" Fred exclaimed to his brother.

"It is open!" George argued. "It's-it's just that customers haven't been in in a while. My heart really wasn't in it anymore, and people could feel it. It's not right to walk into a joke shop where no one's laughing." He turned and walked towards the building. He turned a bronze key into the lock and Fred heard a satisfying click. The inside of the building was even more depressing than the outside. Everything was covered in a grey dust.

This sort of looks like the Otherworld thought Fred with dismay. Nothing in the living world should remind someone of a place where the dead reside.

"Well," said Fred, clapping his hands, "it's time for this to change! Watch out world, the Weasleys are back in business!" 

~ One Hour Later~

Customers finally started steaming in. Fred and George had quickly cleaned the shop as fast as they could, restocking, turning on lights, clearing clutter, and most importantly displaying a large, floating sign over the building that the store was reopening. The brothers had decided that if asked, they would say that Fred had stayed in this world as a ghost. He looked the part too, after a few helpful spells from Hermione.

When the first customers came in, they gaped at Fred for a few seconds before deciding not to ask questions. Soon, there were at least twenty witches and wizards of all ages inside. Fred walked (or floated) around, yelling things like, "Extendable Ears? Turn to your right, they're just around the corner! Love potions, ladies? Or gentlemen, I suppose, if you want! Ah yes, Fainting Fancies! Upstairs, directly to your left!" Things went on like this for about an hour before a group of people with blazing read hair walked through the door. Arthur, Molly, Charlie, Bill, Ron, and Ginny Weasley looked around anxiously. Finally, Ginny spotted Fred and ran into his arms. The rest of the Weasley family followed, exchanging words and tears with Fred. Mrs. Weasley broke down into tears and wouldn't let go of him. "I'm guessing Ron told you what happened?" asked Fred, glancing in his direction.

"Yeah, I did. George told me that you would be here. He wanted to surprise you," said Ron sheepishly. Mrs. Weasley whacked George in the arm.

"Ow! Mum, what was that for?" asked George.

"For not talking to us for five years! And for not telling us about your brother until now! You should be ashamed of yourself," she said angrily.

"Well, I'm sorry Mum," he said, "I just had a lot on my mind with everything going on." Mrs. Weasley pulled Fred and George into a bone-crushing hug, but neither of them objected. The rest of the day consisted of making up for five years of lost business and reconnecting with the rest of the Weasley family. It seemed, for a while, that nothing could destroy their happiness and that everything in the world was good. But happiness is a flame, and as Veronica Roth once said, I suppose a fire that burns that bright is not meant to last.