“He isn’t anywhere,” Lily said, worry in her voice.
“Here comes Sirius, maybe he has some news,” James told her reassuringly. “And there is Remus and…Albus,” James said. Seeing Albus Dumbledore walking along side Remus was not a good sign. He felt Lily stiffen as she watched the men approach.
“Nothing,” said Sirius.
“We think we know where he is,” Remus said as he reached them.
“The Gate is open,” said Albus. “It would seem Mr Weasley found a way to return to his family for Christmas.”
At Lily’s startled look, James put his arm around her. “Which one of us is going to go and bring him back?” he asked, looking at each of the men.
“I’ll go,” Sirius said immediately.
“No, I’ll go,” Remus countered.
“Gentlemen, I am afraid none of you will be allowed to go. This matter is out of our hands. A Retriever will be sent to bring him back.”
“A dog? You are going to send a dog after him?” James asked shocked.
“No, not a dog,” said Albus, chuckling. “A Retriever is sent to bring back wayward spirits who find their way back to earth. Given Fred’s recent state of mind, a special Retriever will be sent to assist him in his quest to see his family. It is hoped that by seeing his family moving on he will be able to accept his death and his new life.”
“You know about his memory lapses?” asked Lily.
“Of course, my dear. There isn’t much that goes on around here that is secret,” Albus said smiling. “Ah, here she comes now.” Albus nodded towards the woman approaching.
“Albus,” the woman said to him, “are these the ones who know him best?”
“Yes, anything you need to know, they can tell you,” Albus said. “This is Lily and James Potter, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. The latter two will be the best source of information on Mr Weasley’s possible whereabouts.” Albus Dumbledore did not even realise he had reverted to his Headmaster voice and way of referring to Fred.
Turning to Sirius and Remus, she asked, “Where do you think he would go?”
“Home,” all four said in unison.
“But, it isn’t as simple as that. He went through the Gate with no preparation. He does not understand how to get from one place to another. So, I need to know everywhere he may think of, everywhere that was important to him.”
“It was Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, other than the Burrow, that was most important to him,” answered Remus.
“That is his shop on Diagon Alley, right?” she asked.
“Yes, he started it with his twin,” said Remus.
“Twin? Wait, Albus, there is a twin involved?” she asked quickly. “Identical?”
“Absolutely identical,” answered Sirius.
“Except for the missing ear,” said Remus laughing.
“This explains a lot,” she said. Turning to Albus, she said, “We should have been informed of the twin connection sooner.” She looked at the others standing there. “Has he been experiencing moments of not realising he is dead?” she asked.
They all nodded. Shaking her head, she asked again where else was important to him and to his twin.
“I don’t know, maybe Hogwarts? He played Quidditch there, and the two of them were known for their pranks and misdeeds,” Remus answered. “Perhaps Hogsmeade and the tunnels,” he added reluctantly.
“The tunnels?” she asked.
“There are several secret tunnels between Hogwarts and Hogsmeade,” Albus explained. “But weren’t they all sealed during the Battle?” he asked Remus.
“No, we tried to seal them, but some of them remained open… at least as far as I know,” he said.
“I will need a list of these tunnels, where they start and where they end. He could very well use one of them to get into Hogwarts or out of it.”
Smiling, the three Marauders began giving her the list of tunnels. Remus told her of the ones that were collapsed and no longer useful. He also told her of the newest one from the Hogs Head to the Room of Requirement.
“Okay, is there anywhere else you can think of?” she asked.
“The only other place is Grimmauld Place, though I can’t see any reason he would go there,” said Sirius.
“Is there anywhere else?”
Each of them shook their head. “Okay, I must be going. From this list, it could take a bit to find him. And once I find him, getting him to agree to come back here.” She turned to go.
“Wait,” called Sirius, “he has a choice of not returning?”
“No, he has to return, it will be getting him to return willingly that may be a problem. If he does not come willingly, then we could again have this problem. He needs to accept he is dead and this is his new life.”
“I think if he is able to see his family, his brother, it would help,” said Lily. “If he could see they are adjusting and beginning to move on, he might be more willing to come back.”
The Retriever didn’t comment, she just looked at each of them thoughtfully. “Perhaps you are right. I will guide him to his family. Once he sees life going on without him, he will hopefully be more accepting of his death.” With this, she turned and strode towards the forest.
****
As Fred walked down the path towards Hogsmeade, he realised there was snow everywhere and big flakes were still falling from the sky. He had no cloak but was not chilled. Strange, he thought, why am I not cold? This fact worried him more than the fact he saw absolutely no one anywhere.
He tried to remember which passageways were left undamaged by the Battle. The only one he was reasonably certain was still open was the one from the Shrieking Shack to the Whopping Willow. He headed through Hogsmeade up to the Shrieking Shack.
It took a bit of work to get inside, but at last he managed it. He slipped down into the tunnel and began his journey to Hogwarts. He hoped the stick he and George had hidden in the tunnel was still there. He needed to carefully reach the knot in the tree to freeze it so he could safely exit the tunnel.
When he reached the end, the branch was not where it should have been. He peeked out the tunnel exit and the tree seemed to be calm. He figured if he moved quick enough, he could reach safety before the tree realised he was there.
Slowly he climbed out and at a sprint ran across the expanse of snow covered lawn towards the castle. Once he was far enough from the tree, he glanced back. The tree had not even moved. Shaking his head, he wondered if the tree was sick or something. He had never known it to not attack anyone that was within its reach.
Deciding he didn’t really have time to think about it, he hurried up to the castle. He pulled the door open and walked into the deserted Entrance Hall. Looking around, he wondered at the silence. He knew that some students always stayed over during the holidays.
He went to the Great Hall and found it empty except for the Hogwarts’ ghosts floating around.
“Fred!” exclaimed Nearly Headless Nick. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m not sure. Nick, where have I been, do you know? Do you know what happened to me?” Fred asked.
“Where you have been? I’m not sure I understand,” Nick said to him. “Fred, you are dead. I would think you moved on, but you are here so…”
“Dead?” Fred asked. “No, I’m not dead. I was hurt; I’ve been in a hospital.”
“For over seven months?” asked Nick. He gestured to the front of the hall where there were several decorated Christmas trees.
Before Fred could comment, he saw a young witch approaching. Her hair was long and dark in colour. Fred didn’t recognise her. He waited to see if she would say anything to him.
“Mr Weasley, I have been looking everywhere for you,” she said to him. “Hello, Nick. Enjoying the holidays?” she asked the Gryffindor ghost.
“Immensely, favourite time of year,” answered Nick. “Nice to see you again, Esmeralda. Came to bring Fred back, huh?”
“Yes,” she replied. Turning back to Fred, she said to him, “I am Esmeralda. I have come to bring you back, but first, I think you need to see a few things.”
“I’ll just leave him in your capable hands, Essi. Good to see you again,” Nick said before he floated away.
“What is going on?” asked Fred.
“You, Mr Weasley, are dead. Plain and simple as that. You have been for over seven months. Killed by a falling wall, if I remember correctly.”
“Why don’t I remember that? Why don’t I remember being…dead?” Fred asked.
“You don’t remember because you have chosen not to. At first, you had no issue with being dead beyond the normal ones. From what I have been told, lately you have become increasingly disenchanted by your new life. You have been having slips in memory, and insisting you can’t really be dead. Then this morning, you turned up missing. When the Gate was discovered open, I was called in to find you and bring you back,” she told him.
Fred didn’t understand how it was possible he had been dead for this amount of time and have no memory of it. Besides if he was dead, then how was he able to move things?
“If I am dead, then how can I move things? I got into the Shrieking Shack, I opened the front door to get in here,” he told her.
“Because at the time, you didn’t believe you were dead. Moving objects is a matter of mind over matter. Once you realise you are dead, it won’t be so easy for you to move things.”
Fred walked over the doors of the Great Hall, he tried to grab one and push it closed. He was shocked when his hand passed through the door. After a few more tries, Esmeralda walked over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder.
He looked at her through eyes filled with pain. “I really am dead, then?” he asked, his voice cracking on the last word.
“Yes, you are,” she told him softly.
“I need to see my family,” he said.
“Of course you do. We can go to them whenever you are ready,” she said to him.
“But how? How do I get there?” he asked.
“All you have to do is think about them, about where you want to be, and you will be there instantly,” she said as she once again placed her hand on his shoulder.
Fred closed his eyes and thought about George. It was George he most wanted to see. When he opened them, he was standing in the middle of his apartment over Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes. He looked around quickly for George, but the apartment was empty.
“I thought about George, why am I here?” he asked.
“I don’t know. This is your trip as they say,” she told him. “Perhaps when you think about George, this is what you think about?”
“Of course I think about the shop. This is… was our dream. Maybe he is downstairs,” Fred said as he walked towards the door. He reached for the handle and his hand passed right through it. He looked to Esmeralda for help.
Smiling, she took his hand and walked right through the door. “Cool,” he said. They walked downstairs and looked around. There was no one there, the shop was closed up tight.
“Where could he be?” he asked.
“I would think he is probably home. It is Christmas Eve,” Esmeralda said.
Fred smiled and took her hand before closing his eyes to try again to go to the Burrow. When he opened them, he was shocked to find himself not at the Burrow, but at Grimmauld Place.
“Why am I here? Why can’t I get home where I want to be?” he asked even as he began walking through the house looking around.
Not waiting for an answer, he first went upstairs to the drawing room. He was surprised to see the room clean and dust free. He wondered if Harry was living here now. Seeing a decorated Christmas tree in the corner, he knew Harry was living here.
He left the room and went back down to the foyer where Esmeralda still stood. Not speaking to her, he went down the next flight of stairs into the kitchen. This room was also clean. Fred knew even when they had stayed here while Sirius was alive, the room hadn’t been this clean.
Going back upstairs, he walked over to Esmeralda. “No one is here,” he said. “Maybe I’m not supposed to go to the Burrow. Maybe I’m not supposed to see my family,” he said.
“If you really want to see them, then you will. I think you are scared to see them and that is what is blocking you from getting there. You are going everywhere your mind can think of but where your heart wants to go.”
Fred knew she was right. He was afraid to see his family. He didn’t know if it was because he was afraid to see them still grieving for him or whether he was afraid to see them getting over him.
“The only obstacle to you seeing your family is you. You have to want to see them more than you fear what you will see,” she told him gently.
Fred once again took her hand and closed his eyes. No matter what his family was feeling, he needed to see them. He needed to be home for Christmas.
Finding a Way to a Burrow Christmas by mudbloodproud
Chapter Notes: I, again, wish to thank my wonderful beta for this story, Alyssa (Harry4lif). Thank you honey for doing this for me.
I do not own anything you recognize in this story. It all belongs to J. K. Rowlings. I am just thankful to get to play in her world for a bit.