In Essence Divided

Chapter 15

The morning broke early, earlier than Fred and George wanted it to at any rate. They had a long night, and only got in an hour before the sun made it’s appearance. Fred was the first to rise, as he normally was, and he quickly jumped in the shower to try to wash the tired from him. He grimaced under the cold water, waking up faster than he thought he would.

He dried himself and looked into the bedroom to see that George was still fast asleep. He dressed himself silently, taking care not to wake his brother. This was going to be the first time since they came home that he properly tried to get past what happened. He was going to go to Madame Puddifoot’s and get two cups of coffee. It seemed a very small task, but his hand shook as he laced his boots. He looked in his pocket and made sure his wand was secure. He walked to the night stand that separated their beds and made sure that George’s wand was within his reach. He didn’t want to leave anything to chance this time. He left a note in case George woke, just telling him where he had gone.

He took one last deep breath and walked to the front door of the shop. Walking into the sunlight, he turned and locked the door, uttering the enchantments Dumbledore had taught him. He turned his back and fought every urge his body was telling him to turn around and go back. He kept walking to where he had to go, reaching the disapparation point and arriving in Hogsmeade. The urge to turn and apparate back was so strong that he felt as though he were walking through a layer of molasses.

Along the way, he fell in stride with Kingsley Shacklebolt, nodding to the man as they entered the shop together. Kingsley seemed to sense that Fred was under some sort of strain, and he let his go ahead. The line wasn’t very long, and he received sympathetic looks from some of the other patrons. Surely word of the attack had traveled fast, no one was as gossipy as witches.

“Alright, Fred?” Kingsley asked.

“As right as can be.” Fred said, stepping forward in the line. “First time out since...”

Kingsley shook his head before Fred could continue. “I understand. Better to face it now, it’s good. Get your mind on other things when you can.” He said. Fred nodded. “How’s Molly?” He asked.

“Mum’s fine. She’s mum. You know. Keeps her own diversions, I suppose.” He said. “She hasn’t, you know, said anything?” Fred asked. He hated to admit it, but he really hadn’t thought of his mother’s feelings through all of this.

“She joined a group at the Ministry. Arthur got her involved. A place for mother’s of victims to go. As far as I know, she has yet to attend. Maybe you should tell her.” Kingsley said as though reading the new thought on Fred’s face.

“Maybe. It’ll be good for her I reckon.” Fred said. He turned his attention to the door as his father walked in. His number was called from the counter, so all he managed was a nod. He turned to the witch at the counter, she smiled a brilliant flash of pearly whites and asked what she could get for him, already making his drinks. He was glad for the rush, glad that she plastered on her fake smile, and glad that she was just as uncomfortable with looking at him as he was with her. From the tremble of her grin, he could tell that she knew what happened, and she was trying not to say anything about it. He glanced over his shoulder. More customers had come in since he arrived, and as he looked, there was a flash of apprehension in some of their eyes before they looked to the floor, but others continued to look at him as though he were a specimen. He was a show. A curiosity.

It dawned on him that Harry Potter had gone through this for all of his life in the wizarding world. Everyone stared at him as he passed, wanting to ask something, but never getting the nerve. He wondered how Harry dealt with the stares, the thick layer of tension, the hushed whispers. He suddenly felt the urge to run out of the store again, but this time for completely different reasons. He had heard all about Potter last night from Dumbledore, and he wondered how the boy had lasted for as long as he did.

How could one keep a secret as large as this one? Fred tried to wrap his head around the fact that he held the keys to the Dark Lord’s downfall in his mind, but it was to be kept a secret at all costs. So few people knew about it, and Dumbledore had kept it that way for a reason. The less the Dark Lord assumed they knew, the less he would change. The more careless he would get.

He took the coffees off the counter and dropped far too many galleons into the bin for tips. Rather than fish them out, he hustled for the door. He nodded to his father and Kingsley again, ducking his head as he passed the rest of the line, gulping air as he reached the door. He all but ran back to the apparation point. He just wanted to be home.

+++++++

“They weren’t staring at you.” The muffled voice said.

“Yeah, they were. Everyone was. They even looked at dad, cause he’s our dad.” Fred said. He was sitting on the counter top of the bathroom, his legs tucked under him, coffee cradled in his hands.

“Don’t start going mental.” George said, poking his head out of the shower. “Potter’s mental. Starting to turn out like old Moody, you know.”

“Ha ha. I’m not going mental. I just could hear them whispering.” Fred said quietly.

“All I’m saying is don’t start looking for boggarts where there aren’t any.” George called, splashing water over the shower door as he washed. “Let’s focus on what we know and not what you thought you heard while getting coffee, shall we?”

“Fine. But I’m telling you, Potter would be mental to not have gone mental by now, dealing with that every day.” Fred said. “What time is Ginny coming over?”

“I dunno. She had classes today, and then something with Dumbledore. She said she’d be by about dinner time. Maybe later, she has to go dress shopping with mum.” George said, stepping out of the shower.

“Midnight, likely then.” Fred said, handing over a towel. “Mum’s like a banshee with those clothing attendants. Poor Ginny.”

“I reckon Mum hasn’t thrown us a proper party since we’ve moved out. I wonder why Ginny gets special treatment?”

“Because she lets Mum do it. Seriously. She’s carried on like this with Ginny since she was born.”

They thought about the looming party and wondered how on earth their mother had been planning it through all the mess that was going on. [i]Diversions[/i] Fred thought to himself. The woman needed to focus on something. And Ginny was her prime target.

“Charlie sent an owl. Said he was going to come by the shop today, give us a hand.” George said.

“With what?” Fred asked.

“Getting the shop back to order. I mean, we can’t live for free, can we?”

Fred nodded and thought about going through the store. It was something that was another step closer to the way his life had been, and he wasn’t sure he was up for it today. George looked optimistic, and he wondered if they had changed more than they admitted. He figured after what had happened, this was going to be harder for his brother, but from what he could see and feel, he was the one with the problem. How had they come to think so differently?

George dressed and made his way to the kitchen, his coffee sitting on the bathroom counter untouched.