Missing You

two

FRED:

The train whistle blew again, echoing loudly throughout the empty station. Fred heard the comforting sound of a train chugging its way towards him. He lifted his head from his hands where he'd been cradling it for the past five minutes and looked around. A steam engine was pulling into the station.

It was just like the familiar Hogwarts Express, except it was white instead of scarlet. Steam hissed and through the trains opaque windows, Fred could see semi transparent people laughing and talking silently.

With a mounting sense of dread, Fred approached the train doors and hopped inside. A faceless man plucked Fred's ticket out of his hand and pointed down the corridor. Fred moved off down the train. Each compartment had at least two people. They seemed to be having fun, albeit silently.

The silence was slightly oppressive, and Fred wanted to scream. Soon, he reached an empty compartment with a gold plaque with his name. Fred went inside and sat down. The whistle blew as the train moved out of the station. Fred had no idea where it would go. He sighed and put his head in his hands again.

Where was George now?

What was he doing?

How would he move on without Fred?

Would he get married?

Have kids? Grand kids?

Fred smiled at the thought of George with a long white beard like Dumbledore's, and tiny redhead kids on toy broomsticks hovering around his ankles. He remembered when he and George had tried to put their names in the Goblet of Fire and had consequently grown identical white beards. Little had they known that would be the only time Fred and George would be old together.

Fred knew George would be destroyed without his brother. And what about his parents? What about his other brothers and his dear younger sister? They would all be heartbroken as well, but Fred knew they would eventually move on. It was George he was really worried about.

Feeling the mood in his compartment was becoming too depressing, and feeling he was approaching extreme boredom, Fred opened his compartment door and stuck his head out. Immediately, the faceless man was back, ushering him back into his compartment and into his seat. Then he left, shutting the door behind him with a resounding snap. Fred sighed.

He looked out the window, it he couldn't see anything. It was like being inside a cloud. The only thing was a whitish mist ghosting across the windowpane. Fred leaned back in his seat and put his feet up on the opposite chair. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but he was too anxious. He wished the train had entertainment. Suddenly, the seat next to Fred was filled with games, from Wizards Chess to Exploding Snap.

Unfortunately, they were all two person games, and Fred was on his own. Inspired by this new wishing feature, Fred imagined a pile of clothes. The games vanished, and a stack of wizards robes replaced them. Fred frowned. He closed his eyes, and the robed became muggle clothes, which Fred found he was more comfortable in.

Feeling self conscious for the first time, he hurriedly pulled on a pair of dark blue jeans and a white shirt with the Gryffindor lion on the front. Fred was embarrassed to note he was wearing bright red boxers with golden snitch patterns on them. At least they weren't hearts. He turned to share this with George, but he remembered that George wasn't there.

Sobered, he found comfortable shoes and pulled them on as well. Fred then wished for something to eat. He tried a plate of chicken, and then a bowl of sticky date pudding. When neither of those worked, Fred imagined a simple muggle candy bar. A box of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans appeared on the seat.