Home Sweet Home (open)

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It was a cold day as he walked up to his old burrow home. It looked different than it had been in a long time.  What use to be a old shack that stood in the middle of a farm land, now stood a house big enough to fit the Weasley family, and then some. It stood three floors high, a porch that circled the entire home,  a porch swing that hung on from the left end of the front porch, and toys piled along the right. Ron smiled at his home, thankful for both the Order and Ministry for helping him rebuild all those years ago.  What made the house amusing, was that George had put a charm on the paint that was used.  Ron could always tell who was around, because the paint would always change to the color they didn't like.  Today, the house was a color of grey.  The one color Ron hated.



A small black hound pup, which was lounging on the porch swing, woke up when it saw Ron.  Ron smiled at the animal as it came rushing down the porch towards him.  He knelt down and scooped up the young pup in his arms, which proceeded to lick his face repeatedly.  He laughed as he scratched the young animal behind the ears, causing it to settle down in his arms as he walked towards the back of the house.

"Hey Hagrid," He said, addressing the animal, "I missed you to."

He walked behind the house, following a path that lead from the back of the house, down to a small shack down the hill.  Hagrid leapt from his arms and bounded ahead of him, knowing where Ron was heading. He opened the door to the shack, stepping inside to look around. The shack, which once housed all of the weasley's cleaning supplies, was converted into a memorial for Fred.  A large picture of Fred hung in the back, smiling his mischievous smile at who ever entered. Flowers were placed on a small table that rested under the picture, and the walls were lined with shelves of memories. From a crumpled up letter to Hogwarts that his mother kept, to an old box for puking pastilles, which were the first items the weasley twins ever made for their joke shop.

"Hey Fred." Ron said, speaking to a brother he knew would never talk back, "Sorry I haven't visited in a while.  Things have been pretty crazy."

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It was Christmas break and Hugo felt like going home for an afternoon. Of course, he'd asked for and received permission, but he hadn't alerted anyone to the fact that he was coming, so he wasn't sure who he would find. As he approached the burrow, he smiled when he saw that it was grey. That was almost a sure sign that his dad was home. "Dad?" Hugo called as he opened the front door, but there was no answer. That was strange. Hugo walked around the house, calling for his father here and there, but he was nowhere to be found.

Hugo moved to the back of the porch, then nodded when he saw the shed. The door was open, which meant that was where his dad probably was. Visiting Uncle Fred. Hugo moved to the path and walked quickly down it, hoping that he was right. If no one was here, he was sure what he would do. Maybe he should have let them know he was coming. He stepped inside the shed quietly. "Hey Dad," Hugo said quietly, trying not to startle his father. "Is everything okay?" He didn't know why it wouldn't be, but he asked, just in case.

@weasley

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Tears began to well up in his eyes as he looked at Fred's picture, but before he could wipe them away, Hagrid's ears perked up, his tail started to wag, and his tongue was hanging out the side of his mouth. Ron looked down at the family pet, putting the dog down onto the floor. As soon as he did, he looked up and saw his son, Hugo, looking in at him. Hagrid bounded up to him, hoping up on his hind legs for attention. Ron couldn't help but laugh at the pup's happy behavior.

"Hugo." he looked to his son, wiping the tears from his eyes, "Yes, everything's fine, thank you. How's school? Have you been keeping Neville on his toes?"

He always joked with his children and other members of the family that went to Hogwarts, to make sure that they kept Neville occupied with antics. He told them that it was a way for Ron and the Weasleys to say hello. Though he has gotten plenty of owls from his old schoolmate, explaining his disapproval about his students misbehaving throughout the school. Each one made him laugh a little harder, which also followed by him getting hit by either Hermione or his mother. But to him, it was all worth it.

@hugo

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It wasn't entirely out of the ordinary for Hugo to find his father like this, especially when outside in the shed. This was the family's place to remember Fred, an uncle that Hugo never got to meet, but felt like he knew so much about. When Hugo saw the puppy barking happily at his feet, he picked it up, petting it gently behind the ears as he entered and moved closer to his father.

"School's good. Xan is still sick, but she'll get better sometime soon, I'm sure." His expression then turned more mischievous. "Of course we're keeping Professor Longbottom on his toes. Couldn't be called a Weasley if I didn't help with some pranks, right?" It was nice that his Dad approved of all the jokes they pulled, easier to get away with them too when your parents weren't going to punish you for them. "How's work and everything?" he asked curiously.

@weasley

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"Well I'm sure she'll pull through just fine."

Ron smiled, equally worried about Xan as Hugo was. He hoped that the young witch would be able to fight, whatever was making her ill. When Hugo said they were keeping Neville on his toes, he couldn't help but laugh. It was always good to hear when his children were keeping up with the Weasley name by keeping the headmaster on his toes. It made it even more funny when said Headmaster was an old schoolmate of his. When asked how work was, he scratched his head at the question. He's been telling everyone he knew about what's been going on at the shop, but only a few believed him. Could his son be one of them?

"Well, things have been getting weird at the shop. I've been seeing shadows and hearing noises when I'm closing the store. Items have been moved or even misplaced, only to appear a few days later, right where I left them." he shook his head, sighing, "Fred says it's because I'm getting old, but I swear it's got to be your uncle haunting the place."

@hugo

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Hugo nodded at his dad's encouraging statement. "I know she will dad. I saw it. We end up together, but she doesn't believe me. She thinks my vision is wrong and that she's going to die now and she won't let me look into her future again." His Dad knew all about Hugo's ability to see the future for people, to be able to see when they die, so he should be able to understand Hugo's distress at this. Or maybe Hugo was just overreacting and it would be better if he just let the whole thing go. He was sure he was right though, so maybe he just needed to wait until he was proven right. 

Then Hu turned his attention to his dad, who seemed distressed about something. He explained and Hugo looked to the picture of his Uncle in front of both of them. "Is that why you came out here to visit him, Dad?" He asked curiously. He didn't understand why else they would be here. "Have you looked up anti-haunting spells or something? Maybe that could help," His dad had never told Hugo something like this before and he wanted to see if there was anything he could do, though since he was in school there probably wasn't anything he could do. 

@weasley

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"Hugo. You and I both know that your visions are never wrong. If you saw her coming through this, then that's exactly what's going to happen."

He liked the fact that Hugo could see things that could happen in the future. Not only does Xan recover, but the two of them end up together, and in the end, he wanted nothing but the happiness of his kids. When Hugo asked if the reason he was out here, was to visit Fred and find out what's going on, Ron shook his head. This was just a routine visit that was long overdue.

"No, I just needed to visit him. Haven't done that in a while." Ron asked, looking at the picture of Fred, then back to Hugo, "I haven't thought of using anti-haunting spells, but I can't help but wonder. If I'm right, and it's being haunted, what if it's Fred? What if my brother is haunting the store? If he would show himself, then I can have that relationship with Fred again. That's not a bad thing, is it?"

@hugo

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Hugo sighed, agreeing with his Dad, but wanting to explain why Xan didn't agree. "She thinks that since I saw that before she got sick, it doesn't count. She won't let me check again. I still believe it though." That was all he needed to say though. His Dad would understand his worry. 

Hugo's eyebrow furrowed as he tried to understand what was happening. "If it was Fred, don't you think he would make himself known? He wouldn't hide things from you and tried to freak you out? Or would he?" Quite honestly, Hugo didn't really know anything about his Uncle, other than stories he'd heard about him and George. He played pranks, but wasn't this going a bit far? Hu had no idea. "If it's not being haunted, do you have any idea of something else it could be?" Hugo asked, concern obvious in his voice.

@weasley

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"I'm sure your vision wouldn't have happened the way it did, if it didn't know she was going to be ill. Visions don't make mistakes, people do."

He did his best to be confident for his son. He knew Hugo's visions weren't the kind that just played pranks on people, he didn't even know how they could. His smile turned to a look of concern when Hugo mentioned the possibility of there being something else. It's true Fred was a prankster when he was alive, but Hugo had a point. A couple days, even a week, was one thing, but this was going on for over a month. It was then Hugo mentioned the possibility of something else. Ron began to think, and as he thought, he paced.

"It's true Fred did play tricks, but if it wasn't him, then what else could it be?" he wondered "I don't think there was anyone else who could've died that was related to that place."

@hugo

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Hugo let out a huge sigh of relief at his father's words. Something about having his father confirm his thoughts was comforting to him. It wasn't just him that thought she would get better. He should have talked to his dad about this ages ago. Then maybe he wouldn't feel so stressed about it. 

His father started to pace around the small room and Hugo watched, wondering what his father was thinking. "I don't know, Dad," he said when his father asked what it could be. "Maybe it's not a ghost though. It could be something entirely unrelated." Not that he had any idea what that could possibly be, but maybe someone else would. "Have you talked to Mom about this?" He asked, almost hesitantly. Whenever it came to questions like this, Hugo would normally turn to his mom to help him know what the possibilities were. She remembered things better than Hugo did.

@weasley

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"Yeah, she was the first one I told. Then I told Fred and you. What other possibilities could there be?" he sighed, "Maybe I am starting to go mental."

He had to admit, between the shop, his family being in danger, and now problems within the family itself, it's a wonder he wasn't locked up in the mental word at St. Mungos. He tried to think up different possibilities that could've caused these things to happen, but he couldn't put a finger on anything. He scratched his head and turned to Hugo, a small smile on his face.

"Don't suppose your visions could help me out here." He joked, knowing that Hugo couldn't control his visions any more than Ron could control his appetite.

@hugo

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Hugo shook his head when his dad mentioned that he might be going mental. "You are not going mental," he said firmly. His father wasn't one to imagine things, Hugo knew. And he never would have mentioned something like this unless he was sure it was going on. He didn't make pointless observations, or make things up for attention or anything of the sort. Besides, Hugo could see how nervous he was. "I don't know, though. I hoped Mom would've had an idea or something." He thought, trying to come up with something. "Maybe I can try to look up things that could make items disappear and then reappear once I get back to school," he commented with a shrug. 

His dad mentioned that it would be nice if Hugo's visions could help here, and Hugo rolled his eyes, annoyed at himself more than his father. "I wish they could. That would be a lot more useful than only seeing what I can now," when people died. Hugo appreciated the foresight, most of the time, but not being able to see anything else was hard. It was depressing to only see when a person was going to pass away. Thinking of death all the time. Still, he smiled, not wanting to think of that right now. Not when he was here with his father.

@weasley

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"Thanks. I'm glad you don't think so." He smiled, then nodded his head when Hugo mentioned looking up on things at Hogwarts, "That could be helpful, yes. Maybe see if there's a possibility someone has been hiding out at the store, and I just can't locate him...or her."

He gave Hugo a sympathetic smile when he mentioned about his visions. He knew his son could only see death, and Ron wished he could find a way for his son to be able to see just more than that. Why a world would curse a child with such a grim ability was beyond him. He just hoped that someday those visions will start showing more to Hugo than just what he doesn't want to see. Death is suppose to be unexpected, so a person could enjoy life to the fullest, not know when death will come to collect them.

@hugo

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Hugo nodded decisively, "I'll check at school and send you information on anything I might learn," he told his father. If it was something or someone pulling a prank on his dad, it wasn't funny anymore and Hugo wanted it to stop. He could tell that this really shook his father up and he didn't want it to. 

Looking up at his dad, Hugo decided to change the subject, "So ... what do want to do until I have to go back to school?" he asked curiously. He'd come to spend time with his family, and he definitely liked spelling time with his Dad, so Hugo was ready to see what happened.

@weasley

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"Thanks, Hugo, I really do appreciate it."

He didn't want Hugo to be burdened with his problems, though he knew that, now that he had opened his mouth about it, Hugo was willing to do what he can to help. He had his mother's curiosity, and his father's stubbornness. He was glad that someone besides Hermione was willing to believe him. When Hugo changed the subject, asking what they should do, Ron couldn't help but think for a moment. He'd been so busy planning things and worrying about the shop, he never really knew what there was to do lately.

"I'm not sure, really. Any ideas?"

@hugo