This is my first Harry Potter fic. Like, EVER. I have a separate account on here and never did I attempt to write one of these, even though I've been a fan of this series for as long as I can remember. But this idea kept knocking around in my head until it suddenly formed a plot and then I just had to write it down. So please leave behind some constructive criticism, but no flames please. I worked hard at this.

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter.

"Stay close to me," Harry whispered to his mother.

Lily's loving, emerald eyes glimmered with unshed tears as she smiled sadly at her only son. "Always."

Harry let out a short sigh, nodding his head stiffly. He closed his eyes, feeling his body tremble with the terror of the fate he was walking into. After a brief moment, he slowly opened his eyes again.

They had gone. Remus, Sirius, his parents, gone from his life once more… But at the same time, they weren't. His felt their presence surrounding him, protecting him. Harry clutched the Resurrection Stone tightly in his hand.

He should get rid of it. He knew he should.

But he couldn't yet. There was someone else he needed to see.

A purpose in his mind, Harry Potter closed his eyes again and turned the stone over three times in his hand for the second time that night. He knew without opening his eyes that it had worked once more. He felt him come, join the other presences that accompanied him.

Harry opened his eyes again, a sharp exhale escaping his lips.

His voice cracking, he muttered, "Hello, Fred."

Fred Weasley smiled sadly at him. "Harry," he greeted. "You're looking worse for wear."

Unable to believe that he could laugh at a time like this, Harry chuckled. "Yeah."

In the short silence that followed, Fred's face fell into a grim expression. "I'm dead."

It wasn't a question. Just merely stating a fact, heart-wrenching as it was. Harry sniffed, nodding quickly. "Yeah, you are."

Fred blinked. "George?"

Harry offered a weak smile. "He's fine, Fred," he said. Fred huffed out a relieved sigh. "They all are."

Shakily, Harry took a deep breath, staring at Fred through tear filled eyes. "Fred, I am so sorry."

Fred frowned, cocking his head slightly to the left curiously. "Now Harry, what the bloody hell have you got to apologize for?"

Swallowing past the lump in his throat, he continued, "I'm the one who got you killed. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have been in this war. You would have been with your family. You would have been with George."

Fred's previous smile flattened into a thin line. "Harry, I honestly don't know how you could be so wrong and so stupid."

"What?"

"People were going to die in this war, Harry. People did die in this war," Fred gently spoke. "If not for you, they died for the better cause. They died in their attempt to defeat You-Know-Who. If not me, it could have easily have been someone else.

And Harry, please. Never assume it's your fault that I died. Ever since my brother and I helped that scrawny little git lift his luggage onto the Hogwarts Express in his first year" - Harry let out a small laugh at this - "I was always going to help you. I was always going to protect you. You may not be my blood, Harry, but you were always considered my family. And I would gladly fight for my family any day."

Overwhelmed with the terror of his destiny, with Fred's sudden death, with all of it, Harry choked out a sob and nodded. Fred, never one to turn from a friend in need, smiled softly as he opened his arms and beckoned Harry to him. A tear falling from his eye, Harry walked into Fred's arms, gripping him tightly. "We're going to miss you so much."

Feeling Fred's strong embrace around him, Harry was silent as Fred nodded. "I know. I'll miss you too." Fred sighed. "Tell George that I love him. Tell my family as well, but I think he needs to hear it more."

Sniffing, Harry let out a sobbing breath. "Yes. Yes, of course I will."

"Thank you."

With a final pat on Harry's back from Fred, they broke apart. Fred clapped a hand on Harry's shoulder before the younger man could fully back away from the redhead.

"Don't let my death be in vain, Harry."

"I won't… I won't let you down, Fred."

Fred grinned. "Good. And take care of my sister, hear? Or else I'll find a way to haunt your sorry arse."

Harry gave a watery smile. "No problem, sir."

A small chuckle left Fred before his face slowly became passive again. "Goodbye, brother."

Nodding once, tears tracking down his grimy face, Harry said, "Goodbye, Fred."

The dead Weasley blinked, and slowly, his form became as translucent as the ghosts in the school, fading until all that was left was Harry staring blankly into the tree line where Fred had stood. And he was gone again.

The Resurrection Stone was still in his hand. This time, he should get rid of it. It was the most logical thing to do. But once again, a purpose for the stone was stuck in Harry's mind. He couldn't get rid of the stone. Not just yet.

I won't have to tell George anything, Fred. You can tell him yourself.

And with that final thought in mind, he slipped his hand into his pocket and dropped the Resurrection Stone inside.

This is going to be a two-shot, with George in the second chapter.

So what do you think? Keep it or trash it? Reviews are most welcome!