A/N: This is a companion piece to my story Angel's Sacrifice. My goal is to have this stand alone, so you don't need to read the other one first to enjoy this one, but you can if you want to. I hope you guys like it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter 1

Fred had only been in a church once before in his life. He had been very young, not more than five years old. Bill had just arrived home after his third year at Hogwarts to a house full of sick children. Charlie, Percy, Ron, and Ginny had all contracted a mild form of dragon pox and were at home in bed recovering. Mrs. Weasley had spent the better half of the past two weeks caring for all her children and she desperately needed to go out and get some more food.

She had decided to take the healthy Fred and George with her into town to do her grocery shopping. The twins were itching to go outside for days now and Mrs. Weasley had really wanted to get them away from the other sick children for a bit.

The older of the two boys had been content for the beginning of their journey, but soon grew bored as his mother continued to stop at different stands at the farmers market. She was taking forever and they hadn't even reached the store yet. So, Fred decided to go exploring.

Ottery St. Catchpole was a small town, but there was still much to explore for a five year old child. It didn't take long for Fred to become lost in the market crowd. And his mother was far too busy to notice he was missing.

There was a small church across the street whose stained-glass windows had caught Fred's eye. As he drew closer to the building, he heard music. Interested, the young boy opened the door and walked inside. He wandered down the hallway and up some stairs and down another hallway until he reached the sound of the music. It was a choir of kids Bill's age and older, practicing.

Fred hung by the back of the room for a while, just listening to them. The music was soft and low and really beautiful. It reminded him of his mother singing to him at bedtime.

His mother. Fred turned around and hurried out of the room. He hadn't meant to wander so far away from her. She would probably be furious with him. And George would be worried sick.

After wandering the halls for a little, Fred began to get worried. He hadn't remembered taking that many turns to get to the room with the choir. From inside, the building seemed a lot bigger than it had from the outside. A child could very easily get lost.

In fact, as Fred rounded another corner, he was almost certain he was lost. That hallway with the couch hadn't been there before, had it?

Not knowing what else to do, the young boy crawled up on the couch and began to cry. What if his mother never found him? He didn't want to be trapped in this place forever.

Luckily, with his tears came a helpful bit of accidental magic. On the bookshelf next to him was a small wooden angel. She fluttered to life, as if awakened by the boy's tears, and quickly flew off. Soon enough, she was back with Mrs. Weasley and George in tow.

Standing in the lobby of a church on the outskirts of London, brought back these not so pleasant memories to the now twenty year old man. Ever since that day, Fred Weasley had steered clear of churches. And the only reason he was in one now, dressed in a full suit, was because of the small blonde haired girl lying in the coffin.

Fred had been to quite a few funerals in the last few days. It had been a week since the Battle of Hogwarts, and now that people had begun to physically recover, it was time to bury the dead. Remus and Tonks' had been the previous afternoon. Lavender Brown's had been two days before that. His family, along with Harry and Hermione had even gone to Snape's funeral. It turns out he was a good guy after all.

This funeral, however, was so very different from the others. He had hated Snape, and had thought Lavender was annoying. And even though he did miss Lupin and Tonks, he knew they were happy together and that they had willingly given up their lives to protect the wizarding world. But this thirteen year old girl should not have died that night.

It should have been him.

And it would have been too, if Riley hadn't pushed him out of the way right before the wall to the castle exploded. His parents and friends and family would all be at his funeral right now if it hadn't been for this young girl.

George had wanted to come with Fred, but the older twin had just sadly shaken his head. This was something that Fred needed to do alone. And thankfully, like always, George understood.

The girl in the casket wasn't Riley. Sure, it resembled the young Hufflepuff girl. But it wasn't her. It looked so different, like a plastic doll almost. Fred wasn't very spiritual, but he was sure that whatever spark that made Riley so special, seem so alive, was already gone. But where it had gone, he had no idea.

Her family was standing by the open casket, watching as the guests each went up as they felt led and said their goodbyes. Her father was standing tall, his blue eyes staring off at nothing as he comforted his sobbing wife. Another woman was standing beside them. She must be Riley's older sister, Fred thought to himself. She did have similar facial features, darker hair though.

A pang of guilt entered Fred's heart as he looked around the room at everyone there. He spotted a few younger children, possibly cousins of hers. Aunts and uncles, grandparents, friends and neighbors. This girl had been so special to so many people. And he somehow felt it was his fault she was gone.

Blinking back a wave of tears, Fred walked up to the casket. It had taken him a good twenty minutes to finally work up the nerve. His hands were shaking and his heart was racing as he approached her. When had he become such a coward? He was a Gryffindor, damn it!

It was even worse up close, but he made himself stay. He wouldn't ever have another chance. Gently, Fred reached out his hand and brushed it over her cheek.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered, tears sliding down his face. His throat began to constrict as he fought back the tears. "I never wanted this."

There was so much more Fred wanted to say, but his emotions had gotten the best of him, and it was all he could do to place one final kiss on her forehead and head toward the nave where the service would take place.

A strong hand on his arm stopped him. Fred turned and found himself face to face with Riley's father.

"What's your name, son?" the man asked curiously.

"Fred. Fred Weasley."

"I don't believe I've ever met you before. Did you know Riley well?"

Fred cleared his throat and wiped away a stray tear. "I uh, knew her in school. I was in my last year when she was in her first. She was a very special girl. My brother and I…well, she was like a younger sister to us in a way."

The older man's eyes began to shine with hidden emotion. "Thank you, son, for looking out for her."

Fred felt a pang in his chest. He hadn't looked out for her. If he had, Riley would still be here. All the young man could do was nod his head and walk away into the nave. How do you tell a father that it's your fault his little girl isn't breathing anymore – isn't living anymore? Even Fred, being the Gryffindor he was, didn't have that much courage.