The Daily Prophet May 21, 1995
Breaking News: Supposedly Deceased Weasley Alive, Returns To Family
As everyone in the Wizarding world knows, the epic battle of Hogwarts occurred 2 weeks ago, where He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named at long last met his permanent end. Sadly, however, this victory did not come without a terrible price, as we lost many wonderful witches and wizards, among whom were new parents Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks, 6th year Hogwarts student Colin Creevey, and until recently, one of the founders of the successful Weasley's Wizard Wheezes joke shop right here in Diagon Alley, Fred Weasley. Yes, Fred Weasley who was presumably killed in an explosion during battle, is in fact alive and well and was reunited with his family merely days ago. I myself had the pleasure of sitting down with Mr. Weasley to talk about this miraculous and joyous reunion.
Prophet: How does it feel to be reunited with your family after 2 weeks of everyone thinking you were dead?
Fred Weasley: It's truly wonderful to be back, I can't describe how…dare I say it... guilty I felt being alive and not being able to tell my family I was alright and that they didn't have to cry.
Prophet: So tell us what we've been wondering: what really happened that night and where have you been for the last couple weeks?
Fred Weasley: Well, when the explosion happened, I was knocked out for a moment, then I dashed off to find the git who had tried to do us all in. I won't say too much about our duel, and all the adrenaline made the details hazy anyway. The Death Eater I was fighting shot a curse that hit me square in the chest. I don't know what curse it was, but I saw purple flames cut across me and then everything went black. I woke up at St. Mungo's hospital, they told me that after my family left the Great Hall where my "dead" body was that night, Madam Pomfrey, bless her, came along and felt I had a pulse, though it was weak. I was immediately rushed off to St. Mungo's where I stayed for the next week and a half, then I went back to my family a few days ago, they were so happy to see me, though I must admit I'm still surprised and a bit offended they thought just a Death Eater could take me down. I was just UNCONCIOUS people; I'm shocked you all thought you could be rid of me that easily! Laughs
Prophet: What are your plans now that you're recovered and back home?
Fred Weasley: The same as they were before, I think, I'm going to continue running the joke shop with my brother George, I had a lot of time in St. Mungo's to think up ideas for new products that customers will love.
Prophet: Speaking of your twin brother George, how did he react when you came home?
FredWeasley: Well, he was of course happy to see me like everyone else, but since we are twins and our bond with each other is different than with everyone else, he was different. He looked horrible when I saw him, he was pale, had bags under his eyes, the works. But the instant he saw me, it was like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. His eyes brightened, some color returned to his face. He just walked up to me and hugged me as hard as he could, right in front of everyone, and told me he loved me. It was very touching and emotional. Of course he did proceed to punch me very hard on the arm later that night for putting him and everyone else through all that grief, but I can't blame him for that, I mean, who could?
Prophet: You mentioned before about feeling guilty that you weren't able to tell your family you were alive. If St. Mungo's had known you were alive and your family didn't, doesn't it seem a bit strange to you that they didn't send them an owl explaining everything?
FredWeasley: You know, I'm rather hacked off at them actually, because I tried to send my family word that I was all right and would be home soon, but the blokes over there wouldn't let me. I tried to tell them that I wanted to tell my family that I wanted them to stop grieving and that I was all right. They told me that they would send an owl for me but they never did. Needless to say that myself and the rest of my family will be giving them a bit of grief about that.
Mr. Weasley was happy and as alive as anyone could be when I sat down with him the other day, such a lively and funny young man, I send that lovely chap and the rest of his family the very best of wishes. And rest assured, my fellow witches, wizards, and all other members of our magical world that Fred Weasley will remain happy and alive for many more years to come.