Posted: March 10, 2005

Chapter Nineteen: Having Faith

The sun was starting to set as Frederick Weasley stifled a laugh as he gathered a good amount of snow in his hands. When he was satisfied with the creation of his new snowball he tossed it in the air towards his target.

"Hey!" the woman yelled as she wiped the snow off her face. "Alright you asked for it." She smiled evilly as she made her own snowball and threw it at Fred, but it went flying passed his head.

"Ha! You missed!" He ran up to her and picked her off the ground. "Got you," she laughed as Fred spun her around. The two then fell into the soft snow.

"Freddy?" The woman shivered.

"Yeah, Faith?" He held her tighter to keep her warm.

"Let's get married."

Fred exhaled loudly. "Couldn't just enjoy the moment could you?" He sat up which forced Faith to abandon her place in his arms.

She watched as he stood up and dusted the snow off his coat. She then stood up and did the same. "Come on, Freddy, we've been together for almost six years, engaged for two. What's wrong with taking the next step?"

Fred started walking back towards their home as Faith followed. "Faith, I'm just not ready and you know this."

"I know it's just. . ." she said sadly as she lowered her head.

Fred turned to her as he reached the door. "I know you put up with a lot, but just be patient with me, okay?" he asked gently.

She smiled as she took his hand. "Aren't I always?" Fred returned her smile before the two went inside.

"So," Fred let go of her hand and headed towards the kitchen. "What do you want for dinner tonight?"

"Let's see?" She pretended to think it over. "You, naked, on the kitchen counter," was her reply.

Fred laughed as he said loudly from the kitchen, "You had that last night."

"And it was good." She came into the kitchen as Fred was putting on an apron.

"You want to give me a hand?" he asked and she started applauding. "Funny." He tossed her a matching apron and the two prepared dinner together.

When dinner was completed and the table was set, Fred and Faith sat down and ate their dinner by candlelight. Fred rubbed Faith's leg tenderly as she fed him. "Here comes the choo-choo," she said in her sing-song way that Fred adored.

Fred had met Faith Himsworth about a month after he found out about Angelina's engagement to Malfoy. She had been coming into the shop about every other day, but had never bought anything. It wasn't until three weeks later that she had finally gathered up her courage and started a conversation with him.

They hit it off right away, which was not to Fred's surprise; she had a childlike demeanor that was much like his own. At first it had been hard for Fred to start seeing Faith on a regular basis because it always felt like he was cheating on Angelina. He had to remind himself that he was no longer with her and that he had to move on, even if at that time he didn't want to.

But Fred had grown to love Faith, more than he thought he ever could after being with someone like Angelina. But something inside of him prevented him from completely moving on with her. He wanted to marry her, he truly did, but every time he even thought about setting a date, this sinking feeling would overcome him and something would tell him to just wait. His mother had always told him to follow his gut, so Fred figured in was his gut telling him to wait and so he complied.

"All done," Faith said as she wiped a bit of sauce off of Fred's chin. She then looked at the clock on the wall. "I should be getting ready for work." And she stood from the table and gathered their plates.

Fred looked out the window. "It's looking bad out there, maybe you should just call in sick or something."

"I'll be fine." She emerged from the kitchen. "Besides, you're exaggerating, it's only a little snow."

"I wish you would quit," he told her as she prepared herself in the bedroom.

"We've discussed this Fred. I like my job." She zipped up her coat. "And the money isn't half bad either." She kissed him. "I'll be back in the morning okay? Love you." She then grabbed her purse and was out the door.

Fred walked over to the dresser to find something to sleep in. He opened one of his drawers and found a small blue box. He pulled it out and opened it, inside was a necklace he had received long ago. The pendant was odd shaped and it reminded Fred of a teardrop. On the back was inscribed 'AP' which stood for 'Angelina's Property'. Fred smiled as he remembered the Christmas that his angel had given it to him.

"So how long do I have to compete?" Fred immediately put the necklace back into the box and back into the drawer.

"What?" he said as he closed it and turned around to see Faith.

"I said, 'so how long do I have to compete?' It's a simple question really," Faith said as she went to retrieve her forgotten car keys, which she thought had been in her purse.

"Compete with what?" he asked her bewildered.

"Not with what Fred, who," she stated. "How long do I have to compete with a memory?"

"Faith," he shook his head, "you're not in competition with anyone, let alone a memory."

"Really?" She looked at him skeptically. "What about Angelina Malfoy?" Fred looked away from her. "When will you get it through you're head that she is a happily married woman?"

"How do you know they're happy?" Fred asked her.

"Because when Malfoy talks about her, his eyes light up and it's like he talking about his entire world." She then looked down and pretended to play with her keys. "Just like yours does, whenever I catch you thinking about her." Fred didn't know how to respond to that. "I'm going to be late for work." She turned and walked out of the bedroom.

"Faith," she heard him call after her. "Faith, wait." He caught up with her and took her hand and turned her around to look at him. He could see her eyes brimming with tears that where threatening to fall. "Let's set a date," he said with a small smile. "Right now."

"No," she told him. "I want you to marry me because you want to and not because you feel like you have something to prove to me. I love you, Freddy, and just you. I just wish you felt the same when it came to me," she made clear. "Now if you don't mind, I really have to get to work." And she pulled her hand away from Fred's.

Fred nodded knowing that the argument was a lost cause. "Fine. I'll see you in the morning." He then headed back to the bedroom.

Faith then walked towards the front door. As the door opened a large dark figure appeared in the doorway, which made Faith gasp loudly before realizing who it was. "My goodness you scared me."

"I'm sorry," said the figure. "May I come in?"

"Of course." Faith let the man in and as he stepped inside he shook the snow from his hay colored hair.

"Is Weasley here?" he asked quietly and reached out for Faith.

She took a step back and nervously pushed a bit of her brown hair behind her ear. "Yes," she said just as quietly. "Now we've talked about this, you're not supposed to be here this often, you could be caught."

"I'll risk it to be able to see you," he told her.

Faith shook her head. "Don't say things like that. For crying out loud, I'm engaged."

"Please," he said a little too loudly. "Weasley wouldn't know a good woman if she fell out the sky. I mean, can't you tell he's still caught up on Malfoy's wife? Whom he also took for granted back when he was dating her. Don't you see he's never going to marry you, as long as he thinks he still has the slightest chance with her?" he asked and then said gently. "But me on the other hand, I would gladly make you Faith Eleanora-"

"Crabbe?" Fred emerged for the bedroom.

Crabbe looked in Fred's direction as he took a discreet step back from Faith. "Weasley," he greeted.

"I didn't hear you knock." Fred walked over to them not realizing how uncomfortable Faith looked.

"I should really head out now."

"No, wait," Crabbe said quickly. "This affects you too."

Fred's forehead furrowed. "You're not here for an update are you?"

"I'm afraid not," he confirmed.

Faith began to peel off her coat. "You boys sit. I'll make tea and call in sick." And she disappeared into the kitchen.

Fred and Crabbe sat down in the living room. Fred sat with his back to the kitchen door. "So what's happening?"

"I just got out of meeting; the Dark Lord knows where you are. He's planning a full on attack in a matter of weeks."

"No, that can't be right. How the hell did that happen?"

"One of our own was captured."

"But that's happened before. No one has ever given anything up."

"He didn't give us up on purpose. He had his family in hiding, for reasons I don't know, and when he went to visit them, he didn't know the Dark Lord was having him followed. He and his family were captured along with their host."

"His family was here? How come I didn't know about this? I'm supposed to know everything that goes on in my sector."

"I don't think he wanted to come to you, most likely because it would have affected his family in a different way. Besides I didn't even learn about it until later."

"Wait, something's not right, no one has been reported missing."

"No one you would care about going missing."

Fred looked at him funny. "What the hell does that mean?"

Crabbe scoffed at Fred in disbelief. "It was your own brother, Weasley."

Fred thought a moment. Charlie was in Egypt and Bill was living in Canada with his wife and three kids. "Percy?" he asked quietly. Crabbe only nodded. "Shit!" Fred stood up. "Shit!" he yelled again.

"That's not all, Weasley," Crabbe stated.

"What else could there possibly be? They know where we are and they have my brother. Sure I still can't stand the git, but that is my blood nevertheless," Fred said angrily.

"Don't you want to know what family he was hosting?" Crabbe asked.

Fred took a calming breath. "Fine, who were they?"

"They are the Malfoys," Crabbe said not liking how Fred had put them in past tense.

All the color slowly drained from Fred's face. "Angelina?"

"Yes."

"Oh God." Fred reached for the chair behind him and slowly sat down. "I think I'm going to be sick."

"You don't have time to be sick. You need to pull yourself together and fast, because everything we've planned over all this time is no longer viable. We have lost the upper hand and we can no longer sit back and enjoy the pleasures of life. We've waited far too long. We've practically handed ourselves over on a china dish. So you need to contact the other sector leaders and tell them what's going on. Tell them it's time to prepare for war. Tell them it's time to fight, to die, and to win for our cause," Crabbe said to Fred, who didn't seem to be listening.

This annoyed Crabbe, because he's wasn't the type of person to always speak; he just never saw the point of talking just to be talking, but when he did speak, he expected to be heard. "Snap out of it Weasley!" He resisted the urge to smack him up side the head. "There are worst things in this world than losing some woman you had already lost."

Fred's head snapped up at Crabbe's comment. He then slowly shook his head with fixed eyes on Crabbe. "There is nothing in my world that would be worst than losing Angelina. You understand me? Nothing. I love that woman so deeply and so strongly, that I would move Heaven and Hell just to see her smile. Yet I know, no matter what I do now, my time with her has come and gone. Yet I sit here and I wait. I wait, hope, and pray that despite everything, we'll be together again someday. I know it's a false hope, but," his fixed eyes relaxed and his expression became melancholy. "I mean, haven't you ever loved a woman so badly?"

Just then the kitchen door swung open and Faith came stepping out. Crabbe looked over Fred's shoulder to see her walking towards them with a cup of tea in each hand and a soft smile on her face. "Yeah," Crabbe breathed and looked back at Fred. "I have."

OoOoO

"Dammit!" Angelina yelled for the fifteenth time. She was trapped in a little room with nothing more than a bed, a sink, and a toilet. Unlike Draco she was not chained to the wall, for she had no wandless abilities and so the threat of her escaping the cell without her wand was nonexistent. "Shit," she whispered to herself with her face in her hands as she fell back onto the bed. She had been trapped in the cell for two days and her mind raced with worry. She had no idea where her family was. She didn't even know if they were still alive.

Just then she heard footsteps outside her door and the sound of keys. Not knowing what waited for her on the other side Angelina stood up, she then took a breath and held it as the door opened. "Malfoy," came a man's voice.

"Goyle?" Angelina said softly. Goyle stepped inside and closed the door. He was surprised at how quickly Angelina rushed to him and threw her arms around him. She was just so happy to see a friendly face. "Goyle where are they? Where are Draco and Rose?"

Goyle pulled away from Angelina, he wasn't comfortable being that close to her, especially after knowing what Draco had done to Montague. "Rosalina is fine. Lady Dark Lord is taking very good care of her."

"Lady Dark Lord? Who's she?"

"Just know Rosalina is well."

"I want to know who has my daughter!" Angelina grew upset.

"Malfoy, please," Goyle said in a hush tone as he looked at the door. "I can't be caught in here."

Angelina took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," she told him. "Do you think we could sit down? I haven't been feeling well lately," she confessed. The two sat down on the bed before Angelina said calmly, "Now tell me of Draco."

As Goyle shook his head, Angelina immediately thought the worst. "I don't have access to see him, but he's alive, that I know."

"Thank God," she whispered. She then reached and took Goyle's hand. He flinched at the gesture. "Can you get us out?"

Goyle thought a moment. "I can get you out, but Lady Dark Lord hasn't let Rosalina out of her sight. Draco is in the dungeon, but the exact location, I don't know."

"Can you find out?"

"I'm his best friend, if I go around and I end up asking the wrong person where he is, then when he comes up missing, they'll know it was me. It won't work," he explained. "Now like I said I can get you out, because they don't know that I know where you are. So if you escape, I can't be blamed." He looked to the door. "But that's only if I don't get caught visiting you."

"Goyle-" she was cut off.

"Call me Gregory. There is no reason to be formal."

She smiled softly. "Gregory, I don't think I can leave knowing that my family is still here."

"But Angelina," he said cautiously. "There may not be another opportunity to get you out. I'll found out where Draco is. There are other ways believe me, I'm not going to leave him here either. I love that man as if he were my brother and Rosalina as if she were my own child. You guys and Vincent are my family and I would do anything for you all."

"As we would for you," Angelina told him. She then took a deep breath. "Alright, when can you get me out?"

"Tomorrow night," he told her.

"Okay, but where will I go?"

"I'll take you to my place, where you'll only stay for a few days tops. My station is in-house, so I have to be here when they realize you're gone, that way they won't look to me as an accomplice. When I'm sure I'm not a suspect, I'll tell Vincent what's going on and he'll take it from there and he'll come to see you."

"But what if something happens? What if they find out it was you? What if they suspect Crabbe?"

Goyle shook his head as he took his free hand and rested on Angelina's shoulder. "They won't," he told her. "You just have to stay positive. You just have to have faith. Can you do that?"

Angelina shook her head. "I don't-" Goyle then squeezed her hand as reassurance. She sighed and then smiled softly, "Okay, I can have faith."

To Be Continued. . .

Preview of Next Chapter:

Faith observed silently as Fred and Angelina embraced as if they had never left each other. Crabbe noticed Faith's reaction as she watched her fiancé and his former love. "No!" Faith found her voice. "Hell no!" Fred pulled away from Angelina and looked at Faith. "I will not have this woman in my home."

A/N: I don't know, but did this feel like a completely different story?