Written for QLFC
Prompt: Must contain a ghost as the main character. Write about a whispered confession
Team: Caerphilly Catapults
Position: Seeker/Captain
Word count: 1304
Betas: Thanks so much to Queenie, Ikuni, Dora and Rose for betaing, I'm so sorry I made you all cry!
Warnings: Character death, canon divergence
Here are some tissues!
He grinned as he received a letter; he recognised the owl straight away. Hermione. They had started dating before he and George left Hogwarts and, honestly, he was in love. It didn't matter that they were doing different things, they still found time for each other. Hogsmeade visits, him going to see her parents for the first time, her coming round in the holidays. He loved every second of it. On their first date, he took her around the town near the Burrow, and he asked her out on the bridge looking over a river flowing through the countryside.
Opening the letter, he ran a hand through his hair with a soft, fond smile on his face.
Dear Fred,
I'm going on a mission with Harry and Ron and we're leaving Hogwarts. He's my best friend and they need me, Freddie. This is dangerous, but I think we'll be okay. I have hope that it won't take too long and we'll be back before you know it. But… I also know that probably won't be the case. I can't stand the thought of you waiting on me, for months, not knowing where I am and worried, thinking I'm dead. I know this is wrong to do in a letter, but I'm breaking up with you for all of those reasons. I hope you understand, Fred.
Love,
Hermione
He didn't know how to describe the thoughts running through his mind right now, or how to explain his stomach doing a sad flip and his stomach knotting up in a way that he knew weren't going to go away any time soon. He tried to blink back his tears.
He groaned loudly and kicked his desk.
Tears flowed down his cheeks freely.
Merlin, what was he going to do now?
"Fred, what's wrong?"
He took a deep breath and shoved Hermione's letter into the back of his drawer, putting on a smile as he turned to his brother, but his tears gave him away and he shook his head, letting out a sob.
"I was going to ask her to marry me, George," he said through his tears. It was strange to admit this now, but it was true. When Hermione had finished Hogwarts… now it didn't matter.
"What happened? Here, you'll need this,"
He felt arms wrap him into a tight hug and he let everything out.
"Tell you what, why don't we go out to the pub?" George suggested after a while. "I was going to go with Angelina but she'll understand—"
"No, erm. It's okay, thanks. I just need some time to myself, but thank you." He tried to smile, really, but it didn't reach his eyes. His voice sounded a little off, perhaps distant.
George frowned but didn't question it as he nodded in understanding. He left the room after one more side arm hug. Fred didn't hug him back, he was lost in his thoughts.
He needed time.
And then he'd go back to being Fred, his usual self.
Wouldn't he?
His parents would make a few comments sometimes, saying that they missed him. He would make a joke saying "How, he's right here." And that would make them laugh. He knew that wasn't the same, but he didn't want to be the same as he was.
Lee was quite caring. Whenever he spent time with them, he was always laughing, pulling a prank on them, or well, trying to.
When it got to the battle of Hogwarts, however, he just couldn't concentrate.
He'd been worried for Hermione, of course he had; their break up didn't make him stop caring.
It just made him a more reserved version of himself. The fact that Hermione was always in the middle of things didn't help.
Of course he was fighting for them. He wouldn't miss it for anything.
His fighting actually became more ruthless with the Death Eaters and he'd been practising on dummies to improve his skills. He thought he was winning. He probably would have, if his thoughts hadn't gone to Hermione when You-Know-Who spoke through their heads.
The last threat he said, had him want to get to her. To protect her, even after the break up. Even after he hated her for doing that to him.
Suddenly, everything went black.
He didn't think he would become a ghost. He had always imagined that once you died, that's it. He didn't understand why ghosts chose to stay — why they'd be afraid of death and yet, he had done the very same thing as the other Hogwarts ghosts.
Fred floated through the ruined castle and managed to stay hidden while they were building the castle back up again.
He wanted to reveal himself, talk to his brother, his friends… Hermione. Most of all, Hermione. But that was part of the reason he didn't want to show himself. He didn't want her to see him like this. He didn't want his family to be pained with the knowledge that he was still here, that he hadn't found peace. That they'd have to talk to him. Because who would want to talk to a dead guy?
When they put up the portrait of him, for dying in the battle, he often looked at it and imagined that if he were still alive, he'd cry about it — and then create a stink bomb for anyone who wanted to visit him.
That was until Hermione visited.
He was hiding behind a statue, a couple months after everything had happened, still processing what he was going to fill his time with and how he was going to be a ghost. Like what do they do all day, because he could hardly wait till the Deathday party. Maybe he'd have to organise a prank club with Peeves.
As he thought of this, he tuned in to Hermione talking to his portrait.
"Freddie, I'm sorry I sent that letter — I thought it was the best thing to do at the time, I wanted you to be happy and not worry about me and now, now it's all my fault you're de— dead…" Her voice broke.
Just as she was about to continue, Fred revealed himself. In the most Fred way possible.
"Ooooh I've come to haunt you for the rest of time…" he waved his arms about as he did his best impression of a haunted ghost.
He couldn't help but laugh as she jumped and stepped back, her face paled drastically before everything clicked.
"Fred?" she asked, wiping a tear with her jumper sleeve. "Is that really you? I thought we had lost you," she said with a relieved grin.
"You did lose me, 'Mione. I'm not really here," he replied, more solemnly than he had meant.
"But Professor McGonagall said you wouldn't be afraid? Why were you?"
He sighed and floated closer to her. In that moment, he realised why he was still around. He wanted to reach out and hug her, bring her close and tell her those three words.
"I'm not, that's not why I'm here, love. I'm here because of my strong connection. I choose to believe it's not Hogwarts, or my brother; it's you that kept me here." Seeing her open her mouth to speak, he said, "No, let me continue, 'Mione. Hear me out. I've been through so much since that letter, I wasn't myself and grew apart from those I love and that's the biggest price I had to pay. It wasn't dying. I'm fine with that. Because I got to be loved by you."
He took a breath and whispered in her ear, a sad smile taking over his face.
"I forgive you."
She gasped as he whispered those three words to her, and felt tears falling down her cheeks as Fred disappeared.
"I love you, Freddie," she whispered.