Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: Fred Weasley x OC
Prompt: "I have no choice."
Warnings: Death, HP spoilers
Word Count: 1610

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'IT WAS GOING SO WELL.' A lie, of course.

Ophelia Lace, a muggle-born Gryffindor graduate, was scared. She was hardly ever scared; she was too optimistic to feel fear. Or at least, she did show fear. Especially if the ones around her were scared too, having someone calm and collected usually eased them - and Ophelia was that person.

But in this situation, it was impossible for her to not show her fear. She tried and tried to keep her breathing levelled, but the more she concentrated on it, the harder the task became. That was until the comforting presence of her fiance neared her.

Fred Weasley.

The two met in their first year at Hogwarts.

--✰--

Being the eldest witch in a muggle family meant that Ophelia wasn't familiar with what Platform 9 and 3/4 was or how to get there or even what school she was going to. Until her family saw a peculiar ginger family rushing to get to a barrier between Platform 9 and 10. Their clothing was characteristic and eccentric, all with clashing colours and patterns. The Lace's watched from afar as the eldest ginger boy ran into a brick pillar, disappearing instantly. That when Ophelia knew that they were like her. Magical.

She had approached the friendly-looking mother, asking if she could teach her how to get to Platform 9 and 3/4 after explaining her predicament. The ginger mother, Molly Weasley, happily showed the young brunet girl how to do so, after watching her second oldest disappear. Molly told her to go after her twins, Fred and George. Ophelia, for some reason, was scared that the trick wouldn't work for her so she clenched her eyes shut and ran full force into the brick wall after the two twins. She remembers not realising that it worked and continued running with her eyes shut, colliding with someone on the other side.

"Ow!" The boy exclaimed as he fell to the cobbled floor. Ophelia opened her eyes and saw she was in a whole different train station. Her gaze landed on the boy she collided with.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Ophelia apologised, helping the ginger boy up after releasing it was one of Molly's many sons.

The boy shrugged, dusting off his brown pants with a grin. "It's alright. I'm Fred Weasley, by the way. And that's my brother, George. And you are?" Fred introduced, extending his hand out for her to shake.

The brunet smiled whilst taking his hand. "I'm Ophelia Lace. But I like Effie better."

Fred grinned, gesturing her over to where the rest of his family were. "So do I. You can sit with me and George if you want."

"I'd love to."

--✰--

Ophelia remembers that day like it were yesterday. That was when they both knew they would be good friends. Throughout all of their years at Hogwarts, you could always find Ophelia by Fred and George's side. The two chaotic twins were the people who brought Ophelia's wickedness out. At the start of the first year, the young brunet was studious and sweet. But the start of their second year, she was just as reckless as her two best friends. Although she was still smart and sweet, she became more involved in their countless pranks.

Though it wasn't until their 7th year when Fred realised that he had fallen in love with his best friend. From the sweet, shy girl he met at the train station in their first year to the confident, beautiful and smart woman he sat next to in every meal - it was impossible to deny that Ophelia Lace was perfect in Fred's eyes.

There was one memory though that Ophelia treasures the most;

--✰--

The Yule Ball. With all the chaos in the past 4 years with Harry Potter and Voldemort, the Ball was a nice distraction from the hell that awaited them later. She didn't have a date but that wasn't going to stop her going and having a good time.

It was a free period for the majority of the school - a period that she shared with Fred, George, Hermione, Ron, Harry and a few other of her friends. The Hall was dreadful silent as Professor Snape was patrolling around the aisles. Ophelia's head was practically shoved into her book as she read, her high ponytail falling over the side of her face. Fred and George were both stealing from the bag of sweets that she hid under the cloak that laid next to her on the table.

She heard Ron mumble down the table about being depressed about not having a date to the Ball. She didn't pay much mind to it as she continued studying. That was until a paper ball hit in the head. She looked up to see a grinning Fred Weasley staring at her. Snape was using walking past her so she mouthed; 'What?'

He pointed at her, mimicked a silly dance move then pointed to himself. Those three actions meant 'Do you want to go to the Ball with me?'. Ophelia grinned and nodded her head, happy to have a partner to take her to the Ball.

The day came of the Yule Ball. Fred was wearing a black and rust-coloured suit so Ophelia went with a similar colour scheme, going with a stunning chocolate and cream coloured long-sleeved, Bardot gown. She felt amazing just looking in the mirror, but when she saw Fred staring at her as she left her room with his jaw hung open in awe, she felt perfect.

It was a lovely night. Fred and Ophelia danced throughout the entire night. Then a slow song came on and Fred dragged the brunet back to the dancefloor to slow dance. Ophelia remembers asking; 'Since when were you such a good dancer?'

Fred answered; 'I've always been the best dancer in Hogwarts.'

The two danced together until the song came to its end. But before the two parted, Fred asked an important question that would change their friendship forever. 'Can I kiss you, Effie?'

She remembers being shocked by the simple five words, but her heart seemed to take the reins over her body as she nodded her head. It was a simple kiss but they could both feel the sparks fly - as cliche as that sounded.

--✰--

That night was the start of a new relationship for Fred and Ophelia. A relationship that they both treasured to the ends of the earth.

However, the 2nd May 1998 was possibly the worst day for the both of them. The Battle of Hogwarts. Dumbledore's Army vs Voldemort's Death Eaters. They were heavily outnumbered at the battle and were losing numbers by the second.

Ophelia, like many others, had been drained.

Her usual radiant smile wasn't as bright and her eyes weren't as joyful. She had lost many of her friends and many of her favourite teachers. Remus, Tonks, Severus, Lavender and the Fallen Fifty wouldn't have died such brutal deaths if this battle never occurred. She wasn't one to blame and she certainly never blamed Harry for the battle but she wished that the events 7 years had never occurred.

She had wished to do so much in her 20 years of life and she hadn't even got through half of her bucket list. But the one thing she wanted was to have Fred Weasley as her husband. They both wanted that.

With Voldemort back, Fred had told Ophelia not to leave his side many times. Although on the outside the simple request was protective, Ophelia knew that Fred was an insecure man when you crack open his loud, boisterous behaviour. The brunet woman would always reply with a simple 'never'. It helped.

This didn't change in the battle. Ophelia and Fred stayed close to each other, their hands latched together, clinging on for dear life.

But then she saw it. Augustus Rookwood smiling wickedly at them, his white wand dangerously pointing at them. Fred wasn't paying attention as Augustus cast an unforgivable curse towards them. Ophelia pushed her fiance to the ground, but she was not so quick. It was when the charm grazed her side that she realised that Augustus used the Cruciatus curse. She collapsed by Fred's side, her body jolting and thrashing in pain.

The ginger man cried at the sight of his lover screaming in torture. He cradled her shaking body in his arms, tears flowing down both of their faces.

"Don't leave me, Effie," Fred sobbed as the light in Ophelia's eyes began to fade and her movements began to slow. Before Fred could get any sort of revenge of Augustus, the wall he leant against began to crack, a few parts of rubble falling over them. "Don't leave me, please, Effie. Stay with me," Fred cried, his hands rubbing away stray tears that slid down Ophelia's cheeks. "Don't leave," he whispered.

Ophelia weakly smiled, slowly bringing her hand up to caress Fred's cheek lovingly. Fred pressed a kiss to her cold palm before burrowing his cheek in her touch. "Never," she rasped out. It happened so quickly. The wall they leant against crumbled quickly. "I love you, Freddie, but I have no choice. I have to go for now. But I'll be back."

Fred sobbed, watching the life of the only woman he had ever loved slip away in his hands.

"I love you too, Effie," Fred whispered as the wall finally collapsed on top of them both.

They didn't leave each other. Never. It always helped.

THE END