Prologue
May 5, 1998
The Burrow
It was silent.
The house was full, full of people creeping through the halls, full of them shrinking themselves into corners, into bedrooms, into shadows, but it was silent.
The Burrow was never silent.
In all the years that Ron had been alive, his home had never been silent.
A home with seven kids and two parents, a couple ghouls, owls, chickens and an assortment of pets was never silent.
A house with any amount of Weasleys in it was never silent.
But it was silent now.
Silent like a crypt. Like a grave.
It felt like one.
When his father was attacked, the house had buzzed with tense, terrified activity. Whispered conversations that carried through the rickety halls. The creaks and groans of different Weasleys ascending and descending the staircase.
When they had apparated onto the property, George’s head gushing blood, the home had erupted into frenzied action, instructions being shouted, cupboard doors being slammed open and shut.
The worst of days, he’d thought, had come and gone, and the Burrow had never ceased its relentless, lively bustling. Even in crippling terror and pain, the Burrow remained as it was.
But those weren’t the worst of days, he realized. He knew now that the worst of days had just occurred. That they continued to occur, each one more agonizingly painful than he ever imagined was possible.
A house with seven kids was never silent.
But a house with six…
The silence was deafening.
May 7, 1998
Fred Gideon Weasley
April 1, 1978 – May 2, 1998
It is with heavy hearts that Arthur and Molly Weasley announce the death of their son, Fred Gideon Weasley.
Fred was born on April 1, 1978, along with his twin brother, George. He and his brother were the fourth and fifth children born into the Weasley family, both sporting the family’s trademark red hair. Fred was a bright young man, bringing joy and laughter to everyone around him with his practical jokes and shining personality. He was beloved by all who knew him, no more so than by his twin brother, with whom he shared a highly successful joke shop.
Fred was tragically killed in the Battle of Hogwarts, defending his school alongside his friends and family. He is survived by his parents, Arthur and Molly, brothers, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Ron, his sister, Ginny, and of course, his twin brother George.
Rest easy, Fred. You will be missed.