• Harry Potter One Shots• (request open)

Friends With Benefits • Fred Weasley • Part Three

"Hold on, Fred." Briar said quietly as they mounted the broom together.

"Where?" He asked, they hadn't even hugged since their altercation and he wasn't sure where she wanted him to put his hands. Briar looked around as everyone else took off and seen Ron awkwardly holding Tonks' waist.

"Not like that. You're supposed to be my brother, remember?" She motioned to Tonks and Ron. Ron's grasp was completely innocent, but definitely not a way a brother and sister would sit. Fred rested his hands on her shoulders and they were off. Fred hands never left Briar's shoulders, simply happy to be touching her again.

It wasn't long before they were attacked. Briar done an excellent job at weaving in and out of the death eaters, Fred pointing his wand towards them and yelling curses as she flew. They were being targeted more than the other Potters, as they were assumed to be the real Potter twins. "You okay, Freddie?!" Briar yelled behind her as the wind whipped around them, Fred pointing his wand in different directions as they flew. So far, he'd deflected every curse pointed at them.

Fred smiled wide. This was the first time she'd called him Freddie since their fight. His hands fell from her shoulders and he wrapped one arm around her hips tightly; Fred would soon learn this was one of the greatest mistakes of his life: the death eaters noticed.

"He's not Harry! It's the girl only." A death eater yelled. "Kill her!" Another barked, "we'll know who the real Harry is by his reaction!"

"Go, Briar, go!" Fred screamed and Briar flew as fast she could, but it wasn't fast enough. A death-eater shot a blasting curse at Briar and she flew from the broom. "Briar!" Fred screamed, taking control of the broom and flying as fast as he could towards the ground. As Briar fell, everything seemed so quiet. She felt like she was falling slowly. She looked up at Fred, reaching a hand out for him. He was flying at her at lightning speeds, tears pouring down his cheeks. The last thing Briar heard was her body hitting the ground with a thud.

•

"Mum!" A voice screamed. Molly and Ginny jumped from the table and ran outside, Molly hurdling towards a Harry holding a limp figure in his arms. She knew which one of her babies it was by the voice; a voice who's scream sounded so hurt and so distraught that it immediately brought tears to Molly's eyes. It was Fred.

"Fred?!" Molly screamed back as she ran towards Fred, who's height began to increase as he morphed back into his own self. He was sobbing hysterically, clutching onto the body of Briar.

"Please, help her mummy!" Fred hyperventilated as he cried, as helpless as a child. He hadn't called Molly mummy since he was five years old. "I can't lose her. I can't."

"Take her upstairs. Is she breathing?" Molly held a hand to Briar's beck and felt a weak pulse. "She's alive, get her in the house, now!" Fred ran as fast as he could to the house and laid Briar on the first bed he found. He glanced at her body, so small and lifeless. Her leg was distorted into a gut wrenching shape.

He sat down next to her as Molly looked her over. "Fred, darling." Molly looked at her son.
"Look at me, baby. This isn't good. What happened?"

Fred continued to sob, "She fell. This is all my fault, mum. I put my hands on her hips and they knew I wasn't the real Harry... they knocked her off her broom to get a reaction from Harry." Fred's words were broken up, each by a sniffle and a sob. "Merlin, mum, I love her so much. I can't believe I done this to her." He put his hands against his forehead.

"I know you do, baby. You need to leave while I work on her, okay? You don't need to see this." Molly reached up and touched her son's cheek.

"I'm not leaving her. I'm not leaving her ever again." He sobbed, holding onto Briar's limp hand and thinking back to the conversation they had in the Room of Requirement, when she begged him not to leave her. "Bry, I love you so much. Please don't leave me. I don't want to hide anymore. I love you." He stroked her black hair and hid his face in her chest as Molly repaired her leg. Though unconscious, immense pain from her leg caused a jolt.

"That's good. She can still feel pain." Molly nodded, batting tears back herself. "As long as there are no internal injuries, I think she'll be alright, Fred." She smiled, nervously. She hoped she was right.

"Mum! We need you down here, now!" Ginny screamed.

"Stay with her, Fred." Molly nodded and ran down the stairs to assess the next injury - which was George. In the state Fred was in, Molly did not call for him in fear it would push him over the edge.

"Please come back to me." Fred whispered, stroking Briar's cheek softly. He regretted every decision he'd made up until this point; the shop was his dream.. but he could've left on a better note. He could've offered Briar to come with him, mended their relationship. There were so many things that Fred wished he'd done different and as he sat in the bedroom, gently holding Briar's face, he made a promise to hisself and her that if she woke up, things would be different. He wasn't going to hide his love for her anymore; life was too short. Fred did not want to live another day without her.

Briar's eyes fluttered open and she found Fred's forehead resting on her stomach, his lips moving silently as if he was whispering a prayer. "Please come back to me." She heard him say. Briar reached up, with a weak hand, and stroked his soft red hair.

"I'm not going anywhere, Freddie." She said hoarsely. Fred's head popped open and he grabbed her face, kissing her forehead several times before resting his on it.

"I love you, Briar Potter. I don't ever want to hide it again." He whispered. Briar flinched in pain, causing Fred to jump.

"No, no. I'm okay." She reached out for him to hold her. He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her head to his chest. "I love you too, Freddie."

"Really?" Fred whispered, kissing the top of her head.

"Yes. I want to be with you... for real." She coughed. Fred reached over and grabbed a glass of water, slowly pouring a sip into her mouth.

"For real." He repeated, kissing her lips.

•

The relationship took a toll when Briar left with her brother, Ron and Hermione to look for horcruxes. Nevertheless, they stood strong. Nothing was going to break them apart now. Harry had actually taken the news quite well, George was the one who felt betrayed.

"It was Briar? The whole time?!"

Shortly after the Battle of Hogwarts, after the Potter twins had defeated Voldemort once again, Briar moved into the flat with George and Fred. She'd finished up her schooling and was taking on a position at Hogwarts as Potions professor. She hoped she'd made her parents proud.

"I'm home!" She called as she appeared through the floo. She dropped her purse on the couch and searched the house. "Guys? Where are you?"

"I sent George to mum's for the weekend." A voice came from the darkness of Fred and Briar's bedroom.

"Blimey, Fred. You scared me." Briar gasped, holding her hand on her chest. "Why?"

"I wanted some alone time with you." Fred whispered, grabbing her waist and jerking herself close to him. Briar giggled that signature giggle that had made Fred fall in love with her in the first place. She broke loose from him and took her heels off, dropping about four inches. She limped as she walked to the kitchen and Fred felt immensely guilty; her leg never was the same after that night. "You okay?"

"Yes, I'm alright." She smiled softly. "Those first years are like toddlers. Gotta run after them all class period." She reached up to the cabinet and grabbed two wine glasses and poured them both a cup. "I'm excited for our weekend." She said with her back turned to Fred, she grabbed both cups and turned around to see Fred on one knee before her.

"Marry me, Briar." Fred said softly. "Be my wife." A wine glass fell from her hand, causing red wine to shatter across the kitchen floor.

"Of course I'll marry you!" She squealed, tackling Fred to the ground. He raised up and slid the beautiful, yet simple, ring on her hand.

"I'm never leaving you again, Bry. You're mine forever." He said playfully, jerking her down to the ground as she giggled and kissed her lips.