Just Friends (Fred Weasley Love Story)

The Second Task

The second task was set to start right after breakfast and Lacey, Hermione and Ron were no where to be found. Fred was starting to worry because he knows Lacey wouldn't miss the task and neither would Ron or Hermione.

"Don't worry, I'm sure they're already all down at the lake," George reassured him.

The twins, Lee and Angelina walked down to the lake with the rest of the school, but Fred still wasn't able to spot his girlfriend. Fred knew Lacey wouldn't just ditch him, she'd at least let him know where she was going.

"It's odd that Lacey's not here, don't you guys think?"

"She's probably just with Cedric. They are really good friends you know," Angelina said, brushing him off.

Fred barely listened to what the announcers were saying and soon enough the 4 competitors jumped into the lake.

About 45 minutes later Fleur came back up, not being able to get past Grindylows and retrieving her treasure. 45 minutes of Fred anxiously waiting for Lacey.

16 minutes later he saw her. She was in the freezing cold water with Cedric. She looked confused and dazed. All Fred could see was her face as he ran down to meet her, relieved she was okay but slightly annoyed that the teachers and judges think Lacey is Cedric's treasure.

He pulled Lacey out of the water and immediately engulfed her in a hug, "I was so worried, Lace."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know what was happening when I agreed to do this, or I would've told you, of course."

"It doesn't matter now, you're okay," he said, kissing her passionately and holding her close.

The students nearby started whispering about Fred and Lacey but they were fine with it. Lacey had told Cedric a few days ago that her and Fred were a couple and now she didn't care who knew. Fred grabbed a large towel and wrapped Lacey in it. It was freezing outside.

Viktor Krum shortly followed Cedric and Lacey pulling up Hermione. Now all they were waiting on was Harry and Ron. Fleur was hysterical about her little sister being stuck at the bottom of the lake.

Ron and Gabrielle's head popped out of the water and Ron helped the young girl back to the stands. Harry was no where to be seen.

"Where's Harry?" Lacey yelled to Ron.

"I dunno, I haven't seen him," he shrugged.

As soon as the words were out of Rons mouth, Harry flew out of the water and landed hard next to Ron.

"Found 'im," Ron said.

Lacey rolled her eyes but laughed. The judges awarded Cedric first place and Harry was second. Meaning they were both tied for first!

Lacey was shaking and she could hear the murmurs of the other students commenting on hers and Fred's relationship. As soon as they reached the common room Lacey ran to change into black leggings, one of her Mrs. Weasley sweaters with an 'L' on it and thick wool socks.

"Ms. Ryder- Lupin can you please come with me?" Professor McGonagall asked her.

It was odd to see the professor in the common room. Lacey glanced at her friends and shrugged, getting up from her comfortable spot in front of the fire and following her.

They walked silently to Professor Dumbledores office when Lacey finally spoke.

"Am I in trouble?"

"No, dear, there's just been some terrible news that we need to inform you of," Professor McGonagall spoke softly to her.

"Lemon drops," she said to the statue and they walked up the stairs.

Thoughts were running through Lacey's mind. She didn't know what to expect and she was scared to hear the news.

"Lacey, please take a seat," Professor Dumbledore said.

Lacey sat down and Professor McGonagall stood next to Professor Dumbledore.

"Now, what I am about to tell you will come as a huge shock. Your mother, Aurora Ryder, has been found. She is dead, Lacey. I'm sorry."

Lacey froze. Tears sprang to her eyes almost immediately and she let out a loud cry, her tears pouring down her face.

Lacey hadn't seen her mom in over a year. They wrote letters, however, they were quite infrequent, but she loved her mother. Aurora loved Lacey fiercely, choosing to devote her life to her daughter and then, once Lacey was old enough, she devoted her life to making the world a safer place. Aurora was one of the top Aurors. Lacey thought she was studying Healing in Australia, but it was all to keep her safe from the evils of the world. Aurora knew that if she continued to be around her daughter that one of the dark wizards would come after her and Aurora couldn't let that happen to her.

Lacey sat there crying. She didn't say anything. Dumbledore explained everything to Lacey, finally knowing the truth of who her mother was and the amazing person she had been.

"Is there anyone we can get for you?" Professor McGonagall asked the girl after several minutes of her crying.

"Fred Weasley, please," She croaked out.

Less than ten minutes later Fred was rushing up the stairs to try and console her. Professor McGonagall filled him in on what happened and he couldn't imagine loosing his mum.

He burst through the doors without knocking and fell to his knees in front of Lacey. Holding her as tight as he could.

"I'm so sorry, Love," he said quietly.

She held him tightly too, not wanting to lose him like she lost her mother.

"She-she was an Auror. She d-didn't choose her job over me. S-she was p-protecting me," she sobbed.

"Professor, how did this happen?" Fred asked.

Dumbledore explained everything to Fred, knowing that Lacey wouldn't be able to speak about it.

"Aurora was investigating the World Cup incident and was fed wrong information from a loyal Death Eater. No one knew this person was a Death Eater so when Aurora showed up to catch the dark wizards, they had all already known she was coming and they ambushed her."

New tears formed in Lacey's eyes. She couldn't believe that she'd never see her mum again. She'd never get to see her graduate from Hogwarts and hopefully become a Healer. She'd never witness her get married and have children. She wouldn't ever get to make up for all the lost time between the two.

Fred walked Lacey back to the common room. Lacey's eyes were red and swollen, but she had cried so much she didn't think she could cry anymore.

"Fred, promise me you'll never leave me."

"Lacey Aurora Ryder-Lupin, I promise you I'll never, ever dream of leaving you," he said, looking her in the eyes.

"Thank you. Do you mind letting the others know what happened? I don't think I can handle telling them. I just want to go to bed."

Fred nodded to her, "Do you want to sleep in my room? You can go on up and I'll meet you in there."

Lacey nodded to him and they walked into the common room. Her friends looked at her face and knew something was wrong. She sent them a sad smile and walked up the steps to Fred's dorm while he explained what happened.

Several minutes passed by before Fred came upstairs. Lacey had undressed and thrown on one of Fred's large shirts to use as a nightgown.

Fred pulled her into him and hugged her tightly. He wasn't sure how to fix her broken heart, but he wanted her to know that he was there. No matter what.

"I love you, Fred. Thank you for everything,"

"Don't mention it, Love. I love you, too," he replied, kissing the top of her head.

Fred changed quickly and they crawled into his bed, she gave him a quick kiss and silently cried herself to sleep while Fred rubbed her back.