Silk Tears & Acid Laughter

Young Lovers

Maria squealed as Fred picked her up spinning her around. As he put her down Maria smiled at him, at the man she loved more than anything in the world. The two knew they were young, hardly 17 but they were in love, and Fred knew with the way the world was going he may not have his whole life with this beautiful girl in front of him. With that thought he took a shaky breathe and knelt down on one knee.

Maria's hands flew to cover her mouth as she gasped in surprise; Fred had brought the idea of proposing to her a little over a month ago. Maria was a muggle and as such hadn't know about Wizards or the dark forces growing right under her nose but Fred had sat her down and explained it all. He'd explained how it was expected that there would be a war and how he would fight in it. Maria was terrified that she would lose this boy who had become her whole world in this war that was looming ahead and most likely that is why she agreed to get married at 17.

...

Neither teenager told anyone about their engagement. Maria mostly because she was an orphan and had no one to tell; Fred didn't tell because if Voldemort won the war, the less people who knew of Maria the more likely it was she would survive. They chose to get married in a muggle court room, Maria's idea. They didn't have guests, a cake, or a party but they did dress up. Fred wore handsome muggle tuxedo and Maria wore a wedding dress, it was second hand but beautiful none the less. Upon being married the couple purchased a small two bedroom apartment in a muggle area in Bristol. It wasn't large or fancy but to them it was perfect. Fred didn't stay with her all the time but he also was never away for more than a day. Fred told Maria about his family;especially about his twin, about Hogwarts, the wizarding community, and about the joke shop he and George had opened. There life was full of promises that once the war was over she would be apart of his world and she couldn't wait.

...

It was hardly three months after they got married that Maria got sick. Neither of them gave much thought until after a month Maria still wasn't doing any better. A trip to the doctor taught the pair that muggle birth control pills and contraception charms don't offer double protection but rather cancel the effects of the other.

...

When Georgia was born Fred was at her side in the muggle hospital and he didn't stop smiling for weeks after, not until Diagon Alley was attacked and the seriousness of the war finally settled into him. That fear he now felt just forced him to be more careful with keeping Maria and now Georgia hidden from the Wizarding World. Fred died a little everyday that he couldn't tell George or his parents about his family but the knowledge that he was keeping them safe was enough for him.

...

After the death of Alastor Moody and George having lost an ear Fred had been overwhelmed by the severity of the world and Maria and him had drank until he forgot; that was the night he forgot the contraception charm that resulted in his twins.

...

The birth of the twins had been Fred's second happiest day of his life; first being the birth of Georgia and the third being the day him and Maria said I Do. Fred had loved his family and couldn't have been more excited to spend the rest of his life with them if he'd tried.

...

The day Fred got word that Harry was going to Hogwarts had been one of the worst days of his life. Before he told Maria he wrote a letter to George, one that he charmed to only appear to George should he die. It had an explanation of what Fred had been hiding for the past two, almost two and a half years. When he told Maria that he had to go fight in what was hopefully the last battle of the war she had cried. She never liked it when he left but every fibre in her knew that he wouldn't come back this time. Eventually Fred had convinced her she was just nervous but he charmed a compass into a portkey for if he didn't come back quick enough and she needed to go to him. Fred had kissed his children and hugged them tight before hold Maria's hands. He also felt something was different this time and so for once he put aside all humour and looked his wife dead in the eye and said he loved her, the way he said it was powerful and Maria hadn't wanted to let him go but finally after a lingering kiss she let him go to his family.

...

When Fred died he did so with a smile, his last thoughts were of his wife and children. He was certain the Order would win the war and he only hoped George and Maria could find each other easily and help each other through the grief.