Rainbow Fragments

Blood Red

Fred Weasley awoke with a smile. It didn't matter how often he woke up on a lazy Sunday morning with his new wife in his arms, he never tired of it.

"I wish we could spend the rest of our lives like this," he murmured into his wife's ear.

Angelina looked up through her lashes at her husband. "What," she teased gently, "in bed? I admit that the idea has a certain amount of appeal, but it'd get a bit boring after a while, don't you think?"

"Never!" Fred denied. "But I think we may need to get up and have breakfast eventually, Ange my darling," he said, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

"You go," she muttered into her pillow, "I'll be along in a moment."

After a slightly concerned glance at his wife, Fred wandered out to the kitchen, where he began making a batch of pancakes and a pot of coffee. He was just levitating the whole lot over to the table when a slight movement in front of him made him look up.

Angelina leant against the doorframe, looking to Fred's enamoured reckoning like the most beautiful goddess ever imagined, her dark hair cascading down her shoulders and on to...

"Is that my old Quiddich shirt?" he accused.

Angelina smiled playfully and attempted to look shifty. "Maybe..." she admitted.

Fred laughed, crossed the room and swept her into his arms before saying, with deadpan seriousness, "Now, correct me if I am mistaken, my dear Angel, but you were on the same Quiddich team as I was. I believe that was even how we became acquainted."

"It might have been, yes."

"So does it not also follow that you yourself own one of these shirts? Not that I mind, of course," he added. "You always did look beautiful in red."

"Well, of course I have my own shirt," she answered him as he walked back to the table, "but yours is more comfortable. And besides," she added, smiling, "mine isn't going to fit me for much longer, anyway."

"Ange," Fred argued, not looking at her. "We've been through this, darling, you are not getting fa..." he trailed off as he looked up at her, seeing the radiant smile playing across her features.

"Hang on," he said, as his mind very quickly put two and two together, "you mean...?"

She nodded silently, barely suppressing a laugh, before Fred gave a loud whoop and leapt across the kitchen, picking her up and spinning her around before carefully setting her back on the ground and kissing her soundly.

"Fred," Angelina said breathlessly as soon as he broke the kiss. "Fred," she repeated, more definitely, when he merely continued to lay kisses along her neck. She pushed him away, then tried again. "Fred, darling, it's only early on. Anything could happen between now and then."

"I know," he responded, "but Angel, if I can't get excited about the fact that my beautiful wife is carrying our first child, then what can I be excited about?"

Angelina grinned. "You're right," she agreed. "But I was just thinking that maybe we should keep it quiet for a while. No point in getting everyone excited. What are your plans for today, anyway, darling?"

His wife's practical nature having successfully brought him back to Earth, Fred answered, "Well, this morning I absolutely have to help George get ready for the launch of the new line of 'Fogging the Future' divination pranks tomorrow. I know it's Sunday, but it's really unavoidable. But after that we have the whole afternoon to ourselves. Maybe we should go out to lunch. You know," he said, smiling hugely, "to celebrate."

~*~*~

Fred came home that afternoon after a morning spent watching the clock, to find Angelina asleep on the couch. So as not to wake her, he attempted to close the door to their flat quietly, but the door was unfortunately caught by a gust of wind, resulting in it slamming loudly shut.

Angelina awoke with a start. "Oh, it's you, Fred darling," she said after a few seconds of semi-consciousness had passed. "Did you only just get home?" she asked.

Fred walked over to the couch and dropped a quick kiss on Angelina's lips before answering, "Yeah. Though for all the good I was doing trying to concentrate on work, I may as well have come home hours ago."

"I wish you had," Angelina said wistfully, "I missed you, all alone in this big old flat." The look on Angelina's face as she said this was so comically pathetic that Fred merely laughed, and kissed her again, more deeply than his greeting kiss.

Pulling back out of the kiss, Fred ran a hand through Angelina's dark curls as he said, "Well, I'm here now." He paused a moment, then continued, "And I believe that I promised you I'd take you out to lunch. Unless you'd rather stay here and sleep all day." He slid onto the couch with her and slipped an arm around her waist to keep from falling off before adding, "I really have no objections to either choice."

Angelina laughed, and pushed him gently off the couch before sitting upright and saying, "No, no, I'm getting up. Just let me get changed and we'll leave." With that she walked into their bedroom and closed the door, re-emerging some minutes later wearing a pair of dark blue jeans, a white shirt and a perfectly fitted bright red jacket.

Fred walked over to her and took her into his arms. "You," he said, kissing her cheek. "Look," he kissed her neck. "Beautiful," he finished, kissing her tenderly on the lips. They left the flat, walking arm in arm through the London streets to a café not far from their flat.

~*~*~

They were walking back from a filling lunch at the café when Fred grabbed Angelina suddenly about the waist, pulling her into a side street and kissing her soundly.

"What was that for?" Angelina asked as Fred pulled away.

"Impulse," he answered with a quick shrug.

"You have no sense of public decency, do you?"

"Nope," Fred retorted, laughing, "none. Besides, we can take a short cut through here and get home sooner."

It was a decision that would later haunt Fred for the rest of his life. Right then, though, he laughed as Angelina agreed to take the short cut, took her hand and walked happily through the deserted lane.

They were about halfway down the lane when Fred first noted that something was wrong. The atmosphere felt...itchy, almost as though they were being watched. Putting this down to the overcast day, pressing in around them, and to a little natural paranoia, Fred didn't mention anything to his wife, merely pulling her just a fraction closer and walking a little faster.

"What's wrong?" Angelina asked, ever observant.

"Nothing," Fred lied, "I'm just cold, that's all."

"Alright," she acknowledged, doubt clear in her voice, as she quickened her pace to match his.

It was mere seconds after this that Fred heard the first unmistakable sound of someone Apparating nearby. This was followed by more of the same popping noise. Fred drew his wand, and saw that Angelina had done the same. But even as he silently cast the spell that would send a distress signal to Order headquarters, Fred knew that the odds were weighted against them. There was no way of knowing exactly how many people were in that alley, but they were definitely outnumbered. They had to get out, fast.

It was one of the first basic rules of Apparation that the magic should never be attempted whilst sick, drunk or especially not whilst pregnant. The risk or splinching or worse damage was too great. But Fred and Angelina were fast running out of other options. Fred whispered this concern to his wife, before dropping her hand and attempting to Apparate away. Beside him, Angelina did the same.

Nothing happened. Fred swore as he realised that whoever it was hiding in the shadows had secured an anti-Apparation charm in the area once he had smuggled his friends in.

A laugh sounded from the shadows behind them, and Fred and Angelina turned to face its source. "Come now, Weasley," laughed the cold voice of Lucius Malfoy from behind his white mask. "Did you honestly think that we wouldn't have thought of that?"

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Fred asked, in a voice far braver than he felt.

"Want?" Lucius queried in a light tone, as his felloe Death Eaters emerged from the shadows behind him. "I want for nothing. I was merely sent here to offer you a...proposition from my Lord. Extended to your lovely wife also, of course. Join the side of power, Weasley. Leave the memory of that weak fool Dumbledore behind."

"Never!" Angelina hissed from beside Fred.

"Have it your way!" Lucius exclaimed, pulling out his wand. "Sectumsempra!" As he cast the spell, Lucius spun on his heel and walked from the alley.

Fred caught Angelina as she fell to the ground, her bright blood staining his clothes red. Lowering her gently, Fred cast spell after spell upon her wounds, but nothing he could think of seemed to work. Dimly Fred was aware of the arrival of the Order, who fought their way through the remaining Death Eaters. But Fred's main focus was on his wife, her red blood staining his hands and her white shirt. Her dark brown eyes flickered closed, and Fred's own eyes blurred with tears. He brushed a lock of her dark hair from her face, and left a trail of red blood across her cheek in its place.

"Angel," he whispered as she closed her eyes for the last time, "I love you."