Catch Me, I'm Falling | Fred Weasley

Chapter 35

Olivia sat beside Phebe in the stands. The third and final task of the Triwizard tournament had just begun. Olivia shivered and clutched her robe closer as a chill ran down her spine. She didn't know if it was because of the cool breeze or the knowledge of what was about to happen.

Phebe, cheery as ever, asked, "Do you think Cedric will win? I think so. Better chances than Potter, that's for sure. He must be mental if he thinks he has any chance. I mean, Krum's quite the competitor. So is Fleur. But I'm still rooting for Diggory. I'm biased for Fleur, though. Aren't you? She's so sweet, it's unbelievable." Phebe babbled on and on about predictions of who would win, oblivious to Olivia beside her, who was growing paler and paler by the minute.

"What was your favorite task? Mine was the dragons. You know-" Phebe glanced over at Olivia and immediately stopped. "Are you alright? You don't look too good."

Olivia, who was turning greener every second, hastily excused herself with a half-arsed "Um, excuse me for a moment, Strix. I've got to use the loo." With that, she sprinted towards the grass behind the stands. She fell to her knees, gasping as she tried not to hurl.

"Please, please, please," she thought, "please just let this be over."

"Olivia?" It was Fred. She didn't turn. If she did, Olivia feared she would be sick. Fred was only another reminder. Fred ran over, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"You alright, darling?" he asked in a low voice. He patiently waited for a response.

"No," Olivia choked out. Tears were streaming down her face now. "I- I can't."

"Slow down, love," Fred reassured her. "I'm here. It's okay."

Olivia turned to him, panic in her face. "But it's not! Nothing is okay. Something horrible is about to happen... and it's only the beginning. I don't know if I can- watch- it again."

"Hey, hey. Calm down. We'll get through this-" Olivia cut him off with a sad laugh full of hysteria.

"Don't, Fred. It's about to happen. Come, I have to show you. You won't believe me until you see for yourself." She dragged him back to a place where they could just see the scene.

The crowd started cheering all of a sudden. "Harry! It's Harry!" they yelled. Then a hush fell over the crowd and the scene was finally clear.

"Holy Hell," Fred exhaled behind her.

-

After the chaos with Moody and Harry was over and the hysteria over Cedric Diggory's death had passed, Olivia's friends looked at her differently. There was pain in their expressions as if they finally experienced some of what Olivia had seen. But there was also betrayal. She hadn't told them, hadn't prepared them for the horrors to come. What other secrets was she keeping?

"You knew," Fred said quietly. It wasn't a question. The words were an accusation. Olivia nodded.

"I didn't understand before, but... now I do," George added softly, no anger in his voice, just realization. "I'm sorry you had to go through that alone." He patted her shoulder before walking over to Ron and Ginny. You have no idea.

"I- um... I'm going to go see how the girls are doing, bye Sparks," Lee's voice was sad as he bid Olivia goodbye and joined Katie, Alicia, and Angelina where they were sitting on the bleachers. They'd left to give them privacy, she realized. They'd sensed Fred's anger, his sadness, his confusion. The fire that burned inside him. They knew that this had to be between her and Fred alone. So, taking a deep breath, Olivia turned her gaze to him.

Only Fred remained, standing silently beside Olivia, fire and ice swirling darkly in his eyes.

"Why? Why didn't you tell me?" Fred demanded, voice cold as ice. His fist was clenched so hard, his knuckles turned white.

"I can't risk that, Fred. The future-" Olivia tried.

"Bullshit." He sounded angry, but really he was hurt. The hand that had been clenched unfurled and he angrily ran it through his hair.

"Fred," Olivia half-sobbed. His name was a plea on her lips. Please forgive me.

"You could've stopped it from happening. I could've stopped it from happening. What if Ginny had gotten hurt? Or George? Or Ron?" he accused.

"They wouldn't have," Olivia tried.

"How can you be so sure?" he gestured to George. "I don't know what I'd do without him. If anything happened, gods." Fred made a sound, choking on a breath.

Olivia was sobbing now, knowing that the exact opposite was true. "Please, Fred," she begged, grabbing his arm.

"What else do you know? What else do you have yet to tell me? Bloody hell, Olivia. I don't know how much I can take," his voice was almost a yell, starting strong but getting weaker until she could barely hear his last words through the gravel in his throat, which was almost worse.

Olivia cracked "Y-you," she started, voice barely above a whisper.

"Spit it out," Fred demanded.

"You're going to-"

"What?" Fred bit out.

Olivia couldn't take it anymore. "YOU'RE GOING TO DIE!" she screeched, tears pouring down her cheeks.

Fred was stunned, staring at her in silence. Olivia's entire body trembled as she explained, "Y- you're going to die. I watched you die. I- I can't get the image out of my head. It haunts me, Fred. Every night I can't sleep, it's because of you. Every time I look into the distance it's you. Yes, I've seen many terrible things and yes, I didn't tell you. But honestly, I don't think I could if I tried. I've seen my friends tortured, classmates lying motionless beside me. But by far the worst was you... and I don't know why, but it hurts. You asked me why I looked so sad the day I met you. This is why."

Fred was speechless, "I- I don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything," Olivia pleaded, "Because all I want is to forget,". She gave a short bark of laughter. "It's almost funny, isn't it? Trauma victims take years to recover and they're never truly the same after. I get to experience the trauma alone, before everyone else, and I have to act like everything is okay. Sometimes I wish that I was a sociopath, that I didn't have empathy, so that maybe it would hurt less."

"How-" Fred was about to ask, but Olivia didn't let him.

"Don't ask. I'm not- ready to tell you. I wasn't ready to tell you this either, but it just... spilled out. You know, I've been trying to save you, trying to find a way to save your life. No luck. I wish I could give you good news but... I can't." The weakness in her voice broke Fred's heart.

"Olivia, I'm so sorry," Fred said in a low voice.

Olivia gave a sad laugh and wiped the tears from her face. "Why should you be? You didn't do anything wrong." Olivia's hands played with the bracelet on her wrist, a nervous tik. Her eyes flicked up to Fred again. His expression was sad, sympathetic like he finally understood. "I don't know why you're calm. You just found out you're going to die for Merlin's sake," she said in a breathy voice.

"But I didn't have to see it," he whispered, already pulling her into a hug.

"But you have so little time left-" Olivia started before he interrupted her with a kiss to the forehead.

"It doesn't matter, because I have you. Besides, everyone is going to die. All I care about is having you there until the moment I do."

Olivia stood there, wet cheek pressed to Fred's chest, his hand running through her hair. They rock, rock, rocked back and forth. A gentle wind caressed them, drying the tears on their cheeks. All that was left behind was a salty streak, a reminder of their inevitable sorrows. A reminder of their doomed love.