Fred Weasley

"Give her hell from us, Peeves."

- Fred Weasley during his and George's escape from Hogwarts

Fred Weasley (1 April 1978 - May 1998) was son of Molly and Arthur Weasley, and twin to George Weasley. A brilliant prankster and inventor, Fred left Hogwarts prior to graduation to become a successful entrepreneur, alongside his brother, and opened the joke shop, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes on Diagon Alley. Fred Weasley was killed by Death Eater Augustus Rookwood during the Second Battle of Hogwarts.

=Physical Description and Traits= Fred Weasley bore a head of flaming-red hair and freckles. He was perhaps the more outspoken, daring, and sarcastic of the twins. It was he who picked the lock on Harry's bedroom door with a hairpin in 1992, during the rescue from the Dursleys, insisting Muggle tricks were important to know, even if it was "a bit slow." It was Fred who "dropped" a Ton-Tongue Toffee for Dudley Dursley to find and eat. It was also Fred who concocted the scheme of trying to fool Albus Dumbledore's Age Line to get into the Triwizard Tournament.

=Biography=

Early Life and Education
Fred Weasley was born April 1, 1978; appropriately enough, April Fool's Day. He was raised at his family home of The Burrow, near Ottery St. Catchpole, Devon. He was educated at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from from 1989-1996, and was sorted into Gryffindor House. He was very popular in school. Among his many friends was Lee Jordan, as well as Angelina Johnson, who attended the Yule Ball with him.

During his first year at Hogwarts, George and Fred swiped the Marauder's Map from Argus Filch's office. Four years later, they gave Harry Potter the map, as the brothers already knew the map by heart.

Fred Weasley, alongside his brother George, played for the Gryffindor Quidditch team as a Beater. They both used Cleansweep Five broomsticks. They were so skilled at Quidditch that they were both described as being like "human Bludgers." Fred played for Gryffindor until 1996 when he was given a lifetime ban after the first match of that year.

In 1996, before the end of his seventh year, Fred dropped out of Hogwarts with George in a final act of malice against then-Headmaster Dolores Umbridge. They left in a flourish of fireworks, vandalism and chaos. A small part of a Portable Swamp created in the corridors by the twins was preserved by Professor Filius Flitwick, as he saw it as an example of "Extraordinary Magic".



Career as a Shop Proprietor
Initially, Fred's ambitions to open a joke shop came as a disappointment to his parents, who had hoped he would seek employment with the Ministry of Magic like their father. However, the spectacular success of the twins' business, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, located at 93 Diagon Alley, impressed his parents and made them proud. What had started out as a mail-order experiment in entrepreneurialism sky-rocketted into a very lucrative undertaking. In fact, it was so successful that in 1996, the twins had moved out of their childhood home and into a flat above the store; later, the twins considered buying Zonko's Joke Shop in Hogsmeade, which had closed the previous year. None of this might have been possible without the funding made available by Harry Potter, who was close friends with the twins and the entire Weasley family, as Harry gave the twins his Triwizard Tournament winnings of 1000 Galleons to start their business with.

Order of the Phoenix
Fred Weasley was a staunch admirer and supporter of Albus Dumbledore, and joined the Order of the Phoenix as soon as his parents would allow him. In 1994, Fred joined his family in fixing up the Order's headquarters at Number 12, Grimmauld Place, pocketting Doxies from behind the curtains for his experimental inventions.

Fred Weasley was killed in combat during the Second Battle of Hogwarts, in an explosion created by Augustus Rookwood. His death was avenged when Rookwood was captured and confined by Aberforth Dumbledore, and was presumably sent to Azkaban.

His brother George's first son was named in honour of him: Fred Weasley II.

=Trivia=
 * Fred is played by James Phelps in the film versions of the books.

Fred Weasley