Fred Weasley

"Give her hell from us, Peeves."

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

Fred Weasley (1 April 1978 - 2 May 1998) was a 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 twin brother, and opened the joke shop, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes on Diagon Alley. Fred Weasley was killed by Death Eater Augustus Rookwood during the Battle of Hogwarts.

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. In addition to his twin brother, Fred had three older brothers, Bill, Charlie and Percy, and younger siblings Ron and Ginny. He and George were particularly close to their sister, who was most like them in temperament of their siblings, and delighted in teasing their brothers Percy and Ron.

Fred was educated at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from from 1989 to 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, Fred swiped the Marauder's Map from Argus Filch's office with George. Four years later, they gave Harry Potter the map, as the brothers already knew the map by heart.

When many students speculated that Harry was the Heir of Slytherin in 1992, neither Fred nor George took it seriously, making jokes about it to lighten Harry up. The same year, they were delighted to hear that their older, stuffy brother Percy had a secret girlfriend because it was an opportunity to tease him.

Fred, 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 along with George and Harry. This was after they began a fight when Slytherin player Draco Malfoy penned the demeaning song Weasley is Our King to humiliate Ron Weasley and then proceeded to insult the Weasley parents and the late Lily Potter.

That same year, Fred and George joined Dumbledore's Army to oppose the dictatorial running of Hogwarts under High Inquisitor Dolores Umbridge and to prepare to fight Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Before the end of his seventh year, Fred dropped out of Hogwarts with George in a final act of rebellion against Umbridge. They left in a flourish of fireworks, vandalism, and chaos, including hexing members of Umbridge's Inquisitorial Squad. A small part of a Portable Swamp created in the corridors by the twins was preserved by Professor Flitwick, as he saw it as an example of "extraordinary magic".

Career as a Shop Proprietor
Initially, Fred and George's ambitions to open a joke shop came as a disappointment to their parents, who had hoped they 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-rocketed 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 1995, Fred joined his family in fixing up the Order's headquarters at Number 12, Grimmauld Place, pocketing Doxies from behind the curtains for his experimental inventions.

"Point is, people, don’t get lulled into a false sense of security, thinking he’s out of the country. Maybe he is, maybe he isn’t, but the fact remains he can move faster than Severus Snape confronted with shampoo when he wants to, so don’t count on him being a long way away if you’re planning to take any risks. I never thought I’d hear myself say it, but safety first!"

- Fred reporting on Voldemort's movements on Potterwatch

In 1998, Fred participated under the codename "Rapier" in Potterwatch, a radio program hosted by his friend Lee that opposed Voldemort's reign of terror. They spread the truth about the Death Eater regime that was not being reported by the Daily Prophet or other news outlets, and encouraged the public to support Harry and to protect Muggles who were falling victim to the Death Eaters.

Fred, along with his family and friends, returned to Hogwarts in the spring to participate in the Battle of Hogwarts. He and George were assigned to defend the castle's secret passages by Kingsley Shacklebolt. When the Death Eaters forced their way inside, Fred fought next to his brother Percy, who had recently been reconciled with the family and combatted his former boss, Imperio'd Minister for Magic Pius Thicknesse. Fred was killed in an explosion probably 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 son was named in honour of him: Fred Weasley II.

Physical description
Fred Weasley, similar to all the Weasley children, bore a head of flaming-red hair and freckles. He was short and stocky like his brothers George and Charlie.

Personality and traits
Fred Weasley 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" and Fred "dropped" a Ton-Tongue Toffee for Dudley Dursley to find and eat. Fred also concocted the scheme of trying to fool Albus Dumbledore's Age Line to get into the Triwizard Tournament, though it was unsuccessful.

Behind the scenes

 * Fred is played by James Phelps in the film versions of the books.
 * Fred and George each earned fewer O.W.L.s than the rest of their brothers.
 * When Harry and his friends lose 150 House points in 1991, he loses favor with the Gryffindor Quidditch team. While understandable, it seems odd that Fred and George turned on him.
 * Two theories suggest that Fred and George were named after Molly Prewett Weasley's brothers Fabian and Gideon, who may also have been twins; in the movie version of OotP, the Prewetts are portrayed by the Phelps twins (Order photograph).
 * In Norwegian and Swedish, Fred means peace.

Fred Weasley Фред Уизли