Isn't He Lovely • A Fred Weasley Story

h e a d b a c k

We've finally reached the last day of our Holiday break, thoughts of school quickly flooding back into our minds after two weeks of fun and relaxation. My week at the Burrow has been amazing- it seems that every day there was something new we all did together that brought so much happiness and laughter within our group, as per usual.

It's the evening before we return to Hogwarts and Fred and I are slowly packing our things up around his room in order to have everything ready for tomorrow morning. We unfortunately have to wake up at the crack of dawn in order to get to the train on time; they seem to always want us back as soon as possible on the first day after break.

"I can't believe it's already the second semester," Fred says as he neatly folds a pair of trousers into his trunk. I'm sitting on the edge of his bed, my things already packed into my bags as I watch him finish up.

"I can't believe you're going to be graduating in less than a year," I sigh, my eyes falling to the floor. I feel a sting of disappointment as I think about attending Hogwarts without Fred Weasley next year.

"Hey," I hear him say softly, and look up. He has a warm smile on his face as he walks over to me and sits by my side. "Don't be down, love. We've still got a while."

"But I keep thinking about it..." I say, stopping as I feel a lump in my throat. My mind wanders to thoughts of not being able to hold Fred's hand between classes, not seeing his smiling face in the Great Hall, not hearing his laugh when we joke around... not being able to kiss him.

I sense him looking at me quietly as I stare at my hands in my lap. I feel his arm slip around my waist gently as he brushes a lock of hair out of my face.

"I won't be far," he says as I look up at him. "And we'll have the summer. You'll probably forget about me, anyways, with all your academic success and quidditch adventures and whatnot..."

"How could you say that?" I laugh out of disbelief as I look at him. "You're practically all I think about, Weasley. You, and monitoring our friends so they don't accidentally kill themselves somehow."

A small grin appears on his face and I rest my head on his shoulder. His hand slowly slides up and down my side as he speaks softly.

"We'll be fine," he breathes. "George and I'll be opening up the shop, I know it... and you'll come visit during the year, won't you?"

"Of course, Freddie," I reply. "Someone's gotta check in on you dorks; make sure you haven't blown anything up."

He lets out a light laugh as I grin, the room quiet around us. I eventually pull off his shoulder and stand up, taking his hands in mine.

"You better finish packing," I tell him. "Because as of right now, you've still got school to attend."

He grins and lifts my hands to his lips, gently pecking them with a kiss before standing up and returning to his dresser. I head for the bedroom door and step out into the hall, George approaching me as I do so. He smiles and slips past me into the bedroom with a trunk, obviously to pack his clothes and such. I see Harry and Ron coming down the steps laughing about something, and join them as we walk down to the first floor.

The sound of clinking pots and pans grows clearer as Molly prepares a going-away dinner and I spot Hermione and Ginny in the living room. Hermione is gingerly braiding Ginny's hair as they sit by the fire, her flaming orange locks draped down her back in a carefully intertwined pattern. I walk into the living room and settle on the couch as I watch them.

"That looks great, Hermione," I yawn. "You're pretty good at that. I can't braid hair for the life of me."

"I could teach you, you know," Hermione replies without taking her eyes off of her work. I discover that Ginny's braid is almost finished. "And.... a few more... and... done."