LOVE ISN'T EASY (but it sure is hard enough)

AUGUST 20TH, 1995

Fred Weasley swore that waking up beside Juno Lennox was something he would never get used to. Sure, he had done it before that morning but nearly every time they had fallen asleep side by side one of them would have to sneak out before the sun rose. Whether that was back at the burrow, or in their dormitories at Hogwarts, when he woke up she would be gone.

Waking up at Olivia's was different.

Every morning, as the sunbeams pushed through the curtains, he would wake up to her in his arms and her thick, dark hair surrounding her like an ebony halo. George and Olivia would be downstairs at this point, the other side of the pillow wall empty as music played quietly from the open windows of the kitchen. The other four were asleep, Mabel and Rory so close together they could be one being, Dom and Lee always touching in some small way.

There weren't many things Fred Weasley was serious about, but when he saw her completely at peace in the early hours, he knew Juno Lennox was at the top of that list.

Alongside his family, and his friends. And Quidditch, and lunch, and pranks-

Well, Fred Weasley was serious about quite a few things, a lot more serious than people would give him credit for, but he was completely certain about one thing. He was more serious about Juno Lennox than he had ever been about anything ever.

He lay there, looking at her in the sunlight for a few minutes more, before she stretched her arms out and hit him right across the face. She let out a tiny gasp as she realised what she had done, covering her mouth with her hands to try and stifle her giggles. He struggled to hold in his own laughter, pushing his face into the pillow they shared so as to not wake up the other four who were passed out on the floor. He pressed a kiss to her hairline, feeling her body shake from laughter he knew she wouldn't let out until she left the room and was far away from the sleeping figures, her arms running up and down his chest before pushing his chest lightly towards the edge of the bed.

They pulled on warm jumpers and made their way downstairs, met with the sight of Robbie cuddled into the lap of a half-asleep George and a wide-awake Liv fussing over a frying pan, noticing the two at the door before pouring them two cups of tea. The faintest burning smell lingered in the air, hidden by a stronger scent of bacon and citrus.

"How you feeling?" George asked his brother, who took a seat opposite him. Juno recognised the look in his eyes when Liv placed their plates down on the table, pressing a kiss to his temple, and then to Robbie's.

"Same as you are."

Henry entered the room, newspaper in one hand and a pair of shoes in the other. His eyes were narrowed as he held the fine print close to his face, lips mumbling the words of the article to himself before Liv pushed the paper down slightly and held his glasses out towards him. He grinned at her in thanks, picking up one of the bacon rolls and taking a large bite as he placed the slightly wonky glasses on his face.

"Morning all! Big day!"

It was, in fact, a rather important morning. In an hour or so, the boys would disappear for their viewing of number 93, Diagon Alley. The frantic energy of the room was amplified, people floating in and out as the boys disappeared to change and when Lee caught the scent of bacon drifting upstairs. They reappeared only when everyone else was gathered in the kitchen, oohing and wolf-whistling as they spun round, showing off their outfits. Juno stood to fix Fred's tie, ignoring how he smiled at her when she did so.

"You know, I've always liked it when you played with my tie." He smirked, wiggling his eyebrows as she let out an amused sigh.

"Well, you get this shop and when you're a serious businessman you'll have a lot more ties for me to fix when you tie them weird."