my best friends brother - fred weasley

xlix. last night

Fred was right, Molly was an emotional wreck all though dinner. She wept as she placed plates in front of us, she cried when we all finished, and she continued to sob while we all sat in the lounge waiting for bed. Fred was almost as bad, he wouldn't leave my side or stop playing with my hair. He waited outside the bathroom while I showered and talked to me through the door. 

"I missed you!" As soon as I stepped out the door he wrapped me in his arms, despite my hair being wet. 

"I was like 5 feet away and it was ten minutes." I laughed, shaking my head so water flew everywhere. 

"I don't care, you're going to be away for ages." He puts me down and follows me down the stairs. 

"I know, how ever will you cope?" I tease him, sitting down on an armchair, ignoring the conversation everyone else is having. 

"Maybe you can just not go this year." He shrugs, sitting on the arm of the chair so he rest his hand on my head. 

"Oh wow, I didn't think of that. I'll just quit school for a charming boy." I grin at him, getting a wink back from him. "I'm not leaving school. I hate you." 

"You love me." He pecks me on the forehead, before sweeping me up into his arms and taking my place on the chair, me now laying in his lap. 

"I guess I have to." Everyone is now looking at us, mostly disgusted by our display of affection. Fred and I stay in our loving daze, talking about nothing and everything, soaking up all of the time we have left. One by one, his family and our friends head to bed until it's just us in the living room, still wrapped up in each others arms and still somehow not close enough. 

At some point he had grabbed a book he bought over the holidays, The Wizard of Oz, since it reminded him of me. I was cradled in his arms and he was reading it out loud to me, gently rocking us back and forth in the chair. I could track with my eyes as he read, stumbling over some of the longer words. We didn't even notice the quietness of the Burrow until we asked the group to settle an argument on the pronunciation of Oz; he kept saying it as 'ooze' and I had had  enough- only to not get a response. We look up and the entire room was empty. 

"Oh, what's the time?" I sit up in my spot, craning my neck to see the clock on the wall. It's almost midnight. "Oh my gosh, I have to get to bed." I stand up, climbing over Fred. 

"Hang on, that's not how you end a night." He grabs onto my hand just before I'm out of reach. With a flick of his wand, a small, almost hidden, records player starts signing quietly, filling the loungeroom with a soft tune. "This is how we end our nights." He stands up and pulls me back into his chest, gently swaying us along with the music. 

"This is how we end our nights, isn't it?" I laugh, looking into his eyes as he dips me down. He pulls me back up and spins me around while the song changes. He grabs me by my waist and lifts me up into the air, spinning us around while laughing a bit too loud. I let my head drop back and I keep my hands on his shoulders, moving them up to his neck as he lets me back down slowly. We keep moving slowly to the music, I use my thumbs to tilt his head down towards mine and he pulls me into a kiss as the music slowly dies down. We stand in each others arms for a few more minutes, neither of us wanting to let go and make the moment end. 

"Come to up bed with me." He mutters, almost so I can't hear. 

"What?" I look up at him, already knowing what he said, just wanting to make sure I heard it right. 

"Just sleep in my bed, for our last night." He says, taking my hands in his. With a nod, he leads me up the stairs and into his room. He hands me one of his knitted sweaters to put on. "It gets colder in here than other rooms." He shrugs it off. Without a second though I pull it over my head and sit on his bed, watching him get ready for bed.