Obliviate ; Fred Weasley

Six

The next morning, Fred was gone when I woke up.

He had left me a note, telling me he was in Diagon alley to do some Christmas shopping and that he'd be home by lunch.

I got up and got into an outfit before I placed myself in front of the mirror, brushing my hair.

When I walked down the hallway, my eyes landed on Myeong in the living room who was awake.

He had gotten himself dressed and was now folding the sheet that had covered the sofa where he had slept.

"We gotta find a better solution, don't you agree?" I asked, and he looked back at me. "We can't have you sleeping on the sofa all Christmas."

Myeong shrugged.

"I don't mind. I don't want to be in the way."

"In the way?" I asked. "You're not in the way of anything, Myeong. Has mum been telling you that?"

He didn't answer. He put the neatly folded sheet over the armrest on the sofa and I sighed.

He had known how to fold sheets since he was six and it hurt to see him so much more grownup than en eight-year-old boy should be.

"I'll make us some breakfast." I said. "Fred's out shopping so it's only you and I until lunch."

Myeong went to sit at the table straight away and I smiled at him as I went into the kitchen.

"What do you want to eat?" I asked. "We've got cereal... three different kinds—"

"Pixie puffs?" He asked, his eyes going wide. "Mum never lets me have those."

After our dads death, mum basically neglected magic. Well, apart from apparating Myeong to and from my flat.

"You want pixie puffs?" I asked, and he nodded. "Alright then."

I reached for a bowl and then the cereal while looking at Myeong.

"Have you brushed your teeth?" I asked. "You need to brush them first thing when you wake up. Bacteria build up overnight and the breakfast will only add to it and that's when you'll get cavities."

Myeong nodded.

"Have you brushed your teeth."

Dammit...

Chuckling, I poured cereal into the bowl before adding milk. I found a spoon and then walked over to the table to place it in front of him.

"I'll be doing that now." I said. "Thank you for reminding me."

I ruffled his hair and he laughed, trying to fix it while I made my way down the hallway to the bathroom.

I brushed my teeth and then returned to the kitchen to get myself some breakfast.

"What do you want to do today?" I asked and sat down at the table.

"I want to go to the Christmas market." He told me.

"Yeah? The one Fred and I took you to, two years ago?" I asked and Myeong nodded in response while shoving a spoonful of cereal into his mouth.

"And I want Carter to come as well." He said. "And Maya, but she isn't home for Christmas."

"She's not, no..." I shook my head.

Maya was playing professional quidditch and she was gone for Christmas but home for New Years.

"We can go ask Carter if he wants to come with." I said. "We also need to find a star for the tree. Maybe you can help with that."

Myeong looked towards the tree while shoving another spoonful of cereal into his mouth.

"Why don't you have a star?" He asked before looking at me again, and I smiled.

"I dropped it last year and it shattered."

Myeong looked at the tree again and then the front door opened.

Fred walked in and I looked at him while he smiled at me.

"I thought you weren't going to be home until lunch."

"I said; by lunch." He told me. "It's almost noon. Is that breakfast you're eating?"

I looked up at the clock on the wall and realised he was right.

"Slept in, haven't you?" Fred asked. "I set the alarm..."

Then a suffocated giggle came from Myeong and I looked at my brother to see him cover his mouth with both of his hands.

"Ahh, I see." Fred laughed and walked over to hold up his hand for a high-five, which Myeong happily gave him. "Good job, M."

"Thank you, F." Myeong responded and Fred winked at him, then ruffled his hair before walking over to put the plastic bag he was holding by the tree.

"Turning off my alarm..." I breathed and my brother looked at me again. "...you're clever, you are? Been spending too much time with Freddie?"

Myeong shrugged.

"I like F." He said. "He's fun."

I looked towards Fred as he pulled present after present out of the bag that seemed to have an extension charm on it.

He placed them under the tree and I smiled, realising that most of those were for Myeong to make sure he had an amazing Christmas.

"He is, isn't he?"

I stood up, leaving my breakfast to walk over to Fred.

I crouched down and he glanced at me, smiling.

"I was thinking, we could put an extension charm on the flat, build another room so that Myeong can have his own room whenever he's here."

Fred looked at me again and smiled as he leaned in and pressed a kiss to my lips.

"Okay." He said, nodding. "But then you'll also have to agree to turn your mother in to the ministry."

I sighed, closing my eyes as I sat down on the floor.

"It's what's best." He whispered to me. "She's letting him down. He's eight years old, Kai. He needs a stable home and your mother can't provide that."

"My mother—"

"Your mother is abusive."

"No." I shook my head and looked at him. "She's not."

"Neglect equals abuse." He told me. "I know you don't want to realise it, but you
have to, if you want your brother to get a fair chance in life."

I looked back at Myeong, taking a deep breath before looking at Fred again.

"Okay... how about this? What if I talk to my mum and suggest that Myeong comes live with us while she works on herself? He gets a stable home, he can see mum with supervision and when she's proven herself, he can go live with her again."

"Kai... you are twenty-six years old. You can't fix her."

"No, but I can help her." I said. "She just needs some help."

"And that's fine, but she can't take proper care of Myeong so telling the ministry—"

"Stop." I cut him off. "I'll talk to my mum. He can live with us while she gets better."