Growing Older (Fred Weasley X Reader)

changing

I didn't see much of the twins after that, not until Christmas break fifth year, that even though they were crammed together like sardines Ginny and Mrs. Weasley insisted that I come. I think they both just wanted a buffer between Fleur and Gin.

I was in Ginny's room bringing my trunk back to size, when a voice spoke behind me, "when did you change your hair?" I turn around, Fred is leaning against the doorframe, a considering look on his face. More like, when did he become an adult? I actually stammer a little trying to reply.

"This summer." I blink a few times, his biceps look bigger, just making an observation.

He gives me that little soft smirk, "looks good." He walks away. I blink a few more times, before coughing and returning to what I was doing. I can say that over the months of not seeing him, I have lost that little crush I had and I'm pretty proud of that.

The dinner table was quiet, everyone lost in thoughts over previous happenings, death eaters, and trials to come. Fred kicked me in the foot and I looked up to see him grinning, he winks at me, before flinging a spoonful of potatoes at Ron.

"Hey!" The red faced boy sends some right back at him. George easily catches on and sends some pie flying Bill. The room descends into chaos, but the laughter is evident and I think that's why Mrs. Weasley takes so long to do anything about it.

If it was back when I was eleven and he was fourteen, he would have sent those potatoes flying at me out of malice and the fight would have been loud and angry just a couple of immature kids. Now though, I realize what he was doing, he wanted everybody to stop thinking and to laugh and have at least a moment of enjoyment. It's really hard to keep that schoolgirl crush at bay.

"Fred," I whisper in the hallway and he turns in the dark to look at me, "that was a really good thing you did out there." I reach up and give him a little peck on the cheek.

I can't see his face, but I feel a tug at my sleeve, "I know, Y/N." He ruffles my hair, before going into his room. That tells me I'm still just a kid to him and that's a little hard to bear and quite embarrassing.

I'm fifteen years old and they still think it's okay to dump water on me to wake me up. I still chase him all over the house and out into the snow, not gauging the cold snow on my feet. Suddenly, Fred stops laughing and a huge blush creeps up his face. He pulls off his Weasley sweater and throws it at me. That's when I realize and look down, blushing a bit. Yet, another reason you can't wake up a fifteen year old girl with cold water. I pull the sweater on and he starts apologizing profusely, I'd never seen him so embarrassed.

My emotions change from embarrassed anger to amusement, as I begin to laugh. "Stop." The voice crack in the word makes it worse as I bend over in hysterics. He suddenly throws me over his shoulder.

I gasped a little, but keep laughing, "Fred!" I watch the ground move as he carries me back inside.

"Stop your laughing!" I hear amusement in his voice now.

"Never!" I haven't laughed this much in a while and it feels really good. It always seems to be him that gets me laughing like this.

"Then your staying right here." I hear the grin in his voice as he hoist me up more for emphasis.

"What is going-?" Fred let's me down and I awkwardly smile at Mrs. Weasley. She looks at us, at my torso and I blush because of Fred's sweater, before a sly look settles into her eyes, "just be quiter, everyone is trying to sleep." After she's gone, I look at Fred, fear in our eyes.

"That was an unsettling look." I say.

"A dangerous one." He replies.

Fifth year got to me, I focused hard on my studies, I had goals, dreams and it felt like impending doom was about to crush that. It wasn't until the middle of awful sixth year that I saw Fred again.

He looked at me like I had six heads, before slowly pulling me into a hug. I stayed in hiding with them for two weeks.

Fred and I slept together (not like that) every night. He'd cling to me and I would smooth out his worries. He would make me laugh, we fought a little, but somehow it'd always disolve into laughter now.

"Just stay." He said once, both of us had been pretending to sleep and his breath fanned across my head.

"Can't, you know I have to finish school."

"They can't possibly be counting this year as a school year after this is over so just stay."

"Fred," I whisper, "this is the problem with you and me," that's the first time I ever mentioned there being any sort of him and me, "you've found what you need, I'm not there yet."

A little bit later, he finally whispers, soft, "I haven't got everything I need."