my best friends brother - fred weasley

lx. waiting...

I turn to Fred, hoping that he knows what we're doing. Just as we reach out for each other, a glowing green curse is cast towards us. Before it reaches us, someone tackles me to the ground so it misses us. Charlie Weasley, Fred's second oldest brother that I was excitedly introduced to less that 20 minutes ago, is crouching over me, sending curses back at the Death Eaters. He reaches down with his free hand, rough with callouses and burn scars, and pulls me up gently.

"T-thankyou." I stutter, flustered by his naturally charming smile.

"Get to Fred." He says, turning back to help the rest of his family with the Death Eaters that didn't disapparate after Harry. I look around the room frantically, unable to find Fred and ignoring the attacks around me. I stumble through the tent, walking over collapsed bodies, burning tables and smashed glasses. Behind my back I hear a pair fighting in the corner, with only the sounds of zips of curses and the thuds of punches. Looking over at the fight I see Fred on the ground, a Death Eater on top of him, trying to hurt him in anyway I can.

"Incarcerous." I aim my wand at the Death Eater, watching long ropes extend from my it and wrap around the Death Eater to trap him. Fred takes the chance to get to his feat and blast him with a curse, leaving the Death Eater unconscious. Without a second thought he jumps the table between us to reach me, taking my head in my hands and holding his forehead to mine. With a loud crack, we land flat on our backs on the floor of an empty Weasley Wizards Wheezes. with my eyes still squeezed shut, my chest rises and falls heavily, trying to catch my breath and process what has happened. While still adjusting to my surroundings, Fred's grip on me hasn't loosened. He's still cradling me in his arms, as though if he were to let go, I'd disappear.

"Fred." I whisper once I get my breath back. "Fred. We have to stand up."

"Okay, okay. You stay here I'll check the place just in case." He stands up shakily and pulls his wand out from his jacket pocket, keeping an eye on me as he searches the store for any intruders. I get to my feet and look out the window at Diagon Alley, which is somehow darker and even more rundown than it was just a few weeks ago. The walls and windows of shops are plastered with posters of Harry, stating him as 'Undersirable No.1'. There are no signs of life anywhere, other than the rats running through the streets and the crows that are swooping down to catch them.

"What do we do now?" I ask, feeling Fred come behind me. He grabs me by the waist to pull me into a hug.

"We wait, and prepare for what's about to come."

⊱✿⊰

And for the next 5 months, that's what we did. Fred and I lived in our own little harmony, trying to run the shop, which only got a maximum of 5 visitors a day, we made each other meals, planned our future, I introduced him to some more muggle movies and books, he taught me things that Molly had taught him while growing up. We saw the Weasleys, minus Ron, every few weeks, there were only short conversations, quick happy ones that avoided the looming darkness of our world. We witnessed our school friends being taken by snatchers, wizards being attacked and left for dead in the street, and every night we tried to sleep it off.

"Anything?" I hand Fred his morning coffee as he sits on the couch, listening to the radio. He listened to the radio morning and night, keeping a mental list of the names of dead or missing witches and wizards, making sure no familiar names slip by him.

"No." His hand falls on my thigh, taking a sip of the coffee. "Nothing from The Order either."

"Damn." I shake my head with disappointment, combing my fingers through his hair to try to help him relax. "Was George going to come in today?"

"No, we decided to stop trade until... well. Until everything goes back to normal. He wants to stay with mum and that anyway." He picks up the newspaper in front of him to try and solve the crossword.

"That's fair enough. Hopefully he comes around soon." I rest my chin on his shoulder. "7 down is Dorothy." I trace the squares on the page.

"I knew I kept you around for a reason." He grabs my hand and kisses it. "I'm going to marry you so hard, the minute that I can."

"Just so I can make you coffee and do your crosswords?" I let out a short laugh into his ear. He interrupts me by moving my mouth to his, kissing me slowly and softly. As I go to climb into his lap, there are three loud booms at the door of the shop downstairs.

"Can they not read the sign?" He sighs against my lips, not hiding his disappointment.

"I can get it, you just work on that crossword of yours." I climb off, making my way down the stairs to the bottom level of the store. Turning to look at the door, I cannot believe my eyes. "Fred!" I call, moving towards the door to open it.

"Quick, get down." Ron tackles me to the ground and shoves me under a table, keeping an eye on the window.

"Ron you can't- you- why- how?" I struggle to form a sentence as he keeps looking out the window.

"The snatchers are our there, stay low." He covers my mouth with his hand.

"Excuse me? I-" I muffle through his hand.

"Ron?" Fred yells from the top of the stairs, staring at Ron holding me hostage under a table of Skiving Snackboxes.

"Shh!" Ron flails his arms around, trying to keep Fred quiet.

"What is this? You disappear for half a bloody year, your whole family is worried sick, you become a fugitive, and now you're tackling my girlfriend... in my shop?"

"Yeah. And?"

"Get off of her!" Fred bounds down the stairs towards us. He grabs Ron off of me and walks him up to the flat at the top of the stairs. I lock the door behind them and start making Ron some tea to calm him down. "Well?" Fred stares at his brother from across the table.

"Oh, thankyou Clover." Ron smiles at me before taking a sip. Fred wacks him over the head as I sit down between the two.

"Where have you been? Where are the others? What is going on?" I ask a number of questions, not waiting for a reply before I ask the next one.

"Well, we went looking for Horcruxes yeah, 'cause that's what Dumbledore told Harry to do. But he didn't tell him where they are or how to destroy them! So, I got fed up while wearing one of them nd I left them, they were in the middle of the woods when I left the, but they were gone when I tried to go back." He shrugs as though it's no big deal. Fred and I share the same glance.

"So... you left your friends in the middle of nowhere... because you were upset? And how long ago did you leave them?"

"About three weeks ago." He takes another casual sip of his tea. "And I wasn't just upset, they were getting all close in front of me. You all know how I feel about Hermione."

"Ron..." I grip the cup in my hands. "That is the stupidest thing you have ever done."

"W-wha-" He begins.

"You don't realise how worried they are, do you? How worried everyone has been?" I glance over at Fred, who's holding his head in his hands so that he doesn't blow up at his brother. "Come with me." I lead Ron into the twin's office.

"Clover it's no big deal." Ron tries to excuse himself.

"Ron. I've watched and stood by you while you've done some dumb shit, but literally disappearing without a trace, with no communication and no thought-" I flick his forehead, "You can't just leave when you get upset, you have to actually think sometimes. You have no idea how hard this has been on your entire family."

"I-" He tries to intervene.

"No. You haven't watched them lose sleep over you, you haven't been at the dinners where no one can say a word because we all feel too sick when we think about what could've happened to you. Ron, you are in the wrong here." I stare him down, making him know that I'm being as serious as I've ever been before.

"Sorry." He says sheepishly.

"Don't say sorry to me, you have to say sorry to him, and then to your family." I walk him out of the room and to Fred.

"Sorry Fred." Ron rushes out. "Sorry for leaving and being stupid."

"Are you going to see mum?" Fred replies shortly.

"No, I actually came to you guys for help." Ron pulls out his deluminator.