Songbird ; Fred Weasley

Thirty-nine

"I can't believe we have to do this again." Mum said with a sigh as she took a seat next to dad. "We haven't had a family meeting in years."

We were all gathered at the dining table, Fred and Max included. Fred was next to me, holding my hand in his, resting them against his right thigh.

"Your mother and I have made a decision." Dad said as he ran his hand over his beard. "There's too much drama going on in this house. Ronan has agreed to start looking for his own place, but your mum and I have talked, and we think you two should start looking for your own places too."

He gestured to Harvey and August who sat next to each other like usually.

"What?!" Harvey's eyes widened. "I didn't do shit!"

"No, but it's about time, Harvey. You're twenty-three years old. We are not going to be kicking anyone out, but we do want you to have your own place. You can't live here forever." Mum told him.

Harvey sunk into his seat a little, but then nodded.

"Harvey doesn't have to move out." I said quietly. "I was a part of all of this drama, so I'll go."

"No." Mum shook her head firmly. "You're not moving out because you feel like you have to. You're eighteen. Harvey and August are in their twenties. It makes more sense for them."

"Yeah." Harvey agreed. "Mum's right, Maves. I've been thinking about moving for a while actually. I just needed a small push."

I didn't say anything. I glanced at August who was staring at the table.

"Of course the three of you will always be welcome here, and we would love to have you over for dinner whenever. You are still our boys." Mum offered them a smile.

"What about Flynn?" August asked, and Flynn quickly looked up, paying attention.

"Huh? Don't bring me into this."

"We've decided that when you react twenty-one, we'd appreciate it if you started looking for a place. If you have the money to pay for it, of course." Dad said as he looked around at us. "And that's not only Flynn. It's Reuben and Mavis too. Then the kids once they grow up."

"And now that that's settled, we're going to focus on what just happened today." Mum said, offering me a soft and reassuring smile.

She had asked me what I thought about holding a family meeting so I didn't have to hold any secrets any longer, and I had agreed.

I nodded, letting her know it was fine for her to take the lead on this one.

"You're probably all aware by now, but Fred and Mavis are expecting, and it isn't ideal, but we are going to support them, because we are a family, and that's what families do." She said, focusing her eyes on August who rolled his eyes.

"They have decided to go through with the pregnancy, and they are going to raise it together. I understand the need to protect your sister, but she's an adult and she does not need to be babied."

I cleared my throat to try and get everyone's attention, and it worked.

"We uh—" I looked at Fred for some kind of guidance, but he nodded reassuringly at me, lifting my hand to his lips.

I can do this.

"We've been to two scans so far." I said, my voice just slightly hoarse from my crying fit in the kitchen. "I'm eleven, almost twelve weeks along so I'm nearing my second trimester. I know it's going to be hard, Fred knows it's going to be hard, but we do want this baby, despite the circumstances. We haven't been together long, but even if it doesn't work out between us, we'll continue co-parenting, raising our child the best we know."

I inhaled sharply, and Fred handed me the ultrasound pictures underneath the table.

I placed it in the table, then pushed it across the table towards August, because I wanted him to look at it first.

I wanted his approval so bad.

But he looked away, a pained expression on his face.

"Please, August." I said quietly. "It would mean the world to me if you would just look at it."

He looked at me from under his eyelashes, not moving his head, and when he saw the pleading expression on my face, he looked down at the ultrasound pictures.

He didn't react.

He stared at it, the different ultrasounds from different angles of the baby, and then he pushed it towards Harvey for him to look.

The ultrasound picture was moved around, but my eyes stayed on August. He kept staring at the table, and I had to remind myself that he just needed time to process it.

-

"Grab your shoes." Ronan said as he walked through the room.

I looked at him, frowning.

"What?"

"Your shoes." He said while dangling some keys. "We're going driving. C'mon."

He walked into the entrance hall, and curiosity got the better of me. I pushed out of the chair and followed my oldest brother into the entrance hall where he pulled on a jumper on top of his t-shirt.

"Where're we going?" I asked, and Ronan looked at me, shrugging.

"Driving."

I grabbed my shoes and pulled them on before following him outside to his car. The car he so wanted to drive because he loved the feeling, and he didn't have his apparition license.

Apparition had always scared him.

I got into the passenger seat while Ronan sat behind the steering wheel.

"Buckle up and roll the window down."

I put on my seatbelt and hesitantly rolled the window all the way down. Ronan did the same, and soon after, he pulled out of the driveway, driving through the gate.

"Why are we driving?" I asked. "And where are we going? This is really confusing."

"Well, you've been crying all day. Driving calms me, so just sit back and enjoy the wind."

I folded my arms over my chest and leaned back in my seat, staring out of the open window as the harsh wind hit me in the face.

After a moment, I shut my eyes, and I did feel myself relax. My entire body that had been so stressed all day, finally found some sort of calm and I must've fallen asleep, because when I woke up, we were parked in a car park.

I quickly sat up, eyes slightly side. My eyes landed on Ronan who was in the middle of eating a burger.

"There's food for you in the backseat." He told me. "I got hungry so I pulled in here, but I didn't want to wake you."

I wiped drool of my chin.

"Why are you so chill about this?" I asked. "I'm dating a guy four years older than me, and I'm pregnant with his child."

Ronan sighed, shaking his head slowly.

"I'm starting to realise you aren't a little girl anymore." He said before he looked at me. "I was seven when you were born, and I remember it like it was yesterday. My first baby sister. I was getting tired of all the boys."

I stared at him because I hadn't known he'd wanted a sister.

"But you're eighteen, you fall in love, you have sex and I knew that one day you might end up have children. I didn't expect it to be now, but you've made the decision to keep it, so I'm going to support and respect that, and any help you need, I'm here."

I teared up and undid my seatbelt before reaching over to hug him.

Because that was exactly what I had needed to hear from one of my brothers.