just for me ⚘ a Fred Weasley Fanfiction

78. yay sports!

The next seven days were weird. Juniper never spent a moment alone, from the second her eyes were open, until she fell asleep at night. She didn't mind most of it. Hermione studying with her on the porch swing, George trying to teach her how to play 'extreme wizards chess'. She really didn't mind when Fred joined her in the shower, and she basked in his company whenever he wasn't working at the shop. Every night she'd unwrap herself from his arms, and join Ginny downstairs for a midnight snack and gossip session, which usually ended with Ginny blocking her ears while Juniper overshared details about her and Fred's sex life.
Juniper only noticed how weird it all was when Ron, of all people, asked her to join in on their backyard Quidditch game. Initially she refused, but Mrs. Weasley handed her a scarf, beanie and coat, and shooed her outside to play.
Fred and George cheered when they saw her mope her way out onto the thick snow that covered the burned grass, the scowl on her face visible from the other side of the makeshift field.

"O-kay, teams are even now!" Ginny announced, forcing everyone into a circle. Juniper joined, her arms crossed to try and keep herself warm. "Who's the other team cap-?"

"Me!" Fred shouted before anyone else could, his hand raised in the air as he stood beside Ginny.

"Hang on Ginny, who said you get to be one?" Ron argued, looking to Harry for backup.

"Because I'm a girl." Ginny scoffed back. "And I'm better, and I'm holding the quaffle."

"Can't argue with that." Harry shrugged, falling back in line with George and Juniper, waiting to be picked. Ron looked between his best friend and his sister, sputtering, before joining in the line.

"Ladies first." Fred bowed to Ginny, letting her pick first. Ginny looked along the line, her finger tapping her chin as she weighed up all the option.

"Harry." She said, and he joined her with an unusual skip in his step.

"Ginny!" Juniper whined, moving the scarf from her mouth so she could speak clearly. "What about girlhood?"

"Don't worry Junebug, you'll get picked." Fred pouted playfully. With a wide smile, and the feeling of pride, Juniper stepped forward to join his team. "Ron."

"Woo!" Ron cheered, cutting in front of Juniper to stand beside Fred.

"Fred!" Juniper whined again, her foot stomping a little.

"George." Ginny called. George gave Juniper a pat on the shoulder, before bounding over to his team.

"See, now I pick you." Fred explained slowly to Juniper, waving her over.

"You don't pick me." She sneered, stomping over. Fred tried to wrap his arm around her shoulders, but she made a show of dodging him. "You're stuck with me."

"Okay, okay. Grab a broom and break into huddles." Ginny barked, chucking a pile of old Quidditch brooms into the centre of the group. "Game starts in 2 minutes."

"Okay team." Fred clapped loudly, bringing Ron and Juniper into a circle. "Ginny is going to have her and Harry out on the field 'cause they're faster than George and he'll be on the goal. Ron, you cover Harry, you know him and his plays best, I'll cover Ginny because I'm, like, three times her size."

"What do you want me to do?" Juniper asked, rubbing her hands together.

"Where's your broom?" Fred frowned, looking at the single broom left on the ground. It was the one he got for his third birthday, it was... well loved. Splintering off at the base, half of the twigs at the back were either broken or missing, it made sense why it was the only one left.

"Oh, no thank you." Juniper shook her head at him, glancing over her shoulder at the broom. "I don't fly."

"How are you going to play then?" Ron grunted, glaring at Fred, frustrated that he was stuck on a team with her.