Just Another Boy - Fred Weasley

1. I Feel It Coming

｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡

The last time Fred Weasley had seen Sofia Sparks was when she was an awkward third-year Ravenclaw that was held back a year for missing five months worth of school, and still went by her given name; Serafina. He didn't think of her much, maybe only when her name was brought up. After all, she had been a year below him, and then two years below him in class with his brother. Then, a year later she left Hogwarts to attend Beauxbatons, courtesy of her father's job-offering in France. There, she stayed and studied, and grew up. She grew into her looks, made friends, made admirers, made boyfriends, and made a bright witch of herself.

Halfway through her sixth year at Beauxbatons, her father broke the news to her that they'd be returning to England. While sad to leave her new friends behind, she was excited to see her old friends. The transfer back to Hogwarts was smooth, and running into the arms of Hermione, Harry, and Ron had been one of the greatest feelings she had in a very long time. The rest of the year was spent with laughs, catching-up, and a lot of needed girl-time with Hermione. Though, Hermione probably needed it quite a bit more than Serafina did. And at the very end of the year, Ron invited his three best friends to stay with him at the Burrow for summer vacation, to have the best summer before their last year of school. And they all said yes without thinking twice on it.

Now, the last time Serafina Sparks had seen Fred Weasley, he was a trouble-making fifth-year, that she stayed very far away from. It wasn't easy, because the twins would always be bothering Ron, but Serafina never became a target of their mischief. Neither of them ever paid her much mind. George would smile at her here and there, but Serafina was sure that Fred wasn't aware of her existence. And that was fine. Her third year had gone pretty good, until the last few weeks when her mother's sickness finally caught up to her. Serafina became Sofia. Her father tried his best; he learned to cook, he learned about magic, and he learned how to do it all alone. The death was hard on him, and Sofia watched it wound a part of him that would never be fully healed.

Sofia's first year at Beauxbatons was cruel. The work was easy and fine, but finishing it was hard. All she could think about was her mother, her father, her little brother at home who still had no clue what happened to mommy. She also couldn't stop thinking about her friends. She missed them. It took her a whole school year to acclimate to Beauxbatons and make a few friends. In her sixth year, she finally started to heal from her mother's death, and at the end of her sixth year, she finally moved back home, where she belonged.

It was the first day of summer, and Sofia was spending time by the pool. She'd be leaving for the Burrow in a week. She'd been invited a few days earlier, but politely declined because she wanted to spend time with her family before leaving for two and a half months, with a couple of exceptions where she'd come home. Sofia sat in a long, cushioned lounge-chair, reading a magazine, and listening to the scratchy radio that acted up due to its old age. She mouthed the words to Winger's "Seventeen", scanning the page for interesting content. The aroma of her father's Lobster Bisque escaped the windows and was carried by the wind straight to her nose. Sofia raised her head and sniffed, quickly closing her magazine, throwing it down, and running inside.

Sitting on the stove, was a fresh pot of rich goodness. Sofia straightened her posture and dove for the soup before her dad thrust his arm in front of her. "Not so fast, Sofie!" he said, raising his eyebrows.

Sofia groaned. "I already unpacked! Don't starve me!" she whined.

Philip laughed heartily. "I was simply going to ask you to wash your hands, silly."

"They're clean!" she reassured him with a smile.

"Alright, alright," he said suspiciously, and poured a serving into a bowl for her.