Forever and always, until the end (Fred Weasley&Anertha Diggory) WattyAwards2013

Attacks and engagements

4) Written 3/2/2013

Attacks and engagements

Fred enjoyed having Anertha run the shop. She took over tasks the boys refused to do, such as paperwork, tidying shelves and dealing with customers. Anertha never complained, it meant the boys were out of her hair, busying themselves with the fun stuff. One afternoon the twins were in the office creating a new range of products for their snackboxes when George noticed that Fred was a little distracted. 'Fred, pay attention....OI!' George hit his brother full on with a wooden ladle but Fred didn't flinched, his stared off into the distance. 'What is up with you?' He grunted, annoyed. 'Nothing' Fred said, turning his gaze back to George. 'Nothing my behind, spit it out.' George spat irritably. Fred looked over his brother's facial features and took a deep breath. 'Well, I guess...I'm in shock.' George narrowed his eyes. 'What?' He spoke, rather confused. "Whh?' He was not expecting what he was about to hear. 'I think, no, i know...I want to marry Anertha.' He waited for his brother's reaction. George's mouth fell open as he stared at his brother in disbelief. 'Are you....Are you serious?' He wasn't sure if Fred was going mad from the potion fumes or not. 'Yes' Fred said calmly. George gathered himself. 'Well, you'd better get on with it then. God knows you've taken long enough.' He smirked at his twin, who was now smiling, clearly pleased with his brother's reaction. Fred knew it was the right time, besides she was already six months pregnant with his own twins, this was definitely the right thing to do.

The sun set and moon rose later that evening, a owl flew into am open and perched upon the ledge, a letter within it's beak. It informed them of a murder.... Dumbledore's murder. Anertha and the twins were stood in shock at the front of the shop as the processed the news in silence. They watched as Diagon Alley became more unruly with each passing moment since news began to spread. 'It's getting worse.' Anertha whispered, wrapping her arms around her in defence. "We can't stay here.' Fred and George frowned, the last thing they wanted to do was abandon their shop, their pride and joy. Silence befalled them again, only briefly as at that moment there was a loud blast as the front window of the shop exploded into tiny fragments; the blast sending the three of them flying into the shelves. Fred was the fist to his feet, worry covering his face as he searched for Anertha, finding her laying amongst boxes, George knelt at her side as she came around. He wrapped his arms securely around her as she sat upon the floor. He looked between them. 'Are you both ok?' 'Yeah' they both replied gingerly, clearly in shock. Fred looked back to Anertha and placed a hand against her swelled stomach in a protective manner as he helped Anertha to her feet. 'We have to go Fred, she's right, we'll be killed if we stay and with Anertha the way she is, surely you don't wanna risk it?.' Fred cast his eye over the debris and nodded as he took Anertha's hand and led her away. 'George, fix the mess, we'll head to mum's tonight.' George nodded once. Fred led Anertha to their room, where they began packing. The pair had never moved so fast, although Anertha found she was slightly sluggish due to the effects of recent events, she sat down on the edge of the bed to gather herself. As Fred continued to pack he found a box, a box which he remembered contained the ring he wanted to present to Anertha. Thinking now was a better time than any, he cleared his throat. 'An?' 'Mmm?' She looked up at him as he walked across the room towards her. 'This wasn't how i intended to do this, but, well we are leaving and who knows if we'll ever get to return.' She narrowed her eyes slightly and looked at him rather suspiciously. Fred continued. 'Well, i want one more happy memory here before we go, at least i hope it will be a happy one.' He bent down onto one knee, took her hand and looked up at her. Her eyes widened in shock, yet they still held a softness only she had. 'Anertha...' Fred grinned. 'Will you please do me the honour of becoming a Weasley?' Anertha's eyes began to swim in tears of joy. She had been waiting for this for months, she didn't have to think about her answer. 'Yes, of course.' she smiled so wide you could see all of her teeth. Fred placed the ring on her finger with a huge grin of his own. He threw himself up from the floor and pulled Anertha into his arms and kissed her passionately. 'I love you.' She whispered. 'I love you too.' He said softly as he hugged her tighter than ever. After he let her go, he turned his head to the door, where he found George grinning widely. 'Finally.' He laughed as he disappeared down the hall. The celebrations at the Burrows that night went on for hours. It was a momentous occasion for all the family.