Feint Potter

Four

"Y'know, if you plan on marrying my brother, you'll really have our mum to deal with."

Snip, snip, snip, more of his hair falling away; my hands wanted to tremble but I shifted the shakiness to my voice.

"You heard that huh?"

"Walking by, i might have heard a little bit. So did Dad."

George chuckled while i continued to cut at his hair just a little faster now, taking less caution then before.

"Dont worry, he wont tell mum unless you two are sure about it. But she does have a knack for figuring things out on her own, what with You Know Who being back it's bound to make a lot of people rush things."

"Mm. ."

I moved around in front of him to work on his bangs and saw out of the corners of my vision, Fred holding up a finger before stealing out of the room.

"If you're worried about approval, I wouldnt be. They both loved you way before you came home with us, Fred had to send a couple owls a week just to satisfy our mother."

I snipped the last bit of his bangs to match the rest of his short hair and patted at his face to remove any access hair from his skin, George kept his eyes closed until I leaned away and put the clippers on my nightstand table.

"That so?"

"Yeah."

I turned away as George got up and walked out of the room, and I wish I'd stuffed cotton in my ears

"He's not the only one- love can be a fickle thing if you're late. ."

August 23rd

"Happy birthday sweetheart."

Fred, who turned of age to use magic a few weeks before me, kissed me on my cheek as he sat down to my left. We had all been moved to Sirius's dusty house until school started on the first of September, and current business had a lot of people away from the house and busy.

"Thanks, though it's just another day for me you know."

"Maybe i can change that-. . walk with me?"

Fred got up on his feet and offered me his hand, I pocketed my wand before I let him pull me to my feet and away from the kitchen; careful of the portrait in the hallway, we climbed the rickety stairs until we finally dipped into a room that had a massive family tree as the wallpaper.

"Are you ok? I promise you my birthday isnt a big deal Fred-"

"No, no, i just want to do something special away from that god awful picture down there. . it would kinda ruin the mood if she started screaming again."

Fred rifled around in one of his pockets and I couldnt believe my eyes when he lowered himself down onto one knee, a blush coloring his freckled cheeks.

"You did not."

He smiled, and sure enough, when he took his hand out from his pocket a small diamond ring was nestled into the palm of his hand.

"Fred. . how could you afford-"

"Your brother gave us his triwizard tournament winnings for our joke shop but I skimmed a little bit off the top, but that doesnt matter. Listen, life is short..and i want to love mine with no regrets or missed chances..and i want to do those things with you. When i tell you how excited i was when we were sorted into the same House. . ive fancied you since we were children. Will you marry me?"

". . are you not worried about how young we are?"

Fred shook his head and held my left hand with his free one, playing with each of my fingers and kissing the pads on each of them before answering.

"No, like i said. I dont want to miss out on any opportunities with you no matter what they may be, besides, im never going to want anyone else other then you ever so why not?"

He blinked before he flashed a smile.

"So what do you say? Will you be my wife?"

"Yes."

Time seemed to speed up then, I could feel the sting of tears in my eyes that probably matched the one's in Fred's as he slipped the ring onto my finger and kissed me deeply; the ring fit just right but I hardly paid it no mind until I heard a soft clapping from the doorway behind us.

"Bravo, Im happy for the both of you.''

I wiggled from Fred's arms and wiped the tears from my eyes before I could see Sirius clearly, he now had his hands in his pockets and a warm smile on his face.

"You have Lily's face but both of your parents eye colors. . Im sure she'd be happy to see how much you've grown."

I offered him a watery smile and I saw him glance at Fred when he put an arm around my waist.

"Everyone will be back in five minutes or so, I thought id warn you ahead of time."

Sirius nodded to the ring and flashed us both one smile before backing out of the doorway and sure enough, by the time his footfalls reached the bottom of the stairs i heard the main door open; when the portrait began to scream I wanted to cringe into Fred's chest until it was stopped.

"Well, we might as well break the news, they probably have your brother too. . mum shouldnt flog the both of us but we might as well rip the bandage off now."

Fred squeezed me around the waist before his arm fell down and he held my left hand, holding tightly onto my fingers before leading me out of the tapestry room; we were careful walking by the picture in the hallway and I hesitated outside the kitchen. I could see Molly, Arthur, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Sirius, Tonks, Lupin, and George all jammed into the kitchen eating, but only George spotted us; he eyed my hand and then wiggled his eyebrows.

"Freddie . . i cant be in there when you tell them."

My heart was absolutely thundering in my chest and i put a hand over it to try and calm it, taking a few steps back into the dusty living room and gripping my wand with my right hand. Fred looked from me to his family in the kitchen and touched my face before he went in, I drew my wand so that i could twist it in front of my face and hold my breathe.