Value Your Virtues (Book 4)

Chapter 3

Athena

Within that week, I began my own training. That meant I spent a lot less time at the joke shop, and the boys were missing me a bit. I still showed up if I had spare time, but most of the training was pretty gruesome. It was tiring and long, leaving me wanting to go to bed as soon as I finished. Still, I loved it. It made me feel like I had a purpose. That Friday afternoon, the days work wasn't as bad as usual, so instead of apparating, I decided to walk home. I let the peacefulness of nature fill me. During the day, the community wasn't so bad. At night, things were scary. A curfew had came in place by the ministry. It was to protect everyone from Voldemort, even though it wouldn't stop him from wreaking havoc.

When I got home, Fred was already there. I smiled to myself, feeling overwhelmed with love when I caught sight of him. He could be doing anything, anything at all, and he'd make my day so much better. He was asleep on the couch, limbs sprawled off the side. I walked over and took my jacket off, then crawled on top of him and laid my head on his chest. He stirred, taking a deep breath. When he noticed what the disturbance was, he relaxed again.

"Well hello," he smiled. "Way to make an entrance."

"Hi." I beamed.

"How was your day?"

"Not too bad, actually. I missed you." I told him. He let his arm wrap around my waist as he kissed my forehead.

"Well if it makes you feel any better, I missed you too." He said with a sigh.

"I'm tired, though. The trainings a lot harder than I thought it would be."

"Well, let's go to bed then."

"No, we stay here because you're comfy and a good pillow. Don't move or we aren't getting married." I joked and he laughed.

"Or we can stay right where we are." He said, and we both drifted off into a light slumber.

***

Soon enough, summer was over and it was time for all the students to return to Hogwarts. It was unbelievable how badly I wanted to go back and see everything once more, but I knew I was done with school. I couldn't go back even if I wanted to. We were saying goodbye to Harry, Ron and Hermione at Kings Cross Station. "Be safe, please. I'm not losing you too." I hugged Harry and kissed the top of his head.

"Don't worry, I'll be back in one piece. I promise." He smiled.

"I hope you're right," I sighed, placing a hand on his cheek. "Now go, you'll miss the train." I said and tried to fix his hair, but to no avail. He grinned and playfully pushed my hand away.

"You stay safe yourself, with your new job and everything else." He told me.

"Well of course, I need to be here when you get off this bloody thing next summer." I said and pulled him into another hug. "Alright, go on now. And don't forget to write," I reminded.

"Wouldn't dream of it." He said, walking off to the train. As he got on, he waved.

"Have a great term!" I yelled and waved back. When I saw him in the window of the compartment, my heart yearned to be going back, too. He grinned and waved again at Fred and I who stood together. "God I hope he'll be okay." I sighed.

"He's sixteen, he'll be fine, Athena."

"I know he's sixteen," I snapped. My temper was testy lately. I felt bad afterwards. "I'm sorry, it's just that nothing is okay anymore. With Voldemort back, he isn't safe. Nobody is safe, and I don't want to lose anyone else." I explained. He frowned and pulled me closer into his side.

"Don't worry, you'll be stuck with us for a long time." He assured me. We watched as the train drove away. When we got home, I noticed that my owl had brought our mail. I smiled when I saw that Eli, Remus and Artemis had written. The first letter I opened was from Moony, and it basically said he wanted to see me sometime, he was worried. He wanted to know how everything was. You know, the usual. Remus was always worrying.

Eli wrote about how she missed me and wanted to get together. She asked me about by training and how Fred and George's joke shop was going. She had become a lot friendlier towards Fred after she grasped the idea we were getting married. She told me that she got the career she wanted and I smiled. I hadn't seen Eli in almost two months. She's still staying with Remus, and I think he likes the company now that I'm gone. She said that she'll move out as soon as she gets the money, but I don't think he wants her to.

Lastly, I had a letter from my cousin I had just recently found out about. She asked me about when we could meet up and talk about some things. She wanted to learn about our family, and I wasn't going to stop her. I'd be happy to let her know. She didn't write much, but it's okay because after all, we did just meet a few weeks ago. One thing I learned was that Artemis was a very up front person. She wasn't afraid to be blunt. I was happy I met her. It gave me an insight to a personality that was so matched to mine. She acted almost like a sister rather than a cousin.

I wrote back to all of them. Fred watched me the whole time with a small, stupid grin on his face. I caught sight of him every few minutes, wanting to drop everything and let him hold me. As I looked, I realized that I truly do love this boy more than anything. As I finished up the last reply, I noted that he was still staring at me. "Can I help you?" I asked.

"Well, I couldn't help but notice how absolutely gorgeous you are. I wanted to appreciate that because I have no idea in hell how I got you." He shrugged. I got up and placed my hands on his cheeks.

"Fred Weasley, I'm the one that should be wondering how I got you. You're perfect. So perfect that I sometimes just wanna hit you in the face." I laughed.

"Oh why thank you, I love you too." He rolled his eyes and smiled.

"I never said I didn't love you, now did I?" I asked.

"No, but you didn't quite tell me you did, either." He said.

"Well, I love you." I smiled.

"Good, I love you too." He answered.

"Hey, do you wanna go to Remus' house tomorrow. We can see him and Eli. I haven't been over in a while."

"Well, I have to be at the joke shop tomorrow, but you should go. I would go with you, but not showing up wouldn't be good... I'd have to face the wrath of George." He told me. I felt almost stupid for not realizing he would have to work. My auror shifts were much different than his. Mine was a few hours on odd days. He was always at the shop.

"Right, sorry. I'll be home when you get home, so don't worry." I smiled.

"Don't let that stop you, stay as long as you'd like." He told me and leaned down, kissing me softly.

"I know, I just wanna be here when you get home."

"Well, whatever you'd like, Athena. Just know I'm not stopping you."

"I never said you were." I called out, walking towards the kitchen. He followed me and rolled his eyes.

"Merlin, I love you." He told me, before wrapping his arms around me and picking me up.