Safe With Me ~ Fred Weasley

Percy

"One day, Ronnie." Fred grinned, all of us watching George now, much more focused than Fred had been as he gently lowered his own plate on top of Fred's.

"See, Fred? Gentle."

"I'm plenty gentle." Fred grumbled with an eye roll.

"Alright then..." Ginny trailed off. "Quidditch?"

"There's 5 of us."

"I'm out." I held my hands up as volunteer.

"Cass, you can't just sit out in the lawn, it's too hot." George argued.

"You can play with me." Fred shot me a grin, standing from his seat.

"Not likely!" I laughed, standing too and backing away from him. "Bloody bludger'll hit me in the face!"

"There's 4 of us, no bludger's!"

"I don't know..."

"I know." He said, grabbing my hand and starting towards the door. "Dibs on chaser."

"Me too!" Ginny announced.

The heat was finally subsiding as the sun began to set, dipping below the trees behind the burrow. Ginny had won the race for a shower, the boys and I waiting our turns in the hallway, anxious to not be sticky with sweat anymore. After I showered second, Ginny and I changed quickly, brushed our hair out and met back in the family room to wait for the boys.

I looked over at Ginny after realizing we had been sitting in near silence since we had sat down, which was unusual for the youngest Weasley. Her eyes were fixed on the carpet in front of her, twirling the end of her damp hair around with one finger.

"Gin?" I asked, leaning forward to try and catch her eye.

"I don't know why she's not home yet." Ginny muttered, her eyes flickering to the doorway.

"That is strange." I admitted. "But she'll tell us everything when she gets home. I wouldn't be worried, Ginny, if there's anyone who can take care of themselves it's your mum."

"I know, but..." She trailed off, finally meeting my eyes. "He's back. He's out there somewhere."

I swallowed nervously, trying to keep a straight face. "The boys aren't worried,"

"Cause they're idiots." She grumbled. "And that's not true. Fred's worried. I can tell. He's trying to hide it with his usual jokes and smiles, but you can see it in his eyes."

Before I could answer, come up with some excuse, pretend I hadn't noticed the look she was referring to, the door swung open loudly revealing a tired looking Molly sporting a few bags over-filled with groceries.

"Hello, girls!" She plastered on a warm smile as she set the bags onto the kitchen table and brushed some invisible dirt off her hands. "Had a good day?"

"No?" Ginny exclaimed, rushing to Molly's side. "Where have you been?"

Three pairs of feet came tumbling down the stairs, all of them with damp hair and fresh clothes looking at their mother for her answer.

"I had a lot to get one today. Got some groceries..." She shrugged, setting about in the kitchen to start dinner.

"Groceries don't take all day, Mum." George said, flopping down on the couch.

"Yeah, Ginny was worried about you." Fred muttered under his breath so Ginny wouldn't hear.

"Oh, I'm sorry guys, I thought you'd be out having too much fun to notice I was even gone!" She still wore the same smile she'd put on a few minutes ago as she began filling a pot with water, two knives slicing up vegetables behind her.