Feint Potter

Three

I guess Mom and Dad never got my owl on time. .

Soon after Fred invited me to the Burrow i sent one of the school barn owls with a letter to my adoptive parents telling them where I'd be for the summer, but i never got an answer back from them.

Ah well, im sure if they need me they'll send an owl. . or Lilith. .

I smiled softly as i thought of our messenger hawk Lilith that Dad had gotten last year, she was mainly used to protect the house so the thought of her being used for mail was funny; something painful twinged in my chest when I thought about them both.

"We're so sorry that we never told you . . but Dumbledore made us promise not to. We understand if you need some time to yourself."

I wasnt mad at either of them, quite the opposite; I was grateful that they took me in when I was a baby but. . it took me the longest time to learn why my little brother couldnt be with me. Our mother had died to protect him but our father was the one who tried trying to save me; I knew mom loved me as much as she did Harry but her protection only covered him. Dad loved us both too, but sometimes it made me question everything.

He wont even look at me when i try to talk to him, its like ive rolled around in a pit of dragon dung or something.

The train lurched underneath me and I grinned when it began to pick up speed, rocking me back and forth gently like a cradle; the sheer speed of the train never failed to amuse me even years later. I was well on my way to nodding off when the compartment doors opened and Ron poked his head through.

"Fred asked me to check up on you, they're talking to Lee about some kinda shop they wanna open."

I waved a hand around in the air and tried to be polite about dismissing him but Id only heard about the twins's plan to open a joke shop a dozen times or so.

"Well. . I heard you're staying with us for the summer and I just wanted to give you a fair warning about our house. Its. . nothing like what you're used to, and both Fred and George share a room. The. . the walls are pretty thin in some areas too."

I rolled my eyes but he ducked away from the doors with a laugh and his freckled cheeks a light pink, I settled back into the wall once more and prepared to wait my ride out.

*

"Molly, you guys didnt have to-"

I stared in utter bewilderment at the added room to the Burrow's already leaning structure and the plump little woman just smiled and patted me gently on the back, Fred was outside helping move the rest of our luggage into this little room and left me with Molly; the Weasley's had added on another room that was away from the others and attached to the bottom side of the house, with a singular feather bed in the middle, two closets, and a few dressers.

"Their room is an absolute horrid mess and i wanted you to have a nice space while you stay with us."

"I would have been fine on the couch-"

Fred, pulling my last bag in that contained all of my bathroom essentials, nudged his way between us and snorted; the sky was starting to darken outside and some of the lights in the yard were coming on.

"Babe, you're part of this family now and we take care of eachother."

Molly patted the top of my hair before she walked off to the kitchen and I stepped down into the room just as Fred shoved the bag down onto the night table closest to the bed, he puffed out a hearty breathe before he turned around and out his hands on my hips.

"You're home now, are you tired?~"

I shook my head and instead reached up to touch his long flaming hair with the tips of my fingers, twisting some of it loosely around the tips before i let my arms fall down onto his neck.

"No, far from it actually. . . you should let me cut this a little shorter. ."

"You wanna cut my hair?"

I tapped the side of his neck and twirled some of his hair loose again with my left hand.

"Please?"

He pretended to think about it for a second before he pursed his lips and smacked them twice.

"For a kiss?"

I rolled my eyes and leaned up on my toes before i touched my lips to his, his arms snaked around my waist and i broke the kiss off with a grumble; my feet were dangling off the floor.

"God, Rose Potter, I swear that Ill marry you one day."

I kicked my legs around until he laughed and set me back down again, ruffling my hair until I smacked his hand away.

"Ok ok, time for the big tomato to get his hair cut."

*

"There, not so bad right?"

I brushed the last of his hair from his shoulders into the trash bin and held up a mirror for him to look in, Fred's hair was now shorter and styled to fit a grown man. He looked at it for a second before he clucked his tongue.

"Dont tell her i said this, but you've got a better taste for cutting hair then Mom does."

I rolled my eyes and smacked him in the back of his head before George shoved him out of the chair and pretended to fluff up his hair like a movie star.

"Do me next."

With my cheeks slightly warm I began to sift through George's long fiery hair, brushing against the back of his neck every now and then to pluck away loos strands that had already been cut; i was maybe halfway through his haircut when he began to speak.