The Girl Who Hid | ✓

|79| Valentine's Day

"There you are, Mousey," said Fred. "I could barely see you over all of these people."

"Ho ho, so funny," I narrowed my eyes.

He pulled me into a hug and rested his chin on my head, lacing our fingers. The action sent my stomach soaring.

"Let's get a move on," Fred said.

Hand-in-hand, we made our way down to the pathway to Hogsmeade were we would spend all day together. The weather was nice, not the usual windy, cold day as it had been for the last few weeks; the sun was shining and the snow began to melt on the ground.

"How's Quidditch?" Fred suddenly said.

I looked up from my feet and saw we were passing the Quidditch stadium.

"I like being a Seeker, but I know Harry misses it. Plus the team is doing horribly. All the team, except for me, is practicing today. Angelina said my Seeking skills are almost as good as Harry's."

"I can't wait to see you play," Fred beamed.

A smile played on my face as we swung our arms, walking to the gates.

"So... where d'you want to go?" Fred asked as we entered Hogsmeade. The High Street was full of students ambling up and down, peering into the shop windows and messing about together on the pavements.

"Oh, I don't mind," I said, shrugging. "Shall we just have a look in the shops or something?"

We wandered toward Dervish and Banges. A large poster had been stuck up in the window and a few Hogsmeaders were looking at it. They moved aside when Fred and I approached and I found myself staring once more at the ten pictures of the escaped Death Eaters. The poster ("By Order of the Ministry of Magic") offered a thousand-Galleon reward to any witch or wizard with information relating to the recapture of any of the convicts pictured.

"It's funny, isn't it," Fred said in a low voice, also gazing up at the pictures of the Death Eaters. "Remember when Sirius escaped, and there were dementors all over Hogsmeade looking for him? And now ten Death Eaters are on the loose and there aren't dementors anywhere..."

"Yeah," I said, tearing his eyes away from Bellatrix Lestrange's face to glance up and down the High Street. "Yeah, it is weird, but I'm not sorry that there were no dementors nearby."

Fred and I walked down the streets of Hogsmeade once more, going into many different shops and decided to go into Zonko's.

"Reckon you'll open up your joke shop soon?" I asked Fred as we skimmed the aisles.

"Sooner than you think," he beamed. "George and I have been perfecting our inventions and saving up to finally get the premises for..."

"What shop are you looking to buy out?" I raise a brow at him.

"How do you know we're planning to buy someone out?" Fred paused, turning to me.

"Now, I do," I laughed. "C'mon, tell me your plans, your dreams and aspirations."

Fred gave me a look and sighed.

"Fred, please," I smiled and leaned against him, looking up.

He wrapped his arms around my waist and I put my hands on his chest, leaning into him. I very much liked this position, it was comforting and calming, despite the longing stares of others. I heard him sigh once more and I knew I won.

"Let's go to Madam Puddifoot's. We can have a tea or coffee before going to Three Broomsticks to meet Hermione," I suggested.

Lacing his fingers in mine, once more, we made our way out of the joke shop and into the tea shop.