yunagalvan

[yunagalvan]

Pairing: Fred Weasley x oc character (Benni)

Summary: After Fred’s death Benni forces herself to go through his things and finds something important. She goes to visit George and deal with his death.

A/N: cried at the end when I reread this.

Warnings: none.

It had been almost 4 months since the war, but she hadn’t moved any of his things. For the past few months, she had woken up every day, trying to convince herself to move his things. She knew she had to move out of the flat eventually, but each day she’d push the thoughts away. One more day. I’ll do it tomorrow.

On this particular snowy day, she had built up the courage to move some of his things. She started with his clean laundry which remained on his respective dresser, coated in dust. She gingerly brushed the dust off of the shirt, afraid something bad would happen if she brushed too hard. She brought her trembling fingers to the fabric of the shirt and slowly lifted it up.

A gust of his scent flowed into her nostrils. She smiled as her eyes began to prickle with tears, the familiar scent triggering a wave of both happiness and sadness in her. His scent had been overtaken by hers so long ago, and it was bittersweet to have his smell flowing through her nose once again. Before she knew it, she was burying her face into the shirt, her salty tears soaking into the fabric. She sobbed for a few minutes into the shirt, her eyes shut tightly.

I’m not ready. I’m not ready. I still miss him.

She dropped the tear stained shirt back onto his dresser and gave up for that day, vowing she’d move the whole pile the next day.

She thought the only way she ought to be efficient was if she used magic. So, to avoid crying over every shirt, she used her wand to levitate the pile of clothes into a box. It took her hours, but after opening each drawer and his closet, she was able to move all of his clothes into their respective boxes. Although, there was one particular sweater of his she found herself unable to put away. For it had been the sweater she had taken from him so many times.

When she had gotten to his sock drawer, she found herself manually tossing each pair into their box. The levitation spell didn’t work very well on socks, although she could never pinpoint why.

She had gotten through about half of the drawer, when her hand gripped something smooth and firm. Surprised by the contrasting texture, she pulled the object from his drawer. It was a small shiny black box with a small piece of paper taped to the top of it.

It read:

My bestfriend and lover,

If you find this box please don’t open it. You’ll ruin the surprise.

Freddie

Her expression contorted into a pained one at the sight of his horrible handwriting on the note. She’d always teased him about his handwriting, but at the sight of it now, she realized how much of him she took for granted.

She scrambled to open the box, revealing two black banded rings. One was small and thinner than the other, clearly meant to be worn by two different people. She let out a hiccuping sob.

He remembered.

“Fred! Come here, look at these ugly rings,” She shouted, pointing through the window of a jewelry store.

Fred strolled over, his boots crunching in the snow. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder peering down at the ring she was currently gaping at, “That’s an engagement ring, love.”

She peered at the thin silver band, topped with an oversized oval diamond. She scrunched her nose, “It’s so… gaudy. It looks sharp as well.”

He chuckled at her disgust. She’d never been one to like jewelry, anyway.

“Well, what kind of ring would you want?” He asked, eyeing the numerous rings.

She turned to him with a big smile, “Why? Do you want to marry me Freddie?”

“I certainly wouldn’t mind it,” He grinned, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“Well, if you’re going to get me a ring, just get me a black one. It doesn’t have to be expensive. No jewels or diamonds. Something simple like a black banded ring maybe,” She explained.

Fred mentally took note and apparently remembered.

She was still crying after reliving the memory. He was going to propose to her, but never got the chance. So, the rings were left to decompose and become covered in dust, never to be wrapped around the fingers of their owners. She pinched the smaller ring between the index finger and thumb, quickly slipping it onto her ring finger. She smiled, a teardrop falling onto the back of her hand.

“Oh Fred,” She sniffled, closing her eyes remembering the last time he had smiled at her.

After a half and hour of shedding tears she decided to visit George. She wondered why no one told her he planned to marry her.

She apparated to his door, the box still gripped in her left hand. She knocked on his flat’s door and he opened it quickly.

“Hel- Oh. Benni? What are you doing here?” He asked softly, noticing her red eyes.

She lifted her left hand up showing him the black ring, “Did you know?”

He opened the door wider, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand, “Come sit down?”

She crossed the threshold and took a seat on his small couch.

“Yeah. I knew. Mom and Dad knew too. Said he was going to ask you when the war was over,” He admitted after closing the door and taking a seat next to her.

“Why didn’t anyone tell me?” She quietly asked, spinning the ring on her finger.

“Everyone was mourning already. You were already so upset, we thought, why add onto it?” George explained pouring himself a cup of tea. He motioned towards her, but she shook her head.

“So, you thought it’d be better to let me find it on my own?” She questioned.

“Yeah. We did. But we didn’t think anyone would want to willingly submit themself to his sock drawer,” He laughed dryly, “But I guess when you love someone enough, you’ll do anything for them.”

She nodded her head and opened the box, the ring that was supposed to be Fred’s laying still. She slipped the oversized ring onto her finger.

“I wish I could wear it. For him,” She sighed.

“You can. You’ll figure something out,” He assured her and placed his cup onto the coffee table.

She stood up and strolled over to a bright red record player.

“You know, he was so upset when you took this. And I told him we could buy another, but he loved this one too much. He reckoned you cheated” She smiled, caressing the smooth record player.

“I won the coin toss fair and square,” George said, walking over to a stack of records. He bent down searched through the stack before pulling out a large record.

“Yeah, sure you did,” She said moving to the side so he could play the record he had gripped in his hand.

The song began to play and as soon as the melody reached Benni’s ears tears formed at the brims of her eyes.

“Oh, he loved this song,” She smiled, streams of tears already running down her cheeks.

She stood her with her arms crossed, swaying to the rhythm, humming to the song.

“Dance with me George? For old times sake,” She asked him.

“Just like the Yule ball,” He answered smiling softly with outstretched arms.

“Just like the Yule ball,” she repeated, wrapping her arms around his middle, her cheek against his chest.

“I saw Angelina the other day,” He said, his chin resting on her head.

“Oh yeah?” She answered, their bodies still swaying slowly to the beat of the song.

“Yeah, we’re going out next week.”

“That’s good,” She hummed toying with the ring on her finger behind his back.

He wasn’t Fred. Not even close. He didn’t smell like him. He didn’t act like him. But for a split second Benni imagined herself slow dancing with Fred one last time to a song that had reminded him of her. And she felt at peace.

[yunagalvan]

Fred Weasley One Shot (with a madeup character named Haliwell Galvan)

Summary: Haliwell Galvan is best friends with George Weasley. After he finds out she had trouble sleeping sometimes he lets her sleep with him, but it seems as if their plan doesn’t work well on one night. Fred and Hali finds themselves unable to sleep without eachother.

A/N: New user to tumblr and I had been writing this in my free time just to make the days a little more fun. Thought why not post it I’m sure at least one person may enjoy it.

Warnings: None. Grammar Mistakes prob.

Word count: 6352 (A lot I know)

“Sleep well last night?” George questioned, sporting a lazy smile as he spooned some scrambled eggs into his mouth.

“Not at all actually,” She huffed, taking a seat next to him. She rubbed her aching eyes.

“Couldn’t you tell George? She’s got bags the size of Snape’s robes under her eyes,” Fred chuckled, leaning to catch a glance of Hali’s tired expression. George elbowed him in the ribcage.

“Ow! Git,” Fred muttered before turning back to chatting with Lee Jordan who was sat across from him.

George leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Even though you find me and my cold hands utterly repulsive, if you think sleeping next to someone will help you fall asleep, you can sleep next to me anytime. I know how much you need to sleep. And don’t bother waking me up, I’ll be grumpy,” He finished turning back to his eggs.

“You sure?” She asked. She wondered if they’d get in trouble or what kind of treatment his dorm-mates would give him if they found out, especially Fred. Of course, she knew either wasn’t a concern to him. She knew getting in trouble never crossed his mind and that he wouldn’t care what kind of jokes arose because they’d always been best friends, just best friends.

With no hesitation he answered back, “Of course.”

“What are you two whispering about over there?” Lee had interjected, an eyebrow raised.

“Nothing concerning you,” Hali responded, giving George a quick wink. Fred wondered what George had said to her and why she’d given him a wink, but figured he’d just get it out of George later.

That had happened during their sixth year, and George managed to keep his offer a secret between him and Hali. During their seventh year she had fallen asleep early on the night, and at that point, the noise of the storm outside had been bearable. Rain hadn’t been violently rapping against her window and the wind wasn’t howling fiercely. However, later in the night, a particularly loud rumble of sudden thunder woke her up from a nightmare she was having. The situation was now bittersweet for she had escaped her nightmare, but was now left to perpetually be kept awake by the ravaging storm outside. She turned over to her side, facing away from the window and shut her eyes. She feebly attempted to fall back into unconsciousness but her mind was racing. In a couple hours she would be tested in transfigurations and she’d only been able to complete the difficult vanishing spell a few times. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to do it tomorrow- well technically today- but she yearned for the few hours of thoughtless bliss sleep would provide for her.

After 15 minutes of tossing and turning in her four poster bed, she quietly moved her curtains aside and swung her legs over the edge of the mattress. Her body shivered as her bare feet contacted the cold floor. Her socks had been lost somewhere in her bed and she was too tired to feel around for them in the dim light. The storm outside provided some light, but her eyes were barely open. Her left eye remained completely closed, as her right eye struggled to stay open. As she straightened her back, and her hands flew to grip her biceps. She drew in a sharp breath, and rubbed her arms in an attempt to create some heat.

She gingerly tiptoed past her sleeping dorm-mates and began to hastily descend the cold, stone stairs which led to the gryffindor common room. As she made her way down the spiral staircase, her eyes adjusted to the bright flames each held by a sconce.

She rushed across the common room floor which would lead to the tower that housed the boys. She huffed and puffed as she walked up what seemed like an infinite amount of stairs. She was still bringing in sharp breaths and shivering when she reached the 6th years dorms. She easily navigated her way to George’s dorm as she’d gone there many times in order to retrieve some object he or Fred had stolen from her.

She quickly shuffled over to George’s bed and was able to slip easily under his covers and next to him since he was rolled away from her and was practically dangling off of the side of the bed. The light from the storm outside barely illuminated the back of his head but she rolled over to face away from him, pressing her back against his. She shut her eyes and relaxed at the feeling of his warmth behind her.

Although she always vocalized how much she hated when people touched her, she felt strangely serene, although she’d never tell anyone except George that.

Hali drifted off to sleep and woke up to a warm arm curled around her waist. She groggily wrapped her left hand around his wrist and removed his uncharacteristically warm hand from the skin of her stomach. She dropped his arm limply behind her and sleepily fled the boys’ dormitory.

She slept the remainder of the time in her own bed and when it was time to eat breakfast she plopped down in her usual seat next to George.

“Morning, ‘Hali,” George greeted happily.

“Morning George,” She smiled, fully rested.

“Got a good night’s sleep last night, eh?” Fred grinned into his bite of roasted potatoes. Although there was something patronizing about the way he said it, Hali's mind immediately thought he’d seen her in George’s bed. A heatwave of paranoia settled through her.

“Yeah… I did,” She answered giving George a wide-eyed suspicious look. He gave her a confused one back, but she ignored it and delved into her breakfast.

“Did you tell him?” She muttered to George under her breath.

“Tell him what?” George playfully asked.

“Our- sleeping agreement,” She quietly answered.

“Er- no?”

“Why’s he being so weird then?” Hali anxiously questioned.

“I mean- he’s Fred, he’s always weird. I think he’s just happy- said something about having a really good night of sleep this morning, but I thought he was just sayin that to annoy me since he slept in my bed last night-“

“He- He WHAT?” Hali vocalized earning a wide eyed look from Lee and Fred. Hali stood up and dragged a still-sitting-down George away from the table and out into the hall.

She dragged him around a corner as he stumbled and struggled to balance himself after being abruptly dragged across the dining hall.

“What’s wrong? You’re being mad right now!” George breathed.

“I slept in your dorm last night. And I thought I was sleeping next to you! Because I was in your bed!” She explained, obviously flustered.

“You- He- my bed?” George stuttered.

“The storm woke me up last night, and I thought I was sleeping next to you but- You know I knew something was off, you never touch me when you’re sleeping. His hands are way warmer than yours by the way,” She concluded, crossed armed.

“His hands? He touched you?” George said eyebrows furrowing.

“Oh come on- He was sleeping. Don’t get all big brother on me now against your own brother who was in your bed,” She deadpanned, seeing George agitated, “Why was he in your bed in the first place?”

George rubbed the back of his neck guiltily,” Alright well… We were playing catch with some dungbombs and you know- one exploded on his bed and I uh- I had thrown it of course. I cleaned it, but he swore it still smelled like dung so he said he wanted to trade beds until the stench was gone.”

She took a deep breath in and rolled her eyes.

“You guys talking about me?” Fred’s voice spoke from behind her. She threw an elbow into his stomach and then turned around to face him. He was doubled over, holding his stomach, a pained smile coating his face.

“Fred-“ George started an uncommonly serious look on his face.

Hali stopped George and motioned for him to go back into the hall, “It’s fine. I’ll handle it.”

Fred was standing up straight now, and waved sarcastically to his grumbling brother as he walked back into the dining hall. He was still sporting a wide grin when he turned to face Hali.

“Care to explain?” She began, tapping her foot.

“Explain what?” He eagerly simpered.

“You think you’re being so cute, hm? Stop smiling, you look like an idiot,” Hali spoke, visibly annoyed.

His smile faltered, “Listen, I didn’t know you and George were…”

“What? Sleeping together?” Her face dropped at her wording and his eyebrows rose up in surprise, “I don’t mean like that. I mean literally just sleeping. I only do it when I can’t sleep,” She explained.

“That’s a relief and weirdly understandable,” Fred thought outloud.

“What?”

“Well, who wouldn’t want to wake up next to a girl? It’s like the best surprise a guy could get,” Fred explained smiling down at her.

“Why you-“ She rose a closed fisted ready to give him a punch in shoulder which would at most leave a slight stinging sensation on his arm.

He grabbed her wrist before her hand met his arm, “Relax, Haliwell. I’m kidding- well not really but- I didn’t know about your ‘sleeping arrangements’ and I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I- erm- kind of thought I was in a dream to be honest. But after I woke up for a second time and you were still there I realized it was real. I’m sure you prefer George, you two have always been closer, but uh it was nice,” His voice got quieter as he went on, finally settling on a whisper when he reached the last sentence. His grip loosened on her wrist.

She didn’t know what to say, there’s no way he would have known she wouldn’t be able to sleep and he seemed genuinely sorry. She was skeptical of his behavior though, because he was being unusually expressive and helpful.

“I didn’t hate it, but your hands are much warmer than George’s so it was a nice change,” She admitted to him. She started to think about what he said about it being a dream. She decided it was her turn to bother him.

“You said you thought it was a dream?” Hali asked smiling slightly, “Why would you be having a dream about me in bed with you, Fred Weasley?”

The tips of his ears flushed a deep red, unfortunately not hidden by his fiery red hair since he had cut it this past summer. His flustered look quickly disappeared as he regained his false confidence and he leaned over to her ear.

“It wouldn’t be the first time,” He breathed, his breath tickling her ear. She felt a wave of heat wash over her chest, but quickly disguised her surprise with disgust.

She let out a disgusted scoff, “You’re so...“

He waited for her insult, “I’m so what?” Fred smiled seeing through her fake disgust. He saw how red her cheeks were and knew she was embarrassed.

“You’re so much better to sleep with than George,” She murmured looking up at him through her lashes.

“Really?” He questioned, thinking back to the feeling of her against him.

She placed her hands on the back of his neck and slowly brought him down to her face. He felt his heart rate increase. Was this a dream? He asked himself. He didn’t remember when he had put his hands on her waist, but he quickly became very aware of how close her face was to his. As she brought his face closer to hers, he shut his eyes.

Just as her lips barely brushed his, she whispered, “No.”

She let go of his neck and quickly walked past him and back into the dining hall. He let out a heavy breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. He ran a hand through his hair, and even though she’d barely touched him, he felt completely disheveled.

How had he let his guard down so easily? She’d always acted so cold towards him and always turned to talk to George. The sudden change in behavior threw him off. He wasn’t complaining about it, just disappointed in himself for losing control so quickly

He composed himself and finished his breakfast in record time. George noticed his haste, but was just proud of Hali for putting Fred in his place.

“I would’ve expected him to tell you or wake you or something,” George muttered before gulping down the rest of his pumpkin juice.

She shrugged, “It’s alright, George. I handled it and he seemed genuinely sorry.”

Hali continued her day and noticed how the tips of Fred’s ears turned a scarlet red everytime she made eye contact with him the rest of the day. Of course, he would throw some obscene gesture or give her a silly grin back.

She successfully vanished her set object completely in Transfigurations class and glided through the rest of her school day in a good mood.

“So, how’d it go?” George asked before plopping down next to her. He had presumably just finished quidditch practice as she could smell the dirt and sweat radiating off of him. Usually she’d swat him away with a nearby textbook, but she was in an exceptionally good mood today.

“It was brilliant. I did it no problem!” She beamed as he removed his quidditch jersey.

“That’s great, Hali. Listen, off topic question but what the bloody hell did you say to Fred? He’s been off all day. Missed nearly every swing in practice. Wood’s gone mad,” George stated.

She narrowed her eyes at the portrait hole and rubbed them. Her eyesight had gotten blurry from straining to read the school work she’d been doing.

“He’s not gonna walk through there is he?” She questioned.

“Nope. I specifically skipped the showers in the changing rooms to give me time to ask you what the bloody hell you’ve done to my twin,” George explained, sweaty locks of hair coating his forehead.

“I mean- I just said his hands are warmer than yours and-“ She began to laugh. Her small giggles soon grew into roaring laughter and George furrowed his eyebrows in concern.

“Haliwell Galvan, what did you do?” He asked.

Her laughter only extended when he used her full name.

“Okay listen, you can’t tell anyone. But you know I thought it- okay since he hadn’t bothered to tell me he was Fred and let me sleep with him the whole night, I thought it’d be funny to mess with him a little. I thought If he was okay with me sleeping next to him he’s either a perv or he’s got a little crush, so I utilized my resources-“

“Oh Hali you didn’t-“

“No, I didn’t do anything to your precious brother. I just acted like I was going to kiss him, then I didn’t. I thought it’d be a good punishment, boys hate that. Been thinking about it all day he has.”

George lifted himself off of the couch, a small smile playing at his lips. He pointed a finger at her, “You’re evil you know that?”

She shrugged, “What can I say? It’s a gift really.”

George sighed and pressed his fingers to his temples, “Okay, he’s definitely going to kill me when he finds out I told you, but you know he had a giant crush on you first year right?”

Her eyebrows slightly rose and a devilish grin crawled onto her face, “You know- that explains why he was so irritatingly- just so evil to me first year. Poor Freddie didn’t know how to act, eh?”

“Don’t be so happy. You’re not out of the bushes yet. I reckon what you did this morning confused him. And from what I saw during practice and basically all day today, he’s very confused.”

“Oh he’ll get over it. He’s not exactly a one-woman-willy. And don’t tell me he didn’t deserve it because he did,” She pointed a stern finger at George.

“As a man, I can fully say he did not deserve that. What you did this morning- you’ve stolen his manhood you have. You need to give it back. I want my bloody brother back!” George dramatically explained, failing to keep a straight face.

“Are you telling me to kiss your brother?” She questioned her face contorting into a disgusted expression.

“Oh, don’t act so disgusted. We’ve kissed before; Just imagine he’s me. Shouldn’t be too hard,” George simpered running a hand through his wet locks.

“Okay, that was not real. It was for a dare and I felt like I was kissing my brother. It was weird,” She explained recalling how wrong it felt to kiss her best friend last year. Even though it was a short peck and lasted barely a second, she still couldn’t shake how peculiar it felt.

“Well, you better figure something out, Hal,” George laughed before trudging downstairs to the showers. Hali continued to do her ancient runes homework. As the minutes went by she heard more Gryffindor’s slip through the portrait.

Oliver Wood stepped through the portrait and casually strolled toward Hali.

“Oi, Galvan, figure you could replace Fred and be the new beater? I’m about ready to play his position for him after today’s practice,” He huffed, his clean scent replacing George’s previously sweaty one.

She chuckled, “Wood, you know my parents don’t want me playing quidditch anymore after I got my face smashed in my 5th year. Besides I was joking when I said I’d reckon I could be a better beater than Fred. I’ve got arms the size of a wand.”

He let out an exasperated sigh and moved onto the next unsuspecting Gryffindor in the common room.

The next person to walk through the portrait was Fred. She looked up at him from her book, a small smile growing on her face. He gave her his signature confident smile, but quickly broke his eye contact with her. He began to make his way toward her while peering at the now busling common room and she raised an eyebrow at him.

“Seat taken?” He asked peering at the cushion next to her.

She jutted out her bottom lip and shook her head. Fred quickly settled himself next to her and peered at the crackling fire.

“Wood reckons I should take your spot as Gryffindor beat, you hear?” She questioned closing her textbook.

“Oh yeah?” He asked, crossing his legs and setting his arm across the back of the couch.

“Yeah,” She looked behind her at his arm which spanned the pillow, “And I’m starting to think I agree. You’re looking a bit small there, Weasley.”

He laughed dryly at her attempt at insulting him.

“Seriously though, something on your mind?” She innocently smiled at him even though she knew exactly what had caused his lack in skill during the quidditch practice.

The smile on his face fell and he let out a cough.

“No, just had a bad day. Why, should something be on my mind?” He questioned coyly.

She gave him a toothy smile and leaned towards him once again, but not as close as she had been to him this morning.

She looked down at his lips, “No,” she whispered. She got up from the couch. He quickly wrapped his hand around her wrist, stopping her from leaving.

“It’s still storming out,” He told her, the light from the fire twinkling in his eye. She looked down at his hand on her wrist.

“Better keep your hands warm then, yeah?” She retorted walking up to her dorm.

This time Fred smiled to himself as she left him. He eventually caught up with Lee and George and spent the rest of the night thinking up ways to irk their classmates.

Eventually, they all fell in and went to sleep, but Fred’s mind was too busy to sleep. Yes, the rain pattering on the window didn’t help, but he expected his thoughts to slow down so he could fall asleep. It was 1 a.m. and as he laid flat on his back with his left hand tucked under his head, he couldn’t help but wait for Hali’s footsteps to enter his dorm room. His ears perked up at every creak and tap, but she never came. Eventually, he grew tired and his thoughts faded.

Hali had been fast asleep since 11 p.m. and didn’t stir at all that night. Despite the storm and the whipping winds, she slept peacefully. She did, however, wake in the morning to the cold air of her dorm room and couldn’t help but wish she’d felt the warmth of someone next to her.

She dismissed the thought and continued to sleep soundlessly for the next month. Her relationship with Fred returned to normal, with his occasional flirty comments and her cold responses. Every once in a while she threw him off, but never twice in a row did she allow his flirtatious actions.

During mid-december on a particularly windy night, the persistent tapping of her windowsill kept her awake and irate. The rate at which the tapping occurred gave her enough time to grow tired, then would rip her away from rest at the very last second. Frustrated, she grabbed a nearby jumper and her “Hogwarts: A History” book, which all those around her had seen her read at least once this past month since she was prone to read it whenever she found herself with free time.

While seeing a student who fell asleep in the common room wasn’t unusual, she always loathed the idea of being found in the morning with her mouth wide open and her hair knotted to oblivion. But right now, the mere idea of sleep was all the yearned for. She didn’t care about the situation she would get into, as long as she could sleep.

The universe has a sick sense of humor.

As she tiredly read the pages in her book, she heard the heavy footsteps of another half asleep Gryffindor clomp down the stairs.

He jumped at the sight of another student in the common room.

“Well, well, Welly” Fred said in a low groggy voice.

She craned her neck to face him and closed her book, folding the corner page.

“You’re half asleep, and still insist on calling me that god awful name,” She deadpanned.

He gave her a tired smile, “Trouble sleeping?” He asked, yawning.

She nodded, “You too?”

He nodded, “Came to get my mug,” He shuffled over to a wooden table on her left. On top of it, a slightly misshapen green mug sat. He scooped it into his hand before conjuring a stream of water from his wand.

He began to sip at the water and Hali went back to reading her book. She wondered if she should ask to sleep in his bed.

“You should come up with me,” He said slowly like he was thinking about what he was saying, “- And you know slip into George’s bed. Get some sleep, Welly.”

She smiled down at her book, and shook her head.

“Have you ever noticed that George is like a human fridge? Like I think he actually steals heat from me. It’s bloody freezing tonight,” Hali chuckled, pulling her sweater sleeves over her hands.

“Well, I think we’ve got an opportunity to solve both of our issues here,” Fred offered, his tone slightly more awake.

She sighed, “Fred Weasley, are you going to ask me to sleep with you?”

“I wasn’t going to say it like that. But- yeah. You did say I was warmer than George,” He reminded her before gulping down the rest of his water and setting it down on the table.

“Fine. But you don’t tell anyone. Not even George. I just- I’m so tired,” She yawned before closing her book once again, tucking it under her arm and walking past him. As her foot stepped onto the stairs leading to his dorm she turned around, “Come on then.”

He let out a small laugh, “That was easy.”

“You know, this is a one time thing right,” She informed him as they made their way up the spiral staircase.

“‘Course.”

Fred smiled to himself as the possibility of this happening again crossed his mind. And it did happen.. Again. And Again. Eventually, she found herself awake late at night when it wasn’t storming outside. And so on some perfectly quiet, peaceful, dry nights, Fred would wake up to a pleasant surprise which of course was Hali next to him.

The sun was beginning to rise when she woke up. Her hands were bunched up against his chest, her face nestled into the crook of his neck. She tried to slip away from him quietly without waking him up, but his arms wouldn’t budge.

“Fred,” She whispered pulling her face away from his neck.

“Fred, Let go. I need to leave.”

He let out a grumble, “Stay.”

“Freddie, I can’t.”

“You never… never call me that,” He muttered sleepily.

“Fred, please let go,” she begged but he tightened his arms around her waist.

She looked up at his face, his eyes still closed.

“I’ll let you go, only if you give me a good morning kiss,” He sleepily smiled knowing she’d have no choice but to stay locked in his embrace.

She slid her hands onto the back of his neck once again, leaving goosebumps on his skin. She softly pressed her lips to his, his eyes opening in surprise, but her lips were gone as soon as they came.

“If only every morning started this way,” He thought, his eyes fluttering back closed. He loosened his grip as he had agreed and presumably fell back asleep.

She left quickly and slept the remainder of the time before her roommates woke her for class.

When Fred woke up, he was unsure if he had dreamed the whole thing. Hali was certainly acting like he had. She was still giving George more attention than him. She still dismissed his flirtatious comments. She gave no indication that she had kissed him that morning. Nonetheless, Fred thought the next time he got her alone he should ask her. Hell, he’d asked her weirder things than that. If it hadn’t happened, she’d certainly just think he was hitting on her as usual and she’d dismiss him as always.

So, when classes were over and she was nowhere to be seen, he went to the place George said she spent the most time at. He hadn’t been to the library that many times in his past 6 years at Hogwarts. He felt strange walking around searching for her because he felt like everyone who knew him knew he never went to the library. He felt like he wasn’t supposed to be there, but maybe that was just because of what he was going to ask his brother’s best friend of 6 years.

He spent a few minutes wandering around the library peering around each bookcase, his eyes scanning for her. When he found her, she had her knees pulled up to her chest, he shins pressed against the side of the table. Her hands gripped the same book she’d been reading for the last 2 months. He was surprised she hadn’t finished it by now, but he assumed she had probably read it more than once at that point.

She noticed flaming red hair in her peripheral vision and looked up from her book.

“Frederick- In the library?” She whispered quizzically while turning the page of her book.

He didn’t respond. He hadn’t thought of what he was going to say.

“Thought you were George for a second, but you’re not. He’s got sadder eyes than you,” She quietly laughed pressing down on her eyelids so they were more droopy.

He let out a dry laugh, before taking a seat next to her

“What’re you doing here?” She asked before her eyes moved in Madam Pince’s direction. She knew how Madam Pince felt about disturbances in the library and Fred was about the worst disturbance there could be. Hali liked the quiet of the library which was why she only sat in the common room when most people weren’t there. She hoped Fred wouldn’t get her kicked out of the library, but his signature sinister look was no where to be found. So, she thought he had come to say something of importance.

“I’ve uh- got to ask you something,” He quickly muttered while scratching the back of his hand.

“Go on then, quick before Madam Pince catches us talking.”

“Did you… did you kiss me this morning?” Fred whispered his hand flying to rub the back of his neck.

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, “Fred, I didn’t kiss you much less wake up next to you this morning. I slept alone last night.”

He felt his chest flood with embarrassment. It had all been a dream? She saw his mind moving at a million miles a second and decided to spare him the embarrassment.

“I’m only joking. So what if I did?” She simpered.

“So, it wasn’t a dream?”

“No. I’m not surprised you thought it was. You were half asleep when you asked me to kiss you,” She explained quietly.

“Well, I didn’t expect you to actually do it,” He answered, rolling up one of his sleeves. She glanced down at his forearm; she’d always liked his arms.

“Well, I needed to leave. And you had an iron grip so I was given a solution to an issue and I used the solution.”

“I didn’t want it to go like that,” He grumbled sitting back in the rickety chair.

“What?”

“It doesn’t matter. You know- you can’t just kiss someone and act like it doesn’t mean anything to you,” He whispered, obviously annoyed.

“People kiss people all the time. Hell, I see you kiss girls all the time. Does that always mean something to you?”

“Yeah, it does,” He quickly answered.

“Bullshit. It doesn’t and you know it,” She noticed his annoyed expression. While she’d observed his odd behavior towards her for the last few months, she was sure she was imagining it and her actions towards him barely crossed his mind. She was just a body for him to hold at night. Nothing more. “What? Does it bother you that I don’t worship you? That I’m not begging you to date me like all the others? Shouldn’t you be happy I know everything means nothing to you?” She spat forgetting about Madam Pince.

“No-I’m not happy,” He responded, his jaw clenched.

“What do you want me to do? Huh, Fred? ‘Oh Freddie let’s go to Madam Puddifoots and have a cup of tea’ I can’t do that for you because I know you don’t want that. You don’t date girls, you can’t committ-“

“Me? You’re one to talk. George has never told me about you having any boyfriends. I’ve never even heard you were dating anybody. The rumors are always about you and some ever-changing guy. It’s never the same guy.”

“Have you maybe thought for one second that George doesn’t tell you everything about me? Granted, I don’t date, but maybe if you asked me instead of pestering me about it I’d tell you why,” Her face was hot. She was angry at him for assuming things and speaking about things he knew nothing about.

“Fine. Why? Why don’t you date?”

“Did George tell you who my first kiss was?”

He shook his head not knowing what this had to do with anything.

“Roger Davies. I caught him snogging some other girl a few days after he kissed me. I really thought he liked me Fred, but we weren’t dating or anything. Maybe I overreacted but, after that I assumed that everyone just wanted their freedom, and I never assumed anything was special,” She explained more calmly, like she’d told this story before.

“That’s bloody stupid,” He concluded now feeling guilty. George never told him that.

“It’s alright. It was a good lesson I guess-“

“No- I mean. Kisses can be special, Hal,” He interrupted her, a sad look spread across his face.

“Well, every guy I’ve kissed doesn’t seem to think that. So, I think I’ll just keep believing what I believe.”

He got up to leave, but before he turned around he thought he could try to change her stubborn mind.

“You know, after you kissed me the first thought that popped into my head was ‘If only every morning started this way,’ “ He admitted quickly before leaving.

She furrowed her brows, turning back to her book. She tried to finish reading the paragraph she’d left off on but she found herself repeating the same sentence over and over in her head. If only every morning started this way.

For a second she thought that was Fred’s way of telling her he thought it was special, but she shook her head. For the next month, she slept alone every night no matter the weather. She hadn’t spoken to Fred much after their argument in the library. Fred assumed she wanted nothing to do with him, and she assumed Fred wanted nothing to do with her. The most they’d said to each other was “Happy Christmas” before leaving for the holidays.

On one particular night, it was snowing and she had been laying in bed for hours. She couldn’t sleep, and not because of any noise, but because she felt like something was missing. The words “If only every morning could start like this,” echoed in her head.

She was standing in his doorway before she knew it. He was facing away from her, on the edge of the bed just like the first time. There was plenty of room for her on the bed and she couldn’t help but wonder if he’d slept that way on purpose, in hopes of waking up with her there. She turned her wonder into courage and walked over to his bed.

She poked his shoulder, “Fred.”

He woke up at the sound of her voice. He hadn’t heard it since before break.

“Hali?” He questioned rolling over to face her.

She wasn’t sure what she wanted to say, so she said the first thing that popped into her head, “Fred, I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright, Welly. It’s not your fault…” He sighed tiredly and rolled over to face her, “You just need to realize that sometimes that kind of stuff means something,” He responded pulling the covers up to his shoulders.

She sat down on the side of his bed, her back facing him.

“I know it means something to me. Sometimes it doesn’t mean anything to the other person. And it’s just easier to convince myself it means nothing,” She explained, her elbows resting on her knees.

“You don’t have to explain anything. Just- Just know sometimes the things you do matter to other people,” He murmured watching her back rise and fall with each breath.

She turned her head to face him, the moonlight barely reaching her features, “It meant something to you, didn’t it? When I kissed you?” She whispered.

The corner of his mouth lifted up, “Are you going to get in or what?” He asked, flipping the corner of his covers over.

“I’ll get in if you answer my question,” She responded, bringing one leg onto his mattress.

“Of course it did Hal. You were the first girl I ever loved,” He muttered tiredly.

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, “Fred?”

His smile had faded, and his breathing had slowed.

“Fred, I know you’re still awake,” She said twisting her body so she could poke him.

“We can talk about it tomorrow. Just not now. I just want to sleep right now.”

She brought her other leg onto the mattress and flipped the covers over herself. He reached out and pulled her flush against him after hearing her shuffling noises subside. She would probably never tell him, but she had missed the feeling of his arms wrapped around her waist. She’d missed the feeling of his breath against the back of her neck.

She pulled him into the most isolated table in the library after quidditch practice the next day. She sat him down quickly before fixing a rogue hair that was standing up oddly on his head, his hair still wet from his recent shower.

“If only you’d been there with me, you could have fixed it before I left the shower,” He snickered, earning a slap on the shoulder from her.

“We’ll see who’s laughing in a few minutes when I remind you of what Sleepy Fred said last night,” Hali said, taking a seat beside him.

“No, no. I remember. Sleepy Fred always speaks the truth. I mean yeah- I loved you. You know whatever love means to a 12 year old, but I thought you were wicked,” He let out a short laugh.

“Thought?” Hali responded, an eyebrow raised.

“Still do,” Fred winked.

She gave him a toothless smile, “I like 17 year old Fred a lot more than 12 year old Fred.”

“Yeah, how much?”

“Enough to give him a good morning kiss, I reckon,” She shrugged.

He checked the time on his nonexistent wrist watch, “Well, it’s not morning, but I could go for an evening kiss,” He said leaning towards her with his lips pursed.

She swatted him away, “Oh, it’s not that easy Fred. You’re going to have to wait a bit longer for another kiss.”

“Yeah? Why’s that then?” He asked his chin resting on his own interlaced fingers like a child.

“Don’t you think it means more if you wait?” She smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

He shook his hand and let out a laugh in disbelief, “God, I’m so screwed aren’t I?”

“Yeah,” She faked a sad expression before popping up from her seat and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, “You’ll survive.”