Falling For

Fred was pacing around the living room like a man-on-a-mission, muttering quiet words to George - who in turn was sitting like an under-stuffed rag doll on the back of the couch. They talked in low voices as I leant against the kitchen bench, waiting for my freshly-baked cake to cool. It was chocolate, Fred’s favourite and George’s guilty pleasure. We were to go over to the Burrow for dinner, or so I was told.

Finally able to ice the cake with my wand, I looked over my shoulder at the boys.

“Cakes ready.” I called cheerily at them and they returned my look with a more paled, serious stare. “Don’t look too excited.” I added, disheartened by their lack of joy.

“What’s the cake for?” Fred stopped pacing in circles - pacing towards the kitchen counter intstead. I shielded it from his prying hands, poking him away with my wand.

“We’re going to the Burrow for dinner, right?” I questioned.

“Oh. Yeah. Dinner. Right.” He sulked. “Can’t I just have one piece?”

“Don’t be such a glutton.” I laughed, levitating it gently to lower it into a container.

“Come on Mignon, give a dying man his wish.” He whined and I laughed again, shaking my head.

“You are not dying.” I snapped the lid shut, holding the box to my chest while he skittered around me.

“We’re all dying, Min. Every second I live, I get closer to death!" Fred moaned, bracing himself on the counter. "Just one little bit?" I kept sniggering at him, holding it out of his grasp while his brother sat on the couch, watching us.

“Just give him some, Min.” He finally sighed, slightly exasperated. I looked at him pointedly.

“I don’t think it would be polite to turn up on your mother's doorstep with a cake missing a massive piece.”

“She won’t even notice, because it’ll only be a little piece.” Fred whined again. “We’ll stuff the gap with chocolate!”

“Oh Merlin, okay. Take the darn cake, I don’t care.” Snivelling my giggles, I pushed it towards him. “Eat it all.”

“All of it?”

“All of it.” I finalised, ripping off the lid. “Go for your dying life.”

Looking over at George, I smiled softly as he chewed the corner of his lip, watching me with a tiny look of hope.

“You okay, sweetheart?” I asked him, inching closer to finally sit beside him. It was awkward sitting on the back of the couch; the fact that it was so old and rickety was a little bit scary, but if it’d broken we could have easily fixed it.

“Funny story, really. You’re going to be so mad.” He breathed out through his teeth, almost laughing tiredly. I looked at him, still with a smile on my face but a tint of curiosity in my breath.

“I am?”

“We’re not going for dinner tonight.” He told me quietly, making me cock my head in curiosity before scoffing.

“You were right, I’m so mad.” I snorted and he sighed, his breath ending in a very desperate groan.

“Listen Min, the Order has a job to do tonight." He said simply and I looked at him. "I need you to go to the Burrow for me, and wait there.”

“What?” I stopped. “That’s it? You have a meeting and you’ve told me it was dinner. Nice.” Nodding, I stood up back towards the kitchen, Fred retreating back into the lounge room for safety, taking the cake with him. “That’s not that bad, you know?” My voice ended shaky, waiting for him to elaborate further.

“No, not a meeting." He stood up, following me. "A job."

“What kind of job?” I paused, evening my eyes at him skeptically.

“Well, we’re moving Harry over from his house to ours.” He told me. “Fred's coming too. Actually, most of the family are working on this, all ‘cept mum and Ginny.”

“Right.” I urged him on, wondering why he was breaking it all up. “What’s it entail, if you actually want to tell me that as well.”

“Well, we’ll be drinking Polyjuice potion that will turn us temporarily into Harry, and we’ll fly back to the Burrow.”

“I’m sorry?” I blinked at him, my blood running cold and goose-pimples breaking out over my skin. “Let me get this straight... You’re going to dress up like Harry bloody Potter and fly across the English sky?" Gobsmacked and honestly confused as to why I hadn't figured that my boyfriend was severely unintelligent beforehand, I looked him up and down. "Are you even aware that people want to kill him?”

“I know what I signed up for Min.” We heard Fred’s door shut and the CRACK of him disapparating. I felt my brow twitch and my nostrils flared, beginning to question why I trusted him with the simple task of tying his own shoes in the morning.

“Regardless of what you’ve signed up for, George, when were you going to tell me?” I crossed my arms, voice rising. “When were you going to tell me that you signed up to go die tonight?”

My heart felt like it was blanching on a stove - the heat beginning to boil and bubble over the sides of the cooking pot. The thought of losing him or anyone else scared me so much that my blood began to sear; raging and frothing through my veins, but instead of yelling like my brain was screaming for me to do, my hands began to shake and my eyes began to well with tears.

“I won’t die, for Merlin’s sake, Mignon. It’s a secret move, okay? They don’t know. I’ll be fine.” He shook his head at me, eyes evened and breath sharp. “But you really want to argue about this now, right before I go off into my so-called ‘death wish’?”

“We are not arguing, George Weasley, I am just really annoyed that you didn’t tell. Or run it past me.” My mouth evened out into an unhappy line, closing my eyes, letting some tears escape “Or even… oh George, you can’t do this to me. You just can’t tell me one thing and then do another. It’s confusing and scary and what if you got hurt and you didn’t tell me?”

His face softened from the previous peeved look, eyes relaxing and his lips pouting.

“I’m sorry.” He reached out to play with a strand of my hair. “I was going to tell you but it just snowballed. Please don’t cry, Mignon.”

“You could have at least braced me for it.” I whined at him, reaching up to grab his hand. “Maybe a little. Not ten minutes before we’re supposed to be at your mother’s house for you to go fly across London as Harry fucking Potter.”

His face fell and he sighed.

“You know we’re doing this for the good of the future, right? I really believe that Harry can stop this war. We all do.” He gripped my hand, pulling me close to kiss my forehead. “I’m not going to get hurt, Min, I promise.”