Safe With Me ~ Fred Weasley

Prefects

The kitchen was cramped tonight, as it had been for at least a week. Molly had been frantic as the numbers arriving for dinner seemed to double each day, while the house still seemed as dirty as ever. Fred's knee pressed into mine gently as the plates flew from the table before us, landing in a pile near the sink to be washed while everyone chatted idly.

Hermione's arrival earlier this afternoon had made a drastic improvement on Ron's otherwise exhausted demeanor, although whether that was due to the strict cleaning regimen Molly had kept us on the past weeks or the talking portraits keeping him up at night. Either way, Hermione's presence had done wonders for the youngest Weasley brother, as well as Ginny who had hardly left the brunette's side since we had moved her into our spotless room.

"They're cute together." I muttered under my breath to Fred, who's eyes were already glued to the pie his mother was setting out.

"Who?" He asked, his eyebrows scrunching together as he scanned over Ron and Hermione.

"Tonks and Lupin." I explained, having snuck a few glances at the pair who had found a way to sit together at the cramped table for yet the fifth night in a row.

"You're insane." He laughed, magicking himself a piece of pie over to his plate and one to mine right after. "He could be her dad."

"That's not true." I slapped his thigh beneath the table, earning a grin as he started on his dessert. "He's not that old, he's just... tired."

"You just want everyone to be in love." Fred trailed off as Tonks muttered something to Remus with a wink. "Alright, maybe you're right."

"I'm always right." I shrugged, starting on my pie as well now.

"Alright, everyone, you know the drill. Off you go, upstairs." Molly stood from her chair, hands on her hips as if she was anticipating a fight.

"Yes, mum." Fred smiled, innocently. "Thanks for dinner."

He reached behind him for my hand and followed George towards the hallway.

"Goodnight!" George called, cheerily.

"Am I in an alternate dimension?" Ron exclaimed as we filed out of the kitchen, the heavy door shutting behind us. "We've been trying to get into those meetings for weeks, now we're giving up?"

"We don't even know when Harry's coming. Or when we can write to him, or if he even knows where we are." Ginny matched Ron's tone.

"Does anyone have any faith?" George took a backwards step onto the staircase.

"Have we ever led you astray?" Fred wore an identical smirk to his twin. "Don't answer that Hermione." He pointed towards the curly haired girl before reaching into his back pocket and pulling out what looked like a small baseball mitt with a long string on the end.

"What is that?" Hermione whined, craning her neck for a better view as if she thought it could be dangerous.

"This, ladies and Ronald, is our ticket into those meetings." George waved for the rest of us to follow him up to the second floor, plopping himself down at the edge of the stairs where we all knelt next to him.

"Extendable Ears." Fred explained as he lowered the flesh colored ear down towards the doorway. "Our latest invention."

"You two are bloody brilliant sometimes." Ginny chuckled, leaning towards the end of the string as voices began pouring out.

"Sometimes?" George shot her a glare before Hermione waved her hand in their faces to quiet them.

"-getting him tomorrow? I'm not sure so many of us should be going-"