Secret Admirer: A Fred Weasley Love Story

Chapter 19: Broomsticks

Fred's POV

We all sat around the dining room table, Rose on my left and George on my right. We stabbed, and sliced, and severed our breakfast into our mouths, and bolted outside as soon as humanly possible.

The snow drifted down in soft flurries, and I noticed how they caught in Rose's hair.

She looked up at me with her crystal blue eyes and fluttered her dark eyelashes.

"So what are we going to do today?" She asked, bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet in anticipation.

"Well, before we go do something fun..." I trailed off, leaving a confused expression cross Rose's adorable features.

I fished in my pocket for the note I had written last night. I grabbed hold of a sharp corner and tugged it out.

"Here you are," I said, presenting the 'Secret Admirer' note to Rose.

Her eyes widened and a flash of guilt and sorrow flashed across her face before it was covered with excitement.

Her thin, delicate, nimble fingers, pried open the note, and she read it aloud, vague lines of water appearing in her eyes.

"Although you may think of me as just a friend, I will be there for you when a shoulder is needed to cry on; And when silence is too much to bear, and a laugh is needed to break it."

Rose lifted up her fogging lenses and wiped them on her scarlet scarf while she rubbed her eyes on the back of her hand.

She sniffled, and stuffed the letter in her jumper pocket.

"So. The fun stuff?" She questioned. I smiled, took her gloved hand, and dragged her down to the small shack in the back.

I was in and out of the shack in a matter of seconds. Going in empty handed, and exiting with my CleanSweep1000.

"It may not be a beauty," I said to Rose, "But it sure can SWEEP the ladies off their feet," I said with a wink. "Geddit?"

Her giggle rang like a pleasant wind chime in my ear, and I commanded my broom, "Up!"

She looked in awe at the broomstick and shot me a smile that could blind you, sunglasses, or not.

I climbed onto the broomstick and Rose stood in the grass, waiting for me to take off.

It was unbearably cute, how she was perfectly content by just watching me fly.

Unfortunately, I had other ideas.

"Arms open wide!" I said, and hoisted her up behind me. She shook violently from nerves and scooted closer to me on the broom.

"You may want to hold on," I warned.

"Nah, I can handle this, Fred," she said, waving her hand at me like it was no big deal.

"Alright... well here we goooooo!" I rocketed off of the grass, and I felt her arms quickly wrap around my waist very tightly.

Once we were high up above the Burrow, I turned slightly to try and face Rose who was buried into my back and said, "What made you change your mind, love?"

"Fred! You d-don't just take off at full speed with someone very very new t-to this experience!" She sputtered out.

I gave an exaggerated gasp, "You've never flown before?"

I could feel her head shake 'no' in my back.

Well then, I guess I'll just have to show Rosie Posie a few tricks.

I started with a head dive towards the ground, sending Rose screaming for her life on the way down. Not only her arms but her legs too, were now wrapped around me.

A grin spread across my face.

I took her for loop - de - loops, corkscrews, backwards, sideways, and was now on my finale, upside down.

At this point, Rose was stuck on so close to me, I wasn't sure if she'd come off completely if you managed to peel her off of me.

I gripped the wood tight, and made my body rigid.

"And we're off!" I yelled in the air as we soared upside down, screaming in joy at the skies of white, dead, grass, and the floors of soft, snowing, clouds.

Rose had peeked under my arm after releasing herself slightly from her leech - like grip on me.

She grinned wildly, and cheered and whooped along with me, our shouts getting carried away by the rising snow.

The blood was beginning to rush to my head, so I turned right side up ever so slowly and touched the ground with my feet, dismantling my broomstick.

I grabbed Rose's waist and carried her down from my broom and set her down gently on the snow.

My hands lingered on her middle for a little longer than they should have, and I pulled away quickly, attempting to brush my hair out of my face.

Rose's hands suddenly reached up and took hold of my wrists, preventing me from messing with my hair.

"Don't touch it, I like it right now," she tittered, and brushed my hands and a few strands of my hair from my face.

"I like your hair too, right now," I replied truthfully, her windswept chocolate hair curled slightly on the ends near her ears and neck.

"My hair? How could anyone like MY hair!?" She exclaimed, throwing her hands towards the sky.

"It's always a mess!"

"An adorable mess."

"It curls in random places, I can't ever get it to lie where I want it to..."

"It's... Free-willed."

"It's in the most horrifying haircut - I look like a boy!"

"It's ridiculously cute Rose, stop it!" I said, shaking her shoulders softly.

"It. Is. Not. Cute," she growled, spitting out the word 'cute' and  trying to be menacing. Her angry face was even cuter.

I sighed and shook my head playfully.

"Your hair is fantastic, Fred. It's not fair! Like right now, it's sticking out perfectly from under your cap, in all the right places. Guys don't care about hair, so why is yours so perfect!?" She yelled, stomping her little foot into the crunching snow.

"It's not as perfect as this!" I said, leaning down.

"Wha- OH! Fred!"

I had picked up Rose and placed her on my shoulders. She screamed, half terrified, half exhilarated.

She wrapped her legs around my middle and I held her legs as I ran across the yard at full speed. She threw her arms in the air and cheered.

I laughed as she hollered out into the snow, "Fred Weasley is the BEST!"

Merry Christmas Eve to you too, Rose.