Everything Changes // Fred Weasley

chapter 18: a proper magical christmas

The twins and I were instructed to assemble the tables in the yard for dinner since their kitchen table wasn't going to fit all of the extra guests. Both of the boys reluctantly agreed and started putting their winter gear on to head outside. I looked out the window, double checking that it was still winter.

It was, and it seemed to be snowing a bit as well.

"It's freezing outside." I whispered to Fred, feeling as though I was stating the obvious. I wearily grabbed my coat off the hook and laced up my boots, keeping my eyes on the snow gently falling down outside.

"Yeah?" He responded as he pulled his hat over his head. He didn't understand the concern in my voice. How were we supposed to eat dinner outside without catching pneumonia? Maybe wizards and witches were immune to infectious diseases like that, but I didn't think I needed to remind Fred that I wasn't a witch. I could catch pneumonia. And frostbite. And in less extreme cases, the common cold.

"We're eating supper outside?" I asked, trudging out the door with the boys. "In the snow?"

Fred and George both smiled and looked at each other, "Muggles." They said before heading out into the cold, leaving me to stand alone in front of the back door, still concerned as to how we wouldn't all catch frostbite during supper. I started heading the direction that the boys had gone, following their footprints once I lost sight of them, eventually leading to an old shed behind their house. I found Fred and George pulling a box out from under the shelf. It seemed to be pretty heavy, as both of them were pulling but the box was barely budging.

"Need some help?" I asked, walking over towards the two of them.

"Thank Merlin you're here Gem." Fred said, stepping away from the box.

"We desperately need your help." George added, "This box is far too heavy for the both of us."

I crossed my arms and looked back and forth between the two, trying to figure out if this was some sort of trick that they were trying to pull on me, or if they genuinely needed my help. They were strong, far stronger than I was. It didn't make sense that I would possess the final amount of strength needed to pull the box out from under the shelf.

I decided, against my better judgement, to trust the two and I bent down to pull out the box with them. Fred and George counted to three, and on three I pulled as hard as I could, which sent me flying back against the shed wall.

It took me a moment to realize what had happened that caused me to be in that position.

The two had pretended to be struggling with pulling the box out, and once I started to help, they stepped aside, leaving me to pull myself and the empty box back against the wall.

Both of the twins stood there laughing for a few seconds before they both reached out their arms to help me up.

"You two are total gits." I said, wiping the dirt off of my pants from the shed floor.

"We couldn't help ourselves." George said, reaching for a box on the top shelf.

"It was just too easy." Fred responded while he was pulling out a folded table from the corner of the shed. "Can you grab the other end?"

"Are you gonna prank me again?" I asked, walking over to the table and grabbing the other end. I figured that I was safe, they wouldn't prank me twice in one minute.

"Never." Fred said with a wink.

We carried the table out together to the open field that was still coated in over a foot of snow.

"Seriously Fred, how are we gonna eat dinner out here? I'm freezing and I still have all of my winter clothes on."

"George is grabbing the tent. It's enchanted to trap heat in, so we can eat outside. Mum figured it out once Ron and Ginny were old enough to sit at the table with us and we ran out of room in the house. We don't use it much anymore though, since Bill and Charlie- and now I guess Percy, don't really make it home for dinner very often."