Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot!
Fred nudged his twin, wakening him from a light doze, and gestured around the backyard. The sight that greeted their sweeping gazes was profoundly depressing. The entirety of the Weasley clan had been gathered, even Bill and Charlie were home for a week, and not one of them could think of a single thing to do. Harry and Hermione sat with Ginny and Ron by the edge of the lake, their feet dipping in the water, and sighs could be heard to emanate from their direction every so often. Molly and Arthur were a few feet away under the shade of a tree, seated on lawn chairs, and their faces were glazed with boredom. Charlie and Bill lay on the grass at their parents' feet, staring up at the clouds as if looking for inspiration. It was just one of those days were there seemed to be nothing in the world to do, despite the amount of chores that could be completed should they wander back in to the house. But really, who wanted to do chores on a summer day so nice as this?
And so it was left up to the twins to find something to do. Fred and George gave each other a long intense look, a million suggestions being put forth and dismissed without a word being said. They were, of course, twins, and therefore had no need of words to do their communicating. Fireworks were best left for nighttime. Hide and seek took much too much effort. Swimming was out as the giant squid from school was visiting the fish in their pond, as it had developed a habit of doing. Only Harry, Hermione, and Bill had enough money for a trip to Diagon alley. Not everyone would be interested in quidditch. Just as it was looking hopeless for them to find a way to satisfy everyone at once the idea popped up in both their minds at once and their began to laugh their very special twin laugh.
"Of course!" George exclaimed.
"When faced with complete and utter boredom," Fred announced.
"You fall back on that very old failsafe," George continued.
"Karaoke!" they cried out together, laughing as they patted each other on the back for a well thought out plan. They both chose to ignore the fact that it was a crackpot spur-of-the-moment idea instead of an actual plan. The four by the lake looked over their shoulders, interest sparking in their eyes. Arthur gave a snort as he was woken from a fitful doze, Molly doing much the same in a daintier kind of way. Bill and Charlie raised their heads from the grass, smiles spreading on their faces.
"I assume you'll be going first?" Hermione called over, a lighthearted challenge in her voice. Fred felt his heart give a small flutter when their eyes connected but he covered it with a quick, slightly maniacal grin, his chest puffing out proudly.
"But of course. I know you're just dying of anticipation to hear our manly warbling, aren't you?" He answered. George threw his head back and gave a deliberately off-key run through of his scales, making Ginny wince. Suddenly very enthusiastic about the idea of doing karaoke with her children, Molly announced that she had an old enchanted microphone somewhere. She fought to escape from her lawn chair – which seemed determined to keep her within its comfortable confines – and then scuttled off towards the cluttered shed by the back of the house.
The four lake dwellers all drew closer to the bench the twins sat upon. Charlie and Bill helped their father escape his chair before the three of them also joined the small group. Arthur conjured up more chairs, ones that wouldn't try to eat their occupants, and he laid out a small red blanket as a kind of impromptu stage. Hermione worked a complicated conjuring charm and created a small popcorn machine out of thin air. She explained to the wizarding family how it worked and, delighted, they all scrambled to grab a bag of their own. Bill fetched a few jugs of pumpkin juice from the kitchen. As soon as they had all settled themselves and become comfortable Molly came bustling out of the shed, microphone clutched triumphantly in her hands. She set it up on its stand at the edge of the red blanket, and then she warily eyed her new chair before sitting down.
As promised, Fred and George bounded up in front of the group to go first. They stood there for a few moments trying to think of something to sing, not having thought this far ahead. After a short discussion they tapped the microphone, causing it to exude a fun tune that sounded suspiciously like fiddles. Then, to the amusement of everyone watching, they proceeded to sing a song about riding on donkeys! It was jaunty and fun, and had everyone laughing. It went without saying that it was the perfect song to start off with. When their song was done, George acting as the backup and Fred having sung the main verses, the two of them grinned maliciously at Ron, declaring him to be next.
Fortunately for him the youngest brother already had a song picked out to sing. With a giant grin on his face he tapped the microphone and sang a song entitled Patricia The Stripper. Molly's cheeks were flaming by the end; even as she laughed so hard she had to hold on to her sides. She seemed caught between scolding her boy for singing something so inappropriate and congratulating him on entertaining them all so much. Ron chose Bill to go next.
The curse breaker and oldest sibling in the Weasley family also knew straight away what song he would sing. He told them it was 'a little something' that he had picked up while he was visiting a friend in America. Funnily enough, it was a British song. It had the whole group laughing so hard they had tears in their eyes, and it only made them laugh harder when Molly scolded him for singing the word 'shit'. He ignored her, continuing to sing with abandon, his voice cracking horribly. That only made it better, though, so he continued, even gesturing with his arms like he was performing to a true audience.
Slightly out of breath at the end, Bill pointed happily at his father to take the next turn. The tired Arthur shuffled over to take his place at the microphone, looking a little awkward as he realized he hadn't a clue what to sing. He flustered about for a few minutes as he racked his brain for a song he could remember all the lyrics for. He didn't know any current songs, but eventually he flushed as he remembered one. He cleared his throat a few times – eight – before warbling his way through an adorably off-key rendition of Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours. As he sang the words of his old-fashioned love song Fred couldn't help looking beside him to where Hermione was sitting. Just as he glanced over so did she and the two of them locked eyes.
Fred offered the bushy haired girl a shy smile and after a moment's hesitation she smiled back. A weight that he hadn't even known was there lifted from Fred's shoulder, knowing in just that smile that she had forgiven him for the fight they'd had yesterday. The two of them had been dating for a good eight months now, and Fred wanted to shout it to the world. Hermione, however, was still a little apprehensive about the reactions of those who were dearest to her. Fred hadn't really taken the news that they still had to keep it a secret too well, and they had both gotten a bit heated during their discussion. Surreptitiously, he reached over and gave her small hand a reassuring squeeze, letting her know that he was sorry. Her smile grew bigger. Then Fred took his hand back as his father finished singing, a little red in the face from the effort.
When he laughingly told his wife it was her turn next she and Ginny rose together, having decided after a protracted conversation of whispers that they would sing duet style. Smiling grandly they both brought their hands up for a clapping beat, then they burst in to song about numbers and obsessions with cowboys. It was upbeat and fun and everyone smiled when the two women even made lame attempts at line dancing as they sang. They stopped that, however, when they crashed in to each other and had to pause their song to untangle themselves from each other. They finished looking a little embarrassed, and then they called upon Charlie.
Of course, Charlie being almost as rambunctious as the twins, absolutely had to come up with a song that would just top everything everyone else had done so far. He'd been thinking about his song ever since he'd sat down and was definitely ready to go when they asked him to. He cleared his throat and took a moment to place himself just so in front of the microphone. He tapped the object, loud music straight away filling their ears, and he sang them a song that seemed to be centered on peeing while in the shower. Oddly enough, they all enjoyed it thoroughly, laughing when he started doing an awkward kind of dancing, pretending he was a rock star singing for his rabid fans. They even played along, yelling their encouragement and clapping their hands.
When he was done he bowed grandiosely to them as if it had been the best performance ever. Ginny was quick to deflate his ego by cheerfully informing him that he needed voice lessons if ever he were to seriously consider a career in singing. It didn't seem as fun to him after that comment, and he was somewhat surly as he grunted that Harry should come take his turn now. The Boy-Who-Lived hated the spotlight, and he knew that he wasn't going to be able to sing such wild song as all of the Weasley brothers had, but he did want something with a fun beat and a funny little message. After a short period of shyly stuttering that this wasn't going to come out very good his voice rose with the lyrics of Joel Plaskett, singing about going nowhere. He managed to give Ginny a wink, making her giggle, because she knew he was singing to her.
When his song was done he stood there for a moment, unsure what to do, then he quickly resumed his seat. They all sat there awkwardly, looking around at each other in confusion.
"Has everybody gone then? Should I take another go?" George asked no one in particular. The question hung there for a while, and he was just about to get up and grace them with his 'manly warbles' for a second time when a small voice spoke up from the back of the group of chairs.
"I haven't gone," Hermione offered, her hand raised timidly. George's grin grew ferocious as he bounded over to her seat and took her hand to drag her up, declaring that she absolutely must sing, and that he was sure her voice was 'smooth as honey and graceful as an eel'. She eyed him funnily for that comment but he was unconcerned as always, going back to his seat with a calm look. Fred watched his girlfriend as she shyly stood there, fidgeting with her clothes, delaying her embarrassment as long as she could. As he looked in to her eyes, he decided that if she wanted to keep them a secret, he could do that for her.
He was startled when, just as he'd come to that decision, she sighed and looked right at him. With a determined look in her eyes she walked away from the microphone and offered him her hand. Curiously, he took it. She pulled him out of his chair and back over to the fake stage with her. He looked over at George, shrugging to show that he was just as confused as the rest of them, then Hermione caught his attention again by clearing her throat. She put one of his hands on her waist and put one of her hands in his other one. He blinked, realizing that she meant them to waltz. He complied, the curiosity in his chest almost threatening to kill him. Then the music started a slow sweet melody and she began to sing just as sweetly as the danced upon the grass of his backyard.
I never gone with the wind
Just let it flow
Let it take me where it wants to go
Till you open the door, there's so much more
I never seen it beforeI was trying to fly but I couldn't find wings
But you came along and you changed everything
You lift my feet off the ground
You spin me around
You make me crazier, crazier
Feels like I'm falling and I
I'm lost in your eyes
You make me crazier, crazier, crazier
Hermione smiled up at him, but he could do naught by stare back down at her, his feet still moving to the beat of a romantic waltz. He could feel the stares of his entire family, all of them obviously wondering what exactly was going on. He had no answers though. This was all Hermione, and they both knew it. So as she picked up the second verse her voice soared higher, filling Fred's being with a warmth that spread from his head to his toes.
I watched from a distance as you made life your own
Every sky was your own kind of blue
And I wanted to know how that would feel
And you made it so real
You showed me something that I couldn't see
Opened my eyes and you made me believe
You lift my feet off the ground
You spin me around
You make me crazier, crazier
Feels like I'm falling and I
I'm lost in your eyes
You make me crazier, crazier, crazier
Oh
Baby you showed me what living is for
I don't want to hide anymore
It was of course typically dramatic that their dance slowed in time with her much too significant words, and Fred felt his heartbeat all but stop within his chest, his eyes widening. The love of his life stepped back from his embrace and took his hands in hers, looking him in the eye as she sang the ending of her song just for him, letting him know just how he made her feel using someone else's words because she'd never been able to find her own.
You lift my feet off the ground
You spin me around
You make me crazier, crazier
Feels like I'm falling and I
I'm lost in your eyes
You make me crazier, crazier, crazier
Crazier, crazier
As the last words died on her lips, Hermione very slowly raised herself up on to her tiptoes and bestowed a single soft kiss on Fred's very shocked mouth. She lowered herself back down, looking up at him with a hundred emotions swimming in her eyes. It took a few minutes for him to react. His brain had stopped all functioning when he realized that she had just told everyone about them. For him. She'd done it for him. Finally caught up, Fred burst in to laughter and swept Hermione up in to his arms, twirling her about in the air. His laugh boomed off the sky as he kissed every available inch of her face, making her giggle in response.
"I love you so much, do you know that?" he exclaimed in joy. She smiled at him warmly.
"As a matter of fact, I did know that," she replied cheekily. "But it's always nice to hear you say it again." He laughed again and spun her around one more time. When he set her back down on her feet he remembered that they were being watched. When he looked over, his siblings all looked shell shocked, Arthur looked confused, Molly looked like she was on the verge of a breakdown, and Harry was just calm like Harry always was. Not much could ruffle his feathers anymore, unless you put him in the spotlight of course. That had always been his weakness.
"Mother dearest I'd like you to meet my girlfriend," Fred announced with aplomb, "I'm pretty sure you've met her once or twice. She's a nice bird, real smart with a sharp sense of humor. She bakes a mean pie and if I do say so she's quite the little fox in bed."
"Fred Weasley! You'll be on the couch for a week if you keep on with that!" She shouted, looking slightly scandalized. Molly choked on her own tongue and Ron's left eye was twitched severely. Fred only gave her a quirked eyebrow and a huge grin.
"What are you gunna do, vanish my bed and kick me out of my own room?" he shot back cheekily. She gave him a sweet little smile, the same one she used to give him when she was scolding him back in Hogwarts.
"Try me," she challenged him calmly. He considered that.
"Ah, no darling, I think I'll shut up now actually," he deferred wisely. She giggled then and threw her arms about his neck, crashing their lips together.
"Oh Fred, I do love you, you know," she declared, somehow to the further astonishment of those watching. With that, Molly Weasley burst in to tears. They couldn't make out much of what she was saying through her loud wails, but when the word wedding popped out Fred and Hermione began to look at each other speculatively. Molly only cried harder and suddenly they heard her mention grandchildren. Fred bolted.
For those who are interested in knowing, here are the songs I had in mind for them to be singing:
Fred and George's song: Donkey Riding - Great Big Sea
Ron's Song: Patricia The Stripper - Chris DeBurgh
Bill's Song: Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life - Monty Python (Soundtrack of The Life of Brian)
Arthur's Song: Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours - Stevie Wonder
Molly and Ginny's Song: 5,6,7,8 - The Steps
Charlie's Song: Pee In The Shower - Guttermouth
Harry's Song: Can I Go Nowhere With You - Joel Plaskett
Hermione's Song: Crazier - Taylor Swift
Most of these are actually pretty funny songs, and they never fail to brighten my day. Hint, hint. This is me trying to convince you to go listen to them!