"Fred! Get in here!"

Fred and his brother George came thundering down the stairs. "What, not calling us both this time, Mum?" George asked in confusion. In all his years, he had always been in trouble with his twin brother.

Molly stood in the kitchen hands on hips and an angry look on her face. "George, for once, you're the one who has done nothing wrong, and your brother can take all the credit for this one."

"What did he do?" George asked as he pulled out a chair from the table and sat himself down with a high look of interest on his face.

"Your brother spent the night last night at the guesthouse. With Helen."

"Well Mum, it's not really the guesthouse anymore," Fred contorted. "We sold it to her."

"You sold it to her," Molly snapped back with a finger pointed in his direction.

"Good point, Mum," George put in. Both Fred and Molly turned to him. "Shut up." Molly continued, saying, "I discovered your brother and Helen lying naked together in the living room this morning when I went over to offer Helen some fresh eggs from the chickens."

Fred was all of a sudden cautious and confused. "When? We didn't see-"

"YOU were still asleep."

"Oh."

Arthur was sitting opposite George and listening very intently. Clearly he was taken of a different opinion on the matter, but thought it wise to let Molly exhaust her ire before stepping in to even things out.

"What are you thinking Fred? Something like this could ruin your life!"

"She's not ruining my life!" Fred yelled back. "She's enhanced it! Before I met Helen, it was just me and George all the time. Brotherly love is all well and good, but it can't replace true love."

Molly let out an exasperated sigh. "You're sixteen! You don't know what true love is!"

"Try me!"

"Oh! Be my guest!"

Fred took a breath, sorting is thoughts into something concrete he could say. Something that would do the way he felt for Helen justice. "I don't just fancy her. What I feel is a need to be with her, all the time. She is my match in every way I can think of and I can think of nothing about her I don't like."

"Like, hm…I bet you like that bank account of hers."

"This has nothing to do with the money. She's the love of my life, and when you love someone like this you show them, emotionally and physically."

"Fred Weasley-!" Molly was getting blushed in the face and clearly ready to completely lay into her son when Arthur stood and interrupted.

"Molly, dear. Let's listen. Hear your son out." At his father's nod, Fred continued.

"I can't imagine a life without her. We have a connection that I can't explain. That's why, when she turns seventeen, I'm going to marry her."

"Fred!" Molly shrieked his name loud enough to bring the other Weasley children running down the stairs, since this was clearly about something more serious than the usual mischief.

"And there's nothing you can do about that."

"You just watch," Molly scoffed. But Arthur placed a hand on her shoulder. "Molly, he's right."

"Arthur," she rounded on her husband. "What are you saying? You agree with this?"

Arthur shrugged. "No, but he's right. They will both be adults the day she turns seventeen and have the right to engage into a marriage if they so choose. It's out of our hands."

"But he's our son!"

"And he's grown to be a fine young man. There's nothing we can do but support him and his decision. Besides," he smiled, "she's a lovely girl. You liked her well enough before this morning, dear. Even said she was like another daughter."

"But…but…oh!" Molly headed for the stairs ad shooed her other children away as she stormed up after them. Molly Weasley had lost this battle. George clapped his brother on the shoulder before going up the winding case as well, leaving Fred and their father to talk.

"Son, there are some things I would like to tell you."

"You won't change my mind any more than she can."

"I know," Arthur said as he pulled out another chair at the table beside where George had been sitting. "But there are still things I think you should hear, things about being married that would do you good. If this is what you want, then it's what I want, and I want to make sure you get the best start you can, okay?" Arthur sat and looked up at his son expectantly.

Fred took the empty seat. "Okay."