"It's hard to pretend you love someone when you don't, but it's harder to pretend you don't love someone when your really do." -Anonymous
"I thought we promised no girls," Fred joked. He elbowed George in the ribs as they walked out to the field behind the Burrow where they usually played Quidditch. Today, it was just going to be the two of them tossing around the Quaffle for a little bit of fun and practice.
George gave a small smile and an eye roll. "That was ten years ago, Fred. We were six. Honestly, it was a silly promise. You seemed to forget all about it in January when you liked Angelina."
Fred rubbed the back of his neck. It was still weird to think about that. "Yeah, but since it ended the way it did I want to stick to that promise we made. I don't care if we were six years old when we made it."
"We're friends with plenty of girls at school," George said. "Doesn't that violate the promise?"
"No," Fred shrugged. "Only if we get too involved with them."
"I see," George laughed. "Anyway, the promise was silly."
"Maybe it was," Fred said with a small shrug. George did have a point. They had both sort of forgotten about the promise as they grew up and Fred had liked a fair amount of girls over the past few years, but it had never gone anywhere. Not because of the promise, either, but just because it hadn't worked out. Nothing had gotten too confusing or complicated either. Things had just fizzled out. Except for with Angelina. He had really liked her last year, and George and Lee had told him she definitely liked him back, and Fred even thought so himself. Then, she went and started dating another boy in the year above them. Fred didn't even know who it was. The relationship had been kept secret for some reason. Nonetheless, Fred had no interest in finding out. He hadn't then and he didn't now. All he knew was that he had been crushed and embarrassed. He had come to the conclusion that girls really did complicate everything.
Then, just the day before, George had gotten his first real girlfriend, and Fred didn't know how to feel about it. He was happy of course, but he couldn't help but feel that he and George were going to grow slightly apart and he didn't want that. Maybe he was also slightly jealous that George was in a relationship and seemed to be happy, even though he had only been dating Katie Bell for twenty four hours. That's why he felt the need to bring up the promise again. It was a stupid and somewhat selfish attempt to make sure he still had his brother to himself.
"Fred," George said, stopping in his tracks and turning to face his brother. Fred knew that George knew what he was thinking. Being able to almost always know what the other was thinking and feeling could be both a curse and a blessing for them.
"What?" Fred said innocently.
"I know what you're thinking. It doesn't really have to do with that promise, and all I can say is don't worry about it. We're still going to be as close as ever. Nothing's going to change. I promise."
"Okay," Fred nodded. "I believe you." He really did. George was the person he trusted the most and he knew he wouldn't do anything that was going to hurt him or make him upset.
"Good," George said as they continued walking. "You know, you could have a girlfriend, too if you'd just stop being so scared that they're going to complicate your life beyond belief."
Fred laughed. "They do, though!" He shrugged. "I don't know. There aren't any girls I like at the moment."
"Why don't you ask Kenna out?" George asked, nudging Fred.
"Not you too," Fred groaned.
"I know everyone's been on you about what a good couple you two would make; trust me, I'll be she's hearing it from her friends as well, but it's true. You would be cute together."
"McKenna and I are just fine as friends," Fred said with a sniff.
"Didn't she tell you not to use her full name?" George joked, adjusting the Quaffle against his hip to keep it from falling.
"She's not here, is she?" Fred asked with a smirk.
"Valid point," George agreed, "but you'll be seeing her when we go back to school next week."
"Don't remind me," Fred groaned. "About school, I mean."
"Don't you want to see Kenna, though?" George teased, making a kissy face.
"Shut it, George. I do want to see her, but because she's my friend. Our friend. That's all she is to me. Liking her would be like liking Ginny."
"But she's not Ginny," George argued. "She has no relation to you whatsoever, so you could date her no problem."
"I'm aware," Fred mumbled.
"You know I'm only trying to annoy you," George said with a laugh. "But I do think you would look cute together."
"Yeah, you and the rest of the world," Fred answered. "Plus, it's too soon after Angelina."
"The Angelina thing happened in January. It's been, what, seven months? You told me you were over it. You guys are okay now and she even broke up with him anyway. That other relationship she had lasted what, a month?"
Fred shrugged. "Yeah, something like that, and I am over it, but I don't want it to happen again."
"You never told Kenna about Angelina, did you?"
Fred shook his head. "You know I made you, Lee and even Angelina promise to stay quiet. Why do you ask?"
"I'm just wondering," George shrugged. "Girls really aren't that bad, you know. You remember what it was like when you liked Angelina, don't you? I mean, really liked her?"
Fred hesitated. George had a point. "Yeah, I guess you're right, but I hate it when you are."
George only laughed and shrugged, but he dropped the subject, which Fred appreciated. They reached the field and mounted their brooms before taking off into the air. They flew around the field a few times and Fred's weird mood completely dissipated as he maneuvered his broom through the air.
"Want to play a quick game?" he called to George.
"Sure," George agreed.
"Ready to get your butt kicked?" Fred asked as George tossed the Quaffle in the air a few times.
"The only thing I'm ready to do is a victory dance when you lose." George smirked before tossing the Quaffle at Fred, who caught it against his chest, more than ready for their modified, two-player game of Quidditch.
For goals, they used the trees at opposite ends of the field. Each tree conveniently branched off halfway up the trunk, making them look like large letter Y's. Those trees had been really handy and mainly the reason why this field had been made the Weasley's own personal Quidditch field.
Fred and George played for what must have been an hour or two. It was a close game. Fred had even come close to falling off his broom trying to prevent George from making a goal. He had slipped sideways and had ended up dangling upside down and clinging to the broom like some kind of monkey. In the end, he had won the game, though and he was pretty proud of himself.
"If only I hadn't hesitated when you almost fell," George complained as they reached the ground again. He smiled and shook his head.
"I appreciate your concern, though. And look at it this way: now I know you love me."
"That doesn't prove anything," George answered, poking Fred in the chest.
"I think it does." Fred answered his brother in a sing-song voice before doing an odd little dance to the broom shed in order to escape George's attempt to smack him upside the head.
McKenna Collins jogged ahead of her parents and younger brother, trailing her trunk behind her and stretching her neck to see above the crowd of people on Platform 9 ¾.
"Slow down, McKenna," her mother said with a laugh. "The twins are around here somewhere. You'll see them eventually."
"Eventually isn't good enough," McKenna called over her shoulder as she continued to jog down the platform. Finally, she saw two familiar redheads standing not too far away and with their backs to her. With a giggle, she deserted her trunk and ran towards them, jumping onto the back of the nearest one, wrapping her legs around his stomach and her arms around his neck. "Guess who?" she giggled into his ear as he grabbed onto her legs to support her.
"Not until you guess which twin I am," he answered. "I doubt you could tell from behind. No one's that good."
McKenna reached forward and grabbed his chin, turning his face towards her as she leaned over his shoulder. Her dark blue eyes met his light blue ones before she continued to scan the rest of his face. She felt her stomach flutter faintly, but she ignored it. She didn't want to think about what that could possibly mean. "Fred," she answered, a proud smile spreading over her lips.
"Hm," Fred answered, looking defeated.
"You didn't think I would get it?" McKenna asked. "We've been in the same classes since we were eleven and friends since we were thirteen."
"I knew you would get it, but that was quick," Fred answered as McKenna slid from his back. "How long was it, George?"
George looked down at his watch. "Four seconds," he answered. "I for one don't think it was that quick at all. You should have been able to tell in at least one second or less, Kenna. I'm disappointed in you."
"I'm so very sorry," she answered with a laugh and a roll of her eyes. "How are you, George?" she asked as she hugged him. "I heard from Angelina all about you and Katie. I haven't seen her since you two started dating, so I'll ask you: how's it going?"
"Great," George answered.
"That's all I get? One word?"
"If you want details, go talk to Katie."
"Oh, I will," McKenna said, squinting at George. She turned back to Fred. "And what about you, Fred?"
"What about me?" he asked.
"Have you met any girls lately? Anyone you're interested in?"
"No," Fred said, shaking his head and shrugging. McKenna noticed George send Fred a look, almost a smirk. She vaguely wondered why, but decided not to say anything and instead pushed the thought to the back of her mind.
"He's keeping his promise," George joked.
"What promise?" McKenna asked.
"We made a promise when we were six to never get too involved with girls because they made life more complicated," Fred mumbled. "It was stupid."
"It does sound stupid," McKenna scoffed.
"Hey!" Fred said, nudging her.
"Well, you just said yourself that it was stupid," she argued.
"Yeah, but you weren't supposed to agree. Plus, there's some truth to what I said. Girls do make life more complicated a lot of the time."
"Oh, and boys don't?" McKenna argued, putting her hands on her hips and narrowing her eyes.
"No," Fred and George answered at once.
McKenna rolled her eyes, but before she got a chance to say anything else, Fred grabbed her arm. "Guess what? Bill and Charlie are here. They were around for the summer because of the Quidditch World Cup."
"Yeah, you have to tell me about that. You didn't say much in your letter, and you of course know I read the paper. The Dark Mark and those Death Eaters…" she trailed off and shook her head.
"Yeah, the match itself was great, but the rest wasn't so great. We'll tell you more on the train, but right now, come meet Bill and Charlie. You've never met them."
McKenna said hello to Fred and George's parents before the twins introduced her to their two older brothers, her parents and little brother, Cody appeared.
"You left your trunk back there," Cody huffed. "And I had to bring it to you in addition to mine." Cody was fifteen and while he and McKenna usually got along great, they always seemed to be doing little things that got on each other's nerves.
"Suck it up," she answered, giving him a punch in the arm. He sent her a look so she rolled her eyes and took the handle of her trunk from him.
"You should be getting on the train," Mrs. Weasley said. "It'll be leaving soon."
There was a moment of craziness as goodbyes were said and trunks were picked up again. McKenna hugged her parents before going to stand beside Fred and George, who were saying goodbye to Charlie. "I expect I'll be seeing you sooner than you think," he was saying.
"Why?" Fred asked curiously.
"Ah, I can't say," Charlie said, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet and sticking his hands in his pockets.
"You can't do that!" Fred complained. "You can't drop hints about something and then not tell us!"
"Does this have to do with what Percy was bragging about?" George asked.
"Maybe," Bill said, "but I do know it makes me wish I was back at Hogwarts this year."
"Why, what's happening at Hogwarts?" Ron chimed in. The conversation had gotten everyone's attention now, even McKenna's. She stood between the twins trying to figure out what their brothers were talking about.
"You'll find out soon enough," Mrs. Weasley said, ushering them towards the train. "Tonight, I expect," she added.
"Tell us," George said impatiently, but Mrs. Weasley just shook her head and ushered them forward further. McKenna, Fred and George were the last ones to board the train and Fred stuck his head out the window as it started to move.
"Tell us what's happening at Hogwarts!" he yelled, but everyone just continued to wave goodbye as if they hadn't heard him. "Gits," he muttered, pulling his head back inside.
"What was Percy bragging about?" McKenna asked, reaching up to fix a piece of Fred's hair that had been messed up by the window. The others had gone on to find seats, leaving Fred, George and McKenna on their own.
"He kept letting on that he knew something, but then he would make a big show of saying that it was confidential information," Fred answered.
"I don't see why they couldn't just tell us," McKenna wondered aloud, leading the way down the train to find seats. "I mean, if we're finding out tonight anyway…" she shrugged and trailed off.
"Exactly, but it's probably some huge secret that only 'adults' can know about," George said, crinkling his nose. "Honestly, we're going to be of age soon."
"McKenna will be before us," Fred said, playfully jabbing his finger into her shoulder blade. "In fact, it's coming up really soon."
"October 3rd," she said, glancing into compartments as she tried to find an empty one.
"She's such an old lady," Fred whispered to George, trying to poke McKenna's shoulder again.
McKenna whipped around grabbed his wrist. "I heard that, and for your information, me being older means I'll get to legally use magic whenever I want before you two can."
"But you'll also get wrinkly first. You'll be a wrinkled prune while George and I still look young and handsome."
"Ha ha, you are too funny," McKenna said sarcastically. "You are only five months younger, so your wrinkles won't be too far behind."
Fred crinkled his nose at her and pulled his wrist free before turning to the compartment on the left. "Come on, Lee's in here with Katie, Alicia and Angelina. Let's go join them, shall we? I know George wants to."
"I'm not going to deny it," George shrugged. McKenna rolled her eyes and followed the twins into the compartment.
Lee and Angelina were sitting side by side with Katie across from them. All three of them looked up when McKenna, Fred and George entered. Fred and Angelina made eye contact and smiled a little shyly at each other. Things really were back to the way they had been between them, but sometimes they did feel a little awkward and shy around each other.
"Well?" Lee said at once, skipping over any and all formal greetings.
"Well what?" Fred and George asked innocently as he and Fred put their trunks on the overhead racks.
"The Quidditch World Cup?" Angelina said, leaning forward.
"Oh, that," George said as if he had forgotten all about the World Cup. His smirk said otherwise, though. He plopped down next to Katie and threw his arm around his shoulder before kissing her cheek.
McKenna hoisted her trunk onto an overhead rack before sitting down next to Angelina. Fred sat across from her, next to George.
"So, what was it like?" Lee prodded.
"It was fantastic," Fred and George said together. "Ireland won," Fred continued, "but Krum caught the Snitch, and-,"
"We know that part," Lee said, "but what we really want to hear about is the actual match and what it was like to watch, plus more about what happened after. It's completely mental, really."
McKenna stared across the compartment at the twins. She had been so nervous when she saw the paper the day after the match that she had written to the twins immediately to make sure they were okay.
George nodded. "It was scary trying to get into the woods to hide, but once Ginny, Fred and I got far enough in to be away from it all, it was fine. The only thing was that we had lost track of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. We were all supposed to be sticking together-,"
"—while dad, Bill, Charlie and Percy dealt with the whole situation," Fred continued, "but it was really chaotic. Everyone was panicking and trying to get away."
"But what do you think the Dark Mark means?" Angelina asked nervously.
"Nobody really knows," Fred shrugged.
"Well, do you know who sent it up?" McKenna asked. "The paper didn't say, but you were there."
Fred shook his head again. "Apparently, Barty Crouch's house elf was found with Harry's wand in her hand, but I don't think anyone really believes she did it. Barty Crouch freed her, though. He was embarrassed that his own house elf would even be linked to something like that."
"That's horrible," McKenna said.
"Of course that didn't make the papers," Lee piped up.
"Crouch probably wanted to keep it quiet. He didn't want to embarrass himself further," Katie said.
Everyone nodded and there were a few minutes of silence until Lee spoke up again. "Enough of the depressing news; tell us about the actual match."
"Gladly," Fred and George said together.
A/N: Don't forget to review! Seriously, it only takes a second and I love knowing what people think, especially since I'm not sure how I feel about this story yet so don't be afraid to review even if it's short!