Hi lovely readers! I had a day off, so imanaged to get this chapter ready for you as quick as I could! It is a little on the fluffy side. If it's too fluffy, let me know and I'll edit it. Another shout out and thank you to ClearasDarkness for the review! I promise I don't bite, so please let me know what you think.

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The three Broomsticks was so packed there wasn't a free chair in the whole pub. Erin, Fred, George and Lee were squashed around a tiny, round table beside there fire with full mugs of butterbeer in front of them and laughter buzzing around them.

"And he's stood at the bottom of the stairs to the girls dormitory . . ."
"Just repeating her name and whining like a toddler!"

Erin shook her head and giggled into her mug. Poor Percy always ended up as a object of humour to his younger brothers.

"And Penelope just leaned over the railing and dumped a basket of washing on his head."

"It was hilarious."

Percy who was on the other side of the pub narrowed his eyes at them suspiciously, hearing the quartet's laughter.
"Uhoh!" Erin whispered nodding at the head boy's watchful glare. "I think we've been rumbled!"

Both twins twisted in their chairs, laughing at their sibling.
"What's up Perce?"
"Your ears burning?"

Percy scowled and turned back to the serious conversation he appeared to be having with his girlfriend and a couple of prefects.

"Someone's got his pants in a knot." Lee said raising his arms above his head and cracking his elbows.

On the far side of the public house, the front door opened, a gush of fresh air accompanying a familiar blonde head as Mac stepped over the threshold, unzipping his leather jacket. He glanced around and caught Erin's eye.

She swallowed, watching his progress. He removed his jacket and handed it to one of his friends, waving a hand in Erin's direction. He broke away from his group and made his way over to their table.

Fred's posture stiffened as the 7th year Hufflepuff neared them. George glanced nervously between his twin and the elder boy.

"Weasleys, Jordan" Mac nodded politely at the three of them and smiled a bright, charming smile at the table's last occupant, "how're you doing Erin? I spoke to Nick earlier, he said you were feeling a bit under the weather."

She smiled kindly, ignoring the barely audible, annoyed huff that left Fred's lungs as shifted awkwardly in his seat. He had turned his body so his frame had essentially become a barrier between the two Hufflepuffs.

"I'm just tired, that's all. Cedric has us up to be on the pitch at 5 30. I think it's just catching up with me a little."

He nodded. "Let me know if there's anything I can do for you, I'm sure I have something in my bag that might help you."

"Thank you Mac, that's really very sweet of you, I'll try and remember that." He nodded and stuffed his hands in his pockets and turned to walk away. "I'll see you back in the common room at some point." He paused for half a beat. "That face is shaping up well, Weasley. Keep taking that potion. I have more if you need it."

"Cheers, Reyer." Fred's voice was tense, and his hands flexed, pulling at a loose thread on his old, woollen jumper.

Erin glanced at her best friend out the corner of her eye and placed her hand on his forearm. He looked back at her with a tight, mask like smile.

"Are you alright Freddie."
"Peachy, thanks badger."

She sighed, knowing he was withholding.

"Shall we head to zonko's before going back to the castle?" George asked loudly, clearly trying to return his companions to their joviality.

XXXX

"I dare you to sprinkle that in Malfoy's quidditch uniform."

Fred grinned wickedly and tucked the new batch of beetle back itching powder into his basket. "You're on, little badger."

"How?"

"A genius never reveals his secrets."

Erin quirked an eyebrow. "I think that's magicians, Freddie."

"Hmm?" He bent, be looking at a stack of jars containing mini monkeys.

"Magicians never reveal their secrets."

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Perhaps I'm a bit of both." He straightened up and leaned against the shelf, watching her intently. She fiddled in her bag, looking for her purse, and didn't notice his heated gaze. "But what's in it for me puffsickle?"

Erin didn't look up at him. She was sure her purse was somewhere in there, it had to be. She'd only had it in the three Broomsticks. "Sorry?"

"I said, what's in it for me?" He'd inched closer. Close enough to feel his warm breath stirring her hair, his arm brushing her shoulder. "What do I get for making Malfoy the laughing stock of the quidditch teams?"

Butterflies started to roll away in her belly. Her cheeks burned with what she was sure was a deep red blush. She focused on his Adams apple and the hollow of his throat.
"What do you want? Ten chocolate frogs?"

"I think this requires far more of a reward than chocolate."

Erin held her breath.

"I mean, it's a big ask, breaking into Malfoy's things, sneaking around behind the backs of the Slytherin team."

"So, what do you want?" She fought to keep her voice steady.

He leaned closer, so he could murmur in her ear.
"I think it calls for something big, something unique. A kiss for example. Just the one."

Erin swallowed heavily and screamed internally. She raised her head, so they were nose to nose and she was looking into his hazel eyes.
"Just the one."

He raised an eyebrow. "So we have a deal?"

She rubbed the tip of her nose against his in a burst of unexpected bravery. "We have a deal, Mr Weasley."

He grinned so wide, she thought his cheeks might split.
"Let's get going, before George buys the whole of the shop." He pulled away, looking smug, and headed towards the counter to pay for his basket of goodies.

Erin sagged against the shelf, replaying the last thirty seconds over and over in her head. She grinned goofily. 'how the hell am I going to explain this to Mollie?'

XXXX

"That's great! Proud of you brother!" George congratulated, slapping his twin aimiably on the back. Fred had wasted no time in divulging the details of his and Erin's deal as soon as she had left them by the main doors.

The twins followed the trail of gryffindors up the moving steps, heading for their tower common room, shipping bags clenched in their hands.

"So, how're you gonna make sure you win this kiss?"

"What kiss?" Ron who had joined the stairs, along with harry and Hermione, butted in noisily.

"None of your business Ronniekins." Fred grinned, turning his back on his younger brother.

"Ah come on Fred!"

The twins ignored him and he returned to his conversation with harry, blathering loudly about the treats Hogsmede had to offer.

"So what are you going to do?" George asked again, leaning against the railing.

Fred opened his mouth to reply, but promptly shut it again when the stairs came to a harsh stop, juddering it's passengers forward. People were crowding around the portrait hole.

Fred blinked in surprise when he managed to get a glimpse of the painting through the crowd.

Slashes marred the canvas and pieces were hanging from it's frame. The green landscape was empty.

The fat lady was gone.

XXXX

"Mikey?" Erin called as she searched through the blue and silver mass of Ravenclaws. "Michael Warren Fallon! Where are you?"

"I'm over here. Stop fussing." Mikey grumbled. He was sat on the floor beside three of his friends, already half buried in a squishy purple sleeping bag.

She shook her head and knelt beside him, pulling him into a tight bear hug. She kissed the top of his head and he made an embarrassed noise into her shoulder.
"Are you alright? Were you safe in your tower?" She gushed, her face still buried in his neat curls.

"I'm fine. I was in the library." His answer was muffled, his face pressed into her shoulder.

"I promised you that everything would be OK! That Nick and I would keep you safe! And we weren't even here! Mikey, I'm sorry!" Erin found tears starting to brim at the corner of her eyes.

"I was OK. You weren't to know! He didn't even come near the library!"

She sniffed.

"Are you embarrassing Mikey in front of his friends again?" Nick asked as he joined his siblings on the floor. He clapped a large hand on Mikey's shoulder.

"We weren't here Nick!"
"No, but he's OK, look at him. He doesnt need us fussing him."

Erin wiped her teary eyes on her sleeve and gave her brothers a weak smile.

"I just worry."

"I know you do." Mikey squeezed her hand. "But really, I'm ok."

"Everyone get into your sleeping bags!" Dumbledore called from the front of the hall.

"Go on. We'll all have breakfast together in the morning ok?"

"Do you promise?" She asked her brother seriously.
Mikey smiled and held out his his pinky finger for Erin and Nick to link with. "I promise."

Erin and Nick retreated, leaving Mikey to chat and laugh with his friends, snuggling down into their sleeping bags.

"He's 12, Erin, he's got a lot of pride."
"I know, but I worry about him. I don't care if he's annoyed with me, I needed to know he was OK."
"I understand that, but we're not going to be here forever, we need to let him grow into a man who can look after himself."
"I suppose you're right."
"Of course I am." Nick laughed, wrapping an arm around his twin and kissing her forehead. He nodded to a spot across the room where the Weasley twins and Lee had saved her a sleeping bag and were waving at her like crazy.
"Looks like you're wanted. I'll see you at breakfast. Love you." He gave her one last squeeze and headed towards his own group of friends.

Erin lay on her back, watching the twinkling stars of the night sky. The yellow dots winked and shimmered in the expanse of deep blue.

"What are you thinking about?"

Fred's soft voice was right beside her ear and she turned her face to look at him. One arm was tucked behind his head, but his hazel eyes were open, watching her as she watched the blanket of stars. The outside air was chilled and she felt goosebumps rise on her skin.

"Are you cold, little Puff?" The fingers of Fred's free hand trailed an intricate design into the exposed flesh of her inner elbow. She shuddered, with desire more than cold. He shuffled closer to her and pulled her into a tight hug, a hand resting on the bottom of her back. Their faces were so close that their breath mingled on their cheeks.

"What are we doing here?" She whispered, not wanting to break the peace that enveloped the pair of them.
"We were watching the stars, it's the last day of summer, it's the last time they'll be this beautiful for months."
Erin gnawed on her bottom lip, her eye searching his.

"I had no idea you were so romantic, Weasley."
"I'm full of surprises." He gently rubbed the tip of his nose against hers.
"So you are."
Fred grinned and his eyes flickered down to her lips for a split second.

'Please,' she mentally begged as he adjusted his weight do he was pressing her back into the lush grass, 'please just do it! Kiss me!'

He smirked, a lively twinkle in his eyes and lowered his head, gently brushing his lips against hers. The touch was light and fleeting and Erin found herself longing for something more than the teasing contact.

"Please!" She breathed. "Please Fred."

"You want more?" He asked her, a wide happy grin on his face.

"Yes, please Freddie!" She cooed, finding the collar of his shirt with her fingers and tugging him so close to her that there was barely any air between them. He took the motion as permission and pressed his lips to hers again, with more pressure than before. He opened his mouth slightly and laved his tongue delicately across her bottom lip.
His hand traveled up her back, cupping the back of her head and knitting his fingers into her hair.

"We've searched everywhere but there's no sign of him."

Erin scrunched up her eyes and pulled away from Fred, who shot her a disgruntled look.

Why was Snape invading their moment, their brief second of intimacy.

"He may still be on the grounds."

Professor Dumbledore? Do teachers just not understand what privacy means?

"We'll have the dementors search for him."

She glanced towards Fred, hoping to see her anger mirrored on her face, but he wasn't there. All that lay beside her was a patch of slightly flattened grass.

x

Erin opened her eyes and sat up in a sudden jolt, her body aching from the hard stone floor of the great hall. She blinked as she looked around her, the hall was full of students, stuffed into purple sleeping bags. Snape and Dumbledore stood a little way away, taking between themselves.

She sighed as she looked over at the twins. They were both asleep, sprawled on their backs. A warmth enveloped her heart and tugged at her stomach; a ghost of a smile was set on Fred's sleeping face.