That One Time I Fell In Love

(And Other Impossible Things). Fred Weasley II finally meets his match in the form of one loud-mouthed and free-spirited, Emma Terry. [NextGen GIR World!]

Chapter 10: That one time I relapsed.

I didn't see Emma again for nearly six months.

Naturally, it was next to impossible to avoid her completely, because as we all know, she was the last person in the world I should have slept with for a reason! I heard about her through the others. Accidentally caught a glimpse of her hair once at an after-party for one of James' Quidditch matches. Might've mentioned her a couple more times when I was drunk. Buuuut, I'm Fred Fucking Weasley, and I wasn't going to let one woman stop me from having a life! Noooo sir, finally I was free to live like normal! I could go back to what I was comfortable with: booze and da ladieeees.

"You know, at some point you're going to have to try and get over her without alcohol and sleeping with other women!" James had yelled at me once, even as I had my tongue down the throat of a lovely girl I'd met at some club. I'd just waved a hand dismissively at James behind the girl's back, causing him to huff in exasperation and claim to anyone listening,

"I'm not even being paid for this!"

I told him time and time again that he didn't need to insist on coming out to town with me. The bloke had a pregnant girlfriend to look after, he didn't need to be hauling his arse after me every night, but apparently my best friend was under the impression that I was going out on this massive bender and that I was going to get myself killed or something. WAY TO BE DRAMATIC, JAMES! Whatever, I ended up indulging him and his protectiveness. Anyway, it was probably just his fatherly instincts starting to come out, seeing as Libby drew closer and closer to her due date with every week that went by.

"Holy shit, Gorgeous, you're fucking huge!" I'd exclaimed loudly once when I hadn't seen her for literally only two weeks, and it honestly looked like she had swallowed a small planet in that short amount of time.

"I'd strangle you if I could be bothered," Libby had snorted at me.

My life had quickly fallen back into its regular old routines of before. Work and fun at the joke shop, staking out criminals and drinking with the Auror lot, hanging out with James, and scoring myself a hot girl for the night. And shut up, I liked it! It was familiar, it was comfortable and it was something that I knew I was capable of. This was my life, exactly the way I wanted it! I ignored that whiney, anxious heartburn feeling that crushed my chest sometimes, because what the hell did it know? It was just a feeling!

Occasionally though when I gave myself a moment to breathe, like when I would sit back at my desk, or leaned against the bar planted on a stool in a pub, my mind would stray. And I would wonder how this had actually all seemed so much more thrilling before Emma had roared into my life.

Those were the most dangerous times and I tried to avoid them as much as possible. It was far too easy in those moments to accidentally start thinking about her, and that would lead to me wanting to see her. To be with her. And GODDAMN IT, we went through this Fred! RIDICULOSULY BAD IDEA™! I rarely spent any time alone as a result, since it was much easier distracting myself when surrounded by other people. I kept letting James tag along with me. I threw the occasional party, like on Sapphire's birthday, or my own in July. And it worked, more or less.

The one time I remember my resolve seriously slipping was the day the Reddale Killer finally went to trial in June. Look, I know I come off as this roguish scoundrel with a tough face and pretty eyes (shut up, really!) but underneath, I'll secretly let you know that I can be a rather delicate being. Meaning, yeah, sometimes I still thought back on the night Reddale had attacked me. Given my choice, I would have been fucking nowhere near that courtroom, but as it was, I'd been forced to relive the case in front of fifty other people.

He'd literally stood across the room from me! Simon Fisherman. So fucking normal looking in his dress robes and hotshot lawyer pleading not guilty, but the bastard was being accused of the murders of over twenty different people, and that wasn't even including the attempted murders and assaults he'd committed along the way. His eyes had been lifeless, staring at me as I spoke in stops and starts, completely butchering what Darla the prosecutor had told me before the hearing started,

"We're sending the sick bastard to Azkaban, right?" she'd asked.

"Right–"

"Wrong!" Darla boomed, peering at me from behind her glasses. "You say 'right' like that, and we're all screwed! You say 'right' like you mean it!"

"RIGHT!"

"That's it!" Darla had smacked me on the back, causing me to nearly fall over, seeing as my legs had already felt like rubber as it was. "We're taking this son of a bitch down, but you need to be confident AS FUCK up here, you hear me? Don't let him defeat you! I know what you lived through, I was there, but I need you to explain everything. Don't be afraid to tell the court what he did. You're a victim, and he needs to pay for his actions. Can you do it?"

"I think so," I'd said, although I had my misgivings at this point.

"Like you mean it!" Darla had cried.

"I THINK SO!" I'd ended up screaming.

And so naturally, I found myself on the stand, unable to remember a goddamned thing.

I'd reviewed the case notes, I knew what to say and how exactly to say it, but this had all happened five bloody years ago! I was literally still 20 years old at the time and it had been one of my first cases as a bail enforcement agent. I'd been a cocky little bugger back then (what? I'm not now! … much) and I just hadn't anticipated it happening. Had I been more prepared for what the job actually entailed, I might have actually caught and arrested the sicko, but as it was …

"It was touch and go, but you did bloody fantastic!" Darla had punched the air with her brief case after the hearing, so at least I didn't royally mess up, as I'd figured. I'd been drained from the effort though, something I didn't like to admit to much, and in that moment of Sapphire squeezing my shoulder and Kayla reaching out and hugging me, I'd had to wrestle with the mad idea of … I didn't want to be alone that night.

Which was fine, I hardly ever did spend the night alone. Yael had turned up, throwing his arm around Kayla's shoulders and we were all making plans to celebrate the success of the hearing that night and it would be fine, I'd find somebody and everything would be ok! But I'd felt like someone had kicked me in the gut and sometimes, you just want to be held. My chest had protested that no, I didn't just want to find 'somebody' I wanted fucking Emma, ok? I wanted someone who knew me and my faults, someone who wouldn't judge me for being anything less than my usual fucktard self, someone I could just crawl onto my sofa with, wrap an arm around and fall asleep against.

But WHOA, FUCKING SHIT, FRED.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

SHAKE IT OFF, MATE.

SHAKE IT OFF!

Thankfully, I had and instead of going out with the others, I'd forced myself to go home. I hardly ever let my mum fuss over me, and maybe I could even get Dad at the dinner table to join us! It hadn't been quite the same, and maybe I still had that image of her in my head, but at least hanging with my parents had brought back a peace of mind. It'd been another couple of weeks before we'd gotten the official news that the Reddale case had cleared and was going to full trial with a jury, testimonies and the whoooole she-bang. Naturally, it meant more champagne, yelling, and of course another speech from Yael sobbing into his glass as Kayla snorted fondly at him. I didn't forget that a full trial meant that I would have to give an even more thorough statement further down the line … but I'd cross that bridge when it came to it.

When I finally did see Emma again, it was certainly NOT my idea.

"What the hell are you asking me for?" I asked Libby in bewilderment.

James' very pregnant girlfriend just rolled her eyes at me, the two of us in line for coffee. Sure, Café Julio probably didn't like me very much anymore, but damn, it made some good coffee! I was determined to never drink tea again after the last fiasco here. Libby had surprised me with a suggested meet-up during her lunch break, which wasn't something we usually did, but screw it, I liked hanging out with Libby. Sure, she complained about her swollen ankles a lot recently, and looked like she was going to pop the kid out any day, but she was still that quirky Libby Fletcher underneath. When she'd proposed her idea to me in line, I figured that that baby had to be pressing on her nerve endings or something, because she was bloody trippin' now!

"Because," Libby answered me. "With James out of the country, I don't want to go by myself!"

"But what the hell is this gala thingy anyway?" I asked with a wrinkled nose.

"It's an annual thing, work does it every September," Libby told me, the two of us stepping up further forward in the line. "The bank hosts this huge gala for the Cursebreakers and connected parties, like museum curators and independent contractors. They try to make it this swanky dress-robe event with awards and shit, but really it's just glorified fundraising and schmoozing old rich guys into donating more money into the bank so we can keep the Cursebreaker programme running. I kind of hate the thing, actually," Libby added.

"Then why do you go?"

"We're forced to!" Libby bumped my arm. "Trust me, I am 34-weeks-pregnant here, I would NOT be going to this if I had any say!"

"Libby, maybe I'm being obvious in pointing this out, but James told me that you literally have a crystallised skull in your office," I mentioned. I didn't say that it was actually Emma who had told me that, rather than James, we didn't need to get into it. "Just putting it out there, you could totally rustle up some diamonds or whatever and be out cruising the Carribean right about now."

"Oh, trust me," Libby said. "The girls and I have plotted out many scenarios in which we go rogue and skip the country! Unfortunately, we kind of like our jobs."

"But why do you want me to go with you?" I had to ask yet again. Considering that I was fairly certain she would never forgive me for having a fucking mental breakdown and crashing her anniversary, I figured she wouldn't even want me within two feet of her! Let's face it, I wouldn't trust me being within ten feet of a diamond any more than I'd trust me with an explosive.

"I told you, James isn't back yet, and I kind of forgot that it was on tomorrow," Libby admitted, sheepishly. "To be fair, I've been busy painting the baby's room, and–"

"Yeah, yeah," I rolled my eyes at the baby talk. Trust James to get hauled to the other side of the world for a week-long Quidditch training in a foreign country when his girlfriend was due to have his baby in just over a month. "This still doesn't explain why you're asking me."

"You are my friend, are you not?" Libby smirked.

"Oh, so you like me now?"

"Aw, Fred," Libby sighed exasperatedly, squeezing my elbow as we nearly reached the front of the line. "Of course I do. You're an idiot, and you need to learn how to handle expressing your feelings, but I love you."

"Jesus, Libby."

"Look, I cannot go alone to this kind of thing," she said. "These old codgers would leap on me like a shark! Last year, I accidentally ran into my ex and James ended up getting his arsed kicked by him, so if he turns up again I'm going to need back up. I mean, I'm so goddamned pregnant that I'll need help even getting out of my chair."

"If I say yes, will I hear about this for the rest of my given life?"

"Oh, naturally," Libby grinned.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, whatever. But I'm not getting beaten up by any exes for you."

"YUS! Thank you!" Libby hugged my arm gleefully and didn't let go, even as we stepped up to the counter and ordered. "And don't worry, you probably won't have to fight him. He'll see that I'm pregnant and will probably run a mile!" Honestly, this woman. She was nuts, although I can kind of figure why James liked her. It wasn't until we had been handed over our coffees and we'd made our way back out into the street, Libby pausing and amusedly balancing her decaf on top of her large tummy for a moment while she shoved her wallet back inside her purse, when I realised something.

OH MY GOD.

"Libby?" I asked, struggling to keep my voice calm as she picked up her coffee and we set off once more, aiming for the Leaky Cauldron not far away. "Innocent question, here … but is Emma going to be at this gala?"

"Mmmm …" Libby hummed in a high-pitched tune.

"LIBBY."

"What? Emma? Noooooo … I have no idea," Libby said.

"You work with her!" I cried.

"Ok, fine, she'll be there!" Libby admitted, meeting my gaze desperately. "Sorry, not sorry, but you already said yes! You can't back out, I need you there!"

"Take Al or Scorpius, I'm not doing it!" I said.

"Come on, you'll have to face her sooner or later," Libby told me.

"Um, nope, no I really don't," I pointed out.

"She's my friend, and James' too!" Libby said. "You're bound to run into her again at some point. Just get it over with!"

"Is this why you asked me and not someone else?" I asked, exasperatedly.

"It might've been part of it, but I really do want you to come with me!" Libby answered. "Please, please, please?"

"Libby–"

"PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE?!"

"FINE!" I yelled. "I'm going to regret this, but fine! I'm only doing it because James would kill me for abandoning you, otherwise," I added, seriously.

But she'd gotten what she wanted yet again. She gave me a toothy smile.

"Thank you, once again," she said.

"You little she-demon."

"One of my nicer names," she laughed.

So, somehow, I ended up wearing the fanciest dress robes I owned and accompanying a woman who was eight months pregnant to what looking like a fucking royal ball all up in here!

Sometimes life takes a weird turn and I really don't know how it happened.

"Ooh, can I pretend to be James?" I asked eagerly at some point before dinner. We were currently in what appeared to be the 'schmoozing' phase, as the Cursebreakers and bank representatives greeted investors and curators with huge fake smiles and many over-the-top compliments. Hell, even the event hall was obnoxiously decorated with precious jewels, artefacts and platinum diamonds just hanging around on show. I was lucky to even be in the same room as this shit, let alone see anything! I'd shaken the hands of so many people that I didn't care about that I was about to die of boredom.

"What? No!" Libby scoffed.

"C'mon, I wanna be a national Quidditch star for the evening!" I nudged Libby's shoulder with mine.

"I hate to break it to you, mate, but no one's going to believe that you're James."

"Hey, we don't look that different!" I insisted. "Seriously, our hair's practically the same, we've both got a little Weasley in us, I can just say I've been on holiday to France over the summer and that's why I'm now so gorgeously tan–"

"You've put a lot of thought into this, haven't you?"

"Exactly!"

"No," Libby laughed.

"Libbbbyyyyy," I whined.

"No, you're staying Fred Weasley – yes, hi! Lovely to meet you too, I'm Liberty Fletcher–" she hastily said to the latest old codger who was shaking her hand and staring into her eyes a little too creepily to be allowed. "–yes, thank you, 34 weeks," she added on the end there, her strained smile indicating that she was tired of receiving congratulations every five seconds and people always asking when she was due.

"No, this is my good friend, Fred Weasley," she indicated to him.

She'd answered that question a hundred bazillion times, too.

Several more meaningless handshakes later, someone thankfully called out for attention and requested that we all take our seats for dinner and the start of the poncy ceremony. "Thank the lord, I need to sit down," Libby moaned happily and quite honestly, free food was bound to get my attention any day, so I was content to wrap an arm around Libby's waist and walk with her towards our table.

Uuuuuntil I saw who we'd be sharing it with.

"Emma! Sarah!" Libby called happily, waving to her friends who were just taking their own seats. I froze, but Libby tugged at my arm, continuing to drag me forward with a surprising amount of force for a heavily pregnant woman. Six months, and my eyes still zeroed in on Emma immediately. She was standing alongside another woman I assumed was their work colleague, Sarah, in dress robes of a deep gold. She had tamed her brown frizziness into only slightly wild curls that swept over her shoulders. Oh my god, she was fucking hot and I was still standing there like a gormless eejit!

Her eyes widened when she noticed me, and I saw her quite clearly turn to Sarah and mouth the words, "Oh, FUCK," Then, she hastily put on a grin and accepted Libby's hug as she approached.

"Hey! Holding up while James is away, I see. What the hell is HE doing here?" she hissed in an undertone, jerking her head back at me.

I felt like I should be saying something back, but my mouth wasn't working. Holy fuck, have I literally forgotten how to talk now? Libby turned and shot me a look at that as if I'd actually managed to get words out. Her face screamed for god's sake, be nice! Thankfully, I think Sarah noticed the awkward tension and cut in, hastily introducing herself and her husband to me.

"Hi! I'm Sarah, nice to meet you," she said quickly, holding out her hand to shake. She had wavy golden brown hair, the ends of which I noticed she twisted around her fingers as she spoke. "This is my husband, Neil."

"I was forced here against my will," Neil said in greeting, and I managed to snort with laughter.

"So tell me the truth," I said to Sarah as we all moved to take our seats. "How often have you and those girls gossiped about me?"

Sarah laughed. "Too often. It's nice to finally put a face to the Bonehead … I'm sorry, that's what she calls you sometimes."

I shook my head, sitting down between Sarah and Libby. I was struggling to remain cool calm and composed, but this wasn't the time for a bender! Shit, I was here for Libby, ok? Just concentrate on her, don't think about Emma, don't look over, don't –

Oh god, I'm looking at her.

She and Libby were bickering slightly under their breaths as they sat down, though they were forced to break it off when what looked like some mighty big boss-type stood up on the raised stage to address the crowd and formally welcome everyone to the gala. Seeing her again had left my head spinning. I'd been preparing for it all evening, but it transpired that literally nothing was going to make me ready to face her again. I hadn't failed to notice that while Sarah had brought her husband and Libby had brought me, Emma had come with no one. The actual beginning of the gala was about as boring and tedious as Libby had promised it would be, so at least there weren't any surprises there. We had to sit through about six different speeches before they started presenting anything, and I noticed that Sarah's husband was clearly nodding off on the other side of the table, while Sarah span her wine glass around with a bored expression. Libby was absently playing a game with her unborn baby, pressing her hand into her stomach and apparently feeling it kick.

Naturally, I spent my time productively … first trying not to stare, and then trying to convince myself that I didn't want to stare in the first place. I wasn't have a breakdown at this table, was I? Oh good lord, I needed a drink. I wasn't even sure if I was supposed to acknowledge her at all here, or whether it was customary for exes to always completely ignore each other if they accidentally ran into each other again. I wouldn't know. Emma was the fucking first, and we were never even together in the first place!

FOR FUCK'S SAKE, FRED, DON'T LOOK AT HER!

"Next, we have the Cursebreaker Achievement Awards. These are reserved only for those who we feel have put in that extra mile for their profession!" the far-too-enthusiastic announcer read off a cue card that was clearly on the podium he stood in front of. "These people are hard-workers, professional and have stood out to us within this last year. Those who are presented with it are rewarded with a scholarship to help cover travel costs whenever they are stationed overseas. This year's recipients are …" he paused dramatically before beginning to read out the ten or so names. Libby was silently muttering, "Please not me, please not me, I don't want to get up …" and she got her wish. But another name was read out:

"… and Emma Terry! All those called, please make your way to the stage."

Terry.

Emma. Terry.

EMMA TERRY.

Oh my god.

I don't even know why something so meaningless and ridiculous as discovering a last name hit me so hard, but I sat there stunned as it completely fucked with my head. Emma tried not to look too happy as Libby and Sarah congratulated her warmly and she stood to approach the stage and collect her award. Meanwhile, I just inwardly freaked. I kept asking myself what the hell did it matter, but I stared at her walking across that stage with fire burning in my chest and shit, shit, shit, I am not over her, I'm nowhere fucking NEAR over her, and I had to spend this entire evening sitting at the same table as her!

Emma Terry.

Aw, DAMN IT.

"Congrats, Princess," I suddenly found myself throwing out to her as everyone applauded politely and the recipients of the award got to make their way back to their seats. Emma paused and didn't answer a moment, but I guess I've just decided it for us in that yep, we're acknowledging each other tonight!

"Shut up, Bonehead," she threw back before sitting down and avoiding my gaze.

It was sometime later when I got Libby's elbow my in the side. "Ow, what?" I asked.

"Quit staring! It's getting creepy," she said, jerking her head towards Emma.

"I'm not – oh, whatever …" I grumbled.

"Aha," Libby smirked as dinner eventually started wrapping up. At least I got free food out of this mess. "He's not even denying it anymore."

"What's the point?" I sighed. "Besides, this is your fault, YOU forced me here!"

"Fred, honey, I'm eight-months-pregnant," Libby pointed out. "Get my wand off me, and I can't make you do shit. Trust me, mate, you came because I asked you to, but you stayed because you wanted to."

Shut up, Libby.

Eventually, waiters charmed trays to float around and pick up all the dishes while simultaneously transforming this fucking elaborate hall into a full-on dancing arena, complete with hired live music and disco ball! (Ok, I was maybe joking with the disco ball, but that fucking huge rock in the corner I swear was pulsing with glittering light that made anyone who so much as walked past it stare in a trance). You know, I was just starting to think that I might be able to get through this! I didn't let Libby get further than a few feet away from me, but she was chattering happily with her friends, and I spoke good-naturedly to Sarah's husband for a bit. I avoided Emma completely, and for a while it seemed like that would basically be the entire rest of the evening. Yes, I can definitely handle that!

Noooope.

"Agents!" someone suddenly hissed at the chattering women at one point. "Get the hell out there and stop gossiping, for heaven's sake! Do you want Director Gale to come over?"

The three panicked frantically as Libby spun around and leapt about as gracefully as she could to grab onto my arm. Sarah hastily yelped for Neil as Emma complained, "Damn, I was hoping we could get away with it!"

"Should've known better," Libby agreed. "Shit, is he seriously coming this way?"

"He's talking to – no, shit, he's coming! Oh god, oh god, I need someone to talk to who's not a Cursebreaker …" Emma glanced around frantically.

"Wow, you guys are actually afraid of your boss, aren't you?" I said, amusedly.

"You would too if you had Director Gale!" Libby exclaimed. "I heard he once killed a man with a stick of uncooked spaghetti and a spatula!"

"I heard that he could turn his head 360 degrees," Sarah nodded.

"I heard that before he punched it, it was known as Horizontal Alley!" Emma added.

"Who the fuck have you guys been listening to?" I asked in bewilderment.

"Just don't you dare leave me!" Libby waved this off, her grip on my arm starting to hurt. "This is why I brought you, now do your job!"

"What about me?!" Emma said.

"Well, you should've brought someone!" Libby cried. "Blimey, did you not listen at all during the emergency drill that we ran?"

"You guys held an emergency drill?"

"Emma!" both Libby and Sarah seemed appalled by this.

"We had billboards, a floor plan and everything!" Sarah said.

"I know, I know I shoulda been there, but I've been busy helpin' out at home, and I had to make sure Katie and Henry got to the station on time, and none of my brothers were free–"

"He's coming!" Libby cried and the women quickly descended into unintelligible squeaks which were apparently still words, although I couldn't for the life of me interpret them. Sarah quickly grabbed Neil (who shot me a look as bewildered as I felt – I feel ya, mate!) and claimed that we were on our own. My mind was reeling though from the sudden onslaught of information I was getting second-hand, and I kind of wanted to ask about it – who are Katie and Henry? Do you mean Kings Cross Station? Shit, how many brothers DO you have? – but before I could begin to even process all this, Libby was suddenly shoving me towards Emma.

"Whoa, wait–"

"Ok, ok, I think that'll work!" she was saying while Emma nodded frantically, glancing over her shoulder. "I'm pregnant, I've got an excuse, I'll just say that I felt nauseous or whatever and had to sit down for a bit. You hang with Fred until the danger passes! You owe me, girl!"

"Excuse me?" I squawked.

"Talk to me, Hotshot!" Emma demanded in answer, while Libby suddenly disappeared into the dancing, schmoozing crowd.

Shit. Talk about blindsided. I stared at Emma who was suddenly too close and not close enough all at the same time. Her face was tinged pink either from the wine we'd drunk with dinner, or the pressure of the last few minutes of scrambling to make sure they didn't get in trouble with their terrifying boss for not mingling. I opened my mouth, but found I had absolutely nothing to say. Jesus, what do I do?!

"Uhhhh …" I said.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Emma practically roared, making me jump.

"What did I say?" I asked.

"It doesn't matter, he's coming – OH, FRED, YOU'RE HYSTERICAL!"

"Agent Terry," a huge burly man with dress robes decorated with the Cursebreaker emblem had approached us through the crowd. He'd been the man to first address everyone on stage and moved throughout the crowd, talking and mingling with everyone and sending death glares at anyone who was obviously not comfortable with such a thing. He was built like a rhino with watery red eyes and glanced at us suspiciously as he introduced himself,

"I hope you find our gala exciting and invigorating, Mr …?"

"Weasley?" I practically asked, holding out a hand.

"Weasley," Director Gale looked somewhat impressed, taking my hand and basically killing it with a handshake. "Agent Terry, I hope you are entertaining our very own resident Weasley with everything that the bank and the Cursebreaker programme has to offer."

"Oh, of course," Emma nodded at once.

"Yep! I'm all about them mummies," I added, cheerfully. Emma stomped on my foot.

"Indeed," Director Gale threw us a look. He clearly didn't decide that Emma was doing a good enough job however, since he indicated to the live band up on stage and said, "Isn't the music grand tonight? Agent Terry, why don't you show Mr Weasley our excellent dance floor? Maybe while you move, you can regale him with tales of our on-going dig site in Rome?"

"I'm afraid that – oh, ok!" Emma was forced to change tack hastily as Director Gale (helpfully, I'm sure) laid a firm hand on both our shoulders and began steering us towards the dance floor. We literally had no choice but to awkwardly take up each other's personal space and twirl around a bit while Director Gale watched like a hawk.

"… that dude's got like no chill," I pointed out.

"That's my boss," Emma said dryly. Then, she glanced up at me and said, "Look, I'm so sorry. I had no idea that this would end up happenin'."

"Eh, it's fine," I shrugged. "I consider it a night wasted unless I can get a pretty girl to dance with me."

"Fred …" her voice warned.

"What?" I asked, irritably. "I didn't ask to be forced to dance with you! Which reminds me, is your boss still watching?"

"Nah, I think he's moved on now," Emma answered, trying to peer up over and around my shoulder. I snorted and glanced over instead when it became clear that she wasn't tall enough. I'd forgotten how ridiculously short she was compared to me, even with the heels she was currently wearing. With the thankful assurance that yes, Director Gale had moved onto another unsuspecting Cursebreaker and their guest, we could awkwardly let go of each other. However, with the dance floor so packed, we were forced to stay hovering uncomfortably in each other's space. Lord knows I was trying to keep my cool, so I attempted to spot Libby in the crowd and ensure that I wasn't shirking my duties in protecting her.

"Fred," Emma sighed then. "Why did you come tonight? You know I work with Libby, you knew I was going to be here–"

"Libby asked me too! And the girl is so pregnant that there was no way I could tell her no!" I said, hotly.

"Yeah, and I'll be having words with her and all–"

"Oh, let's not blame Libby just because we're apparently the ones with no fucking chill," I rolled my eyes. "I haven't seen you in months. Can't we just … call it? I'll pretend nothing happened if you can too."

Please, Emma.

"Sure," she shrugged. "Guess I can be awkwardly polite if you can. I, uh … what've you been up to lately?"

I clearly didn't think this one through. Not only had we been forced into dancing, but I had now somehow landed myself in the position of having to make small talk! Jesus, this was exhausting. Thankfully, another couple swung into our path with no warning at that point, and it gave us the excuse we needed to back away and avoid getting trampled by the crowd. It was one less tension-filled thing to have think about at least. We quickly ducked out of the way of the dancers and we paused together, hovering somewhere on the edge of the dance floor. I figured I had to eventually answer with something, so I said,

"Erm, not much? Work. Partying. I had to stand in court–" I cut myself off rather hastily when I realised that that was still totally too raw to talk about, not to mention would completely give away my mysterious career!

"Court?" Emma latched on immediately with keen hunger in her eyes. "Seriously, what the HELL is your job?"

"Honey, please."

"WHY WON'T YOU TELL ME?" Emma finally seemed to lose it as she cried out in agitation.

I managed a laugh. "Because I get reactions like that!"

"Oh my god, just tell me! TELL ME."

I scoffed, "Please."

Emma let out a groan of annoyance. "You're gonna kill me one of these days."

"That's what I live for."

"But really, what did you mean by court? Like a court trial? What did you do, finally crack and murder Mrs Ramsey?"

"While the idea has appeal, I wasn't on the defendant's side," I snorted. "Let that be your first clue."

"That narrows it down," Emma's eyes narrowed. "You can't be an Auror, I would've heard about that already."

"Hey! I could be an Auror!" I protested.

"Aha, so you confirm you're not," Emma said, gleefully. She stepped in closer and glared at me with a determined look. "There's a prosecutor, a lawyer, wait no … I can't see you being a judge. Maybe you're a security guard?" She paused as if waiting for some kind of recognition in my face to give it away. I stared straight on back at her with an amused look, knowing there was no way she was going to be able to guess. When you're a part of a court trial, there were just too many options. I could've been a witness, jury member or Healer Examiner for all she knew. Besides, no one ever figures bounty hunter.

"You can guess all you like, I'm not giving anything away."

"Why not?" Emma huffed.

"Cause," I smirked. "Annoying you is fun."

I had glanced up at that, but turns out that was a big mistake. I accidentally caught her eye and suddenly, we were kissing.

Kissing.

Fuck, I KNOW, but I couldn't even tell you who moved first. I think we both just simultaneously leaned in until we desperately met each other halfway. I can't even tell you what crossed my mind! I'd just glanced over without thinking and saw the way she was looking at me and BAM. It fucking happened. We were surrounded by hundreds of other people but I didn't care in the slightest as I tightened an arm around her waist, like I'd been thinking about ever since we'd been forced together. Fingers curled into her hair as I breathed her in and literally, this was the most ridiculous thing I've ever done. She clutched at my dress robes and there we stayed for the next twenty seconds … until roughly and suddenly shoving each other back.

Emma and I stared at each other.

"Ummm …" she warbled.

"Yeah."

"I think we should–"

"Yeah, I'm just gonna–"

And we both turned around hastily and darted off through the crowd.

"That's it!" I called to Libby, once I caught up with her on the opposite side of the hall. She had apparently been hiding near the bathrooms, sat down at the closest table with some more of her co-workers. She excused herself hastily and moved around in her chair to face me storming towards her. "I knew this was a bad idea, I'm going home!"

"But we've got another couple hours yet! Please, I need you!" Libby insisted.

"So far, the only person who's needed me is Emma," I rolled my eyes. "Lib, my love for you ain't worth this."

"So what you had to talk to her for a bit?" Libby waved this off. "C'mon, it was probably good for you–"

"Libby, I kissed her."

She looked up at me with wide eyes. Then, she held out her hand, silently asking me to haul her to her feet.

"I'm apparently so excited that I need to pee again," she sighed.

"You're nuts."

"You kissed her?" Libby retorted, the two of us now aiming for the line for the woman's bathroom. "Jesus, you guys just can't be tamed!"

"I don't know what happened," I moaned. "But I think this proves that I shouldn't bloody well be here!"

"You still like her, don't you?"

"Don't talk to me about feelings, Lib," I grumbled. "I'm only here, standing in the fucking woman's bathroom line, 'cause of what I feel for you."

Libby laughed out loud. "Oh, Fred," she hugged my arm and rested her head on my shoulder. "I'm glad that we can still have our love. And look, I know that I can't convince you to do anything, but I CAN and WILL tell you that you are a total dipshit."

"Thanks for that."

"No really," she said. "Fred, take it from me. I have known Emma a long time and she is incredible. She is beautiful, caring and for some bloody reason, is totally into you. You are a fucking IDIOT if you continue to do nothing. Just sayin'."

I snorted, letting her squeeze my arm before peeling her off me.

"Go to the bathroom already before you pee on the floor," I said.

"Oh, and make her cry again, and I WILL slap you," she threatened.

"You're literally eight months pregnant–"

"JUST TRY ME, FRED."

"Ok, ok!" I said hastily, before chivvying her off.

Thankfully, the glare she sent me before turning around was full of fondness.

I ended up spending the rest of that gala basically hiding behind a chocolate fountain.

I managed to avoid her from then on for the rest of the night, though honestly, it's what we should've done from the start! Poking a speared strawberry on a stick into the chocolate, I'd absolutely known that this was a bad idea, but can you say no to Baby Brain? Should've picked fiery death over this, I'd sighed, chewing on the strawberry. I'd stupidly almost thought that I was over her before this insanity. Like yeah, I could kiss other women and not still pretend it was her! I could totally still eat at my kitchen table without wild punches and rough sex flooding my head! HONESTLY. I don't even know what had possessed me in that moment of standing in front of her, but she'd gone for me the exact same time I'd gone for her, damn it! I couldn't be blamed completely here, right?

So after that unmitigated disaster of a night (I'M NOT BEING DRAMATIC, SHUT UP), I managed to remain Emma-free for about another month or so. We think Libby picked up something at that gala because the next day, she woke up with a horrible flu, which had caused a minor (read: major) scare and James to come careening back from New Zealand a few days early because the Healer's thought she was going to go into early labour. She'd been hospitalised, but of course she'd been totally fine in the end. I'd gone and visited her at the hospital, greeting a wind-swept James with a thump on the back and teasing him for freaking out so much. Libby had caught my eye over James' shoulder and I'd shot her a look that had quite plainly said, "DON'T YOU SAY A FUCKING WORD ABOUT THAT GALA,"

I did NOT need James knowing about this.

But the month went on and everything was like it usually was. I worked and was dragged on a case chasing some idiot all the way to the southern coast at one point. James slowly spiralled as the countdown to his baby's due date eventually hit. It felt like the entire Weasley family was simply frozen waiting to hear the news that –

"LIBBY'S GONE INTO LABOUR!" Roxanne had screamed at me, crashing my flat about seven that evening of the 13th of October, in the year of our Lord, 2030.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" I'd asked, sticking my head around from the kitchen.

"Shut up, Mum just told me!" Roxanne had thrown back.

"So it's actual labour this time?" I'd asked.

"I think so, Auntie Ginny told Mum and it seems to be legit happening! Oh my god, can you believe it?! James it going to be a daddy!"

James is going to be a daddy.

LE FUCK.

Jesus, it was weird. Like, I'd always known that this was coming at some point, but I don't think I'd ever really properly processed what it was going to mean. My best friend was having a baby! Not only that, but FUCKING JAMES was having a baby! I was surprised to find, though, that I wasn't lamenting the loss of crazy nights on the town together or laser-tag fights. No, instead I found that I was literally just terrified for him! Shit, James had his own family now. He was going to be a father, and he was going to have to look after some squalling, shitting and crying thing for the rest of his given life!

But I had to believe he could do it, otherwise I knew he would never believe it himself.

Quite honestly, my knowledge of babies and labour and shit were quite limited. I literally just assumed that in a couple hours that baby would be popping out and all would be fine with the world! Nope. I got almost constant updates (whether I wanted them or not, and usually from my sister) up until about two in the morning, then just the odd note saying that James and Libby must have finally unplugged their phone and locked the owl up. In fact, I started work the next day still with absolutely no idea at all whether this baby was here or not.

Then, round early evening, I got the owl:

Fred –
I HAVE A DAUGHTER, YO!
Come see her in about an hour, we're at the hospital.
I'm freaking outtttt.
– James 'I'm a father now' Potter

Work could wait.

When I finally arrived and located their room down the maternity ward on the Ground Floor, it was kind of surreal. Libby was in a recovery ward with a few other new families and she was sat up in her bed, looking like she'd been dragged through hell backwards by her hair (and also that she could cry any second), but she was smiling at the tiny baby in her arms. James sat next to her, my best friend looking up and grinning when he noticed me arrive. "Fred!" he called. "C'mon, get over here and meet her!"

"So she's a girl, then?" I asked, slowly walking over and sitting on the end of Libby's bed. The baby was currently sleeping, snuggled up in a blanket as Libby held her almost reverently in her arms. I noticed a fuzz of black hair over the baby's weirdly shaped head and a fist swaying vaguely like a tiny drunken sailor. Shit. This was real. Shit, that was an actual baby! My first instinct was to say, gross, but the look on James' face held it back.

"Yeah, a girl," James was still beaming. "Oh my god, getting her here was a nightmare, but we eventually did it."

"Excuse me, we?" Libby put in there.

"You, you eventually did it," James added, hastily.

"I did, didn't I," Libby smiled proudly, glancing back down at her daughter.

I did as well, 'cause like, that look in her eyes was so compelling I felt like I had to. It was weird seeing them like this. This tiny creature had them so entranced and I wanted to know why!

"… so you really have a kid now, huh?" I asked. "Oh, what's her name?" I added, since I realised I hadn't asked yet.

"Clara," Libby answered fondly.

My immediate thought went to the wizarding pop singer with the name, which naturally James was aghast to realise. Apparently he had suggested 'Clara' and so far, I had learned that new parenthood didn't mix well with teasing! Libby eventually cut in before James had an aneurysm by asking me,

"Do you want to hold her or not?"

"You'd let me?" I felt my nose crinkle. I couldn't even remember ever holding a baby before!

"Well," Libby said. "I'm debating that now … but I suppose I can't judge until you've actually given it a go."

"Go on, mate," James punched my shoulder. "You'll love her, I swear! And she's barely awake, you can't really do that much damage."

"Plus, if you do, I'll kill you," Libby added, pleasantly.

I was all prepared to argue that no, I really didn't need to cuddle the baby, but James had already leapt to his feet and grabbed me, shoving me into his spot on the bed next to Libby. Christ. Guess I'm doing this, then. Before I could change my mind, I held out my arms and Libby deposited the teeny person in them. Blimey. She really was small! Baby Clara moved a little, that fist of hers waving at me before grabbing my sleeve.

Wow.

"… she's a tough one, ain't she?" I glanced up at James and Libby.

"Oh, yeah," James grinned from where he stood next to the bed. "I swear, that girl's getting on a broom as soon as she can sit upright by herself!"

"But what if she doesn't like Quidditch?" Libby asked, innocently.

I almost snorted at that monstrosity of a statement. This girl was just the latest in a line of famous players, there was no way that she wasn't going to be brought up with Quidditch in her blood. And finally, I think that's when it hit me that James really had actually produced this tiny thing. This little girl was HIS. It wasn't just another dorky pet of his, like the time he tried adopting a Pygmy Puff when he was 13 (he was trying to impress some girl that he liked, I forget which one) or a shrivelled up plant on his windowsill that he always forgot to water, this was an actual human being! She was depending entirely on him and Libby not fucking up and ruining her life and it was comical and brilliant all at the same time. Her weight, while faintly terrifying, also felt so comfortable in my arms. Her ridiculous little face was screwed up in her sleep and for the first time ever, the heart burn didn't actually feel so bad.

"Ok, I'll admit it," I said. "I'm in love."

James and Libby both laughed. "We coulda told you that," Libby mentioned, leaning over and lightly stroking Clara's pudgy cheek.

"Har, har," I rolled my eyes before glancing back down at the little girl. "Your mum thinks she's funny. But you're on my side, aren't you, baby Clara?"

She snuffled in response. Oh yeah, she loves me.

James snorted and I glanced up at him. "What?"

"It's so weird seeing you with a kid," he pointed out.

"It's so weird seeing YOU with a kid," I countered.

It looked like James was about to concede to this very valid point, but that was when there was another voice that joined us in the hospital room. She called out from the door to the ward,

"Libby? James? Is she there, can I see 'er?"

Oh, would you look at that, it burns again.

Emma looked excited and eager and bounded in the moment James and Libby happily waved her over. I'm starting to think that they were beginning to meddle here. Well, fuck them! When she first glanced at me, I think we both exchanged mutual 'oh god' looks of acknowledgement, like 'Hi, yes, how are you? Oh, I'm somewhere between fuck you and I'd fuck you. Good, good …' I tried not to care too much. She was here to see the baby. So was I. I hadn't seen her since the debacle at the Cursebreaker gala so as much as I was unwilling to admit it, Libby was kind of right in her prediction … I was going to start running into her eventually. Therefore, I better suck it up and start getting over her quicker.

(Yo, heart, you can seriously stop fucking BURNING now).

Emma had comically hesitated upon seeing me, but I think the curiosity won over. She cautiously approached, congratulating the two and hugging both James and Libby. "My dear Emma, I'd like you to meet our daughter!" James told her cheerfully, an arm squeezed around her shoulders. "Her name is Clara Rose and she was born in a hallway!"

"What, seriously?" Emma asked.

"You didn't tell me that!" I said, looking away from Clara up at my best friend. "What, the hospital not cool enough for ya?"

"Trust me, we didn't exactly get a choice," Libby grumbled next to me. She was still stroking Clara's cheek softly. "Blame Rosie and her dodgy fireplace. If I'd had my way, we would have been right here in the hospital!"

"Either way, she turned out fine," James was quick to reassure. "Rose ended up delivering her."

"Blimey," I snorted. "Didn't she hate training in the maternity ward?"

"Still did it, though," James said. "That's sort of why her middle name's Rose. Hey, Emma! You wanna hold her?" he suddenly tacked on the end there.

"Oh, I–" Emma began, but that was when James suddenly tugged on my shoulder, dragging me and Clara up from the hospital bed and apparently not giving Emma a choice in the matter. Now I had to hand over this baby to a woman I was trying to actively avoid acknowledging. Fucking brilliant. James sat back down next to Libby, both of them obviously failing to hide their sniggers. I glanced at Emma, down at sleeping Clara, then back up.

"So, uh …"

"I guess I'll just slide in …?" Emma eyed me uncertainly, but there was no getting around it. We were going to have to touch in order for this to work. It took many uncomfortable comments and sarcastic apologies as Emma slid her arms between Clara and myself and I moved out from under her so that Emma could eventually hold the baby, but I'll admit it was probably worth it to see the look on her face. After mouthing, 'I HATE YOU,' at James and Libby, Emma then stared down at baby Clara.

"Oh my god!" she grinned with an eye-shining smile. "She is literally the cutest thing ever."

"She's so small," I commented. I totally forgot that Emma was the one holding her as I leaned in closer, wiggling a finger absently over Clara. She didn't really pay much attention, seeing as she was asleep and all, but her first bumped mine and I liked to think of it as our first high-five.

"I can't believe you made this … this, tiny person!" Emma told her friend.

"I can't believe it either," Libby admitted. Her voice sounded wary and I glanced up to notice that yeah, she definitely still looked like hell. Not only was she physically haggard, sweaty and tired, but I was noticing now that both her and James had that underlying look of shock in their eyes. It was the new-parent look of holy shit, we have a child now and have to like, feed it and ensure it doesn't die and stuff! I had to hand it to them … they'd been troopers ever since they'd found out about this little baby. They could've taken the easy route out, but here they were! My best friend was a father! JAMES POTTER, A FATHER.

The world really has gone mad.

I was proud of them though, no matter how crazy this entire situation was. I glanced back to Clara and accidentally remembered who was holding her. Emma was still grinning at Clara with pure adoration and I stood there astonished for a second at the sight of her standing next to me, holding her best friend's baby. I was jealous of her ease, of how 100% comfortable she seemed whereas I'd also felt like I was holding a bag of ticking bombs the entire time she was in my arms.

But she was also fucking beautiful holding that baby … GAHHHH.

Emma glanced up and seemed to catch the look on my face, because she quickly looked away and claimed, "WEEEELP, I'm guessing you want your daughter back, right?"

Libby laughed. "Sure, bring her over."

I tried to sneak out while Emma carefully handed Clara back to Libby, but James (the bastard) caught me. Leaving the women back inside the hospital ward, James yelled, "MATE! Where d'you think you're going?" apparently running after me. I sighed, turning back around in the maternity ward corridor.

"Gotta head out," I told him as James just shook his head and moved closer. "Congrats and all that shit, but–"

"Shut up," James snorted.

"Did you have to invite her to visit the same time as me?" I whined. "Really?"

"Who says I did?" James said.

"Fuck you."

"Oh, all right," James just shrugged unapologetically. "There's no excuses really, Libby told me to mess with you. Apparently, we're evil. Hopefully, Clara doesn't catch it! Seriously, it hasn't been so bad seeing her again, right?"

"Not as bad as the first time," I huffed.

"Oh, you mean when you kissed her?"

"That bitch," I mock gasped. "Libby told you, didn't she?"

"Every sordid detail!" James grinned. "C'mon, Libby's my Hellcat for a reason. Of course we're gonna gossip about you guys."

"Ugh, whatever. Look, seriously though mate … congratulations for today."

James dropped the teasing. He just grinned, shoving his hands in his pockets and said. "Yeah, thanks."

I scuffed my foot. "What's it like?"

"Honestly? Terrifying," James admitted. "I can't really describe it. Most of the time I feel like I can't even breathe. We're gonna be taking her home as soon as the midwife gets the birth certificate signed off and I don't really know what we're gonna do when we get there."

"Ah, you'll figure it out," I shrugged. "You're a dad now, don't dad's just pick this up as they go along?"

James shook his head. "If that's true, then it sure hasn't happened to me yet. Libby seems to already have it down."

"I still can't believe you really had a baby with that girl," I sniggered.

"With the amount of unprotected sex we had on my birthday, I certainly can," James answered.

"Guess that won't happen much anymore, though," I pointed out.

"Yeah," James glanced over his shoulder back towards Libby's ward. "but I love her. Sex will come back. Well, at least I hope it will."

"Just good luck taking care of the Tiny Human!"

"Don't act like you're telling me goodbye!" James accused then, pointing a finger at me. "I still expect raging laser tag tournaments with Clara refereeing! You're my best friend, and that doesn't change just because I have a baby now."

I rolled my eyes as James swung forward and hugged me tightly.

I mean, I let him.

Dude does have a baby now, after all.

A/N: We did it, guys. We made it to the end of the WJML storyline. From here on in, we are in uncharted territory! The next major thing to happen is, of course, ROSE AND SCORPIUS' WEDDING! Apparently, it's taken me 8 fucking years to get them to this point and I've been crying a lot over it, haha. Also, never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would be writing it from Fred's POV, of all people, lol.

ALSO, MEDDELLING JABBY

Apparently my Idiot Fred Scale needs adjusting, I promise I'm working on that, haha. I love you all so so much! Seriously, your reviews mean the world to me, knowing that y'all are still reading this and still enjoying it, it makes my lil heart soar. Please keep them coming! xoxox

Until next time -

- Moon. :D