"Marry me, today and every day." -Marry Me (Train)

All Cassie could do was look at Fred with a dumbfounded and surprised expression on her face. "What?" she managed to breathe out.

"I know this may seem kind of sudden, but I felt that we were both ready for this and, well, I love you, Cass, and after all it took for us to finally start dating, I don't think I want to lose you. I really want to marry you and I'm hoping that you feel the same, so will you marry me?" he asked.

"Marry you," Cassie repeated. She was still feeling breathless and as if her brain was taking forever to comprehend Fred's words.

"Yeah," Fred said. He sounded nervous. "I'm pretty sure the right guy is asking you this time," he said with a small smirk.

That made Cassie laugh. "Yes," she said, "it is the right guy." She reached out and lightly touched the edge of the open box as she peered at the ring. It was absolutely gorgeous.

"So is that a yes?" Fred asked.

"Hm?" Cassie replied.

"You can't touch the ring until you say you'll marry me, that is, if you do choose to say yes," he answered, raising an eyebrow and smiling.

"Well, in that case," Cassie said. She paused and bit her lip just to draw it out a little further and torture Fred a little more. "Yes."

"Yes? You mean it?" Fred asked, as both his eyes and smile widened.

"Yeah, I mean it," Cassie answered, laughing.

In his excitement, Fred accidentally squeezed the box a little too tight. The lid snapped shut and the box bounced out of his hand and onto the floor. Cassie tried to stifle her laughter as she picked it up and handed it to him.

"Sorry," Fred said quickly as he opened the box again and took out the ring. Cassie noticed his hands were shaking slightly. "Hold out your hand," he whispered.

She did as he said and it was then that she noticed her own trembling hands. "Stop shaking," she joked, nudging Fred's knee with her foot.

Fred snorted and grabbed her left hand in his. "You're shaking worse than I am, so I'd shut my mouth if I were you." He slid the ring onto her finger and they both fell silent as they stared at the glittering object now on Cassie's hand.

"Have you told your parents yet?" Cassie finally asked.

"No, only George knows," Fred answered.

"Of course," Cassie said with a small laugh. "That explains why he isn't here. You kicked him out for the night."

"I didn't kick him out," Fred said as he adjusted himself so that he was sitting next to Cassie, leaning up against the couch. "He basically volunteered to leave us here alone. He doesn't even mind because he gets to see Katie."

Cassie laughed and leaned over to give Fred a gentle kiss, resting her hand on his cheek. Fred sighed with content and Cassie smiled happily as she rested her head on his shoulder and intertwined their fingers. "So, how were you actually planning on proposing? I kind of messed it up for you."

"You didn't mess it up," Fred said. "You just unknowingly hurried it along." He smiled as Cassie laughed. "Anyway, I was going to cook dinner-,"

"Really?" Cassie asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Well, actually we were going to cook together. I even made sure to stock up the fridge and cabinets."

"Ah, when did you plan on telling me this? And what would have happened if I didn't want to cook, hm? I very well might have said no." She smirked to show she was teasing.

"I could have convinced you," Fred answered, wiggling an eyebrow slightly and leaning closer.

"Is that right?" Cassie asked, determined to not give in to what she figured Fred wanted. She turned her head the other way so he couldn't reach any part of her face to kiss her.

"You seem to have forgotten that you just exposed your neck by doing that," Fred commented and Cassie then felt him lightly kissing the skin on her neck.

"Well, it's still not as good as my face," she sniffed, trying not to giggle.

"No, you're right, it isn't," Fred agreed as he stopped kissing her.

Assuming he had moved away, Cassie turned around again only to see that Fred hadn't moved at all. "Tricked you," he smirked.

"You wish," Cassie said, giving him a quick kiss. "I knew you were there the whole time."

"Liar," Fred laughed.

"I won't help you with anything if you insult me like that," she said, narrowing her eyes and smirking evilly.

"Actually," Fred said, "don't worry about it. I changed my mind. I'm going to try to cook something all on my own. You don't have to do anything. "

"Are you sure? I was only kidding, you know that right? I don't mind helping."

"Positive," Fred said, standing up. He grabbed her hands and pulled her up as well.

"I'll have my wand ready just in case I need to put out any fires," she said, rolling her eyes. "I'll even stand by the faucet so I can have it within reach to use as backup."

"Do you seriously doubt me that much?" Fred asked, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Where cooking is concerned, yes," she answered.

"You haven't ever seen me cook or-,"

"Exactly," Cassie interrupted. "I never see you, which means you don't do it a lot."

"Maybe I cook when we're not together. Did you ever think of that?" Fred smiled, enjoying their playful argument.

"So, when was the last time you cooked anything?"

"This morning I made cereal."

"Cereal doesn't count. Anyone can make cereal. I meant when did you last seriously cook something?"

"Er," Fred said, scrunching his nose up in thought.

"That's what I thought," Cassie laughed.

"You just wait," Fred said, kissing her nose. "I'll show you."

"I'll still wait by the faucet with my wand ready," Cassie answered, following him to the kitchen.

"If it makes you happy," Fred said, sighing dramatically.

Cassie laughed and swatted his shoulder.

"Just you wait," Fred told her again. "You're going to be surprised."

"Okay, I'll take your word for it," Cassie said. "By the way, may I ask what you're making?"

"I'm not sure yet," Fred answered, blushing slightly. "I kind of made sure I had a lot of different things ready since I didn't know what you would want. What do you want?"

"Surprise me," Cassie said, taking a spot by the sink and leaning against the counter.

"Are you sure? You don't think I surprised you enough today?" He winked at her over his shoulder from where he was looking through the cabinets.

Cassie just shrugged and smiled. "I suppose I'd better get used to surprises because the man I'm going to spend the rest of my life with is full of them."

"You got that right," Fred answered with a laugh.

"What time are your parents supposed to get here, Cassie?" Mrs. Weasley asked, quickly moving around the kitchen as she prepared dinner.

"They'll be here within the next twenty minutes," Cassie assured her as she leaned against the counter next to Fred. "Are you sure you don't want any help?"

"I'm positive. Why don't you go into the living room with everyone else? You don't have to stay here with me."

"If you don't want any help, we can at least keep you company," Cassie said. She didn't have a problem with that, and truthfully, staying in the kitchen with a busy Mrs. Weasley would increase the chances of Cassie's engagement ring going unnoticed. It had been difficult enough trying to hide it while she had been greeting everyone. Anyway, unnoticed was just the way she wanted it, at least until her parents arrived and everyone was in one room together. That's what she and Fred had in mind and they were hoping it would go smoothly, without anyone noticing Cassie's ring before they were supposed to.

Fred had brought up the idea to his mother about having Cassie's parents over for dinner the Sunday after the engagement had happened. He said that it would be nice for the two families to meet, which was the truth since they would becoming in-laws soon. They just didn't know it yet.

"Well, if you really want to," Mrs. Weasley said, throwing a glance their way that was accompanied by a small smile.

"Sure and if there's anything we can do, just let us know," Cassie said. She took a seat at the table and Fred sat next to her.

"Nervous?" he whispered in her ear as he gently traced circles into her knee.

"A little," she said. "How do you think your family will react?"

"They'll be thrilled. Mum will badger us with questions all night."

"Questions about what?"

"About the wedding, of course. She'll want to start planning right away, so I'd prepare myself if I were you. What about your parents?"

"I'm not sure. I think my mum will be more excited than my dad at first. He'll be happy, don't get me wrong, but since I'm their only child and their only girl, it'll be harder for them, my dad especially, to get used to the idea."

"He's not going to go crazy protective father on me, is he?" Fred asked, half joking.

"Doubt it," Cassie answered. "He just might try to intimidate you for the rest of the night. You know, glares, questions, stuff like that. But then he'll get over it, so don't stress about it too much."

Fred nodded and slid his hand over to Cassie's, which was lying in the middle of her lap. He tilted it back and forth so that the ring caught some of the light, despite the fact that their hands were under the table.

"What are you looking at?" asked a voice from the doorway. Fred and Cassie both jumped and turned. It was Ginny.

"Nothing," Cassie said quickly, sticking her hand under her thigh. "Fred had just commented on how small my hands were compared to his. I mean, he has the long, thin fingers and mine are-,"

"They aren't short and fat, if that's what you're trying to get at," Fred interrupted, stopping her mid-rant.

Cassie gave him a weird look and he just shrugged and gave her a look that clearly said he had panicked at Ginny's sudden appearance.

"Whatever," Ginny said, rolling her eyes and laughing. "Who wants a butterbeer?"

Cassie and Fred both agreed to one and Ginny headed to the fridge, stopping to peer over her mother's shoulder at the stove on the way. "Anyway, I'm sorry I asked what you were doing. It wasn't anything interesting anyway."

"Shows how much she knows," Fred whispered with a smirk.

"What was that?" Ginny asked loudly. She rummaged around in the fridge and pulled out three butterbeers. "I'm not deaf, you know."

"I didn't say anything, so maybe you are," Fred answered innocently. He smiled as Ginny passed out the drinks. He continued to smile as he opened his and took a long drink, his eyes never leaving his sister.

Ginny rolled her eyes and leaned up against the fridge. "So, when are you two getting married?"

Cassie nearly choked on her drink and Fred actually did choke on his. "Why do you ask that?" he managed to say as Cassie patted his back.

"I'm just wondering," Ginny shrugged. "You seem so in love, I just thought…" she trailed off and shrugged again. "What was that reaction for? You acted as if the idea was marriage was crazy."

"No, it's just that it was so out of the blue," Cassie answered. She looked at Fred, whose eyes were still comically wide at the irony of Ginny's question.

Just then, there was a popping sound from outside, followed by a knock on the door. The voices in the living room grew louder before there was the sound of the door opening and two more voices joining in.

"That'll be my parents," Cassie said.

"Oh, good, right on time." Mrs. Weasley smiled cheerily and wiped her hands on her apron before taking it off, putting it over the back of her chair and hurrying into the living room. "Ginny, make sure you come and say hello," she called over her shoulder.

"No, mum, I refuse to say hello to Cassie's parents," Ginny answered sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

Mrs. Weasley stuck her head back into the kitchen and narrowed her eyes at her daughter. "Now," was all she said before leaving once more.

"Well, I guess that's my cue," Ginny said. She smiled and placed her butterbeer on the counter before following her mother.

"We should go, too," Cassie said, standing up and taking Fred's hand.

"Our secret's almost out," Fred said as he stood.

"I thought Ginny knew something at first," Cassie said, widening her eyes.

"So did I, but it was just a close call. Hopefully we can make it at least until dinner without any more."

"Hopefully," Cassie agreed with a nod.

She wasn't sure how, but Cassie managed to keep her ring unnoticed by anyone as she greeted her parents and made the introductions. She even managed to keep it hidden through the entire meal that Mrs. Weasley had prepared. It was times like these when she was grateful that she was right handed.

"That was delicious, Mum, but I'm stuffed," Ron said, leaning back happily in his chair once everyone had finished eating.

"Too stuffed for dessert?" George gasped.

"Ron's never too full for dessert," Bill added, leaning over to pat Ron's stomach. "What is for dessert, by the way?"

"Apple pie," Mrs. Weasley answered, standing up to clear the dishes.

Cassie and Fred shared a look, remembering the night they first started dating and the slice of apple pie they had shared.

"Cassie's favorite," her dad said with a smile as her mother stood to help Mrs. Weasley.

"It's one of Fred's favorites as well, isn't it?" Mrs. Weasley asked, looking over her shoulder at her son.

"Yeah, it is. In fact, on the day I asked Cassie to be my girlfriend, we shared a slice of apple pie. I just got a slice assuming she'd like it and she asked me what I would have done if she didn't. I said I would have eaten it all by myself."

"I don't doubt that," Mrs. Weasley said as everyone laughed.

Fred squeezed Cassie's hand under the table and she knew he was trying to lead up to the big news, so she joined in. "Yeah, it's hard to believe that was a little over a year ago. It seems like it was just yesterday, doesn't it Fred?" She looked up and smiled at him. It was almost a half smirk. They hadn't really planned out how they were going to break the news to everyone and right now they were just improvising, and it was fun to go back and forth with him.

"Yeah, it does. It all went by so fast, but at the same time it almost didn't go by fast enough."

Cassie looked up and caught George's eye over Fred's shoulder. He had an encouraging smile on his face.

"What do you mean, Fred?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"I just mean that I loved getting to know Cassie more and more each day, spending more time with her, falling more in love with her, and becoming more comfortable with her."

"Comfortable enough that on Friday, he asked me to marry him," Cassie said, finally getting the news right out in the open.

Her words were met with complete and utter silence. She looked up nervously to see every occupant of the room staring right at her and Fred with wide eyes.