Author's Note: Some of you were distressed about Rosie being upset at having Fred as her Heart-Bound. It's not Fred she was upset at, per se, but rather the idea that it was someone older and not her current boyfriend. She only just turned seventeen. She might be considered an adult, but she is still a teenage girl. Enjoy the chapter, and see you next Monday. MNF

Chapter 23:

Fred

When Sirius stepped out of the Floo at the Claymont, the Potter Family mansion, he was surprised to find not only Fred but Arthur Weasley and Ginny and Harry Potter all congregated in the marble hallway. Lily walked in, looked at everyone, and spoke.

"There is no sense in everyone standing in the entryway," she said with a practical air. "At least come into the sitting room so we can talk like normal folks. I'll call for tea." Arthur and Fred quickly left the hall, but the other four lingered. "Sirius, I'm assuming Rosie is at your place?" Sirius nodded.

"She was with Junie when I left. I think they'll be back once Rosie calms down."

"I'm going to head over to yours, if no one minds, and talk with her," Ginny suggested, and Harry nodded before dipping his head to give her a gentle kiss. With a pinch of Floo powder, Ginny yelled out her destination and was gone.

"You had better not have known about this and kept quiet all this time," Lily said to her eldest, and Harry held his hands up to show his innocence.

"Ginny told me at five to midnight," Harry said. "I swear I didn't know. Ginny only found out because she walked in on Fred after a shower a few days before we got married. Seriously, they need a lock on the bathroom door at the Burrow."

"I doubt it's much of an issue now since all of their children have moved out," Lily said.

"Why they all had to stay there the days before the wedding was beyond me." Harry thought aloud.

"Ginny was the baby of the bunch," Sirius said warmly. "And the only girl. Last time they had to treat her like their little princess." Harry looked at him strangely.

"What do you know about little girls and their big brothers?"

"I did watch her grow up, remember? I also know how you are with Rosie. When she gets married, tell me you're not going to give her groom a talking to and then reminisce with her about when you were little," Sirius countered.

"I don't understand how you know so much," Harry said before heading into the living room. He wouldn't put it past his father to punch Fred, regardless of Arthur being there or not. Lily stopped Sirius before he could walk through too.

"Thanks for coming over," Lily said. "She's his only daughter, and I don't think he's really ready to think of her as an adult, even though she is as of today. He's going to need you."

"Lils, I knew he'd need me. Did you Floo call over to Remus and Marley's?"

"I did, and I caught them making out on the couch," she said, and Sirius laughed.

"We were doing the same thing," he admitted, and Lily shook her head. She and James had been canoodling in the rear sitting room until Rosie burst in, all tears and anguish. "So, are they coming?"

"Marley said they'd be through when they were presentable. They're going to bring over their sleeping son too. Should I contact Peter and Dorothy?"

Sirius thought about it for a moment and then shook his head. "They both have to work tomorrow before Rosie's party. Let them sleep." Lily nodded in agreement, and the pair walked into the front sitting room.

For generations, seventeenth birthdays were celebrated at the family estate, Claymont. James' parents still lived here, and other holidays were also traditionally held here, but it was important for any Potter to spend their last night as a child in this home. Tomorrow, Rosie would be bequeathed her share of the Potter fortune, as well as her heirlooms. She would meet with the family elders' portraits and be given their sage advice. She would also spend some time with her grandfather, learning about the social responsibility of being a Potter. Harry had told Sirius about what had happened, needing someone outside his family to process the event. It was cumbersome for Harry, as one day he would carry the title and the responsibilities of being Baron Potter.

Lily called for the house-elf, Iggy, and asked that a cream tea tray be prepared with the thought that if people were eating, they couldn't be arguing or hexing one another. Iggy nodded and then popped away. With that task completed, Sirius and Lily walked into the formal front sitting room.

Lily surveyed the placement of all the players and had to stifle her laugh. Arthur and Fred were on the horribly uncomfortable and quite ancient settee. The thing was from the Victorian era, and the seating area had dropped, so whoever sat there had their bottom lower than their thighs, and you were poked in the back with the wooden framing. The back was too hard, and it looked like both Fred and Arthur were resting their heads on the line of decorative tacks between the upholstery and wood frame. James and Harry were sitting in the two wingback chairs which sat on either side of the fireplace. The comfortable couch, which seated six easily, and the matching loveseat had been pushed against the wall where the settee usually was.

"Arthur, Fred, stand up a moment so I can get you a more comfortable seat," Lily said pointedly, then gave her husband a glare. The two men stood up with a fair bit of effort, and then with her wand, Lily arranged the furniture back to the way it had been. Lily directed the Weasley men to the loveseat, which she put on the side of the grouping so James couldn't glare at Fred so easily. She and Sirius sat on the couch just as Iggy brought the tea tray in.

"Shall I be mother?" Sirius said, even as he was lifting the teapot and began pouring. He knew how everyone except Fred took their tea already. "Fred?"

"One sugar, thank you," he mumbled quietly. The rest were silent, only speaking to thank Sirius for their china cup and saucer.

"Fine, I'll start the discussion," Harry eventually said. "Is there a reason you never told any of us that you were matched with Rosie? You could have told me, and I would have talked with Mum and Dad, or even Rosie." Fred opened his mouth to speak, and Remus walked in.

"Marley is putting George down upstairs in Charlie's room. I hope that's okay," he said, pouring his own tea and then sitting down next to Sirius, who had budged over so Remus and Marlene could sit next to each other. The grandkids all had their own rooms, and James' childhood room had been redone when he married, so Lily wasn't subjected to the pale blue on royal blue scheme, which was in honour of his favourite Quidditch team, the Tutshill Tornados.

"That's fine," Lily said. "Fred?"

"I had thought about talking with you, but it just felt wrong since Rosie wasn't of age yet. I know in five years, the age difference won't matter, but she was only eleven when I woke up with her name. Mum helped me cover it up, taught me the spell, so even George didn't know for years. I want you to know I respect Rosie, which is why I stayed away from her, even when we were both at school together. Now that she's of age and she knows, I would like to spend time with her." The room was quiet as the group digested what Fred had laid out.

"Fred, that was a very kind thing you did in not approaching Rosie earlier," Lily said. "I think you're right; you and Rosie need to spend time together. First, though, she needs to break up with Miles."

"If he'd said something earlier, there wouldn't be the mess with Miles," James said grumpily.

"James, that doesn't help anything," Lily said under her breath, although everyone heard her.

"So, what is it you do for a job, Fred?" Sirius asked.

"I work in the Office for the Removal of Curses, Jinxes, and Hexes," Fred said. "I decided that since George and I created so many while we were in school, I was better prepared than most to remove them. It's a good living, and I have my own flat. I also have been putting a bit of money away from each pay packet so that I can buy a house."

"That's very responsible," Sirius said. "Sounds like you'll be able to be a team with Rosie if things work out between the two of you."

The silence landed again, but this time it was broken by footfalls in the entranceway. Everyone held their breath, but it was only Marlene coming back down from the bedrooms above. She noticed everyone staring at her as she entered.

"If I didn't understand the tension, you're staring would be enough to make someone paranoid," she said before sitting down. "You all need to relax, and James, you need to stop looking like you want to hex someone." James glared at her a bit before he relaxed.

"We were just talking about Rosie having to break up with Miles," James said. "Something that could have been avoided."

"James, if Sirius, Marley, and I could survive the mess that was our heart-bonding, certainly we can help them work out this situation," Remus said. "Fred and Miles don't even know each other, and she isn't the first girl who had to break it off with a beau because of the bonding."

"If she'd known, we could have avoided this," James said through clenched teeth.

"Sir, I thought about that," Fred said, choosing to stand up and begin pacing. "Believe me, I went to my brother, Bill, and we talked through every possible scenario, but nothing we came up with made any sense except my staying away. She was only in her first year, and she was a giggly little thing then too.

"Our last Quidditch match of that year, you were in what, fourth year?" Fred asked Harry, and he nodded. "She wasn't into Quidditch, not like Ginny was, but she was a massive supporter of Gryffindor. She came to that last match, the one in May, and she and her friends had created this four-person lion outfit out of bedsheets and curtains, and I don't even know what else was part of this thing. But there she was, the face of it all, screaming so loudly for our team. I flew by her, and she cheered and smiled at me, and I wanted to tell her so badly. I didn't, because she deserved to have her school years to be silly and girly and everything when she was young. She deserved to find her first boyfriend, and have her heart broken and then fall in love. She deserved her Hogsmeade weekends and snowy sleigh rides and all those things the rest of us had. I didn't want to take any of that away from her.

"When you and Gin were married last summer, and she was all dressed up, but paired with George, I almost asked you to switch it, so I could at least have a dance or two with her. But then you told me she was bringing a date, and I didn't want to take that away from her either. That said, I would be lying if I said it didn't hurt to watch her dance with him, lay her head on his chest, and look up at him like he was the greatest boy in the world.

"Mr Potter, I stayed away because it was the right thing to do for Rosie. If any of you had known, she would have found out and been angry that you hadn't told her. So, it was just five of us who knew until Ginny walked in on me, then it was six. I made them all swear not to tell. Fate was going to tell her, and then we would need to work on it together." Fred had walked about the room while he was talking, not looking at anyone other than Harry, who he felt comfortable with. When he was finished, he sat back down and looked at James. The man had tears in his eyes.

"You did have her heart in mind," he said, tears glistening along the lash line. "It must have been so hard to see her, know you could love her, but it wasn't time yet. I don't know why magic does some of the things it does, but I've learned not to question it."

"Thank you, James," Arthur said. "I know family matters can sometimes be delicate to handle."

"No, Arthur, thank you for being wise counsel to your son. At least we know we'll get along with the in-laws."

"Here, here to that," Lily said, lifting her teacup. She had been crying, unabashedly. "I'm sure Junie will have calmed Rosie down, but I suspect my daughter might be a bit," she sighed, "how shall I put this? I suspect my daughter will be a bit apprehensive and perhaps argumentative towards the arrangements The Source has made for her."

"Mum is attempting to be diplomatic, Fred," Harry said after snorting. "You know Rosie, she's as stubborn as a hippogriff who hasn't been fed. She's going to complain some, then claim she can't fall in love with you. She might even try to get Chief Warlock over there to write a law that negates your binding," he said, looking to his own godfather. "The thing with Rosie is that she responds to genuine feelings. Let her bluster and complain, then be kind to her. Toss her a tasty rat every once in a while, and she'll calm right down."

"You had better not have been comparing me to a hippogriff again, Harry James!" came a voice from the entrance hall, and Harry rolled his eyes and sank into his chair. Rosie blew in, Ginny and Junie behind her.

"Well, this is a full room," she stated. "While I'm sure you'd all love to hear what I have to say, this is a conversation that I need to have alone. Fred, will you come with me please?"

"Sure," he said rather meekly, then stood and walked out of the room, following her to the back of the house and the kitchen. Iggy had ice cream sundaes waiting for the pair.

"I love that house-elf," Rosie said with a warm smile and a calming tone. "Iggy always has ice cream waiting for me when I'm upset. It's one of the reasons I always retreat to the kitchen when I'm angry or crying."

"My mum has some sort of cake all of the time," Fred said. "Never the same sort – we usually demolished one a day – but the next morning, there would be a new cake of some sort. I think she honestly believed anything could be made better with tea and cake."

"I like your mum; she's all hugs and kind words," Rosie said as she ate her ice cream.

"You've probably never seen her angry then," Fred countered. "George and I used to make life so hard on her, getting into all sorts of mischief. We thought your dad and his friends were the most excellent people in the world, and we wanted to emulate them. I think we might have beaten their record for the greatest number of detentions."

"I hate to break it to you, but Auntie Junie confirmed that Uncle Sirius still holds the title, although you came within three," Rosie said. It had been one of the first things Junie had wanted to know when she took the job.

"Bollocks, that close!" Fred exclaimed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."

"You didn't," she said. "My little brother Charlie has a mouth like a sewer. Has for years. Mum used to try and stop it by washing his mouth out with soap. He figured out how to charm the soap not to bubble, so it was a bit of a lame punishment. Now he knows not to swear in front of Mum, but the rest of us are fair game."

"My brother Charlie hid tattoos from Mum for years," Fred said. "When she found out, I thought she was going to bring the roof down. Little did she know that Bill had two already and usually wore a dragon tooth earring. She wasn't happy but stopped screaming." They were quiet for a few minutes, eating their ice cream.

"Junie said you probably didn't tell my dad or me because I was so young when you got your name," Rosie said softly.

"Professor Meadows is right. I wanted you to have your adolescence just like I did. I never wanted you to feel like I kept you from anything. I knew if I did, you'd grow to hate me," Fred answered. "I know you have a boyfriend, and it's going to be difficult while you finish out this year, so maybe we could spend some time together starting this summer?"

"I think that would be good," Rosie said. "Even though he likes to compare me to a hippogriff – which wasn't entirely uncalled for when I was younger – would you be upset if we did things with Harry and Ginny for a little while. Just the four of us, so I can get to know you without so much pressure?"

"If you hadn't suggested it, I would have arranged it. I'm obviously in no rush. I know you have a big day ahead, and Dad and I should be going. I did bring you something for your birthday," he said, reaching into his pocket. "You don't have to open it now, you can…" Rosie had already ripped through the paper on the four-inch square box. The box was from a well-known jeweller on Diagon Alley. She opened it to find a delicate platinum bracelet with a thin rectangle in the middle. Etched on it in fine script were the words: To thee, I will be true.

"Thank you, it's beautiful."

"I mean it," Fred said. "Since I received your name, I've not gone with anyone seriously. I mostly go out in groups or just with family. I know that it might not work out between us, but I wanted to be honest with you. I find you to be amazing and beautiful and more than I could have hoped for. I have a good career with a future, and I want to help you make your dreams come true. But, for right now, all I wish is for you to give me a chance." He then stood, kissed her cheek, and left the kitchen. Rosie stayed, her cheek burning where he'd kissed her, rooted to her chair. She took the bracelet out of the box, opened it, put it around her wrist, and watched as magic secured it together.

"Happy Birthday to me," she said in a whisper. She was surprised when Harry came in, wrapped his arms around her, and let her cry into his shoulder.