Fred Weasley considered himself a pretty easy-going kind of guy.
He liked to joke, he liked to laugh, and he rarely took himself or much else very seriously.
Until now.
For perhaps the first time in his life, he was scared to death.
Not of his mum, or even the danger currently surrounding the wizarding world.
But of the beautiful woman lying beside him on the soft grass of the Hogwarts quidditch field.
And her reaction to the words he was about to speak.
"Lina?"
"Hmmmmm?" Angelina Johnson shaded her eyes from the sun, and turned towards Fred.
Fred nervously ran a hand through his hair. He tried to look at her directly in the eyes, but
simply couldn't manage it.
He settled for talking at his shoes.
"You know how you say I'm never serious and that George and I spend too much time fooling around?"
Angelina smiled at Fred bemusedly. "Yes."
"And you know that we've finally got this joke shop concept off the ground and how it's really important to both of us?"
"Yes."
"And I hope you've noticed that I have been thinking much more about life after Hogwarts lately than I have spending time tricking first years into trying our experimental products."
"I've noticed, Fred."
"Well, I've also been thinking about other stuff too."
"Such as?"
Fred decided the time had come. He faced Angelina directly. Her beautiful, deep brown eyes caught his attention and distracted him a bit as she patiently waited for his response.
God, she was beautiful. Her light, coffee colored skin constantly amazed him, so different from his own skin, which he considered pale and freckle- ridden. Everything about her was unique and unfamiliar, not just her appearance, but her personality as well.
The first thing he had noticed about her (besides her body) was her fiery passion for Quidditch. They had both tried out in the same year, and Fred had been amazed at her talent. Her movement on the pitch had been phenomenal, making incredible spins and shots that had left the rest of the competition in awe.
Fred had, at the time, considered himself lucky to have made the team, what with such talented peers. Through the rest of his Hogwarts years, whenever he thought of Angelina, that first image of her was foremost in his mind. Her hair flowing in the wind, a look of fierce concentration on her face, as she charged the Quidditch goal, quaffle in hand.
He'd quickly struck up an easy friendship with her, helped by their frequent interaction on the Quidditch field. By their fourth year, Fred considered her his closest female friend. The rest of their social group, George, Lee, Alicia, and Katie, were great, but there was just something about Angelina that both confused and intrigued him.
By fifth year, he knew he had a crush on her.
By sixth, he was sure it was love.
Asking her to the Yule Ball had taken more courage and bravery than any prank he'd ever executed or contemplated. She'd said yes like it was nothing special, but the night...
That night had been the most amazing of his life.
He'd actually had permission to hold her in his arms all night long. They'd talked about everything under the sun that night, and had learned a great deal about each other. Fred had found even more to love about her.
The ball had been winding down, but neither wanted the night to end. So they'd snuck down to the Quidditch pitch and talked more. She'd looked so beautiful, and for once, she'd let her guard down completely and told him things she'd never told anyone else. Fred had responded in kind, describing his family, his fear of disappointing his parents, and his sometime frustration with being viewed as a twin rather than as an individual.
Through it all, she'd listened to him, giving her opinion and advice when he'd asked. She had smiled at him when he'd made a joke about his brother Ron's obvious infatuation with one of his friends, and Fred had been unable to look away from her face.
"Fred?" Angelina had questioned uncertainly.
He'd had no other choice. His body had operated without his minds' consent, and he had leaned towards her and kissed her lips gently.
Angelina had gasped, he recalled. For an instant, Fred had been sure he'd made the worst mistake of his like.
But slowly, hesitantly, Angelina had lifted her arms around his neck and kissed him back.
They'd kissed and held each other for at least an hour, before the chill of the night air had brought an end to their activity.
But not for long.
A week later, he'd cornered her coming out of a class and dragged her into an empty room. When they'd left a half hour later, they'd had the misfortune to run right into Lee and George.
Their activity had been very obvious, but surprisingly, George and Lee had not mentioned anything about it. Fred had figured at the time that if they had made fun of him, they knew that Fred would be more than willing to comment on their relationships with Alicia and Katie.
Throughout the rest of the year, Fred and Angelina had stolen moments when they could. They had written constantly over the summer, and Fred had been able to meet her twice in Diagon Alley, but not more since the threat of Voldemort had become known to the wizarding world at large. When Fred had met up with Angelina on the train for their last year at Hogwarts, it had felt like he had truly come home.
Fred was surprised to discover that he was something of a romantic, and the first month of their seventh year he had spent more time coming up with surprises for Angelina than spending time with his brother.
Luckily, George had understood. He and Alicia were nowhere near as serious as Fred and Angelina, but understood the time constraints a girlfriend presented.
George was the real impetus behind the joke shop, and had done just fine planning out their business. Sure, Fred wanted it as well, but he had recently figured out that he wanted Angelina more than anything.
Angelina cleared her throat loudly, bringing Fred back to the present.
He blushed a bit, then responded, "I don't know how to say this..but.well..here goes."
Fred took Angelina's hand in his. Caressing it gently with his thumb, he met her gaze full on.
"Angelina, I love you. You know that, right?"
Angelina grinned widely, and nodded her assent. Then, her eyes narrowed, and she questioned, "Why? What have you done?"
Fred chuckled and quickly assured, "Nothing. At least, not that I can recall right now."
Angelina relaxed visibly. "Well, good. I love you too."
"Have you ever thought about..well, about our future? I mean, what we do after Hogwarts? Assuming we're alive, of course."
Angelina rolled her eyes playfully. "Fred, I know I'm a bit of a tomboy, but all girls think about their future."
Fred cleared his throat and prayed for a bit of Gryffindor courage.
"Well, I have been thinking about our future..quite a lot actually. I've never met someone who's made me feel so complete. I know that as long as you're with me, everything really will be alright. But I also want to protect you. I want to take care of you and know that you will be next to me every day of my life."
Fred's voice grew more earnest as he saw the fine sheen of wetness in Angelina's eyes.
"God, Lina, I want babies with you! I want to wake up next to you and grow old with you and ...and I just want to love you."
Tears streamed down Angelina's face as she watched Fred kneel down on one knee.
"Please, Angelina.will you marry me?"
Fred opened the small box he'd been keeping in his pocket the whole day.
Inside rested a small, heart shaped diamond ring.
Angelina's throat had closed; she couldn't speak.
All she could do was nod and cry some more.
Fred took the ring out of the box, then placed it on Angelina's left ring finger.
Angelina couldn't stop crying. She'd just been given her heart's desire. Overwhelmed with joy, she hugged Fred fiercely, getting wetness all over his shoulder, neck and cheek.
Fred was able to chuckle, now that the hard part was done. He stroked her hair, then began to kiss away her tears.
After some time, Angelina's composure returned. After grinning broadly at Fred, she glanced toward the pitch bleachers, remembering the other times in the relationship when they'd ended up in that location. What better place to celebrate their engagement?
Catching her drift, Fred grinned back. "Race ya?"
Angelina scrambled up from the grass, speeding towards the bleachers, with Fred hot on her heels.
Laughing, they crawled underneath the seats, settling down against one of the support beams.
Fred pulled her into his lap and turned her towards him. "You're so beautiful."
Angelina winked at him. "I'd say the same to you, Weasley."
Their lips met, more passionately than usual.
Angelina wrapped her legs around Fred's torso, attempting to make a more comfortable seat for snogging. She was flattered by his obvious, well, enthusiasm, but it was a tad weird to be sitting directly on it.
Fred pulled her to him even more tightly, raining kisses down her neck.
She felt so soft, even through her robes. He couldn't wait to feel her skin.
Fred found himself reaching under her robes for more skin contact.
Though they'd done more than their share of fooling around before, Angelina had never felt this desperate to touch him and be touched by him.
Before, she would've done the obligatory female thing and deterred his hands at least once or twice before capitulating. On this occasion, however, her need was too great.
Without hesitating, Angelina undid her robes, then began to help Fred unbutton her blouse. Her mouth never left his as her fingers reached up to assist him.
Once Angelina's blouse was removed, Fred moaned at the feel of her skin under his hands.
Breaking the kiss so he could see her, Fred marveled at the look of her in her lacy black bra.
"Well, don't you have anything better to do than stare, Weasley?" Angelina smirked.
Fred lifted an eyebrow, then murmured suggestively, "Oh, I'm sure I can think of something."
Before Fred could act on his words, they both heard the approaching sound of voices.
Angelina quickly re-fastened her robes, then stuffed her blouse into a pocket.
Fred put a finger to his lips to make sure she was quiet, then waited tensely for whoever was approaching.
"We can talk here, Hermione. No one comes to the pitch this time of day."
"Thanks, Gin. I really appreciate this."
Fred and Angelina heard them climb a few bleachers, then sit a few feet away, to the left.
"So, Hermione..you wanted to know if Ron likes you?"
"Yes, Ginny, I did."
Fred and Angelina looked at each other in wide eyed astonishment.
***HAHAHAHAHHAH! I know I'm evil, I wanted to throw a bit of diversion your way. Don't worry, the long awaited conversation with Ginny and Hermione will happen next chapter- that is, if I get some more reviews.what can I say? I need to know I'm loved. Will Ginny tell Hermione the truth? Or will she keep quiet? I haven't even made up my mind for sure, so..stayed tuned! In your review, PLEASE tell me which way you want it to go and why..I will definitely take it into consideration! Oh, and thanks to the WITCHES' COUNCIL for making me a BETA! Thanks to them, you'll get updates that much faster!***
He liked to joke, he liked to laugh, and he rarely took himself or much else very seriously.
Until now.
For perhaps the first time in his life, he was scared to death.
Not of his mum, or even the danger currently surrounding the wizarding world.
But of the beautiful woman lying beside him on the soft grass of the Hogwarts quidditch field.
And her reaction to the words he was about to speak.
"Lina?"
"Hmmmmm?" Angelina Johnson shaded her eyes from the sun, and turned towards Fred.
Fred nervously ran a hand through his hair. He tried to look at her directly in the eyes, but
simply couldn't manage it.
He settled for talking at his shoes.
"You know how you say I'm never serious and that George and I spend too much time fooling around?"
Angelina smiled at Fred bemusedly. "Yes."
"And you know that we've finally got this joke shop concept off the ground and how it's really important to both of us?"
"Yes."
"And I hope you've noticed that I have been thinking much more about life after Hogwarts lately than I have spending time tricking first years into trying our experimental products."
"I've noticed, Fred."
"Well, I've also been thinking about other stuff too."
"Such as?"
Fred decided the time had come. He faced Angelina directly. Her beautiful, deep brown eyes caught his attention and distracted him a bit as she patiently waited for his response.
God, she was beautiful. Her light, coffee colored skin constantly amazed him, so different from his own skin, which he considered pale and freckle- ridden. Everything about her was unique and unfamiliar, not just her appearance, but her personality as well.
The first thing he had noticed about her (besides her body) was her fiery passion for Quidditch. They had both tried out in the same year, and Fred had been amazed at her talent. Her movement on the pitch had been phenomenal, making incredible spins and shots that had left the rest of the competition in awe.
Fred had, at the time, considered himself lucky to have made the team, what with such talented peers. Through the rest of his Hogwarts years, whenever he thought of Angelina, that first image of her was foremost in his mind. Her hair flowing in the wind, a look of fierce concentration on her face, as she charged the Quidditch goal, quaffle in hand.
He'd quickly struck up an easy friendship with her, helped by their frequent interaction on the Quidditch field. By their fourth year, Fred considered her his closest female friend. The rest of their social group, George, Lee, Alicia, and Katie, were great, but there was just something about Angelina that both confused and intrigued him.
By fifth year, he knew he had a crush on her.
By sixth, he was sure it was love.
Asking her to the Yule Ball had taken more courage and bravery than any prank he'd ever executed or contemplated. She'd said yes like it was nothing special, but the night...
That night had been the most amazing of his life.
He'd actually had permission to hold her in his arms all night long. They'd talked about everything under the sun that night, and had learned a great deal about each other. Fred had found even more to love about her.
The ball had been winding down, but neither wanted the night to end. So they'd snuck down to the Quidditch pitch and talked more. She'd looked so beautiful, and for once, she'd let her guard down completely and told him things she'd never told anyone else. Fred had responded in kind, describing his family, his fear of disappointing his parents, and his sometime frustration with being viewed as a twin rather than as an individual.
Through it all, she'd listened to him, giving her opinion and advice when he'd asked. She had smiled at him when he'd made a joke about his brother Ron's obvious infatuation with one of his friends, and Fred had been unable to look away from her face.
"Fred?" Angelina had questioned uncertainly.
He'd had no other choice. His body had operated without his minds' consent, and he had leaned towards her and kissed her lips gently.
Angelina had gasped, he recalled. For an instant, Fred had been sure he'd made the worst mistake of his like.
But slowly, hesitantly, Angelina had lifted her arms around his neck and kissed him back.
They'd kissed and held each other for at least an hour, before the chill of the night air had brought an end to their activity.
But not for long.
A week later, he'd cornered her coming out of a class and dragged her into an empty room. When they'd left a half hour later, they'd had the misfortune to run right into Lee and George.
Their activity had been very obvious, but surprisingly, George and Lee had not mentioned anything about it. Fred had figured at the time that if they had made fun of him, they knew that Fred would be more than willing to comment on their relationships with Alicia and Katie.
Throughout the rest of the year, Fred and Angelina had stolen moments when they could. They had written constantly over the summer, and Fred had been able to meet her twice in Diagon Alley, but not more since the threat of Voldemort had become known to the wizarding world at large. When Fred had met up with Angelina on the train for their last year at Hogwarts, it had felt like he had truly come home.
Fred was surprised to discover that he was something of a romantic, and the first month of their seventh year he had spent more time coming up with surprises for Angelina than spending time with his brother.
Luckily, George had understood. He and Alicia were nowhere near as serious as Fred and Angelina, but understood the time constraints a girlfriend presented.
George was the real impetus behind the joke shop, and had done just fine planning out their business. Sure, Fred wanted it as well, but he had recently figured out that he wanted Angelina more than anything.
Angelina cleared her throat loudly, bringing Fred back to the present.
He blushed a bit, then responded, "I don't know how to say this..but.well..here goes."
Fred took Angelina's hand in his. Caressing it gently with his thumb, he met her gaze full on.
"Angelina, I love you. You know that, right?"
Angelina grinned widely, and nodded her assent. Then, her eyes narrowed, and she questioned, "Why? What have you done?"
Fred chuckled and quickly assured, "Nothing. At least, not that I can recall right now."
Angelina relaxed visibly. "Well, good. I love you too."
"Have you ever thought about..well, about our future? I mean, what we do after Hogwarts? Assuming we're alive, of course."
Angelina rolled her eyes playfully. "Fred, I know I'm a bit of a tomboy, but all girls think about their future."
Fred cleared his throat and prayed for a bit of Gryffindor courage.
"Well, I have been thinking about our future..quite a lot actually. I've never met someone who's made me feel so complete. I know that as long as you're with me, everything really will be alright. But I also want to protect you. I want to take care of you and know that you will be next to me every day of my life."
Fred's voice grew more earnest as he saw the fine sheen of wetness in Angelina's eyes.
"God, Lina, I want babies with you! I want to wake up next to you and grow old with you and ...and I just want to love you."
Tears streamed down Angelina's face as she watched Fred kneel down on one knee.
"Please, Angelina.will you marry me?"
Fred opened the small box he'd been keeping in his pocket the whole day.
Inside rested a small, heart shaped diamond ring.
Angelina's throat had closed; she couldn't speak.
All she could do was nod and cry some more.
Fred took the ring out of the box, then placed it on Angelina's left ring finger.
Angelina couldn't stop crying. She'd just been given her heart's desire. Overwhelmed with joy, she hugged Fred fiercely, getting wetness all over his shoulder, neck and cheek.
Fred was able to chuckle, now that the hard part was done. He stroked her hair, then began to kiss away her tears.
After some time, Angelina's composure returned. After grinning broadly at Fred, she glanced toward the pitch bleachers, remembering the other times in the relationship when they'd ended up in that location. What better place to celebrate their engagement?
Catching her drift, Fred grinned back. "Race ya?"
Angelina scrambled up from the grass, speeding towards the bleachers, with Fred hot on her heels.
Laughing, they crawled underneath the seats, settling down against one of the support beams.
Fred pulled her into his lap and turned her towards him. "You're so beautiful."
Angelina winked at him. "I'd say the same to you, Weasley."
Their lips met, more passionately than usual.
Angelina wrapped her legs around Fred's torso, attempting to make a more comfortable seat for snogging. She was flattered by his obvious, well, enthusiasm, but it was a tad weird to be sitting directly on it.
Fred pulled her to him even more tightly, raining kisses down her neck.
She felt so soft, even through her robes. He couldn't wait to feel her skin.
Fred found himself reaching under her robes for more skin contact.
Though they'd done more than their share of fooling around before, Angelina had never felt this desperate to touch him and be touched by him.
Before, she would've done the obligatory female thing and deterred his hands at least once or twice before capitulating. On this occasion, however, her need was too great.
Without hesitating, Angelina undid her robes, then began to help Fred unbutton her blouse. Her mouth never left his as her fingers reached up to assist him.
Once Angelina's blouse was removed, Fred moaned at the feel of her skin under his hands.
Breaking the kiss so he could see her, Fred marveled at the look of her in her lacy black bra.
"Well, don't you have anything better to do than stare, Weasley?" Angelina smirked.
Fred lifted an eyebrow, then murmured suggestively, "Oh, I'm sure I can think of something."
Before Fred could act on his words, they both heard the approaching sound of voices.
Angelina quickly re-fastened her robes, then stuffed her blouse into a pocket.
Fred put a finger to his lips to make sure she was quiet, then waited tensely for whoever was approaching.
"We can talk here, Hermione. No one comes to the pitch this time of day."
"Thanks, Gin. I really appreciate this."
Fred and Angelina heard them climb a few bleachers, then sit a few feet away, to the left.
"So, Hermione..you wanted to know if Ron likes you?"
"Yes, Ginny, I did."
Fred and Angelina looked at each other in wide eyed astonishment.
***HAHAHAHAHHAH! I know I'm evil, I wanted to throw a bit of diversion your way. Don't worry, the long awaited conversation with Ginny and Hermione will happen next chapter- that is, if I get some more reviews.what can I say? I need to know I'm loved. Will Ginny tell Hermione the truth? Or will she keep quiet? I haven't even made up my mind for sure, so..stayed tuned! In your review, PLEASE tell me which way you want it to go and why..I will definitely take it into consideration! Oh, and thanks to the WITCHES' COUNCIL for making me a BETA! Thanks to them, you'll get updates that much faster!***