So I am super happy that a few people have replied, but I still feel that there could be a bit more a response. Show me some love people, I'm using the time that I could be studying to write this story!!

WTF, show some love...

The minute that Fred was given the go-ahead, he hopped a train and literally flew down to Oxford. He had never been so excited and nervous at the same time. While he was excited to spend a whole week with her without the interruptions of school or being social, he was mortified at the thought of meeting her parents; or worse…her grandmother. From the few things that Emerald had said about her, her Grandmother Kathleen was, to put it simply, a hard ass. She was judgmental and always commenting on Emerald's appearance. Emerald had warned him that while he would be staying with them, she would look much different. She had jokingly implied that she couldn't let her grandmother see her as a hippie; it would probably give her heart failure.

When Fred arrived at the Oxford station, he found that there was somebody waiting for him, his name on a sign and his bag already in his hands. Fred marveled at the expertise of the man, having retrieved his bag so quickly. They quickly shook hands before Fred was escorted to a rather large black car. The back door was opened for him and they spent the entire ride in silence. It gave Fred a good opportunity to look around. The countryside in Oxford was lush, rich, and green; it almost looked like emeralds were sparkling in the grass, nestled at the very roots. White fences lined the sides of the road while horses galloped on pieces of private property. Emerald lived in a fairytale land and he was curious to see why she hadn't mentioned it before.

The driver pulled them up to a mansion of epic proportions. Fred's jaw was still hanging on the floor when the door was opened for him. There were massive columns supporting the dome roof that covered the house. A large door, decorated with Tiffany's glass sparkled in the afternoon sunlight. The house was painted a harsh white, almost too bright in the sun. The house towered above the acres of green land that surrounded it. It was a monstrosity of ingenious architecture.

As soon as Fred had stepped out of the car, his bag handed to him by the driver, the two front doors flew open and Emerald came running down the front steps. There was a great big smile on her face, only accentuated by the fact that her hair had been pulled back so tightly. He didn't even have time to grab his suitcase. Fred opened his arms as their two bodies came crashing together.

"You're here!" She exclaimed happily against his shoulder. He chuckled as he picked her up off the ground slightly.

"Did you think that I wouldn't show up?" She pulled back slightly so that she could face him, but she kept her arms tightly wrapped around his neck.

"No…but it doesn't change the fact that I'm happy to see you." Fred gently kissed her before setting her back down on the ground. The driver slowly carried his bag up the front steps with Emerald and Fred a good twenty paces behind him. He kept his arm wrapped around her shoulders while her arm was wrapped around his waist. They held each other like that, smirking and whispering quietly to one another. Fred knew that this was going to be a glorious four days, despite the fact that he would be forced into awkward situations with her parents and grandmother. Right now, that didn't seem to matter. All that mattered was that they were together.

As they walked up the stairs, they were greeted by what seemed to be a familiar face to Emerald. A tall man stood waiting in the doorframe, his graying red hair slicked back slightly. This must have been Emerald's adopted father, Josh. He was a handsome man, but as Fred had expected, he looked nothing like Emerald despite the similarity in their hair color. Emerald greeted him, but didn't leave her tight embrace with Fred.

"Hi dad." She said happily. He smiled warmly at her before turning his attention towards Fred.

"Well, you must be Mr. Weasley." He said, extending a hand to Fred. "It's very nice to meet you, especially since Emerald's talked about nothing else in her letters. It's good to put a face to a name." Fred smirked.

"Thank you…sir…"

"Please, call me Josh, there's no need for formalities here…except where my mother is concerned, Mrs. Shepherd would suit her very nicely."

"Same goes for my mom, just call her Heidi." Emerald told him with a little smile.

"What's this?"

A woman suddenly emerged from the house, wrapping her arm around Josh's waist in a similar fashion to Fred and Emerald. He could only assume that this was Heidi, Emerald's mother. She wasn't as Fred had pictured. When he heard the name Heidi, he had expected a very tall woman with long blonde hair and a brilliant smile. The woman that stood before him, though, was quite the opposite. It was very clear that Heidi was an Indian woman, wrapped in a delicate green sari. There was a great difference in height between Josh and Heidi. She stood just under his shoulders with her black hair parted down the center and pulled back into a loose bun. Her skin was very light, reminding Bill of the most delicious caramel. Her smile was dazzling and her eyes sparkled with a golden tint in the sunlight. She was so…beautiful…

"Are you all talking about me?" She asked in her proper British accent. Fred quickly shook his head with the thought that he was in trouble.

"No…Heidi." He quickly said, remembering to keep things casual with Emerald's parents. All three laughed at his sudden tense attitude while they all stayed relaxed.

"So this is Fred." She said with a huge grin. "I'm very happy to see that you've come all the way to Oxford, welcome to our home." She outstretched her hand to shake Fred's. She smelled of fresh cut flowers and a warm kitchen. The pair motioned for them to come inside and Fred and Emerald closely followed.

"So…when do I get to meet your grandmother?" Fred asked in a low whisper.

"At dinner tonight." She replied quickly in a low whisper. "You'll have to 'dress properly', though…she's very old-fashioned and prefers that everybody dress for dinner and for you, that means wearing a suit."

"…I didn't bring one." He answered with sheer terror in his voice. Emerald giggled.

"You can borrow one of dad's, he has dozens." Fred looked at the man in front of him and grimaced slightly.

"He's a lot taller than me." Emerald shook her head.

"Did you forget that I'm a witch?" She asked. "I can fix the suit for you, it's not a big deal."

Josh and Heidi showed Fred upstairs and down a long corridor to his room. It was bigger than his house and, thankfully, it was very close to Emerald's room. After exchanging a few polite words, both dispersed to separate parts of the house to continue what they were doing before Fred arrived. Emerald plopped down on his bed while he started to unpack his suitcase.

"Are your parents magical too?" He asked as he examined the vast space that he had for his meager clothing. Emerald shook her head, pushing her shoes off with her heels.

"Nope, just me." She replied. "They think that my father was a wizard…but they haven't told me a whole lot about my parents other than what I've already told you. I think that they're just trying to hide something from me…or protect me…I don't know." She shrugged her shoulders. Fred smiled at her as he unloaded all of his things into one humongous drawer.

"I'm sure that they would tell you if you asked." He said, coming to sit down next to her. Emerald quickly shook her head.

"No, they don't like it when I ask about my real parents. I think that it hurts them too much." Fred wrapped an arm around Emerald's shoulders and pulled her close, pressing his lips against her temple.

"It's probably a good thing then that you don't say anything." Emerald nodded.

"I know."

She twisted her head up to quickly return the kiss, pressing a hand against his chest. The sunlight poured into the room as she pushed him back against the bed, holding her tightly to his chest. Neither wanted to let go; both wanted to stay intertwined in this wonderful twist of afternoon intimacy. She suddenly gasped, pulling away from his eager lips and letting out a little sigh. Emerald brought control to the situation as they laid in each others arms, their breath tickling each other's noses. She suddenly smirked, staring up at him with her wide eyes.

"We have to be careful." She whispered, brushing aside the hair that had come out of her bun. Fred raised an eyebrow.

"Why?" Emerald rolled her eyes.

"I'd rather not have my parents catch me making out with you, you know, so that we didn't end up in an awkward situation for the next four days." Fred smirked.

"Probably a good idea." He muttered, leaning back down to kiss her again. Emerald giggled, but turned her head to the side to let Fred's lips connect with her cheek.

"Come on, we have to go find you a suit." She said, popping up from the bed and holding out a hand. She helped him to stand, but not without receiving a quick peck on the cheek. "No kissing in front of my parents…and in front of your parents when I come to stay next week." Fred rolled his eyes.

"Fine…we won't make out…"