Sorry about yesterday's rants I was just being stupid. Anyway, thanks for reading. I've had a lot of fun uploading every day this week and I may or may not do it next week depending on how much I can write. Thanks for reviewing and favoriting. I hope you enjoy.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter

Chapter 21: Me or Him?

"Ginny, what are you doing with those?" Fred asked eying the handcuffs I had stuffed into the box.

"They're not mine. They're my gift to Auden." Ginny said. Like that was any better. "Come on Auden, you haven't seen everything in the box."

"This is what you spent our money on?" Fred asked, his anger slowly rising.

"What did she spend our money on?" George asked as he landed beside Fred.

"Sex stuff." Fred answered.

"That's hilarious!" George started laughing.

"That was our money, George!" Fred said.

"What is up with you lately? Can't you take a joke?" George asked. "If your mad, don't be, I'm sure if you ask nicely Auden will let you borrow it."

"George this isn't a joke!" Fred said.

As the boys continued to fight, Ginny continued to pull out different, er…items. I had exceeded embarrassed when Fred came in and now George to laugh about the box, only made things worse.

"And look, Hermione, I got her books too." Ginny said, but Hermione rolled her eyes. "101 Ways to Please Him, Sex Positions and Their Friends, and 50 Shades of Gray. You could learn a lot from that last one."

"Ginny!" I finally shouted.

"We didn't even get to the costumes or the lingerie. Look there is still-"

"Ginny." I said throwing her a warning look as Harry, Ron, and Zach landed too.

"What are-" Ron started to ask, but Hermione threw herself on the items Ginny had pulled out.

"Nothing. Just go back to your game." Hermione said.

The three took off with George, while Fred stuck around to give Ginny a warning; "We are going to talk about this later."

Then Fred kicked off the ground and left, the windows reappearing behind him. I quickly drew the curtains and turned to Ginny.

"Fred has gotten so serious since he start liking-" Ginny started to say, but then snapped out of a trance. "Liking school. Yeah."

"Ginny, I'm not stupid, what were you going to say?" I asked her.

"Nothing." Ginny said. "So do you like your gift?"

"That would be an overstatement." I mumbled, dropping the last subject.

"Do you want to keep looking through it because there is this really good edible body paint that-"

"No thanks." I said returning all the items to the box and sliding it under my bed. "Couldn't you have saved that for my bachelorette party?"

"Better be prepared now." Ginny smiled.

"It was still a bad idea. I've never seen Fred so mad…he never takes things seriously." Hermione started to drift off talking until Ginny whispered in her ear and Hermione covered her mouth. "But I thought he liked?" Hermione pointed at me and Ginny shook her head. "Are you sure?"

"Why do you think I gave her that stuff?" Ginny leaned in again and tried to whisper to Hermione, but I could easily hear her. "George would like it more anyway."

"I know you guys are talking about me." I interjected angrily. I hated when people talked about me and the fact they're doing it in front of me only makes it worse. They didn't respond though. "Fine, I'm going to help with dinner and once you guys stop talking about me then you can join."

I sighed as I flopped down on my bed. Dinner wasn't bad, but there was a tension between Fred and Ginny that was hard to ignore at times. Other than that it was good. I was just so excited to get out of this dress. I looked out the window while I felt for the zipper in the back. The guest house lights were on, it would only make sense they were doing something fun, but I was never really into sleepovers. Maybe it has to do with the fact that the only one I went to was just to make me miserable. Misty had planned it and it was the start of my antisocial life, pre-Hogwarts. Then I heard a familiar cracking sound, but I didn't have time to see if it was Fred or George because they came up behind me.

"Let me help you with that." Fred said as he grabbed the zipper and pulled it down. His fingertips barely brushed against my skin, but that was enough to make my heartbeat skyrocket and a burning sensation spread through my skin. "Gonna try on some of your gifts from Ginny?"

"No." I said grabbing the sweater Molly had made me and a pair of sweat pants.

"Too bad. I did pay for them." Fred looked around the room to see the now famous box. "Did you already put it in your sex drawer?"

"I don't have a drawer with that stuff." I said defensively and pulled the box out from under my bed.

"Go get changed." Fred hurried me off.

I went to my bathroom and changed into my pajamas quickly. I didn't want to leave Fred alone in my room for too long. It was scary to think about the things he might do in there. Before my imagination ran too far, I entered my room, and jumped in shock. Covering my bed were the clothing aspects of the gift Ginny had gave me. They were laid out side by side with little room in between them. Fred just stood there staring at it.

"Kind of creepy." I said walking up beside him.

Wow, there was a lot. How much money had Fred and George given her?

"I think she bought the whole store." He commented, ignoring my last remark.

"I wouldn't be surprised. I don't think strip clubs have this many outfits." Some of them were kind of pretty, but most of them made me cringe. For example, a set of underwear that didn't seem to be anything more than a few strings made me feel dirty just by looking at it.

"I think she was happy to have a girl that's a friend other than Hermione. I mean she has other friends, but not this close." Fred gestured encompassing to the outfits.

We were silent for a while until I started laughing. Fred threw me a wild look, but I couldn't stop. He cracked a smile too.

"I don't even know why you're laughing." Fred admitted.

"It's just so funny, all this stuff. Some people take this all so seriously and look how ridiculous this all is." I jumped on the bed. "A sexy cop, a sexy bunny, I mean come on. A sexy prisoner?"

"I see your point." Fred smiled and dumped the rest of the box at his feet. It was all the toys and books, and it only made me laugh harder.

After a while of rolling around in the clothes, I crawled off the bed and helped Fred put everything back in the box.

"Are you okay?" I asked him.

"Huh? Yeah, why do you ask?"

"Because normally you would find this funnier than I do and you are just…there."

He scratched the back of his head, "Ginny's my little sister and she's growing up really quickly, I don't want her to miss out on being young."

"That makes sense, but just lately, you're more serious. Before the box, you haven't been harassing us as much" I shoved the box under my bed and took a seat next to Fred on my bed.

"I don't know really, it's just with my dad being attacked it's been kind of hard to deal with. While George is more resilient, he can pick everyone up and joke around soon after something like that. While I have a little more trouble." Fred took interest in his lap as he spoke. "Can I tell you something?"

"Yeah, of course." I said quickly,

"Because of the war and everything going on, it turns everyone a bit sad. That's why George and I have been so focused on our products lately. Once everyone accepts you-know-who is back, we want to make sure they can still laugh. It doesn't stop me from thinking about it though.

"Like, I always think about what happened if either George or me…goes. I figured that I would want to be the one to die." Fred looked up to me, his eyes the saddest I've ever seen them. "It's not that he deserves life more then me, because everyone deserves life. And it's not that I would sacrifice myself for him, and I would. It's the fact that if I died, he will live on. If he dies, I wouldn't. I would become a waste of resources while he would make the best of them."

"But nether of you are going to die." I reassured him, laying a hand on his knee.

To my surprise he laid his hand over mine and started to use his thumb to trace circles. Where ever the thumb had touched a slight hum on my skin followed and slowly faded.

"But if we did-"

"But you wont." I insisted. "Don't think about that stuff because if that time does come when one of you dies, you will have to accept that you wont be able to choose. If it is him, and I'm not saying that he will die at all, but I want you to live. Everyone deserves a life, remember?"

"I just don't think it would be life without him." Fred said softly.

I felt warm drops of water run down my cheeks, I tried to wipe them away before he saw them, but it was too late and he took my face in his hands. He titled my chin upwards and laughed a little. I jolted in surprise.

"You're taking his hypothetical death a lot worse then I am." He chuckled and pulled me in for a hug. "Come here."

I ended up sitting sideways on his lap as he gently rocked me back and forth, holding me close to his chest. There was nothing more comforting then his strong hold on my fragile body. When Fred had got me thinking about his death and George's death, I started thinking about everyone at this house and what happened if they died. I would be alone. I have no one but the people who are staying this winter break. Sure there are the shop owners and I know a few people a school, but this was it. These were the nicest, smartest, bravest people I knew and the only people I knew. In all honesty, I wouldn't want it any other way. I started sobbing hard. I felt bad to have Fred stuck there with me, but since he didn't try to move me off him until 2 am, I don't think he minded. He gently kissed the side of my forehead and laid me down. He pulled the covers over me and stroked my hair.

"Are you sure you want me to go?" He asked, a worried look in his eyes.

"Yeah, you need sleep especially since it's the start of the big scavenger hunt." I reminded him.

"We're going to kick some serious arse!"

"Huh?"

"Remember, we're on the same team?" He stopped stroking my hair, which made me regain attention. "If you don't want to, then I can pair up with-"

"No, I want to be on the same team as you. I just got a little sleepy with you running your fingers through my hair." I told him. Maybe I could actually win this time.

"They all do." A sly smile appeared on his face and I started to blush. I cursed my face for betraying me on a comment that meant almost nothing. I also cursed my feelings that felt a little bruised when Fred mentioned other girls. "Who says I don't joke around anymore?" He got off my bed and gave me one last smile. "Pack up some of those gifts Ginny gave you, they might come in handy on our little adventure." He winked then apparated away.

I wanted to slap myself because for a moment I wanted him to be serious.