You and Fred took longer to walk back to the common room than you usually do, a whole twenty minutes in fact. Which doesn't sound much, but your regular timings of walking to the common room were approximately seven minutes, five if you had to double your pace because of Fred's long legs. Just one of his steps was about two steps for you!
"I'm not walking too fast for you, am I?" Fred asked, seeming to have read your mind.
"Hm? Oh, ha ha. Another short joke again?" You laughed sarcastically. Fred smirked.
"Hey, I think your height is adorable."
"But I've grown a couple of inches since fourth year! Quite a growth spurt!" You protested, defending yourself. It was true, you had grown a couple of inches but you were still shorter than Fred. No one could compete against the twins in the height compartment. Well, Neville maybe. That boy has grown, a lot!
"I know, I know," Fred laughed, kissing the top of your head with a smile. "Oh, snap! Snape alert!" Fred gasped quietly, his breath caught in his speech so it came out in a sort of croak.
Quickly, he yanked you behind one of the large stone pillars of the dark corridor and held you close to him. A blush creeped onto your cheeks as you felt his warm arms protectively wrap themselves around you, his fingers still linked through your own. You couldn't decide which feeling overwhelmed you more; the fact that you had the love of your life holding you against his warm, gentle frame in a protective way that only could be experienced when it's happening right before your eyes and not behind them in some dream.
Or the feeling of fear; the fact that the most feared Professor was about to discover two disobedient Gryffindor's wandering the corridors at the darkest point of the night, cuddling behind a pillar close together, which could be taken the wrong way without an explanation.
Fred could sense your anxious feeling of the possible outcomes of the situation, and he gently squeezed your hand in his larger one. You loved Fred's hands, but you didn't know why... They were always so soft, no matter what he had been doing. Whether it had been playing Quidditch, inventing new products for his and George's joke collection, or just being the complete joker that he is.
"Stay quiet, otherwise we'll get in deep trouble and you'll end up getting detention too, and I don't want that." Fred whispered quietly next to your ear, his breath washing over your skin. Your capability to speak had been withdrawn from you, leaving you unable and silenced. A simple light nod was the only action you were able of showing. The dangerous sound of the light, echoing footsteps of Snape's polished black shoes swam through the air, chilling the warm blood that flowed through your veins.
You prayed that the darkness of the shadow was large enough to shield you both from discovery, hoping desperately that you wouldn't get Fred into more trouble; you didn't want him getting an extension on his already long detention.
"Fred-" Your whisper was silenced by Fred's fingers gently pressed up against your lips. You swallowed, quietly. You nodded lightly and stayed as quiet as you could, as did Fred.
Soon enough, the increasingly growing shadow of Snape's form grew closer and closer, stretching out across the old stone corridor. You and Fred shuffled slightly around the statue bit by bit, avoiding any possible view the horrid teacher may have. Both of your eyes were fixed upon the dark, shifty, greasy black haired man patrolling the only path you had to escape.
"Come on," Fred whispered gently yet cautiously. The tension filling his body slowly flowing away like a small stream of water escaping the roots of a large woodland tree. He ushered you in the direction he thought was the safest and less likely way that you'll both get caught, the opposite direction. You smiled at his 'genius' idea.
Quickly, and as quietly as mice, the two of you tip toed a run down in the opposite direction, hopefully the way to the Gryffindor common room. Even though Fred was in his seventh and final year at Hogwarts, he still got lost sometimes and used that excuse numerously in class whenever arriving late.
Your walk turned into a speed walk, your speed walk turned into a jog, your jog turned into a run. Hand in hand, you and Fred laughed happily, shaken a little by nerves. Your eyesight started to adjust to the shadows and figures of the corridors and stairwells, seeing the witches and wizards of old peacefully slumber, completely silent other than a few quiet snores here and there.
"That was a close one, wasn't it?!" Fred laughed loudly, only to be hushed by a wizard in a painting, lazily opening up his eyes. Fred smiled apologetically and snickered whilst running beside you.
By now it was rather late, and the two of you should have been back at the common room ages ago. Even though you would have loved to stay up all night and be in the company of Fred, you couldn't. Tiredness had overcome you once again. Annoyingly, the same wasn't with Fred; he was still wide awake as a child on Christmas Eve.
Soon enough, you both approached the familiar painting, spoke the password, and entered the Gryffindor common room as silently as possible. Luckily, the room was parched with any life. The only thing alive and dancing was the warm, lazy fire that crackled its hello and goodnight.
You hopped up onto two or three steps of the girls dormitory staircase to be slightly taller than Fred, to allow yourself to look down on him for a change. Your smile was mirrored by his sleepy grin. His chocolate eyes staring right up and into yours, content.
"Night, Freddy," You whispered happily, ruffling his adorable red hair through your fingers.
"Nighty night," Fred hummed softly. Before he left, Fred swiftly stole another short sweet kiss from you before jumping up the boy's dormitory stairs at least three at a time, a huge grin planted on his face. You shook your head and giggled to yourself, muttering.
"Ladder legs..."