A/N: To missemilyfleur who has disabled private messaging, updates are hopelessly sporadic on my part, I'm afraid, as I have about nine or so active stories I'm working on, and recently my parents left me home alone so I had to actually DO things (like wash dishes, feed my cat, get the mail, water plants) that normally they do whilst I sit around writing fan fiction. My apologies. Delay is unacceptable and I hope you do forgive me.

Emma walked Fred to his detention and returned to Gryffindor Tower to await his return with George, watching George try to sweet-talk first years into taking some Puking Pastilles. She was sure his detention would only be an hour, two at most, but two and a half hours later, Fred returned to the Gryffindor Common room. Emma was staring at the dwindling fire and George was dozing in a nearby armchair.

"Fred!" she hissed when he came in. "What took you so long?"

"Sorry," he hissed back, sitting down next to her, glancing over at his twin. "I need to talk to you, babe."

"Right now?" she sighed. "Freddie, I'm so tired. Can't we just go to sleep?"

"No, Em, I need to tell you this now," he hissed, "and I don't care if I get in trouble. It's important and I need you to know."

She frowned. Whatever it was sounded incredibly serious. With only a moment's hesitation she nodded and allowed him to lead her out of the common room and down to a secret area behind the fourth floor mirror that had become their secret spot almost as soon as he had discovered it with George.

"What is it, Fred?" she moaned, allowing him to pull her onto his lap as he sat on the hard ground. "What is so bloody important?"

"There's so many things, I don't even know where to start," he sighed. "You know what Harry and Dumbledore are saying, about You-Know-Who being back?" Emma nodded. "It's all true."

"I thought it might be," she admitted sleepily, still wondering why this was keeping her up so incredibly late.

"Dumbledore's got a secret organization fighting him. My parents and brothers are in it, that's where I was all summer, at headquarters. I'm joining, Emma, when I'm out of school. I'm fighting him."

She nodded numbly. Emma hadn't expected anything different from him. Fred was a noble Gryffindor through and through, and he always had to be in the thick of things. Now that he said it out loud, however, she was suddenly realizing what that meant.

"Tell me more, please," she said hoarsely.

He wrapped his arms around her loosely, pulling her little body next to his and caressing her arms thoughtfully. He began to nuzzle his cheek against hers as he said, "Well first, Sirius Black is an innocent man…"

Almost the rest of the night, Fred told her story after story, fact after fact, challenging almost everything she knew about the war she had suspected was happening. Everything Emma had read in the papers was a lie. The only true sources of information were Dumbledore and Harry Potter. The implications for Fred were bad enough, but when Emma began to think of the implications for herself, for her family, she began to shake with fear in his arms.

"Are we all going to die, Fred?" she whispered.

He looked at her for a moment as if he was pondering the question very earnestly, a look she had never seen on his face even when doing homework. This was the serious side to Fred Weasley. With a deep intake of breath he tilted his head to the side a little and admitted, "We might. Some of us. Maybe even all of us. But it's better to go down fighting for the right thing than to do what's easy to save your own skin."

Of course, he was right, but Emma didn't want to think about losing Fred or having to fight for survival. She didn't want to admit it to herself, but she wasn't a very good duelist. Fred, on the other hand, had a natural talent for it. With a heavy sigh, she shook her head, noticing that a tear fell from her cheek to his shoulder.

"I don't want you to not tell me anything, Fred," she whispered. "I need to be a part of this, a part of everything, even though it scares me. I think it scares me more not to know everything, though."

He nodded and gave her a sad sort of smile.

"I think it scares me too, but if you ever tell anyone I said that I'll deny it forever."

They laughed and talked for a while. He told her about Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and she told him about the car her father was working on for her. He told her about the Order of the Phoenix and she told him about Roger Davies's stuffed puppy that he slept with. It didn't matter that it was three in the morning when they said goodbye outside her common room. She didn't want the night to end, because somehow she knew that as soon as the morning dawned, the reality of their lives would come crashing down like a wave.

It didn't take long for the couple to work into one of those coupley routines. Much in their lives didn't change. After all, they already ate their meals together and passed most of their free time together. Now, they ate their meals off the same plate, passed their free time curled up together, and slept in Fred's bed virtually every night. It was the same all the time. She wasn't always dressed in Katie's sexy outfits, but Fred didn't seem to notice what she was wearing anymore. He spent most of his time looking her in the eye and grinning like an absolute fool.

Alicia began glaring at Emma everywhere she went. They had never really gotten on, but they had always been polite to each other. After all, it's not a crime to fail to understand somebody. But now, Alicia seemed to think Emma had swooped in out of nowhere and stole her man with one fell snog.

In truth, Emma and Fred had only just begun what could be classified as 'snogging'. Although their kiss were passionate, there was none of the hungry desperation or exploration that Emma would have associated with snogging until very recently, when Fred had pulled her into an empty classroom and kissed her, hard and demanding. The change of pace made her pleasantly dizzy and she responded in kind. The next thing she knew, instinct had taken over and when Fred pulled away, their clothing was disheveled from being pawed by eager hands, there was a bruise on her collarbone from Fred's eager mouth, and their faces and hair were looking incredibly like they had just ran through the Forbidden Forest backward.

"We have to do that again," he moaned, gasping for air. "Oh, Emma…"

Pressing his lips lightly against hers, he wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her tightly.

"Keeper tryouts tomorrow," he hissed her ear as she settled herself on his lap. "You're going to come and watch?"

"Absolutely," she sighed. "Although you've left me rather worn out, Fred. I'm not sure I'll have the energy to make it all the way down to the pitch…"

"No?" he said with a devious smirk. "Not even to see me in my amazingly sexy Quidditch robes?"

"Mmm," she moaned. "They are rather sexy, aren't they?"

"Damn right, they are," he growled, kissing her deeply.

Emma went to the Gryffindor Keeper tryouts, and brought Tien with her, which was possibly the worst idea she had ever had. Her friend didn't bother watching the Quidditch; she had never liked the sport in the first place. Instead, Tien went on and on about Emma and Fred, about Cho Chang's outfit that morning, about Roger Davies and that blonde from Hufflepuff (Sarah? Kara? Tara?). Emma smiled politely and pretended to listen to her friend, but there was something far more important occurring on the field: Ron Weasley was trying for Keeper.

He wasn't the best candidate, that was certain, but he came from good Quidditch stock. His brothers were Beaters, and their older brother Charlie had been a world-class Seeker. Still, Emma's pick would have been Vicky Frobisher. She was a solid Keeper, a good flier, and had a good attitude. In fact, Emma had been so sure that was who Angelina would pick that she was already mentally preparing herself to give Ron moral support, keep Fred from teasing him, and congratulating Vicky as quietly and discretely as possible when Angelina made the official announcement that Ron Weasley would be the new Gryffindor Keeper.

Jaws everywhere dropped, including Ron's. Fred and George looked so stunned they were actually speechless. Tien rubbed her hands together mischievously until Emma shot her a warning look and she frowned, wanting so badly to tease him, surely. Vicky didn't seem surprised, and when Emma rushed down to the field, Angelina held up a hand to stop her from questioning.

"Vicky's over-extended commitment-wise," Angelina said, with almost a sad expression on her face. "She's brilliant, I know, but Ron will train up just fine. He's no Oliver Wood, but then, who is?"

"Oliver Wood," said Tien and George together, and Angelina's scowl just deepened.

"Shut up, both of you. Look, he's the best we're going to get so let's just make the most of it. Harry will be pleased, what with a friend of his being on the team. He won't be the baby anymore."

"No," said Fred with a little frown. "That'll be ickle Ronnikins now, won't it?"

"Fred!" Emma hissed. "Be nice. It's not easy being your brother, you know. He's had a lot to live up to."

"He hasn't got a prayer of being as handsome as me, love," Fred joked, "and the sooner he gets it through his head, the better."

Emma didn't go to the party to celebrate Ron's joining the Quidditch team. She wasn't, after all, a Gryffindor. Fred came to find her later, no doubt borrowing the Marauder's Map from Harry. She was in the Astronomy Tower, looking out onto the grounds.

"Hey, baby," he said softly, wrapping his arms around her. "Sickle for your thoughts?"

She sighed, leaning back into his chest, biting her lip.

"It's all real. I just can't wrap my head around the thought that there's really a war out there, and we're sitting here worrying about who made the Quidditch team and detentions. I mean, shouldn't we be training? Shouldn't we be learning how to fight?"

His arms tightened, pulling her closer.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you," he whispered in her ear. "I'm not going to let anyone touch you."

But they both knew they were just words. She was a Muggleborn, she was a target. He was a blood traitor, son of Order members… he was going to have to look out for himself, forget protecting her.

His lips found themselves on her neck, and she shivered at the sensation. It was as if a jolt of electricity came from them, worked through her body. A sigh escaped her lips as he dragged his own lips down her neck, slowly and torturously.

"Fred," she said, and it came out as more of a moan, which he replied to with a groan, holding her tighter, kissing her skin more intently. She could feel her legs weakening as his fingers explored her waist.

Barely able to control her own body anymore, she turned to face him, their breathing staggered, her lips eagerly pressing to his. His taste… he had been eating chocolate… she moaned into his mouth, and he pressed her into the railing.

She wasn't sure how long they were like that, hands groping at clothes, lips and tongues working madly against each other, hearts beating wildly, but she never wanted it to end. Somehow, they made it to the floor, her on his lap, bodies pressed so close together she thought they might melt into one. She wanted that, craved that, wanted to be closer, even closer to Fred.

His fingers were sliding under her shirt, working their way slowly up her abdomen as his lips began to slide down her neck once more. She gasped his named again as he carefully laid her back onto the cold stone floor. His hot, open-mouthed kisses on her skin were making her squirm as he pressed his body against hers. His tongue swirled a little pattern down to the valley between her breasts, as far as he could go with her shirt in the way and she sighed.

Suddenly, she felt him grind against her, felt his hardness on her leg, and she gasped, realizing what was happening. Things had gone too far, she had gotten lost in the sensations, and they needed to stop, now, before they both regretted it in the morning. She pushed him back.

"Wait," she managed to gasp, and his body froze. She could hear the strain in his breathing. "We need to stop. We can't do this here."

His eyes flew open and he sat up quickly, shaking his head as if to clear it.

"Oh, Merlin, Em, I'm so sorry! You're right, I got carried away. You deserve better than the floor of the Astronomy Tower."

A thought suddenly struck her, and although she was embarrassed to do so, she realized it was something she ought to ask, something she needed to know…

"Fred, have you ever… been with anyone?"

"N-no," he muttered, turning a bright shade of pink. "George keeps telling me I should. And I honestly thought about telling you I had for a split second, to impress you, but I don't want to lie to you, Emma."

"Me neither, Fred," she muttered, knowing he would know what she meant. "I guess we should probably get to someone's common room. If a prefect finds us…"

He snorted.

"Or Umbridge," she snapped.

His face grew instantly serious and he bowed.

"Lead the way, m'lady."

She realized that he had never been to the Ravenclaw common room. Whenever they had hung out in someone's living space, she had always come to the Gryffindors. After all, she was the only Ravenclaw, and it made sense for her to come to them. Excited and a bit nervous, she led him in to the Ravenclaw common room, allowing him to take in all of the newness.

"Well," he said finally, settling on a couch and pulling her close to him, "this is one common room we won't be pranking soon."

"Why's that?" she said with a grin.

"Because, there's no way George and I can be sure of getting the question in enough time to properly pull off a prank."

Emma laughed and said, "I think you're forgetting, love, that Tien and George are getting to be rather close. I imagine if you made it worth her while, she'd let you in without hesitation."

He put on his thinking face and kissed her cheek.

"What do you think would make it worth her while?"

"Get Cho Chang? Or Roger Davies. Or both."

"Sounds like a plan!" he said cheerily. "I'll bet we can think of something."

But Emma was tired of hearing about pranks, Tien, and things that had nothing to do with her. Despite how much she adored Fred's pranks, she wanted his attention. Wrapping her arms silently around his neck, she pulled his surprised face down to hers and pressed her lips against his insistently. It didn't take very long for his surprise to melt into eagerness, and they began kissing as though they hadn't stopped in the Astronomy Tower. Her mind was so foggy that she wasn't sure exactly what she had done, but he moaned her name, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling them even closer together.

The heat of his body against hers was incredibly arousing, and she found herself wanting his hands to move from her back and explore the rest of her. As if to give him a bit of encouragement, Emma wrapped her legs around his waist, becoming as close to him as possible and moving against him, begging for more friction between their bodies. She had never been this close to a boy before, but she needed to be closer, needed to feel him closer to her, so that they could become one.

Apparently, Fred agreed with this sentiment and his hands found their way up her shirt. Had she been in her right mind, she might have been nervous or uncomfortable that his hands were exploring the skin of her torso, but her mind was misty, clouded, lost in the sensations that his fingertips brought: the burning desire for his touch. When his hands cupped her breast through the fabric of her bra, she moaned into his mouth, unable to help herself. She was putty in his hands.

Slowly, they explored each other, skin on skin, peeling away the layers of fabric that kept them from each other. Each new sensation brought by his fingers or his lips to various parts of Emma's body was pleasing, exciting, and maddening all at once. A fire was burning in her core and she didn't know how to put it out, not sure if she wanted to stop the delicious longing it brought. Delicious…

Fred tasted delicious. Every inch of his skin was like an unexplored delight for her mouth. Emma was glad that she wasn't the only one making sounds, moaning and gasping as they went about their exploration. Their naked bodies intertwined, needing closeness, needing that tingling sensation of heat that came with the friction of their skin moving against each other's skin. Their sounds became louder. Fred growled a little and Emma let out a long, breathy moan as he ground his stiff member into her own hot core.

Suddenly, someone sat up abruptly from underneath a blanket in the armchair in the corner.

"Oi, keep it down, will you? Some of us are trying to sleep! Ah! Emma! Weasley, who I'm guessing is Fred, considering the situation! Put some clothes on, will you? This is a public place!"

Emma groaned as Fred yelped, shielding her body from view with his own as he scrambled to find a blanket nearby to cover them both.

"Merlin's bloody balls, Tien, what the hell are you doing up at two in the morning in the common room?" he cried, pulling a blanket around him and Emma.

"I was up waiting for Emma and I fell asleep," Tien said frankly. Don't worry; I'll leave you to make yourselves decent. You have ten minutes."

With that, the petite Vietnamese girl took off up the stairs so that she was out of sight, allowing Emma and Fred time to put their clothes back on, at the very least. Emma silently cursed her friendship with Tien. It had been fun, especially as she didn't have any other friends in Ravenclaw, but when it came to her relationships with other people, Tien had ruined everything good that had ever happened. Fred seemed a bit miffed, but he chuckled a little, kissed her on the head and said, "Next time, love, I'll find a proper place where we won't be interrupted by either of our friends. I promise."

He didn't really seem to mind, and that made Emma incredibly thankful, and a bit excited as she realized there would be a next time. She and Fred would have those incredible sensations once more. She nearly shivered at the thought.