Little soppy chapter. I honestly cannot believe I did this all today. I just had a burst of inspiration and had to get it down and uploaded.

Thank you so so much to every single reviewer/follower/favouriter/reader that doesn't tell me what they think of this story (you still amaze me with your views!)

24. Over Too Soon

Nervous energy fuelled me throughout the day accompanied by sweaty palms and a swollen lip. Questions clamped my lungs by the minute: where are we going? What am I supposed to wear? Should I eat before we leave? What are we going to be doing? When is he going to bloody come down?

Unfortunately, the gentleman known as Fred Weasley did not show up during the day, thus my questions and worries were left unanswered. Not even the Gryffindor girls had graced me with their presence and their knowledge on dates.

Over the months since his arrival, Dobby volunteered to serve the Weasley twins in their laundry and dorm cleaning, to which all the other house elves hastily agreed, however, he had off days where their dorm was just too much, even for him. He had been apparating in and out of the kitchen throughout the day, returning with arms full of clothes and sweets, alerting me to his stop at the twins' dorm. It seemed the only opportunity I would have, soI approached him in the middle of him washing bright pink and purple socks and leaned back against the wall.

"Alright there, Dobby?" I asked, smiling down at the humming house elf.

"Yes, Miss Ella. Dobby enjoys washing Weasley's socks in the bubbles," he said, dunking the clothes deeper into the tub of bubbles. It was no secret that Dobby relished in washing laundry by hand rather than magic – he had a thing for bubbles.

"That's a lot of clothes you have. Are they all from the twins' room?"

"Yes, them all. Mister Jordan's as well."

"They never have this many clothes to wash all at once. What on earth are they doing?" I asked.

He opened his mouth, ready to reply, and then closed it quickly. As fast as a seeker his eyes widened and he abandoned his washing momentarily.

"Miss Ella is going on a date with Mister Weasley!" Dobby yelled.

"Er – yes, yes I am, Dobby. Has Fred said anything about it?"

"Oh – Miss Ella is going to love tonight!" he twirled on the spot, close to collapsing into the large peak of bubbles. I grabbed his shoulders and bent low, face to face with him.

"Dobby," I said, abandoning my untailored pretence. "Has Fred mentioned to you – or have you heard – anything about tonight's date?"

The creature grinned, his large tennis ball eyes slitting into a Weasley twin like mischievous stare.

"Dobby will say this, Miss: the date will be superfandastic!"

Once he had finished his pile of washing, he apparated away and did not return until just before dinner.

Bonnie, being the perceptive house elf who knew me better than all the others, noticed my stumbling and mumbling around the kitchen and suggested I have a relaxing bath to calm my nerves. The clock on the wall showed that it was nearing the end of dinner, yet the house elves carried on their scurrying in the kitchen. A sigh left my lips, and I took a plate of meat and vegetables with me to the bathroom, thinking it best to eat if we would not be doing so on our date.

It was weird to think: going on a date with Fred Weasley, I thought as I stripped off my clothes, damp from all the apprehensions, and slid into the warm bubbly bath. Instantly, the tension was eased away by the vanilla smelling foam. I submerged myself into the water and arose once my hair was soaked. Just like George, he did not seem to take much seriously. He often had artistic doodles all over his parchment where homework should have been written, crude depictions of Snape in frilly dresses being blown by the wind, or Trelawney's large bug eyes growing and growing until they popped into hundreds of fireworks. He teased his younger brother Ron mercilessly up until his face was as red as the Gryffindor common room. The only time he had been deadly serious was when he confronted Darren.

The porcelain tub untouched by the water was cool against my upper back as I started on my dinner. I took small nibbles, relishing in the relaxation I so desperately needed, glad to finally make use of the bath charmed to stay as hot as I liked. My concerns on the date seemed trivial in the cloud of steam glazing my senses.

The door swung open and in walked a pair deep into conversation. A shriek escaped me, my hands dropping the plate and instinctively moving over my covered body.

"What are you doing in here?" I screamed at the laughing red heads, sinking lower into the bath.

"Sorry!" Fred yelled, pulling George to turn around and face the opposite wall as well, small chuckles escaping them. "Dobby said you were waiting in your dorm."

"I could have been getting changed!"

"You aren't. So no problem!" George swivelled his head to grin at me, only moving back when Fred slapped him.

"No problem? I'm in the bath – naked!"

"Really?" they both drawled.

"Why are you in the bath anyway? We do have a date, you know."

"Why am I – Why are you in here? Uh, no, shut up! Get out!"

The twins exited without another word until the door was shut.

"Hurry up and get ready, we're on a schedule," Fred said.

My hands glided over my face, rubbing away my embarrassment. I peered down and almost choked on the stuffy air. The water may have been charmed to stay at a certain temperature, but the bubbles were not, I realised, watching what once was a mountain of bubbles reduced to spots of ant hills, fortunately, covering the more intimate parts of my body. I was sure my face was burning a remarkable shade of red.

"Oi, have you drowned yourself?"

"No," I growled. "Tell Bonnie to get me some clothes ready on your way out of my dorm."

No response was given. I climbed out of the bath and quickly dried myself off with a towel and wrapped it around myself, inhaling largely before peering out the door to see an empty dorm. If possible, I was even more on edge than before.

The boys were seated on a bench at one of the tables, the house elves walking around aimlessly or sitting around them.

"Thank you for the clothes, Bonnie," I smiled as she passed.

"It was no problem, Miss. You look wonderful," she said, hugging me around the knees.

I approached the twins after returning Bonnie's hug. They were in deep discussion and did not notice my arrival until I tapped one on the shoulder, successfully silencing them as they stood.

"I thought you said you don't go on dates with George?" I said, attempting to stifle my embarrassment.

"Always a first for everything," George said, winking.

"Well then, if that's the case…" my foot made to take a step back but Fred's hand on mine stopped all movement.

"George, you can piss off now," Fred said.

"I'm wounded brother!"

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks for bringing him safely here, George."

"That's more like it! Now then, onto the more serious motive of my being here." He pointed at us accusingly like a parent would to their child. "I want no funny business going on. No close contact, so this -" he separated our clasped hands and placed them to our sides again "– is a no. I want him back by midnight. Any later than that I will assume you have Frednapped him and are having your wicked way with him, which overrides rule number one of no funny business. Fourthly –"

"George!" Fred and I exclaimed.

"OK, ok! I'm just doing what a good twin should."

"If you're done – which you are! – We should be going," Fred said, once again taking my hand.

"Have fun kids! But not too much!" George yelled behind us.

"Merlin help me with him," Fred murmured under his breath as we journeyed through the hallways.

"For a minute I actually thought he was coming with us," I admitted. "Where are we going? I just – I didn't know what to wear – not sure what was appropriate, so I just –"

"Ella," Fred stopped by a large statue. "I didn't tell you because it's a surprise."

I bit my lip, not wanting to voice my concern on my outfit again. He pointed his wand at the statue and I used his momentary distraction to inspect my clothes. Bonnie had picked out a simple sleeveless black lace dress with a flared floral skirt, a grey cardigan and some ankle boots over tights. The transition from jeans and shorts to skirts and dresses over the years had been a hard one, complete with Zoe fighting me whenever I opted for the former. She had since gifted me with many dresses, many of which I never wore, but was more comfortable with.

The statue lurched into some sort of life and opened up at the back, presenting a dark passageway. Fred looked over his shoulder and held my hand.

"Don't want you getting lost."

"Is this how we're getting to Hogsmeade?" I asked as we walked through the seemingly endless passage, the tip of his wand emitting the only light. I gripped his hand harder.

"Always knew you were a clever one," he said.

"So I take it this route isn't very well known."

"Correct again, love."

Sucking in my cheeks prevented a grin from taking over.

Time dragged on in the silence until we finally arrived at some stairs. Fred led me up and carefully opened the door. He jumped up, and with a giant smile, swooped me up into heaven on earth.

The shelves around us were all colourful, even in the dark. Chocolates of every kind imaginable layered one entire wall. Another held sweets and lollipops with dancing images advertising their unique tastes. Hanging from the ceiling were discs and planets of sugar swirled confectionary.

"Honeydukes," I gasped, completely enraptured by the deliciously sweet smells.

Fred appeared in front of me, between his teeth a long dark stem. "For the lady," he said, removing the chocolate rose and swirling it before my face.

"Oh God, that looks amazing!"

"Always thought chocolate flowers are better than real ones, wouldn't you agree, love?" he asked.

"Definitely," I murmured through a mouthful of a chocolate petal; it melted and crackled in my mouth.

"And over here," Fred said, taking my hand and dragging me to the other side of the store. He inspected a few rows and pulled out a little package. "Guess what this is?"

"A lollipop."

"A-ha! Not just any lollipop – it's an Acid Pop."

"That doesn't sound very nice."

He rolled his eyes, then, opening the wrapper, put it into his mouth. "Thee? Perfecwy fwine."

I laughed at his sudden wince, followed by another, until he finally removed the Acid Pop, steam billowing out of his mouth and nose.

"Think that's funny do ya?" Fred grinned crookedly and slowly advanced towards me. His hungry leer made me laugh even louder, disturbing the quiet of the night. He lunged, his hands covering my mouth.

"Shh!"

Standing in the middle of a deserted Honeydukes we listened for any other sounds other than the steam's whistles dying down. There was nothing – and then a voice. Fred's arms guided me down and behind a corner, hidden in the shadows.

"Stay quiet," he whispered so close to my ear his lips grazed the skin, my loose hair brushed behind my ear giving him better access.

The owner did a slow inspection of the store, pointing their lit wand all around. Their footsteps edged closer to our corner. Fred, a hand still over my mouth and the other around my waist, gently steered me backwards. Our movements were awkward, still in a crouching stance and shuffling ourselves around stacked boxes. Just as the owner appeared in our previous location we rounded the corner and sat behind a large barrel.

Nox was heard, and then feet moving further away. We exhaled simultaneously and breathed quiet laughter leaning back into a more relaxing position. Fred's head thumped against the barrel.

"Ow."

Tilting his head back, he inspected the plain barrel, then, reaching his arm up, dove his hand in.

"What's that?" I whispered as he pulled down a small box. He shrugged, resting his other arm around my waist.

"Fred?"

"Mmm?"

"Why am I in your lap?"

It was a rather cute sight, seeing the beginnings of a blush appear around his ears. I had never seen Fred blush before, only George. However, unlike George, Fred recovered much quicker, and his flushed skin was gone as fast as it had materialised.

"Because I'm more comfortable than the floor, of course," he winked. "I'm only being a gentleman."

My mouth opened, ready to retort, but my stomach beat me to it. It grumbled embarrassingly loudly, threatening the reappearance of the owner, despite my arms attempting to smother the noise.

"I thought you ate your dinner?" Fred smirked. I willed myself not to fidget.

"Sadly, I was unable to finish it thanks to two idiots."

"Such men need punishing, surely."

"Oh, they'll get it," I warned to an unflinching Fred. He rolled his eyes and stood up, both hands steadying me by my waist. Checking the time on an old watch on his wrist, his lips danced in funny movements.

"Care to dance?" he asked, holding his hand out in the small distance between us.

"What? Here? We almost got caught!"

"So?"

"We'll get caught, Fred." Biting my lip was futile when it came to Fred.

Using his outstretched hand, he clasped mine, his other hand resting on my waist and pulling us closer together.

"So?"

He started a slow dance, small circles and twirls in one spot. It intensified after moments of boredom, him pushing me out far and then yanking me back into his body, prompting him to stumble back into more boxes. I stopped, standing in his arms and listening out for the owner. Nothing. Fred grinned and danced us over to the storefront. The comfort of his long arms left me as he pulled down an item from a high shelf.

"You're going to love this," he said, shoving it in my face.

"Chocolate Bomb?" I said, reading the label.

"Try it," Fred encouraged, taking one himself.

Without hesitation I lobbed the chocolate into my mouth in a similar fashion to Fred. The hard chocolate shell wasted no time in melting, the sensation making me want to scream in satisfaction. Nothing could have prepared me for the following bang! Chocolate oozed out of the remainder of the shell and covered the roof of my mouth, my teeth and tongue.

Fred laughed, his mouth open wide, revealing nothing but chocolate. "Told woo."

I wanted to frown, tell him to shut his disgusting mouth and taste the chocolate from his mouth. Instead, I laughed. Not a wild, exuberant laugh like his, but a small giddy laugh. Laughing with a chocolate covered mouth, I found, resulted in snorting. His freckled face crinkled as silent laughter poured from his mouth with strands of saliva and chocolate escaping his lips. It was an infectious laughter, to which I caught.

The laughter was painful but so very blissful. Fred calmed first, wiping chocolate from his chin and tears from his eyes. I was still bent low, so engrossed on relieving my stomach of the pressure that Fred's expression went by unnoticed. Eventually, he helped me get my breath back, laughing lightly as he did. Before we were discovered, Fred directed the way back to the hidden passage.

My hands shook as I wiped the mirthful tears from my eyes, still recovering. It was only when we made it back to the statue of the hag I realised we would not be continuing our date. Disappointment flooded me; did I ruin it? Did he change his mind and decide to cut it short?

His wand shut the secret passage when I voiced my question.

"So, is our date over?" My attempt at sounding casual and blithe hurt my ears, it was much too put on. I had not expected Fred to notice.

"Was it that bad?" his hand rested over his chest in a façade of great pain.

"No, no – I didn't mean –"

"Good. I would hate for this experience to put you off. Come on now."

My question was left unanswered, and all my previous joy fragmented into the darkness of Hogwarts.

The portrait of the fruit bowl swung open, and instead of allowing me in, he entered first, holding the door open for me from the inside.

Smells punctuated the air, greeting us first. Smells of meat and steamed vegetables and melted cheese. Then came the dim light illuminating the long dark room. There were few candles, some floating around a small table, some around the fireplace, also reduced from its usual intense light. And then a cough.

Looking down I saw Dobby, dressed in a bright green toga and orange slippers. Black scrawl painted his face: a moustache and a trio of moles.

"Master Weasley, Miss Ella," Dobby greeted, bowing so low his nose was a hairs distance away from the ground.

"Sir Dobby," Fred bowed. He stood beside me and slithered his arm around my waist. "Reservation under Weasley."

"Of course, Master," Dobby said, blinking away tears at being addresses as sir. He took large steps towards the small table, where, upon closer inspection, another figure emerged in similar dress as Dobby. Fred groaned.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?"

"You expect me to miss out on this occasion? Not likely. Besides, Dobby hired me."

The doppelgangers were anything but in that moment, Fred glaring at his twin whilst an expression of annoyance graced his features, whereas George simply grinned and winked.

"Fine," Fred relented, cursing his twin loud enough for him to hear.

His warm hand pushed lightly on my back, urging me to my seat. The brothers stared, an internal conversation carrying through their faces, and then both rushed to pull out my seat. Fred's elbow dug into George's ribs, while his face was getting shoved by two hands. They struggled in their pursuit, utterly oblivious to me taking the seat opposite them. Dobby passed me my menu, his voice drawing the twins' attention.

I smiled at them once, then turned to the menu with one option for each criteria as the twins muttered in distorted sentences. With a final shove, Fred sat down, glaring at his brother.

"Bloody idiot."

"May I take your orders?" George sang, ignoring Fred.

"I'll have the lasagne with the side of steamed vegetables, please," I said.

"Magnificent choice madam! And you sir?"

"Not much choice, is there?" Fred grumbled.

"Sir, your order please."

"Same as my lovely date here."

"Of course. Wonderful taste. Your food shall be with you shortly." George gathered the parchment menus and held them under his arm. "Drinks?"

"Butterbeer for me and a milkshake for the lady," Fred said, shooing George away.

"So…dinner," I said. "You could have told me the date wasn't over."

"Why? Were you worried?" Fred's lip quirked up.

"No! Of course not. I was…just…noticing…"

"You were worried!"

My eyes mechanically rolled as they always seemed to do around the twins. "Whatever."

George placed our drinks before us, but before he could prolong his presence, Fred stood and dragged him over to Dobby. Giggled burst into my straw as the thick chocolate milkshake cooled me from the inside.

"Ok, now up," Fred ordered upon returning.

"Excuse me?"

"Get up," he repeated.

"Why?" I asked suspiciously. It was a natural reaction around him.

His hands flapped, urging me to stand. He pulled me beside the table and tucked the chair back in. Holding the back of it, he pulled it out again, his toothy smile insisting me to sit.

"I cannot believe you."

He ran to his seat again and quickly sat, his chin resting in the palms of his hands.

"What?" he questioned innocently, his middle finger flying up to the person cursing behind him.

"This is really amazing, Fred. I honestly didn't think you were capable of something so…"

"Perfect?"

"Yes, actually. This is perfect."

The childish expression his features were acting relaxed into a casual smile.

"I disagree. I think it would be utter rubbish if the company wasn't perfect."

"Aw, Freddie-boo, you're too sweet!" George gushed.

"Not you, you git. Ella!"

"Brother! The foul words bleeding from your mouth wound me so!" George cried, grabbing a fork and taking large bites from Fred's plate still in his hand.

"Oi! Stop – Ella, make him stop!"

"George, give Fred his food or I will make a serious complaint to your employer about your service," I warned, fixing him with a glare.

Fred's plate was set down and George skipped away. Instead of the playful glare he usually adopted, his face was hardened. I dropped my fork and rested my hand over his.

"Fred?"

"I'm sorry if he's ruining your night. I didn't plan for him to be here."

I assured him my night was going splendidly. Nevertheless, I excused myself from the table and made my way to George. He was sitting on a bench beside Dobby, instructing him on the art of Gobstones.

"George?"

He looked up. "Yep? Need something?"

"I'm sorry to say this, but could you, kind of…leave?" The words made my mouth dry, expecting him to be hurt, but in a green toga and orange slippers, I could not imagine myself to keep a straight face.

"Ok."

The surprise on my face must have been evident as George laughed and patted my head reassuring me that there were no hard feelings, and he was simply seeing how long Fred would last sharing his date. With a final wave and yell of midnight, he left.

"He took that well," I noted once I sat back.

"Of course he did, he's George. He was only mucking about anyway," Fred shrugged, his food almost gone.

"But – but you were upset."

"Upset? No. I was annoyed, more like. Lee must have dared him to stay down here. Git."

Falling into conversation was easy as we finished our meal and dessert of ice cream. Laughter came easy with Fred, and we retreated to the fireplace once we were happily stuffed. His hand enclosed mine and he pulled me on his lap on an armchair. I was tense, at first, sitting stiffly on his lap, but with the aid of his arms around my middle and him leaning back, I found it much more comfortable to rest into him. It was not long until the dress and tights had me fidgeting.

"Sorry, I can't do this much longer, I need to get changed," I said, detaching myself from his warm body.

"I'm surprised you even wore a dress today," he said.

"Did George happen to tell you everything about me?"

I was answered with a wink, one that was becoming far too common.

"I'll wait here," he called as I retreated to my dorm to replace the dress for my pyjamas.

And indeed, he was still seated on the armchair when I returned with my plaid pyjamas and Bill's t-shirt. My stomach, blissfully content with the night's meal, must have encouraged some confidence in me, for I resumed my seat in Fred's lap without any prompting. His arms instinctively wound around me again, his chin resting on my head as his hands played with my still loose hair.

"I didn't mention you looked great in that dress, did I?"

I hummed no.

"Well, you looked better than great."

"Mhmm?"

He chuckled, almost nervously. "You're beautiful."

My eyelids fluttered open, but Fred was staring at the fireplace.

"Even in your pyjamas," he laughed.

"You don't look too bad yourself," I said, playfully tugging on his navy blue shirt he had paired with brown trousers.

"I don't look too bad? Pfft, I look like a sex god."

The answer was typical from him, I should have seen it coming, and yet, it still surprised me into laughter.

"I don't think anyone makes me laugh as much as you," I admitted, my fingers rolling his shirt button around.

"I love making you laugh."

I titled my head up again, but this time Fred was looking down with an intensity I would never have associated with him before. It took my breath away; his fingers on my lower back and in my hair. My mind strayed to the thought that our faces were impossibly close, his lips ghosting breath onto mine. It was intoxicating, and I wanted more. In Honeydukes I had wanted to taste the chocolate from his mouth, I only realised, wanting to see if it was sweeter from the heat of his mouth.

But I did not taste chocolate, not this time. His soft, thin lips touched mine. We did nothing but press them together for short moments that lingered on. Then his started moving. My inexperience led me to follow the dance of his lips, the opening and closing; the pressing down and releasing; the tilting. I was sure that there, in his arms and with his lips, I was exactly where I should be. His warmth engulfed me, teased my senses until I could breathe no longer.

We broke apart together, him peppering small kisses onto my lips as I gulped down air. I laughed onto his mouth, incredulous of what had just occurred. But his eyes sparkled in a foreign language, and we kissed again. Our first, and certainly not last, date was over too soon.