Safe With Me ~ Fred Weasley

The Portkey

I jolted awake for what must have been the fourth time that night, only this time I could pinpoint the reason. In the dark of Ginny's bedroom you could barely make out Molly's outline as she moved to wake her daughter before starting towards Hermione and I.

"I'm up, thank you Molly." I said softly, knowing the other two were being woken from a much deeper sleep than I had been.

"One out of ten up and ready for the day, I'll take that as a win." She smiled as she headed back to the hallway, the smell of breakfast already wafting in our room.

"I've changed my mind, I don't want to go." Ginny grumbled, shoving her pillow over her face in an attempt to block out the light from the hallway lamps. The sky outside of our window was still very dark, meaning it had to be well before six in the morning.

"We'll get some coffee, come on Ginny." Hermione voiced, sounding groggy herself but climbing from the bed and shutting the door so the three of us could get dressed.

Arthur had told us to dress 'incognito,' which to him apparently meant in muggle clothing, which was good since that was all I really had if I didn't want to show up in my school uniform. I pulled on a pair of jeans which sported a few holes in the knees and a white t-shirt, lacing up my shoes before heading to meet the rest of the Weasley's in the kitchen. Everyone was sporting muggle clothing, the twins wearing loose fitted cardigans over striped t-shirts and matching sleepy looks. Fred rubbed at his eyes before going in for another bite of his breakfast when Ginny pulled the chair out next to him, plopping down and sliding a plate over for herself.

Fred's eyes met mine and suddenly any ounce of sleepiness I had felt had evaporated. He offered me a tired smile and ran his tongue over his lips quickly, his eyes rolling over my body once before he returned to his meal.

Arthur explained that we had a bit of a walk ahead of us after Ginny voiced her annoyance at the early hour we had all been woken up. Apparently, over two hundred portkeys had been set up around Britain for wizards to get to the World Cup without the muggles taking notice.

The eight of us set out through the dark and twisting path heading towards the large hill in the distance which Arthur had pointed out at the start of our walk. I had packed a few changes of clothes in my small bag which was nothing in comparison to Mr. Weasley's oversized backpack he had strapped to his back. The sky was slowly lightening from the pitch black we had grown so used to and was now simply a dark blue, but the air around us was still unusually chilly for late August.

Fred and I had walked side by side in near silence aside from the random tips to 'watch your step,' or him pointing out houses of children he had played with as a small child.

"Did you bring a jacket?" He asked, apparently noting my shivering even in the dim light.

"No, I forgot. I'm used to it being warm." I shrugged, hugging my arms to my chest. Before answering, Fred slipped his bag over his shoulders and shrugging his arms from his cardigan.

"Fred, no. You'll get cold, it'll get warmer when the sun comes out-" I started, backing a few steps away, my foot plummeting through a small hole in the grass before Fred linked his hands with mine, pulling me back towards him easily.

"It'll get warmer when the sun comes out." He mimicked, reaching around me to pull the oversized gray sweater over my arms. "Watch where you're walking, Cassy, wouldn't be much fun watching the World Cup with a broken ankle." He winked, pulling his rucksack back on and continuing up the hill after his family, who we were now falling behind.

After what felt like hours, dodging the small holes and trying to find good footing in the dewy grass, we had made it to the top of the hill.

"Well we made good time, we've still got ten minutes. Just have to find the Portkey..." Arthur started, his eyes drifting along the grassy floor. "Everyone spread out!"