How long has it been since I posted a one shot for Fred? Too long, I'm sure. 

This one shot was requested by selena_lyn far too long ago, but I hope you enjoy it 

Tomorrow is my birthday so if I'm hard to reach, please understand ~~

As per usual, this isn't edited (but that's normal for me, so are you surprised?)

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My morning began earlier than it did for most of my dormmates. For some reason, since starting in my fifth year, I hadn't been able to sleep in past six o'clock in the morning. It was annoying on a weekday, but downright infuriating on a weekend where I had no early classes and I could have slept in. I still had no idea why my sleep schedule had changed, but it was something I was trying my best to revert to normal. Of course, if you asked Moorey, she would say that the upcoming stress of our upcoming O.W.L exams was kicking my body into becoming productive and I was living up to not so known trait of our house; operating on a mild level of anxiety every day. Rowena, it was beginning to sound like she had a point.

Madam Pince, who was watching me expectantly, cleared her throat. Realising that I was just standing in front of her, I hurried to approach the desk with the books I'd been clinging to. Putting them down, I watched as checked each one out.

"Thank you," I said softly, accepting the books back and trying not to wince with embarrassment at being caught drifting off into space so early in the morning. I just needed to get out of here before I did anything else.

Slotting the books into my school bag, I hefted it onto my shoulder and prepared to head out to the library where I knew my dormmates were bound to have settled for breakfast. Exiting the library and stepping out into the corridor, I stopped for a second, surveying the empty corridor. Lingering in the doorway, I looked around for any student who was on their way to the Great Hall but couldn't find anyone. But not just that, the air felt too still, and cloyingly heavy. It was almost like dread lingered in the air, not that I could even begin to work out why. Despite not knowing the reason, it still made me hyperalert, my eyes darting around the corridor and my ears beginning to ring a little as I hurried towards the Great Hall. Once I sat at the Ravenclaw table, it would be alright, the anxiety would fade.

Walking quickly through the corridor in something that better resembled a jogging pace than it did a walking pace, I contemplated taking one of the shortcuts that I just knew were lurking around the corners. But the last thing I needed was to take a shortcut I'd never once taken before and get lost. Finally, finally, when I could hear the distant chatter of students, I allowed my pace to slow down to a walk.

I walked into the Great Hall like I hadn't worked myself into a tizzy over ... well, I wasn't sure what, I headed straight to the Ravenclaw table and situated myself between my dormmates. Greeting them with a smile, I thankfully accepted the teapot when it was passed towards me. Pouring myself a very generous mugful, I took a grateful sip.

"Everything alright, Roosevelt?" Moorey asked, eyeing me dubiously as I let out a deep exhale. "You didn't bother adding any milk or sugar to your tea."

"Sometimes I just need it like this." She shook her head at my words but didn't say anything else on the matter. Instead, she returned to the conversation she'd been having previously with the rest of my dormmates.

Helping myself to some breakfast, I ate some toast to fortify my stomach. Casting a curious glance around the great hall, I tried not to frown when I realised that the Great Hall lacked its usual chatter. People were speaking quietly between themselves but not the way they usually did. The students talked quietly between to each other, occasionally lifting their heads and shooting glances around.

"What the hell is going on today?" I asked, leaning toward my dormmates. There was an extremely obvious veil of apprehension that blanketed the room. It had the toast turning to lead in my stomach.

My dormmates turned to look at me, watching me as if they couldn't believe how I had no idea what was going on. For a moment, I wracked my brain, trying to figure out if there was something I'd missed, or if there was something I was supposed to know. Nothing sprung to mind.

Moorey took pity on me, leaning across the table towards me as if she didn't want anyone to hear what she had to say. "Everyone is worried."

"Everyone is worried?" I repeated dubiously, somehow doubting that. And yet, just one look around the Great Hall gave the statement some credit. Maybe not everyone - Snape certainly didn't look worried - but the fair majority of people looked worried. "But also, if everyone is worried, why are we whispering?"

She shot me a look, clearly not appreciating my question. But she straightened up nonetheless, and when she spoke, it was at a normal volume, "There's been some news from the Gryffindor house."

Casting an irritated glance towards the house in question, I wondered, "What is wrong with them? Why can't they just live a life without causing any drama?"

Garcia, who had been an absentminded bystander to the conversation scoffed, "I'm telling you, the hat sits on their head, measures how much of a drama queen they are before deciding to send them there."

"Anyway," Moorey said pointedly, "rumour has it, the Weasley twins are bored."

I froze. Everything made sense now, the dread and apprehension that permeated the air made sense. If the Weasley twins were bored, then there was danger lurking around every corner of the castle. I didn't dare think about what bored Weasley twins could get up to if they were not bored regularly when they got up to all their mischief.

"What do you mean they're bored?" I asked, hoping upon hope that my brain had just kicked pointlessly into overdrive.

"You know exactly what I mean. They're bored and concocting."

Stifling my horror, I glanced towards the Gryffindor table where, sure enough, the Weasley twins were sitting, pouring over scattered papers with Jordan at their side. There was absolutely no way of knowing what they were discussing, and I was glad for it. I wanted to know nothing about whatever they were planning. The less I knew, the better - for my mental stability at least. For my anxiety, well, that was another matter.

"Lord knows who'll get caught by them first," Garcia started, following my eyes, "but Merlin helps them."

"Well I can tell you one thing," Moorey grumbled," it will not be me."

And it certainly wouldn't be me either. For now, I needed to take everything one step at a time. The first step to it all was to avoid the hallway at busy times. The busy hallways gave them all the targets they could possibly desire and I would just take myself out of that equation.

**********

Nothing had happened so far. It had been a few days since the Weasley twin's boredom had been declared and struck fear into the souls of every student and there had been nothing. No one had been caught in a prank, in any form of mischief despite there being ample opportunity and it was setting everyone on edge. The more time passed with nothing exploding or changing colour or being charmed to run away from its owner, the heavier the anticipation became. No matter how adamantly everyone denied it, we were all waiting for the first poor sod to get caught by the twins. Once that happened and the proverbial seal had been broken, we would at least be able to breathe a little easier. Who knew, maybe they'd be done after the first prank? Oh, who was I kidding?

"Miss Roosevelt?" Madam Pince's voice sounded from behind me, startling me to such a degree that the book I was shelving almost tumbled out of my hand.

Catching it quickly, I turned towards the older woman, "Yes?"

"You'll be late for your lesson," she warned before turning to return to her desk.

Cursing my lack of timing, I hurriedly put the book back into its rightful place and returned to the table where I'd been working on my essay. Gathering my things, I quickly made my way through the library and towards the exit; the last thing I needed was to be late to Potions. Snape would have a field day. Reaching the door, I opened it, preparing to step into the corridor, only to stop myself. The corridor was empty; I really should have timed it better.

The corridors were empty and there would be no one for me to blend into. I was fairly certain the Weasley twins had set their plan - whatever it was - to go off in the main corridors, it was a theory I was sticking to. And if I was the only person walking through those hallways, my chance of getting caught, increased.

"Off you go," Pince said firmly from behind me, and I tried not to make a face at the uncompassionate older witch.

But her prompting, and the certainty that Snape would be a git if I turned up late, had me taking the first step into the danger. I forced myself to walk at a reasonable, albeit quick, pace because if I didn't make sure to pace myself, I would start running. And if I happened to run into a teacher? Well, those would be points lost.

Walking towards the nearest shortcut to the potions classroom, I kept an eye out on my surroundings, just in case. Although I didn't know what I was looking for and even if I did know what I was looking for, I couldn't be certain that I'd recognise it. When the first opportunity to turn off from the main corridor arose, I took it, ducking into one of the lesser-used hallways that considerably shortened my trek to my lesson.

I breathed a little easier now that I was in the small hallway. It was alright, I'd kept my wits about me and navigated my way to safety. All I had to do now was keep walking, one foot in front of the other until I reached Snape's classroom. I knew I wouldn't get there in time; I'd left the library too late for that, but I could bare Snape's condescension because I was fine -

My feet were stuck.

They did say pride came before the fall. Or rather, in my case, it came before the ... sticking.

Glancing down at my feet that were stuck in place - although I wasn't sure what was keeping them stuck, I tried not to sigh. So much for not being the first one caught. Although, by the standards of the Weasley twins, this was extremely tame. Keeping my curses to myself, I tried to forcefully yank my feet up and they didn't budge. I tried again to move, trying to wiggle my shoes to see if they would come unstuck, but they didn't.

Pure disgust stopped me from trying again. My tugging and fidgeting had triggered something, some sort of charm maybe, that had green ... goo? It was some sort of viscous green slime that smelled so wretched I wanted to heave and it was seeping up through the floor, pooling around my feet. The slime grew, doubling in size and rapidly approaching me. My struggles grew sharply, trying to untangle myself from this godawful situation -

Quicker, it was moving quicker now. Almost in response to my movements.

I forced myself to calm down, to take deep steady breaths to calm myself. Sure enough, as I stopped moving, the approach of the slime slowed down. But, my deep breaths pulled that awful smell into my lungs, burning on the inside and making me cough until my throat became raw. Making myself breathe through my mouth, I searched the corridor, hoping there was someone around who could help me because if not, I'd have to stoop to screeching like a child that I needed saving.

I shifted this way and that, as far as my current range of motion would allow me and spied them - the twins at the corner of the corridor, looking positively overjoyed with the outcome of their mischief. My hand twitched, wanting to go to my wand so I could curse them out. Moorey did like to remind me that I was very trigger happy.

"You alright there Roosevelt?" the one on the left asked as the other glanced over his shoulder, likely keeping an eye out.

"Just peachy," I ground out. "This is an impressive piece of magic."

"Thanks, love," he repeated, before patting his brother on the shoulder, "You can thank Georgey for that - he's got the brains."

"I'm sure. So look out over there is George, making you Fred?" I crossed my arms behind my back, studying the twins. What were the chances of them letting me free? Highly unlikely. They would hardly put this much effort into something and then release me without anyone having seen the spectacle.

"Hardly many more people I could be, now is there love?" He drew closer to me as he spoke, grinning widely. His brother trailed a few steps behind him, trying to get his attention. Not that it worked. And he really should have paid attention to his brother, instead of looking pleased with having trapped me.

"Keep calling me love and find out what happens."

Distantly, George's voice came out panicked, "Fred!" and yet when his brother didn't pay heed, he didn't run away. He stuck by his twin's side.

Fred's eyes came alight at my words. He certainly didn't look bored now. "Or what, love?"

"What in Merlin's name is going on here!" the sharp exclamation came behind them, in such a distinctly McGonagall way that I tried not to cheer internally. George, who had been attempting to tell his brother about her approach, sighed.

The Transfiguration Professor approached us with determined steps and when she was close enough, I allowed my face to crumble as I wailed an overdramatic, "Professor!"

Both twins stumbled back a little in shock at my exclamation, sharing a look that spoke volumes. Not that I paid them much heed. Instead, my eyes were settled on the Transfiguration Professor who tried to come close to me only to stop herself when she reached the edge of the slime. Hands on her hips, she addresses the members of her house.

When the twins did not speak, she prompted, "Well?"

I took the lead my words slurring together slightly as I forced myself to sob, "Professor, I was on my way to Potions, when I got stuck here and then, then there's all this stuff coming up from the floor and I can't move Professor, what if I'm stuck here and I can't, can't-"

"Yes, yes, Miss Roosevelt," McGonagall cut in, stopping my rambling. Sniffling for effect, I rubbed at my still dry cheeks. Pursing her lips, she addressed the twins who wilted slightly under her glare, "Release her at once, gentlemen."

The twins shared yet another silent glance before they both cast a spell, simultaneously that had my feet thankfully coming loose. I breathed a sigh of relief preparing to clamber over the slime which had become a puddle around me. How was I going to do this without making a fool of myself?

Wordlessly, Fred held out an arm towards me and I eyed him suspiciously. Knowing that he wouldn't try anything, not with his head of house right there, I accepted his arm. Holding onto it, I used it as leverage to jump over the slime and safely reach the edge of it. Quickly releasing it, I hurriedly checked my robes to make sure that I was clean. Thankfully I was.

At last, I turned to address McGonagall, "Can I get going Professor? I've got potions."

"Yes, Miss Roosevelt," McGonagall said with a weary sigh, her eyes fixated on her students. "Hurry along before you're late."

Taking my cue, I started to walk away from the scene of the crime. Behind me, I could hear McGonagall taking points, assigning cleaning duty and detention to the pair. She went ahead and insisted they wrote me sincere apology letters to get back at the severe emotional distress they had so obviously caused me. Stifling a smile, I turned on my feet, so I could face the twins who were receiving their punishment. McGonagall, who stood with her back to me, had no way of seeing the beaming delight on my face - severe emotional distress, indeed.

My eyes briefly met Weasley's - Fred's - from over McGonagall's shoulder and tipped an imaginary hat in his direction. Unsurprisingly, he shook his head with an incredulous laugh that really shouldn't have made me want to smile in response. Abruptly remembering that I was late for Snape's lesson, I hurried away. Fred Weasley and his surprisingly charming smile could wait.

**********

The news that the twins had found themselves their first victim had spread like wildfire. Before I could tell my friends exactly what had happened, they'd corralled me into the dorm room, wanting to know if it was true, that I had started blubbering like a baby at being pranked. I'd protested vehemently, denying it and they were dubious to believe me. Garcia, the utter angel and all source of rational thinking in our otherwise scatterbrained dorm, reminded them that I never cried and would hardly cry over a prank of all things.

Regardless, the news had spread and the tension within the castle had eased. No longer did the students watch their steps as they walked through the building. Although, perhaps they should have. It seemed that the Weasley twins were no longer bored, and were back to their usual level of mischief with more and more students being caught in some sort of contraption. Although, rumour had it, that this morning Snape had been late to his lesson because the twins had charmed his robes to become Gryffindor red every time he stepped out of his chambers. The mental image was amusing, but I didn't pay it much mind. It mattered little to me now; they were bound to have learned to leave me alone.

And now, as I sat in the library, working on my essay, surrounded by my dormmates, I could still hear whispers about the way Snape was going out of his way to prove that the twins had some hand in his embarrassment. As far as I was concerned, it served the git right; there was no love lost there, especially not given the way he'd seen fit to berate me for being late to his lesson, and refused to accept my apology.

Moorey, who was sitting at my side, nudged me lightly with her elbow. I held up a finger, silently asking her for a moment as I finished writing my sentence. Putting my quill down, I looked at her and raised an eyebrow. She slid the textbook she'd been reading towards me and pointed to a section.

My eyes scanned the text, reading it over before looking at her again. With a sigh, she admitted, "I don't understand a word of that. I thought we'd established that the Fianto Duri and Duro were the same?"

"Not necessarily." I reached for my school bag, searched for the notes from that class and scanned the parchment until I reached the right section. "Flitwick compared them in a purely metaphorical sense, Fianto Duri strengthened shielding spells, to make them as tough as stone whereas Duro turns an object into stone. Fianto Duri doesn't actually change the physical properties of the shield in place, does that make sense?"

"A lot." Moorey gestured towards my notes, "Can I copy these quickly?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

Moorey accepted the parchment, copying the relevant section onto her own notes before returning them to me. She focused once more on her essay and I did the same, after putting my notes into my bag. Looking back to my part completed paragraph, I read over the last sentence to pick up my abandoned train of thought. I continued where I'd left off, pausing when one of my dormmates kicked my leg gently under the table.

Frowiing, but still not looking up, I asked, "Just give me a second, I want to finish this paragraph before I forget what I want to say."

My words had little effect; they kicked me again. Glowering at my parchment but making no comment on the bruise I just knew was forming on my calf, I stubbornly continued despite the repetitive kicks. They were never so impatient. Still, I reached the end of the paragraph before I put the quill down and looked up with evident exasperation.

"What?" I cast a glance at my dormmates who were silent, "Well?"

Garcia broke first, not saying a thing, but silently gesturing to her left. Frowning, I followed her silent prompting and looked to the left of our square table where a Weasley twin - well, a certain Weasley twin stood patiently. He regarded our table with a pleasant smile, hands tucked into his robe pockets and when I met his eyes, his smile grew.

Eyeing him a tad dubiously, I asked, "Weasley?"

He took the hint, removing his hands from his robe pockets as he addressed us as a whole, "Ladies."

My friends greeted him in turn, looking curiously between Weasley and me with silent questions in their eyes. I evaded their gaze, having no answers that I could give them. I didn't even know why he was here.

"Anything we can help you with?" I asked at last when none of my dormmates looked like they wanted to say anything.

"I just thought I'd take the chance to introduce myself."

"We already know who you are?" Eyeing him dubiously, I shifted in my chair slightly, turning my body to face him.

"Just had to be certain, love," I swore I could feel my eye twitch when he called me love and his smile widened, curling upwards as if he knew my reaction. "I'm Fred."

"Ok?"

"You can tell us apart because I'm the one that keeps flirting with you."

"What?" I repeated, doubting my ears, and ignoring the murmurs coming from my friends. Once the Gryffindor left, there would be so many more questions to answer. "What did you want, Fred?"

He regarded me with a careful eye, "Just wanted to ensure you don't confuse me with Georgie."

I staved off a smile knowing my dormmates were listening and watching everything closely. "Again, what can I do for you?"

"Nothing." He grinned brightly, eyes coming alight. "I wanted to let you know you'd impressed me yesterday. Not that I'd planned for you to get caught, but you did. And I didn't expect you to be such a firecracker at that."

Unable to stop myself, I laughed shortly, "How was the cleanup, by the way?"

"Long," he admitted. "McGonagall didn't go easy on us - she didn't appreciate us causing such undue trauma to such a fragile member of Ravenclaw house."

"Well, I do happen to be extremely fragile." He chuckled at my blatant lie. "But I hope you've learned to leave me well alone now. You didn't get the reaction you wanted from me."

To my irritation, and mild pleasure - pleasure I was not going to think about - Fred shook his head. "Not a chance. You've just got me wanting to see what other reactions I can get out of you."

"What - that's not-" I struggled to form a sentence.

Fred just continued to smile that irritatingly charming smile, the one that made my stomach flip like I was a crushing first year again. "I'll see you later, love." For the first time since we'd started talking, Fred's eyes drifted to my dormmates and he acknowledged them with a small nod, "Ladies."

My eyes followed him as he walked away from our table, heading back to the table where his brother and Jordan sat. The two Gryffindors welcomed him, casting glances to our table which they punctuated with a laugh. Uncertainly, I studied Fred's back as he too looked back at our table, meeting my eyes for just a moment before he turned back. The three Gryffindors leaned close to each other, appearing to talk in hushed tones.

"Well," Moorey said, drawing out the word and bringing my attention back to my dormmates, "you're fucked."

**********

Occasionally, when I was tired and had been assigned rounds, I cheated the system a little. Just a little. If I was tired and rounds were the very last thing on my mind, on evenings when I just wanted to go to bed and sleep, I usually split my rounds in half with my patrol partner. Of course, that only worked if I was paired with certain people who I knew wouldn't complain to the Head Boy and Head Girl about my flagrant rule-breaking. It was hardly anything to complain about when it was mutually beneficial. And so tonight, whilst I approached the set meeting point by the entrance hall, I'd silently prayed that I'd been paired with Diggory; the Hufflepuff had no issue with splitting rounds in half. Although, as I approached the Gryffindor sixth year Prefect who was waiting, I wasn't too disappointed with my patrol partner of the night. Cranmer at least would have no issue splitting the rounds.

"Roosevelt," the sixth year greeted me when she spied me.

Reaching her side, I returned the greeting, "Cranmer."

The sixth-year gestured for us to begin. As we walked through the corridor, she shot me a look, barely containing a grin as she asked, "Shall we split off?"

"Please."

Her grin split open widely as she confessed, "Godric, was I glad to see you as my partner tonight. So, I'll go left, you go right and we'll meet at the top?"

Accepting her suggestion, I said, "I'll see you in a bit then."

Without another word, we split apart and I turned right off of the main corridor and she took the left turning. I walked determinedly through the corridor, my wand held out in front of me to illuminate the corridor. It was a bit creepy to be walking through the darkened halls on my own, but it was worth the prospect of getting into bed soon. Just the idea of my waiting bed forced me forward.

Although, the sound of hushed whispers up ahead, had my feet stilling a little. I lifted my eyes to the ceiling in a silent why me. If I hadn't come across anyone, I could have just ended this all sooner but I just had to find students out whilst I was on my own. Waiting for a second, I contemplated turning around and walking away without doing anything, but when the two students showed no signs of disappearing, I knew what I had to do.

Squaring my shoulders, I rounded the corridor and stumbled upon the two students who hadn't heard my approach. You would have thought, given their reputation for sneaking about, would have been better at this.

"Really?" I asked incredulously, catching them by surprise. They started, turning to face me whilst hiding whatever they'd been working on, behind their back.

The twins, wearing matching grins, offered me an innocent smile. Who were they trying to kid? They were not behaving very innocently right now.

Sighing, I looked between the still silent pair, "Well?"

"Great night for a walk, isn't it?" one of the twins asked, stuffing something into their pocket. He gave me a friendly smile.

"Really?"

The second twin, who I just knew was Fred, from the way he was looking at me, pointed out, "He's got a point, a beautiful night for a walk, love."

"You really need to stop calling me that," I grumbled. He opened his mouth as if to protest the words but I hurriedly cut him off, "What are you two setting up now?"

"You know we can't tell you that," the first twin - George - said with a shrug. "Besides, you can't take points if you don't know what we're doing."

"I didn't say I was going to take points," I returned, looking between the pair of them. Not that I even had the ability to take points from them, to begin with. Although, my parol partner did. "So? What's the next thing you're setting up."

They shared yet another one of those glances where they conversed without speaking a word before Fred spoke at last. "We're working on a portable swamp."

"Portable swamp?" I echoed, eyebrows rising in surprise. I knew that, from my tone alone, they could tell I was impressed. Shifting my eyes to George I said, "You worked out the mechanics of it; it's a brilliant bit of magic."

George watched me with obvious surprise, "It was Fred's idea."

"Still," I said, recognising the talent these two possessed. If people didn't look beyond their exterior, they wouldn't have realised the pair were such capable wizards, "you're talented wizards, the pair of you."

The two flushed a little, pleased at the compliment. "Well, guess that means we can go then?"

"Not so soon," I protested, stopping them from turning away. "I'll let you both off if you promise this one hasn't been set up for me."

Fred drew in an exaggerated breath, clutching a hand to his chest. "You really think I would be the sort of person to do that to a pretty girl?"

"What?" I stuttered, wondering how he could say the things he did without even batting an eyelid. At his side, George cast a knowing glance at his brother. Gathering my senses, I said pointedly, "That didn't stop you the first time."

"That one wasn't meant for you either. You just happened to get caught." Scoffing at his response, I narrowed my eyes at him, even as he continued, "Besides, this one is for Malfoy, the rotter. You won't get caught in any more."

"And I'm sure he did something to deserve it." Accepting his answer, I glanced curiously over my shoulder, where I could hear Cranmer calling for me. Clearly, I had been running late and she'd come looking for me. Looking back at the waiting Gryffindors, I gestured for them to hurry away, "Get a move on, Cranmer's my partner and if she sees you, she can take points away."

They didn't need any more prompting. George gathered the rest of whatever they'd been up to, and hurried away. Fred lingered for a moment longer, looking like he was going to say something before he cut himself off.

Instead, he settled for a, "I owe you one," before he too hurried away. I waited a moment longer, to make sure they were out of sight and only then did I go off in search of Cranmer.

**********

Word certainly travelled fast around the school and it was any wonder that anyone could keep anything a secret. It seemed that this morning, Malfoy had in fact been caught by the Weasley twins and been subjected to their portable swamp, putting on the most ridiculous show of demanding retribution. That had been only a few hours ago and now everyone seemed to know about it. It was all anyone seemed able to talk about and I just knew that Malfoy hated every minute of it. Although I cared very little what the twat thought, I was just gleefully happy at not being the one caught by one of the Weasley's contraptions.

Garcia, who had been walking at my side, talking about something - and I was fairly certain I knew what didn't appreciate my ignoring her. But really, there were only so many times I could listen to her and Moorey's insistence that something was going on between me and Fred until I tuned them out altogether. I'd even briefly contemplated casting a silencing charm on the pair of them and I would have, but they both knew the counter spell. Although, how would they cast the spell if they were silenced? The prospect had once more become desirable especially -

My feet were stuck. Again.

Instantly, my eyes shot to the floor where my feet refused to budge. I wanted to screech out at the injustice of it all, I'd let them go last night! This wasn't fair. Garcia and Moorey, who weren't stuck, looked dubiously at me as I tried to pull my feet away from whatever was keeping them stuck with little effect. Rowena, the fact that I alone was stuck just proved it all; this time it had been intentional. They'd meant to get me. Oh, I was going to hex them.

"Let's try this," Garcia suggested, taking me by the hand. She gestured for Moorey to copy her and she did, taking hold of my free hand. On the count of three, they both tugged with all their strength, their faces turning red from their exertion, but I didn't budge. Not even slightly.

My friends stood at my side, eyeing my feet contemplatively as they discussed my current predicament, collating all their shared academic knowledge. They took turns, casting spells and shooing away overly curious spectators. I barely kept my cool, stopping myself from flipping out. Part of me wanted to tell them it was pointless, that there was no way I was moving unless the Weasley twins wanted me to move. Well, a twin, rather. I just knew this was the work of one of them.

Sighing exasperatedly, I finally said, "There's no point trying any spells. Just - bring Fred Weasley here, right now. And please, make sure it's the right twin."

"Wait, but why?" Garcia asked curiously.

"Just trust me on this."

Confused by complying, Garcia hurried away from us, seeking out Fred with absolutely no idea where to begin looking for him. Although, I just knew he'd be nearby. There was no way he'd set up something like this and just leave it behind. Absolutely no way. Moorey, who was left with me, continued to shove away gawkers and returned periodically to my side to remind me to breathe.

"Keep calm," she said quietly as if she didn't want anyone to hear what she was saying to me. I didn't blame her; the school was full of overly nosey students. "Your reaction will just make him enjoy this all the more."

"You're right," I acknowledged, letting out a deep breath. "You're right."

Thankfully Garcia returned soon after, rushing through the crowd and coming to a stop in front of me. She breathed harshly, clearly having run as she wheezed out, "I found him ... he's coming."

Satisfied that she'd relayed her message, she bent over with her hands on her knees and tried to catch her friend. I reached over to rub her back in silent gratitude, looking ahead to try and find the Gryffindor who was supposedly approaching me. I spied him without much effort as he sauntered towards me with all the ease in the world. When he drew closer, he broke out into a grin that had me crossing my arms.

"What is this?" I demanded when he came to a stop in front of me. Garcia, having caught her breath, straightened up and joined Moorey to flank her on either side. I would have thought Fred would wilt under triple glares but he didn't, he remained just as amused as he had when he'd first spotted me stuck.

"Well, looks like you're stuck to me," he said with a short laugh.

"I thought you weren't going to prank me anymore?" I demanded with narrowed eyes, "What happened to 'I owe you one'?"

"How do you know I targeted you?"

Outstretching my arms pointedly towards my friends who were still able to move freely and to the students who continued to walk past us even now, "You're telling me, that out of all the students using this busy corridor, your trap just happened to choose me?"

"You've caught me there." I didn't realise it was possible, but his grin grew even broader. "Although I didn't promise not to prank you, I just said that you wouldn't be caught in one. And see, you're not caught, you're stuck."

"Rowena's wrath," I hissed, wanting to pitch forward and grab him by that damned red and gold tie and tug him right down to my level so I could .. well, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do besides kissing him. But still, "I swear if you don't let me go-"

"Temper, temper," he singsonged.

Realising that he was becoming more and more amused by my reaction, I forced myself to calm down. Behind me, Garcia echoed the sentiment in a murmur. Breathing out deeply, I took the moment to steady myself. When I met his eyes again, Fred arched a silent eyebrow.

"You know people are beginning to talk, don't you?" I asked at last. Clearly, he hadn't expected me to say that. "They're saying that there has to be a reason that you - specifically you - keep targeting me. Either you hate me or-"

"I don't hate you," he was quick to cut in. His eyes, bright and engaging, prompted, "So what's the other option then, love?"

At first, I didn't want to say it, to bring the words into the air around us. But I knew I had to, there was no other way this situation could go. So I spoke slowly, "Or - or you fancy me."

His eyes softened then, the amusement appearing to fade from them and he took a step even closer to me. When he spoke next, his voice was gentle, "You should think on that, Roosevelt."

Rendered a little speechless by his statement, I stored it away as something I needed to think about later when I wasn't stuck. I just knew that even if I tried to forget it, my dormmates wouldn't let me. Not that I wanted to. I watched, growing startled once more, as Fred turned and prepared to turn away.

"Wait! Aren't you going to get me out of here?"

Fred turned to face me, walking backwards as he called out, "I'm sure the three of you will live up to your house and get you out of there in no time."

Mouth dropping open and paying no heed to the scene I was putting on, I shouted, "You better watch out; once I'm out of here I'll be coming to hex you."

"I'll look forward to it!" he promised with a grin that had me feeling a warming flutter in my stomach. He turned his back to me again as I fought a smile.

I watched him disappear before remembering my current predicament. Staring contemplatively at my feet I wondered what I was supposed to do now. Thankfully, Garcia and Moorey crowded around me and we put our brains together. Three brains were better than one.

**********

In the day following my successful escape from my imprisonment, which just further reassured me that I'd been sorted into the right house and had made some stellar choices of friends, I couldn't help but think about my last encounter with Fred Weasley. I'd stored his statement away for further thought and I had thought on the matter, more than I would have liked to think about it. Fred Weasley had a crush on me, or rather that had been his implication and yet, I couldn't understand why.

From what I'd seen, there were more than a handful of students that had a crush on him and I was certain he hadn't laid his eyes on me before the first time I was stuck in one of his contraptions. Really, it would all blow over soon enough and there was absolutely no point in me getting my hopes up. Which was why, when I walked into Transfiguration, ready to take my seat beside Garcia, I stopped still in the doorway. He was standing by my desk, almost like he was waiting for me, and engaging Garcia in conversation. My friend, who had insisted she was going to figure out how he'd managed to trap me, appeared to be engaged in a lively discussion with the Gryffindor.

Knowing that I couldn't leave, I squared my shoulders and walked determinedly to my desk, doing my best to ignore the murmurs that went up through the class. Greeting both Garcia and Fred with a quiet acknowledgement, I sat at my desk and took my supplies out of my bag. I made a point not to look at Fred for any longer than strictly necessary.

"Morning love," Fred greeted finally. When I'd taken out everything I needed and had absolutely no excuse to keep my head burrowed in my bag, I was forced to put it aside. At last, I looked at Fred, who was watching me with an amused, knowing smile.

"Any reason you've abandoned your brother?" I asked, and my question had Garcia ducking her head like she wasn't paying attention to our conversation. I knew better.

"Obviously I was waiting for you." His answer surprised me, but maybe it shouldn't have. From all the conversations I'd had with him, he was unusually straightforward. Fred leaned down then, speaking quietly so nosey listeners couldn't hear him, "So? Did you manage to work out which of the two it is?"

Drawing back a little to put some much-needed distance between us, I returned, just as quietly, "What does it matter which one it is?"

Surprised or perhaps confused by my answer, he straightened to his full height again and regarded me with narrowed eyes. Almost like he wasn't sure what situation had presented itself before him. When he spoke next, he asked incredulously, "It doesn't matter?"

"It doesn't matter." Evading his eyes, I fidgeted with my writing supplies; unscrewing the screwing the lid of the ink well and straightening up my parchment into a single stack. "It doesn't matter that you don't hate me. I mean, we haven't interacted much beyond the last few weeks and if you are somehow ... feeling things, well there's no point doing anything about it. You haven't known me long enough for them to be anything deep and by the time we've spent enough time together to where it could be something deeper, you'll have come to your senses. So it's just better that we don't bother playing about."

Reaching the end of my prepared explanation which had, admittedly sounded much better in my head, I waited for his response. At my side, Garcia dropped her head into her hands and tried not to groan. Had it really been that bad?

Fred didn't seem impressed. For the first time, he was watching me heavily, all amusement wiped from his features. "You think I would joke about my feelings?"

"No," I said slowly, unable to look away from those eyes. Rowena, it was strange to see him without a smile, even without the tiny smile that appeared to be his resting face.

"So what? You think I'd play with your feelings then?"

"Well, no."

"Then?"

Slowly and not knowing where this was going, I asked, "Then, what?"

"Why are you giving me those excuses? Do you not believe me?"

"I-"

"Don't try and tell me you don't have fancy me too, Roosevelt," Fred cut in quickly. I was so startled by his statement that I grew flustered under his eyes and that at last seemed to prompt a small smile. "You're really obvious about it."

"I mean - I wasn't going to," I cut myself off short of finishing my statement. "That's not what this is about."

"What is it about then?"

"I mean, why?" Knowing it was an extremely inarticulate thing to say, I sighed harshly and took a moment to gather my thoughts. Although, it was proving to be an extremely difficult thing to do, especially because I was hyper-aware of all the people around us. If I'd had my way, we would have had this conversation in private, or not at all.

"Why what?" Fred asked finally when it looked like I was going to struggle. "Why do I like you?"

Unable to bring myself to ask the question aloud, I just nodded. He straightened out again as if preparing himself to answer. But before he could, Professor McGonagall's voice sounded from behind him, "Whilst I'm sure you'll give Miss Roosevelt a half-decent answer, Mr Weasley, please take your seat so we can begin our lesson."

I deflated in my seat, burrowing my face into my hands and wanted to disappear. Rowena, that wasn't enough, I wanted to pass out, for the ground to swallow me whole. If Professor McGonagall, standing at the front of the classroom had heard, that meant everyone probably heard. Groaning and refusing to lift my head, I distantly heard Garcia oblige Fred when he asked her to switch seats for the lesson. Why couldn't he have just returned to his seat all the way across the classroom?

The entire class, riveted by the display, were reluctant to turn to the front but were forced to do so when Professor McGonagall called for attention. Relieved that I could just focus on the lesson, I lifted my head and let out a shallow breath. Grasping my quill, I prepared to start taking notes, pretending I wasn't hyperaware of the very male presence next to me.

Fred waited before he ducked his head a little to answer quietly by my ear, "I'm attracted to the fire hiding behind your innocent smile, Roosevelt."

Startled and flustered and damn it, and falling further for this man, I could only glance at him from the corner of my eye, struggling not to smile. Fred, grinning wider, propped his head on his hand and turned to face me. Incredulously, I turned to face him, heat rushing to my face.

"Stop it," I hissed under my breath, "Look forward."

"But I'd rather look at you," he said, the picture of innocence.

"Are you always this aggravating?"

"You'll get used to it."

**********

6 YEARS LATER

Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was a booming business, one that continued to grow due to its ever-increasing customer basis and the dedication of its co-owners. Owners who always appeared to be tinkering away at something or another and I'd tried my very best not to get involved in any of it. It was just easier and, often, safer not to know. Ignorance was bliss and this was one aspect of my life where I would appreciate being ignorant. Not that it was so easy to do when you were dating one of the owners.

Even now, as I sat in the back storeroom, trying my best to focus on the book transcript I'd been assigned to read before the publishing company considered it, Fred was tinkering away. The shop floor was busy, crowded with overexcited children and their haggard parents, and large groups of pranksters of all ages. All of the noise from the shop floor travelled into the backroom and I briefly pitied the employees who were manning the front of the shop. I contemplated joining them and made a mental note to do so once I'd reached the end of the chapter I was reading through. Not that Fred made it easy.

My boyfriend, who stood in front of a boiling cauldron with the elbows of his sleeve rolled up, was staring down at its contents with complete focus. He was waiting for a colour change, one he insisted happened in the blink of an eye. Using my finger to mark my place, I closed the transcript and studied him for a moment, taking the time to admire him from afar.

Fred came to life all of a sudden, hurriedly turning the bunsen off and reaching for two tea towels. Using the towels to aid him, he lifted the cauldron from the heat and set it on a heatproof mat. Quickly, he picked up the potion vial he had sterilised in preparation and carefully poured some of the fresh potion into it, being careful not to get a drop of it on him.

Corking the vial, Fred held the potion aloft and studied the teal liquid against the light. He grinned in satisfaction before returning to the rest of the potion. Taking his time, he bottled up the rest of the potion and I returned my focus once more, to the transcript I was supposed to be reading. I shuffled a tad uncomfortably on my chair, my bum having become numb long ago. Forcing myself to focus on the written word in front of me, I immersed myself once more in the fictional world the author had created. It was an interesting premise, one that would need fleshing out a tad more before it could be published. But it had promise.

"Love?" Fred called out for me. When I didn't answer right away, he knew to wait, and that I'd respond when I reached a point where I could.

Making it to the end of the passage, I looked up at him to find him drying his hand on a tea towel, "Yes, my love?"

He didn't say a word. Instead, he approached me with an innocent smile that already had my hackles rising. That look was far from innocent, it spelt danger. Searching the room for an escape, I was quickly deflated when I realised that the only exit was behind him and he'd stop me with complete ease. Still, refusing to give in so quickly, I strengthened my spine and regarded him coolly. Coming to a stop in front of my chair, he innocently held out one of the newly portioned potion towards me.

"No," I protested vehemently, "Absolutely not, that is not happening."

"Come on, love. Help your boyfriend out." He gave me an encouraging smile. I didn't buy it.

"The last time I helped you out, I broke out into poxes," I shot back. Fred winced at the reminder. "Don't you remember how badly it scarred my skin? It took months for it to recover - months."

"I remember," he assured apologetically. "But do you trust me? This done isn't going to do anything like that. Trust me."

"Trust you?" I repeated with narrowed eyes. Fred just continued to look at me with an encouraging smile. My eyes settled on the vial that he still held out towards me. Accepting it with a reluctant sigh, I studied the small vial; it looked so inconspicuous. And yet, I couldn't shake the thought that it wasn't. Cradling it in my palm, I shot Fred a probing look, "What is this one supposed to do?"

"You'll see," he evaded and it was almost enough to have me declining.

"If anything happens to me," I started warningly, uncorking the potion and raising it to my nose. Taking a tentative sniff, I detected a faint scent of vanilla.

Fred was quick to assure me, "Nothing will happen."

"But if it does, you're responsible for all the cleaning in the flat for the next month."

I expected the condition to throw Fred, to make him contemplate and backtrack, especially since I knew how much he hated cleaning. But he didn't. He didn't even contemplate it for a second and just nodded, resolute. It was his conviction that cemented it for me.

"Bottoms up, I guess," I muttered, tipping my head back and raising the vial to my mouth.

I emptied it in one quick shot, swallowing the contents with one quick gulp. Corking the empty vial again, I handed it to Fred who was quick to accept it. He set it aside, and crossed his arms, leaning against the table as he continued to watch me. His eyes lingered on my face for a fair beat and when there was no immediate reaction, I felt my shoulders ease.

"How do you feel?" Fred asked finally.

"Fine." I briefly wondered if the potion was defective because nothing had happened. But then again, I wasn't sure what was supposed to happen.

Grinning abruptly, Fred straightened up. "That's perfect, at least you're not vomiting. You should have seen the way the last batch made Lee projectile vomit."

"What?" I screeched, my leg shooting out to kick Fred who easily dodged it.

"But don't worry," he assured me, hands held out placatingly, "this is the amended recipe."

"Which you didn't know would work!" I pointed out, preparing to shoot up from my chair to beat him with my transcript.

Before I could act on the urge, I was up from the stool, moving through the air. Shrieking and panicking, I tried to grab onto any surface to stop myself from drifting up until I hit the ceiling. With a deep chuckle, Fred took hold of my leg, bringing me easily down again. He held onto my leg, keeping me anchored in the air above him by my leg. I struggled to string a sentence together, wanting to demand he reverse this.

"The kids are going to love this!"

Ignoring his obvious glee, I demanded, "How long until this wears off?"

"I'll have to let George know this recipe works."

"Fred!"

"Let me get something to anchor you down, love. I need to label the potions."

"Don't you dare! Fred!"

____________________

The next one shot will be up on the 17th, which is a while away, but by now there must be plenty of other one shots to read (I still can't believe that this is number 191 ....)

Also - for my own curiosity; are there any one shots you go back to re-read? If so, why?

And again, for my own curiosity, I tend to develop the characters differently than they are in canon. Are there any characters that you like being portrayed how I portray them?  

Enough questions now. Onto the hints: 

* eldest son 

* played on house quidditch team 

* Gryffindor