Clara couldn't remember the last time she had gotten such a good night's sleep. It seemed like the stresses she had been holding had just faded away in a few hours' time.

As she started to awaken, she could feel the puffiness in her eyes, the slight stiffness of being in one position for so long, and...

Arms.

She felt a pair of strong arms wrapped around her which caught her off guard. Thinking back to the night prior, she remembered talking with Fred and drawing constellations. Then she remembered breaking down and asking him not to leave her alone.

This must have been his method of doing so.

Opening her eyes, Clara found herself tucked into Fred's chest as the morning rays started to filter in through the window behind him. His scent was intoxicating, her mind battling with itself in the decision to wake up for the day or just hide out in Fred's room for the rest of her life.

She shifted slightly, hoping not to wake him up.

"Are you awake?" Fred asked softly.

"Maybe," she replied.

Clara sat up, breaking out of Fred's grasp and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She looked back down at Fred. His fiery red hair was a mess after falling asleep and his shirt fell loosely on his frame. He was wearing sweatpants, Clara assuming it was because she had hogged all of the blankets.

He looked cute. It was a picture that she didn't mind waking up to every morning.

"I'm sorry," she uttered as she turned herself towards him.

"For what? I wasn't awake for that long," Fred teased. "And you're a much better roommate than George. Saws logs in his sleep, that one." He gazed at Clara in her large t-shirt and shorts, his mind traveling back to the night he had received his black eye.

Clara chuckled slightly before continuing. "No, I mean I'm sorry for putting you in this position last night."

Fred's smile weakened as he sat up to face Clara. "There's no need for an apology."

"No, there is. This was...unprofessional on my part."

His brows furrowed as he placed a hand on the side of Clara's face to force her to look at him. "What in the world are you going on about?"

Clara took a deep breath. "I have no idea." Her mind was confused as to what was going on between her and Fred. Was it just a friendly gesture? Was there more behind this little sleepover? Was she ready for this next potential step?

He let his hand fall away. "You needed someone last night, and I wanted to be that person. I wasn't going to let you go through this on your own."

Clara nodded. "So that's all it was? Helping a friend?"

Fred paused, his gaze now falling away from Clara's.

His lack of answer told Clara he was just as uncertain about their next step as she was.

"Listen, I know we have a lot of other things to do in the next few days so can we...put this on pause?"

"Pause?" Fred asked, laughing at Clara's version of asking to talk about their situation later.

She pushed him backwards so that he landed back on the bed, smiling as she did so. "You know what I mean."

Fred swung himself back up to a sitting position. Gazing into Clara's eyes, Fred had an inkling that he knew what he wanted to tell her. He had been aching to tell her all summer, but something had always come up. Now it was happening again.

Taking a deep breath, he nodded. He reached out for one of her hands, rubbing small circles on the back of it. "Answer me this question first, though."

Clara's attention was sharply focused on Fred. The feeling of his fingers on her skin caused an electrifying sensation to pulse through her.

"Will you be my date to the wedding?"

Clara cocked her head in confusion, a small smile creeping onto her face. "What happened to your Veela prospects you were looking forward to?"

Fred shrugged as he rolled out of bed. "I have more important people I'd like to spend my time with."

Clara blushed. She nodded and Fred greeted her with the widest smile she had ever seen grace his face.

+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+

Throughout the rest of the day, Fred and George spent time with Michael. They worked on new product ideas and taught Michael a few new charms that would definitely impress Professor Flitwick when Michael started up school again. Molly eventually asked if they could de-gnome the garden, which turned into a throwing contest between the three boys. Michael had tossed his gnomes the farthest, receiving cheers of joy and congratulations from the twins.

As they finished their productive day, George and Fred sat down with Michael on the floor in their room and went over more ideas for the shop.

"So if we do another line of Skiving Snack Boxes," George thought aloud, "then we could add all four of these." He circled the four product ideas Michael had. "And we can add 'The Caxton Extension Pack'."

"Wicked," Michael reveled.

"He's a natural, Georgie," Fred complimented, leaning back against his bed.

"Who knew we'd get two workers out of the Caxtons instead of just one," George joked, nudging Michael.

Molly stuck her head into the twins' room. "Sorry to bother, but we need to change your dressings, George."

He nodded as he stood up and followed his mother out.

Michael flipped through some of the other notes he and the twins had made that day, then sighed deeply.

"Brain fried?" Fred asked.

"In a way." Michael looked up at Fred. "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything, Mikey."

Michael leaned forward a little. "I saw you with my sister last night, after I went up to bed. She was drawing constellations with you, wasn't she?"

Fred nodded. "She do that a lot?"

Michael shrugged. "Only when she's really stressed. It's really special to her."

"Why's that?"

"Don't tell her I told you this, but it was her and Dad's special thing they'd do together. Roman told me it was one of the last things he did with her before Griffin..."

Fred nodded in understanding. "Pretty important then."

Michael nodded. A few beats later, he asked, "Do you like my sister?"

Fred paused, not sure how to answer the question. It was the most direct anyone had been with him about his feelings towards the employee that had walked into their lives just over a year prior.

"Sorry?" he answered, still adjusting to the shock of what Michael had asked.

"Do–you–like–my–sister? You know, want to marry her and grow old with her?" Michael teased, seeing that he hit a nerve that caught Fred off guard.

Fred scratched the back of his head. "What gave you that idea?"

Michael shot Fred a look that told him he shouldn't have to answer that.

"Point taken," Fred admitted. "I won't lie to you, even though I'd really like to. But...yeah, I believe I do."

Michael smirked. "Good."

"Good?" Fred asked, somewhat surprised by Michael's answer.

"Yeah. I wouldn't mind having you and George as my brothers, for real." Michael stood up, smoothing out his shirt. "I've always thought of you as my brothers anyway, regardless of whether or not you liked my sister in that way."

Fred stood up, then trapped Michael in a head lock, rubbing his knuckles on the top of his head. "Good, because now I can really treat you like my little brother."

Michael yelled out in laughter as he tried to fight his way out of Fred's grasp.

"Alright you two, that's enough," Clara laughed from the doorway, her apron George had given her at Christmas hanging from her neck. "It's time for dinner."

Fred let Michael go as their laughter died down. He walked past Clara with a wink, Clara chuckled as she rolled her eyes at the twin.

Michael walked up to her. "Clara, about last night–I'm sorry."

Clara shook her head. "I'm sorry, too." She tousled his hair. "You're not the little boy I remember taking care of. You're getting older, getting more mature."

"I don't mind being bossed around by you for a few more years, though," he admitted with a small smile.

Clara rolled her eyes again. "Thanks. Now off to dinner with you."

Michael gave her a quick peck on the cheek then walked past her towards the stairs. As he reached the top, he turned around to Clara once again. "You know...Fred's a really good guy."

Stunned by his sudden spill of information, Clara stood with her head turned slightly. "And why are you telling me this?"

Michael shrugged. "Just thought you ought to know."

Clara smiled. "Well, I agree."

Michael beamed at her as he continued to jog down the stairs.

She shook her head as she walked downstairs to the organized chaos. Fred and George were playing with one of their products as Michael watched, Ron and Roman were busy playing wizard's chess as Harry observed the strategies both parties used, Ginny and Hermione were helping Molly set the table, and Arthur was discussing last minute wedding details with Bill and Fleur.

"Alright, everyone to the table!" Molly called out.

Little by little everyone made their way to the dining room table. Michael left a seat between him and Fred that Clara gladly took, shoving her brother when he smirked at her choice of seat. She shot Roman a look across the table as well when his smile grew a little wider than she liked. Looking over at Fred, she could tell he was giving George the same look. When Fred's eyes made contact with hers, he shrugged and smiled. Clara couldn't help but laugh as the food started to get distributed.

This was the last time their families would sit together for a happy meal for quite some time.