"Hey, you busy with anything tonight?" Fred asked Clara as they closed up shop for the day.

"Um...I had a few things to clean up at my house, but nothing really aside from that."

Fred nodded as he brought some boxes from the store room to stock shelves with for the next day. "Our mum invited us to dinner tonight. You fancy joining us?"

Clara raised her eyebrows slightly, which caused Fred to tense up in nervousness.

After some time, she answered, "The things I have at home...I really need to take care of."

She watched as the look of hope fell from Fred's face and immediately felt guilty.

"Oh, okay. Maybe next time then," he uttered, a smirk attempting to hide the disappointment.

As he walked away and began to restock one of the shelves, Clara called out, "Well...I won't take that long at home."

He looked up at her with a beaming smile. "So seven o'clock?"

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

After Clara had left the shop, Fred and George locked up and had apparated back to the Burrow. George had dropped them a little further away from the house than normal.

"Why so far tonight, mate?" Fred asked, starting to walk back to their home.

George pulled on his shoulder, causing Fred to look back at him with some annoyance.

"Can you be straight with me and tell me if you fancy Clara or not?" George asked with a smirk, a teasing tone in his voice.

"Shove off," Fred answered with a grin, pulling away from his brother's grip. "She's nice. I think she's going through a hard time right now."

"True, but inviting her to a family dinner? People will start to wonder."

The two began to walk back to the Burrow.

"I don't even know enough about her. And neither do you. Maybe we'll get to know her better if we treat her more like family."

"I suppose. She is our only worker."

"That's the spirit, Georgie," Fred laughed, opening the door and enjoying the smells of his mother's home cooking.

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

A knock at the door came a little after 7:15.

Fred was the first to rush to the door, George and his mother exchanging looks as they continued to set the table.

Opening the door, he saw Clara staring out at the marsh. She was wearing a light brown cardigan with a white tank underneath, jeans, and brown boots. Her hair was still in its usual bun and she was carrying a black handbag along with a brown paper bag.

"Welcome to the Burrow," he greeted.

She turned to Fred, a small smile gracing her face. "It's wonderful out here," she greeted.

"It's home," he replied, moving out of the way.

"Clara!" George greeted, "We were wondering if you were going to come."

"Sorry, I got caught up with some stuff."

"Not to worry, dear, the food just finished cooking so you're right on time. I'm Mrs. Weasley," Molly introduced. She brought her into a warm hug, Clara being instantly reminded of the hugs her mother used to give.

"Mr. Weasley should be down momentarily, then we can start the meal."

"It looks fantastic. Oh, and here's the other reason I was a little tied up." Clara set the brown bag on the table and pulled out a round pan. "I made a little dessert for us. Didn't know what everyone liked so I made an apple pie."

Fred walked over and gestured towards Clara's bags, Clara giving them to him to set aside.

"Oh, how wonderful!" Molly cooed. "We'll put it in the kitchen for now and dig into it later. I think I have some ice cream somewhere that'll go well with this."

Soon, Arthur came down and was introduced to their guest before they all dived into dinner.

"So the twins tell us you come from a rather large family yourself," Molly conversed.

Clara nodded between mouthfuls. "I have two older brothers and a younger brother."

"You're just like Ginny then: the only girl in the house," Arthur commented.

"Yes. I don't mind, though."

"Did you all attend Hogwarts?" Arthur asked.

She nodded. "My eldest and youngest brother were both placed in Gryffindor. I was in Hufflepuff." She didn't continue her explanation, instead taking a bite of more food.

After some time of waiting, Arthur asked, "And what about your other brother?"

Clara paused after realizing that she had, in fact, mentioned that she had three bothers. Internally, she kicked herself for it.

"Oh, my other brother was in Slytherin. Forgive me for not saying so initially. He...hasn't really been part of the family lately."

Arthur nodded, understanding the severed ties that came with kids growing up as he thought of Percy.

"Does your oldest brother do anything cool?" George asked.

"Actually, he does," Clara explained, her smile returning to her face once more. "Roman's working with dragons in Romania."

"Really? Our older brother is too!" Fred added. "Maybe they know each other."

Clara nodded. "He does talk about a Charlie Weasley a lot."

Molly smiled at the mention of her son's name. "Does your youngest brother know what he wants to do yet?" she asked, standing up to start clearing dishes from the table.

Clara wiped her mouth with a napkin as she too stood up to help clear dishes. "Right now, no. He's more focused on Charms, Quidditch, and his friends to think about his future. He's only got three more years...."

As she walked with Molly into the kitchen, she couldn't help but notice the grandfather clock that seemed to keep an eye on every family member. It was a cute display, noting that it seemed as if Fred and George's indicators had never separated much as they changed position on that clock.

"Neat, huh?" Fred asked, walking up behind Clara.

"I love it," Clara responded with a smile, turning to face Fred.

"It's gotten us in trouble more than a few times."

"I can imagine," Clara laughed.

Fred watched Clara's face glow as she smiled. Her smile was infectious. He couldn't get over how much her eyes twinkled, even if there wasn't much light around.

Maybe George was right...

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

Fred walked Clara outside as she said goodbye to the Weasleys.

"Thank you so much for inviting me tonight, Fred," Clara thanked as the two walked a few feet away from the front door.

"Thank you for coming. It's not often anymore that mum gets to cook us a meal. It was nice to share it with someone new."

Clara smiled as she gazed overhead. "It's so beautiful out here."

Fred nodded. "I like your hair, by the way. It's a nice change."

Clara looked at him, as if she had forgotten that the change had even happened. She pulled at it again as she had done at the shop. "Oh...thank you."

"You don't like it?"

"Well...it wasn't exactly a purposeful change."

"Oh. I thought you had something against red heads that you wanted to change. Georgie and I would have been a little hurt."

Clara looked back at Fred with a playful smirk. "No, no, nothing like that. I just haven't been able to reverse the spell. It's rather annoying actually."

"Georgie and I can try to fix it tomorrow if you'll let us. Well, that's if you want it changed."

Clara shrugged. "Maybe. As long as you don't turn it any other obscene color."

"Us? Well, Clara I have to say I am extremely offended that you could ever think we'd do something of the sort!" Fred stood with a hand lightly grazing his heart, a look of half shock landing on his face.

Clara couldn't help but laugh at Fred's silliness, eliciting a smile from Fred.

After some time, Fred asked, "Do you need someone to take you home?"

Clara was slightly surprised by the offer. "Um...sure." She smiled briefly at him as she intertwined her arm in his.

Fred's smile grew as he looked down at the short brunette next to him that seemed to be brimming with life. Soon he could feel himself being whisked away through the air, his body and Clara's twisting in every which way as they apparated away from the Burrow.

He soon felt solid ground beneath his feet.

Looking around, he saw a quaint little white house standing in front of him. The yard was maintained well, a few flowers sprinkled here and there. The house had seen better days, but it looked cozy and homey. It was two stories and he could see that each window had distinctly colored curtains. One set was a reddish color and the other was more golden. He could tell which Hogwarts student each of those belonged to.

"Well, here we are," Clara commented, walking a little bit down the path towards the house. "It's not much, but it's home."

Fred nodded. "It's cute."

The corners of her mouth turned up as the two proceeded to walk up to the porch. She opened the lock with a wave of her hand and opened the door, dropping her bags just inside the house.

"Thank you for bringing me home," she thanked. "And, again, thank you for everything tonight."

"Not a problem," Fred answered, shrugging his shoulders. "Just figured you needed a pick me up."

The happy look on Clara's face faded slightly. "Is it that obvious?"

Fred scrunched his face a little as he playfully pondered the idea, before saying, "Just a little bit."

Clara pushed some stray hairs behind her ear as she sighed. "Things have been...a little more hectic around here than normal."

"Isn't your mum here to help you, though?" Fred asked.

Clara's gaze soon shifted from Fred to different parts of the yard. "She's...on a trip right now. Not too sure when she'll be back."

Fred nodded. "Oh. I see."

"Yeah," Clara replied, sadness clouding her features slightly.

The air soon became still between the two as the tension increased.

After some time, Clara broke the silence. "Fred, I appreciate everything you and your brother are doing for me. I'm just...I'm not in a good place right now."

Fred nodded, his expression dulling. "Well, if you need anything, and I mean anything, you say the word and we'll be there."

Clara nodded. "I appreciate it, Fred. Well, I've gotta be going. I'll see you at work tomorrow?"

Fred nodded with a big smile, then he turned to walk down the pathway away from Clara's house.

"Hey Fred," he heard Clara call.

He turned around to face her once more.

"I wouldn't mind if we could do this every once in a while."

"Do what? Dinner?" Fred asked. "I figured that was already a given."

Clara laughed. "I suppose that too. I meant just...talk. Hang out."

Fred chuckled as his smile grew. "That sounds brilliant."