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This was perhaps one of Fred's most favourite places in the world. It was quiet, something that the Burrow certainly wasn't. He was used to the noise. He'd grown up with five brothers and one sister, after all. The fact remained that he occasionally liked to get away and enjoy some peace. In order to do that, he had to venture to the top of a hill near his house. He was pretty sure his siblings all knew about the hill, but none of them dared follow him up there, not even George. He'd never brought anyone up there before either, until today.
He didn't know what it was about Tammy Potter that made him go weak at the knees, but there was certainly something . Technically she was off limits, what with her being one of his little brother's best friends, but he was very drawn to her. Ron wasn't pleased, but that was hardly surprising. The youngest Weasley boy had a jealous streak in him, always had.
Fred couldn't help but be pleased when Tammy had agreed to go on a walk with him. While he hadn't actually intended on taking her to his favourite place, that was where his feet had lead them. Now they were standing side by side, on top of the hill. He could see Tammy out of the corner of his eye; she was watching his childhood home. He wanted to know what was going through her mind just then. Did she think of the Burrow as home, or was it her place to escape to, like this place was to him? The words to ask just would not form.
He counted himself lucky that he was able to see this side of her. Usually she was surrounded by people - being the Chosen One came with so many downsides. She had to be strong, to always have a plan, to always be alert. When he was with her, all he wanted to do was wrap his arms around her and protect her, but she was the one that had to protect all of them.
Eventually he sat down, a hand reaching up to take hers before he gently tugged her down onto his lap. He kissed her temple, then rested his head on top of hers. Somehow she had managed to make his happy place that much better. He supposed it could have had something to do with the fact that he was pretty sure that he was in love with her. He hadn't dared to say that aloud though. She was only fourteen, still a child really, and with everything else that she had on her plate, he didn't think that it would be fair to pile something like this on her as well.
"Bunny?" Tammy broke the silence, her voice was so light that Fred was pretty sure that a gust of wind would have been able to whisk it away.
"You're the only one who gets to call me that, you know." Fred said with a soft laugh. If anyone else tried to call him that then they were going to end up as the latest guinea pig for the product line that he and George were developing.
"Oh, I know." Even though he was sitting behind Tammy, he could see the grin on her face in his mind's eye. He knew that she enjoyed having that sort of power over him. "Anyway, what I was about to say before you so rudely interrupted me was, 'Thank you'."
"Thank you?" Fred repeated slowly, his forehead creasing ever-so-slightly as he tried to work out what exactly she was thanking him for.
"Yes," she said quietly, turning her head to press a soft kiss to his cheek. "Thank you."
Fred decided not to question her further and just squeezed her closer to him instead. She didn't need to explain herself to him. He wanted her to always feel at ease with him. He was hoping that over the course of this summer, he had started to do just that.