Summary: Ginny is sick and Fred and Arthur are the only two home. Ron is at a friend's house and Molly has taken the others...somewhere.
Includes the quote: "Rapunzal, Rapunzal let down your hair!"
"I'll need you two to look after Ginny whilst I go and collect Ron. The poor dear has come down with the sniffles and I do not want to expose her to the awful weather outside. Fred, you are to help your father in any way that he needs. No questions asked, do you understand?"
"Yes Mum." Fred said, though without his mothers knowledge, two of his childish freckled fingers were crossed behind his back as he gave her a 'mum perfected' honest smile. She smiled back at her son and grabbing her handbag, walked towards the fire but not before turning to her husband and giving him a swift kiss on the cheek.
"No sweets for the children Arthur." she said in a stern voice that Arthur Weasley nodded feverently to and smiled encouragingly at his wife.
"Go Molly dear, we will be fine. Don't worry about us."
"You'll be surprised to know that is all I do, what with the likes of Fred and George around. Thank goodness George is over at Marty Thompson's house. I'd never be able to leave you home alone with the both of them. They'd tear the house apart within seconds!" she said, waving her hand around the small kitchen as though to prove her point.
"Gee thanks Mum. I'm beginning to think that you don't like me and George very much." Fred said as he crossed his arms across his chest and stuck his nose in the air.
"Oh you know that's not true Fred dear." Molly said as she walked up to her son and placed a hand either side of his face and kissed him on the forehead. Upon releasing him, Fred made a dramatic show of wiping his forehead vigorously with the palm of his hand and sticking out his tongue to show how 'gross' it was to be kissed by his mother.
Molly merely laughed and without further ado, threw a handful of Floo powder into the red flames and as they turned green, stepped in and called out "Diagon Alley!"
"Right Dad, she's gone. What sweets have you got on you?"
"Now Fred, your Mother said--"
"Come on Dad, just one."
"I--oh alright. I don't suppose just one could hurt." he said reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out a brightly coloured sweet to which Fred's eyes lit up.
"Thanks Dad, bye Dad!" he said as he took off toward the living room.
"You're welcome and be quiet; your sister is sleeping in her room."
"No I'm not. Fred's noisy. I feel yucky daddy." seven year old Ginny Weasley stood at the bottom of the stairs, rubbing her eyes and yawning at the same time, before coughing violently. "See?" she said as she padded bare-foot over to her father who picked her up.
"On what's wrong there little Ginny?" he asked her as she stopped rubbing her eyes.
"I'm not little. I'm almost as old as Ron!" she said indignantly. "I'll be at Hogwarts soon." she said proudly, puffing out her chest.
"I'll be there before you!" Fred called in from the other room in a sing song voice.
"Yeah well...so? I don't care." Ginny said as she wriggled out of her father's grasp and ran with quick little footsteps into the lounge room.
Arthur shook his head and sat down at the kitchen table, in hopes of having a good read of the Daily Prophet. His hopes were dashed however when he heard his son yell out in pain.
"Geroff Ginny!" he said as he attempted to push his sister off of him.
Arthur stood up and was about to tell them to keep the noise down when he heard a high pitched scream that could only be Ginny. He rushed into the room and found his only daughter lying on the floor, tears in her eyes and Fred sitting on the couch, arms folded with a smug smile on his face.
"I hate you Fred, I always liked George betterer!" Ginny said, poking her tongue out at him and turning the other way, tears escaping her eyes which she wiped at angrily.
"I don't care, you're an annoying little pest anyway. I hope you don't ever speak to me again. Least I won't have to see you when I'm at Hogwarts." he said, yet more triumphantly.
"Daddy! I want to go to Hogwarts too! Let me go."
"Now, you know I can't do that Ginny." Arthur said as he stooped down and scooped Ginny up in his arms and brushed her hair out of her eyes and she smiled weakly and hiccupped then turning to Fred, adopted a rather nasty face as she stuck her tongue out at him. He replied by touching his thumb to his nose and waggling his fingers at her and crossing his eyes.
"Daddy! Fred's making mean faces at me and I don't like it." Ginny said in a sulky voice.
"I think it's time you went to bed for a bit of a nap Ginny, you're getting a little grumpy."
"Ok Daddy." Ginny said, bouncy and happy again, though she yawned and giggled when Arthur tweaked her nose.
"Night night you little baby." Fred said as he leant back against the couch. "I get to stay up all day because I'm a big kid."
"I'm a big kid too!" Ginny said, leaving her father's arms again to sit next to Fred. "I'll stay up too."
"Now Ginny..."
"I'm not sleepy anymore Daddy. I want to stay awake for ever and ever, just like Fred." she said proudly.
Arthur sighed and nodded then walked back to his paper. He read in peace and quiet for five minutes until...
"Where'd you get the lolly? I want one, give me one!" Ginny was yelling at Fred at a pitch Arthur felt was unneccessary.
"Dad gave it to me, cos he likes me better than you." came Fred's voice.
"Fred! In here. Now please." Arthur called, leaning over the back of his chair so he had a clear view of the living room. "Ginny, stay there." he added as he saw her hop off the couch, attempting to follow. She pouted and scrambled upwards again. It was a mean feat for such a small child.
"Why do you provoke your sister like that?"
"Why do I poke her? I poke her 'cos--"
"Not poke, pro-voke. Annoy in other words." Arthur said, forgetting that his son was only ten years old, he often came out with things far beyond his age.
"Oh. 'Cos it's fun." he said shrugging and rasing his eyebrows at his father.
"She is your sister. You should be nicer to her."
"Why? I don't like her much, can we send her back to wherever it is you got her?"
"No we cannot. Ginny is family, whether you like it or not. I suggest you make an effort to get along with her, rather than to be nasty to her. I've had enough of the fighting. Ginny is sick and I don't want you to make her any worse."
"She can't get much worse." Fred muttered under his breath.
"Right," Arthur said, having heard his son's negative comment. "It's time you did something nice for your sister. Come with me."
"Ginny, Fred and I are going to put on a play for you. Since you are feeling sick, we want to make you feel better. Don't we Fred?" he asked and nudged his son when he didn't reply.
"Oh suuuure."
"Oh goodie!" Ginny said clapping her little hands in front of her and smiling, showing a gap in her teeth. Fred rolled his eyes and crossed his arms again. "What kind of play?" Ginny asked her father.
"What would you like?" he asked his daughter who had brightened considerably.
"Rapunzel!" she shrieked and lapsed into giggles. "Fred has to be Rapunzel and let down his hair!" she said rolling about on the couch in fits of childish laughter.
"What! No bloody way!" Fred said, an angry look on his face.
"Fred! Language...where did you learn that?" he asked, genuinely surprised that his son knew such a word.
"Charlie." he said proudly at which his father nodded knowingly.
"I should have known."
"You get to be the handsomest prince Daddy." Ginny said as she clapped her hands again.
"Dad, I'm not doing this. What if someone sees me?"
"No one will see you, it's just us here. Now...we need props..." Arthur pulled out his wand and magicked up a 'castle' for 'Rapunzel' to be trapped in and a white horse and sword for himself. "I think we're set. Here goes."
For the next half an hour, Arthur told the story of Rapunzel to Ginny who sat on the couch, completely drawn into the story that her father told so well. She always loved when he read stories to her when she was tucked into her bed, the covers pulled up to her chin. She loved that when he was finished, they would pick out the book for the next night. They always picked together, Ginny scrambling to the bookcase that her father had put in her room the day she was born - he had built it from hand, the Muggle way and Ginny absolutely loved and cherished it. Every night she would stroke it and ask her Father if he really made it. He would nod and smile. She'd hug him and rum back to her warm bed and climb in and before settling down to sleep, would kiss her father on the cheek.
As she watched the story unfolding in front of her in the Burrow's living room, she half wished that her family could act out all her favourite stories, just like this.
She giggled when Fred's short cropped hair was suddenly taking up most of the living room. He seemed to be as surprised as she was. When he discovered what was going on he called out to his father to 'Get this bloody stuff off me!' Arthur merely shook his head.
"Get into character Fred!" He called. He was already in character himself, riding a hobby horse and he had a cap on his head with a feather stuck into it. "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!" Arthur cried, thoroughly enjoying himself as he gestured wildly in the air.
"Sure thing Prince baby!" Fred said as he coiled some of the hair in his hands and when his father wasn't looking at him, threw it at him.
His father reeled back for a second before declaring war on Rapunzel. Ginny looked a little annoyed for a second before she squealed and joined in the battle after her father had dressed her in a princess costume, complete with tiara.
The three of them ran around the living room, the end result being that Fred had been tied up with his own hair and Ginny was tickling him since he couldn't do anything about it, he was laughing with her and rolling about the floor. Once he could move, he stood up and chased her around the room, declaring that he was the 'Hair monster' and that he liked to eat little girls names Ginny for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Ginny squealed happily and ran around. Being much smaller than her brother, Fred caught up with her quickly and tackled her to the floor where he tickled her mercilessly. She laughed and screamed until another voice was added to the conversation.
"What's going on here?" It was Ron, he was standing in the doorway with his mother standing just behind him. "You're all mental you are." he said shaking his head and running upstairs.
"We love you too Ronnie!" Fred called and a second later they heard a muffled: 'Don't call me that!'
"And I love you Fred." Ginny said as she planted a smacking kiss on her brother's cheek. "I don't hate you anymore." she said shyly, looking up at him through her long lashes.
"And I don't hate you either...but don't tell anyone that." he added quickly as he ruffled her hair.
"Why?"
"Because I said so."
"Okie dokie big brother."
"Hey, I like that. Big brother..." Fred said smiling to himself as Molly called Ginny out to the kitchen.
He really did love his sister and family, even if he didn't often admit it.
A/N: Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed that. I'd completely forgotten that I'd written this story but found it when I was perusing my stories. I've never written Ginny and Fred young so it's not the best pre Hogwarts fic but hey, it's not completely rubbish either…at least I don't think it is. Let me know either way.
Cheers,
Nesserz.