Ch 2: Expecting the Unexpected
Mary saw George for lunch every day after she presented him with the portrait of his twin to keep him company. They decided to start seeing each other after about two weeks of their daily meetings and George asked her to have dinner with him that Saturday night. She was thrilled and the resounding 'yes' was almost immediate. Though George was still unhappy that his twin was no longer in bodily form, she knew that he would adjust better knowing that Fred's spirit was captured inside the painting. "It's what I want after I'm gone," he told her. "I don't want to have to pass on to the next realm without him, so I want someone to have a portrait of me done and hung up beside Fred."
They talked as the ate and Mary could feel the love she felt for him increase as he opened up to her a bit more about his thoughts and ideas, as well as the rest of his family. She knew that the night she had spent in his company was probably the best thing she could have done, relationship wise as they got to know each other more fully. She explained her young life to him as best she could as they took in dessert. Her parents were pureblood wizards and her father happened to be among the Death Eaters killed in the battle of Hogwarts. He fortunately didn't hold any grudges against her for her ancestry.
The night ended with George kissing her on her doorstep and promising to see her again the next day. She was thoroughly pleased with the night's events, to say the least. As she readied herself for bed that night she wondered how Luna was doing with her father, who had been released from Azkaban and was taking bed rest for the next few weeks. She sighed, hoping that Luna could get her father settled in before she went back to school in September.
George was becoming more attached to Mary as the days went by and was dealing with the pain of Fred's passing fairly well. He reopened the shop with the help of Ron and Verity, the girl who had helped him out since the beginning of his and Fred's endeavors, and business was slowly picking up again. Fred's portrait pointed out that people liked to laugh to keep from thinking about the things that weren't as happy and expected Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes to grow exponentially both in income and products.
Mary had sent an owl to Luna checking in with her before starting her day when an owl she recognized as one of George's flew into her kitchen. She gave the owl a treat and read the note quickly. George wanted to invite her to dinner with his family the next night, which she was happy to accept. She scribbled a reply and sent the owl off, then went into her small potions shop. She was surprised, but happy to find Luna waiting just outside her door.
"I just owled you!" she said, a bringing the younger girl into an embrace. "How are you?"
"I'm ok. Dad's doing well, so that's a positive thing. I came by to ask if you were going back to Hogwarts."
Mary sighed. She was nearly six months older than Luna, but they were both due to return to school as seventh years students come September. "I'm not going back," she told her friend. "I've just opened this potions shop and I'm afraid I'll lose the business."
Luna nodded sadly. "I understand. I'll be going back if Dad really starts improving. He says he wants me to do well."
"You will," Mary said with a smile.
"I'll miss you though."
"And I'll miss you. You'll have to work pretty hard to become a healer though."
"I know," Luna replied, a smile coming into her voice again. "Do you think Fred would have approved of me being a healer? It's what my mum always wanted."
"Yes. You can ask him yourself, though. I had a portrait made of him for George."
"Really?" Luna's eyes lit up. It had been a little over a month since the battle and she had taken Fred's death pretty hard as he had been her first lover. Her father had occupied most of her attention, however.
"Yes." Mary smiled at the white-blond girl. "If you want, we can go to the joke shop in a bit."
"I'd like that," Luna said. "It's nice that you have a shop too, now. Maybe someday you'll be potions master at Hogwarts."
"Maybe," the honey blonde replied, not believing that she would gain that kind of fame as a potions expert. Luna stayed with Mary until she decided to take lunch and meet George in the flat above his shop for lunch. Luna came along, interested to see Fred's portrait. Mary was glad for the company as there was a something she had to tell George that wouldn't be easy. There was more than one reason that she wouldn't be returning to school.
George welcomed them warmly, the portrait of his twin floating along leisurely behind him. Mary was happy to see Fred break into a huge smile upon seeing Luna. "I figured they were more suited to each other than either of them thought originally, now that he's not exactly normal," Mary told George quietly after being greeted with a kiss.
"Fred was never normal," George informed her with a laugh. They had lunch and light hearted conversation until Luna went off with the portrait to chat about what it was like living inside a frame. Mary turned to her boyfriend of two and a half weeks with a nervous smile. "Got bad news or something?" he asked.
"Not exactly bad news," she replied with a nervous laugh.
"What is it?" he asked, getting a bit more serious.
"Well, I'm sure you remember the night before the final battle," she started.
"Yeah."
"Well, apparently we forgot something…" she told him, looking at his chest instead of his eyes. "I'm pregnant."
"What?" he stood up from the table abruptly.
"I know we wanted to take it slow in our relationship, now that we really know each other, but I don't suppose it matters a whole lot now." She still wasn't meeting his eyes, afraid of what she'd find there.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"Yes. I've taken the potion and everything." He came around the table and she finally looked up, half expecting to see him fall over. Instead he was grinning widely. It was as if a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders.
"This is brilliant!" he told her.
"You're happy?"
"Of course. I wanted you to eventually be my wife. We've bonded quite a lot…now I don't have to wait!"
"Oh," she said, not sure of what else to say. Sure she knew that she was in love with him, but she had no idea that he felt so strongly about her. He enveloped her in his arms and she responded enthusiastically, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I love you, George."
"I love you too…I can't wait to tell mum, she'll have kittens!"
Mary couldn't help but laugh at that statement. George disentangled himself after sharing a heated kiss with her and ran down the stairs yelling "I'm going to be a father!" Mary laughed even harder when she heard him add, "Beat you to it Freddie!"
