All Those Years

Chapter 3: Dinner and the Prank

Disclaimer: There are many people who I would love to be. These include the following: J.K. Rowling, Sarah Dessen, Idina Menzel, Kristen Chenoweth, KT Tunstall, Jordin Sparks, and Jodi Picoult, and, if I were a guy, Adam Levine. Sadly, I'm none of these people. This means that I don't own Harry Potter.

Ron

Later on in the evening of the day that followed the battle at Hogwarts, Ron Weasley heard his mother calling his friends and him downstairs for dinner. They had been in his room talking with his sister about what they'd been doing and exactly how Voldemort had been defeated, and about what she'd been doing to fight at school. They were pretty sure that they knew what had happened, but they had wanted to make sure that they knew all of the details. "Coming, mum," Ron yelled down the stairs, and then the four friends stampeded down to the kitchen, eager to have dinner. When they reached their destination, they found Mr. Weasley, George, Bill, Fleur, Charlie, and Percy sitting at the table, and extra seats for them and Mrs. Weasley, who, knowing her, wouldn't be doing much sitting. It surprised Ron to see Percy sitting so calmly at th e table; he'd forgotten that his estranged brother had realized his wrongs and chosen to return to the family. Ron had trouble truly accepting Percy back when he'd betrayed his family in a time of need, but Percy had fought in the final battle against Voldemort. Ron felt that this counted for something, and Percy had never really done anything to harm the Weasleys. With time, Ron knew that Percy would be forgiven.

The dinner that followed was one of the best that Ron had had in a very long time. Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny sat at the four chairs at the end of the table, leaving the end open for his mother. The food was set on the table, and everybody dug in. There was roast chicken, steak, mashed potatoes, and many more of Mrs. Weasley's delicious dishes to be eaten. Ron was right across the table from Hermione, and he couldn't keep his eyes off her. Dinner was finished, and then the desserts were brought out. There were multitudes of impressive pies, tortes, and tarts, but the most impressive dessert by far was the large chocolate layer cake that had been decorated spectacularly. It was frosted with chocolate icing, and had a large yellow sun in the middle. On it, the cake read "Voldemort is gone. Here's to a new world." Between each of the rays of the sun stood a candle, each displaying the image of Fred Weasley, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks Lupin, Mad-Eye Moody, or Dobby the House-elf. After the surrounding desserts had been devoured, everybody somehow still had an appetite for the spectacular cake. Mrs. Weasley cut it into eleven wedge-shaped pieces and distributed one piece to each person. After they had dug in and all of the cake had vanished from each person's place, George stood up. He stood stock-still, waiting until everyone at the table was staring up at him in surprised silence. Clearing his throat dramatically, he began: "In honor of Fred, that large elephant in the room, I have sprinkled Fred's Flower Fiesta mix onto the frosting of the cake. The idea was dear Freddie's, and it is scheduled to come out next month. The effects of the mix should start to happen about now . . . enjoy!"

George

George Weasley sat back and grinned as from all around him the most ridiculous looking sunflowers that he'd ever seen sprouted from the top of everybody's heads. The flowers were large and yellow, and had big smiling faces in the middle of them. Fred's Flowering Fiesta mix was an idea of Fred's in which a large daisy, sunflower, rose, or tulip would sprout out of the person's head and would sing a song of the prankster's composition. George had chosen to use sunflowers because he had wanted to make his family happy. Just as he was thinking this, the flower on his own head started chanting "Fred, Fred, Fred, Fred . . ." His father's flower chimed in with a harmonic chant, and then Percy's joined. After about 30 seconds, the rest of the flowers started to sing a melody of sorts that consisted of chanting "Fred, Fred, Fred Weasl! ey" to the tune of "Row, row, row your boat" over George's, Mr. Weasley's, and Percy's chord. And then the music came to an end, and laughter ensued. Even George's mother was shaking from laughter. George smiled at his handiwork. He had succeeded in making his family laugh in a way that remembered Fred.

As the laughter started to die down, George stood up again. He was greeted with the laughing eyes of his family and he started to speak. "Ron," he said, "I need a partner for Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. I know that Fred would have wanted me to continue our business, and I'm sure that he would agree with me that, in his absence, the best choice of partner would be our dear ickle-Ronniekins. Will you join me in my work of corrupting young wizards and witches and ensuring that brilliant pranks will outlast us?" George looked at Ron, who looked astounded, a look he wore often, and nodded his head. "Are you sure?" he asked his older brother. George told him that he was, and, much to his mother's dismay, set off a firework in the dining room.

Mrs. Weasley

Molly Weasley felt tears of joy in her eyes. She loved seeing that George was moving on after his brother's death. She couldn't remember a time when her twins had been apart for more than a day, but George was coping as well or better than she was. Of course he was sad; you had to be sad, but sad was one thing and permanently depressed was another. Mrs. Weasley knew that both she and George, as well as the rest of her family, would come to terms with Fred's death. Mrs. Weasley reflected that although Fred had only lived for 19 years, he had had a successful and happy life, and he had fought bravely against Voldemort. It was hard to lose him, but they could move on. And they would, with a bit of time. Life was already beginning to proceed as it normally did.

Ginny

Ginny Weasley looked at Harry during George's prank. She loved the little grin that he had displayed on his face while he was trying not to laugh, and she hated that he wasn't really talking to her. She hated more that he wasn't kissing her. Ginny needed to talk to him. She would put a stop to his self-sacrificing attitude. Although she was small, Ginevra Molly Weasley was a force to be reckoned with. Ginny knew that she would soon win Harry back – he was being ridiculous, and she knew that he was aware of the fact somewhere in that head of his. She knew that he still had feelings for her, and she would force them out somehow. Ginny decided that after Fred's funeral she would talk to Harry. With that out of her mind, she joined in laughter with the rest of her family and friends, and reflected that the world was much brighter! now th at Voldemort was dead. Life was good, and with a little luck, it would stay that way.

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A/N: Okay, several points here.

1) Thanks again to everybody who has read my story, more thanks to everybody who has reviewed my story, and most thanks to beta (for being truly amazing, and going way above my expectations in a beta).

2) Wow, it's really hard to avoid all of the stories out there with similar summaries to mine. I hadn't gone looking for stories for a while, but when I did, I saw sooo many summaries that are similar to mine. I have a feeling that if I read these stories, I'll accidentally and unknowingly steal stuff from the authors . . . so if I see a story that has the phrase "between the last chapter and the epilogue" or something similar, I stay far, far away. It's hard to do.

3) There are several things that I've learned about reviews in the process of writing this story. First, that only a small percentage of readers leave them. I have 18 subscribers and 8 reviews. Believe me, it completely fills me with joy when I get an email saying, "Four and Twenty Blackbirds, the following member has added your story to his/her story alert subscription." I truly appreciate that. I do. But the ones I like even better say "Four and Twenty Blackbirds, the following review has been submitted to All Those Years: Chapter n." Those ones make me fly up into the air and dictate to my fingers from up there. That made no sense, but oh well . . . I always saw authors reminding people to review their stories, and would think who doesn't review??? Needless to say, I always review, unless I'm reading at last minute, rush out to do something, and forget. But I can't emphasize enough how much I appreciate you even reading!

Another thing that I learned is how much authors crave reviews, and how good they make you feel, even if they're two words long. Seriously, I wasn't expecting to get any reviews until I got to at least 3 chapters, but I got 5 reviews for my first chapter. So I wanted more. I'm not begging or anything, but I love to hear what you think! Alright, okay, enough chattering about reviews. This Author's Note will end up longer than the chapter if I don't end it soon . . .

4) I know that George's prank was incredibly stupid. I just couldn't think of anything else though, so I just typed whatever came into my head. Sorry about that. I promise (well, hope) that the next chapter will be better!!! George's speech is mostly my beta's . . . she suggested that George announce the prank with fanfare, and basically wrote that speech.

5) Don't worry; I'm not planning to write three chapters about every day in the nineteen years . . . I'm not even planning to write about every day. But some things just need to happen and to be said. I'm sorry if I've bored you with the lack of action . . .

Thanks for reading!

Four and Twenty Blackbirds