AN: okay, now for the reason of being away for so long. First off it was because of brain block, which I think I've gotten over. Secondly, when I finally got over it I hadn't even realized it because I wasn't really working on it because of school. Finally, as the end of school arrived a lot of stress and drama came with it. I thought I'd get away from it once school ended (because I was going to avoid the source of all the stress and drama at all costs during the summer) but again, things didn't want to leave me in peace. I've been having a lot of family problems involving my aunt, brother, cousin, and aunt and uncle. Needless to say one thing has led to another and a whole lot of stress has built. My crazy aunt has disowned my mother as her sister, gave my cousin medical drugs and alcohol (and my brother), and even when she was caught red-handed she lied about it. My aunt and uncle (who already are angry with her from previous offenses) aren't letting her near their kids anymore, and she is also cheating on my uncle (her husband). My eldest sister died in November, and I'm still getting over that, and she put me right in the middle of all this, trying to make me lie to my mom and family, and put me in situations that I shouldn't have been in. The reason she disowned my mother was because she told her that she needs medical help and that she shouldn't be allowed to be left alone. Because of this it is very likely I will never see one of my cousins again, and we're both very, very close, and I now have to lie to her because she hasn't a clue how unfaithful her mother is being to her father. We don't want her to get hurt, and I don't like hiding it because I know she'll eventually find out and get angry for us not having told her. And then my brother is being a lunatic, getting drunk, stealing my mom's car almost every night, and speeding and nearly killing himself many times, after only having his license for not even a week. He thinks he's invincible and won't get hurt, but if he keeps it up he very well could. So as you can see, I've had a lot on my mind, and I'd appreciate a little bit of understanding if I start taking forever on my chapters again. but anyways, enough about that, I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and please R&R!
AN#2: sorry people, but I messed up in this chapter by calling George Fred instead by accident. I've fixed it, so it's correct now. I guess it was just wishful thinking… sigh
Chapter 3: Meeting the Family Part I
Sunshine shone through the window and into my eyes, waking me up. I blinked into the brightness, pushing my head back into my pillow, not at all wanting to wake up. I felt a body against me, and upon lifting my head again I saw Dora, fast asleep beside me. I smiled drowsily, pushing some of her curly blond hair out of her face before I pushed myself out of bed, being careful not to disturb her. I moved to the window that looked out into muggle London, looking at all those people, so close yet so far from things they'd always wondered about. If they could only enter the pub, then they'd see a new side to life.
I turned away from the window, moving to the bathroom for a shower. When I got out I woke up Dora so she could take a bath. I was in my yellow, fluffy bathrobe, my wet hair pulled back with a clip until I got around to messing with it. I was poking around in my bag, trying to decide on what to wear, when I heard a knock on the door. Slightly puzzled, I moved to the door and pulling it open, using it to block my wet, practically naked body. My eyes fell onto one person, and I felt my eyes instantly watering up. The woman opposite me, who looked so much like me save for her red hair, also began to tear up, and soon the door was thrown away and we were hugging each other tightly, she not caring that I was getting her wet, and me not caring that I was standing with the door wide open in only a bathrobe.
"Vicky, I've missed you so much!" the woman that I held in my arms cried, hugging me tightly. I felt a pang in my heart. She had been in school for two months already when I left. I hadn't even sent her a letter.
"I've missed you too, little sis." I replied, hugging her tight. "Come on in, I just got out of the shower and still need to change. We can catch up on everything inside."
Dominique nodded in reply and reluctantly released me, moving into the room as I shut the door behind me. "Where's… Nymphadora?" she was both asking if she had said the correct name and just asking where the small child was.
"She's in the lavatory, taking a bath. How did you know I was here?" I asked now, moving back to the duffle bag that held my clothes.
"Well I was just coming through here to go into Diagon Alley and meet up with Elliot, and then Tom told me you were here. I ended up meeting Elliot and telling him we'd have to see each other later." She answered, sitting on the bed beside my bag.
I glanced over at her, "Who's Elliot?"
A surprised expression lit up on her face, "That's right; you don't know yet do you?"
I put down the dress I'd just been holding, "Know what?"
My sister had never, ever been one to blush. You could tell her the dirtiest joke ever in existence and not even the slightest color would tinge her cheeks. But now I saw a bright redness come to her cheeks, and then she held her hand out, showing me a beautiful diamond ring. "I'm engaged."
I looked at the ring in shock for a moment, then up at her, then back down, and back up. She looked nervous as she watched me, as if she was scared I'd get mad or something, but then a huge grin spread out on my face, "Oh my god, you're engaged!" I squealed, and she joined me. I hugged her tight, holding her at arm's length, "You didn't think to have someone tell me sooner? I'm going to have some brother-in-law and you don't even think to tell me sooner?" I'm still grinning widely, ecstatic for my little sister.
"Well, I wanted to tell you myself, and then I kinda forgot that you didn't already know…" she looked sheepish, but she was still smiling as well, the picture of happiness.
"When's the wedding?"
"Two months, August 31st. The ceremony will be at Mum and Dad's house, right on the cliff edge overlooking the ocean. Then the reception will be at the Burrows." She explained, looking dreamy just thinking about it.
"Whoa, he must be really something to have you so lovesick." I commented teasingly, earning me a shove and a laugh.
"He really is." She sighed, the sound of a woman in love.
"Tell me about him. How you two met, what he looks like, what his job it… the works." I said, pulling out a dress shirt, which I showed to Dominique, who shook her head in rejection. I put it down and started searching again; wanting to find something that would make a good impression with the family I hadn't seen in over eight years. I didn't want them to think I wasn't managing on my own, which would be their first assumption if I showed up in my usual t-shirt and shorts.
"Well, he's twenty-six, he works at the Ministry as an unspeakable. He has light brown hair and the most gorgeous sea green eyes ever." She sighed dreamily again.
"Well it's nice to hear he has a good job to support you." I commented before I finally sighed in defeat and pulled out a dress one of my coworkers had given me for my birthday a few years back. I had never intended to wear it, but had brought it along for just this sort of occasion—desperation. It was a sundress, so it would keep me cool, and was a light blue color, the material soft and airy. There were subtle vine and flower designs stitched in it in a darker blue, and it had spaghetti straps, reaching down to a little below the knees. It wasn't that it wasn't pretty, because it was. It was one of the prettiest yet casual dresses I had. However, it was something I would have worn when I was still dating Teddy—in fact, it was disturbingly similar to the dress I'd been wearing on that night…
"We met at a muggle art gallery. We were both there because my friend Helen Longbottom—you remember her right?—had invited us. Apparently she had a plan to get me out of my apartment studio and out on the dating field, and she felt that setting me up was the only way. Elliot had no idea. He's Helen's cousin's girlfriend's older brother you see, and he thought that his sister and her boyfriend would be there as well. In the end Helen introduced us and then bolted. After a very awkward silence he cracked a joke and we were both instantly at ease. After spending the rest of the day together he asked me if we could do it again and I gave him my number, expecting him to never call me back. Guys usually don't you know. But a few days later I got a call and it was him, asking me out for coffee and things just went from there." She seemed to enjoy telling me the story, and I felt she had told it to many people now, though if that bothered her you would never be able to tell.
"Mommy, who's that?" Dora's voice carried from the bathroom door and I turned, having just finished putting my dress on. I smiled at her and beckoned her over. She was clad in only her pink bathrobe, and she glanced at Dominique inquisitively.
"Dora, honey, this is your Aunt Dominique. She's my sister." I introduced.
Dora was now beside me and leaned into me. I grabbed her hair and pulled it into my hands, pulling it around her to rest on her chest instead of be pushed into my dress. The small girl looked at the redhead sitting on the bed shyly now, though still openly curious.
"Hi…" she said softly, glancing between us before she nodded slightly, as if deciding we looked enough alike to be sisters.
"Hello Nymphadora." My sister replied, a smile forming on her face.
"You can call me Dora if you want. We're family after all." The girl said boldly, as if after saying hello she had no other reason as to be shy anymore.
Dominique laughed, "Okay, I'll do that."
"You have Mommy's laugh." She commented now, seeming pleased with this fact. "It's pretty."
"Well thank you very much Dora."
"No problem."
I laughed now, kissing the girl atop the head, "Why don't you grab some nice clothes and go get dressed?" I said, taking special care to emphasize the word 'nice' so she could make no mistake.
"Okay." She moved over to her bag, which was sitting on a chair. I walked into the bathroom leaving the door open so I could see both Nymphadora and Dominique from where I stood in front of the mirror.
"So when did you get in?" Dominique asked.
"Yesterday morning."
The younger woman looked surprised and slightly hurt, "Why didn't you come and see us yesterday then?"
I glanced over at her as I brushed out my hair, "Because I wanted at least one peaceful day back in England before I was forced to endure the drama that would come with the family."
"We've missed you, Vicky. You can't blame us." she said, her brows furrowed.
"I know. I'm just not very enthusiastic to hear all their lectures." I replied. "But I can't put it off anymore, and Dora is anxious to meet everyone."
"Mommy, I'm ready, let's go." Dora said, and I peaked around the door to get a better look at her. Raising my brows I glanced at her mismatched shirt and shorts, then glanced at Dominique.
"Mind helping her out a bit?" I questioned.
Dominique grinned, "Not at all." She moved to Nymphadora's side and peaked inside the bag, Nymph huffing at not getting to leave and having to change her clothes.
I turned and looked back into the mirror, letting my hair flow down over my shoulders, then moved on to work with my makeup, applying only a little, not liking the stuff much. I looked myself over, seeing the difference from my seventeen self. My face had changed, loosing the innocence I'd seen in pictures of my younger self. I had grown mature and went through many struggles. I was a new person, and all my family was as well. I probably wouldn't even recognize the younger ones. Little Lily seventeen now, the same age I'd been when I left, rather than the nine-year-old I knew, and Lucy was fifteen instead of seven. I knew I'd have trouble recognizing at least Lucy. And I knew all their personalities would be different. They'd all been little kids after all, and by now they'd have more life experiences. Hell, James had been a tormenting, teasing, goofy boy who thought girls were gross when I'd last seen him, and now he was not only married but expecting a little girl of his own. Talk about a drastic change right there.
"Okay, now she's ready to go." Dominique's voice interrupted my thoughts and I walked from the bathroom to inspect her.
I found her wearing a pair of shorts and a loose, ruffled shirt, the short sleeves slightly puffed. Her hair was pulled into a half ponytail and she was wearing flip-flops. I smiled, satisfied with the outfit.
"Thanks, Dom." I said. I held out my hand for Dora to grab, "Let's go pay you're Great-Uncle George a visit."
The girl nodded excitedly, not knowing who he was, but anxious to meet anyone she could. She took my hand and the three of us left the Leaky Cauldron and entered Diagon Alley. Dora looked around in pure amazement, and I was sure she was comparing this to my bedroom. Diagon Alley was far more enchanting, and I knew it was like something out of a dream for her. As we went Dom and I would point out shops, sometimes the shops even having to be pointed out to me because of places being relocated or places having closed and been replaced with new shops. Finally, however, we made it to the WWW. I saw kids inside, looking at all the things, and I spotted a two heads of bright red hair moving around inside as well. It seemed as though I'd be seeing more than one Weasley in the one trip.
Dominique pushed ahead and went to find Uncle George while I showed Dora some of the merchandise, taking care to remind her that we don't have much money to spend so she couldn't buy anything. Suddenly I came face to face with a tall, redhead man with one missing ear. He looked at me, sizing me up, and then launched himself forward, grabbing me and swinging me around in a tight hug.
"I'll throttle you, you little brat! Running off like that! You're supposed to be like your Dad, not like me and your Uncle Fred!" through his scolding he was laughing, and I laughed along with him, hugging back tight.
"Uncle George, I've missed you!" I said, smiling up at him as he set me down.
"Of course you did. I haven't a clue how you could last eight years without one of my pranks." He said, grinning mischievously.
"This is Nymphadora, my daughter." I introduced, touching her back. The man looked down at her, smiling still.
"Hello there Nymph." He said brightly.
Dora giggled, looking up at me, "Hi, Mr. Weasley." She answered.
He forged a hurt face, "What, I call you a brilliant nickname but all I get in return is a boring 'Mr. Weasley'? You can do better than that, surely."
She paused to think, "Uncle George?"
He made a pained face, "That'll work for now. Vicky you need to teach this girl how to make proper nicknames." He scolded me. Then he looked back at Dora and grinned, "How would you like to have a few pranks to pull on your mum?"
"We don't have enough money to spend on pranks." The girl sighed, eyeing the many amazing things around her with a longing gaze.
George laughed, "Who needs money when you're the owner's great-niece? Get whatever you want. But don't tell anyone. This is just our little secret." And then he winked at the brightly smiling girl.
"Thanks, U.G.!" and then she darted off.
A thoughtful expression passed over his face, "'U.G.'… hmm, it has a nice ring to it, don't you think Victoire?" he turned and looked at me as I glowered at him.
"Thanks, Uncle George, that's just what I need. A seven-year-old with a bunch of pranks to pull on me." I said sarcastically.
"No problem, it's the least I could do after you ran off." He said, smiling smugly. And then we both fell silent as we watched Dominique showing Nymphadora all the amazing things. "She has his smile you know."
I looked at the girl, feeling pain at his comment. "And his eyes." I added softly, watching as she smiled and laughed, her mouth pulled into that trademark crooked grin that I'd known all my life. It had been one of the first things that won me over.
"But she looks like you. I feel as though I've gone back in time and am watching you run around the store. Of course, back then it was Bill who was getting sour about it." He laughed again, looking over at me.
"So where's the other Weasley in this place? I saw two redheads in here through the window before I got in." I said, looking around trying to catch sight of the other mass of fiery colored hair.
"That was probably Fred you saw. Him and a bunch of his mates are all in the back, though he came up a few minutes ago to help me with a few customers."
"Oh, do I know them?" I asked.
"I would assume so. Your bother is one of them, along with his boyfriend Edgar." He sent me a look, as if expecting me to flip.
But I didn't. I'd been the first to know Louis' romantic interests. The summer before his fourth year he'd asked me a few things, and finally confessed. I had supported him and explained that it wasn't anything to be ashamed about or try and hide. That had been a few months before I bolted off to America.
When I didn't flip he continued, "James and Albus are back there as well, along with the Scamander twins and Scorpius."
I choked on my own spit at the last name, coughing hard, "Sorry, I think I heard you wrong. What was that last name?"
George grinned one of those creepy smiles, "Scorpius. You know, Scorpius Malfoy."
"When the ruddy hell did they start hanging out with a Malfoy?" I demanded.
"When Rosie started dating him."
Now that was something I had never, ever expected. "And Uncle Ron is okay with this?"
"Oh he wasn't at first, believe me. In fact, he was downright furious. He was close to locking Rose away and not letting her go back to Hogwarts so she wouldn't be able to see him. But he's gotten over it and, though he'll never admit it, I think he's even starting to like the little bugger."
I shook my head, "And now I've heard everything." This earned me another laugh.
"Believe me, he puts on quite a show whenever he sees the two together."
"Of course he does, he's Uncle Ron after all. He always overreacts."
"No, he's a father. We all do. When Roxy told me she was dating Lorcan Scamander I almost stormed the house."
I raised my brows, "Roxanne and Lorcan? I guess it makes sense, she's just like her mum and Lorcan is just as crazy as you, and Aunt Angelina married you."
He forced a hurt face, putting a hand to his chest dramatically, "That hurt Victoire. You'd think my eldest niece would have more sensitivity for her poor uncle."
"You're hardly poor." I countered, smiling at him. "What else have I missed in the dating area?"
Uncle George paused to think, "Well, both of Percy's girls are still single, but then Lucy is only fifteen. I think most guys just can't put up with Percy's droning. I swear, he does it on purpose." I rolled my eyes and he continued, "Lily is dating Lysander, Albus started dating a girl named Eliza Lawson a few months back, I'm sure you know that Dominique is engaged to that Elliot Brighten fellow, and then James is married to former Lydia Boot and is expecting a little girl on July 13th."
"What, Quidditch star Fred Weasley doesn't have a girl?"
"He's too focused on the game. Just like his mum always was. He'll find someone eventually though. He's only twenty-two after all."
"Mommy, can I have this?" I looked down to see my girl holding up some sort of gooey pet thing—obviously one of the WWW's latest.
"No. Not gonna happen. You can have anything—anything—but that or anything like it." I said, refusing to have something so disgusting in my house.
Dominique laughed and patted Dora's shoulder, who was also grinning, "You see, Dora? It work's ever time." I realized with distain that I'd just been tricked. I sent a dirty glare at my sister as she ran off with my daughter. Never again would I let those two shop together.
"She'll be a troublemaking master in no time." Uncle George sighed with satisfaction, slinging an arm over my shoulder, towering over my short 5'5" height.
"She will not." I said stubbornly, but I knew he was right. She'd probably be brainwashed by the older man, and if not by him then Ted when she finally met him. That man was one of the most troublesome men in the world.
"Denial isn't an attractive trait you know." he advised now. I growled under my breath. This was going to be a long day…