Summary: Last chapter, we finally got the declaration of love we'd all been waiting for. This time, we see things from the perspective of our four resident peeping Toms, and hilarity, as always, ensues.
A/N: FINALLY. I'm baaaack! Merlin, I feel bad for letting you all hang like that. Again, I have to blame school and work, but I feel like none of you believe me when I tell you that. I promise I've been working on bringing you another chapter! Anyway I hope you like it! Let me know what you think in a review or PM! Many thanks to those who have reviewed, followed and faved.
Disclaimer: I only own my plot, and am making no profit from this work.
George had barely gotten the bedroom door closed before he found himself nose to nose with his little sister. The sound of his ear-piercing shriek and his scrolls clattering to the floor surely would have garnered Fred and Hermione's attention, had Ginny not cast a Muffliato charm mere seconds before.
"Bleedin' Christ, Gin," he exclaimed, kneeling down to banish the parchments to the flat in Diagon Alley. "I nearly had a heart attack."
The redheaded witch rolled her eyes. "Oh, you did not," she chided, pulling George to his feet and away from the door, not trusting the strength of her own spell work. Her eyes widened when she caught sight of the wool sock hanging off of her brothers' doorknob. "Morgana help us. They're not really…" She would have never thought Hermione the type to jump into bed with someone right away, even if she had known that someone for nearly a decade; at the very least, she thought the older witch would wait to jump Fred's bones until the prying eyes of the younger Weasley twin were out of sight.
George cackled, far too loudly for his sister's liking. Ginny smacked her brother's arm, hushing him.
He scowled in annoyance. "Merlin's saggy dress robes, quit hitting me, woman," he snapped, rubbing his arm. "And course they're not! Well, not yet anyway," he speculated with a wink. "Just give Freddie time."
"Give Freddie time for what," Ron's voice asked as it floated up the stairs, shortly followed by Ron himself, and a so-far silent Harry.
Harry's speechlessness lasted all of three seconds. A high-pitched squeak issued from Harry's mouth, and he began trembling, so overwhelming were his emotions. For the first time since he was very small, Harry produced accidental magic, turning the walls in the hallway a bright lime green.
Ginny snorted at her boyfriend's reaction, lazily flicking her wand to return the walls to their proper color. "Words, Harry. Use your words."
"When did…how…why didn't…" he spluttered, a million questions running through his head.
The three redheaded siblings could no longer contain their laughter. "Merlin, mate. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you had the crush on 'Mione," Ron chortled.
Harry raked his hands through his hair. "Of course not! She's like my sister! It's just…it's Hermione!"
George rolled his eyes, finally able to get a word in edgewise of Harry's stammers. "For all we know, Hermione is still our chaste and pure Gryffindor princess! I put the bloody sock on the door! I just wanted to see their reactions!"
Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank Merlin."
Ginny smacked him upside the head. "Oi. That's my big brother you're talking about. What's wrong with him and 'Mione together?"
George and Ron ruffled their sister's hair affectionately. "We've told you before. It's the same reason Ronnikins and I'll be wearing matching scowls at your wedding," George explained.
"It's like, we're proud of Harry for finding a pretty awesome life partner, but it's still our little sister he's fixing on shagging," Ron concluded.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Men," she cursed.
"Oh, like you're not going to give 'Mione a stern talking to about not breaking Freddie's heart," Harry raged.
The young witch raised a brow. "No? I mean, if she hurts my big brother, I can't promise that I won't Bat Bogey Hex her, but I'd do the same to Freddie if he broke her heart."
The boys couldn't really argue with Ginny's logic.
"Can we at least see if we're justified in wanting to hex his bits off," Harry pleaded.
Ginny sighed. "Fine," she drawled in exasperation. "Just don't disturb them!" She cast an additional Muffliato, knowing that the boys were anything but quiet.
As slowly and gingerly as was possible, George cracked his bedroom door open. He stopped when it was wide enough for all four of them to peek their heads through.
A wicked grin plastered itself to George's face, as he produced a camera from seemingly thin air.
Ginny's eyes went wide, and she mentally threw obscenities at herself for letting the twins get wind of Hermione's Bag Extending Charm. "George, what do you…"
"Relax, Gin. If it's a cute moment, you can scrapbook it for their kids. If it's naughty, well…"
Three hands smacked him upside the head at once. "Ow! Gutter brains, the lot of you. It'll mean mum will never blame me for another prank-gone-wrong again."
Harry, Ginny, and Ron, disgusted by the thought of what George might do with an explicit photograph, glared. "Whatever, you pervert," Ron hissed.
George smiled seedily as he slithered to the ground, crawling into the room on his belly.
Ginny tucked herself into the doorjamb next, followed by Harry and Ron.
All four of them had vastly different reactions.
George hadn't even processed what he was witnessing before he'd made the moment immortal on film. As soon as he'd ensured that the picture had come out clearly, he actually focused on what was going on, and he couldn't keep the grin off his face. Unlike his trademarked mischievous smirk, this smile was completely genuine. Despite being quite busy kissing Hermione, the smile was evident in Fred's features. When he pulled away slightly to search Hermione's face, the joy in his eyes was blatantly obvious. George had only seen such pure bliss in his brother's face once before, when they had opened Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes' doors for the first time.
Ginny was practically dancing. Her heart soared higher than it had during her first victory on the Quidditch pitch. She couldn't remember the last time her best friend and favorite brother had looked so happy. Despite her previous misgivings, Ginny was glad George had thought to document the moment. She knew in her heart that the war was finally over for Fred and Hermione.
Harry's jaw fell open, hardly recognizing the people before him. Gone was the brash and defiant Fred Weasley, who had laughed in the face of death. Gone was the strong and independent Hermione Granger, who had become a fierce and lethal warrior. Fred's heart was no longer guarded; all the emotions he'd bottled up were poured out in his kiss, and his tenderness apparent in the gentle caress of his hands. Hermione's spine was no longer stiff and defensive; she curved into Fred's arms, allowing him to support her. They both were softer, almost human again. No one noticed, but the walls in the hallway were bright green again.
Ron was at peace, the corner of his mouth curving up. He had learned long ago that for as much as he and Hermione loved each other, it would never be as anything more than brother and sister. He was glad she'd finally found someone to love and cherish her, especially someone as easy to keep an eye on as his own brother.
George couldn't contain his excitement, and apparently neither could Ginny's double Muffliato. The shrill wolf whistle and round of applause he let out broke through the charm, reaching the lovebirds' ears.
Fred and Hermione smiled into each other's mouths, and told George exactly what they thought of his interruption via a choice hand gesture.
The four rubber-neckers laughed, taking that as their cue to vacate the premises.
George shut the door behind them, ushering his fellow eavesdroppers down the stairs. The four of them bellowed in another peal of laughter as they heard the unmistakable click of the door being locked magically.
George elbowed Ginny as the four of them headed toward the staircase. "Told you Freddie wouldn't take long. Guess it's a good thing that I put that sock on the door."
Ginny rolled her eyes. "You're such a degenerate."
He grinned wickedly, sliding down the banister, landing neatly on his feet. "I prefer the term delinquent."
Ron nudged Harry, as they ambled into the kitchen, looking for something to eat. "I prefer the term dickhead."
"Oh bugger off," George called, following them.
Harry teasingly lobbed an apple at the older wizard's head. "We're just taking the Mickey. Calm your tits."
George smirked, whipping his wand out and sending a Tittilando at Harry. Thus began a fight between all four of the mages in the room, sending harmless trick hexes at each other.
The merriment was cut short by the unmistakable pop of apparition. Darting to the nearest window, George blubbered in surprise. "Mum and Dad aren't supposed to be back yet are they?"
Ginny's eyes widened as she mentally made tally of the days that had passed since her parents had left. "Merlin's saggy drawers! With Fred being unconscious, we stopped keeping track of the days. It's been well over a week!"
Harry and Ron rushed to George's sides, not believing that they too had missed the passing of days.
Momentarily forgetting the two lovebirds upstairs, they ran to greet Arthur and Molly at the door.
"Mum," Ginny sang, sailing into her mother's arms. After the week they'd just had, with its emotional ups and downs, she was incredibly glad to see her.
Molly grinned, tightly bundling her daughter into her chest. "Hello, Ginny dear! Oh I've missed you so much, love! Hello Ron! Harry! George," she exclaimed, as the three boys vied for places in her arms. So enthusiastic were they that they nearly bowled her over into Arthur.
The man, laughing heartily, joyfully came bounding around Molly's other side, sandwiching the kids between himself and his wife. As they let go, Molly looked around in confusion. "Where are Hermione and Fred?"
Ginny's face blanched, staring at her brothers and Harry, who wore matching expressions of horror and fear. There were two things Molly Weasley absolutely did not permit in her house: dirty dishes and locked doors. Dirty dishes implied chaos, and locked doors implied catastrophe.
How were they going to explain to Molly that Fred and Hermione, who had been skirting around each other prior to her leaving, were currently behind a locked door doing who knows what.
Molly's fiery eyes darted between the four teens. "I believe I asked a question." Her eyes focused in on Ron, knowing that her youngest son had the least strength against her glare.
Ginny shook her head furiously at Ron, begging him with her eyes to not rat Fred and Hermione out. George raked his hands through his hair, knowing that Ron was a lost cause, and they were all dead meat. Harry had sunk to the ground, completely catatonic.
Ron felt the beads of sweat dripping down his forehead. He knew that if he told the truth, his siblings would never speak to him again, and if he refused to speak, or told a lie, his mother would actually kill him.
"Ronald Bilius Weasley," Molly snarled from behind gritted teeth, "Tell me the truth. Where are Fred and Hermione? What are they doing?"
The last time Molly Weasley had such fire in her eyes was when she put an end to Bellatrix LeStrange; Ron was strong, but not quite that strong.
Ron's speech faltered, and he clumsily began, "Fred and 'Mione are…"
"We're right here," Hermione cut in, Fred a few paces behind her; the distance between them seemed colossal after what they'd been seen doing in Fred's room not minutes ago. The bushy haired witch drew her adoptive mother into a tight embrace. "I'm glad to see you're both back safely."
Molly's rage ebbed, and her posture relaxed, though one brow remained arched, as though she was aware that all was not as it appeared. She glanced over to her husband knowingly, and he nodded in silent agreement. Before her silence neared the brink of ungainliness, she clapped her hands together. "Well, then! We mustn't lurk in doorways!" She waved her hand to shoo off her brood, but called out to the two latecomers. "Fred, help your father with the luggage. Hermione, dear, would you help me in the kitchen?"
A/N: I hope you all enjoyed that! I know it was long coming, and it really was a bit of a filler chapter, so I apologize if that bored you.
If you're interested, I made my own art for this and the previous chapter. If you'd like to check it out, go to my Tumblr (thewriterinallofus) and search the tag "for those about to rock." You should find it!
Thank you so much for reading, loves!
