Chapter Twelve

George came back to the village an hour after he had left and told Catherine that she and Charlotte had been invited to dinner that evening. "You'll be fine. It's not the entire family. Bill and his wife are having some time to themselves with their baby. My other brother, Percy, is busy with work. But we do have an extended family."

"Oh right." Catherine chuckled as she put on Charlotte's coat.

"There will only be three more people. My brother's girlfriend, Hermione is joining us. So is my sister's boyfriend, Harry, along with his Godson, Teddy. He's only a year younger than Charlotte." George smiled as Catherine picked up a grumpy Charlotte.

"What's the matter, Lottie?" Catherine sighed. "Don't you want to meet your other Granny?"

"No. I only want my Granny." She pouted stubbornly.

"Charlotte!" Catherine scolded her. "Stop it! This is you Daddy's family and they really want to meet you."

"Fine." Charlotte continued to be stubborn.

Catherine just shook her head as she and George walked out of the shop, with Charlotte in Catherine's arms. "Be a good girl. Afterwards, you can come back and read for Grandpa." Charlotte nodded quietly and they walked the walk to the Burrow. "What if they don't like me?"

George chuckled. "They will love you. It's okay. I'm here." He reached over and held Catherine's hand softly.

Catherine smiled as they walked out of the village and in the direction of the Burrow. "Oh, I'm so nervous." She held onto Catherine as they walked to the bottom of the hill, where the Burrow was right ahead of them. She took sleep and nervous breaths as they walked up the dust road to the house. Her eyes scanned the impossible structure. It looked as if it were about to fall down. "Here it goes." She spoke quietly as they approached the house.

George placed his hand in the small of her back and led her up to the house. "Don't worry. They don't bite." He reached forward and opened the door. "We're here!" He called as they walked inside.

Catherine bit her lip nervously when she saw the many people inside. Everyone, apart from two people, had red hair. "Oh." She thought to herself. Charlotte became very nervous and tightened her arms around Catherine's neck and hid her face against her mother's shoulder. "It's okay, darling." Catherine spoke soothingly to Charlotte. She looked up at the older woman, who stepped forward. "Hello. I'm Catherine."

"Hello, dear. I'm Molly." Mrs Weasley stepped forward with a big smile. "It's really lovely to meet you." Catherine couldn't say a word, she was too nervous. "I am guessing this must be Charlotte."

"Yes, it is." Catherine finally spoke. "Lottie, are you going to say hello?"

Charlotte shook her head against Catherine's shoulder. "No."

Catherine laughed lightly. "She's being stubborn. She doesn't think she is allowed another Grandma."

Molly laughed lightly. "That's all right." Molly stepped forward again. "Hello, Charlotte. Would you like a drink? I have some nice juice here." Charlotte lifted her head slightly. "Would you like to come and help me fetch some for mummy?"

"Oooh! I'd love some juice." Catherine said softly. "Would you like to go with..." Catherine stopped and bit her lip.

"She's my Grandma, mummy!" Charlotte said quietly. "You said so and so did Uncle George." Lifting her head up. "Can I help you?" She looked at Molly, all shy.

"Of course you can." Molly smiled as Catherine put Charlotte on the floor and the little girl reached up and held her Grandmother's hand. "Come on then." Molly led her into the kitchen.

Catherine watched them leave and could hear Charlotte immediately chatting away. She turned to looked at the others, finding herself very embarrassed by them all staring at her. "I'm sorry you didn't get to meet her sooner."

The elder man spoke first. "It's ok. George told us the reasons." He smiled gently and held out his hand. "I'm Arthur. That must make me Catherine's Grandpa."

Catherine smiled as she shook his hand. "Yes, it does." Chuckling lightly as another male Weasley stepped forward.

He held out his hand and smiled. "I'm Charlie."

Catherine smiled. "Nice to meet you." She shook his hand. Every member of the family, who were present, and their partners introduced themselves to Catherine. By the time all the intros had been done, Molly and Charlotte were returning with drinks.

"Since there are so many of us, we thought it would be lovely to have dinner outside." Molly announced. Everyone agreed and filed outside.

Dinner was filled with laughter and chatter. Catherine talked to everyone and got to know them better. But inside her, her heart was breaking. She wished Fred was here. To see her and Charlotte meeting his family for the first time. She kept a brave face on and a smile. Hermione and Ginny entertained Charlotte by chasing her around the large garden.

"Cathy? Are you okay?" Molly asked, putting her hand over Catherine's.

Catherine continued to watch Charlotte. "I miss him." That made her tears fall. "I'm sorry. He was your son."

Molly squeezed her hand gently. "Thank you. He told us about you. I never saw him smile so much when he talked about someone." There were tears in her eyes too. "When he told us that you were having a baby, I was ready to shout at him until next week. But he was so happy, I couldn't. So, I thank you. Thank you for making him the happiest man in the world."

Catherine laughed through her tears and did something that shocked her; she turned and hugged Molly, who hugged her back. "Thank you. He made me feel whole." She spoke softly. The two of them parted. "I'm so used to being from small family, I never thought I'd feel so comfortable with so many people."

Arthur chuckled. "You will always be welcome here. You're family."

"Mummy! Come and play!" Charlotte shouted to her. She was holding Ginny's hand, while Hermione watched from nearby.

"Ok, darling!" Catherine shouted to her and stood up. She played with Charlotte for a while, getting to know Ginny and Hermione. "I'll be right back." She kissed Charlotte's nose and walked back to the table, which had been laid out for the earlier dinner and was now covered in drinks and small snacks. She found only Charlie at the table. "Hey." She smiled as she sat down opposite him.

"Everything ok?" He asked curiously with a small smile.

"Yes. She tires me out quickly. I swear she has too much energy for a 3-year-old." Catherine laughed, Charlie laughed too. "Fred spoke very highly of you." She smiled at him, as she sipped her lemonade. "Other than George, he talked about you and Bill a lot."

Charlie laughed heartily. "I bet it was all bad things."

"No." She laughed loudly. "Well, not all bad." She grinned cheekily. "He said that you were the only brother he and George could get on with."

He gave a small lop-sided grin. "I know what he means. In our world, we play a game called Quidditch. I played in school, so we all used to play at home. Myself, Fred and George played it the most."

"Charlotte is partly named after you. Fred talked about you so much, I thought he'd like that."

"I'm flattered. Thank you." He smiled over at her. "What's her full name?"

"Charlotte Georgia Weasley." She said proudly. The two of them looked back at Charlotte, who was now playing happily with just Ginny and George.

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A/N: Hope you really like it. I can see this story going a little further. One question: What do you think about Catherine and Charlie's friendship? Progress it or keep it as friends?

Responses from Chapter 11:

smc1214: I'm sorry that it was sad. :( But that was always my plan. I hope you liked this chapter, where they have met the entire family.

Alina Maxwell: Thank you! I love writing this story, so that's why the updates have been quick. :)

CallUsGredAndForge: I'M GLAD YOU LOVE THIS STORY! :D Here's the next chapter. :D

Extra response from Chapter 10:

LillyLupinXD: Really? How so? OH! You can read minds! Hee hee! I actually flipped a coin to decide on the baby's sex. :D