Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
I don't know if I'm going to be able to write this story for awhile. This chapter was nearly finished, and that's pretty much the only reason I finished it. Soon after I last updated, one of my friend's brother and sister-in-law were in a parasailing accident on their honeymoon. My friend's sister-in-law was killed and his brother is in the hospital. I didn't know either of these people, but at this present moment this story strikes a little too close to home. I'm not going to abandon this story, but I do feel that I need to take a break from it.
Angelina's POV
Sunday soon arrived and Angelina was feeling extremely lost. This would be her first time going to church since the battle two weeks ago. The first Sunday she had been unconscious in the hospital wing, and the other Sunday, she hadn't wanted anything to do with anyone. She hoped George would be there, as she knew she wouldn't be able to face anyone without someone who understood what she was going through. Yes, her mother too was a widow, but she and her dad had been married for over twenty years and she and Fred had only been married four months.
She sighed and wondered if the Muggles who lived in this area knew of the local deaths from the battle and what the cause was. She hoped that they did know because otherwise she would have to tell the pastor, as he was the one who had married them. She didn't know what she would say to him if he didn't know. Her mother's knocking at the door brought a sudden stop to her worries.
"Angelina dear, we have to leave in thirty minutes," Mrs. Johnson called through the door.
"Yes, Mum," Angelina responded robotically and she forced herself off the bed. As she did so a wave of nausea hit her. She grabbed the bedpost, groped for her wand on the side table, and conjured a bucket just in time. Once she was done, he vanished the sick, but kept the bucket just in case.
She soon was dressed in a black mid-calf length dress and she looked as fresh as she could. "Thank heavens for hair tidying spells," she muttered as she magically got rid of the tangles. Once dressed, she went downstairs, and after grabbing a piece of toast, got into the car with her mother. Mrs. Johnson was going to drop her off before continuing on to her church. Angelina had switched churches after she became an adult because she liked smaller churches while her mother preferred larger ones. At the present moment though, Angelina was regretting attending a smaller church, as they would all notice something was different about her. She was determined to go though because she knew it would do her good.
All too soon in Angelina's opinion they arrived at the church. "Are you sure you'll be okay?" Mrs. Johnson asked in a worried tone.
"I think so, Mum," answered Angelina as she gathered her Bible and notebook.
"Would you like me to pick your up, or will George be taking you back?"
"I'm going to Sunday dinner at the Weasley's," Angelina answered. "Thanks anyway."
"I'll see you later then," said Mrs. Johnson and she drove off.
Angelina took a deep breath and slowly walked towards the entrance. George was waiting by the door. "Hey Ange," he said quietly.
"Hi," she answered barely above a whisper. They both knew this would be awkward. Angelina could tell that George was hoping the pastor wouldn't mistake him for Fred, which was most likely going to happen unless my some miracle the pastor had heard about Fred. "Let's go," said Angelina, and the two walked inside.
As the headed for a pew, the pastor that had married her and Fred walked up to them. Angelina suspected that he had seen them enter and she also knew that he tried to personally greet everyone. Angelina felt George stiffen beside her and for a moment she thought he might bolt, but thankfully he stayed by her side.
"Angelina, George," he said quietly, shocking both of them, but especially George who had never been here before. "I'm very sorry for your loss."
Angelina looked at her pastor with confusion. "Had a Muggle newspaper mentioned Fred's death?" She quickly glanced over at George, and he too was looking very confused, which was a strange expression to see on his face.
The pastor seemed to understand their confusion. "I probably should've told you this earlier, but I'm a Squib," he said in a very quiet tone. "I read about the battle in the Daily Prophet and was at the memorial service." Angelina and George both relaxed and Angelina was thankful that she didn't have to explain.
"Pastor Martin," said Angelina, relief in her voice. "Thank you. I didn't know what I would've said if you didn't already know." She took a deep breath to try and steady herself. And, well, there's something I'd like to tell you." Pastor Martin smiled gently and waited for her to continue. "Well, I'm pregnant, with twins." She swallowed and added extremely quietly. "They're Fred's."
Pastor Martin looked quite surprised at Angelina's news, the fact that she was pregnant, not the fact that the children were Fred's. "C-congratulations," he said trying to regain his composure. "Did Fred know?" he asked gently.
Angelina shook her head. "I didn't find out until a few days afterward." She was blinking rapidly, trying to keep the tears from falling. George squeezed her hand, though he too was struggling to keep from crying.
Pastor Martin placed a hand on her shoulder. "Angelina," he said softly, "I don't know why this is happening to you, but the Lord has a reason. Stay strong in Him and He will help you through this time." He pulled her in for a hug and turned to George. "George, there is a reason, I assure you. I don't know why Fred was taken and the Lord may not see fit to show us the specifics, but trust in Him."
George nodded mutely and Pastor Martin hugged him as well. "May God speak to you and help to calm your spirits," he said as they went to the pew.
"I'm thankful he knows," said George as they sat down. "I don't know what I would've done otherwise."
"Neither do I," said Angelina quietly. "Neither do I."
Soon the church filled up. It wasn't very big, so it didn't take long for the congregation to arrive. Once the doors closed, the worship leader got up and the service began. The two were already in tears by the second song, which was Amazing Grace.
"Fred's there," Angelina whispered. "He's there in that better place. And we'll be there someday, George, we'll be there when it's our time."
After about half-an-hour the worship ended and Pastor Martin got up. "Our text today is found in Romans 8:28, "All things work together for good to them that love him and are called according to His purpose.
"Now, you may often wonder why certain things happen. Why did you get a bad grade? Why did your car break down? Why did a friend have an argument with you and severed ties? Why do loved ones die?
"I'm not going to try and answer these questions, but I am going to try to tell you that there is a purpose for everything that happens in life."
The pastor continued to speak about how even though awful things happened, there always was a reason, even if it wasn't visible. Angelina knew she was going to cry minutes into the sermon. This was what she needed to hear. Yes, she had always believed much of what the pastor was saying, but it assured her to hear it from someone else.
Once the service was over, George and Angelina quickly left the church. Once they were in a scheduled area, they Apparated to the Burrow, as it wasn't yet dangerous for Angelina to Apparate. When they arrived, the majority of the Weasley family was already there, including Percy's girlfriend Audrey. Only Bill and Fleur had not arrived from their home yet. A few minutes later they arrived, and Mrs. Weasley brought out the lunch.
After some small talk, George looked over at Angelina and she could tell that he was wondering when she was going to announce the new information regarding her pregnancy. She wondered what everyone would think. The Weasley family would never be without twins at this rate.
"Excuse me," said Angelina, coughing slightly. The chatter stopped instantly. "You all know that I'm expecting, well, there's more."
"What?" asked Bill, curious. "What else could there be?"
"Perhaps the fact that there is such a thing as multiple births," responded Angelina with a grin. It took a few seconds for this to sink in for the rest of the Weasleys.
"Twins?" cried Charlie in shock. "Are you expecting twins?"
"Yes," said Angelina simply.
"How many generations has it been without a set of twins?" wondered Percy.
"I think the last time there wasn't twins was in my Great-Grandpa Prewett's family, and even then there might have been some cousins who were twins," said Molly. "In our direct family, there have been twins for the past hundred and fifty years."
Harry whistled in surprise. He hadn't known twins were that common in the Weasley/Prewett family. "So is that the 'Prewett Curse' that is mentioned sometimes?" he asked.
"Yes," answered Arthur. "Twins are common in the Prewett family, and now in our family as well." He smiled gently at Angelina.
Audrey smiled at Angelina. "Well, at least everyone knows now."
"Did you know?" asked Percy, eying his girlfriend.
"Well, I am their Healer," Audrey responded.
"So you always get everything before the rest of us," muttered Ginny.
"It does make it a bit awkward when the Healer is a part of the family," admitted Angelina, "but it also is better. There hopefully won't be anyone sneaking information out which can often happen, especially as the majority of us are rather well-known now."
"It is going to be difficult for all of us," said Hermione. "We all are famous now, though I doubt most of us wish to be so."
"Couldn't agree with you more Hermione," muttered Harry. Angelina sighed. She knew Harry hated his fame and it bad enough when he was a student. She didn't want to know how he was treated now that he had defeated Voldemort once and for all.
"Have you decided on names?" asked Ginny suddenly.
"Not really," Angelina admitted. "It still seems a little early to think about that. I'm only a month and a half along. I don't even know the genders yet."
"It's never to early to think about names, but it's perfectly understandable to wait," said Mr. Weasley. "Molly had her names once she found out she was pregnant, and the girl's name never switched."
"Dad!" cried Ginny, turning slightly red.
"It is true," said Bill. "There always was a fairly major argument about what to name us boys, but Dad never said a word about your name."
"Just wait until you have kids," said Molly. Bill gulped and Fleur playfully swatted her husband on his arm.
Angelina blinked to keep tears out. This was what she wanted. She wanted the arguments about what to name her children. That was a part of raising them and it was another hole that had opened.
"Angelina?" asked a voice. She looked up. Fleur was looking at her very concerned. "Ees somezing wrong?" Fleur asked.
Angelina shook her head. "No, n-not really," she said, struggling to keep her voice steady. "I just with I could have the naming argument."
"I'll have it with you," said George. Angelina nodded her thanks. It took a lot for George to say something like that.
"I'll take you up on that," she said. "And don't you forget it either."
"I won't," George assured his sister-in-law, but he did look like he was wondering what on earth he had gotten himself into.
"You're going to need to watch out for the hormones," said Mr. Weasley. "I might give you the lecture at some point."
"Oh, please," muttered George, but he was smiling slightly.
"Thanks for the meal, Molly," said Angelina. "But I do think I ought to get back home."
"Very well," said Mrs. Weasley. "Do you need someone to take you back?"
"No thanks," assured Angelina. "I'm not that big yet." There was some slight laughter at her attempt at joking, but it was very quiet. "Thanks again for the meal," Angelina said as she went outside to the Apparation point. "I'll see you soon, I hope."
She Apparated back to her home and went back to her room. It had been an interesting day, both good and bad. She had gotten some of the encouragement that she needed, and had announced that she was expecting twins. But, the hard ache in her heart was still there, and today it seemed like it had gotten stronger. She knew someday she'd find a new normal, but she didn't know when that day would be. For now, she'd have to figure out how to live with it, and live well. She did have to take care of herself for her children.
Lora: Thanks for the review, though you should read the whole story before grading it.