I'M FALLING FOR YOU
11 August 2000

For the first time in over two years, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes did not open to the public. George had a very busy day ahead of him and the shop would have to wait. He secured the door to make sure it was locked and then tiptoed upstairs to find Angelina in the bedroom.

She tugged at her Harpies t-shirt trying to keep it from clinging to her middle. Just weeks ago the shirt had fit just fine but she was nearly halfway through this pregnancy and the top hardly covered her torso. George had accompanied her to visit her father the week prior. Initially, her father was in disbelief but he quickly came around to the idea of enlarging his family. He had nearly given up on the idea of grandchildren until now.

Besides, her father had always been a fan of George and his joke shop. He was delighted to learn that his grandson would be a Weasley. However, he was upset that Angelina and George were not an official couple.

Angelina was hesitant when she first got the news. She had never really considered the possibility of motherhood. That's why she took her potion every month. But she came around to the idea quite quickly. After thinking it through she realized she might actually make a good mother. It was George she was still on the fence about.

His drinking was never a problem for her but now he was going to be a father. He had made a promise to her that his drinking would cease and as far as she knew, he had stuck to it. But there were other matters to consider. A joke shop was not the place to raise a child and she had a week before she had to return to work for the coming Quidditch season. Right now, however, her focus was on her ill-fitting garments.

"Engorgio!" she pointed her wand at her shirt.

Apparently her magic was still acting up due to her pregnancy. Instead of her shirt increasing slightly in size, her stomach had swollen immensely.

"George!" she called out worrying her own magic would do little to reverse the charm, or possibly make it worse. He appeared in the doorway seconds later.

"I didn't think it would happen this fast," he joked. "Are we having a baby tonight?"

"Fix it?" she pleaded. "I tried to stretch my clothes but something went wrong."

"Reducto!" George brought her stomach back down to the appropriate size and then stretched her shirt with a simple charm. "Are you ready to go now? We're already late."

Angelina nodded and they proceeded to the fireplace. Seconds later they were traveling through the Floo network until they arrived at the St. Mungo's in a flash of green fire. George arrived first, quickly stepping aside and helping Angelina to her feet when she appeared seconds behind him.

The receptionist appointed them a healer named Audrey who led them toward an empty bed. Angelina recognized the name from the few months she spent at St. Mungo's. Although she had never worked with Audrey personally, she was aware of the the healer's reputation of forgoing bedside manner, but she tried to put her prejudice aside and stay calm for George's sake.

Audrey examined her distended stomach, applying pressure against Angelina's bladder. It took everything in her not to reach out and slap the healer's hand away. Instead she squeezed George's hand tightly, nearly cutting off his circulation.

"Okay dear," Audrey handed her a potion. "Drink this."

Angelina obediently downed the potion and set the goblet down on the table. Audrey pointed her wand at a parchment and uttered a spell, then she pointed her wand to Angelina's round belly. The tip of her wand glowed bright blue for a second and then an image appeared on the parchment. Audrey handed it to George so he could see.

As the wand dragged across Angelina's abdomen, the image on the parchment adapted to illustrate what was happening inside her womb. Finally, Audrey paused for a second to get a better glimpse.

"It looks like it's a boy," she told the expectant parents.

"A boy?" George's eyes began to tear up.

"You'll have a little wizard in just a few months time," the healer explained. "Everything else looks good. We'll send an owl when it's time for your next visit."

"Thank you," Angelina smiled at the woman.

She adjusted her blouse once again while George kept his eyes glued to the moving image on the parchment. When she was ready, George helped her to her feet and they left the hospital, arm in arm.

"A boy, huh?" George laughed. "Victoire is going to be a little princess in this family."

"It looks that way," Angelina rubbed her sore belly.

The two of them strolled back toward Diagon Alley and went upstairs to the empty flat. As soon as they were inside, Angelina plopped down onto the sofa and rested her hand on her belly. George put the kettle on and then sat down next to her, the parchment still in his hands.

"There's something I want to show you," he said.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Come on," he helped her up and led her to the second bedroom.

"I've been here before," she scoffed. "Plenty of times."

"Not like this," he assured her.

George opened the door to the spare bedroom. In the past three weeks, he had entrusted his brothers to help him clean out the boxes in order to turn it into a proper bedroom. He didn't want to tell his family the news until Angelina's father knew so he had operated under the lie that he was renting out the bedroom. Molly had sewn the curtains and linens while the boys painted. Once they were done, George purchased new furniture and made every effort to have it delivered covertly. He was no Harry Potter but he knew if Rita Skeeter caught wind of his illegitimate child with Angelina, it would be a matter of time before his mum was reading the news in her copy of Spella Weekly.

"George!" Angelina held a hand to her open mouth. "It's wonderful!"

"I'll tell Mum we'll be needing the blue linens then," he teased."But now comes the hard part."

"And what's that?" she asked.

"Now I've got to convince you to move in here," he said. "So we can be a proper family."

The kettle whistled, signaling the water was ready for tea. Angelina turned her attention to the kitchen and George followed. She picked a large mug from the cupboard and filled it to the brim before taking a seat on the sofa. He sat down next to her.

"You haven't given me an answer," he said. "Will you move in?"

"I'm not sure it's a good idea," she replied.

"And why not?" George wanted to know.

"This is all happening so quickly," she replied. "I've barely adjusted to the idea of being a mum. I don't want to throw in living together as well."

"I'll sleep on the sofa and you can have the bedroom," he replied. "Besides, your other option is sharing a flat with three Quidditch players. Is that the best place to bring home baby?"

"Can I have some time to decide?" she pleaded.

"Of course. But we have to tell my family today," he said. "At Ginny's birthday."

"You're right," she smiled as she sipped her tea. "Besides, I can't hide it much longer."

A smile crept across his face as he watched her prop her swollen feet up on the coffee table. He didn't know how to tell her that he had been in love with her since their first Quidditch win, since the first time their hands brushed by mistake when they both reached for the same copy of The Daily Prophet, since the first time they shared a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans on the Hogwarts Express. He wanted to tell her that even though he laughed at the time, it pained him to watch Fred ask her to the Yule Ball so effortlessly.

"I'm in love with you," he said finally. "Probably have been for years now and I can't imagine my feelings will ever change. Why won't you give us a chance?"

"George," she sighed, "I love you. You've been a great friend to me, but I don't know if that's enough."

"Can you at least let me prove it to you?" he sighed. "Let me be the father this boy deserves."

"That's not my concern," she replied. "I know you'll be an excellent father as long as you keep the little guy away from the explosives. I just don't know how I feel about us...this whole thing...it's so new."

"We've been friends for ages Angie," he reminded her. "We're having a child together. What more is there?"

"Why can't we just leave it as friends?" she asked. "At least for now. We've never actually been a couple. How do we know it will even work?"

"Fine," he sighed, "but you should move in anyway. I've already built the nursery. You can take the bedroom and I'll sleep in Fred's old room. I just don't want to miss a second of the little guy's life."

"Okay," she smiled. "I'll consider it."

"We should get going," he said. "We can pick this up later."

Angelina nodded. She followed George into the fireplace and after a ride that seemed to take forever, she appeared in the living room at The Burrow. The place was decorated with tinsel and fairy lights for the occasion. They could hear voices outside and George led Angelina through the kitchen, past a three layer cake that read Happy Birthday Ginny.

She tugged at her jumper, doing her best not to look like she had gained ten pounds around her middle and followed George toward the party outside. It was dark now and nearly everyone was drinking and dancing.

"Mum!" George hugged Molly. "Sorry I'm late. There was something..."

"It's alright," she smiled. "Let me get you a plate."

"No, Mum," he told her. "I'll eat later."

"And Angelina!" she gushed when she saw the girl. "I haven't seen you around here for a while. I thought you'd come with Ginny."

"Sorry I'm late," Angelina explained. "I had some errands to run earlier. But I'm glad I made it. The garden looks beautiful!"

"Angie!" Ginny came running over to hug her friend.

"Happy birthday love," she hugged her back.

They went around greeting their friends and family, while Ginny suspiciously eyed her friend's stomach and her close proximity to George. The birthday girl had her suspicions when she first learned the news that Angelina was expecting.

Of course everyone knew that she had accompanied Fred to the Yule Ball and he was quite taken with her, but nothing much came of it. In fact, she was probably just as close with George as she was with Fred until the latter's premature passing. Because of that, they all pretty much discounted them as lovers. Their friendship trumped everything. But, the same could probably be said about Ron and Hermione and they were only months away from being married.

Finally Ron cleared a path as Molly brought out the cake. They all chimed in to sing Ginny a happy birthday and she blew out the nineteen candles with one breath. Molly began cutting slices for the guests and George cleared his throat loudly.

"Sorry Gin," he said, "I don't want to steal your celebration, but I have a bit of an announcement to make."

"Go on with it!" Ginny replied, taking a bite out of her cake. "George, always a showman!"

"Alright then," George felt beads of sweat building on his brow. "Since my closest friends and family are present, I thought I would let you all know...er...I'm going to be a father."

"Bloody hell!" Ron spit out his Butterbeer.

"I knew it!" Ginny jumped up and hugged Angelina. "Why didn't you tell me."

"Yupp," Angelina nodded, feeling a tiny bit overwhelmed.

"You're joking," Molly hugged her son.

"I never joke," he teased her.

"Arthur!" she tugged her husband's arm. "We'll be grandparents."

"Hey!" Bill frowned. "What about Victoire?"

"We'll be grandparents, again," she corrected herself quickly.

The Weasleys fawned over Angelina and George's siblings patted him on the back, even Percy. They all promised to baby sit and Ron offered to watch the joke shop but George knew when the time came they would all forget, just like they had when his niece was born.

"Angie!" she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around to find her best friend.

"Katie!" Angelina hugged her tightly.

"Congratulations," the brunette smiled at her. Then she cupped a hand over her ear and whispered. "I guess that makes two of us."

"What?" Angelina's mouth fell open and Katie nodded eagerly.

"It's a bit early," Katie explained, "so we haven't told anyone but I wanted to share the news with you."

"We're gonna be mums?" Angelina mouthed.

"I know," Katie laughed. "Oliver and George will be thrilled I'm sure."

The two girls laughed and Katie quickly excused herself while the rest of the Weasleys congratulated the new parents. After a while, George noticed that Angelina was looking tired, especially with all of his family doting on her. He finally wrestled her away from his overzealous mother and they said their goodbyes before he took her home via Floo powder.

"Sorry about that," he said when they were safely back at her flat.

"I expected it," she replied. "At least they're happy for you."

"For us," George told her.

"Yeah," she breathed. "Er...I should be getting to bed."

"Can I make you some tea before I go?" George asked.

"Sure," she smiled. "You know your way around, yeah? I'm going to change for bed."

George went into the kitchen to put the kettle on. While he waited for the water to boil, he search the cupboards for a mug. A few minutes later, Angelina wandered in wearing a pair of shorts and one of George's old jumpers with his monogrammed initial. It was one of the few garments she could find that didn't make her feel like a whale.

"I recognize that one," he teased.

"I borrowed it a while ago," she replied. "I hope you don't mind."

"It fits you nicely," he smiled. "Besides, I've got loads more. One for every Christmas."

"Oh," she raised her hand to massage her side.

"What is it?" George asked concerned.

"Just kicking," she replied.

"Can I?" he asked.

She nodded and raised her jumper. George's hands were warm against her bare skin and she felt the baby move in his direction. Moments like these made her forget that she and George weren't quite an item and she tried to rid herself of the fear of change.

"You probably won't feel anything yet," she told him.

"It's weird," he replied. "Does it feel weird?"

"Yeah," she laughed. "Like I've got a little Snitch fluttering inside there."

The kettle blew catching them both off guard. George brewed her tea and then excused himself.

"Wait," she told him. "Stay. Keep me company?"

He nodded and she grabbed another mug to pour him some tea. Then they sat on her bed, Angelina covered with a plush blanket, while they both sipped their drinks in silence. When they were done, George cleared the dishes and checked to make sure she was comfortable.

"I'm off," George stood up. "Come by the shop tomorrow? We can talk?"

"Sure," she smiled.

He tucked her in and kissed her forehead, then lingered for a moment before saying a word. Angelina stroked his cheek. He was a changed man since she told him the news. George had practically become a father overnight, making sure to care for her as much as she could and completely abandoning the bottles of firewhiskey that usually adorned his flat. Suddenly she couldn't be without him.

"Can you stay?" she moved to the edge of the bed so there was room for him.

"Er...yeah, I suppose," he settled down next to her.

"I'm scared," she breathed laying her head on his chest.

"Of what?" he ran his fingers through her braids.

"I'm afraid I'm falling for you," she admitted.

Maybe he had slipped a love potion into her tea or maybe she was overwhelmed by the love and support from their family and friends in anticipation of their first born son. But the girl who was always so strong had finally found her weakness and he was the humble owner of a joke shop. The man she loved had been standing in front of her nearly half her life, disguised as her best friend.


Coming up: We reveal a little something about Astoria Greengrass