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Curiosity
Part Thirty-six: Many Promises

The floor became a place of comfort for the three of them. Jacob lay on his back staring up at his sister's ceiling, the blatant pure white staring back down at him as if in challenge. Kath was lying on her stomach, leaning up on her elbows and playing with Jacob's hair. She'd always had such a fascination with his hair; she said it was just so blonde compared to her dark roots. She loved his hair, she wanted it for herself and had once bleached her hair at the age of sixteen much to Jacob's horror who in return liked her dark locks. She had quickly dyed it back when she saw how horrible it looked. Doug was leaning his head on Jacob's shins, tapping out a rhythm on the floor with his fingers. Doug zoned out a lot and went off into his own little world where nobody knew when there was nothing going on to interest him. Doug could actually shut himself out from everything that was going on around him. The man could sit in a raging storm and not notice it if he didn't want to. Jacob wasn't sure where George was as he couldn't see the man but he could hear faint talking from a voice that sounded like his voice and assumed he was talking to his sister. He didn't want to look over and see where George was because it would upset Doug who was far in a day dream he'd probably get quite a fright if roused from it. George had since apologized for giving Jacob such a hard time before he'd briefly spoken to Anne. George had been horrified at how Jacob could have just completely forgotten about his best friends for four months. Jacob didn't know he could of either but it had happened and George had forgiven him for the major blunder and now his friends needed to as well.

'Guys,' Jacob said softy and the hands in his hair stopped moving and as he expected Doug jolted back into the real world blinking like he'd just woken up. Jacob didn't even want to think how strange the three of them looked lying the centre of Anne's living room yet it was comfortable down here and they would not be moved. Paul had come home from work quite late and stopped to stare at his brother-in-law lying on his floor with two strangers. But he moved on and didn't ask a single question which was surprising. Jacob needed to give his friends an apology so he'd have to pull one out hard. 'Look, I'm really sorry that I didn't keep in touch- '

'It was four months,' Kath butted in.

Doug waved a lazy hand. 'Nearly four months, dude, roughly.'

Jacob let out a distressed groan and banged his head back down on the floor. 'Things got away from me and I was busy and I couldn't charge my phone but I can now so I don't have any more excuses if you try and contact me. But I'm sorry; I hadn't really realized it had been that long! I'm just really, really sorry.' There was a bitter silence in which Doug started tapping his fingers again and Kath returned to playing with Jacob's hair. During the short silence, rain had started to fall. Pattering in an incomplete rhythm and drumming against the roof, drenching the outdoors. Jacob felt smug and safe that he was indoors with people he adored even if half of them probably resented him and wanted to smack him right now. He was about to open his mouth again when Doug suddenly cut across him.

'Don't say sorry again, dude,' he said seriously his eyes boring into Jacob. His deep blue eyes weren't as bright as Jacob's were but Jacob's didn't have the sultry intensity that Doug's did. And Doug's eyes were also framed by dark lashes that them seem even more powerful than they were. 'I don't know about Kath but I definitely forgive you. I missed you a lot. We were missing something without you along all the time. It sucked, dude. You know? You feel something's wrong. It was wrong because you weren't there. We were about to send in a report to the police but then Anne said she'd seen you recently. She'd kept seeing you and you never stopped to see us.'

Kath let out a strangled sigh. 'I guess I have to forgive you,' she murmured. 'I missed you as well. Doug's right. It wasn't the same without you. We were like a half eaten chicken burrito. It was weird.' Her talented fingers massaged Jacob's head. 'You'd better not vanish like that again or else ...' her hands clenched in his hair, he let out a yelp of sharp pain but she quickly realized his strands. 'Or I'll find you and tug your hair again.'

'Leave the threatening to me, dude.' Doug nibbled his thumb. 'It was a pretty sucky four months. Well not entirely ...'

'Why, what happened?'

'My sister had her baby,' announced Doug.

'So did mine!' Jacob said.

'No shit Sherlock.' Doug grinned that was one of his favourite sayings. 'The sprog is called Jimmy Dean Sullivan, after James Dean I think. Dude, I'm jealous. The kid has such an awesome name and I'm stuck with Doug Sullivan.' He scowled. 'Who names their baby Doug, anyway? My parents must have been seriously deranged when they gave me that name. My sister has the right idea.'

'At least they didn't name you Kath,' said Jacob. Kath had always just been Kath, it wasn't short for anything at all. It was just Kath from birth to adulthood.

'I was Kath from the day I was born. I was always going to be Kath even if I was a boy,' Kath murmured.

'Dude, a dude named Kath!' Doug said with a laugh.

'Jacob's a weird name for a child.'

'I reckon it's adorable,' Doug said to Jacob.

'Thank you!' Jacob beamed at him. 'What else has been happening with you while I've been gone?' He decided that if he just treated it like he had been away for a holiday; it would be the best thing.

'Doug met someone,' Kath said.

'I wanted to tell him, dude,' said Doug with a scowl. 'Don't say anything else, this is mine! I met someone,' Doug said to Jacob.

'I've been hanging around with the lovebirds because someone hasn't been around,' Kath said and prodded Jacob in the cheek.

'Shut up!' Doug cried. 'I'm telling him!'

'Don't you have any other friends?' Jacob asked Kath.

'None as fun to pick on as you,' she muttered before motioning for Doug to carry on.

'Thank you,' Doug said rolling his eyes. 'Her name is Carla,' he said dreamily. 'Dark, dark hair, pretty green eyes. She's gorgeous.' He smiled distantly at them. 'She's nice and clever.'

'Good for you,' Jacob said leaning up and clapping his across his head, softly never hard. Doug grinned. 'How long has it been going for?'

'Couple of months, dude, but I really like her.'

'She makes Doug sound like a teapot half the time, it's kind of funny.' Kath snorted to herself and combed her fingers through Jacob's hair. 'George,' she said to him. 'Was he involved in the four month thing?'

'Mm,' Jacob murmured softly. 'Yeah, we have a flat,' he added.

'But he's your boss,' Kath said. 'Doesn't that get in the way sometimes?'

'No, it's a small business.' George's business certainly wasn't small, it just wasn't very difficult to run but he had recently employed more people to take care of the shop in Hogsmeade along with the original owner. And George's continuous redecorations on the outside of the shop were burning a hole in Jacob's pocket. But it was worth it to see George completely thrilled. 'It doesn't get in the way at all.'

Kath and Doug's attention had been perilously snapped from Jacob's relationship with George to the new career he has taken up. Jacob wished he hadn't said anything about it because now he would have to make up other information about what he did that had taken four months worth of training. His story was beginning to wane and he wasn't sure if they'd buy it or not. When he heard himself speak, he knew that he certainly didn't believe himself. It sounded incredibly unreal and it was amazing his friends trusted him enough to believe that he was telling the truth. Jacob would have to ask Kingsley as soon as possible if he could tell them, leaving them out in the dark like this while he lied through his teeth about his doings made him feel horrid. He wished he could tell the truth to them, yet if he did they'd be at risk of being Oblivated. The Ministry kept tabs on that so well Jacob didn't even understand how they knew when a Muggle found out about magic if they kept their mouths shut. As Kath and Doug took their time asking about Jacob's job, Jacob kept thinking about what kind of friend he was. One that neglected his best friends for four months and then they asked him what he had been up to, he lied like he was the devil with a forked tongue and all. He was a piece of work. He wished there was some way he could tell them without arousing their suspicions of things they shouldn't know about. But he couldn't find one; they'd have to remain oblivious to this until Jacob could gain permission to tell them.

'This new job ...' Kath said after they had listened to the rain for some time and Jacob's thoughts had run rampant around his mind. 'What is it?' The hands in his hair had stopped and Jacob knew with a heavy heart and his mind weighing more, that Kath was serious about knowing. The tone in her voice told Jacob that he must tell her what he had actually been up to and not ignore the questions any longer. There was no where Jacob could hide from her enquiry, she'd spat it out into the open so that Doug heard it as well. They'd pester him until he told if he avoided it once more. Jacob's only choice was to say something he'd said before until he was able to talk about the reality.

'Can't say,' he said playing this card again. It had worked with his old flat-mates but then again, they didn't know him very well. Sure, they were friends but not like Kath, Doug and him. 'It's in the contract.'

'Pretty fucked up contract,' Doug said with a sigh. 'It must be an important job then. Four months training and then a contract like that. Do you work for the government or the Queen?'

'What? No! Don't be stupid, it's just a job. I'll tell you more when I can, ok? I promise I will. I just can't right now.' He hoped they realized by the tone of his voice that he really wanted to tell them what was up but couldn't because of something that was more important to him than a contract. Their minds and their memory of meeting him again would be altered, and he didn't like that. It was like an invasion into a private area. People shouldn't be allowed to do that to others. But sometimes, he supposed, it could come as a godsend. He just didn't want to tell Kath and Doug and then meet them again to find they remembered very little of what he had told them. 'I really want to tell you more, I just can't.'

Doug grunted and Kath scowled. 'Fine,' she muttered twisting her soft voice into a scathing tone. 'When will we see you again?' she asked. This caused Doug to look across at her, his eyes wide. Jacob knew what he was thinking. Kath was normally like this; she was a lot gentler and didn't get angry and mad at all. When they were kids, she hadn't even been able to stand up for herself but Doug and Jacob had taught her how. Only a few times had they heard her tone rise above an annoyed fluster of words and it was getting loud now. 'Another four months? Maybe five this time?' She had pulled away from Jacob and Doug and was sitting a stone throw away on the carpet with her arms crossed over her chest and glaring at Jacob like he was a tiny bug she wanted to squash.

'Whenever you want,' Jacob said quickly. 'I'll keep my phone on all the time now.' Just last week he had taken the time to ask George if it was possible to charge an electronic device using magic. It turned out to be simple but Jacob's phone had still remained off as a force of habit. He would turn it on as soon as he returned to the flat.

'You'll find about twenty odd phone calls and probably about fifty texts from me,' Kath snapped. Suddenly she looked embarrassed and her expression fell back to her normal calm and intelligent one. She didn't usually get that riled up about something and it was all Jacob's fault.

'I'm really sorry,' he said.

Kath jumped to her feet, shaking her head in some private chat going on in her mind. 'You,' she said and pointed sharply at Jacob. 'Coffee and movies next week, you have no choice. Leave your phone on, I'll call you.' She walked towards the door and grabbed her coat before hugging Anne with one arm and tickling sleeping Natalie's nose before leaving the house.

'I'm not angry,' Doug said. 'I understand how it can be. Time just flies and as long as you haven't got replacement friends I'm cool with it, dude. You can probably expect the same thing from me one day. I'll run off just to get away from it. America or maybe Australia, I don't know. But, dude, don't worry about it. It happens. Life happens, its life, don't let it bother you. She missed you, we all did. But it's all good now, dude.' Doug grinned at him and struggled up to his own feet. 'Gotta go,' he muttered. 'Late date with Carla. See you next week, dude. Coffee and movies, Kath'll text you.' He shot one more look at Jacob and rested a hand on his shoulder. 'Don't worry about it, dude. It was nothing. We were worried, is all.'

Saying goodbye to Anne, Paul and Natalie was a blur. He was thankful to Anne who had organized this whole thing. Jacob could tell she was pissed at him when she said goodbye. That just sent Jacob further into the slums. He couldn't believe himself and was glad to get out of there. He felt like bursting into tears when George took his hand. The man had only expressed a small amount of disgust at him but had apologized just minutes later. Jacob was supposed to be loyal, he was a faithful kind of person, he didn't usually just run out on his friends unless he had a very good reason. He supposed the one he had was good enough. Who wouldn't lose themselves if something like that happened to them? But Jacob was still appalled.

'I'm so stupid.' It was the first thing Jacob had said to George after they had left his sister's house together. The street was quiet and their falling footsteps seemed louder than ever. Jacob wished they could just Apparate now and get back to the flat that much faster but they had to walk to a safe place where no one could see them. Here there was a huge risk of being spotted vanishing from the sidewalk. But that didn't mean Jacob couldn't yell his foolishness as they walked. 'I'M SO FUCKING STUPID!' He yelled it so loud that George beside him jumped out of fright. He was stupid, Jacob was stupid. He had completely abandoned his friends for months, how stupid was he? He was surprised they hadn't been angry with him, well angrier. Kath had expressed annoyance and Doug had been his normal self. Jacob had wanted one of them to slap him, it would make him feel better. 'God,' he muttered, 'I'm a horrible person. I just forgot! I forgot about my friends. I only thought of them a couple of times. What kind of self-indulgent wanker am I? JESUS!' he yelled enjoying the raw hurt in his throat as he yelled. 'I'm such a prick. Why are they even friends with me? I can't even tell them the real reason.'

'If they knew the proper truth it would make more sense to them. You aren't what you said at all. You just got carried away; it's hardly your fault. Well, actually yeah it is your fault but there isn't any way that you can – legally - reverse what happened,' George said and then looked at Jacob with wide eyes, 'unless you want to use a Timeturner and change the last four months. If you'd rather -'

'No,' Jacob said determinedly. 'No. It was a mistake to forget about them but I don't want four months with you to have never really happened. Sure I'm a stupid selfish arrogant bastard who forgot his friends but I'm a stupid selfish arrogant bastard who has the best boyfriend and I wouldn't want to change that.' Jacob nibbled on his bottom lip before asking, 'If I completely ignored you for four months, you'd break up with me wouldn't you?'

George looked shocked at the question but answered truthfully. ''Have to say I would.'

'See, that's reasonable! But I ignored them for four months and they haven't severed the bonds of friendship or whatever you do to end a friendship.'

'You didn't ignore them, you forgot.'

'How is that better?'

'Look, Jacob, just shut up about it, alright? Sure you forgot about them but you have other things to do. You've had hardly any time on your hands at all. You're not anything of those things you called yourself. I love you, even if you do manage to cock up majorly sometimes.'

'You shouldn't be so nice about this,' Jacob said quietly but he still let George kiss his top lip softly. 'Any normal person would be horrified with me and just jump ship right now but you're still here.'

'I love you,' George said. 'I don't know if I could just "jump ship", Jakey. It was partly my fault that you've been so busy anyway.'

Jacob shrugged and nodded. 'That is true.' He heard George laugh. 'I'm not going to do that again,' he said. 'Let myself get so preoccupied with something else I forget about everything that's important to me. I won't do that again.' George's hands tightened on his waist.

'So, you'll never forget about me and always have time to spend with me?' the red head asked. He rolled his eyes and added, 'and of you course, your friends.'

'Yeah,' Jacob said. 'I couldn't ever forget you again. I don't want to. I love you,' he added with a blush on his cheeks. George chuckled again and caught Jacob's mouth in a breathless kiss. 'Love you,' Jacob repeated. 'You don't have to worry about me not having any time for you anyway. We live together.'

'That's true.' George sighed and let Jacob slip his hand into his. 'Can you believe my sister is getting married soon?'

'They've sorted out a date?' Jacob asked knowing he'd be invited. He was glad that George had saved this for a change of topic if they ever needed one. It was a good thing for him to bring up now when all Jacob wanted to do was hate himself and punch himself in the face. He hated what he had done; it was a real stupid thing. He had no idea how he had managed it but somehow he had. 'When is it?'

'This Saturday, actually,' George said grinning. 'Soon, isn't it? We have to go and help out on Friday.'

'Ok,' Jacob said agreeing and finding this completely fine. All he had scheduled was a billion classes with Professor Tarn until he got his Patronus right and then coffee and a movie sometime next week. He had plenty of time to loss himself in whatever it was he had lost himself in when he forgot about his friends. 'Are you going to take part in the ceremony?'

'Yeah,' George said. 'I'm walking down with Luna Lovegood, have you met her?'

Jacob shook his head. 'No, I haven't. She won't touch your arse like Angelina did, will she?' He meant in a joking way and George caught on to that, thankfully.

'Her heads too far in the clouds for her hand to even reach.'

'She's tall?'

George laughed. 'Nah, she's dreamy, out of it half the time, a bit strange you could say.'

Nodding absently, Jacob's eyes trailed on the concrete sidewalk. He was still upset with himself for forgetting Kath and Doug. He was more than upset it was more a disgusted hatred. But he knew it would pass in time, he was never one to get depressed over something he had done. He felt George's hand squeeze in his accompanied by an exasperated sigh. Jacob couldn't help sulking about his actions. As George had said he had cocked up majorly. He sighed; he wouldn't dwell on it because wasn't going to forget about them again. Kath would make sure and Jacob was turning his phone on the second he got back to the flat.

'Would you stop moping?' George asked him. 'It's a bit of a downer, Jakey. I don't like seeing you like this.'

For some strange and bizarre reason Jacob thought that if they were in a musical, after George had said that they'd break out into a passionate and romantic love song. He smirked a little to himself, the thought of George singing in a musical cheering him up immensely. It was an entertaining thought, funny because it would never happen and amusing because George would never do something like that. Not that George had a bad voice; he had quite a good voice. Only if he kept it to a low and didn't sing anywhere but the shower, it was nice.

'Yeah, ok, sorry,' Jacob said shaking his head as he remembered he actually had to answer George. 'Fine, I'm fine.' Instead of continuing to walk like they had been before, hand in hand, George pulled his hand away and slung his arm around Jacob's shoulders and kissing the side of his face. It was easy to see how he had lost track of time, Jacob found as he looked up at George. Most of the reason had been George, the gorgeous man he had fallen in love with. Every hour with George didn't even feel like that, it felt like a heartbeat. It was no wonder how four months had gone by so quickly. He had progressed so much since he had stepped into the Leaky Cauldron. It was incredible how fast things had moved since then. It felt like time was just flying by and he could only reach out and grab at a few strands whizzing past. So, forgive him if he got a little lost in time. Maybe that was how things were when you got older. Time just sprinted ahead of you in the race and you always finished last. Time moves on whether you're willing to go with it or not. It doesn't wait up.

It was Friday evening and the Burrow was a hive of excitement. Molly was buzzing about the place and completely dotting over Ginny, who was leaving with the girls soon, so she wouldn't be anywhere near Harry until the wedding tomorrow. Apparently it was common for only a bride to have a Bachelorette party and never the men. For that Jacob was thankful. He was glad that he didn't have to be dragged along to a strip club at all. That was the most horrifying part when people got married. He, as a man, had to go with the blokes to the strip club to look at breasts jiggling. It wasn't enjoyable. He was glad that because of one small Wizarding custom he was spared the embarrassment of having to accompany them all to a strip club. Even if Harry did have one and George went, Jacob would probably opt to stay behind at the Burrow with Molly and Arthur and whoever else happened to be there. All the people left after when Ginny had left, that was mainly all the Weasley boys plus Jacob and Harry, Molly and Arthur were helping sort out the wedding. Harry wasn't though, he had retreated upstairs to one of the bedrooms to work on his vows or something of the like. It wasn't his job to sort out his own wedding, that's what Molly was there for. She had stormed in and had taken control of all the preparations. It was going to be outside the house like Bill and Fleur's had been. Jacob couldn't think of a better place to have a wedding. The area surrounding the misshapen Burrow was beautiful at the best of times. And why pay for a location and help when your family and their numerous tagalongs were willing to do it for you. It seemed perfect. Free of cost and in a location Harry and Ginny would know well so it would be a source of comfort if one got cold feet and needed to think for a few seconds.

Tomorrow was looking to be a stunning day. As the sun set red strips of light were streaked across the sky, promising good weather for the big day. 'Red sky at night,' Jacob had said to George was they trudged out of the warmth of the Burrow and into the cold air outside. Jacob breathed in the warm smell of grass and honeysuckle. 'Sheppard's delight,' he finally finished when they were outside to see the full intensity of the stunning light that streaked the sky. The others had tottered outside the house as well, wands drawn and ready to do what was needed to make the garden acceptable. A little to the left and in one of the windows of the top most floors of the Burrow, Harry could occasionally be seen pacing back and forward muttering to himself as he walked. During the time they spent studying the sky, the others had already started sorting things out. George had just placed a hand on Jacob's waist and pulled him in close to him as someone called out to them for their help.

'Oi, lovebirds!' It was Charlie calling to them. Jacob saw that when he turned around and saw the stocky Weasley beckoning him and George over. 'Give us a hand will you?' The others had begun walking up to the Orchard behind the Burrow's garden. As all of them approached a piece of canvas could be seen lying on the ground. Bill was already up there and waved his wand with a simple flick and the canvas sprung up and formed a large tent for what could possible either be for the actually ceremony or the after-party. And suddenly six people found themselves standing around uselessly.

'That was a lot quicker than I thought it would be,' Bill said scratching his head. 'Uh, I thought it would take a lot more work. Dad said he'd sort the chairs out. But don't despair!' he cried out heartily to those who were beginning to perk up by the fact that the work might be done. 'Perce, can you go and help mum with all the food? Charlie, give me a hand with the front yard. George, could I get you and Jacob to sort out the garden? You should really go and talk to Harry, Ron, he looks like he's shitting himself up there.' Everyone remained staring at Bill for several seconds as if wondering if an erected tent was all that needed to be done here. 'Mum's doing the decorations tomorrow morning. She doesn't think we can handle it.' That was explanation enough for the Weasley's plus Jacob. Charlie and Ron scoffed as they headed off to their allocated tasks.

'You all seem to listen to Bill a lot,' Jacob said picturing the eldest of Arthur and Molly's children's scarred face in his mind. 'Did he get those scars in the battle?'

'Mm,' George murmured as they walked to the garden behind the back of the house. As soon as Jacob saw the garden his heart dropped with dismay. It was at the rear of the house, surrounded by a large picket fence, bushes and gnarled trees, all which badly needed a good trimming to be deemed acceptable for the wedding. It was also dotted with overgrowth. Such as weeds and wayward plants that badly needed a cut as well. He sighed in relief as he saw the large pond though. The big green pond full of croaking and frogs and a handful of small fish was clean. It had possibly been cleaned as recently as the day before. 'Not the battle of Hogwarts, not the last battle,' George continued. '1997, June, it was when he got those scars. Mum was horrified, didn't think Fleur would want to marry him any longer. But he came out of it alright, just a bit of scarring and he likes his meat raw.'

'What did that to him?' Jacob asked puzzled.

'A werewolf.'

Jacob nearly dropped his wand in the pond as he was teetering on the edge, amusing himself by walking around the rim. 'You're kidding?!'

'Nah, not one bit,' George said and prodded a hedge with his wand and it morphed into a perfect model of Ginny's head. 'Nice,' he grinned to himself, 'mum will hate this.' He smirked and crossed over to Jacob who had gone back to tiptoeing around the edge of the pond. He yelped loudly as George's arms snaked around his waist and threatened to push him in the greenish water. But just as quickly as George had shoved him forward, he pulled him back safely to lean against his chest.

'God that gave me a fright!' he said struggling out of George's grip. Once out of George's tight hold he moved as far away from the pond as he could without leaving the garden. 'Don't you dare push me in,' Jacob said as George advanced on him again. But George didn't. When the red head was close enough, he pushed Jacob back against the wall of the house and pressed his lips against his, almost immediately pushing his tongue inside Jacob's mouth. Jacob welcomed the kiss and kissed back with the same passion as when George had begun it. One of George's hands had moved to the side of his face and the other was running along the inside of his thigh. He lifted Jacob's leg over his hip and kissed him harder, pressing into him.

'What was that for?' Jacob asked panting when George stepped back, lowering his leg. Jacob wanted so badly to leave it resting on his hip though, for him it was a comfortable and intimate positioning.

'All this wedding stuff,' George said and waved a hand around at the garden they were supposed to be clearing.

'Weddings make you horny?' Jacob asked wide eyed.

'A little, yeah.'

'This should be fun.'

'Oh, I'm counting on it.'

Review please! Takes about thiry seconds and I really appreicate it!