This one is a short one guys, I'm extremely sorry I didn't get a proper chapter up... this is kind of a filler. Unfortunately I have to go to Canberra for a week so there will be a short break between chapters, but I'm on holidays the week after so I'll have a few more up next week :) thankyou all so very much for reading, I hope you're having a nice holiday wherever you are. much love :)

The Other Malfoy

Chapter Thirty Five

George had his eyes closed as he sat in the kitchen chair, a towel wrapped around his shoulders and the gentle sound of 'snip-snip' following Ginny's scissors as she cut his hair. She'd been quite surprised when he had asked her to give him a haircut, but she had agreed, saying she would give it her best shot (but making no promises).

"Only a few days left of Valentine's season," Ginny said, as she snipped another lock of red hair. "Glad it's over?"

"You have no idea," said George with a sigh, tipping his head back for a moment before Ginny pushed it forward again. "And not to mention I'm doing job trials at the moment."

"Really?" Ginny asked. "Are you getting more casual workers?"

"No. I'm thinking about opening a new shop, in Hogsmeade."

Ginny's hands paused, hovering over his hair. "Really?"

George frowned. "Yes, really. Why?"

He could almost hear the smile in her voice as she resumed cutting his hair. "Well, that was what Fred used to talk about all the time, after Zonko's shut down."

George smiled. He remembered the way Fred would plan out their finances. He was their money man – George was hopeless with money. After the war, their plans to extend the business had been put on the backburner as George had struggled to keep up running a shop by himself. It had been two years, though, and he had been keeping an eye on their savings, and he had done some basic calculations, and he reckoned that now he'd have enough money to buy another shop in Hogsmeade, and hire more workers so he could work less.

"Yeah," George said. "I think I've got enough money. Hopefully. It's just – you know, I'm just throwing ideas around at the moment. But hopefully it will pull through."

"You can always talk to Justin," said Ginny. "He's a finance advisor, at Gringotts."

"Justin?"

"Justin Finch-Fletchley," said Ginny. "He helped out Harry and I when we were looking for an apartment, and he's keeping an eye on the market for us."

"Are you buying?" asked George. "You only moved in here last year."

"Well," Ginny said, combing George's hair to get out the stray cuts, "Harry wants to move to Godric's Hollow, eventually. We were staying here initially to keep Harry close to the ministry, for his Auror training, and me for my Quidditch – but I don't think I'll keep that up much longer, anyway. I might go get a teacher's degree."

"Why?" asked George, "You're a brilliant player."

Ginny's lack of a response made George frown. He laughed, and said, "I mean, it's not like you're having kids anytime soon."

She didn't respond again, and George spun around in the chair, making Ginny jump, nearly snipping off a large chunk of his hair. George's grin was ridiculously wide. "You're making babies!" he exclaimed.

"No, no – no," Ginny said, holding up her hands to stop George from embracing her, "Not just yet, okay? And for Merlin's sake, don't tell Mum," she sighed, "She'll think we're getting married and having a tribe of Potters."

George grinned. "I won't tell her – unless I really need something from you, and I use it against you."

Ginny's eyes narrowed at her older brother. "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me!"

A short while later, Harry arrived home from the ministry, to find George and Ginny attempting to make dinner for the family that Friday night – unfortunately, they weren't nearly as talented as their mother at making dinner, even with two of them there. They were attempting to make roast beef, with Yorkshire puddings, gravy and potatoes. Ginny was nearly as hopeless as George when it came to cooking.

"Have you guys got a backup plan?" asked Harry as he came back through from the bedroom, after having changed from his work robes to his casual clothes – jeans, a black shirt and a dark blue flannelette over-shirt. George knew Harry was the nondescript type, and he guessed that the over-shirt was probably bought for him by Ginny.

"In case this meal fails?" asked Ginny.

"Well," said George. "I'm glad you asked. See if this doesn't work, I was going to steal the house elf from the nearest pure blood and beat him until he makes us a three meal course, complete with dessert."

"Don't let Hermione hear you saying that," said Harry. "She's just finished her final report for the liberation of house elves – the fines for house elf abuse are now ridiculously high."

"Remind me to congratulate her," said George, before he hesitated in his peeling of the potatoes. "Wait, I thought she was working on the report for working rights of werewolves?"

Harry shrugged. "When has Hermione ever only done one thing at once?"

After Harry had opened a bottle of wine (and cut up some cheese for the crackers) a knock sounded at the door. Molly and Arthur had arrived, Molly bringing an apple pie for dessert. She ushered Aurelia inside, and Harry took her jacket to hang up for her.

George dried his hands on a tea-towel, going over to say hello to his parents and Aurelia. Molly gave him a quick kiss, before hurrying over to make sure Ginny was doing everything right. Arthur gave George a big hug, smiling and ruffling his hair, saying, "Brilliant! A haircut!"

"Yeah," George said, fixing his hair, "I figured it was about time." Ginny hadn't made any dramatic changes – she had just cut the hair shorter, given it more style (as opposed to the long red mop it had morphed into). It wasn't short, but at least now it looked like he cared about his appearance.

Aurelia looked up at George's hair and gave him a smile. George leaned down, and let her touch it, her small fingers combing through his red locks. "Do you approve?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

She nodded, tugging on his fringe, making his eye twitch. "Ow," he said, swatting her hand away gently, watching her laugh at him, and George noticed something different.

"Your teeth," George exclaimed, "They fixed up your teeth!"

Aurelia's lips closed, hiding her smile, almost shyly. George had been so used to her cracked, broken teeth that seeing her with such perfect pearly whites was a pleasant shock.

"Wow, they look awesome," George said, grinning. "You should be very proud." He brushed her hair back from her face and kissed her on the head.

Aurelia glanced up at George before she cautiously wrapped her arms around his torso and hugged him. George was slightly taken aback but returned her embrace. When she let him go, she pulled a small folded piece of note paper out of the pocket of her loose, patched jeans, and pushed it into George's palm before she wandered through to the kitchen where the others were.

George unfolded the note, which read in her smooth, neat writing – I missed you.

"So George," said Arthur, "Ginny tells me you're planning on expanding the business? Exciting stuff."

George shrugged. "There's nothing set in stone yet, but there's enough in the savings to buy another location and get a chain going."

"What you should do is invest in a calculator," said Arthur, excitedly.

"What?"

"A calculator," repeated Arthur. "They are these magnificent little devices, they can calculate numbers for you. Brilliant! I don't know why wizards don't pay more attention to muggle inventions…"

As Arthur continued rambling on to Harry about calculators and batteries, Molly began to tell George that she had organised for Hermione to come over a few nights a week to tutor Aurelia for transfiguration and charms, and Harry had agreed to help teach her potions.

"Brilliant," said George, smiling at Aurelia. "You know you could even ask Neville to send over some herbology text books – he's Professor Sprout's trainee at Hogwarts now, and soon when she retires he'll have her job."

"What a fine idea," said Molly. "Why, we could have Neville and Luna over at the next break – where is Luna these days?"

"Gallivanting around, discovering creatures," said Ginny, "She wants to build a zoo for magical creatures."

"Interesting," said George. He sort of liked Luna. She was odd but she wasn't afraid to be honest, and always willing to lend a helping hand.

"Oh, we should have a reunion!" said Molly, almost as excited about the prospect as Arthur was about batteries.

George and Ginny both rolled their eyes. "Merlin, Mum, we've got enough to plan already – besides, we'll be seeing everybody at Hermione and Ron's engagement party."

"When is that, by the way?"

"Not this Saturday, but the Saturday after that…"

As the others rambled on and continued their usual dinner chatter, George glanced at Aurelia who was, as always, listening. She tucked a strand of silvery hair behind her ear and caught George's eye. They shared a smile, and shared silence. George liked the warm, gentle peace he felt whenever he was with Aurelia, whenever he knew she was safe and healthy.

He had never thought when he agreed to help look after her that his family would so willingly take her in and care for her, too – but then again, as George looked around the table at his parents, his sister and Harry, that there was no better family than his own.

George concentrated on the Yorkshire puddings to avoid getting too emotional.