The festivities lasted well into the evening, with Quidditch, a limbo contest, and fireworks enlivening the traditional wedding activities. Thanks to Caper, food and drink always remained plentiful, and with George's promise of more gold, the goblin band was pleased to perform extra sets.
After a final round of dancing inside the spell-warmed tent and a champagne-inspired toast by Joey "to the best reception EVER," the bridesmaids distributed wedding favours to the guests. Inside each tiny white box fastened with mint green ribbon were five sugared almonds symbolising happiness, health, wealth, long life and fertility.
You could've saved yourself a couple of almonds.
George pictured Fred the way he'd been dressed at Bill's wedding, with the collar of his robes unbuttoned.
It's obvious that fertility will never be an issue for you and Alicia!
The smirk on George's face was unconsciously identical to the one he remembered his brother wearing.
Chuffed about being potent, eh? Better sniff every flagon of birth control for the rest of your days or you'll end up with more kids than mum and dad!
There was a sobering thought. George put down his glass of champagne untouched.
Alicia took his gesture for a signal. "Time to throw the bouquet!"
"What about the garter?" Joey shouted.
George's eyes narrowed in warning. "It stays where it is, so if you want to catch something, stand with the girls."
"Okay." Joey stood between Bridget and his date, Leah from the Gnome and Jarvey, affably smiling at the catcalls and taunts about his feminine side.
Most of the single women stood well back from the three in front.
A ghostly snigger echoed in George's ear. Not a lot of interest in being the next bride.
Alicia turned, holding her bouquet up. "Where should I throw it?" she whispered to George.
Straight over her shoulder. I want to see what Joey does with it.
George heeded the call to mischief. "Straight back."
She flung the posy of roses into the air.
Joey leapt up to catch the bouquet, snatching it with a cry of triumph. The moment his feet touched the ground, he gave the flowers to Bridget.
"Oh my gods! You're the sweetest man ever!" Bridget threw her arms around her friend, rose petals drifting to the floor as she gave him an enthusiastic hug and a kiss on both cheeks.
The Delacours approve the European flair, no doubt, but Joey's date isn't too pleased.
Although a fight over the bouquet might be entertaining, it wasn't the way Alicia would want the reception to end. George plucked his champagne glass off the table and said after a Sonorous Charm, "I'd like to thank you all for sharing this day with us. Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
George steered Alicia toward the house as quickly as possible, considering that everyone seemed to want to say farewell. Finally, they made it to the lounge. "We're spending the night at the White Witch Bed and Breakfast in Ottery St. Catchpole," he said. "I don't expect it's posh or anything, but if you'd like I can take you round the village tomorrow: show you all the places I got into trouble growing up."
"I'd love it." She caressed his face. "I love you."
"I love you." He wasn't used to saying the words yet, but George liked the way they made him feel: happy.
His level of contentment plunged like a wonky Bludger when he stepped out of the Floo onto the hearth of the bed and breakfast's gathering room. It had a pastel colour scheme and bric-a-brac littering every surface. "It looks like Aunt Muriel's house, all chintz and lace with those doily things everywhere!"
Alicia had been examining a pink and white figurine of a mother holding a child that stood on the mantel next to a vase filled with pink roses. "It's clean and smells of chocolate biscuits. I don't mind the decor."
"Well I sure as—" George broke off when he heard a creak on the stairs to the upper floors. "Hullo," he said to the rosy-cheeked old woman entering the room. "Are you Mrs. Comfrey? I'm—"
"A Weasley, through and through. I'd recognise that combination of red hair and freckles anywhere. Such a pleasure to have you staying with us! I told my sister Mrs. Snidely—"
"Stop nattering on, Galinda. Can't you see he's in no mood to chat? The young man's his father all over again with that hair and impatience to get to the honeymoon suite." A tall, thin, witch with an almost greenish cast to her olive-coloured skin glided into the room from a side doorway.
"Your memory is failing, Elphaba. It was his mother who had such red hair." Mrs. Comfrey looked to George for confirmation.
He shook his head. "Hers is gingery."
"Oh. This way, then." Mrs. Comfrey bustled toward the stairs. Halfway up, she said fretfully, "There will be no living with her. My sister's such a know-it-all."
George said, "Actually, now that I consider it, my mother did use appearance charms to brighten her hair for several years."
"Oh!" Mrs. Comfrey's expression became cheerful. She waved a hand toward the first floor corridor as they continued to ascend. "When my parents were alive, the old honeymoon suite was directly below their bedroom. Since their passing several years ago, we've remodelled all the rooms and moved the suite to the top floor."
She escorted them into the spacious room. "Here we are, my dears. The private bath has a claw foot tub, there's a welcome basket on the reading desk, and of course I'll deliver a breakfast tray in the morning. Congratulations and good night!"
Alicia slipped her arms around George's waist when the door shut. "They went a bit overboard on the bridal theme—white linens, furniture, paint and draperies—but at least there's no chintz or doilies."
"It looks like a shrine to virginity," he said absently, gazing at the lacy pillows mounded against the headboard. "Did you believe what she said about remodelling the place?"
"Yes. The duvet is new. I saw a green satin one in a shop off Diagon Alley." Dimples flashed in Alicia's cheeks. "Why do you ask? Because you made up that story about your mother and worry Mrs. Comfrey returned the favour?"
Against his side, George felt the baby's elbow or knee. He put a hand to Alicia's stomach, gently pushing. "Yes. How did you know?"
The baby pushed back. George began rubbing. Beneath his breath, he hummed a lullaby. Go to sleep, go to sleep, so Daddy can get Mummy naked without an audience.
"You're not the only one who's looked at baby pictures." Alicia said. "Does it matter?"
"It does if you saw the photos of Fred and me mooning Percy when we were four." George met her direct gaze and answered seriously, "No."
He had something more important on his mind. "Everything that matters is here in my arms," he said, cupping her face in his hands.
His lips feathered along her cheek and brushed the corner of her lips, playfully teasing. In response, Alicia melted against him. Her arms circled his neck while her fingers clutched his hair. The heat of her mouth and passion aroused a hunger George had never fully acknowledged before: one that was emotional as much as sexual. His need grew with every caress of her hands and tongue. He stroked her curves, feeling his heart pound and his senses heighten until all barriers fell away and love united two bodies and hearts as one.
The honeymoon glow put a spring in his step and a smile on his face that lasted until the Friday following the wedding, when George abruptly realised how close to the end of the month it was. Instead of finishing the day's paperwork, he sat in his office staring at the desk calendar. There was less than a week.
Glaring at the bloody thing won't change the dates.
"Shut up. I'm thinking," George muttered.
A ghostly snort seemed to echo in his head. A single word repeated over and over is hardly "thinking," especially when it's the one we used to get a soapy mouth jinx for using!
George's teeth were on his bottom lip in preparation to repeat the word aloud when his mum walked through the open door. "F—fancy seeing you here," he said. "Are you meeting Dad after work or just shopping for more baby clothes Louis doesn't need?" He used his wand to levitate the stack of Daily Prophets the local wizard scout troop was keen to recycle for him off the visitor's chair and waved a hand toward the seat.
His mother set a yellow carryall embellished with a logo of a smiling monkey poking his head out of a turquoise flower onto the desk. "It's to hold the baby's things. Do you think Alicia will like it? Look at the name. Isn't it perfect?"
"Cheeky Monkey," George said, smiling. "Are you implying something?"
His mother reached into the carryall to bring out a brown stuffed toy. "The banana doesn't fall far from the tree?" She held out the monkey. "It's made of Egyptian cotton so there's no fluff to inhale."
"That's a relief. I heard babies who snort fluff become toddlers who stick beans up their nose—"
"Oh, hush, and look at this!" She draped a length of monkey-printed fabric across his desk. "It's a pouch for you to carry the baby in."
"Did you buy one for Bill?"
"Of course! His is French blue." His mum sat down and rummaged in her handbag for a tissue to blot the corners of her eyes. "I can't wait to take a photograph of my boys with their babies!"
George could. The sling contraption didn't look very sturdy. He didn't fancy looking like a kangaroo, either. "That won't happen for quite some time," he said. "Why don't you..."
Take it back? Although I do like the cheeky smile on that monkey...
"Surprise Alicia with the gifts?" She clapped her hands together. "Exactly my idea! How about next Thursday? I thought just a small, family—"
"No. I appreciate the thought, but I'm not up for it."
Her eyes became shiny. "We wouldn't have to have a cake, or sing. We could—"
"Get drunk and cry together?" George regretted the harshness in his voice, but the thought of celebrating a birthday without Fred was obscene.
His mother lifted her chin. "If that's what you want."
Only by clinging to the knowledge that she was trying to help—not be insensitive—kept George from reaching for the bottle Firewhisky he hadn't gotten round to clearing out of the filing cupboard. Part of him wanted to slam it down on the desk and say, "Why wait?"
Do it. I bet she drinks straight from the bottle.
George refused to take that bet. He didn't want to see his mum cry and refused to drown his sorrows. He was through running from pain.
Confrontation with his mother, however, was another matter. "I need to help Caper close shop," he said, rising to his feet. "Thanks for coming by."
"Yes, well, you've been on my mind." She stood and stuffed the toy and baby pouch into the carryall. "Perhaps I should return these—"
"Don't," George said. "I like the monkey, and any kid of mine's bound to be cheeky."
Tears slid down his mother's face. "I didn't always show it, because I had to discipline, but many times I've laughed over your ways." She took a shuddery breath. "When I think of how I called you and Fred cheeky monkeys—you knew it was in love, didn't you?"
George came around the desk to enfold her in a hug. "Yeah," he whispered, resting his cheek against ginger-coloured hair. "We knew."
Three days later, Bill strolled into the shop right before lunchtime.
"Looking for our baby's first gag gift section?" George said. "We don't have one—yet."
"Better move fast; it's a growing market." A hint of a smile twisted the scars on Bill's face. "I dropped by to see if you wanted to go out to lunch."
"Not if you're going to invite me over for dinner Thursday." He met his brother's steady gaze with one of his own.
"If that's how you feel," Bill said after a heartbeat of silence, "Then come to lunch so I can show off new pictures of my beautiful family."
George let out a breath he hadn't been aware of holding. "Okay, but first I have to tell you something, brother to brother." When Bill nodded solemnly, he grinned. "Even though you're handsome, only Fleur and Louis are beautiful."
The next afternoon, Lee dropped by the shop. George saw his old friend and said the first thing that came into his mind, "I didn't do it, no one saw me do it, there's no way you can prove anything!"
"Did that work with McGonagall?" Lee asked, striding forward, a wide smile creasing his face.
"No. She gave us detention on principle." George clapped his friend on the shoulder. "Flitwick, on the other hand, fell for it every time."
"He thought you and Fred should have been Ravenclaws because of your cleverness."
George smirked. "He did think highly of our Charms."
Lee's tone became nostalgic. "That swamp—I'll never forget the look on Umbridge's face—you two were utterly brilliant."
"Legends usually are."
Instead of the laugh George expected for his immodesty, Lee's expression became thoughtful. "Students still flock to that roped-off section. It's like a pilgrimage for first years. You and Fred really are legends."
"Does that mean you'll buy a round in my honour at the pub? Ace. Caper can close up shop."
Lee's eyes shifted away. "I made plans with Katie tonight. Are you free—"
"Thursday? No."
All of a sudden, Lee had no trouble meeting his eyes. "Right, your family..."
George didn't share that he'd turned them down, too. "Thanks for the offer, mate. I'll remind you of it when I see you at the Bat and Bludger."
"Next week," Lee said. "I'll owl."
"I'll be here."
On Wednesday night when he couldn't sleep, George rolled over to face his wife. "Alicia?"
In the darkness, he felt her body shift. "Mmm?"
"Why are you the only one who hasn't mentioned my birthday?"
"I'm waiting for you to tell me what you want to do. Whatever that is, I'll respect your wishes." Alicia took a ragged breath. "The same way I respected Mum's after Dad died."
She scooted closer until her abdomen touched his. George threw off the covers. He didn't need them with the baby acting as a Warming Charm.
"What did she do?"
"On Dad's birthday Mum worked in the shop like any other day, and then said she wasn't hungry and went straight to bed."
George smoothed Alicia's hair away from her face. "What did you do?"
"The same thing Mum did: cried myself to sleep." Her voice was thick.
"I'm sorry."
Her lips were soft against his cheek. "We got through it."
You'll get through it too.
"I don't want to get through it," George said, trying to keep the agitation out of his voice. It wasn't Alicia he was angry at: it was the universe. "I don't want a party, I sure as bloody hell don't want a cake, and I can't pretend it's just another day. I have to do something."
"What?"
George sat up. "Something for Fred." In the back of his mind, an idea sparked.
Alicia rubbed his back in soothing circles. "If I can help in any way..."
Had she made that offer to her mother? George wasn't going to make Anne's mistake and turn Alicia away. He used a nonverbal spell to engage the illumination orb beside the bed. "Will you help me write a few letters?"
"I'll gather parchment and quills and put on the kettle for tea."
George scooped up his trousers from the floor. "I'll go wake Caper."
On April Fool's Day, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes experienced record sales and an unprecedented number of owls delivering birthday cards from family and friends. George read each card before waving his wand to send it winging upstairs to join the others spread across the trunk in Fred's room.
In the afternoon, Alicia got off work early to help close the shop. George noticed she was toting a familiar-looking yellow carryall. "Mum couldn't wait, eh? When did she drop that off?"
"This morning." Alicia's smile was watery. "We got weepy and made my mum a bit jealous."
George had no clue why and wasn't about to admit it. "All set?" he asked Caper.
"We is ready." The moment George and Alicia put their hands in his, Caper Apparated.
Stonehenge at sunset was a breathtaking sight from their vantage point on top of the towering monoliths. "I have to admit," said George, "that I'm glad most Muggles aren't allowed direct access to the stones. They would've spoiled the view." Wispy clouds blew across an orange-streaked sky stretching out over the grassy plain.
Alicia, seated on the rock between George and Caper inside a circle protected with charms from the wind and cold, said, "I have something else for you to look at."
George had wondered if she'd brought along a present. He reached into the carryall and drew out a photo album. His stomach clenched as he placed it on his lap and opened the pages. Pictures of his mum holding twin babies with his dad, Bill, and Charlie grinning in the background made tears spring to his eyes. "I can't go through this now. I'll do it later, when we're home."
When I can cry.
"There's another album inside."
"Pictures of you," George said, scrutinising the photos in the fading light. "Who took these?"
"My father. He had a...unique...sense of humour."
George smiled down at the baby placed in a cooking pot. "What's this about?"
"A nursery rhyme. Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold, pease porridge in the pot." She shrugged. "I was nine days old."
He replaced the album into the carryall. "Thank you—" He looked from her to Caper. "Both of you. One of the things Fred told me he wanted to do one day was stand atop Stonehenge." Gingerly, he climbed to his feet.
"You forgot something." Alicia held up a green bottle.
George took it with a crooked smile, lifting the beer in a silent toast before taking a drink. "Happy Birthday, Fred."
Happy Birthday, George.
The sun began to sink below the horizon. When it was almost dark, Caper asked, "Where is we going next year?"
George mentally ran through all the replies he had received to the question of what Fred had said he wanted to do "some day." Raising his beer in a final salute, he said, "Egypt."
Disclaimer: Drabble-sized author note ahead. :D
A/N: (Hums the theme to Raiders of the Lost Ark, imagining George in a fedora, Alicia in a bellydancer costume, while Caper and the baby wear matching fezzes. :D) Okay, right, save it for a future one shot and get on with the note...
I know, I know, last chapter I wanted to keep the wedding and angst separated and this chapter I use fluff as a transition...but even if it wasn't a woman's prerogative to change her mind, technically it's the end of the reception and a glimpse of the honeymoon in this one, so it's different. Really.
If any long time reader wonders if the goblin band mentioned is Gaelic Uprising from Simply Irresistible, the answer is aye, and you deserve Suas Leis a' Ghaidhlig! (Up with Gaelic!) T-shirts...or at least a coffee mug. :D As for the wedding favours, they (Bomboniere) originated in Italy and often coordinate with the flowers or bridesmaids dresses. I went for both. ;) The White Witch Bed and Breakfast I borrowed from another story, Matchmakers, in order to have three different couples enjoy Mrs. Comfrey's hospitality. I added the first names to be Wicked, and happily quote Shakespeare again to say, So shall all the couples three, Ever true in loving be…(at least in my versions of the Potterverse!)
There's a Cheeky Monkey maternity and baby gear store in London, but they've only been around since '04, so I say some Muggle found a discarded wizard logo bag and got inspired to create the very same products sold in the original shop. (Cheeky Muggles!) When Lee walked in, the Bart Simpson quote popped into my head, so I used it, even though I think George is more of a Calvin, heh.
I knew I was going to have Molly give George a photo album before I started writing, so I've been haunted by The Cure for weeks, hearing I've been looking so long at these pictures of you, that I almost believe that they're real. No other choice for a title, after that, even though I worked it in another way so I wouldn't be totally sniffing and getting teary over it. (not that that's a bad thing for a writer...or readers, either!)
The readers who fulfilled my hopes for review last chapter and who I fervently hope got a bit misty over George's way of continuing to share his birthdays with Fred are...40/16, adrienne06052, alix33, Allacaya, Blue Leah, BobbieJo1, Calenmarwen, Carnivalgirl, Cassandra's Cross, chibi angelle, cinroc, Dracosnewgirl, ElspethBates, Fibinaci, Freja Lercke-Falkenborg, GraceRichie, HPFanFictionFan, Hungarian Witch22, I'myoursweetestgoodbye, infinity, JasperisMYeverything, Lady Adrienne Faery, Lady Clark-Weasley of Books, mandymuggle, MBP, MollyCoddles, Moontime, Mrs.Hermione Jane Weasley, Nymphadora17, PhoenixDreamer55, Robyn Hawkes, Snuffles7, SOphia.weasley, sophia666, sqHPfan, Squealing Lit. Fan, sunny9847, tambrathegreat, tiffyrose, Tina101, Twinsmom, WeasleyWeakness, and xoxphoenix.