Happy New Year! Here we have the continuation and conclusion of the students' holidays away from Hogwarts, and I daresay once they return things are gonna start to get REAL.
But for now, enjoy this bit of sweetness as three of the Guardians visit the Weasleys, while the other two have some important things to discuss together...
Also reminder to check out the extra content that goes along with this fic on my Pinterest page ;)
Chapter Warnings: Some spicy smooching here and there, as things heat up between some of our pairings!
Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling; W.I.T.C.H. was created by Elisabetta Gnone. I do not own either of these works, I'm just having some fun in their worlds for a while.
Chapter Seventeen
Cornelia stared at the front door of Taranee's house with apprehension, hesitating with her hand poised to knock. There was a fifty/fifty chance that Peter was still visiting for the Christmas holidays, and she'd rather not run into him if she could help it. They had ended their relationship amicably enough, as his going off to college and her own departure to Hogwarts was going to be enough to separate them for much too long a period to continue a relationship together. Still, she would rather avoid any mixed feelings cropping up should she see him again, but Taranee was unable to come to her place that day to visit and so Cornelia had grit her teeth and decided to brave the chance of running into him. The door opened suddenly and Mrs. Cook let out a gasp of shock at seeing her standing there on the doorstep.
"Cornelia! Oh, you gave me a fright, I was just headed out to the office for a quick second... Aren't you freezing? Come inside and get yourself some cocoa, Taranee's in the kitchen!" Teresa Cook ushered her inside kindly despite her rush, then promptly turned towards the door again. "Will you be staying for dinner?" she asked, adjusting her scarf around her neck.
"No, my mother is expecting me home I think... I'll leave before it gets too late," Cornelia replied, shrugging out of her coat.
"Yes, well, tell her hello from me, and Happy New Year if I don't see her sooner!" she said, before closing the door behind her.
It was December twenty-ninth, and the other girls had left the day before to spend the rest of their holidays at the Weasley's; Will had texted her that Mr. Weasley had asked her to pass on the message that Lupin had offered to come get Taranee and herself in order to escort them back to Hogwarts via portkey directly at the end of the holidays. She was looking forward to her return to school for once, but apprehensive at the same time, thus her decision to come and confide in Taranee about what was on her mind.
"Cornelia, is that you?" Taranee poked her head out from the kitchen, and Cornelia shook herself out of her thoughts.
"Yes, I'm coming," she said, walking over to her friend who handed her a mug filled with steaming hot cocoa.
"Peter isn't here, but he might show up later," Taranee said without preamble, and Cornelia felt her the tension in her shoulders loosen a bit. "Let's go to my room, though, in any case..." she said, and the two of them headed in the direction of Taranee's bedroom together.
Sparky was perched in his cage in a corner of Taranee's desk, and he hooted at Cornelia dolefully as she entered. She shot her friend a questioning look, and Taranee sighed.
"Mom wants him kept in the cage when he's inside, though I let him out at night to hunt," she said. Taranee's mother seemed to still be wrapping her head around her daughter's new pet, but at least they were making progress slowly enough. "So tell me what's on your mind, then," Taranee continued, sitting down on her bed. Cornelia sank down next to her, a fluttering sensation erupting in her stomach again as it had every time she thought of what was currently on her mind.
"Well, as you know, I went to the Christmas party with Theo before we left," Cornelia began slowly, and Taranee grinned at her.
"Yeah, the two of you looked amazing together, and seemed rather cozy..." she teased, and Cornelia flushed despite the smile tugging at her lips.
"Yes, well, we did have an amazing time... He's such a gentleman, but he's so witty too! And he doesn't care about House prejudices like the other Slytherins, though he'd deny it if anyone called him out directly, I think," she snorted, picturing his handsome face in her mind. "Well, he asked to write to me over the holidays, and so we've been corresponding... His owl Scipio has been doing a lot of traveling, anyway," she gushed, and Taranee giggled with her.
"So, what's the issue? It sounds like things are moving in the right direction, but I can tell something's bothering you," Taranee asked, and Cornelia felt that swooping sensation in her stomach again.
"He- That is to say- It's nothing wrong, per se, it's just..." she tried finding her words, but ultimately decided to simply show Taranee as it was much simpler. She reached under her pale green turtleneck sweater and pulled out the necklace that now adorned her neck, and Taranee gasped.
It was a gorgeous and obviously expensive-looking piece, boasting five large emeralds spaced out with glittering diamonds, held in place with a silver braided chain. Cornelia bit her lip as she surveyed her friend's expression, as Taranee's eyes were round as saucers as she stared at the jewelry.
"He sent you that?" she gasped out feebly. Cornelia ducked her head in response.
"For Christmas," she confirmed, fingers brushing across the necklace softly. "He said it was... It was his mother's," she added, voice becoming soft.
"And that's what the issue is," Taranee guessed, coming to the same conclusion that Cornelia had been hinting at.
"She died when he was little, apparently, and he tried to explain it away in his letter... He said it wasn't a big deal and to not think much of it, but that it would look much prettier on me than sitting in some dusty old case in Nott Manor..." she paused, a smirk teasing at her lips as Taranee choked on her cocoa at the word 'Manor.'
"And so?" Taranee prompted after a brief coughing fit.
"So," Cornelia continued, taking a deep breath. "He says that if I wear it, there are some, er- customs? That go into effect if I so publicly display a Nott family heirloom around my neck, but that he's leaving it up to me to decide if I want to go public with it," she explained, and Taranee's brow furrowed.
"What, like some ancient Pure-Blood courtship rituals or something?" she asked sarcastically, but Cornelia grimaced.
"That's the general idea, I think," she said, and Taranee snorted audibly. "It seems like if a Pure-Blood wants to court someone, they gift their intended a family heirloom, usually jewelry, and it declares the intent to the others without needing to say as much so plainly," she said, recalling Theo's letter. "He says that it's really antiquated but that most families still abide by it, but he was insistent that he wanted me to decide for myself and that it was simply meant to be a nice gift for Christmas... But I'm not sure I believe him," she said, this time a soft smile coming to fully grace her features as she pictured him writing her, face serious but panicked as he tried to find the right words to express himself to her.
"You really like this guy, don't you," Taranee said, a smile coming to her lips as well. "Nothing against my brother, of course, but I feel like you might be truly happy with this one, Cornelia..."
"It's just that, this was his mother's... And it's got to be much more of a big deal to come back to school wearing it for everyone to see," Cornelia burst out suddenly, a mixture of panic and excitement coursing through her. "And what with the current state of things, I don't know if it's such a good idea to declare ourselves so blatantly in front of all the other Pure-Bloods who might not be so sympathetic... I'm still technically a Muggle-Born in their eyes," she finished, hands coming to grip the warm mug of cocoa tightly.
"Well, Theo seems not to care if he gave it to you and asked you to wear it," Taranee reasoned. "It sounds to me like you want to wear it, in any case."
"I do," Cornelia replied after a beat, a smile gracing her face suddenly as she felt her entire being light up with the thought of having any sort of link back to the mysteriously alluring Slytherin she was rapidly becoming more and more infatuated with. "But, you don't think this is happening too fast?" she asked, a hint of worry coloring her tone.
"No, if it feels right to you then follow your instincts," Taranee said, pushing her glasses back into place. "Plus they come of age at seventeen in the Wizarding world, and you'll be turning seventeen this May. When's his birthday in any case?"
"November sixth, he turned seventeen then," Cornelia replied automatically, and Taranee raised her eyebrows. "He told me at the party, we were discussing pretty much everything... He's a Scorpio, you know, just like Elyon, so no wonder we get along so well," she said with a laugh, and Taranee grimaced.
"Of course he is... He's definitely got the air of mystery down," Taranee joked, in reference to a typical Scorpio trait. They were learning much more about astrology in a practical aspect now that they were at Hogwarts, for their Astronomy classes went into detail about the stars and planets and their affect on magical beings such as wizardkind.
"I think I'll wear it at school, but under my robes for now," Cornelia said after their giggles had died down. "He'll know that I have it on, at any rate... I just get the feeling that I shouldn't broadcast this aspect of our... well, I can't really define what we are, yet, but I suppose I'll find out," she reasoned, almost to herself.
They spent the next half-hour discussing Cornelia's gift a little more, which led into a few quiet minutes of their talking about Draco Malfoy and Hermione's secret relationship as well, as they too were a Slytherin Pure-Blood boy and Gryffindor Muggle-born girl attempting to make it work. Taranee had confided that she had helped Hermione escape Slughorn's party after Malfoy had been dragged out by Snape, and that on her way back to the Ravenclaw common room with Terry she had used her Guardian powers fleetingly to discover that Hermione had made it into another abandoned classroom with Malfoy without being discovered.
Hermione had not seemed to question Taranee's involvement in her escape, as Taranee had played it off as helping her ditch McLaggen rather than knowing intuitively that she'd be wanting to go to Malfoy after witnessing that spectacle. Neither she nor Cornelia had any idea of how it went between them that night, but after hearing what Will had to say about Malfoy's conversation with Snape, they assumed he had stormed out and immediately found Hermione; Cornelia sincerely hoped things were okay between them. It seemed like Theo also had an inkling of what was going on, however, as for the brief moments that Malfoy had been in attendance during the party he spoke quietly with Theo off to the side before leaving with Snape, and Theo seemed determined to keep Cornelia's attention far from the topic for the rest of the evening. Just how much he was privy to, Cornelia was unsure... But she hoped that if he did know, he wasn't making it harder for Malfoy and Hermione as their 'relationship' was already extremely difficult.
Eventually, Cornelia tentatively broached the topic of Ron with Taranee, who predictably clammed up and remained steadfast in her feelings on the subject. She still felt rather humiliated and in truth he did treat her poorly, but Cornelia had hoped that some time away from Hogwarts might have helped Taranee's mood on this. Before they could really get into discussing it, however, Taranee's bedroom door opened.
"Hey, Dad's about to start cooking, he wanted to- oh, Cornelia, hi," Peter stopped abruptly mid-sentence and stared plainly at her. Cornelia shifted uncomfortably on the bed, nodding her head slightly at him.
"Hi, Peter," she greeted. His eyes zeroed in on the necklace that now hung outside her turtleneck, and she nearly cursed aloud.
"Nice bling," he whistled. "Your grandma get it for you for Christmas?" he asked casually, and Cornelia nearly winced.
"Er... No, a friend from school, actually," she said, pausing slightly on the word friend. Theo was much more than that to her, at this point. Peter raised his eyebrows.
"Some friend, I'll say... Looks expensive," he said lightly, and she flushed a bit.
"Alright, Cornelia needs to head home, her mom wanted her back for dinner," Taranee cut across the mounting awkwardness, and Cornelia rose to her feet, following Taranee out into the hallway past Peter. She went towards the kitchen, setting her now empty mug in the sink before turning to shrug her coat on.
'Thanks, Tara,' she said through the mental link, and Taranee smiled at her.
'Don't mention it,' she joked, and Cornelia gave her a hug before turning towards the door. Peter was leaning against the wall, staring at her again. She waved at him a bit awkwardly before pulling the door open and taking her leave, emotions swirling within her and causing the wilted potted plants on the Cook's porch to burst into full bloom.
o.O.o.O.o
As Irma had expected, spending the rest of the Christmas holidays with the Weasleys was loads more fun than sitting cooped up at home with the likes of Christopher. She had enjoyed getting to visit with her family for a bit, but after a while she had already begun missing the magical world intently and couldn't wait to get back to it. That, and George of course.
Their arrival at the Burrow on December twenty-eighth had been something she, Will, and Hay Lin had anticipated eagerly, despite worrying just how Mr. Weasley was going to come and collect them. As it turned out, he had simply rented a Ministry of Magic car to come and gather them from Will's place, where they had agreed to meet up beforehand. The interior of said car was magically expanded to fit what looked like ten people rather comfortably in the back, so the ride to the Burrow from Heatherfield was a pleasant one. Mr. Weasley had asked them questions about the Muggle world enthusiastically while they in turn questioned him about aspects of the Wizarding world, and overall it was a rather enjoyable trip.
Upon their arrival, they were greeted by Mrs. Weasley who was already bustling away in the kitchen, and Harry and Ron went to gather their bags to lug them upstairs. Bill, Fleur, Fred, and George were all at work, and Mr. Weasley departed to go return the Ministry car not too shortly after dropping them off. Mrs. Weasley seemed to be making a feast by the looks of it, and she barely had time to say hello before she went right back to cooking.
"One of you can stay with Ginny since Hermione isn't here, and the other two can share Fred and George's old room," Mrs. Weasley had said amidst stirring a pot of soup. Will, Irma, and Hay Lin had all exchanged looks at this, stifling giggles as they knew exactly who would be staying where with this statement. After Harry and Ron had deposited Will and Irma's trunks in Fred and George's old room, while Hay Lin and Ginny tag-teamed hers, Ginny was summoned by Mrs. Weasley in the kitchen (to much protesting). Moments after this, the girls had instantly been dragged into a discussion about Malfoy's behavior on the night of the Christmas party by Harry and Ron.
"Snape made the Unbreakable Vow! That's pretty damning if anything else," Ron had said. "Obviously, you can't break one of them, or else you die..." he trailed off. Irma gave him a look.
"Kinda figured that out on my own, but still. Sounds serious enough for it to really be suspicious," she said, and Harry looked relieved that she was agreeing with him so readily.
"Wish you'd heard what Malfoy had been up to, at least," Ron said, but Harry let out a frustrated snort.
"That was the whole point, Malfoy was refusing to tell Snape what he was hiding," he retorted, and they lapsed into a brief silence. "Whatever it is, though, Snape's putting his own neck on the line to protect Malfoy, which is saying a lot about him... He used to be Death Eater, but I don't think he's changed much. Dumbledore says he trusts him, but won't elaborate."
"And are you going to mention this to Dumbledore when we all go back to school?" Hay Lin asked tentatively, to which Harry nodded.
"Of course I am. Listen, you lot have proved yourselves well enough, and Dumbledore says I can tell people I trust about certain things, so I might as well..." and Harry launched into a discussion revealing that he, Ron, Hermione, and the Weasleys were involved in varying capacities with the Order of the Phoenix, a secret society intent on combating Voldemort's forces.
"I do remember you saying something about the Order and Headquarters before, at Hogsmeade," Will said slowly after Harry had finished. "Well, I'm sure we aren't considered of age to help or join, but we're with you on this, I hope you realize," she added, and Harry grinned at her.
"Figured you would be, s'why I told you," he said, but at that moment Ginny returned from downstairs where Mrs. Weasley had been forcing her to help with food prep, a grimace on her face.
"Mum's been awful lately, she bursts into tears every other minute, keeping me around to help distract her..." she groaned, flopping down onto Fred's bed beside Will.
"What's she so upset about?" Irma asked incredulously, and they were then regaled with the story of Rufus Scrimgeour crashing their Christmas dinner, using Percy Weasley as an excuse and 'in' to distract them from his real target: Harry.
"He wanted me to publicly come out and support the Ministry, fat chance," Harry grumbled, hands curling to fists over his jeans. The white scars spelling out 'I Must
Not Tell Lies' shone starkly across his flesh, and Irma shuddered.
"What a creep! And shame on your brother for going along with it, honestly," she spat, and both Ron and Ginny grimaced.
"Not talking about me, I hope! Hello, gorgeous!" George's voice sent a wave of excitement through Irma, and she let out a shriek of delight as he poked his head into his old bedroom, winking at Irma. She leapt up from his former bed and darted into his open arms, which he wrapped around her with a laugh.
"Mind if I squeeze past you two? Ah, there we go," Fred said from somewhere behind them, and Irma felt him move past her and George's interlocked bodies. Turning to smile at him in greeting, she had to refrain from cackling as he had made a beeline for his old bed and sat right between Will and Ginny.
"How was work? You can't already be done for the day," Ginny asked, and Fred shrugged.
"Figured we'd close up a bit early and come see our darling family, of course," he said sarcastically, with a wink thrown at Will, who flushed.
"But never mind all that," George said, pulling Irma into the crook of his arm. "Had a good holiday?"
"Great, but even better as we speak," she replied with a smirk, and both Harry and Ron groaned.
"Can we at least play some Quidditch now that you lot are back? Better that then watching you two flirt all day," Ron grumbled, and the room at large laughed.
"Certainly, but only if our dear guests are wanting to do so!" Fred replied, leaning forward to rest his chin on Will's shoulder. "What say you, Miss Gryffindor Chaser?" he joked, ignoring a snarky remark from Ginny (who also happened to be a Chaser for Gryffindor). Will, predictably, turned scarlet but managed to still make Irma proud with a well-timed retort.
"What are we still doing here, then?" she said, casting her gaze unflinchingly at Fred despite her warm cheeks. His smile was mirrored by George's as they all got to their feet, trooping downstairs and outside into the crisp cool late-December air.
"That reminds me, we need your advice on what brooms we should get! We've put it off long enough, but Quidditch season is truly upon us and we need to stop using the school brooms," Hay Lin exclaimed. This kickstarted a rather heated discussion between the Weasleys and Harry as they all tried to reason with one another as to the best brooms, and Irma had to laugh at Ginny's sharp comment towards Harry.
"Well we can't all have mountains of gold to afford us the luxuries of a Firebolt, Harry, but sure, tell us again why yours is the best broom out here," she said sarcastically but with a twinkle in her eyes. Harry let out a deep laugh and grinned sheepishly at her.
"If anyone else had said that, I'm sure I'd have taken offense, but as it is..." he trailed off, but Ginny gave him a defiant look.
"What's so special about me, then? Is it because I'm the youngest one here?" she teased, and the group snickered at the notion.
"Gin, it's probably because anyone who gets offended at anything you have to say ends up hexed," George said smartly, and Ginny couldn't help but dissolve into snickers herself at the truth behind this statement. They ended up agreeing on spending a decent sized portion of their Wizarding money on Nimbus 2000's, as Harry had recommended them highly and their prices had gone down significantly since the release of the Firebolt line a few years prior.
"Not to worry, Will, Hay Lin, we'll get your brooms sorted out for you tomorrow! We can pick some up for you on our way back from work," Fred said, mounting his own Cleensweep and taking off.
"Just hand over your 150 Galleons each, and you'll get those Nimbus 2000's in a jiff," George finished, mounting his own broom and joining his twin in the air.
After several games (Irma had decided to sit out and referee, as they were uneven and could only afford a Keeper, Seeker, and one Chaser on each team as is) that ended in hilarity each time, they came to a shocking realization of how quickly the time flew by as the sun began to creep towards the horizon and so they returned to wash up for dinner. By that time, Bill and Fleur had returned from work and greeted everyone, and after they had all freshened up and sat down at the overflowing dinner table Mr. Weasley made it back from work as well, and Irma couldn't recall a more joyful evening in a long while.
Bellies full, they retired to the sitting room where the Christmas decorations were still set up. They played several games of Exploding Snap and Wizard's Chess before Mrs. Weasley poked her head in to demand they head up to bed. Irma pouted as that meant George would be heading back to his flat above their shop in Diagon Alley, but complied all the same. She was feeling a bit put out that she hadn't gotten a chance to spend any time alone with him, but it was a bit nerve-wrecking thinking of doing so with his mother and father in the next room all the same. Sighing, she made to stand up and follow after Will and Hay Lin, who had darted upstairs to grab pouches of money with Fred for their brooms. Ginny, however, unceremoniously dragged Harry and Ron out of the sitting room with a wink towards her friend; Irma realized that she and George were now alone, and she turned to note the smirk on his face as he hadn't moved a muscle to get up from the couch.
"Enjoying the view?" he asked, and Irma rolled her eyes but walked back over to him. Before she could retort, he had reached out to grab her arm, pulling her back down onto the couch beside him, arms wrapping themselves around her. "I have to give you your gift now, I can't stand waiting any longer, if I'm being honest," he said with a grin, and Irma felt anticipation creep into her.
"Oh, yours is still upstairs with my things, I can go get it if..." she began, but George was shaking his head and pulling something out of his pocket.
"No, don't worry about it just yet... I've got you alone, after all, can't spoil the moment," he said with a wink, and suddenly Irma found herself staring at an elegantly wrapped dark blue box about the size of a CD case, tied with white ribbon. At first she nearly panicked, thinking that he might have gotten her a CD and would therefore ruin the surprise of his own gift, but all thoughts of that flew out the window when she opened it. Inside the box, nestled on a satiny pillow, was a gorgeous necklace: its main feature was the beautiful aquamarine gemstone ensconced within a silvery frame, and it hung on a matching silver chain. Irma blinked at it, then looked up at George with her mouth open.
"How did you know my birthstone?" she blurted out, and George seemed to falter ever so minimally before answering.
"Had a little help from Ginny, of course, but that's neither here nor there," he said gallantly with a little wave of his hand. "But what's the verdict, then, my lady?" he added after a beat, and the familiar nickname caused Irma's face to split into a dazzling smile.
"Oh, it's beautiful, George! Help me put it on!" she said, beaming at him. He seemed to relax but obliged instantly, unclasping it and helping drape it around her neck. The aquamarine nestled itself neatly in the hollow between her collarbones, and she touched it lightly with a fond smile. "But good grief, how much did this-" she began, but George covered her mouth with his hand.
"It's a gift for my beautiful girlfriend, and I will not hear another word about it," he said with a mock-stern expression. Irma huffed behind his hand, and his eyes twinkled at her. "There are some, ah, things we should discuss of course, since you're right, jewelry is kind of a big deal... I know we've only been together a few months now, but anyway..." he trailed off, lost in thought for a moment. Wanting to bring him back to the present, Irma licked the inside of his hand which was still across her face, and he let out a shocked noise before laughing at her.
"We can talk about all of that in a bit, if you like, but for now, thank you for an amazing present," she said, and he beamed at her. "Just don't retaliate too harshly for me licking your hand," she added, and a predatory grin spread across his face.
"And if I know you'd enjoy my retaliation, what then?" he said in a low voice, arm reaching to snake around her waist, pulling her suddenly close to him. She felt heat creep up her face despite herself, as she was finding herself flustered by this more dominant side of George, but not in an unpleasant way by any means. When he leaned in and kissed her, Irma's eyes closed and she melted into his embrace, sighing a little as she relaxed her body further into him. She had never felt this safe, wanted, or desirable by a guy before, and George both excited her and made her heart flutter all at once. He pulled apart after a moment, gazing at her with those mischevious blue eyes of his.
"Been wanting to do that since I got here," he murmured, and Irma laughed. She reached up to push aside some of his ginger hair, heart thumping a bit too loudly for her liking.
"Been waiting for you to do something like this since you got here, too," she retorted, and his eyes flashed with an emotion she couldn't quite place before her lips were captured again in a fervent kiss that had her gasping into his mouth. His tongue darted out to lick at her own, drawing a little noise of surprise from her as she complied with him and allowed their lips to keep up this heated dance together. She wrapped her arms around his neck, their bodies so close she might as well have been sitting on top of him, and that thought didn't sound quite so bad...
"GEORGE WEASLEY! WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!"
Irma and George sprung apart as if scalded, and turned wide-eyed to the red face of Mrs. Weasley, who was brandishing a wooden spoon at them from the sitting room doorway. Mr. Weasley edged in after his wife, looking tired with deep worry lines etched on his forehead.
"Mum, calm down, no need to shout-" George began, hands up in a placating gesture, but Mrs. Weasley was not having it.
"Never in my life! Practically pulling her into bed with you... and she's Ginny's age!" Mrs. Weasley fumed, advancing on her son with a murderous look in her eye.
"First of all, Irma's my girlfriend!" George said loudly, "And secondly, she's not just a girlfriend to me, she's-"
"Oh, stars above, what's next!" Mrs. Weasley cried, looking horrified. "I'm ashamed with the both of you, you should know better than to be going on with someone at your age!" she reprimanded.
"Mrs. Weasley, George is only barely three years older than me, I'll be sixteen in March," Irma began hotly.
"Molly, dear, she's not ours, you can't direct who she chooses to-" Mr. Weasley interjected feebly, but he too was cut off.
"If it's our son involved, then I certainly do have a say!" she snapped. "Irma is a guest in our home, and I will not have such behavior-" she stopped dead suddenly, eyes zeroing in on the necklace around Irma's neck. George seemed to notice his mother's gaze, because he reached over and grabbed Irma's hand tentatively. "Georgie... is that... from you?"
"Yes, it is," he replied smartly, before adding, "Mum, you need to stop jumping to conclusions and let me finish explaining things to the girl I like before mucking it all up like this," he said with as gentle of a tone as he could muster despite his annoyance.
"She doesn't... She's... Oh but of course, goodness, she's Muggle-born, she wouldn't... Oh, darlings, I'm so sorry!" Mrs. Weasley began blubbering at once, and Mr. Weasley took that as his cue to gather up his wife in his arms and shoot the pair of them an embarrassed look. Ignoring his mother's outburst, George turned back to Irma.
"I was trying to tell you that when a wizard gets his witch some form of jewelry, it's like a sort of formal statement to others out there that she's spoken for, I guess. It's a dumb custom, and mostly a Pure-Blood one, but you know I certainly don't give a rat's arse about that sort of thing... I just wanted to let you know what it means, since I really do care about you, Irma, and..." he trailed off, the slightest tint of pink coloring his cheeks.
"This isn't like, some sort of wizarding proposal is it?" she joked feebly, and the color on his cheeks deepened.
"Merlin, no! That's done the same way as everywhere else, no, this is just a way of saying we're... we're exclusive, I guess," he explained, and Irma smiled up at him.
"Okay, just checking! I'm a traditional girl, after all, so I expect the whole nine yards when I'm proposed to, but not for a while!" she joked, and George let out a laugh as he pulled her into a hug. Mrs. Weasley's sobs got louder then, and they peered over at her to find that she was looking over at them fondly from under her husband's arm.
"George, you take Irma up to your room now... Not, er, like that..." Mr. Weasley gritted his teeth as his expression came out incorrectly, but Irma and George snickered anyway, blushing regardless out of embarrassment. "Then you and Fred best be off, it's quite late."
Not wanting to be told twice, George and Irma left the room hand in hand, hurrying past the kitchen and towards the stairs. When they were outside the door to the twins' old room, George paused and took Irma's face in his hands.
"You're okay with what... it means?" he asked carefully, eyes flicking down towards the necklace. Irma pushed herself up onto her tiptoes and kissed him deeply as a response. After a few moments, they broke apart.
"Not another word from you, George Weasley. As much as I'd like to keep snogging you all night, let me go grab your gift..." she said with a smirk, and pushing the door open she smacked Ron in the head with it as it let her into the room.
"Bloody hell!" he groaned, rubbing his forehead and wincing.
"Serves you right for trying to eavesdrop, ickle Ronniekins," Fred said primly from where he sat on his old bed; Irma noted Will sitting rather close to him again, but said nothing of course. "I banned them from using any extendable ears to snoop into my darling twin's business, but they certainly tried their best the Muggle way... Can't say the old 'ear to the keyhole' method works as well as ours, though, does it?" he continued, and Ron flipped him off.
"Well, Mum sounded like she was in a right state, so you can't blame us for trying," Ginny said coolly from her perch on George's old bed, where she and Harry were sitting with Hay Lin.
"They must have made it out intact somehow, though," Harry snickered, and Irma ignored them in favor of rooting around in her trunk for George's gift. She extracted the package, wrapped in paper patterned with snowmen wearing Christmas hats, and handed it to George unceremoniously.
"Don't open in here, they don't deserve to see it. There's a note, though, if you need help," she said with a nasty look over at Ron, who had the decency to look a bit embarrassed.
"That's our cue to get out while we still can, then," said Fred, squeezing Will around the shoulders in a side-hug before pulling himself up from the bed and pocketing what looked like a rather large pouch of galleons. "Best leave from the front, so as Mum knows we're being good," he added with a wink. "Ta, everyone!"
Irma followed Fred and George towards the door of their old bedroom, and before he could get too far towards the stairs she reached for George again and kissed him soundly once more. He left her reluctantly, though with a huge smile on his face which sent Irma's already thumping heart into flutters of joy at the knowledge that she, Irma Lair, was the girl that he wanted to declare himself as belonging to, for all intents ant purposes. Beaming, she returned to the twins' old room, where she was immediately descended upon by Will, Hay Lin, and Ginny for details about her new necklace as Harry and Ron rolled their eyes and made their way up to bed.
o.O.o.O.o
New Year's Eve at the Burrow was turning out to be a rather boisterous affair, as apart from most of the Weasleys and Fleur, Lupin, Mad-Eye Moody, and Kingsley Shacklebolt would be in attendance. The twins had brought over boxes filled to the brim with fireworks for the evening, and Mrs. Weasley had been cooking nonstop since seven that morning. Will and Hay Lin had been spent the previous two days testing out their new brooms in between some leisure time spent in good company, and they had gotten their gifts distributed to everyone (and had passed on Cornelia and Taranee's gifts to Mrs. Weasley, who had teared up and nearly set the soup pot to over-boiling with her wand in a fit of emotion).
Will had yet to give Fred his gift, however, as he had made no mention or move to give her anything despite what he had said in his Christmas card. The anticipation was driving her mad, and she confided this to Hay Lin the afternoon of December 30th as they sat together polishing their new brooms on the back stoop while the others de-gnomed the back garden.
"He's definitely not forgotten, he keeps making a point to be around you and is shamelessly flirting with you," Hay Lin reasoned, wincing as she witnessed Harry take a particularly nasty bite to the hand from a garden gnome off in the distance.
"He's got a lot on his mind with work, though, so maybe he has forgotten about it..." Will said with a worried twist of her hair between her fingertips. Hay Lin swatted her hand away, scoffing.
"Listen, as long as he gets your mind off of Matt and makes you happy, that's all that I care about! And even if he did forget, you should still give him your gift. You went to all that trouble!" she scolded, and Will sighed in agreement. She honestly hadn't been thinking about Matt at all since they'd been at the Burrow, which was amazing considering her ordeal with him barely a week prior.
"I'm just hoping it's not as nice as what Harry got you, since what I got Fred isn't nearly up to that standard..." she mused, side-eyeing Hay Lin curiously. Hay Lin, somewhat predictably, blushed scarlet at the mention of Harry's gift to her, and became extremely interested in the handle of her new broom.
"Well, Harry did tell me he was planning on getting me something since I gave him that drawing..." she said, and Will snorted.
"Sounds like excuses again, but I won't go into it. I'm not Irma," she said jokingly, referencing how incessantly Irma had tried teasing Hay Lin about the extravagant gift she had received from Harry. He had spared no expense, it seemed, and gotten her a full wizarding art kit, so that she could begin learning how to create artwork that moved around the paper much like wizarding portraits did. The gift had of course rendered Hay Lin speechless, and she had hugged him fiercely before she could stop herself, but let go just as quickly. Will had noticed that something seemed to be up with Hay Lin ever since, and now was just as good a time to pry a little bit as any good friend should.
"Look, I'm not trying to butt into your personal life, but we've been through enough that I feel like I can if I want to," Will teased, but she knew Hay Lin could infer the intent behind her questions was innocent. "But I was wondering... Do you have feelings for-"
"Nope," Hay Lin replied abruptly, popping the p for emphasis. "Not at all. Just friends." Will raised an eyebrow at her, and she sighed resignedly, glancing wistfully over towards where Harry now had Ginny attempting to prise a gnome's jaws off of his finger. "I see the way he looks at her," she said softly, and Will felt her heart grow heavy on her friend's behalf.
"That doesn't mean your feelings aren't valid," Will reminded her, but Hay Lin seemed to grit her teeth and set about polishing her broom handle with a newfound vigor.
"I respect my feelings enough to know I don't want to go there," she said. "I saw what happened with Taranee and Ron and I... I'm not ready to stop being friends with him. Plus, I know Ginny likes him too, she's just not there yet either. They've known each other longer and I don't want to... stand in their way," she finished with a melancholic expression over towards the two in question who had successfully lobbed the gnome over the stone wall around the garden and were now laughing together.
"Well, if you're sure..." Will said, faltering a bit at the look on her friend's face. She hated seeing Hay Lin like this, especially after all the heartache she had experienced with Eric. "Just don't sell yourself short, okay? You deserve to be happy too."
"Could say the same for you," Hay Lin fired back, rounding on her. "Weren't we talking about your boy problems, anyway? We'd best start getting ready, come to think of it..." she began packing up her broom polishing kit, and Will followed suit after taking note of the sun's position overhead.
The four girls got ready together in Ginny's room, pulling on outfits that were nicer than their normal daily wear yet still not too dressy; Will was pleased with the look she had pulled together, which consisted of a raspberry-colored fuzzy sweater with fitted sleeves that tapered at the wrist, dark plum velvet jeans, and black boots. She clipped one side of her red hair back over her ear with a simple gold barrette, and put on a very light makeup to complete the look. Her nerves were beginning to get to her, as she was dwelling on the reason why Fred hadn't yet given her his gift and whether or not hers would be good enough in return. She didn't have too much more time to dwell, however, as Mrs. Weasley called them down to dinner and they made their way into the warm and welcoming kitchen.
Mad-Eye Moody gave them a once-over with his odd magical eye as soon as they arrived, but said nothing more. Lupin greeted them warmly and introduced them to Kingsley, who was kind-faced and well spoken. After a bit of small talk with him about how they were liking Hogwarts and the like, Mrs. Weasley reminded them that dinner was on the table and to get seated. At that moment, Fred and George emerged from outside where they were presumably setting up the fireworks show for later, and Will couldn't help but feel her eyes drawn straight to Fred. He was wearing a deep red fitted sweater over some black pants with his dragonhide boots, and looking rather windswept from his time outdoors. He met her gaze and she felt heat creep up her cheeks, but did not turn her gaze away for once. He smirked at her and moved to come take a seat beside her.
Dinner was marvelous, as Mrs. Weasley really had pulled out all the stops. She had cooked a tremendous two pot roasts, complete with huge side helpings of mashed potatoes, green beans, caramelized sprouts, black eyed peas, cornbread, onion soup, large flagons of butterbeer and pumpkin juice, and for dessert several options which included treacle tart, banoffee pie, trifle, and a massive fruitcake for those wanting to cling to the last vestiges of the holidays.
"Molly, you've certainly outdone yourself with this one," Kingsley remarked, taking a swig of ale before helping himself to a second piece of fruitcake. Mrs. Weasley blushed, waving her wand to begin clearing off some of the empty dishes from the table.
"Oh, it was nothing, it's my pleasure... Arthur's promotion this year really allowed us to splurge a bit, it's been wonderful..." she said, smiling at her husband.
"Yeah, that and we don't have to worry about feeding Percy," Fred muttered to Will so that his mother couldn't hear, and she bit her lip to keep from snorting out loud.
"He sounds like a right prat," she replied quietly, and he rolled his eyes.
"Understatement of the century," he said, spooning some trifle into his mouth as Bill had inclined his head in their direction warningly from where he sat across from them.
"Well, we've made good work of this, should be about time for Celestina's New Year's special to come on..." Mrs. Weasley said brightly, flicking her wand towards the old wizarding radio which sat in the next room. Music and fanfare began blaring at a reasonable volume, and Mrs. Weasley's favorite singer Celestina Warbeck's voice floated across towards the table.
"You charmed the heart right out of me
Don't need no broom, I'm flying free
I think by now it's plain to see
I'm nothing without you!" she warbled, and Fleur made quite a show of rolling her eyes and imitating the singer, much to Mrs. Weasley's displeasure.
"Shall we move into the sitting room, Molly, so we can hear the show properly? Let everyone finish up if they need..." Mr. Weasley intervened, leading his wife into the sitting room so that she could enjoy the radio show without Fleur's antics. Will picked up her glass of butterbeer and followed as Fred, George, Irma, Hay Lin, and Lupin made their way into the sitting room too, finding places to sit and listen along with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley as Celestina sang her heart out.
Will took a seat on the couch next to Hay Lin, and Fred sat down on her other side; something about this proximity caused a wave of nerves and excitement to flare across her body, as the entirety of her left side was pressed closely against Fred and she seemed to be feeling it with her whole being. George took a seat on the other side of his twin, with Irma beside him, causing them to shift ever closer to fit comfortably. Will's heart was hammering in her chest, and she felt it stop completely as Fred casually lifted his arm to wrap it around her shoulders under the pretense of making more room. She took another swig of Butterbeer for something to do, completely unaware of anything else in her surroundings except the parts of her body that were touching Fred. He was so close she could smell his crisp cologne, and it was driving her spare. She was unaware of time passing, occasionally sipping on her drink, her eyes darting over to glance at the attractive ginger male draped so closely beside her.
"...and that's Celestina Warbeck, with her classic You Stole My Cauldron But You Can't Have My Heart! Twenty minutes to midnight, folks, until then, let's give it up for another song..." the radio announcer's voice cut through Will's hazy thoughts, and suddenly she felt herself being dragged to her feet by Fred.
"Help me check on the fireworks display, will you? I remember you telling me you were interested in learning about them," he said, and Will fought the blush threatening to overcome her cheeks.
"D-did I?" she stammered softly, and Fred winked at her. Not daring to glance at the other girls, she followed him back through the kitchen where Ron was still helping himself to banoffee pie while Harry and Ginny chatted casually, and Moody and Kingsley drinking ale with Bill and Fleur. Will set her now empty butterbeer glass on the table and, summoning her courage, grabbed Fred's hand to stop him as they reached the back door.
"Hold on one second... I have to grab something," she said, and she darted back towards the stairs, taking them two at a time until she reached the twins' old room. Rushing inside, she rummaged around in her trunk until she pulled out the gift she had made for Fred. Steeling herself once more, she crept back downstairs with the gift box tucked behind her back. She reached the back door and found Fred patiently waiting for her with a curious expression on his face. He tried peering around her to see what she was holding, but she swatted him away resolutely. "I thought you wanted to show me fireworks!" she teased, and he laughed, grabbing her one free hand and pulling her after him.
"I do, but that's only part of it, if we're having honesty hour and all," he said with an air of mystery as he dragged her outdoors into the chilly night. They walked all the way through the backyard towards the low stone wall that the others had been lobbing gnomes over hours earlier; Will noted that the twins had been hard at work since then setting up their fireworks, which looked primed and ready to go.
"Impressive," she commented, still holding the gift box behind her back. Fred gave her a little mock bow, checked his watch, and then withdrew something from behind the pile of firework boxes stacked haphazardly beside the wall.
"I actually wanted to finally give you this, it's your Christmas gift... Sorry it's a bit late, but I figured this was a more worthy occasion since we missed the actual day, and all," he said, holding something that looked like a gift bag out towards her suddenly. He looked a bit nervous, but his expression was quickly hidden by a familiar confident mask. Will couldn't help the flushed smile from reaching her face as she pulled her own gift box out from behind her back.
"Glad I followed my intuition and grabbed this, then," she quipped, and relished in the look of pleased surprise that registered on his handsome features. They exchanged gifts, but before Will began opening hers, that familiar anxiety bubbled up within her. "Listen, I'm sorry if it's lame, or not as great as you'd expect... But I really wasn't sure what to get you, so-"
"Oh, get to opening your own gift first and then we can have a contest on whose was worse," Fred joked, and Will couldn't help the giggle that burst from her as she conceded the point. She pushed past the lurid lime-green tissue paper in the bag and pulled out a flashy box, which she popped open to reveal five Personalized Patented Daydream Charms; peering into the bag, which still felt quite full, she noted about ten packages of chocolate frogs as well. Beaming, she looked up at him, noting that he had ripped through the wrapping paper around her own gift and was now lifting the lid off the tin of homemade Nutella-filled biscuits she had baked him with the help of her mother.
"I made them with my favorite chocolate spread as filling, it's a recipe my mum helped teach me to make whenever I was feeling low about something... it's always meant a lot to me, so I figured I might as well make something since I couldn't think of anything to get you at the shops..." Will stammered, but Fred was already popping one of the treats into his mouth. He let out a low moan of approval and turned to her, eyes sparkling as he swallowed.
"The way to a Weasley man's heart is his stomach, and you've certainly hit the nail on the head with these," he said with relish, and Will felt herself blush again for the millionth time in his company. Fred Weasley had some kind of effect over her, that's for sure.
"They're not too cheesy?" she asked tentatively.
"If they were, I'm sure I'd like them too," he quipped, and Will laughed at the joke. "Those Daydream Charms, by the way... Yours are custom, none else are that detailed or specific to your interests. Each one's a different story, so to speak, so read the label and pick out whether you want to go swimming in the Caribbean or to the Quidditch World Cup," he explained, and Will felt her heart swell with emotion at the thoughtfulness behind the gift.
"I'll be sure to use one on my birthday in a couple weeks, since I come of age according to the Wizarding world's customs!" she joked, and Fred's smile was dazzling. He then glanced down to check his watch, and suddenly grabbed her arm and began dragging her away from the fireworks setup.
"Wha-" she began, but he grinned at her.
"Fireworks are set to go off shortly, it's almost midnight," he explained, reaching a cluster of trees towards the edge of the property and depositing his box of biscuits next to where she had set her own gift bag. "I didn't actually need to check anything, just wanted to do that away from prying eyes," he added conspiratorially, and Will snickered.
"I can't wait to see them in person, I've heard they're legendary," she said in reference to the fireworks, and Fred puffed out his chest proudly. She noticed that his hand was still clasping hers, and he seemed to notice it too. He drew further attention to it by interlocking their fingers, and Will's heart rate picked up.
"Listen, I know it's a bit... Well, I just wanted to let you know that I think you're pretty great, and I'd like to get to know you better, if you'd be interested in that," Fred said a bit awkwardly, though Will found it endearing. He must struggle with toning down his over-confident and brash persona at times like these, as she was beginning to see that he was charismatic but perhaps less sensitive than his twin. However, there was something about him that was both comfortable and electrifying, and Will found all thoughts of Matt had drifted away in his presence. Fred was uncomplicated in a way, straightforward, handsome... She felt a tingle of butterflies in her stomach but managed to reply anyway.
"You think I'm pretty great?" Will quoted lightly, and Fred winced.
"Merlin, I sound like a prat don't I?" he laughed, running his hand through his hair. Will shivered at the gesture, and he turned towards her, concerned. "Cold?" he asked.
"No," she responded without thinking, and he raised an eyebrow at her. She flushed scarlet. "Er, that is... Oh, sod it, I'm a mess too, aren't I?" she gave in to nervous laughter, then, and he joined her after a moment. Suddenly, the fireworks display lit up as a solitary rocket took off and exploded, illuminating the sky with a magical countdown timer that read New Year! with the numbers going down from ten.
"I'd like it, if we got to know each other better," she blurted out suddenly, and he turned towards her, a smile curving at his lips.
09, 08, the timer read.
"I'll start writing you, then, at Hogwarts... Maybe come visit when I can, if they let us..." he murmured, turning to face her.
07, 06,
"That would be amazing," she breathed, turning to meet his blue eyes with her brown ones, a thrill of excitement coursing through her as he reached over to brush a lock of hair back from where it had escaped her barrette.
05, 04,
"You know, it's bad luck to not kiss someone on New Year's," he said softly, eyes searching hers for permission, leaning in ever so slowly.
03, 02, 01
"I'll need all the luck I can get, then," she replied, and suddenly he was drawing close and his hand was cupping the side of her face and he was all she could think about as his lips closed over her own, her eyes sliding shut to an explosion of light and sound as the fireworks burst overhead signaling the advent of a new year.
Well that's that! Don't expect smooth sailing for our couples, however, as there is a looming threat ahead... Plus, we all know Will, and she is very insecure and wounded from her previous relationship, so once the New Year's high wears off she might get stuck in her head a little bit ;) I try to be realistic when I can, and things never quite fall into place so neatly when it comes to personal relationships with others...
Otherwise, Happy 2020! I've been working on this story for a literal decade, as I had been writing chapter one towards the tail end of 2010 before it was posted in 2011! Thanks for staying with me until now, and I hope you will continue to stick with it until the very end!