Epilogue

Bludger Babe, Quaffel Quarrels, Snitch Snogs

Hannah Holt

            I tucked a hair behind my ear as I sat in the Burrow's kitchen reading the muggle newspaper that Arthur had picked up and yawned as I waited for George to come downstairs so we could leave for our date. For the five years since that night, we'd been dating and I'd been staying at the Burrow more frequently as we got older. Now that I was 21, things weren't any different than before except for the part where George and I had fallen deeply in love.

            I felt a hand on my shoulders suddenly making me jump in surprise. The hands started to massage my back gently and I rolled my eyes.

            "Get off of me, Fred," I said sarcastically, not even looking up. The hands stopped immediately and he laughed.

            "How did you know?" He asked, amazed, as he sat down next to me forgetting that I'd been able to tell the difference between the two since day one.

            "Well, for one, I'm in love with one of you and not with the other," I flashed a smart ass smile and went back to reading my paper. "And two," I began, without looking up from the other, "His hands are bigger."

            "What is that supposed to mean?" I squinted his eyes at me and stood up again.

            "Oh, nothing," I continued to read the paper innocently.

            "Want something to eat?" He asked as he opened the refrigerator door.

            "Nah, thanks anyway. George and I are going out tonight." I guess that's when Fred realized what I was wearing: a very low cut, halter-top, black dress with rhinestones connecting the scoop neckline. My hair was up in a tight bun but a few hairs had escaped.

            "Wow," He said as he got out a couple of plates.

            "What?" I looked up curiously.

            "Nice dress," He commented before shaking his head and going back to making food.

            "Thanks, I guess," I smiled at my boyfriend's twin for a second before going back to the newspaper. It was funny, even though Fred and I had broken up forever ago, we'd continued to talk and be good friends despite what he did to me. At one point, a few years back, he'd begged me to forget George and go out with him again because he'd made such a mistake. I could remember it like it was yesterday.

            "Elyse, you can't do that to me," He begged, taking my hand in his as I tried to exit the library where I'd been working on my werewolf report due in a few days.

            "I have every right to do that to you," I whispered rather loudly.

            "I didn't mean to, I really didn't…" I was half expecting him to get down on his knees.

            "SHHH!" Madam Pince shushed us quickly. I wanted to leave with the books I had found, but Fred was barring my exit.

            "Then why did you?" I whispered.

            "Because… I was stupid. You can't tell me you've never been stupid," He looked at me intensely.

            "Not that stupid, Fred Weasley. Now get out of my way I have a paper to write," I tried to get around him, but he moved to stand in my way.

            "Elyse, you know I-," He couldn't finish before I interrupted him.

            "Love me? Yeah right, Fred. I'm with George now and he doesn't use me like you did," I smiled sweetly before stomping off after I managed to get around him. He just stood and stared. He would never get another chance with Elyse Woodthrop.

           

            "Why are you so dressed up? You two go on dates all the time," He looked over at where I was sitting.

            "We're going to the fancy Italian restaurant in London," I sighed, looking down at my paper.

            "Oh, I get it," He said flatly.

            "You get what?" I looked up again, narrowing my eyes at him.

            "He's going to pop the question," Fred laughed at himself as a sandwich and chips appeared on the table. "My brother was always first to accomplish stuff in that department."

            "Pop what question?" I asked as if I didn't know. My mind spun.

            "You know the one like 'Blah, I love you like no one else and I want to love you my whole life, blah blah blah, will you marry me and have my children blah blah?' That question." Fred replied sarcastically.

            "Whatever, Fred." I ignored him. Just because George and I were going to some fancy restaurant did not mean that he was proposing to me and I had no reason to get my hopes up, after all George still lived here with his parents and him and Fred had just gotten their shop off the ground in Hogsmeade a few months ago. He wasn't ready for marriage or a family of his own yet.

            "Well, I've got a date, too, you know," Fred stated, interrupting my thoughts.

            "Oh, really?" I looked up with curiosity. "What's her name?"

            "Uh…" He paused, and took a huge bite out of his sandwich.

            "Well?" I looked at him, waiting for an answer.

            "Hermione," He murmured under his breath.

            "Who?" I thought I heard him correctly, but I wasn't sure.

            "Her-," He cleared his throat and swallowed his food. "Hermione, you know, from school." He gave me a big toothy grin.

            "Really?" I laughed hysterically. "You and… Hermione? She's got to be one desperate chick." I continued to laugh and Fred looked genuinely hurt.

            "Desperate?" He paused as I regained my composure. "Do you really think I'm the same guy from Hogwarts, Elyse? I mean, seriously, do you?" He look so… hurt.

            "Well, yeah, I mean you have a different girl every weekend." I replied quickly, shifting my legs uneasily.

            "Hermione… she's something different…" His voice trailed off as he continued to chew on his sandwich.

            "Then why did it take you so long to ask her out?" I asked.

            "Well, I always thought she'd end up with Ron, but now that Ron's got Laura…" He finished his sandwich and stood up to take the plate to the sink.

            "So you really do like her?" I replied as he started a cleaning spell for the plate.

            He nodded without looking at me.

            At that moment, George, wearing a nice muggle suit with a green tie came into the kitchen. He stopped when he looked up and saw me.

            "Uh, wow – er," He started before he could move again. I smiled brightly and stood up from the kitchen table.

            "Ready to go, sweetheart?"

            There was a pause.

            "Of course," He replied slowly.

            "Something wrong?" My eyebrows knitted in confusion.

            "No, nothing's wrong… It's just --," He was still looking at me. "You look amazing."

            "Thanks," I blushed a little and reached for my coat, but George was across the room in a flash, taking it from me and helping me put it on. I smiled as we headed for the front door.

            "Good luck, Fred," I said to him as we left the kitchen.

            "Thanks," He called after us. "Safe sex, you guys," Fred laughed behind us and George shot his brother a mean look over his shoulder and laughing at my boyfriend, I dismissed all thoughts of the assumed proposal lingering in my mind.

            ~*~

            We sat in silence at the beautiful restaurant that George had brought me to and I smiled as my finger moved seductively up and down the crystal clear wine glass filled with red wine I had sitting in front of me.

            "Something wrong, sweetheart?" I asked curiously.

            "You're just so…" He stopped mid sentence. I could almost sense his nervousness, yet I didn't notice the sweat accumulating on his forehead.

            "I'm so what?" I said in a low voice, grinning widely.

            "Gorgeous," He said as the waiter came to the table with the food we'd ordered.

            We started having normal conversation as we ate, but I noticed he had just picked at his food which wasn't normal and as he held my hand across the table, I felt sweat on his palm.

            "Are you sick, baby?" I looked at him in a concerned manner.

            "No," He choked. I shook my head and continued to eat my pasta.

            "Elyse, there's something I've been wanting to ask you for awhile, but I never really had the chance," George started. I felt my stomach lurch into my throat. Maybe Fred had been right earlier.

'Don't get your hopes up, Elyse' I convinced myself.

            I just stared at him as he got no one knee and reached in his pocket to hold a dark velvet jewelry box in his left hand. At this time, I didn't realize we had half of the restaurant's attention.

            He laughed nervously.

            "I guess you know what's next…" He paused and took in a deep breath. "Elyse, I've loved you for five years and everyday my feelings for you grow stronger and stronger. I can see myself waking up next to your sleeping body everyday and I want to have children to name together and take to my parents and your parents' home for holidays." He smiled at me and opened the box with his right hand exposing a beautiful large engagement ring with a square diamond on a white gold band encrusted with smaller diamonds.

            "I can't see myself without you, Elyse Ann Woodthrop." He took in another deep breath before continuing. "Marry me?"

            I felt tears running down my face and I sat there. What felt like an hour was passed in silence though I'm sure it was only a few seconds.

            "Say something?" He begged, ring still sitting securely in the velvet box.

            "I'm speechless," I uttered with a laugh.

            "That's a first," He joked and smiled at me as I shook my head and he took the ring out of the box and placed it on my ring finger. At that moment, we heard the restaurant go up in a number of 'aww's' and applause. Before I knew it, we were hugging and kissing. I was overjoyed.

            ~*~

            The alarm clock was annoying and I rolled over instinctively to shut it off ASAP. I opened one eye to see it was already nine A.M. Usually, I would have turned it off immediately, but I sat up when I realized what today was. I was getting married.

            I stretched and turned on the TV. My room was a mess, as was the rest of my apartment. I sat down to eat a bowl of cheerios when I heard a persistent knock at the door.

            "I'm coming," I called. I ran towards the front door until I realized I only had on a big t-shirt and my hair was a mess, not to mention I had no make up on.

            "It's me!" Ginny's voice called from behind the closed door.

            "Ginny," I smiled as I opened the door wide enough to let her in.

            "Glad to see you're awake and not too wasted… that was one hell of a bachelorette party," She said, setting down her cute little purse and following me through the large den to the kitchen attached.

            "We need to be at the church in ten minutes, so if you could hurry up, that would be great," She grinned innocently and grabbed a bagel from the pantry as I finished my bowl of cheerios.

            "Ready?" She asked as I grabbed a pair of pants and a button down t-shirt from my closet. I changed quickly and met her in the living room.

            "Everything's already there, right?" I asked her anxiously.

            "Yes, I've already checked." Ginny smiled. "That's what a maid of honor is for!" She was still smiling from ear to ear when we apparated into the bridal room of the church hosting my wedding.

            "The muggle man is here to do your hair and make up, your mom is helping the bridesmaids with their hair and make up and I believe your dad is with George and the guys on the other side of the cathedral." Ginny said as if she were reading from a checklist.

            "Thanks," I replied, looking around for the hairdresser. "You know, Gin, one day this is going to be you and Harry." I laughed.

            "Right, Elyse." She let out a small laugh and her cheeks flooded pink. "I hope so."

            "Don't worry, it will happen." I smiled as my best friend turned the same color as her hair.

            "Go get your hair done!" She ordered and I obeyed, finding a seat in front of the hairdresser.

            It felt like forever, but eventually the man was done with both my hair and make up. My hair was up in a very tight up-do with loose ringlets around my face. There were also very small white flowers in my hair and veil which had been placed on my head after having my hair done. My make up was very natural looking, but I loved it.

            "You look gorgeous, Elyse," Ginny commented as she worked on doing her own hair. She was already in the bridesmaid dress I had picked out which was a spaghetti strapped gown that went to her feet and clung to all the right features. All of the dressed were the same style, but were each a different pastel color. Ginny's was purple, Katie's was pink, Alicia's was yellow, and Sarah's, my best muggle friend growing up, gown was blue.

            "Time for the dress!" My mother called behind me, rushing at me with the white dress in her arms. I changed quickly in the bathroom and as I came out, all of the commotion stopped and my mother tried to not let me see her tears.

            "Wow, Elyse," Sarah commented.

            "Yeah, wow," Katie and Alicia said in unison.

            My dress was a tube top with a corset back, tight in all the right places, with a ball gown type bottom from waist down. There was crystal lining the bottom and the train was rather long which was decorated with a large bow under the corset strings in the back.

            I blushed as I went to take a look for myself. I was glad today would be my day, all about me. I couldn't wait to get started.

            My father came into the room to give me a quick lecture and tell me how beautiful I was. The wedding coordinator, Elaine, rushed in not much later telling everyone the ceremony would start in fifteen minutes. I went to look out the window at the clear blue sky.

            "It's perfect weather for an outside wedding," Ginny commented as she came up behind me. I turned around with a big smile on my face.

            "You look great," I commented, giving her a big hug.

            "I try," She smiled and let go of me, holding on to my hands. "I can't wait for you to be my big sister."

            "Thanks, Gin." I paused. "You don't know how much that means to me."

            "Ready, Elyse?" Elaine asked, popping her head into the room. I nodded, hugged Ginny one more time and followed the bridesmaids to the front of the cathedral where we'd be walking out to the outside ceremony.

            The flower girl, which was Percy's little girl, Penny, was the first to go out, then Alicia, then Katie, then Sarah, and finally Ginny.

Arm in arm with my father, I stepped outside onto the aisle for the first time and it was all I had imagined it to be: covered in red, white, and pink rose pedals leading up to the platform of the four bridesmaids, four groomsmen and most importantly, the man of my dreams.

            I felt like the aisle grew longer and longer with every stop, but when we finally reached the stairs, my dad lifted my veil and kissed me on each cheek, whispering 'I love you' in my ear before sitting down next to my mom who was, of course, crying her eyes out on the front row.

            George looked at me the whole time as the preacher talked and we vowed our vows. I felt tears on my cheeks once he started to read the vows he had written. After I read my vows, the reassuring words spoken by the preacher reached my ears and I smiled ecstatically.

            "I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. George Weasley! You may now kiss your bride," The preacher closed the bible he was holding as George kissed me passionately which caused applause from the crowd. I pulled away, afraid things might get too out of hand in front of the crowd, and we began down the aisle. As we reached the end he grabbed me again and we locked lips.

            "We're married!" I exclaimed as we went into the cathedral, leaving behind the tons of people in the audience.

            Our reception was held in a large tent on the other side of the cathedral a few minutes later. We had a few minutes of alone time before we were expected.

            "Elyse, you look absolutely…" George couldn't finish his sentence before my lips were on his. "Gah, I can't even describe how … just how great you look. That dress," He made a suggestive glance with his eyebrows and I rolled my eyes.

            "You don't look so bad yourself," I readjusted his white tie which looked great with his black suit and shirt.

            "Your father helped me. I'm not the best in muggle fashion," He smiled at me and pushed the hair out of my face.

            "Well, my father has great taste then, but I'd have to say the man in the suit is of better taste," We kissed a few more times before I pulled away.

            "Ready to go to our reception, Mr. Weasley?" He gave me a sad face as if he wanted to continue the heat we'd been in only minutes before.

"Do I have to, Mrs. Weasley?" He made another suggestive move before I pulled away completely and took his hand and practically dragged him down the hallway.

            "Yes you have to!" I giggled and he kissed me one more time before we emerged in front of the well-lit tent. The sun was going down and the scene was as perfect as it could be.

            "Presenting Mr. and Mrs. George Weasley!" Fred's voice called over the speakers as George and I entered the room and everyone cheered.

            To my surprise, the reception went by rather quickly, Ginny made her speech which made me cry and Fred made his speech. I noticed he was sitting next to Hermione.

            George and I danced the first dance as bride and groom to a muggle song by Tim McGraw and we danced countless times after that with everyone. Katie and Oliver, who were now engaged, were dancing next to us most of the night. Of course, Harry and Ginny were dancing the whole night as were Alicia and her new boyfriend, Robert. A couple hours later, after asking me the same question many times before, George whispered in my ear.

            "Can we go now?" He would ask impatiently and I would shake my head, but this time I nodded and we said our goodbyes as the crowd moved outside of the tent to wear the limo was. I laughed as bird seed was thrown at us. The limo driver opened the door and we climbed inside, I waved to a few of my friends before the door was shut.

            "Could anything be more perfect?" George asked me as we sat in the limo hand in hand, his other hand stroking my cheek.

            "No," I replied, smiling still.

            "I love you, Elyse Weasley," George said.

            "I love you more, George Weasley," I replied.

            "I love you most, Elyse Weasley," He retorted, smiling.

            "Most times most," The fighting continued, but we knew that love wasn't the right word, for there were no words anymore that could describe what we'd feel for each other now or for the rest of our lives.

[Author's Note -- YAY! Okay, so that is definitely the end. Aren't you happy? I am! Yay, I know it was corny, but please, how else do you end a cute sappy love story? I am glad that this story has come to a conclusion and PLEASE leave a review… I would leave to read them! Go check out my other stories and … have a great day! Lol. Oh, btw here's what the dress I describe from the proposal was supposed to be described as: dress. PLEASE REVIEW! 33 Hannah Holt]