Chapter 49

Early Arrival

The three of them decided it would be fun to introduce Cassie to some wizarding games. They started out with Exploding Snap. As George dealt the cards, Fred laughed at Cassie's expression. "You look like you know what you're doing."

"I do. Played at Hogwarts. It's fun!"

"Want to make a small bet?"

"Against you two? Do I look insane?"

"Boys - you know I don't like gambling in the house." Molly clucked disapprovingly, her needles clacking against each other as she studied a recipe book. This was the last jumper she had to make - and it turned out it was the 10th one of the year. She had made one for Harry and one for Hermione and even one for Fleur although she had confided to Cassie that very afternoon that she doubted it would ever be worn.

"Yes, Mum. Sorry." But Fred leaned close to Cassie and in a very quiet voice said, "So? How about it?"

"I don't have anything to bet."

"You have money. George brought you back quite a bundle today from Gringott's."

Cassie turned to George with a happy smile. "You exchanged the money?"

"Of course. Would I let you down?"

"And when were you planning on giving it to me?"

"Uh, now. It's in my robe pocket. I'll go get it." A moment later he placed a very heavy velvet bag into her hands. "Plus, I brought you those four packages of fireworks you asked for."

"Great. Did you take the right amount out of this money?"

"No."

"How much do I owe you then?"

"Nothing. I was planning on just giving them to you."

"I can't take them, though. How much?" She looked at Fred. "How much?" Fred shook his head in response. "Fine. I remember how much they were when I bought them for Matthew. That was two boxes, so doubled . . ." She withdrew four Galleons out of her bag. "There. That'll make a nice wager. I'll play you for it." She had no idea how to play when money was involved but she picked up on it pretty quickly. She wound up losing all four Galleons by the time they had played three games, the money sliding under the table when Molly was not looking, but she didn't mind. It had been fun. "What other games do you like, besides Gobstones, which look too complicated for me? Or chess . . . which I would be pummeled in."

"Uh . . ." George looked thoughtful.

"Do you have any dice games? Like Aggravation? Sorry? Yahtzee?" Fred shook his head, looking solemn.

"Wizards don't play with dice, Cassie. Doesn't work well."

"What? Why not?"

"Too easy to cheat." Cassie giggled into her hands.

"But if you promised not to . . . we could play then."

"We could promise . . . but would you really trust us?" George looked pointedly at her, raising his eyebrow.

"No."

"See. There's an inherent problem there."

"You two should invent non-cheating dice. They'd be a hit."

"But -" Fred started.

"We'd be hypocrites." George concluded. All three of them laughed.

Fred looked at George. "We could team up with chess. You and your little girlfriend against me. See how you'd do. I normally beat the proverbial pants off you. Maybe she could help your pitiful game."

"You normally beat me? In your dreams! Usually, I'm the one beating the pants off you - and not the proverbial ones either. The real ones." Cassie noted with no small amount of happiness in her heart that George had not disputed the "little girlfriend" comment. It was one thing to say it to her and another to have it spoken aloud with other family members. Her heart leapt in her chest, even though she tried to quell it a little bit. No use getting too excited.

Despite these thoughts, Cassie laughed as Fred retrieved the chess board and pieces. He placed the pieces on the board and all three watched as they stretched, yawned and dutifully moved to their proper places. Once they were all in place, a number of the pieces looked up at the twins expectantly. Cassie wondered if she could ever play Muggle chess again after watching wizard chess. Not that she was an expert at that either, never having played before Harry introduced her to the game six months ago. She and George sat down across from Fred and watched as he moved first. George wrapped his arm around Cassie as he too made a move. During the next hour, George would frequently ask Cassie for her opinion as he pondered his moves. She usually just grinned and told him to move whichever piece would be the best. However, sometimes she would make what turned out to be very good suggestions. One of her suggestions caused a small stir when the knight began complaining loudly that he would be in danger and George should not trust the judgement of a woman when it came to battle. Cassie reconsidered her thought about not liking Muggle chess. At least Muggle chess pieces don't talk back or insult the players.

As the three played their game, they visited about the twins' magic shop and their Christmas business. Even with the problems with the Death Eaters and in the Ministry of Magic, business was going very well for the twins.

"I think people just need to have some fun, some laughs. People are doing their best to forget about everything going on," Fred mused.

"And we're doing our best to help them forget," George grinned. "We have something for just about every type of person and event."

Well, speaking of that, I have an idea or two for Ginny and Hermione, but I'm at a bit of a loss for Ron and Harry. I was thinking they might want something from your shop."

"Well, whatever you want, we can bring it home to you."

"That's the problem. I don't know what each of them would like. I was thinking maybe I would just take the easy way out and give them each a gift certificate. Do you offer them for about, oh, 10 Galleons each. I probably can't really spend much more than that." For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Cassie looked away from the chess board and into two completely blank stares.

"What do you mean?" George asked.

"You know, a gift certificate - a gift card, something like that." Still silence. "You mean you've never heard of a gift certificate? Well, you are seriously missing out. They're very popular at home. Because they're so great for businesses."

"What are they exactly? Tell us!" Fred started stuffing the pieces back into the box and they complained the entire time, until he put the lid back on. "We're always looking for a new angle."

Some stores, well most stores actually, sell a piece of paper that a person can pay for, say 10 or 20 , and it says that whoever brings the certificate into the store can use it toward buying something. It's a great way for someone to give a gift if they can't figure out exactly what to give. It's like giving cash as a gift. But cash that has to be used for something from your store."

The twins reaction was immediate and energetic. "Wow! People pay money for pieces of paper?!"

"Yeah, but the thought is that later the person will come in and exchange the certificate for merchandise."

"So . . . that sounds great, but how does it help us exactly? I mean, besides being a nice thing to help people who can't decide . . ."

"Well, yes. That's the whole point, isn't it? They may decide to go elsewhere if they can't make their mind up between the . . . fireworks or the candy or the . . . uh, school items. But once they buy the certificate, you're set. Usually you specify that the certificate cannot be exchanged again for cash." Cassie was racking her brain. She remembered reading an article about what stores liked about gift certificates but she couldn't remember all the points. Suddenly she remembered. "Oh, yeah! Okay. Plus, let's say I gave Ron a gift certificate for 10 Galleons. He comes in to exchange it but picks out 15 Galleons worth of merchandise. He is only paying 5 now, so he coughs it up. So you've already made more money than you would have anyway."

Fred nodded, obviously following the logic of that. "But what if he only finds 8 Galleons worth of stuff?"

"Well, you give him the 2 Galleons back, but you haven't lost anything, no matter what." She suddenly remembered another reason stores liked selling gift certificates at Christmas time. "And then, also, there's less drain on your inventory right at Christmas time. People come in to redeem the certificates after Christmas, of course, when you're less stressed about running out of things."

George was nodding now. "That makes perfect sense to me. Plus, we wouldn't have to spend as much time helping people who have no idea about any of our merchandise. We could just direct them to the certificates." Cassie smiled. They both seemed really enthused. Of course, it was too late for this year, but they would almost certainly offer them next. Then, as clearly as though it were written on George's arm laying on the table in front of her, she remembered the final reason stores liked people to buy gift certificates and thought it would certainly appeal to the more devious side of the twins' personalities.

"Plus, I need to tell you the biggest reason you definitely want to sell gift certificates." At the look in Fred's eye, she started to laugh. She could hardly wait to see how excited they were about this. "I think that up to about 30 percent of people who get gift certificates never bother to exchange them. They either lose them or they don't remember by the expiration date or something." It took a moment for that to sink in, but when it did, both their faces broke into identical grins.

"You have got to be kidding me!" George exclaimed. "You mean to tell me that people come in, buy a piece of paper which someone could exchange for merchandise and no one ever bothers to come in to exchange it? It's like making Galleons in the basement!" Cassie nodded enthusiastically. She had done that herself in the past. Someone would give her a gift certificate and she'd forget all about it and find it months later. It would frustrate her, but not really get her mad at the store or the giver of the certificate because it hadn't been their fault after all. Just at herself for being such an idiot.

All three of them sat in silence for a few minutes. "Are you done with the game? That ended rather quickly." Arthur stood up from the easy chair where he had been reading the Daily Prophet.

"I'm really tired, Arthur. I begged off." Cassie stood up next to him. "I think I'll head up to bed." She smiled at everyone, wishing them all a good night, and started up the stairs. She didn't say anything to George, of course, but she had noted that it was now about 9:30. She thought that if she hurried to take her bath and curl her hair, she would still have a few minutes where it was legal to be alone with him. Not that Fred wasn't really fun, because he was, but it wasn't the same.

She happily lit her torch in her room. This had definitely been worth the trip today, just for this. She was tempted to try out her lighter, but decided to wait until she really wanted the lamps lit. By the light of the torch, she gathered her toiletry bag, her new bag of curlers, and her bathrobe. She also picked up George's shirt, grinning to herself. She was heading down the hall into the bathroom when she was grabbed from behind and pulled back against a solid warm body. "Hi."

"Hi. I was hoping I could catch you before you got into the bathroom. Are you going to take another bubble bath?"

"I was planning on it."

"I thought so. I brought you something you can use."

"What is it?" He held out a stoppered glass bottle of a blue liquid. "Okay. Thank you. But what is it?"

"Bubble bath."

"Oh." She flushed slightly. She had kind of been hoping it was the potion for her hair. But she was also embarrassed. He apparently thought she was using too much of Ginny's nice bubble bath. "Thank you. I guess I'll have to replace Ginny's, huh?"

"No . . . I wouldn't bother. She won't mind that you've used it."

"Then why did you give me more?" It was his turn to flush.

"Well . . . I, uh. Boy, this is hard to say. You know how they always say that the sense of smell is the strongest part of memory?"

"Yeah. I remember reading about that somewhere."

"You smell like my little sister. And you're about her size. And. . . . it's been sort of hard to, uh."

"You didn't seem to be complaining last night," she teased as his face turned bright red.

"I can talk myself into knowing it's you. And your hair smells right, but I thought this might help me not keep dreaming about snogging Ginny."

"And that would be good?"

"Yes. Very good." She unscrewed the cap and smiled. It smelled just like her shampoo.

"Um. How did you do that? It smells perfect."

"Hey! I run a joke shop, remember? That was easy."

"I see." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. "Well, I better get in there and give it a try." She really wanted to ask him to wait up for her, but didn't. The bubble bath was nothing like Ginny's, which had produced such nice thick bubbles. This was a little more, uh, lively. It was a thick blue liquid that poured nicely and smelled wonderful. But when the bubbles started forming, it reminded Cassie rather unpleasantly of the Terrible Twins' Tonic she and George had drunk all those months ago. The bubbles popped with little explosions. The noise and lights weren't exactly frightening, but she was a little hesitant to put her foot into the bath. She decided, though, that George would never hurt her or even take a chance of it, so she bravely stuck her foot in the water. She laughed and happily sunk all the way into the tub. Heavenly, that was the only word for it. The small explosions were only on the top of the water and actually invigorated her skin where it touched. After just a few minutes, they settled down and the sudsy bubbles were still heavily present when she drained the tub about 20 minutes later. She dried herself and slipped George's shirt over her head. Very comfortable. She giggled and then pulled her bathrobe over it. She opened the door and looked up and down the hall. She admitted to herself that she was a little disappointed that George hadn't waited. But she spent the next 20 minutes trying to get her hair into the sponge curlers and by the time she was done with that torturous process, she decided that maybe it was all for the best. She was certainly not looking very romantic at the moment. She slipped down the hall into her room and into bed. Sleep came quickly and it wasn't until the battery-powered alarm clock went off at 6:00 a.m. the next morning that she remembered why sponge curlers had gone out of style. They were darn uncomfortable to sleep in.

She stretched and groaned. This was awfully early. Of course, that probably meant the twins weren't up yet so she could have the bathroom first. That would be nice. She wanted to get the curlers out right away. She patted her head experimentally. Her hair felt dry. She opened the bedroom door and peered out, looking to the left and the right before stepping out into the hall. The bathroom door was open and the light was out so she figured she was safe to go in. She was halfway down the hall when she heard a step on the stair. She turned to see who it was and George's smiling face came into view a moment later. She should have run for it, she thought. Too late now, though. George's eyes widened at the sight of her.

"Aaagh!" Then his hand clapped over his mouth like he couldn't believe he had been so stupid as to vocalize his thoughts. "What have you done to your hair? Please tell me that's not a popular Muggle hairstyle, because no offense, but it's horrible."

Cassie pursed her lips and forced down the hot flush of embarrassment that was threatening to wash over her face. "I haven't done anything. They're curlers. When I take them out, my hair will be curly. Well, hopefully. Haven't worn them for years."

"Why start now?"

"Thanks. I appreciate your thoughtfulness." She hoped he picked up on the sarcasm in her tone. "It has something to do with the fact that you have no such thing as electricity. My hot rollers and curling iron refuse to work without it. So, aside from braiding it, I can't curl it. Ginny curled it for me at Hogwarts but I figured no one here would do it for me." She looked George square in the eye, daring him to offer to do it. Of course, he didn't.

"Oh. Does it really work?"

"Yeah. It should." He leaned back against the wall, grinning at her.

"I'll wait." She hurried into the bathroom and started pulling the curlers out of her hair. A few moments later he was standing in the open door, watching with interest as she took them out as quickly as she could. "It looks like it's working." She nodded. "Did you like the bubble bath last night?"

"It was wonderful. At first, I was a little nervous, but then it was very nice. Do you sell it?" He shook his head, watching with unabashed fascination as she finished taking the curlers out. "You should. It made for a really nice bath."

"I made it up just for you. I'm not sure I could do it again." Cassie's eyes opened in surprise.

"You . . . what did you say?"

"I said I made it just for you." She pulled the last curler out of her hair and groaned as the curl flopped in front of her face. She pushed it back behind her ear and hugged him, not daring to kiss him first thing in the morning. She hadn't brushed her teeth yet or anything. His hands threaded through the curls. "These are nice. I do remember your hair was curly when I first met you. Curly and blond."

"Thank you. I'm going to go help Molly with breakfast. See you in a few minutes." She ran to her bedroom and threw on some clothes, listening with one ear to the sound of the running water. Molly was happy to have her help this morning as she was desperately trying to finish the last of the knitting and turned the entire meal over to her. She made oatmeal and set out some honey and brown sugar to go on it. George and Fred descended the steps about 20 minutes after she had and they sat down to breakfast while she ran upstairs to finish her morning absolutions. Feeling much more presentable, she sat down with everyone else for breakfast and helped Molly clean up after all three of the men had left.

Molly and she got right to work filling out order forms and mailing them off with the family owl, who looked overwhelmed at the amount of gold he was carrying . Cassie was really getting concerned about making sure things came back in time for Christmas. Molly kept assuring her things were still fine, but she was anxious to get the actual ordering process underway.

As they were finishing up the orders for Christms, talk seemed to turn naturally to the next big event after Christmas, Bill and Fleur's wedding.

They spent the rest of the morning, as the knitting needles finished the last sleeve on Ron's maroon sweater, looking through the things Molly was assembling for the wedding. "Of course, it is mainly her parents' responsibility to take care of most of the wedding, but they are so far away that much of it is falling to me." Cassie was dying to see a picture of Bill's fiancee. Molly again talked about how pretty she was, again mentioning that she was part Veela (which Cassie still didn't understand) and again saying how happy she made Bill. Cassie smiled calmly, trying not to take too much of what Molly said personally. They were getting along really well and Molly even agreed with a few of her suggestions for the flowers. Lunch was a quick affair, with both of them studying bridal magazines as they ate. Molly was worried about getting dresses done for the bridesmaids on time and Cassie thought that was a legitimate cause for concern. They now had only about two months which would be time for a major panic attack if this were a Muggle wedding. But it wasn't and apparently the robe-makers typically didn't take too long once the things were ordered. Cassie had just slipped the last magically dried dish into the cupboard when two loud pops echoed in the kitchen.

Molly whirled to face the newcomers. "Oh, no! What's wrong!" George took a deep breath. "We're not sure. We really need to talk to Dad."