Chapter 28

Finally came Wednesday, giving everyone a break from their wedding related activities. There was still no word from Percy; everyone was beginning to think that he wasn't going to show up, not that they wanted him to. He had a talent for putting a damper on people's spirits, except for Fred and George who were always in high spirits.

Ginny was in a bad mood after waking up from another dream that included the former 'twitchy little ferret', as Hermione had once called everyone's favorite Malfoy. She did not want to think about him, it hurt too much. She felt so fooled. For a split second she thought he actually could act human, but she was wrong and only ended up embarrassing herself.

Hoping that her family would be able to distract her from this mess, she joined them early on in the living room. Everyone was talking animatedly about this, that, and the other thing, and Ginny made remarks here and there. Fred and George were sitting near her, and she began discussing with them their business. She was proud of her brothers, and over all the Weasley family had been lucky when it came to everyone's careers.

"You wouldn't believe how many people are throwing themselves at us, willing to test our new products," George said to her.

Then Fred added with a wink. "Especially the students of Hogwarts, who happen to be our biggest customers."

"Well," Ginny confidently replied to the twins, without one ounce of surprise. "You two are a legend there."

"And I hear that Filch finds himself quite busy these days," George continued. "Always finding more things to confiscate."

"Yes that he would," Ginny stated. She detested Filch because he can caused her hell in her last year at school. "He still holds quite a grudge against you two. In my sixth year he gave me two weeks of detention because he ate one of the Canary Creams that you sent me."

"I remember that," Ron said, joining in the conversation. "Mum sent you an Howler when she found out about it."

Meanwhile Mr. Weasley was chatting away with Hermione's father. He was simply fascinated with the objects in the Granger household. "So what exactly do you use that for?" he asked, pointing to what the Muggles call a remote.

Mr. Granger looked at him like he was crazy, but kindly replied, "To change the channel on the television. It's handy for when you don't want to get up and manually do it."

"Clever," Arthur responded, marveling at how Muggles can get along without using magic. They sure were resourceful.

It is at times like these that a disturbance is sometimes inevitable, and almost always distracting. At the sound of a thud coming from the fireplace everyone turned their heads to see who the new arrival was. Knowing how big the Weasley family was it could have been anyone. For a second the room became silent and people forgot what they were talking about.

A person emerged from the fireplace, and muttered a spell to clean themselve off. Looking up to see that everyone was looking at him, he stated in a self-important manner, "Sorry I am late, I got caught up with some work at the Ministry."

"Oh great," Fred commented to George. "Pinhead is here."

They had coined that nickname, which only added to the number of ones Percy had, from when they put a charm on his prefect badge to say Pinhead. It was fun to give Percy these nicknames because of how irritated he would get. He, of course, did not hear Fred's little comment and entered the room, walking straight past his father without a word and receiving a hug from his mother.

That night the large group went to a restaurant that Mrs. Granger picked out and made reservations for. It specialized in Italian food, and Hermione commented on how this was the same restaurant where her father proposed to her mother. It was a large and fancy establishment, which allowed people to reserve rooms for events such as this one. The group, being as large as it was, had to set at three tables that were lined up to form one large one and received their own room. They sat clockwise in this order: Mrs. Granger, Hermione, Ron, Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, Mr. Granger, Harry, Ginny, Fred, George, Fleur, Bill, Charlie, and Percy.

Charlie captivated everyone with his story about a recent dragon he worked with, and then Percy began talking about how he loved working for Fudge. Everyone kept their comments to themselves as the Weasley family was still trying to make amends with him. He still seemed upset about his parents past suggestion of Fudge wanting a spy in their family, but for some reason forgave his mother. He did not speak to his father or Harry and gave up trying to get Ron to stop hanging around Harry.

Harry and Ginny had their own little conversations pertaining to Quidditch and old memories. Somehow Malfoy was brought up and Ginny quickly changed the topic so that she wouldn't have to think about him. Harry didn't seem to mind; there was no point for him to talk about his former enemy who he hadn't seen since his days at Hogwarts.

Hermione and her mother were talking about the news Mrs. Granger heard relating to some of Hermione's relatives. One of her cousins couldn't make the wedding because he was stuck in the Americas for the time being. Apparently where he was there was a Hurricane and all the flights leaving that town were canceled.

Mrs. Weasley was telling Ron about her confrontation with the ghoul that lives in their attic at the Burrow, and how when she went up there to get something it threw a book at her head. She narrowly missed it, and after the book hit the wall behind her it landed on its spine and opened to a random page. The book seemed to be a text that had long been forgotten, entitled Death Omens: What To Do When You Know The Worst Is Coming, which reminded her of their relative Bilius.

Mr. Weasley was still discussing Muggle objects with Mr. Granger, who didn't seem to mind. Thinking back to the old Ford Anglia that went missing several years ago, he asked his soon to be in-law what brand of car he drove. After Mr. Granger answered he responded with, "Really. I used to have a Ford Anglia myself."

Fred and George were talking to Fleur and Bill about some of their products that were still being tested. That included Laughter Lozenges, which when taken caused the person to laugh uncontrollably. The problem with them was that they kept laughing until they took the cure for it, which was a nasty tasting serum. Also they told them about their Gravity Gum that caused the chewer to float, but the effects wore off in two minutes or less.

After everyone was satisfied with their dinner, they returned to the Granger house to have coffee and tea. It seemed as though everyone could go on talking forever, and that was what they did continue doing for the following three hours. They filled up the kitchen and the living room. Fred and George left the kitchen, and went in search of their brother Percy, who was standing in the corner of the living room. They joined him and began talking, while everyone else was off in their own conversations.

"We wanted to make peace with you," Fred said to Percy, who was standing between the twins.

George continued with, "You are our brother after all."

"And so," Fred concluded, taking something out of his bag. "We brought you this. It's a pastry from Honeydukes."

"We stopped there on the way, seeing as our shop is near there," George explained. "We also have some things for mum and dad, but we thought that you would like this."

Percy gave them both distrustful looks, and even shot the pastry a doubtful glance, but after much insistence he took the pasty and thanked them. He seemed unsure of whether to trust his own brothers or not. After a couple minutes he finally took a bite. He must have liked the taste, because soon the whole thing was gone.

"What did you think?" Fred asked him as he swallowed his last bite.

Percy swallowed and then replied with his same stern expression, "It was acceptable."

George gave him a small slap on the back and responded, "We knew you would like it."

The twins winked at each other and then looked back at their brother. Percy's face became flushed, and he began making strange noises. "Moooooooooo! Mooooooooo!"

"Something wrong Perce?" asked Fred inconspicuously.

Everyone's attention was turned to Percy, who was slowly transforming into a cow. In a matter of minutes a black and white cow was mooing continuously in the spot where Percy once stood. Mrs. Weasley walked over, obviously angered, and scolded them. "What did you two do this time?"

"Nothing mum," George answered his mother in a loving and innocent voice. "We just gave him a pastry."

She sighed, apparently tired of scolding them for their constant pranks. She never agreed with their dream of opening a joke shop, and there was not much she could do now that Percy ate the pastry. "Not another one of those silly products of yours."

"Don't worry," Fred told her comfortingly. "It should wear off in a couple minutes."

He was right, for in about one or two minutes Percy was back to himself, the cow's tail was still there though for a couple more minutes, and this time he was fuming. His face was red, and he turned to his brothers with distaste. "You tricked me!"

They laughed, and then replied amiably, "It was only some brotherly love."

Percy snorted and Ginny, Harry, and even Ron were fighting back laughs. Everyone knew that Fred and George's pranks were lighthearted and not meant to be taken seriously. Percy appeared to be holding a grudge, but how long could he stay mad at his two brothers for? The twins were confident that he would get over it eventually.

Everybody went to bed early, at the request of Hermione, so that they would be fully rested for the wedding that was finally arriving. The past few days had flown by and Ginny couldn't believe that she was hours away from getting a sister. It was funny when you thought about it that the once awkward Ron would be the first one of her brothers to be married, she had always thought that Bill or Charlie would have beaten him to it. With this last thought she fell into a deep slumber.

A/N: Thanks to my reviewers! You are too kind. The whole last scene didn't really have any importance, but I had to do it. Hehehe, I'm evil like that. Anyway, I'll update as soon I get some reviews for this chapter. The next chapter (the moment you have all been waiting for) will probably be up tomorrow, seeing as I already have some of it written.

Please review!

I feel like reviewing my reviewers, so here goes:

ShadowVixen90- Thank you. :-) I think I am going to write the sequel because I see so much more for our couple, you know? Anyway, thanks for the review, I'm glad you like the story so far.

Draco & Ginny Forever- Thanks for all of your reviews. In chapter 16 it says that he stops reading around number twelve, so no he didn't read any of the good things she wrote about him.

Catmint- Thanks, I wanted Ginny to give Hermione something thoughtful and I just pictured the snow globe in my mind.

hannah- Thanks, I'm glad you like it.

numbluver- Thanks for the review. I'm not sure about the epilogue, but there will most likely be a sequel.

And to all who are about to review or reviewed after I updated, THANKS!