The Decoration of the Tree, Part Two
"Fleur! Do you have the presents?" Bill called as he straightened his dark green robes.
"Yes! Zey are by ze couch!" she replied from the bathroom as she applied Quick-Dry charms to her hair. "'Ave you seen my red robes?"
"In the closet, I guess," Bill responded as he tied back his hair. "We need to leave as soon as you get dressed, otherwise there won't be any food left by the time we get to the Burrow."
"Yes, yes," Fleur replied flightily, now wrapped in only a towel. "Where are zey, 'onestly, I don't know 'ow my robes - Ah!" She triumphantly found them in her packed closet.
Bill grinned to himself, admiring her curves as she changed into her clothes. He turned back to the dresser and started looking for his earring.
"Don't wear ze fang, Bill."
"What? Why not?" he demanded. "I thought you liked it."
"I love it," Fleur purred. "But your muzzer doesn't."
"So?" Bill was slightly put out.
"Eet's Noël, Bill." Fleur pulled her hair out of the collar of her robes.
Bill rolled his eyes. "Well, I can't find it anyway, and we've gotta go." Bill walked into the living room and picked up a stack of presents. "Are you sure you feel up to Apparating?" he asked Fleur, concerned.
"Yes, yes! 'Ow many times 'ave I told you this!" Fleur flounced out the door, holding a bag full of gifts.
Bill followed her, locking the door behind him. He wasn't going to admit it, but he dearly hoped his mum had at least gotten something for Fleur this year, even if it wasn't actually a Weasley sweater. He remembered the outburst from the previous year, and remembered the sulking fits Fleur had gone into for weeks afterwards.
Fleur had stopped at the Apparition Point and smiled brilliantly at him. Bill smiled back, fighting the urge to drop everything and ravish her right there, right then. They held hands and Disapparated...
And Apparated right in the middle of the dining area, which had been magically stretched to accomodate the large number of people. Fleur dropped her bag of presents and put her hands over her mouth. She ran upstairs, toward the bathroom.
"Is Fleur ill?" Molly asked anxiously, as the rest of the table continued their chattering, barely noticing the small pops that had announced Bill's and Fleur's arrival.
"No, lately she's just been getting sick when Apparating. We should've Flooed," Bill replied, glancing up after Fleur. "Listen, let me drop these by the tree and run up after her." Without waiting for a reply, he deposited all the presents under the tree, waved in response to the chorus of greetings, and said he'd be right back.
Bill climbed the stairs to the sound of Fleur retching into the toilet. He opened the door to behold the sight of Fleur crying and his mum smoothing her hair back and moistening Fleur's forehead with a wet cloth. "Shh," she murmured. "It's all right, love."
"I am so sorry," Fleur sobbed, and then retched again. She was quiet for a few minutes and then Bill entered the bathroom quietly and took the cloth from Molly. He lay it on the back of Fleur's neck and kissed the top of her head.
"Is that all?" Molly asked gently.
Fleur nodded miserably. "I am vair sorry."
"Don't worry about it." With a quick Evanesco, the toilet bowl was cleaned, and Molly left. "We'll save some for you," she said quietly to Bill.
He nodded and turned back to his wife. "Are you okay?"
"Non," Fleur whispered, starting to cry again. "I am ruining Christmas."
"No, no, you're not," Bill whispered soothingly. "Besides, once they hear our good news, they won't care."
Fleur sniffled. "Are we going to tell them tonight?"
"Do you want to?"
"Do you want to?"
They both laughed a little. "I'm all right with telling them tonight," Bill assured her. "But it's up to you."
"Let's tell them tonight, after all ze presents are opened."
"Okay. Let's get you cleaned up." Bill helped her to her feet, and Conjured a small glass to rinse out her mouth with. Fleur swished water around and then did a Breath-Freshening Charm on her mouth, and swallowed another glass of water. "Ready?"
Fleur nodded determinedly. "Oui."
They reentered the dining area, smiling sheepishly. Everyone greeted them with friendly smiles, though, and then returned to their previous conversations. Fleur seemed relieved that no one made a big deal or asked questions about her... incident. She sat next to Tonks, and Bill sat opposite her, next to Remus.
"How are you, sir?" Bill asked Remus as Molly sat a full plate in front of him.
"Quite well, Bill," Remus smiled. "And yourself?"
Tonks smiled cautiously at Fleur, while Fleur smiled outright. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ronald drop his fork and Hermione kicked him. Tonks turned her head and then grinned back at Fleur.
That broke the ice. "'Ow are you?" Fleur asked politely.
"Oh, I'm all right, thanks. My parents are in South Africa right now, so I decided to spend Christmas with Remus, and Remus decided to spend Christmas with the Weasleys, so..." Tonks chuckled.
"South Africa? Whatever for?"
Dinner continued for an hour, with people talking and laughing and shrieking, in the case of Ginny when Fred slipped a Father Christmas Beard Roll in her food, causing her to sprout a four-foot long beard.
"Enough!" Molly said, smiling amongst the shouts of laughter.
"Presents!" Arthur cut in, chuckling.
That distracted everyone quickly enough; from Arthur to Ginny, everyone made a beeline for the living room, and Ron began handing out presents. "Fleur!" he yelled, tossing one her way. "George! Charlie! Harry! Dad! Gin! Hermione! Bill! Professor! Tonks! Oooh, me! Fred!" and so on it went until everyone had a huge stack of gifts and they all began ripping into them, laughing and shrieking in glee.
Bill watched Fleur rip open one of her presents, and then gasp in delight. It was a soft purple sweater with a white F in the middle of it.
Fleur's eyes welled up slightly, but she blinked it away and smiled hugely at Mrs Weasley, who, Bill saw, had been watching with anticipation. Fleur slipped the sweater on over her robes, just as George and Charlie had already done, and continued opening her presents.
About an hour later, when everyone had finished opening presents, thanking the givers and had begun to settle back and sit quietly (for Weasleys, anyway), Bill and Fleur looked at each other. He raised his eyebrows and she nodded, smiling shyly.
Bill cleared his throat. "Well, guys, Fleur and I better get going, but before we go-"
"We 'ave a surprise for you!" Fleur said happily.
Molly leaned forward slightly in her chair, and Bill could see her mind click things together, and she began to grin.
"We're going to have a baby!" Bill burst out, with a thrilling laugh.
Ginny sat up straight. "Really?" she squealed. "Excellent!"
All at once, everyone leapt up and was hugging Fleur, slapping Bill on the back, and congratulating them both, and Molly was sobbing happily, and Fred and George were smirking at Bill, and Fleur laughed exuberantly.
"Is it a girl?" Ginny shouted over the din.
"Are you mad, it's a boy, definitely a boy," Charlie said teasingly.
"Well, actually..." Bill said, looking at Fleur.
"Eet's twins; one boy and one girl," she said, giggling.
A roar of laughter filled the Weasley house and Bill and Fleur smiled at each other and held hands in the middle of the noise and the laughter and neither one could think of a place they'd rather be.
Aw, I liked writing this chapter. I hope you enjoyed reading it!
Next chapter tomorrow: A Bill/Fleur only interlude.
Please review! I so love getting them, they make me feel all squishy inside.