A/N: Welcome back. Thanks for sticking around. As a reward, here's a nice long chapter from the boys' POV. First half is from Christopher's POV. The second half is all Georgie. This takes place about two weeks after the last chapter. Enjoy and pretty please review!


Christopher glanced guiltily over at the bowl of cold beef stew on his desk. Marta had brought it up over an hour ago and ordered him to eat it. She'd be back up soon and he actually was hungry now. He took his wand out of his top drawer and waved it over the stew. It began to gently bubble and steam.

For once Christopher hadn't been distracted by work. A letter from Alicia was spread out on the desk in front of him. It had arrived a few hours ago and he'd already read it about half a dozen times, trying to reconcile his feelings about its contents.

Christopher,

I wanted to let you know that I'll be taking Jake to a Quidditch game tomorrow. Angelina got a bunch of us tickets in the players' box for her match against the Wasps. The thing is, George will be there as well and it's the first time Jake will be meeting him. I won't tell Jake that we're a couple yet and I'd appreciate you keeping it to yourself as well. I'll tell him when the time is right.

Anyway. I'm not asking for your opinion or your approval, I just thought you should be kept in the loop. Jake is sure to talk about it when he sees you tomorrow night and I didn't want you to be caught off guard.

That's all I needed to say.

Alicia.

Christopher hadn't known this was the plan when he'd agreed to let Alicia have Jake on what was supposed to be his Saturday visit. It hadn't escaped his notice either that she'd left it till the last minute to tell him about the match. There was no way he could stop it happening now without upsetting Jake. That woman claimed to be Gryffindor to the bone, but Christopher had always been able to spot her Slytherin tendencies. Yeah, so maybe he was the only person who brought out that side of her, but that was hardly his fault.

So tomorrow Jake would be spending all day with Weasley (and God knows who else) and there was nothing Christopher could do about it. At first he had contemplated writing a strongly worded letter in response, but that wouldn't do any good. Alicia was going to do what she was going to do regardless of his feelings. The more he protested, the more she would make his life difficult.

Christopher was startled by a sharp knock on the door. He reflexively scrunched up the letter and shoved it in a drawer. He dragged the bowl of stew in front of himself and hurriedly ate a mouthful. But it was still too hot and all he managed to do was burn the inside of his mouth.

He was a grown man and he was scared of his little old housekeeper. What the fuck was wrong with him?

"Come in."

Marta opened the door and stood hesitantly in the hallway. Her face was pale and her hands were twisted in her apron. Christopher immediately stood up and came around to the front of his desk. "What's wrong, Marta?"

"She just showed up out of nowhere. I tried to tell her you weren't home but I was nervous and she could tell I was lying. She's waiting downstairs. I'm sorry, Christopher."

He didn't need to ask who she was. The look on Marta's face said it all. Well, this meeting was going to have to take place eventually. Probably better to get it over and done with. "It's all right. I guess I can spare the woman a few minutes of my time. She did give birth to me after all."

"So you'll come down to see her?"

"No. Bring her up here so she knows I'm not going to drop everything I'm doing just because she deigned to show up at my house."

"Oh dear. Are you sure about this?"

"It's fine," Christopher replied firmly. "I'm a big boy now."

Marta looked unconvinced but dutifully nodded and scurried off to retrieve his mother. Christopher immediately made his way over to the drinks cart. He didn't drink alcohol often but it seemed like the appropriate time to open the bottle of fifteen-year-old scotch he'd been given by one of the executives at his firm.

He was just returning to his spot behind his desk when Marta reappeared. He slowly regarded the slender witch who entered the room with her. Cristina Warrington was still a beautiful woman even though she was now approaching sixty. In fact, she didn't appear to have aged much at all in the three or so years since he'd seen her.

Christopher had inherited his darker features from her. Her parents were of Spanish birth but she herself had been born and raised in Blackpool. Despite her decidedly English upbringing, she still put on an exaggerated Spanish accent when she spoke certain words. It irritated the hell out of him.

"Christopher, darling."

He stood obligingly then bent his head so she could kiss him on each cheek. "Hello, Mother."

"Shall I bring some tea up for you?" Marta asked from the doorway.

His mother waved her hand dismissively and said, "No. Leave us."

Marta didn't move and Christopher smiled wryly. "She works solely for me now, remember. You can't just send her away anymore." He turned to his housekeeper. "We're fine here. You can head home for the night."

Marta smiled gratefully and ducked back out into the hallway. Christopher couldn't blame her for not wanting to be in that room any longer. His mother hadn't really shown up on a whim; she always had an agenda of some sort.

"You look well," he said conversationally.

She laughed and tossed her long, dark brown hair over her shoulder. "Ah, it is all an illusion with me, darling. But you are even more handsome every time I see you."

"How did you find out where I'm living?"

"Oh, I still have some friends at the Ministry. Someone told me you had connected your fireplace to the Floo Network."

"So much for confidentiality."

"Then imagine the shock I received when I found out you have been back in England for months," she continued. "You couldn't spare an hour to come and visit your poor mother?"

Christopher grabbed his scotch and took a steadying sip. He could feel his ire spiking already which wasn't a good sign. "So we're just going to pretend none of that business happened five years ago?"

His mother raised her chin defiantly. "I cut you off for your own good. Obviously I did the right thing. Look at you now! You live in an atrocious Muggle house but you clearly have money of your own. That wouldn't have happened without my little push."

Christopher slammed his glass down on the desk, causing his mother to flinch. "What are you talking about? You almost ruined me! I'd have been destitute in a matter of months if Alicia hadn't helped me blend into the Muggle world."

"You think she's responsible for your success? That Gryffindor Mudblood!"

Christopher pointed his finger warningly. "She's half-blood and you know it."

"I thought you'd come to your senses once you ran out of money. I was trying to exercise tough love with you, Christopher. I never wanted to push you away," she insisted, clutching at his forearm imploringly.

"No, you wanted me to abandon my child."

"I wanted to keep the Warrington bloodline pure!"

"Not this rubbish again. My great-grandfather was a half-blood, for Merlin's sake. No family is totally pure anymore and anyone keeping up that pretence is delusional to say the least."

Christopher shook his head and willed himself to calm down. Why did he always revert to being a petulant teenager around his mother? He was a grown man living in his own house now and he had his own child to concern himself with. Time to take charge of the situation.

"Mother, we both know you're not just here to have a friendly chat. What do you want from me?"

She simply patted his cheek then wandered over to the drinks cart. "Your sister is doing well, thank you for asking."

"I don't care. Once again, what do you want from me?"

His mother poured herself a sherry then went to sit on the cream leather sofa. "I don't want anything from you, darling. I'm here to help you of course."

"Of course," Christopher muttered bitterly. "And what exactly would I be needing help with?"

"This awful situation you've gotten yourself into with the Gryffindor needs to be resolved immediately. I'm going to help you get sole custody of the child."

Christopher sighed and rubbed his forehead. "The child has a name and Alicia and I have a custody arrangement in place already. You're a little late to that party, Mother."

She suddenly reached out and slammed her own glass down on the coffee table. "Don't be flippant! This is a serious matter. I heard the rumours going around the Ministry and I will not have my grandson being raised by a Weasley!"

"He's being raised by Alicia and myself. No one else."

"Do you know how bad this looks? I've already seen people whispering behind their hands as I walk past. I will not be made a fool of in front of my oldest friends." His mother stood up and put her hands on her hips. "I've already retained a solicitor for you. He says it won't be easy but it's possible you can gain sole custody if we prove she's an unfit mother. I'm sure you can make up some story about seeing her abuse Muggle drugs."

Christopher laughed and shook his head. "You're insane, you know that? Completely fucking insane."

"Christopher!"

He went to stand right in front of her. He glowered down at her and was pleased to see her shirk away slightly. "I couldn't care less about your reputation. This doesn't even concern you."

"You're choosing her over me again. Your own mother! Your father and I didn't raise you to be so disloyal to your own family."

"You really want to talk about loyalty? Father was loyal to Voldemort and no one else. He slept around behind your back every chance he got. And you were no better," he added quickly, cutting off the beginning of her protest. "But your jealousy is misplaced because I'm not loyal to Alicia either. I tolerate her for my son's sake because he is my only priority. I'll do anything to make him happy so if that means making nice with his mother then I'm going to keep the peace from now on."

"And in the meantime you ruin the Warrington family name within our community. How dare you," his mother hissed.

Christopher sighed loudly. He suddenly felt old and tired. They'd had this same conversation many times since his father's death and the fact that his mother still insisted that their family was important in the wizarding world was vexing. Their name was maligned long before he procreated with the enemy. At the end of the day, the Warringtons weren't as pure-blooded as the Flints or Malfoys and they didn't have as much money as some of the other families with mixed blood. On the Slytherin hierarchy they sat somewhere around the middle and there was nowhere to go but down.

"Our name hasn't carried any weight for a long time," he replied flatly. "Father was a sycophant who threw most of our money at Voldemort and got nothing in return. Charlotte's barren, has been married twice, and is now hunting around for her third victim. Then there's you prancing around with your nose in the air as if you're Slytherin royalty. Our family is a joke to them. They keep you around to laugh at you behind your back."

His mother just rolled her eyes and tutted. "And you're blameless as usual?"

Christopher shrugged and swirled his drink slowly. "Sure, I probably hammered the final nail into the coffin when I fucked a Gryffindor, but our family was already a laughing stock long before then."

His mother stood up and walked over to him. She took his free hand between her own and looked up at him pleadingly. "And don't you see you're the only one who can fix this? If you re-enter our social circle as the handsome, successful man you are now it will turn heads. Bring your son with you so everyone can see you're bringing him up to be one of us." She reached up to cup his cheek gently. "Escort me to the Malfoy's banquet next month. Please, Christopher?"

"Not a chance," he answered immediately. "All of you worked together in a concerted effort to exile me and destroy the career I was trying to build. I want nothing to do with any of you and I certainly won't be letting my son near you."

For a second Christopher thought his mother was going to slap him. Her eyes became as cold as ice and her lips contorted into a nasty sneer. "You are no son of mine, you ungrateful, heartless wretch."

Christopher smirked. "Watch your language, Mother."

"I will not extend another olive branch to you. I'm officially done with you."

Before Christopher could say anything further, his mother Disapparated and he finally let out a relieved breath. No doubt she would show up again wanting money or help or access to Jake but for the moment he was rid of her. Maybe one day he would see fit to reconcile with her but he couldn't ever expose Jake to her. He wanted his son to grow up free from the malevolent cesspool he himself had been raised in.

But at the same time he didn't want Jake raised amongst the ginger cesspool that was the Weasley family. His mother's words had hit a nerve. What if Jake began to see Weasley as a father-figure? What would he be willing to do to avoid that?

Christopher was agitated. Alicia's letter combined with his mother's visit had him on edge. He briefly contemplating throwing himself on the sofa and making a real dent in the bottle of scotch he'd opened. Except he wasn't much of a drinker usually, so it'd hit him hard. The thought of spending the night alone in his big empty house drinking himself into a stupor was downright depressing. He wasn't old and feeble yet. Surely he could come up with a better way to blow off steam.

He opened one of the drawers on his desk and fished out a Muggle mobile phone. With practiced ease he unlocked it and began to scroll through the list of contacts. So this was also slightly depressing but at least he wasn't reduced to paying for sex like his father had done for years. It was coming up on eight o'clock though and a lot of the women he was scrolling past would already have plans for the night.

His eyes settled on the name Nicole. Certainly not the best looking woman he'd ever been with. She was always free though and more importantly she was a little in awe of him and very eager to please. Christopher decided he could use an ego boost after being emasculated over and over again by Alicia recently. He pressed the call button and wasn't at all surprised when Nicole picked up after only two rings.


"Can you calm down a bit, mate?"

"You mean me?"

"Of course I mean you! You're bouncing your leg and shaking my seat. I'm gonna end up with a lapful of Butterbeer."

George froze. He hadn't even been aware of the leg bouncing situation. "Sorry," he muttered to Fred. "I think I might be a bit nervous."

"Yeah, you think? Just bloody sit still and stop fidgeting because they'll be here any minute," Fred said.

George looked at his watch then at the two empty seats beside him. The match was due to start in twenty minutes and Alicia had promised to arrive early so she could properly introduce Jake to everyone. The Arrows were playing their last home game of the season against the Wasps, their bitter rivals for centuries. The match was a sell-out and the stadium was filling up fast. The excited atmosphere was only adding to George's restlessness.

They were seated high up in the Arrows players' box. George and Fred were in the front row and right behind them sat Harry, Ron, Ginny and Katie. At first George hadn't liked the idea of meeting Jake with everyone else around but Alicia had explained it would be better this way. The idea was to take it slowly and only introduce George as a friend to begin with.

Even though that's kind of all there was to it so far. It was now three weeks since their reunion and he and Alicia had only been on one measly date and it hadn't exactly been a roaring success. The café they'd gone to for lunch had been noisy and crowded and their conversation throughout had been awkward and stilted. A second date had been planned the following week but Jake caught a stomach bug and Alicia ended up having to stay at home with him.

All in all, not a great start to a relationship. The weird transition from almost shagging in a storeroom to uncomfortably talking about the weather over coffee had been jarring to say the least. George knew he sucked at relationships, particularly at the very beginning, but he'd hoped things would be easier with Alicia. Like maybe some instinct would kick in and he'd be able to stop second guessing himself at every step.

The mention of a familiar name made George snap back to attention. He turned around and glared at his siblings. "What are you two talking about back there?"

"Ginny asked me about Warrington," Ron answered.

"What about him?"

Ginny shrugged. "Everything, I suppose. What do we really know about him? Can he even be trusted?"

"Of course not," was Fred's immediate response.

Harry cleared his throat and pushed his glasses higher onto the bridge of his nose. "Don't kill me, George, but I already took the liberty of checking up on Warrington."

"What the hell for?" George demanded. "If Magical Law Enforcement suddenly gets on his case he's going to know it's because of me and he's going to take it out on Alicia."

"It's not a department-wide investigation or anything. I did my own discreet questioning of a few prisoners at Azkaban last time I was there," Harry said. "Warrington senior was a confirmed Death Eater but he never managed to recruit his son. Not through lack of trying by the sound of it."

Ron made a disgusted noise and shook his head. "I don't even understand what Alicia was thinking getting involved with him in the first place. Aside from being an evil Slytherin wanker, Warrington looks like a pimply stick insect."

Katie stopped chewing on her liquorice wand long enough to say, "Not anymore. He's supposedly really fit now."

"I saw him briefly at the shop the other week. I gotta say, evil wanker or not, he wears a suit well. I get the appeal."

"Gross, Ginny, take that back," Fred insisted.

George turned back around and the rest of the conversation became white noise to him. How the hell was he supposed to stop fixating on Warrington when everyone around him was seemingly obsessed with him?

George's leg began to bounce of its own accord again. He had this irrational fear that Jake was instantly going to hate him because of some deep-seated genetic predisposition passed on from Warrington. The flip side of that was even more troubling. What if George couldn't stand Jake because he was too similar to his dad?

Fred nudged him sharply. "Stop it with the leg already. I can see Alicia and Jake coming up the stairs."

George slapped his hand onto his knees and craned his neck. He spotted Alicia first. She was wearing denim shorts and an Arrows t-shirt featuring Angelina's name and number across the front of it. Her long hair was loose and blowing in the slight breeze. The sight of her was enough to relieve half of his anxiety. The other half melted away when she looked up and flashed him a bright smile.

The wizard standing by the entrance to the box checked Alicia's pass then let her in. George's eyes slid to the small figure following along behind and his heart sank for a moment. The boy looked a lot like Warrington. His chocolate brown eyes were darting everywhere, seemingly trying to take in everything at once. His matching brown hair was thick and curled slightly at the ends.

Jake half hid behind his mum as she stopped beside their vacant seats.

"Looks like we made it just in time, Jakey," Alicia said. "I'm going to say hello to my friends, okay. You can sit down if you want."

Jake shook his head and stuck to her back like glue so Alicia manoeuvred the two of them around so she could pull Harry into a warm hug. She stepped back and held him at arm's length for a moment. "You're a sight for sore eyes, Harry."

George thought her voice sounded a little wobbly and he realised this was probably the first time she'd seen Harry since the Battle of Hogwarts. He had to stop himself reaching out and taking hold of her hand to comfort her. Harry seemed to get it as well because he immediately gave Alicia another hug and said, "It's good to have you back with us."

Alicia dabbed at her eyes quickly and turned to Ron next. "My God, Ron, look at you. You must be six foot tall!"

"Six foot one," Ron replied proudly, causing pretty much everyone else to roll their eyes. "It's good to see you, Alicia."

They only shared a quick hug before Ginny seized Alicia's arm and tugged her away. "Hands off her, Ron. You look so good," Ginny enthused, looking Alicia up and down. "France did wonders for you. I'm so glad you're back though."

"Thanks. I heard about the baby and your secret's safe with me. Congratulations, guys," Alicia said quietly and kissed Ginny on the cheek.

"Thanks for being discreet," Ginny said, glancing down at her stomach, which was currently obscured by a set of flowing Arrows robes. "I'm almost halfway and no one has caught on yet. I want to give it another month or two."

As Alicia moved on to hug and kiss Katie, Fred leaned over to whisper in George's ear. "Jake looks a lot like his dad, huh?"

George nodded. Jake had relinquished his grip on Alicia and was now standing in front of Harry and staring up at him, clearly in awe.

Harry crouched down and held his hand out. "Hi. Your name is Jake, right?"

The boy nodded and shook Harry's hand. "You're Harry Potter."

"That's right."

"He knows all about you," Alicia said with a smile as she came to stand beside Jake.

"You played Seeker for Gryffindor with my mum," Jake said. "You caught the Snitch seven times. You even got to be captain. My mum told me you caught the Snitch in your mouth one time, is that for real?"

"Yes and it wasn't very tasty, let me tell you."

Jake giggled and George was pleased to see he at least shared Alicia's dimpled smile.

"And what else did Harry do?" Alicia prompted. Jake looked up at her blankly and shrugged. "Remember all the brave stuff Harry did? I swear I told him you've done more than just play Quidditch," Alicia said, looking embarrassed. "He knows you saved the world and all that. He just really fixates on Quidditch."

Harry grinned and ruffled Jake's hair. "Being known only for my Quidditch skills suits me just fine."

Jake then amused everyone by telling Ron exactly how many goals he let in during his time as Keeper, then informing him sombrely that Oliver Wood was much better him. Jake also knew how many goals both Ginny and Katie scored in their time playing at school.

George's heart was beating faster than normal when Alicia steered Jake back around to the front row to make the final introductions. He was aware that everyone was looking on intently, which only made him more nervous. But he was good with kids and they always liked him so all he had to do was pretend Jake was any other kid who had walked into the store.

"Jake, this is my friend George Weasley," Alicia said.

George bent down and shook Jake's hand briskly. "Nice to meet you, young man. You probably don't remember, but I played Chaser with your mum."

Jake gasped and shook his head. "No you didn't! You were a Beater."

"Aw. I guess there's no fooling you."

"You played for a long time but then you got in trouble and had to stop. Mum said you were the best Beater in the whole school."

"Did she really?" George met Alicia's eyes over Jake's head. She gave him a sweet smile and George's heart rate spiked for a different reason. "Well, I happen to think your mum was the best Chaser in the whole school."

"No," Jake said flatly. "Angelina Johnson was the best Chaser. She scored lots more goals than mummy."

"Cheers, babe. You always know how to keep my ego in check."

"And what about me?" Fred asked. "I suppose I'm relegated to the second best Beater at Hogwarts then?"

"Top eight at least," Katie intoned, patting Fred on the shoulder and earning herself a glare in return.

Jake was standing in front of Fred now, an intense look on his face all of a sudden. "My daddy said you hit a Bludger at his nose."

Everyone stared in silence for a moment. Fred eventually chuckled uncertainly and said, "That's what Beaters are supposed to do, buddy."

Jake shook his head gravely. "It wasn't in a game so you're not allowed. It's not nice to hurt other people. You have to say sorry."

Fred looked to George for guidance, but he could only shrug. He was officially out of his depth already. And apparently Warrington was already poisoning Jake against them. Typical underhanded Slytherin move.

Alicia took hold of Jake's arm and gently drew him away. "That was an accident, honey. Fred already said sorry lots of times."

Jake gave Fred one last suspicious look then took his seat at the end of the row, just as the commentator announced the entrance of the two teams. The players' names were called and everyone in the stadium jumped to their feet and cheered. Beside him, Alicia was bouncing up and down and adding her voice to the cacophony around them. She caught him staring and nudged him in the ribs with her elbow.

"You're supposed to be watching the game!" she shouted over the noise.

George glanced over her head to see Jake was occupied clapping and cheering. He quickly ducked his head to kiss Alicia on the cheek. She squeezed his hand briefly and George realised that was probably the most physical contact he was going to get all day.

The match began and everyone took their seats. The initial gameplay was frenetic as usual. Right in the middle of the huddle, Angelina was easily beaten to the Quaffle by her Wimbourne counterpart and she turned to pursue. A Bludger grazed her shoulder, knocking her into her own teammate.

"Oh no," Alicia breathed. "How long has she been like this?"

"Most of this season," Katie answered.

"She's announcing her retirement after the match today," Fred added. "She told us all on Wednesday."

"She didn't tell all of us," Alicia said softly.

"I'm sure she just didn't want to bother you while Jake was ill," Katie said, leaning forward to squeeze Alicia's shoulder.

"She could have at least owled me about it." Alicia sighed heavily and turned her attention back to the match.

"So Jake seems like a great kid," George commented to her, hoping to take her mind off Angelina's exclusion.

"He's definitely a great kid," Alicia confirmed with a grateful smile.

"How does he remember Quidditch stats like that?"

Alicia shrugged. "I don't know, to be honest. He's only started doing it in the last few months. I found this book about Quidditch at Hogwarts and he insists I read it to him every night. He's memorised all our stats now and most of the Slytherin team as well. Christopher thinks he's already a genius, but I think he's just a little boy who loves Quidditch."

George's reply was cut off as both Seekers suddenly dived and the crowd erupted. Alicia gasped and slapped her hand down on his leg as she slid to the edge of her seat. The Snitch escaped and the Seekers resumed their idle circling of the pitch. Alicia settled back in her seat but didn't take her hand off his leg.

Fred sniggered from George's other side. "That's pretty handsy considering you're supposed to only be friends."

"Shut up," George hissed back. "Jake can't see us from his seat but Alicia will hear you."

Fred waved his hand dismissively. "No one can hear a thing over this racket."

"Did you see how Jake just pulled all those Quidditch stats off the top of his head then?" George asked under his breath.

"Yeah. Amazing. It's a shame though, because now I don't like your chances of connecting with him since he's already way smarter than you."

"Sod off. He already hates you, so I'm a step ahead there at least. Warrington one, Fred zero."

"Warrington's a right pillock for telling Jake about that accident. Like I meant to hit a Bludger at him or something."

"Accident? Fred. I was right next to you when you hit the Bludger straight at the Slytherin team," George reminded him.

"Yes, but I was aiming at Montague. Not my fault that Warrington got in the way."

"Well you might want to come up with some way to get on Jake's good side."

Fred sat up straight and rubbed his hands together. "Way ahead of you, brother. How much money do you have on you?"

"I don't know. A few Galleons maybe."

"Great. Hand it over then."

George sighed and dug around in his pocket. His shifting movements made Alicia withdraw her hand from his leg leaving him feeling a little bereft. Aggravated, George thrust a handful of coins at Fred.

"Splendid. Now watch the master at work." Fred ducked in front of him and shuffled down to kneel in front of Alicia and Jake. "Hiya, Jake. Enjoying the match so far?"

Jake nodded but didn't take his eyes off the pitch. George smirked to himself. So much for the master.

"Say, do you like sweets at all?" Fred asked. Jake nodded again and still steadfastly refused to turn away from the game. "I'm just off to buy some but I don't know what to get. Do you have a favourite?"

Jake's eyes flickered to Fred for a second then he turned his attention straight back to the game.

"Don't be rude," Alicia scolded her son.

"It's all right, Leesh." Fred got to his feet and gave a dramatic shrug. "I suppose I'll just have to buy some cockroach clusters for myself."

"No!" Jake leapt to his feet immediately, Quidditch momentarily forgotten. "You can't buy those. Yuck! Chocolate frogs are the best."

Fred tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Chocolate frogs, you say?"

"Yeah. Or sugar quills."

"Wow. You must know a lot about sweets. Do you think you could come and help me pick the best ones?"

Jake sighed and turned to Alicia. "Sorry, Mum, I need to go with Fred so he doesn't buy all the yuck sweets."

Alicia smiled and stroked his hair. "That's very good of you, sweetheart. Just make sure you stay with Fred and don't wander off."

"I won't." Jake reached over and grabbed Fred's hand tightly. "Let's go. If they have cauldron cakes, you should buy those. Jelly slugs, too. But only the red and the green ones taste good. You can give the other colours to my mum like I do."

George shook his head as he watched his brother lead Jake back out of the players' box. He was glad they seemed to be getting along but he was also a little jealous that Jake had taken Fred's hand so freely.

"That was really smooth. Fred's great with kids," Alicia commented.

"It probably helps that he's on the same intellectual level as Jake," Katie commented from behind them.

Alicia laughed and snuggled into George's side. He was momentarily surprised, then he put his arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder. "I missed you," she said.

"What? Really?"

"Of course."

"I just thought after that date…"

Alicia took his hand between her own and ran her fingertips over his palm lightly. "I know. That was a bit awkward. I suppose lots of first dates are like that though. I think we just need to try again."

"Yeah. Let's try again," George agreed, feeling a weight lift off his shoulders. He hadn't even realised he'd been so worried, but knowing that she wasn't put off by his hopelessness fortified him immensely. "When can I take you out again?"

"Jake is staying with his dad tomorrow night to make up for me bringing him to the game today. We could have dinner together."

"Sounds perfect. Where do you want to go?"

"Maybe we should stay in this time. I could make you dinner at my flat. I'm not much of a cook, but I think we might be more comfortable there at least."

"Comfortable?" George echoed.

Alicia nodded. Something about the way she said that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Plus, the way she was stroking his fingers softly was sending little waves of electricity through his body.

"I'll come by your place after I finish work," George said, his voice sounding far too desperate and eager for his liking.

"I can't wait." Alicia tilted her head and placed a kiss on his jaw. Then one on his cheek. Then one on the corner of his mouth.

"Sorry to interrupt."

George glared at his sister over the top of Alicia's head. "Seriously, Ginny?" he all but growled at her.

"I'm sorry. You two are adorable and I'll let you get back to it in a minute. I just really need to talk to you, Alicia."

"You have to do this now?" George demanded.

"You know I'll have a lot to organise if this match is to go ahead," Ginny said, settling herself down in Jake's vacated seat.

"Match? What match?" Alicia asked, drawing away from George and sitting up straight.

"An exhibition charity match between the old Gryffindor and Slytherin teams."

Alicia swept her hand around to encompass the group. "What, you mean all of us will play?"

"Well obviously we'll have Oliver instead of Ron. We do actually want to win the match."

"Bugger off, George."

"I originally came up with the idea at the beginning of the year and I started making plans," Ginny explained. "I was going to be the third Chaser till I went and got myself pregnant. I suggested bringing in Demelza to replace me but Angelina wasn't having it. She refused to play anymore and things sort of fell apart from there."

Katie added, "Ange has agreed to play again, but only if you do, Leesh."

"She really said that?" Alicia turned to George for confirmation and he nodded in reply. She then swivelled around in her seat. "You're going to play as well, Harry?"

"I don't have a whole lot of choice in the matter," he responded, shooting Ginny a pointed look, which she merely shrugged away. "The idea's growing on me the more I think about it though. I miss playing and it'll be a good distraction from the stress I deal with at work."

Alicia turned back around and pursed her lips. George could tell she was wavering. He took her hand and said, "Fred and I never got to have closure on our Quidditch days thanks to Umbridge. Imagine if we all got to play together one last time."

"And it's for charity," Ginny reminded her. "Half the proceeds from the ticket sales will be given to Hogwarts and the other half will go to the Potter Foundation. It's going to be a sell-out for sure. Everyone's going to want to see you guys reunited. You're not just Quidditch players, you're heroes because all of you came back together to defend Hogwarts."

George noticed Alicia visibly tense at the mention of the Battle. He placed a comforting hand on her knee. "Think about how much fun we all used to have," he said, steering her mind away from dark thoughts.

"But…Oh God. Gryffindor vs Slytherin? Christopher will probably end up playing in the match as well."

"Will that be a problem?"

"I suppose not." Alicia paused to rub her hand over her face and sigh. "I'm just so out of practice that it's not funny. I haven't even been on a broom in years, Ginny."

"There'll be plenty of time to train up before the match. I'm hoping McGonagall will let us hold the match at the school stadium on the weekend before the students return. So you'll have two months to get back in top form."

"I'll help you," Katie piped up. "So will Angelina when she gets back from holidays. We can run drills together a few times a week."

"My fitness is terrible at the moment. I was out of breath just walking up all those stairs before."

"I can help with that," George offered. "I work out most evenings by myself. Some company would be a nice change."

"You wouldn't mind?" Alicia asked, biting her lip doubtfully.

"Of course not."

"Well. Then I suppose I'm officially out of excuses." She turned to Ginny and nodded. "You can count me in."

"Yes!" Ginny wrapped her arms around Alicia's shoulders and gave her a squeeze. "This is going to be brilliant. But, oh God, I have so much to sort out. I'll need to owl Marcus Flint as soon as I get home. The Slytherins will need fair warning to organise themselves. I'll also need to make a public announcement ASAP and start drumming up some interest."

"That won't be difficult; it'll be a guaranteed sell-out no matter what. The general public never got to see Harry play in a match," Ron pointed out. "Everyone's gonna want a chance to see him at it."

"Great. So no pressure at all then," Harry deadpanned.

Ginny peered around Alicia and looked right at George. "For the announcement I was thinking of giving Gwen and Official Quidditch the exclusive. Would that be all right?"

George watched Alicia's reaction out of the corner of his eye. She didn't even flinch at the mention of his ex's name. Perhaps she didn't even know that Gwen was his ex-girlfriend. "That'd be a major exclusive for her," George admitted. She worked hard and she deserved to be given such a major story. The decision wasn't hard to make. "Go ahead and organise it."

He had no issue whatsoever with Gwen. They'd even seen each other a few times since their break-up some eighteen months ago. There had been no awkwardness or animosity at any point. Their split had been a shock more than a tragedy and there was definitely no bad-blood. Besides, Gwen wasn't the sort of person you could ever dislike.

"Wonderful," Ginny said, rubbing her hands together and standing up. "I'll owl Oliver tonight as well. You guys can pass on the news to Angelina. I'll see what Gwen says but I'm fairly sure she'll want to interview you all within the next few days so the story can make the next issue of the magazine."

"Interview?" Alicia echoed weakly as Ginny returned to her own seat.

"Nothing to worry about," George said immediately.

"Gwen's your ex-girlfriend right?"

So much for her not knowing. "Right. She's great at her job though. The interview will be a piece of cake."

"It's fine. I trust you."

George dropped a quick kiss on her temple right before Jake and Fred reappeared, their arms full of sweets. Jake was grinning from ear to ear when he dumped his haul onto Alicia's lap.

"Fred!" she gasped. "Did you just buy every sweet they had there?"

"Most of them," he answered.

"You didn't have to do that."

"It's all right. Besides, George is the one who paid for it all."

Fred turned and handed Katie some more of her precious liquorice wands then passed out random sweets to everyone else. He finally dropped a lone chocolate frog onto George's lap.

"Here you go. Enjoy. By the way, for those of you keeping score, that's Warrington one, Fred one."


A/N: So now I've introduced the last main plot point, the reunion Quidditch game. That was one of the major motivators for this whole fic. It seemed like fun to reunite the original Gryffindor team and I couldn't resist. Things will start to progress now I have all the ducks lined up. We're just waiting on Alicia and George to get their shit together. Fingers crossed.

Oh wait. The next chapter title is 'Utter Fucking Calamity' so maybe don't hold hold your breath on that one.