A/N: My sincerest apologies, dear readers. I won't bore you with excuses. Here's the next chapter. Finally.


"You sure you don't want one?"

Alicia glanced over at George and grinned. "You know very well that I can't eat apples now without thinking about sex."

"So far that's cinnamon and apples I've ruined for you, huh? You might want to skip my mum's apple pie later," George advised. "Wouldn't want you having a spontaneous orgasm at the table. I doubt that would make a good impression."

"Do you think I am?" Alicia asked. "Making a good impression, I mean."

George took a large bite of his apple then put his arm around Alicia's shoulders. "Of course. I can tell mum loves you already. I think she'll have a proper fit when Jake gets here and she gets one look at his big brown eyes and that curly hair."

Alicia flushed with pleasure at that thought. She grabbed George's wrist where it was hanging by her neck and checked his watch. Only ten more minutes till Jake would be dropped off by Frank.

It was good to have George's reassurance. It felt like everything was going well. This was the last hurdle really. If the Weasley family was willing to accept her into the fold then there was nothing else keeping her and George from being together. Mr Weasley and Mrs Weasley had both hugged her upon being introduced to her and they immediately insisted she called them Arthur and Molly. Bill, the only Weasley sibling she'd never had contact with, was a little more reticent, a little more suspicious of her maybe. But she was determined to find a way in with him and she had a feeling Fleur would be that conduit.

The beautiful blonde woman had clasped her hand reverently and chattered away in French for a good fifteen minutes after they were introduced. Alicia hadn't missed Ginny's eye roll and Hermione's half-hidden snicker. But she had to admit it was nice to have someone to speak the language with again.

Alicia was the happiest she'd been in years. Lunch at the Burrow was the perfect ending to the weekend she'd just spent with George. She was there to celebrate her best friend's engagement and the weather couldn't be more perfect. The summer sun in Devon was warm enough that she could feel the prickle of it on her bare arms and legs, but it thankfully wasn't strong enough to have her drowning in boob-sweat.

Everything was looking up. She'd even tracked down someone who'd agreed to come and put a Masking Charm on her flat the following morning. George had been paying her way more than he was supposed to, so she was able to meet the ex-Auror's fee and still get her rent paid on time. Finally, her struggles were subsiding and her years of going it alone were coming to an end.

Alicia sighed contently and rested her head on George's shoulder. "I think Jake's going to love it here with your family. I remember how lonely it was being an only child. Victoire and Teddy seem like great kids."

"They can both be a little wild at times, but I know they'll like having Jake around and hopefully he can calm both of them down a bit."

Alicia glanced over to where Victoire and Teddy were currently zooming around on toy broomsticks, supervised by Harry and Ron. She laughed at the twin frazzled expressions being sported by the young men. They may chase dark wizards for their day job, but wrangling two little kids was clearly taking its toll on them.

"Maybe we ought to go over and relieve the boys," Alicia suggested.

"Nah. I was thinking we could sneak up to my bedroom. You know, for old times' sake," George whispered in her ear.

"Old times' sake? We shagged up there only two weeks ago and you're already feeling nostalgic?"

"I'm feeling something."

Alicia sighed and turned her head to nuzzle her lips against his neck and ear. "As tempting as that sounds, I think that'd definitely create the wrong impression if you and I just disappeared like that. Besides, Jake is going to be here soon."

"Bugger. Well, next time maybe. Or the time after that. Bottom line is, I'm definitely going to be shagging you on my old bed again soon."

"Gross, George!"

Alicia turned around to see Ginny had come up behind the apple tree they were sitting beneath at the edge of the orchard. She shook her head in disgust. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," she said firmly.

"Serves you right for sneaking up on people. Is lunch ready then?"

"No. Mum's having issues with the roast apparently. I actually came to find Alicia." Ginny extended her hand down and helped Alicia to her feet. "You need to come up to the house. Like, right now."

"What for?" George demanded, getting to his feet as he gave his sister an impatient look.

"Jake's here."

"Oh good."

"He's not alone."

"That's just Frank," Alicia explained. "He's technically Chris's gardener, though he's more of a chauffeur-slash-handyman now since there isn't much of a garden at the new house."

"Er…right, but it's not Frank who came out of the Floo with Jake. Warrington's here."

Alicia stomach dropped. Her first lunch with everyone at the Burrow and Chris had shown up to ruin her mood. Talk about bad impressions.

"Fucksake," George muttered. He launched the rest of his apple high above the orchard then wiped his hands down the sides of his trousers. "What's he doing here? I thought you said he was going somewhere today."

"That's what he said in his letter when he agreed to have Frank deliver Jake to the Burrow instead of my flat. Some sort of work function he has to attend."

"Well, I don't know what's going on, but he isn't exactly dressed like he's going to work," Ginny said.

The three of them made for the Burrow and heard hushed voices coming from the long table that had been set up behind the house. In the distance, standing by the backdoor, Alicia could see Jake and Chris waiting there awkwardly. Jake waved at her then came racing over.

Alicia ducked down and gave him a big hug. "How are you, sweet boy? You have a good time at dad's house?"

"Yep. He wants to talk to you. I'm hungry, maman."

"Lunch will be ready soon." Alicia turned to look at George. "I'll go talk to Chris if you wanna take Jake over to the table."

He shook his head and replied, "I'm going over there with you."

Alicia opened her mouth to tell him that wasn't a good idea. The words caught in her throat as she recognised the resolute look in George's eye. Well, he was part of this mess as well now. He had a right to hear what Chris had to say this time.

Alicia crouched down and looked Jake in the eye. "Angelina, Katie and Fred are sitting at that big table over there. You want to go over to them while I talk to daddy?"

Predictably, Jake shook his head and reached for her hand. George crouched down beside her and ruffled Jake's hair. "Tell you what, Jakey, if you go over and ask Fred nicely he'll take you to a special spot where Harry has some toy broomsticks he's playing with."

Jake's eyes widened at the mention of Harry's name and he bounced on the spot. "Really? Mum, can I go ride a broomstick with Harry Potter?"

"Of course. Go and find Fred and he'll take you over there."

"Yes!" Jake cheered and took off at a run towards the table.

Alicia used George's shoulder as leverage so she could straighten up. "That was smart thinking dropping Harry's name like that."

"You should have realised by now that I'm more than just a pretty face." George stood up and took her hand. "What do you think the tosser wants with you?"

"Merlin only knows what it is this time," Alicia said as they made their way over to where Christopher was waiting. "I don't really think he's come to make trouble though. He's not stupid enough to make a scene in front of an ex curse-breaker and two Aurors."

"Not to mention…Angelina Johnson."

Alicia laughed and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, she might actually be the scariest person at that table. I noticed Fred and Katie were struggling to keep her in her seat."

"Why d'you think Warrington's dressed like such a pillock then?" George asked.

Alicia shrugged. Chris certainly wasn't wearing his usual Muggle attire of a suit or business wear. He had on a salmon pink polo shirt and a pair of charcoal grey shorts. His outfit was completed by a pair of black boat shoes and sunglasses that probably cost more than Alicia currently had in her bank account.

As they approached, Chris flicked his sunglasses onto the top of his head then folded his arms. Then dropped his arms to his sides, then shoved his hands in his pockets.

"He's all twitchy," George observed, knowing full well that Chris would be able to hear them now.

"That's understandable," Alicia loftily. "He's going to be late for the rugby match at Eton."

"No. He's clearly on his way to one of those posh rowing regattas."

Christopher rolled his eyes at them. "Fabulous," he drawled. "You two make quite the comedic team already. Are you done?"

Alicia slipped her arm around George's waist once they halted in front of Chris. "Seriously, where are you going dressed like that?"

"Charity polo match."

"Oh my God. So we weren't even that far off the mark!" Alicia exclaimed. "I always figured you worked with a bunch of Oxbridge toffs, but thanks for confirming it. What are you even doing here if you have somewhere else to be? Is Frank ill?"

"No. I wanted to talk to you. In private," Chris added, throwing George a pointed look.

"Not going to happen," George replied immediately.

"Everyone relax. Whatever you have to say to me, you can say in front of George."

Chris hesitated. Alicia knew his first instinct would be to stand his ground and insist that George leave. She could see the warring emotions on his face and the tension in his body. Then it suddenly all stopped and he pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"Fine. Whatever. I came here to apologise to you."

Alicia's eyes widened. "For what exactly?"

"For all of it. For all the things I've done lately that have pissed you off."

George hummed thoughtfully beside her. "So are you apologising to just Alicia or is this for both of us? Because I distinctly remember you showing up at my place of business and causing a scene."

"Yeah. You as well," Chris muttered rather reluctantly.

"Well, this is certainly a refreshing change. You always hated having to apologise," Alicia said.

"I still do. But I let my emotions get the better of me and I went about everything the wrong way. I shouldn't have gone to the shop and I shouldn't have spoken to you the way I did when you came to my house."

"It's technically none of your business that we're dating, but you know I would have told you about George once it became serious between us. I would never have introduced Jake to him without telling you either. I'm not a terrible mother."

"I know that. I trust you, but I just want to be kept in the loop. And I don't want to have all our communication via owl anymore. I'd like to go back to doing Jake's drop-offs and pick-ups myself."

"I'd like that as well," Alicia admitted. "I'm far too familiar with your tricks though, so go ahead and say it properly. I need to hear the actual words."

Chris hesitated, his eyes flicking between the two of them. "All right. I'm sorry."

George nodded but didn't say anything. Alicia smiled up at Chris. "There. Was that really so painful?"

"You'd be surprised," he answered wryly. "But that's not all I wanted to speak to you about. I want to find out if you're amenable to changing our visitation schedule a little."

Alicia folded her arms and pursed her lips. She should have known there was more to their impromptu meeting than a simple apology. George cleared his throat from beside her and said, "I can see that this conversation is about to get boring so I'll go check on Jake."

Alicia nodded in agreement and he kissed her quickly on the cheek then walked away. Christopher immediately relaxed a little once they were alone.

"You agreed to take him every second weekend when we moved back here," Alicia reminded him crisply. "If you can't manage that anymore you're going to break his little heart."

"I want more time with him."

"How much more time are we talking about?"

"Every Wednesday night," Chris replied. "I'm going to start to do half days on Wednesdays so I'd pick him up from nursery in the afternoon and drop him back there Thursday morning."

Alicia's arms fell to her sides. She tilted her head contemplatively. "Since when do you work half days?"

"I do more than enough overtime on other days to make it possible. I want more time with my son."

Work had always come first for him, for as long as she'd known him. Their relationship had suffered a lot because of it. She was surprised at how happy it made her to hear him finally willing to take time out to concentrate on something that was actually important. It was far too late for their relationship, but he could build a stronger bond with Jake now.

"Why the sudden change of heart?" Alicia asked before she agreed to anything.

Chris looked away, unwilling to meet her eyes for a moment. "He's growing up so fast and he's at an impressionable age right now. I want to be around him as much as possible."

"Oh. So this is actually about George," she said blandly. "I should have known. He's not in competition with you, you realise. He doesn't want to replace you as Jake's father. I don't want that to happen either and more to the point, Jake doesn't want or need a new dad."

"Just because no one wants it to happen, doesn't mean it won't happen naturally anyway. What if he ends up liking Weasley better than me?" Alicia opened her mouth to answer but Chris continued on, raising his voice to speak over her. "I know what you're going to say and I'm not being ridiculous. There's precedent here already: you like Weasley better than me."

Alicia clicked her tongue. "Good Lord, there's plenty of people in the world I like better than you – don't drag me into this. I've never known you to be insecure like this. Is that why you've been such an arse lately? Are you afraid Jake will end up loving George more than you?"

"I've been to that shop of his, remember. It's every little boy's dream. I work in finance for fuck's sake. What kid is going to be excited about that? Weasley has the big, fun family as well. I'm lacking on all fronts, Alicia."

"But you're his dad!"

"What if he wants to start calling Weasley dad? What then huh?"

"Walk with me," Alicia said, nodding her head back towards the Burrow. They better get away from prying eyes before someone noticed Chris's increasingly agitated state. "Just listen to me all right. Jake isn't going to want to call George dad any time soon, if ever. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

"I want to cross the bridge now," Chris insisted as he fell into step beside her and they rounded the side of the house.

Alicia exhaled loudly. "Well that'd be up to George and Jake to sort out if it ever comes up. We can't very well stop Jake from calling him dad if he really wants to."

"Look, put yourself in my shoes for a minute. I imagine I start dating a player from the Harpies or something. She's going to be able to give Jake access to the Quidditch world he loves so much. How would you feel in a scenario like that? You don't think you'd feel a little threatened?"

Alicia wanted to say no. She wanted to think she'd be the bigger person and be happy that Jake had another mother-figure in his life, but deep down she knew it'd be confronting to watch. Chris was still fairly hopeless at relationships, but there could very well be a time when she wasn't the only woman in Jake's life.

"I understand where you're coming from, okay, but I don't want you interfering with Jake and George's relationship because you're feeling left out."

"I'm not going to sabotage anything, I just want to be on an even footing," Chris insisted. "Besides, won't it make things easier for you and Weasley if Jake is with me a little more often? I'll get to spend more time with my boy, and you and Weasley'll be free to…well, I'd rather not think about it. But everyone's happy, right?"

Alicia had to admit that sounded appealing. Jake still didn't know that George was her boyfriend so it was tricky for the three of them to spend time together.

"Fine. You can have Jake every Wednesday night starting from this week."

"And I can go back to doing the drop-offs and pick-ups?"

Alicia turned and grinned at him as they stopped by the chicken coop. "You have to tell me you miss having me in your life first."

"What?"

"You heard me. I can tell you've been missing me and our little chats."

Chris flicked his glasses down again to hide his eyes. "You're just about the only link I have left to the magical world, all right. I made Marta and Frank stay and have dinner with me the other night just so I'd have someone to talk to other than my colleagues. I can't start socialising with my staff, Alicia."

"What about Adrian? Isn't he back from Germany yet?"

"Not for another week or so. He's got to finalise the sale of his house over there before he can come back. And he's still a whining pillock half the time, so there's that to consider."

"Right. And I take it none of your other housemates have been eager to reach out to you? I did notice you weren't playing in the charity match."

Chris nodded and shoved his hands back into his pockets. "I'm still persona non grata with that lot. I didn't even hear about the match till I read about it in the Prophet along with everyone else."

"I'm sorry," Alicia said sincerely. "You deserve to be playing."

"My mother came to see me," Chris said rather suddenly, coming to a stop around the far side of the house.

Alicia's stomach dropped. She'd only met the woman a couple of times, but each time had been a nightmare. "Oh no. What did she want?"

"She wanted me to fight you for sole custody of Jake."

"Naturally," Alicia replied with a diffident shrug. She wouldn't have expected anything less from the old hag. "What else?"

Chris didn't say anything for a moment. She waited patiently while he looked out over the verdant, rolling countryside for a second. "She wants me to escort her to the Malfoy's annual banquet next weekend," he answered eventually.

Alicia made an exaggerated gagging noise in the back of her throat. "Please tell me you aren't actually going to that."

"What does it matter?"

"Because you're better than all of those Death Eaters and criminals and blood-supremacists. Don't let them suck you back in."

"I think you're overestimating me, but for what it's worth, I did turn down the invitation."

"Good," she said with a firm nod. "You're a real piece of shit sometimes, but you've never been an evil piece of shit. That's an important difference."

Chris just snorted. "Sweet and eloquent as always. I can't believe I survived months without hearing your heartfelt compliments."

"You'll get a heartfelt compliment from me once you lift your game and start making a proper effort."

"Cut me some slack! I'm clearly making an effort here. Look at where I am right now! I've never seen that many redheads in one place. I feel itchy all over, like I might break out into hives."

"Piece of shit," Alicia said mildly.

She couldn't see his eye roll behind his sunglasses, but she felt it in her bones. "Right. Sorry. No more disparaging gingers."

"You clearly need to start filtering again."

Chris groaned and threw his head back. "Not the fuckhead filter?"

"The fuckhead filter," she confirmed.

Chris had a very bad habit of saying whatever was on his mind, whether or not it would insult someone or incite an argument. Alicia had come up with the concept of the fuckhead filter many years ago and the basic idea was that he had to stop and run his comment through an internal filter before opening his big fat mouth. If the reaction to said comment was likely to end up with him being called a fuckhead in response, then he had to keep it to himself.

"God dammit. I'm a grown man."

"Then act like it. What has George ever done to you anyway? There's literally no reason for you to hate him or any of the Weasleys for that matter."

"I don't know. I suppose it's just in our blood. Have you asked him why he hates me?"

"He doesn't hate you," Alicia insisted. "There's just this ingrained animosity that I guess I missed out on since I'm half-blood. But you're not the Capulets and the Montagues so enough is enough, all right. It's time for everyone to get along. We aren't solely defined by our houses anymore."

"You're always pretty quick to point out how evil everyone in Slytherin is," Chris pointed out. "You did it, like, two minutes ago."

"Not everyone. Only those who proved it with their actions during the war. If I hated all Slytherins I wouldn't have spent all those years with you, would I?"

Chris turned to her and lowered his sunglasses so he could peer over the top of them. "I don't know, I can be very charismatic."

"Fuck off already."

"Sure. Don't want to be late for the polo match," he said with a weary sigh. "It's so much hassle to smile and be nice and remember all that Muggle shite at the same time. Plus, Prince Charles is playing on one of the teams today so I have to pretend to care about the monarchy and whatnot."

Alicia perked up at that. She wasn't much of a monarchist, but they were still celebrities to her. "Prince Charles? Really?"

"Yeah and the rumour is William will be there watching."

"Oh wow," she breathed. "That's actually pretty cool. All my friends at primary school fancied him, but I always preferred Harry myself."

"Right. The ginger one," Chris said with a laugh.

Alicia scowled up at him. "I think I'm going to put a moratorium on the word ginger from now on; I don't like the way you say it."

Chris just laughed again and walked away, pulling his wand from his pocket. He turned back and gave her one of his smiles that used to take her knees out from under her. "Look at me now, huh. Taking orders from a Gryffindor, apologising to a Weasley, consorting with the royal family. If only my father was still alive to see all this – it'd definitely do him in."

"There's looking on the bright side," Alicia said cheerfully.

"I'll see you later then?"

"Yes. I'm serious about making this work with George though, so at the first sign of trouble I won't hesitate to cut you out of my life for good. Understand?"

"The last thing I want to do is make trouble for you, but, yes, I understand," he replied. "Now, before I go, it'd be nice to hear you say you missed having me in your life as well."

"Goodbye, Christopher."

He gave her a parting smirk then spun and Apparated. Alicia shook her head, but couldn't help the affectionate smile that slid across her lips. He really was perfectly tolerable sometimes. For a second there it had almost felt like their early days together back in Paris. Perhaps they could finally have some sort of friendship now that he seemed to be done with his little tantrum.

Only time would tell, she supposed. It felt like the last piece of the puzzle had just fallen into place for her. She continued around the house with a spring in her step. Back by the orchard, the twins were now supervising the three kids as they took turns on the brooms. Angelina and Katie were standing amidst the trees and looking on.

"Everything all right?" Angelina asked the second Alicia joined them.

"Yeah, he just wanted to ask me about extra time with Jake. I think it's all going to be fine from now on."

Katie let out a low whistle. "I just can't believe that's what Warrington looks like these days. I mean…fucking hell."

"Good Godric. Keep it in your pants, Kate. Don't forget who he is."

"I never bought into all of that house rivalry rubbish," Katie said dismissively. "Fit is fit."

"I was trying to remind you that he's your best friend's ex, you slag."

"Oh. Yeah. There is that problem, I suppose."

Alicia laughed and put her arm around Katie's shoulders. "I think Lina has a point. You've got your hands full with Lee and Oliver right now. Do you really need to bring in a third bloke?"

"Stop. I've told you to stop bringing them up," the blonde groaned, burying her face in her hands.

Alicia exchanged a knowing glance with Angelina. So far Katie had been in denial about the fact that both men would be back in Scotland soon. She refused to discuss the matter with either of them. Typical, stubborn Katie

"Hey! Not so fast!"

The three women looked over to find the children currently in a wrestling match with the twins. George chased after Jake and caught him around the waist and hoisted him up above his head triumphantly. Fred, meanwhile, was on the ground pretending to submit to Teddy and Victoire. All the kids were cackling with glee. So were the grown men, actually.

"I swear I can feel my ovaries throbbing right now," Angelina said wistfully.

"Fred'll make a great father one day," Alicia said, resting her head on her friend's arm. "So will George, for that matter."

"I think he's already doing a great job," Katie commented. "He's taken to all of this rather well, don't you think? Instant fatherhood doesn't sit well with a lot of men our age."

"He's been amazing," Alicia agreed. She was just glad that Chris wasn't around to hear mention of George's natural parenting skills. "Not that I expected anything less. Those two are just big kids at heart anyway."

As if hearing them, Fred suddenly gasped and clutched at his chest as Victoire mimed stabbing him with a sword. He moaned and gagged and thrashed around theatrically, dragging out his fake death scene while the little ones giggled rapturously.

Angelina gestured grandly towards the proceedings. "And that right there, ladies, is the man I've just agreed to marry."


A/N: A lot of dialogue again, but oh well. Alicia and Warrington needed to talk it out. Now that he's back in her good graces, I'm going to post some bonus content. I intended to write a small flashback of how the two met up in France, but it became too big to include in a chapter of this story. In fact, it clocked in at a touch over 11,000 words. So I'm going to post it separately as a sort of prequel to Ingrained and I hope to write some more about their time in France eventually. If you're interested, the new story will be called 'French Interludes' and it will be posted in the next day or so. It's not essential reading for Ingrained, but it will clear up a few things that have already been vaguely alluded to. Thank you all for your patience and for sticking around!