Sorry for not updating sooner. A lot going on right now, and my charger cord for my laptop is broken...again. Until I'm able to order a new one, I won't be able to get any updates out as quickly as I would like. Bare with me guys! Here's the rebooted chapter 2! I hope that you all enjoy this more detailed version. I've changed a few things, so that it now fits up with prequel. Don't forget to send in those reviews! Let me know what you think about this chapter and the reboot so far!
I do not own any Harry Potter characters, only those created for this story.
Morning came faster than I expected it to. As the morning light shined through the window, and into the bedroom, I realized that at some point during the night, I actually managed to fall asleep. I couldn't tell you when, but I know I didn't have any dreams.
Maybe it was because of all the excitement that happened yesterday. Beside me, I could hear George lightly snoring; it seemed he too succumbed. I could feel the steady rise and fall of his chest, indicating how soundly he was sleeping. I didn't want to wake him, but I really needed to get up and use the wash room. I still had quite a bit of makeup on from the wedding and wanted to was it away. Only when I started moving around, trying to get out from under his arm, he began to wake up. Stirring in his sleeping and soon opening his eyes, looking directly at me.
Smiling, I roll on to my side, facing him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."
With a shake of his head, he rolled onto his back and stretched, giving me the chance to sit up. "You didn't wake me, I was already starting to wake up. Besides, we really should be getting up and heading for-"
A loud crashing sound came from downstairs, startling the both of us. Immediately, I jumped up out of the bed and turned towards the door. In the time it took George to get out of bed and join me, I was already opening the door with my wand in hand. Except, I didn't make it out into the hallway, is hand wrapped around my wrist, forcing me to stop. When I looked back at him questioningly, his expression was all seriousness, something that didn't happen very often.
"I don't want you going down there." He whispered, just as Fred came out of his own room, holding his wand at his side. "Stay up here while Fred and I check it out."
My eyes widened in shock that he would even suggest such a thing. "Like bloody hell I will! I'm going down there with the both of you and you're not going to stop me." I exclaimed, yanking my wrist out of his hold and glaring angrily at him.
"Oi, no point arguing about it now," Fred pipped in, heading for the stairs that would lead down into the joke shop.
Looking back at him, I saw George's jaw clench tightly. "Alright, fine." He says, "But I want you to stay close." Walking by me, George joins his brother.
Feeling a little victorious, I follow the twins to the stairs, moving silently behind them, stepping lightly in order to make as little noise as possible. Thankfully, the boys liked to keep things in check around the shop, which meant keeping all the door hinges properly greased. It made no sound as Fred opened the door and peeked inside. After just a moment, he pulled back and silently closed the door again. "Four Death Eaters," The anger I saw in his brown eyes, was unlike anything I've ever seen before. It was a little frightening. "They're tearing the place up." As he said this, the of glass breaking could be heard coming from the other side of the door.
I wasn't exactly scared, but I didn't think we should go up against four Death Eaters on our own either. We were outnumbered, and they wouldn't hesitate to kill them, given the chance. "Fred, maybe we should go ahead and get out of here; meet up with the others." I suggest, backing up on the stairs.
"Are you kidding me," He says, barely containing his anger. "They're destroying everything we've worked for! I'm not going to stand back and let them do it. The three of us can take them on easily."
"Maybe we could, but what happens if they call in more Death Eaters?" I argue. I knew how much this shop meant to the two of them. "You-Know-Who, has taken over the Ministery, there are Death Eaters all over Diagon Alley. Should they call in reinforcements, we'd be overrun in minutes." I was trying to make him think rationally. We were in a very dangerous situation. "It's better to retreat for now and take back the joke shop when this is all over."
His hand clenched his wand tightly. This was hard for him, I knew it was, but we didn't have any choice. He turned to George, "We can take them out, George. She'll listen to you, tell her we can handle this."
George looked between the two of us. I could see in his eyes that being forced to side with one of the other, wasn't the easiest decision for him. When he gave a heavy sigh, I knew that he decided to side with me. "No Fred, Rea is right. We can't take the chance. Once this is all over, we'll take back our shop and make it better than it's ever been."
Something must've clicked in his mind, because the anger in I saw in his eyes moments ago, began to fade and the mischievous glint that was so much more familiar, took over. "Fine," He says, "But I'm not leaving without giving them a little hell first." As Fred turned back to the door, I watched as he pulled something small and black from his front pocket. At first I wasn't sure what it was, but as he tossed in through the crack in the door, and black smoke suddenly filled the shop, I knew exactly what he'd done. With an adorable smirk, he looked back to us. "There, now we can go." And with that, he Disapparates.
Chuckling lightly to myself, I reach out for George's hand. "Does he always carry those in his pockets?" I asked.
"It would seem so, but it definitely makes for a good diversion." He says grinning like the Cheshire Cat. As I began to laugh, he uses the distraction to Disapparate us to Aunt Meril's house.
We appeared in a field, just outside of a rather large home. She was a little surprised by the size of it, not expecting it to be as large as it was. While the Weasley's had a large home, it wasn't very stable, or at least it didn't appear to be. This one though, was stunning. I heard myself softly whisper, "Wow..."
Beside me, George must've heard me, because his hand gently squeezed mine. "Yeah, she's always had a fancier taste for things. Come on." He nods his head in the direction that Fred was walking ahead of us.
"Are you sure I'll be welcomed here?"
He doesn't look away from the house for several seconds, before looking down at him. "Honestly, I'm not sure any of us are welcome here."
Glancing up at him, I smile a little and nod my head. Walking beside him and marveling at the sight of his family member's home. It was so different than what I was used to seeing. Not that the Weasley's home was bad, it was lovely and felt like a second home, it actually felt like a home. This, I didn't knowing whether or not this house would feel the same way, no matter how grand it was. While I was taking everything in, I failed to notice the plump, red-headed woman, running down a flight of stairs, until George's hand was suddenly pulled out of mine. Turning my attention away from what was around me, I looked to the right where Geroge had been.
I found him in his mother's tight embrace, along with his brother. "Oh my boys!" Mrs. Weasley cries out, the worry heard in her voice was very obvious. "I'm so glad that you're both alright! I was so worried when you didn't show up here right away!" She must've seen me out of the corner of her eye, because she quickly released the twin (who were more than happy to be let free) and pulled me into her arms. "Realyn, you're here too! It warms my heart to see that you're safe and sound!"
After embracing each of the twins three more times, Mrs. Weasley, herded the three of us into the kitchen. On the table, was the biggest breakfast, I've ever seen, even for Mrs. Weasley. Eggs, bacon, pancakes, you name it, it was on the table. It was in that moment, that I realized, we haven't had a single thing to eat since the wedding reception. I was starving and didn't hesitate to sit down and dig in. Half way through breakfast, Mrs. Weasley looked between the twins.
"So why didn't you come here after the wedding?" She asks, "This was supposed to be where we all met back up, if we happened to be separated."
"Well," Fred began. "We went to the joke shop."
"You what?!" She cries out in return.
"Everything happened so fast, and we panicked. It was the first place I thought of when I got a hold of Rea." George continued.
"I knew George would go there, so after seeing Angelia home safely, I joined up with the two of them." Says Fred.
"We decided to stay there for the night," George.
"And first thing in the morning, we planned to come here." Fred.
"Only, Death Eaters broke in and ransacked the place." George again.
By now, I thought that Molly would pass out for real.
"I wanted to fight them off."
"But I convinced him that leaving was the smarter option."
"So here we are." Fred finishes.
"Actually," I said, crossing my arms. "I think it was my idea to pick our battles and get out of there."
Both Fred and George shrug their shoulders in unison.
Molly looked like she wanted to say something, but before doing so, she seemed to change her mind and looks at me; changing the subject. "Rea darling, I had Arthur go back to the house once it was safe and gather some things. I made certain that he brought back some of yours as well. They're waiting for you upstairs in the second bedroom on the right."
"Thank you so much, Mrs. Weasley." I said excitedly. I could finally take a hot shower, washing away not just the make-up and dirt, but also the stress from the last twenty-four hours.
(George's PoV)
Once breakfast was over, Rea and I decided to head upstairs. Even though mum gave her directions to the bedroom the three of us would be sharing, she didn't feel right wandering the house on her own, so she decided to wait until I was done eating as well, and we both headed up together. Showing her to the room, I opened the door for her and let her in first. After all, it was the gentlemen thing to do. "Mum said your clothes would be on the bed."
True to her word, not just Rea's clothing, but Fred's and mine as well, were placed neatly on the bed. "It's going to feel amazing to have a hot shower after what we went through." She said jokingly.
Grinning, I leaned my shoulder against the doorframe, watching as she went through the small pile of clothing. "Well, you can have the first shower, I'll wait until your done to get mine."
A small frown creases her face as she stands straight, turning towards me. "Are you sure? I mean, it is your Aunt's house."
"All the more reason for you to take one first. You're more of a guest than I am right now."
It seemed like she wanted to argue about it, but decided not to. "Alright then, I promise not to be too long, or to use up all the hot water." Which would be impossible, since we could just use magic to heat it right back up again.
With her clothes in hand, I lead Rea to the nearest bathroom. Leaving her to bathe, I return to the bedroom. Moving the clothes to the dresser, I decided to lay down; more exhausted than I thought I was. I didn't realize I closed my eyes, until I was pulled into a dream.
My lips were pressed against Rea's. I could feel the shock as her entire body went tense. I couldn't blame her, I had just kissed her out of the blue. Only, it felt right. After spending years as just close friends, loving her from a distance. She'd been dropping hints for a month, trying to tell me that I was the one she wanted to go to the Yule Ball with. Except, I didn't catch on until it was almost too late. Kissing her like this hadn't been part of the plan, but after a while, her muscles relaxed. When this happened, I pulled my lips away from hers.
"What...just happened?" She asked, her lips slightly swollen from my kiss.
When she didn't go off on me, I breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, I guess it's been building up for a while now and I just suddenly decided to act."
She laughs softly, the sound of her laughter, the most beautiful thing I've ever heard. "So I guess you've finally figured it out?" She asked, taking the beanie hat off her head. Her blonde hair spilling down around her shoulders.
"It was pretty obvious." I teased.
Again, she laughed, this time louder. "It only took you an entire month!" She throws the beanie at him, forcing him to move quickly in order to catch it. "So, what happens now?"
"Be my girlfriend and go with me to the ball."
"George?" I heard someone calling my name. It was accompanied by someone lightly shaking my shoulder.
Pulled out of my pleasant dream, I opened my eyes and stared up into Rea's beautiful ones. "Must've dozed off."
"The shower is free, you can take your bath now." She informs me with a smile, straightening up once more and turning away.
Before she did though, I reached out and took ahold of her wrist, pulling her onto the bed and into my arms. "It can wait until later." I tell her, holding her firmly. "Right now, I want to just lay here like this with you."
I must've taken her by surprise, because when I pulled her down, she made this cute squeaking sound, followed closely by loud laughter. "George!"