Chapter Three: Darkness and Light
It was Tuesday afternoon and Mary hadn't spoken to George since the revelation that they were paired to be married. She had been excited, but it hadn't seemed like George felt the same way. After tormenting herself for an entire day wondering how George felt about their arranged marriage and whether or not he liked the idea of being with her she realized that she had romantic feelings for him. Feelings that quite possibly that went back for several years, but were unexplored. She couldn't bear to look at him and know that she was in love with him and that he didn't want to be with her and so she had decided to avoid him. She hadn't gone to the Burrow to find out more about the new marriage laws and didn't want to face him.
She finally cleaned herself up at 11 a.m. on Wednesday morning to meet with Minerva McGonnagal about a job as the potions master. Professor McGonnagal was thrilled, as George had predicted she would be, and offered Mary the position, which Mary immediately accepted. She was also given a tour of the Greenhouses and of Hagrid's cottage by the new Headmistress and Hagrid himself. New plants were blooming and the land that had been damaged by the war was healing. She found comfort in the fact that like the Wizarding community, the school was determined to prosper again.
After the tour of the grounds, Professor McGonnagal took her into the dungeons to show her the space that she would be teaching and working in. It was much as Mary remembered it, minus Snape, of course. She decided that before the school year officially began she would redecorate and clean the place up. Slughorn had left it in a sorry state and Mary couldn't help hating him for that. At least Snape had kept his space clean.
When her visit to Hogwarts was over, Mary made her way to Hogsmeade to where the shop stood, lime green words announcing that Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was once again open for business. She took a deep breath and opened the door, finally gathering enough courage to face her fiancé. He was conspicuously absent upon her entrance, however.
Neville was reading a copy of the "Daily Prophet" when she walked in and smiled widely. "Hello, Mary. Fancy seeing you here."
"Yes, hello, Neville. How are you?" she asked politely. He seemed to have gained some confidence by fighting in the final battle with the Dark Lord and she couldn't help but smile.
"I'm great. It's not too busy at the moment. Lunchtime, y'know." He beamed as she nodded. "George apparently thinks I'm doing well. I'll only be here for a year or so, though. I want to take over for Professor Sprout when she retires."
"That's a good thing. I hear that you were amazing at Herbology. I'm going to be teaching Potions this year," Mary said, hating herself for killing time, but not wanting to hurt Neville's feelings. "Listen, Neville, is George around? I need to talk to him?"
"He's taking a personal day and asked me to let anyone who needed to see him know." Neville started looking a little nervous. Perhaps it was the flash of desperation in Mary's eyes that put him on edge. Just then Fred's painting whooshed over and broke some of the tension, much to both of their reliefs.
"Hello Longbottom, I see you're chatting up a pretty lady on the job. Don't make me have to fire you: you're decent to have around." The portrait turned to Mary then and grinned widely. "Hello, love. What does my sister-in-law to be want with that brother of mine?"
"George said specifically not to let anyone bother him today," Neville pointed out to the painted Fred. "Wait—did he just call you his sister-in- law to be?"
"That's right," Mary told him. "That's why I need to see George. It's about our appointment tomorrow. We have to talk about a few things…"
"If he asks I'm going to tell him you forced me to let you through," Neville said after considering his situation for a moment. Mary smiled brightly and gave him a peck on the cheek.
"Smart man. I would have had to force you had you refused me. Sorry about this, though." She made her way toward the backroom where she knew there was a set of stairs that would lead her up to George's flat. As she disappeared she heard Fred's portrait telling Neville that he would either tell George the truth or that George would find out from Fred how the Mary situation had been dealt with. She heard Neville's protests and then Fred's laugh and knew that the painting really had channeled the spirit of Fred Weasley.
Her heart was beating fiercely as she ascended the stairs and realized that she was about to put herself in a possibly uncomfortable situation. She would soon be forced to admit her feelings for the man that had known her since childhood and who, previously, she had thought of as a best friend. She got to the top of the stairs and took a deep breath before opening the door. Stepping inside she gave the place a quick sweep and realized that George was out of sight somewhere. The living room was cluttered with food packages, old copies of the "Daily Prophet" and the "Quibbler," and various product parts. It was much like she had expected it and as she remembered it to have been when Fred lived there as well.
Her heartbeat quickened when she saw a corner of blue material in the kitchen, but sank again when she realized it was a half-charred apron that the boys must have used while attempting to make their own meals. The kitchen was just as unorganized and as untidy and she determined that if she and George actually got married that she would help him find places for all of his things so that the kitchen table could actually be used for eating.
She opened the door just to the side of the stove and found a small closet with a washing machine and dryer and stacks of boxes of materials for products yet to be made or invented. She shut the door again and steeled herself, then crossed the living room again to open one of the two remaining doors, the one she surmised to lead to his bedroom. He was not to be seen in the bedroom either, however. She stepped inside and looked around, just to make sure he wasn't buried under a crate of Puking Pastilles or the like and discovered another room full of product materials. There were two large beds, both unmade, and two dressers in the room, and in one corner was a pile of clothes that looked suspiciously as though they could do with a washing.
Mary was just about to enter the last room, the bathroom, which could be accessed from either the living room or bedroom when George emerged wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. She was taken aback and sat down on one of the beds to calm her breathing before saying anything.
"Where did you come from?" he asked, a little surprised as well. He ran a hand through his damp hair and looked past her to the comb lying on the bed.
"I just thought we should get a chance to talk before this big meeting," she said after a moment. He simply picked up the comb an attempted to pull it through his long hair and she continued. "I hope you haven't been thinking that I was avoiding you, but I've been a little busy with trying to get a job."
He cleared his throat. "I didn't think that at all. I hope you haven't thought that I was avoiding you either, it's just been busy in the shop."
"Right." She looked around the room, trying to find a way to get out what she needed to say. He beat her to speaking, however.
"We have that meeting tomorrow morning and I suppose I'll see you there."
"Wait, don't you want to talk about us…I mean we're getting married in less than a week," she pointed out.
"I know. I'm sorry. I didn't think that we'd ever be…it's just that I'm...and you're so…We don't fit I suppose…"
"What do you mean 'we don't fit'?" she asked.
"Well, I just didn't expect to be marrying you. I don't think we're an ideal match. We'll just have to deal with this." With that he headed back into the bathroom, but she followed him.
"Why do we not make an ideal match?" she demanded, getting a little defensive as he tried to dismiss any chance of them connecting.
He sighed and turned away, hoping she didn't see the hurt in his eyes. "You're beautiful and I'm just me," he said very quickly. It took her a moment to realize what he had said and he was working furiously at his hair, trying not to meet her eyes.
"George, I think I've been in love with you for a while. You're a great guy. Are you just worried about how I think you look?"
"No." His face was turning red, something she had never seen before. "You hang out with us and all, but you're way more than I thought I'd get."
She smiled gently and pulled him around to face her. "Did you hear me? I love you. I thought you were put off by getting paired with me." His eyes searched hers, trying to find the truth. When he realized that she was telling him exactly what was on her mind he bent his head and claimed her lips in a heated kiss. She responded just as he had hoped, putting her arms around his neck and bringing him closer to her.
He ran his tongue over her full bottom lip, and when granted entry traced her tongue, and then the two of them began a short battle for dominance. He won almost immediately, however, not that she minded. He pressed her up against the door and ran his hands along her sides and down her belly. As she began to explore the contours of his back the realization that he was naked save for a towel hit her. It was exciting and scary at the same time. He slowly led her back out to the bedroom and guided her down onto his bed. His mouth wandered from her lips down the side of her neck and over her collarbone, then back up to the tender spot behind her ear. At the same time his hands wandered under her top and caressed her abdomen, and then played with the bottom of her bra.
He broke his kiss to strip of her top and bra, and then brought his mouth down to her full breasts. He kissed and licked one, then the other until she was panting softly into his ear. She was so soft and sweet, yet surprisingly uninhibited as she pressed his face into her cleavage and moaned lightly as he took a rosy nipple into his mouth. He teased her for several moments before moving to do the same with the other erect bud. He decided that he would spend more time on her breasts in the future, but that he needed to move on for the moment as his erection was pressing insistently against her thigh.
She ran her fingertips lightly down his chest and stomach and then carefully unwrapped the towel, freeing his throbbing member from its flimsy container. He inhaled sharply as her soft, warm hand enveloped him and cautiously caressed him. He kissed her passionately once more, then began hastily unfastening the button and zipper on her jeans.
A loud 'pop' issued forth, interrupting the couple and making both jump. "Merlin's Beard!" a voice exclaimed as George grabbed for the towel once again and Mary crossed her arms to cover her breasts. Charlie stood before them grinning like a Cheshire cat when both parties were covered enough to see who had caught them half naked.
"Getting started a little early, are we?" the older Weasley brother asked with a chuckle as George threw a stray shoe at him.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Mum sent me to fetch you and Mary for dinner. The two of you missed the last session of regulations and such for this new law. Convenient that I should find you together."
"Give us five minutes, would you?" George asked. "And turn around while she gets her clothes on or I'll have to hex you."
"Fine, fine. Ruin all my fun," Charlie grumbled, making his way into the bathroom and closing the door to give George and Mary some privacy.
"Prat," George mumbled under his breath as he searched his clothes for a pair of trousers. Mary pulled on her bra and shirt once again and the two of them joined Charlie in the living room.
"Have you ever thought of cleaning this place up?" the older brother asked. "I dunno why she even agreed to meet you up here with all of this junk piled up."
"Like your place is any better," George said, snorting.
"Well, let's get on with it." Charlie disappeared with a wink and another loud 'pop.' Mary and Fred shared a look before following him.