Chapter 10 – Twists in the Road
Luna peered through the old parchment, occasionally casting a mild scourgify spell to clean a hundreds of years of dust off the old records. The parchments she was currently working on were some of the oldest she was analyzing. While highly fascinating, the records had been stored poorly and were degraded, dirty, and barely legible. The current bit of writing she was deciphering was a 17th century account of the sighting of a dobhar-chu on the north coast of Ireland. There were quite a few sightings of similar beasts from that point onward, but the record that she was currently working on was supposedly the oldest that the Ministry had on record. It was vital that she clean and translate the ancient records from the old Irish dialect they were written in before they disintegrated completely. The work was much like what she had been doing for over a year and she found it all quite interesting. Today though, she was having a hard time focusing as her thoughts drifted to home.
Thinking of her children, Luna paused to smile. All four of the kids were growing rapidly and talking constantly. She and George had celebrated a year together one month previously and she now thought of Fred and Roxy as hers as much as she did Lorry and Sander. George was a dutiful father and Luna counted herself blessed that she had found him so soon after losing Rolf. They talked occasionally about the future, but were content with life as it was. One thing they were discussing seriously was getting a house with a yard for the kids. That had become a necessity in recent months. Molly of course still dropped hints on occasion about formalizing their partnership, but she and George had become experts at brushing aside her attempts. Sighing, Luna tried to refocus her thoughts back on her work. A half hour later, she was awakened from an impromptu nap when Melanie shook her shoulder.
"Hey Luna, your writing looks better on the parchment than your face."
Luna groaned and rolled her chair back to her desk to retrieve a mirror from the drawer. Sure enough, she had ink smeared across her face. A quick cleaning spell cleared it, as Melanie watched her.
"You alright Luna? I know the records can be boring, but you don't normally doze off."
"Yes, I'm fine. Just didn't sleep. I haven't been feeling well. I think the kids maybe brought home something. Victoire was sick and I think she's sharing with her cousins."
"Well, none of these records have gone anywhere for at least a hundred years. They can probably wait a couple more days. Why don't you head home? Your kids are taken care of, you should take a day for yourself."
"That does sound good. I'm really sorry. Let me go talk to Evan."
A few minutes later, Luna was leaving the department after a talk with her boss. He excused her with no issue, only concerned that she wasn't feeling well. Luna counted her blessings yet again that she had a job she enjoyed and colleagues that she got along well with. Her job was extraneous and part time, but everyone still appreciated what she did. Reaching the outside apparition point of the Ministry, she apparated back to the flat. The place was impossibly quiet and Luna smiled as she made her way to the bedroom. Stripping off her shoes and skirt, she fell into the bed and was asleep almost instantly.
Several hours later, she woke and was surprised to find it was after one. She really had been more tired than she realized. Then her stomach started to protest the delayed lunch and Luna headed through the empty flat to the kitchen. Delighted to find that there was still some leftover roast beef, she quickly prepared herself a mammoth sandwich. As she was getting ready to eat, a sudden stroke of inspiration hit and she decided to add a pile of horseradish to the sandwich. It was nearly too big to fit her mouth around, but it tasted heavenly as she inhaled it quickly. Then she realized that she had probably eaten too fast, as her stomach rebelled almost immediately. Setting the rest of the sandwich aside, Luna sat back and tried to will her stomach to behave. Unfortunately, she lost the battle as she went running for the bathroom and lost what she had eaten of her delightful lunch. With her purge done, she was suddenly hungry again, but this time she wanted chocolate. Deciding that her body was confused and she wouldn't tempt fate, Luna denied herself anything more than a glass of water and returned to bed. Laying down, she tried to ignore her hunger pains and silently cursed the children for sharing their colds.
As she started to doze off again, Luna thought to herself 'but the kids have just had the sniffles and a cough, they've been eating fine'. Well, if the kids weren't the culprit for her woes, maybe it was the food. George had taken a roast beef sandwich for lunch, she wondered if he was having any problems. But the roast beef had been dinner last night and no one was sick this morning. What else could make her sick? Then it occurred to her that she had been sick like this before. Strange cravings, sick in the middle of the day with no explanation. Oh, and tired, unusually so. Damn, she had all the symptoms. But how? She was on the Potion, had been since she had moved in with George eight months earlier. Then she remembered Bristol. Five weeks earlier they had taken the kids on a vacation to the beach. Her potion had run out halfway through the trip and they had decided to use the charm instead for a few days. Except they'd forgotten once or twice. George had a way of distracting her and she had never been very good with the charm, that was why she liked the Potion. Damn again, it all fit. Sighing, she decided that she should go and get at test kit to confirm her suspicion. At least it would distract her from her hunger.
Luna made her way to the local apothecary and picked up the pregnancy test potion. The old witch behind the counter smiled sweetly and wished her luck as she wrapped up the purchase. Luck? Luna wondered if she wanted luck. Everything was going well with George and they certainly had their hands full with four kids. She had always thought she would want at least one more after the boys, but that was when she and Rolf were married. George had given her two more kids that she adored and she didn't really feel the need for more. Well, if it was true, then what was done was done. Arriving back at the flat, she went to bathroom and started the potion. Ten minutes later, the results were glaringly obvious. She was pregnant. Not that she was surprised, the symptoms fit perfectly. Groaning, Luna collapsed to the floor and stared at the flask. After a few minutes, she decided that she should tell George soon, preferably without the kids. Pulling herself off the floor, she set the flask on the counter and then sent a patronus to the shop.
"George, no rush, but when you close the shop, come home before you go to pick up the kids."
That message should mean that he would be home in about an hour and a half. She didn't want to worry him and there was no reason to hurry. Since she had time, Luna decided to take advantage of having the kids gone and began to work on cleaning up the living room. A few minutes later, her cleaning frenzy was interrupted by a pop as George arrived home.
"Luna! What is it? Why are you home early? Are you sick?"
"George, I said to come by after you closed the shop. I said not to rush."
"Yeah right. Like I could stay there when I knew you were home early and didn't know why. Verity has the place covered now that I hired Dave. So, why are you home early?"
Luna sighed and went to George, folding herself into his arms and taking a long minute to just enjoy being held without saying anything. Her unusual quiet worried George more.
"Luna, I love you. What is wrong?"
"I love you too George. More than I thought I could love again. You know that, right?"
"Of course."
George pulled back and looked at her, concern in his eyes as he leaned forward to plant a sweet kiss on the tip of her nose.
"George, I'm pregnant."
George pushed her back, looking at her with eyes wide open. He seemed in shock for a few seconds and Luna's stomach flipped with uncertainty. Then he did the most marvelous thing. Suddenly, his face lit up and he let out a happy yelp. Then she was being hugged and spun all in one swift motion.
"A baby! Our baby. The two of us! WOW."
"So you're happy? I know this wasn't planned. This will be number five."
"Of course I'm happy. And yes, four plus one equals five. Well, if it is one. You've already had twins once, and they run in my family of course."
"Please George, I think one will be enough. I've had enough surprises for today."
"So when did this happen? How far along do you think you are?"
"Bristol, our beach vacation. So about five weeks."
Realization hit George as he broke out in another grin. Looking at him, Luna couldn't help but be happy. Five kids sounded a bit insane, but they were in love and they had the money to care for a large family. She decided that since George was happy she could now be happy as well. She had wanted to be before, but apprehension dampened her enthusiasm. Now she smiled and hugged George tighter as he leaned down and claimed her mouth. Soon they were snogging and he started to unbutton her blouse. Groaning, she pulled back and smirked at him.
"And I do believe this is how we got ourselves in trouble."
"But since we're already in trouble, we might as well get in some more. Especially since we have the place to ourselves."
George grinned wickedly at her as he started to nibble on her ear and Luna gave in to her growing desire. Soon George had her stripped down to her knickers as she dropped his pants. He seemed impatient and she found herself willing to meet his unspoken demand when he thrust his hips against her leg, she yanked his boxers down and growled for him to get on with it. Tearing her knickers off, he suddenly had her bare as he fingered her briefly before bending her over the arm of the couch and plunging into her swiftly.
"Fuck…yes George. Gods I love it when you take me fast."
Needing no further encouragement, he began to thrust into her at a rapid pace, causing Luna to scream his name and climax quickly. He was about to slow down to allow her a chance to recover, but she grabbed his hips and insisted that he keep going as she continued to whimper through the continuing waves of her orgasm. A couple of minutes later, George poured himself into her as he came, screaming her name. Exhausted, he pulled her around as they collapsed together on the couch.
"Wow Luna love. That was hot and fast."
"Yes, I love the foreplay when you work me up, but that was incredible as well."
"Well, variety is important."
They laughed together and then they started kissing again. Reluctantly, George pulled back and sat up.
"So, we still have some time this afternoon. The shop is covered. Do you want to go see a healer and make this official?"
"If you want to. The potion says it's 99% accurate."
"Still, I want to make sure everything is good with you."
Luna conceded and they got cleaned up, dressed and apparated to St. Mungo's. Mid-afternoon on a Thursday wasn't busy and they didn't have long to wait. The test went quickly and the healer confirmed the happy news. He also confirmed that they were actually only expecting a single baby. Luna was well, except for a minor iron deficiency. The healer gave her an initial potion and then prescribed vitamins and scheduled another appointment in a month. He also confirmed that she was correct at the five week mark. With the appointment complete, they stopped at the grocery and then headed back to the flat. Once there, George floo'd to the Burrow to pick up the kids. They had decided to wait to deliver the news when the family met for Sunday lunch at the Potters. George thought that a private celebration was also in order and asked his mum to babysit the next night so that he could take Luna to dinner. Molly agreed and seemed oblivious to the occasion being anything more than a standard date, for which George was glad. That night, they each had a hard time keeping the news from the kids, but they knew it was best to wait. The kids ranged from 2 ½ to 4 and had no sense on how to keep a secret.
The next day, George continued on to the shop as normal to open in the morning. As soon as the first rush cleared, he left to run a couple of errands to prepare for his date with Luna. Meanwhile, Luna had the kids for the day, as usual for a Friday and was busy around the house and then took them to the bookstore for a reading with a local children's author. When George arrived home from the shop, Luna was already together and took the kids on to the Burrow for the evening. When she returned to the flat, George insisted that she side-along with him, as he wanted the evening to be a surprise.
Their initial destination was a non impressive alley, but as George led her down the street, Luna realized that they were in the heart of muggle London. Intrigued, she and George chatted, but he refused to give in to her subtle prodding for clues. Soon they arrived at a historic old warehouse that had been converted into high end shops and flats. Their destination was actually the top floor of the building, where a very nice restaurant offered covered, rooftop seating with a view of the city skyline. The restaurant was one of the nicest Luna had been in and she shot George an appreciative glance as the host seated them. The food was a magnificent blend of English and European fare and Luna was pleased that her rebellious stomach settled for the night so that she could enjoy it. They lingered long over the many courses and when it came time for dessert, they ordered a chocolate sampler to share. While they waited for their dessert, George reached over and took Luna's hand in his. Looking at the radiant beauty who had reawakened his heart, he took a moment to collect himself and speak the words that had been running through his head all day.
"Luna, I know I've told you before, but I want you to know how much I love you. We've both been through so much, but you've brought me back to life. Now you're carrying a new life that our love created and I couldn't be happier, except for one thing. The only way I could be happier is if you would agree to be my wife."
As he spoke, George reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring box. Luna gasped at the large diamond on a platinum band, flanked by amethysts and diamonds, their birthstones. Realizing the ring was obviously custom and had to have been ordered for a while, she was reassured that this wasn't a sudden decision.
"Yes Luna, I had the ring already. Or almost. I hadn't picked it up yet. I wasn't sure when I was going to ask, but after the news we received yesterday, I figured we shouldn't wait. I'm thrilled about our addition, but I wanted to marry you even before. Will you marry me?"
"Yes George. Yes."
Beaming, George took the ring and placed it on her finger before leaning across the table to kiss her deeply. As they separated, they became aware of their waiter, who was holding their dessert and had stayed well back from the table, but was also beaming at the young couple. George waved him over and the waiter came and offered his hearty congratulations as he set the magnificent looking platter with an array of chocolate confections before them. Luna immediately started on the chocolate gateau and then stopped to admire her ring.
"Well, this will make lunch with your mum easier once we give her the news about the baby."
"Yes, I thought about that. You do know she'll be crazy with the wedding planning."
"Well, we'll see. I'd like something simple, but with our family and friends. When Rolf and I married, we just went to the local Ministry office. It would be nice to have an actual ceremony."
"Whatever you want Luna love."
They finished the decadent dessert while talking about ideas for the wedding. After they finished and left the restaurant, they walked around town for a while, arms wrapped around each other, blissfully happy as they talked. As the night grew late, they found a dark alcove and apparated to the Burrow to pick up the kids. Upon mutual agreement, Luna cast a glamour charm to hide the ring until they made their announcement on Sunday. As they collected their four sleepy kids and headed home, Luna wondered how they would manage when they had one more child than they had arms.
Saturday passed quickly and soon it was time for the Lunch of the Big Announcements. This Sunday, Ginny was hosting at the Potters' and Luna had agreed to make a large fruit salad, coconut on the side. Luna had wanted to talk to Ginny about her news more than anyone and could barely wait for her best friend to find out that they would officially become sisters. As soon as they arrived at Ginny's house and deposited all the kids, Ginny looked at her friend with a smirk.
"Luna, what is it? I can tell you've got news. Ooh, did my brother finally wise up?"
Luna laughed as Ginny's eyes shot to her apparently empty left hand. "Gin, just wait for the family to arrive, please."
Ginny made a frustrated noise, but seemed to be satisfied with Luna's near admission that she had something to announce. Percy and Audrey had arrived before George and Luna, but everyone else slowly trickled in after them. Charlie was the only one absent and Molly once again made noise about him needing to find a job closer to home. After a few minutes of chatting and brotherly teasing, Ginny called the chaos to order and lunch began with parents and grandparents arranging plates for all the children. Once the little ones were settled, the adults all found their places and soon a mad rush began as all the dishes were passed. Luna sat next to George and glanced over at him a couple of times, wondering when would be good to make their announcements. The table was fairly quiet while everyone ate and Luna wanted to get it over with. After a few minutes, George gave her a nudge. They had agreed that Luna would start and then George would continue with their second announcement. Setting her fork down, Luna began.
"Everyone, George and I ha…"
"Hey everyone, I have a…"
Luna looked at Hermione and the two women laughed as their announcements battled each other. Everyone at the table was paying attention now and the room was even quieter than it had been. Luna nodded to Hermione and let her continue.
"Thanks Luna. As I was saying, we have an announcement. We're expecting again!"
The table erupted in a riot of cheers as Ron grinned and accepted a few backslaps from his brothers. Molly dabbed tears and went around the table to hug Hermione. Luna smiled and squeezed George's hand. This was turning out to be a very memorable Weasley lunch. Once the commotion quieted, Hermione gestured at Luna to continue with her news.
"Well, we have an announcement as well. We're engaged!"
As she made the announcement, George dissolved the glamour charm on the ring and Luna held her hand up. The room became madness again as all the women made their way to Luna for hugs and a glimpse at the ring. Ginny was in tears as she hugged her best friend.
"We're going to be sisters finally! I'm so happy my brother is smarter than he looks."
George began protesting and everyone laughed and returned to their seats. As the meal was about to continue, George cleared his throat and began his half of the announcement.
"One other thing we need to tell you. We're expecting as well."
This time the room went quiet for a few seconds before erupting in noise once again. Molly looked like she might faint as she clutched at Arthur. Hermione and Ginny were both tearing up, as Percy exploded with his response to the news.
"George! That makes five!"
George laughed at his brother. "Congratulations Percy, you pass basic math! It's good to know, considering your senior position at the Ministry."
Everyone else joined in the laughter and Molly seemed to have finally collected herself as she made her way over to hug Luna and then George.
"Well, I suppose we need to start planning a wedding."
George nodded and gave Luna a knowing grin as the meal finally resumed. The conversation centered around both the expectant mothers, who it turned out were only a week apart. Then the talk turned to wedding details, which Luna had no idea on yet, but her sister-in-laws all had input. With the news delivered and well received, she was able to let her nerves settle and enjoy her time with the family. Things had certainly changed for her over the previous two years.
