Untitled
Chapter Eighteen; Pink means it's a boy.
"Hello and welcome to the sixth show of 'Potterwatch', this is River speaking and you are listening to Potterwatch." Lee Jordan said as he spoke into the microphone. He was such a natural at speaking in front of people, ever since they started at Hogwarts.
"Before we start with the updates Voldemort's mysterious whereabouts, we'd like to warn the people about the increasing Dementor activity up in north England, so if you are up there, stay inside after dark. But the increase Dementor activity in North England doesn't mean that they all are there." Lee Jordan continued. "So try to stay inside as much as possible after dark. But now, over to you Royal, what is the news's about the whom we like to call, 'Death Eater in Chief'?"
"Thank you River." Kingsley said. There actually was a funny story behind how Kingsley got that code name, Lee had suggested Royal, and Alicia had looked it up for special meaning and couldn't find anything, except for that a synonym for Royal was "King". Which they thought was pretty funny, well, maybe not Kingsley, but Lupin had a good laugh about it.
"The news on the Death Eater in Chief's whereabouts differs from which person you ask." Kingsley continued. "People have been saying that they have seen him up in Scotland and others have been saying that he's still in London and others say different, but we can all say for sure that our Death Eater in Chief is not making any public appearances lately, which seems to scare people." He said and made a short pause.
"Which seems work; people seem to freak out that he might be closer that you think." Lee said in Kingsley's pause.
"Exactly, I think that is the reason to why he's so hidden." Kingsley said. "Not showing himself make people wonder where he is and then maybe get the idea that he is closer to then that you think. But I must say to people to not freak out, but that is all I can say. Hopefully I can give out more information next time."
"Hopefully." Lee continued. "Thank you for the update Royal. And now over to Romulus, who should give us an update on the Harry Potter situation.
"Thank you River." Remus Lupin said and leaned forward to the microphone to speak. It was actually Lupin who had the most interesting code name. Remus and Romulus was the two twin boys who founded Rome according to the mythology, brought up by a Female wolf, but the funny thing was that Remus later was slain by Romulus.
"I have heard that there are some concern about the fact that Harry Potter has gone underground and isn't visible to the public eye." Remus said. "But I have to add that there is no need to worry about what is happening to Harry Potter, even if he isn't visible and out in the public doesn't mean that he's not working, it is possible to work under the radar."
"Excellent said Romulus." Lee said. "Now if you don't have anything to add..."
"Unfortunately I don't." Remus answered.
"Well then, let's move over to Liberty on an update on the rest of the Death Eaters, say, how is the situation, what is the rest of the faithful Death Eaters up to at the moment?" Lee asked.
"Well." Alicia said. "We can for sure say that they are getting restless and dangerous. We believe that they are behind the murder up in Norwich, and by that it seems like they, at least few of them have switched from just killing with the killing curse to using sharp objects such as knifes, which seem to be to the reason to make the muggle population panic, but so far haven't..." She stopped abruptly. "Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Lee asked with a slight concern.
"That noise?" Alicia said again.
You heard how a chair pulled back and somebody stood up. But suddenly a loud crash was heard and Lee was suddenly screaming. "Everybody get out!"
Lots of feet and running was heard and a rattle from the falling microphone.
"Kennedy c'mon, hurry!" Lee's yelling from some distant away. But all that could be heard was more crashes from unknown sources and then Kennedy's scream.
George walked over to the radio and turned it off. "Why are you still listening to that?"
"I don't know." Alicia answered from where she sat in the sofa, clutching a pillow to her chest. "To figure out what went wrong, why she..."
"You don't have to say anything." George said and sat down next to her, taking her hand in his own. "It's bad enough that Lee is feeling guilty about her."
"I have never seen anyone die in front of me, someone I knew, I mean." She answered. "Suddenly, this war is so real. Like it's really happening, people are dying. Good people, innocent people."
"I know, let's just hope that Harry Potter will come through soon and this war is over." George said to her.
She didn't say anything.
"I just talked to Lee." George continued in her silence. "He has just told Kennedy's parents about... her, I'm a little bit worried about him, he's so down."
"Well, what do you expect him to be? All happy face?" She snapped at him. "His friend died."
"Sorry, it's just..." He apologized.
"I should be the sorry one; I didn't mean to snap at you." She continued.
"Don't worry." George answered, he took a great look at her hand and examined it, specially the jewellery that decorated one if the fingers on the left hand. "It's been one and a half month since mum found out and I think that she's still in shock."
Alicia looked up and wondered what he was talking about, but then she saw what he was looking at and smiled.
About one and a half month ago, in the middle of September, Mrs. Weasley had told them she wanted to talk to them and then angry asked them if they had eloped and gotten married. Alicia and George, both shocked by the accusation asked her firmly where she had gotten that idea from.
Charlie, he mentioned to Mrs. Weasley that Alicia and George had talked about jewellery once, oblivious to his own words he was. She had gotten curious and later approached Fred and asked him nicely if Alicia and George had talked anything about marriage. "Well, they sure have talked about it, but mum.. it's too late to..." was Fred's respond and frankly, that was all that Mrs. Weasley had heard. She didn't hear that Fred was trying to say that it was too late for her to try to talk them out of it, that they had really settled on getting married when the war was over, so now maybe you can understand how she got it wrong. But after she got all the facts she was actually feeling a little ashamed.
"It used to belong to my grandmother." Alicia told him. "And my great grandmother, and my mum. It's been in my dad's family for generations."
"It's really beautiful." He said and placed the hand back on the pillow. "Why doesn't your sister have it?"
"I don't know actually, maybe she didn't want it." She answered.
"I'm happy that I got to give it to you." He answered.
"I don't think I would ever have remembered that I had it if dad's one hadn't been in that package." She said. It had been in that package that Cathy had left behind when she was here the last time. it also had contained his wand, it was a way to show defeat, you send back the wand to the family members, in this case, Cathy.
"We should get going; I'm to escort you to Mrs. Tonks house." He said the last part proudly, like it was a royal honour to do that.
"I know that." Alicia answered smiling back. "And I'm honoured to be escorted by you." She added in the same tone.
"Mum's there too, she have taken with her practically every baby picture we have." He added. "I'm starting to get worried that you'll be scarred by looking at some of the pictures." He added worriedly. "Ron didn't like to wear clothes when he was a baby."
"Aw, that will be so cute to see." She responded with a laugh.
Tonks, now five months pregnant and constantly told by her mum to sit still, but no she wouldn't sit still, she was constantly on the move.
"Sweetheart, sit still, I can fix the tea." Andromeda told her only daughter, who had asked if anyone wanted tea and quickly gotten up on her feet to fix the tea.
"No, mum, I can fix it, don't worry." Tonks said and leaved for the kitchen. While she was inside the kitchen she flickered with her wand a few times and took out four cups out of the cupboard and a tray to put them on, on the tray she put the now hot water and some milk and sugar and the cups on it. And then with a final flick with her wand she made the tray float gracefully into the sitting room, as she herself carried the biscuit plate.
But when she came out of the kitchen and into the sitting room again, everything was not what she had imagined. The tray was lying crashed on the floor next to the sofa where Alicia sat, but the milk jug had gotten completely wrong and poured all of its contents in Alicia's knee.
"I'm sorry." Tonks apologized, walked over to Alicia, but when she was about to lift her wand to dry her up, Alicia had gotten enough.
"Don't!" Alicia said and held up her hand to stop her. "I..." She continued angry and snatched the wand from Tonks. "Have gotten enough of your magic." She put it down on the table and used her own to dry herself up.
"I should have warned you that her magic lately have gotten a little... haywire." Andromeda said and fixed up the mess.
"Sorry Alicia." Tonks apologized again and sat down.
"If you don't mind Alicia, could you go up to the attic and get the box I have prepared with Tonks old baby clothes?" Andromeda asked Alicia as she was about to go into the kitchen.
"Alright, I can do that." Alicia answered.
"By the end of hall it there a roof hatch, just pull rope and a ladder will come down." Andromeda said and disappeared into the kitchen.
"Okay." Alicia responded and left for the attic. Like Andromeda had said was there a roof hatch and a rope she pulled, she climbed up the latter and turned on the light at her wand.
Up in the attic were there several boxes. Alicia crawled through the attic hatch and toward the closest box. When she opened it she saw that it was the one filled with Tonks old baby clothes. She smiled and picked up the one on top. It was a pair of baby strap pants. But something hit her when she was holding up the small clothing.
She was nineteen years old, Mrs. Weasley already had Bill when she was in Alicia's age, she also knew of other people, who both had gotten married and had kids almost directly after Hogwarts. She so easily could get pregnant. She and George weren't exactly non-active when it came to that subject. She couldn't get pregnant now, not at this time of war.
She didn't know how long she had been sitting up there with the baby strap pants in her lap. She just looked forward staring into the wall, lost in her own thoughts.
"Alicia, dear?" Andromeda's voice came from the down floor.
Alicia snapped out of her trance. "Yeah." She responded.
"Are you alright, did you find the box?"
"Yes I did." Alicia answered and put back the clothing and carried down the box.
"Once again... I'm sorry about the milk accident." Tonks apologized.
Alicia looked at her. "Apology accepted." She said, she leaned forward and took the photo album Mrs. Weasley had brought.
The both elder ladies had moved into the kitchen to start on dinner, leaving both Tonks and Alicia alone in the sitting room.
The photo album had the year 1978-1980 on the front.
"This is probably from before Ginny was born and around the time that Ron came." Tonks said and leaned closer to Alicia so that she also could have a look.
"Fred and George are born 1978, just like me." Alicia stated. "So I'd reckon that they are just two toddlers."
In the beginning of the photo album were there almost only pictures of the little Fred and George. Them on a blanket playing with their toys, them in the bath, them sitting by the table laughing with faces all smudged with baby food. Each and every one of the photo coming with a cute remark and an 'aw', from both Tonks and Alicia.
Then came more photos of Fred and George, but this time with Bill, Charlie and Percy on them also, it was mostly happy birthday pictures.
"I don't think I have ever seen Percy without the glasses on." Tonks said as a picture came up with Percy blowing out the cake candles on his fourth year birthday.
"I have..." Alicia answered. "And I think that I have to add that he looks so much better without the glasses on, if you do ask me of course."
"When have you seen him without the glasses on?" Tonks asked and looked funny at Alicia.
"When we still were at Hogwarts, Oliver 'borrowed' the glasses from Percy and... 'Played' Percy." Alicia told her, who started to laugh. "I was tired from studying for my O.W.L's, I sat in the library alone, Oliver came in and saw me, he was sitting down next to me and decided it was time to study for his N.E.W.T's. After ten minutes he got sick of studying for them, so he started to bug Percy, who didn't sit so far away behind."
Tonks continued laughing; somehow she actually found it more fun than it actually was.
"You're easily amused today." Alicia said and looked at her, not being able to keep herself from smiling aswell.
"Sorry." Tonks responded and calmed down. "I have a strange sense of humour these days."
"Um..." Alicia had noticed that Tonks hair had started to change colour. "What are you doing?"
"I'm not doing anything, what's happening?" Tonks asked, her face becoming serious.
"Your hair, its changing colour." Alicia informed her and pointed slightly at her head.
"The baby has a tendency to do that." Tonks answered, driving her hand through her hair. "What colour is it?"
"It's pink." Alicia answered, and then she smiled big. "Maybe the baby is trying to tell you that it's a girl."
"No no." Tonks shoed her off. "Don't you know that Pink means that it's a boy?"
"You'd rather want to have a boy than a girl?"
"Actually yeah, I kinda want to have a boy, I can't see myself raising a girl." Tonks said, she reached out for the braid and put up her hair. "The worst with this is that I can't change my hair back, I have to go around and look like this."
"Is it only the hair?" Alicia asked.
"Thankfully yes."
"I think that I'd also rather have a boy as a first born." Alicia said after a while.
"Then I think it's lucky that you devoted yourself to George." Tonks said with a glint in her eye. "Boys tend to run in the Weasley family."
"Oh, haven't you realized that that is the only reason I ever started to date George?" Alicia joked. "I don't really love him; I just want to have a first born boy."
Tonks started to laugh again; she found the joke once again funnier that it actually was. "Sorry." She said again when she had calmed down. "Sorry." She said once again. "Tell me something non-funny."
"Tomorrow does George and I have to go to Bill and Fleur's place because Fleur wants to give us a happy engagement dinner." Alicia sighed.
"Okay, but it has been over a month and half since you announced it." Tonks mentioned, not laughing at all. "Why didn't she do it then?"
"I have been trying to avoid it." Alicia continued. "But it's only now that I can't get out of it."
"I don't envy you." Tonks said and leaned back in the sofa, but out of sudden she snatched Alicia's hand, so forcefully that she almost fell of the sofa, and placed it at the hand on her bally.
"What are you doing?" Alicia asked.
"Just wait a second." Tonks said.
Alicia still had no idea why Tonks was acting like she did. But after a moment she felt something against her hand. It was like small bubbles were touching her palm. "Was that...?" She asked, smiling.
"Yeah it was." Tonks responded.
"The baby kicked." Alicia said all exited.
"Are you serious you really want to?" The father looked down at his daughter.
"Yes." The daughter said and then gave her father a big Please-smile. "It could be fun, and I did bring with me my school books." She added pointing toward her bag.
"Fine, but just sit in the corner and don't disturb." He said. "Do you studying and... Study."
"I promise I won't disturb." She said following him down the hall. "I'll sit in the corner and listen..." The father gave her a look. "Study, I mean." She was so excited; this was to be her first glance on how it would be like to go in the auror program.
"If you don't behave, I'll put you in the cubicle." His working place. The dreadful cubicle, she didn't like that spot.
"Sorry we're late." He said to the person who already sat in there, a girl, she looked nice, and not really like the person who seemed to be made for this line of work.
"Don't worry, I just got here myself." She said and looked up at them.
"This is my daughter Alicia." He said, introducing them to each other. "Alli, this is Nymphadora, she's just starting her second training year."
"Hi, nice to meet you." Alicia said and held her hand out to her.
"Hi, sorry to ask, but are you the Alicia on the Gryffindor Quidditch team?" She asked and took the hand.
"Yeah, that's me." Alicia answered, surprised by being recognized.
"You made a real great performance in the match against Ravenclaw the year before last." Nymphadora said, smiling a little.
Alicia, who had not forgotten Davies's little demonstration, blushed slightly and walked over to the other side of the table and sat down with her books.
"What happened at the game, Wood did something?" Alicia's dad asked, when something was wrong, or something happened in the Quidditch part of Alicia's school time, he always asked if Wood was behind it.
"No dad, Wood was great. We just lost the game." Alicia answered, not looking up at him while she took out her study books.
Alicia's dad wasn't completely convinced but still sat down; Alicia did her best to listen, while trying not to listen. About twenty minutes later were they interrupted by a man in his early twenties. "Sorry to interrupt sir, but Fletcher have gone after Arthur Weasley, he is probably trying to get back his biting kettle."
"I'm on it." Alicia's dad said and stood up and got out of the room.
When Alicia saw her dad disappear out of the room she waited about three seconds before she stood up and got over to the chair her dad had sat in, and took a good look over the drafted report. Then she looked up at Nymphadora.
"Do you mind if I change a little?" Alicia asked.
"Um, no, but... should you do that?" She answered.
"Not really, no, but, dad make this mistake with these things. Using to difficult words." Alicia said, shaking her head. "You know, reports are about using easy words, so that people like you can easily understand."
"What do you mean, people like me?"
"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that." Alicia hurried to apologize. "I mean, people in training, like you. You can't believe how many reports you are going to have to read during your next year, that Kasey peep just a couple years ago said that it was dreadful doing that..."
"Kasey peep?" Nymphadora asked confused.
"Oh, sorry, it's just that Fred and George have started to call everybody 'a peep' and now I have it on my mind." Alicia explained.
"You mean Fred and George Weasley, like Charlie Weasley?"
"Yeah, d'you know him?"
"No, not really, we were in the same year, that's all." She continued and looked down at the table.
"Which house were you in?"
"Hufflepuff." She answered. "Who do you have as a new seeker; did you find anyone better than Charlie?"
"No, but we have Harry Potter, he's pretty good."
"Oh you have Harry potter, tell me. How special is he? Have any secret special powers?" she asked with eager in her eyes.
"Not that I have noticed no." Alicia answered, she heard a noise outside the door and hurried out of the chair she sat in and back into her own.
When Alicia's dad entered the room he looked at Alicia with suspicion.
"You have been sitting there all the time?" He asked her.
"Yes, dad, of course I have." Alicia said in a convincing lie. "I have done schoolwork, you see?" She held up her book for her dad to see.
He seemed to believe her lie and sat down, but when he took up the drafted report and took a look at it, his face changed.
"Have you done these changes?" He asked Nymphadora.
"Um, yes I have." Nymphadora answered. It was too bad that she was such a bad liar
"Alli." He said and looked at his daughter.
"You know what dad, I love the cubicle." Alicia said in a hurried voice and collected her stuff. "I think I'm going to sit there instead. Bye Nymphadora." She said as she passed her dad and Nymphadora.
"Call me Tonks." She answered.
"Okay... Tonks." Alicia smiled and got out of the room.
The sound of a pair of bare feet going across the silent hall in the dead of night was easier heard then usually. But Alicia was pretty sure that nobody had heard her. She tiptoed across the hall and down to the guest bedroom at the end of the hall. The small house of Mrs Tonks contained four bedrooms, a master bedroom, Tonks bedroom and two guest bedrooms. Alicia slept in one of the guest bedrooms and Fred and George stayed in the other. She carefully opened the door to the second guest bedroom. The vision that hit her when she opened the door was amusing.
There was only one bed in the room, which Fred and George had to share. They slept with their heads at different ends. George was sleeping at his side and his back pressed against the wall. Fred was sleeping on his stomach and lay pretty much on the edge of the bed. And by the look of it were both of them wearing full body covering clothes.
She walked up to the bed and clumsily got over Fred's legs and lay herself down next to George. "George?" She whispered to him.
He moaned and opened his eyes. "Hey, I like waking up and finding cute girl in my bed." He muttered smiling and kissed her on the lips.
"Then you are a lucky guy." She answered and kissed him back. She looked down at Fred who had woken up by Alicia's clumsy way of getting over him. "Where are you going?" She asked him when he stood up.
"I'm going to your bed." He said with a very tired voice as he tiredly staggered out of the room.
She watched him until the door closed, and then she turned back toward George who had woken up a little and started to get undressed. Confused she looked at him.
"Um George... what are you doing?" She asked.
George, who had now removed all of his clothes except his underpants, returned her confused look. "You know I don't like sleeping in a lot of clothes." He answered with a naughty grin, and moved his hand inside her tee.
"Actually..." Alicia started and removed his hands out of her tee, wiping away the grin on his face. "That is what I came here for; I wanted to talk to you about..." She took a deep breath. "I think that we should wait. Stop."
"Why?" He asked, he had this look on his face which reminded Alicia about boy who just had been thrown out of a candy store. "Is everything okay?"
"Everything is okay." She answered. "It's just... geez, you'll probably think I'm stupid for thinking this."
"Well, you won't know that until you tell me."
She paused and just looked at him for a moment before she told him. "I'm afraid I'll get pregnant, I can't, not now." She shook her head. "Not in the middle of everything."
"That's understandable." He replied nodding, being surprisingly understanding. "I love you. And if you want to wait, I'll wait."
She looked at him; not understanding how she had ended up with such a perfect guy, everything about him was so perfect.
"I love you too." She replied. She turned around so she had her back toward his chest; he brushed away her hair and placed his cheek toward hers and his arm around her stomach.
She remember that the last thought she had before she fell asleep was about how happy she felt, and how guilty over it. She was perfectly happy while others suffered.
Me Note; Sorry for the delay. It's just that I have lost a little enthusiasm for this story. Maybe it have something to do about how many people are reading it, but doesn't think it's good enough to give a review.
Thank to my only reviewer "bik". That review meant a lot to me.
