The Parents
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"We're just late" I said pointing to the clock, it was thirteen minute pasted "Almost Fashionable" I sighed, this was going to be a long dinner.
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Elizabeth and her parents went in first then we went next. The Restaurant was very fancy and I knew that this was the O'Connor's choice of dining. The ceiling was rimmed with a shiny gold boarder and the floor was dark mahogany. The O'Connor went straight to the host, who was a aged man with many wrinkles, while my mother gushed over my smart outfit she never seen before. I sighed and glanced around the room, all the waiters were men and around my age. It was times like this that a prized the shop so much, I couldn't image starting at the bottom and working my way up the ladder. Fred and I would go mad.
"Go on George don't be shy" Mum said poking my back while the host lead us to our table. I winced and walked beside Elizabeth. I wonder what age I'll be when my mother notices I'm not a child any more.
"They make such a cute couple don't you think Arthur?" Mum whispered loudly. I looked down at Elizabeth she was staring at the violinist who was playing a slow song, I glanced at the blonde haired, lanky looking, man who stole a glance at Elizabeth.
When the host showed us to our round table of six he walked off, I guess for the menu's. Elizabeth and I sat opposite each other. She gave me a small smile before she sat down hiding her amazing legs from view.
"Oh Molly you must try the duck" Mrs. O'Connor gushed to my Mam, as they sat down beside each other.
"So George how is business?" I heard Mr. O'Connor voice asked in the background of my mind, While I was staring at his daughter.
"Amazing legs" I whispered in a daze.
"What was that?" He asked smiling at me, I stared at him dumbly before saying.
"Amazing, we're actually thinking of extending some more, we're going to be looking for more help soon" I ranted out, I don't think Elizabeth heard my first comment since she was glancing around the room especially at the bar and the blond violinist.
"How many hours do you work?" Mr. O'Connor asked grinning at me. I suddenly felt like I was in a interview and it didn't feel like I was doing well.
"He works far to much." Elizabeth commented, causing her fathers' eye to leave me to stare at her "Did you know that they're open six days a week, ten till six and it's only the two of them and they never have extra help" Elizabeth stated her voice was a lot harder than I ever heard it. She obviously didn't want to be at dinner with her parents or she had a fight with one of them lately which wouldn't be shocking after meeting her whole family in the old part of town on Monday.
"I think it does the world of good for to the two of them to be working, all they ever did before they shop was cause trouble" My Mum half scolded, I rolled my eye's.
"Our sons are inventors " Dad explained "I suppose they needed a bit of trouble before they found there place" I coughed, Fred had said that as a joke once, that we were Prank inventors and it should be on our business card or something, but it was only a joke.
"Really? Your shops' in the Joke & Prank industry right?" Mrs. O 'Connor asked. I nodded, she purse her lips for a second before she smiled at me "Jasmine wrote and said that our Ivy has been visiting your shop" She stated, it felt like a question like she was making sure that Elizabeth was at the shop.
"Yeah, Elizabeth was over just yesterday. She stayed all day though I didn't think it was necessary, she had friends to catch up with and I have nearly no time to talk" It looked like Elizabeth was scanning her mother to see her response she must have been please because Elizabeth smirked and went back to glancing around the room.
The waiter came back with his order booklet and menu's. He walked around the circle table handing them out, Elizabeth last. I knew what I was getting the minute I open the menu. 'The house special' : Soup, Stake and cheese cake.
"What do you think Mum? Duck or Salmon" Elizabeth half whispered, her mother was flicking threw the menu everyone else seem to be ready.
"The Sole is Lovely and you must order the French soup for starters, I heard that the chicken was lovely from a few friends. But you know you mightn't like the salmon" Elizabeth nodded once and for a moment I felt that the question was a formality more than chat.
The Grey haired host came over paper ready "Ready to order?" He asked with a charming smile.
"I'll have the house special" I said, waiting for him to write it down, then I added "And a Fire whiskey to drink" Mr. O'Connor nodded
"Make that two, Frank" He grinned. After everyone ordered and our drinks came I stared off around the restaurant.
"You a big drinker George?" Mr. O'Connor asked, I sighed and swirled my drink around in my glass.
"No I wouldn't say I am, we, Fred and I used to go out most weekend into town with the boys. Lately Fred's been going out by himself with the boys" I explained looking straight into Mr. O'Connor's eyes there was a quick moment that passed threw us and I just knew that he was accepting me.
"Our Ivy loves to go out, It's sort of what our children bond with, Parties, nights out and stories" Mrs. O'Connor smiled, that would explained the glass of white wine in front of Elizabeth.
"But I would never abuse alcohol" Elizabeth smiled at her father "I've had my messy moments with it" She admitted smiling at her father.
"It's all part of live " Mum nodded, Bullshit! She would have skinned us alive if she knew we were drinking at sixteen. Our Brooms would have been locked up and we would have been doing chores all day long every day.
"And since my whole family is older than me I've watched them all go threw the messy adventures. And I know better than to put myself threw that" She smiled at my mum.
"Oh yes remember, Lorries 2nd boyfriend? We even have tapes of how terrible that one was! And Dylan's friends from the 'Black knight Club' what a waste of a year" Mrs. O'Connor shook her head "I swear if there was something my kids could show our Ivy what not to do in the teenage live it was done" Mrs. O'Connor half frowned.
"I think Michael's Tapes are the only ones that are really bad" Elizabeth countered "all the others are moderate compared" She laughed quietly.
"George you'll have to come over to the mansion some time and see them, maybe you can get a weekend off and Ivy can show you her old life" Mr. O'Connor stated I glanced at Elizabeth who was staring at bar tender pouring red and Green liquids into cocktail glasses it hit me: It wasn't just only me in this fucked up magic but I had the better situation going on than Elizabeth. I was at home, comfortable. While Elizabeth was staying between triplets and the only friends she has in England were Slytherins and supposedly me.
"Yeah, Maybe if Fred doesn't mind, we can defiantly" I stated slowly "I mean I bet Elizabeth had tones of people she'll want to see before she heads back to school. Where do you go by..." Elizabeth quickly stood up and stopped me talking.
"Sorry May I be excused" Elizabeth asked softly, her father nodded once and with a frown on her face she left for the bar.
"She'll be moving to Hogwarts and she'll be in the 7th year there" Mr. O'Connor stated seriously "Dumbeldore only accepted her there last week"
"Merlin she's only sixteen years old, she should be in 6th year at most" Mum gasped placing her empty wine glass back down on the table.
"My daughter would never say it but she's extraordinarily smart. So when we told Dumbeldore we needed our daughter to move schools..."
I interrupted him "...Sorry but why is she moving schools" I asked taking a sip of my drink.
"Our Ivy wants to be an artist, even if she doesn't know it yet" Mr. O'Connor explained
"That's interesting" Mum commented. Mrs. O'Connor pursed her lips again.
"My Daughter won't be an artist it's not in her future" Mr. O'Connor stated, I glance over at the bar, Elizabeth stood showing off her amazing legs and long, dirty-blond hair she was smiling and chatting to the young male waiters who stood around her. Men seemed to just be drawn to her.
"Why not?" I asked flicking my eye's back to the O' Connors.
"Because you're her future now and Arthur had mentioned that you have the shop and your twin, so the chance of Ivy getting to Paris, Rome, New York, Berlin, Sidney, Venice or Barcelona to study is nearly impossible" I shook my head 'no' all four parents stared at me waiting.
"I don't mind if she travels to study, I mean if my dream had three more years in school for it I would do the three years, Why can't she?" Mrs. O'Connor laughed lightly.
"To be an artist you must give more than three years, that wound get you nowhere. And as much as I love our Ivy she just doesn't have the discipline to become an famed artist. She has the talent but not the heart any more" Mrs. O'Connor explained "not many people know about out daughters silly dream, only family really. People who can see what she's thinking with out her saying any words. All of our children before her has had amazing but reasonable dreams, we knew them before they even did also, Fashion, Quiddage, writing, Teaching, Doctor and I honestly thought the exploring was as crazy as it got but an Artist!" She shook her head lifting her nearly empty red wine glass to her lips.
"So what will Elizabeth do after school" Mum asked touching her desert spoon. Glancing over to our waiter I wished he'd hurry up the deserts.
"Well she'll get married" Mr. O'Connor flicked his eyes at me for a moment "and then she'll be what ever is reasonable of her" he explained seriously.
I frowned and downed my drink how could they just take away a sixteen year olds whole live away? For a stupid Marriage!
"But if art is what she'd good at why not let her go for that?" I asked, glancing over at the bar, Elizabeth was walking back now, with all of the young waiter's eye's following her. She had a tray of all our different drinks in her hands.
"Ivy is good at a lot of things, she is by far the most talented child" He mothered smiled at her daughter "And a quickly learner to" Elizabeth smiled a small smile while she walked around out table placing out drinks in front of us, when she placed mine down and picked up the empty glass I caught a most wonderful smell of roses and some sort of sweets, breathing it in and I knew it was Elizabeth's perfume and it was wonderfully mouth watering. When Ivy sat down after leaving the tray on a empty table her mother turned to her "We were just table about your talents and what you want to be when your older"
"Oh" she nodded lifting up her new drink it was black with a blue liquid floating on the top, I knew it was a strong drink and I noticed that Elizabeth made my fire whisky a double this time round. Obviously she knew it was torture for me as well as her. "Well I always wanted to work with animals in Australia but that like nine months away from home. But I have to do something that will make me famous for it, because my whole family are famous for their jobs even Paul and he's only a English teacher..." she muttered taking a sip of her drink it looked like sour blue berry spirit with some sort of darken light cider maybe.
"The Best English teacher in Europe" Her father grinned, she nodded smiled a little more, I drank some of my whiskey. Her family seemed to enjoy putting pressure on each other.
"But I can't do anything my family already has done like Modelling or Quiddage because they'd kill me when I'd out do them" She grinned taking a bigging sip or the drink
"And our Ivy would out do all our other children easily if she pout her mind to it" Mrs. O'Connor grinned.
"Not Michael though or Killian, to be honest, Dragons and Writing aren't my thing" She explained, taking an other small sip of her drink.
"So you think of your self as talented?" Mum asked with an eye brow raised. Mum hated people with ego's, that's why she and Fleur didn't get on too well at the beginning and bow they both know how to work around each other.
"My daughter is very talented" Mr. O'Connor stated taking a sip of his third whiskey.
Her mother patted Elizabeth's arm "One of more talented in all of Ireland" I could see where her parents were coming from, mum would always speak of our talents and forget about our faults when she was around new people. But mum was testing Elizabeth, even if her parents didn't see that.
"Now Mam I wouldn't say that! I didn't even get on the scholar list like Paul, Michael and Killian." She whispered in her hard voice to her mother, but I knew from the way my mum's face lightened that it was heard by the whole table "I don't think I'm extremely talented Mrs. Weasley, but if I dare say I am quiet talented at a few things" Elizabeth voice was soft when she spoke now, she was a different person to different people.
The deserts came and we all had something, Elizabeth was having chocolate ice cream I noticed and she had poured a lot of chocolate sauce and a bit of cream on the side. Smiling to my self I ate my chocolate cheese cake, she likes chocolate too.
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While we ate our deserts the Violinist finished and a pianist came out and took his seat at the shiny piano. I moved to the slow song in my seat while everyone else ate and chat as if no music changed happened at all.
I felt eyes on me, glancing over to George he was smiling dumbly at his cheese cake. Glancing at his fire whiskey I wondered if he only drank whiskey or if he was still a little crazy with his drinking. I smiled sightly and finished off my ice cream hoping that soon this meeting would be over and I could go shopping in muggle London.
"Michael tells us that he has meet your son Charles in Romania before, actually a lot of our children have meet before, The triplets mentioned Percy once, Shauna said something about Bill before" Dad smiled glancing at me.
"About Charms or jinxes was it? " Mum wondered out loud, she was having a fruit salad and almost gave out to me for ordering ice cream. I just smirked and took some more of the Blueberry Cocktail the bar tender told me I must try.
"Oh yes, Bill worked in Egypt as a charm breaker, Bill is recently engaged, so of course you'll all be invited to the Wedding" Mrs. Weasley smiled at my parents
"We'd love to go" Mum smiled fake, I knew now and merlin knows how long away the wedding was going to be that my Parents were going to be mysteriously sick or away that weekend.
A new song started up, it was a waltz. I watch with longing as some of the other persons in the room coupled up and danced on the darkened dance floor. I knew that for dinner in the 'Golden Sword' that the dance floor was never half empty and always lit with spotlight, it was known to dance in the restaurant while you waited for food or had eaten and were finishing an evening.
Picking up the cocktail I took the final sip of the drink before placing on the table. My mother quick snatched the drink from the table and sniffed the top of the glass. She did it in such a quick movement I was certain that no one else at our table noticed it. As much as my mother gloated that our family bonded over drinking and Parties she never let any of us really drink hard alcohol until we were at least seventeen. She nodded once telling me that it was O.K not that there was much I could do about it being good now, I had drank all of it and it was far from O.K with the three or four shots of spirits the bar tender slipped into the tall glass.
"Isn't this such a lovely piece of music?" I asked the group of adults. They all stopped eating and chattering to listen. Smiling Mrs. Weasley turned to her son smiling, whispering in his ear he shook his head frowning.
"Why yes it is, do you know the name of the pianist?" Mum asked me sipping her red wine. I glanced away from George and his mother's silent argument to glance over at the black hair middle aged man.
"No, I'm afraid I don't, must be American" I explained glancing at the bar man, he must have felt my gaze because he smiled and nodded at me.
"Do you like the piano?" Mr. Weasley asked me, his wife still quietly talking to her son.
I nodded smiling brightly "I love all sorts of music" my smiled flattered "I'd like to think of my self of an artist of such between my playing and dancing" I explained I flicked my blond hair over my shoulder.
"Elizabeth..." George said a little too loudly across the table, he coughed and stood up "Would you like to dance?" he asked, Mrs. Weasley looked so happy at that very moment.
I stared at George for a moment too long, my mother elbowed my left side and I gasped and said a loud "Yes" coughing a little myself and replying with "I would love to" softly.
George walked around the table slowly, his eye's on the table never on me, he pulled out my chair for me, then held out his arm, which I took and we walked to the dimmed dance floor.
"I don't really dance just to let you know, the last time I danced was at the Yule ball, you know for the Tri Whizard Cup that Cedric Diggery won?" George mutter to me his eye's over at the piano a face on him like the instrument was pure evil. We stood opposite each other for a moment while a song ended and a new one was going to start up soon and if we didn't dance we would look silly and silly doesn't work in my family.
"I know many dances how about I help you lead me" I whispered "Place your hand gently on my waist and take my hand firmly but not too tight when the music starts up again. And never let your eye's leave mine" I smiled "Try to look happy, My Dad loves to critic all my dance partners."
George's eye's flicked to my face, I caught his sea blue eye's with mine for a second before he started to flicker his eye's over my face. It looked like he was trying to count my light scattering of freckles over my face. I laughed lightly. "What?" He asked taking my waist in one of his hands and my hand in the other huge hands. My hand fit nicely into his wide hand.
"One, Two, Three, One, Two, Three" I smiled when George quickly caught the rhythm and lead me, he lead me, badly but he lead me and that would just have to do. "You finished counting my freckles yet?" I whispered softly.
George's eye met mine for a second before he looked over my head "I wasn't... Oh no I was just... your eye's there so green" He complemented. I smiled wildly, he grinned at me before leaning down some more so that his lips were at my ear "You know you've got some cute dimples when you really smile" his breath no my ear made me want to shiver but I didn't.
I sighed and he straightened his back, I relaxed into the dance. "I know you don't want to dance with me" I smiled, "You were asked by your mother, and she as far as I can tell seems like a woman who knows how to get her way" I smiled a small smile and glanced over at the two other dancers, they were swaying the waltz very close to each other. Their chest and legs almost never leaving the others while they whispered to each other causing one to blush or giggle.
"I'm not a very good Dancer, so I didn't want to embarrass either of us." He whispered, the song was almost over and George was getting better at leading me. He grinned down at me "You know I'm shocked I haven't stepped on your foot yet" He chuckled. Glancing up into his face I watched as his face turned happy "I'm just good at following a person lead" I whispered, watching his eye's as they dropped to look into mine.
I smiled a little "Why are your friends with Nott & Zabini?" He asked me bluntly. My smile flattered, why was be thinking about them right now?
I glanced over my our parents they were chatting and stealing glances over at the pair of us. "Well they're.. they're the only friends I have in London apart from my family and a few famous people I know a little. Beside they're fun and enjoy my company" I explained quietly, the song finished and we stopped dancing.
"Well as long as your sure they're nothing like the Malfoy's" George said in a hard voice.
"Your actually quiet a good dancer" I smirked as George walked us over to Bar away from the dance floor, I guessed.
"You shouldn't joke about such important things like dancing Miss O'Connor" George grinned, obviously enjoying the complement about his dancing "I'm sure our parents will congratulate me with foul worlds"
I laughed at George's humour. His eye's which had been wondering anywhere but my eyes, focus only on my face and eyes. I quickly stopped my laughing and stared back into his sea blue eyes while he looked into my green. The new song started up and George coughed and looked over to our table.
"You know there is a really nice sweet shop down the road" I mentioned, wishing that George notice the hint in my voice that I didn't want to go back to the round table.
"Are you trying to get away from the parents?" George asked me grinning "If you are I would love to buy some candy" As we walked back to the round table I smirked and George grinned, Our parents all looked up simultaneously at us when we got to the table.
"Mum I wanted to show George the sweet shop down the road" I asked sweetly, I let my hard annoyed voice go for the moment, both my parents smiled wildly at the idea.
"Oh, what a great idea Ivy hunnie" My Dad grinned "And George I must say you did a well job at leading my daughter, usually she leads the man" He chuckled
I glanced at my shiny green heals, why did he say that? "Is it all right if we say goodbye?" I asked politely
"Oh yes, Ivy it was so nice to see you, and I must mention that I love your outfit" Mrs. Weasley smiled at us, obviously she thought her forcing George to Dance with me was making both of us get along.
"Thank you Mrs. Weasley" I nodded. George walked around me to stand in front of my parents. Thinking about it George and I really didn't have a problem with each other just the marriage.
"It was great to see you Mr. O'Connor and Mrs. O'Connor is was a pleasure" He said seriously. My father stood up and patted George's back, I stared in confusion the only people he did that to was his friends.
"We'll be seeing you and our Ivy for dinner in the Mansion soon I hope" He grinned at George.
He nodded "As soon as we can afford the time" George answered. "Mum, Dad, I'll see you for Sunday dinner" He nodded at his parents. He began to walk towards the door.
"I'll write" I said to my parents back in my hard voice "And it was nice to see you again" I said to the Weasleys.
"Pleasure" Mr. Weasley nodded to me. Smiling once more I followed George out of the 'Golden Sword' into the warm sunny day.
"So is there really a sweet shop or was that all a way to get away from the parents?" George grinned stretching out his arms then rolling up his dark green shirt's sleeves to his elbows and loosing the tie I gave him.
"Both, and there is one of thee best café in this little town that do some of the nicest shots ever" I sighed running my fingers threw my hair.
"Shots?" George asked me confused
"Yeah, Your going to need it after you notice that our parents followed us to the sweet shop" I said pointing back into the restaurant where out parents had all ready asked for their coats and the bill.
"want to sneak to the café first and do the sweet shop after?" George grinned down at me, smiling up at him and nodded, I guess that George doesn't just drink Fire Whiskey.
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A/N:
It would be really nice if some of you readers out there could Review.. If you like it or not.. I just need to know if the story is worth the time or not.
Please and Thank you,
*stardiamond94*