Chapter 33
7 Years Later
'Ash. Ash. Ash. Ash. Ash' George said, poking her face
'This is like deja-vu of every Christmas since forever' Ashley groaned, causing George to laugh slightly 'By any chance is it 6 in the freaking morning?' she added, opening her eyes
'4 actually' George said, winking at her before a grin broke out on his face
'Git' Ashley muttered, before rolling over again
'Do you not know the routine by now, love? You've had 7 years practice'
'Hmm I'm not sure, you may have to tell me again' she smiled into the pillow
'Well, first off you turn over' he said, at which point she turned over 'Then I kiss you' he added, before leaning down and kissing her 'Then you try to turn back' at this point she tried to turn back over 'But then I stop you and you fall asleep in my arms', he turned her back over and pulled her into him
'You're adorkable' Ashley smiled
'Adorkable?'
'Yes, Dorky and Adorable at the same time'
'Please, I'm full on adorable and you know it' he said, adding a wink
'Keep on dreaming, Georgie' she grinned, at which point George's mouth dropped open into an O shape
'You don't think I'm adorable?' he pouted, before making a puppy dog face
'Nope. I think you're ugly and icky and stupid' she said, trying to keep a straight face
'I think we've gotten past the part where you can fake not liking me, love' George smiled
'Aww' Ashley pouted 'When did that time go?'
'About the time we got married' George grinned
'Ugh. Why did I marry you' she groaned, before a smile crept onto her face
'Now that's mean!' he smiled, before leaning down and kissing her again '…You don't really regret it, do you?'
'Of course not you muppet! If I really regretted it do you think I would have had Alexa after the twins? I love you, idiot'
'I knew you didn't regret it, I just wanted to hear it' George grinned 'and I love you too'
'Good, now we've had that far too early discussion, can I please go back to sleep?'
'Of course, love' George smiled, kissing the top of her head. However, the second Ashley closed her eyes…
'MUMMY! DADDY! IT'S CHRISTMAS!' identical ginger boys yelled, running into their parents bedroom and jumping onto the bed, shortly followed by a younger girl with brown-ish ginger hair.
'Ugh' Ashley groaned into George's t-shirt, causing him to smile
'Yes, it is Christmas' George said, 'Fred, Remus, Alexa; if you don't go back to bed right now, you won't be getting any presents', at his last words, the children's blue eyes went as wide as saucers, and they quickly jumped off the bed and ran quickly off to their own rooms
'Harsh but well done' Ashley murmured
'That's what you keep me around for' George smiled
'That and other reasons' she laughed 'But wake me up at 4a.m ever again and I'll murder you. It's not even light out yet!' she said, pointing towards the curtains in their room
'Would you rather have been woken up by me, or by children screaming "MUMMY! DADDY!"' George imitated, a grin on his face
'Probably the children; they have an excuse to be immature, they're children' she smirked
'Really? I think I'd rather be woken up by you' he said, kissing her cheek
'Don't act like you don't love the daddy thing, George' she joked 'Whenever you're in a bad mood all one of them has to do is say the word daddy and you're practically hyperactive and smile-y again' she smiled
'I do love it, I'm not going to act lik-'
'Daddy' a small voice interrupted, both Ashley and George turned around to see Alexa standing in the doorway, a teddy bear tucked under one arm whilst she rubbed her eyes with the other hand
'What's wrong, Lex?' George spoke softly, sitting up and facing the young girl
'I had a nightmare before and now I can't sleep' she said, changing the teddy bear around in her arms and hugging it into her chest
'Come here, then' Ashley said, holding out her arms, causing Alexa to run over, jump up onto the bed and lie down in between George and Ashley, pulling the covers over herself
'You comfortable there?' George smirked, as she pulled the covers off him
'Yes, thank you' she grinned, causing George to roll his eyes and pull the covers back over himself, making Alexa glare at him
'Daddy!' she scolded
'Yes, midget?' he smiled
'Daddy!' she frowned, 'I'm not a midjeet...what's a midjeet?'
'A very very short person' George said, smiling at his daughter
'I'm not a short per-' Alexa began
'Right, children' Ashley interrupted 'It's time for sleep, because mummy is very tired and if Lex doesn't go to sleep she won't get up' she muttered, slamming her head down into the pillow
'Well, as much as I hate to admit it, mummy's right' George said, 'You need to go to sleep, Lex'
'Okay' she said, quietly - which was mainly due to the fact that her eyelids were already drooping 'night..' she managed to say, before passing out against George's arm
'Such a daddy's girl' Ashley joked
'Guess she chose the best parent then, didn't she?' George winked, before leaning forwards and kissing her lightly 'Just kidding, love you, Ash'
'Love you too, even though you are an arse' she smirked,
'So loving' George murmured, though he was practically asleep himself
'Just go to sleep, Georgie' she smiled
'Mhm' he murmured back, before his own head hit the pillow. Ashley couldn't help smiling at the both of them, fast asleep and leaning on each other. She leaned up on her elbows and kissed George's cheek, causing a faint smile to appear on his lips.
-oOo-
'Fred! Remus! Would you stop trying to trick your sister!' Ashley yelled at the two boys who were currently outside the Burrow with their sister, James, Rose, Teddy, Victoire and Louis. The 8 of them were running around in the snow; and it looked as if Remus and Fred were trying to convince Alexa of something, though it wasn't clear what 'I have absolutely no doubt that they are related to you' Ashley said to George, smiling
'You doubted it before?!' he exclaimed
'Well...no' she smirked,
'Good' he grinned, then craned his neck down and kissed her.
'Ugh, could you try not eating each others faces off? People eat in this room!' Ron said as he was walking in, causing Ashley to turn and face him
'Shut it' George smirked, wrapping his arms around Ashley's waist and placing his chin on the top of her head
'Um...Ash?' Ron asked, frowning
'Yeah?'
'I think Fred's eating a worm or something…' at this Ashley looked out the window and saw Fred holding a worm near his mouth whilst Remus was cheering
'Yeah, no doubt' she said to George, then yelled 'FRED! DO NOT EAT THAT! Bloody hell'
'Hey, me and Fred never ate worms' George said, whilst he and Ashley sat opposite Ron on the kitchen table
'What are you on about, Daddy?' Fred asked, wandering into the room with Remus
'Your Uncle'
'Which one?' Remus asked
'Fred' George said
'That's me!' Fred said
'How can you be your own uncle, stupid!' Remus said
'So Fred isn't me?' Fred asked, cocking his head to the side and frowning in confusion
'No, he's your other uncle' George said,
'We have another uncle?' Fred asked, making George and Ashley smile
'Yeah, you have Uncle Bill, Uncle Charlie, Uncle Percy, Uncle Fred, Uncle Ron and Uncle Harry' Ashley said
'But your favourite is Uncle Ron' Ron said quickly
'Nahh-' Remus began
'Uncle Charlie's our favourite-' Fred continued
'He teaches us about-' Remus added
'Dragons' they both said, grinning
'So, Uncle Charlie's your favourite?' Charlie asked, grinning whilst walking into the kitchen and sitting next to Ron
'Yeah! Then Uncle Bill-' Fred smiled
'then Uncle Harry' Remus continued
'Cause he tells us about adventures' Fred grinned
'Then Uncle Ron-'
'He's usually too busy with Auntie Mione'
'Then Uncle Percy's last-'
'Last time we saw him-'
'He made us learn about-'
'The ministry' they both said, sticking their tongues out
'Bloody hell, George' Charlie said, looking at his brother 'They could be you and Fred'
'How come we never met Uncle Fred?' Remus asked, causing Ron and Charlie to glance at George and Ashley, the latter of whom was also looking at George.
'Well, erm' George began, clearing his throat 'Your uncle died before you were even born'
'Was he your twin, daddy? Like Remus for me?' Fred asked, walking over and sitting on George's knee, whilst Remus sat on Ashley's
'Yeah, he was' George smiled
'Do you miss him?' Remus asked
'Of course' George began 'Everyday', at saying this Ashley looked at George and smiled slightly
'Did mummy know Uncle Fred?' Fred asked
'She did' George smiled 'In fact, me, mummy and Uncle Fred were best friends since before we were your age'
'Really?' they both asked
'Yeah, they were' Charlie smiled
'Would we have liked Uncle Fred, daddy?' Remus asked
'Yeah, you'd have loved him; he liked pranks, just like you did. Knowing him, he would probably have helped you prank everyone'
'Even mummy?' Fred questioned
'Yes, even mummy' George grinned
'Even though she was his best friend?' Remus added
'Yes, even though they were best friends. See, mummy was best friends with uncle Ron, but we used to play pranks on him all the time' George said
'Wicked' they both smirked, at this Ron, Charlie and Ashley's eyes widened as they looked at George, who was grinning
'George?' Ron asked
'Yeah?'
'Don't let them play pranks on Rose, would you?'
'Or Victoire and Louis … I know enough about Weasley pranks to know that Bill and Fleur would both flip' Charlie smiled
'So that leaves Alexa, Teddy and James' they both grinned
'No!' Ashley warned
'Fine' they groaned
'We'll just wait-' Fred began
'Until we get to Hogwarts' Remus grinned
'No!' Ashley warned
'But mummy!' they whined
'You need to do schoolwork when you get there, boys' she smiled
'Alexa can be smart, we'll just do pranks' Fred grinned
'Why does that sound exactly like something you used to say to mum about Ginny' Ron smirked, looking towards George
'I have raised them well' George joked
'Ahem, we have raised them well' Ashley said, raising her eyebrows at George, as Alexa ran into the room, the ends of her hair changing colour - from it's natural brown, to purple, to red, to blue, back to natural
'Did her hair - ?' Charlie began, frowning
'Yep' George said
'And neither of you are - ?' Charlie said again
'Nope' George smirked
'Unbelievable' Bill said,
'Awesome, though' Ashley added, as Alexa sat on the other side of her knee
'Muuummy' she moaned
'Whaaat?' Ashley imitated
'I wanna open my presents!'
'Well you'll have to wait, little one' she smirked
'I don't wanna wait!' she said, crossing her arms across her chest whilst pouting
'Think she got Ash's temper' Ron smirked
'Shut it, Ron' Ashley glared, whilst George nodded at Ron, causing Ashley to look at him and smack his arm, smirking.
-oOo-
Soon after their conversation, everyone had sat down to eat. Although as soon as they had finished eating the children had ran off to open more of their presents, Alexa in the lead and running the fastest. Whereas most of the adults had taken to sitting in the kitchen and talking, although after a few hours people had begun to leave, meaning the only people that were currently left in the kitchen were George, Ashley, Bill and Charlie (along with Fred, Remus, Alexa, Victoire and Louis, who were in the Living room - most probably asleep at this point)
'I just have to say this again,' Charlie began 'How are Fred and Remus so much like you and Fred used to be?'
'No idea' George said 'Are they really that much like me and Fr-'
'Yes' Bill interrupted, smirking
'Let's just hope one of them doesn't lose the other then' George said, causing Ashley to squeeze his hand under the table, making George look at her
'They won't.' she reassured him
'She's right, mate' Bill said 'What happened before-'
'Won't happen again, yeah, I know' George ended
'Let's just erm – change the subject' Charlie said
'So, Alexa's a metamorphmagus, right?' Bill said
'Apparently - although maybe it'll just be the hair thing' Ashley replied, 'Though I have no idea where she could have gotten it from; I don't think there's anyone on my side...'
No idea' George muttered, though he seemed to be more interested in one of the walls, Ashley frowned at him, but before she could say anything, Bill spoke up;
'Bloody hell' he began, whilst he was looking at his watch 'Fleur wanted me home an hour ago with the kids, I have to go'
'What time is it?' Ashley asked
'2:30' Bill replied, then quickly stood up and walked into the other room, he came back in carrying an asleep Louis while holding a tired looking Victoire's hand. 'See you all tomorrow/today probably' he said, then disapparated.
'We should probably go as well' Ashley said 'They've been awake for almost a day'
'Right' George said 'You go get them and I'll stay here?'
'Lazy' Ashley muttered, but stood up and walked into the Living room all the same. George took a final swig of the Firewhiskey, then placed the empty bottle on the table and made a move to get up
'I have a question, George' Charlie asked
'Yeah?' George asked, sitting back down again
'How did you end up this lucky?'
'What?' George frowned
'I mean, you're married to the girl you've fancied since you were, what, 5? you've got 3 bloody amazing kids, 2 of which are exact replicas of yourself and your brother and the other is the cutest little girl in the world and will probably grow up to be one of the smartest in the family – but don't tell Bill or Ron I said that…you've got people who love you no matter what…I guess I'm just happy that something turned out right for you after all the shit you went through before with the war and then all the shit that happened with Ash...I guess everything worked out for you'
'Yeah, I'm definitely lucky to have them, I don't think I'd even know what I'd do without them - I can't even imagine being without them' George said, smiling to himself as Ashley walked into the room
'George, we have a minor problem' she stated, sighing slightly
'Merlin, what?' he asked, swiveling his head around to face her
'They're all asleep and I am definitely not able to carry 3 children - I can barely carry 1'
'I'm not asleep!' Remus said, running into the kitchen and grabbing Ashley's hand, leaning against her side to stop himself falling over from tiredness
'Well you shouldn't have pretended then' Ashley said, smiling down at the boy 'And by the looks of you, you should be asleep. Anyway, George, help me!'
'Right…see you tomorrow, Charlie' George said, 'and thanks'
'For what?' Charlie frowned
'Reminding me of what I've got and how lucky I am' George smiled, taking Ashley's free hand
'What are you on about?' Ashley frowned
'Nothing' Charlie smiled 'Anyway, see you lot tomorrow'
'Yeah … see you tomorrow' Ashley replied, frowning slightly, but couldn't say anything to Charlie due to the fact that she was then dragged into the living room by Remus and George,
'I'll take Fred, you gonna take Alexa?' George asked,
'Alright' Ashley said, taking her hand from George's and walking over to the youngest of the three children, she let go of Remus's hand for a second, then lifted Alexa up from the sofa, holding her on the side of her hip. She turned back to Remus and saw that he had gone, looking up and at George she saw him holding Fred, but looking towards the door leading from the Living room to the outside area, where Remus had his hands and nose pressed against the glass and was looking towards the Orchard
'What's wrong?' Ashley asked
'I just saw something in the Orchard!' Remus said, at this George and Ashley exchanged glances 'It looked like Daddy' he added, a tone of confusion in his voice.
'Maybe you think you saw it' Ashley said quickly, then walked over and took his hand
'Floo or Apparate?' she asked George
'Floo's probably easier, less chance of them waking up to throw up' George smirked, then walked towards the fire
'Take Remus with you as well?' Ashley asked
'Sure…are you alright?' George asked, frowning slightly
'Yeah, I'm fine' Ashley smiled, then let go of Remus, who ran towards George. A few seconds later they were gone, leaving Ashley and an asleep Alexa. She slowly walked towards where Remus had been standing a few minutes ago and looked out. There was absolutely nothing that she could see, though the fact that it was dark didn't help with that at all. A few minutes later she heard a noise behind her, but chose to ignore it, until she felt someone take Alexa off her and turned to see Charlie,
'I'll take her back…George is probably wondering where you've gone'
'Thanks' Ashley murmured, as Charlie began to walk away 'Hey, Charlie?' she questioned, turning to face him. He stopped in the middle of the room and turned to face her
'Yeah?'
'What exactly did George thank you for?'
'We were just talking about you and these three' he said, nodding towards Alexa; who was completely knocked out. 'And I just said that I was glad it all worked out for him after...you know what happened, and then what happened with you afterwards; the kid went through a lot in a short space of time, so I'm glad now that everything's fine, and he's got four amazing people in his life' Charlie smiled
'Thanks, Charlie...'
'No problem; I feel the same towards you - Fred was practically your twin brother' he joked 'And somehow I doubt being kidnapped didn't have an affect on you'
'Not as much as you'd think' she smiled 'But thanks, again.'
'Again, it's no problem' he smiled, before he. too, wandered over to the fire and disappeared from the room. As soon as he had gone Ashley walked outside and towards the Orchard, she wandered around for a while, looking everything over in detail, before sighing. Fred definitely wasn't here, and she shouldn't have been so stupid as to get her hopes up in the first place. She wandered around some more, wandering to the part of the Orchard where George had proposed. She stood in the exact spot for about 5 minutes, just remembering the time 7 years ago. It felt weird, thinking about the fact that Fred had been gone that long, and yet it was still completely obvious that no one was over it; no matter how hard anyone tried to convince themselves, or mainly George. There was a sudden breeze that sent a shiver up her spine, causing her to pull her sleeves over her hands, however before she could proceed to zip up her jacket; she felt someone's arms wrap around her.
'You alright, love?' George asked
'Yeah…why?'
'Well, I don't really need to explain why I think something might be wrong, do I?'
'I supposed you don't, no' Ashley sighed, 'Wait, who's with-'
'Charlie, but he said he's got to go in about 5 minutes…which was 2 minutes ago'
'Oh, alright' Ashley muttered, causing George to flip her around to face him then kiss her 'What was that for?'
'I need a reason?' he grinned 'Anyway, let's go back up to the house. It's bloody freezing out here'
'Okay' Ashley said, as George locked his fingers between hers and they walked back up to the house. However, before they stepped into the fire George stopped her
'You sure you're alright? I know what Remus said -'
'George, I'm fine, I swear.'
'If you're not it's fine, I know you're scared that I might freak out or some-'
'George, sweetie' she began, stepping closer to him 'I'm 27 years old, I know when I'm fine and when I'm not; I promise you that I am completely fine'
'Alright...but you'd tell me if you weren't, right?'
'Of course I would, but I promise I'm fine - so can we just go?' she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him into the fire. They emerged in the flat above WWW's (which now had another bedroom added on), where they were immediately greeted by Charlie saying bye and disapparating. Fred and Alexa were now asleep on the sofa, leaning against each other, whereas Remus was sitting next to them, swaying backwards and forwards slightly, his eyes half closed.
'If we each take one of the twins, then one of us can come back for Alexa' Ashley whispered, as she kicked off her shoes and went over to Remus, picking him up slowly, an action which was slowly followed by George, only with Fred, who's head had lolled onto George's shoulder at this point. They reached the boys bedroom and placed the children in their beds, just as they were about to leave Remus spoke up
'Mummy?'
'Yeah?' Ashley asked quietly
'Can I ask you something?'
'Alright' she smiled, then turned to George 'you can go and put Alexa to bed'
'Joys' he muttered, then smiled and walked out. Ashley walked over to Remus and sat on the bed next to him
'What's wrong?'
'You know how Fred's named after Uncle Fred and then has Daddy's name as his middle one?'
'Yeah...'
'Well, does that mean he's more important than me? Because he's named after daddy's brother and I'm not?'
'Of course it doesn't' Ashley said, then stroked his hair back 'He's no more important than you, in fact, you're named after someone who was related to me and then your middle name is the same as mine and daddy's old friend'
'Really?'
'Yeah, really' Ashley smiled 'His name was Remus and he was kind of my cousin (A.N No idea if that works, because Remus's parents were never mentioned that I can recall… but whatever, it's possible now) and he died in the war, so you're named after him. Then me and Daddy have a friend named Lee Jordan, who we've known since we were younger'
'But does that mean Fred's more important to daddy? Because Uncle Fred was his brother?'
'Definitely not. I promise you're just as important as Fred'
'Good…what about Alexa? What's her middle name?' Remus said
'Well, Alexa's middle name is Ginny, after your Auntie'
'Ohh yeah' Remus smiled, then lay back in bed 'Night, mummy'
'Night, Remus' Ashley smiled, kissing his forehead, then standing up and walking into her own bedroom, where George was lying and staring at the ceiling, seemingly not focused on anything.
'Geeeeeeeorgie' Ashley grinned, then jumped on the bed, landing next to him, lifting herself up so that she was leaning over him
'Yes, love?'
'Remus is a lot like you, you know'
'How?'
'Well, when he wanted to talk to me just, he pretty much asked me if Fred was more important than he was, because he's named after Fred.'
'So…how does that make him like me? I always knew I was more important' George winked, causing Ashley to raise her eyebrows
'No…you acted like you did. You always used to think I preferred Fred to you'
'…Maybe I did' George admitted, looking away from Ashley, who turned him back to face her then leaned down and kissed him 'So, Remus is like me?'
'I think so…I mean, I just had to convince him you cared about both of them equally'
'Let's just hope he doesn't grow up like me then'
'What do you mean?'
'Y'kno, losing his twin or anything'
'You are seriously worried about that, aren't you? I promise that nothing is going to happen to either of them, or Alexa.'
'I guess you're right' George said 'Anyway, we should probably sleep, we need to go back tomorrow as well, so sleeping in probably isn't allowed'
'Probably not' Ashley smiled, then jumped off the bed and grabbed a pair of PJ's, got undressed and pulled the sweatpants and t-shirt on, quickly getting in the bed as soon as she was done, getting as close to George as possible, causing him to chuckle.
'Could you get any closer?' he murmured
'Well it's freezing cold' she said, holding onto the front of his shirt.
'This help?' he questioned, wrapping an arm over her waist and pulling her further towards him
'Definitely' she smiled, tilting her head up and kissing him lightly
'I love you, Ashley' he murmured into her ear 'I'm glad you chose me out of everyone'
'I love you too' she said quietly 'And there was never any other option, Georgie. Never.'
So...yeah, this is it. Last chapter.
I tried to write this in as much detail as possible; but I'm still pretty sure I've messed some parts up, but hey, I tried my hardest :)
PLEASE tell me what you think by reviewing, considering this is, well, the last chance I get to moan about reviews ;)
Anyway, thanks to any of you that have read ALL 33 chapters (I very much hope it was worth it) and thanks for sticking with the story, it really means a lot :3
Charlotte x