Moments
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Thanks for the reviews and the follows
Chapter 18:
Our marriage had made the papers. Most of it was just speculation, since they didn't have pictures and couldn't get an interview with anyone in the family. Someone who worked at the Prophet managed to get a copy of our marriage license and that's how they found out. Paparazzi were trying to get our picture so we made sure to stay out of the wizarding world. We barely left the house, most of the time we rarely left my bedroom.
I wanted to do something special today since it was New Years Eve and all. I managed to get my hands on a set of tickets to see Seeking the Gold perform in Kingston later tonight.
Right now Ali was with Lily and my mum shopping in London. I don't know what it is about girls and shopping. Lily's closet already had two undetectable extension charms placed on it throughout the years just to carry all of her clothes. I had no idea why she needed so many. Or shoes. Lily damn near had a pair of shoes for every day in a month. She claims she needs to wear shoes that match her outfits, but at school we're in uniform. Now does that make any sense? Of course not.
It was nice to see mum and Ali getting along. It didn't take mum long to warm up to her. How could anyone spend time with her and not realize how amazing she is?
I apparated over to George and Angelina's place. The door opened before I could knock and I was punched in the face before I could even react.
"What the hell, Roxy?" I asked as I rubbed my jaw.
"Don't pretend like you don't know what that was for" Roxy said as she walked away. I actually had no idea what that was for but I followed her inside the house any way.
"Hi Uncle George, Aunt Angie."
"Roxy, got to you too?" Aunt Angie asked when she saw me rubbing my jaw.
"You know why I was greeted with a fist?" I asked.
"For the prank gift you and Fred sent that Mark guy" Angie said.
"It was a good idea. I'm going to see about stocking it in the store" George said.
I had no idea what they were talking about. Must've been something Fred came up with on his own.
"Fred's upstairs?" I asked.
"Yea, he should be in his room nursing his injuries."
"Thanks." I headed up to Fred's room.
His door was open and I could see him applying Weasley's Remove-All Anti-Bruise paste.
"Hey mate, pass that over here"
"Roxy got to you too" and he started laughing.
I rolled my eyes as I grabbed the paste and began to dab it on my cheek. I winced because it still hurt like hell. Damn, Roxy can throw a punch.
"What did you send to Cartwright?" I asked.
"A box of dragon dung that caught fire as soon as he opened it." I was laughing so hard I barely heard the rest of it. "Of course I had to make sure that the flames wouldn't be extinguished by water and if he tried to spell the fire away they would've grown bigger and the shit would've multiplied."
"I'm surprised they're still going out" I said by the time I stopped laughing.
"Me too. He's a resilient bastard, and he didn't hesitate to tell Roxy about it in a letter."
"Got a date tonight?" I asked.
"Yeah, I'm taking out Samantha Rice. She wants to go to some fancy nancy restaurant. You're lucky you're already married. You have no idea what us single blokes have to do to get birds to put out."
I pulled out two tickets from my pocket. "I got extra tickets to see Seeking the Gold tonight."
"No shit?" Fred took the tickets. "This is why you're my best friend. Now help me come up with a new plan on scaring Cartwright away. Things would be easier if you would just kick him off the team."
"How would that help?"
"If he's not on the team then you could book more practices and they won't have time to be together."
"I'm holding tryouts second week of the new semester you could always try out and take his spot."
Fred scoffed. "You want me to risk my good looks and intelligence? I think I'll pass."
Fred used to be on our team, second year. He got hit by a bludger that put him in a coma for three days. He swears it killed off a few of his brain cells. I wasn't buying it. It doesn't really matter though, he's a good announcer.
Fred and I came up with a couple of good prank ideas before I headed out.
When I got home I found Ali in the kitchen helping my mother make lunch. Her back was to me so she didn't see me enter. I grabbed her arm. She managed to get out a weak "What?" before my lips came crashing down on hers. I noticed she was wearing new chapstick.
"Do the two of you always have to be so sappy?" I heard Al ask from somewhere behind me.
This is the eighth time he's walked in on us. I'm starting to think he has a sensor that alerts him to whenever Ali and I are making out or doing something more serious.
"I notice you don't mind being sappy when Constance Summerby is around" Ali piped up.
To my surprise Al began to blush.
"Who's Constance?" my mum asked. I forgot she was in the kitchen with us.
"A redhead sixth year in Hufflepuff" I responded just as Al said "Nobody."
"Redhead?" mum questioned.
Potters have a habit of marrying redheads. Looks like that's one Potter tradition I broke. Not that it matters though I wouldn't trade Ali for the world.
"I don't get sappy around her" Al said pouring himself a glass of pumpkin juice. He was doing that thing where he looked down as he lied. He was going to have to correct that one day if he still wants to follow in dad's footsteps and become an auror.
"I see Ali has you cooking the muggle way" I said to mum, taking some of the heat off Al. But when we get back to school I was going to tease him mercilessly.
"I don't think it's really cooking if we're making sandwiches" mum commented. "Besides you don't need to use your wand for everything."
I picked up a sandwich. "I know." I took a bite, it was turkey and bacon my favorite.
"Did you get a new outfit to day while my mum and sister were dragging you to every shop they could find?"
"I got a couple."
"Good, I'm taking you out to dinner later."
"Be careful, reporters are still scavenging about trying to get a picture" dad said as he entered the kitchen. He kissed mum and I noticed Al was nowhere around.
"We'll be in muggle London" I told dad. I kissed Ali on the top of her head, "We'll be out all night so you might want to bring a coat."
The maitre d took our coats as we entered a snazzy little French restaurant Teddy told me about. Despite the snazziness of the restaurant it was simply titled "The French Table."
We were a bit earlier than the normal dinner rush, and I took that as a good thing. A server came and showed us to our seats.
"I hope you like French food" I said as we sat down.
"The French often undercook their meat, but I like it well enough" Ali said. I smiled because it reminded me of how Auntie Fleur used to always say that British people always overcook our meat.
We decided to go with the green asparagus ravioli as a starter. Ali ordered lamb as her main course and I went for the rib-eye. We kept up small talk while we waited for the food to come.
I barely had any time alone with her since Christmas. Ali was either with my sister, my mother, grams, an aunt, or one of my cousins. They all accepted her into the family easily and I was having a hard time not being jealous. I knew I was being irrational but we only had a little bit of time together before we had to go back to school. At school we'd be separated by classes and sports. After school gets out we'll be so busy with the baby we'd rarely get any us time either. My dad said I was such a handful as a baby that he had no idea when they had time to make Al. I said it was too much information, but I knew what he meant. This wasn't going to be easy.
The food was good, we managed to hold a solid conversation. I was glad it didn't seem like she had any regrets in marrying me. If anything she seemed livelier, if that's a word. Maybe that's why they say pregnant people glow. I spent most of the meal watching her talk instead of giving my own input.
There was still some time left before the concert so we stuck around and ordered dessert. By the time we left the restaurant was hitting it's dinner rush.
"So where to next?" Ali asked as she looped her arm into mine.
"It's a surprise." I flagged down a Knight Bus.
"I've heard about these, but I've never been on it before" Ali said as I paid the driver.
"Trust me, after this you'll never want to ride on this bus again."
It was a good thing we were only going from Surrey to Kingston. It was the very next stop.
"I'm sorry" I said as I rubbed Ali's back as she threw up in a bush. There has got to be a better way for pregnant people to travel than taking the Knight Bus.
"I'm fine" Ali said standing up. "You were right. I'm never getting on one of those again."
We got to an abandoned phone booth. These were best for hiding underground wizarding places because muggles no longer used them. I pulled Ali into the booth and kept my arms around her. I fed the tickets to the machine and we immediately began to descend into the ground.
When stopped the doors opened up and we could hear music already. The opening band must've started.
"You bought me to a concert?"
"Yeah. Come on, you'll love it."
Holding hands we entered the crowded venue. Rock music filled the place. I could feel the bass through my feet.
"Still think you can't dance?" Ali yelled over the all the noise.
"I know I can't dance" I yelled back, "but it's okay. I like it when you dance around me."
So we danced around all night long. Seeking the Gold was a good live band.
"You know how long it's been since I felt like a teenager?" Ali asked when the concert was over and everyone was filing out the doors.
"A really long time. I know, I haven't felt like a teen in a while either."
"This was fun, we should do this again sometime."
"Definitely."
"James? Ali?"
We looked up to see Fred and a blonde I barely recognized as Sam Rice. The girl sure was wearing a lot of make-up.
"Hey Fred. I thought I saw you inside" Ali said.
"Did you check out my moves?" Fred asked. "I know, I know. I'm the best dancer you've ever seen. You don't have to tell me."
Samantha began to giggle. It was an annoying sound.
"So where are you two headed?" I asked.
"Somewhere private with a lot of dark corners" Fred winked and Samantha hit his shoulder playfully. "Where are you two off to?"
"We're going to walk to the Thames to catch the fireworks show. It's only about a kilometer to get there."
"Oh, I want to see the fireworks" Samantha said.
"How would you like to see my personal set?" Fred wagged his eyebrows.
"You're so naughty." Samantha said giggling again.
I have no idea how Fred lasted so far. I'd have ditched her by now. He said it earlier the things single guys do to get laid.
"We'll catch up with you later."
We walked towards the river hand in hand. Ali's jacket wasn't thick enough so I eventually tucked her into my arms as we walked.
"What time is it?" Ali asked.
I checked my watch, "11:25. Are you getting sleepy? We can always head home."
"On the Knight Bus? I think not. Besides I want to stay up and watch the fireworks show."
"You're about to fall asleep."
"No, I'm not. You won't let me fall" she said cheekily.
"You're right. I won't" I gave her a quick forehead kiss. "You're about to fall asleep on your feet. Climb on my back. I'll wake you up before the show."
"I'm heavy"
I snorted "You're not heavy. Ask me to pick you up when you're nine months pregnant and you're on your own."
She punched me in the shoulder and I couldn't help but laugh.
"I'm joking. I'll always carry you, no matter what."
"Even if I weight a ton?"
"That is what magic is for."
She climbed onto my back and placed her head on my shoulder.
"I love you" she whispered.
"I love you too."
"Wake up sleepy head."
"You're not going to wake me up with a kiss this time?" Ali asked groggily.
"It's hard to reach your lips with you being on my back and all" I said.
We were on a crowded street were a lot of people had gathered to see the fireworks. I sat Ali down on a low wall that separated us from the water. I kissed her just as the first boom echoed through the air. We looked to the sky as the first fireworks appeared. I kept my arms around her to keep her balanced as we watched the show. The show lasted ten minutes before the big finale.
"We're going to be together forever, right?" Ali asked as we watched the last of the fireworks fade.
"Of course. Nothing can keep us apart."
I kissed her into the New Year.