Two weeks later, Emma was carefully wrapping a present watching Fred stir out of the corner of her eye. He reached across the bed for her, but she wasn't there. He moaned disappointedly.

"I'm down here, darling," she said, trying not to laugh at the childlike way he was acting, like his favorite stuffed animal was missing.

Fred sat up slowly, blinking down at her.

"What are you doing?" he groaned.

"Wrapping our present for Harry," she sighed. "Somebody's got to, and I know how lazy you and George are about such things."

He smiled, rubbing his eyes.

"You can use a wand for that, you know," he teased.

"Habit," she said with a shrug. Then she held up the gold-wrapped package for inspection. "What do you think?"

He tilted his head as though considering it, although she knew he really didn't care.

"Beautiful," he gushed after a moment. "Perfect, love. Now get back in this bed right now because I'm aching to touch you."

Emma set the package down on top of their bedside table and then climbed into bed beside him, shivering as he ran his hands along her bare skin as soon as she came into reach.

"I love you," he sighed, pulling her closer and resting his forehead on hers as he rolled his body to be above her. "I love you so much."

It was remarkable how quickly her mind could go from what sort of wrapping paper Harry might like best to how badly she wanted Fred to touch her, but when he was pressing his weight on her like that, his fingertips exploring her legs and breasts...

Well, it was hard to think of anything else.

"Fred," she sighed, working her fingers into his hair as his lips began to explore her skin as they so loved to do.

It was like every other time they'd made love, but somehow all of those times were like new each time, and she finally collapsed with him in their bed panting, exhausted, and covered in their mixed sweat.

"Wow," he breathed, smiling up at her with a dazed sort of expression. "That was... wow. Why don't we do that more often?"

"Because if we did that more often neither of us would ever get any work done," she muttered.

She knew what he meant, though. Despite her logic she was wondering vaguely why they needed to get work done.

"We need to shower now," she sighed. "We're going to have to eat, and get some work done in the shop, and then go to your parent's place for dinner and the party. And then come back and pass out."

"No sex?" he whined.

She sighed.

"Maybe a quickie," she conceded. "But I'm going to be really tired."

"What if we do one now, one later?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"No."

"I'm sensing you're tired. Would you like me to carry you to the shower?"

"Did George already open the shop?"

He turned over to check his clock.

"Yup."

"Yes, please."

He chuckled slightly, scooping her up as she was and carrying her into the bathroom, setting her gingerly on her feet before turning on the water for her.

"I'll take one when you're done, love," he said kissing her quickly. "We've spent enough time up here. Someone's got to make breakfast so we can get to work."

Emma nodded, watching him walk out of the bathroom still stark naked before stepping into the warm stream of water Fred had started for her.

She ran her fingers through her hair, scrubbing absently, looking around for her shampoo. George had a completely un-adorable habit of hiding it in all kinds of weird places.

Thankfully, though, she found it right behind Fred's, pouring a bit onto her hand and working into her hair, lathering it as she closed her eyes, sighing and thinking about the prospect of dinner with Fred's family with Molly not knowing that she and Fred were married. She hoped it wouldn't be awkward, and certainly Arthur had assured her that there wouldn't be any problems, but Emma was a Weasley, whether or not many of the Weasleys knew it, and something about that thought made her incredibly anxious for this 'family' dinner.

Emma realized that this would be her first time seeing Molly since she had become her mother-in-law. That made it all seem all the more daunting, and Emma quickly rinsed her hair, washed up, and came out of the shower, turning off the water and drying off before sighing.

She could do this. It was going to be fine. Everything was going to be fine.

Once she'd dried off, Emma walked back into their bedroom and pulled on a purple sundress that was sufficiently modest for dinner with Fred's family and working the cash register. She then put her hair up in a bun as gracefully and quickly as possible and swept a bit of lip gloss on. She could polish herself up a bit before going to the Burrow, but she didn't want to leave George, Tien, and Verity running the shop without help any longer than she had to.

That, and if she took too long, Fred would come in to see what was taking so long and then they would take another hour or two and she would need to take another shower and everything.

Speaking of showers, she heard the water turn on and she sighed with relief, knowing that Fred was showering and they would be downstairs soon.

Emma made up a quick letter wishing Harry a happy birthday from her and Fred and attached it to the parcel before calling to Fred that he'd better be hurrying up and getting out of the shower.

He was out and dressed in five minutes and they were downstairs to help out in the shop.

"You look beautiful," he whispered as they walked downstairs. "Make sure that the boys buying things keep their eyes to themselves."

"I'll do my best, dear," she teased.

Emma settled in behind the cash register, freeing Verity to move around the store and keep shelves fully stocked, which was part of her job.

It wasn't Emma's favorite way to spend the day, but Fred would come and visit her periodically, so it beat her actual job by quite a bit in that way. She went from ringing up order to order waiting for Fred to come around.

Whenever anyone old enough to be interested in her seriously came around to buy something, Fred would pretty much park behind her at the register, hands at her waist to exert his possession of her in a visual manifestation for the men.

Thankfully, there were just young people milling around the shop with their much older parents, thought to be, at least by Emma, much too old for her. Fred's jealous streak would be held off for at least a little while.

She took a quick count of what they'd earned already that day and smiled to herself, once again amazed that they'd managed to make so much so quickly. These boys really did know what they were doing, that was certain. She was proud of them, if nothing else.

"What are you grinning about?" said Tien's teasing voice as she made her way around the counter from the back room. "Good sex this morning?"

Emma felt herself blushing a bit, although not as brightly as she would have in school, if Tien had asked her such a thing previously.

"Every morning," Emma managed to say without choking on the words at all.

Yes, she'd come a long way since when she and Fred first started being together. Very far, indeed.

Tien just grinned.

"It seems Fred's practically insatiable. From the way George tells it you two practically go at it like dogs whenever you're in a room together."

This truly did make Emma blush furiously, and she glanced across the shop to where Fred was showing off some simple tricks to a few younger boys. He caught her gaze and smiled, winking at her.

That just made her blush even ore furiously, and Tien laughed.

"I figured that it was probably true, I just had thought that you'd gotten a bit better with your emotions," Tien said happily. "Have you sold any of the new Daydream Charms yet?"

"Not since I got here," Emma admitted, glad of the abrupt subject change.

So what if she knew that it was Tien's version of charity, handing a subject change over? Wasn't that what friends were for, awkward subject changes to spare embarrassment?

Tien might not have been good at it, but she made the effort and she meant well and that went a long way.

"So George says you're all going to see his family tonight," Tien said, grabbing one of the Daydream Charms off the shelf and scanning the box as if looking for something she had forgotten.

"Yes," Emma said softly. "Harry's staying with them. It's his birthday."

Tien nodded and went about her day, going back to the back room with the Daydream Charm.

Fred came over as soon as he was done with those boys, and he kissed her gently.

"Has Tien's behavior seemed a bit odd to you?" Fred whispered.

"Yes, actually," Emma said. "She's a bit obsessed with the Daydream Charm. Didn't say what it was going on."

He frowned slightly, looking over at where the Daydream Charms were on the shelf.

Then his face lightened slightly and he said, "Well, I suppose that she's got it well in hand. You know here. How have you been?"

"About the same as I was ten minutes ago when we started work," she teased. "Don't you have things you ought to be doing?"

The door opened and a group of boys she recognized as Ravenclaws from a few years ahead of them in school walked in, talking animatedly amongst themselves. Fred's face darkened.

"No, I think I'll stay up here," he said, a bit of a growl in the back of his voice.

She sighed, ready to tell him that it was fine, that they wouldn't even know her much less be interested in her, when one of them, a blonde at the head of the pack, blinked at her with recognition in his eyes.

"Emma Norwick?" he said, moving toward her. "Never thought I'd see a girl like you working in a place like this."

She bit her lip, trying not to look at Fred, who was seething that this boy thought he could talk to her.

"I don't work here," she explained. "I'm just helping out for a bit on my day off. I work at the Ministry."

"Ah, that sounds more like you," he boy said, teasingly. She couldn't think of what his name was, but she remembered he had been friendly with Roger Davies. "How've you been, then? I haven't seen you in forever."

"Ah, well, thanks," she said nervously, wondering if Fred was about to stab the boy or if it was her imagination being spiked by paranoia. "I don't know if you've met my boyfriend here, Fred Weasley."

"Weasley?" the boy said, smiling as he turned to hold his hand out to Fred, who took it after a moment's tense hesitation. "Owner of the shop?"

"Yes," Fred said tersely. "She's mine."

The boy laughed.

"Yes, I got that by the fact that she called you her boyfriend." The boy's blue eyes twinkled. "It was good seeing you again, Emma." Then he turned back to Fred, who was glaring at him still. "Congratulations, mate. Roger used to go on about this girl like she was the greatest thing ever. I'll have to tell him that she's been snapped up."

Emma blinked as the boy walked away, still unable to think of his name, wondering at what had just been said.

Roger. Roger Davies.

What?

"Ew," she finally said, and Fred jumped. "Roger Davies? That's bloody disgusting!"

Fred laughed and she squealed about how violated she felt, having to share a common room with the boy all those years and not knowing that he was watching her.

They left Tien and Verity to close up that night, Emma grabbing the gift before the three of them Disapparated to the point near the Burrow, walking up as though there was nothing strange about them being there for Harry's birthday.

In truth, when Molly had extended the invitation the twins were planning on declining it, working their usual hours, not wanting to miss out on some business, but Emma reminded them of their manners.

"He's your first and largest donor," she pointed out, "and he's a friend. And they're your family. You need to go and see them, if only for a little while."

So Emma put up her hair and grabbed the gift and they all went to the Burrow as they'd then promised they would do, and Emma straightened out her dress and...

"Damn," she muttered. "I forgot to grab a jacket."

"Here," Fred said softly, pulling off his own jacket and putting it around her shoulders. "I'm sure it will be warm in the house."

"I know," she sighed. "I was just hoping to look more modest than this."

"You look beautiful," George said with a knowing grin. "Mum's going to love you anyway. And you're a pleasant alternative to Fleur in her mind, so I'm sure she'd be happy to welcome you to the family-"

"George," Fred said in a low, warning tone.

"What, still not telling her?"

"George!" Emma whined anxiously.

"Fine," he said, still grinning. "I was teasing. Anyway, she's not going to care about the fact that you've not got a jacket. If anything you might get extra tea because you look cold. Modesty won't even enter into it."

Emma finally decided that it would be all right and the three of them went up to the door where Molly answered before Fred had even had a chance to knock with his raised hand.

"Oh, Emma, dear, you look lovely!" Molly said sweetly, hugging each of them. "And you two! Have you gotten taller?"

"No, Mum," Fred laughed. "Dinner's in the garden, then?"

"Yes, yes," Molly said happily. "Too many people for the kitchen. George, dear, could you carry the salad while you're here?"

"Sure, Mum," he said happily, taking the salad off her hands and leading the way out to the garden.

Emma sat down beside Bill, who was sitting next to a girl Emma recognized from the Triwizard Tournament as Fleur Delacour, Bill's fiancée.

"Hi, Emma," Bill said. "Fred, George. Emma, you've not met Fleur, have you?"

"No, we haven't met," Emma said, taking Fleur's outstretched hand and shaking it, since they couldn't kiss cheeks over Bill, Emma assumed. "I saw you in the Triwizard Tournament. You were quite good."

"Not good enough," Fleur said with a surprisingly gracious smile. "Bill tells me you are with Fred?"

"Yes," Fred said happily, taking Emma's hand and grinning at her. "She's mine."

Dinner started not long after and Emma had Fred put the gift for Harry with the other gifts. It was great to catch up with the Weasleys, and Emma couldn't help but notice the twinkle in Arthur's eye as he glanced over at Fred and Emma's clasped hands.

"Ron says you're working at the Ministry," Hermione said brightly. "What do you do?"

"I have Arthur's old job, actually," Emma said softly, blushing when she realized people were looking at her around the table. "It's an honor, really, having such an important job so young."

"What's Tien doing?" Ron asked eagerly.

"She's working at the shop," George said with a grin. "She's brilliant, that girl, but she doesn't tell us what she's up to half the time until she's finished with it, so we've had some fun explosions and things in the back room. She knows that as long as she cleans it up she can do whatever she likes, so it's really not a problem."

"I don't believe I've met this... Tien, was it?" Molly said nervously.

"Emma's best friend," Fred said, shrugging. "Tien Vo. She was a Ravenclaw. Brilliant, but a bit... oh, how would you describe her, Emma?"

Emma snorted.

"Socially incapable?" she suggested. "I don't know."

They continued with dinner as Molly decided that a Ravenclaw couldn't be so bad to have around the shop. Cake was brought out and then presents were opened and Emma held her breath as Harry got to the gift that she'd wrapped for him.

It was a box with several joke items Fred and George wanted to give him, with a bottle of cologne she'd swiped off Sirius (badly, because he knew she took it) when she'd been at Grimmauld Place over Christmas. She had enclosed a note explaining that she thought he'd like what was left.

What she hadn't told him was that she had gone out and gotten half a dozen more bottles of the stuff and spritzed it on things around the apartment whenever she thought she could get away with it. Fred didn't say anything about it because he knew it was one of her grief mechanisms, but she knew it drove George crazy.

Harry read the note as he was thanking Fred and George for the products. When he finished he looked up at Emma with surprise and thanks in his eyes.

As Emma and the twins were getting up to leave, Harry stopped her and pulled her aside.

"You... I..."

"I thought you might want something to remember him by," Emma said softly, trying not to tear up. "I mean, Dumbledore said you inherited his house, but I thought this might be something you would want. Sirius... Sirius was one of the nicest people I'd ever met and I don't remember feeling emptier than I felt when I found out what happened. I just... I want you to know you're not alone... in your grieving, you know."

"Right," Harry said. "Thanks."

They shared a sad, bittersweet smile and then nodded at each other as Emma put her hand in Fred's and she was Disapparated back to London.