It was a couple of days later when Emma had her next day off, surprisingly, and it also happened to be the day the Weasleys with Hermione and Harry decided to come to Diagon Alley for school supplies and such, so they were going to come and see the shop for the first time. Emma had agreed to work in the shop that day to help out with things, especially because it was Tien's day off.

In hindsight, she was pretty sure that they'd given her the day off because their mother was coming around, but Emma didn't point it out.

"Emma, can you take some of these Daydream Charms and put them on the shelf, please?" George called. "I've got to stock up the Wonder Witch area."

Emma crinkled her nose, but tried not to let him see. She hated the idea of the Wonder Witch project, especially the love potions. Fred assured her that they were perfectly safe, but when she suggested that she test it out, take one for George, he didn't like the idea at all.

So obviously, they weren't safe because they weren't harmless, but he was only thinking in terms of medical side effects. Emma thought that was a bit narrow-minded of them, but they didn't interfere with her work so she only did as she was told when she was helping around the shop.

"George, did you put up the U-No-Poo sign?" Fred called out from the back. "I can't find it."

"It's out here, but I've not put it up!" George said. "Hey, Verity, can you put this sign up in the window?"

"Sure, Mr. Weasley!" Verity said brightly.

Emma shook her head.

That was one thing she was never going to be able to get used to, people calling Fred and George 'Mr. Weasley'. Still, as strange as it was to think about, they were professionals now, professionals who had made a very big name for themselves in the magical world. Between the government contracts they'd procured and the obscene amount of regular joke shop business they were doing on a daily basis, they were quickly becoming two of the richest people in wizarding Britain.

Emma blinked, putting up a few more boxes of the Daydream Charm to fill out the shelves.

Fred and George were rich, and not just that, but almost obscenely so. Fred was right, she really didn't need to work.

Of course, that didn't meant that she was going to change her mind about working, but she did feel a bit disconcerted about being the wife of such a wealthy man, especially when almost no one in the world knew that they were married. She shivered slightly, nearly dropping the last box, but she snatched it out of the air and put it on the shelf again.

"Right, anything else to do before we open?" she said, turning to find Fred leaning against the nearest shelf, grinning at her. "What?"

"You look so beautiful this morning," he sighed, moving in and kissing her nose lightly.

Emma raised her eyebrows, letting him then kiss her lips lightly. She didn't think she looked any different than normal, but he then began kissing her, forcefully, eagerly, and so hungrily that Verity actually squeaked with shock and dropped something as Fred pushed Emma back against the shelves and growled predatorily. Emma was a bit shocked as well, and George's laughter cut through her aroused fog and pulled Fred off her.

"Here, Fred, drink some of this," George insisted. "I thought I'd give you your request, Emma," he said with a wink.

Emma raised her eyebrows, still confused and a bit breathless.

"I gave him some of the love potion," George said with a shrug. "How do you feel, Freddie?"

Fred groaned, handing back the vial of antidote.

"Headache," he admitted. "But otherwise fine. Familiar headache. Is that the love potion? Why did I take the love potion?"

"George spiked your tea," Emma said, still a bit breathless. "You basically attacked me in front of poor Verity."

Fred blinked, looking around at Verity, who was a bit wide-eyed and horrified at what she had seen.

"Sorry about that," Fred said before turning and glaring murderously at his twin. "I'm not finished with you, George. We're going to have a little talk later, am I understood?"

George shrugged again.

"It was all worth it," he said firmly. "I regret nothing."

Emma rolled her eyes, moving around the register to get ready for the day and pulling her hair up into a quick bun to get it out of the way. She took a deep breath and nodded to indicate that she was ready to start the day. George looked at his watch for a long moment, then held up his wand and pointed it at the front door.

"Three, two, one."

He waved his wand in a small spiral motion and the door unlocked and the sign flipped to 'Open'. About half a dozen people who had been outside peering in the windows came pouring in, and Emma had to smile a bit. She had been outside on the Alley enough times to know that most of it was dead as could be, even Ollivander disappearing recently. Florian Fortescue had been taken away...

There was almost nothing left of what had once been one of the most vibrant, bustling places in the wizarding world. Now it was dead outside.

Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, thankfully, was the last beacon of activity and happiness left on the whole street. Books and robes and potions ingredients could still be purchased, but the only place for non-essential items still open was WWW, and Emma smiled proudly as young boys dragged their mothers into the shop with ruddy cheeks and excited faces. Emma could recognize the expressions on the mother's faces.

Why not take them somewhere that makes them happy, especially when happy was so hard to come by anymore, and when no one knew how long it would be until things were back to how they'd been.

It was a few hours before she saw the familiar faces of the Weasley clan coming through the door, which Harry and Hermione seemed as much a part of as Ginny and Ron in spite of their severe lack of red hair.

After all, her hair wasn't red, nor was Fleur's. Maybe, just maybe, they'd become Weasleys someday, too.

"Morning!" she said brightly, to Ginny first, who came bounding forward and grinning to greet her.

It was strange to look at Ginny, who had not so long ago been a gangly young child with legs clear up to her shoulders and a child's smile. Now she was a beautiful young woman with a figure (albeit and athletic one) and an almost seductive air about her. It was no wonder she'd been dating for a little while. Dean Thomas, it was, if Emma remembered correctly. He was attractive, but she wouldn't have ever picked him.

"Hey, Emma!" Ginny said happily. "I didn't know you weren't working today!"

"Yeah, I just found out last night," Emma said with a shrug. "I might still get called in if something comes up, but you know how it is in a war. There's everything at once or nothing for days."

"Is Tien here?" Ginny asked eagerly.

Emma had to admit to herself that the youngest Weasley had a bit of an unhealthy interest in Tien and her humor... She tried not to wince as she shook her head.

"No," she said firmly. "It's her day off, which is even more convenient since I've got today off, too. We're expecting a lot of people today."

It was already quite crowded by normal standards, especially in wartime, but it was nowhere near half what they usually got at WWW. But it was still early in the work day.

"Oh, Emma, dear!" Molly said happily. "It's so good to see you again! This place is quite... quite..."

She looked around as if dazed, not quite sure what to make of the great success her sons had made for themselves in the business world. After all, she had always been so hard on them about their pranking habits, and here they'd turned it into a wildly successful enterprise.

"I believe the word you're looking for is impressive," Emma said with a smile.

"Yes, I suppose it is," Molly admitted with a small nod.

It was nice for Molly to finally see the worth of her sons, even though they'd been trying to show it to her for years. Emma knew exactly how difficult that could be, her own parents really not able to comprehend magic and the things she would be able to do with it. Explaining to her mother that magic could get her a government job, a medical career, even something in sport... it seemed so incredible to them that they really couldn't even wrap their minds around it for several years. They'd had such high hopes for her that she knew they were relieved when she finally did get a job they could understand and appreciate.

Emma stood at the register like she was supposed to do and watched as the Weasleys went around, watched as Fred and George were having a talking to with Ginny about her love life, and dealing with Verity and the customers directly as Fred and George showed Harry the back and the things they were doing for the Ministry, and she got a moment to deal with Molly.

"So, you and Freddie are getting quite serious, then," Molly said softly as she watched Ginny and Hermione out of the corner of her eye.

Emma blinked, not wanting to think about what sort of things Molly was thinking she and Fred were doing in the flat.

"Yes, I suppose so," Emma replied, not wanting to lie. "It's hard because we're both working on day and we're exhausted when we get done for the day, but days off together are nice. We like to go out and do things in the Muggle world because it's a bit safer and he doesn't get recognized as much."

That was the strange bit, what a celebrity Fred had become with the shop. George as well, but that didn't affect her so much. She found herself becoming something of a public figure against her will, but it was worth it to be with Fred, she knew that.

Molly had begun asking about how they divided the chores when Emma noticed Harry, Ron, and Hermione disappearing out the door, looking very much like they didn't want to be noticed. She made a split second decision that she wouldn't say anything. Harry didn't always know what he was doing, but it wasn't up to her to make that call.

"Ah, well, we all do a bit of this and that," Emma said kindly, trying not to look at the door and praying Molly didn't turn and start looking either. "George is pretty good about doing his share, at least, which is nice. I was a bit worried about that when I moved... Verity, dear, could you get a bit more love potions for the display? Sorry, Molly, Verity gets a bit distracted with all of the male customers. She's a good girl, but... well, they've had brighter people working for them. Tien for one."

"Yes, what is Tien like?" Molly said kindly.

"Oh," Emma said slowly, ringing up a customer with a smile as she thought. "Well, she's certainly a Ravenclaw. Very bright. She's... she's not the most social creature, you know. But she's a very good sort of observant. She knows all of the habits of just about every person she's ever met, and even some of the ones she hasn't. She's lovely, really, if she likes you. Well... you know how they can be, people who don't care too much about what people think."

"Yes, I've met a few," Molly said slowly. "Sirius for one..."

Emma tried not to frown at the mention of Sirius.

It still hurt, thinking of how he was gone and she had never had a chance to properly say goodbye. But she just couldn't continue this conversation, and she was given a great reprieve in Ginny saying, "Where are Harry, Ron, and Hermione?"

Emma looked over at Ginny, and Molly did as well, frowning for a moment, then looking around the shop.

"Harry?" Molly asked. "Ron? Hermione?"

But there was no answer.

Emma stood there for a moment debating whether she should tell Molly what she saw or not. After all, they weren't children anymore. They'd been fighting the war since before the war even existed, and had continued to fight it bravely when almost everyone refused to believe that it had begun again.

No, Emma decided that she would let them make their own decisions about what to do, that she should trust Harry's instincts when it came to the war. He might not always be right, and Sirius was gone in part because of that, but he was still more likely to be right than anyone she knew but Dumbledore himself.

"I thought I saw him just a moment ago," Emma said comfortingly. "I'm sure he's just somewhere in the store. It's a rather large place, you know."

Molly really was nervous, though, and she began to look around the shop. Emma knew she would have to have them turn up soon or find some way to distract Molly. And in a time of war, nothing but some drastic emergency could distract a mother from her charges long. Emma didn't have any good ideas, though, so she watched from the register, waiting and glancing every so often at the window, where she kept hoping every second that the trio would appear and come walking back into the shop.

"It's not that big of a deal," Emma said sheepishly. "I'm sure they're just around the back or something. I can find them for you if-"

She blinked, seeing the trio reappearing by the doorway. Emma froze, watching them blending back into the shop before she said, "Oh, Harry, there you are! Molly was looking for all of you!"

He looked up at her and she gave him a knowing look.

"We've been here," he said warily. "In the shop. We were just in the back recently."

Emma smiled slightly, glad that it worked out.

She said her goodbyes to the group and then went back to work, watching Fred most of the day, glad she had something to do on days off, especially because Fred never took a day off unless they were having a low week of sales. Maybe being a cashier wasn't her ideal pastime, but it was something, especially because she got to spend a whole day, essentially, with Fred.

"Emma, it's time to close up," George told her toward the end of the day. "Start counting the profits for the day."

"Yes, George," she said, opening the register and beginning to count as the last few purchases came in and Fred closed the door.

When she'd wrapped up for the day and put the money in the safe they kept things in before they gave pay out or bought supplies, she said goodnight to Verity and went up to the flat to make a quick dinner for the three of them.

"Long day," Fred sighed, putting dishes out on the table as she got the sausage frying. "It was nice to have them come in and see our work though, especially Harry."

"Yeah, he seemed impressed," George said proudly.

"That's good," Emma said, turning to get some ingredients for a salad. "I talked a bit with your mother today. She was a bit... iffy about us all living together. "

The twins sighed.

"We've told her time and time again that it's not a problem," Fred growled.

"She seems to think we're both defiling your honor on a regular basis," George teased.

Emma tensed.

It was exactly what she'd feared. Her mother-in-law was not approving of their living situation because she didn't know they were married. Perhaps if they were all living in the Burrow, it would be different, but because they were in a flat where Molly couldn't monitor them.

"You don't think she dislikes me, do you?" Emma asked nervously. "Do you think she's upset about the fact that she thinks we're not married? Do you think-?"

"Now stop that right there," George said firmly. "I happen to know for a fact, Emma, that Mum loves and adores you. You're the girly girl she always wanted with Ginny but didn't quite get. And you're far more tolerable than Fleur. Trust me, she's going to be so thrilled when she finds out you two are married. It'll probably be the happiest day of her life."

She smiled a bit at that without even thinking about it, turning back to make sure the sausages didn't burn. As she turned them over and turned back to making the salad Fred wrapped his arms around her and whispered in her ear, "I know you feel strange about keeping it from her, darling, but she loves you and it's not going to change how she looks at you, I promise. If we want any privacy at all we've got to be quiet about this for a short while, all right?"

Emma nodded in agreement. After all, she knew he was right. She wanted Molly to know, but there was no need to have another thing for Molly to worry about when there was already so much.

There would be time, plenty of time, later to talk about it all and patch things up, smooth them over. Until then, though, Emma had to be able to handle the secrecy because it was the kind thing to do.

"I love you," she sighed, kissing Fred promptly before putting the sausages on a plate and putting all the food on the table, sitting down with her Weasley twins for dinner.