Screams met his ears as soon as George opened the door. Much like his shop, his home thrived on chaos and mischief. Now was no different, despite the fact that it was his and Angelina's anniversary. She'd managed to put up with him for five years, and he thought she deserved a night out at the least. Judging from the way his wife was standing in the middle of the living room, arms crossed while Freddy yelled loudly about how he didn't want baby formula all over his toys and Roxy cooing from the floor as she enjoyed tummy time, she was not in the best mood.

"Your children are insane," Angelina said deathly quiet. That was when George knew she'd a long day.

"Right then," he said, tugging off his jacket and tossing it over the back of the couch. He picked Roxanne up off the floor and settled her in the crock of his elbow before grabbing Freddy under his knees and scooping him up as well. Giggling, Freddy wrapped his arms around George's neck.

"When is Mum coming to get them?" George asked.

Angelina gave him a grim smile. "She's not."

"What?"

"She's come down with Dragon Pox. She Flooed me nearly in tears because she didn't find out until this morning."

"Katie and Oliver?"

"Hunter and Jack have the flu."

"Bill?"

"Left for France with Fleur yesterday."

"Ginny?"

"Covering a Quidditch match, and Harry's out of the country on Auror business, so Ron and Hermione have five kids at their house right now."

"Percy?"

"Also out of the country with his wife."

What was the point of having such a big family if none of them could be depended on to watch your kids on your anniversary?

It was clear Angelina had reviewed every option available to them. He could see the stress coiled in her body by the way she tightly carried her shoulders and the small wrinkle in her brow. That wouldn't do.

"So, you've been home with them all day?" George asked.

"Yep," she said.

He nodded. "Give me five minutes."

George swept past her and into Freddy's room where he sat the three-year-old down. Usually, he'd ask Freddy about his day and listen as he rambled on. It was how George decompressed after work, but there wasn't much time for that right now.

"I'm gonna go put her down for nap, buddy, but I'll be back when I'm done," he said ruffling Freddy's hair. "Think you can find me some cool toys while I do that?"

Freddy nodded eagerly before running to his toy basket and starting to dig through it. Turning on his heel, George headed across the hall to Roxanne's room. It was three and she usually took a quick nap around this time before supper. George reckoned he couldn't have come home at a better time.

"Alright, sweet girl," George said, fixing her in the crook of his elbow. "Time for bed." Roxanne smiled up at him and kicked her little feet happily. Over the past few months, George had learned that she wasn't a particularly hard baby, always smiling and cooing at him. He didn't know how in the world Freddy could get so annoyed at her, but he expected he was probably the same way with Ginny when they were this young. As George started to hum, Roxanne's eyes drooped and her kicking slowly stopped. Grabbing a pacey off the changing table, he popped it into her mouth and she was out like a light. Gently, he set her in her crib before rushing back over to Freddy's room.

"Did you find me some cool toys?" he asked.

Freddy nodded. "I picked out my dragon."

Crouching down, George examined it. "Very cool. Buddy, can you do me a big favor?"

Freddy nodded solemnly.

"I need you to listen for Roxanne while Daddy takes care of things around the house. Can you do that for me?"

Freddy wrinkled his nose but nodded.

"Good. I'm gonna go help Mummy for a bit," he said. "Why don't you start on building a fort and when I get done, I'll come help you finish?"

"Ok!"

As Freddy started to gather the stuff he needed for a fort, George headed down the hall to his and Angelina's room then made his way into the master bath. He turned on the hot water and plugged the bathtub before pulling the cabinets open to look for some kind of bath bomb. Angelina liked to use oils and scents for her baths, but George was never sure what combination she used. Finally, he settled on lavender and some chamomile.

He found Angelina in the living room, her feet tucked up under her as she leaned back on the couch.

"C'mere," he said as he offered his hands to her. She took them and stood up. Lacing their fingers together, he pulled her closer to him and rested his forehead against hers. "Happy anniversary."

Angelina hummed. "Where're the kids?"

"Freddy's building a fort, and Roxanne is sleeping."

Without explaining, George lead her down the hall and toward their bedroom. Roxanne was still sleeping peacefully while Freddy was trying to get a sheet fastened to one of his chairs. He should be occupied for at least the next thirty minutes, which gave George plenty of time. When they entered the bathroom, Angelina raised her brows.

George just slid behind her and dropped a kiss onto her shoulder. "Happy anniversary," he repeated.

Angelina dropped her head back into his shoulder. "Did you cancel the reservations?"

"Hmm, let me worry about that," he said. "You need to relax."

"I'm relaxed," she muttered.

George just chuckled and gestured toward the bath. After kissing her shoulder once more, he let her go to look for a pony holder. It was one of the things he always struggled to find. Angelina was a fairly organized person. She kept everything just so, and he could usually find it without too much trouble. Pony holders were the exception to that rule. They were scattered all around the house in drawers, under the couch, in the kitchen cabinets. Luckily he was able to locate one in the medicine cabinet above the sink.

Angelina had stripped her shirt and sweatpants off by the time he handed her the elastic. Quickly, she pulled her thick hair up into a messy bun while George admired the way her shoulder muscles rippled as she did so. Once she finished tying her hair up, she stripped the rest of the way and climbed into the tub.

"What kind of lotion do you want?" George asked.

"Lavender," she said, leaning her head back against the rim of the tub. "To match the bath."

Opening the bottle, George squirted some onto his hands before dropping down behind her and beginning to rub the creamy liquid into her shoulders.

"Tell me about your day," he said as he messaged her.

Angelina dropped her head back farther to look in his eyes. "It felt like a Monday."

George had to laugh at that because it was Friday.

"I'm serious," she said, though a slight smile did appear on her face. "I was going to work from home today, but then I talked to your mum, and Freddy was already a handful at nine in the morning so there was no way I was getting work done. I just told my boss I was talking a personal day. And it's been nonstop ever since with Freddy trying to get into everything and me having to always keep an eye on Roxanne."

George circled his thumbs around her shoulder muscles. "Why didn't you Floo me?"

"I didn't want to bother you," she huffed, closing her eyes.

"You're never bothering me," he said pressing a quick kiss to her lips. Privately, he thought it was Angelina's pride and independence that kept her from contacting him. "And I'd much rather be here with you and the kids."

"I just wanted us to have a good anniversary," she whined.

"We will," he said. "I'll order take out, we'll play with the kids for a bit, and then see if we can get them down for bed early. We'll have the whole rest of the evening to ourselves."

She cracked an eye open. "You know I don't really care for this optimistic side of you." George laughed and pressed harder into the knots on her shoulders. "That feels good though." Her back arched as he hit a particularly tender sport, and George was reminded how gorgeous his wife was. He couldn't stop the smile that swept across his face as he planted a kiss on her forehead.

"I love you," he muttered.

"I love you, too," she said. "I just wanted today to be perfect."

"Nothing's perfect," he said. "And I'm spending time with you so that's what counts."

"But our anniversary is supposed to be about us, not just me."

Sighing, George let go of her shoulders slid around to the side of the tub so she could fully see Angelina's face. She looked marginally less stressed and tense. Gently, he reached out and caressed the side of her check. Angelina pressed a kiss into his palm.

"You know I don't need fancy dinners to celebrate, Ange," he said tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"But I wanted to look nice for you," she said, scooting toward the edge of the tub and resting her arms on the rim. George couldn't help the grin that surfaced as she rested her chin on her arms. Only Angelina could be adorable and sexy at the same time.

"You always look gorgeous, baby," he said. He suspected most of the problem was that she'd had a plan for how this day was going to go — a very detailed one, if he was guessing correctly — and when that had been foiled, she'd scrambled to find a way to patch it up, only to be thwarted at every turn. Before she could protest, he continued, "And if all we do today is sit on the couch and talk about the shop, or Quidditch, or how Ron's sanity is being tested with five kids under four in his house, then that will be enough."

Angelina kissed him them, slow and steady.

"I love you," she said. "I don't love this." She ran a finger along his beard. "But I love you."

George grinned. "I thought it was starting to grow on you."

Angelina wrinkled her nose. "Not quite."

He stood up and stretched. "I'm gonna go check on Freddy and order some take out."

He gave his wife one last kiss before heading off to make sure his son hadn't wrecked his room entirely yet.