Chapter 72 – Karaoke

OoO

I had just put CJ and Teddy to bed and went to change my clothes in my room. I put on a simple red dress, showing a bit a cleavage, the dress stopped just above my knees. I was just doing my hair, still the blond pixie cut, when a low whistle came from the door.

"You got some legs on you, Northon."

I turned to see Harry leaning against the door frame. "And you got quite confident, Potter" I chuckled. "Is it too much?" I asked glancing down my dress.

"It's perfect." He smiled. "What about me?" He said twirling around. I walked over and looked at him closely. He was wearing dark blue jeans and a light blue shirt, his muscles visible under the tight sleeves.

"You look very handsome. The girls won't be able to keep their hands of you "

"Well, this is my can't-get-enough-if-me shirt." He smirked.

"I seem to be immune then." I looked to him with my own mischievous smirk. "But maybe tonight-" I traced my hand over his chest slowly, I laughed when he turned red as a tomato, and I walked past him out of the room. When we arrived downstairs, Andy was sitting on her couch going over her crossword puzzle.

"Are you sure, Andy?" I asked again as she put her crossword puzzle down.

"Yes, of course." She waved me off. "You two go have fun."

"Alright." I leaned down to kiss her cheek. "Call me on the cell when something is wrong."

"I will. Now, go!" She practically pushed me to the door. "You look beautiful, by the way."

"Thank you." I smiled and glanced at Harry. "Ready, Potter?"

He rolled his eyes with a smile and offered his arm, with a last wave to Andy we disappeared from the house.

OoO

We heard the false singing coming out of the pub when we arrived in the alley behind the bar. The pub was located in a busy street. Full of people who were barhopping. Muggles were drinking, laughing, chatting about on the main square in front of the pub. I smiled at the easy-going people around me, I was happy to note, I didn't recognize any of them.

"Oh, Harry look." I pointed with my free arm, because the other was still looked around his, to another bar. "Maybe we can go there after."

"A pirate bar?"

"Yeah, I went to one in Turkey. We can do some barhopping."

"Barhopping?" Harry frowned.

"It's just going from bar to bar all night. It's fun, trust me."

"I trust you."

"Brilliant." I grinned. "But let's scare some of these people away with our lovely voices." I tugged him towards the new Karaoke bar where a small crowd has formed in the front. We took our place at the back of the line, and I leaned against the wall facing Harry.

"I was wondering..." He started as he looked at me. "What do you do for money?"

"When Ced died -" I said, and it has only been a year since I could say that without a quiver in my voice. "I received a kind of widow's pension. Merlin, it's weird to be called a widow that young." I shook my head. "I get monthly payments, but even then, I had more than enough. Cedric inherited money from his grandparents and he left that to me. I started a savings account for CJ when he was just a baby, from the money Cedric had earned from his last articles. I love working with animals and creatures, but with this-" I touched my stomach. "It's harder to find work because I never know when the next pain will hit. And that can be dangerous working with animals. So, right now, my focus is on CJ. We'll see what the future brings."

"CJ is lucky to have a strong mum like you "

I reached over and held his hand. "I'm happy to have a friend like you, Harry."

"Who would've thought back in school, we would get so close." He chuckled as the line moved. We moved with them still holding hands.

"Things have certainly changed." I said a bit gloom. "But I glad we've gotten close. I don't have that many close friends anymore. I know it's my fault but-"

"Hey." Harry stopped me and made me turn as he placed his hands on my shoulders. "You had every right to go away, to grieve at your pace. You lost your husband, the father of your son in that stupid battle." Harry's eyes were hard. "Everyone understood why you left. And trust me. They will be happy to see you again, they welcome you back with open arms."

"Are you sure?" I asked with a quiet voice. Harry pulled me in a tight hug.

"100%." He whispered in my ear. "You've already seen Lyra and Odin. You saw Fleur and Bill last year, that went great too, right?" I nodded against his chest. "Andy and Teddy are over the moon that you are staying." He pulled back smiling. "And I'm happy to finally get to really know you, besides from the letters."

"Thank you." I kissed his cheek lightly. "Oh, gods." I wiped the escaped tears away. "Here we are, trying to have a fun night, and I blew it."

"You didn't blow up anything." He looked over my shoulder. "We are at the front. Let's scare some people away, yeah?" He grinned and I couldn't help but mimicked his expression as I nodded. Harry offered his arm again and we walked in.

OoO

Two hours had passed, and we were still at the karaoke bar. It was loud, fun and they had great drinks. Harry and I were already slightly buzzed when he jumped up.

"Hey!" I tugged his sleeve. "Where are you going?"

"Drinks!" He just grinned before he disappeared behind the crowd. I looked around the bar until I found the corner where the deejay was sitting. I left our booth and wiggled my way through the horde of people. I smiled when I reached the deejay. He was young, had blonde curly hair and perfect white teeth.

"Hello!" I called over the noise. "How does it work?" I pointed to the stage.

The guy smiled and pulled out several large books. "Your first time?"

"Yes, I'm a karaoke virgin." I laughed. The guy laughed with me as he flipped open the first book.

"Just pick any song, write down –" He handed me a paper and pen. "- the number of the song and your name. And I call you up when it's your turn to sing."

"Brilliant!" I beamed and flipped through the pages. "How long does it take?"

"It can take a while, but for a beautiful girl like you I'll put your song on top." He winked and I chuckled. I looked over to the bar and saw that Harry was trying to signal the bartender. But the bartender had his eyes on a couple of young girls on the other end. I have time then. I started looking for a song, a duet for the both of us. After almost ten minutes, I found a song. I wrote it down, handed it over to the deejay with a wink.

"Jennifer, huh?" He asked as he looked at the paper.

"Not quite, just a pseudonym. Don't really want people to know my real name when they boo me of the stage."

The guy flashed his pearly whites. "And who's Harold?"

"A friend. He's the one who suggested the place."

"Good thinking of Harold, or another pseudonym?"

I grinned widely at him before I walked back to our booth.

OoO

Harry had just gotten through the crowds and was now waiting for the bartender to notice him. But to no avail, the bartender was too busy with a group of girls on the other side of the bar. He sighed as he waited with the money in his hand. He started tapping his fingers on the counter as he waited. His eyes shifted to the people around the bar. He froze when he saw two familiar redheads, next to them a dark boy with an afro, he had forgone the dreadlocks long ago.

"Shit. Shit." He muttered to himself as he ducked out of view as Fred looked in his direction. With his head low, he pushed himself through the crowd and back towards the booth where Gwen was waiting with a mischievous grin. She looked happy and carefree. And he was going to squash that in a few seconds. When he reached the table. She cocked her head to the side with a lopsided smile. Damn, she was beautiful. It's not like he never noticed, he always knew she was. But getting to know her better, knowing her on a more personal level. And knowing her better than anyone, except for Andy, at the moment, it made her even more beautiful. It's not like they would be anything more than great friends, but it was hard to ignore it.

"Where are the drinks?" She asked, bringing Harry back from his thoughts.

"Oh, yeah." He frowned looking at his empty hands.

"Jennifer and Harold, please come to the stage." A voice called out in the pub. Gwen suddenly jumped up and grabbed his hand.

"Come on, it's us."

"Harold and Jennifer?" He looked at her with a surprised smile.

"Pseudonyms, Harry. Pseudonyms, for our own safety." She winked and pulled him up the platform.

OoO

On the other side of the pub, standing at the bar, Lee, Fred and George finally got their drinks. They leaned against the bar and faced the platform.

"So, explain this kaoke again, Lee." George asked as he looked at a technician who put a second microphone on the stage.

"Karaoke, George." He chuckled. "Hasn't Hermione ever told you about this? Or Gloria?"

"Never a word." They chimed.

"Well, it's bloody fun and right up our alley. So, you can pick any song from one of those books." He said pointing at the table filled with them. "You write down the number and your name, you go up the little stage when they call you. Then you sing. The lyrics will show up on the screens right there." He pointed to the three screens around the platform. "And because a lot of people can't sing or forget the lyrics, it can be quite funny."

"Alright, seems easy enough." Fred rubbed his hands together excitedly.

"Let me get the songbooks." Lee said, a few seconds later, he came back with three books, and they started to go over them.

"Jennifer and Harold, please come to the stage."

"Oh, watch!" Lee called over. "Someone's coming up!" The twins didn't seem to hear them as they still poured over the books. He just grabbed George's sleeves when he froze. He saw Harry standing nervously on stage, but the thing that shocked him the most was the girl, young woman now, next to him.

"Guinevere." He gasped. Being around the twins for that long, he started using her given name too. Even though the twins didn't hear him shouting over the noise a second ago, they both looked up from his soft gasp.

Gwen was laughing as they took a place behind a microphone. Harry looked so nervously that he paled as his eyes searched the crowd. Gwen on the other hand, looked like she belonged up there. Her hair was different, the short hair gave her an edge and it suited her. But apart from her hair, she was still the same as four years ago. But what was she doing here? What was she doing here with Harry? Lee felt George stiffen as his hand was still on his arm. He glanced over to George, who was frozen to the spot, looking at his ex, who he had once called the love of his life. His eyes shifted to Fred, he also looked shocked to see her, but his eyes bounced from her and Harry to George. Gwen whispered something in Harry's ear, whatever she said he looked more relaxed, and he chuckled. It was weird seeing her here, so close to Harry. Were they ever really friends before? Lee came out of his thoughts when the music started to play. Gwen pointed to the screen in front of them before Harry sang the first line.

"Don't go breaking my heart." He sang nervously.

Gwen nudged him in the side with a beaming smile as she sang. "I couldn't even I tried."

"Honey, if I get restless." Harry's confidence grew and so did his smile.

"Baby you're not that kind."

The way they sang together, which wasn't all that horrible, quite pleasant even, but seeing them together on stage... we're they together? Lee glanced back to George; his face unreadable. As they sang, the crowd started singing and clapping with them. But Fred, George and Lee just watched stunned at the girl they haven't seen for years.

"Don't go breaking my..."

"I won't go breaking your heart."

"Don't go breaking my heart." They finished together.

Gwen took Harry's hand and they bowed for the applause as they laughed. The crowd seemed to love them and the song they had sung. Then the crowd started to chant something that made George's jaw clench.

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"

"Don't." Lee whispered. He always had a suspicion that George still had feelings for her, especially after the sudden break-up with Gloria, but he nor Fred ever said anything about it. But seeing his reaction now, he knew.

Gwen looked to Harry with a questioning tilt in her head, Harry's eyes roamed the crowd nervously. It looked like he was searching for something or someone. But Gwen tugged his hand until they were face to face. She stood on her toes and kissed him softly. Harry stood frozen for moment, shocked even. So, not a couple then. Then to his amazement and the joy of the crowd, Harry leaned in and cupped her cheek. The kiss deepened and the crowd whistled and clapped loudly. They broke apart, and Harry was beet red while Gwen just laughed and slapped his chest. With a last wave the left the stage.

"George?" Fred looked at his twin, his gaze still fixed at the little stage.