Chapter 23

September 19th 1999

Absences

Sunday dinner at the Burrow arrived as it always did, the end of one week and the beginning of another, a reason for the whole family to come together and relax in each other's company, something they'd all come to value more and more during the time since one member had been lost. The table in the kitchen was littered with bowls filled with a veritable rainbow of food, Molly having long since abandoned the more traditional Sunday roast in favour of the many new muggle recipes she had perfected, and everyone around the table had formed groups to talk in while they ate, voices rising above each other in their attempts to be heard. Ginny and Neville were smack bang in the middle of one side of the table, their hands joined underneath and while they would usually be loudly discussing something with Fred and George, this time they were talking only to each other in hushed whispers and long perfected eyebrow signals, every so often glancing at the empty chair where Fred usually sat. George was talking to Harry about the latest inventions he had been working on and Harry was, in turn, telling George about the sheer number of Wheezes products that he had needed to confiscate from his students, not because he particularly wanted to because he didn't see the harm in it, but Minerva was insistent on not allowing them.

"Where's Fred?" Harry asked suddenly and both Ginny and Neville snapped their eyes to him, flicking to George when he shifted oddly in his chair.

"Yeah George," Ginny smirked, leaning forwards with her elbows on the table and ignoring her Mum when she squawked, "where is Fred today? Not like him to miss Sunday dinner."

"He's uh.." George gulped, and Ginny raised her eyebrow as she noticed he was lying, "he's come down with a cold?"

"Oh no!" Molly gasped, pushing herself up from the table so quickly that everything on it shifted an inch, "I'll make him some chicken noodle soup!"

"Of course he has," Ginny muttered, glaring at her brother while he turned back to Harry and resolutely ignored her and she sighed, turning back to Neville, "he's lying. At least Mum can't tell…"

"Told you, today is her birthday," Neville smirked, having already discussed this possibility with her, "you and I both know exactly where he is. Question is, does George?"

"Maybe he found out?" Ginny offered and Neville smirked, spotting the lonesome twin wink at them across the table. Ginny gasped when she saw it too.

When dinner was done and everyone was absolutely stuffed, they began to leave the table and retreat to wherever they always did on a Sunday evening. Bill, Charlie and Harry grabbed brooms from beside the back door and ran down to the fields to for an improvised game of Quidditch, Luna said her goodbyes and went to visit her father to help him with the latest issue of the Quibbler, Molly and Arthur moved into the living room and collapsed onto the sofas where they were usually joined by Ginny, Neville, Fred and George, but tonight Ginny had other plans for her boyfriend and solo twin. She grabbed Neville by the hand, which he had obviously expected because he simply smiled and rolled his eyes, before the two of them made a beeline towards George. He tried to dodge them by making a run for the stairs, but Ginny was a chaser at heart and she looped her arm through his and began dragging him towards the back garden. He grumbled the entire way, but when she let him go he didn't try to get away. He just sent her a look that begged her to get it over with.

"What do you know?" she hissed and he frowned, cocking his head to the side.

"I know the sky is blue and that you scor-"

"About Fred, you git," she snapped, giving him a hefty slap on the upper arm and he winced, rubbing at it, "we all know he doesn't really have a cold, so what do you know?"

"What do you know?" George replied, eyebrow raising in question and Ginny sighed, rolling her eyes.

"We need to know if you know what we know." Neville asked boldly, ignoring his girlfriend when she narrowed her eyes towards him.

"You know?" George asked with wide eyes, catching on to the situation and Ginny rolled her eyes, nodding, "how do you know? How long have you known?"

"Since he bumped into her in Diagon Alley," Ginny offered, and George gasped incredulously, "he came to us for advice that night."

"That git!" George spat and Ginny reached out and rubbed his arm, "why didn't he come to me?"

"You've never been the best at… Girl advice, George," Ginny smirked and he was about to reply, his mouth opening and snapping shut again before he shrugged, nodding sadly, "besides, we knew her better than you did, we know what she's like."

"Have you seen her?" George asked and both Ginny and Neville shook their heads sadly.

"Fred said she seemed really fragile, that it might be too much," Neville offered and George nodded, shoving his hands into his trouser pockets, "have you?"

George gave them a brief rundown of the events that had led to him meeting her again and Ginny laughed loudly at the mental image of her two brothers sprawled on top of each other while Hermione waved awkwardly. She was pleased to hear that Hermione appeared to be doing well, though saddened by the fact that she hadn't been able to see her old friend again yet. She zoned out as George spoke, leaning into Neville's side and soaking up the warmth from his arm as it automatically lifted to hold her shoulders. She wondered how Hermione would react to the two of them together, not to mention Harry being with Luna. It had been a surprise to everyone but seemed so normal to them now, but to Hermione it would be a very strange thing to behold. As George came to the end of his explanation, she turned her attention back to the conversation just in time to catch a very interesting sentence.

"He loves her, you know?" George sighed, smiling softly and Ginny smirked, elbowing Neville who grunted, but grinned back at her.

"That much is obvious, Georgie," she laughed, rolling her eyes when he looked confused, "he does this absent, floaty thing with his eyes and you can tell he's thinking about her. Plus every time we ask him about her he goes bright red - Fred has fallen hard."

"He won't admit it though," George groaned, rolling his own eyes, "neither will she. They're absolutely adamant that these dinner dates aren't dates."

"Which they are." Neville chuckled and George gave him an exaggerated nod.

"Validation!" he yelled and Ginny smacked his arm again, looking around hurriedly to make sure no one was around to hear him and he lowered his voice before continuing, "I knew I wasn't going mad! I haven't seen him this love sick since Angelina!"

"I thought Angelina was with Lee?" Neville asked, receiving an answer from neither sibling as they spoke amongst themselves.

"God is he really that bad?" Ginny asked, smirking and George nodded with his own eyebrows raised.

"Honestly Gin, it's worse," he snorted, thinking for a second, "she's just as bad, to be honest, the way she looks at him and she always blushes when he touches her even a little."

"Do you think they have any idea?" Ginny asked and George let out a bark of laughter, shaking his head.

"They're both completely blind," he chuckled before his face lost its humour and he sighed, pulling one hand from his pocket and lifting it to drag down his face in frustration, "or just really dumb."

"Well we know she's not dumb," Neville supplied, gaining nods of agreement from the siblings, "but she has always been completely clueless when it comes to love. Look how long it took her and Ron to…"

"Good point." Ginny chuckled, smiling softly at the mention of her brother.

"So just to clarify," Neville said once they had all fallen silent for a moment, "Fred has ditched Sunday dinner, because it's her birthday…"

"And he's with her now," Ginny continued, waiting for George to nod, "good lord those two are a love story waiting to happen."

They had dispersed after this, all now knowing that the others knew exactly what they knew and feeling better for having discussed it. Ginny and Neville returned into the Burrow and joined their mother, who was sitting alone in the living room reading a book. George grabbed a broom and went down to join his brothers and Harry where they flew around chasing and passing a quaffle between themselves. Little did they know, but Arthur could be found hiding inside his shed, having been eavesdropping on their entire conversation, grinning to himself as his suspicions were confirmed.

The rest of the evening passed by uneventfully while Ginny was caught up in her own thoughts, the rest of the family going about her business while she remained curled into Neville's side on the sofa. She had never imagined Hermione becoming involved with any brother other than Ron, but the more that she focused on the possibility of a blossoming relationship between her and Fred, the more it made sense. She was smart, driven and determined and those were traits that Fred definitely possessed in bucket fulls. He was an inventor, a creator and Hermione had always had her nose in a book, always learning and using her skills to be better than any of them could ever hope to be. She had been very aware that Fred was attracted to her old, absent friend, but having learned that apparently Hermione seemed to be very much attracted to her brother, it gave her hope that she would once again be a solid staple in the Weasley household one day, when she felt able to be. Although she would love to see Hermione again and reconnect, she knew that she would have to wait for the witch to come to her because if she cornered Hermione, it may do more harm than good. She had faced George only when she had been left with no choice and while Ginny could create some similar situation for herself, she knew better than to try.

"How is Minerva treating you Harry?" her Mum asked some time later, when everyone had reconvened for tea in the living room, "I hope she's not working you too hard. You look tired, dear."

"Oh she's not too bad," Harry chuckled, rolling his eyes when his pseudo-mother leaned over and ran her hand through his messy hair, "I've had to stay up late marking for the last week though, I've got a class full of Hermione types, I swear."

Ginny, George and Neville shared a look that didn't go unnoticed by the wizard.

"It's her birthday today," Harry said sadly, looking down at his tea, "I was hoping I'd have seen her again by now."

"I'm sure she's doing okay, Harry," Arthur offered, leaning forward in his seat and patting him on the knee, "Kingsley would let me know if he thought we needed to step in."

"I know, but she's always been stubborn," Harry replied and Ginny chuckled lightly, making him turn to her, "Gin, do you remember that time she took McClaggen to Slughorn's christmas party?"

"How could I forget," Ginny grinned, hearing Neville laugh quietly next to her, "I'll never understand why she didn't just ask you, better that than having to flee that cesspit of a boy."

"That's what I said!" Harry laughed loudly, before the whole family began to share happy memories of their absent friend.

Ginny, George and Neville shared pointed looks during the conversation, knowing that they were the only ones in the room who had any up to date stories to share but keeping them to themselves. They shared a drink of firewhiskey in honour of the girl they all missed so much and all expressed their hopes that she would reappear in their lives one day. Everyone left when the clock above the mantelpiece chimed midnight, knowing that the new work week was waiting for them and they all needed to get some rest. Molly hugged everyone as they left, squeezing all the love she felt for her family into each embrace and Ginny guessed she hugged slightly harder, to make up for the two, well three, people who weren't there. When the house was down to only four inhabitants, Molly and Arthur said goodnight to their two youngest children and retreated up to bed, leaving Ginny and George alone in the living room.

"I hope she comes back soon," Ginny said quietly as she made her way towards the stairs, stretching her arms above her head tiredly, "she has no idea how much we all miss her."

"I think she knows," George replied, falling in step behind her as they climbed the stairs and stopping outside her bedroom before continuing in a hushed whisper, "I think she just needs to work up the courage. We can be a bit overwhelming, you have to admit."

"George," Ginny chuckled, shaking her head as she pushed her bedroom door open, "I was born into this family and I still want to run away and hide sometimes."

"You and me both," he yawned, pulling her towards him by the arm and wrapping his arms around her shoulders, pulling her in for a hug, "I'll let you know if anything happens, alright Gin?"

"Thanks, George." she muttered against him before they parted ways and went to bed.