George stared at his reflection, wondering whether he was going to be ill. Why had he thought this was a good idea? He hadn’t; it had, of course, been Angelina who had convinced him it was.
“I wish you were here, Fred,” he said, still staring at his reflection. If he squinted and ignored the missing ear, he could almost pretend he was talking to his identical twin, even though he had died over 4 years ago. “’Course,” he smiled, “I probably wouldn’t even be in this predicament if you were.”
He knew what Fred would say to him. “Predicament? Is that any way to speak of your family?”
“Well, you know what I mean,” George corrected himself. “I would’ve let you have her. That whole time I fancied her but I knew you did too. So I would’ve let you have her.”
Ron pounded on the bathroom door suddenly, pulling George out of his reverie.
“George! What are you doing in there? Let’s see it!”
“Yes, I want to see how you look!” Percy joined in.
“In a minute!” George shouted. He heard Bill chuckle and mutter something about nerves, and Ron knowingly agree. He cast Muffliato on the door.
“Anyway, Fred,” George continued his rather one-sided conversation as though his brothers hadn’t interrupted. “You’d be able to tell me what to do.”
“Do the right thing, George. Do right by Angelina,” responded the Fred in his head.
George nodded, then looked down at his white hands, clutching at the sink. Of course, it was a little late to do what could really be called the right thing.
“Well, as right as you can, then.”
“Can you believe it, Fred?” he asked, ignoring his twin’s would-be response. “I can’t…” He really couldn’t believe how much his life was suddenly changing, and he couldn’t stop thinking about the day that his old way of life fell apart. He remembered it clearly.
…
It was September 10, one month to the day after Harry and Ginny had been married. There had been a large gathering at the Burrow to celebrate.
It was a very happy occasion. Not only was it the first time after the wedding that most of the attendants had seen the new Mr. and Mrs. Potter, it was also the first time most of them had met little Dominique Weasley, who had been born only one week after the wedding. Bill had proudly shown off his second daughter to all the aunts, uncles, and cousins who had wanted to hold her.
And, of course, brothers’ girlfriends. Angelina had seemed to take special interest in the baby girl. George had assumed that it was part of being a girl. He didn’t pretend to know Angelina any better than he should after only 6 months of dating. Well, he had justified to himself many times since, 6 months of serious dating following 6 months of casual get-togethers, most of which took place in his bedroom.
So George hadn’t been worried when Angelina spent most of the party talking to Bill and Fleur and cooing over blonde-haired, blue-eyed baby Dominique and her two-year-old sister, Victoire. He had simply done what he usually did when his family got together-- try to out-drink Ron. Of course, since Ron and Hermione had tied the knot almost a year ago, she had a lot more control over him, so George usually won.
After the party, George and Angelina had gone back to the flat above the shop where he still lived, alone now. George had been drunk and in a frisky mood, but she kept pushing him away. He had tried to make her feel guilty and she had yelled at him for it. He had laughed, knowing it would be her reaction. Apparently, though, laughing was not appropriate at the time. She had stormed into his bedroom and locked him out- locked him out of his own bedroom!
He had knocked on the door, then sat down outside it and begged her to let him in and tell him what was wrong. She finally had. The last thing he remembered about that night was her saying tearfully, “I’m pregnant.”
…
The next three months had gone by very quickly. They had told their family and friends, and George had been convinced to propose because, as Fred would say, it was the right thing to do.
“Damn right it was. She deserves the best and you know it!”
George did know it. He loved Angelina. Just as he knew he would love his baby. He still had his doubts, however.
“I never really thought about marrying her,” George told his twin. “Why should I? What if we aren’t really right for each other?”
Fred laughed. “It’s too late for that. You’ll make it work. Now go on, give our dear Angie what she wants.”
George stared again into the eyes of his reflection. “I’m going mad,” he muttered before crossing to the door and opening it. He was staring at the back of Ron’s head.
“Maybe we should blast it open…” he was saying to the rest of the Weasley brothers and Harry.
“Or maybe,” George said loudly, making Ron jump and turn around, “we should sneak in, knock him out, tie him up and drag him to the altar.”
“George!” Percy exclaimed, ignoring his angry outburst and pushing Ron out of the way. “Splendid! You’re ready to go. And don’t you look just perfect!”
Ron rolled his eyes behind his brother’s back, but Bill and Charlie smiled proudly, and Harry looked amused. Personally, George thought Ron had the right idea.
“I can’t believe Angie’s making me wear this,” he grumbled. He felt foolish and too formal in his traditional groom’s robes.
“Come on George, it’s tradition. We wore them too,” Bill put in. That was true. Bill and Harry had both worn the traditional robes when they had been married. Ron had worn traditional Muggle attire, as most of Hermione’s relatives didn’t know she was a witch. George would much rather be allowed to wear a tuxedo, too.
“And I’ll wear them too, in six months,” Percy added, puffing out his chest as he had always done when he was overly proud of himself. Ron rolled his eyes again. This time Percy saw, and hit him for it.
“Anyway, it looks like you’re missing something…” Percy started.
“Er, yeah, I’ve just left it in my room. I’ll go get it,” George said, though he had no idea what he was missing. He was just having a hard time hanging out with all his happily married brothers whose wives were proud to be with them….
He pushed past his brothers and crossed to his old childhood bedroom. He sat down on what had been Fred’s bed and put his head in his hands. He didn’t hear the door open.
He heard the footsteps cross the room and felt his brother sit on the bed beside him. When he couldn’t take the silent staring any longer, he spoke up.
“What if she’s only with me because of the baby? What if, somewhere down the line, she falls out of love and she stays with me anyway, because of the baby? What if I’m not enough for her?” he finally looked up at Percy.
“I don’t think you have to worry about it.”
“And why not?”
“I think maybe she did it on purpose. To trap you.”
George looked up at his brother’s face. Percy was grinning. George smiled slightly and said, unnecessarily, “A joke.”
“One a day, George,” Percy responded quietly. It was a promise he had made to George when he had returned to work at the Ministry after spending a few months helping his younger brother get his joke shop back in business. They had become very close in that time, and George had been worried that Percy would forget his new, less serious side and had made him promise to tell at least one joke every day.
“And I’m trying to be serious,” George said, chuckling at the irony.
“Alright, seriously, I don’t think you have to worry. It was her idea to get married in the first place.”
“Ok, I guess that’s true.”
“And who wouldn’t be happy with you? Your job is to make everyone happy.”
When George didn’t respond, Percy went on. “Anyway, it’s too late to back out now. Audrey will kill you if you don’t get married, after we gave you our wedding.”
That was true. Percy and Audrey had been planning to get married today. According to Audrey, winter was the most beautiful time of year and therefore perfect for a wedding. When they had learned that George and Angelina were expecting and wanted to get married, however, Audrey and Percy had turned over their wedding plans. Audrey said that she wanted Angelina to be able to fit in her dress and that there was no time for them to plan their own wedding.
George smiled again, feeling better. “I’m glad you’re my best man, Perce. Let’s go.”
They were all waiting for him when he stepped out of his room. Harry, Bill, and Charlie looked anxious, like they knew that something was wrong. Ron was oblivious, as usual. “Did you find it?” he asked.
“Yeah, Ron. Right here,” George said, showing Ron his middle finger and turning before his brother could figure out what the others already realized. He didn’t need Ron making him feel worse about his doubts.
It was no time at all before George was standing under the tent, heated by magic, with Percy at his side.
His nerves were back. He wondered for the second time that day if he was going to be ill. “Aim at Percy,” the Fred in his head said excitedly. George smirked, looking at Percy and knowing he would not be able to calm him again. Percy was puffing out his chest again as he smiled and waved and Audrey, who was flirting with him from her seat in the second row.
George turned away from his brother, still feeling nauseous. How could he do this? Angelina deserved so much better than him. There it was. His main concern. Angie would eventually realize this and leave him and he’d be alone again.
He turned again to look at Percy, to tell him this, but some movement at the other end of the tent caught his eye.
It was her, walking in with her father. She was gorgeous. Her thick black hair ran smoothly down her back, ending in small ringlets halfway between her shoulders and elbows. Her pure white gown had a wide neck which, George noticed, showed off her breasts well. He also appreciated the way it clung to her thighs.
As his eyes wandered back up her body, he noticed her left hand resting on her stomach. She was just starting to show, and this was another part of her body that the dress highlighted. He smiled, truly happy and without doubts for the first time that day as he thought of what would come in five months’ time.
He shook her father’s hand and then took her hands in his. He looked at the beautiful smile on her face and when she promised to love him forever, he knew that she would. They would be together forever, just him and Angelina and the wonderful baby growing inside her.