Fifteen Years

Part Seven

Angelina was waving her arms wildly. George looked towards her, towards Freddie. His son looked up, barely meeting his gaze. They turned, and hurried away.

Gone.

Faded behind the brick barrier like they'd just been washed away. Hairs raised on the back of his neck, George scooped Roxanne up towards his chest. She squirmed in his grip.

"It's okay," he coaxed, stroking her hair, "it won't hurt at all."

Her eyes flew shut and she thrust her head under his chin, gripping his arms forcefully. He glanced up at the clock above him. Four minutes until eleven. George cast a wild look around him, and took off at a run.

The brick wall loomed closer, closer, closer -unyielding, determined that it would crush them both. Yet barely a split second before collision, the wall recoiled, dissolving around them. George felt a rush of cool air before he opened his eyes. Roxanne was trembling in his arms. "We're here, sweetie," he spoke softly in her ear. She looked up, eyes wide with excitement, forgetting her fear at passing through the barrier. She began to wriggle again, and this time he set her feet on the platform.

Nine and three quarters.

A bizarre feeling lodged in his throat. He felt his mouth widen and his face flush at the familiar sights. Swarms of students. A diversity of peculiar pets. Families racing about like agitated Chihuahua puppies -yapping excitedly and nipping at unsuspecting ankles. A warning to get a swift move on. Steam was swelling through the trains funnel as departure time loomed closer. George pushed through the crowd until he found Angelina shooing Freddie into a compartment.

"George, his trunk," she snapped, still not looking at him.

A muffled groan escaped his lips as he lifted the heavy trunk into the luggage compartment. He placed Baltimore the owl -who was screeching derisively- in next to the suitcase and leaped off the train.

He hurried back to see Freddie perched on the edge of his seat. His face was pale and it made his freckles stand out like they were ink splotches.

"Freddie," he said, jumping into the compartment. "You are going to love Hogwarts. And don't worry about the sorting ceremony -they just start you off with a small mountain troll. All you have to do is give him a blood-nose to score a place in Slytherin. To get into Gryffindor you have to at least knock him out."

This earned a half-hearted smile. "Right, dad,"

George leaned down and whispered. "Just remember what I said... about the passages, okay? I'll send you an owl once I'm ready."

Freddie's eyes were wide. The whistle blew and guards began slamming the doors.

"You are keen to do it, right?" George said, his voice taking on an urgent tone.

"Yeah, but-"

"But?"

"I-"

"Excuse me sir," a voiced interrupted, "please return to the station,"

George stood up and ruffled Freddie's hair. "Good luck, and remember to write."

Freddie raised a hand in a feeble salute and shuffled closer to the window. George returned to the platform, and wrapped an arm around Angelina. Her body stiffened and she kept her eyes on Freddie. As the train began to surge forwards, they waved. Angelina blew kisses and George grinned. Roxanne, teary-eyed, joined a group of children her age as they sprinted down the platform trying to keep pace with the train.

For the first time in days, Angelina turned to look at him. "Our little boy's all grown up," she said.

"I know," his voice came out unintentionally indifferent. "I can't believe it," he added quickly.

"Seems just like yesterday.." she began, but caught herself. Angelina slipped from his grasp and walked over to where Roxanne stood. They held each-others hands and slipped through the barrier. George sighed, and fell in to step several metres behind them.

---

The journey home was less than pleasant. George kept his eyes trained on the road before him. Angelina stared pointedly out the window. In the backseat, Roxanne was still sniffling and moaning about how much she was going to miss Freddie and how she needed the bathroom.

When they finally pulled up outside their home, Angelina swiftly disembarked the car and went inside. Roxanne followed her quickly.

"I'm going to work," he called after them.

Hearing no response, he disapparated immediately.

---

The joke shop was not its usual swarm of activity. He smiled at the small group of customers who were admiring the shelves. Ron was leaning back against a shelf, reading a pack of wizard joke cards. Verity held a duster loosely in her hand, but her eyes were glazed over and she wasn't moving.

"Keeping busy, I see," George said, eyeing Ron suspiciously.

His ears turned red and he shoved the deck of cards back on the shelf. "No-one's here,"

George was about to respond, when he heard a small chime as the customers left. He turned to Verity.

"I've cleaned everything a thousand times," she said defensively, "the place is spotless. All the kids are on their way to school now."

"I know," he said, running a finger along one of the shelves. It was true, the shop was immaculate. "You two can take the afternoon off then, seeing as there's nothing for you to do."

"Brilliant," Ron said, and went to collect his gear from the backroom before he left.

Verity gave him an odd look. "Are you okay, George?"

He nodded, "I'm fine. Enjoy your afternoon."

She shrugged, and left the shop.

As they walked away, George peered out the window until he was sure they were gone. When they turned the corner he flipped the open sign over and locked the doors. He drew the curtains and walked into the middle of the room.

George scanned the shop. Verity was known for rearranging the display, and he couldn't see what he wanted.

Wait.

There. On a large shelf, stacked up to the ceiling. Just what he needed.

 This was going to be brilliant.

 Freddie would be an instant star amongst his fellow students. And George would have an excuse for getting in to Hogwarts. He looked at the sign on the shelf.

Weasleys' Wildfire Whiz-bangs.

He couldn't stop himself from grinning.

There were two different options. The Basic Blaze Box, or the Deflagration Deluxe. He reached for the Deflagration Deluxe. Pausing for a moment, he laughed quietly to himself as he set it on the floor.

Then he reached for nine more boxes, and carried them out back.

<<<<<A/N... yes yes, an authors note, I know everyone hates them. I just wanted to say thankyou all for reading so far and I hope you're all enjoying it... please remember to vote and comment if you are ;)

Fifteen Years should be getting more intense very soon... :D  So stay tuned...>>>>>>