BLEED OUT ━━ george weasley

xv. heart and home

"That's so nice," Keegan commented. She'd caught the use of past tense and was careful not to upset the woman. The last thing she needed was to meet her boyfriend's mother for the first time and upset her by insulting her brothers' memories. "I feel like I barely know George now."

"Ah, not to worry, dear," Mrs Weasley smirked and shot her son a look. "I have plenty of embarrassing stories -- and photos, lots of photos -- to show you."

"No, you don't," George glared at her, and Fred, too, when he started to snicker. "I don't know what you're laughing at, Freddie. You're in every photo I'm in."

At that, Fred's face dropped. Much to Keegan's amusement, he was quick to join his twin in his complaints, eventually annoying Mrs Weasley enough that she gave in. Still, when both boys were distracted by their younger siblings coming downstairs, Keegan caught Mrs Weasley winking at her, a silent promise that those photos and stories were definitely not going to waste.

Keegan was practically beaming as she let the woman usher her into a chair.

"Are you sure I can't help with anything, Mrs Weasley?"

Keegan eyed the food piled around the sink with evident scepticism. It would've taken Vivian and Eleanor hours to cook up so much food without the help of magic. But not the Weasleys, apparently.

"Oh, please, call me Molly," Mrs Weasley -- no, Molly -- insisted, then recalled Keegan's offer and frowned. She shook her head stubbornly. "And I'm sure, sweetheart. You're a guest. My kids can help me."

"Hey!" Both Fred and Ron exclaimed in unison, George and Ginny merely scowling while Harry lingered awkwardly at the end of the table, knowing Molly definitely didn't mean him and that he was in the same boat as Keegan. The two outliers listened as Ron grumbled, "I didn't sign up for this…"

"Well, it's a good thing I didn't ask you, isn't it?"

If there was one thing Keegan had determined from her first five minutes at The Burrow, it would be this: Molly Weasley was a force to be reckoned with, an absolute whirlwind of a woman, and Keegan did not want to end up on her bad side if she could help it.

As Molly got to work handing out jobs to her children, Fred and George shared a knowing look before each snatching one of Keegan’s arms and hoisting her out of her seat. She gasped, fully prepared to tell them off, when George merely laughed and ushered his girlfriend up the stairs out of sight.

“You’re supposed to be helping your mother,” she glowered at the twins, her disapproval evident. Molly hadn’t noticed their absence just yet, too busy trying to rangle Ron into helping Harry, who’d volunteered to peel the potatoes. “George…”

Suddenly, Fred let out a dramatic cry, prompting the couple to turn to him with furrowed brows. “Listen to her, Georgie,” he wailed. “Not even five minutes in and she’s already turning into our mother.”

“Merlin, you’re an idiot--”

“How did you know that’s what mum calls me?”

“Molly is a lovely woman--”

“We’ve really lost her, Freddie,” George agreed with a solemn nod.

Fed up, Keegan exclaimed, “Is there a point to this? I wouldn’t have minded helping with the potatoes…”

“Keegan, love, I didn’t bring you here to cook for my family,” George sighed, taking her hand in his so he could lead the way up the stairs. “I wanted you to see where I grew up, and that definitely wasn’t just the kitchen.”

“We’re going to give you a tour, Keegs,” Fred declared. Much to Keegan’s chagrin, he idled up to her other side and ruffled her hair. “Starting with the ghoul in the attic.”