epilogue 2/5
That Sunday, Eleanora, Bill, and Georgia gathered with the rest of the Weasleys as well as Teddy and Daisy for their weekly Sunday brunch. After everyone had started having kids and getting married, Mrs. Weasley made Sunday afternoons mandatory for the whole family to get together. She swore she'd never see her grandchildren otherwise, despite the fact that the Burrow always had at least one visitor at any given time. Everybody loved spending time with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley because there was always good food and the chance that Mr. Weasley would go into an in-depth discussion about muggle politics, his new obsession. Mrs Weasley was, as always, the best person to go to for advice, and all of her grandchildren loved visiting her just to sit in the kitchen and talk.
That's what Fred II was doing when Bill, Eleanora, and Georgia entered the kitchen. George's sixteen year old son was perched on the counter with a large bowl of leftover brownie batter in his hands. "I just don't know if she likes me like that," he was saying, his new quidditch captain badge gleaming on his chest. "You know what I mean?" He licked the spoon of brownie butter and looked up to see his cousin, aunt, and uncle. "Oh, hey."
"Hey," Georgia said, stealing the bowl of brownie batter and leaning against the counter. "Who doesn't like you like that?"
"Yeah, who's breaking your heart?" laughed Eleanora, giving Molly a hug and washing her hands to help with the cooking.
Fred II shrugged and looked helplessly at Bill, who didn't seem too keen on helping out. "Anyone we know?" he asked, kissing his mother on the cheek and joining Eleanora by the sink.
"Leave him alone," Mrs. Weasley said in a warning tone. "He's having girl problems, don't pressure him about it."
Fred II let out a groan as Eleanora and Bill stifled laughs. Georgia didn't even try to contain her amusement. "Girl problems?" she snorted. "Oh, it's not with that Hufflepuff seeker, is it?"
"She's pretty, right?" said Fred II. Georgia wrinkled up her nose and shrugged. "Oh, you're no help- go find Ted-" Fred II froze and glanced up at Eleanora and Bill, who were watching the exchange in mild interest. "Ahhhh, I mean... go find..."
"Ugh, you're the worst." Georgia shoved Fred's head away and stalked out of the room to find Teddy.
Fred II gave Eleanora, Bill, and Mrs. Weasley a hopeless shrug. "Think she's mad about something." He took the bowl of batter from where Georgia had set it on the counter and followed her into the hallway.
"I think I win," Eleanora said in a singsong voice.
"Nope, no way." Bill laughed and put an arm around her. "You don't win unless it's official."
"Win what?" asked Mrs. Weasley.
Eleanora and Bill hesitated, not wanting to admit to Mrs. Weasley that they'd bet on their daughter's love life. "Win... ahhh..." Bill started, shooting a helpless look at Eleanora, who widened her eyes and shrugged.
"Hey, sorry I'm late!" a voice came from the doorway, thankfully distracting Mrs. Weasley from Eleanora and Bill's conversation.
"Charlie!" she cried, running into his arms. It had been nearly two years since Charlie had officially moved back to England, but Mrs. Weasley still acted like she was seeing him for the first time in months every time he walked into a room. "Oh, and don't worry about being late, dear, you can never be late around here." She planted a kiss on Charlie's cheek and turned back to the stovetop.
Charlie raised his eyebrows at Eleanora and Bill, who immediately got the message and slipped past Mrs. Weasley to join him in the living room. The room was crowded, but in a good way. Rose Weasley sat on the floor with Albus Potter, trying to convince him to let her braid his ever-growing hair. Albus took after his father in his unruly black curls, but unlike Harry, he never even attempted to tame them. George's daughter, Roxanne, and Percy's daughter, Molly, were nearby, whispering excitedly together and occasionally glancing over at Georgia and Teddy on the couch closest to the door. Fred II was sitting on the arm of the couch, just above Georgia, and watching the two carefully. He'd always been close with Georgia, and was the first she told when she figured out she liked Teddy.
Eleanora dropped into a seat next to George and Bill sat down next to her. Charlie settled himself cross-legged on the floor in front of them, but turned to Georgia and Teddy instead. "Ted, El told me you want to work in the magical creatures department?"
"Thinking about it, yeah," Teddy said, leaning forward and propping his elbows on his knees. "Any tips?"
"Ahhh, it's not hard." Charlie untied his shoelace and started re-lacing his boot as he spoke. "Don't go to Romania, it's gotten too mainstream since the war."
"Uncle Charlie, the war was, like, twenty years ago," Fred II said with a snort.
Charlie turned, wide eyed, to Eleanora and Bill. "Wait-" he said, looking horror-struck, "Are we old?"
"Think so, mate," Bill said. "It's alright, Georgie reminds me everyday." He waved his wand and a wall of pillows sprang up between Georgia and Teddy.
Eleanora stifled her laughter as Georgia looked over at her father in dismay. "Dad!" she cried, picking up one of the pillows and throwing it at her parents. Teddy's mouth twitched into a smile and he moved a few pillows to the side with gentle hands.
"Alright, that's enough!" Mrs. Weasley called from the front of the room. "We don't need another pillow fight on our hands." Everybody laughed at the memory of the Great Pillow Fight of 2006. "Come on, it's time to eat."
The entire family gathered around the table, which Mr. Weasley had magically expanded to allow room for everybody to sit. Eleanora sat down next to Bill, across from George and Angelina. Daisy managed to pry herself away from Lily Potter and slid into a seat next to George. "Haven't seen you in awhile. Where've you been?"
George shrugged. "Around. Store's always open, you know."
"Well, not always," Daisy said. "Want to see a movie Friday?"
"Yeah, sounds good."
"Angie, you in?"
Angelina looked up briefly from where she was scooping mashed potatoes onto Roxanne's plate. "No, I'll skip out on this one. I think a day without children is exactly what I need." Daisy snorted as Angelina gave George a pointed look.
He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Ahhh, you love me."
Angelina and Eleanora exchanged a small smile. It was a running joke between the two that Daisy was stealing Angelina's husband and Eleanora's best friend, but they both really liked the friendship they had. "So, Fred, you made quidditch captain?" Eleanora said. She winced internally every time she had to say the name, but she loved her nephew just as much as she loved the former Fred. He reminded her a lot of him too.
"Yep," Fred II said, swallowing a bite of corn, "And we're going to crush Slytherin this year, right?" He shot a pointed look at Georgia, who widened her eyes defensively.
"I'm not seeker, am I?"
"Chaser is just as important!" Fred II cried.
"Damn right it is!" Charlie called from two chairs down. "And Georgia, you should've seen your mum back in the day. Could've gone pro."
Eleanora waved him off dismissively. "Ginny's the quidditch player of the family. I was good, but not as good as her."
"Aunt El, you should try giving your daughter some pointers," Fred II said drily. Georgia kicked him under the table.
On Eleanora's other side, Bill was talking animatedly to Mr. Weasley, Teddy, and Hermione about some sort of drama that went down between the bank and the Ministry. "And Kingsley was only trying to say that the bank should help out all creatures equally-"
"Exactly!" Teddy said forcefully, "It's ridiculous how favored wizards are in the eyes of most magical establishments."
Bill grinned at Teddy. "You're going to fit right in at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, kid."
"Really?" Teddy said in a hopeful voice. Bill was one of the few people Teddy looked to for approval in anything. "D'you think it's a good idea?"
"I think it's one of the best you've had yet."
When brunch was over and everything was cleaned up, George and Angelina were the first to leave with Roxanne and Fred II. Although George would never say anything about it, Eleanora thought he probably had a hard time spending too much time in the house where he'd grown up with his twin. Eleanora had a hard time with it too. She felt like she couldn't go anywhere without being reminded of Fred Weasley, but she was starting to not mind it as much. She would rather be constantly reminded of her time with Fred than to forget it.
Bill had been helping Mrs. Weasley with the dishes, and when he was done he found Eleanora in the living room. He vaulted over the back of her couch and settled on the cushions next to her. "We're not old, see? I can still do that."
"Mmm, you can still do a lot of things," Eleanora murmured in his ear before kissing him. Bill chuckled softly and moved his hand to her waist, pulling her closer.
Just then, a jet of water hit Bill in the back of the head and he leapt up. "HA!" Daisy cried, still pointing the water gun at him. She turned it to Eleanora, who held up her hands in surrender, but Daisy was relentless. "Honestly, you two are like cats," she said, then turning to Georgia, "Your parents always like this?"
"Yes, and you're my hero," Georgia laughed, taking the water gun and squirting her parents a few extra times for good measure.
Daisy gave Georgia a proud look and then vaulted over the back of the couch the same way Bill had, landing gracefully next to Eleanora. "Want to go to Dad's tonight?"
"Yeah, where's he been?" Eleanora asked, wiping water off of her face and glancing up as Bill pulled out his wand to use as a water gun against Georgia. Georgia shrieked and they ran out the garden door, battling the whole way.
Daisy plucked a thread off of her robes, distracted. "Ummm, I think he's been around. Haven't been over there in a little while, though."
"Huh," said Eleanora. "We can stop over after this."
Daisy and Eleanora stood outside of Marks Manor side by side. They usually did weekly dinners with their father, but he'd cancelled the week before and neither had seen him since. "Think he's okay?" Eleanora asked as they mounted the steps.
"I'm sure he's fine," murmured Daisy. "He just gets like this, you know?"
"Yeah, I know." Eleanora pulled her spare key out of her pocket and inserted it in the lock, letting herself and her sister into the drafty mansion. "Dad!" she called at the top of her lungs. "Dad!"
"No need to yell, I'm right here," Cillian said, coming out of the kitchen with a bewildered and slightly exasperated expression. "What're you two doing here? We didn't have plans, did we?"
"No, no," Daisy said, throwing an arm around Cillian's shoulders, "we just wanted to check in on our dad."
Realization dawned on Cillian's face. "Ahhh, got it. I'm fine, really. You girls worry too much."
"Just wanted to make sure you weren't dead or anything," Eleanora said drily, hugging her dad and moving into the kitchen. Cillian and Daisy followed her and Cillian started making tea. "Where've you been?"
Cillian shrugged evasively. "Around." He and Eleanora had settled their differences a long time ago, but Cillian's distant nature never failed to annoy Eleanora. She knew he wasn't up to anything too sketchy anymore, but the fact that he wouldn't tell them anything got on her nerves.
"Around where?"
"El, calm down," said Daisy, "You don't have to track either of us anymore, we can take care of ourselves."
"And if you must know," Cillian said calmly, "I've just been having a rough few weeks. Thinking about the war and about your- your mum. I didn't want to trouble either of you with it."
Eleanora's expression softened at this. She knew the feeling when the number of deaths and the gravity of how much change had happened hit you all at once. She patted Cillian on the shoulder. "I know, it's okay. I just worry."
Cillian gave her a soft smile. "It's like Daisy said. You don't have to anymore, El. We can all take care of ourselves, you don't have to do any of that anymore."
"And we're sorry you ever did," Daisy chimed in.
"Well, you didn't really have any say in it, Dais," Cillian said with a short laugh. "But I'm sorry I let any of that happen, El. Really, I am. It's my fault-"
Eleanora shrugged. "It's alright. We've already talked about it enough. It's in the past now."
Cillian nodded and smiled at his daughters, both of whom were some of the strongest people he knew. He couldn't put into words how proud he was of both of them for becoming who they were despite of everything that had happened, and how lucky he was that they still spoke to him after everything he'd put them through. "Here," he said at last in a rather choked voice, "I'll pour some tea and we can all catch up."
ngl i think this is georgia and teddy's story now