A Proposal and A Proposition
With Percy gone on his big, important date, Arthur had the flat to himself. If all went as planned, it would be late before Percy even returned. Therefore, there was no need to go spend a lot of money at a bar or pub. He could just pop out to the liquor store and save several sickles.
Arthur had been stretched out on the sofa and the next thing he knew he was flat on his back on the floor. Rubbing his forehead, he sighed then returned to his previous spot. The clock across the room read 9:23. He thought he had dozed off, but he had been asleep for nearly two hours.
Damn. I was supposed to be at George's twenty minutes ago, Arthur thought. However, he couldn't bring himself to make a move. Naps were supposed to make you feel better, weren't they? How come he felt worse than when he had nodded off then? Good news was that he was still drunk. Arthur picked up the bottle from the table and resumed his earlier activities. He could talk to George and Molly some other time.
It wasn't twenty minutes later that Percy's fireplace roared to life. Not being bothered to move, Arthur stayed sat on the couch as his son stepped through.
Sighing, George shook his head. "I should've known. You know, I was hoping you had just fallen asleep or just simply forgotten."
"I did fall asleep," Arthur pointed out, still not getting up.
Ignoring his father, he continued, "...No, I can't be that lucky, can I?" Pausing, George looked around the small flat. "Where's Percy?"
"On a special date with Audrey," was his father's simple answer.
"Does he know what you're doing right now?" George asked, not wanting to believe his older brother would allow something such as this to take place in his house.
After taking another pull of firewhisky, Arthur snidely replied, "Not unless he's psychic, which I highly doubt he is. The boy is just book smart. That can only get you so far in life. I'm surprised he's made it this far with such restricted intelligence."
"Dad, how could you say that? Percy's brilliant and ambitious. He's made it farther than any of us could in a lifetime. I mean, he has one of the highest positions in the Ministry. On top of that, he's letting you stay here regardless of your actions."
Arthur abruptly stood, having to balance himself as he did so. "Are you saying that I'm not ambitious? That I couldn't get to that position if I wanted to?"
A flashback of Arthur and Percy's row from a few years ago flitted through George's mind. Crap. He did not choose his words wisely.
"No! That's not at all what I'm saying. I'm just defending my brother since you decided to bad mouth him all of a sudden! But that's not why I came here. You gave me your word that you'd come over and help me with Mum tonight!"
"It's not a dire situation. It could wait another day or two. Something else came up and I couldn't make it." Arthur made to push past his son, but George shoved him back, causing him to lose his balance and fall back on the sofa.
"Old Ogden's is what came up. That shouldn't take precedence over your family! I'm not letting you go back on what you said. So here," George summoned a vial of Sober Up potion," you're gonna take this, clean up, and come with me."
"George, you can't -" Arthur began to protest.
"Take it or I'm telling Percy what has taken place here tonight," George threatened.
In another fifteen minutes or so, the two were ready to go. However, even after the shower, George had to use a charm to conceal the stench of firewhisky.
"Son, I'm sorry -" Arthur began.
"No, Dad, don't. I don't want to hear it. The more you say it, the less it means...Let's just go."
oOoOo
Meanwhile, Percy led an unsuspecting Audrey to the ornate fountain in the middle of Trafalgar Square.
So far, everything had gone according to plan. After making sure he was impeccably dressed, Percy picked up Audrey and the evening started off with a stroll around Hyde Park. Next, he took his girlfriend of nearly two years to the luxurious Italian restaurant where they had their first date. Now, the bespectacled young man would pop the question in the beautifully lit square.
Upon finding a vacant spot on the edge of the fountain, Percy gestured for Audrey to sit down. Taking a knee, he pulled out a ring box with shaking hands. It wasn't until now that he noticed how light-headed he was.
Percy had a long, sweet speech prepared, but in the moment all he could manage was, "A=Audrey, will you m-marry me?"
It turned out that he didn't need a speech at all. Through happy tears, Audrey nodded her head and answered, "Yes, of course!"
Percy's lips met Audrey's as he slipped the ring onto her finger.
oOoOo
Upon George and Arthur's entrance, Molly rose quickly. "Oh. This is low, blindsiding me like this," she spat. She had not expected her son to come back with Arthur. The odd behavior and evasive answers he had been giving her that evening caused her to think he wanted her to meet a girl. "What? Have you finally realized how foolish you've been? Now I suppose you want me to forgive you and trust you again, just like that, after everything you've done."
George's hand caught his father's arm as Arthur turned to leave. "I'm sorry, George, but I don't have to put up with this."
"Dad, I need you...please," George whispered.
Letting out a deep breath, Arthur faced his wife once again. "I'm not here to talk about you, or me, or us. I'm only here for my kids."
"Oh. They're your kids now, are they? As I recall, the other night they were my kids," Molly shot back.
Glaring at the short redhead, Arthur took a step forward. "I know what I said, but seeing as they've all taken sides anyway, we might as well go along with it. Bill and Percy are the only ones who have been mature about this and remained neutral."
"Fine, go ahead then. What is it about George and Ginny you'd like to discuss?"
Gesturing toward the table, George suggested, "Why don't we all take a seat first, shall we?"
As Molly and Arthur took seats on opposite sides of the table, Arthur continued, "I'll let George start it off."
Before he could pluck up the courage to make his proposition, George glanced nervously between his parents.
Placing her hand on her son's, Molly spoke softly, "What is it, George? You know you can always talk to me about anything."
"I know...Mum, I wasn't completely honest with you this morning." Molly raised an eyebrow, but let her son continue. "It's been difficult, adjusting to living by myself."
Now his mother interrupted. "I told you, you are welcome to move back home."
"I know. But I have to get back on my own two feet at some point, so I'm not moving back." George only told one of the reasons he wouldn't go back to the Burrow. The other reason would break his mother's heart, he knew. "This afternoon I talked to Dad and he doesn't see any issues with it, but it's ultimately your decision...Can Ginny move in with me?" he finished in a rush.
Exasperated, Molly turned to her husband. "Arthur, we discussed this the other night -"
"- Actually, it wasn't much of a discussion," Arthur countered. "Today, George appealed to my better judgement, and I don't see why she can't move in. I think it would be better for both of them."
Without hesitation, Molly answered, "No. George, I'm sorry, but no. She's only sixteen -"
"Oh, come on, Molly!" Arthur interjected. "She will be off to school in a couple months. She fought in the Battle of Hogwarts for Merlin's sake! I'm sure she can survive with her brother outside of the Burrow for a while."
"No. George, why don't you ask one of your brothers? Charlie is looking for a place since he isn't going back to Romania."
"Mum, they disowned me, Ginny, and Percy. Neither Ron nor Charlie will even speak to me, let alone live with me. Besides, I don't want them to."
"Well, what about your father?" she suggested, now grasping at straws.
"I'm always at work." Molly scoffed at her husband's blatant lie/ "It would be no different than George living by himself." The chair scratched the floor as Arthur stood. "If things hadn't gone to shite and I was still at home, you wouldn't have a problem with Ginny living with George!"
Rising from her seat, Molly now lost her temper as well. "You better believe it! It's not that I don't trust George. It's not that I don't trust Ginny. I do not trust you!"
"That's absurd! I won't even be here!"
"Mum, listen!" George raised his voice to gain Molly's attention before lowering it again. Luckily, he did not inherit his mother's temper, otherwise this kitchen would be a Weasley warzone. "I didn't want to say anything, but Ginny hates it at the Burrow. Every day she tells me how unhappy she is."
There...the bomb dropped. The ugly truth was out. Molly's heart broken - shattered even more than it already was...But she didn't show it. She did everything to hold herself together.
"Okay," Molly spoke, subdued. "Well, where will Harry be staying?"
"He can stay her too," George replied.
""You only have one extra room here, George..."
"They've been sharing the same bedroom the past couple months. If anything was going to happen, it would have happened by now."
"Okay. They can move in with you," Molly conceded, "but only for three weeks. Then she's back at home."
"Thanks, Mum."
"I must get going," Arthur announced. "I'm glad I could help, George."
"Yeah. Thanks, Dad. Can I talk to you for a minute?"
After the two men went into the living room, Molly overheard their hushed conversation.
"Why don't you wait for me to bring Ginny back? She'll want to see you," George's voice said.
"George, I have other business to attend to."
"Don't you care about your kids?"
"Of course I do. I did what you asked, didn't I?"
"Only because I made you sober up and dragged you here, even after you gave me your word."
"George..."
"No, Dad. We at least deserve a straight answer. Why are you shutting everyone out? First you shut out just about everyone, then Mum, and now me. I'm not asking you to promise me or give me your word, because that doesn't mean anything anymore, but please don't do that to Ginny. It would break her. Aside from Harry, you're her world."
The only other thing Molly heard was the fireplace roar to life before George reentered the kitchen.
"George, he's going to end up hurting all three of you in the long run," his mother warned.
"You think I don't already know that?" the usually calm Weasley exploded. "Percy and I were talking about that today. Unlike everyone else, we can't turn our backs on him! I mean, you're his wife, you're supposed to be the last person to give up. Besides, we haven't lost him yet..."
"George, I'm giving your father some space. I haven't given up."
"You bit both of our heads off right when we walked in. How do you expect him to get sorted out and come back if that's your reaction every time you see him?"
"George..."
The young man put his hand up to stop anything else his mother was about to say and mumbled, "I'm gonna go get Ginny and Harry."
oOoOo
There was a knock on Ginny's open bedroom door then George's head popped into sight. Even though it was late, it wasn't unusual for the two love birds to be wide awake.
"George!" the couple exclaimed.
"Hey. You still wanna move out?" George asked with a half smirk.
"Yeah!" his little sister answered.
"Alright then. Pack your things, both of you."
"What? How did you..." Ginny asked as she jumped up to hug her big brother.
"Ahh, it was nothing," George waved it off. "I talked to Dad about it today, and he came over tonight and helped me convince Mum. She only agreed to three weeks though, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it," he finished, winking.
"Really? Is Dad still at yours?"
"No. He – uh – He had to go...You know, Percy and all that."
It only took a few minutes to pack the couple's things since two of the three were able to use magic. They were at the first floor landing when an excited shriek came from the kitchen. Rushing to the source of the noise, the three burst through the swinging door to find Molly suffocating Percy in a bear hug, his glasses askew.
Special date, George thought. Just as George was connecting the dots, Percy extracted himself from his mother's arms and exclaimed, "I proposed to Audrey!"
"Congratulations!" his siblings and Harry shouted, hugging him in turn.
After he relayed what had happened on their date in detail, the four young adults said their good-byes to Molly, some colder than others.
"Oh, and the engagement party is next Saturday. Her parents offered to host it when I spoke to them the other day," Percy added as an afterthought.
"You can count on me to be there," his mum assured.
"Us too," Ginny answered for herself and Harry.
"And me!" George added.
On the way to the apparition point in the garden, George spoke to Percy, "Why don't you come over for a bit to celebrate? I – uh – need to talk to you about something else too."
A/N: There y'all go, a nice 2,300 word chapter. I hated that I couldn't get this up earlier, but I was rear-ended on the 4th and told by a doctor not to be on electronic devices or read until my concussion was gone. Then a couple days later, my grandmother passed away, so that took away another week. But I'm back now and I hope y'all will forgive me since I gave y'all a long chapter that took me a few days to complete.
I'm glad y'all are still enjoying the story. I am still enjoying writing it. I've gotten part of the next chapter laid out, and the one after that is completely written and just has to be edited.
Please keep reviewing and giving me your thoughts!