Maddie yawned as she sat up on the cot. She smiled around George's bright and happy room, cluttered with piles and piles of unidentifiable stuff. She loved the sound of him sleeping. The little intakes of breath, the exhales that made a slight whining sound, something small enough to not be annoying and loud enough for her to hear from her spot wedged in at the bottom of his bed. She loved that. But she needed him to wake up, so she clamored over the end of his bed frame and woke him with a kiss, similar to way he had awoken her the previous morning.
"Ugh, Squirt, what time is it?" he muttered, rolling away unhappily. Maddie chuckled and pulled the pillow off his head, allowing the light to disturb his desperate attempts at further slumber,
"Come on lazy- we've got a wonderful day ahead of us and you're gonna waste it under the bedclothes!" George groaned again, but rolled out of the bed, nearly plowing Maddie on the way.
"Sorry," he said groggily, and made his way to the bathroom in the hallway. As she waited for him to come back, Maddie perched on the end of Fred's bed and thought about the day coming. She wanted to write her Aunt Rachel and see how things were going at the school. She wondered about the school often, but she was quite wary of mentioning anything to the boys, or anyone. For several reasons, she had avoided the subject at all costs. Firstly, she didn't want to ruin the light, carefree time that she had so thoroughly enjoyed, and also, she was terrified of the boys going into big-brother-mode and not letting her do anything by herself for a week. She appreciated being looked out for, but she also appreciated a few inches of breathing space, and, considering the recent complications, she knew that in the event of alarm even the privilege of going to the bathroom by alone would be threatened.
"Mrf…" complained Fred as George slammed the bathroom door, disrupting the peaceful silence. As a guilt-free George entered the room grinning, Maddie stood up and accepted a good morning kiss.
"So what is the reason that you woke me up at the crack of dawn?" questioned George as he rummaged through a pile of clothes for something to wear.
"I could ask the same question!" called Fred from underneath a pillow. Maddie giggle. Fred emerged, looking very un-amused.
"Well, I'm up, too, so whatever you were going to do, we'll do together!" he said mock-cheerfully. Maddie looked put out.
"That's not exactly what I had in mind," she pointed out.
"I didn't have it in mind to be up at eight this morning, so it looks as if we’re all sacrificing today," snapped Fred unhappily. Maddie rolled her eyes and George wisely stepped back, knowing that siding with either person could lead to serious problems later.
"Fine. We'll go have a picnic breakfast, all three of us!" And they did. Maddie had put together a hamper full of Thermos' of coffee, containers of scrambled eggs and bacon, and freshly squeezed orange juice. They carried the hamper and a blanket out the little pitch of grass that the boys often used for Quidditch and settled themselves down, a nice happily family. Maddie soon got over her displeasure at the added party member, and they were having a blast. Until the owl arrived.
"What the heck?" exclaimed Fred as an owl swooped wildly overhead, closely missing his hair. Maddie, with her wits about her at the early morning hour, waved the owl down, took the letter and fed the Great Barn owl a piece of bacon before sending it back. The parchment was addressed to her, and had a Hogwarts seal on it. George and Fred exchanged a look as Maddie avoided their eyes.
Dear Maddie,
Hello dear! I just thought I would write and touch base about…everything that has been going on.
"It's from my aunt," said Maddie aloud, conscious of the boys watching her anxiously. They nodded in guarded relief.
It's been an interesting ride so far. They're using me as a Forensics expert, in a way. I guess that's the closest label I can use. I've been trying to get a feeling for the types of magic that have been used on certain areas of the school lately. That's been an enlightening experience. I think that's a conversation I'll leave for face-to-face communication.
"What's she say?" asked George from his spot in the grass to the right of the blanket.
"Just stuff about the investigation." His eyes flashed, but George kept silent and munched a piece of toast with a forced look of unconcern.
There is one bit of fishy information we've come across so far. The team found a girl's bra under the couch in the boys' dormitory. It's white, 34B…your size. Is there something you want to tell me? Another conversation I'll be happy to have in person. For the moment I'm giving you to benefit of the doubt, but you better come up with a good explanation if you don't want your mother hearing about this.
Maddie bit her bottom lip and began giggling, although she knew the situation was far from amusing. She fell backwards into the soft grass and continued laughing as George suspiciously grabbed the letter from her hand and scanned it quickly. When he came to the bit about the bra, he exhaled heavily, but never joined Maddie in her mirth, because something about the next paragraph made him choke on his toast, furrow his eyebrows and whisper under his breath, "That bloody git can just forget it."
"Forget what?" asked Maddie quietly. She took the letter back from George, whose hand was trembling with an effort to control his rage. Fred read over her shoulder, and they both shuddered at the same time, one looking at George with an equal amount of rage, the other not meeting his eyes at all.
Also, Shane asked me to tell you that he'll be stopping by sometime this week to deliver some new music and set up a practice schedule. I've been talking to Celestia and she insists on a continued workload. There's still a lot to teach you Maddie. So she's given Shane the times she's free and you guys will be seeing him sometime in the next few days.
"That piece of-"
"George," warned Maddie wearily.
"That jerk is coming to our house?" spat Fred in disgust. Maddie sighed and put her hand to her head.
"I guess so. I was sort of wondering when Celestia would contact me. I knew she wouldn't just let things go…"
"Well, there's only one thing to do. You'll just have to owl the school and tell him not to come."
"George! I have to get the music- if I don't know what to do at practice, Celestia will never forgive me." George shook his head angrily and tilted Maddie's chin so she was staring him in the eyes.
"I. Don't. Want. You. Anywhere. Near. That. Man." Maddie snorted and pulled away a bit rougher then she had meant to.
"I don't want to be near him either, George, but I agreed to do something, and I would have thought you'd figured out by now that I don't regularly back out on commitments. Especially when the Headmaster of the school, one of the most renowned wizards in the world, asks me to stick with it." She angrily crossed her arms, then downed a cup of coffee before she remembered she didn't like it black.
"So you're going to ignore everything that he's done to you, and civilly accept his teaching while he plans ways to get into your pants?" Maddie rolled her eyes and began folding up the letter.
"Yes. Minus the pants part. 'Cause I will be quite sure that it's clear to him that I'm taken," Maddie promised.
"So will I," muttered George, but Maddie was to busy packing up the containers into the hamper to hear him. "It seems like they're training you for something. Preparing you- doesn't it?" Maddie was suddenly VERY interested in folding the napkins into perfect squares. Fred looked from George's face to Maddie's, and considered the quickest escape plan possible.
"Well, actually, it does…"
"What does that mean?" demanded George. Maddie sighed and threw down the perfect napkins. The big-brother-mode she had been considering just a few hours ago was in full swing.
"It means that I've learned a lot of defensive curses- Shane was brought in because he knows lots of spells they use in emergency rooms. I'm one of the only people they know that can perform these types of spells…so they're pushing everything possible into my mind so that I'll be ready…for anything."
"But…but what could happen?" asked George in a voice that sounded much younger than his own.
"There is a freak out there called NORAX who happens to have my destruction on the top of his to-do list! I think that may have a little bit to do with it. Why does everyone keep pretending that life is normal and nothing ever happened and we're not here because somebody got MURDERED?" George winced and Maddie looked ready to cry. Neither noticed that Fred had quietly slipped away. George pulled Maddie close and hugged her, much tighter than was necessary.
"I know, I know," he whispered into her hair. "And the reason I chose to ignore what's going on is because, that way, in the back of my mind, I can pretend that I have some sort of control over what's happening in my life." He took a shuddering breath, and, although Maddie didn't want think it possible, held her even tighter. "And I don't want you to be prepared. I don't want you to be having practices, because eventually you'll be ready. And when you're ready, you'll be expected to do something. And then there won't be anymore pretending. I'll just have to sit back and watch you…" There was silence.
"George?" Maddie's voice was muffled from his flannel shirt.
"Yes?"
"Will you come with me when I have to met him?"
"Yes."
Neither was sure what exactly she had been talking about.
(*)
George, Fred, Maddie and Harry were lounging on the floor in the family room, playing with Crookshanks and watching Mr. Weasley fiddle with a Muggle television set that he was trying to set up to get cable. Hermione and Ron were off doing God-knows-what, and the friends decided they would be happy leaving God with that knowledge. Mrs. Weasley was bustling loudly around the kitchen, getting plans in order for the engagement party that was set to happen later in the week. Bill and Jennifer had taken the kids for a walk with Charlie and Christal, but the group were making their way into the house now, cheeks flushed with the fresh cold of coming spring.
"UNCLE GEORGE! AUNT MADDIE! UNCLE FRED! HARRY!" Elise was brightly shouting out the names of people as she passed them. Bill let her down from her place on his shoulders, and Noah bounded over to the group as well. Noah threw himself between George and Maddie, and Elise sat on Fred's back, happily beating her tiny fists on his back in a fit of excitement. Noah set off telling Maddie all about the adventures they had had on their walk, and the stories Uncle Charlie had been telling them about dragon hunting. Of course, the stories were a bit distorted by time and teller, but it made for interesting conversation anyway. Finally, Elise sat up and announced in a loud voice, "I want to play Quidditch!"
Everyone on the circle found this to be an awesome idea. They all nodded their heads eagerly and Noah chattered excitedly about the size of his broom, oblivious to George and Fred snickering immaturely behind him. Maddie shot them a Look, nodded politely and then said in a patronizing voice.
"Well, I would love to join you guys, but I'm not exactly the best player. I think I'll watch this time." Noah frowned.
"No! I want you to play!" George grinned.
"Yeah, I want you to play," he echoed Noah's tone, biting down on the laughter threatening to escape. He had had the pleasure of seeing Maddie struggle on a broomstick before, and he was dying to see it again. Harry and Fred weren't even bothering to hide their laughter, and Noah and Elise were looking very confused.
"Fine," snapped Maddie, "But when I fall and break all my bones, I expect you to cry at all the right moments. And feel really bad about it, too!" George was laughing too, now, and a dignified Maddie led the party to the Quidditch field, where she was sure her doom was waiting.
(*)
The wind whipped around her face, and she was aware from her mouthful of hair that her shampoo didn't taste good at all. George and Fred were hovering around her, as instructed, and anytime a Bludger came close, they would ferociously beat it away, as if to prove that they really did care if Maddie had her face bashed in, contrary to her previous accusations. Noah was zooming around the field on one of the Weasley's old brooms (his was at home) and even Elise was on a tiny Fisher Price like replica of a Firebolt. Harry was weaving in and out of the other brooms, casually searching for the Snitch. Elise kept grabbing the Quaffle and pushing it through the goal with no opposition from the outside forces, except Noah. Noah was another interesting one to watch. He was intent on showing off, and kept dangerously dipping down around the sides of the field, often close to Maddie, making her increasingly nervous.
Suddenly, there was a zooming sound behind her ear, and Maddie saw the Snitch, glittering like a cute little personified walnut. The wings fluttered excitedly as it was aware of her eyes and then began to do little circles around her head. Maddie shot a glance at Harry, but he was busy pulling a mischievous Noah off the end of his broom. The Snitch must have anticipated Maddie's decision to chase it, for at that very moment, there was a tinny noise and a golden streak in the sky. Maddie took off, zipping wildly around after the noise.
"Squirt! MADDIE! Open your eyes!" hollered George, and Maddie was plunged into the light as she realized she was about to ram into the goal post. She let out a shriek and swerved off to the side. Harry had caught on by now, and looked at Maddie, his eyes asking permission to race. She hesitated, nodded, and they were off.
The Snitch seemed to be almost giggling, as if it knew it was being fought over. Harry continued racing ahead, but the other boys kept blocking him to give Maddie a chance. Now beginning to enjoy herself, Maddie increased speed and did a clever jerk around Harry, who was too surprised by the complicated move to fight back or even protest. Pushing forward, higher and higher, Maddie allowed herself to detach and grinned as she thought of how she might look right about now. Snapping back to her senses, Maddie tentatively pulled one hand off her broom and reached out slightly. The wings of the Snitch tickled her palm as her fist closed around it, and there was a cheer from the boys below her.
Maddie grinned and hugged the broomstick as it flew down to George's level. He smiled and she laughed back, letting go of the Snitch as she gripped the stick with both hands. There was some clapping, and a "Good show!" from below, and Maddie looked down, expecting to see Bill or Charlie or Ron…or anyone but who she saw.
"Mertique," spat George, and it sounded like he was saying a swear word. Behind him, Fred really did swear, and Harry covered Elise's ears. Noah flew protectively to Maddie's one side, and George edged closer to the other. Maddie gulped and pulled some hair out of her mouth, wishing that the awkward situation would just disappear. But it didn't, so she flew down, George and Noah following close behind.
"Hello," she said quietly and without any type of emotion. Everyone who knew her was blown away by her staunch professionalism. Shane grinned broadly and held out his arms from a hug, but George glowered and Maddie ignored and soon he sheepishly put his arms back down at his sides. Taking out a hair elastic, Maddie whipped her hair into a messy bun, asked Harry to take her broom, and led Shane to the Burrow. George, Noah, Harry and Elise walked silently behind the two and listened to Shane's vain attempts at conversation.
"Well, Maddie, you look like you've been having fun on holiday."
A curt and silent nod.
"Have you done something to your hair? It looks lovely." Maddie's hair was currently in a huge knot at the back of her head, nappy and windswept from the Quidditch game. George made an indistinct growling noise from behind them, and Maddie shook her head, still silent. Elise giggled, breaking the silence, and George absentmindedly picked her up, holding her against him as she smiled and squirmed. They presently reached the sprawling structure, and Maddie ushered Shane in, still not touching or talking to him. Mrs. Weasley bustled in, took a look at the twins' faces, gathered up Elise and Noah and bustled back out, muttering something about "talking about it later".
"Well, I guess we should get started," said Shane pointedly, looking from George to the door and back. Maddie smiled faintly and motioned for George to sit on one side of her and Fred on the other.
"They're staying," she said firmly, then turned to the stack of music on the table beside her. Shane cleared his throat and looked as if he wanted to say something, but he remembered the last time he had been up against the Weasley Twins and wisely kept his mouth shut. Meanwhile, Maddie was reading the sheet music with a furrowed brow.
"Who chose these selections?" she asked sharply. Shane looked up silkily.
"I helped Celestia pick out the pieces for this section," he intoned deeply, glancing meaningfully at Maddie. George angrily snatched the music from Maddie's hand, reading the title aloud.
"At the Beginning. What's this?" And his eyes quickly scanned the lyrics, getting darker and darker by the moment.
We were strangers
Starting out on a journey
Never dreaming
What we'd have to go through
Now here we are
And I'm suddenly standing
At the beginning with you
No one told me
I was going to find you
Unexpected
What you did to my heart
When I lost hope
You were there to remind me
This is the start
(Chorus)
Life is a road
And I want to keep going
Love is a river
I wanna keep flowing
Life is the road
Now and forever
Wonderful journey
I'll be there
When the world stops turning
I'll be there
When the storm is through
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you
We were strangers
On a crazy adventure
Never dreaming
How our dreams would come true
Now here we stand
Unafraid of the future
At the beginning with you
(Chorus)
I knew there was somebody somewhere
Like me alone in the dark
Now I know my dream will live on
] I've been waiting s long
Nothing's going to tear us apart
(Chorus)
Life is a road and I wanna keep going
Love is a river I wanna keep flowing
Starting out on a journey
Life is a road and I wanna keep going
Love is a river I wanna keep flowing
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you
He looked up imploringly at Maddie.
"You know you don't have to sing this if you don't want to," he said plainly, and Shane glared behind Maddie's back. George gave Shane a meaningful glance, then dipped Maddie and furiously kissed her for several seconds. Allowing her to come up for air, George threw a devilish wink to Fred, who was grinning wildly over Maddie's slightly blushing head.
"I want to," she said with a little smile. "I think I'll be fine now, if you have to put the brooms away." Her voice oozed with a sweetness that had appeared as suddenly as Shane did himself. George gave one last kiss, politely saluted Shane in a mocking way, and left the room with Fred. Maddie turned to an amazed Shane with a patronizing face. She was ready for anything.(*)
"No, no, NO!" Shane cut Maddie off mid-phrase, angrily waving his music and slashing his wand through the air to cut off the accompaniment music. "You're singing this ALL WRONG! You know perfectly well that these spells only work when coupled with a proper amount of emotion. Sure, you've got the notes down, but there's NO MAGIC!" Shane was livid, probably still sore about Maddie's comment from earlier ("Your face looks much better with the mouth closed, dear."), and had been tyrannical about every aspect of the practice since then. Rolling her eyes, Maddie flopped backwards onto the couch, butchering the 'proper singing stance' they had spent thirty minutes perfecting.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" screamed Shane, looking quite unattractive in his hysterical state.
"She's sitting, idiot, are you blind?" Shane whirled around and saw Fred and George reentering the room, calm, cool, collected, and everything that he wasn't at the moment. A vein in his neck throbbed dangerously. "Maddie, are you nearly through? We really have to be going in about," Fred paused and checked his watch, "Now."
"Oh, yes, sorry about that. Well, I guess I'll finish this up then…" Shane jumped in front of her and waved his music above his head, looking like a cartoon character.
"We- have- to- do- this- one- more- time."
"Meritque…" began George threateningly, but Maddie simply put her hand on his arm and pushed him down on the couch.
"One more time," she agreed in a bright voice that she usually reserved for teachers and adults. Shane took a deep breath, waved his wand indistinctly and piano music filled the room. Closing his eyes tightly, he simply prayed that his voice wouldn't crack and dived in on his cue. To his pleasure, the sounds that filled the room were throbbing with supernatural energy, and the feeling of safety was weaving around him, just like it should. Maddie was perfectly on pitch and the blending was at an all-time high. They finished the song in a vibrating room and Maddie added her little trill with a faint, angelic voice. Shane grinned triumphantly, opened his eyes and looked around at the visible protective shield they had around themselves. They had done well.
"There! Now that's how it's done! How did you get it so perfectly this time?" Shane turned to Maddie, and saw that she was eye-locked with George, was staring back at her from outside the shimmery, translucent bubble. He was trying to reach her, but the shield was doing its job. Shane's face looked like it would break if he smiled any harder. He finally had her alone.
(*)
"MERTIQUE!! I swear to God, when you get out of there, I'm going to rip your head off!" George was going ballistic, pacing around the large bubble and spastically cursing. Fred was throwing all sorts of spells at the bubble, trying his best to break through. Neither twins' method was working very well.
"What the bloody hell are they doing in there!?"
"What the bloody hell were you two doing up in the Ferris Wheel?" George turned on his brother, furious, and Fred tried to stifle his grin. "Sorry, sorry, I know my timing was bad, but I couldn't resist…" Fred trailed off apologetically, then set about in a pacifying voice. "You know that Maddie would never let him near her…look, you can just make out the shapes in there. Two separate sides." George nodded, wishing that the damn bubble wasn't sound proof.
Meanwhile…
"What are you THINKING girl? Look at him! Look at who you are with!" Shane was currently arguing the George vs. Shane situation furiously while Maddie glared and plugged her ears. His comebacks were ridiculous and his frustrations even more mysterious, but Maddie wanted nothing to do with the jerk that, by pure willpower, was keeping her trapped in a large, sparkly pink bubble. Under different circumstances, it would have a laughable occurrence.
"Shane, I love him."
"How CLICHÉ! 'I love him.' What's love got to do with it?" Maddie gritted her teeth and tried to terminate the spell mentally, but Shane was concentrating very hard, and anger was tainting her already shaky spell power.
"So what won you over? The cute Quidditch style? The mischievous prankster attitude? The red hair? You want red hair? Here's red hair." Shane waved his wand wildly and his hair was transformed to a flaming red color. "I'm 21! I can DRINK! Who took you to the fancy restaurant in Hogsmeade? Who's voice matches perfectly with yours? MADDIE! JUST USE YOUR HEAD!" Shane was bordering on frightening, and Maddie had faint tones of amusement echoing in the back of her mind. She half-wished she could videotape the moment to later show him just how immature and petty he was being. "I don't even know why this matters so much," he spat, bitterly picking up on her tones of detachment. "It's not like your special. You aren't really even pretty, or exceptionally interesting. I guess you just play hard-to-get in an irresistible way. But it's come down to this, and when you line up the cards, I'm sure you'll see it my way. Think about it Maddie. What does he have that I don't?"
She swallowed the curses, beautiful comebacks and other arsenal that was begging to jump down his throat and bit her bottom lip until she gained enough control to civilly speak. Moving slowly closer and closer until she was nose to nose with him, Maddie stared straight into Shane's eyes and whispered that last non-music related thing she would ever say to him.
"Me."
With that final declaration, she waved her wand, taking advantage of the shattered concentration to break the bubble and tumble backward into George. With a self-righteous sputter and a turn of the heel, Shane Disapperated into oblivion and the general consensus was Good Riddance. George and Fred eagerly demanded a complete play-by-play of the action that had gone on inside the bubble, and Maddie somewhat reluctantly relayed the conversation, omitting nothing.
"What does he mean 'not really even pretty'?" demanded Fred. Maddie shot him a glance that screamed "End it" and turned to a suspiciously silent George.
"Are you okay?" she asked softly, putting her hand on his arm. He shook his head slightly, then smiled shakily.
"You told him you loved me?" Fred sighed laboriously and scuttled away for the second time that day. Maddie smiled back and nodded.
"Not only that, but I meant it, too." George tickled her lightly in the side, then pulled her close and kissed her hair.
"Sometimes I wonder why I'm so taken with you, then you do something like this and make it so glaringly obvious."
"I guess I'll take that as a compliment," said Maddie thoughtfully. George nodded.
"Do." The moment was perfect- quite and peaceful and full of the stuff of cheesy romance novels. And then a shrill voice calling, "GEORGE", shattered the moment. He sighed and pulled back from Maddie.
"In here, Mum!" Mrs. Weasley appeared in the doorway with a stern look on her face. "What's wrong?" Without saying a word, she held out a sheet of parchment with a bacon grease stain on it. Reading over George's shoulder, Maddie had time to catch the words 'bra' and 'boys' dormitory'. It was her letter from Aunt Rachel. George and Maddie both looked up at the same time.
"What do you two have to say for yourselves? George, you realize that next year this will be illegal?" George looked and Maddie, Maddie looked at George, and all the sudden, laughter filled the room. It didn't stop for a long time.
(*)
By the time that they had convinced Mrs. Weasley that Maddie wasn't pregnant, that there wasn't any possibility of impregnation, it was starting to get dark, and there were still plenty of party plans to get in order. With the impending doom of a visit from Shane behind her, Maddie resolved to help Mrs. Weasley out in as many ways as possible. The night, the whole entire company of family and friends squished themselves around the magically enlarged kitchen table to make a final set of plans for the soirée planed for next week.
"So," began Mrs. Weasley, clearly in her element. "We'll need to get the final say on what color flowers to use, and have someone go and pick them up once we've ordered them. I've decided that we're not going to be catering- after all, why pay someone to do something you can do yourself? For entertainment I've ordered a couple of the best violin players we have in the area- it should be lovely."
"I'm bored!" said Noah loudly, and Elise banged her fist on the table in agreement. Harry and George simultaneously reached down and grabbed up the children, temporarily quieting them.
"The girls will have to go pick out some dresses, unless you have gala event gowns in your bags. I suppose we could rent from Madame Malkins…I already have the orders out for the boys' tuxedos. Now, the invitations were sent, and I'll need someone to sort through the RSVP's, and get a final number."
"I'm bored," whispered Mr. Weasley quietly to Bill, seated next to him, who nodded in agreement. With a murderous look in her husband's direction, Mrs. Weasley continued.
"I'm going to get a couple of you to weed and degnome the garden, of course. I'll work on persuading some fairies to come act as tea lights and decorations. I was wondering how we could get the finger foods passed around, they'll be in plates you know, and then I figured there's probably some sort of spell somewhere that does that for you, you know, circulates them. Hermione, do you think you could look tha- FRED!? Are you awake?" With a telltale pool of drool collecting on his chin, Fred jerked his head off the table and looked around frantically.
"Er, yes, Mum."
"Ugh! I've had enough of you! All of you! Leave; be quick about it, yes, I'm talking to you. All the men, out of here. And take Elise with you!" With an air of guilty relief, George carried an ecstatic little girl out, leaving only the woman to plan out the final bits. They made a list, divided the tasks, and in a matter of fifteen minutes, Maddie found herself sorting a large pile of RSVP slips into two stacks. The work passed quickly, and gave Maddie time to think. Something was going on, something she hadn't yet allowed herself to speak aloud. Over the past two weeks, she hadn't had a single nightmare, but she was starting to see new bruises forming on her inner arms and thighs. She had done nothing to warrant these odd happenings, but they were still increasing by the day. Her promise to George was mockingly echoing in her head, but she couldn't bring herself to ruin the peaceful time she was having, especially now that the battle with Shane had strengthened the bond between George and her. All of the sudden Maddie realized that there no slips left, and she was staring at her empty hands with a sick feeling in her stomach.
"Get yourself together," she whispered fiercely. "Don't screw up this good thing you've got going." Mentally shaking herself, Maddie went into the family room to look for George. In that moment, she needed him.
He was sitting in shabby armchair; a little bundle named Elise curled up fast asleep on his chest. The TV, finally receiving Muggle cable, was a show called Little Bear, and it seemed that the two viewers had given in to the calls of slumber while watching the bright cartoon. They looked so peaceful and adorable; George's arm draped around her back, Elise's arm snaked around his neck in a sleepy hug. Maddie hovered in the doorway, wishing she could hide in his embrace just as Elise was. But, for the second time that day, Maddie found herself with a knowledge that she abhorred- no matter how much he would have wanted her to, she couldn't break into his dreams and drag him into the darkness of reality.
(*)
There was a swishing of material as Hermione pulled her azure dress over her head, zipping it expertly. Ginny was looking lovely in a gown of yellow, and Elise was racing around in a lavender thing that fell to her knees. All three girls were getting ready for the party at the same time as arguing with a stubborn Maddie, who was flung across the bed in a white undershirt and boxer shorts.
"I don't feel like putting on my chains just yet," Maddie loftily replied to the dress bag that Ginny was pressing into her hand. Elise jumped up around, spinning so her dress would twirl around her knees, and screamed, "Aunt Maddie! Get ready, the prince will be here soon!"
"She thinks we're going to Cinderella's ball," muttered Ginny in an undertone as she dragged Maddie to her feet. Hermione let out an exasperated sigh as she watched Maddie flop right back down into her original position.
"Maddie, you're going to have to put it on eventually. Save yourself- and us- the trouble…come on, I have to do mine, Ginny's and your hair before five…" Maddie rolled onto her stomach and muttered a great deal about her hair being "just fine, thank you very much." Just then, there was a knock on the door and a voice called out, "Everybody decent?"
Elise yanked the door open and enthusiastically showed Harry, Ron, George and Fred how "jus' buteafull" her dress was. Assuring her that they had never seen a prettier princess, the boys moved into the room boredly. George grinned as he caught sight of Maddie.
"Love the dress," he said, sitting carefully in his tuxedo. Maddie made a little noise of disgust and pouted up at him.
"I don't want to wear a dress," she whined, sounding a lot like Elise. George tipped up her chin playfully.
"But you have to wear a dress," he mocked her, making her scowl and whirl away from his childishly. Sighing similarly to Hermione, he threw up his hands and spoke to her back.
"Mum wants everybody to be downstairs by five. That gives you half an hour. Good luck," he added to Hermione and Ginny, then left the room, followed shortly by the rest of the boys. George paced around the kitchen, snacking on the appetizers and moping that Maddie was angry with him. He bit down viciously on a celery stick filled with cream cheese.
"I don't see what all the fuss is about. Wouldn't it be easier to just let her do what she wants?" Harry grinned at his friend.
"Oh I don't know George. She cleans up pretty nicely. You'll see…"
And see he did.
They had quite a time getting her out of there, they certainly did. Hermione had accomplished the dress, the hair and the make-up, but it looked like it would all be in vain. Just when she was debating having Charlie break in and sling Maddie over his shoulder, Hermione was surprised by Harry whispering a few words that sounded like "Christmas party," and "Calling Kurt," and a sour looking Maddie stepping out from behind the door.
George, Fred and Ron all stood at the bottom of the stairs; mouths open a la Shane. Maddie was standing with her hair twisted up in a French curl, different shades of shimmery eyeliner accenting her green eyes, and a beautiful green dress that tucked, pulled and fluffed out in all the right places. She looked just as if not more lovely than she had at Christmas and Harry was watching the other boys' reactions with a smug smile on his face. Coolly offering her his arm, Harry escorted her downstairs, George following numbly behind.
Out in the garden, the party was raging full blast. The food, fairies and violins were a big hit, and everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves. All the girls were looking quite stunning, and the dance floor was taking severe traffic. After being sure to congratulate Charlie and Christal, George searched out Maddie and whispered in her ear.
"Want to go for a walk?" She grinned and nodded and they left quietly, not twenty minutes into the party.
(*)
The pond was smooth like glass, and there was liberal moonlight, even away from the fairy lamps. Violin music slowly wafted through the hedge they had ducked under, and George slipped his arms around Maddie's waist, in the motions of slow dancing.
"What a movie cliché," chuckled Maddie, reaching up to encircle his neck, resting her head on his tuxedoed chest.
"As if our lives weren't already predictable enough," drawled George, grinning down at the way her face was reflecting the moonlight. "Your eyes are such a perfect shade of green right now." Maddie looked mildly surprised.
"Are they?" she asked curiously. George nodded, mirroring her eyebrows-raised confusion. "It's just that…well…they've stopped changing. For two weeks, they've stayed bottle green, and usually I can't go two days without a new tint."
"Really?" George peered at them more closely. "Interesting. Well, Maddie, darling, I love your eyes no matter color they are. I'd probably love you even if you didn't have eyes!" Maddie sighed and put her head back down against the rough fabric.
"That's lucky," she murmured, and they swayed in silence for awhile. Getting tired of the feel of brass buttons on her cheek, Maddie threw her head back and examined the stars twinkling seemingly right out of her reach. George leaned down and kissed the scar that graced her fully exposed collarbone, and Maddie slipped under his chin and returned his kisses warmly. They pulled apart and held each other, watching the scene nature had set in front of them. Standing with their limbs entwined and the moonlight at their backs, the reflection in the pond looked just like one person. And that was fine with them.