No Laughing Matter

Chapter Sixteen

George came home shortly after closing and headed straight for the shower. Rowan had dragged him all over London after they'd had lunch, and he was exhausted. He didn't know how she kept up the pace that she did with out an energizing potion of some sort; people had always said that he and Fred were energetic, but he had to admit that the title for that description had to go to Rowan. She had gone tirelessly from place to place, asking questions at each destination, both Wizarding and Muggle, about the events that had taken place on the night that Peter Pettigrew had disappeared. It wasn't until she had checked her watch and found that it was already six, that she let him see her home.

Now he was expected to show up at her Uncle Nigel's estate for a Halloween 'get together.' He couldn't think of any way to gracefully bow out of the event, as his Mum and Dad were invited to tonight's do to meet the girls' family for the first time, and he had a feeling that the gathering was going to be anything but comfortable for him. While Fred seemed to really like Nigel, George had a feeling that he had yet to pass some secret test in the older man's eyes. Whenever he had had occasion to spend time in her family's company, the meetings were always stiff and vaguely awkward in some undefined way. He found it hard to reconcile the man the Fred described to him as a kindred spirit and prankster with the serious and formal man he knew Nigel to be. 'Maybe he has a twin too,' was a thought that had crossed his mind before, but Rowan had assured him that it wasn't the case. She had assured him (or tried to) that Nigel really did like him, and that he would warm up to him very soon. He wasn't sure how he felt about that.

He shed most of his clothes in his bedroom, and stopped short when the bathroom door opened up and a cloud of billowing steam rolled out. Fred emerged with damp hair, and a towel anchored around his hips.

"You're going to be late," he said by way of greeting.

"As usual," George agreed as he disappeared into the steam for his turn in the bathroom.

Standing under the steadily falling hot water, George let the heat soak into his muscles as he rolled his shoulders and wet his hair. Today had been kind of nice, even though he knew Rowan had dragged him along as a kind of lesson to prove that she wasn't always in imminent danger when he wasn't around. He had enjoyed watching her work, questioning everything she read and every fact that she learned. He grinned when he remembered standing in the street staring at her like an infatuated schoolboy, and seeing her keep looking over at him with a suspicious look on her face, sure he was planning some mischief. She hadn't made any real progress today from what he could tell, but she didn't seem to be the least little bit discouraged or disappointed. He knew that she would spend countless more days just like today, and never tire of it; it was what she loved to do.

"What are you going to do with all of this when you're done?" he'd asked her that day, picking up a huge stack of parchment scrolls that held her notes.

"Tell the story," she'd answered. There had been a far-off look in her eyes that told him all to clearly that she could already see it in print in her mind. "Maybe, if there's enough detail and information, I can put it all together into a book some day."

"Is that what you want?" he'd asked curiously.

"Yes," she'd answered simply, with a gleam of pleasure in her eyes at the thought of it.

George had gotten an image in his mind then, of a little house in the country, with a workshop for himself and an office just for Rowan to work in. It wasn't the first time he'd built this house in his mind, but it was less frightening this time that it had been before, when he'd caught himself imagining his future with her securely in the center of it. Did he dare to even dream that it could come true with the second rise of You-Know-Who seemingly well underway, with no visible end in sight? He shook himself mentally to clear his darkening thoughts, and determined not to think about it anymore tonight. 'One day at a time,' he told himself. 'Let's just get through tonight first.'

*-*-*-*-*

Fred was wearing a set of his nicer robes in a deep shade of plum that should have clashed horribly with his hair, but somehow managed not to. He was busily combing his hair; there was a bouquet of flowers and a small gift bag lying on his bed, and as he caught sight of them in the mirror, he smiled a bit to himself. He wondered if he should have gotten a little something for Carly as well, but dismissed the idea. He would send her something tomorrow as a thank you for tonight. He got more pleasure out of surprising her at odd moments than when she might be expecting a gesture of some sort from him. As his thoughts began to wander to what he would really like to buy her, George came hurrying into his room wrapped in a towel with his hair still damp and started rummaging through Fred's closet.

"In your room."

"What?" George asked, looking up at his brother's image reflected in the mirror he was using.

"My navy blue dress robes," Fred answered. "I already put them in your room. You never have any clean robes when you really need them."

"Thanks!" George turned to go back to his own room.

"I'll wait for you!" Fred called after him.

When George didn't appear by the time he was ready, it was Fred's turn to barge into George's room; he flopped down on his brother's bed, dressed and ready to go, as his twin was fastening his borrowed robes. Fred made no comment about the battered trainers that George was wearing underneath.

"I didn't hear you come home last night," Fred said casually. He picked up a battered copy of Quidditch Monthly from the pile beside the bed and thumbed through the pages without really seeing them.

"That's because I didn't," George answered bluntly, reaching for the comb on his dresser and attacking his hair. "Does that bother you?"

"No," Fred shrugged. It did, a little, but he couldn't think of any particular reason why. "We just haven't really talked about, you know, stuff since your first night back from America."

"You're right," George answered, looking suddenly thoughtful. "But now isn't the time; we're going to be just on time. Barely." He picked up his wand and stowed it in his pocket as Fred got to his feet. "We'll talk tomorrow. After the shop closes, just you and I will get some dinner and catch up."

"Deal," Fred said, touching his fist to George's in a long practiced gesture. It was an oddly tense moment, but it passed quickly.

Fred went to his room and got his cloak, wand, bouquet and gift. As he followed George out the front door of the shop and magically sealed it, he handed him the bouquet.

"Here."

"Why Fred! You shouldn't have!" George smirked at him. "What are these for?"

"They're for Suzette. They're her favorite, and you're going to give them to her. It's only common sense, as she's our hostess tonight, and you're shagging her niece."

"Thanks," George said soberly as they headed to the Leaky Cauldron. He was thoughtful for a moment as they walked along the cobbled road, then spoke quietly and seriously. "You know, I'm not just shagging her. It's not just... it's not like that; it's...it matters."

"I know, bro," Fred clapped a hand on his brother's shoulder. "We'll talk about it all tomorrow."

"Yeah," George said with obvious relief. "Thanks for thinking of the flowers, by the way. How is it you always know?"

"I'm the smart one," Fred grinned.

"What does that make me?" George asked with mock indignation as they stepped inside the crowded pub and queued up to use the out going Apparition point.

Fred answered him in one short word that had George punching him in the arm and chuckling. They stepped up to the small cubicle used for Apparition, and in moments they were on their way up the front walk of the Winters' estate.

Chapter Seventeen

Suzette greeted them at the door, and kissed each of them as they presented her with the gifts they had brought. She buried her face in the flowers George offered her and called him a 'sweet boy'. She had laughed merrily when Fred had given her the Sleep Inducing Sugar Cubes and whispered what they were in her ear, and then she had hidden them out of sight with a wink. Nigel's idea of a 'get together' seemed to be about a hundred people in semi-formal dress enjoying food, music, dancing and conversation. They found Rowan and Carly standing with their uncle, both dressed identically, and to the untrained eye, impossible to tell apart. One of the girls stepped forward and took George's hand, but George said, "Nice try, Carly, but Rowan had me first."

"Are you sure you've got that right?" Uncle Nigel asked him with raised eyebrows.

Fred eyed the other twin with mild suspicion, was this some sort of trick? George, however, was in no doubt. He simply said, "Positive." He stepped around the girl who had taken his hand, and leaned in to kiss her twin.

"How did you know?" Rowan asked when the kiss ended. "We can fool our own mother when we're really trying."

"I'd know you anywhere," George said in all sincerity. "But the ink stains on your hands are a dead giveaway."

Nigel seemed satisfied with George at last; as if the younger man had, indeed, passed some test. He smiled broadly, said, "Well done!" and draped an arm around his shoulders, jovially leading him off to meet some colleagues. George looked surprised, but pleased, and grinned over his shoulder at his brother, Rowan and Carly as he walked away.

"Poor George!" Rowan laughed, using her wand to change the shade of her robes from cream and gold to blue and gold to compliment was George was wearing. "He was afraid Uncle Nigel would never warm up to him - and now look!"

While George was shaking hands with a group of men about Mr. Winters's age, Nigel was looking around as if he had lost something. His eyes alighted on Fred and his nieces, and waved them over, as if surprised that they hadn't been right behind him the whole time.

"Don't let Uncle Nigel fool you," Rowan said slipping her arm through one of Fred's as Carly did the same on the other side. "He plays the innocent and slightly baffled act very well."

"But he's as sharp as they come," Carly finished.

"I don't think I'll underestimate him," Fred smiled, enjoying having the two prettiest girls in the room on either arm as he led them across the room. "He ordered three deluxe Skiving Snackboxes last week to get himself out of a series of boring business meetings. He's also been trying to find ways disguise a Canary Cream so that your aunt will eat it."

"Oh Fred! You haven't been giving those awful things to Mr. Winters, have you?" Molly Weasley had just caught the last of Fred's comment as she approached. She had been watching the little trick that Rowan and Carly had brewed up from across the room, and it had done her heart good. In her opinion, she couldn't have hand picked a better match for wither of her boys than the young women they were paired with now.

"He came to the store and bought them mum," Fred grinned. He stepped forward to kissed his mother's cheek, knowing it would make her smile. "You look pretty."

Carly and Rowan followed suit as they greeted her, and they were soon joined by George and Nigel who also kissed her cheek. By the time Arthur had joined them, he was clucking his tongue and saying, "Now look, Molly, I've gone and left you for five minutes, and you've already got other men trying to kiss you!"

Molly blushed and chuckled as she took the proffered flute of champagne from her husband. It was so seldom that they were invited to events that were not Ministry related; she was thoroughly enjoying wearing the pretty new dress robes that Arthur had insisted she buy, and mingling with the crowd. There were a lot of influential people here, including the new acting Minister of Magic, who was a long time friend of their hosts. She had liked Nigel and Suzette immediately, and looked forward to getting to know them better in the future.

"Well then let me even the score, Mr. Weasley," Rowan offered, stepping forward to kiss his cheek as well. "You look very handsome!"

Carly was a bit more reserved, but hugged Fred's dad warmly and reiterated Rowan's statement. "It's nice to see you again Mr. Weasley; that shade of green certainly suits you."

"Well it seems that I'm going to have to take my wife out of temptation's way and indulge myself at the same time. Molly?" He offered his arm, and Fred and George watched fondly as their father escorted their mother onto the dance floor. They rarely saw this side of their mother and father, and were reminded strongly of moments from their childhood when they would sneak out of bed and catch their parents dancing in the living room by the firelight. They hadn't understood it all then, but they didn't miss it now.

"They love each other," Carly said in Fred's ear, as if she had read his thoughts. "It shows."

"It always has," he agreed. He offered his arm as well, and guided her into a slow waltz with steps he'd practiced meticulously for days. Soon George and Rowan, Suzette and Nigel and many others joined them on the floor.

The evening was going well, and passed, for the most part, without incident. There were actually a number of Order members in attendance that nodded politely when introduced to Fred and George and pretended that this was their first meeting. It wasn't until nearly ten o'clock that Fred overheard Suzette whisper to her husband.

"I don't know who that is. Maybe the guest of a guest?"

Curiosity had him turning to see Mundungus Fletcher as Fred had never seen him before. He was clean-shaven, for one, and his ginger hair was pulled neatly into a leather thong at his neck. His robes looked as though they had come from the most expensive of shops, but seemed just a shade too large for him. What is going on? Surely he wasn't on the guest list. Fred thought to himself, and excused himself from the group he had been standing with to move closer. George joined him a moment later, and gave each other apprehensive looks as Dung made his way through the crowd and headed straight for Arthur.

"Uh-oh," George muttered under his breath. "Looks like trouble."

Mundungus was walking briskly to a quiet corner with Arthur and Molly and speaking earnestly, if his body language was any indication. They casually looked to see Rowan and Carly engaged in conversation with a group on the other side of the room, and then made their way toward their parents.

"No," Mundungus was saying quietly, "It has to be now. Dumbledore's already called all available members to Hogsmeade and the school. Bill is waiting at headquarters, but he won't wait long."

"But what if it's not a trap? What if he really does want to..." Molly sounded fearful, but Arthur cut her off.

"Well have to take the risk either way." His face was as grim as his voice, and as he spotted the twins openly eavesdropping, he nodded at them to come closer.

"What's up, Dad?" George asked quietly.

Mundungus looked to Arthur for guidance as to whether or not to include the twins in the conversation. They weren't technically members of the Order, but knew more than many of their 'official' members did. Molly looked as though she were about to protest, but Arthur looked at her and simply said, "This is a family matter, Molly. They deserve to know what's going on."

"Is everything all right?" The sound of Nigel's voice from behind them made all five of them jump.

"Oh, Nigel," Arthur said. "I'm afraid that Mundungus here has come to deliver some news to us. We're very sorry, but we'll have to take our leave to deal with a family matter."

"Of course," Nigel said smoothly, recognizing the threat of tears in Molly's eyes and the worried expression on everyone else's. "I'll have your cloaks brought out. I hope that you'll let us know if there's anything at all we can do to help."

"We will, and we appreciate it," Molly said sincerely. "It's been a lovely evening."

"I hope you will join us here again very soon." He answered sincerely, motioning for a house elf that had been stationed nearby. He gave instructions to the elf to retrieve the cloaks, and then stayed with them until she reappeared.

"We'll be there in a few minutes," Fred said to his father. His tone said that he would brook no arguments on this point. "We need to tell the girls that we're going."

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

Rowan and Carly had accepted that the Weasleys had to leave due to a family emergency, but had argued that they wanted to come to lend support. It wasn't until Fred promised that they would be contacted as soon as the family knew exactly what was happening, that they agreed to stay behind. The boys had left the house after making their excuses, and walked to the edge of the front garden and past the wards that made it impossible to apparate on the grounds.

Before making the trip to Grimmauld Place, George put a had on Fred's shoulder and said, "Dad said it was a family matter. Dung said that Dumbledore's called for reinforcements at the school."

"Mum said something about a trap," Fred added. "What do you think we're walking into?"

"Let's go find out." George said.

With a loud crack he was gone. Fred looked back toward the house where he had just left Carly before taking a determined breath and the he, too, disappeared.