Potions and Parchment Match

“I just had a talk with my father,” Blaise said grinning at Ginny.

“Wow!” she said in surprise. “How did that go?”

“He said that he was going to acknowledge me. He has sent a posting to both papers for tomorrow and has already changed his will leaving me as his heir,” he said still stunned.

“That’s incredible! Did he say why he hadn’t acknowledged you before?”

“He told me that he didn’t know. I think I believe him, Ginny.”

Ginny smiled and reached for Blaise’s hand. “Kingsley is a great man. If he said that he didn’t know, then I would tend to believe him. How is your Mum going to take this?” They were walking through the corridor towards the great hall. It was almost time for dinner.

Blaise shook his head. “With my Mum, no news is good news. I am sure she is not going to be pleased, but I am not going to contact her. She knows where to find me.”

“I just had some interesting news today,” she said with a huge grin.

Blaise looked into her sparkling eyes and smiled. “What is the news?” She was so beautiful that she took his breath away.

“My Mum sent me an owl. I’m an Aunt again.”

“Really?” he said with a smile. “I didn’t realize one of your sisters-in-law were pregnant,” he said. He envisioned Ginny swollen and large with his child and surprisingly he liked the idea.

“They weren’t. George showed up at the Burrow with a baby and a Muggle couple in tow. Apparently he had a one-night stand with a Muggle and she got pregnant. After it was born she dumped it on her parents and disappeared, but not before telling George where it was. I have a niece named Natalie,” she said smiling. “I can’t wait to see her, I love babies.”

“Ginny, how many babies do you want to have?”

Ginny grinned. “I don’t want as many as my Mum had, but I would like a few.”

Blaise pulled the witch into his arms and pressed his lips against the side of her neck. “I can’t wait to have babies with you, Ginny,” he whispered seductively against her ear and then took her earlobe into his warm mouth.

Ginny felt a shot of pleasure shoot through her body. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down close to her and whispered, “I can’t wait until we try to have babies,” and molded herself against his firm body.

“God’s Ginny, do you know what you do to me?” he growled taking her lips in a deep kiss.

“What the hell are you doing to my sister?” Ron shouted at the two of them.

Reluctantly the two of them broke apart. “Ron, go away,” Ginny said in annoyance.

“Zambini! You can’t just snog my sister in the middle of the halls!” he shouted.

Blaise tried not to roll his eyes at the moron and said, “Ron, are you going to do this once we’re married?”

“Well you not married yet, are you?” he shouted.

“Ron, stop shouting! You’re not Mum!”

“Maybe Mum should know what you’re doing here!”

“And maybe Mum should know about you and Millicent in the room of requirement!” she shouted back.

Ron turned bright red and wondered how she had found out about that. “That’s different!” he said, though not as loudly as before.

Ginny snorted. “Yeah the difference was you shagged her and we’re only kissing.”

Ron grabbed Ginny’s arm and pulled her away from Blaise. “Come on!” he said.

Ginny tried to break away but Ron held on tightly. “Meet me after dinner, dear, and we’ll work on making those babies we talked about!” she shouted over her shoulder.

Blaise laughed as Ron turned even redder and pulled his sister faster away. “Room of requirement?” he shouted back with an evil smirk.

“Don’t forget the handcuffs!” she shouted as her laughter trailed behind her down the hall while she disappeared.

“Ginny!” Ron shouted. “If you think that I’m going to let you out of my site for the rest of the night, you’re crazy!”

“Ronald Weasley! Let me go! I’m am not a child and you are not going to treat me that way!”

“You’re still my baby sister!” he shouted back.

“I’m about to be married!”

Ron scowled. He didn’t think it was right that his seventeen-year-old sister was going to marry within a few weeks. He knew that there was nothing he could do to stop the wedding but he could make sure that she showed up on her wedding day still a virgin! He told her his thoughts.

Ginny laughed. “You’re to late for that, Ron! While you, Harry and Hermione were off saving the world, I was here shagging! I wasn’t going to die a virgin!”

“What! Who was he, I’ll kill him!” he roared.

Ginny laughed again. “Why is it alright for you and our brothers to shag whomever you feel like, but I’m expected to wait for my wedding night?” she demanded.

“Because you’re a girl!” Ron said swearing.

Ginny saw red. She was sick and tired of being treated different from her siblings because she was a female. She grabbed her wand from her waist and pointed it at her brother shouting, “Claudo Laryngitis!”

Ron immediately felt his throat tighten and when he tried to yell at Ginny his words failed him. He grabbed his throat and stared at Ginny with startled eyes.

“That should teach you to keep your big mouth shut when it comes to my personal life!” she shouted and walked into the great hall without him.

Draco and Ted were sitting at the end of the bar roaring with laughter. What was to be a quick drink at the Leaky Cauldron turned out to be an all day drinking fest of firewhiskey. Draco stood up and shouted, “Another round!” to the bartender.

“I need food!” Ted shouted slamming his shot glass down again. “Let’s have some nachos!”

Draco looked blankly at his future father in law. “What are nachos?”

Ted stared incredulously. “You’ve never had nachos?” he demanded in disbelief.

Draco shook his head. “I have eaten at McDonalds once though,” he said smiling broadly. “That was good!”

Ted snorted. “McDonalds is disgusting! Now nachos, those are the best! They’re great with a nice cold beer!” he said reminiscing.

“What exactly is nachos?” he asked intrigued.

“Oh Draco, my boy, they’re fabulous! There are corn chips and cheese and beef and onions and olives and sour cream and guacamole and refried beans!” he said rambling off all of the ingredients that he could think of.

“What is a refried bean?”

Ted thought for a moment. “Well it’s a smashed bean that turns brown,” he said with a grin. “It’s absolutely fantastic!”

Draco blanched. A brown smashed bean? That turned his stomach just thinking about it. “Well, how about a ham sandwich and some chips?”

“Doesn’t sound as good as nachos, but I suppose it will do. I’ll need another firewhiskey though!” he said with a laugh.

“Tom!” Draco shouted. “Two ham sandwiches and chips, if you please!”

“Don’t magical people do karaoke, Draco?” Ted asked. The best part of getting drunk was going to sing karaoke. He loved to sing, but he was tone deaf. After several drinks he forgot to care though and would get up and sing his heart out.

“What is karaoke?”

“You don’t know what karaoke is?” Ted demanded in shock. “It’s only the best thing in the world! Did you know that my Hermione is an excellent singer?”

“Hermione can sing?” Draco asked in surprise. “Is that what karaoke is, singing?”

“They have it in all the pubs. You pick out a song that you want to sing and then when the KJ calls you up you sing that song into a microphone. The words come up on a television screen in front of you so that you don’t forget them.”

Draco was dizzy from all the new terms. “Microphone? KJ? What are they?”

Ted laughed. “A KJ is a karaoke jockey. He is the one in control. He picks the names to be called and plays the music. He can use a mixer to distort your voice or make you sound good. Always tip your KJ if you want to sound good. A microphone is a device that you sing into that amplifies your voices through speakers. What do magical people use when they want to be louder?”

Draco put his wand to his throat and yelled, “I need another round, Tom!”

The bartender turned and glared at the drunken couple at the end of the bar but brought the bottle of Ogden’s out anyway. It didn’t pay to piss off a Malfoy, even if he did show up with a Muggle.

“Wow!” Ted cried. “I wish I could do that!”

“So Hermione can sing,” Draco mused. That surprised him. He didn’t think that she would ever take time out of her busy studying schedule to do something as frivolous as sing.

“Oh, my little girl sounds like an angel when she sings. She could bring tears to your eyes!” he gushed.

“Does Hermione like this karaoke thing?”

Ted grinned. “Hermione loves karaoke. We used to do it at home all the time, but I let a friend borrow my system and it got broke. I just never got around to replacing it.”

A moment later their food arrive and they both dove into it. The thick sandwiches and the hot chips helped to absorb some of the alcohol in their empty stomachs and both of them felt much better.

“Where would one purchase a karaoke?” Draco asked.

Ted laughed. “Do you like to sing?”

Draco blushed but nodded. “I play the piano. Mum and I sing together while I play.”

“There is an all night Electronics store that sells the whole system and they also have a huge selection of the disks!” Ted said excitedly.

“What are disks?”

“They little round things that play the music.”

Draco thought for a moment. “You mean like CD’s?”

Ted grinned. “Exactly!”

“I have a bunch of Muggle CD’s.”

“They’re a bit different. The karaoke disc’s play music, but they are programmed to show the words on the screen as well.”

Draco didn’t quite understand the process, but he was intrigued. “Let’s go and buy a karaoke.”

“Do you want to try one before you buy it? I’d hate to see you waste your money on something that you don’t like,” the ever-frugal dentist said.

“You say that Hermione likes karaoke?”

Ted nodded. “Very much.”

“That’s good enough for me. I want to please my bride, and if buying her a karaoke will please her then I will do it!” he said throwing back another shot of firewhiskey.

“Draco, you purchase a karaoke system. Karaoke is what you do, a system is what you buy.”

“Yeah, what ever. Let’s go buy it.”

“You know, it is a bit expensive to purchase it all. Are you sure you don’t want to try it out first? There is a great pub just down the street that has karaoke every night of the week.”

Draco thought for a moment. Perhaps it would be a good idea if they checked it out first. If it was something to annoying he didn’t want to be stuck with it in his home. “Alright. Let’s go!” He shot a light from his wand at the bill the bartender stuck in front of him and the two of them were off.

“I have tried all week to get a hold of you,” he said.

She smiled softly at him. “I know.”

“Didn’t you want to speak with me?”

“Of course I did.”

“Then why didn’t you respond?”

“I was waiting.”

George sighed. “What were you waiting for, Luna?”

“You to come and speak to me in person.”

“You couldn’t have just told me that with a message?” he asked incredulously.

“I knew you would grow impatient and come to me. Everyone always turns up in the end.”

George looked at the beautiful blond girl in front of him. He had seen her over the years but had not really ever paid any attention to her. She was Ginny’s age and therefore had been to young for him while he was still in school. He had stayed at his aunt Muriel’s at the same time as her during the end of the war, but they had barely spoken. She had been busy helping Mr. Ollivander and he and Fred had been busy plotting. “Why did you want to see me in person?”

Luna smiled. “Why to see you of course.”

“To see me?” she was a very strange witch.

“I couldn’t remember which one you were. There are two of you, you know.”

“What?”

“Two of you. I have always seen two of you and I wanted to know which one you were. You are the one with the kind eyes.”

“Luna, you know that I have a twin brother, right?”

“Of course. There are two of you.”

George tried to stay calm. He knew that Luna was a friend of Harry and Hermione’s and that they thought highly of her. He knew that she drove Ron insane, but he didn’t put much store in that as everyone tended to drive Ron insane. He wondered what the others saw in this strange witch though. “Can you tell the difference between Fred and I?”

“Of course. You have kind eyes. You are the twin that holds back and worries about what will happen. Your brother wants to run ahead and worry about the consequences later. He needs you to stay safe.”

He wondered how she figured Fred out without ever really being around him. She was right however. He did tend to worry about the consequences of the pranks they pulled and the tricks they created. He had thought a lot about the lasting effects of some of the candies that they were giving to children. It bothered him to know that something that they had made could permanently damage someone. “You know we are to marry soon,” he stated.

“Yes. I plan to wear a red dress.”

George was surprised by this. “Why red, Luna?”

“Because it is my favorite color,” she said with a smile.

That made sense. “Listen, Luna, we need to talk. I have something that I need to tell you.”

“Can we go for a walk, George? I like the cool night air and it is a perfect night to see the stars.”

George nodded. “Sure. I was actually hoping you would come with me back to the Burrow. Headmistress McGonagall has given me permission to take you as long as I have you back by midnight.”

“I like the Burrow. It is a happy place.”

“Does that mean you will come with me?”

Luna nodded and held her hand out to him. “Of course.”

They quietly walked to the gates of Hogwarts. Both of them were lost in their own thoughts and enjoyed the silence. When they arrived George asked, “Luna, do you know how to apparate?”

She nodded. “Yes. I would prefer if you took me with you though. I have never done it for such a long distance.”

“Its really the same process regardless of how far it is,” he said.

“I know, but I want to see how you feel,” she said smiling.

“How I feel?” he asked, stunned.

“Yes.”

“Luna, before we get to the Burrow there is something that I need to tell you.”

“Go ahead,” she whispered.

“I have a daughter who is only six weeks old.”

Luna stared for a moment. “Where is her mother?”

“Her mother does not want her,” he said through gritted teeth. It was hard for him to understand a mother not wanting her child.

“I didn’t have a mother while I grew up. She died when I was nine.”

“I see,” he said. He wondered if he would ever understand her thinking process.

“Shall we go?” she asked.

George nodded and pulled Luna into his arms. He could smell the lilac scent permeating from her hair. “Is this what you want, Luna?”

She smiled up at him and touched him softly on the side of his face. “Yes,” she whispered.

A moment later they stood in front of the back door of the Burrow. “Luna, Natalie’s grandparents are here. They are Muggles.”

“Natalie’s mother was a Muggle?”

“Yes.”

“Alright.” She walked towards the door.

“Don’t you have anything to say about this?” he demanded. He thought that she would cry and throw a fit. Not only was she getting a husband she barely knew, but also a stepdaughter that had a Muggle mother, but a set of Muggle grandparents to contend with.

“I would like to meet everyone.” She wondered how the situation came about but knew he would tell her when he was ready. She sensed his raw emotions and knew that he was feeling insecure about the situation. She didn’t want to add to it.

He walked ahead of her and opened the door. Together the two of them walked in. Molly was sitting at the table in front of the stove chatting with Gretchen, who held a sleeping Natalie. Neither Arthur nor Patrick was in the room. “Where’s dad?”

“They are out tinkering in the shed. Hello, Luna dear. How are you?”

Luna smiled at Molly. “Fine Mrs. Weasley.” She looked at the strange women holding the pink wrapped bundle. “Hello,” she smiled.

“How do you do?” she asked with a smile.

“Is this my new daughter?” she asked George with a huge smile. She reached her arms out and grinned as the baby was layed in her arms. “Oh, she is beautiful,” she whispered as Natalie stretched and yawned. “Hello, my beautiufl little princess.”

George felt his heart melt. He watched the young witch hold his daughter with such love and care that he knew even with all of her eccentricness he could learn to love her. Anyone as kind and gentle as her was worth getting to know.


A/N:
Sorry for the long wait in updating. I just started fall classes and I have been swamped with homework. I promise that I will update as least twice a week. Please read and review and let me know what you think.