Semper Fidelis

Chapter 4.2

The bell atop the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes' front door was unlike any normal door bell. Instead of a pleasant little chime, the bell would, in total Weasley fashion, hurl insults towards the new visitor.

"Wanker! Knob! Scarhead!" The bell chimed. Harry snorted and joined the crowd inside the joke shop and looked around. There were Anti Gravity Hats stacked low from the ceiling (he'd noticed that they added a few new styles), shelves stocked full of Weather in a Bottles, Fanged Frisbees, boxes of Extendable Ears, and more; the shop held all of the brilliant inventions Fred and George had devised to cause headaches to parents everywhere.

Speaking of Fred and George, Harry could see them manning the tills to accommodate the busy afternoon. Even though the twins had expanded their empire and now have more than twenty locations of WWW worldwide, they still preferred to be in the thick of things, and one would often catch them giving recommendations on which item to use for their customer's next shenanigans.

Not wanting to interrupt but still wanting to speak to his friends, Harry grabbed some Tongue Twisting Toffees from the snack section before joining the queue. He waited a few minutes in line before being ushered to Fred's till.

"That'll be seven sickles, please!" Fred said, putting the Toffees in a bag marked with the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes' logo.

"Here you go, mate." Harry replied, raising his head and finally meeting Fred's eyes. Fred gasped when he realized who his customer was.

"Well blimey! Where have you been you bugger? Oi, George! Look who's here! Get Sam to man your till - we're going on a break!" Fred yelled. George looked over in confusion before seeing Harry's face. He yelped before breaking into a large grin. Calling on Sam, George left the till and the twins ushered Harry to their office atop the staircase.

"I hate to bother you two! It looks like you're having a busy day!" Harry said, his smile reaching from ear to ear.

"Nonsense, mate! We haven't seen you in months. The last letter we received from you was from weeks ago! What you have been up to?!" George replied, ushering all three of them inside the office.

Settling himself on a couch, Harry removed his hat and ran a hand through his unruly black hair. He made a note to get a haircut before his next mission and regarded the twins with a grin.

"Do you see his tan? Looks to me like he's been somewhere hot... and I hope it was on a beach with a pretty little bird on your arm." Fred remarked slyly.

Harry laughed and shook his head. "Sorry to disappoint you, Fred, but I was there for work. And I'm sorry I haven't written or seen you two in a while, work has had me travelling a lot and it's been very busy these past few months."

The twins nodded their head in understanding. It didn't escape their notice that Harry gave a very general answer to the question. Typical Auror.

"Mum had been asking Ron about you. It's nearly driven him bonkers more than the new baby. Have you owled him recently?" George asked.

Harry broke into a grin as he recalled Ron's latest owl from a month ago. Ron and Luna have added a fifth to their growing Weasley brood, a little baby girl of strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes named Alexa Jane Weasley. Included with the letter was a picture of little baby Alexa surrounded by her siblings: twin older brothers Sebastian and Gabriel, both three years old and sporting matching mischievous grins; older brother William who's eight and the only blonde boy in the family; and last is Harry's godson, Nathaniel Ronald Weasley, who had just turned eleven. "I did, yeah. I had to offer him my biggest of congratulations since Luna had finally gotten her girl. I reckon Ron is jumping through the roofs right now. I also wrote to Nate for his birthday."

Fred snickered and shook his head. "More like Ron's wanting to rip his hair off. Apparently, baby Lexa isn't very easy to manage and you know how those boys are! Always so full of energy. By the way, the older kids are heading off to Hogwarts this September and mum is hosting a going away party for all of them. The whole lot of them would be at the cottage. Think you can come?"

Harry thought about the offer and knew he couldn't promise anything. He wanted to go but his work is unpredictable and he does not know where he would be in a couple of months. "I'll try my hardest to be there, Fred," he said sincerely.

The twins nodded in understanding and believed Harry would really try his best. Not wanting to dwell on what would or wouldn't and just wanting to enjoy each other's company, George launched into a tale about Ron's latest mishap involving changing Lexa's nappy.

Patrons of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes were treated to riotous outbreaks of snorts and laughter and yells from the office above all throughout that afternoon.