messy // george weasley

ch27: Happy Birthday, W

cw: sexually explicit content

☆☆☆

"Cheers to Willow!" Mr. Sweetwood exclaimed as he raised the wine glass in his hand toward the center of the table. "Happy birthday, sweetheart, we are so proud of you."

The rest of her family followed suit as they clinked their glasses over the small candle in the center of their table. Even in the dimly lit back corner of the restaurant, Willow could make out the large smiles plastered on everyone's faces. This was the first time her entire family—Nana and Papa included—had been able to eat at a restaurant together in over a year.

It was the evening of Willow's birthday, and after much debate between Taylor and Papa, they had settled on an Italian place that opened earlier than most other restaurants. Willow's grandparents had insisted on meeting earlier than normal because they didn't want their Friday night routine—which only included watching their favorite game show live—to get messed up.

Ever since Nana's diagnosis a few years ago, Willow had noticed that the two of them had spent almost all their time together, so no one in the family was going to try and ruin their fun. She was just happy to have everyone together, even if it was just for a short time.

Angelina had arrived at their place an hour before Willow had to leave, but neither she nor Juliet would answer any of her questions about why she was there. Based on how suspicious Juliet had been acting all week, Willow had a strong feeling that her night wouldn't be ending after dessert. So she was honestly okay that they were sitting down to eat dinner at 5:00.

"Do one of you have a flashlight? I can't see the damn menu items in this lighting," Papa grumbled, pushing his glasses further up his nose. "I don't understand why these places try to save so much money on electricity, just turn the damn lights on."

"Stuart, just have someone read them to you, dear," Nana responded from next to him, "You don't need to make such a fuss."

"I could use my wand, Papa," Mitchell chimed in from across the table, reaching toward his back pocket.

"Put that away!" Mr. Sweetwood threatened. "Do you want to get caught? We're in the middle of bloody London, Mitchell."

"I was just trying to—"

"Dad, I can read the menu to you, okay?" her father interrupted from next to Papa. He began quietly listing off the entrees as Mitchell sank back into his seat next to Willow. Taylor placed a soft hand on his forearm, causing him to visibly relax before they both turned their attention to her.

"Have you found a dress for the wedding yet, Lolo?" Taylor asked, taking a long sip from his glass of wine.

She smiled. "That makes it sound like I'm the bride."

"Hm...Not yet, at least I don't think so," he playfully teased. "Speaking of brides though, did you patch things up with your not-boyfriend?"

"Why would brides make you think of George?" she questioned, placing a hand up in defense.

"It wasn't the best segue but I'm sticking with it," he replied, rolling his eyes. "Now don't avoid my question, miss."

"To answer both your questions—yes, I have a dress that I'm borrowing from Juliet, and yes, I did end up patching things up with George."

"So he's still your date to the par-tay?" Leo interjected, moving his shoulders up and down to a fake beat. "You know, I wouldn't want you to be the only Sweetwood sibling there without a date."

"Oh, I thought that was your job, Leo," Willow teased as she stuck her tongue out at her oldest brother.

He clicked his tongue as he subtly shot his middle finger toward her where none of the adults could see. "Not this time, pipsqueak. I was hoping that you'd be alone for once, I won't lie."