38. Ocean Spray

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Song: Beautiful thing by Grace VanderWaal

You immediately heard waves crash and smelled salt air when your feet landed on hard ground.
"Where are we" you asked George looking around the home
"Shell cottage, it was our aunts"
"We used to come here as kids" Fred told you
"Fred, George? Samantha?"
You heard Bill shout from the kitchen
"Yeah it's us" George answered walking into the house.
"Oh good you're here" Molly said hurrying over to the three of you. For the first time since leaving the wedding you were aware that you were still in your dress, Fleur who was sitting at the kitchen table still in hers. You walked over and hugged her tightly
"I'm so sorry Fleur"
She smiled up at you but said nothing.
"The three of you will be sharing the second bedroom upstairs" Bill said so you could take your things to the bedroom. You let Mari down from your arms and you saw Fleurs face light up
"Samantha shes precious" she leaned down and pet the kitten. You smiled and followed the boys up to your room. It was small but very nice, there were two double beds and a small dresser. The window looking out on to the beach. You sat on the bed closest to the window and just stared at the moon reflecting on the ocean thinking about the sun bouncing off the water of the pond at the burrow in the summer, longing for those days.
You felt the bed dip and George was sat next to you
"I wanna go home" you whispered
"I know love, I do too" he said taking your hand in his
"but it's us, we'll be fine"
Fred climbed on the bed with you and George and hugged you
"We'll bring home to you" he told you making you smile. The three of you sat on silence lost in thought
"You should get to bed" George finally said standing up and you nodded. You took your pajamas and changed in the bathroom before climbing into bed, George next to you and Fred just in the next bed. They made you feel safe.

The next morning you were woken to the sound of seagulls and waves crashing. George and Fred still sound asleep as you slipped out of bed and pulled some clothes out of your bag. You got dressed in the bathroom in jeans a sweater another knit jacket on top, the cottage was cold and the sky was grey today no sign that the sun was there. You tip toed down the stairs trying to be as quiet as possible as your bare feet plodded across the floor into the kitchen
"Morning" Bill said looking up from his paper
"Morning" you smiled starting the kettle "tea?" You asked him
"Please" he smiled and put the paper down
"How's Fleur"
"She alright" Bill sighed
"definitely not how we imagined the wedding ending"
"I'm so sorry Bill" your heart broke for them
"Just glad we got through the vows" he told you and you nodded as the kettle started to whistle you pulled it off the stove and poured two cups handing one to Bill
"Thanks love"
"I think I'm gonna go walk on the beach" you said looking out at the water
"Care for some company" Bill asked
"Always" you smiled and you and Bill walked outside tea cups in hand
"Don't you want shoes" he asked pointing at your bare feet
"No....I like feeling the sand"
Bill chuckled and the two of you began walking down the beach
"Was it like this before" you finally asked Bill
He sighed
"No" he seemed to be thinking
"knowing Ron's out there with Harry and Hermione, and Ginnys back at school, Charlie so far away and Percy......it's worse now"
You nodded biting the inside of your cheek scared you may cry. You let out a shaky breath not knowing what to say to Bill. He could see you struggling and bumped his shoulder into yours playfully smiling down at you
"But I have you now the best second sister I could hope for, and I have my brilliant wife and two of my brothers here with mum and dad.... It could be worse" he smiled and you nodded
"Hey we never got to dance at my wedding"
You furrowed your brows and laughed that Bill cared about such a trivial thing. He took your mug from your hand placing it down in the sand next to his, and then took your hand in his. You started dancing slowly Bill spinning you out and then pulling you back in a goofy grin on his face making you laugh as the two of you picked up your pace eventually running around the beach doing silly dance moves until you were both out of breath. You crashed into Bill laughing harder than you thought possible as he messed up your hair
"Let's head inside it looks like you're about to lose a toe" he pointed down at your cold feet and you nodded grabbing your mug and racing him inside.

•George's POV•

You rolled over as light streamed into your room reaching for Samantha but she wasn't there. You sat up looking around starting to get a little worried, where could she have gotten off to. Mari was curled up in bed with Fred who was still sleeping soundly. You stood up and opened the curtains glancing down at the beach briefly, you took a second look and saw Bill and Samantha standing outside together. Your heart stopped racing and you watched the two, you could tell from here Samantha was holding back tears. You saw Bill take her mug out of her hand and place it in the sand, your eyes following his hands and you noticed that Samantha was barefoot making you chuckle. Bill took Samantha's hand in his and pulled her closer, they started to dance slowly on the sand making you smile. It made you an indescribable type of happy to know your family loved her too. The two figures started moving faster and faster and soon what they were doing barley resembled dancing, you could hear her laughing all the way down there. They both crashed into each other finally stopping, Bill ruffled her hair and picked up her mug handing it back to her before they headed home. You left the window and rummaged through your bag grabbing a pair of wool socks before hurrying down the stairs. Samantha saw you coming down and her face lit up
"Morning" you smiled at her kissing her gently and handed her the socks
"Howd you know" she giggled sitting on the couch and pulling the socks on. You walked into the kitchen and pat Bill on the back giving him a smile nothing else needed to be said, Bill understood. You made some toast and heated up more water in the kettle pouring yourself a cup and refilling Samantha's once it was ready. You carried a plate of toast over to the couch where she was sitting and placed it on the coffee table in front of her and handed her the mug full of tea
"Thank you" she smiled and wiggled her now warm toes in the socks.
"Of course" you sat down next to her "how are you feeling today"
She sighed and looked around
"confused?" She sounded unsure "but better"
"Good" you took a bite of your toast.
Fleur came down the stairs a few minutes later Fred and Mariposa followed. The kitten ran into the kitchen and jumped into Fleurs lap making her smile. Mari seemed to like it here, the light was shining in from the kitchen ceiling and she liked chasing it. Fred grabbed a piece of toast from your plate and sat in the chair next to the couch. Mum and dad were the last two to join everyone
"We're planning on staying the rest of the week" your dad said
"then the order thinks it'll be safe to go back to the burrow after that"
You looked over at Samantha and smiled knowing she's be excited to get home. A week here at the beach wouldn't be so bad, you'd be able to pass the time easily.

Last Summer // George WeasleyWhere stories live. Discover now