Through All the Pain // N. Longbottom

After War // Chapter Three

"A little higher, Ron," Lori said to her twin as he was hanging a banner above the doors into Weasley Wizard Wheezes. "Not that high you twat!"

"Oi! I'm your twin, not a decorator!" Ron shouted back as he lowered the banner again. 

"Now it's back to the same position you started in!"

"If you are so picky on how this is hung, why don't you climb up this ladder and do it yourself?!" Ron shouted releasing his side of the banner and letting it fall to the ground. 

"Honestly, Ronald." Lorrinda huffed. "I do not know how you will manage to run this shop with George. Wingardium Leviosa." Lori waved her wand and levitated the banner up to the correct position. 

"No fair! You used magic." Ron whined.

"Stop whining and nail it to the building, Ronnie.

"Why couldn't George hang up the sign? I'm the one who has to go get fitted for those monkey suits they wore!"

"Ron, George is trying to figure out how many employees he is going to have coming back right now. So please just work with me here." Lori pleaded as she pulled out another banner. "We've just got one more to hang and then we are done. 

"What does this one say?! 'Pretty Please come inside, we are desperate for income'?!"

"It actually is saying all donations of money will be going to a fund for the families affected by the Battle Of Hogwarts and the war. So stop being such a prat and help!" Lori shouted venomously at her twin. 

"I think it's time, I step in and separate the two of you before you end up killing each other," Harry said stepping in between. Harry had been blissfully sitting on the stoop of the store reading over a letter that Dudley had sent him, until the point where the twins got to the point of murder.

"Fine. I'm going to go grab a bite at the cafe down the Alley." Lori said grabbing her handbag from the stoop and walking down the alley. Once she was far enough away, she glanced over her shoulders, ducked behind a corner and apparated to Neville's flat. 

Knock. Knock.

Neville quickly wipes his hands on a towel and rushes to the door. 

"You're late."

"Sorry love, Ronald was having trouble hanging a bleeding banner and it held me over," Lori said placing her handbag on the table near the door, right beside the photo of his parents. "Afternoon, Frank and Alice."

"Flower, stop talking to the still photo and come sit down and eat!" Neville encouraged from the kitchen.

"Coming!" Lori patted the frame and walked into the kitchen where the table had been set up with everything from a bouquet of flowers in the middle and two plates with silverware on the sides. The only thing missing from the table was the actual food. "Nevy darling, where is the food?"

"Well, since you were late I left it in the oven to keep it warm." Neville rushed to the oven and pulled out a big pan full of something he made. "Presenting: Grilled Chicken and Penne a la Longbottom!" Neville placed the pan on the table and the dish looked so good that Lori almost didn't want to eat it. 

"I am always in awe of how well you cook Nevy," Lori said as Neville dished two spoonfuls onto her plate. Once he was done and set it down on the table, Lori whiffed the smell of the food up to her nostrils and let out a moan. "I feel like this meal will cause you to have to take a night off if you know what I mean."

"Oh, I think I do love." Neville smiled as he dished himself up some of his food and started eating. The couple ate in silence for a few moments before Neville made a grave mistake.