Competition: George Weasley Love Story

15. christmas

THE HOSPITAL ROOM WAS CROWDED. The healers seemed to be slightly annoyed with the excessive presence of visitors in Arthur's shared ward, but no one seemed to care. Arthur was happy to see his family all surrounding him. Everyone was in good spirits, aside from the shared anger that Percy did not show up.

Ellie sat on the foot of Arthur's bed and squeezed his knee. "Nothing's going to take a tough old man like you out. Is there?" She joked, she couldn't lie that she had been hysterical up until this point. There had been so much death in Ellie's lifetime so far that she didn't know if she could handle another; especially not someone as close to her as Arthur.

"You know not!" Arthur chuckled, a cough following each laugh. At that, the healer noticed Arthur growing tired and shewed the children out. They understood, knowing Arthur needed his rest.

•

Arthur returned back to 12 Grimmauld Place just in time for the Christmas holiday. Ellie's favorite. The girls worked to make the old home as Christmas-y as possible.

Arthur was not back to hisself yet, but still chipper considering his condition. The girls helped Molly bake all types of Christmas treats while Fred and George hung decorations in the dining room. Suddenly, a loud crash came from the dining room, causing Molly and the girls to rush towards the sounds.

On the ground, they found Fred and George rolling and tangled up in tinsel. "I told you we needed to put red there!" George argued, holding Fred down.

"No you said green!" Fred retorted, switching the position so he was holding George down. The girls giggled and Molly simply rolled her eyes; 18 years of fighting with the twins was enough - she had decided to let them fight it out amongst themselves. The girls simply went back to decorating while the fight finally simmered down.  George gave a quick kiss to Ellie on the lips before slipping off to speak with his mother. Ellie continued decorating.

"Hey, mum." George huffed, walking into the kitchen. "Question."

"Yes dear?" Molly asked, pulling a tray of cookies out of the oven. George reached for the tray and Molly promptly slapped his hand away. "They're still hot!" George ignored her, grabbing a cookie and shoveled it into his mouth huffing at the burning on his tongue. Molly shook her head and chuckled, waiting till George was done before turning back to him. "What did you need to ask?"

"Erm." George scratched the back of his neck, he peered around Molly's shoulder to make sure Ellie was still decorating with Hermione and Ginny. "Your ring from dad. Your er, engagement ring. I notice you don't wear it anymore."

Molly smiled warmly, not picking up on what George was hinting at just yet. "Ah, yes. Running a household and chasing after seven kids all these years wasn't good on my ring. I retired it years ago to prevent it from getting damaged. Why?" He turned to George, who smiled his goofy smile, and Molly knew.

"I want it for Ellie. I want to ask her to marry me." George beamed. "Please tell me you brought it with you. I want to ask her on Christmas."

Molly's heart was overwhelmed with happiness; but worry. The two were so young; they didn't have a home yet, jobs. They were still enrolled at Hogwarts. Nevertheless, Molly prayed this day would come. Eleanor was exactly what she had always pictured in a wife for her sons. "Of course I do, I don't go leave home for more than a day without it. But, George... you're so young. You're still at Hogwarts."

"How old were you when you married dad?" George questioned, cocking an eyebrow.

Molly sighed. He was right; the couple was barely out of Hogwarts when they married, not long before she fell pregnant with Bill. She stared at George for a moment; how could she say no? Any other girl, maybe... but Eleanor and George were perfect for each other; a lot like Molly and Arthur when they were young. She glanced into the dining room where Ellie was helping Arthur, still weak from the attack, fold a piece of paper into a snowflake. Arthur had been her love since she was just a child, as George had Ellie's.