It had seemed like so long ago that Harry had learned that he was a wizard, getting owls nonstop where he and his family had been. Suddenly, all of the mysterious happenings around him made sense and he was introduced into this wonderful world of magic. Then he met the Weasleys before he made it to the train, developing a relationship with his practical adoptive family. He did wonder how they were doing whenever he went a while without seeing them. The thought that they might be subject to the Minister’s persistent questioning was slightly worrisome, though he hoped the Minister would find himself otherwise distracted. No, he supposed they were too old to just prank people that they were in disagreement with…maybe.

It was a bit of surprise to hear that George wasn’t going to send anymore packages to Liam, though he supposed he could understand it. Hermione could be a bit…rough, sometimes. He sighed deeply. “I’ll talk with her,” he stated. He would try, at least. Pranks weren’t always harmful and it was good for them to have a bit of fun. He and Ron hadn’t had any issues with a bit of pranking and they turned out alright. “I’ll try to get ahold of the tosser soon. Been busy around here? Maybe I’ll send the kids to come help out,” he laughed.

Things certainly had changed over the past several years. He still fondly remembered the years where he and his late twin terrorized the halls with various annoying pranks though they were always in good fun. Well, maybe not always… but a fair bit of time they were. But now they were adults and had to grow up to an extent. It didn’t stop the redhead from having his fun too. He loved what he did for a living though now he was back to making more items for other’s protection than normal. He had been working on a separate room for all of those products as he felt that might be a bit unsettling to patrons to see a display of products specifically to ward off the dark arts and keep one safe.

He arched an eyebrow at his old friend as he said he would talk to Hermione. She had made it pretty bloody clear to George that the kids weren’t permitted to have any fun at school apparently. Honestly the kids would be going through enough soon. There was no doubt in his mind something bad was on the rise. ”You have fun with that. I do have some new products used specifically to ward off dark arts… and irrationally angry wives.” He chuckled shaking his head. He was sure the kids would be upset not to be getting fun little packages from him anymore, but he just didn’t have the energy to deal with their mother. ”When you do you better ship his arse over here.” He said before a mischievous grin came over his face. ”I can always use more test subjects, feel free to send the little ankle biters my way.” He chuckled.

When Harry took a moment to actually think about how his school years had gone, it was mad to think about. It had seemed that there was some sort of drama occurring on a yearly basis, keeping him otherwise occupied. It was a miracle he had even passed his classes, though he and Ron owed a lot of that to Hermione for her help…even if it was unwillingly. Clearly, they had more important things to do than learn whatever it was they were learning in classes…like quidditch. Harry swallowed hard, realizing that perhaps trying to reason with Hermione wouldn’t work…as it had never worked all that well. The kids would simply have to be a bit more careful and hope that the Head of House wrote to him, and not to her. “I may need some of that,” he joked, though by now, he knew how to ‘ward’ off his angry wife. He supposed he shouldn’t inform her of such terminology, either. “Maybe I’ll talk with the kids instead…and teach them how to not get caught,” he mused. They had a bloody map; how in Merlin’s name were they getting caught in the first place?

“Will do, kicking and screaming,” he promised, contemplating how he was going to get in touch with his old friend. He really did hope this wasn’t still over the fact that Harry had married Hermione instead of Ron marrying the witch as that would just be bloody ridiculous. “I’ll just tell ‘Mione that they’re counting inventory or something educational,” [b/]he grinned, figuring that counting was something that was a thing….maybe.

George chuckled at his friend saying he made need some of his protective products to talk to his wife. Things were getting rough quickly and he understood the stress was probably driving everyone mad, or at least he tried to be understanding about things of that nature. It couldn’t be easy trying to raise a family when one knew that things were about to be turned upside down and that your own children could now be quite possibly in danger. ”I guess I can give an irate wife discount if you are really interested.” He said with a grin. He arched an eyebrow at Harry as he said he would talk to the kids about being more careful while causing mischief. That was one thing they apparently had not inherited from their father. It seemed like no matter kind of mess they found themselves in they could just as easily get out of as kids. ”They certainly have a lot to learn apparently.” He joked with a light laugh.

He had been pretty put off with whatever was going on with his youngest brother. The prat never came around for any substantial amount of time and gave no real explanation as to why that was. Sometimes he found himself concerned that something was really wrong, but tried not to think about it too much. ”No you leave the kicking and screaming to me…” He said with a smirk. It would be amusing to give him a few good kicks in the arse. ”Sure… counting…” He repeated with a mischievous grin. It would be nice to have some fresh eyes around the shop.

Harry could remember when he first met the Weasley twins, finding himself amused from the get go with how they presented themselves. He missed Fred, and he had been greatly grieved over the loss of a dear friend, but that was what he realized from a young age came with war. It seemed like their entire life was going to be fighting one war after another, trying to keep the peace. Harry never thought that things would reverse, really feeling as if once they had won, that things would be in peace for a while. He figured that was immature of him as clearly, peace just was not something that they would ever see for long. Regardless, Harry still maintained friendships with those that he had fought the first war with, developing a bond deeper than just any normal friendship. This was a bloke that he honestly knew that he could trust and was someone that he knew would have his back if it came down to it. Nowadays, there really weren’t many people that could be depended on.

Harry smirked at his words, amused. “Don’t let Mione hear you say that,” he laughed. “Apparently. I’ll bring them around the shop…eventually, they will learn how to pull a prank without getting caught…and look innocent if they do,” he said, feigning disappointment. Harry could say that he was definitely proud of his kids, however they turned out, and he was hopeful that they would have a bit of fun while they were doing it. “Besides, they love their uncle George. I think they said something about getting away with things and getting fed candy…” he grinned, chuckling. “I should get going before I’m late meeting up with Mione,” he replied, glancing at the time. He was probably still going to be late, but at least he would try, he mused.

It had been really hard since Fred had passed away. Things never seemed to go back to normal. Sure the family still tried to get together as much as possible but that wasn’t very often anymore. It was becoming more and more rare. With everything starting to shift in the wizarding world he did wish they would all figure out that they needed to stick together again before Durant tried to get them next. Malfoy was a right prat, and under different circumstances he would have taken great enjoyment on watching him lose absolutely everything her loved. But Malfoy’s mum had saved his best friend’s life and he would always remember that as well as anyone that had been there themselves. Things were only going to get worse, and that was saying a lot coming from George who was typically care free.

”I swear that woman is omniscient and has already heard this whole conversation.” He laughed shaking his head. She had the uncanny ability to know everything about anything. He wouldn’t be surprised if she somehow figured out this conversation had been had. ”Your kids looking innocent?” He chuckled loudly shaking his head. ”I think they are better off just learning how to not get caught.” It would be a nice change to have the little ankle biters in the shop helping out. May as well put them to work and have some mischievousness in the shop besides himself. ”Me?” He began looking offended. ”What kind if business do you think I run… letting kids get away with just about anything and feeding them candy? I’m offended.” He joked before glancing up at the clock. ”Well then I guess you better get going before your wife turns into a harpy.” He teased shoving his friends shoulder with a grin.

(((you can probably end it now Liz!)))

It was odd to think about how much time had passed and what had happened in that time. Some days it felt like the drama just followed them around and some days, Harry just wondered where the time was going. It seemed like yesterday that he had been hearing about magic for the first time by a giant man…or rather, just a giant, in general. He was quite certain his eyes were as wide as saucers when he met Hagrid. In fact, his entire first year at Hogwarts, his eyes probably looked ready to bulge out of his head in amazement. Magic was unlike anything Harry had ever imagined. Beyond that, it was unlike anything he had ever imagined to go from being a scrawny kid that his cousin and friends bullied to being someone that people celebrated. It was something that Harry never quite understood or particularly enjoyed, but he was grateful that at least a lot of the fame had simmered down after the fall of Voldemort. It was great to be just an ordinary wizard for a time, though during the quiet life, Harry wondered how long it would last. Harry would be lying if he said he didn’t worry about his children, but when they were at Hogwarts, he still very much believed that that was the safest place for them. Just as Dumbledore kept it safe for them all while he was around, he knew that McGonagall was doing the exact same.

“Hermione did have a way of knowing everything, didn’t she?” Harry grinned, shaking his head. It was a wonder how Hermione knew half of the things that she did, but she certainly did. He wasn’t ashamed to admit that his wife was leagues smarter than he was when it came to a general basis, and most subjects. Some, he supposed, would be intimidated, but he wasn’t trying to be bloody Hermione. Harry rolled his eyes at his friend, grinning. “Right, and some things never change,” he nodded seriously. He made a face at George’s reply, nodding in agreement. It really was best if he left now. “Right, clean up every once in a while, will ya? Your shop is looking a bit bland,” he grinned before nodding farewell to his longtime friend and leaving.

--END THREAD--