Many thanks to GinnyGuerra for beta reading. Any errors you find are probably my fault due to some last minute tweaking after her last review.
Also, many thanks to my wife for her assistance with some plot points and her loving support.
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Because He's Worth It | ||||||
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Category: Gred & Forge Challenge (2007-6) Characters:None Genres: Comedy, General, Humor Warnings: None Story is Complete Rating: PG-13 Reviews: 15 Summary: ** Winner of Best Overall in the Greg & Forge Challenge ** ** Winner (tie) of Best Humor in the Greg & Forge Challenge ** More than a year after Voldemort’s defeat, Ginny and the Trio, along with several members of the old Gryffindor Quidditch team, endeavor to make one of the Twins’ dreams come true. Will George accept their generosity, or is he already too depressed to be saved? Hitcount: Story Total: 12514; Chapter Total: 3431 Author's Notes: |
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“I gotta break into their shop?” “Don’t you see, George? We need proof that the new owners are copying all of your products!” Ginny’s brother shook his head in disbelief. He had barely gotten over the shock of hearing that a new joke shop was opening in Hogsmeade (in Zonko’s old location, no less!) when Ginny spouted out the rumor about them copying WWW products. Now she was telling him they needed to confiscate some of their inventory as proof of their dishonesty. His head began to spin and he placed his hands on the counter to steady himself. “George! Are you all right?” George waved his hand dismissively at his sister. “Yeah...yeah...just give me a minute.” Slowly, George’s thoughts came together and he realized that Ginny was right. He did not like it, but they had to do what she suggested. Ginny noticed the change in his expression as his resistance faded and grabbed his hand to lead him to the fireplace, but George would not budge. “But why do we have to do this tonight? It’s Christmas Eve, for Merlin’s sake!” “Exactly! The owners are probably off celebrating with family and friends. Aberforth told me that no one’s been in the shop for a couple of hours now.” Unable to come up with any new arguments, George followed Ginny to the fireplace. Upon Flooing to the Hogs Head Inn, George was not surprised to find it empty, save for Aberforth Dumbledore, who was wiping down some glasses behind the bar. When Ginny arrived right behind him, he was a little startled that Aberforth addressed her first. “So you’ve convinced him, then.” “He was a little reluctant at first, but yeah...I mean he’s here isn’t he?” The old bartender only responded with a small grunt. Ginny turned to George and suggested, “We should Apparate directly outside the back door of the shop to make sure that no one sees us.” Noting Aberforth’s grim expression, George sighed dispiritedly and disappeared with a small pop. Ginny received a quick wink from Aberforth before giggling and Apparating to the appointed spot herself. George was a little surprised that all it took was a simple Alohomora to get through the back door, but he did not complain. It had been a long time since he had done any sneaking around, and he was game for anything that would make things go easier and faster. As they made their way through the stock room and into the dark show room, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up in alarm. George attributed the phenomenon to his general nervousness and tried to ignore it. Just as he made his way to the display by the sales counter, Ginny’s whisper turned his attention to the window by the front door. “George, they’ve got Canary Creams and Extendable Ears!” George rushed over to where his sister was crouched with her lit wand and was appalled to find that the items in question were in familiar packaging. “They’re not even bothering to cover up the fact that they’re WWW products!” Ginny continued. George could feel heat rising up his neck. Unlike some of his siblings, he was not prone to falling prey to the infamous Weasley temper very often, but this was too much. “Of all the...I can’t believe...how did they...oh, the bloody nerve of them!” George finally sputtered out. Ginny was barely holding on to a straight face and was saved by the sound of two distinct pops behind them. She and George turned around to find themselves on the wrong end of two wands. The unknown male and female wielding the wands were wearing Auror robes and they did not look very pleased. “George and Ginevra Weasley, I presume?” asked the female Auror. The two Weasleys nodded in assent. George tried to turn the tables on them, his voice sounding more confident than he actually was. “That’s right. Who are you supposed to be?” “I’m Auror Polkiss and this is Auror Guerra,” announced the male half of the Aurors. “We’ve come to arrest you for breaking and entering, and attempted burglary.” Despite the fact that he was technically on the wrong end the law, George refused to let go of his anger. “You’ll do no such thing! I’m only taking back what is rightfully mine!” “Easy there, Mr. Weasley,” soothed Auror Guerra. “We’re only here to take you in. If what you say is true, you can make your case before the Wizengamot. I’m sure it will all work out in the end. Now, if you please, hand over your wands.” George’s jaw dropped in shock when Ginny handed over her wand to Polkiss without a fuss. Knowing that he could not take on two Aurors by himself, he handed over his wand, swearing under his breath all the while. “Thank you. Now, if you would, please stand over there facing the wall. Place both palms on the wall and spread your legs about shoulder width apart.” “You’re going to frisk us?” George asked incredulously. “All standard procedure, Mr. Weasley,” replied the male Auror as he led Ginny to the back wall. “Has anyone ever told you that you have strong hands, Mr. Polkiss?” asked Ginny with an impish grin. But the male Auror would not be denied. “There’s no need for that, Miss. Everyone knows about your relationship with Mr. Potter.” Was Ginny flirting with him? George thought to himself as he made his way to the wall. “Come on now...I can tell you’re interested...and besides, what he doesn’t know, won’t hurt him,” Ginny continued. George was about to intervene on Harry’s behalf, but Auror Guerra forced him into the desired position. “Easy does it, Mr. Weasley. My partner can take care of himself.” George looked down at the floor as the female Auror patted him down. His mind was racing with numerous thoughts. I don’t know who the new owners are, but when I get hold of them, I’m going to...how are we going to get out of this...maybe Ginny has the right idea...but I haven’t made moves on a girl since... hey, she’s taking an awfully long time on my bum...she moves her hands just like.... “Angelina?” croaked George out loud. When the female Auror did not answer, George turned around to find a rather mischievous smirk on her face. When he turned to see if Ginny was having the same problem, he was stunned to see Polkiss with his back against the wall and Ginny snogging him senseless. “WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS GOING ON AROUND HERE!!” George thundered. At that moment, several things happened at once. Ginny pulled away from Polkiss just as his features began to change. In front of him, George noticed the same thing happening to the female Auror. A faint memory made its way to the forefront of George’s consciousness and without realizing it, he whispered, “Polyjuice potion?” As the female Auror’s features molded themselves back to Angelina’s familiar smiling countenance, several wizards and witches Apparated behind her. Someone finally turned on the lights, giving George the opportunity to see who else was in on the conspiracy. “Percy?...Hermione?...Lee ?...Verity?...Oliver?...Katie?...Alicia? ...Ron?” George named them all in turn as he panned the room, his face never losing its surprised expression. To his side, Ginny extricated her arms from a rather disheveled looking Harry and proclaimed, “Welcome to Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes!...Hogsmeade location.” Suddenly, everything came together and a light dawned in George’s eyes. Ginny snuggled up next to him and he could tell she was trying not to cry. “You’re not alone, George. You never were.” George pulled her closer to him, unsure of who was trying to comfort whom. He looked up at his friends and family, trying to find the words to voice the myriad of emotions and thoughts in his head. Eventually, he stammered out, “Thank you...all of you. I...I really don’t know what to say.” Ron stepped forward from the small crowd and placed his hand on George’s shoulder. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out. After a few moments of silence, Ron gave up trying to say something profound and settled for “Happy Christmas” before adding his weight to the family hug. Eventually, George brought his eyes back up to the crowd surrounding him and asked, “But where did you all get the money for this?” Harry spoke up for the group, “We’ll explain everything in due time. For now, let’s just say I’m not your only partner anymore.” When George saw that everyone else in the shop was nodding their heads, Ginny’s earlier words came rushing back to him. It would be several more minutes before the tears subsided enough for him to hold a decent conversation. While George made his way around the shop to thank everyone one at a time, Ron conjured some glasses and began serving everyone Firewhisky from the cache in the back room. As George conversed with each of his new partners, he was regaled with a new piece of the story of how Ginny’s plot was pulled off. The atmosphere was quite lively an hour later when Ron announced, “Looks like we didn’t have as much Firewhisky as I thought. Maybe we should finish our celebration at the Three Broomsticks or the Hog’s Head.” Ginny started at his news. “We went through ALL of the Firewhisky?” Ron did not like Ginny’s tone of voice and answered nervously, “Yes....” “Even the bottle with the label peeled off?” “Yeah, even that one. Why?” At this point everyone had their eyes on Ginny as she explained nervously, “That wasn’t Firewhisky - well, not plain Firewhisky, anyway. It was just something I’d been playing around with that I’ve been testing out. It’ll force the user to reveal one secret before wearing off. This last batch was the best one yet because the timing of the revelation was more consistent.” “Planning on adding to our product line, dear sister?” asked George with a raised eyebrow. “No. I just got tired of Harry always saying he’s ‘fine’ when he’s not.” Harry scowled, while everyone else chuckled in acknowledgment. “Besides,” continued Ginny with a broad grin on her face, “I am a Weasley.” The chuckles quickly turned into outright laughter and even Harry could not help but smile in affection. Suddenly, Hermione’s eyes widened as admiration turned into recognition. She turned to Ginny and blurted out, “I had some of that Firewhisky a few weeks ago, didn’t I?” Ginny did not reply, but cocked an eyebrow while unsuccessfully suppressing a smirk. Hermione covered her face in her hands as she gasped, “Ron’s birthmark!” Ron finally cottoned on and looked at Ginny in horror. “Verity’s bum!” Angelina joined in the rising clamor. “My kiss after the Yule Ball!” By this time, George was looking more like his old self and was laughing wickedly. “Oh this day just keeps getting better and better!” Angelina scowled in his direction and spat out, “If you connect the freckles on George’s left cheek, it looks like a profile of Snape.” Everyone turned to scrutinize George’s face. “The other left cheek.” Everyone began to howl in jubilation. George turned scarlet and attacked the first person he laid eyes on. “Katie meows like a Kneazle when you nibble on her right ear lobe.” Now, it was Katie’s turn to blush. When she opened her mouth to defend herself, the chain of secrets took on a life of its own. “Lee likes to get manicures.” “Oliver sleeps with his broomstick.” “Ron used to practice kissing on a mirror.” “Alicia’s first kiss was Roger Davies.” “Percy only wears silk pants.” “I’m in love with George.” Everyone’s faces had been following the embarrassing revelations around the room as if they were keeping track of a wild snitch. But the last statement had them frozen on a cute blond witch with now very pink cheeks. Hermione recovered the quickest and was now staring knowingly at Ron, who was doing his best to ignore her. George ambled slowly to his employee and took her hands into his own. She tried to avoid his gaze, but eventually looked up to find him regarding her nervously. “Verity...why didn’t you ever say anything?” She sighed in resignation before answering, “It just never seemed the right time. I guess part of me thought you needed to be more like yourself and brooding less before I dumped it on you.” George nodded in understanding. He paused a moment to choose his words carefully before responding, “Something like that isn’t ‘dumped’ on a person, Ver...In all honesty...I think any time would have been the right time to hear you say it.” Verity softened noticeably and George took the opportunity to lean his face closer to hers — but she stopped him before their lips could meet. She looked directly into his eyes with a serious look on her face and asked, “What if it doesn’t work out?” George shrugged nonchalantly and said, “I’ll just sack you.” All of the other females in the room shrieked in unison, “GEORGE!” But George’s infamous smirk was back. “Hopefully, we’ll never have to find out.” And this time, he kissed her before she could offer any more protests. Ginny sighed and rested her head back against Harry’s shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her waist. She looked wistfully upon her brother and his new girlfriend, hoping this was the moment when he would finally start to live again. She felt Harry kiss her forehead and looked up at his beautiful green eyes. “You’re amazing, Ginny Weasley.” Ginny never got tired of Harry’s pronouncements of love and admiration. Sometimes, it was all she could do to keep up with him. Luckily, he was easy to please and the first thing to come to her mind was usually good enough...except for this time. “I used to stuff my bra to get you to notice me.” Author's Note: Several people have asked who ended up on the deed to the shop. To fulfill Harry's promise, the deed showed the owners of the Hogsmeade shop as: Oliver, Angelina, Alicia, Katie, Lee, Verity and Hermione. |
| Reviews 15 |
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