Sixty-one

                                    

                                          
On December 13th, I woke up to George planting several kisses all over my face, laughing when I made a face.
                          
"Fuck off."
                          
"How did you sleep?" He asked, brushing his fingers into the side of my hair before kissing my forehead.
                          
"As if I was sleeping on rocks." I muttered. "I can feel their elbows and knees and it's painful."
                          
"Awh, baby."
                          
I opened my eyes to see him pout at me, then laugh while he ran his hand down to rest it on my stomach.
                          
"You know what today is?"
                          
"What? Our anniversary?"
                          
"Dia... our anniversaries are in January and August." He said. "It's your birthday."
                          
"Oh fuck!" I cursed. "No it's not."
                          
"Yeah it is."
                          
"No. Shut up."
                          
George laughed, leaning down to kiss my cheek.
                          
"Welcome to the thirties." He said. "You're old now."
                          
"Oh fuck off, will you?" I groaned, getting out of bed as quick as possible with a big pregnancy stomach in the way.
                          
"Happy birthday my love!" He called out as I made my way towards the door.
                          
I flipped him off and left the room, making my way downstairs.
                          
I was twenty-seven weeks pregnant and my goal was thirty-six because of it being twins and all.
                          
Sometimes, I had Braxton hicks contractions and while they hurt, I clearly remembered what the real contractions were like.
                          
I wasn't excited.
                          
I stopped at the end of the stairs when I saw the package that was put on the side table next to the sofa in the entrance hall.
                          
I walked over and looked at the tag.
                          
To Dahlia.
                          
I picked it up, then walked into the kitchen and stopped again.
                          
Fred was here, cooking breakfast while Lee sat at the kitchen island with Inez.
                          
"What's this?" I asked and walked over to place the package on the island.
                          
"Oh hello princess." Fred grinned, winking at me. "How'd you sleep?"
                          
"What is up with you and your clone asking me how I've slept?" I asked. "I'm twenty-seven weeks pregnant with twins— one of them kicking my ribs and one of them currently pushing on my bladder. How do you think I've slept?"
                          
Fred just kept smiling.
                          
"You can't kick me down. I'm used to that from Eloise. Twenty-eight weeks... though it's just one."
                          
"Lucky." I said, forcing a smile at him. "Seriously... what is this and why is it addressed to me?"
                          
"Alright, first of all... happy birthday, babe." Inez smiled. "And second of all, we don't know. It stood out front when Fred and Lee got here."
                          
"Okay, first of all." I decided to mock her. "Don't tell me happy birthday. It isn't a happy birthday. Do you think I enjoy leaving my twenties? No. I'm here for some water and then I'm going back to bed."
                          
"No you're not." Lee said. "You're gonna go upstairs, get dressed and then come down for breakfast. We've got a plan for today."
                          
I flipped them all off before I turned and made my way back upstairs where George was getting ready in our room.
                          
"Why are the three most annoying people making breakfast in our kitchen?"
                          
"Remember that birthday party we planned?" He asked. "That's happening..."
                          
"What? But then everyone will know that I'm thirty."
                          
"Love, everyone already know." He chuckled, closing his belt while approaching me.
                          
He grabbed my chin and tilted my head back before kissing me softly.
                          
"Get dressed, my love." He whispered. "And happy birthday."
                          
"Thanks." I muttered as he walked past me and out of the door.
                          
Then I looked at Charley who had slept on the floor by our bed all night. He looked at me and I raised my eyebrows.
                          
"What?" I asked. "Why are you looking at me? Stop looking at me."
                          
He followed me into the wardrobe and kept looking at me as I got dressed. I kept glancing at him and he just stood there, watching me.
                          
When I walked back downstairs, George had gotten Leah and Roxi out of bed and they were now eating breakfast while George, Fred, Lee and Inez were talking.
                          
"Alright, seriously who is this from?" I asked and returned to the odd package.
                          
"No idea. As we said... it was there when we got here." Fred said and I glanced at him before I ripped off the paper, seeing a small white box underneath.
                          
"Maybe you shouldn't open it just like that..." Inez suggested but I had already taken the lid off, staring at the note on top of the stuff in there.
                          
Happy birthday sweet girl
Don't cross me again
                          
- dad
                          
Instantly, I felt my breath hitch in my throat and my heart skip a beat.
                          
This was a present from my dad.
                          
I removed the note and George grabbed it to read it, then my eyes landed on the content of the box.
                          
Photographs.
                          
Old photographs... of me five years old, half-naked and blind-folded in the basement, photographs of nine-year-old me, sleeping peacefully in my bed, him pushing my duvet off to get a look at my legs.
                          
Oh my god.
                          
I went through the many photographs. It was pretty obvious what was going to happen the moment he'd lay that camera down.
                          
I threw them back into the box, then grabbed the box and marched out of the kitchen and into the entrance hall.
                          
I pulled out my wand and flicked it at the fireplace, causing a fire to start, then I threw the content of the box in there and watched the photos burn.
                          
"Dia?" George walked into the entrance hall with Inez behind him.
                          
"What was that?" She asked.
                          
"It was from her dad."
                          
"Your dad?" Inez asked and raised her eyebrows. "What did he give you?"
                          
"Nothing." I answered way too quickly, making it obvious that it was in fact something.
                          
"Can you give us a second?" George asked Inez who nodded before she walked back into the kitchen.
                          
I turned to George as I brushed my hand into my hair and tugged on it.
                          
"He's got picture of when I was a child." I said. "He took them before he... you know..."
                          
He nodded slowly, then sighed.
                          
"He's mad that we turned him in." I said. "He's gonna do something and I don't know what but I can feel it..."
                          
George stepped closer to me and rubbed his hands up and down my arms before wrapping them around me, pulling me into a hug.
                          
"We could've used those pictures and gone to the aurors with them."
                          
"No." I said quickly. "I don't want anyone to see them. I don't want anyone to know what happened when I was young."