Sixty-five

                                    

                                          
"George?"
                          
"Yes, darling?"
                          
George and I sat on the sofa, watching the kids enjoy their Christmas presents. George was drinking a glass of whiskey and I was drinking orange juice because I was pregnant and couldn't drink any of my wine.
                          
"When did you know you loved me?"
                          
George took a sip of the whiskey before he turned his head to look at me, smiling.
                          
"The moment I knew I loved you or the moment I knew I had fallen in love with you?"
                          
I shrugged.
                          
"Both, I guess."
                          
"Well—" he chuckled. "Do you remember that time we ate lunch in your office in Gringotts?"
                          
I nodded.
                          
"We did that a lot."
                          
"We did." He agreed, nodding. "Well, I'm talking about the time you gave me a..."
                          
He looked out at the kids, then cleared his throat and leaned closer to me.
                          
"Blowjob."
                          
I chuckled.
                          
"The way you made me feel... I realised I loved you." I said. "But the moment I knew I had fallen in love with you was when we sat on the roof of my shop that night... you laid with your head in my lap and we just talked. I looked down at you and I realised that I wanted to do anything to make sure you were happy."
                          
Maybe I shouldn't have asked him that, seeing as now I felt like crying.
                          
"What about you?" He asked. "When did you know?"
                          
I shrugged.
                          
"Can't remember."
                          
"Oh c'mon!" He laughed, throwing his head back. "Can't remember? That's a shitty excuse."
                          
I sighed.
                          
"Alright." I smiled weakly at him. "I think I realised I love you the same time that I realised I was in love with you, and I think that was at the exact moment that I told you I love you. That day in my flat when you said you wanted me to meet your family. I just hadn't expected it to be shit."
                          
"Yeah... remember when you dumped me on my birthday?" He smiled. "I think you've beat the record of worst breakup ever."
                          
"I had forgotten that it was still your birthday!" I laughed and leaned over to kiss him when I felt a shot of pain shoot through me.
                          
"Fuck me." I grunted, resting my head against his shoulder. "They're killing me."
                          
"It's okay." He said softly, kissing my temple while wrapping an arm around me.
                          
"I'm having my tubes tied after this." I breathed and George laughed.
                          
I lifted my head from his shoulder and looked at him as he brushed a lock of my hair behind my ear.
                          
"You're beautiful." He whispered. "Glowing."
                          
"Can you stop having sex on the sofa, please?" Fred asked and I sat back, George and I looking at him.
                          
"Fred, there're children."
                          
"Don't worry mummy." Leah said. "I know what sex is."
                          
My expression dropped as I looked at her while she played with her toys.
                          
"I don't like this conversation." Elsie said and made a face while Roxi pressed her hands to her ears, but my eyes just stayed on Leah.
                          
She was six years old. She wasn't supposed to know what sex was, but she obviously had some memory of what Jeremy did to her.
                          
Though I knew what that was like.
                          
When I was her age, I also knew what sex was.
                          
"Leah, beautiful? Why don't you come here for a moment?" I asked and Leah looked at me before she stood up and walked over to me.
                          
I held out my hands and she placed hers in mine.
                          
"I love you very much, you know that?"
                          
She nodded as she crawled up to sit between George and I.
                          
"Does that mean I'll still be your little girl when the twins are here?" She asked and cuddled up next to me.
                          
I wrapped my arm around her and pressed a kiss to her head.
                          
"Of course." I assured her. "You always will be."
                          
It had been a long but great day. This morning, we were woken up by the girls and they wanted to open their presents.
                          
We ate breakfast together and Elsie and Leah then spent a few hours with Malcolm.
                          
He took them out to see a movie and then they ate lunch at his house.
                          
Now it was the evening and we sat in the living room by the fire, the Christmas tree close by while the youngest ones played with the toys they got this morning and Fred sat with his phone.
                          
I looked down at Leah when she wrapped an arm around me and cuddled up with me even more.
                          
Her eyes were closed and I knew that in a minute or twice, she'd be asleep.
                          
I brushed my fingers over her hairline, pushing her hair out of her face and behind her ear.
                          
"Can I get my ears pierced?" She asked all sleepily.
                          
I rested my head against hers as I hummed.
                          
"Of course." I said. "If that's what you want."
                          
"I want my ears pierced too!" Roxanne exclaimed.
                          
"I don't!" Elsie said as she crossed her legs where she sat on the floor.
                          
"I want my ears pierced as well." Fred said and looked at George. "If that's okay..."
                          
"That's going to be expensive." George said, and I rolled my eyes.
                          
"Oh c'mon. We bought a five million pounds house and we can't afford three children wanting to get their ears pierced?" I asked, looking at George while he looked at me.
                          
"Does that mean I can get mine pierced too?" Fred asked. "Even if I'm not a girl?"
                          
"Of course." I said, looking at him. "Ear rings don't have gender."
                          
"If you want your ears pierced, you'll get your ears pierced." George said and stood up, walking into the kitchen.
                          
I looked at Fred who was now smiling to himself as he looked down at his phone.
                          
"Needles are scary." Elsie said. "I don't understand why anyone want to voluntarily have them pushed through parts of their body."
                          
Getting her to get her shots have been the worst thing ever, especially when she was little. She absolutely hate needles, and I don't like them either.
                          
I looked down at Leah to see that she was fast sleep.
                          
"I'm tired. I'm going to bed." Fred said as he stood up. "Goodnight mum."
                          
"Goodnight darling."
                          
"Goodnight Freddie!" Elsie and Roxanne sang in unison and Fred made a face at them before he left the living room.
                          
I heard him say goodnight to George who shortly after returned and took one look at Leah.
                          
"I'll carry her up." He said and put his refilled glass of whiskey on the table before he picked Leah up and left the room with her.
                          
"I think it's bedtime for you two as well." I said and both Elsie and Roxanne looked at me, and I could tell on their faces that they were about to complain. "No, I do not want to hear it. It's already hours past your bedtime. Go brush your teeth. I'll be up in a minute."