George and Roxanne closed up the shop at the end of the day. He had mentioned to Ron that they would be heading over to the Potter's to pick up Fred. As they were locking up the front of the shop, a tawny barn owl flew through the open window on the second floor of the shop. It swooped through the ostentatious puppetry that dangled round the shop ceiling and dropped the letter on the counter. The message was short.

Meet us at the Potter's. We're all having dinner there tonight. Tell Ron that Hermione and the children are coming as well. See you soon. - Ang

"Well looks like dinner is at Harry and Ginny's tonight." He wrote a quick reply to Angelina that they would see them there. He placed the short roll on the leg of the owl and sent it on its way. Finishing up the last few entries into the books and sending the day's funds to Gringotts, the trio headed to the Leaky Cauldron to use the Floo Network to the Potter's.

It was always a sweet moment for George when he got to spend one on one time with either of his children. He had spent much of the summer with Fred, knowing that soon he would be sent to Hogwarts to start his schooling as a young wizard. It had been a wonderful afternoon having Roxanne in the shop with him. As they walked into the Leaky Cauldron, Roxanne took his hand. Looking up at him she asked, "Are we going home first Father?"

George shook his head, "No I don't think so. We would be late for dinner and I'm not sure Mum would like that. Besides you get to see Rose and Lily. It's been a while since you've seen your cousins. Won't that be nice?"

Ron piped in behind them as the door closed, "Rosie has been asking to come over to play for a while Roxie, so I'm sure you're going to have a blast." He nodded towards a blond haired woman with a scar on her left arm. "Evening Hannah, Neville doing alright?." The scar was from the war. It was barely visible after all these years under her long sleeves, but showed just a bit as the sleeves were pushed up to the elbow.

"Alright." She said nodding to the three, "You've caught me on my last night tending to the pub. I start as Matron at Hogwarts in a few days. It'll be nice to join Neville this year finally. Being apart during the school year the last couple years has been dreadful. You lot need anything?" She flicked her wand at a set of tables and had the dishes cleared from it.

Before George could say anything Ron shouldered in, "No we heading to Harry's for the evening. Tell Neville we say hello." There had always been a weird tension between the two. George liked to tease Ron in saying it was because he was jealous she got Neville and he didn't. He had to keep the dig on his younger brother to keep him on his toes. Someone had to do it.

Hannah nodded at the trio and went back to serving another customer. They headed to the back hallway where the Floo Network fire places could be found. George opened a pocket on his robe to hand Ron and Roxanne a handful of Floo powder. Ron went first.

"Number 12 Grimmauld Place!"

In a flash of green light, he was gone. "Your turn, Roxanne. Remember to speak clearly."

Roxanne rolled her eyes at her father, "I know Daddy." She looked adorable with her smirky grin as her snaggled tooth poked out over her bottom lip. She threw the Floo powder down at her feet, speaking clearly for 12 Grimmauld Place, and the flash of green flames engulfed her blue robes.

George clapped his hands together to dust off the residual Floo powder. "Enough of that." He straightened his robes and focused his thoughts on the front door of Grimmauld Place. As he focused, the dark fireplace with ashy brick flooring from the Leaky Cauldron swirled away into oblivion as he apparated in front of 12 Grimmauld Place.

The place was unseen to muggles, but the four story brick townhome of the Potter's fit in well with the curb appeal of the street. He rang the doorbell. The door flew open to a firey red-haired woman with soft features and bright brown eyes welcomed him, "Floo powder too good for you?"

George gave her a crooked smile. "No, dear Ginny. The thought of being covered in soot didn't sit well with me. Besides, if I came through the fireplace, I wouldn't get to see what you've done to the front. Nice flower bed," he said pointing to the yellow and orange tulips. "Are they Mums? Does she know you took them from the Burrow?"

Ginny smacked him on the arm in response as he walked in the door. "Yes they are Mum's and yes she knows. She gave them to me on my birthday. Everyone is in the sitting room. The children are upstairs." As she mentioned the children, the ceiling trembled. A swirl of screams could be heard from the staircase. Ginny yelled in the direction of the stairs, "You lot up there better stop or I will feed you to the Attic Ghoul!"

A hushed round of giggles could be heard as George took off his cloak and hat and left it on the coat rack. As he and Ginny walked into the sitting room, he saw Ron and Hermione sitting in the corner, arguing about something in hushed voices, as well as Harry and Fluer talking about whatever. Angelina came in behind George with a drink in hand. She gave him a smile. "Took you long enough. I see you didn't travel by Floo powder."

"Well," George said as he settled into an ebony chair with green velvet cushion on the seat and back. "Ever since we had our two wonderful children Angelina, I feel I don't get to apparate as much as I used to. Don't want to get rusty; might lose my other ear and then I'll be holier than I am now. However will the people be able to handle themselves around me if that were to happen?"

The comment got a round of chuckles from the lot. Angelina didn't comment but had a smirk on her face. Over the years she had been the closest thing he had that reminded him of his twin. Before they had Fred II and Roxanne, they would play pranks on his siblings together. As the children came along it dwindled a bit, but she was always the person he could confide in the most, especially when he was having dark moments.

Bill walked into the room. "If you all are hungry, the food is downstairs," Bill said. The scars on Bill's face never truly faded. They would always be a reminder of what Greyback did to him.

"Children, dinner is ready. Come down and wash up." Ginny yelled up the staircase. What sounded like a herd of elephants coming down the stairwell, James, Rose, Fred II, Victoire, Lily, Roxanne, Dominique, Albus, Hugo, and Louis bolted down the stairs into the kitchen to wash up. The boys climbed over each other to be first while the girls jabbed the boys in the ribs, trying to push them out of the way.

"Hey, guys," Harry said with a sigh. "There is enough food for everyone. No need to shove each other." Harry ruffled Albus's hair as he walked down the stairs to the basement where the large dining table was held.

The room was bright for a basement room. When Harry and Ginny moved into Grimmauld Place they decided to completely redesign it. While the woodwork hadn't been removed, it had been revarnished and the old wallpaper had been replaced with bright colors and more modern sconces to lighten up the rooms. The Black Family tree in the drawing room remained the only piece of wallpaper untouched. Harry wouldn't let Ginny remove it and they had kept many of the furniture pieces from when Sirius owned the place.

The children sat on one end of the long wooden table while the adults huddled around the other end. The old table had carvings of the names of different Order members, some no longer with them. Harry always sat where Sirius' name was carved into the top of it.

"Did you hear about Hannah Longbottom?" Ron said as he tore into a piece of bread. Hermione looked at him with an annoyed look on her face. She often gave him that look at meals.

"No, what about Hannah?" Hermione said out of the corner of her mouth. "You'd think as an adult you'd learn to chew with your mouth shut." Rose and Roxanne giggled at hearing this. He slowed his chewing and swallowed.

Ron put his piece of bread down in the beef stew, "Well, we saw her today. She's going to be the new Matron at Hogwarts this year. I don't know about you, but she never seemed the healing type when we were kids. Don't know if I would want her healing Hugo or Rosie if you know what I mean."

Harry pushed into Ron's shoulder, "You're just saying that because she was never nice to you when we were kids. I think she'll do just fine. Bet she'll be glad to not have to spend long months away from Neville." He laughed as Ron went pink in the face. Hermione looked at him and then looked down at the children.

The children didn't pay mind to the conversation going on between the adults. They were happy in their own world. They were living through some of the most peaceful times in the wizarding world in quite a long time. It was good they did not have to face the horrors that George and the group faced some sixteen years ago.

Harry and Hermione both worked at the Ministry. They knew for themselves that even 16 years after the Battle of Hogwarts there were still remnants of Voldemort's Death Eaters. Many of them were serving their crimes out for life in Azkaban. But a few were still at large.

"Hermione, didn't you say that the Death Eater who killed Hannah's mother long ago was recently caught?" Ginny asked as she sipped her drink. Ginny had been away most of the summer playing the circuit with the Holyhead Harpies. Harry struggled to keep his three children from killing each other, and they ended up at the Burrow or Fred and Angelina's house often over the summer.

Hermione replied in a hushed tone, "Yes, we located Corban Yaxley up near Derby."

As Hermione said the name, the hair on the back of George's neck stood up. Yaxley, he thought to himself, he never knew what happened to him after the battle. That meant the rumors were true. He had managed to escape after the battle. At least his wrongdoings finally caught up to him.

Angelina must have noticed him gripping his beer tightly, as she placed her hand on his arm. "George," she said softly. "It's alright. The Ministry will lock Yaxley away in Azkaban for sure. You've nothing to worry about."

Everyone stared at George, a bit puzzled by his reaction as if they had all forgotten. Angelina spoke for him as he was at a loss for words. It also would not have been wise for him to speak his mind in front of the children. They were at quite an impressionable age.

"George dueled Yaxley with Lee on that day." Hermione's face turned from surprise to guilt for realizing what she had brought up. No one really talked about the day they defeated Voldemort and his Death Eaters. For many like George, it was one of the most painful days of his life.

Losing Fred haunted him every day. In some ways, he always felt guilty that he lived and his twin perished. Angelina often reminded him that he needed to believe fate had determined their destiny this way and that Fred would not want them to feel sorry for themselves in regard to his passing. George clutched Fred's clock hand that was on a chain under his shirt as he thought about it.

Two figures showed up behind Harry and Bill. It was James and Fred. Looking down at the end of the table, all the children sat conversing loudly, their plates were mostly clean. "Dad," James said to Harry. "May Freddie and I be excused and go upstairs to my room? We finished eating."

Only James called him Freddie. He didn't let anyone else call him that, not even his mother. Fred looked at Angelina and George with pleading eyes.

Harry took a swig of his drink, "I don't see why not." As he said this the boys bolted for the stairs. "But! You have to clean up your plates upstairs before you can go."

"Aw, man!" The boys protested in unison, but both grabbed their plates respectfully and headed upstairs mumbling to each other. Fleur turned to the rest of the children.

"If you all do the same, you can go up and play," she said softly to them. The children bolted out of their seats taking their plates upstairs. Albus and Hugo stayed back, not finished with their dinner just yet.

The conversation changed to the adventures regarding the new year of school. Angelina shared their escapade today in Diagon Alley. Ginny shared that she had made sure to be on the reserve roster for the next two matches so that she wouldn't miss Harry's birthday and James' trip to King's Crossing.

You could tell the idea of her oldest going off to Hogwarts made Ginny a little emotional. To be honest, the thought made George feel the same way. You never really know how your parents felt with each milestone until you yourself become a parent, George thought to himself.

The last two children finally got up from the table and cleared their plates, bounding up the stairs. The adults started to do the same but they lingered in the basement. It was the farthest place from the earshot of the children. They had tried so hard to keep the dark parts of the past from them. Pictures on the walls and in scrapbooks held most of the memories of the past, as well as a few choice stories that would be shared with the children at bedtime.

George went to lean against the wall staring at the old photo of the original Order of the Phoenix members. It was one of the few pictures that Harry had with his parents in it. George pulled the clock hand of Fred out from under his shirt. He fiddled with it as he stared at the picture.

"How'd you find out he was in Derby?" George asked, breaking the silence. Everyone looked at him, but his gaze never left the photo.

Hermione looked at her cup, then at George. It seemed she was choosing her words carefully. "He was using the Imperio Curse on a muggle boy. The new locator curse orb that Shacklebolt had made went off a couple of days ago. Took four Aurors to take him down. Thankfully, no one was hurt capturing Yaxley."

Ron put his arm around Hermione, pulling her close. Auror business was never easy and highly dangerous. At any moment any one of them who had been a part of the mission could have been killed. While is it work they were glad to do, it was never easy when the owl came to let them know they would be gone on business for a few days.

Ginny walked over to her brother hugging him."I'm sorry, I brought it up. I didn't know it was Yaxley they were talking about earlier or I wouldn't have brought it up."

George hugged his sister back. "That's alright. At least he'll rot in Azkaban." He exhaled as he closed his eyes, relieved Yaxley had been caught.

It was quiet for a few minutes. Bill was the first one to break the silence. "Well, how are we doing with the knowledge that James and Fred will be joining Victoire and Dominique at Hogwarts? I'm sure they are going to do just fine. We've told the girls to keep an eye out for them and make sure they don't end up in trouble. They resemble you and Fred so much in how you two used to get into trouble. I have a feeling you lot will be getting plenty of letters from Headmistress McGonagall."

They started to laugh at the prospect. They all knew how stern Professor McGonagall was from their days at Hogwarts. She was one woman you did NOT want to cross. It was going to be interesting to interact with her on a much different level as parents.

"I know the boys are excited. James won't stop talking about trying out for Quidditch even though he knows they do not allow first years to try out," Ginny said.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other and smirked. "Ginny, I don't think it helps that his father just happened to be the youngest seeker in Gryffindor history! And with you being lead Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies. James lives and breathes Quidditch," Ron said.

The lot of them reminisced on the old times for another hour or so until Rose and Roxanne came down rubbing their tired eyes and looking quite sleepy. They helped Harry and Ginny clean up and got the children ready to go.

In just three days they all would gather at King's Crossing to take the two boys to hop onto the Hogwarts Express. Saying their goodbyes to each other, they used Floo powder to get back home.

George and Angelina put Roxanne and Fred in their pajamas and tucked them into their beds. As Fred was being tucked in, he asked George to tell him the story one more time about how he and Uncle Fred left Hogwarts in a blaze of glory. George watched the eyes of his brother close and drift off to sleep as he told the tale of how he and his brother played the best prank Hogwarts had ever seen.

This isn’t the end of the story! Part 3 (and the finale) will come out next week. Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment if you want to see more!