The man behind the belly (Part Two) -- February 1993

We all arrived back at the burrow from Egypt safe and sound.  I knew that the kids would not be at the Burrow since they were all in school, but we were going to make a special trip to Hogsmeade to surprise them.  I thought it would be best to tell Mum and Dad as privately as it could get at the Weasley house and then tell the younger five siblings together at The Three Broomsticks or something.  I had alreayd been in touch with Dumbledore and he was letting my sister go even though she was too young just this once so I could tell her the news with the rest of the clan.  We thought it would be easier this way.  The three of us walked in and I called out from the kitchen - which surprisingly Mum was not located.  "Mum?  Dad?  We're home," I said, walking towards the staircase so I could take our bags upstairs to the respective rooms.

I looked at charlie with a nervous expression probably written all over my face as Bill went to find their parents.  I followed CHarlie into the living room and followed his suit -- sit down.  I leaned so I was a little clsoer to him.  "Do these meetings typically go well?" I asked.  Bill hardly prepared me for anything and to be honest, how could he prepare for this?  It's not like we did.

I shrugged, not entirely sure. They took to Tonks well, but that was because they knew her for years before she started dating Bill. I never brought any girls home and the rest were a little young to be doing that. Ron was only thirteen, Ginny was twelve, the twins were fifteen, and Percy was seventeen... but Percy was such a pansy I highly doubted if we would ever meet any girlfriend of his if he would even get one. "You're kind of one of the first ones... so it could go either way," I replied honestly.

I heard my son's voice and I came down the stairs from the bedroom; I was putting away some laundry.  "Oh Bill!" I said, pulling him into a huge hug.  It had been ages since I had seen him.  I looked past him when I pulled away and did the same wiht Charlie.  I looked at the young lady and smiled warmly at her.  "And you must be Annette!  Come here!" I said, pulling her into a hug.  No guest came here without getting a hug from me... especially if they meant enough to one of my children to bring them home.

I let Mum hug me and smother me in kisses, though I was rather relieved when she let me go to greet Annette.  Bill and I exchanged a look of nervousness, but we were pleasantly surprised by Mum's warm welcome to her.  That could change in an instant, we knew, but at least for now she was accepted.  I smiled and let out a sihg of relief.  "I'll go grab some drinks, eh?" I suggested, walking to the cabinet in which we kept all the adult drinks but then changed course and went to the kitchen to grab some tea.  It would be more subtle if none of us were drinking to have Annette not drink alcohol.

"Oh, thank you Charlie!" I called out, pulling Annette and Bill to come sit down on the sofa.  "Please... to what do I owe the pleasure?" I inquired.  I always loved when the boys visited, but there was always something they wanted at the same time, too.

I was rather surprised by the hug, but accepted it nonetheless.  I let Molly lead me onto the sofa and I sat between her and Bill, glad that he kept his arm around me.  "Oh, well, I wanted to meet Bill's family... we've been together quite some time now," I said, wondering whether or not Bill had told her about how long we were together.

I poured us all a glass of tea and brought it out on a tray with some snacks I found in the fridge.  "Hope you don't mind," I said casually, looking at Mum and sitting in the armchair across from the three of them.

I nodded and smiled at Annette.  "Do tell me more about yourself!  Bill has spoken of you in his letters, but we didn't get into a lot of details," I said to her, taking a sip of hte tea that CHarlie brought out for us.

I leaned back in the cushions of the couch, an arm around Annette's shoulder, a smile on my face.  "Mum, please," I said softly, shaking my head.  Why did she always want all the details about everyone?

I laughed and bit my lip.  "Well... I went to Hogwarts -- Bill and I had a few classes together throuhgout the years," I said simply.  "I'm rather surprised that we didn't end up knowing that we both would be curse breakers with the way we went about it."  I was not entirely sure what all Molly wanted to know.

I smiled and nodded.  "Are your parents from around these parts?" I asked, wanting to know more details of the woman that may be making an honest man of my son.

Great, Mum was going to give her twenty questions or something.  I sat back and took a deep breath.  This was going to be a long conversation to say the least -- and that did not include telling her that Bill and Ann were expecting.

"Well, my dad is from Egypt -- my mum from England.  they met when he was travelling for business.  she was the reason he moved here... but they moved back to Egypt - though they allowed me to finish at Hogwarts.  But they're hte reason I wanted to work in Egypt apposed to anywhere else," I answered honestly.

I was slightly surprised by the way that Annette easily opened up about her family.  I smiled.  "Oh, that's wonderful, dear!" I said, glad to hear that she was family oriented.  If only they would move back here to be closer to our family... "And to what do I owe the pleasure of meeting you now?" I looked between her and Bill.  I knew that there was some reason besides just a friendly visit as to why they were here.  Or else they would not have brought Charlie with them - though I did rather enjoy seeing boht of my eldest boys.