TWENTY-ONE
A LINE CAN BE STRAIGHT, OR A STREET, BUT
THE HUMAN HEART, OH NO, IT'S CURVED
LIKE A ROAD THROUGH MOUNTAINS
TENNESSEE WILLIAMS,
A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE
"WE'RE HERE," came a loud voice from the doorway, and Aspen felt her breath hitch in her throat.
The room was drenched in darkness, and yet even with the lights off, the streamers that hung from the ceiling were on full show, enveloped in misty shadows that were only visible due to the dim light of streetlamps obscured by thin curtains. Aspen had ducked behind the sofa, and beside her, looking less keen, were Ginny and Aspen. Across the room, Lee Jordan - the twins' best friend from their Hogwarts days - was tucked against the wall beside the fireplace, and Bill and Fleur were nearby nestled together behind the armchair. Tonks was folded up underneath the dining table, looking uncomfortable as her limbs engulfed her, and Verity had slipped behind the curtains, her toes peeking out below the bottom. Molly and Arthur had taken to the kitchen, claiming they were too old for hiding, and Remus had accompanied, much to Tonks' dismay, as he was still mostly avoiding her.
There was a mumbling at the door, likely the twins conferring about where the hell the light-switch was. As one of the two fumbled for their wand, Aspen could just make out a stream of frustrated cuss words, and she immediately cupped her hand across Alessia's mouth, certain she was about to giggle.
"Lumos," said George, who'd unleashed his wand from his blazer pocket by now. The room lit up just enough to reveal the humungous littering of decorations, and they both laughed to themselves.
"Aspen? Love?" Fred spoke, calling out into the darkness. "What's all this for?"
"She really is whipped for you, Freddie," George said, and realising the conversation would only get more embarrassing from here, Aspen decided it was time to unleash her surprise.
Behind her and to the left, there was a light switch, and as subtly as she could, she slid across the floor on her arse, lacking in grace as she went. Away from the beam of brightness that was shining from George's wand, she quickly shot upwards and flipped on the light. Having been waiting, prepared for the surprise, the entire room leapt into action, cheering out a cacophony of 'happy birthday's and other greetings.
The two boys, who were beginning to suspect something was up due to the uncharacteristic darkness of the flat, let out a grunt of laughter. It was quickly knocked from their lungs as Molly darted out of the kitchen, engulfing them both in a tight hug that almost squeezed all the oxygen from their lungs. She was tearful, as she always was around her children's birthdays, but the twins quickly shooed her off, embarrassed as Lee and Bill began to point, teasing them like little kids. Arthur was waiting with a tissue for her to swipe at her watering eyes, and she thanked him with a grateful kiss on the cheek.
Aspen took that as her time to swoop in for her own group hug. She was exhausted from working tirelessly all day, but running on adrenaline, she bounded over and buried herself in between the two boys. They seemed more receptive now that the attacker was not their own mother, and they indulged Aspen in a short embrace before detaching her too.
"You didn't have to do all this," Fred murmured softly into her ear, keeping his voice down to ensure his family didn't catch onto his sensitive side - he wasn't keen on Bill and Ginny using it against him in the future.
"It wasn't all me. Your sister - and supposedly, mine - did all these decorations," Aspen said, smiling brightly as Ginny wandered over at the mention of herself. Alessia glanced up from the dining table, too enamoured with the Cornish pasties that seemed to have caught George's attention too, as he had bounded over and shoved one messily into his mouth.
"Well, it's incredible," Fred said, and Aspen hummed appreciatively as she wrapped her arm around his waist, holding onto him for comfort. "Thanks, Gin. Looks wicked."
"S'alright," Ginny retorted with a shrug, before taking a generous sip from the Butterbeer bottle she was nursing. "Least we could do to stop this one stressing out over something as stupid as you."
"Insulted even on my own birthday!" Fred huffed, but the smile that settled comfortably on his lips informed them all that he was anything but annoyed.
Aspen removed herself from him reluctantly then, figuring she had hosting to do, and similarly, he had other guests to talk to. She didn't want to attach herself to his hip all evening, and instead, ambled towards the kitchen, where she realised she had left two bottles of white wine out on the table that needed to be chilled. However, instead of being greeted solely by the two bottles alone, accompanying them were Tonks and Remus, who were mid-debate and looked shocked to have been interrupted.
"Oh! I'm sorry," Aspen said, choking on her words as she stood back against the doorframe. "I'll get out of your hair. It was just... the wine."
She felt very immature as she pointed at the two bottles, the task seeming futile when there was clearly something more important at hand being discussed. Remus, who looked more uncomfortable than embarrassed, grabbed them both, and quickly deposited them into the fridge, most probably in search of something to do with his hands other than fidget. Tonks, on the other hand, was reddening by the second, and accompanying it was her hair, which had turned a light pink to signify her mortification at being caught in the midst of an altercation.
"I'll just leave you two to it then," Aspen said, carrying the whole conversation by herself as the others failed to reply. Instead, they stared blankly ahead at her, clearly wishing she would leave faster. "Shall I shut the door?"
She didn't wait for an answer, quickly slamming it behind her. Suddenly she was thankful for the sound of The Weird Sisters blaring over the radio in the corner, because it took away the attention from the dramatics in the kitchen. Still, unwilling for the mood to be ruined, she quickly grabbed herself a bottle of Butterbeer and dove off towards some conversation. Bill and Fleur, who were on the couch with Arthur, seemed like a good distraction, and inserted herself there, forcing Tonks and Remus from her mind for the time being. That would be a discussion to have with her friend another day.
TIME FLEW away from them, and before Aspen knew it, it was gone midnight. Mr and Mrs Weasly had bid them goodnight, the latter planting a big kiss on everyone's cheek - bar Fleur's, of course - before she left. Remus had followed shortly, thanking Aspen personally for the invite but looking less than pleased, presumably as a result of the argument he'd had with Tonks earlier. That left the younger generations, who undoubtedly were the only ones left with any excitement towards a party in them.
Aspen, who was desperately trying to avoid succumbing to her exhaustion, was curled up on the sofa, tucked under Fred's arm, much to George and Lee's disgust. In her hand, she cradled a glass of the pesky white wine that had caused her awkward encounter earlier, and she sipped at it often, enjoying the way it coated her tongue. After all, it gave her something to do as she tuned in occasionally to the three boys' discussion about Quidditch, a topic in which she had almost no clue about.
After more than ten minutes of chatter solely about the Montrose Magpies' new Keeper, Aspen finally gave in to her boredom and reluctantly detached herself from Fred's cosy embrace. Although he shot her a pouty glance, he seemed to forget about it as George mentioned the latest game between the Magpies and the Appleby Arrows, which even seemed to have procured Bill's attention from across the room as he came bumbling over immediately.
In the corner, Verity, Ginny and Alessia were stuck in what seemed a rather forlorn converstion with Tonks and Fleur. Verity seemed to have taken to grunting along vague responses, more interested in the state of her nail polish. The two younger girls, who were even less interested in Tonks' heartache, were glancing over at the boys every few seconds, clearly desperate for an escape. They were quickly granted it in the form of Aspen, who headed over and politely suggested this was a chat for the older of the bunch. Shooting her a grateful grin, Ginny and Alessia nodded in agreement before dashing over to the couch to shove in their two cents about the seemingly wicked Quidditch match. Verity looked over at the group by the couch, and Aspen watched as her gaze lingered on George before returning to her fingertips wistfully.
"What's going on? What'd he say?" Aspen demanded as she sat, her back to the boys as she faced the other girls.
Fleur caught her eye, raising her eyebrows as if it were some secret girl code Aspen should have understood. Tonks was too busy moping to notice, her hair back to its miserable mousy brown again. Fleur rubbed her back soothingly, and Aspen withheld a giggle, noting that if Tonks were feeling herself, she'd have practically bitten her hand off for being overbearing and touchy.
"Just his usual spiel," Tonks said bitterly, her words a venomous bite puncturing the air. "Oh, you're too young. You deserve better! I'll do nothing but endanger you. It's bullshit!"
"He is not worth it," Fleur insisted, looking disgruntled at Remus' rejection. "If he does not love you for you!"
"It's not like that. It's not a stupid crush like when we were at school," Tonks retorted, shaking her head defiantly. Aspen had noticed she'd torn herself away from Fleur's hand on her back, clearly not comforted by the gesture in the slightest.
"She loves him," Aspen said softly, and Tonks looks grateful for the subtle intervention. "Nothing can stop love, even if you really try. It moves through your bones and settles there forever. It's inevitable."
Aspen realised then she'd gotten ahead of herself. Still, she was pleased to see the attention was not entirely on her, as Fleur had latched onto Bill, staring dreamily at him from across the room. Verity had lifted her gaze upwards again, scanning the room for a certain redhead that Aspen was sure she was more than just fond of. Tonks was staring down into her lap, blinking away a frustrated tear or two as she fiddled with the ring on her finger. Aspen reached out across the dining table and squeezed her hand, feeling nothing but distraught for her. After all, she didn't know what she would do if her love was unrequited now that she had found it.
Being around Fred was an unstoppable force. There was nothing that could stop the overwhelming adoration she felt every time she saw the cheeky smile on his face, or the way he held her as they fell asleep, wrapped in each other's arms. Fred Weasley was the personification of an emotion she'd never truly felt before, not like this. She'd read about it in books, seen it in movies, but it was something entirely different in real life. It was a raw, genuine feeling that kept her up at night, flowing through her like shocking electric currents of glee.
Desiring one person so much seemed bizarre, but it was the nature of life. Fred was her soulmate, Bill was Fleur's, and sadly, Remus was Tonks'. If only he would care to realise before it was too late.