Chapter sixty four
Zophia's Birthday
Goldie's POV:
Today was Zophia's birthday. Alta and Yelena were planning a small party with close friends and family. My father and Alta's mother would be in attendance. Along with Molly and Arthur. Zophia rushed into the kitchen and Alta said "what would you like for breakfast?" "Chocolate chip pancakes?" Zophia asked. Alta smiled at her and said "of course." I stood next to Alta and said "so, who's taking her off somewhere while we do decorations?" Alta clicked her tongue and said "haven't figured that out yet." "I could or maybe the twins could." Yelena offered. "The twins would probably tell her the big secret." Alta said. I brought my cup of tea to my lips and said "awe, you think?" "You know how Fred and George are." "What if my dad took her somewhere. He could take her to the muggle world or something." "Yes." Alta and Yelena said at the same time. I turned around to face Zophia who was sitting at the table. "Zophia, you're going to go off with my dad today. He's going to take you on an adventure for your birthday. And put on your best dress ok?" "The one Alta got me?" I nodded. She then went off to her bedroom, happy as can be. "We can all decorate while she's out and Goldie can bake the cake." Yelena said. "My mom is probably going to go nuts on the decorations. Be prepared." Alta said as she plated Zophia's pancakes. "Everyone did get her presents, right?" Alta and I looked at Yelena with a "are you serious?" look. "Of course." Alta and I said in unison. Zophia came back out and sat down at the table, having her pancakes. "Happy birthday!" Maisie said as she stepped inside the flat with my father. "Dad!" I said excitedly, going to hug him. My father hugged me tightly and said "Goldie, I've missed you. Last time I saw you, you were so sick." "I know. I'm sorry about that. I've been dealing with work and helping Alta with Zophia." I pulled away from my dad to look up at him. "I know that boyfriend of yours keeps your hands full." I shook my head at him and said "dad." "How's he treating you these days?" Dad asked. "He's been treating me very well. He's taking good care of me. In fact, he helped me pay my rent this month." I said as I led him into the living room. Dad frowned and said "Goldie, I could've helped with that." "I needed wizard money. Which you don't have." Dad sighed. "Sometimes I wish I was the wizard and you're mom was the muggle. She got the witch powers on her side of the family and I got stuck with being a human." I leaned my head on my dad's shoulder. "You're still the best dad/mom ever. You raised me so you had to be my mom too. You helped me with all my womanly issues." "I tried. I had to research that stuff. I felt so weird." "You did an amazing job." "Very much so. I'm proud of the woman you've become." I hugged him again and Maisie was standing next to Zophia, telling her about how much fun she'd have today. "Could you take Zophia out today?" Dad looked at me and said "it's her birthday. Why's she spending it with me?" "Well, we want to decorate the flat and get all her presents set up. But she needs to be gone for us to do that. Take her sightseeing in London. Take her to the zoo. Do something you'd do with me." Dad nodded and said "ok. I think I can figure something out. But, how do I get back here?" I bit my lip and said "take Arthur." "Arthur?" "Fred and George's dad." "Yes! Arthur! He's so much fun." Dad said. I smiled and said "then it's set." Alta told Zophia that she'd go and have a day with my dad and Arthur. She was super super excited and then a frown appeared on her face. "What about Fred and George?" "The twins will be here waiting for you when you get home. They told me they have lots of presents for you." She looked at me and said "really?" I nodded and once she was finished with her breakfast, she left with my dad and Arthur. Molly and Arthur had showed up right as we had told her the announcement. Once Zophia was gone, the decorations started. Molly looked around and said "where are my boys?" I looked at the clock and said "late. They were supposed to be here ten minutes ago." "I'm always fashionably late, love." Fred said as he walked in with George. I smiled at him and walked over, giving him a kiss. "Can someone take the presents?" George said. I looked at him and said "oh, Fred you made George carry all the presents? That's so rude." George pouted and said "yeah. That's really rude, Fred." "Shut up." Fred retorted. "He's so mean to me, Dee Dee." I patted George's chest and said "that's ok cause you have me." Fred grumbled to himself and I told everyone I was going to go change. "Freddie! Georgie!" Molly said to her sons. I walked down the hall and into my room, changing into a sweater with a skirt. I shook out my curly hair and looked at myself in the mirror, making sure I looked presentable. I walked to the kitchen and looked over the cake I was going to bake. I hummed softly to myself as I grabbed ingredients. Then Fred popped up on the side of me. I gasped and started hitting his arm. Fred grabbed me by my waist and started kissing my cheek. "You're mean." I said. Fred gasped playfully and said "mean?" I nodded and Molly said "what's for dinner?" "Pizza probably. Zophia doesn't get to eat it much. We almost always cook for her." Yelena replied. "Pizza? Well, it's her birthday. I could make her dinner but if she wants pizza." Molly said with a shrug. "I'm giving Zophia yellow and purple icing." I told Fred and George who had just come over to stand next to me. "Purple? It's my favorite color." I smiled up at George and said "awe, really?" He nodded with a sheepish smile. "Her cake is going to be lemon and strawberry. Half and half." "I'm assuming the lemon will be yellow icing and the strawberry will be purple?" "Yep." "Why not red icing?" Fred said. I looked at him and said "I want to do something different. And I know Zophia likes purple." "Can we help?" The twins asked in unison. I nodded and said "sure." Maisie put on some music and sung as she decorated the house, using her wand to make pastel blue streamers go everywhere. "Baby blue is perfect." Yelena nodded in agreement to Maisie's comment and helped her with the decorations. "Presents can go here." Alta was clearing a spot in the corner for the gifts. I knew the twins most likely spoiled Zophia and got her a couple of gifts. I cracked some eggs into a bowl and George handed Fred the flour. Fred put the precise amount into the bowl but went to throw a handful of it at George. I gasped as the white powder now covered George's chest. "Hey!" He said as he looked at his brother who laughed. George reached into the jar of flour and threw some directly at Fred's face. I was in between them so it was getting all over me and in my hair. "Gross, it's in my mouth!" Fred complained. "It's getting all over me." I said to the two of them. "Knock it off." Molly pointed a finger at her sons and I heard them use a cleaning spell on one another. George then did the cleaning spell on me. "I would've done that." Fred grumbled. "You started it, I'll finish it." George replied. "Why don't you guys go and help with decorations?" Fred shrugged and then nodded. George put his hands in his pockets and said "sorry, Dee Dee." "It's totally fine." I reassured him. "You're boyfriend's a git." I giggled softly and he walked away, the two of them going over to help Molly. I decided that Zophia's cake would be big. I also wanted to make it a tier cake. I sighed and knew I'd have my work cut out for me but I'd have magic to help. I swayed my hips to the beat, humming the song. It was music from the sixties. I knew the majority of the songs since my dad had always listened to that kind of music. I poured the cake batter into the pan and then started on the other tiers. Fred leaned on the counter next to me and said "you look really..." I didn't pay much attention to him as I was working on the batter for the cake. "Gross." He said softly. My eyes widened and I looked at him. "No! Not you! You're not gross! George was making obscene hand gestures at us! You could never be gross! Ever!" Fred's cheeks started to turn red and he nervously ran a hand through his hair. "Y-you could never be gross! You're the most beautiful person I've ever laid my eyes on. You're my golden angel." Fred was absolutely flustered. I smiled and patted his chest. His breath quivered and he said "you're not gross." "I know, Freddie. You're quite cute when you're flustered." Fred chuckled and his cheeks became a deeper shade of red. I stood on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek. I then kissed his lips sweetly, Fred's hands going to my hips. "Sorry, darling. I didn't mean you were gross. Please know that." I cupped his cheek and said "of course I know that. I know you meant well, Freddie." Fred half smiled and buried his face into the crook of my neck to hide his blush that hadn't gone away. I giggled and said "oh, Fred. You're absolutely adorable!" "Shut up." He mumbled into my neck. I pulled away and said "now, would you like to help me with the cake?" He nodded and the two of us started on the cake. "Still flustered, Fred?" George teased as he walked by. "Piss off, George." George frowned playfully and then giggled as he used his wand to hang up a baby blue streamer. Fred scratched the back of his head and watched me hand him an ingredient. I gave him and instructions and he followed them. I wrapped my arms around his waist and he held me with one arm as he stirred the cake batter. Fred clicked his tongue and said "you're too good to me, baby." I smiled as I looked up at him. "You're even better for me. You're everything." Fred held me tighter and said "I love you." "I love you too." I removed myself from him and said "ok, I need to get this cake baked. So, sit here and keep me company." Fred smiled and leaned against the counter, watching me work. I used my wand to have the cake bake perfectly and once it was finished I'd tier it. I was glad I had magic to help me because there was no way I'd be able to do this by myself. I'd most likely end up like Fauna in Sleeping Beauty, struggling to bake the cake until she had her magic. I was somewhat good at baking but a tiered cake was something I hadn't done. "You'll have to introduce me to this muggle music." Fred said. I turned to him and said "do you like what you're hearing?" "It's cute. Whatever it is." Sixties love songs continued to play into the flat. "Who sings this one?" "The Beatles." Fred furrowed his eyebrows and said "the Beatles?" "They were a band back in the sixties. They're from Liverpool. And girls went nuts over them." I started the icing on the cake and Fred said "I like their sound." "I could always get you some cd's. And a CD player." "My dad brought one of those home one day. Me and George usually use the radio on it and those tapes." "Well, I'll get you some Beatles albums." "Cool." I smiled and heard Maisie squeal at the decorations. She was very proud of herself. "They should be back in half an hour so let's make sure everything is getting finished." Molly said. I used my wand to complete the cake. "It looks really good." George said. "Thank you." I replied. Yelena called the pizza place and then went to go and pick it up. I got Zophia's gifts and set them with the twins'. "What'd you get her?" Fred asked. I turned to look at him. "You'll see." Alta put her and Yelena's gifts in the corner and Maisie put about 3-4 gifts down. Zophia was definitely getting spoiled by Maisie and the twins. Molly set down her gift and sighed. "Oh, I do hope she'll like it." "Of course she will. She can't get enough of your sons." I told her. Molly looked at the twins who were currently trying to prank Yelena, who was very annoyed. Yelena carried the pizza and the twins both tried to take a piece. "Hey!" Yelena warned. George's eyes were wide and Fred was frozen in place. Molly narrowed her eyes at them and George adjusted his tie, taking a step away from the pizza boxes. Fred followed suit. "I'm sure she wishes she had a sibling." Molly frowned and I said "she has Fred and George. I consider her my niece since Alta is like a sister to me. But, she looks up to the twins. And loves your family very much." Molly smiled and said "I'm glad." Arthur, Zophia, and my dad then came into the flat. Zophia was currently carrying all kinds of stuff from the zoo. She had a sweatshirt on that was way too big and was carrying two plushies and a souvenir cup in the other. "Alta! Yelena! I went to the zoo! Grady took me to the zoo! Look at all the stuff I got!" She was so caught up with her things from the zoo, she didn't notice any of the decorations. "That's awesome, baby. Go set all your things down in your room and I'll look at them later. We've been waiting for you." Alta told her as she kissed Zophia's cheek. Zophia went down the hall and my father was carrying a large panda bear plush. The twins started sniggering and I took it from him. "You definitely spoiled her." I said as I shook my head. "She reminded me of you. And I had to spoil her. She's adorable." Dad said. I carried the plush to her room and she pulled off her sweatshirt. "Why'd you get it so big?" I asked. "So I can grow into it and have it longer." She said in a matter of fact tone. Fred chuckled from the doorway and said "very smart." Zophia flipped her hair and said "I thought so too." "Why don't you come out here and see what all we've got for you, yeah?" Zophia nodded and I watched Zophia take his hand as they walked down the hall. "You hungry?" "Uh-huh." Zophia answered. "Happy birthday!!" Maisie said as she smiled really big. Zophia gasped and noticed all the decorations. "You decorated?" Zophia asked in disbelief. "Of course." "And you got pizza?!" Everyone laughed at her comment and then she noticed the presents. "Whoa." "We did a good job, eh?" Fred kissed her cheek and she giggled. "We figured you'd want a lot. A girl like yourself deserves presents." George added as he kissed her other cheek. Zophia's giggles got louder and then she noticed the cake. She gasped once again. "My cake! Who made my cake?" "Me." I said. Zophia pushed past the twins to get to me. "I love it." "You haven't even tried it yet." "It doesn't matter. I know it'll be good." "And why's that?" "Because you made it." I smiled and Maisie started to pass out pizza to everyone. Fred pulled me over to where he stood and I furrowed my eyebrows. He cupped my cheek and kissed my lips. I sighed again this lips and then pulled away. "What was that for?" I asked. "Needed a kiss." I shook my head at him and went to sit down so I could eat my pizza. "Oh, I could eat this for the rest of my life." George moaned as he leaned back against his chair. Zophia giggled at him and Fred said "I think I could too." "It's not good to eat every day. That's why Yelena never lets me have it. But every once in a while, she let's me." Zophia said as she bit into her pizza. I had three pieces and was beginning to feel full. Fred patted my stomach and said "did you save room for cake?" "I did." I stood up and Zophia said "can I have cake?" I nodded and said "strawberry or lemon?" "Both!" Everyone laughed at her and I went to cut her a piece of each cake. "Can I have lemon?" Fred's arms snaked around my waist and I leaned against him. "Sure." He kissed my cheek and said "which one are you going to have?" "Which one do you think?" "Strawberry." I nodded and went to detach myself from him and his arms tightened around me. "Fred." I pushed on his arms and he said "let me hold you for a little bit longer, love." I sighed and Fred kissed my neck. "You smell good." "So do you." I turned my head to kiss his lips and Zophia said "I knew you guys were in here snogging." Fred buried his face in my neck and I said "here's your cake." I handed the plate to her and she said "and we can open presents? While we eat cake?" I nodded and said "of course we can." I removed myself from Fred and started cutting everyone a slice of cake. George, my dad, Molly, Alta and I had strawberry cake. While Fred, Maisie, Arthur and Yelena had lemon cake. "Who's gifts should I open first?" Zophia looked at the pile of gifts. "Whoever you want." Alta told her. Zophia decided on the twins' gifts first. She grabbed the large boxes and set them in front of her. She took off the large bow and started pulling things out of the first box. The majority of it was things from their shop which she was going nuts about. The second box was items that were not on the shelves yet. "I get these before anyone else?!" Zophia exclaimed. Fred nodded and said "only the best for you." "Plus, we need someone to review them all. Why not you?" George added. Zophia was in disbelief at the brand new pranking items she had. The last box was full of candy from Honeydukes. Yelena rolled her eyes and said "nice." "Everyone loves candy." The twins said in unison. Zophia then went to open Maisie's gifts. Maisie had gotten her lots of clothes and a few spell books. "Mum." Alta said as Zophia flipped through the pages of one of them. "She goes to Hogwarts next year. She needs to be prepared. And I'm her grandmother who's very powerful. She should be the same." Maisie replied while flipping her hair. Yelena awaited for Zophia to open her and Alta's gift. It was one of the last gifts to be placed when we were waiting on Zophia to return. A loud squeal left Zophia's lips when she opened it. "A cat! My own cat!" I smiled at her and my cat, Poppy, came over to investigate her new friend. "What're you going to name him?" George said. Zophia looked at the orange tabby cat in her lap and said "I'll have to think about it. Not sure yet." George chuckled and she opened Molly's gift, which was a scarf. Zophia was ecstatic to have it. "I have my own Weasley scarf." The Weasley's in the room smiled at her. "Of course. You're around my sons constantly." Zophia smiled at Molly and Arthur. My gifts were the last ones to open. I had gotten her a makeup kit just so she could practice. She gasped at the second gift. "Goldie..." "I got you a locket since you loved mine so much. And you can put any picture you want inside. Anything you want." "Wow. Thank you." Fred pulled me closer to him and kissed my cheek. "That's really cute." He whispered. "She loves my locket. All she'd do is ask to see the picture of us inside when we weren't together." "And now she has her own." I nodded and Zophia thanked everyone profusely for her gifts and how much fun she had. She then demanded the twins eat a bunch of candy with her. They happily obliged. Zophia was hyped up on, excitement, cake, and candy. The twins loved how hyper she was being. Yelena wasn't too happy but was happy Zophia was happy. The party began to wind down and even though Zophia was eleven years old, she was still carried to bed. Alta took her to bed and my dad and Maisie went to leave. I hugged my dad goodbye and Maisie awaited for Alta to return. Fred stepped up to shake my father's hand and my dad pulled him in for a hug. Fred was taken aback but hugged him. "Thank you for taking such good care of her." Dad said. I smiled at the two of them and Fred said "of course, Mr. March." "You can call me, Grady. I think you're earning of it." Fred chuckled in disbelief as he pulled away. He nodded at him and George stepped forward. "Sir." He went to shake his hand and my dad pulled the younger twin in for a hug. My heart swelled and dad said "I have to thank you as well, George. I never thanked you for the dementor." George pulled away and said "of course. She's my best friend." Dad nodded at the twins and Maisie had just got finished saying goodbye to Alta and Yelena. The two of them left and Molly and Arthur did the same, not before saying goodbye to their sons. George exhaled and said "I ate way too much candy." Fred nodded in response and said "so did I, now that I think about it." "You two should probably go sleep that stomach ache off." George held his stomach and Fred wrapped his arms around me, my back to his chest. "Want me to stay here or do you want to come to mine?" He asked into my neck. "I think yours." I replied. "Wanna change before we go?" "I'll grab something. I'll be back." I went to my room and grabbed some clothes and then went back to the living room. "I'll be back in the morning." I told Alta who nodded at me. The twins and I apparated, heading back to their flat. The three of us were pretty exhausted from the day we had today. George bid Fred and I goodnight and retreated to his room. I decided to make myself a cup of tea so I'd sleep a bit better. Fred watched my every move, even though he was super tired. His eyes would flutter closed as he leaned against the counter. I smiled to myself and walked over to him, patting his chest. He jumped and I said "you're falling asleep." He yawned and said "I'm so bloody tired." "I know. You don't have to wait for me." "But, I want to. You're almost done, aren't you?" "Yes. The tea is finished. Come on." I led him to his bedroom and he plopped down onto his bed. He laid on his back and sighed deeply. "You can't sleep in a suit and tie." I told him as I went to loosen his tie. Fred allowed me to do so and he lazily took off his shirt and pants, discarding them to the floor. I changed into my sleepwear and sipped on my tea as I read a book. Fred laid in my lap and immediately fell asleep. I held my book with one hand and ran my fingers through his hair with the other. With everything that was going on in the news, it honestly scared me. Voldemort had indeed returned and that terrified me. I finished my tea and set the cup on the nightstand. I set my book down and turned out the light. I managed to lay down even though Fred was in my lap. Fred moved to my chest and he kissed my neck sleepily. "It's about time you turned out that bloody light." Fred mumbled. I chuckled softly and kissed his forehead, closing my eyes and allowing sleep to take over my body.

I meant to have this up sooner but I got carried away and the chapter is long
~skylar✨✨✨✨