An Unknown World || george weasley

Chapter Four - Birthday Boy

May the 31st fell on a Friday that year. It was his 18th birthday today but all he could think about was the fact that he was to depart for summer school tomorrow. His parents never bought him gifts that he truly liked but instead got him a new suit. He knew that he would never wear it but thanked them out of politeness. Antoinette gave Edwin some watercolour paints in private, away from his parents, it seemed like she knew him better than his parents did, he thanked her sincerely and went straight to his room to try them out. His room was almost bare now as he had packed everything for summer school, he didn't own many belongings, about two trunks full, if that. He didn't want to pack most of the things his parents had gifted him over the years and his new suit was now added to the pile of things he would not even consider taking.

He spent his day talking to family members he barely knew as they were all invited over for a celebration meal. After an exhausting day of socialising, he returned to his bedroom for the night and started to open the cards he had received during the family gathering. He put up his cards on the shelves so his walls looked a little less bare for the night, and put all the money from inside his cards into his wallet. He had enough to buy himself some new vinyl, books, and new clothes with some left over to save.

He lay on his bed, reading Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, this was his third time reading the textbook in a month, he was obsessed with learning about the magical creatures, he had a few favourites, they were mainly dragons with a few exceptions. He loved the Matagot, even though they were native to France so doubt that he would be able to see any in London. He also loved the look of the Zouwu, a gigantic, elephant-sized cat-like creature, native to China. He found them a lot more interesting than the Muggle world creatures and found it unfair.

As he turned the page he heard a loud BANG which startled him and soon followed a "SURPRISE!" He was ecstatic to see the two familiar redheads back again in his bedroom.

"Happy Birthday Mate!" said Fred as he handed over a small, badly-wrapped gift. He opened it to find a selection of magical sweets.

He looked in awe as he rummaged through the box, "thank you so much, Fred, this is amazing!" He pulled out a purple box and on the package, it read 'Chocolate Frog'. "I- Uh- love it and all but a chocolate frog? Am I supposed to eat this?"

The twins laughed and Fred replied, "Of course you are! What else are you supposed to do with chocolate?!" Edwin slowly opened the box, he could feel something moving inside... but surely it wasn't alive, he thought. He squealed a little as the frog burst out at the opening, jumping away before Fred managed to catch it. "Here! Now bite it before he goes again!" Both Fred and George had massive smiles on their faces, he could tell that his reactions to the magical food were amusing to them. He slowly bit into the frog, he felt wrong for doing so, it didn't seem right, but after chewing he realised that it really was just chocolate.

"You can open mine now!" George said, nudging Fred out of the way a little. He handed over a neatly wrapped box, complete with a ribbon, from George and proceeded to open it.

"This one won't jump away will it?" Edwin joked.

"No, no! Just opened it!" George's eyes sparkled with excitement. Edwin opened the box to reveal a golden wristwatch.

"George I-"

"It's a year late but I thought you would appreciate it!" He smiled at the boy, "When wizards come of age, at 17, it is traditional to be gifted a watch. Obviously, you're not a wizard but we can see how much the magical world fascinates you and thought it would be a great gift." George was still smiling but was also now slightly red in the cheeks.

"Muggles come of age at 18!" Edwin claimed. He hoped that they would appreciate his use of wizarding vocabulary.

"What have you lot got to come of age for?" Fred said with a confused look on his face.

"Wait... what are you guys talking about?" Edwin said he started to get flustered.

"We're talking about when it's legal for wizards to use magic outside of school! You keep your dirty mind to yourself, Mister!" Fred said as he patted Edwin on the back and they all began to laugh.

Although Edwin was slightly embarrassed at the misunderstanding, he felt comfortable with the boys and he was glad that they found it funny. It was likely that they would tease him about it but he didn't really mind, he was just happy to be in their company. Edwin didn't have any friends other than the twins as he had been homeschooled for as long as he can remember.

"How did you two know that it was my birthday anyway?"

"Well, we did pop in earlier, but the room was empty apart from a card from your parents," George explained.

"Yeah, it was a bit embarrassing shouting SURPRISE at nothing! We left quickly after we saw the card to get you presents from us."

"Why are you packed up, anyway?"

Edwin sighed and looked at the pair, "My bloody parents are sending me to a summer school." He slumped back on to his bed and the twins did the same, one on either side of him.

"I thought you guys came of age at 18?" said Fred.

A puzzled Edwin and George looked at him, and both said, "Meaning?"

"Meaning that you can do whatever you want? Right?" Fred said looking at them as if the solution was staring them right in the face. In a way, it kind of was.

But Edwin gazed back, still confused.

"C'mon mate, you can stay with us!" he said jumping up off of the bed.

Edwin pondered on the thought, he really did love visiting the flat last time he went and it meant that he wouldn't have to see his parents for a while. His parents... how on Earth would they react? Their son has run away with two men neither of them had ever met before... Would they even care?

He stood up from his bed and began to walk around the room, the twins followed him up and down and up and down. The silence was tense and Edwin had finally come to his decision. "I know what I want to do." He said, stopping in his tracks and the twins almost bumped into him.

"Go on, tell us!" the twins almost yelled with an eager look on their faces.

But Edwin said nothing. He walked over to his desk and got out a piece of paper and began to write, he folded up the letter and placed it into an envelope.

"I accept your offer," he said, finally cracking a smile. The boys began to cheer and jump around, "BUT- George can't be staying on the sofa the whole time!"

"Ahh, so you want to be roommates?" Fred winked and smirked at Edwin. "Got it, got it! If you need me out of the way, just let me kno-OWW! What was that for?" his face was now in a fake pout, he knew exactly what he was doing and why both Edwin and George had punched him on an arm each.

"We'll sort it out once we get to the flat, you all packed Eddie?" George said, smiling down at the shorter of the three.

He could feel that his cheeks were a lot warmer than usual and his stomach seemed to be full of butterflies fighting to get out as a strip of lighting from outside Edwin's window revealed that George was looking rosy-cheeked too.

"Uh-Y-Yeah" he managed to choke out. He took one last glance around at his bedroom, he had spent the past 18 years of his life in this room, although he enjoyed being in it, it didn't bring the best memories. Maybe it really was time for a change. "I'm ready!" He smiled at the boys.

"You lovebirds make me sick", Fred teased and got a kick in the leg from George in return. They picked up a trunk of Edwin's each and clung onto Edwin's elbow with their free hands. "Hold on tight, Edwin! We do not want to be messing this up!"

With a whoosh of wind and a BANG, the three boys and their possessions had vanished from Edwin Scally's bedroom for the last time.