Heart of Gold, Heart of Stone (Post-War)

Chapter Sixteen

Athenadora knew that George wasn't going to talk to her for a while, but at the same time, she really didn't care. He had angered her as well, and she was going to allow him to be petty. He would eventually see that he was wrong, or that he needed to get over himself, and Athenadora would forgive him once he apologized.

Athenadora had a feeling that George most likely told his whole family about the scene he had encountered. She knew he would, but this angered her because soon it would be Christmas, and he could potentially mess up the children's Christmas celebration. Athenadora wouldn't deal with all the rude insults from Mrs. Weasley or the others during Christmas, even if they tried to pretend to be nice when the kids were around.

While George had given her silent treatment, Athenadora simply hung out with Draco and went on with her day to day life. She didn't go back to the joke shop for work, instead she went and got herself a job at a local shop so she could still make some money. If George wanted to ignore her, she really was going to make it easier for him.

Every other day, Draco would come over for dinner, and the kids were always so excited to see him. Athenadora loved seeing how happy the kids were to see Draco, and he was always so kind and careful with them. He seemed to love them as much as they loved him, and she couldn't be happier with the thought.

She and Draco were still taking things slow, making sure their relationship didn't go further than kissing. Neither of them wanted to move too fast, since they didn't want to rush and ruin their relationship. They had to think about the two kids in the relationship, which was one of the major reasons they had moved so slow in their relationship.

Though they were moving slow, their feelings weren't as slow. Barely a week after the incident with George, Draco had admitted to Athenadora that he loved her. It was rather cute, they had been sitting together and reading, when Draco tightened his grip on her, kissed the top of her head, and told her that he loved her.

"I love you."

Those words were something Athenadora never grew tired of hearing. Draco had told her almost immediately that she didn't have to say it back if she wasn't ready, but she was. She did love him, and she knew for sure that she did. So, almost immediately after he told her that he loved her, she said it back. Still, after saying I love you, the two didn't go further than kissing.

After saying the magic words, Draco and Athenadora seemed even closer than before. Honestly, to people that didn't know Athenadora or Draco-mostly muggles-the two looked like a happily married couple. They looked like a happily married couple with two young children; their own perfect little family. It was something some people were actually jealous of.

A few times since George's freak out, the kids asked about him, but Athenadora tried to keep them oblivious of the subject. When Teddy had asked about George's yelling later after he had calmed down, Athenadora told him that George was simply having a bad day, and he'll feel better soon. She didn't want her kids to think less of George, mostly because George really did have some issues since Fred passed, and he wasn't the best with his emotions. He wasn't before Fred passed, but after Fred passed, it seemed to get worse.

After George's freak out, Draco and Athenadora agreed that it was probably best to not go around others for a while. He wanted to soon bring her to meet his mother, but he knew she'd be nervous after the way George reacted. He also wanted her to meet Theo properly, since she only ever seen him in passing when she was in Hogwarts.

Draco knew that Theo was a different person since then, but he also knew that Athenadora just wanted time to relax after the emotions she went through because of George. Honestly, it made Draco wonder if Athenadora missed Hogwarts, back when Fred was alive, and things were easier for her.

Truth be told though, Athenadora didn't miss Hogwarts, she did miss Fred, but that was something that would always happen. She loved Draco though, and she wouldn't wish to forget him or forget their time together, even if that meant she could possibly get Fred back. Fred was gone, and she moved on, but nobody else seemed to. They expected her to be sad forever, and that was something she and her children didn't need to go through for the rest of their lives.

The atmosphere in her home seemed to be a lot better after she started becoming happy again. Things weren't so hard to accomplish, and she could smile again without it being forced. Her children were even thriving more now that she was happy all the time, and they seemed to be happier as well. It was kind of disgusting that most of the Weasley family wanted her to still be sad.

Bill and Charlie seemed to stay out of it all. They didn't want to force her to be happy or be sad. They knew she always would miss Fred, as would her children, even if they didn't really know him. The two oldest Weasley brothers were the only ones that seemed to understand that Athenadora truly needed to be able to do things her own way to get through her life.

She wasn't able to see the two Weasleys often, since they were always busy, but they wrote to her when they had the chance. The rest of the Weasleys, and their extended family, really didn't talk to her as much. She didn't mind, since this meant she could actually pull herself and her kids out of their lives if she truly needed to without anyone really seeing her do so...