A/N: New story! How exciting ;) Pretty different from most other things I've done…we'll see how it goes.

Chapter 8 for "Journey to Reality" is on the way!

Thanks to Rose Rovente for beta-reading this for me.

Disclaimer: The Weasley clan, Harry, Hermione, all those other wonderful people, and Ogden's Old Firewhisky belong to JK Rowling, not me. Although Cecily is mine ;)

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Hey Baby

Chapter 1:

The Affects of Ogden's Old Firewhisky

***

"Watch it—"

"Bloody hell, George, I know what I'm doing, after all these years, and I would appreciate it if—"

"Duck!"

A loud explosion accompanied by purple smoke erupted in the small room. Two identical faces emerged from under the table, both covered in blue tinged soot.

"Wicked," muttered George.

Fred laughed, standing up and grabbing the rag sitting on the table. "See, I told you I knew what I was doing!" he exclaimed, while at the same time unsuccessfully trying to rub the soot off his face with the soot-covered rag.

George's eyes sparkled. "Oh really? Is that why your eyes filled with horror as the beaker began bubbling over?"

Fred snorted, tossing the dirty rag over to his brother. "Oh, shove it."

George chuckled, eyeing the rag. "You know, we're going to have to get a bit more cleaned up than this." Glancing down at his watch, he added, "We should leave in about a half hour."

"Huh?" said Fred distractedly, trying to clean up the sticky goo covering their work table. "Where are we going?"

"You forgot, didn't you?" said George, an amused smile on his face.

"It looks that way." Fred gave up cleaning the mess on the table and covered it with a large tablecloth. "What am I forgetting?"

"Today's the 30th, Fred. The party?"

Realization slowly dawned on Fred's freckled face. "That's today?"

George smiled. "Yeah. Listen, I should go jump in the shower…could you put these canary creams in the display window?"

Fred muttered "Sure" as George hurried up the stairs. Picking up the canary creams, Fred ran a hand through his tousled hair. How could he have forgotten? The party was tonight. It always was tonight. "Stupid git," he muttered to himself.

Every year Mr. and Mrs. Weasley hosted a large End-of-Summer party at the Three Broomsticks. Every year. Ever since Bill had started attending Hogwarts. Fred could remember going to them as a young child. He and George always tried to cause as much mischief as possible. One year, they had been about five at the time, they succeeded in pouring a jug of gillywater into the punch bowl. Mrs. Weasley hadn't been too happy about that. Neither had the people drinking the punch.

The party had been fun once upon a time. All of the Weasleys' friends would be there, having a great time. Adults would get drunk, children would get to stay up past bedtimes. A grand time was had by all.

Of course, things had changed over time. Not that it wasn't exactly fun anymore. But to Fred, it also served as a painful reminder of all that had been lost. Cedric Diggory used to come to the party. And Dennis Creevey. And Lee Jordan. All friends. All gone.

Voldemort—Fred still had trouble even thinking the name—he had been defeated a year ago. At the end of Ron's seventh year. Fred still had nightmares about it. The whole Order of Phoenix had played a huge role in his downfall. Every single member had contributed something. Harry, of course, was instrumental in his defeat. But it had been Dumbledore who had ultimately done it. On the day of Ron's graduation.

Dumbledore had lifted the Apparating restrictions on the Hogwarts grounds just for the day, so out of town family could easily attend the graduation. Halfway through the ceremony, Voldemort, along with twenty of his trusted Death Eaters, entered the grounds. The fight that followed had been dreadful. The whole air had been filled with curses, explosions, cries of pain. Then suddenly there had been one heart-wrenching cry, and complete silence. It was if time were standing still. Not a noise could be heard. As smoke cleared, Fred had seen Voldemort's and Dumbledore's bodies, lying next to each other on the ground. Both dead. Voldemort had a look of hatred on his face; Dumbledore, a look of grim triumph.

As soon as they saw their leader's body crumpled on the ground, the Death Eaters had quickly Disapparated. Some were eventually captured. Some were not.

The death toll had been surprisingly low. Many assumed Voldemort had simply been trying to get at Harry. The deaths that had taken place still hurt, though. Fred could never forget looking down at Lee's surprised, vacant face.

Had that really been a year ago? It seemed like yesterday. How time had flown since their graduation. Besides joining in the fight against Voldemort, Fred and George had opened their own joke shop in Hogsmeade. Of course, before the Dark Lord's downfall they hadn't had much time to work on it. But now, it was blossoming into the store they had always dreamed of. They weren't making much money yet, but profits were slowly but surely increasing.

It was the perfect place for the store. The shop downstairs, with a back room for inventing and testing new products. The upstairs consisted of one small bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen. Yes, it was small, but what did two bachelors care? It worked for them.

And now, Ginny had graduated from Hogwarts, too. The whole Weasley clan had been through their own seven years at the school. Quite amazing, actually. And Mrs. Weasley still insisted on throwing that stupid, meaningless party. Every year she insisted the whole family be there. Prior commitments? Cancel them. Something came up? Too bad. Dragons rampaging the countryside in Romania? Well, something had better be done about it before August 30th. Fred shuddered to think what Mrs. Weasley would do if one of her children failed to show at the party…

Fred's musings were abruptly stopped as he turned into a large, yellow bird. After molting several feathers and a large squawk, he transformed back into his normal, red-haired self.

Fred looked down at the box of Canary Creams he had been filling the display with. "I've gotta pay more attention when I'm doing this."

*

"Oh moi Gawd, that can't be lil' Fred'rick Weasley, can it? Oh, look at 'im! Oi just wan' to bundle you up and take you home!"

Fred hoped that the terror didn't show in his eyes. Bravely, he plastered a small smile on his face. "Um, thanks, Mrs. Patil. No need for that though."

While Mrs. Patil was doubled over with mirth ("Oh my Gawd, he is jus' too funny!"), Fred beat a hasty retreat. He quickly found his twin sitting at the bar of the Three Broomsticks. "George," he said, an extremely solemn look on his face, "I am beginning to fear for my life here."

George laughed heartily. "Me, too, Forge. Some of Mom's friends get a little, uh…overly friendly at these parties." Fred was about to reply when he felt someone gently touch his back. Turning, he found a tired looking woman standing behind him. "Oh! Mrs. Jordan!"

Mrs. Jordan smiled at the two boys. Her smile seemed oddly strained. "Hello, boys," she said quietly. "Just thought I'd stop by and say hello." Her smile waned a little. "Lee always used to love these parties, you know."

George nodded, a wry grin on his face. "Yeah, I remember. He was the life of these parties, Mrs. J. Always was."

"Yeah," added Fred quietly. "Yeah…we do miss him."

Mrs. Jordan clasped both twins' hands. "I know, boys." Wiping briefly at her eyes, she said hoarsely, "Well, I should be going. Say hello to your mother for me, won't you?" The twins nodded as Mrs. Jordan wound her way back through the crowds.

George sighed heavily. "Damn it. I need a drink."

Fred nodded. "I'll second that."

"And I'll third it!" George turned and smiled, all sadness erased from his face. "Charlie! Join us for a Firewhisky?"

Charlie smiled, the same smile as the rest of his family. "How can I resist Ol' Ogden's?"

It didn't take long for Bill to also join the three brothers in a high-spirited drinking game. There didn't seem to be any particular rules. It was just fun to see who could guzzle down the most Firewhisky.

After several shots each, Ron and Harry came wandering over. "Ron!" shouted Bill, accidentally spraying Firewhisky over the table. "Join us, both of you!"

Harry glanced at Ron and shrugged his shoulders, smiling. "Why not?"

Ron glanced suspiciously around the room. "Don't see Hermione, do you?" he asked quietly.

Fred stifled a laugh and Charlie asked where Ron's leash was. Harry assured him that Hermione was nowhere in sight. "Good, then let's."

Harry and Ron sat down at the quickly crowding table, reaching for the open bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhiskey. Fred was just about to pour himself another shot when he heard a faint clunking sound behind him. Turning his head slightly, he smiled. "Join us, Perce?"

Percy gave a scowl. "Of course not! I have to go to work tomorrow, you know that. And the Ministry—"

"Yes, Percy, we all realize how important you are to the Ministry," said an exasperated Ron. "Not joining us, then?"

Percy gave an impatient snort and walked awkwardly away. Harry watched his retreating back. "Is that wooden leg the best they could do for him?" he asked quietly.

Bill shook his head. "'Fraid so. For now, at least. Those Death Eaters mangled up his leg pretty bad with some of those curses. St. Mungo's tried to save it, but…" he shrugged. "Poor Perce," he added softly.

"Yeah," agreed Fred quietly. "But he was luckier than some." A silence settled over the table, each person consumed in his own thoughts.

"Well, isn't this the lively bunch?"

Charlie's head jerked up and a broad smile quickly grew on his face. "Ginny, my darling baby sister! How are you?"

Ginny rolled her eyes but failed to hide the smile on her face. "Hey, Charlie."

George poured himself some more whiskey. "So, tell us Ginny, how's it feel to be completely done with your schooling?"

Ginny shrugged. "Honestly? It's kind of weird. I'm not quite sure what I should do now."

Bill raised an eyebrow. "Well, you've applied for some jobs, right?"

Ginny waved a hand impatiently through the air. "Of course, but—oh, Cecily! Let me introduce you. These are my brothers…" she went around the table, listing names. "And Harry," she added, blushing slightly when Harry smiled at her. "Guys," she continued, "this is Cecily Midgen. You remember her, don't you?"

Fred looked at the girl standing next to his little sister. There was nothing remarkable about her. Wavy coppery hair, fair skinned, average height. No, nothing special. Although he had to admit, he had never seen eyes quite so dark a blue.

"Sure!" exclaimed George, rudely butting into his thoughts. "Ravenclaw, right? Same year as us?" He elbowed Fred roughly.

The girl smiled. "Yeah. Think we had Potions together one year." George made a face and Cecily laughed.

"Wait a minute," said Ron, comprehension dawning on his face. "Cecily Midgen? As in Eloise Midgen?"

"Yes," said Cecily, raising an eyebrow. "You know my sister?"

"Well yeah I know her, she—ow!" Ron eyed Harry ruefully. "Uh—she was in the same year as us." Harry gave him an approving look.

"Well Gin, Cecily, join us in our game, won't you?" Charlie smiled charmingly at the two girls. They laughed and exchanged a look.

"Sure," said Ginny. "We're game."

*

One hour and two bottles of Ogden's Old Firewhisky later, the world was looking decidedly wonderful to Fred. Everyone really was nice. And how could he have not noticed the beautiful colors of the Three Broomsticks before? Great party, great place, great Firewhisky. Great party in general.

He peered at the girl sitting across the table from him. Who was this? Eloise? No, no, it was Cecily. Or was it Cecilia? Oh well, didn't really matter. All that mattered was that she was absolutely the most beautiful woman in the entire wizarding world. Hell, he'd go as far as saying in the entire wizarding universe. Deciding on the former of the two names, Fred stood clumsily and held his hand out to her.

"Cecily," he said, slurring just a bit, "Cecily, would you care to dance with me?"

Oh, and she had the most wonderful voice, too, the way her words ran together ever so slightly was just magic. "Why, yes, Fred, I would just love to," she said, giggling slightly.

The two of them eventually found their way to the middle of the dance floor, where they began swaying and throwing their arms around in time to the music. Suddenly, Fred heard a piercing screech from across the room.

"Ron Weasley! Didn't I tell you not to get drunk? How are you supposed to Apparate now?" Fred glanced across the room in time to see Ron feebly protesting in front of a pink-faced Hermione. Fred began to laugh, but hiccuped instead.

"Fred, won't you introduce me to your friend?"

Fred turned, getting a little off-balanced. "Mother! How splendid to see you!"

Mrs. Weasley took a short step back from her son, waving a hand under her nose. "Oh for Merlin's sake, Fred, how much did you drink?" Fred looked deeply offended. "Oh, never mind." Glancing at the giggling Cecily, Mrs. Weasley gave Fred a soft shove towards the door. "Why don't you and your friend go outside for a little while, Fred? I think it'd do both of you some good."

Fred beamed at her. "Splendid, Mother! Jolly good idea!" Offering his arm to Cecily, he added, "Shall we go, my dear?"

Cecily swayed a little but smiled and said, "Why, of course!"

Mrs. Weasley sighed as she watched the pair unsteadily make their way towards the door. Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to the party.

*

Fred and Cecily wandered haphazardly down the empty Hogsmeade streets, laughing uproariously at their own silly jokes.

"Ok, ok, I've got another one." Fred paused for dramatic emphasis. "What did the—no, hold on, that's not how it goes…oh, right, here it is. Why did the flobberworm cross the road?" He looked down at Cecily with a smug expression on his face.

"Hmm," Cecily stuck her tongue out of her mouth in her effort to think. She looked up at Fred. "A flobberworm, you say?"

Fred nodded solemnly. "Yes. A flobberworm."

Cecily went back to pondering the question. Finally, she looked up, a huge smile spread on her cheerful face. "No clue. Why?"

Fred beamed. "Because—because…" Fred dropped the finger he had been waving annoyingly around in the air. "Hmm. Can't seem to remember."

Cecily burst out into laughter. "Oh, that was a good one, Freg—oops, sorry, Fred." She smiled charmingly at him and punched him lightly on the arm. "Want to see me dance?"

Fred nodded wisely. "It would be the utmost pleasure."

Cecily straightened herself out, brushing invisible dust specks off of her robes. "Good. I thought it'd be."

With a very serious face, she placed her arms in front of her, did a half-spin and tripped, falling into Fred's arms. Fred started laughing as Cecily succumbed to a fit of giggles.

Suddenly Fred stopped laughing. He stared into the dark blue eyes inches away from his own warm brown ones. He grinned. "Hey, baby," he said in a swaggering sort of voice.

Cecily let out a short snigger. "Hey."

The alcoholic aromas drifting out of Cecily's mouth were too much for Fred. Leaning down slightly, he placed his lips on hers, locking her in a kiss. Releasing her suddenly, he stood up straight, still looking into her eyes. "Come back to my place?" he asked in a monotone voice.

Cecily smiled gently. "Of course."

Still smiling and giggling, they made their way back to the joke shop.

***