February of 1996

29

George had already left. Fred and Irena had changed and were ready to go. They arrived at Diagon Alley. They entered the baby store Irena went with Fleur weeks ago. When Fred entered, his eyes were wide. He couldn't believe the amount of baby products the store had. Irena intertwined her hand with his. They walked to the aisle that had cribs. There were so many to choose from. They had different styles and colors; some were big others were a bit smaller.

"Look I like this one," said Fred pointing at a small crib. "This one we can have at the Burrow that way the baby can sleep there. I can make room for it maybe by the sitting area or the kitchen."

"Wait, so we are buying two cribs," asked Irena, looking at Fred. That was going to be expensive. Fred was looking at another crib. "Yes, the small one we will leave with my mum and the bigger one we can have at the flat." He looked at Irena. "I don't trust just laying our baby on the sofa or in bed when George jr will take naps. What if the baby falls? This way in the crib will be safer. I'm sure."

She smiled; she loves how protective Fred has become. That's a new side of him she is seeing. "We haven't agreed on a name yet." "Tell that to George," said Fred, holding Irena's hand. "Why don't you tell him that?" "And crush my twin brother's heart by not having his first nephew or niece named after him. No thanks."

They continued looking around and found two cribs they liked. Irena still wasn't convinced about buying two. They also got a few more clothes for the baby. This time they got bigger clothes because the baby will obviously grow. The baby might be a giant just like Fred.

"Where would we put the small crib," asked Irena. "We can have it in the baby's room for now, and once the baby is here, we can take it to the Burrow."

Fred gasped and stopped walking, which made Irena stop bumping into him. "What is it," she asked. "Look, Rena is a baby broom." It was the Nimbus 2000 but a smaller version for children. He got the broom and looked at it with a spark in his eyes. "We are not getting our kid a broom."  "What, why not," Fred said, looking at Irena, his smile slowly dropping. "Because babies are fragile; they are too young to go on brooms. They can lose balance and fall." "Well obviously I won't let our child on the broom so young. And besides, I'll be by their side with my broom. If we practice from a young age, he or she would be the best beater from the Gryffindor team after George and I, of course."

She wanted to argue and tell him no. But she saw how excited he was. "Alright, fine, but you have to wait until they are 3, almost 4 or maybe-" He smiled brightly, "Im going to go pay for it." He quickly kissed her on the cheek and left to go pay for the broom before Irena could have the chance to change her mind.

Once they were done shopping, they got out of the store hand in hand. They went to Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour. They ordered their ice cream and took a seat. Irena was finishing her ice cream when Fred said, "you have some ice cream right there," he said, pointing at her face. "Where" she tried to clean it. "No, not there more to your left. Let me just help you." He got closer to her. He had his finger on her chin. They looked at each other. He leaned closer and kissed her on the lips. She closed her eyes and quickly kissed him back. Fred loved the way her soft lips felt on him. Fred's heart beat faster. The kiss they both share created pure happiness for Fred and Irena.