G7Y Un-betaed Part 2
The first half seems to be up as far as Molly and Arthur in bed, as usual. I almost did this as two chapters because it is a lot longer than what I usually write, so maybe that is something else I need advice about. Fingers crossed on formating.
The next morning during breakfast, Bee arrived at the Burrow with two notes. One was for Harry, the other for Molly and Arthur. Harry took his with a big smile as he excused himself to get ready for work. Molly gave Bee an owl treat and she flew outside and perched on the garden bench. Pie flew down from Harry’s room and joined her. Ron looked disappointed that no owl came for him. George looked a bit hung over. Molly opened Ginny’s letter and read it aloud.
Dear Mum, Dad, George, and Ron,
We arrived safely after a long train tide. Our Head Girl is a stickler for meetings and patrolling but I love her, anyway. I didn’t even get a chance to open the box that George gave me, but I will as soon as I get a moment to myself. Hermione says I can sleep in the Head Girl’s room if I want to but I think I want to get better acquainted with the second year Gryffindor Seventh Year girls. I was surprised that Lavender Brown came back because she had such a hard time recovering from that awful werewolf attacking her. She and Parvati Patil are best friends and they are rarely apart. Parvati’s twin sister, Padma, is a Ravenclaw but spends quite a lot of nights sleeping here. She always asks about George and wants me to tell him that she is thinking about him.
Professor McGonagall is a good Head, better than what we had last year. And thank goodness, the Carrows are gone. I think you know Sturgis Podmore, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. He survived being in Azkaban for six months so he has had some practical experience. Professor Phoebus Penrose has come out of retirement to teach Muggle Studies. He recognized my name and asked if I was ‘Arthur’s wee bairn’. It was so embarrassing.
I will write more when I get a chance. We have a great many new students since some of them were in hiding last year. Tell Ron that Hermione is still working on her tome to him.
Love, Ginny
‘So Sturgis and Professor Penrose are teaching at Hogwarts. They are both good wizards. Percy is always quoting
A Study into Muggle Suspicions About Magic,’ Arthur said, nodding his head.
Ron suddenly became interested. ‘Is he the one who says that Muggles think that Quaffles are from outer space?’
Arthur nodded. ‘More or less.’ He stood and kissed Molly and called up the stairs to Harry that it was time to leave. Harry appeared with a letter in his hand and went out to give it to Pie, who followed Bee as she flew north.
Molly was happy to see that Pig arrived almost immediately with an obviously shrunken letter for Ron. She gave him an owl treat and he fluttered into Errol’s old cage while Ron stuck his letter into the pocket of his magenta work robes. He and George left for the shop while Molly sat down to re-read the letter from Ginny and have a second cup of tea.
Before she started washing Ginny’s and Hermione’s sheets in the laundry cauldron, she went out into the garden and picked a bouquet of flowers for Fleur and used the Floo Connection to wish her well and deliver her birthday flowers.
‘Zhank you, Muzzer Weasley,’ Fleur responded as she took the bouquet. ‘You grow such beautiful flowers at ze Burrow. Eet is zo warm there. I will put zhem on ze table for dinner.’
‘Are you still feeling well? What does your midwife say?’’
‘Yes, ze bebe is growing. Ze midwife is ‘appy I do not ‘ave ze morning sickness.’
That evening when Arthur and Harry returned from the Ministry, Molly remembered that Harry had gone to see the small cottage that was next to the Tonks’ home the night before. “Did you like the little house that you looked at last night?
‘It’s not quite a house. It used to be a pony shed, but Ted Tonks added a small kitchen and bathroom. I think he and Andromeda thought that Tonks might want to live there sometime. A young couple leased it for a year last September, but they fled from Voldemort after they’d only lived there a month, so it’s been standing empty for eleven months. It’s really small but I’m inclined to move there when it is available on the first of October. Is it all right for me to live at the Burrow until then? I’ll need your advice about furnishing it when I am ready to move.’
Molly readily agreed to Harry staying, saying, ‘You are always welcome at the Burrow, son.’
*****
Even though it had been four months since Fred died and she tried to act normal when her family was around, Molly still felt very much at loose ends. Now that he was the Senior Advisor to the Minister for Magic, Arthur frequently had night meetings and occasionally accompanied Kingsley on overnight trips to foreign meetings. He always arranged for one of the boys to be at the Burrow when he was gone, but Molly missed his familiar warmth next to her in bed.
Her old friend Corinne was the only one who seemed to understand.
‘Amos doesn’t need to be gone overnight as many times now, but I remember how awful it was when he was in the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and had to check on werewolf hostels every full moon. I was a mess for at least a year after Ceddie…’ Corinne began to cry as Molly comforted her with a cup of tea.
‘Finally, I began volunteering at St Mungo’s in the newborn nursery every full moon. A surprising number of little witches and wizards are born at the full moon.’ Corrine smiled at Molly. ‘You and Arthur helped more than you know. I was also comforted by my talk with Harry. He was with Ceddie when he was killed and it helped that he said Ceddie didn’t suffer.’
‘I wonder if I should start volunteering somewhere? If Ginny becomes a Healer, I might go to St Mungo’s and be a Pink Witch,’ Molly thought aloud.
Corrine finished her tea and said, ‘Molly, you have a lot to give as a volunteer but we’d better get our practice in before it’s too late.’
Molly and Corrine went outside and dueled in the garden and scared a few Garden Gnomes.
*****
The conversation that she’d had with Corrine was much on Molly’s mind when she met Kate Wallace for lunch in Diagon Alley around the middle of September. Molly was glad that Kate had returned to London after many months abroad. The star of Bedside at St Brigid’s and her partner, Head Announcer Nic Meath, had been warned by a member of the Order of the Phoenix when they were about to have the Imperious Curse cast on them so they would be more manageable at the Wizarding Wireless Network. Molly knew that Station Manager Trixie Quafflebaum suspected that both of them had re-programmed the station so that Pottercast programs could override the network. They first fled to Kate’s family home in Tralee, but it soon became evident that were endangering her Irish relatives, so they Portkeyed to the United States. They kept abreast of information about what was happening in the British Isles, and returned from San Francisco about two months after Voldemort was defeated.
‘How has Nic adjusted to your return?’ asked Molly. ‘Did he like the United States?’
‘He’s come with me a few times when I visited my daughter and her family there. He likes the City because of the theaters and symphony,’ Kate laughed and continued, ‘Nic loves everything about San Francisco, actually. It is beautiful and has a large and active wizarding community.’
‘I heard his distinctive voice on the wireless the other day so I know he’s back at work.’
‘He’s working only part time now. After all, he will be 80 late in January. Death Eaters did considerable damage to our house and terrorized our house-elf. He’s so good at home repairs, both magically and in the Muggle way so he has enough to keep busy,’ said Kate, as they finished lunch. ‘I’ve decided to stop being an on-air performer. I was seventeen when I became the first Fiona, nearly fifty years ago. It’s time to do something else.’
‘What will you do? Will you teach again?’ asked Molly.
‘I have a few ideas for new shows so I think I am going to produce some of them,’ said Kate. ‘Quite a few of the on-air talent that fled Voldemort has returned. They have joined with stage actors into a Guild so they can’t be removed without cause. We are just beginning to see the possibilities in making wizarding movies and transmitting a magic versions of Muggle television.’
‘Arthur is very keen on Muggle Tell-a-Vision,’ said Molly. ‘He saw it in a shop window. He said that it looked like a wizard picture with everyone moving. He thought it was brilliant of Muggles to have figured it out without magic.’
‘Yes, I wouldn’t be surprised if television caught on in the wizarding world. Some of the receiving devices look like magic mirrors. They hang right on the wall.’
Molly could hardly wait to tell Arthur what Kate had said that night. He listened with great interest but then said, ’So many of the on air talent at WWN were Muggleborn or married to Muggles. They really need to lure them back but no one is sure where all of them are hiding. Kate is going to have to either find them or look for new actors, writers, directors, and technical people.’
Arthur snuggled his beloved wife. ‘I’m so glad that everything worked out for Kate and Nic. He’ll be happy refurbishing their double row house. Kate always says he has always been so good with tools.’
Molly smiled. ‘You and your double-entendres! I wonder if anyone is thinking loving thoughts about me? Does my necklace feel warm to you?’’
*****
Molly and Kate talked several times over the Floo Connection or in person during the rest of September. When Molly realized how many witches and wizards who were Muggleborn or married to Muggles had gone into hiding, she felt that she must do something to help find them and bring them home. She and Kate decided to write a letter to Minister for Magic Shacklebolt requesting a meeting about what they proposed to do to seek out the expatriate witches and wizards. They wanted to start trying to find former employees of the WWN, but were more than willing to widen their search.
Kingsley was interested in their idea so a meeting was set up for the first of October. Kate and Nic said that the meeting that they had with the Actor’s Guild Representative Audrey Anderson had been productive. She wanted to be kept informed about any progress that they made in finding witches or wizards, especially those for whom she would be negotiating salary and working conditions.
Molly had a hard time falling asleep as she snuggled next to Arthur on the last night of September. Her mind was racing. She kept thinking about their children. Ginny was too busy at Hogwarts being a Prefect and getting ready to organize the Gryffindor Quidditch team to write to anyone except Harry. Meanwhile, he was unusually busy at work while looking forward to moving this coming weekend. Ron was also stretched too thin between helping George at the shop and working on projects for Minerva at Hogwarts. At least he was able to see Hermione. George seemed almost normal one day and completely depressed the next. Percy was still single, but at least she’d see him tomorrow at the meeting. She was sure that there was a nice young witch just waiting to meet him. Charlie seemed comfortable living with Kathleen, although there had been no mention of marriage. Bill and Fleur were having a baby- her first grandchild. Molly finally fell asleep smiling at the thought of a blue-eyed baby boy.
The next morning during breakfast, Bee arrived at the Burrow with two notes. One was for Harry, the other for Molly and Arthur. Harry took his with a big smile as he excused himself to get ready for work. Molly gave Bee an owl treat and she flew outside and perched on the garden bench. Pie flew down from Harry’s room and joined her. Ron looked disappointed that no owl came for him. George looked a bit hung over. Molly opened Ginny’s letter and read it aloud.
Dear Mum, Dad, George, and Ron,
We arrived safely after a long train tide. Our Head Girl is a stickler for meetings and patrolling but I love her, anyway. I didn’t even get a chance to open the box that George gave me, but I will as soon as I get a moment to myself. Hermione says I can sleep in the Head Girl’s room if I want to but I think I want to get better acquainted with the second year Gryffindor Seventh Year girls. I was surprised that Lavender Brown came back because she had such a hard time recovering from that awful werewolf attacking her. She and Parvati Patil are best friends and they are rarely apart. Parvati’s twin sister, Padma, is a Ravenclaw but spends quite a lot of nights sleeping here. She always asks about George and wants me to tell him that she is thinking about him.
Professor McGonagall is a good Head, better than what we had last year. And thank goodness, the Carrows are gone. I think you know Sturgis Podmore, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. He survived being in Azkaban for six months so he has had some practical experience. Professor Phoebus Penrose has come out of retirement to teach Muggle Studies. He recognized my name and asked if I was ‘Arthur’s wee bairn’. It was so embarrassing.
I will write more when I get a chance. We have a great many new students since some of them were in hiding last year. Tell Ron that Hermione is still working on her tome to him.
Love, Ginny
‘So Sturgis and Professor Penrose are teaching at Hogwarts. They are both good wizards. Percy is always quoting
A Study into Muggle Suspicions About Magic,’ Arthur said, nodding his head.
Ron suddenly became interested. ‘Is he the one who says that Muggles think that Quaffles are from outer space?’
Arthur nodded. ‘More or less.’ He stood and kissed Molly and called up the stairs to Harry that it was time to leave. Harry appeared with a letter in his hand and went out to give it to Pie, who followed Bee as she flew north.
Molly was happy to see that Pig arrived almost immediately with an obviously shrunken letter for Ron. She gave him an owl treat and he fluttered into Errol’s old cage while Ron stuck his letter into the pocket of his magenta work robes. He and George left for the shop while Molly sat down to re-read the letter from Ginny and have a second cup of tea.
Before she started washing Ginny’s and Hermione’s sheets in the laundry cauldron, she went out into the garden and picked a bouquet of flowers for Fleur and used the Floo Connection to wish her well and deliver her birthday flowers.
‘Zhank you, Muzzer Weasley,’ Fleur responded as she took the bouquet. ‘You grow such beautiful flowers at ze Burrow. Eet is zo warm there. I will put zhem on ze table for dinner.’
‘Are you still feeling well? What does your midwife say?’’
‘Yes, ze bebe is growing. Ze midwife is ‘appy I do not ‘ave ze morning sickness.’
That evening when Arthur and Harry returned from the Ministry, Molly remembered that Harry had gone to see the small cottage that was next to the Tonks’ home the night before. “Did you like the little house that you looked at last night?
‘It’s not quite a house. It used to be a pony shed, but Ted Tonks added a small kitchen and bathroom. I think he and Andromeda thought that Tonks might want to live there sometime. A young couple leased it for a year last September, but they fled from Voldemort after they’d only lived there a month, so it’s been standing empty for eleven months. It’s really small but I’m inclined to move there when it is available on the first of October. Is it all right for me to live at the Burrow until then? I’ll need your advice about furnishing it when I am ready to move.’
Molly readily agreed to Harry staying, saying, ‘You are always welcome at the Burrow, son.’
*****
Even though it had been four months since Fred died and she tried to act normal when her family was around, Molly still felt very much at loose ends. Now that he was the Senior Advisor to the Minister for Magic, Arthur frequently had night meetings and occasionally accompanied Kingsley on overnight trips to foreign meetings. He always arranged for one of the boys to be at the Burrow when he was gone, but Molly missed his familiar warmth next to her in bed.
Her old friend Corinne was the only one who seemed to understand.
‘Amos doesn’t need to be gone overnight as many times now, but I remember how awful it was when he was in the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and had to check on werewolf hostels every full moon. I was a mess for at least a year after Ceddie…’ Corinne began to cry as Molly comforted her with a cup of tea.
‘Finally, I began volunteering at St Mungo’s in the newborn nursery every full moon. A surprising number of little witches and wizards are born at the full moon.’ Corrine smiled at Molly. ‘You and Arthur helped more than you know. I was also comforted by my talk with Harry. He was with Ceddie when he was killed and it helped that he said Ceddie didn’t suffer.’
‘I wonder if I should start volunteering somewhere? If Ginny becomes a Healer, I might go to St Mungo’s and be a Pink Witch,’ Molly thought aloud.
Corrine finished her tea and said, ‘Molly, you have a lot to give as a volunteer but we’d better get our practice in before it’s too late.’
Molly and Corrine went outside and dueled in the garden and scared a few Garden Gnomes.
*****
The conversation that she’d had with Corrine was much on Molly’s mind when she met Kate Wallace for lunch in Diagon Alley around the middle of September. Molly was glad that Kate had returned to London after many months abroad. The star of Bedside at St Brigid’s and her partner, Head Announcer Nic Meath, had been warned by a member of the Order of the Phoenix when they were about to have the Imperious Curse cast on them so they would be more manageable at the Wizarding Wireless Network. Molly knew that Station Manager Trixie Quafflebaum suspected that both of them had re-programmed the station so that Pottercast programs could override the network. They first fled to Kate’s family home in Tralee, but it soon became evident that were endangering her Irish relatives, so they Portkeyed to the United States. They kept abreast of information about what was happening in the British Isles, and returned from San Francisco about two months after Voldemort was defeated.
‘How has Nic adjusted to your return?’ asked Molly. ‘Did he like the United States?’
‘He’s come with me a few times when I visited my daughter and her family there. He likes the City because of the theaters and symphony,’ Kate laughed and continued, ‘Nic loves everything about San Francisco, actually. It is beautiful and has a large and active wizarding community.’
‘I heard his distinctive voice on the wireless the other day so I know he’s back at work.’
‘He’s working only part time now. After all, he will be 80 late in January. Death Eaters did considerable damage to our house and terrorized our house-elf. He’s so good at home repairs, both magically and in the Muggle way so he has enough to keep busy,’ said Kate, as they finished lunch. ‘I’ve decided to stop being an on-air performer. I was seventeen when I became the first Fiona, nearly fifty years ago. It’s time to do something else.’
‘What will you do? Will you teach again?’ asked Molly.
‘I have a few ideas for new shows so I think I am going to produce some of them,’ said Kate. ‘Quite a few of the on-air talent that fled Voldemort has returned. They have joined with stage actors into a Guild so they can’t be removed without cause. We are just beginning to see the possibilities in making wizarding movies and transmitting a magic versions of Muggle television.’
‘Arthur is very keen on Muggle Tell-a-Vision,’ said Molly. ‘He saw it in a shop window. He said that it looked like a wizard picture with everyone moving. He thought it was brilliant of Muggles to have figured it out without magic.’
‘Yes, I wouldn’t be surprised if television caught on in the wizarding world. Some of the receiving devices look like magic mirrors. They hang right on the wall.’
Molly could hardly wait to tell Arthur what Kate had said that night. He listened with great interest but then said, ’So many of the on air talent at WWN were Muggleborn or married to Muggles. They really need to lure them back but no one is sure where all of them are hiding. Kate is going to have to either find them or look for new actors, writers, directors, and technical people.’
Arthur snuggled his beloved wife. ‘I’m so glad that everything worked out for Kate and Nic. He’ll be happy refurbishing their double row house. Kate always says he has always been so good with tools.’
Molly smiled. ‘You and your double-entendres! I wonder if anyone is thinking loving thoughts about me? Does my necklace feel warm to you?’’
*****
Molly and Kate talked several times over the Floo Connection or in person during the rest of September. When Molly realized how many witches and wizards who were Muggleborn or married to Muggles had gone into hiding, she felt that she must do something to help find them and bring them home. She and Kate decided to write a letter to Minister for Magic Shacklebolt requesting a meeting about what they proposed to do to seek out the expatriate witches and wizards. They wanted to start trying to find former employees of the WWN, but were more than willing to widen their search.
Kingsley was interested in their idea so a meeting was set up for the first of October. Kate and Nic said that the meeting that they had with the Actor’s Guild Representative Audrey Anderson had been productive. She wanted to be kept informed about any progress that they made in finding witches or wizards, especially those for whom she would be negotiating salary and working conditions.
Molly had a hard time falling asleep as she snuggled next to Arthur on the last night of September. Her mind was racing. She kept thinking about their children. Ginny was too busy at Hogwarts being a Prefect and getting ready to organize the Gryffindor Quidditch team to write to anyone except Harry. Meanwhile, he was unusually busy at work while looking forward to moving this coming weekend. Ron was also stretched too thin between helping George at the shop and working on projects for Minerva at Hogwarts. At least he was able to see Hermione. George seemed almost normal one day and completely depressed the next. Percy was still single, but at least she’d see him tomorrow at the meeting. She was sure that there was a nice young witch just waiting to meet him. Charlie seemed comfortable living with Kathleen, although there had been no mention of marriage. Bill and Fleur were having a baby- her first grandchild. Molly finally fell asleep smiling at the thought of a blue-eyed baby boy.