Chapter 32
Dumbledore did stay for dinner. He sat at a table with Harry, Hermione and Hannah, the later being Harry's Witch of the Day although he was not told this. Snape sat with the four Slytherin students. McGonagall sat with Katie, Parvati and Madam Pomfrey. Flitwick with his four Ravenclaws, Neville with Ginny, Susan and Michelle and in typical Hufflepuff style, Sprout sat with the rest. Also present was an almost unrecognizable Sirius Black and his wife Marilyn. Marilyn had spent the day obtaining an indefinite leave of absence to care for little James Black and assist her new husband with his affairs. Even if Bill was able to set up a dedicated floo to Gringotts, Sirius still could not venture out into Diagon Alley without fear of arrest. Bill was present as well with his wife Fleur, as was Remus and his wife Dora.
Dumbledore was as surprised with the menu as McGonagall had been. He stuck with dishes he was familiar with but noted that the others at the table were definitely eating "foreign" even going so far as to have at least one dish that they ate with sticks instead of a knife and fork. The other surprise was the Wine List, first that there was one, second that it was so large and thirdly because it was clearly Muggle wines. It was explained that witches and wizards who were seventeen or older were allowed wine, although if they were students they were only allowed one glass with dinner. After what he had just been through, Dumbledore had three glasses with his meal and was impressed with each of them.
Just after he ordered, the rest of the students from the South Wing returned from their meal in the Great Hall. Many stopped by the Dinning Room to see how things had gone. They all knew of the meeting with Dumbledore and at Dinner the Slytherins in general and Malfoy in particular were trying to convince everyone that all the South Wing students would be expelled for certain and their Wing given over to more deserving students - as in Malfoy and his lot. The South Wing students knew this could not happen and why, but decided to say nothing. Malfoy would lose even more respect the next day when the entire South Wing showed up for their classes - if they had any - and for lunch and dinner.
Once the dinner was over, Dumbledore and the other members of the staff aside from Madam Pomfrey left. She remained behind to check out the South Wing infirmary and schedule an appointment to see James Black, the only infant at Hogwarts she had not seen that day. As for Dumbledore, he would remember the meeting and the dinner quite clearly, but could not remember where it had all occurred.
Malfoy's reputation did plummet the next morning, but not because he was wrong about the South Wing. Harry later wished he had been there, but he and the rest of South Wing ate breakfast in the Wing. Like the Great Hall, however, they did receive their copies of the Daily Prophet with the morning mail. There is was in bold print:
HOGWARTS' BOARD OF GOVERNORS SACKED AMID RUMORS OF SCANDAL AND CORRUPTION!
MANY BLAME LUCIUS MALFOY!
The article really did not say much. It stated that the entire Board had received notice of their termination Monday morning and that the termination had been confirmed by Gringotts, the Magical Education Board and Board of Examiners and Wizengamot Administrative Services. Most of the article was devoted to comments by many now former Board members about the conduct of Lucius Malfoy, the most recently appointed member. They accused him of bribing his way on to the Board. The article reminded readers that his appointment was suspicious given his age and history as a Death Eater. He was also accused of misconduct since he had been on the Board including intimidating other Board members into voting his way and even embezzlement, using his Board position to cover for the misconduct of his son and other students, buying his son a position on the Slytherin Quidditch team… "I've seen the boy play," one former member was quoted as saying. "My cat can fly a broom better!" Lucius was also accused of getting the Board - probably through nefarious means - to reduce the number of Muggle Borns admitted to the school and a host of other alleged crimes.
Towards the back of the paper was the Society Page where various announcements were printed. Most students never bothered with this page. There were three engagements announced, including one involving a Slytherin Seventh Year and two formal wedding announcements involving couples that no one had heard of but were young enough to have been in school with them. They were probably from one of the other schools. Then there was a list of simple announcements that seemed to go on and on beginning with:
Lady Hannah Marie Abbot (HB) (15), Regent of the Ancient and Noble House of Abbott to Lord Harry James Potter (HB) (14), Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter in Line Continuation, April 1st, 1995 at Hogwarts.
Mrs. Marilyn Amanda Abbott (MB) (34), Widow of Lord Abbott to Lord Sirius Orion Black (FB) (36), Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black, April 1st, 1995 at Hogwarts.
The list went on and included:
Fleur Maria Delacour (HB) (18), daughter of the French Deputy Minister of Magic to William Arthur Weasley (FB) (25), Gringotts Curse Breaker, April 1st, 1995 at Hogwarts.
Gabrielle Elena Delacour (HB) (14), daughter of the French Deputy Minister of Magic to Lord Harry James Potter (HB) (14), Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter, April 1st, 1995 at Hogwarts.
The list continued, finally ending with:
Ginevra Molly Weasley (FB) (13) to Neville Alvin Longbottom (FB) (14), Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom, April 1st, 1995 at Hogwarts.
The list of marriages was followed by a list of several birth announcements, all of which were from the South Wing but it did not include all of the births. The Bells, Calwells, Grangers and Lees were omitted. Then again, they were Muggles. The list began with:
To Lord and Lady Harry and Hermione Potter, twins, Robert James and Lily Rose, April 1st, 1995 at Hogwarts.
It ended with:
To Lord and Lady Sirius and Marilyn Black, a son James Remus, April 2nd, 1995 at Hogwarts.
Oddly, there was not a single article commenting upon any of that. It was not until the Thursday edition that the Prophet staff picked up on this.
SCANDAL AT HOGWARTS! was one of only two Headlines on the Front Page. There then followed several articles. The first was arguably the most factual. It referred readers to the Society Page in Tuesday's edition and then accurately described what had occurred and the laws that allowed it to happen. The reporter was at a loss to explain the dates but opined that some kind of magic was probably involved. The articles that followed were somewhat less accurate with the facts. They accused the former Board of Governors and Dumbledore for allowing the moral standards of the prestigious school to plummet to an all time low. They accurately reported there had not been an underage birth or marriage like this at Hogwarts in over two hundred years as a result of the mandatory use of Contraceptive Potions and opined the pregnancies could be attributed to an incompetent potions maker who produced several bad doses, enough and over a long enough period of time for the potions to wear off. This, they accused, was bad enough, but for eighteen young witches to have been allowed to engage in promiscuous behavior for such a period of time that they all wound up pregnant was another matter altogether. It further accused Dumbledore and the Board of covering up the entire matter for months and months with such ruthless efficiency that no news of it had leaked out before. It suggested that the hosting of the Tri-wizard Tournament itself was part of the plot as few students had returned home on Holiday. The paper bemoaned the fact that the Boy-Who-Lived had proved to be such a rake. In fact it barely mentioned Neville and his family at all, accusing Dumbledore for insisting that the hero of the Wizarding World be raised by amoral, rutting Muggles. How and where else would he have learned such behavior, the paper asked. The paper was sympathetic to all of the girls whose morals and persons had been sullied. Then again, with a senile Headmaster and Lucius Malfoy on the Board of Governors, it was unsurprising. Lucius's opinions of Muggle Borns and many of the other girls families were common knowledge and his son was hardly an outstanding example of morals. The paper suggested that while Draco was never known to have copulated with Muggle Borns or any others deemed unacceptable by the Pureblood Elites, he was not particular within that social set even when it came to the issue of gender.
DUMBLEDORE HARBORS ESCAPED MASS MURDER SIRIUS BLACK! was the second article. It was based entirely on the wedding and birth announcements. It was hard on Dumbledore but even harder on the Ministry itself. After all, the reporter had learned that the announcements were delivered to the Ministry on Monday morning and yet there had been no announcement of an arrest. It questioned why, suggesting perhaps Black had already escaped again but also that it was possible that he was holding the entire school hostage. The Minister of Magic's office denied all knowledge of the matter and was said to be consulting with DMLE, but that excuse did not fly with the reporter suggesting that the entire Black situation reeked of corruption at the highest levels of government. After all, the man had escaped almost two years ago and yet there had been no arrests of any kind.
Harry and the others of the South Wing, indeed most of the school not named Draco Malfoy, thought the Thursday Edition was absolutely hilarious. Harry even kept his copy, placing it in his Study later. The Friday edition was almost as hilarious.
FUDGE ADMITS BLACK NEVER HAD A TRIAL! BLACK NEVER CONVICTED OF ANYTHING! Obviously this was not the headline the Minister had wanted when he held a press conference late Thursday night to address the recent Black story. He had wanted to report that he had sent a team of Auror's in with Dementors and that Black was no more, although he never said that to the Press. Harry and the others learned that in a letter from Madam Bones the next morning. At the Press Conference, Fudge, whom the reporter said looked both distressed and put out, started by saying he was confident that DMLE had the entire situation in hand and that while Black was indeed at Hogwarts, he was not going anywhere and was under the supervision of a trusted Auror. The Press immediately jumped on this and in trying to defend the Ministry and why it had not arrested a notorious criminal, he let slip that Black was only an alleged criminal and had never been tried much less convicted. He then went on to say that even with the outstanding Warrants, he could not even have Blacked hauled in for questioning because Black was under the protection of at least four Ancient and Noble Houses. Fudge did not explain what that meant, but the article did. Fudge needed permission from a majority of the Heads of such Houses to violate House Protection. If he moved without such permission, he and anyone who followed his orders would be out on the street the next day without a job or a pension. It had happened twice during the last war and resulted in two Ministers for Magic and a Head of DMLE being sacked. The problem was now there were only nine remaining Houses and, while the Head of House Black was the one under protection, his vote counted. There was no way Fudge could get the permissions he needed to go after Black and keep his job. There were five Houses in support of keeping Fudge at bay and maybe six. After all, Dumbledore was a Head of such a House and Black was at Hogwarts. Fudge remained convinced Black was guilty of killing all those Muggles, the murder of Peter Pettigrew and probably a lot more, but the law held him back. He was going to call and emergency session of the Wizengamot and submit a bill to remove such House protections so Black could be brought to "Final Justice!" The reporter opined that this was nothing more than political grandstanding and would amount to nothing in the end. There were fifty-five members of the Wizengamot and seventy seats, several held in proxy by other members. But there were over three hundred votes and the Ancient and Noble Houses controlled a majority of these outright. While they seldom ever voted as a block and were often at odds with one another, historically no attempt to interfere with their privileges had ever succeeded. That was one vote where they stood together regardless of their differences and while the Head of DMLE held the House Bones proxy, it was doubtful she would vote against her own House interests.
SATURDAY, APRIL 8th, 1995 - HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY - THE SOUTH WING.
Molly Weasley stepped out of the fireplace floo and into the Salon that was the entrance to the South Wing and stood there transfixed. In her mind, the photographs had not done this place any justice at all. She had never seen a room like this! It was both huge and yet homey in a way as well. Fortunately, Arthur suspected she's be transfixed and was able to avoid knocking her to the floor when he stepped through a moment later. They had been invited up for the weekend, and it was a Hogsmeade Weekend. But they had been invited up following a letter from Arthur telling them Molly was, if not okay with the idea she had missed four weddings and the birth of her first grandchild, at least not likely to get totally upset by it.
"Arthur?" she began.
"It's a bit much at first, isn't it?" he replied. "You get used to it, though."
"Mr. Weasley," a high pitched voice said and there was a female House Elf standing before them, "it it a pleasure to have you back with us."
"Dolly, it's good to see you too," Arthur said. "Dolly's one of Ginny's Elves," he added for Molly. "How's Fester?"
"Grumpy as usual," Dolly said. "It's his way," she added with a shrug. "But Mistress Ginny finds it amusing. He is a good and proper Elf aside from being somewhat surly at times. He truly does dote on little Hermione, as you know."
"As do you, Dolly," Arthur added. If an elf could blush, Dolly did. "Dolly? I'd like you to meet my wife, Molly."
Dolly bowed. "It is my pleasure, Ma'am," she said then turned to Arthur. "You will be staying over this evening?"
"Yes," Arthur replied.
Dolly nodded and handed Arthur two keys. "You will have your old room, Room 607, Sir."
"Thank you Dolly. Is Ginny available or the others?"
"Miss Ginny be wishing for twenty more minutes, Sir. She be giving little Hermione a bath and getting her dressed to meets her Grandmum. Mr. Bill and his wife and many other be out in Hogsmeade but shall return before dinner. Misters Fred and George be in the Fifth Floor Lounge with their wives meeting with their wives parents and hopefully will be available before dinner."
"Hopefully?" Molly asked.
"House joke," Arthur said. "Neville and Harry so dreaded meeting the parents under the circumstances that it's now a house joke. I'm sure they'll do just fine."
"And Ron?"
"Mr. Ron was invited but decided he'd rather spend the day in Hogsmeade than with his family," Dolly said.
Molly's face turned red.
"Mols, we can deal with him later," Arthur said. "Let me show you around a bit before we head up." He turned to Dolly. "Were are we to meet Ginny?"
"House Longbottom Main Sitting Room, Sir," Dolly said.
"Thank you, Dolly," Arthur said and she bowed and popped away.
"Morning Arhtur!" a voice called out. Molly saw two adults approaching her. One was a tall man with short, dark hair and kind eyes. The other was a blonde haired woman who looked to be about the same age. She was a few inches shorter than the man and was holding a baby. "And this much be your lovely wife Molly," the man said. "It is a pleasure to meet you at last," he added with a formal bow.
"Molly," Arthur said, "I'd like to introduce you to some of the friends I made last weekend, this is Lord Sirius Black and his wife Marilyn. She was one of the other brides I had the honor of escorting down the aisle on her wedding day. And this little one is their son James, born here April 2nd."
Molly looked a little surprised. "You look nothing like your photograph," she blurted out.
Sirius chuckled. "It wasn't very flattering, was it? Then again, that was an incredibly bad day all around. My best friends were dead, betrayed by someone we trusted and the traitorous rat had just escaped after killing all those Muggles and I knew I was taking the fall for the rat and would not be there for my Godson Harry. He was all I had left, you see."
"And last year?" Molly asked.
"Which bit? I did escape from Azkaban although I view it as releasing myself on by own recognizance."
"So you didn't attack my son Ron?"
"Depends upon how you look at it," Sirius said. "From his perspective it surely looked like it, but I was actually going after that damned rat Pettigrew! Did you know the boy actually let that thing sleep with him in his bed? Even if it were just a rat, that's disgusting! Wouldn't be at all surprised if the elves had to clean out the rat turds every morning. Filthy creatures!"
"I told the boy to keep that thing in its cage…" Molly began.
"Mols, you can deal with Ron later."
Molly sighed.
"She came her to see all of her children if she could," Arthur explained. "It seems Ron thinks it a better use of his time to skive off into Hogsmeade and ignore the invitation altogether."
Sirius nodded. "He's been somewhat cool towards everyone the last week or so. Best the others can get out of him is a rather nasty glare."
"So, it seems rather empty…" Arthur began hoping to change the topic.
"It is a Hogsmeade Weekend for the school," Sirius said. "And the House Rules are if you are accompanied by a parent or guardian or an adult with their permission, that applies to everyone in this Wing regardless of their year. Most everyone headed out right after breakfast."
"And you?" Arthur asked.
"There really isn't much to do in Hogsmeade, is there?" Sirius said. "Bit old for the sweets shop and aside from maybe Zonkos, the other shops have nothing that I either need or could use. There's the Three Broomsticks, but to be honest the food and service here is better, as are the drinks. No, Marilyn and I've decided on a picnic lunch down by the lake with our little boy. I want to show him the Giant Squid. Would have left earlier but I was checking in on Buckbeak, making sure he's settling in okay."
"Buckbeak?" Molly asked.
"His Hippogriff," Arthur explained.
"Either that or I'm his human," Sirius said.
"Aren't they dangerous?" Molly asked.
"They certainly can be if they don't trust you," Sirius said. "But once they trust you, they're not too bad at all and if they come to believe you are a member of their herd or flock or family or whatever, they're actually very docile. That being said, they can still be very dangerous to anyone you don't trust. While Buckbeak is very tame around Harry, Hermione and me and now Marilyn and James and several others, he would not be so nice to strangers unless one of his herd was there to let him know it was okay."
"I can't believe Dumbledore would allow such a thing," Molly said. "They are highly regulated, you know."
"This Wing is outside his jurisdiction," Sirius said. "As for highly regulated, the Ministry regulates what it either wants to control or refuses to understand. Any animal is dangerous if provoked! Hippogriffs tend to need little provocation 'cause of the way they've been treated mostly. They have reason not to trust us. I'd dare say Buckbeak doesn't trust a lot of people. He trusts Hagrid who raised him and me and those who live here who've bothered to get to know him - not everyone is keen on the idea, you see. Some still remember him from when Draco Malfoy foolishly provoked him and know what an aggressive hippogriff can do when provoked. But he's never been that way with me or anyone else in this Wing. After all, Buckbeak and I have a lot in common."
"Oh?"
Sirius nodded. "We're both technically fugitives from justice. Although, unlike me, Buckbeak was actually tried and convicted and sentenced to death for attacking Malfoy, although it's a fair bet his Daddy's gold had more to do with the conviction than the evidence. He and I escaped the Ministry's clutches together last year…"
"But you escaped two years ago!" Molly protested.
"Azkaban," Sirius agreed. "I left to keep an eye on my Godson Harry once I learned the real traitor was alive and well and here at Hogwarts. Almost caught … we did catch the rat, but he got a way and I got caught instead. Fudge had it all set up so I'd get a long snogging session with a Dementor. Turns out, that was the same night that Fudge and his minions saw fit to relieve Buckbeak of his head. But he never took into consideration Harry and Hermione. They rescued Buckbeak from practically under the Headsman's nose and then used him to get to me and bust me out as well. Buckbeak and I left together and fled the country. Wound up in the Azores for a bit. Fortunately, they have no extradition treaty with Britain so I was able to access my Grigotts accounts from there. I learned my Uncle Regulus - who died without issue in '59 - had a nice property on the Island of St. Vincent in the Caribbean. Nothing fancy, mind you. Just a few bungalows on a secluded beach surrounded by cliffs and jungle, but the elves there really make it seem special. A very nice and warm place to relax. Buckbeak and I liked it there. But we weren't there even two months before I got a post from Harry and had to come back. It wasn't about the Tournament, that came later. So we reluctantly left our island paradise and flew to London where I own a place. Personally, I hate that place and always have. But it's unplottable and under a Fidelius so it would be safe for us. I can tell you Buckbeak hates London. Everywhere else we've been, he's been able to stretch his wings at night at the very least. Not there. Then I got another letter from Harry and decided to set up camp again near here. Last year, I found a nice, dry cave in the mountains overlooking Hogsmeade and Hogwarts. Buckbeak and I went there and he stayed there while I moved back and forth between there and London. I bought a wand in the Azores, if you must know. And once this place became available and they turned an unused flat into a stable, I moved Buckbeak here. He seems to like it."
"How can you tell?" Molly asked.
"He's been building a proper nest," Sirius said. "He had one when we were on St. Vincent's. Hagrid told me the other day that a proper nest means he sees this as his home. He might even be thinking about settling down as it were."
"What?"
"He's an orphan, you see? His Mum was killed when he was very young and Hagrid raised him and a few others like him. He's fourteen now, which for a Hippogriff means he's old enough to seek a mate, and they mate for life, you see? According to Hagrid, there's three unmated mares or whatever in the forest. Wouldn't be a bit surprised if he's boring them to tears with his stories about his adventures," Sirius added with a chuckle.
"It worked for you," Marilyn teased. "What girl can resist a smart, handsome man with a mysterious and tragic past?"
Sirius decided not to even attempt to answer the question. "Picnic?" he said to her.
Marilyn nodded.
"I know you didn't come all this way to spend another day with me," he said to Arthur. "And we've so looked forward to this picnic."
Arthur nodded and led Molly away and through the ground floor.
"What is this place?" Molly asked. Arthur described the various rooms. "It's a bit much!" she added.
"Depends," Arthur said. "After 450 days, it seems rather small, especially with all the people about. Here we are," he said steering her to a lift at the south end of the Wing.
The lift took them to the Fourth Floor and opened onto a large foyer like space with glass paned doors that barred them from entering the rest of the floor. But the barrier soon opened as Dolly had been waiting for them and Arthur led Molly into the main sitting room. From Molly's perspective, it was a very, very large room, even with all the couches and chairs arranged throughout the space.
There seemed to be only one other person in the room. She was taller than Molly remembered. Arthur had told her that Ginny was indeed older, but it was one thing to be told that and another altogether to see it. Ginny looked like she was sixteen or seventeen, not like the thirteen year old who had boarded the train back at the beginning of September. Ginny was holding a small child in her arms, which had prevented Molly from giving her a hug.
"Mum," Ginny said in a soft voice, "I'd like you to meet your granddaughter, Hermione Luna Longbottom."
Whatever Molly was thinking of saying died in her throat when she saw the little, red haired baby girl. Tears began falling. "She's adorable!" Molly gushed as Ginny handed her over.
"She's teething," Ginny chuckled. "She was adorable but now gets cranky at times."
"You use the potion?"
"Only as a last resort," Ginny said. "She has some chew toys she likes and a slice of bread or two usually works as well. Only if they don't do I reach for the potion. Both Healer Turpin and Madam Pomfrey recommended that."
"Is she magical?" Molly asked.
"Very," Ginny said proudly. "While I'm no slouch magically, Neville is scary powerful as is Harry. She's somewhere between me and Neville in terms of potential. Her magical potential is about average for House Longbottom and House Potter, but given that the weakest child is potentially more powerful than Dumbledore by far…"
"More powerful than Dumbledore?" Molly gasped.
"In terms of potential," Ginny said. "If she doesn't develop it … well then she won't be. But she's going to if I have any say in the matter."
Molly looked at her granddaughter and then noticed the little, red jumper. "This is a really nice jumper."
"Made it myself," Ginny said proudly. "As Neville's wife, I can probably afford to buy anything she needs. But there's something special about making it, don't you think?"
"I didn't know you could knit," Molly said.
"We didn't just study for our OWLs, Mum," Ginny chuckled. "We all learned a lot of other things as well. You always made us jumpers and still do and I wanted to do that for my kids so Augusta Longbottom taught me … and others as well. While I have no intention or desire to cook every meal, I have been learning 'cause a Mum cooked meal every so often is special, that and I wanted to learn to bake and stuff so I could make treats for my children once they're old enough to eat solid food."
"Children?"
"While she does have five half brothers and five half sisters, I am hoping for more of my own in time."
"When? You're not pregnant again, are you?"
"No Mother! But I do intend to have another little one sometime after I sit for my first set of NEWTs which may be as early as June 1996 - the NEWTs I mean, not her little brother or sister."
"That's barely a year apart!"
"Mum, it's not. Well, legally it is, but physically it's not. Legally, little Hermione was born a week ago today but her first birthday will be on September 24th. She'll be a year old then physically and in every other way aside from the law. If I were to have another baby say next summer, he or she would be almost two years younger than little Hermione here. Time compression tends to do that, you know. Legally I'm still thirteen but I'll celebrate my sixteenth birthday this May 13th. Legally, I was married on March 30th and my wedding was on April 1st but Neville and I will celebrate our second wedding anniversary on January 15th. We're going to celebrate both dates. I get two birthdays: my real one and my assimilated one as we call it. Little Hermione will have two as well, her real and assimilated ones. And I get two anniversaries, March 30th - we've decided April 1st will be reserved for our children - and January 15th!"
"I've got all the dates written down, Mols," Arthur said. "All the birthdays real and assimilated for both House Longbottom and House Potter as well as for Fred and Alicia, George and Angelina and Bill and Fleur so we'll know when to send cards."
Molly nodded. "We will get to see them today?"
"Yes Dear," Arthur replied. "And Neville and the rest of House Longbottom and Harry and his House as well. At the very least, we'll be with them at dinner and after and tomorrow as well."
"Actually," Ginny said, "once I've taken you 'round my new home Bill and Fleur have invited us to lunch."
Molly nodded. "Let's get back to the future children. When? How many?"
"As a family, all of us want at least two more pregnancies and whatever comes from them," Ginny said. "Many of us want more than two. That being said, Neville's only real concern is that we plan them so we're not due during NEWT or additional OWL exams. That means I can't have a child who might be due in June or December of '96 - NEWTS - June of '97 - my other OWLs - or June of '99 which would be my last NEWTs. Aside from that, it's up to me. We're all on the Potion, which means we have to go off of it for three months before there's any chance of getting pregnant again. Neville wants the next round to be more spaced out in terms of delivery dates. We had all our babies within a month or so last time. I intend to be first and hope to have another sometime between July and October of next year. I'm planning on about two years between them."
"How many?" Molly asked.
"Three for certain," Ginny said. "If they don't drive me insane and if I can physically have more… I'm hoping to do you one better at least. I want a large family, Mum. It's what I know and … and I want to be a good Mum to them as you were to us. But I also want to do something else with my life. I don't know what yet. But I want little Hermione here to see she can be both a Mum and have a job she likes as well. And before you say it, Mum, I married quite well. I have two wonderful elves to help for now and may have more later and their just for my family. Dolly and Fester are amazing that way and little Hermione loves them! True, Fester is a bit of a grouch, but little Hermione and I think he's brilliant! I could spoil her rotten but I won't and neither will my elf friends."
"You could work at the Ministry," Molly began.
"PLEASE!" Ginny said. "Department of Mysteries is a possibility, otherwise no way!"
"Why not?"
"Mother! I'm the wife of a Head of and Ancient and Noble House! I know enough about that place to understand I could never be sure if I got a job or promotion based on talent or based upon who my husband is! The Department of Mysteries is a merit based group that and I could easily attain my Charms Mastery and maybe one in Spell Crafting as well. I got International Honors on my Charms OWLs and both McGonagall and Flitwick have placed letters in my file about that and strongly recommend I attain a mastery. Professor Flitwick hopes one day I will replace him as Charms Professor and that has an appeal. After all, Neville has to live here six months out of the year and that means I do too, so why not become a Professor if I can? That's years away, of course, but I am thinking about it."
Molly nodded.
"So, would you like to take a look around?" Ginny offered.
She showed her mother around House Longbottom which was limited to Neville's apartment, the main rooms and Ginny's own apartment. Ginny's flat now had a new kitchen and small dining area. They had been added over the prior week as Ginny felt it would not be fair to use the main House kitchen all the time to practice her baking. Several of the other wives had also added personal kitchens to their flats. After the House Longbottom tour, she led them up to the Greenhouse on the top floor.
"Neville?" Ginny asked as she entered. Neville was there at a work table.
"Hi Gin!" he said. "And Arthur! And I'm guessing you must be Ginny's Mum Molly," he added noting the others. "I'd shake your hand or something, but I need to wash up."
"That's okay," Molly said. She couldn't shake hands anyway as she was still holding her granddaughter.
"I thought you were in Hogsmeade with Andrea," Ginny said.
"We were," Neville said, "but I did say we'd be back by lunch so I could meet your Mum and it is almost lunch. Andrea's feeding Henry and Jenny as we speak and then will put them down for their afternoon nap."
"But why are you up here?" Ginny asked.
"Oh! Well we met my Gran and my Grand Uncle Algie at the Three Broomsticks and Uncle Algie gave me this," he added pointing to a very strange looking plant. "He was going to give me it this summer but when he heard about all this and that I have this greenhouse, he decided to give it to me now."
"What is it?" Ginny asked.
"It's called Mimblus Mimblatona. Comes from Assyria he said and is both very magical and very, very rare. Not much is really known about it so I'm going to try and figure it out. Might be a paper in it in the end."
"My husband got International Honors in Herbology," Ginny explained to Molly in a very proud tone. "He'll probably have his Mastery in it by the time he's set to finish here. Professor Sprout has already suggested he should be her replacement one day when she retires."
"And how's my Little Princess?" Neville asked stepping over to Molly but looking at the baby in her arms. The little girl giggled and babbled a bit.
"She's having a good day," Ginny said as Neville gently relieved Molly of her burden and kissed the little baby girl on the forehead getting another giggle from her.
"They said teething can be a bother," Neville said. "Gran says it was the only time I was not totally … well, me."
"Little Hermione looks like me," Ginny said, "but Gran Longbottom says she's a girl Neville. Rarely ever gets upset and only does magic when she sees her favorite toy and can't get to it, just like her Daddy."
"Aside from the teething bit," Neville added. "That does bother her, poor girl." Neville sniffed. "And according to Gran, just like me it's in one end and out the other." He then proceeded to change little Hermione's nappy.
Molly watched as Neville did it expertly.
"Neville," Ginny said, "I'm quite capable…"
"Hush, Love," he said. "I know you are. But the Healer said this is a form of bonding time and while you change her nappies all the time, I only get my days with you and the rare other opportunity." He looked at Molly. "I have nine wives and eleven children. It's not easy. We have a schedule and one day in nine I'm Ginny's and Hermione's primarily. But every other minute I can be Ginny's husband and Hermione's dad counts as well. There you go, Little One," he added as he was done. "Better?"
The baby giggled.
"Today, Andy's my girl and our Henry and Jenny are my primary babies," Neville said. "But she and they are downstairs and she's putting them down for their naps and I'm here and Gin's here and this little angel is here, so I do what I can. I will be eating with Andy, although I know you want to start to get to know me and Andy and I talked about it and you and Arthur and Ginny and little Hermione - assuming Ginny is not going to put her down for a nap - will sit at my table for lunch … which is about now. Gin?"
"She has to eat first, so Hermione will be with us."
"Wonderful!" Neville said.
In fact it was even more. Molly was introduced to Andrea Lee at the table who seemed to be a lovely girl. They were then joined by Hermione (Granger) Potter and her two children Robert and Lily and Luna (Lovegood) Potter and her daughter Delilah. Apparently, Hermione's parents were busy dealing with family issues and Luna's father was busy with his paper. To Molly, Hermione looked older as well. Luna was much older as Molly had not seen her since Luna was eight years old. The girls were gone. Young women with babies now sat with her.
The babies were fed first. Each began with a small bottle of milk, and as Hermione had two to deal with, Molly fed little Lily. Molly would have loved to feed her granddaughter, but she considered Hermione family in a way as well and as she had two little ones to tend to, Molly volunteered to help. She was told the milk was breast milk thanks to a Muggle device that allowed a mother to milk herself. The children were all weaned from breast feeding as they were all in the process of teething, but their mothers' milk was still considered important. After the milk came the small jars. One was a meat jar of a meat mush of some sort. It was followed by a vegetable mush. Molly was feeding little Lily a chicken mush with a small spoon followed by spinach. Her granddaughter Hermione had a different chicken mush followed by carrots. Molly was told and watched as the other mothers encouraged their children to eat it all so they could get their favorite desserts. In Lily's case this was peaches and Molly saw that by promising peaches, Lily ate everything else. Her granddaughter's favorite was apple sauce and she saw that Ginny was encouraging the little girl as well. When the babies were done, the Elves came to take them away for their naps. Once the babies were gone, the lunch menu arrived and Molly was stunned by the selections. She followed Arthur's advice and ordered what she knew - fish and chips with a salad. It was a wonderful meal.
As she was finishing, Molly saw Harry enter with a young woman on his arm, two adults she also did not know and a young girl as well. She got up and all but ran to him.
"Harry?" she began.
"This is Marcia," Harry began. "She's a Fifth Year Hufflepuff and one of my wives. Our daughter Julie is down for her nap. These are David, Elaine Robbins, my in-laws and Sarah Robbins, my sister-in-law and a second Year Hufflepuff. And this is Molly Weasley," he said turning to the Robbins family, "Arthur's wife and - at least until it all came out - the mother I never had."
"Harry! Forgive me!" Molly begged. "I never wanted that for you! I admit, I'd have been proud to have you as a Son-In-Law, but not that way! It was all Dumbledore and I felt so trapped! What was I supposed to do? I never wanted that for Ginny or for you! I mean … well, had you come to that place by yourselves, I'd not have been upset. But it is clear! Neville is a wonderful husband to Ginny and she's still a friend of your's and your wives and… Believe me, Harry, I never wanted to hurt you! I just…"
"Mrs. Weasley," Harry began.
"Molly, please!" she said. "If you will forgive me."
"Molly," Harry said with a smile. "You and Arthur were the parents I never had. I never knew what a family should or could be before you. Having said that, and if your being honest I do forgive you, what of the five thousand Galleons?"
"I," Molly began, "I haven't spent a knut yet. I … I …"
"Molly," Harry said calmly, "keep it."
"I … I can't! It's so wrong what I've done to you and my daughter and…"
"Molly," Harry said softly. "Your family is now huge. I'd like to think you still consider me a part of it…"
"I do," she said.
"And now you have me, my wives and children and Neville and Ginny and their family and Bill and his wife, Fred and George and their wives and all the children as well. I told Arthur he needs a guest house 'cause I know you'd go spare not having us visit en masse from time to time and we can't possibly fit in The Burrow. Keep the 5,000 to build a guest house - not a Wing - I don't want you to spoil the only home like place I've ever known. Neville and I will add to that 5,000 as necessary so you can have all your family come and visit."
Molly all but launched herself at Harry. "Thank you, Harry," she gushed. "You are and always will be a Weasley! And I do want to meet all your other wives and children and Neville's as well."
Harry chuckled. "That we can do!"