Molly Weasley (wp_molly) wrote in whatprice, @ 2009-08-24 21:04:00 |
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Entry tags: | !completed, !placeholder, bill weasley, charlie weasley, fleur delacour, george weasley, ginny weasley, molly weasley, percy weasley |
Once More - Around the Dinner Table
Who: All Available Weasleys
What: A Reunion
When: Sunday, August 23
Where: An Order Safehouse
Warnings: They'd better watch their mouths!
Status: complete
Charlie had arranged a safehouse for his mother to stay in until the question of where she was going to live permanently was settled. This should be an easy question, but with the farm under Fidelius, Bill and Fleur still on the move, and both himself and George living rough at no fixed address, it wasn't as simple as it sounded. This place would do at least temporarily, though. Maybe they needed to clean out Wheezes and move in up there. He sighed and collapsed on the couch, and Mircea came to join him, nuzzling his hand for affection. The rest of the family would be here soon, and Charlie was past ready for their arrival. He was good with action. But waiting not so much.
George opened the front door and stepped in, his first glance to Mircea. If Mircea was OK, then it was at least superficially safe. He put away his wand. George was carrying a beat-up leather satchel, and from it there was a clinking sound. "Beer?", he said by way of greeting his brother.
"Save it for afters, and then I think we'll want something stronger," Charlie replied. He got up to help George put the beer away, not so much because George needed the help as because Charlie needed to be doing something.
There was a crack of Apparation on the front doorstep and Bill and Molly appeared, he at least a head taller than her. With customary chivalry, or fearful deference, he opened the door for both of them and allowed her over the threshold before he entered. "And the woman of the hour. Wotcher, folks. Has my wife arrived?"
Molly stepped into the room, looking quickly from Charlie to George, and adding a smile for Mircea. "My boys! I'm so happy to see you!" With that she rushed into the room, sweeping Charlie into a smothering hug. As she held tightly to him, she reached out an arm to George to join them.
George leaned in, and kissed her on the cheek. "Hi, Mum. Welcome home, or home-ish."
Charlie returned the hug and started to extricate himself. "Fleur's not here yet," he told Bill and Molly, "and neither are Ginny and Ted, nor Percy. I'm sure they'll get here soon. Transport can be difficult," he explained to Molly.
"As is communication," Bill added, perching on the arm of the sofa and tried to quell his anxiety as he peered out the window by the door. "Most wizards can't cast patronuses and owls are... risky."
George nodded. "Exactly. In the land of the deaf, the one-eared man is king."
Rolling her eyes at George's habitual ear joke, Molly settled herself on the sofa, affording her a good view of the rest of the seating arrangements. "I knew it was bad, but it seems to be getting so much worse lately." She shook her head, sighing. "How safe are you all? Are your wards solid?"
George nodded again. "Well, what with the new government, it's getting a bit too civilized here, but we're managing. While I'm not staying at Wheezes anymore, I can safely say my wards are some of the best you'll never find."
"My wards are usually solid," Bill added with a distracted shrug. Fleur was more than capable of transporting the children on her own, but he would not be satisfied until they were all there in the flesh.
"And so are mine, but I keep on the move, so I worry less about it. We'll make sure the wards here are sealed even tighter before any of us leave, though." Charlie gave both Molly and Bill a reassuring grin. "George brought beer and I've stocked the kitchen--not up to your standards, Mum, but there's at least something to eat. I can put on some tea if you like."
"That would be lovely, dear," Molly waved her hand absently. She would be checking the wards to this place as soon as the children left, but her own safety was of little concern at the moment. "What about Ginny and little Ted? Where are they staying now?" She almost continued inquiring into Percy's safety, but she had promised herself she would try not to mother the new Minister. Not in public, at any rate.
"Well, if you don't remember, then it means her Fidelius Charm worked. Nobody but the secret keeper can say where it is, of course." George drank some of his beer. It was flat, which he supposed was one of the horrors of war, these days...
Molly's eyebrows shot up. "Did she now? Did she really?" Her voice trailed off, but the pride in her youngest was evident. "Good for her, then." She looked back at the three men, expectantly. "And I expect you all have been told the location by now?"
"Yes, but I'm not the keeper," Charlie said, and escaped to the kitchen.
"No," Bill said simply.
"Nope," denied George.
Before Molly could pursue those inquiries any further, there was a knock at the door.
Immediately on his feet, Bill went to the door and beamed more happily than was warranted at his wife and children. "Hey there, scout," he said as he plucked up Marcel and ruffled Margaux's hair.
Fleur leaned in and kissed Bill by way of greeting, and then sent Margaux over to Molly for inspection. "Mere Molly! It's so good to see you. Say hello to your grandmama, Marcel," she suggested to the boy, who was nestled happily in his father's arms. Margaux had already thrown her arms around Molly.
Leaning into the hug, Molly wrapped her arms around the child. "Oh, Margaux, how you've grown!" She smiled at Fleur from the midst of the embrace. "Soon you will be as tall as me." Caressing Margaux's hair, Molly leaned back, inviting her to take a lap if she wished. "Hello there, Marcel," she said with a motherly smile. "I've missed you so."
Margaux was a little old for lap-climbing, in her own opinion at least, but she duly sat down across Molly with as much dignity as her nine years could muster. Marcel laughed and reached out toward Molly from where Bill was holding him. "Bonjour, grand-mere!"
Making a rushing sound of a broomstick in flight, Bill airplaned Marcel in his arms toward Molly. "Want to give your grandmother a hug?" Bill asked teasingly, the child still stretching his arms out. Marcel let out a squeal and Bill lowered him to the sofa beside her.
Percy spotted Fleur before anyone else, his pace slowing up as he approached the door, suitcase still in grasp. He set a hand on Fleur's shoulder, giving her a slight, tight smile. "Hullo, Fleur," he said, before waving at the population in the interior of the house.
Fleur turned to Percy with a smile and offered him a peck on the cheek after the French fashion. "Bonjour, Percy. Everyone but Ginny and Ted is here already."
"Percival!" Molly smiled, holding her hands out toward the newcomer, "Come give your mum a kiss."
Bill sneezed unexpectedly in place of a loud snort, and croaked as he headed into the kitchen for a "kleenex", "Charlie, Percy's arrived."
There was a weariness in the kiss he planted on Fleur's cheek as he moved past her. "Hullo, Mum," he said and let himself get enveloped close enough to plant a kiss on her cheek. "I hope your trip was smooth?"
"Smooth as can be expected, these days," Molly sighed, between kissing her son and playing with the children on either side of her. "I'm afraid the safe apparation sites are dwindling to nothing." Her lips pursed as she looked Percy up and down. "You look exhausted, dear. Are you sleeping at all?"
"Occasionally, I promise," he replied soberly, then gave smiles to both Marcel and Margaux. "Think you can keep her busy for a bit?" he asked the two of them as he sought out and found George's face. "Lavatory?" If there was one thing he could use right now, it was cold water and a moment to breathe.
"Second on the left. Mind the child's seat," George said, pointing.
Charlie emerged from the kitchen with a tray with tea service for the adults, including a plate of biscuits. "Wotcher, Perce," he said to his brother's retreating back. "Somebody make room on the table. Bill's getting something for Marcel," he explained to Fleur and Molly.
There was a crack of Apparation somewhere outside, and a moment later Ginny and Teddy entered, each carrying a food-dish. "I've got egg salad," Ginny announced. "Who needs a sandwich?" Then, almost as an afterthought, she added, "Oh, hello, Mum." She grinned impishly, but it seemed a bit forced, as though she were pushing through despite being worn out. She headed quickly for the kitchen.
"Get Bill to show you where the plates are, Gin," Charlie called after her.
"Trade you beer for a sandwich," George added. "Wait, what kind of eggs?" he asked suspiciously.
"Delicious ones!" Ginny called back. "With mustard."
Pursing her lips once again at her fleeing youngest child, Molly turned back to the child carrying a covered dish. "Teddy, sweetheart! Come give us a hug!" She held out her arms, "And what have you brought to the party, dear?"
Teddy glanced significantly at Marcel and began, "C-U-P---" Abruptly, he looked at his Uncle George. "Hey, wasn't that a Wheeze?" he asked, not quite suppressing a smirk.
George grinned back. "Wasn't what a Wheeze? C-U-P? No, see you pee is a way to get arrested. You-No-Poo was a super secret agent communication trick that strained all of our resources. I have some random Wheezes in my pocket. Over half of them guaranteed harmless. You can have one if you want, Squirt."
Molly shot a glare at the grinning George. Would this obsession with the ridiculous never end? "You haven't corrupted this child already, have you?"
George grinned at his mother, knowing he was taking the heat for his siblings and enjoying it. "Corrupted? Hey, Squirt, are you corrupted yet? Your gran wants to make sure she's there for the corruparty."
"Well," Teddy said mock-seriously, "you keep calling me 'squirt', which by your definition means I'm probably going to get arrested, right? So I suppose that's a certain kind of corruption...."
"True, and it's possible that you're on the verge of promoting yourself, via the natural processes, from 'Squirt' to ..." Hmm. George stroked his chin in thought. "What's like a Squirt, but bigger. 'Spout'? No... Help me out, here, Squirt. What do we promote you to?"
"'Gush'?" Teddy suggested, tentatively, and then his face lit up. "You know, short for 'Augushtus'!"
George clapped him on the shoulder. "Excellent. 'Guh' it is." George turned to Molly. "Mum, Guh is, I am proud to report, adequately corrupted, having worked on his own initiative despite our woefully inadequate attention or resources for the task." He gave a mock salute.
Molly opened her mouth for a sharp retort, then smiled sweetly instead. "I believe the term was 'Gush,' dear. Do try to keep up with the child."
Charlie chose this moment to offer George a cup of tea. "Here you go, bro." He'd started with Molly and was working his way round the group.
"Why thank you," said George, taking the cup. "Ahh. Just what I needed, or it would be if it were beer. 'Gush' it is."
Percy bobbed down the staircase, his jacket passed over his free arm and the cuffs of his shirt rolled up slightly so the water didn't splash on them. As his eyes passed over the crowd, he realised that there was a significant dearth of chairs. He set his things down, pulled out his wand, and turned the small table next to a door into a chair. At least he'd have some place to drape his coat.
Fleur pulled her chair over closer to Percy's to join him. "Bon anniversaire," she said quietly as Charlie finished handing out the teacups. "I have a birthday gift for you when I can get it without trouble from certain grabby hands." She nodded at her children, who were still sitting next to their grandmother.
Percy looked surprised, then mouthed 'biscuits?'
Fleur nodded and touched her finger to her lips.
Ginny reappeared from the kitchen with several plates of sandwiches, which she began handing out, starting with her brothers, who could always seem to use something to eat.
"Hullo, Perce," she said as she worked her way toward the door. "You need a sandwich?" she asked, though it came out sounding more like a statement. "Fleur?"
"Merci," Fleur said, and took one.
He took one off the plate and examined it critically despite looking up pleasantly at Ginny. "Hello Ginny. Thank you."
"Don't worry, it won't bite," said Ginny with a grin. "That's the ham salad." She moved to the couch and offered the last plate she was carrying to her mother.
Molly took two sandwiches from the plate and divided them between the children to either side of her. "Thank you, sweetheart," she smiled at Ginny in appreciation. Sipping her tea, she asked, in a deceptively mild voice, "Is it true that you've gone under the Fidelius?"
"Yes," Ginny replied pleasantly, and decided at that moment that she'd unloaded enough sandwiches that she could relieve Teddy of his cupcake burden, which she did immediately. "Go hug your Auntie Molly," she said, and began moving again toward the kitchen while Teddy obliged.
Hugging Teddy, Molly shot a glare in her daughter's direction.
George was finishing up his first sandwich as Ginny retreated to the kitchen. "Hey, Gush, do you want me to show you how to turn an egg sandwich into a niffler?"
Simultaneously, Teddy gave an enthusiastic "Yes!" and a voice from the kitchen offered an emphatic "NO."
Keeping hold of Teddy with one hand, Molly turned her glare toward George. "Do I have to separate you two? Because believe me, George Edward Weasley, I will do it."
Percy gave Fleur a knowing look. "Just like old times," he said dryly, biting down on the sandwich.
Fleur met Percy's gaze and did not quite sigh. "Perhaps we can consider family visiting day a day off from teaching and curriculum development, yes? For some of us this is work."
George sighed. "Study hard, Gush. I'll need a new partner one of these days. One who had studied hard would be a novelty."
Charlie, who had gotten everyone settled with tea and quietly found a chair in the corner, out of the way of his mother and the grandchildren, closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he took a bite of his sandwich to forestall any attempt anyone might make to get him to say anything.
Bill shrugged his shoulders at Ginny on his way out of the kitchen and took a seat by his wife with an apologetic glance at Percy. "So, Mum, how was the trip in?" he asked conversationally.
Fleur moved to thread her fingers through Bill's as he settled next to her, waiting for Molly's answer.
“As well as you might expect,” Molly hedged, not wanting to go into too much detail in front of the children. She handed Teddy the last of the sandwiches on the plate nearest them, and scooted him off to sit on the floor by the sofa. There was an air of discomfiture passing between her children, and she was acutely aware of not being in on the situation here at home. Whether it was strictly a Weasley affair, or more widespread, would remain to be seen.
“How are you holding up?” she inquired politely of Fleur and Bill, treating them, as well as their children, as a single entity in the question.
"Rather well, considering the circumstances," Bill replied with a shrug. Margaux, without a place for her teacup, came back over to him at this juncture and sat beside him. His arm settled protectively behind her. "We've moved out of Shell for the time being, since my muggle identity was recently compromised. It's quite inconvenient, but we've managed. Haven't we?" This he addressed to his daughter, who nodded silently.
George nodded. "It's been sorta mental here, mum. A while back I found Luna Lovegood had made her way back from wherever she went and she was wandering around Ottery St. Stenchpole as if it were safe. We rescued her and Xeno, who was just hiding in his tower. People have no idea what to do and what's safe and what's not."
"Luna? Oh, the poor child!" Her jaw set, hearing that her beloved Ottery was still being set upon by the enemy, whoever that turned out to be. Retaking her home was necessarily low on the priority list for Molly, but it was still written in bold ink. She kept quiet about it, however, knowing the response she would get from her children, although she shot a guilty look toward Charlie as she considered her options on that front. "Where have the Lovegoods ended up, does anyone know?" She would have to look in on poor Xeno some time soon, the poor man.
Ginny ventured cautiously from the kitchen in time to hear her mother's question. "Last I talked to her, Luna had convinced her father they needed to take a nice long holiday on the continent, I think. Furthering their research on the mating habits of Nargles or somesuch...."
"What's a Nargle?" asked Teddy eagerly; he'd never heard of such a thing.
"Why don't you come over here and I'll explain all about them," Charlie suggested, dropping his wand into his hand to conjure another chair for the lad.
Teddy, always happy to hear his uncle talk about interesting animals, jumped up to sit by Charlie.
"They're two among dozens," Bill said, in reply to Ginny's comment. "Hermione's on the continent now, and many wizards have headed or are seeking to head that way. I had one means of getting them there, but the options are more limited. Not everyone can Apparate."
Fleur added, "Some people are flying in and out, but I doubt M. Lovegood is up to that. He might have gotten assistance from Viktor, though."
Molly shook her head, sadly. "Are we helping anyone else to get out? Besides Bill's efforts, I mean," she smiled wanly at her eldest. "Is there a concerted effort by the new government?"
George laughed at Molly's comment. "Sorry, Mum. Near as I can tell at least a third of the new government thinks anyone who leaves is a traitor."
Molly raised a cold eyebrow at George's reaction. "This is amusing in some fashion?"
George didn't quite lose his composure completely, but the struggle was clear on his face. "Mum, the new 'Government of National Unity' is exactly what you think, which is some of everyone. 'Concerted effort' is not in their vocabulary. It's not really up to doing things in an Orderly fashion."
"This is precisely whey we're being derided by the wizards on the continent. How can we expect to be respected or supported if we can't even govern ourselves?" Her lips were pursed in an expression well known by all of the adults in the room, and it was not one they enjoyed seeing.
Percy polished off his sandwich neatly, then looked very directly at his mother. "How can we expect to govern ourselves with no support from the international community while a militant Muggle government tortures our citizenry without any recourse? Now, Mother, I realise better than anyone the expectations held by the ICW and their supposed constituencies, but if I might be frank, their idea of tieing both arms behind Britain's back and expecting us to kick our way back to self-sufficiency is ludicrous at best and may be the misstep that causes a full out war between Muggle and Wizarding worlds at worst."
"The government was demolished. No one there likes to talk about it, they all like to presume that politicians and infrastructure and communication will just rise to fill the vacuum, but that is not how it works and they know it. Those necessities have to be educated and crafted and built, they have to be supported and they have to be defended. Which they also know," Percy accused flatly. "Their derision is nothing more than a case of them staring into their own futures and realising that if we can't overcome it, they certainly won't. Unfortunately, they're channeling their fear into inaction, not into action."
From the corner of the room, Charlie paused in his explanation of Nargles to Ted to add, "The Confederation's always dealt with problems by papering them over. Why should this one be any different?" His tone made it clear that the lack of respect between Britain and the ICW was, in his quarter at least, mutual.
George nodded at both of his brothers. "Gotta say I agree with Malfoy on this one. Continental Wizards can get continentally stuffed."
Molly rolled her eyes at George and Charlie, but focused her indignation on Percy.
You can sit there and scoff at the ICW all you like, Percival, but that doesn’t change the fact that it is up to us to pull ourselves together and deal with the problem at hand. The rest of the world is waiting for us to prove that we can govern our own people, whether or not you feel that they owe you some sort of time-out while you gather your wits.
“There is such a thing as over thinking, my son, and while you’re waiting to figure out how to set up the ‘perfect’ government, someone else may slip in and do it for you while you’re still writing an outline.
“The continental wizards are giving us our chance,” she said, looking at all of them, but letting her eyes linger on Charlie and Percy. “If we don’t fill the void soon enough, we may not be able to keep them from making our decisions for us.”
"Do you really think they would try the wrath of their own Muggle governments considering how Britain's has reacted?" Percy inquired. "I'm sure Sarkozy and Merkel would have something to say if German and French wizards went to march on their ally, not to mention the fact that I highly doubt that MI7 would distinguish between British and Foreign wizardry in their attacks." Percy looked over at Charlie and shrugged. "Maybe we should invite them over - put the gun to their heads."
But that was rather facetious of him, so he returned the point at hand. "It's not a time-out they owe us Mother, its resources and its pressure. Now, in some areas the ICW has been remarkably helpful - increasing class size to accomodate British students, tutors for the students at non-English students, relaxing international trade standards - all very helpful. But the thing they need to do most is pressure their own Muggle governments to take a stand against this activity or risk tacit compliance with Muggle Britain's activities."
"I don't know where you're getting your facts, Percival, but if you think the wizarding governments on the continent have any more control over their muggle counterparts than we have here at home you're sadly mistaken." Molly's colour was rising, along with her voice. "What sort of stand do you expect them to take, considering that we're doing all we can to keep them out of Britain in order to maintain our sovereignty?" She didn't bring up her own concerns with the secrecy laws, but that argument was not far behind.
"Perhaps we should refrain from politics until we are done with our dinner, non? It might kill the appetite for all the lovely food that Ginny has brought." Fleur looked around the room, her gaze settling on the three children. The older two were certainly old enough to follow the conversation and Margaux at least looked rather uncomfortable. She flashed a grateful smile at her mother and an envious look at Teddy, who was mostly out of the field of fire in his corner by Charlie.
It was clear from Teddy's closed-off body language that he had also picked up on the tension in the room, though he was keeping most of his concentration firmly on his Uncle Charlie.
"Right. We can discuss my plan for British Wizarding Solidarity by hating the ICW over the pudding." George jumped up and shouted towards the kitchen, "Is it soup yet?"
"I think I'll go and assist," Percy said as he rose up and didn't storm out, but walked at an unaffected pace into the kitchen, upon which he allowed himself a fumed sigh in the process of coming up alongside Ginny.