January 4
Molly squinted in the sunlight streaming through her window. She glanced at her clock. Ten? Ugh. It was too early to get up. She rolled over and planted her face in the cold fabric of the pillow. Just a few more minutes. Or hours.
"Molly!" Her mum banged on her door. "Molly, wake up. Lou is here to see you."
"It's alright, Oddie. I'll get her up," Lou said.
The door knob turned.
"I'm not wearing any pants," Molly groaned, turning to look at her cousin hurry into the room.
"I need your help," he said, his face red. "And quick. I left Pierre at Rose's, but…well…I don't think he can handle them for long. He isn't exactly child-friendly."
"Are you kidding me?"
"Molly, please?" He knelt by her bed. "Pretty please?" He clasped his hands. "Oh, come on. You know you want to."
"Go make me some tea. I'll be there in half an hour," she grumbled, throwing the blankets off her.
"Thank you!" Louis jumped on her, wrapping his arms around her half-naked body. "You've been to Rose's right?"
"I'll floo."
"Thank you!" He kissed her on the cheek. "And please hurry. I don't think we can hold them off for much longer."
Molly pushed him out of her room and threw on ratty jeans and her Manchester United sweatshirt.
3
When she walked out of the fireplace, Molly was awed by Rose's house. She was greeted by a huge, open room divided in half by pillars holding up the double-high ceiling split into four distinct areas. In front of her -- the fireplace -- was the dining area, to her right the kitchen, beyond the dining room a table stacked with a mess of papers and an owl cage, and in the last corner a television and couches. The far wall had a few doors and continued to a hallway, a loft over it clearly a dedicated library. She chuckled at the sight; both of them in the quidditch industry, but both still holding onto knowledge. She wouldn't expect anything less of Greg, born and bred Ravenclaw.
"Louis!" she shouted, alarmed at how well her voice carried through the house.
Tentatively, she walked through the kitchen, marveling at the top of the line appliances and granite countertops. She supposed that's what you get working for two of the longest lived quidditch franchises.
"Louis, where are you?"
She walked down the hallway slowly, admiring the landscaping of the front lawn out of the windows.
"In the…owe, Adam, stop that!"
"Where?"
"Tower!"
"Tower?"
"Down the hallway!"
"Hallway?"
"Pierre…not in front of…dammit."
Tentatively, Molly walked forward and through an arched passage into a circular room with a wrought iron spiral staircase in the middle. It seemed to drill up through a tall tower. She started climbing, her hand resting on the cold metal, her mind going back in time to her days at Hogwarts when she and Lorcan would climb an eerily similar staircase to get to a hidden ledge outside the Prefect's dormitory in the Gryffindor Tower. She opened the first door she came to, next to a family portrait taken a few years back.
Pierre and Louis were both tied to chairs, Joey waving around a wand he had taken from one of them, Adam sitting on Pierre's lap playing with his face, and Quinn sitting docilely in the corner playing with a toy quidditch set that had parts too small for him to be using.
"Why did Rose agree to let you guys babysit?" Molly asked, snatching the wand out of Joseph's hand.
"Hey!" Joey said, reaching up to snatch it back. "I was using that!"
"And how old are you? Oh yeah, seven. You have about ten more years to go before you can use magic here." She flicked the wand in the direction of Quinn, who was about to bring a small quidditch broom to his mouth, sending the set flying to a high shelf on the opposite side of the room. Quinn started crying.
"Oi, kid," Molly said sharply. "What would your father say if he saw you playing with them? I'd be willing to bet he'd take 'em away, too. And you, young man, get off of Pierre unless you want a beating."
Adam looked flabbergasted as he slid off Pierre, his face white.
"Joey, untie Pierre. Quin. Calm down, will you? As soon as you guys untie the frenchies, we'll do something fun."
"Who are you?" Adam asked.
"Marry freaking Poppins, now untie them."
"Well, Miss Poppins," Joey said. "I don't think we should listen to you. You don't seem like a very nice lady."
Molly stared at him for a few seconds.
"Do you even know who Marry Poppins is?"
"Evidently a mean lady," Adam said, crossing his arms.
"We like Lou and Peepee," Quinn said, indignant.
"Peepee? Well, let me tell you. Peepee and Lou don't really like you that much."
"That's not true," Louis said, abashed.
"No, it is not," Peepee added.
"If they did, they would not let you get away with this."
"You lie!" Quin said.
"Alright, how about we all go outside and play a game," Molly said, clapping her hands together excitedly.
The boys exchanged glances.
"Ok," Joey said with a shrug.
"We just have to make sure you all put on your jackets, you know," Molly continued. "And when we come back, I'll make hot chocolate and we can watch a movie."
"What's a movie?" Adam asked, his little face scrunched in confusion.
Molly groaned. Wizarding kids. So inept to muggle technology.
"Lou, can you go to my room and get Marry Poppins and my DVD player?"
"Your what?" Lou said.
"Ask my mum for the movie stuff. She should just give you Mary Poppins. She knows that's my favorite."
"Um…Ok. Can you untie me, though?"
3
The first thing Rose did when she entered her house was to throw her jacket on the activity table. The second thing she did was grab the carton of chocolate ice cream out of the freezer and a bowl. And a spoon. She heard the tv on across the room. Were the boys still up? She glanced at her watch. It was nearly 9:30. They should have gone to bed hours ago…
She walked into the sitting area, the bowl of ice cream in her hand and paused for a second, taking in the scene. Adam, Quinn, and Joey were all sleeping peacefully on the couch against the far wall. Louis was sitting in the one closest to the kitchen, his own eyes closed, with Pierre's head in his lap. She clenched her jaw. They promised her they wouldn't fall asleep again. And they hadn't put the kids in bed on time! She took a deep breath, trying not to get too angry with them.
The bathroom toilet flushed.
Who the fuck could that be? She shook her head and put her bowl down on the end table before angrily shaking Louis.
"Louis," she hissed. "Louis!"
"Err…I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Rose stood up and turned around, faced with Molly picking Quinn up. What was she doing here?
"They had quite the day," Molly said. "I'm just gonna put these guys in their beds and then I'll fill you in."
"Uh…yeah…" Rose wasn't quite sure what to say. Instead of saying anything, she woke up Joey and got him in his bed while Molly took care of Adam.
"So what happened?" Rose asked. "And what is this?"
"Oh…um…Finding Nemo. They didn't like Mary Poppins all that much."
"Ahuh."
"It's a muggle movie. They seemed to like it until they passed out."
"Which was when? Usually they're getting ready to go to bed at seven…"
"Well, Quinn passed out shortly after seven, Adam was out by half past, and Joey managed to make it until eight thirty. I was just waiting for the movie to be over to put 'em to bed."
Rose stared at her, speechless for a moment.
"How did you get them to go to bed while watching TV?" Rose ventured.
"Tired 'em out, I guess. I mean, they had a pretty busy morning tying up Pierre and Louis like they did, and then I just brought them outside and ran them around the yard a few hundred times, and then by the time dinner was over, they were wiped out." Molly shrugged and straightened the throw on the back of one of the couches.
Rose groaned and sat down in one of the chairs.
"They really tied them up? I was afraid of that. Joey's been going through a cowboy phase. He loves to tie things up -- Adam, cats, Greg…Louis and Pierre didn't stand a chance."
"It doesn't help they're softer than a kitten."
Rose reached into her pocket and pulled a money purse and tossed it to Molly.
"What's this?"
"Payment. It was supposed to go to Lou, but it seems as if he was useless."
"That's not…"
"You wasted a day here, it's the least I can do."
"I didn't waste.."
"Oh just shove it, will you? I just spent all day arguing with the manager of the Cannons for a pay raise that he isn't going to give me the next time my contract is up. I think I'm going to end up with the Tornadoes next season."
"That's bad?"
"No, not really. It'd double my pay. But, I mean, the Cannons are my team. They always have been. And Greg and I would be on the same schedule. In fact, I'd be working more than I am now. And with a baby on the way…it's just a lot to think about. And I'm exhausted. And Greg thinks we should get a house elf."
"You don't want a house elf?"
"My mum'll be pissed. And…I don't know. Just that I'm considering it makes me feel incompetent. And I know Joey will abuse the poor thing."
Molly picked up some of the dishes littering the coffee table.
"Why don't you go to bed while I finish up here?" Molly asked.
"No. I need to wait for Greg."
"When's he coming back?"
"I don't know. He had a game in Italy today. Midnight? One?" Rose yawned, unable to hold it in.
"I'm probably going to be here that late cleaning, anyway. Why don't you go to bed and I'll just tell him to wake you up?"
"No, no, no." Rose shook her head. "You need to get out of here. You have something to do on a Saturday night."
"Nope. Go to bed. Relax. I've got it under control."
Rose ignored her and picked up the remote, changing the channel to wizarding news. Quidditch. Discussing the future of the best up and coming analyst -- Rose Daniels -- and what, exactly, she's going to do next season.
"This is ridiculous," Rose muttered. "I can't believe they still doubt whether or not I'll come back next season, pregnant. I've done it three times before and still they think I'm going to stay home. Ridiculous. I can't stay home. I tried it once with Joey and ended up going back to the team. Nope. I can't stay away from quidditch."
Molly grinned to herself and started scrubbing dishes.
"What're you doing?" Rose asked sharply.
"What do you mean?" Molly squirted more soap on the sponge.
"Why aren't you using magic? It'd go much faster, you know."
Molly's ears burned with embarrassment, her hand stopping their motions. Right. Magic. For household chores.
"I…don't know how," she admitted slowly, beginning to scrub again.
"Oh, right…sorry I forgot…Do you want to learn it?"
"Um…no, that's alright. I don't mind."
"Er…ok…"
