****Own nothing. Get nothing. You know the drill on this disclaimer. Thanks for the patience!****
May 3rd, 2013 The Burrow
Molly Weasley was in her element. She had a houseful of people and she was in full command of her kitchen.
Her children had been trickling back in since the sun rose, bringing their families with them.
Her new family members had come down in a group, still yawning, to be greeted by the sight of breakfast.
She had called the Larkin Family and... invited them to breakfast in a manner that gave no room for argument.
She had just smiled when some of them appeared half-asleep and in pajamas with their siblings dragging them.
The Kelley's had come with no arguments or complaints and seemed content to look at their granddaughter while sipping juice.
Molly stood at her stove and beamed.
Right now, life was very good.
Unnoticed by anyone from England, however, there was a less than good moment going on.
"What is that?" Danni breathed to Fred, eyeing one of the dishes in front of her.
"I have no idea." Fred breathed back.
"I think those are kippers." Jason breathed.
"Their heads are still on." Clarice advised them without moving her lips.
"I know." Brandon watched the dish suspiciously.
"They're looking at me." Danni leaned away from the dish.
"They want to eat your so-o-o-o-o-o-oul." Fred mock wailed without moving her lips.
"They do. I can tell." Danni whispered.
"Everything alright?" Molly asked cheerfully.
"Super!" The Six said in unison with bright smiles.
"Just don't know where to start." Clarice said honestly.
"Tuck in!" Molly encouraged.
"Boudin." P.L. sighed once she had moved on and took some breakfast.
"Okay, you guys keep referring to that. What is boudin?" Ron asked curiously.
"It's a cajun sausage." P.L. replied. "It actually tastes okay unless you know what's in it."
"Which is true for most sausages... and hot dogs." Clarice admitted. "And anything from a fast food place."
"But we watched it being made once." Fred sighed. "Such a mistake. We saw too much. Lost part of our childhood that day. I still have nightmares."
"Remembering boudin reminds us that you don't question, you just seize it and enjoy it." Brandon explained. "We questioned boudin and it was ruined for us. So, we don't always wonder about what something is when we just want to enjoy."
"If you haven't noticed, we are all way too curious for our own good and sometimes, it bites us in the butt." Fred made a face.
"Oh my God this is so good." Danni closed her eyes in bliss as she sampled her meal. "Oh my God! I don't want to ever stop eating!"
"Parental Units, while Danni is blissful and ecstatic and you are distracted by watching her and laughing at her obvious enjoyment of the meal," Clarice began.
"Oh my God!" Fred groaned. "So good!"
"And we have lost Fred." Jason rolled his eyes.
"Anyway." Clarice frowned at her friends. "As I was saying, we need to discuss things with the six of you when breakfast is done."
"Yes. I think we should all talk." Charlene agreed. "We have a lot of things we really need to discuss. And not just the fact that the six of you decided it was a good idea to run off to another country while our backs were turned. And believe me, we will be discussing that."
"It was a good idea though." Brandon pointed out. "Fred and Danni found their family. We found out about Randal. Danni found her father and her mother's family. We didn't die."
"It was actually much safer than going to class." Fred sighed. "No one tried to push us under a bus or feed us to gators or hex us with weird spells or turned us funny colors or knock us off brooms or-"
P.L. cleared his throat and she stopped.
"To be fair in another way, we really did think you would find us before you did." Jason said carefully. "I mean, we left a trail a mile wide."
"We used our debit cards for God's sake!" Fred blurted.
"So we don't need to pay the Larkins' back for anything?" David asked carefully.
"God no. They paid for everything themselves." Bridget snorted. "I think we may actually owe them."
"How in the world did you manage that?" Marcel asked, stunned .
"We have our own accounts." Danni shrugged. "Da- uh, they were set up for us years ago. Some investments were made and now, well, we could afford this little adventure really easily."
"Oh no." Audrina moaned and ran her hands through her hair. "We have to figure out our finances."
"We'll hire an accountant to figure it all out." Peter soothed her.
"Just do it yourselves. Not hard." Danni shrugged.
"Sweetheart, those investments and accounts are no doubt quite complicated and we're really not sure how Ra- how they were handled." Audrina said carefully.
Danni shook her head. "No. They really aren't. Not the things that aren't handled directly by the investment people at the bank. I'll grab the books later and show you all of it. And you can just call Carson Hughs and ask him for help on the hard junk. He's our contact person at the bank."
"I don't think it's a good idea for a fifteen year old to act as our investment manager." Nadine gently told her.
Danni looked up and lifted her chin. "I haven't heard any complaints in the last two years. In fact, you've all seemed quite satisfied."
There was silence around the table.
"What are you saying exactly?" Peter asked finally.
"He has been obsessed with those books of spells his mother left him to the point that he sometimes forgets to eat." Danni stabbed at her plate. "Do you really think he takes time out to handle money? I take care of what I can and slide the papers back for him to sign. Like bills and stuff. If it's too hard or whatever, I pass it on to Carson. He taught me about what he did when I was little. It's not hard."
"I think we should talk about all of this later." Nadine said suddenly. "I have a feeling it will be a very long discussion."
"After breakfast discussion seems to be getting bigger and bigger." Charlene commented.
"Oh, uh. You should be there." Danni looked at Charlie. "Because, you know."
"Yeah. I know." Charlie nodded and offered her a smile. She managed a smile back.
The breakfast was almost done when a song filled the air. Danni froze, her eyes growing wide. Fred dropped her fork. P.L. set his juice back down. Brandon got still. Jason clenched his fists. Clarice's lips parted in surprise.
"What in the world is that?" Molly asked, looking around.
"Danni?" Clarice whispered. "You alright?"
She nodded and slowly reached into her pocket. She pulled a cell phone out and placed it on the table, staring at it.
Everyone looked at it.
"How in the world is that working?" Hermione asked, startled.
"Simple insulating charm that shields it from magical energies. Only lasts for a little while before I have to redo it." Danni whispered, staring at the screen. It stopped ringing for a second and then started again. "I can do this." She reached a trembling hand toward it.
"If you don't want to, I will." Audrina offered gently but there was a fire in her eyes. "I don't mind at all."
Danni shook her head. "No. I need to do this."
"What is it?" Ron asked blankly.
"That's Randal." Fred told him. "We've been waiting for him to call since last night."
"Let someone else answer!" Harry cried but it was too late.
"Hello?" Danni said softly. She listened a moment and then said, "I'm fine. No. They're fine, too. We're all here. Yes. I took my potions this morning. No. It doesn't hurt. Yeah. No, I am pretty sure that they know now. Don't think that was something that could get hidden. Yeah. She's pretty pissed. No. I'm not just using offensive slang terms to irritate you. Aunt Audi is beyond mad. Aunt Audi is pissed." She was quiet for a moment. "Yeah. That pissed." She listened a moment.
"Yeah, about that. Why exactly did a paternity spell show that Charlie Weasley is my father? And- and- and what the hell?! Come on! I have been really cool for years with the whole former Death Eater thing and the keep all the secrets thing and do you really think I didn't figure out that you were teaching me spells that were way out of the league of most kids and hello? You taught me to blow things up and to- to do other things that I didn't need to be doing! But I think you need to come clean now! Where did you get me? And I know it wasn't coincidence that we ended up with Aunt Audi and Fred! Not that I'm complaining but still! You need to tell me! Because Aunt Audi is not the only one that's hurt and confused and pissed right now!"
Peter reached over and yanked the phone from Danni. He hit a button and Randal's voice filled the room. Danni opened her mouth and then closed it, her shoulders slumping.
"I always thought I would do this when we were face-to-face so I could make sure you understood. But we'll have to do it like this. You have to know that I love you, Danielle." he began. "You're my world, sweetheart. You have been since the day I saw you for the first time.
"I got knocked out a window during the battle at the school. And a wall fell on me. And I don't want to discuss how my wand survived. That redheaded bitch had killed your mother, or so I thought. I knew about Audrina and Fred. I went to their apartment in London. I was going to... I don't know what I was going to do now. I can't remember. But they weren't there. An old lady there had where they were going written down and she gave it to me. So I headed to Dublin."
"An old lady?" Danni asked, dread in her voice.
"Ah yes. Good cook. We had tea and a lovely visit. I do wish I could have gone back to visit. She packed me snacks when I left." Audrina exhaled in relief at the insinuation that the woman was alright.
"It wasn't hard to find her. Even when she was someplace else, I could find her. She-she was my only friend. And I know she was just as lonely as I was. And that was when I realized something. My Bella wasn't dead. She had been stolen from me and hidden away. But the connection was there. In the mornings, we would sit in the park. She would drink her morning tea or coffee and I would sit on my bench and the silence wasn't uncomfortable, it was actually quite nice because it wasn't Alone Silence.
"She wasn't My Bella from how she had been after Azkaban. She was My Bella from when we first married. And I went to where she was to talk to her. To tell her that it was a miracle that we were both alive and to take her away. To someplace safe." Danni was hugging herself at his words. Everyone in the room was frozen as if struck by spells.
"She was in the shower when I got there. It was such a small flat. So much less than what she deserved, but it was comfortable. And there you were. You were in a bassinet, cooing to yourself while your mother bathed. And when I picked you up, you knew. You weren't scared at all. You knew who I was." They could all hear the smile in his voice. Rikko's hands were clenched into fists and Daniel seemed frozen. "I loved you from that moment on.
"When your mother came out, she didn't remember me. They had stolen her memories. But I didn't realize that at first. She was so reserved with me. I remember how she was. Her hair was wet and she smelled like flowers. She was wearing a red. She was holding a towel... I was going to make her a cup of tea. To calm her down so we could talk about our future. I turned my back to the door... if I hadn't done that, it would have all been alright. I regret it to this day. It's one of the things I wish I could fix. I can't but I wish I could."
"What-what happened?" Danni managed to choke out.
"I didn't hear the door open!" he blurted. "She came up behind us and she yelled. I just-I just reacted! And she flew across the room! She hit the wall, head first. And your mother was screaming, telling me it was her friend. Julie or something like that."
Tears were pouring down Valentine's face as she clamped a hand over her mouth to keep silent. Jack put his arm around her.
"I told her it was an accident! And after all the people she killed, I think she should have forgiven me the one! It was an accident but she lost control! She was demanding that I give you to her and yelling at me and telling me her name was something else. She was so confused! And there was a picture of her with one of those Redheaded Bastards and I know now that it was a trick but I was so angry! I- I accused her of untrue to me. She was so confused. She didn't even know who she was, let alone who I was. She fought me. With her bare hands! I pushed her away but she came back. She-she broke her arm but she kept attacking me. And I lost control when she clawed my face. You were screaming and she was- she was attacking, grabbing for you, and I lost control!
"I swear to God, Danielle, it was an accident. I don't even remember doing it but then she was there on the floor and there was- there was so much blood. And she was- she was broken. Everything was broken but she was- she was still alive. She was still trying to take you from me. And begging me not to hurt you. And the other girl was dying and she was dying and you were screaming... I had to, Danielle. But it will be alright. I'll fix it. I promise."
"W-what about Aunt Audrina?" Danni croaked. Charlie was staring at the phone with a look that did not bode well for her phone or the man on the other end.
"It took time. I knew where she was but she didn't come back. That would have made life so much easier. But we went there. I called in favors and made a few investments. I made my own luck, you see. I needed her to be destitute. Desperate. And she was. It wasn't hard to arrange." Audrina fell into a seat, stunned. "And then, all I had to do was walk in and offer her the world. She took it. She was scared and alone. I offered her rescue.
"I was going to destroy her one piece at a time. I was going to make her completely dependent on me. She and her child. That part was easy. Fred desperately wanted and needed a male influence in her life and Princess did, too. She needed someone to make her feel like she wasn't alone. And one night, I had her where I wanted her. I could have destroyed her. But I couldn't do it." He sounded befuddled. "I couldn't. Somewhere along the way, I had come to care for Princess. I couldn't hurt her. I actually wanted to protect her and Fred. We're family."
Audrina was crying softly.
"She found out the truth one night. The night the Idiot proposed. We fought. You got hurt, Danielle. I'm so sorry about that. But I took it all away. I fixed it. I always fix things for our family. I always will." He sighed.
"At the World Cup... I saw a girl I had seen before. It was her eyes. How could I forget those eyes? Of everything I've seen and done, what that bastard made her do to her family... I have nightmares about it. It was one of the most awful things I've ever seen. The last time I saw her, I didn't think she was sane. I cannot believe she didn't lose her mind.
"When we saw her, I knew that she knew me. I thought it was all over for a bit but we were alright. I didn't know what I was going to do honestly. God knows I didn't want to go mess with that poor girl. I don't think her brain could have handled another spell. Merlin knows her parents did enough to her. I may have done awful things, but I never used you as a way to experiment with spells. I had rather hoped she wouldn't remember who it was that let her go that night. I suppose she did though." Arianna was pale and her hands were trembling until she clenched them into fists. Sheridan wrapped her arms around her sister from behind and held on tight, whispering in her ear. Henri put his hand on James's shoulder and squeezed.
"Randal? It's Clarice." Clarice leaned over. "I have a question."
"Ah, Clarice. Of course." Randal sounded pleased. "I always liked you, dear."
"Thank-you." Clarice swallowed. "When we met you, my father didn't pay attention to me. I don't think he even liked me. He once called me 'Candice' for like a week." Peter looked stunned and looked around for clarification as to what she was talking about. No one would meet his eye. "And then one day, he started, well, loving me. Did you have anything to do with that?"
"I always assumed that you got your intelligence from your mother." Randal said thoughtfully. "You certainly did not get it from your father. Yes. I'm sorry, dear, but you deserved more and you would have come to resent my Danielle. I couldn't have that. So one night, I paid him a visit and I, well, fixed things."
"Oh, sweet Jesus on the cross." Charlene breathed.
"Oh God." Nadine echoed, crossing herself.
"The man is a moron, Nadine." Randal snorted. "We all know it. God help him when he slows down and loses his looks. Deal with it, Peter. I know you're turning colors from fury right now but it is quite true."
Peter was speechless with rage.
He was also purple.
"Danielle, listen to me. I have a few things that I have to take care of and then I will come get you." Randal said seriously. "I'll come get all of you. This is a mess, yes. I admit it. But I will fix it. We're a family. We need to be together. I love you. I love all of you, even the Idiot. And I will come for you soon. Just hold on until then."
"The hell you will!" Charlie finally burst. He surged to his feet, bellowing at the phone. "You murdering bastard! I will kill you! Do you hear me?! I will kill you! Stay away from my daughter!"
"She is my daughter! You've tricked her! Altered a spell to show the results you want!" Randal snarled back. "Danielle, I love you. Soon, sweetheart. I'll be there soon."
"I am going to rip you apart!" Charlie bellowed.
"Charlie, he's hung up and the charm's worn off so you can't call him back." Danni put her hand on his shoulder. "Calm down! He can't hear you! Please!" Charlie took a shuddering breath and sank back into his seat.
The rest of The Six were edging closer to each other. When she was certain that Charlie wasn't going to assault her phone, Danni reached a trembling hand out to take it. It fell to the table with a clatter. She closed her eyes and lowered her face for a moment. Ethan put his hands on her shoulders and whispered in her ear. She nodded and lifted her face, her eyes suspiciously bright.
"That spell wasn't altered." Danni said in a broken voice. "I know because I cast one myself last night. I recognized the one you used and I-I now know why I could never get it to work. It was working just fine. If I had been standing with you, I would have seen it." She pressed her face against Ethan's arm. He petted her hair and whispered to her.
"Oh my God." Fred looked at her mother, her eyes horrified. "He hunted us."
Audrina tried to speak but no words came. "I just... I just... I let him in. I was so relieved that I wasn't alone that I just let him in. I was scared all the time and I let in the thing that helped cause that fear." She covered her mouth with her hands.
"Clarice... I didn't... I didn't really act that way, did I?" Peter asked plaintively.
Clarice sighed and nodded. "Yeah, Dad. I reminded you of Mom. And I don't think you liked me very much." Brandon slid his arm around her.
"Honey, I am so sorry." Sincerity was in his voice. She shrugged and managed a tight smile.
"He's manipulated our entire lives." Marcel rested his forehead on the palm of his hand.
"How exactly did we miss the fact that he is insane?" Charlene whispered.
"He 'fixed' it all." Audrina said in a hollow voice. "I'll bet that every time we realized the truth he just took it away again."
"Our memories... what's real and what isn't?" David asked.
They all looked at Danni. She held up her hands. "Don't look at me. I theoretically know how to do memory charms but I've never done one alone. And don't you think that I probably had a few done on me? And yeah, I knew he was a former Death Eater and I had some suspicions about some things but I didn't know about any of this. I'm really sorry I didn't tell you guys but I didn't want you to get hurt." She took a deep, shuddering breath. "And I sure as hell didn't know exactly how he killed my mother... or that he killed her before we came here."
"Oh God. I am so sorry you heard that." Charlie turned to her. "Are you alright?"
"Not even a little bit." Danni shrugged. "But I think at this point, I am pretty much immune to shocks and surprises."
The door burst open and Rose Weasley raced in, her face alight with excitement.
"The circus is here!" she cried. "At the edge of the orchard! And they have elephants!"
"Yes, we, ah, contacted some of the others that were involved in the search." Daniel said, clearing his throat. "They were quite excited and rather close by. I suppose that they have come to see for themselves."
"Circus?" Danni asked dumbly.
"Yes, dear." Rikko smiled. "My family have been acrobats for generations. And your grandfather here joined the circus we traveled in when he was sixteen. Your mother was born and raised in the circus. Daniel owned it but we retired from traveling some years ago and leave that to the younger generation."
"Huh." Danni nodded slowly. "I come from circus folk. That explains a lot."
"That's for sure." Fred playfully nudged her.
"Don't get smug, dear." Audrina smiled at her daughter. "You were born in a barn. Well, a stable. In the same stall as my favorite mount, in fact. Stardust. I do miss that horse."
Brandon started laughing. "Oh, that Tante Marie! All these years, she was telling you that there's no need to act like you were born in a barn! She was right!"
"Hey! Shut up!" Fred tossed her napkin at her friend. "It totally gives me character!"
"Danni was born in a warehouse." Valentine commented, her voice distracted. "And if that door hadn't given way, she would have been born in an alley next to a dumpster."
"That explains so much." Brandon ducked when she swiped a hand at him.
"I come from circus folk. I was born in an abandoned warehouse. I was raised by a murderous, insane Death Eater who killed my mother. I'm sure there's a lot more I don't know." Danni said carefully. "I think I may need some therapy."
"We'll get you some." Charlie promised.
"I have a bottle of Southern Comfort in my duffle." P.L. whispered.
"Thank-you." Danni whispered back. "That may help me cope... or suppress it for one more night."
"Suppression and avoidance isn't always a bad thing. I mean, as long as you cope with it eventually." P.L. assured her.
"You are such an enabler." Fred whispered.
"Only in extreme circumstances." He smiled.
"So, can we go meet everyone?" Danni asked, glancing at her newfound younger cousin who was practically jumping up and down at the door.
Daniel stood. "Of course!"
"Can we help clean up?" Jason asked, looking at the table.
"Oh no, dears. Go ahead. We'll take care of it." Molly waved them away.
As soon as the underage members of the family had left the kitchen, Valentine, Jack and Hermione all looked at each other.
"Julie was in the flat." Jack said in a low voice.
"And he killed her." Valentine nodded.
"But there was only one body found in the flat, right?" Hermione asked.
"Yes." Valentine held up five fingers. "Five bodies were found. One body, the one in the flat, was unrecognizable. Four, in other flats, were easily identified."
"I assumed it was Mia." Jack said. "But only because her wand was found and because she was supposed to be there. Julie was never on time. So I assumed she never made it."
"We all did." Valentine sighed. "The first time in her life that she was early for something and she died."
"She always did say that being on time would be the death of her." Jack rubbed the bridge of his nose. "She was right. She must have come in, saw him, saw that he had Fiona, saw Mia, tried to help and..." He shook his head.
"So where is the other body?" Valentine asked.
"What?" Charlie blurted. He was still in a partial daze from what he had just heard and was trying to work it all out...
...And not throw up. He had known that Mia had not died quickly or painlessly but to hear it described... he couldn't imagine what Daniel and Rikko were feeling right now.
"There's a body missing." Jack said carefully, watching Charlie. "Two women were in Mia's flat. One woman's body was found." He looked around. "Where's the other one?"
"Who is in Mia's grave?" Valentine sat down.
"Oh bloody hell." Ron's words said it all.
