AN If you recognize it, it's not mine.
As planned all fourteen of them met on Sunday. They had brought two more chairs into to entry room and rearranged it so they were all facing each other. They came in one by one, Oliver being the first, and Anna being last and looking anxious. Hermione was the only one who had a table in front of her; she had ink, quills, and parchment.
"Hello everyone, welcome back, and hopefully Ronald won't interrupt today. Now down to business. Hermione here will write out the plans. So let's start with dates. We have six months from the second week of September that brings us to February, oh how festive. Any first choices?"
"Um... Hermione if you don't mind maybe we should do it after the worst of game season ends? The time in between game season and the finals. If not it might get a little hectic. So that will be in November."
"That sounds doable; I really don't want a big wedding so that should work out fine. How about November 24th? It's a Friday and they're legally obligated to give you the day after off so you would have three days off."
"Sounds good to me."
"Okay then one down 6 to go. Youngest to oldest? It would be the opposite as to when we found out our matches and only fair to Sev."
"Sure, George, my earless twin, go ahead." Fred said
"Sarafina your choice, but try to make it early in the week so I can just leave him to the masses. Maybe during Christmas break too." She laughed as did the others at Fred's betrayed look.
"How about January 18th? It will give me time to plan and coordinate with my parents in the states for all the details."
"Sure thing, Fred you're up."
"Well wifey, I actually have a suggestion if you're not against it." She nodded and he continued. "I was thinking November 4th as it would be nice and as a plus the invitations to the youngest and parental Weasleys might get lost and they won't show up!" Hermione snorted.
"I like the date, not the reason for it, but I will accept even with your wishful thinking." Kathy responded. "Who's next?"
"Charlie, brother dearest-"
"When will you be-"
"Tying the knot-"
"With the lovely missus-"
"Nymphadora Tonks?" Fred and George finished together
"October 15rd" Tonks said automatically. Charlie looked at her. "If that's okay; I just love that time of year." He laughed and nodded. "Remus your up but I'm tempted to make my cousin go first."
"No, no, Julia you can pick a date but if it's on or around a full moon it will need to change."
"How about February 1st?" he nodded and Hermione wrote it down.
"Mary, pick a date, any date, but also not near the full moon as I will be busy keeping Remus, the misbehaved rabbit under control." Everyone laughed while Remus glared.
"Well I was thinking December 12th as nobody else chose December." She answered shyly.
"Cool with me. Sevsev you go."
"Don't call me that mutt, I will be busy for a week before the full moon, brewing wolvesbane, keep that in mind, other than that your choice."
"Okay, maybe the week after the moon then? How about January 24th?" he nodded.
"Well that's all the weddings, now the living arrangements. We need to move in together by October 12th, so we really should talk about who's going where. Why don't we speak privately and come back in 20 minutes to tell each other?" Hermione suggested. They nodded and Hermione grabbed Oliver's hand and ran from the room dragging him after her. "I call kitchen!" she threw back.
"So Ollie, how's it going? We haven't really talked since our date." She was really hoping her story or bawling didn't scare him off.
"If you think you've scared me off your wrong." He said seeming to know what she was thinking. "Now I believe we need to talk about living arrangements. As I said I like Wood Cottage but there are 6 properties available for residence or Wood Manor if you want to live with my parents. It's really up to you though."
"I like the sound of the cottage, no offence but I don't really want to live in a manor. Maybe we could visit the other properties and compare them?"
"Sounds good, I think I'm free to do that in a few weeks. I know you don't like house elf enslavement but the ones that work for my family are treated nicely, paid, given time off, and have been with us so long they're practically family so I ask that you accept that."
"Fine but only because they are treated well; also I'm good to go look anytime, I have no job other than with the twins and Sev, I'm afraid I just don't know what I want to do. Nothing seems to catch my attention. I like doing research and creating new things, I get to do that with all of them. I hope you accept that I won't just sit around all day and I will be working."
"I accept it and encourage it; I wouldn't want you getting bored who knows what you'd do to my house." He chuckled, she smiled and shrugged.
"Oliver, if I come into that kitchen and see you two snogging you will be getting punched." Charlie yelled. Hermione laughed despite herself and grabbed Oliver's arm to bring him back to the other room.
"Okay let's get this over with; I have a hot date with a cauldron and my twin." Everyone laughed, except George, at Fred's comment.
"Why do I need to be there, it's your turn to make them? Besides it wasn't me who ruined the last batch."
"Simple my less handsome twin, you are the one who's better at charms and I'm potions. This recipe needs both thus both twins!"
"Let's just get this over with I have six special orders on rush." Severus said wearily.
"I can help with those if you want Sev."
"No you can't" Remus out in. "I can but you and Sirius are hiring for the twins."
"Crap I forgot about that. Good thing there are only like 4 applicants. Anyway back on topic; where are you living Sirius?"
"Here, all my other properties were deemed too dark or are in other countries farther away. What about you Kitten where are you and Oliver living?"
"We are going to look at the Wood properties sometime soon and decide after that, Remus?"
"Here with Sirius, nobody will house a werewolf, even if we could afford a place, and my cottage needs to be rebuilt after a death eater attack."
"Well if you need help I can loan some time. Okay we will go Sev, Charlie, Fred, and then George." Hermione grinned.
"One of the Prince properties, we haven't seen them yet so we will be doing the same as you. Of course I need to go to Gringotts and get the deeds first."
"Oh right Gringotts; wish I could go there it would be nice, maybe I should find some good information to give the goblins, make it up to them."
"Make what up to the goblins?" Mary asked.
"Oh, I broke into a Gringotts vault and set free their dragon during the war." She said like it was nothing. Oliver leaned over to her.
"You need to give me the full story from the war sometime soon, please." He whispered, she nodded, and Charlie spoke.
"Well I have a house in Ireland that I bought before going to Romania, so that's the best option I think. Hey Hermione look at us both moving to Ireland or maybe Scotland for you?"
"My favorite is in Ireland, only two of the properties are in Scotland, three in Ireland, and two in England. Then just vacation homes in Italy and Morocco; way too many places."
"Well me and Fred already talked and there are two apartments above the shop so we think we will live there for now. Fred on the lower level because his leg still bothers him from time to time, and I will take the top floor. We will need to clean it up first of course but if we use the office as a stock room we should be done in a week or two."
"Well that's it, thank you all for taking the time to do this I know it may be strange, but we are very close so you should get to know us all." Sirius said standing up.
"Umm can I say something really quickly?" Sirius sat back down and looked to Anna. "First I just want to apologize and say I had nothing to do with it. So I heard around the office that sometime this week they are releasing an article. Rita Skeeter wrote it and it is about Hermione and Oliver. Somehow she found out you two were matched, I don't know how I haven't said a word I promise. Maybe it was Ronald or Ginny?"
"Oh no." All the men spoke.
"Let's see how bad it is, but I think I have my restitution for the goblins. And no it wasn't Ronald or Ginerva Weasley; they are too busy denying the law to leak information about it. I will take care of it. Thank you for the warning Anna, I appreciate it." She spoke calmly even though she had the distinct feeling this was just the calm before the storm. They all left one by one until it was just Anna, who was hanging back with Mary.
"I think I might be forced to write a follow up article about Rita's. I'm sorry if I do but if I don't I will lose my job. I will deny any false claims and be as nice as I can though." Mary spoke to them all.
"It's fine it is your job after all."Sirius spoke, that seemed to calm her as she visibly relaxed. Anna was still stiff as a board as Severus hadn't spoke one word or moved from his seat since she told everyone about the article. Anna was just leaving when he finally spoke.
"Anna do you know when she will be releasing her article and when she got the information to write it?"
"Umm, no she wouldn't say when just this week my guess is Tuesday or Thursday maybe, that's when the biggest gossip in the printer press arranges the articles, so it would get front page. I think the talk started on Thursday, but I hadn't seen her the day before so I'm guessing Monday she got it, and Tuesday she found what she was looking for, Wednesday she wrote it, and Thursday she bragged." He nodded and thought some more.
"Thank you for the warning, but you should prepare yourself as well. This might not be just about Hermione and Oliver; it could be about all of us. You guys should warn the other girls to be on guard after the article.