Chapter 21: Adjustments and Surprises

Lavender Brown looked at me with a disposition charitably referred to as somewhat irritable. "Aren't you going to invite me in, Hank?"

"I thought you got attacked by a werewolf, not a vampire. If I don't invite you do you have to stay outside?"

"Ha ha. Funny. Come on, we're security risks out here."

I opened the door wide and Lavender and my family walked inside, and I greeted everyone in turn at the door. Mom caused the traffic jam, of course, as she had to stop for a hug, only letting me go after Dad poked her in the butt. Eventually everyone was inside the house, and I stood in my doorway and looked at all of them; how the hell was I going to work this out? I closed the door and made my way into the living room, where my parents, Ted and Candice, John and Jennifer, Nate and Lavender sat in various stages of comfort.

"I'm glad you're here, but, um, I thought you were supposed to get here on the 7th." I took off my glasses and put them in the pocket of my robe. "What gives?"

"Part of the security changes. The Ministry wanted to make sure everybody made it over here without incident." Lavender pushed her hair back over her shoulder. "So here we are. Where's Melody?"

"She's at Grimmauld Place with Lavinia. They'll be back after lunch. I guess I should make some tea and coffee, huh?"

Over tea and coffee in the cramped kitchen I discovered that while the Ministry had arranged for everybody to arrive at my house, thankfully they weren't all going to be staying at Colony House. Nate was staying with Lavender, no surprise there, and my parents were staying at The Burrow, but everybody else was staying with me until we heard from Titus that everything was ready at Hogwarts.

"Ok, not that I mind, even though I'll probably have to do a load of towels, how are we going to fit everyone in here? The spare room is Lavinia's room now, and I'm not making her sleep somewhere else and…"

Lavender held up her hand. "Enough, Hank. We've got that figured out as well. Just Floo Arthur Weasley." She looked over to Nate. "Ok, you ready?"

He nodded, and after telling me he'd see me later Nate and Lavender left and apparated away. I sat down in the chair recently vacated by Nate and looked at my Dad. "One problem. I can't Floo Arthur, I can't use the Floo like that. Calliope's not home, she's out delivering a letter, so I guess we'll have to wait for a while."

Jennifer looked at me as if I was crazy. "Just call him, Hank. Seriously. You forget how to use a phone?"

"They don't use phones, Jen."

"Well you're a crappy wizard, Hank."

"Very true, Jen, very true. I don't have anything that can…wait, yes, I do. I do have a way to get a hold of Arthur." I stood up and cleared my throat. "Nonky? Can you stop by for a moment?"

Before I could prepare my family for what was coming Nonky arrived with his usual apparition pop, causing my Mom to scream in surprise, startling Nonky and making him bump into a lamp, almost knocking it over.

"Professor Muggle needs Nonky?"

"Yes, I do. Before that, this is my family, Nonky." I introduced him to everyone, and after the initial shock everyone except my mother seemed ok with him. "Nonky, I don't like asking you to do this, but can you tell Arthur Weasley that I'd like to speak with him when he's available?"

Nonky nodded his large head and apparated away before saying a word.

"What the hell was that?" Candice looked over at me. "Nonky…I guess who is that is more, um…"

"He's a house elf. I just found out that he works for me, sort of. Melody figured it out, actually."

Ted laughed. "Well, that would explain why he was wearing a Hüsker Dü t-shirt, then."

About an hour later Arthur Weasley showed up at the house, and after another round of tea and small talk, especially with my parents, he looked over to me and I could tell he had been waiting for this conversation for a while. "So, Hank, ready to get started? It's been a while, but I think my skills are still up to it."

"Get started? What are you talking about Arthur?" His skills were still up to it? What did I get myself into? And with Melody not here…this could be very, very bad.

"Adding on to your house, of course. I've always been a fan of vertical expansion, but you've got enough room to do regular expansions. Less privacy that way, of course, not to mention it makes it easier for the kids to sneak out, but…"

"Whoa, Arthur! Adding on to the house? How am I going to pay for that? Well, I can, I guess, how much is it?"

"Cheaper than you would think. It's the furniture that's expensive. Besides, I've convinced Kingsley that it's part of the security requirements for you and your family, so you'll only be paying half of the costs. I'm thinking two more bedrooms, out towards the garden. The workmen are due over later this afternoon, so let's take a walk around, start laying things out."

Jennifer tapped me on the shoulder. "I liked the big tent in a little tent, but it wasn't a permanent thing. Just go with it, Hank. I talked the AAB into a bigger kitchen; maybe you should do the same."

I was watching my mother do what she loves to do best, bake for her family, when I heard the familiar sounds of the Floo. I wondered what Melody's reaction would be, but before I could get up to say anything I heard Melody making her way into the kitchen.

"Smells great, Hank, what…Karen?"

I took a drink of tea. "Hi love, guess what? The Ministry brought my family over early for security reasons and Arthur Weasley and a Wizarding carpenter are adding two bedrooms to the house. How was your morning?"

I watched her stand there, mouth open in shock. Luckily Mom came to my rescue by walking over with a plate of warm scones and stuck one in Melody's mouth on her way to the table. That made me laugh, and after Melody finished chewing she sat down at the table.

"Those are wonderful, Karen. It is nice to see you, and everybody, a little unexpected, but nice. So run all that by me again, Hank. What's going on?"

I filled in Melody about the appearance of my family, that Nate was at Lavender's, that I'd had to call Nonky to get Arthur Weasley to come over, and that we were only paying for part of the expansion to the house. Lavinia came into the kitchen carrying Flick, and after that my mother's attention was devoted to Lavinia and her new cat. Not surprisingly Dad followed his nose into the kitchen, and eventually everyone was crammed in there eating scones.

I looked across the crowded table to Mom. "Maybe I should ask Arthur if we could expand the kitchen. Gets a bit crowded in here."

"Especially if you have all those babies." Lavinia nodded and smiled at Melody.

I caught my Mom's expression after Lavinia's comment. "She thinks we should have four or five."

"I'll be a really good nanny by then. Well, if you have them soon." Lavinia acted as if we were discussing something in Muggle Club, her demeanor was very matter-of-fact. "If you have one a year after you're married, I can help take care of four of them before I finish Hogwarts."

"We're not even married yet. Ted, you and Candice are married, what about you two?" I watched Candice's face fall slightly, and she got up and left the room, with Ted following right behind. I looked over to Jennifer. "Did I say something wrong?"

She shook her head and spoke very softly. "You couldn't have known. Candice had a miscarriage a couple of months ago. It was very early, but they've been taking it hard."

"Shit. I wish I would have known." I knew it was a touchy subject because nobody chided me about my language. I looked over to Lavinia, and she seemed nervous. "Lavinia there's no way you could have known. Don't worry. It'll be fine."

Luckily I didn't have to broach the topic of the larger kitchen as Arthur walked in for a cup of tea, took one look around and announced that the kitchen just wouldn't work. That led to Arthur and Mom discussing where things should be moved or expanded, and Arthur drew glowing lines with his wand to mark possible locations of things. Luckily the kitchen faced out towards the garden, so it wouldn't take too much work to expand it. On the plus side, I'd have a bigger kitchen and two new bedrooms, but on the downside I was losing garden space and it would be really hectic while the changes were made to the house.

"How long is all this going to take, Arthur?" I stood next to him, looking out the window at the garden. "I mean, if it takes too long that kind of screws up the whole security thing, right? I haven't heard from Titus yet about Hogwarts."

"I don't know about Muggle construction, Hank, but everything should be ready in a day or so. Everyone can stay at The Burrow until we're finished. Molly and I were expecting your parents anyway, so what's a few more for a couple of days?"

Lavinia's thirteenth birthday party the next night was a big success, in my opinion. Mom and Molly, with help from Melody and Jennifer, baked an amazing birthday cake shaped like the Hufflepuff badger. Presents arrived from Tinney and the Potters, and I noticed a very small box arrived but Lavinia wouldn't say who it was from, but Melody and I looked at each other and smiled. I figured that Willy Smythe wouldn't forget her birthday, and I was right. All of the presents were called "brilliant" or "wonderful" or "amazing" and she really loved the locket from Melody and me. I was very happy to find out that my family had also brought over presents; I found out later that Melody had written my mom and it had grown from there. Even though the presents were technically for Flick, Lavinia loved them as she just knew that Flick would love his new bed and collar. Jennifer and John gave her a photo album, which I thought was a very nice touch. Other presents arrived from her Hogwarts friends, and I noticed a card from Angus Wandsworth somewhere in the birthday debris. Harry and Ginny came over with the boys, and Lavinia was very conscientious about the boys with Candice. I know I wasn't the only one surprised when Lavinia and Candice sat on the couch with Albus.

The two days of construction turned into three due to a massive pixie infestation underneath part of the garden, but besides that it was a nice, relaxing time away from the house. Mom was impressed with the progress of Melody's cooking skills, and Molly was a very proud instructor. Ted and Candice seemed to return to their normal selves, but I did notice that Lavinia didn't bring up her nannying much in their presence. Nothing could keep her away from the Potter boys, so while Melody took the few days off from going to Grimmauld, Lavinia convinced us that she was thirteen and therefore old enough to take the Floo from The Burrow to Grimmauld by herself.

After watching Melody take the Floo to Colony House to check on the progress, what really surprised me was how much Jennifer and John enjoyed being in the Wizarding world. I guessed that having Lavender over and gaining some magically expanded and created room additions to the house helped sway Jennifer's opinion. Jennifer did miss her kids, but John told her that his parents had been offering to take them so they could have a vacation for a long time. She finally seemed relaxed for the first time…well, since she'd had kids.

The morning of the 29th Arthur came in after breakfast and announced that the changes to Colony House were complete, so that led to the Floo Tag Team event, as Melody called it. One of the Wizarding folk would grab one of the Muggles to use the Floo, and eventually everybody got to the location. I did notice that Lavinia made sure she took Candice. After they had left I looked over to Molly, who stood with my Dad.

"I can't believe her, I mean, she's been through so much, and look at her. She's…"

"I know, son. I'm very surprised at the progress she's made. I think that says a lot about you and Melody." Dad sighed. "I can't have been easy, but she's so good-hearted."

Molly took a hold of my dad's arm and led him to the fireplace. "She's a Hufflepuff, Tom. I'll explain it later."

With a flash they were gone, leaving me alone in The Burrow. I looked around, decided there was no time like the present to go look at Colony House, and with a pinch of Floo powder I was gone.

When I arrived at the Colony House, well, let's just say I was very surprised. Melody came over and took my hand.

"Sweetie, I might have made a few more, um, adjustments."

I looked around the house and saw a combination of dollar signs, pound notes and Galleons float by, as she had definitely made adjustments. It was as if the entire house, well, doubled. I not only had the two extra bedrooms and a larger kitchen, I now had a sunroom off of the kitchen and a door by the side of my office that I had never seen before.

"Um, how much did this…"

"The addition is my present to you and Gwennie, Henry." Lane Bramble stepped out from behind Arthur Weasley. "I was planning on doing it while you were on your honeymoon, but plans changed."

Holy freaking hell. I was definitely not expecting to see Lane, but as usual she looked like a million Galleons. "Wow, I don't know how to thank you, I…" Not knowing what else to do I walked over and hugged her. It was initially like hugging a mannequin, but eventually she patted me two times on my shoulder.

Arthur stepped up to me, rubbing his hands, his excitement easily read. "Want to see the good stuff?" We all followed Arthur around the house, and it was obvious how much he was enjoying everything. "We could only go out so far or else we'd have used up your garden, and if we went up vertically your neighbors would notice, so we did the next best thing. Mrs. Bramble stopped by and solved all the problems." He walked over to the door next to my office. "We went down."

As Arthur indicated I opened the door, and as soon as I did a series of lights began to glow in the stairway. After a small flight of stairs I found myself in a completely finished basement. I caught myself looking out the window before realizing that I was underground. "Arthur, is this like the Hufflepuff common room?"

"Well, I wouldn't know that, but one of the builders said it's the latest thing. Brilliant idea, actually."

I walked around to find an additional bedroom, another office, a giant walk-in closet already partially filled with Melody's clothes and a giant living room with a massive television. "How did you…Arthur, there's Muggle and Wizarding stuff all mixed together in here. How…"

"Might have told some Muggle Ekletricians that it was a special job, after we had everything put together, of course."

Arthur seemed to have gulped a few times, and I gathered that a rule or two on working with Muggles might have been broken, but I wasn't going to ask. I had a whole other floor under my house! More importantly, every room was furnished!

I was glad I had the shock of the completely finished basement to occupy my mind because the other fact was that my parents were meeting Lane Bramble. I was still on the high of having three new bedrooms and a complete downstairs when I made my way back up to the living room, and then into my newly expanded kitchen to find Mom and Lane sitting at the table, drinking tea with all of the other ladies. I took one look in there and ducked out towards the garden, where I found all of the men who were busy looking at what seemed to be nothing.

I walked over and stood next to them, as they were all completely quiet and looking at the far spot on my garden, yard, whatever you wanted to call it. I couldn't figure out what was so interesting, because there was absolutely nothing in the spot where everyone was focused. Finally I couldn't take it any longer.

"What are we looking at?"

Dad pointed to the spot where everyone had focused their attention. "Arthur and I believe that is the perfect spot for your shed. Ted believes the best spot is on the other side, by the tree."

I looked at both locations and nodded. "John, what do you think?"

"I think you should put a shed wherever you want, just make it someplace women won't want to go, otherwise you won't have a place of your own. Trust me."

That sentiment was heartily echoed by all of the men, including Ted, which gained him a bit of teasing since he'd only been married a year. Ted's response was that he and Candice had been together for a long, long time, so marriage was just the official term; according to him he'd been married for years.

After that there was a lull in the conversation, and we continued to stare at the prospective shed locations.

"You know Ted, you might have something. The tree might help block the view." Arthur conceded, and additional contemplation went on for some time.

I wished I had a pipe, but I didn't want to go back inside. "Hey Dad, do you think I should head in there and see how it's going?"

I was drowned out by a chorus of no's by all in attendance, so we went back to our shed location contemplation.

John sniffed. "You know, I do like the tree site, but I think the ground is a little more level on the other side."

The slam of the back door made everybody jump, and I can only speak for myself but I was happy when I saw Lavinia walk out to join us. After explaining what we were doing, she looked at me as if I was insane.

"You boys have been out here for that long just looking at grass? Boring. It's a lot more fun in there."

A lot more fun? Uh-oh. "What do you mean, Lavinia?"

"Well, Melody's Mum and your Mum didn't seem to get along very well, since they disagreed about pretty much everything except that Melody's Mum…"

"Lane." I interrupted for the sake of keeping Mum and Mom straight. "Her name's Lane."

"Right." Lavinia kept on going, full speed ahead. "Well, at first Lane made some comments that she thought that you were after Melody's money and her inheritance but since you've published your book and haven't been sacked at Hogwarts she figured out you really do love Melody, and Karen said that you would never do that, because Nate's the one who likes the fancy stuff, well you do like it but you don't spend money on yourself. And then Lane said that you're a lot better than Melody's first husband and her other boyfriends, and Karen said something like your last girlfriend was, well, I shouldn't say that word, but she didn't like her at all. After that they got along pretty good, especially when I suggested that you should start having babies right away, and Lane said that she wasn't getting any younger and Karen said that she would love a couple more grandchildren and then Molly talked about all of her new grandbabies, and then Jennifer had to take Melody out of the room for a few minutes so I came out here. Much more fun than talking about a shed. Oh and Lane calls Melody a different name, Gwennie, that's it."

"Fucking hell! Sorry, Lavinia." I turned to Dad, and then to Arthur. "I think we can put the shed anyplace and it'll be fine, but let's stay out here a little longer."

We did stay out there until I noticed Jennifer stick her head out the door and motioned for me to get inside, and I had a flashback of her doing the exact same thing when Nate and I were kids. I walked in and poured myself a glass of water, then watched as it appeared that Lane and Mom were actually chatting and getting along. Holy crap. I snuck a glance at Molly, and she smiled and nodded almost imperceptibly, but enough for me to realize she understood my amazement.

As I sat down in the living room next to Melody, Lane looked over at me with her head cocked to the side. "You know, Henry, I was quite upset about not hosting the wedding, but after speaking with your mother and Molly, I'm glad Hogwarts is hosting, especially with the notoriety you've gained amongst the less tolerant. Hieronymus would have been so happy to see you two. I only wish he could be here." She looked at her watch, then stood up and smoothed out her impeccably straight hair. "I'm sorry but I must be going. I have an appointment which I've rescheduled twice already. Karen, I do hope you will stop by before the wedding, and Molly, thank you for understanding. I apologize for all of the ill-feeling. Now, I really must go, I will see all of you again very soon. Gwennie, a moment?"

I watched Melody follow Lane towards the door, and then after kissing Melody on both cheeks Lane walked out the door and apparated away. The temperature in the room seemed to go down about twenty degrees after that, and I felt like I could exhale finally. The biggest shock, though, was on Molly's face.

"What happened, Molly?"

"She apologized, Hank. For Diagon Alley, years ago. I understand now, as it was right after Hieronymus died and everything was so tense back then."

Lane apologized? I looked over to Melody, who seemed dazed. "Mel, what the hell happened to your mom? Was she imperiused or something?"

Melody came over and sat on my lap. "No. I don't know what changed her tune, I really don't. Glad it's changed, mind you, but no idea."

Mom and Dad decided to stay at The Burrow, and John and Jennifer chose to follow suit, so it was just Ted and Candice at Colony House. The evening had wound down, thankfully, and I had made popcorn for movie night when I heard a knock on the door. Since it was late, and I wasn't expecting anybody I grabbed my wand, then stuck it in my pocket and headed towards the door. After all, if someone was coming to kill me late at night, they're not going to walk up and knock on the door, are they? I opened the door and had another surprise.

"Tinney! Didn't expect you for a couple of days. At least we've got room now, come on in."

After Tinney and Lavinia hugged and squealed for a bit I made the introductions to Ted and Candice and then moved Tinney's bag off to the side. I'd just gone into the kitchen for another bowl so Tinney could have popcorn when I heard another knock at the door, but this time I recognized that knock. I'd heard it several times last year at Hogwarts, so I didn't bother to even get my wand out this time. I opened the door wide.

"Perfect timing, George. Popcorn and movies."

George smiled at me. "Wonderful, Hank. No time. Here to drop off something for you." George stepped out of the doorway and there was Mike Greene.

"Greene. You're hair's going grey."

"Hey Boyd, at least I have some."

I gave him a big hug and then we headed back into the house. George, however, didn't follow.

"No time, Hank. Ang gave me strict orders, and this time if the pizza's cold, well, at least I know you have an extra room now."

"Thanks. See ya, George." I turned to Mike. "You are not going to believe half of the shit I have to tell you."

I introduced Mike to Tinney and Lavinia, but when it came to Melody he gave her a big kiss on the cheek. Ted and Candice blew him away, as the last time he had seen them we had just been out of college a few years and they were around Lavinia's age. Everyone chatted for a while, but eventually Ted and Candice headed to sleep in the new downstairs bedroom, Lavinia and Tinney retired to Lavinia's room, and Melody lay on the sofa with her feet on my lap and Mike sat in one of the new, big chairs. After a while I decided we need some wine, so I brought over a couple bottles and three glasses. It was after the first bottle was almost gone and the initial get-to-know you-phase was out of the way that the real stories began.

I knew Mike's entire story, but hearing it again when he told it to Melody was still somewhat painful. He and Cori had been married a couple of years and were living in Minnesota when she was killed in a car accident during the winter. Nobody's fault, just a combination of weather and being in the wrong place at the wrong time. That had been a horrible funeral to attend, and I had to go as I was a pallbearer and I needed to be there for Mike.. Cori was the first person I'd met at college, and I'd lost touch with her for a year or so until Mike moved in as my roommate and I found out they were dating right after that. Small world. We all ended up in a gang of "arts geeks" to some extent, Cori was the Art major, Mike was the Drama major and I was the Literature major. As Mike unwound his story for Melody, and the bottle got lower, I knew what was coming so I figured I'd head him off at the pass.

"Guess what women they always tried to set me up with, Mel." I looked over and she shook her head and I realized the humor would be lost on her. "Sorry, Muggle stuff. Guess it's not so funny here, Mike."

"Vocal and Dance majors, it's still funny. We needed to complete the Arts." Mike ran his hand through his shoulder length grey hair and then tipped his glass towards Melody. "I hear you're a writer. Figures he'd be attracted to another writer."

"Actually, I was Press Secretary for the Holyhead Harpies when we met. Damned good at it, too." She finished her glass of wine and held it out for a refill.

"Quidditch team." I filled Melody's glass a quarter full. "It's a Wizarding sport, I'll explain later. Oh yeah, didn't get a chance to write, or maybe I did, can't remember. You've got a date to the wedding."

"The little blonde? Not the little little one, the older one?" Mike looked at me and squinted. "You know blondes and I don't mix."

I laughed. "Yeah, I remember that. She was crazy, had some great, um, yeah. No, Tinney is Lavinia's aunt, and I'm pretty sure she's kinda sorta seeing someone. No, your date is Hermione Weasley's assistant at the Ministry. Ovelia or Olivia or something."

"Is she cute? Wait, I really don't care about that, is she decent company?"

"No clue. Never met her."

"Wonderful. Junior year all over again."

"Shut up. Cori dumped you for a month and you wanted a date. That wasn't my fault."

Melody stood up. "Boys, I'm calling it a night. It's been a long day, I had to deal with Mum, and everybody's shown up…I'll see you in the morning."

I gave her a kiss and she walked out of the room, snagging the last bottle of wine on the way out.

Mike looked at me and shook his head. "Still can't believe you're getting married. After Janine I never thought you would, but she seems like a perfect fit for you."

"Yeah, that's what Mom says too. I think so. Plus, there's the whole witch thing. Trust me, that rocks. Hey Mike, feel like a little whiskey? How about some firewhiskey?"

"Firewhiskey? Sure. You still smoke?"

I laughed. "I'm not supposed to."

"That didn't answer my question. I've got a carton in my bag. You get the booze and I'll get the butts."

A few minutes later we sat on chairs out in the garden, and after the first drink Mike coughed for a moment then started laughing. "Good stuff. Hey, you got a lighter? I thought I was going through airport security so I left them all at home. That was the weirdest trip I've ever had, by the way."

"Hmm…lighter's inside, let me see if I can get this to work." I pulled out my wand, and thought about the day, all of the good things that happened, then waved my wand about for a moment or two. Sure enough, a small fire sprouted from the end for a few minutes, longer than it ever had before.

Mike lit his cigarette from the end of my wand. "Hank, you really are full of surprises."

"You think that's surprising, fill up your glass and sit back. This is going to take a while."

As I watched the sun come up over the trees, I looked over at Mike. "We haven't done that in ages. I'm just glad we ran out of firewhiskey hours ago, or else Mel would have her knickers in a twist."

"Knickers? You're so acclimatized now, even the language. No accent, which is good. You'd be a complete faker if you did that." He stopped suddenly and looked over my head. "Hank, I think you're about to get attacked by a big bird."

I turned to see an owl heading my way and laughed. "Nah, it's just the mail." The owl landed on the arm of my chair and held out its leg, and after taking the letter I watched it wait for a moment, and then after realizing there were no treats to be had it lifted off with a flourish. "School owl, at least this one didn't bite me."

The letter was from Titus, who had been informed by the Auror office that all of the guests had arrived early by design, so we had been officially invited to arrive at Hogwarts for our stay as all the precautions were completed. Gavin said that he'd relax the Floo restrictions at two that afternoon, so we would have to make sure everybody arrived at that time. I watched Mike take a look at the bottle and laughed.

"If you took a drink every time you saw something weird, well, I don't think you'd sober up for a month. Just go with it."

"Screw the booze. Got any coffee?"

We made our way in to the newly expanded kitchen, and it took me a few moments to find the French press and the coffee. Luckily for me the tea was front and center, so after I put on the kettle we sat down at the kitchen table. "Don't know if I told you or not, but we're all going to be staying at Hogwarts."

"Yeah, you said that last night. I think. Can't you make the kettle go faster, Mister Wizard?"

"Like I said, I'm about as much a Wizard as you are singer. I can't do crap, the lighter trick is about my limit. Melody can, though, but I'm not waking her up."

"So how are we getting all the luggage to your school? You've just got that crappy little car…"

"Hey, it's not crappy. Oh wait, did I tell you what Nate did? For the honeymoon? Hold on, I gotta show you this."

I went to my office and began looking through my desk, and of course I couldn't find where I had put the picture of the Jaguar. I did find a copy of My Wand is Useless, so I wrote something quickly in the front of that and headed out to the kitchen. Mike wasn't alone when I got there, though, as Lavinia and Tinney were making tea and coffee.

"Morning, ladies. Sleep ok?" I handed Mike the book went over to the stove. "Girls you don't have to do that, you know, I can take care of it."

Tinney waved me off. "No big. Used to doing things myself. So, Professor Muggle, what's on the agenda for today?"

"Muggle?" Mike laughed. "Right, you said that last night. So I'm a Muggle too, right?"

"Yep. Definitely. You'll get a better idea from my book. Here, try this." I handed him my wand. "Wave it around like you mean it."

Mike did as I asked, and absolutely nothing happened. Well, he did make Lavinia laugh.

He extended my wand towards Lavinia. "So you're a witch too, right? Show me what you can do."

She shook her head and I explained that Lavinia can't do magic outside of Hogwarts until she's 17, the equivalent of getting your driver's license in America. Mike thought this was stupid, and we were having a discussion on whether students would be allowed to use magic at the wedding because they would technically be at school when Melody walked into the kitchen in her robe, sat down at the table, levitated a teacup over to and with her wand fixed her tea. I watched Mike stare at her and realized that even though he'd travelled with George, he hadn't really seen any magic yet, just odd things.

"Wait till we get to Hogwarts, Mike. You'll really get an education."

"Hank, how are we getting all the luggage there? You never answered that question." Mike sat on the couch, desperately trying to find a baseball game on the television. "It's almost time, isn't it?"

I nodded. Everyone had waken up, dressed, showered and eaten, I'd been scolded by Melody for smoking and staying up all night, the owls had been sent out and the Floo conversations had taken place, so all that was left was to head to Hogwarts. "I know how it's going to work, but I really don't know how to explain him." I looked over to Lavinia. "How do I explain a house elf?"

Lavinia rolled her eyes. "You should have taken History of Magic."

"Ok, ok, I'll read that later. Mike, think of the elves at Santa's workshop, not the one that wants to be a dentist, kind of like that crossed with Gollum but without the nasty parts."

Ted laughed at me. "Sorta. Trust me; you have to meet him to understand. Oh, and you'll be able to figure out he works for Hank two seconds after you meet him."

"Hey, he likes the t-shirt." I looked over to Mel, who rolled her eyes. "Well he told me he likes the t-shirt."

"Of course he's going to tell you that, Henry, he's a house elf." Melody shook her head. "Honestly."

Mike glanced over to me. "Henry?"

"Shut up, Emory."

"Low, man. That's low." Mike stood up and walked over to Melody. "My full name is Emory Michael, and he does that to piss me off. I have some good stories for you…"

That was enough for me. "Nonky? Can you…"

As usual, I never even had to finish the sentence, as Nonky stood in my living room in his Hüsker Dü t-shirt. "Yes, Professor, what can Nonky do to help?"

"We need to have all of the luggage taken over to Hogwarts. I don't know where…"

"Headmaster Titus told Nonky the arrangements, Nonky will take care of it, Professor Muggle's friends will be fine. Let Nonky do it."

With that he somehow managed to levitate and bring all of the luggage over to a spot on the floor, and all of the bags began to swirl together until they morphed into something the size of a football, and then without saying a word Nonky disapparated with a POP.

I looked over to Mike. "Well, what do you think?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "I would have gone with the classic bulls eye Jam t-shirt, but that's just me. New Day Rising, seriously?"