A/N: I would like to offer my supreme thanks to my favorite beta-reader
Circinius for letting me borrow her characters Loren Chapman-Weasley and
Kate from her story "About Time" –I command you to go read it now! This
chapter is confusing, and meant to be… enjoy!
Bronte had this crazy idea that since we got in trouble together, had to serve a detention with Snape together, and lost one hundred fifty points together that we should be friends. And she tried, too. She would talk about "the three of us" like it was something special, when in reality, she was just the tag-along. But when she was around James…I was the odd man out.
It had been a week since we had gotten in trouble, and we hadn't talked about our misadventure at all. Most of Gryffindor house wasn't speaking to us, so we found solace in each other. Well, James found solace in both of us- I still hated Charlotte.
The only upper-classmen who were speaking to us were our cousins. That was kind of embarrassing- only your family would talk to you. Actually, I think that their parents were making them talk to us. Could this get worse?
Yes.
James invited Charlotte to spend Christmas with him. That's fine, why should I care? The Weasley family always spent Christmas holidays together. This year, it was our turn to host in our new house. Yes, Bronte would be at my house. I couldn't hole myself up in the library then. Well, no doubt our new house would have a library; Mum wouldn't stand for it any other way. She also wouldn't stand for me spending my entire holiday in the library, especially when we were the hosts. It just wasn't good manners.
Screw manners, I hated the girl.
I had time, though. Christmas wasn't for another two months, give or take a few days. Maybe I could cause an accident during Astronomy, and Bronte might just happen to slip and fall off the tower during one of our stargazing classes. Oops! Sorry, Professor, I guess she just slipped.
I always enjoyed Christmas with my family. All of my cousins were a lot of fun to be around. No, sorry, all of my family was fun to be around.
Uncle Bill married Aunt Victoria after they met while working together with Gringotts. After they were stationed in Hawaii, they decided to quit their jobs as Curse-breakers, and come back to work in the Ministry (don't ask me why; if I were stationed in Hawaii, you can bet your life that I'd be staying there- tropical island vs. rainy city…go figure) in the Magical Abuse Department.
They had two children. Two boys, actually, named Daniel and David. Daniel is in his seventh year, one of the two oldest Weasley grandchildren. He's Head Boy, taking after his father, I suppose. David is shy and quiet in his third year. He has friends, and most of the girls liked him (strong and silent, I guess), but overall, he prefers to stay in the background.
Uncle Charlie was married to Aunt Loren. They were regulars at our house (almost like my third set of parents- Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny were my second, of course). Aunt Loren and Dad had special bond that Dad didn't really have with any of his other sisters-in-law. He was as close to Aunt Loren as he was to Aunt Ginny. Maybe more so, come to think of it. Uncle Charlie and Dad were also partners in their practice. But I thought that there was much more to the Weasley Brothers than met the eye. Mum also had a close relationship with both of them as well. She and Uncle Charlie teamed up in the constant battle against Dad and Aunt Loren in their constant teasing of each other. She and Aunt Loren also became very close friends. Uncle Charlie and Aunt Loren had only one daughter, Kate, who was the oldest Weasley grandchild along with Uncle Bill's Daniel (they were much like James and I, complete opposites and yet best friends. Actually, more like twins- they had the same birthday).
Kate was everyone's favorite cousin; in fact, James even had a crush on her before I told him that it was illegal. Kate was, indeed, a true Weasley only with slight Chapman altercations. She, unlike Uncle Charlie but much like Aunt Loren, displayed multiple personalities. There was her docile and sweet one; her tomboyish and rugged one; her wild, feisty and mischievous Weasley one; her coy flirtatiousness; her stubbornness and compassionate personalities, topped off with deep red hair, remarkable green eyes, and contagious smile was my cousin Kate.
In essence (or in my opinion, I have yet to figure it out), Kate was not only my cousin, not only my friend and not only my role model, but she exuded all of the qualities of (drum role, please!) "Landon Weasley's Perfect Woman". Obviously, my perfect woman would NOT be my cousin, thank you very much.
Uncle Percy, while he was under the Imperius Curse, had committed several crimes. One of them was killing his Muggle-born fiancé, Penelope Clearwater. Once the curse was released and he realized what he had done, he separated himself from the world, everything that he loved, everything that Penny loved and anything that reminded her of him. He was still so filled with remorse that he still could not bare to even think of loving another woman in the way that he loved Penelope. Thus said, he remained unmarried, a confirmed old bachelor. He worked for the Ministry, now Head of the Department of Magical/Muggle Relations.
Uncle George had not married, either. He claimed, and I quote, "I prefer to exercise my masculinity as I sample the full palate of the feminine gender." I still swear that I had a cousin, who was in her sixth year while I was in my first. It was of Mum's opinion that some woman would tame his wild ways, one of these days.
Uncle Fred was unlike his twin in this respect. He settled down relatively early after his Hogwarts days with Angelina Johnson and had four children, incidentally two sets of twins who were all constantly fighting.
Of course, any time that we all got together, it was always a fun occasion. We took turns hosting Christmas and family get-togethers, and since we had just bought a new (although it was hundreds of years old) Italian chateau, it seemed like the perfect place to host Grandmum and Grandpa's fiftieth wedding anniversary party on November 15th.
Mum was nearly insane by the week of the party. She had this way about her, so it seemed, that whatever she would do would have to be over-the-top perfect. To add to this wonderful effect, Grandmum and Grandpa wouldn't know about the party at all, which caused her even more problems. I think that Dad secretly enjoyed watching her go mad; I know that I did.
All eight of us grandchildren who were at school were permitted to go home for three days for the party, starting on the fourteenth. I was relieved to have time away from Charlotte, and James was relieved to have time away from classes. We were going home by Portkey from The Three Broomsticks with Mum the night of the thirteenth. The Portkey was going to leave at six o'clock and we were all rushing to finish our last-minute packing and get to Hogsmeade in fifteen minutes. Mum burst into Gryffindor Tower, which she didn't often due, yelling at us to hurry up, please, and sufficiently frightening some first years. Kate was hurrying Evie out of her dormitory, and we all managed to get to the Portkey on time.
Much as I suspected, Uncle Charlie and Aunt Loren and the Potters were at our house already. We all gaped at the house, as a very large housekeeper came to take Mum's coat and briefcase, clucking in Italian about something. We all said hello to our relatives, and the teasing commenced between Dad and Kate:
"So, Katie-"
"Oh, just Kate, please, Uncle Ronnie," Kate said, teasing him back.
"Right, Katie, sorry about that. So how's that boyfriend of yours, er…what's his name? Michael?"
Kate blushed a bit. "His name is Matthew and he is not my boyfriend. Nor will he ever be."
Dad rolled his eyes at his goddaughter. "Oh, right, we all know how long that will last. Next thing you know, they're off snogging in a broom closet somewhere!"
"Right, just like you in school, right, Uncle Ron? Always the ladies man, I'm sure. No…no wait…I remember that story. Aunt Hermione's the only woman who wasn't disgusted by you…"
"Oh, no," Mum said, coming to stand next to Kate in her defense. "I was disgusted by him. I only married him, Kate, because your father was already taken." Mum said hello to Uncle Charlie and Aunt Loren then, as the housekeeper (who was later introduced to me as Christiana) brought in a tray of drinks for us, and the house elves took our bags. Mum seemed very reluctant to letting them do so; she always had some inexplicable love for house elves. As the adults and older cousins talked about things, James and I went off in search of my room, where James would no-doubt be staying as well.
Somehow, though, we happened into the library atrium. Mum's "sanctum sanctorum", as Dad jokingly called it, was two stories high, where it was topped off with a stained-glass dome for a roof. There were long windows draped in intricate tapestries and books lining every shelf; the soft Persian rug beneath my feet accented the leather furniture. Maps were lying on mahogany tables; globes and reference books on stands dotted the room here and there.
"Whoa…" James said as he stared around the room in wonder.
"Yeah…" I said. I walked dazedly to the other side of the room, as James ran up the spiral staircase to slide back and forth on the ladders on the second floor. I was struck by one particular patch of wall, rather, one particular section of shelving, for a reason that I can't explain to this day. I saw a book by Charlotte Bronte on this shelf, and intrigue struck me to find out what all the fuss was about. I took it off the shelf and began to read the first page. Boring. As I went to place it back, I saw that there was a hole in the wall behind this book's place. Interesting. I put the book on a table nearby, and returned to the shelf, to find that the book was once again in it's place, and no longer on the table where I had just placed it. I pushed the book further into the shelf, to see if it would fall into the opening, but something interesting happened when it did.
The shelf swung open.
My parents were definitely up to something. How many kids' parents have secret passageways in the library? If I were going to see what was going on with my Mum and Dad, though, I would have to investigate first hand. I hesitantly stepped inside, but the shelf stayed open behind me. Fine. The floor was rather soggy, and my feet were prone to stepping in puddles that had collected on the uneven stone floor. Water dripped from the ceiling as the room slowly wound down and the light dissipated. Using the inherited Granger-Weasley prowess, I lit my wand and shone it ahead, trying to see my path. I was a little too late on the wand-lighting, because I didn't realize that there was a set of stairs in front of me, and fell down quite a ways. I sat up, shaking my head, and rubbing a spot on the back of it, which promised to be a very large bump by morning. I shone my wand on the floor in front of me, and saw that there were no more steps.
I walked forward, through a doorway, and down a few more steps where I was greeted with a rather wicked smell. Whatever Mum and Dad were hiding down here, it wasn't going to be pretty.
I heard a growl from behind me, and felt something moving in the shadows. I thrust my wand out, trying to spread the light around the room while trying to quell the shaking that had begun out of fear. I was spinning around now, trying to catch sight of the thing that was in here. Finally, my wand struck something.
It was black and scaly, with a long tale, long snout, and short legs. It was a rather pudgy animal, although it looked as if the weight it carried didn't slow him down at all. It opened its mouth, showing off a huge set of teeth as fire began careening from its mouth. Surely, this must have been something Dad had come up with at work or something. I saw that it was blocking a doorway. Whatever Mum and Dad were hiding, it was inside that room.
As the creature advanced, I used the first spell that came to my mind.
"Erm…erm…Wingardium Leviosa!" I shouted, and the creature was soon feet off the ground as I ran below it, flung the door open, and then threw myself on it to keep the monster out. I heard a thud as it landed, roaring terribly loud, and trudging away.
I turned, then, to see what was in the room that my parents were so preciously guarding. Mirrors. It was a room filled with mirrors of all shapes and sizes. What was the big fuss about then? I looked at them, but instead of seeing Landon Weasley, I saw our house. Every room in our house had a mirror of its' own, almost like a security camera that they showed on Muggle television. I saw James running through a corridor and into the living room where Mum, Dad, the Potters, Uncle Charlie and Aunt Loren, Kate and Daniel were sitting and laughing about…well, something (there was always laughing in our house).
He was out of breath, but he stopped and everyone turned to look at him. I tapped the mirror with my wand, hoping that that would allow me to hear. Sure enough, it did.
"Uncle R-Ron…Aunt…Mione…Landon…dis-disappeared…in the…the library," he was sputtering.
"What?" Dad asked.
"James, calm down and tell us what the matter is," Aunt Loren said soothingly.
James tried to catch his breath, before straightening up and saying, "Landon disappeared in the library into a secret passageway or…or something! I wasn't watching; I was playing around on the ladders, and in any normal circumstance, I would have gone too, but something was growling!"
Mum and Dad stood up.
"Did you know that we have a secret passage in the library?" Mum was asking Dad.
"No, I didn't put one there. Did you?" he asked her.
"Certainly not in the library!" she sputtered. "Harry, did you?"
"I never go in your library for fear that you'll kill me for messing it up," Uncle Harry said, standing up as well. Uncle Charlie followed suit as the four of them walked through the room. My aunts followed, as well as Kate, Daniel and James. I followed them through the mirrors and watched as they arrived in the library (which had three mirrors to itself in addition to the secret passage mirrors) just as the shelf was swinging shut. The four of them ran to get there before it did, and Mum, being the skinniest, managed to squeeze through before it was shut.
I couldn't see her inside the passageway; it was too dark with the shelf closed. Dad, Uncle Harry, and Uncle Charlie were feeling all around the shelf, trying to find someway to get it. I tapped the mirror that they were in with my wand, and was able to hear what was going on.
"Ron! Ron, can you hear me?" Mum was calling to Dad.
"What can you see, Hermione?" he called back to her.
"I can't see a blasted thing. It's as dark as night in here!" she called back.
Dad stepped back from the shelf and stared at it with a mixture of fury, frustration and skepticism. "Are you a witch or not?!" he called back. "Light your bloody wand!"
Mum mumbled something then, and Dad had to call to her to repeat it. "I can't see it; I've dropped it." Dad just shook his head, and went back to trying to find out how to open the shelf. Mum screaming interrupted him.
"Hermione! What's wrong?" He called back urgently.
"There's-something-in-here!" she called back to him.
"All right, we're trying to get you out of there!" he called back to her. His face did look alarmed. "Can you tell what it is?"
"I thought we'd covered this! I can't see a thing!" came from behind the wall.
Uncle Charlie stepped back from the wall, and Uncle Harry and Dad followed suit. Uncle Harry took his wand out, and tried using magic to open the wall. Uncle Charlie didn't have his wand with him, so he borrowed his daughter's. Dad was trying magic as well, but it wasn't working.
Mum screamed again.
"What? What?" Dad called, anxiously.
"Ron, it just brushed up against my leg! Get me out of here!"
"We're trying!" he called back to her. He was muttering under his breath, something that sounded along the lines of 'we've got to get her out of there'.
Uncle Charlie stepped up. "Hermione, what did it feel like? What's its skin like?"
"Erm…" Mum stuttered. "It's kind of scaly…and slimy…ouch! The little bugger bit me! Oh…and now it's growling…Charlie this thing is going to eat me alive!"
Finally, Uncle Harry stumbled upon the book, and the shelf began to swing open, shedding light into the room. Mum grabbed her wand, and cast a spell at it, only to find that it was impermeable to attack spells. That made sense, since levitation was a practical magic spell. Dad and my uncles rushed in, brandishing their wands as well. Dad and Uncle Charlie stepped forward, knowing what to do since they worked with animals for a living. They seemed almost pained to have to kill it. Meanwhile, Uncle Harry was looking at Mum's bleeding leg. A simple spell healed it, and she was able to walk with only a little limp. They lit their wands and walked further inside.
I didn't bother following their progress; it was only the same way that I had come. I looked through the other mirrors, and saw Rachel and Emily playing in the playroom with Uncle Fred's youngest set of twins- Eleanor and Timothy; David, Christopher and Jonathan (Uncle Fred's older set of twins), and Evie were in a room upstairs. Dave, Chris, Tim, John, and Eleanor were prodding something with their wands, and Evie was looking on disgustedly, reading a magazine called "TeenWitch". In one of the upstairs towers were a man and a woman peering over something intently. I couldn't see their faces at the angle that they were sitting at. The only thing that I could tell was that the woman who was sitting had long blonde hair and pale skin; the man, who was leaning over her shoulder, had graying semi- long hair and was very thin. I tapped my wand on that mirror, to hear what they were saying.
"But can ve be sure?" the woman was asking in a distinct French accent. I knew that voice beyond a shadow of a doubt. It was Professor Delacour.
"Hermione doesn't think so," said the man whom I recognized then to be Uncle Sirius, "but otherwise, Ron and Harry do. You're just going to have to get more information, Fleur. Hermione will be hard to convince. You know how stubborn she can be."
Professor Delacour laughed. "Yez, yez. I zink zat zee Death Eatairs suspect."
"Well, if they do, than you're just going to have to make sure that they don't, aren't you?" Uncle Sirius was saying to her.
"I shall try," she said. "But, I zink-"
The door opened behind me, and I tapped my wand on the mirror once more to make the sound diminish. Time for the innocent little boy routine.
I ran to the door, to find everyone. Mum bent down to make sure that I was all right. Of course I was, minus the bump on the head and the severe headache that had been intensifying since my fall down the steps. I pretended that I didn't remember how I managed to get into the shelf, or what had happened, only that that thing had chased me into the room. Dad, Uncle Harry and Uncle Charlie exchanged glances, letting me know that they didn't believe my story for an instant. Mum, too, looked skeptical as we walked out.
I had to tell James about what I saw later that night. After Christiana had given me some ice for my splitting headache (I think she was a squib and didn't know how to mix potions or do spells), I walked upstairs to what I thought was John and Chris's room to try to find James. I knocked on the door, and opened it, but found Kate sitting on the window seat reading a book.
"Oh, sorry, Kate," I said. "I thought that this was John and Chris's room.
"That's all right, Landon," she smiled at me. I was about to leave when she asked, "Erm…something on your mind?"
"N-No…what makes you think that?" I said to her.
She smiled knowingly, like the ones that Mum and Aunt Loren would exchange every now and then when talking to Dad and Uncle Charlie. I hated that smile. "All right," she told me.
"I mean," I continued, "If I had something on my mind, not like I do or anything, I would tell you. I hate keeping secrets, but if I had any secrets to keep, that is, you know, important secrets, I certainly wouldn't tell them."
She nodded. "All right, Landon." She went back to her book.
"And, if you really wanted to know my secrets or if something were on my mind, I think that you shouldn't pry into what other people are thinking. Not like I'm thinking, or anything."
She nodded again. "All right, Landon."
"See, Kate," I said, flopping down on the bed. "I know this guy. Let's just call him…Bob. Bob had been friends with this guy…Jim for a long time. And Jim is a friend with this girl lately; let's just call her…Christy. But, Christy and Bob don't like each other. Christy and Jim, on the other hand, are spending a whole lot of time together, lately, and are kind of pushing Bob to the side."
"Let me guess," Kate said, turning to face me, "Bob feels a little left out now, doesn't he?"
"Yes, he does," I said. "And, he doesn't want to hang around with them to make himself feel more included because I- erm, I mean, he hates Christy."
Kate suppressed a grin, and said, "Maybe…erm, Bob should tell Jim how he feels? And maybe, Bob should try to put up with Christy, maybe even try to like her? It sounds like Jim really likes this girl, and maybe…maybe Bob is jealous that this girl is taking his best friend away?"
"What? Jealous? Of course not! Bob would never get jealous of Ja-Jim!" I said.
She nodded. "All right, Landon."
"And…and even if I was jealous of James, it wouldn't be because of Charlotte! What do I care if he's friends with her? I hate her, anyway, so what's the point? Why would I be jealous of someone I hate?"
"Oh, I see," she said. "It sounds like you're not jealous of James, but you're jealous of Charlotte. Am I right?"
Why did she have to be so intuitive?
"Wh-erm,-we-but- oh, what do you know, anyway? You're just…you were just making me tell you! I didn't want to tell you, but no! You just had to know didn't you! Well, that's the last time that I tell you anything!" I sputtered.
She grinned, nodded, and went back to her book, saying, "All right, Landon."
"Girls!" I muttered furiously, storming from the room.
She was right and I knew it.
Bronte had this crazy idea that since we got in trouble together, had to serve a detention with Snape together, and lost one hundred fifty points together that we should be friends. And she tried, too. She would talk about "the three of us" like it was something special, when in reality, she was just the tag-along. But when she was around James…I was the odd man out.
It had been a week since we had gotten in trouble, and we hadn't talked about our misadventure at all. Most of Gryffindor house wasn't speaking to us, so we found solace in each other. Well, James found solace in both of us- I still hated Charlotte.
The only upper-classmen who were speaking to us were our cousins. That was kind of embarrassing- only your family would talk to you. Actually, I think that their parents were making them talk to us. Could this get worse?
Yes.
James invited Charlotte to spend Christmas with him. That's fine, why should I care? The Weasley family always spent Christmas holidays together. This year, it was our turn to host in our new house. Yes, Bronte would be at my house. I couldn't hole myself up in the library then. Well, no doubt our new house would have a library; Mum wouldn't stand for it any other way. She also wouldn't stand for me spending my entire holiday in the library, especially when we were the hosts. It just wasn't good manners.
Screw manners, I hated the girl.
I had time, though. Christmas wasn't for another two months, give or take a few days. Maybe I could cause an accident during Astronomy, and Bronte might just happen to slip and fall off the tower during one of our stargazing classes. Oops! Sorry, Professor, I guess she just slipped.
I always enjoyed Christmas with my family. All of my cousins were a lot of fun to be around. No, sorry, all of my family was fun to be around.
Uncle Bill married Aunt Victoria after they met while working together with Gringotts. After they were stationed in Hawaii, they decided to quit their jobs as Curse-breakers, and come back to work in the Ministry (don't ask me why; if I were stationed in Hawaii, you can bet your life that I'd be staying there- tropical island vs. rainy city…go figure) in the Magical Abuse Department.
They had two children. Two boys, actually, named Daniel and David. Daniel is in his seventh year, one of the two oldest Weasley grandchildren. He's Head Boy, taking after his father, I suppose. David is shy and quiet in his third year. He has friends, and most of the girls liked him (strong and silent, I guess), but overall, he prefers to stay in the background.
Uncle Charlie was married to Aunt Loren. They were regulars at our house (almost like my third set of parents- Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny were my second, of course). Aunt Loren and Dad had special bond that Dad didn't really have with any of his other sisters-in-law. He was as close to Aunt Loren as he was to Aunt Ginny. Maybe more so, come to think of it. Uncle Charlie and Dad were also partners in their practice. But I thought that there was much more to the Weasley Brothers than met the eye. Mum also had a close relationship with both of them as well. She and Uncle Charlie teamed up in the constant battle against Dad and Aunt Loren in their constant teasing of each other. She and Aunt Loren also became very close friends. Uncle Charlie and Aunt Loren had only one daughter, Kate, who was the oldest Weasley grandchild along with Uncle Bill's Daniel (they were much like James and I, complete opposites and yet best friends. Actually, more like twins- they had the same birthday).
Kate was everyone's favorite cousin; in fact, James even had a crush on her before I told him that it was illegal. Kate was, indeed, a true Weasley only with slight Chapman altercations. She, unlike Uncle Charlie but much like Aunt Loren, displayed multiple personalities. There was her docile and sweet one; her tomboyish and rugged one; her wild, feisty and mischievous Weasley one; her coy flirtatiousness; her stubbornness and compassionate personalities, topped off with deep red hair, remarkable green eyes, and contagious smile was my cousin Kate.
In essence (or in my opinion, I have yet to figure it out), Kate was not only my cousin, not only my friend and not only my role model, but she exuded all of the qualities of (drum role, please!) "Landon Weasley's Perfect Woman". Obviously, my perfect woman would NOT be my cousin, thank you very much.
Uncle Percy, while he was under the Imperius Curse, had committed several crimes. One of them was killing his Muggle-born fiancé, Penelope Clearwater. Once the curse was released and he realized what he had done, he separated himself from the world, everything that he loved, everything that Penny loved and anything that reminded her of him. He was still so filled with remorse that he still could not bare to even think of loving another woman in the way that he loved Penelope. Thus said, he remained unmarried, a confirmed old bachelor. He worked for the Ministry, now Head of the Department of Magical/Muggle Relations.
Uncle George had not married, either. He claimed, and I quote, "I prefer to exercise my masculinity as I sample the full palate of the feminine gender." I still swear that I had a cousin, who was in her sixth year while I was in my first. It was of Mum's opinion that some woman would tame his wild ways, one of these days.
Uncle Fred was unlike his twin in this respect. He settled down relatively early after his Hogwarts days with Angelina Johnson and had four children, incidentally two sets of twins who were all constantly fighting.
Of course, any time that we all got together, it was always a fun occasion. We took turns hosting Christmas and family get-togethers, and since we had just bought a new (although it was hundreds of years old) Italian chateau, it seemed like the perfect place to host Grandmum and Grandpa's fiftieth wedding anniversary party on November 15th.
Mum was nearly insane by the week of the party. She had this way about her, so it seemed, that whatever she would do would have to be over-the-top perfect. To add to this wonderful effect, Grandmum and Grandpa wouldn't know about the party at all, which caused her even more problems. I think that Dad secretly enjoyed watching her go mad; I know that I did.
All eight of us grandchildren who were at school were permitted to go home for three days for the party, starting on the fourteenth. I was relieved to have time away from Charlotte, and James was relieved to have time away from classes. We were going home by Portkey from The Three Broomsticks with Mum the night of the thirteenth. The Portkey was going to leave at six o'clock and we were all rushing to finish our last-minute packing and get to Hogsmeade in fifteen minutes. Mum burst into Gryffindor Tower, which she didn't often due, yelling at us to hurry up, please, and sufficiently frightening some first years. Kate was hurrying Evie out of her dormitory, and we all managed to get to the Portkey on time.
Much as I suspected, Uncle Charlie and Aunt Loren and the Potters were at our house already. We all gaped at the house, as a very large housekeeper came to take Mum's coat and briefcase, clucking in Italian about something. We all said hello to our relatives, and the teasing commenced between Dad and Kate:
"So, Katie-"
"Oh, just Kate, please, Uncle Ronnie," Kate said, teasing him back.
"Right, Katie, sorry about that. So how's that boyfriend of yours, er…what's his name? Michael?"
Kate blushed a bit. "His name is Matthew and he is not my boyfriend. Nor will he ever be."
Dad rolled his eyes at his goddaughter. "Oh, right, we all know how long that will last. Next thing you know, they're off snogging in a broom closet somewhere!"
"Right, just like you in school, right, Uncle Ron? Always the ladies man, I'm sure. No…no wait…I remember that story. Aunt Hermione's the only woman who wasn't disgusted by you…"
"Oh, no," Mum said, coming to stand next to Kate in her defense. "I was disgusted by him. I only married him, Kate, because your father was already taken." Mum said hello to Uncle Charlie and Aunt Loren then, as the housekeeper (who was later introduced to me as Christiana) brought in a tray of drinks for us, and the house elves took our bags. Mum seemed very reluctant to letting them do so; she always had some inexplicable love for house elves. As the adults and older cousins talked about things, James and I went off in search of my room, where James would no-doubt be staying as well.
Somehow, though, we happened into the library atrium. Mum's "sanctum sanctorum", as Dad jokingly called it, was two stories high, where it was topped off with a stained-glass dome for a roof. There were long windows draped in intricate tapestries and books lining every shelf; the soft Persian rug beneath my feet accented the leather furniture. Maps were lying on mahogany tables; globes and reference books on stands dotted the room here and there.
"Whoa…" James said as he stared around the room in wonder.
"Yeah…" I said. I walked dazedly to the other side of the room, as James ran up the spiral staircase to slide back and forth on the ladders on the second floor. I was struck by one particular patch of wall, rather, one particular section of shelving, for a reason that I can't explain to this day. I saw a book by Charlotte Bronte on this shelf, and intrigue struck me to find out what all the fuss was about. I took it off the shelf and began to read the first page. Boring. As I went to place it back, I saw that there was a hole in the wall behind this book's place. Interesting. I put the book on a table nearby, and returned to the shelf, to find that the book was once again in it's place, and no longer on the table where I had just placed it. I pushed the book further into the shelf, to see if it would fall into the opening, but something interesting happened when it did.
The shelf swung open.
My parents were definitely up to something. How many kids' parents have secret passageways in the library? If I were going to see what was going on with my Mum and Dad, though, I would have to investigate first hand. I hesitantly stepped inside, but the shelf stayed open behind me. Fine. The floor was rather soggy, and my feet were prone to stepping in puddles that had collected on the uneven stone floor. Water dripped from the ceiling as the room slowly wound down and the light dissipated. Using the inherited Granger-Weasley prowess, I lit my wand and shone it ahead, trying to see my path. I was a little too late on the wand-lighting, because I didn't realize that there was a set of stairs in front of me, and fell down quite a ways. I sat up, shaking my head, and rubbing a spot on the back of it, which promised to be a very large bump by morning. I shone my wand on the floor in front of me, and saw that there were no more steps.
I walked forward, through a doorway, and down a few more steps where I was greeted with a rather wicked smell. Whatever Mum and Dad were hiding down here, it wasn't going to be pretty.
I heard a growl from behind me, and felt something moving in the shadows. I thrust my wand out, trying to spread the light around the room while trying to quell the shaking that had begun out of fear. I was spinning around now, trying to catch sight of the thing that was in here. Finally, my wand struck something.
It was black and scaly, with a long tale, long snout, and short legs. It was a rather pudgy animal, although it looked as if the weight it carried didn't slow him down at all. It opened its mouth, showing off a huge set of teeth as fire began careening from its mouth. Surely, this must have been something Dad had come up with at work or something. I saw that it was blocking a doorway. Whatever Mum and Dad were hiding, it was inside that room.
As the creature advanced, I used the first spell that came to my mind.
"Erm…erm…Wingardium Leviosa!" I shouted, and the creature was soon feet off the ground as I ran below it, flung the door open, and then threw myself on it to keep the monster out. I heard a thud as it landed, roaring terribly loud, and trudging away.
I turned, then, to see what was in the room that my parents were so preciously guarding. Mirrors. It was a room filled with mirrors of all shapes and sizes. What was the big fuss about then? I looked at them, but instead of seeing Landon Weasley, I saw our house. Every room in our house had a mirror of its' own, almost like a security camera that they showed on Muggle television. I saw James running through a corridor and into the living room where Mum, Dad, the Potters, Uncle Charlie and Aunt Loren, Kate and Daniel were sitting and laughing about…well, something (there was always laughing in our house).
He was out of breath, but he stopped and everyone turned to look at him. I tapped the mirror with my wand, hoping that that would allow me to hear. Sure enough, it did.
"Uncle R-Ron…Aunt…Mione…Landon…dis-disappeared…in the…the library," he was sputtering.
"What?" Dad asked.
"James, calm down and tell us what the matter is," Aunt Loren said soothingly.
James tried to catch his breath, before straightening up and saying, "Landon disappeared in the library into a secret passageway or…or something! I wasn't watching; I was playing around on the ladders, and in any normal circumstance, I would have gone too, but something was growling!"
Mum and Dad stood up.
"Did you know that we have a secret passage in the library?" Mum was asking Dad.
"No, I didn't put one there. Did you?" he asked her.
"Certainly not in the library!" she sputtered. "Harry, did you?"
"I never go in your library for fear that you'll kill me for messing it up," Uncle Harry said, standing up as well. Uncle Charlie followed suit as the four of them walked through the room. My aunts followed, as well as Kate, Daniel and James. I followed them through the mirrors and watched as they arrived in the library (which had three mirrors to itself in addition to the secret passage mirrors) just as the shelf was swinging shut. The four of them ran to get there before it did, and Mum, being the skinniest, managed to squeeze through before it was shut.
I couldn't see her inside the passageway; it was too dark with the shelf closed. Dad, Uncle Harry, and Uncle Charlie were feeling all around the shelf, trying to find someway to get it. I tapped the mirror that they were in with my wand, and was able to hear what was going on.
"Ron! Ron, can you hear me?" Mum was calling to Dad.
"What can you see, Hermione?" he called back to her.
"I can't see a blasted thing. It's as dark as night in here!" she called back.
Dad stepped back from the shelf and stared at it with a mixture of fury, frustration and skepticism. "Are you a witch or not?!" he called back. "Light your bloody wand!"
Mum mumbled something then, and Dad had to call to her to repeat it. "I can't see it; I've dropped it." Dad just shook his head, and went back to trying to find out how to open the shelf. Mum screaming interrupted him.
"Hermione! What's wrong?" He called back urgently.
"There's-something-in-here!" she called back to him.
"All right, we're trying to get you out of there!" he called back to her. His face did look alarmed. "Can you tell what it is?"
"I thought we'd covered this! I can't see a thing!" came from behind the wall.
Uncle Charlie stepped back from the wall, and Uncle Harry and Dad followed suit. Uncle Harry took his wand out, and tried using magic to open the wall. Uncle Charlie didn't have his wand with him, so he borrowed his daughter's. Dad was trying magic as well, but it wasn't working.
Mum screamed again.
"What? What?" Dad called, anxiously.
"Ron, it just brushed up against my leg! Get me out of here!"
"We're trying!" he called back to her. He was muttering under his breath, something that sounded along the lines of 'we've got to get her out of there'.
Uncle Charlie stepped up. "Hermione, what did it feel like? What's its skin like?"
"Erm…" Mum stuttered. "It's kind of scaly…and slimy…ouch! The little bugger bit me! Oh…and now it's growling…Charlie this thing is going to eat me alive!"
Finally, Uncle Harry stumbled upon the book, and the shelf began to swing open, shedding light into the room. Mum grabbed her wand, and cast a spell at it, only to find that it was impermeable to attack spells. That made sense, since levitation was a practical magic spell. Dad and my uncles rushed in, brandishing their wands as well. Dad and Uncle Charlie stepped forward, knowing what to do since they worked with animals for a living. They seemed almost pained to have to kill it. Meanwhile, Uncle Harry was looking at Mum's bleeding leg. A simple spell healed it, and she was able to walk with only a little limp. They lit their wands and walked further inside.
I didn't bother following their progress; it was only the same way that I had come. I looked through the other mirrors, and saw Rachel and Emily playing in the playroom with Uncle Fred's youngest set of twins- Eleanor and Timothy; David, Christopher and Jonathan (Uncle Fred's older set of twins), and Evie were in a room upstairs. Dave, Chris, Tim, John, and Eleanor were prodding something with their wands, and Evie was looking on disgustedly, reading a magazine called "TeenWitch". In one of the upstairs towers were a man and a woman peering over something intently. I couldn't see their faces at the angle that they were sitting at. The only thing that I could tell was that the woman who was sitting had long blonde hair and pale skin; the man, who was leaning over her shoulder, had graying semi- long hair and was very thin. I tapped my wand on that mirror, to hear what they were saying.
"But can ve be sure?" the woman was asking in a distinct French accent. I knew that voice beyond a shadow of a doubt. It was Professor Delacour.
"Hermione doesn't think so," said the man whom I recognized then to be Uncle Sirius, "but otherwise, Ron and Harry do. You're just going to have to get more information, Fleur. Hermione will be hard to convince. You know how stubborn she can be."
Professor Delacour laughed. "Yez, yez. I zink zat zee Death Eatairs suspect."
"Well, if they do, than you're just going to have to make sure that they don't, aren't you?" Uncle Sirius was saying to her.
"I shall try," she said. "But, I zink-"
The door opened behind me, and I tapped my wand on the mirror once more to make the sound diminish. Time for the innocent little boy routine.
I ran to the door, to find everyone. Mum bent down to make sure that I was all right. Of course I was, minus the bump on the head and the severe headache that had been intensifying since my fall down the steps. I pretended that I didn't remember how I managed to get into the shelf, or what had happened, only that that thing had chased me into the room. Dad, Uncle Harry and Uncle Charlie exchanged glances, letting me know that they didn't believe my story for an instant. Mum, too, looked skeptical as we walked out.
I had to tell James about what I saw later that night. After Christiana had given me some ice for my splitting headache (I think she was a squib and didn't know how to mix potions or do spells), I walked upstairs to what I thought was John and Chris's room to try to find James. I knocked on the door, and opened it, but found Kate sitting on the window seat reading a book.
"Oh, sorry, Kate," I said. "I thought that this was John and Chris's room.
"That's all right, Landon," she smiled at me. I was about to leave when she asked, "Erm…something on your mind?"
"N-No…what makes you think that?" I said to her.
She smiled knowingly, like the ones that Mum and Aunt Loren would exchange every now and then when talking to Dad and Uncle Charlie. I hated that smile. "All right," she told me.
"I mean," I continued, "If I had something on my mind, not like I do or anything, I would tell you. I hate keeping secrets, but if I had any secrets to keep, that is, you know, important secrets, I certainly wouldn't tell them."
She nodded. "All right, Landon." She went back to her book.
"And, if you really wanted to know my secrets or if something were on my mind, I think that you shouldn't pry into what other people are thinking. Not like I'm thinking, or anything."
She nodded again. "All right, Landon."
"See, Kate," I said, flopping down on the bed. "I know this guy. Let's just call him…Bob. Bob had been friends with this guy…Jim for a long time. And Jim is a friend with this girl lately; let's just call her…Christy. But, Christy and Bob don't like each other. Christy and Jim, on the other hand, are spending a whole lot of time together, lately, and are kind of pushing Bob to the side."
"Let me guess," Kate said, turning to face me, "Bob feels a little left out now, doesn't he?"
"Yes, he does," I said. "And, he doesn't want to hang around with them to make himself feel more included because I- erm, I mean, he hates Christy."
Kate suppressed a grin, and said, "Maybe…erm, Bob should tell Jim how he feels? And maybe, Bob should try to put up with Christy, maybe even try to like her? It sounds like Jim really likes this girl, and maybe…maybe Bob is jealous that this girl is taking his best friend away?"
"What? Jealous? Of course not! Bob would never get jealous of Ja-Jim!" I said.
She nodded. "All right, Landon."
"And…and even if I was jealous of James, it wouldn't be because of Charlotte! What do I care if he's friends with her? I hate her, anyway, so what's the point? Why would I be jealous of someone I hate?"
"Oh, I see," she said. "It sounds like you're not jealous of James, but you're jealous of Charlotte. Am I right?"
Why did she have to be so intuitive?
"Wh-erm,-we-but- oh, what do you know, anyway? You're just…you were just making me tell you! I didn't want to tell you, but no! You just had to know didn't you! Well, that's the last time that I tell you anything!" I sputtered.
She grinned, nodded, and went back to her book, saying, "All right, Landon."
"Girls!" I muttered furiously, storming from the room.
She was right and I knew it.