Elisabeth was folding some of the clothes she would need for the
move, she wouldn't take all of them, Hermione said they would get her some
nice robes in Diagon Alley. Wherever that was. As she tossed a violet
cardigan into the discard pile there was some shrill banging behind her,
she whirled around wondering what on earth it could have been. Anna and
William were lying in a crumpled pile on the floor. William leapt up and
pulled Anna to her feet.
"Oh hi, you guys scared the crap out of me."
"Yeah, just don't mention it to our mum, she'll have our heads on a pike."
"You're absolutely right I will. You two are NOT supposed to apparate. Didn't you learn when Daniel got splinched?"
"No, Daniel's the only one who learns when something happens to him."
"Well you two should pay attention to what happened to him. It took the Ministry a week to find his eye."
"And besides, you aren't old enough to apparate, you haven't got your license and if you try to apparate next summer the Ministry will be on to you like dark in the dungeons. And you will be paying that fine yourselves. Now where was your father when you were illegally transporting yourselves over here?"
"At work."
"Didn't he get you a babysitter?"
"MUM! We're eleven years old!"
"If any eleven year olds need a babysitter it's you two." She glared at the two of them for a moment and then sighed. "If you two are going to be here you might as well be of some assistance. Help Elisabeth pack."
"Thanks mum." Anna got up and hugged her.
"You two owe me. I have more grey hair than my mum ever did."
"HERMIONE! WHAT DID YOU DO WITH THE BOXES?"
"I didn't do anything with the boxes, and really Harry, you don't need to yell, I'm right here."
"WELL I DIDN--Oh, sorry, I didn't do anything with them either, and now they aren't where I left them."
"They're in a heap at the bottom of the stairs."
"What? No they aren't! You didn't even look."
Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head, "You tried to put the cat in them and push it down the banister, remember? And now you've run out of boxes and the cat ran away."
"Oh. Right. Well, here they are."
Hermione shook her head. "Will, if you ever end up like that. Trouble, big trouble." She left the room.
Will grinned, "So, what do you need packed?"
"I don't know, your mum told me to put everything I couldn't bear to be without into one pile and we could probably replace everything else." She glanced at the room; "Problem is I don't have anything I couldn't bear to part with."
Anna grinned. "Most of this stuff will be completely useless where you're going." She picked up Elisabeth's clock/radio and showed it to Will, "This will go crazy around Hogwarts."
"I say bring your books, a few outfits, and your pictures. Everything else will either be useless or pointless."
Will nodded, "She's right. Bring this stuff into Edil and you'll have the Ministry tracking your every move. And if you bring it into Hogwarts it'll just self-destruct."
"Edil?"
"The magical section of Edinburgh. It's where all of us live, except for Uncle Sirius. He doesn't have a fixed address."
"Oh. Why will the Ministry be after me for this?"
"Well, because it's you they actually probably won't bother you to bad. But when we bring Muggle artifacts into Edil or any other magical place the Ministry keeps strict tabs on you so you don't go about bewitching it. It's mostly so the Muggles don't find out about us."
"A watch is okay though."
"Not that you'll really need one. They're mostly pointless. Only Muggles care about what time it is. Like to pretend they have important places to be."
Anna gasped suddenly, "Do you know what?"
"What?"
She giggled, "Mr Filch, the caretaker at Hogwarts, is a squib!"
"Seriously?"
"Yes!"
"Er-what's a squib?"
"Somebody in a magical family who doesn't have magic in their blood. My god, can you imagine the shame?"
"Edwin Altar's brother Emmett is a squib."
"Edwin has a brother?"
"Yeah, but they try to keep it secret. Ed's dad has a big position at the Ministry. He thinks if anyone finds out he'll get fired."
"Grandad would never let someone get fired for having a squib for a son."
"I know, he would probably get all excited and ask if the kid went to Muggle school. He wouldn't leave him alone. Asking about the teachers and books and whatnot. Wait till he meets you Elisabeth; he'll have a hey-day."
"Not if grandma can help it. Our grandad is Minister for Magic, by the way. And he's OBSESSED with Muggles. It drives grandma insane."
"He's really Minister for Magic?"
"Yep, he has been since our parents were in sixth year."
"Do you have aunts and uncles?"
"Absolutely. There's Uncle Bill and Uncle Charlie. Uncle Bill was married to some French girl named Fleur but she didn't like his cooking so they got divorced." Elisabeth raised an eyebrow. "I know, I know. So both of them are bachelors-"
"Is your Uncle Charlie the one they were talking about, the one that plays Quidditch?"
"Yeah, but he doesn't play Quidditch anymore, he works in Romania."
"With dragons."
"Oh! They exist?"
"Of course, you can't breed them now though, not domestically."
"Anyway, after Bill and Charlie there's Uncle Percy, he's married to Penelope, they have this one kid who is a complete brat because Uncle Percy doesn't know how to handle children and Auntie Penny spends way to much time with him. The baby, I mean. Not Percy, nobody likes to spend a lot of time with Uncle Percy. He's weird. Not as weird as Richard though. Richard is the baby. We stuck him in the laundry chute, mum and I and Auntie Penny heard him crying and she just shrugged and said as long as he was crying it meant he wasn't dead and so she just went on drinking her tea. And then there's Uncle Fred and Uncle George. They aren't married but they are dating these two girls. Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson, they know them from school. Angelina plays Quidditch for England and Katie is a nanny."
"But we don't think that's really what she does. We think she's actually an Auror. She's way to cool to be a nanny."
"An Auror?"
"They're like.um..."
"They're like Magical police," Anna said, "They round up the Dark witches and wizards."
"Sometimes they kill people."
"Oh honestly William! Is that all it takes for someone to be cool in your eyes? I know for a fact that if it is you're sadly mistaken. Look at mum and dad. Look at Uncle Neville. I'd say look at Harry but he's fairly cool."
Elisabeth snorted, "His idea of a good time is folding laundry. I remember one time he went on this date and he left early because the woman had a cleaning lady to fold her laundry. That's why he said he left anyway, maybe he's gay."
"Auntie Penny does that. Fold laundry I mean. She says it helps relax her. She just doesn't like to use her wand. She's afraid she'll turn it on Richard. I don't think your dad is gay though, Seamus Finnigan is, he claims he isn't but everyone, even grandma says he is. It's to bad because he's really handsome. "
"'NA! He's seventeen years older than you! He's as old as mum and dad!"
"Anyway, after dad then there's Aunt Ginny."
"Will! You aren't supposed to talk about her. But I guess its Elisabeth, you won't tell will you?"
"Of course not, what's so bad anyway?"
"She's a year younger than our dad, during the war she got mixed in with bad sorts. Dark wizards and such. But when the Dark army fled she came back, said she had been controlled. The only reason she got away with it is because grandad is Minister. People have mostly forgotten her, but a couple of years back grandma found her entertaining some Dark wizards from Brazil. So now she lives with grandad and grandma, so they can keep an eye on her."
"Pretty bad stuff."
Elisabeth nodded and excused herself to go downstairs for a moment. She opened the door to the front room and screamed. She screamed until Hermione and Harry and Anna and William came racing to join her.
"What is it? What's the matter?"
She pointed to the fireplace, her eyes wide and her finger shaking. Nestled in the fireplace was Oliver Wood's head.
"Oh pet, it's alright, it's alright, it's just a form of transportation, oh Elisabeth it's alright, he just wanted to talk to me." Harry tried to comfort his daughter while Hermione scolded Oliver.
After Elisabeth calmed down Harry invited Oliver in for lunch.
They went and sat down at the table, Elisabeth shaking violently.
"I remember the first head I ever saw in the fire place. Amos Diggory."
"That's scary enough in itself."
"It used to be. Now he's about as scary as a boiled potato."
"Can't blame the guy can you?"
"It's been 14 years. Cedric would be grown with a family of his own anyway."
"It doesn't matter, past is past. Anybody want soup?"
"Not me, I have to be getting back to the pitch right away."
"You just got off the bloody pitch."
"Due to circumstances beyond my control the team has practice before and after noon Monday to Thursday."
"Circumstances beyond your control? You book the practices."
"By circumstances beyond my control I mean that my team sucks."
"You won the last World Cup!"
"That was before we lost Mullet and Isopson."
"Mullet was getting rather old, she was on Irelands team when we went to the World Cup."
"I know, but she was still quite good. She was only actually in her late thirties."
Elisabeth listened with fascination. She wanted to know more about this high-flying game. But she didn't want to ask Anna and William, lest they think her a complete moron. Somehow she could barely believe it. How could her father have kept it a secret?
"So why are you here if not to eat Hermione's delicious soup?"
"Strictly business chappie, I want to know if you can come into a practice today, get a feel for your broom, the pitch, get to know the rest of the team. What do you say? We can bring the wee ones along as well."
"Hermione? Do you mind if I go? I'll pick up some chinese so you won't have to cook."
Hermione smiled, "Alright, I'll finish packing the front room then."
"Thanks, you're a legend, you know that don't you?"
"You better believe it."
Harry laughed. "So Wood, you got me robes I trust?"
"And a broom, IceLantern360, not as good as a FeatherFlame but it'll do, you won't believe it, a Firebolt is like flying a cement block after you've ridden one of those babies."
"I'll believe it when I try it. Lis, you coming?"
Elisabeth nodded and went into the front room.
"Okay, what you have to do is throw a pinch of this stuff," he procured a bag of powder from his pocket. "Into the fire, then step into the fireplace and say "Wasps Pitch" very clearly. Tuck your elbows in and don't stop until you see Anna and Will, okay?"
Elisabeth looked at her father like he was insane, but Anna and Will had already gone through, and Oliver was going through now.
"Wasps Pitch." She stepped into the flames and she didn't combust herself. That's a start she thought dryly. She started spinning wildly, her stomach churning, she saw Will and Anna and she tossed her self, coughing, out of the fire. She was standing in a small locker room. The Wasps locker room. It appeared her wish to know more about Quidditch was about to come true.
"Oh hi, you guys scared the crap out of me."
"Yeah, just don't mention it to our mum, she'll have our heads on a pike."
"You're absolutely right I will. You two are NOT supposed to apparate. Didn't you learn when Daniel got splinched?"
"No, Daniel's the only one who learns when something happens to him."
"Well you two should pay attention to what happened to him. It took the Ministry a week to find his eye."
"And besides, you aren't old enough to apparate, you haven't got your license and if you try to apparate next summer the Ministry will be on to you like dark in the dungeons. And you will be paying that fine yourselves. Now where was your father when you were illegally transporting yourselves over here?"
"At work."
"Didn't he get you a babysitter?"
"MUM! We're eleven years old!"
"If any eleven year olds need a babysitter it's you two." She glared at the two of them for a moment and then sighed. "If you two are going to be here you might as well be of some assistance. Help Elisabeth pack."
"Thanks mum." Anna got up and hugged her.
"You two owe me. I have more grey hair than my mum ever did."
"HERMIONE! WHAT DID YOU DO WITH THE BOXES?"
"I didn't do anything with the boxes, and really Harry, you don't need to yell, I'm right here."
"WELL I DIDN--Oh, sorry, I didn't do anything with them either, and now they aren't where I left them."
"They're in a heap at the bottom of the stairs."
"What? No they aren't! You didn't even look."
Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head, "You tried to put the cat in them and push it down the banister, remember? And now you've run out of boxes and the cat ran away."
"Oh. Right. Well, here they are."
Hermione shook her head. "Will, if you ever end up like that. Trouble, big trouble." She left the room.
Will grinned, "So, what do you need packed?"
"I don't know, your mum told me to put everything I couldn't bear to be without into one pile and we could probably replace everything else." She glanced at the room; "Problem is I don't have anything I couldn't bear to part with."
Anna grinned. "Most of this stuff will be completely useless where you're going." She picked up Elisabeth's clock/radio and showed it to Will, "This will go crazy around Hogwarts."
"I say bring your books, a few outfits, and your pictures. Everything else will either be useless or pointless."
Will nodded, "She's right. Bring this stuff into Edil and you'll have the Ministry tracking your every move. And if you bring it into Hogwarts it'll just self-destruct."
"Edil?"
"The magical section of Edinburgh. It's where all of us live, except for Uncle Sirius. He doesn't have a fixed address."
"Oh. Why will the Ministry be after me for this?"
"Well, because it's you they actually probably won't bother you to bad. But when we bring Muggle artifacts into Edil or any other magical place the Ministry keeps strict tabs on you so you don't go about bewitching it. It's mostly so the Muggles don't find out about us."
"A watch is okay though."
"Not that you'll really need one. They're mostly pointless. Only Muggles care about what time it is. Like to pretend they have important places to be."
Anna gasped suddenly, "Do you know what?"
"What?"
She giggled, "Mr Filch, the caretaker at Hogwarts, is a squib!"
"Seriously?"
"Yes!"
"Er-what's a squib?"
"Somebody in a magical family who doesn't have magic in their blood. My god, can you imagine the shame?"
"Edwin Altar's brother Emmett is a squib."
"Edwin has a brother?"
"Yeah, but they try to keep it secret. Ed's dad has a big position at the Ministry. He thinks if anyone finds out he'll get fired."
"Grandad would never let someone get fired for having a squib for a son."
"I know, he would probably get all excited and ask if the kid went to Muggle school. He wouldn't leave him alone. Asking about the teachers and books and whatnot. Wait till he meets you Elisabeth; he'll have a hey-day."
"Not if grandma can help it. Our grandad is Minister for Magic, by the way. And he's OBSESSED with Muggles. It drives grandma insane."
"He's really Minister for Magic?"
"Yep, he has been since our parents were in sixth year."
"Do you have aunts and uncles?"
"Absolutely. There's Uncle Bill and Uncle Charlie. Uncle Bill was married to some French girl named Fleur but she didn't like his cooking so they got divorced." Elisabeth raised an eyebrow. "I know, I know. So both of them are bachelors-"
"Is your Uncle Charlie the one they were talking about, the one that plays Quidditch?"
"Yeah, but he doesn't play Quidditch anymore, he works in Romania."
"With dragons."
"Oh! They exist?"
"Of course, you can't breed them now though, not domestically."
"Anyway, after Bill and Charlie there's Uncle Percy, he's married to Penelope, they have this one kid who is a complete brat because Uncle Percy doesn't know how to handle children and Auntie Penny spends way to much time with him. The baby, I mean. Not Percy, nobody likes to spend a lot of time with Uncle Percy. He's weird. Not as weird as Richard though. Richard is the baby. We stuck him in the laundry chute, mum and I and Auntie Penny heard him crying and she just shrugged and said as long as he was crying it meant he wasn't dead and so she just went on drinking her tea. And then there's Uncle Fred and Uncle George. They aren't married but they are dating these two girls. Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson, they know them from school. Angelina plays Quidditch for England and Katie is a nanny."
"But we don't think that's really what she does. We think she's actually an Auror. She's way to cool to be a nanny."
"An Auror?"
"They're like.um..."
"They're like Magical police," Anna said, "They round up the Dark witches and wizards."
"Sometimes they kill people."
"Oh honestly William! Is that all it takes for someone to be cool in your eyes? I know for a fact that if it is you're sadly mistaken. Look at mum and dad. Look at Uncle Neville. I'd say look at Harry but he's fairly cool."
Elisabeth snorted, "His idea of a good time is folding laundry. I remember one time he went on this date and he left early because the woman had a cleaning lady to fold her laundry. That's why he said he left anyway, maybe he's gay."
"Auntie Penny does that. Fold laundry I mean. She says it helps relax her. She just doesn't like to use her wand. She's afraid she'll turn it on Richard. I don't think your dad is gay though, Seamus Finnigan is, he claims he isn't but everyone, even grandma says he is. It's to bad because he's really handsome. "
"'NA! He's seventeen years older than you! He's as old as mum and dad!"
"Anyway, after dad then there's Aunt Ginny."
"Will! You aren't supposed to talk about her. But I guess its Elisabeth, you won't tell will you?"
"Of course not, what's so bad anyway?"
"She's a year younger than our dad, during the war she got mixed in with bad sorts. Dark wizards and such. But when the Dark army fled she came back, said she had been controlled. The only reason she got away with it is because grandad is Minister. People have mostly forgotten her, but a couple of years back grandma found her entertaining some Dark wizards from Brazil. So now she lives with grandad and grandma, so they can keep an eye on her."
"Pretty bad stuff."
Elisabeth nodded and excused herself to go downstairs for a moment. She opened the door to the front room and screamed. She screamed until Hermione and Harry and Anna and William came racing to join her.
"What is it? What's the matter?"
She pointed to the fireplace, her eyes wide and her finger shaking. Nestled in the fireplace was Oliver Wood's head.
"Oh pet, it's alright, it's alright, it's just a form of transportation, oh Elisabeth it's alright, he just wanted to talk to me." Harry tried to comfort his daughter while Hermione scolded Oliver.
After Elisabeth calmed down Harry invited Oliver in for lunch.
They went and sat down at the table, Elisabeth shaking violently.
"I remember the first head I ever saw in the fire place. Amos Diggory."
"That's scary enough in itself."
"It used to be. Now he's about as scary as a boiled potato."
"Can't blame the guy can you?"
"It's been 14 years. Cedric would be grown with a family of his own anyway."
"It doesn't matter, past is past. Anybody want soup?"
"Not me, I have to be getting back to the pitch right away."
"You just got off the bloody pitch."
"Due to circumstances beyond my control the team has practice before and after noon Monday to Thursday."
"Circumstances beyond your control? You book the practices."
"By circumstances beyond my control I mean that my team sucks."
"You won the last World Cup!"
"That was before we lost Mullet and Isopson."
"Mullet was getting rather old, she was on Irelands team when we went to the World Cup."
"I know, but she was still quite good. She was only actually in her late thirties."
Elisabeth listened with fascination. She wanted to know more about this high-flying game. But she didn't want to ask Anna and William, lest they think her a complete moron. Somehow she could barely believe it. How could her father have kept it a secret?
"So why are you here if not to eat Hermione's delicious soup?"
"Strictly business chappie, I want to know if you can come into a practice today, get a feel for your broom, the pitch, get to know the rest of the team. What do you say? We can bring the wee ones along as well."
"Hermione? Do you mind if I go? I'll pick up some chinese so you won't have to cook."
Hermione smiled, "Alright, I'll finish packing the front room then."
"Thanks, you're a legend, you know that don't you?"
"You better believe it."
Harry laughed. "So Wood, you got me robes I trust?"
"And a broom, IceLantern360, not as good as a FeatherFlame but it'll do, you won't believe it, a Firebolt is like flying a cement block after you've ridden one of those babies."
"I'll believe it when I try it. Lis, you coming?"
Elisabeth nodded and went into the front room.
"Okay, what you have to do is throw a pinch of this stuff," he procured a bag of powder from his pocket. "Into the fire, then step into the fireplace and say "Wasps Pitch" very clearly. Tuck your elbows in and don't stop until you see Anna and Will, okay?"
Elisabeth looked at her father like he was insane, but Anna and Will had already gone through, and Oliver was going through now.
"Wasps Pitch." She stepped into the flames and she didn't combust herself. That's a start she thought dryly. She started spinning wildly, her stomach churning, she saw Will and Anna and she tossed her self, coughing, out of the fire. She was standing in a small locker room. The Wasps locker room. It appeared her wish to know more about Quidditch was about to come true.