"I've got some bad news," Mr. Weasley said slowly. He looked
bedraggled and lethargic. Mrs. Weasley looked up from her tea.
"What could possibly be worse then this situation?"
"Believe me, Fudge gave the judge his decision today. He denied all the allegations. Now Judge Fry says that until we give concrete evidence of his "goings-on" with Ginny, the case would be dropped," Mr. Weasley dropped down into a chair across from his wife. "Now what are we supposed to do?"
"Oh goodness! That means that Mercy and Nemo will have to be brought into this. Ginny will never do that. I was worried about her agreeing to come by herself but she'll never go with this."
"I know, I know. That bastard, he dares to de-flower Ginny and then has the nerve to lie about it!"
"What about veritisum? He didn't seem the type who could counter its effects."
"He refused, we already asked."
"Well that should count for something, that he refused I mean."
"No, he said that it would force him to relay information of "national security." He said that what he knows and would have to say would endanger the whole magical community."
"That son of a bitch!"
"I guess we'll have to go see her ourselves. That's the only way we have any chance."
"How are Harry, Ron and Hermione?" The three of them had been working for the Unmentionables ever since their graduation from Hogwarts. They were the ideal team, knowing the intricate workings of the Ministry from their close workings with it during the 2nd rising.
"Ron and Hermione are taking it surprisingly well. Harry on the other hand is blaming himself. He thinks that if he had just left it alone she might not of gone away."
"That's ridiculous! It's all Fudge's fault. We should bring them when we go Arthur. They deserve to come as well."
"At least we'll be able to finally meet our grandchildren. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited to see what Ginny left England for." He put his head in his hands and ran them across his baldhead. "Maybe this is a blessing in disguise Molly. Maybe we just can't see the blessing."
~Meanwhile in Starkville Mississippi~
Ginny was standing at the counter at Gwydion. It had been 3 weeks since she had come back. Everything was starting to get back to normal for which she was very grateful. She was wrapping up some bon-bons when Mrs. Withers walked thru the door. "Well howdy Ms. Virginia! It sure is great having you back home. I've missed you."
"It's nice seeing you again too Mrs. Withers, how have you been?"
"I've been good but we've missed Mercy and Nemo. It's been a long while since they've come over to the house. Mr. Withers has missed having Nemo as his chess partner."
"Nemo's missed it too. Now what can I get for you today?"
"Just a box of Yazoo sticks for the road dahling!"
"Sure thing Mrs. Withers."
"Now don't you be a stranger you hear?" Mrs. Withers said as she took the bag from Ginny's outstretched hands.
"The kids and I will be sure to drop by soon Mrs. Withers. Say hello to Mr. Withers for me!" she called after the 4 ft. 9 purple haired woman as she went out to her mustang convertible. She just waved.
Ginny let out a sigh and took off her company apron. "Goodnight Joe, I'm gonna call it a night."
"Okay Gin, I'll see you bright and early tomorrow," Joe called from the back room where he was still working hard.
"Make sure to give Mattie and Charlotte a kiss from me!" she called back as she left the shop. She let her hair down and breathed in the night air. It was thick and smelled like chocolate and magnolia leaves. She looked up at the stars above her head. "You could never see the stars that well in England," she muttered to herself as she got on her bike. She found she had been doing that a lot. She kept trying to explain away the aching homesickness in the pit of her stomach. She peddled to home.
She pulled up on the curb and looked up her apartment. The lights were still on, that meant that they were having a movie night. She smiled and walked up the steps. "I'm home everybody, did I miss anything." Just as she expected Donny, Mercy, and Nemo were sitting on the couch with cokes and popcorn.
"You just missed torturing Hallie's date," Donny said not looking up from Snow White.
"Was he cute?" Ginny asked as she snuggled onto the couch. Nemo cuddled up against her and she grinned.
"I don't know, wasn't my type," Donny answered. "Mercy, what did you think?"
"I thought he was okay. He tried a bit too hard though. And that cologne was just terrible. I don't know what he was thinking." Ginny laughed at that.
~At Ron and Hermione's apartment~
"Mum, Dad, do you think this is a good idea?" Ron asked.
"It's the only way Ron. Anyway, aren't you curious of where she's lived for the past 6 years?" Mr. Weasley asked.
"Of course we've wondered but don't you think we should give her some time?"
"She's had 6 years Hermione, I think it's time for her to move on. That brings me to the point that we have to convince her to come back to England for the trial and bring Mercy and Nemo. If she doesn't do that then she'll never be able to visit us or anything."
"I know, when should we leave?"
"We have tickets on the Knight Rider for tomorrow."
"What's the Knight Rider?" Harry asked.
"It's like the Knight Bus but it'll take you anywhere you want, over oceans and everything."
"I can make it, can you guys?" Harry looked over to Hermione and Ron.
"We can do it, but don't you think we should owl her first?" Hermione asked.
"What would be the fun in that Hermione?" Mr. Weasley grinned.
"We'll be leaving at 9:30 sharp, be there on time or you'll have me to deal with," Mrs. Weasley warned, getting up to leave.
~Starkville~
Ginny picked up Mercy while Donny picked up Nemo. They carried them upstairs to their room. After tucking them in and doing a quick tooth- brushing spell on them they left. "Everything will be okay Ginny," Donny said, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"I know," she whispered, giving his hand a squeeze. She smiled at him and went down the hall to her room. "I know," she repeated as she fell asleep. She couldn't explain it but she always slept better with her kids in the next room.
~9:30 a.m., England~
The 5 of them boarded the Knight Rider and settled onto their beds. Ron promptly fell asleep while Hermione started reading. Mrs. Weasley started knitting with a passion and Harry took out a magazine. This left Mr. Weasley. He took out a small snapshot of Ginny, Mercy, and Nemo that she'd given him before she left. They looked so perfect together. They were on the lawn of a big plantation and Mercy and Nemo had fallen on Ginny's lap. They were all smiling widely at the camera. He turned over the picture. "A day at the Withers Plantation" it read in Ginny's loopy script.
He fell asleep and before he knew it- Mrs. Weasley was shaking him awake. "Honey, we're here." He grabbed his suitcase and got off the train with the rest of his clan. "Let's go check into the Hotel first." Mrs. Weasley said. They did and then they were in a taxi to the Gwydion Chocolate factory. When they neared it they saw a large, black sign with loopy gold letters reading "Gwydion Chocolate Company," in big letters. Under it in smaller letters it read "Proud makers of Chocolate for over 5 years." He laughed and got out of the taxi.
They walked slowly up the steps and entered. It smelled like chocolate with a small bit of flowers mixed in. A tall man with an earring in his left ear stood at the counter. "Hello, may I help ya'll?" Donny asked.
"Actually, we're looking for Virginia Weasley. Do you know where we could find her?"
"You're her folks aren't you? I knew you'd be coming eventually. I'm Landon McCullah, a friend of hers. You must be Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Weasley. You're Ron, and his wife Hermione, congratulations by the way. And you, you must be Harry Potter. Ginny's not here right now. She's out with Mercy and Nemo for the day. I'm not sure exactly where they went or I'd tell you for sure. Maybe you could come over for dinner tonight?"
"That sounds nice. We'll just hang out at the Hotel till then," Mrs. Weasley said.
"No, no, you can hang out here or you can go to this address," he scribbled down an address on a piece of paper. "It's not far from here, you could walk."
"Thanks, I think we'll take you up on that offer," Mr. Weasley answered back.
"Here's my key." They left the shop on a search for Ginny's apartment. They got there in 10 minutes and unlocked the door. They entered and were met with a very Ginny-ish smell. It was a nice apartment, spacey with lots of little knick-knacks everywhere. They sat down in the living room and helped themselves to a photo album. They were filled with pictures of Ginny, Mercy, Nemo and Donny. A few other people (mostly Mattie, Joe, Charlotte, and Hallie) were mixed in but mostly just pictures of the 4 of them.
"Do you think they're going out?" Hermione asked.
"No, Ginny told me on the plane that he's gay," Harry answered hastily. Just then the door creaked open and Ginny stepped into the door. She had two 6-year-olds hanging on her arm. They rose and she turned to meet their gaze.
"Mum, Dad, Harry, Ron, Hermione, what are you doing here?" she choked out.
"We have a lot of things to talk about Ginny," Mr. Weasley replied tearfully.
"Yeah we do," she said, a stray tear falling down her cheek. "Starting with these two "things." Mercy, Nemo, these people are your family. This here is your Grandmum Molly, and that's Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione. That there is Uncle Harry, and this, this is your Grandpa Arthur," she pointed out each person.
"It's nice to meet ya'll," Nemo said nervously. This of course was right before Mrs. Weasley flung herself on the two of them.
"You both are so perfect!" she exclaimed, kissing them and hugging them.
After they had finished getting acquainted with each other Mr. Weasley changed onto a much darker topic. "Now Ginny, the real reason we're here is to tell you something that you're not going to like."
"Kids, maybe you should leave."
"No, this involves them Ginny. Fudge has denied everything. In order for him to be put behind bars we need to present concrete evidence of your, err, contact with each other. You know what that means," he was eyeing Mercy and Nemo."
"No, that won't be happening Dad," she said flatly.
"It has to happen Ginny. This is what we have to do to put that "beep" behind bars."
"I said no and that's my final answer. I don't care what the hell goes on with him as long as my children aren't brought into this. I can't endanger them so I can visit England when I please."
"Don't do this Ginny, you know it's more then that. Mercy and Nemo will be going to Hogwarts soon, you can't exclude yourself from your family."
"Dad, this is my family."
Disclaimer: So how'd you like it? R&R!
"What could possibly be worse then this situation?"
"Believe me, Fudge gave the judge his decision today. He denied all the allegations. Now Judge Fry says that until we give concrete evidence of his "goings-on" with Ginny, the case would be dropped," Mr. Weasley dropped down into a chair across from his wife. "Now what are we supposed to do?"
"Oh goodness! That means that Mercy and Nemo will have to be brought into this. Ginny will never do that. I was worried about her agreeing to come by herself but she'll never go with this."
"I know, I know. That bastard, he dares to de-flower Ginny and then has the nerve to lie about it!"
"What about veritisum? He didn't seem the type who could counter its effects."
"He refused, we already asked."
"Well that should count for something, that he refused I mean."
"No, he said that it would force him to relay information of "national security." He said that what he knows and would have to say would endanger the whole magical community."
"That son of a bitch!"
"I guess we'll have to go see her ourselves. That's the only way we have any chance."
"How are Harry, Ron and Hermione?" The three of them had been working for the Unmentionables ever since their graduation from Hogwarts. They were the ideal team, knowing the intricate workings of the Ministry from their close workings with it during the 2nd rising.
"Ron and Hermione are taking it surprisingly well. Harry on the other hand is blaming himself. He thinks that if he had just left it alone she might not of gone away."
"That's ridiculous! It's all Fudge's fault. We should bring them when we go Arthur. They deserve to come as well."
"At least we'll be able to finally meet our grandchildren. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited to see what Ginny left England for." He put his head in his hands and ran them across his baldhead. "Maybe this is a blessing in disguise Molly. Maybe we just can't see the blessing."
~Meanwhile in Starkville Mississippi~
Ginny was standing at the counter at Gwydion. It had been 3 weeks since she had come back. Everything was starting to get back to normal for which she was very grateful. She was wrapping up some bon-bons when Mrs. Withers walked thru the door. "Well howdy Ms. Virginia! It sure is great having you back home. I've missed you."
"It's nice seeing you again too Mrs. Withers, how have you been?"
"I've been good but we've missed Mercy and Nemo. It's been a long while since they've come over to the house. Mr. Withers has missed having Nemo as his chess partner."
"Nemo's missed it too. Now what can I get for you today?"
"Just a box of Yazoo sticks for the road dahling!"
"Sure thing Mrs. Withers."
"Now don't you be a stranger you hear?" Mrs. Withers said as she took the bag from Ginny's outstretched hands.
"The kids and I will be sure to drop by soon Mrs. Withers. Say hello to Mr. Withers for me!" she called after the 4 ft. 9 purple haired woman as she went out to her mustang convertible. She just waved.
Ginny let out a sigh and took off her company apron. "Goodnight Joe, I'm gonna call it a night."
"Okay Gin, I'll see you bright and early tomorrow," Joe called from the back room where he was still working hard.
"Make sure to give Mattie and Charlotte a kiss from me!" she called back as she left the shop. She let her hair down and breathed in the night air. It was thick and smelled like chocolate and magnolia leaves. She looked up at the stars above her head. "You could never see the stars that well in England," she muttered to herself as she got on her bike. She found she had been doing that a lot. She kept trying to explain away the aching homesickness in the pit of her stomach. She peddled to home.
She pulled up on the curb and looked up her apartment. The lights were still on, that meant that they were having a movie night. She smiled and walked up the steps. "I'm home everybody, did I miss anything." Just as she expected Donny, Mercy, and Nemo were sitting on the couch with cokes and popcorn.
"You just missed torturing Hallie's date," Donny said not looking up from Snow White.
"Was he cute?" Ginny asked as she snuggled onto the couch. Nemo cuddled up against her and she grinned.
"I don't know, wasn't my type," Donny answered. "Mercy, what did you think?"
"I thought he was okay. He tried a bit too hard though. And that cologne was just terrible. I don't know what he was thinking." Ginny laughed at that.
~At Ron and Hermione's apartment~
"Mum, Dad, do you think this is a good idea?" Ron asked.
"It's the only way Ron. Anyway, aren't you curious of where she's lived for the past 6 years?" Mr. Weasley asked.
"Of course we've wondered but don't you think we should give her some time?"
"She's had 6 years Hermione, I think it's time for her to move on. That brings me to the point that we have to convince her to come back to England for the trial and bring Mercy and Nemo. If she doesn't do that then she'll never be able to visit us or anything."
"I know, when should we leave?"
"We have tickets on the Knight Rider for tomorrow."
"What's the Knight Rider?" Harry asked.
"It's like the Knight Bus but it'll take you anywhere you want, over oceans and everything."
"I can make it, can you guys?" Harry looked over to Hermione and Ron.
"We can do it, but don't you think we should owl her first?" Hermione asked.
"What would be the fun in that Hermione?" Mr. Weasley grinned.
"We'll be leaving at 9:30 sharp, be there on time or you'll have me to deal with," Mrs. Weasley warned, getting up to leave.
~Starkville~
Ginny picked up Mercy while Donny picked up Nemo. They carried them upstairs to their room. After tucking them in and doing a quick tooth- brushing spell on them they left. "Everything will be okay Ginny," Donny said, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"I know," she whispered, giving his hand a squeeze. She smiled at him and went down the hall to her room. "I know," she repeated as she fell asleep. She couldn't explain it but she always slept better with her kids in the next room.
~9:30 a.m., England~
The 5 of them boarded the Knight Rider and settled onto their beds. Ron promptly fell asleep while Hermione started reading. Mrs. Weasley started knitting with a passion and Harry took out a magazine. This left Mr. Weasley. He took out a small snapshot of Ginny, Mercy, and Nemo that she'd given him before she left. They looked so perfect together. They were on the lawn of a big plantation and Mercy and Nemo had fallen on Ginny's lap. They were all smiling widely at the camera. He turned over the picture. "A day at the Withers Plantation" it read in Ginny's loopy script.
He fell asleep and before he knew it- Mrs. Weasley was shaking him awake. "Honey, we're here." He grabbed his suitcase and got off the train with the rest of his clan. "Let's go check into the Hotel first." Mrs. Weasley said. They did and then they were in a taxi to the Gwydion Chocolate factory. When they neared it they saw a large, black sign with loopy gold letters reading "Gwydion Chocolate Company," in big letters. Under it in smaller letters it read "Proud makers of Chocolate for over 5 years." He laughed and got out of the taxi.
They walked slowly up the steps and entered. It smelled like chocolate with a small bit of flowers mixed in. A tall man with an earring in his left ear stood at the counter. "Hello, may I help ya'll?" Donny asked.
"Actually, we're looking for Virginia Weasley. Do you know where we could find her?"
"You're her folks aren't you? I knew you'd be coming eventually. I'm Landon McCullah, a friend of hers. You must be Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Weasley. You're Ron, and his wife Hermione, congratulations by the way. And you, you must be Harry Potter. Ginny's not here right now. She's out with Mercy and Nemo for the day. I'm not sure exactly where they went or I'd tell you for sure. Maybe you could come over for dinner tonight?"
"That sounds nice. We'll just hang out at the Hotel till then," Mrs. Weasley said.
"No, no, you can hang out here or you can go to this address," he scribbled down an address on a piece of paper. "It's not far from here, you could walk."
"Thanks, I think we'll take you up on that offer," Mr. Weasley answered back.
"Here's my key." They left the shop on a search for Ginny's apartment. They got there in 10 minutes and unlocked the door. They entered and were met with a very Ginny-ish smell. It was a nice apartment, spacey with lots of little knick-knacks everywhere. They sat down in the living room and helped themselves to a photo album. They were filled with pictures of Ginny, Mercy, Nemo and Donny. A few other people (mostly Mattie, Joe, Charlotte, and Hallie) were mixed in but mostly just pictures of the 4 of them.
"Do you think they're going out?" Hermione asked.
"No, Ginny told me on the plane that he's gay," Harry answered hastily. Just then the door creaked open and Ginny stepped into the door. She had two 6-year-olds hanging on her arm. They rose and she turned to meet their gaze.
"Mum, Dad, Harry, Ron, Hermione, what are you doing here?" she choked out.
"We have a lot of things to talk about Ginny," Mr. Weasley replied tearfully.
"Yeah we do," she said, a stray tear falling down her cheek. "Starting with these two "things." Mercy, Nemo, these people are your family. This here is your Grandmum Molly, and that's Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione. That there is Uncle Harry, and this, this is your Grandpa Arthur," she pointed out each person.
"It's nice to meet ya'll," Nemo said nervously. This of course was right before Mrs. Weasley flung herself on the two of them.
"You both are so perfect!" she exclaimed, kissing them and hugging them.
After they had finished getting acquainted with each other Mr. Weasley changed onto a much darker topic. "Now Ginny, the real reason we're here is to tell you something that you're not going to like."
"Kids, maybe you should leave."
"No, this involves them Ginny. Fudge has denied everything. In order for him to be put behind bars we need to present concrete evidence of your, err, contact with each other. You know what that means," he was eyeing Mercy and Nemo."
"No, that won't be happening Dad," she said flatly.
"It has to happen Ginny. This is what we have to do to put that "beep" behind bars."
"I said no and that's my final answer. I don't care what the hell goes on with him as long as my children aren't brought into this. I can't endanger them so I can visit England when I please."
"Don't do this Ginny, you know it's more then that. Mercy and Nemo will be going to Hogwarts soon, you can't exclude yourself from your family."
"Dad, this is my family."
Disclaimer: So how'd you like it? R&R!
