Chapter 3: Peaceden
Harry woke up feeling very excited. He was curious to know what would be Ron's new home. He got ready and packed his stuff. Dudley came up to him to say goodbye because the Dursleys were all going out for the day. Harry suspected that this was planned to avoid the arrival of the Weasleys. He quietly said goodbye. Suddenly feeling a new surge of courage he decided to watch a movie on Dudley's computer. He switched on the computer and started watching 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day'. He liked it a lot especially because it was his first movie.
Just as the movie finished the doorbell rang. Harry opened to find Ron, Fred, George and Ginny standing there along with their parents. They all beamed at him. Mrs. Weasley came forward hugged him tightly.
'Its so lovely to see you Harry. I hope you had a nice vacation.'
Harry nodded and shook hands with the rest of the Weasleys. They all looked very happy at seeing him.
'How did you all come here and where is your new house', asked Harry.
'We came by floo powder to Arabella Figg's house and walked it from there', replied George.
'Mum and Dad wont tell us where we are going to move in. We will be seeing it for the first time along with you. All the stuff has gone there. We have been living out of a suitcase for more than a day', added Ron.
Harry looked up at Mr. Weasley who gave him a wink. He fetched his belongings from upstairs with the help of Fred who shrunk them into boot- sized parcels with a shrinking charm. Soon they were all ready to leave. They walked down to Mrs. Figg's house. Mr. Weasley cleared his throat before announcing,
'Now we will travel to our new house by floo powder. It is called Peaceden. So ready everybone'
They all nodded. Fred and George went first followed Ron, Ginny and Harry. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley stood there for a few moments smiling at one another.
'Ouch!' yelled Ginny, 'Don't trod on my foot whoever you are'.
'Sorry Gin', said Fred, 'But I cant see a single thing. What sort of a house is this? Aren't there any lights?'
The five children were stumbling around. For some reason Fred and George could not provide light through their wands by saying 'Lumos'. Soon they heard a noise near the fireplace or where they thought the fireplace was. It was of course Mr. and Mrs. Weasley arriving.
'What the hell is going on dad? Does this place have no lights?' roared George.
They all heard Mrs. Weasley chuckle. Then Mr. Weasley spoke.
'Welcome to Peaceden, all of you'. As he spoke the room filled up with light. At first everybody blinked. Then they gaped...and gaped...and gaped. They were inside a living room about five times as big as the living room in The Burrow. The furnishings were absolutely amazing. The children thought the floo powder had misdirected them to some other place.
Ron spoke first. 'Dad, is this our place? And if it is, where is it?'
'Yes Ron this is our place and it is in the Ministry of Magic'.
'How come Fudge became so generous? He never got along very well with you.', asked Ginny.
'That is because Fudge is no longer the minister of magic' answered Mrs. Weasley.
'Then who is it', Harry blurted out without thinking.
'The new Minister is.........me', replied Mr. Weasly coolly. 'And that's why you are all here. We all have struggled for years but have now reached a high. You all have had to stay in a cramped house till now but not any more. You all will have separate bedrooms with attached baths. Of course all this would not have been possible without Albus Dumbledore who has shown tremendous faith in me'
The children remained quiet for a while before rushing up to Mr. Weasley and hugging him while congratulating him.
They all looked at the house from top to bottom. On the ground floor was a huge living room. Near it was the kitchen cum dining. An enormous table seating fourteen was in there. Also in the ground floor were three bedrooms to be used Bill, Charlie and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. On the first floor there were the other children's bedrooms. There were two guest rooms one of which was going to be used by Harry. All bedrooms had attached baths as Mr. Weasley had mentioned. Apart from these there was a study, a sunroom and a playroom. The house was surrounded by a huge lawn on which quidditch could be played. At one corner of the lawn stood a large and tall building, which Harry recognized as the ministry of magic.
After a thorough inspection the children came and sat down in the lawn. Harry learned from the rest of the Weasleys that the family had disowned Percy when he didn't apologize even after Mr. Weasleys appointment. Mrs. Weasley had shed a few tears at this but seeing the look of disgust on everybody else' faces she gave in willingly. Surprisingly for her she felt nothing bsad in their decision in the next few days. So Percy had become a thing of the past.
They had a delicious meal at night. Mrs. Weasley had carefully prepared it for their house warming. They all enjoyed it and thanked Mrs. Weasley. Harry and Ron went upstairs to Ron's bedroom for a game of wizard chess. There they decided to invite Hermione over for the rest of the holidays. Ron went down and took permission from his parents. Harry took out a quill and wrote:
Dear Hermione, We have great news. Mr. Weasley is the new Minister of Magic. Dumbledore appointed him after sacking Fudge. Ron and the Weasleys have shifted to their new home Peaceden, which is in the premises of the Ministry. It's a big and lovely house. I'm staying with them at the moment. We all invite you to come and spend the rest of the holidays here. It'll be great fun. Just come over to Diagon Alley, take some floo powder and say Peaceden. We all are looking forward too see you. Take care. Harry
He showed the letter to Ron and sent it with Hedwig. In less than an hour Hedwig returned with Hermione's reply.
Dear Harry and Ron, Would love to come. I'll be there tomorrow by the evening. Love Hermione
Ron as usual won the game of chess. He and Harry started discussing Quidditch.
'So Harry, ready to take over as captain'
'Well I'm suspended at the moment', chuckled Harry.
'Don't be thick! You and I are the only remaining players. Please lets not count Andrew and Jack. Its almost a foregone conclusion that you'd be captain because of your four extra years of experience'.
'Ya maybe', said Harry, 'By the way do you know I'm a prefect now. Hogwarts will have three prefects from this year'.
'Oh Sorry! Congratulations. I knew it. Dumbledore had owled me and Hermione'.
'Thanks. I'm sleepy. I'm going to bed. Good night', said Hary.
'See you tomorrow', replied Ron as he got into his bed.
Harry woke up feeling very excited. He was curious to know what would be Ron's new home. He got ready and packed his stuff. Dudley came up to him to say goodbye because the Dursleys were all going out for the day. Harry suspected that this was planned to avoid the arrival of the Weasleys. He quietly said goodbye. Suddenly feeling a new surge of courage he decided to watch a movie on Dudley's computer. He switched on the computer and started watching 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day'. He liked it a lot especially because it was his first movie.
Just as the movie finished the doorbell rang. Harry opened to find Ron, Fred, George and Ginny standing there along with their parents. They all beamed at him. Mrs. Weasley came forward hugged him tightly.
'Its so lovely to see you Harry. I hope you had a nice vacation.'
Harry nodded and shook hands with the rest of the Weasleys. They all looked very happy at seeing him.
'How did you all come here and where is your new house', asked Harry.
'We came by floo powder to Arabella Figg's house and walked it from there', replied George.
'Mum and Dad wont tell us where we are going to move in. We will be seeing it for the first time along with you. All the stuff has gone there. We have been living out of a suitcase for more than a day', added Ron.
Harry looked up at Mr. Weasley who gave him a wink. He fetched his belongings from upstairs with the help of Fred who shrunk them into boot- sized parcels with a shrinking charm. Soon they were all ready to leave. They walked down to Mrs. Figg's house. Mr. Weasley cleared his throat before announcing,
'Now we will travel to our new house by floo powder. It is called Peaceden. So ready everybone'
They all nodded. Fred and George went first followed Ron, Ginny and Harry. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley stood there for a few moments smiling at one another.
'Ouch!' yelled Ginny, 'Don't trod on my foot whoever you are'.
'Sorry Gin', said Fred, 'But I cant see a single thing. What sort of a house is this? Aren't there any lights?'
The five children were stumbling around. For some reason Fred and George could not provide light through their wands by saying 'Lumos'. Soon they heard a noise near the fireplace or where they thought the fireplace was. It was of course Mr. and Mrs. Weasley arriving.
'What the hell is going on dad? Does this place have no lights?' roared George.
They all heard Mrs. Weasley chuckle. Then Mr. Weasley spoke.
'Welcome to Peaceden, all of you'. As he spoke the room filled up with light. At first everybody blinked. Then they gaped...and gaped...and gaped. They were inside a living room about five times as big as the living room in The Burrow. The furnishings were absolutely amazing. The children thought the floo powder had misdirected them to some other place.
Ron spoke first. 'Dad, is this our place? And if it is, where is it?'
'Yes Ron this is our place and it is in the Ministry of Magic'.
'How come Fudge became so generous? He never got along very well with you.', asked Ginny.
'That is because Fudge is no longer the minister of magic' answered Mrs. Weasley.
'Then who is it', Harry blurted out without thinking.
'The new Minister is.........me', replied Mr. Weasly coolly. 'And that's why you are all here. We all have struggled for years but have now reached a high. You all have had to stay in a cramped house till now but not any more. You all will have separate bedrooms with attached baths. Of course all this would not have been possible without Albus Dumbledore who has shown tremendous faith in me'
The children remained quiet for a while before rushing up to Mr. Weasley and hugging him while congratulating him.
They all looked at the house from top to bottom. On the ground floor was a huge living room. Near it was the kitchen cum dining. An enormous table seating fourteen was in there. Also in the ground floor were three bedrooms to be used Bill, Charlie and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. On the first floor there were the other children's bedrooms. There were two guest rooms one of which was going to be used by Harry. All bedrooms had attached baths as Mr. Weasley had mentioned. Apart from these there was a study, a sunroom and a playroom. The house was surrounded by a huge lawn on which quidditch could be played. At one corner of the lawn stood a large and tall building, which Harry recognized as the ministry of magic.
After a thorough inspection the children came and sat down in the lawn. Harry learned from the rest of the Weasleys that the family had disowned Percy when he didn't apologize even after Mr. Weasleys appointment. Mrs. Weasley had shed a few tears at this but seeing the look of disgust on everybody else' faces she gave in willingly. Surprisingly for her she felt nothing bsad in their decision in the next few days. So Percy had become a thing of the past.
They had a delicious meal at night. Mrs. Weasley had carefully prepared it for their house warming. They all enjoyed it and thanked Mrs. Weasley. Harry and Ron went upstairs to Ron's bedroom for a game of wizard chess. There they decided to invite Hermione over for the rest of the holidays. Ron went down and took permission from his parents. Harry took out a quill and wrote:
Dear Hermione, We have great news. Mr. Weasley is the new Minister of Magic. Dumbledore appointed him after sacking Fudge. Ron and the Weasleys have shifted to their new home Peaceden, which is in the premises of the Ministry. It's a big and lovely house. I'm staying with them at the moment. We all invite you to come and spend the rest of the holidays here. It'll be great fun. Just come over to Diagon Alley, take some floo powder and say Peaceden. We all are looking forward too see you. Take care. Harry
He showed the letter to Ron and sent it with Hedwig. In less than an hour Hedwig returned with Hermione's reply.
Dear Harry and Ron, Would love to come. I'll be there tomorrow by the evening. Love Hermione
Ron as usual won the game of chess. He and Harry started discussing Quidditch.
'So Harry, ready to take over as captain'
'Well I'm suspended at the moment', chuckled Harry.
'Don't be thick! You and I are the only remaining players. Please lets not count Andrew and Jack. Its almost a foregone conclusion that you'd be captain because of your four extra years of experience'.
'Ya maybe', said Harry, 'By the way do you know I'm a prefect now. Hogwarts will have three prefects from this year'.
'Oh Sorry! Congratulations. I knew it. Dumbledore had owled me and Hermione'.
'Thanks. I'm sleepy. I'm going to bed. Good night', said Hary.
'See you tomorrow', replied Ron as he got into his bed.