Chapter 3: Dinnertime
Time passed. The situation in the wizarding world didn't get any better, but since it was summertime, the shop was as busy as ever. The twins purchased violently magenta robes for the staff to wear and even enforced the wearing of these garments above the protests of Meara and the other clerk, Verity. These new uniforms were hot, stuffy, and above all, ugly beyond imagination.
The twins, however, made up for the lack of fashion sense with information from the Burrow, something Meara looked forward to as she made dinner for the hopeless chefs. The twins had a way with storytelling, both weaving in and out of the conversation and making large arm movements. Meara lost several pounds at these dinners; she was laughing so hard she couldn't eat.
One evening, early in the summer, the twins were far more subdued. Meara put the pork roast on the table and was surprised to hear no applause, no comments about her angelic cooking, and no jeers from the peanut gallery. She frowned.
"What's wrong with you two?" she asked, taking her own seat as George reached for the carving knife.
"Our brother," they said in unison. Meara immediately feared the worst. The papers had been filled with horrible deaths caused by Death Eaters and dementor attacks; she couldn't bear to ask what had happened. The two boys sighed in unison.
"He's leaving the bachelorhood," Fred said, taking the meat that George offered him.
"He's marrying Fleur," George said, matching Fred's melancholy tone of voice and shaking his head. Meara gave them a puzzled look.
"But that's good, isn't it?" she asked, confusion obvious in her voice and face. The two boys shook their head again as Fred began to dish out the macaroni and cheese Meara had made.
"Fleur is interesting," George said, obviously not wanting to speak ill of his future sister-in-law.
"She's French, which isn't a problem, but it is hard to understand her," Fred added, also trying to find nice things to say about her.
"She's part Veela," George said, turning to his brother as if he had just remembered this fact. Fred nodded.
"But she's also slightly full of herself," Fred finished. Both boys turned in unison to Meara as she tried to work these details out.
"Let me get this straight. Your brother, which one God only knows, is marrying a French girl who, despite being very pretty, is also very full of herself?" she asked slowly as she began to put vegetables on her plate. The twins nodded in unison before digging in. Meara sighed.
"George, have you told your mother about…" she trailed off, not wanting to be pushy. He nodded.
"Yeah, I told her about you. But she's been a bit preoccupied with Bill (he's the one getting married) and Lupin/Tonks, so she didn't say a whole lot," he said before placing a large chunk of pork in his mouth and chewing away. Fred swallowed.
"Well, you can't blame her, can you? I mean, Fleur is treating her like a servant at times, though I doubt Mum treats her much better, Tonks is coming over at odd hours of the night begging for sympathy…" He trailed off, letting the others get the drift of what he was saying. Meara started.
"What's been happening with Tonks?" she asked, curious. Tonks had come by the shop a few times and was always happy to change the shape of her nose or the color of her hair for the passing children. Meara had taken a very strong liking to Tonks and her cheery attitude. Of course, it didn't hurt that Tonks had asked Meara for her autograph and claimed that as soon as The Mysterious M came out with t-shirts, she could buy one.
Fred shook his head. "She's fallen in love with Lupin," he began, sympathy in his voice.
"-but Lupin won't let her get close to him." George finished, an unhappy look on his face. Meara thought hard. She knew Lupin, a sort of quiet bookish fellow that reminded her a lot of one of her past boyfriends. He had aged prematurely but the grey and lines became him, giving him a more distinguished look and not detracting from the pleasant face he had already gotten. And she distinctly remembered him giving the twins praise for their various pranks…
"Why would Lupin not want to be with Tonks?" she asked.
"Well, Lupin has…" Fred started and then trailed off, searching for a word that would describe what the professor had. George sighed.
"Lupin has a little problem. It's enough to make him wonder if he can be a good lover/husband/whatever to Tonks."
"It's obvious that the two are crazy about each other," Fred added quickly, in case Meara should think otherwise.
"He's just a lot older than she is, and he's not exactly the richest man in the world," George finished. Meara sighed.
"I hate it when guys do that," she said sadly. "They think the girl needs something that they don't have, when in fact, the girl needs them as they are. Pity it had to happen to two such happy people."
There was a knock at the door. The twins looked at each other before both rising and making their way to the stairs.
"We'll be right back," they said in unison before descending into the shop below. Meara felt a knot in her stomach. The times were not safe, which was why both wizards went. She pulled her wand out of her pocket and put it onto the table, preparing to rush to their defense should anything happen. However, sounds of a happy reunion began to find their way to her ears, and she smiled and pocketed the wand once more. She then rose to get another plate and some extra silverware for the guest.
Footsteps and laughter led Fred, George, and none other than Remus Lupin into the small flat the twins had above the shop. Meara smiled broadly as she pulled another chair to the small table.
"Professor," she said happily as she took in the state of his clothes and how thin he was. He looked like he had been in a sewer for the past few weeks. He smiled at her greeting and gladly took the seat that Fred pushed him towards. Meara looked at the man sitting before her and began to make some educated guesses. She then took the meat in hand and began to put pieces of it on his plate.
"Professor, I swear you've lost several pounds since I've seen you last," she said as Fred and George laughed. Lupin gave her a thankful smile as she moved on to serving him macaroni and cheese and vegetables as well. Finally, they were all seated. Fred and George tried to keep the conversation light and began to tell a few jokes and stories about growing up with seven other people in the house.
"It was the worst during the summers, when everyone was there," George said, a smirk plainly on his face. Fred, sporting a smirk equal to that of his brother's, began to wave his arms around.
"There was no privacy," he said loudly. "And we only have one bathroom in the Burrow!" Lupin snorted into his macaroni. George nodded towards Lupin.
"Yeah, imagine all of us trying to get ready in the mornings… It was a nightmare," he said happily, suggesting it was anything but. Meara gave the twins a look.
"Let me guess. You two found it the perfect time to release pranks on your unsuspecting family," she said fighting the smile that threatened to take over her face. George and Fred looked at each other with such innocent faces that Lupin and Meara burst into laughter.
"I don't know what she's talking about," said Fred.
"Nor do I," said Geoge. They then turned to Meara, who was struggling to get her laughter under control.
"Those little bitty accidents that the family kept having were completely not of our making," Fred said, trying his best not to burst into laughter as well.
"No, they weren't," George added. "But that aside, I was worth hearing Percy singing 'God Bless the Queen' over Muggle loudspeakers while he was in the shower."
The room burst into laughter. When it finally died down, Remus smiled at the company.
"Thank you, Meara, for that lovely meal," he said happily. "I really needed a good dinner under my belt."
"I should think so!" Meara cried. "You're thinner than a fence rail!" Fred and George smiled broadly.
Lupin bowed his head. "Yes, I've lost a bit of weight," he admitted. He then looked up. "But I think I've gained it all back with that pork!" A mischievous smile crossed his face as he watched Meara scramble for words. Fred and George shared looks, than stepped in.
"Hey, stop that, Professor," Fred said.
"No one teases my girlfriend but me, my brother, and my family," George stated, giving an air of finality. Lupin smiled again.
"Ah, but I believe your mother, Mrs. Molly Weasley, told me that I was part of the family," he said, an evil glint in his eyes. Meara rolled her eyes than stood up to clear the table. Lupin and the twins also rose to help her. Within minutes, the table was once again clear and the group was sitting down to a delicious dessert of chocolate ice cream. It was a most satisfying meal, all in all.
Finally the time came for bed. Lupin began to gather his few belongings that had seemingly grown legs and scattered themselves around the small flat. Meara noticed this.
"And where do you think you're going?" she asked him, putting her hands on her hips. He gave her a look.
"I'm going back whence I came," he said quietly, putting his cloak on. Fred and George were immediately at his side, pulling the cloak back off.
"We don't think so," they said in unison. Lupin gave them looks of surprise as they pushed him away from the door.
"You're staying here," George said.
"We'll work out details of sleeping arrangements later," Fred added.
"You can't go back to sleep in the sewers when there's a nice warm bed here with your name on it," Meara finished, her hands still on her hips and a glower on her face not unlike those of Mrs. Weasley's. Lupin smiled.
"You've convinced me," he stated. Meara went to a closet and pulled out extra sheets and blankets.
"Someone's sleeping out here on the couch," she said, "and it won't be the professor." Fred and George traded looks.
"I'll do it," Fred said. "You and George can stay in George's room, and Professor Lupin can take my bed." Professor Lupin smiled at Meara as she quickly made up the couch to be a make shift bed for Fred. Fred and George rushed off to quickly clean up Fred's room so that it would be a little bit more hospitable. Finally, those chores done, the company went to bed.