A/N: If you have not read HBP (highly unlikely if you're reading this site, but a warning nonetheless) do not continue reading this A/N. It had HBP spoilers, although the story itself does not.
After having read HBP, I am currently still in denial. I do not believe that Dumbledore is dead, nor do I believe Harry will continue this journey alone. I also don't believe that Snape is evil, I think Dumbledore made him make an Unbreakable Vow that when the time came, he had to kill him. I mean, honestly, can you see Dumbledore begging for his life? "Severus... please...". No, I don't see that happening. So, in light of this, I've decided that Dumbledore is NOT dead, and Snape is NOT evil. So, this story continues with Dumbledore being ALIVE and Snape still teaching Potions. I just thought I would clarify that.
A/N: Chaim's name rhymes with 'mime' and the Ch has a 'k' sound. If you have any problems with the pronunciation of any of the names, let me know.
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Disclaimer: Harry Potter and its characters belong to JK. Rowling. Newer characters and the plot belong to me, though. I am making no profit from this story, so please don't sue me... you wouldn't get much anyway.
Warnings: Angst... Lots and lots of Angst... A few deaths... That's pretty much all I can think of...
Summary: Harry thought the war was over. Voldemort had been defeated, but after his death up rose another threat: Mr. Malfoy. Harry quickly vanquished over him, it was no challenge compared to Voldemort. After him came Umbridge, her past hatred of Harry clear as she threatened the wizarding world. Harry triumphed over her, as well. Now, as his children and his friend's children go to school, another threat rises, but this threat is one Harry knows he will not be able to crush so easily.
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A girl with brown hair tinged with a bit of red stirred slightly in her bed. Letting out a soft moan, she rolled onto her side and buried her face deeper in her pillow. The sun shone through her light curtains, a small breeze causing them to flutter. Taking a deep breath, the girl continued to sleep, but her peaceful sleep was soon broken by the chaos that ran into her room.
"Lonnie! Lonnie! He's trying to eat me!" Vilandra Weasley jolted awake with a start as her six year old brother, Sterling, jumped onto her legs and scurried up to her face. He pulled back her blankets and hid beneath them as the fifteen year old girl sat up, rubbing the sleep from her Prussian blue eyes. She saw the figure who stood by her door, moaning and drooling while walking slowly, almost like a zombie. She rolled her eyes annoyed and threw off her blankets, placing her feet on the floor. Sterling grabbed the blankets and pulled them back over himself, as Vilandra had accidentally thrown them off him, as well. Vilandra padded across her room to her eleven year old brother, who was still moaning and drooling. She stopped in front of him and slapped him upside the head.
"Ow!" He complained angrily, stopping his game immediately. "What? I was just taking the mick out of the little bugger."
"Not when I'm sleeping, Chaim! Bloody hell!" Vilandra complained as her bother rubbed his head, messing up his flaming red hair. Vilandra was the only one in the family who hadn't inherited her father's genes for hair-colour. She'd instead inherited her mother's, although her hair was straight instead of curly. Whipping her hair across her shoulder with the flick of her head, Vilandra turned back to her bed where her younger brother still hid. She got back onto it and smiled as she slowly pulled down the covers. Sterling had his eyes tightly closed as he lay curled up in a ball.
"Attack! Attack!" Vilandra began to tickle the six year old. He screamed with delight as he wiggled to get out of her grasp. Vilandra laughed as she held him tighter, continuing to tickle him.
"Must you do that so early in the morning?" Vilandra stopped tickling her brother and turned to her door, where her mother stood nursing a cup of coffee. She was in a green silk bathrobe, her brown curls up elegantly in a ponytail-like manner, held atop her head by a large clip. Vilandra picked her brother up, holding him in one arm as he rested comfortably on her hip, the way he always did when she carried him.
"Sorry. Chaim scared him again." Her mother smirked.
"Yes, but the way I understand it, you're the one who was tickling him, Vilandra." The young girl smiled sheepishly as she headed for the door, her mother moving aside to let her through. They both headed down the long corridor to the stairs, descending them silently. As they entered the kitchen, neither were surprised to see Chaim sitting at the table, his eyes locked on the television that sat on the counter near the table. He was hardly paying attention to his food, and succeeded in picking up nothing with his spoon many times since his eyes never left the television. Hermione Weasley walked across the kitchen and turned off the television causing Chaim to sputter into his drink.
"Mum! It was just getting interesting!" He insisted.
"I don't care, we'll not be late meeting your cousins at Diagon Alley. Hurry up and eat." Hermione walked towards the sink and pulled out her wand, waving it at the previous night's dishes so they would begin washing themselves. Chaim muttered angrily under his breath, one elbow propped on the table and supporting his head while the other swirled his spoon aimlessly in his cereal.
"Why do we have to go meet those prats, anyway?" He grumbled.
"They're your family, Chaim." Hermione snapped sharply. "Do not call them prats. You're the only one in the family who hates anyone else, one almost wonders where you got this hatred from. Certainly wasn't from me." Vilandra placed her brother on a chair and Chaim opened his mouth to reply, but the fifteen year old gave him a look that informed him he would be in a world of hurt if he said what he was thinking, so he closed his mouth and continued to grumble.
Hermione began to lift what seemed like an endless amount of paper, seemingly looking for something. She began mumbling to herself, as she often did, and left the room to head to her study. Yawning, Vilandra sat down and grabbed the box of cereal, pouring some into her bowl. Chaim continued to swirl his spoon in his cereal, watching Sterling as he bounced his head from side to side with each chew of his own cereal.
"Do you have to do that, Squib?" Chaim grumbled annoyed, dropping his spoon and pushing his bowl away from him. Vilandra gave him another warning look, but he ignored it as Sterling frowned angrily. He may have been six years old, but he knew what a Squib was.
"I'm not a Squib!" He insisted. Chaim snorted.
"Yeah, sure. That's why you're the only one who hasn't done anything magical yet." Vilandra was out of her seat in seconds as the waterworks started. Sterling began making loud, gulping noises as he began to cry, tears streaming down his freckled cheeks. Chaim grinned, his brown eyes twinkling merrily as he saw the pain he'd inflicted emotionally on his brother. Vilandra picked up her crying younger brother, holding him in her arms lovingly as he wrapped his arms around her neck. She glowered at Chaim angrily.
"Chaim, stop it! Mum! Chaim is being a wanker to Sterling again."
"Don't say that word in front of your brother!" Came a stern voice from an adjoining room. Hermione bustled back into the kitchen, cuffing Chaim across the back of the head lightly.
"Ow!" Chaim complained, rubbing his head for the second time that day.
"Oh, honestly, I hardly touched you. Do stop harassing your brother."
"Not my fault he's a Squib." Chaim smirked at Sterling, who had his back to him due to the fact that he was still in Vilandra's arms. Vilandra grinded her teeth angrily as she felt a new wave of waterworks soak her shirt.
"He's not a Squib, you little parasite."
"Oh, now that's insulting." Chaim teased.
"I'd call you something else, but mum would tell me off again." Vilandra spat.
"Scared of mum, now, are you, Lonnie?" Chaim smirked. Hermione appeared behind him, grabbing his right ear with her left hand. He let out a cry as she began pulling him towards the door.
"If I were you, Chaim Weasley, I would be afraid of me, too."
"Mum, ow!" Chaim complained as they disappeared through the door. Vilandra rocked her brother gently back and forth, the crying having subsided slightly.
"Am I really a Squib?" Sterling asked quietly, his face still buried in Vilandra's shoulder. She smiled, even though she knew her younger brother couldn't see her.
"No, sweetie, you're not. Chaim is just…" Vilandra trailed off.
"A wanker?" Her younger brother asked. Vilandra grimaced.
"Please don't repeat that in front of mum." Sterling leaned back, away from Vilandra's shoulder, and motioned locking his lips and throwing the key over his shoulder. Vilandra smiled at him and kissed his wet cheek. Hermione reappeared in the kitchen, still seemingly looking for something. Chaim reappeared again as well, grumbling even more than he was before. He always got told off, but then again, he always brought it upon himself. Vilandra watched him as he sat down and finished eating what was left of his soggy cereal. She still held Sterling in her arms, and her mother was rummaging through papers near the sink.
"Aha! There you are. Here we go." She walked back to her children and placed two pieces of parchment onto the table, one with Vilandra's book list, the other with Chaim's. "I knew I'd left them around here somewhere. Honestly, I don't know when I became so disorganized, it's really so unlike me." She bustled back to the sink.
"Probably when dad left you." Vilandra shot Chaim such a horrible look he leaned back in his chair, terrified. Hermione threw a dish towel angrily onto the counter, turning to her son.
"Chaim! I told you never to speak…" She couldn't continue, because she'd broken down into sobs, covering both eyes with one hand as she supported herself by holding the counter with the other. Vilandra angrily kicked the chair Sterling had been sitting in, sending it smashing into Chaim's shin. He opened his mouth in a silent curse, his face distorted with pain, but no sound emerged from him. He knew better, at this point. Vilandra was more angry at the fact that now she had two crying people to take care of, but her mother was obviously in more need of it. She placed Sterling down on his chair again and went to her mother, who'd turned her back on her children while her two eldest had been silently fighting. Vilandra put her hand on her mother's shoulder and turned her. Hermione hugged her daughter tightly as Vilandra rubbed her back.
"It's okay. It's okay, mum." Hermione continued to cry silently into her daughter's shoulder, knowing that after seven years she should've gotten over it, but she just couldn't. She'd just found out she was pregnant with Sterling when Ronald Weasley had departed and never returned. She would never forget that day, it still haunted her every second of every day. She pulled away and wiped her tears.
"I'm all right." She cleared her throat and nodded. "I'm all right. Chaim, your room, now." Chaim bolted from his chair, running hurriedly up to his room. Hermione nodded to herself again, and then looked at Vilandra. "I'm fine. It's all right." She patted Vilandra's shoulder and then disappeared from the kitchen. Vilandra let out a slow sigh and then sat back down at the table. Sterling scowled angrily from his own spot at the table.
"Chaim was being a wanker, wasn't he?" Vilandra merely nodded, and then shook her head, sighing again. Her brother really didn't know how to control his temper, and she knew that was something that would get him into a lot of trouble at Hogwarts.
Sterling watched his sister as she sat before him, and he knew that she needed a change of topic. She was always the one making everyone fell better in the family, and he knew sometimes it was hard for her. So, cocking his head at her, he asked, "Why is Chaim always so mean to me?" She looked up at him, and then smiled at her little brother, leaning on the table in his direction.
"It's a secret, but I'll tell you anyway." Sterling sat up straighter in his chair, eager to be let in on the secret. "He's jealous because you got all the good looks in the family." She poked his nose with her index finger and smiled. He laughed cheerily, bouncing in his chair. It was half-true about the good looks, Chaim had always been jealous that Sterling was the one who'd ended up with the red hair and blue eyes. The only thing the family needed was another girl with brown hair and brown eyes for their mixed and matched family to be complete.
Vilandra smiled at her brother when something flashing caught her eye. She looked up and noticed a light bulb flashing red on the kitchen counter.
"Mum!" She yelled over her shoulder. There came no reply. She got up and went to the door, leaning out slightly. "Mum!"
"What is it now?" Hermione demanded exasperated as she descended the stairs, the effects of the previous conversation completely gone, as they often were with Hermione. Vilandra said nothing as she stood aside so her mother could enter the kitchen. Her eyes fell on the light bulb immediately. Hermione pulled out her wand and flicked it at herself, her silk bathrobe disappearing and being replaced by her navy blue robes. Her hair was up in a neat ponytail now as she turned to face her daughter, replacing her wand.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart. You'll take your brother to get his things?" Vilandra nodded, knowing her mother had a much more important job. Being an Auror wasn't one of the easiest jobs in the world, and it wasn't unusual for Hermione to be disappearing at all hours of the day and night. She headed for the light bulb, still talking to her daughter. "Uncle Harry and aunt Ginny will meet you at Diagon alley. You're all meeting at uncle Fred and uncle George's shop. Do be careful, and try not to kill Chaim." Vilandra nodded and her mother nodded back. "I'll try and be home for tomorrow. If I can't make it, have Sterling go with your grandparents, and catch a ride with your uncles Fred and George." Vilandra nodded again as her mother began to reach for the light bulb. She then stopped again. "Oh, and for dinner, if you could just—"
"Mum!" Hermione stopped mid-sentence as her daughter interrupted her. "It's all right. Happens all the time, don't worry. Just because Chaim is going to school now doesn't mean anything else has changed. Go, they're waiting." Hermione nodded and placed her hand on the light bulb. She disappeared from the kitchen, the light bulb going with her. Chaim bounded down the stairs loudly, reappearing in the kitchen fully dressed in his green robes. He looked around confused, and then his gaze fell onto his sister.
"Where's mum?" Vilandra gave him a 'you even have to ask?' look, and he understood right away. "Work. Figures. My first year of school and I get to go shopping with you two." Vilandra rolled her eyes and sat back down to finish her breakfast, not liking the arrangements any more than her brother did.
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As Vilandra held Sterling in her arms with Chaim walking by her side, she immediately noticed her favourite cousin scanning the crowd for them, standing in front of his father's joke shop. She smiled and headed in the shop's direction as he spotted her, and smiled. She heard Chaim begin to grumble from beside her.
"Behave, Chaim. Believe me, they probably hate you as much as you hate them." He scoffed.
"Doubtful." Vilandra shook her head annoyed but her smile reappeared as she stopped in front of Fred Weasley's son, her favourite cousin—Leroux Weasley.
"Hey, hey, hey! Look who it is! It's our favourite little hero!" Leroux took Sterling from Vilandra's arms, holding him out in front of him. He then kissed his cheek and put him on the ground, crouching in front of him. "You're not being a little monster to Vilandra are you?" Sterling smirked and shook his head. Upon seeing this, Leroux's jaw dropped. "What's this? A relative of mine behaving? Oh, the shame!" Leroux pretended to cry into his hands and Vilandra shook her head, still smiling. Chaim made a disgusted face, clearly not finding it at all amusing. "Oh well, you're still young. There may be hope for you, yet." He patted Sterling twice on the head and then held his arms out wide for Vilandra. "Lonnie! Smashing to see you, darling." He said in a high-pitched voice that sounded rather close to that of his mother. He hugged her tightly and she laughed as he swung her violently from side to side.
"Everyone's inside, then, are they?" She asked as the two of them pulled apart. Leroux nodded, smiling.
"Everyone but uncle Harry's family. Where's aunty Hermie?" He asked, scanning the crowd behind the three for a glance of his aunt. Vilandra smiled.
"She hates it when you call her that."
"S'why I do it." He smirked mischievously. "But your lack of a response is enough to inform me that dear aunty Hermie is off fighting evil." Vilandra nodded and Leroux nodded back. "It's all right." He held the door open and Chaim stomped in, followed closely by Sterling. As Vilandra began to enter, Leroux leaned in close to whisper to her. "You can have my mum."
"I heard that!" He cringed as his mother's voice assaulted his ears and then followed Vilandra into the shop. There came a loud scream as Alicia Weasley hurried to Vilandra. "Lonnie! Smashing to see you, darling!" Vilandra couldn't help but laugh slightly as she said the exact same words Leroux had imitated her saying. She hugged Vilandra tightly, and then moved on to one of her brothers.
"Hey, if it isn't dear old Vilandra." Fred Weasley said as he came out from behind the counter. The shop belonged to him, and his twin brother, George. Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, the shop was called, and it would have put Zonko's Joke Shop out of business had it not been safe up in Hogsmeade. Vilandra's uncle gave her a huge hug, lifting her off the ground, and no sooner had he released her then her other uncle, George, came around and gave her an equally big hug.
"Ready to start a new reign of terror as a fifth year, then?" George questioned as Fred went to Chaim and began pinching his cheeks irritably.
"Oh, you can count on it, uncle George." Vilandra reassured. George chuckled as he punched her lightly in the shoulder.
"That's my girl. You know, Kei's been very disappointing for me. She's going into her seventh year and she's still not been able to get even one detention. One! I'm so ashamed." Parvati Weasley suddenly appeared behind her husband, cuffing him across the back of the head.
"And we're all very proud of Kei's accomplishments, aren't we, dear?"
"Yes, Parvati." George grumbled as he stalked away. Parvati smiled and hugged Vilandra.
"He's still hoping Alca will turn out like you, but who knows. Personally, I'd rather her follow in Kei's footsteps. No offence to you, of course, dear." Vilandra just laughed, loving the way her family was. She never quite understood why Chaim hated them.
Fred Weasley had married Alicia Spinnet, an old school friend, and had two sons: Leroux Weasley—who was now fifteen and going into his fifth year with Vilandra—and Tyr Weasley—a cute eight year old who wasn't enough like his father, in Fred's opinion. George Weasley had actually surprised everyone when he introduced Parvati Patil to his family as his girlfriend. No one had ever expected that one to happen, but they'd found they had a lot in common, and their relationship stuck. They also had two children, both daughters: Kei Weasley—who was now going into her seventh and final year at Hogwarts—and Alca Weasley—who would be joining Chaim in her first year at Hogwarts.
Of the entire Weasley clan, Hermione was actually the one with the most children, having three. Fred and George found this a wonderful accomplishment, and still complained about only having two children each to corrupt. Their wives didn't quite see a problem with that, both actually openly speaking of how terrified they would be with clones of Fred and George. The strange thing was that the clones of Fred and George weren't actually any of their children—excluding Leroux. The real Fred and George clones were Vilandra, Leroux—and the Potter twins.
"Ginny!" Fred bounced towards the door insanely as his younger sister appeared through the door, smiling at her family. Harry Potter followed, also smirking to see all of his friends. "And Harry! Good to see you, mate! Still teaching Medicality at that Muggle school of yours?" He asked as he shook Harry's hand.
"It's Media, actually. And yes. It's fantastic there."
"Oh, Harry!" George went on one side of him as Fred went on the other. "Why oh why someone like you would give up all the fame, the fortune, the glory! How could you become some low Muggle teacher when you could've been the best Auror in the world!"
"Minus us, of course." Fred insisted.
"Yes, of course." George agreed. Parvati snorted.
"You were both Aurors for one day and then decided you wanted to run this shop yourselves again instead of hiring someone else. That hardly makes you Aurors." They both shrugged as they released Harry.
"Where are the little monsters that we wish were ours?" George asked as he rubbed his hands together viciously. Harry and Ginny just laughed, shaking their heads as Leroux stared at his father in fake-shock.
"And what am I, adopted?" Leroux demanded insulted. Fred turned to him.
"Come on, Leroux. I didn't say it. George just assumes I'd prefer the Potter twins over you." He leaned in close to his son and Vilandra. "We all know you two come up with the most brilliant plans, anyway." He winked at them and the two cousins smirked at one another.
"They're busy trying to put their eyes back into their heads." Harry informed once the interruption from Leroux had come to an end. "We passed the new Ultimate Core broomstick on our way in here." The Weasley twins shared a look, and then turned back to Harry and Ginny, wiping away fake tears.
"You mean—" Fred started.
"—some stupid broomstick—" George continued.
"—is more important—"
"—than us!" The two demanded simultaneously. They both began to sob into each other's shoulders and Harry shook his head, laughing. He never realized how much he missed the twins until he saw them again.
"Oy, uncle Fred, uncle George, why the theatrics?" Talak Potter asked as he walked into the store, followed closely by his twin brother, Rhett. The two Weasley twins turned on their nephews, each pointing a finger at one of the boys.
"You traitors!" Fred exclaimed.
"You betrayed us!" George added.
"Technically, both mean the same thing." Fred stated simply, turning to his twin, who in turn faced him.
"True." George replied and then both turned back to the Potters.
"You traitors!" Fred repeated.
"You betrayed us!"
"Hasn't this conversation already happened?" Talak asked, frowning. Obviously, he knew it had, but both he and his twin were confused on what exactly they'd done to have betrayed their uncles—and become traitors.
"You stopped on the way to our shop!" Fred insisted, crying into George's shoulder, who pretended to comfort him.
"Well, distance makes the heart grow fonder, doesn't it? We were just delaying our arrival so we could love the shop even more when we got here. Isn't that right, Talak?" Rhett turned to his twin who nodded.
"Of course!" The two boys placed their right hands across their chests. "Many times have we ventured into this shop, finding jokes to harass younger students with, scare the crap out of Mrs. Norris, and set Snape's robes on fire."
"That one was pure genius." Vilandra exclaimed, wiping a fake tear from her eye as she laughed. Of course, she and Leroux had helped them along on that little plan.
The school's caretaker, Mr. Filch, had been horrified when he'd been around the Weasley twins. He'd practically ripped his hair out when he'd found out the two menaces had doubled into four. The four fifth years always had to dodge him, no matter what they were doing, because every time he saw them, he would remember some prank or another they'd pulled, and give them as many detentions as he could get out before they ran away from him.
"Can we go now?" Vilandra turned, startled as she heard her brother speak. "I'm bored." She rolled her eyes at Chaim and turned back to her family.
"Vilandra, I'll take Chaim if you want. He and Alca both need to go to the same stores, anyway." Vilandra couldn't help but sigh, relieved.
"Thank you, aunt Parvati. If he misbehaves, just whack him upside the head a couple hundred times." Parvati laughed at this comment, not realizing it was actually what Vilandra did when he was being annoying.
"I'll take Sterling for you." Fred picked up her little brother when Alicia grabbed him from Fred's arms.
"I'll take Sterling, if you don't mind. I'm sure Hermione doesn't want her little angel turning into one of you two." She looked back and forth between Fred and George. "Bad enough she's got one of you already." She cast a glance at Vilandra, and winked at her. Vilandra laughed, glad she could have time to herself with her friends.
"Come on, Lonnie! Let's go check out the cool stuff we'll be learning in Defence Against the Dark Arts!" Rhett grabbed her hand and ran out the door, Talak and Leroux following close behind.
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"Are you sure we can rely on uncle Fred and uncle George? I mean, they're not exactly known for their reliability." Chaim insisted as he leaned against Sterling's doorframe, watching Vilandra pack some things for her younger brother.
"They've taken me to the train three of the four years I've been going so far, Chaim, and not once have I missed it. You just need to get that stick out of your arse, and stop treating our family like rubbish." She closed Sterling's bag and put it onto her shoulder, picking up her younger brother and positioning him properly against her hip. She stalked past her brother who had started grumbling again. She rolled her eyes, hating how he always thought he was king of the bloody world. She descended the stairs and dropped the bag by the front door, heading into the kitchen with Sterling.
"Do you want some food before heading off to Gran and Gramps' place?" Vilandra asked him. He shook his head.
"No. They always make me eat too much." He insisted. "Especially Gran. She thinks I don't eat here." Vilandra couldn't help but laugh, knowing it was true. Before she was old enough to stay home alone with Chaim, her mother always sent her to her grandparent's place, and she was always ready to burst by the end of the first week there. She loved her grandparents, but they always acted like every member of the Weasley family was starving.
There came a loud bang and Vilandra rushed to the front door, opening it with Sterling still on her hip. She smiled as she saw smoke coming out from beneath the hood of an old Honda Civic, her grandmother and grandfather both waving their hands to stop the smoke from getting into their faces.
"I told you this car wouldn't be able to take the altitude!" Came Molly Weasley's annoyed voice. She emerged from the car as Vilandra came down the long path towards her grandparents. Living in the country made it easy for Molly and Arthur Weasley to land their flying Honda Civic because the houses were spread far apart from one another. It was also fairly dark, so it was harder for them to be spotted.
"Oh! Look at you!" Molly rushed towards Vilandra and hugged her, half-crushing Sterling. She pulled away and placed both hands on either shoulder, inspecting Vilandra. "Oh, Vilandra, aren't you just beautiful? Arthur, come here, quickly! Come look at our gorgeous granddaughter." Arthur walked towards Vilandra, looking over his shoulder at the car. He turned back to her when he finally reached her and smiled.
"Hello, Lonnie." He kissed her cheek and she smiled. "And who—this can't be little Sterling!" He exclaimed. Sterling smiled and then buried his face into Vilandra's shoulder, embarrassed. "Oh, what a big guy! He's really growing up, isn't he?" Vilandra nodded, biting back the comment she was going to make about how much Sterling looked like her father, Ronald. Molly laughed as she took Sterling from Vilandra's arms, holding him.
"Oh, you little angel, give Gran a hug." Sterling hugged her tightly and she laughed. "Look at you, you're all skin and bones! Not feeding you here, are they?" Vilandra smiled as Sterling shook his head vigorously.
"No, they feed me real bad here. Can I have pancakes tomorrow morning?"
"You most certainly can. Come on, let's go get your things." Molly led the way to the door as Vilandra walked behind them with her grandfather.
"Thanks for taking him, Gramps." Arthur waved his hand.
"Oh, please. We do it every year. We know how busy your mother is. Besides, your whole family is angelic. We love having you around." They stopped on the porch, right in front of the door and Arthur turned to face Vilandra. "We miss seeing you, Vilandra. We don't get to see you quite as often anymore." She shrugged.
"You know, school, and then I need to watch Chaim and Sterling during the summer."
"Right, of course. You should all come down together, then, the three of you. You know you're always welcome." Vilandra nodded, smiling at her grandfather. "How's your mum been?" At this, Vilandra's smile faded and she sighed.
"Overworked, underloved—you know, the same." Arthur nodded sombrely. He wrapped one arm around Vilandra as he walked to the edge of the porch with her.
"Tell you what, next summer, why don't you bring your mother around for tea. We can have the whole family, you know, get her spirits back up." He sighed, shaking his head. "There was a time where I thought nothing would break the spirit of that girl. I never thought my son would be the one to do it." Vilandra cringed, not wanting to get onto that topic. The wounds were still healing for her, too, as well as her grandparents. She didn't want to reopen them the way Chaim had so brutally done that morning with her mother.
"All set?" They turned around as Molly emerged with Sterling and his bag.
"Won't you stay for tea?" Vilandra asked, not wanting to be rid of her grandparents just yet. They were such wonderful people, she sometimes didn't understand how some people could hate having to visit with their grandparents. Then again, not everyone had Weasley grandparents.
"Oh, we'd love to, dear, but we haven't the time. We've got to pick up Tyr from Fred. Alicia doesn't want to bring him to King's Cross tomorrow, you know how he gets when Leroux leaves." Vilandra nodded.
"All right, then." She stuck her face close to her brother's and narrowed her eyes. "You be good, all right?" He nodded and she smiled, kissing his cheek. "I'll see you soon." She turned to Molly. "Be sure you sing him the lullaby, he'll be a right pain if he doesn't hear it."
"Oh, the little dear." She laughed as she hugged Sterling tighter. "Does he still like hearing that song?" Vilandra nodded. Ever since she'd allowed Sterling to watch The Prince of Egypt—a Muggle cartoon— he wouldn't sleep unless someone sang him the song the mother sang to her son. "All right, then. Good bye, Vilandra." Molly kissed one of her cheeks. "We'll see you soon, dear."
"Bye Gran." Arthur kissed her other cheek and patted her shoulder. "Bye Gramps." He waved as they headed back to the car. Vilandra watched them until their car rose high into the air and disappeared into the clouds. Then, she entered her house and closed the door, locking it. She went to check on Chaim to ensure he was packing all of his things, and then went to pack her own. Close to midnight, Vilandra finally turned off her light, got beneath her blankets, and fell asleep.