Chapter Thirty-Four
Augusta Longbottom had never been so angry. After Remus and Sirius had finished their story, with many memories as proof, the "proper" Dowager Lady Longbottom had proceeded to swear vehemently for over 20 minutes. With several things she wanted to do to the "manipulative old bastard." Things that caused Remus to grin as Sirius cackled maniacally.
Once she calmed down, they had a nice tea and made a date for Harry to meet Neville.
"Now," said Augusta, "I also wanted to talk to you about Minerva."
The two Marauders looked at each other with a little concern.
"Oh, don't look like that," Augusta said with a laugh, "if she knew even HALF of what I do, Albus would already be a stain on the wall."
"Yeah," Sirius chuckled, "we've been on the end of her temper before."
Augusta frowned, "you've never purposely put a child 5n danger," she shook her head, "what she did to Alge after he dropped Neville off Blackpool pier…..Mind you, I was right behind her….."
They looked at each other, "when was this?" asked Remus, and Sirius asked, "what did she do?"
Augusta chuckled, "well, this was almost a year ago, and Alge still walks with a bit of a limp. He also refuses ever to be in the same room with her again."
Sirius broke into loud laughter, "wow, I don't blame him!"
Remus smiled, "Ok, if she takes the same oath as you, we can meet her the day before Christmas Eve, and then we all can spend Christmas together."
Augusta smiled, "that would be wonderful. All right, she's already taken the oath."
They looked at each other, gobsmacked.
Augusta smiled, "she did that after I told her it would be better for me to do it in front of you. I can show you the memory if you like."
"Not necessary," said Remus after a moment, " if you're offering a memory, that's proof enough for us." Sirius nodded.
"Then I can have her to visit here next weekend, and we can meet Harry once Christmas break starts." Augusta said.
"That sounds fine," said Sirius.
"The Christmas break for Harry's school starts, a couple days before Hogwarts, so we can meet sooner if it's all right with both of you." Said Remus.
Augusta grinned, "I'll floo tonight and ask her for tea. Please feel free to join us."
Sirius smiled widely, "thank you. I think we'll take you up on that."
…..
Harry smiled as the cauldron in front of him bubbled and the potion turned the correct color. Aunt B (she had told him to call her Aunt Bella if he wanted, but Sirius said that reminded him of his crazy cousin, so it was just Aunt B.) said that looked good.
"I'm no Potions Mistress, but that looks perfect Harry," she said.
Harry smiled at her, "potions really is like following a recipe, isn't it? Only with different ingredients."
Aunt B. chuckled, "yes it is."
"Is this one done, then?" he asked, taking it off the fire.
"Yes," she nodded, "just let it cool a bit and then we can bottle it."
"Okay," said Harry eagerly, "what can we do now? I know I can't fly, 'cause you're afraid you can't do anything if I fall, but what else can I do?"
Aunt B chuckled, "well, if you're that bored, we can always go to my house. I have some new cat pictures for you to see…" she burst out laughing at the look on Harry's face and reached over to ruffle his hair, " I couldn't resist. How about we bake some biscuits?"
Harry smiled at her, "OK! Can we make different kinds?"
Aunt B smiled, "only if I get to take some home with me," she joked.
Harry smirked, "hmmmm. I don't know…"
She ruffled his hair, "scamp. Now help an old lady out of this chair and we'll head to the kitchen.."
And that's just what they did.
….
Remus and Sirius flooed into the living room to find it completely empty. They hung up their outer cloaks and made their way toward the backyard, thinking Harry would be in his garden.
"Harry?" called Remus.
"In the kitchen!" he called back.
The two walked into the kitchen to find complete chaos. Flour. Was. Everywhere. The entire kitchen was covered in flour, including the two bakers. The only neat thing about the kitchen was the five different mixing bowls set out on the counter. Everything else was covered in a mixture of flour, sugar, and brown sugar, with a smudge of peanut butter or oatmeal here and there. There were even a few raisins and chocolate chips stuck to the walls
Sirius and Remus both burst out laughing, "what in the world happened here?" Remus chuckled.
Harry smiled sheepishly, "Dee showed me some magic before. I just wanted to try it."
"And then the room exploded," chuckled Aunt B, who had flour and bits of cookie dough sticking to her hair.
"I guessed that," said a still chuckling Sirius.
Remus waved his wand, and the kitchen started to clean itself up, and the mess disappeared from Arabella's hair.
"Thank you," she said.
"No problem," said Remus, "I'm guessing you still want a shower right?" he smiled.
"Oh yes," she said with fervor as she headed for the room they'd given her when she first started helping them.
Just then a timer dinged, and Harry said, "my biscuits!"
Sirius took the potholders from Harry and got the trays of biscuits out of the oven.
"What kinds are you making?" asked Remus as he started to make tea.
"Those two," said Harry, pointing to the trays now sitting on the counter, "are oatmeal raisin and chocolate chip. I have dough for peanut butter, sugar, and all chocolate in the other bowls."
Sirius whistled, "that's a lot of biscuits."
Harry grinned, "it's almost Christmas. I wanted some for my class's party and some for us."
Remus ruffled his hair, "that's my smart cub. "
Sirius nodded and reached for a biscuit, only to have Remus lightly smack his hand, "after dinner." Remus mumbled.
"Awwwwwww," whined Sirius.
Remus smiled, "I swear you're worse than Harry. "
"Hey!" yelped Sirius, "I am not!"
Remus smiled wider, "you are too."
Sirius huffed, "am not!"
"Are too,"
"Am not!"
"Are too."
"Am not!"
"Children!" said Arabella, "enough arguing. Isn't it about time for dinner?"
They looked up sheepishly to find a smiling Arabella and Harry rolling on the floor, giggling madly.
"Why don't we give ourselves the night off and order out?" asked Remus.
"Yaaay!" cheered Harry, popping up, "pizza! With pepperoni and lots of cheese!"
The three adults smiled at his enthusiasm, "all right pup. One pepperoni and extra cheese pizza coming up."
"I'll head to my place and order it from there," said Arabella.
Remus nodded and handed her a few notes, "you can come back when you're done ordering. The doorbell charm is still there from last time."
"All right. I'll let you know how long." She said, taking the notes and smiling as she headed for the portal room.
