Posted: 1-4-2022

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, that belongs to J.K. Rowling

Happy 43rd birthday to the Weasley Twins! I was saving this chapter for today to celebrate. Happy April Fools' Day!

Chapter Four

The Dinner: Adults

Cottage View, Godric's Hollow, West Country, England

2nd July 2015

The Dursleys all fell over when the Portkey arrived at the Potter household. Lea had a kind smile as she helped the kids stand. Mattie was giggling happily as he stood, while Jas just looked sick.

"Welcome home, my love," a cheery voice declared, entering the quaint foyer. Laura, who had just climbed to her feet with Dudley's help, turned to see a tall, redhaired man was freckles decorating his cheeks and the bridge of his nose, warm blue eyes and, to Laura's horrified shock, a mangled scarred mess that had once been his left ear. She hastily looked away before he could see her staring rudely at it. He also wore an orange suit that clashed terribly with his hair which Lea, herself dressed in a pretty lavender dress, glared at darkly. Given the cheeky grin and shrug her, presumably, husband gave in response, they had discussed his attire for the semi-formal dinner already, and Lea was less than impressed with his choice. Laura was familiar with arguments like that, and it relaxed her to see similarities between her non-magical and the magical world that her daughter belonged to.

"And the house is still standing, I'm amazed," Lea replied dryly with a fond smile as she walked over to kiss him. "At least you can manage that, if not dressing yourself."

"Did my heart's queen doubt my ability to keep our troublemaking terrors disguised as innocent children in control?" he grasped his heart dramatically. "I may never recover from the blow! And I will have you know that this is the height of fashion!"

Lea scoffed at that. "Let's not pretend you wouldn't be the one setting off the fireworks right alondside them," she chided, tapping his chest with her wand. He gave a devilish grin and shrugged, indicating that she was, indeed, correct. Then he glanced down and saw the colour of his suit had changed to a simple navy and his jaw dropped in indignation. He shut it with a click at his wife's pointed look, but pouted at her as she rolled her eyes.

Laura couldn't get over the casual use of magic. And the pictures! They moved! Mattie looked fascinated (he thought this was all the coolest thing ever), while Jas looked terrified, and Laura felt her heart break again. Not for the first time, she damned both herself and her parents-in-law. Herself because she hadn't protected her child from their verbal blows, them for giving the blows in the first place.

"Is the food alright?" Lea asked her husband next. He nodded, the joking pout relaxing into a gentle, loving expression.

"Yes, it's fine. Despite your belief, Lea my love, I can keep an eye on a roast without disaster striking."

"Need I remind you of November 2010? Kingsley's visit? The Puking Pastilles crushed in the dinner?"

The redhaired man grimaced and flinched at the memory before his gaze caught on the Dursleys and he grabbed hold of the distraction they offered. "Well, my dearest," he changed the subject. "Shall you introduce me to our lovely guests?"

Lea turned to the bemused Dursleys. "One moment please, I'll call the kids down to meet you."

"Sure, no rush," Dudley assured his cousin who smiled at him before tapping her throat with her wand. When she spoke next, her voice boomed through the house and made them jump in surprise at the unexpected noise.

"Kids! I'm home and our guests are here! Get down here to say hello! Now!" As she tapped her throat again, the sound of pounding feet, along with somebody tripping and swearing, could be heard. Soon, the Potter children had all gathered in the foyer along with their cousins, and while Jas clung to her father's hand tightly, the rest of the children, including Mattie, all looked at each other as if they were aliens.

"This is my husband, George," Lea gestured to the redhaired man who kissed Laura's hand and shook Dudley's, waving and smiling gently at the kids, who were wide-eyed and nervous.

"Then this is my eldest son, Ted Lupin," Lea introduced a teenage boy of average height with grey eyes and, of all things, turquoise hair, a friendly grin on his pale face. He wore a casual, pale-yellow button-up and black slacks. "He turned seventeen in April."

"I'm adopted," Ted added at the slight confusion on the Dursleys' faces as they glanced dubiously between him and his parents and siblings. There was no resemblance to be found. "My biological family all died in the War, so as Mum's my godmother, she adopted me and raised me as my own. Then when she and Dad got married, he adopted me too."

"O-oh," Laura stammered awkwardly, embarrassed and guilty. "I-uh, I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thank you," Ted replied politely but distantly, as if he was used to condolences and fed up of them. Probably he was.

"This my goddaughter Alice and our niece Lucy, who's Percy, one of George's older brothers' daughter. They're both Second Years now, and they're going to tell Jas all about Hogwarts," Lea went on, resting a dark hand on each girl's shoulder. Alice, wearing a blue skirt and cardie that privately made Laura think of Alice in Wonderland, had a round face, warm honey-coloured eyes and Cupid's bow lips, and she waved kindly at Jas, who was pressed against her father's side nervously, while Dudley rubbed her arm and tried to calm the poor girl down. Lucy, in a white blouse and red skirt with gold lions (literally) running along the hem, had blue eyes and red hair with freckles covering her face, same as her uncle, but her hair was curly, though not to the same degree as Lea's, and she had a pair of red-rimmed spectacles perched on her nose.

"And these are the twins, Jamie and Freddie," Lea went on, touching the shoulder of each twin as she named them. "They're eleven and starting First Year at Hogwarts in September too." The pair were identical, with skin (like their blood siblings') midway between their parents' complexion, their father's blue eyes and mischievous grin, and their mother's dark hair. They wore matching button-ups and jeans, but Lea tapped Jamie's shoulder and his shirt turned blue while his brother's stayed red. They waved cheerfully and seemed so happy that Laura couldn't help but wave back. Even Jas gave a tiny jerk of the hand that could've been a wave and Laura was encouraged by the sight.

"This is Regulus, you can call him Reg," Lea touched the head of the child who most resembled her. Though his skin tone was slightly lighter and he had no scar, he shared her vivid green eyes and dark hair, and all round looked like a male version of his mother. "He's nine."

"And I'm Lily and I'm seven!" the youngest of the children, and apparently Lea and George's only daughter, announced. "Do you like my new dress? Mummy and I went shopping at the weekend and we got it from a Muggle store to have Muggle clothes for your visit!" she twirled, allowing all to see her lemon-yellow dress with its big white flowers decorating the skirt. She was the perfect mix of her parents' looks with her dark red hair tied with yellow ribbons in two long plaits that reached near to her hips, and her emerald-green eyes sparkled with the pure joy that only a child could have. Laura smiled at her.

This was just a normal little girl, never mind she had some strange platypus type teddy tucked under her arm instead of a bear or rabbit.

"It's a beautiful dress for a beautiful girl," Dudley told her kindly. "I'm your cousin Dudley, this is my wife Laura and our two children, Jasmine and Matthias. We call them Jas and Mattie. Jas is eleven and Mattie is nine like Reg is. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

"Hi Jas," Alice smiled kindly at the shy girl. "Would you like to hear about Hogwarts? I know it's intimidating to think about going away from home for so long, but I promise Hogwarts is great and you'll have us and the other Weasleys to look after you, and trust me there's a lot of our family to watch out for you. Lucy and I can tell you about it if you want to come into the living room with us?" She extended her hand in invitation, and Jas, with some encouragement from her parents, took it.

"Can we come too?" Freddie asked brightly.

"Yes, please," Jamie added. "We want-"

"To hear about-" Freddie continued, making Laura feel as if she were at a tennis match as her head bobbed from one child to the other.

"Hogwarts again!" They completed together, giving pleading looks to the girls. They shrugged, while Lea leaned down to mutter something in her sons' ears. They nodded quickly, eyes wide, and she gave a brief nod in response. With that, the group of twelve and eleven-year-olds made their way into a (again red and gold themed) living room.

"Do you want to see my room?" Reg, who seemed a bit shy, asked Mattie, who nodded eagerly.

"I've never seen a wizard's bedroom before!" he exclaimed. "What's it like?"

Reg smiled shyly. "I'll show you," he offered. The two boys hurried upstairs, ignoring their parents, and Laura gave a relieved smile to her husband. The Potters were all being so welcoming, it was such a relief to have them to lean on during everything that was going on. And they all seemed so normal, despite the magic that was clearly a huge part of their lives. Hopefully this would help Jas, seeing living proof that magicals were not the evil monsters described by her grandparents, but boys and girls just like her and her classmates.

"Lily," Lea addressed her daughter, "Why don't you go and play in the playroom until dinner is ready?"

"Yes Mummy," she agreed, waving at them cheerily before darting upstairs with her plaits slapping her back.

Meanwhile, George invited the Dursley couple into the kitchen/dining room, Lea going to check on the dinner before she joined them at the dark oak table, covered by a deep red tablecloth with gold around the border. Clearly there was a theme, because the colours seemed to be all over the place.

"Wine?" George offered when they had taken their seats. "Lea got Muggle for your visit."

"That would be lovely, thank you," Laura replied politely. "And there was no need to go out your way, honestly." Lea waved her off with an 'I'd do the same for any of George's family.'

"Just a small glass, thanks," Dudley added. "I have work in the morning."

"I can give you something for that if you want a bit more," Lea told him as she joined them, smoothing out her white lace dress as she sat.

"If you're sure," Dudley agreed after a moment's pause. "But I still won't have much. I'm not much of a drinker in general." Lea smiled pleasantly and nodded.

"So, Dudley, Laura, what do you do?" George asked, pouring for them.

"I run a small handyman business," Dudley explained.

"I'm a Tudor-era historian at the University of Surrey," Laura added.

"I gotta admit, I hated history at school," George admitted. "But that was more the professor than the subject. Professor Binns was a ghost, but that was literally the only interesting thing about him. He would put the whole class to sleep and never even notice!"

Laura felt her eyes widen in alarm. "He's not still there, is he?" She asked anxiously. How would Jas learn history from a teacher like that?!

Lea shook her head, smiling at her in assurance. "No, don't worry," she said. "He was exorcised just after we left."

"Translation, Lea gained a seat on the Board of Governors for the school and insisted they get a proper teacher for the subject," George inserted with a wry grin. Lea rolled her eyes, slapping his shoulder lightly.

"He's exaggerating my importance in the decision," she said dryly. "The Headmistress wanted him gone, and so did the Board members that had family still attending. I can't think of anyone who wanted him to stay teaching, except maybe the students using his class as naptime."

"Yes, but you were the one who brought it up, after him being there for over a century," George insisted stubbornly. Lea whacked him again, huffing.

"Ignore him, he's full of nonsense praise for me that I don't deserve," she insisted. Laura gave a timid smile, uncertain how to react, while Dudley replied.

"Well, I'm just glad to hear that my daughter'll have a proper teacher," Dudley sighed. "Especially with what we're paying for this school. I mean, I'm happy to do it, but it's still more than Dad paid for my Smeltings' education!"

Lea gave a sympathetic grimace, the couple turning back to their guests. "Yes, I know it's a bit unfair towards Muggle parents," she said. "The exchange rate makes it so it comes out more costly for you than us, but unfortunately nobody's been able to come up with a good solution so far."

"If Hogwarts is what's best for Jas, then we'll pay whatever we need to," Laura promised.

Lea smiled. "I don't doubt it, it's obvious how much you love her," she stated firmly. Laura found herself smiling back, appreciative of her new friend's(?) kindness.

"That actually brings us to something else," Dudley added after taking sip of his wine and giving it an impressed look. Curious, Laura took her own sip and let out a sigh at the rich, fruity taste. It had a very refreshing feel on the palate, and she wondered absently if there was magic involved in making it. It was definitely some of the best wine she'd ever had.

"Oh?" George raised a red eyebrow curiously.

"We were wondering if there was some sort of magical therapist we could send her to?" Dudley asked uncomfortably. "We're worried about her. With all the rubbish about witches being evil and magic being freakish that Mum and Dad put in her head, she's struggling a lot with the news of her being a witch. We obviously can't send her to a reg-uh, sorry, a Muggle therapist to talk about being magic so we hoped...?" He trailed off, giving a hopeful look to his serious looking cousin.

Lea set down her glass as she replied. "As it happens, we were going to bring up the suggestion ourselves. I know it did me the world of good when Sirius sent me to a Mind Healer, that's what we call therapists in the Magical World, after he gained custody. I would recommend Healer Olivia Green. She's probably the best paediatric Mind Healer in England. There's a waiting list, but I can pull a few strings at St. Mungo's and get an appointment for Jas by next week."

"Oh, would you?" Laura said tearfully. "Thank you so much. She's barely come out of her room, I haven't seen her smile in days...I'm just so worried about her."

Laura reached out and grasped her hand, while Dudley squeezed the other.

"She'll be okay, I promise," Lea vowed earnestly, meeting Laura's eyes with a look that made the non-magical woman truly believe every word the witch said.

"Thank you," Laura repeated, helpless to think of anything else to say. Lea smiled and pulled away. Laura glanced at her husband, who mouthed 'are you okay?' at her. Laura gave a weak smile and nodded, squeezing his own hand back.

"So, you said you have your own business, huh Dudley?" George asked brightly, his cheerful tone erasing the grim mood that had fallen over them. "So do I, as it so happens, though mine's a shop in Diagon with a second location in Hogsmeade. Shall we compare notes?"

"Alright," Dudley grinned, the two men settling into their chat. Lea laughed slightly, pouring some more wine for everyone and turning to Laura.

"Boys," she chuckled. "Doesn't matter if their Muggle or Magical, they're all the same."

"Seems like," Laura murmured. "How did you and George meet, Lea?"

"Oh, his younger sister, Ginny, is one of my best friends," Lea explained. "Plus we were in the same House at Hogwarts, and the Weasley Twins were hard to miss. You might not have realized yet, but my husband is quite the mischief maker, and he's passed that onto our twins. And you two? How'd you and Dudley meet?"

Laura smiled softly, remembering that day, how charming and kind her then-future husband had been to her as she stumbled over her words nervously at the sight of him. "Oh, my pipes burst," she informed her cousin-in-law. "Dud fixed them for me. It was terribly hot that day and he took his shirt off. My face was so red, it still amazes me that I didn't explode from it!"

Lea laughed and asked another question, which Laura returned after replying, allowing the two of them to get to know each other through their relationships. By the time Lea called the kids down for dinner, they were all firm friends, Lea and Dudley's history seemingly dead and buried.

Though, that hardly meant Lea and her aunt and uncle's history was.