Chapter 10

I found myself introduced to new people this morning as I went down for breakfast a little earlier than usual, excited to show off my new clothes. They were a little bit tighter, and revealed the bandages around my upper body, but I didn't care. It felt nice to have things of my own.

I wore my new jeans and a pink v-neck t-shirt to breakfast, accompanied by a brown wrap sweater. After showering, dressing, and styling my hair with my new products, I walked down the stairs to breakfast. It was only eight o'clock, but I couldn't wait.

Molly was already in the kitchen, making eggs, sausages, and an assortment of muffins. I smiled and grabbed a plate filling it up. I had put on some weight, and didn't mind at all.

"Morning Mrs. Weasley. It looks great." I grabbed a glass of orange juice from the counter and made my way to the dining room. Remus and two other men were sitting there.

"Hello Beth, you're up early this morning."

"I know. I couldn't sleep. Erm… morning everyone." I gave a small wave.

"Oh right," Remus cleared his throat. "Beth, meet Alastor Moody and Kingsley Shacklebolt."

I waved again and gave them a quick look over. Kingsley Shacklebolt was a bald man with gorgeous brown eyes that match his skin. He had a kind, yet rugged face, and was dressed in navy robes. Alastor Moody was a tough looking man with a wide chiseled jaw. One eye had an eye patch over top, while the other was a bright blue, and constantly moving in its socket. A piece of his nose was missing, and assorted scars sat across his face. He frowned at me and turned to his toast.

"Hello Beth. It's nice to finally meet you," said Kingsley. His voice was firm and made me pay attention. I had only seen brief glimpses of these people throughout the last few weeks. Although I knew of their existence, meal times were completely different, and most tried to make themselves scarce. A houseful of teenagers was not the best place to live if you were growing old. Some didn't even live here. Moody, for example, had his own home and everything, but chose to live here because he had no family left. He goes back to his house to clean it up, but eats and sleeps at Grimmauld Place.

"And you too Mr. Shacklebolt," I said politely.

Moody turned to face Remus, placing his back to me. "As I was saying Remus, they just take things, the troublemakers. The nerve of them. Nasty little scoundrels, and then the ministry doesn't do anything about it!"

"But Alastor!" objected Shacklebolt, "With everything else going on, we don't have enough force to take care of situations like this. Because these people abandoned their homes is not our fault! I mean Fudge was a total imbecile, but Scrimgeour is different. And besides, some priorities are more important than others right now."

The heated discussion continued and I ate breakfast in silence, watching these three grown men argue about stealing from abandoned homes. The topic was aggravated for about ten minutes.

"What do you think Beth?" asked Remus. I sat there for a moment stunned that they had asked my opinion. I took a deep breath.

"Well, I think that Mr. Moody is absolutely right in the fact that something has to be done, because it's illegal. But on the other hand, there are way more important things right now like Mr. Shacklebolt said, like finding out the names of all those who," I coughed, "have died and letting their families know. That's a huge job."

"So you're a fence sitter are you? And I can't help but notice that your wand is in your back pocket either. Do you know how many have blown off their buttocks?"

"Erm… no. And," I cleared my throat and spoke up. This Moody guy seemed a little rude, so I finished my answer. "I can't help but wonder if the stuff left behind is so important. I mean, if they had really wanted what was in their house, then why would they just leave it there. A long enough amount of time has passed since the attacks and the battle that if they wanted something they would have gone back for it. Maybe they don't care enough for the stuff they left behind, or I guess we could presume them to be," I gulped, "dead. Couldn't we? It's wrong that people nick it, but maybe there should be a deadline for people to clean out their homes so that way, when the time comes, the ministry could clear them out and hold a charity sale. All the money could go to something—like families who lost close relatives in the war."

There was a short silence before Moody turned and spoke to Shacklebolt and Remus again, pretending I never said a word. I finished eating and got up to carry my plate to the kitchen. I could've sworn I saw Remus wink at me.

§

Around ten thirty I wandered from my room around the house. My healing was slowly coming and I found myself more able and capable of walking longer distances.

I wandered towards the ground floor, peering into an almost empty drawing room, and an ancient bathroom, which appeared to have snakes for doorknobs. At the end of the hallway was a large room with two thin windows on each wall, and a dirty old couch, that at one time may have been white. I wandered in and found it very much to my liking.

Bookshelves lined each wall. The floor to the ceiling was shrouded with books among books. A small candle was sitting on the end table beside the couch.

I quickly left and turned from the collection and went to my room. Throwing on Ginny's old sweats and a second hand pink sweater, I rushed back down to the library, wand in hand. I had recently discovered that the house was enchanted and I could use magic without being detected, not that underage magic wasn't common. During the war rules had been changed, and underage wizards were allowed to use magic in front of muggles if need be.

I walked up to the couch first.

"Scougify!" I whispered. The couch, which had looked as though a cat had done business on it, turned a brisk white color. I smiled and worked among the books, cleaning and dusting with rags I had grabbed from the kitchen. I often had to stop when reaching for high shelves as my ribs would object, but I didn't mind. I had found books!

A small flashback occurred, and even though it was small, it was essential. I was speaking to someone, a book in hand, thanking him or her for the present. I was ten.

To my sheer delight, sun began to peek through the windows, and it got warmer in the room. I had lit the candle at the beginning, but blew it out when I discovered that the hole in the wall on the far end was actually a fireplace.

I got on my hands and knees, and began to scrub the soot off the floor. Slowly but surely, a silver mantle began to peek through. Small details, such as vines, were engraved into the shroud surrounding the actual pit. Small, green, diamond shaped tiles were placed delicately in a pattern, into the silver, the engraved designs styled around them. The more I polished, the more excited I became.

To my disclosure, above the fireplace was a mirror. Sitting on the mantle it touched the ceiling, and I had to use magic to clean it. A small scrubbing charm took off the black. I stepped back to admire my work.

The white walls and black book cases were no longer covered in a thick layer of dust, but clean and comfortable. The fireplace was sparkling and the mirror above it shone. I met my reflection and then looked the other way.

I looked longingly at the room for a moment before leaving to clean up. I met no one on my trip to my room, and found it easy to wash and put on clean clothing before going down to enjoy the fruits of my labor.

§

It had taken me the whole day, but at five o'clock I strolled into the room, pleased with what I saw. All the books were gleaming in the sunlight. I strolled to the nearest bookshelf and pulled a book of the shelf at random. The gold lettering on the spine read Mysteries of the Deep: Magical Creatures of The Sea.

Happy with my choice I settled into the couch, lit the candle, and started to read.