1. Thanks a lot to SnowBear17 for helping me beta this story.
2. Any error here is mine and not from my reviewer. If you spot anything or have a doubt about the grammar used or plot just PM me, I'm always swift to answer.
3. I am updating the way in which I decide which chapters of which stories to write next. See my profile for more info.
4. Announcement. I opened a forum here for my stories, if people want to join for updates, discussion or general stuff. It's at myforums/Jon-Riptide/4332391/
Not sure if the link would work though, new to this forum things.
5. I also have a twitter account that I'm going to use for similar purposes. Account is TimeTravelFFics
6. Enjoy
By the time Hugo had walked downstairs, everybody was halfway through their breakfast. Rose chatted lively with their grandmother at the table as if they had done it a hundred times before — which at least from Rose's end was true. Hugo had missed most of the conversation, but after a few words it was clear as a bell that it was about his uncles.
"I have to say, even while they seem to be doing well, I still have some serious misgivings about that joke shop. A part of me hoped they would have decided for a more traditional path, if you know what I mean," the woman said as Rose smiled at her.
Hugo knew his sister wasn't going to tell her about the massive success his father and Uncle George had with the joke shop. After all, the plan was to share only the bare minimum about the future.
When Hugo sat next to Rose, the girl teased him about his lateness with a grin. "Glad to see you weren't eaten up by those sheets."
Hugo was glad to see her smile, it was refreshing after their latest adventure. However, his sister was a tad too annoying about the proper times for breakfast. "Oh, knock it off, would you? I'm here already. Besides, it's not like we have classes or anything."
That much was true. They weren't expected at Hogwarts, so there was no reason why Hugo couldn't sleep in. Besides, they had been knackered after spending the night out and, as if that wasn't enough of a reason, it was a Saturday. From Hugo's point of view, it would be a crime not to take advantage of a good night's sleep.
While his grandmother headed to the stove to fetch him some breakfast, Hugo said good morning to the rest of his family. Across the table, the boy's grandfather was going through the morning paper as if nothing weird was going on, and next to him Uncle Bill sipped quietly from his steaming mug of tea. The twins weren't around, but that didn't surprise Hugo since he knew the joke shop was open on weekends. But at least his family appeared to be in a better mood this morning, it wasn't only Rose who looked more relaxed.
"We'll have to do something about that as well. Your classes, that is," said Hugo's grandfather, putting the paper down for a moment.
"What do you mean?" asked Rose, furrowing her brow.
"You were in the middle of the school year when you came here, dear," added their grandmother as she bustled about the kitchen. "You have to study if you don't want to be terribly behind once you resume your classes, whenever that might be."
It seemed odd to Hugo, talking about their education right now, in the middle of this. He wasn't sure how that could work out, especially since they couldn't just go to Hogwarts expecting to not be discovered.
As if Dumbledore would ever let that happen.
"Remus could be of help, to homeschool them. But I'm not sure if Dumbledore would be okay with telling him about Rose and Hugo," Uncle Bill remarked.
Hugo's grandfather nodded gravely. "Guess it's another thing to bring up once I talk to Albus."
Homeschooling wouldn't be too bad, Hugo thought. He was comfortable enough with school work, even if he wasn't as passionate about it as his sister. Still, some part of him held the foolish hope of going back to Hogwarts, even if they kept them in Hagrid's hut or something.
It was then that Hugo's grandmother put a plate in front of him and the boy's attention shifted to the sausages before him. The smell was rather enticing and he couldn't wait to put his fork to good use.
"Food is like my own personal rennervate" had been one of his father's recurring phrases.
It had been true for Hugo as well, at least until his father died. For over a week now, not even food had been able to raise the boy's spirits. The very taste of things seemed to have vanished from the earth for Hugo. It wasn't until last morning, when they had arrived at the Burrow, that Hugo's appetite finally returned.
"What school year are you in?" asked their grandmother.
Hugo wanted to answer, but his mouth was too jam-packed to even try. "Sixth. Hugo is in his fourth year," Rose said for them.
"Sixth, really? Your parents are in their sixth year as well."
"It was also October fourth when we left, we set the Time-Turner to exactly 26 years into the past. We were just one month or so into the term when it happened," Rose said, lowering her eyes.
"Don't you worry, dear. We won't lose any Weasley this time."
Hugo looked away from his grandmother nervously, not having the courage to meet her eyes. He knew she was talking about their father, yet Hugo couldn't stop himself from shooting a nervous look at Rose. Trying not to glance at the empty seats where the twins sat down the day before, Hugo bit his lip worriedly.
When they had first made the decision of travelling back in time, Hugo and Rose hadn't thought about their Uncle Fred at all. However, now that they were here, it was hard not to. They were already planning to save their father, would it really be that bad if they saved their Uncle Fred as well?
In the future, Hugo's father had added his own spin to the joke shop. Based on a keen business strategy and lucky hunches, he helped open the shop's Hogsmeade branch and raise the brand to new heights. However, Hugo couldn't stop but wonder how amazingly hectic the joke shop could be if Uncle Fred had lived, how spectacular it would have been for the three of them to run the joke shop together.
Just one more change, was it too much to ask?
Hugo knew they had to focus on saving their father first, but he wanted to believe that a way to save Uncle Fred would come to them at some point. He truly hoped so.
The conversation at the table continued for a while, and it was much calmer and brighter than Hugo had anticipated. The other Weasleys treated them as family, even if they didn't really know much about them. He imagined the fact that his father was still alive and not in immediate danger helped ease the Weasleys as well, who valued family above all.
In the middle of all that, Hugo was overjoyed to see his sister smile again. They had gone through the worst days of their lives, which had been especially hard for Rose. She didn't only have to deal with the grief of their father's passing but she had done while trying to stay strong for him. Some ulterior older-sister principle made Rose feel responsible for the both of them, every single time. As if it was somehow her fault whenever something bad happened to Hugo. The boy wished he could find a way to ease her worries, and convince her to share the burden she had taken as hers ever since their father had died.
After all, Hugo could have said no when Rose took the time turner and looked at him, waiting for his answer. And he had certainly said yes.
It hadn't been easy. Unlike his sister, making the decision had been more troublesome for Hugo than dealing with the actual outcome of it. Yes, they had chosen wrong and it was uncertain what the headmaster's actions would be as a result. However, in an odd way, dealing with a wrong decision didn't scare the boy half as much as the responsibility of making the decision in the first place. He was weird like that. Hugo liked to wonder about 'what-ifs' and was fairly good at predicting their outcomes, but it was still excruciating to choose when so much depended on it.
With some luck, his grandfather would think of a good plan that would end up convincing the headmaster. Better yet if it was one that involved Hugo and Rose seeing their father again.
"Hope is a pesky little thing," Hugo's father used to say after an excruciatingly bad Quidditch year for the Chudley Cannons. "You think you're done with it, but the next season starts and you realize it was never really gone."
No matter how complicated things were, Hugo always preferred to stay hopeful. After all, staying busy figuring out a solution was a brilliant way to not dwell in regrets. Hugo knew the most pressing issue at the moment was saving his father without messing with the past any further. Every idea in his head was valued based on if it helped him achieve that goal or not. Extra points for ideas that let him see his parents faster.
"So, where's Uncle Percy?" Hugo asked thoughtlessly once he was done with his breakfast.
Whatever reaction he was expecting, it was certainly not the one he got. His grandmother seemed to lose her words and her eyes began to water a little while Uncle Bill's brow narrowed at once, his once calm and relaxed face hardening instantly. Clutching the newspaper tightly, his grandfather's expression soured. It was then that Hugo and Ron found out about Uncle Percy.
Hugo knew his uncle Percy had had some sort of misunderstanding with the family around this time, but he had never imagined it was this bad. His uncle was not even talking to any of them, like not at all.
Rose told them about uncle Percy's eventual return, as their family had figured it out from their reactions more or less. Hugo was actually glad, for the news brought great joy and relief to his grandparents.
There was no such thing as bad-timed joy, Hugo learned.
o0o0o
"We could get Uncle Percy back sooner," Hugo suggested on their way upstairs, sometime after breakfast.
"Hugo, we can't change too many things, remember? We've done plenty of damage already," his sister warned him.
"What about…" Hugo started, glancing around and lowering his voice. "Uncle Fred?"
Rose's eyes widened, and she looked around in a panic. Once she realized they were alone, the girl turned to Hugo with a frown. "You shouldn't be saying that, they might hear you," she scolded him hurriedly, lowering her voice.
But there was no change on Hugo's face and he didn't say anything else. He just stared at his sister, still waiting for an answer.
Eventually Rose sighed, biting her lip. "I don't know, okay? It was never the plan, but I feel guilty hiding this from Grandma. Maybe something can come up later."
"What if we change things by accident? If things can't go back to the way they were before, can we try to change things then?"
Rose snorted. "This isn't something to take lightly, Hugo. We'll fix things, but we have to try to stay as close as possible to the way they were before. If things work out, we'll find something to do about Uncle Fred. Trying to fix Uncle Percy's situation as well is just pushing our luck."
"Alright," Hugo muttered begrudgingly.
The weird affair of a day went on. At times, when they were in the living room talking to their grandparents, it seemed like the most familiar of times, as if nothing were out of place. But Hugo and Rose also spent some time in their father's room waiting for news from Professor Dumbledore. Those were the moments that made Hugo realize that they weren't home. Not properly.
The twins had been out all day, but Hugo's grandmother promised that they would be home by dinner. It made the boy wonder what they would say now that they had time to think through the situation properly. Uncle Bill had certainly changed, even if only a little bit. He was quiet most of the time but he didn't look mad anymore, just worried. The eldest Weasley brother talked to them and even smiled once in a while, but he was engaged in private conversations with Hugo's grandfather for most of the day.
There was also the situation with Uncle Percy. Hugo's father used to say his older brother had been pompous and a dreadful champion of the rules in the past, and even Uncle Percy was quick to agree to that with a laugh. Hugo had no trouble believing it, however it seemed unreal that his uncle had gotten to the point of leaving his family entirely over rules and whatnot. He knew Uncle Percy was the most composed and law-abiding Weasley brother, yet he was no stranger to the occasional laugh either. Sometimes, he even helped Uncle George figure out tricky spells, which ended up being used in a joke product.
Hugo had a very clear memory of last Christmas that was hard to forget at the moment. Rose had been studying non-stop through most of the break, for she had O.W.L.s that year. Every time James or Roxanne came by with a distraction, she looked on the brink of chewing their heads off. It was when she refused to play Quidditch in the morning before Christmas Eve that Uncle Percy went to her.
"Good books can last centuries, Rose," he had said, taking her book away before Rose could react. "This one will still be here when you get back from Quidditch, but your family might not wait that long."
It had been the greatest of games, that one. Rose played keeper that day, as she usually did outside of Hogwarts. She had made some saves that Hugo could've sworn were sure goals, much to James' frustration. Once it was over, Uncle Percy was quick to return Rose's book, along with some pointers on disillusionment charms.
Hugo wished he could save his father, his Uncle Fred, and bring back Uncle Percy as well. He knew that was hardly in the cards, though.
All in all, Hugo and Rose had a slow day. Aunt Fleur arrived for lunch, but she left shortly after along with Hugo's grandfather and Uncle Bill.
"What do you reckon they'll talk about?" Hugo said sometime later, lying on the camp bed in his father's room. Exploding snaps weren't half as fun as chess, so they had got bored of it eventually and stopped playing. Rose was pacing around the room, looking at their father's belongings for the umpteenth time.
"Who? Grandpa and Professor Dumbledore?" she asked, turning to her brother.
"Yeah."
"I don't know. Perhaps Dumbledore will try to convince Grandpa the best thing to do is to erase everyone's memories."
"They wouldn't do that, right?" Hugo said, lifting his upper body from the bed in surprise. Then he hurried to say his next words, in a proper Hermione-ish way as his father would say. "I mean, we're already here and they can't. Can they? Where would that put us? Would he try to lock us somewhere while the war finishes? It didn't seem like he knew how to send us back."
"I guess that's why Dumbledore wanted to look at the Time-Turner."
"Rubbish! Grandpa wouldn't agree to that. And you listened to him, he wants to help us with Dad."
Rose rolled her eyes. "Grandpa didn't say that. He said he still had to think about what to do. He knows it was wrong too."
Hugo huffed and let himself fall back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. The silence was unnerving as he thought about what to say next. "What if we write to him?" he finally asked, trying to sound casual.
"Who? Dad? Are you nuts!? Grandpa said that—"
"Alright, alright, knock it off! It was just an idea."
They remained silent for a moment, Hugo frowning and Rose furrowing her brow. Albus Dumbledore was the greatest wizard alive, but would he really do something as cruel as wiping everyone else's memories of them? Leaving them alone? What would Dumbledore do if their grandfather didn't agree with him? Hugo's parents were at Hogwarts at that moment, and so were Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny. From the stories he was told, they were all very close to the headmaster, but they probably didn't have any idea of what was going on.
Hugo heard a slow sigh from his sister as she sat down on the bed beside him.
"Look, I miss him too, okay? Let's see what Grandpa says first."
Hugo nodded. "But if Dumbledore insists on wiping memories or in giving that ruddy deluminator to Dad, we'll contact him then, right?"
"It's a possibility, but not by a letter. That's way too dangerous." Hugo looked at her in confusion, not comprehending what she had said. "There are Death Eaters out there, Hugo! Tom Riddle is too! We can't risk an owl being intercepted. I assume it would be pretty bad if they found out about us."
Hugo's eyes widened as he took in what Rose said. He hadn't thought about that. Voldemort was alive and, if he found out about them, Hugo couldn't imagine what problems would arise. The dark wizard would surely try to change things if he knew that he had been defeated in their time. Their presence there was turning more problematic with each new possibility.
"Okay," Hugo finally answered.
Not for the first time, Hugo noticed that Rose had a lot of their father in her. It was obvious when she was playing Quidditch or having any kind of fun with her friends or cousins. However, when she felt strongly about something, his sister was almost like their mother too.
Hugo missed his mother, even when he knew she would agree with Rose. Their mother tried to approach problems by making an effort to listen and always in a loving way. Nevertheless, she had a clear idea of how things should be and valued rules whole-heartily over anything else. Rules were her job in a way, considering she was the Minister of Magic.
Being the head of magical Britain was not an easy task, Hugo understood. For his mother, the job was more like a hard-earned responsibility than an opportunity to shine. Putting her name in history was far less important to her than procuring a system that would be just and helpful to all the magical communities in the country.
All of that took a lot of her time, yet she always managed to get some space for her family, and had given them her full attention. Besides, Hugo's father was usually quick in coming up with spontaneous field trips to take her mind off of important matters.
"You're a brilliant boy and have your father's heart. You'll know what's the right thing to do, Hugo," was what his mother would say. She always expected them to make the right call, but she wanted them to realize which one it was by themselves.
Hugo knew she would be disappointed in them for taking the Time-Turner and would give them a lengthy speech about it. Even so, Hugo wished she could be there for them right now, even if it were only to double-check their choices.
o0o0o
The rest of the day passed by in a blur, and when the twins had arrived it was almost time for dinner. They came to the Burrow in a hurry, carrying a few small boxes from the joke shop as they stumbled into the living room.
"Good evening, present and future family!" they announced with a bang.
Hugo's grandmother sighed, shaking her head. "How was work? Anything unexpected?"
"Unexpected as in unsuspecting customers getting elephant trunks as side-effects, or as in the more time-travelly version of the word?" asked one of the twins.
"Don't play that folly with me, you know what I mean."
One of his uncles looked upwards, making a thinking gesture. "Well, Tonks came by. She insisted on not being interested in the WonderWitch line, but we know better. Probably just playing tricky snitch to get a hold of bigger discounts."
"That shrewd witch!" added the other twin. Hugo still wasn't sure how to distinguish one from the other, much to his amusement and annoyance.
"You didn't mention anything, did you?" asked Hugo's grandfather carefully. He had been rather serious since he returned home an hour before.
"Absolutely not. But she's not daft, she knows something fishy is up."
Hugo's grandfather nodded and asked them to remain cautious as the twins made their way to the stairs. Hugo didn't want to be left with any lingering doubt, so he asked something he had been thinking about since they had entered the house.
"What's up with the boxes?"
"Oh, these are defective products. Things we need to get a second look at. One has to honour the guarantee."
The other twin moved forward and almost threw one of the smaller boxes at Hugo, who was barely able to catch it. "Here, be a good nephew and help us out."
"You're giving Hugo defective joke products?" their mother started, visibly alarmed.
"They're harmless, mother. Otherwise, they wouldn't be defective," one of Hugo's uncles said, earning a glare from his mother.
Hugo was already on his way upstairs though. "It's okay, grandma. I can help."
The woman narrowed her eyes at them, but decided to let it go. "Alright, but those boxes better not have anything dangerous in them."
The twins hurried the boy up to their room, one saluting Hugo's grandmother. Rose raised an eyebrow, yet she stayed in the living room, talking with her grandmother.
For a lack of a better word, Hugo found the twins' room to be chaotic. In his future, Hugo had seen the room plenty of times, but that was a ghost of its current self. While the future room was mostly used by Freddie or Roxanne when they occasionally slept over at the Burrow, the room before Hugo's eyes now was a colourful festival of moving trickeries. Whizzing and bustling sounds covered the whole place like some kind of four-walled circus.
The twins were delighted by the gaping expression on their nephew. "Hugo Weasley, we present to you the place where all our barmy ideas are born."
"Wicked," the boy said in awe once he finally found his voice. "How do you even sleep here?"
"Good question. We don't. We have a place at the joke shop you see, and we stay there every day now. This is mostly storage."
Hugo let down the box he was carrying with a loud thud, not even bothering to be gentle. "Oi! Careful! Those are Thor's Thunder Crackers, we don't want an incident here."
A confused look came to Hugo. "You just said the boxes weren't dangerous."
"They're harmless unless activated. Still, you have to consider these are defective products, you never know."
Hugo was baffled. "But you said to grandma that… Oh, forget it!"
The boy was familiar with the thunder crackers, and if that stuff was really in the boxes he should be careful. The plan was to not change the past, after all, and Hugo was sure that included not burning the whole Burrow down to its foundations.
At the table on the back of the room, something caught Hugo's attention. "Woah, are those sticky trainers?"
"They are, indeed. Glad you're a fan of our work. Guess we still make those in the future."
Hugo tried to be careful, as he knew it wouldn't be good to reveal something he wasn't supposed to. There was something in particular he needed to be more careful about. His Uncle Fred's death. The worst information he could slip right now was that the joke shop wasn't run by both twins anymore, but by Uncle George and Hugo's father.
Well, only by Uncle George now, Hugo realized dejectedly.
"They're green in my time. Mum never let me have those," he said weakly, taking a closer look at the trainers.
"Is that so?" asked his uncle, shaking his head in disapproval. "Seems like our dear sister-in-law hasn't changed much over the years."
"Seems so, George," Uncle Fred said as he arranged the other boxes on a nearby shelf.
Soon Uncle Fred rejoined his twin and they both turned to stare at Hugo. It occurred to the boy then that they hadn't brought him all the way up there just to have him help them with some boxes.
"So how is it faring, are you liking the past so far?" asked Uncle Fred.
"Not finding it a bit old-fashioned?" added Uncle George.
"Er, well, I haven't seen much."
"That's true. Not much to see here in this old house. You haven't even seen your parents."
"Yet."
That made Hugo's eyes widen with hope. "Do you really think I will? Dumbledore has to let us, right?"
"Hugo, Hugo, Hugo..." started Uncle George as he put an arm on his nephew's shoulders. "If I know a thing about pranks, it's that they always have a climax. Even if they don't work as intended, they have to do something. Unlike these gutting thunder crackers."
"Agreed. What's the point otherwise?"
"This wasn't a prank," said Hugo, nervously. He knew Uncle George wouldn't blame him. Would he?
"It wasn't, but at the same time, it was."
Uncle George nodded to his brother's comment as if they were sharing ancient wisdom with their nephew.
"I don't get it." Hugo was befuddled, the time travel incident was the furthest thing from a prank that Hugo could think of.
"It's easy really. Your whole gimmick with the Time-Turner had an honourable purpose, I'll give you that, but think about the reactions. Dumbledore's, Bill's... how do you think your parents are going to react to, well, you?"
"Surprised?"
"Ha, that's a way to put it," said Uncle Fred, shaking his head.
"Look my dearest nephew—"
"I'm your only nephew."
"He got you there, George. But you saw mum, she's euphoric with all of this. Who would've imagined that it would be little ickle Ronnie would be the one giving her the only grandkids she has."
As the twins pointed that out, Hugo couldn't avoid recalling his future life. Yes, his grandmother was always beaming whenever they were around the Burrow, but Rose and Hugo were far from being the only grandkids she had. He remembered Al, Lily, and Louis, and all those other cousins he might never be able to see again due to their actions.
"We're not her only grandkids," he said.
A smile crept to his uncles' faces, they looked at each other as if Hugo had said just what they were expecting him to say. "So, we do have other nephews and nieces, then? Children of our own, perhaps?" asked Uncle Fred triumphantly.
"Most likely, my brother," his twin agreed.
Hugo's eyes widened, realizing that they had trapped him. "I shouldn't have said that."
"But you did. Don't worry though, it was expected. And we know we shouldn't press you, for now. Not unless—"
"Unless what?" Hugo asked.
"Unless the whole 'not changing the past' business is thrown out of the window, that is."
Hugo was gobsmacked. Were they saying that something could go wrong and that they would need to change the past? Or that they were willing to change things even if it didn't? By their mischievous grins, Hugo imagined it was the latter one.
"We're not supposed to change anything," the boy hurried to say.
"Easy there, Hugo. We haven't done anything. We were just saying..." started Uncle Fred
"... that if for some event..."
"... or reason."
"Or reason..." repeated Uncle George slowly, "our nephew needed our help, then, as the honourable uncles we are, it would be impossibly hard to say no to it."
"Like a guarantee."
"Bugger those guarantees!"
For a moment Hugo was left stunned, unsure if he had heard them correctly. All along Hugo had been hoping to see his father again and that Dumbledore would agree to it. Despite that, Rose had made it clear it wasn't going to be that easy. That even writing to him wasn't a likely possibility. Hugo had started to accept that begrudgingly, but his uncles' offer made everything more difficult.
Hugo was speechless, he didn't know how to handle their words. Time shouldn't be changed but on the other hand...
"I would—" the boy stuttered, unsure of what was going to come out of his mouth, but was then interrupted by the door being opened.
It was his grandmother. Hugo almost jumped in his place, as if she had just caught them in some wrong-doing. "Everything okay in here?" she asked.
"Well, of course, mother," one of Hugo's uncles answered calmly.
"Dinner is ready."
"We'll be right there. Looking forward to it," said one of the twins, as if they had just been having an innocent Quidditch talk.
"Hugo dear..."
"Yes, grandma?" Hugo asked, still nervous.
"Your sister's birthday is on Thursday, right?"
The sudden question startled Hugo for a moment. He had almost forgotten about that, even though he had something to give her then. He counted the days and nodded. "Yes, it is, how did you...?"
"She mentioned it, for one of Professor Dumbledore's questions. Now off with you three, dinner is getting cold."
They all nodded and hurried downstairs. And, as he left the room, Hugo realized that he was given something he didn't expect or even want. Another impossible decision.
o0o0o
Dinner was considerably more joyful than the previous day. Everyone at the table seemed to be more comfortable with Hugo and Rose now, even Uncle Bill. The young man was still not his old, boisterous self but he appeared to be more at ease now.
From time to time, Hugo's thoughts would wander away. Thinking of what kind of help the twins could provide, or if he should even accept it. It was good to have someone to count on, but maybe it would be better to leave that only as a last resort. Help that he could use only if things went awry.
That's what Rose would do.
"Remus contacted me today," his grandfather announced once dinner was done. "He knows something important is going on, but it doesn't seem like Albus has told him anything specific. Quite like your encounter with Tonks," he said, looking at the twins.
It took Hugo a moment to realize that they were talking about Teddy's parents. They were both alive and Teddy wasn't even born yet, he didn't think so. Was that another thing they were going to change without intending to? Teddy's parents could live now, but it was also possible that Teddy wouldn't be born this time.
Another thing to handle. Hugo's father, Uncle Fred, Uncle Percy, and now Teddy's parents. It was too much, but Hugo had to remember that he wasn't doing any of it. They were letting things go as close to last time as possible. That was supposed to be the plan.
Hugo's grandfather turned to his grandchildren, a grim look on his face. "Albus did reach out. He has a proposal, a reasonable one, he says."
Next to Rose, their grandmother didn't give a sign that she heard that. She probably knew about it already, and it didn't seem like she was entirely pleased by what her husband was going to say. Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur were paying close attention, yet they didn't seem to be surprised either.
Across the table, however, Hugo noticed the twins were leaning forward, waiting impatiently for the news.
It seemed like Professor Dumbledore had made his argument clear at first, insisting on erasing their memories. But once Hugo's grandfather refused, the old wizard said he had an alternative and that he wanted to meet in person to talk about it.
Hugo exchanged an anxious look with his sister, not really liking the sound of it.
"He says not all of us have to be there. That someone can take Hugo and Rose somewhere else while we talk. So that we can have someone out there knowing the truth about Hugo and Rose, as a guarantee," said their grandfather.
"A guarantee? We don't seem to be getting away from that word today."
"Seems so, my brother."
Hugo was confused about the headmaster's proposal. Where would they go? Would they be safe, or was it all a trap to get them out in the open?
"I was looking for a house for us after the wedding," said Uncle Bill suddenly, turning to Aunt Fleur. "It was supposed to be a surprise."
"I'm sure you'll find ze best one," answered Aunt Fleur, beaming.
"There's one. Aunt Etna is interested in selling me her house in Cornwall, the one we used to go to for vacations a few years ago, remember?" Uncle Bill said, turning to his parents at the last part. "It needs some work and I still have some doubts, but I could finish the deal and take them there tomorrow. Aunt Etna says I just need to say the word to get the keys."
"Shell Cottage?" asked Rose hopefully.
"Yes... you know?"
"Buy it, you'll love it."
Uncle Bill was puzzled at first, but he ended up smiling as he turned to his fiancé. "Guess we have a house."
Aunt Fleur smiled excitedly.
"It's a beautiful place, son. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. But what about protective spells?" asked Hugo's grandfather.
"It has nothing, but Death Eaters don't know of the place, or of Rose and Hugo. Fidelius and the basic things should be enough for tomorrow. I can set everything up in an hour."
Hugo saw his grandfather nod.
"You can set up Fidelius that fast?" asked Rose with her academically curious voice.
Uncle Bill gave her a big, honest smile. For a moment he looked just like Hugo's old uncle from the future. "I'm a quality curse breaker, mind you. I'll be a damn cornish pixie if I can't set it in half that time."
"I still don't trust Albus, not with this," Hugo's grandmother insisted. "And mind your language, Bill, there are children here."
"He said he was bringing Minerva. She seems to be on our side in the obliviating argument."
That seemed to ease things a little for his grandmother. Eventually, they all agreed to hear the old wizard out, at least. They needed to get to a common ground if the Weasleys were going to remain a useful part of the Order.
By the time they went to bed, Hugo was not as tense as he had been before dinner. At least he didn't have to decide if he should take the twins' help for now. He didn't want to make another big decision this soon, especially since they were still going through the consequences of their previous one.
Perhaps the meeting would turn out for the better. Surely Dumbledore would have a plan that didn't involve erasing his family's memories. Maybe there was a chance to see his parents together again.
Hugo could afford to give himself some hope. After all, hope was a pesky little thing, and someone had once told him that it was never really gone.
