Author's Note: Hello, dears. It has been ages and I'm so glad to see the community still thriving. I'm so out of practice, but I love Mark William's acting and the new Father Brown has become a favourite of mine for a bunch of reasons. One, it's a little goofy and two, it's embracing a more open society. You are you and I am me because that's what makes us ourselves. So having said all that, this is a welcome back piece from me. Criticism, reviews, ignore, whatever - you are awesome, too. Write your own stuff!
It was another glorious summer day at the Burrow. The children were home, Molly was in the kitchen cooking, and nothing could be better than today. For today, of all days, was the day of the delivery. Arthur Weasley woke up with a smile on his face and practically jumped into his work clothes. Not his ministry attire - no, this was his special fun work clothes he wore to his shed and while he pattered about in the garden.
Looking out the window, he smiled at the sun rising over the hills. He stretched luxuriously like a cat, yawned loudly and sauntered down to discover what his loving family had scheduled for today.
"Morning, Weasleys!" Arthur called out in his normal gay voice, taking a seat at the head of the table.
"Morning, Dad!" four voices chorused. Charlie, Percy, Ron and Ginny were already seated and had started on their breakfast. Arthur fondly noted the twins' absence (the notorious pranksters loved sleeping in) and, with a twinge of longing, looked at the empty chair where Bill used to sit. Bill, who had taken up a new job, would not be home for a long time, Arthur felt.
"Good morning, dear," Molly cooed, kissing her husband on the cheek. She, too, looked at the chair belonging to their oldest son. "Well, now, here's something to keep your spirits up." She placed a plate in front of him and bustled back over to the sink to continue her chores.
"Anything good today, Dad?" Ron asked through a mouthful of eggs.
"You better chew your food, Ronald!" Molly warned without turning around.
Ginny giggled, "Mum's gonna make you do extra chores again, Ronald."
Ron grumbled something under his breath, but he did as his mum said and kept eating.
"As a matter of fact," Arthur smiled like a naughty child caught in the act, "I have a special package arriving today."
Molly's ears perked up in anticipation, but she continued moving around the kitchen as though she was disinterested. Far better strategy, she had learned, than to leap at her husband every time he mentioned the words "special" and "package" in the same sentence.
Arthur continued, ignoring his wife. "A very strange case came to our office last week. Wizard tried to fly across town in a car. Failing that, he put an enchantment on himself and got into a bit of a mess with the steering. Ended up landing on an airstrip and we were sent to clean up the mess. Awful raucous, honestly. Lots of people witnessed the whole thing and we spent three days tracking everyone down. But as a result, Naomi's sending the lot down here for me to investigate." Arthur's eyes were bright with excitement.
"Whoa, wicked!" Ron exclaimed.
"Want some help, Dad?" Charlie asked, looking up expectantly.
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Molly banged her wooden spoon on the table, startling all of her children. "Arthur, dear, this is not a game like cleaning up the garden gnomes. I forbid all of you from getting involved." She peered sternly round the table at them all. "Oh, Ginny, dear, we have to go to Diagon Alley later. We have your appointment at Madam Malkin's to keep. I can't believe you will be at Hogwarts soon!" Resuming her normal air, Molly whisked Ginny from the table and started a new fuss upstairs.
Arthur, glad for the distraction, winked at his sons and stood up. "Right, well, I will be out in the garden if anyone needs me." Coughing discreetly, he sauntered outside to his beloved workroom. It was a modified shed: on the outside, it looked like a small, normal Muggle shed that would be next to any standard Muggle house. But the inside was larger than at first appeared. Magicked to hold more objects, there were long rows of shelves for tools of all shapes and sizes. Arthur had cleared a special area for his new delivery near the door, and there were rows of pots and containers by the far end of the building. Organised chaos, Molly called it. Arthur called it Heaven in a box.
Percy, who infinitely preferred books, cleared the table and then wandered around the woods looking for a suitable clearing to read about Gamp's Law. Ginny, the youngest and only Weasley girl, was being hauled by her mother to Diagon Alley while the twins were just waking up. Yawning, they ruffled Ronniekins' head, and then hunted through the kitchen looking for biscuits and eggs. Ron, the youngest boy, ducking around his brothers, sheepishly followed his father and sat outside the shed. Occasionally, he threw rocks at slugs or ran after gnomes to toss them across the garden. Without Bill, it was hard to have organised fun. Ron looked up at the sky and watched Charlie flying around their makeshift Quidditch pitch. This was the first year Bill was gone, and Ron wondered if there would be any games. One more year, and then he would be at Hogwarts, too. He would finally experience the freedom and classes his brothers all talked about. And, above all, he would finally have a wand and learn magic.
Suddenly, a loud sound and a few bangs signaled the arrival. Ron sat up in the grass and watched the strange delivery process.
"Ah, at last!" Arthur shouted, emerging from his haven. "Naomi, good to see you. Yes, this is my youngest boy, Ronald. How's the office?"
"All's well and good, Arthur. Good to see you, mate," Naomi tipped her hat to Ron and winked, causing the boy to smile. "Here are the goods. Got them to unload this morning. Left a big mess, I might add. Where do you want it?"
Arthur chuckled and used wandless magic to transport the shiny boxes into his shed. "This will be perfect. Let me know if any more raids turn up. I'm sure we'll all be busy enough as it is. Summertime is here and you know what that means." They shared a knowing glance.
Naomi rolled her eyes and nodded. "All and sundry are home with naught to do but twiddle their thumbs. And that's how dangerous accidents happen. When wizards have nothing better than to say, 'What if?' Hah! Well, hopefully you'll be able to do something useful with this heap of junk."
"Ack! Tcha!" Arthur tsked. "Junk? This is beauty. Look how she gleams! Once I get her all fixed up, you wouldn't know her from Adam."
"I wouldn't know her from heaven to hell," Naomi joked. "Anyway, lots to do. You're not my only stop today. Got any junior helpers?"
Ron looked up expectantly.
Arthur winked, "You know me."
Naomi laughed again. "I sure do. See you in the office next week, Arthur. So long!" And with that, she waved and sped away on her Comet.
Arthur rubbed his hands together, his eyes sparkling with boyish mischief. "Come on, Ron, and give your dad a hand."
Ron jumped up eagerly and assisted his father in moving the delivery. Soon, Fred and George came around the shed, too.
"Hey, Dad," they chorused.
"Hello, hello, boys. Ready for the day, George?" Arthur beamed at his twins. He was the only person to tell them apart. Even though the twins were always getting into scrapes, their father never really scolded them. Only if Mum made him, and then it was half-hearted. He was personally proud of his prankster twins. They shared his sense of Muggle toy-making enjoyment and experimentation, albeit they preferred tricks and magic.
"What have you got here?" Fred asked, eyeing the hunks of metal strewn about the floor.
"This, boys, is my personal pride and joy. Look closely. I present: a Muggle car!" Happy as a doorknob, Arthur Weasley held up his hands in a showy movement, much like a conjurer or entertainer would at a Muggle magic show.
The boys were unimpressed. They stared in confusion as if waiting for something to happen.
"So, what exactly is it?" Ron asked, opening one of the boxes. "What is it for?"
"What does it do?" George touched the machine-like box that seemed to be a present inside a cardboard box.
"It's a car!" Arthur said proudly. "Muggle use these things like we use brooms - to get from one place to another." More blank stares awaited this excited proclamation.
"Why would you want this?" Fred asked, already starting to get bored.
"Why to carry all my lovelies and, well, erm, I was hoping to make it a flying car. But don't tell your mother!" Arthur was stern, and the boys knew he meant it. Mum had confiscated more than one thing from the shed of wonders over the years.
"Aye, aye," the twins said, before rushing off into the woods.
Arthur grabbed a wrench, placed a screwdriver in one his magically conjured pockets, and flourished his wand professionally. Feeling like he had to show off for his son, he took a modeled stance and said in his most laughable accent, "All right, Ron, let's do this!"
Several hours later, the delivery material the parcel arrived in was scattered all around the shed. The car, which happened to be a sky blue Ford Anglia, was no longer a shining wreck. She had been put back together and was gleaming in the sunlight. Situated outside in the sun, with the assistance of magic, she was levitated and, hovering about ten inches off the ground, received a magical bath. Once that was accomplished, a very dirty, grubby-faced Arthur was working on her undercarriage, while an equally dusty and grimy Ron was holding a magical toolbox for his father.
"One more tweak should do it," Arthur grunted. Raising his wand, he performed several non-verbal spells. Slowly getting back to his feet, he lowered the vehicle to the ground and opened the door. "Now, for the steering." Arthur used a handkerchief to wipe the muck from his hands before starting the car. Once the engine was running, Arthur experimented with the clutch.
"Hmmm, push here, lever here, pull that, I wonder..." Humming to himself in this fashion, he completely forgot his son's presence. "Well, now, what does this do?"
Arthur pushed a button on the dash and to his son's wonder and amazement, he disappeared.
"Amazing, incredible what these Muggles imagine without magic! I wonder if I can improve this feature." Sighing and waving his wand some more, Arthur "fixed" the invisibility booster and improved other features of the Muggle car to make it more of a wizard's vehicle. He widened the inside, magically enlarged the trunk, and put non-Muggle warnings on the mirrors. He placed several settings on the invisibility component and changed the clutch to offer a wider range of movement. The car now could go faster, in all directions, and, with the proper magical ability, could survive Apparition.
The sun was almost setting when Arthur emerged from the car. His audience long gone, he stretched and yawned. Singing to himself, he smiled like the cat who got the cream.
"All in a day's work. Tomorrow, we'll test the little bugger. See what she can do. Ah, I'm so glad it's summer again." So saying, Arthur entered the Burrow in time for washing up and dinner.
"How was your day, dear?" Molly asked her husband.
"Just wonderful," Arthur sighed dreamily.
"Well, we got Ginny some new dresses. And look, dear, Bill sent us an owl." Molly held out a postcard from Egypt. Arthur glanced at it briefly.
"That's nice dear. I think I will be out tomorrow. Naomi sent me the new package. Muggles are so brilliant. Cars - can you imagine? We made brooms from trees, but Muggles made metal and rubber cars. Ingenious, these Muggles." Smiling to himself, he sat down at the table, said grace and started the evening meal.
Molly started serving dinner and stared daggers at her husband across the table. Really, she loved him and his toys, but he was impossible. Couldn't he see that his children were in need of attention? Percy was a shoe-in to follow Bill and Charlie, but the twins were a handful. Honestly, rascals all around. At least they had Quidditch. Maybe the discipline on the pitch would help to shape them up. And poor Ronniekins would be off next year. Ginny at least would be home. But poor Ginny was the only girl. She often got left out behind the boys, always tagging along but never keeping up. Sighing again, Molly looked at her husband and almost had a cow and a half.
"Say, boys, you want to take a ride in the car?"
"Yes, Dad!" the boys chorused. He was their favourite parent for several reasons.
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Molly yelled. Honestly, someone had to be the adult. "Here, dear, have some more potatoes."
"Yes, dear. I mean, boys, you should know better," Arthur half-chided. "You need a license for any vehicle." Seeing his wife engrossed in giving Ginny more food, he whispered, "Maybe next week."
"Yes, Dad," the twins said, laughing into their mashed potatoes.
