Author's Note:
Reviews and Comments: To ladyinwaiting2005: You will actually see Bill give the brothers a chat in this chapter. I love Bill and Ginny's relationship and I agree, the relationship she shares with each of her brothers is just as endearing! To darkenedink: Thank you. I think it is extremely important to understand the difference. Rape is a vile act and has absolutely nothing in common with sex. Yes, Ginny has to deal with what she went through and especially because it was by someone she considered a friend. To coloredwords: In my defence, I don't know where you are from so I couldn't have chosen that as a stop. As to the road trip, I googled the best European road trips on a motorbike and I liked that one the best, so I used it as my plan. Thank you! To azphxbrd: Thank you! Good on you for serving your country. Thanks for reading! To Steelcode: Thank you! To CrazyWithABook: Thank you! To geekymom: Thank you!
To teachergirl: Harry is not taking on the responsibility of Ginny by wanting to be there for her. I consider that friendship and I am very sorry for any of your friends who may have been dealing with something and you were not there for them. That's what friends do in my book — be there for each other. He knows she has an amazing family, but he wants her to know she also has him if she wants to reach out. Sirius understands that and knows it's part of Harry's kindness. He will talk to Harry more about responsibility, but right now, Sirius is just so happy that Harry faced Voldemort again and made it out alive. To alix33: Thank you! I thought Neville and Hermione's gifts were pretty great myself. Lockhart will be imprisoned, but right now while he awaiting his trial, he is just being held in the Ministry.
To E-Dett: Thank you! I think it's important for Ginny to speak to a Mind Healer. I love writing her having a close relationship with her brothers, especially Bill. Thank you for understanding that Harry doesn't feel responsible for Ginny, he just wants to be her friend and care for her. To Matt9917: Thank you! To RedheadLover: Thank you! Harry and Ginny goodness will come, but it definitely won't be any time soon as they are too young yet. Thank you.
Thank you very much for reading and please, please review!
Your reviews give me life! They give me inspiration! And they make me want to keep writing for more than just myself! Thank you!
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND NINE:
The One Where Bill and Charlie Talk About the Importance of
Being A Good Big Brother
Bill rubbed his hand over his face as he closed the door to his flat behind him. His eyes met Charlie's, who was standing by the fireplace. He had finally managed to get all of his brothers alone and to get his parents and Ginny out of his flat for five damn minutes. He had forgotten how hectic having a big family could be sometimes, he thought with a smile. As annoyed as he was, he was happy that they were all here.
He took a slow breath, glancing up at the clock. His father had told him that they would try to stay away until at least three, which gave him almost an hour. There was something that he and Charlie wanted to say.
"Ginny will be staying with me for the rest of the summer," Bill announced, his eyes on his brother's surprised faces. "She doesn't know it yet, but she is. I want her to be close to Na'eemah Hickey and I think that staying with me will be good for her. Charlie is going to stick around an extra week as well."
Percy looked up at Bill, his eyes somber. "You blame us."
Bill closed his eyes. "I don't blame you, Perce."
"We should have done a better job as brothers," George said, quietly, as he looked into his older brother's eyes. "We should have realized that something more was going on with her than just the first year jitters."
Bill sighed. "You blokes can beat yourself up as much as you want, but the fact of the matter is that Ron is the one who went down into the Chamber of Secrets to find her and Harry was the one who saved her."
Ron flushed under Bill's praise.
"But yeah, all of you should have kept a better eye on her," Bill continued. "She's going to be twelve in a few days and she's terrified to go back to school. She's scared that no one will talk to her and that the tentative friends that she did make are going to be gone. She needs the four of you to be there for her. Perce, I know that you're going to be Head Boy this year and that's great! I'm proud of you for following in my footsteps, but don't let your new duties get in the way of your most important duty."
Fred frowned, scratching his nose. "Bill, we're sorry."
Charlie crossed his arms in front of his chest, his expression firm. "You should be sorry. Ginny is the light in this family and she needs us to always be there for her. She is always there when we need her and this year when she needed us most, we abandoned her. Now, Bill and I get a little leeway here since we were both in different countries, but even from her letters — did I not write to you, Percy, and ask you to check on her? Did I not say that something seemed off?"
Percy lowered his head in shame. "I tried to check on her, Charlie! I gave her Pepper-Up Potions and I thought that she was sick! I took care of her!"
"He did," Ron said, nodding at Percy. "He nagged her so much that she initially got rid of the diary, but when Harry told her he had it — she freaked out, and took it back."
Charlie smirked. "See? Being an annoying ponce can be a good thing."
Fred snickered. "Look, Percy, you found a calling in life!"
Percy glared at his brother and displayed a rude hand gesture that made George gasp.
"Fred! The Head Boy is being very unprofessional!"
"Oh, sod off," Percy said in annoyance.
Bill held his hands up to silence his brothers. "Charlie and I don't blame any of you for letting this happen. No one could have known that this would happen, but we think that if you had kept a better eye on her at school, it would have made a difference. Second year is going to be hard for her. She's going to be starting all over again, having to make friends, and having to adjust to the day-to-day life of classes and homework."
"What about Na'eemah?" Ron asked, his eyes on his oldest brother. "Do you really think that one summer is enough? Ginny really seems to like talking to her now? She opens up quite a bit."
Bill smiled at Ron, squeezing his shoulder. "No, it's not enough, which is why Charlie and I have retained her for the foreseeable future. Professor Dumbledore has agreed and arranged for a portkey to bring Mind Healer Hickey to Hogwarts once a week so that Ginny can continue her sessions."
"You're both paying for it?" George asked, his eyes on his brothers.
Charlie nodded. "It's a big expense and Mum and Dad have enough expenses with you lot still at Hogwarts. We insisted and they grudgingly agreed to let us since we wouldn't take no for an answer. Ginny likes her and we think that staying with a healer she's comfortable with is most important. Most of last year is still coming back to Jitterbug in flashes and nightmares as you all know. Anything that we can do to help her adjust and help her to be herself again is what we're thinking of."
George nodded. "We'll keep our eye on Nevra, Charlie, we promise."
Fred nodded solemnly next to his twin. "We won't let her fall through the cracks."
Bill merely sighed and pushed his hair out of his eyes. "As the oldest, it has always felt like my responsibility to watch out for you blokes. You are my brothers and it's my job to lead. When Ginny was born, I always felt like she wanted to take care of me and I knew that I wanted to take care of her. I wanted to take care of all of you and every time Mum became pregnant, we'd sit down, and we'd talk about how important it was to be a big brother."
Charlie smiled. "I remember sitting next to Bill when Percy was born and Bill told me how important it was to be a big brother and how it was my job to always look out for Percy the way that Bill looked out for me; to be there for him, to protect him, and to be his friend and confidant. That didn't mean that I couldn't tease him or poke fun at him which we all do pretty often, but I knew that I loved him and that I would watch out for him. And when Mum had Fred and George, I gave Percy the same talk Bill gave to me."
"And the three of us spoke to Fred and George together about looking out for Ron," Percy said with a smile. "I remember."
"And when Ginny came along, Dad told us how special she was. The first born daughter to a Weasley in seven generations! She wasn't just our little sister, she was the only Weasley girl, the only granddaughter, and she was special," Charlie told them with a smile. "And every one of us fell in love with her and even when she was being an annoying little brat, I knew that I would protect her. That's what big brothers are for, to love and to protect our younger siblings. No one messes with a Weasley."
Fred and George grinned widely. "Here, here!"
Ron smiled and nodded. "When you mess with one, you mess with us all."
Percy elbowed Ron lightly. "That's right."
Bill smiled at them. "Ginny's growing up; faster than we all would have liked considering what happened to her, but she is growing up and she needs us now more than ever. She may not think so and knowing her she'll probably tell us to butt out, but just be there for her; don't let her ever think for one second that she's alone or unloved. That's what Riddle did, that's what he told her. He convinced her that Charlie and I moved away to get away from her, that Percy was dating Penelope to get away from her, that Fred and George wanted nothing to do with her, and that Ron didn't need her anymore because he had Harry and Hermione. He picked at her doubts and her fears and he made her believe that they were real. She is still recovering from that."
"She knows that we love her and we can all attest to the fact that she's caught on to the fact that one of us has been there every night when she wakes up," Charlie said with a smile. "Taking it in shifts to be there in case she has a bad dream and she appreciates it. Maybe that's something that you boys can continue at in school. If she needs you, let her come; be there for her to comfort her or to let her talk. The more she talks and accepts what happened to her, the more that she will come to terms with it, and the more she will heal."
"Don't worry, Charlie, Bill, we'll be the brothers that she deserves," Ron said with a smile.
Fred nodded. "We promise."
George and Percy nodded adamantly next to them. "We promise."
Bill smiled at them. "Weasleys take care of each other. Don't ever forget that."
Charlie smirked. "And don't think that Bill and I won't come down to Hogwarts and kick your arses if we find out you aren't taking care of our girl! We're only a portkey away."
Percy grinned. "That won't be necessary."
Bill nodded, his eyes twinkling. "Good because we all know that Charlie and I would win."
This led to an uproar of protest and Bill just grinned when Fred tackled him to the ground to wrestle for his honour. Yeah, the Weasleys took care of each other and Bill couldn't be prouder of his brothers for watching them step up this summer. He knew that the talk hadn't been necessary, but he felt better knowing that he had spoken to them. His brothers would watch out for her this year and they would make sure that she was kept safe; that they were there if she needed them.
And he couldn't have been more proud.
~ ASC ~
When Harry and Sirius headed towards Ireland the next morning, Sirius let Harry drive again and he gleefully took control of the bike. It took them eight hours to drive to Ireland and Harry drove half of it, pleased with himself. They set up camp for the night and then spent the next three days seeing the Ring of Kerry, visiting Killarney National Park, Macgillicuddy's Reeks mountain, Skellig island, and the ring forts. It was all so amazing.
From Ireland they headed to the Isle of Wright driving down the Military Road and seeing St. Catherine's Oratory and Tennyson Down. They spent an entire day in the village of Chale before finally planning to head back home to Devon the next day.
Harry drove the three hours home from the Isle of Wright on the sixteenth of August and he couldn't believe that he and Sirius had been gone for fifty days. He drove the Ducati up the drive, parking it in front of the work shed that Sirius kept his bikes in and looked up at Black Cottage happily.
He had missed his home.
He and Sirius went inside, tossing their bags on the chesterfield and plopping down to rest, both exhausted. Harry was surprised to wake up almost four hours later with his head resting on his father's shoulder and Sirius snoring next to him. Someone had wrapped them up in a blanket, he noticed.
He stretched and carefully moved off of the couch so as not to wake Sirius. He made his way into the kitchen wondering if they had any food at all and his eyes widened at the two plates of food under a warming charm on the kitchen table. He saw the note next to the plates along with a large stack of mail and picked it up.
Sirius and Harry,
I saw the bike in the drive so I stopped by to see how your trip was. You two were clearly knackered! Here's some dinner for tonight; don't want my boys to starve. See you tomorrow.
Love,
Zee
Harry smiled at the note. He hadn't even heard her come into the house, they must have both been more tired than he thought and he wondered if it had been her who had wrapped them up. It seemed likely. My boys, he thought, frowning slightly at that and then smiling. He did kind of like that she wanted to take care of them, it was nice. He lifted the lid on the first plate, the smell of roasted chicken making his stomach grumble and he took a seat at the table.
Zee had made roast chicken, a baked potato with bacon and chives, and roasted green beans. It was amazing, he thought as he ate happily.
While he ate, he went through the mail, sorting it between his and Sirius' and he smiled as he recognized the letters from his friends. He opened the one from Ron first, grinning widely at his friend's untidy scrawl.
Harry,
Dad won a thousand Galleons from this draw at work! Can you believe it? Mum and Dad decided to use the winnings to take us to Egypt to visit Bill!
It's amazing here!
The pyramids and the curses and some of the stories are just grisly, but pretty wicked. Bill's job is brilliant and he does all sorts of wicked things. Mum wouldn't let Ginny go into some of the pyramids, claiming that she was too young which I guess is fair because the last one had people mummified in positions of half-transformations into animals or objects, some of them were tortured, and it was horrific, but kind of awesome at the same time because it's all still preserved.
Everyone here is having a great time, even Ginny, who has been spending a lot of time with Bill. Charlie even came to stay for a bit. He took Ginny out for an entire day which I found annoying because I wanted to see him, but I know that he's worried about her after what happened in May. She's doing all right, by the way. She's been having some nightmares and she doesn't like to be alone at night. Fred, George, Percy, Bill, Charlie, and I have been taking it in turns to 'visit for a chat' in the middle of the night. I don't think Ginny buys our flimsy excuses, but she seems to appreciate it nevertheless.
Charlie told me that she spent days agonizing over how to write an apology letter to every person who was petrified. He tried to tell her that it wasn't necessary, but she insisted. Especially because Ginny told us that Penelope Clearwater, that Ravenclaw prefect who was with Hermione when she was, you know… anyway, Ginny caught her snogging Percy! Percy! Ginny says it was more than just snogging if you get my drift and in the library too! Can you believe it? Who would even want to snog him in the first place?
Anyway, she's been seeing a Mind Healer three times a week as well and I think it's helping her. She's slowly coming back to her old self. She even locked the twins in the bathroom and put green food colouring in the shower — they looked like lime green popsicles and she laughed herself silly. It was nice to see the old her coming back. She really loves the postcards you've sent, too. They make her smile, I thought that you'd like to know that. She's doing well. She's going to spend the rest of the summer in Egypt with Bill. He's going to bring her home before school starts and Charlie is staying a little longer in Egypt as well. The rest of us came home after her birthday.
Hermione says that she's having an amazing time in France by the way. She was supposed to be home by your birthday, even though I know you won't be back yet from wherever it is that you are at this point.
By the way, the gift is that I bought you a Sneakoscope for your birthday, it's supposed to tell you if anything suspicious is going on. Bill says that its a cheap knockoff that wizards sell to tourists and that they almost never work because it kept going off during dinner the other night, but he didn't know that Fred and George had put beetles in his soup.
Write me when you get home and maybe we can meet up in Diagon Alley again.
Ron
He chuckled as he refolded the letter. He was glad that the Weasley brothers were rallying around their little sister. She needed them and they knew that. He smiled at Hermione's neat writing next and opened the letter.
Harry,
France was everything I wanted and more! I've been learning all sorts of things about the history and the culture; not to mention doing some shopping. I also finished writing my history paper on the witch burnings, I wrote an extra ten inches, I hope that's all right.
How has your summer been? It sounds incredible! Did you and Sirius really take the motorbike all over Europe? I'm incredibly jealous! Not for the motorbike of course, I would never! But for the trip itself! I can't wait to see some of your photos!
Have you spoken to Ron at all? Apparently the whole family went to Egypt to visit his brother Bill. I've never met him, is he nice? A curse breaker must be a really thrilling career, not to mention needing top grades to achieve. He must be very intelligent. And to be in Egypt — the history and the art alone, it must be amazing! Ron mentioned that Ginny is doing all right, too. She wrote to me, an apology letter, can you imagine? Why on earth would I ever blame her for such a thing? Obviously I know that she was not at fault. You Know Who… I still can't wrap my mind around it. The more that I hear about him and what he was capable of and what he did in the war, the more terrifying he sounds. He was controlling her and I know that it wasn't her. I told her as much and that I hope we can be friends.
Ron and I agreed to meet in Diagon Alley on the twenty-second. I hope you will be back by then so that you can join us. Neville says that he'll see us on the train as he already went for his school things on his way back from Brazil.
Hope to see you soon.
Love,
Hermione
Harry grinned as he read it. Of course Hermione would have written ten inches more than Professor Binns had asked for. He still had to finish his up. He had gotten a good portion of it written during their trip, but he still needed to add a conclusion; not to mention the Potions paper he had yet to start. Thank Merlin he had finished his other summer homework before they had left for their road trip.
He recognized Neville's writing next and tugged it open.
Harry,
Brazil was brilliant! The rainforest is just absolutely incredible! They obviously named it the Amazon because it's amazing! All right, that's not true (I don't think), but it sure feels like it is! Did you know that they have over 40,000 different plant species? 40,000! I couldn't even begin to explore them all!
There was this one that looked just wicked! They call it the Lobster-Claw, but it's real name is the Heliconia Flower. It's just beautiful and Hummingbirds use it. There's a Cacao plant which not only provides chocolate, but helps with natural energy, mental alertness, and focusing. It even has calcium, iron, and magnesium in it.
We had this Muggle tour guide who took us to some of the strange plants as well. There's this flower called rafflesia which smells like corpses and looks like a creepy red eyeball. Uncle Algie said that it's the kind of flower you don't give to a girl. I told him I wasn't a complete idiot. Plus they have the Brazil Nut tree which can reach up to almost fifty metres!
You know that I could go on about plants for pages so I'll stop so that you don't fall asleep while reading this letter. But I got some new books on plants and their medicinal qualities in the Muggle world and then we went on a tour with the famous Herbologist Ali Mustafa and he showed us some of the impressive plants with magical qualities. The rainforest even has an area where Thaumatagoria grows which is such a rare magical plant that most people don't even believe it exists! I actually touched one! I even snuck one into my suitcase. I'm hoping that I can grow it myself in one of the greenhouses. Professor Sprout is going to be so excited when she sees what I have!
We even stumbled upon Venomous Tentacula and Uncle Algie was almost bitten! Mr Mustafa stunned the plant just in time, but it was scary! Uncle Algie told me that was how Elphinstone Urquart died was from a fatal bite from that plant. It can be treated if caught in time, but once the venom reaches the veins that pump blood to your heart, it's too late. I don't know if you are aware of this, but Urquart was Professor McGonagall's husband. He died in 1985. Uncle Algie said that he used to work at the Ministry of Magic in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
Anyway, I hope your summer was as great as mine! Can't wait to hear all about your trip. See you on the Express.
Cheers,
Neville
Harry chuckled to himself. Neville's love for Herbology never failed to entertain him. He was glad his friend had found something he loved so much, especially considering how terrible he was at Potions because of his fear of Snape. He had no idea that McGonagall had once been married though. He would have to ask Uncle Sirius about that.
He had written to Ginny at the beginning of the summer as well to see how she was doing not to mention the frequent postcards that he had sent her, but it looked like she hadn't written him back. He was a bit worried about her if he was honest with himself, but he also knew her well enough to know that she might not want him to worry. Then he recognized her neat writing at the bottom of the pile and quickly opened it, surprised to find such a short response.
Harry,
Thank you for writing. Egypt has been great. The postcards were lovely. It sounds like you and Sirius are having an amazing trip. We'll talk when school starts up again.
Love,
Ginny
He frowned at the short note.
Ron did say that she was seeing a mind healer and he hoped that it was helping her. He would be patient and wait for her to talk to him. He could do that, he surmised, even though he wished that she would talk to him now.
He recognized the Hogwarts seal and dug out the last letter in the pile addressed to him. The usual letter from McGonagall informing him to be at the train station on the first of September and that the train would be leaving at eleven on the dot. The book list was also there and he browsed it in interest.
The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 3 by Miranda Goshawk
Intermediate Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
The Monster Book of Monsters
Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles by Wilhelm Wigworthy
A History of the World by Diana Jackman
Spellman's Syllabary
Rune Dictionary
The Essential Defence Against the Dark Arts by Arsenius Jigger
He wondered about his choice in taking Ancient Runes, but it had sounded rather fascinating to him. He was definitely interested in Care of Magical Creatures only because Zee made her job seem kind of cool and Harry knew that it had been Charlie's favourite subject. Plus the new course on Muggle Studies was going to be mandatory this year which was obviously what the Wigworthy and Jackman books were about.
The third sheet was a permission form and Harry grinned widely. He had forgotten that as a third year he could visit the village of Hogsmeade. He placed the sheet on the pile of Sirius' mail so that he would sign it.
Third year was going to be great.
~ ASC ~
Harry had just finished eating and reading his mail when Sirius stepped into the kitchen wiping sleep from his eyes.
"Time's it?" he murmured, stifling a yawn.
Harry glanced up at the clock behind him. "Almost seven. Zee came by and brought us food."
Sirius smiled widely, sitting down next to his son and bringing the covered plate over. "Excellent, I'm starving."
Harry passed him the note and Sirius read it as he dug into his food. "She said that she didn't want us to starve."
Sirius grinned as he put the note down. "She's pretty incredible and Merlin, I know that I'm hungry, but this is fucking delicious."
Harry laughed. "She really is a brilliant cook."
Sirius moaned appreciatively as he ate.
He watched his father in amusement for a moment before he picked up Neville's letter again. "Uncle Sirius?"
"Hmm?" Sirius asked, swallowing his food.
"How come Auntie Minnie never talks about her husband?"
Sirius looked at Harry in surprise. "She's not married, Prongslet."
"But she was, before. She never mentions him."
Sirius stared at his son for a moment with his brow furrowed. "Minnie was never married. She was engaged when she was young, to a Muggle whom she loved very much, but she never married him."
Harry frowned and passed Sirius the letter from Neville. "Neville says that she was and that he died eight years ago."
Sirius took the letter, reading it over, his brow furrowed. "I… well, if this was true it was when I was in prison, I guess… I don't know, Harry."
Harry could see the conflict on his father's face. "Are you going to ask her about it?"
Sirius smiled at him. "Maybe. Maybe she still finds it too painful to talk about." He stabbed at the chicken on his plate and smiled. "It sounds like Neville had an amazing time exploring the rainforest though. Any other news from your friends?"
Harry nodded and filled him in on Ron and Hermione's summers and the quick response from Ginny. Then he left him to his food and made his way upstairs with his bag. He opened it up and carefully dumped out everything onto his bed which took longer than he had expected considering the undetectable extension charm used on the bag. He put his dirty laundry in the hamper and organized his souvenirs for himself. He had sent Ron, Hermione, and Ginny theirs already, but he needed to pack up Neville's properly, and then he filled up the box with his many, many rolls of film.
He made his way back downstairs as Sirius finished cleaning up the dishes.
"I'm going to Floo Uncle Moony and tell him that we're home so that he can send us Marauder."
"Sure, Harry."
"Also, I left my form to go to Hogsmeade with your mail. Can you sign it?"
Sirius smiled. "Of course."
Harry knelt down in front of the fire and threw the powder into the fireplace, calling his father's name. A few seconds later, Remus' living room opened up to him and he grinned at the sight of Remus sitting on the couch doing a crossword puzzle as Tonks was stretched out with her head on his lap, a folder open in her hands.
"Uncle Moony!"
Remus jolted and his face split open into a grin. "Harry! How was the rest of the trip?"
"Amazing," Harry told him as Tonks sat up, grinning widely at the sight of him.
Marauder, who had been sleeping under Remus' feet, bounced up and barked happily, trying to reach Harry's floating head and crying out when he realized he couldn't get to him.
"I think that Marauder misses you," Tonks said with a smile. "Remus and I will bring him straight home."
Harry beamed at her and disappeared from the fire.
Two minutes later, Tonks, Remus, and Marauder all appeared in the living room and Harry immediately fell to his knees to hug his dog. Marauder barked in glee, jumping at his boy, tackling him to the ground and licking his face as Harry laughed.
Then when Marauder saw Sirius he made a beeline for him as well.
Harry and Sirius spent the rest of the evening telling Remus and Tonks all about their trip. The next morning, Harry told Sirius about the plan to meet his friends in Diagon Alley in six days. Sirius agreed that it was a good plan and then he helped Harry brew the potion to develop his photos so that they were moving. They hung them to dry in the sunroom, blocking all of the windows and making it a dark room for the photos to come to light. Sirius wanted to organize the ones for McGonagall as well when they had a chance. It took them almost the entire morning to finish up.
They had just finished when an owl arrived from the Hogwarts Board of Governors and Sirius told Harry that he had to head out to work on some last minute changes for the Muggle Studies and Life in the Magical World courses and did he want Remus to come stay with him while he was gone? Harry insisted that he was fine and that he was thirteen and perfectly capable of spending a few hours alone in his locked home. Sirius reluctantly agreed and promised to only be gone a few hours.
Harry played with Marauder in the back for almost an hour before he decided to head next door and see if Zee was home. He had wanted to talk to her about maybe teaching him how to cook and if he was honest with himself, he wanted to try to get to know her a little bit better. He liked her. He liked that she had come to his Quidditch match, even though it had been cancelled, and that she had been there for him and Sirius at the trial. He liked that she'd written to him about his courses and that she had hugged and kissed him goodbye and he knew exactly how good she was for Sirius. Now it was his turn to make the effort.
He found her working outside in her garden, Lady Godiva stretched lazily in the sun. Zee was wearing her large gardening hat, her curly hair all tucked away under it. Marauder yipped and made a beeline for her making her laugh as he tackled her to the ground.
"Marauder!" Harry called out, but the dog was too excited.
Zee rubbed his belly and Marauder stared up at her in absolute love. "He's okay, Harry. How was your trip? You boys looked absolutely exhausted yesterday when I popped in."
"It was brilliant! Uncle Siri taught me how to drive the Ducati!"
Zee laughed. "Of course he did."
Marauder had calmed down a bit by now and ran off to chase a butterfly.
Zee stood up, wiping her hands on the little gardening apron that she was wearing. "Come on inside for a drink, I made some fresh lemonade this morning."
Harry eagerly followed her inside, leaving Marauder outside to chase his butterfly dreams. He had never been inside of her house before he realized. It was similar to his own, but had a large entrance way and an arched doorway leading to the living room or down the hall to the kitchen. The stairs zigzagged along the opposite wall too. He liked it. It was full of colour and interesting paintings and art that he imagined she'd picked up on her travels.
Zee gestured for him to follow her into the kitchen and he took a seat at the round table, smiling when she poured him a glass of lemonade and proceeded to make him a thick sandwich with genoa salami, pepperoni, and provolone cheese with tomato and lettuce. She sliced it in half and smiled as she placed it in front of him with a large pickle slice.
"I figured that you might be hungry, it is just about lunch time."
He beamed at her. "Thanks!"
Zee smiled kindly and made a second sandwich for herself before she sat down with him.
"I've never been inside your house before," Harry told her. "It's nice. I like all of the art."
"Thank you. I collect things as I travel and my cousin is an artist so, some of the sculptures out there are his. He sculpts magical creatures for me in blown glass, some in bronze and clay. I love them."
Harry nodded, taking a bite of his sandwich. "You're a really good cook."
"I love to cook," she admitted. "I have three amazing grandmothers who all cook completely different styles of food and I think that having them around and teaching me all sorts of different things really benefited me."
"I agree," Harry told her. "Uncle Sirius says that I'm a pretty good cook so now when I'm home I'm going to be in charge of cooking three nights a week."
"That sounds sensible," Zee told him. "It is the best way to learn."
"Can you teach me some stuff?"
Zee looked at him in surprise and she nodded. Harry was a little horrified to see that she was blinking back tears. "I would love that, Harry! What would you like to learn?"
He shrugged. "Anything really. I just thought that you're good at it so, you'd be a good person to ask."
Zee put her sandwich down and hopped to her feet. She grabbed one of the binders by the cupboard and tugged it over to the table, flipping through the pages there. "These are some of my favourite recipes that I've learned over the years from my grandmothers. When would you like to start?"
Harry grinned widely at her. "How about now?"