Ch 76: Family Tree with Familiar Roots
Within a few days, they had tracked everything they could via computer and knew that to learn anything else they would have to spend time visiting some churches and small towns they had uncovered in their search. As Hugo was to spend much of Saturday with the Potters, Ron and Hermione decided to take advantage of the day and head out to see what they could find.It was one of the first cool, crisp days of fall, and the colors were just starting to turn on a few trees, but the fog was hugging the patchwork of fields visible from the road into town. Hutton-le-Hole was inside of the North York Moors Park, and the sheep roamed along the quaint roads between the stone cottages. Hermione and Ron walked slowly hand in hand, enjoying their time together after a busy week as they made their way into the center of the little village.
They decided to stop at the small pub for some tea and to go over their notes of what they had and what they were looking for. Sitting in a corner booth, Hermione pulled out her file of notes.
"Alright, we know that Charlie's little sister, Elisabeth, married her second husband, a Thomas Eldwin, and they lived here until at least the 1990s. Elisabeth and Thomas had three children – a son, Thomas Junior, and daughters Margaret and Mary. Thomas Junior died about ten years ago of a heart attack and is buried in this town somewhere. But, we haven't found death records or updated addresses for Elisabeth, or for her two daughters."
"Right – but there is a good chance that if one or both of them were married, that they could have had the ceremonies here, which could mean there could be some sort of records, right?"
"Hopefully," Hermione mused.
"So, what is the plan?" Ron asked. "Do we just waltz up to the church and see if there are old books to look through?"
"Well," grimaced Hermione, "it's Saturday, and this town is quite small, so the church might be locked up."
"So are we using magic to break in and see if we can find anything?"
"RON! NO!"
"Ok," he said defensively, hands up in defeat.
"Honestly, Ron! We can't do that! We are going to go ask around to see if we can find the vicar and go from there."
Soon they had warmed up with their tea and set out towards the church. The waitress at the pub had said that the vicar was often around on Saturdays, so they were hopeful they could find him. They walked hand in hand towards the small stone church. As they came up the small walkway toward the entrance, they saw an older gentlemen pruning some hedges in the cemetery.
"Good morning, sir," said Hermione. "So sorry to bother you, but do you know if the vicar is around?"
"Good morning," smiled the man as he took a moment to wipe his brow with his handkerchief. "Despite what my current attire might suggest, I'm the vicar here. I'm Father John Topshire." With that he extended his hand in greeting.
"Oh, what a pleasant surprise," said Hermione eagerly. "I'm Hermione Granger-Weasley, and this is my husband, Ron Weasley."
"How do you do?" he said politely as he shook their hands.
Ron nodded pleasantly at the vicar, but was beaming as it was the first time he'd heard Hermione use the name Granger-Weasley, and it touched him in a way he hadn't expected.
"We are on a bit of a detective hunt, and we are hoping you might be able to help us. Through – well – whether divine intervention or a random series of events, we have become quite close with an elderly woman at a care home near where we live. She was widowed in WWII, and her only son died a few years ago, leaving her with no known family. We have become quite taken with her and started to try and track down her family history a bit more in hopes that we can connect her with some perhaps lost relatives."
"And that has led you here?" Father Topshire asked.
"Yes, actually," Hermione said with a smile. She pulled the family tree they had drawn out of her bag and shared what they had learned. Walking him through the family Elisabeth Carrington had with her second husband, she arrived at Margaret and Mary Eldwin. "But this is where we hit a dead end. We know the son died. But, we have not been able to determine if the two daughters are still alive, and if so, if they married and what their married names might be. We were hoping that you might know a bit, or at least that you may have some records in the church that could help enlighten us as to where to go next."
"Eldwin, Eldwin…" the vicar repeated softly to himself trying to remember the family. "Yes, I do remember them. I didn't know them well, as I came after the girls had moved away. But I was here when the husband died and conducted that funeral. That is when I met Mrs. Eldwin, her daughters and some of their families."
"So they are alive?" Hermione cut in.
"Well, they were about six years ago anyway. The funeral was here, and Mr. Eldwin is buried in the cemetery just over there."
"Really?" said Ron.
"Yes. I may be the vicar, but as you can see I am also the groundskeeper so I cut the grass around the graves often enough to know who is where."
"Right," laughed Ron. "My kind of vicar."
"But you know, I believe we have the records of the funeral in the parish office. And I believe Mrs. Chambers, the volunteer secretary and all around village historian and gossip, usually cuts out the obituary and places it in the books. That might have the names you are looking for. Let's have a look."
Soon the three had made their way into the small office where the vicar fiddled with the many keys on a chain hanging from his belt. Eventually he found the one that opened a small filing cabinet. As he pulled it open, the room filled with the musty smell of old books, which Ron instantly realized was a turn on for Hermione as he watched her light up at the possibilities held within the yellowing pages. Silently chuckling to himself he made a mental note to be sure to get her some old books for Christmas.
"Here we are. Let's see, here is the book for 2005 – 2010. It should be in here somewhere," Father Topshire muttered as he flipped through the pages. "Yes, yes. Here we go."
He placed the book onto the cluttered desk, opened to the page listing the funeral records for the church. In between the two pages was tucked a crumpled newspaper clipping which he unfolded carefully and laid out on the table. Instantly Hermione bent to read the article, running her index finger over the page as she looked for the names of Margaret and Mary.
"Ahh, here it is. Listen," she said. "'Mr. Eldwin was predeceased by his son, John. He is survived by his wife Elisabeth Carrington Eldwin, his daughter Margaret Eldwin Barston with her husband Matthew Barston and their children Catherine and Edward Barston of Durham, and his daughter Mary Eldwin Cleary and her husband Charles Cleary of Newcastle Upon Tyne, and their children George Cleary and his wife Jane Cleary of Newcastle Upon Tyne and Melissa Cleary Rupesmith of London."
"Yes, yes. That's right." Said the vicar. "Some of the granddaughters were delightful. Melissa - the one from London, she was brilliant. I enjoyed her thoroughly."
Ron glanced back at the page. "Hermione," he said in a knowing tone. "That says Melissa Rupesmith. Surely that isn't Hugo's Mrs. Rupesmith, right? I mean, London is a large place. What are the odds that it is the same Melissa Rupesmith?"
Hermione gasped and looked up at Ron. "Oh my God, oh – sorry vicar. Do you think that could be her? The odds are astronomical, but everything about this whole thing has been that way, don't you think?"
The vicar was watching the scene unfold with great amusement as if nothing as interesting had happened in the village had happened in years.
"Father, you said you remembered Melissa as being delightful. Do you remember anything else about her?"
"Solid British woman with a great sense of humor. I think she said she was quite involved in arts in London. Taught classes and such. I recall we had a wonderful conversation about the role of art in the grieving process. Said she'd leaned on it heavily after the loss of some of her own family, her late husband maybe?"
"Holy shite that's her!"
"Ronald! LANGUAGE!" yelled a mortified Hermione.
"Oh, it's quite alright," laughed Father Topshire. "It's all quite exciting, actually! You think you know her? Really?"
"I think it sounds like the same Melissa Rupesmith who is our son's art teacher in primary school," explained Ron. "And she has helped connect him with an art therapy center as well. And, oh! I just remembered – she initially connected us with the care home because her grandmum was there! Do you think Elisabeth Carrington – or Elisabeth Eldwin anyway – could be in the same place as our Mrs. Carrington!?"
"That would be incredible!" gushed Hermione.
"What, what? What am I missing?" stammered the excited vicar.
Laughing, Ron and Hermione filled in many of the details of Mrs. Rupesmith and how they had first been connected to the care home through her on Valentines, resulting in the wonderful relationship with Mrs. Carrington. The now teary and smiling vicar was thrilled.
"Well, the Lord certainly works in mysterious ways," he mused. "This is all simply wonderful. I do hope you'll let me know how all of this ends up."
"Of course," assured Hermione.
"But no matter if it is the same Mrs. Rupesmith," he said sincerely, "I can assure you that your Mrs. Carrington is a very lucky woman to have discovered such devoted friends as you. That kind of love is what real family is all about."
Ron smiled, feeling his ears turn red a bit, and he reached for Hermione's hand on instinct.
"Thank you, Father," Hermione said as she squeezed Ron's hand. "Unexpected family is definitely something we have been blessed with on numerous occasions, and it is a gift for all involved."
"Well, I'll leave you be. I do hope you'll drop me a note and let me know how this all turns out."
"We will," Ron assured. "Thank you for all of your help. You've been brilliant."
Ron and Hermione left the church and walked through the cemetery on their way back to the road. On their way they saw the graves of Mr. Eldwin and his son, John. They stopped a moment, and Hermione reached down to touch the headstones. Ron crouched down beside her, and she placed her hand on his thigh and said, "I want to find Mr. Carrington's grave too. I don't think it's here. But, I really think we should take him flowers and then get a photo. Whatever we find out on this journey, I think she would love that."
Ron gave a nod and a small smile. "I think that's a perfect idea."
They stood and walked quietly back to the spot where they apparated earlier in the morning. Finally, Hermione said, "Actually – I think the records of where WWII soldiers were buried are accessible through one of the databases on my laptop. Let's pop back home and see if we can find it?"
He simply smiled and kissed her cheek.
They apparated to the house and in under half an hour Hermione had located the church cemetery where Charles Carrington was buried. Ron had gathered some flowers from the backyard into a bouquet, and soon the two found themselves at a five hundred year old church on Croft-on-Tees in North Yorkshire. They meandered through the church yard looking at the names on the headstones and made their way over to a section of newer looking headstones – though newer meaning less than 100 years old. They had searched for nearly three quarters of an hour before Ron saw it. It was in a far corner tucked away under an overgrown boxwood hedge row. There was a worn stone labeled Charles Carrington. They stood there together quietly holding hands as Hermione knelt down and placed the flowers on his grave. She looked at Ron, and he nodded.
"Mr. Carrington, we just wanted to let you know Mrs. Carrington is ok. We're looking out for her now and trying to find your nieces to be sure they can know her and love her as well. Just know she is very loved."
After they stood there quietly for a few moments, Hermione said, "We should somehow take a selfie. I know it sounds terribly tacky, but I really think she would appreciate a photo of us here."
"I agree. Here – I'll just levitate the camera for a moment after you set it on timer."
"What if someone sees?!"
"There's no one here, Hermione. It will be fine. And if by some chance someone came by, no one would suspect we were levitating it anyway. They'd probably think it was a ghost or something."
"Well, alright. Just be quick."
Soon they had snapped a picture Hermione deemed acceptable, and they turned to head out. But, as Hermione stepped around the headstone, her foot caught on something causing her to trip and fall forward. Ron tried to catch her, but wasn't quite fast enough and she toppled into the dirt.
"Are you alright?" he gasped. When she didn't reply he quickly followed her line of site and soon saw what she had tripped on, and what now held her gaze. It was a very small stone, no bigger than a paperback book, and it was mostly covered in grass, ivy and dirt. But, between the leaves Ron could see the inscription.
Aldren Charles Carrington 1945-2016
His family is so desperately sorry for all of the lives
destroyed in his battle with addiction.
The only comfort is that he is finally sober.
"Oh fuck," Ron said despite himself as he saw it.
Hermione was still staring at it, unable to speak - her eyes now glassy with unshed tears. Ron felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him, but glancing at the pain in Hermione's eyes somehow allowed him to shift his focus from his own grief and anger to the mode of protector and comforter. He took a deep breath, exhaling slowly, and moved to crouch behind Hermione. He slipped his left arm around her waist, moved his right arm to help her up into a sitting position, and then sat behind her, tugging her almost onto his lap.
Hermione felt dizzy from the emotional roller coaster in her mind. From initially falling, and then the shock of realizing she was standing on the grave of the man who killed the Creeveys and finally the comfort and reassurance she felt surrounded by Ron. As horrified as she was by Aldie Carrington, she wondered if she would have been Mrs. Granger-Weasley today if he had never gotten behind the wheel that night. The guilt of feeling happy because of the accident struck her hard, and she was crying before she ever realized it. As the quiet tears turned to sobs, she felt Ron's embrace around her tighten, but felt him shaking with quiet tears too. They sat there, mourning and hurting together.
Finally, in a voice barely above a whisper Hermione said, "It's just that I keep hearing your voice at the anniversary saying the only way to get rid of an enemy is to befriend them. And I have so much anger and hate towards him. But, at the same time, without that car crash, would I have found you?"
Ron let out a shaky sigh, shaking his head and saying, "I know. I know, and it kills me that I can be so angry at him for what he took away and yet so happy in this life that came to me because of his mistake."
"Happy and sad at the same time," Hermione sniffed. "Just like you tell Hugo."
"Yeah. But it is easier to say it than live it." Ron said through a half laugh-half sob.
"Most of parenting is," Hermione chuckled.
"Must have been hard for Mrs. Carrington to be his mum," Ron said quietly. "I think back to when Percy made such horrible decisions. It just about killed Mum, but she had Dad and the rest of us to lean on or at least distract her. I really can't imagine how it must have hurt her."
"Or how alone she must have felt," added Hermione. "I know how hard it was when I was a mum on my own, and let's face it – Rose is a dream compared to him. I really cannot even imagine."
Ron simply hugged her tightly, kissing her temple, knowing he couldn't change the past, but silently wishing he could at least help carry the burden of the memory. Hermione sat staring at the small headstone, and almost unconsciously began cleaning away the dirt and caked mud. Soon Ron was helping, and before long, it was clean and respectable again.
"I want to forgive him, but I am not there yet," Hermione whispered.
"I know. Me too." Ron looked at Hermione as her brow creased a moment and she began chewing her lower left lip like she did when she was pondering an idea. Then she began digging her purse until she retrieved a pen and piece of paper. Without saying anything, she started writing, but Ron couldn't see the words until she placed the paper on the headstone and secured it with a rock. Then he saw the note.
"While our lives were changed forever by your actions, there have been unimaginable blessings that have come from them as well. We will always miss our lost family and loved ones, but we are learning to live amidst the tension and balance of grieving what could have been with the happiness and gratitude for what is. We are healing, and we are moving towards forgiveness. We hope you and your family may find peace as well."
He read it twice. The first time he read it he was in awe that anyone could so perfectly capture in words what his emotions swirling inside him were trying to express. The second time he read it, he was in awe of the woman he was lucky enough to marry.
"You are the most brilliant and amazing woman ever," he said earnestly. "I don't know where you find the magic to turn my feelings into words, but it is absolutely perfect. And I am so bloody honored to be your husband."
She smiled through pursed lips as a few fat tears fell across her cheek. He wiped them gently away.
Then he said, "I think we should take a picture of this grave and the note as well. She would appreciate this, and she doesn't need to know it was you who wrote it."
Hermione nodded as Ron snapped a picture, and then they walked together out of the graveyard to the hidden spot where they could apparate away.
They decided to grab a quick lunch at a pub near their home and had ordered their food before the conversation – and their energy – picked up again.
"Seeing Aldie Carrington's grave was a shock," said Ron. "But now that we have moved through that emotional tidal wave, can we go back to the absolutely bloody amazing fact that Mrs. Rupesmith could be her great niece?!"
"Right! And that Elisabeth Carrington Eldwin could be in the same care home!"
"It really is rather mind blowing. But now what? Do we just barrel over to Mrs. Rupesmith's house and see what she thinks?"
"Well. It is Saturday. We could just call and see if she would want to have tea?"
A few hours later, Mrs. Rupesmith was at their front door. They had called her from the pub, and she was intrigued by their last minute invitation to help them solve a bit of a mystery and promised to come by after she taught her Saturday class at the art center. Ron had been nervous, as they hadn't had any muggles over to the house in quite a while, and spent much of time rushing about hiding moving pictures and shutting down the floo to be sure they came across as normal muggles. Hermione simply laughed at him.
At Mrs. Rupesmith's knock, Hermione went to let her in while Ron put the already magically hot kettle on the hob to make it look like he'd done it the muggle way.
"Hello, Ron," Mrs. Rupesmith said with a large smile as she came into the kitchen.
"Afternoon," he said. "Thank you so much for coming over at such short notice. I know it is all a bit odd."
"No, no problem at all," she beamed. "Is Hugo about?"
"No, he is off with my sister and her daughter. We will see them for supper later. My nephews go to the same boarding school as Rose, so Hugo and my niece Lily have been keeping each other company as the only two kids left."
"Well, good. I know he's mentioned her before and how much they enjoy playing together. It is so good to see him embracing his broader family after everything he's been through."
Hermione nodded. "His resilience never ceases to amaze us."
"Indeed," added the art teacher.
"But," said Ron as he gestured for her to sit at the table where he had the tea cups laid out, "broader family is sort of what we were hoping you could help us with today."
"Oh?"
"Yes," said Hermione. "It's a bit of a long story. Can I pour your tea first? Ron, grab some biscuits would you?"
"I'm always for biscuits," he smiled.
Soon they were all settled at the table, and Hermione launched into the story of how they had met Mrs. Carrington on Valentines Day through delivering the class cards. She explained how they had become close and then began to try and track down extended family, conveniently leaving out the role Aldie Carrington played in their lives for now. Then she said they had been doing more research and explained how they had talked to the vicar this morning and found the obituary for one of Mrs. Carrington's late brothers in law and how it had listed names of people they hoped they would be able to contact to see if they were in fact the great nieces and nephews of Mrs. Carrington.
"What a fascinating project!" the woman exclaimed. "Has Hugo been involved?"
"No, not really," admitted Ron. "He and Mrs. Carrington are quite close, but he doesn't know we are hunting for other relatives. We didn't want to set him up for any additional disappointment if nothing panned out."
"Makes sense," she nodded. "But what I am not understanding is what you need my help in doing. I love that you have called me, as I quite enjoy your family. But aside from getting kids to color more cards I am not sure what I can add to all of this."
"Well," said Hermione taking a deep breath. "The late brother in law whose grave we visited today was named Thomas Eldwin in a cemetery in Hutton-le-Hole."
"Good Lord," said the woman as she placed her tea cup shakily back in the saucer. "Did you say Thomas Eldwin?"
"Yes," said Hermione softly. "Your reaction confirms our suspicion I suppose. The obituary listed a Melissa Rupesmith as a granddaughter, and the vicar there remembered her fondly and said she was quite involved in art, and we just thought it had to be you."
"Yes, yes! Thomas Eldwin was my grandad. Wait, so you are saying that this Mrs. Carrington is my great aunt?"
"We think she is. And, if my memory serves, you said you were going to that care home because your grandmother was there. And I am thinking that would be Mrs. Carrington's sister in law, Elisabeth Eldwin. Is that right?"
"Yes, yes, that's my gran! Oh my goodness!"
"Quite amazing," smiled Ron. "Mrs. Carrington said she lost track of Elisabeth during the war shortly after her husband Charlie, your gran's brother, was killed in WWII."
"Yes, I know she lost all of her brothers in the war. She was so affected it by it that she rarely spoke of any of them. But now they have been living in the same care home all this time and never knew it?"
"Seems so," Hermione said.
"Oh my," was all the stunned art teacher could say.
"We didn't mean to overwhelm you," added Hermione. "And, we're still processing all of this ourselves. It's just we have become so taken with her, and we simply wanted to see if we could help her reconnect with relatives so they could get to know her as well. But, we never in a million years expected that it would be someone we knew!"
"Oh my," said Mrs. Rupesmith again taking another sip of tea. "Well, goodness. This is amazing. I suppose I should tell you a bit about my family then."
"Oh," Hermione said, "we don't mean to pry, we were just-"
"No, no. It is quite alright. Let's face it. Hugo is my favorite student in years anyway. You are more than simply acquaintances to me." Hermione and Ron smiled as she continued. "It is not something I have shared with the students as work has been my safe place. But my husband died about twenty years ago. We never had any children, and my mum moved in with me. But then she got cancer, and she died about a year before Hugo lost his parents. My gran, as you know, is in the care home. I would have loved to have her stay with me, but I could not be there all of the time to give her as much help as she needs. So, I go regularly to see her. My extended family is lovely, but none of them live in London. So, for all practical purposes it is just Gran and I."
"Not anymore," said Ron, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Now you have your Great Aunt, and well, all of us. Because we pretty much think of her as our grandmum now. And I guess that makes you at least a cousin or something."
"Really?"
"Oh yes," nodded Hermione. "But we already adored you. Now we just get to call you family, too."
With that, Mrs. Rupesmith's eyes got quite damp, and she dabbed at them with her napkin. "I'm so sorry. I don't know why I am tearing up like this," she apologized.
"Don't be silly," said Hermione, wiping her own eyes with the edge of her jumper. "Look, if anyone can understand all of this it is Ron and me. We were both on our own for decades until we just recently found each other and stumbled into this family we have now. It can be rather overwhelming at times. But, we both know after being alone for so long that when you find your family, you grab on tight and don't let go."
Mrs. Rupesmith gave a bit of a half laugh, half cry and reached for Hermione's hand. "Well that was just about the loveliest possible thing to say."
Hermione smiled and reached to hug the woman warmly. And soon the three were planning how they could tell the older women what they had discovered.
