Confrontation
After everyone went their separate ways, McGonagall picked up the book and flipped to Chapter 9 which was the halfway mark. When she read the chapter title, she decided to wait to have her conversation with Harry later.
"Is everything alright Professor?" Sirius asked as he had doubled back after noticing they were one reader short.
"I just need a word with Harry at the halfway point" McGonagall said. "I'm feeling that most of this could have been prevented if I had believed him about the Stone."
"You're not the only one who underestimated him" Sirius said. "Look at how Molly initially reacted to the bars. You at least made an attempt that night to keep Harry out of that environment."
"Not hard enough" she sighed.
Meanwhile,
Bill and Charlie looked at each other, nodded, and then approached their mother who was cooking a LARGE lunch.
"Mum? Can we have a word?" Bill asked.
"There's no need" Molly said turning to her two eldest boys. "Reading what happened has opened my eyes to my mistakes. Maybe if I hadn't compared you boys to each other so often Ron wouldn't have his inferiority complex and Percy might still be with us."
"Well, you're right about Ron, but Percy's just too ambitious." Bill said. "I don't know WHAT that hat was thinking putting him in Gryffindor."
"But look at Neville. He's a Hufflepuff if I ever saw one." Charlie argued. "And Tonks is just as Gryffindor as I am and she was in Hufflepuff."
"Maybe it's as Harry says. Maybe Percy will return."
"That'll TAKE Gryffindor courage" Bill muttered before sighing. "So do you think it'll be possible to just…let Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny make their own paths?"
"Yeah" Charlie agreed with his brother. "Fred and George are REALLY good at inventing their products and they're business savvy. And we can use the laughs these days."
"We'll see" Molly said. "I'm still not sure this shop is a good idea. But I have a feeling they're going through with it whether I want them to or not. So…I've decided to finish these books before I make ANY decision on the matter. If books five, six, and seven have good things concerning that shop, then I'll back off and let them at it. But if not…well…maybe it'll convince them to do something else."
"All we ask Mum," Bill said. "Is not to base what the younger kids do on us. It's not fair to them and they need to make their own names."
"I appreciate you coming to me about this" Molly said proudly.
0000
Later at lunch,
"So Ginny?" Harry asked.
"Yes Harry?"
"What's this big secret of yours that everyone seems to know about?"
"I'm really looking forward to the end of this book, aren't you Hermione?" Ginny said innocently as she went back to her mashed potatoes.
"C'mon Ginny. It can't be any more humiliating than the butterdish."
"Harry? Can you pass me a roll please?" she asked
Harry did.
"C'mon Ginny. I won't laugh." He promised.
"Thank you." She said as she took a roll.
"You're not going to get it out of her Mate." Ron said with a chuckle
"So you tell me." Harry told his friend.
"I wouldn't Ron." Ginny threatened.
"Why not?" he asked.
"M. B." she stated clearly sending her brothers in a fit a laughter.
"She'll do it too." Bill told Ron who went red.
"I'd rather not say." Ron told his best friend knowing that his sister was going to tell Harry and Hermione about Mr. Blanket if he blabbed about her Harry Potter rag doll their mother made her for her fifth Christmas.
