Chapter 5 – New Beginnings
The day after Ron had heard about the offer on the house, he went to check it out himself. He sent an owl to Mr Wilkinson, explaining that he was coming along to view the property and have a chat. Mr Wilkinson sent him back a reply saying that he was more than welcome to come and that Arthur had told him about Ron's interest.
He also sent the co-ordinates so he could apperate there.
After breakfast, Ron disapperated from the Leaky Cauldron to the co-ordinates he had been given earlier that morning. He found himself in a remote country village which he immediately fell in love with. He knew that from the way that it was set out that it was a wizarding community that the village was mostly made up of. As soon as he apperated, he was approached by a man who was quite old but had a friendly face and smile.
"Ah! You must be Arthur's son. I noticed by your red hair," said the man, "I'm Mr Wilkinson, but you can call me William."
"Hi. Is the house anywhere near here?" Asked Ron, who was quite lost.
"It's just out of town, but it's not that far a walk," replied William.
"Is this an all wizarding community?" inquired Ron, looking at the obvious use of magic around him.
"Oh no, there are some muggles but there are a fair few wizards also." He added.
They started to move out of the town towards the rural houses in the countryside. Ron thought it would be fantastic to live out here with all the privacy and quietness but maybe not the smell.
"Ah don't worry about that," He said reassuring Ron when he saw his face, "When you live out here all the time you'll get used to it. Also you've only caught it on a bad day. Most of the time it's ok."
"Well that's alright." said Ron pinching his nose. "I know I should be used to this as the Burrow was quite rural. I've must have forgotten how it really is."
He found them approaching quite a wooded area in the countryside.
"Sorry for the walk but I thought you may have been interested in seeing the village nearby," Insisted William, "Me and my wife live at the start of these woods. However much we love the peacefulness of the countryside, we're not really fond of the openness. Being in these woods gives us the perfect amount of privacy."
"Yeah, everyone loves a bit of privacy." Reassured Ron
He seemed to think that this was getting better and better. Not only was he getting the quiet of the countryside, he was also getting the privacy of the wood. This reminded him very much of the Burrow. He liked how they lived far away from their troubles of work or school or muggles. This was just the kind of setting that he needed.
"Well this is it." He pointed out the house to Ron, who seemed to be perplexed by it. There was no other word for it but beautiful. It was the kind of house that any person would want to live in. It looked very traditional but at the same time equipped for modern use. He liked the way it was enclosed by trees but at the same time had space to boast.
"I'll show you around the outside shall I." said Mr Wilkinson.
It wasn't a massive house but it wasn't small either. It was the size that Ron needed. He was sure that it had around maybe 2 bedrooms and a few other rooms too. Smoke was bellowing slowly out of the chimney and warm lights radiated from the windows.
There was no garden at the front of the house but Ron thought that it didn't need it. Sitting on the window there was baskets of flowers and other potted plants which gave it that setting of summer even though it was the middle of November.
Mr Wilkinson's wife was sitting on the garden bench at the side of the house, planting some flowers into their pots respectively, when the two men arrived.
"Ah! You must be Ronald," said Mrs Wilkinson, standing up to greet him. She was a lot smaller than he was but seemed like a really nice woman. Rather motherly. She reminded him of his own mother, when she was not in a rage over the wrong doings of him and his siblings.
"Ron, I'd like you to meet my wife Penny," Said William. The small woman came up to Ron and shook his hand enthusiastically.
"So you must be the young man interested in leasing our house then." Penny Asked.
"Yep I suppose that's Me." answered Ron. He actually felt rather intimidated by this woman's presence. She definitely gave off an aura of his own mother and he found it quite frightening.
"Don't worry," she said to Ron, "I don't bite, such a shy young man you are." She still continued to smile. "Perhaps you would like some tea before you look around the house, I just boiled a kettle and I'm sure I could make you something if you are hungry."
"Tea would be great, thanks." answered Ron gratefully.
They accompanied Ron to the kitchen which was just as beautiful as the outside of the house. Not that he cared much for the kitchen since he was an atrocious cook, but he could still make toast in a kitchen of his own, he thought.
"Sit down, make yourself at home. You never know it may be soon enough." Penny gestured cheerfully.
She poured out tea for Ron and William, who sat at the kitchen table and then sat down at the table herself.
"What makes you want to give up a home as beautiful as this," asked Ron, "I mean if I had a home like this I wouldn't let it go so easily."
"Well as much as we really love this house, time just seems to be moving on." replied William. "It has come to a time when me and my wife finally as here by ourselves after raising two children. They are older and have their own families now. As I said time is moving on, and there is still a lot that we want to see and do that we didn't have the chance to do when we were younger. We finally have time to share with each other and we want to spend that time doing the things we always wanted to do before it's too late. You understand?"
"Yes! Very much, in fact it was not that long ago when I was convincing my own parents to do the same thing, but they would rather stay here. My father loves his job and my mother just loves us all to bits. They just feel that they couldn't leave us behind." added Ron.
"Quite understandable," answered Penny, after taking a sip of her tea, "My husband had a hard time convincing me that our children would be fine without us. Even they said they would be fine without us. This is a decision that we have had to think hard about. But in the end we knew it was the right thing. We are not as young as we used to be and we have to accept that the inevitable could happen within the next few decades and if that is true then I would like to spend the remainder of that time with my husband." William slowly put her hand on top of hers in what Ron could describe as highly romantic.
"So tell us a bit about yourself Ron." Asked William, "I'm sure you have a few stories or two as being the friend of Harry Potter." He added this with a glint in his eye.
"Actually there is really not much to tell," replied Ron, not sure of what to say, "I mean Harry was always the one with the adventures and exciting life. Mine is pretty normal, too normal in fact. Well, I work in the department of Magical law enforcement. It's a desk job, rather boring."
"Too bad, I always thought that working there would be exciting," Commented William, "However I suppose it depends on the type of work you do."
"Definitely," agreed Ron, "I must have the lamest job in the department. I'm the raids recorder. Basically what I do is write up reports of raids that have recently happened by taking statements from witnesses. They are used if the offender is taken to court basically. I would say I deal with the minor offences, like people enchanting objects to make money. Possibly they could be dangerous but I don't see anything dangerous about magical robes that make people look thinner." The couple both laughed heartedly to Ron's last comment.
"Oh Ron, have you ever considered going for another job?" said Penny giggling slightly.
"All the time but I just don't think I would. I mean my job isn't that bad. It's got its down moments but if I was just able to work out in the field a bit then I would maybe find it satisfying. Also the ministry at the moment is going through a phase when not a lot of jobs are going at the moment. My friend Hermione would definitely have been the type of person you would have expected to work in the ministry after leaving Hogwarts but she never did. She surprised all of us by going for the editor's job that was open at the Daily Prophet at the time. Of course being as smart and as clever as she is she was offered it on the spot and has been working there ever since."
"Hermione, Hermione? I think I may have heard that name before. I'm not sure where. Tell us a bit about this Hermione. I might remember where I heard it." said Penny enquiringly.
"Well Hermione was one of me and Harry's good friends from Hogwarts. We used to all be very close at Hogwarts. I'm still really close with Harry but I've been rather distant with Hermione for a couple of years. We haven't fallen out; it's just that now we are completely different. We see each other sometimes but not as much as I see Harry. And I think I will probably see her even less now that she is getting married. She is getting married to Viktor Krum."
"Ah yes! That is probably where I have heard that name from. I think I saw a story in the Prophet a couple of days ago about it. She seems really beautiful from the picture in the paper of her and Krum." Replied Penny carefully examining Ron's expression which had changed quite suddenly at the mention of his friend's wedding.
"Is something the matter Ron." asked William who had also noticed this.
"Oh it's nothing, it's just that I don't really agree in her choice of husband but I suppose my opinion doesn't really count. I and Viktor don't really get on very well. I think he's a good quidditch player and that, it's just that perhaps he interfered too much in me, Harry and Hermione's friendship." answered Ron. He tried to choose his words carefully so that they didn't get the impression that he hated Krum for different reasons, such as matters of the heart. "What I am telling you all this for, I bet you don't really give a toss for my very complicated life." added Ron shyly. He didn't want to bore them with his life. He already bored himself with it.
"Of course not, dear." rebuked Penny cheerfully. "I believe there is more to this than you let on to be. And don't put yourself down. I think you are a lovely young man. This Hermione, What do you feel about her?" She could tell there was something beneath the surface but she didn't want to be too nosy.
"As a matter of fact I don't really know." said Ron, "I'm at a stage that I feel so many things that they confuse me."
She knew that she had touched on a topic which affected him badly. His ears had started to glow red and he looked rather tense. She decided not to pursue it any further.
"So what do you think of the place Ron?" asked William eager to change the subject.
"I think it's marvellous!" Ron gushed "I never imagined that I would live in a house such as this."
"Just a few small questions though," added Penny, "I can already tell that you are extremely nice but I just want to make sure you can handle the task of looking after the house, that's all."
"Sure," replied Ron not knowing what he was going to be asked.
"Do you smoke?"
"No"
"Do you drink?"
"I sometimes may have the odd glass of Fire whiskey but I don't party if that's what you mean."
"Do you have any pets?"
"I have an owl, but that's it."
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
"No"
"Perfect, I would love to leave the house in your hands." said Penny at the end of her questionnaire.
"Brilliant, when I can move in?" asked Ron.
"Within the next week if you like," said William. "I and Penny have been prepared for this for a while so we would like to leave as soon as possible. But of course it depends on your preparation. I'm sure you have a few things to pack up before you move."
"Not really, in fact I think I could move in about Thursday." said Ron
After some discussion about rent and responsibility Ron left the house feeling better than he had done in a long time. Penny and William looked at him leaving feeling enlightened by his presence.
"Hopefully he will get the girl he wants before it is too late." Penny whispered to her husband. And with that they went inside and closed the door behind them.
Ah well I hoped you liked it. I thought this chapter flowed more freely than some of the others did in my head which is a good thing. I haven't really planned how many chapters I am going to make, I suppose it depends on my imagination. I am going straigh to work on the next chapter tomorrow as it happens to be quite late at night. So just R&R this one and look out for chapter 6 soon. I am making no promises when it will be done so it's safe to say soon.