IN MEMORY OF ANGEL R. SEE
Rose looked sideways at Scorpius. "Dad won't find out. Come on, Scorpius, please," she pleaded, tugging on Scorpius's shirt. "Please stay with me a wee bit longer. I want to see what happens next with Dad and Auntie Ginny and all of them. Please Scorpius! I'd go with you to your Dad's pensive if you asked me to." She looked at him with her infamous battling eyelashes.
Rolling his eyes, Scorpius replied, "Fine."
"Ginny, that's mine," said Ron, grabbing the parchment from Ginny. Ginny frowned at him. Ron stuck his tongue out. "Get your own parchment," he mumbled. He reached for the box of crayons beside him. Ron took out a black crayon from the box. Ginny followed Ron's hands as they drew something on the parchment. Ron looked up at Ginny. "What are you looking at?" he asked rather irritably.
"Your drawing," Ginny simply answered. "What is it?"
Ron continued to draw. "You'll see," he said smiling. His hands swiftly ran through the parchment. "Tomorrow is Mum's birthday and I want to make something really special for her." He scribbled on the parchment. "I want to make Mum look happy this year. She's been looking down lately." He looked at his sister. "What are you going to give her?" he asked
Ginny shrugged and looked at him blankly. "I don't know." She looked at Ron for a moment. "Can I draw the picture with you? We can give it to Mum together and we can put both our names on it," she suggested, hoping her brother would say yes.
"No," said Ron sharply. "You can draw by yourself now. You're not two years old." He took another crayon from the box. "I'm glad Dad keeps these Muggle things within reach. They come in handy all the time." He took a green crayon and scribbled it all over the parchment. "Do you think Dad already knows how to work this?" he asked.
Ginny tilted her head. "No idea," she muttered. "What are you drawing? Is that a house?" she asked as she peered over her brother's shoulders. "Ron, what's that you're drawing?" she asked again when he didn't answer her the first time. When Ron refused to answer, Ginny grabbed him by the shoulders and began shaking him so that he'd stop drawing and look at her.
"Stop shaking me," said Ron. "You'll see once I'm done with it." He shook his sister off of him. "Don't keep on grabbing my hand. It will ruin the picture." He looked at Ginny. "What are you thinking about?" he asked when he saw the look on her sad face. "Did I hurt you?" asked Ron.
Ginny shook her head. "No," she said in a tiny voice. Ron dropped his crayon. "I was just thinking about what Fred and George were talking about. They're going to Hogwarts next year and that's going to leave you and me here. It's going to get very lonely." She looked away from Ron for a moment. "I know you'll be here, but without Fred and George, this house is going to be very quiet."
Ron nodded understandingly. "I know. But we'll be off to Hogwarts soon too, so I guess it won't matter much then."
Ginny nodded and grinned with excitement. "We'd be off to do the same things Bill and the rest does. I can't wait to get my wand and do magic." She stood up. "You'll see me one day being the best witch there is, Ron. I'll be up somewhere and doing magic and nothing in the world can stop me," she said with fantasizing eyes. Ron laughed. Ginny shot a look at him. "A girl can dream, can't she?" she said in a very dreamy tone.
Ron laughed. "Whatever you say, Ginny."
Ginny climbed into the sofa and stood up. She placed her hands on her waist and smiled at Ron. "You'll see ne day that I'm right. You'll see one day that they'll know my name. I won't let Mum and Dad down. I'll be prefect and I'll be Head Girl like Bill. I'll also be Quidditch Captain and Seeker like Charlie. I'll be top of my level like Percy! I'll be all those when I get to Hogwarts, Ron, you'll see." Her smile shone like the sun as she said this.
Rose looked at Scorpius. "She's got a lot of dreams," she said smiling. "But I can't blame Auntie Ginny. Because of so may brothers who've done great things, no wonder she'll want to outshine them." Scorpius neared her. "I'm just glad that they all got through all right. None of them were held back or expelled. Dad said it's a wonder Uncle Fred and Uncle George weren't, but they were doing well in school maybe. Dad said they were most excellent at Charms."
"What does it feel like to have so many brothers older than you?" Scorpius suddenly asked. Rose shrugged. Being the eldest of the family, she hadn't had the feeling of being overshadowed. "I don't know how they could be so cheerful at this state," Scorpius said in a small voice.
Rose kindly smiled at him. "How come?"
Scorpius shrugged. "I don't know," he replied. "I mean, it's a simple life, too simple. Then there are always the worries about money. There's the cold at night. There are the too many older brothers to beat down in school. I don't know how Ron made it fine. I guess with Harry Potter when he got to school, but even with him, he is overshadowed, seeing how Harry is very famous."
"In any way," said Rose, "life just goes on, doesn't it?"
"What are you two doing?" asked George as he entered the room. He walked past his brother and sister and to the couch. "Don't tell Percy. Fred's keeping him busy at the moment." He took the cushions of the couch and placed it on the floor. Ron and Ginny watched. George took out some needles from his pocket. "This I'm going to enjoy watching," he whispered, snickering. He placed the needles all over the cushions.
Ron looked at him anxiously. "What if someone else than Percy sits there?" he asked.
George thought for a moment. "Then tough luck for him," he muttered as he placed the cushion back to the couch. "I'll kill you both if Percy finds out what we've planned. You can go act normal if you want to stay though. Don't give it away. Fred found something in Dad's den. We believe it's a Muggle camera. We'd like to have a see how it works and capturing Percy's shining moment wouldn't be too bad at it," he said with an impish grin and left the room.
"You're right, Ginny," said Ron, turning back to his drawing. "The house is going to be quiet without Fred and George."
Sure enough, Percy entered the living room with a book on his hand. "Has George come into this room?" he asked Ron and Ginny. Both shook their heads. Percy stared at them. "Are you sure?" he asked again. Both nodded at the same time. Percy finally headed for the couch. He looked at it closely. "I don't trust Fred," he murmured. When he found nothing, he plopped himself down. Hard. "MERLIN!" Percy yelped, jumping off the couch.
A flash came. Ron and Ginny looked the other direction and saw the twins with the camera. They were both laughing evilly, causing Percy to throw a dirty look at them. The twins laughed even more as they came out from behind the staircase. Ron began laughing too. The Muggle camera had instantly printed the picture. Fred showed it to the youngest two. Ginny laughed as well when she saw it.
"They're such a nuisance sometimes, aren't they?" said Scorpius, but he was smiling. "I don't know how Percy took these for years, being the prime victim of those twins almost always." He looked at Rose who seemed to have sad eyes as she looked on. "What's wrong, Rose? Did I say something? I'm really sorry if I said something," he said quickly.
Rose shook her head. "No, it's not you," she answered. "I remember Dad telling me Percy pulling away from the family. He worked for the Ministry for a couple of years and never came home. Dad said the whole family was sad, and it seemed to have affected Uncle Fred badly. They made up before Uncle Fred passed away though. Still, if Uncle Percy remembered these times when they were young and so carefree." Her heart sank.
"There's nothing we can do now," murmured Scorpius. "I don't know why you always have to stick to the people always. I don't really blame Percy if it is his career choice. Besides, he was so overshadowed by his two older brothers as well. Maybe he needed a break from them. The Ministry pays well too. They do need the money."
Rose looked at her father. "Dad always told me that all we need are our friends and family. Nothing material can never replace them. He also told me that with a lot of brothers, you'll never get bored. Overshadowed, yes, but you'll never get bored when you have a gathering, especially having Uncle Fred and Uncle George." Rose blinked. "I wish I had the chance to met Uncle Fred though. What gatherings we would've had if…" her voice trailed off.
"I can't say I really know how you feel," said Scorpius as he put one arm around her, "but in one way or another, I feel the same way as you do."
Percy glared at Fred. "Dad won't be too happy that you took that," he warned. Fred just smirked at him. Percy held his head up high as he went upstairs. The door to his room slammed so hard that Ron thought the house would fall apart.
"Weren't you a bit hard this time?" asked Ron thoughtfully. This made Fred snort. Ron went back to his drawing. "Have you thought of something to give Mum now? Her birthday is coming up, you know," he reminded his brothers. Fred and George exchanged puzzled looks, then George relaxed his face and nodded. Ron looked at them. "What do you plan to give Mum then?" he asked.
George shrugged. "No idea, but we'll think of something."
Fred nodded. "That we will."
"Maybe a drawing?" George suggested.
"Too dull," replied Fred.
"Hey, mine's a drawing!" interjected Ron.
Fred looked at him. "You've got an excuse, you're still little. Me and George are off to Hogwarts soon and we're not little anymore." He thought for a moment. "How about we all do something for Mum together?" he asked brightly.
Ginny looked up. "What did you have in mind?" she asked. She did want to help and since her older brother Ron didn't seem to want it, she'd take anything from the twins. "Oh can I help, please?" she begged as she jumped towards them. "Please Fred, please George! I do really want to do something for Mum's birthday. Please!" she practically begged.
Charlie came down from the stairs. "I heard someone mention Mum's birthday," he said. He looked at the four of them who were at the living room. "I was just off to buy her a present. Any of you want to come with me?" he asked.
Fred shook his head. "I've got something better in mind," he said.
Charlie looked interested. "What is it?"
"Breakfast in bed!" Fred replied cheerfully. "Mum had been complaining all year that she's got too many to feed. Why can't we make her something? Bill can do magic out of school now. I bet he can help us do the some things we can't." He looked rather happy with his idea. "I don't have a Knut to shell out, but Mum wouldn't mind a breakfast in bed idea," he said.
Charlie nodded. "She won't mind. She'd be delighted." He gave Fred a thump on the back. "For the first time you've got yourself a bloody brilliant idea doing something other than pranks." Fred just grinned at him. Charlie looked at the rest. "I'll hook Bill up into the idea. You talk about the breakfast we ought to give Mum," he said and rushed back upstairs seemingly very excited about what they were going to give their mother for her birthday.
Fred clasped his hands together. "So, what will Mum like?" he asked. He looked at Ron. "Are you in on this or not?" he asked.
"I am," Ron replied, still drawing on his parchment.
Fred snatched the parchment away from him. "Then don't keep on drawing!" he exclaimed. He then looked at the parchment. His face loosened up. "I like you're drawing though," he said in a voice that the rest didn't expect to hear from him after snatching the parchment.
Scorpius walked behind Fred. He saw a drawing of the whole family, just like the portrait that hung on the wall of their living room. He saw the very beautiful detail that a nine-year-old could've done. It seemed to be a very thoughtful idea for a gift and he could tell that Ron was doing this with all his love for his mother. He looked at the picture. Ron seemed to have captured the moment just as the portrait they had on the wall. But there was something different about it. In Ron's point of view, they weren't poor. Their clothes didn't have patches and they seemed very well-off with the wonderful clothing Ron put on them.
"Dad never said they were poor," Rose said. She could tell what Scorpius was thinking. "He told me that they had a small money problem but it didn't matter much to him. They didn't need it anyway," she explained. Scorpius just nodded.
"Carry on with this, Ron," said Fred, handing back the picture to his brother. "Mum will be glad to see it. You'll be the official banner maker and we can stick it to the tray when we serve her the breakfast." He looked up and saw Bill and Charlie coming down from the stairs. "There they are," he said. The older boys walked over to them. "We're going to make Mum a wonderful breakfast," explained Fred.
Bill smiled. "I heard," he replied. "So, any instructions, captain? It's your idea."
George looked around. "Isn't Percy coming to join us?" he asked.
Charlie sighed and shook his head. "You must have played a prank on him not too long ago." The twins looked guilty. "He said he didn't want to breathe the same air with you as of the moment, but wherever he is, I believe he is still breathing the same air." He smiled at the twins. "He'll come around, knowing that Percy. Don't worry about it. He's just a little off right now. Come on, Fred. Tell us what to do then," he said, changing the topic.
Fred pointed to Ron. "He's the official banner maker since he's already been at it since this morning I guess," he explained. He looked over at Ginny. "She'll be the one to do all the stirring since she's too young to do anything else." Ginny frowned at that, but didn't complain. "Bill, you be the one to tell us what to do and do magic if needed. I don't have an idea how to cook." Bill raised his eyebrow, but still nodded. "Charlie looks at everything since he's always watching Mum cook anyway." Charlie nodded. "George will clean after you. I'll keep Mum busy so she doesn't see what we're up to." He winked at George.
Charlie shrugged. "Fair enough for me," he said.
"I wish Percy would join us," said Fred thoughtfully.
Bill gave him an assuring smile. "He'll come around." He looked at his other siblings. "Come on. We need to gather the things we need and set it aside so we won't have a hard time cooking breakfast tomorrow morning. We just need to keep it discreet."
The rest of the afternoon, the Weasley children did what they were supposed to do. Ron went on drawing happily for it was his quaint reminder of his mother's birthday coming that all of this began and he felt a bit proud of himself that this was partly because of him.
"Do we need eggs?" hissed George. Bill turned and nodded. George carried the eggs over to Bill. "Here you go. It's a wonder didn't break them." Bill laughed as he took the box of eggs from George and levitated it to the upper cabinet where they had been stashing everything they needed for the next day. "Any more you need?"
"Bacon," replied Bill.
Charlie scampered all over the place with Ginny trialing behind him. "We need this, and this and yeah this, and this and maybe this too, and this, and this." He handed some things to Ginny which she somehow managed to carry over to Bill.
Later that afternoon, Percy came into the kitchen, surprising the rest. "I heard what you were up to because Fred excitedly passed by my room murmuring about it," he said flatly. He looked at his brothers and sister. "Do you think I can join in it too?" he asked.
"Of course!" said Bill brightly. "Go on, take orders from Charlie over there."
Percy did as he was told. All of them carried on until the dusk came. Ron had finished his drawing by then. He went into the kitchen and saw his tired sibling sitting on the counter talking animatedly about what they were going to make the next day. Ron tilted his head and walked over to them as he showed them the picture he drew.
"Perfect," said Charlie. "You did a great job on it. Mum would surely be happy with her breakfast tomorrow." Fred came into the kitchen as well. "Good thing you're good at keeping Mum busy. Hope you haven't been much of a trouble for her though." Fred simply grinned. Charlie looked around at his brothers and sister. "We're in for a heck of a morning tomorrow."
Ron smiled brightly. "Doesn't matter. We love Mum." All of the others agreed.
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There are no words that can express how I feel
Ya never kept a secret, always stayed real
and I appreciate how ya raised me
and all tha extra love that ya gave me
I wish I could take tha pain away
If you can make it through tha night, there's a brighter day
everything'll be alright if ya hold on
it's a struggle
everyday gotta roll on
and there's no way I can pay ya back
but my plan is ta show ya that I understand
you are appreciated...
-2pac-
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Rose nudged Scorpius who was staring at the Weasleys. "What's wrong with you?" she asked. Scorpius didn't answer. He had been thinking of his mother and how he never did any effort on her birthdays, just a little gift here and there and that was all. Rose softly smiled at him. "That's how they kept the family close together, I guess. They always come up with some plan to work together and I can tell that they're all always ready to give a cheer for Grandma," she said.
"Sometimes I don't want to see times like these," said Scorpius sadly. The black scene began surrounding them. Scorpius looked away from the Weasleys. "It's very ironic that while I watch this I want to be a part of your family more and more."
Rose giggled. "I hope you'll soon be." Scorpius turned scarlet as everything went blank.
A/N: Hope you liked this chapter. Please review and tell me what you think of it.
NEXT CHAPTER: Say Goodbye