Percy stood up abruptly. "I have to get back to work now."
"So soon?" she asked, not trying very hard to mask the disappointment in her voice. "You've hardly touched your food."
"Thank you for meeting me, Mother. I'll be in touch." He withdrew his wallet and left some Muggle money on the table, then got up and kissed her cheek rather stiffly. Without another word, he turned and walked into the crowd.
Molly sighed as she watched the back of his close-cut suit disappear behind a woman who was leading a trail of blonde-haired children like ducklings. Out of all her children, Percy was perhaps the hardest to reach. Something was going on, that much was apparent in the dark shadows beneath his eyes and the way he pushed his food around the plate instead of eating it. But try as she might to draw it out of him, her questions had been met with undiluted silence.
They had met in Muggle London at Percy's request, instead of The Leaky Cauldron, which would be one of the only things open in Diagon Alley. For what reason, she had no idea, but as it was only just around the corner from The Leaky Cauldron itself, she'd happily agreed, anticipating the opportunity to discuss the plans for Charlie's wedding or something equally benign. Instead, he'd arrived late, in a bad temper, and had barely spoken more than two words at a time, leaving her frustrated and worried-- just when everyone had seemed to be all right, Percy clammed up and George was avoiding her eyes.
After one last bite of her own mostly untouched meal, she replaced Percy's money with some of her own, tucking his into the pocket of her skirt. She dabbed her mouth with the heavy napkin and stepped off the café terrace and onto the sidewalk. It was crowded for a Monday, what with the clear blue sky overhead and comfortable temperatures, pleasantly warm for the middle of April. The walk to The Leaky Cauldron took only took a few minutes, and she was able to pass through the lunch crowd inside with relative ease. Once in the courtyard, she joined a pair of elderly witches passing through the wall, trying not to eavesdrop on their loud chatter about the new book by Rita Skeeter, Severus Snape: Shades of Black.
Molly followed the witches at a polite distance most of the way to Gringotts, smiling genially at them as they mounted the steps towards the heavy gilded door. She passed the white marble building, deciding on the spot that whilst in Diagon Alley, she might as well see as many of her children as she could.
Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was closed, as she knew it would be, but she still paused on the cobbled street, smiling up at the garish window displays that she recognized at George's handiwork, before making her way to the door of the flat and knocking. After a few moments, she heard a lock turn and the door swung open.
"Oh!" Molly said, surprised. Instead of Ron or George, a girl stood in the doorway, one with dark untidy hair and a strangely colourless face. "I'm sorry, I didn't-- my apologies-- is George here?" she faltered, feeling a flush rise in her cheeks. She certainly hadn't been prepared for anyone to have company.
To her credit, the brunette in the dirty t-shirt looked about as embarrassed as she felt. "Oh, uh, he's in Hogsmeade today."
"How silly of me, I'd forgotten. Well, is Ron in?" she asked, sincerely hoping that her youngest son had not spent the morning with what she assumed was a…. guest… of George's.
"He's not here either. Is there something I can help you with?" the girl asked pleasantly, but the expression on her face was now either anxious or suspicious, Molly couldn't determine which.
"Just let them know that their mother was asking after them." she responded, trying to force down the urge to demand to be let in and wait until George returned. He is of age, she reminded herself repeatedly, but the mantra did little to make her feel better.
"Yes, of course, I can definitely see the family resemblance." the brunette said, touching her own hair. "Would you like to come in?"
After a measured breath, Molly forced a smile onto her face. "No, thank you. Just let them know, if you would."
"Absolutely."
"Well, thank you."
"You're welcome." The girl hesitated, as though the conversation was unfinished. Molly made a little nod in her direction.
"Have a nice afternoon."
"Thanks. You too."
Molly hurried back onto the street as the door closed behind her, congratulating herself on her restraint. Of course she didn't expect any of her children to be living a puritanical life, especially now that nearly all of them were living on their own, but that didn't mean she wanted to be reminded of any, er, supplementary activities that they might be indulging in. Yes, but, she thought with a touch of pride, you acted quite reasonably.
Gringotts loomed, stark white and imposing, above her, but her mind was still preoccupied as she passed the uniformed goblin that stood outside and through the heavy bronze doors. Beyond, the light was dim and the air was cool, and everyone conducting business was doing so in a murmur, the goblins at their high counters and the witches and wizards that stood before them, trading Galleons and Sickles across the polished wooden surfaces.
The smooth marble floor was inlaid with an ornate pattern, and her shoes clicked loudly across it as she approached the nearest counter. Movement somewhere to the side caught her eye, and she turned, waving happily at the tall, broad-shouldered wizard with the ponytail that approached her.
"Surprise, surprise." He seemed to be shouting in the hushed room, and the eyes of customers and goblins alike turned towards him, taking in the battle damage that crisscrossed his face. "What are you doing here?" he asked with a teasing smile, and Molly was fairly sure that he knew exactly why she was in Diagon Alley, checking up on most of her offspring in one fell swoop.
"Just in the neighbourhood." she replied, hugging him tightly. The top of her head barely reached his chin.
"How come I don't believe that?" His voice echoed through the bank, drawing even longer glances from the customers. "Come on, let's go outside. It's too gorgeous out to be skulking around in this cave."
She followed him back out through the bronze doors and into the bright noon sunshine, where he sat down on the white marble steps of the bank and stretched out his leg with a satisfied sigh. After a moment's hesitation, she pulled out her wand from the sleeve of her blouse and conjured a squat, plush hassock covered in deep green velvet. Bill chuckled as she settled down beside him, smoothing her skirt over her knees and shooting glances over at the goblin standing by the entrance.
"Practical, Mum."
"Well, I can't exactly hike up my dress and hunker down there with you, can I?" she said, reaching out to touch his hair. A fair portion had worked itself free of his ponytail, and she twisted it between her fingers, smiling at how soft and fine it was, like a young child's. "How are things?"
"Oh, I can't complain. Work is work. Fleur is Fleur." He smiled, a private smile that she recognized quite well as that of someone completely besotted. "There's some talk of sending me out to east--"
"East like Ipswich?"
"East like Hong Kong." She drew a noisy breath in, prepared to voice some objection, but he beat her to it. "But not until after the wedding, sometime in the summer."
"But why so far away?"
"Oh, you know, curses to be broken, gold to be found." He smiled, shifting on the stairs. The uniformed goblin at the door cleared his throat noisily, but said nothing. "It will only be for a week, at most. I don't like to go too far from home these days. At least not for too long."
Something in the tone of his voice made her raise an eyebrow. "Oh? Any particular reason?" There was a long pause before he answered. "No, nothing specific." Again, he spoke again before she got the chance. "So am I the first one you're popping in on today?"
"No." she sighed, and he looked up at her.
"Who's giving you trouble?"
"Not trouble really, love, but... well, I met Percy for lunch today, and he was acting so distant. He barely managed a full sentence the entire half-hour he was there."
"Really? He didn't spend ten minutes sermonizing John Dawlish's choice of outerwear to Kingsley's last interdepartmental conference?"
"Oh, Bill, don't tease."
"You're right, I'm sorry. You wouldn't have mentioned it if it didn't worry you." he said, patting her knee. "Do you think, perhaps, he's just preoccupied? The anniversary's coming up in a few weeks."
"I know, I know. And I suppose it could be that." she said, twisting her hands around in her lap. "I mean, we all know how Percy is, and…."
He reached up and took one of her hands in his, running his thumb across her knuckles. "I know. But don't be too concerned, I'll check into it."
A small weight lifted from her heart, and she looked down at her eldest child, marvelling at how very much his eyes, which were bright and intelligent and a strikingly clear shade of brown, were identical to Arthur's. He was a good boy-- man, she corrected herself, he's nearly thirty, a man-- and always knew exactly what needed to be done. Over and over, he'd proved himself to be kind and capable, strong in body and spirit.
"Are you fogging up on me, Molly?"
"Oh, I'm sorry." she said tearily, not even noticing that he'd addressed her by her first name. "It's just that I'm so proud of you, you take such good care of them."
"Thank you, Mum, but I can't even do half of what you do for us." He squeezed her hand tightly. "Now tell me, is there anyone else I need keep an ear out for?"
She dabbed at her eyes. "No, dear, no-- wait, yes. Do you happen to know who the young lady-- well, I hesitate to say lady, but the idea is still the same-- that answered the door at the boys' flat this morning?"
"You mean, above the shop?"
She nodded.
"That's odd, I thought George was meeting Zonko today."
"He is. She informed that he's still in Hogsmeade, and Ron wasn't in."
Bill's brow furrowed. "What does she look like?"
"Let me see… tall, dark hair--"
"Angelina Johnson?"
Molly laughed. "No, I know what Angelina looks like. Besides, that would just be silly. No, this was a girl I'd never seen before. She had an accent I'm not familiar with. I expect that he knows her from somewhere other than Hogwarts."
"Well, I doubt he'll tell me, but I'll do some investigating."
"Thank you, Bill. You understand your old mum."
"Not all the time."
They shared a smile, and she reached over to ruffle his hair. After a moment, Bill looked away again, his expression becoming serious.
"Did you get a letter the other day?" he asked, still looking down towards the twins' shop.
Her stomach clenched uncomfortably. "Yes."
There was a long moment of silence. Molly had been surprised a few days ago by a large, officious-looking Ministry owl, carrying a heavy ivory envelope that bore a plum-coloured wax seal. It had contained a letter from Kingsley, detailing plans for a first anniversary service at Hogwarts. It had been very kind.
"Are you going to go?"
"Why Bill, of course."
He nodded, then looked up at her. "Good. I think you should. We should all go."
"Yes." she continued, puzzled. "Why wouldn't we?"
"I don't know. Fleur doesn't want to go."
"Oh. I see."
"I told her it would mean a lot if she did. And Beauxbatons is sending a delegation. Gabrielle will be there."
"That's nice."
"Yes." He hesitated. "McGonagall has asked me to speak. And I told her I would. I hope you don't mind."
"Oh Bill, why ever would I mind?"
"Because losing a son and a brother is a very personal thing. Because we should have the chance to grieve in peace, but we give up the privacy for the greater good."
"I know, dear. I struggled with it when my brothers were killed. I watched my own mother go through the same thing. And I made my choice."
He nodded, smiled, kissed her hand. "Just as long as you know."
"Where are you going?" she asked, watching as he rose to his feet.
"Back to work, Mum. We've been out here for forty minutes."
She gasped and jumped up from her hassock, checking her slender gold watch. "I have a roast in the oven!"
"Well, it's a good thing you know how to Apparate." he said with a chuckle, withdrawing his wand from the pocket of his worn jeans and waving it over her little green stool. It faded from the with a soft whickering sound. "Goodbye, Mum, thanks for coming to see me. I'll look in on the rabble-rousers."
"Oh, thank you, Bill. Would you exchange this for me, and put it back in Percy's vault?" She withdrew a few crumpled pound notes from the pocket of her skirt and handed it to him. "And why don't you bring Fleur over for dinner on Sunday? "
"That sounds good."
She scampered down the stairs, waving to him, her thoughts on a tragically blackened roast as she disappeared from the cobblestones.
Author's Note: Holy short chapter, Batman! So, I don't know what my problem has been. It's been a struggle to finish chapters, and I was getting nervous that I was losing interest. However, I guess all I needed to do was get angry, because in the ten days since the WB announced that the HBP movie was being moved back to JULY, I've written five chapters in two different stories, LOL. Hopefully I can go back to a regular updating schedule now, at least for awhile.
Consider this chapter as sort of a gateway, as there's whoa-dramatic stuff coming up in future chapters, including the anniversary of the battle, more on Paige and George, etc. I even abuse Percy some more. Sorry to disappoint the other H/G shippers (like myself), but that is not slated for awhile longer. :)
Finally started reading Twilight last night. I'd taken November 21st off from work, having anticipated going to see HBP at midnight and again during the day. Now that that won't be happening, I figure I'm going to go see SOMETHING that day, and it might as well be Twilight. I'm about half done, and I don't hate it like I thought I would, the story is actually interesting and I like Bella and Edward's interaction. Some of it is just so eye-rolling though. You know what I mean? "Liquid topaz" and "scintillating arms" and other WTF-ery. Now I want to write a parody, GoF/Twilight AU crossover replete with ultraviolet prose in which either Cedric and Edward have mutual man-crushes on each other, or Bella and Cho fall in lust with Cedric and Edward, respectively. Oh Robert Pattinson, you make the lulz so easy-- you look like an Abercrombie model but sound like Chong.
A bunch of Chinese characters meaning thank you (in honor of the Olympics) to those of you who reviewed the last chapter: domslove, Jasperella, cosette-aimee, Babble, snaplappl21, WaffleNinja, crystalight22, AnkokuSama and JadeSeraph.