Chapter Twelve: New Additions to the Family
Christmas was always a busy time for the Tennyson Clan and it only got busier due to a few surprises. It all began early that morning when Gwen and Kevin were awakened by the sounds of Harry and Draco screaming as if they were being tortured, Evander barking and then yelping like mad, and the security alarms and sirens going off.
Someone had gotten past the wards!
Instantly both jumped from their bed, grabbing their wands as they went, and darted from the Master Bedroom to the boys' room while praying that the invader was taking time to monologue/gloat. They blasted the door off its' hinges, (Kevin never was one for subtlety unless it was ordered of him), to find…
"Goddamn it! It's four fu—frickin' am!" Kevin roared, as it was not a Death Eater or one of their own enemies but an old woman in a purple cloak. Grandma Verdona had come for a visit and just like always had not used the door, oh no that would be too easy, but had popped past every ward and barrier, which considering that they now had Harry Potter living with them was quite a lot, surrounding the house. Setting off all the alarms, again.
"You deal with this," he told Gwen darkly before storming off to reactivate the various protections.
Gwen sighed as she surveyed the scene; Harry and Draco were cowering, now silently, in a corner, Evander was captive in a pink bubble and Verdona herself was looking a bit confused and quite disappointed.
Honestly, it was too early to deal with this; she needed coffee, "Let the dog go Grandma…"
"But I—"
"Now."
Verdona did as told and was then shooed from the room. Gwen calmed the boys down, though it did take awhile, tucked them in, and sat with them until they drifted back to sleep. She conjured Evander a rawhide bone before leaving and resetting the room specific wards.
She ignored her grandmother, marching to the kitchen and finding a cup of hot coffee waiting. She grabbed it, took a very long draught, spun around and rested against the counter while saying, "Thanks a lot for scaring the hell out of my sons Grandma…"
Verdona raised her index finger as if she were about to interrupt but Gwen grunted, in such a very Kevin-like way that it mildly worried both women, and signaled for the older woman to take a seat, it was going to be a long story and they both might as well be comfortable. So Gwen began to tell the story of Harry Potter and everything that came with him and his people and why she was calling him, and Draco, her sons.
It was about seven am, or near enough, when Verdona had a comprehensive understanding about the shifting situations. While she was disappointed she didn't have a biological great granddaughter yet she was rather happy to find out she had two great grandsons who could work magic. She watched with interest as Gwen merely waved her wand a few times, making complicated motions, whispered a few words and breakfast was preparing itself. It wasn't quite the way an Anodite should do magic but, given the younger one's abnormal attachment to her birth planet, it was a good start.
Within minutes of the clock ringing in eight am Harry was up, tiptoeing into the kitchen then whimpering when he saw the scary magic old woman.
"That's no way to act to your Grandma…" Verdona clucked disapprovingly before lifting him from his feet, via mana, and looking him over while he looked adorably bewildered.
"G-Grandma?" he voiced uncertainly.
"Well of course," Verdona cooed, "Gwen is like your mother right?"
"Yeah…?"
"And I'm her Grandma."
"Did you marry Grandpa Max?" he asked.
"Yes siree." Verdona nodded.
"Are you like Gwen? Can you go all purple and stuff?"
"Sure can. Wanna see?"
"O…kay…"
Easily she slipped off her skin to reveal her true form.
"Wow!"
"Grandma!" Gwen shrieked, having returned from getting dressed, "Put your skin back on! We have company coming over soon!"
"Yes dear…"
Four hours later the company had arrived. The company included the entire Weasley clan, sans Bill and Charlie Weasley, Cedric and his father, Amos Diggory, Hermione, and Luna Lovegood. Plus the Tennysons and Julie, all at The Tennyson-Levin household for (The American) Christmas day.
The Americans and Brits were mingling well; all in all it was going good. At least until Verdona popped back in, setting off the alarms for the second time that day. Her eyes alighted on Molly Weasley and she let out the highest pitched squeal ever heard on Earth, "Molly Prewett?!"
Molly looked up, "Do I know you?" she asked in polite bemusement.
Verdona looked highly disappointed and hurt before looking down at herself and realizing, "Oopsie, forgot how old I look. Hang on…" in a spiral of mana she reformed her human skin to be several decades younger. In fact she looked like Gwen at age twenty-five might.
"Aunt Very?" Molly asked dumbfounded, happy, shocked…
"Aunt Very?!" The Tennysons, Julie and Kevin yelped although Max stayed oddly silent,
"Molly! Look at you!" Verdona enthused, taking her niece into her arms for a hug and then looking her over, "Last time I saw you you were still a fifth year at that school of yours…Pigspimples? Boarboils? No, that can't be right…"
"Hogwarts?!" The children old enough to attend echoed incredulously.
"That's the one!" Verdona nodded happily.
"Aunt Very….I thought I'd never see you again…" Molly's brown eyes watered.
"There there," Verdona patted her shoulder lovingly, "I'm still around…"
"No, no, you don't understand," Molly choked out, "Aunt Verdona…the Prewetts are dead…"
That put a screeching halt to Verdona's eternal Woodstock.
"I'm sorry dear," she said softly, taking time to materialize an ear cleaner and then cleaning out her human ears, "I must have misheard you, humans have such dull hearing you know, what did you say?"
"They're dead. Mum, Dad, Fabian, Gideon, they're all dead…I'm the last Prewett alive…" Molly repeated herself quietly.
Verdona was gob-smacked, her human form aging back to her normal disguise, "Dead…as in…Dead?"
Molly nodded.
Verdona actually swayed on her feet, "Oh…I need to sit down…" she actually dropped, in a daze; Ben caught his grandmother and with help from Kevin settled her in a chair. Max too had dropped, although he had made it to a chair on his own, and now had his head in his hands.
"How?! Imelda was so—" Verdona demanded, completely in shock.
"Ambush," Molly said simply, "they took Mum out first, simply killed her…Dad put up a bit of a fight but he went quick too…Fabian and Gid needed five Death Eaters to go down…"
"Death Eaters?!" Verdona echoed, catching Gwen's eye, "Death Eaters as in the psycho bastards following that Voldemort bastard?"
Every British person at the party flinched at the name but Molly nodded.
"They're dead though right?" Verdona asked lowly, "Death penalty…"
"No, most of them got off scot free or got a lifetime sentence in Azkaban…"
"What?" Verdona hissed angrily, her power starting to whip around her. "Uh-oh…" Gwen handed Draco and Harry off to Cedric, with the express order to, "Get them, Hermione and Luna back to Hogwarts!"
Cedric nodded and, with his father grabbing the girls, they turned on their heels and disappeared into thin air with a crack. Julie and Ben followed with Frank and Jen and Carl and Sandra each. Ben came back though.
Verdona began floating, her human disguise flaking off, "Gwendolyn! Molly! Ginevra! Come with me and reap vengeance for our slain family!" Molly actually smirked and began floating herself, letting her skin peel away and asking her husband sweetly, "Arthur, sweetie, can you take care of my skin?"
Arthur smiled, nodding, "Sure." It had been a long while since his wife had indulged herself and it was good to know that she still had it.
Soon three purple energy beings floated, ready to take blood for blood.
"Ginny dear," Molly cooed, still a mother to the bone, "Come on, join us…"
"I'm—I can be like that, you three?" the youngest Weasley, the first girl Weasley born in generations, asked uncertainly.
"Of course my dear child!" Verdona trilled.
"How?" Ginny asked, "I mean-how do I—?"
"It's easy!" Gwen came up behind her, clapping her hands onto the girl's shoulders, her cousin's shoulders, "Just find your inner power. Reach for it!Close your eyes…"
Ginny did as told obediently.
"Good! Now find the spark, it'll be somewhere deep inside…Deep breaths…Don't be afraid of it…"
Taking a deep breath Ginny reached for the magic that had always terrified her. Something about it wasn't normal, even for a witch, for a Weasley. It was dangerous; something about it seemed very dangerous. But now she had to let it free.
"Found it?" Gwen asked softly.
Ginny nodded.
"Now jump into it. Head first, don't hesitate."
Slowly Ginny's human skin broke apart, revealing the Anodite within. She was a bit smaller than Gwen and skinnier too.
"Wow!" Ginny breathed, looking herself over. She felt so free. Better than a broomstick! Better than magic!
"Ready?" Molly reached out for her daughter's hand.
Grinning Ginny gave it, "Yeah, let's do this."
With a squeal of joy and excitement from the youngest, the four disappeared with a pink twinkle in the sky.
"Blimey!" Ron breathed as he and his brothers stared, "Can we do that?"
"No," Ben smiled sadly, knowingly, "Only girls are Anodites, sorry. But you get used to it." He picked up Ginny's skin, took Gwen's from Kevin, and said calmly, "Mir. Weasley, they have a closet specifically designed to keep these," he motioned to the flesh husks, "safe and usable."
"Thank you." Arthur nodded and followed.
"So," Kevin asked the Weasley boys, knowing what was going through their minds, "Who's up for a drink?"
"We're in!" the twins exclaimed.
"Something light please." Percy nodded.
"Something strong please." Ron requested.
They all trooped after Kevin, into the house.