Chapter 24 – Author's Note
Molly Weasley was just finishing up the potions she had been brewing with Ginny. Molly had brewed a number of love potions in her time and while she was not exceptionally gifted in the art of potion making, these were her specialty. This was not an ordinary Amorentia. No, she smiled as she went through the final steps; this was a Prewitt family recipe passed down from daughter to daughter. The past few days she had continued the family legacy by passing the knowledge down to her daughter.
She was just gathering the last ingredient – pure white pepper – that was one of her personal modifications to the recipe. She grabbed a handful of the pepper and brought it up close to her face to inhale the scent in order to ensure it had the proper freshness. Unfortunately for Molly an owl flew through the open window behind her and clipped the back of her head forcing her eyes, nose and mouth to come into contact with the pepper just as she was inhaling the scent. Her throat and nasal passages that were already trying to heal from the coffee incident earlier in the day were now shocked back into extreme pain as the delicate flesh and membranes were introduced to the less than gentle 'healing' effects of white pepper. The screams brought on by this exquisite pain alerted Ron and Ginny to the fact that something may have happened to their mother. They arrived in the kitchen to see Molly dunking her entire head in a bucket of water in what appeared to be a bizarre purifying ritual.
Undaunted by all of the screaming and going-on, the owl was perched on the counter beside the sink. Every time Molly raised her head out of the bucket, the owl would offer her it's leg that had a note attached to it. Correspondingly every time she immersed her head back in the bucket the owl would drop its leg back down again. Ron and Ginny watched a few repetitions of this with a certain morbid fascination. They had tried talking to their mother but could only manage a few words between dunks.
Finally after about 15 minutes, Ginny beckoned the owl and it flew over to her. Ginny took the note from the proffered leg and the owl flew back out the window finally happy to be out of the house and away from the strange woman.
Ginny saw the parchment was addressed to her mother and looked to be in her father's handwriting. She thought of opening it but waited until she got her mother's permission.
It was still another 15 minutes before Molly found that she could expose her face to the air. She still had problems breathing and speaking.
Ginny looked at her mother, "Mum? Are you OK?"
"Yes deah." Molly's speech was impaired by the lack of a properly functioning nasal cavity.
"What happened?"
"I wuz checkin the what peppah and the awl hit mah head."
Ron and Ginny grimaced as they worked out what happened.
"Wat did that awl wand?"
Ginny spoke up, "It had a note from dad."
"Author?"
"Yes."
"Weh go ahea and open id."
"OK."
Ginny cracked open the note and read it. Her jaw dropped."
Molly's eyes had recovered enough to see Ginny's face well enough. "Whad? Whad id it? Wead me Author's note!"
/Scene Break/
3 Hours Earlier
To say Arthur Weasley was not a happy man would be akin to saying that a Norwegian Ridgeback's breath was a bit tepid. As he stepped back into the street after leaving St. Mungo's the normally calm, gentle and friendly man was a swirling mass of emotions.
In the back of his mind he knew he needed to calm down. Every time that part of his conscious mind was about to succeed, another part of his mind looking for retribution thrust it self to the forefront and jammed the results of his tests with the healers. That caused the anger and hurt to manifest itself all over again.
Arthur needed to talk to someone and he knew the right people to talk to. With a pop he was gone from St. Mungo's and appeared in Diagon Alley. After stopping at Gringotts, he walked into the Twins' shop and they could immediately see that their father was fuming.
Fred nodded to George and then went over to his father. "Dad," he said quietly with a distinct edge of concern in his voice, "what's wrong. We've never seen you like this."
Arthur composed himself as best he could, "Can you please see if you can get Bill and Fleur and Percy and Audrey here? I received some information and I need to talk to all of you as soon as possible. I have some very important news."
"Of course. I'll go get them now. You just go through to the back and George and I will close up the shop once everyone is here. We've got some Ogden's in the cupboard – you look like you could use some."
Arthur could feel himself calming down. He had sons who cared for him and that took the edge off his hurt. He went through to the back as Fred consulted with George before leaving.
As soon as Fred left, George closed the store and went through to the back after the last customer departed. He didn't want his father left alone too long.
/Scene Break/
Narcissa sat on the sofa in the sitting room at the manor with a look of utter fascination. She had watched Harry come back from his morning with Hedwig and thought it may be a good time to talk to him about the plan she had developed with Andy. She went to he room to get her notes and headed back to the sitting room to find the sight that had her on the sofa staring.
Harry was sitting in a chair reading the apparition handbook. That was normal – Harry had just become emancipated so that meant he could apply for an apparition license. Hedwig was perched on his shoulder – a normal sight as well. The thing that caught Narcissa's attention was the face that the owl appeared to be reading along with Harry. He would finish the page he was reading and would wait until Hedwig tapped the back of his head before turning the page. Narcissa watched as the owl's eyes and head moved back and forth and down the page.
After a while Harry noticed that Narcissa was there and staring at him. He finished the chapter he was reading and addressed his familiar, "Hey girl. I've got to have lunch soon and then go to the Ministry. Let's stop here and we can read some more tomorrow morning. Why don't you head up and get some rest."
Hedwig nodded and hooted in agreement and after nipping his ear affectionately she flew out of the window and up to the owlry.
Harry turned to Narcissa and saw her expression, "What?"
She looked at him incredulously, "Was your owl just reading?"
"Yeah. She started during the summer between second and third year. At first I thought she just wanted to perch on my shoulder, but I found that if I turned the page too soon, I'd get bitten. It took me a little while to figure out she hadn't finished the page yet."
Narcissa just continued to stare at him with the same incredulous look.
Harry just continued, "Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology are her favourite. However I think she also has an interest in Potions. There have been a few times she has helped me find ingredients and alerted me to move on to the next step. She also likes to read Charms and Transfiguration but I'm not sure she get's much from them." He chuckled, "A few pages of History or Divination just puts her to sleep."
Narcissa's brain was still not functioning. She shook herself out of it. "Harry, you do know that Owls can't read. In fact all the owls I've met except Hedwig keep to themselves until you can find them to send a letter."
"Well, Hedwig is my friend. She was my only companion during those summers at the Dursleys and I took to talking to her and after a while I started to interpret her reactions enough to realize she was communicating back to me. Maybe Hedwig is not unique, but most Wizards just ignore their owls like they ignore any other magical creature."
Narcissa pondered that for a while before she remembered why she was there. "Harry, Andy and I have been planning our own revenge on my former husband and we need your help."
"My help? Sure, but I'm nowhere as good at revenge as someone who grew up in the Black Family."
"Don't sell yourself short – it's in your blood. Remember both your fathers were Marauders. The reason why we need your help with this one is that it requires Lord Black." She passed over the final version of the note to Harry to read.
He broke out into a wide grin. "I can take care of this today if you want."
She nodded.
"Very well. Miss Black would you give me the honour of accompanying me to lunch? I'm sure our "researchers" will be to engrossed in their studies to join us."
She held out her hand, "I would love to Lord Black."
They proceeded to the table and the elves brought the food out for them. Narcissa and Harry talk idly about his meeting that afternoon with Amelia and she also asked him more about Hedwig.
About halfway through their meal, Luna came down for some food as well. They noticed she was smiling and she chuckled once or twice as she looked at Harry.
Inquiring glances from the other two people did not result in any information and when Harry asked her what was so amusing, she just smiled and said in a singsong voice she had to go and find Hermione. Harry shook his head. He had a strange feeling the whatever made 'Loony Lovegood' come back out would not bode well for him – well, the appearance of 'Loony' and the fact that the girl found something very amusing every time she looked at him.
/Scene Break/
Luna arrived at the small cottage on the grounds and let herself in. The three other occupants looked up at her arrival.
Losing the 'Loony' persona she asked, "So, any luck with the books about Horcruxes?"
The three shook their heads, "No, not yet. There just hasn't been a case like this ever documented. Now that you are here you can help. Just pick up any of these books and see if there is anything we may have missed. We've each been through them."
Luna shook her head, "Why would I read them when I already had the answer."
They all looked up in surprise. Tom was the first to speak, "Where did you find the answer."
"It was an inspiration of mine. You are trying to find a counter to so-called 'dark' magic with the same types of magic. I went to the opposite end. I found the answer in the Potter library. It's actually quite an amazing collection."
Hermione, was getting impatient, "Luna, what is it?"
"The Library? It's a room on the second floor of the manor. Quite large actually, many, many books – some so old that I suspect they may be the only copies. You get there by …"
Hermione interrupted Luna, "Luna, I know about the library. What I meant was what is the solution for Harry's Horcrux?"
"Oh, that actually makes more sense. It's not like you to ignore a library especially one that is filled with such rare and valuable works. It's quite funny really that I would think that. But, I'm digressing again. It happens to me a lot. I try to make a point and end up going off on a tangent. Conversations are more interesting when you don't know where you will end up. In fact …" she paused and thought she saw steam coming out of Hermione's ears – actually the elves had just delivered a steaming hot soup for lunch and one of the bowls was placed in such a way that it was obscured from Luna's vision by Hermione's head. This alignment – regardless of however coincidental it was – had the desired effect of getting Luna back to the point.
Luna took a couple of books out of her bag and put them on the table. Tom and Severus shook their head when they saw the titles and Hermione buried her face in her hands allowing Luna to see the soup and allowed her to stop worrying that Hermione's brain was overheating.
Looking at the books from between her fingers Hermione groaned, "How could we miss something that obvious?"
Luna replied, "I'm not sure I'll answer that question. Hermione?" The witch looked up at Luna, "The answer I found involves some risk and it would require a sacrifice of sorts from you. At least I assume it would be you."
"Sacrifice? What kind of sacrifice?" asked a now very wary Hermione.
/Scene Break/
After a relaxing lunch with Narcissa, Harry and Neville portkeyed to Diagon Alley to take care of his errand for Narcissa. Once they arrived at their destination Harry stopped in front of the building and looked up the steps and stared.
This was the place where much of his pain and grief in the magical world originated – or at the very least was magnified. He sighed and Neville clasped his shoulder.
"Harry, I have a feeling I know what's going through your mind right now. Just think of it this way – it's now your turn to use them as a tool to achieve your own ends."
Harry turned and smiled at his friend, "Thanks Nev. You're right, I stopped worrying about what they said about me a long time ago. Let's get this over with."
And with that the two friends climbed the stairs two at a time and entered the offices of the Daily Prophet.
Once inside they enquired about posting an announcement in the Society Pages. They were directed to the department on the second floor. Once there, Harry walked up to the appropriate desk where a very stuffy wizard sat surrounded by parchment.
Harry and Neville sat themselves in the empty chairs in front of the desk. The wizard looked up briefly at the two teenage boys in front of him. He wrinkled his nose in disgust and went back to his work pointedly ignoring them.
Harry was gobsmacked. He looked at Neville who was staring open-mouthed at the rudeness of this man. Harry calmed himself a bit.
"Excuse me."
The wizard made no move to acknowledge him.
"I wish to post an announcement on the Society Page."
There was still no reaction from the wizard.
Harry was beginning to get impatient, "I'm speaking to you sir – and I use that term loosely – I will only say this one more time in a civil manner. I am here to place an announcement on the Society Page."
The wizard looked up briefly and stared at the two boys down his nose. "The Society Page is reserved for important announcements from Pureblood houses. Go downstairs to the classified section to invite your friends to your birthday party. Be gone now before I call your parents."
This was absolutely the wrong thing to say to the two young men in front of them. Before the wizard had a chance to look down and resume his active ignoring of the two he was staring at the business end of two glowing wands.
The managing editor heard the commotion as the chairs flew backwards and his Society editor yelped. He came over to see two young men threatening the same editor.
"What is the meaning of this?"
Harry never let his gaze waver as he addressed the newcomer, "Who are you?"
"I am the managing editor of this newspaper and who are you to threaten one of my editors."
"I," Harry started allowing his rings to become visible, "am Lord Potter-Black and my friend is the future Lord Longbottom." The society editor paled further as Harry continued, "This sorry excuse for a wizard refused to accept an announcement from Lord Black regarding the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black. He had the audacity to tell me to put my announcement in the classified section and tactlessly brought up to two well-known orphans that he would report us to our parents. In fact, I'm not sure the Houses of Potter, Black and Longbottom will use the services of this publication ever again."
The managing editor paled. The one person a quarter of his staff was trying to track down for an interview was standing in his offices quite royally pissed and with good cause. "L-Lord Potter-Black, please accept my apology on behalf of the paper. If you would be so kind to give me your announcement we will ensure it makes both the evening and morning editions at no charge."
"I also want a public apology from this idiot in front of me printed in the same editions."
"Yes, of course Lord Potter-Black."
Harry and Neville withdrew their wands and harry handed the announcement to the Managing Editor. He read it. This was not going to be good for another major family with powerful connections.
"Lord Potter-Black, are you sure you want this printed?"
Harry finally turned and looked at the man as though he had just asked the most idiotic question he had ever heard. "No, I went through the trouble to come down here just to scare the shit out of this waste of magic and get insulted in the process. OF COURSE I WANT THIS PRINTED!! As head of the House of Black it is my right and responsibility. Are you saying you won't print it?"
"No, of course not. The Ancient and Noble families have used the Prophet to publish family announcements for centuries."
"Very well then. I assume you have a job to do. We must be off. Good day to you. I expect to see that announcement in the evening edition as promised with no modifications."
Harry and Neville made it halfway to the Ministry before they broke down laughing.
/Scene Break/
Luna had just finished explaining her plans to Hermione, Tom and Severus.
Tom spoke up, "It seems like the best option we've had so far. Hermione, are you sure you want to go through with it."
She nodded, "Yes. I was a bit nervous when Luna first started explaining it. But now that I have a better idea of what it entails, I will go through with it. The real question is how we break it to Harry."
Luna had a mischievous look in her face, "Oh, I already have some ideas on that." She launched again into an explanation. In the end, the four had their plan and sought out Narcissa for her help as well – Severus pointed out there was no way she would want to miss out on this.
/Scene Break/
Fred returned with Bill and Fleur and let Arthur and George know that Percy was on his way. All of them had come as soon as possible once they heard the state that Arthur was in when he arrived at the Twins' shop.
Arthur had calmed down a bit (three shots of Ogden's Best had that effect on most people) but he was still distressed by the news the Healers had delivered earlier.
Once everyone was around the table Arthur made to speak and then stopped. He looked at his sons and the two young women. The look of concern on their faces for him made some of his anxiety and pain go away. He still had family he could count on and that meant a lot to him right now.
He cleared his throat and went to speak again. "I haven't been feeling the same the past few days since I left the Burrow. So, I went to the Healers at St. Mungo's today." There was a collective intake of breath at this. Arthur didn't miss it, "No, no, no. Don't worry. I'm fine – now. I'm upset by what they found but I'm healthy now."
The faces around the table relaxed visibly. Bill spoke up, "Dad, what's made you so upset then?"
"Your mother."
"Mum?" echoes from the four boys around the table.
"Yes. The Healers found traces of different potions in my bloodstream. From what they can tell, I've been exposed to them for several years."
"Did they say what potions?" Percy asked. He had an idea where this was going. Audrey had felt him tense up and had gripped his hand to give him support and hopefully relax him a bit.
"Yes Percy. I've been given a number of potions. The first one they found was an adaptation of Amorentia. Let's just say when your mother told me we had good chemistry between us, she was playing the role of chemist." He looked out at the table and the boys were stunned. The two young women looked angry.
Audrey was the first to speak, "Arthur, I am so sorry. I can't imagine how you are feeling right now."
"Actually Audrey the love potion is the one I'm the least concerned about." Seeing the quizzical look on the young woman's face he continued, "You see, if I had found out all those years ago in school about the Amorentia, I would not have these fine young men as my sons and would not have met the two very remarkable young women at this table."
George spoke up, "What were the other potions?"
"Ah, yes. There were three and I think they were all tied together. One was a compulsion potion. The Healers explained that it would cause me to follow another's lead without question. The second was meant to confuse me so I could not think with a high acuity level – think of it as dumbing me down a bit. The last was a rare mind control potion."
"Mind Control?" asked Fred.
"As in Imperious mind control?" asked George.
"Yes. This is the one that gave the Healers the most trouble in identifying. It is a very rare potion and very difficult to make. Made properly, it can hide only specific memories from a person's conscious mind. In my case, I was dosed to forget about my Family's wealth."
"Wealth?" Once again all four sons responded at once.
"Yes, now that the potion's effects are urged from my body I remember that I inherited a large amount of money when my parents died. I was made to forget this small fact. However once a month I dreamt that I was signing transfer authorizations – it wasn't a dream."
Arthur looked around the table again as the room lapsed into silence. He could tell by the reactions from his boys that they had not idea and were not a part of the conspiracy against him.
Fleur was doing a poor job of holding back her tears. She could not imagine anyone doing this to the man at the end of the table. She had loved Arthur from the moment she met him. He was a kind and gentle man and did not deserve this type of treatment. Only one word escaped her lips, "Why?"
It was Fred who answered with a single word of his own, "Dumbledore."
Arthur nodded. "That's what I figure. The Weasley fortune has been funding the Order of the Phoenix for years. It was a pretty good plan. I was tied to Molly Prewitt and Albus arranged for regular transfers to the Order, and the Dumbledore and Prewitt family vaults. The transfers were small enough that they would not raise the suspicion of the Goblins."
Percy looked at his father with concern, "Dad you may not be safe once they find out you know."
"Yes. I've already thought of that. I'm going to ask Harry if I can stay at one of his properties. I've already arranged with the Goblins for more stringent rules around the Weasley vault. It' s been depleted, but there are still over ten million galleons in it. "
"When are you going to go to Harry's?" Percy asked.
"As soon we finish here, I have a note to send to your mother and I will use a mail owl from the post office. Then I will go and talk to Harry."
Bill asked the question that was on everyone's mind, "Dad, what are you going to say in the note?"
Everyone gasped at what Arthur told them but they all realized it was the only thing he could do. Bill volunteered to contact Charlie and let him know what was going on – up to a certain point of course.
"Thanks Bill," said a very weary Arthur, "Charlie deserves to hear it from one of us before all hell breaks loose."
The meeting broke up with hugs all around and everyone now had more determination to stop this Pureblood Conspiracy. They had been committed before, but now it had become very personal.
/Scene Break/
Harry and Neville had arrived at the Ministry and after checking in at the front desk (Harry remarked to Neville that Head of House rings seem to grease the gears) they presented themselves at the DMLE offices. Madame Bones' assistant was the picture of professionalism. She addressed them with respect and offered them tea while they were waiting.
At 2pm sharp, the assistant called them over and showed them into Ms. Bones' office. As they entered they say the Director sitting behind a very large imposing desk. She smiled as she walked over to them and after proper introductions she motioned them over to a small sitting area with comfortable chairs and a table with tea and various pastries.
Once they were settled, Amelia started the conversation, "Lord Potter-Black, I've been meaning to speak to you for some time. I want you to know that you are not suspected of breaking any laws nor do I mean you any harm. It's just it seems that you find yourself in extraordinary situations and – if you are willing – I would like to find out more about them. But first, I would like to thank you."
Harry was floored. "Thank me Director?"
My niece Susan is the only family I have left. I fear there are dark times coming and I can't always be there to protect her. Imagine my surprise when she came home from school this year with a confidence I hadn't seen before. When I talked to her about it she talked about a new Defense club. She showed me a number of spells including a corporeal Patronus. When I asked which professor taught the club so I could thank them she said there were no professors. She explained that the club was not sanctioned by the school and that it was started by students who wanted to learn what they were not being taught by the awful woman – how to protect themselves. She then told me that you – Harry Potter – led the club and taught the students. That is my long-winded explanation of why I and I would imagine several parents, grandparents, guardians and siblings are thanking you. You gave the students in your club the skills, knowledge and confidence that they could survive an attack on them or their family."
Harry just looked down turning red, "I didn't do much. Hermione did a lot too."
Neville spoke up at this. "Don't listen to him right now Director. Harry was brilliant. He taught us lots of magic but he also taught us one very important thing."
Amelia looked over at the young Longbottom. She had known his parents well and had never seen Neville so self-assured. "And that was what?"
"To know when to run away and escape. He may have taught us a lot of defensive and offensive magic, but he stressed that the best defense was not to be in the situation in the first place."
Amelia looked over at Harry with newfound respect, "Very wise words Lord Potter-Black. In fact it is one of the very first tenets we teach our Auror cadets. We don't want them to die in the line of duty. Their first prerogative is to ensure that they and their team are safe. A dead reckless Auror is no use to us."
"It's Harry."
"Excuse me?"
"Please, Madame Bones. I'm not really used to the whole 'Lord' thing yet and my friends call me Harry. I'd like us to be friends."
Amelia smiled a warm, inviting smile, "Thank you Harry. Please call me Amelia. And Mr. Longbottom, may I call you Neville?"
Neville nodded appreciatively.
"Thank you. I'm looking forward to the rest of this meeting. Can you please excuse me for a moment?"
She got up and walked out the door and returned a few moments later.
"I've just cleared my calendar for the rest of the afternoon. I wanted to make sure we had time to properly talk. I knew your parents and was honoured to be their friend. Now," she looked at Harry, "I've heard some wild stories from my niece and am curious just how much they were embellished by her."
Harry answered her directly, "Well Amelia, where should I start?"
"There are three events I would like to find more information on, your second year and the petrified students, the end of the last event in the Triwizard cup, and the events at the Department of Mysteries this year."
"Do you have a pensieve?"
"Yes."
"Well, I can let you view my memories of these events. Neville can give you his from the DoM as well."
/Scene Break/
Three hours later the three sat back down. Amelia was exhausted by the memories she saw. "Harry, I don't know what to say. Voldemort is really after you. Damn the Minister – he knew and didn't do anything. I'm sorry that the Ministry has failed you and your family."
Harry looked over at Neville who nodded.
"Amelia, I understand why Fudge and the Headmaster did what they did. They are trying to address what they see as a threat to the Magical Society just as I see the treat and am dealing with it the best way I can. I actually have one more memory to show you."
He got up and removed a vial from his jacket. He poured it into the pensieve.
Amelia got up and she and harry went into the memory together.
Looking at a young Dumbledore talking to the Matron of and orphanage Amelia looked over at Harry.
"Let's run through this memory. Once we've gone through it, I'll restart it and explain."
On their second time through, Harry explained who the Tom Riddle in this memory eventually turned out to be. He also told Amelia that he had information for her that he could not reveal in he office since he didn't know who might be listening.
When they cam out, Amelia had many more questions in her mind than when they went in. Harry put the memory back into the vial and turned to Amelia. "Would you and Susan like to continue this conversation over dinner at my new place?"
"Yes Harry, that would be nice. Where is it?"
Harry called Jeeves and after an explanation, the elf came back with a book. Harry wrote something in the book and Amelia suddenly knew about Potter Manor. The elf disappeared with the book once Harry was done.
He looked at his watch, "its half past five now. Dinner is at eight, but I would like to explain a few more things to you and Susan before dinner."
Amelia wanted to know more of what Harry had to say, "If I floo home now we could be there between quarter past six and six thirty if that is OK."
Harry nodded. "We'll see you then."
They bid goodbye and Harry and Neville made their way out of the Ministry. Once they were at the proper location in the atrium they activated their portkeys and went back to the Manor.
/Scene Break/
To Ms. Molly Prewitt
Dear Ms. Prewitt,
This letter is to officially inform you of our divorce. As of 2pm this day I have dissolved our marriage and returned your dowry to the Prewitt family vault. As part of this divorce, I am allowing you to keep the property known as 'The Burrow' however should you decide to sell it, half the proceeds will go to me. All of our children except for Ronald and Ginevra are of age and will keep the Weasley name as their own. As for Ronald and Ginevra, they have a week to schedule a meeting with me to convince me that they still belong in the Weasley family. If they are no longer willing or are not fit to be part of the Weasley family, you may choose to adopt them into the Prewitt family.
Ms. Prewitt, I found out very recently that our so-called 'marriage' was built on lies and deception. The potions that you continually administered to me over the course of said marriage have been purged from my system and I have relayed the information I received from the Healers to our older sons. The only reason I am not prosecuting you to the fullest extent of the law is that we had a number of wonderful children and I will be forever grateful for their presence in my life.
Please also inform Albus Dumbledore that I resign my membership in the Order of the Phoenix. He too may keep the money which was transferred from the Weasley vaults however I request that he no longer try to approach me or any of my children.
I do not seek a response from you nor will I accept one. The Goblins have processed the divorce through the appropriate channels. You should be receiving official notification within the next one or two days.
Arthur Weasley
P.S. If Ronald or Ginevra wish to remain part of the Weasley family they can contact me through either Fred or George at their shop.
Molly gaped as Ginny read the note. This could not be happening. The Prewitt Amorentia had never failed in this manner and Albus said the other potions couldn't be easily traced. She had always expected to divorce Arthur but only after she had him transfer enough money to her account and now he found out about that too.
Molly was too self-absorbed in her internal ranting (not to mention the ever-present burn of white pepper residue) to notice the effect of the note on her two youngest children.
Ginny was stunned having read the note with no buffer. Her mother had always told her she took more after the Prewitt line than the Weasley one. But she had always been Ginny Weasley. Sure, her brothers were prats most of the time, but they always were there to protect her even when she didn't want them to. But to go by a different name – Ginevra Prewitt, Ginny Prewitt – "Hmmmm," she thought, "it has a better sound to it and no one will call me names which involve the word 'weasel'. This has potential. And Mum always did teach me more stuff than Dad."
Ron – on the other hand – was still trying to process this unexpected series of events. The past few days had been very hard on Ron's ego. It had always been a fragile little thing and repeated attempts to squish it over the past few days had left it on life support with a less than hopeful prognosis. The will reading had been traumatic for him even though it was several hours after the reading before he realized that he had been ridiculed almost as much as Draco Malfoy.
Hermione was another story. He had always seen Hermione as his 'practice girlfriend'. He would go out with her for the remainder of his Hogwarts years and "Practice his Wand Work' as some of the boys called it and then find a nice pureblood who knew her place to marry and settle down with. That was the arrangement he had with Dumbledore. Then Potter had to go ahead and ruin it.
Now this. His father didn't want his mother anymore. Ron was put in the position where he had to choose. He thought about the two options and his ego spiked for a moment – "If I'm Ronald Prewitt, then I'll be the oldest." His ego started reviving. His choice was clear.
Molly looked at her two youngest through burning eyes. Ginevra had to be a Prewitt. She was Molly's pride and joy – young, smart, powerful – yes a great asset to the Prewitt line. She could see in her daughter's face that Ginny would stay with her and she was overjoyed.
Ronald was another story. Lazy, and unmotivated with a slightly below average intelligence, the only reason he had not yet flunked out of Hogwarts was the help he extorted from the mudblood. If Molly were completely honest with herself, she would admit that Ron was a liability to her now. His only use had been to befriend and influence Potter and that plan was currently breaking up on the shores of failure. Her fear right now was that Ron would choose to be a Prewitt and by the look in his eyes he had already chosen. Now Molly had to decide whether to adopt him or not. She would speak with Ginny about this when Ron was not around.
/Scene Break/
Harry and Neville arrived back at Potter Manor to find Tom, Hermione, Severus, Luna and Narcissa in the sitting room. When he walked in they all looked at him with a glint in their eyes. Harry did not like that look. Narcissa's was especially disturbing since he saw Sirius with that look once just before he transfigured Harry's underpants into cold sticky porridge. He shivered uncontrollably at the memory.
Hermione broke the uneasy silence, "How did your meeting with Madame Bones go?" as she walked over to envelop Harry in a hug and a kiss. Luna had done the same with Neville.
"Great," Harry started explaining having forgotten the uneasy felling from a few minutes ago, "I think she will be willing to join us. I know she wonders about Fudge and a lot of things that go on in the Ministry. She'll be here in about half an hour and we need to prepare. I've asked the elves to have dinner ready for eight o'clock and the Order meeting is at nine."
"In the meantime, I think Luna, Hermione, and Neville should remain here. Tom, I'd like to bring you into the conversation before dinner. Can you please provide some of your memories in the pensieve for Amelia to see before you meet her? I want to lessen the shock as much as possible. "
Tom nodded and walked over to the pensieve. He paused for a moment and then began extracting memories and putting them into the dish. Once he was finished he left with Severus and said he return around half past seven.
Shortly past six o'clock Arthur arrived unexpectedly. Harry greeted him and they talked in the sitting room. Everyone was appalled by what Arthur had found out at St. Mungo's. Arthur then explained his visit to Gringotts and his subsequent note to Molly.
Before Arthur could ask, Harry spoke up, "Arthur, you may not be safe once Albus finds out what you have done. I just want you to know that you can stay here if you want. If you choose not to, please allow me to give you one of the emergency portkeys that will get you here quickly if required."
Arthur sighed in relief, "Actually Harry I was going to ask you if you could put me up at one of your properties. I really do not want to impose on you here."
"Nonsense!" he smiled warmly at the Weasley patriarch, "Arthur, ever since I was eleven and I met your family you have taken me into your home and treated me as one of your children. Now, granted, some of the people faked those emotions, but you and your older boys to this day treat me like an honourary Weasley. You are not imposing Arthur. How could you? You're family."
Arthur smiled at the remarkable young man in front of him and drew him into a hug. "Thank you Harry. After all I have been through today, I'm glad I have the love of such good people."
Arthur went off with Jeeves to the room that had been made up for him while Harry and his friends finished preparing for Amelia's visit.
/Scene Break/
Lucius was enjoying a fine dinner when the evening edition of the Daily Prophet landed on his table. He opened the paper carefully making sure he was not actively chewing or drinking at the same time. After reading the first few pages he ordered his elf to get him some brandy as he finished reading the paper. Taking a sip of the Brandy he turned the page to the Society section and proceeded to gag on his brandy. Luckily none of the alcoholic beverage made it into his already-weakened nasal passages. No – it didn't have a chance. As soon as he was breathing normally again he read the page once more. The last thing Lucius thought he heard before he fainted was the spirit of Scorpius laughing at him.
Draco walked into the room to find his father unconscious and holding a copy of the Prophet. Grabbing the snifter of Brandy he took the paper and sat in one of the other chairs. Helping his father never crossed his mind as he concentrated on the newspaper in front of him. As he got to the Society section he chuckled and thought, "This must be why the old man is passed out on the floor."
Black Family Marriage Annulment Notice
Lord Black wishes to announce the annulment of the marriage of Narcissa Black and Lord Lucius Malfoy. In accordance with tradition, Lord Malfoy repaid the bride's dowry upon the annulment of the marriage.
Lord Black wishes to make known that he took this extraordinary step to preserve the sanctity of the Noble and Ancient House of Black. It had come to his attention that Lord Malfoy had willingly sold himself into the service of another and had even allowed himself to be branded like a common farm animal as part of that service. On top of that, Lord Black became aware that Lord Malfoy's offspring was also due to receive the same brand. Previous Lord Blacks had been assured by previous scions of the Malfoy family that the rumoured family fixation with farm animals had been an aberration however Lord Black is afraid this generation of Malfoys may be slipping back into old habits. To this end, Lord Black decided he could not have a member of the House of Black being part of the current Malfoy Family.
A/N
Have you ever really gotten into a story and then up pops a chapter called Author's Note? It's always the same isn't it – this story is abandoned, on hiatus, etc. Well, I wanted to buck the trend, did I fool you?
Real life has caught up with me again so updates won't be as fast as I want them to be for either of my stories. Just for the record, this is my longest chapter to date. I have some spare time over the next few days (flying does that for me) so I hope to get another chapter of my other story written and posted by Saturday.
I've also put up a poll on my profile. I've had a number of comments that said this story wasn't classified properly. So I set up a fun poll – you tell me how it should be classified.
Till next time…