A/n: You know, I feel as if I should celebrate today, given what this story's about and whatnot.

Oh, I've got a way to celebrate! New chapter! :D

Quick dedication: To my Daddy, cause I love you! (Even though you won't read this… :P)

The Tales of Weasley the Father
By dieselwriter

Chapter 4: The Tale of Fathers

Today was going to be a good day.

Ron had finally closed the case on an old warlock who kept trying to send rather nasty items via owl post to Minister Shacklebolt. He was pretty lucky to find him when he did too, for the next letter the old coot was planning to send would have somehow contained a flesh-eating acid.

And now it was a glorious Saturday morning, Hermione was making breakfast in the kitchen, and the whole house smelled like sausages.

It was definitely going to be a good day.

CRASH

"I didn't do it!"

Well, at least the house still smelled like sausages.

"Ron, will you go see what that was?" Hermione called from the kitchen.

"Yeah, I got it," Ron said as he bounded up the stairs in search of the source of the damage.

Just as he reached the top of the staircase, he found the culprit run out of the study. Hugo looked up at his father with wide, chocolate brown eyes.

"Oh, hi Dad…is breakfast ready?" he asked innocently, while trying to inconspicuously close the door behind him.

"What were you doing in my office, son?" Ron asked in an equally innocent way.

"Just…just petting Pig," Hugo said, and Ron could see him discreetly try to hide his right hand.

"I heard a crash…is everything all right?"

The young child looked up at his father, looking scared for a split second before flashing a wide smile.

"Yeah, sure Dad," he replied smoothly.

"Well, you want to play a game of chess before breakfast?"

"Yeah, cool!" Hugo sounded genuinely excited.

"Okay, let's get the set," Ron said, smiling slightly, as he stepped around his son to get inside the office.

"Ah, wait Dad!" Hugo nearly shouted, evidently forgetting the chess set was kept in his father's study. "L-let me get it and we can play downstairs!"

"It's okay, Hugo, I'll get it," Ron replied, opening the door and looking for the source of his son's distress.

He laughed to himself as he entered the room and had a look around. The ugly old vase that Hermione's Great Aunt Gertrude had given them as a wedding gift was missing from the bookshelf it normally sat on, and shards of it had haphazardly been swept under the area rug.

"Oh no!" he said in a tone that he knew was overly melodramatic.

Hugo looked at his father with frightened eyes once again.

"Wha-what is it Dad?"

"Great Auntie Gertrude's vase is missing!"

Hugo continued to look scared, knowing what was to come.

"Someone must have stolen it!"

Hugo did a double take.

"Huh?"

"Well sure, son; I see a lot of this in my job. You see," Ron said in a conspiratorial whisper, as he moved toward the open window, "the thief probably flew up to the window, opened it with an unlocking charm, stole the vase, and flew back out!"

Hugo could only stare as he absorbed this long-winded explanation.

"Well, I'm going to have to head into work and get the whole Auror squad in for this one…." Ron said, having to suppress a smile at the completely baffled look on his son's face. "Who knows how long this investigation will take…."

"Dad! You can't…it's Saturday! And…a-and maybe it wasn't stolen!" Hugo said in a rush, clearly displeased at this turn of events.

Ron quirked an eyebrow as he turned away from the door to look his son in the eyes. "Oh really?"

"Well…maybe…it got," Hugo searched the room avidly, thinking of something to say, "…lost?"

Hugo looked up with what he thought was a winning smile. Seeing his father's knowing smirk, though, he realized he had been caught. "Sorry Dad. I let Pig out of his cage and he knocked it over."

Ron nodded in understanding. Poor old Pig was nearly blind, and would thus fly into something nearly every time he was let out of his cage. He was still as energetic as he was back in his prime, but it was decided that he was no longer allowed to send post anymore.

"Where is Pig?" Ron asked, realizing the little gray owl wasn't in his cage.

"He flew out the window," Hugo said, pointing to the open window. "I'm sorry Dad; I was going to tell you, but I thought you'd be mad. So I was gonna fix it later…."

Ron glanced out, but couldn't find a trace of his little feathered friend.

"Ah, well, he'll turn up soon enough," Ron said, turning away from the window and going toward the slightly concealed broken vase.

"And it's okay son; I'm not mad," Ron continued while taking out his wand. He muttered a quick Reparo before looking back at Hugo. He was still holding his right hand behind his back.

"Let me see it," Ron replied gently, kneeling down and holding out his hand.

Hugo went over and brought out his hand to reveal a shallow cut that was bleeding slightly. Ron cast a quick healing charm and looked at his son's upset face.

"You know…this reminds me of a time when—"

"Oh, Dad, no…not another story!" Hugo asked, now looking pained. "Haven't I suffered enough?"

"Hey," Ron replied with a grin, "you do the crime, you do the time." Ron's smile broadened as his son groaned.

"Now, right before your Uncle Harry and mum and I went off to search for Horcruxes, I had a chat with Granddad Weasley…."

Ron stared at the slimy, bald creature, and knew this was going to be impossible.

He'd tried everything he could think of; Glamour Charms, the Hives Hex, and even the Hair-Thickening Charm, but there was just no way he would ever get this ghoul to turn into a passable Ron Weasley.

"Dammit," he muttered, kicking a box aside and sitting on the floor. "Why isn't this working?"

"Why isn't what working, son?"

Ron's neck nearly snapped. He whipped around to see his father standing at the top of the staircase, a small smile on his face.

"Oh, hey Dad…is lunch ready yet?" Ron asked, deflecting the question with one of his own.

"What're you doing up here, Ron?" Arthur returned, giving his youngest son a calculating look.

"Just…just looking for…" Ron quickly dug his hand into the box he had kicked aside moments ago and grabbed the first thing he touched, "this!"

Arthur chuckled, and Ron, glancing at the stuffed spider he was holding, gave a surprised shout and threw it back into the box.

"Why does mum still have that?" he roared, inching far away from the box. The old stuffed spider had once belonged to Percy, before Ron became arachnophobic and screamed whenever it and Percy where in the same room as him.

"Well, some might say I have an infatuation with Muggle devices," Arthur said, walking further into the attic, "but I've got nothing on your mother's desire to keep her children's baby things. She would've collected your used nappies if I didn't stop her."

Ron laughed, quite certain that a collection like that would just be one more good reason to avoid the attic altogether.

"So, son, what are you trying to do to our resident ghoul?"

Ron grimaced as he looked down on the smelly old creature, and frowning even more so as it looked up at him and drooled. "I just…." Ron looked back at his father, quite unsure of what his reaction might be regarding the Horcrux hunt with Harry and Hermione.

"Does this have to do with Harry?" his father asked, clearly reading his mind.

"Dad…I have to go. Harry's…" Ron took a steadying breath and, after receiving a knowing smile from his father, continued.

"Dumbledore left Harry a job to do before he died. So after the wedding Harry, Hermione, and I are going to go take care of that job. And You-Know-Who can't be defeated until after this job is done, so…so…I have to go. I have to help," Ron replied in a rush, trying to get it all out in one.

Arthur gave his son another calculating look before asking, "Can I help?"

Ron shook his head. "No, Dad."

The two shared a silence, where Ron stood uncomfortably against the shrewd look of his father.

"Let me see it."

"Huh?" Ron asked, confused.

"What you're doing to the ghoul; let me see it," Arthur replied, pointing at the ghoul lying behind Ron.

"Oh, well, I've been trying some Glamour Charms…to get him to look like me," Ron replied, stepping aside as his father walked up behind him. "I was going to put him in my room. That way, when I don't go back to Hogwarts and people come by asking for me, you or mum could just say I'm sick and show them up to my room."

"I think we might need some help on this one, son," Arthur replied, getting a good look at the now moaning ghoul. "I know a few guys who are pretty good at Glamour Charms."

"You do?" Ron asked, looking surprised.

"Well, it was your brothers who brewed a Flawless Aging Potion."

"Yeah, and look how well that turned out," but Ron smiled, knowing that now this wasn't so impossible.

"Moral of the story?"

Hugo looked up into his father's face with a wry smile.

"Dads know too much."

Ron smiled and nodded.

"That's right."

"Breakfast!" Hermione called up from the kitchen.

"Finally!" Hugo and Ron shouted back, before looking at each other and laughing.

They raced each other down the stairs, determined to beat the other to the breakfast table.

"What'd you break?" Hermione asked her son as they ran into the kitchen.

"Great Auntie Gertrude's vase," Hugo answered, but only after a mock celebration at beating his dad to the table. "But Dad fixed it."

"You know, if you and your sister would just come to us with your problems right away, you two wouldn't get into so much troub—" Hermione started to lecture, but was interrupted by a loud THUMP, followed by a shriek from the hallway.

"Merlin, what was that?" Hermione asked, startled.

"Mum!" Rosie exclaimed from the hallway. "Pig ran into the front door again!"

Hugo and Ron barely had time to glance at each other before bursting out into laughter.

Ron was right after all. It was going to be a good day.

A/n: I hope you enjoyed this fluffy, fatherific chapter!

Well, I've started working, so updates will be slower than before. Sorry, guys, but an eight to five job wipes me out. I'm trying my best, given that I've finished a third of the next chapter already. We'll see what happens.

Latest day I'll update will be two weeks from now, and earliest will probably be…next weekend. But, really, the true thing that makes me want to update are reviews! So PLEASE review! I'll love you forever!

Speaking of…thanks so much to my reviewers! I love you! I'm glad you liked the last chapter, and I hope you love this new one! Cookies for all of you and your daddies!

-dieselwriter

P.S.: Happy Father's Day!

P.P.S.: No, Great Auntie Gertrude has no relation to the books. She's completely noncanon…but for some reason I imagine her a bit like Ron's Great Auntie Muriel. O.o? I bet we'll be seeing her again in an upcoming chapter. ;)

P.P.P.S.: Sorry about the lack of Rosie in this chapter…but the last chapter had quite a bit of her, so it was Hugo's turn!