Here's another chapter – sorry for the delay – I'm currently on vacation with no stable internet connection so I'm not sure when I'll be able to post this.
Thank you so much for the reviews I love to hear from you guys!
Enjoy!
They returned from the check-up, finding Percy and George in the garden, tossing gnomes over the hedge.
Molly rushed to the kitchen to prepare lunch for her bunch of hungry kids as it was nearly 12 .
Jade and Fred were sent upstairs to change from their nice clothes into something more suitable for hot summer day.
"What's wrong with your eyebrow?" asked Jade as soon as she joined George outside, grabbing two gnomes at the same time.
"Nothing." Shushed her George and pulled his old summer hat lower, to cover the right side of his face.
"How did it go?" Fred wanted to know.
"Well, some of the sparks were a bit bigger but some were less bright and kind of unpredictable – hence my missing half of the eyebrow." Frowned George. "It's gonna take a lot of work. We might need to do more research and find different charms, the ones we used didn't really work."
"At least we can take them off the list and concentrate on those we didn't try yet."
Shrugged Fred and walked back inside as their mom called them to eat just then.
After lunch, Molly finally agreed to their plan and promised to let them sleep outside that night.
There wasn't enough sleeping bags for all the Wasleys' kids so they spent the afternoon bringing old bed sheets and blankets from the attic.
They pulled some of the hay down, leaving rather large, slightly hollow place on top of the pile. Percy straightened large white bed sheet there, securing the corners with strings leading all the way down to the ground.
They used one of Molly's old patchwork comforters as another layer so the hay wouldn't poke them through the thin cotton. Percy vaguely remembered the comforter – it used to cover the living room sofa before Molly replaced the covers.
They extended a little roof over the bed area, made out of old fabric they found neatly stashed in the attic.
Molly allowed them to play with everything they found but asked several times to keep the fabric in one piece. She wanted to sew new shorts for them this summer and the old forgotten cotton was pretty green with white print.
Arthur came home and found a bunch of tired looking kids lying on the hay, enjoying the shadow after hours of work. Their nest for the night looked pretty cozy, with pillows and blankets arranger around the edges.
They all had a glass bottle of lemonade with straws and plate of sliced apples to share.
Arthur sneaked inside. He enjoyed the loud crazy welcome his kids usually gave him upon his arrival from work, but getting a little bit of time alone with Molly was a rare treat.
She was in the kitchen, relaxing herself. They had a pot of soup in the fridge for dinner and she decided to leave laundry till tomorrow, when she'll be able to wash the cotton fabric as well, after the kids are done playing fort. She was sitting with her back turned to the door, facing the window from where light breeze was coming. A glass of iced coffee on her side lazily browsing Witch weekly. She had a stack of old sewing patterns pulled out from the bottom drawer of the living room shelf but couldn't find anything she'd want to make for the kids, so she gave up and decided to read the month old issue. With kids at home she still didn't have time to read through it.
"Hello beautiful." Whispered Arthur and leaned over Molly's shoulder to kiss her.
"Arthur!" exclaimed Molly, startled, as she didn't hear him come in.
He kissed her again as she jumped up from the chair.
"I'll make you a sandwich right away dear. What would you like?" she smiled at him as he put his briefcase on the table and set the mail he was carrying on top of it.
"cheese with cucumber? Or we still have some ham left over from Sunday." Asked Molly, head stuck in the fridge, trying to come up with a nice tasty combination for a sandwich.
Arthur walked to her and held her waist, spinning her around and kissing her lips again. "I don't want no sandwich. I want you." He whispered to her right ear, kissing the ticklish spot on Molly's neck.
"What's got into you?" she giggled but held onto his arms really strong so he wouldn't let go.
"Well, it's been a while since we had a moment alo-" but he was interrupted by Ron running into the kitchen with empty plate.
"eeew dad! Get away from mom!" he yelled and then started to laugh really hard as Arthur started to chase him around the kitchen table.
"No running in the kitchen!" yelled Molly, catching the plate which slipped from Ron's hands at the last second before it hit the ground.
Ron run out of the house, still chased by dad, who stopped in the doorway,
"see? This is what I was talking about. No time alone. We'll have to fix that. " he winked at Molly mischievously and sprinted out to catch his youngest son who was still running away, looking back to see if dad's chasing him.
The way he winked at her, the same trouble-maker grin and those eyes – always made her remember how much their boys resembled to their daddy and how proud she was of them growing up to be as awesome men as their father is.
After a moment of swooning she turned around, closed the fridge door and sat back down to finish the coffee before starting the dinner.
"Kids! Get inside and wash up before we eat!" Molly yelled from the kitchen door, watching a bunch of hungry kids plus Arthur run from around the corner. They were getting more and more freckles as the summer sun started to shine more often these last days and Jade was getting more tan, which made her stand out among the Weasleys red headed light skinned bunch of kids.
Jade's light grey eyes were shining from her tan face.
"Can I help with dinner?" she asked just as Molly turned on the stove to heat up the soup.
"That's so nice of you Jade. I'd love some help. It gets lonely in the kitchen sometimes." Chatted Molly as she pulled out half of a bread loaf. It was already two days old and more on the chewy side. Nobody would eat it when Molly baked fresh bread the next day so she decided to used it up tonight.
"You could slice this, and butter both sides, lightly." added Molly as she set a large baking sheet on the table. "Then we'll add some cheese and garlic on top and bake them." She smiled at Jade who took the bread-knife from the drawer and unhooked the cutting board from its place over the sink.
"I think I want to write my essay for Herbology about Wolf's bane." Said Jade as she cut the slices of bread in half.
"That's great idea dear, you should check if they mention it in the books you have from school, it's not commonly used in potions but there could be something … or maybe we could stop at the library down at the village – they ought to have something and it would be interesting to include muggle perspective on the topic right?" suggested Molly, steering the soup.
"Yeah, that would be great. And I think I'll write to the healer we've met today. Maybe he'll find a little bit of time and tell me more about the way they're using it in the potion to help werewolves." Added Jade excitedly.
"I'm not sure they'll be willing to share information about their research Jade, people usually guard their discoveries so no one would steal the idea and get the fame, but you can try write him. There's a parchment on…" said Molly.
"…on the window shelf, I know." Smiled Jade, not at all discouraged by the possibility of not being able to get more details. The healer seemed really nice and she wasn't going to give up without trying.
Dear Mr. N. Wright,
I'm writing you to say than you for working on the Wolf's bane potion. I think it is a very important research you're doing and I wish you all the luck of the world so you can finish it as soon as possible.
I'm currently working on my Herbology essay for next academic year and I'd like to ask if it would be possible for you to share a little bit more about your research?
I'v decided to choose the Wolf's bane plant because of it's possible use in potion which would eventually help werewolves and I'd love to include an expert's point of view.
Please let me know if it would be possible for you. I know most of the research is usually kept secret but I would be grateful for any piece of information you could share.
Thank you for your time,
Yours sincerely
Jade Mraz
Jade re-read her letter several times to make sure she included everything she wanted. It wasn't too long, as she didn't want to take too much time from busy schedule of a healer.
She sealed it and tied it securely to the leg of their family owl, kissing him gently on the soft neck feathers, before letting him fly out of the back door.
Dinner was delicious as always. And after the meal and good night cup of chocolate milk, kids run upstairs to change into long sweatpants and flannel shirts.
Jade took her pillow as well, running out of the door, closely followed by the rest of the Weasley kids.
"Alright everyone. You're not allowed to wander off at night. Stay at the back yard and don't stay up too late ok? " said Arthur as he kissed all of his kids' foreheads as they climbed up on the pile of hay where their bed was waiting.
"the back door will be open, and you can call us anytime you want and …" started Molly worried but Arthur kissed her cheek and pushed her gently inside. "Don't worry dear, they'll be ok."
"Let the party begin!" exclaimed twins at the same time accompanied by loud Hurray from Jade, Ron and Ginny, even Percy smiled as he lied back and looked up at the starry sky.
"So here are the rules: " started Fred.
"No one's going inside tonight." Said George holding up one finger.
"This is survival in the wilderness. No crying or complaining." Added Fred holding up two fingers.
"now let's see what munchies mom packed!" they both yelled at the same time and everyone attacked the picnic basket Molly gave them and with loud cheering they discovered a pack of roasted salted peanuts, dried cranberries, cans of orange Fanta Arthur brought home from work, grilled cheese sandwiches and little chocolate muffins.
Molly paused at the stairs, smiling as the exclamations of the kids carried inside through open window.
"They'll be alright." Repeated Arthur from the bathroom with toothbrush in one hand.
"I know, I know." She nodded her head and went to get ready for the night.
"Molly there was a letter from the social services in the mail. I got a note from Matilda today, she sent it to work, to make sure we'll pick up the letter at the muggle post office. It looks pretty official, I had to sign some paper that I received it." Said Arthur, turning off the bathroom light and walking to the bed where Molly was sitting with a comb in her hand, brushing her hair like every night.
"Why didn't you say something sooner?" exclaimed Molly, looking worried as she grabbed the white envelope from Arthur's outstretched hand.
"I thought we should read it first to see what it is, before telling Jade, plus I didn't want to spoil their night camping out."
"Alright, alright, shush now." Molly opened the envelope and unfolded the letter.
There was one officially looking paper, neatly typed on computer, another note, which Molly recognized as Matilda's handwriting and small sealed envelope made of expensive looking paper with Jade's full name printed in golden ink on top of it..
Molly's hand shoot up to her heart as she read through the official letter.
"What is it dear?" Asked Arthur, sitting down on her side, reaching for the paper.
"They say some relatives from Ireland who hired a detective to find Jade are inviting her for family reunion this summer." Whispered Molly looking pale.
Arthur grabbed Matilda's letter, hoping for more explanation.
Dearest Arthur and Molly,
I'll try to explain what's going on.
As it turns out Jade's grandmother had two sisters but she interrupted any contact with the family when she married a man from lower class and they run away together, living bohemian life as artists on the way, spending most of the year traveling the world in caravan.
Jade's mother being a muggleborn witch married a wizard and never re-new contact with her mother's sisters, whom she's never met.
Jade great-aunts were searching for her since they learned that Jade's parents passed away but due to Jade being placed in foster system and the muggle way of protecting information about orphaned children in care of the country it was impossible to find her. Their detective only located her now, as she's been legally adopted and he had some access to the decisions made by the court as those are to some degree accessible for lawyers and police. Anyway, they've contacted the adoption agency, as that's the only legal way to get in contact with adopted child if they are biologically related.
Now Molly, don't panic, we've explained that Jade's been adopted and is adjusting to the new family really well and we wouldn't want to interrupt the process of bonding or bring more confusion and they completely understand.
We had their lawyer in our office and I talked to him myself, he's a very respectable and polite man.
All they want is to meet Jade and get to know their grand-niece as they never had the opportunity to get to know her or her mother.
They offered to take Jade for one week at the end of July, when they'll have family reunion organized in their house. They also offered to pay for the flight ticket and pick her up at the airport. I assure you she'd be well taken care of.
They also know that the decision is up to you as a family and assured me they'll understand if Jade won't be able to come. It's just a suggestion for you and for Jade to consider.
Please let me know how you decide and I'd send you more contact information along with the copy of the background check we did on them.
If you have more questions don't hesitate to contact me.
I hope to hear from you soon
With love
Matilda Jones.
Arthur folded the letter and they looked at each other in silence.
"That's orion, and that over there is part of Ursa Major…" explained Percy pointing at the constellations on the sky.
"Or as we like to call it, the butt of mama bear." Laughed twins, snacking on the leftovers from the basket.
Ginny was already asleep and Ron looked unconscious as well, but he was still chewing on something, chocolate smeared over his left cheek.
"and that one's Sirius…and do you see the milky way?" Percy continued explaining and Jade nodded. She already knew some of the constellations but it was nice to lay there with her brothers around and just listen to them talk. She was home.
They woke up early, around six in the morning when sun started to rise. The world around them was cold and wet from the morning dew which fell a while ago (thank Merlin they thought about adding the roof which protected them from most of the humidity).
"I guess we should head inside." Suggested Percy, shaking Ron and Ginny awake. And for once, everyone agreed, not even the twins protested against the idea.
They climbed down the pile of hay and marched to the kitchen in a silent row, Percy carrying Ginny who complained about the grass being too cold for bare feet, and she instantly fell back asleep as he picked her up.
After sleeping only few hours, finally settling down around one in the morning they didn't feel like talking at all.
Dad met them in the kitchen as he was walking down the stairs to grab a cup of coffee before he started to get ready for work.
"Oh, good morning happy campers!" he exclaimed cheerfully, ruffling the twins' hair as they passed by him. Boys only growled in response, not ready to fully wake up yet and they dragged themselves up to their room to sleep some more.
Ron followed closely, mumbling good morning to his dad, still half asleep.
Arthur picked Ginny from Percy's arms and turned around to carry her back to bed.
Jade stayed in the kitchen. She didn't feel like sleeping anymore, maybe she'll sneak in a nap after lunch but she knew there was no way she'd fall asleep again. After all she was pretty well rested after dreamless night of heavy sleep in fresh air.