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At Molly's Declaration that they had a bit of a walk, Harry, Colin, Dennis, Fred, George, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Susan, and Molly herself all rose from the table and Molly explained, "We're going to be traveling by Portkey, but there's a bit of a walk to get to our assigned Portkey."
Harry, Colin, Dennis, Fred, George, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, and Susan all nodded at Molly in understanding.
"What kind of Portkey are we taking?" Harry asked Molly curiously.
"A manky old boot, " said Molly matter of factly.
"Cool!" chorused Fred and George.
"Is our Portkey to the Quidditch World Cup site pretimed or touch and take?" inquired Ginny.
"Pretimed, " answered Molly in a businesslike voice, "Pretimed are far better for larger groups and there are ten of us after all. We have ten tickets. I was originally going to stay behind but Arthur doesn't need a ticket now as he is there as our new Minister of Magic."
"Molly?" asked Harry uncomfortably, "Do you fear for Arthur's life?" People in high ranking political positions are always at risk from potential assassins."
"It's complicated, " replied Molly shakily, "I do fear for Arthur. But ultimately, some things are worth dying for. If, for example, Arthur was to sacrifice his own life, but his death ended up improving wizard-muggle relations, then his death would be worth it, and it would be an honorable death. That said, Ministers of Magic aren't usually the ones in the most danger. There have historically been many more assassinations and attempted assassinations of Heads of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement than of Ministers of Magic."
At this, Harry's eyes threw a serious look into Susan's eyes.
"Susan, your Aunt Amelia, who is your guardian and easily the most significant adult figure in your life, is the Head of The Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Do you regularly fear for your aunt's life?"
"Every day," admitted Susan seriously, "When I'm living at home during the summer, I feel immensely relieved every night when Auntie Amelia arrives home safe and alive. When I'm away from home, at Hogwarts or elsewhere, I feel that same relief every time I get a letter from Auntie Amelia. But I wake up every day knowing it could be Aunt Amelia's last."
Harry felt his eyes start to water and a few tears drop down his cheeks.
"Oh, Susan, " said Harry in a gut wrenched type of voice, walking over to Susan and giving her a tight hug, "I'm so sorry. I can't imagine what it must be like to have to constantly live with that kind of worry."
"It used to be even worse, " admitted Susan, "However, a recent agreement my Auntie Amelia and I were recently involved in has made me slightly more at ease."
"What might that agreement be?" Harry asked Susan in a concerned voice.
To Harry's surprise, Susan and Luna exchanged genuine smiles.
"Harry, " said Susan in a businesslike voice, "Do you remember me explaining when I first became part of this group that, while I had always been treated kindly by all of my Hufflepuff classmates except for Zacharias Smith, I had never had any close friends because things had just never broken that way for me?"
"Yes, " said Harry simply.
"Well, " explained Susan in a businesslike voice, "While I can honestly say that I am closer with everyone in this group than I've ever been with any Hufflepuff, fairly early on into my inclusion in this group of friends, I particularly took to Luna."
"I think, " said Luna dreamily, staring up at the sun-"
"LUNA!" yelled Molly, "DON"T LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN! YOU COULD DAMAGE YOUR EYES!"
A shocked Luna dropped her head and said, "Sorry, Molly, the Wrackspurts must've made my brain go fuzzy."
"There are no such things as wrackspurts!" said Hermione angrily.
"Oh yes there are!" retorted Luna fiercely.
"Now's not the time, " intervened Ginny, "Luna, go back to what you were going to say before my mom told you off."
"I think, " said Luna, her voice reclaiming its dreamy state, "That Susan and I felt like kindred spirits because we both came from the position of not having friends in our own houses at Hogwarts."
"I can't deny that " said Susan bluntly, "I certainly agree about the kindred spirits part. But Luna had it FAR worse than I did. At least my classmates treated me with kindness and respect. Luna's classmates bullied, harassed, and tormented her. And don't get me started on that disgusting and disgraceful nickname!"
"It was Ron who first gave Luna that offensive nickname!" revealed Ginny bitterly.
"I didn't know that, but it's easy to believe, " piped up Harry.
"Luna and I were close friends before Hogwarts, " explained Ginny, "The Lovegoods live close by. As Ron and I never got along, and as my other brothers were at least three years older than me, Luna became a playmate of my own age for me when we were of pre Hogwarts age. Luna and I frequently visited each other in our pre Hogwarts days. When Luna visited the Burrow, my parents and most of my brothers always accepted her and treated her well. Ron, on the other hand, was always very mean to her and was in fact the one to give her that disgusting nickname. But. I believe Susan was trying to explain something about an agreement she and her aunt had made with somebody."
"Not somebody, somebodies, " said Susan with a smile, "Those somebodies are Luna and her dad."
"The agreement, " said Luna gratefully, "Is that daddy and Susan's Aunt Amelia have agreed to become godparents to each other's wards. Amelia Bones is now my godmother, and my daddy is now Susan's godfather."
"That means, " explained Susan matter of factly, "If anything happens to Aunt Amelia, Xenophilius Lovegood will become my guardian. Conversely, if anything happens to Xenophilius, then my Aunt Amelia will become Luna's guardian."
"When was this arrangement made?" asked Harry curiously.
"On the Fourth of July, " explained Susan, "I spent the Fourth of July at the Lovegoods and Myself, Aunt Amelia, Luna, and Xenophilius all went to a spectacular Fourth of July fireworks show together."
"It was nice sharing that experience with Susan," cooed Luna.
"It was clear from my letters home to Amelia that I had taken to Luna, " said Susan crisply, "Aunt Amelia, keen to encourage my friendship with Luna, owled Xenophilius and asked him if she and I could stay with the Lovegoods for the Fourth of July holiday and go to a fireworks show together and he graciously said yes. It was during that visit that Xenophilius and Aunt Amelia made the arrangement that made them godparents to each other's wards."
"Aw, that's so sweet!" cooed Ginny.
"I know what wit's like to have a wonderful godfather, " piped up Harry, "But how do Xenophilius and Amelia get along?"
"Aunt Amelia actually really likes the Lovegoods and their beliefs in bizarre creatures, their weird accessories, and their eccentricness, " explained Susan, "She finds that spending time with them helps her to relax and loosen up a bit. I feel the same way."
Susan and Luna exchanged a quick hug.
"Thank you for sharing that story, Susan, and Luna, " said Harry warmly, "It makes my insides radiate with warmth to know that friendships and loyalty like that really do exist in the world.
At that, they had to stop talking because they had come to the manky old boot that was their Portkey and Molly looked at her watch.
"Everybody put a finger on the boot, " said Molly urgently, "The Portkey leaves in a minute and a nanosecond."
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