November 2005

Overall, Maggie loved nursery, her delight at telling Percy how she was learning to add up or how she had been allowed to select the story for story time was a joy to witness. It went a good way to reassuring Percy that Maggie wasn't suffering from not being home-schooled and that a muggle education was teaching her everything she would need.

It hadn't, of course, stopped him from requesting the school's Ofsted reports and a detailed list of what the nursery would focus on for Maggie's education.

It was a surprise then that her usually happy daughter was not bursting through the door of the nursery exactly on 2pm as usual when Audrey went to collect her. It was even more concerning that the Nursery leader, Mrs Thomas, who was stood at the door as the children streamed past, made her way over as soon as she recognised her.

"Mrs Weasley, I'm sorry to have to tell you but there's been a small incident, nothing to worry about, but Margaret has been inconsolable."

Audrey followed Mrs Thomas against the flow of the children back into the main area. She didn't see Maggie so turned to Mrs Thomas expectantly. "What's happened?"

"She and another child, Stacey, got into an argument just after their twelve o'clock story session. Heated words were exchanged, and Stacey hasn't spoken a word since. This, however, seems to have upset Margaret even more. We've had to separate them from the rest of the class and each other."

"Oh," Audrey said concern rushing through her. "Might I see her?"

"Yes, please. If you can perhaps get her to explain, we can ensure that steps are taken to resolve the issue."

Audrey nodded and went through the internal door Mrs Thomas opened for her. It was some sort of small soft-play room. Maggie had curled herself up into a corner; her head bent over her knees with her arms wrapped around her legs as tightly as they could be.

"Maggie," Audrey said, dropping to her knees and opening her arms in invitation. Maggie's head lifted. Her face was swollen and blotchy from crying, her eyes red-rimmed. "Maggie, love, what is it? Come here. We can sort it, I promise."

"I don't want to be a bad witch!" Maggie cried as she launched herself at Audrey's chest. Audrey rocked at the impact but wrapped her arms around Maggie, stroking over her hair, somewhat confused as to the pronouncement. Maggie buried her face as fresh tears fell. "I don't want to be like Grandma Weasley, and Stacey said I was a witch and I said I wasn't, and she kept saying it and saying it, and I told her to stop, and she didn't, and I told her to shut up. Now she won't talk, and everyone thinks I'm a witch and it's my fault and I don't want to be a bad witch, like Grandma Weasley."

Audrey felt her eyebrows climb and glanced over to Mrs Thomas who had remained in the doorway. Cautiously, because Audrey had to admit that it was entirely possible that Stacey's sudden inability to speak was her daughter's fault and she could absolutely not say that, she tried to be reassuring without making Mrs Thomas think she was nuts. "I don't think anyone thinks Stacey not talking is your fault, Maggie. No one thinks you put a spell on her." Audrey nudged Maggie's face up. "Grandma Weasley isn't a bad witch." Audrey felt a flash of guilt at the look of disbelief on Maggie's face. "She's not a nice person," Audrey admitted reluctantly. "But she's not a bad witch. Where did you even get that idea from?"

"Victoire," Maggie sniffed. "She told me that Grandma Weasley says you aren't a good mum when they visit. That's why Aunty Fleur doesn't let them stay."

Audrey bit her lip, mentally cursing her mother-in-law. Kids heard everything and while she was sure Molly hadn't meant for her grandchildren to repeat what she said, it was a bit late for that now. "I can't do a lot about Grandma Weasley, Maggie, but you're not ever going to be a bad person or even a bad witch. I wouldn't let you, nor would your Daddy or your uncles." Audrey stroked the sweaty hair back from Maggie's face. "Come on, let's go home. When Daddy gets home tonight, we can tell him what Grandma has said, and he can speak to Grandad."

"What about Stacey?"

"When you get in tomorrow, I'm sure you can both apologise and then make friends again if that's what you want."

Maggie shrugged, burrowing deeper into Audrey's arms. "Go on. You go get your things while I speak to Mrs Thomas, alright?" Maggie nodded, sitting up reluctantly. She wiped her nose on her sleeve, causing Audrey to roll her eyes and push her gently off her knee and to her feet. "Go on. I'll be here."

Maggie left the room as Audrey stood up and addressed Mrs Thomas. "Are Stacey's parents here? I'd like to speak to them and make sure everything is sorted between them both for tomorrow. My mother-in-law, well, I suppose you could describe her as a bit of a witch, but I didn't know that Maggie had heard those things from her cousins."

Mrs Thomas nodded. "I had Miss Lucas wait for them so they could be informed of what has happened today. I'll go and see if they are still here. I'll speak to both Maggie and Stacey tomorrow separately to make sure they are both settled. They don't share the same friend groups, so keeping them apart until the hurt has settled shouldn't be a problem."

Audrey followed Mrs Thomas back into the main room and lingered while she went through another door. Mrs Tomas returned promptly, followed by a man in a suit, holding a briefcase clutched in one hand.

"Mrs Weasley, this is Mr Wright, Stacy's father."

Audrey nodded at the man, holding out her hand. "Audrey Weasley."

"Robert Wright. Look, I'm sure whatever tiff the girls have gotten into will be sorted tomorrow, and they'll be back to playing dolls or whatever."

"Stacey is alright?"

"Well, she's refusing to talk still, I've no idea why, but she'll probably have forgotten about it all tomorrow."

Audrey nodded. "I mean, I don't know if it's possible, but I was wondering if you might give me your phone number and we could meet somewhere neutral, let the girls see each other out of the nursery. It might help them sort out that they can coexist."

Mr Wright shrugged nonplussed. "I don't see why it's necessary but fine. You'll need to speak to my wife." He put the briefcase on the floor, slipped it open and pulled out a business card. Flipping it over, he pulled a pen from his jacket pocket and scribbled a number down.

Audrey opened her handbag, rooting for a card. Finding one that was for the antique shop, she dug out a biro and wrote down her number. "I'll call your wife if that's alright, see if we can't arrange something."

Mr Wright took the card with a nod. "I really must be going. I've got to get back to the office and Stacey will need dropping at home."

"No problem," Audrey said with a smile. "Nice to meet you."

He gave her a distracted nod before heading out the main door. As the door swung shut, Audrey spied a blond girl waiting. Stacey, she presumed.

Maggie came back a minute later, her coat and bag in her arms. Audrey smiled at her holding out a hand. "Let's get going, Lucy will be wondering where we've gotten to."

When Percy got home later that evening, Audrey made sure the girls were occupied in their bedrooms before beckoning Percy into the kitchen. She explained the spat and left out the part about Molly. "I'm worried that Maggie thinks her magic is the reason Stacey's not speaking."

"Well," Percy said. "It's entirely possible. If she wanted this Stacey to stop talking badly enough, accidental magic has a way of, granting wishes, I suppose."

"Look, I know that this isn't good, but do you think you could nip round and check on Stacey? If it is a spell, you can end it, can't you?"

"In theory, but I certainly wouldn't let me into the house to wave a stick at my daughter, I'm not sure why you think they would."

"I didn't mean to ask. Just disillusion yourself, and you know, sneak in."

"Audrey! That's breaking, I don't know, umpteen laws both muggle and magical."

"Yes, alright, I didn't think it would exactly be on the up and up," Audrey stressed. "But Maggie is beating herself up about turning into a bad witch by casting spells on her classmates. She was in floods, Percy. If Stacey isn't speaking tomorrow or isn't in school, she's going to feel worse, and the class will whisper about it, and it's going to upset her more. I don't want her afraid of her magic. If Stacey turns up tomorrow speaking, but in a strop, it will be brushed under the carpet and forgotten about in a week or so. And think of Stacey, when Maggie's magic turned Lucy's hair blue it didn't fade for nearly three weeks. If Stacey's still not speaking for that long, she's going to get a barrage of tests run on her, and it's not something she's able to control. She's just a little girl picking on her classmates, she's going to be upset too. We can't let her go through that."

Percy scrubbed a hand through his hair. "Alright, you have a point. I'll, I'll do something. I don't know what, but I'll see what I can do. She might be talking by now. If it was Maggie's magic, it might have worn off."

"Thank you, Percy," Audrey said.

Percy waved her off. "Don't thank me for this, I don't want Maggie upset either. Just, you know, have bail money ready if I get arrested."

"You're going now?"

"I best had; I don't suppose Stacey's bedtime is much different to the girls. You've got the address?"

"I looked them up in the phone book, Stacey's Dad gave me their number. They're at fifteen Laburnum Grove, it's not far from the nursery. Just around the corner really."

Percy thought for a moment. "I think I know where that is. Alright." He shook himself and straightened his shoulders. "Wish me luck."

"You don't need it," Audrey said, smiling but kissing him anyway. "Be back soon."

Percy let himself out the kitchen door and disappeared with a small pop.

Audrey chewed her lip, uneasy and aware of how much she'd asked of Percy. He could conceivably get into quite a lot of trouble for doing this, he wasn't wrong, but she still thought it was for the best.

Percy approached the house under the strongest disillusionment charm he knew how to cast, along with a silencing charm on his shoes. Cursing himself for being all sorts of a fool he stole up the front garden path. The curtains were drawn over the front windows giving him no clues as to what he would be facing. Drawing his wand, he cast a silencing charm on the front door then cautiously he tried the handle. The door swung open, and he slipped around it, shutting it gently. He froze then, straining his ears to detect where everyone was within the house. The house was laid out differently from his own, the front door had opened onto a small square of space with a single door to his left that was ajar. In the gap, Percy could see a large sofa facing into the room with its back to the front windows. Carefully he stepped into the gap and poked his head into the room

It was the sitting room; the large sofa faced a television over a coffee table with an armchair to the right of it angled toward the television. The left side of the room had an open-sided staircase leading to the upstairs. An open doorway at the foot of the staircase led to a dining room and from the clinking of dishes, Percy deduced the kitchen. The room was lit by the overhead light which had been dimmed slightly but offered no shadows in which he could hide.

Happily, his route seemed fairly simple, his only obstacle to overcome was that the armchair in the room was occupied. The man, Percy presumed, was Stacey's father. The television was on, showing the news and he seemed to be watching it idly. Warily Percy edged into the room careful not to nudge the door further open. The gap down the side of the sofa towards the stairs and the rear of the house was well worn and clear of any clutter. Percy took slow steps, if he moved too quickly his disillusionment charm would blur making him easier to spot. It had to be less than ten steps to the foot of the stairs, he advanced barely breathing.

The stairs had a turn at the bottom which would have Percy turn his back to the room as he started up them. Once more holding his breath and moving as slowly as he dared, he placed his foot on the bottom step. As he made the turn and began the climb upwards, he glanced over to the occupied armchair. Stacey's father was looking in his direction and frowning slightly. Percy froze, his hand tightening the grip on his wand, a spell forming on the tip of his tongue.

"Have you not finished yet?" Stacey's father called out abruptly. "How long does it take for crying out loud."

"I'm nearly done!" came the sharp response back. "It's not like you've bothered yourself to help."

Percy took another step up the staircase, intent on his goal and not the bickering couple. Finally reaching the top of the stairs and the darkness of the unlit space, he let out a breath and followed the landing to the doors of the bedrooms.

The first door was the master bedroom, it had a double bed taking up most of the space. He eased the door back to its slightly ajar position and continued to the two doors facing him. One was open showing the family bathroom, the other was closed and when edged open, led to a small empty bedroom that was only occasionally used for guests. To Percy's right was the last door on the landing, set back down a narrow corridor the length of which corresponded to the size of the small guest room. This would be Stacey's room then.

He crept forward, pushing the handle down slowly and pressing the door gently open. The room was extremely pink even in the dim light. The carpet and the walls matched, and as Percy slid into the darkened room, he could vaguely make out that the curtains were of a similar shade. In the bed lay a small sad figure curled up around itself. Percy felt his stomach drop at the sight. He lifted his wand; a whispered finite accompanied a careful and precise wand movement. The spell washed out over the huddled figure and the sound of soft exhausted sobs reached Percy's ears. He stiffened, wondering if she would notice that she was able to make noise again, but the sound stopped as Stacey fell into an exhausted slumber. Percy drew another breath, guilt and relief welling up within him, he turned away and made his careful way back to the stairs.

Getting out was easier than getting in. Stacey's parents had continued their bickering while he had been upstairs, and the sitting room was empty as they sniped at each other in the kitchen diner. Percy made his way to the front door as quickly as prudent, closing it behind him and taking the first full breath since he had arrived at the house. Not caring to remain any longer he twisted into an apparition.

Audrey heard him arrive just inside the front door, she hurried down the hall from the kitchen as he removed his shoes and robe.

"Well?" she asked. "Is everything alright?"

Percy shot a glance upstairs before taking Audrey's hand and leading her back to the kitchen.

"They're both out like lights," she reassured him.

"It was Maggie's magic," he said quietly. "My spell removed it from Stacey. She'd cried herself to exhaustion and slipped off to sleep just after it was lifted."

"Oh, the poor thing," Audrey said. "Her parents didn't see you?"

"No," he answered.

"There's something else," Audrey said as she turned and took their dinner out of the oven where she'd left it. Percy obligingly wove a reheating charm at the two plates then followed Audrey as she carried them through to the dining room where the table was already set.

"Oh?" he asked as he sat down.

Audrey laid down the plates and took her seat. "Yes, the argument they had, Stacey and Maggie, the reason Maggie got upset was that she got called a bad witch. When Maggie was explaining to me at the nursery, she said she didn't want to be a bad witch like Grandma Weasley. It seems that Victoire has overheard your mum saying that I'm a bad mum and that's the reason Fleur has given Victoire as to why they can't stay over."

Percy put his knife and fork down. "And Victoire has told Maggie, who has inferred that Mum is a bad witch. Merlin."

"I don't suppose your Mum knew she was heard," Audrey offered lamely.

"It doesn't make any difference though does it," Percy pointed out. "She's said it where her grandchildren can hear."

"I think all we can do is let Arthur know and tell Fleur so she can speak to Victoire."

Percy picked up his knife and fork again nodding in tired agreement. "It's not as if it changes anything. You're not a bad mother, you are far more understanding and kind over this than I can say. I'll take Maggie to nursery tomorrow, we'll have a chat on the way, make sure she's alright and knows it's not her fault."

"She'd like that, she was trying to stay up for you but today had tired her out. Fawkes was singing when I put them to bed."

The next morning Percy walked a subdued Maggie to nursery offering reassurances. It wasn't until they reached the playground in front of the nursery where Maggie spotted Stacey talking to friends that she managed a smile.

Percy bent down to hug her. "Go, have a good day today, I'll see you tonight and you can tell me how your day went."

Maggie threw her arms around him kissing his cheek. "Bye Daddy!" she said as she ran off to join her friends away from Stacey.

Percy stayed watching until the children had all gone inside then left with quick steps, looking for a spot he could apparate from.