The Meeting
“HARRY!!” a group of people exclaimed as Harry stepped out of the fireplace at the Weasleys' home.
“Hey, guys!” he said, and Teddy shortly followed him, babbling something with a bit of giggling and lots of drooling. Harry quickly cleaned the boy up before Hermione came running to him and pulled him into a hug. “How come you're already here??” she asked, and upon seeing Teddy, she gasped. Harry responded to her question by pointing at the baby he was holding in his arms.
“I thought you all might want to meet him, and it's probably for the best if he gets some time to get used to the place before the Order fills this house.”
Ron, who wasn’t with the rest of the family, ran downstairs when he heard Harry’s voice and attacked him from behind. “Bloody hell, Harry! Why didn’t you tell us you were already coming today?” Harry just showed Ron the baby and watched as his eyes widened and his mouth dropped open.
“Harry, my dear, how are you?” Molly interrupted them and went to Harry, kissing his cheeks.
“I’m good, thank you, Molly.”
“How’s Teddy? How have the first days been?” she asked, showing concern.
“I think he’s fine—sleeping, eating, and pooping all day. The best life he could imagine, I hope. Plus, he loves to drool all over me.” Molly laughed. “Can I hold him?”
“Of course!” Harry said, handing Molly the baby. Teddy looked at her a bit unsure and reached back for Harry, about to burst into tears. But as Molly put him on her shoulder and gently patted his back, the boy quickly calmed down and fell asleep.
“Oh, Molly, my dear, it seems like you still have it in you.” Arthur joined them, giving his wife a kiss on the forehead before turning to Harry and shaking his hand. “It’s good to see you, Harry. You’ve come at just the right time! I just brought home a new Muggle gadget, and Hermione said she’s busy helping Molly with Ginny. So, do you want to help me figure out what this thing is?” Before Harry could even respond, Arthur was already heading to the garage, and Harry quickly followed him.
In the garage, Arthur showed Harry something he had never seen before, though it looked a bit creepy. It was fluffy and rock solid. “I found this in a small Muggle store, and I just had to bring it home,” Arthur explained to Harry.
“It must be new—I’ve never seen anything like this,” Harry said, taking the object and looking at the tag attached to it, which read Furby.
“Interesting, its name seems to be Furby,” Harry remarked. As he was about to hand the strange, robotic-looking toy back to Arthur, he accidentally touched something on the Furby. Suddenly, the Furby’s ears and eyes started moving, and it began speaking. Harry screamed in surprise and threw it away, letting out a high-pitched yell, which Arthur joined in.
At the sound of their screams, Molly stormed into the garage, with Teddy still in her arms. “What happened??!” she screamed at the two men, who were visibly startled.
“This thing… it moves!” Arthur exclaimed.
Molly approached the Furby and picked it up. “This is just a children’s toy, you two,” she said. Teddy, absolutely fascinated by the toy, reached for it, making little “Eh” and “Mh” sounds as he tried to grab it. Molly handed it to him, and Harry thought to himself, Nooo, this creepy thing is going to follow me home now.
Arthur, now completely intrigued again, said, “That’s fascinating. Muggles really get creative without magic!”
“That doesn’t matter now,” Molly said, “It’s Teddy’s now. Look how happy he is with it.” The boy was happily holding the Furby, which was almost as big as him, drooling over it and making happy sounds, which melted everyone’s hearts.
“Thank you all for attending today’s Order meeting,” Professor McGonagall said, standing in front of a big table in the garden of the Burrow. The group sitting at the table was, to everyone’s sadness, now much smaller than before the war.
“And an especially big thanks to Mrs. Weasley, who offered to host this meeting at the Burrow. The Order is very grateful to you,” McGonagall said, smiling at Molly. Molly returned the gesture.
“Anytime. It’s always a pleasure to have you all here,” she said.
“Very well,” McGonagall began again. “As we all know, we have just recently won against the Dark Lord. But even though we won, I want you all to recall that this is not the end of the fighting. Many people are still at St. Mungo’s recovering from the war, and we have lost many honorable wizards and witches.” At this, the table and Minerva went silent for a minute.
“This does not mean, though, that we can’t celebrate. Because we can, and we should.” She smiled at the group. “Everyone’s efforts in the war are why we won, and everyone here can be proud of themselves.”
Kingsley, now standing up, said, “I agree. The Ministry of Magic and I are very grateful for everyone who fought on the right side of the war. I’m sure that if we all stay together now, repairing everything that has been destroyed and capturing the rest of the Death Eaters will be easy.” He looked at the table “All of you were wonderful.”
Kingsley raised his cup in the air, and the rest followed after him. “Cheers.” Everyone took a sip of their drink; some had wine, others water, and the Golden Trio chose pumpkin juice. When everyone’s cup was back on the table, Molly started flying in the food she had prepared.
“We can’t have a meeting with empty bellies, can we?” she laughed, and the air was filled with the delicious smell of her homemade food. When the food landed, she quickly spread out the plates, and everyone looked hungrily at the food. “Please take as much as you can eat.” On today’s menu was shepherd’s pie, along with a salad on the side and her homemade strawberry ice cream for dessert.
Before she sat back down, she gave Harry a nursing bottle that she had already prepared for him. “Here, my boy, it’s for Teddy.”
Harry smiled at her as he grabbed it. “Thank you, Molly,” he said, taking Teddy in his arms. Teddy was already reaching for the bottle. As soon as Harry came closer with the bottle, Teddy opened his mouth and gave Harry a serious stare as Harry was too slow for him.
While Harry was nursing Teddy first, the rest had already started filling their plates. Hermione was kind enough to put some food on Harry’s plate as well. “Here, Harry, before Ron eats everything.”
“Thanks, ‘Mione,” Harry said as he put the empty nursing bottle away.
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” Ron said, shocked, his mouth full of food.
Hermione softly punched him in the side. “Don’t speak with your mouth full, Ronald!”
“Sorry, ‘Mione. It’s just too good,” Ron responded after swallowing the food he was still chewing. Seconds later, Ron’s mouth was already full again with new food.
“Will you ever not eat like this?” Hermione said, rolling her eyes.
Once everyone had eaten, Professor McGonagall seized the opportunity to resume the conversation. “The reason I have gathered everyone here today is because, as members of the Order of the Phoenix, we must now take responsibility for the destruction that has occurred. One of our foremost priorities is the restoration of Hogwarts. I must ask each of you to lend your assistance in ensuring that our school is rebuilt to its former glory, so that we may welcome both new students and those who will be returning.”
“We, of course, will help, right everyone?” Hermione said, and everyone nodded.
“I’m sure I’ll find time to help alongside my Auror training,” Harry said, drawing everyone’s attention to him.
“You got a place in the training? Why didn’t you say anything yet, mate?!” Ron asked, demanding an answer.
“Sorry—I kind of forgot. Was a bit caught up with Teddy,” Harry said, feeling his cheeks burn in embarrassment.
“I asked him to start his training to become an Auror. He hasn’t gotten much information yet,” Kingsley said, taking over the conversation.
“Oh well, Harry, you lucky person! Even got invited personally by the Minister to work for him!” George said jokingly.
“Harry is, without question, one of the prime targets for the remaining Death Eaters, as he was the one who brought their leader to an end. After all that he has done for the wizarding world, it is our solemn duty to ensure that he receives the proper education and training. He is already highly skilled in combatting Death Eaters, which is why his primary focus during this training will be the pursuit of the remaining followers of the Dark Lord,” the Minister stated with authority.
Ron, clearly annoyed, said, “Well, he only could do that thanks to our help. We’re pros as well.”
“Ron!” Hermione said. “You wanted to help George out first before applying for a different position! I’m sure you could also start your Auror training with Harry.”
“Well, Mrs. Granger is correct. We would be most pleased to see you join the Auror training as well,” Kingsley replied with a firm nod.
“Oh—sorry. Didn’t mean to be so rude. I’ll come back to that offer once George’s business is back on track,” Ron said humbly. Harry couldn’t help but chuckle.
The rest of the meeting was filled with planning and discussing the next steps, and Harry gained new information about his upcoming job.