Chapter 55
Two minutes later, Harry laid the infant in his arms, down in a hospital crib.
“Can you manage for an hour or two?” He asked Alice and Katie. “I still need to see that everyone is put where they need to go.”
“We’ll manage, Harry.” Alice assured him. “We’ll give their files a quick read through before we do anything. Drop back, once you’ve finished and we might have some more information for you.”
“Thanks, Alice.” Harry gave his godmother a hug and threw a grin at Katie, before apparating over to the Quad.
~~~
November 14th 2925
Harry landed in the outer entrance to the Quad, taking a few deep breaths before he hurried through to the inner courtyard. He stopped beside Alicia and raised a brow.
“Everyone get here alright?” He asked.
“Yeah, other than two of the youngsters feeling a bit off-balance and one landing on his butt, no problems.” Alicia answered. “I’ve handed out maps and guides are ready to take people to their homes, when you give the order. There’s a few from your year at Hogwarts, are you going to make them stay in the Quad?”
“No, of course not.” Harry shook his head. “Dean and Seamus have moved in with Cedric and Ernie, until the spring thaws. They’ve asked for a house up on North Creek Road. And Colin and Dennis have moved into the attic rooms, they wanted Hermione to have her choice of rooms.” Every-one knew that Hermione would move in with Harry, no-one even considered otherwise. “So, having Padma, Parvati and Kellah take the other rooms is no trouble. Have you locked-down who’s being a guide for who?”
“Nope.” Alicia shrugged. “Until I knew how many extras there were, it was kinda pointless trying. Oh, sure, a few are locked in. Like Bill and Charlie. Or Hermione. The rest? Nope. Your call.”
“Great…” Harry sighed. “Well, let’s get this over with.” He hopped up onto a bench seat that surrounded one of the courtyard’s decorative trees and touched his wand to his throat. “Sonorus.” He waited for the charm to take effect, before he spoke up. “Hello…” He was quickly the focus of the courtyard’s occupants. “Let’s get you all settled. First off, those that are staying here in the Quad. Students… current students, that is.” He paused. “Not those with siblings or those being fostered. Come forward.” He waited for those that met his criteria to sidle forward. Unsurprisingly, there were only a few, just four of them. “Great., Dennis? Can you take them up to the third floor, South Wing are the student rooms.” He turned back to the students. “You get a room to yourself, with a private bathroom, but the common room is shared space.”
The students grinned and with barely a glance at anyone, hurried after Dennis, whom they knew of or vaguely remembered from the early memorials.
“Next those current students that have siblings and aren’t being fostered.” Harry called and the seven sets of siblings edged their way out of the crowd. “Excellent. There’s two lots of you with three, so you’ll be in the two most southerly suites of the West Wing, just around the corner from Professor McGonagall, so please don’t do anything you don’t want her catching you doing.” The students giggled. “And the rest of you are going to be in the four most southerly suites in the East Wing, right around the corner from Auror Shacklebolt, so same applies to you and getting caught.” He looked over at the group of people that had volunteered to be guides. “Seamus? You get the East Wing. Neville, the West Wing?”
The pair and grinned at the students and seconds later, the clatter of their feet was all that remained of their presence.
“All others with no siblings, that aren’t being fostered, excluding Zane and Calhoun. Come on out.” Harry called and after a few moments, the cleared area filled. “Great. Let’s see… Ernie… and Lavender? I’m going to give Professor McGonagall the chaperone’s suite in the South-West Hub. Can you leave the two rooms nearest that, for Zane and Calhoun? They’re ten and twelve and I’d be happier if they were closer to the Professor.”
“We can, Harry.” Lavender nodded and grinned at a couple of the students that she remembered. “Come on, let’s get you into your rooms.”
Then she headed for the nearest Hub, knowing that she’d be followed. Ernie waited until the group of fifteen were in motion, before joining them.
“Lee, Angelina? You pair take Bill and Charlie.” Harry directed. “Together or split ‘em up, up to you, but for the sake of all that’s sacred, make sure they know where the twins live, both sets.”
“Will do, boss.” Lee nodded and offered Angelina a hand to stand up from the grassy patch, she’d been sitting on.
“Twins?” Bill asked, looking at Charlie.
“Both sets?” Charlie looked at Bill, then both turned to glare at Harry, who just shook his head.
“You want to know, you follow them.” He jerked his thumb at the retreating duo.
“Humph…” Bill huffed and after sharing a glance with his brother and then his wife, scooped up his eldest daughter and hurried after his younger brothers’ friends.
“Great, so next up are the families that we knew were coming.” Harry turned to Alicia. “Correct me if I miss one, please.” He waited until she nodded and turned back to the courtyard. “Torrence Ollivander and family. Your guide is Sigisimond Brandybuck and he’ll take you to your new home.”
Sigi was waving a stick with a little flag on it and the family eased through the now-smaller crowd, heading in his direction. Each person gave Harry a smile and a nod as they went past him.
“Oliver, you’re up.” Harry grinned at his former quidditch captain. “And Jessie’s back from her errands, so she and Allie can take you. You’re close to the quidditch queens, both sets of twins and Gryffindor’s Captain from 1973.” He bit his lip at the confusion on Oliver’s face. “You’ll see.” He waved them off and with confused look still on his face, Oliver lead his family away.
“Penny, come out.” Harry called and Penny Clearwater lead her family forward. “Hattie Burrows is going to take you to your new home.”
Penny smiled at Harry and after handing their son to her husband, pressed a kiss to Harry cheek.
“Thank you, Potter.” She said, while her husband grinned at the startled look on Harry’s face.
“Yeah, thanks.” Mitchel echoed his wife and ambled in the direction of Hattie who, like Sigi, was waving a flag.
“Right…” Harry huffed. “Eliza Tarren and the Bowles family.” He barely got the words out and the group of five were in front of him. “Eager to get home, huh? I would be, too. Kestrel Wibbley is your guide and fair warning, he’s as chatty as either Colin or Dennis.”
“Oh, lovely.” Eliza sighed. “Like I don’t see enough over-enthusiastic faces.” She grinned at her cousins as she teased.
“You’ll be fine.” Harry grinned. “You’ve plenty of practice.”
Glenis and Andrew shook their heads and pointed Eliza in right direction and gave her a gentle shove.
“Move it or I’ll let Mason and Cecilia choose your room.” Glenis warned, with a grin.
“Moving.” Eliza answered back and quickly made her way to Kestrel, who was now waving his own flag.
“Next is… Euan! Where are you, ickle Euan?” Harry looked around the courtyard for the sandy-haired boy. “Ah, there you are. Come on, come on, quit messing around. Your home’s waiting for you. Dina Palmer is your guide, be gentle with her please, we don’t want to scare her off, I’m hoping that she’ll take an apprenticeship in administration and work in the Mayor’s office.”
“Sure, Harry.” Euan grinned and dragged his mother and sister over to the latest flag to go up. “Hi, I’m Euan and this is my sister, Morag.”
Dina’s answer was lost as the group left the courtyard.
The next few minutes were a rinse and repeat of this, with group after group being guided away.
“Now, we’re down to the families that we don’t have homes ready for.” Harry said. “You have two options, here. One, you can stay in the Quad until spring thaws the ground, enough for us to start work on homes for you. Or? Two, you can move into homes that we’ve built, but had planned to use as display homes. It’s up to you.”
“If you don’t mind, Potter, we’d prefer one of the display homes.” Ken Towler said. “It’s just that I want to get Betty settled as soon as possible.”
“Same here.” Grant Rockman said.
“And here.” John Adamson agreed.
“And us, as well.” Edward Fischer nodded.
“Alright.” Harry replied. “Mr Fischer, you’ve got a handful of kids, so I’m going to suggest Number Four Potter’s Row, as it’s a larger home and you’ll have the Bowles’ on one side and the Woods’ on the other. Faces familiar from the last few months.” He looked over at the group of guides and was unsurprised to see a flag already up and waving. “Drogo Baggins will guide you to your place.” That earnt a startled look, before Edward nodded and herded his family away.
“Ken, Grant, John? Neville’s back so, he’ll guide up to North Creek Road. You’re going to be Numbers Three, Four and Six. Whichever you prefer.”
“Thank you, Potter.” Ken gave Harry a tired smile. “As long as we have somewhere for Betty’s bed and can start unpacking her things, we’ll be fine.”
“That leaves… Oh, just you lot.” Harry grinned at McGonagall, Kingsley, a trio of Gryffindors and a lone Ravenclaw. “Ladies, you can either take a suite, here in the Quad, or you can stay at my place." All four grinned and nodded. "Right. Can you wait for a few minutes? As soon as I saw her name, I promised myself that I would be the one to show Professor McGonagall to her rooms and ask her to pick a block for us to build a house for her. Somewhere to retire to, when she’s ready.” Once the girls all nodded, again, he quickly cast the vertical variation of the Map Maker’s charm, that they used at town meetings. “As you can see, there’s plenty to choose from. Which would you like?”
“I don’t really need much space, but I do like the look of that little island.” McGonagall replied.
“Ooh, yeah, I can see you there.” Harry nodded. “Just… Please? Don’t give the Prewett twins too much of a hard time?”
“Prewett?” McGonagall blinked.
“Yep.” Harry grinned. “We’re having a party this evening, in the field between the Quad and the Den, the building to the south of us, so you’ll have a chance to catch up with them and everyone else.”
“I think I would like that, Potter.” McGonagall nodded.
“You’re going to have to start calling me Harry, Professor.” Harry warned. “We tend to go by first names or by professions and I’m a locksmith. Dad’s the potter, not me.”
“Oh…” McGonagall exclaimed quietly.
“Kingsley? Any blocks take your fancy?” Harry asked.
“I’d like that little block up near the creek.” He sent a ball of bluebell flames flying through the air to rest behind his chosen block.
“Cool.” Harry nodded and looked over at Isengar. “Isengar? Number Two The Island and Number Nine Hill Street. Would you mark them as taken, please? Thanks.” He waited until Isengar nodded and turned back to Kingsley. “There’s nothing there, right now. Last summer it was home to one of our pony stallions, but he’s moved over to Frank’s stables.”
“Frank being Frank Longbottom?” Kingsley asked.
“Yep.” Harry nodded. “Again, you’ll have the chance to catch up, this evening. For now? Hermione, Padma, Parvati, Kellah? Have a seat, I should only be a few minutes. Kingsley, Professor? This way.” He held out an arm to McGonagall and after a raised eyebrow at him, she slid her hand into the crook of his elbow.
Through the same arched doorway as others had left via, up two flights of stairs and along a short stretch of corridor. Here, Harry paused at a pale timber door, with heavy iron bolt-straps crossing it.
“This is you, Kingsley.” Harry said and handed over a heavy iron key. “The doors are all warded to unlock only to your key and the two master-keys. Currently, they’re in Alicia’s office, but we’ll see about getting you an office, tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Harry.” Kingsley said quietly. “This is far more than we expected to have, when we agreed to come with Hermione. Once again, we’ve underestimated you.”
“It happens.” Harry shrugged. “Killing Voldy, building a town, or gaining a Grand Mastery, people see what they expect to see.”
“Grand Mastery?” McGonagall asked.
“Yes, Professor.” Harry grinned. “I have a Grand Mastery in Knife-fighting and am well on my way to another two with my Griffin blades and locksmithing.”
“I see…” McGonagall pursed her lips to avoid smiling. “Gone muggle, have we?”
“Nope, we’re still trying to work out how to test our magical skills,” Harry went on, “but it’s a little more complicated, as we don’t have a charms, transfig or DADA Master, here. Potions can come under apothecary, but charms, transfig and DADA can’t.”
“I have my Mastery in DADA, Harry, and Minerva has hers in transfiguration.” Kingsley said. “And I think that between us, she and I know enough to know if someone qualifies for a Mastery in charms.” He looked at McGonagall as he spoke.
“Yes, I do believe so.” McGonagall agreed.
“Excellent news.” Harry beamed at them both. “I’ll leave you to settle in, Kingsley, but you’ve got a map and directory? Good, good. Feel free to go visiting, if you like. We’ll be having a party, for your arrival and with hobbits, that means lots of food and laughter. People are already starting to set up, so if that interests you, you can sit around the Party Field for the afternoon.”
“I think I’d like to catch up with Tonks,” Kingsley mused, “I’ve yet to meet little Teddy.”
“Not so little.” Harry corrected. “He’s going to be quite tall.” He blinked. “Okay, rephrase that… He’s going to be taller than me or Tonks and possibly taller than Remus, but he’s still going to dwarf-height. So, somewhere around five-foot, give or take an inch or two.”
“Dwarf… height…” Kingsley didn’t quite phrase it as a question, but Harry knew that it was.
“Yep.” Harry nodded. “Hobbits are two-foot-six to four-foot-six-ish, dwarves are four to five-foot and men are five-foot-six to six-foot-six. Or there abouts. Occasionally you might find one that’s taller, but they’re rare. Some of us magical dwarves are a little taller, like Remus, Fred, George and probably you and Bill.”
“Ah, right.” Kingsley replied.
“Yeah.” Harry grinned. “Now, in you go. Get settled, go visiting, lounge around. Do whatever you like. We’ll catch up, later this afternoon.” With that he turned and guided McGonagall back up the corridor and past the stairs, to the far end of the corridor, stopping at another iron-bound door.
“I’m assuming this is my suite?” McGonagall asked.
“It is, Professor.” Harry nodded and removed a key from another pocket and pushed the door open, once inside the sitting room, he laid the key on an end table and stepped back from his former teacher. “This is obviously your sitting room and you bedroom and bathroom are through that door. I know it’s not as big as the rooms you had at Hogwarts, but the Quad is our first experience at building a magical building.”
“Magical building?” McGonagall asked.
“Eventually, she’ll be like Hogwarts.” Harry nodded patting the nearest wall. “But just yet, she’s not absorbed enough magic to do more than see that lights and other magically enchanted items stay enchanted a bit longer, which is handy when it comes to storage cabinets and the like.”
“I see…”
“We haven’t figured out how to build our own floo network, but we’ve not given up on the idea.” Harry went on. “If all else fails, we’ll use the link boxes as vanishing cabinets. Not our preferred choice, but if we have to, we will.”
“I see…” McGonagall said again.
“Professor, are you alright, you’ve gone pale?” He stepped forward and eased the Professor into a seat.
“I’m old, Pott-… Harry… And that takes its toll on a body.” McGonagall answered. “I really should speak to your healer about that de-aging the goblins want me to do.”
“We use the term Gringotts, Professor.” Harry corrected, gently. “Goblin is a bad word here, much like DeathEater or inferi were in England.”
“Ah. I’ll do my best to remember.” McGonagall replied. “How far is it to your hospital?”
“About a quarter mile, Professor.” Harry grimaced.
“Ah. Is there an apparition point?”
“There is…” Harry blinked as he remembered what else he’d shoved into his pockets, that morning. “But wouldn’t it be easier for you to take a medi-key, the first time?” He help up a red-and-white painted timber ring. “It will take you to the emergency ward and will alert Alice, if she’s not in the ward.”
“Yes, I think that would work better.” She took the ring and laid it on the end table, that beside a typically Gryffindor club-lounge armchair. “And the activation phrase?”
“It will activate when you say ‘Medic’, three times inside ten seconds.” Harry answered.
“Nicely done, Pott-… Harry.” McGonagall corrected herself. “I shall leave my bags here and take the box that the gob-… Gringotts gave me, when I go.”
“Of course, Professor.” Harry agreed. “Shall I leave you to it?”
“Please, Po-… Harry.” She caught herself a little earlier, this time.
“Alright. I’ll see you soon. I need to go back to the hospital and speak to Alice about the babies, but I want to get Hermione and the girls settled, first. Don’t forget to take your door-key, too.”
“That would be a good idea.” McGonagall nodded and slipped the black iron key into her pocket.
Harry gave her a half-bow and left the suite, closing the door, gently, behind him. Then it was a blink and he was running. He skidded as he rounded the balustrade, but barely slowed as he ran down the stairs, another skid as he used the staircase’s newel post as leverage to spin himself around and into the corridor, then more running as he headed for the cloister walkways. Into the walkway and along it, to the courtyard entry and another skid as he came to a halt in front of Hermione and her former dormmates, as they lay on the grass on conjured rugs.
“Hi.” He grinned. “Ready to go home?”
Hermione, Kellah and Parvati leapt to their feet, while Padma rose with a little more dignity, as befitted a Ravenclaw.
“Yes, please, Harry.” Hermione nodded eagerly.
“Great. So, walk or apparate?”
“Can we walk?” Padma asked. “It’d be nice to see some of the village and it looks like it’s a nice day. It was raining on Gringotts’ island when we left.” Parvati nodded in agreement with her twin.
“No objections, Hermione, Kellah?” Harry looked at the other two women.
“No, Harry, I’d enjoy that, too.” Hermione said, after sharing a glance with Kellah.
“Great!” Harry beamed, his smile was so bright. “Right this way, ladies.” He gave them a bow and gestured back the way he’d came. “I’ve got… half an hour(?)... maybe… and I have to meet with Alice, at the hospital.”
“The babies?” Hermione asked.
“The babies.” Harry agreed. “But I made sure I had some time for you.” He looked from Hermione to the other women. “For all of you.” He assured them.
“Never doubted that for a moment, Harry.” Parvati replied.
“Where are we going first?” Kellah asked.
“Oh, no. I am not doing tours.” Harry shook his head. “I’ll show you where home is and make sure you have what you need to settle in, and meet with everyone over the next few days, but I’m not doing tours. You can read a map and you’ll know where home is. You can get yourselves around.”
“But Harry…” Parvati whined.
“Eht.” Harry made a sharp, negative sound. “Not happening. I have a business to run, two apprentices to teach and once we work out who’s going to join Thorin’s dwarves, in the Battle of Erebor, I’ll have weapons training to teach, too. I don’t have time for guided tours, none of us do.” He paused. “Well, maybe a few of the kids, but even that’s doubtful.”
“O…kay…” Kellah drew the word out.
“I can give you a rough outline, as we head home, but other than that? Not a chance. So? This is West Hill.” Harry gave a broad gesture, as they reached a gravel road. “On the other side of the creek, down there, that’s the commercial area. Most of us that have workshops, have them there. The big red building there, that’s the Den. Gryffindor’s Den, it’s a combination of tavern, restaurant, tea-house, guesthouse, motel and backpacker’s bunkhouse. Below that is the hospital, you can see the blue tiles on the roof and blue trim. All the… public buildings, like the Mayor’s office, the hospital and the Postal office, have blue tiled roofs. Commercial buildings have red-ish-brown tiles, like the Den, and the private homes have green tiles or are underground. It’s one way of instantly knowing what you’ll find inside. Plus, most have a sign outside that tells you what type of business a building houses.”
“Smart.” Padma said, approvingly.
“It made sense.” Harry shrugged. “Most of the dwarves, be they magical or muggle, live on West Hill, while the hobbits are on, or rather in, Market Hill, on the far side of the Den.”
“Why the separation?” Padma asked.
“Height, mostly.” Harry answered. “Hobbits are shorter than dwarves, not a lot, but our homes have to be taller to cater to that. Plus, hobbits tend to build into the hill and not on it. West Hill’s not really steep enough for a decent smial to be built into it.”
“Huh.” Hermione grunted.
“Yeah, took me a while to get to grips with that, too.” Harry huffed. “That’s Professor Lupin’s place there.” He pointed to a large cottage a little further down the hill. “The McDonalds are just above them. Oh, and we’re heading uphill, ladies.” He turned right and began to wander up the shallow rise. “That’s the Longbottoms’ place and for reference, to get to Neville’s cottage up by the creek, follow that path. That’s Sirius and Dorcas’ place, ignore the cows, they’re Dorcas’ and she’s brought them in, as both were injured and are due to give birth in a few weeks. That is the gate to Luna and her mother's place.” He stopped in the middle of the road. “And this is us. Come on in.”
He led them in through an ivy-covered gate and up a cobble-stoned path, before pushing open the door into an enclosed porch. A second door led into a massive room, it looked to be close to forty feet square, there was an equally massive fireplace on the wall, just a few feet from the door and on what would be the western wall, there was another doorway. In the south-eastern corner of the room, almost opposite the porch door, was a staircase that obviously led to an upper floor.
“Harry?” Hermione asked, looking around the room, it was a lot larger than she’d expected.
“I know.” Harry sighed. “It’s far bigger than I need, but it’s always full. First it was me, Fred, Colin, Lavender and Sirius. Then Cedric turned up and stayed with us for a few months, while we built our hobbits’ homes and then some of the dwarven homes. Then Dennis and Jessie arrived. Then you sent Dean and Seamus.”
“Always a house-full, huh?” Kellah nodded. “I remember what that was like.” She sighed. “I miss my family.”
“You didn’t bring them with you?” Harry asked, cautiously.
“No.” Kellah shook her head. “I made the mistake of telling my parents about You-Know-Who being back and I got kicked out. Thankfully, I was able to catch the train to Manchester and send Padma and Parvati a Patronus asking for directions.”
“They just…?” Harry frowned.
“I was already seventeen and things had been tense for a while.” Kellah went on. “They weren’t the happiest that I was a witch. Both mum and dad were squibs and disowned for it, I never found out what families they’d come from. They were dumped at Gringotts in New York, sent to England, given new names and sent to new families. Mum went to the Jensens, they already had four other squib kids from Gringotts. Dad went to the Lindstroms, they had two kids of their own, both squibs.”
“So you turning out to be magical…?” Harry grimaced.
“Yeah, that didn’t go down well.” Kellah shook her head. “Mum and dad tolerated it, but some of the others weren’t so… nice… about it. The minute I mentioned You-Know-Who and the war? Bam, all tolerance, gone. I was given an hour to pack and get out and told not to come back. Dad caught me as I left and gave me a bag of ʛalleons and all my muggle ID and paperwork. And that was it.”
“Oh, stars…” Harry sighed.
“It wasn’t a lot, but it was enough to get me through seventh year.” Kellah shrugged. “Then you were convicted and sent into the Veil. Hermione spoke to most of us, then to Padma, Luna, Cho, Bill Weasley and Professor Flitwick, and they all suggested that you be told about the Lost, Abandoned and Discarded spell-chain. They thought it might help you. Being a squib-born is as bad as being a muggleborn, in England, I knew without a family, things were going to get tough for me. So I mentioned it to Padma, about me using the spell-chain, as I had no other money and she told me to talk to Gringotts and make sure that it wouldn’t go against their protocols for theft, otherwise I could be in serious trouble.”
“And did it? Were you?” Harry asked.
“No, all good.” Kellah answered as she looked around the room, noting the comfortable looking sofas and armchairs. “Their policy only applies to a client knowingly attempting theft. They did say that it definitely wouldn’t apply to lost, abandoned or discarded monies, as almost every coin in circulation has been stolen, at one time or another, even if it’s only a kid lifting it out of a parent or sibling’s purse.”
“Huh…” Harry grunted. “True.”
“So that’s what I did.” Kellah nodded. “I went back to Birmingham and cast the charm, it’s only got a five-mile range, so I had to do it a few times, but once I'd done Birmingham, I didn't feel the need to keep going. It got me thousands of pounds, which I mostly converted to ʛalleons. It was enough to get me somewhere to live and clothes suitable for a witch working in a teahouse in Cornwall. And I was lucky, I made enough to live on… just. Then, when everything started to go wrong for muggleborns and those of us that fought at Hogwarts, I decided that England wasn’t for me and signed up with Hermione. She reminded us about the spell chain and encouraged us to use it. Most of us did, we put city names into a hat and drew them out, randomly, just to keep it a little fairer. And we worked in pairs, doing the summons, splitting everything evenly, not just money, but gold, jewels and jewellery. Magical, as well as muggle.”
“Not everyone did, though.” Hermione added. “Some people had to sell their homes and were more concerned about getting that sorted, than summoning lost stuff.” She shrugged and gestured to her bag.
“I can imagine.” Harry nodded and headed for the stairs. “Colin and Dennis have moved up into the attic rooms, which leaves me at the east end, with an empty room, then the stairs, two more empty rooms, Jessie, then Lavender at the western end.” He led them up the stairs and they gathered on the first floor, between the stairs and a large window seat, lined with cosy looking cushions and blankets.
“Lavender lives with you?” Hermione’s eyes were wide.
“Yeah, she’s claimed me as her Head of House.” Harry answered. “And plans to stay here, until she marries.”
“Marries?” Parvati blinked. “Lavender?”
“Apparently.” Harry shrugged. “I don’t think she’s interested in anyone just yet… No, that’s not right." He corrected himself. "She’s interested, they both are, but neither of them are doing anything about it, just yet. She’s not spoken to me about it and from what I gather, he hasn’t spoken to his family about it, either.”
“Ah.” Parvati made an understanding sound.
“Yeah, so that means, Lavender’s staying here.” Harry nodded. “So check out the rooms. Sort out who’s sleeping where and stow your stuff. Come back down to the Quad. Go visiting. Go exploring. Whatever you please. I need to get back to the hospital and sort out what’s happening with the babies.” He headed back down the stair, stopping halfway. “Feel free to open cupboards and stickybeak. This is going to be your home, at least for the winter. I’d like you to feel comfortable in it.” He waved and was gone.
Padma looked at Hermione, then Kellah and lastly, her own sister. “Three rooms and four of us. Who’s doubling up?”
The women blinked a few times, as they thought about that.
“I’ll stay with Harry.” Hermione offered. “We shared a bed many times, on the hunt. After Ron left us, it was the only comfort we were able to give each other. It was just so primitive in that tent, we were always cold.” She added, absently, as she turned towards Harry’s room, not aware of the raised eyebrows and slack jaws of the other women, as her admission.
Bill, Fleur, Charlie and Alec followed Lee and Alicia, not sure where they were being led, but hoping… desperately hoping, that they were going to be united with George. The four newcomers followed the two from the advance party, down the hill a little and then along a pretty gravel lane, past a cottage where a familiar head of pink hair was seen through a window.
Lee turned and opened a gate in a roughly built timber rail fence. Up a path and through another gate, into a house garden, then into the cottage’s covered porch and without even knocking, he pushed open the cottage’s door. He stopped beside the door and waved them in.
“Come on, in you come.” Lee grinned. When they were all in the large sitting room, he closed the door and headed for the kitchen area, sliding the kettle onto the small black range, then took a few steps over to the stair up to the upper floor. “Honey, I’m home!” He yelled.
“Didja get everyone settled?” George’s voice answered him.
“Nope.” Lee yelled back. “I brought ‘em for tea, first.”
“What!?” George squawked and there was a clatter and a few thumping noises, closely followed by a familiar thunder of feet. Within seconds, the thunder of feet was a stampede as its owner reached the stairs and descended them, he came to a halt at the base of the stairs and just stared at his brothers. “Bill… Charlie…” He whispered.
“Get over here.” Bill growled and handed his daughter to Lee, leaving his arms open to catch George as he leapt at the eldest Weasley. Bill’s arms closed around his younger brother and pressed him close, resting his head against George’s. He blinked as George’s ear pressed against his cheek, before a frown grew on his face. He pushed the younger redhead back and looked at him, not sure what he was looking for, but sure that he’d know when he saw it.
When he did, his eyes went wide and his jaw went slack. George only had one ear, but the brother in front of him, had two. “Fred…?” He whispered silently.
“Yeah, Bill?” A shaky smile and wet eyes looked back at him.
“Fredrick Gideon Weasley…” Bill growled.
~~~