When Harry and Ginny entered the club, the only one of their closest friends or family missing was George Weasley. Shortly after the momentous events of the previous January, George approached Harry and asked him if he recalled a tall boisterous bald man in the old joke shop the morning after all the magic had left. There had been so many in there, Muggles all, astounded at the workings of the wizarding world “ but Harry did recall a man fitting that description. George had stood before a crowd, outside the shop, giving a sales pitch that would make Charles Pansi proud.
Jack Ballentine, the tall, bald fellow George had mentioned, sat back and watched the elder Weasley twin prove his salesmanship. When George had opened the shop doors, Ballentine jammed in with the crowd, but not to purchase something. Unable to gain George’s attention when Harry had forced him and the other thirty or so “guests” out the door, Ballentine had to put his idea on hold for a few weeks. A month later, as the world became more and more accustomed to, and acquainted with, the world of magic, Ballentine used his associates in London to find George and make contact. The offer Ballentine made to George was complex, as complex as American lawyers could make it, but the incentives were there and George signed the contract to work for Warner Brothers Studio Promotions. On 3 May 1999, George Weasley left England for a new home in Hollywood, California.
Fred took a full month to get over his twin brother’s absence, but there were things happening in his life, too, and they gave him the distractions and focus needed to move on. Between the first of February and the time George left for the Americas, the twins had established themselves as THE authority on Wizarding Jokes and Humor in the Muggle world. Now Fred carried the load of his own responsibilities and George’s. He did not complain, much, he had little else to look forward to besides work and the occasional night out with Patty Lee.
Much to Hermione Weasley’s chagrin, the friendship between Fred and Patty had sputtered somewhere and it remained just that: a friendship. While at one time it appeared their relationship would grow into more than it was, something Patty refused to talk about prevented them from taking the next step. Hermione was deeply puzzled, but she knew better than to push her fellow researcher; their friendship was solid but had boundaries “ talking about Fred was one of them. That left it to Ron.
Ron was enjoying life, having his body battered and his brains beaten by playing on a Muggle semi-pro Rugby team. Not a day went by where Ron did not visit his mother or sister to have a scratch, or cut, or gash, or fracture, or break, or dislocation, or concussion healed. Refusing to let his slender build stop him, Ron made himself valuable with his speed and quick analysis of situations that allowed him to get rid of the ball before being completely demolished “ most of the time. After sitting at one of Ron’s games, Hermione refused to watch another. After Ron had his fourth tooth knocked out, Hermione put her foot down and started denying her husband certain things he enjoyed doing at night until he found something else to spend his time on. A week later Ron got a job designing and testing a new line of brooms for the Clean Sweep Company; one of only two companies still making flying brooms in England.
Hermione spoke with Ron, and Ron spoke with Fred about him and Patty. Fred, Ron quickly learned, was definitely in love, but he did not know what was holding Patty back, either. Remembering back to the first time he had told Hermione he loved her, and how difficult it was, Ron suggested that Fred “just tell her.” Fred wasn’t thrilled with that approach. Talking with Hermione after his conversation with Fred, Ron revealed that Fred had not even kissed Patty in their four month relationship. It took some convincing for Hermione to believe that one.
“Not even one, Ron? You’re joking, right?”
“Nope, not joking, and I don’t think Fred was, either. He looked miserable whenever I brought up Patty. He’s in love bad!”
Laughing at Ron’s revelation as much as his atrocious grammar, Hermione had an idea. “Ok, Ron, are they both coming to the party on the 28th? Good, here’s what we’ll do...”
Neville was at the bar with Luna Lovegood, engaged in a conversation about something quite large, based on the gestures his hands were making. Luna was laughing so hard she nearly tipped off the bar stool, but Neville managed to grab her arm and save her from keeling over backwards. Harry wondered if they would ever start dating or just remain friends. His question was answered, at least in part, when Luna thanked Neville for catching her by kissing him. Neville just sat there, shocked, blushing furiously, and then pulling Luna back into another kiss. At the opposite end of the bar, Frank and Alice Longbottom sat, holding hands and looking very much recovered from their long absence from society. When Alice saw Neville grab Luna, she started laughing and pulled Frank into a passionate kiss.
Alastor Moody sat in a booth with Hagrid, apparently having a drinking contest. Harry had had to remind Hagrid a couple times that his tolerance for alcohol was much less that it used to be since his size was also much less than it used to be. Fang was under Hagrid’s table, receiving a stream of nasty looks from the barkeep. Having resigned from Hogwarts in January, Moody was enjoying retirement with a mysterious lady friend no one could get him to talk about.
Tiernan Keane had enjoyed working with the detectives at Scotland Yard so much that he applied for a job there in February and was accepted. After spending the next two month in training, Tiernan took a week long holiday with his brother’s family in Bath and another with his parents in Dublin, before settling into a small flat in London with his new job.
Peter Martin was invited by Molly and Arthur Weasley to spend time at the Burrow that summer. They found themselves drawn to the boy and his fondness for Percy. They also offered to escort Peter and his parents to King’s Cross Station in September for his first trip to Hogwarts.
The day in late February, where all former wizards and witches had to choose whether to remain “magicless” or return to the world of magic, came and went by quietly. Across the globe, reports showed that about 98% of those eligible to regain their powers had chosen to do so. The news media had another top story for their viewers as they crossed the globe looking for the people who turned down their powers for a life as a Muggle.
Arthur Weasley, after running the Ministry of Magic for the transitional period, was pressed upon to remain in the position for another two year term. After taking with Molly and discussing the things he believed could be accomplished, they both agreed that he should continue on as Minister.
Brian Thompson was very wrong in his belief that he would be unpopular when the people found out what had happened those terrible two days in January. On the contrary, much to his friend Anthony Linden’s delight, he was persuaded to run for re-election in April and received almost unanimous approval from Parliament for his second term as Prime Minister.
Arthur was delighted to be in a position to work closely with Thompson. The Muggle and Wizard governments had never had an opportunity to work together before and to the delight of both Ministers, nearly everyone felt that the changes to the structure and function of the two governments were an excellent idea. The Ministry of Magic would now be a cabinet level position and report directly to the Prime Minister.
Integrating the Muggle and Wizarding worlds had started smoothly; both groups were intensely interested in how the other side lived from day to day. There were some rough spots later, especially when discussions began about integrating their monetary system with the English pound and the Euro. But the most significant event designed to help the transition along was Arthur’s proposal to reopen Hogwarts as a school for BOTH Wizards and Muggles.
It was decided that the remainder of the 1998-1999 school year would be completed and the integration begun in September. The structure of the school curriculum, among a thousand other details, remained to be fleshed out, but the idea looked very appealing to the School Board.
Ginny had stuck with her decision to forgo the remainder of her seventh year. Finding herself interested in the world of Muggle medicine, she accepted the offer for an all expense paid education, courtesy of the Royal Academy of Science, at Oxford University. It was her acceptance into the program that prompted Harry to throw the June 28th party. Until then, Ginny was back working for the Thompson’s. She even managed to, finally, have lunch with Jeff Benton. And much of her spare time over the next four months was taken up preparing for her wedding still planned for October at Hogwarts.
Harry took a month’s leave of absence from Hogwarts and spent two weeks in the Caribbean with Remus. At the start of their third week, Tonks and Ginny flew (a Muggle airplane) into Florida and they all spent a week relaxing, and recovering. Harry was finally learning to take care of his mental and physical health and to understand the signs his body was giving him of being over-stressed. The severe depression he had experienced around the new year had largely disappeared when his full powers were restored and he returned from the trip darkly tanned and smiling broadly. The only low point of the trip was a deep sea fishing trip Harry took with Remus where he discovered he was prone to seasickness, in spite of everything Ginny could do for him. Still, the trip was wonderfully relaxing and Harry found himself ready to return to Hogwarts and finish the year with Remus.
Rudy Keane returned to Hogwarts in March when classes resumed. Three months in Muggle schools had irritated him to no end and he was ready to put more effort into his study of magic. The unusual skills he had exhibited at the end of the previous year had disappeared and he was back to being plain old Rudy. Lisa and Carol, and most of their other friends, had also returned for the balance of the year. Rudy missed seeing Ginny every day, but Harry was there and he took Rudy under his wing, easing him back into school life and offering private lessons when he fell behind. By the end of the year Rudy had brought his grades up across the board.
The new Headmistress, the third in one year, was a witch who had taught in both Muggle and Wizard schools. Arthur had promoted her to the school board as someone outside the political squabbles and experienced in providing both Muggle and Wizard educations.
Hermione continued her work under Keric Albemarle until March when the entire Department of Historical Documents was reorganized and their focus shifted back to cataloging documents. In mid-April, she was approached by a large publishing company and offered an enormous advance to write a series of books about Merlin based on the documents she and Patty had translated. Accepting the offer, on the condition that Patty could be included, a contract was signed in mid-May and Hermione began outlining her work while Patty continued her research. They made a fantastic team, never being bored, and neither lacked motivation.
Hermione thought the best part of her job was that she could work from home in Hogsmeade. This was particularly important; she and Ron learned in April that they would be having a baby. The morning sickness again attacked Hermione relentlessly and made her first trimester miserable, but this time Jeannie Granger spent a good amount of time in Hogsmeade helping her daughter prepare for the baby and reducing her workload. Their relationship never returned to what it had been, but Hermione felt that that was just as well. Now they were becoming friends and Jeannie was looking at her daughter as the adult she was.
So, this was the situation everyone found themselves in on 28 June 1999 at a club in London. The Foursome had a table to themselves right next to the dance Floor and not too close to the speakers. Moody and Hagrid were toppling back and forth in their booth. Neville and Luna were getting uncharacteristically intimate in public. Liam and Marge Keane were on the dance Floor with Molly and Arthur. Fred and Patty were at a table on the opposite side of the dance Floor. And the live band was playing an old Beatles love song. The band’s lead vocalist was a tall, lanky man in his thirties with a beautiful vibrato voice. When ever the band took a break he would invite himself over to a different table and chat with the guests, often giving out free CDs of their bands songs.
At the last break, Terry, the vibrato, stopped at Harry’s table and started speaking with Ron and Hermione as if he knew them. In fact, Hermione had been in contact with Terry for a few weeks about her plan to get Fred and Patty ‘together.’ When they were done speaking, Hermione and Ron shared their plan with Harry and Ginny.
As the next set of music progressed, Hermione waited for a signal from Terry. Seeing it, she rose and walked over to Fred and asked him to dance. The tune was slow, which was just as well; Hermione’s stomach was churning again, either due to the baby or her plan, she wasn’t sure which.
Just after Fred and Hermione started dancing, Ron invited Patty to the Floor and displayed a significant improvement in his dance skills. Harry and Ginny joined the other two couples as the next-to-the-last song ended. Both Fred and Patty started to leave the Floor, but Hermione and Ron insisted on one more dance. The band introduced the next song as the top love song of 1972, Danny’s Song, by Kenny Loggins. The pace of the song was just a bit faster than a typical “slow dance,” but no one was really paying attention anyway. Ron and Hermione maneuvered their partners to a place where they could easily switch, and did so. Their plan was obvious to Patty and Fred, but they played along and stood holding each other...not closely, but not at a distance, either.
People smile and tell me I'm the lucky one, and we've just begun,
Think I'm gonna have a son.
“Having fun, Pat?” Fred asked, almost too loudly.
“Yes, thanks, Fred. You heard from George lately?”
Why are you asking that? “Uh, no, let’s not talk about him.”
“Oh, ok...”
He will be like she and me, as free as a dove, conceived in love,
sun is gonna shine above.
“...your brother’s plan was pretty obvious.” Patty said quietly, almost embarrassedly.
And even though we ain't got money, I'm so in love with ya honey,
And everything will bring a chain of love.
“Yeah, well, they thought...um...you know...” Crap, I’m going to kill Ron.
And in the morning when I rise, you bring a tear of joy to my eyes,
and tell me everything is gonna be alright.
“Hm? What’s that, Fred?” Patty was paying close attention to Fred now.
Seems as though a month ago I beta chi, never got high, Oh, I was a sorry guy.
“Oh, I don’t know. I guess they thought we were..., you know...” Fred was becoming uncomfortable and not paying much attention to dancing.
And now a smile, a face, a girl that shares my name,
Now I'm through with the game, this boy will never be the same.
“They thought we were what?” Very slowly, Patty and Fred’s bodies were slowing down, focusing more on each other and their conversation.
And even though we ain't got money, I'm so in love with ya honey,
And everything will bring a chain of love.
When Fred didn’t answer, Patty tried again. “Fred? They thought we were...in love?”
And in the morning when I rise, you bring a tear of joy to my eyes,
And tell me everything is gonna be alright.
“Uh...” Patty was looking into his eyes and Fred did not immediately notice that she had stopped moving. Fred continued to sway.
Pisces, Virgo rising is a very good sign, strong and kind, and the little boy is mine.
“Are you going to keep dancing, Fred?” Fred stopped and stood, thinking about what Patty had said.
Now I see a family where there once was none, now we've just begun,
Yeah, we're gonna fly to the sun.
“Fred, do you know I love you?” Fred’s eyes opened wide, and then wider still when Patty asked, “Do you love me?”
And even though we ain't got money, I'm so in love with ya honey, and everything will bring a chain of love.
Fred and Patty were not the only ones who had stopped dancing. Hermione clearly saw Patty say the “L” word, but it was Ron who saw Fred’s face. Snorting back a laugh, Ron saw Fred turn a pale shade of green...and nod his head.
And in the morning when I rise, you bring a tear of joy to my eyes,
And tell me everything is gonna be alright.
In a perfect display of Weasley coordination, Fred grabbed Patty and kissed her, rather clumsily, on the lips. Ginny, watching from another angle, for one panic filled moment saw Patty push Fred away. But then she put her hand around Fred’s neck and gently pulled him into a long loving kiss.
Love the girl who holds the world in a paper cup, drink it up,
Love her and she'll bring you luck.
Ron and Hermione looked over to their two best friends and smiled; staying on the Floor, quietly watching the new couple, the song played out its last verses while Fred and Patty took their long overdue next step.
And if you find she helps your mind, buddy, take her home,
Don't you live alone, try to earn what lovers own.
And even though we ain't got money, I'm so in love with ya honey,
And everything will bring a chain of love.
And in the morning when I rise, you bring a tear of joy to my eyes,
And tell me everything is gonna be alright.*
Completely oblivious to everyone and everything around him, including the end of the music, Fred finally answered Patty’s question, “Yeah, Pat, I do. I love you,” and then pulled her into another kiss.
Molly and Arthur stood, smiling, tears running down both their faces. “’The magic of love,’ Dumbledore used to call it. Do you remember that, dear?”
“Oh yes. And years ago, George told me how Dumbledore felt the same way about music. It’s the perfect combination; music and love.” Arthur whispered into Molly’s ear.
The hour was getting late, but no one except Fred and Patty had left. Conversations carried on at every table as the DJ was closing out the evening’s music. There was just one hour left on 28 June 1999, when the club door opened and Minerva McGonagall entered, escorted by a friendly looking gentleman about her age. Harry jumped up to greet the two and invite them for a drink.
“Harry, I’m sorry we’re late, we had some automobile trouble.” Turning to her escort, McGonagall introduced him. “Harry, I’d like you to meet a long-time friend of mine, Gus Jenkins.”
Shaking hands, Harry introduced Ginny, Ron, Hermione, and the others who had seen McGonagall enter the club. Pulling three tables together, the remaining Weasley’s sat together with Minerva and Gus, asking about what she had been up to. Since the night Galen and she disappeared from the Burrow, no one had seen or heard from her.
“Well, Gus and I have been traveling quite a bit. I needed a long break and Gus was kind enough to escort me around Africa and other exotic places.”
“Africa!” Molly exclaimed, how exciting. “Did you visit the pyramids? We had a lovely time there five years ago when we visited Bill.”
“Oh yes, the pyramids, the Valley of the Kings, Luxor, Alexandria, Cairo. We even took a long boat ride down the Nile, all the way to Khartoum in the Sudan.” Minerva’s face lit up, she clearly had had a wonderful trip, relaxing, also; she looked better than she had for a long time.
The hour was late and guests started to say their goodbyes and leave, thanking Harry and congratulating Ginny. After a while, only the one Weasley table had anyone around it. Approaching midnight, Hermione suddenly remembered something about that day.
“Minerva, isn’t today you’re birthday?”
“Yes, Hermione, eighty-one and counting. That’s part of the reason we were so late, we stopped at a Muggle restaurant for a quiet dinner together.”
They talked a bit longer, sang happy birthday to McGonagall, and then saw the club manager approach to tell them it was time to close. Harry paid the bill and checked around the club for anything someone might have left behind. As Harry started towards the exit, Gus and Minerva came back in.
“Harry, I need to give you something,” McGonagall said with a smile. Opening her handbag, she pulled out something the size and shape of a small bag of rice and gave it to Harry.
“Er, what’s this?” Harry asked McGonagall, but it was Gus that answered Harry’s question.
“Harry, that’s something my father gave me a long, long time ago.” Gus paused long enough for Harry’s curiosity to cause his hands to reach for the bag. “He collected it at Abu Sunbul.” Gus let his words speak for themselves and watched Harry’s eyes come up from the bag of white sand.
“Good bye, Harry. Best of luck to you and Ginny. I’ll try to make the wedding.” Minerva gave Harry a kiss on the cheek and left him alone with Gus.
“Why are you giving this to me?” Harry was confused. He thought he knew what it was, but...
“Harry, don’t worry about that bag right now. Pack it a way somewhere, have your life and your family. Someday, long after Mini and I are gone and you find yourself bored, open it and start on another adventure.” Shaking Harry’s hand as he stood, stunned, “Gus” winked and left the club.
There was something very familiar about his eyes, and that wink, and he called her “Mini.” It was just like...no, forget it. It’s impossible.
Exiting the club, Harry saw that everyone had left except Ginny, Ron, and Hermione. The warm summer night reminded Harry of a night almost nine years ago, in a shack by the sea, in a storm, a door being knocked down at midnight, and how his life had truly started that day. Taking Ginny’s hand, the four friends walked off towards the Underground on their way to Remus and Tonks’ house.
“Harry, what did McGonagall want with you? She was really acting odd.” Ron asked as they started down to the tube platform.
“Oh, nothing, nothing at all, just something for me to look at when I’m old and bored,” Harry answered, looking at Ginny.
“You, bored, Harry? Not with twelve children, you won’t be bored.” Ginny replied, turning to Harry and closing the conversation with a kiss.
A/N: Thank you for wading through my story, and a special thank you to the many who left me comments and reviews.
I began this project in early August 2005 after reading HBP and deciding I would act upon something I’d always wanted to do: write. I had recently finished reading HBP but it made me so depressed I wanted to write something light and fluffy. Well, that didn’t happen, except for my other story, Eight Questions for Hermione. I don’t think I’ll write another dark fiction again, it’s very draining and not as satisfying as fluffy things.
Harry Potter fan fiction was so easy to write because the characters were already “built,” I just had to keep them somewhat in character and an enormous part of the background to the story was provided at no effort. The original characters I added, the Keane’s, Carol & Lisa, Brian, and Patty Lee, were an attempt to see how well I could build a character. I’d give myself a “C,” but part of that is due to a major change I made in the story half way through.
In mid-September I found the story was growing to twice the size I had originally envisioned. As a result, I cut way back on the Keane’s roles. Rudy was originally going to play a larger role in the story but I had to chuck it, and the same with Lisa, Carol, and Brian. Also, those four were going to be the main characters in the second story I was planning. Oh well.
Please feel free to contact me directly with thoughts or comments. My email address is: IHateSnakes@verizon.net
Thank you!