No Laughing Matter

Chapter Thirty-six

The following weeks seemed to slip by quickly for everyone. A proper Wizarding election was held, and an overwhelming majority voted Madam Amelia Bones in as the new Minister for Magic. Arthur Weasley was given the position at the Head of Magical Law Enforcement on a permanent basis, and worked long hours to make Wizarding Britain as secure as possible. The Dark Mark still appeared with worrying regularity around the country, but even so, Azkaban was filling up again with those who were being recaptured or caught participating in dark activities. The Order was slowly gathering more and more members, with a network now of reliable intelligence all over Europe that helped to prevent attacks on the scale that had taken place on Halloween.

In the course of the trials of the Death Eaters who were captured on Halloween night, it had been revealed by those wanting to escape harsh punishment, that Percy Weasley, while acting of his own free will most of the time he was in association with the Death Eaters, had also been impersonated at times by means of Polyjuice Potion for missions within the Ministry and in public places that his presence would be more easily explained than that of a higher ranked Death Eater. Arthur Weasley, however, who presided over the trials, did not seem to think that these revelations warranted an easier punishment for those who provided the information. He was quoted in a Daily Prophet article as saying, "The idea that you could betray both the Wizarding community and the Dark Lord whom you serve tells me that far from being given a lighter sentence, you deserve a harsher one. You have proven to the whole world that you are loyal to, and can be trusted by no one, and so I suggest to the Wizengamot that you be sentenced to a lifetime imprisonment in Azkaban. You should be thankful that the Dementors are no longer in the keeping of that facility."

Rowan's new column at the paper was an immediate success, and quickly became quite popular. It seemed that her unique "outsider" views of the current state of Wizarding Britain gave her stories a fresh perspective and general appeal. Rita Skeeter had quieted down considerably once Fred and George confronted her with the fact that they knew that it was her who had tried to break into Carly and Rowan' flat. She had grudgingly admitted that she had been trying to obtain some of Rowan's notes, because she was angry that a new comer was being given so much space in the paper. She also accused Rowan of stealing her notes regarding Peter Pettigrew's innocence, but Rowan simply said that after she had found out that Rita was withholding knowledge that an innocent man had gone to prison, she felt obliged to do something about it. Rowan and Rita had developed a tolerable, if tense, working relationship. After receiving a letter from Ginny (who had never made any promises to Rita), George casually let Rita know that, should she act out again, word might get out that she was an Animagus, and had used her ability to keep from being caught in unethical situations on more than one occasion.

Carly had taken several hours to study each field of study open to her from the Healers who had applied to take her on as an apprentice, and chose her mentor carefully. She decided to make Spell Damage the focus of her apprenticeship, and was pleased when she was gladly accepted into an advanced program reserved for only the very best. She confided in Fred that, when her training was finished, she would like to work as a privately practicing Healer, making house calls to those who those who needed healing, but could not necessarily come to a hospital.

Fred and George had gone back to living in their flat above the shop, and Rowan and Carly had decided to stay with Nigel and Suzette while giving up their flat to Kyle and Patrick, who kept odd hours and wanted to be on their own. Within three weeks of Kyle and Patrick's arrival, Aidan and Catherine Winters came from America, determined to live close to their children. They bought a house not far from Nigel and Suzette's home and dubbed it 'Winterhaven'; it wasn't long before they, along with Kyle and Patrick, joined the Order.

Bill and Fleur went on with planning their wedding, and work on and around the Burrow was going well, with lots of extra hands to share the work. On the night of the first snowfall of the year, Rowan accepted George's proposal of marriage in front of everyone who was helping to rebuild the Burrow that evening, and Carly admitted that she and Fred had been engaged for over two weeks by that time. She beamed as she was finally able to take the ring that she had been wearing on a chain for a fortnight, and have Fred slip it onto her ring finger as last. Molly and Catherine had both burst into happy tears at seeing their children engaged, and then both let out a shriek when they announced that they wanted to be married at the New Year.

The rebuilding of the Burrow was finished three days before Christmas, with a huge sigh of relief from Charlie, who had been working himself ragged over it, doing almost nothing else over the past month. They had finally chased Molly away from the house for the final three days of painting and papering and moving things in, so that they could surprise her. There was just enough blend of new items and items that had been salvaged from the old house to give the new one an already 'lived in' feel to it, and once they had settled in, they knew it would be 'home'. Molly had shed happy tears when the boys had managed to wrap a gigantic bow around the entire house before she was allowed to her have her first look at the finished product. When Bump was let out of the shed and into the attic, where he immediately began to rattle around, everyone was satisfied that it was a job well done.

The very next day, Molly and the Winters women all gathered at the new Burrow and began decorating it for Christmas. There was a whirlwind of baking and hanging garland and decorating a tree, and all of the little details that went into making Christmas special. Once the women were satisfied that everything was ready for the children to arrive from Hogwarts so that they could celebrate a family Christmas in the new house, they all went to Suzette and Nigel's home to make preparations for the double wedding that would take place just a week after the holiday. Fred and George kept out of the way as much as possible.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

"Merry Christmas Everyone!" George shouted out as he entered the Burrow with his arms full of gifts. He, Fred Carly and Rowan were all wearing hand-knit jumpers in jewel tones as the trooped in.

Ron, Harry, Ginny and Hermione were still sitting at the breakfast table, wearing different the hand-made jumpers that they had received from Mrs. Weasley, and speaking in secretive whispers. They shivered at the rush of cold air that gusted in at the arrival of two sets of redheaded twins. They called out a greeting, and Hermione was introduced to the soon-to-be newest Weasleys. George dumped the brightly wrapped gifts that he had not had the time to send earlier under the Christmas tree. Normally, they would have been at the end of everyone's beds when they woke, but he and Fred had been busy until late into the night, and had forgotten to send them.

"Is everyone here?" Fred asked, as he hung his cloak on one of the many hooks by the door.

"Bill and Fleur are still missing. They were on duty for the Order last night, so they've probably had a lie in. If they don't show up soon, we'll Floo them and see what's going on," Molly said. "And Charlie said he had an errand to run, but that he'd be back in about an hour. That was about an hour ago."

As if her words had conjured him, the front door opened and Charlie stepped into the house, brining a flurry of snowflakes with him. He looked around until he spotted Harry, and then gave him the thumbs up sign before removing his cloak to reveal his own new jumper. Everyone at the table grinned back at him, and then went back to their whispered discussion.

"It's snowing again," he announced needlessly. "Wizarding Wireless Network says that it should stop sometime after noon."

"We can go out and play Snow Quidditch over the frozen pond later," Ron said excitedly. "When Carly and Rowan's brothers get here this afternoon, if we can convince enough people to play, we should be able to have two full teams since we wouldn't be playing with a snitch."

Bill and Fleur arrived, looking tired, but merry in their new jumpers, and everyone finally gathered in the large living room. Molly passed out warm gingerbread, while Fred (who had finally been allowed to quit wearing a sling) and George passed out the gifts that they had brought for everyone. Molly, who had been enjoying having people to fuss over and cook for was moved to tears by the gift that Carly gave her: a light blue hand-knit jumper with a large "M" in flowing script on the front. "For Mum," Carly told her, hugging her tightly.

"Er," Harry stood up and tried to think of a way to gain everyone's attention, and was helped out by Charlie, who put two fingers to his lips and let out a short, shrill whistle that had every head turning. "I have a gift for everyone," Harry continued, feeling suddenly jittery, "It's outside?"

He looked to Charlie who nodded, and then got to his feet and said, "I'll bring it in." He strode out the door, which Harry held open for him, and then came back, carefully levitating a large crate, which barely made it through the doorway. Everyone shifted out of the way as he set it down in the center of the room, then he stepped aside and asked, "Harry? Who do you think should do the honors?"

"Mum and Dad," Harry said, pleased with how easily those words flowed from his lips. He had thought it would be hard, or make him feel guilty to call them that, but it didn't; it felt good.

Arthur and Molly stood up with curious expressions on their faces, and raised their wands to remove the crate panels. As they hovered away, Molly whispered, "Oh."

Arthur's eyes filled as he took in the sight of the beautifully made clock standing in front of him. It stood considerably higher, and a bit wider than the original version, but the face was the same. The cabinet was of highly polished mahogany and glass, with hand carved finials at its crown. The pendulum inside was gold, with a highly stylized "W" filigreed into it, and the names of all of the family members etched deeply around the edge, including Percy's, and four new ones: Harry, Fleur, Rowan and Carly. The same names (except for Percy's) graced the golden hands of the clock face, each as individual as the person for whom it kept track.

Everyone was silent as they stared at the new clock. Harry was relieved that it had arrived on time, and turned out so well. Arthur had removed his glasses, and was wiping at damp eyes with a handkerchief, and Molly simply stood, tracing her fingers along the glossy wood, at a loss for words. Ginny was the first to move, and she walked over to Harry and put her arms around him in a gentle hug, and was quickly joined by Molly. When they broke apart, everyone argued for a few moments about where the clock should be placed, and then they all sat and admired it for a few minutes longer before Carly said, "Well this has been a week full of surprises!"

"Oh the surprises aren't done yet," George grinned.

"What have you done?" Rowan asked suspiciously. "You were out awfully late last night."

"You'll see," he said with an even bigger grin. "Should we show them, Fred?"

"Now's as good a time as any," Fred agreed, getting to his feet. "Everyone is invited to come along, but Carly and Rowan will have to be blindfolded. It's about a five minute walk from here, so everyone will want their cloaks."

Nearly everyone in the room was curious as to what surprise was in store for the Winters girls, and so everyone donned their cloaks and gloves and went out onto the wide porch. They waited while blindfolds were produced and secured, and the followed as Fred and George led Carly and Rowan across the snow covered front garden, and out onto a track that lead to a path in the nearby woods. There was less snow under the cover of the trees, but Charlie obligingly used a heating charm to melt a path for them all. When they came at last to the clearing where the small pond was, that Ron had suggested playing Snow Quidditch over, everyone fanned out and Hermione and Ginny both let out squeals of delight. Molly gasped, and Arthur simply chuckled. Everyone was grinning as George and Fred said in unison, "One, two, and three!" and quickly whipped away the blindfolds. On the far shore of the little pond, stood two houses, obviously newly built, each one different, yet similar in design, and each bearing a sign above the steps of the porch. The house with white paint and blue trim bore a sign that read, 'Mr. & Mrs. George Weasley' and the soft yellow house with dark green trim had a sign that read, 'Mr. & Mrs. Fred Weasley'.

Rowan broke the sudden silence by taking in the sight before her and letting out a scream of excitement that startled everyone, before launching herself at George, causing them both to fall into the snow laughing. She was kissing every inch of his face she could reach, and he wasn't putting up the least bit of defense against it. "So you like it?" he asked with a broad smile.

"It's perfect."

"You haven't even seen the inside," he pointed out, helping her to her feet.

"It's perfect," she insisted, and kissed him again firmly on the lips.

Carly was still looking stunned, seemingly unaware of her sister's reaction a few feet away. Her mouth was hanging open slightly, and her eyes seemed dazed as Fred watched her. He was starting to become concerned at her lack of any other reaction.

"Carly?" he asked uncertainly. He had been so sure that she would be pleased!
"Honey?"

"You," she began with a quavering voice, then focused her rapidly filling eyes on him. "You did this? For me?"

"No," Fred said quietly, resting his forehead against hers as their mingled breath left plumes of steam floating in the air. "I did it for us."

A sudden sniffle had them both looking over, to see Hermione's eyes overflowing as well. "What?" she asked. "I'm not the only one!" And indeed she wasn't; Molly had her head nestled against her husband, and had tears flowing freely from her eyes, as did Fleur, and Ginny.

"I can't believe you pulled this off!" Rowan exclaimed. "On top of rebuilding the Burrow, and duties for the Order, and running the shop - where did you find the time?"

"Well Charlie helped out a lot. We'd have never gotten this far without him." Fred explained. "But the insides aren't quiet done. They still need paint and paper."

"And furniture," George added.

"We can do that together," Rowan assured him happily.

Carly nodded enthusiastically. "We'll make it a home together," she told Fred, and kissed him softly. "Thank you so much!"

"Well!" Molly said brightly to the group. "What do you say we let these four explore their new homes for a bit, and the rest of us can head back to the Burrow to start dinner? We can all come back later to see it again when Rowan and Carly's family arrives."

It was a small blessing for Charlie that the twins weren't there to witness it, when the rest of the Weasley family returned to the Burrow to find him kissing Tonks with much more enthusiasm that the mistletoe hanging above them warranted. Carly and Rowan, their eyes shining with happiness, returned from their new homes, pink cheeked and bubbling with excitement. The rest of the Winters family arrived a couple of hours later, and the trip to the little houses by the pond was made again before everyone gathered for Christmas dinner.

That night, Molly and Arthur Weasley sighed with contentment as they sat in front of the fire in their 'new' home. Ginny and Hermione were asleep in one of the rooms, Ron and Harry in another, and things were quiet at last. It had been a day that had run the gamut of emotions from 'A' to 'Z' and for all of them, and now that it was drawing to a close, all they needed was the comfort of each other's arms and the quiet of the night. Arthur forced any stray thoughts about the work that was piled up on his desk as the Ministry, and Molly pushed away thoughts of the wedding that would be taking place in only five days, and they simply sat together and watched the fire die down in the grate. There would be enough time for everyday worries in the morning.