Hiraeth ━━ Wizarding World ✓

Chapter Twenty Three || Lovely Memories of the Past

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Chapter Twenty Three: Lovely Memories of the Past

"Reminiscing the past is one of the best pastimes."

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The next morning was a bright and sunny one. Everyone gathered in the Potters cabin to see what Bill was talking about the previous night. The morning atmosphere was filled with busy chatters of what the eldest Weasley brother would possibly show. When asked, Fleur would outright deny that she knew what her husband was planning. Bill was nowhere to be seen.

After a few minutes and a delicious breakfast served at the living room itself by Audrey and Hermione, Bill came in holding something small which was covered by an ash coloured linen cloth. "Good morning, fam!" he greeted, placing the thing on the center table and smiling at all of us. Everyone returned the greeting and braced themselves for whatever was to come.

"What would that be?" George asked, looking perplexed. Bill smiled fondly.

"Mum, Dad, do you remember this?" he asked before slowly unveiling the thing by taking off the linen. A ball like thing now sat, exposed to the hair. It was bright and colourful, radiating pleasant, familial vibes as we looked at it. Something at the back of Ron's mind kept saying that he knew it.

"Is it –?" Mr Weasley stuttered and Mrs Weasley just gaped at the thing, her eyes slightly teary.

"If you mean the Orb, you are right," Bill answered before addressing everyone, "The Orb was in trend back in the days when I first started Hogwarts. It was invented by Cranella Catcherpole and gained popularity almost immediately. Its fame as decreased nowadays as no one really wants to view recorded memories and the disadvantage of being able to store only one recording.

"To the point of what it does, it is similar to a pensive but it simply does not show any memory. It shows only one memory, that which it records first. Dad bought me one for my eleventh birthday. If I were to go to Hogwarts, it will forever show how my family radiated warmth, even through a device.

"I found it when I was looking through my sack, just before Perce told about the winning of the lottery. Everyone was quite excited and so was I hence I never really got the chance to show it. After the disasters of the campfire dinner, I thought that this probably would. . . you know, make us feel better?" he suggested.

"I would like to see it, then. I've heard so much about Orbs but wasn't a part of the Wizarding World when its fame was at the peak," Hermione piped in, looking excited. Baby Rose started gurgling and clapping. Ron nodded in agreement and the others too voiced out in affirmative.

"Okay. All I have to do is turn it on," Bill said happily before taking out his wand and swishing it at the Orb. It lit up suddenly then flickered due to the huge time gap of being unused. Bill's smile faltered as it turned dim. Ron could see the Ford Angelia inched closer to the window. Ginny and Oreo were sitting atop the car, looking excited. Ginny's short hair reminded Ron, with a growing sense of dread, about the incident of the campfire night.

"Well. . . it was worth a try. We shouldn't have let it stay dusted in a small place," Percy said, smiling sadly at Bill.

"Don't worry, son. You did your best," Mr Weasley tried to cheer Bill up but in vain. Fleur hugged him from behind and the kids ran to embrace the eldest Weasley brother. That surely lit his face up. Oreo was pawing at the window to be let in but Ron was wise enough to lock it.

"I read that Orbs don't work if all the members it contains as a memory aren't near," Audrey put in somberly. Harry and George sighed.

"It's okay guys. They are still here, with us," Charlie consoled and walked towards the Orb, presumably to put the object of melancholic reminiscence away when it suddenly glowed a bright yellow. All the pairs of eyes turned sharply to the ball. Spontaneously, Ron felt a dragging sensation which emptied into a blissful state as he stared at his family, only nearly twenty years earlier.

An eleven year old Bill was holding a baby Ginny. She was gurgling happily, trying to take a hold of baby Ron's hair. Ron, in Charlie's arms and looking crumpled, was smiling at her while trying to not let go of his teddy. A seven year old Percy was trying to keep the toddler twins in line. Fred looked as lively as he always was, even at the last moment of Time and Death's cruelty and Ron's eyes teared him. George was following his twin happily, clapping and forcing Percy to trip. Mr and Mrs Weasley were seated on a loveseat, smiling warmly at their children. Then, the camera panned and everyone was now suddenly still. Teen Bill shouted something inaudible and everyone smiled at the recorder. Baby Ron waved his teddy's hand and the world quieted down.

A new emotion shot into Ron's veins and he found himself feeling a growing sense of dread and longing. He extended his arm towards his family, two desperate eyes setting on the crowd which no longer can be or ever will be. Blackness settled down and he could no longer see. His heart felt solid then. Even if he was the only one fortunate enough to see and talk to Ginny, he still felt a disturbing shallowness in his mind. The Ginny he was talking to was, after all, just an entity of his real sister.

The thought crashed down on him like bricks falling after being hit by a demolisher. The question that what may happen if the entity of her sister were to cease from existence further weighed him down. When a mere spark could do as much as cut her long hair short, what would a full fledged flame do?

"No. No. No!" he shouted, trying desperately to keep such thoughts out of his mind.

"Ron! Ron! RON! Wake up! It's over! Ron! Everything is alright, please, wake up! Ron!"

"Dadda?"

"Ron?"

His eyes shot open and he found himself staring into Hermione's concerned brown orbs. She sighed in relief and slumped down onto the floor. Rose's happy giggles were heard nearby.

"Phew, you gave us a good scare there, mate," Harry said, running an hand through his hair.

"What happened? The memory?"

"It ended and you were shouting something. . . something about an entity," Angelina said unsurely.

"Did you guys black out as well. . .?" Ron found himself asking without really meaning to. Mr Weasley shook his head.

"No, son."

"Oh. I'm just tired yeah, you know baby sitting and all!" He came up with a quick excuse before standing up quickly. "What's for lunch?"

"Butter chicken going to be prepared by the specialist herself, Audrey!" Percy piped in, looking proudly at his wife who turned the colour of the Weasley hair. Hearing the word 'chicken' the kids perked up. So much so that Louis started begging his mother for lunch already.

"That's great! I'll help to set the table then," Ron volunteered and Mrs Weasley agreed with a smile. He was glad they seemed to have forgotten about the entity. Well, all but one. Hermione was still looking at him suspiciously and he could not slither out of her glares, even by the happy ending of the day and their vacation.

I'm so sorry for the very late update! It's been more than a month since I updated and I don't know if I'll update the next one sooner. I'll try my best. This month is packed for me and inspiration strikes rare for this story.

Thank you so much for still supporting me!

Miyoko x