Extended Family

Chapter 116 : Pillow War

Takes place after chapter 85

George stepped through the Floo and nearly went back into it from the sudden wall of sound that hit him.  He shook his head, thinking he was back at the Wheezes for a moment due to the commotion, before he realized it was his children causing all the noise.  He gaped as he watched Hailey, Alex, and Abby fighting and scrapping with each other in the middle of the living room.  After a moment, he eased his way around the melee and walked into the kitchen where Angelina was cooking and watching wearily.

He sighed with relief as the sound levels decreased dramatically and he hugged and kissed his wife.  "New charm?"

"Hermione taught it to me," she said, nodding and kissing him back.  "It dampens sound coming in but certain key words will come in clearly and normally so if I have to intervene, I can."

"Smart.  What's all this about?"

Angelina sighed.  "Alex said Abby stole something which to her credit she admitted to it but it was in retaliation for something he stole last week.  That set them off and Alex was losing so he roped Hailey into it and that backfired because at first she turned on him before she decided to take them both on and now it's a free-for-all."

"At least they're using pillows," George observed.

"I forced them to at least and I told them no stealing ours later.  I'm tired of our pillows being ragged and literally beaten because they didn't want to use their own."  Angelina snorted.  "Hadley was the smart one.  She grabbed that one pillow that somehow always keeps its shape."

"Mum made that one.  Hmm, I should ask her how she did it.  It does seem to be surviving the longest and now that you mention it, all our pillows were pretty resilient."  He watched his children fight on.  "How long have they been going at it?"

"A while, probably an hour, feels longer," Angelina said.  She grinned ruefully.  "I know a part of me says I should've broken it up a long time ago-"

"-but we both come from big sib families where the sibs beat the crap out of each other lovingly and sometimes you just gotta let them fight it out," George agreed.  "Plus, we don't have an orchard here for late night fights."

"And hopefully it'll tire them out so they go to bed early," Angelina snorted.  "And if they do develop anything more than a bruise, we can go get Katie or Rabbit, if an episkey doesn't fix it."

"I'd say usually a pillow shouldn't cause any real injury but then again, I know I got some doozies with Bill and Charlie and Fred and Ron and Ginny."

"Not Percy?" Angelina smiled.

"That goes without saying," George grinned.  He looked at his children thoughtfully.

"I know that look.  That's your inventing look."

"I just got an idea for pillows specifically for fighting and hopefully can mitigate property damage as well as permanent health damage."

"Now that would be a money-maker."

"Yeah...it would."

-0-

"Hey Freddie, I gots me an idea."

Fred looked up from his coffee.  "Yeah?"  Hit me with it."  He snorted when George threw a pillow at him.  "Alright, feeling literal today, are we?  We selling pillows?"

"Pillows specifically for pillow fighting," George said.  "Got the idea last night when I watched my sprogs try to murder each other with them."

"Ooh, who won?"