Escape ↣ Harmione

Chapter Fifty-One

Chapter 51 - Returning

Christmas was mad. It was the Twins second Christmas, and it was proving to be every bit as exhausting as their first. Their mail order business was very possibly going to cause the expiration of the post office's parliament of owls it was so busy. The foot traffic in the Alley had picked back up after the attack, and as the days had past and the shops repaired, it seemed that the events were simply forgotten about.

Of course, it was brilliant, they had a business, and it was flourishing. They had drafted Lee in to help Verity in the shop just so they could concentrate on brewing and restocking. They were up at the crack of dawn and rarely in bed until the small hours.

Due to their extended hours in the workshop, they had been able to spend more time talking to Harry and Hermione as they studied and revised. They had teased the pair for being swots, for taking their exams in the first place when they had such marvellous examples of how exams weren't the be all and end all. That stance had caused Hermione to sniff at them and bury her head back in a book that was quite honestly written in Greek as far as they were concerned.

They had had their moment of jealousy however when they had been told of the impending skiing trip. Still being in school had its advantages and being able to enjoy the holiday season as a holiday was one of them.

Harry had told them of Remus asking him to be a godparent, and they had offered what wisdom they could. Helen, John and Hermione had joined in, sharing what it meant from the muggle perspective and they had an interesting conversation that had explored the differences between the two cultures they inhabited.

The Order meeting just before Christmas was held at Grimmauld place. They arrived late, the shop had been extremely busy, and it had taken longer than expected to get the last customers out and the shop tidy. They still had a night of brewing ahead of them once the meeting was finished.

They snuck in as quietly as they could winding their way through the throng of people to stand by Minerva. The meeting had by sheer numbers been moved to one of the large reception rooms on the ground floor of the townhouse.

The room was gloomy and depressing, someone had been through and at least removed the dust and cobwebs, but nothing would make the room either cheery or welcoming.

Albus was already there chatting, but the meeting hadn't yet begun, allowing them to dodge the worst of their mother's glares with apologetic grimaces.

"Fred, George," Minerva greeted them warmly.

"Minerva,"

"Long day?" she asked looking them over.

"Yes," George agreed leaning up against the wall, letting the tiredness seep through his tall frame for just a moment.

"How many of your products will I be confiscating in the new year?"

"At the rate we're going, enough to restock us for a month."

She looked surprised.

"I think it's partly because people are determined to ignore what's happening," Fred said as he leant against the wall next to George mirroring his pose. "The attack, it's like people have decided they aren't going to think about it and are going to have as much fun as possible. It's got an air of desperation about it."

Minerva nodded. "It was like that last time in the beginning. Things were starting to go noticeably badly, and everyone seemed to want to try that bit harder to enjoy themselves."

"They'd be better off protecting themselves," George said grumpily. "I mean it's great business, and we've seen an uptake in the defensive line we offer but it's not really the answer is it. If enough people would stand up and do something instead."