the lion and the badger | n. tonks

xix

"I thought we'd have a little party, not a sit-down dinner." Molly told Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Ginny as they entered the room.

"Your father and Bill are on their way, Ron, I've sent them both owls and they're thrilled." she added, beaming. Fred rolled his eyes.

Sirius, Remus, Lyra, Tonks, and Kingsley Shacklebolt were already there and Mad-Eye Moody stumped in shortly after Harry had got himself a butterbeer.

"Oh, Alastor, I am glad you're here," said Molly brightly, as Mad-Eye shrugged off his traveling cloak, "We've been wanting to ask you for ages - could you have a look in the writing desk in the drawing room and tell us what's inside it? We haven't wanted to open it just in case it's something really nasty."

"No problem, Molly."

Moody's electric-blue eye swiveled upward and stared fixedly through the ceiling of the kitchen.

"Drawing room," he growled, as the pupil contracted, "Desk in the corner? Yeah, I see it. Yeah, it's a boggart. Want me to go up and get rid of it, Molly?"

"No, no, I'll do it myself later," beamed Molly, "You have your drink. We're having a little bit of a celebration, actually."

She gestured at the scarlet banner.

"Fourth prefect in the family!" she said fondly, ruffling Ron's hair.

"Prefect, eh?" growled Moody, his normal eye on Ron and his magical eye swiveling around to gaze into the side of his head.

"Well, congratulations," said Moody, still glaring at Ron with his normal eye, "authority figures always attract trouble, but I suppose Dumbledore thinks you can withstand most major jinxes or he wouldn't have appointed you."

Ron looked rather startled at this view of the matter but was saved the trouble of responding by the arrival of his father and eldest brother.

Molly was in such a good mood she did not even complain that they had brought Mundungus with them too; he was wearing a long overcoat that seemed oddly lumpy in unlikely places and declined the offer to remove it and put it with Moody's traveling cloak.

"Well, I think a toast is in order." said Arthur, when everyone had a drink. He raised his goblet.

"To Ron and Hermione, the new Gryffindor prefects!"

Ron and Hermione beamed as everyone drank to them and then applauded.

"I was never a prefect myself." said Tonks brightly from behind Harry as everybody moved toward the table to help themselves to food. Her hair was tomato-red and waist length today.

"My Head of House said I lacked certain necessary qualities." said Tonks.

"Like what?" said Ginny, who was choosing a baked potato.

"Like the ability to behave myself." said Tonks.

Ginny laughed; Hermione looked as though she did not know whether to smile or not and compromised by taking an extra large gulp of butterbeer and choking on it.

"What about you, Sirius?" Ginny asked, thumping Hermione on the back.
Sirius, who was right beside Harry, let out his usual barklike laugh.

"No one would have made me a prefect, I spent too much time in detention with James. Lupin was the good boy, he got the badge."

"I think Dumbledore might have hoped that I would be able to exercise some control over my best friends," said Remus, "I need scarcely say that I failed dismally."

"What about you?" asked Ginny, looking at Lyra.

"I am too much like my mum, don't think my mum being prefect ended well so they knew instantly not to make me a prefect." said Lyra, taking a sip of her apple juice.