Harry Potter and the Summer After the War

Chapter 11 - New Rules

Mrs. Weasley was just putting the finishing touches on dinner when her husband arrived home early from work.

“Hello Molly,” he greeted her with a kiss.

“Hello Arthur. Did they get off alright?” Molly asked.

“Just fine. Their port key returns here in the orchard on July tenth.”

“What time?” Molly asked.

 Mr. Weasley consulted a scrap of parchment in his hand. “I’m not really sure. The departure is on Australian time which is a half day ahead of us, so with the time difference…” his voice faded away as he struggled for a bit with the calculations. “Well it should be sometime in the evening, I think. Or maybe it will be evening there and morning here?” He sighed. “I don’t know. We’ll just look for them on the tenth.”

Mrs. Weasley smiled. Her husband had never been particularly good at time changes or math.

“Where are they Molly?” Arthur asked.

“In the orchard.”

“Together?” Arthur asked.

“Of course.”

“What are they doing?”

“Flying  I think, though I haven’t seen them in a while,” Mrs. Weasley told him looking towards the window, but just as she said that two figures on brooms appeared in the distance speeding along the tops of the trees before dipping down and disappearing again. “Arthur, just what are we going to do about this?” she demanded.

“Now Molly,” Arthur tried to calm his worried wife.

“I heard them Arthur. You did too,” she insisted.

“I only heard Harry cry out like he always does, then Ginny outside her room on the stairs,” Mr. Weasley told her. “She could have been going to the bathroom.”

“I didn’t hear a flush,” Mrs. Weasley argued.

“No. Neither did I. Maybe she didn’t flush?” Mr. Weasley asked hopefully.

“Arthur…You know as well as I do she went down to see Harry.”

“Well, if Harry was asleep then I don’t think we have too much to worry about.”

“How do you know he was asleep?” Mrs. Weasley demanded.

“I heard him cry out. He wouldn’t have done if he were awake.”

“No, I don’t suppose he would have,” Mrs. Weasley said worriedly. “But even if he was asleep, how long do you think he stayed that way once she went down?”

As was her habit, Mrs. Weasley had put her thumb firmly on the problem.

“Well I doubt anything untoward would have happened Molly. After all Ron was right there,” Mr. Weasley pointed out.

“Yes, but he won’t be tonight,” Mrs. Weasley said.

“Let’s just play it by ear,” her husband suggested. Mrs. Weasley scowled. “Molly I don’t want to go accusing Harry or Ginny of anything unseemly when we don’t really know for sure.”

“Arthur…” Mrs. Weasley said in a low tone.

“Just because you and I did at that doesn’t mean everyone does Molly,” he reminded her. His wife blushed furiously at this.

“Oh very well. Go ahead and listen, but if it happens again I’m telling if you won’t say something I will.”

“I will,” he promised and he very firmly and very passionately kissed his wife.