The Mudblood

Chapter 130 : Contentment

Another beautiful piece of artwork by Raven :) On top is Ron, Hermione, and Harry holding the banner, then George and Fred, then Harmony (a Bottle of Bliss floating beside her), Harper, Anderson, and Malfoy (with the emerald rose he almost gave Lainey for Valentine's Day), then the bottom row is Melody (with her book), Ashley, Lainey,and Astoria (with a picture of Lainey's brothers beside her).

"Teddy, stop feeding Fred those Chunky Chocolates," I hissed, peering over the shelves of prank products for signs of Fred Weasley II's parents. George was currently attempting to bribe a customer into purchasing a bulk order of No Nose Nuggets, while Angelina was helping Verity restock the WonderWitch display...and my son was feeding their son chocolates that had increased the toddler's weight to the point that he could only roll around the shop like a ball.

Seven-year-old Teddy giggled, even as I snatched the candies from his hands and placed them back where they belonged on the shelves. "He likes them—"

"I know," I said, fighting to suppress my smirk, "but look at him."

Little Fred was now hiccoughing as he rolled, but...he was smiling. Since the two-year-old had begun to chew, Teddy had been slipping him prank candies that, despite the effects, the toddler always enjoyed. Even with the age gap, the two boys had grown to be great friends since Teddy and I spent a lot of our free time helping out at the shop.

I hadn't been surprised when George and Angelina had named their first child Fred, but it had still been hard at first to say his name and know that it wasn't really him. Little Fred barely resembled George's deceased twin at all, though; his hair was a much deeper shade of red, and his skin was a dark hue like his mother's rather than pale like his father's. Even so, I had a feeling his personality would develop to resemble the man he'd been named after, given the fact that he could barely talk and he was already obsessed with pranks.

"Go roll him to Uncle George," I whispered, nodding my head in the shop-owner's direction. Teddy beamed at me before scurrying over to the rotund toddler and then pushing him across the shop.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" a familiar voice asked, and I spun around to find that Brian Urquhart was sauntering down the aisle toward me.

The black suit he wore was so contrary to the white one he'd worn at Ashley's wedding two years ago, but his features hadn't altered much, and he looked just as handsome as always. Teddy had insisted on wearing a bright yellow tux (his favorite color, of course) to today's event, and therefore Brian had acquired a yellow tie to match the boy. I'd told him when we'd left the house this morning that he looked like a Hufflepuff. The proud Slytherin hadn't taken kindly to that comment, and we'd dueled playfully in the kitchen before departing by Floo Network for the Leaky Cauldron. Teddy had cheered for Brian. I had won.

Since beginning my job at the Ministry of Magic two years ago, Brian Urquhart and I had grown...close. His father was as awkward and melancholy as he had once professed, but Bruce Urquhart was a skilled Seer, and he had helped me tremendously with regaining my Seeing abilities. I knew, though, that the strengthening of my power was not just from his instruction, but also from my increasing good humor.

Teddy had always seen to it that I was smiling, but having friends my own age again had also livened my spirits. Even though Brian had joked about avoiding me, he had visited me every day at my new job, giving me company in the isolated Seeing Chamber. His father had once been in charge of using the Orb of Sight to foresee future calamities to the wizarding world, but since I was Clairvoyant and could also See the past and present, Bruce had handed the Orb's responsibilities to me and limited his duties to managing the Department of Mysteries.