Peverell Manor - July 1, 1996
Life was good. This was Severus's second full day at home and he most definitely wasn't used to this being his life. He had woken up early this morning, he still wasn't used to not having to get up for class, and rather than being alone in his small, dark bedroom, he was in a large, soft bed with his husband and son curled up next to him.
So far, since he had first returned home, Hadrian hadn't managed to spend the night in his own bed. It wasn't that Severus had a problem with that, he actually understood why Hadrian wanted to always be with them. Severus himself actually preferred it. His husband and son had been stolen from him and he had had to live for years without them. Now that he had them back he didn't want them to be far away.
He knew that eventually they would have to work on getting Hadrian to stay in his own bed, just not yet. Severus wanted the chance to get used to having his family close first.
Calling one of the cook elves, Topsy, he had their breakfast brought up to them so that they could have breakfast in bed. Then he got to watch and compare how the two most important men in his life woke up.
Hadrian was the first to react. He was finally starting to be able to eat larger meals, and he had actually managed to put on close to 10 pounds. It wasn't as quick as they would have liked, but if he gained weight to fast it could hurt him.
Severus watched as Hadrian first started to sniff as the scent of bacon and eggs filled the room. Then his face started scrunching as he both tried to wake up and go back to sleep. Eventually he started to blink as he woke up. Severus chuckled lightly at the look on his sons face.
He had a confused look on his face until he caught sight of Severus. As soon as he saw his papa, his face broke out in a happy little grin. Then he noticed the food and hummed a little in joy.
Hadrian and Severus were both half way through their breakfast before James started to wake. James kept his eyes closed tightly against the light until he heard Hadrian giggle at him. Slowly he cracked one eye open to look at them.
With a deep sigh and a large pout he sat up to eat his breakfast. Once they had all eaten James started to tickle Hadrian until he begged to be set free. Once free, Hadrian an off to find Remus and Sirius to try and get them on his team for a prank war against his fathers.
The prank war lasted for over an hour before Hadrian and his uncles claimed victory after turning James and Severus completely pink, clothes and all. After the prank war they got themselves cleaned up for their appointment at the bank.
Today they were going to get their first assignment. By the next day they were planning to be out of Britain. James hadn't been lying when he told Dumbledore that the goblins wanted to excavate the temple lab of one of the oldest known potions masters, it was in Japan.
Remus had been studying up on the lore about the temple during his spare time, the others all believed that he might just be some type of researching god given all the other work they had been doing, and he believed that he knew the general location of the temple. If they could get Ragnock to approve what they were planning then they would be off to Japan by tomorrow morning.
Arriving at the bank, they made their way down the now familiar hallways that led to Ragnock's office. Just before they reached the office Hadrian split off, he had no interest in attending the meeting, instead he headed to the healing ward to visit Cora and Vessra.
As he walked down the halls Hadrian made sure to greet the goblins he saw properly and politely. Many of the goblins were still unsure of what to make of the wizard youngling. Only Ragnock, Cora, and Vessra knew of his strange situation. Most only knew that he had been named a goblin friend. They weren't willing to anger Ragnock or worse, the two healer females, so they treated him with polite disinterest, but some were coming to be fond of the youngling. Goblins weren't used to being treated with respect, and the fact that this little wizard did so, interested them. Hadrian would never be fully accepted, but the goblins already saw him, and by extension his family, as the best the wizarding world had to offer.
While Hadrian was visiting the two goblin healers, which naturally resulted in a full physical, James and the others were drinking tea with Ragnock. Ragnock was quite pleased with how quickly Remus had put together all the information that might lead them to the potions temple. The goblins had been searching for this particular temple for a few decades. There would hopefully be all sorts of potions related information that had been forgotten to time that they might be able to profit from.
It was an easy thing for Ragnock to approve the odd families application to go looking for the temple. Made even more so given the fact that they were willing to pay their own expenses that they incurred while there. All the bank would need to provide was their salary, transportation, and any extra material that they would need to break any curses they found. They had all said that they would prefer not to have any outsiders with them as they needed to keep so many secrets and they didn't know anyone else that they could trust.
After their meetings at the bank they went home to get ready to leave. Remus slipped off to buy a few last minute supplies, and James went off to one of the businesses he owned to make some last minute changes before he would return home. They were in the middle of packing when Amelia Bones arrived with Cecilia Perra and Edward Brown. Severus had made sure that he was out of the house, they still didn't want anyone to know of his involvement, he had chosen to go and say goodbye to the Malfoy's.
Cecilia and Edward were there so that James, Sirius, and Remus could get their approval for custody of Hadrian as an extra precaution, like they had done with Amelia. Amelia had made them both swear secrecy vows before they had even left the ministry so the family didn't have to worry about anyone else finding out.
"Lord Peverell, as delightful as it is seeing you again, I can't help but wonder what is going on, let alone why we had to swear ourselves to secrecy to have this meeting." Cecilia said as soon as they finished greeting one another.
"There are actually many things that we need to address." James indicated for the others to sit down. "I believe that the first thing we need to address is Lord Sirius Black. Now, we all know the story that we were told at the end of the last war. Sirius Black became a follower of Lord Voldemort, betrayed the Potter's to him, then he was hunted down by a friend, but before the friend could bring him in, he killed the man and 12 muggles. That is the story you have heard, is it not?"
Cecilia and Edward both nodded so James carried on.
"All of that, is in fact, a lie. The true traitor to the Potter family was Peter Pettigrew. He was the death eater, and it was actually Sirius who hunted him down. It was Pettigrew that killed the muggles when he faked his own death. Peter Pettigrew is in fact still alive and free. Sirius was sent to Azkaban without ever receiving a trial and is innocent."
"Well, that's an interesting story, but what does it have to do with us? We deal with kids, he is an adult. I understand why you would want to tell Madam Bones that, but not us." Edward was clearly confused.
Amelia smiled at him. "That was actually just background on what is happening now. Sirius Black has been released from prison and currently lives here with his husband and Sebastian. The reason you are here, is because Sirius and his husband have recently gained the custody of a child. Sebastian and I have been assisting them, and we were hoping that you would assist us as well."
"And how can we help?" Cecilia asked.
James was glad that this was working out the way it was. He handed over copies of Hadrian's health scans to the two adults that hadn't yet seen it. Edward was clearly horrified as he read the list, but Cecilia was furious. "This is the child that they have retained custody of isn't it?"
"Yes." James said. "He had to spend over a month in a healing coma to recover from that. We are working on correcting his malnutrition and the mental and emotional effect from this sort of treatment. What we were hoping you could help us with was adding your support to Sirius and Remus's custody of the boy."
"We will of course do what we can to help, I will want to speak with the boy first though. But why would you need our support if they already have custody?" Edward said.
"The reason we need your assistance with this is because of a combination of factors." Amelia said.
"What you need to know is that Remus is a werewolf. Now there is no need to be concerned for the child's safety. Remus was attacked and turned when he was only 6, he knows how to handle his condition and has never harmed anyone, but your support would help there. There is also that, clearly, the boy has been abused and it is your departments job to deal with abused children. The biggest thing though, is that we need to make sure that we have appropriate backing for when everything comes out." James was glad when he saw that neither of them reacted overly negatively to Remus's wolf status.
Edward gave him a critical look. "I see no issue with one of the guardians being a werewolf given the fact that there are two others, including yourself, that are clearly involved. But there is something I will need to know. Why are you being so cautious to never mention the child's name?"
James gave him a small nod before calling Sirius and Remus in. Hadrian was nestled safely in Sirius's arms. He smiled at his son. "Allow me to introduce Sirius and Remus Lupin-Black, and… Hadrian Potter."
Amelia and James watched with slight smiles as Cecilia and Edwards eyes snapped from the three newcomers, back to the two of them before snapping back to the others. Cecilia summed it up perfectly. "Oh."
Cecilia Perra had seen some terrible things. She could only feel sadness, rage, and joy as she looked at the little boy. This child had lost his parents to a murderer before he had even gotten the chance to know them, then he had ended up living in a living hell of an abusive home. She was furious that any child would be treated the way the health scan in her hands indicated. But she was also happy that the boy was now safe, and clearly happy with his new family. It was clear that the child had been mistreated by his small size, but it also showed that he was putting on weight and getting better.
Edward was stunned. He looked at the small boy and was surprised at how well he was doing. Edwards focus was on mental health and Hadrian was clearly already recovering. Many children that were abused as severely as Hadrian had been were extremely weary of being touched. The fact that Hadrian wasn't just letting himself be touched, but held, showed a startling amount of trust for these men. Remus and Sirius sat on one of the little couches and placed Hadrian between them. Although they had already explained what was going to happen to Hadrian, he was still nervous and kept hold on both of them.
They spent the next hour talking, allowing Cecilia and Edward to see that Hadrian was safe and happy. Eventually they had to stop talking when Hadrian started to fall asleep on Sirius. Remus gently picked him up and took him up to bed, giving James a small nod before he left.
James knew that he would find Hadrian tucked into his bed when he went up. Once Remus and Hadrian were gone, James looked to Cecilia and Edward. "So… Will you help us protect him?"
"Of course we will." Cecilia said. "From what I have seen just now, it is clear that Hadrian is safe and getting better with you all. But you do know, people are going to learn that you have him sooner rather than later. People will notice him, you even might have difficulties from his former guardians. Anything could happen to let the magical world know where he is. More than that, how do you expect to hide yourself Lord Black, as soon as your release is announced you will be the centre of attention."
Amelia spoke up here. "I don't believe that his former guardians will be an issue. I went to visit them to get them to sign an agreement that they wouldn't attempt to regain Hadrian's guardianship. There lives have taken a turn for the worse. Petunia Dursley, Lily's sister, had no problem telling me about how much she hated Hadrian when she gave up all claim to him. According to her, he ruined her life."
"And just how did she reason that." Sirius was glad that she had signed over her rights to his godson, but what did that horrible woman have to blame on him.
"Well… Most of the town had believed the stories she and her husband had been telling them. According to the neighbours I spoke to, the Dursley's told everyone that Hadrian was mentally ill and that he was violent and was ultimately harming himself, and them, as a result. But once he disappeared people started to examine everything. Looking back their neighbours realized that the boy was being abused. They all seemed to feel horrible that they did nothing to save him.
Vernon Dursley didn't handle losing his human punching bag well. Less than a week after Hadrian ran away Vernon had a bad day at work and apparently decided to take it out on his own son. The neighbours weren't about to stand by and allow another child to be abused. As soon as they saw the bruises on the boy they called the police.
Vernon has been arrested and sentenced to 6 months in prison for child abuse, they could only charge him for the attack on his son as Hadrian wasn't there to give a statement. The boy, Dudley Dursley, was removed by child services after Petunia showed herself to be an unfit mother. She apparently decided that it was a good idea to attack the social service workers when they came to check on Dudley's home life, she's currently on probation. During their talk with him, Dudley said some incriminating things about his parents and aunt.
He was initially sent to live with his fathers sister, but that went even worse. When they went to inspect her home the crazy woman set her dogs on the workers. She's now also in prison, both for the attack on the social workers and animal abuse. After the attack the muggle aurors checked into her dog breeding business and apparently it was pretty bad. The boy is now living with one of his father's cousins that is in the navy. From all accounts, even though it's only been a couple weeks, he is settling in well.
Petunia seems to be of the opinion that her 'freak nephew' is to blame for all of it. I honestly wanted to hex the woman myself within 2 minutes of meeting her. How Hadrian has turned out so sweet is beyond me."
"I agree," Edward said. "Just from talking to him for the last little bit it is clear that he is a very good natured, mature child. I am amazed at how well adjusted he is already. Most of the children I deal with can take years before they reach the point he is at now. You are clearly doing something right."
Sirius smiled at that. He was glad, but also a little worried, at how well Hadrian was recovering from his abuse. He didn't want Hadrian to just pretend he was ok, because that would do more harm than good. "On another note. My release isn't going to be announced. We decided that if my release was made public then Pettigrew would run and could become dangerously unpredictable. Amelia and her team of most trusted aurors will be tracking him down. Sebastian, Remus, and myself have been hired as curse breakers for Gringotts. The reason we needed to have the meeting tonight is because we are leaving the country tomorrow. We have discussed it, and we want Hadrian to have as normal a childhood as we can give him, and that won't happen here. Right now, we aren't planning on returning to Britain until it's time for Hadrian to attend Hogwarts. If you need to do any check ups you can contact us through the bank."
Cecilia smiled. That was perfect. Hadrian would be safe with people that clearly loved him, and he would also get the chance to grow up out of the public eye. "I think that won't be a problem. We've been talking about the standards that we intend to set up and we are leaning towards checking in on the children are agency placed at least twice a year. We can easily enough come to you using portkeys. I wouldn't want to risk Hadrian's safety by making you all come back. Plus if we come to you than we will have a better view of how he is growing up. You have my complete support in keeping custody of Hadrian."
"I will sign off on that as well." Edward said. "There is just one thing I would like to warn you about. Abused children can often have issues for years. His quick recovery from the mental and emotional trauma is something you will need to watch. It wouldn't be surprising to me if he had relapses of emotional distress over the next few years."
After Cecilia and Edward signed their names on the protective custody agreement next to Amelia's names they finished up quickly. There was nothing else that they needed to talk about so they said goodnight.
James quickly made his way upstairs to his room. He found Hadrian sitting up in bed watching the door, waiting for him. They were planning on leaving before 10 the next day so they needed to get to bed.
As those at home were sitting down to tea with the heads of the DCW Severus was arriving at the Malfoy's. Severus dearly loved his godson. The boy could be a bit difficult, since his parents spoiled him and never told him no, but there was a sweetness to him that Sev hoped stayed as he got older.
They spent about an hour talking about nothing, while Draco curled up in his lap. Once Draco finally fell asleep Narcissa took him up to bed and Severus and Lucius were finally able to talk openly.
"Sev, there is something I was hoping you could do for me." Sev nodded at his friend. "I know you know about the orbs. The one Draco sent to us had a request that I don't exactly know how to complete. He wanted us to give one of our house elves, Dobby, to Hadrian Potter. I was hoping that you might be able to get the elf to him. He really is an odd elf but Draco assured us that Hadrian and Dobby work well together."
"I can do it easily enough."
"And just how can you do it Sev?" Narcissa asked as she came back into the room. "No one knows what Dumbledore did with the poor boy."
Narcissa had attempted to gain custody of Hadrian after the attack. She and James had actually been fairly close as kids because Narcissa had dreamed of being a healer, so she had spent as much time as she could with her great Aunt Dorea, James's mother. She had wanted to protect her cousins son but had been denied instantly.
Severus looked closely at two of his closest friends. James and the others had all given their approval for him to tell them, so long as he swore them to secrecy first. When he asked them to swear a secrecy oath they did so quickly. Once the oath was sworn Severus told them about what had happened.
He told them about how he had secretly dated and married James. He told them about his son and then how James and Hadrian were later kidnapped. He explained about how James had survived that night and was now known as Sebastian Peverell and about Hadrian ending up at the bank healing ward under the care of the goblins. They had decided to keep Hadrian's little trip through time to themselves so he skipped over that part. He told them about having to be purged and how they had gotten Sirius freed. He also explained to Lucius about how he had managed to get rid of his dark mark by signing a goblin contract. Reaching the end of his story he sat back and took a deep drink of the scotch that Lucius had gotten him.
"Are you telling me, that Dumbledore and that filthy little skank Evans kidnaped my friends husband and son, who are also relatives of mine. Placed your son with abusive muggels, and forced you to forget your own husband and son. And one of my other cousins, the Lord of my father's house, was sent to Azkaban without ever being tried." When Sev nodded Narcissa started to pace. "And just what are we going to do about this. They need to pay, if I have to see to it myself."
Lucius pulled his wife down next to him before Severus spoke.
"It is going to be ok, we have time. Plans are already in motion for us to get our revenge, it is just going to take time. I will say this, I don't believe that Albus knew that I was married to James, or that Hadrian was my son. We think he just messed with my memory as a way to gain control over me."
"Narcissa, my love, there is nothing to worry about. Between you, James and I we have a great deal of control in the Wizengamot. We can make Dumbledore suffer there, will that be enough for you for now." Lucius truly loved his wife. Even more when she let her temper run wild, at least, when it wasn't aimed at him.
Narcissa only nodded. She was already planning ways to make anyone that harmed her family suffer.
They talked for a little while longer before Severus got an alert on his mirror letting him know that it was safe to come back home. When he got to the floo room Lucius called for Dobby. Lucius had explained to Severus that when Dobby had been only an elfling his father, Abraxas, had struck him over the head and thrown him into a wall. Ever since then Dobby had had a few issues. Severus just waved it off. He had read about Dobby in one of the journals, the fact that this elf had died to save his son was enough for him to put up with any oddities.
When Dobby popped into the room he vacillated between excitement and complete terror. Before he could speak Severus held up his hand.
"Dobby. My name is Severus Prince-Potter. I'm sure you have heard of my son, Hadrian Potter." Dobby's eyes went huge at the name. "I have spoken with Lucius and he has agreed to allow me to hire you to be my sons personal elf. Would you like that."
Dobby nodded vigorously. He was bouncing on the balls of his feet and looked like he was about to break down in tears.
"Well then, lets go. We will be leaving the country tomorrow so you will need to be ready to travel."
With that Severus led the excitable elf through the floo. After showing the elf to the elf quarters, which resulted in Dobby finally breaking down into tears, Severus went up to bed.
James was still awake when he came in while Hadrian was curled up fast asleep next to him. He went into the bathroom and got ready for bed. Laying down and wrapping his arm around his son and husband. He then went on to tell James about his time with the Malfoy's before James filled him in on what had happened in his meeting as well. Eventually, they both fell asleep.
The Burrow - July 1, 1996
William 'Bill' Weasley was sitting at the breakfast table in his family home watching his family. He had spent the majority of his last semester learning as much as he could about magic that he had been denied. He couldn't make any sense of the fact that these branches of magic were systematically being removed from his school, a school that claimed to be one of the best in the world. This made him start to take a closer look at things in his life that he had always taken for granted. Maybe it was just a part of growing up, but Bill felt like his eyes had been opened.
And he didn't like much of what he saw. Although he hadn't said it, Bill knew that his mother looked down on Professor Snape because he had worked as a spy during the last war. It was that which encouraged him to take a closer look at his mother. He really didn't know how he could have missed it. Looking back now it was clear, Molly Weasley wasn't a good mother.
She was judgmental and cruel to her elder children. Bill and Charlie were always being told that they weren't good enough, that they needed to do exactly what she said or they wouldn't amount to anything. Percy was almost completely ignored. The only time she payed any attention to Fred and George was when she was yelling at them. The only children that she seemed to really like was the two youngest, Ron and Ginny, and she wasn't doing them any good. Ron was a bottomless pit that always wanted more but never wanted to work for it, Ginny was a demanding little thing that threw a fit whenever she felt like she wasn't getting everything she wanted, and Molly seemed to encourage them in their behaviour.
He knew that he was probably being to harsh on his younger siblings, Ron had only turned 6 and Ginny wouldn't be 5 for a few months. They were both still just kids. But he couldn't help but think they would never change unless they were given rules and expectations that Molly didn't seem to want to give them.
Molly also seemed to have nothing but contempt for their home. She was always complaining about how they needed something new, but she never even seemed to have considered earning the money herself. Bill knew how hard his father worked to keep a roof over their head, but Molly didn't seem to care. There was also how she treated his father. It was clear to Bill, even at his young age, that Molly looked down on his father.
While his mother was busy scolding Fred and George for something Bill quietly made a bacon and egg sandwich before slipping out the back door. Molly always insisted that they were only able to eat at the table so he knew his father hadn't eaten yet as he had had to go out to his shed to get some information before he left for work.
When Bill stepped into his fathers shed he saw that his father had clearly become distracted with one of his latest projects, an old muggle car that he wanted to make fly. Arthur smiled when he saw him, seeing the sandwich he grinned.
"So what is it that you want so badly that you are willing to try bribing me with food."
Bill gave his father a sheepish grin. "I was hoping that you would let me come with you to work today."
Arthur was confused, none of his children ever wanted to go to work with him. He would admit, his job wasn't exactly an exciting one. "Why?"
"Well… Someone suggested that I should get a job. I figured we could go to River Run Alley."
"Bill, who is this friend? Why do you think you need a job? I know that we don't have all that much, but we're doing ok."
Bill spent a few seconds thinking about how to answer. He knew his father was a proud man, he also knew that he had promised Professor Snape that he would keep his involvement a secret. Eventually he decided on the truth. Bill knew that he could trust his father, plus, his father didn't have the same problems with Snape that his mother had.
"I actually got the idea from Professor Snape."
"Severus? What does he have to do with it?"
"Well… Earlier this year he caught me skipping history and gave me detention. Rather than making things really hard for me, he assigned me an essay on history. I actually started visiting him after that and he started to teach me things that I wanted to learn. He um… He taught me…"
"Keep going Bill."
"He was teaching me warding. I know that the class and the books were removed from the school but I don't understand why. Everything Professor Snape taught me seemed fine. It wasn't dark or dangerous or anything."
"I agree with you, warding isn't a dangerous subject if it is taught properly. I never took the class myself, but I was surprised when you didn't take it. I figured that it was just your type of class."
"I didn't take the class because it wasn't offered. Professor Snape told me that it was removed during his final year. He let me borrow his books and practice in his room. I know he isn't thought to be the nicest of people, but he was nice to me."
"I have absolutely no problems with Severus. I am actually fond of the man, he might be a little prickly, but he's a good man under it all."
"Yeah, he told me about how he had worked as a spy during the war and a lot of people look down on him for it. He said that one of the reasons that he helped me so much was because you were always kind to him unlike most people."
"Of course I was kind to him. I owe him your life."
"What?"
"You might not remember it very well, but he saved your life. You would have only been about 8 when it happened. The Diggory's had invited you and your brothers over for Cedric's birthday. Your mom was pregnant with Ron at the time, and it was a hard pregnancy for her, so Amy Diggory offered to take all 5 of you for the day so that your mom could rest. I had been meeting with two of the others that were a part of the Order, Sirius and Remus, when Severus came into the meeting place. He looked like he had gone through hell. He was covered in cuts and bruises and his muscles were spasming, we all recognized it as the after effects of the Cruciatus Curse. He had been attending one of the meetings when he had heard news that the death eaters were planning to attack Cedric's birthday party. They knew that since the Diggory's were a light family, there would be plenty of light side children in attendance. He had been punished severely for attempting to leave early, but he needed to get a warning to us, which he clearly managed. Because of what he did we were able to get to you boys and clear the house before the attack. We were actually just flooing out when the wards alerted us to their arrival. If he hadn't managed to get away when he did I could have lost you and your brothers. After that, there is no chance that I would ever look down on him."
"Wow, he didn't say anything about that."
"He wouldn't. But why does this mean you need to get a job?"
"Professor Snape told me that I could still take my OWL in warding, but I would have to pay to take it at the ministry. He suggested that if I really wanted to study warding that I get a job and earn the money to take the tests and self study for my NEWTs."
"That sounds like it could work. If you really want to do it, then I'll help. Let's just not tell your mom about the job until after you have it. And don't mention taking any extra OWLs. You know what she's like. If the headmaster doesn't think you should know it, then she will never let you learn it."
"I know, that's why I came to you. The professor suggested that I should take you with me since it will be my first time to River Run Alley. He also suggested that we could go to visit Junior Technologies in Horizon Alley. He said that he knew you and thought that you would like it."
"That sounds like a fun day. If your sure you want to come to work with me thats fine with me, but it will be a pretty boring day before we can leave, you understand that, right?"
"I know."
Bill followed Arthur inside after that. Arthur was the one who told Molly the plan for Bill to go to work with him. Molly was thrilled with the idea, even more so when 10 year old Percy asked to go to. Arthur offered to take the other kids but none of them wanted too. Charlie was going to take Fred and George through the woods to the Lovegood's, Ginny wanted to stay with Molly, and Ron wasn't up yet.
Molly was happy as she watched Arthur and the children leave. She loved all of her children, just not all in the same way. The older 5 children were just too unpredictable. Her Ronnie and Ginny were so much better in her mind. This was not the life that she had planned for herself.
When Molly had been a child she had dreamed of marrying a lord to one of the older houses. She had wanted to attend fancy parties and have lots of money. Instead she was stuck in this hovel.
Molly had fallen head over heals in love with Arthur Weasley when she had been 16. She had decided that he would be the man she would marry and nothing was going to stop her. But reality did make things difficult.
She had been 18 when she had heard that Arthur was coming over to the Prewett estate. Molly had been convinced that he was coming over to ask her father for her hand in marriage. His own father had recently taken ill and she thought he would want to get married before he died. But that hadn't been what happened.
The memory of walking into the drawing room, wearing her best dress, only to find the love of her life sitting in between her elder twin brothers still infuriated her. Learning that the man she believed herself to be in love with was in a triad relationship with her brothers had crushed her, but not for long. It had taken Molly less than a week to figure out what to do. She knew that being gay was wrong, despite what everyone else said, so she was going to have to show Arthur the proper way, and the best way to do that was to give him love potion before the wedding. It wouldn't take long for him to truly fall in love with her and then she wouldn't need the potion anymore, after all, she was beautiful.
The plan had been stopped however, when her father had caught her brewing the potion. He had been so angry with her. The lecture she had received about what he believed she was doing wrong had lasted for over an hour. Her father had watched her too closely after that for her to do anything. There was no denying the the wedding had been stunning, but it would have been better if she had been standing at the alter.
Less than a year later Bill had been born. When she had gone into see the new born infant she was ready to hate him. This child was a representation of what had been stolen from her by her own brothers, that had corrupted the love of her life. But she had fallen in love with him just as quickly as she had with his father. He was just so precious.
Then a new plan had formed in her mind. She didn't want just Arthur anymore, but his son too. She just needed to find a way to get her brothers out of the way. Due to the building war everything was being kept extremely quiet. All the public knew was that Arthur Weasley had had a son with a Prewett. She had actually had a few people come up and congratulate her on the new baby.
But it hadn't been easy. Both her parents had kept a close watch on her after her father had told her mother about the love potion. She had had to stand by and watch as four other perfectly beautiful boys were born. Then her mother was killed by death eaters and her father took ill. Her father hadn't lasted long after his wife died. And then she was free to move. She had loved her parents, and she would always miss them, but they just hadn't understood.
Molly had gone to Albus Dumbledore after that. He had been the one that had originally suggested that she get together with Arthur. Albus had been more than willing to help her. He had told her that they would need a strong family to represent the greater good, and her with Arthur at her side with those 5 boys would be perfect.
After Arthur had been given his love potion, they got to work. Despite those outside of their immediate family and close friends not knowing that Arthur had been with the twins, the twins themselves and a few others knew. Albus had come up with an ancient runic based ritual that worked on altering the minds perception. They set it so that it would replace her brothers with her. So, whenever Arthur thought of the wedding he would see her rather than her twin brothers. If anyone started to think of Arthur, the magic would automatically kick in and force them to think of her next to him.
It was only a few months after that she had lost her brothers in a death eater attack when they had gone to help the Bones family. After her fathers death Molly had learned that she had been cut from his will. So, when she learned of the attack on her brothers she had gone to the bank to take over their accounts, only to learn that according to the goblins magic, her brothers were still alive. The goblins said that until she could prove her brothers death, she could not have access to their money.
She knew that her brothers were still alive, she just didn't know where. But she also didn't really care. She would love to have access to the money, but according to the family charter, her twin nephew/sons would inherit everything, not her. Albus convinced her to not keep trying to gain access to her parents money, he instead would make sure that they had enough, but they had to make sure that it was believable considering Arthur's job.
Albus had come to her shortly after she had finally gotten the man of her dreams. It was Molly's dream to be a mom. Although she had used blood adoption on the boys it wasn't enough for her, she wanted to have her own children. But she just couldn't get pregnant. Albus had known of her dream and offered them both a way to get what they wanted. He explained that he needed an heir, and felt she would be the perfect kind of mother for his child. Molly had happily agreed.
She had known that there was little to no chance of her conceiving with Arthur so this was her chance. Albus had needed to make sure that his heir would be raised in an appropriately light home. Less than a year later, in March 1980, she gave birth to her precious Ronald. He was her pride and joy. They had had to use a blood adoption potion on him to make him look like a Weasley, as he had been born with Albus's dirty blond hair and light blue eyes, leaving him with bright red hair and brown eyes. But that didn't change how much she loved him.
Ron was only a few months old when Albus had come to her again. He had told her about a boy that had been prophesied to defeat You-Know-Who and he had come up with a new plan. They would use a potion to make sure that she conceived a girl and they would be able to set her daughter up with the saviour of the wizarding world. She had loved that idea, she had always wanted a baby girl who looked just like her.
It was only a few months after her baby girl, Ginevra, had been born, that the Potter boy had defeated You-Know-Who. Molly was thrilled. The Potters were one of the oldest and richest light families, and they were going to make sure that her daughter was Lady Potter.
A few months ago she had read about the new Lord Peverell Gryffindor and about how Harry Potter was his heir. She knew that people had started calling the Boy-Who-Lived 'Hadrian' but he would always be Harry to her. She much preferred that name over the pure blood one, plus it made it sound like they were on more familiar terms.
There was no denying that Molly was frustrated with the way her life had turned out, but it would all work out she knew. After all, she was a light witch from a good family.
Arthur was just unpacking the lunch Molly had packed for him and the boys when he overheard their discussion about Hogwarts. Percy was going to be going to Hogwarts in just over a year.
"I'll be in Gryffindor, of course." Percy said matter of factly.
"Are you sure Perce. You know I love you baby brother, but your just not much of a lion." Bill said.
"But all Weasley's are Gryffindors Bill, you know that. I'm not going to let the family down."
"What do you mean let the family down Percy?" Arthur asked as he lay out the food in front of the boys.
"Mom says that I have to be in Gryffindor. Everyone knows that it's the best house." Percy said defiantly.
"Percy, that's not true. There are good and bad wizards from every house. It isn't fair to discriminate against someone just because of the house they come from. And as for letting the family down, the house you are placed in has nothing to do with it. I will be proud of you, and love you no matter which house you're in." Arthur reassured his son.
"Really? You mean you wouldn't be upset if I'm in a different house than the rest of the family?" Percy looked hopeful at this, and Arthur felt bad.
Somehow he had allowed his son to think something as insignificant as which house he was placed in would determine how much he loved him. Arthur smiled at the unsure child and nodded his head. "Besides, you're not the rest of the family. You, are Percival Arctrus Weasley, and you are your own person, unlike any other."
"Yeah," Bill knew that Percy wasn't meant to be in Gryffindor. "Percy, I always pictured you as a Ravenclaw. As much as I would love to have you in my house so that I could keep an eye on you, you wouldn't be happy in the lion's den. It's way to noisy and we do love our parties. I have friends that are ravens and they told me that even though they enjoy a good party every now and then, it is a lot easier to study there. They have quiet rooms and everything so that you wouldn't be disturbed when your working, and we all know how much you hate it when you're interrupted in the middle of a good book."
Percy was normally a calm, if a little uptight, child, unless he was interrupted while reading. He had ended up reading the twins the riot act more than once when they had interrupted him, or stolen one of his books. He was only 10, but the kid loved his books.
"They do? That sounds nice. Maybe I'll go there. I was a little worried that I wouldn't like being a Gryffindor just from what you and Charlie have said over the years."
After Percy agreed to consider a different house they sat down and ate. Arthur was proud at just how much Bill was growing up. He was glad that Bill had helped him figure out what was going on with Percy before he went and made the mistake of trying to get into a house that he wouldn't fit into. Arthur was glad that he still had time to make sure Percy felt comfortable in the house he truly belonged in.
The rest of the day passed quickly after that. Arthur was annoyed with how some of the other ministry employees treated him, especially in front of his sons. He knew that most looked down on him, but he never wanted his children to be ashamed to have him as their father.
It had been easy to find a shop that Bill would like to work at once they reached River Run. He chose a second hand book shop that dealt mostly in older tomes that were useful in curse breaking and enchanting. Bill had told his father about his desire to work as a curse breaker so that shop would be perfect for him.
Bill was extremely excited as the shops owner, Madam Hollans, conducted the interview right then. When she told him that he would be working Monday-Thursday 9am-5pm he liked it even more. He would still have some free time to have fun. It was the salary that he would be making that sealed the deal. If he worked every shift, starting the next day, until August 22 he would earn just over 142 galleons.
That would be enough for him to not only take the OWLs he wanted to, but also to pay for his own school supplies and still have a little left over for Hogsmead weekends. He couldn't believe it. Madame Hollans told him he had the job and he would need to be there the next day to start training.
While Bill had been having his interview Arthur had taken Percy over to the library. Arthur didn't even try to hide his laugh when Percy saw all those books. Percy had been bouncing on the spot when Arthur signed him up for his own library card. It was clear to Arthur that Percy would likely try to go to work with Bill every day so that he could go to the library. To be fair, Percy would be likely to try and move into the library if he thought he could get away with it.
Arthur was actually surprised at just how much there was in the alley. Molly had always insisted that they do their school shopping in Diagon because she said none of the other alleys would have what they would need. But looking at everything here he didn't understand where she could have gotten that idea. He also knew that like Percy, Charlie, would try to come to work with his brother when he saw the signs that showed the way to the nature preserve. Charlie had always loved animals.
Both Percy and Arthur congratulated Bill when he came from the shop and told him that he would be starting work the next day. Arthur was actually surprised at just how much Bill would be able to earn if he worked hard.
Leaving River Run they went to Horizon. The main entry way to River Run was a nice little coffee shop that looked like the perfect place to sit and read a new book, while the entry point to Horizon was a large restaurant that catered to many of the people that worked in the different factories and shops. Junior Technologies was just down the road from the restaurant.
Going inside Arthur was like a kid in a candy shop. This place was everything that Arthur loved. There were all sorts of different things that Arthur had seen on some his forays into the muggle world for his job. There were machines that he recognized as making coffee, but they had been modified to make all kinds of drinks. There were muggle children's games that had been made magical. And all sorts of other things.
Just as Arthur was getting a closer look at the drink machine someone came in behind them. Arthur turned and saw a distinguished looking gentleman. He recognized him from the papers as Lord Peverell. Arthur wasn't sure how he felt about this man. Although he supported many of the changes he was pushing, Molly had also told him about things that had happened during the school board meeting.
James walked into the shop and looked around. He saw the clearly identifiable hair of the Weasley family. This was perfect timing for him. He knew about Arthur and wanted to help him. Everything he had read in the journals showed that Arthur had acted as a surrogate father to his son, so James wanted to pay him back, even though it wouldn't happen again. Severus had told James that he had suggested that Bill take Arthur to the JT shop. James had been planning on leaving information with the shops staff that they were to let him know when Arthur visited so that he could offer him a job.
Now he wouldn't have to make an extra visit, since he was already here. James went back through the shop towards the main office. While he was there he pulled out the files and job offer that Remus had put together. Once he had everything set out, he requested one of the shop assistance to go and ask Arthur up to the office.
Arthur was nervous as he walked up to the shops main office. He had made Bill and Percy promise to stay in the shop and behave when one of the workers told him that he was wanted in the office. He didn't know what was going on, or why he was needed to go to the office.
Going into the office he was greeted by Lord Peverell and they sat down.
"What can I do for you Lord Peverell?" Arthur asked.
"Well, I was hoping you would consider coming to work for me."
"What?"
"Well, a coworker of mine, Remus Lupin, told me about your passion and interest in muggle technologies. And that's what we need here."
"You know Remus. Well… Yes, it's true that I am interested in muggle devices, but I already have a job."
"I am aware. But I also know that you are not properly appreciated there. From everything I have seen, the ministry has some serious problems with what they value. There is no doubt in my mind that you are at least slightly dissatisfied with how your treated."
"It's true, I'm not exactly happy there, haven't been for a while. But why do you want me to come and work here?"
"Well… Remus has told me that you were always asking questions about anything he brought to you from the muggle world, and that is what I need. This business is quite profitable, in other countries, but not here due to the bigotry that runs rampant here, but I'm looking to change that. I need someone to be in charge of our research and development department. Remus said you always ask questions, and thats what I need. I need someone that asks questions."
"If… And i'm only saying if, I were to come to work here what would be different than working at the ministry?"
"Well, as I said, I need someone to head up the R&D team. That means that you would have an entire team answering to you. Your main job would be to ask questions, and then send them out to find the answers, you can even join in if you want. You see most wizards see muggles as beneath us, but you don't. You would be willing to work on incorporating the muggle technology with magic without bias. Your primary job would be to develop new things, like the drinks machine I saw you looking at when I came in. That's the kind of things you'd be doing."
"So… I would be working with others to develop new items. That actually sounds like something that I might be interested in. What's the pay scale?"
"The starting wage for the head of R&D is 25,000 galleons per year, but all our workers own a share of the company, so you will receive a share of the profit, it will pay out just before Yule. Just so you understand how much that is, last year every member of the business, world wide, received just over 500 galleons."
"Are you serious? That is almost twice my yearly salary, not to mention the shares."
"Wow, the ministry has clearly been underpaying you. I will tell you right up front. We are bringing in a new policy this year. We have been having a problem with our British employees struggling financially even with our pay scale. For some reason Hogwarts doesn't teach their students the basics of how to construct and live by a budget, so we are requiring all of our employees to use a financial advisor. I understand that you are an adult and know how to budget, but we don't want anyone to feel like their being singled out, so everyone will have to use them. The company will of course be paying for it. I am just asking you to consider it, you don't need to make up your mind now you can take a few weeks."
"That does make sense about the whole budgeting idea. And, theres no need to think about it. I would be more than happy to start working here as soon as possible. This is my dream job."
"Wonderful. I already had a contract drawn up, Remus told me there would be no chance you would turn me down. All you would need to do is sign this contract I have here, and then send in your 2 week notification to the ministry that you're quitting. Once that's done, you will be able to start here after that."
James and Arthur went through the contract after that. Arthur even wrote out his resignation letter to the ministry right there and James sent it off with one of the owls meant for owl orders. Just before he left James spoke up.
"You might not want to tell your wife that I own the company. I don't think she likes me much."
"It might have had something to do with you comparing her to You-Know-Who."
"I didn't… I mean… Guess I did, but I didn't mean it like that, completely."
"Than how did you mean it?"
"I merely pointed out, that denying a child a chance at an education simply because you don't like their parents is similar to Voldemort's ideology. He didn't want children to be able to receive an education because he felt that who their parents were made them inferior and less deserving, while I had just had the joy of listening to your wife explain to me, for 10 minutes, that the children who's parents worked in Knockturn Alley didn't deserve to be given the chance to attend Hogwarts because of who their parents were. I disagreed and pointed out the hypocrisy of it. Now, maybe I might have gone a little to far, but I don't regret it."
"She said that. She said that children didn't deserve a chance to attend school because of who their parents were." James nodded at him. "Well that is definitely not the story I was told. Thank you for letting me know. And you're right. I think it would be best if she didn't know your involvement in this business, regardless."
After that Arthur left and James went home.
As they were headed back to the restaurant to floo home for dinner, Bill noticed how happy his dad was.
"Dad. What happened up in the office? We didn't do anything wrong, did we?"
Arthur looked at his eldest son and smiled happily. "No, nothing wrong. Lord Peverell actually wanted to offer me a job."
"You're taking it right. Please tell me you're taking it."
Arthur was surprised at just how much Bill wanted him to work there.
"Well, yes, I agreed to take the job. I've even written out my resignation letter for the ministry and sent it in, as well as signed an employment contract with them. But why do you want me to work there so bad?"
"Because dad." Percy piped up. "We both saw how you were treated today. We'd have to be stupid not to realize that they just don't appreciate you like you deserve, so why would we want you to work with people like that. We want you to be happy."
Arthur stopped and grabbed both of his sons in his arms and gave them a tight hug. He knew that they would have seen how he was treated. He had worried that they would have the same opinions as those he worked with. Instead his sons were angry on his behalf and wanted him to work somewhere else so that he could be happy. Arthur knew then that he had raised his sons right.
"I do have a request of you boys." Both of then looked to their father. "Don't tell anyone else just yet. I'm going to tell your mother after you boys have gone to bed. And also, don't mention to her that Lord Peverell was at the shop. Your mother doesn't like him, so it would just be best if she didn't know he was involved."
When both boys solemnly agreed they flooed home.
Molly notice just how excited her husband was when he came home, but he had told her they would talk about it when the kids were all in bed. She really didn't like to have to wait, but knew that there was no point in pushing.
Although she had originally thought that Arthur would come to love her, and that she wouldn't need to give him love potion all the time, that hadn't happened. She had once started to take him off the love potion, and he pulled away from her, and had even been talking about moving out when she had started the potions up again. The ones she gave him now were more mild than the ones she had originally, and due to his growing resistance Arthur was slowly becoming more opinionated. Originally he had agreed with everything she said, now he argued with her more.
It was also clear to her that Bill and Percy knew what was going on. During dinner Molly had asked how there day was, and Bill had been so excited. He had proudly told them all about his new job. Molly was furious that Arthur had taken him out to get a job without telling her. She had a right to know what was going on. But, even after telling them that they still had a secretive look on their young faces.
At first she had been ready to insist that he quit, but then she had seen the benefits. It would get him out of the house most days, and it would also relieve some off the financial pressures.
Albus made sure that she had money for looking after Ron and Ginny, but she didn't want to have to always be spending it on the other kids. This job would make it so that Bill could start to pay his own way. She was also irritated that Percy had gotten a library card. Who knew what sorts of dark books there were in that library. That was why Albus had been removing so many books from the library, they were just to dangerous in the hands of children. Then they had told Charlie about the nature preserve. The foolish boy had wanted to go then and there. Molly knew she had her work cut out for her to make Charlie work for the ministry. He was just to fascinated with dangerous creatures, and that was just no way for a son of her's to live, and she wouldn't allow it.
Once the kids were in their rooms Arthur and Molly met in the kitchen.
"Well, what has happened that has made you seem so happy?"
"I quit my job at the ministry."
"WHAT? Are you out of your mind? You need that job? We need that money?"
"Relax Molly. I already have another job. Even better, this job pays almost twice what the ministry was paying."
"But what about our reputation? No one will take you seriously if you don't work for the ministry."
"Molly, you need to relax. No one took me seriously even when I was named head of my department. They have always looked down on me, and I have no intention of continuing to work for people that give me no respect. Junior Technologies is a much better fit for me. Besides, theres no point in trying to convince me to change my mind. I've already sent in my resignation letter, and signed a new contract with JT. I will be finishing out the next two weeks with the ministry and then I'm done."
Arthur then explained all about what he would be doing for work now. After he finished telling Molly his plans he went up to bed. Arthur knew that it wasn't fair to Molly for him to just make major decisions without her, but he just couldn't risk her stopping him. He needed to take this chance.
Molly sat at the kitchen table for a while and fumed. Oh, she knew that Arthur wasn't happy at work, but she honestly didn't really care. It was his job to bring in the money. Not to mention she thought this new job was ridiculous. They had magic, they didn't need muggle stuff.
But the more she thought about it, like with Bill's new job, the more she liked it. Sure, she would lose the respect that came from being the wife of a head of a department, but it really didn't help her all that much. Most people looked down on her regardless. The extra money would be nice, but the financial advisor would not be good.
She was in charge of the family finances. She had also been skimming a little off the top to add to the vaults Albus had set up for her and their kids. Since Arthur had agreed to the financial advisor she wasn't going to be able to do that anymore. She just hoped that they didn't look back or she could be in major trouble, but if that happened she would just have to up the amount of potions that she gave Arthur.
By the time she was ready to go up to bed Molly had convinced herself that she would be able to make sure that everything worked out in her favour.