Arthur's fingers were nearly meeting through his wife's shoulder with how hard he was squeezing, he was desperate for her to think before opening her mouth. They had decided last night that Arthur wouldn't speak to Ginny unless asked a direct question, she had serious issues with him and recovering any sort of relationship was going to be a long slow road. The dream of walking his daughter down the aisle had gone forever, at the moment he would gladly settle for a 'hello.'
Molly took her time answering; she knew that her answer had to be right. "Wouldn't that be an embarrassment to you for us to work there as caretakers? I mean it's not as if Flitch was well liked."
"This is the new Hogwarts where everyone is equal, there will be a fair number of Slytherin students wearing the Potter family crest on their robes at their own request. Any form of antagonistic behaviour by anyone will not be tolerated and I can guarantee that Arthur will learn more about non-magic people and devices than he has in all his time at the ministry. Getting Hogwarts up and running is a massive task with everyone helping in anyway that they can. Dan, Emma and Amanda Granger are all going to be helping in the annex while mum and dad will be everywhere as usual. Changing the world starts with Hogwarts, if we can change the attitudes of the future generations then we have a chance. If not, then Bill and Percy have seen the Potter Island, we could live there perfectly happy while the magical world destroys itself."
Molly just had to let out the question that had been on her lips since the start, "when did you get all grown up?"
"Tom Riddle ended my childhood but I think it was mum and dad when we saved Neville's life that past us some of the maturity they've been showing. Dad has been helping me to control my temper and actually apologised to me because he barely held his yesterday, that's how our family works, we talk to each other and sort the little problems before they become big ones."
Molly looked to her husband, who was nodding his head enthusiastically, before telling Ginny they would accept.
"Good, now I know you have only the clothes on your backs but there is a Potter account set up at Madam Malkin's so get yourself kitted out, and not from the used items. You will each need five or six sets of robes depending on the circumstances so don't scrimp – dad's loaded. When we bump into each other in Hogwarts by all means stop for a chat, as long as you can remember I already have a set of parents for guidance we will be fine. We haven't forgotten about you Bill it's just that nothing has come up that would require your set of skills yet but if you have an idea before us don't hesitate to contact us."
They chatted for a while longer before Ginny left with Percy in tow and desperately trying to wheedle information regarding the job offer. There were no parting hugs or kisses, that was a long way off, it was more like a business meeting but the ice had been broken.
Arthur was hugging his wife while silently crying as Bill said, "that went much better than it had any right to and that job offer was totally unexpected."
It was Arthur who spoke for the first time, "she still loves us, but she just can't forgive us yet. We now have the means to rebuild our lives while getting to see our children every day; it's better than perfect. It's going to take a while and we must be patient but I've never been prouder of one of my children than I was today. What saddened me was that I couldn't take any of the credit for it; if I had any doubts that she was better off being a Potter they were dispelled today and I think she's smart enough to have planned it that way. We could never have taught her to act like that, it was a superb balance of being extremely confident without ever seeming arrogant and she has the clout to back it up. I'm positive that water jug was supposed to just miss me; her control was far to good for there to be any doubt but her point was well made, she could have taken my head clean off if she wanted to."
"I keep yearning for my little girl but she doesn't exist any more, she has been replaced by that beautiful and intelligent young witch we met today. We have been given another chance and I don't care if you have to hit me with a silencing charm or even a stunner Arthur, just don't let my big mouth ruin it for us again."
With that sentence Bill thought Ginny had pulled of a miracle of biblical proportions, he just wasn't brave enough to test this theory by mentioning it out loud.
...
Percy Weasley sat staring at the sea while nursing a brandy supplied by a laughing Narcissa Black, apparently this was the usual requirement after a meeting with the Potters. He was going over the meeting in his head and still couldn't believe it, Percy Weasley, former Head Boy was now administrator for Hogwarts.
Minerva McGonagall was first and foremost a brilliant teacher and Percy was there to allow her to continue teaching first year students how to turn matches into needles. She, along with the Potters would make all the decisions and it was Percy's job to see them carried out. It was made abundantly clear that the return of 'Percy the Prat' would not be tolerated, to be efficient one didn't have to be efficacious and approachability was going to be a big part of his job. Between Crouch getting arrested for smuggling his son out of Azkaban and his mother and father for what they did to Harry, Percy thought his career was over before it even began yet he had just been handed a dream job.
He knew that he had a tendency to stick rigidly to the rules but here there were no rules as they would be making it up as they went along, something Harry and Hermione seemed quite comfortable with. He silently swore not to betray the trust they had placed in him, he was now earning enough to propose to Penny and he definitely knew she made him a better person to be around. He was doing it again, why couldn't he just admit that just thinking about her made his heart race, he wondered if he had time to get her a ring today.
Harry and Hermione were getting ready to go down to their last dinner before returning to Hogwarts, it would be the largest gathering yet as the Dursleys were there as well. Harry brought them this afternoon and they were staying in the guest house as with everyone leaving tomorrow they would have the island to themselves for a few days until they came back. Harry knew this would be a fun meal but he couldn't get the thought of impending doom out of his head. Tonight felt less like a celebratory dinner and more like the last supper, just as well none of the Potters believed in divination.
.....
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