It's not easy to explain, but . . .

Chapter 25

"They is all in the front parlor waiting for you to join them, Mrs.  Kreacher is hearing them laughing," he replied, even as his ears swiveled around.

"Well, let's join them then, shall we, dear?  After you," said Arthur, as he downed his tea, put the cup on the saucer and handed it to Kreacher.  "Excellent!"

"This is going to be quite the party, dear," said Molly, as she led the way up the stairs.

* * * *

Entering the front parlor, Arthur was engulfed by his four children, then Hermione and Harry gave him big hugs. Remus and Sirius shook his hand and patted him on the back.

"Welcome, Arthur!" Sirius beamed.

"Glad to see you all!" Arthur replied.  "Okay, where are they?"

The group surrounding him stepped back, parted and turned to where Dan, Emma, Rupert and Tom were standing at the end of the room.

"Merlin's Knickers!" Arthur gasped.  "If I didn't know better, I'd swear that was Ron . . .and Harry  . . . and Hermione . . . with short hair! and Draco.  I'm Gob-smacked!"  Then he rushed forward to shake all of their hands.  He immediately started asking questions, about all sorts of things, as fast as the words could tumble out of his mouth.  Rupert held up his hands, figuring Arthur would pay more attention to his own 'son' than the others at the moment.

"Slow down, Arthur, and we are going to be calling you Arthur, so you'll know it's us speaking to you.  We've got lots of time and we'll answer as many of your questions as we can.  But, first, let me introduce you to Dan Radcliffe, who plays Harry . . . "

"Dan! Splendid to meet you!"  Arthur shook Dan's hand again, beaming.

"Glad to meet you too, Arthur," Dan responded, grinning at Ron's dad.

"This is Emma Watson, Hermione's 'twin'," Rupert put his arm around Emma and pulled her forward.

Arthur stood and gazed at Emma until she cocked her head and raised her eyebrow at his silence.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Emma," sputtered Arthur.  "But I've often wondered what Hermione would look like with shorter hair and here you are!  And I really can't decide which I like better, well, actually, I like both!"  And he gave her a hug.

"That's quite alright, Arthur, I'm letting it grow out again.  It was just a 'post Potter' look."

"This is Tom Felton, who is Draco in the films," Rupert continued, as Tom stepped forward and stuck out his hand to the Weasley patriarch. 

Arthur hesitated for just a millisecond, before grasping Tom's hand and shaking it warmly.  "Very pleased to meet you, too, Tom," he said with a smile.

"Excellent meeting you, Arthur." Leaning in close, Tom whispered into Arthur's ear.  "I want a word with you, before we leave, about that workshop of yours, too."  Then he winked at the astonished Wizard.  Arthur beamed.

"Arthur, here's the deal.  We're going to run you through the last few movies and catch you up to speed on our plans, so that when everyone gets here this afternoon for our final planning meeting, you'll know what's been going on and what we're actually blabbering on about, okay?"

"There's no time for . . . oh, never mind." Hermione waved her hand dismissively. "Forgot about the 'freezer'."  She smiled at the questioning look on Mr. Weasley's face.  Reaching out, she patted him on the arm.  "You'll see in a minute."

"Oh, alright then, what do I have to do?" he asked, turning to Dan.

"Find yourself a comfortable chair and relax while we get this lot," Dan jerked his thumb over his shoulder at the rest of the room's occupants. "Sorted out.  Everybody, but Tom, Emma, Rupert, please step out into the hallway for a minute, please."