Forever Family

Chapter 15

Publish Date: 10/28/18

"There's been another attack."

The small group of Aurors fell silent, and paused what they were doing to look at Auror Roberts.

"When did it happen?" an Auror asked, after a moment of silence.

"Just last night. The attacker, who we still do not know the identity of, was spotted in a Muggle town near London. Nobody was killed, and only a few people were harmed." The group of Aurors was silent again, nobody dared to say anything.

"Are we going to tell people to be careful now that there's been more than one attack?" Harry spoke up. The group murmured in agreement.

"No. The attacker did not kill anyone, and their intentions were unclear. It wouldn't be a good idea to spread the news over something as petty as this." Auror Roberts said. Shouts of protest echoed in the room.

"Does the Department of Magical Law Enforcement know? Does the Minister know?" an Auror named Sidney asked.

"Nobody knows except for us, and I plan on keeping it that way."

"With all due respect, sir, and attack is still an attack, whether it worked or not!" Harry's voice raised to a shout.

"I agree!" Ron matched Harry's volume. "We should let people know that there's someone out there!"

"Silence! We will not be telling people until this gets serious! Anyone who lets word get out will be suspended from this case!" And with that, Auror Roberts turned on his heel and slammed the door behind him.

Everyone was silent. Nobody had ever seen Auror Roberts react this way before.

"Why do you think he doesn't want anyone to know, mate?" Ron asked Harry, who shrugged.

"I'm not sure. Let's talk to Hermione and Ginny about this later, though. Hermione'll probably have some answers, and I want to keep Gin updated." Harry said. Ron nodded.

"That sounds fine. We'll be having dinner at the Burrow later anyway, so we can talk to them then."

The group of Aurors worked quietly for a while, even without the guidance of the Head Auror. Almost nobody in the group had agreed with Auror Roberts. Tensions were high as the group worked, wondering where this case was going to lead them.

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The weather at the Burrow was hot and humid, as it was now early July. Molly and Arthur had invited the whole family over for dinner, so they were all hanging out outside while dinner was being made.

Everyone was holding normal conversations, until they heard Ginny's shouting.

"No, Ted, not the—" Ginny was cut off as Teddy splashed into the lake. Harry and Ginny ran over to the shore and pulled a sopping wet Teddy out of the water. He giggled in excitement.

"Alright, everyone, dinner's ready!" Mrs. Weasley announced, entering the backyard. She caught sight of Teddy, who was soaking wet, and said, "Oh, my—what's happened here?"

"Teddy was playing with Victoire and he fell in the lake," Ginny said, amusement in her eyes. Teddy laughed.

"Grandma Molly, I fell in the lake!"

"Yes, it appears you have," Mrs. Weasley raised her eyebrows. "I'm going to cast a quick drying charm on you, dear." She held out her wand, drying Teddy's hair, body, and clothes. "Are we ready to go in and eat now?"

"That sounds great, Mum. I'm starving," George said.

The large family eventually made it all inside and around the table.

"So, George, how's the shop been?" Bill asked through a mouthful of food. Fluer scolded him for talking with his mouth full.

"Sales have been great lately. I s'pose everyone wants to get their fair share of joke products before the school year starts."

On the other side of the table, Hermione and Percy were immersed in conversation.

"Have you been to Flourish and Blotts lately?" Percy asked, his eyebrows raised. "They've got a whole new selection on books about Ancient Magical History!"

"Oh, well, I've got to get over there in my spare time! I can't wait to see the new selection, it's been ages since they've updated the shop!"

Dinner went on like this for a little while longer, until everyone was full of Molly Weasley's delicious cooking. Once people had started to get up from the table and disperse to other rooms to hang out, Harry and Ron pulled their fiances aside.

"Hey, Harry. What's up?" Ginny asked once the group was in the privacy of a quiet hallway.

"We have some more news about work," Ron started, frowning.

"Oh, what's happened now?" Hermione asked with concern.

"There's been another attack," Harry said. Looking at the women's horrified faces, be continued. "That's not all. Auror Roberts still doesn't want to spread the news."

"What? Even after another attack?"

"He says that since the attack wasn't successful, there's no need to worry." Ginny scoffed at this statement.

"Of course there's still a need to worry! Does Kingsley know?" Kingsley Shacklebolt had been the Minister of Magic ever since the war ended.

"No, that's the strange part. He hasn't told anyone," Ron shrugged.

"That's a bit strange, isn't it? That the Head Auror doesn't want to try to keep people safe?" Hermione asked thoughtfully. After a moment, she added, "Is he even allowed to keep things like this from the Minister?"

"I'm not sure, 'Mione. I agree, though—it's strange for Auror Roberts to not even tell the Minister of the case that we're doing," Harry frowned.

"Maybe it's because he's not supposed to be doing it," Ginny pointed out. "Maybe the Ministry thinks they have bigger things to worry about, so they don't want the Aurors spending to much time on the case."

"I guess that makes sense," Ron said. "But I think we should tackle one problem at a time. Let's work on spreading the news before we work on finding out why he hasn't told the Ministry."

"Ron, how are we supposed to spread the news if we'll be suspended from the case if word gets out?" Harry asked. Hermione and Ginny nodded.

"Erm—well, I don't really know."

Before they could talk anymore, Mrs. Weasley walked into the hallway.

"Oh there you four are! Come, we've been looking everywhere for you!" Mrs. Weasley ushered them out of the hallway.

"Is everything okay?" Hermione asked. "Why were you looking for us?"

"Oh, yes, everything's fine, dear. We just realized we haven't gotten the chance to celebrate your engagement with everyone yet!" Hermione looked surprised. The quartet let Mrs. Weasley lead them out of the dimly lit hallway, and they stepped into the lively party.

A/N: Hey guys! How'd you feel about this chapter? I'm not sure this one's one of my favorites. Thanks for reading! 💛
Words: 1,034