International Love | Fred Weasley

Chapter 100

Working at the Ministry while being both seen as a 'blood traitor' and as 'Severus Snape's niece' is quite an experience. Although I had told my uncle I didn't want another job, Corban Yaxley – the same man who took care of our 'randomly selected security checks' – offered me a job as his personal assistant a week after I visited Hogwarts.

I declined as politely as I could but the man didn't seem happy. I am sure he wanted to punish me for it but seemed to realize who my uncle was and had muttered angrily that I shouldn't expect to work long for Arthur before storming off.

Arthur didn't really worry about the treat. Since he had heard from that man in the elevator he was being watched, Arthur had taken a few precautionary measures and he assured me I didn't have to worry about him or my job.

A few days before Christmas, I am working in the kitchen on one of the files Arthur gave me at work today while Molly is doing the dishes from dinner. Fred, George, and Bill are sitting in the living room, talking with their father. Molly softly hums a tune while cleaning and I try to focus on the file in front of me. Why would someone sell fake protective potions? Does nobody remember anything from Potions at Hogwarts – even if those types of potions would exist, they would certainly not have bubotuber pus in them.

It has been raining all day and it's already dark, but Molly made sure the whole house is nice and warm. In the distance, lightning strikes, and I jump up from the sound of the thunder following the light.

When Molly is done with the dishes and cleaning the rest of the kitchen, she places a cup of tea in front of me and levitates the cups for the men in the living room. I smile at her and watch the woman leave the kitchen. After a sip of the hot tea, I hear a loud knock on the door.

Turning my head to the door, I try to see who knocked but due to the rain and the darkness outside, I can't see anything. Slowly, I stand up from my seat at the kitchen table, and with my wand in hand, I walk to the door. With my wand ready, I open the door and peek into the darkness.

Outside, in the pouring rain, is standing a red-haired figure and I instantly recognize the man. "Ron?"

Ron looks up and when he sees me, he lets out a relieved breath. Opening the door further and placing my wand on the table, I gesture for him to step into the house. "Come in, you will catch a cold if you stay out in the rain."

Behind me, footsteps enter the kitchen and a loud gasp sounds. Something falls on the floor and I hear Molly sob: "Ron! Oh, sweetheart, you're all wet!"

Quickly, I close the door behind Rowen and let Molly take care of her son. My eye falls on the fire on the table and I decide to do the rest tomorrow. With the file under my arm and my cup of tea in hand, I head to the living room.

The three men look up at me when I enter and Bill asks: "What was all that sound in the kitchen?"

Sitting down on the sofa in the corner, I answer: "Ron has returned."

Before the men can process what is going on, Molly walks into the living room with Ron behind her. Arthur stands up and hugs his youngest son, while the three brothers stand up to hug Ron as well. Bill and Arthur ask Ron what happened and where the others are, but the boy doesn't answer any of the questions.

Molly, deciding her son looks very tired, sends him upstairs to sleep. With a frown, she looks at us and mutters: "Ginny returns from Hogwarts tomorrow, but with Ron- and you all have to work... I don't know if we can pick her up."

I look at Arthur and offer: "If Arthur is fine with it, I can take a day off and pick up Ginny."

The next morning, I wake up later than usual in an empty bed. Arthur had agreed to give me a day off and my alarm didn't go off. It takes me a while before I realize Fred has gone to work and I rub my eyes to look at the time. 9:56 am, the train arrives usually around 4 o'clock.