Hallowe'en at The Bower

[teaandsympathy]

Molly and Charlie had been busy. The cottage had been what Muggles call a fixer-upper to begin with, and it had taken time, work, and more than a little magic to turn it into a place that not only suited them, but felt like home. It was the sort of project that could have - and likely would, if Molly guessed right - continue for months and months. But it was often easier to work with a particular deadline in mind, and a Hallowe'en feast had seemed a good one to work toward.

They'd let everyone they knew know there would be a housewarming on Hallowe'en - some in person, others by the telephone Molly still wasn't all that comfortable using - and that the more, the merrier. Even Draco had been invited, although Molly doubted he would come.

When the holiday arrived, The Bower was ready for their guests. A fire crackled in the fireplace, and Molly had put Charlie in charged of decorations while she bustled about the kitchen where a half dozen things were going on at once: pumpkin stew being ladled into a giant pumpkin, carrot cake in the oven baking, dishes were washing themselves as quickly as Molly used them, and she was busy chopping vegetables to roast.

Various snacks were already set out on one end of the farmhouse table, and there was a bowl of candy by the door, although with the Muggle-repelling charms, they didn't expect trick-or-treaters who wouldn't be coming anyway.

Still, a bit of candy never hurt, did it?

~*~*~

Charlie, with a touch of whimsy, charmed several, small, floating pumpkins to hang about, guiding guests through the living room and into the kitchen. Each pumpkin bears a charming grin and a glimmering candle within; he's also cast a charm so that their home smells like the woods surrounding them, with a pinch of cinnamon and caramel apples tossed in for good measure. He's purchased some Muggle decorations of cut-out cats, skeletons, and, yes, witches, to place upon the walls, charming them to blink and smile as each guest passes through the house. Not an over abundance, but enough to emphasize the cozy nature of the place.

Of course, he jokingly brought up a chair into the air, as a reminder to the duel he'd had with Bill back at the Burrow, but one look from Molly was enough for him to cease those antics with a sheepish grin, even as he eyed the Muggle candy by the door with a look of distaste. What he wouldn't give for Honeydukes to magically appear one day.

Comments

[deluminate]

Ron had thought it was mental that his Mum and brother were living in those weird flats in the city from the beginning, so finally having them nearby was brilliant as far as he was concerned. There was a time when he was glad to be away from home-- after he'd moved out of The Burrow-- but in Darrow, he couldn't help but want to keep his family close. And with the baby on the way, it seemed all the more important.

Halloween was just about the perfect time for there to be a proper housewarming as well, and Ron was glad he'd been able to trade to get the night off work for family, friends, and food.

Mostly for the food. Nearly a year without his Mum's cooking had been way too long.

[cleverness]

Even though the cottage itself was vastly different, there was something about the atmosphere of The Bower that felt distinctly like home. Hermione couldn't keep a smile off her face as she stepped inside, shivering at the sudden change in temperature from the chilly autumn winds outside to the roaring warmth of the cottage.

Ever since learning about the baby, Hermione had been prone to staying closer to Ron's side when they were in the same room, a hand gently wrapped around the crook of his elbow. Far from being nervous, the tension that Hermione felt was of barely contained excitement. This was a journey that she was eager to take by Ron's side, and the closer she could remain to family, the better still. The dress she wore easily masked the changes to her body, but at eleven weeks along, Hermione was already beginning to show, and her physician had reassured her repeatedly of the baby's good health.

"Should we...?" Hermione asked quietly, smiling as she nodded in Charlie's direction. She knew that she wanted to speak with both Charlie and Molly together. To make the happy announcement to the whole family at once. She waved as they drew close, expression taking on just a hint of shyness.

[deluminate]

It'd been a nightmare, having to keep their secret as long as they had. Ron knew that Charlie was probably wondering what'd gotten into him, and he'd barely been able to look his Mum in the eye. It was lucky that he hadn't been able to see his family as much as he would've liked to, due to work, because otherwise he didn't think he would've lasted until now.

But they'd talked about it, how tonight seemed like a good time to finally come out with it, and even though Ron was nervous about it, he couldn't help but be excited as well.

"I think I'm going to end up telling someone by accident if we don't," Ron replied, his voice quiet as well, and he placed his hand over the hand that Hermione'd put on his arm, not sure if the reassurance was for her or himself that this was going to go alright.

[cleverness]

"I'm not sure they'd forgive us if we simply let the announcement slip by accident," Hermione laughed, briefly rising onto her toes and pressing a quick kiss to Ron's cheek. "Just remember, it's not that we didn't want to tell them immediately, but... we wanted to make sure everything was going well with the baby, and it took some time to grow adjusted to the idea ourselves." Hermione couldn't help but wonder if her explanation was more meant to calm Ron's nerves, or instead to address her own.

A part of her, though small, was worried about the type of reaction they would receive. While her relationship with Ron had spanned many years, there was now hardly any time at all to adjust between married life and life as parents. But ultimately, the prospect of bringing a baby into the family could only be a happy one, Hermione thought.

"But we need to tell them together, otherwise Charlie is sure to think that we're pulling his leg," she added, before squeezing Ron's arm and smiling as they made their way to Charlie's side. "Charlie, the house looks absolutely lovely."

[dragonsandquidditch]

Charlie's just finishing magically carving a non-moving pumpkin into the shape of a snitch when Hermione and Ron reach his side. Turning with one last swish of his wand, he beams at them both, delighted to see them again. It certainly does feel as though it's been quite some time.

"Well, if it isn't my two favorite newly weds," he says, pulling them each in for a quick hug, before glancing at the pair of them. "And thank you! I tried to liven things up with a repeat of that epic table and chair duel Bill and I pulled off years ago but..."

He shrugs with a theatrical flourish. "Bill isn't here, so it kind of loses its charm, you know?"

"And mum intervened, of course," he adds with a wink and a chuckle. "Now, you both look like you have a lot on your minds! Which won't do if you're trying to fill your stomach's with mum's cooking, so let's have it then! Spill!"

[teaandsympathy]

Molly had been looking forward to tonight. She and Charlie had been busy enough getting the cottage ready that it hadn't been too noticeable, but a home hardly felt like a home until it had held the warmth and noise of family and friends.

The apron over Molly's robes was smudged with flour, and as she went to open the door, a quick wave of her wand cleaned it so she could give them a warm welcome, her arms spread in the offer of a hug.

"Come in, come in. Oh, I'm so glad you're here."

[notaretriever]

"Oh," Luke says, surprised, all the while telling himself he shouldn't be. Ron has been very kind to him, it shouldn't be any surprise that his mother is the same, but he stands there for a moment regardless, staring at her spread arms.

Clary used to hug him. In New York, she had hugged him with the ferocity and radiant love only a fifteen-year-old girl could muster. Jocelyn rarely hugged him, though, and always pushed him off too quickly, as if lingering in the hug might give him the wrong idea and Luke isn't sure what to do at first. "I'm... I'm Luke. A friend of Ron's," he says, still waffling in the doorway, trying to figure out if it's appropriate to hug Ron's mother or if he should just simply offer her the wrapped book he'd brought as a housewarming gift.

[teaandsympathy]

"Oh do come in." Molly moved to the side to allow him more room to pass, correctly judging his uncertainty about the hug. "Any friend of Ron's is welcome here. I haven't met nearly enough of his friends, or Hermione's, in Darrow." Not to mention that Ron was far older here than the last Molly saw him back home. She'd missed years of his life.

[notaretriever]

"Thank you," he says, then offers the wrapped book to her, at least having the good sense not to just thrust it in her direction. He hopes she likes it, that she might find it interesting, an account of witchcraft in the south and how it differs from other areas of the world. Luke's default is always a book, it's the one gift he knows how to give, something he can always fall back on.

"You must be Molly, right?" he asks. It's a little strange how nice it is to be around people who sound like home. He's spent so long in Manhattan that he thought he hadn't missed Idris, but he had.

[teaandsympathy]

"Oh, you needn't have," Molly said taking the wrapped package. "But thank you. Shall I open it now, or wait a bit, do you think? And yes, I'm Ron's mother, Molly." She still half expected Ron to bellow out a "Mum!" any moment now, although she supposed he'd largely outgrown all that now.

"Can I get you something to drink? I'm afraid we don't have any butterbeer, but there's tea or mulled cider or..."

[ghost_holder]

It's a hug that Aggie happily folds herself into, grinning as she returns it. "This is so nice!" she says, sincere in her assessment.

"I don't usually like Halloween but..." she looks around, smiling. "I can change my mind."

[teaandsympathy]

From what Molly had heard of Agatha's home before Darrow, it wasn't a surprise she didn't like the holiday. And depending on how the Muggles here celebrated, that could be hard on a young witch too.

"I should hope so, dear. At least while you're at here. Hallowe'en should be a fun time for all. Especially young witches and wizards."

[ghost_holder]

"They used to tell us that it was the day that spirits could come back, but last year for my first Halloween..." Aggie makes a face. Never mind. She'd hated it.

"But this is much, much nicer."

[teaandsympathy]

"Then I'm even more glad you're here." Children, whether Wizarding or Muggle could be cruel, as Molly knew, especially when someone was different. But she'd have been glad to have Agatha here even if she'd been the best of friends with everyone she knew.

"You're always welcome, you know. The house is awfully empty with just Charlie." Although Molly had gotten used to that, to a point, after Ginny started at Hogwarts, when it had been just her and Arthur. Until You-Know-Who returned, and the Order was in and out of the Burrow.

[dragonsandquidditch]

Charlie's just finishing the last touches on the decorations before the door opens and the first of the guests begin to arrive. With one last, flourishing movement from his wand, he twines a bit of blood-red ribbon around one of the tables his mum had found at some flea market or other.

With a cup of good tea in him, to spur him on in his hosting duties, Charlie takes a moment to straighten out his sweater and the trousers he wears. He never thought he'd actually live to see the day where he willingly acts as a happy homemaker, but well. Stranger things have happened.

He moves towards the front door, smiling as he makes to retrieve the coats of the first arrivals.

[notaretriever]

Luke is surprised to be invited, not because he thinks Ron and Hermione don't like him well enough, but simply because he's spent years in New York with only Jocelyn and Clary for friends. They'd been family, really, more than anything, and he'd had his pack, but he never would have called the pack his friends either. They'd been his army, willing to throw themselves into battle for him, willing to die to protect him if necessary, but they hadn't been friends.

So he arrives, more nervous than he might have thought, a wrapped book in his hands for Ron's mother. He's never met her and he might not be the most socially confident person, but he knows a gift is generally a good idea when invited to someone's home for the first time. He can only hope she appreciates the offering, a book on the history of witchcraft in the southern states, a read he'd found quite fascinating himself many years ago.

[deluminate]

When his Mum and Charlie had decided to have a proper feast on Halloween, Ron realized that he didn't have many people who he felt he could invite. In Darrow, he only really knew Muggles, with only a couple of exceptions, and most of them were the ones mental enough to think they were from Darrow.

It wasn't that he didn't think the people he worked with were alright, he just didn't think they were all there, so far as knowing what was going on in Darrow was concerned.

Luke, though, he was alright. He'd helped Ron the day before his wedding, and seemed okay in general, really, so he'd been near the top of the list as far as people to ask along was.

"Luke, glad you could make it, mate," Ron greeted, as soon as he saw the other man.

[notaretriever]

"Hi," Luke says, smiling at Ron, telling himself to resist the urge to shove his free hand in his pocket as he hefts the wrapped book. "I brought a housewarming gift for your mum. I'm not actually very good at housewarming gifts, I've discovered."

Which he hopes isn't enough of a reason to kick him out. There are plenty of kind people in Darrow, but Luke doesn't know if he would call many of them besides Ron a friend. He's never been very good at making friends, though, has never really had a reason to trust people after so many of his former friends turned their backs on him.

[deluminate]

"She's not gonna mind either way, we're just glad you could make it," Ron replied, though he knew that now his Mum was going be annoyed that he hadn't bought her and Charlie a housewarming present. But he and Hermione'd helped out as much as either of them could anyway, so he was sure that had to count for something.

"She'll probably like you more than she likes me, now."

[notaretriever]

"I find that hard to believe," Luke says with a dry laugh, though the comment puts him a little more at ease and he smooths his hands down the front of his shirt before pushing his hands into his pockets. "I met Hermione the other day, I don't know if she told you."

He'd been a little surprised by just how easy it had been to talk to her. Not that he had expected anything else, but explaining the runes and Shadowhunters and what he used to be hasn't exactly come easy for him in this city.

[ghost_holder]

"They made us draw witches like this in school last year," Aggie observes tracing a finger along one of the paper decorations. "But they gave me detention when I refused to make them evil and ugly."

It had been stupid then and she thinks it's stupid now. If not for Mrs. Weasley and her family, Aggie wouldn't bother observing it at all. They hardly make it difficult either, not when everything looks warm and comfortable and the sweets smell so nice.

"This is much nicer."

[dragonsandquidditch]

"Your teachers sound like they're a bucket of laughs," Charlie tells her, charming a chocolate bar so that it floats right in front of Aggie's face, waiting for her to pluck it out of thin air. "They should know better than to reinforce the whole 'appearances say everything about a person' rubbish."

"I'm glad you like it," he grins at his friend. "Mum left me in charge of the decoration. Rather daring of her, really."

[ghost_holder]

"Yes, but they're not very good teachers," Aggie says, rolling her eyes. Her expression changes into a smile and she takes the candy and then reaches out with her own power, floating a caramel apple over to him.

[dragonsandquidditch]

"Rotten teachers are the worst," Charlie says, recalling his own experiences with them back in Hogwarts. Especially Snape, who took every opportunity to undermine a Weasley when he saw one. "So let's focus on rotting your teeth with delicious food instead, yeah?"

He grins as he grabs the apple out of the air and takes a large bite out of it.

[ghost_holder]

"Hey! I floss now!" Aggie says, mockingly defensive.

Smiling, she takes a bite and then looks around. "There's so much magic here." She uses her magic at home and around the city, but the Bower makes it feel welcome.