Petunia Dursley was not entirely comfortable driving Vernon’s new company car. Mister Grunnings was quite happy with Vernon’s performance, especially after he’d found those illicit transfers of funds by his predecessor. Old Mister Grunnings had personally delivered the Jaguar Sovereign to Privet drive, and insisted that Petunia try out the very comfortable seats. Petunia admitted that she like the seats on the new car. In fact, she’d found them more comfortable than some seats in the house lately, and the sound reduction by closing and locking herself in the Sovereign, well it had been a refuge from her since Dudley and Harry had left. She hadn’t realized how much she relied on her oldest son and nephew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vernon might like the responsiveness of the Jaguar, but Petunia was long used to the much more sluggish 1974 Triumph 2500 Estate that was the Dursley’s primary car before. Vernon didn’t trust the 2500 for longer distances, hence his insistence that Petunia take the Sovereign to the Devon home of the Weasleys. Petunia was very glad that they were off the A30. It might not be the M3, or even the M25, but Petunia swore that at least three lorries were trying to run her off the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A glance at the mirror revealed that Iris, Primrose, and Violet were behaving themselves for once. Lily had earned the front seat. One girl trying to fill Dudley and Harry’s shoes wasn’t easy, but she was trying. Petunia caught Lily’s look to her out of the corner of her eye. “You’re really looking forward to seeing Ginny again, aren’t you?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Yeah,” Lily said. “And seeing the magical place she lives at too. I nearly can’t believe some of her descriptions.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Petunia turned off the road into an opening between two walls one of which had a sign that said “The Burrow” on it. “Well, Lily, it looks like we’re here.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Petunia came to a stop as soon as the vehicle was fully in the clearing that the house was built in. Molly had said that most wizarding families didn’t have driveways, but Arthur was obsessed with muggles, and had a Ford something or rather. Molly wasn’t sure what model it was. Petunia applied the parking brake, undid her seat belt, and existed the vehicle, for the first time getting a look at the Burrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Burrow was magic. It was obvious that the house wouldn’t stay up without magic. The base was a typical cottage, with some of it’s original thatched roof poking out between the extensions that had been stacked on top. The first floor was perhaps the most sensible of the stacked on floors, almost being on top of the ground floor, though the space between the two sections was a bit off centered. The second floor, though, that’s where things really got off. It was about forty-five degrees out of alignment with the floor below, with two corners touching the two sections of the first floor. Petunia had no idea how it was really supported. Then there was the third floor which was a tall section with a very peaked roof over the least supported section of the third floor. Petunia figured if the magic ever failed that section was going to topple off right onto the garden shed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lily was already running up to the front door by the time Iris, Primrose, and Violet got out of the Sovereign. Petunia held Primrose’s hand as they approached the Burrow. The door open, and Ginny Weasley darted out of it towards Lily. The two met in what could only be described as a twirling crash, as they embraced at speed and spin around, with big grins on their faces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Molly Weasley followed in her daughter’s wake. “It looks like our daughters were a bit eager to meet again,” the Devonshire house witch remarked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Petunia looked at were Iris and Violet had joined the two red headed girls. “I’d say so. It looks like Ginny is planning on showing my girls around, though my little Primrose here, still suffering from spraining her ankle yesterday. The pain medicine has made her a bit drowsy. That being said, it’s one less direction for me to be pulled in.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Poor girl,” Molly replied. “Even magical potions don’t seem to do so well with sprained ankles. Ginny used to have a real problem with them, trying to follow her older brothers around.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Well, today she’s the eldest, so we’ll see what turnabout does,” Petunia replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Molly smiled, then cocked her head briefly. “Come on in, I made some biscuits, and the kettle is on for some tea. I can show you around my domain while Ginny pounds up the stairs with your children. My second son Charlie arrived a little while ago, and my eldest Bill said he was coming from Hogwarts this afternoon. He’s the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. I never thought I’d have a son teaching at Hogwarts.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“So we might get an honest opinion on how our children are doing in their first year,” Petunia said, following Molly into the kitchen door. “Harry’s writing, but he’s always been a rose-colored glasses boy.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Oh, we might have to ply him with some tarts, there has only been one time, maybe two, that Bill has been able to hide what was going on from me,” Molly said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I hate to say it, Mum, but Bill’s a lot more successful than you think,” a young man with the same red shade of hair as his mother said as he came down the spiral stair case into the kitchen. The young man held out hand, “I’m Charlie, dragon wrangler.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Petunia Dursley was not entirely comfortable driving Vernon’s new company car. Mister Grunnings was quite happy with Vernon’s performance, especially after he’d found those illicit transfers of funds by his predecessor. Old Mister Grunnings had personally delivered the Jaguar Sovereign to Privet drive, and insisted that Petunia try out the very comfortable seats. Petunia admitted … <\/p>\n