The Phoenix Prophecy

Chapter Five: The Homestead

Revision 1

Wednesday- July 9th

Madelyn

I awoke and looked at my watch. It was just past six o’clock. I got up quietly and used the lavatory. When I returned to the main room, I noticed Sirius was awake and went over and sat down beside him.

“How are you feeling this morning?” I asked. Instead of answering, he pulled me down to him and kissed me very tenderly.

“Feeling that good, are we?” I said, smiling at him. I heard the kids starting to stir in their beds. I looked over at them and frowned, ‘What have I started?’ I wondered to myself. Oh well, I was sure everything would sort itself out in the end.

Sirius got up and went into the lavatory. While he was gone, I woke the kids and said it was time to get up. I checked Hermione’s ribs, which appeared to be fine. I told her that she could remove the elastic bandage when she dressed.

After Sirius returned, I removed the cast on his arm and checked his range of motion and strength, which were both fine. The boys quickly dressed. While the girls were dressing, Harry and Ron packed down the beds and folding chairs. Sirius and I had decided to vacate the cave and fly north for about an hour before having breakfast.

After the girls dressed, we all packed our backpacks, checked our wands and left the tent. Sirius packed down the tent and placed it in his backpack. I was going to stay in falcon form for the remainder of our trip to Enchantment so that I could scout ahead and steer us away from any possible danger.

Sirius fastened my backpack and broom to his backpack and we all went to the mouth of the cave. I transformed and flew out over the water and circled back to make sure the Hippogriffs hadn’t returned. As there was no sign of danger, I flew back to the mouth of the cave and took off again. This was the signal that the rest of them should leave the cave and head north.

Sirius and I had decided that we would be safer flying inland away from the shore. We had discussed this with the kids so they would feel we weren’t being arbitrarily bossy. Sirius had the usual male tendency to give orders without regard to my input or advice. When he did this I just patted his cheek and said, ‘Us poor women folk can think too, you know.’ He would get embarrassed and apologize. Then I would get my own way. I wasn’t sure how long it was going to take him to catch on to this trick. However, until he did, I planned to use it to my fullest advantage.

I respect Sirius very much. I knew that I could always count on him to be there when I needed it the most. I felt very comfortable being with him. My heart would ache when I thought of all the anguish he had suffered in his life. I was growing tired of living alone. I wanted a man in my life. Sirius just might be that man. Watching how he worried about the kids told me that this man would make an excellent father.

I had known several other men in my life but none of them made me think of having a home and family. I knew that he had loved a set of twins from his post school days. Some day I would get him to tell me all about them. It must have been quite trying to be in love with identical twins. It would take a lot of tenderness to help blot out the years he had spent in Azkaban. I looked back at the group following behind and below me. I thought to myself, ‘Sirius, maybe someday there will be time for us.’

After about an hour of flying, I started looking for a place we could stop for breakfast. The sun had been up for about two hours and it was going to be a warm summer’s day. We had been following a stream for the last thirty minutes. I wanted to avoid landing near the stream if possible, as water would attract animals. The stream was flanked by dense woods on both sides. Up ahead I could see what looked like a series of small waterfalls and rapids. There was a small island, mostly just a rock pile, which looked promising. I circled the island looking for any signs of animal life. Not spotting any, I landed and waited for the others. After they landed, I transfigured back to human form.

We all got some food and drink from our backpacks, and sat on several of the flatter stones to eat. The sun was shinning brightly and its warmth felt good, especially after having been cooped up in a cave for nearly two days. After we had finished eating, the kids stretched their muscles by skipping some stones across the water and jumping around from rock to rock. I kept glancing at the banks of the stream worried that some predator might be lurking in the nearby woods. After about fifteen minutes, we packed up and took to the air heading north.

Sirius

As we were ready to take off, I told everyone that I thought we should try to fly straight through until it was time for lunch. Madelyn gave me one of her ‘who appointed you boss’ looks that she does when I fail to consult her, on what she feels are command decisions. Usually she will try to make me feel embarrassed, which I sometimes pretend to be, and then I let her say her piece. If I don’t think her suggestion will create any problems we usually do things her way. I know that if I forced my opinion on her she would get really sulky. I would have to feel that her suggestion would put us in grave danger before I would argue the point with her. I suspect she thinks that I don’t know that she is manipulating me. The female mind never ceases to amaze me. We often reach the same conclusion, but never by the same route. For me that path has to be logical. I think she uses intuition to come to the same conclusion.

I was very impressed at how well the kids were handling the crisis we had encountered at the caves. They all showed maturity beyond their years in dealing with a very harrowing experience. Madelyn was worried about how attached our young couples were becoming. She constantly fretted that their emotions and desires would get the better of them and that could lead to trouble. I was beginning to suspect that maybe she had a troubling experience when she was a teenager. No matter what I said, I was unable to eliminate her worries over the kids’ growing love life.

I enjoyed looking at Madelyn. She moved gracefully, like a cat, but you could see the power that was there just below the surface. I had been in Azkaban and on the run for so long that I had forgotten how life is much more enjoyable was when there was a woman around. Madelyn’s personality fit mine like a glove fits the hand. Oh, we could kid around, but when necessary we always worked well together. It was as though each of us could sense what the other was thinking.

As a woman, Madelyn had aroused feelings and emotions that I hadn’t felt since the twins were murdered. When she would curl up next to me, I felt peaceful and relaxed. If we weren’t so thoroughly chaperoned by the kids, I would probably feel even more peaceful and relaxed. If our relationship kept growing, I could imagine myself spending the rest of our lives together.

We had been flying for almost three hours when the woods gave way to grassy prairie lands. About a mile from the forest, I could see smoke curling up from a small house built in a grove of tall trees. There was a barn that was partially finished and several smaller sheds. Several acres had been plowed and planted with different crops. I signaled for us to land at the edge of the woods. Once we were all on the ground, I asked Madelyn if she would scout the area and see how may people were on the farm. I also asked if she could quickly scout further ahead, to see if there were any other farms or establishments.

While we waited for Madelyn to return, the kids stretched their stiff muscles. I told them to be on the lookout for predators that might be lurking in the nearby forest. Madelyn returned thirty minutes later, landed and transformed back into her human form.

“This is the only inhabitance for at least ten miles in any direction,” Madelyn said. “I spotted one man, one woman and four children. The children looked to be about thirteen and under, two boys and two girls.”

“I think we should stop and talk with these people,” I said to everyone. “We need to find out about the current state of affairs in the Realm. If these folks are friendly, we should be able to learn some valuable information. Does anyone have an objection or something to say?”

“Do you think we should all go in at the same time?” Harry asked. “We don’t want to frighten them.”

“I think it would look more honest and friendly if we all walked up to the house together,” I replied.

“I think that would be the best approach,” agreed Madelyn. “These people are farmers and will respond to honesty better than deception. Besides, we are two adults and four teenagers. Hopefully we don’t look very threatening.”

We all agreed that the direct approach would be best. We shouldered our brooms and began walking towards the farmhouse. When we were about a thousand feet away, one of the young boys spotted us and ran to fetch his father and mother. By the time we reached the house, the six of them were waiting for us on the front porch.

“Howdy, strangers,” the man called out. “My name is Walter Blyth and this is my family,” he said, gesturing to his wife and children.

“Hello, to you,” I replied, trying to sound friendly and relaxed. “My name is Sirius Black. With me are Madelyn O’Hara and four students, Harry, Hermione, Ron and Gretchen.” I gestured to each as I identified them. “We are on a journey to the city of Enchantment.”

“You folks aren’t from around these parts, are you?” Walter asked, looking at us inquiringly.

I thought it would be best to be as forthright as possible. “No we have come to the Realm through the Portal on a quest,” I said. “We are traveling to Enchantment to find a wizard named Marcus Pennywhistle.”

“I’ll be damned, so the legend is true,” replied Walter, looking astonished. “Walt, it’s not polite to swear in front of guests, or the children for that matter,” scolded his wife.

While Walter and I were talking, his boys and girls were staring wide-eyed at the kids. One of the girls whispered something to the other and they both giggled. “Quiet girls, it’s not polite to whisper in front of others,” their mother scolded.

“Why don’t we all go and sit at the table under the oak tree?” suggested Walter. “Annie, Katie, please fetch us some cups and a pitcher of water from the well,” Walter instructed them.

We all went over to the table. Before we sat down, Walter introduced us to Martha, his wife. Alec, who was fourteen, and Thomas twelve, were their two sons. Annie ten and Katie seven were their two daughters. He told us that Lazarus and Laurie, three-month-old twins were asleep in the house.

I introduced Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Gretchen in turn to the Blyths as we all sat down around the large outdoor table. The girls, Annie and Katie, retuned with cups and water jugs and sat down, looking at Ron in particular.

“Is it true that the portal only opens once every one hundred years?” Walter asked.

“Yes, so we are told,” I replied. “Albus Dumbledore, one of the oldest and most powerful wizards in our world came from the Realm one hundred years ago when the portal was last open. According to Dumbledore, the portal only stays open for one Earth Lunar, or about twenty-eight days. We must finish our journey and return through the portal before it closes, or we will be trapped here for the next one hundred years.”

“Am I correct in saying that since no one has traveled between our worlds for the last one hundred years, you are very much out of date with the current state of affairs here in the Realm?” Walter asked me.

“Yes, that would be correct,” I replied. “That is why we chose to stop and visit with you. We were hoping that you would be kind enough to bring us up to date on any facts that we should know before continuing on to Enchantment.”

“Well, my new friends, it is very fortunate for you that you stopped here,” Walter said gravely. “The Realm has been embroiled in continuous feuds between the wizarding families of pure blood and the common wizarding folk. Non wizarding folks like us have just had to stand by and watch the feuding.”

At this announcement, Hermione and Harry gasped while Ron blurted out “Are you serious?” Seeing the astonished looks on the faces of our kids, Walter asked, “Don’t you believe me son?”

“No, we believe you,” I replied. “It’s just that we are having the same problem in our world.” Now, it was Martha’s turn to look distressed.

“Is this insanity ever going to stop?” she asked bitterly.

“I am beginning to doubt that we will ever be able to live in peace and harmony,” Madelyn said, sounding very disgusted.

“It’s getting on towards noon, would you please stay and join us for dinner?” Walter asked. I noticed that Martha seemed a little anxious as Walter made this offer.

“If you’re sure it wouldn’t inconvenience you and you can spare the food, we would be happy to stay.” I added. “Is there anything we could do for you in return?”

“That’s very kind of you Sirius,” Walter replied. “We can speak of that after we have eaten.”

Martha told her girls to come along to the house so that they could begin to prepare the noon meal.

Gretchen

“Mrs. Blyth, is there anything we can do to help?” I asked, before she and her girls could leave the table.

“Yes, I’m sure there is; and please call me Martha,” she replied.

Hermione and I followed Martha and her daughters into the house. The main room had a large fireplace on one side with the kitchen on the opposite wall. There was a single room, which I assumed was Martha and Walter’s bedroom, off the backside of the house. The upstairs appeared to be divided into two sleeping areas with two beds each.

Martha was just starting to tell Annie and Katie what to prepare when I heard the sound of a baby crying in the bedroom. She went into the room and quickly returned, carrying two infants, one in each arm. She handed one to Hermione and the other one to me. The baby I was holding was wearing a pinkish colored sleeper, so I assumed this must be Laurie. She stopped crying as soon as Martha handed her to me. She looked up at me with her soft blue eyes and just stared into my face. She was waving one of her tiny arms as if trying to reach my face. Her hair, what little there was of it, was red like Ron’s was.

Hermione was holding Lazarus, who was being anything but calm and quiet. Hermione looked completely at a loss for what she should do. I showed her how to cradle a baby so that it felt protected and comfortable. When Hermione finally got Lazarus into the cradle position, he calmed down just a bit.

“Hold your britches, Lazarus,” Martha said to him. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

Martha finished telling her girls what to get ready for the meal. Then she went and sat in the rocker by the fire and told Hermione to bring Lazarus over to her. She held Lazarus up to her breast so the he could start to feed. Martha motioned us to come and sit across from her so we could talk.

I had never actually watched a woman nurse a baby before. I was very fascinated. I glanced over to look at Hermione. She looked quite uncomfortable. Martha noticed that I seemed to be particularly interested in the whole procedure.

“I take it that neither of you two has ever seen a baby being nursed before,” Martha said, in a very kind voice.

I said, “No, I haven’t.” Hermione just shook her head no.

“Would you like to ask me any questions?” she asked us. “Someday, when you are mothers with children of your own you will be nursing them, just as I am now.”

My curiosity was overpowering. I just had to know all about nursing. Laurie was starting to fidget a little. I think she was probably hungry as well.

“Martha, does it tickle or feel weird when you nurse a baby?” I asked, now totally absorbed by the process.

“No, Gretchen, it doesn’t tickle or hurt or anything like that,” she replied. “It feels completely natural. A very special bond will develop between you and your baby when you nurse. Believe me this is a wonderful period in the growth of your child. It’s a special time just between mother and child.”

Martha said that Lazarus needed to burp. She handed him to Hermione and took Laurie from me and placed Laurie to her other breast. I could see that Hermione didn’t have a clue as to what to do next. Martha also noticed this as well. I quickly told Martha that Hermione was an only child and had never had a chance to take care of babies before.

“That’s such a shame,” Martha said sadly.

I took Lazarus from Hermione, who willingly gave him up and then I looked around for a burp rag. Martha handed me a rag from the table beside the rocking chair and I placed Lazarus up on my shoulder and began gently patting him on the back. After a few pats he belched up a couple of good burps. I lowered him down and cradled him in my arms. He was the most beautiful baby I had ever held. I started gently rocking him in my arms and softly singing a lullaby that I remembered from my childhood. Within minutes, Lazarus was sleeping peacefully in my arms. This was what life was really all about, I thought to myself. I felt a sudden pang of sadness because I realized it would be several years before I would have my own child to love and cherish.

“Gretchen, you definitely have a mother’s touch,” Martha told me

“Thank you. I have always enjoyed taking care of babies. I look forward to the day when I have my own. Hopefully they won’t starve,” I said, glancing down at my chest.

Martha just laughed and said, “Don’t fret dear; Mother Nature has a way of making sure your baby won’t go hungry.”

Martha was finished nursing Laurie and asked Hermione if she would like to try to burp Laurie. Hermione didn’t look too keen on the idea so Martha burped Laurie herself. Laurie was still restless so Martha had me hand Lazarus to her and passed Laurie to me. I sat down in the rocking chair and started to sing as I rocked.

“Martha is there anything I could do to help Annie and Katie in the kitchen?” Hermione asked hopefully.

“Yes there is, and I’m sure they will appreciate any help you can give them,” Martha replied.

Martha took Lazarus into the bedroom. By the time, she had returned Laurie was asleep. I asked if I could put her to bed and Martha said that would be fine. She showed me where the twins slept. After I tucked her into bed, I just stood there and smiled at the babies.

Martha put a gentle hand on my shoulder and said, “The miracle of life never ceases to amaze me.”

“You can say that again,” I replied, with a single tear running down my cheek.

Ron

When Martha and the girls had gone to the house, Walter told his sons to finish feeding the chickens and make sure the horses had hay and oats left in their feed trough.

“Could I come along with you?” I asked the boys.

“Sure, that would be great,” they both replied eagerly.

“Harry, do you want to come too?” Alec asked him.

“Yeah, sure I would,” replied Harry.

We left the table and headed for the barn. As we walked to the barn, I asked the brothers several questions about their farm. The idea of living on a farm with your wife and kids was somewhat fascinating to me. I noticed that Harry didn’t really seem very interested in the farm. Well that is not unusual I told myself, Harry’s a city boy. Somehow, I couldn’t picture him and Hermione sitting in rocking chairs on the front porch of a farmhouse with a bunch of kids. Funny thing was I could easily picture Gretchen and myself doing exactly that. Oh well, ‘different strokes for different folks’, I thought to myself.

The Blyths had about two dozen chickens and a couple of roosters. The boys said they had to keep the roosters separated so they wouldn’t be constantly fighting with each other. They quickly spread some feed for the chickens and refilled their water trough from the well that was driven by a windmill.

We went to the barn, where the boys filled buckets with oats. Alec told Thomas, and asked Harry, to carry the oats out to where the horses were fed.

“Ron, have you ever used a pitchfork before?” Alec asked me.

“No, I haven’t,” I replied, “But I would love to learn how.”

Alec picked up two pitchforks and handed one to me. I followed him to the haymow, and he showed me how to load the fork with the right amount of hay. We made several trips from the haymow to where the horses were fed. The first trip I managed to drop about half of the hay along the way. By the last trip, I didn’t drop any hay at all.

“Not bad for a beginner,” Alec said, when we had finished.

“Thanks,” I replied, feeling very satisfied with my accomplishment.

A sudden thought just occurred to me and I said to Alec. “Do you ever use magic to help you with your chores around the farm?”

“No, we’re not a magical family,” he replied. “Dad says that he’s glad of it too. All the magical folk do is fight amongst themselves over who is better.”

“Alec, on the world where we come from there are many more non magical people than magical folks. The non-magical people can’t live together peacefully any better that the magical ones. I think it must be a basic flaw in human nature.”

“Is your family considered pureblood?” Alec asked apprehensively.

“Yes we are,” I replied and quickly added. “Alec, even though my family is pureblood for many generations, we are looked down upon by many of the other pureblood families because we refuse to judge people by their blood line. My dad is fascinated with muggles, that’s what we call non-magical folk, and how they get along without magic. All of my friends feel as I do, it’s what you do and how you treat others that determine the kind of person, you are. Family blood lines have nothing to do with how you live your life.”

“Ron, from the moment you arrived, I felt that you didn’t think we were beneath you. You always talked to me as though I was your equal. We don’t get many people here because we are so far out. A couple of times purebloods have stopped by for water. They always made you feel like you were one of the animals. It was almost more than they could handle to have to ask a non-magical person for something as simple as water. We were always glad they didn’t stay long.”

“Unfortunately we have families that are like that back home,” I said, with a taste of disgust in my mouth. “There is one family in particular, ‘The Malfoys’ that treat all non-magical people, non purebloods and those of us that respect non purebloods, with hatred and contempt. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised to learn that they would commit murder to further their beliefs. Enough of this gloomy talk, there must be something else you would like to ask me.”

Alec was blushing as he said, “Gretchen is very pretty, are the two of you betrothed?”

“We are not officially engaged,” I replied. “But we are very much in love with each other. Someday I hope to make Gretchen my wife.” I realized as I said this to Alec that it was the first time I clearly realized that I loved Gretchen enough to want to marry her.

Alec noticed the expression on my face as said, “She must be a very special girl for you to feel that way about her.”

“Yes, she is very special to me. I don’t quite know what I would do without her,” I told him. “Why don’t you talk to her yourself,” I said. “That way you will see just why I think she is so special. She is very easy to talk to.”

“Truly, you wouldn’t mind?” Alec asked.

“No I wouldn’t mind, and even if I did, Gretchen does just what Gretchen wants to do,” I said chuckling. “Now let’s go find Tom and Harry and see what they are up to.”

Hermione

I went over to the kitchen where Annie and Katie were peeling potatoes and cleaning vegetables. “What can I do to help?” I asked them.

“Would you like to finish cleaning the vegetables?” Annie asked me.

“That would be fine,” I replied. Katie showed me how to clean the beans, carrots and onions. I was glad to have something to do that didn’t require any concentration. I was feeling very unsettled over my inability to handle the babies. When Martha handed one the twins to me I felt panicked. I had never held a baby in my life. I was deathly afraid of doing something wrong and hurting the baby. I was also jealous of the way Gretchen naturally took to handling a baby. It made me feel inferior and inadequate. Like there must be something wrong with me. Any girl should be able to take care of a baby or small child. That was supposed to be built into our instincts, right?

Not being able to hold a baby was bad enough, but when Martha started nursing, I really lost it. I could never do that. I would feel so … so strange. I could just picture Gretchen and Martha sitting side by side, nursing their babies and talking as though they were just having tea. Another thought entered my mind, would they nurse their babies in front of their husbands? This was just too much for me to think about right now. Thankfully, it would be years before Harry and I had any babies.

At the thought of Harry, I began to wonder. Would Harry be naturally comfortable with babies and small children? What if I could never learn to be comfortable with babies and Harry could? What if I could never bring myself to nurse our child? Would Harry grow to resent and hate me?

I could feel the tears running down my cheeks at all of these very unpleasant thoughts. Katie noticed the tears and said, “The onions are pretty strong aren’t they?”

I looked down and realized that I had finished cleaning the beans and carrots and was now peeling the onions. “Yes they are,” I said sniffling. I tried to stop thinking about babies and concentrated on finishing with the onions.

Harry

After Tom and I carried the buckets of oats to the horse’s feeding trough, Tom asked me if I would like to help him brush the horses.

“Sure, that would be great,” I told him and added. “However, I have never even been near a horse before, let alone brushed one.”

“Oh these horses are pretty tame, they are plow horses,” Tom replied easily. “Mostly you just have to watch out so that they don’t accidentally step on you.

Tom fetched a bucket of brushes from the barn that was used to groom the horses. He showed me how to brush the mane, tail and body of the male. He then went over and began grooming the female. After thirty minutes, Ron and Alec came over to see how we were doing.

“Almost finished,” Tom replied. “We had better hurry and wash up. Dinner should be ready any time now.”

We had just finished washing our hands and faces in the cold well water when we heard Walter calling us to dinner.

When we reached the large table under the oak tree, it was already set for dinner. I sat down beside Hermione. I noticed that she seemed a trifle distant. Ron sat down and before Gretchen could sit down beside him, Annie and Katie sat down on either side of him. Gretchen just smiled and sat down with Alec and Tom beside her. The grownups quickly joined us at the table and after Martha had started to fill her plate, we all did the same.

I noticed that Hermione hardly had any food on her plate.

“Are you feeling Okay?” I asked her. She just nodded and said she wasn’t very hungry. She also wasn’t very talkative. I wondered if something had happened while she and the other girls were preparing dinner. I made a mental note to ask Gretchen when we were finished eating.

I looked over at Ron. Annie and Katie were looking at him as though they were hypnotized. Ron seemed to be unaware that he had acquired two very charming admirers. By the look on Gretchen’s face, she had definitely noticed that the young girls were taken with Ron. Her smile told me that she thought their infatuation was rather charming. Gretchen looked up and saw me looking at her. She winked at me and went back to talking with Alec and Tom, who likewise seemed too enchanted with Gretchen.

Everyone except Hermione seemed to be enjoying his or her food.

“Are you sure you’re Okay?” I asked Hermione again.

“I told you, I’m fine,” she snapped back at me.

Madelyn

After we had all finished eating, the Blyth children removed the dishes, and leftover food from the table, Walter turned to Sirius and me. I could tell that he was troubled and didn’t know exactly what to say.

“Walter,” I began, “something is bothering you, so why don’t you just tell us what’s on your mind.”

“I am very concerned for your safety and wellbeing if you go to Enchantment,” he said, looking extremely worried. As soon as someone recognizes that you are not from the Realm, you will be forcibly taken before the Grand Wizard. He is the current ruler of Enchantment and there are many tales of people who have never returned from his palace.”

Walter continued, “The clothes you are wearing are a dead give away that you are not from the Realm. No one around these parts has ever worn anything similar to what you folks are wearing. Besides that, six new faces in a group are bound to cause curiosity. The Grand Wizard has many people under his control, some willingly, others through intimidation. I don’t think it would be possible for you to enter the city without the wizard becoming aware of your presence.”

“What do you suggest, Walter?” I asked him.

“Well my first suggestion would be for you to go straight back to the Portal and return to your own world,” he replied. “It’s far more dangerous here than you can possibly realize.”

I could tell from the looks on our kids’ faces that this news was very disturbing. Hermione in particular seemed quite distressed. Sirius was rubbing his chin, which meant he was deep in thought with himself.

“What would your second suggestion be?” I asked Walter.

“Well, if you must go then I suggest that you and Sirius go alone and in disguise,” Walter replied. “I don’t know of any other way you can get into Enchantment and back out again.”

“Sirius, what do you think?” I asked him.

“I think Walter is probably correct. It sounds too risky for all of us to go together. You and I are especially well suited for this task,” Sirius said to me. “The problem is where to stash the youngsters while we are trying to contact Pennywhistle.”

“Why don’t you leave them here with us?” asked Walter.

“We couldn’t do that, we have imposed on your hospitality enough already,” I said to Walter.

“I’ll let you know when you have outstayed your welcome,” Walter replied smiling. “What do you think Martha?” he asked his wife.

“I agree, Walter, it would be best if the boys and girls stayed here,” Martha replied. “And as for you imposing, I’m sure your young people wouldn’t mind helping our children with the chores. It would also give our children some time to learn about other places and cultures.”

Sirius turned to our youngsters and asked them if they agreed that it would be safest for him and me to enter the city alone. I could see that they were reluctant to agree, but in the end, they agreed it was probably the wisest course of action.

“What are we to do if you don’t come back?” Harry asked Sirius, sounding extremely concerned.

Sirius said to all of them, “In the event that Madelyn and I are not back in seven days then the four of you are to head straight back to the Portal, flying non stop if possible and return to our world. Under no circumstances are you to come to Enchantment to try to rescue us. Do I have your solemn word on that?” he asked.

All of the kids agreed to Sirius’ request, even though it was obvious they were not very happy about it.

Sirius said to me, “Madelyn, I think it would be best if we left at first light tomorrow.”

“I agree,” I replied, “Now let’s get the field tent erected. It’s getting hot and I want to change into something cooler than these flying suits.”

“Walter, we are yours for the rest of the day. What can we do to help?” Sirius said, grinning broadly.

Gretchen

I asked Martha what I could do to help. I didn’t want to volunteer Hermione for anything she did not want to do. She might feel more comfortable helping the guys outside.

“How would you like to bath the twins?” Martha replied.

“Oh, I’d love to,” I said, hardly able to keep the excitement from my voice. When I glanced at Hermione she was just turning her face away from me, but I thought I noticed a dark look cross her face and quickly disappear.

“Hermione,” Martha said, in a very kind voice, “The girls and I are going to be baking some pies and preserving apples this afternoon. Would you like to help?”

“Sure, that sounds like fun,” Hermione replied, with a little bit of her usual cheeriness showing through.

As we got up from the table Harry caught my eye and I held back to ask him what he wanted.

“Did anything unusual happen this morning?” he asked. “Hermione was very moody at lunch. Something’s bothering her, but she won’t tell me.”

I was at a complete loss for what to say. I knew that Hermione was upset over the babies. I just didn’t know how much to tell Harry. Maybe her fear of handling babies would go away. I decided to lie, or at least not tell the truth.

“Harry, she’s probably just nervous over the journey,” I said. “I’m sure it will pass. You know Hermione; she’ll be back to her normal self in no time.”

“Okay, thanks Gretchen,” Harry replied. I hurried up to catch the other girls before they reached the house.

“What did Harry want to talk to you about?” Hermione asked me, when I caught up with her.

“Oh, he just wanted to tell me that he had noticed that Alec and Tom seemed to have a crush on me,” I lied and quickly hurried into the house.

Since I was sure Hermione was going to ask Harry the very same question, I had to make sure I talked to him before she did.

Martha told me to go and see if the twins were still sleeping. If either of the twins was awake, then I was to bring the baby and we would bath the baby in the kitchen. I walked quietly into their bedroom and peered into the crib where the twins slept. Laurie was awake looking around at her surroundings. I picked her up and cradled her in my arms. After I was back out in the main room, I started cooing at her. She was too young to do anything but make gurgle like noises. She seemed to be happy with my attention. I know I was certainly feeling quite happy and contented.

While I was holding Laurie, Martha prepared the bath water in a small tub that she set on the counter. When she was ready, I laid Laurie on the counter, removed her cloths, and lowered her into the water holding her head up with one hand while bathing her with the other.

“I can see you have done this before,” Martha said to me.

“Yes, I used to watch my Aunt’s daughter before I went away to school,” I told her, feeling a twinge of guilt from lying to her.

As I was finishing Laurie, I heard Lazarus start to fuss. Martha went and got him from his bed. I took Laurie out of the water and wrapped her in a clean towel. As Martha started to bath Lazarus, she pointed to clean clothes she had fetched from the bedroom and placed on the table by the rocking chair. I dried Laurie and combed what little hair she had into a little curl. By the time I had finished dressing Laurie, Martha was done bathing Lazarus. We swapped babies and I dried and dressed Lazarus.

After I finished dressing Lazarus, I carried him with me over to the kitchen area where Martha was telling her girls and Hermione what they would do this afternoon.

Lazarus was squirming around starting to fuss a little. “How often do you have to feed the babies?” I asked Martha.

“During the day I nurse them every four hours,” she replied. “Thankfully they now sleep through the night.”

“I only asked because Lazarus seems a little fussy,” I said.

“He’s always fussy,” Martha replied, sounding a little tired. “You can try and entertain him. He will either settle down or go back to sleep.”

“Can I take him out onto the porch and sit on the swing?” I asked.

“Good idea, he seems to be happier outside,” she replied.

I grabbed a baby blanket just in case and went outside to sit and swing with Lazarus. Shortly, Martha came out of the bedroom with Laurie. She had what looked like a small box, but was actually a bed for the twins.

“Would you mind watching them both while I help the girls with the baking?” she asked me.

“No problem,” I said. Martha tied the small bed to the back of the swing and laid Laurie in the bed.

“If you get tired of holding Lazarus, just put him in the bed,” she told me. “As long as you keep swinging they usually will sleep.”

Martha went back into the house to help the girls and Hermione. I said to Lazarus, “I hope someday to be fortunate enough to have a baby as beautiful as you. And the same goes for you too,” I added looking at Laurie.

Ron

Sirius and Madelyn went to erect the wizard’s field tent. I asked Walter what would he like us to help him with.

“I think we should erect the rest of the timbers for the barn, now that there are six of us,” Walter replied. “The timbers are already cut, we need to hoist them up into position and fasten them in place.”

Harry and I went to change into jeans and jerseys. Doing manual labor in the hot sun in these flying suits would be unthinkable. After we had changed and while we were waiting for Sirius, I said to Harry.

“This place really is beautiful. I could live here and be happy.”

“Well…it is picturesque, but it’s a little too remote and quiet for my taste,” he replied.

When Sirius and Madelyn finished changing, Madelyn headed for the house, and Sirius, Harry and I walked to the barn where Walt and his sons were waiting.

Walter showed us his plans for the timberwork for the barn. For the next two hours, we trimmed, hoisted and fastened several timbers into place. Walt directed the work from the ground while Alec and I climbed the timbers to fasten them into place. Alec and I worked well together. We could coordinate our hand signals so that the others on the ground could adjust the block and tackle to move the timber to its exact location.

The sun was hot and we were all sweating from the physical labor. Just as I was thinking how thirsty I was, the gals showed up with cold lemonade. Gretchen was carrying one of the twins, while Martha had the other.

“Ron, this is Lazarus,” Gretchen said to me, while introducing me to the baby she was carrying. “Isn’t he just about the most beautiful baby you have ever seen?” she added, her voice full of admiration.

“Yes, he certainly is cute,” I said, thinking that the baby really was adorable but not knowing exactly how to say so.

Gretchen looked at me smiling at Lazarus and smiled affectionately at me. From her smile, I knew that she understood that I really thought Lazarus was something special. Watching Gretchen with this child in her arms, I realized just how much children meant to her. I had never see her this happy. I hoped that when we left to return home she wouldn’t be upset knowing that she would never see the twins again.

I said to her, “Gretchen, someday you will have babies of your own to love and care for. You’re going to make one terrific mum.”

She leaned against me for a couple of seconds and just as she was about to kiss me she said, “Yuck, you’re all sweaty.”

“Hey, it’s from honest work,” I said, pretending to be offended.

She kissed me quickly and said, “No more kisses until after you have had a bath.” She smiled once more and walked back to the farmhouse talking to the baby in her arms. Now I was starting to worry.

Hermione

I went into the house with Annie and Katie to get ready to do something I had never done in my life, namely, Cook! Oh, I’ve made sandwiches and breakfasts but I have never actually cooked anything. Martha told us what ingredients we would need to make the piecrusts. After we had everything out, we set to mixing up the dough in a large bowl. Annie and Katie had helped their mother numerous times before so they knew what we were doing.

I was so wrapped up in the making of the pies that the next two hours just seemed to disappear. By the time we had finished making six pies and putting them in the wood stove to cook, I had flour and pie dough from one end of me to the other. My face and hair were especially messy.

I couldn’t remember the last time I had this much fun. While Annie, Katie and I were making the pies, Gretchen continued to help Martha with the twins. When it was time for Martha to nurse them, again she went out on the porch to feed them. I think she did this so I wouldn’t be upset. I felt a twinge of guilt once again over my inability to handle babies.

When we took fresh lemonade to the guys working on the barn, Harry did a double take when he saw what a mess I was.

“Harry the pies will taste much better than I look,” I said to him.

“She did very well,” Katie said to Harry. “We have promoted her to ‘junior pie maker’.”

I kissed Harry quickly as I was caked with flour and he was quite sweaty. I walked back to the house eager to try my hand at preserves.

Harry

After the girls had brought us lemonade and returned to the house, we started working on the four remaining timbers for the barn. We were getting better at working as a team. It took three more hours to complete the remaining timbers and fasten them in place.

When we had the timbers in place we all stood back to admire our handiwork.

“A job well done,” said Walter. “I thank you for all your help. We couldn’t have done it by ourselves,” he said, looking at Sirius, Ron and me.

“Our pleasure, Walt,” replied Sirius.

“Now it’s off to the showers or the ladies will never let us in the house for supper,” Walt said, leading the way.

It turned out that one of the sheds was used for a shower, of sorts. A wood stove was used to heat water, which was carried in buckets to a tank at the top of the room. Gravity fed the water from the tank through a rubber hose to an area with a stone floor, where you lathered and rinsed off. With six of us, it took a while to get clean and we all had very quick showers.

Sirius, Ron and I had brought clean clothes from the tent and dressed quickly, as did Walt and his sons. We followed Walt down to the house where the most delicious smells greeted us.

Gretchen

We had all worked hard to prepare a special supper for the evening meal. Even Madelyn pitched in to help. It turns out she is an excellent cook. Hermione was mostly over her moodiness from this morning. She was distant when I had either one of the twins with me. I was too busy to try to convince her that not all girls liked little babies, so she shouldn’t feel bad. That would have to wait until tomorrow. There would be plenty of time to get into it tomorrow or the next day. I figured it would take Sirius and Madelyn at least two days to go and return from Enchantment.

The Blyths were the most generous and wonderful family I have ever met. Martha made me feel like I was one of her own. She seemed to take a special delight in having me help take care of the twins. I was concerned that Annie or Katie might be upset that I was intruding into their family. I had asked Martha if my helping would bother the girls. She told me not to worry; they would both enjoy a break from baby care.

As I helped in the kitchen, I noticed that they did not have a whole lot of food. Annie and Katie seemed to be in a festive mood, as if it were Christmas or some other holiday. All of a sudden, it hit me, these kind people were using more food for two meals than they would normally use in a week by themselves. I realized that I had always taken for granted, the never-ending supply of food at Beauxbatons. It had never occurred to me to question where the food came from nor would we ever run out.

I suddenly felt overwhelmed with guilt that we might be forcing these people to starve after we left. I had to get away and calm myself. I quickly walked into the bedroom where the twins were now sleeping contentedly in their crib. Looking down at the twins, I felt my jaw start to quiver and tears were forming in my eyes. I felt so miserable that all I could do was place my face in my hands and cry.

Within a minute, I felt Martha’s gentle hand on my shoulder. As she turned me around, she hugged me to her tightly. All I could do was wrap my arms around her and cry. She just held me until I stopped crying. When I finally finished crying, she handed me a clean diaper to wipe my face, which was drenched in tears.

“Now, what are all these tears for?” she asked me, her voice full of compassion and motherly love.

I tried to tell her, but the words just stuck in my throat. The more I tried to speak the more I started shaking. Martha held me tightly to her again while stroking the back of my head and telling me to relax. After several minutes, I was able to calm myself down enough to speak. I didn’t know what to say or even where to start. I just blurted out.

“Martha, we are eating all your food and you and the kids are going to starve.” Having said this, I could feel my eyes starting to fill with tears again.

“Oh, Gretchen. Is that what all these tears are about?” she asked me. She was clearly upset that I was so distressed over their shortage of food. I could see that her eyes were moist and her voice cracked a little as she said.

“Child, it’s very sweet and most thoughtful of you to be so concerned with our welfare. It is true that we do not have an abundance of food, but we have enough to manage until the fall harvest. One thing is true though; we won’t be able to eat every day like the one we have today. Today is a special holiday for us. We rarely get visitors as charming as you and your friends. Walt and the children and I will remember and treasure this day for many years to come. When you are normally frugal with your meals you need holidays to look forward to.”

Martha stroked my hair and looked into my eyes with loving compassion as she spoke to me. I realized how much I missed not having a mother. There were times when a mother was necessary and luckily, Martha was the perfect substitute.

“Gretchen, would it make you feel better if tomorrow we all went and gathered some of the food that Mother Nature provides?” she asked me.

“Yes, that would definitely help,” I replied, wiping my eyes and nose with the diaper once more. Just then, one of the twins stirred in their sleep. I looked over at them sleeping so peacefully.

“They are so precious,” I said, more to myself that to Martha.

“Yes, Gretchen, they are that and then some,” she replied. “Now let’s go back and continue getting supper ready, shall we?”

“Okay,” I replied, giving Martha a big hug while she kissed the top of my head.

Ron

When we reached the house after showering and dressing in clean clothes, Walt opened the front door and invited us to enter his home. In the middle of the main room was a large table set for eight and a smaller table with boxes for chairs set for four. The food smelled delicious. I was very hungry after working on the barn all afternoon.

Gretchen asked me to sit with Katie, Annie and her at the small table just as Walt was inviting everyone to take a seat. Alec and Tom looked a little bewildered as Gretchen insisted that they sit at the table with their parents. I noticed Martha and Gretchen looking at each other. Gretchen smiled and Martha returned the smile after a short frown.

After a short blessing, given by Walt, Gretchen jumped up and said. “Ron, you must be tired after climbing all over the barn, let me fill your plate.” Gretchen looked at me with a strange expression on her face, as if she was trying to tell me something without having to say it.

Gretchen returned my plate with about half of what I normally ate. “Here you are,” she said. I looked up at her with a questioning look on my face as if to say ‘Are you joking?’ “You look much better than you did this afternoon,” she said. She bent and whispered in my ear ‘Ron, there isn’t a lot of food, eat light.’

While I was realizing what Gretchen was trying to tell me, Katie and Annie came over and sat down beside me. I noticed their plates weren’t overflowing either. Gretchen returned and sat across from me. I smiled and winked at her as I said, “This all looks and smells delicious. You gals are sure good cooks.”

Annie and Katie looked highly embarrassed but thanked me for the compliment. Gretchen just smiled proudly at me.

“Annie, I’m curious as to how you learn if you don’t go to a school,” I said to her.

“Mum and Dad teach us basics like reading, writing and arithmetic,” she replied. “Mum teaches Katie and me how to cook and do other household chores. Dad teaches Alec and Tom how to grow crops and care for the farm.”

“Do other people ever come here, or do you go to other farms in the area?” I asked.

“In the fall we take grain and fruit we have preserved over to the Weston farm, where we swap with others for things we need,” answered Annie. “There are usually some traders from Enchantment that have tools and cloth to swap for food. When we go to the Watson’s we get to meet and spend some time with other kids our own age.”

“Do you have anyone special you see when you go to the Watsons?” I asked. Annie’s face turned almost as red as Katie’s hair. Katie said, “She’s sweet on Brad Thompson.”

“Katie!” Annie yelped.

I quickly said to Annie, “That’s very sweet. I’m sure he must be very handsome. What is he like?”

Annie seemed to lose her sense of embarrassment for she spent the next ten minutes telling Gretchen and me all about Brad. “Of course there are some things that I could only tell you Gretchen,” she said, smiling a bit awkwardly.

While Annie was telling us about Brad, I noticed that Katie never took her eyes off me except when I would glance at her and smile. Then she would quickly look elsewhere, looking slightly embarrassed.

When Annie had finished, I asked Katie if she had a special friend too. She replied shyly that she did not. Gretchen smiled at me and said to Katie. “Well you have lots of time ahead of you.”

“Katie, while we’re here. Could I be your special friend?” I asked her. “That is assuming it’s alright with Gretchen,” I added.

“That would be fine with me,” Gretchen replied.

Katie managed to squeak out a small yes, but she looked thrilled with the idea. Just then, one of the twins started to cry. Gretchen asked Martha if she could go and get the baby. Martha nodded yes. Gretchen left the table and quickly returned with Lazarus who had stopped crying.

“He sure is good with you,” Annie said to Gretchen. “I can never get him to stop fussing. Laurie is a lot easier to handle.”

“Well, that’s because I think he is perfect,” replied Gretchen, cooing to Lazarus. ‘Gretchen we are in big trouble’, I thought to myself.

Hermione

When we sat down to the supper table, Harry sat on my left and Alec sat on my right. Sirius, Madelyn and Tom sat across from us, while Walt and Martha sat at the ends on the table. After Walter said a blessing, we passed the food around the table. Gretchen filled plates for her and Ron, while Annie and Katie each filled their own plates.

After Harry had taken several bites, he said to me. “This is delicious. You need to remember how to make this again.”

“You really like it?” I asked, very pleased because I had helped with most of the food.

“Yes I do,” he said smiling at me. “I guess we won’t have to live on peanut butter sandwiches, unless of course I’m the one doing the cooking,” Harry added with a chuckle.

I felt so good at Harry’s compliments that I quickly kissed his cheek and said. “You do know how to make me feel useful and appreciated.”

While we were eating, Sirius asked Walt if he had ever heard of a wizard named Marcus Pennywhistle.

“Not that I can recollect,” Walt replied. “The only Pennywhistle I ever meet was named Leroy Pennywhistle. I didn’t particularly trust him; he smiled too much for my taste. Never trust a man that is always smiling, he’s hiding something, that’s for sure.”

Harry looked at me with a silly grin on his face.

“Don’t say it,” I said, “Lockhart couldn’t be related to Pennywhistle. It’s just a coincidence.”

“Well, Walter is right about one thing, I don’t think I’ll ever trust someone who always wears a smile,” Harry added.

Everyone was finished with his or her meal. Annie, Katie and I removed some of the serving dishes and placed two different kinds of pie on the table. While I was bringing the pie to the table, I noticed Gretchen holding Lazarus. I felt brief moment of anger and resentment towards her. The moment quickly passed. I was angry with myself for being jealous over something as trivial as her holding a baby.

Just then, Harry was congratulating me on the pie. “Hun, you really did a great job, this pie tastes great,” he said.

“I had lots of expert help,” I added, faintly annoyed for some reason I couldn’t put my finger on.

Harry

After we had all finished our desserts, Walter stood up and said.

“I have an announcement that I would like to make. Tonight, we are going to have a dance in honor of our new friends. Once the dishes are cleaned and put away, the men will move the tables and chairs to the side of the room while the ladies change into their party clothes.”

Instantly, Annie and Katie started squealing joyfully. Gretchen and Hermione both looked very much like girls who had just been invited to a party and have absolutely nothing to wear. Madelyn noticed their acute distress and told them not to worry, she was sure she could come up with something. Major crisis avoided.

We all helped with the dishes and within thirty minutes, the kitchen was clean. Martha said she would prepare some snacks and drinks for later. Madelyn told Martha and her girls to come to the tent and they would all get dressed together. Martha was genuinely astonished at this offer. Madelyn said that for the next hour the tent was off limits to men of all ages.

After the women left, we helped Walt move the tables to the side of the room. This left a space in the middle of the room that Walt said would be just right for a ‘single square.’ I had no idea what he was talking about. What’s a ‘square’, I wondered to myself? I asked Ron if he knew what a square was. “Beats me,” he replied.

I asked Sirius when he and Madelyn were going to leave for Enchantment. He told me that they planned to leave first thing in the morning. They planned to travel in their Animagus forms as they figured that would be safest. At that point, Ron came over and said to Sirius.

“We need to find some way to repay these people for their generosity and hospitality.”

“Madelyn and I have already discussed that need,” Sirius replied. “We’re just not sure how to accomplish it. We can’t just leave them with some gold. They would have no way to use it. Besides that, spending gold might attract the wrong kind of attention. We will come up with something, I promise you that.”

Madelyn

Once all of the girls were inside the tent, I said to Martha.

“What kind of dancing do you do at your parties? I need an idea of what style of clothes to create.”

“Usually we just do what we call square dancing,” Martha replied. “Do you know what I mean by square dancing?”

“Is that where four couples dance a series of patterns in time to instructions set to music?”

“Yes, that is basically correct,” replied Martha.

“I take it you wear skirts such as the ones you fetched for your girls and yourself.”

“Yes we do, twirling skirts add to the flavor of the dance,” Martha said.

“I think we should be able to come up with something that will look appropriate. That is if you don’t mind my using a little magic?” I inquired.

“Magic used for good or decent purposes is fine with me,” Martha replied.

“Do you put crinolines under your skirts?” I asked.

“No, we don’t get that fancy. Although it might be fun for tonight if you could manage it,” Martha said to me.

“All right, let’s get to work,” I said. “Gretchen, Hermione fetch me the sheets, towels and blankets from our beds.”

Gretchen and Hermione returned with the things I asked them to find, and they each had a blouse. I told both Gretchen and Hermione to put on their blouses and wrap the blankets around their waists. I got out my wand. I waived my wand and said ‘Fabricus Morphius’. The blankets were transformed into feather light white crinolines. Martha’s girls squealed with delight. You’re next I told them. Annie and Katie went to wash and quickly returned. I had them remove their day clothes and put on their blouses. I transformed blankets into crinolines for them and they put their skirts on over top of the crinolines. After they put on their dancing slippers they practiced twirling.

I had Gretchen and Hermione wrap sheets over the crinolines and then I transformed the sheets into colorful skirts. Finally, I transformed Gretchen and Hermione’s bed slippers into dancing slippers.

Once the girls were finished, I attended to Martha and me. After an hour, we were all clean and dressed for the dance. Annie and Katie were allowed to use a small amount of makeup. Gretchen and Hermione didn’t use much more than Martha’s girls did. Martha and I each used what we felt appropriate for our age and need.

“If everyone is ready, let’s go find our men folk,” I said. “Oh by the way, I have never square danced in my life. Someone is going to have to teach me.”

As we left the tent, I heard Hermione tell Gretchen, “I hope Harry and Ron handle this dance better than the Yule Ball held at Hogwarts on Christmas day.”

“Bring on the condemned,” Gretchen said laughing.

Gretchen

When I walked into the house, Ron took one look at me and his mouth fell open. He stared at me as though he had never seen me before. I walked over to him and did a couple of twirls so that my skirt and crinolines flared out around me. His blank stare changed into a broad smile and I felt goose pimples all over my arms.

“You look absolutely gorgeous,” Ron said, looking me over from head to toe.

Just then, I realized that Ron had only seen me in pants and jerseys, not counting our flying suits. I had always liked wearing skirts or dresses. I have very attractive legs or at least that’s what others have told me. If Ron were going to be this appreciative, I would have to wear skirts more often. I put my arms around Ron’s neck and said.

“Why thank you, Ron, I’m glad you like it. Martha said it’s traditional for girls to wear skirts for square dancing.”

As soon as I said ‘square dancing’, the smile on Ron’s face was instantly replaced with a look of panic.

“Ron, relax,” I said. “I promised you I would teach you how to dance. Only in this case, none of us knows how to square dance. The Blyths are going to teach all of us together.”

This seemed to quell some of Ron’s fear of dancing. I continued to remind him that we would all be learning together. I looked at him and said.

“Ron, I don’t care how well you learn to dance. As long as we have fun that’s the important thing. I love you because of who you are, not how well you can dance.”

Ron put his arms around my waist and we kissed each other for several seconds. I heard one of the girls, turned out it was Annie, giggling at us. After we finished kissing, I looked at Annie and winked at her. She got slightly red in the face, but she smiled back at me.

“Ron, have I asked you if you like babies before?

“Yes, Gretchen, I think you have asked me that question at least once since we arrived here,” he replied smiling at me. “Gretchen, I’m starting to worry that you are getting too attached to the twins,” he continued. “When we leave the Realm you will never see them again.”

“I know that, Ron,” I said, feeling depressed by that thought. I laid my head on his shoulder and he stroked my hair. “I will just have to make the most of the time we are here,” I added. “At least the twins are too young to remember me. They won’t be upset when we leave.”

“Gretchen, somehow I don’t think the twins will ever forget you deep in their hearts,” Ron said to me very tenderly.

“Oh, Ron, don’t get me crying,” I said, trying very hard to hold back tears.

Ron

I could tell that Gretchen was trying very hard not to cry. I decided to change the subject.

“You do know that you love a man with two left feet and about as much rhythm as a doorknob,” I said to her. At these words, Gretchen snorted, coughing spit all over my neck and collar.

“Oh, Ron, I’m really sorry I did that,” she said, very apologetically. “Here let me dry you off.” She looked around and grabbed what I hoped was a reasonably clean baby diaper. She was quite upset that she had coughed on me and was trying very hard to clean me up.

“Gretchen, don’t fret over this, I’ll dry off,” I told her. She looked like she was going to say ‘I’m sorry’ again so I started tickling her ribs. She twisted and shrieked, telling me to stop tickling her. After a couple of seconds, I stopped and she hit me gently in the chest with her fist and said.

“You Rat,” followed a couple of seconds later by, “Thanks for snapping me out of my depression. Moreover, I don’t care if you have three left feet. You’re just right for me.”

“It looks like Walt and Martha are ready to start teaching us how to square dance,” I said.

Walter had us all gather around while he used his kids to demonstrate the basic steps used in square dancing.

“A square consists of four couples,” Walter began. “Each couple represents a corner of the square. All of the dance steps are used to move the couples around the square in various patterns. The ‘Caller’, that’s me, will give instructions that the couples follow.”

Walter paired his four kids with Harry, Hermione, Gretchen and me. After a few minutes of instruction, we were ready to try a set. I was partnered with Katie, Gretchen with Alec, Hermione with Tom and Harry with Annie. Gretchen and I were opposite each other.

“Are you ready?” Walter asked.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I replied, winking at Gretchen who smiled back at me.

“Okay, here we go,” said Walter as he began to call out the steps while the other adults kept time by clapping their hands. “Bow to your Partner… Bow to your corner… One and Three forward and back… Two and Four forward and back… Allemande Left… Allemande Right… Promenade Home…”

After fifteen minutes of some of the best fun I can ever remember having, Madelyn and Sirius took Gretchen and my places. Gretchen and I went over to the kitchen counter and each had a glass of apple juice. Gretchen also had some type of red berry, which she said was very spicy, but quite good. Not particularly caring for spicy or hot foods, I didn’t try one.

The twins had just started to cry and Gretchen went with Martha to help her. I went over to stand next to Walter and started to clap my hands to the beat of Walter’s chant. I was really starting to enjoy myself. This is my idea of fun dancing, I thought. Everyone was smiling, laughing, and having a great time. I wasn’t sure just how well we were actually doing with the dance steps. However, anybody who had a complaint could file it.

Walt kept calling for the next fifteen minutes. When he finished he told everyone to take a break and get something to drink. As the others were fixing themselves drinks, Gretchen and Martha came back with the twins who were wide-awake. I asked Martha if I could hold Lazarus. ‘Here you are’ she said to me and handed me the baby.

I asked Gretchen if she was thirsty. To which she replied ‘Yes she was’ so we took the twins and went over to the kitchen counter and poured ourselves some more apple juice. Gretchen ate a couple more of the hot berries as well.

Hermione

We had just finished the second set of dances. Harry and I walked over to the kitchen to get something to drink. I was very thirsty and a little dizzy. I am not used to moving around in tight circles. Overall, I was having a terrific time. Harry seemed to be enjoying himself as well.

“Hermione, this is a lot of fun,” he said to me. “It’s nothing like the Yule Ball.”

“Harry, I think this is some type of folk dancing,” I said. “Folk dances typically involved common people and the music was often played on improvised instruments.”

“Well, what ever its origin, it has my vote,” Harry replied with a smile.

Just then, Ron and Gretchen came into the kitchen each holding a twin. Gretchen was almost giddy.

“This really is a lot of fun. How are you two enjoying yourselves?” Gretchen asked Harry and me.

“I was just telling Hermione that this sure is better than the last few Yule Balls,” Harry said to her. “Who knows maybe we could introduce this to the students at Hogwarts.”

“Harry, I doubt very much if most Hogwarts students would find square dancing very interesting,” I said in a voice that was sharp for some reason.

“Oh, you might be surprised,” replied Gretchen. “It has rhythm and does require a certain amount of skill to be truly good at it. Maybe we could organize contests for the best square or something like that.”

“Well, you’re welcome to try,” I said to her. “Don’t be disappointed if you meet with very little success,” I added, feeling agitated and not knowing why.

Ron asked Gretchen what she would like to get something to drink. Harry and I went over to where Sirius and Madelyn were sitting.

Harry

“Getting too old for such vigorous dancing,” I said, grinning at Sirius.

“In a toad’s eye,” he shot back. “I can out dance any or all of you youngsters.”

“Calm down Sirius,” Madelyn said to him. “Harry, it’s not nice to tease an old man,” she said to me with a smile.

“Old, I’ll show you old,” he replied to Madelyn. “Walter, are we ready to start up again,” Sirius asked.

“I suspect so, “Walter replied.

We formed up into a square again. Ron and Gretchen gave the twins to Tom and Katie and joined us on the floor. Walter called for the next thirty minutes with Martha, Tom and Katie clapping to the rhythm of the caller’s cadence. More than once Gretchen seemed to lose her footing and stumbled during a couple of the steps.

After the long set, we were all thirsty and headed to the kitchen for some more to drink. Martha had made some small tarts, which tasted great. All of us except Gretchen had some. She said she liked the berries better.

While we were all resting so that we could do one more set before the end of the evening, I noticed that Gretchen was unusually giggly. I thought she was probably just over tired from the long day and all of the excitement from the day before.

Gretchen

I was having so much fun I could hardly contain myself. I felt like I wanted to dance all night. I was a little put out that we had to take a break. However, it did give me chance to get some more to drink and eat some more of those delicious berries. I was going to have to ask Martha what they were.

It was really starting to get warm in the house. I could feel the sweat trickling down the inside of my blouse. Ron was being super. Oh how I loved that man.

“Rhon, ish it hot in thish room or ish it jusht me,” I asked him.

“It is a little warm in here, Gretchen,” he replied, looking at me questioningly.

“It feelsh more than a little warm to me,” I replied rather loudly.

“Gretchen, are you feeling Okay,” he asked me.

“Shilly boy, chorsh I’m Okay,” I said, wondering why he would ask me such a silly question. And just why was he whispering.

“Ron, why don’t you shand shill, you keep movin around,” I said to him.

“Gretchen, what’s the matter with you?” Ron asked me again, for what seemed like the hundredth time.

“Ron, I wana dance shum more,” I said and started dancing very close to him. I was moving my hips as only we girls can and I was running my hands through my hair. Ron had a strange look on his face. Why wasn’t he dancing with me? I wanted to dance and he was just standing there with a dumb look on his face.

“Fron, whush frong, don wan to fance with me?” I asked. All of a sudden I felt very light headed, the room started to spin around and around.

I grabbed a hold of Ron’s shirt to see if that would stop the room from spinning, but it didn’t help much. It seemed as if the lights were getting dimmer.

“Ron, I don veel fery vell,” I said falling against his chest.

Ron

Gretchen was really starting to worry me. She couldn’t talk without slurring her words. She was weaving back and forth unable to focus her eyes on me as she tried to talk to me. When she started rubbing against me, trying to do some kind of dance, I really freaked out.

Everyone had stopped talking and was staring at us. Just as Madelyn came over, Gretchen collapsed against me. I quickly scooped her up in my arms so she wouldn’t fall on the floor.

“Madelyn, she must be sick or something,” I said to her, slightly panicked. Just then Gretchen opened her eyes and said, “ar we fair vet” and fainted again.

“She not sick, she’s drunk,” Madelyn said, sounding quite disgusted.

“She can’t be drunk,” I protested. “There isn’t anything to get drunk on. Maybe it’s some kind of food poisoning.” I suggested.

“No, she is definitely intoxicated,” replied Madelyn. “Martha, do you have anything in the house that might cause this,” Madelyn asked.

“Oh dear, I wonder…” Martha said. Martha went to the kitchen and quickly returned to ask the rest of us if we had eaten any of the little red berries from the bowl she was holding.

Everyone shook their heads and said no. All of a sudden, I remembered that Gretchen was eating those berries all night. I told Martha that Gretchen was very fond of them and had eaten quite a few.

“Oh dear,” Martha replied. “I’m afraid I forgot to tell your youngsters not to eat these berries. They are very intoxicating. Most adults never eat more than three or four. It looks as if Gretchen has eaten all twelve, as that’s how many I put out.”

Madelyn asked Martha if there would be any long lasting effects from having eaten so many. Martha said there shouldn’t be any, but that Gretchen probably wouldn’t be feeling very well tomorrow.

“Well, we all have to pay the piper,” Madelyn said, looking at Gretchen without the slightest trace of sympathy. “Ron, if you will carry Gretchen to the tent and set her on her bed, Hermione and I will get Gretchen undressed and into her nightgown.

“I’m so sorry about this, Martha said sounding quite upset and concerned for Gretchen’s condition.

“Don’t worry about it, Martha,” Madelyn replied. “What’s done is done. Gretchen will live, but I doubt that tomorrow will be one of her better days.”

As I carried Gretchen to the tent, I heard everyone saying goodnight. I placed Gretchen on her bed as gently as I could. She didn’t wake up or seem to be feeling any discomfort. Madelyn and Hermione came into the tent and shooed me out.

“I’ll call you, Harry and Sirius when we have Gretchen tucked in for the night,” she said to me. I got out of the tent quickly as Madelyn didn’t seem too happy. I felt sorry for Gretchen. I hoped she wouldn’t wake up while they were getting her into bed.

After about five minutes, Hermione came out to tell us that we could come in and get ready for bed. I glanced over at Gretchen who seemed to be sleeping peacefully. Madelyn handed me a bucket.

“Gretchen may get sick in the night,” she told me. “If she does get sick, use this bucket.”

“Will she be all right?” I asked Madelyn hesitantly.

“Gretchen will be Okay,” Madelyn replied, with some softness and warmth returning to her voice. “Get some sleep, Ron.”

I lay down in my bed listening to Gretchen breathe. Sirius put out the light after Harry and Hermione had gotten into bed. I lay there wondering how Gretchen was going to feel in the morning. I was positive she was going to be very embarrassed over what had happened. Especially because she would feel that, she had let Martha down. Long after everyone else was asleep, I was still listening to Gretchen’s breathing. I finally fell asleep sometime in the middle of the night.