A naive Arthur!SI trying to be a famous inventor. Turns out that life is hurling girl that can protect him from the unpleasant truths behind the magical laws in this world... also, pancakes.
A Brilliant Oaf (Harry Potter, Arthur Weasley!SI)
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An Oaf of the Brilliant Kind
- Location
- Italia
Chapter 1: An Oaf of the Brilliant Kind
Hogwarts, Class 1961.
No one would think much of a boy bearing the name Arthur Weasley. Not with a fairly poor background despite having a mother from House Black, and neither because of his average grades.
By all means, Arthur was a nobody from Gryffindor that stuck out as a jovial oaf. But, of course, there is always someone keen to see the best in people and...
Molly Prewett was quite sure it was more than just a glimpse as many would expect.
Oh no, it was bigger than just that. Having been quite intrigued by how 'fake' Arthur was at times when interacting with his 'mates', she had decided to do a bit of an 'investigation'. Admittedly, she had been driven to see what the boy was all about after getting a look on those handsome eyes of his and his smile- still, the girl had been feeling compelled to see what Arthur was truly underneath that layer of faux social eagerness. And the answer to that came in the form of finding him fiddling with some muggle devices in one of the unused classrooms in the school after classes.
Hogwarts was not as 'big' as it used to be. If a century or so ago there were hundreds of students, now there was hardly a hundred if much less. And thus, many classes had been shut down accordingly, leaving most of the castle unused and open for those keen to claim any of those classrooms for their own reasons. Either those being nefarious plots or... whatever the redhead was up to.
Peeking from the half-open door, Molly studied the way Arthur was mindlessly playing with nuts and bolts and various tools she had seen some muggles use when fixing up some of their devices their her home. It wasn't exactly something she was most engrossed over, but since home was far from many others and she hardly had anything to do there, Molly had to adapt and just find such a simple mechanic work as 'interesting'.
To his credit, Arthur was making it fascinating with the way he wasn't just meddling with muggle things, but she could recognize some gems with runes engraved onto it. It all came to culminate with a strange circular sphere with several engravings, wires, and electric jolts passing through and over it. What was that?
Suddenly Arthur had paused, and Molly realized that she may have spoken that last thought aloud. And as his gaze turned to her, her posture stiff as she recoiled from a moment of contemplation between leaving or not, the boy just... eased at seeing her, and then smile.
"Oh, hello... Prewett?"
"It's Molly," She pouted. If there was something she loathed, it was people calling her by her last name. Why not just Molly? Isn't that a pretty enough name to utter?
"Molly, yes... if I may ask-"
"What are you doing?" She interrupted by asking the question first, seeing his eyes widening as he looked caught off-guard.
What? She could do that too if she wanted? It wasn't like the situation just favored her too much to make it easy.
"Oh- I... Well, I was doing some... science. Theoretical stuff."
"...What?"
"Well, how do I put this... are you familiar with ping pong?"
A frown adorned the girl's face. "Yes."
"Runes?"
"A bit-"
"What about heat-induced energy?"
She opened her mouth and... closed it.
Arthur nodded at this. "A quick lesson: if you slap a surface- say, a desk. You feel your palm heating up, yes?"
Molly offered a slow nod at this, and Arthur continued.
"Well, that heat is energy. Or well, could become energy if harnessed correctly. Do you have a car at home?"
Her lips twitched. "Why would that matter?"
"Just so that I can avoid going in depth over how a car's engine work."
"I do, and?"
"Well, the car needs fuel, but how does the engine create the means for the car to move?"
"It turns it in energy?" Molly sarcastically asked and yet Arthur nodded with a smile. "But... how?"
"It burns it, it creates heat which works internal pistons and then create the means for the vehicle to do all the chores needing energy," The redhead summarized quite curtly, then turning his attention to his spheric device. "This is sort of an engine like that, except it has a very simple concept no muggle can ever hope to achieve but we wizards can."
That intrigued the girl. "Which is?"
"Magic," The boy answered as he walked over several devices set by nearby desks. A lot of lightbulbs and little explanation just yet on what their purpose was. "This array is not something truly tied to the prototype, they are meant to be part of a 'pressure test' as the entire system here is meant to require the same demand of the average car on high performance. If my calculations are correct, then this may soon become the first self-sufficient car engine and overall energy maker in the whole planet."
Molly hardly understood what she just heard, but grasped that there was importance there and... it sounded simple enough to believe it. Sure, she didn't know 'how' that engine worked, but Arthur had that brazen confidence that made her heart skip a beat or two. Maybe her judgment was impaired by a potential crush on the dashing moron, but who knows? Maybe he is really up to something impressive.
Taking a seat together with Arthur, he soon made a gesture with his wand and the engine got turned on. Molly frowned and then gasped as she saw the sphere suddenly humming loudly as burning bright red light came from it, seemingly trying to escape its containment and yet just bouncing off the gems all over, electric zaps pulsating from the gems and then trailing to the wires connecting the bulbs. Soon, all the system lit up and... not all the bulbs got turned off.
Arthur's smile grew smaller as he took some notes, checking on some small buzzing devices and noting down the results.
"...What happened?" Molly barely managed to produce that question as her mind just couldn't grasp what kind of lightshow she just witnessed.
"Vermilious bolt casted by a central rune bounce about endlessly against all the gems. The gems have three runes, one for absorption of the heat of the bouncing, another to split half of the energy to reinforce the crystals, and a third rune which channels the leftover energy through the wires as electric energy."
"...What?"
"Heat energy from the bolt slamming around is split between keeping the gems resistant and also fuel the entire array."
That sounded about as complicated, but Molly nodded along with this. She understood that the bouncing made... heat and it then turned into electricity.
"But it wasn't enough," She pointed out and Arthur nodded at her words.
"It wasn't. But... this seems to be a matter of output, which meant instead of a single bolt, I may have to employ two at once."
That confused the girl some more. "Wouldn't it be better to use a Vermilious Duo at this point?"
"No, it would be too strong of an output and would probably break the crystals faster than they can self-repair. The crystals in this system can handle up to three bolts, so there is always a risk by using two bolts but... that should do it and maybe more. Maybe I could use some of the exceeding energy to further reinforce the crystals so... hm..."
He was back to scribble his notes, and Molly took this brief pause to think some more. Now, she wasn't a Ravenclaw, if that was the case she would have understood whatever Arthur was up to (in fact, she wondered how he ended up in Gryffindor despite showing intellect above the average), yet she got a hold over what this was all about: a car that didn't need to stop by to pay for fuel, a car that was also meant to produce energy that wasn't smelly or dangerous to breath. And... actually more than that.
She thought about the generator back home, of the electric bill they had to pay because of it, on how every essential tool required electricity and...
"Arthur, did you patent this idea?"
She may not be too familiar with the concept, but she had heard of how some people tended to steal ideas and then patent those themselves. And that- she could just be upset in imagining Arthur being treated to that.
"Not yes, but-"
"Do it. Now."
"But the prototype-" He tried to argue, but Molly wasn't having it.
"None of that prototype talking, I mean the idea. If someone was to eavesdrop on you like I did and they decided to steal it, they could do it easily. You need to guard your brilliance."
He opened his mouth but he paused and then blushed. It took Molly a moment too to realize why he appeared embarrassed, her own cheeks growing redder than her own hair.
"I-I mean, you are a nice person and- and I would be upset if you were tricked by someone that mean badly for you, that's all."
He was silent for a moment, then he just smiled widely.
"Thank you for your concerns, Molly. I guess I should do that at once!"
And it was in that moment, without any reasonable doubt, that Molly knew...
She was going to marry this oaf who was a smart man but clearly dumb in areas she was very seasoned about - indeed, this was a match made in heaven.
--------d-d-d-d------
AN
Molly: I am still eleven, so I can just have crushes-
*Arthur appears*
Molly: And then this dummy became the one I want to marry, FML.
(Still, this story will have a soft-core Tsundere - which is Molly - and an unexpected Kuudere - who is a year younger than Arthur and will appear in their second year at Hogwarts.)
Hogwarts, Class 1961.
No one would think much of a boy bearing the name Arthur Weasley. Not with a fairly poor background despite having a mother from House Black, and neither because of his average grades.
By all means, Arthur was a nobody from Gryffindor that stuck out as a jovial oaf. But, of course, there is always someone keen to see the best in people and...
Molly Prewett was quite sure it was more than just a glimpse as many would expect.
Oh no, it was bigger than just that. Having been quite intrigued by how 'fake' Arthur was at times when interacting with his 'mates', she had decided to do a bit of an 'investigation'. Admittedly, she had been driven to see what the boy was all about after getting a look on those handsome eyes of his and his smile- still, the girl had been feeling compelled to see what Arthur was truly underneath that layer of faux social eagerness. And the answer to that came in the form of finding him fiddling with some muggle devices in one of the unused classrooms in the school after classes.
Hogwarts was not as 'big' as it used to be. If a century or so ago there were hundreds of students, now there was hardly a hundred if much less. And thus, many classes had been shut down accordingly, leaving most of the castle unused and open for those keen to claim any of those classrooms for their own reasons. Either those being nefarious plots or... whatever the redhead was up to.
Peeking from the half-open door, Molly studied the way Arthur was mindlessly playing with nuts and bolts and various tools she had seen some muggles use when fixing up some of their devices their her home. It wasn't exactly something she was most engrossed over, but since home was far from many others and she hardly had anything to do there, Molly had to adapt and just find such a simple mechanic work as 'interesting'.
To his credit, Arthur was making it fascinating with the way he wasn't just meddling with muggle things, but she could recognize some gems with runes engraved onto it. It all came to culminate with a strange circular sphere with several engravings, wires, and electric jolts passing through and over it. What was that?
Suddenly Arthur had paused, and Molly realized that she may have spoken that last thought aloud. And as his gaze turned to her, her posture stiff as she recoiled from a moment of contemplation between leaving or not, the boy just... eased at seeing her, and then smile.
"Oh, hello... Prewett?"
"It's Molly," She pouted. If there was something she loathed, it was people calling her by her last name. Why not just Molly? Isn't that a pretty enough name to utter?
"Molly, yes... if I may ask-"
"What are you doing?" She interrupted by asking the question first, seeing his eyes widening as he looked caught off-guard.
What? She could do that too if she wanted? It wasn't like the situation just favored her too much to make it easy.
"Oh- I... Well, I was doing some... science. Theoretical stuff."
"...What?"
"Well, how do I put this... are you familiar with ping pong?"
A frown adorned the girl's face. "Yes."
"Runes?"
"A bit-"
"What about heat-induced energy?"
She opened her mouth and... closed it.
Arthur nodded at this. "A quick lesson: if you slap a surface- say, a desk. You feel your palm heating up, yes?"
Molly offered a slow nod at this, and Arthur continued.
"Well, that heat is energy. Or well, could become energy if harnessed correctly. Do you have a car at home?"
Her lips twitched. "Why would that matter?"
"Just so that I can avoid going in depth over how a car's engine work."
"I do, and?"
"Well, the car needs fuel, but how does the engine create the means for the car to move?"
"It turns it in energy?" Molly sarcastically asked and yet Arthur nodded with a smile. "But... how?"
"It burns it, it creates heat which works internal pistons and then create the means for the vehicle to do all the chores needing energy," The redhead summarized quite curtly, then turning his attention to his spheric device. "This is sort of an engine like that, except it has a very simple concept no muggle can ever hope to achieve but we wizards can."
That intrigued the girl. "Which is?"
"Magic," The boy answered as he walked over several devices set by nearby desks. A lot of lightbulbs and little explanation just yet on what their purpose was. "This array is not something truly tied to the prototype, they are meant to be part of a 'pressure test' as the entire system here is meant to require the same demand of the average car on high performance. If my calculations are correct, then this may soon become the first self-sufficient car engine and overall energy maker in the whole planet."
Molly hardly understood what she just heard, but grasped that there was importance there and... it sounded simple enough to believe it. Sure, she didn't know 'how' that engine worked, but Arthur had that brazen confidence that made her heart skip a beat or two. Maybe her judgment was impaired by a potential crush on the dashing moron, but who knows? Maybe he is really up to something impressive.
Taking a seat together with Arthur, he soon made a gesture with his wand and the engine got turned on. Molly frowned and then gasped as she saw the sphere suddenly humming loudly as burning bright red light came from it, seemingly trying to escape its containment and yet just bouncing off the gems all over, electric zaps pulsating from the gems and then trailing to the wires connecting the bulbs. Soon, all the system lit up and... not all the bulbs got turned off.
Arthur's smile grew smaller as he took some notes, checking on some small buzzing devices and noting down the results.
"...What happened?" Molly barely managed to produce that question as her mind just couldn't grasp what kind of lightshow she just witnessed.
"Vermilious bolt casted by a central rune bounce about endlessly against all the gems. The gems have three runes, one for absorption of the heat of the bouncing, another to split half of the energy to reinforce the crystals, and a third rune which channels the leftover energy through the wires as electric energy."
"...What?"
"Heat energy from the bolt slamming around is split between keeping the gems resistant and also fuel the entire array."
That sounded about as complicated, but Molly nodded along with this. She understood that the bouncing made... heat and it then turned into electricity.
"But it wasn't enough," She pointed out and Arthur nodded at her words.
"It wasn't. But... this seems to be a matter of output, which meant instead of a single bolt, I may have to employ two at once."
That confused the girl some more. "Wouldn't it be better to use a Vermilious Duo at this point?"
"No, it would be too strong of an output and would probably break the crystals faster than they can self-repair. The crystals in this system can handle up to three bolts, so there is always a risk by using two bolts but... that should do it and maybe more. Maybe I could use some of the exceeding energy to further reinforce the crystals so... hm..."
He was back to scribble his notes, and Molly took this brief pause to think some more. Now, she wasn't a Ravenclaw, if that was the case she would have understood whatever Arthur was up to (in fact, she wondered how he ended up in Gryffindor despite showing intellect above the average), yet she got a hold over what this was all about: a car that didn't need to stop by to pay for fuel, a car that was also meant to produce energy that wasn't smelly or dangerous to breath. And... actually more than that.
She thought about the generator back home, of the electric bill they had to pay because of it, on how every essential tool required electricity and...
"Arthur, did you patent this idea?"
She may not be too familiar with the concept, but she had heard of how some people tended to steal ideas and then patent those themselves. And that- she could just be upset in imagining Arthur being treated to that.
"Not yes, but-"
"Do it. Now."
"But the prototype-" He tried to argue, but Molly wasn't having it.
"None of that prototype talking, I mean the idea. If someone was to eavesdrop on you like I did and they decided to steal it, they could do it easily. You need to guard your brilliance."
He opened his mouth but he paused and then blushed. It took Molly a moment too to realize why he appeared embarrassed, her own cheeks growing redder than her own hair.
"I-I mean, you are a nice person and- and I would be upset if you were tricked by someone that mean badly for you, that's all."
He was silent for a moment, then he just smiled widely.
"Thank you for your concerns, Molly. I guess I should do that at once!"
And it was in that moment, without any reasonable doubt, that Molly knew...
She was going to marry this oaf who was a smart man but clearly dumb in areas she was very seasoned about - indeed, this was a match made in heaven.
--------d-d-d-d------
AN
Molly: I am still eleven, so I can just have crushes-
*Arthur appears*
Molly: And then this dummy became the one I want to marry, FML.
(Still, this story will have a soft-core Tsundere - which is Molly - and an unexpected Kuudere - who is a year younger than Arthur and will appear in their second year at Hogwarts.)
Big Sis with Big Wallet
- Location
- Italia
Chapter 2: Big Sis with Big Wallet
When one calls a boy an oaf, they usually imply a degree of acceptable idiocy that one can easily ignore for the 'oaf' being a lovable dummy. But when the term is used to highlight Arthur Weasley, the context claims another meaning.
In Molly's mind, Arthur's lack of wits lied more on his common sense than anything else. As she ended up spending a considerable amount of time around the boy, learning on how he truly behave around others and on his lonesome, Molly realized that Arthur was a very simple but bright person. And this was both endearing and puzzling.
After all, her parents had long mentioned that 'geniuses' tended to flock at Ravenclaw and Slytherin, and never once they mentioned a Hufflepuff or a Gryffindor Genius. And she could see why those were so rare to not be regarded in a passing mention.
Truth be told, Dumbledore was a Genius himself, but he was hardly remembered as a student under Gryffindor so... it made sense that someone like Arthur would pass under many eyes and not be noticed. Heck, she could also understand why he was behaving as such - it was just in his attitude around others: he was a people-pleaser, knowing what to say at the right time without appearing... too faux in his attempts. It was a mastered skill, one that added up to his genuine kind personality without removing anything from it.
That being said... his lack of common sense impaired that habit of developing impressive things. While the 'Infinite Energy Engine' was proof he had the smarts to entertain a career as a successful researcher, it was the vast list of 'theoretical ideas' he had set aside. Ranging from some home-related devices like a 'instant dryer' and a 'shampoo that can provide metamorphmagus hair attributes for a limited amount of time', to actually a 'bento box that can store multiple meals at once'.
This last one enticed Molly as she loved to cook at home, and she quickly understood the point of such invention: a way to store multiple homemade meals for long trips. It would allow for several dishes to be stored in such a small box that was crafted in line with how the Japanese handled this sort of 'homely meals'.
The box itself got her full attention as she had never thought of using something of the kind to store away a meal. Even more, she found Arthur's awareness of countries beyond Britain to be somewhat surprising as he wasn't a well-traveled person. Instead, he admitted he knew this by 'reading all books at the public library back home'. Which made little sense to Molly as she never heard of someone being so booky and yet be such a socially-active person, but it was also true that Arthur did know enough to sound true to his explanations.
Under him, she learned a layer or two of muggle knowledge she never thought of ever needing to learn. Not like she had any immediate need of it, but her parents would definitely want her to 'learn more about their foes' or whatever silly ideology they accepted. Of course, the girl didn't care for the pureblood idiocy. Everyone had the potential to be above others, and Arthur was proving this rule was right as, despite being a 'poor idiot that loved muggles' he had a mind to make him a resourceful person...
With the right help. Her help.
Molly had been on his case for a few weeks now, and she had to say their combined efforts did result in concrete results. First, they would visit Diagon Alley to do the patent for the IEE, then they would take a look on how to set up an investment account in Gringott for Arthur and, well, herself as she was owed 20% of the income made through the device by their deal, and finally they would look into what to do with the legality of this move. Both had parents which were blissfully aware of what was going to happen but...
It has been a few months now that Molly had been unwilling to get pulled back in her family home more than needed. Yearning for independence due to her parents' strict views and attitude, the girl saw in Arthur also an opportunity to yank herself out of their clutch but... how feasible it was on a legal level?
A barrister. They needed to find one and inquire on the matter before taking some foolish steps. Still, by what she could find out through Fabian and Gideon, her dumb pranking brothers, there was some legal leeway for 'resourceful minors that wished for an emancipated source of income from the family' but this also meant paying taxes.
But that's why Arthur was reliable as he seemed to have a knack in reading books fast and understand the substance of those with ease. This in turn meant he got an understanding on how taxation worked in this matter, gave Molly a simplified explanation plus some papers with the important calculation to follow and...
Well, Molly was a bit hopeful this would all work as intended.
Which meant that her long-standing plan of sticking with Arthur through the years and possibly marry him felt more likely, but... there was more than just convenience behind this notion. Oh boy, was Arthur a charmer.
The way he smiled at her, praised her for her own thinking, and even brought her snacks and flowers when needed. He did so out of 'care', but it left Molly unsure on how sincere that reason was. After all, what were the chances he too liked her a lot?
Of course, this hope was ruined when he realized he was doing the same with someone else. And that someone was also the one responsible for providing Arthur with the resrouces to conduct his experiments. If before it had been a 'two-person deal', Molly realized there was a third element to the equation: Andromeda Black.
This discovery was not something she expected to make on her own, when she arrived early to their 'laboratory' to find Andromeda sitting by one of the chairs and studying the device made by Arthur. The barbed exchange that ensued was a bit too intense which proved to be fatal for any good will she could have scored with her... colleague.
Arthur was flustered as he explained the situation.
"Dromeda is my only investor. It is thank to her funds and connections I was able to find all I needed to get these experiments on a practical level."
He also apologized for never bringing this up, but that wasn't what pressed on Molly. They had been just friends at this point, so it didn't feel right to feel upset over it but...
It still hurt. Not as much to know another girl was on his case and appeared to be quite smug about it.
"What's wrong, Prewett? A bit upset that I am helping my cousin?"
"Cousin?" She strangled an irritated tone as she pointed that out.
"Well, we are all somewhat connected through family. Artie's mom is a Black, thus that makes him my cousin... actually, my second cousin as his mom is my cousin once removed."
The House Black's ties in all families was astonishing even now, even worrying and disgusting considering that Arthur may be yanked to the clutches of a distant relative. And Molly had all the reasons to feel threatened with how close both were behaving with one another.
To make matters worse, Andromeda was a Slytherin, which made Arthur's connection with her supposedly dangerous within their own house but...
No one seemed to mind it too much.
"Well, Arthur is a good bloke. It is clear he just fishes out the rare good ladies there."
This is what she could get from one of her friends, and Molly felt even more concerned by how dual-edged Arthur's friendliness could be on her side.
That being said, things were mostly calm beyond this novelty. And while she could hardly be at ease with Dromeda's teasing habit, that didn't mean things were meant to change up anytime soon.
That was until they did about two months after becoming Arthur's assistant.
-------d-d-d-d------
AN
Quick warning, Andromeda ain't going to be part of the 'harem'. Rather, she is the big sis of the situation. In more ways than one would imagine.
When one calls a boy an oaf, they usually imply a degree of acceptable idiocy that one can easily ignore for the 'oaf' being a lovable dummy. But when the term is used to highlight Arthur Weasley, the context claims another meaning.
In Molly's mind, Arthur's lack of wits lied more on his common sense than anything else. As she ended up spending a considerable amount of time around the boy, learning on how he truly behave around others and on his lonesome, Molly realized that Arthur was a very simple but bright person. And this was both endearing and puzzling.
After all, her parents had long mentioned that 'geniuses' tended to flock at Ravenclaw and Slytherin, and never once they mentioned a Hufflepuff or a Gryffindor Genius. And she could see why those were so rare to not be regarded in a passing mention.
Truth be told, Dumbledore was a Genius himself, but he was hardly remembered as a student under Gryffindor so... it made sense that someone like Arthur would pass under many eyes and not be noticed. Heck, she could also understand why he was behaving as such - it was just in his attitude around others: he was a people-pleaser, knowing what to say at the right time without appearing... too faux in his attempts. It was a mastered skill, one that added up to his genuine kind personality without removing anything from it.
That being said... his lack of common sense impaired that habit of developing impressive things. While the 'Infinite Energy Engine' was proof he had the smarts to entertain a career as a successful researcher, it was the vast list of 'theoretical ideas' he had set aside. Ranging from some home-related devices like a 'instant dryer' and a 'shampoo that can provide metamorphmagus hair attributes for a limited amount of time', to actually a 'bento box that can store multiple meals at once'.
This last one enticed Molly as she loved to cook at home, and she quickly understood the point of such invention: a way to store multiple homemade meals for long trips. It would allow for several dishes to be stored in such a small box that was crafted in line with how the Japanese handled this sort of 'homely meals'.
The box itself got her full attention as she had never thought of using something of the kind to store away a meal. Even more, she found Arthur's awareness of countries beyond Britain to be somewhat surprising as he wasn't a well-traveled person. Instead, he admitted he knew this by 'reading all books at the public library back home'. Which made little sense to Molly as she never heard of someone being so booky and yet be such a socially-active person, but it was also true that Arthur did know enough to sound true to his explanations.
Under him, she learned a layer or two of muggle knowledge she never thought of ever needing to learn. Not like she had any immediate need of it, but her parents would definitely want her to 'learn more about their foes' or whatever silly ideology they accepted. Of course, the girl didn't care for the pureblood idiocy. Everyone had the potential to be above others, and Arthur was proving this rule was right as, despite being a 'poor idiot that loved muggles' he had a mind to make him a resourceful person...
With the right help. Her help.
Molly had been on his case for a few weeks now, and she had to say their combined efforts did result in concrete results. First, they would visit Diagon Alley to do the patent for the IEE, then they would take a look on how to set up an investment account in Gringott for Arthur and, well, herself as she was owed 20% of the income made through the device by their deal, and finally they would look into what to do with the legality of this move. Both had parents which were blissfully aware of what was going to happen but...
It has been a few months now that Molly had been unwilling to get pulled back in her family home more than needed. Yearning for independence due to her parents' strict views and attitude, the girl saw in Arthur also an opportunity to yank herself out of their clutch but... how feasible it was on a legal level?
A barrister. They needed to find one and inquire on the matter before taking some foolish steps. Still, by what she could find out through Fabian and Gideon, her dumb pranking brothers, there was some legal leeway for 'resourceful minors that wished for an emancipated source of income from the family' but this also meant paying taxes.
But that's why Arthur was reliable as he seemed to have a knack in reading books fast and understand the substance of those with ease. This in turn meant he got an understanding on how taxation worked in this matter, gave Molly a simplified explanation plus some papers with the important calculation to follow and...
Well, Molly was a bit hopeful this would all work as intended.
Which meant that her long-standing plan of sticking with Arthur through the years and possibly marry him felt more likely, but... there was more than just convenience behind this notion. Oh boy, was Arthur a charmer.
The way he smiled at her, praised her for her own thinking, and even brought her snacks and flowers when needed. He did so out of 'care', but it left Molly unsure on how sincere that reason was. After all, what were the chances he too liked her a lot?
Of course, this hope was ruined when he realized he was doing the same with someone else. And that someone was also the one responsible for providing Arthur with the resrouces to conduct his experiments. If before it had been a 'two-person deal', Molly realized there was a third element to the equation: Andromeda Black.
This discovery was not something she expected to make on her own, when she arrived early to their 'laboratory' to find Andromeda sitting by one of the chairs and studying the device made by Arthur. The barbed exchange that ensued was a bit too intense which proved to be fatal for any good will she could have scored with her... colleague.
Arthur was flustered as he explained the situation.
"Dromeda is my only investor. It is thank to her funds and connections I was able to find all I needed to get these experiments on a practical level."
He also apologized for never bringing this up, but that wasn't what pressed on Molly. They had been just friends at this point, so it didn't feel right to feel upset over it but...
It still hurt. Not as much to know another girl was on his case and appeared to be quite smug about it.
"What's wrong, Prewett? A bit upset that I am helping my cousin?"
"Cousin?" She strangled an irritated tone as she pointed that out.
"Well, we are all somewhat connected through family. Artie's mom is a Black, thus that makes him my cousin... actually, my second cousin as his mom is my cousin once removed."
The House Black's ties in all families was astonishing even now, even worrying and disgusting considering that Arthur may be yanked to the clutches of a distant relative. And Molly had all the reasons to feel threatened with how close both were behaving with one another.
To make matters worse, Andromeda was a Slytherin, which made Arthur's connection with her supposedly dangerous within their own house but...
No one seemed to mind it too much.
"Well, Arthur is a good bloke. It is clear he just fishes out the rare good ladies there."
This is what she could get from one of her friends, and Molly felt even more concerned by how dual-edged Arthur's friendliness could be on her side.
That being said, things were mostly calm beyond this novelty. And while she could hardly be at ease with Dromeda's teasing habit, that didn't mean things were meant to change up anytime soon.
That was until they did about two months after becoming Arthur's assistant.
-------d-d-d-d------
AN
Quick warning, Andromeda ain't going to be part of the 'harem'. Rather, she is the big sis of the situation. In more ways than one would imagine.
Weary Teacher
- Location
- Italia
Chapter 3: Weary Teacher
Albus 'Too Many Names' Dumbledore, Professor of Transfiguration and Deputy Headmaster, was a man that had been very wary of students that had many ideas, ambitions and potentials such as one Tom Marvolo Riddle.
It was fair to say, out of all messes he may have unwittingly allowed to see evolving, Tom was his biggest one yet. One could argue Grindelwald was that, but the truth is that one could forgive the teacher's own inability to see his friend's dark tendencies and truly believing he meant well at first. Which left him caught off-guard when some of the niceties he did for Gellert proved to be fatal in limiting his means to fight him off directly.
Still, with Grindelwald kept locked away and the world currently at peace when it comes to magical affairs, the real worry that now sat on his head was Tom. He had vanished for some time, and the way he sudddenly reappeared bearing through a great sense of interest in expanding his circle of followers with the old blood meant he was up to no good.
That being said, he doubted the young Weasley he was currently monitoring was a second Tom Riddle. Quite the contrary actually.
Tom had been a resourceful loner, one that had a difficult life before Hogwarts, and one that thrived in Slytherin despite his blood status. Arthur Weasley was instead a boy with a bright mind, a positive life at home thanks to his kind parents, and one that managed to secure a cast of friends who was equal to him in many ways.
It had been a bit puzzling to see Andromeda Black interact much with Arthur, to see a friendship struck between a Gryffindor and a Slytherin was quite unusual if not rare. And while the doubt persisted they were plotting something worthy of his attention, he had to admit nothing had prepared him to find Arthur tinkering over a curious contraption that followed a muggle design and yet upheld several standards of magic in a very unexpected way: unlimited energy to uphold a modernizing society sounded like a most ambitious plan, but the way Arthur tackled this was on an impulse and, by all means, extremely oaffish.
Hence why Albus saw the boons of having both Andromeda and Molly Prewett being around him to 'keep his mind focused' on these projects while also keeping an eye on the harsh reality of inventors in the wizarding community.
While new inventions were conceived once every few years, it's been decades since something as impressive as Arthur's current main project was.
Albus had been working closely with several muggles just a few years ago during the more mundane Second World War. With Gellert cooperating with the German Dictator Adolf Hitler, it was fair to expect Albus to also give help to Prime Minister Winston Churchill. And this cooperation aided them all in putting an end of the harsh war that ripped Britain and other countries out of their traditional mindsets.
Sadly so, this didn't translate in much-needed changes in the byzantine government of Magical Britain. Although the Minister of Magic had retained a greater hold over politics and policy-making, the Wizengamot still held a far-superior power of vetoing and imposing laws when there was a majority over these drafts. As rare as it was to find a majority to enforce new traditional laws, that didn't mean there was a solid group helping reforming the country.
A sad reality, one that Albus intended to solve in due time but, for now, he kept his focus on the one big role he had been fostering as a trampoline for further advances in politics: being a good professor.
And while he messed up with Tom, leaving a monster to lurk about and set up a future storm for the country, he didn't intend to fail Arthur as the young Weasley sounded like the ideal 'counter' to his mistake.
While the redhead was not magically-gifted, his knack for inventions promised him prominence and wealth if properly nurtured. And Albus intended to help about just that. In fact, this little unexpected union of minds and efforts may be the seedling for an initiative far greater in creating a new generations of aware people.
A quick summon to his office of the trio responsible for this idea soon had him stare at the three elements themselves.
Molly was tense, the poor girl possibly worrying this was for any potential violation of the rules. He had been notified by some ghosts that the girl had been checking on books regarding regulations about their activities, a precautionary effort to be ready for this sort of visits. Yet, as far as the professor was aware, the trio had done nothing wrong beyond failing to ask permission to a teacher for the use of an abandoned classroom. And considering the extensive use of those by other students for... less than stellar reasons, it was also true that a punishment for that would just open up to more headaches than not.
Andromeda was quite calm and attentive, looking back at him with the same impassive and yet intense glance that Albus was so familiar with her grandfather, Arcturus Black III. The Black family was shaped to follow a mindset of political neutrality and pragmatism, which was quite pronounced in Andromeda's own flexibility in pursuing an opportunity by assisting an 'enemy' to her house due to Arthur's family having poor standing and being known as a 'light family'. Of course, this wasn't just pragmatism, for Albus could tell that, despite her assurances to her fellow Slytherin friends, Andromeda seemed to genuinely care for Arthur as a friend rather than a mere pawn.
Finally, Arthur himself. The boy was... like a Golden Retriever. Smiling innocently, if not slightly nervous over the same reasons troubling Molly. Mayhaps the girl had the chance to tell Arthur on what this visit may be all about. His Legilimens skills, something honed for many years, granted him the means to look over the surface thoughts of those he watched. A deep dive would demand focus and would make the target aware so... he was sure that Arthur was genuinely confused over what was going on and didn't look too guilty over what occurred.
With his first look on these three over and giving him further relief over the talk he had prepared for the conversation, Albus got to work - he had three students to prop up as the newest project to unify the houses.
"Ms. Prewett, Ms. Black, and Mr. Weasley, I wish to start this meeting by saying that I haven't summoned you to hand out detentions or any punishment," Albus struck hard at the worry, knowing it was the first step needed to mellow the three students for what he had in mind to ask them. "Rather, I invited you to my office to discuss a possible project which may involve all houses."
They all tensed up at this, not out of unease but out of surprise and curiosity.
"What kind of project, professor?" Andromeda asked swiftly, realizing her companions were a bit too stunned to muster the right words.
"Considering your knack for inventive creations, Mr. Weasley, I would like to test the idea of a new club. An inventive club, so to speak."
Arthur's eyes widened. "A-A club? Professor, you are asking me to-"
"Lead a club for people interested in putting their ideas and skills to work to better our society. Regardless of their houses."
"So... we would have a teacher and some older students to- to monitor us, right?"
"A teacher, yes, as for the need for older students to be over your decisions... I believe it to be too excessive. After all, a teacher should be enough of an authority to handle a fledgling club."
The trio shared a look and then nodded at this notion.
"As for other important details, this club will receive its funds from the school's budget. I do believe this would put Ms. Black in a predicament but I believe the role of treasurer for this club should be sufficient enough to make this loss acceptable."
Andromeda didn't look as sure as the teacher was, but nodded nonetheless. 'It was start', she thought unconsciously as Albus picked it up through Legilimens.
"...Are there some rules I should be made aware of over potential restrictions for my inventions?" Arthur asked quietly. "I-I don't mean moral laws, but I mean how much I can expend for my creations?"
"There will be a number, but looking at the expenses paid by Ms. Black, it should all be within your usual costs, Mr. Weasley."
That reassured the boy, who then smiled.
"Then I have nothing to-"
"What about the money made by Arthur's inventions?"
Molly surprised them all with that question. A good question, but a good catch before Arthur made his last decision known.
"Five percent would be given to the school."
A fair price, especially considering the high income this would constitute. And despite Molly appearing unsure over it, Arthur didn't seem too troubled.
"It is not a bad price to pay. Plus, it would give back to Hogwarts, which is a second home to us."
Albus couldn't help but smile at the boy's joviality, and even Andromeda appeared convinced with those words.
A contract was signed for the stipulation of those involved, cementing the creation of this new club meant to be a nice first step to fix up any possible divisions soon to come.
But what Dumbledore failed to calculate, was the extent which someone like Arthur Weasley would go at to secure a club of inventors and how much it would impact the recruitment efforts of a future dark lord.
---------d-d-d-d---
AN
Voldemort: We will save our society with the power of racism.
Arthur: We going to fix it all by mixing policies and not letting either sides win for we can all lift together a bright future.
Voldemort: Bloody hell, that sounds sma- No, that's bullshit!
Albus 'Too Many Names' Dumbledore, Professor of Transfiguration and Deputy Headmaster, was a man that had been very wary of students that had many ideas, ambitions and potentials such as one Tom Marvolo Riddle.
It was fair to say, out of all messes he may have unwittingly allowed to see evolving, Tom was his biggest one yet. One could argue Grindelwald was that, but the truth is that one could forgive the teacher's own inability to see his friend's dark tendencies and truly believing he meant well at first. Which left him caught off-guard when some of the niceties he did for Gellert proved to be fatal in limiting his means to fight him off directly.
Still, with Grindelwald kept locked away and the world currently at peace when it comes to magical affairs, the real worry that now sat on his head was Tom. He had vanished for some time, and the way he sudddenly reappeared bearing through a great sense of interest in expanding his circle of followers with the old blood meant he was up to no good.
That being said, he doubted the young Weasley he was currently monitoring was a second Tom Riddle. Quite the contrary actually.
Tom had been a resourceful loner, one that had a difficult life before Hogwarts, and one that thrived in Slytherin despite his blood status. Arthur Weasley was instead a boy with a bright mind, a positive life at home thanks to his kind parents, and one that managed to secure a cast of friends who was equal to him in many ways.
It had been a bit puzzling to see Andromeda Black interact much with Arthur, to see a friendship struck between a Gryffindor and a Slytherin was quite unusual if not rare. And while the doubt persisted they were plotting something worthy of his attention, he had to admit nothing had prepared him to find Arthur tinkering over a curious contraption that followed a muggle design and yet upheld several standards of magic in a very unexpected way: unlimited energy to uphold a modernizing society sounded like a most ambitious plan, but the way Arthur tackled this was on an impulse and, by all means, extremely oaffish.
Hence why Albus saw the boons of having both Andromeda and Molly Prewett being around him to 'keep his mind focused' on these projects while also keeping an eye on the harsh reality of inventors in the wizarding community.
While new inventions were conceived once every few years, it's been decades since something as impressive as Arthur's current main project was.
Albus had been working closely with several muggles just a few years ago during the more mundane Second World War. With Gellert cooperating with the German Dictator Adolf Hitler, it was fair to expect Albus to also give help to Prime Minister Winston Churchill. And this cooperation aided them all in putting an end of the harsh war that ripped Britain and other countries out of their traditional mindsets.
Sadly so, this didn't translate in much-needed changes in the byzantine government of Magical Britain. Although the Minister of Magic had retained a greater hold over politics and policy-making, the Wizengamot still held a far-superior power of vetoing and imposing laws when there was a majority over these drafts. As rare as it was to find a majority to enforce new traditional laws, that didn't mean there was a solid group helping reforming the country.
A sad reality, one that Albus intended to solve in due time but, for now, he kept his focus on the one big role he had been fostering as a trampoline for further advances in politics: being a good professor.
And while he messed up with Tom, leaving a monster to lurk about and set up a future storm for the country, he didn't intend to fail Arthur as the young Weasley sounded like the ideal 'counter' to his mistake.
While the redhead was not magically-gifted, his knack for inventions promised him prominence and wealth if properly nurtured. And Albus intended to help about just that. In fact, this little unexpected union of minds and efforts may be the seedling for an initiative far greater in creating a new generations of aware people.
A quick summon to his office of the trio responsible for this idea soon had him stare at the three elements themselves.
Molly was tense, the poor girl possibly worrying this was for any potential violation of the rules. He had been notified by some ghosts that the girl had been checking on books regarding regulations about their activities, a precautionary effort to be ready for this sort of visits. Yet, as far as the professor was aware, the trio had done nothing wrong beyond failing to ask permission to a teacher for the use of an abandoned classroom. And considering the extensive use of those by other students for... less than stellar reasons, it was also true that a punishment for that would just open up to more headaches than not.
Andromeda was quite calm and attentive, looking back at him with the same impassive and yet intense glance that Albus was so familiar with her grandfather, Arcturus Black III. The Black family was shaped to follow a mindset of political neutrality and pragmatism, which was quite pronounced in Andromeda's own flexibility in pursuing an opportunity by assisting an 'enemy' to her house due to Arthur's family having poor standing and being known as a 'light family'. Of course, this wasn't just pragmatism, for Albus could tell that, despite her assurances to her fellow Slytherin friends, Andromeda seemed to genuinely care for Arthur as a friend rather than a mere pawn.
Finally, Arthur himself. The boy was... like a Golden Retriever. Smiling innocently, if not slightly nervous over the same reasons troubling Molly. Mayhaps the girl had the chance to tell Arthur on what this visit may be all about. His Legilimens skills, something honed for many years, granted him the means to look over the surface thoughts of those he watched. A deep dive would demand focus and would make the target aware so... he was sure that Arthur was genuinely confused over what was going on and didn't look too guilty over what occurred.
With his first look on these three over and giving him further relief over the talk he had prepared for the conversation, Albus got to work - he had three students to prop up as the newest project to unify the houses.
"Ms. Prewett, Ms. Black, and Mr. Weasley, I wish to start this meeting by saying that I haven't summoned you to hand out detentions or any punishment," Albus struck hard at the worry, knowing it was the first step needed to mellow the three students for what he had in mind to ask them. "Rather, I invited you to my office to discuss a possible project which may involve all houses."
They all tensed up at this, not out of unease but out of surprise and curiosity.
"What kind of project, professor?" Andromeda asked swiftly, realizing her companions were a bit too stunned to muster the right words.
"Considering your knack for inventive creations, Mr. Weasley, I would like to test the idea of a new club. An inventive club, so to speak."
Arthur's eyes widened. "A-A club? Professor, you are asking me to-"
"Lead a club for people interested in putting their ideas and skills to work to better our society. Regardless of their houses."
"So... we would have a teacher and some older students to- to monitor us, right?"
"A teacher, yes, as for the need for older students to be over your decisions... I believe it to be too excessive. After all, a teacher should be enough of an authority to handle a fledgling club."
The trio shared a look and then nodded at this notion.
"As for other important details, this club will receive its funds from the school's budget. I do believe this would put Ms. Black in a predicament but I believe the role of treasurer for this club should be sufficient enough to make this loss acceptable."
Andromeda didn't look as sure as the teacher was, but nodded nonetheless. 'It was start', she thought unconsciously as Albus picked it up through Legilimens.
"...Are there some rules I should be made aware of over potential restrictions for my inventions?" Arthur asked quietly. "I-I don't mean moral laws, but I mean how much I can expend for my creations?"
"There will be a number, but looking at the expenses paid by Ms. Black, it should all be within your usual costs, Mr. Weasley."
That reassured the boy, who then smiled.
"Then I have nothing to-"
"What about the money made by Arthur's inventions?"
Molly surprised them all with that question. A good question, but a good catch before Arthur made his last decision known.
"Five percent would be given to the school."
A fair price, especially considering the high income this would constitute. And despite Molly appearing unsure over it, Arthur didn't seem too troubled.
"It is not a bad price to pay. Plus, it would give back to Hogwarts, which is a second home to us."
Albus couldn't help but smile at the boy's joviality, and even Andromeda appeared convinced with those words.
A contract was signed for the stipulation of those involved, cementing the creation of this new club meant to be a nice first step to fix up any possible divisions soon to come.
But what Dumbledore failed to calculate, was the extent which someone like Arthur Weasley would go at to secure a club of inventors and how much it would impact the recruitment efforts of a future dark lord.
---------d-d-d-d---
AN
Voldemort: We will save our society with the power of racism.
Arthur: We going to fix it all by mixing policies and not letting either sides win for we can all lift together a bright future.
Voldemort: Bloody hell, that sounds sma- No, that's bullshit!
Mingo
Son of a Hazmot
The Prewetts are pure-bloods, they wouldn't have an electric anything at their home.
Runes in Harry Potter definitively do not work this way. They are just a fun elective, they don't have power, it's like taking Latin.
Not interested in reading more, sorry. You might try QQ for stronger readership.
Runes in Harry Potter definitively do not work this way. They are just a fun elective, they don't have power, it's like taking Latin.
Not interested in reading more, sorry. You might try QQ for stronger readership.
Ignore the other guy, this is some promising stuff. Cars are actually canon as the Ministry has a "fleet of flying cars", one of which is OG Arthur's. Runes can be whatever you want them to be.
Vigilant Inventive
New
- Location
- Italia
Chapter 4: Vigilant Inventive
Alastor Moody was a second-year student of the Gryffindor House. And while to many he didn't sound like an important character, he was relevant to society due to two details which he both loved and loathed about his background.
His parents were Aurors and his family was a pureblooded one.
The former reason meant he had outstanding role models to look to follow, but he had grown to resent their absence when he was younger (he understood why they had been busy, it wasn't like they could afford their properties without two well-paid jobs to begin with).
The latter detail was more frustrating as Alastor truly hated being seen as the same as the Malfoys, the Blacks, or even the Longbottoms. Nothing wrong with the latter group, but the whole blood privileges thing truly disgusted him.
He should be praised for his own damn skills, not because he got his last name from his parents. And while this irked him to no end, Hogwarts had been a surprisingly pleasant experience... for his first year.
As one would expect, Alastor's preference was combat-based spells.
He was fond of DADA, enough to pull through and get the highest marks on it for his earnest desire to master spells to put the worst scum behind bars, but he also learned around the end of his first year that Duelling Club had been a myth of the past at this point and one that he had been told would not be reopened as 'it was too dangerous'.
Bollocks!
He had been losing his mind through the summer to try and find a chance to learn magic effectively to make up for this issue. And he managed to get his hands on his parents' old books they got when they trained to become Aurors. Not all of them, but the 'beginner grade' ones that he would be able to learn from. And Alastor learned most of the spells there, even delving into potions to see what concoctions were used to either get criminals to talk or what could be used to safely extract evildoers in an area with too many civilians for a firefight.
And as he did so, he came up with a rather worrisome discovery: all the stuff he found in those textbooks were outdated by a wide margin. He wouldn't mind it if it wasn't for the fact that some of the methods explained in the textbooks, which were still used as 'acceptable protocols', were not taking into account some elements that Alastor had learned about Muggles.
Sure, his parents were pureblooded, but they weren't assholes that made him follow that purity crap, and as he was spending time at home in Devon, he came to find himself under the care of a bizarre old man that said he was a 'war veteran'. Something about a 'Second World War', which if he was sure was the muggle war running concurrently with the last years of the Grindelwald Wars.
The old man had him do all sorts of exercises. Always be vigilant! That was what he drilled in the young Alastor's mind as he showed him his wooden leg, a gift from setting a foot on a landmine in his last year of service.
And yet, as he was training, Alastor learned of the guns the old man kept. The Lee-Enfield Rifle was a big tool of war Alastor was caught off-guard of, especially when the old man gave demostration on how to use it. One moment there was a loud bang, and then the empty beer bottle that the elder set several meters away from them exploded in shards.
It came to him that, in an ever-changing world, muggles were evolving in ways that made their own methods of action very obsolete. And, with that realization, questions came which were met with either 'I do not know' or 'if it works, then there is no reason to change it' from his parents.
Hence why, in a rather odd twist of events, Alastor was among the first to join this supposed 'Inventor Club' that was captained by Firsties. He wasn't too sure about either Molly Prewett and Andromeda Black, but one conversation with that damn lovable Arthur Weasley convinced him to give it a try.
To be fair, the club was something weirdly 'better' compared to the Duelling one. Especially when, if you were able to produce something people wanted, then you would get a sizable chunk of money as 'royalty checks', and he was given a budget for whatever project he offered. He didn't have anything on the spot, but he had general ideas.
The first of which was-
"Something barely noticeable to stun a criminal within a crowd."
Stupefy was a reliable spell, but it had its own flaws. First, it was noticeable and required the user to reveal their wands within close proximity, which could easily alert the target and render the quiet action impossible to achieve. Second, it was incredibly difficult to learn as either a silent or wandless spell. The bright red flash made it too recognizable.
And as he proposed this concept to Arthur, he appeared pensive for a while and then he perked up.
"How about a gun?"
Alastor knew enough this was interesting, even more as Arthur started to blabber. Building a spell was a feasible option and one that could be explored if not for the fact that spells couldn't be too specific in their basic form.
Yes, powerful wizards could bypass this by weaving magic wordlessly with just their intent, but Alastor was looking for something that even the weakest Auror could use. And the notion of using a 'gun' made sense as Arthur spoke up and explained his point.
"A gun doesn't necessarily mean something using a material bullet, but rather a construct which, in its entirety, could mix up several specific runes and magical gears to conjure the needed effect."
And with that concept expanded and refined, a 'workgroup' was established. Arthur was the one doing most of the theorizing, but the practical aspect of it all lied within the hands of Alastor and the third component of that group: Edward 'Ted' Tonks.
At first glance, Ted was not a bright bloke, but he was a muggleborn and one that his grandfather that had served 'during the Blitz' so he had awareness of what they were working on.
Instead of a rifle, they were building a pistol. The project was split in three, the need to 'decentralize' as Arthur called it caused by the fact they still needed to do other duties at school, such as homework and going to classes. It made sense to Alastor to divide the workload so that no one got overburdened by all those matters, and yet it made the project take months off of their free time.
He didn't mind it, not at all. In fact, he grew fond of Ted. He was a giddy guy that was very quick on his feet and even joined him in his morning runs. The two spent much of the time in the project, with Arthur assisting whenever it was needed for some 'alternatives' in case some of their construct yielded less than desirable results.
First it was a matter of 'too little power', then 'too bright', and even after that 'too silent'. Everything moved with mechanical and yet driven purpose which culminated in their first working prototype.
"I will call this the... MT-1!" Arthur beamed as he turned to address the pistol. The MT-1 was build on a similar design as a 'single-short small-barreled revolver'. It was barely noticeable, could be hidden well enough and it used a quieter, less bright, and faster version of Stupefy.
The first dozen of tests confirmed the early attempts, and a strange wave of pride enveloped both Alastor and Ted as they made it happen: their first ever invention, and one that could help save many lives. Still, one thing hung over the two boys' mind.
"MT? Like Moody and Tonks? What about you, Artie?" Ted pointed out, and the redhead appeared very sheepish about it.
"Well, I gave it a serious thought. It isn't like I spent anywhere near the time and effort you two put into it. Plus, I think it would be a mouthful if I added a 'W' too. Like, WMT? TMW?"
Alastor wasn't sold about it, but he had to accept this as another reason Arthur brought up surprised him and Ted.
"Plus, with the upcoming presentation, I doubt you two wish for me to take too much out of your own panel. I already have five inventions lining up that I personally handled, and I don't want to put my own name in one I had given limited if not minimal help over."
"...A presentation?" Alastor parroted, leaving Arthur confused.
"You weren't told? Next week, on the 14th. Minister Tuft and a group of Aurors and members of the Wizengamot will visit Hogwarts to check out the club's inventions."
April 14th, Alastor felt a cold chilling as he recalled his parents had mentioned they would be 'busy' that very day.
It didn't take him too long to realize that Ted and his invention would soon be subjected to scrutiny by the Minister of Magic AND his own parents in a week-time.
---------d-d-d-d-------
AN
Andromeda: Arthur, did you deliver the announcement for the presentation?
Arthur: I forgor!
On a more serious note, the current Minister of Magic is Ignatius Tuft who is, by all means, a nepobaby as he inherited the seat through his mother/predecessor's popularity, Wilhelmina Tuft, after she passed away for eating some fudge she was allergic to. He will be a... how do I put it, on the dumb side of any spectrum.
Which means some other characters will shine over him. And next time, Andromeda will be on the spotlight for many awkward reasons.
P.S. Still unsure why the HP TV series decided to pick an handsome man with no greasy hair and crooked nose for Snape. Hmm...
Alastor Moody was a second-year student of the Gryffindor House. And while to many he didn't sound like an important character, he was relevant to society due to two details which he both loved and loathed about his background.
His parents were Aurors and his family was a pureblooded one.
The former reason meant he had outstanding role models to look to follow, but he had grown to resent their absence when he was younger (he understood why they had been busy, it wasn't like they could afford their properties without two well-paid jobs to begin with).
The latter detail was more frustrating as Alastor truly hated being seen as the same as the Malfoys, the Blacks, or even the Longbottoms. Nothing wrong with the latter group, but the whole blood privileges thing truly disgusted him.
He should be praised for his own damn skills, not because he got his last name from his parents. And while this irked him to no end, Hogwarts had been a surprisingly pleasant experience... for his first year.
As one would expect, Alastor's preference was combat-based spells.
He was fond of DADA, enough to pull through and get the highest marks on it for his earnest desire to master spells to put the worst scum behind bars, but he also learned around the end of his first year that Duelling Club had been a myth of the past at this point and one that he had been told would not be reopened as 'it was too dangerous'.
Bollocks!
He had been losing his mind through the summer to try and find a chance to learn magic effectively to make up for this issue. And he managed to get his hands on his parents' old books they got when they trained to become Aurors. Not all of them, but the 'beginner grade' ones that he would be able to learn from. And Alastor learned most of the spells there, even delving into potions to see what concoctions were used to either get criminals to talk or what could be used to safely extract evildoers in an area with too many civilians for a firefight.
And as he did so, he came up with a rather worrisome discovery: all the stuff he found in those textbooks were outdated by a wide margin. He wouldn't mind it if it wasn't for the fact that some of the methods explained in the textbooks, which were still used as 'acceptable protocols', were not taking into account some elements that Alastor had learned about Muggles.
Sure, his parents were pureblooded, but they weren't assholes that made him follow that purity crap, and as he was spending time at home in Devon, he came to find himself under the care of a bizarre old man that said he was a 'war veteran'. Something about a 'Second World War', which if he was sure was the muggle war running concurrently with the last years of the Grindelwald Wars.
The old man had him do all sorts of exercises. Always be vigilant! That was what he drilled in the young Alastor's mind as he showed him his wooden leg, a gift from setting a foot on a landmine in his last year of service.
And yet, as he was training, Alastor learned of the guns the old man kept. The Lee-Enfield Rifle was a big tool of war Alastor was caught off-guard of, especially when the old man gave demostration on how to use it. One moment there was a loud bang, and then the empty beer bottle that the elder set several meters away from them exploded in shards.
It came to him that, in an ever-changing world, muggles were evolving in ways that made their own methods of action very obsolete. And, with that realization, questions came which were met with either 'I do not know' or 'if it works, then there is no reason to change it' from his parents.
Hence why, in a rather odd twist of events, Alastor was among the first to join this supposed 'Inventor Club' that was captained by Firsties. He wasn't too sure about either Molly Prewett and Andromeda Black, but one conversation with that damn lovable Arthur Weasley convinced him to give it a try.
To be fair, the club was something weirdly 'better' compared to the Duelling one. Especially when, if you were able to produce something people wanted, then you would get a sizable chunk of money as 'royalty checks', and he was given a budget for whatever project he offered. He didn't have anything on the spot, but he had general ideas.
The first of which was-
"Something barely noticeable to stun a criminal within a crowd."
Stupefy was a reliable spell, but it had its own flaws. First, it was noticeable and required the user to reveal their wands within close proximity, which could easily alert the target and render the quiet action impossible to achieve. Second, it was incredibly difficult to learn as either a silent or wandless spell. The bright red flash made it too recognizable.
And as he proposed this concept to Arthur, he appeared pensive for a while and then he perked up.
"How about a gun?"
Alastor knew enough this was interesting, even more as Arthur started to blabber. Building a spell was a feasible option and one that could be explored if not for the fact that spells couldn't be too specific in their basic form.
Yes, powerful wizards could bypass this by weaving magic wordlessly with just their intent, but Alastor was looking for something that even the weakest Auror could use. And the notion of using a 'gun' made sense as Arthur spoke up and explained his point.
"A gun doesn't necessarily mean something using a material bullet, but rather a construct which, in its entirety, could mix up several specific runes and magical gears to conjure the needed effect."
And with that concept expanded and refined, a 'workgroup' was established. Arthur was the one doing most of the theorizing, but the practical aspect of it all lied within the hands of Alastor and the third component of that group: Edward 'Ted' Tonks.
At first glance, Ted was not a bright bloke, but he was a muggleborn and one that his grandfather that had served 'during the Blitz' so he had awareness of what they were working on.
Instead of a rifle, they were building a pistol. The project was split in three, the need to 'decentralize' as Arthur called it caused by the fact they still needed to do other duties at school, such as homework and going to classes. It made sense to Alastor to divide the workload so that no one got overburdened by all those matters, and yet it made the project take months off of their free time.
He didn't mind it, not at all. In fact, he grew fond of Ted. He was a giddy guy that was very quick on his feet and even joined him in his morning runs. The two spent much of the time in the project, with Arthur assisting whenever it was needed for some 'alternatives' in case some of their construct yielded less than desirable results.
First it was a matter of 'too little power', then 'too bright', and even after that 'too silent'. Everything moved with mechanical and yet driven purpose which culminated in their first working prototype.
"I will call this the... MT-1!" Arthur beamed as he turned to address the pistol. The MT-1 was build on a similar design as a 'single-short small-barreled revolver'. It was barely noticeable, could be hidden well enough and it used a quieter, less bright, and faster version of Stupefy.
The first dozen of tests confirmed the early attempts, and a strange wave of pride enveloped both Alastor and Ted as they made it happen: their first ever invention, and one that could help save many lives. Still, one thing hung over the two boys' mind.
"MT? Like Moody and Tonks? What about you, Artie?" Ted pointed out, and the redhead appeared very sheepish about it.
"Well, I gave it a serious thought. It isn't like I spent anywhere near the time and effort you two put into it. Plus, I think it would be a mouthful if I added a 'W' too. Like, WMT? TMW?"
Alastor wasn't sold about it, but he had to accept this as another reason Arthur brought up surprised him and Ted.
"Plus, with the upcoming presentation, I doubt you two wish for me to take too much out of your own panel. I already have five inventions lining up that I personally handled, and I don't want to put my own name in one I had given limited if not minimal help over."
"...A presentation?" Alastor parroted, leaving Arthur confused.
"You weren't told? Next week, on the 14th. Minister Tuft and a group of Aurors and members of the Wizengamot will visit Hogwarts to check out the club's inventions."
April 14th, Alastor felt a cold chilling as he recalled his parents had mentioned they would be 'busy' that very day.
It didn't take him too long to realize that Ted and his invention would soon be subjected to scrutiny by the Minister of Magic AND his own parents in a week-time.
---------d-d-d-d-------
AN
Andromeda: Arthur, did you deliver the announcement for the presentation?
Arthur: I forgor!
On a more serious note, the current Minister of Magic is Ignatius Tuft who is, by all means, a nepobaby as he inherited the seat through his mother/predecessor's popularity, Wilhelmina Tuft, after she passed away for eating some fudge she was allergic to. He will be a... how do I put it, on the dumb side of any spectrum.
Which means some other characters will shine over him. And next time, Andromeda will be on the spotlight for many awkward reasons.
P.S. Still unsure why the HP TV series decided to pick an handsome man with no greasy hair and crooked nose for Snape. Hmm...
- Location
- Italia
It is, but considering Arthur doesn't have the means to currently do that and his perspective of 'simpler is better', he kind of is delaying this sort of idea until he is more confident in creating new spells.
Science Fair
New
- Location
- Italia
Chapter 5: Science Fair
Andromeda Black was a very resilient girl.
Sure, her pragmatism and overall 'fondness' of new sources of income for her family (and her primarily) was a known trait, but her endurance in handling elements of authority was one born from having faced one that was by far the scariest possible.
And today, as the 'Science Fair' issued in Hogwarts unfolded with the presence of the Minister of Magic, the leader of the DMLE and several House Lords from the Wizengamot, she knew that she had to be extremely cautious. Not for the Minister, for Ignatius Tuft was a man that inherited a role he hardly knew how to handle and tended to rely on others to waddle through the uncertainty of the job... such as House Malfoy and House Black.
Thus, among the few Aurors and Ministerial agents, the figures of both Abraxas Malfoy and Arcturus Black III waltzed through with potency behind each step. Their names were known to all, may them be pureblood or muggleborn. But while Abraxas was known to be a 'Snake among Snakes', it was her grandfather that worried her.
House Black was infamous for its adherence to the old laws, and being seen as the 'primest example of blood supremacy', it was expected for Arcturus, as head of the house, to be the finest proponent of that ideology...
However, that was no the case.
Arcturus was a supremacist, yes, but he wasn't without wits to himself. He was a man that had been keen to work his way to restore the house's prominence, most of his career as head of the Black Family seeing their position rising to one of importance, trust, and power. Yet, it goes without saying that it wasn't ideology that made them great.
It was pragmatism.
Despite what many would think, Andromeda looked up to her grandfather. He was horrible at times, but his sway was so impossibly incredible that it was only right that an ambitious girl such as herself wanted to eventually capture that mystique of his and turn it into her own eminence.
His presence there was, actually, a surprise and a possible problem. Arcturus was someone that held minimal interest in muggle affairs, but he sounded incredibly intrigued by what was exposed in the panel.
A brief meeting between grandfather and granddaughter told Andromeda this much, that he was curious but overall restrained in providing any opinion before checking out what was being shown.
Any mistake could be paid dearly, but that is why Andromeda was thankful Arthur and Molly had trusted her in handling the organization of the event itself. Well, the aspects regarding security.
House Elves had been instructed on how to react, half of those at Hogwarts already provided for the big day and allowing her to better distribute each in groups that would monitor each section.
The inventions themselves had been thoroughly tested and improved before the big day, allowing for just a tiny margin of error to cause any worry to linger.
And with the entire set up promising an absolute success, Andromeda was not meant to feel anything unpleasant out of this... yet she was. She felt nervous, not for the panels themselves as she was sure those were already capturing the gazes of the important agents of the magical government.
Starting with Arthur's first major invention: the Infinite Energy Generator. Months, new funds, and other minds working on the case allowed Arthur to finalize the prototype into something bigger, more effective, and extremely safe.
The first 'Commercial Model' of the IEG was thus introduced to the mixed group as the main source of energy at Hogwarts. May it be lightbulbs, waterpumps installed to allow better flow for the water, and the newly-created boilers that made hot water no longer a hopeless dream for many wishing for a proper bath after a tiring day.
"This very model has been studied to actually handle the needs of the castle as a whole," Arthur addressed as he showed the large construct. "Which means that any similar models meant for villas, manors, or government's buildings will be smaller and easier to keep in smaller rooms to avoid potential space-related issues."
"Would this generator be able to sustain barriers too?" Abraxas inquired, eyes aimed at the IEG with avid interest.
"Well, it can. It is a matter on first giving a look on how the barrier's upkeep plus the other needs would demand in terms of energy output. I don't need to explain that 'more tasks' for the generator would demand more from it. And if we create an IEG meant for a specific maximum demand it can't be used for more."
Nods came along, but then the Minister spoke up.
"W-What happens if the generator is given too much to handle?"
Arthur actually smiled because... well, he went through this very issue himself. And several others. All of which he had consistently fixed up one way or another with tiny additions with the IEG to make it impossible to collapse on a harsher escalation.
"It would shut down pre-emptively at the first sign of strain. The runes for this specific failsafe are meant to keep it disabled for two hours, which is more than enough time for engineers who can handle the chore to just detach any unneeded connections and allow the engine to at least handle the most important elements."
"All of this is done through... runes?"
Arcturus' tone gained a hint of surprise at this admission.
"Runes, crystals, and Vermilious bolt. All of those combined with the right coordination can conjure an endless energy generator."
"Why Vermilious?" Abraxas pressed, curious as Arthur hummed.
"I tried with Flipendo at first, but I noticed that it was actually detrimental when utilized extensively. The whole point of the system is to harness the power of spells that 'harmlessly' bounce back and forth across crystals and allow those to generate heat and thus energy. Flipendo is a wind-based spell, which causes some unusual damage to the crystals that not even a self-Reparo rune is able to fix. Further tests confirmed that the way Flipendo damages the crystals is due to the sealed system causing its particles to not dispell and rather concentrate and became more effective in cutting through matter itself."
"So, you chose Vermilious because the effects were different than that?" Minister Tuft asked with his meek voice.
"That is correct, Minister."
"What about expenses?" Arcturus stabbed through and landed right into a subject that mattered a lot.
"For the Hogwarts' IEG, it all amounts up to 2500 Galleons."
Arthur's reply was quick, and on purpose. After all, 2500 Galleons was a mind-boggling price to pay up and not everyone could afford it."
"That's... that's a lot," The Minister of Magic pointed out nervously, patting one of his pants' pouches (possibly where his wallet was).
"The amount you provided is unique to Hogwarts due to its size. How would one meant for... the Wizengamot work in terms of costs?" Abraxas swiftly moved in to try and get a more 'rational' price-range established, and Arthur... faltered a bit.
Andromeda was actually tense at this point because, by all means, no one could draw an answer on the spot with little impromptu but-
"About 500 Galleons. Maybe much less. It all depends if the IEG is meant to work on all rooms, or if there are some that are not needing its energy. Say, an unused room or a place meant to be dark to begin with."
The new numbers seemed to soften the shock, but the amount was still outstanding. Of course, Andromeda would never dream of telling the group of gentlemen that the goblins had paid a whooping 4250 Galleons to have their own installed to handle the bank's needs and vaults' carriage system.
That being said, the first presentation spearheaded the rest of the fair as the other inventors got to shine between Arthur's own presentations, with people like Moody and Teddy getting their own praises for such an innovative design for the DMLE to entertain.
Andromeda felt relief over the first successful bouts, but she was still aiming gazes at her grandfather. Arcturus was overall calm and positive over most of the inventions, frowning a few times, and yet overall appreciating the presentation itself. Among the inventions that got his eye, Arcturus looked most entertained by what had been a 'work in progress'.
In fact, Arthur had been quite vocal in trying to put in some 'work in progress' projects that were still being development. Nothing dangerous, but one definitely got her grandfather's eye as it was the 'Wizarding Telly', also called 'Celly' or 'Crystal Vision'.
Employing the use of runes, unique gems and several charms to connect said gems to a 'repetitor', Arthur was able to create the Wizarding World-only first Television.
Through a brief presentation which was short due to the extensive use of energy to uphold the connection, Arthur was able to show the entourage how close he was to perfectly outpace modern television and and make it 'holographic' and in colors.
The latter of which was a 'novel feature' for 'just a few Americans', and truly unique to Britain and Europe as a whole.
Arthur explained the point of the 'CV' and how this could allow a new brand form of entertainment, education, and advertisement. And in that introduction, while Abraxas was perhaps eyeing with interest the latter of the ideas, Arcturus was overally ensnared by the overall concept.
And Andromeda could see this as he finally passed by her chair and offered her a brief smile and supportive nod.
"Go on with your investment, Andromeda."
Andromeda could only nod, most unaware of the many events that would really shape up her future into something of a prominent figure in modern society.
After all, who would imagine young Andromeda eventually chairing the role of First President of the Black Crystal Vision Communications (BCVC)?
---------d-d-d-d-------
AN
Next time, the news break out, and Arthur's parents may send a letter to 'question what is their boy up to by getting featured in the Daily Prophet'.
Andromeda Black was a very resilient girl.
Sure, her pragmatism and overall 'fondness' of new sources of income for her family (and her primarily) was a known trait, but her endurance in handling elements of authority was one born from having faced one that was by far the scariest possible.
And today, as the 'Science Fair' issued in Hogwarts unfolded with the presence of the Minister of Magic, the leader of the DMLE and several House Lords from the Wizengamot, she knew that she had to be extremely cautious. Not for the Minister, for Ignatius Tuft was a man that inherited a role he hardly knew how to handle and tended to rely on others to waddle through the uncertainty of the job... such as House Malfoy and House Black.
Thus, among the few Aurors and Ministerial agents, the figures of both Abraxas Malfoy and Arcturus Black III waltzed through with potency behind each step. Their names were known to all, may them be pureblood or muggleborn. But while Abraxas was known to be a 'Snake among Snakes', it was her grandfather that worried her.
House Black was infamous for its adherence to the old laws, and being seen as the 'primest example of blood supremacy', it was expected for Arcturus, as head of the house, to be the finest proponent of that ideology...
However, that was no the case.
Arcturus was a supremacist, yes, but he wasn't without wits to himself. He was a man that had been keen to work his way to restore the house's prominence, most of his career as head of the Black Family seeing their position rising to one of importance, trust, and power. Yet, it goes without saying that it wasn't ideology that made them great.
It was pragmatism.
Despite what many would think, Andromeda looked up to her grandfather. He was horrible at times, but his sway was so impossibly incredible that it was only right that an ambitious girl such as herself wanted to eventually capture that mystique of his and turn it into her own eminence.
His presence there was, actually, a surprise and a possible problem. Arcturus was someone that held minimal interest in muggle affairs, but he sounded incredibly intrigued by what was exposed in the panel.
A brief meeting between grandfather and granddaughter told Andromeda this much, that he was curious but overall restrained in providing any opinion before checking out what was being shown.
Any mistake could be paid dearly, but that is why Andromeda was thankful Arthur and Molly had trusted her in handling the organization of the event itself. Well, the aspects regarding security.
House Elves had been instructed on how to react, half of those at Hogwarts already provided for the big day and allowing her to better distribute each in groups that would monitor each section.
The inventions themselves had been thoroughly tested and improved before the big day, allowing for just a tiny margin of error to cause any worry to linger.
And with the entire set up promising an absolute success, Andromeda was not meant to feel anything unpleasant out of this... yet she was. She felt nervous, not for the panels themselves as she was sure those were already capturing the gazes of the important agents of the magical government.
Starting with Arthur's first major invention: the Infinite Energy Generator. Months, new funds, and other minds working on the case allowed Arthur to finalize the prototype into something bigger, more effective, and extremely safe.
The first 'Commercial Model' of the IEG was thus introduced to the mixed group as the main source of energy at Hogwarts. May it be lightbulbs, waterpumps installed to allow better flow for the water, and the newly-created boilers that made hot water no longer a hopeless dream for many wishing for a proper bath after a tiring day.
"This very model has been studied to actually handle the needs of the castle as a whole," Arthur addressed as he showed the large construct. "Which means that any similar models meant for villas, manors, or government's buildings will be smaller and easier to keep in smaller rooms to avoid potential space-related issues."
"Would this generator be able to sustain barriers too?" Abraxas inquired, eyes aimed at the IEG with avid interest.
"Well, it can. It is a matter on first giving a look on how the barrier's upkeep plus the other needs would demand in terms of energy output. I don't need to explain that 'more tasks' for the generator would demand more from it. And if we create an IEG meant for a specific maximum demand it can't be used for more."
Nods came along, but then the Minister spoke up.
"W-What happens if the generator is given too much to handle?"
Arthur actually smiled because... well, he went through this very issue himself. And several others. All of which he had consistently fixed up one way or another with tiny additions with the IEG to make it impossible to collapse on a harsher escalation.
"It would shut down pre-emptively at the first sign of strain. The runes for this specific failsafe are meant to keep it disabled for two hours, which is more than enough time for engineers who can handle the chore to just detach any unneeded connections and allow the engine to at least handle the most important elements."
"All of this is done through... runes?"
Arcturus' tone gained a hint of surprise at this admission.
"Runes, crystals, and Vermilious bolt. All of those combined with the right coordination can conjure an endless energy generator."
"Why Vermilious?" Abraxas pressed, curious as Arthur hummed.
"I tried with Flipendo at first, but I noticed that it was actually detrimental when utilized extensively. The whole point of the system is to harness the power of spells that 'harmlessly' bounce back and forth across crystals and allow those to generate heat and thus energy. Flipendo is a wind-based spell, which causes some unusual damage to the crystals that not even a self-Reparo rune is able to fix. Further tests confirmed that the way Flipendo damages the crystals is due to the sealed system causing its particles to not dispell and rather concentrate and became more effective in cutting through matter itself."
"So, you chose Vermilious because the effects were different than that?" Minister Tuft asked with his meek voice.
"That is correct, Minister."
"What about expenses?" Arcturus stabbed through and landed right into a subject that mattered a lot.
"For the Hogwarts' IEG, it all amounts up to 2500 Galleons."
Arthur's reply was quick, and on purpose. After all, 2500 Galleons was a mind-boggling price to pay up and not everyone could afford it."
"That's... that's a lot," The Minister of Magic pointed out nervously, patting one of his pants' pouches (possibly where his wallet was).
"The amount you provided is unique to Hogwarts due to its size. How would one meant for... the Wizengamot work in terms of costs?" Abraxas swiftly moved in to try and get a more 'rational' price-range established, and Arthur... faltered a bit.
Andromeda was actually tense at this point because, by all means, no one could draw an answer on the spot with little impromptu but-
"About 500 Galleons. Maybe much less. It all depends if the IEG is meant to work on all rooms, or if there are some that are not needing its energy. Say, an unused room or a place meant to be dark to begin with."
The new numbers seemed to soften the shock, but the amount was still outstanding. Of course, Andromeda would never dream of telling the group of gentlemen that the goblins had paid a whooping 4250 Galleons to have their own installed to handle the bank's needs and vaults' carriage system.
That being said, the first presentation spearheaded the rest of the fair as the other inventors got to shine between Arthur's own presentations, with people like Moody and Teddy getting their own praises for such an innovative design for the DMLE to entertain.
Andromeda felt relief over the first successful bouts, but she was still aiming gazes at her grandfather. Arcturus was overall calm and positive over most of the inventions, frowning a few times, and yet overall appreciating the presentation itself. Among the inventions that got his eye, Arcturus looked most entertained by what had been a 'work in progress'.
In fact, Arthur had been quite vocal in trying to put in some 'work in progress' projects that were still being development. Nothing dangerous, but one definitely got her grandfather's eye as it was the 'Wizarding Telly', also called 'Celly' or 'Crystal Vision'.
Employing the use of runes, unique gems and several charms to connect said gems to a 'repetitor', Arthur was able to create the Wizarding World-only first Television.
Through a brief presentation which was short due to the extensive use of energy to uphold the connection, Arthur was able to show the entourage how close he was to perfectly outpace modern television and and make it 'holographic' and in colors.
The latter of which was a 'novel feature' for 'just a few Americans', and truly unique to Britain and Europe as a whole.
Arthur explained the point of the 'CV' and how this could allow a new brand form of entertainment, education, and advertisement. And in that introduction, while Abraxas was perhaps eyeing with interest the latter of the ideas, Arcturus was overally ensnared by the overall concept.
And Andromeda could see this as he finally passed by her chair and offered her a brief smile and supportive nod.
"Go on with your investment, Andromeda."
Andromeda could only nod, most unaware of the many events that would really shape up her future into something of a prominent figure in modern society.
After all, who would imagine young Andromeda eventually chairing the role of First President of the Black Crystal Vision Communications (BCVC)?
---------d-d-d-d-------
AN
Next time, the news break out, and Arthur's parents may send a letter to 'question what is their boy up to by getting featured in the Daily Prophet'.
Pride and Parents
New
- Location
- Italia
Chapter 6: Pride and Parents
After decades of working out a tough situation after another, Septimus Weasley was a man that was keen to adopt a single mindset to surprises: if it is an issue, work through it until it becomes a good thing; if it is a good thing then... be happy, regardless on how it came to be.
Three sons, a wife that was sorrowful over being disowned by her family out of love, and a job that gave his family enough to survive and handle basic societal needs such as education, Septimus was a man that has seen enough for a lifetime and more.
But when he came home to find his wife in an extremely good mood, he was sure that the source of good news were his two eldest, Percy and William. Both young men had gone to Hogwarts but then moved to the USA to try and find an outlet for success in New England.
Still, Cedrella's beaming and good cooking, signs of an extremely positive good news, were not enough to prepare Septimus to what he found on the article soon introduced to him.
Arthur Weasley, the Boy Prodigy of the Wizarding World!
It was the headlines on the first page, his eyes wide open as he thought the Daily Prophet was hardly a paper worthy of attention and usually a rag that tended to demean the hard-working folks.
Yet, as Septimus got to reading the paper, he found his tension mellowing in a proud grin. His son, who always had this 'odd glint' in his eyes and a keen interest to ask questions about magic from a very young age, had actually gotten himself some awards for 'producing new magical inventions'. A good slice of it, obviously, landing on the parents' pockets as seen by the Gringott's letter soon presented by his wife... and another letter penned by Arcturus Black, the head of House Black.
Reinstatement. Was that even something the Blacks could do?
Asking the question only got a shrug and 'I don't care!' as Cedrella had been hung over this matter for so many years, and feeling once more able to reconnect with the family felt like a dream becoming true.
But what truly got to him was a letter from Arthur himself, his youngest actually explaining what the main inventions were about in terms of purpose and... how he had all the intentions to apply those back home so they no longer needed to pay the electric bill and the water bill. This... it did feel monumental for a man that had to work around numbers, tightening the belts of his family, just so they could all endure their middling situation.
In the end, however, it was the last letter that got them moving. Albus Dumbledore had invited them to Hogwarts together with other parents to celebrate the success of Arthur's club. In two days.
Maybe too late, or perhaps too soon. Still, Septimus scrambled to get three important things sorted out before the big day (or afternoon): be available by taking a day off from job, making sure that he and Cedrella had fitting clothes for the occasion, and make sure he knew what he had to say with Arthur.
After all, the boy was someone that Septimus hadn't been too close to for Arthur was a small kid and one that clearly got his mother's brains and more considering his successes. And it felt wrong of him to just 'take him in with a hug and just thank him'. It felt wrong because it felt undeserved out of him, for he had been absent to an extent.
An apology was due, perhaps not in a public environment but...
Arthur proved him wrong in a good way, and he was due an apology for having such a dumb father.
Two days of thinking and doing, that's how long Septimus got before it was time to go to Hogwarts. To see the school again it felt like a wonderful trip, Cedrella too buzzing with delight as they found love there when they were young, and it felt almost endearing to see how 'brighter' the school had gotten.
The new lightbulbs giving more light over the hallways, no more issues in the dimness of the afternoon or evening threatening their steps with potential tripping, and their destination being a large classroom refitted to bring various contraptions, magical stones, and books (so many books that perhaps were more than any he had seen in his life before now).
Arthur was looking around, looking a bit antsy as he clearly was waiting for them, soon beaming as his mother bolted for a big hug. A very un-Black reaction, but one very fitting for a Weasley.
As the trio reunited and chatted a bit, Septimus held back from delivering the apology, telling his youngest son that he was proud of him, that his brothers would have come to check on him had they been free from work, and that this all looked wonderful (despite having little to no clue to what a majority of the unknown items were meant to do). At the same time, another group of parents with their child approached.
The Prewetts, little Molly had taken a shine for Arthur and... The boy was blissfully unaware of that. Like father like son, this much Septimus could pick from a glance over Cedrella's smug grin. Ah yes, that had been some embarrassing years for him - to think he missed the signs of her approach for so long... Well, it was all fine now. They were married with kids, loved each other a lot, and... Now things were getting better and better.
And while most people would be fine with accepting the ups coming their way, Septimus was still a cynical man, especially when trouble may soon come from somewhere to spoil these good days-
"I would like to visit Japan for this Summer."
And Arthur sure had a way to make said bad news weirder to understand.
Why would a British Wizard want to go to a weird-named place like Akibahara?!
--------d-d-d-d--------
AN
It's Japan time... Not next time. Two more chapters to wrap up the school year, then an interlude of sorts involving Voldieshorts and then Japan. Expect some minimal xovers elements. Mostly expies.
After decades of working out a tough situation after another, Septimus Weasley was a man that was keen to adopt a single mindset to surprises: if it is an issue, work through it until it becomes a good thing; if it is a good thing then... be happy, regardless on how it came to be.
Three sons, a wife that was sorrowful over being disowned by her family out of love, and a job that gave his family enough to survive and handle basic societal needs such as education, Septimus was a man that has seen enough for a lifetime and more.
But when he came home to find his wife in an extremely good mood, he was sure that the source of good news were his two eldest, Percy and William. Both young men had gone to Hogwarts but then moved to the USA to try and find an outlet for success in New England.
Still, Cedrella's beaming and good cooking, signs of an extremely positive good news, were not enough to prepare Septimus to what he found on the article soon introduced to him.
Arthur Weasley, the Boy Prodigy of the Wizarding World!
It was the headlines on the first page, his eyes wide open as he thought the Daily Prophet was hardly a paper worthy of attention and usually a rag that tended to demean the hard-working folks.
Yet, as Septimus got to reading the paper, he found his tension mellowing in a proud grin. His son, who always had this 'odd glint' in his eyes and a keen interest to ask questions about magic from a very young age, had actually gotten himself some awards for 'producing new magical inventions'. A good slice of it, obviously, landing on the parents' pockets as seen by the Gringott's letter soon presented by his wife... and another letter penned by Arcturus Black, the head of House Black.
Reinstatement. Was that even something the Blacks could do?
Asking the question only got a shrug and 'I don't care!' as Cedrella had been hung over this matter for so many years, and feeling once more able to reconnect with the family felt like a dream becoming true.
But what truly got to him was a letter from Arthur himself, his youngest actually explaining what the main inventions were about in terms of purpose and... how he had all the intentions to apply those back home so they no longer needed to pay the electric bill and the water bill. This... it did feel monumental for a man that had to work around numbers, tightening the belts of his family, just so they could all endure their middling situation.
In the end, however, it was the last letter that got them moving. Albus Dumbledore had invited them to Hogwarts together with other parents to celebrate the success of Arthur's club. In two days.
Maybe too late, or perhaps too soon. Still, Septimus scrambled to get three important things sorted out before the big day (or afternoon): be available by taking a day off from job, making sure that he and Cedrella had fitting clothes for the occasion, and make sure he knew what he had to say with Arthur.
After all, the boy was someone that Septimus hadn't been too close to for Arthur was a small kid and one that clearly got his mother's brains and more considering his successes. And it felt wrong of him to just 'take him in with a hug and just thank him'. It felt wrong because it felt undeserved out of him, for he had been absent to an extent.
An apology was due, perhaps not in a public environment but...
Arthur proved him wrong in a good way, and he was due an apology for having such a dumb father.
Two days of thinking and doing, that's how long Septimus got before it was time to go to Hogwarts. To see the school again it felt like a wonderful trip, Cedrella too buzzing with delight as they found love there when they were young, and it felt almost endearing to see how 'brighter' the school had gotten.
The new lightbulbs giving more light over the hallways, no more issues in the dimness of the afternoon or evening threatening their steps with potential tripping, and their destination being a large classroom refitted to bring various contraptions, magical stones, and books (so many books that perhaps were more than any he had seen in his life before now).
Arthur was looking around, looking a bit antsy as he clearly was waiting for them, soon beaming as his mother bolted for a big hug. A very un-Black reaction, but one very fitting for a Weasley.
As the trio reunited and chatted a bit, Septimus held back from delivering the apology, telling his youngest son that he was proud of him, that his brothers would have come to check on him had they been free from work, and that this all looked wonderful (despite having little to no clue to what a majority of the unknown items were meant to do). At the same time, another group of parents with their child approached.
The Prewetts, little Molly had taken a shine for Arthur and... The boy was blissfully unaware of that. Like father like son, this much Septimus could pick from a glance over Cedrella's smug grin. Ah yes, that had been some embarrassing years for him - to think he missed the signs of her approach for so long... Well, it was all fine now. They were married with kids, loved each other a lot, and... Now things were getting better and better.
And while most people would be fine with accepting the ups coming their way, Septimus was still a cynical man, especially when trouble may soon come from somewhere to spoil these good days-
"I would like to visit Japan for this Summer."
And Arthur sure had a way to make said bad news weirder to understand.
Why would a British Wizard want to go to a weird-named place like Akibahara?!
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AN
It's Japan time... Not next time. Two more chapters to wrap up the school year, then an interlude of sorts involving Voldieshorts and then Japan. Expect some minimal xovers elements. Mostly expies.