After some fiddling, Douglas coached Charlie on how to put the phone on speaker, then greeted the entire Weasley family in a warm, clear voice.
"Good evening, everyone! How's the trip? Are you all having a good time over there?"
Mr. Weasley replied with heartfelt gratitude,
"Douglas, thank you so much for arranging this place for us—it's fantastic! By the way, do you mind if I take a look at those Muggle contraptions?
I promise I'll put everything back exactly as it was. I've practiced on plenty of old appliances already…"
But before he could finish, Mrs. Weasley cut him off,
"Arthur! Don't you dare touch anything—and George, Fred, Percy, you watch your brothers! I swear, these boys will be the death of me.
Douglas, don't worry, I won't let them mess about with anything. Still, I must admit, some Muggle inventions are just brilliant…
It's such a shame you couldn't come with us, but I had each of the children prepare a little gift for you…
I got their report cards, by the way. I never thought Ron would get an Outstanding in Defence Against the Dark Arts.
And George and Fred—even after all these years, I've never seen them do so well. If only they didn't have such a long list of mischiefs, they might have been made Prefects this year…"
George and Fred immediately called out from the background,
"Mum, we don't want to be Prefects!"
Douglas couldn't help but laugh. He could feel the genuine warmth and worry in Mrs. Weasley's words.
They chatted for a while, but Douglas noticed he hadn't heard Ron's voice.
"Is Ron not there? I haven't heard a peep from him."
Ron, who'd been hiding behind Bill, was finally outed, and the whole Weasley family erupted in laughter.
"Er, Professor, I'm here…"
George and Fred piped up,
"Professor, Ron's been complaining about you for ages—"
"—'Cause he's been doing homework since the holidays started—"
"Double the homework!"
"If he didn't finish, he couldn't come on this trip!"
Ron sounded utterly defeated. His hand had almost fallen off from all the writing. He'd hoped to skip the Defence Against the Dark Arts assignment, but every time he finished a piece, Percy would check it, forcing him to finish the lot.
During those days, he'd grumbled endlessly about how unfair Douglas was—docking points, piling on homework, forgetting entirely that it was Professor McGonagall who'd assigned it. But after finishing, looking at the wand Douglas had given him, guilt crept in, and he didn't dare face Douglas at all.
He wasn't alone—every Weasley child had completed their Defence Against the Dark Arts homework.
As George put it, "We're going to be the laughingstock of the whole school when term starts."
After a bit more laughter, Mrs. Weasley herded the twins, Ron, and Ginny off to bed. George and Fred, sensing what was coming, even volunteered to supervise, dragging their siblings to their rooms.
Once the younger ones were gone, Mrs. Weasley cleared her throat and addressed Douglas in a more serious tone,
"Ahem. Douglas, I read your last letter carefully, and I do think you have a point. Bill, Charlie, and Percy—they all have their own dreams and ambitions, and I've never stood in their way.
Of course, that's partly because their grades are always good, so I never have to worry. But George and Fred… those two have never given me a moment's peace. Every day I dread getting an owl from Hogwarts telling me they've been expelled…"
At first she sounded matter-of-fact, but as she went on, Mrs. Weasley's voice grew thick with emotion. She began listing all the trouble her mischievous twins had caused over the years.
Douglas, listening on the other end, broke into a cold sweat. Even George and Fred, eavesdropping with their ears pressed to the door, felt a pang of guilt for once.
Perhaps Mrs. Weasley was always so busy with the house that she hadn't let herself unwind like this in ages. Now, her feelings tumbled out in a rush.
Mr. Weasley could only murmur quiet comfort, while Bill, Charlie, and Percy exchanged helpless glances. For a moment, they wondered if they'd done the right thing helping the twins plead their case.
Standing nearby, Dobby whispered,
"I think this lady works even harder than a house-elf."
Douglas gave a wry smile,
"There's nothing harder in this world than being a mother. And if there is, it's being the mother of seven children…"
Suddenly, Mrs. Weasley caught herself and apologized,
"Sorry, Douglas, I just lost control for a moment. Those boys are such a handful.
Let's do as you suggested: as long as they get decent grades, I'll let them pursue what they love.
But for their O.W.L.s in fifth year, they'd better bring home at least all Acceptables—or else…
Well, I don't even know what else. Like Bill says, with those two, if they ever joined the Ministry of Magic, they'd be sacked in three days—if not sent straight to Azkaban… Oh, listen to me, what am I saying?
Arthur, let's go to bed. The rest of the time's for the kids to chat, but don't stay up too late!"
With that, Mrs. Weasley, cheeks flushed, hustled her husband off to their room. She'd let her guard down in front of her children and their professor, and now embarrassment sent her scurrying away.
No sooner had she left than George and Fred crept back out, eager to hear the verdict.
But Bill rounded on them,
"Can't you two behave for once? Not only do you make Mum angry, but you have her worrying all the time. Thank goodness Doug can keep you in line—who knows what trouble you'd cause otherwise…"
This time, the twins didn't dare talk back as they would with Percy. They just stood there, heads bowed, taking their scolding.
Charlie folded his arms and watched with a smirk, occasionally whispering to Percy,
"They aren't nearly as cute as they used to be, are they?"
The boys got so wrapped up in their banter that they forgot Douglas was still on the line.
Douglas had to remind them,
"Bill, that's enough of a lecture. Don't worry—when they're back at school, I'll make sure they behave.
George, Fred—off to bed now, and don't even think about eavesdropping, got it?"
The twins quickly muttered goodnight and slipped away.
Bill casually cast a Silencing Charm around the phone—he'd modified it himself, so there was no worry about magic interfering with the signal.
Now Douglas smiled,
"Percy, I haven't congratulated you yet—Head Boy! Well done."
Before Percy could reply, Douglas added,
"And I hear Miss Penelope Clearwater is Head Girl…"
The teasing in Douglas's tone, and the way Percy's ears instantly turned crimson, made Bill and Charlie's eyes light up with mischief.
Charlie slung an arm around Percy and grinned,
"Well, well, our model student's got himself a girlfriend…"
Bill joined in,
"Yeah, maybe he'll be the first of us to get married. Percy, how long's it been—no, never mind, Doug, you tell us! What's she like?"
Douglas rolled his eyes—though Bill couldn't see it,
"She's Head Girl, what do you think?
And to think, someone once completely ignored the advances of a Head Girl in his own year… tsk, tsk.
Percy, you're doing well—better than your big brother. A good girl's worth treasuring…"
Bill fired back,
"And I seem to recall someone being chased into the Forbidden Forest by a bunch of girls' friends—nearly didn't make it out, either…"
That got everyone's attention. Charlie knew about Douglas being chased into the Forest, but not the details. Percy was completely in the dark.
All ears perked up, waiting for Bill to spill the story.
Douglas cleared his throat awkwardly,
"You know I wouldn't fight girls. I just wanted to forage for ingredients in the Forest… but who knew the centaurs would hold such a grudge? After all these years, they still remember that incident.
Sigh, all those creatures you can hex but can't kill. If I hadn't just gotten into trouble and didn't want to give the professors more headaches…
Anyway, let's talk business. I've got two explosive bits of news. Which one do you want first?"
Charlie and Percy glanced at the phone, then at Bill's smug face.
Was that it? That wasn't nearly enough gossip!
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