In Need

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Megan stayed at Black Manor for two more days before making her journey to Hogwarts. On the morning of the day she was to depart, Mrs. Weasley made breakfast for all of them staying there. George and Fred had left the day before, but Bill had taken some extra days away from Gringotts and was still there. Mrs. Weasley fretted about the peach tree in the garden, “I don’t know whether it’s just been too cool this summer or what. I really hoped to be able to use those peaches, but they’re just ripening so slowly!”


“Never mind, love,” said Mr. Weasley as he set down his teacup and reached for The Daily Prophet. “You’ve got a wonderful breakfast ready for us that I think we are all quite eager to begin.” And he looked hopefully at the steaming basket of scones.


Molly sighed and said, “I guess there’s nothing we can do about it. It’s just a shame is all. The children will be back in school and we’ll be moved out of here by the time they are ready, and they will all go to waste - R cer certainly isn’t going to make jam out of them.”


“I can help,” said Megan. She put down her tea, got up from the table and went out to the garden. Sure enough, the tree was loaded with the blushing fruits, but all were quite hard to the touch. Megan moved her hands over the trunk and root area of the tree and whispered “Grow…” to it.


As she concentrated, something started to change. Slowly and almost imperceptibly, the fruits began to swell up and the rosy blush on each became more prominent against their yellow fuzzy skins. Looking up at the branches, Megan said, “There. That ought to do it,” and filled the makeshift pocket she made by holding her robe out in front of her with the now deliciously sweet and ripe fruit. As she carried them into the kitchen and put them into a bowl on the table, they all looked at her in surprise.


“That isn’t an ordinary spell, my dear,” said Mr. Weasley giving her a curious look.


“And you didn’t even use your wand!” remarked Harry, who had watched from the window with the rest.


Light dawned behind Hermione’s eyes, and she asked, “Are…are you an earth mage? I read about them in ‘The Natural Wizard’ where they talk about birth gifts. Like Tonks being born able to change the way she looks, earth mages are born with abilities to work with plants and animals.”


All eyes were on Megan as she nodded and picked up her tea again.


“That’s pretty rare magic, though, isn’t it?” asked Mr. Weasley. “I’ve heard of them, but have never actually met one. I think that earth mages only come around once or twice in every generation, don’t they?”


“Yes,” said Megan. “At least, according to my tutors. I’ve never met another one either. But as a child, there were some parts of it that could get awkward among muggles,” she said rog heg her eyes and laughing.


“Like what?” asked Bill.


“Well, my hair was the most obvious thing. It changes colors with the seasons - not so much an issue as an adult because I could just be passed off as an impulsive person who likes to try out different hair colors. But when I was a kid, everyone thought it would be better to try and keep it consistent.”


“Is that why your hair looks different now than it did in the picture we saw?” asked Hermione.


“Yes - by late autumn, it will be as red as any Weasley’s,” she said to cheers of approval from said Weasleys.


“As winter comes, it’ll keep getting darker and will be black by New Year’s. When spring comes, it turns pale green at first, then white, then blonde over the summer. When I was growing up, my muggle family was in the public eye all the time so my mom was flipped out every year around Easter, trying to figure out how to explain to the hairdresser that I needed my green hair colored over - especially when we had to go back every few weeks to have green roots taken care of!”


Laughing, they all tucked into the tasty meal, sorry that they wouldn’t have more time with their new friend before the term started - the kids especially, because they would have to be more formal at school.


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The peaches that she had ripened were succulent and everyone ate at least two. Bill Weasley felt like his hearght ght burst out of his chest with admiration for the young woman sitting next to him and he shook his head, laughing a little at himself. “Get a hold of yourself, man,” he muttered. “Fawning around like an idiot is not going to catch her eye.”


They had only known each r for for a few days, but he had never met someone who had caught his imagination and stirred his senses so quickly. As frustrating as it was in some ways, it was also quite refreshing to him that she did not throw herself at him, which had turned him off to other potentially interesting young women in the past.


Bill was a handsome young man. He was tall like his father and had the same flaming red hair as the rest of the family. Much to his mother’s dismay, though, he chose to wear it long and usually had it tied back in a ponytail. He moved with the easy confidence of someone who gets along well with others and has never had to try hard to make friends. He loved his family very much and admired his parents for choosing to live according to their values and live modestly, rather than compromising themselves for higher positions that would have given the family more gold.


In his own case, however, a combination of talent and good timing had won him a salary beyond anything he had ever imagined he would receive. Even as young as he still was, he already owned a nice home and had quite a lot of gold laid away in his vault at Gringotts. Contrary to his public image of active, ambitious and attractive young bachelor, he longed to settle down and have a wife and children of his own. He took a peach in his hand and looked up at Megan as he tasted it.


Megan watched Bill bite into the peach. He had obviously been paying attention to her during her stay, and she guessed that she was at least part of the reason he had extended his visit. She had connected in an easy rapport with him and found him to be much more pleasant and much less self-important than the young men she had grown up around, who depended on wealth and connections to form their identities.


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The rest of breakfast continued in pleasant conversation. Arthur Weasley, always fascinated with muggle technology, grilled Hermione, Harry, and Megan about televisions and how there were not actually tiny people inside acting out the scenes. When everything was cleared away after the meal, Megan saw that it was time to collect her things and go to the train. Mr. Weasley got ready to see her to the station, but with a smile, Bill offered to take her instead.


“Thanks, son,” said Mr.sleysley. “I guess I can go straight on to the office then. Goodbye Megan, it was lovely meeting you and we look forward to your next visit. Goodbye, love. Goodbye, kids.” With a flash of floo powder, he stepped into the fireplace and was gone.


Megan carried her cat and Bill carried her suitcase as they went to platform 9 3/4. They found a seat for her in a sunny compartment and Bill stowed her suitcase overhead. He sat down on the seat across from her and looked at her intently.


“Megan, I’ve really enjoyed the last couple of days. I would like it very much if we could meet in Hogsmeade sometime… would that be alright with you?”


“That would be great,” she said, smiling at him.


Bill smiled back and then looked down at the floor a moment and cleared his throat before looking back up at her. He stood up saying, “Well, I’d better be going now. The train will be leaving in a minute.”


Megan stood up and held her arms open to hug him. He moved toward her and embraced her tightly, leaning his forehead against hers and breathing in her faint scent of roses. She felt the warmth of his body and the strength of his arms around her and pressed herself close to him. Looking into her eyes, he whispered to her, “I’m tempted to stay on traitrain just to stay with you awhile longer.”


They were the only ones on the train - they could do anything they wanted to…


As the train’s whistle blew one last time, Megan moved out of the hug and put her hand on Bill\'s cheek. He reluctantly took that hand and kissed it, understanding that for now this was goodbye. As he turned and left, the train started to move forward. She waved to him from the window and then settled back in her seat.


As the train rolled along, she felt glad that there hadn’t been anything more to their exchange. He was a knockout, but after all, she had only just re-entered the wizarding world a few days ago and wanted to get her bearings. Becoming immediately attached to someone she hardly knew did not seem wise in the long run and she was grateful that he hadn’t been pushy and neither of them had gotten carried away.


The whole Weasley family seemed very nice, and she really did look forward to future visits, and she was grateful that they hadn’t been needlessly complicated by her and Bill acting irresponsibly on an initial attraction. Imagination and playful innuendo was one thing, but actually acting on feelings was something she took more seriously.

Her cat stretched, jumped up on the seat across from her, and began to wash his face. Megan scratched him behind the ears and then took a book out of her bag and settled in with it as the train sped along toward Hogwarts.


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A/N - Thanks, readers - you are great. Let me know what you think of the story. (Don\'t worry, more Severus coming soon...)