Chapter 54 Dinner
When Della and the others walked back to the Weasley home in the setting sun, Percy, Ron, Harry and Ginny had already taken a bath, changed their clothes, and were helping Mrs. Weasley grind the flower seeds they had picked.
Della could smell the fragrance from a distance. Come to think of it, when she was at Hogwarts, she seemed to have only smelled this scent when she passed by Percy.
"George, Fred! You're too slow!" Molly shouted to the twins when she saw them. When the three of them approached, she smiled kindly at Della, "You've worked so hard, Della. Go take a shower and change your clothes. The water is ready."
"Yes, ma'am." Della smiled widely, nodded obediently to Molly, and walked briskly towards the bathroom. The twins' cynical voices could be heard faintly behind her.
Della finished washing up quickly and changed into the clothes that Molly had prepared for her. As soon as she walked out of the bathroom, Maggie on the beam nimbly lowered her body and climbed onto her neck. Della chuckled softly, glanced at the Weasley family outside, slowed down her pace, and whispered in Parseltongue to Maggie about what had happened today.
In just a few words, everything was explained to the man and the snake. Della walked out with a normal expression, ready to join the army of grinding flower seeds.
At this time, Molly had taken Ginny to the kitchen to process the newly picked Moon Lake Grass and prepare dinner. George and Fred were kept far away by the people who had washed themselves. When they saw Della coming out, they quickly pinched their noses and walked towards the bathroom, ready to wash off the fishy smell on their bodies.
"Hey, Della, how was it going to the lake today? It was pretty eerie there." As soon as Della sat down on the small bench, Ron looked up at her with his watery eyes, as if he couldn't wait to ask.
"It's not bad. It's better than banning..." Della paused before she could utter the consonant, and changed the subject very quickly, "The Black Lake in Hogwarts is better. Compared with the night there, the small lake here can be said to be pleasant."
"But there are so many bugs——"
"Come on, Ron, there are so many bugs everywhere," Harry interrupted Ron, whose face was beginning to twist, and turned to look at Della, "Today on that hillside, a big spider jumped onto Ron's face, which scared him pretty badly."
"Spiders would scare Ron wherever they are," Percy added dryly, as he worked.
Della picked up the tools under Harry's guidance. Ron's somewhat frustrated argument rang in her ears, and Della laughed along with Harry.
They chatted while doing their work. Occasionally, Percy, who Della always felt was not a Weasley, would interrupt and add a word or two - most of the time it was directed at Ron, which added a lot of fun to the conversation.
When George and Fred came over with their hair shaking, everyone had almost finished, but they still squatted down, if for no other reason, and each of them put their hands on one of Ron's cheeks and smeared his face with the green juice of Moon Lake Grass.
Just when they were about to cause harm to Percy and Harry, they quickly dropped what they were holding and stood aside.
George and Fred both pouted, but when they saw Della, the only one who hadn't moved and was still looking at them with her eyes open, they laughed again. Amid Ron's screams, they said with a grin, "Since the young lady has already been touched this afternoon, we'll let you go this time."
As they spoke, they raised their hands and made a cat-paw gesture towards Della, then stood up, stretched their bodies, and looked at Ron who had run back to the Burrow to wash his face. "Mom said it's time to eat, and Dad probably won't be back on time today."
"Is Mr. Weasley still searching? You must be working so hard." Della also stood up and walked towards the Burrow with everyone else.
"It's okay, Dad likes this job." Fred continued Della's words and touched Percy's face when he wasn't paying attention, even making a light patting sound. Then he ran away with George laughing. Percy, who reacted immediately, roared and chased after him.
Watching them chasing each other, Della and Harry looked at each other and laughed.
Mr. Weasley came back early today, which was a rare occasion. Just as Della was tasting the moonlake grass soup that the twins said was hard to describe but delicious, Arthur came into the Burrow, exhausted.
"Hmm! We have Yuehu grass soup today? That's great!" He said as he sat down at the head seat at the table.
"That's right, Dad will have to thank us very much." George and Fred looked at Arthur with a wink, and as expected, they were glared at by Molly who stood up to prepare tableware for Arthur.
"Hehe." Arthur laughed. Compared to Molly's occasional sternness, Arthur behaved more like an older friend. This may be one of the reasons why Geminis have such personalities.
For no reason, Della thought of Draco, who had been behind Mr. Malfoy that day, and Harry's uncle who doted on his son.
What a variety of fathers.
"Oh, hey, Della, Harry, I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to say hello to you. I've been so busy lately."
Arthur took a sip of the soup at hand and continued with regret, "Otherwise I will definitely talk to you about those things in the Muggle world. Oh, by the way, Della, are we using the things you sent before?"
"Uh..." Della and Harry exchanged glances. Just as they were thinking about how to express the true purpose of the strange thing that had been used, a black-gray owl flew in with its wings flapping.
"Oh, it's Professor Snape's owl." Fred reacted quickly and called out as soon as he saw the owl.
As he finished speaking, a package of medium size landed precisely in front of Della. Under the gaze of everyone, Della opened the simple but tightly wrapped package, which contained only a used potion bottle and a thin piece of paper.
Della picked up the letter first and read it in two or three sentences. After finishing reading, she looked at the potion bottle in the package that she had not touched with a very subtle expression.
"What's wrong? What did Professor Snape say?" Molly asked with concern.
"Hmm..." Della still had that subtle expression on her face. She picked up the letter and began to read.
"If you can read this letter, you are really lucky, because the potion bottle is a key to my house. But it doesn't matter whether you can read this letter or not. You have to come here anyway. The only difference is when you disturb me."
"Dumbledore has sent me your letter for the new semester. It seems that he wants us to have some so-called father-daughter time. That's fine, but please pack your bags and come to my house the morning after you read this letter. I think I need someone to help me these few days."
There was one last line on the letter, 'Don't keep your poor father waiting too long'. Della couldn't quite pronounce the irony in it, so she stopped talking, sighed and looked up at everyone, "It seems I have to start the new semester early."
"Portkey? Professor Snape is really... cruel."
Looking at the potion bottle in the package, Arthur paused for a moment before blurting out a word, "What a pity, Della, I have been working overtime these days just to spare the day to accompany you to Diagon Alley, but I think Professor Snape will do a good job."
Hearing Arthur's comforting words, Della smiled at him obediently, as if she was responding to him. When she looked down at the potion bottle, what she was thinking in her heart was that Maggie and Angel would have to work hard tonight.
it's a pity.
I didn't get to enjoy the Yuehu grass soup tonight.