(Untitled)

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Who: Arthur Weasley, Susan Bones
Where: Order HQ
When: 26th November, 2001
Status: Complete

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[showmyauthority]

When she saw the fire in the fireplace, Susan realised that there was someone else in this room. She'd come downstairs in search of Topper, who had become rather independent and spent most of his time lurking around the main floor in search of mice before coming back upstairs to spend his night curled up on a pile of blankets in their room.

Tucked under her arm was a book about pregnancy that Terry had got from the bookshop in the village. She'd not yet read past the first chapter because every time she picked it up, she found an excuse to put it down.

She didn't want to read anymore.

Terry, on the other hand, had devoured at least three books on the subject and Susan suspected he knew more about what was going to happen than she did.

Sitting near the fire was Arthur. Terry had explained the general jist of how he came to be in the house, but Susan hadn't actually spoken to the older man since she'd returned.

"Hello," she said with a small smile as she approached. "I'm Susan."

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"Susan!" Arthur exclaimed, smiling and getting up from his chair a little slower than he would have liked to admit. "Susan, yes, I've heard a lot about you. Arthur Weasley - though I suppose you know that bit." He grinned a little sheepishly.

He gestured to one of the nearby chairs and sat back down on his sofa, placing his book to one side. "Come and have a seat, the fire's just got going."

[showmyauthority]

"I think it's a matter of both of us hearing much about the other person and never talking directly." She peered at Arthur, her head tilted slightly to the side as she pulled up dusty memories from long ago. "You worked at the Ministry when my Auntie Amelia was there. I think I remember seeing you once or twice, but I didn't get to visit often."

Susan lowered herself into the large wingback. She dropped the book on the floor, making sure it hadn't landed with a page folded, lest Terry (and possibly Michael too, knowing how he felt about books) bemoan the treatment of literature.

There was an awkward pause and a long moment of silence that seemed to only be filled by a few pops from the fireplace.

"Have you settled in, then? I mean, well I guess you've had quite some time to settle." Susan frowned slightly. It wasn't really what she meant to say. "I suppose you've probably had many 'small talk' conversations with everyone already."

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Arthur gave a warm smile. The awkward silence hadn't bothered him at all - in fact, it had given him a chance to consider the young woman in front of him. She seemed very composed for someone who had been through an abuduction, and in his time Arthur had seen a wide variety of reactions to such a thing. He wondered if she was really as calm as she seemed.

"Oh, you get used to it. Besides, it's a little different every time." He shrugged. "It's taken me a little while to settle in, I admit. But yes, things seem to be righting themselves now. Are you...I mean...I expect it's good to be home. How are you doing?"

[showmyauthority]

"I couldn't be more relieved to be home," she said, though her tone was a little off when she said it. As though she wasn't but was pretending that she was.

It wasn't that she wanted to go back because that was the absolute last thing in the world that she wanted. But was she actually free? That remained to be seen. She went from one house where she couldn't leave to another house where she'd not set foot outside of the property. Susan wasn't being held here, but she didn't think anyone would allow her to leave to go out on her own.

"And I suppose I'm alright considering..." Susan glanced down at herself then back at him. "Some of my shoes don't fit anymore and I'd give anything to sleep on my stomach right about now..."