[Fic teaser] "Order," chapter 3

[shimotsuki]

I've been bound and determined to finish chapter 3 of "All Will Be In Order" before the new Jumble gets going at Meta. But work has been really, really hectic the last couple of weeks, so I've been spending my (short) evenings lying around going "Nnnnngggghh" instead of making progress on fic projects.

So now I'm going to try a new tactic: public declaration of intent followed by shame and bitter self-recrimination (hello there, inner Remus!) if I fail. I hereby post a chapter 3 teaser and announce that the whole chapter will be posted by the first weekend in October. It will! Indeed!

All Will Be In Order (chapter index)
Summary so far:
1. The Perfect Flat -- In which Remus and Sirius negotiate the awkwardness of resuming a friendship disrupted by suspicion and Azkaban.
2. The First Mission -- In which Molly finds the task of cleaning out a filthy house full of cursed objects much easier to face than working with a werewolf, and Percy comes home with news of a splendid promotion at the Ministry.

3. A Long Summer [teaser]

"Kreacher could be keeping things just a bit cleaner." Sirius scowled. "Little blighter."

Remus raised his wand, illuminating the heavy iron chandeliers above the long kitchen table. Wonder of wonders, they still held candles.

It took multiple applications of Evanesco—the cobwebs were thick and sticky enough to resist even magic—but he got one chandelier cleaned up and lit it. The sudden increase in light, dim as it was, made him blink. He could see Sirius across the room, emerging from a deep cupboard with a dusty bottle of firewhisky in one hand.

"How's this, Moony?" The scion of the house grinned rather wickedly. "It'll be just what we need tonight, after a full day of ruddy housecleaning."

Remus grinned back, glad that Sirius was recovering his sense of humour. "I see you knew right where to look for that."

The old grandfather clock upstairs began to groan out the chimes for nine o'clock. With a sigh of resignation, Sirius stashed his bottle back in the cupboard and went to light a fire in the fireplace. Remus moved further into the shadows, attacking another chandelier with a series of rapid and persistent Evanescos. He was determined to make the kitchen a little less gloomy, if it was to be the first part of the house that Molly and the children would see.

Almost as soon as Sirius had the fire lit, though, a spinning figure appeared in the grate, and then a small plump woman clutching an enormous wicker basket stepped out into the kitchen. She looked a little breathless from the Floo trip, and her eyes widened as she took in the dust and the cobwebs, but her face wore an expression of relentless friendliness.

The new arrival squared her shoulders and offered her hand with a bright smile. "Hello, Sirius. I'm Molly Weasley." Even in the feeble light, Remus could see her turn rather pink. "We, erm, met in the hospital wing at Hogwarts."

Sirius had told Remus, with great glee, about Molly's bloodcurdling shriek when he reverted to human form at Dumbledore's request. Remus paused in the midst of his scramble to illuminate the kitchen, wondering if he should ride to her rescue, but Sirius merely bowed over her hand and took the basket with effortless grace.

"It's a pleasure, Molly." He smiled, only slightly bitterly. "Welcome to the Gloomy and Most Filthy House of Black."
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Comments

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

I'm happy to hear you're excited to read this! If all goes well, I'm hoping to post it next Sunday or Monday. I'm keeping my fingers crossed -- work ate up this whole weekend, so I didn't get much fic writing done at all. But next weekend I should have more time.

As for the Kaleidoscope update, it's going to be written for the new event at metamorfic_moon, and posting for that will be open between Oct 10 and Oct 31. Given my usual slow writing speed, I'm expecting to post that one more toward the end of October, heh.