Poison Pen

Chapter 14: Learning Curve

Molly was beyond furious as she wadded the Quibbler into a tight ball and slammed it into the dustbin. How dare they print such lies! She would never abuse her children! Just wait! She'd send that arse of an editor a howler he'd never forget. He'd never know what hit him! Ignoring the food waiting to be cooked she hurried to collect writing supplies.

"Molly?" Arthur's voice called as he made his way downstairs and into the kitchen. "Is breakfast ready? Did my copy of the Quibbler come yet?"

"No, breakfast is late and that-that rag is in the bin where it belongs!" She loudly spluttered. "How dare they slander our good name? Just wait until I send that...that...Xeno a howler. See if I don't!"

Arthur fished out the crumpled periodical and carefully smoothed it before reading. He was just lifting his cup of tea to his lips when he saw Twist's column on the front page. A quick scan told him why his wife was so upset. His cup dropped abruptly back to its saucer. "MOLLY! STOP!" He commanded loudly.

"Really Arthur there is no need to shout," Molly chided as she laid out her quill and ink on the table.

"Molly. Don't send the howler! Don't you see it'll prove to everyone this Twist is right," Arthur said, setting the paper aside before pulling his wife onto his lap.

"Please Molly calm down. I'll go see Xeno after breakfast and see what he ahs to say," he sighed, tightening his arms around his dismayed wife. "Maybe I'll be able to forward a note to Mr. Twist requesting he not use our family to make his point in the future."

"But Arthur..."

"No dear! No howlers. I forbid it," he commanded sternly, tapping a finger on her nose. "It would only serve to prove him right."

"Am I an ab-b-busive mother Arthur?" Molly sobbed softly into his shoulder.

"No, Molly-wobbles. You just let your temper get away from you sometimes." His arms tightened in a warm hug as he comforted his wife.

~~

Harry was sitting at the breakfast table when the owls delivered the morning mail. Hermione gave the owl next to her plate his payment and took her copy of the Quibbler. Setting aside a piece of toast, she hurried to unfurl the paper. Harry found it amusing that she'd taken a subscription to a paper she once called 'next to useless'. When he'd called her out on it, she simply replied that Twist's column came out a day before the Prophet's and she only got the Quibbler for that reason.

Many other Gryffindors, along with most of the school, took both the Quibbler and the Prophet as well ever since Oliver Twist started writing.

"Well, this is interesting," said Hermione as her eyebrows rose to her hairline.

"What?" Ron asked, as he started to scoop a pile of scrambled eggs into his mouth.

Hermione eagerly began reading Twist's column aloud for her friends. When she got to the part about Molly Weasley's howler, "...I remember listening to Molly Weasley airing the Weasley family's soiled linens for thirty minutes in the Great Hall. All it proved was she had a very grating, strident voice and seemed to take great delight in shaming her children and ruining breakfast for the rest of us..."

Ron's face turned fiery red as he spewed his half chewed mouthful across the table and onto Harry, who had the misfortune to be sitting opposite the furious red head.

"Hey!" Harry exclaimed, jumping back, as Ron, with a shaking hand, jerked the paper out of Hermione's grasp.

"I'm going to bloody well kill him!" Ron shouted, rising to his feet as he read the article. "That bastard better damn-well hide for the rest of his life!"