Moody awoke with a groan and looked blearily at the clock.

It read "Time to get up, lazy arse". He reached over and smacked the snooze.

He groaned again, and rolled over.

Nine minutes later, the alarm went off again. This time the clock read "No. Really. It's noon."

Wait a mo. I didn't set the bleeding alarm. He was going to have to have a talk with Verity about skulking around and setting his alarm while he was sleeping. Part of him was proud that she'd been stealthy enough to get away with it, but on the other hand, if she had woken him, she'd have been hexed within an inch of her life.

This time he shut the alarm off and started doing his stretches. As he pulled his knee to his chest, he could hear movement and the clinking of plates downstairs.

When he pulled the other one up, he heard the kitchen door open and then close.

He paused to think about why there would be people downstairs making a racket.

After a moment, it came to him. Crap.

He rolled onto his side, put a hand on his hip and cracked his lower back. He rolled onto his other side and did the same again.

With yet another groan, he sat up and pulled on a leg. They could bloody well wait for him, seeing as he would inevitably be the guest of honor. He stumped to the bathroom, and started the shower. He stumped back across the bedroom and selected some clothes, and then stumped back across.

After he finished with his shower, he took his time getting dressed, and then finally descended the stairs.

He walked into the dining room and saw that it had been magically enlarged and the table had been extended. It also contained all of his remaining family.

"Surprise!"

Moody managed a weak smile and said, "Hello, everyone. Good to see you. Has anyone made any Tea?"

Verity brought him a cup on a saucer and he took a pull from it. "Thank you, love." He walked down the table and sat in his seat at the head. Fionn and Addie were there, as were Sally and Ollie. His three Grandsons (and their wives) from Fionn were in attendence, as were all of his great grandchildren. Most of Sally's family were there too, which was good to see as well. "You know, you could have waited until next year to do this... I'll be one hundred and ten then."

Fionn chuckled. "Well, we'll do it again next year as well, Dad."

Moody grinned. Verity and Addie were setting plates in front of people, and once everyone was served, sat down themselves. "All right, everyone, tuck in," he told them. He was glad to see that all of the family that was in the country had made it. The only ones who weren't here were out working for Ollivander collecting wand components in South America and Tazmania, of all places.

"I'm glad that you are all here today," he told them. "I've got a couple of announcements and it's best if I just get right to them. In case you didn't already know, I've come out of retirement again."

There were a few people that hadn't known that, judging by the gasps and the dropped flatware.

Fionn had already been briefed, as had all of the kids who lived or worked on the farm. "There is another bloody pureblood supremecist movement insinuating itself into the government. They call themselves the Children of Purity, but sometimes they refer to themselves as "The Children" or "The Liberi". They have infiltrated the Department of Magical Law enforcement, and I'm fairly certain that the Minister is up to her neck in it."

"We raided a concentration camp of theirs last night, and because of that, the organization is probably going to be tightening things up, and eliminating threats."

Sally went white.

"Because of this, I'd like to stop by all of your homes and fortify the wards. And from this day on, if you come here or go out to the Manor, please make sure that you speak with the gargoyle at the main gate before crossing the wards; I'd hate to have it feed you to the thestrals."

"But enough business! Eat! Enjoy yourselves!" Moody speared a piece of egg with his fork and ate it with gusto.

Nobody moved for a moment, and then Fionn started cutting his ham. Verity crunched on a piece of streaky bacon, and one of the boys started shoveling potatoes into his mouth. Bit by bit, they all started eating again, and the murmur of twenty-seven people filled the room.

Moody knew it was a little bit mean to do that to the poor kids, but they needed to be told, and this way he only really needed to do it once. He surveyed the assembled family and grinned.



[Synopsis: Moody's family and various spouses and other hangers-on assemble to throw him a surprise birthday party. He lets his own surprise loose. There is some wailing and gnashing of teeth.]