Hello, my dears! May certainly crept in like a mischievous little niffler, hasn't it? I do hope everyone is faring well, especially the Muggle-borns and those with Muggle relatives or friends. While the Ministry of Magic and Healers at St Mungo's assure us that the sickness that has been rampaging all over the Muggle world has no effect on us magical folks (yet), it is best to be on the cautious side. Always observe what the Muggles call social distancing and, of course, proper hygiene.
Now, where was I? Oh, yes. April. Quite a tricky month, wasn't it? I can barely remember anything that transpired save for a wonderful event that happened early in the month. I'm sure you are all aware of what I'm talking about. The events at The Burrow at Ottery St. Catchpole was the talk of wizarding Britain for some time, after all! The Weasley family surprised us all when they decided to open their home to hundreds of strangers. It was certainly more than a generous gesture. But how in Merlin's name did Molly Weasley pull it off? Even with the help of the rest of the family, hosting and entertaining an army of guests week after week sounds entirely exhausting. You certainly would never find me inviting half of wizarding Britain in my home anytime soon. I just might catch an early grave!
So, how did she do it? I invited Molly herself for an afternoon tea here at my home, and she was more than happy to visit. With hot cups of tea, some biscuits, and Molly's homemade sandwiches set on the table, we got to exchange pleasantries, the latest rumours (which I will tell you about some other time), and then the Burrow event.
And now, allow me to turn the spotlight to the witch herself. She would certainly explain things better first-hand. How exactly do you host an event like Molly Weasley?
Lovely of you to give me this wonderful opportunity, Edna, dear. Thank you. And I'm very pleased to hear that many enjoyed the small event we pulled off at the last minute! Now, Edna has prepared a few questions. Shall I work on these? Yes? All right.
First, how do you prepare meals for hundreds of guests? Oh, well, I'm sure you know I have a big family to begin with, so making large batches of meals isn't unusual. But still, hundreds of guests are certainly a lot and there's only one of me. The children, sweet as they are, come and go with helping. The best way I could think of was to have everyone try their hand at making dishes. What I did was put up my recipes all over the Burrow and have the guests prepare them! I may have had added a bit of incentive, too. It certainly worked.
Now, the next question: How do you keep hundreds of guests with different interests entertained? Well, this is more up Fred and George's alley. As the gathering at the Burrow was held close to their birthday, everyone managed to convince my most reluctant self to allow the twins to head the entertainment department. Of course, it wasn't without absolute, stern warnings. If you only knew how many crates of Merlin-knows-what that they tried to smuggle in the house behind my back! Those two are most certainly up to no good the entire time the Burrow was alive with guests. I was expecting missing body parts by the time their birthday rolled around! Thank goodness nothing's happened. I'm very proud of what they did, of course.
The final question was, "What is it like holding such an event for weeks?" Well, I think you know the answer to that, dears. It was entirely exhausting but worthwhile. I see the faces of everyone having fun, and I knew letting my boys bring those pranks of theirs was worth the possibility of them going overboard. When I saw the table and plates empty of food, I knew everyone loved the dishes that has been prepared, and the hours of cooking was worth it. When I saw people come, go, and come back again, I knew we made the right decision. Dreadful times have fallen on some of us, and in a small way, I hope the event we pulled off managed to take your mind off the troubles you're facing and managed to make you feel loved and appreciated. Now, there may not be an official event to celebrate, but the Burrow will always be open to anyone who needs a home.
And there we have it, the secrets to Molly Weasley's successful event! During our conversation, I just had to ask how the clean-up process was every day during the event. She laughed and told me that she made it clear to everyone in the house that anyone who made a mess would be responsible for said mess. Otherwise, they would be answering to her. She was happy to report that nothing terrible was brought to her attention. Of course, the Self-Cleaning Charms she had on her brooms, mops, and dishwashers had been renewed thrice a day as well. Handy little things, these charms.