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Birds of a Feather | ||||||
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Category: Alternate Universe Characters:Harry/Ginny Genres: Romance Warnings: None Rating: G Reviews: 337 Summary: A little girl, kidnapped from her loving parents and found by someone else. A little boy, rescued from those who didn't want him. When they meet, something wonderful happens. Hitcount: Story Total: 91082; Chapter Total: 6748 Awards: View Trophy Room Author's Notes: At End |
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Birds of a Feather, Chapter 5, Weasleys Happen Disclaimer: The Harry Potter Universe belongs to J. K. Rowling. Lucius Malfoy strode into his sitting room in a foul mood. It had not been the best of days for him, and, unfortunately, was just the latest in a string of bad days. The trial, wherein he had been accused of being a Death Eater, had ended, and he had escaped justice, but that didn't mean he came out smelling of roses. There was the inevitable whispering about him that no amount of bribery could quiet, and the upturned noses of other members of the Wizarding community. Of course, some of those who now looked down on him were of no import. The Weasleys, for example, with the myriad children they had now--they were of absolutely no consequence. No matter if they despised him--he despised them right back, and couldn't care less about their opinion. However, there were other, more important, families that were bound to take steps to distance themselves from the Malfoy family, and he couldn't afford that. Some of his plans were sure to be disrupted, and he didn't know exactly how to salvage them. Perhaps more money. . . Later that evening, Lucius was to be found drinking in the drawing room, taking out his frustrations in his normal manner--sitting by the fireplace complaining to his wife, Narcissa. ". . . that idiot Dumbledore. I can not believe he is still the Chief Warlock! His muggle-loving ways should have gotten him sacked long ago. Imagine the effrontery! Asking me over and over if I was sure that it was the Imperius curse! Then, insinuating that I was such a weakling in allowing myself to be Imperiused." Narcissa just looked on, knowing that anything she said at that moment would be ignored, or worse, taken as an insult. "Nothing has gone right for us since that blasted Potter survived Our Lord's attack! If only we hadn't lost that Veela spawn!" Lucius fell silent, brooding into his drink. "It's really Pettigrew's fault. I still can't believe that stupid idiot Peter went and lost the baby! I can't believe I was saddled with such an incompetent fool for that task! Our Lord could have sent Avery, or Nott, or even Snodgrass with me instead, and it would have gone a lot better. I should have killed him when I had the chance!" Over the preceding two years, since the failed kidnapping, Lucius had convinced himself that the rat was entirely to blame, conveniently forgetting that he himself was the one that hid the baby in the roots of the tree. It was rather typical of the blond man to apportion all the blame for any failed operation to everyone except himself. Narcissa, who still held some sort of humanity in her heart, spoke up. "But Lucius, I still don't understand why you had to kidnap the Veela child." Luckily for Narcissa, Lucius was far enough into his rant that he took this as an invitation to expound on what he perceived as his own brilliance. "The plan was perfect! The Veelas have some powerful capabilities, for all that they are filthy, misbegotten subhumans. The Dark Lord wanted to mix some of the baby's blood into a potion that would transfer to him immunity to fire. Veela can cast balls of fire that burn just about anything they touch, and it was hypothesized that this potion would inure him to its effects. That would be just another step on his road to immortality!" Lucius' mood took a turn for the worse. "Why do you care, Narcissa? You don't feel sympathy for the whelp, do you? We're better off without the child, since the Dark Lord has been vanquished. In fact, the fewer Veela there are in the world, the better!" Narcissa was used to Lucius' mercurial temperament; after all, she had known him for quite some time. She even knew the real reason that Lucius was so vehement about the desired eradication of Veelas. Ever since his advances had been spurned by the Veela girl, Marie, he had carried a flame of hatred for the race. It made him no happier to know that the Veela hadn't ever married anyone else--he was just bitter that he had not been able to snare one for himself. Narcissa herself didn't harbor the same grudges against the Veela race. She knew that she was a second choice, but still considered herself rather lucky to have been able to marry someone of such high station. Blessedly, he hadn't darkened her bedroom door since he'd been assured of an heir, and her monthly allowance was more than enough to allow her to indulge her pastimes. There certainly wasn't any love in her marriage, but then, there rarely was in the arranged marriages common to the Pureblood community. Narcissa saw that Lucius was once again wrapped up in his own dark thoughts, and took her leave. She had done her wifely duties in allowing him to vent his anger, and now felt free to spend time with her son, and plan her next dinner party. Perhaps she could invite the Delacours, just to infuriate Lucius. . . oooooooooo Summer, 1983 The day Bill came home from his first year at Hogwarts was a great day for the Weasley family. Charlie, of course, was excited to know how his older brother's experience went, because he would be starting in a year and a half. Percy was highly interested in knowing more about the books that Bill brought home. Fred and George were happy to have Bill come home so they could learn more pranking ideas and have his help in pulling off new ones. Ronnie was excited to have Bill show him how to fly, which was a rather premature desire, since Molly wouldn’t let any of her children go up on a broom until they were at least 8 years old. This, naturally, didn’t stop the older children from taking the younger ones up on their brooms when their mother wasn’t around. Arthur turned a blind eye to this, knowing that there was no stopping his sons, and figuring that it was better that they did it knowing they had his tacit approval. That way, he could keep an eye on them, and they'd have someone to come to if an accident happened. But, as excited as the other boys were, the happiest of all the children was Ginny. She had formed a rather strong attachment to her oldest brother, and had cried a great deal when he left on the Hogwarts Express. Bill had written a few letters home during the year, but Ginny, being only three, hadn’t received any great comfort from them. Curiously, it was during this time of Bill’s absence that Ginny started showing two rather startling character traits. The first was not really unexpected–she seemed to have inherited the famous Weasley Redhead temper. All of the Weasley children took after Molly in this regard. She was famous for her ability to go from placidity to full fury in less time than it takes to think up a good excuse. Arthur, thankfully, was a calming presence in the family, but even he hesitated to interrupt Molly once she got a good head of steam going. Ginny had been a rather calm child, happy and easy-going in most situations. But when she finally realized that the big red and black engine was taking her favorite brother “Biw” away, the temper tantrum she threw outclassed anything the boys had ever done. She cried for the rest of the day, after Bill left, and the next day wept and refused to be comforted. Eventually she calmed down, but her temperament refused to go back to the way it had been. Arthur was rather saddened by this, as he had been rather happy to have at least one calm child in his household of hotheads, but accepted it as being just another “thing” to deal with. The other trait that started manifesting in Ginny was almost certainly an outgrowth of her temper. She had shown minor accidental magic before, chiefly to enable her to get a toy that she wanted. Sometimes she summoned something she wanted, but other times she transfigured a toy into some other, wildly inventive play thing. But the second tantrum she threw after Bill left, which also lasted most of a day, was punctuated by her throwing flames at everything she could see. Arthur and Molly were hard-pressed to keep up with the little girl’s fire-casting, but they managed to calm her down before anything more important than Aunt Muriel’s tea cozy was burnt. This wasn’t too bad, in the Weasleys’ opinion, as it had been a rather horrid shade of fuchsia ringed with turquoise and lime green florets, but it did mean a rather embarrassed and apologetic letter to the Aunt in question. Arthur privately hoped that Auntie Muriel wouldn’t feel the need to replace it, but endeavored to show the appropriate amount of sadness anyway. Molly and Arthur resolved to help Ginny learn to control her temper, after that incident. After all, throwing fire is not always the best course of action for resolving a problem. After a lot of hard work, they were able to help the little girl control herself more. Of course, that just meant that she learned how to throw fire when she wanted to, rather than in the heat of the moment, so they also tried to not ever push her past that limit. All in all, it had been a good year for the Weasleys, in spite of the many goings-on that happen in a family of that size. oooooooooo When Bill went back to Hogwarts that Fall, Ginny was still rather upset, but managed to do a better job controlling her temper. For Bill, the school year went on as normal, except that his friends started to engage in more and more pranks. Bill didn’t know what to do about this–he had promised his parents that he’d concentrate on his studies, but couldn’t keep himself from providing advice to the pranksters, and participating in a few of the minor ones. Needless to say, when he wrote home to his parents, he chose not to enlighten them about every single activity that he was involved in, preferring, rather, to tell them about his classes and the prospects of the house Quidditch team. Once again, when summer holidays came around, Ginny was overjoyed to see her Big Brother Biw again, and he was equally happy to see his Princess Ginners. Summer 1984 This summer also saw Bill agonizing over what electives to take, as third years needed to chose additional classes. He was tempted to sign up for Care of Magical Creatures, and Divination, as he had heard that they were both easier than Ancient Runes, or, Merlin forbid, Arithmancy. But after discussing his options with both his father and his mother, and thinking quite a lot about what he wanted to do in the future, he ended up enrolling in the previously-dreaded Ancient Runes, and Muggle Studies (the latter heavily lobbied for by his father). The Weasleys celebrated Ronnie’s and Ginny’s fourth birthdays that summer. They had decided that, since Ginny and Ronnie seemed to be of about the same age, they’d encourage the fiction that the two were twins. After all, twins seemed to run in the family, and it seemed like a good cover to give those that didn’t know. Thankfully, not too many people had been there when Ronnie had been born, and they were already in on the secret, and had sworn not to divulge it. In the Fall saw both Bill and Charlie headed off to Hogwarts. By this time Ginny was more accepting of the idea, although she was still saddened at losing her two oldest brothers for such a long time. The separation that year was eased by having both sons come home for the Christmas holidays, although that inevitably led to another tearful farewell as the term started again in January. oooooooooo Summer 1985 The next summer was another wonderful one for the Weasley children. Although most boys, when they go off to school, tend to think themselves more important than their younger siblings, neither Bill nor Charlie fell into this trap--at least, not yet. To be fair, Ginny tried really hard not to let them ignore her. Her legendary temper only had to be let loose once before the two oldest pulled their heads out of their trunks and turned back into their normal caring selves. Bill took this to heart, and resolved to never let that happen again, and for the most part, he succeeded. Fall came, and with it the now-routine trip to Kings Cross to see Charlie and Bill off again, ready to learn more magic, and see more of what the world had to offer them. Charlie’s second year at school saw the beginnings of a profound change in his desires. Whereas, before that year, he had been dead set on becoming just like his dad, working at the Ministry, and eventually replacing Arthur as the Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, a chance injury to the Gryffindor Quidditch Team’s Seeker proved to be a watershed event for the 12-year old. At open tryouts for replacement Seeker, Charlie decided that he’d take a shot at it, since absolutely no-one else stepped forward when the Captain asked. Laughter broke out when the small boy pushed through the crowd, holding his beat-up old Nimbus 60, but the Captain allowed him to try for the Snitch. Surprising nearly everyone there, with the exception of Bill, who already had an idea of Charlie’s latent talent, Charlie proved amazing in catching the three practice Snitches. The Captain and the rest of the team agreed rather quickly, and announced that Charlie would be the Starting Seeker. Charlie, for himself, found an incredible amount of joy and a sense of fulfillment in flying competitively, and started to think that a job that required him to sit in an office all day maybe wouldn’t be as exciting as he had originally thought. He didn’t say anything about this, though, to his parents, as he wasn’t sure how they’d receive the news. Bill had a rather exciting year, too. His integration into the current group of pranksters was complete by then, and he had been able to help plan some of the more interesting and amusing tricks that were pulled off. But even more significant, at least, to anyone besides, perhaps, the Caretaker, Argus Filch, was how much he found himself enjoying his Ancient Runes classes. Far from being horribly hard and boring, he found he had an aptitude for them, and quickly rose to the top of his class. This was to have a far-reaching impact on his future career choice. Ginny found the year to be a little less carefree than her previous ones, as she and Ronnie started primary school. She found it rather bothersome to have to spend three days a week learning how to read, which she already had the basics of, and write, which she found laborious, and do maths, at which she excelled. But at least it wasn’t as hard on her as it was on Ronnie, who complained constantly about having to spend his time indoors, when he’d much rather have been outside. That spring also marked a major change for the sixth son in the Weasley family. Now that Ronnie had started primary school, and spent most of the year being called "Ronnie" by all his classmates, and his teacher, whom he adored, he decided that it was a baby's name. He stood up one evening at dinner, and informed everyone present that he was to be called "Ron" from here on out, and wouldn't answer to "Ronnie" anymore. Arthur and Molly looked at each other, smiled, and agreed. Molly even acceded to Ronnie's, no, Ron's, wishes, and sent owls to all the other brothers informing them of this change. Of course, this gave Ginny some leverage over her brother, as she could always infuriate him by calling him "Ronnie", since he could never ignore it from his twin sister. Summer, 1986 The summer before Bill’s fifth year was mostly notable due to the surprising addition to his Hogwarts letter. In addition to the normal book list, and warning that this would be his O.W.L. year, he also found a Prefect’s badge. This surprised his mother, and deeply pleased her. It was a surprise also to Arthur, who hadn’t realized his son was doing quite that well in his classes. Bill, however, was utterly shocked. Sure, he was doing well in a few of his classes, but he hadn’t realized that he had been quite so near the top in the others. He privately thought that, to have picked him, Professor McGonagall must have been rather desperate to find someone to fill that position. Nevertheless, it also provoked a change in his attitude toward studying. If he really was Prefect material, then maybe he could apply himself more, and eventually reach Head Boy. While he hadn't really wanted the responsibilities of that appointment, it would provide him some opportunities that he otherwise wouldn’t have. Summer turned into Fall, and Bill and Charlie returned to school as per normal. Ginny was resigned, by now, to this necessity, and only cried for half an hour when the big red and black train left on its yearly trip. Bill found that he rather enjoyed being a Prefect, not because of the authority he was able to wield over the other students, but rather because he was in a position to help those that needed guidance. He had always had a protective tendency, witness his close relationship to the little sister whom they had adopted, and this new assignment allowed him to practice that even more. Charlie had yet another life-changing year. He, of course, continued as the premier Seeker at the school, catching every Snitch he sought, allowing Gryffindor to win the lion’s share of their games. But perhaps even more significant was his choice in electives. Charlie signed up for Divination, which he found he absolutely detested, and in which he received horrible grades, although the Professor seemed to consider it her duty to predict his demise at least once a month. He also signed up for Care of Magical Creatures, and that sparked some major introspection and eventually cemented his life’s desire. The ability to care for the strange and wonderful animals that Professor Kettleburn introduced, and to spend time in the Forbidden Forest, always under supervision, mind you, woke in him the discovery that he purely loved being outside. He wasn’t sure, exactly, what kind of job would allow him to spend his days out-of-doors, but he knew, without the smallest doubt, that he’d never be able to be a desk jockey like his father. When the boys came home the next Spring, Charlie sought out his father and talked to him, hoping that he wouldn’t be too upset at Charlie’s decision to forge his own path instead of following in his father’s footsteps. Arthur listened to Charlie’s halting monologue, heard his apologetic tone, and took his son in his arms, noting, absently, that although he didn’t seem to be growing tall as fast as Bill was, he was certainly getting more muscular. He calmed Charlie’s fears, and explained to him that it didn’t matter what Charlie wanted to do, that any father just wants his children to be happy. Besides, Arthur thought to himself, he had six other children, maybe one of them would want to work for the Ministry. Summer, 1987 That summer passed uneventfully for the Weasleys, with the exception of Percy. He was just about frantic with the upcoming opportunity to attend Hogwarts. He had watched carefully as Bill, and then Charlie, progressed through their years and decided on a career path. Percy wasn’t sure exactly what he wanted to be. He didn’t care much for Quidditch and the outdoors, so something that involved either of those fields was out of the question. And he did want to be a Prefect, although not for the same reasons Bill had, so maybe something where he had a little authority. This would bear some thinking. Also that summer, Arthur Weasley took note of the fact that his family was growing rather large for their house, and that he needed to make a few changes to the family home. It had originally started out as a rather modest cottage, and then, as children came, had been expanded. Fred and George, of course, shared a room, as did Charlie and Percy. Bill, as the oldest, had a room to himself, but Ron and Ginny had been having to share too. Arthur realized that the time had come to give their daughter her own room. She hadn’t started to develop any sort of womanly characteristics yet--after all, she was only 7, but he knew it was coming when she started to refuse to be bathed at the same time as Ron. So, he took some of their meager savings, and a few days off of work, and built yet another bedroom for the family. He was rather proud of his construction abilities–they had served him well in expanding the Burrow already. He knew that his idea of a beautiful home wasn’t the same as that of most notable Pureblood families. He realized that when people saw his comfortable home for the first time, a type of polarization would happen, that people would either love it, as he did, or consider it to be a blight on civilization. But, he rationalized, they didn't have to live in it, did they? Besides, their reactions provided Arthur a rather reliable measure of their character, and he found it highly amusing to watch, as well. The new room for his little girl was inserted between the ground and first floors, close to both the bathroom, and the master bedroom. In a fit of optimism, Molly requested that Arthur paint it pink. She gave it frilly curtains for the window, and made plans to decorate it in a fairy motif. But this was all for naught, unfortunately. The first thing Ginny said upon seeing the room was, “Pink? Why is it pink? The Harpies wear green!” Molly just sighed, and resigned herself to having a rather less-feminine girl than she had hoped for. It’s not like it was unexpected–growing up amongst so many boys would have either forced Ginny to become ultra-girly in reaction to all the testosterone in the air, or become a tom-boy, and Ginny had followed the latter course eagerly. Molly gave Ginny permission to re-paint the walls, and even managed to beg some HolyHead Harpies posters off some friends of hers, whom she had known rather well back when she was being scouted for the Harpies herself. Arthur just smiled, thought a quiet “I told you so”, and helped his daughter with the redecorating. All in all, Arthur's home reflected his inner self very well. It was cozy, warm, eclectic, and happy. He found himself one evening, towards the end of August, standing on the hill between the house and the pond, reflecting on his family and their situation. Bill would be starting his sixth year at Hogwarts. Percy would be in first year, and knowing that Bill would be there to watch out for him was very comforting. Of course, with Bill’s prefect duties, it would normally have been Charlie that would spend more time with the studious young man. But Charlie’s new-found desire to be out-of-doors made it obvious that he and Percy would never quite see eye-to-eye. Bill, on the other hand, had received incredible grades, and was top of his class, with the exception of a couple of Ravenclaws, and would be a better fit with the 11-year old. As Arthur was contemplating these thoughts, he was also looking fondly at the Burrow. Suddenly, he gasped, and let out a belly laugh. He doubted that anyone else would have put together the clues, but he, being an inveterate Muggle-lover, had read some of their children’s books, in an effort to understand those strange and wonderful people better. If he tilted his head slightly, and squinted a bit, the Burrow looked just like a woman’s lace-up, high-topped dress shoe. And it was certainly true that Molly sometimes didn’t know what to do with so many children. Although they never spanked their children, and they always had bread, they did occasionally feed them broth, with potatoes and carrots and chicken making up the rest of the soup, of course. His chuckles finally died down, and he made a promise to himself that he’d tell Molly the whole story–he had a feeling she’d think it was a fabulous prank on the family, and on the world at the same time. oooooooooo True to Arthur’s expectations, Percy received wonderful grades for his first year. He and Bill had become closer friends than ever, and Charlie had continued to grow stronger both in body, and desire for an outdoor life, through working with Professor Kettleburn’s creatures. Added in to his preparations for the future, Charlie’s Quidditch exploits showed that he was fast becoming one of the best Quidditch players Hogwarts had seen in a long time. When the family arrived home from Kings Cross Station, the hullabaloo in their kitchen was well-nigh unbearable. Bill was trying to tell Ginny about his classes, and, in a quieter voice, the pranks that he had managed to pull off with his friends. Ginny listened intently to everything her favorite older brother said, and laughed in all the right places. Charlie was enthusing rather loudly about having been able to see a dragon in Care of Magical Creatures that year. And Percy was telling the Twins everything he could remember about the teachers and how well they presented the lesson materials. Ron kept pestering Charlie for Quidditch stories, and the Twins found themselves trying to tune out Percy so they could pay attention to Bill, who, they were sure, was telling something wonderful, if the expression on Ginny’s face was to be trusted. Molly bustled about the room, preparing a wonderful dinner (of chicken soup, and home-made bread, which made Arthur snicker). As Arthur sat at the head of the table smiling, happy to have his family home again, he decided that he was, possibly, the richest man alive. Summer, 1988 Hogwarts letters that summer brought two more surprises. Bill’s letter was rather thicker than even the one before his fifth year, because inside it was the invitation offering Bill the position of Head Boy. Molly just about screamed in happiness at this–she had always had great dreams for her children, and this seemed to be the answer to her prayers. The other surprise wasn’t really a surprise. Despite Molly’s hopes and dreams, Charlie was not asked to be a prefect for Gryffindor. Arthur figured that Charlie was much too interested in the Forbidden Forest, and its denizens, to have been able to have a detention-free school year. Of course, Arthur contemplated, the detentions usually involved him having to help Professor Kettleburn, so maybe there was another, more premeditated, reason that he had been given so many. Charlie was perfectly fine with this lack of responsibility, as that would allow him even more time to spend with his beloved creatures. School started that fall, with the inevitability of the seasons, and brought with it an increase in letters to Ginny from Bill. Over the summer he had realized that this would, in fact, be his last year at school. After that he would start a job, hopefully, and wouldn’t be around the family as much. He knew that Ginny would miss him tremendously, and decided to do what he could to help cement their relationship, and get her used to the idea of his leaving. Letters proved to be a life-saver for both, as it gave them the perfect avenue to discuss issues that are uncomfortable to address face-to-face. They also gave Bill a venue in which to discuss his pranks. Ginny always enjoyed hearing from Bill. She was old enough to understand the upcoming separation, and to bitterly lament it. But, after spending a week depressed about the idea, Bill’s first letter came, wherein he explained to her his idea about their correspondence. This served to change her attitude, and she spent the rest of the school year studying hard, helping around the house, and, above all, exchanging letters with her favorite brother. Ginny made sure to relay to her parents all the innocuous news that Bill wrote, in the hopes that they wouldn’t demand to see the letters themselves. Bill had worked out a Charm to ensure that only she would be able to read said letters, but they also knew that their father was rather gifted in Charms too, and didn’t want to take any chances. Occasionally, Ginny would share news of Bill’s pranks with the Twins, who were, themselves, quite well-versed in the arts of fun, but it was Bill himself, in person, who told them of his crowning achievement. The night after returning from Hogwarts, Bill snuck down to Ginny’s room, gathering up Fred and George on the way. Once safely ensconced in the green room, and after having cast three different privacy charms, Bill told them about pranking the Headmaster. Summer, 1989 “You see, Headmaster Dumbledore is never to be found far away from his jelly beans. For some reason, he absolutely loves them. Well, we decided that we needed to leave a lasting legacy, similar to the group known as the Marauders, who, from what I could find out, were there about 15 years ago. Anyway, you all have heard of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans, right?” The others nodded their agreement, anxious for Bill to continue. “Well, one night we snuck into the Headmaster’s office while he was away on Wizengamot business. We had discovered the password to get past the gargoyle--” Gasps from the other three interrupted his narration. “Oh, you see, there’s a stone gargoyle guarding the entrance to the Headmaster’s office, and it only moves aside if you whisper the password to it. Professor Dumbledore always makes it some kind of sweet, but he’s been using Muggle sweets recently, and we don’t know those very well. Anyway, one of my friends overheard Professor Vector say the password rather too loudly the week before. It was lucky that he was in a position to see the gargoyle open–otherwise he never would have guessed it was the password.” At this, of course, Fred, George, and Ginny clamored to know what it was. “Well, apparently the Muggles have a type of biscuit named Alfajores.” He stumbled a bit on the pronunciation, but the other three didn’t know any better, so he just pretended he had said it correctly. “That sounds like a spell, not a biscuit!” was Ginny’s exclamation. Fred and George nodded their agreement. “Yeah, that’s why we were so lucky that my friend saw what was going on; otherwise he would have assumed the same thing. Anyway, we snuck up to the office, and searched for the Professor’s stash of jelly beans. One of my friends knows a Blinding spell, and he cast it on the portraits so they wouldn’t see what we were doing. After that, I cast a Deafening charm on them too. Now, the office is chock full of books and silver knick-knacks, and cupboards and cabinets, so we just about despaired of finding anything. Luckily, I’ve been doing some extra studying--” George and Fred looked scandalized at this, “--on curse breaking, and detection of charms and hexes, and I found a cupboard that had a very strong Notice-Me-Not charm on it. Naturally I looked. . .” All three of the others nodded their understanding, and Bill went on. “. . .and found the mother lode of jelly beans. We hurriedly replaced them all with the ones we had brought with us, and turned to go. But when we turned around, we saw eyes staring at us.” By this point, the younger children were so caught up in the story that they were on the edge of their seats, and breathing as quietly as they could. The silence grew tense, until finally Ginny asked, “Was it the Headmaster?” Bill chuckled, and continued the story. “No, Little Ginny, it wasn’t. But we thought for sure it would be the end of everything. You see, Professor Dumbledore has a pet phoenix, and it was watching us. I don’t know why we didn’t notice him at first–maybe they can turn invisible when they want to. Anyway, we just froze. The phoenix didn’t do anything, just sat there and stared at us. Finally, I smiled at it, and said, ‘Hello there’. The bird trilled something back to me, and I couldn’t understand what it was saying, but I felt more calm about everything. Taking a chance, I asked, ‘Are you going to tell the Headmaster what we were doing?’ Then, the funniest thing happened–the phoenix trilled again, which sounded a bit like laughter, and it shook its head!” Fred and George exchanged a look of disbelief. “You’re kidding!” Fred said, rather more loudly than he should have. Bill shushed him, and shook his head. “No, it really shook its head at us. Then it sang again, and I felt that it was telling me that it enjoyed a joke just as much as we did. I don’t know why I felt that way, but as it didn’t seem intent on injuring us, or flying off to get the Headmaster, we just tiptoed over to the door and slipped out.” Bill sat back and smiled, as if he were done. Ginny looked at him expectantly, then indignantly, then burst out, “But what was the prank? All you did was replace his jelly beans with others. How is that funny?” Bill grinned at her, cast another Silencing Charm, and finished the story. “You see, Gin, we had spent the whole year buying Bertie Bott’s Beans and finding the vomit-flavored ones. By the end of the year we had quite the collection. We charmed them different colors, so you couldn’t tell what they were. . .” Ginny broke up. In between her gasps of laughter, she said, “So. . . every. . .bean. . .he. . .tasted--” Fred interrupted, “--was a vomit-flavored one?” It was a good thing that Bill had cast a second Silencing Charm, as the whole room dissolved into uproarious howls of glee. Eventually they all calmed down, and Ginny looked back at Bill. “Well, do you know what happened after that?” she asked. “Not specifically, no. But I happened to hear him after the leaving feast, talking to Professor McGonagall. He was saying, “. . yes, the whole bowl full. I must admit my food just about made an undignified reappearance, and now even the thought of having another jelly bean makes me rather nauseated.” Ginny’s giggles filled the room then, and they all looked admiringly at their oldest brother. “Bill,” began Fred. “You’ve inspired us,” continued George. “I think--” “--that we’ll--” “--have some pretty--” “--big shoes--" "--to fill--” “--next year--” “--when we start--” “--Hogwarts!” they finished together. Bill smiled at them, and said, “Well, I wish you luck. And just so you know, he prefers lemon drops now.” oooooooooo That summer passed much too rapidly for the Weasley family. Bill applied, and was hired, for a job at Gringotts. It was only as a teller in their Egyptian branch, but, as he explained to his parents, ". . .if I do really well with it, and take the evening classes on Curse-Breaking for Fun and Profit, then I can get hired on as an apprentice Curse-Breaker!" Molly's face went white at that. She knew what Curse-Breakers did, and had to face, and the idea that her oldest son would be that far away, fighting ancient curses and plundering tombs, was frightening, to say the least. But, she knew that this was a good opportunity for him, and could see the desire in his eyes, so she reluctantly supported him in his decision. Charlie was going into his sixth year, and was signed up for Advanced Studies in Dragon Lore, an evening class that Professor Kettleburn was offering on the side. The cost was rather high, as the students had to travel to Romania, but Charlie was determined to not let that be a burden to his parents, and arranged to work for the Professor part-time in his free evenings and weekends to pay the extra tuition. His Quidditch team, of course, was rather worried about losing their star Seeker, but Charlie assured them that Professor Kettleburn was an avid Quidditch fan too, and they would schedule his work around the games and practices--as long as they didn't schedule more than two practices a week. Fred and George were extremely chuffed to be able to start Hogwarts that Fall. They had spent a lot of time with Bill that summer, he having become almost their patron saint of pranking. Suffice it to say that they were greatly looking forward to the opportunities presented to them by a whole school-full of students, and a lack of parental supervision. September 1st found the Weasleys bidding farewell to four of their children at Kings Cross Station. After a lot of hugging and crying, the red and black steam engine slowly left the station, gathering speed, and the remaining Weasleys, now down to four, since Bill had left the week previously, made their way home. oooooooooo That year, with Ron and Ginny the only ones home, proved to be a hard one for all involved. Ginny greatly missed both her favorite brother, Bill, and the Twins, with whom she felt a special kinship also. Ron was still home, it is true, but being so close in age, they could have either bonded tightly, or proven the adage that familiarity breeds contempt. Unfortunately, it was the latter, brought on, in no small part, by Ron's being angry that he had to share his birthday with Ginny. He knew that Ginny had been adopted, but couldn't see why she had to have his birthday. "Why couldn't you make her birthday later, like in August?" he complained once, to his mother. Molly rolled her eyes, and commenced an explanation of birthdays, and gestation periods, and realities in the Weasley family, that left Ron blushing, mortified, and convinced that, even if he didn't like it, he would never bring up the topic of birthdays ever again. This didn't lessen the tension between the two nine-year-olds, and Ginny found herself becoming even closer to her mother, and finding joy in doing some of the more girly things that Molly had been hoping for. Ron, on the other hand, immersed himself in Quidditch, especially in the lore of the Chudley Cannons, a bottom-of-the-league team whose uniforms were an eye-watering orange. Speculation was that they had chosen this color in an attempt to make it harder on their opponents. After all, if you can't see the Snitch, then you can't catch it either. It didn't work. The Twins' first year at Hogwarts was marked by a greater-than-average number of Howlers being heard at breakfast. Molly seemed, though, to give up on the hope that this would change Fred and George--the number of Howlers decreased as the year went on, until they only came when the Twins had done something so horrendous that Molly couldn't ignore. Summer, 1990 Both Ron and Ginny were ecstatic to have the other boys home from school for the summer. Tensions had run high between the two, until their parents had found it necessary to establish a set of rules governing how they could interact. These rules didn't solve the problem, by any means, but they did make it so that both children were more apt to weigh the consequences before starting a fight. Now, with Fred, George, Percy and Charlie home, there would be a natural buffer between the two. That summer was a rather hot one--Arthur even had to invest in an upgrade to the fireplace that allowed Cooling Flames (get them while they're not hot!) as a way to combat the heat. Family Quidditch was still played, of course, but the games had to take place either early in the morning, which Ginny preferred but Ron detested, or late in the evening, which was enjoyable for all. Charlie had to play Chaser in these games, since they didn't have another Seeker, but he was acceptable in that position--certainly better than Percy. The highlight of the summer was when the whole family went to see the Chudley Cannons play against Puddlemere United. It goes without saying that the Cannons lost, with a score of 730-20, but seeing them play turned Ron into a veritable fanatic, even to the extent of persuading his mother to let him paint his room Chudley orange. Ginny shuddered at that, and reaffirmed her vow to never enter Ron's room, even to prank him. oooooooooo Charlie's last year at school was characterized by a phenomenal Quidditch season, where he continued his streak of catching the Snitch in all his games, thereby driving his team to win the Quidditch Cup. He did fine enough in all his classes, but it was rather obvious that his mind wasn't really on anything except for Care of Magical Creatures. He had already entered into correspondence with the dragon preserve in Romania, which he had visited, and had a tentative job offer, contingent upon his getting at least four N.E.W.T.s. Fred and George also had a very good year. The Gryffindor team had lost all three of their Chasers, and both of Beaters to graduation--Fred was heard to say, "Couldn't at least one of them have flunked on purpose?"--so open tryouts were held very early in the year. Fred and George, having some small desire to be on the Quidditch team, but, more importantly, having seen how pretty the girls were who were trying out for Chaser, tried out for the Beater spots, and the rest, as they say, was history. They had never before played in the Beater position, not having enough people to do so at home, but they found incredible reserves of natural talent. Very quickly the Weasley brothers became notorious for their tactics--Fred and George seemed to integrate effortlessly into the team. They protected the Chasers, on whom they had immediately developed crushes, with a ferocity only rivaled by their protection of the Seeker, although, to be honest, a Bludger hitting Charlie barely made a dent in the impressive set of muscles he had gained working out-of-doors. Percy was doing well too. Although his achievements were much less flamboyant than his brothers', he was slowly working his way towards being the top scholar of his year. He had sat down after his first year, and sketched out what he wanted his academic career to be, and was well on his way towards fulfilling his plans. He wanted to be prefect next year, and Head Boy two years later. This was all a precursor to gaining 14 N.E.W.T.s, and then taking a job with the Ministry of Magic. After the requisite time working his way up through the ranks of the Ministry, he planned to run for Minister, or at least become one of the Minister's Secretaries. Summer, 1991 At the school year's end, Charlie had received his requisite 4 N.E.W.T.s, and a job offer from the dragon preserve in Romania. He had to pack and leave rather quickly after he came home, which made Ginny sad, but he was so excited that he didn't pay that much attention to her mood. When Hogwarts letters came that summer, Percy received an offer to be Prefect, as expected, and much rejoicing was to be heard--at least, from Molly and Percy. Ginny, too, was happy for her quiet, studious brother, but the others really didn't care very much. Fred and George had to choose which classes to take as their electives the next year, and spent about 4 seconds deciding on Ancient Runes, and Divination. "After all," said George, "think of the pranks we could set up using Runic Magic." Fred chimed in with, "And Trelawney is a hoot to prank--she never realizes it wasn't fore-ordained." But perhaps the most portentous happening of all, was that this fall was when Ginny started Hogwarts. oooooooooo A/N: As always, thanks to my betas, rosiekatriona and sassyfrasskerr. They truly are remarkable, and find things that I apparently can't. The name Snodgrass comes from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, by Roald Dahl. And if you ever have the opportunity to eat an Alfajor, you'll understand why Dumbledore was so fond of them. |
| Reviews 337 |
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