Chapter 1: My Messed up Family
Okay so first of all: I know Neville and Luna are not canonically together, but in my perfect world they are!
Also Percy's kids are missing here at first, but they're on vacation right now. They're not a huge part of this story anyway. Much love!
Ps in advance: If I ever accidentally say Uncle Fred instead of Uncle George, I'm sorry! I get them mixed up all the time :o
It was one day before the Hogwarts Express rolled off into the countryside, and the Burrow was a mess. Despite how Grandma Molly labored with her wand, she couldn't pick up enough, clean enough dishes, or make enough food for her enormous family. There were at least two muggle cars outside (which, for a family composed mostly of wizards, is a lot), over twenty brooms in the mud room, and floo powder all over the living room rug. Luckily for her, Ron and Hermione had just arrived early that morning (much to Ron's dismay), and there were extra hands at her disposal.
"Oh, Ron dear! Go be a love and sweep the sitting area, will you?" Grandma Weasley cooed at her youngest son.
Ron, giving an unutterable sound in response, slumped off.
"Oh, Molly, do let me help you with those. Here, you handle those recipes. You know I'm not much good at them." Hermione stepped in and took the dishes from Molly. "Kids, make yourself useful—and don't break anything!"
Hermione's two flame-haired children rolled their eyes at each other and got to dragging the luggage up the winding stairs of the burrow. Ron's suitcase was especially heavy, and his daughter Rose suspected and extra bludger or two nestled closely between his unfolded shirts.
Rose Weasley. The perfect combination of the quirky Hogwarts legends, Ron and Hermione. Rose was smart, tactful, witty, and a bit of a goody-two-shoes. She was also horribly disorganized, obsessed with Quidditch, understandably terrified of spiders, and her appetite could rival most growing boys at Hogwarts. A bit of a diamond in the rough, she only recently, upon beginning her fifth year, grew past 5 foot 3, finally convinced her mom to magically straighten her teeth, and somewhat tame her long mane of bushy locks. Not that she ever cared too much about her looks, she was always getting comments from her more glamourous cousins on how she should "dress more girly," "maybe try makeup," and "go to a dance." None of these, however, interested Rose. Which, as far as the male population at Hogwarts went, was a relief. She had only ever had one boyfriend, and several other guys (mainly Quidditch players) definitely ogled at her. She stuck out, being a bit of a tomboy and yet somehow always glowing from exercise. All of this went completely unnoticed by Rose, which was much amusement to her male cousins.
When she and Hugo were done with the luggage, it seemed Uncle George popped out of nowhere to greet them. Rose let Hugo converse with his Uncle while she went to the room that most of the girl cousins would be staying in.
As she hoped, her pigmy owl was at the window, holding a dainty bundle of letters. She ripped them open, reading the addresses quickly. Just Albus, telling her they were on their way, and Alice Longbottom, who had the same message. Almost as soon as she laid back down on the bed (which was one of the many in that room, all squished together and enlarged by some enchantment), she heard several quick raps at the door. Before she could even get up, she heard her mother exclaim, "Neville! Luna! So good to see you."
Alice Longbottom, tall, gangly, and fair skinned, ambled in after her parents. Rose was down the stairs in a second to give her a tight hug.
"I missed you!" Rose said, delighted. "How was America?"
"Oh, good!" Alice replied lazily. She looked quite tired. While their parents visited, Rose and Alice took her things upstairs to the bedroom Rose was in earlier.
"Home sweet home!" Alice said, flopping down on a bed.
Rose giggled merrily; she too felt as if the burrow was a second home. Alice had been staying with the Wotter clan (what the Weasley and Potters called themselves when they got together) ever since first year, because she and Rose had been friends practically since birth. Alice's parents weren't exactly the closest friends while in school, but ever since the battle of Hogwarts and the many visits to the Burrow and Hermione and Ron's house, they bonded quite quickly.
Alice received her soft, platinum hair from her mother, and some of her airiness as well. She had it cut into a bob that reached her shoulders, and her bangs were long at her eyelashes. She was probably Rose's closest friend, not counting her family members, such as—
"Al!" Rose screeched all of the sudden, leaping up from her bed and bounding towards the bedroom door. Albus Severus Potter stood, wearing an old jumper and knee-deep in his Hogwarts luggage. His black hair constantly messy, Rose only messed it up further by slinging her arms around his neck and practically knocking him over.
"It's good to see you too, Rosie." Albus said with a wink at his favorite cousin. Rose finally let go, but only attacked once again by mussing his hair playfully. Alice and Al hugged warmly, and soon Al was also on a bed like one of the girls, taking off his shoes and stuffing them under his younger sister Lily's sheets.
"Albus, GET OUT!" Lily yelled when she saw him. "And get your ruddy luggage out of the way! People are trying to walk here!"
Lily, Harry Potter's youngest and only daughter, was a flame-haired beauty. Built athletically like her mother, she was in her fourth year and usually had ten boys pining after her at any given time.
Albus got off the bed, but stayed around to talk. After much catching up, and many questions for Alice about her trip to America, it was time for the Longbottom girl to go downstairs and say goodbye to her parents. Neville called up the stairs a few moments later, "I'll be seeing you all soon!" he was the Herbology Professor at Hogwarts.
When Alice came back up the stairs, she looked at her friends and sighed. "I sometimes wish my parents weren't always at my school…however, I do have a few more days of privacy!"
Rose laughed at her friend, nudging her lightly. "And what are you going to do with your short lived freedom, Alice my dear?"
A devilish grin spread Alice's face. "I don't know…" she had suddenly pulled a redwood wand out of her pocket.
"Alice, what…" It was then that all three of the cousins realized their friend Alice didn't own a redwood wand. In fact, none of them did.
"Whose wand is that?" Lily asked suspiciously.
"I only know one person with a redwood wand…" Rose began, and then her face became quite red as she realized who this person was.
A shadow fell on them, and the shadow spoke in a surprisingly deep (and not very happy at all) voice.
"Alice Longbottom, its in your best interest to give me my want back."
Scorpius Malfoy. Who had invited him to the Burrow, Rose wondered.
"Unless you can perform wandless magic, Lily has nothing to be afraid of, does she?" Rose asked the platinum-haired boy haughtily.
Scorpius squinted at her, obviously clenching his teeth. "Pepper, isn't it? No, no…something else red…ah, tomato! I knew your name was something of the kind. Uncanny, really, how your namesake mimics the exact shade of your revolting hair, face, and…" he paused, squinting harder. "Can you even call those brown smudges all over your body freckles?"
Albus, Scorpius' best mate, was laughing hysterically. Rose knew he loved her, really, but he did love to jump in on the "make fun of Weasleys" game every now and then.
Alice slipped the wand to Rose behind her back.
"Okay, very sly. I'm not an idiot, I know Rose has my wand now." Malfoy drawled impatiently.
In a flash, Rose brandished the wand and cast a spell before anyone could say "Weasley." And that's exactly what Malfoy did say.
"Orangatium!" Rose intoned, pointing directly at Malfoy's shining locks.
"Weasley!" he exclaimed, sounding hilariously, Rose might have added, frightened.
If Albus was laughing before, he was wheezing as though he were dying now. Rose Weasley had successfully turned Malfoy's hair a lovely shade of autumn pumpkin…with his own wand.
"You wanted this?" Rose asked triumphantly, throwing Malfoy his wand back. She turned to go, a snickering Alice and Lily behind her, when she turned around suddenly as if the thought just occurred to her. "Oh, Malfoy? Don't even think about more ginger jokes this year. Unless you want your face turned the color of a pumpkin as well. Have fun reversing that one, boys!"
When the girls had left, a seething Malfoy turned to Albus. "And WHY are you still laughing, Al?"
"Mate…" Albus said, catching his breath. "You had it coming to you."
Around midday, Uncle George's son, Fred, strolled into the sitting room with an extremely wide grin on his face. Ron and Harry gave each other troubled looks, not really wanting to know what glorious amusement their beloved nephew had drawn up this time. Slipping out of the room quietly, the only adult supervision left to see what Hermione and Molly were up to in the kitchen.
Rose was sitting on one of the chairs, reading a large book. Alice and Lily were braiding each other's hair and talking in hushed voices about American boys. Hugo was polishing his broom, and Scorpius and Albus were playing wizard's chess. James, the oldest Potter boy, was reading a quidditch magazine. Victoire and Teddy Lupin were cuddling on the other couch, and Fred's little sister Roxanne was humming rather loudly to a muggle CD in the corner of the room.
Fred cleared his voice loudly. "Attention, attention, extremely large and strange, mostly ginger and annoying family members and friends." He called loudly. He got *nearly* everyone to look his way.
"I would like to announce the beginning of our annual Wotter quidditch tournament. Whoever kills Roxanne Weasley first…wins!"
Fred was instanstly chased out of the room by a rather frightening Roxanne. It didn't take much more than the word "Quidditch" to get the clan out of their seats and into the tiny mud room in which they had stored all their broom sticks. Even Scorpius Malfoy, who wasn't known to play much Quidditch, lit up for a moment before the characteristic smirk sprawled onto his face.
Uncle Ron and Uncle George suddenly burst into the mudroom just as everyone was ready to go outside. "I heard mention of Quidditch?" Ron said, his adult brother beaming ear to ear. Nothing like a simple, safe, non-threatening game of Quidditch to bring a particularly large wizard family together.
Rose knew this was going to be an interesting evening.