A/N: A brief explanation before I begin this story. This story is AU as it ties with The Love of a Family, another Harry Potter story I am writing. However, I've been debating on doing a Hogwarts spin off on it. The most recent chapter I wrote had Bill and Charlie at Hogwarts, and I wanted to continue it. I love writing Hogwarts stories, but I'm also still not sure if I am going to do Harry's years when he is older, and that's only because I'm not sure if I have the skill to rewrite his seven years. The Love of a Family is a Harry Potter abuse story, and most of it will be from Harry's, Molly's, and Petunia's point of view. It's why I decided to a Hogwarts spin-off. It will start with Charlie's POV but will probably be through Bill's, and other Weasley's POV. The story starts a few months before Harry is found. Though it looks like I am going to have to fix their ages in The Love of a Family because the timeline for when I wrote that story is wrong. Harry and Ron should actually be four in that story, not five or else Charlie and Bill should be a year older than I put them in the other story and this story. So I'm just leaving Chalie's and Bill's ages but changing the others. I'm going by what the Harry Potter Lexicon told me for their ages. The Love of a Family was written years ago though.
Around him, breakfast was pure chaos, but Charlie remained calm while his little brothers and sister ran out, screamed, whined, or in the twins case, threw food. His mother was yelling at everyone to sit down and eat because they needed to get going. He wasn't sure where his father was, though he wondered if he was hiding away from all this. While on the outside, Charlie was just sitting and eating breakfast calmly, inwardly, he was actually as excited as little brothers and sister. The reason was that he was finally going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
He'd wanted to go since he'd heard of it, but for the last two years, he'd been waiting impatiently for it to finally be his turn. Bill, his older brother had gone off for his First Year, and he'd returned seeming to be all grown up, and knowing all the secrets Hogwarts held. He knew Bill enjoyed holding it over his head all the fun things he was doing while Charlie stayed at home and played silly games with their younger siblings. During his First Year, Bill even started calling Charlie a little boy which had infuriated him. Before he'd gone off, the two had been close, being the two eldest of seven siblings. They had a two years age difference, but it had never mattered until that moment.
At first, he'd turned to Percy, the third oldest Weasley brother, but his younger brother annoyed him too much. He had a superior air of a know-it-all, and he always felt the need to correct everyone, even their own parents. Any game they played, Percy would make sure that they played it exactly by the rules. If he happened to lose, he would accuse someone of cheating. Sometimes he seemed a lot older than his age though he was three and a half years younger. After a while, Charlie gave up on Percy and tried to play with the twins, Fred and George who were two years younger than Percy. Though they were fun, they could be too much fun given the fact that they liked to prank everyone. Ron and then Ginny were last but were way too young for him to play with.
So for the past two years, he'd stay in his room reading up what he could about Hogwarts. During Bill's Second Year, Charlie had found some books about Magical Creatures in one of his father's old boxes, and for the past year, he'd been reading up on them as much he could about them. He'd first read them to find out more about the Garden Gnomes since Percy enjoyed rambling off nonsense about them. Wanting to see if his little brother was right, he'd looked them up in a book about Magical Creatures, but he'd forgotten about Gnomes once his eyes fell on a picture of a dragon. From that moment on, he'd wanted to learn as much about them as he could.
As a little boy, he'd always found dragons to be cool. His parents often picked dragon toys for him, but after learning about them, he thought they were brilliant! His parents had bought him dragon books for his last birthday and for Christmas. Now he couldn't wait to get to Hogwarts so that he could finally learn more about them. He knew he couldn't take Care of Magical Creatures until his Third Year, but he knew Hogwarts had an expansive library. He was sure he could find whatever he wanted on dragons or magical creatures in there. In fact, he planned to check out as many books as he could tomorrow!
"Arthur!" His mother screamed causing him to jump.
Ron and Ginny were sitting on the floor crying while the twins must have taken something from Percy. He was chasing them while shouting for them to give it back. Bill was at the table mending a used copy of Intermediate Transfiguration with spellotape. First Year was often the most expensive year for students since they had to get everything, and the Weasley's were a poor family. Most of their books had to be bought second-hand. Charlie couldn't help but wonder how it would be like when most of them were in school. Bill's Transfiguration text could hardly be called a book.
"Let me see if I can fix that better dear," his mother told Bill. "Can you please take Ginny and Ron up to get ready. We don't want to be late for the train. Charlie, are you all packed?"
"I packed last night," he told her. "I even put my dragon in before bed."
"First Years are too old for stuffed animals," Bill told him as he rounded up Ron and Ginny.
"Well, I'm not," Charlie retorted.
He'd had that stuffed dragon forever, and there was no way he was leaving him behind. The dragon had kept him company since he was a small boy, and if he had to learn the shrinking charm right away at school, he would. He didn't care if the others made fun of, he needed his toy, even if he just had it for the first term. He would be twelve in December, so he knew he was getting too grown up, but for the time being, he didn't see anything wrong with it.
"Don't fight," their mother told them warily. "Charlie, I'd like you to help get Percy ready."
"Percy doesn't need my help," Charlie said as he pointed to his brother. "He's dressed already."
Their mother turned and looked at Percy who indeed was already dressed, though his red hair was all sticking up as if he'd been shocked. His face was red with anger and the twins were laughing at him. Did the twins actually manage to shock him somehow? Sometimes his brothers managed to do underage magic that the rest couldn't achieve unless their emotions were running high.
"Then help Fred and George please," she said as she conjured a comb which she then handed to Percy.
Percy scowled at the twins and then began combing his hair.
"Can't I take Ginny and Ron instead?" Charlie asked as he took in the identical grins from his little brothers.
While all Weasley's had red hair and freckles, Fred and George were identical to the last freckle. There was a time when they'd had trouble telling them apart, but Fred was a bit more aggressive, and he has a small scar above his eye. A person had to know it was there to look for it, otherwise, most people couldn't tell them apart. At the moment, both looked as if they were ready to cause mischief for whoever had to take them. They had that evil glint in their eyes, the one they got before they were about to prank someone.
"No, take the twins up to their room," his mother said sternly. "I want all seven of you ready so we can get going. For once I'd like to get the train station with more than ten minutes to spare."
"Come on," Charlie said as he got up.
In his opinion, six was old enough to get ready on their own. Even Ron could dress himself, even if sometimes he put his clothes on backward. So why did he have to help the twins? All he wanted to do was daydream about school. Bill refused to tell him how they were sorted, and he was supposed to keep the secret for when Percy began in a couple of years. Charlie was looking forward to finally being in the know when it came to Hogwarts secrets. Finally, he would be all grown up as well, and maybe Bill would see him as his equal again.
Charlie found Bill waiting for him outside of the kitchen with Ron and Ginny both whining.
"Tell you what," Bill told him. "I'll get the twin monsters ready if you get these two ready."
"I can get ready by myself!" Ginny said and she turned and took up the steps quickly.
"I want to wear a Hogwarts robe too," Ron said as Charlie took his hand.
"You don't have Hogwarts robes," Charlie said as he led Ron up the steps. "How come you're being so nice?" He added to Bill.
"Because I want to talk to the monsters anyway," Bill told him. "And besides, it's your first day. You can have a break today. You have enough going on as it is with your sorting."
"How are you getting sorted?" Ron asked.
"You'll find out when you start school," Bill told him.
"I can't even count that high!" Ron whined.
"You can so," Charlie told.
"He can't even count to two," George said.
"Uh huh I can!" Ron retorted.
"Don't fight," Charlie said wondering how his mother dealt with this all the time.
He loved being part of a big family, and most of the time he loved the chaos that came with it. However, at the moment, all he wanted was to have a moment to himself so he could think about school. It seemed he wouldn't get that until they were at the train station, but then he'd be sitting with Bill and his friends, and they might want him to talk. He didn't want them to think he was weird by not talking. His brother was letting him sit with them as a favour. He wanted to be as close to Bill as they had been when they were younger, and so he was excited to hang out with the big kids.
The twins room was on the second floor, but Ron's was at the top floor. So after dropping off their brothers, they continued to climb. Ron was talking non-stop about his own first year. Charlie tuned him out as he thought about his sorting that evening. Would he be sorted into Gryffindor where Weasley's were usually prone to going, or would he go somewhere else? Hufflepuff wouldn't be so bad, he decided. His parents often told him that Slytherin wasn't the bad house, but he didn't want to go there. Bill had told him a lot of stories, and the idea of it scared him.
The morning continued to be chaos until the moment they got to the train station. Though Ginny had told them that she could get ready on her own, they'd found her still in her pajamas playing in her room. While their mother was tending to her, the twins managed to spill honey all over themselves, so they had to change again. Ron was upset because he wanted to wear a pair of Hogwarts Robes, so his father finally took a pair of Bill's old Robes that Charlie wasn't using, and let Ron wear them. After a few adjustments, he had his own pair, and he was happy to be one of the big boys.
Percy didn't even want to go at all, claiming that he could stay home by himself, so there was an argument about that. Finally, though, they were finally on Platform Nine and Three Quarters where was allowed to go first. Charlie had forgotten how misty it could be, or else there was a lot more steam than usual. All he knew was that he could hear a lot of voices around him, but the mist was so thick that he couldn't see the owners. He held onto his trolley cart, looking around, and hoping his parents and siblings would be there soon.
"Let's go find a compartment mate," Bill said as he appeared at his side. "Mum and dad are breaking up a fight between Percy and Fred. They said to make sure we get on and they'll find us."
"Are you sure you want me sitting with you?" Charlie asked him.
"Why wouldn't I?" Bill asked as he led the way to the train.
"You've ignored me the last two years. You said you were too grown-up for me," Charlie responded.
"I didn't ignore you," Bill replied. "I just wanted to grow up a bit and sometimes it's hard with that lot. You still wanted to play kid games, and I didn't. I want you to come to me anytime you need anything though. Believe me, you'll notice a difference once we go home for Christmas."
"They were always too young for me, and Percy was just annoying," Charlie said.
They hoisted their trunks onto the train, and then together, they began looking for a free compartment. They found an empty one close to the end of the carriage. They quickly stowed their trunks inside and then quickly hurried off in hopes that the rest of the family had shown up.
"Mum is going to have fun with that lot now," Bill said with a smirk as they looked around the mist. "It's usually you who can stop the fights, but you'll be gone. Percy will probably act even more superior now."
Charlie grinned back. He did feel bad for his mother. If she had her hands full now, she most certainly would once he and Bill were gone. Usually, Bill could stop fights from starting as well, and it was usually Bill who could stop Percy from being so obnoxious. One of the reasons Fred and George bothered him so much was because he annoyed them so much by being pretentious. Bill was the only one who could stop Percy when he got to be too much.
They found their family standing off to the side. Percy was still fighting with the twins. Ginny was crying in their father's arms, and Ron was trying to take advantage of everyone's distraction by trying to sneak onto the train. Charlie rushed over to him just in time.
"What do you think you're doing mate?" Charlie asked him.
"I just wanted to see," Ron replied.
"But what if the train left with you on it?" Charlie asked guiding him back to their parents.
"Then I get to start my First Year with you!" Ron said.
Charlie grinned at him but decided against telling him that things didn't work that way. He just made sure to keep a tight hold on his brothers hand as he took him back to his very frazzled parents. Once he thought he overheard his parents speak of having another child. He didn't think it was the best idea. They had too much on their hands as it. He would welcome any new brother or sister, but their family was probably big enough.