"Really, Domi. Did you have to do that?" Dominique's best friend, Ivy, asked. "The poor boy looked as if he was a traffic light!"
Domi, Ivy, and their other best friend, Sophie, looked at each other and burst out laughing. They were sitting in a Dairy Queen in the middle of San Diego, enjoying their week in America. They were all inseparable, and had been since first year, and they had been planning to visit California the summer before their sixth or seventh year at Hogwarts as long as they could remember. Finally, all their parents agreed; under the condition they stay with Sophie's muggle relatives in San Diego. They had only been able to afford to go for two weeks, and they were having the time of their lives. Usually, every summer they were separated until the last two weeks, when Ivy and Sophie came to stay with Dominique. This year, they got to spend all of August together.
"You know how funny it is when I turn on my Veela charm in front of muggle boys." She shrugged, still grinning. She didn't have true Veela charm, not like her mother (after all, it was her great grandmother that was a Veela) but she was still extremely pretty and had a bit of charm that muggle boys especially fell for. Dominique looked at her friends and sighed happily. She truly had never felt happier. These girls had been with her through absolutely everything. They had been three nervous first years who bonded their very first night at Hogwarts; all three were in Griffyndor, and all three had different reasons for being so nervous.
Dominique had a famous family and was scared about living up to expectations; Sophie was muggle born and the whole world of magic was something completely new to her; Ivy came from a Slytherin family that would not be impressed that she was sorted into Gryffindor.
"I can't believe we're leaving tomorrow." Ivy complained, twirling around her ice cream. "We had so much fun."
"Come on, guys, aren't you excited to go to my house and enjoy another Weasley family gathering with all my relatives?" Dominique said sarcastically. Actually, she loved her family gatherings, and her friends knew that, but they always teased her about the vast number of people that attended these gathering. Not only were there all the siblings, spouses and cousins, but a lot of the time the cousins good friends came. Sophie and Ivy were perfect examples.
"How many people are going to be there this year?"
"Grandma told me thirty-three." She replied casually. "More cousins are starting Hogwarts this year, actually. Fred and Roxanne, the twins."
"Oh god, more troublemakers at Hogwarts. Aren't James and Sam enough?" Sophie shuddered.
"They do liven things up, though." Domi grinned and checked her watch. "Guys, its midnight. We should head back before your Aunt and Uncle get mad. We have a flight at noon tomorrow, which means…"
"We have to be at the airport at 9, leave at 8, wake up at 6:30, yes we know, my favorite time freak." Sophie stood up and straightened her cute white summer dress. Her raven curls bounced down her back, going well with her deep California tan.
"I'm not a time freak, I'm just organized." Dominique argued. "And I do believe it helped both of you pass your OWLs."
"We don't actually know if we passed them." Ivy reminded her. "We haven't gotten our letters yet. I reckon they'll be waiting for us tomorrow when we get home." She shivered.
"Ugh, reality. Let's enjoy the last of our American vacation." Dominique suggested. "Thanks so much." She called out flirtatiously to the lone Dairy Queen worker, who once again blushed furiously and stuttered back a reply. Laughing, the three girls left the store and made their way back to the house.
Later, while her friends slept soundly, Dominique lay looking at the ceiling. She couldn't sleep, unfortunately, because of a boy. A boy named Jack who she'd met at the beginning of her stay. Usually, it was her that dumped boyfriends or started ignoring boys. Maybe it was karma, but Jack, just a good looking muggle boy, was the one that was ignoring Dominique now. She knew nothing would come of their summer fling – she did live across the world, practically – but it irked her that things had ended the way they had.
"Stop thinking about him." She instructed herself. Of course, it was much easier said then done. The butterflies for him were gone, but the unsettling feeling that she was not in control of their relationship was keeping her up. Sophie was right; she had to stop being such a control freak.
***
Travelling the muggle way took incredibly long. They woke up just past six the following day, and their flight landed thirteen hours later in London. Because of the time difference, this meant it was nine am when they finally got off that darned flying piece of metal.
"I have never been more tired in my life." Ivy grumbled. She was always grumpy when under slept.
"I told you, sleeping on the plane helps." Sophie reprimanded her.
"Yes but those little screens with those movies were just so interesting!"
"Movies." Domi reminded her, proud to remember the name. Sophie laughed; being a muggle born, movies weren't all that special to her.
"How many suitcases do we have to wait for?"
"A million, I think."
"No, seriously, how many carts do we need?"
"Lets just wait for our luggage and then one of us will guard our bags and the other two will get carts."
"Domi; I think that's your bag." Sophie pointed to a giant pink suitcase.
She struggled, but she managed to get her bag off the turning-thing all by herself. Normally, she would have enchanted her suitcase so it was weightless, but as her parents had reminded her countless times, it was far too dangerous to do magic at the airport, and she wasn't seventeen yet.
Six bags later, each girl pushed a cart through customs and then through the doors that led them into the waiting area.
"Mum! I see them, look!" Domi could hear the voice of her baby brother, Louis. Well, he was almost fourteen now, but he was still her baby.
Domi, Ivy and Sophie waved at the four people they recognized.
"Mon bebe!" Mum exclaimed, rushing forward to pull Demi into a hug. "You're alive! You made it home!"
Demi laughed and untangled herself. "Oui, mama. I'm alive; you don't need to strangle and kill me now."
"Hey sweetie, let me help you with that." Dad said in a much more normal voice. Domi pulled him into a hug and when she let go, she did a twirl.
"How do I look? Americanized?"
"You're tanned, but you're still half-British, half-French." He assured her. "I wouldn't have it any other way.
"How many presents did you get me?" Victoire smiled at Domi. "I've missed you, sister."
"We each got you something, don't worry." Ivy confirmed.
"You mean all the crap in these suitcases isn't for yourselves?" Louis asked, leading them all out of the confusion of Heathrow airport.
"Watch what your calling crap." Sophie threatened. As they got outside, a slight drizzle started to fall on them.
"Oh, yeah, I've missed London." Ivy said sarcastically, glaring at the sky. "So, how are we getting back to Shell Cottage?"
"There's a portkey waiting for us at the Leaky Caldron, we just need to get a few hundred cabs to get us there." Dad explained. "Victoire and Ivy, you go hail one; Louis, go with Sophie and help her with all those bags. Domi, you're coming with your dear old parents. We'll see everyone there, hopefully we'll make it on an hour and a half because that's when our portkey is… come on, lets get going." He hustled everyone along.
Domi pilled into a cab with her parents. "So, did you miss me?"
"Like crazy!" Mom exclaimed. "I was so worried about you."
"She's not exaggerating, she was driving everyone nuts." Dad said teasingly. "I'm just kidding, honey." He soothed his wife but winked at Domi.
"Tell us, was it fun?"
"Oh, mama, it was so much fun! The three of us did so much. We went to the beach, shopped, saw culture, and met lots of people. We took day trips to Tijuana, in Mexico, and to the beach in Mexico, and to L.A. Sophie went all crazy because we saw someone named Blake Lively, apparently she's a famous muggle actress."
"You saw culture? What kind? You know that beaches and boutiques don't count."
"We went to Balboa Park! It's full of museums and we even saw a theatre presentation. Besides, learning the way that Americans live was learning about a whole different culture and those observations themselves were very educational." Domi argued.
"The international magical department of law will be very lucky to have you in a few years." Dad chuckled. "Aren't you exhausted?"
"Not at all. I slept the whole pane ride; I only woke up for meals." She explained. She launched happily into a more detailed description of her trip while her parents listened intently. The long car ride seemed to fly by as she described all the interesting muggle things she had learned about and at last the cab pulled up in front of the store beside the Leaky Caldron.
"Thank you." Mum paid while dad and Domi hauled her bags onto the sidewalk. Inside, the other four were already waiting.
"About time!" Louis exclaimed hotly. "We thought you were going to miss the portkey. It's outside."
Somehow, everyone managed to hold onto a bag or two and the portkey, and they were zooming back home to Shell Cottage.
When Louis was born, dad had decided that the small, three-bedroom cottage was far too small for their family. Three years after he had decided that, their new house was finally finished. It was a beautiful, wide brick home with many windows with white shutters. There were three floors, and enough room for all of them; a big kitchen for cooking, along with a huge living room for entertaining and a dinning room with enough room for all their guests on the first floor. There was also a small room that was a study, and that was private; only mum and dad were allowed in there. The second floor had three bedrooms; Louis', the guestroom, and the master bedroom. The third floor was girl heaven. Dominique and Victoire each had a pretty, big bedroom with windows facing the sea, and a bathroom they shared which was usually overflowing with every kind of product imaginable.
"It's good to be home." Domi announced when they landed in the backyard.
"You three have mail, by the way." Victoire grinned. "I think they're your OWL results." She pointed at three very official looking birds that had landed on top of the doghouse.
"We'll get your suitcases inside; you three go get your letters." Mum encouraged. Clutching each others hands, the three approached the birds. Domi's hand shook slightly as she untied her letter from one of the owls. She opened the envelope and quickly pulled out the piece of parchment.
Ordinary Wizarding Level Results
Pass Grades: Outstanding (O) Fail Grades: Poor (P)
Exceeds Expectations (E) Dreadful (D)
Acceptable (A) Troll (T)
DOMINIQUE WEASLEY HAS ACHIEVED:
Ancient Runes:E
Arithmancy:O
Astronomy: A
Charms:O
Defense Against the Dark Arts:E
Muggle Studies:O
Herbology: A
History of Magic:E
Potions: E
Transfiguration: O
"Yes!" Domi screeched excitedly. "Did you guys get all the grades you need?" Sophie wanted to be a healer, so she needed a million amazing grades, and Ivy wanted to open her own restaurant, so she really only needed a few essential ones.
"Yea!" they exclaimed together, and rushed to compare grades. They happily entered the house, holding their letters proudly out so mum, dad, Victoire, and Louis could see.
"This calls for a celebration." Dad ruffled Domi's hair. "How about we take you out for dinner tonight?"
"You sure you want to take us out, Bill?" Ivy said doubtfully. "We don't want to intrude on family moments."
"You guys sort of are family, unfortunately for me." Louis signed. "Having four older sisters sucks."
They all laughed, and mum nodded. "He's right, though. You guys are family! I'm proud of all three of you for working so hard. Now go and wash up and have a nap so you can be alive during dinner tonight."
***
When Domi woke up from her long nap, she changed into a new dress and put her hair in a curly ponytail before heading downstairs to find Ivy. Sophie had woken up just as Domi finished getting ready and was sleepily heading to the washroom.
Ivy was sitting and chatting with mum in the kitchen while doing her nails. She looked much more like herself after her nap, her chestnut hair swinging straight over her slim shoulders and the dark circles nearly gone under her celery green eyes. "I sent mum and dad a letter about my grades, they said their proud, so I decided to let Fleur invite them to join us for dinner. Sophie's parents replied too, I haven't read the letter but I'm guessing it's full of praise. So Fleur invited them too, with that telephone thingy."
"You should probably make reservations for dinner if there are eleven of us going."
"Thirteen, actually. Tommy just arrived and Teddy's joining us." Mum corrected. Tommy was Louis' best friend, and Teddy was Victoire's steady boyfriend. "And yes, I made reservations at that Italian restaurant in Diagon Alley. I figured everyone likes Italian."
"And it's respectable enough for my parents." Ivy added, wrinkling her nose at her parent's formalities.
"Dinner is at seven-thirty, is Sophie awake?"
"Yeah, she's upstairs getting ready. When are we leaving for the Weasley family gathering tomorrow?"
"At six or so. Don't forget, all you kids are camping together. The tent is in your room I think, so don't forget to grab it."
The Weasley family gathering seemed to get larger every year. It now took place over three days; the first day, everyone came for dinner and set up camp, and the next two days everyone just ran around and had fun. There wasn't nearly enough room in the burrow for everyone to sleep in; only the parents and some of the young children slept in there. It was much more fun to sleep outside, anyway.
Dominique was happy to be home, even though it was only for a couple of weeks. She loved travelling, she loved visiting her grandparents in southern France for two weeks and she loved going to America, but it was also nice to be home.
"Is Sophie actually sleeping in your closet?" Mum's voice broke her thoughts.
"Yeah, she says she needs her own space. It's actually a really comfortable bed she made there, and everyone morning she just puts all the cushions back on the couch." Sophie usually slept in Domi's walk in closet, but mum had only discovered it that day, apparently. Sam always hogged the guest room because he was a boy and apparently boys couldn't sleep in the same bed together. Demi was glad she was a girl; it just seemed way easier.
Half an hour later, Sophie graced them with her presence and they broke the news to her that her parents were also coming to dinner.
"Maybe they'll finally buy me an owl as a reward!" her eyes lit up. "They love when I get good grades and I've been bugging them about it forever."
"Tommy! Louis! Get down here; it's time to go for dinner! And call your father!" Mum yelled up the stairs.
"I'm right here." Dad emerged from the study, dressed nicely in navy robes. "Tommy arrived?"
"Just a few minutes ago. Look, we're going to be late. I forgot that this watch is behind." Mum said, tapping her wristwatch with her wand. "Boys!" she called again.
"Don't get your panties in a twist, we're here." Tommy announced, trotting downstairs. Only he could talk to mum like that; she had a soft spot for him because he was also French. Louis followed him, his hands busy counting how much money he had.
"We're going by floo, come on, who's going first?"
"I will!" Domi and Tommy chorused.
"Me, I'm the one we're hosting this dinner for."
"But I'm a guest!" Tommy teased.
"I'm prettier. Ladies first."
"Who said I wasn't a lady?"
Domi stuck out her tongue and went to go stand in the fireplace. "Diagon Alley!"
***
A/N: I've always wanted to write a next generation story, so this is my attempt. I've always loved Fleur so I decided to do one about her children. Keep your eyes peeled four updates, and as always, please review! Next chapter: the family gathering.