Weasley's Annual Halloween Party

Keilen

Halloween was fast approaching at the Burrow. Running back and forth through yard was a slew of red haired youngsters, and a red haired mother chasing them around. All around the place pumpkins were being carved, and apples were being candied or dipped into freshly made caramel. Candy corn was being placed in bowls, and punch was being made. Decorations were even already being hung up for the Weasley's annual Halloween party.

Among the slew of activity two young wizards were sitting and staring on in awe. They had seen get togethers at the Weasleys' before but never with this much gusto.

Hermione Granger, medi-witch extraordinaire, and Harry Potter, Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, sat on the sofa in the Weasley living room. They both offered to help Mrs. Weasley set up for the party but she shooed them away saying she had enough help. Hermione and Harry were both in agreement when she said this as just at that moment three Weasley cousins popped up; a flurry of questions poured from their lips as they each shook around a decoration in their hands.

All of the Weasley children had turned up for this years Halloween party. Even a few rarely seen relatives had taken the time off to apparate in for the soiree. Charlie flew in from Romania; Bill took the holiday off from Gringotts, even if the goblins didn't believe in taking holidays off. Percy, who had grovelled and apologised his way back into the family, was permitted to visit his family even though his job at the Ministry kept him very busy. Even Fred and George had turned up to help with the festivities. Ron and Ginny had run off upstairs somewhere to get more decorations, and Hermione eyed Fred warily as he crept into the living room. The ginger didn't take any notice as he slid up to the fireplace and placed a few strategic fireworks; definitely indoors friendly.

Fred felt the brunette's eyes on his back and turned slowly to face her. With a sneaky grin he raised his right hand up to his lips and placed his index finger vertically to silence her with a quiet 'Ssh.' Her eyes went wide and she nodded with a smile, deciding to relax and let the young wizard have his fun. Hermione wanted to enjoy some fun that no one else knew about for once. Fred winked and flashed a coy grin as he turned around and took off out of the living room towards the kitchen.

"I have this strange feeling that something is different about this Halloween." Hermione mused aloud to no one in particular. Harry turned his head to look at her.

"What do you mean?" he asked the confused looking woman. She just shrugged then stood up and walked towards the kitchen, feeling a bit pecking and in need of a light snack.

The smell of roasting pumpkin seeds filled her senses. Mrs. Weasley stood over the oven with her wand pointing in all different directions. There were pots and pans filled with boiling water, noodles, vegetables, and all manner of different delicious smells. Some of the pots were in danger of bouncing right off of the stove if they didn't get their fair amount of attention.

"Mrs. Weasley, are you sure you don't need any more help? I just saw Ginny and Ron run upstairs, so you must be busy!" Hermione was practically begging for something to do. Sitting still and waiting without any books was not for Ms. Granger. Mrs. Weasley did look a bit exasperated too; the young girl was worried about her health.

"Well, if you don't mind to maybe wash a few of those dishes. I'm running out of pots and pans to cook in." Mrs. Weasley's voice sounded quiet, as if she were wearing down. Hermione greatly suspected the mother of the Weasley clan had been up since well before dawn to make sure everything would be perfect.

With a thankful smile she pointed towards the mountain of dishes stacked precariously by the sink. Hermione pushed up her sleeves and jumped into the work. Feeling the need to wash by hand instead of using her magic she turned the tap and filled the basin with steaming, bubbly water. With a smile of comfort she happily dove into the mountain of food caked dishes.

Around an hour later she was still washing away. In the garbage bin there was a pile of rags she had used for scrubbing and had ruined. Fortunately, Mrs. Weasley kept the household fully stocked for just such an occasion. (Mrs. Weasley sometimes enjoyed doing the chores the muggle way as well.) Deciding to take a break she tossed the current rag into the water and rinsed the soapy bubbles from her hands. Leaning against the counter for a moment she listened to the sounds of the house. The pitter patter of small feet was going on in the room above her head.

'Percy's children I should imagine.' She thought to herself. Another sound she heard was that of Mrs. Weasley screaming at the top of her lungs at one of the Twins. It sounded as though she had discovered the fireworks that Fred hid in the fireplace. Other noises filled her ears as well. Banging around as decorations were being unpacked, and hung up. More running as the family hurried to get things ready.

Mrs. Weasley had also buckled down to let Harry help Ron and Ginny unpack the decorations, so she heard the laughter of her three best friends upstairs. From somewhere else in the house was the sound of the magical radio Mrs. Weasley kept around. The music was playing and it only added to the ever growing din of the house.

Deciding to get away from the noises of the Burrow for a few minutes she turned away from the kitchen and went through the backdoor to take a turn around the garden. Once the door had closed Hermione breathed in the smells of the outdoors. Sweet lavender was growing along the walk leading to the door; a wild batch of honeysuckle was sprawled out to the far side of the yard.

Hermione turned away from the regular pathway of the house and walked through the lush grass to a wild garden. Walking around she smiled at the new additions that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had added to it. One thing that surprised her was a small bench in the center of the garden. The Weasley's weren't known for sitting still, at all. With a happy smile she sat down on the bench and drank in the sunshine.

Although the sun was shining, it was still October, meaning there was a certain chill in the air. Hermione shivered and wished she had brought a sweater with her. She stood up and wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to add heat to her body. When that did not work she decided she should just head back inside and finish the dishes.

With one last smile and one long, deep breath she turned away from the garden and made her way back into the kitchen. The first thing she noticed was that Mrs. Weasley was back in the kitchen, her wand back out and stirring the pots on the stove furiously. The other thing she noticed was that the pile of dishes she had left had shrank considerably.

"Mrs. Weasley," she older woman turned and looked at her with a smile, "did you do any of these dishes?" Hermione questioned her politely.

"Of course not dear, I've been in that living room yelling at George about the fireworks he had been planning to set off after dinner tonight." Hermione tried to hide the surprise that flicked across her face, it apparently worked.

"George?" Hermione's interested piqued.

"Oh yes, that boy just can't keep out of trouble. Even on the holidays when his entire family is in the house. Not even when there are impressionable, young children upstairs to watch his every move and follow his example!" Mrs. Weasley ended her speech in a huff, with another smile she excused herself and went out of the kitchen. The spoons that were stirring before continued stirring even without the master chef being in the kitchen.

Hermione chuckled some, and shook her head. She rolled her sleeves back up and dove into the pile once more. After another thirty minutes or so she began to wonder who had worked on the dishes while she was outside. Her mind flicked through the Weasley household but none of the occupants came to mind. She shrugged it off and started to think about the list of things she had to do once she made it back to work on Monday.

Another half hour passed and there was what sounded like a mini explosion from the upstairs bedroom areas. Screaming and yelling ensued as Mrs. Weasley went around searching for the culprit. Hermione just chuckled to herself and scrubbed a particularly tough pot.

Without a sound, and almost suddenly, there was a tall red headed Weasley standing next to her rinsing out a pan in the sink. The little witch jumped as the sudden intrusion.

"Hello Hermione." His deep voice boomed through her as she let the pot she was scrubbing slip through her fingers and splash into the water. "If mum comes in there looking for me, could you possibly say I've been in here helping you for a while?" His blue eyes twinkled when he looked down at her.

Her cheeks flushed and her eyes went wide as she nodded; her hand groped around the bottom of the tub as she searched for missing pot. Gripping the hand she pulled it to the surface and began to attack it with her dish cloth once more.

With a quiet chuckle, Fred took the pot from Hermione and slid her down to the other side of the sink.

"If you had to wash all of these by yourself you'd be in here all day!" Hermione was stunned at his words, but it finally clicked in her mind.

"Fred! You washed those dishes for me? Earlier I mean, when I was outside walking?" Fred didn't say anything, he simply continued to wash the pots and pans, and passed them to Hermione for rinsing. She looked at him one last time and smiled.

"Thank you. That was very sweet."