I do not own Harry Potter. Direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire will be in bold. Harry Potter belongs to the wonderful J.K Rowling.

Messing with the Dursleys

Charlotte Potter bolted out of bed, tumbling to the floor in a tangle of sheets and covered in sweat. Panting heavily, she climbed cautiously to her feet and covered her burning scar with one hand. "Whoa," she breathed. "That was one dream."

Or a vision.

Charlie gulped and slunk to the floor, massaging her forehead. The dream had been rather vivid. It involved an old house and a dark room...there was a snake in front of the hearth, Wormtail and...Voldemort.

The raven-haired girl shuddered and squinted hard, trying to coax the rest of the dream to the surface of her memory. There was an old man there as well, but she wasn't sure who he was. He had fallen to the floor after a flash of green light-she hoped, for his sake, that what she had was just a dream and nothing more.

And then Wormtail and Voldemort were talking about killing someone...and also of killing her, which was really no surprise. Someone was always trying to kill her and it was usually the Dark Lord.

Charlie got to her feet and rubbed the lightning shaped scar on her forehead. No doubt Harry Lupin, her twin brother and best friend, would be feeling her pain and fear where he lived with his uncle, Remus Lupin. With a sigh she went to her window and peered out at the dark, quiet suburb. Her scar had only ever burned when Voldemort was near, and it seemed unlikely that, in the state he was in, he would be in Privet Drive.

"Looks like I won't be getting much sleep," she muttered as she went away from the window and sat on her bed. Snowy, her white cat, curled against her side and purred in comfort. Charlie petted her absentmindedly as she thought.

"I wonder if this scar comes with the ability to see visions," she mused. "It wouldn't be the oddest thing that has happened to me. You know, I probably could be talking to Sirius about this right now if I was living with him."

Her nose wrinkled as the obnoxious snores of her Uncle Vernon travelled through the thin walls. Her godfather, Sirius Black, was currently living with Dumbledore until his trial came up. She had offered to speak as a witness but Dumbledore assured her that it would not be necessary.

A pecking at her window ten minutes later caused her to glance up in surprise. An owl was staring at her from outside with wide yellow eyes. Charlie jumped up and rushed for the latch, opening her window and allowing the owl to fly in.

"I'm going to guess that this is from Harry," Charlie said with a grin as she plucked the letter from the owl and offering it some water from the glass on her nightstand. She opened the envelope and glanced at the curly black ink on the parchment.

Dear Charlie,

I'm going to be amazed if this letter gets to you before morning. But then, Uncle Remus' owl has never failed in speedy delivers. I woke up with such a feeling of fear and pain I almost screamed. Are you alright? Do you want me to Floo over? What's happened?

Please answer as soon as possible or else I won't get any sleep.

Your concerned brother,

Harry

Charlie laughed softly and wrote her return letter, glad to be able to tell someone of her concerns.

Dear Harry,

I had this vivid dream of Voldemort and Wormtail talking. They were planning to kill me and they killed this old man who was unfortunately lurking about. My scar started burning like crazy. I'm not sure if what I had was a vision or just a nightmare. Can curse scars give you visions? Perhaps I'll ask Hermione when I see her.

Don't worry. I'm fine. I'm sorry for waking you up. We really ought to work on this whole Sibling Bond this year. I want to see if we can accomplish telepathy.

Love,

Charlie

Charlie slipped the letter in an envelope and handed it to the patient owl. The owl hooted at her before flying back out the window and into the night. Charlie glanced at the numbers on her clock before sighing and collapsing into bed.

Being the Girl-Who-Lived was hard work.

...

"Morning should not have come so quickly," Charlie muttered as she slumped into the kitchen. The sun was shining through the sparkling glass windows and her relatives were already seated around the kitchen table.

"This is it?" Charlie asked flatly as she slouched into a chair, staring in disgust at the tiny portion of grapefruit that was on her plate.

Petunia glared at her. "You can go hungry, if you want."

Ever since Dudley's new diet started, Charlie had been getting less and less in Petunia's effort to make Dudley feel better. Charlie had pulled one over on them, though, and dreamed of the birthday sweets and birthday cakes she had stashed under the loose floorboard in her room.

Dudley wolfed his grapefruit down with impressive skill and Charlie picked at hers. The sound of mail hitting the carpet in the front hall caused Vernon to hastily get up and leave the table. Charlie rolled her eyes as he slipped his remaining grapefruit into the trash on his way out.

"Charlotte!" he shouted a minute later.

Charlie groaned. "What did I do now?" she complained as she went to join her uncle in the front hall.

Vernon's face was red as he brandished an envelope covered with stamps in her face. "What is this?"

"A letter."

"Don't get smart with me, girl!"

Charlie threw her arms out. "But it is a letter! I don't understand what I could have done wrong."

"It's a letter addressed to you!" Vernon snapped.

This caused his niece to pause. "Well...okay...can I have it?"

"WHY ARE THERE SO MANY STAMPS ON IT?" Vernon bellowed. "The mailman actually knocked on the door after he dropped the mail off and wanted to know where it was from. Where is it from?"

"Give me the thing and I'll find out!" Charlie cried, backing up hastily in case her uncle decided to pick her up by the neck of her shirt and carry her to her room, something he had a bad habit of doing.

Vernon threw the letter at her. Charlie tore it open and read it aloud.

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Dursley,

We haven't been properly introduced, but I'm sure Charlotte has told you much about my son, Ron. The final match of the Quidditch World Cup takes place next Monday night, and my husband, Arthur, managed to get tickets through his connections at work.

We were hoping that Charlotte would be able to attend this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It's been thirty years since Britain has hosted the Cup, and Ron is looking forward to seeing Charlotte. We would of course love to have Charlotte stay over for the rest of the summer holidays, and we'll pick her up a day before the match. We'll also be sure to see her safely off to school.

We will send Ron`s owl in a few days so she can give us a response. I would have her do it by the Muggle way, but I don`t think the mailman knows where we live.

Hoping to see Charlotte soon,

Mrs. Weasley

"Oh," Charlie exclaimed when she finished the letter. "That makes much more sense. She doesn't know how our post works and went overboard on the stamps."

Vernon was not comforted at all. "Our post?"

"Surely you've noticed the owls-"

"Alright!" Vernon snapped. "I don't even want to know what this Quidditch is."

Charlie rocked back on her heels. "So...can I go?" she asked hopefully.

Vernon paused and stared at her. "This woman is the one with the litter of redheaded children, right?"

Charlie nodded. "Uh-huh."

When her uncle continued to look uncertain (he never enjoyed doing things that made her happy) she persuaded, "I'll be out of here sooner, and you won't even have to drive me anywhere. They're coming to get me."

"Fine. You can go to this ruddy World Cup," he snapped. "But I better not see your face until next summer!"

Charlie grinned. "Trust me, you won't."

With a gruff growl of dismissal, Vernon lumbered back into the kitchen. Grinning, she jogged up the stairs and barged into her room. "Woo! I'm gonna be free!"

Pop.

Charlie yelped in shock at the noise and tumbled onto her bed. Dobby, her house-elf whom she gave to the Weasleys for the summer, was beaming up at her. "Hello, Miss! Dobby has been missing Charlotte Potter greatly!"

"Dobby!" Charlie breathed, trying to calm her pounding heart. "It's good to see you."

"Mr. Wheezy has a letter for Miss Potter." Dobby held out another piece of parchment and Charlie took it.

Dear Charlie,

I was thinking about sending Pig (that's the owl Sirius gave me; don't ask how he got his name) but I figured sending Dobby would be faster. I know Mum sent a letter by Muggle post, but I don't know how long that takes and wanted to tell you as soon as possible.

DAD GOT TICKETS TO THE QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP!

The match is on Monday. Mum sent a letter so your Muggle relatives might agree to let you go, but even if they don't, we're coming to get you anyway. We'll pick you up at five on Sunday. Hermione and Harry are coming over this evening and they'll be joining us!

Oh! And Dad overheard that Sirius' trial is set for tomorrow! If we're lucky, he can come with us! Dad snagged some extra tickets for Remus and Sirius just in case. So far, Remus has agreed to come and said he'll meet us there.

Isn't this great? Oh, and Percy got a job at the Ministry...if you can, try not to speak to him at all. He'll engage you in a very boring conversation.

See you soon!

Ron

Charlie grinned happily. She hoped beyond hope that Sirius would be able to make it to the World Cup. She quickly scribbled back a message and handed it to Dobby. "Are you having fun at Ron's?" she asked.

Dobby nodded eagerly. "Mr. Wheezy lets Dobby wear his socks and Mistress Wheezy is very kind!"

"That's good." Charlie smiled fondly at him. "I'll be seeing you soon, Dobby."

"Goodbye, Charlotte Potter!" Dobby snapped his fingers and left with a pop.

Charlie went to retrieve some of her birthday cake and paused. "Wait...how exactly are they picking me up?"

...

That question continued to bother Charlie as Sunday rapidly approached. Her relatives weren't making it easier. Petunia was straightening up the house like a mad woman and Vernon actually put on a suit. Dudley, however, was terrified, and shrunk against the wall, trying to seem as unnoticeable as possible.

"Are they picking you up by car?" Vernon asked suddenly, staring out the window and peering around with his small eyes.

Charlie hesitated. She sure hoped so. She'd hate to see how the Dursleys reacted if the Weasleys picked her up by broomstick. Perhaps Mr. Weasley had gotten a car from the Ministry, considering his actual car was running free in the Forbidden Forest.

"Yeah."

Vernon snorted and continued to stare. Petunia was scrubbing the picture frames with such pressure Charlie thought the glass would break.

The raven-haired girl propped her chin in her hands and rested her feet on her trunk. Snowy was curled on her lap, purring softly. The time ticked by and the atmosphere grew tense with every second.

"Very rude of them," Petunia sniffed when the Weasleys were thirty minutes late. "What if we had somewhere to be?"

"But you don't," pointed out Charlie.

"They don't seem like the sort concerned with punctuality," Vernon muttered, ignoring his niece.

Before he could rant further, a startled yelp erupted from behind the blocked up fireplace. Charlie jumped up in shock and her fingers twitched for her wand. Dudley screamed and ran for the kitchen.

"What's in there?" Petunia shrieked as loud bangs came from the other side. "Is it a possum?"

"Ouch!" a familiar voice cried. Charlie gaped at the fireplace. It was Mr. Weasley! "Fred! Something's gone wrong! We need-ouch! George!"

"Sorry!"

"Go back and tell Ron that-"

"Wait!" Fred called. "Maybe Charlotte can hear us!"

The Dursleys whirled around and glowered at Charlie, who buried her face in her hands to muffle her giggles. "Floo powder! I completely forgot!"

"What is going on?" Vernon roared.

"Er...people like me can travel by fireplace," Charlie explained.

Vernon looked scandalized.

The banging from behind the fireplace cover got louder and Charlie quickly went over. "Mr. Weasley! It's me, Charlotte. Um...you see, the fireplace has been blocked up. You won't be able to get through."

"Who would do a stupid thing like that?" Fred cried. "Ouch! Ron!"

"Sorry! What's going on?"

"We're having tea and biscuits," George snapped.

"Boys!" Mr. Weasley shouted.

"This isn't a real fireplace," Charlie explained. "It's an electric one."

"You don't say!" Mr. Weasley exclaimed. "I must see this! Hmm...Yes, I think this will do. Stand back!"

Vernon's eyes widened. "Wait!"

But it was too late. Charlie covered her eyes as the fireplace cover flew to the other side of the room and Mr. Weasley, Fred, George and Ron tumbled out.

"Oh," she moaned. This was not the first impression you wanted to make on the Dursleys.

Mr. Weasley got up and brushed the chippings from his robes. "There we go! Hello, there! You must be Charlotte's aunt and uncle."

Vernon was holding Petunia up, the woman was so close to fainting. The large man stared at Mr. Weasley's outstretched hand silently. For the first time in his life, he was speechless.

"I do apologize for the mess," Mr. Weasley said, retracting his hand. "I wasn't aware we couldn't get out of the other end. Muggle places aren't supposed to be connected to the Floo Network, but I have special connections at the Ministry. I'll send the kids back to my place and then I'll fix this before Disapparating."

Vernon just stared.

Mr. Weasley turned around and smiled at the fourteen-year old girl. "Hello, Charlotte! It's very good to see you."

"It's good to see you too," Charlie answered.

Fred grinned at her. "Need some help with your trunk?"

"It's just there." Charlie gestured towards it, where it was now covered by chippings and dust.

It was then everyone noticed Dudley, who had finally poked his head out of the kitchen to see what was going on. Fred and George smiled strangely. They had heard a lot about Dudley from Charlie.

Mr. Weasley smiled at him. "And is this your cousin, Charlotte?"

Charlie could feel her lips twitch at Dudley's white expression. "Yeah."

"How are your holidays?" Mr. Weasley asked nicely.

Dudley could only squeak in fear and inch towards his parents. Charlie closed her eyes. I can't believe I live with these people.

"Alright then, let's go." Mr. Weasley pointed his wand at the fireplace and it crackled to life, flames licking up the sides.

Fred started forwards, Floo powder in his hand and tripped, candies spilling out from his sweater pockets. "Oops!"

He hastily collected the brightly wrapped sweets and threw the powder into the fireplace, turning the fire an emerald green colour. "The Burrow!" he cried and soon disappeared. George was next, bringing Charlie's trunk with him. He winked at her and after his shout he disappeared. Ron was next and he waved merrily to the Dursleys before departing.

Charlie was next.

"See you," she said and headed for the fire. Mr. Weasley placed a hand on her shoulder, preventing her from continuing. He was staring at the Dursleys, who were staying silent.

"You won't be seeing her for an entire year," he said with slight disbelief and irritation in his voice. "You ought to say goodbye."

Vernon eyed the wand he was holding and muttered, "Goodbye."

Charlie waved and started to step into the fire. A sudden retching sound behind her caused her to turn and stare as Dudley collapsed to the floor, spluttering as his tongue grew large and purple and continued to stretch.

Fred.

Charlie bit her lip. Her cousin deserved it, no doubt about it, but this was why her relatives disliked wizards and witches so much.

Mr. Weasley started forward with his wand. "Don't worry, I can fix it!"

Petunia shrieked and hugged her baby close. Charlie winced as Vernon started roaring something she could not make out.

Vernon started throwing the various ornaments they had around the house and Charlie ducked as one narrowly avoided her head. Mr. Weasley was getting a bit worked up himself and Charlie decided that it would be best to leave.

"Goodbye!" she hollered once more. She leapt into the fire, shouting, "The Burrow!"

In a flash she tumbled out into the familiar home she adored and the twins beamed down at her. "Well?" Fred asked eagerly.

Charlie rolled her eyes, brushing herself off. "It was funny, but now I'm going to be grounded for life."

"No you won't." Ron said. "When Sirius is proclaimed innocent, you can leave those Muggles behind and live with him!"

Charlie smiled softly. She sure hoped so.

Three more years with the Dursleys was something she was certain she wouldn't live through.