"Are all your family wizards?" asked Harry, who found Ron just as interesting as Ron found him.

"Er-yes, I think so," said Ron, "I think mom's got a second cousin who's an exception, but we never talk about her"

Chapter One

"Rachel, your mother's second cousin, Molly Weasley and my family is coming to stay for the month, all the way from England!" Said Mr. Dare, with a large, cheesy smile.

I groaned, resting my face in my hands. It was bad enough I had to deal with my pompous mother and father every day, and now they had relatives coming from England? They were probably just as 'High class' and annoying as my own parents, or probably more!

"Rachel, don't grumble like that, a young lady never complains." Said my father with a disapproving frown. "I want you on your best behavior when the Weasley family arrives."

"When are they coming?" I asked, looking up at my dad.

"I expect they'll be arriving tomorrow." He said.

"Why are they coming anyway? You've never cared about family unless they help your business, Dare Enterprises." I Said. This statement wasn't an understatement either, it was completely true.

"I'll have a maid give you something suitable to wear tomorrow." Said my father, choosing to not answer his daughter's question. "I don't want you showing up in paint spattered shirts or jeans with holes in them. I expect you to act like a proper lady."

I sighed, when was my father going to realize she was never going to be the 'proper lady' he pictured me to be? If Clarion Ladies academy hadn't gotten through to me, he most certainly wouldn't

-Line Break-

I looked at myself in the mirror with horror. The 'dress' my father picked out reminded me of the costumes little kids wore on Halloween. It was a sickly shade of earwax-yellow, and was way too long for me. It was covered in barf-green bows and was so frilly I could hardly move. I looked so ugly she wanted to punch my own reflection.

One would have thought a multimillionaire would have a bit on fashion sense, but nooo. My father had to pick out the girly-ist, ugliest thing on the planet. Then I sighed, if I wanted to get out of wearing this, I'd have to do it by myself.

I quickly changed out of the barf bag and put on a comfy tee-shirt and jeans. Picking up the so-called dress, she put it on my arts and crafts table, and took out paint, scissors, and magic-markers.

Step one: get rid of the bows and ruffles. I got to work with she scissors, until the dress was completely unadorned by the hideous frills.

Step Two: Make the dress fit you. I began to cut the trim of the too-long dress so it would come just below my knees. Then, I cut off the sleeves of the dress.

Step Three: Remove the hideous color. I grabbed my red fabric dye and squirted it all over the dress. I smiled at the finished product, I would be wearing a red, strapless dress tonight. But it still wasn't quite…me.

I grabbed my favorite fabric-fork and began to poke small holes in the hem dress, then grabbing a bit of paint, she splattered it on the dress. Much better. I changed back into the new and improved dress, and headed downstairs. The Weasley family would be here in just a few minutes. Sure, my father would probably go ballistic about what she had done to the dress, but that was his problem.

As suspected, my father lost his head when he caught sight of me

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare! What may I ask are you wearing!? A young lady like yourself should never wear anything with holes or paint on it! What have you done with the dress I gave you!?" he practically shouted.

I smirked, "You mean the barf-bag? I just made a few, ah…minor adjustments."

"Minor adjustments? Young lady, you are wearing a monstrosity!"

"No dad," I said calmly, "The thing you gave me was a monstrosity. Believe me."

My dad opened his mouth to argue but quickly closed it as my mom came in. She was wearing a plain white blouse and a neat little skirt. I wondered vaguely if I was adopted. Probably.

The doorbell suddenly sounded. Normally, my father wouldn't approve of a 'young lady' like myself to go and answer the door. A maid would probably open it. In spite of that, I rushed to the front door and pulled it open before one of our maids could get there.

For a second, I was slightly shocked. Sure, dad had said Molly Weasly's entire family was coming, but dang. She had a big family.

I counted two girls and six boys. The girl was obviously the youngest. She looked about seventeen years old.

Next oldest was about eighteen maybe? He was tall and gangly, with lots of freckles.

Then there was a boy who looked older than him. He reminded me of the Stoll brothers, with a playful glint in his eyes and a mischievous smile, as if he was figuring out the best way to prank you. Unlike the Stoll brothers, he also had a sad look in his eyes. Also unlike the Stolls, Rachel realized with a shudder, his right ear was missing.

A bit older was a boy with horned rimmed glasses. The way he carried himself and the look on his face screamed 'I am pompous and dignified!'

Next to him was a boy with long hair tied back in a ponytail. He wore boots that looked like leather and had one fang-earring. He reminded me of a punk rock star, apart from the many scars on his body.

Besides him was yet another boy, with freckles and a dragon tattoo.

Standing close together were a middle aged man and women. The man had a weary, tired look about him, but looked jolly at the same time. He had a small balding patch on his head. The woman was plump and stern looking. These two were no doubt the parents.

The entire family was all red heads and had lots of freckles. None of them were wearing fancy clothes, just ordinary jeans and tee shirts. A plain dress in the girl's case. I looked like I would fit in with this family more than my own. My red hair and freckles would blend right in.

"Hello, dear! I'm Molly Weasley, you must be Rachel?" said the middle aged women. I nodded weakly, feeling slightly overwhelmed. The women, Mrs. Weasly I suppose, rushed forward and hugged me. For a second I was surprised, but then I slowly hugged her back. My own mother had never given me a hug this big!

I pulled away, and the middle aged man, Mr. Weasley I assumed, stepped up and shook my hand. "Arthur Weasley. It's truly a pleasure to meet you." He said, his face crinkling with smile-lines.

"Do you, uh, wanna' come in?" I asked, steeping aside, "My mom and dad are in the sitting room."

"Thank you, dear." Said Mrs. Weasley, stepping inside, followed closely by Mr. Weasley and their kids. The kids hadn't introduced themselves yet, but they seemed friendly enough.

I lead them to the sitting room, where my parents were sitting on the couches. My dad jumped up when they came into the room, while mom rose gracefully from her seat.

"Hello, Molly." Said mom, smiling, "It's been quite a long time."

"Quite." Said Mrs. Weasley, awkwardly shaking my mom's hand. "And you must be Walter Dare." She said, turning to my dad and shaking his hand.

"Pleasure to meet you, ma'am." Said my dad in his most professional voice. Liar. "And is this Arthur?" he asked, turning to Mr. Weasley. After a great deal of hello's and how-do-you-do's, Mrs. Weasley finally introduced the kids.

"This is my youngest, Ginny." She said, pointing to the girl, "That's Ron, those are Fred and George-"

She suddenly stopped short while pointing to the mischievous looking kid. Her eyes suddenly filled with tears and her face turned white. Mr. Weasley rushed towards her, cradling his sniffing wife. I noticed the rest of the family's eyes had gone wet as well, a tear had found its way out of Ginny's eye, and the sadness in the mischievous-looking kid's eyes were more pronounced than ever.

"Is everything alright?" I asked, concern finding its way into my voice.

"Y-yes, dear." Said Mrs. Weasley, wiping away a solitary tear and sniffing. She forced a weak smile and stood up straight. "I'm sorry, dears. Yes, that's George, over there," she said, pointing again to one of her many sons, "And that's Charlie, and Bill."

I stared in awe at the family. What had they all become so emotional at? From the way they had passed it off, it was clear they didn't want to talk about it. Rachel decided not to pry.

"Well, uh…shall we sit down for dinner?" asked my mom, fidgeting slightly. The family trooped over to the dining table where the maids had laid out a huge feast.

I plopped down in a chair next to Ginny. She gave me a small smile, and I smiled back. "So how've you guys been?" I asked the Weasleys casually.

"Pretty great." Said George, "We just saved the world."

I laughed at the joke. If only they knew, the demigods had just saved the world. I stopped laughing as I saw the Weaslys reaction to George's joke. The entire family was glaring at him, and Ron and Bill, who were sitting on either side of George had nudged him painfully, and from the tears of pain in his eyes, several people had kicked him under the table.

Ginny turned to face me, "He was just joking." She said meaningfully.

"I know." I said, but by now I was suspicious. I looked at George's missing ear and the scars all over Bill's body, where had he gotten them? How had George lost his ear? What had made the family so sad at the front door? Mrs. Weasley had said the name Fred…

They were hiding something, and I was going to find out what.