A/N: Ciao! Here is my newest story. Right now, I'm thinking of making it an Adelaide/Fred story, but it could go A/Charlie or A/Cedric or A/Oliver, etc etc etc. The possibilities are endless! Anyway, this story is going to be looooooooong, I can just feel it!

Anyway, please read! I hope you enjoy! And don't forget to review!!!

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Adelaide Hayworth was always a friend. Wasn't that the saying? Always a friend, never a lover? Well, if it wasn't, it should have been, because that's how Adelaide saw herself. She was everyone's friend – only ever a friend – to what felt like the entire male population and that's all she would probably ever be. Little Adelaide Hayworth, friend to all.

----

Adelaide, Jack and Neil moved to Ottery St. Catchpole with their parents from their London flat when they were three years old. Sara had finally told her husband that enough was enough: she could not raise such energetic triplets in such a small flat: they needed space. And they were a young couple with a little bit of money saved, so they could afford to move somewhere outside of the city. The house wasn't very large, but it was big enough for 5 people with a lot of fields of long grass surrounding it. There were only a few houses in the immediate area and Sara and Raymond were unsure whether they were magical or Muggle. The Hayworth house was an old country house that Sara and Raymond had fixed up before they all moved in: hardwood floors, an old Muggle kitchen, and two large bedrooms on the second floor. There was a large porch with an old swing and a fence around the front yard with a quaint little gate.

Not three days later, after Sara and Raymond had unpacked most of their belongings, there was a knock on the door and three small distinct voices were shouting indecipherable things. "All right, all right," Sara grumbled as her long legs maneuvered around her three blonde triplets, she headed to the door, her husband not far behind.

She opened the door to reveal an obviously pregnant short woman trying to hold two fidgeting boys, a tall man holding a quiet boy with glasses on his hip and two taller boys standing in between their parents. The tallest boy grinned, "Hello, we're your neighbors! The Weasleys!!"

Sara opened her mouth to introduce herself and welcome them inside when she felt one of the triplets pressed themselves against her leg and whispered loud enough for all to hear, "What's wrong with their hair, Mum?"

Sara looked down horrified, "Neil!" But the red headed man laughed.

"That's all right, probably never seen so many red-heads before!"

Sara continued to blush, "I'm so sorry," she frowned as she noticed the boy with glasses stick his thumb in his mouth and the second tallest boy frown. "I'm Sara Hayworth and this is my husband Raymond, please, please won't you come in?"

The triplets watched with wide eyes as the peculiar family walked in. Raymond bent down, "Aren't you three going to introduce yourselves?"

Jack shook his head violently and moved to hide behind his father's legs. Neil was still standing curiously at the family, so it was Adelaide who stepped forward bravely after glancing at her father. "I'm Adelaide," she said clearly and poked her brother's arm, "this is Neil," she jerked her thumb behind her head, "that's Jack. And we're triplets, but I'm the oldest." She stopped, looking pointedly at the boy who spoke earlier, to introduce himself and his siblings.

"Mum, what's a triplet?" The second tallest brother asked, staring at Adelaide curiously.

Adelaide furrowed her brows, her pale grey eyes angry. She reached behind her father and grabbed Jack, pulling him roughly up to stand next to her. "We are triplets," she said slowly and deliberately, unaware that Mr. Weasley and her father were looking at each other and stifling laughs. "We were all born on the same day, October 15th, and we are all three years old."

The eldest boy was smiling at Adelaide and pointed to the two youngest brothers, "That's Fred and George. They're twins and they're two."

"But there's three of you?"

Adelaide nodded at the second oldest boy.

"But you don't all look the same. Your hair's different."

Adelaide opened her mouth, stomping her little foot, but her mother intervened: she didn't know what Adelaide might to say to explain the three shades of blonde hair the triplets had. "That's because they're fraternal. That means they aren't identical."

Mrs. Weasley shifted the twins on her hip, "I'm Molly Weasley and this is my husband Arthur and we live right over the hill, right down there." She smiled at the three Hayworth children, "Boys will you introduce yourselves?"

"I'm Bill and I'm the oldest. I'm going to Hogwarts in two years!"

"I'm Charlie and I'm second oldest."

There was a pause as everyone looked at the boy who was still sucking his thumb. Once he saw that everyone was waiting on him, he popped his thumb out of his mouth and said quietly, "Percy and I'm four."

Mrs. Weasley nodded at the two boys in her arms, "And these are the twins and we've got another one on the way."

The triplets didn't pay any attention to what the adults were saying, they were watching the very strange children. The twins and Percy were put down on the floor as the parents wandered into the kitchen talking about things Adelaide and her brothers didn't care enough about.

Once the adults left Neil stared at the twins, "Do they talk?"

One of the twins covered his mouth and laughed while the other one said quickly, "Yes!"

Percy looked around the room until his eyes landed on Adelaide, "You're a girl?"

The little girl huffed and crossed her arms, "Yes."

Bill was still smiling, "You're the only girl in the neighborhood!"

Charlie wandered further into the room, Jack following him, "Bill, they're the only kids."

Jack continued to follow Charlie to make sure the older boy didn't touch any toys when one of the twins asked, "What's a girl?"

"Yea, a girl?"

Adelaide just stared at the twins her mouth hanging open when Bill turned to the twins, "Mum's a girl! Aunt Muriel's a girl."

The twins made a face and laughed, "Ew! Girls!"

Adelaide stomped over to the twins and stuck her face in front of theirs. "Girls aren't gross! Girls are just as good as boys!" Still angry, she pushed one of the twins who fell on his bottom with a thud.

Everyone froze, waiting to see who would cry or tattle, but no one did – the adults were walking out of the kitchen talking and laughing and saying goodbye as they scooped up the kids.

Once the Weasleys had left, Raymond turned to the triplets, "So, how did you like the Weasleys boys? You'll be playing with them a lot I imagine, since they are the only kids in the neighborhood."

Adelaide, Neil and Jack looked at each other, something they did often that made their parents convinced they were silently communicating. It was Jack who finally spoke up, "Why is their hair red?"

---

Molly and Sara were enjoying a cup of tea on the Hayworth's couch as they watched their children play: neither set of kids had really ever played with any other children, so it was surprising to see everyone get along so well. Even Percy and Jack, who were the two quietest were still playing with everyone else. Sara was especially relieved to see the usually inseparable triplets were playing with different Weasley boys. Jack and Percy were "reading" a book while the twins and Neil played vampires and Bill, Charlie and Adelaide played Dragon Keepers before the twins would question Adelaide about girls while Bill told Charlie and Jack tales of Hogwarts. All the children would play quietly and loudly with the other children, and both mothers were pleased to see that Bill and Charlie made sure everyone shared toys and books and that Adelaide made sure no one was left out.

And just a few hours after that cup of tea, Mrs. Weasley gave birth to yet another Weasley boy, leaving her other sons under the care of Mrs. Hayworth (who had insisted and would not take no for an answer, to which Mrs. Weasley had cried her thanks).

--

Adelaide peered over Mrs. Weasley's arm to get a better look at the bundle she was holding: it was the first time the Hayworths were meeting Baby Ronald. Adelaide looked up at Mrs. Weasley's face, "He looks like Billy."

Neil nudged his sister so e could get a good look too, "No, Addie, he looks like Freddie!"

Fred huffed from his spot on the floor in front of the couch. "Does not! And don't call me that!"

Neil jumped down laughing, "Freddie, Freddie, Freddie."

Adelaide ignored the argument and looked down at the baby again, "How long until he'll talk?"

Mrs. Weasley smiled, "Not too long, but maybe he'll want to keep quiet because everyone else talks so much. What do you think, Adelaide?"

Ron squirmed in his mother's arms and let out a loud, long cry.

Adelaide covered her ears, "No."

--

Jack pushed his peas around his plate as he listened to his father talk about work. Jack loved to listen to stories about his father's job at the Ministry: Neil thought it sounded boring and Adelaide was indifferent, but Jack found it all very exciting. "Did you see a dragon today, Dad?"

Raymond smiled at his oldest son, "No, not today, Jackie-boy, today I helped an old lady who has a loose hippogriff in her yard."

Jack grinned as his mother questioned Raymond about how a hippogriff had made its way to the suburbs of London. Raymond had a job in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, and after six years at the Ministry, after six years working a desk job, he was finally getting exciting jobs like this. Jack continued to listen to his father and during a lull was going to ask another question when Neil spoke first.

"Charlie says he wants to be a Dragon Keeper."

Jack grumbled. "So?"

Neil sat up straighter, "I do too!"

Adelaide giggled and ignored a reproachful glare from her mother, "You just want to be like Charlie!"

Neil was going to retort but Raymond cut in, "Children," he said sternly, "you can do whatever you want, but you have to finish school first."

Jack smiled again, "Mum said she'd teach us to read soon!"

--

George pouted as he watched Adelaide coloring with his crayons. The little girl shrugged, tucking her dirty blonde hair behind her ear, "You lost, George," she said matter-of-factly.

Percy covered his mouth with his hands as he giggled, ignoring his younger brother's glare. George opened his mouth to speak but Bill ran over pulling a reluctant Fred and Jack with him, Charlie and Neil close behind. "I have a secret!" Everyone was quiet and Adelaide put her crayon down excited. "I overheard Mum. She's pregnant! She's going to have another baby!"

Charlie nodded excitedly, "Said she wants a girl!"

George pouted again and glared at Adelaide, "What's so great about a girl anyway? Girls can't do anything!"

"They can't even play Quidditch!" Fred finished, laughing.

Everyone stared in horror as Adelaide stood up slowly, her pale grey eyes blazing. Bill and Charlie were going to say something to the twins who were smiling smugly when Adelaide threw herself onto Fred, pushing him on the ground yelling, "Girls can do anything boys can do! I'm just as good as Neil and Jack and I'm just as good as a boy!" She twisted her small body and reached out for George who had started to cry when she felt herself being lifted off the ground.

That night, still upset, Adelaide woke up her brothers, "Cut my hair," she instructed Jack.

"Addie, we don't care that you're a girl! We're the three little dragons, remember?"

Adelaide frowned at Neil, "I want my hair as short as yours and JackJack's!"

"Can't Mum do it tomorrow?"

Adelaide tried not to cry, "I want to be the same as you!"

Jack patted his sister's shoulder, "But we all have different color hair and different color eyes!"

Neil nodded, "And the twins were mad they lost and mad they aren't the babies anymore." He laid back down in his bed, "Now, go back to sleep, Addie. It'll be fine."

--

Adelaide laughed as Ron giggled and pointed up at his two oldest brothers as they flew overhead. He crawled into her lap and clapped his hands as Neil and Jack plopped down on the grass on either side of her. They were at the Burrow while their mother helped Mrs. Weasley who was due any day now. "Just two more years until we can fly!"

"Do you think we'll get our own brooms?" Jack asked as he watched Bill throw Charlie a quaffle.

"Yea," Neil said confidently, "Dad loves Quidditch and he'll want us to play at school."

Adelaide nodded, "I'll bet if we're really good we will for Christmas!"

Ron giggled again and pointed across the grass where the twins were whispering to each other. The three Hayworth kids looked at each other. "We can't let them win," Neil said seriously.

"But, brooms!"

Adelaide shook her head, "Neil's right, they can't win!"

--

Adelaide held the youngest Weasley in her arms, smiling at the girl, "Now," she looked up at her mother and Mrs. Weasley, "Ginny and I can show those boys that girls are just as good as boys."

Sara smiled at her daughter and said seriously, "I'm sure they are already well aware." The two mothers shared a look, trying to erase the image of mud-covered twins, laughing Jack, Neil and Charlie and a smug Adelaide from their minds.

"Some day, those twins will grow up," Mrs. Weasley sighed.

--

"Ron's boring, Mum!" George whined.

"Even Ginny's more fun!" Fred pouted, watching as Ginny slept in her hammock.

"Don't you dare wake her boys! Look, the triplets are coming over soon and you can play with them," she paused as she continued to knit, "and don't you bother Percy either! Let him read!"

"But Mum!" Pouting, the twins went and huddled in a corner, whispering, something Mrs. Weasley was always skeptical of. She hated when the weather was bad almost as much as her children. She was very thankful when Sara swung by to drop off the triplets before she had to run to Muggle London to see her sister (who was very fearful of magic and refused to come to St. Ottery): even if Sara wasn't staying, Molly knew that the triplets could entertain the twins, even if they occasionally helped them with pranks and tricks.

Sara watched as Adelaide immediately went over to where Charlie and Bill were playing Wizarding Chess and Jack and Neil went over to the twins. Smiling, she turned to Molly, "I won't be gone too long and I'm going to pick up some Muggle things for the kids to do on rainy days."

Molly sighed, relieved, "Thank Merlin! It's supposed to rain all week!"

--

Adelaide sat down next to Charlie, "Girls play Quidditch, right?"

Bill didn't even look up, "Best Seeker in the league is a girl!"

"Really?"

Charlie nodded, "Joanie Roth. Puddlemere is undefeated 'cause of her."

Adelaide was quiet for a moment, "And you guys still like me, even though I'm a girl?"

Bill and Charlie both looked up alarmed, "Did the twins say something again?"

"Yea, they know you can beat them up."

Adelaide shook her head, "Mum said I should wear my hair long because I'm a girl," she pouted, throwing it behind her ear, "but it gets in the way."

Charlie pulled her head under his arm and ruffled her hair roughly, "Nope, I can still do this!"

Adelaide laughed helplessly as Bill came over and tickled her, "Girl or no girl, you're one of us, Addie!"

--

Percy pushed his glasses up as he peered over the black box. "So, it's Muggle?"

Neil nodded excitedly, "And it shows mofies!"

Jack giggled, "Movies, Neil!"

"What's a moo-vie?"

Adelaide laughed at Fred and pushing a small black box in to box Percy was peering over, she pushed a button and Charlie let out a gasp as colors showed up on an even bigger brown box. "Watch," she said and sat on the floor between George and Fred.

Sara and Molly laughed quietly from the front door, "They've watched this one movie twice already."

Molly laughed, "And your sister just gave it to you?"

Sara nodded, "It's her old one, didn't need it. And don't worry; they'll be occupied all day, so take the whole day to yourself."

Molly hugged the younger woman, "Thank you, dearie, you're a life-saver."

--

"Can we watch another one?"

Sara smiled at George, "Maybe another rainy day, huh, George? It's almost dinnertime anyway."

George frowned but Adelaide ran up and grabbed his hand, "Come on, George, we're going to learn the songs so we can sing along!" She pulled him forcefully back to the TV as Sara smiled and shook her head, stirring the pasta she was boiling over her Muggle stove.

--

"Mum, will the Hayworths be back before I leave?"

Mrs. Weasley put down her spoon and wiped her hands on her apron before sitting down on a chair and hugging her eldest child. "They'll be back in two days, Bill, don't worry."

Bill didn't look his mother in the eyes, "You think I'll make friends?"

Mrs. Weasley smiled, "Lots and lots of friends, Bill and they'll all be your age."

"Will Charlie and Percy write to me?"

"We all will if you want us to."

Bill let out a chuckle, "The twins can barely write their names, Mum. What about the triplets?"

She stood up again, "I'm sure they will if you ask them, Bill, now run along and wash up before dinner."

--

"What House you think you'll get?"

The Weasleys and the Hayworths were having their last dinner before Bill left for school. All the kids but Ginny were sitting in the shallow pool Mr. Weasley had set up. Bill grinned, "Well, all Weasleys have been in Gryffindor for the past, well, the past forever!"

Jack scratched his arm and looked at his siblings, "Only mum, dad, Uncle Wayne and grandpa have been to Hogwarts and they were all in different Houses."

Percy looked intrigued, "Really?"

Neil nodded, "Every House but Slytherin."

"We want Gryffindor!" The twins exclaimed in unison.

Bill shrugged at the triplets, "Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff would be okay, but since everyone has been in Gryffindor –"

Adelaide smiled, "Don't worry, Bill, you'll be in Gryffindor!"

Charlie smiled teasingly at his older brother, "We wouldn't want you to disappoint the ancestors, Billy!"

--

"Adelaide! Jack! Neil! Charlie's here!"

Adelaide ran to the front door, "What are you doing here, Charlie? Where's everyone else?"

"Come on, your mum said you could come over – we're helping dad with these gnomes in the garden!"

"Gnomes?"
Charlie was grinning, "Come on! Come on! Get your jacket and your gloves! Your brothers can go with your dad, come on! Come on!" He tugged on her arm as she giggled and grabbed her coat, hat and gloves.

"Mum, I'm going with Charlie!"

Charlie didn't wait for Mrs. Hayworth to reply and pulled Adelaide out of her house and dragged her down the hill to his yard where his family was standing around the shrubs, watching as Mr. Weasley brandished his wand.

"Isn't this great?"

--

Adelaide would recall her entire childhood fondly: while every day wasn't spent with the Weasleys, a good portion of them were. All of the Hayworth and Weasley children got along, but Adelaide had always been closest to Charlie (even though he was four years older), even after the twins stopped teasing her for being a girl: the beatings they got from her and seeing how naturally terrific she was at flying, they nearly forgot she was female. But it was Charlie who was Adelaide 's closest Weasley (not counting Ginny of course; the two girls had to stick together). So it was Adelaide who was most depressed when Charlie left for Hogwarts.

Everyone had missed Bill when he left his first year, but there was something more noticeably different when Charlie left. The twins (with the help of the triplets) started to prank and destroy things more: putting Exploding Snaps in the bushes to frighten the gnomes, putting frogs in Percy's bed and worms in Ron's oatmeal, hiding Molly's things among other mischievous pranks.

They also started to play a lot of Quidditch. The twins were finally old enough to fly and were determined to be just as good as the Hayworths.

But that was nearly impossible: the Hayworths had been flying for a year when the twins started, but even when Bill and Charlie had been home over the summer, they could easily be out flown by the triplets.

And Sara and Raymond could not have been prouder. Although they were in different Houses and did not meet until they worked at the Ministry, they had both played Quidditch at school. Sara played Chaser on Hufflepuff for two years and Raymond had played Beater on Gryffindor for four. They would bring out their old brooms every once in a while and toss the Quaffle with the triplets. And even though they had few to compare the triplets with, Sara and Raymond knew their kids were good.

Even with their used Cleansweeps, the triplets were faster than the twins (Percy, of course, liked to keep his feet on the ground) and forced the twins to try even harder. Sara and Raymond had been worried that the triplets might let their talent get to their heads, especially Neil, but they were relieved to see that even from the beginning the triplets were always determined to fly faster and play better. They would take turns shooting and keeping and would all compete against one another for the snitch.

When Charlie wrote to say that he was going to be a Reserve Chaser, the triplets, the twins and even little Ron, who barely knew what that meant, were very excited. And very jealous. And this only made the triplets more determined to be better Quidditch players.

--

A few days before the triplets 7th birthday, Raymond Floo-ed in from work announcing that one of the newly-promoted wizards in Department of Magical Games and Sportshad purchased the house down the lane and was moving in the next day.

"Dad! Can we go visit them tomorrow?"

"Yea, does he have any kids?"

"Like when the Weasleys came here when we moved in?"

Sara rolled her eyes as she pushed Neil back on to his chair and off the table which he had begun to lean against in his excitement. "Yes, I think that's a very nice idea –"

"Can we make cookies?"

"Yea, the Muggle way!"

"Can George and Fred and Percy help?"

Sara laughed, "They're going to see their Aunt Muriel tomorrow, remember?"

Jack pouted, "Cookies?"

Raymond swallowed his food, "I think that sounds like a great idea, right Mum?"

Sara smirked, "Right Dad thanks for volunteering."

Raymond's mouth opened as he took in his wife's challenging stare and his children's gleeful faces.

--

Exasperated, Sara gave up trying to get the triplets to stop running ahead and to be quiet as they walked down the lane. Even normally shy jack was excited, running circles around Adelaide, the extra material of his jacket sleeves flopping around as he waved his arms.

Adelaide stopped for a moment to wait for her parents. She looked up at her

father, "If they have kids, can we invite them to our party?"

Ray smiled, pleased to see his daughter was being thoughtful, if only for the extra presents, "I don't see why not!"

The Hayworths finally made it to the front door and the three kids waited excitedly for their father to knock. A tall man with dark hair and kind brown eyes opened the door, a smiling, shorter woman with light brown hair standing next to him and a young boy with short light-brown hair stood in front of them, a nervous expression on his face as he stared at the three grinning children.

Neil spoke first, "Hullo! I'm Neil Hayworth and this is Adelaide and Jack and we live right down the lane in that yellow house!" He pointed down the dirt lane behind his back, his eyes still looking between the three new neighbors.

The man smiled, "Well, hullo! I'm Amos Diggory, this is Laura and our son, Cedric."

The triplets ignored their parents as they introduced themselves to the Diggorys, they were too busy smiling at Cedric.

"How old are you?" Jack asked, noticing that Cedric was slightly taller.

"Seven," Cedric replied quietly, still looking between the three.

"We'll be seven on Tuesday!" Adelaide grinned, "Do you want to come to our party on Saturday? It'll just be us and the Weasleys, they're the other kids in the neighborhood, but they aren't here today."

Cedric tried to keep up as she spoke so quickly. He looked at them questioningly,

"You're all nearly seven?"

Neil beamed, "We're triplets!"

Cedric's eyebrows raised so quickly it was almost comical, but he never got to respond because his mother was inviting the Hayworths inside.

--

Although initially overwhelmed by the triplets, Cedric's first afternoon with them was very enjoyable for a boy who barely had any friends in London aside from his older cousins and neighbors who were now all at Hogwarts. His parents were equally pleased to see that he was enjoying himself and was not as shy as he once was.

The adults were sitting having tea when Neil ran in and after a stern look from his mother, remembered his manners. "Pardon me, but Cedric says he loves Quidditch and that he's played a few times with his dad, do you think he could come over tomorrow and play with us?"

Sara turned to Mr. and Mrs. Diggory, "If it's all right with his mum and dad, of course."

Mrs. Diggory smiled and nodded and Neil ran from the room with a loud, "Whoop!"

Sara grinned, "I think they're more excited for another non-redhead in the neighborhood than they realize.

--

Cedric could not remember having more fun playing Quidditch then the first time he flew with the Hayworths. He had never laughed so much, never enjoyed flying more: they let him take turns shooting and keeping and learned their tricks quickly.

And the triplets loved it too: Cedric was good and a quick learner. He even showed them a few tricks.

Needless to say he was disappointed when his parents came outside to tell him it was time for dinner, but was already looking forward to the next day.

Cedric woke up to rain. Frowning he trudged down to breakfast to say goodbye to his father; Laura watched his son stir his oatmeal but never actually bring the spoon to his lips. "Honey, we can still go over and see what they're doing today.

There are things to do inside."

Cedric's face lit up and without another word he began to happily shove the oatmeal in his mouth to get dressed quickly.

Sara grinned when she opened the door, "We were just going to Floo you to tell you to come over!" She bent down slightly to say to Cedric, "They're in the living room about to watch a movie."

Cedric looked questioningly at the woman, but handed his mother his coat and ran into the house only to stop short when he reached the living room. There were the triplets, sitting and running around the room, but there were also five red-heads. Cedric just stood there a few moments, confused and nervous to walk into the room as he suddenly felt intensely shy again. His eyes watched the three Hayworths: Adelaide was hunched over a book with a very young looking boy, Neil was running around and laughing with two identical boys and Jack was tickling a young girl as a boy with glasses laughed.

Cedric was about to walk back to his mother when Adelaide looked up and noticed him standing by himself and looking around nervously. Smiling and knowing he was scared by all the new kids, she stood up and took his hand, "Cedric, these are the Weasleys," she waved her hand gesturing at the room. Frowning that no one was

paying attention she said loudly, "Oi! Cedric's here!"

Neil and Jack grinned, both shouting, "Hullo Cedric!" but the Weasleys all looked confused.

"Who's Cedric?"

Percy rolled his eyes at George, "That is obviously him," he replied dryly.

Adelaide introduced Cedric to all the Weasleys, telling them he was seven, was really good at Quidditch had just moved from London and was an only child. Cedric said 'hullo' nervously before everyone went back to what they were doing previously except for Adelaide who, still holding her hand, asked him if he knew anything about movies and told him her mother had gotten them a new one as an early birthday present and how excited she was too watch it.

And Cedric, his nerves eased, fell into an easy and excited conversation about moves as Adelaide showed him the VCR and the TV before Sara came in to turn the movie on. And even though he still didn't really know these Weasleys, he wasn't nervous as Adelaide pulled him down to sit on the carpet next to her.

--

Mrs. Weasley smiled as she watched Adelaide chat animatedly with Cedric at the triplet's' birthday party in the backyard of the Hayworths' house. She turned to the other two mothers, "Poor Charlie will probably be very jealous when he meets Cedric."

Mrs. Diggory looked at Cedric and Adelaide and back up to Mrs. Weasley, "Why ever would he be jealous?"

"Well, while I'll doubt he'll admit it, Adelaide is definitely his favorite and while I'm sure he was worried she'd become much closer to the twins while he's at school, he knew that Adelaide and he would always be closer."

Sara smiled at Mrs. Weasley good-naturedly, "I doubt any of the children have favorites, Molly. They all get along quiet well. And Charlie and Jack both love to talk dragons!"

Molly shrugged, still smiling. "Well, even though Adelaide, or Ginny for that matter, don't act like typical little girls –"

Sara laughed, "Thank, Merlin."

Mrs. Weasley and Mrs. Diggory laughed too, "But I think Charlie still has a soft-spot for them, even if he doesn't know it."

Sara smiled, although still unconvinced, "I think once Charlie gets back from school, even if he and Bill may not show it outwardly, they'll both realize how young everyone still is and will only think of them as little babies. And baby boys for that matter." She smiled again and turned back to the kids where Adelaide was now trying to get Cedric to talk to her and Fred.

But when Mrs. Weasley saw Adelaide hug a startled Cedric when she opened her present, she knew that Charlie would be thrown by this new neighbor.

--

Even though Cedric knew he had no reason to be afraid of them, he was nervous to meet the two eldest Weasleys, the revered Bill and Charlie. Bill was on the Gryffindor Quidditch team and Charlie was a reserve Chaser as a first year. Thankfully, the triplets would be there when he met the older boys.

Adelaide, Neil and the twins were giddy as they waited in the living room of the Burrow for Mr. Weasley to bring the boys back fom King's Cross. Ron and Ginny sat with their mother on the couch as they watched the others talking animatedly and pacing around the room. Percy read a book in the corner, looking bored.

The twins yelled something at Percy, so no one heard the front door open and no one noticed the boys enter the house until Ginny flew off the couch and threw herself at her brothers. Everyone followed suit, standing around the boys, hugging them, laughing and asking all kinds of questions.

The triplets gave the boys quick hugs after the rest of the Weasleys had and Mrs. Weasley smiled to herself as Charlie hugged Adelaide just a little longer than her brothers. Charlie was grinning, "Now, where's our new neighbor?"

Adelaide smiled and pulled Cedric up next to her, "Charlie, Bill, this is Cedric Diggory!"

The two boys shook Cedric's hand, who still was very shy until Bill said, "Cedric, we've heard tons about you, everyone seems to like you, so welcome to the Ottery-Family."

Cedric smiled, relief flowing through him, "Thanks."

--

Bill and Charlie treated Cedric just as they treated the others: like a brother they'd known for years and Cedric couldn't have been more relieved.

Charlie didn't quite understand why he cared so much or why he had noticed, but he felt as though Adelaide was paying less attention to him as she had used to. But he brushed it off and enjoyed the rest of the holiday spending time with his family out in the snow and inside telling stories of Hogwarts with Bill.

He was happy to be home, but was excited to go back to Hogwarts, his second home.

--

The twins were playing Quidditch with the triplets and Cedric a few hours before Bill, Charlie and Percy were going to come home from the summer as Ron and Ginny searched for the snitch: the twins were more than a little upset that the triplets and Cedric were going to be gone the coming fall, leaving them to practice with Ron and Ginny who weren't nearly as good or old enough to play.

The triplets were not as excited for the boys to come home for the summer: Bill had a new friend he was planning on meeting in London a few times over the summer, Charlie was going to spend a week in Ireland with a friend and one of Percy's friends was going to spend a few weeks at the Burrow while his parents went away. And even though Bill and Charlie still loved the Hayworths, they were older how and had their own friends to see and everyone else was still very young.

Ginny grabbed the snitch, much to Adelaide, Cedric and George's delight and they cheered Ginny's name as they flew around the yard. Jack sulked, "Can I play Seeker next time, I hate playing Chaser!"

"JackJack, you know we don't have enough people to play two whole teams, so we need Ginny and Ron to play Seekers!"

"What if we played?" Charlie and Bill waved from the ground and pulled out their brooms from their trunks.

"Teams?" Charlie asked.

"We get Charlie!" Adelaide yelled, grinning as Charlie flew to their side of the pitch.

Neil and Fred stuck their tongues out, "We want Bill anyway. Least he's a good Chaser!"

Charlie grinned as he turned to his team. "Positions?"

Adelaide and Cedric looked at each other, "Ginny's not a bad Seeker, even against Jack, George'll be Beater and I can be Keeper."

Charlie looked at Cedric, "You ready to team up again, Diggory?"

Cedric grinned, "I'm always ready, Charlie."

The match was fast-paced and evenly matched: Cedric and Charlie made a great pair, even though Neil was an excellent Keeper. And although Bill was a seasoned Chaser (he had played Chaser and Beater off-and-on for Gryffindor), he could never fully fake-out Adelaide and Ron was little help. When Jack had finally caught the snitch, the game was pretty tight, thanks to Cedric, Charlie and Adelaide.

Hot, tired and in good spirits, the children landed on the ground and laid down on the grass. "Where's Perce?"

Bill laughed, "Reading probably. Feels as though he has a new sense of purpose since he's been to Hogwarts now."

"So –"

"Should we burn these books?"

Adelaide sat up, "You two will do no such thing! You'll leave Percy alone. And that means you too, Neil!"

"But Addie!" Fred whined, grinning.

"Bill, who's the friend you're going to visit in London?" Cedric asked innocently.

"Yea, who?" Ron agreed.

No one could see Bill's face and ears turn slightly red, but Charlie couldn't help but make him feel more uncomfortable. "Yea, Bill who was it again? You're new girlfriend?"

Everyone sat up confused at this word Charlie had used and Bill looked horrified at his brother. Did they expect him to explain dating to all these kids who barely recognized that Adelaide and Ginny were girls?

"Wait, Billy, what's a girlfriend?" Ginny asked.

"You mean a friend?" Jack asked, utterly perplexed.

Bill took a deep breath, "No, not exactly a friend, but more than a friend, see, Jane and I are dating and we do things that couples do –"

Charlie was sitting up now, his elbows resting on his legs to hold up his chin, "What do couples do, Billy?"

Bill threw his brother an angry look before continuing, "See, we do lots of things together like eat and study and talk and kiss, because we like each other a lot."

Ron's face contorted, "You kiss?"

"Like Mum and Dad?" Neil was equally as horrified.

"Why?" Ginny squealed.

Bill sighed, "Don't worry, guys, it'll all make sense when you're older. You'll want to kiss girls or boys and depending, sometimes boys want to kiss other boys, but it'll make sense when you're 16. You'll think people are cute and you'll want to be with them all the time, but more than as friends."

The triplets shook their hands and Adelaide looked around her, "No way, now way," at all the boys.

--

The Weasleys, Hayworths and Diggorys were all sad when Charlie left for a week because Bill was also leaving to spend a long weekend in Diagon Alley with a friend (Charlie had teased him – never in front of their mother – and his girlfriend): there were only a few weeks before the start of term and the Hayworths and Cedric were growing anxious. And the twins wanted to get in as much Quidditch as possible.

A few days before Charlie was to return, Percy's friend, a fellow Gryffindor, came to spend a few days at the Burrow. The twins were not pleased; "Probably be just like Perce –"

"Reading books –"

"Studying and talking funny –"

"Yea, not very fun."

Jack rolled his eyes at the twins and decided not to say anything, knowing his sister would. The twins always found a way to rile her up, even if only to make her laugh.

"There's nothing wrong with the way Percy talks and there's nothing weird about liking to read! In fact, I was just reading a Muggle book –"

Neil groaned, "Addie! Not again!"

Adelaide stuck her tongue out at her brother and brushed her short hair away from her face. The twins had teased her because it gotten lighter in the sun, to which she had retorted that they had gotten heaps of freckles on their arms and faces. "Anyway, you should be nice to Percy's friend! You'll probably be in the same house soon enough!"

Everyone was more than pleasantly surprised to see that Percy's friend, Oliver Wood, was nothing like his year-mate. "Why does he like Percy?" Ron mumbled to Jack, who was too shocked to reply.

They were all aghast to see that even Bill knew Percy's friend and had done nothing to assure the other's that he was 'normal'. "Ollie here," Bill clapped the younger boy on the back as they stood outside, "is our new Keeper – best I've seen in years."

Percy smirked at his siblings; the twins' mouths hung open and Neil grinned, "Well, Oliver, let's see just how good a Keeper you are, eh?"

Oliver turned to his friend and Percy laughed, "Don't worry, Oliver, Neil is a decent Keeper, but he won't stand a chance against you if he's put in Gryffindor."

Adelaide tried not to giggle again when she heard Oliver's Scottish accent and his deeper-than-Percy's voice, "You don't mind if I play, Perce?"

Percy shrugged and Adelaide was surprised to see he was smiling, "They won't let up until you do."

Adelaide was on Oliver's team and before she could stop herself, she asked him how he could be friends with Percy. Oliver smiled, "Well, our other three year-mates weren't very nice to me because I'm Scottish and good at Quidditch and practiced a few times with the team – they all though I was a bit weird I guess, being a bit bigger and all too. But Percy was nice and we became good friends quickly. He likes to watch Qudditch and since we're in all the same classes, we study and do homework together."

"Don't listen to the twins," Adelaide couldn't help but smile at Oliver's honesty, "they say they don't like Percy, but they just like to tease him. I like him just fine. We were all just a little surprised to see that Percy's mate wasn't just like him, that's all."

Oliver grinned and flew out to the edge of the yard to take his position as Adelaide got ready to steal the Quaffle.

Charlie was just as pleased to see that Oliver was at the Burrow and was even more excited to test out their new Keeper. (Neil had fully convinced himself that he wouldn't be put in Gryffindor because he realized that Oliver was a very good Keeper and although Neil could play Chaser, he much preferred Keeper).

Oliver, Bill and Charlie, however, had recognized just how good the Hayworths and Cedric were and sincerely hoped that they were put in Gryffindor if only so that they couldn't play for another house. All four seemed to be proficient at any position, although Neil was better at Keeper and Jack at Seeker; Adelaide and Cedric were both excellent at Chaser, but Cedric could give Jack a run for his money when they were pitted against each other.

Everyone was sad to see Oliver leave, but he promised the triplets and Cedric he'd see them on the train. When he left, Bill couldn't help but tease Adelaide , "Sad to see him go, Addie?" She shrugged. "Do we have a little crush on him?" he asked again, fluttering his eyelashes.

Adelaide was confused, "Billy what are you talking about?"

"Want little Ollie to be your boooooyfriend? You thought he was cute, didn't you? With his Scottish accent?"

Her face grew red and her neck hot, "Billy, of course not!" She knew he was teasing her, but she was getting angry, her pale grey eyes flashing briefly, "What are you talking about? I don't want a boyfriend!"

Bill was about to say something, unaware that he was toeing a line, when Charlie slung his arm around Adelaide 's shoulder. "Bill, come on, leave her alone."

Bill stifled a laugh but said to Charlie, "Excited to use the prefect's bathroom, Charlie?"

Once he saw his brother's face turn red, he laughed walked away.

Adelaide craned her neck to look up at Charlie's face before she flung her arms around his torso, the only part of his body she could hug on the still-growing older boy. "Thanks, Charlie, you know I don't want a boyfriend."

Charlie chuckled, "Sure I do, Addie, but one day you might. Now, come on, I'm to walk you guys home. You're going to Diagon Alley tomorrow!" He prayed she didn't ask about the prefect's bathroom, and as they walked to collect her brothers and Cedric, she had forgotten all about the comment and didn't notice Charlie's reddened ears. He couldn't bare to explain to Adelaide how Bill was something of a womanizer at Hogwarts and even though he currently had a girlfriend, he doubted Bill would keep Jane long during the next term. Charlie, on the other hand, was only just 15, and like most boys his age, he thought girls were attractive and tried his darnedest to impress them, but he had yet to date any. Not that none wanted to date him: he was able to talk with girls, probably because he was so good with treating Adelaide and Ginny, although they were much younger, as equals. He didn't treat the girls at Hogwarts like they were pieces of meat. He had no idea, however, that plenty of girls at Hogwarts had crushes on the young Charlie Weasley, the cute red-head who was good at Qudditch, friendly, funny, loyal and smart; he was just too busy with Quidditch, his friends and his studies to care much about dating girls. And even though Bill tried and tried to get Charlie to see how grand it was to date girls, Charlie just couldn't be bothered: he wouldn't be using the prefect's bathroom for anything but a nice, long, hot solo bath after a hard Qudditch practice.

--

A/N: Thoughts?