Summary: Just a day out of Hogwarts, Katie gets a job working for Fred and George Weasley at their joke shop and her sister gets her tickets to her Quidditch match where she gets reunited with her old Quidditch captain, Oliver Wood. She always thought that the Hogwarts years brought the most drama, but this was going to be one helluva summer.
It's All About the ChaseFresh out of Hogwarts and I didn't know where to go. I got out of my parent's car, pulled my trunk out of the back of the car, and slowly dragged it up to my room. My sister, Amy, picked me up from Platform 9 and ¾ but once we got home, she raced inside. There was an owl waiting for her on the kitchen table from her Coach. She played professional Quidditch for the Bigonville Bombers. They were a pretty good team with a strong offense, so they scored a lot. Their defense was kind of weak, though. But their Seeker, my sister, was incredible. She had a match next week that she got me a ticket for as a Welcome Home gift, not that it was hard seeing as she was on the team and all.
"Everything alright, Amy?" I called from the top of the stairs. I heard the shuffling of papers and quick footsteps before a tinkering of what I was assuming were sickles. "Aim?"
"Sorry, Katie," she said as she ran across the bottom of the stairs. "I've got to go. Coach just called a mandatory practice because of that match. You're still coming, right?" We were close. Me missing my sister's match was like her losing a lung.
"Right." I ran down the stairs and followed her around while she picked up her random Quidditch robes from the living room floor. Although she was twenty-three, she still lived with us because her life was so on the go from her matches and practices and meetings and everything. It had always been Amy's dream to play Quidditch from the time she saw her first broomstick, all the way through her years as a Hufflepuff at Hogwarts. She wasn't discouraged in the least when she tried out in her seventh year as a Seeker and got replaced by the third year, Cedric Diggory. They put her on as a reserve because she was good, but Cedric was smaller, speedier.
"Can you tell Mum I had practice? We were supposed to take you out to dinner tonight. She'll have a fit, but Coach said that if I didn't make it to this practice in ten minutes I would be suspended from the team." She was hopping around holding her broom and trying to put her shoe on. Her chestnut brown hair was falling out of its ponytail and wisps of it were in her face.
"No problem," I managed to say before she picked up the last of her stuff, put it in a bag, grinned, and then apparated. After about ten seconds of standing there, I went back up to my room to unpack. In the process of unpacking, I found an Extendable Ear under my History of Magic book, which I chucked across the room into my closet. The Extendable Ear gave me an idea.
I pulled my wand out of my trunk and apparated into the Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. I saw a mass of little kids looking at a new display in the window and a magenta haired girl, around twenty-one I'm guessing, trying to calm them down.
Behind the counter was my good friend, Fred Weasley. He was talking to what looked like an eleven year old, about something. She was nodding her head eagerly, hanging onto his every word. For about a minute, I debated on going to find George, who was working in the back, but then I heard, "Oy! Katie! Come here!"
I looked up at him and grinned and rushed over to the counter. He engulfed me in a huge hug after not seeing me for over a year.
"Katie…ha-have you grown?" Fred asked, holding me out at arms length. I nodded eagerly. I was now five feet, four inches. He laughed. "What can I get for you these days?" He winked.
"Sicko. Actually," I grinned. His face went into shock for a moment before I continued. "I was wondering if I could get a job here. I mean, I know there's already you and George and I don't know what her name is but she has magenta hair-""-Chloe-" "-Chloe, thank you, but I really need the job."
"You're begging for a job on the first day of your adult life? Haven't I taught you anything?" Fred asked.
"Time is galleons? And you're wasting my time which could be wasting my galleons." I couldn't help but grin. Before he could answer, George attacked me from behind. He spun me around to face him.
"Katie Bell! Wait… did you get taller?" he asked with a mischievous grin. "How have you been?" He messed up my hair.
"Alright," I said, hugging him back.
"Katie wants a job here," Fred explained. He and George had matching smirks, both of them staring me down. It was honestly kind of creepy.
"Really?" George asked, not removing his gaze. "So we'd be her bosses? Interesting."
"Don't play the creepy card, Weasley's. I can still kick your ass. Can I please have a job?" I begged. I was looking up at them, my brown eyes wide and innocent.
"It could be interesting," Fred said, turning to George. "I mean, she already knows how most of our products work, being a tester herself."
"We'd really just have to tell her the basics, and I'm sure Chloe would help with that," George agreed, both talking businesslike now.
"And we know she's honest, loyal, and decent."
"A bloody dog."
"Hey!"
"Meant in a good way, love."
I glared at the two, but they just looked at me, smiling.
"So Katie," Fred said. "How does it feel to have your first real job working for Weasley's?"
"Really?" I asked with a huge grin plastered on my face. They nodded and I wrapped my arms around both of their necks, pulling them into a hug.
"Come by later tonight and we'll teach you the ropes," George said slinging an arm around my shoulder.
"Alright. Thanks, you guys. I appreciate this, a lot, I really do. Hey, do you know if Alicia's working?" They both nodded. Alicia worked at the Ministry of Magic in the Department of International Magical Cooperation. She made sure we didn't go at war with other magical countries, pretty much. "I'm going to go down the road to visit Angelina. So I'll see you guys around six? Is that good?"
"Fantastic," Fred said grinning.
"Bye, Katie," George said.
Before I knew it, they were both hug attacking me again.
After peeling them off me, I walked down the street to Flourish and Blotts where Angelina was manager of the bookstore. I could see her in the window giving an old lady with graying hair and a rather large nose a book on potions. The lady walked out and I slid in past her.
"Angelina!" I squealed, running up to her counter this time. I embraced her in a hug.
"Katie! You're done with school! How were the NEWTs? Did they kill you? I thought I was going to die after I took mine. But you look relatively sane. No missing body parts at least," Angelina ranted. She grinned. "Do you remember when that Ravenclaws arm fell off from so much stress?"
I shook my head but it didn't wipe the grin off my face. "Hey, do you want to go out for lunch?"
"Awe, Katie, I honestly just ate. How about ice cream? I hear Florean's grandson just reopened his place. Just let me close up." She pulled her wand out of her pocket. It was a slow day in the shop so no one was in here. The blinds closed and the sign on her door flipped so that it read Closed. We walked out of the store after she grabbed her purse and sweater and locked up.
Once we got our ice cream (mine Chocolate, hers was Peanut Butter Crunch), we sat on a bench in front of Gringotts and ate our ice cream.
"So, I got a job," I said out of the blue after taking a mouthful of cold chocolate ice cream.
"Really?" Angelina asked. She spun towards me, coming out of the daze she was in. "Where?"
"Well, it's this really nice place down the road. I can't quite remember the name of it… but I think it started with… a W. Yes, that's it. A W." I grinned to myself and took another bite of my ice cream cone.
"Whizzhard Books?" Angelina asked, incredulous. "Katie, you're working at my competition?!"
"No, dork. I'm working with the Weasley's!" I said, laughing.
"Really? That's awesome! We'll be working so close! We can take out lunch breaks together. It'll be great!" Angelina started rambling again. After spending a good few hours talking about Hogwarts, work, and life, she had to get back to her shop to do some last minute stuff an I had to get to the Weasley's. It was five thirty.
"Hey guys, I'm back," I said as I walked into the now empty joke shop. "Fred? George?"
George popped out from behind a shelf holding love potions and not so sweet perfume. "Katie!" he said. "Can I tempt you with a love potion?"
I just laughed.
"Well, I'm here. What have I got to learn?"
Fred came out of the storage room and the two of them told me the basics.
No bargaining with anyone for any reason. If you catch someone trying to steal, jinx them. If they're under seven, jinx their parents. Muggle tricks were in the back corner while the flashy stuff took up the front window. If you see someone like their father, immediately point them to the Muggle tricks. I got decent pay and hours and it was an exciting job to have, especially right out of Hogwarts where they were drilling you to think you'd become a junior secretary to some stuffy person at the Ministry. But i was going to be working where the fun was.
I glanced at my watch and jumped at the time. It was six thirty. Mum got home from work at six and according to Amy, she was taking me out to dinner.
"Guys, I've got to go! Mum's home and she hasn't seen me yet," I said hurriedly, running to the counter to pick up my bag. "I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning!" I ran over to give each of them a hug. Before they could get a word in, I disapparated with a loud Crack!
When I appeared in the living room my mum jumped with start. She still isn't used to the fact that I can apparate, or that I'll do it often.
"Oh, Katie! You're back! I've missed you!" she said after the color returned to her face. I don't get why this surprises her. She's been apparating herself for at least thirty years. Once she welcomed me her gaze turned dark and she half yelled, "Where have you been? I've been worried sick! You didn't leave a note or anything. Amy's not here. She couldn't tell me where you've been!"
"Well," I said sheepishly. "I got a job…" I grinned. "Oh, and Amy had a surprise practice tonight. She said she wouldn't be able to make it to dinner."
"She's not going to be able to come? Well, that's a shame." My mother was never very supportive of Amy's choice to play Quidditch instead of working at the Ministry or St. Mungos. "Where did you get a job?"
This is where it gets tricky. I know if I told Mum that I'm working for the Weasley twins in their joke shop my mother would have a heart attack on the spot. That would make it two daughters who didn't take, as she would call it, a "normal" life style. I bit my lip nervously. But if I lied and told her that I got a job at the Ministry, she would throw some sort of party and tell me to invite everyone at the office. Not only that but an eighteen year old girl getting a job at the Ministry of Magic the day she gets back from Hogwarts doesn't sound very likely. Not even in my own mind.
So I compromised.
"I got a job in a bookshop, working for Angelina. You remember Angelina, don't you? She's the tall one…" I bit my lip again, a habit I've had for years.
"Really?" She sounded pleased. That's a good sign. "That's great, Katie." Good thing she could never tell if I was lying. I got away with so much stuff when I was younger because of that trait. "So," she said with a smile. "Where do you want to go for dinner? I was thinking The Black Beetle?"
The Black Beetle was the newest restaurant/club and it was a big hit. It had one area for dancing and drinking and everything, but there was also a more remote area where girls could go with their mother's and have a nice dinner. As long as my mum doesn't get wine and doesn't decide that she wants to dance, we're good, and I'll go without embarrassment.
"The Black Beetle sounds great, Mum. Can I change first?" I was still in my Hogwarts skirt and white shirt. I didn't even think of changing earlier. Mum nodded and I raced up the stairs to put on a pair of jeans and a long sleeved black shirt. I kept my hair down and slipped on my sneakers before meeting my mum at the bottom of the stairs. She had her purse in her hand and we both apparated to the Black Beetle.
When we got there, there was a long line of people protruding out of the door. The sign we were near just at said, Waiting time from this point is two hours. I glanced at my mum to see if she wanted to leave, but she just pulled out a deck of cards and we played on the sidewalk. Mum would go through times where she would do things like play on the sidewalk and wait two hours in line and then the next day she would complain about the wait and say we should go somewhere and she would never consider sitting on the sidewalk to play cards. Dear Old Mum. She asked me how my school year was, after the necklace incident of course, and I replied with nothing fantastic. I told her how Amy got my tickets to her match next week. She just pursed her lips and nodded.
"That sounds fun," was all she said.
"Mum, Amy really loves playing Quidditch. You can't get mad at her for that. It's not as if it's not a well paying job. It's something she loves to do and she's not stuck in a stuffy office. Frankly, I'm jealous."
"Well, Katie, I personally think you're taking the more practical route with your life. Working at this bookshop is good life experience for you. And you've got Angelina to help you. Why, I wouldn't be surprised of you were out of the house by the end of the year."
Now, I was a bit shocked at this point. Is that why she was mad, well not mad exactly, more like disappointed, at Amy? Because she wasn't out of the house? She could leave any time she wants, but it would just be pointless to have a house or an apartment to pay for when you'd never be there.
"You want me to move out?" I asked, incredulous.
"No, no, it's just that you seem so much more mature than Amy. I want you to make something out of your life. I don't want you playing tricks forever. You've got a shot at something big. Remember your OWLs? Four Outstanding's you received! Amy got one Outstanding and a handful of Excelent's. You've got so much more to life for."
"Amy's dream has always been Quidditch. If I'm not mistaken, her first word was Snitch, was it not?"
"Well I-"
"Let it go, Mum," I said, standing up.
"Excuse me, ma'am. How many?"
Mum stood up to face the waiter who walked over. We hadn't even realized we were next in line. Two hours goes by fast when you're trying to convince your mother that Quidditch isn't pointless and your sister is making something out of her life.
The waiter seated us quietly and gave each of us menus. He came back a couple minutes after we silently looked at what we'd like to drink.
"What can I get you?" he asked. He was just a little flamboyant. I tried to keep a straight face as he popped his hip out to the side and rested his hand on it while he waited for us to say something.
"White wine," my mother said in almost a whisper. Wine? Oh dear.
"Firewhiskey," I said, trying not to make my giggling any louder than it should be.
"Katie!" my mother said, sending me a glare. "She'll have a butterbeer." I smirked at her.
"Coming right up," he said. He turned on his heel, put his hand back on his hip, and walked away to get our drinks.
Once he was out of earshot, I go, "Mum, he is totally gay!"
My mum's eyes went wide. "There's nothing wrong with that, Katie! Honestly."
"But it's so obvious. I wonder if he has a boyfriend…"
"Katherine!"
"What? Come on, Mum, you can't tell me you didn't notice!" I giggled again.
"Well, I guess he was a little… colorful."
"Colorful? Mum he was downright ostentatious!"
"Ostentatious?"
"You know, flamboyant?"
"Oh, Katie," Mum said, chuckling.
A few seconds later, the waiter appeared next to our table with our drinks. "So what can I get you ladies tonight?" He glanced over at the table next to us where two middle-aged men were eating dinner. Oh good God.
We quickly ordered our food and he walked away.
"Mum, he was completely checking those two guys behind you out!" I whispered, clamping a hand over my mouth.
"Was he really?" I nodded. "Oh gosh."
"I bet his boyfriend is jealous," I said after a moment of silence. "He's probably sitting at home with his fish, waiting for, lets call him John, John to get home. Maybe they've got big plans tonight. I wonder if they were going to go clubbing. Yeah, John's boyfriend isn't going to be happy at all."
"Katie! Stop that!" my mum hushed.
We kept giggling about that through dinner after he brought us our food. When he brought out the check, he handed it to my mum and slipped a piece of paper in my hand. Then he walked away.
On the piece of paper was a phone number and under the phone number, it said Call me.
The second I read it I burst into laughter and dropped it. My mum picked it up and looked at what it said causing her to start laughing as well. We stood up, picking up our leftovers, and walked to the front counter.
Once we were safely out of the building and a far enough distance away that we could apparate, we started laughing again.
"So apparently he wasn't gay," I said.
"He thought you were cute."
"He probably thought that he could get laid, Mum."
"Katherine Bell! Language!"
"It's true, Mum. I mean, girls who go out to dinner with their mothers apparently are full of sex appeal."
"Katie, stop talking like that this instant!"
"I'm just speaking the truth."
When I woke up the next morning, my stomach was full of butterflies. It took me moment to remember why, but then I realized that I had to be to work, at my job... for the Weasley's. I should pray now.
I lazily rolled out of bed and glanced at the clock. It was six thirty. That gave me an hour and a half to get to work. After snoozing two more times, I managed to go take a shower and put on a nice pair of black pants and a scarlet t-shirt. I looked at my soaking wet hair in the mirror before deciding to dry it and throw it up in a messy ponytail.
An hour later when I walked down to the kitchen, Mum was sitting there with Amy eating breakfast.
"Katie, don't you look professional," Mum commented as I took the open seat next to Amy and grabbed a donut off of the plate in the middle of the table. I grinned up at my Mum who was positively beaming.
"How was practice, Aim?" I asked my sister. She was slumped over on the table, eyes closed and breathing steadily.
"Brutal," I managed to hear indistinctively. "He trained us four times harder because the original keeper of Puddlemere United hurt his ankle and they were bringing in the reserve for the next match. And coach is always going on about fresh meat." She sighed. "I can't move at all and I've got another practice in two hours. It might take me that long to get up to the top of the stairs."
"Awe, I'm sorry Aim," I said distracted. Puddlemere United. That sounded oddly familiar. I mean, of course I know it's a Quidditch team, a good one as well. But something about that name just seemed to click with something in my brain. "Do you want me to bring you something home later?" I think I saw a shake of her head. "Alright. Well, I'm off to work."
The thought of Puddlemere United slipped out of my mind as fast as it came. I apparated to my new job, I still can't get over that, and found Fred, George, and Chloe lounging in the middle of the shop eating what looked like Pumpkin Pasties and Ice Mice. Sugar buzz?
"Hey, guys," I said uncertainly as I walked through the door. "What…what are you doing?" I glanced down at the three of them who just grinned back up at me.
"Preparing for the long day ahead," Chloe said with a grin. "I'm Chloe." She held out a hand that wasn't covered in sugar from the Ice Mice. I gladly shook it.
"Katie."
"Welcome to the team," George said. He was leaning against a shelf of rubber chickens and his eyes were closed.
"It's almost time to open," Fred said after he glanced up at the Weird Sisters clock (it was a clock with the face of the lead singer of the Weird Sisters and he was sticking out his tongue) that they charmed to float around the room. A small little man with tattered hair and dark green robes to match stepped out of the clock onto the Weird Sisters tongue and said, "You bet it is, punk." A second one followed and said, "He has time. Look up, dumbass." The first one punched the second one in the jaw. Once the second one regained his composure, he attacked the first one and bit his shoulder. They fought around before being pulled back into the face of the Weird Sister because they were wrestling on its tongue.
The three of them slowly got up and straightened out their robes. George charmed the food to the back of the shop to be finished up while we were working. They will be good bosses. I don't think they'd ever fire anyone.
"Ready for your first day, Katie?" Chloe asked as she took her place behind the counter. I joined her.
"I guess," I said with a shrug.
"Now the first customers are normally people who have a birthday party to get to and needed something quick," Chloe explained as Fred was turning the sign from Closed to Open and a tall brown haired woman walked in with a four year old clutching her hand. "I'm guessing it's that kids first real birthday party he's going to. They'll probably go for some muggle tricks." As she said that, realization dawned on the woman's face and she tugged on the little boys hand, pulling him over to the muggle tricks.
"Nice," I said impressed.
A couple more people strayed in.
"They're probably just looking for something to do before their job actually starts. We get a lot of those."
After the first hour, I learned about every type of person who went through the store. Not about them, personally, but most likely the reasons why they were here so early.
The next hour in, a little girl came in with a scraped knee because she fell outside while her mother was talking. I walked over to one of the shelves, opened up a box of Do It Our Self band-aids and put one on her knee. It instantly materialized into her skin. She looked up at me in shock, and I'm pretty sure my face matched hers. But the skin that was scraped was now perfectly fine. She grinned, gave me a hug, three sickles, and went to go show her mother. I must say, I was quite proud of myself.
Around eleven, a couple of twelve-year-old girls walked in and immediately went to the Love Potions. I had to monitor them while Chloe was helping an old lady, explaining what the rubber chicken actually did. Fred was at the register and George was in the back checking the orders from their catalog.
"Do you think Ricky would take this if I put it in his lemonade?" the petite blond one asked her friend.
"Ohhh," she said, looking at the box. It had a big red heart on it, and clear as day in big black letters, Can Only Be Bought if Sixteen or Older.
"Excuse me," I said as politely as possible after I walked up to them. "But, you have to be sixteen to buy that." I smiled at them.
"Says who?" the blond one asked me with a grin.
"Says the owners of this place," I said with just as much attitude.
"Puh-lease," the other girl said. They remind me so much of the preteens I had to deal with at Hogwarts. Actually, they are preteens, so I guess that's why they're so annoying.
"Did you see the box?" I asked.
"Yes."
"Well?"
"She's sixteen," the blond said, pointing to her friend.
"She is not sixteen," I said, crossing my arms.
"How do you know?" the 'sixteen year old' girl said to me.
"Do you have any ID?" I asked smugly.
"Well, no but that doesn't mean I'm not sixteen," the girl said defensively.
"Really? What'd you get on your OWLs in fourth year?" I asked with a grin, knowing very well that you take OWLs in fifth.
"O's in every subject."
Her friend kicked her leg. "That's fifth year you dolt!" The girl realized the mistake she mad and put the potion back on the shelf She walked out of the shop with her head down, arguing with her friend.
"What was that about?" Chloe said, appearing behind me. She was wiping some goo off of her hands. I raised an eyebrow at her. "Exploding mince pies." I nodded.
"These two girls, they had to be twelve by the looks of it, came in here and tried to buy love potions," I explained as I went into OCD mode and put the boxes in perfectly straight lines.
"Oh yeah, we get that a lot. Bloody kids don't know what real love is, especially if they buy it from Fred and George," Chloe said. After a second, a sly grin appeared on her face. I realized what she was getting at.
"Did you just call those two prostitutes?!" I asked in shock.
She nodded, stilling grinning.
"So that's where they get all the gold from!" I exclaimed causing both of us to erupt in a fit of giggles.
"What's so funny?" George appeared behind us causing us to giggle some more.
"Well we're just laughing at the fact that we do all the work around here," I laughed as I said the first excuse that came to mind, which incidentally caused us to laugh even more.
"Hey!" George protested. "We've got loads of work in the back." Chloe and I burst into more laughter. "What's so funny?"
"Yeah, Katie. That's where all the gold is made," Chloe sniggered. My face turned red, as I laughed harder.
"Well, no, you guys do a lot of work, too," George said, confused. Chloe and me just kept laughing.
"Not as much as you and Fred do," I said, gasping for breath.
A/N: All right, my lovely readers. I hope you liked Chapter One. There's plenty more where that came from, and trust me on this one because I've got it planned to Chapter twelve right now and Chapter two is pretty much done. So stick around, it's going to be crazy. I pinkie promise. Remember, this was just a starter chapter. It'll get better, I swear. Now, review like you mean it!
Thanks guys.
Siriusly Klutzy
