Please read Prisoner of Azkaban: Rewrite first!
Lucy looked down excitedly at her school trunk. It was nearing the end of July and she'd already been to Diagon Alley with Bob and Carole to get her second year school books. On top of all her things, lay the pile of letters she'd received from Harry and Sirius. She'd kept in close correspondence with both in order to 'bring them all together' a bit better. And now Lucy was going to Ron's place for the remainder of the summer. She had been invited, along with Harry and Hermione, to go to the Quidditch World Cup with the Weasley family. She was excited to see them all again and to see her favourite team play.
Lucy had been raised in the wizarding world and had grown up playing and watching Quidditch. Her team was Bulgaria and her player was Viktor Krum. Bob had tried numerous times to get them tickets that her and her adoptive sister Marissa could go see. Marissa had also been adopted by Carole and Bob when she had been 3. She was four years older than Lucy but didn't go to Hogwarts on account of being a Squib. Bob, Carole, Lucy and the Harrington's only biological daughter, Kate didn't care what she was. Apparently her real parents had because they hadn't wanted her anymore when they found out. Kate was 7 and didn't have the patience for Quidditch.
"Lucy! Time to go!" Carole called. Lucy hoisted her trunk downstairs and into the kitchen. "Your dad is going to take you by Floo Powder," she said.
"Thanks for letting me go; I'll see you at Christmas." Lucy hugged Carole and kissed her on the cheek. She dragged her trunk into the living room where Bob was waiting for her.
"Hey, all set?" He asked. Bob had gray hair already, was starting to wrinkle, was tall and had a hearty laugh. Lucy nodded and he grabbed her suitcase. "So this place is called The Burrow?" He asked.
"Yeah, do you want me to go first?" She asked. Bob shook his head, hauling the trunk under the hearth in front of him. "As long as you come right after me, okay?" He took a handful of Floo Powder, scattered it around the fireplace and shouted 'the Burrow' loud and clear. In a burst of green flame, he was gone, leaving Lucy in the room by herself. She looked around, making sure she hadn't forgotten anything lying about. When she realized everything was in her trunk, she followed Bob's path to the Burrow.
When the suffocating sensation of travelling by fireplaces passed, Lucy found herself in a living-room quite unlike her own. Back home, the room was hardwood with an area rug in the centre from the family's trip to Morocco. There were two chairs and a sofa, all black, and a coffee table in the middle. This room was cozy and comfy. The floor was carpeted and the walls were a nice red colour. There was an assortment of couches and love seats each with different coloured patches and all of them worn down. Lucy immediately loved it.
She stepped out of the fireplace and followed a voice out into a kitchen that was busy with activity. Dishes were cleaning themselves, soup was bubbling on the stove, and several people were sitting at the large table talking. Ron and Ginny were still eating breakfast, both of them bleary-eyed and half asleep. Who Lucy could only assume was Mrs. Weasley, was talking to Bob about the Quidditch plans and discussing Mr. Weasley's job at the Ministry. Bob worked there as well in the Magical Law Enforcement Squad. There were two other young men lounging in the kitchen that Lucy didn't recognize.
"Hey, Luce, c'mere!" Ron got up from his chair and gave Lucy a hug.
"Hello Ron, how was your summer?" She asked. Ron gestured for her to join them at the table.
"Pretty good, but the best is yet to come," he smiled knowingly. "Oh, you haven't met my two brothers have you?" he asked. Lucy shook her head. "Well that's Bill and Charlie. Bill works at Gringott's as a curse-breaker. He used to work in Egypt but he wanted to be closer to home. Charlie works in Romania but he's back for the summer. He works with Dragons mostly, but has experience with other creatures." He explained.
"That's really cool," Lucy commented. She waited for Ron to finish his toast and then they resumed their talk about the summer so far. They were interrupted by Bob tapping Lucy on the shoulder.
"I'm off now, Lucy Lu, be good," He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. He turned to face Mrs. Weasley. "It was nice to meet you, I know Lucy's in good hands here. Talk to you later," He shook her hand.
"Of course, thanks for letting her stay," Mrs. Weasley said happily. Bob let himself out the front door and apparated back home. Mrs. Weasley turned to Lucy, Ron, and Ginny. "So, Lucy, we are very happy you can stay this summer. Who would have guessed that Harry had a little sister?" She laughed and Lucy smiled politely. "You'll be staying with Ginny and Hermione in Ginny's room. She'll show you where it is. If there is anything you need, don't hesitate to ask." Ginny stood up and helped Lucy carry her stuff into her room.
"Your mom is really nice," Lucy started but Ginny cut her off.
"You'll sleep on the cot; the bathroom is down the hall. Now, I'm going to go for a walk." She said shortly, hurriedly leaving the room. Lucy was surprised. All this time she had thought Ginny was nice and sweet. Maybe she was just fed up with living with the boys for the summer. Either way, Lucy would be glad when Harry got there.
It was just after lunch when Hermione arrived with Mr. Weasley. He had gone to get her from her Muggle home and it had taken longer than Mrs. Weasley had anticipated.
"No doubt Arthur is mucking around with everything he sees in the house." She said, rolling her eyes. When Molly's husband and their guest finally arrived, Hermione was still looking restless and Arthur was ecstatic.
"You wouldn't believe what was in their house, Molly!" He started to say. Molly cut him off.
"Welcome Hermione, come on in, we'll get you settled in Ginny's room." She helped Hermione carry her trunk, leaving Arthur to stop mid-sentence about the lamps in the Granger home. Lucy followed the girls to Ginny's room where Ginny had returned from her walk and was taping some new posters on the walls. She and Hermione greeted each other happily, leaving Lucy out of the loop. She couldn't wait for Harry to get there.
Ginny asked Hermione about her summer which launched Hermione into a detailed narrative of her vacation in Germany where she went to numerous historical statues and whatnot. It was rather boring but Lucy sat on her cot, leaning forward, elbows resting on her knees, while she listened politely to something called the Holocaust. Ginny was intrigued – or she acted like it – and she asked questions to keep Hermione on her spiel. Eventually, the two-week trip finished and Ron came knocking on the door.
"Do you girls want to do something? I'm bored," he asked. Lucy perked up at the thought of having something to do but Ginny had other ideas.
"Go away, we're talking. Why don't you ask Percy to play Chess with you or something?" she said rudely. She waved Ron off with an annoyed hand. Ron scowled at her.
"If I wanted to play Chess with anybody it wouldn't be Percy, I'd rather murder myself several times!" And even though he still didn't have anything to do, Ron left. Lucy endured ten more minutes of giggly 'girl talk' before giving up on looking happy. She excused herself to go to the bathroom and instead went in search of Ron.
The house was like a maze. Her first stop in the hunt for Ron was the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley was preparing a roast for dinner while brooms, mops, and rags were cleaning any surfaces they could get at. Mrs. Weasley greeted her warmly and asked what she needed.
"Oh, I'm fine; I was just going to look at the rest of your house. It's really nice here. I wish I lived here," Mrs. Weasley laughed at this last comment.
"I'm sure your house is just as nice and probably a lot cleaner. But you and your brother have similar tastes in houses. I think this is his second home, Hogwarts being his first. His Aunt and Uncles house hardly counts for anything." Mrs. Weasley resumed her cooking.
She found the twin's bedroom first. The bottom of the door was slightly burnt as if a number of explosions had tried to extend beyond the rooms four walls.
Lucy knocked on their door, hoping that maybe Ron had found company with the jokesters. Fred, or maybe it was George, opened the window a crack as if hiding something from prying eyes. When he noticed it was Lucy, the door was swung open wider and Lucy saw the other twin fiddling around with some potions and candies.
"Nosebleed Nougats," George, or maybe it was Fred, explained. "We're making them for our joke shop. We've successfully created Ton-Tongue Toffees and Puking Pastilles are next on the list. You should try one, be our guinea pig." He enticed, smiling wickedly. Lucy shook her head nervously. "Then what can we do you for? Want to place a bet on the World Cup? Or how about a chance to help us with a prank on Percy the Prick next door?" Lucy couldn't help but laugh.
"No thanks, maybe later. Have you seen Ron?" She asked. The twins shook their heads. "Oh, okay, thanks anyway. I'll be back to place my bets soon," she smiled as she shut the singed door carefully. She skipped any other rooms until she got to the top floor. Lucy knew Ron had the attic room and this had to be it. The door was slightly ajar and she pushed it open.
Ron's room was bright and stuffy. He had a bed and a cot for when Harry got there, a dresser, his trunk which lay open and empty, and a bird cage sans owl. At first, Lucy thought the walls were painted orange but with a second glance, realized they were in fact covered with Chudley Cannon posters. Ron was standing by the window, watching gnomes run wild in the garden below. Lucy knocked lightly on the door. Ron jumped and turned around. When he saw that it was Lucy, he relaxed and headed over to the door.
"Hey, what's going on? Is there food downstairs?" He asked, craning his neck around the doorway as if he would be able to see the food from the top of the house. Lucy shook her head.
"I was bored. I'm never bored when I'm with Harry, and you two are best friends, so I figured I would never be bored with you. At least not as bored as I was downstairs." She admitted. Ron let her into his room and lay on the bed, tossing a plush Quaffle into the air and catching it. Lucy sat on the cot that would soon be Harry's for the summer.
"We could play Quidditch. Fred and George would play, so would Charlie and maybe Bill." Ron suggested. The World Cup was obviously on his mind. "Oh, wait – you hate Quidditch!" Ron remembered her disapproving looks from the year before whenever it came up.
"I don't hate it! If I did, I wouldn't be here to go see the World Cup with you." She replied cheekily. "I just don't like playing it." It was true; in fact, that she used to play with some people up the street from the Harrington's, but she was never invited back after they found out her sister was a squib. Lucy realized that she probably didn't like the sport because of this experience of childhood exclusion.
"Oh, sorry, I jumped to conclusions, I guess," Ron said. Lucy continued to stare around the room, taking in the Chudley Cannon posters and mess with a sense of familiarity. Her room at Bob and Carole's was similar; it was always a mess and she had various Viktor Krum posters on her walls as well. She was just about to ask who Ron would be cheering for when an owl zoomed through the open window. The bird was small and could easily fit into Lucy's palm. It twittered madly, flapping about the room so Ron couldn't get the letter that was attached to it.
When he finally managed to grab the envelope, the bird flew back out the window for no reason other than to continue flying. Ron glanced at the return address and couldn't suppress a grin. "It's from Harry!" He said, showing it to Lucy. She climbed off the cot and joined Ron in the middle of the room, looking over his shoulder at Harry's message.
"Sunday? That's tomorrow," Lucy said, catching on. "He's coming tomorrow?" She asked. Ron nodded. Lucy smiled the smile that Sirius loved and Ron couldn't help but laugh.
"I better go tell Mum and Dad," he said. Lucy followed him down the stairs to the living room where Mr. Weasley was listening intently to the wireless. "We're going to get Harry tomorrow at 5," Ron announced. Mr. Weasley nodded and smiled.
"It'll be great to see him," he responded. You can say that again, Lucy thought.
The next day at a quarter to five, Mr. Weasley, Ron, Fred, and George all piled into the living room to Floo to 4 Privet Dr. Hermione and Ginny stayed in Ginny's room to wait while Lucy stayed in the kitchen with Mrs. Weasley. It was an agonizing wait.
"I do hope they're alright." Mrs. Weasley said, absentmindedly cutting some sprouts. "It shouldn't take this long," Lucy glanced nervously at the doorway to the living room, hoping Harry would magically appear there any second. She agreed with Mrs. Weasley. It had taken Lucy five minutes to get her stuff organized and Floo to the Burrow. This had been at least 15 minutes. Suddenly, there was a tiny pop from the fireplace. Ron emerged, covered in soot.
"I'm back!" He called out to a seemingly empty house. Lucy walked into the living room and helped brush him off. Mrs. Weasley had headed upstairs instead of waiting in the kitchen. "He's on his way, Luce," Ron said excitedly. He knew how anxious she was to see him. It had been a long time since school ended. Letters hadn't been enough. Seconds later, another pop sounded and a boy with messy black hair and glasses stepped out of the fireplace.
Lucy grabbed him in a hug before he had time to realize what was happening. He straightened his glasses and hugged her back.
"Finally!" Lucy exclaimed. "What took so long?" she asked. Ron and Harry exchanged a look of amusement.
"You'll find out soon enough." Harry said, dusting himself off. "Fred and George made the visit one to remember, that's for sure," he said as Fred, and then George popped into existence. The twins emerged, shaking like dogs to get the soot out of their vivid red hair.
"Ton-tongue Toffee," was all Fred, or maybe it was George, said. "Good thing you didn't try one Luce."
Please review and be harsh if you need to! Thanks to Bri. P for calling Lucy 'cute', that means a lot!