Updated A/N: I really appreciate all of the reviews I get, I really do. Please do not misunderstand me but I would really appreciate it if you did some research before sending me a review about the ages of the characters in this story. FYI: Bill is 13 (born in: 1970), Charlie 11 (1972), Percy 8 (1975), Fred/George 6 (1977), Ron 4 (1981), Ginny 3 (1982) all of this is per JKR. If you disagree check it out here:
"You said recently that Charlie was two years older than Percy. If that's so …Can you clarify his and Bill's ages for us? JKR: I knew I'd messed up that question the moment I had answered it, but web chats move fast and I wanted to keep going to get through as many questions as I could. Bill is two years older than Charlie, who is three years older than Percy, who is two years older than Fred and George, who are two years older than Ron, who is a year older than Ginny. Sorry. Maths is not my strong suit (though it's better than my geography, as those who have found the most recent Easter Eggs might already know)." This is from jkrowlingdotcom.
Thank you. It's not that I don't appreciate you taking the time to review. I just find it annoying that a considerable amount of you choose to tell me the same thing. Thanks.
A/N: This is my second attempt at a fanfic but don't worry I'm not giving up on my first by any means. Please let me know what you think by reviewing. I'd really appreciate it!
DISCLAIMER: All the characters you see here that are in any of the Harry Potter books belong to JK Rowling and I am not her. I am simply taking them out to play.
Summary: Everyone knows what happened toRon Weasely while he was at Hogwarts with Harry. But do you ever wonder what it was like for Charlie Weasley?
Preview: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" Charlie heard a deep voice boom. He turned to see where the voice was coming from and nearly had a heart attack. It was coming from an enormous man at least twice the size of a normal man and five times as wide. He was carrying a huge lantern and Alex was leading Charlie right toward him. Please, he thought desperately as his heart raced a mile a minute, please tell me we don't have to fight this man or something.
Chapter 1: Hogwarts Bound
"Personality can open doors, but only character can keep them open." – Elmore G. Lettermen
It was a perfect morning- the sun was shining into a small bedroom on the fifth landing of a very odd looking house indeed. The rays crept silently across the room as the sun rose higher in the sky and eventually its rays landed on the freckled left cheek of an unconscious eleven year old boy. This boy was fast asleep on the bottom bunk of the bunk bed that barely fit in this room he shared with his older brother. His flaming red hair was a complete mess as he didn't really care much about its appearance –like most eleven year old boys don't. He lay on his stomach, his light brown eyes closed, and his back rising up and down in rhythm with his breaths. He was under a red blanket with the design of a black Norwegian Ridgeback dragon his mum made him for Christmas years before. For as long as he could remember Charlie Weasley was fascinated with dragons.
Bill Weasley was watching his younger brother sleep with a huge grin spread across his also freckled face and a mischievous glint in his soft brown eyes. He was holding a large bucket of cold water just above the younger boy. While he debated whether or not to dump it on him, Charlie stirred slightly in his sleep. Bill jumped causing the water in the bucket to dump all over his brother. Charlie sat up in a flash consequently slamming his head onto the bunk above him. He saw Bill fly from the room like his life depended on it - because at the moment - it did. Ignoring the throbbing pain in his head Charlie jumped out of bed, not remotely tired anymore, and chased after his older brother - still in his blue pajamas.
"No running in the house!" His mum shouted from the kitchen over the scream of his baby sister. Charlie didn't care- he was going to get Bill.
Bill was down the stairs and out the front door before Charlie even reached the second landing. At this point his younger brother Percy had come out of his room to see what was going on and Charlie plowed right into him. They both fell to the ground but that didn't faze Charlie.
"Sorry Perce!" He shouted behind him as he picked himself up deftly and continued pounding down the stairs. Percy lay where he was unable to move.
Once outside Charlie could see a small shape on the horizon that had to be Bill, but it wasn't moving. So Charlie continued to run, now getting slightly winded, but the shape kept growing and becoming more distinct. It was definitely Bill and he was standing in the middle of the orchard that they used to play quidditch. He was waiting for Charlie.
"I didn't mean it!" Bill shouted when Charlie was close enough to hear.
"I don't care!" Charlie shouted back as he lunged at his older brother. He caught Bill around the neck and both boys fell roughly to the ground. They wrestled around for quite a while, neither punching the other nor even kicking. If Charlie had been really angry, he would have been punching. It was more fun to wrestle his older brother.
"It was an accident!" Bill said as Charlie got the upper hand.
"No it wasn't," Charlie replied as he started to stand with both Bill's arms behind his back. "You did it on purpose!" Bill swiftly kicked Charlie's legs out from under him causing them both to roll over in the brown grass.
"I was only going to threaten you with it," Bill replied. This time he managed to pin Charlie to the ground.
"BOYS!" Both boys froze and looked immediately at their father; who was frowning as he walked closer to them. "What are you doing?" He asked in an half angry half amused tone. There was laughter in his eyes as he regarded his eldest sons. Neither boy replied. "Bill, let go of Charlie." Bill did as he was told quickly. "You know better than to pick on your brother," Mr. Weasley said, picking Bill up by the arm. Charlie got up on his own accord while smirking.
"He was chasing me," Bill pointed at Charlie.
"You know you're faster than he is," Mr. Weasley replied with a frown, "He wouldn't have caught up to you."
Charlie pulled his arm across his chest angrily. It was true Bill was faster but Charlie had a lot of endurance.
Mr. Weasley really looked at his younger son for the first time that morning. "Why are you all wet?" The laughter in his eyes was quickly spreading to the rest of his face.
"Bill dumped ice cold water on me!" Charlie shouted. Mr. Weasley turned back to his eldest.
"Tell me you didn't," he said softly. Bill looked at his bare feet which were now covered in dirt.
"I didn't mean to," he mumbled.
"Alright," Mr. Weasley pointed his wand at Charlie and said a quick spell. Not a second later Charlie was completely dry. "Now, which of you knocked Percy down?" Bill's head snapped to look at Charlie quickly. There was a faint glint of amusement in his eyes. They liked to pick on Percy as much as possible but not to get caught for it.
"It was an accident," Charlie pleaded, "he stepped right in my way."
"You owe him an apology." Mr. Weasley said looking at his son with a small smile. "Now don't tell your mother you were fighting," he said as he escorted them back to the house.
"Where were they?" Charlie heard his mother's voice from the kitchen just after they stepped inside.
"Out on the orchard," Mr. Weasley replied. "They're fine." Not a moment later Mrs. Weasley came out of the kitchen, with Ginny – the first girl in the Weasley family for years - in her arms and Percy behind her. Charlie felt a little guilty when he saw the bump on Percy's head – but only a little.
"I've told you not to run in the house," she said sharply, "what if it had been Ron you knocked over?" She had one hand on her hip, the other was holding Ginny, and was staring from boy to boy.
"Sorry," they both mumbled to the floor.
"No one was hurt Molly," Mr. Weasley replied. "Every thing is fine, dear."
"Everything is not fine!" she shouted, "I've told them a hundred times not to play around in this house. We have too many younger children that they could seriously hurt."
"That's why they only pick on each other," Mr. Weasley placed a calming hand on his wife's shoulder. "They're boys Molly. What do you expect?"
"Have you packed your trunks yet?" She demanded still obviously angry but changing the subject anyway.
"Yes," they both lied.
"Good," she continued to glare from boy to boy. "You're leaving soon so go get them."
"Yes ma'am," they both said and scurried up the stairs as fast as their legs would carry.
"No running!" She screamed after them but they were already in their room with the door closed.
A little over an hour later Mr. Weasley drove Bill and Charlie to Kings Cross Station. Mrs. Weasley stayed at home with their other five children.
"There's nothing to be scared of," Bill said to the look on Charlie's face when they reached the barrier to platform 9 & ¾
"I'm not scared!" insisted Charlie.
"Go on Bill," Mr. Weasley instructed. Bill shrugged his shoulders and walked straight through the barrier. Mr. Weasley made to grab Charlie's hand but he pulled it away instantly.
"You're embarrassing me," Charlie said quietly while looking around at the muggles milling about. Mr. Weasley was momentarily caught off guard but quickly understood. His second eldest son was growing up. So instead of holding his son's hand he put his own hand on his boy's shoulder and they walked through the barrier together.
"That wasn't so bad now was it?" Bill laughed from the other side.
"Sod off," Charlie muttered. Mr. Weasley was smiling brightly and had a look of reminiscence on his face – he hadn't heard a thing.
"Come on," Bill pushed his cart toward the train, with Charlie in tow.
"Hey Bill," A very pretty 3rd or 4th year girl called as they passed by.
"Hi Claire," he flashed a grin at her and stopped. She giggled causing Charlie to roll his eyes. Why did girls always giggle when they talked to Bill? Didn't they know how annoying he was?
"Who's this?" She asked smiling at Charlie.
"I'm Charlie," he greeted.
"It's nice to meet you," she replied, "Are you a first year?" Charlie nodded. "Oh that's great," her smile brightened, "this is my sister Alexandra, she's a first year too." Claire moved aside to reveal a short, skinny, brown haired girl with crystal eyes.
"My friends call me Alex," Alex said extending her hand.
"I'm Charlie," he replied shaking it.
"Well, let's find a compartment," Claire said taking hold of Bill and pulling him to the train.
"You don't have to sit with me if you don't want to," Alex said after her sister was out of ear shot, "she wants me to make friends in our year so I won't bother her."
"Does that mean you don't want me to sit with you?" He asked with some trepidation.
"No," she grinned, "If you want to, you're welcome, but you don't have to."
"Ok then," he pulled his trunk toward the train and she followed. There were no empty compartments so they decided on one that had three other boys in it. They all looked like first years so Charlie stuck his head inside.
"Do you mind if we sit with you?" He asked. All three boys turned to him.
"No," one of them said and Charlie smiled. He pulled his trunk inside and was quickly followed by Alex.
"I'm Charlie," he said to all three of them "and this is Alex."
"I'm Jade," said a blonde boy who was tall and tan with blue eyes.
"I'm Henry," said the boy next to him. He was skinny with brown hair and glasses that magnified his bark brown eyes.
"And I'm Daniel," said the last boy. He was short with brown hair and a few freckles across his face. His eyes were brown also. Charlie and Alex stowed their trunks after shaking all three boy's hands. Then they sat together in the seats opposite the other boys.
"Hey, Charlie," Bill stuck his head in their compartment. Everyone turned to look at Bill. "Dad wants to say goodbye." As soon as he'd appeared he was gone.
"That's your brother?" Henry asked with obvious excitement. Charlie rolled his eyes and nodded. Bill really wasn't as cool as he looked.
"I'll be right back." He left the others and got off the train.
"Be good," his dad was telling Bill.
"Don't worry," Bill flashed his trademark smile that made everyone love him. Charlie fought the urge to be sick. He loved his bother he really did but Bill – not get into trouble? Yeah right.
"And take care of Charlie."
"I can take care of myself," Charlie interrupted and both his father and brother turned to look at him.
"Of course you can," said his dad with a faint smile. It was obvious he was still worried.
"Right," Charlie muttered.
"I'll see you both at Christmas," Mr. Weasley said hugging them both at the same time.
"Dad," they whined in unison.
"Just be glad your mum's not here," he replied and all three of them chuckled. "Have a good term," the train's whistle blew and both boys ran to get on board.
"Bye dad," Bill hung out with window waving. Charlie returned to his compartment. When he opened the door he found another girl sitting in his seat. Charlie couldn't help but notice how pretty she was. She was skinny and about medium height. She had long, straight, shiny, blonde hair and pretty green eyes.
"Oh hi," she smiled brightly at him.
"Hi," he replied and sat on the other side of Alex.
"I'm Riley," she said thrusting her hand out to him.
"I'm Charlie," he replied shaking it. Her hand felt smooth and soft against his.
"So," Jade cleared his throat, "Are you all first years?" The three across from him nodded.
"So are we," he said looking at the other two boys. "What house do you hope to be in?"
"Gryffindor," Charlie said without hesitation. "My mum and dad were in there and so is my brother."
"My sister's in Gryffindor," Alex said softly.
"Just as long as I'm not in Slytherin," Jade said with a shudder.
"What are you lot on about?" Daniel asked looking at Jade.
"Are you a muggle born?" Riley asked with a small smile.
"A what?" He asked.
"There's your answer," Jade grinned.
"Muggle born," Riley repeated ignoring Jade, "your parents aren't magical?"
"Oh," a small smile played across his lips, "no, they're not," he looked at the compartment floor.
"That's ok," Alex interjected, "I'm half and half."
"Me too," said Henry.
"I'm not," said Jade proudly.
"Me either," Charlie said at the same time as Riley. They looked at each other and smiled.
"So what were you talking about?" Daniel asked, "Houses?"
"Oh," Jade glanced at the others then began to explain about the four houses at Hogwarts. Henry said his dad was in Ravenclaw. Alex's mom was in Ravenclaw, and both Jade's parents were in Gryffindor. Charlie smiled and said that maybe he'd get in there but Jade shook his head. His oldest sister, a 5th year, was in Hufflepuff.
"Is it just you and your brother, Charlie?" Daniel asked when the conversation about the houses ended.
"No," Charlie was slightly embarrassed. He was sure none of them had six siblings. Everyone in the compartment looked at him expectantly. "I have five younger siblings," he mumbled very quickly.
"How many?" Henry asked, apparently none of them had heard him.
"Five," he repeated quietly while making no eye contact.
"Five?" Alex looked alarmed.
"That means there are seven of you all together?" Daniel asked. Charlie nodded solemnly.
"Your last name's Weasley then?" Jade asked. Everyone in the compartment looked at him – everyone except Riley who was staring at the floor.
"How'd you know that?" Daniel asked.
"They're a pureblooded family," Jade replied looking Charlie in the eyes, "Do you all have red hair?" Charlie nodded feeling incredibly ashamed. How many other wizards would know about his family?
"How many boys and how many girls are there?" Alex asked with a smile. Charlie returned the smile hopefully.
"Six boys and one girl," Henry let out a low whistle.
"That's got to be rough on her," he chuckled.
"She's only 3," this conversation was going along a lot better than he thought it would. "Maybe when she get older it'll be hard."
"What are all your ages then?" Daniel asked.
"Bill's thirteen, I'm eleven, Percy's eight, Fred and George are six-"
"Twins?" Riley looked over at Charlie with a small smile. "I have two younger twin sisters. Are they identical?"
Charlie grinned and nodded. "It's terrible trying to tell them apart," everyone in the compartment gave a small chuckle.
"I'll bet," Jade said.
"How old are the other two?" Henry asked.
"Ron's four and Ginny's three."
"Sounds like a lot of work for your mum," Alex said.
Charlie shrugged, "I've never heard her complain."
"Do you get a long with all of them?" Riley asked, now engaging in the conversation again.
"Bill and I usually get a long great but Percy's really annoying, the twins and the others are too young."
"Do you row with Bill?" Daniel asked.
"Yeah, he had a row this morning actually."
"What happened?" Jade asked.
"He poured ice cold water on me while I was sleeping," Charlie said angrily He mechanically rubbed the knot on the top of his head from where he slammed into the top bunk. Everyone laughed softly.
"What did you do?" Riley asked with excitement dancing in her eyes.
"What do you mean what'd I do?" He replied, "I pummeled him."
"You pummeled your older brother?" Henry asked skeptically.
"Well," Charlie smiled, "I was winning 'til dad came out."
"Did you get in trouble then?" Daniel asked.
Charlie smiled brightly, "No, dad's fun. As long as no one gets hurt we don't get in trouble. I did knock Percy down during the chase though."
"I take it he wasn't hurt then?" Henry asked.
Charlie shrugged again, "Not too badly." Jade sniggered quietly.
"I take it you don't like Percy?" Jade asked.
"No," Charlie frowned, "He's always trying to get me into trouble."
"That's brill you didn't get in trouble for fighting with Bill," Alex said, "when I fight with my sister we always get yelled at."
"If mum had found out," Charlie winced slightly, "we would have." Everyone gave an appreciative laugh.
The rest of the trip was spent talking about quidditch and other various things. Charlie could hardly believe it when the train pulled into the station later that evening. All of the sudden there were butterflies in his stomach and his palms were all sweaty. He wondered if he would make it off the train, let alone to the castle, without being sick.
Please review and let me know what you think!
Preview of chapter 2:
"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" Charlie heard a deep voice boom. He turned to see where the voice was coming from and nearly had a heart attack. It was coming from an enormous man at least twice the size of a normal man and five times as wide. He was carrying a huge lantern and Alex was leading Charlie right toward him. Please, he thought desperately as his heart raced a mile a minute, please tell me we don't have to fight this man or something.