Author's Note: A Harry Potter story that has been in my secret cavern for quite some time now. It's eventual Fred/OC. Very eventual. In fact, I've written a bunch of it already and she's still not really with Fred yet. But it'll build up :) I own only the things that you don't recognize. Enjoy your read!
Good Morning, Good Morning
I blinked open one eye, cautious. What I saw staring back at me was an eyeball. A dark blue eyeball. I reared back my arm and punched Fred. He laughed but I groaned.
"Mornin', sunshine!" he squealed. I chucked a pillow at him, missing by a couple inches and he giggled. Where was George?
"Get out, Weas," I grunted at him, pulling my covers higher up over my head. The idiot snickered but obliged, slamming my door loudly behind him.
"When ya gotta get up, ya gotta get up!" he chanted through the door and I rolled my eyes, even though the stupid bugger couldn't see me. "Hurry up, Anna, we have to get to the train station by eleven and you haven't even got all your things in your trunk yet!" I nudged off the covers, my eyes drifting over to the clock hanging from the wall. Oh, God! I rolled off the bed, shoving everything I could fit into my trunk that was absolutely necessary. Fred chuckled from the outside. I blew out a huff at him. Stupid git.
So let's just say all got said and done and I finally made my way, clean and fresh-feeling, down the stairs to meet my almost-family, dumping my trunk down by the door and sitting at the bustling dining table. Two of our other almost-family members were present as well, the famous (or infamous, depending on your point of view) Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. Hermione smiled at me from across the table. I gave her a little wave. I had been a bit jealous of them, seeing as they had all gone with Arthur to the Quidditch World Cup a couple of days ago and I had stayed at home, but it was okay. I had wanted to stay anyways, right? Nasty thing is, I missed out on all the drama that went down while they were there–the return of the Death Eaters? I mean, how much more fun could you get?
"Have a good sleep, Annabel dearest?" George inquired, earning himself a kick in the shin under the table from me. He simply ignored it and kept his grin steady.
"Would've been loads better if I'd gotten a few more hours of it. Fred." I shot a look at him, but he sat there smiling, like he always did. So instead of pushing the crap along further, I frowned into my bowl of oatmeal and grumbled, "Stupid arses."
"What's that I hear? A possible swear word from the holy, saintly, virgin-eared child that we all know and love?" Fred exclaimed loudly, slapping a "surprised" hand over his mouth. I rolled my eyes at him. Growing up around the Weasley clan, you got used to this kind of daily shenanigan. But the weird occurrence was the little nudge I felt against my foot under the table. Ginny on my left seemed to be rather unconcerned with my current state as she was chatting animatedly with her mother about this coming year at Hogwarts. Hermione across from me was absorbed in her eggs benedict and Ron to her side. George, on Hermione's other side, was busy sending out his latest creation, magical letter adhesives that the victim didn't feel when applied and would stick on as long as the applicator desired, which spelled out "WEATHERBY" on the back of Percy's head. So I turned to my right, where sat a Fred Weasley grinning mischievously into his breakfast platter. I stared.
"Can I help you, Fred?" I mumbled, crossing one leg over the other. He leaned over as if to whisper in my ear...
...And blew a huge raspberry on my neck. I rolled my eyes once more and stood up, taking my plate to the sink to wash it the Muggle way. As irritating as the twins were together, when they chose to divide and conquer, they had their minds put to something maddeningly wrong. And as usual every morning, a trio of owls flocked to the window, Errol flying straight into it. Pig fluttered around the table in a few excited circles before landing in front of Ron. Hermes, on the other hand, came to a skittering stop before Percy, and turned his head, almost disapprovingly toward Pig and then back to Percy. Ah, how these owls fitted their owners.
"You've all done with your school shopping, haven't you?" inquired Molly, waving her wand at a pan that began to scrub itself shiny. A general murmur of assent echoed across the table, and Hermione, as if to affirm evidence, brought her schoolbag atop the table with all its books and supplies within. "Wonderful, wonderful. Now, if you lot will go on and get your trunks and bring them down here so that we can get on to Platform 9 3/4!" The last one up and down the stairs with his things, predictably, was Ron, who always got late starts when something important was happening that day.
And so two-by-two we poofed into the emerald flames. Arthur and Ginny went first, then Percy and Bill, Charlie and Ron, the twins, Hermione and me, and last Harry and Molly. We all gathered together in Diagon Alley before Arthur and Percy ventured back to the Ministry for work and Charlie and Bill hopped aboard a few trains back to their work. Or at least, Bill went to his sect of Gringotts and Charlie got his own broom off to Norway. We received the usual hugs and kisses goodbye from Molly and boarded the train. I walked with the twins till we met up with Lee Jordan and Katie Bell.
"Anna!" half-squealed Katie, and pulled me into her arms for a long hug. "How was your summer, love?"
"It was terrific, Katie, dear, and yours?" I asked, feeling my formal instincts kicking in as the five of us took our seats in the usual cabin, the one that the trolley lady passed by first, so as to achieve the best sweets before she ran out.
"Oh, just lovely! Did you hear what happened at the World Cup? With the Death Eater attacks and all that? Maddening, isn't it?" she exclaimed, tracing her hand over the countryside shapes outside the window. "D'you reckon they'll try anything this year? What with all the excitement from the World Cup, I wouldn't doubt another uprising from the lot of them! But in any account, I'm quite glad that Ireland won out over Bulgaria. Michael Troy is my idol..." She trailed off, clutching her heart almost dramatically. I stifled back a snort. Thankfully, the awkward buzz between me and Katie broke when the familiar calls of "Candy from the trolley?" rang out just by the door, and I slid it open.
"Afternoon, ma'am. I'll take...um, a pack of Drooble's, Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, and...Chocolate Frogs, please." She prepared the three sets of candies and I handed her the regarded price of five Sickles, six Knuts. I grinned. "Thanks, ma'am." As I sat, I unwrapped my wizard card for my Chocolate Frog first.
"Who'd you get, Anna?" asked George, perusing his own Famous Wizard Card of the day.
"Devlin Whitehorn. Who'd you get?" I tossed the card to him. He tossed his own back. I scanned it quickly, then handed it back to him. "Gideon Crumb? Trade me, will you?" I asked him, leaning my head up against the window. He nodded, but Fred burst in.
"Oi, Anna, she's given me two. I've got Armando Dippet and Merton Graves. I haven't gotten Whitehorn yet and I know you haven't got Graves..." With that he gave me his greatest puppy-dog face. I quirked an eyebrow, but handed over my Devlin Whitehorn. Fred looked rather mollified, as he passed me Merton Graves.
"Well, well, well. What have we here? Welcome back to Hogwarts, Annabel Castletree." And as I looked up in that moment, it felt as though my blood had turned cold running through my veins. What was he doing here?