"Mum!" A ginger haired boy, no older than 14, called out as he stood in the sun lit living room. He was still wearing his baggy and tattered pyjama bottoms and a plain white t-shirt that was a few sizes too big for him. His face held a dazed expression that made him seem as though he was still half asleep. His eyes were fixed on the raven-haired girl who was sleeping peacefully on the sofa before him, even with his deep and breaking voice yelling beside her she didn't stir. The sheer exhaustion from not leaving work for at least a week had made the woman's slumber almost unbreakable. "There's a random girl sleeping on our sofa!"
"Ron, that is not a random girl! She lived with us for about 3 years." A younger girl with matching ginger hair stated as she rolled her eyes at the older boy. Unlike the older boy, she was completely awake and had an alert look on her face. Standing beside the other ginger, she looked as though she should have been older. She was wearing spots gear and had a broomstick in her hand. "How do you not recognise her, you had a child crush on her."
"I think I would remember having a child crush on her." Ron stated looking at his sister with a matter-of-fact look.
"Ron, you don't remember what you are for breakfast yesterday!" The girl cried their loud conversation not waking the peacefully sleeping woman. As the younger girl looked at the woman, she stepped forwards to pull the file that she was holding close to her chest into her own hands. Reading through the file, the younger girl's eyes widened with surprise. "Assisting Head of the Department of International Magical Co-operation. She's Percy's boss."
"Ginny, why would Percy bring his boss home?" Ron questioned as he looked at the younger girl rolling his eyes. The younger girl's, Ginny's, face filled with a dumbfounded look at her brother's stupidity.
"Ron! He didn't bring her home!" Ginny yelled causing the raven-hair woman's face to screw up. For a moment, the two siblings remained silent trying to make up for their slight destruction of the woman. Once Ginny was sure that the woman was soundly asleep again, she added in a whisper yell, "It was probably Dad, especially with this pile of work. She probably hasn't slept in ages."
"What are you two yelling about?" Two older boys, who were almost identical apart from one being a quarter of an inch taller than the other, spoke in unison stepping into the living room with a smirk on their faces.
"Do you think they fell victim again, Freddie?" the taller one asked.
"They would be laughing not bickering, Georgie." The other answered with a matching air of mischief in his tone.
However, as their eyes caught sight of the girl who was lead on the sofa, their menacing smile turned to the youngest boy in the room. The identical boy's eyes met each other for a second before they moved either side of Ron, Ginny rolling her eyes as she continued to read the file she had found in the woman's hands.
"It's ickle Ronnie's baby crush!" George teased as he placed his arm over the youngest red-heads shoulder before it was forcefully shaken off.
"Don't let Bill catch you saying that," Fred spoke looking at his brother. "What is it he used to say?"
"I am going to make her a Weasley one day." George and Ginny answered in unison.
As the words left their mouth, an older slightly plump woman walked into the room, her, slightly grey, ginger hair sticking up in clumps. There was a look of annoyance on her face as she walked in glaring at her children, but that look disappeared when she saw the girl on the sofa. The woman's eyes almost filled with tears of relief as she saw the woman slept safely on the sofa.
A slight smile made its way onto the woman's face as she took in the fact that the raven-haired woman, who in her eyes would always be the shaking and fragile little girl that had shown up in her fireplace one night. However, that smile soon changed to a look of fury as she saw the mountain of files on the desk with the woman's handwriting scribbled all over it. All of a sudden, the woman's infuriated attention moved from the table to her children who had been yelling just moments before.
"What are you 4 doing in here? Yelling at that!" The woman whisper yelled at the group of children. Her attention turned specifically to the girl her face scrunching up with disappointment as she saw the file in her hands. After snatching the file from her grasp, she added, "Ginny, I expected better from you."
"Mum, I wanted to find out what she did for the ministry." Ginny stated looking at her mother with a look of unease. Being the only girl in the family Ginny was always expected to be perfect and her mother always hoped that her daughter would grow up to be an Auror or a Healer or something high up in the ministry, but all Ginny wanted to do was play Quidditch. "Did you know that she was Percy's boss?"
"That is not important right now, you all need to leave!" The children's mother told them in a forceful whisper. Each of their faces filled with the type of fear only a disappointed mother can strike into her children. "Ginny, grab a blanket, she must be freezing. Ron, go and wake your father he must have something to do with these files. Fred, George, stay out of the living room, if she waked up pranked I will not be impressed. She got more OWLs than you two combined!"
Slowly sitting up as the sun crept through the curtains and into the Weasley's living room, Quinn pushed her dark curls out of her face yawning loudly as she did. For a moment, Quinn forgot that she was an adult. For just a minuscule moment she was a child again, a 15-year-old without a care in the world again. However, that moment was quickly vanquished as she saw the pile of files on the coffee table before her. Standing up, Quinn stretched her arms out feeling rejuvenated after actually sleeping, instead of relying on Coffee and potions to give her energy, for once. Eyes flickering around the room for the first time since she had moved into the living room, a smile made her way to her face as she saw the moving pictures of the Weasley's, many of them including her; a bushy haired girl; or a dark-haired boy with circular glasses.
Stepping towards the pictures, Quinn found herself absent-mindedly picking up the framed newspaper clipping from Egypt. Over the years Bill and Charlie had changed greatly, both of them continuing to grow their hair as they did in Hogwarts. Charlie was still well built and it looked as though her had stopped growing in their last year of schooling at Hogwarts, but had seemingly continued to play sports or lift heavy things as his arms had become muscly, something they never were at Hogwarts. On the other hand, Bill, who was already unusually tall, had continued to grow after he left for Egypt. His hair was tied back in a ponytail and he had a fang earring in his ear. From what Quinn remembered Bill had always been quite alternative in his fashion, however he had gone further than she could have ever imagined since he had left.
Placing the image back down, Quinn turned her attention to one of Ginny flying her broom in the garden with the twins and the boy that was in a few of the other photographs on the mantelpiece. Last time Quinn had seen the youngest Weasley she was only 9 years old and already smarter and more mature than the twins and Ron, now she would be 13 and starting her third year at Hogwarts. From the pictures before her, Quinn could tell that she had followed quite closely in Charlie's footsteps and never seemed to be without a smile on her face.
Pulling her eyes away from the pictures, Quinn looked back at the files that sat on the table, sighing as she realised that she was going to have to go back to the office to finish up the rest of the paperwork. Glancing around the room, her mind filled with confusion when she couldn't see her briefcase. Moving towards the table, Quinn began rummaging through the files on the table attempting to find it in order to take her files back in. After 10 minutes of unsuccessful rummaging, Quinn bit on the inside of her lip as she tried to work out any other place it would be.
Wandering out of the living room, Quinn tried to recall if she had brought it onto the room in the first place. However, as she stepped into the kitchen, she was met with 4 ginger haired children, one with a blank expression; two with matching smirks; the fourth with a smile from ear to ear; looking back at her.
"Good, you are here." A woman spoke, her voice making a smile form on Quinn's face as soon as she heard it. "There is coffee on the side for you, we hear you wake up. The eggs are almost done for breakfast."
"Thank you, Mrs…Molly, but I can't stay for breakfast I have to get in to finish up my paperwork." Quinn spoke as she picked up the mug of coffee on the side sipping it slowly. "On that note, have you seen a black briefcase? It has an extension charm on it."
"About that," Molly started as she pulled out a chair for Quinn to sit at. "Arthur has gone in to your office to collect the rest of your paperwork. You are going to do it here and send it in with Percy when you are done."
"Molly, I can't do that the Quidditch world cup is only a few nights away and then the other is only a week after that. There is too much that needs to be discussed…"
"Nonsense, you are overworked, stressed and exhausted. If Mr Crouch has anything against this he can speak to me. Quinn, you look as place as a ghost and thinner than is healthy." Molly stated as she looked at the woman with a look that made Quinn feel safe. "Now, sit down and eat your breakfast."
"Thank you, Molly." Quinn stated giving up on fighting with her. From the amused look on the twins faces, their mother had obviously spent most of the time they had all been awake ranting about the topic. Taking the seat, Quinn turned to look at the children who sat before her. "So, Ginny, I can see from the pictures in the living room that you are a flyer. Gryffindor team?"
A slight smile on her face, Ginny shook her head at the young adult, "I don't think so. Our team is flawless as it is, what with Harry being the youngest player in a century. Better than Charlie they say."
"Must be good then," Quinn smiled as she remembered playing against Charlie during her time at Hogwarts. A smile formed on her face as the memories came back to her as vibrant as the ginger hair of children before her.
Winter wind penetrated Quinn's thick Quidditch gear as she gripped tightly onto her broom, her knuckles becoming white with her deathly grip. Over the years Quinn had only had one major fall, however that fall, in weather similar to that game, left her overcompensating for even the slightest breeze. Now, as the winds knocked even the most skilled riders off course, the dark-haired girl was holding as tight as her hand allowed. Although the winter was the most bitter Hogwarts had seen, the turnout was immense and the stands were filled to the maximum capacity.
Thankfully, Quinn's mother had taught her simple but useful charms that helped in situations like this. Not once, before that match, had one of the charms come in as useful as the one to repel water from her glasses was. If it weren't for this spell her view would have been distorted by the rain droplets causing her ability to catch the Quaffle to be vanquished.
Leaning forwards on her broom, Quinn spread up to meet Flint as he approached the goals. Luckily, Quinn's natural talent on a broom had earned her the respect of her fellow teammates despite her gender. Being the first girl on the team in as long as many professors could remember had both its advantages and disadvantages. The first being the fact that she had become a role model to the younger, and even the other houses, who are told they will never accomplish something. The latter being that she had to work twice as hard during matches to be included in plays. However, since the beginning of her 5th year the team had begun to respect her more and more due to her Co-Captain tittle.
Throwing the Quaffle past the Gryffindor Keeper, Oliver Wood, Quinn managed to hit it through the goal without any issue.
"And Riddle, the only girl on the team, scores once again for the Slytherin team extending their lead on Gryffindor 90-30!" Marcus Barrington cried from the commentator's box beside McGonagall. The cheering crowd continued to make extreme amounts of noise as Quinn smirked at Charlie who was swaying slightly on his broom beside her. Winking at her, the red-headed boy's eyes flicked into the distance and a familiar shine filled them telling the girl exactly what they had landed on.
"Kerris!" She cried earning a glare from Charlie who had thought that he had gotten away with his view of the Snitch.
"I will get you at some point Riddle!" Charlie exclaimed as he sped past her diving to catch the Snitch.
As she continued to pass around the Quaffle, Quinn tried to keep her eyes on both the Seekers and the Slytherin Beaters. However, as she once again hit the Quaffle past Oliver Madame Hootch blew her whistle registering a fowl.
"Slytherin Beater Goyle aimed a Bludger dangerously close to Gryffindor Seeker Weasleys head earning Gryffindor a penalty!" Marcus yelled into the mic catching Quinn's attention as she threw a glare at Goyle.
"Try anything like that again and I will demote you!" Quinn cried at Goyle who nodded in a mix of fear and cowardice.
After the fowl both teams lost sight of the Snitch and the game went on for another hour before Charlie caught the Snitch at an insanely high speed.
"Quinn," A voice spoke as a hand clicked in front of Quinn's face causing her to look up shaking the glazed look off her face. Eye's flickering around the Weasleys, Quinn realised that she had been once again in her own world. It was odd how being back in the Weasley home gave her such a feeling of nostalgia. Up until she had come back she was unaware of how much she had missed the vibrant ginger hair and freckles that plagued each Weasley's phenotypes.
"Sorry," Quinn smiled as she looked back over at the children. Eyes landing on the twins, Quinn couldn't help but compare them to Charlie. They were both similarly built to the second oldest Weasley boy, however they did not have half the number of freckles that their brother did. "You two look greatly like your brother you know."
"Which one," The taller asked.
"We have many," The other finished.
"Charlie." Quinn stated as Molly placed a plate of eggs and bacon before her, the smell of the food filled Quinn's nostrils. The smell of food suddenly made Quinn realise that she had forgotten to eat anything yesterday and had only eaten breakfast the day before that. "Thank you, Molly."
"Eat up, you are skinnier than Harry was the first time he came here." Molly stated as she looked at the clothes that hung off Quinn prominent shoulders and hips. "When was the last time you ate?"
"Can I plead the 5th?" Quinn whispered to Ginny who had moved next to the young woman to get away from her older brothers for once. As Ginny realised what Quinn had meant she began to chuckle before glancing to her Mum who was glaring at them. "I take that as a no."
"Quinn Riddle…" Molly started but was interrupted by her youngest son.
"I remember who you are now!" The 14-year-old cried causing his younger to sister to put her head in her hands at his idiocy. "Your Bill's girlfriend! Why are you here before him?"
Turning red, Quinn looked at her hands before realising what he had said. Bill was going to be there. If he was coming back then she couldn't stay there, he probably hated her now. He had tried writing to her, but she never once replied. Though he had kept every one of her letters carefully hidden from the others on her dorms, especially considering their hatred for her in the first place.
Seeing that Quinn's face had noticeably dropped, Molly scowled at Ron who was looking even more dumbfounded than he was before. "Why don't you go and change before you post the letter to Harry?"
"Fine," Ron grumbled as he stood up and began to make his way up the stairs.
"I should really go into work," Quinn spoke standing up quickly and shooting her hands to her head as it spun more violently than it had the night before. Sitting back down on the seat, Quinn glanced up at Molly who had a look that consisted of a mix of anger and worry.
"No, Quinn you are staying here until the Quidditch match. Then you will Apparate with Charlie, Bill and Percy." Molly stated her posture as perfect as it always had been when Quinn had stayed there herself. "You are then going to stay in the Weasley tents, it has all been planned already."
"Molly…"
"No, you can't change it." Molly spoke as she placed more coffee in Quinn's mug. "Now eat before you pass out."
Nodding to the older woman, Quinn glanced back at the food on her plate that looked better than anything she could get out of the shop at work. However, as she brought it up to her mouth it felt as though her stomach had shrunk drastically, even the thought of eating made her feel physically sick. Placing the fork down, Quinn watched as Molly walked up the stairs with a plate and a mug, most likely for Percy. Pushing her chair back, Quinn began to scrape the food from her plate to the rest of the Weasley's who seemed to be more than happy to take it.
"QUINN! I know you are giving that food away!" Molly yelled causing the raven-haired woman to groan.
"Still has eyes in the back of her head I see," Quinn spoke to the Weasley children who nodded with a muffled laugh.
