Chapter Ten

Rose's POV

A couple of weeks had passed and I was blissfully happy. George had told Fred about us, because he couldn't hide anything from Fred, who in turn had told his parents and Ginny, who had told Harry, who had told Ron, who had spilled to Hermione. Everyone was happy for us, and they all hoped (or knew) that I would forgive them, especially since I was dating George. I hadn't met Mr. or Mrs. Weasley yet, but George described them in detail. I liked them, and apparently they wanted to meet me. I wasn't sure if they would approve; although everyone hates us purebloods because we're supposedly prejudiced the rest of the wizarding population is still pretty judgey about us. They all stereotype, and I thought that maybe Mr. and Mrs. Weasley would judge me by my blood, or my relatives, or my money… the list went on.

For now, though, I was contented to know that George and I were together. The only bump in the road was Draco. He'd been... hesitant. He didn't like the Weasleys and he didn't want to be near them. He did want me to be happy however, and he eventually realized that George made me happy. Although he was in no terms friendly with the rest of the group, he was civil to Fred, and nice to George and Ginny. Ginny, as it turned out, is one of my closest friends.

The urge to meet the rest of the Weasleys compounded with a longing to see the ones I knew over the holiday break. This led to the Weasleys inviting me, my Great-Aunts, and Draco to the burrow for a few days before Christmas, and my saying yes. Draco, although determined, yielded to my pleas, and also agreed to come along. My Great-Aunt were eagerly coming along, though they would stay with the Lovegoods. Apparently, Xavier had been friends with them in their Hogwarts years, and they wanted to catch up. I made a mental note to get to know Luna better.

All of these events, and a few smaller, less notable ones, formed into my current dilemmas. (1) What to pack to the Weasleys? (2) How to get Draco to pack for the Weasleys? (3) How to get my eccentric Great-Aunts to the Lovegoods, ready and prepared for four days, the duration of which would be spent without me? (4) How to then get myself and Draco to the Weasleys, by broomstick, because we were underage? (5) How to do this and remain attractive, looking as though I was prepared for the visit, and sane.

Dilemma #1: I would pack a couple of muggle outfits, because they would be practical, a few shirts and pants, and a dress, all of which were well-fitting and logical, without consuming a great deal of space. I'd been told to bring Tiffy and Flamel, because the Weasleys wanted to meet them, and Ginny had grown attached to Tiffy. I'd pack two pairs of shoes; a pair of pumps and a pair of sneakers. The pumps had a spell on them to match whatever outfit I was wearing, and the sneakers were sneakers. I'd also pack the travel necessities.

Dilemma #2: I inform Draco that he can pack for himself or I'll pack for him. It works nicely, and he's packed in 45 minutes, no following complaints.

Dilemma #3: I have them pack. I get my Great-Aunt Miranda, the less insane of the two, to keep an eye out for Melinda, which she generally does anyway. I inform Xavier and Luna of their temperaments.

Dilemma #4: I hold Tiffy, Flamel's cage, and the smaller of the two bags, while Draco carries the bigger bag. It's not really a long ride, and we do quite well. I remain in the same state which I'd left; well groomed and grinning.

I succeeded! Hermione and Harry were also staying there over the holiday break. George hugged me while Draco stood, stiff and scowling and awkward. Fred, being wonderful, took his arm, and gave him a tour of the house, while Tiffy walked up to Ginny and purred. Ginny and Harry hugged me, followed by Ron and Hermione. I was given a tour of the house, and introduced to Bill, Fleur, and Charlie. We sat on the couch to talk.

"So, you work with dragons? That must be so cool!" I exclaimed when Charlie told me of his profession. Charlie chuckled. "Yeah, it's interesting. Are you interested in animals?" At that moment, Tiffy had the good timing to jump into my lap and look curiously at Charlie, as if saying, 'what am I, invisible?' I raised one eyebrow, and he laughed. Just then, someone opened the door, and I saw a pretty woman with a motherly appearance enter.

A general chorus of "Mom!"s erupted throughout the building, before Tiffy walked up to her and rubbed against her leg. "Hello! You must be Rose, it's a pleasure to meet you." She said. She looked welcoming, and I didn't feel as though she was appraising me, as most people did. I smiled at her and nodded. "Nice to meet you too!" She smiled at me, before hugging the twins and Ron.

"So. Tell me about yourself, Rose. Everything from your favorite color to how you tell my sons apart. Nothing is too trivial." Said Mrs. Weasley. I grinned. "They generally have a G or an F on their shirts. Did you know they switch shirts? It's annoying. Besides, Fred talks more." I told her grinning at Fred when I mentioned him. Draco sat next to me on the couch, wearily surveying the scene.

Mrs. Weasley looked at Draco and forced a smile on her face. "Good afternoon Mr. Malfoy. Good to see you again. I don't suppose your parents know you're here, huh?" she said, the tight smile still politely in place. He was about to snap at her, so I cut him off. "We neglected to inform them, and I'd greatly appreciate your doing the same. They aren't too welcoming of… outside beliefs within their family." I nudged Draco with my elbow, who nodded at his feet.

"Of course, I doubt they'd even listen to me anyway." Mrs. Weasley had an underlying note of dislike in her tone. George sat next to me, and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. Ginny sat next to Draco, but being Ginny, he didn't mind. Had it been Harry… but Harry was too smart to do that. Harry did, however, sit on Ginny's other side, but Draco didn't speak.

"Well, are you… is your family… I mean I've heard some things…" Mrs. Weasley stumbled along, beating around the bush, until her son cut her off with a glare. "Well… my parents died a couple of years ago, but they weren't… missed too much. I live with my Great-Aunts now, they're kind of the black sheep of the family, but they're amazing. I think you'd like them." I told her with a smile, but she frowned. "How can you not miss your late parents?" she asked, as if this was an affront to her. "Well… they weren't… I mean…" I was now the one stumbling, but I blanched as Draco growled "They beat her like a rug." Slapping his arm, I turned apologetically to Mrs. Weasley. "He's exaggerating. They just embraced different forms of punishment is all. Nothing abruptly uncommon!" I was covering my rear end, and I knew it. "Well using magic is pretty damn uncommon" Draco began, but was cut off by my hand wrapping firmly around his mouth. He glared, and I glared back.

Mrs. Weasley's mouth was in a firm line, her skin completely white, and I was worried for her health. "Mrs. Weasley? Are you OK?" I asked slowly. She nodded her head minutely, before spinning about as the door opened. A man came in who I assumed was Mr. Weasley. "Arthur!" yep, Mr. Weasley "Won't you come with me?" said Mrs. Weasley, ushering him into another room. Great. Mr. Weasley waved at me over his shoulder.

I pulled my hand away and glared at Draco. "What? They'd have found out anyway. Better to get your baggage out of the way first thing." He said cheekily. George patted my shoulder. "Don't worry Rose! My Mom cares about more than your past. She likes you!" he assured me. I gave him a small smile, and his parents came into the room.

"Nice to meet you Rose!" said a cheery Mr. Weasley. Draco opened his mouth, and I covered it. "Good to see you too, Draco." He said in an equally greeting voice. Draco's eyes widened slightly and I felt him smile under my hand. "Be nice." I hissed into his ear before dropping my hand and smiling at Mr. Weasley. Draco's smile was gone by the time I dropped it. "Nice to meet you too, Mr. Weasley." I greeted with a nod. Draco nodded at him, but it wasn't threatening. I considered this a positive sign, and moved on.

We chatted a while, before Mrs. Weasley called us in for dinner. As we sat there, Draco complimented her cooking. This surprised me, not because it was a bad meal (it was probably the best I'd ever had) but because he never complimented anything, outside of me, because he was always dear to me. Mrs. Weasley stared, before saying "Thank you, Draco." Hermione didn't let it go. "Don't you appreciate your house elves?" she snapped. Ron elbowed her. I sighed. Draco glared. "Of course I appreciate them. They're around more than my parents." He spat. I glared at him, and George patted my knee comfortingly.

Hermione had nothing more to say, but Ron did. "Sorry, but she's founder of S.P.E.W. and all." He told him apologetically. "Wait. You founded that? Huh. Well. I can't say I'm surprised." I said, and I shouldn't have been, but I'd never thought she'd been behind it. "Why do you say that?" she asked, not angry, but with the ability to become angry very quickly.

"Oh, just that you seem very active in that sort of thing." I said. "What's that sort of thing? Do you have house elves?" she demanded. I wasn't going to lie, so I answered "One." This was true. Her name was Elle. Hermione scowled. "Has she ever been paid?" she demanded. I lost my appetite. I shook my head. Why would I pay a house elf? She didn't want to be paid; we bought her anything she wanted, gave her a home, and anything we thought she could possibly need. Draco was smiling deviously. Apparently he knew something I didn't.

"Why not? They deserve pay too!" Hermione cried. "We give her anything she wants… I never thought about it. I suppose we could, but I can't imagine she'd let us." I said, more ponderous that argumentative. She was certainly raising some interesting questions.

"Anything she wants? What about clothing? What about good food, and love? Do you give her those too?" Hermione snarled. "I think you have the wrong impression…" I was blushing furiously. Now I knew why Draco was smiling.

"And what's the right impression?" cried Hermione. "Well… Elle was freed years ago… she just didn't want to leave. Her bedroom is next to mine, actually. And she eats dinner with us, so I guess her food is as good as ours. And I assure you, she's well loved." I told her, and for one Hermione was speechless. Fred was never speechless, however. "You have a free house elf?" he asked. I nodded, blushing still. George chuckled next to me. "Congratulations, Rose, Hermione has never lost an argument." I frowned. "It wasn't an argument. I don't argue." Fred grinned mischievously. "Don't you?" he asked. "No, I don't" I said, and I realized what he was trying to lead me into.

"Yes you do." He said, and with a small smile I said, "Okay" and went back to eating. He stared. He laughed. He patted me on the back, which required reaching behind George. He fell off his chair.