Two nights later, she woke up in the pitch black of night and tossed and turned, trying to go back to sleep. Finally, she decided to try to curl up on the couch in the living room to see if that would help her sleep. She crept out of bed, out of her room, and downstairs, trying to make the stairs creak as little as possible.

It wasn't until she was preparing to lie down with her blanket that she heard voices coming from the kitchen. Once again, without thinking, Ginny drew her wand and walked into the kitchen. She found a hooded figure in dark robes standing on the other side of the kitchen table and brandished her wand at him. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" she hissed in a low voice.

"Ginny?" came a familiar voice. "Ginny, it's just me, Bill."

"And me, Charlie," came another familiar voice as a second figure stepped out of the Floo. "So much for surprising you, Sis. Not much sneaks past you at our house. Congratulations on your vacation, though."

"Show your faces," Ginny ordered them, still holding her wand on them. They reached up and pulled their hoods back, both raising an eyebrow at her.

"That paranoid?" Charlie chuckled in amusement. "You do know you're getting the captain of paranoia for a Defense teacher this year, don't you?"

Ginny nodded, remembering that Draco had been complaining about it before he'd been told to quit making a scene at the table. She also remembered telling him that there was nothing that he could do about it and to stop whining. "I'm not exactly looking forward to it, but I'm hoping it won't be too terrible."

Bill sniggered, motioning Ginny and Charlie toward the living room. "Tonks said that MadEye Moody always stopped one spell short of killing her, and one more than letting her go un-cursed. Good luck."

Ginny smiled a little at the mention of Tonks. "I wish I could see her again, but I think my friends would kill me, and I wouldn't have to worry about Mad Eye."

"But then they would," Charlie laughed softly, slipping his arm around her as the three sat down on the couch. "You shouldn't worry about what other people think, Ginny."

"Even if they Curse me for it?" Ginny asked him, looking up into his eyes.

"No one should be doing that," Bill said with a frown. "It's no one's business what you think, or who your friends are."

"And you'll be cursed, probably, whatever side you take," Charlie answered, shrugging. "I guess it's whether you wanted to be cursed Darkly or with an Aurors-only spell."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "I'd leave the Dark and the Aurors to themselves," she said. "I have no interest in either. I'm very wary of both right now."

Bill chuckled. "Even though Aurors keep us safe?"

"From nasty Dark wizards who are in hiding, waiting for the Dark Lord to return?" Estella asked before shaking her head in disbelief. "Our world is never safe, even with Aurors, Bill. And I've got nothing against Dora, really, except that I wish she wasn't on the team that's supposed to be finding my real parents."

"Ooh," Charlie said, his eyes lighting up. "That should be good for some fireworks."

"If the Aurors ever catch up," Ginny rolled her eyes. Both older boys protested at this, and Ginny yawned. "I couldn't sleep, so I was going to come out here and try to sleep on the couch. I heard you in the kitchen and went to see what was happening."

"Are the beds moved so we can go on to bed?" Charlie asked her. "We are staying in Fred and George's room, aren't we? The twins are rooming with Ron right now?"

Ginny nodded, glancing between her brothers. "The twins have not moved into Ron's room yet, but their beds are moved. We expected you to come later today, not early in the dark of the morning, and Fred and George wanted to stay away from Ron as long as possible. We've found out that they're making cool joke items during the summer, and Mum's furious."

Charlie grinned. "Tonks told me. She told me what she did to Fred in our Common Room, and—Merlin's beard—he doesn't even know who that was! Did you hear what Tonks did to her mother? And what her mother did to her?"

"The Rodent Rock," Ginny supplied. "She bought one from Fred in the Common Room, and gave it to her mother later. Turned her into a black rat—"

"A black rat!" Bill snorted with laughter. "That sounds about right for her mum."

"Masterfully done," Charlie agreed. "I've got to make sure to congratulate Fred and George over that. But Tonks' mum wasn't happy. She cursed her daughter and wouldn't let anyone help her."

"She was all right. She had a shift at the Office that day too, and she made it all right," Ginny said. "She sent me a Patronus to tell me about it and made my cousins mad at me. And then I got Cursed for real because they think I'm encouraging Dora to contact me."

"Tonks," Charlie emphasized pointedly, raising an eyebrow. "Honestly, if you don't know not to call her by her first name, then you haven't been around her very much at all, and certainly not enough to warrant an Unforgivable. Am I correct?"

Ginny nodded. "Sometimes I wish they'd leave me alone, but they are my family, I guess," she said.

Bill shrugged. "If you didn't care too much, you could turn them in for it."

"The Aurors couldn't catch them," Ginny giggled mysteriously, and her bitemates also got the joke, hissing in amusement. "And I wouldn't turn in my own family unless they decided that I was a liability and had to be destroyed, or something like that."

"Let's move Fred and George," Charlie suggested, grinning. "They'll be so surprised they won't know what to do. C'mon, Bill!" He got up, and his older brother followed, motioning to Ginny to come with them.

The two oldest Weasley boys walked up the stairs quietly, opening the door to Fred and George's room, grinning. "Sleeping Web," Bill whispered warningly, and Charlie moved to allow his brother to do it. "Good," Bill said with a smothered laugh. "Very good. Hey, Gin, could you go put a Sleeping Ward on Ron so he doesn't wake up when we come in?"

Ginny smirked and agreed before hurrying off toward Ron's room, pushing the door open slowly as she drew her wand and approached the bed. She set up the Sleeping Ward to keep Ron asleep just as Bill and Charlie walked into the room, each levitating one of their twin brothers. Ginny motioned her older brothers to the right beds, leaving the one beside Ron's free. She grinned and slipped over to Fred and George, tucking their blankets back around them.

"Ananke," she hissed to her bitemates. "Sadura. Will you ssstay here and watch them for Missstress? You needn't be awake the whole time, for you will feel and hear them wake up. They are never quiet."

"The onesss with the double magic are never quiet," the bitemates agreed, and the two Ginny had named slithered forward to take their watch.

"Don't hurt them," Ginny cautioned her bitemates. "Just surprise them."

"Thanks, Ginny," the boys told her when they'd left the room and closed the door on their brothers. "We never said hi to you, or anything, really. So, hi, Ginny." Both boys hugged her, and she squeezed them tightly. "Do you think you'll be able to sleep now?" Bill asked.

Ginny smiled up at him. "I'm sure I can. Good night, boys. Don't forget to move your trunks and things so that it's a full surprise for everyone."

Charlie shook his head. "How do you think so well in the early morning? I can't do that."

She grinned. "You too far removed from school to remember how to get up early, Charlie? I'm not staying up. I'm going back to sleep. Right now, in fact. Good night." Ginny walked off to her room, thrilled that her brothers had arrived, and would be staying with them for a long while before school began again.

The very next morning, Molly shouted so loudly when she found that her oldest sons were home that she woke Fred, George, and Ron, who all sat up and yelled at the sight of each other.

"You git!" Fred said to Ron.

"What?" he protested, staring at the twins. "What are you doing—?"

"Get out of our room!" George told him, pointing to the door.

"It's my room!" Ron retorted hotly. "Look! I've got my posters on the wall, and there are four beds in here, when there should only be two in yours. You've got the wrong room yourself!"

The door burst open and Bill and Charlie burst into the room, startling their three younger, squabbling siblings. "Hello!" they chorused together, greeting the other three boys. "Late April Fool's!"

Ginny watched the three tackle their older brothers excitedly, starting a wrestling match between the five of them. "Come on, Gin!" called Charlie before George hit him directly in the face with a pillow. "Hey!"

She grinned and dived into the fray, attacking Fred, who was currently trying to hold Bill down. Someone shouted and jumped on her back, making her shout, "Bitematesss! Leave me!" Her basilisks slithered off of her and gathered in sunny places, watching for her in the fight.

The same person who had jumped on her back shouted in horror, seeing the serpents, and Ginny sniggered, throwing Ron off of her and hitting him in the chest with the nearest pillow.

"Get her!" shouted Fred, and the twins pounced on Ginny, throwing her down on her back and tickling her.

"No magic!" shouted George in alarm when Ginny's magic crackled loudly over the sound of her giggling.

"Oops," she giggled without apology. "Was that a rule, George?"

Ron scooted away from the rest of the fight, and Bill and Charlie pulled Fred and George away from her. "Is your magic a little unstable, Ginny?" Bill asked her in concern. "You should have better control, shouldn't you?"

Ginny grinned, grabbing another pillow and threatening Fred with it. "I do have control," she answered. "I didn't hurt him at all. It's just that my magic is so much more...ready now. Ready for use." She chuckled, then rolled away from Charlie's hands. "It just crackled because it doesn't like me being attacked. I can keep it under control. It's fine."

The door burst open and Molly stood in the doorway. "What's going on in here?" she demanded, then gasped. "Bill! Charlie!"

The older boys disentangled themselves from their twin brothers and hugged their mother, one at a time, as Ginny gathered her bitemates and scooted out of the room, unseen.

Later that afternoon, there came a knock on the door, and Molly said, "That'll be Hermione, Ginny. Please answer it and let her in."

Ginny gaped at Molly Weasley. "She wasn't supposed to come for another two days!" she said in horror.

"We decided that it would be better for Hermione to arrive early, and only have to get Harry here," Ron answered. "Go on, Ginny."

"Why me?" she protested. "Why can't you? She's your friend!"

"Ginevra."

Ginny scowled at the red-haired woman, then stepped toward the door, smoothing her robe and preparing herself. She opened the door and said, "Hi, Hermione. Welcome to the Burrow, home of the Weasleys." She swung the door wide open and motioned Hermione to come in, frowning a little at the cat in Hermione's arms. The bitemates were not favourable to that at all.

The brown-haired girl walked into the house, where she was greeted by nearly all the other Weasleys. "Hello," Hermione said a little bashfully. "I was hoping I'd found the right place. The bus didn't come all the way out here—"

"But you got here," Ginny shrugged. "Why don't you come with me and I'll show you where you'll be staying. You'll be rooming with me while you're here."

"Oh," said Hermione, a little surprised. "Okay." She followed Ginny on up the creaking stairs.

"That's your bed," Ginny pointed out as they entered her room. "You have storage space for your things—and does Crookshanks need a box?"

"No, he's an outdoor cat, really," Hermione answered. "Thanks, Ginny. You're so nice to allow me to share your room."

Ginny smiled genuinely. "I'm not bad off, actually. Ron's got to share a room with Fred, George, and Harry because Bill and Charlie are in the twins' room."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Your older brothers are here too?"

The red-haired girl nodded. "Bill's come in from Egypt, and Charlie's come in from Romania. They'll be attending the World Cup with us, of course."

"And all of us will be in the Top Box," Hermione said excitedly. "I've been reading about the World Cup—"

The brown-haired girl began to go on about the practices and customs of the World Cup and everything involved in it, but Ginny wasn't listening. "Top Box?" she asked Hermione. "Are you sure? Dad didn't say anything to me about that."

Hermione looked a bit worried for a moment, then set Crookshanks down on her bed and turned to the trunk that Ginny had dragged into the room. "Um, I'm sure Ron's letter said 'Top Box,'" she said in concern. "What if it wasn't, after all I told Mum and Dad?!"

Ginny didn't answer, and Hermione opened her trunk, pulling out a piece of paper that was attached to the lid. "Um," Hermione said intelligently, scanning the letter quickly, "it does say 'Top Box.' See? Right there." She held out the letter to Ginny and pointed at the words. "I hope Ron was right."

"I don't know," Ginny shrugged. "If he is, I'm shocked, but I was away at a friend's house for almost two weeks, so I'm not sure what happened here while I was gone. I didn't stay in contact."

"Oh," said Hermione again, and smiled.

Ginny sat down on her bed and told the other girl, "You can unpack if you want to, but we're going to be heading out in about three or four days to our campsite. We'll be leaving the morning after Harry arrives."

Hermione nodded, then asked, "So what will we be doing this evening?"

"Well," Ginny said slowly, "once Dad gets home, we'll be eating supper and discussing the way to get Harry here. Dad and Ron already sent Harry's Muggles a letter explaining what's going to happen. The letter asked permission to take Harry for the rest of the summer, but Dad's going to go get Harry anyway, and Ron will probably go with him."

"Of course," giggled Hermione at the thought. "But Ginny, they're Harry's aunt and uncle—"

"They're his Muggles," Ginny insisted. "They refuse to believe in us, or entertain us, and they don't like Harry at all—Ron says so—and so the only connection from us to them is Harry: hence the title 'Harry's Muggles.'"

The other girl shrugged, then began to unpack a few essentials she would need each day, keeping most of her things in the trunk. "I'm so excited to see the World Cup," she began again. "I've never seen a professional Quidditch game."

Ginny got up, then agreed. "I've seen one, but only through someone's memory," she answered. "After the game was already finished. And it was lame compared to what's going to be happening in the World Cup. Ron will probably go on and on about it. Now let's go downstairs, if you've unpacked everything you'll need for tonight, or tomorrow morning. We'll be in the sitting room for a little while as we wait for our dad."

Hermione followed her from the room, going downstairs, and to Ginny's immense relief, Ron distracted their guest by volunteering to give her a tour of the house so that she would know where everything was. Glad to see the two of them off, Ginny slipped out to her dad's workshop and sat alone for a few minutes before one of her bitemates warned her that Ron and Hermione were headed out to the workshop.

Quickly, Ginny got up from where she'd been sitting and walked outside, sighing. A few moments later, she arrived in the orchard, where Bill and Charlie were dueling in between the trees. She watched them move, dueling fiercely sometimes, and stalking each other. The two boys finally met each other in a more open place and dueled until there was a loud bang and smoke covered the two, making it impossible for Ginny to see what was happening.

A few minutes later, the smoke cleared enough for her to see Bill and Charlie laughing, walking toward her through the orchard. They greeted her laughingly, both slipping an arm around her and walking back toward the house. As they were nearing the back door, they heard an apparition and glanced back to see that their father had just arrived home.

"Bill! Charlie!" Arthur said, and smiled, coming forward to embrace his oldest sons. "How's life been for you?"

"Well," they began together, than looked at each other and laughed. "I've been doing fine," Bill answered. "Been thinking about coming back to Britain, but don't tell Mum. She'll flip."

"I got burnt," Charlie chuckled, showing the burn on his hand and wrist. "Last week. Young dragon didn't take too kindly to me. It was rather new and nervous. Not a good combination."

Arthur smiled. "Other than that, you've been all right? You did get the burn taken care of, didn't you?"

Charlie nodded and replied, "Of course. But Mum hasn't seen it, or she'd want to do something about it."

"Glamour Charm," Ginny suggested. "Done properly, she'd never know the difference."

"Of course," Bill nodded, then winked at his sister. "You should do the honors. That is, if Dad doesn't mind."

"I've only seen it done," Ginny shrugged without looking at her dad, who had made a nervous little sound. "I've never done it myself. It's better that someone else does it."

Bill grinned and performed the charm, waving his wand over his brother's hand. "Nice," he mused, admiring his own handiwork.

Arthur motioned the boys toward the house, slipping his left arm around Ginny. "Dinner, boys," he said, and the two took off toward the house, warning the household that their father was home.

Ron and Hermione were already seated at the table, and the older Weasley boys were greeting the girl and introducing themselves. Arthur walked into the room behind them and said, "Hermione! Welcome!"

She turned a little pink and said thank you quietly. Ginny sat down between Bill and Percy as their father began to ask Hermione all sorts of questions about her life in the Muggle world. Molly finally distracted Arthur and changed the topic to Harry Potter. Most of the others leaned in and began to listen eagerly to how they were going to get Harry to the Burrow.

Ginny was silent as she listened, raising an eyebrow as she heard the plans to connect Harry's Muggles' house to the Floo Network. "Will that work?" she asked. "Won't it be a little startling for them to have Wizards—well, any people, actually—coming out of their fireplace?"

"Yes," Hermione answered, wrinkling her brow, "but Harry will probably be able to explain at least a little to them before we arrive."

"He won't know how we're going to arrive," George said.

"No," added Fred. "And the Muggles won't be thinking of the fireplace at all."

Bill and Charlie shared glances, and Molly said, "Oh, it will be fine. Harry's relatives have had lots of experiences with him already, I would imagine."

Ginny just rolled her eyes at her family and continued to eat. Whatever happened at the Muggles' house, she was going to make Fred and George, or even her father tell her everything.