Jasmine, Nora and Nina's hike lasted about as long as Jasmine had predicted that morning; forty-five minutes on the dot, the trio arrived in a deserted thicket about a mile outside of the seaside village, which was as still and dark as it had been when they hiked through it. The sun was still nowhere to be seen along the horizon, but the sky had brightened since they left the house.
"Three minutes to five; excellent," Jasmine said as she checked her watch. "The Portkey is just through here, come on."
It took a few moments before Nora cried out as she found the Portkey they would be using: a mouldy-looking empty chip bag.
"Oh, gross," Nora crinkled her nose as she placed a finger on it. "They make them nastier every time."
"Ten seconds," Jasmine said. "Nora, scootch over and let Nina get in here; there we are."
The world suddenly turned into a whirl of colour and sound, and Nina heard Nora grunting as her body slammed into hers as they twirled. Just as she was starting to feel uncomfortably nauseous, their feet hit what felt like soggy grass, and Nina wobbled as she struggled to keep her balance. Nora wasn't so lucky; she stumbled backward, her arms flailing madly as they desperately tried to grab onto something solid, and she hit the ground with a thump.
"Oh, no!" Nora moaned as she scrambled to her feet and examined her buttocks, which was now caked with a layer of mud. "These shorts were brand new!"
"That's what you get for not listening to mum," Jasmine chimed, now hoisting her backpack further up her shoulder and leaving the muggy moor they had landed in. "Come on, you can change when we reach the tent."
"Five o'clock on the dot," grumbled a voice on their right, and Nina turned to find a pair of grumpy-looking wizards, both dressed in odd combinations of Muggle clothing. Jasmine strode over to them and greeted them with a smile.
"Hello," she said. "We're the Boones,"
"Mm," mumbled one of the wizards, who was clad in a poncho and bright red kilt. "First field you come to, ask for Mr Roberts. I hope you've got Muggle money on you?"
"Yeah, our dad gave us some." Jasmine said brightly. "Thank you, gents. Come on, girls,"
They set off down the hill as the wizards collected the soggy chip bag and eventually came to a stone cottage, smoke billowing from the chimney. They came across a Muggle man named Mr Roberts who was smoking a pipe, and Jasmine paid him the notes he requested and set off towards the misty field behind his cottage on which hundreds upon hundreds of tents sat.
As the girls trudged through the field, passing by some of the oddest tents Nina had ever come across, they came across Felix, who had set up a rather ugly, shabby-looking lime green tent.
"Ah, hello, dear," He grinned, waving them over and embracing Jasmine once they met.
"Where did you find this thing?" she asked, pointing at their tent and narrowing her eyes. "I'm pretty sure this thing wasn't green when we got it."
"Ah, vell… see, darling, I may have used some—er—some magic vhen I was setting it up." he muttered, withering under Jasmine's fiery gaze. "B-but just a bit, nothing that old Muggle could see!"
"Felix, what have I told you about anti-Muggle security?" she hissed. "You can't be waving your wand all over the place when we're so close to his cabin! You should know that he looked really suspicious of us—"
"Oh, come on, love!" he said. "Vizards are showing up and wiping his memory all the time anyway—"
"I wonder why," Jasmine muttered, her eyes narrowing to slits.
"I'm hungry." Nora moaned suddenly.
"You just ate!" Jasmine said, rounding on her fiercely.
"So?" Nora said defensively. "You went and rushed us out of the house before I could get more than half a slice of bread down!"
"Oh, so everything's my fault now?" she yelled. "If you're hungry, then go do something about it, I'm not your mother!"
"Okay," Nora shrugged. "Come on, Nina. Let's see if we can go mooch food off of someone."
"Are you sure you should be so… antagonistic towards her?" Nina muttered to her as they trotted off into the haze together, leaving behind the rowing couple.
"Oh, she forgives people in a heartbeat, don't worry about it." Nora said, waving her hand dismissively. "Is that Adrian Pucey?"
It was. He was camping surprisingly close to them, and was sitting around a fire with a few other friends of his. He ushered them over to join them when he, too, caught sight of them.
"It's been forever! We've missed you around Hogwarts." Nina said cheerfully as they joined him at the fire.
"I haven't played much Quidditch since I left," he said, frowning. "How's the team?"
"Nina made it," Nora said happily. "She took your place as Chaser."
"Is she any good?" Pucey muttered, as though talking in a whisper would prevent Nina from hearing despite her sitting right next to him.
"Of course she is! It's about the only thing she is good at," she added in an undertone.
"Oh, shut up,"
"I suppose that git Malfoy is still on the team?"
"He's gotten better—not much better, but better." Nina said. "So how is Ginger?"
Pucey shrugged. "Haven't seen much of her lately,"
"What?" Nora frowned. "But you two were so close, right up 'til your graduation."
Pucey shrugged again, though this time more uncomfortably. "Well, we weren't really after we broke up—"
"What?" Nina and Nora said in unison. "When was this?"
"Middle of the year—we broke up right after Nina's forest adventure,"
Nina shifted uncomfortably on the log they were sitting on. She didn't like people talking about her episode, but somehow Pucey's casual manner made it more bearable.
"I never knew!" Nora exclaimed.
"We didn't make a big deal about it," he said. "And we stayed friends afterward but… eh, I guess we just grew apart. No big deal. I think she's working in the Leaky Cauldron over in London. How are you, Nina?"
"I'm okay," she said, smiling.
"That's excellent—listen, Pucey, do you have any food?" Nora asked unblushingly.
He raised his eyebrows. "Is that why you're wandering about the campsite?"
"Well, yeah,"
One of Pucey's friends laughed. "There's a can of leftover squid stew in the tent. It's probably gone a bit rancid since last night, though…"
"No thanks." Nora said, standing quickly and looking slightly green. "Well, see you chaps later—that was a waste of time," she muttered to Nina once they were out of earshot.
"I'll miss him," Nina said, looking back momentarily as their tent disappeared in the lingering mist.
"Oh, he'll be fine. I still can't believe they broke up, though. Who and Pucey were a thing from their fourth year."
But Pucey's words were clanging around in Nina's head. We broke up right after Nina's forest adventure. Had Nina caused it? Had she worried them to the point in which they couldn't function as a couple?
"Oh, thank goodness!" Nora suddenly cried out, leaving Nina's side and making a beeline for a bright gold tent, where a boy and his mother sat munching on a buttered stack of toast. Nina recognized the boy immediately; the dreadlocks, the dark skin, the grin plastered onto his face as he spotted Nina and Nora.
"Lee!"
"'lo, Nora!" he said, bits of toasts flying out of his mouth as he waved them over. "Mam, fis err mah friendsh!"
"Oh, for God's sake! Swallow, Lee!" his mother snapped, wiping bits of soggy bread off her face.
But Lee wasn't listening, he stood up just in time to be tackled by Nora, and she wrangled him into one of her infamous bear-hugs. Nina watched from afar, giggling, as Lee's eyes bulged out of his head and Nora proceeded to sob dramatically into his dreadlocks, her mouth moving at a mile a minute.
"Oh, Lee! I know we don't know much about each other, but you were just so good to Nina last year! I owe so much to you and the twins for making friends with her, you're all just so cute together and—OH, it's so silly that I'm crying! Oh, yes, I forgot—do you guys have any food?"
"Yeah!" Lee gasped as Nora let him loose, rubbing his neck. "Y-yeah, have a seat. Hey, Nina!"
"Hi, Lee," Nina trotted over, now sure she was safe from Nora's hysteria, and took a seat next to him, helping herself to a piece of toast and spreading beans onto its surface.
They continued to circle the campsite as they munched on their toast, coming across a rather large number of Hogwarts students and elaborate tents as they did. They eventually returned to their campsite to find that Felix and Jasmine had more or less settled their differences and were getting intimate on the couch when Nora and Nina entered.
"Oh, gross!" Nora moaned, covering Nina's eyes and looking away herself. "Get a room!"
"Ve had one," Felix said irritably, pulling back on his shirt begrudgingly.
"Where were you two all morning?"Jasmine asked, now standing and straightening out her ruffled black hair.
"Exploring," Nina said, trying not to sound too shifty.
"Uh-huh."
The campsite's excitement buzzed as dusk drew nearer, and Jasmine made it her job to thoroughly inspect the girls' eveningwear, down to the very last detail.
"Cut off those threads hanging off of your sweater, Nina, they might get caught on something. And Nora, for Merlin's sake, put on some proper pants!"
Nora, who was still wearing her shorts with a dirt stain on the back, groaned. "It's not like it's the dead of winter, sis! We'll be fine!"
"It's going to get cold, and mum will have my hide if your legs get mangled by mosquitoes. Now go and put on some yoga pants!"
Muttering obscenities under her breath, Nora pulled off her shorts and started searching the tent for her spare pair of pants. Nina, clad in baggy green sweater with the word Ireland written in big letters across the back, pulled on a large shamrock hat she had purchased earlier and grinned at her reflection in the mirror she was staring at. Her hair was still considerably shorter than it had been in her second year, but she could have sworn her breasts had gotten larger since last year—but that was probably just an illusion.
"Sis!" Nora called, strolling into the sitting room in her underwear. "I can't find them!"
"Just borrow a pair of mine."
"With your hips?" Nora said, watching her sister with a sceptical look on her face. "I'd have better luck trying to fit a sock around my legs.
Nora scuttled out of the room under her sister's scowl while Nina giggled, turning back to the mirror. Felix appeared through the tent flap just then, dressed entirely in green and smiling widely. His wavy blonde hair looked tousled, perhaps more so than usual, as he announced that it was time to head to the Quidditch stadium, as half of the tents' occupants were already gone.
"Excited?" he asked Nina as Jasmine went to mollycoddle her sister, who was still wandering around in her panties
"Of course!" Nina grinned widely. "Thank you so much for bringing me along."
"It's no trouble," he said. Lowering his voice to a whisper, he leaned over to her and murmured, "Don't tell Jasmine, but I've got this huge bet going on with some of the guys—eighty galleons that Ireland vins."
"Eighty?" Nina said, raising her eyebrows. "You could use that for a down-payment on a house."
"Exactly." he said, winking.
After Nora was properly clothed and Jasmine had been thoroughly riled up, they rushed out of the tent and up the lantern-strewn path that led to the Quidditch pitch, excitedly chattering about the souvenirs they had purchased earlier that evening and the upcoming game. They took their seats in the packed stadium, which were closer to the bottom than they would have liked, and griped the armrests of their seats as the lights dimmed, and the game began.
"And then, and then—" Nora said excitedly, spilling some of her hot chocolate onto the table as she flung her arms out dramatically. "Then Quigley hit that Bludger towards Zograf, and BAM!" She slammed her hot chocolate onto the table, spilling what little contents remained in it.
"Oh, and when those Veelas started spitting fire at those leprechauns—!" Nina said excitedly, clenching her mug with all her might.
"And when Krum caught that snitch—!"
"But then Ireland won—!"
"And they were just ten points away—!"
Nora and Nina were not the only ones unable to contain their excitement due to Ireland's win at the game. Crowds of cheering and partying people could be heard celebrating Ireland's win all throughout the campsite. Jasmine and Felix looked rather exasperated as they sat quietly at the table, one of them yawning every so often and glancing longingly at their beds.
"Okay, girls," Jasmine said as Felix's head fell onto her shoulder. "It's bedtime."
"Aww, what?" Nina moaned.
"Come on, sis, just another hour."
"Only if you two keep it down while we try to sleep." Jasmine said, now rising from her seat, Felix following her lead in a daze. "But we're not getting up any later than nine tomorrow, mum will want us back by lunch."
"Kay." Nora called to them as they left the sitting room together. "Oh, Nina, remember when…?"
She couldn't recall it happening, but Nina and Nora ended up moving onto the couch just outside of the kitchen. Their heated discussion about Quidditch eventually melted away, and Nina fell asleep on her lap as they sat together. The lantern-lit, cool August night flitted into dreams of flying and Quidditch, and she was suddenly thrusting a Quaffle into the opposing team's hoop, and they had reached 700—30, and she had scored the majority of the points. There was a faraway cry, and Nina realized that the Seeker had caught the Snitch. Her team landed on the faraway ground below, and Nina was lifted up into the air, and the crowd was chanting her name. The crowd's screams became more and more vivid, and suddenly Nina jolted awake, and found Felix's face, distraught and shaken, as he shook her awake.
"Get up!" he yelled. "Get up—ve've got to go!"
"Felix, they're getting closer! Get those idiots up!"
"Wuzzappening?" Nina slurred, lifting herself from Nora's lap and taking note of the air of panic that wafted in through the tent.
"Up, up, up!" Felix hollered, smacking Nora in the face. She woke with a start, her eyes staring madly around the tent.
"WHO—WHA—WHO'RE YA DOING IN THAT THING?" she yelled.
"Get up!" Felix ordered.
"Ugh! There's no school today, I swear! Tell McGonagall I'm not going!" she moaned, her eyes rolling back as she slumped back onto the couch.
Nina screwed her face up as she jumped up from the couch, trying to remember where she was and what she was doing. It came flooding back to her; the Quidditch World Cup, the riveting game, her late-night chatting and snacking with her friend. But there was something wrong with the scene. The screams she had heard in her dream were very much real, and sounds like cannon-blasts echoed throughout the campsite. Something was very, very wrong.
"Nora, get up," Nina said hastily, pulling her up from the couch.
"I'm up, jeez! What's—what's wrong?" she asked, suddenly aware of the panic was ensuing.
"There's some kind of riot going on." Felix said, ushering them towards the tent flap. "Get your shoes on, ve need to get back to the Portkey."
Pulling on her running shoes and thrusting herself into the chilly night air, Nina was met with a world bursting with sound and light. There was a group of people moving closer and closer to them, their wands shooting great fireballs towards tents and their drunken cries bearing towards them. High, high above were four figures that twirled and danced at the control of their wands, and a great mob of people rushed towards them, terror lining their faces and they made to get away from the dark wizards.
"Nina!" she heard Nora cry, and felt her hand entwine in hers as they were swept away by the stampeding crowd. Nina couldn't see over the heads of the many witches and wizards that swarmed around her, and had no way of telling where she was or where Jasmine and Felix had gone.
There was a great banging sound and a curse flew just past her ear and into a nearby tent, and it combusted into a heap of glittering flames. There was a surge of heat that blasted into the crowd, and someone screamed as they tread onwards, desperate to escape whatever horrors that lay in wait behind them. Nora's hand, now slippery with sweat, began to slip away from Nina as they ran through the maze of tents and towards the forest.
"Nora!" Nina cried as she slipped away from her, washing away into the crowd.
"Nina!" she called back, her hand outstretched.
"Nora! Nora!" Nina screamed as the crowd carried her away in the opposite direction from her.
There was another blast just behind them, and the stampeding crowd hurtled onward, unstopping. Nina searched for anyone whom she recognized as they moved towards the forest up ahead, towards safety.
"Nina!"
The voice wasn't Nora's, but still familiar. She felt a hand clasp around her wrist and pull her from the crowd, which had now reached the trees at the top of the moor. There were still many panicked shouts, though the crowd had thinned greatly in the darkened thicket. There was a great blast below them as a spell rose up into the air, and the light shone upon the face she was suspecting to find.
"Weasley!" she shouted, unsure of which twin it was, but glad to see him all the same.
"George, who have you got over there?"
George moved to reveal Fred Weasley, his hand clasped over his younger sister Ginny's wrist. He grinned at the sight of her, and rushed over to hug her.
"Can't believe it—it's mad, there are those bloody Death Eaters having a time down there."
"They can't be Death Eaters," Nina said as she pulled away from him. "It… it just doesn't make any sense!"
"I've seen photos of them before… and that's definitely the uniform," George said darkly. "But what're you doing here?"
"I came with Nora, but I've lost her," Nina said.
"Uh-oh." said Fred, now gazing around concernedly. "George… they're gone."
George groaned.
"They'll be fine." Fred insisted. "They've got Hermione with them. Come on," Fred turned back to Ginny and took hold of her hand again, and made his way down the dark path again.
"Can't—see—a damn—thing—" George grunted as a tree branch smacked into his face. "Nina, are you still there? Ginny?"
"We're here." Fred said up ahead.
"Oh, screw the Ministry," George muttered, pulling out his wand. "Lumos!"
The darkened grove around them came to life at the blue light of George's wand.
"Cheers," said Fred, pulling his own wand out of his pocket and illuminating the scene along with his brother. Suddenly, Fred halted, and he screamed, "Wait! Ginny, get back! Go—!"
The trees, which they had previously thought was a safe haven, suddenly exploded with light and heat, and Nina could feel her feet leave the ground as she was blasted backwards by a strong force in front of her. The treetops swirled before her vision as she realized she was face-down in the dirt, the world suddenly filled with screams again.
"Get up, get up!" a voice was yelling at her, and she felt a tugging at her arms as she was brought to her feet, her knees wobbling as George pulled her away from the blast wreckage, and away from the tree-line.
"Where're you going, girly?"
There was a scream somewhere close by, and Nina and George could hear Fred yelling, "Ginny!"
George pulled his wand from his pocket and rushed to find his siblings, his hand still tightly clasped in Nina's. It wasn't too difficult finding Fred, as he was swearing and blasting spells towards a masked, cloaked figure nearby, which was clasping a mane of red hair in one of his hands. Ginny's face was illuminated in the light of the hexes, which were bouncing off of trees and bushes in the thicket. Nina, too, drew her wand and aimed at the back of the cloaked figure.
"Potor Puris!" she hollered, and the masked man immediately released Ginny, his hands clamping his masked face in desperation. He gave a gurgled scream and Nina and George rushed forward into the trees, picking up Ginny as they followed Fred by wand light.
"Hell, Nina, what was that?" George exclaimed as they ran.
"The pus-drinking curse," she replied quickly. "His mouth pretty much filled up with… well, you know."
"Brilliant!" he said, awe-struck. "I'll remember to use that one on Flint when I get the chance,"
They continued through the trees, and soon the blasts and screams were a faraway past, and only soft footsteps against the dirt and low, anxious mutters could be heard in the thicket as they made their way up the path.
"Thanks," Ginny said suddenly, and Nina chewed her cheek, unsure of what to say. Nina had been quite rude to her on the train in her second year, and hadn't spoken to Ginny since that day, despite being on such good terms with her brothers. Nina wasn't exactly on good terms with Percy Weasley, either, since she had attacked him with a cleaver during her forest adventure.
"It was nothing," she replied, smiling weakly.
Ginny smiled back brightly, her brown eyes twinkling warmly, and relief spread throughout Nina. She did, however, think nervously back to the campsite, and wonder where Nora might be. She prayed silently that she had not been separated from either Felix or Jasmine in the scuffle. She wondered whether the people who were floating high up in the air above the Death Eaters were all right, or even still alive.
And amidst all her worries, she noticed that she was still holding George's hand.
Eventually, Fred halted, panting, in the middle of the now-apoplectic trees, and turned back to them.
"Ginny, you all right? What about you two lovers back there?" he said, his eyes flickering towards Nina and George's entwined hands.
George hastily let go.
"Where are Ron and the others?" Ginny worried. "And why have you dragged us out here in the sticks, Fred?"
"Well, my bad," he said. "We could always head on down to the campsite, you know how cheerful it is down there."
Ginny didn't reply.
"We'll just wait for dad here." George said, taking a seat by a tree with his brother.
Ginny and Nina sat together next to the twins and they all sat in silence for a moment, listening to the footsteps and voices of passers-by, eagerly listening for anyone they might know.
"Oh no," Fred said suddenly."Oh, no… no, no, no, no! NO! NO! NO!" he shouted, leaping to his feet.
George followed suit behind his brother and they retreated to the edge of the thicket, their voices reduced to whispers. Nina leaned forward, eager to catch a few words.
"It's gone… all of it has disappeared!"
"… fall out, did it…?"
"… Bagman's screwed us over…"
"… leprechaun gold…?"
Fred swore loudly, causing Ginny and Nina to jump, and the twins began to pace together, muttering furiously with each other. Beside her, Ginny scoffed.
"What is it?"
"Fred and George made this huge bet about the game with Ludo Bagman today… you know, the bloke who narrated the game? I guess all their money's up and vanished."
"What? No way… so he skived off of paying them?" Nina gasped.
Ginny snorted. "No, you should've seen them when he handed over that sac of gold."
"It must have been false gold, then… Oh, those two," Nina muttered furiously, getting to her feet. "Honestly, gambling all their money like that… so reckless, no tact…"
"Huh?"
"I mean—" Nina fumbled to find the right words. "If they're going to gamble their life savings, they could at least… Oh, I don't know, make sure there's some way of ensuring they get paid."
Ginny's eyebrows rose. "Like what?"
Nina shrugged, kicking the dirt with her sneaker. "At least get some dirt on him or something,"
Ginny's eyebrows, if possible, rose even higher. "So, like, blackmail?"
Nina shrugged.
"Man," she whispered. "Man oh man, you are devious!"
"It's just security." Nina said haughtily, the blood rushing to her cheeks.
"Oh, but you're so cute, too!" Ginny grinned, pinching her cheeks.
"Ah! Gin—Ginny, stop! Ouch—ouch!"
"Girls, we're leaving." Fred and George had come back, both looking rather troubled and grouchy. "Come on—"
"Look! In the sky!" cried the nearby voice of another person.
There were more screams, and Nina's gaze rose to the sky above them, which was completely black and glittered with a thousand silver stars. Amidst the treetops, however, was the horrible, smoky image of a skull with a green snake for a tongue.
"That—that can't be…" George whispered.
"The Dark Mark…" Nina muttered.
There were more screams, and chaos ensued once again among the trees. Just then, there was a distinct crack, and a stocky-looking man with flaming red hair appeared in front of them. He stood there for a moment, looking taken aback, and then grinned.
"Hell, that was probably the best Apparation I've ever pulled off." he said.
"Charlie!" Ginny yelled, running into his arms. "What's happened?"
"Yeah, and why the hell is You-Know-Who's symbol floating about?" said George, gesturing casually towards the sky.
"Never mind that, let's just get back to the tent. Most of the riff-raffs just Disapparated when that thing showed up," He turned and found Nina, who was staring at him blankly. "Who's this?"
"Friend." said Fred.
"All right, he can come too. Dad's just gone out to search for Ron and the others. Come on,"
Charlie led them through the thicket and back into the campsite, which was now smoking slightly, though much calmer than it had been an hour ago. It was when Nina and the others reached the Weasley's tent, which was in the same field as her own, that she realized how exhausted she was. Despite the smell of cats and sulphur that lingered in the air of the tent, she so desperately wanted to curl up on a warm, squishy surface and not awaken for the next twelve hours. Within the Weasley's tent were two more of Fred and George's brothers. One of them was unmistakably Percy, his glasses now shattered and his nose gushing blood. The other man, who looked to be in his twenties and had his long hair tied back in a ponytail, was holding a blood-stained sheet to a wound on his arm.
"Found this lot pretty far in, Bill," said Charlie, motioning towards them.
"Who's this?" said Bill, his eyebrows rising at the sight of Nina.
"Friend." said Fred again.
"Where are your parents, kid?" said Charlie slowly, as though he were speaking to a small child.
Nina remained silent, trying to make her scowl politer than she intended.
"She's a girl," said Ginny haughtily, moving across the room and taking a seat beside Percy.
Charlie looked at Nina as though she was some kind of alien. He examined her closely, and then broke out into a grin that reminded her greatly of Fred and George. "Oh, yeah! What do you know, so she is!"
"Nutter," said George under his breath.
"But Fred, George… what're you doing hanging around with a first-year?"
Fred snorted loudly.
"She's fourteen!" Ginny said angrily. "Oh, you're such an idiot sometimes, Char."
"Who did you come with?" Bill asked her, pressing harder on his wound as she took a seat beside Ginny.
"My friend and her sister—Nora and Jasmine Boone. I lost them in the—"
"Wait a minute," said Charlie suddenly. "Jasmine Boone? Indian girl, Hufflepuff?"
"Yeah," Nina said, her voice dropping with suspicion. "Why?"
Charlie cleared his throat awkwardly, scratching his Adam's apple. "'s been a while since I've seen her—she was in my year. Er—I'll be back." He disappeared through the tent flap without another word.
There was a silence. Then—
"It's almost two in the morning," said Bill wearily. "Where the devil is dad and the others?"
"I hope they didn't get caught up in all of that… that Dark Mark business…" Ginny whispered the last few words.
"They'll be fine," said Bill as he placed a hand on Ginny's shoulder, though he himself sounded quite nervous.
"You're awfully quiet, Perce." said Fred.
Percy was watching Nina with a rather guarded, weary look on his face, as though expecting some creature living inside of her to pull down a zipper and attack him with a hatchet. She blinked.
"Hello, Percy." she said quietly.
His chest puffed out as he continued to wipe dried blood from his nostrils. Without looking at her, he muttered, "Brimstone."
There was a very awkward, painful silence.
"Well," George stood, clapping his hands. "It's about time we hit the sack. What d'you say, Fred?"
Fred didn't reply. Nina turned round and found him sprawled out on the couch behind the table, his eyes shut and his mouth slightly agape. Bill snorted.
"Get some sleep, George,"
"Nah, I'll stay up," he offered, taking a now empty seat at the table. "You two ought to rest up, though."
"Hey, I'm not going to argue with you," Ginny said, flopping down next to Fred and kicking off her shoes. "You coming, Nina?"
"I—erm—" She glanced at Percy nervously.
"No, don't mind me," Percy said scathingly, drawing his wand and making for the tent flap. "Please do make yourself comfortable,"
"Perce—" Bill started.
"I'm going to look for Dad—" he sneered as he disappeared through the exit. Nina groaned.
"Well, that was painful." George said.
"Yeah, no kidding." Bill looked over Nina suspiciously. "What did he say your name was again? Brimstone?"
"Rimsbone, isn't it?" George said before Nina could open her mouth. "You and Percy had a row a while back, right? Some kind of discrepancy about house points, if I'm not wrong? Percy wouldn't shut up about it for weeks,"
"No offence," Bill said. "But what the hell kind of name is Rimsbone?"
"God, Bill, don't make fun of her name," George said in a mocking tone. "Look how offended she is!"
"Oh, shut up," Bill snapped.
A very sudden, loud pop brought their attention to the middle of the tent. In the light of the dim room stood a blushing Charlie and ruffled-looking Jasmine, who immediately ran towards Nina once she caught sight of her. Her hair, once sleek and shiny, was now frizzled and filled with various twigs and leaves, and her clothes were singed and dirty-looking.
"Thank goodness!" she whispered, wrapping her arms around her. "Charlie came and found me—we've been looking everywhere for you. We all thought you were dead, Nina!" She swiveled around to Charlie and planted a large, wet kiss on his cheek. "Oh, how could I ever repay you, Charlie?"
"Oh," he muttered, shrugging. "Oh, it was nothing, Jas. Anything for an old friend."
"We'll get out of your hair, then." she said, taking Nina's hand and leading her towards the tent flap. "Thank you all again, really,"
"We'll see you on the train, Nina," said George, grinning. "Don't be taking any dirt naps while you're gone, all right? We won't always be 'round to save you,"