AN: Welcome back everyone!
You're probably wondering what took me so long with this chapter. Well, first I had to adjust to classes, but then Irma happened. I'm ok, for the record, my mom just lost one of her favorite trees (but it fell away from the house). So, while I had 2 weeks off from school, I got some writing done. I just finished the chapter today (though it is a bit short) because, without power, I had to re-read everything in my physical copy of CoS. But, that's not a bad thing. I missed it :D
BY THE WAY: HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY FELLOW JEWISH PEOPLE OUT THERE! טובה שנה
Now then, SHOUT OUT TIME!
Shout Outs go to: jman197, GinnySong, Strawberry r Kitty, Divergentprincess, Scarlet3Wolf12, mchurch1992, KrystylSky, , Anonymous, and Guest! Thank you all SO MUCH FOR REVIEWING! I LOVE REVIEWS! I LIVE FOR THEM! THEY GIVE ME STRENGTH! Have some Wonka Bars for being so sweet!
Replies:
jman197: I know, but, bear in mind, they are young. By the way, 197 is my lucky and favorite number, so I think you're extra super cool! Have an amazing new year!
GinnySong: EMOTIONAL TURMOIL MAKES ME HAPPY OK? I INFLICT PAIN FOR FUN! I AM EVIL! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA! You have an amazing new year, sweetie!
Strawberry r Kitty: NOOOO! Don't bash your head into things! The chapter was painful to write because any time Arden is upset it hurts me! But, it is a necessary evil… Have an amazing new year, sweetie!
Divergentprincess: You may not need to mourn for long… MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Have an amazing new year, sweetie!
Scarlet3Wolf12: THANK YOU, SWEETIE! Have an amazing new year!
Mchurch1992: You'll soon see! Have an amazing new year!
KrystylSky: I'm glad you're enjoying my labor of love! Have an amazing new year!
: Thank you! I'm sorry I made you cry! ~hugs~ Have an amazing new year!
Anonymous: Thank you, sweetie! I'm thinking that's what they meant, but I wouldn't really call them advertisements so much as me begging for reviews! Have an amazing new year, sweetie!
Guest: NO! Don't apologize! If I came off as being rude in my previous reply I apologize for that! I'd call the little blurbs at the end of the chapter just that, blurbs in which I beg for reviews because I love them. You don't have to apologize for the confusion! You're fine! Have an amazing new year, sweetie!
So, with that out of the way, let's get on with the chapter!
"Arden, dear," Molly whispered gently as she shook the brunette's shoulder.
"Noooooooo," Arden whined, flipping onto her stomach so that Molly couldn't grasp her shoulder.
Molly exhaled exasperatedly, "Arden, you need to get up. It's September first. You go back to school today."
Arden mumbled, "It's ok, education is for the weak."
Molly smirked, knowing what she was about to say would kill three birds with one stone, "If you get up now, I'll let you throw ice water on Fred and George…"
Arden shot off the couch as if it was on fire, and ran outside in her extremely oversized navy pajama shirt. Grabbing a sizable bucket next to the chicken coop, she dashed back inside so that Molly could fill it with ice for her. She carefully walked up to the twin's room, and slowly opened the door. She padded inside as silently as possible, and was delighted to find their beds next to each other, and them sleeping in the same direction, making it easier for her. She quickly stepped up behind the two and dumped the contents of the bucket on their heads.
The twins gave identical screams of shock and leapt out of their beds, glaring at Arden. Arden took in their soaking wet appearances and fell on her butt laughing.
She had a hard time breathing, as she was crying and laughing, "That…was…SO worth it!"
"What the bloody hell was that for?!" they exclaimed.
She caught her breath, slowly calming her breathing…until she looked at them and started laughing again. After a few moments, she finally calmed down, "Your mum said I could."
They rolled their eyes, but knew they would have done the same. So, Fred started to check over everything in his trunk, while George grabbed a set of Muggle clothes and went to get dressed.
Arden sat on Fred's bed, in a dry spot, and let her eyes wander. She and Fred might not have been dating or anything, but that didn't mean that she couldn't look. She took in the way the muscles in his back, toned from years of playing Quidditch, moved under his skin; how his wet hair dripped water down and caused his freckled skin to glisten in the little bit of light in the early dawn. She bit her lip and broke her gaze by looking at the sheets beneath her. What was she doing? She was acting like a hormonal teenager (not that she wasn't one, but she didn't need to act like it). She chided herself, 'Get a grip, Arden. This is your best friend, not just a piece of meat.' She shut her eyes tight and shook her head to clear the steamy thoughts.
"Oi, Arden," Fred asked from across the room, pulling a shirt out of his drawers, "Does mum want us to wake up Ickle Ronniekins and Harry?"
"No, she just asked me to get you two up, so she can get breakfast ready. Ron will wake up once he smells food."
A few minutes later, George walked in and started checking over his trunk, and Fred left to go get ready, leaving Arden and George alone.
George hummed to himself whilst making sure his half of the pranking supplies were tucked underneath all of his clothes and books. Arden shifted uncomfortably on the bed, knowing that George probably was aware of the "drama", if it was even worthy of calling it that, that occurred between herself and Fred over this past summer.
"So," George started, not looking at Arden as he spoke, "My brother is a moron."
She smiled, "Yes, Georgie, Percy is an idiot."
"I was talking about Fred. But, yeah, Percy is dumb too. Come to think of it, so is Ron."
She was perplexed, "Why do you say that Fred is an idiot?"
"Because he is letting the best girl that he's ever going to meet go." Arden's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. George turned to look at her, "I love Fred to bits. I have to; I'd hate looking in the mirror otherwise. But, I know when he's being a complete and utter beslubbering rump-fed codpiece." He sighed and looked her in the eye, "Fred is stupid for not snatching you up while he can."
She made a rather unlady-like snort, "I'm not a hiccough sweet to be taken off of the shelf at Zonko's."
"You're right…" George exhaled slowly in disappointment, "You're a dungbomb."
She smacked his arm playfully, "Git." Arden looked at her shoes, "He's afraid of ruining what the three of us have, you know."
"Are you?"
She shrugged, "I'm not as afraid of ruining our dynamic, as I am of potentially everything not working out and us losing what we have."
George nodded, "So, you two are both total dimwits is what I'm hearing."
Arden snapped over and glared at him, "What did you-"
"Are you seriously telling me that you're happy with how things turned out? You really think that you and Fred would break up and not have the resolve to be friends afterwards?"
"I mean…"
"Don't try and play devil's advocate on this one, Arden. You know that I'm right."
She shrugged, "We don't know under what pretenses that we'd break up, though."
"Here's a question for you," he smirked, knowing that he was about to win, "Why are you both talking about breaking up when you haven't even gotten together?"
Her expression morphed to one of confusion, "Because it's a risk that we'd run if we did get together."
"Do you let the risk of getting ill keep you from socializing? Or the risk of serious injury keep you from playing Quidditch?"
"Well, no, but-"
"Exactly," he stood up, hearing Fred walking back from the washroom, "Think on it for a bit, ok?"
Fred walked in, "Mum wants you to go get dressed and help get Ginny up, Arden."
Finally dressed in her favorite deep red tank top with her black jean capris, Arden was sat at the table nibbling on some toast and watching Molly drive herself mad looking for spare socks and quills. She looked over and saw Ron and Harry collide with a half-dressed Percy on the stairs, each donning pieces of toast in their mouths.
Fred and George dragged their respective trunks downstairs, setting them next to Arden's, near the door.
"Boys, help your father take the trunks out to the car," Molly sharply ordered, charming toast, coated in jam, to fly into their hands. She turned back to ruffling through Harry's trunk, placing one portion of the snacks and lunch that she made for each of them into it. She ran over to the twins' trunks and put in their portions, after quickly glancing over the contents for any pranking materials. She didn't see the ones that they hid under their clothes at the bottom, causing the trio to smirk.
Arden, toting her trunk behind her, followed the twins outside. Arthur was leaning against the Ford Anglia, his eyes closed. He seemed to be dozing.
"Dad," the twins chimed, "Mum wants us to get our trunks in the car!"
He shook awake, "Yes, right, sorry lads." He and Fred hefted Fred's trunk in first, then George's, and finally Arden's.
"Mr. Weasley," Arden started, "How are seven trunks and nine people going to fit in the car?"
He chuckled, "Not a word to Molly." He opened the boot of the car, then the passenger doors, and showed her how he expanded the space so that it would fit everything easily.
When at last they were all in the car, Mrs. Weasley glanced into the back seat, where Harry, Ron, Fred, Arden, George, and Percy were all sitting comfortably side by side, and said, "Muggles do know more than we give them credit for, don't they?" She and Ginny got into the front seat, which had been stretched so that it resembled a park bench. "I mean, you'd never know it was this roomy from the outside, would you?"
Mr. Weasley started up the engine and they trundled out of the yard, Harry turning back for a last look at the house.
"Mum, I forgot something!" George exclaimed. They quickly turned back, and he rushed in. Arden sighed, knowing that George had forgotten his box of Filibuster fireworks.
As soon as George clambered back in, they skidded to a halt in the yard so that Fred could run in for his broomstick.
They had almost reached the highway when Ginny shrieked that she'd left her diary. By the time she had climbed back into the car, they were running very late, and tempers were running high.
Mr. Weasley glanced at his watch and then at his wife.
"Molly, dear —"
"No, Arthur —"
"No one would see — this little button here is an Invisibility Booster I installed — that'd get us up in the air — then we fly above the clouds. We'd be there in ten minutes and no one would be any the wiser —"
"I said no, Arthur, not in broad daylight —"
They reached King's Cross at a quarter to eleven. Mr. Weasley dashed across the road to get trolleys for their trunks and they all hurried into the station.
"Percy first," said Mrs. Weasley, looking nervously at the clock overhead, which showed they had only five minutes to disappear casually through the barrier. Percy strode briskly forward and vanished. Mr. Weasley went next.
"Arden, Fred, George, you three now." Molly ushered them through the barrier. She and Ginny followed. "Harry and Ron are on their way. Onto the train, you lot!"
As soon as their trunks were safely on the scarlet train, the train horn blared, signaling that it was about to leave. The Weasley lot, and Arden, all stuck their heads out of the same side so that they could wave their goodbyes.
"Stay safe, have a good term, and keep out of trouble!" Molly called to her kids, "Arden, keep my boys in line, yeah?"
Arden grinned, "Of course, Molly! See you later!" She waved as the train started to move. She ducked her head back inside, closing the window behind herself and the twins. The three settled in for the long ride back.
AN:
AND THAT'S THAT FOR THIS UPDATE
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Well, see you all in the next chapter!