Chapter Forty Five: Celebrations.

A/N: I know canonically Angelina Johnson's birthday is in October, but for the purpose of the story I moved it back a few months to July.

BANG!

Emalia awoke with a start; it was a particularly hot day and she had fallen asleep in the hammock she had hung the previous day. It hung in the shade between two mighty oak trees near the back of the house. She was completely disorientated, her books and pieces of parchment were strewn around her, the hot air clung to her face, the sun brought out the sweet scent of the wildflowers in the garden.

She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and carefully jumped down from the hammock, wading through the long sweet grass, her hands stretched out hitting the top of the grass as she made her way back to the house.

As soon as she walked into the house, she felt the temperature dip, a wave of cold air engulfed her, calming her clammy skin.

BANG!

She jumped out of her skin. 'What in Godric's name is that?' she thought to herself. She took her wand out of her hair, letting her long silvery blonde hair fall down past her shoulders, as she moved towards the source of the sound.

She slowly pushed open the door to the living room, quietly slipping in, her wand raised.

'Ah, Emalia you're here' said Albus brightly, 'Why have you your wand out?'

Emalia smiled sheepishly, shoving her wand into the back pockets of her shorts. When Albus moved out of her way she was greeted by two tall red-haired men standing in front of the fireplace. 'Hey Em!' they chimed in unison, both grinning at her.

'Fred? George? What?' she said confused, but ran towards them, pulling them both into a hug.

'You forgot, didn't you?' said Fred in a teasing tone as he looked down at her.

'Forgot what?' she questioned nervously, she had no clue what he was on about, she had definitely forgotten.

Albus chuckled behind her, 'I would have thought you would have remembered your group visit to Ms Johnson's house this summer. You have been talking about it nonstop since you returned home for the holidays.'

Emalia closed her eyes; how could she have forgotten about Angelina's party; it was her seventeenth birthday and she wanted to celebrate it with her friends. It was just coincidental that the party was the day before they received their O.W.L. results.

'I had forgotten that it was today' she admitted laughing, looking at her boyfriend and best friend.

'Even after you reminded the two of us numerous times the past week?' teased George causing Albus and Fred to laugh.

Emalia swatted George's arm, 'Shush you.'

She made her way to the door, 'Give me a few minutes, I need to get changed.'

'You look beautiful as you are' said Fred smiling at her.

Emalia gestured to herself, before gesturing to the twins, 'You are both wearing smart clothes, I, on the other hand am wearing a tank top and a pair of shorts. I'm pretty sure Angelina would not be impressed with the casual wear.'

She laughed walking out of the living room. She took the stairs two at a time and bound into her room.

She quickly changed into a powder blue summer dress, slipping a pale grey cardigan over it, she pulled on a pair of shoes. She was fixing her hair when she heard a soft knock on her door.

'Come in' she called as she gently ran a brush through her long hair. In appeared Fred, who walked in looking around her room, before his eyes settled on her causing him to smile brightly.

'I am not surprised that you have nearly a whole wall as a bookshelf' he chuckled, 'and it's overflowing with books.'

Emalia laughed as she plait her hair loosely. Fred came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

'You look beautiful' he murmured before kissing her neck, which sent shivers down her spine.

She smiled at him through the mirror, 'At least now Angelina can't give out to me for not making an effort.'

Fred hunched over, placing his chin on her shoulder, 'You look amazing in everything, Em.'

'Now you're just sweet talking me Fred Weasley' she giggled turning to face him.

'Is it working?' he grinned, straightening his back.

Emalia stepped on her tippy-toes and pulled his face down to hers and kissed him.

'Maybe I should sweet talk you more often' he murmured against her lips before kissing her again.

She laughed and pulled away, 'Come on, we better go back downstairs.' She grabbed a small giftbag containing Angelina's birthday present from her bedside locker, before making her way downstairs with Fred.

They arrived back in the living room to witness George telling Albus a joke about a magician, a rabbit and a Muggle, who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying it and was chortling away in the purple loveseat.

'Welcome back' grinned George when Emalia and Fred returned.

Albus turned to face the two of them, 'Well don't you both make a handsome couple.'

Emalia flushed bright pink, and Fred chuckled lowly.

'I think ...' said Albus standing up. He waved his wand and Emalia's camera appeared in his hands, 'that some photographs are in order, before you leave. I insist, now if you would be obliging and move together for a photograph.'

Emalia cringed at Albus, but deep down she appreciated what he was doing. Fred and George however immediately jumped into position, standing either side of Emalia. She looked like a child standing in between them, dwarfed by their height.

Albus was clicking the button as the three friends interacted. Fred and George hoisted Emalia up by the armpit, pulling her up to their height, causing her to giggle profusely.

Albus chuckled quietly to himself, seeing Emalia happy, relaxed and enjoying herself. He glanced at the clock before clicking a final picture. 'I think you should get a move on; you do not wish to be late.'

The twins nodded and made their way to the fireplace, both of them disappearing into a flash of green flames. Emalia gave Albus a hug and took the camera for him, safely storing it in her small brown leather handbag.

'Enjoy the festivities' said Albus as he watched Emalia disappear, as green flames engulfed her.

Moments later, she arrived in Angelina's home, the first thing she saw was the smiling face of her boyfriend. Fred extended his hand, guiding Emalia out of the fireplace. As soon as she was free from the grate, she was tackled by a blur and pulled into a tight hug.

'Emalia! You're here!' exclaimed the blur.

Emalia laughed and hugged back, 'Hi Alicia.'

'I'm glad you are here, Angelina is being pulled in every direction, because of her friends and family. 'Til you and the twins arrived I was just sitting quietly in the corner.'

'Not like you to be quiet, Alicia' teased Fred, which earned him a swift punch to the arm. 'Ouch.'

Emalia smiled and shook her head at the two of them. 'Didn't you talk to Cordelia? She's sitting over there.' Emalia discretely pointed to the dark haired Slytherin girl from their year, sitting and chatting politely with Kenneth.

'Cordelia is more Angelina's friend; I don't think we have ever spoken more than two sentences to each other … She kind of scares me.' admitted Alicia quietly.

'Cordelia is nice, she's quiet, and she can be quite intense at times, but she is kind … for a Slytherin' said George walking up to the group, a glass of butterbeer in his hand.

'Oh, come on, not every Slytherin is a bad person' said Emalia, rolling her eyes at her friend.

'Yeah? Name one.' Challenged George, a smirk on his face.

'Well Cordelia for one' began Emalia.

'Other than her -'

'Adrian.'

Fred frowned at his girlfriend. 'Yeah, of course that makes sense' he muttered.

Emalia glanced up at him, choosing to ignore his remark. She knew he was not a fan of Adrian, but she had hoped that he had gotten over whatever he had against him; though that didn't seem to be the case.

'Come on, let's say hello to Angelina before she thinks we are ignoring her…' she said softly, threading his fingers with her own, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze.

He looked down and smiled at her, his eyes telling her that he was sorry for what he had said.

They wandered through the house, making their way to the garden where the party was set up. Tables and chairs were planted in the vast garden, the old stone walls on either side were covered with large sunflowers crawling up the wall towards the sun. The warmth of the sun and the slight cool breeze wafted the smell of the sunflowers and food around the garden.

In the centre of the garden stood Angelina talking with her parents. Alicia, George, Fred and Emalia walked over, smiling at their friend.

'Happy Birthday Angelina!' they chorused together. Emalia pulled her into a hug, squeezing the other girl tightly.

'Thank you!' giggled Angelina, 'and thank you for being here.'

Emalia handed Angelina the little giftbag, 'I hope you like it!'

Angelina took the giftbag and opened the small box that was inside. Her eyes grew wide when she saw what was in the box.

'Emalia… you really shouldn't have' she whispered in shock.

'It's from all of us, we pooled money together to get you something nice for your seventeenth birthday, it's an important birthday after all, you're the only one in the group who can legally practice magic outside of school.'

Emalia moved over and took the charm bracelet out of the box. 'Let me help you' she said as she clasped the bracelet around Angelina's wrist. On the bracelet were three charms, one was a Quaffle, one was a star, and the last one was a small ruby stone, to symbolise her birth month.

'Thank you all so much' she gushed as she hugged each of them in turn. Emalia did not fail to notice that Angelina's hug with the twins lingered longer than the others, she raised her eyebrow questioningly but said nothing of it.

'Where's Lee?' asked George after a few moments.

'Oh, he can't come, he is sick. A flu of some sort' said Angelina as she admired her new present, looking at the way the light hit off the ruby.

'Oh, that sucks, he's gonna miss out on a good party' grinned Fred.

'No mayhem, Weasleys,' warned Angelina, 'a lot of my family are here for this and I don't need things exploding in the middle of the party.'

Everyone laughed heartily as Angelina made to mingle with the rest of the crowd.

'We promise to behave' called Fred as she walked away.

The four of them grabbed a couple of glasses of butterbeer and sat down at one of the tables. They began chatting, and eventually the conversation turned to tomorrows exams results.

'I don't care about any other subject. If I can manage to get an Acceptable in Potions my entire life will be made,' announced Alicia, her face looking apprehensive.

'How about we don't focus on tomorrow and just enjoy the party?' suggested Emalia when she noticed her friend's face.

At that moment, platters of food appeared on the tables, which resulted in a joyous squeal from Alicia. They all dug into the delicious food, a variety of food, from salads, sandwiches, chicken curry and rice, and many more fragrant foods.

After half an hour, when they had all had their fill of food, Mr and Mrs Johnson came outside with a beautiful birthday cake, with white icing covered with giant juicy strawberries, floating out in front of them. All the guests stood up and began to sing a rousing rendition of happy birthday. Angelina flushed with all the attention, but she beamed at everyone, happiness radiating out of every pore.

'I can't wait to have some of that cake, it looks amazing!' drooled Alicia as she watched Angelina cut it and begin to serve it to the guests.

'Weren't you just complaining that you ate too much?' said George, his eyebrow raised.

'There is always room for cake,' said Alicia solemnly.

'I agree.' Emalia echoed Alicia's sentiments, the cake looked beyond tempting and she could not wait to devour a slice of it.

Fred and George were chuckling at the two girls but decided to go and grab four slices of cake from Angelina and bring them back to the table.

The cake was amazing, the sponge was a decadent chocolate sponge, that was melt in the mouth divine. The icing was sweet but tangy and paired with the strawberries ,was perfectly balanced.

Emalia moaned softly when the first piece of cake hit her lips, probably a little louder than what would be deemed acceptable in public.

George snorted into his cake, sending flecks of icing flying over the table. Alicia was not paying attention; she was too busy enjoying her own portion. However, it was Fred's reaction that caused her to turn bright red.

He leaned over, his hot breath tickling her neck as he murmured, 'I should be the only one making you make those noises, love.'

He grinned, watching her turn bright red, knowing his words had had the desired effect.

'What did you say to make her change colour?' asked George laughing, he only planned to tease Emalia further.

'Only that I'm the only one who can make her moan like that' said Fred, a smug smile on his face as he ate a forkful of cake.

George and Emalia both nearly choked on their food. Emalia was coughing, trying to clear her windpipe when she gave Fred a hard smack on the arm.

'Too much information, Freddie' said George, looking slightly revolted at the idea.

'You asked, Georgie' responded Fred, his smug smile changing into a wide smug grin.

'You need to learn when to keep things to yourself, Freddie' responded George, his appetite for his dessert had vanished.

Fred laughed and continued eating his cake, he knew Emalia was about to give out to him, but he was saved when Angelina's parents came over and made small talk with the four of them. They were getting to know each of Angelina's friends, it was in fact the first time Emalia, Fred or George had been to Angelina's home.

After a while music began to play through a giant gramophone, that was suspended in mid-air. Mrs Johnson had conjured up a dance floor, and at this stage many of the guests had flooded it and were dancing energetically.

Emalia, Alicia and the twins all joined the dancefloor when The Weird Sisters' Do the Hippogriff came on, one of their more popular and upbeat songs. Everyone was dancing in circles around Angelina, singing lyrics at her, wishing her a happy birthday once more. Fred, George, Emalia and Alicia had challenged each other to a dance off, with each of their dance moves becoming increasingly sillier and over the top; which was providing much entertainment to those around them.

The next track was a slow dance, and a lot of people peeled off the dance floor as couples came to dance together.

'May I have this dance?' asked Fred smiling, extending his hand out to Emalia. She smiled up and him, and gently placed her hand in his.

'Why of course!'

George, who watched the whole interaction, turned to Alicia and took a deep bow in front of her.

'Care to dance, my dear lady?' he asked in a voice that resembled Percy's.

'I would love to kind sir' said Alicia, putting on a posh voice. The two of them danced in rather elaborate circles around Fred and Emalia, laughing hard as they made fun of the couple. Emalia and Fred ignored the two of them as best as they could, but their silliness escalated that they could not help but laugh at their friends.

Eventually though Alicia decided to break away from George, excusing herself to use the bathroom. George then offered his dancing services to Angelina who accepted, albeit rather reluctantly.

Emalia placed her head on Fred's chest, letting him lead them around the dancefloor. His hand was placed firmly on the small of her back, the pressure there sending tingles up her spine. He gently kissed the top of her head as they swayed around the dancefloor.

It was growing late; many guests were starting to leave. Alicia had just left, with just the twins and Emalia left from their group. Emalia was the next to leave, but before she did, Fred pulled her to him and kissed her gently.

'I can't wait to see you again' he murmured against her lips.

'You're still looking at me' she giggled.

'Yeah, but you're leaving me, which isn't very nice of you.'

'You do realise that I am going to be at The Burrow next week for the remainder of the holidays?' she said.

'Yeah, but that is a whole week away from you.'

George started to wretch, 'I swear the two of you must have a plan to try and make me vomit' he teased.

Emalia threw a grin his way, while Fred chortled.

She kissed her boyfriend goodbye, before giving George a hug. She stepped into the fireplace and within seconds she was engulfed by green flames, and soon she was back in her living room.

Albus was sitting on the couch, reading. He looked up from his book when she stepped out of the grate.

'Did you have a nice evening?' he asked smiling at her, he already knew the answer, he could tell by her face.

'I did, it was a good party, and Angelina had a good time, which was the most important thing' she responded with a yawn.

'Good, I am glad you all enjoyed yourselves. Now, may I suggest you head straight to bed and get some rest.'

Emalia nodded, giving him a hug before bidding him goodnight. She quickly got changed into her pyjamas and brushed out her hair. As soon as her head hit the pillow she was out like a light, reliving the party in her dreams.

The next morning, Emalia woke early. The O.W.L. results were being released today, and although the owl carrying the results would not arrive until mid-morning, the anxiety and excitement about receiving her results was increasing with every passing minute. She pottered around the house all morning, Albus watched her straighten the picture frames in the living room seven separate times in the space of half an hour.

'I don't think you have anything to be worried about, my dear,' said Albus softly as he watched her absentmindedly pour pumpkin juice into her cup of tea.

'Huh?' she asked, looking from her cup. Albus gestured to the cup with a small chuckle.

'Oh no!' she exclaimed, pouring the ruined tea down the sink, she sighed heavily, 'I hate waiting around.'

Albus chuckled, 'I am sure the post will arrive any minute.'

As if on cue, an owl arrived at the open kitchen window, hooting loudly to gain the attention of its inhabitants. Emalia dashed towards the window, and gently took the letter from the owl.

She held it in her hands, staring at it. Now that the letter was finally here, she was unsure whether or not she could actually open it. Did she really want to know what was inside the letter? Would it be better to just sit in ignorant bliss for another while longer?

Her finger tentatively broke the wax seal of the envelope, fishing out the letter she held in her hands. The envelope now lay discarded on the kitchen table. She gently unfolded the letter. Albus watched as her eyes flit from left to right as she read the words in front of her, a small smile forming on her face.

She looked up at him, a bright smile lighting up her eyes, 'Eleven O.W.L.s, all outstanding!' she said in a soft whisper. She did a little wiggle in celebration, before she was pulled into a hug by her godfather.

'Congratulations my dear, your hard work paid off. I am very proud of you' he said happily.

The rest of the day was tinted by a celebratory mood; so much so that Albus decided that cake for dinner was the best option. At six o'clock, a variety of mini cakes appeared on the table.

He also offered Emalia a small glass of firewhiskey, giving her a wink. 'A little tipple to celebrate your fantastic results… we shall tell no one else about it' he said, his piercing blue eyes sparkling.

Emalia giggled and nodded, taking a small sip of the dark amber liquid; it seared her throat, and a burning sensation filled her mouth, but that was soon replaced with a sweet, woody taste. Firewhiskey was tasty after the initial burning sensation subsided, though she could tell a lot of it could possibly lead to a very drunk Emalia.

The following week she made her way to The Burrow. She had been invited to stay by the twins and Mr and Mrs Weasley. Mr Weasley had managed to get his hands on a number of tickets for the Quidditch World Cup Final, which Emalia was looking forward to seeing.

Albus had no qualms with Emalia spending the rest of holidays with the Weasleys, he would miss her, but she would be safe and surrounded by people her own age. He was often busy with issues pertaining to the school or the Wizengamot during the summer, so much so that she was frequently left alone in their home. Albus felt quite guilty about this at times, but Emalia never complained or resented him for it, she was possibly the most understanding child he had ever met.

She arrived in The Burrow a little after two in the afternoon, greeted in the kitchen, first by Mrs Weasley, who pulled her into a hug, asking her how she was, was she happy with her results, and so on.

'Mum, are you going to let go of my girlfriend anytime soon?' called Fred from the bottom of the stairs.

He broke out into a grin when his eyes met hers and ran towards her, giving her a hug and a quick peck on the lips. 'I missed you' he murmured quietly.

'I missed you more' she countered, a pink flush kissing the bridge of her nose, as she was very aware that Mrs Weasley was standing right beside them.

'I'll bring your stuff up to Ginny's room' he said, gently taking her trunk from her, taking her hand he led her up the stairs.

'Eh, thank you for having me Mrs Weasley' she called as she was dragged up the stairs.
Molly Weasley smiled to herself, it made her heart soar to see Fred so happy with Emalia. She could see how the balanced and encouraged each other, allowing them to grow as individuals but also as a couple.

Fred swung open Ginny's door and threw in Emalia's trunk before pulling her up the stairs once more.

'Hi Gin' she managed to say to a rather startled looking Ginny as she was pulled up the stairs once more.

When they arrived at the twins' room, Fred opened the door gently, pulling Emalia inside. George turned around rather quickly, trying to hide whatever he was doing, but relaxed visibly when he saw his brother and Emalia.

The smell of a variety of potions reached Emalia's nose, but they were all soon masked by the strong smell of gunpowder.

'Hey Em!' said George cheerfully as he walked over and hugged her, 'Welcome to the beginning of an empire!'

She looked around and saw the twins room littered with a variety of different objects, sweets and potion making equipment.

'What's going on here?' she asked curiously.

'This, love, is where the magic happens' said Fred as he wrapped his arms around her from behind. 'These are all prototypes of products we have been working on over the past month, some of them are a no go, but these here are on the money.' He pointed to three giant boxes of toffees wrapped in different coloured foil.

'Just need someone to test them out' quipped George, as if he was reminding his brother.

'I have the perfect subject, don't you worry about it, Georgie' grinned Fred.

'What are they?' asked Emalia curiously, they had spent the past minute talking about these toffees without actually mentioning what they do.

'These, Em, are what we have delightfully called, Ton-Tongue Toffees' replied George, picking one up and holding it between his thumb and index finger.

'What do they do, you may ask,' chuckled Fred, 'Well it's a prank sweet, makes your tongue grow… not sure how much it grows yet, that's why we need a test subject.'

'We actually got the inspiration for them from you, Em. Remember third year when you enlarged my tongue? Well, we tried to figure out how to do that in an inconspicuous way, no wands or incantations necessary!' explained George.

Emalia stood their taking in what they were saying, it was nothing short of genius. The two of them had managed to create a prank object like this at home where their magic was limited, she could barely imagine what they would come up with when they were no longer limited.

'You two are brilliant!' she said after a brief moment of silence had fallen between them.

The twins spent the rest of the afternoon talking Emalia through their ideas and plans. They had a comprehensive and concrete plan set in place; they had ideas for developing their own line of joke products, it well expanded that of their idea of just opening their own joke shop. Though it was no surprise to Emalia; Fred and George were ambitious, but on top of that they were extremely clever, and their penchant for pranking often led them in very creative, and oftentimes explosive, directions.

'Only thing we are lacking is the money for it all' said George.

'We will get some investors. All we have to do is charm them' said Fred, smiling happily.

'I'll invest' said Emalia as she watched Fred and George. They looked at her as if she had spontaneously sprouted three more heads.

'What?' asked George quietly.

'I'll invest' she repeated, 'My boyfriend and best friend want to set up a joke shop, did you honestly think I wouldn't invest the first chance I get?'

Fred walked to her, and picked her up silently, hugging her to him.

'Do you mean it?' he asked, checking to make sure she wasn't pranking them.

'Fred… why would I joke around about this when I can see how important it is to you both?'

'Blimey Em… I think I might fall in love with you myself' said George sitting back against the headboard of his bed. A half smile on his face, he looked dazed as if he couldn't believe what had just transpired between them. That was until he was hit square in the face with a pillow.

'Keep your hands off my girlfriend, Georgie' laughed Fred. Emalia and George soon joined in on the laughter.

They were interrupted by a soft knock on the door, with Ron's voice coming from the other side, 'Mum said to call you, dinner is ready.'

They quickly walked down the old wooden stairs, their footsteps echoing up and the Burrow. When they arrived down in the kitchen, Emalia could see Ron, Ginny, Charlie and another red-haired man, who she assumed was Bill, sitting around the kitchen table talking animatedly. They all looked up when Emalia and the twins entered.

'Nice to see you again, Emalia' called Charlie, smiling at her as he extended his hand. He had changed a lot since she had last seen him, he had more freckles, his skin more weathered and he had put on a lot of muscle, he also had a fair number of scars and burn marks.

'Good to see you too, Charlie' she replied smiling, taking his calloused hand and shaking it gently.

'Em,' said Fred wrapping his arm around her waist, 'This is my oldest brother, Bill. Bill, this is Emalia, my girlfriend.'

Bill stood up and walked over to them, he was taller than Fred and George. He had long hair that he had tied back in a ponytail. He was wearing an earring with what looked like a fang dangling from it.

He smiled warmly at her, 'You must be the famous Emalia Potter. Send anymore bewitched snowballs by owl post since?' he said in a teasing tone.

Emalia grinned up at him, 'Not since second year, but who knows … maybe I will this Christmas.' Bill chuckled, before extending his hand, shaking hers. He had a firm and authoritative handshake.

'Nice to meet you' she said, as Fred guided her to the seat beside him, with George taking the seat to her left.

Dinner that night was a joyous affair, the conversation was top quality, with all of them staying seated around the kitchen table long after everyone had finished eating.

'So, Emalia, do you still think I am the most handsome man you've ever seen?' teased Charlie.

'Quit it Charlie' scowled Fred, he had not forgotten about that dare Emalia did when they were in second year.

Emalia laughed and shook her head, 'I am sorry to say that you have been kicked off the top spot by this man here' she said, planting a gentle kiss on Fred's cheek. This response got a grin from Fred, but retching noises from George. Emalia gave him a gently elbow in the ribs to get him to quit.

'As it should be,' laughed Charlie as he watched Fred and Emalia glance at each other lovingly, before smiling at his older brother. 'I think poor Freddie here has it bad, Bill.'

'Looks like it, Charlie' grinned Bill.

Fred gave his older brothers a swift kick underneath the table, but it was all good natured and no overt force was used.

The next few days passed by pretty quickly, and the already cramped house, became smaller again with the addition of Hermione on Wednesday and Harry's imminent arrival on Sunday. Emalia had heard Fred and George talking about the possibility of testing their toffees on Dudley, Harry's muggle cousin. Instantly, Emalia knew this was not going to end up the way the twins had dreamed in their head. They had imagined they would come out scot free, no consequences whatsoever.

Emalia, however, knew this would end in one of two ways; Mrs Weasley would spend the evening shouting at them, or she would confiscate or destroy the toffees. Fred and George would usually see this themselves, but they were blinded by excitement and had tunnelled in on the idea of testing them on Dudley. That evening before they left to collect Harry, Emalia snuck into their room, taking a box of the toffees they had developed, and hid them in her trunk, underneath her schoolbooks.

She waved off Mr Weasley, Fred, George and Ron as they travelled by Floo to collect Harry. She sat around the kitchen table with Charlie and Bill, discussing the upcoming Quidditch Cup Final, who they thought would eventually lift the Cup, and each of their jobs.

Ron arrived back first, talking about how the muggles had an electric fire, and the whole fiasco that led to. George arrived shortly after him, he had a mischievous glint in his eyes, Emalia eyed him curiously, wondering had they managed to successfully test their toffees.

Fred arrived less than a minute later, making his way out of the hearth, an excited grin plastered on his face. His eyes sought that of his twin, as if they were conveying their excitement and hopes to each other telepathically.

Their excitement had not gone unnoticed by their two older brothers, with Bill about to open his mouth to ask what they were so excited about, when the fireplace roared to life and out stepped Harry.

'Did he eat it?' asked Fred excitedly, holding out a hand to pull Harry to his feet.

'Yeah,' said Harry, straightening up. 'What was it?'

'Ton-Tongue Toffee,' said Fred brightly. 'George and I invented them, we've been looking for someone to test them on all summer…'

The kitchen exploded with laughter, when they all caught their breaths, Charlie and Bill introduced themselves to Harry, who had never met the older Weasley brothers.

Once the introductions had been made, Emalia took the opportunity to pull Harry into a hug. He had grown again and now towered over her, not that that was hard, she was only five foot two.

'Missed you, Harry' she said as she pulled away, 'The muggles treating you alright?'

'For the most part,' grinned Harry.

Before either of them could say anything else, there was a faint popping noise, and Mr Weasley appeared out of thin air at George's shoulder. He was looking angrier than Emalia had ever seen him.

'That wasn't funny, Fred!' he shouted, 'What on earth did you give that Muggle boy?'

'I didn't give him anything,' said Fred, with another evil grin. 'I just dropped it … it wasn't my fault he went and ate it, I never told him too.'

Emalia shook her head; he may have been able to calm Mr Weasley if he had not grinned in such a manner. She sighed; her boyfriend just could not help himself sometimes.

'You dropped it on purpose!' roared Mr Weasley. 'You knew he'd eat it, you knew he was on a diet -'

'How big did his tongue get?' George asked eagerly.

'It was almost four foot long before his parents would let me shrink it!'

The whole kitchen erupted with laughter, with Fred and George wearing rather proud looks on their faces.

'It isn't funny!' shouted Mr Weasley. 'That sort of behaviour seriously undermines wizard-muggle relations! I spend half my life campaigning against the mistreatment of muggles, and my own sons -'

'We didn't give it to him because he was a muggle!' said Fred indignantly.

'We gave it to him because he's a great bullying git,' said George. 'Isn't he, Harry?'

'Yeah, he is, Mr Weasley,' said Harry earnestly.

'That's not the point!' raged Mr Weasley. 'You wait until I tell your mother -'

'Tell me what?' said a voice behind them. The kitchen fell deathly silent, as Mrs Weasley entered the kitchen, her eyes narrowed with suspicion. Hermione and Ginny were right on her heels.

'Tell me what, Arthur?'

Mr Weasley hesitated. It soon became clear that however angry he was with Fred and George; he hadn't really intended to tell Mrs Weasley what had happened. There was a silence, while Mr Weasley eyed his wife nervously.

'It's nothing, Molly' mumbled Mr Weasley, 'Fred and George just – but I've had words with them -'

'What have they done this time?' said Mrs Weasley, 'If it's anything to do with Weasley's Wizard Wheezes -'

At this moment, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny made their way out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Emalia was ushered into the living room with Charlie and Bill; Fred and George made a move after them, but after getting a withering look from their mother, they stayed put.

A lot of shouting ensued, with Charlie and Bill chuckling in the living room.

'So, Emalia. Have you given any thought to what you want to do after school?' asked Bill, trying to take attention away from his mother's threats.

'Teaching, I've always wanted to teach, and it's something I talked with McGonagall at length about,' she said smiling.

'You need top grades for that, have you picked you N.E.W.T subjects yet?' asked Bill.

'I don't think Emalia here needs to worry about grades, Bill' chuckled Charlie. 'She was tutoring fifth years when she was in second year, and from what Fred and George tell me, she is nothing short of a genius.'

Emalia flushed bright red from the praise, as Charlie grinned at her.

'Might even give you and Perce a run for your money.'

Bill smiled at his brother, 'I have no doubt about it. Fred was telling us earlier that you basically have a library in your room.'

Emalia laughed heartily, 'Of course he did, it's one of the first things he says about me to people.'

The three of them laughed, and soon noticed that the shouting had died down. Fred and George were sitting at the kitchen table looking rather sheepish but broke into a grin when Emalia came back out.

'Bill, Charlie, will the two of you get the tables sorted for dinner this evening. We will be eating outside, there is not enough room for the twelve of us' directed Mrs Weasley, as she began to busy herself in the kitchen.

'Do you need any help Mrs Weasley?' asked Emalia as the two oldest Weasley boys made their way outside.

'Not at all dear, you go outside. Keep the twins out from underneath my feet for a while.'

No sooner had Mrs Weasley spoken those words, Fred and George hopped out of their seats, grabbing Emalia by the hands, pulled her outside.

'So, what's the damage?' she asked as they walked out towards Bill and Charlie.

'We are supposed to destroy all the toffees' said Fred smiling. His demeanour was not downcast, which suggested that the twins did not plan to listen to their parents' instruction.

'I'm guessing you won't be destroying them' she smiled as Fred squinted as the sun shone into his face.

'Of course we will…' grinned Fred evilly, 'we just won't get rid of all of them.'

Emalia couldn't help but laugh at her boyfriend, she knew it wasn't going to end the way he wanted it too, Molly Weasley could sniff out their shenanigans from a mile away.

Suddenly, the tables that Charlie and Bill were supposed to be setting up were flying high in the sky. Emalia looked up laughing, watching as Bill and Charlie made the tables dance intricately in the sky.

'Want a better view?' asked Fred, his eyes watching the joy on her face at his brothers' display.

'What do you mean?' she asked, looking up at him quizzically.

'Here, stand up on the wall,' said Fred, offering his hand to help her up onto the stone wall. Once she was standing on the wall, Fred crouched down. 'Climb onto my shoulders.'

Emalia looked at him, 'You won't drop me?'

Fred turned around and looked at her sincerely, 'I will never let you fall, Em. Ever.'

She smiled at him, knowing that he meant it. She gently put her left leg over his shoulder, followed by her right. He slowly straightened up until he reached his full height, his hands firmly gripping her legs.

'What's it like being tall for the first time in your life?' he teased, as she sat on his shoulders.

She gently pulled his hair, 'Watch it,' she laughed.

Fred pushed his head back, looked up at her smiling, his brown eyes shimmering with love. Emalia leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on his lips.

CRASH

Emalia and Fred looked up suddenly, when they heard the large crash coming from in front of them. Bill and Charlie, having grown tired of their dancing tables, were making the two old wooden tables smash into each other, each attempting to knock the other's out of the air.

Emalia, Fred and George were cheering, Fred a little too vigorously, nearly sending Emalia flying off his shoulders.

'FRED!' she exclaimed, grabbing a fistful of his hair to steady herself.

'Hehe, sorry love' he winced.

Bill's table caught Charlie's with a huge bang, knocking one of its legs off. There was a clatter from overhead, and they all looked up to see Percy's head poking out of a window on the second floor.

'Will you keep it down?' he bellowed.

'Sorry, Perce' said Bill, grinning, 'How're the cauldron bottoms coming on?'

'Very badly,' said Percy peevishly, and he slammed the window shut again. Chuckling, Bill and Charlie directed the tables safely onto the grass, end to end, and then, with a flick of his wand, Bill reattached the table leg, and conjured tablecloths from nowhere.

Fred had randomly decided that he was going to take off running with Emalia firmly attached to his shoulders. Emalia squealed loudly, trying to hold on for dear life, though Fred had a firm grip on her legs, there was no way she would fall unless Fred himself took a tumble.

Eventually he put her down, only because Mrs Weasley screamed out the window that both of them would break their necks.

By seven o'clock, the two tables were groaning under dishes and dishes of Mrs Weasley's excellent cooking, and the nine Weasleys, Emalia, Harry and Hermione were settling themselves down to eat beneath a clear, deep blue sky. At the bottom of the table sat Percy and Mr Weasley who were discussing Ministry matters.

In the middle of the table, Mrs Weasley was arguing with Bill about his earring, which by all accounts seemed to be a recent acquisition.

'… with a horrible great fang on it, really, Bill, what do they say at the bank?'

'Mum, no one at the bank gives a damn how I dress as long as I bring home plenty of treasure,' said Bill patiently.

'And your hair's getting silly, dear' said Mrs Weasley, twirling her wand lovingly, 'I wish you'd let me give it a trim…'

'I like it,' said Ginny, who was sitting beside Bill. 'You're so old fashioned, Mum. Anyways, it's nowhere near as long as Professor Dumbledore's…'

In the middle of the table, Charlie, George, Fred and Emalia were talking spiritedly about Quidditch.

'Do you play Quidditch, Emalia?' asked Charlie.

Emalia shook her head, but before she could reply, George started laughing.

'Emalia? Play Quidditch? She'd fall off her broom.'

Emalia kicked him hard underneath the table.

'She's a decent flier, Charlie… just adding in the balls… is a slight disaster…' clarified Fred, a small smile playing on his lips, he was trying hard not to chuckle.

Charlie laughed, 'No harm in that, can't be good at everything.'

Emalia, wanting to change the subject, asked 'So, who do you think will win?'

'It's got to be Ireland,' said Charlie thickly, through a mouthful of mashed potato. 'They flattened Peru in the semi-finals.'

'Bulgaria have got Viktor Krum, though' said Fred.

'Krum's one decent player, Ireland have got seven,' said Charlie shortly. Fred, George and Charlie then continued to argue about team stats and who would likely win tomorrow. Emalia was sitting beside Fred, playing with his thumb, listening to them argue. She felt happy and at home with the Weasleys.

Mr Weasley conjured up candles to light the darkening garden before they had their pudding, and by the time they had finished, moths were fluttering low over the table, and the warm air was perfumed with the smell of grass and honeysuckle.

'Look at the time,' Mrs Weasley said suddenly, checking her wristwatch. 'You really should be in bed, the whole lot of you, you'll be up at the crack of dawn to get to the Cup. Harry, if you leave your school list out, I'll get your things for you tomorrow in Diagon Alley. I'm getting everyone else's. There might not be time after the Cup, the match went on for five days last time.'

'Wow – I hope it does this time!' said Harry enthusiastically.

'Well, I certainly don't, I shudder to think of the state of my in-tray if I was away from work for that long!' said Percy.

'Yeah, someone might slip dragon dung in it again, eh, Perce?' said Fred.

'That was a sample of fertiliser from Norway!' said Percy, going very red in the face, redder than his hair. 'It was nothing personal!'

'It was,' Fred whispered to Harry, as everyone got up from the table, 'we sent it.'

Emalia started laughing, but managed to change it into a cough when Percy threw her an angered look.

Fred grinned at her, as the two of them walked hand in hand back into the house, excited for tomorrow.