A/N: What do you guys think so far? Things are going to start getting more serious for Magnolia. What format do you like best, the chapters in Magnolia's Pov, split chapters between her POV and 3rd person, or 3rd person solely?
(1992-1993)
Kilig:
n. the feeling of butterflies in one's stomach.
Magnolia's POV:
I lifted my head from the car seat rubbing sleep out of my eyes. There was a kink forming in the base of my neck from sitting in the car squished between the two lanky boys on each side of me. The sun was now sneaking out from her hideout on the horizon. We pulled into the driveway, the Burrow stood tall and welcomed us back. The pigs milling around, a few chickens pecking at the driveway.
Fred shut the engine off, his hands both dropped from the wheel. He carefully slipped from the driver's seat offering his hand to me. I took it and slid across the seat. George followed behind me and then Ron and Harry spilled out behind him over the seat.
I followed Fred to the door with the other three in tow. He turned around to shush us before carefully opening the door. We made it, Molly wasn't standing in the kitchen, we hadn't been caught. I let out a sigh of relief to be on solid ground again. Harry was safe and we were back without Molly knowing.
I turned around the corner and was stopped in my tracks. The boys bumped into my back, as they were following me. There stood Molly red-faced, arms crossed and that look of motherly disappointment painted as clear as day on her face. My stomach plummeted and I could feel my palms get sweaty.
I had the feeling I was going to have to go back home after barely being here and I wasn't going to be allowed back. I snuck out after bedtime and probably scared her to death when she saw empty beds. Molly would write to my Mum and tell her I snuck out and then I'll be in trouble with her as well. It was so stupid to go with them.
Fred nudged me closer, my feet tripping on themselves as the rubber from my sneakers caught on the floor.
"Where have you been?!" She shook her head at her red-headed children,
and then looked to Harry, "How are you, Harry?" Her voice was much sweeter now as she spoke to Harry.
"Beds empty, you made me worried sick." She scolds again at her children, "But I don't blame you, Harry." Sweet with Harry.
Ron began fumbling for excuses before he stood forward. "They were starving him, Mum!" Ron pleaded.
I shrunk back into Fred and George's side hoping to avoid her wrath. Harry explained the best he could to Molly what happened. As she simmered down she pulled him in for a hug.
"Well, you're here now. We'll just have to make some room for you." Molly wrapped her arm around him pulling him towards the kitchen. "We'll just pop down for breakfast then."
"You three will spend your morning de gnoming the garden." She pointed at her sons before turning back to me. They all chorused a similar groan.
"Were you the mastermind or the accomplice?" She asked with a faint smirk.
"Accomplice," I muttered. "But to be fair, I did plan on going to bed until they kidnapped me," I added in a weak effort.
George shoved my shoulder, "We did not kidnap you." He scoffed, but Molly quickly waved them off.
"Just come help with breakfast while the boys do the garden and we'll call it even." She waved me over to join her and Harry in the kitchen. The three boys left for the garden with groans of protest.
Ron, Fred, and George all went out, spending the time while we prepared breakfast in the garden. As I finished pouring the last of the pancake batter out onto the pan, Molly waved her wand swiftly bringing plates to the table, landing in each place perfectly. Harry followed behind the plates placing forks at each plate. I washed up my hands, rinsing the bowl clean before turning around to flip the last pancake over. Molly usually took advantage of having magic, always multitasking to keep the Burrow held together and tidy.
Percy spilled out from upstairs with Ginny not far behind. Percy's curls splayed above his head wildly as he plopped down into a chair at the table. Ginny in her pajamas with her red hair in tangles on her shoulders. She waved me over with a panicked look in her eye when she noticed me standing at the stove.
"You never came to bed, where'd you go?" She whispered, "I didn't tell Mum on you though." She quickly added as the boys returned from the garden.
"We snuck out to bring Harry here. I know you wouldn't tell. She found the boy's room first and I was more of a bonus surprise." I shrugged, "I trust you." I gave her a swift side hug tucking her into my side.
Ginny was the only girl growing up and did a good job of keeping to herself while holding her own with six older brothers. She was a good kid, I enjoyed her company, good to have another girl around my age to hang out with. This year she was going to be joining the rest of the family at Hogwarts, truthfully it was hard attempting to gauge how she felt about going. Ginny was usually one to keep her feelings tucked away.
"Is that him?" She mumbled looking past my shoulder.
"Why, you've got a crush on Boy Wonder?" I teased. Her cheeks instantly turned red.
She let out an exaggerated sputter before huffing and turning around. I've turned into Willow with the invasive questions. Before I could do damage control, she escaped up the stairs again. I felt guilt instantly in my gut.
"I'm going to get changed before breakfast, I'll be quick," I told Molly before going up to Ginny's room.
I knocked on her door, waiting for a response. Nothing came, knocking again I could feel my palms get sweaty. I hated when I was embarrassed and I couldn't imagine how I made her feel. There was still silence from the other side, I didn't want to intrude but I couldn't keep going about my day if she was upset with me.
"Gin, I was just teasing. I'm sorry, if that is the case there's nothing to be embarrassed over." If I couldn't get in to apologize I'd do it from out here, "I get how you're feeling."
I sat on the ground with my back against the door, "I know there's probably not much I can say other than sorry. He probably didn't even hear me." I attempted.
She finally opened the door, her cheeks still tinted pink, I looked up as she crouched down beside me, "It's not a crush, it's barely that. I've just heard the stories about him and feel like it's just too good to be real." She admitted.
"I can see how that can be true." I agreed.
I picked myself up from the floor, "Do you think I could pop in and change?" I questioned nodding at my trunk.
"Please don't tell my brothers, you know how they can be." Ginny gave a weak smile.
"Promise." I nodded, opening my trunk.
"I'll go help Mum finish up breakfast." Ginny nodded before passing me and disappearing down the stairs.
••••••
With the addition of Harry, our mock-up quidditch teams grew. I stood with a broom gripped in my hand, George and Fred stood in front of Harry, Ron, and I with arms crossed as they contemplated their teams. I glanced over at the Burrow and noticed Ginny in the window watching us from inside.
She never really joined us in our makeshift games, but with Harry here now there was an odd number of people. I knew Ginny loved the game just like her brothers had. I was honestly surprised how much she knew without ever playing the game herself but I guess having six older brothers and a father who were quite big fanatics, made sense. She knew more than I did about the game.
"Why don't we ask Gin to come play?" I proposed looking over at her in the window.
Ron groaned, "She's a kid though, and doesn't even know how to fly on a broom." He huffed, rolling his eyes.
"She's only a year younger than you Ron, you're a kid too," I replied. "She'll pick it right up, I bet."
"I'm not a kid." He shook his head looking back at his sister in the window.
I could see Ginny raise her hand in a small wave. Her red hair was pinned away from her face and she wore one of my t-shirts that was slightly too big for her.
"I think she should play with us." I repeated, "She'll pick it right up, just like I sort of did." I shrugged.
Ron's face contorted and his cheeks flushed as he fumbled his words, "What do you know Magnolia? You don't even play regular quidditch and you're just a stupid girl." He finally spits. The emphasis on my name made it sound like a foreign language.
I didn't expect Ron to get upset like that, I hoped he didn't actually think I was stupid. I was a better student than my dorm mates and most of the other students in my year even, except for potions. What made him say that? I didn't think I was being stupid by simply inviting his sister to join us. Ron wasn't one to be talking about being stupid. Me being a girl had nothing to do with my intelligence either. I'd read more books than he'd probably opened in his entire life.
I bit my lip fighting a handful of unkind words. The broom I held dropped from my hand as I walked away. It was better if I left before I said something I'd regret. My face started to feel warm and I could feel my temper rising, which just made tears well up in my eyes.
"Mags, wait!" Fred's called behind me.
I couldn't turn around, they'd see that I was fighting tears under my anger and they'd know I was cracking. If Ron already thought I was stupid for suggesting Ginny join the game, I knew he'd think my tears were just as stupid.
I heard Ron let out a pained groan, "What was that for?" He exclaimed.
"Why'd you call her a stupid girl?!" I could hear Fred scold Ron.
I closed the front door of the burrow behind me as I went inside. Ginny ran from the window to meet me at the door. Something tells me when I found Hermione in the stalls last Halloween, it was the result of Ron's mouth. He could be rude sometimes.
"Are you okay?" Ginny asked quietly, Molly stood nearby watching us as she prepared laundry.
I forced a nod before passing her. I took up the stairs, moving my feet up the steps as quickly as I could. Once I made it to Ginny's room I shut the door behind me. With the click of the door, I felt the tears drip from my eyes.
I dragged my hand under my eyes roughly wiping away the tears as quickly as they fell. It was stupid to be crying over something so small. I picked at the hangnails on my thumb. I didn't need to be crying but I was struggling to keep them in.
There was a crash from outside the window. I walked over to see Fred kneeling above Ron, who was pinned underneath him. I could see his lips moving quickly and Ron looked terrified. Ron nodded quickly before Fred swung his leg back over him and stood back to his feet. He looked up to the window, his expression changed as he made eye contact with me. Fred raised an easily spotted thumb in my direction, before waving me back down. I shook my head but kept watching them outside.
Ron stared up at me in the window before turning to Harry and whispering in his ear. His cheeks were still stained pink, probably embarrassed by whatever Fred had done. Harry laughed and nudged him playfully, Ron had to have said something about me. I shook my head and sat down on my bed on the floor.
I was better off staying up here, perhaps being surrounded by people all day was finally getting to me. I had met my limit of human interactions for now. Picking through the books I packed in my backpack, I couldn't decide what to start with. My fingers picked through pages as I skimmed the back covers.
I propped myself in the window once I had settled on a book. Not paying much attention to the title I began reading. My fingers traced the pages, just to feel the paper between my fingertips as I read. There was something about the way the paper felt that helped me focus on the story better. If I was reading to distract myself I usually had to take the extra step of focusing on the paper, I'd trail off into a flood of thoughts on what I could've done differently at the moment.
I skipped lunch and kept to myself until dinner. Ginny popped in a few times to ask me what I had been reading, but she didn't stay long. Molly knocked on the door before cracking it open slightly to pop her head in.
"Maggie, are you coming down for supper?" She asked.
My stomach grumbled on cue when I looked up. A smile broke out on her lips, as she waved me over. I followed behind her on the stairs. There was only one open place left at the table, a chair nestled between Fred and Ron. I sat down turning my back slightly to Ron. Fred grabbed my hand under the table, squeezing it lightly.
"He'll apologize soon, he's just stubborn," Fred reassured me.
"Like someone else I know?" I arched a brow, it seemed Ron and Fred shared that trait.
He chuckled lightly before he started filling his plate. Molly had prepared a meal comparable to the feasts we got at Hogwarts, she had platters with fluffy mashed potatoes, plates piled high with fresh vegetables, and a large roasted bird at the center of the table. He took mine and filled it with what I typically grabbed at the table, skipping over the peas and even adding the extra scoop of the roasted carrots I loved. A healthy scoop of potatoes and the leg from the roasted bird.
"How'd you know what I'd want?" I asked as Fred set my plate in front of me.
He shrugged, "I don't know, I just did." he filled his mouth with potatoes muffling his words as he took a bite.
My stomach grumbled again, I dug into my food savoring each bite. Mum was a pretty good cook, at least the things she was confident at making. As I ate more home-cooked meals from , I had to admit Mum could add a few recipes to her cookbook. The house was filled with food muffled conversations, told us stories of working for the ministry.
••••••
I grabbed my bag holding the money I brought to exchange for supplies this year. My list seemed to grow longer than either of the years before, all new books being required for Defense Against the Dark Arts. I was worried about the kind of loon they managed to rope into the position this time. After we returned with Harry we received our letters from school. I don't know how but Dumbledor knew Harry and I had finished our summers off at the Burrow.
Ginny skipped down the stairs in front of me. The boys were already gathered around the fireplace, waiting for her and me to join them. Molly came up behind us with a black cinched bag full of Floo Powder. She held the bag out towards each of us encouraging us to take some.
"We don't have any time to fuss now." Molly encouraged us.
"What is this?" Harry asked, examining the floo powder.
"I wouldn't suggest asking too many questions, they get a little cranky." I smiled, glancing at Fred across the room. Fred smirked, shrugging nonchalantly.
"Ron, you go first and show him," Molly instructed.
Ron stepped into the fireplace, "Diagon Alley!" He enunciated clearly. The flash of green flames surrounded Ron.
The last time I went by Floo was when I had gone with them for supplies the last time. I took a handful of powder in my hand now, I felt much better about going this way than I had before. Molly waited at the side as Harry stepped in.
"Just speak clearly and you won't have to worry about anything," Molly reassured him
He stared back at us, I could see the apprehension as he held his hand out. Harry finally dropped the floo powder calling out his destination.
"Diagonally." Harry jumbled.
He vanished with the whirl of emerald smoke. Percy went next, then Fred climbed in, George right after him. Ginny held out her empty hand.
"You think everything will be okay?" She mumbled, the house was empty aside from us and Molly who awaited beside us.
"Floo powder is like nothing, you've gone by Floo before," I recall.
"I don't mean Floo, like Hogwarts. Do you think everything will be okay?" She rephrased more forcefully.
I glanced at her. Her face was unaffected by how she was feeling, she stared ahead waiting for her turn. I couldn't tell if she was really asking me or she was making time slip away.
"I think in the end everything will be okay. It might not be after a day but I think everything meant to be, simply will be." I felt like I was constructing my words together, "You've got nothing to worry about, Weasley's fight."
Ginny nodded, "You should probably get over there before the twins lose their heads." She remained unfazed almost.
I nodded in agreement and stepped into the fireplace, although we were meeting on the other side, I couldn't fight the feeling that Ginny wasn't letting everything be known. It was expected, she was eleven now dealing with a string of new things, I was in her shoes only a few years ago.
"Diagon Alley!" I spoke clearly, dropping the powder.
The rush of warmth flooded around my feet. Following the warmth came the flash of green smoke past my eyes. I stepped forward from the fireplace quickly, stumbling on the ledge I landed on someone's side. I brushed away the soot on my knees, mumbling apologies as I got back up.
"Can't get around without one of those Weasels to guide you around?" I looked up at Sam Nott, a boy from my year. His lip was curled as he glanced down at me in disgust.
Sam had been partners for potions besides Roxy countless times. Like most of the other pureblood Slytherin students I knew, he was hateful, mean, and had a sense of priority over everyone else.
"It was an accident, sorry," I mumbled, dusting off my shoulders as well.
"Just don't get in my way." He muttered crudely before he joined his brothers who waited off to the side.
George found me first, fresh after the interaction with Sam.
"Someone twisted his knickers?" He smirked, hooking his arm with mine.
"I guess." I shrugged. I followed next to George, joining the rest of the Weasleys.
The red-haired family bobbed together, making them easier to find apart from the other wizard families also flooding Diagon Alley for school supplies. Molly led the group as George and I walked up. We went to the bookstore first, a line stretched out the door, people popping their heads above and around the line trying to peek inside.
I wonder what was causing such a stir in a bookstore. It couldn't have been the actual literature as I've never seen this many people fussing over parchment. There was only one notable book release at the bookstore at home, and it barely had a line to the edge of the cafe.
"Where's Harry gone?" Ron turned around to ask, I just noticed he wasn't at Ron's side.
George and I both shrugged, "Mags tripped on one of the Nott boys, we didn't pay much attention to Harry." George explained.
Ron slipped to the front where Molly walked with Ginny tucked in her other side.
"I've got an idea to get back at Nott if you want." I felt Fred loop his arm at my other side, linking me between the two taler boys felt.
"I think I'll be fine." I didn't want Fred or George to go off picking a fight for me. I was capable of standing up for myself.
"Just give us the word and he won't be a problem." He offered smugly.
"You're not going to kill him, are you?" I arched my brow.
Fred winked, twisting his lips up into a grin before looking off ahead again. I glanced at George who seemed just as willing. As we entered the store, people skipped around the store. Cardboard cutouts of a blonde man, wearing an unsettling amount of tanner and teeth whitener smeared across his grin.
As I noticed more about him, I put it together where I'd seen his name before. When he attended Hogwarts, Gilderoy Lockhart was Ravenclaw head boy, but also was a pompous, ego-filled worm of a man, and quite, unfortunately, the author of our Defense Against the Dark Arts textbooks. I had come across only one of his books, it was hard forcing myself to finish a book for once. Reading the book was a chore, filling my brain with the useless knowledge of Lockhart's favorite color lilac. I had learned little about Werewolves and more about his hair care routine.
"Great..." I muttered.
"He's one of Mum's favorite authors." George chuckled.
"How could she read that rubbish?" I scoffed, trying to avoid the surge of people flooding around the store.
"Who knows." Fred shrugged.
Harry slipped past me and the twins, joining at Molly's side. Hermione in tow behind him. Her curls were more settled and not as frizzy as she kept them before. She waved at me with a small smile.
"Introducing Gilderoy Lockheart!" A voice called from above the crowd.
The blonde man himself stepped forward, he scanned the crowd and everyone's faces. His eyes rested on Harry at the front of the crowd. I rolled my eyes, Lockheart stood in front of the people to advertise an autobiography. I hated autobiographical pieces, every time someone wrote a book about themselves it only made them look like a prick. Why not let other people talk of your accomplishments and your interests?
Fred and George slipped away from the group trailing back to the front of the store away from the commotion around Lockheart. As Ron and Harry, with Ginny ahead of them, came to join us I noticed the blonde-haired boy standing around nearby who glared at us huddled together.
He cut in front of Ron and Harry, he muttered something I couldn't quite catch what he was saying to them. Hermione tucked beside Harry and Ron gripped her hand around her wand, her jaw tightened.
"Got yourself a little girlfriend, Potter?" The blonde boy glaring down at Ginny, as she stood in front of Harry.
Fred pulled at my cloak spinning me around to look, "That's Draco, his father was a death eater during the first war. He works with Dad at the ministry now." He explained. "He's a git."
I nodded my head understanding, a tall thin man stepped up behind Draco placing his staff on the boy's shoulder. I could easily spot the resemblance.
Icy blonde hair and a cold blue stare. Arthur pulled Ginny to his side, I couldn't hear much aside from Arthur's call for us to leave.
Fred guided me out by my shoulders. Molly came back with our books in her bag complete with autographs from Lockhart. She was almost giddy leaving the shop. I didn't gather much from the interactions with the Malfoy boy but I knew he was trouble.
••••••
That night, I woke up with sweat forming on the small of my back, my mouth felt dry like I'd been without water for years. I sat up and wiped away the sweat forming at my hairline. Why'd I felt so warm all of a sudden? Ginny was still sleeping in her bed peacefully, only the light hum of snores left her lips.
I stood to open the window and noticed someone laying out in the field. Ahead of red fluffed hair caught my eye. They were too tall to be Ron and didn't have curls like Percy so I knew it had to be one of the twins. I could go for the fresh air, I grabbed my sneakers and slipped my feet into them. The house was so quiet as I took the stairs.
They sat up when I slipped from the door. I still couldn't tell which one of the twins was in the dark. The moon lit up the sky with a blanket of stars just as visible. It was so much easier to see the stars out here than I ever could've when I lived in the city. To be honest, I hadn't spent enough time at the Cottage to know if I had a similar view at home, just the plastic constellations James had attached to my ceiling.
The summer air had cooled down, the sweat on my face and back were chilled as a breeze blew past me. I sat down beside him and tucked my knees up to my chest. I only wore a pair of old cotton shorts and an oversized shirt on top, and despite the warmth, I had woken up from, I was feeling chilled now with the breeze.
"What are you doing up?" He finally spoke, I could always tell the differences in their voices, it was Fred.
"I could ask you the same thing." I smiled.
"Couldn't sleep, George started babbling in his sleep." He replied looking back up at the sky, "This is better to look at than those fake ones in your room." He teased me.
I leaned back on my hands, stretching my legs out in front of me, and looked up at the stars. He wasn't completely wrong, the real stars were always going to be better than plastic ones. The ones James had stuck to my ceiling had an unnatural hue to them and they were choppy looking. These were so much better. I could see everything so clearly out here, nothing was polluting the sky and the city didn't outshine the stars.
"Do you know any constellations?" I asked, noticing a string of bright stars.
"Not many. I could recognize the Big Dipper if that's what you mean." He laid his head back on the grass.
I stretched my arm out to where I had seen a string of stars, "That's Orion's Belt. You see the three really bright stars?"
He squinted at the sky and tried following my finger. I laid down beside him and grabbed his hand, using his own finger as my pointer.
"It's right there, Freddie." I giggled as he still squinted at the tip of his finger.
"I must be blind or you're delusional because I truly don't see it." He shook his head.
"How do you not see it?" I laughed, I gripped his hand again, "It's the three big ass stars right there." I pointed again.
When I turned to see where he was looking, he wasn't looking at the stars anymore. Fred's eyes caught the moonlight as he had his head turned to the side, his eyes that now resembled honey stared back at me. I felt an odd, unfamiliar feeling in my chest, making my skin feel even warmer than I had when I woke up.
"I'm not Orion's Belt." I grinned, trying to brush off this new feeling.
"You're a bit better to look at than three little dots I can barely see." He replied simply, his expression hadn't changed like he was studying my features.
It felt odd like I was a science project, he had to observe closely. I dropped his hand and rested my hands and my sides again.
"Shut up." I nudged his shoulder. Poking his cheek to turn back up to the sky.
He laughed lightly, closing his eyes. I felt his fingers thud across the grass to my hand. His hand fluttered around mine like he wasn't sure what to do before I felt his hand slide past mine then let it drop to his side inches from mine.
"Who's James?" Fred's question stuttered almost.
I hadn't spoken much about him to the twins.
Truthfully I was worried they'd treat him the same way they had Cedric and I wasn't ready to put a Muggle kid through that. They were hard enough to handle for most wizard kids. Things seemed easier his way, I'm sure they had friends I didn't know much about or at all.
"You remember the girl I told you works for Elliot at the bookstore?" He nodded.
"Willow?" My turn to nod.
"Well, he's her younger brother. He's your age. He's nice, we like to read together." I explained. "He likes to paint and do other art. Very different from you and George." I added, "You just don't have much in common. He's just a friend." The feeling in my tummy melted away.
"Your Mum said something about him to my mum. I was just curious." Fred sat up, "We should probably get back to bed, Mum would lose her head if our beds are empty again especially before we're supposed to leave in the morning."
He stood up offering a hand to me. I gripped his hand as he helped me up. I brushed the grass off my back the best I could.
Fred stared back at me, "Do I have something on my face?" I wiped my face.
"No, just…" He trailed off, tucking a piece of hair out of my face, "Now that your hair is getting long again, it gets in your face more." He smiled.
I felt a flutter in the pit of my stomach feeling his thumb tread across my cheek. A shiver ran down my back. "I've been practicing my braids all summer. So it won't be too much of a problem now." I rambled. "Let's get to bed, like you said, your Mum will lose her head if we're gone." I stuttered.
I followed behind him and closed the door behind us. He walked me to Ginny's door before he snuck up to his shared room with George. I felt much colder than I had when I had woken up. My skin was covered in goosebumps, but my cheeks felt warm. The real stars I had seen were much different than the ones I could stare at in my room. You can't really ever beat the real thing.