"No," Avalon said. She folded her arms firmly and sat down on Lucy's bed. "I'm not doing it. I refuse, end of story."
The first month of Avalon's summer vacation had gone smoothly. It wasn't as much fun as the summer of 1990, the year before she had started her Hogwarts career, when the Greengrasses had taken Daphne, her sister Astoria, Theo, Blaise and Avalon to the Quidditch World Cup. Nothing beat watching Scotland lose so badly to Canada, but she had still had a blast on a break from school with her friends.
The week after the train had taken them to King's Cross Station, Avalon had celebrated her 12th birthday. Her parents had taken her to a fancy restaurant in London's premier wizarding city, and she had eaten a good meal and gone on a shopping spree. Having wealthy parents came with perks.
Mr. and Mrs. Steele hadn't been traveling much over the summer, but they spent most their days at work for extremely long periods of time, and since Lucy had gone back to visit Charlie in Romania for the beginning half of the summer, Avalon had had a free for all. During the day, she'd invite her friends over to hang out, and she would swear the house elves to secrecy. She had even spent an afternoon having tea with Neville and his gran at the woman's invitation, because his gran wanted to meet the friend that had taken up many his letters home. Augusta Longbottom's forehead puckered when she shook Avalon's hand, but she quickly regained her composure and nodded a firm head at the girl, even going as far as smiling faintly in her direction later in her visit.
But Avalon's carefree summer days were quickly coming to a halt.
"Do you remember at the end of term last year, when you came to my common room and we had a teary sister moment, and you promised me that you would learn to accept me being with Charlie and other mushy sister things?" Lucy asked. She leaned in the doorway of Avalon's room as the younger girl read the book Blaise had given her for Christmas.
"I'm not sure I like where this is going," answered a wary Avalon, "But yes, I do remember that."
Lucy entered the room and sat down on Avalon's bed next to her. "Well, I have a proposition for you. The best way for you to do that for me would be if you went and spent a few days at the Burrow with the Weasleys."
"The Burrow? What is the Burrow?"
"That's what the Weasleys' home is called. It's such a picturesque little place, and they're all so nice and you would get to know Charlie's family like I did. It would be wonderful, especially if one day Charlie and I were to—"
Avalon held up her hands. "I'm going to stop you right there, Lucy. There's no way I'm spending a single minute with Weasley and his family. And second of all, why in Merlin's name is their house called the Burrow? What are they, gophers?"
"You're not being very nice."
"I'm not feeling very nice."
Lucy wrapped her arms around her sister. "Look, Mum and Father hate the idea of me dating a Weasley. Especially father. They think they're horrible blood traitors. But because they're my family, they find my happiness extremely important. Mum event spoke to Mrs. Weasley for three minutes at King's Cross after my fifth year. Even though she doesn't like it, they try. Why can't you do the same?"
"Because being civil at a train station is not equal to spending time in… the Weasley Den. I'd be surrounded by them. I wouldn't be able to escape because I'd be at Weasley Central Station. No. I'm not doing it. I refuse, end of story," Avalon answered. She opened her book again, hoping Lucy would get the memo that the discussion was over.
"Charlie and I have already spoken to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley about it. Her children are willing to give you a chance."
Avalon closed her book once more and turned to face Lucy with a look of sheer disbelief on her face. "You're telling me, that Mrs. Weasley told her children I would be staying with them, and Ron Weasley said 'Oh goody! Golly gee, I can't wait to give her a chance! We hate each other and everything, but maybe now we'll be the best of friends?' That is pure tripe, Luce, and you know it."
Lucy bit her lip in that way she did when she was caught in a lie. "Well, maybe they weren't all thrilled, but you're not thrilled either so that means that you all will have something to bond over!"
"Like prisoners who share adjoining cells."
"That's the spirit!" Lucy cried. "So, you'll do it?"
"When hell freezes over." Avalon began reading her book.
They sat in silence for a few minutes more. Lucy folded her hands and twiddled her thumbs, then smiled sweetly at her sister. "I didn't want it to come to this, but you leave me no choice. If you don't do this for me, I'll tell Father and Mum that you've been inviting your friends over while they were gone and that it was Theo who broke Mum's favorite vase. The expensive one from the art auction in Milan? I'm sure you know the vase I'm talking about," Lucy said.
"The house elves told you?" Avalon asked.
"You told them not to tell your parents. You forgot that I'm not your parent."
Avalon rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you nag so much I think you're mum sometimes." She sighed heavily, and put her head in her hands. "Fine, I'll go. When is this visit to the molehill even taking place?"
"Tomorrow," Lucy answered. "You can Floo by yourself at eleven, or I can apparate you there if you want."
"Floo. I'm not spending another moment with my friendly neighborhood traitor," Avalon snapped. She got out of bed and found her trunk in the closet and emptied it out, throwing clothes into it.
"I had a feeling you'd agree to this," said Lucy. "And by the way, Mrs. Weasley understands you and Ron aren't the best of friends. Don't go around starting trouble, all right?"
Avalon looked at her sister with a mixture of exasperation and admiration. "You know, with a cunning streak like that, I'm surprised you weren't in Slytherin. I still hate you for this, though. I'm furious."
Lucy only laughed.
"Now that I think about it, you're a legal adult now. You've graduated Hogwarts and everything. Don't you have future plans? Better things to do than hang around at home and blackmail your younger sister? Anything going on?" Avalon asked. She raised her eyebrow at Lucy in an accusing manner.
"Excuse you, I happen to have a job lined up as an intern in the Ministry of Magic, but I'm taking a year off. For travel, learning more about who I am, and the like. I'm still finding myself," Lucy argued, chuckling some more.
"Well, you finding yourself outside of my room would be lovely." So Lucy left.
ASLS
"Hello, hello, hello, dear!"
When Avalon stepped out of the fireplace at the Burrow, she was greeted by the last thing she expected to encounter—a hug.
A short, plump, redheaded witch Avalon knew to be Mrs. Weasley burst out of the kitchen and wrapped her arms around Avalon. It took the girl a few moments to hug the woman back because of the sheer shock of the situation. It was strange for her to be hugged by a woman she barely knew. Sure, she had met Mrs. Weasley before on a few occasions—Lucy was a persistent girl—but she had never received a hug.
"Welcome to our home. When Lucy and Charlie suggested that you come and stay with us, I was thrilled—Ginny and I are a bit outnumbered when it comes to girls in the house. Have you met Ginny?" Mrs. Weasley asked. She shouted in the direction of the stairs. "Ginny! Come down here a second!"
A small freckled girl with the same flaming red hair as her other family members appeared at the top of the stairs and peered down. Mrs. Weasley beckoned her over and Ginny floated down the steps.
"Ginny, do you know Avalon?"
"We've met," Ginny said. She looked up to meet Avalon's eyes and they firmly shook hands.
Mrs. Weasley clasped her hands together and smiled at the two girls. "Ginny's starting at Hogwarts this September. My children are all growing up." She paused to dab at her eyes with a handkerchief. "Now, Ginny, be a dear and take Avalon up to your room and let her get herself settled. She'll be staying in there with you, and I'll bring the camp bed up a little bit later." The woman looked around the living room. "Where are your brothers?"
"The twins are out in the garden, Percy's holed up in his room getting a head start on his summer homework, and Ron is…" Ginny gave a wry laugh. "Ron is hiding."
Avalon snorted. Lucky bloke.
The woman raised an eyebrow in Avalon's direction. "Show her around, will you Ginny? Oh, and you girls be sure to pop in on Ron on your way to Ginny's room and let him know that Avalon's here, all right? I haven't seen him all day and I want to make sure he's still alive and well."
"Yes mum."
"Yes ma'am."
Mrs. Weasley disappeared back into the kitchen, singing a Celestina Warbeck song under her breath.
Ginny waved her arms around her. "Well, this is the sitting room. That's the kitchen. Outside there's a garden and an orchard and a garage and things like that. Outdoor things," Ginny said. She led Avalon up the stairs. There were two doors, and Ginny opened and entered the smaller of the two. "This is my bedroom," she said.
The first thing Avalon noticed about Ginny's room was the size. It was smaller than Avalon was used to, but there were posters of the Weird Sisters and Holyhead Harpies Quidditch Captain Gwenog Jones plastered around the walls. She was impressed by Ginny's taste in music. "You like the Harpies?" Avalon asked.
"Yeah. You?"
"I'm more of a Puddlemere United fan myself."
"Do you play?" Ginny asked.
Avalon shook her head. "Not in the least. I love Quidditch, but I'm content just watching it. I'm actually terrified of flying."
"Well, I love it."
Ginny sat down on her bed and watched while Avalon put her trunk down and rummaged through it. "My room used to be Charlie's, before he started school. Now he shares Bill's room next door when they're home. Bill's my oldest brother. He's in Egypt. I assume you know that Charlie's in Romania? Your sister came with us to—"
"Yeah, I know. Over the Christmas holiday." Avalon cut Ginny off. The younger girl seemed a bit taken aback but shrugged it off.
"Come on," Ginny said after a moment. She led Avalon out of her room and up more stairs to the next floor. "This is Percy's room. I wouldn't go in there if I were you because he's a bit testy and extremely boring. This one here is the twins' room, and I wouldn't go in there either if I were you because they're always experimenting in there and sometimes they're in need of a test subject. Always say no."
"What sort of things do they experiment with?" Avalon asked.
Ginny shrugged. "I don't know exactly. They mix different ingredients together, and sometimes there are explosions and stuff but I'm not sure what they're doing. I think they're making candy, and I think it's supposed to have magical properties. You didn't hear it from me, though. They're hiding it from mum and dad."
"They mix things together and it makes explosions?"
"Uh huh." As the girls stood on the landing outside the door, a small boom could be heard from inside the room.
Avalon ran her hand through her hair, still listening to the happenings inside Fred and George's room. Suddenly she laughed to herself as something clicked in her memory. A conversation she had had during the school year. "I get it," she mumbled under her breath. "It-it's like Chemistry…"
"What's Chemistry?" Ginny asked.
"Never mind."
They continued up the stairs and eventually reached Ron room, which was in the attic. "Look, I know your mum suggested we go and stop by Weas—erm, I mean— Ron's room and let him know I'm here and everything, but that's really not necessary. I'm sure it would be best if he and I kept our distance."
"I don't know. Mum told us to, and you'll learn a thing or two about what happens when you don't listen to my mum. She's very sweet usually, but if you cross her…" Ginny shuddered. "She is a force to be reckoned with." Ginny knocked on the door three times. There was a shuffling sound from within, until finally Ron pulled open the door and stuck out his head.
"What do you want?" he asked, pointedly making eye contact with Ginny and pretending that Avalon wasn't there.
Ginny explained her mother sending the two girls up to check in on Ron. He sighed loudly in their direction. "Thanks for stopping by, but I'm a little bit preoccupied with avoiding Slytherins arseholes who seem to have invaded my house."
"Great to see you too, weasel," Avalon said, rolling her eyes at the boy. He slammed the door in her face in response. "As fun as this Burrow tour has been, I actually liked it better in your room Ginny. Want to go back?"
"Sure."
From the bottom of the stairs, they heard Mrs. Weasley's shout: "Kids! Wash up for lunch!"
The door to Ron's room opened once more, and he ran out and hurried down the stairs and into the bathroom to wash his hands. Avalon shook her head in disbelief. She had heard rumors of his appetite around Hogwarts, but she had never seen it or its side effects in action. Ginny had nearly been plowed down in his rush to get to the food.
Ron and the twins were already seated by the time Ginny and Avalon reached the kitchen. Ginny quickly grabbed a chair next to Fred, while Avalon hung back in the doorway, taking in the unfamiliar sights.
Mrs. Weasley had prepared a spread of chicken and ham pies, cauliflower, boiled potatoes, and homemade ice cream. Avalon's eyes widened. Her mother couldn't even boil water without burning it, since the house elves did anything that resembled housework—even taking care of the children. The sight of a home-cooked meal cooked by a human mother for her family was extremely strange and new, albeit delicious smelling.
"Come on then, dear," Mrs. Weasley said. She beckoned to the empty chair between Ginny and Ron at the table.
Avalon sat down, and in three minutes she was in heaven. "Mrs. Weasley, this is amazing!" She felt like Theo as she talked with her mouth full of the delicious food.
The woman smiled at her. "If you'd like, I'll send the recipes home with you. They're very simple, and your mother could make them for you as well." Mrs. Weasley reached for Avalon's plate and heaped another spoonful of potatoes onto it.
"That's okay. My mother doesn't cook, and the house elves aren't very keen on following recipes. I mean, they'll do it if I tell them to, of course, but I'd rather just let them…" Avalon's voice trailed off, and she looked around the table. The Weasleys were staring at her with expressions of disbelief.
"Your mum doesn't cook?" George asked. "Does she bake then?"
"No. And my father doesn't either, if that's what you were going to ask."
Fred frowned. "Well then, how—" he stopped abruptly after a stern look from Mrs. Weasley across the table and the meal continued in awkward silence as Avalon's face turned a shade of red to rival Ginny's pigtails.
She looked down at her plate and poked her cauliflower florets with her fork. All of a sudden, her appetite was gone.
Avalon's parents were wealthy. Her life was comfortable, extravagant even. Anything she wanted, she got. She thought back to all the times she and her friends had insulted this family for being blood-traitors, for being poor, and for having more children than they could probably afford. But suddenly, they were pitying her. To the Weasley family, who had spent the earlier part of lunch laughing and smiling and just generally enjoying each other's company—something the Steeles never did at mealtimes or anytime—over good food, wealth was more than just material possessions.
And as far as they were concerned, she was the poor one.
When they began to clear away the plates, Avalon offered to do the dishes. It was the least she could do.
"No, dear, it's fine. Ron can wash the dishes," Mrs. Weasley said.
"Mum, Avalon wants to do them. You should let her."
Mrs. Weasley smiled at the dark-haired girl. "If you really want to help, then you can do them together. Ginny, how would you like for me to braid your hair? I plucked some beautiful flowers from the garden that would complement you so well." The pair left the kitchen for the sitting room, Fred and George scampered off to who knows where, probably to experiment some more, while Percy vanished up the steps and slammed his door behind him.
Avalon gathered up the plates, cups and bowls while Ron began to fill the sink with water. She joined him with an armful of dishes and he began to wash them while she dried. It was silence, but much more comfortable than the silence that had filled the latter half of lunch.
"Thanks for helping with the dishes," was the first thing Ron said, after what seemed like an eternity of solemn work, as he handed her a wet plate to dry.
"It's the least I could do," she said. At Ron's raised eyebrows Avalon continued. "I've been dreadful to you this past year. I insulted you and your family, and I've just recently discovered that I actually like them very much."
Ron gave a low whistle. "Is Avalon Steele actually apologizing to a blood traitor? Now I've seen absolutely everything. I ought to owl the Daily Prophet about this," he said with a laugh. She punched his arm.
"I'm being serious."
"Well, then, I seriously accept your apology." Ron went back to the pot he was furiously scrubbing.
Avalon punched him again. "Don't you have anything you'd like to apologize for as well? I wasn't the only one who was particularly awful last term, if my memory serves me correctly. You insulted my family as well."
"My rudeness was self-defense," Ron explained, grinning widely. "So, I'm in the clear as far as karma and the universe are concerned."
"Now I remember why I was so dreadful to you."
He handed her another dish. "If you recall, you said you liked my family very much only five minutes ago."
With an eye roll, Avalon took the pot from him and rubbed the cloth across it quickly. "Well, that means I like your mum, Ginny, the twins, and the like. That doesn't mean I like you, you know."
"True," Ron said. "Anyway, I'm sorry too. I guess part of me considered the fact that you might not be half bad ages a while ago, actually. As unlucky as he might be, Neville's a good bloke, and I figured if you were okay with him, then you might not be completely awful. And there's the fact that you were nice to him even when all the other Slytherins weren't. I saw what you did the day Malfoy took Neville's Remembrall. You stood up for him. Harry and I talked about that later that day. We couldn't figure out your game."
"I don't have a game, but I'm definitely swooning now that I've learned that the boy-who-lived and his redheaded sidekick gossiped about me," Avalon said with a laugh.
Ron glared at her. "Cut that out. I'm not his sidekick."
"Sure you are," said Avalon, meaning to be playful but not sensing the edge in Ron's voice. "If Potter's the boy-who-lived, you're the boy-who-lived-in-the-shadow-of-the-boy-who-lived. It just rolls off the tongue, see?"
"Avalon…"
She didn't stop there. "You guys sound like comic book characters. The Adventures of Harry Potter and good old 'What's His Name.' Instead of the Dynamic Duo, the tagline could be: The Dynamic Uno and the Other One."
If you asked Avalon what happened next, she wouldn't be able to tell you for certain. She could only remember realizing that suddenly she was on the floor. The basin of sudsy water was over her head and the front door was slamming and Ron was gone and there was soap in her eyes and it burned.
After wiping her eyes and flushing them at the sink, Avalon realized Ron had stormed out. Leaving the dishes in the sink, Avalon ran out after him, calling his name.
It was a breezy afternoon, and the fact that she was wet from the dishwater didn't help at all. She wrapped her arms around her body to get some added warmth. "Ron? Ron Weasley! Where are you? It's bloody cold out here."
"Language," called Mrs. Weasley from the house. She stuck her head out the window. "If you're looking for Ron, he's probably by the orchard. It's his favorite spot."
"Thank you."
Avalon followed Mrs. Weasley's pointing finger and her advice and soon found the Burrow's orchard, a small paddock surrounded by trees. She also found Ron, who was flying through the air, presumably to blow off steam.
She cupped her hands around her mouth. "Ron Weasley! I need to talk to you!"
But after four minutes of shouting with nothing but a sore throat and a scratchy voice to show for it, Ron was still circling above her and showing no signs of coming down anytime soon. She heard footsteps behind her. Turning around, Avalon saw Ginny coming towards her from a nearby… outhouse?
The broom in her hand alerted Avalon that the small structure must have been some sort of broom shed.
"You'll have to go up there after him," Ginny said. She held out her broom to Avalon. "I know you hate flying, but I'm sure you want to talk to him, and I know my brother. He'll be up there for hours."
"I can't."
"Didn't you take flying lessons at school? Ron wrote home about the class. He named the people who were awful at flying, and you weren't one of them."
Avalon rolled her eyes. "So, I can, but I can't."
But Ginny didn't listen, and pushed the broom into Avalon's shaking hands. With a deep breath of resolve, the older girl thought back to everything that Madam Hooch had taught them in Flying class. She tried to suppress the memory of Neville falling off his broom and spraining his wrist as she kicked off into the air, screaming internally.
Ron looked surprised to see her. "Aren't you scared of flying?"
"Oh yes, uh huh, terrified," Avalon said. She opened one eye tentatively as she hovered slightly below Ron. Don't look down. Don't look down. Just look up. Find something to look at, she thought. Look at Ron. Talk to Ron. The sooner you talk to him the sooner you can get back on the ground. "I came out here because you ran out of the kitchen and poured soapy water on my head. It's much colder out here than it should be, thanks to you."
"Sorry about that." Ron said sheepishly, reddening. He took off his jacket and tossed it down to Avalon. "You just kept saying all that sidekick stuff back in the kitchen and I guess it got inside my head. I couldn't think straight."
"I didn't mean to. Especially not after we'd just started to hate each other less," Avalon said. She buttoned his jacket around her and sighed in the warmth.
Ron slowed his flying speed until he was simply floating. "It's just… I'm the sixth child, and the youngest boy. I'm not the oldest, the funniest, the smartest, the baby, or anything. I'm just Ron. I tend to get skipped over by most people. And then I figured when I got to Hogwarts I'd be able to break out and everything, and… you know, Harry's my best mate, but when the boy-who-lived is around, no one cares about the kid next to him. And then there's Hermione. She's brilliant, and I realized that once again, Ron Weasley had vanished into the bloody shadows. What you were saying just hit a little too close to home."
"Honestly, Ron, if I'd had the slightest idea that's how you felt, I wouldn't have…" her voice trailed off.
"You didn't know." Ron grinned down at her. "But did you know that you've been flying on a broom for nearly ten minutes now without freaking out?"
Avalon looked down at her lap in disbelief. She smiled back. "I guess I completely forgot that I was so far off the ground," she said. "You know, all these years I've been terrified of flying. And while I would never choose to play Quidditch or get on a broom for fun at all, I'm definitely feeling less afraid."
"Will you be trying out for the House Quidditch team, then?"
"Not a chance! I said I'm less afraid, not crazy. Actually, I think I might puke if I stay up here any longer," Avalon said. She tilted the broom down and shot off towards the ground. Ron followed closely and dismounted his own broom.
Ron started to walk towards the broom shed, turning around and walking backwards to face the girl. "If someone had told me a few months back that I would have a conversation with Avalon and not want to gouge my eyes out, I probably would have thought they were off their rocker," he said.
"Gee, thanks."
He held out his hand to her and Avalon studied it curiously. Then she shook it. Ron laughed. "I was actually just reaching for the broom. Unless you want to be the one to go into the dark, smelly broomshed?"
"Oh, right," said Avalon. She handed him the broom.
"I'll be back," Ron said. He disappeared into the broomshed. After a few moments, there was a scream and Ron ran back out, clutching both broomsticks. He was panting heavily. "I s-saw a spider!"
"You saw a spider?"
Ron nodded fearfully. With a hopeful smile, he handed Avalon the two brooms. She rolled her eyes and snatched them from him, stomping into the broomshed to put them away. "You definitely owe me one, you big baby," Avalon said. She came back out and brushed her hands together, a cloud of dust coming up.
She noticed Ron pointing at her arm. "What now?"
"There's a… a spider on your shoulder."
Avalon screamed and spun around, slapping at her arm and jumping as she tried to brush off the creature. It wasn't until she heard Ron's laughter that she realized something was amiss. She stopped swiping at the air and glared at him, propping her hands on her hips.
He shrugged. "Gotcha. Who's the big baby now?"
"Getting scared from seeing a spider is a lot different than finding out there's one crawling on you. Speaking of spiders, Weasley, I'd sleep with one eye open tonight if I were you." Avalon gave him her meanest look.
"Back to 'Weasley,' now, are we?" Ron asked. "And I'm not scared of you."
"The monster grip you have on your wand says otherwise."
Without another word, Ron turned and ran back in the direction of the house. Avalon followed, calling after him about how sweet revenge would taste and that it would come when he least expected it.
That night, as Avalon settled onto the camp bed on the floor of Ginny's room, and closed her eyes, she thought about how opposed she had been to the initial idea of spending time with the Weasleys. Avalon promised herself that when she got home, Lucy would never know how much fun she had at the Burrow. A Lucy who knew she was right about something could and would be an extremely unbearable Lucy.
A/N: Hey guys, Cristy here with a new GoA update. Second year is about to start and I'm super pumped for what's in store for Avalon and her friends. I can't remember if I've mentioned this before, but this story spans from Avalon's first year to her fourth. However, I'm just going to add a mild disclaimer, so you don't get the wrong idea from this chapter. Although Ron and Avalon might hate each other slightly less than they did in previous chapters, this story is not AvalonxRon. There will be no AvaRon. Ew, I hated typing that name actually. I have so many regrets from that single word. I don't own Harry Potter, or any characters you recognize from Harry Potter. Please leave a review, and thanks so much for reading this story and sticking with me so far!
