The Amazing Thing About: Growth. Chapter six.
Tension in the house was at an all time high the day that Harry was supposed to arrive. While Eliza went about cleaning she'd catch snippets of conversation between some of the order members but when they noticed her they'd move off. They all seemed on edge and Mad-eye barked at everyone who even thought the word 'fun'.
Fred and George, however, were more than happy to show him that there was no stopping them and Eliza thought they were going to end up cursed or hexed before lunch with the way they were carrying on. Eliza kept to herself for the most part, busying herself with chores and staying out of trouble. Her parents were supposed to arrive within the week for a visit and she didn't want them to hear that she'd gotten herself into trouble. They were starting to see the true natures of Fred and George with each visit but so far they hadn't said anything. She wanted it to stay that way.
Ron and Hermione were anxious that night and Eliza tried to distract them with various games. It didn't quite work and so she set up in the sitting room with a book and let the time tick by. When Harry arrived it was a mix of happiness and anger. While Harry was glad to see his friends after such a long stretch without them it had obviously not been easy on him. When he'd seen Eliza his expression flickered from surprised, to angry, to nervous, and then back to angry before he'd disappeared upstairs with his friends.
Fred and George joined her while she read and at Harry's reaction they both frowned and shared a look. When yelling started Fred muttered something about checking it out and they both popped out of the room. They were gone for some time but after a scream of surprise things got quieter upstairs. Eliza stayed put knowing there was a very important meeting taking place. She wouldn't be moving her butt from the couch until given permission to do so.
When Mrs. Weasley emerged from the room she stopped in to tell Eliza that dinner was ready. Her stomach grumbled at the mention of food but she didn't move until she heard the woman's footsteps on the stairs. She set her book to the side and lifted her sleeve to see her charm a bright orange. So she focused on happy thoughts until it changed to blue
Moving towards the hall Eliza stopped as she saw some of the order gathered. They were speaking in low tones so she couldn't hear anything but at that moment she didn't much care to. The sight of Snape made her shuffle back into the sitting room a bit until their footsteps moved off. Seeing the man hadn't been the highlight of her summer break and he'd caught her messing around with her kit once. That had been a long awkward affair as he said something about how her draught of peace was sub-par at best. But he did look a little less sour when he muttered that at least she was putting her time to good use. Either way she wasn't keen on seeing him again until she was stuck in his classroom.
Once she was sure they were gone Eliza slipped from the room and into the kitchen. From the front of the house it sounded like someone disturbed the screaming portrait and Eliza shuddered. That was just another thing that creeped her out about the place. While Kreacher kept his distance there were still movements in the walls and the place felt alive. Add the portrait to the mix and it was a house of horrors. The cleaning they'd been doing was making it a bit less so but it had a lot of work to be done. There was no shortage of nooks and crannies where all sorts of things had taken up residence over the years.
When Harry entered he seemed to be calm and Eliza offered him a small smile as he took a seat next to her. "Sorry." He muttered and Eliza waved off his apology.
"Nothing to be sorry for. This summer has been..." She trailed off unable to find the proper description. While she wasn't wallowing in misery it still wasn't her favorite break. "I'm just sorry you couldn't be here sooner. Your friends really missed you." She said. He looked like he wanted to say something but Mr. Weasley was greeting him and soon he was being introduced to those around the table. Eliza fell quiet as George slipped into the chair on her other side, Fred next to him.
"That was a mess." George muttered to her and she looked his way but bit her tongue. She occupied herself with petting Crookshanks who was going around the table greeting some of them. The cat hadn't taken a liking to her much but Eliza managed to get it to let her pet it from time to time. Maybe it was because she smelled of Rikki that the cat didn't like. Crookshanks and Rikki appeared to have an understanding that they wouldn't go near one another.
There was an ease to everyone's demeanor now that Harry had joined them. The stress of the day seemed long forgotten as they ate and they fell into the usual banter. It almost felt like everything was normal though there was so much going on outside of the walls of the residence. There was also something different to Harry. He seemed more mature but how could last year not have caused something like that? Facing down what he had changes were to be expected.
Some things, however, would never change.
Eliza was just trying to eat dinner when the topic got onto how she would be learning to apparate that year. Hermione said something along the lines of how she hoped Eliza would use it as it was intended and they went back and forth about how the twins were abusing it. Mrs. Weasley joined in nagging about how the twins had been using magic for every little thing. Eliza was grateful that she'd been left out of it as she'd been doing much the same just for different purposes.
"It's almost like living with the world's most annoying ghosts." Eliza chuckled with a nudge to Harry before raising her voice a bit. They were already listening but she wanted to make a point of it. "They put peeves to shame."
Harry was smiling and she felt proud for causing it but the comment wasn't to go sliding by. With a huff of annoyance Fred tossed a piece of bread at her. It bounced off her cheek and landed on her plate. Mrs Weasley snapped at him as Eliza looked down at the bit of food weighing the pros and cons of playing that game. George was laughing along with some of the others as she was debating. There was something about that action that seemed to break any tension in the room and Eliza raised her gaze until they were both staring each other down as if daring the other to jump first.
Eliza slipped her wand out under the table and, with a flick, sent his plate into his lap in retaliation. Fred jumped up with a shout and Harry chuckled. "Here we go." He said and his godfather raised his eyebrows from the end of the table. It wasn't like he hadn't seen them get into small tiffs. Their playfighting had been relatively tame thus far and Fred kept his goading to a minimum as if worried it might set her off. It looked like that phase was now over.
Tonks winked at Eliza and she smiled but played innocent. "Fred you've got to be more careful." she said and his eyes narrowed. There was no mistaking the look in his eyes as he clenched his fists and his mouth twisted into a cat-like grin. The game was afoot.
"Oh, you're gonna get it." He muttered. George leaned back and was making a bet with Harry on how it was going to play out. Eliza didn't take her eyes off of Fred as Sirius asked if it was normal for them to look at each other like they wanted to kill one another. Ginny cackled.
"Fred clean yourself up." Mrs. Weasley said obviously already fed up with the way they were acting. But Fred wasn't listening and instead he pushed his chair back and Eliza leaped out of her seat when he started her way. One step forward was all it took to have her running around to the other side of the table. Mr. Weasley sounded frustrated as he told them to stop.
Fred chased her around the table and Mrs. Weasley snapped. "Will you two cut it out!" she huffed but there was no bite to her tone as Eliza darted past her laughing in victory. "Not in here! And stay away from the portrait!" She said as Eliza faked Fred out and made a break for the door to do as Mrs. Weasley asked.
"Try not to break anything." Lupin called after them as Fred chased her from the kitchen.
"Gotta be quicker than that!" She was trying to keep it down as she went. She knew the lay of the place pretty well now but there weren't a ton of places to run. She avoided the sitting room off to the right so she went left and up the stairs.
"Oh, you're gonna be sorry!" Fred was right on her tail and she tried to take the stairs as quickly as she could and broke off to the right. It was an area of the house she hadn't been in before and she looked for a place to hide but it was a dead end. "crap." She turned to see Fred smirking and she tried the door next to her. locked. She groaned. That was short-lived.
"Nowhere to run." Fred said looking smug.
Eliza weighed her options and then shrugged. "Nowhere but through."
"huh?"
She extended her hand, closed it in a fist, and pulled it towards her. He glanced down just as the rug was yanked from beneath his feet. She ran past him and his face registered surprise from where he was sprawled on the ground. Eliza passed him trying to plan out where to go next but at the last moment, he turned and had her by the ankle. He yanked and she just barely managed to put her hands in front of her to break her fall. "ow." she grumbled and looked to her side where Fred was glaring at her. That had her scrambling back down the stairs. She could hear laughter as she whipped herself around the Bannister and nearly hit the wall.
"Stand your ground, Iz. I've got money on this." George said from down the hall and she spared him a scowl before Fred's thundering footsteps made her take off again.
She figured the sitting room at least had the couch so she could fake him out there and try to use the time it spared her to find a room and lock herself in. If not then it was big enough for her to stand her ground as George said. She turned to check how close he was only to have her knees swept out from under her. She screamed as Fred picked her up and threw her on the couch and dug his fingers into her ribs.
"No no no!" She slapped at his hands.
"Give up!"
"No!" she grunted and kicked out at him.
"Easy!" He laughed and knocked her foot aside. He stopped tickling her and sat on her like she was just part of the couch. He had that self-satisfied smirk on his face and he made himself comfortable, acting as if he didn't even notice her trying to shove him off. She considered using magic but that was risky when she was keyed up. There was no telling if she'd accidentally hurt him so she stuck to beating at him and pushing.
"Get off me, you ass!" she shoved at him but he just laughed.
"I will if you do my laundry."
"Over my dead body."
"laundry." He repeated as George watched from the entrance, arms crossed and looking disappointed.
Eliza groaned and threw her hands into the air. "Fine!" There was no way she'd actually do his laundry but she'd say anything to get him off her. She was tapping out.
"By hand." Fred said glancing down at her. He was enjoying himself far too much. She'd already admitted defeat but he just wasn't ready to give it up.
"Ugggghhhh!" Eliza was fed up and she channeled her magic trying to maintain control as she finally let go and was prepared to push him. He seemed to pick up on what was about to happen and he jumped up and laughed as he jogged over to his brother. Eliza didn't give chase as Sirius finally yelled from the kitchen for them to cut it out.
George frowned as he handed a few sickles to Fred who was gloating as he passed. Eliza sat up and glared after him. George gave her a look when she got up and decided to help Mrs. Weasley with cleaning as an apology for the way they'd been acting. "I'm just rusty." She said and he cracked a smile.
"You'll get him next time, champ." George said, hands on her shoulders as he followed. "But if you tap out again it better be from lack of air." He joked jostling her a bit.
She shook him off and turned before poking him in the forehead. "I'll pass out before tapping again."
"Good. I'm not fond of losing money."
Returning to the kitchen things were definitely tense. It appeared there was a stare-down happening between Sirius and Mrs. Weasley while others looked on. Fred was looking rather annoyed, all playfulness gone back in his seat and Eliza stood awkwardly as George rejoined the table. There was an argument between the adults about what should and shouldn't be told to Harry who was adamant that he deserved to know what was going on. When it was conceded that Harry would be let in on some things the twins, Ron, and even Ginny stated they wanted to know as well.
When Ginny was ordered to bed Mrs. Weasley focused her gaze on Eliza but she put her hands up as if to say 'I don't want to cause a fuss.' and led Ginny from the room. The girl wasn't happy and grumbled the whole way upstairs. "You're crazy if you think Fred and George won't tell us what's going on." She assured her but she wasn't so sure. If the conversation was about Voldemort it would obviously be very tense.
There was still friction in the air the next morning during breakfast until they were back to cleaning and getting rid of the odd creatures that lurked in the home. Eliza kept her focus on the tasks while Harry talked quietly to the twins. She did keep an eye out for their mom as they told Harry that they'd been putting advertisements for their joke shop in the daily prophet. They'd been keeping things tightly under wraps and there was no talking to them about it without making sure the coast was clear. She did flick George in the elbow to let him know their mom was coming their way and they broke apart.
It seemed that Mrs. Weasley was working them all endlessly for the next few days. It was as if she was working out her anxiety by assigning more chores and Eliza did as she was told. Fred and George teased her saying she might as well have been on puppet strings. Eliza ignored them and tunneled all of her anxiety concerning the upcoming school year into her cleaning. Harry's hearing was a point of worry for her as well but when they spend a bit of time together she did her best not to bring it up.
It was during Harry's hearing that her parents stopped by to check on her. It was fairly early in the morning and Eliza hadn't slept very well. They'd greeted her with their usual hugs and kisses but there was something off about them. Dumbledore said they would have information for her and it made Eliza worry that they were postponing it. They had her sit and wait for them as they slipped off to talk with the other adults in the house.
"Psst!"
Eliza turned to see the twins poking their heads into the room with questioning looks. Eliza shrugged and motioned to the kitchen. They looked that way and it wasn't long before the two gave her a thumbs up and ducked off. Her mom and dad looked very serious as they entered and sat with her on the couch. Eliza didn't like the way her mom took her hand and said that they had something important to tell her. It felt like she was trying to soften the blow of whatever was coming.
It was nauseating the way her mom and dad both looked as if they didn't know how to start. "You're making me paranoid." Eliza said as her breakfast churned in her gut. It made her mom rush to reassure her and she started saying that it had to do with her school year. That they knew Dumbledore told her that she would have someone with her that year. Eliza nodded along wanting them to get to the point.
"He wanted to tell you himself but it was best to wait." Her father said leaving Eliza looking back and forth between them.
"Who wanted to tell me what?" She asked. She hated the long pauses and the way they were acting. What could have them acting so strange? It wasn't like them. They hadn't been worried about putting things to her straight thus far with sticking her there.
Her mom took a deep breath. "Luke is going to be attending Hogwarts with you this year." She said and locked her eyes on her daughter's face for her reaction.
The world stopped and Eliza blinked a few times as her words took their sweet time processing. "What?" She couldn't stop the sudden laugh that bubbled up out of her. Were they joking? Luke? At Hogwarts? What strange dimension had she just wandered into?
Her dad was quick to explain. "With what happened to Alicia it's safer to have you two together. Tabitha will be coming to stay with us as well." He said. That sort of made sense but Eliza was still having trouble with the part where Luke was supposed to be keeping an eye out for her.
Eliza raised her hands to pump the breaks on the subject. "So Luke is the person who volunteered to watch me this year?" Eliza needed clarification just to make sure she wasn't misunderstanding.
Her father nodded. "He's been working really hard. We were worried he was too young but he surprised us." He said looking to his wife, uncertain about the way Eliza was taking the news.
Eliza rubbed at her temples, her lack of sleep and the news gave her a bit of a headache. "I don't need Luke watching over me." She said. If he was coming to Hogwarts just as a student that would have been fine but she didn't need a bodyguard. Especially not Luke. How many years had she had to protect him and hold him when he cried? He was a giant softie. While it would make her feel better having him close she worried she'd just end up falling back into the role of the protective older sister. Her temper was pretty easily triggered when it came to Luke. It could cause some issues and she already wasn't popular. With rumors about Victor's death being her doing she knew the year was going to be rough right out of the gate.
"It's for our own peace of mind, sweetheart." Her mom brushed her hair out of her face as Eliza lifted her gaze to hers again.
"I'm not some little lamb all alone in the field. I have friends-" Eliza wanted to stress to her parents that she wasn't worried about herself in the scenario but her mom cut her off.
"Yes. You do." Her mom's eyes glanced to the hall and Eliza wondered if the twins were eavesdropping. They'd done it so much this summer that she couldn't expect anything less. "Those two.." Her mom sighed but didn't say anything further.
Instead her father took her hand. "Luke really wants to do this. Please don't make this difficult. He's had a really hard time with all this. You both have." His voice was soft and he sounded pleading. "It's better this way." He insisted. It caused Eliza to deflate. It wasn't that she wasn't happy to be reunited with Luke it just felt like she was being set up.
"No point in arguing." Eliza said. "But I'm warning you if someone makes him cry I'm fighting." She said looking between them.
Her mother let out a small laugh and she kissed Eliza on the forehead. "I trust we won't have to worry about that."
Eliza didn't know how to feel about the news. The moment her parents left saying they needed to get to the ministry the twins hadn't spared a moment to rapid-fire questions. They'd heard some of it and she tried to answer the best she could. It just didn't feel real. She felt grateful when Harry returned from his hearing giving her something else to focus on.
It was a few days before Luke was brought up again. She'd been hanging out with Harry, Ron, and Hermione while they discussed the upcoming school year. Harry was looking forward to being back yet Eliza could tell it was tainted by a twinge of sadness. Between the death of Cedric and the way Sirius had been hopeful that his godson could stay with him there was definitely a sadness to the conversation looming in the background.
She'd decided to take Ron up on a game of chess but he was thoroughly wiping the board with her when Hermione asked her about Luke. Eliza shrugged not knowing what all there was to say about him. They'd been curious as to what he was like considering they hadn't had a lot of time to get to know him when they'd last met. They'd looked doubtful when she explained how often she'd had to hold his hand over the years.
"With the size of him? I hardly think he needs anyone protecting him." Ron was saying as he moved one of his pawns. They'd just started a new game and Eliza was really trying to put some effort in.
She let her fingers hover over one of her own pawns trying to think ahead. "He wasn't always that size. Don't let it fool you. I used to get into fights all the time when we were kids because people would make fun of him."
"Now that I believe." Hermione laughed. She sat off to the side occasionally glancing over at their game.
Harry had his broom in his lap and was polishing it. He was probably very eager to get back on the quidditch field. "I can't see you being much of a fighter." He said. His hand paused, and he looked off at the wall as if trying to picture it. He shook his head and went back to what he was doing.
Not anymore she wasn't. That had been when they were really little. Eliza recalled a time an older kid had pushed Luke off of a swing and she'd ended up with a black eye and a bloody nose over it. "We were really young. Not even in school yet."
Hermione was looking at Ron with a furrowed brow. "What are you talking about? She takes Fred on all the time."
"Fred lets her win." Ron shot back as he moved his rook. "Those two take it easy on her and Ginny. Fred broke my arm once, you know."
Eliza faked offense as she eyed the rook and moved another pawn.
Two loud cracks made Ron jump and he knocked the chessboard over as George laughed. "I'll break the other one if you don't put a sock in it." Fred had his arm around Ron and was digging his knuckles into the top of his head while Ron struggled.
"Does that make it a tie?" Eliza asked gesturing to the chess board, the pieces scattered all over the floor. When Fred let his brother go Ron set the board back up and they started over while the twins watched, teasing that Eliza couldn't win if Ron was blindfolded. They might have been right.
"Aren't you happy? He's your best friend isn't he?" Harry asked back on the topic of Luke.
Eliza glanced his way as she tried to figure out which piece she should move next. Ron looked like he had his next three planned out and she felt severely outmatched. "Of course I'm happy. I'm just worried." She said as she picked up her knight and moved it.
"What else is new?" Ron muttered as he took her knight and she tried to figure out how he'd just done it.
"Connor has gotten onto school grounds twice now. I don't want Luke in harm's way." Eliza muttered and she could swear she saw George wince a bit at the sound of Connor's name. They'd always been a bit iffy on saying it but to Eliza it was becoming the same as saying Voldemort's name. If she was afraid of a name how would she ever overcome him as an obstacle? She couldn't beat him if she was afraid.
"It's better than him being in America while that creep is out there trying to pick your friends off one by one." Ron said.
There was a sharp swat to the back of his head and Hermione lifted her hand threatening to do it again until Ron apologized. "A bit indelicate. But he's right." The girl said giving her an apologetic look.
"I know. I just want to keep him safe."
There was a back and forth after that about how their roles were supposed to be reversed but Eliza wouldn't hear any of it and when Ron had her in check she told them all goodnight. If Mrs. Weasley was keeping to their cleaning schedule they'd all be up and back to work so she told them to get some rest as she left the room.