A/n: sorry so long between chapters. Very busy. Enjoy.
They stepped inside the house, and were greeted immediately by the warm scent of
baking bread.
"Mhmm," Harry murmured, "smells good." He looked around the mismatched
Weasley house. Magazines were still heaped through out the rooms, a warm sense
of family could felt everywhere, and someone, presumably Mrs Weasley, was baking
cookies. Harry sighed happily. Almost everything was as he remembered.
Draco was thinking along somewhat different lines than Harry when Ginny first
led them into the house. He had only been here once before, and that was during
the blur of preparations that led to Ron and Hermione's wedding, he really had
no memories to compare with.
It was quite an eccentric place, as far he could see. They were standing inside
the living room, facing a long, worn couch, upon which sat-
"Bill! Look who showed up!" The oldest Weasley glanced up from the
cross-spell puzzle he was doing. He saw Harry first, and grinned hugely.
"Harry!" he said, enveloping his young friend in a hug. "What are you
doing here?"
"Business," Harry replied, trying to look serious, but this odd expression
did not suit him at all, and Bill laughed.
Ginny coughed pointedly, and when the two men looked at her, she said,
"Shouldn't someone tell Mum about the two intruders in out house?"
"Two?" Bill looked, finally at Draco, and that million-watt smile lit on
gain. "Draco? Don't tell me you two are still together!" He moved toward
Draco and shook his hand warmly, glancing at Ginny. "I'll get Mum."
"Would you like to sit down?" Ginny asked, gesturing to the now vacated
couch.
"'Course," Harry said, plopping down in the middle and immediately slouched
down comfortably, his long legs stretched out in front of him. Draco came to sit
next to him, a bit more reserved, but still pretty much at ease.
They had barely begun to chat when Bill led Mrs Weasley, cooking mitts on her
hands, into the room, his hands over her eyes. "This really is silly, dear,"
she said, "what could possibly-"
Her eyes widened in shock the instant Bill took his hands away from her eyes.
"Harry!" she exclaimed. She pulled him from the couch and gave him his third
Weasley hug of the day. She let go and held him at arm's length. "Let me look
at you, child." She did the quick body assessment test that only mothers can
do, and announced, "You cannot possibly be eating enough, Harry. Look how slim
you are!"
Harry grinned. "Really, Mrs Weasley, I honestly do eat quite a bit. Ask
Draco."
At this, Mrs Weasley's eyes roved over to the couch, where Draco serenely.
"Dear, and how are you?"
He stood up, also, and grinned. She let go of Harry, and moved to hug Draco
also. "My, my, boys, what do you eat in the States? Nothing? You are much too
skinny, my boy. But don't worry; I have faith that some decent food will get
some meat on your bones! Come into the kitchen, boys, we'll have a little feast
tonight. Everyone but Charlie should be here¦" she smiled once more at her
two favorite non-Weasley males, and hurried to the kitchen.
Harry, Draco, Ginny, and Bill began making their way into the kitchen.
"Where's Charlie?" Draco asked curiously. Ginny giggled.
"We
don't really know. It's odd, isn't it? But we haven't seen him for a while now.
He writes though, and he recently told us he has a new girlfriend. He'll stop
by, though, if we tell him you're here."
"How long are you staying, by the way?" Bill asked, as Harry reached to open
the door into the dining room. He started to respond, but just then Bill slapped
himself on the forehead. "Lizzie. Stupid me. I'll be right back."
"Who's Lizzie?" Harry asked.
"My little sister."
Draco stared. "But I thought--"
Just then, Bill came back into the room, a young child in his arms. They all
stepped through the doorway, Harry and Draco looking curiously at the little
girl.
She had silky black hair pulled back into pigtails; deep blue eyes, and she kept
yawning sleepily.
"That can't possibly be a Weasley," Draco said in disbelief.
"In everything but blood," Mrs Weasley responded from behind the counter.
"Mum got sentimental last fall when she realized she had no children to escort
to the Hogwarts Express anymore. So we got Lizzie," Ginny explained to Harry
and Draco.
"That's the condensed, Ginny-version of it," Mrs Weasley said, smiling.
"But yes, that's basically what happened. Fred and George dote on her. To
much, I should--"
There was a sudden banging in the direction of the front porch, and two loud
male voices could be heard distinctly, shouting to some third party.
"Ah." Mrs Weasley glanced at Harry and Draco. "Here are the twins."
