Monthes passed. Lacci grew on the Wealseys. The Weasleys grew on Lacci. She learned with Percy (who was more than happy to have someone so interested in what he did), played with Fred and George (who thought she was the most adorable little girl in the world), played chess and hung out with Ron (only beat him 12 out of 16 tries), did girlie things with Ginny (played in the sandbox, drew pictures, talked about Harry), experimented with Arthur and his muggle findings ("It zapped me!! The muggle thing zapped me!!), learned to bake with Molly ("the cutest little chef"), and got along tremendously well with Bill and Charlie when they visited ("Why can't we have a little sister like this?").
Lacci had also filled out a bit during the months with the Weasley family. She was well fed enough. While staying unhealthily thin and pale, she now had a bit of a shape, much like a girl of 13 years old would have. She always appeared bright and happy, and was the first up every morning, and the last to bed every night. One afternoon, in late July, a letter appeared on the doorstep of the Burrow.
"Mum! Mum! Look!" Ginny called, picking it up and rushing it inside. Harry and Fred, who were playing wizard chess on the coffee table in the living room, looked up in interest. George, who was watching the game, smiled. "What is it?" Harry asked curiously.
"It's a letter for Lacci!" She cried happily, and Lacci came bounding into the room, shaking it a little. "It's from Hogwarts! She's been accepted!"
"Oh, that's wonderful news, dearie!" Molly Weasley called from the kitchen. She strode into the living room, drying her hands on a dish towel, while Lacci was already trying to bite the wax seal off. She pried the crumpled letter gently from Lacci's little hands, and folded it open. Lacci bounced.
"Let me read it out loud! I can read!"
Molly chuckled. "Alright honey," and she handed the letter to Lacci.
Lacci had a strange way of twisting things when she reads them. She often has to add a touch of humor to them. That is why the entire room snorted with laughter as Lacci read the letter.
"Dear Lacci De Vrij,
We regret to inform you that you have been accepted to Hoggle's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and More Witchcraft.
Students shall be required to report to the Chamber of Deception upon revival, the prune for which shall be duly advised.
Please ensure that the utmost attention be made to the list of requirements attached herewidth.
We very much look forward to receiving you as a part of the new vegetation of Hoggle's heritage.
Draco Door me-ins Nun Quab Teatill Windos
Professor McDonalds."
Then there was a supplies list, which Lacci read in her head.
First year students will require:
1. Three sets of plain work robes
2. One plain pointed hat for day wear
3. One pair of dragon-hide gloves
And the following set of books:
1. 'The Standard Book of Spells' by Miranda Goshawk
2. 'A Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi' by Phyllida Spore
3. 'A History of Magic' by Bathilda Bagshot
4. 'Magical Theory' by Adalbert Waffling
5. 'A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration' by Emeric Switch
6. 'Magical Drafts and Potions' by Arsenius Jigger
7. 'Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them' by Newt Scamander
8. 'The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection' by Gwentin Trimble
All students must be equipped with:
1. One wand
2. One standard size 2 pewter cauldron
And may bring, if the desire, either an owl, a cat, or a toad.
Lucinda Thomsonicle-Pocus
Chief Attendant of Witchcraft Provisions
Lacci nodded and smiled. She was extremely happy she could read now. She had already looked through alot of these books, because the Weasleys obviously had them lying about for their own children. Then Harry brought up and interesting notion.
"She's going into first year, right? She's a 13 year old. What if no one likes her?"
There was a moment of silence. Then the room burst with laughter, Fred and George howling the loudest. George was red in the face and slapping his knee, and Fred was patting George on the back while at the same time pretending he was out of breath. "Whoo hoo... good one, Harry.."
Fred straightened up. "If no one likes her, we'll MAKE them like her!"
"We'll be her guards, and stand next to her all day and night so no one can beat up on her," George piped in.
"Just like Crabbe and Goyle to Malfoy," Ginny agreed, and they all laughed again, with the exception of Molly, who had gone back into the kitchen. Lacci sat down next to George, to watch the chess game. Ginny gave Lacci a thumbs up, and went off to help mom with the dishes.
Harry looked down at the board. He blinked. He could have sworn the peices hadn't been like that. He was about to win, last time he looked. He looked sardonically up at Fred, who looked like the sweetest angel in the heavens. It looked like he had stuffed some chessmen in his feathery wings, as well.
***
Later that afternoon, Lacci went up to Ron's room, and looked under Ron's bed. There was a small wooden bungalow. Lacci whistled, and a small head appeared at it's entrance.
"Gurger wubbin' la amm chu."
Lacci frowned. "Nah gurger wubbin, fweeb yyit-noh."
The gnome shook her head, denying that whatever Lacci had said was true. Lacci nodded. "Arsh too!" She insisted. The gnome folded her little arms and stomped her foot into Ron's carpet. Lacci gave in, reached into her pocket, and pulled out a blueberry. She handed it to the gnome, who smiled. "Danke," it said, and walked back inside it's little den.
It's probably time for a bit of explaination. Lacci adopted Grubble the Gnome as her familiar, because Lacci needed one, and Grubble's parents didn't treat her well. Lacci promised to sneak food to Grubble and give her a home all to herself. I wont translate their conversation, but I'm sure you can fathom it had something to do with the blueberry. I also wont bother explaining where the blueberry came from. I'll continue writing.
Ron climbed the staircase and pushed open his door, to see Lacci on all fours on his floor. He wasn't surprised.
"Hallo Lacci. Excited about going to Hogwarts this year?" He asked conversationally as he sat down on his bed.
Lacci scrambled to her feet, and over to the little bed Mrs. Weasley had set up for her. "I can't wait," she said. "I'll finally get to go to Hoghead's and meet all of Hayee Pohher's friends. And Herminniny too!" Lacci still wasn't very sharp on some words. Percy had given up trying to make her pronounce them.
"That's great," Ron said in a friendly tone. He and Lacci were on more friendly terms now, now that she shared Harry with him. "I'm sure Hermione will love you. Mum says we're going to get school supplies tomorrow, and Harry convinced her that you should be able to get a familiar." Noting the look of confusement on Lacci's face, he continued. "A familiar is a pet. Like a cat, or an owl. "
Lacci grinned. She already had a familiar, but she hadn't told anyone yet. She wanted it to be a surprise. "I cant wait," she said, and it was the truth. Lacci had been awaiting Diagon Alley for a long time. She wanted to see all the places, she wanted to buy things. Ginny told her about shopping all the time. It sounded like the funnest thing in the world, next to Quidditch, which Harry had explained in full detail. Lacci was so impressed when Harry told her he was the seeker for his team, and that he was the youngest seeker in a millenium. That sounded like her Harry.
***
The next day, the family and guests awoke, dressed, ate breakfast, piled into Mr. Weasley's new car, and drove off. Just as they were out of the driveway, Mrs. Weasley stopped them. "Has everyone gone to the bathroom?" There was a series of yesses and nos.
"Well, go quickly, then."
"But mum, I don't have to go!"
"I'm squashed between Fred and George, I can't get out!"
Ten minutes later, they were off again. "Everyone wearing seatbelts?" Mr. Weasley asked. There was the sound of a few clicks of people's seatbelts. "Good." Halfway down the street, Ginny started screaming. "MY MONEY, MY MONEY!!! IT'S UP IN MY ROOM!!" She dashed out of the car.
20 minutes later, they were on the highway. Fred, George, Lacci and Ginny were singing road songs, while Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were talking about money and road signs and such. Harry and Ron had struck up a fascinating debate about Quidditch teams, which I'm not going to record here. They were off.
After a few long hours, countless songs, 4 bathroom breaks and a fight in the back ("if you two dont stop fighting, I'll stop the car and go back there to settle it, and you really don't want that!"), they finally arrived. They all piled into the Leaky Cauldron, and from there into Diagon Alley. A thought struck Harry.
"Mrs. Weasley?"
"Yes dear?" Molly asked, turning around after fixing Ginny's hair.
"Why didn't we take the floo powder, as usual?" As much as Harry distrusted the stuff, it was still a wonder why they hadn't used it. Mrs. Weasley's eyes darted towards Fred and George, who smiled and waved.
"Well, two someones set fire to it with a firework, and not only ruined all of it, but ruined the pot we had been keeping it in and the mantelpiece on top of the fireplace."
"Ah," Harry said, and dropped it. That wasn't something to bring up, if they all wanted to stay in a happy mood today.
Mr. Weasley pulled the group off to the side, out of traffic. They all huddled around him, as he told them they would be splitting up today. They were to meet at Madam Malkin's in 3 hours. They were paired off; Fred and George, Percy and Ginny, Arthur and Molly , and that left Harry, Ron and Lacci. They all set off in opposite directions.
Harry, Ron and Lacci walked a little ways down the street, before Ron stopped them. "Let's check our lists, see where's closer." After some list comparing, they headed off towards Flourish and Blotts. Lacci bounced right along next to Harry, holding his hand so she wouldn't get lost in the rush of people. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, there was a warm breeze, the sky had big wavy clouds that would have made Lacci think of the beach, had she ever seen it before. Lacci patted her pocket, and it wiggled and swore. She smiled.
Harry and Ron headed towards the back of the shop, searching for their books. Lacci already had most of hers, hand-me-down presents from the Weasleys, so she decided to do a little exploring. She sat down on top of a pile of books and began rocking from side to side lazily, looking around the shop. After a while, a woman came up and told her off, so she smiled gaily and skipped out into the marketplace.
***
Fred and George, having profits from their joke shop in their pockets, made their way to the quidditch supplies store.
"Looks like they haven't got any new models yet since the firebolt," Fred said, pointing to the firebolt that remained in the window.
"Well," said George, "Lets go in and see what else they've still got." They hurried into the shop.
The room was small and homely; brooms of all different types were mounted on the walls, there were autographed posters of famous quidditch teams all over the walls, quidditch robes of many colors on racks, balls and bats along the far end wall, and a little checkout counter right next to the door. The woman behind the counter leaned over and said, "Can I help you two boys?"
She was tall and muscular, her scrubby blonde hair was back in a ponytail. Her face was neither hideous nor beautiful. She was wearing bright red robes, and they had the name "Marilyn Purplux" stitched into the front.
"Nah," Fred said, watching the Quiberon Quafflepunchers in their pink robes, scoring a winning throw in their poster. They flew to the ground and congratulated each other, while the stands behind them were jumping and swinging their arms in the air. "We're just browsing, for now."
Ms. Purplux gave them a look but went back to her work behind the counter.
George burst out of a changing room, wearing bright yellow robes and a Quodpot helmet (a/n: I cant remember the sport where you fly around with a bucket on your head and catch falling rocks, so I have to use the word Quodpot. I know Qodpot has to do with an exploding ball, but this is the best I can do. Tell me the name of the sport, and I'll add it.). "Taadaa," he sang, and struck a pose. Fred started laughing, George laughing with him. "How fitting!" He cried happily, as George spun around, making the robes billow gracefully around him. They went to the back of the shop, without George changing his clothing, and examined the beater's bats.
"Maybe we should both get two, they it'd be like Gryffindor having four beaters!" Fred held up two bats in a kung fu position. He pretended to beat the crap out of someone with them. "HOI!! HWAH!! HAAAIII-AH! FOOOO SHOOO!! Take--dat--yoo--slymee--Slytherin--"
"Well, we've got the money, why not get another bat each anyway? We both need it, our bats are old and worn. After this we can go get our school things, like mummy told us." George was removing the yellow robes (he had his own clothing underneath them), and they had gotten caught on his helmet. He looked like an arabian prince, or as though he had just gotten out of the shower. Fred pulled the helmet and robes off him, put them back where they belonged, and they both went to the front coutner with their new bats.
"5 galleons," Purplux said. The twins reached into their pockets to pull out their money... but it was gone.
Lacci had also filled out a bit during the months with the Weasley family. She was well fed enough. While staying unhealthily thin and pale, she now had a bit of a shape, much like a girl of 13 years old would have. She always appeared bright and happy, and was the first up every morning, and the last to bed every night. One afternoon, in late July, a letter appeared on the doorstep of the Burrow.
"Mum! Mum! Look!" Ginny called, picking it up and rushing it inside. Harry and Fred, who were playing wizard chess on the coffee table in the living room, looked up in interest. George, who was watching the game, smiled. "What is it?" Harry asked curiously.
"It's a letter for Lacci!" She cried happily, and Lacci came bounding into the room, shaking it a little. "It's from Hogwarts! She's been accepted!"
"Oh, that's wonderful news, dearie!" Molly Weasley called from the kitchen. She strode into the living room, drying her hands on a dish towel, while Lacci was already trying to bite the wax seal off. She pried the crumpled letter gently from Lacci's little hands, and folded it open. Lacci bounced.
"Let me read it out loud! I can read!"
Molly chuckled. "Alright honey," and she handed the letter to Lacci.
Lacci had a strange way of twisting things when she reads them. She often has to add a touch of humor to them. That is why the entire room snorted with laughter as Lacci read the letter.
"Dear Lacci De Vrij,
We regret to inform you that you have been accepted to Hoggle's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and More Witchcraft.
Students shall be required to report to the Chamber of Deception upon revival, the prune for which shall be duly advised.
Please ensure that the utmost attention be made to the list of requirements attached herewidth.
We very much look forward to receiving you as a part of the new vegetation of Hoggle's heritage.
Draco Door me-ins Nun Quab Teatill Windos
Professor McDonalds."
Then there was a supplies list, which Lacci read in her head.
First year students will require:
1. Three sets of plain work robes
2. One plain pointed hat for day wear
3. One pair of dragon-hide gloves
And the following set of books:
1. 'The Standard Book of Spells' by Miranda Goshawk
2. 'A Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi' by Phyllida Spore
3. 'A History of Magic' by Bathilda Bagshot
4. 'Magical Theory' by Adalbert Waffling
5. 'A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration' by Emeric Switch
6. 'Magical Drafts and Potions' by Arsenius Jigger
7. 'Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them' by Newt Scamander
8. 'The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection' by Gwentin Trimble
All students must be equipped with:
1. One wand
2. One standard size 2 pewter cauldron
And may bring, if the desire, either an owl, a cat, or a toad.
Lucinda Thomsonicle-Pocus
Chief Attendant of Witchcraft Provisions
Lacci nodded and smiled. She was extremely happy she could read now. She had already looked through alot of these books, because the Weasleys obviously had them lying about for their own children. Then Harry brought up and interesting notion.
"She's going into first year, right? She's a 13 year old. What if no one likes her?"
There was a moment of silence. Then the room burst with laughter, Fred and George howling the loudest. George was red in the face and slapping his knee, and Fred was patting George on the back while at the same time pretending he was out of breath. "Whoo hoo... good one, Harry.."
Fred straightened up. "If no one likes her, we'll MAKE them like her!"
"We'll be her guards, and stand next to her all day and night so no one can beat up on her," George piped in.
"Just like Crabbe and Goyle to Malfoy," Ginny agreed, and they all laughed again, with the exception of Molly, who had gone back into the kitchen. Lacci sat down next to George, to watch the chess game. Ginny gave Lacci a thumbs up, and went off to help mom with the dishes.
Harry looked down at the board. He blinked. He could have sworn the peices hadn't been like that. He was about to win, last time he looked. He looked sardonically up at Fred, who looked like the sweetest angel in the heavens. It looked like he had stuffed some chessmen in his feathery wings, as well.
***
Later that afternoon, Lacci went up to Ron's room, and looked under Ron's bed. There was a small wooden bungalow. Lacci whistled, and a small head appeared at it's entrance.
"Gurger wubbin' la amm chu."
Lacci frowned. "Nah gurger wubbin, fweeb yyit-noh."
The gnome shook her head, denying that whatever Lacci had said was true. Lacci nodded. "Arsh too!" She insisted. The gnome folded her little arms and stomped her foot into Ron's carpet. Lacci gave in, reached into her pocket, and pulled out a blueberry. She handed it to the gnome, who smiled. "Danke," it said, and walked back inside it's little den.
It's probably time for a bit of explaination. Lacci adopted Grubble the Gnome as her familiar, because Lacci needed one, and Grubble's parents didn't treat her well. Lacci promised to sneak food to Grubble and give her a home all to herself. I wont translate their conversation, but I'm sure you can fathom it had something to do with the blueberry. I also wont bother explaining where the blueberry came from. I'll continue writing.
Ron climbed the staircase and pushed open his door, to see Lacci on all fours on his floor. He wasn't surprised.
"Hallo Lacci. Excited about going to Hogwarts this year?" He asked conversationally as he sat down on his bed.
Lacci scrambled to her feet, and over to the little bed Mrs. Weasley had set up for her. "I can't wait," she said. "I'll finally get to go to Hoghead's and meet all of Hayee Pohher's friends. And Herminniny too!" Lacci still wasn't very sharp on some words. Percy had given up trying to make her pronounce them.
"That's great," Ron said in a friendly tone. He and Lacci were on more friendly terms now, now that she shared Harry with him. "I'm sure Hermione will love you. Mum says we're going to get school supplies tomorrow, and Harry convinced her that you should be able to get a familiar." Noting the look of confusement on Lacci's face, he continued. "A familiar is a pet. Like a cat, or an owl. "
Lacci grinned. She already had a familiar, but she hadn't told anyone yet. She wanted it to be a surprise. "I cant wait," she said, and it was the truth. Lacci had been awaiting Diagon Alley for a long time. She wanted to see all the places, she wanted to buy things. Ginny told her about shopping all the time. It sounded like the funnest thing in the world, next to Quidditch, which Harry had explained in full detail. Lacci was so impressed when Harry told her he was the seeker for his team, and that he was the youngest seeker in a millenium. That sounded like her Harry.
***
The next day, the family and guests awoke, dressed, ate breakfast, piled into Mr. Weasley's new car, and drove off. Just as they were out of the driveway, Mrs. Weasley stopped them. "Has everyone gone to the bathroom?" There was a series of yesses and nos.
"Well, go quickly, then."
"But mum, I don't have to go!"
"I'm squashed between Fred and George, I can't get out!"
Ten minutes later, they were off again. "Everyone wearing seatbelts?" Mr. Weasley asked. There was the sound of a few clicks of people's seatbelts. "Good." Halfway down the street, Ginny started screaming. "MY MONEY, MY MONEY!!! IT'S UP IN MY ROOM!!" She dashed out of the car.
20 minutes later, they were on the highway. Fred, George, Lacci and Ginny were singing road songs, while Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were talking about money and road signs and such. Harry and Ron had struck up a fascinating debate about Quidditch teams, which I'm not going to record here. They were off.
After a few long hours, countless songs, 4 bathroom breaks and a fight in the back ("if you two dont stop fighting, I'll stop the car and go back there to settle it, and you really don't want that!"), they finally arrived. They all piled into the Leaky Cauldron, and from there into Diagon Alley. A thought struck Harry.
"Mrs. Weasley?"
"Yes dear?" Molly asked, turning around after fixing Ginny's hair.
"Why didn't we take the floo powder, as usual?" As much as Harry distrusted the stuff, it was still a wonder why they hadn't used it. Mrs. Weasley's eyes darted towards Fred and George, who smiled and waved.
"Well, two someones set fire to it with a firework, and not only ruined all of it, but ruined the pot we had been keeping it in and the mantelpiece on top of the fireplace."
"Ah," Harry said, and dropped it. That wasn't something to bring up, if they all wanted to stay in a happy mood today.
Mr. Weasley pulled the group off to the side, out of traffic. They all huddled around him, as he told them they would be splitting up today. They were to meet at Madam Malkin's in 3 hours. They were paired off; Fred and George, Percy and Ginny, Arthur and Molly , and that left Harry, Ron and Lacci. They all set off in opposite directions.
Harry, Ron and Lacci walked a little ways down the street, before Ron stopped them. "Let's check our lists, see where's closer." After some list comparing, they headed off towards Flourish and Blotts. Lacci bounced right along next to Harry, holding his hand so she wouldn't get lost in the rush of people. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, there was a warm breeze, the sky had big wavy clouds that would have made Lacci think of the beach, had she ever seen it before. Lacci patted her pocket, and it wiggled and swore. She smiled.
Harry and Ron headed towards the back of the shop, searching for their books. Lacci already had most of hers, hand-me-down presents from the Weasleys, so she decided to do a little exploring. She sat down on top of a pile of books and began rocking from side to side lazily, looking around the shop. After a while, a woman came up and told her off, so she smiled gaily and skipped out into the marketplace.
***
Fred and George, having profits from their joke shop in their pockets, made their way to the quidditch supplies store.
"Looks like they haven't got any new models yet since the firebolt," Fred said, pointing to the firebolt that remained in the window.
"Well," said George, "Lets go in and see what else they've still got." They hurried into the shop.
The room was small and homely; brooms of all different types were mounted on the walls, there were autographed posters of famous quidditch teams all over the walls, quidditch robes of many colors on racks, balls and bats along the far end wall, and a little checkout counter right next to the door. The woman behind the counter leaned over and said, "Can I help you two boys?"
She was tall and muscular, her scrubby blonde hair was back in a ponytail. Her face was neither hideous nor beautiful. She was wearing bright red robes, and they had the name "Marilyn Purplux" stitched into the front.
"Nah," Fred said, watching the Quiberon Quafflepunchers in their pink robes, scoring a winning throw in their poster. They flew to the ground and congratulated each other, while the stands behind them were jumping and swinging their arms in the air. "We're just browsing, for now."
Ms. Purplux gave them a look but went back to her work behind the counter.
George burst out of a changing room, wearing bright yellow robes and a Quodpot helmet (a/n: I cant remember the sport where you fly around with a bucket on your head and catch falling rocks, so I have to use the word Quodpot. I know Qodpot has to do with an exploding ball, but this is the best I can do. Tell me the name of the sport, and I'll add it.). "Taadaa," he sang, and struck a pose. Fred started laughing, George laughing with him. "How fitting!" He cried happily, as George spun around, making the robes billow gracefully around him. They went to the back of the shop, without George changing his clothing, and examined the beater's bats.
"Maybe we should both get two, they it'd be like Gryffindor having four beaters!" Fred held up two bats in a kung fu position. He pretended to beat the crap out of someone with them. "HOI!! HWAH!! HAAAIII-AH! FOOOO SHOOO!! Take--dat--yoo--slymee--Slytherin--"
"Well, we've got the money, why not get another bat each anyway? We both need it, our bats are old and worn. After this we can go get our school things, like mummy told us." George was removing the yellow robes (he had his own clothing underneath them), and they had gotten caught on his helmet. He looked like an arabian prince, or as though he had just gotten out of the shower. Fred pulled the helmet and robes off him, put them back where they belonged, and they both went to the front coutner with their new bats.
"5 galleons," Purplux said. The twins reached into their pockets to pull out their money... but it was gone.