~*Midsummer's Night*~

Chapter 6: Family is Great

Author: Chibi Ron Weasley

Rating: PG-13 for some cursing and gay stuff.

Memorandum: Hmmm, do we see any hints of slash yet? Hmmm...yes, just hints, but it will get better. The Weasley family gets the spotlight with this chapter yet again, so you can look forward to plenty of Fred and George. Oh gods....12 days until Chamber of Secrets comes out.....83 days till Order of the Phoenix...urm, anyway, I have finished my term paper ( ooh a whole 9 pages of pure crapola...) and am able to write fanfiction again! *clap* Anyway, urr.. Harry finally shows up in this chapter, Dobby, and my fang earringed hottie *drool*, and of course I have to stick in the random hot guy too, whom will play a part later on....so there is a new random hot guy in here also. Enjoy!

*****I plan on updating and putting up Chapter 7 on 4/6/03*****

P.S. Lets make it simple and just say that I dont own any Hp characters. ***********************************************************************

~*Family is Great*~

By about 5 O'Clock in the afternoon, Fred and George had to put away their plans for a toilet seat that emitted flatulant noises when you sat on it, and agreed to drag the spare bed to Ron's room. Fred, on the headboard side, kicked the door open. Ron was hanging over his bed, snoring loudly, a dust brush dangling loosely from his limp hand.

The twins faces cracked into identical evil grins. They carted the bed in and dropped it on the now cleaned floor next to Ron's.

"Hey there, old chap!" George piped cheerily, and kicked Ron in the bum. He toppled over the bed and landed face first in the dust pan.

"'Atta boy, Ron! Look how excited he is about dusting, diving face first into his task! Bravo!"

Ron lifted his head and caughed out a dust bunny, and mumbled something in what seemed to be an indistinguishable language.

Fred and George walked out the door. "You think he's good on his own now?"

Fred turned his head and looked back into the room. Ron had stood up, rubbing his head ruefully. He then glanced at the clock that read '5:10'.

"Shit!" He turned, starting to sprint, and crashed disoriented into the wall.

"Yeah, he'll be fine," George muttered. The twins turned and walked off to the kitchen, where the delicious aromas of dinner met their noses.

Mrs. Weasley and Ginny were working dilligently at the stove. Ginny was fervently carting the rack of spices between the counter and Mrs. Weasley.

"Mmm..." George's mouth started watering. He reached for a baked potato and his hand was whacked smartly with a wooden spoon. "OOWW!! Aw, come on, Ginny!" he bellowed, tenderly holding his throbbing hand.

"No George, not yet! Not until Harry arrives."

The doorbell rang. Ginny accidentally dropped the spice rack she was holding onto the floor and Mrs. Weasley threw her hands up into the air. "Goodness me, that must be them! And I'm not even nearly finished yet!"

They all bustled up behind the front door. Mrs. Weasley took hold of the door knob. "Ok, now I want everyone to give him a warm Weasley welcome!" Fred and George rolled their eyes at this. "One... Two... Three!" The door swung open and the four Weasleys grinned broadly.

"WELCOME HARR--"

Bill was standing in the doorway grinning. He cocked an eyebrow at them. They all stared back at him, disappointed looks on their faces.

Bill frowned. "Well, nice to see you, too!"

"Oh, I'm sorry Bill dear..." Mrs. Weasley pulled her oldest son into a hug. It looked very comical because of the large differance in their heights.

Bill grinned again. "I heard Harry was coming to stay here 'till they go back to Hogwarts."

They all nodded at him. "Come in then!" Mrs. Weasley said fervently, "You can help with dinner!" She pulled him in through the door.

"Whoa! Hey! Wait a minute..." Bill started, "I brought someone along to stay here with me." Mrs. Weasley shot him a questioning glance. He smiled and turned around in the door. "Thomas. Hey Tom, come in." He took a hold of another man behind him and gently pulled him into the house.

He looked around at the Weasleys, blushing slightly and waved sheepishly. He was very very handsome, about in his early twenties, and had a wonderful complexion. He had wavy chestnut hair that was pulled back in a ponytail, showing that he had one ear with various piercings going the whole way up the auricle. He had a thick hemp necklace with a brilliant purple bead in the center which, they all noticed, matched the beautiful violet eyes he had. "Urm...Hullo..." he said shyly.

"Thomas is my...urr...room mate," Bill said, clapping his friend on the shoulder, "Will you be able to make room for us also tonight?"

"Hmm...We're already using the spare bed for Harry, and Percy is staying in the spare room for a while. You'de have to spend the night in there with him." Mrs. Weasley glanced at the twins. "We could borrow one of their beds...Fred, George, would you mind if one of you had to use a sleeping bag tonight, or if you both had to sleep in the same bed?"

Fred and George grinned at each other. "We don't care."

"Alright, it's settled then! My, do we have a full house this week. And Thomas, it's very nice to meet you," she said kindly, taking a hold of Thomas's hand cheerily. He blushed and nodded.

Bill grinned and clapped him on the shoulder again. "So, what say we help Mum with dinner?"

*****

"Whew! Damn, that was alot of work!" Ron wiped his brow and flopped down across his bed. His room was now spotless, and he was dog tired. Even so, he smiled. It was all worth it. He really wanted it to look good for Harry. Ron couldn't wait for him to arrive.

The clock chimed seven times. Pigwidgeon began zooming in circles around his cage as if it were a cue to start a race to see how many times he could make it around.

"Oh, shut up, PIg!" Ron mumbled, tossing a sheet over his cage. That subsided the hooting just enough to allow Ron to pick up the sound of a car engine outside. He ran to the window and peered out. A beat up Ministry car pulled up infront of the house, and three people could be seen through the windows. There was Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic who was easily recognizable by his lime green bowler hat, Mr. Weasley seated next to him, and the other person in the back must be...

Ron flung himself down the hallway and down the stairs with the speed and subtly of a runaway train, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to leap out the door and run to Harry like he normally would. He was overcome with a very strange feeling, and got very nervous. So he did the only other thing he could think of. He lept out the door and hid in a bush.

Mrs. Weasley came bustling out the door, still wearing her kitchen apron. She kissed arthur on both cheeks and hugged him when he stepped out of the car. Fudge followed, his stout form stepping out and re-arranging his pinstriped cloak. He also shook Mrs. Weasley's hand, and they conversed briefly, but Ron was too far away to hear what they were saying. He watched quietly as Fudge walked around and opened the back door of the car, and took hold of it's occupant's hand, helping him out onto his feet.

Ron felt his heart suddenly leap into his throat. There was Harry. He was wearing a bottle green T shirt and khaki shorts. He looked good as new, only Ron noticed he didn't have his glasses on, but that allowed the sun to reflect upon how brilliant his beautiful green eyes really were. Mrs. Weasley suddenly rushed up to him, kissing him on both cheeks also. The suprised look on his face made Ron grin. Bill, Fred and George all came over and merrily shook his hand, chatting cheerily, and they all began walking back toward the door.

Ron stared at him as he walked. When he had seen him the night before, he hadn't noticed how nicely his sixteen year old body had matured since last year. He looked very in shape, probably from quidditch practice.

Ron suddenly slapped himself up the side of the head. His best friend was back from the hospital to visit, and Ron was staring at his body. He glanced back up, looking again at Harry. He stood with one hand on his hip, and now had a puzzled expression on his face. He seemed to be searching the yard for something. They were all but two feet from the bush when Ron distinctly heard Harry ask, "Where's Ron?"

"I'm here!" he blurted, suddenly springing out of the bush. They all stared at him.

"Bloody wanker, what are you doing in the bush?" Bill joked, whacking him on the back hard, so that Ron coughed. He straightened up to face his best friend, and suddenly felt as though a colony of butterflies had migrated into the pit of his stomach.

"Hi, Ron!"

He felt a blush creep into his face as he stared back at Harry, and the feeling of the butterflies intensified tenfold.

Bill sniggered quietly as he walked off, glancing back over his shoulder at Ron, who was just standing there like an idiot, staring at Harry with a very stupid look on his face.

"Gee, don't I even get a 'Hello, Harry'?"

Ron snapped out of his stupor, suddenly feeling very foolish. "Urm..sorry. Hi, Harry!" He could feel the heat radiating off his face like a freckled furnace. 'What's going on with me!? Why am I blushing?'

Fred and George had wandered over, finding the opportunity open for mischief. "Aw, give your buddy a hug!"

Ron suddenly felt himself and Harry slam into each other, and his face grew so hot that he could have sworn it had caught fire. "Urm...um...excuse me!!" he stuttered. He broke away from Harry and ran into the house, leaving his friend standing awkwardly in the yard with a slight pink tinge on his cheeks.

George snorted. "Did you see his face?"

"Priceless!" Fred cackled.

Harry stared after the door, cocking his head slightly. "What's...up with him?"

Meanwhile, Ron dunked his face into a bucket of cold water. This was crazy. Why was he acting so stupid? Why all of a sudden was it just so hard for him to face Harry? He cast his gaze out the window onto his best friend. They had been best friends for six years now, the inseperable duo of Hogwarts. They told ech other everything, helped eachother with everything, and they each knew they could count on the other for anything. So why WAS there a reason to be so nervous around him?

'There ISNT,' Ron thought stubbornly to himself, "He's HARRY. My best friend." He grinned out the window at him again. Chivalrous, honest, and loyal. That was Harry.

Settled with his composure, Ron shook himself briskly and jogged out the door, flinging his arms around Harry again.

Harry choked slightly in suprise, and then returned the embrace. "Hello there again!" he laughed, "What in the world is up with you?"

Ron shook his head and grinned. "Nothin. Don't worry about it. Do you want me to help you bring your stuff in?"

Harry blushed slightly and opened his mouth to speak, but was saved by Fred and George.

"He hasn't got it with him right now, but WE'RE going to go pick it up later tonight!" They grinned, giving them a double thumbs up.

Harry shrugged. "Yeah, that's about it. Thanks guys!" He waved at them as they disappeared into the house. "If I'm going back to Hogwarts in two days I'm going to need all my stuff. I left it back at--" Harry suddenly faltered, looking at the ground. Ron felt a strong urge to comfort him, and was glad when Mrs. Weasley called them in to set up for dinner, breaking the tension in the air.

"Fred! George! Stop it!!" Mrs. Weasley barked at the twins, who had been bashing ketchup and mustard packets with hammers and squirting the contents at eachother, "Stop acting like little savages and make yourselves useful by taking the table cloth outside!"

"Righto!" Fred grinned. They both abandoned their mess and grabbed the table cloth, skipping gayly outside with it flowing behind their backs like a cape.

Bill and Thomas levitated the two beat up tables that the family used for outside dinners out onto the lawn.

"I bet on Bill's table!!"

Thomas turned around and stared at the speaker, which was Fred.

"Yeah, me too. Bill is table champion," George followed up. Tom turned a puzzled glance to his room mate.

Bill just shrugged. "Oh well! I guess since it's a special occasion, for old time's sake..." There was a loud bang and Bill's table went crashing into Tom's in the air.

"Bill, what on Earth are you doing?"

"Table battles," Bill replyed calmly, "I'll try and knock yours out of the air, and vice versa."

Harry and Ron had walked into the yard just in time to duck a table that went sailing over their heads. Fred and George were cheering and jumping up and down on the sidelines as the tables collided again.

"William Weasley!!"

Bill turned quickly, loosing his concentration on his table, and it was crashed out of the air by Tom's and it landed at Mrs. Weasley's feet. She was standing in the doorway with her arms crossed, rolling pin in hand, and a displeased look on her face. Bill and Tom grinned sheepishly back at her as Fred and George jumped around congratulating Tom on his victory. Bill floated the tables into their upright positions and the table cloth sprang on top of them instantly.

Fred was grinning at Tom. "Hey, I believe we haven't been formally introduced yet!"

Tom stared back at Fred and then to his exact carbon copy beside him, George.

"I'm Gred and this is my robot slave double Forge."

George slapped Fred in the face. "Oh no no, you seem to be forgetting that you're the one who is the robot slave, Gred."

Tom now looked very worried and confused.

"Never listen to anything they say," came Bill's voice. He cracked the twins' heads together and they both complained loudly. "These are my brothers, Fred and George. They're twins," he added, glaring at them.

"Yeah, I noticed..."

Bill then turned towards Ron and Harry. "This is Ron. He's my brother too." Ron nodded and shook hands with Tom, "And this is his friend Harry Potter." Harry replied with a polite hello and shook hands with Tom.

"Very nice to meet you, Harry!" he smiled. Harry was extremely impressed that Tom had not gawked at his scar first, and had treated Harry with respect.

"So!" George piped in, "What are you to my brother?"

"Uh..." Tom opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. All he was able to accomplish was gaining a very nice pink tinge to his cheeks.

Bill grinned, clasping him warmly on the shoulder. "If you'll excuse us, me and Thomas have some...ur...urgent business to attend to. Be back in a few! Cheerio!" He grabbed Tom's hand and the violet eyed boy glanced back and grinned shyly before he started off towards an arbitrary corner of the yard with Bill. Ron shot Harry a strange look and Harry just shrugged.

Mrs. Weasley stumbled across the yard with a stack of pots that was way too tall for her, and she nearly toppled over more than once. "Urmpf! I could use a little help here, somebody!"

Harry jogged over to her, steadying the tower of pots. "I'll help."

"Oh Harry dear, you really don't have to..."

Harry helped her set down a massive pot of beef stew onto the table. Ron began to walk over to help also, but was distracted by someone behind him.

"Psst! Ron!" Mr. Weasley motioned for Ron to come over to the side of the house.

Slanting a bizarre gaze at his father, Ron walked away from the table and to the side of the house. "What, Dad?"

Mr. Weasley put his hand on his son's shoulder. "Just wanted to talk to you for a bit. I wanted to ask you Ron, did you know what happened to Harry?"

Mr. Weasley could tell Ron was uncomfortable with the question by the way he was looking at the ground. He looked back up at his father. "I..."

Mr. Weasley was staring at him as though he could see right through him, a fatherly glint in his eyes.

"...Yes." Ron said.

Mr. Weasley nodded, but he did not look disapproving or mad. "I thought so. Now Ron, your mother and I have agreed not to bring up anything about Harry being abused around the rest of the family."

Ron nodded.

Mr. Weasley glanced up at Harry, who was smiling and helping Mrs. Weasley with the table. "I know Harry looks fine on the outside now, but he is probably still very hurt on the inside. If he ever needs someone for emotional support, don't be afraid to offer it." Mr. Weasley smiled at his son. Ron just blushed and nodded. "Oh, what am I lecturing you for, you're both sixteen, I'm sure you can handle things just fine without me rambling on about them...now go on and help Harry and your mother."

Ron smiled at his father and then turned, starting back towards the table. Harry was carrying a huge bowl of steak and kidney pudding.

"Would you like some help with that?" Ron laughed as Harry stumbled over a garden gnome, almost sending the pudding bowl sailing through the air.

"Maybe a little."

The two carried the bowl to the table when they heard something very peculiar from the far corner of the yard. It sounded sort of like a continuous scream, and it seemed to be growing louder as it raced towards them.

"What the bloody hell?"

"It can't be...can it?...What the...Dobby!?"

The house elf came bolting up the yard wearing a bright pink T shirt and yellow overalls, and slammed into Harry's legs, hugging onto them for dear life. "Oh Harry Potter sir! Dobby is so glad that Harry Potter is ok!!" he wailed. Harry looked a bit embarrassed but Dobby continued to ramble on. "Oh sir, Dobby had heard terrible things had happened to Harry Potter! Dobby had heard that his family--"

"Heeere, why don't you try some of this pudding and tell us if it's any good!" Ron shoved a blob of pudding into Dobby's open mouth. His eyes bulged out of his head even more if physically possible and his face began turning blue. Harry whacked him on the back to help get the blob down his throat.

Dobby wheezed and then said in a very weak voice, "That was very good, Wheezy sir."

Ron snorted, pointing to himself. "Wheezy...?"

"It's what he calls you," Harry clarified, and turned back to Dobby. "Dobby, what are you all worked up about?"

Dobby hugged onto Harry's legs again, and Harry tried to shake him off. "Oh sir, Dobby heard Harry Potter was here, and Dobby wanted to make sure he was ok!" Dobby turned and stared back into the yard, then turned back towards Harry and continued. "Dobby was running across the yard, and was about to turn around the house when...the bush...it scared Dobby!"

"The...bush--?" Harry said, dumbfounded.

"Yes, yes sir, the bush! Dobby is hearing it make noises!"

Ron stared at Dobby. "Are you sure?"

Dobby nodded fervently and grabbed both of their hands. "This way, Harry, Harry's Wheezt! Dobby will show you!" Ron felt very stupid being dragged across the lawn by a house elf. Dobby rounded the corner of the house with them, and then stood, peering at a bush some ten feet away. "It's this one, sirs..."

Harry and Ron crept up to the side of the bush. Ron picked up a stick and jammed it inside.

"OW!!!"

They both jumped backwards, startled when they heard the yell come out of the bush, and Thomas came tumbling out, landing on his rump in the grass. His hair was now unbraided and messy, and his shirt was unbuttoned. Bill was practically on top of him, both hands underneath the other boy's shirt up the back. As soon as they saw Harry and Ron gawking at them, they broke away from each other and sat apart on the grass.

Dobby sighed in relief. "Silly Dobby, ie was only Gringotts Wheezy and..." he eyed Thomas up and down, "A very beautiful girl!" Thomas looked very offended at this. Bill held back a snigger. Thomas opened his mouth to speak an abashed response to that last comment, but Dobby suddenly smacked himself up the side of the head. "How could Dobby be so stupid! Dobby is sorry, Mr. Gringotts Wheezy, Dobby saw Mr. Wheezy kissing his girlfriend before! Dobby should not have bothered them now."

Bill and Tom both stared openmouthed at Dobby. Harry and Ron glanced at each other and then back at the pair on the ground. Tom suddenly yelped in suprise as Dobby ran his elvish hands over his bare chest. "You is a weird one, you is. Where are those weird bumpy things on most Misses chests? Have you lost them?"

Harry and Ron burst into laughter at this.

"Stop that!" Bill scolded, whcking Dobby off of Tom. Flushing bright pink, Bill and Thomas stood up and faced Ron, who had been trying to hide his obvious grin behind his hand.

"Don't...you...say...A WORD," Bill whispered slowly, then glanced down at Dobby and added "You either."

*****

"Finished." Ginny set a large and beautiful candle was lit with a differant colored flame which flickered brilliantly against the oncoming darkness of night. She stepped back, her hands on her hips, smiling as she admired her handiwork. In short, the dinner table looked magnificent, topped with all sorts of delicious foods from spotted dick to to mincemeat pie. The air around the table was full of the friendly glow of fireflies. They floated lazily about, shining their ethereal light, making the ground look like a mirrored version of the sky; it's deep blue dotted with the brilliance of many little stars.

Mrs. Weasley called everyone to the table. Ron took his seat next to Harry, and Dobby sat across from them, and soon everyone took their seat, and had begun passing the bowls of food around the table.

Harry ladled a generous amout of beef stew into his bowl, then took five of the buttered rolls. He felt a bit guilty of making a pig of himself, but he hadn't eaten good food like this since the last feast of his previous Hogwarts year. He had been lucky to get one meal a day at the Dursley's. They were so reluctant to give Harry so much as a bread crust that they acted as if they were parting with an arm or leg rather than a small piece of food. Harry's stomach rumbled at the mere sight of this night's dinner.

"Want some chicken, Harry?" asked Ron, pigging out on a chicken leg.

"Yeah," Harry muffled eagerly through a mouthful of steak. He grateful took six off the plate.

"Wheezy, you have very good food here!" Dobby said cheerily. He drank his soup noisily, spilling the broth down his bright pink Tshirt.

Ginny glanced down the table at Harry, Ron, Dobby, and her other brothers all pigging out like savages and rolled her eyes.

George picked up on this. Grinning evilly, he placed a pea on his fork, bent it back, and let it fly. The pea hit Ginny between the eyes.

"HEY!!" she squealed.

"Don't throw peas at your sister!" Mrs. Weasley snapped. Seconds later a big fat pea splatted itself right in the middle of Fred's forehead. "George!! Don't throw peas at your brother!"

"He's not my brother, he's my robot slave double."

"Oh, shut up with that, " Bill said, flinging a chicken bone at George's head.

"Bill!!" Mrs. Weasley screeched.

Harry snorted, keeping his hand over his uth to prevent himself from laughing. Ron grinned sheepishly. He was a little embarrassed, to say the least, about his family, but Harry seemed to be enjoying himself.

"Thomas, woud you please pass the steak and kidney pudding?" Mr. Weasley asked politely.

"Certainly." Tom floated the bowl over to Mr. Weasley.

"Thank you!" Mr. Weasley began spooning generous helpings of it onto his plate. "Say Tom, so what areou to my son anyway? Co Worker?"

Fred and George began drawing little rainbow shapes with their forks in their mashed potatoes, stopping when Bill shot them the Weasley Glare of Death. "Ahem. We're room mates." Bill said, admonishing Ron and Harry with an ever so slightly insane grin. They looked in opposite directions, craftily stuffing their faces with food so they wouldn't say anything to receive a pounding from Bill. "We met at Gringotts, when he was called over to get rid of a boggart in one of the vaults."

"Oi! Pass the mulled wine, Bill!" the twins called across the table. Bill passed the jug to them after pouring himself a generous glass. He drank with an annoyed look on his face as he felt someone tug on his ponytail. He slanted his gaze at his mother.

"Bill...Oh what's that look for?" she muttered innocently.

Bill glared back at her. "I know what you're about to go on about. You've been trying to get me to cut my hair for five years now."

"But Bill, it's too long! It makes you look like one of those...those awful punk wizards! If you would just let me cut it..."

"No, Mum."

"But--"

"NO, Mum."

"Ohhh..." Mrs. Weasley huffed, then glared disapprovingly at his spiked collar and fang earring.

Tom grinned and sipped his tea politely, ducking the occasional pudding blob being lobbed from the twin's corner of the table. A half- eaten chicken leg accidentally came flying over and landed in Mrs. Weasley's lap.

"Oohhhh...." she growled, flustered, "I slave in the kitchen all day, and this is what I get! Can't our family ever have a normal dinner?"

Bill sipped his wine. "Thomas, would you?"

Tom set his tea cup down politely on the saucer. "Of course." he smiled calmly. He lifted his wand, and within seconds, clear boxes appeared around the twins, enclosing them in their own spaces. Fred glanced up helplessly as a cream pie that had already been set in motion in the air splatted in his face.

Harry couldn't contain himself anymore. He burst out laughing, almost choking on his treacle tart.

"That was bloody brilliant!" Ron laughed. Tom shrugged shyly. "Can you do more stuff like that?"

Bill smiled. "You'll see later this year."

"Wha?" Ron questioned.

"You'll find out in a couple days." Tom replied, smiling. He went back to calmly sipping his tea, and Harry and Ron shrugged.

Fred and George had found a way to merge their confinements together, and proceeded to drink half the jug of mulled wine between them. Percy noticed this when Fred broke into very loud, off-key, annoying song.

"I think you've had enough," he snapped, grabbing the jug from them.

"Nooooo....." George whined, slouching drunkly onto his dinner plate. By the end of dinner, the twins were so covered in food that they had to excuse themselves, staggering back up to the Burrow. Percy shook his head in disapproval.

"Urm...sorry about my family," Ron whispered to Harry. Harry only smiled broadly back at him.

"Ron, your family is great." Ron went slightly pink in the ears.

Ginny had announced that she was going to go back up to the house and go to bed when she had accidentally started falling asleep and had knocked her glass off the table. About the time when everyone had eaten their fill, and Percy began bickering about people badmouthing the Ministry again, that Ron had suggested that he and Harry move away from the table for a while. Harry agreed.

They both walked into the middle of the yard, and lay side by side on a secluded patch of grass, well enough away from Percy's ranting, and gazed up at the stars together.

*****

~*Continued in Chapter 7*~

*****I plan on putting up Chapter 7 on 4/6/03

I hope you all come back to read it, because the slashyness will arrive soon, and so will the sixth year at Hogwarts!! And PLEASE REVIEW!! I will love you forever if you do!! ^___^!!

Lastly, I am looking for a fic buddy, you know, someone who will read my work and review, and tell me if I have any errors, and I will do the same for them! So if you're interested, please say so in a review ( I check them alot!) or email me!!

Thankyou ever so much! You all rule.

~Chibi Ron