Disclaimer: Damn…I still do not own any of the characters you recognize…
Author's Note: Well, will you look at that! I actually got ten reviews! Guess that means I really do have to update, eh? So yes, here is the second chapter of the story. It explains Raechel's situation – i.e. what exactly happened and whatnot – AND it also features the first appearance of our favorite trio. Hehe…I know you guys are dying to see what the our favorite couple's reaction will be, so I'll go ahead and stop talking…but please, let me know how this chapter strikes you, ok? Happy reading and have a nice day! Thanks!
Oh, and just to let you guys know, the huge section on the story that's italicized, that's sort of like a flashback scene…kind of…well, you'll see^_^
Chapter Two: A Family Reunited
Ginny watched in awe as her niece continued her almost obscene eating, a small bit of masticated strawberry dropping unceremoniously onto the floor as the angelic little Raechel wiped juice off her chin. No doubt she got her eating habits from Ron, thought the redhead, trying her best not to roll her eyes in amused disgust. The 6th year Gryffindor was not at all shocked with her future niece's revelation. Indeed, a knowing and amused smirk had made its way onto the teen's lips as the true implication of her niece's words slowly sunk in. My parents are Ron and Hermione Weasley.
"It's nice to know that my git of a brother will actually realize his true feelings for Hermione," mused Ginny, a small, disbelieving scoff escaping her lips.
"Mummy and Daddy love each other very much," said Raechel matter-of-factly, licking off strawberry juice trickling down the edge of her hand. "They give each other hugs and kisses all the time. And they always look at each other like this—"
Raechel gave her aunt a doe-eyed look, her head tilted to one side, supported by a clasped hand resting daintily on her right shoulder. Ginny gave a repressed scoff.
"What? It's true!" exclaimed the girl, her face a look of scandalized confusion. "At least, that's what Uncles Fred and George told me…"
Ginny gave out one last laugh before her face turned serious. "Raechel…why don't you tell me what happened? That way, we can figure out how to get you back to your time."
"Okay," agreed the six year old, straightening in her chair and suddenly adopting an almost business-like air.
Now that, she definitely picked up from Hermione, Ginny thought with a smirk.
"Let's see…it all began the day mummy and I stopped by The Burrow to visit Mama Molly and Papa Arthur…."
~*~~*~
"Raechel dear, an owl just arrived with a package for you!"
The loud footsteps of excited running echoed throughout The Burrow as a small, energetic little girl made her way down the staircase, eyes alight with excitement. Skidding to a halt in front of her mother, Raechel smiled and stretched out her hand in anticipation. "A package?! For me?! WOW!"
"Now dear, don't get too excited…"
"Yes mummy, I know…"
Hermione handed her daughter a 3-inch by 3-inch package, a crudely written letter attached to the bottom of the box. A small smile made its way onto Hermione's lips as she saw her daughter's shoulder's visibly sink at the sight of the small parcel.
"It's so small," said Raechel with a slight pout.
"Well, size doesn't matter, Raechel dear," Hermione pointed out with a warm smile, going down on one knee to look at her daughter. "Sometimes, the best things are the ones that are small and easier to keep."
"Can I open it now, mummy?" asked Raechel, nodding at her mother's words.
"Well first, you have to read what the letter says," responded Hermione. "It's only proper, don't you think?"
"I suppose," muttered the girl, watching as her mother unfolded the piece of parchment in front of her.
"Go on then"
"Dearest Raechel, I know it's rather late, but as some muggles say, 'better late than never!' so here's a little present from your Uncle Hagrid. And tell your mum not to worry – it's not some sort of egg that will transform into a ruddy monster…I'm sure you'll like it. You can thank me later for it. Belated happy birthday, Raechel dearest! Much love, Hagrid."
With an excited air now evident in the little girl's face, Hermione handed her daughter the small box and urged her to open it, to which the eight year old gladly complied.
"Oh wow! It's so pretty!" exclaimed Raechel, eyes aglow with awe as she stared at a beautiful silver necklace, a simple ruby-colored teardrop crystal hanging daintily on the chain. The child looked at her mother with hope. "Can I wear it now, mummy?"
"Well…" began Hermione, hesitation obvious in her eyes. "I think it would be best if you wear it later this evening, for dinner. That way, your dad can see it too…what do you think?"
Letting out an audibly defeated sigh, Raechel nodded. "Okay…"
"Now why don't you go upstairs and put that away for now? You wouldn't want to lose it, don't you?"
With a curt nod, Raechel made her way to her father's old bedroom, closing the door behind her as she plopped onto the bed, the mattress giving out a squeak. Biting the bottom of her lip, the eight year old opened the parcel in her hands, an awed smile creeping on her lips as she stared adoringly at the necklace in front of her. Hmm…I don't care what mummy says…I'm going to put it on anyway…just to see what it looks like, Raechel thought with a somewhat rebellious smile.
Taking the necklace out of it's box, Raechel held out the piece of jewelry in front of her, the red teardrop pendant swinging almost hypnotically directly in front of her eyes. "It's so pretty," the girl whispered as she placed the necklace onto her neck, a satisfied smile etched on her petite mouth as the cold pendant made contact with her skin.
Hopping off the bed, a large grin on her face, Raechel skipped her way towards the door, eager to check her reflection on the bathroom mirror. She stopped, however, right as she was about to turn the doorknob. A sudden wave of coldness swept through the little girl's body. And before she knew what was happening, Raechel felt herself fall onto the carpeted floor, hearing herself speak one last word before her surroundings turned black.
"Mummy?"
~*~~*~
"—And the next thing I know, I wake up and I'm not at The Burrow anymore," Raechel finished, popping another strawberry into her mouth.
"Hmm…so it must have been the neck—"
The sudden ruckus of house elves rushing to the kitchen entrance cut Ginny off. Craning her neck to get a better view, Ginny's eyes suddenly widened upon hearing a distinctly familiar voice.
"Ginny? Are you in here?"
"Oh no! It's Harry!" whispered Ginny, throwing her future niece an alarmed look and calling the child to stand behind her. Grabbing the discarded invisibility cloak off the floor, Ginny unceremoniously threw the cloth at the young girl and said, "Quick, get under the invisibility cloak and don't say a word!"
"Gin?! Where the ruddy hell are you?!"
"Ron's here too?" groaned the redhead.
"Daddy?!"
"Get back under there!" the redhead hissed at her niece, whose head was floating in mid-air, eyes alight upon hearing her father's name and voice. Seeing the quickly approaching form of her older brother and her old crush, Ginny hastily straightened her robes and sat casually on the bench, popping a strawberry into her mouth, making sure that she was not, in any way, reflecting her niece's eating habits.
"God Gin, where have you been?" Ron began as he took a seat across from his sister, Harry taking a seat three feet away next to Ron. "I've been looking all over for you."
"Why is that?"
"Apparently, Ron here doesn't think I'm a good enough chess player," Harry reasoned, shooting his friend a mock offended look. "I reckon he wants you to show me how a proper opponent should play."
"Well, you're a decent enough chess player, Harry," said Ron, clapping his friend in the back, who chocked on a piece of grape. "Oops, sorry about that." Helping himself to some of the food laid out on the table, Ron turned to his younger sister and asked, eyes slightly shocked, "God, Gin, did you eat all of this?"
Ginny glanced down at the table, eyes slightly widening – she hadn't realized how much food the house elves had taken out for her and little Raechel. Self-refilling bowls of assorted fruits (which explained why Raechel was constantly popping strawberries in her dainty mouth), plates of pastries and cakes, and even a large plate of sandwiches, were neatly laid on the table, beginning to be consumed.
"Erm…well, you know those house elves…they get crazy when someone visits them," Ginny replied with a nervous chuckle, mentally sighing in relief as Ron shrugged – a sure sign that he believed her explanation. A second of silence passed, disrupted only by the loud creak of the kitchen entrance opening and the rush of house elves to meet their guest.
"Oh honestly! All of you will thank me one of these days when I successfully lobby for the equal treatment of house elves!"
Hermione came into view less than thirty seconds later, a nonplussed look on her face as a good number of house elves gave her a mildly withering look, clear disappointment evident in their eyes at their just-arrived guest. With a huff, the Gryffindor 7th year made her way to the table occupied by her friends, greeting them with a quick smile.
"I was wondering where you three were," said the bushy-haired teen, stopping at the head of the table. Her eyes traveled from the numerous foods laid on the table, then to the 7th year redhead on her right, who was chewing on a piece of sandwich. "I should have known Ron here would drag you down to the kitchens, Harry. God forbid he'd have eaten enough for lunch – which might I add he had just finished a mere twenty minutes ago."
"I'm a growing boy, Hermione," said Ron, bits of chewed bread falling onto both the tabletop and the stone floor. "I need to eat lots!"
Ginny suppressed a look of revulsion on her face, inwardly smirking at the familiarity of the image in front of her. Tearing her eyes away from her older brother – which proved not to be difficult – Ginny pointed her attention to the bushy-haired female standing next to her. "So Hermione, anything up? Why were you looking for these two anyway?"
"I was going to check if they had already finished their assigned homework for transfiguration," answered the girl with a huff, giving Ron an irritated look. "After all, it being the weekend, it's the perfect time for them to do their homework. But no, someone, decided to take a trip down to the kitchens and give the house elves extra work they obviously do not need, considering they already have so much work to do around the castle."
"Oh please, Hermione," scoffed Ron, looking up at the girl standing next to him. "If you haven't noticed – and you obviously haven't – they love serving people. You can tell they're bloody happy just to see someone here asking for their help! It gives them pleasure!"
"Honestly! Why are you even treasurer, or better yet, a member of S.P.E.W.?" Hermione questioned the boy, hands resting dangerously on her sides. "You're obviously not actively advocating our cause!"
"First of all, I never actually joined your little organization!" argued Ron, ears flashing a dangerous red as he made to stand up face-to-face with Hermione – which wasn't exactly the case, seeing as he was a good twelve inches taller than the girl. "You gave both Harry and I a look of combined pleading and threat when you said, 'well, if you two joined, there would be three members,' or whatever it was you said to us. Second, after you made us members of spew sans our consent, you shoved a bloody can under my nose and appointed me treasurer with your distinguishably bossy voice." Ron paused for dramatic effect, giving Hermione a look that clearly said, 'Am I right, or am I right?'
"Well maybe you should have said something about not wanting to join S.P.E.W.!" answered Hermione, practically standing on the tips of her toes just to stand nose-to-nose with the boy.
"Oh, like I can say that and not get pestered by you every day!"
"I do no 'pester'!"
"Of course you don't! You're Hermione! It's just not something you would bloody do!" Ron practically screamed, waving his arms in the air for emphasis. "I mean you obviously didn't pester the whole of Gryffindor house the first hour you started spew!"
The two teenagers continued with their one-lined shouting match, oblivious to the two people watching them with expressions of mixed irritation and boredom. Harry, who has seen a good number of infamous rows between the two friends, tore his gaze away from the two arguing Gryffindors, sighing as Ron accidentally knocked the bowl of self-refilling fruits off the table; Harry's emerald eyes followed an orange as it rolled a few feet behind Ginny. A wave of shock and confusion suddenly spread all over Harry's face as a small hand snatched the orange off the floor, disappearing a millisecond later out of thin air.
"What the hell?" said Harry, getting up from his seat, not noticing that his abruptly spoken words had broken the feud between Ron and Hermione. With curious bewilderment etched on his face, Harry made his way to stand behind Ginny, sweeping his arm in the air as though waiting to hit something solid. And he did.
A slightly muffled "ouch" echoed in the kitchen as Harry's arm made contact with something solid, yet oddly firm. Not knowing what to expect, Harry grabbed the air blindly, a look of triumph on his face as the familiarly lucid cloth of his invisibility cloak came into contact with his hand. A quick pull of the cloak revealed a tiny girl with long, chocolate-colored hair, eyes closed tightly, bottom lip bitten in nervousness, a large orange clutched on her chest.
"Who the hell is she?"
"Ron! Don't swear in front of a child!" chastised Hermione, giving the boy a reprimanding look.
A second of silence passed, at which the young girl opened her eyes, glancing at the teenagers in front of her, small, chocolate orbs resting last on Ginny.
"Harry, and more importantly, Ron and Hermione," Ginny began, clearing her throat and giving the little girl a supportive smile. "I'd like you all to meet Raechel Jayne Weasley." She looked pointedly at Ron and Hermione. "Your future daughter."
~~**~~~**~~
And there you have it: chapter two of the story. It might take me a while to conjure up the third chapter, so if any of you are interested, I would be more than happy to set up a mailing list just to let you know when I update this story. So yes, please let me know if you would like me to email you once I've updated. But of course, the only way for you to do that is through reviewing…So please be kind and click on that button at the bottom left-hand corner of your screen. And while you're at it, why not write a few comments here and there about your thoughts on the chapter?
Well, the next chapter will be eventful, to say the least, so please stay tuned! Thanks again for reading and have a nice day!
By the way, I would like to apologize if there are grammatical errors or any other errors on this story. I have a tendency to write stories and not bother rereading them – which is probably not a good thing, don't you think? But yes, if I made numerous errors, please let me know. It would help me immensely if someone would let me know how I can improve this story, seeing as I am sure it needs it!
Thank you again for taking the time and reading this story. I hope you will all eagerly await the next chapter!
~~:AzaleaFaye:~~