"Zephari, Dante!" A girl their age squealed, running forward and hugging them excitedly, her vibrant pink and magenta robes making her stand out amongst the crowd of more subtly clad Weasley relatives and friends.
With the ease of one long use to doing so, Zephari stepped aside and dodged her cousin, whom she called such though she had no relation to her whatsoever. It was normal for the entire 'Weasley extended family' to call each other cousin, as they were closer than most blood relations. The black-haired girl smirked deviously and went up to the only two clad in black.
"Happy end of summer, Uncle Snape, Uncle Draco!" She said brightly, holding out a gift.
"I loathe summer." 'Uncle Snape' muttered.
"Cheer up, Severus; we get to go back to terrorizing Hogwarts students soon." 'Uncle Draco' responded, chuckling slightly and taking the package.
"Open it!" The girl told them, bouncing in her dark green robes.
They opened the parcel and revealed it to be... a giant rubber bat. Snape stared at it, as did Draco. Those around them, however, were laughing merrily. Snape lifted up the bat; as if afraid it would do something cute like squeak, to reveal a furry thing that was no doubt supposed to be a ferret. They turned identical glares on the eleven year old before them.
"That's 'cause Aunt Ginny always calls you an overgrown bat and a twitchy ferret." She said innocently, oblivious to her aunt's furious motions to shut up.
"I believe that was a rather popular term back when she was in school." Snape drawled turning slowly to look at Ginny, the bat hanging from the tips of his fingers.
"It still is!" Dante piped up. "Carly and Thomas call you two that all the time."
Draco looked evenly at the twins, the beginnings of his infamous sneer on his lips. However, Zephari came to the rescue. "Do you like them?" She asked angelically.
The two looked as if they had been forced to eat something rather vile and disgusting; or, maybe, in their cases, something wonderful and sweet. However, Zephari knew that Draco really like chocolate. That was what she gave him for Christmas every year and he was genuinely happy about that. She, Dante and Zoë usually gave Snape a new set of voluminous black robes.
"Of course we do." Snape said as if he was being tortured through every word.
Zephari beamed at them and hugged first Draco, then Snape. She completely missed Snape glaring at Draco as she hugged him, mouthing 'Why do I have to be nice to her anyways?' and receiving a firm glare and 'You owe her courtesy, at the very least.' He scowled at that, but Zephari did not notice the difference. He was always scowling, after all.
"How come I didn't get a present?" A quiet, joking voice asked behind her.
"Dethol!" She squealed, leaping into his arms.
He picked her up and held her by his hip. "How's the little Welsh doing?" He asked.
"She's absolutely spiffing." The girl answered, giggling at the use of her Uncles Fred and George's phrase. "Grown really big now, you should come see her!"
Snape crossed his arms, glaring at the younger man. Draco simply looked amused. "How come he didn't get a rubber rat?" He muttered.
Draco grinned at his teacher and co-worker. "Probably because she got him something else."
Zephari turned and glared at them before pulling another parcel from her deep pockets. "Happy end of summer." She said brightly.
Dethol opened it to find a pale pink shirt with a green dragon painted on it. It was a rather bad painting, but got the point that it was a dragon across fairly well. The fact that the shirt was pink was the reason Draco and Snape burst out into uncontrollable laughter. Dethol, however, looked very proud of his gift and gave her a hug before putting her down and pulling the oversized garment over his current set of black robes – he always wore black, as it was one of the only colours he could pull of nicely.
"Why, Dethol, pink is definitely your color." Fred Weasley announced, walking up to admire the shirt.
"Absolutely wonderful on you, I must agree." George Weasley added.
All the Weasleys adored Dethol na N'ataya, who had been dragged into the family when Zephari's mother met him in her seventh – his third – year at Hogwarts. Even the elder generation treated him like a long lost brother, while the younger ones treated him like an older brother or loving uncle. Zephari considered him an older brother and she adored him even more than the rest of her family.
"Brings out your eyes." Fred added, though this was complete nonsense as Dethol's eyes were a brilliant, deep blue.
"And your complexion." George continued, making it obvious that they were simply imitating their wives.
"The way it bunches up over your robes..." Fred said with a dreamy sigh.
"Makes you appear undoubtedly sexy..." George finished.
Zephari giggled, as did Dante and Zoë who had just come up behind her at that moment. Zoë grinned at her cousin. "So you gave him the shirt after all?" She asked.
"He likes it." Zephari said, blushing brightly.
"I can see why, it has a dragon on it." Dante added, grinning.
It was for no uncertain reason that Dethol was Care of Magical Creatures professor at Hogwarts. On his first day on the job – the year before – he had tried to take a Grindylow on the school train. The funniest thing was he had succeeded. The conductor had tried to keep him from doing so, but crafty Dethol won out in the end. It was obvious why the smart animal-lover had been in Ravenclaw, as he definitely had the smarts for that house and he would not have fit in anywhere else. He still had not, but his smarts made him have that one thing in common with a group of people in the school.
"Alright, everyone out!" Molly Weasley announced, waving her wand above the noisy congregation, "I'm starting supper now and if you all don't get a move on, I'm going to start recruiting you to help!"
That made the crowd move in a bustle outside. Even the adults knew better than to risk Molly's infamous temper. As it was, they all made it out before she resorted to recruiting. Draco and Snape, still snickering about Dethol's shirt, kidnapped said other professor and dragged him up the hill to 'talk about proper professorly conduct'. Dante and Zoë grabbed Zephari by the back of her dark robes and carried her over to the other cousins their age.
They were one of the larger age groups, having at least one representative from each Weasley child. Dante was of Charlie's brood, Alexandre was of Bill's, Leif was of George's while Felix was of Fred's and Amanda, Alexis and Aleanor were from Ginny's. All were eleven, twelve or thirteen except Amanda, who was nine.
The fifteen year olds had made it clear that they did not want their younger cousins following them to their mini-Quidditch pitch so they stayed in the main yard. The elders were excited to have the three youngest – except Amanda – finally join them at Hogwarts.
"I hope you three are in Gryffindor with us." Aleanor informed them purposefully, "That way we might be able to secure the House Cup once we get rid of the elder idiots."
"You're being cruel, Ally." Leif informed her, "The older Gryffindors are just not in the mood to work. They remember their parents a lot more, so they're more in mourning than us."
"Either way, they'll be gone next year." Alexis said proudly, "And us younger Gryffs can finally make ourselves known. They'll basically need to fill up the Quidditch team from scratch in two years, as well."
"So only one more year to wait!" Felix said excitedly, "Then we'll get our House Cup back from those snakes."
"What happens if we aren't in Gryffindor, though?" Dante asked worriedly.
"Never been a Weasley that hasn't, Dante." Alexandre assured her.
"But there've been a ton of Blacks who haven't." Zephari stated.
"Yeah, but you're raised a Weasley, Zephy." Amanda piped boldly.
"Exactly, raised as Gryffindors." Alexis said as if that settled the matter.
"Who do you guys think'll be Quidditch Captain when Valerie leaves?" Felix asked, changing the subject deftly.
"I hope it's Carly or Tom." Leif said, bouncing.
"Hasn't been a Weasley Captain since... Forever!" Zoë exclaimed. "About time for there to be another."
"That's easy for you to say, what with your dad having been Captain in his time." Aleanor said sharply.
"Ally, don't be mean." Felix whined.
"Well, I think that Carly and Tom would be great captains!" Alexandre said proudly, Alexis nodding in agreement.
Despite Aleanor and Alexis being the only set of twins in the group, there were many who acted like twins. Alexis and Alexandre were inseparable at these gatherings, always backing the other up. Felix and Leif were identical down to the last freckle, so their mothers had given them distinctly different haircuts to tell them apart. Zoë, Zephari and Dante might as well have been fraternal triplets, but they stuck to each other like glue. It was obvious that they would be crushed if they were separated in the sorting. Amanda simply backed everyone up, being a good adorable little sister. She was the youngest of the Weasley offspring, after all.
"What about the Slytherin team, how are they doing?" Zephari asked interestedly.
"Hideously. They lost what good members they had this summer." Alexandre said honestly.
"Huffle's doing pretty badly too, they can't seem to find a decent Keeper." Alexis added.
"Ravenclaw, however, is doing pretty well." Felix muttered.
"That's only because they finally completely reassigned their positions. Most of which went to fifth and sixth years, sixth and seventh this year. So they'll be gone soon." Leif said brightly.
"We could really use good fliers like you three, though. I'm going to try out this year." Chiharu said suddenly, having stayed quiet throughout the entire conversation.
"Ooh! What position?" Alexis asked eagerly.
Despite the fact that the others adored Quidditch, they were all hopelessly useless at it. Alexis and Alexandre were much better at being pranksters, while Aleanor was better at fussing and Felix and Leif were the best at confusing people with the fact that they were not twins. Zoë, Dante and Zephari were the only ones with any smidgeon of talent and they had loads of it.
Zephari, however, had gotten bored with the conversation. This happened every year when the conversation turned to Quidditch and Hogwarts. So what if she was going to attend this year? She still found it insufferably boring to listen to them whine about how Gryffindor's current students were not up to par. If they wanted the House Cup so bad, all they had to do was motivate their house-mates to stop being idiots.
Grumbling, she crept away from the group. She walked around a group of adults, all the original Weasley men and Ginny's husband, only to hear her name uttered. She stopped and turned to stare at them, though none of them noticed. They were whispering excitedly.
"...with Zephari, I'm sure she'll be fine." Charlie was telling his brother Bill.
"I don't know... I don't like the idea of Dante being in school at the same time as Malfoy's brat." Bill muttered.
"You'll be at the school to keep an eye on her, though, Bill." Michael, Ginny's husband, pointed out. "I'm sure that you and Ginny will keep her, Zephari and Zoë out of that boy's clutches."
"We're only allowed to interfere to a certain degree." Bill said carefully, "But Snape has promised to keep an eye on him."
"Say, who's Head of which house nowadays?" Fred asked, serious for once.
"Snape is still Head of Slytherin, Ginny's Head of Gryffindor, Dethol – Merlin help us – is Head of Ravenclaw and Hannah's Head of Hufflepuff." Bill told them.
"Dethol? Head of House?" George repeated, his expression making Zephari giggle.
"How in Godric's name did that happen?" Fred demanded.
"He's the only ex-Ravenclaw teacher." Michael observed. "The rest of those from Ravenclaw go on to be authors or scientists."
Charlie suddenly chuckled, "I wouldn't put it past Zephari, Zoë and Dante to make him wear that pink shirt to one of the main feasts."
Bill shook his head, "Dethol's not as irresponsible as he seems. He has a good – if somewhat eccentric – head on his shoulders and he knows his magical creatures."
"Whatever you say, Headmaster." Fred and George said in unison.
"Am I the only one who finds it rather funny that Bill's more worried about Dante than Charlie is?" Michael asked, looking between the two Weasley brothers.
"Bill's always been the more protective of the two." Fred informed him, "He was Head Boy, after all."
"Even when it came to our kids." George added.
"He was worse with Ron's kids, though." Charlie said before he could stop himself, a silence falling uncomfortably on the group.
Zephari decided she had better leave before one of her uncles noticed her eavesdropping. As she prepared to scoot away, she found herself compelled to stay as Bill spoke up again.
"How's Harry doing?" He asked quietly.
Michael sighed slightly, "He's gone and become like Mad-Eye, obsessed with catching Death Eaters." He said softly.
Zephari rarely heard anyone talk about her rightful uncle, Harry Sirius Weasley. They usually thought that she would be insulted by it, but she wanted to learn about her family. She remembered her father telling her that her uncle Harry adored her mother as much as his famous namesake had. That was the only recollection she had of someone mentioning her mother's brothers in front of her. She had never met any of Lily's siblings, except for her fifteen year old fraternal twin siblings.
"And Albus?" Charlie asked in the same tone.
"The same thing." Michael answered likewise.
"Neither of them could stand losing Lily." Fred murmured softly.
"Made them both turn into Aurors." George continued in the same way.
"Lily wouldn't have wanted them to turn out like this." Charlie muttered.
"She didn't want Athen to turn out like he did, but he did." Bill said sharply.
"Poor Zephari." Michael said softly. "It's bad enough she never knew her Mum, but her Dad being gone as well..."
"Lots of children have lost their parents." Bill reminded him. "Elida and Ryan, for example, knew their parents for less time than Zephari knew her father. And what about Zoë and Chiharu?"
"Yes, but they still have their grandparents." Fred interrupted.
"She never got to meet Hermione and Ron and her Dad's Mum died when they did." George added.
"No one knows who her Dad's Dad is." Fred finished.
"Or was." George growled.
Zephari froze. She had never known who her paternal grandparents were. Whenever she asked, Charlie simply gave her a hug and Tonks told her to shush. So her grandmother had eloped with a random wizard and had her father? Obviously her grandfather was a wizard, as her father had told her all about the Black family's infamous pureblood pride.
"Poor thing." Michael murmured sympathetically.
Zephari was surprised at this. Her Uncle Michael had not always been the supportive type. In fact, he had never ever been of the kind to act as he was now. He was the one that yelled at the children when they so much as put a toe out of line. He was a severe stickler for reading daily, as well. Most of the cousins called him Uncle Tyrant when he was not listening. Even his children did. Affectionately, of course, but he had never been one to show pity.
"I just wish that Albus and Harry would come and see her. They are, after all, her uncles." Charlie said.
Zephari had had enough; she turned around to flee and bumped into something – someone – much bigger than her. She bounced back with an 'oof' and stared up into the face of Dethol. She cringed. She did not want her parents' close friend knowing she had been eavesdropping on her uncles. She tried to run past him.
"Zeph, what's the matter?" Dethol asked her, grabbing hold of her shoulders.
Zephari looked away and realized she was crying. She wiped the back of her hand across her cheeks furiously. "Nothing." She said stiffly.
"Obviously something is wrong. You never turn away from me like this." He pointed out, his logic flawless.
She turned back towards him, tears streaming anew down her face, "Why won't Uncle Albus and Uncle Harry come see me?" She demanded, "Everyone else talks to me, but I've never even met them and they're Mum's brothers!"
Her raised and anguished voice obviously attracted her uncles' attention. They all looked at her, surprise on every inch of their faces. They had not noticed she was there. She did not care by then. All the questions she had suddenly burst out.
"Why won't anyone talk to me about Mum or Dad?" She asked, unable to see through her tears, "Why won't anyone talk about my grandparents? Why-" She choked and clutched at Dethol's robes for comfort. "Why?" She finished lamely.
Dethol was alarmed. Quiet little Zephari had always seemed content with the knowledge she had of her family. She had her entire extended family to comfort her, after all. He had thought that Charlie – at least – had told her stories about her mother and father in their youth. He had thought that the Weasleys would have told her about Ron and Hermione, at the very least.
Now she was clutching his leg, crying her eyes out, and he had no idea how to stop her. This was why he did not have any children: he did not know how to deal with them. Or women, for that matter; but that was not the subject at hand. He did what instinct told him to do, crouching and giving the little girl a hug.
After a few minutes, during which he was very aware of Michael's glaring and the Weasleys' stupefied glances, her sobs became mere hiccups and subsided. She was still firmly attached to his robes, however, which was a difficult situation. He picked her up, gently taking his robes from her grip and mouthed 'I'll put her to bed' over her head at the others.