"George, come on, we have to go get the girls," I said urgently, as he continued to sip coffee at the table, looking at my Wall Street Journal with interest.
"What are these 'stocks,' love?" he asked, as he scanned the second page.
"There isn't time for this!" I cried, snatching the paper from the table and pulling the coffee mug out of his hand.
"For the love of God, Woman!" George roared, trying to grab his coffee cup back. "I was still drinking that, Annabelle Calavierres," he said murderously.
"And now you're finished," I replied sweetly, leaning up to kiss the bottom of his jaw. "Come now, you don't want to miss the girls, do you? They'll be very upset and confused if your family just swoops down upon them and we aren't even there," I added, with a smile.
"Right," he muttered, stomping over to the fireplace. As I walked over, he reached out and jerked me roughly against his chest before throwing down the powder and saying clearly "The Burrow."
"You didn't even let me put on shoes, George," I said crossly when we emerged at his parent's home.
"You didn't let me finish my coffee," he shot back, stepping out of the fireplace with my hand held tightly in his. "Come on."
I sighed and let him pull me into the kitchen, where most of his family was already assembled. Charlie and his family were absent, since he was having a difficult time getting any extra time off. Bill glanced up and turned back to his cereal indifferently. Percy sneered at me, before leaving the room. Fred and Ginny grinned broadly and made space for George and myself between them, while Ron glared at me continuously. Arthur managed to smile at me, and Molly smiled with genuine warmth and welcome. I smiled weakly, and almost fell on my face when George jerked me over to the table beside where he was sitting.
"We don't mind if you join us, Annabelle," Ginny said sweetly and I smiled weakly as three of her brothers turned murderous faces upon her.
"Oh, well, I already ate something," I began, and was cut off by a snort from George. "What is your problem?" I snapped, just realizing that he was still holding my hand in his own.
"Something? Annabelle, you ate enough to feed a small army," he replied, jerking me down onto his lap.
"That's what I always eat. I'm supposed to eat a very specific diet for training purposes," I replied haughtily. "You never said anything before."
Harry looked up with a grin. "I love that. You have to eat amazing meals everyday so that you've got enough energy for practice."
"I never said anything before, because you didn't normally rip the newspaper out of my hands and poor my coffee down the drain," George replied calmly, as he reached for a mug of coffee that his mother set before him. "You lot need to make sure you keep your mugs close to you at all times. If she decides you're not moving quickly enough, Annabelle might just decide that you need a little help," he grumbled.
"Oh please," I snorted, fiddling with the Daily Prophet lying on the table. "It was just coffee, George."
"What?" he roared as he jumped to his feet. I crashed to the floor, and laughter erupted around the table.
"You heard me," I snapped, as I stood up, trying to swipe dust off of my rear. "If anybody needs me, I'll be in the living room."
With that, I strode out of the kitchen, leaving the laughing Weasleys behind me. I flopped rather childishly into an armchair and stared out the window. My parents and siblings were going to be arriving the next morning to spend the Christmas Holiday with the Weasleys. Two days after Christmas, my family was going to be traveling to my father's family estate just outside of Paris, where we would stay until the girls returned to school. I hadn't worked up enough nerve to ask George if he wanted to accompany us, and I was afraid that he would say no.
Suddenly the fireplace roared with blazing green flames. I looked over and shouted with joy as Paul stepped out with Brigitte and their children tumbled out of the fireplace a few seconds later. I leapt on my brother, laughing and hugging him tightly.
"You're early!" I cried, as I moved to embrace Brigitte. She smiled and looked around appraisingly.
The Weasleys were nowhere near as wealthy as our families were. It was apparent in their home, but it was very welcoming and warm despite its lack of sophistication. My nephews, Claude and Raoul, smiled at me, and embraced me tightly. They were both nearly six feet, and very sturdy, muscular boys. Claude was about seventeen, and Raoul would be turning fifteen this year. Both boys attended Beauxbatons Academy in France, and Claude was going to be signing with the French Quidditch team as a Chaser in about four months, which was fitting seeing as his father was an ex-professional chaser.
"We thought that perhaps you could use some friendly faces," Brigitte whispered in my ear. I laughed and turned to see Fred and George standing in the doorway.
"Hello, Fred, George, so very nice to see you again," Paul said, offering his hand. I snickered, and watched as Fred flicked his gaze momentarily to George.
"I say good man, how wonderful to see you too," Fred returned, clasping his hand.
"How absolutely corking to see you!" George added, and my eyes narrowed slightly. Molly walked in, and Fred and George rounded on her.
"Mum! How wonderful to see you!" Fred cried.
"Yes, just spiffing!" George agreed, and they turned to walk back toward the kitchen, and their mocking greetings for each member of their family could be heard.
My jaw clenched and I set my hands on my hips. I felt an insane desire to hex George into next week. Molly shook her head and walked over to greet my brother and his family. I glanced over and Paul, who lifted a brow, and my face split into a wide grin. I nodded once, very slowly and almost imperceptibly. Paul had attended Beauxbatons and as a result was very familiar with several curses and hexes that most British or American wizards had never encountered. I sauntered out of the room, and slowly pulled out my wand, sneaking very quietly into the kitchen where Fred and George were discussing something about the shop. They weren't the most observant I thought, and whispered the incantation.
"Vu de la morte," I hissed, and quite suddenly Fred and George both stood perfectly still staring around the room at the hordes of dead individuals that only they could see.
"George, did we miss something?" Fred asked carefully.
"ANNABELLE!" George roared, pounding his fist on the table. I jumped slightly and stepped into view. "You undo this right now," he said, gesturing around the room.
"Undo what?" I asked, and realized, too late, that I still held my wand in my hand.
"Whatever ridiculous hex you put on Fred and myself," George said very coolly.
I smiled sweetly and waved my hand through the air, and they both sighed, no longer seeing anything out of the ordinary. As I turned to flounce out of the room, George grabbed my wrist.
"That was not nice, Annabelle," he said in a low tone, and Fred sniggered before walking out of the kitchen.
"Oh, well, I assumed that being nice wasn't a requirement in your house," I responded icily. "You weren't exactly nice to my brother just now."
He sighed and rubbed his eyes before dropping my wrist.
"Yes, yes, I know," he muttered.
"Annabelle, George, it's time to head over to the station!" Molly called loudly.
"Coming!" George bellowed back.
Once again I turned to walk out the door and shrieked loudly as George slung me over his shoulder much like a sack of potatoes. The entire house began to laugh uproariously when George walked in, carrying me like a sack of potatoes.
"I done caught me a woman," he said with a horrible imitation of a southern drawl. Everyone laughed even harder, and I smacked him smartly on the ass. "Careful, Anna, you're at the definite disadvantage," he warned.
It was going to be a long day.