At dinner that night, Poppy found herself with the choice of sitting between Charlie and Bill and across from the twins, or next to Percy and across from Mr stood awkwardly in the doorway to the living room as she tried to decide which would be the best place to perch.
"Pop," Fred called, beckoning her over.
Under normal circumstances she'd have loved to sit with the four brothers, but she'd not had enough time to get over the heart shattering rejection of her childhood crush not knowing who she was (even though, she reminded herself, they'd spent three years at school together and written occasionally so he should have known), so she grimaced and shook her head as she pointed over to the empty seat by Percy.
"I said I'd talk to Percy about his paper," she explained, walking over to the slightly older boy who looked chuffed that she'd chosen to sit with him.
"What?" George called. "But Charlie's going to tell us about a new dragon they've just rescued!"
"And you need to tell us who you're supporting at the World Cup!" Fred complained.
Poppy was torn. She really did want to hear about the dragon and talk about the match, but she really was too embarrassed. She glanced at Charlie who was watching her with the same frown as before, so she just shook her head and sat down next to Percy, who proceeded to talk and boast his way through the two courses.
Before she knew it, it was past ten o'clock in the evening and she was beginning to fall asleep in her seat as Percy continued on and on about Bartemius "Barty" Crouch Snr and his impeccable posture, presence and authority.
They'd retired to the living room an hour or so before, but Percy hadn't left her side, insisting that she sat on the sofa with him so that he could show her his report so far.
At first she'd been annoyed, but then Charlie and Bill had engaged the rest of the room in a large and complicated game of Wizards' Chess and Exploding Snap which they called 'Exploding Chess'. This game took up most of the floor space and upped the danger ante by ten. It also seemed to also be part-Musical Chairs, as every two minutes Bill or Charlie let out a loud whistle and the players rotated games.
Poppy, who was too tired to truly listen to Percy let alone play a complicated and intense game, had decided she was better off staying sat next to Percy.
"Percy!" Ginny scolded as Poppy's head nodded down and her chin hit her chest, "she's so bored she's falling asleep!"
Poppy gasped and woke up completely, shaking her head slightly. "No, no, I'm fine, really. Sorry Percy, I just haven't had a chance to sleep properly since Thursday."
"Thursday?" Mr Weasley asked, as it was now Saturday. "Whyever not?"
Poppy bit her lip when she looked around the room and realised that everyone was looking at her now, waiting for her answer.
"Well, I uh… I pulled a couple of double shifts overnight at the café and only finished at nine this morning. I went home to pack and then got the train straight here," she explained before yawning so much that she had to put her hand over her mouth, her eyes swimming with tired tears.
"The train? Didn't you arrive at six? Normally it doesn't take that long," Mr Weasley said, frowning.
Poppy shook her head. "I got the Muggle one. Takes a little longer but it was cheaper. I could've Apparated but I've only just passed my test and thought I'd be too tired to concentrate properly on the journey."
Mr Weasley's eyes widened and he sat forwards in his armchair. "The Muggle train? Really? What was it like?"
Poppy smiled tiredly. "I got a window seat so it was nice actually. Mainly just filled with people on their way to the beach. Wasn't too bad, I listened to music and daydreamed mainly."
"They have music on their trains do they? Fascinating," Mr Weasley replied.
Poppy shook her head. "I've got an old cassette player so I was listening through my headphones. Normally trains are quiet or people talk to each other."
"How wonderful!" Mr Weasley replied. "I have two cass-eet players myself but never managed to get them to work..."
"I'll show you mine tomorrow if you'd like?"Poppy offered, hoping that soon the rest of the room would go back to their game and stop staring at her. And by the rest of the room she meant Charlie, who was still watching Mr Weasley and her converse.
"I'd love that!" Mr Weasley replied, grinning.
There was a loud bang followed by the smell of smoke and the sound of laughter.
Bill said, "Keep up Charlie!" as Charlie tried to pat his burning sleeve to put a small fire out.
Poppy yawned again. "Sorry," she said, rubbing her face. "I'm shattered."
"Well, bedtime then," Mrs Weasley exclaimed, standing up. "Arthur, let the girl sleep. You can ask her about the train while you're camping. And you two," she said, pointing at Bill and Charlie. "You came up with the game so you can put it away. No funny business. Bed in ten."
Bill rolled his eyes and a smattering of laughter echoed around the room. Even Mrs Weasley smiled at his candor.
The younger Weasleys, Hermione and Poppy traipsed upstairs while Charlie and Bill cleared up, and Poppy was shown to Ginny's bedroom for the first time. It was small, with three 'beds' crammed into it. One, which was obviously Ginny's, was a proper bed, while there was a small makeshift bed next to it, and then an old camping bed stuffed into the corner.
There was a large window with a small desk underneath it, and Poppy wondered what the view was like. She knew she'd find out in the morning, so she didn't ask. There was a poster on the wall of Gwenog Jones, of the Holyhead Harpies, and a small picture on Ginny's desk of a young Ginny, Charlie and her parents.
"You can have mine," Ginny said to Poppy, indicating her own bed.
Poppy smiled but rolled her eyes and chucked her bag onto the camping bed. She noticed the two girls' sighs of relief that they'd been able to keep their normal beds, and changed into her nightdress with a flick of her wand before she crawled under the covers and lay back against the lumpy, bumpy mattress. She shifted, trying to get comfy, and found her eyes drifting closed the second she was settled.
"Poooooooooooppppppppp," Ginny said.
Poppy opened one eye to see Ginny smiling mischievously at her. "What?"
"Can you," Ginny said, indicating her own fully clothed attire, and then her pyjamas which lay on her bed. Poppy rolled her eyes but did as Ginny asked, changing the red-head's clothes with a flick of her wand. "And Hermione?" Ginny asked cheekily. Poppy did the same for Hermione and then rolled over, closing her eyes.
"Will you teach me that spell in the morning?" Hermione asked.
Poppy hummed in reply and snuggled further into her pillow, too tired to properly speak.
"Charlie was sad he missed talking to you tonight," Ginny said.
Poppy moaned and woke up slightly. "He didn't even recognise me," she complained with slurred speech.
"He did..." Ginny called when the light went out, a lilt to her voice that Poppy couldn't quite place.
"What?" Poppy asked finally. Her interest was piqued and she really did want to know what Ginny had to say, but she also didn't want Ginny to know that she was more than slightly crushing on the younger girl's older brother.
"Charlie, he definitely recognised you," Hermione confirmed.
"Yeah, Fred thinks he just wasn't expecting you to be so..."Ginny said, trailing off.
"Grown up," Hermione supplied with a small giggle.
Poppy frowned - that's what Bill had said Fred, George and Percy had warned him about. But she'd forgotten about it until just then.
"Yes, thanks Hermione, he didn't think you'd be so grown up. I guess in his mind you're still my age, but... evidently, you've changed in the past three years..." Ginny added. "I can't say I've really seen him interested in many girls before, and even Bill said the same, but he keeps looking at you… I for one wouldn't mind you becoming a Weasley. Would be nice to have a sister."
Poppy thanked Merlin that the lights were out, she was so embarrassed. To cover herself, she let out a loud groan and shifted, trying to get comfier. She didn't want to let her mind whirl and give her any false hope.
There was silence for a minute before Ginny said, "Poppy?"
Poppy let out a long and exasperated groan this time. "What?" she asked moodily, trying to push the vision of Charlie in a Muggle tux at the end of an aisle out of her head.
Ginny giggled. "Just checking you heard me."
"I did," she replied. "And I'm ignoring you. Now night Hermione, night Ginny."
"Night Bounce!" called the girls.
Poppy's eyes flew open and she turned over in a flash, sitting up to stare through the darkness at the two girls. "He didn't," she hissed.
There was no answer but she could just about make out Hermione and Ginny's forms in their beds. They were both shaking from silent laughter.
"Ginerva Molly Weasley and Hermione Jean Granger, what did you just call me?" she hissed again.
"B- bounce!" Ginny cried, laughing loudly now.
"For god's sake!" Poppy said, flumping back against her pillows, glaring at the ceiling as she crossed her arms at her chest. "I'm going to kill him."
"I think it's cute," Hermione giggled.
"It's not," Poppy said angrily, "it's mortifying."
"Why does Char- Charlie call you that?" Ginny asked through her laughter.
Poppy sighed and let her arms flump to her sides as her anger ebbed away. "I'm slightly better at masking it now but when I get excited or enthusiastic about something I bounce in my seat or on my toes if I'm standing," she explained in an annoyed voice. "One time in my second year Charlie said it was like watching a human bouncing ball." She huffed and rolled her eyes at the ceiling. "And… my hair's so curly that the curls bounce back if I pull on them – which I used to do a lot as a nervous habit. So he started calling me 'Bounce' when he knew it would annoy me or when he teased me to cheer me up. But he always kept it as a friendly thing and didn't tell other people. It was an in-joke. I thought he'd only told everyone about Pop."
Poppy didn't mention that she had always secretly liked her nicknames, but only when Charlie said them.
Ginny said, "I think it's cute. And don't worry, he only told me about it so far, but I expect he'll start using it more soon."
"Oh god," Poppy moaned. "I really hope he doesn't. Why would he?"
Ginny snorted. "Because Fred and George have taken over 'Pop'. He has to prove he knows you better than they do somehow..."
"Why would he need to do that?" she asked through a long yawn.
"No reason," Hermione whispered.
Poppy was asleep before her words even registered.
Poppy woke in the early hours of the morning. Normally one for a lie-in when she didn't have to work, it took her a moment to realise why she'd woken up until she licked her lips and felt that her tongue and lips were uncomfortably dry and her teeth had a fluffy quality to them.
She sighed – she'd forgotten to brush her teeth.
Swinging her legs round to stand, she made her way to the bathroom across the hall slowly in the darkness. Once she'd brushed her teeth she splashed some water on her face and adjusted her hair, making it less... big… then she made way downstairs for a glass of water.
On the way down she managed to slip on the stairs. Three loud thuds echoed through the stairwell and Poppy waited for a minute to see if she'd woken anyone up. She heard someone shuffle upstairs but no doors opened, so she continued on her way, being more careful about where she stepped now.
Only, when she reached the kitchen she realised she didn't know where anything was.
Too tired still to notice that she was doing everything the Muggle way and that she could have just used magic to brush her teeth and conjure a glass and water, she began to search the cupboards near the kettle for a glass, using the moonlight streaming into the kitchen to guide her.
"Couldn't sleep?" Charlie asked.
Poppy turned around quickly to see him standing in the doorway, a soft orb of light hovering in the ceiling between them. He was wearing long pyjama trousers and a crinkled t-shirt which looked like he'd pulled it on hastily, and his wand was in his hand.
She shook her head and looked back towards the cupboards so that she didn't have to look at him - no one deserved to be that good-looking with messed up hair.
"Uh, I'm just looking for the glasses," she said, mentally scolding herself for saying something so stupid.
"Bottom cupboard by the sink. Mum put them there so we could get to them when we were younger. Old habits die hard I guess," Charlie said quietly.
Poppy opened the cupboard quickly. When she squatted down she grimaced – she realised she was thoroughly underdressed in her nightdress which was really just an oversized t-shirt. She made a mental note to wear full pyjamas on her excursions from now on. Charlie, who was apparently not at all interested in her, was one thing. But she didn't want to bump into Mrs Weasley like this - she didn't think the matriarch would like it.
"Get one for me would you?" he asked, and Poppy nodded. She filled the glasses at the sink and handed him one as she walked towards the door. "Thanks," he said, taking it with a smile. "I don't have Dragon Pox, y'know. You can stay down here," he added, chuckling.
Poppy smiled and shook her head sleepily, stopping beside him. "It's five. I'm going back to bed."
Charlie tipped his head to the side.
"You're not?" she asked, taking the bait.
He shook his head. "We have to get up early on the reserve. I guess I'm taking a little bit of time to get used to being back. Think I'm going to go for a little fly to clear my head. I was going to ask if you wanted to join me since you're up?" he asked with a cheeky twinkle in his eye.
Poppy laughed. "I hate you."
Charlie placed a hand over his chest and looked at her innocently. "You still don't like flying? Didn't you try out for the Hufflepuff team in your fourth year?"
Poppy sighed. Ginny had obviously told him the story already.
"Yeah yeah, went about as well as a burst balloon," she replied, glaring at him playfully. "And before you continue laughing, remember that I'm a sensitive soul."
Charlie laughed quietly, looking up the stairs behind him. "You were never that bad, just not..."
"No, no, let's get this straight. I was horrendous!" she whispered, noticing that he was conscious of the sound they were making, "I should never have been allowed on a broom, I should've always stayed as a watcher. It was awful. Mortifying. I'm lucky Harry started school when he did because it meant people stopped talking about me and started whispering about him!"
Charlie laughed quietly and closed the door to the kitchen so the sound wouldn't travel up the stairs. "Then why'd you try out?" he asked in a normal voice now.
"It's your fault really," she admitted, moving slightly closer to him unconsciously. "When you finished school you said that everyone should have a go at Quidditch at least once because, and I quote, 'The only thing better than flying is dragons'."
Charlie laughed and shook his head. "No! That's not why, is it?"
"Why d'you think I resent you now?" she teased, pushing him lightly on the shoulder.
Charlie grinned. "Well, how do you feel about flying when someone else has the controls? Wanna join me?"
Poppy pursed her lips and thought about it for a second. On one hand, she didn't want to – she was tired and really should sleep, but on the other, she owed it to her fourteen-year-old self to get on a broom with her first crush. So she did what any crazy person would do – she said, "Yeah, sure, why not?" But then she remembered why not. "Actually, rain check on that. Sorry, not sure if your mum would be happy if I stole one of her sons in the early hours of the morning. She might get the wrong idea, and I'm still trying to make a good impression."
Charlie's smile dropped slightly but he nodded nonetheless. "Yeah, you're right," he said, opening the door for her when she moved towards it. "See you later then."
Poppy waved and made her way back upstairs.
A few hours later, Poppy was shaken awake by Hermione, who told her breakfast was almost ready. She changed quickly, adding a bra and pyjama trousers to her oversized top and then ran downstairs, following the delicious smell of sausages, bacon, eggs and slightly burnt toast.
"Saved you a seat, Poppy," Percy called from near the door.
"Unfortunately it's Sunday so Percy's at home today," George quipped. Mrs Weasley turned to her son with a spatula aloft and a glare on her face and he gulped. "I meant, 'Percy's at home today,'" he corrected.
Poppy tried not to laugh.
"Thank you. Now, Poppy, do sit. Eat, eat," Mrs Weasley said, smiling kindly.
Poppy made her way around the table to sit in between Percy and Ginny while Mrs Weasley counted each of the kids, pointing her spatula at them as she did.
Poppy reached for a slice of toast and waited for Ginny to finish piling bacon and eggs onto her plate so that she could do the same.
"Where's Charlie?" the matriarch asked finally, frowning.
"Shower?" George asked, shrugging.
"No, he wasn't there when I woke up," Bill supplied.
"He went for a fly. He'll probably be back soon," Poppy said, buttering her toast.
She didn't immediately notice the silence descend on the kitchen.
"How d'you know that?" Ginny asked, placing her cutlery down on her plate.
Poppy frowned and reached over to take some bacon. "I came downstairs for water at about five and he was heading out… what?" she asked, looking around at the Weasleys.
"Nothing," Ginny said, narrowing her eyes. "Charlie was-"
"Can we move on, please?" Percy asked, shaking his head. "Charlie is an adult. We don't need a play-by-play of-"
Ginny glowered at her brother and raised her voice to ask Poppy pointedly, "Charlie was up at five?"
"Yeah. They have to get up early on the reserve. He said he's still not used to lie-ins yet," Poppy explained, dropping a ladleful of baked beans onto her plate.
"Liar!" Fred said loudly, spraying some scrambled egg onto the table in front of him. Bill cleaned it up with a flick of his wand and Fred thanked him before adding, "He was asleep until eleven yesterday."
Poppy shrugged, "Don't shoot the messenger. Oh… I might've woken him up…" she said, placing her cutlery on the table and looking at the ceiling.
"You woke him up?" Mrs Weasley asked, and Poppy gulped at her tone.
"I fell down the stairs trying to get to the kitchen in the dark," she explained, looking apologetically at the matriarch.
"Ever heard of a wand?" George asked cheekily.
"I forgot," she admitted.
Ginny snorted. "Of course you did."
Poppy was saved from any further interrogation by Charlie, who opened the kitchen door. He was still wearing his pyjamas and he slipped off his wellies at the threshold. "Alright?" he asked, nodding at everyone. "Just went for a-"
"Fly, we know. Poppy told us," Percy said exasperatedly. "You know some of us have more important things to do than sitting around talking about someone's fitness habits. I for one have incredibly important work to finish, and-"
"Give it a rest, Perce," Bill scolded.
Charlie rolled his eyes at his younger brother. "Tattletale," he teased Poppy, sitting down on Ginny's other 's head was a blur of red flicking back and forth as she looked between her friend and her older brother.
"Oh, Arthur, dear. What time are you picking up Harry again?" Mrs Weasley asked, taking all of their attention away. "I'm just thinking about dinner."
"Five," he said, checking his watch. "I've had the Floo all connected."
"His aunt and uncle are going to hate it," Ron laughed. "Can't wait to see their faces!"
"I do hope they won't mind too much… clean up afterwards, won't you, Arthur?" Mrs Weasley asked, frowning and piling more sausages onto the platter in the middle of the table.
"As long as they've not blocked up the fireplace you should be okay," Poppy said, smiling.
"Blocked up... why would someone block up a fireplace?" Percy asked.
Poppy smiled. "Muggle fashions change I guess. We mainly use central heating now, so some people don't like having a working fire," she said, looking at Hermione for back-up.
The younger witch smiled and nodded. "That's right."
"Now I've heard about this central thingy," Mr Weasley said, brandishing his fork around in the air. "Learnt a bit about it at school. But I can't get my head around it. What exactly makes it… central?" Mr Weasley asked.
Poppy grinned. "I could try and explain, but it's a bit complicated and might take a while," she said.
"Please," Mr Weasley replied.
"Here we go," Ron groaned.
"Should I move over?" Poppy asked, moving to stand.
"No, no, go ahead," Mr Weasley said, grinning. "I'm sure everyone will find this fascinating."
"Okay, get ready for the worst and most inaccurate explanation," Poppy said, before taking a last bite of sausage.
She spent the next ten minutes explaining what radiators, boilers, water tanks, and gas were, and at one point even found herself making a crude drawing to further explain how this all looked within a Muggle house.
"Fascinating. Absolutely fascinating!" Mr Weasley cried, clapping when Poppy said that some Muggles even used electric heaters.
After a while, the group dispersed and Poppy, Ginny and Hermione went upstairs to get washed and changed. After a blissful shower, Poppy's long, damp curls cascaded down her back and she decided to let her hair air dry in the heat of the lovely summer's day. As the steam subsided in the bathroom she let herself look in the mirror for a moment, inspecting her appearance again.
She sighed and leant forwards over the sink to apply some mascara and fill in her eyebrows. It wasn't much at all, but it was her everyday make-up routine, and it made her feel slightly more put together.
When she was happy, she changed into a red sundress which fell to just above her knees and tied at the side, and grabbed a book from her backpack. Then she ran downstairs, waving happily at the Weasley boys who were mostly all still in the kitchen, sat round the large table grazing on leftovers and chatting.
"The girls are in the orchard," Mrs Weasley said, pointing out of the window, and Poppy ran out to meet them without stopping to put on shoes, her hair bouncing behind her. She found Ginny and Hermione sitting under a tree and so she conjured a blanket to lie on her front and read her book.
"Why was Percy working yesterday?" she asked after a while, putting her book down on the fabric in front of her. "Actually, why is he working today?"
Ginny shrugged but Hermione answered, "Ron says he's been working really hard trying to prove himself at the office. Everyone's pulling shifts to get everything ready for the World Cup so he's been going in extra days to show his face."
Poppy frowned.
"Why d'you ask?" Ginny asked, sitting up to watch Poppy's expression. "Think he's got a good work ethic?" she teased.
Poppy smiled but shrugged. "No, I just spent the whole summer working myself to the bone. I thought when I got a proper job I'd at least get days off…"
"Don't you want to be an Auror?" Ginny asked.
Poppy wrinkled her nose. "It's my dream… but I'd like to think I could have a lie in one day of the week…"
"That's really cool," Hermione said, sitting up. "How do you qualify? What? We haven't covered careers yet," she added when Ginny huffed.
Poppy smiled. "Good grades, good application… hard work mostly. It's very competitive so I'm trying to be realistic. That, and there aren't that many Dark Wizards going round at the moment, Sirius Black excluded, and they haven't taken anyone on in a couple of years."
"What about a nice job at the Ministry?" Hermione asked quickly. Poppy didn't notice her emphasis on 'nice' which she obviously meant to mean 'safe'. "You could ask Percy how he got into his role?"
Poppy shook her head. "Honestly, I think I'd hate to be stuck behind a desk all day processing boring Ministry documents…"
"What about processing boring documents outside of the Ministry?" Ginny teased.
"Now that wouldn't be so bad," Poppy laughed.
"Then you could talk to Bill or Charlie?" Hermione proposed.
"Talk to us about what?" Bill asked, walking up to the trio. He sat down in the shade next to Ginny.
"Nothing," Poppy answered, rolling onto her back, closing her eyes and shaking her head. "We're just talking about existential issues."
"Ah, yes," Bill nodded, but when Poppy opened an eye, she caught him shooting Ginny a look which said, 'what?' and Ginny giggling.