Chapter 20

The Pangs of Growing Up

With a sharp crack I re-materialised with Granddad in the front garden of Moonlake Cottage. I took hold of my trunk while Granddad took Gizmo and pulled it up the footpath. When I reached the front door, I stopped. I looked back out into the fields surrounding the cottage, the sun setting in the distance over one of the hills and the remnants of the moon just visible in the darkening skies. For the first time since I came to Moonlake four years ago I felt … strange. Like something was missing. It felt like there was a weight in my chest and I couldn't shake it nor was I sure what was causing it.

'Jenna?' I looked round when I heard Lupin's voice. I hadn't expected him to be awake. He walked into the hallway from the living room to see me still standing in the doorway. 'Is everything all right?'

I glanced back into the night. Suddenly I knew what it was.

'D'you think he'll be OK?' I asked. For some reason I couldn't bring myself to say my Dad; as if all that had happened a few weeks ago had been too good to be true because, in the end, Pettigrew had got away and Dad was still a convicted man. 'Out there … on the run again?'

Lupin seemed to know whom I was talking about.

'Why don't you ask him for yourself?'

My heart lurched. I span round, my eyes wide at his words. It couldn't …

Lupin merely smiled then stepped to one side. From out of the living room walked a man I didn't think I'd see again for quite some time but who had assured me I would see again. He looked different this time. Although it had been merely a few weeks, his face looked fuller, happier and not as skeletal as before. The dirt had been scrubbed from his now pinker skin and his black hair had been cut to just above his shoulders, falling neatly either side with a casual elegance I recognised from photos I'd seen. The scrubby beard he had sported from years of being incarcerated had been trimmed and neatened, exaggerating the already aristocratic look about him. He no longer wore the shabby prison robes that had drenched his emaciated figure, but instead was dressed in an old but remarkably smart waistcoat and robes that highlighted the fact he must have had a few good meals recently.

I couldn't help but stare, my mouth slightly open. Was I really seeing this? Was my Dad really standing in front of me?

Dad gave Lupin a quick glance as if he was as unsure as I was about what to do. Lupin nodded back in encouragement.

'Jenna?' he said. There was a hopeful tone to his voice. 'It's all right, I'm here.'

I took in a sharp breath.

'Dad …'

Without a second's more hesitation, I ran towards Dad as he bent down with open arms. I jumped into them, hugging him tightly, not wanting to let go again. Dad returned the hug just as tight, his hand stroking my hair. His face turned and I felt him kiss my cheek, the whiskers of his beard strangely comforting on my skin. Tears stung at my eyes as they threatened to roll down my cheeks. I didn't know how long the hug last, only that it ended with Dad picking me up like he would a young child. I nestled there in his arms, my face resting on his shoulder as he turned to Lupin and Grandad.

'She's missed you so much,' said Granddad. His expression was sympathetic as he rested a hand on Lupin's shoulder. 'Remus only did what he thought was right, Sirius. He just wanted to protect Jenna from more pain.'

'I know, Lyall,' replied Dad. He then turned to Lupin. 'You've done a remarkable job raising her, Remus, but I won't hide the fact I wish you hadn't kept who I was from her. Tala wouldn't have wanted that.'

Lupin nodded in agreement.

'I am sorry, Sirius,' he replied. He was frowning, his young face once again showing its age because of his lycanthropy. Lupin reached out and gently tucked my hair behind my ear. 'I just never knew how to tell her, scared of how she'd react. But every day I realise more and more how just like her mother she is.'

I smiled.

Though I knew the time Dad would spend here would be brief, I made the most of the time I had with him. Whilst Lupin prepared dinner for the four of us, I sat with Dad quietly in the living room, taking the chance to finally get to know the man who was my father. As he told me stories of his days at Hogwarts, I watched as he seemed to become more and more like the man Mum had written about in her diary and the photos I'd seen, and less like the criminal I had first met in Diagon Alley a year ago. He grinned as he talked about the pranks he and James used to pull, his bark-like laughter a joy to hear while he recounted these tales.

'What about you and Mum?' I asked eventually, eager to know everything he could tell me. This was wanted I most wanted to hear about. 'When did you meet? What was she like?'

The smile on Dad's face seemed to falter when I mentioned her. His grey eyes took on an almost distant look as he remembered his former love.

'Tala,' he breathed. His voice sounded heavier than before, and his chest rose in a deep sigh. He ran a hand over his face, brushing back his hair. 'Tala was the most amazing witch I ever met,' said Dad. 'There was just something about her from the moment I met her, like a part of me always knew she was the love of my life.

'I met Tala when she started Hogwarts,' Dad began. 'She was the year below Remus, James and me. We didn't get off to the best of starts. As outgoing and friendly as Tala was, she was very distrustful of us. She would always give me suspicious looks, and rightly so, because James and I were trying to find out why Remus would disappear every month, and it became more obvious to us something was going on when she started to as well. When we found out, she was sceptical that we would keep their secrets, but slowly she began to warm up to us, even if it did mean I had to be on guard as she was as bad as James and I were when it came to pranks.'

I grinned. Dad grinned back.

'Tala had a wicked sense of humour,' he chuckled. 'She loved taking part in our pranks when she was younger, much to Remus's dismay that we were rubbing off on her, but Tala needed no encouragement. She even started a jinx-war with me which I, of course, didn't hesitate to prank her back. Needless to say, it was that that first attracted me to her even though I didn't know it at the time. Tala was my best friend's fun little sister,' shrugged Dad, 'I never really thought too much into it when I just a stupid kid myself.'

'So how did you two happen then?' I asked, curiously. 'If you were just some stupid kid, what made you fall for each other?'

Dad chuckled again, 'I guess Tala was the one who made me grow up. I was an idiot at school; I went from being a stupid kid to an even stupider teenager. As I got older, I found I liked the attention our pranks got, especially from the girls at Hogwarts, and more importantly, I liked the attention I got from Tala. My parents were never the most affectionate people, and my brother was a little suck up I couldn't stand, so James and our antics provided me with a much-needed outlet. But whilst I got more childish, Tala got more serious. She began to hang out with Lily, Harry's mother, a lot more, and she was as studious as her brother. We didn't drift apart as such, we were always close, we just didn't hang out as much as we used to, and she played a much smaller role in our pranks. Her sense of humour never changed though.

'It probably wasn't until my fifth year that I finally got the wake-up call I needed,' Dad continued. 'There was an incident between us and Snape that made me realise just what Tala meant to me and get my act together for my final years.'

'When you told Snape how to get into the passage beneath the Whomping Willow?' I asked. Dad shook his head.

'No, that wasn't until the following year,' said Dad heavily, 'and Tala wasn't even supposed to be there.

'It was during my fifth year at Hogwarts. By then, the Marauders had made a name for ourselves at school, and James and I were a pair of very cocky teenagers. We'd strut about the school with such confidence, and we knew so much more than any of the other students from our times during the full moon. We felt like we could do anything we wanted. Of course, our arrogance didn't go unnoticed, and James and Snape's rivalry hit its peak whilst we were sitting our O.W.L.s.'

I frowned, curious as to what Dad was talking about. What happened?

'We were down by the lake after one of our exams, James, Remus, Pettigrew and I,' explained Dad. 'James was bored and had seen Snape sitting on his own so jinxed him for entertainment. An argument ensued between them drawing the attention of other students including Tala who was with Lily at the time. Snape lashed out in anger at James and when Tala and Lily stood up for him, he called them a Mudblood and a –' Dad hesitated, 'a half-breed.'

'What?' I gasped, shocked. It was not the first time I had heard Snape use this term; he had called me one not a few weeks ago back in the Shrieking Shack. 'How did Snape even know what Mum was?'

'My guess is he had witnessed Tala transforming at some point,' said Dad. 'He used to spy on us a lot at school.'

'So that must be how he knew I was one,' I said. 'Lupin said magical abilities are often passed on to children. It's not something he would have told him.'

Dad frowned, then continued his story.

'James and I were outraged by Snape's insults, and we demanded he apologise to them, but Lily shut us all down straight away. The damage was done. The hurt I saw on Tala's face, I'll never forget.'

Dad paused. He sighed. I guess the memory must still hurt him.

'When I went to apologise, Tala wouldn't listen. It was then I realised I didn't like Tala being mad at me; I didn't like seeing her hurt. Over the next few days, I kept trying to talk to her until Remus told me to leave it. I argued back and blurted out without thinking how I felt in front of them.'

'What happened?' I asked. 'Did Mum have feelings for you too?'

'Well,' Dad paused again, rubbing the back of his neck, 'you see, I had a bit of a reputation at school, besides being an arrogant twat. I was known as a Chaser, a reputation I did nothing to discourage.'

'You played Quidditch?' I said, confused. I didn't understand. What was wrong with that?

'Not exactly, but the term comes from the game,' explained Dad. 'I had a lot of girlfriends during that year at school. I never really stuck to a relationship, nor did I deny any rumours that came from the girls I dated although most were untrue and made up by jealous girls trying to compete with each other in how much attention I'd given them. Both Tala and Remus knew of my Chaser reputation, so unsurprisingly Remus did not want me to do the same to his sister and he forbade me from seeing her as anything but a friend.'

'Then how did you two end up together?' I asked.

'Well, like you,' said Dad, 'Tala had a certain disregard for people telling her what to do, especially her older brother. After my rather … revealing outburst, I went back to my dormitory regretting how badly I'd messed things up. I started packing my trunk as the Hogwarts Express was leaving the next day, angrily cursing to myself at how stupid I'd been, knowing I had two months of summer to stew over it and hope Tala would forget I'd ever said anything. Little did I know until I turned around that Tala was standing behind me in my dormitory and had heard everything I'd said. I just stared at her, unable to say anything. So, Tala being Tala, took things into her own hands.'

'What did she do?'

'She slapped me,' said Dad simply, and he laughed. I stared at him. Mum had slapped him? And that was a good thing? 'She slapped me, called me an idiot, then gave me the best kiss I've ever had.'

I stared at Dad. Of all the ways I'd imagined in the past how my parents got together, that was certainly not one of the scenarios I'd ever come up with. It could have been a long-term crush that resulted in them dating; or perhaps it could have been a dare that revealed their feelings to each other; instead it was by accident that Mum had even found out about Dad's feelings, which by the sounds of it Dad hadn't realised either until the moment he'd said it, and their first kiss together was preceded by Dad being slapped and being called an idiot. Not the most romantic of starts but surprisingly seemed very fitting for what my parent's relationship through school had been like.

'Our relationship was not easy though,' continued Dad. 'Tala had to deal with a lot of jealousy from other girls who I'd previously been with, some who went to extreme lengths to break us up. She shouldn't have had to put up with it, but it was my own behaviour in the past which meant she did. We were together for two years before eventually one of these girls managed to break us up. I was honest with Tala about what had happened, but it was too much and she ended it.'

'But she – she loved you,' I said, a hint of sadness in my voice. 'Mum wouldn't give up like that.'

'Tala was hurting, I knew she was, but she wasn't very good at showing her emotions. She avoided me that summer and as I'd finished Hogwarts, I thought she would never speak to me again.

'But outside of Hogwarts, things were changing.' All of a sudden, Dad's voice became more serious. 'While at school we had only ever heard whispers and rumours of the growing tensions in the wizarding world. It wasn't until then that James, Remus, Lily and I became aware of Voldemort and his Death Eaters and his desire for pure-blood dominance over Muggles and those deemed unworthy of having magic.'

'Like my Grandma,' I breathed. Dad nodded.

'It didn't take long for James and Lily to attract the attention of Voldemort. Both of them were extremely talented, had been Head Boy and Girl at school. Powerful wizards were Voldemort's target for new recruits so when James and Lily refused him, even with Lily being unworthy as a Muggle-born, Voldemort wasn't pleased and they along with their close friends became targets of his Death Eaters to scare into joining him.'

I already knew bits of this part of the story. When I had first met my Granddad, I had asked how Grandma had died. She had been ill for a long time leading up to when I was born, the reason behind it being a Death Eater attack on their family home before Mum's final year of school. As my Grandma was a Muggle, this would have been one of the reasons behind the attack; it appears another reason was because of Lupin and Mum's links to the Potters.

'Tala was labelled a target just like me and Remus because of our connections to James and Lily,' said Dad. 'What was worse were her connections to me. My whole family were supporters of Voldemort and his ideals; some had even joined him and become Death Eaters. I was disowned by them for being a blood traitor and had left home at sixteen and was living with James at the time. I was a disgrace to them for not supporting pure-bloods and turning my back on my heritage, even more so when they found I was dating a half-blood. When I had defended my decision to my family, I had unintentionally given away that Tala was my weakness and so what better way to blackmail me into joining them through using her. They were one of many families who were targeted. Their home was almost destroyed in the attack, your grandmother subjected to torture which left permanent damage that she eventually died of, and Tala was seriously injured.'

The more and more I learnt about the First Wizarding War, the more I began to realise just how dangerous Voldemort must have been at the height of his power before I was born. And since then Voldemort had attempted to return twice now. The only thing that had stopped him both times was Harry. This scared me; how many more times was Voldemort going to attempt regain power? And now with Pettigrew alive and evading capture, how long would it before he got back to his former master and Voldemort would succeed? An even worse thought then occurred to me: if he did manage to come back, how long would it be before he attempted to kill Harry once more? A strange pain went through my chest as I realised this.

'Were you there for her?' I asked, my mind going back to Dad's story.

'Of course, I was,' said Dad, 'but there were some scars which even I couldn't heal.

'Tala returned to Hogwarts for her final year, leaving me behind. While I couldn't protect her at school, though I knew she'd be safe under Dumbledore's protection, James, Lily, Remus and I all joined the Order of the Phoenix and began working against Voldemort and his armies. During that time, I kept in contact with Tala while she finished her N.E. , and slowly our old friendship rekindled itself, and she joined us in the Order when she graduated. Her talent at medical spellwork was invaluable as everyday people were getting injured; her natural compassion for others kept her calm through everything she saw and every injury she healed. We were all under a huge amount of stress during that time, so when James and Lily got married that summer, and we had a brief moment of normality in the middle of a war, I guess the atmosphere got to Tala and she admitted she still loved me. Being still in love with her as well, I couldn't help myself in that moment and we slept together. We both knew though it would be a one-night thing. We were in the middle of a war; each day we didn't know if we would be killed or be alive to see the next; re-starting our relationship was the last thing on our minds. So, we continued as we were fighting in the Order despite Tala now being pregnant.'

I nodded to show I was following along when something suddenly occurred to me.

'Hang on, Mum got pregnant during the summer? But I was born in August. That doesn't add up.'

'Tala took a Stalling Potion,' explained Dad. 'She was young, and we were in the middle of a war. It wasn't the right time to have a baby. She took it without me knowing. I didn't even know that she was pregnant; she hadn't told me. A part of me still thinks Tala would never have told me. The moment she did though, I proposed to her there and then. I didn't have a ring or anything but I knew that if there was even the slightest chance we were going to survive this war, I wanted Tala by my side from then on and I would die before letting anything happen to her or the baby.'

From the kitchen came Lupin's voice calling us in for dinner. I got up and led Dad into the dining room as Lupin floated a roast chicken on to the set table. Talk around dinner was subdued and mainly between Lupin and Dad as they discussed what was going to happen next as Dad had to go into hiding and they needed to draw attention away from us so we wouldn't be suspected for harbouring a fugitive. Lupin had provided Dad with some of his old clothes that Lupin had had in the attic as well as Dad's old wand; when Dad had first been arrested, Mum had been listed as his next of kin despite having died and he was the last in his family line, all of Dad's old things had transferred to Lupin's possession including his wand. In the end it was decided that Dad was to leave first thing tomorrow morning, and, for our own safety, we weren't to know where he would go.

A heavy feeling weighed in my heart at the thought of Dad leaving again although I knew he had to. I silently ate my food, sad in the knowledge that when I woke up tomorrow morning, Dad would be gone.

After dinner, the four of us retired back to the living room. Drowsy from the long journey home and full from dinner, I sat on the sofa in Dad's arms as he continued to talk to Lupin and Granddad. I listened to their conversation, only half aware of what they were talking about.

'So, Pettigrew was at Tala's murder,' Dad was saying, his voice quiet. 'Do you think she knew?'

'I do now,' muttered Lupin. He sighed. 'Tala always knew things we didn't.'

'She'd told me that she'd seen her own death,' muttered Dad after a moment's pause. 'She said she'd had one of those flashes she'd get sometimes. I should have listened to her; I'd told her not to worry, that she had been wrong before. It must have been triggered by Pettigrew the last time they saw each other at James and Lily's wedding. They were only ever triggered when she touched something specific to her future; maybe when she got that flash, it revealed Pettigrew's loyalty to Voldemort to her. But then why didn't she tell us?'

Silence, then, 'I don't know,' admitted Lupin. 'To protect herself? If she'd exposed Pettigrew, it would have put her in serious danger. By not revealing what she knew, Pettigrew would have been none the wiser that his true allegiance had been given away.'

I felt Dad shift beside me. His hand gently started to stroke my head. I could feel his fingers lightly drawing circles on my skin.

'I don't know how I could ever thank you, Remus,' said Dad. 'Jenna … she's turned out exactly how I'd hope.'

'If you mean a headstrong, stubborn, miniature version of Tala,' chuckled Lupin, 'you aren't wrong there. You should be very proud of her, Padfoot. She's been through a lot but has adjusted well to the wizarding world since I found her. I think having Harry in her life has helped a lot; they've known each other since they were eight apparently. The orphanage I found her in was not too far from Harry's relatives and they got sent to the same school.'

'I can't begin to imagine how hard a life she's had, or Harry. It's not fair on them. But at least they had each other. I just wish I could have been there, like I should have been. If Pettigrew hadn't of gotten away the first time, or if Tala had just told us what she'd known, none of this would have happened.'

'It's been difficult at times, but I did what I could. Having very little family that weren't supporters of Voldemort, I was very glad to hear she'd made friends at Hogwarts so easily. Jenna, Harry and their two friends get into as much trouble as we used to when we were at school. Still, I want to introduce her to your cousin Andromeda and her daughter, so she can meet more of her family who weren't aligned with Voldemort during the First Wizarding War. I think it's important she knows –' Lupin cleared his throat, 'not all her family were his supporters. She knows she's related to Lucius Malfoy and his son but that's about the extent of it at the moment.'

Dad let out a hollow laugh, 'Sounds about right. My family wasn't exactly the most accepting of those who were different. I certainly didn't want Jenna to grow up with people like that in her life. But I agree, she should meet Dromeda and Nymphadora at some point. Dromeda was my favourite cousin after all, she was disowned as well when she married a Muggle-born, and Nymphadora can't be too much older than Jenna. She was only a little kid when I was imprisoned.' A pause. 'Does she know about Bellatrix yet?'

'I've mentioned her in the past as a relative, but never in great detail. That is another conversation I'm not looking forward to having.'

'I fear she may find out sooner than we want if what I heard in Azkaban was true.'

Bellatrix, I repeated in my head. Whose Bellatrix?

I shifted, turning my head on to its side. Suddenly I sat up. I was in my bed. The summer sunlight was streaming through the curtains into my bedroom. It was morning. I must have fallen asleep downstairs last night and been brought upstairs. That meant one thing: Dad was gone. I looked around. I couldn't stop the rush of sadness that swept over me; I knew Dad would have to leave, it had been agreed, but I didn't even get to say goodbye. It just wasn't fair. I sighed. A hundred questions started to race through my mind. Where would he go? Would I ever see him again? Would it even be safe to contact him? Will we ever be able to clear his name so I can have my Dad back?

Tring

I blinked. What was that noise? It was like some sort of musical trill. I scanned my room for the source of the noise. Tring. There it was again. It wasn't a single note, it was … music? And it was coming from my bookcase. I got up and walked over to it. There on the top shelf was an object I didn't recognise; it was a small golden orb sat on a three-legged stand. The music was coming from it. I reached up and picked it up. I'd never seen anything like this before. My eyes narrowed. What was it? Picking it up didn't make it do anything. What was it meant to do? There was a tag attached to one of its legs. I turned it over to read the writing on it.

Jenna – if you ever feel alone, remember I'm always with you.
For fourteen missed birthdays.
With love
Dad

'It's from Dad,' I breathed.

Not sure if it would work, I placed the strange object on my desk then picked up my wand. I knelt down and, cautiously, tapped the orb with the tip of my wand.

Slowly, as if hot liquid had been poured on top of it, the sides of the orbs melted away to reveal what was inside. The light in my room was suddenly cast into shadow as a set of tiny lights illuminated themselves on an almost pitch-black background. The music continued, a beautiful melody playing. As I watched, I realised what it was I was looking at. It was a star – no – a constellation, and the darkness around it was the night sky. I stared at it, my mouth slightly open. It was beautiful. The constellation slowly rotated in place for me to look at, a single star in the middle the brightest point. We had studied constellations in our Astronomy classes at Hogwarts. While not one of my strongest subjects, I was able to recognise what star this was.

'Canis Major,' I breathed. I picked up the tag and re-read what Dad had written. 'Canis Major has the star Sirius, one of the brightest stars visible at night.'

The music came to a slow end. The orb that had melted away reformed around the night sky and the orb became whole once more.

'Like he said, he'll always be with me.'

While the gift warmed my heart, I couldn't help but worry if Dad was going to be OK.

Although I couldn't help but be concerned over Dad's whereabouts as the summer holidays began, and every morning I checked the Daily Prophet for any possible sightings of him and taking no news to mean good news, I did at least have something to look forward to. The Quidditch World Cup was to take place in August a couple of weeks after my fourteenth birthday and Ron had written to me within the first week to let me know his dad was indeed going to try and get enough tickets for us to all go together. While I didn't follow Quidditch to the extent Ron did, the idea of seeing a full scale Quidditch with international league players was an opportunity I didn't want to miss. I just hoped Ron's dad would be able to get the tickets. I asked Lupin if it would be all right for me to go to the World Cup. He had no problem with it, but he did request if I could ask the Weasleys if they could look after me for from the week leading up to the game as he had an offer of work for the majority of the month.

'What's the work?' I asked when he told me this.

'Professor Dumbledore has asked a favour of me,' replied Lupin. 'After my resignation left Hogwarts without a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher again, I felt I owed him so agreed to it. Unfortunately, it does mean I'll be away for most of the remainder of the holidays and your grandfather can't take you as he'll be visiting friends in South Africa during that time.'

I nodded, telling Lupin I would ask Ron to ask his mum if I could stay. It would mean making sure I had everything ready for Hogwarts before I left for Ron's house as I would be staying there until school was to start again. I had never been there before so seeing where another wizarding family lived was going to be interesting in itself. It wasn't that Moonlake Cottage was boring, but nothing particularly exciting happened around here either.

With the end of July came my school list from Hogwarts and the yearly trip to Diagon Alley to replenish my potion ingredients, stationary, and get any new books I'd been assigned for classes. As the fourth year was mainly a progression of third year, there weren't too many to pick up including The Standard Book of Spells Grade Four and Intermediate Transfiguration. Glancing through these books, I could tell the work was going to pile on this year as we started to work towards our Ordinary Wizarding Levels. I also had to get some new school robes as after three years mine had gotten a little worn around the hems and short as I had grown somewhat since I got them when I was eleven. The only other thing to pick up was a birthday present for Harry which this year, in keeping with seeing the World Cup, I got him a pair of fingerless Quidditch gauntlets; they were supposedly better for Seekers, providing adequate protection like standard gauntlets but freed up the fingers for catching the Snitch.

That wasn't the only thing I was getting Harry for his birthday. Shortly after the summer holidays had begun, I received a letter from Harry asking to send emergency food as soon as possible. His cousin, Dudley, had been put on a diet by his aunt and because Dudley was on it, that meant everyone was on it, including Harry. So, in order to make sure Harry didn't suffer while Dudley endured his new food regime, I sent Gizmo along with some trays of brownies and rocky road I'd made to tide Harry over until his birthday. For his birthday along with the gauntlets I sent a treacle tart, Harry's favourite dessert, for him to enjoy as well. Hopefully that would keep him going.

My fourteenth birthday was my final day at Moonlake that summer. After a birthday breakfast of pancakes with Lupin and Granddad, I got dressed and gathered my things to leave for Ron's house despite still having no confirmation as to whether or not his Dad had managed to get any tickets yet. I packed the last few things into my trunk and clicked the locks shut. All that was left to sort out was Gizmo. Grabbing a scrap of parchment from my desk, I wrote a short note for Gizmo to deliver for me.

Dear Padfoot
I hope you're safe and well. I'm going to be at my friend Ron's house for the rest of the summer
before school starts. I just thought you should know where I am.
Love
Paws

I re-read the note, unsure if I should even send it, then attached it to Gizmo's leg.

'OK, Gizmo,' I told him, 'this note's for my Dad. He's in hiding and could be anywhere. Just make sure he gets it and be careful. I'll be at Ron's from today until the end of the holidays so you can find me afterwards.' I stroked Gizmo's head and held out my arm. Gizmo fluttered on to it and I took him over to the window. With a gentle nip on my ear, Gizmo spread his wings and took off. Although I had no idea where Dad could be, or if he was even still in the country, I knew Gizmo would find him. I grabbed his empty cage and the handle of my trunk and dragged them downstairs to wait for Mr Weasley to arrive.

It was noon when I finally heard the rush of flames in the fireplace indicating that someone had arrived by Floo powder. I got up from the kitchen table where I'd been reading my copy of The Standard Book of Spells Grade Four and walked into the living room. Stepping out from the grate was an ash-covered Mr Weasley followed by two of his sons, Fred and George. I guess they'd come to help with my trunk.

I had only met Mr Weasley on a few occasions in the past when I had met up with Ron and the others in Diagon Alley (I could hardly forget his altercation with Mr Malfoy in Flourish and Blotts) or when he and Mrs Weasley had been called to the school at the end of my second-year. A middle-aged wizard, Mr Weasley cheerfully brushed the ash off his robes and from his thinning bright red hair, a familial trait that ran through all his children. Lupin too had been alerted of their arrival and had emerged from his office, warmly greeting Mr Weasley with a handshake and thanking him for taking me for the rest of the summer. Just behind them stood Fred and George, Ron's older twin brothers who were almost indistinguishable as to who was who; both were tall and thin with the same grown-out red hair and freckle patterns on their faces and were dressed unlike their father in casual clothes.

'All right, Jenna,' said Fred, grinning broadly. I had only just learnt to tell them apart: Fred was the more outgoing of the two of them, and was usually seen grinning about something; George on the other hand I had noticed was a bit more laid back of the two of them, and tended to make fun of himself more than others. Physically, the only way I could tell them apart was looking for the freckle Fred had by his lip that George didn't. 'Some place you've got here,' he said, glancing out at the fields surrounding the cottage.

'Seems you'll be right at home with us,' agreed George. 'We live in the middle of nowhere too.'

'I can't wait,' I replied. 'Ron's told me a lot about your home. It sounds amazing.'

'It's all right,' shrugged Fred, 'lot of yelling though.'

'Usually at us,' added George. He smirked then winked at me. I grinned, not noticing the warm tingle that crossed my cheeks when he did so.

'All ready to go, Jenna?' Mr Weasley then asked. I nodded. 'Right, Fred, you go ahead with Jenna's trunk. George, grab the cage and both of you head back.'

'Sure thing, Dad,' said Fred. He grabbed my trunk then took a handful of Floo powder from the pouch Mr Weasley held out to him. 'See you there, Jenna.' He threw the powder into the fireplace and, with a flash of emerald flames, vanished. George quickly followed suit and also disappeared.

'Thanks again for taking Jenna for the rest of the holidays, Arthur,' said Lupin. 'I wouldn't normally ask but Albus requires my help on a pretty urgent matter.'

'It's our pleasure, Remus,' replied Mr Weasley. 'Molly and I are happy to help in any way we can, and with the World Cup as well, we're happy to take her to the game if we manage to get the tickets. I haven't had much luck yet but I'm speaking with a member of the Department of Magical Games and Sports tomorrow to see if I can wrangle us some. It won't be easy, given the number I'll need.'

'Just let me know how much Jenna's ticket is and –' Lupin began but Mr Weasley cut him off.

'Merlin's beard, think nothing of it,' he laughed. 'I won't accept a single Knut from you. It's our treat.'

Lupin bit back what I assumed was going to be a rebuttal to Mr Weasley's offer, smiled, then said, 'Thank you, Arthur.' I knew Lupin disliked it whenever someone offered him something without expecting anything in return. 'Now, Jenna, make sure you behave,' Lupin said to me. 'And when you return to Hogwarts make sure you thank Mr and Mrs Weasley for having you.'

'I will, Lupin,' I said.

'And enjoy the World Cup.'

'Yes, Lupin.'

'All right, I'll see you in the holidays. Let me know if you decide to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas.'

'I will.' I grabbed my jacket from the arm of the chair and took some powder from our supply of Floo powder. Taking a deep breath, I said clearly, 'The Burrow!' threw the powder into the fire and stepped into the flames.

I flew through the Floo Network, tens of fireplaces shooting past me. I felt the familiar nauseous feeling I always got whenever I travelled this way. Gradually the number of fireplaces I past receded and I reached my destination. My feet hit firm ground and I opened my eyes. I bent down and ducked out of the fireplace to find myself in what could only be described as a house of organised chaos.

The chimney and fireplace seemed to be the central point of The Burrow, and the living room, kitchen and dining area all surrounded it on the ground floor with the staircase encircling it. The living room in front of me was full of mismatched furniture, large fabric sofas and huge armchairs that looked cosy enough to sink into. Piles of magazines and books were stacked on tables and bookcases. A basket of wool sat in the corner, what could only be an infamous Weasley jumper being knitted as I stood there by a pair of needles working on their own. Through one of the windows I could see the top of a low cobble-stone wall that marked the outline of the yard, a chicken perched on top of it. The kitchen stretched the length of the back of the house and looked out on to the garden. A large table big and several wooden chairs enough to fit all the Weasleys sat in the centre amongst the clutter; an owl perch was set up by the back door which currently had only one occupant, the ancient Weasley owl Errol who looked more like a malting feather duster; and tucked away in another corner was a small scullery where piles of clothes were hung up to dry. As cluttered as it was in such a small area, The Burrow had a certain charm about it that meant I couldn't help but like its mismatched and busy qualities. That and it didn't look like there was a single straight edge in the place.

Behind me I saw a large ornate clock sat on top of the fireplace that looked like a smaller version of a grandfather clock but it wasn't like any clock I'd ever seen; instead of the three traditional hands a clock had, this clock had a hand for each one of the Weasleys with their names inscribed on it and instead of numbers to count hours there were options like "school" and "work" and "lost" listed to show where each Weasley was. I hesitated slightly when I saw one of the options was "mortal peril". For now, five of them were pointing to "home", one to "travelling" and three pointed to "work".

My arrival soon alerted the rest of the Weasleys and I heard a rush of movement. From round the corner of the chimney, a short plump witch with thick bushy red hair came rushing out of the kitchen to see who had arrived. When I had first met Mrs Weasley, I had shied away from her and how mothering she was to me despite not being one of her children because I was not used to being treated that way having not had a mother myself. But over time I came to see just how loving a person she truly was and began to accept the moments she would treat me like one of her own whether it was from her giving me a hug goodbye or preparing me food for the train journey to Hogwarts.

'Oh, Jenna, dear!' she cried. She immediately started brushing me down with a brush she'd taken from a basket by the fireplace. 'I thought that was you. Fred and George arrived a few minutes ago with your things and have taken them upstairs. You'll be sharing with Ginny. There's a bed set up in there for you. We're going to be quite full here over the holidays so everyone's having to double up.'

'Mum, stop fussing over her,' came a voice I knew to be Ron's. He'd just come in from the garden having thrown a pair of rubber boots that were covered in mud back outside. I saw Ron like Fred and George had also let his hair grow out a bit. 'Hey, Jenna,' said Ron. 'Sorry about Mum, she's always fussing like that.'

'It's fine,' I replied. If I was truthful, I actually kind of liked it; I'd never had a mother to fuss over me like that. 'Your mum said it's going to be full here. Are other people coming as well as Harry and Hermione?'

'Yeah, the whole family,' said Ron. 'Bill and Charlie are coming home from Egypt and Romania so they can see the World Cup with us once Dad has the tickets so it's going to be pretty crowded here, not that it hasn't always been. Hermione is coming next week. As for Harry, Mum and Dad are still discussing the best way to approach his aunt and uncle about him coming here considering they're Muggles and how to collect him. Well, we're going to get him anyway, but they thought it best to appear to ask them. Just a heads up though,' Ron added, lowering his tone, 'Percy's just got a job at the Ministry and he's been unbearable. He keeps going on about his reports for cauldron bottom thickness and shouting at us if we do anything that'll disturb him. It's a nightmare.'

'Joys of siblings,' I shrugged.

'Ron telling you about Percy's job?' came Fred's voice. He and George had returned from taking my trunk upstairs. Ginny was with them. 'Mind you don't step too heavily on the stairs –'

'– or chew too loudly –' added George.

'– or cough –'

'– or sneeze –'

'– or breathe –'

'That's enough, you two,' said Mr Weasley, stepping out of the fireplace. 'Your brother wants to do well at his job. You should take a leaf out of his book and start thinking about your futures as well now you're entering your N.E.W.T years at Hogwarts.'

'Oh, we are,' said Fred. He glanced sideways at his twin. 'We've got lots of ideas.'

'It had better not have anything to do with all those bangs I've been hearing coming from your bedroom,' called Mrs Weasley's voice from the kitchen, 'or those piles of parchment I've seen on your desks. What exactly is "Weasley wizarding wheeze"?'

'"Not Weasley wizarding wheeze", Mum,' said George, 'it's Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. It's our … project.'

I raised my eyebrow and looked suspiciously at the twins while Ron and Ginny shared a look. Fred and George had a project? If I knew Fred and George, that surely meant they were up to something.

'Well whatever it is,' said Mrs Weasley dismissively as she flicked her wand at some pots that came flying on to the stove, 'I hope it has nothing to do with your poor O.W.L results. What the two of you must have been doing with your time all year to only get three O. each, I dread to think.'

'Mum wasn't too happy when she saw our results,' George whispered to me. 'Not after Bill and Percy each got twelve and Charlie got eleven.'

'Grades aren't everything,' I whispered back. 'You guys probably have talents elsewhere.'

George smiled; I smiled back. Mrs Weasley, meanwhile, was still muttering to herself.

'… you're going to have to stop and clear out whatever's going on in your room. Bill and Charlie are arriving tomorrow, and they'll be taking your room and you two will be sharing with Ron and Harry when he gets here. I don't want any of whatever you're doing left lying around for people to get probably hurt by whatever it is.'

'It's not dangerous,' said Fred reproachfully.

'Well, not that dangerous,' muttered George.

The Weasley siblings gave me a tour of the house while Mrs Weasley prepared some lunch for us (and by the sounds of it, continued to mutter about Fred and George's lack of concern over their school grades to her husband). The Burrow continued up for five more floors, each containing bedrooms for the members of the Weasley family that jutted out here and there, almost like the house had been added to over the years, with the winding wooden staircase providing access to each level. Ginny's bedroom, where I'd be staying, was on the first floor opposite her parent's bedroom while Ron's was on the top floor beneath the attic. I almost flinched when I saw it. An onslaught of bright orange walls combined with several posters depicting a team of people dressed in equally vibrant orange robes zooming around met my eyes. It was almost painful to look at. I was glad I wasn't sleeping in here. A sudden bang from above distracted me from Ron's decoration choices and I looked to the ceiling.

'Oh, that's just the family ghoul,' said Ron. 'He likes to throw the pipes around if he thinks it's getting too quiet.'

Well, I did hope that The Burrow would be more interesting.

The following evening, I finally got to meet Ron's older brothers Bill and Charlie. With their imminent arrival, Mrs Weasley had been bustling around the house in what appeared to me to be a frenzied rush to get things ready for them but to Ron, Ginny, Fred and George seemed no different than any other day. When I asked if we should help, Ron said it was best to keep out of the way or risk getting shouted at if we did what was asked of us wrong. Heeding his advice, I took some time out to explore the yard and the surrounding area of The Burrow.

As George had assumed, I did feel quite at home at The Burrow with its wide-open fields surrounding the house. A low brick wall formed the boundaries of the yard at the front and back of the house; in the front yard there was a chicken coop with several fat brown hens pecking away at the ground, and by the front door to the house a pile of boots for each member of the household; in the back yard, part had been sectioned off to form a pig sty where a couple of pigs were wallowing in the mud, and there appeared to be what looked like a custard-coloured Puffskein perched on the fence; in the far corner was a shed which I gathered to be Mr Weasley's and, from what Ron had told me, was full of Muggle junk. Beyond the boundaries of The Burrow was several acres of land including an orchard with paddock surrounded by tall trees, and field upon field in a patchwork of hedges.

'So what d'you think?'

I looked round from where I was sat on the garden wall. George, dressed I noted in a rather smart jacket, walked over to me. He heaved himself up and swung his legs over the wall to sit with me.

'It's amazing,' I said. 'You guys have a really nice home here.'

'Yeah, it is pretty cool,' said George. 'Gets a bit boring sometimes. There's only so much yelling from Mum you can take before you need some peace and quiet. It's nice to have some different company though.'

I glanced at George, intrigued by what he meant.

'You've got Fred though, you guys are inseparable at school,' I reasoned. 'The two of you must keep each other entertained with all the things you get up to.'

George made a move as he was going to reply but then seemed to think better of it. Instead he dug his hand into his pocket and pulled something from it.

'Here, look at this,' he said. 'Fred and I have been working on a few secret projects since school finished. This one is one of my favourites.'

George opened his hand. Sitting in his palm was what looked like a tiny ball of purple fluff. Upon closer inspection I saw that in amongst the fur was a small head with beady black eyes peering out at me, a pink nose sniffing at the air. From his other pocket George took a piece of carrot and held it in front of the fluffball. Two tiny pale purple paws reached out and took the carrot and the little creature began eating it.

'Oh my god, that's so cute,' I breathed. 'What is it?'

'We haven't named it yet, we're still unsure if we'll be able to successfully breed them,' said George. 'This little guy was an unexpected success. We've been feeding our Puffskein various items that have been treated with different potions from Mum's potion cupboard to see if it would have any effects on it, but it's been immune to most of them. When we tried the Shrinking Solution, the following day we found him nestled in the Puffskein's fur. We think one of the Solutions ingredients caused it to spontaneously multiply as Puffskeins don't breed in traditional ways like most creatures.'

'Puffskeins take years to breed,' I said in agreement, 'they're basically a magical counterpart to Muggle sloths. Even Newt Scamander never learnt how to breed them through years of study. All he knew was that genetically they were hermaphroditic and so a pair of Puffskeins wasn't required for them to reproduce.'

'Well whatever we did has produced a miniature version of it,' said George. Carefully he put the little creature back in his pocket. 'It was probably a fluke but he's a cute little guy so we're going to look after him and see what happens.'

'George, your brothers are here!' called Mrs Weasley's voice from the kitchen. George glanced over his shoulder back at the house.

'That'll be Bill and Charlie,' he said. 'Come on, you haven't met them yet.'

George jumped off the wall then held out his hand to help me down as well. I smiled and took his hand, carefully sliding down on to the ground with George's help. Together we walked back inside to see the whole family gathered in the kitchen with the two new arrivals being the centre of attention. My eyes widened. What I had expected to see were a couple of older replicas of Percy as I knew both of them had received top grades when they had been at school with Bill also being Head Boy and Charlie a Prefect and Quidditch Captain. What they were was not what I expected.

Bill, the eldest of the Weasley children, was tall and thin like his brothers but instead of being lanky like Fred, George and Percy, he was lean and toned. His skin was tanned from his work abroad in Egypt while his red hair was longer than all his youngest brothers combined and tied back into a ponytail revealing what looked like a fanged earring. His clothes were very different too, wearing a leather jacket over a dark shirt, dirty jeans and thick dragon-hide boots. Charlie, on the other hand, was shorter by an inch or two and much broader in the shoulders. His t-shirt showed off the muscles in his arms as he stood with his hands casually thrust into the pockets of his jeans. His red hair in contrast to Bill's was short and wavy and fell messily around his heavily freckled face.

I heard Mrs Weasley say my name in introduction and I snapped out of the apparent silence I'd been stood in at the sight of the eldest Weasley children. What was wrong with me? I was acting like Hermione did when she met Gilderoy Lockhart two years ago. I mean, Bill and Charlie were kind of good looking, I guess? I don't know. I felt a heat rise in my cheeks when Charlie looked towards me, and I suddenly found myself biting my bottom lip.

'Nice to meet you, Jenna,' said Charlie. His voice was much deeper than I thought it would be. He held out his hand for mine; I clumsily shook it. I could feel the roughness of his hands, probably from working with dragons for so long. 'Ron tells me you're into magical creatures too?'

'H-hi,' I said. I shook myself mentally when I heard the stutter in my voice. What was wrong with me? 'Yeah, I really like them, especially nolves and wifflers. I mean wolves and Nifflers.' I cringed inwardly at what I had just said.

Charlie chuckled, 'Cute. Yeah, Nifflers are pretty cool. Troublemakers though so keep your eye on it if you ever get the chance to handle one. Dragons are my favourite though. I like the challenge they give me.'

'Yeah,' I croaked, still mentally cringing at my unexplainable nerves.

Apart from my rather embarrassing reaction to meeting Ron's eldest brothers, which I still didn't know what had come over me or why I seemed to get flustered every time Bill or Charlie talked to me, my time at The Burrow was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. Having no brothers or sisters myself, I'd learnt to entertain myself during the summer holidays through books and creative projects like baking and Muggle activities like sewing. Staying with the Weasleys meant I actually had people to do things with. I even got to play my first game of Quidditch in the orchard paddock. Being surrounded by tall silver birch trees we had no danger of being seen by any local Muggles nearby and could fly around without worry of being discovered. I found I actually quite enjoyed Quidditch and so tried out each position. I immediately decided being a Beater wasn't for me as I kept wanting to duck out of the way of the balls we used as Bludgers; playing as Keeper was bit boring for my liking as you didn't get much action until someone attempted to score; but playing as a Chaser was definitely more my style. I liked the fast-paced skills it requires to pass the Quaffle and the freedom it gave for broom tricks if you were brave enough.

The week after my arrival we got the news that everyone had been waiting for: Mr Weasley came back from work Thursday night to announce that he'd managed to get us all tickets to the World Cup for the final match a week on Monday. The excitement that we'd been quietly containing exploded in a single loud cheer at the knowledge we were officially going. The only person who didn't seem thrilled was, unsurprisingly, Percy who merely commented that it wouldn't have been the end of the world if we hadn't seen the match; as Ron had warned me, he had proven to be a bit of a headache with how much he went on about his new job at the Ministry working under some man named Crouch or the number of times he snapped at us if we walked past his room too loudly.

Hermione arrived at The Burrow a few days later with all her Hogwarts things and Crookshanks in toe as she was going to stay here as well until the end of the holidays. The only person left to collect was Harry. Ron had written to him to give him advanced warning that he was coming to join us, while Mrs Weasley wrote the Dursleys a letter to request they collect Harry that weekend for the match. Not knowing much about Muggle mail having never received or sent any before, her trip into the local village to the post office must have been eye-opening for any Muggle who helped her. Especially when she voiced her concern if she'd put enough stamps on the envelope.

It was late Sunday afternoon when Harry finally got here. Hermione, Ginny and I had been upstairs in Ginny's room discussing Ginny's third-year subject choices. She had gone for Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes. Hermione was just glad she hadn't chosen Divination. We were giving her some advice on what to expect in her third-year when we heard a commotion coming from downstairs.

'It isn't funny!' shouted Mr Weasley's voice. 'That sort of behaviour seriously undermines wizard-Muggle relations! I spend half my life campaigning against the mistreatment of Muggles, and my own sons –'

'What do you think all that's about?' asked Hermione.

'By the sounds of it, Fred and George have played some sort of trick on Harry's cousin,' I said.

'Mum's going to kill them,' sighed Ginny.

The three of us got up and went downstairs. In the kitchen we saw Harry had indeed arrived and seemed to be caught in the middle of some sort of argument between Mr Weasley and, as I had guessed, Fred and George. The bangs from their room, it had transpired, were the results of some of their experimental products for Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, a joke shop they planned to open, and one of their lines were a series of joke sweets. Mrs Weasley had been furious when she had found copies of their order forms the other week; the argument that had followed had been one of the loudest I'd ever witnessed. By the sounds of it they had tested one of their sweets on Harry's cousin Dudley.

Fred was stood by Harry at the fireplace with Mr Weasley opposite, a very unimpressed look on his face; at the table sat Ron with George, the latter who was clearly trying to keep a straight face; and next to them were Bill and Charlie, who seemed unfazed at their brothers' antics. I observed the seen in front of me, smiling at Harry when he noticed us standing at the foot of the stairs. My eyes then glanced at the twins. I caught George's eye and he gave a casual shrug, sending a subtle wink at me.

'Tell me what?' came Mrs Weasley's voice. She had just entered the kitchen, putting down a basket full of wet clothes. Her eyes were narrowed suspiciously as she looked between her husband and sons. 'Oh, hello, Harry dear,' she said, spotting him in between Fred and Mr Weasley. 'Tell me what, Arthur?'

Mr Weasley hesitated.

'Tell me what, Arthur?' repeated Mrs Weasley, her tone fierce.

'It's nothing, Molly,' muttered Mr Weasley, 'Fred and George just – but I've had words with them –'

'What have they done this time?' asked Mrs Weasley. 'If it's got anything to do with Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes –'

'Why don't you show Harry where he's sleeping, Ron?' said Hermione beside me, her head nodding towards the stairs. Ron gave her a confused look.

'He knows where he's sleeping,' he said. 'In my room, he slept there last –'

'We can all go,' said Hermione, pointedly.

'Oh,' said Ron. 'Right.'

'Yeah, we'll come too,' said George.

'You stay where you are!' snapped Mrs Weasley.

'Bad luck,' I mouthed at George. He sent me a look and I turned away after the others to go back upstairs.

'What are Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes?' asked Harry. Ron and Ginny laughed; I grinned silently; Hermione seemed unimpressed.

'Mum found this stack of order forms when she was cleaning Fred and George's room,' explained Ron. 'Great long price-lists for stuff they've invented. Joke stuff, you know. Fake wands and trick sweets, loads of stuff. It was brilliant, I never knew they'd been inventing all that …'

'We've been hearing explosions out of their room for ages, but we never thought they were actually making things,' said Ginny, 'we thought they just liked the noise.'

'Only, most of the stuff – well, all of it, really – was a bit dangerous,' said Ron, 'and, you know, they were planning to sell it at Hogwarts to make some money, and Mum went mad at them. Told them they weren't allowed to make any more of it, and burnt all the order forms … she's furious at them anyway. They didn't get as many O. as she expected.'

'And then there was this big row,' said Ginny, 'because Mum wants them to go into the Ministry of Magic like Dad, and they told her all they want to do is open a joke-shop.'

A door above us opened. I looked up to see Percy's head stick out from his room. He looked as annoyed as Mrs Weasley.

'Hi, Percy,' said Harry.

'Oh, hello, Harry,' replied Percy mutely. 'I was wondering who was making all the noise. I'm trying to work in here, you know – I've got a report to finish for the office – and it's rather difficult to concentrate when people keep thundering up and down the stairs.'

'We're not thundering,' said Ron irritably. 'We're walking. Sorry if we've disturbed the top-secret workings of the Ministry of Magic.'

'What are you working on?' asked Harry.

'A report for the Department of International Magical Co-operation,' said Percy smugly. 'We're trying to standardise cauldron thickness. Some of these foreign imports are just a shade too thin – leakages have been increasing at a rate of almost three per cent a year –'

'That'll change the world, that report will,' said Ron. I noted the sarcasm. 'Front page of the Daily Prophet, I expect, cauldron leaks.'

A flush of pink appeared in Percy's cheeks.

'You might sneer, Ron,' he said, 'but unless some sort of international law is imposed we might well find the market flooded with flimsy, shallow-bottomed products which serious endanger –'

'Yeah, yeah, all right,' said Ron.

He waved a dismissive hand at Percy then continued on up the stairs. The rest of us followed. Percy's door slammed shut behind us. Further below shouts from the kitchen rang through the house. I guess Mr Weasley had told Mrs Weasley whatever the twins had done. Judging by Mrs Weasley's yells it wasn't good.

We entered Ron's room. From inside his cage Ron's owl started hopping up and down when he saw us. His excited shrill little hoots were both cute but also very annoying. Ron had received him as an apology from Dad at the end of last year because his pet rat Scabbers had turned out to be Peter Pettigrew. The size of a tennis ball, the little owl looked like a ball of brown feathers that would occasionally zoom around your head when let out of his cage, Ron had named the fledgling Pigwidgeon or –

'Shut up, Pig,' snapped Ron.

Yes. Pig.

Ron squeezed his way between the four beds that had been set up in his room to accommodate him, Harry, Fred and George.

'Percy gets to keep his room all to himself,' he grunted, 'because he's got to work.'

'Er – why are you calling that owl Pig?' asked Harry.

'Because he's being stupid,' said Ginny. 'Its proper name is Pigwidgeon.'

'Yeah, and that's not a stupid name at all,' said Ron sarcastically. 'Ginny named him,' he added. 'She reckons it's sweet. And I tried to change it, but it was too late, he won't answer to anything else. So now he's Pig. I've got to keep him up here because he annoys Errol and Hermes. He annoys me, too, come to that.'

Say what he wants, I knew Ron cared about Pig and liked having him as a pet.

'Where's Crookshanks and Gizmo?' asked Harry next.

'Out in the garden, I expect,' replied Hermione. 'He likes chasing gnomes, he's never seen any before.'

'And Gizmo's out on a delivery,' I said. 'He should be back soon.' I hope.

The five of us sat down on the beds. The shouting downstairs hadn't stopped yet.

'Percy's enjoying work, then?' said Harry.

'Enjoying it?' said Ron. He frowned. 'I don't reckon he'd come home if Dad didn't make him. He's obsessed. Just don't get him onto the subject of his boss. According to Mr Crouch … as I was saying to Mr Crouch … Mr Crouch is of the opinion … Mr Crouch was telling me … They'll be announcing their engagement any day now.'

'Have you had a good summer, Harry?' Hermione asked, cutting Ron off. 'Did you get our food parcels and everything?'

'Yeah, thanks a lot,' said Harry. 'They saved my life, those cakes.'

'And have you heard from –?' Ron began.

Hermione sent Ron a sharp look. I frowned. Was Ron about to ask if Harry had heard from Dad? I mean not only was that stupid to do in front of Ginny considering she had no idea what we had done at the end of last year to help set him free but … I hadn't even heard from Dad yet. Gizmo hadn't returned from sending my note to him. I didn't even know if Gizmo had managed to find him. Why would Harry hear from him before I had? A strange feeling started in the pit of my stomach.

'I think they've stopped arguing,' said Hermione. She had notice Ginny looking curiously between Ron and Harry. 'Shall we go down and help your mum with dinner?'

'Yeah, all right.'

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny all got up. I followed suit, taking a breath to crush whatever weird feeling I had just had at the mention of Harry being in contact with Dad. Downstairs we found the kitchen empty apart from Mrs Weasley. Everyone else appeared to be outside. She waved her wand around pointing it at saucepans and trays that flew from shelf to oven while knives were chopping vegetables on the sideboard. Her expression, however, told me that she was still very angry about what had happened.

'We're eating out in the garden,' she said, her voice stiff. 'There's just not room for twelve people in here. Could you take the plates outside, girls? Bill and Charlie are setting up the tables. Knives and forks, please, you two,' she then directed Harry and Ron.

I went over to the dresser and picked up a pile of plates. Mrs Weasley gave her wand a sharp jab. A pile of potatoes flew out of the sink. They shot out of the skins then bounced off the walls and ceilings before landing on the floor.

'Oh for heaven's sake,' snapped Mrs Weasley. She pointed her wand at the dustpan to start sweeping up the potatoes. With the potatoes back in the sink to be rewashed, Mrs Weasley started to pull out various pots and pans from the cupboard, all the while muttering angrily to herself. 'Those two! I don't know what's going to happen to them, I really don't. No ambition, unless you count making as much trouble as they possibly can ... It's not as though they haven't got brains but they're wasting them, and unless they pull themselves together soon, they'll be in real trouble. I've had more owls from Hogwarts about them than the rest put together. If they carry on the way they're going, they'll end up in front of the Improper Use of Magic Office.'

I turned away and carried the plates outside while Hermione and Ginny gathered glasses, place mats and napkins. Out in the garden I saw it appeared to be equally as chaotic. Bill and Charlie both had their wands out and were using them to levitate two old battered tables up high in the air and crash against each other in an attempt to knock their opponent's out of the air. Both were goading each other on, making the tables crash into each other harder and harder. I guess mischief just ran in the family. Fred and George were watching from the side lines both avidly cheering on their brothers. Beside me Ginny was laughing and Hermione seemed torn between amusement and disapproval. With a huge bang, Bill's table knocked one of the legs off Charlie's.

'Will you keep it down?' bellowed Percy's voice from above.

'Sorry, Perce,' laughed Bill. 'How're the cauldron bottoms coming on?'

'Very badly,' and he slammed the window shut.

Chuckling to myself, the heat rising again in my cheeks at Bill and Charlie's antics, I waited for them to repair the tables and set them up on the ground so I could put down the plates. With a simple wave of his wand, Bill reattached the broken table leg and the two tables floated to the ground end to end. Another wave, and a tablecloth appeared out of thin air and settled on top of them. With the tables ready I started to lay out the plates.

'Hey,' said a voice beside me. It was George. He held out his hand to help me so I handed him a couple of plates.

'Hey,' I said. 'How bad was it?'

'No worse than usual,' George shrugged. 'Mum's really been on our cases since she found out what we've been doing. She thinks we're wasting our time. That we won't amount to anything.'

'She just wants what's best for you,' I reasoned. 'She is your mum.'

'Yeah, but not all of us are like Percy,' said George. He put the plate down a little harder than he meant to. 'Not all of us want to work at the Ministry.'

I looked at George, 'This has really got to you, hasn't it?'

George held in a frustrated sigh.

'Fred brushes it off and acts like it doesn't bother him,' he said. He ran his hand through his hair and looked at me. 'It's not that we don't try or don't want to succeed but living up to brothers like Bill, Charlie and Percy,' George glanced over at his older brothers. 'We just don't have the same goals as them. We like making people laugh and we like inventing stuff. If she'd just look at some of the things we've made instead of burning them all, maybe she'd see how clever they actually are. We are serious about this joke shop idea and want to make it work. What's wrong with having goals outside of working at the Ministry?'

'There's nothing wrong with that. Your mum …' I hesitated, not sure what to say. 'She cares about you, that's obvious, so she'll want you to do well at school like all your brothers and get the most out of your education. You can't blame her for wanting that for you.'

'I know she does. But Fred and I, we don't want some quill-pushing desk job. I want to tell her that, but she'll never understand.'

I felt a wave of empathy for George being unable to tell his mum what he wanted to do with his career in fear of disappointing her. I reached out and placed a hand on his arm. I gave it a gentle squeeze.

'George, you're really talented,' I told him. 'Believe me when I say this, but you and Fred outshine some of Hogwarts' most notable mischief makers. Not everyone is going to be academic so don't feel bad that you aren't bothered about getting high grades. Be proud of what you can do, and your mum will see that too hopefully.'

George looked at me. The edge of his mouth lifting into a smile. I smiled back.

'Thanks, Jenna, that means a lot to me.'

Dinner was an event that could easily rival one of the Hogwarts feasts as we sat outside under the clear skies. The tables groaned under the weight of all the dishes Mrs Weasley had prepared for us; bowls of roast and boiled potatoes, vegetables and salad, plates of chicken and ham and beef and ale pies, and jugs of gravy filled to the brim sat in front of us just waiting to be tucked into. Having never tried Mrs Weasley's food before, I wasn't sure what to expect but I was not disappointed. The food was delicious. I helped myself to a slice of chicken and ham pie and joined in the conversation about Charlie's latest conservation efforts for dragons in Romania. I was glad to see Hermione also seemed to blush when Charlie praised her knowledge on Romanian wizarding tradition. I clearly wasn't the only one who was quite taken by Ron's older brothers. Further down the table Fred, George and Ginny were in deep discussion over the teams in the final for the Quidditch World Cup, and Percy was discussing his cauldron report with his father.

'I've told Mr Crouch that I'll have it ready by Tuesday,' Percy said, his chest puffed out in pride. 'That's a bit sooner than he expected it, but I like to keep on top of things. I think he'll be grateful I've done it in good time. I mean, it's extremely busy in our department just now, what with all the arrangements for the World Cup. We're just not getting the support we need from the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Ludo Bagman –'

'I like Ludo,' said Mr Weasley. His mild manner had returned after the afternoon's temper. 'He was the one who got us such good tickets for the Cup. I did him a bit of a favour: his brother, Otto, got into a spot of trouble – a lawn mower with unnatural powers – I smoothed the whole thing over.'

'Oh, Bagman's likeable enough, of course,' dismissed Percy, 'but how he ever got to be Head of Department … when I compare him to Mr Crouch! I can't see Mr Crouch losing a member of our department and not trying to find out what's happened to them. You realise Bertha Jorkins has been missing for over a month now? Went on holiday to Albania and never came back?'

My interest peaked. A Ministry worker had gone missing? That's odd. I looked across and began listening to their conversation. Surely some attempt had been made to look for her.

'Yes, I was asking Ludo about that,' said Mr Weasley. He frowned. 'He says Bertha's got lost plenty of times before now – though I must say, if it was someone in my department, I'd be worried …'

'Oh, Bertha's hopeless, all right,' said Percy. 'I hear she's been shunted from department to department for years, much more trouble than she's worth … but all the same, Bagman ought to be trying to find her. Mr Crouch has been taking a personal interest – she worked in our department at one time, you know, and I think Mr Crouch was quite fond of her – but Bagman just keeps laughing and saying she probably misread the map and ended up in Australia instead of Albania. However,' Percy heaved an impressive sigh then took a dignified sip of elderflower wine, 'we've got quite enough on our plates at the Department of International Magical Co-operation without trying to find members of other departments too. As you know, we've got another big event to organise right after the World Cup.'

Percy cleared his throat then looked down the table to where I was sitting with Harry, Ron and Hermione.

'You know the one I'm talking about, Father,' he said a bit louder, almost as if he wanted us to hear him. 'The top-secret one.'

Ron rolled his eyes.

'He's been trying to get us to ask what that event is ever since he started work,' he muttered. 'Probably an exhibition of thick-bottomed cauldrons.'

Conversation continued to shift around the table.

'… with a horrible great fang on it, really, Bill,' Mrs Wesley was saying. She was brushing back his hair to look at his earring. 'What do they say at the bank?'

'Mum, no one at the bank gives a damn how I dress as long as I bring home plenty of treasure,' said Bill.

'And your hair's getting silly, dear,' continued Mrs Weasley. 'You know how your brothers like to copy you. I wish you'd let me give it a trim …'

'I like it,' said Ginny. 'You're so old-fashioned, Mum. Anyway, it's nowhere near as long as Professor Dumbledore's …'

Charlie had replaced Ginny in the debate about the World Cup with Fred and George.

'It's got to be Ireland,' said Charlie adamantly. 'They flattened Peru in the semi-finals.'

'Bulgaria have got Viktor Krum, though,' said Fred.

'Krum's one decent player, Ireland have got seven,' countered Charlie. 'I wish England had got through, though. That was embarrassing, that was.'

'What happened?' asked Harry.

'Went down to Transylvania, three hundred and ninety to ten,' said Charlie. 'Shocking performance. And Wales lost to Uganda, and Scotland were slaughtered by Luxembourg.'

Mr Weasley flicked his wand. Several candles were conjured and lit as the sky began to darken. The dishes from dinner were cleared away for dessert, strawberry ice cream that Mrs Weasley had made herself. The smell of the countryside filled the warm summer air, a mix of grass from the fields and honeysuckle from the bushes surrounding The Burrow. It was so peaceful, and I soon found myself getting sleepy as I ate my ice cream. The only noise came from the gnomes laughing as they sprinted in and out of the rose bushes with Crookshanks chasing after them.

'So –' Ron's voice drew my attention, 'have you heard from Sirius lately?'

I sat up, as did Hermione.

'Yeah,' said Harry quietly, 'twice. He sounds OK. I wrote to him the day before yesterday. He might write back while I'm here.'

That weird feeling I'd felt before started again in the pit of my stomach. Harry had heard from Dad? But I hadn't had anything from him since the day he left. Not one single letter. I mean, I know I hadn't written to him either apart from the note I sent at the start of the month because it was risky to send him anything but still. Why had Harry heard from him and I hadn't?

'Look at the time,' said Mrs Weasley suddenly. I looked away from Harry and the others. 'You really should be in bed, the whole lot of you, you'll be up at the crack of dawn to get to the Cup. Harry, if you leave your school list out, I'll get your things for you tomorrow in Diagon Alley. I'm getting everyone else's. There might not be time after the World Cup, the match went on for five days last time.'

'Wow – hope it does this time!' said Harry.

'Well, I certainly don't,' said Percy. 'I shudder to think what the state of my in-tray would be if I was away from work for five days.'

'Yeah, someone might slip dragon dung in it again, eh, Perce?' said Fred.

'That was a sample of fertiliser from Norway!' snapped Percy. 'It was nothing personal!'

'It was,' I heard Fred whisper to Harry. 'We sent it.'

I got up and followed the others back into the house while Mr and Mrs Weasley set about packing up the tables and floating the rest of the bowls and cutlery back into the house to be washed. The uneasy feeling in my stomach remained. What was wrong with me? First, I'd experienced those stupid blushes when talking to Bill and Charlie which was very unlike me. It normally took a lot to embarrass me. Now I was getting weird feelings in my stomach whenever it was mentioned that Harry had been in contact with Dad. I mean – Dad was Harry's godfather. Why wouldn't they be in contact? Dad would want to know Harry was OK at the Dursleys. Plus, I had known all summer that it would be risky for me to attempt to contact Dad straightaway after going back on the run, and the same for him. If anyone was going to be watched for contact, it would be me. It sucked but I had to be careful for Dad's sake.

I sighed. What was all this I was feeling? Was this just one of those things that happened as you got older? Experiencing confusing emotions. I was fourteen. I was too young for all that sort of stuff. Why couldn't I deal with the pangs of growing up when I was … older? I shook myself. Growing up wasn't going to change who I was. These were all fleeting things I was experiencing. It was probably just all the excitement of the last few months and now the Quidditch World Cup getting to me. Yes, it had to be. I'm sure once I get back to Hogwarts in September things would all go back to normal. No weird feelings about boys, no unexplainable jealousy towards Harry, and hopefully no drama with dangerous creatures or escaped convicts.

Geeze, growing up was tough.