I don't own Hellsing or Harry Potter, and I'm not making any money from this.
"Alright, you're sure you have everything?"
Constance nodded. "Everything is in here." she said, gesturing to the duffel bag slung over her shoulder. "Even my potions stuff."
It was 2:54 in the afternoon. She was supposed to leave for the Burrow in six minutes. Her mother had already bid her goodbye and wished her a good week. She had a conference to attend with the other knights of the Round Table and there was no telling when she would be finished with it. Aunt Syn was going through a last minute checklist with her.
"Very good." the redhead said. "Keep your phone on you and remember to call us the second you get there so we'll know you made it through."
"Yes ma'am." the girl said with a sigh. "And keep it with me so you can get in touch if anything happens here."
Honestly, everyone was acting like she was going off to the moon or something. But even though she'd been off to school for the better part of a year, this was the first time she'd ever gone to a friend's house. Or a boyfriend's house. That made her think of something.
"Do I look okay?" she asked, glancing down at her clothes.
She'd chosen pull her hair back into a loose braid and wear jeans with a nice sleeveless top, but maybe it was too casual. If she was going to be meeting George's mother, she wanted to be sure to make a good first impression. Her aunt smiled knowingly.
"You look fine." she told her. "Calm down. Mothers are a lot easier on girlfriends than they are on boyfriends. Be polite and mind your manners. She'll like you."
Connie certainly hoped she would. This visit wasn't going to be very pleasant if Mrs. Weasley found some reason to disapprove of her. But she supposed it was too late to be thinking about that.
Next to his mother, Mihnea narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "You make sure Weasley knows that if I find out about him sneaking into your room, I'm going to kill him."
Syn gave him a soft pop on the back of the head. "Leave her alone." she chided. "You're not going to kill anyone." the redhead gave him a look, then glanced back toward the door. "Hurry up with that powder Edmund! You're going to make your daughter late!"
"Keep your knickers on, woman!" he shouted back. "I'm coming!"
Connie's dad finally finished up whatever it was he'd been doing with the makeshift floo powder they'd cooked up and came into the room.
"I think I've got the mixture right." he announced. He gestured for her to hold out her hand, then poured a small amount of powder into it. It looked like a pile of ash. "Alright, step into the fireplace, say where you want to go very clearly, then drop this right in front of you. You might want to hook your bag over your head to make sure you don't drop it."
Using her free hand, Constance did as she was instructed. The last thing she needed was to show up without any of her clothes. She stepped toward the fireplace, then turned back around, taking a deep breath.
"We'll meet up with you at Diagon Alley in a week?" she questioned, confirming the plan.
Her father nodded. "Go to the Leaky Cauldron." he told her. "Call to let us know about what time you'll be there. If we're running a bit late, just hang around until we get there."
She could definitely remember that. Her watch read 2:59. It was time for her to go. Taking another breath to calm her nerves, she climbed into the fireplace and held out her arm in preparation to drop the handful of ash.
"Wish me luck." she said, then straightened her shoulders. "The Burrow!"
When she let go of the powder, the effect was instantaneous. It felt almost like there was a rope connected to her navel that jerked her forward and dragged her along some invisible pathway. It went too fast for her to see anything around her. All she knew was that one moment she was standing in the fireplace in the manor's sitting room, and the next she hit the ground with a hard thud and rolled out onto a wood floor she'd never seen before. She winced and clutched at the back of her head when she knocked into something hard. It looked like a kitchen table.
"I told you to watch out for the table." A familiar voice commented. "You knock anything important loose in there?"
Constance looked up to find George was propped up against the table next to her. Still rubbing the back of her head, she took the hand he was holding out and allowed him to help her up off the floor.
"Jesus Christ, that was awful." she said, making a face. "How on earth do you stand doing that?"
"What, flooing?" he asked. "It's always rough the first time. You get used to it after a while."
The girl didn't know how on earth anyone could get used to such a thing. It was an unnatural and disconcerting feeling to be pulled along so fast you couldn't see where you were going. She pushed the thought out of her mind and peered around at the room. It looked like she was standing in the middle of a country kitchen. Bright sunlight streamed in from windows around the table and over the sink. A set of cabinets attached to the walls around the stove were white with the paint cracked and chipping off in places, giving them a distressed look. It was a small room but there was a warm, cozy feeling about it. It was also a lot quieter than she would have expected.
George noticed her silent appraisal of the room. "It's not much." he admitted. "But it's home."
"It's rather nice, actually." she commented, still looking around. "Very homey. Where is everyone?"
"Mom's gone out shopping with Ginny and Hermione hasn't gotten here yet." George reported. "Fred and Ron are upstairs changing the sheets on the beds." he pushed himself back from the table and stepped over into the doorway to shout up what had to be a staircase. "Connie's here! Hurry it up, will you!"
Since he was over there anyway, Connie took the opportunity to walk over to satisfy her curiosity about what the rest of the house looked like. The kitchen led out into a small open area that served as the entrance to the staircase leading upstairs. Across from them was what looked like a small sitting room with worn, comfy looking furniture. When the girl finally looked up the staircase, she was absolutely shocked by the sight of it. The steps were uneven and rickety looking, and it appeared that they went on forever.
"Holy hell, how many floors do you guys have?" she exclaimed.
"Six." George replied. "Seven if you count the attic." he glanced back up and took three steps up the staircase to call out again. "It doesn't take that long to change bloody sheets! What are you doing up there?"
Ron leaned over the railing of what looked like the second floor landing, while Fred's head popped out from the third.
"Hey Connie!" Fred shouted, giving her a wide grin. "We'll be down in a sec. We're clearing out the doxies for you."
Constance frowned. "Doxies?"
"They're nasty little buggers that like to infest the drapes." George explained. He pointed a finger upwards. "Hermione's going to be in Bill's old room across from Ginny on the second floor. You're getting Percy's room on the third across from me and Fred. The bathroom is on the fourth floor, mom and dad are in the master bedroom on the fifth, and Ron's up on the sixth. If Harry ever shows up, we'll pull out a cot so he can sleep up there with him."
Connie arched a brow at learning where the room she'd be staying in was located. "You guys have me in the room across from you and Fred?"
George gave her a mischievous look. "Why? You nervous?"
The girl felt herself blush slightly at the implications of that question. She cleared her throat. "Mihnea told me to tell you that if he found out about you sneaking into my room, he'd kill you."
"Well, it's my house, so there wouldn't be any sneaking involved, would there?" he pointed out playfully. "I could just walk right in. And he didn't say anything about you sneaking into my room, did he?"
Her cheeks warmed even more, but before she could say anything she heard the heavy footfalls of Fred taking the steps down two at a time. He jumped over the last five and landed right in front of them.
"Our room." he corrected, then glanced sideways at Connie. "And you don't have to worry about a thing. If you decide to go sneaking in there at night, I'd totally turn around to give you guys privacy."
George snorted and Connie's mouth fell open. "You will not!" she exclaimed.
"What, you want me to watch?" he asked in a faux display of shock. "That comes dangerously close to twincest, and twincest is wrong."
Dear God in heaven, what had she just walked into? Connie's mouth snapped shut and she gave Fred a hard shove backwards.
"Shut your mouth, Fred Weasley! You're awful!"
Both boys were snickering at her reaction. She was about to give them an earful when she heard her phone ring. Damn it. She was supposed to call home as soon as she arrived so they'd know she was okay. The twins both went still at the sound. Even Ron stuck his head back out over the landing again.
"What's that noise?" he called down.
"It's my phone." Constance told them, then pulled it out of her pocket to answer it. It was her dad's number on the display. She pressed a button, then put it up to her ear. "Daddy, I am so sorry." she apologized without bothering to give him a greeting. "I got blindsided when I got here and forgot about calling."
She heard him chuckle on the other end of the line. "I take it you didn't get burned to a crisp, then?"
"Nope." she reported. "I'm all in one piece and no burns to speak of."
"Good." he said. "You aunt was starting to bitch at me for killing you."
In the background, she heard Syn shout at him to shut up. Connie couldn't help but laugh. She wished she could see what was going on over there.
"I promise I'm not dead."
"I certainly hope not because I'd hate to be talking to a ghost." Ed teased. "Have fun. Don't do anything I wouldn't do, but if you do, name it after me."
"I will." she said. Her dad was so wonderful. "Bye daddy."
When she hung up her cell phone, Ron had finally come downstairs to join them and all three boys were staring at her. She shrugged apologetically.
"Sorry about that." she said. "My dad told me to call when I got here so they'd know I got through okay, and I forgot about it."
None of them seemed too concerned about the conversation itself. They were too busy studying the device in her hand.
"Is that a fellytone?" Ron asked, looking fascinated. "I didn't know muggles made them small enough to carry around like that!"
Oh lord, she'd forgotten about the wizarding world being ignorant about modern technology. "It's called a 'telephone', Ron. I don't use this thing much, but I brought it just in case. It's faster than an owl."
Fred and George thought it was the most wonderful thing they'd ever seen. "Wicked!" they said together.
They looked like they were about to ask if they could play around with it when a loud thud sounded from the kitchen.
"OW!" Hermione's voice exclaimed. "Why is there a table right in front of the fireplace!"
She must have rolled right into it as well. That made Constance feel like less of a clumsy idiot. Now that everyone who was visiting had arrived, they just had to wait for Mrs. Weasley and Ginny to get back from their shopping. It was the most nerve-wracking wait of Connie's life.
Hermione hadn't come by herself. Sometime after the end of term, she'd gone out and bought herself a cat. A large, fluffy orange cat with a flat face that looked like it had been smashed into a door. Connie didn't dare comment on it herself, but Ron took care of that for her.
"Bloody hell, Hermione, that is an ugly cat." he said. "It looks like a pig with hair."
The girl cradled the animal to her chest and frowned at him. "Crookshanks is not ugly." she said. "He's unique."
The 'unique' feline also appeared to be half-kneezle, but Hermione would neither confirm nor deny it. All she knew about him was that he had been sitting in the store for a long time and no one else seemed to want him. Connie didn't have enough knowledge about cats to be able to tell for sure, but Mihnea would probably know. He was a cat person. What was absolutely certain was that Crookshanks didn't like Scabbers at all. He immediately took to chasing Ron's rat around the house whenever he was able to. Ron had to rescue the rodent and put him in his cage so he wouldn't be eaten.
Their time waiting was spent listening to the boys tell stories about their vacation. Egypt sounded like an fascinating place to visit. Connie had never been, but she knew it was full of history and culture. From the sound of it, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had managed to convince their older children to come along as well. That must have been fun. From everything she'd heard, Bill and Charley were great guys. Percy, on the other hand, seemed to have been a wet blanket the whole time. The twins had pushed him off into a pyramid and got in loads of trouble for it. Constance didn't understand what the boy's problem was. She didn't spend that much time around Percy – but it was telling that his own siblings didn't bother with him that much either. He was beginning to give off the impression that he had a superiority complex or something.
It was about an hour before they heard the kitchen door swing open and an older woman's voice call out.
"Boys! Come out here and help your sister get the bags out of the car!"
They must have gotten a new one after Harry and Ron wrecked their old Ford. It was probably still living the wild life in the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts. Constance found herself wondering where wizards went to buy groceries. There was a muggle village not far from here, but they would have to go somewhere to exchange their wizarding money for something they could use. Fred, George, and Ron all immediately responded to their mother's summons. Connie and Hermione weren't quite sure what they were supposed to do, but out of politeness they went out into the kitchen to ask if there was anything they could do to help.
Mrs. Weasley was a kind, soft looking woman with the same ginger hair as all of her children. She was wearing an old fashioned, gingham dress with knitted sleeves that looked like they had been made by hand. The moment the girls offered their assistance, she waved them off.
"Absolutely not!" she said. "I'm not about to put house guests to work. The boys can manage."
Ginny came into the kitchen with her arms full of bags. She set them down on the table then came over to give both of them hugs. She was much warmer and friendlier after last school year.
"You got here alright then?" the girl questioned. "I hope the table didn't get in the way."
Constance and Hermione exchanged a look. That table seemed to be something they had to warn everyone about. The boys finally came in loaded down with just as many bags as Ginny had brought in.
"Good God mother, did you buy the whole store?" Fred asked as he plopped them down next to the others.
"Stop complaining George. We have to make sure there's enough for everyone." Mrs. Weasley said.
"I'm not George! He is!" he complained, pointing at his twin.
The older woman made a face. "I'm sorry Fred. Is that all of it?"
Connie could see what they meant now. Their mother had a harder time of telling them apart than she did. It was an amusing thing to see. Ron and George set down the things they carried in, then reported that everything was out of the car. Rather than putting everything up by hand, Mrs. Weasley just pulled out her wand and cast a spell that sent the objects flying around the room to their proper places. She slid her wand back into the pocket of her dress then turned to properly greet the girls.
"I apologize for that." she said, giving them both a warm smile. "I'm so glad you got here alright. Did you have any trouble at all?"
"No ma'am." they both replied.
Connie was still nervous about the whole thing, but Mrs. Weasley seemed to be a nice, likeable woman. Hermione stuck out her hand first.
"I'm Hermione Granger." she said, introducing herself. "I hope it's not a bother for us to be here..."
The woman made another waving motion and pulled her into a hug. "Not at all dear. We have no problem with the boys having their friends over for a visit."
George managed to get around the table and put his arm around Constance, gently pushing her forward. "Mom," he began, drawing her attention over to them. "This is Connie."
Remembering her manners, the girl smiled and gave a small curtsy. It got a couple of odd looks, but that's what you were supposed to do, wasn't it? "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Weasley."
"Ah, so you're Constance Stryker!" she said brightly. She wasted no time in wrapping her arms around her in a gentle hug. She smelled like soap and fresh flowers. "It's nice to finally be able to put a face with the name." She pressed a hand to her cheek. "I've heard nothing but wonderful things about you. Were you able to get all your things upstairs and unpacked?"
The girl nodded. "Yes ma'am."
Mrs. Weasley put her hands on her hips. "And such manners! But there's no need to be so formal." she looked between Constance and Hermione. "While you're here, you're family. It's just Mrs. Weasley."
While it was nice that she was offering to let them address her informally, Connie wasn't sure if she'd be able to do it. You couldn't just walk into someone's house and not call them ma'am or sir. It was horribly rude. Once Mrs. Weasley was assured that everyone was settled in, she told them that her husband Arthur would be home from work soon and they'd all be able to sit down for a spot of supper. Everything about this house and the boys' mother was so charming, Constance wasn't quite sure why she'd been so nervous in the first place. It felt like walking right into a second home.
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