The closer we got to the house the more I picked up the pace, excited to see everyone. We reached the Dutch split door and right when I extended my hand to knock on the door, it flew open and a wave of curly red hair almost knocked me down with a tight hug.
"Kristin, dear, you're here!" squealed Mrs. Weasley. She backed up and waved her finger at me with a stern look. "Where HAVE you been! I've been worried sick!"
"Sorry, Mrs. Weasley," I said with an apologetic smile. "We got a little…lost." There was absolutely no way I was telling her about the panther.
"Well, never mind," she said sighing with her hands on her hips. "I'm just glad you're here and safe. Now, introduce me to your guests."
"Oh!" I said, finally remembering they were right behind me. I gestured to each of them in turn and said, "This is Brooke Landers, Jeremiah Pritchard, and Devin Skipper. Everyone, this is Mrs. Weasley and I'd wager she's the best cook in all of Great Britain." I may or may not have been getting some brownie points in with that one. I didn't want her sending a letter to my parents about being late did I? They were already worried enough about me being in a foreign country without them, I didn't need to drop this into the pile.
Mrs. Weasley turned her head hiding a slight blush. She knew exactly what I was up to. Gaining her composure back she looked at us and moved to the side to let us in the kitchen.
"Well, come in, come in," She said. "Our home is your home, so don't be shy!"
Brooke, Jeremiah, and Devin all greeted her as they passed and she hugged each of them, although Devin just awkwardly half-hugged her. Devin wasn't big on physical contact with people, the only exceptions being his mother and grandparents. I was a very affectionate person and was determined to break him from this. Seriously, who doesn't like nice, warm hugs? Its barbaric I tell you!
I smirked as I heard the others gasp at the interior of the home. Although cluttered, it was very warm and welcoming. There were cabinets along the walls littered with dishes and cookbooks such as Charm Your Own Cheese, Enchantment in Baking, and One Minute Feasts. On the right side of the room there was a rocking chair angled towards the sink, where Mr. Weasley often sat to keep Mrs. Wesley company while she cooked. In the sink by the door, Mrs. Weasley had charmed the dishes to wash, dry, and put themselves away. They were floating around the room going into the different cabinets, so you had to duck if you didn't want to get hit by a stray dish. Across the sink sat an old wood burning stove, on top of which sat a large pot of boiling water and bowl full of fresh vegetables sitting on the cabinet next to it. In the middle of the room stood a large table with mismatching chairs, big enough to seat nine people, and on top of the table were four glasses of milk and a small pile of finger sandwiches.
"It's not much but, its home," Mrs. Weasley said smiling carefully. I could tell she was nervous about their reactions upon entering the house.
"This. Is. Amazing," said Brooke turning to her and laughing at the flying dishes. Devin and Jeremiah, had yet to pick their jaws up off of the floor.
"OH!" she said blushing. "Well, then….Would you like a snack? I knew you were probably full from breakfast and dinner's not quite ready yet, so I figured you'd like a snack."
Finally snapping out of their daze at the mention of the word "snack", the boys immediately sat down at the table.
"Seriously!?" Brooke scolded with her hands on her hips. "At least tell Mrs. Weasley thank you!"
"Thanks Mrs. Weasley," they said in unison, not hesitating to begin stuffing their faces. Running through the woods had given us all quite the appetite.
"I wasn't trying to be rude but, I've never seen anything like this before," said Devin.
"Oh, that's completely fine, dear!" she said ecstatically. "You've been living your life as a muggle after all! I'm sure it's quite a culture shock!"
"Honestly," said Jeremiah, "it's quite a bit of shock to us as well. There are so many No-Maj-I mean muggles, where we live that, our houses have to blend in with there's. Ours parents have never really, been able to openly practice magic."
"Well, then this will be a new and exciting experience for all of you!" she said cheerfully, clapping her hands together. "Now girls, you look rather peaky, sit down and eat please."
I sat down at the table next to Jeremiah and Brooke sat next to Devin across from me. The first drink of milk was pure bliss. I never realized how thirsty I was until I actually drank.
"Now, let me just call the boys to fetch your bags, for you." She walked out of the room and into the adjoining living room. "BOYS! COME DOWN TO THE KITCHEN PLEASE!"
The sound of thundering feet could be heard coming down the stairs and rounding the corner were four excited faces.
"Mum, why didn't you tell us they were here earlier," groaned Ron.
"Well, I thought they might like to eat in peace for a moment after their journey without you lot hovering over them," she shot back.
"C'mon, mum, you act like we're spectators at a zoo or something!" said one twin.
"You know, Fred, that's actually not a bad idea," said the other with a mischievous grin.
"George, I like the way you think! We could charge people a five Galleons to view the strange American wizards. Don't worry though, we'll feed you with some of the prophets," said Fred.
"Make the food fried chicken and we have a deal!" I laughed. "Glad to see you two haven't changed one bit."
"Oh, that's where you're wrong Kristin," said George. "See I've got this mysterious rash that's cropped up right on my-"
"GEORGE!" Mrs. Weasley shrieked.
"It's good to see you again, Kristin!" said the youngest Weasley. Ginny was hardly noticeable between the large stone wall, and her tall brothers.
"Hi Ginny!" I said jumping up and giving her a hug.
"Oh, so the rest of us don't get hugs?" pouted George.
"Well, I don't want you to catch your rash," I said hugging Ginny even tighter.
"Touché," he said bowing dramatically.
"Well, well, well. Look who finally decided to join the rest of the rabble," said Fred looking to the stairs. Walking down the stairs all dignified-like was the third eldest Weasley, Percy.
"Kristin," he said nodding his head in my direction trying to act mature. Really he was just making a fool of himself.
I crossed my arms and put a grouchy expression on my face, "Percy."
Everyone laughed and Percy's ears turned red in slight embarrassment. Even Mrs. Weasley was trying to hide a chuckle. Percy had always been a tad snooty, but he seemed like he was just trying to prove something right now.
"Well, since everyone's here now, I think proper introductions are in order," said Mrs. Weasley. "These are Kristin's friends Brooke Landers, Jeremiah Pritchard, and Devin Skipper. They'll be joining you at Hogwarts this year, so make them feel welcome."
After all of the Weasley's introduced themselves, Mrs. Weasley ordered George, Fred, Ron, and Percy to take our bags upstairs to our rooms. The rest of us sat back down at the table to finish the snack Mrs. Weasley had made for us.
"Devin and Jeremiah, you'll be staying in Bill's room and Brooke and Kristin, you'll be staying in Charlie's room." said Mrs. Weasley.
"Yay!" I exclaimed happily. "Mrs. Weasley you know me too well."
"Well, I knew you'd like to peruse through Charlie's journals." she said smiling.
"So why do you want to go through his journals?" asked Devin curiously.
"Well, Charlie is a Magizoologist who specializes in studying dragons," I explained. "He stays in Romania most of the time, but he comes home every once in a while to visit, and when he does he leaves some of his journals documenting the dragons in his room."
"Kristin's, always wanted to be a Magizoologist as well," said Brooke.
"So, you seriously want to study dragons?" asked Jeremiah rather surprised.
"Well, not just dragons," I said. "I'm interested in pretty much all of the magical creatures. Actually I take that back I won't go near and Acromantula."
"A what?" asked Devin.
"A big, giant spider," Brooke explained.
"Um, there's not any around here are there?" he questioned looking a little creeped out.
"Oh no!" I said quickly. "They're native to the rainforests in Southeast Asia, particularly Borneo. I'm absolutely TERRIFED of spiders."
"Seems like you're scared of everything," Jeremiah said with a mouthful of sandwich.
"Jeremiah, dear, don't talk with your mouthful," scolded Mrs. Weasley, placing the vegetables into the pot.
Brooke and I both snickered and Jeremiah quickly swallowed his sandwich. When we finished our sandwiches, the boys and Ginny had made their way back down stairs again.
"Mum, is there anything we can help you with today?" asked Percy, like the good little angel he was. I think I feel a little something in my throat.
"Actually, there is," said Mrs. Weasley. "Those pesky gnomes are back in the garden again, could you go de-gnome it for me?" Percy suddenly looked like he regretted asking.
"Absolutely!" I said jumping to my feet.
"You enjoy this way too much, Kristin," Ron said shaking his head.
"So I take it you're not talking about the ceramic kind, huh?" questioned Devin.
"The ones that look like Father Christmas? Nope," said Fred. "We're talking about the razor tooth, biting kind."
"It's really not as bad as Fred makes it out to be," said Ron. "You just have to grab them by the legs, swing them around your head until they're good and dizzy, and then let them fly over the hedge."
"Don't worry about hurting them either," Ginny chimed in. "They're pretty resilient."
"Ginny, could you help me bring in and sort the laundry?" asked Mrs. Weasley.
"But mum, I want to help!" she complained, grudgingly following Mrs. Weasley into the living room and out the front door.
"Well, before we go gnome hunting, I'd like to change into something more comfortable. I'd rather run in shorts than jeans," I said, heading to the living room.
"Not to mention that grass stains are harder to remove," added Brooke.
"Tis true, tis true," I nodded.
"I think all of our animals would prefer to be let out of their cages as well," said Jeremiah.
We all got up and rounded the corner into the living room. It had a large fire place that connected to the Floo Network and mismatched furniture covered with knitted blankets and throw pillows that circled around a small coffee table. By the window there was a board set up for Wizard's Chess, and through the window you could see into the front yard. On the dividing wall between the kitchen and living room there was a large clock, labeled not with numbers, but places. The nine hands consisted of a picture of each family member and the places consisted of garden, school, home, work, hospital, prison, lost, Quidditch, traveling, and mortal peril.
We walked up the wooden staircase leading to the multiple floors of the house. Bill and Charlie's rooms were located on the fourth floor and were opposite of each other.
"Ok, Bill's bedroom is on the right" I said pointing to Bill's room, "and Brooke and I are just across from y'all in Charlie's."
I opened the door to the room and Brooke followed me in. The room had plain wooden walls with posters of different magical creatures sprinkled about. Across from us was a window that looked over the front yard and against the window lay a single bed with a quilt consisting of the Hogwarts Crest. Next the bed sat an old cot with simply a pillow and a similar quilt folded up on top of it.
Brooke and I both looked at each other, then at the bed and cot. I immediately launched forward toward the bed, before I felt the force of Brooke grasping the back of my shirt pulling me backwards.
"Oh no you don't!" she yelled.
Using all of her strength, she slung me backwards against the door and rushed past me. Recovering quickly, I lunged forward and grabbed her around the waste making us both fall to the ground.
"Let me have it!" I yelled, gripping onto her for dear life.
"No!" she yelled stubbornly, slowly crawling towards the bed and dragging me along with her.
I managed to balance myself on my knees enough to where I could drag her back towards me. She turned slightly and elbowed me in the thigh, make it go numb with the pain. Taking advantage of me letting her go to grasp my thigh, she crawled on her hands and knees and clung to the quilt on the bed. I reached out quickly, grabbed her by the ankle with both hands, and pulled. She fell to the floor with a "thud" and tried kicking me off.
"I hate your stupid long appendages!" she yelled.
"I hate your face!" I shouted back.
She turned her torso toward me and kicked me off of her. She managed to get behind me and wrap her arms under my armpits and her hands locked behind my head, putting me in a full Nelson.
"Resistance is futile!" she yelled.
"Your mother is futile!" I shot back.
"I'm telling my mother you said that!"
"And I'll tell her who it was that drop her favorite necklace in the toilet and flushed it!"
"You wouldn't dare!" Brooke gasped, halting her movements.
"Try. Me," I said turning back my head to look at her without causing too much pain.
Laughter burst through the doorway, and both of us turned our heads to look at Devin and Jeremiah holding their sides. I have to admit, we probably looked ridiculous. Both of us wrestling around on the floor and me ending up in a full Nelson thanks to years of Brooke watching wrestling and practicing the moves on her unfortunate siblings.
"Y'know it's really rude to open the door to a lady's room," Brooke said releasing me.
"If I see one, I'll let you know," Devin retorted causing Jeremiah to begin laughing again. The boy was practically in hysterics upon the questioning of our femininity.
"Well then!" I scoffed, rubbing my neck and getting up off of the floor.
"Maybe we should just share the bed," offered Brooke. "I get it one night and you get the next."
"Yeah, but how are we going to decide?" I asked.
"Well, we are about to de-gnome the garden. How about whoever gets the most gnomes over the wall, wins," suggested Jeremiah.
"I guess that's fair," I shrugged. "Now move along so we can change clothes."
When Jeremiah and Devin left, I closed the door and walked over to my luggage. I let Mr. Bobbles out of his cage, and after a good pecking on the head, he flew out of the window to stretch his wings. I rummaged through my trunk, changed clothes into my shorts and headed to the door. As I opened it Megie rushed past me nearly toppling me over.
"Dear Bob! Control your cat woman! I exclaimed. Megie had darted out of her kennel as soon as Brooke had opened the door.
"She's just excited to finally have gotten out of there," she said, walking past me and towards the stairs.
"You don't think she'll chase the chickens do you?" I asked.
"Definitely," she said without hesitation.
"So who do you think will win?' I asked.
"The chickens," Brooke said making me laugh. Rounding the corner into the kitchen, we met up with the others.
"Brooke, your cats insane," said Ron leaning against the door clutching his heart.
"I'm guessing you had quite the fright when she ran by." I said.
"'Quite the fright?' Bloody cat nearly gave me a heart attack!" he said.
"Oh, don't be a baby! You'll be fine," she said waving him off. Ron looked rather affronted at how little concern she showed toward his sudden heart palpitations.
All of us then walked outside and stopped in front of the garden. You could see several little gnome holes scattered all about. Gnomes were a lot like armadillos. They tore up the ground and uprooted whatever was planted. Mr. Weasley could've gotten rid of them a long time ago by simply investing in a jarvey, but he thought they were hilarious. Not to mention a jarvey wasn't exactly…subtle when it came to disposing of gnomes.
"Well, since Kristin and I will be competing to see who gets the bed in Charlie's room, I say we might as well make this a competition with everyone. Let's divide into teams of two," said Brooke.
"Let's just draw straws," said Fred, producing a pile of colored straws out of his pocket.
"Why do you just so happen to have straws in your pocket?" questioned Jeremiah.
"Why would I not have straws in my pocket?" he questioned back.
"It's better you not ask too many question, mate," Ron said.
"Anyway!" Brooke said interrupting them, "If you would please, Fred."
"Why, of course," he said gentlemanly.
He held the straws in his hand and each of us grabbed one, leaving him with the last. At the bottom of my straw was a little yellow dot.
"Who has yellow?" I asked.
"Me," said Ron, walking over beside me. He had a fear of dread on his face. Oh ho ho, this was going to be most enjoyable.
"Ok, Ronald McDonald, here's our strategy," I said, putting my arm around him and turning our backs on the others like we were in some kind of football huddle.
"You know I hate it when you call me that," he complained.
"Which is why I continue to call you that. Ok, First, we grab the gnomes, then, we swing the gnomes and lastly…"
"…We throw the gnomes?" he asked rolling his eyes. I jumped back suddenly in surprise.
"Are you….psychic?" I asked waving my hands around mystically.
"Nope, just used the ramblings of an idiot," he said mercilessly.
"Hmph. Rude." I replied folding my arms.
I looked over to the others and it looked like the teams consisted of George and Brooke, Fred and Jeremiah, and Percy and Devin. Devin was questioning Percy on how to get the gnomes out of the holes (basically you just had to make a lot of noise and, being of low intelligence, they would come out to see what the ruckus was about). George seemed to be whispering something in Brooke's ear and she had a malevolent smile on her face. That can't be good. Fred was demonstrating to Jeremiah how best to throw a gnome over the wall to get the farthest distance. It seemed to be a mixture of ballet and baseball.
"So, are we all ready?" I asked.
"We're all set here," said Brooke, holding something behind her back. Hmmm. Very suspicious.
Everyone lined up a ways away from the holes and got into running positions.
"Ready!" said George. "Set! GO!"
Everyone took off like a racehorse and made a beeline for the gnome holes. Of course I, with my graceful abilities, immediately fell to the ground face first. Ron skidded to a halt and simply looked down at me shaking his head.
"Seriously?!' he said. "You have trip as soon as we start?"
"Yes, because it was totally my decision to fall," I bit back.
"Hey, you alright there Kristin?" said Devin.
I looked up intending to thank Devin for worrying about me and his kind words, but alas it was too good to be true. Lo and behold, he was actually running backwards while laughing at me! I hope he trips in a gnome hole. I grabbed Ron by the collar of his shirt and put his face about an inch away from mine.
"We. Can. Not. Lose," I said. He nodded his head fearfully and helped me up.
By the time we ran over to where everyone else was, gnomes were popping up here and there out of their holes. I spotted one peaking its head up and quickly grabbed it by its neck.
"OI! Geroff me!" it shouted struggling. I switched hands to grab its feet and whirled it above my head like a lasso. When I was sure it was dizzy enough, I let it fly over the garden wall. Well would you look at that. It kind of looks like a Frisbee. If a Frisbee resembled a potato that is.
Nearby I saw Brooke dancing and sprinting around the garden flinging Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans all over the ground cackling like a madwoman. George was right behind her all the while picking up several gnomes at once, twirling them, and tossing them all at once. Unfortunately, since he was tossing multiple gnomes, some of them flew off in other directions. One of them actually nailed Percy in the head. I thought Devin would pass out from laughing so much.
Spotting another gnome running towards a gnome hole, I quickly bolted after it. Unfortunately it seemed like Jeremiah had the exact same idea. We both looked at each other, daring the other to go for it. I took the chance, dove for it, and grabbed it around the middle. I stood up and shoved it in Jeremiah's face.
"Ha!" I gloated waving it around.
Jeremiah glared at me and snatched it right out of my hand! I stood there in pure shock just staring at my hand.
"HA!" he said, before running off and leaving me alone with my bruised pride. How rude!
There had to be a simpler way to do this. I looked back over at the wall and saw a gnome squeeze his way back in through a hole and run off laughing, having thought he fooled us, until Devin grabbed it and just chucked it over the wall. I swear it sounded like a whistling noise in a cartoon as it flew off in the distance. Lightbulb!
I grabbed Ron by his shoulder, who was running past me, and turned him around, making him drop a particularly fat gnome on the ground. It cursed and shook its fat, little fist before waddling off.
"Hey, you made me..!
"Never mind that!" I said. "I've got an idea!"
"Oh great," he said sarcastically, still resentful over the loss of the gnome.
"No, it's actually a good one this time," I said grinning. "Ok, so you know how if you don't throw the gnomes far enough or spin them enough, they just come right back into the garden."
"Yeah…" he said, unsure of where exactly I was heading.
"Well, instead of running around like chickens with our heads cut off, we'll just wait by the wall and grab them when they come through."
His eyes lit up at the sound of my brilliant idea. "That's actually not bad!"
"Yes, yes, thank you," I said bowing for effect.
We took off toward the garden wall and each took a position beside the holes big enough for the gnomes to crawl through. Sure enough, a few seconds later a gnome put its lumpy potato head through the hole near Ron and he grabbed it by the back of its neck. Cursing at being immediately caught, Ron managed to twirl it and fling it back over the wall.
One by one the gnomes would poke their heads through and we would quickly grab them and toss them over again. Not long after, the gnomes got wise of Ron and I and just gave up coming back.
"I don't think they're coming back," said Percy gasping for air.
"I'm so tired," said Jeremiah falling back onto the ground.
"I feel like death," said Brooke collapsing beside him.
"You look like death," he said.
Too tired to argue Brooke flopped back on the ground, her legs going slightly airborne as she did so.
"Are we ready to tally up the score? Make sure to give an ACCURATE score," said Percy looking directly at the twins.
"I'm hurt," said George. "You act like we would be dishonest or something."
"Brooke," he said ignoring George, "your score please?"
"Thirty-eight," she said.
"We had twenty," said Jeremiah.
"Why did we have so little?" complained Fred.
"Because you were throwing them all over the place!" Jeremiah said irritated.
"Don't question the method," he said raising a finger.
"Your method looked like a rain dance," I said laughing.
"We had even less. Sixteen," Devin said angrily.
"Let me guess," said George, "Percy was too busy being a pompous twit."
"You hit the nail on the head," said Devin.
Devin was competitive, but he didn't mind losing as long as he knew that he, or in this case his teammate, did that best that he could. Obviously Percy didn't live up to his standards. I could tell that he and Percy wouldn't be getting along well after this. Percy's haughty personality could really grate on your nerves after a while. I loved him like the rest of the Weasley's, but he got on my last nerve.
"Unfortunately," I said, "You can put us down for thirty-seven."
"HA!" yelled Brooke standing up and pointing her annoying finger in my face. "I won!" She then proceeded to do a happy dance, which involved turning in circles and shaking her booty. And let me tell you, that was a lot of booty to be shaking. Heh.
"You win this time Brookie Cookie, but I shall have my revenge!" I cried dramatically.
"We would've won if you hadn't of made me drop the fat gnome," complained Ron.
"And we also wouldn't have had as high of a score as we did without my brilliant idea!" I shot back.
"Now, now," interrupted Percy. "We mustn't act childish."
"Well, we are children…" laughed Jeremiah with the rest of us joining in.
Percy huffed at Jeremiah stating the obvious and waltzed off toward house.
"He gets his panties in a wad way too easily," said Brooke standing up off of the ground. "I do believe that would make a prime target for some good ol' practical jokes."
"Brooke," said George putting his arm around her shoulder "I do believe I love the way you think."
"Should we retire to our office and discuss these affairs?" asked Fred, putting his arm on the other side of her.
"Yes, let's," She said.
All three of them walked to The Burrow planning a rough draft of pranks that could be pulled on Percy. Ron, Devin, Jeremiah, and I trailed after them.
"They're going to be a bad influence on her you know," said Ron.
"Actually, I'm pretty sure she could be a bad influence on them," said Jeremiah.
Ron looked particularly fearful at that point, thinking about how frightful it is that someone could possibly be worse that Fred and George. The twins were notorious for their knack at pranking people. Sometimes their pranks would get out right dangerous. Once when I was eight, they thought it would be absolutely hilarious to tie some Filibuster Fireworks Rockets to my ankles to see how far I would fly in the air. Of course, seeing as how I'm terrified of heights, I wasn't exactly cooperative. Mr. Weasley came running from the house, after hearing my cries, and promptly put out the lit fuses. Come to think of it, maybe Fred and George are the ones that made me scared of heights in the first place!
We walked inside the house to see Mrs. Weasley stirring the large pot at the stove, which ended up being beef stew. It smelled heavenly and after all of that frolicking around outside, I was starving. Brooke was at the table talking and demonstrating with Ginny about the de-gnoming.
"You still have plenty of time before dinner, so why don't all of you wash up?' suggested Mrs. Weasley.
"That'd be great. Why don't y'all go ahead before us, "I said to Devin and Jeremiah.
"Oh! Boys, why don't you lot go outside and make sure the chickens and pigs are fed," Said Mrs. Weasley.
"No problem mum," said Ron.
Devin and Jeremiah walked upstairs to take cleaned up, and Fred, George, Percy, and Ron walked out the front door to tend to the animals that were in a stone pin connected to the house. I walked over to the sink and got Brooke and I each a glass of water.
After a bit of conversation, we heard the front door open up and a red-haired man only a little taller than Mrs. Weasley walked in and smiled brightly at us. I jumped up and launched myself into his arms.
"Mr. Weasley!" I exclaimed. "How are you?"
He hugged me back and said, "Just wonderful! So did you bring me anything?"
"Absolutely," I said. "But you'll have to wait until after dinner!"
"No problem there! I'm starved!" he said walking over to Mrs. Weasley and giving her a kiss on the cheek. Awww. So romantic!
"And who's your friend?" he asked extending a hand out to Brooke.
"I'm Brooke Landers!" Brooke said shaking his hand.
"Devin and Jeremiah are here as well, but their upstairs taking showers," I explained.
"The more the merrier!" he said smiling.
A half an hour later, Devin and Jeremiah came into the kitchen, both with damp hair, and sat down in the kitchen. While they were introducing themselves to Mr. Weasley, Brooke and I both left to go take showers of our own. After, I showing Brooke where the bathroom was to let her take her shower first. Mr. Bobbles had since returned and sat perched on top of a dresser.
"So, you still mad at me?" I asked him, taking a seat on the bed that Brooke had stolen from me.
He turned his head toward me and fluttered down onto the headboard of the bed. It looked like he had finally forgiven me. I pressed my head lightly against his body and burrowed down into his soft down feathers. So comfy.
"I'm really glad that you're here," I said.
He hooted softly and pressed against me more. Somehow he knew what I was feeling.
Being alone in this room had left me alone with my thoughts and made me realize how real this was. It was a mixture of excitement, fear, and homesickness. I wasn't going to be here for just a short summer and then go back to Louisiana like every year. I was here for an entire year, and without my parents or older sister. The world is a pretty big place for an eleven year old when you really put it in perspective. Mr. Bobbles had given me this sense of comfort, that although I felt lonely without my family, I was still connected to them through him. It was sort of like he was a door that lead straight back to home.
Brooke interrupted my thoughts as she walked through the door, with Megie in her arms. I laughed as I saw how haggard the cat looked. She had feathers stuck all over her.
"I told you the chickens would win," Brooke laughed.
"Don't ask me to help get the feathers off! I'd rather not get scratched," I said.
Megie was actually narrowing her eyes at Mr. Bobbles and he gave her as an amused look as an owl can.
Gathering my clothes I proceeded to the bathroom and took a quick shower. I went back to our room and tossed my clothes into my open trunk. Brooke was no longer in the room so I assumed she must've gone stairs without me, so I followed suit. Arriving in the kitchen I noticed there were four additional chairs squeezed around the table. This was going to be a tight fit. Brooke and Ginny were helping Mrs. Weasley finish setting the table and Devin and Jeremiah were sitting at the table with Mr. Weasley discussing the exact function of spark plugs. He loved to collect them after all. Although he did that with any muggle object he deemed fascinating.
"Do you need any help Mrs. Weasley?' I asked.
"Actually, would you mind gathering the boys for dinner? I'm just putting out the food," She asked.
"No problem!" I said. I walked through the living room and out the front door.
The sun was setting now and looked beautiful highlighting the gold wheat field in front of me. I walked around to the right side of the house where the pig pen was. The chicken coop lay not 10 feet from it and a ways down the road was Mr. Weasley's shed where he housed his collection of muggle "artifacts" and the family car.
I saw Fred and George finishing up pouring the slop into the pigs feeding trough and Ron had gathered a large basket of eggs that would most likely be used for breakfast in the morning. Percy was nowhere to be seen. Slacker.
"Where's Percy?" I asked taking a seat on the low stone wall of the pen.
"Took off early after he 'straightened' Dad's shed," George said using air quotes.
Percy new dang well, Mr. Weasley had everything thing in that shed organized. Mostly because Mrs. Weasley made him do it though. His office at the Ministry of Magic was another matter entirely.
"So basically,' said Fred, rinsing out the bucket that slop was in, "he's far too dignified to help the little people."
"He's gotten way too big for his britches," I sighed.
"He's gotten a lot worse this year though," said Ron walking over and set the basket down on the wall next to me. "I think it's because he's gotten Prefect. He won't' stop going on about it."
"I bet you a galleon that he'll mention it at least once tonight," said George.
Surely he could go ONE night without saying it.
"You're on," I said hopping off the wall. "Mrs. Weasley sent me to tell you that dinner's ready by the way. Need help with the basket Ron?"
"Yeah, thanks," he said.
I took hold of part the basket's handle and Ron and I both walked back to the house. Once inside, we put the eggs into a crate, in the pantry attached to the kitchen. When we walked out we took our seats at the table joining everyone else.
"Looks delicious Mrs. Weasley," complimented Devin. Look at him being so nice and polite.
"Thank you, dear!" she replied. "Alright everyone, no reason to beat around the bush! Dig in!"
Without hesitation there was a flurry of hands flying out towards the food and plates being passed around the table. There was not only beef stew, but mashed potatoes and gravy, rolls, green beans, ham, and for dessert, three peach cobblers. I was in Heaven. No seriously. It's[R1] like I could hear an angelic choir singing in the background as I took the first bite of stew. The beef was so tender you hardly had to chew it.
"It's show beautiful," Brooke said with a mouthful of mashed potatoes.
"Brooke, don't talk with your mouthful," said Jeremiah. "You know you have trouble doing two things at once."
"I'm not trying to be rude or anything," began Devin, "but this is all Southern food. Did you plan this whole meal out for us?"
"I did!" she replied. "Kristin's mother and I exchange recipes whenever they visit. I figured you all would like a taste of home before you left for school."
"Thank you! It's perfect!" said Jeremiah gratefully. Mrs. Weasley tried to hide her large grin, by taking a bite out of a roll
"So, Mr. Weasley, how's work been lately?" I asked.
"Oh, it's been interesting!" he began. "Just this morning we had to raid a muggle's home to recover a teapot that had been bewitched to freeze whatever liquid that was poured out of it. Terribly unpleasant for the poor muggle man that happened to spill the tea in his lap."
All of the boys visibly winced uncomfortably at the thought of the unfortunate muggle.
"He was out at the hospital when we got to his home. Fortunately his memories didn't need altering as he thought maybe there was just something wrong with his stove."
"Now Arthur, you know you're not supposed to reveal Ministry business," scolded Mrs. Weasley.
"Oh, no harm done Molly," he said. "Besides, the kids love a good story."
"This gives us an idea," whispered George to Fred.
"Whatever it is, I want in on it!" whispered Brooke from across the table.
"Oh no you don't!" interrupted Percy. "I'm keeping you two on a short leash this year and don't corrupt poor Brooke with your mischievousness."
Devin, Jeremiah, and I all looked at each other and busted out laughing. Ignoring our ruckus laughter, Percy turned his attention towards me.
"By the way, Kristin," he began. "Did I tell you that I was made Prefect this year?"
"Dang it!" I said catching Percy off guard and reaching into my pocket for a Galleon.
"Pay up," said George reaching across the table. I sighed and handed it over to him.
"Thank you for your patronage, m'lady," he said pocketing the gold coin
"Oh are you a prefect Percy? We had no idea, you should've said something," said Fred haughtily. More laughter erupted around the table, even Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, trying to hide their quiet giggling. Percy sat in uncomfortable silence stabbing his ham a little harder than he should have.
After dinner was finished, everyone helped Mrs. Weasley clean up the kitchen and store the leftover food in a large refrigerator-like box in the back of the pantry. Of course being that electricity didn't work well around wizards, it was charmed to simply keep items cold exactly like a fridge would. After everything was put away, everyone either retired to their bedrooms or the living room.
I went upstairs to retrieve Mr. Weasley's gift for him like I promised.
Walking back into the living room, I saw Jeremiah sitting back in the bay window watching Ron teach Devin the difference between wizard's chess and muggle chess. Brooke was sitting on the couch next to Mrs. Weasley, who was teaching her the basics of knitting and Mr. Weasley was reading the Daily Prophet and pretending that he didn't notice me. Honestly, he was like a little kid on Christmas. It was adorable. I walked in front of him with the large gift behind my back.
"Mr. Weasley! Are you ready for your gift?" I asked.
"If you insist!" he said with a hint of excitement in his voice. He put his paper on the arm of the chair and leaned forward. I presented him with a large, somewhat neatly, wrapped box. He tore into the paper and gasped when he saw what was in the box.
"Is this a plunger?!" he asked, holding it in awe.
"It is!" I said in delight. "I went through your shed last summer and saw that you had a toilet brush, but didn't have a plunger. I figured you'd like a complete set!"
He stood up, with plunger in hand, and hugged me.
"Thank you! I'll treasure it always." He said.
"Aw shucks!" I said giggling.
"So what will we be doing tomorrow?" asked Devin, not looking up from his chess game. It looked like Ron was winning.
"We'll be going to Diagon Alley in the morning to pick up your school supplies," said Mrs. Weasley.
"Its amazing!" explained Ron. "They've got this awesome joke shop, and a sweet shop too!"
"If we have time, we'll stop by them," said Mrs. Weasley. "But we've got to get our other errands done first. We'll have to stop by the Gringott's of course. I've spoken to all of your parents and they've set up each of you an account there. Of course, if you want to keep getting a regular allowance, you'll need to keep your grades up."
"Pretty sure I'm going to actually want to do my schoolwork this year," said Devin. "It's a MAGIC school that teaches MAGIC. Who wouldn't want to do it?"
"You'd be surprised," said Ron. "Fred and George said there's an absolutely boring teacher who does nothing but just read the text book, the entire lesson."
"Well, as fun as this has been," said Jeremiah stretching and purposely smacking Devin in the head, "I think I'm going to hit the hay."
"Sounds like a great idea to me," said Devin stretching his legs and "accidently" kicking Jeremiah in the shin.
"Actually, I think it would be great for all of us to go to bed," said Mr. Weasley. "We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
Carrying his plunger like the Holy Grail, Mr. Weasley walked upstairs. As we trailed behind him, Mrs. Weasley, began putting out the lanterns with a flick of her wand every time she walked past one. We said our goodnights to each other, changed into our pajamas, and brushed our teeth. Walking back into the bedroom I grabbed one of Charlie's journals and laid down in the cot. This was not going to be good for my back. Brooke slipped into the bed next to me and started plucking the chicken feathers off of Megie, while I read through an entry on the Ukrainian Ironbelly.
"Did you know that the Ukrainian Ironbelly is the largest dragon breed weighing up to six tons," I informed.
"Well, it is called the Ironbelly. I didn't think it would be exactly light," she said with a small chuckle.
"Ha-ha," I said sarcastically.
"Girls, it's time to go to sleep," said Mrs. Weasley poking her head through the door.
"Ok!" we both said in unison. I folded down the corner of the page I was on and set it down next to me on the floor.
"Good night Mrs. Weasley," yawned Brooke.
"Good night!" I said.
"Good night, girls," said Mrs. Weasley.
I rolled over facing Brooke and saw her cuddling with Megie before closing my eyes. With a "swoosh" of Mrs. Weasley's wand darkness fell over the room and we fell asleep to the distant sound of clucking chickens.