So…2 chappies in one weekend. Quite proud, actually. And considering it's 9 PM….you should be worshipping at out feet. Hmph.
Look, we're so sorry for not posting, but we both met with a nasty bout of flu and chest colds, plus we had our computer time taken away thanks to a math test. Nasty little things. I'd rather take Potions any day.
So, let's read, shall we?
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"Ugh, I should be sleeping right now," Jaclyn said with a groan, leaning on Andrew's shoulder.
"And you should also be passing DADA, but that's not happening right now either," he replied curtly, shrugging her off. "Now shut up. I need to concentrate."
He was playing James in a game of Exploding Snap, quite risky with the amount of people in their compartment. Matthew was watching the pair intently, while Freddie chatted with Rose, who was giggling madly. Albus was immersed in a book, and Nick was reading over his shoulder. George had disappeared with Jessica some time ago.
"Well, sorry," Jaclyn whined in reply and stuck her toungue out at him before laying across Albus' lap.
"Oww!" He jumped and Jackie's head shook. "Jaclyn, pain!"
She gave a yawn and sat up.
"It is was to early to be functioning," she pouted.
"You need to stop being so melo-dramatic," Freddie said. "Spare us all a lot of torment, listening to you."
"Well, I'm sorry your bored," Jaclyn said.
"Am not!" Freddie shot back. "I'm talking with Rose!"
"And I know you'd rather be going into detail with Jessica about last night with Ced," Jaclyn replied, "Which I know all about, so spare me."
Freddie blushed.
"Okay, let's not recount that, please," she said sharply, a hint of warning in her voice.
"No, do tell," James said, abandoning the game as it exploded, leaving Andrew's red hair standing on end.
"Yea, you lead us on, now finish," Nick said. Freddie shoved his face away.
"I'm not telling you, of all people," she said to James. "The entire school will know before we get back!"
James smiled devilishly.
"Exactly the point."
Matthew punched his arm in agreement.
"Why can't you go occupy yourselves with your annoying friends?" Freddie asked, waving her hand toward the corridor. "Go on!"
"Speaking of annoying friends…" Rose pointed to the compartment door as Shane and Dan appeared, smiling.
"We heard you call," Dan began. "Something about annoying friends?"
"And so we obliged the fair lady's wishes and appeared," Shane finished. Albus rolled his eyes.
"You've got some annoying friends," he said in agreement. He let out an 'omph' as Dan squeezed himself in between him and Nick.
"Oh, and Freddie dearest?" Freddie rolled her eyes at Shane's pitiful attempts at flirting. "Cedric FF was looking for you."
Freddie turned sharply in his direction.
"Really?"
"Yeah, something about the 'usual spot'."
Freddie stood up, causing Rose to fall into Matthew.
"I'll be back later," she said, before leaving.
"That's code for 'come find me because I'll be to busy making go-go eyes at Ced'," Andrew translated. "Want a game, Dan?"
Dan nodded. "Why not?"
Shane leaned against the window and stared off into space.
"You'll never believe what I saw," he said.
"Care to tell?" Rose asked. Jaclyn looked up, interested.
Shane smiled.
"Teddy and Victoire."
Jaclyn sat up, suddenly wide awake.
"Oh, do tell!" she said. Teddy and Victoire, dubbed Tedtoire, were her all time favorite couple.
"Well, let's say I couldn't tell who's hand were who's," Shane said.
"Keep it PG, will you?" Andrew said sharply. "James is practically drooling."
"Hey!"
"Well, look at yourself!"
James leaned over Albus' lap and looked at himself in the darkening window.
"Okay, I see your point. But this is juicy!"
Rose raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, you sound so gay saying that!"
James puffed out his chest.
"I'm embracing my feminine side," he defended.
"Your embracing your true self then," Albus said with a straight face as his cousins doubled over, laughing hysterically around him. "Well, it's the truth!"
Jaclyn, the first to recover, whipped the tears from her eyes.
"Oh, God, Al," she said, patting him on the head, trying to flatten his ever non-represent hair. "You're too funny."
Albus, not quite sure what he did, nodded.
"Um, thanks."
The trolley passed and the cousins pooled their money together and bought a stack of Cauldron Cakes and a Chocolate Frog apiece. Nolan Longbottom stopped in for a hello and played a round of Exploding Snap with Andrew, who lost again, and brought more news of Teddy and Victoire, who stopped by too, very red-faced and blushing heavily.
"It was nothing, really!" Teddy said, holding up his hands. Jaclyn leaned over and pulled up his collar.
"If you want that to pass off as the truth," she advised, "Keep your neck covered."
He blushed even more.
Jessica and George returned, looking much calmer and cleaner than Teddy and Victoire. When Freddie returned, looking quite disheveled and dazed, the interrogation set forth.
"So," Rose said nonchalantly. "How's Cedric?"
"Um, fine," Freddie said, helping herself to a Chocolate Frog.
"What's he doing over the holidays?" Albus asked. Freddie shrugged.
"We really didn't talk about it," was the reply.
"Did you actually talk at all?" Andrew asked, putting at a spark on his hair as Nolan collected his winnings.
"Go check Cedric, since we're not getting anwers out of this one," Jaclyn told them.
"Go check Cedric?" Shane asked. "That's slightly perverted."
Jaclyn rolled her eyes at their immaturity.
"I meant to see if he's blushing and being all quiet," Jaclyn corrected herself. "Then you'll know something juicy happened."
With those words James, Dan, Matthew, and Shane dashed out of the compartment.
"You know, I'm really going to have to have a talk with our aunts and uncles," Jaclyn said, tapping her chin. "Their children are really going down the wrong path. You tell your parents, okay, Jessica?"
Jessica nodded, and raised an eyebrow.
"And she's one to talk?" she whispered into George's ear.
"No," George agreed. "No right at all!"
"Yeah, you have been to Nurse Luna quite a lot," Andrew said. "From not getting enough sleep, I suppose."
"What could she give you?" Albus asked.
"A potion to keep me awake in class," Jaclyn explained.
"Okay, what...do...you...have...to...hide!" James panted, pulling himself into the compartment.
"Yea, Ced was so red," Shane said, clutching a stitch in his side. Freddie went red herself.
"Imagine Jackie, except a few levels toned down," she finally mutterd. James wolf whistled.
"I got a thing or two to learn!"
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"Ava, stop it!"
Ava tugged dejectedly on her mother's skirt and sat down at her feet, promptly beginning to cry.
"No, no! No tears!"
Katie bent down to pick up her youngest daughter, the only one who wasn't at Hogwarts.
"Mommy didn't mean to yell," she said gently, bouncing Ava on her hip.
Ava sniffled.
"No nice," she said with a pout.
"Yes," Katie agreed. "No nice."
"Katie, your doing it again," George said gently, coming up behind and putting an arm around his wife's waist.
"Doing what again?"
"Talking like Ava."
"Oh, whoops."
"Oh, don't worry," Flear said from a few feet away. She had her youngest son, Bill, balanced on one hip. "It'z nothing to worry about. I do it too."
Katie smiled gratefully.
"Oh, good."
"Yeah, and she hasn't stopped," Antoinette added. Fleur glared at her daughter, who shrugged and went back to her book. Antoinette had Fleur's pale, moonlight white skin, but her father's fiery red hair. Marie, playing with her doll next to her sister, was a replica of Fleur.
"That's not nice," Marie told her sister. "Mommy works to hard to tease her. Tease Victoire."
"No, we do not do zey teasing at all," Fleur said. "No teasing."
Fleur's accent had weakened considerably and ''her Engleesh' was now down pat-almost.
"Well, if I find Victoire coming of the train glued to Teddy, tease her all you want," Bill told her daughters. George laughed.
"I wonder what troubles Jaclyn managed to cook up this semester," he wondered aloud.
"Oh, it's not your eldest I'd be worried about."
George turned and saw Ginny appear through the crowd, Lily holding tight and Harry on her other hand.
"What do you mean?" George said, giving her a light hug.
"Well, we've been kept informed that something has been brewing between a certain Cedric FF and Freddie," she said musingly, patting Ava's head and giving Katie a hug. "How are you dear?" she asked.
"Tired, but fine." Ginny nodded and Fleur joined in the conversation as Bill, Harry, and George started one of their own.
"Is it really something to worry about?" George said. "I already have one boy crazy daughter; I don't think I can handle more."
"Nah, it sounds like Freddie's a steady one," Bill assured. "She's not one to go into something lightly."
Harry agreed.
"She's got a good head on her shoulders," he said. "Now Andrew…I've received a letter or two and something's brewing with a certain Ravenclaw…"
"Why haven't I heard about any of this?" George wondered.
"It's not generally something kids tell their parents," Harry said. Andrew was his god-child.
"Well, did you hear about little Rosie?" Bill asked.
"Nah, what happened?" George asked.
"Well, something with her and a certain Scorpius Malfory," Harry finished Bill's thought.
"Draco's son?" George asked flabbergasted. "Wow, Ron must've blown through the roof when they got that letter."
"Nearly."
"Oh, hello Hermione!" Ginny called.
"Hugo!" Lily and Antoinette cried out and went over to bring him into the circle of kids.
Hermione and Ron were greeted with hugs the conversations broke again.
"So, Ron, what's this with your daughter?" George asked. "And why haven't I been informed?"
"I don't even know half of what's going on myself," Ron said, scowling. "Just that I don't like it."
"Ah, give it a rest," Bill said, patting him on the shoulder. "They'll be a lovely couple."
"Yeah, the wedding should be fun," Harry agreed. "And Draco'll have killed you before she walked down the isle, so you won't have to witness it anyway!"
The three laughed while Ron's scowl deepened and he went white.
"Don't even joke about that," he said. The conversation quickly turned to the subject of Quittich.
Over with the girls, the attention was turned to Hermione.
"I put on so much weight!" she was saying. "I had been eating a lot of sweets-George does send a package every week- but other than that, I wasn't doing anything to put that much on! So I went to St. Mungo's…"
"Do I think that where this is going might be where this is going?" Katie asked, bouncing Ava. Hermione nodded slowly.
"Oh, 'ow wonderful!" Fleur squealed. "'Ave you told Ronald yet?"
Hermione shook her head.
"Nobody, actually. I was thinking of doing it tonight," she said.
"Make sure he's had the eggnog," Ginny advised. "He'll pass out quicker."
Hermione usually rolled her eyes at this, but she actually looked at Ginny gratefully.
"Good idea," she said. Katie shook her head.
"Good lord, you really are," she said.
Hermione nodded as a whistle blew overhead.
"The train must be near," she said. "So different from when we were in school."
"Compeletly," Ginny agreed. "Christmas at Hogwarts was always so pretty!"
"Zey food was very thick, though," Fleur put in. "I almost didn't fit into my dress robes the one year!"
Hermione nodded.
"I remember that!"
Fleur smiled.
"But, oh, zey good times," she agreed. "But still, I'd rather zem safe at home, no?"
The mothers nodded.
"You heard about the one plot the US Ministry managed to root out?" Katie asked.
"Oh, I did!" Ginny said. "Imagine if that had been carried out!"
"What happened?" Fleur asked.
"A group of Voldemort supports was making plans to do a mass killing at one of the Magic schools," Hermione told her. "I shudder to think of those consequences."
"Well, it has been pretty calm, regardless," Katie reminded. "Nothing to bad. But you're right; better safe than sorry."
"Yes, and I like having them home for Christmas," Hermione added. "I feel bad now for al those years I wasn't home, you know?"
The girls nodded.
"Oh, hello Luna!"
Ginny waved Luna Lovegood-Longbottom over. A small, round girl with her mother's long brown hair was at her side.
"How are you all?" Luna asked warmly, her voice still dreamy like her school days.
"Very good. And you?" Katie asked.
"Just the same," Luna agreed. "I saw your Jaclyn quite a bit this year. Kept getting sick from all her late night rendezvous', no?"
Katie shook head.
"That girl…I hope yours is doing better," she said, motioning towards the child.
"Oh, Lola's wonderful," Luna said. "Say hello, sweetie!"
"It's so nice to meet you all!" Lola said, flashing a toothy smile.
"Have you met my daughter, Marie?" Fleur said, pushing her forward. "She is close to your age, no?"
"Do you like dolls?" Marie asked, holding out her own. Lola tugged on her mother's sweater and Luna pulled a doll from her bag.
"Her name is Nymphadora," she said quietly. "After the war hero."
"That's very pretty," Marie agreed and the pair skipped off. Hermione whipped a tear from the corner of her eye.
"Luna, she's precious," Katie said.
"Thank you," Luna said. "I hope hearing the name doesn't upset you to much! I was bawling when she told me."
"No, I'll be fine," Hermione said. "Just thinking of Teddy. I do wish his parents had lived."
"Harry has done a wonderful job, though," Fleur said. The girls nodded. Harry had raised Teddy with Ginny, since he did feel somewhat responsible for him and since he was his godfather and all.
"He understands what it was like," Katie said. "Although Teddy grew up in a much more loving family."
"A bigger one too," Ginny said. "Much bigger. How many are coming tonight?"
"I don't even want to think about that right now," Hermione said.
"Well, you might have to," Fleur said, taking hold of her children's hands and the crowd pushed toward the train, which had pulled in.
"Let the chaos begin."
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So, not bad, right? The next chapter will start from the same moment, picking the kids up and then making their way to The Burrow for dinner. It'll be good.
This was six pages on Word. Wow, my hands hurt. And my ankle to…okay, not the point.
We'll throw in some more adult conversations if you'd all like. We won't know, though, until you review! We'll put some good dialogue in with the kids and some Teddy/Victoire scenes, which we love writing.
I hope you all found this chapter satisfying, and the last one too. It's super late, so you all should be so thankful I didn't wait until tomorrow to post! Without any reviews too!
Heart you all and would even more when you all review!
Iheartron547