Chapter 3
Leila took a seat at the Weasley's large kitchen table right before Harry came crashing through the fireplace landing face first onto the hardwood floor. Harry's glasses had cracked once again from the force of his landing, but he couldn't do anything to fix them because Fred and George instantly bombarded him with questions before they even helped him to his feet. Fred removed Harry's glasses from his face and tossed them over to Bill to fix while Leila reached for one of the homemade Pumpkin Pasties Mrs. Weasley had placed on the table as Ron sat next to her with a blush creeping onto his face. Leila took a bite before she turned to listen as Fred explained about the candy they had left for Dudley. Her cousin's tongue had drastically increased in size because of the candy, which was what now was keeping Mr. Weasley from returning promptly. Apparently, Fred and George had been inventing joke and trick products all summer and Dudley just happened to be one of their unknowing test-subjects.
"I practically trained him all summer for you," Leila chuckled.
"Precisely, when you said that you'd been feeding your cousin I knew he'd go for the bait," Fred grinned.
The room burst into laughter as Bill attempted to hand Harry his repaired glasses. Leila took another large bite of a Pumpkin Pasty when there was a popping noise. Suddenly, Mr. Weasley appeared behind George's shoulder. George looked over his shoulder and jumped a bit at the sight of his father. Mr. Weasley looked angrier than she had ever seen him before and the sight of his anger was enough to make George jump. Fred on the other hand looked calm, cool, and collected as Mr. Weasley marched across the kitchen toward the twin who had caused all of the ruckus as the Dursleys.
"That wasn't funny Fred!" Mr. Weasley roared. "What the devil did you give him?"
"I didn't give him anything," Fred retorted with an evil grin slowly spreading over his face. "I just dropped it. I couldn't help it that he lunged for it. I never told him to. You were there. Did you hear me say anything about it to him?"
"You dropped it on purpose!" Mr. Weasely roared. "You knew the second you dropped it that he'd devour it. You knew that he was on a diet…"
"He is right about that last part," Leila retorted.
"You're not helping," Fred hissed at Leila.
"Don't yell at her!" Ron said jumping to his feet.
"You stay out of this," Fred hissed at Ron. "Don't think I don't know why…"
"Fred don't yell at Ron!" Mr. Weasley shouted. "This isn't about Ron. This is about you and what you did to that poor Muggle boy."
"Dudley is hardly anything to be pitied," Leila commented.
"See even Leila agrees the git deserved it," Fred argued.
"You had no right…" Mr. Weasley began.
"Speaking of him, how big did his tongue get?" George asked.
"It was over four feet long before his parents would let me anywhere near him," Mr. Weasley answered.
Leila, Harry, and the Weasleys in the room (except for Mr. Weasley who was still seething) burst into laughter. Leila tried to imagine Dudley's tongue being over four feet long which caused her to laugh at the mental picture in her head. A tongue like that could come in handy for Dudley to get more food. Maybe he'd even be able to snatch food like a frog snatches flies; but alas, a tongue like that would ruin the Dursleys "normal" image. But it would've gone rather nicely with the pig tail Dudley had once sported. If Dudley didn't annoy Leila so much, she might feel a little worse that he always seemed to be on the receiving end of unwarranted human Transfiguration. The laughter did nothing to ease Mr. Weasley's anger.
"It isn't funny!" Mr. Weasley shouted. "This is the exact sort of behavior that seriously undermines wizard and Muggle relations. I've spent half my life campaigning against the mistreatment of Muggles and then to think my own son…"
"We didn't give it to him because he was a Muggle," Fred responded.
"We gave it to him because he's a big, fat, bullying git," George finished. "You can ask Harry or Leila to go into detail if you like."
"Yeah, he is, Mr. Weasley," Harry answered.
"And it's not like Harry and I can do anything to properly get our revenge," Leila furthered.
"See?" Fred retorted.
"That's not the point!" Mr. Weasley raged. "You wait until I tell your mother…"
Just at that moment, Mrs. Weasley walked into the room where they were all gathered.
"Tell me what?' Mrs. Weasley asked suspiciously.
But then she spotted Harry and Leila. Mrs. Weasley smiled and walked over to Harry. She hugged him and then walked over to Leila before she hugged the teenage witch as well. Mr. Weasley thought he was off the hook; but Mrs. Weasley didn't forget what they had been talking about. She repeated her question once more. Mr. Weasley hesitated as he pulled at the collar of his shirt. Leila could tell that Mr. Weasley had actually had no intention of dragging Mrs. Weasley into this. It was supposed to be an empty threat.
"Tell me what Arthur?" Mrs. Weasley repeated again in a dangerous tone.
"It's really nothing, Molly," Mr. Weasley mumbled. "Fred and George…well..erm…I've had my words with them…"
"What have they done this time?" Mrs. Weasley groaned. "If it's got anything to do with that Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes…"
"Ron, why don't you show Harry where he's sleeping?" Hermione Granger suggested.
Leila looked over to the doorway and rolled her eyes at the sight of Hermione Granger. She had almost forgotten that the annoying know-it-all girl was supposed to be here. That girl was always ruining everything for her. She wished Harry and Ron hadn't befriended the girl first year. They were doing fine without her. Well, at the time Ron still wasn't too sure about Leila herself; but still, Leila absolutely loathed Hermione Granger. She probably hated her more than she hated Draco Malfoy and that was saying a lot. Leila looked over to Ron who looked confusedly over to Granger who repeated herself to Ron.
"Show Harry where he's sleeping," Granger said through gritted teeth.
"He already knows where he's sleeping, Hermione," Ron said. "In my room, like the last…"
"We can all go," Hermione said. "Leila too."
"Hey, I don't need you telling me what to do," Leila snapped.
"Just c'mon, Leila," Ron stated.
Ron wrapped his hand around Leila's arm and began to drag her from the kitchen table where she had been sitting devouring Pumpkin Pasties. Leila turned around and looked at the Weasley twins. They looked to each other before they both took a step toward Leila and Ron.
"Right behind you," George called.
"You two stay right where you are!" Mrs. Weasley snarled.
Both Fred and George froze in place. If there was one person they were even slightly terrified of, it was their mother. Leila turned around to see the slightly worried looks on their faces.
"Good luck," Leila called.
Fred and George each gave Leila half-smiles before she was pulled around the corner toward the stairs. Leila groaned as she tried to push Ron's hand from her arm. Ron stopped on one of the stairs and turned around to look at Leila who stood there with her hands on her hips.
"I'm more than capable of walking on my own, thank you very much," Leila retorted.
"Sorry," Ron muttered.
"Do I have to share a room with Granger again?" Leila questioned.
"I think you already know the answer to that question," Ron said hesitantly.
"I think I'd much rather share a room with Percy," Leila muttered.
"Why do you fancy him or something?" Ron questioned with his face flaming red.
"That's disgusting. Percy's a prat; but he's far more tolerable than Granger," Leila retorted.
"Oh yeah, well you only say that because you haven't lived with him for years," Ron responded with a sigh of relief.
"And you haven't shared a room with Granger," Leila quipped.
"Besides, Percy's been a pain in everyone's arse this summer with his new job and all. You might not even be able to tolerate him," Ron furthered.
"Merlin's beard, I wasn't actually serious about bunking with Percy. I was just reiterating how much I hate Granger," Leila groaned.
"Oh," Ron said. "Well, maybe you and I can play some Quidditch sometime."
"Sure," Leila shrugged.
Ron beamed with a huge grin on his face. Leila hadn't really thought that playing Quidditch with him was that big of a deal, but then again, she didn't know Ron's personal motivations. They then continued up the stairs until they caught up with Harry, Hermione, and Ginny who were discussing Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, the new business for the joke stuff they had invented. Ginny had mentioned something about it to Leila in one of her letters. While Mrs. Weasley was quite upset that the boys didn't score more O.W.L.s, Leila didn't really think it mattered. Fred and George were already brilliant wizards. The fact that they had already invented this stuff proved that. Of course, from what Ginny explained, Mrs. Weasley wanted the twins to have proper jobs at the Ministry like their father and older brother Percy. But knowing the twins, they didn't want anything to do with the Ministry unless it involved them getting a joke shop up and running.
Just then, a door on the second landing opened. Ron and Leila were still on the landing while Harry, Hermione, and Ginny had stopped on the next flight of stairs. The door opened to reveal an annoyed looking Percy. Of all the Weasleys, Percy had always been her least favorite, even though she had only officially met Bill and Charlie not even a half hour ago. Percy always played things by the rules, which Leila sometimes had a habit of breaking. Granted, most of her rule breaking was Harry's fault; but still, Percy was an annoying git. He always tried to tell her what to do and he didn't hide the fact that he knew he was smarter than her. Well of course he was, he had how many years of schooling on her? But the biggest reason Leila didn't like Percy, much, was because he couldn't take a joke. She didn't even know if there was a funny bone in his body, which one would find surprising considering he was related to Fred and George. But when it came down to it, she definitely preferred Percy over Granger, unless the two of them were in a conversation together then hell, she might even prefer Draco Malfoy over the two of them together.
"Leila, Ron, so it was you two," Percy began. "I was wondering who it was thundering up the stairs and shrieking like banshees…"
"We weren't thundering," Ron said irritably.
"Or shrieking for that matter," Leila retorted.
But Percy wasn't allowing them to distract him from the speech he had probably already prepared in his head.
"I'm trying to work 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, shrieking like banshees," Percy said.
"Well then get your facts straight before jumping down people's throats. Leila and I just got up here. But Harry, Ginny, and Hermione are the ones who have been stopped here talking. Why don't you annoy them with your…" Ron began.
"Ron," Leila groaned.
"I'll have you know, Ron, that I'm dealing with an important report for the Department of International Magical Cooperation," Percy began. "It's a rather important job trying to standardize cauldron thickness. Some of these foreign imports are just a shade too thin—leakages have been increasing at a rate of almost three percent a year—"
"That'll chance the world, that report will," Ron scoffed. "Front page of the Daily Prophet, I expect, cauldron leaks."
"You might sneer Ron," Percy said heatedly. "but unless some sort of international law is imposed we might find the market flooded with flimsy, shallow-bottomed products that seriously endanger…"
"Thanks for the Potions lesson Percy, but…" Leila began.
"We're leaving," Ron finished.
"Honestly, did you two have to be so rude?" Granger questioned.
Hermione Granger walked down to the landing and stared at Leila and Ron with an accusing glance. Leila narrowed her eyes at Hermione and was about to come up with some witty retort; but Ron beat her to it.
"Come off it Hermione, he was blaming us for something you lot did," Ron groaned.
"I'm right here, you know," Percy hissed. "I can hear you.'
"Didn't seem to hear me so well the first time; I told you it wasn't me and Leila and you go off about some bloody cauldron report," Ron shot back.
"Mind your attitude, Ron," Percy sneered.
"Yeah, yeah, all right," Ron said.
Ron rolled his eyes and pushed past Hermione, headed straight for the stairs. Percy angrily slammed his bedroom door shut causing Leila to jump. Leila then turned to head back down the stairs when Ron called to her; but Leila didn't want to spend any more time with Hermione Granger than she had to. The fight with Percy had made enough of a distraction for her to get out of doing just that. So she decided to head back down to Ginny's room to avoid spending time with the annoying Gryffindor girl. Leila missed the look of disappointment on Ron's face as she headed back down the stairs. She walked down one flight of stairs and into Ginny's room. Leila threw herself on the bed in front of the window which her book bag had been placed on. Leila was relaxed on the bed when she saw Fred and George coming up the stairs. Fred noticed Leila lying on the bed and pointed at her before he and George walked in to Ginny's room. Fred and George plopped on to Ginny's bed which stood perpendicular to the bed Leila was on.
"So what's the damage?" Leila chuckled.
"Got the old 'we expect better' speech," Fred shrugged.
"And the 'why can't you be like your brothers?' speech," George continued.
"Nothing we haven't heard before," Fred said.
"I'm surprised you two are even walking properly," Leila chuckled.
"Oh she thought of it; but she knew it wouldn't have the same effect it did when we were younger," George responded.
"Although my left buttock has never been the same since I tried to get Ron to make an Unbreakable Vow," Fred added.
"You did what?" Leila gasped.
"Nothing," Fred answered.
"Yes you did! You said…" Leila began.
"I don't know what she's talking about. Do you Georgie?" Fred interrupted.
"No idea, Freddie," George grinned.
"You're both prats," Leila chuckled.
"But you love us anyway," George grinned.
"You keep telling yourselves that," Leila retorted.
"That hurts, Leila; right here, in the heart," Fred said feigning hurt.
"It was supposed to," Leila quipped.
Leila stood up with a smirk on her face when Fred lunged for her book bag. Leila's eyes widened as Fred started to dig through her bag. She lunged for the bag as well. The letters Cedric had written her were shoved in that bag. If Fred and George found out, she'd never hear the end of it. She attempted to pull the bag from Fred's grasp; but her reaction only made Fred cling tighter to the bag.
"Give that to me," Leila hissed.
"What are you hiding, Leila?" Fred questioned.
"Nothing, just give me back my bloody bag," Leila added.
Fred looked at Leila suspiciously as he pulled the bag farther from Leila. Leila continued to fight him for the bag when a grin spread over Fred's face. He suddenly released the bag; but Leila had been pulling so hard on the bag that she went flying backward with the bag. The contents of the bag spilled out and onto the floor. Leila quickly tried to pick up all of Cedric's letters as fast as she could; but George snatched one right before her hand reached for it. Leila then clung to George's hand which held the letter. George tried to shake Leila off him; but she just clung tighter to his arm which caused him to chuckle.
"Please don't read it," Leila begged.
"I won't read it," George said.
"Thank you," Leila sighed.
"But that doesn't mean I won't," Fred said.
Fred took the letter right out of George's hand and opened it. Leila screamed and tried to make a run out of the room but George caught her. He wrapped his arms around her midsection from behind, trapping her. He turned her so that they were both facing Fred who began to read the letter aloud. Leila tried to talk over Fred's voice; but the words he read still carried over Leila's noise.
"Dear Leila," Fred read. "I hope your summer is going well. Mine has been rather dull so far; helping Mum with chores and keeping up with my studies. The only excitement seems to come from Quidditch these days as teams battle for a spot in the World Cup. Father seems pretty confident that he'll be able to get us tickets seeing as he's with the Ministry and all…"
"How boring," George commented. "I was hoping for something more exciting. But this is Diggory we're talking about."
"How can you even converse with him?" Fred questioned.
"The same way your converse with your friends," Leila retorted.
"He's so dull," Fred scoffed.
"He's my friend," Leila furthered.
"Even after what he did to your brother last year?" Fred questioned.
"He didn't know about the bloody dementors which he's even apologized for, multiple times might I add," Leila said.
"Awfully quick to defend him," George stated.
"He's my friend," Leila repeated.
"So you've said; but I don't think it's us you're trying to convince," Fred said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Leila questioned.
"Well…" George began.
"What's going on in here?" Ginny questioned.
Leila turned her head in an attempt to look back at the door where Ginny stood alone with her arms folded across her chest. George released his grip on Leila, which caused her to fall face first onto the floor. Luckily, the carpet that was in the center of the room somewhat broke her fall. Leila groaned on the floor as Ginny began to interrogate Fred and George who tried to escape; but Ginny blocked their exit. Ginny glared at her older brothers.
"Nothing is going on, Ginny," George answered.
"Isn't that right, Leila?" Fred continued.
By this point Leila was upright once more and her arms were folded across her chest.
"Wrong answer," Ginny said. "Mum!"
"You wouldn't," Fred hissed.
"Mum!" Ginny called again.
"Bloody hell, we were only funning around," George said.
"Is that how you see it, Leila?" Ginny asked.
"I could; but I'll need to be persuaded," Leila said coyly.
"What do you want?" George asked.
"Apologize and leave me alone about Cedric," Leila said.
"Ginny dear, what is it?" Mrs. Weasley called from downstairs.
"Sorry," Fred muttered.
"Sorry," George muttered too.
"But we can't make any promises about that latter request," Fred said.
Leila cocked an eyebrow before she grinned as footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs.
"I figured that. That's why I asked you for something I knew you wouldn't do so that you'd do what I actually wanted you to do right away," Leila chuckled.
"Damn, she's good," George muttered.
"Cunning, must be the Slytherin in her," Fred commented.
"I'm not evil," Leila said coldly.
"Never said you were," Fred said.
"He was just saying that you had a trait of your House. It's not a bad thing," Ginny added.
"What she said. Like Diggory, he's dull which is clearly a Hufflepuff trait," Fred said.
"And being a prat must be a Gryffindor trait," Leila retorted.
Suddenly, Mrs. Weasley stood in the doorway and the second she noticed Fred and George she slightly narrowed her eyes. Leila could help but smirk at Fred and George's expense. They do say what comes around goes around. Mrs. Weasley placed her hands on her hips and walked closer toward Fred and George.
"What did you two do now?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
"Why does she always assume it's us?" George asked looking to Fred.
"Because it usually is," Ginny quipped.
"Ginny, what did you want dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked slightly out of breath.
"I couldn't find my jumper," Ginny lied.
"Nothing to do with Fred or George," Leila continued.
"Cross our hearts," Fred added as he cross his heart.
"Did you find it?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
"Find what?" Ginny asked.
"Your jumper, dear," Mrs. Weasley furthered.
"Oh that; yeah, it was under my bed," Ginny lied again.
"Very well then; why don't you four come on downstairs and help get things ready for dinner," Mrs. Weasley said.
Mrs. Weasley smiled at them until they walked out of Ginny's room and headed downstairs. Once they reached the kitchen, they could see Bill and Charlie outside in the garden. They looked to be plotting something or another. Or at least, their facial expressions look very similar to what Fred and George looked like when they were plotting mayhem. Mrs. Weasley told Ginny and Leila to set the tables one Bill and Charlie had them set up. To the twins, she told them stay out of trouble; which was easier said than done for those two. As Ginny and Leila left the house with their arms loaded with dishes and cutlery, Fred and George trailed behind them when two tables flew into the air.
"Brilliant," Fred said.
"What are they doing?" Leila asked.
"You'll see," Ginny grinned.
Suddenly, the two tables flew at each other and smacked together with a loud crash. Leila jumped in surprise, almost dropping the plates she was holding. Fred and George cheered as the tables went crashing toward each other once more. Bill and Charlie were trying to knock the other's table out of the air. Just when they walked into the garden, the table Bill was controlling fell to the ground. Charlie ran over laughing and patted Bill on the back; but Bill only grinned at his brother as he repaired the broken leg on his table telling his brother that he was ready for round two. Charlie laughed heartily as both brothers levitated their tables into the air once more.
"Bill will get him this time," George said.
"I take it this isn't the first time they've done this?" Leila asked.
"It's been a tradition for the past few summers when we're all together. Last summer before we went to Egypt even Dad and Percy joined in," Ginny laughed.
"Percy? As in your brother Percy?" Leila questioned.
"Fred or George probably put something in his pumpkin juice that day," Ginny answered.
"We didn't; but thanks for the idea," Fred grinned.
Fred and George ran past them to be closer to the action.
"Five Sickles on Bill," George said.
"You're on; my money's on Charlie," Fred responded.
"Boys," Ginny said.
"Looks like even Harry and Ron couldn't stay away," Leila grinned.
Harry and Ron came running from the house with Granger slowly trailing behind. Leila looked to Ginny whose face was flushed from Leila's mention of Harry. Leila knew that her friend had fancied her brother since before they even met. Leila tried to ignore it. Sometimes Ginny got the idea in her head that she was going to marry Harry and that Leila was going to marry one of the Weasley brothers. Often times, Ginny couldn't settle on a brother; so it switched from time to time at first it was Ron, then it was George, Fred for a while, even Charlie had been brought up once. Leila wasn't sure which brother Ginny was currently marrying her off to; but the only brother that had never made Ginny's predictions was Percy. This was probably because none of the Weasleys wanted to subject him and his annoyingness on anyone.
Ron and Harry caught up to them and cheered Charlie and Bill on right alongside Fred and George. Ginny and Leila sat down on a bench in the garden, setting the dishes and cutlery beside them. When Granger finally got to the garden, she stood by the hedge. It was clear that she was torn between enjoying herself or yelling at them for lack of maturity using their magic. Knowing Granger though, she was probably leaning more toward the latter. Bill's table caught Charlie's, causing a table leg to fall off the younger brother's table. The table leg stuck straight out of the ground, which caused them to laught; well most of them anyway. As they laughed, a loud clatter was heard from overhead which caught all their attention. An ornery looking Percy stuck his head out of his second floor bedroom window.
"Will you keep it down!" Percy bellowed.
"Sorry, Perce!"Bill shouted. "How're the cauldron bottoms going?"
"Don't get him started," Ron groaned.
"Very badly," Percy hissed. "And I heard that Ron!"
Percy then slammed his window shut. Bill and Charlie safely placed the tables on the grass end to end as they chuckled at something or another. With a flick of Charlie's wand table cloths appeared on the tables and with a flick of Bill's wand, the table leg was repaired. Ron muttered to Harry about how annoying Percy had been to deal with this summer while Leila and Ginny began to set the table.
"Can I help?" Hermione asked.
"I am capable of setting a table, Granger," Leila retorted.
"Oh shut it, Leila. Hermione can help if she wants to," Ginny said.
Hermione reached for a plate and placed it in its proper place. Leila rolled her eyes at Hermione Granger. Her hatred for the girl stemmed all the way back to first year.
~*Flashback to 1st year*~
Leila timidly followed Harry and his new friend Ron from the Hogwarts Express. They walked down a beaten path following Hagrid, until they came to some body of water. In the water floated many boats, but what most of the other first years noticed was their first view of Hogwarts. The boys and girls "ooh'ed ahh'ed" including, Harry, Leila, and Ron. Leila clung to Harry's arm, but he was slightly embarrassed by his sister's clinging so he ripped his arm from her grip. They continued to walk, but Leila fell behind Harry. She began to run to catch-up to him, but she tripped over a root that was uncovered from the earth. She fell face first into the dirt, but Harry didn't seem to notice her fall. Leila was about to stand up, when someone stepped over her.
"Excuse me," the bossy girl from the train said.
Leila sneered as the girl known as Hermione Granger walked away from her without helping her up after stepping over her. Leila couldn't believe the nerve of that girl. She didn't even have the decency to help her up. She decided that once she learned a decent spell, she was going to have to get some payback with that Granger girl.
"Need some help?" a boy asked.
"Yes, please," Leila said taking the boys hand. "Thank you…"
"I'm Neville. So, is what that Granger girl said true then?" the boy asked.
"What did she say?" Leila groaned.
"Are—are you r—really Leila P—Potter?" the boy stuttered.
"Oh that, yeah, I am," Leila shrugged.
"I can hardly believe I'm actually talking with Leila Potter. I mean Gran said…" the boy said excitedly before suddenly stopping. "I—I hope we're in the same House."
"As long as I'm not in the same House as that Granger girl," Leila muttered.
The boy blushed furiously, but Leila ignored it and continued to walk toward the boats. Neville followed after her. Neither said a word as they walked to where the other first years stood. Leila walked over to where her brother stood with that Ron kid as the Granger girl called Neville over to her boat. Leila rolled her eyes before she made a rude face at the girl. In that moment, Ron and Harry quickly got into a boat but were instantly followed by Hermione and Neville. Leila moved to step into the boat.
"No more'n four to a boat," Hagrid shouted.
Leila continued to walk onto the boat that contained her brother, but Hermione Granger held out her hand which grasped Leila's shoulder.
"You heard that man, no more than four to a boat," Hermione said in a bossy tone.
"But my brother's in this boat," Leila whined.
"We need to follow the rules and the four of us were already in the boat," Hermione explained.
"Harry," Leila whined again.
"Sorry, Leila just go find another boat," Harry shrugged.
With a pout on her face, Leila stomped away. She found an empty boat and plopped down onto the wooden bench.
~* End Flashback *~
When it was finally time for dinner the nine Weasleys, two Potters, and Granger sat at the table which was full of food. Harry and Leila's eyes instantly widened at all the food before them. Mrs. Weasley's cooking definitely beat stale birthday cakes. Leila helped herself to extra large helpings of food. Partly because she was that hungry and partly because she knew if she didn't pile the food on, Mrs. Weasley would do it for her. Leila sat at one end of the table between Charlie and Ginny, across from Fred and George. She had purposely avoided the other end of the table because Percy and Granger were seated on that end; something she would never willingly subject herself to. Leila tried to ignore Percy; but it wasn't hard to miss his annoying voice. The only thing that made it tolerable was Fred imitating Percy in a mocking sense.
"I told Mr. Crouch I'd have it ready as soon as I get over my big head," Fred mocked.
George, Ginny, and Leila burst into laughter. Charlie attempted to hold his laughter in; but even he eventually gave in to it.
"I like to stay on top of things no matter how much of a git it makes me toward my family," Fred continued.
"George," Mrs. Weasley reprimanded, who was within earshot of the conversation.
"What'd I do?" George questioned.
"You know what you did, apologize," Mrs. Weasley commanded.
"Sorry for laughing at Fred," George said.
Mrs. Weasley groaned and threw her hands in the air. Fred looked over at his mother before he turned once more to George, Leila, and Ginny. He waited for the right moment of Percy's conversation to mock.
"Mr. Crouch this, Mr. Crouch that, I enjoy spending my day kissing Mr. Crouch's arse," Fred mocked.
"Fred Weasley, you stop that now or I'll wash that mouth of yours out with soap," Mrs. Weasley hissed.
"And she will too, even if you're out of Hogwarts," Charlie chuckled.
"Charlie got his mouth washed with soap last summer," Ginny grinned.
"You pick up some foul language working the job I do. Bill's mouth isn't much better, but he works a little harder to keep it clean around Mum," Charlie responded.
Percy started another rant about Mr. Crouch that the other end of the table couldn't ignore.
"Honestly, the way he goes on about Crouch I'd expect them to announce their engagement any day now," Fred groaned.
"Don't go giving him ideas," Ginny retorted.
"Scary," Leila shuddered. "I just imagined that."
"Honestly, if even Penelope Clearwater can't stand Percy anymore; I don't think we need to worry about him ever settling down," George said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Leila asked.
"Penelope broke up with Percy a couple of weeks ago. Sent him a Howler telling him he was an arrogant, pompous prat and that she wanted nothing to do with him," Ginny whispered.
"The Penelope Clearwater? One of the nicest girls…" Leila began.
"Oh yeah, it was great," Fred grinned.
"I wouldn't call it great, Fred," Charlie chuckled.
"What would you call it then?" Fred questioned.
Ginny, Fred, Leila, and George began to laugh as Charlie fumbled to come up with a response. Charlie smiled and shook his head. Leila looked down to the other end of the table where Mr. Weasley sat beside Percy rather uncomfortably. Mr. Weasley pulled at his collar in frustration. Of course Granger looked intrigued by whatever intense conversation the two of them were having. Honestly, Leila was surprised she hadn't heard Granger's voice pipe in on the conversation. Percy took a swig of his elderflower wine before he made eye contact with Leila. Leila tried to give him a half-smile, but he just seemed to continue with his rant.
"However, we've got enough on our plates at the Department of International Magical Cooperation without trying to find members of other departments too. As you know, we've got another big even to organize right after the World Cup," Percy said.
Percy cleared his throat and looked around the table to each of them who would be returning to Hogwarts this fall before continuing.
"You know the one I'm talking about, Father," Percy said raising his voice. "The top-secret one."
Ron, who was sitting on the other side of Ginny, rolled his eyes and groaned at his brother's last statement.
"He's been trying to get us to ask what that event is since he started work. It's probably some bloody exhibition of thick-bottomed cauldrons," Ron groaned.
"I'll bet Snape has front row tickets to that," Leila joked.
"Maybe one of the cauldrons will have some shampoo in it for the git's greasy hair," Fred added.
Even Charlie couldn't help but laugh at that one. Granger bit back a smile, to which Leila rolled her eyes. The girl was so programmed she couldn't even laugh with the rest of them. It seemed like everything about Hermione Granger irked Leila; but yet, that girl was one of her brother's best friends. Leila was thankful when the conversation at their end of the table turned to the World Cup.
"Who do you think is going to win the Cup?" Ginny asked.
"It's got to be Ireland," Charlie said with a mouthful of mashed potatoes. "They flattened Peru in the semi-finals."
"But Bulgaria has got Viktor Krum," Fred added.
"Krum's one decent player, Ireland has got seven," Charlie said shortly.
"I wish England had got through," George said. "That was embarrassing, that was."
"What happened?" Leila and Harry asked simultaneously.
Both Leila and Harry blushed a slight pink and looked to each other after their question. Neither had really been able to keep up with the news from the Wizarding world being isolated on Privet Drive. Leila had heard a little from Cedric's letters; but he hadn't written much about England's loss. Probably because he was a little bitter about the loss. Charlie then chuckled at the twins before he answered their question.
"We went down to Transylvania, three hundred and ninety to ten," Charlie said gloomily. "Shocking performance. And then Wales lost to Uganda, and Scotland was slaughtered by Luxembourg."
"Not a good summer for us; but at least Ireland got through," George said.
Leila looked to her brother whose grin was just as wide as hers. If there was one thing the Potter twins had in common besides being related, it was their love for Quidditch. Harry had been Seeker for the Gryffindor House teams since first year; but Leila wasn't too far behind him. She was added to Slytherin's roster second year as a Chaser, the same position her father had played for the Gryffindor team. Even though they were on rival teams, it definitely made things easier that she and Harry weren't on the same position competing directly against each other. No, it was her Housemate Draco Malfoy that had the job of Seeker on the Slytherin team. While Leila didn't like losing to the Gryffindor team, at least it gave her an excuse to antagonize Malfoy when he lost against her brother. The other thing they both loved was their Firebolts. Last year, Harry's godfather Sirius Black, had gotten them both Firebolts, much to Leila's surprise. The man wasn't even her godfather but he still bought her a very expensive gift. Granted, she didn't need it with the Nimbus 2001's Mr. Malfoy had purchased for the Slytherin team second year; but she much preferred the Firebolt because it was a gift from the heart and not used as some sort of bribe. While Malfoy was a good Seeker, it was still pretty pathetic that his father had bought him his way onto the team.
Leila's stomach was already stuffed when Mr. Weasley conjured up floating candles so they could see their homemade strawberry ice cream. As much as Leila wanted to protest the ice cream she knew two things: 1. Mrs. Weasley would never allow her not to eat it and 2. No one says no to ice cream. So, Leila slowly savored the tasty treat before her. It was no surprise that the boys finished their ice cream before her. While Leila was still shoveling that ice cream into her mouth, Mrs. Weasley checked her wristwatch and gasped at the time.
"Goodness! Look at the time," Mrs. Weasley said. "You really should be in bed; the whole lot of you. You'll need to be up at the crack of dawn to make it to the Cup on time."
"So early," Leila groaned.
"Leila and Harry, dears, if you'll please both leave your school supply lists out; I'll get everything tomorrow in Diagon Alley. I'm getting everyone else's, so I'll do the same for you two. There might not be time after the World Cup. Last time, the match went on for five days," Mrs. Weasley said.
"I hope it does this time!" Harry grinned.
"I certainly hope not," Percy added. "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?" Fred chuckled.
"That was a sample of fertilizer from Norway!" Percy shouted with his face growing redder by the second. "It was nothing personal!"
Fred winked at Leila who shook her head. Leila started to walk beside Harry as they headed back toward the house when Fred wrapped his arms around their shoulders.
"It was personal," Fred grinned. "We sent it."
Leila gasped in surprise before she started to giggle. Leave it to Fred and George to send Percy something utterly disgusting and live to tell the tale. Fred unwrapped his arms from their shoulders and jogged a bit ahead to catch up with George, Bill, and Charlie. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny joined the Potter twins; but Ron nastily shooed Ginny away.
"Get lost, Ginny," Ron sneered.
Ginny looked to Ron with her face a bright red and rolled her eyes. Ginny then walked away from them. Feeling bad, for Ginny, Leila attempted to run to catch up with her friend.
"Not you, Leila," Ron groaned.
Leila turned to Ron and rolled her eyes before she ran to catch up with Ginny. While Ron was a good friend, he didn't often treat his sister the nicest. But the way Leila figured it, if Ginny was all he had left, much like she was to Harry, he'd treat her a little better. One thing she loved about the Weasleys was that they had a big family and one could always feel the love from this family. Leila wanted her own big family someday. She wanted plenty of kids running underfoot and that each one of them would know that despite all their shortcomings, they were loved. She wanted them to have the life and love that she had come to learn and love from the Weasleys; but this was only a dream. She still had to survive Hogwarts first.
Once they were inside the Burrow, Leila, Ginny, and Hermione made their way to Ginny's room. As Leila was about to dig for her pajamas in her trunk, she noticed an owl pecking at Ginny's window. Leila grinned as she opened the window. Granger screamed in horror because she was already changing; but Leila didn't care. She'd much rather get her much anticipated letter now than have to wait for Granger to be ready for bed. Leila untied the letter from the owl's foot with a grin she could hardly control on her face. She opened the letter. It only had a short message, but even the short words made her feel elated.
See you tomorrow.
~Ced
Leila flung herself onto her bed and began to squeal and kick. Ginny and Granger looked to her. Ginny looked rather amused, while Granger looked rather annoyed.
"Who is it from?" Ginny asked.
"Cedric," Leila grinned. "We'll be seeing him tomorrow."
"You shouldn't waste your time," Granger said. "He's too old for you."
"I don't recall asking for your opinion, Granger," Leila retorted.
"Harry's not going to like this," Granger continued.
"Cedric's my friend. Harry has no say in whom I'm friends with seeing as he didn't listen to me to get rid of you," Leila said.
"I think that's enough arguing for tonight," Ginny groaned. "We have an early morning ahead of us."
Leila and Granger narrowed their eyes at each other for a moment before, Granger gave in and nodded her head at Ginny. Leila smirked at the fact she hadn't been the one to back down first. She didn't know why she got such a thrill out of antagonizing Granger, but she did. If she was going to be forced to spend time with the girl, she might as well have a little fun with her. Leila quickly changed into her pajamas and then rested her head down on the pillow. Tomorrow she would be at the World Cup and she would get to see Cedric. These thoughts brought a smile to her face as she drifted into a deep sleep.