Muggle Magic – Chapter 13

A/N – Wow, it's been a while since I updated. Sorry everyone. And the last chapter took a while too. But I'll tell you a story about that. I uploaded it to the site and then my computer started playing up. For three days I checked my emails and was really upset when I didn't get any reviews. I couldn't understand why. So I came onto the site to look to see if it was just that I wasn't getting the emails. It was only then that I noticed that whilst I'd uploaded it to the site I hadn't actually added the chapter to the story! Sometimes I can be very 'blonde'!

So, I apologise for the break in the story. I didn't really write anything for ages , not my own novel, not fanfiction, nothing. But I'm back writing now. So I will be trying to get this finished. Plus all the excitement is coming soon!

Thanks to those lovely people who did review – and all those fab people who add this as a favourite story!

I haven't said it for a while – but I don't own any of this!

On with the story.

Chapter 13

Someone was waiting outside the shop when Ally got there. Old Mr Kingston from down the road frowned when he saw her, flustered and out of breath from running most of the way back.

She gasped out her apologies as she unlocked the door, and kept smiling and apologising until he had bought his newspaper and left again. It was only once he was gone that she sunk onto the stool behind the counter.

Even though she had walked home alone to try and think, her mind was still reeling. She couldn't quite get her mind round everything she had learnt. Magic was real. Proper magic.

I'm going to wake up soon, she thought to herself. I'm sure I am.

But she knew she wasn't. Fred Weasley really was a wizard. His whole family were magical. He lived in a world that she couldn't even begin to imagine. She shivered slightly, despite the fact that the shop was quite warm. She wasn't stupid. She knew there were things that he didn't want to tell her, things that he was keeping from her. And it made her nervous.

I could walk away from this. I could simply not turn up this evening and he would get the message. I don't have to get involved in this.

The thought repeated itself over and over in her head. But she knew, without a doubt, that she couldn't. The thought of not seeing Fred again brought almost physical pain. She knew she was in love with him, no matter what he was.

The afternoon passed in a blur of wandering thoughts and awed memories. She also thought a lot about what she was going to wear that night. After all, what did a girl wear for dinner with her boyfriend's wizarding family?

In the end she settled for a simple black skirt and a pale blue jumper. When she came down stairs after changing her father looked up wearily but his eyes narrowed when he saw how she was dressed.

"Going somewhere?"

She swallowed hard. She'd mentioned Fred a few times to her father, but she wasn't sure if he knew how serious she was about him. She also wasn't entirely sure how well he'd take it. Since the heart attack he relied on her so much, and she knew she left him alone more and more since meeting Fred.

"I'm just going to dinner…with a friend."

Her father snorted and there was an odd look in his eyes. Was it resignation? "Have fun."

She forced a smile and left the house.

She was halfway to the Burrow when she caught sight of someone loitering in the path ahead of her. Her pace slowed fractionally until the moonlight caught on a mop of red hair.

"I was starting to wonder if you'd changed your mind," Fred called out as soon as he saw her. "I wouldn't have blamed you."

Ally smiled and all but skipped to his side and flung her arms around his neck. It had been such a confusing and stressful day that she was pleased to have this moment alone with him.

He laughed at her exuberance and slipped his arms round her waist, tugging her closer for a kiss, before burying his face in her hair.

"I really am glad you're here. I…"

She shushed him with a finger on his lips. "I'm not going anywhere. I've already told you that."

He smiled down at her. "Ah yes, but that was before my father decided to tell you that dragons are real – amongst other things. I thought that might have freaked you out…"

"What? Freaked me out more than a boarding school dedicated to magic, or the fact that you really fly on broomsticks?" She asked as they turned to carry on towards the Burrow together.

"Maybe…"

She squeezed the fingers he had locked around her own. "Trust me, I don't think anything is going to freak me out ever again."

It only took them a few minutes to walk the rest of the way to the Burrow and Ally couldn't help but smile when she saw it. Despite the crooked shape and the obvious 'weirdness' of the house, it felt homely to her, especially with the windows glowing with candlelight and the smoke rising from all five chimneys.

A very familiar face flung open the door just as they approached.

"Hey George," Ally greeted him with a smile.

"Hey yourself." He hesitated for a moment and then beamed. "This is great by the way. All the lying was really starting to suck."

Ally giggled as George bowed her into the kitchen, and then smiled when she saw Molly at the stove. Arthur was sat at the table, fiddling with what looked like a normal plug, an expression of delight on his face as he tugged at the wires. The tall, blonde Fleur was also sat at the table, pointing her wand at each finger nail to make them turn a deep red. There was another man sat in the seat next to her. He looked nothing like Fred, apart from the red hair. He was very tall and slim, with his hair worn long and tied back in a ponytail; the trousers he was wearing looked like leather, but Ally had a feeling that they probably weren't. When he glanced up, however, she noticed that he had the same striking blue eyes as Fred and Arthur.

"So, you must be Ally?" His chair scrapped slightly as he pushed it back and stood to greet her.

She shook his hand a little nervously. "Yeah, hi."

"I'm Bill, Fred's eldest brother. Eldest, smartest, most handsome…"

She giggled and relaxed slightly, taking the seat that Fred held out for her. "I might have to disagree with you on the last one…"

"Now, Fred," he said, suddenly serious. "You told us she was a Muggle, but you didn't tell us that she was blind too…"

Bill ducked the blow that Fred aimed at him and Ally laughed as a bit of wrestling followed.

"Alright boys, enough." Molly had turned away from the pan she was stirring. "Fred, why don't you set the table? Bill, that bread needs cutting…"

Ally watched with her mouth open as Fred flicked his wand at a drawer in the dresser and knives and forks started laying themselves on the table. Meanwhile Bill was overseeing a large bread knife as it cut the loaf all on its own.

She forced herself to look away. "So where is the rest of the family?" She asked, breaking the silence. "I thought you had five brothers and a sister…"

"Well, Ron and Ginny are at Hogwarts…" Molly answered for Fred.

"That's the school, right?"

Fred nodded. "Yeah. Ron's in his sixth year, and Ginny is in her fifth.."

"And your other brother…"

"Charlie? He's in Romania, he works with dragons there…"

"There's one more though…right?"

Ally couldn't ignore the sudden tenseness that filled the room. Molly was suddenly very occupied with her pots and pans, and Arthur was gripping his screwdriver so hard that his knuckles had turned white.

All three brothers glanced at each other and it was Fred that finally spoke in a very low voice. "Percy. He works for the Ministry. But…he doesn't come home…ever."

She wanted to ask why, but she didn't have the courage. They all looked so angry and sad at the same time. She'd never seen Fred look angry. It was almost frightening.

"So…" Molly said suddenly, her voice falsely bright. "What about your family? Do you have brothers and sisters?"

Ally shook her head slowly. She didn't really like talking about her family, but it was better than the uncomfortable silence. "No. My Mum…well she died when I was really little…so it was just me and my dad."

Molly's eyes filled with tears. "Oh you poor dear…" Suddenly Molly was giving her a hug.

It seemed to break the tension. Suddenly Fred was laughing as he tried to rescue her, Arthur was clearing away his plug and wires, and dinner was being served.

As they ate, however, Ally couldn't help but wonder what could have happened that was so terrible that it would separate a family as close as the Weasleys. Once again she had the uncomfortable feeling that things weren't as rosy and happy in the wizarding world as Fred would have her believe.

A/N – Ok, so it's not the best chapter I've ever written, but at least it's a new chapter. I'll try and update again soon. Hope you all enjoyed it, despite the long wait!