Hey (anybody who reads this), so I decided to have one more go, even though I haven't gotten any reviews :(
But here's a new chapter simply because I have nothing better to do with my life. Also, I know this chapter is short, but it's mostly just to set up the story. The next few chapters will probably be like that.
Disclaimer: Once again, I don't own anything recognizable. I only own Blake at the moment.
{2}
While Dumbledore explained everything, starting from my appearance in the Great Hall till now, I sat awkwardly and stared at my feet, occasionally looking up to see their expressions, which didn't change very much. They were mostly shocked to say the least, which isn't surprising considering the circumstances. By the end of the explanation Arthur was looking at me, eyes wide and round.
"Are you really from another world? One where we are in books? Muggle books?" He asked excitedly. I grinned. He was awesome, I mean really, one of a kind. "Yes." I answered. Arthur seemed to be okay with this answer, or perhaps it was Dumbledore's confidence in me that he was okay with. However, Molly seemed to still be suspicious of me, as she was eyeing me with raised eyebrows and that look that makes you want to shift in your seat even though you've done nothing wrong.
"Maybe you could convince them Miss. Safford." Dumbledore suggested. That probably was a good idea. "Okay…well…you live in a place called the Burrow. You also have a clock in your house that shows you where your family is at all times. You, Molly, had two twin brothers who were pranksters and were also in the Order of the Phoenix. You also have an Aunt Muriel, but I think she was Arthur's aunt…" I trailed off as I watched their faces. Then all the sudden, Molly shot forward and caught me in a hug. "Um…wow." I muttered, trying to catch my breath as she squeezed the air out of my lungs. "Hi?" I said to her as I hugged her back awkwardly. She didn't seem to notice.
"Oh you poor thing. Being away from everyone you know. You must be devastated." She said gripping me tightly. Leaning away, she smiled, teary-eyed at me. "Oh Arthur can you imagine, being dropped into another world? How horrible…" She cried as she hugged me again. Arthur blinked, shocked. "…Yes Molly…of course dear, how hor-" "And with nothing except the clothes on your back…Are you hungry dear? Let's get you home and get you something to eat. You look a bit peaky, but I'm sure we can fix that up right away." She said, smiling and gripping my hand. She turned away, not waiting for me to answer her. "She is coming with us, is she not? Of course she is, you wouldn't bring us here if it wasn't the case." Still shocked by the strong reaction I mumbled thanks but Mrs. Weasley wouldn't hear of it. Instead, she waved me off and started pushing me through the door, but not before I made it clear to Dumbledore that I wasn't done talking to him and that I would be in touch.
The whole way to the front gate I was interrogated. About little things that were easy and uncomplicated to answer, such as what my favorite color was, how airplanes stayed up, and so on and so forth. When we made passed Hogwart's grounds, we apparated. Like I said before, it was an unpleasant experience. Imagine being stuffed down a tube too small for an elf to fit in, trampled by a stampede of buffalo, have your atoms ripped apart and then reconstructed in a swirl of twisted color, and then spat back out of that same tube that was too small to begin with. Yeah, it was that bad. In fact, I think I should have gotten a metal for not puking my guts out when I was finally back on solid ground. Although, I have to say, it wasn't nearly as bad as the trip into Harry Potter was, that trip was horrible. I'm just glad I was too distracted by the fact I was inside a fictional novel to notice my nausea. No such luck this time.
"Sorry, I probably should have warned you. Apparation does take some getting used to." Arthur said with a look of pity and concern on his face. Weakly, I smiled. "It's alright, I already knew something about it. Although, it was quite different from what I expected." He just smiled, and we continued down the path after Mrs. Weasley.
The path wound around a bend with shrubs growing on either side. On the other side of the bend, and twisted house came into view. It was just how I imagined the Burrow would look like, it looked like a bunch of colorful boxes were stacked on top of each other in various ways, and then glued. Their yard was full of crazy flowers and overgrown bushes and gnarled trees. When I commented on how awesome their house was, Molly beamed, and Arthur's ears turned red. It reminded me of Ron, and I loved it.
As we were about to open the doors to their house, they both stopped and turned to me. "You may want to brace yourself" Molly warned, and without another word, pushed open the door.
The house was small; cramped and cluttered, but never-the-less, homey. It gave off the feeling of a home that had been lived in, and not one that was neat and tidy and cold. I immediately understood Harry's attraction to the house. Looking around, I could see wizarding pictures hanging on the walls, and over the mantle of the fireplace, next to a collection of books and a pot of Floo-Powder. Their famous clock ticked away on the side wall of the entrance, clearly visible from the kitchen, which could be seen from the through the hallway that separated the kitchen and family room. Crooked stairs merged from the hallway across from the front door, leading to the upstairs. The side door, the one we came in through, opened into the kitchen. The walls were covered with various shelves and cabinets full of ingredients and spices. An elongated table was shoved to the side and was cluttered with a variety of chairs. Pots and pans washed themselves in the sink, while a broom swept the floor.
After gazing at the ground floor of the house in obvious awe, I realized that the boisterous noises of fighting siblings echoed around the house. Mr. Weasley was giving me a sympathetic glance, but I just giggled. Of course you couldn't hear me because the Weasley children were being so loud. Doors were slamming, and someone was telling someone else to 'Shut up!', and the twins could be heard giving a snarky retort back. (I could tell it was the twins because they were finishing each other's sentences). And then of course, there was the general screaming, both male and female.
Just then a man, a good-looking man, around twenty or so, strolled down the stairs like nothing was going on, totally at ease. Judging by his tall stature, long hair, leather boots and fang earing, I guessed it was Bill. "Bill!" Mr. Weasley shouted over the noise, "What-"
"They started about half an hour ago, I eventually gave up!" He shouted back. Molly's face became gradually redder until she finally marched upstairs without a single word to anyone in the room. The three of us watched as she braced herself at the foot of the stairs like she was marching into battle, which, I guess, she was. When Bill turned back to us, he finally noticed me standing there. "Oh!" He said surprised. "Hi!" Figuring he wouldn't hear me over the noise, I waved. He turned to say something to Arthur but his words were drowned out by the sound of Molly screaming at her kids. "WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!" Molly yelled at the top of her voice. Bill and Mr. Weasley both cringed, and I could only imagine what the rest of them were like. "NO, I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT! I DON'T THINK I HAVE EVER BEEN SO EMBARRASSED IN MY LIFE! WE HAVE A GUEST DOWNSTAIRS, AND YOU FIVE ARE UP HERE SCREAMING ABOUT MERLIN KNOWS WHAT! NOW YOU ARE GOING TO MARCH DOWNSTAIRS AND GREET OUR GUEST OR SO HELP ME, I WILL WHIP YOU SO HARD YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO WALK STRAIGHT! AM I UNDERSTOOD?!" I was suddenly reminded of my own mother, who would reprimand the same way, except she wouldn't scream. Instead, she would talk in a low deadly voice, so no one but you could hear her. It was terrifying, but I suppose all mothers have that special ability.
Mr. Weasley turned to me, his face red once again. "Why don't we go into the sitting room?" He said with a meek smile. "Grand idea!" Bill answered with gusto. So, in a single line we trotted off into the sitting room.
Their walls were covered with faded stripped paper, and their couch was rather lumpy, but all in all their sitting room was a lot like the rest of the ground floor; cozy.
The first Weasley that came bounding down the stairs after Molly, was Ron. With a large nose, and gangly limbs that he hadn't yet grown into, and freckles that covered every inch of his face. And of course red hair. He slid into the sitting room with a curious look, and immediately found me sitting there between Mr and Mrs Weasley. I smiled and nodded at him in greeting, making him blushed and turn away, but then he nodded back, almost shyly. Shuffling awkwardly towards a free seat, he sat gingerly and eyeing me and his parents.
The next Weasley to make it down was Ginny. She showed up with a grimace on her face, but quickly replaced it with a smile as soon as she saw me. Although, I could tell she didn't totally trust me just yet. Of course that's completely understandable seeing as I am a stranger who randomly shows up out of nowhere. However, she did make a point to sit close to where I was, so that must be something right?
Percy came down the stairs next, followed closely by the twins who didn't seem to want to leave him alone. Who can really blame them though? He walked right into the room with a snobbish look on his face, although that might be because the twins were bugging him. The twins on the other hand walked in with wide smirks, but they quickly faded when they saw me sitting there. Instead extreme curiosity came over their features.
So the six Weasley children got comfortable and then looked expectantly at me, which was incredibly awkward, since I didn't have a clue what to say. So naturally, I cleared my throat and said "Hi". Little good that did, as they still didn't stop staring, nor did they say anything. Just then Arthur, my savior, cleared his throat and took over for me.
He explained how I was from America and that I was transferring to Hogwarts for the next couple of years, and that I would be staying with them. He also mentioned how he expected all of them to make me feel welcome, etcetera etcetera. I have never felt more pretentious in my entire life. I think it was the fact that everyone was looking at me, and that everything that was being done, the cover-up, was for my benefit, that was making me feel exceedingly guilty. Especially because I couldn't tell them any of it…or at least all of it.
By the time, the introduction scene was over, complete with "hello"s and "how are you"s, everybody seemed to be alright with the fact that there was going to be a total stranger living in the same house with them. It was also around that time that I realized that Charlie wasn't there. So, naturally curious about where he might be, but not wanting to give away my knowledge to the 'kids' I asked Arthur and Molly, "I thought you guys had seven children?". Arthur smiled warmly at me, probably knowing what I was asking, and answered, "Yes, our second eldest, Charlie, is a Dragon Handler in Romania. He is actually going to be joining us tomorrow". For the Quidditch World Cup I reasoned. Oddly coincidental that I happened to drop into the story right when everything was starting to come to a climax, and when all the Weasley's were getting together. Although, I supposed, maybe it wasn't such a coincidence after all.
Charlie Weasley, it turned out, was an exceedingly interesting character. Although covered with blistering burns, Charlie was not hard-hearted or gruff as one might believe at first sight. In fact he was just the opposite. Charlie Weasley, it turned out, was the most warm-hearted, good-natured, all around great guy, that I had ever met. And that was saying something. He was like an older, more mature version of Ron. Except for the fact that he resembled the twins, with his stocky build and cropped hair cut. To sum it up, Charlie Weasley was hot for a ginger.
After meeting each other and carrying along with the family greetings, Charlie's things were put with Bill's in their old room, and Mrs. Weasley had put us to work. The house, she said, was to be cleaned before Hermione and Harry arrived. I guessed she had wanted it to be cleaned before any guests arrive, but seeing as I was unexpected, that option was out of the question. So I was put to work with the rest of the Weasley gang. "I bet you wished you had come a month later huh?" Ron muttered to me as we were folding laundry in the living room. "Nah," I murmured back with a slight smile, "I don't mind so much. Besides, I like hangin' with you…you're funny" I chuckled when his ears started turning red, and went back to folding somebody's frayed pants.
In order to get to know the Weasleys as people and not characters in a fictional novel, I had definitely been laying on the charm, thick. So what? I wanted them to like me. So far, I think I had their approval. Even though, Percy still doesn't trust me, which I don't blame him for, Fred finds me annoying, which I guess is because George and I have been around each other a lot doing chore work, and Ron doesn't quite know what to think of me, which I don't mind so much. But other than that, everyone else seems to have taken my arrival in stride.
I have to say though, the awkward looks at the dinner table every night are starting to get on my nerves.
Thanks for reading! Please review so that I know what you think :)