Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for Blake. Anything that looks somewhat familiar probably isn't mine.
{5}
Wednesday August 10 was Ginny's thirteenth birthday, although it past with little 'well to do'. It was a small party that involved her family, Hermione, and me. I had to run into town to pick up a small card and gift the day before because I had no idea when her birthday was. But she seemed to like the muggle candy basket I got her. Food was usually my go-to gift. When in doubt, buy food. It was a good motto to live by, and usually always worked.
The next week passed quietly. In fact, other than the minor explosion that came from my first attempt at a sixth year level potion, the week was downright dull. It was hot, humid, and boring. The kids were so bored that all they did was sit around all day, watching me suffer at the hands of Charlie, who had stepped in to give Bill a much-needed break. I don't blame Bill for wanted to get away from me, I really was a dreadful witch.
It wasn't until the next week that something exciting happened. That something was called: Percy's eighteenth birthday. Which apparently, according to Ron, wasn't as great as his seventeenth birthday, but I still thought that eighteen was a great age and should be celebrated properly. Luckily, after Ginny's birthday I had gone to Ron with a calendar and asked for all the birthdays he knew. With the foresight of Percy's birthday, I was able to prepare.
His party was also a small gathering, one in which none of his school friends showed. To be completely honest, I don't think he invited any. I just assumed that he and Penelope Clearwater broke up, but I didn't want to ask, it would've seemed suspicious.
I ended up giving Percy two books, one on wizard law and one on muggle law. I thought it would be a good idea for him to see the comparisons, and hopefully studying law would help lead him in the right direction. At least I was crossing my fingers.
While everyone seemed excited to be getting another excuse to eat cake, Percy was strangely (or maybe no so strangely) formal about the whole affair. There were lots of 'thank you mother's and 'this gift will help me greatly's. All I kept thinking was 'this kid needs a vacation'. And it was right then and there that I decided to start planning a vacation.
The morning of the 24th dawned with excitement, because that was the day Harry would be arriving at the Burrow. Molly had sent off Harry's invitation with so many postage stamps that neither Hermione nor me thought it was necessary to correct her, and had received Harry's answer the day before.
Sunday morning and afternoon passed by while I was away at church learning about Abraham and Isaac, and by the time I got back to the Burrow it was around two o'clock in the afternoon.
After changing into comfortable running clothes, I plopped down at the kitchen table and pulled out my summer homework and got started on memorizing charm properties and goblin war dates.
I had only be working for about an hour before Molly can bustling around the kitchen like a chicken with her head cut off, mumbling about what Harry would want to eat for dinner.
"I know!" she said, rummaging through the cupboards. "I'll make chicken and ham pie. Yes, he'll like that. Don't you think so dear?" she called suddenly, straightening her body to peer around the open cupboard door at me. "Yes, Mrs. Weasley."
"Oh, 'Molly' dear. Please."
"Of course, Mrs. Weasley." I muttered back with a slight tone, returning to my work.
"Cheeky brat." She murmured back, thinking I couldn't hear her. I just grinned in response.
It was around 4:30 when Mrs. Weasley called me down to the kitchen. "Oh good, you're here." Mrs. Weasley exclaimed as I wandered into the room. "I need you to run into town. Arthur and the boys are picking up Harry any minute now, and I still need to make the potatoes and the salad, and I need tomatoes and onions and vinegar for the dressing!"
"Okay, sure. I'll just run into town and pick up whatever you need and I'll be back in a jiffy." I said with a smile, trying to calm Mrs. Weasley down. I didn't know why she got herself worked up about Harry coming over. It isn't like he cares when he eats dinner; he's spent the summer with the Dursley's for Pete's sake.
"Oh wait!" She said as I was putting on my dusty shoes. "Take Percy with you, he needs to get out the house, he's been working on that report for too long now".
"Okey doke." I said, running up to the second floor and knocking on the bedroom door.
"I'm busy!" A muffled voice yelled back at me. "Percy, open the door! Your mother wants you to run into town for some ingredients with me!" There was a bit of a shuffle and a scrape before the door opened slowly, revealing a tired, and annoyed, looking Percy Weasley. He sighed a long sigh and said with resignation, "Fine."
"Oh, cheer up Perce, it's not the end of the world. We're just running into town, we'll be back before you know it and you can get back to your very important report."
He looked at me, offended. "It is important! It's for the Department of International Magical Cooperation! Without a standardized cauldron thickness, cauldrons will continue-"
"Percy, I know." I said smiling, trying to soothe him. "And I'm sure that Mr. Crouch will be very pleased with your work, but you are working way too hard. Sometimes you have to get your head out of the books and take a break." He didn't look impressed. "Whatever, let's just go." I said, rolling my eyes and knocking his elbow with mine as I hopping down the stairs two at a time.
"Well Blake, I am very pleased that you at least understand the importance of my report." He said behind me.
We didn't say much on the way into town. We mostly made small talk, after all you can't really make anything but small talk with Percy. He's a small talk kind of guy. It almost makes me wonder what made Audrey marry him, but I try not to think about future stuff too much.
Anyways, I asked Percy how he was liking the books I got him for his birthday, and he said that he hadn't gotten a chance to read them, only glance, with the big report he is writing. I think he worked on that thing too much.
By the time we got all of Mrs. Weasley's ingredients and were heading back to the Burrow, it was well past five. I figured we wouldn't miss Harry, because Mr. Weasley would be late getting there, and then with the Dudley-tongue fiasco, they wouldn't be around for a while.
I guess we had exhausted our conversation topics. So Percy and I walked in silence, him walking pristinely with his hands clasped behind his back, and me shuffling beside him, carrying the small bag of groceries that Mrs. Weasley deemed necessary for the completion of dinner.
By the time Percy and I arrived at the Burrow, there were loud voices coming from the inside. "I guess Harry's arrived." I said to Percy as we walked up to the side door. He hummed at me in agreement and opened the door for me. "Thanks."
"You are welcome, Blake." He said back, ever proper.
The room was the epitome of uncomfortable. Mr. Weasley had a constipated look on his face and was facing Mrs. Weasley, growing increasingly red, who stood in the doorway from the kitchen to the sitting room. Behind her stood Hermione and Ginny, both looking slightly wary as they peered around Mrs. Weasley's body. Bill and Charlie were next to the sink looking at the scene in front of them with attentive eyes. Behind Mr. Weasley, stood Ron and another boy, one with messy black hair and a skinny frame, who I assumed was Harry. I couldn't see their faces because their backs were turned so that they faced the two people standing as close to the wall as they could possibly get. It was obvious, once Percy and I got into the room, that Mrs. Weasley had found Mr. Weasley yelling at the twins for using their joke products on Dudley. "Tell me what, Arthur?" Mrs. Weasley said, glaring at Mr. Weasley.
He gulped. "It's nothing, Molly. Fred and George just – but I've had words with them – "
"What have they done this time? If it's got – " Mrs. Weasley started up again, turning her glare on the twins.
Hermione glanced at Ron and Harry. And knew that almost everyone wanted to be out of that kitchen, except for maybe Mrs. Weasley and Ron.
"Mrs. Weasley?" I asked meekly, cutting her off of her tirade and diverting her attention. "We've got your stuff." I said vaguely, lifting up the grocery sack I had in my hand.
Everyone turned towards the back door where Percy and I were standing. Mrs. Weasley glanced at us and then glanced again, looking distracted and confused before she realized what we were doing there. "Oh yes! The food! Of course, dear, thank you!" She said in one breath, hurrying over to me and taking the bag. She started mumbling about food while she ruffled through the sack, pulling out food and walking over to the sink, making Charlie and Bill scramble aside. Once they realized that she was no longer standing in the doorway, they ran out of the room. I glanced over my shoulder to see Percy, and realized that he must have made his escape as soon as Mrs. Weasley was distracted.
Catching the twin's eyes across the room, I saw them both mouth 'thank you!" before they too made their way out of the room, leaving Mr. Weasley, Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny standing aimlessly in the kitchen. Hermione shook her head in the direction of the stairs and turned, expecting the rest of the teenagers to follow, but only Ginny turned to follow her. Ron and Harry were both staring at me: one in awe and one in confusion. So instead, I started forward to follow Hermione.
"Well done, Blake." Ginny said when I got out of the kitchen and started up the stairs after the two girls. "Yes," Hermione agreed, stopping on the second landing to wait for the boys. "That was nicely done. I'm sure the twins appreciated your effort at least." She said with a smile. "Well, thanks." I said, smiling slightly. "So, when did Harry get here?"
"Just a moment ago, I think." Hermione said. "I'm not really sure what happened when they went to pick up Harry, but it must be something to do with Fred and George's joke products." Hermione finished, her tone turning condescending.
"I think it's brilliant." Ginny said, staring hard at Hermione.
"It is pretty impressive, Hermione." I said, looking at her also. "To be able to invent all of those jokes. It takes a lot of skill." Fred and George's inventive skills in the books always impressed me, although I did wish that they would be more careful with their joke products.
"What takes a lot of skill?" Ron asked, finally coming up the stairs.
"Fred and George's inventions." Ginny answered for me, watching Harry climbing the stairs behind Ron.
"Hi." Harry said when he stepped onto the landing, looking at Hermione and Ginny first, and then looking at me curiously. "Hi?"
I smiled. "Hi, you must be Harry. It's a pleasure to meet you. Really, Ron never shuts up about you." I said, reaching out a hand and smirking in Ron's direction to watch his ears turn red and his eyes narrowing at me. Harry smiled slightly and shook my hand. "You too, but err, who are you?" He asked, looking to Ron and Hermione for the answer.
"This is Blake Safford." Hermione said to Harry, glaring at Ron for not saying anything to Harry beforehand. I wasn't angry, I knew Ron wouldn't think to tell Harry that I was here.
"I'm staying with the Weasleys while I'm in England. Originally, I'm from America, but I'm transferring to Hogwarts this year." I explained for Ron.
"Oh." Harry said, his eyes widening, looking back and forth from Ron to me. "Brilliant."
"Sorry." Ron muttered, looking embarrassed. "I was going to mention something."
"It's fine Ron," I said, knocking my elbow with his. "We're telling him now. No harm, no fowl." His eyebrows crinkled up in confusion, but by now Ron knew not to question my muggle and/or American idioms.
"So what was that 'Ton-Tongue' thing the twins gave Dudley?" Asked Harry when no one said anything.
"A toffee that they invented for Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes." I answered, grinning. "And you saw the effects, I'm sure."
"Yeah" He said, his eye glazing over slightly, remember the exchange. "What are Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes?"
"Fred and George's joke business." I answered as Ron and Ginny laughed and Hermione folded her arms, crinkling her eyebrows.
"Mum found this stack of order forms when she was cleaning Fred and George's room. Great long price lists for stuff they've invented." Ron explained, glancing around him to see if Mrs. Weasley would pop up somewhere. "Joke stuff, you know. Fake wands and trick sweets, loads of stuff. It was brilliant, I never knew they'd been inventing all that…"
Ginny jumped in as Ron trailed off. "We've been hearing explosions out of their room for ages, but we never thought they were actually making things. We thought they just liked the noise."
"Only," Ron said. "Most of the stuff – well, all of it, really – was a bit dangerous, and, you know, they were planning to sell it at Hogwarts to make some money, and Mum went mad at them." He glanced around again. "Told them they weren't allowed to make any more of it, and burned all the order forms…She's furious at them anyway. They didn't get as many O.W.L.s as she expected."
Harry's eyes narrowed slightly as his brows furrowed. I didn't think Mrs. Weasley was totally out of bounds being angry with the twins for not getting many O.W.L.s, but I also thought that Fred and George's testing tactic was smart for them. Why study for something you don't need to have? But maybe that's just the teenager in me talking.
"And then there was this big row, because Mum wants them to go into the Ministry of Magic like Dad, and they told her all they want to do is open a joke shop." Ginny said, staring intently at Harry, waiting for his reaction.
"Personally," I added looking from Harry to Hermione and her frown of disapproval. "I'm all for the twins opening a joke shop. If they have the guts to go through with this idea, and have the brains to successfully invent quality products, why shouldn't they do what they want to do?"
"But they should be working towards something important!" Hermione said back to me in a whispered shout. I shook my head. "But they think it's important!" I whispered back. "The joke shop is what's important to them!" She harrumphed and crossed her arms again, looking even more disapproving than before.
Suddenly the door behind me opened, and Percy popped his head out.
"Hi Percy." Harry said peering around me as I turned around. "Oh hello, Harry." Said Percy; as if he didn't already know he was here. "I was wondering who was making all the noise. I'm trying to work in 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." He finished, sniffing.
"We're not thundering. We're walking. Sorry if we've disturbed the top-secret workings of the Ministry of Magic." Ron said, annoyed and rolling his eyes to the ceiling.
"Besides Perce," I added. "It's not like you weren't just on these stairs 'thundering' up and down also."
"Yes, but whose idea was that?"
"Your mother's. You can take it up with her if you'd like." I replied, glaring at him and being snarky. Ron snorted behind me.
"What are you working on?" Harry asked, trying to diffuse the tension in the hallway.
Percy's eyes snapped onto Harry's face, eager to talk about his report to a new face. "A report for the Department of International Magical Cooperation. We're 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 change the world, that report will," Ron but in sarcastically. "Front page of the Daily Prophet, I expect, cauldron leaks."
Percy blushed as Ginny muffled her laugh, and answered angrily, "You might sneer, Ron, but unless some sort of international law is imposed we might well find the market flooded with flimsy, shallow-bottomed products that seriously endanger – "
"Yeah, yeah, all right," Ron said, trailing off and going up the stairs. Percy had the door slammed shut long before Ron's foot hit the second step.
While Harry, Hermione, and Ginny wandered up to Ron's room in the attic, I stopped on the third landing. "Go ahead." I said to Ginny when she noticed I wasn't following them. "I'm going to check in on the twins." She nodded once and said good luck before following the rest of them up the stairs. I waited until they had all gone up the stairs before turning and wandering down the hall to the twin's room.
Leaning up against the doorway, I knocked quietly on the door with my knuckle. "Who is it?" came a whispered voice from behind the door. "Blake, open up." I answered. The door opened quickly, and a pale, freckled arm shot out and gripped my wrist before yanking me into the room. Spinning, I bummed into one of the beds and had to catch myself before I fell over.
There were three beds and bags of clothes and other belongings stuffed into the small room. Bill and Charlie had to share the twin's room with Percy, while the twins had to stay with Ron and Harry. I felt badly because Ginny's room was so small that only one extra bed could fit inside, and so I had to move into Percy's room by myself when Hermione came.
The door latched behind me as I glanced around the room. "Well, well, well. To what do we owe the pleasure?" One twin said, folding his arms and smirking down at me. The other one, the one that pulled me into the room, assumed the same position near the door. "I just wanted to see how you guys were doing." I said. I adjusted my body so that I sat more comfortably on one of the beds. The twins looked at each other and simultaneously unfolded their arms and sat on top of the bed across from me. "Yeah," the twin on the right said. "We're alright."
"We just wish she wouldn't be so angry at us for wanted to start a joke shop."
"We don't care about working for The Ministry."
"And we don't care about O.W.L.s or N.E.W.T.s."
They said one after the other, like I didn't already know all of this. But I just nodded my head and let them talk. Chances are, they didn't get to tell many people this.
"Yes, we feel that our future lies outside of the realm of academics." The twin on the right said, looking over at his twin with a smirk as their seriousness melted from their faces.
"I've heard that before." I muttered, remembering them saying that in the books, but not sure if they had ever said it yet.
"Don't you worry your pretty little head over it." The twin on the right said as they both looked at me like the cat that ate the canary.
"Alright." I said leaning back and grinning at both of them. "I won't."
We sat there for a bit, staring at each other. They shifted awkwardly after a while, like they didn't know what to say to me now that we were alone for the first time. It was a bit of relief when Charlie knocked on the door and said that they needed help in the garden.
"Oh Blake," said one of the twins, the one that was on the left, as he lifted a hand as a signal to wait. "Fred and I really appreciate you saving us back there with Mum."
"Yeah," said Fred. "She can get crazy about our joke shop business, and you distracting her saved us."
"She even forgot to destroy our latest batch!" George grinned.
"No problem." I answered with my own grin. "I know that your joke shop is important to you guys and it sucks when parents don't get that."
"Yeah." Fred said, looking at George before staring at me.
"Great." I said with my hand on the doorknob. "Great talk guys. Really enjoyed it. Yes. Awesome." I opened the door and stumbled down the stairs to the main floor and out into the garden before I had to awkwardly talk to the twins again.
So here's a longer chapter for you guys! Hopefully, now that I'm getting into the story, the chapters will be longer (and more fun to read)
Anyways, thanks for reading! please review and let me know how you liked the chapter and what I could do to make the story more enjoyable.