To Kailah and Alyssa: Yes, my foot
To Crystal: What ever you do, I'll always love you
To Alice: "Who else will be wearing a wing at Thorpe park?"
To Davina: "I've stopped, really I have." Yeah, right babes :)
To Yuki: Will never forget out amazing gossip 3
Okays, it has been a while, and I'm sorry. I know, I know, just get them to Hogwarts already and all that, but be patient; we're almost there. I actually had this amazing idea for the end, so I don't know, just keep reminding me…x
PLEASE NOTE: So that me and the rest of the Siren's do not get found out for our antic ways, I would like for all of you to note that in this story, what we do is exaggerated, for entertainment purposes. *cough, cough*
Forever your crazy Irish, big boobed friend,
Dawn, x
For half an hour, we sat giggling in the attic, that was Ron's room. He had graciously given up his room for all of us, having to share with his dreaded brother Percy.
There was a knock on the door, and we all froze, going stone cold sober in a matter of seconds.
I cleared my throat. "Um, yeah?"
There was a small pause. "It's me." I couldn't help myself as a small smile played across my face. As the rest scurried to put away half empty bottles of alcohol away, I opened the door. "Hey," I grinned, leaning against the frame with my arms crossed under my chest.
A flirt, me? Never.
Well, okay, maybe just a little bit.
Charlie grinned back down at me, his blue eyes giving off a small twinkle. This close, I noticed that he had a dusting of freckles on the bridge of his nose, which was hard to notice with his honeyed tan. Ooohhh yuuummm.
Please, just please; tell me I'm not the only one who believes in love at first sight.
"Dad's down stairs and dinner's almost ready."
"We'll be down in a minute," Alice muttered, making a shooing motion to Charlie. Once he was gone, six pairs of eyes rounded to me. "You have got to be seeing the look he was giving you," Kailah demanded.
"Never mind him," Crystal muttered. "Did you see the look she was giving him?"
I blushed but grinned like a mad fool, loving the fact that I wasn't overreacting with the look Charlie had given me.
"He's like what? Twenty-one? You illegal immigrant." Alyssa was grinning, but her logic wasn't misplaced, she had a point.
Alice rolled her eyes. "Like that would stop Dawn. Anyways," she turned to me, her dark coca eyes assessing. "This one gets bored too easily. She will have the names of her babies with each of the Weasley boys by the end of the summer."
I rolled my eyes. "If you say so."
"I do," Alice muttered back.
My confidence wavered, what with Miss Thing and her supernatural abilities to know things before the rest of us. Well, that explains a lot. Alice was known in are group of friends as the one who knew too much. She could describe the interior of your house before you brought her over, she would be the first to have gossip for us about the goings on in the Covent and she had the unbelievable ability to get herself out of trouble, whatever the situation.
As if reading my thoughts, or maybe she did, what do I know? Yuki smiled and shook her head. "She's only kidding."
Alice made an elaborate cuss in patois, one we all knew to be 'my Lord' or along those lines.
Kailah laughed, commenting something back to Alice, Mary Mother of God, this is what happens when you put two of the same race in a group of friends.
"Okay," I sighed. "Translation?"
Both Kailah and Alice stuck out their tongue.
"Lolo's." I shot back. (Penis in patois. The two have taken great delight in my enthusiasm to learn inappropriate words, and to hear me shout them along the street.)
I watched as Kailah smiled. "Just no."
"Non?" I pouted and Kailah clicked her fingers and flashed me her 'magic' finger.
"TicTacs!" Alice yelled, producing a three pack that I knew you could get from the 99p store.
We all crowded around her and took three each, all popping them back as pills.
Davina laughed. "Alyssa, you didn't even drink."
"Meow," she replied.
"Someone's been spending too much time with Tiger." I commented as we made out way down the three-floor landing to the kitchen.
"Welcome," a tall, slightly balding man with hair like the rest of his family grinned down at us, with twinkling blue eyes.
I felt my own widen. "I love this family."
Alice grinned and looked over at Molly, who was setting down a large chicken into the centre of the table. "Dawn is somehow going to marry into your family…chicken?" her eyes actually lightened up as she let out a little 'yay' and clapped her hands together, Kailah, Alyssa and Yuki joining in.
As those four raced to the table to get a seat, Crystal, Davina and I hung back, just watching the scene unfold like proud parents.
"Hi I'm Dawn," I smiled sweetly at Mr. Weasley, shaking his hand.
Mr. Weasley nodded, returning my smile. "John's daughter."
The table was crowded as we all took our seats. I was squashed in with Alyssa and Percy, oh Lord.
Percy and his farther were having a conversation about something called the Ministry, but Mr. Weasley kept getting distracted by asking the girls and me about computers and plugs.
I raised a brow. "Don't you have plugs?" I meant it as a joke, but when Mr. Weasley looked dejected and shook his head, the wonderful chicken turned bland in my mouth.
"May I, uh, please be excused for a moment?" I asked, suddenly feeling overcrowded and hot, temperature-wise, I already knew I was the other hot 24/7.
I rose and slipped out of the kitchen to the backyard, where chickens, alive ones, clucked at each other like they were having a conversation.
My eyes burned as I fought not to cry. No plugs meant no hair straighteners, no computers, no Internet, no TV, no way to charge up my phone or ipod. And while I did have my books, I would be able to last without the rest. My hair…oh, my sweet, sweet hair.
I was going to a mixed school with puffy hair, save me the pain and humiliation and kill me now.
As I stepped back into the kitchen, the conversation died and everyone looked up at me. "Dawn?" Davina asked, concerned. "What's wrong?"
I bit my lip, fighting it as it struggled to wobble. "No plugs," I said quietly.
The girls followed me in a horror filled silence, the kind that you do for those who have died, feeling the pain and loss.
"No phone," Davina sighed.
"No Facebook," Crystal said, looking down dejectedly.
"No Trueblood," Yuki whispered.
"No Ipod," Alyssa looked like she had lost her arm, and in a way, she had.
"No ebay," Alice muttered, blinking back tears.
"No funny youtube clips," Kailah put her head in he hands.
"No GHD's!" I cried and there was a collective gasp.
"Oh Dawn," Crystal sighed, and she and the rest rose to wrap me in their arms as I struggled not to make a show of myself and cry for my dad to take me home, where there was such a thing as plugs and electricity. I mean, what kind of world is this? Sure magic's great and all, but electricity is magical in its own way. For five years now, it has been electricity that has kept my hair manageable, allowed me to talk to my friends wherever I we were, kept us entertained, our whole life centred around it, until now that is.
After a couple of moments of hearing my friend's coo and comfort me, I pulled away and smiled weakly back at them, grateful I wasn't the only one in all of this.
It was times like this that I realise just how special they all were to me; we were all misfits, regarded as 'weird' by many, until we found one another.
Cheesy, I know. But a world without my friends was unthinkable, and to be honest, I really didn't want to go there.
Feeling bad, I turned to the Weasley's cheeks burning to an unattractive red-ish pink.
"I, um. Sorry." I looked up from the ground, doing my best to look as earnest as I felt. "It was just a shock to the system." The rest murmured their agreement.
Mr. Weasley nodded sympathetically. "Yeas, of course. Many of those who come a Muggle childhood find it hard to adjust."
"Once you get use to it, you'll love it." Promised Charlie, who was looking at me with soft baby blues. Kailah caught the look and grinned, nudging me. "I'm sure that's not the only thing she'll love."
Charlie's cheeks turned as red as my own, and there was hoots of laughter from the twins, Fred and George, along with everyone else.
After that, we all sat down to finish our meal, when we did, both me and Kailah offered to clean up, shooing everyone out of the kitchen.
"You still glad we came?" I asked Kailah, who managed to pull off the rubber-gloves look well.
As I scrubbed the table, there was a paused, before: "Yeah, I am. You?"
I sighed, stopping in mid-scrub. "Yeah, I guess. There just better be a spell that keeps my hair looking half-way decent."
Kailah laughed and I giggled along. "So, you and Charlie, yeah?" She said after a while.
I bit my lip, grinning. "I don't know. I hope so."
Kailah let out a weary sigh. "Okay, what names have you got?"
I laughed, shaking my head. "Five. Ronan and Lorgán for the boys and Riley, Erin and Delilah."
Kailah kissed her teeth, looking over her shoulder at me. "Jesus Christ, I thought I told you that I was having the name Ronan."
Rolling my eyes, I shook my head. "Please, its all about who has the boy first. And lets face it darling, from the looks of things," I sent a knowing look towards the door. "It'll be me."
Kailah laughed. "We're really sad, you know that?"
"Yep."
After that, the girls and me ascended to bed, the excitement of the pass week clearly catching up on us.
"Lets do shots!" Alice whispered fiercely as soon as we were out of earshot, and I had to suppress a groan, clearly, some of us could deal with the excitement.
"Shut up Dawn," she said, before I could even open my mouth. "You're a failed Irish person, for not drinking anything over fifteen percent."
I stuck out my tongue, while Kailah laughed.
When we made it to our new room, I all but fell in to the bed that I would be sharing with Alyssa and Kailah. "Urgh, we're not sleeping tonight, are we?" I asked and the rest just grinned at me, shaking their head with glee.
"Hey guys," I asked, after a moment. "What classes are you lot thinking of taking?"
Crystal frowned, "What are they again?"
Yuki just kissed her teeth. "Stupid fool, all you can think about is the alcohol."
"Shut up, like you're any better."
Rolling her eyes. Alyssa got out the list McGonagall had given us and handed to me. Smiling my thanks, I looked down at the parchment, eyeing my options. Before all of this, I wanted to be a lawyer, to make good money and to put my 'persuading' nature to good use. Translation: I argue too much and should make some money out of it.
Back to the point, what was stopping me from being a lawyer now? Just because I was in a new world didn't mean that I had to change every plan I ever made for myself.
"Anyone got a pen?" asked, not taking my eyes of the list.
"Yeah, why?" Davina asked, digging into her handbag.
"I'm choosing my lesson's now," I explained as I took the offered pen.
Crystal grinned. "That sounds like you, Dawn. Always doing before thinking." Her teasing was light, but there was an under layer of truth behind her words. I did jump into things too fast, and normally had to deal with the consequences later.
"Mehh," I muttered, eyeing the list. Law would be the most obvious option, so I put a tick next to that. "How many can we pick again? Four?"
"Four," Yuki confirmed.
"What's divination?" I asked, frowning at the unfamiliar word.
Alice squealed, looking delighted. "It's about seeing the future. Tarot and palm readings and all that."
I grinned, I studied tarot for a while, sounded like my kind of lesson. Tick. Only two left, and with so many choices, how could I choose?
Thinking hard, I looked at the Care of Magical Creatures. With what I could do, I sounded like a lesson I should pick. Rolling my eyes, I made a tick, knowing I was venturing out to the unknown. That left one more.
"Trust me Dawn," Alice said, her dark eyes boring into mine. "You'd like home economics. We all will be taking it."
Smirking, I ticked my final lesson. To be honest, any lesson with the whole lot of us was bound to be enjoyable.
"Lets celebrate!" Davina declared, and a shot glass filled with a honey brown liquid was shoved into my hand.
"One…Two…Three!" I downed it, along with the rest; well save from Alyssa, feeling my body protest as the strong mixture slowly burned its way down my throat. Coughing, my eyes watered as I did my best to look unaffected. Kailah was giggling, while Alice, Crystal and Davina were already pouring out more. Yuki, bless her heart, began to talk in rapid Japanese, her large eyes daring back and forth. Same old, same old.
I declined the second shot, I could take it, but the taste was something like liquid ashes, a taste that made we want to gag. As a compromise, I took out the red wine I had hid, drinking from the bottle. I suppose it would be wrong to say that my love of red wine came from church, huh? But it's true. It was somehow easier to stomach then bounty rum or whatever else Alice has in that big bag of hers.
That night, we didn't sleep to the early hours of the morning, taking about nothing important: old crushes and boyfriends, fantasies, gossiping about people back at the convent. Loads of little things that didn't really matter, but meant a lot to me. It was times like this where I sit back and marvel at how lucky I was. I had a group of friends that were literally, one of a kind. They changed my life, maybe not completely for the better, but if I were even the chance, I wouldn't change a thing.
Sometimes it scared me just how much I relied on my friends, if they hadn't chosen to come Hogwarts, I would have stayed with them. In a strange way, I needed them, like a flower needs sunlight to nurture and grow. Sure, they introduced me to the big bad world, where there are drugs, alcohol, and whatever else that maybe out there, but we somehow struggled along together. Getting through each day with each other.
Whatever this world of magic could throw at us, we could take it, together, somehow.
That night, I didn't sleep that much, but what little sleep I did have, was peaceful, because, even thought my whole world has been turned upside down, I wasn't stumbling through it alone.
"Girls," Mrs. Weasley's head peered round the door at us, her light brown eyes scanning the room. I was more than thankful of Alice and her 'abilities'. Before we went asleep, she had made us clean up and spray the room with Ferbreeze.
We had devised a plan, that later one in the evening, we would ask to go take a walk, sneaking the empty bottles out with us, and dumping them in a near-by field, that Alice had assured us was there. "Breakfast is ready."
As the redheaded woman disappeared, we all took a moment to process what she had said. "I call first dibs in the bathroom!" I yelled, but Alice was already out the door, her wash bag magically in her hands. "Ha ha," she called over her shoulder in a singsong voice as she raced out of the room. "Second," I growled.
"I don't give a shit," Muttered Kailah, "So long as Alyssa goes last." I had to laugh, Alyssa, our cool-level headed Alyssa, took absolutely ages in the bathroom. Literally an hour, and that was on a good day.
All eyes turned to Alyssa, who suddenly looked uncomfortable. "What?" she demanded, but we all said nothing.
Turns out, I did get second, since everyone else was pining Alyssa down, I took advantage of the distraction.
The Weasley's shower looked old, but the hot water worked, after a few minutes, and by that time, I had my hair removal cream on. As the bathroom began to fog, I started to scrape of the cream, leaving smooth pale skin behind. Yay.
After a quick shower, I towelled off and changed, stepping out in a tracksuit, and green hoodie.
"Chav," Davina called with glee as I walked back into our room, sitting down in front of the small mirror to start on my make up. The thing about make-up is, once you put it on, you feel naked unless you always have it on. My face seemed bare without the black eyeliner and mascara. I stuck out my tongue and started to put in my favourite large silver hopped earrings. Putting a bit of serum in my hair, I scrapped it up into a bun, to complete my 'chav-ish' look.
Alice was already down stairs, sipping tea while delicately biting into scrambled eggs on toast, as always, using her fork.
"Morning," I said, taking a seat next to her. I noticed that the kitchen was empty, save from Mrs. Weasley and her daughter, Ginny, who was also finishing up her breakfast. My own plate of scrambled eggs was set in front of me and I smiled gratefully up at Mrs Weasley. "Sleep well, dear?" she asked.
There was this awkward pause, where I shared am look with Alice. So many things passed through that one look held so much. Images of the previous night came flashing back to me, and the smile of Alice's face told me I wasn't the only one reminiscing.
"Wonderful. Thank you."
Davina was next down, wearing a pair of jeggings over a long t-shirt that looked like a dress on her small, petite size. "Hey," she smiled, taking a seat.
There was a thump from upstairs, and for one comical moment, we all looked up, like we could see through the ceiling all the way up to the attic.
"Here you go dear," Mrs Weasley smiled, setting another plate in front of Davina.
"Thank you."
I frowned, biting into the perfect eggs. "Where's everyone?" The absence of the million other Weasley children hadn't escaped my notice.
"Out back, playing Quiddage."
"Ah," I nodded as if what she said had made a load of sense.
Ginny smiled, clearly not fooled. "It's a sport. Its where you fly on brooms, trying to get as much points for you team…"
Alice held up a hand. "Trust me, there is no point in explaining it to us. We'll never get it."
Crystal and Yuki descended, still clad in their pajamas, looking quite harassed. "Did Alyssa get to the bathroom again?" Davina sympathised, just as Kailah appeared, grinning. "That girl can move when she wants to."
The rest settled own to breakfast, and the conversation picked up again.
"So," I began. "When and where are we going shopping for our uniforms? Because I say we go Primark and new look for skirts and stuff. The sale is on, so that way, we have money to get…uh," I bit my lip and smiled sweetly. "Other things."
The rest caught on fast.
"We'd better do it tomorrow or the day after," Alice added. "We have our lessons then."
Kailah nodded her agreement. "I call my mum tonight, see if I can get some more money."
"Same," Crystal nodded, just as Molly looked over her shoulder at us with a puzzled look. "Call?"
"Yeah," Davina grinned, pulling out her ever-present mobile. "You can talk to anyone in the world at anytime, so long as they have one too."
Mrs. Weasley shook her head, muttering something that sounded like, "Muggle technology…"
Just then, the kitchen was filled with the Weasley boys, minus Percy and Bill.
"Work," Ginny supplied, reading my thoughts.
"Mum, when's lunch? I'm starving." Ron muttered, caning his neck to see what was on the stove.
"Here," Crystal pushed her plate towards him. "I'm not that hungry," she smiled, just as Yuki kissed her teeth.
"What?" she demanded, her Asian eyes meeting another.
"Skinny moo. You should be eating."
"Oh my God!" Crystal rolled her eyes, and then turned to glare at me. "Don't you dare even think about saying it, Dawn." She warned.
"Wouldn't dream of it," I said innocently enough.
As Ron made his way towards Crystal's plate, the twins got there first. "Cheer's," One of them grinned at her, picking up the plate.
"Better be faster next time, Ronald." The other grinned, biting into a piece of buttered toast.
I laughed at the sight, my eyes falling on Charlie, who was covered in mud, his face rosy from the biting wind. His hair looked adorably wind-swept, sticking out in all angles.
"Good game?" I asked, with a wry smile and a raised brow. I know, I know, I am good, or at least, very, very bad.
"Yeah," he grinned down at me, his blue eyes lighting up. I did my best to ignore the eye-rolls and the knowing looks that was passed through my friends. "Who won?"
One of the twins, Fred, I think, snorted. "We did. Charlie's good, but having Ron on your team…well, your bound to lose."
We all watched as Ron's ears turned scarlet with embarrassment.
Turning back to me with a cheeky kind of smile, Charlie asked; "Do you play?"
I shook my head and grinned ruefully. "I've only just heard of it ten minutes ago."
I watched as Charlie's cheeks turned a slight pink. "I could teach you, if you like."
Grinning madly, I nodded. "But you'd have to be patient, I'm not the best at sports."
Alice chocked back some laughter. "Yeah, the girl who trips over her own feet! She took a drop in gym once. Just fell over nothing."
"Ha ha," I commented dryly.
"I'll catch you, if worst come to worst." I looked up to see Charlie grinning at me, looking close to laughter. "You'd better," I warned, rising out of my seat.
"Bathroom's free," Alyssa smiled, taking my now vacant seat.
Crystal and Yuki looked at each other for a long moment. "Don't you dare." Yuki warned, eyes narrowed at Crystal.
Raising a brow, Crystal smiled, one that made her look like a beautiful, yet psychotic maniac as Yuki rose into the air, yelling swear words at her in Japanese.
The Weasley's watched, both horrified and fascinated with the scene that unfolded in front of them.
Crystal bounded off and up the stairs, a skip in her step, just as Yuki came crashing down to the floor with another yell
The silence was suddenly broken by Ron, who looked over at Alyssa, eyeing her plate with obvious want, "Are you going to eat that?"
Alyssa's eyes narrowed as she pointed to the back door that led out into the garden. "Get out fool."
"You ready?"
I looked over at Charlie, eyeing the slightly battered broom in his hands with suspicion. "Oh yeah," I raised a brow, knowing he got the sarcasm.
"Don't worry," Charlie reassured me, "I'll be with you."
I turned my speculation to Charlie, eyeing the broad, stocky frame. His arms were well muscled, and was sure strong enough to pull me up if I so happened to fall of the broom. When I didn't answer immediately, he sighed. "I promise." His big blue eyes were filled with earnest, completely sure that he would save me if the situation arose.
With a sigh, I tried to look more convinced. "Okay, I trust you."
I tried not to smile at the grin Charlie gave me as I settled on the broom, him behind me. "Relax," His breath tickled my ear as his arms wrapped around me so he could get a grip on the wood.
Then he kicked off the ground.
For a moment, all I could do was open my mouth in fear, eyes wide, as the Weasley house soon became a small dot. I could see the small, neighbouring fields, littered with small sheep and cows.
Then I remembered to breath, as a rush of adrenaline came over me, heart thundering so hard in my ears, I almost didn't hear Charlie. "You okay?" he asked, nervous to why I had gone suddenly quiet.
I turned to look over my shoulder grinning. "How fast does this thing go?"
The grin I got made my pulse race faster than before. "Hold on," He warned, eyes shining with the same excitement that I felt.
I blast of cool English wind hit us as we soared at light-speed, watching as the world around me became blurs of green and blue. The biting cold from the wind made me shiver, glad of the heat that came of Charlie. I leaned back a bit, my head resting on his shoulder and felt his arms tighten around me. Smiling, I looked over to see him looking at me, his usual grin becoming something that looked softer, sweeter.
For what seemed like a lifetime, we flew around the endless green fields, just like that, basking in a comfortable silence that didn't need to be filled.
Then we slowly began to descend, and I couldn't help but feel a wave of disappointment, but I tried to look grateful as we touched ground once more.
"You should go inside, you're shivering." I looked down, surprised to see that Charlie was right. Stiffly, I dismounted the broom and met the knowing looks of my six friends, along with the Weasley children. "Have fun?" Kailah asked, her eyes light and shining with amusement.
I nodded, biting my lip to hold back a smile.
"My turn!" Alice turned to once of the twins, George, maybe. "One of you should take me up. If Dawn catches any of us with her man, there's going to be trouble."
Alyssa grinned, nodding. "And the Irish accent comes out."
"Along with her knowledge of swear words," Added Crystal.
I grinned, just as 'my man' lean me back into the kitchen, trying to hide a smile at the wolf-whistles we got.
"Here, sit by the fire." Charlie guided me towards a worn-out sofa near the fireplace, where a warm orange heat emitted of the flames. As I snuggled down, Charlie went off to the hallway, coming back moments later with a tick, woolly blanket that he draped over me. Sitting next to me, Charlie studied me quietly for a long moment, as I tried not to squirm under his gaze. Finally, he said. "So, what special power do you have?"
I sighed, keeping my gaze on the flickering flames of the lit fire. So much for gazing romantically into my eyes.
"Dawn?" He asked when I didn't reply.
Hugging my knees to my chest, I turned back to Charlie. "I can talk to animals." Shrugging like it was no big deal. "Not as cool as the rest, but yeah."
"I think your cool." Charlie smiled, his red hair turning fiery from the glow of the flames. "Yeah?" I grinned, raising a brow. "And what do you do?"
"Actually, I work with dragons."
"Wait," I said, frowning up at him. "Did you say dragons?"
Charlie laughed, a nice, warm sound that made me smile in return. "Yeah, dragons."
"That would explain the burns then," I nodded towards the healing burns that scattered around his hands and arms. Hesitantly, I reached out to brush a fading mark, a pale pink against his tanned, weatherworn skin. "Did it hurt?"
"A bit," Charlie admitted, watching as I brushed the tips of my fingers along the mark. I noticed he leaned a bit closer, and I suddenly became aware of nine faces fighting each other to press themselves up against the window.
Letting my hand drop, I shared a slight annoyed smile. "No privacy in the Weasley household," Charlie sighed.
I rolled my eyes, glaring over at the faces of my friends, who only smiled back. "No privacy with those lot either."