"Wake up you little snake!"

"C'mon Granger, up an' at 'em!"

"Can't forget Gin-Gin too!"

Talia groaned. It was too early for this, but no one expected any less from Fred and George. The Twins were shaking her, and with a loud growl, she waved a hand in the air and managed to smack one of them in the face. One of the Twins snickered at his brother's misfortune, but then they were back to shaking Talia, now more vigorously than before, as a form of payback for being slapped.

Soon the shaking stopped and Talia smiled a little, figuring that the Twins had simply given up on waking her up. She snuggled into her pillow, settling in for a few more hours of sleep, but then she felt herself being turned over in the little camping bed she'd been provided with, and the next thing she knew she was on the floor, on her stomach.

The Twins had flipped Talia out of bed.

"Will you two cut it out?" Hermione exclaimed, and after a bit of struggling, the Twins were pushed outside the bedroom door, leaving the girls alone.

"Are you okay?" Ginny asked worriedly, helping Talia stand up.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Talia mumbled, rubbing her forehead. She looked over at Hermione who was rubbing her shoulder, and asked, "They got you too?"

"Don't even get me started," grumbled Hermione. "It's too early for this."

"I know; what time is it anyway?" asked Talia as walked over towards Hermione, seating herself on the empty space beside the bushy haired girl.

"Too early, that's what time it is," answered Ron, entering the room and taking a seat on his sister's bed. "Mum sent me to see if you girls were ready. I see that Fred and George beat me to it."

"Obviously," mumbled the girls sarcastically.

Ron said nothing. He just fell backwards on the bed, curling up in the sheets and letting out a loud yawn.

Ginny's bedroom was very bright, and had character. There were posters on the walls of a band called the Weird Sisters, and of the all-witch Quidditch team, the Holyhead Harpies. She had a desk that sat underneath the only window in the room, which overlooked an orchard behind the house, and the only problem that Talia could find with the room was its size. It was small, and with three extra beds crammed into the room there was hardly any legroom.

Speaking of which, Talia looked over towards the camping bed her mother had been given for the night, and saw that it was empty.

"Where's my mum?" Talia asked Ron, throwing a shoe at his leg to get his attention.

"Kitchen," Ron mumbled sleepily. "Now stop throwing things at me."

"Well then get out," Ginny told him, "It isn't proper for you to be in here!"

Ron yawned, and groaned, and after a push from his sister, sat up and rubbed his eyes. "It's too bloody early," he mumbled as he lazily walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

Ginny rolled her eyes.

"I hope the bathroom isn't busy," Talia mumbled as she rummaged through her backpack for a change of clothes, and a hairbrush.

"The bathroom is always busy in this house," Ginny mumbled, walking to her dresser and taking out a pair of jeans, and a shirt.

Sighing, Talia quickly got out a pair of jeans and a simple t-shirt, along with her hairbrush. She began with her hair, brushing it down and untangling it, then braiding it. She finished with two braided plaits going down her shoulders, and feeling satisfied with her hair she grabbed her clothes and shoes and made her way out of the room.

Talia knew the bathroom was on the third floor, and because Ginny's bedroom was on the first floor, she began to climb the set of stairs situated in the sitting room. When she reached the third floor, Charlie had just stepped out of a room that smelled like water and soap, his hair damp, and dressed in black pants and a red shirt. Talia quickly smiled up at him as she approached him; her new best friend, she had dubbed him the day before.

"Hello Charlie. That's the bathroom, right?" Talia asked, pointing to room Charlie had just stepped out of.

"It is, yes," he smiled, and added teasingly, "and you better hurry before the water runs out."

With that being said, Talia darted into the bathroom, leaving Charlie to laugh quietly to himself as he made his way downstairs.

Isabella sat at the kitchen table, her hair in a messy bun and wearing (much to everyone's surprise), a pair of tight jeans and a white shirt. Her feet were clad in black, lace up boots, and the outfit was paired with a dark green leather jacket, which she currently had hanging off the back of her chair. Today, she did not feel up for wearing her usual robes.

She sipped on a cup of tea that she'd gotten from Molly, and let her eyes skim the copy of the Daily Prophet lying before her on the table, looking for any news related to Sirius—thankfully, she found nothing.

She had gotten a letter from him a couple of days ago, wishing her a happy birthday, asking for news on the home front, and filling her in on his days on the little Isle of Corvus.

Apparently, he was quite taken with her cousin Seraphina, and had intentions of "wooing her". He had asked for advice, like if Seraphina liked flowers or preferred chocolates, and had even gone as far as to say that he'd be part of the family soon enough.

Weirdly enough, Isabella didn't doubt that. Seraphina was a very lively girl with a colorful vocabulary, and Isabella could see her cousin easily with Sirius hanging off her arm.

That woman would give Sirius hell. Seraphina took no prisoners, but she was exactly the kind of girl Sirius needed.

"Good morning."

Isabella stiffened and looked up slowly, spotting Charlie walking into the kitchen with a large smile on his face. She cursed the heavens for the empty seats on either side of her, Charlie quickly taking up the seat on her right, as she'd predicted.

"Good morning," Isabella replied curtly, giving Charlie the ghost of a smile, and returning her eyes to the Daily Prophet, pretending to read the article on the Quidditch World Cup.

Molly, who was busy at the stove preparing a quick breakfast, smiled softly. She knew her son well, and she was thrilled that he'd finally taken an interest in someone, but sadly he'd taken an interest in a woman that was certainly already spoken for.

Isabella and Remus were good at keeping their relationship away from the spotlight, but they could not fool Molly. She had seen the quick kiss Isabella had given Remus right before he had disapparated home.

Oh, young love, Molly thought with a gentle shake of the head, a small smile pulling at the corner of her lips.

Because of the size of their group, two portkeys had been given to the Weasleys. The kids and Arthur were to travel with the first portkey, while the second portkey would take Isabella, Percy, Bill, and Charlie. Sadly, the second portkey was due to activate an hour after the first one took its group, which meant that Isabella was stuck with Charlie. He was interesting to talk too (when wine wasn't involved), and Talia simply loved him because he worked with dragons, but his obvious flirtatious comments made Isabella uncomfortable, and she did not have the heart to tell him to stop.

She'd never been good at these type of things.

Absentmindedly, Isabella reached up a hand and began to rub her neck, her fingers brushing against the tender mark that Remus had left the night before. It made a faint smile grace her lips as she thought back on the intimate moment they'd shared.

Chuckling, she walked through the backdoor and out to the garden, and a small family of garden gnomes came scurrying out of the overgrown grass, prancing around her feet, giggling as they tried to pinch her ankles.

Aha, I came prepared, Isabella thought with a smug smile, staring down at the gnomes who had realized that her boots would not allow them to touch her ankles.

They resorted to trying to unlace her boots instead.

The backdoor soon opened, and for a moment, Isabella thought it was Charlie, but she sighed in relief when Bill came to stand beside her. He had a backpack strapped to his back, and was currently in the process of tying back his freshly washed hair in a ponytail.

"Hey there," he greeted, and then looked down at Isabella's feet to see the garden gnomes trying to climb her boots. "They seem to like you."

"Sadly," Isabella chuckled ruefully. "They were the bane of my existence when I was little. My mum thought it cruel to let our gardeners dispose of them, so they were always around the manor grounds… stealing my food."

Bill chuckled softly, and then looked back into the house, saying, "Percy thinks we should start heading out soon, so you might want to get your things ready."

"Time flies when you're having fun," Isabella mused, before shaking the gnomes off her boots, and walking into the house with Bill.

She quickly walked through the kitchen and into the sitting room, taking the hall on the left that would lead her to Ginny's room, where her bag was. She needed to change out of her jeans, boots, and shirt and leather jacket. She'd completely forgotten that the Malfoys were going to be present, and she had to keep up appearances. It was enough showing up with the Weasleys—they would talk about that, surely, and Isabella wanted to give them one less thing to talk about, despite being close friends.

Bill on the other hand, stayed in the kitchen, and as Charlie stepped into the room, he gave his younger brother a small, knowing grin.

"She in Ginny's room?" asked Charlie, trying to act casual.

Bill rolled his eyes and walked over to his brother, punching him in the arm.

"Give it a rest, will you?" Bill laughed, shaking his head, "She's got a kid who's practically the same age as Ginny—do the math!"

"So?" Charlie smiled. "Talia and I get along swimmingly, and I've never really been fond of women my age. It takes a mature woman to whip this Weasley into shape."

"And she's that woman?" asked Bill incredulously, crossing his arms.

"Maybe," grinned Charlie.

Bill rolled his eyes.

"Talia is Remus' kid," he pointed out, "Isabella and Remus have history, and a kid is a strong bond between the two. Besides, don't they say that werewolves mate for life?"

"Isabella isn't a werewolf, so that doesn't apply to her," said Charlie. "She and Remus aren't married. Her marriage with Snape is out of convenience, so technically, she's a single woman, and I'm confident that I've got a good chance. Mum did always say that we should try before we give up."

"Well, I think that you've already tried enough, so it's now time to give up."

With that, the two brothers shared a laugh, but then Percy walked into the room with his own backpack over his shoulder, giving them an unbelieving look.

"You two should be already heading out," he berated his older brothers, giving them one final look before heading out the backdoor.

"Merlin's pants, I wonder how mum ever produced that one," Bill mumbled. "I mean, he's nothing like—"

Isabella stepped into the kitchen right then. She was now dressed in a black skirt that wrapped around her hips snuggly, and a blue blouse with a V-neckline that showed off her neck. Her hair had been brushed and rested on her left shoulder, and she'd put on a bit of makeup, accentuating her bright golden eyes.

She looked ready to go, however, she was barefoot; in her hands she held two pairs of shoes—a pair of heels, and a pair of flat shoes.

"I feel stupid for asking," she said honestly, keeping her eyes on Bill and trying to ignore the look Charlie was giving her. "I'm leaning more towards the flat shoes, but the heels are something I'm used to."

Isabella did honestly feel stupid for asking two men what she should wear on her feet. She would have asked Molly, but Molly had gone down to the village market.

Isabella had never been to any kind of event such as the Quidditch World Cup, and she did not know what to expect. The Malfoys would make an appearance, so did that mean that it would be a high-class event where she'd need to dress up just in case she ran into anyone that knew her as Isabella Snape?

"It's a Quidditch match," said Charlie with a lecherous smirk, looking down at Isabella's black-painted toes, "go with the flats."

Isabella sighed. She should have just stayed with her boots; Malfoys be damned.

AN: Chapter 2: Sandy Surprise, of the Sirius Black spin-off, goes along with this chapter.