CHAPTER 9: ALONE AT LAST
Rosa groaned as she exited the bathroom and headed downstairs to the kitchen. Two days. Two days they had been looking for the stupid Chupacabra without success. Kingsley Shacklebolt thought he may have had a lead the other day when he learned from the Muggle government that a farmer in Winwick reported two of his sheep missing. She dismissed that immediately, since Chupacabra did not usually drag off their prey, instead leaving them where they found them. The sheep most likely just wandered off.
I knew this would be a lame-ass mission.
Still, she admitted to herself, not everything about this mission sucked. She thoroughly enjoyed living at the Burrow. The constant activity here sometimes rivaled that of her old dormitory back at the Salem Witches Institute. Lively conversations marked both breakfast and dinner. For those not on night patrol for the Chupacabra, evenings consisted of listening to music on the Wizard Wireless or watching Fred and George demonstrate their latest products or Harry discussing Quidditch strategies. There were also games of Exploding Snap or Wizard's Chess, which Ron proved quite talented at playing. He had bested her twice with little trouble. He also had no trouble defeating Jimmy and Jared, who never had been very good at the game anyway. Even Artimus, the best chess player of the quartet, couldn't come close to Ron's level. What shocked Rosa most had been the fact Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, couldn't even beat Ron Weasley.
He can vanquish the most evil dark wizard of all time, but can't win a game of chess?
If anything, the more time she spent around Harry, the more her awe for him faded. She still admired the hell out of him for everything he'd done for the Wizarding World, but, like Jimmy said when he returned from Hogwarts, "When you get down to it, Harry Potter's just a regular kid."
Whenever she saw him playing chess or talking Quidditch or grousing about homework and teachers at Hogwarts, he reminded Rosa of any number of kids she had known at Salem instead of this legendary figure she'd grown up hearing stories about. It was actually nice to see one of the greatest heroes of the Wizarding World could be so down to earth.
Unfortunately, life at the Burrow did have a couple drawbacks.
One was trying to corner George Weasley alone for any length of time. She'd come close on a couple occasions. Once while passing each other in a hallway, they had five seconds to themselves before Mrs. Weasley suddenly appeared and dragged her away to see her husband, who had some questions regarding the Chupacabra.
She could have at least waited until I kissed him.
The second opportunity occurred last night. George stopped by her room to say good-night. Ginny had been in the shower, so it was just the two of them alone, those gorgeous eyes and those lips of his beckoning her.
But before she could do anything, the second drawback to living at the Burrow popped up.
"Excuse me, but eet ees time for me to get ready for bed."
Fleur friggin' Delacour. The half-veela, half-snotty, superior, egomaniacal harpy practically pushed past them and shooed away George.
Merlin's Beard, I had him. I had him right there.
There was no doubt in her mind. Sooner or later, she would kill Fleur Delacour. And she would be hailed a hero in this house for it. Well, at least by Ginny and her mother. The men, of course, couldn't stop drooling over her. Except for George . . . she hoped.
Rosa hadn't even reached the kitchen when she heard the cacophony of voices.
"So, Jimmy. Is it true the Muggles have fellytones they can actually fit in their pockets?" This from Mr. Weasley.
"I'm telling you, those Mexican Quidditch fans make ours look sedate." That was Jared.
"Considering how your father feels about Muggle-borns, it's a wonder you turned out the way you did." Ron no doubt had to be talking to Artimus.
"Morning, Rosa dear," Mrs. Weasley greeted her enthusiastically.
"Good morning, Mrs. Weasley." She took a seat next to Ginny. Almost immediately Mrs. Weasley was hovering over her, shoveling eggs, bacon and toast onto her plate. Rosa winced momentarily. She would have to carve out some time to go running, otherwise, given all the food Mrs. Weasley served, she'd swell to the size of a whale.
Yeah. George would find that attractive.
"You missed it this morning." Ginny kept her voice low as she talked to her. "Phlegm's finally stopped going on about my hair."
"That's a good thing, isn't it?"
The skin around Ginny's nose crinkled. "Not if she found something else about me she doesn't like."
"What is it now?" Rosa took a small bite of her bacon.
"My shoes," Ginny hissed. "My bloody effing shoes of all things. She thinks they're too manly for me."
"What? Let me see." Rosa looked down as Ginny swung around in her seat and stuck out both feet. The redhead wore simple black flats.
"They look fine to me. What the heck's her problem?"
"She thinks I'd look more ladylike," Ginny stuck her nose in the air, trying to mimic Fleur's haughty expression, "if I wear the sort of shoes she does."
"Oh Merlin, those high-heeled boots of hers? I think whoever came up with the Cruciatus Curse also designed those things."
"I know. They look like they cut off all circulation to your feet. I don't see how she stands it. Course, if she wants to torture herself like that, let her." Ginny kept her voice low as she again spoke like Fleur. "Zometimes you must accept zome pain in order to look as beautiful as me."
Rosa convulsed with laughter. She smiled at Ginny and shook her head in amusement. More and more she grew to appreciate all the time she spent around Ginny. She loved Jared, Jimmy and Artimus to pieces. But every now and then she desired female companionship. The chance to talk about stuff she'd never dare bring up around the guys. Hair, shoes, clothes, make-up, styling charms, boyfriends, whether or not her ass looked fat. Ginny seemed to enjoy it as well. It didn't surprise Rosa. After all, the girl grew up in a house with six brothers. Anyone in Ginny's position would want an ally to try and hold back all that testosterone.
"C'mon, you give it a whirl." Ginny nodded to her.
"What're you talking about?"
"You know." Ginny thrust her nose in the air and wore a look of superiority.
Rosa smiled, knowing exactly what Ginny meant. She shook her hair, lifted her chin and closed her eyes halfway.
"Zees ees an outrage zat I am forced to share a room wees an immature little English girl and a barbaric American. I am zo beautiful and perfect zat I should 'ave an entire floor of zees 'ouse to myzelf."
Ginny nearly choked she laughed so hard. Rosa threw herself against the back of her chair, her laughter matching Ginny's.
"Uh-oh, Fred. We best watch ourselves."
"Quite right, George. Whenever two girls are laughing uncontrollably, it can't be good for the male of the species."
Rosa whipped her head around to see the twins enter the kitchen. She could tell which one was George right away. He wore a larger smile than Fred, and aimed it exclusively at her.
"Oh hooray," Ginny moaned. "You two are here."
"Good morning to you too, runt," George snapped playfully at his sister. He then switched to a much sweeter voice. "Good morning, Rosa."
"Morning." She beamed at him as he passed behind her chair. He gently patted her shoulder. She stopped breathing for a second. Her stomach fluttered.
"I hope Ginny's snoring didn't keep you up all night." Fred grinned and buttered a piece of toast.
"I don't snore, you pillock."
"I beg to differ." George held up his index finger. "And so do all the people living up in Hogsmeade. They must think a whole swarm of dragons is flying overhead."
The twins chuckled. Rosa just smiled to herself.
"Yeah." Ginny narrowed her eyes at George. "Well I'm surprised everyone sleeping in your room hasn't gagged to death on your wretched foot odor."
Fred nearly fell off his chair laughing. George's eyes widened in shock. He shifted his gaze to Rosa, who gave him a sympathetic smile. His eyes returned to Ginny in a stare that could kill as effectively as Avada Kedavra.
"They'll be plenty of time later in the day to pick on one another," Mrs. Weasley snapped. "Now eat!"
The four of them went back to their breakfasts, shooting wry grins at each other. Again, George saved his biggest smile for her.
Her entire body quivered.
"Good morning."
Rosa groaned silently in response to the throaty voice that cut through the air.
Fleur Friggin' Delacour swept into the kitchen, followed by Bill.
"And the fun and frivolity comes to a crashing halt," Ginny grumbled.
Rosa nodded in agreement. She studied the men at the table. Jared, Artimus and Ron had the same forlorn expressions. Jimmy tried to be more subtle with his eye-humping, tried being the operative word.
I'm sure Talia would love to hear about this.
Harry gazed at Fleur with a combination of shyness and admiration. Fred smiled and waved cheerfully to the snooty twit, and kept his eyes on her long after she returned his greeting.
So did George!
Anger lines etched into Rosa's face. She narrowed her eyes at Fleur, who settled into a chair next to Bill. When she looked back to George, she noticed his gaze was still on Fleur.
Rosa cleared her throat, loudly.
"Ah! 'Ow rude. Do zey not teach you proper table manners in America?"
She ignored the oh-so-offended Fleur, concentrating instead on George. He looked at her, winced, then switched all his focus to his food and started eating.
Good boy.
Rosa returned to her own breakfast, but not five minutes had passed before Fleur Friggin' Delacour started bitching about, well, everything.
"Zees sausage ees cold . . . Zees tea ees too sweet . . . I zink zere ees zome dirt on my fork."
Somehow, Mrs. Weasley restrained herself from tearing Fleur a new one. Still the woman's cheeks blazed red. Rosa rooted for her to whip out her wand and cast a Creeping Fungus Hex all over Fleur's oh-so-perfect face.
Once they finished eating, Lupin announced their assignments for the day.
"I'm afraid we'll be switching things around a bit. There were a couple werewolf attacks last night in Exmoor that I have to help Moody look into."
Rosa frowned. That's what she should be doing. Going after werewolves. Creatures that were actually dangerous to people.
She just folded her arms and gazed at the table as Lupin continued.
"Bill, you'll be taking Jimmy and Artimus up to the Yorkshire Wolds and North York Moors. There are quite a few wizarding families there that own a good number of cows and sheep and goats and the like. They need to be aware of the Chupacabra. Jared, I have a special assignment for you. Tonks has a few aurors we can trust who need a crash course in the Chupacabra. I want you to help her with that."
"You got it."
"Now, Kingsley came across a report from the Muggle authorities from last month. Apparently, a farmer outside Glastonbury reported seeing a 'creature' trying to get into his sheep pen. According to the, um, oh what do they call the Muggle version of aurors?"
"That would be Plees-us," said Mr. Weasley.
"Uh . . ." Jimmy held up a hand. "Actually, it's police."
"That's right. Police." Lupin nodded. "Anyway, the police made it clear in their report that the farmer, a Simon Heckton, has a tendency to claim all sorts of unusual occurrences at his farm. Everything from strange lights in the sky to large black cats prowling about to ghosts in his house."
"Sounds like the guy's a whackjob," Jimmy said.
"Perhaps. But it's not uncommon for Muggles to come across creatures and beings native to our world. Mostly their reports are dismissed by the vast majority of Muggles. Either way, it's worth looking into. So Fred, George and Rosa, you'll be checking out the Glastonbury area."
Rosa's head snapped up. She stared unblinking at Lupin, then looked down the table at George. He sat fully erect, with the brightest smile she'd ever seen.
This mission just took a turn for the better.
XXXXX
As usual, Mrs. Weasley hugged everyone and begged them to be careful before they left the Burrow. Certainly a better farewell than she'd gotten from Aunt Liana before she left the States. And at least Mrs. Weasley, even though she possessed an endless well of worry for everyone under her roof, treated her like an adult.
Aunt Liana could take some lessons from her.
She bit her lower lip as she headed for the door. Could she have handled that better? Or maybe Aunt Liana could have handled it better. After all, she was the one who couldn't appreciate what she'd done in Ovenderburg and during the Longathian Tunnel affair.
"Good luck, Rosa."
She turned back to find Ginny waggling her eyebrows, a wry grin on her face.
Rosa smiled back. She realized Ginny wasn't talking about finding Chupacabra. The youngest Weasley child knew all about her attraction to George. Thankfully, she had no issues with it.
"You're a hell of a lot cooler than that self-absorbed tart from across the Channel," Ginny had told her the other night. "I say go ahead and snog the living daylights out of George if you want."
Oh yes. Rosa want.
"Oi! Infante!" George called from outside. He stood next to his twin, broom in hand. "Shake a leg! We're burning daylight here!"
She marched over to him. "Bark at me like that again and you're gonna have my leg crammed up your ass."
"Is that a promise?" He shot her a very cheeky grin.
Rosa chuckled as she mounted her broom and followed the twins into the air.
XXXXX
They searched around Glastonbury all morning and turned up, as the Muggles would say, jack squat. Rosa started to think Jimmy was right when he'd called Heckton a whackjob. She wondered if the strange lights and mysterious creatures the farmer saw originated from a bottle rather than real life.
They still had other farms to search, but Rosa doubted their luck would be any better.
"All right, you lot," Fred piped up. "I'm bloody starving. Time for lunch."
They landed on a small hill overlooking some woods. A white Muggle cottage could be seen in the distance. Fred found a rock and transfigured it into a simple blue blanket. He laid it out on the ground, then reached into a knapsack and pulled out some sandwiches and pumpkin juice. They ate and chatted away, at least Rosa and George did. Fred looked to be in a hurry to polish off his sandwiches. She left Fred to his lunch while she and George exchanged stories involving some of Jimmy O'Bannon's more humorous escapades.
"So Mireet's heading back to the Beauxbatons carriage, right?" George went on. "And Jimmy's walking backwards, watching her with one of those admiring, longing gazes . . . and falls right into this bush!"
Rosa threw her head back and laughed. It took a half-minute for her to regain her composure. "Well I can top that one. Our Fifth Year, we're learning Camouflage Charms. So Jimmy's trying to blend in with the wall of our classroom. But he mispronounces the incantation and next thing you know, he's standing there in nothing but his underwear!"
George fell on his side and howled.
"Well, I'm done." Fred brushed off his hands and stood. He scanned the two of them briefly. "Oh. You two take your time and finish eating. I'll just . . . check the perimeter. Make sure nothing's sneaking up on us, you know? That's likely to involve a thorough search. Might take a while. A long while."
Fred winked at his twin, who just smiled and nodded.
"Have a good time." With a parting grin, Fred hopped on his broom and shot into the sky.
Rosa cranked an eyebrow and watched Fred fade into the distance. She then turned to George. "Did you two guys plan this?"
"Rosa, I'm shocked. We're on a mission of vital importance for the Order of the Phoenix. Do you think that my dear brother and I would concoct this sort of scheme so I could be alone at last with you while the fate of England hangs in the balance?"
Rosa canted her head and sighed. "You're so full of crap."
George shrugged. "Maybe. But you have to admit. Here we are miles from civilization. No Ginny or Mum or Ron or anyone else to interrupt us."
"That's true." She slid closer to him on the blanket, her eyes locked on his. "And, no Fleur Delacour for you to ogle."
George's Adam's apple bobbed up and down. His jaw slowly worked back and forth. "Oh. Ahhh . . . well, um. Yes, you see . . . ummm . . ."
A wicked smile grew across Rosa's face as she watched George squirm.
Finally, he drew a breath, his face tightening in a mask of resolve. "Well, I have to admit. My brother's fiancé is . . . er, okay looking. But she can't compare to a daring, fearless, sexy, auror-in-training who doesn't hesitate to dive headlong into battle with trolls and Slytherin arseholes, and who, if I didn't mention it before, is also very damn sexy."
Rosa clenched her teeth, fighting down the hilarity bubbling inside her. She remained silent for several seconds. George winced, hopefulness radiating in his eyes.
She finally decided the poor guy suffered long enough. "Good answer."
George beamed at her. He covered her hand with his and gently rubbed his thumb back and forth across her skin. She quivered, her heart beating faster. George's face hovered inches from hers.
"You really are amazing, Rosa Infante," he said softly.
"So are you, George Weasley."
Anticipation overwhelmed her. Every pore in her body tingled. She closed her eyes and felt George's lips softly press against hers. The world around her vanished. Only George existed, his smell, his taste.
She had no idea how much time passed before he slowly pulled away. Rosa drew a ragged breath and opened her eyes.
"You know," George said. "I've had a lot of dreams over the past few months where I did that to you."
"Me too. And you know what?"
"What?"
"The real thing is better than any dream."
George smiled.
They kissed again. Their mouths gradually opened wider and wider. They slid their arms around one another. Rosa ran her fingers through George's hair. Merlin's beard, it was so thick and wild.
She moved away from George's lips and kissed his cheeks. George soon did the same, though he eventually made his way to her neck. Rosa shivered and clutched the back of George's head.
"Oh Merlin . . . I should've . . . come to Hogwarts . . . with Jimmy. We could've . . . done this . . . for a whole year."
"We'll just have to make up for lost time, then. Won't we?"
Rosa grinned and let George lower her onto the blanket. They continued their fierce kissing. She pressed her fingers into George's shoulders as he attacked her neck.
His right hand made its way down her side, stopping right around her waist.
Please continue. Please continue.
"Yes," she whispered breathlessly. "Mm, George."
His hand continued its wonderful journey, brushing over her ass and starting down her leg. George moved his lips to just below her throat. Rosa moaned, drowning in euphoria. To think she actually complained about coming to England on a bullcrap mission.
Thank you, God. Thank you, Merlin. Thank you, Guild of the Light. Thank you, Chupacabra. Thank you, George.
Oh Geo-
"Oi! You two! Break it up!"
Rosa's eyes snapped open. George pushed himself off her. It took her a second to recognize the voice.
Fred Weasley.
What the hell!
Her entire body shook, this time with anger instead of ecstasy. She looked at George through narrowed eyes. "You're about to have one less brother."
"Fine by me. I'll hold him while you curse him."
They both started to sit up, George glaring at his twin. "Fred, you great pillock! Can't you see I'm busy. What the bloody effing hell is so . . ."
Rosa's brow furrowed when George stopped in mid-sentence. She looked at him, then to Fred.
Her chest clenched.
For once, Fred wasn't smiling. In fact, his expression looked very . . . serious? A Weasley twin, serious? A cold hand wrapped around her stomach. Whatever could make Fred look like that could not be good.
"Sorry, you two. But you'd better get your brooms. You're going to want to see this."
Rosa and George fetched their brooms and took to the air, following Fred. They covered a couple miles before they came upon a field with dozens of grazing cattle.
"Over there." Fred pointed near the treeline as they began to descend.
Rosa leaned forward and squinted. She spotted three white and black lumps on the ground. Actually, she really couldn't say the other color was black. It was some dark color. The closer she got, she noticed the dark color also covered some of the ground around the shapes.
Merlin's beard.
She hovered in place, her eyes locked on the three lumps she now knew to be cows.
Cows that had been torn to shreds.
TO BE CONTINUED