'Merlin's beard, that was solid!' Tonks yawned as the first years emerged from the Great Hall, having just finished their History of Magic exam.

'Tell me about it,' Charlie sighed, stretching his arms out and almost smacking Boris Zolinski, a messy-haired Slytherin, in the face.

'Watch it!' he yelled angrily.

Charlie mumbled an apology as Zolinski glared at him.

'What did you put for question 21.b?' Annie asked Don anxiously.

'Which one was that?' he replied uncertainly, 'you know, not everyone memorises their exam paper.'

'"Name one unusual method that Muggles developed to ascertain whether a person possessed magical abilities,"' Annie supplied at once.

'Oh, uh, I had no idea on that one; I said they compared the weight of a duck and the person. Because ducks float in water, like wood.'

Charlie, Buck, Tonks and Annie stared at him.

'What?'

'Where did you get that rubbish from?' Buck asked incredulously.

'A Muggle film,' Don shrugged.

Tonks considered this. 'You know, even though my Dad's Muggleborn, Muggles really do amaze me with what they come up with.'


Charlie couldn't remember a feeling of such relief as when he stepped out into the sun-drenched castle grounds after his last exam. The only thing that came remotely close was when his parents returned from a week away and Charlie and Bill had been left at the mercy of Aunt Muriel and her incessant complaining.

'Now we just need to wait a week and a bit to find out if we've passed or whether we've failed out first year at Hogwarts,' Buck grinned sarcastically.

Charlie rolled his eyes. 'If anyone's failing this year it'll be you Buck.'

'Why's that Charlie?'

'C'mon mate, you "revised" by reading the latest copy of Which Broomstick hidden in your Transfiguration book,'

Buck blushed a little. 'I didn't think you'd noticed,' he said as they reached the willow tree overlooking the Black Lake.

'Well, truth be told, I wasn't actually revising Astronomy notes either. I was reading a book on dragons that Hagrid let me borrow.'

Buck laughed.

'Did you guys see my Charms exam?' Don interrupted, 'my pineapple looked more like a trifle by the time it was done dancing!'

'What did you do to it?'

Don shrugged, 'I just cast saltantis and it started dancing, like it's supposed to, but then it got faster and faster and just turned to mush all over Flitwick!'

They all burst out laughing, imagining the little Charms professor covered in pineapple.

'That's still not as bad as my Transfiguration exam,' Tonks compared, 'my hedgehog that I was turning into a pincushion turned out to have chimera qualities and started shooting its quills at McGonagall.'

The gang compared horrific exam stories until the smell of dinner from the Great Hall beckoned them back indoors.

'It's weird to think that our first year at Hogwarts is nearly over,' Tonks murmured as they headed back to the castle.

'Promise me you'll all write,' Annie ordered them.

'Hey, we've not gone anywhere yet!' Charlie laughed.

'I know, but when we're home for the holidays, you must all write,' she insisted.

'And I'll invite you lot over!' Charlie said, 'you can all come over and stay at mine!'

'Or mine!' Buck added.

'I don't think we'd all fit into my house, so I don't think we'll go there,' Don shrugged.

'Mine or Buck's it is then!' Charlie exclaimed as they were swallowed up by the oak doors of Hogwarts castle. He was already planning all the fun things they could do during the summer at The Burrow.


Charlie made his way down to the end-of-year feast with the rest of the school, in great spirits - the Great Hall was all decked out in the Gryffindor colours of scarlet and gold – they had won the House Cup! A massive banner behind the High Table depicted the Gryffindor lion, roaring in its victory. Professor McGonagall was beaming as Professor Snape shot daggers at her from the other side of Professor Dumbledore's empty throne.

Once the students were all settled down and Dumbledore had taken his seat, the hall fell silent.

'One more year is over!' Dumbledore smiled, 'and a good year it has been too! I hope that we have over the course of this year, to quote our School Song, taught you things worth knowing… So now you have an entire summer to get them bare and full of air once more!

'One last thing before we get started on this delicious feast – the House Cup needs awarding, and the points stand thus: in fourth place, Slytherin, with three hundred and nineteen points!' The rest of the hall clapped politely. Snape looked like he'd eaten a lemon.

'In third, Ravenclaw, with four hundred and thirty-two points!' The Ravenclaws gave a little cheer, pleased that they had at least distanced themselves from Slytherin by over a hundred points.

'Second, Hufflepuff! With five hundred and fifty-two!' Charlie saw Tonks and Don clapping and cheering, Tonks' hair its usual violent shade of pink. Professor Sprout was clapping excitedly from beside Professor McGonagall.

'And finally, in first place, the winners of this year's House Cup – with seven hundred and sixteen points – Gryffindor!' The table on the far left of the Hall exploded with cheers. Charlie was on his feet and people around him were yelling and waving their hats in the air.

It was the happiest moment of Charlie's life.


After the excitement of winning the House Cup, Charlie had completely forgotten that their exam results were still to come. He was even more surprised to find that he had passed everything, even Potions, with a decent mark. The gang had hoped that some of the Slytherins would have failed, meaning they couldn't come back next year, but sadly the entire year scraped through.

Before they knew it, their wardrobes were empty and their trunks were full. Tonks almost broke her arm falling over Robin's trunk, and Professor McGonagall handed out notes to all students, warning them not to use magic over the holidays. Hagrid took them down to the fleet of little boats and set off across the lake, and then they were on the gleaming Hogwarts Express once more.

'Welcome back to your Hogsmeade to London service, I hope you all had a great year at Hogwarts!' The train conductor announced as Charlie, Tonks, Buck, Don and Annie all piled into a compartment. They talked, laughed, joked and planned as the wild Scottish countryside cleared up into ordered buildings, and signs of the Muggle world appeared. They swapped their Wizarding robes for Muggle jackets, and the train pulled smoothly into Platform 9 ¾ of Kings Cross Station.

'Chully! Chully!' Charlie hopped off the train and heard his little brother Ron calling his name. Easily recognisable with their fiery red hair, Charlie spotted the Weasley clan in an instant. Grinning from ear to ear Charlie ran over to meet his family.

'Oh, Charlie!' His mother cried as she enveloped him in a rib-crushing hug. Charlie wouldn't admit it, but he'd missed her hugs over the past school year.

'C'mon Mum, you're embarrassing me,' he mumbled into her shoulder.

When she finally let go of him, he introduced his friends to his family.

'Guys, this is my Mum, Dad, little brothers Percy, Fred and George, Ron and little sister Ginny. Everyone, this is Tonks, Buck Cooper, Don Tremlett and Annie Stark.'

'Nice to meet you dears,' Molly Weasley smiled, 'Oh Bill!' She bustled off to snare her eldest son in her trademark hug.

'Mum!' Tonks sped off to meet her parents and fell into her father's arms. Literally, she had tripped on a crack in the pavement. Obviously her father was used to it and caught her before she hit the ground. Tonks' mother looked rather intimidating, unlike her daughter, but as she came closer Charlie realised that she actually had a very kind face. Tonks' father was smiling at everything as his daughter chatted excitedly to him.

Then everyone began spotting their parents and bringing them over.

'Dad, can I invite my friends over sometime during the summer please?' Charlie asked his father quietly. Arthur looked to his wife.

'I think that would be alright, don't you Molly?'

'Yes, of course, but we'll have to check when Bill's friends are coming over too.'

That was all Charlie needed.

'They said yes! I'll owl you all the dates and you can all come over my house! It'll be great! I can show you the orchard where we can play Quidditch, and the garden with the gnomes, it'll be so cool!' He could hardly contain his excitement as the giant crowd of Weasleys and their friends' families all surged towards the magical barrier of Platform 9 ¾s.

'Wait there a moment miss,' the station guard ordered. Charlie cast a look behind at Tonks as he and his father passed through the magical barrier. A moment later they were back in the Muggle world.

'Oooh! What's that they've got there?' Arthur asked as a passing Muggle spoke into a large black object that looked like a brick.

'That's called a mobile,' Don told him, as he and Tonks came through the barrier together. 'It's like a two-way radio. You talk into it.'

'Fascinating!'

'Come on Arthur, we'd best be going,' Mrs Weasley said to her husband. 'It was nice to meet you all.' She waved goodbye and led her children out of the station.

'Nice to see you again Ted,' Mr Weasley said to Mr Tonks.

'You too Arthur, and I'm sure Dora will be able to come over to yours sometime in the holiday,'

Charlie said goodbye to his friends, 'See you soon guys!' he called, following his father out of the station to their waiting turquoise Ford Anglia.

'So how was your first year at Hogwarts Charlie?' Mrs Weasley asked as Mr Weasley reversed the car out of the station.

Charlie grinned at his mother. 'Amazing!'


Bonus points to whoever identifies the Muggle film Don was referencing! Leave your answers in a review...