July 2017
After weeks of downpour, at long last the sun rose high over the Burrow, and heat began to wash over the various Weasley family members as they descended on the crooked house.
"Oh, I can't wait to get there; I can't wait to tell everyone!" Albus exclaimed as the Potters lined up by the fireplace in the kitchen.
"Yeah, it will be great to see everyone," agreed James. "I haven't seen Fred, or Dom, or Lucy, in ages…"
"What do you mean? You saw them a couple of weeks ago!" said Albus. "While you were at Hogwarts… oh, I'm so excited… ha, James, my letter came earlier than yours did!"
"Calm down, Al!" said Harry, grinning at his youngest son. "You can go first, if you like, but just remember: James's letter was only about a day later than your letter."
"It's not a competition," Lily sniffed; she was now jealous of both her brothers for going to Hogwarts.
"Lily's right," Ginny added, missing the jealousy in Lily's voice.
"Let's just drop it," said Harry hurriedly. "Come on Al, you first."
Harry's youngest son stepped delicately into the green flames, grabbed a handful of powder, and shouted: "The Burrow!"
And he vanished.
"Who wants to go next?" asked Harry.
"I will," replied James, and, like his brother, he had soon vanished.
"Lily? You next?"
Lily nodded, and repeated her brothers' actions. Then, it was Ginny and Harry's turn.
As soon as Albus appeared in the Burrow living room, there was a small cry of "Al!" and he was being hugged by his grandmother.
"Al, it's so good to see you here, we haven't seen you for such a long time… James!" Molly added as the older Potter fell onto the rug by the fireplace. "How are you? Did you have a good summer term? You didn't write to us as much as you had done the first term… Lily!"
It continued in this vein, with Molly greeting each of her grandchildren enthusiastically as they appeared, and greeting her children and their spouses possibly even more so. When the last person, Ron, had arrived, she disappeared into the kitchen, and all the Weasleys and Potters made their way outside into the sunshine.
"Anyone for a game of Quidditch?" asked Fred, eyebrow raised.
"Do you really have to ask?" replied Roxanne, a huge grin on her face. "I'm playing as chaser!"
"We'll be the beaters," said Fred, gesturing at himself and Lily, who beamed at him. Undoubtedly, they were the best beaters out of all of them, and Fred would be trying for that position in September.
Eventually, it was decided that they would play five aside. On one team they had Fred as the beater, James, Hugo and Dominique as chasers, and Molly as keeper, and on the other Roxanne, Victoire and Lucy as chasers, Lily as beater, and Louis as keeper. They had no snitch or seeker, in case the snitch escaped and reached the village. Rose and Albus, who were still against Quidditch somewhat, decided to sit back and watch the others. Brothers and sisters were generally on the opposite team, providing a much more competitive game. Albus and Rose were content with watching, and talking about their imminent arrival at Hogwarts.
"I want to be in Gryffindor," said Albus, as Lily began shouting at Victoire for dropping the Quaffle, because she was afraid of it. Victoire used to be really tomboyish and never afraid of a Quaffle, but she'd become a real girly-girl in recent months.
"I'd like to be in Gryffindor too," said Rose. The game had resumed, and James's team had scored. She began picking at the daisies in the grass, and started on a daisy chain. "But, really, I don't mind what house I'm in."
"As long as it's not Slytherin," Albus reminded her with a shudder. "Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff are all right though."
"I think I'd quite like to be in Ravenclaw," said Rose thoughtfully. She'd lost complete interest in the Quidditch match, in which James's team were ahead by fifty points already.
"We'll find out soon," he sighed.
"Hey, Al," said Rose.
"Yeah?"
"Want to help me with this daisy chain?" she asked him, with a small grin.
He grinned back, though only a little. "All right, if you really want me to, if you really can't manage by yourself…"
They set to work.
"Mum says we're going into Diagon Alley tomorrow, to get my wand," said Rose after a few minutes of silence. "Then it would take me about a second to make a daisy chain."
"Where would the fun be in that?" Albus said, and Rose laughed.
"Oh? Do you find it fun, Al?"
He let go of the chain that had been trailing past his knees. "No, it's quite repetitive. I just thought you found it fun. Otherwise you wouldn't have been doing it, would you?"
"Maybe," she replied. "I was just a bit bored with watching them lot argue."
She gestured their family. Lily and James were having a shouting match.
"Just like their namesakes," said Albus softly. "Always arguing."
"Hm," said Rose. "Hopefully they won't be completely like their namesakes."
They returned to watching the game, and before long their grandmother was calling them for lunch in the overgrown garden.