The Going Away Party
I awoke, surprisingly, on Fred's shoulder the next morning. Somewhere after teasing him about that one time we got drunk because he snuck into his parents liquor cabinet, and deciding if we should wake George and do it again, I must have fallen asleep. It was nice. I like sleep. Ever since Lord Voldemort returned in fourth year, I haven't gotten much of it. Too many nightmares, and too many headaches.
I sat there for a minute, seeing if I was going to get back to sleep. Nope, wide awake. And apparently, everyone else was too. Everyone was up and doing what they all normally do. Well, except for Fred. He was reading the book that I had picked up last night.
"Are my eyes deceiving me, or are you, Fred Weasley, actually reading a book?" I said to him.
"Well, no, not really. I tried to actually read it, but it was too boring. So, I've been pretending to read for the past twenty minutes."
"Oh my God. Why didn't you just get up and do something else?" Why did he have to be so stubborn?
"Because that would involve possibly waking you up."
"Fred, you don't have to be so chivalrous."
"Are you kidding me? I didn't want to wake you up because ANYONE who wakes you up before you're ready will get smacked. And we don't want you to be all grumpy when Hermione gets here, she may think she upset you somehow."
"Hermione! I totally forgot!" And with that, I dashed upstairs to get dressed and clean up a bit. When Hermione comes to stay, she always stays with Ginny and I, so I'd need to clear a spot for her bed. I was so excited! I haven't seen her all summer! Hermione, Ron, and Harry and I had been friends for a very long time. Well, I guess six years isn't too long, but we've been through a lot together. First year, when it turned out that we had a psycho DADA teacher. Second year, when poor Ginny got sucked in by that weird old diary of Tom Riddle's. Third year, when Harry thought he was being stalked by Sirius Black but then it turned out that he was just looking after him. Fourth year, with that awful Tri Wizard Tournament and Voldemort returning. Last year, with Umbridge. Ugh. That horrid woman. And then the battle with Voldemort and his death eaters at the Ministry, where Sirius almost died. I will say that I did have a small role to play in saving him.
We were all starting our sixth year this year. Unfortunately, last year was the Twins' last. I would miss having them around. But I still had the other three. And of course, there was always Ginny, and Luna, and Neville. And, secretly Blaise. We had… Well, I guess you could call it a special relationship. But you'll find out soon enough.
I got dressed, pulled my long, wavy brown hair back into a messy ponytail, and put some eyeliner on to make my light blue eyes pop just a bit. I got downstairs just in time for Hermione to get there. I was so happy to see her, that I probably knocked over a few people on my way to her. "I missed you, girl." I said to her.
"I missed you too! I wish you would have joined me and my family in Paris this summer. It was breathtaking. You would've loved it. Plenty of attractive men to flirt with." She said, winking.
"Oh, you know me so well!" And with that, it was like no time had passed at all. Hermione found Ginny and hugged her, quickly, so she could grill her about Dean Thomas. As always, Ginny gave very few details about it. When she found Ron, they did hug, however awkwardly.
One night, as I was sitting outside in the back watching some shooting stars, I heard a loud CRACK and then a splash. Weird. And then, what was even weirder, I saw someone walking into The Burrow. Oh God, someone was breaking into our house. I ran, so ready to kick this guy's ass, but when I got inside I saw that it was none other than Harry Potter.
"HARRY!" I ran over to him and almost knocked him down.
"Jeez, Talia, it's only been a couple months." He said.
"So you're not happy to see me?"
"Of course I am." And he hugged me back. I loved my friends. Later that night, Me, Ron, Harry and Hermione sat in Ron's room, talking, watching a copy of The Daily Prophet burn in midair.
"When did you get here?" He asked Hermione.
"Just a few days ago. Though, for a while I wasn't sure I was coming." She replied.
Harry looked up, just in time to see us all glance knowingly at each other. And then Ron said, "Mum sort of lost it last week. Said Ginny, Talia and I had no business going back to Hogwarts."
"Why?" Asked Harry.
"She said it's just too dangerous. Can you blame her, with all this stuff that's been going on?" I said.
"Oh, come on…"
"She's not alone. Even my parents, they're MUGGLES and they even know something bad is happening." Said Hermione.
"Anyway, Arthur stepped in, told her she was being barmy. Took a day or two, but she came around." I said.
"Yeah, but we're talking about Hogwarts. Dumbledore! What could be safer?" Asked Harry.
"Well, there's been a lot of chatter lately, that he's gotten… Old." Said Hermione.
"That's rubbish. He's only… What?"
"A hundred and, fifty? Give or take a few years." Said Ron.
And then we lost it. We laughed until our sides were aching. When we finally calmed down, I noticed Malfoy's face on the Prophet right before that part burned. He looked… Sad. Well, of course he was sad. His father was in prison, and he was surrounded by fricken Death Eaters all the time. It's not going to make me feel any sympathy for him. He's rude, and annoying, and in my opinion gets everything he deserves.
A few minutes later, Fred and George came in looking giddy with huge grins on their faces. "Come with us." They said together.
"What are you guys up to, now?" I said.
"It's a secret, not to be mentioned inside the same house as our mum. But it's good, and you will not want to miss it." Said George.
"Think of it as our going away party, seeing as how we're moving into the flat above Weasley Wizard Wheezes tomorrow!" Said Fred.
"Well, I'm game. Anyone else?" I asked.
"Count me out. We're school shopping tomorrow, remember?" Hermione said.
"And?"
"Yeah, I think I'm coming too. Is this another one of those… special care packages from Lee Jordan in Russia?" Ron asked. Both the twins' smiles grew even wider. "Then I'm definitely coming. Harry, you should come too."
"Sure." Harry said. Hermione walked out of the room, sighed, and mumbled something about immature baby first-years.
"We love you too, Hermione!" I shouted. Everyone laughed.
I walked down the stairs with a spring in my step, along with everyone else. Well, maybe not Harry. He was definitely interested, if not a little apprehensive. "Is anyone going to tell me where we're going and what we'll do when we get there?" He asked.
"You'll see, soon enough." Fred, George, and I said in unison, with sly smiles.
"Mum, we're going for a walk! Don't wait up!" Ron shouted.
"Be careful! Don't wander far! And DON'T track mud back into my house, you slobs!" We heard Molly shout from somewhere in the house.
After a few minutes of walking, out of range of The Burrow and Mrs. Weasley's creepy fox ears, we stopped. Fred and George pulled out a package they had apparently hid there earlier that day, and inside it was actual Russian Fire Whiskey. You have to love Lee Jordan.
"I see." Said Harry as Fred opened the bottle and drank from it, then handing it to me. I took a nice, long swig.
"Oy, make sure to save some for the rest of us!" Ron said. Then to Harry, "Last time, Fred and Talia drank almost all of it by themselves."
"That, little brother, is because the non-virgins always go first." Fred said, looking at me with a sly smile.
"Hey! Don't go blabbing it to everyone! I told you two not to tell anyone!" I yelled.
"Hey, I didn't mumble a word." George said proudly.
"That makes you my new favorite."
"You're not a virgin? I don't think I want to be hearing this." Ron said, a little disgusted.
"Who'd you lose it to?" Asked Harry.
"Oh, please." Said Fred.
"Yeah, she didn't even tell us that." Said George.
"And that's how it's gonna stay, boys." And then we drank, and drank, until the bottle was dry and we got Ron to start singing the Hogwarts anthem. It was a good night, and a perfect way to send off the Twins into their new lives.