Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling. Includes quotes from the Goblet of Fire.
Estella was launched out of the Weasley's fire from the kitchen, clutching her stomach as she rolled on the ground laughing. Harry had yet to move as he was still on the ground from flying out the fire. Fred and George offered the two a hand as the two tried to stop laughing. Grabbing their outstretched hands, the Potters got off the floor.
"What…" Estella tried to contain her giggles but ending up in another fit of laughter. Her brother questioned the two instead, asking, "What the bloody hell was that?" His eyes gleamed with mirth.
Immediately, the ginger twins knew what they were talking about. "Ton-Tongue Toffee," Fred gleeful supplied. "George and I invented them, and we've been looking for someone to test them on all summer..."
Estella had opened her mouth to reply but was instead cut off by booming laughter coming from the kitchen. Her and Harry glanced around to find Ron and George sitting around a wooden table with two people Estella had never met in her life, yet she knew exactly who they were-Bill and Charlie Weasley. Of course she heard about the two eldest Weasley children. Who hadn't? In all her years of Hogwarts, she could never get away without hearing about one of the Weasleys, especially Bill and Charlie.
One of the males had gone to greet her brother, leaving her to meet the man with the long red hair, a fang earring, freckled face, and blue eyes that held amusement. Estella assumed this was Bill after hearing the man that was talking to Harry introduced himself as Charlie. Bill Weasley. Head-boy at Hogwarts and works at Gringotts. I know that people talked about him, but I expected him to be like…well like Percy. Instead, he's wearing dragon hide boots! But before the eldest Weasley could properly introduce himself, a faint popping noise stopped everyone in the kitchen as Mr. Weasley appeared by George with a red-face filled with rage.
"That wasn't funny Fred!" he snarled. "What on earth did you give that Muggle boy?" Oh no. This isn't going to end well. Maybe if Fred played his cards right…Estella immediately shot that idea after she saw his evil smirk. "I didn't give him anything. I just dropped it...It was his fault he went and ate it, I never told him to." Estella shifted closer to him and muttered, "Bull." Harry shook his head at me in amusement as the Weasley children tried to stifle their chuckles.
"You dropped it on purpose!" roared Mr. Weasley. "You knew he'd eat it, you knew he was on a diet -"
George brushed that comment away, questioning his father enthusiastically. "How big did his tongue get?" Arthur quivered in rage, his face getting redder by the minute. "It was four feet long before his parents would let me shrink it!"
This time, the rest of the occupants in the Burrow's kitchen couldn't stop the upcoming sniggering. The laughter only made Mr. Weasley angrier as he told his sons how he raised him better than to do that to Muggles, his normal blue eyes glittering dangerous. His accusations were met with cries of indignation as the ones in questioning denied it.
"We didn't do it because-"
"He was a muggle."
"We did it-"
"Because he was-"
"A great bulling git."
"Isn't that right?" They ranted in unison.
Harry bobbed his head, supporting the two pranksters. "Yeah, he is Mr. Weasley."
"That's not the point!" Mr. Weasley stuttered. "You wait until I tell your mother-"
A familiar voice interrupted his speech. "Tell me what?" She questioned with her eyes narrowing in suspicion. The three Weasleys that were originally arguing now stopped with their eyes widened in fear and their mouths shut tight, making them look like deer in headlights. Oh crap. This isn't good. Mrs. Weasley was a kind woman with a short, plump body and a kind face. Estella loved her with every fiber of her body and considered her as her own mother, just like her fourteen year old brother. Yet she knew the usually gentle mother could be…loud, especially when it involved her sons and their mischief. The oldest Potter understood that she only wanted to protect her children and keep them out of harm's way but once she got started, Estella figured that it would take a lot to calm her down.
Mrs. Weasley greeted the two newcomers, Estella giving her a weak smile and Harry too frightened to move. She turned her attention back to her husband. "Tell me what Arthur?"
Mr. Weasley winced when he heard his wife's tone. As angry and disappointed he was with his sons, they all knew he was bluffing when he said he would tell Molly Weasley. "It's nothing, Molly," he stammered, "Fred and George just - but I've had words with them -"
Narrowing her eyes, Molly asked, "What did they do this time? If it's got anything to do with Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes-" Bingo!
A female voice cut off Mrs. Weasley. Estella looked to see one of her best girlfriends standing by the doorway, recognizing her friend's bushy hair. "Why don't you show Harry and Estella where he's sleeping, Ron?" Not getting Hermione's hint, he tilted his head and gave her a confused look. "He knows where he's sleeping. In my room, he slept there last -" Ron didn't get to finish his sentence because his friend had jabbed him in the sides, glaring at her crush's obliviousness. "We can ALL go," she emphasized. Finally, Ron caught on. "Uh-yeah. Um…good idea."
George moved a step forward. "Yeah, we'll come too." He was stopped by his mother's sharp tone, flinching when he heard, "You stay where you are!" This is bad. They're going to need a grave.
Harry and Ron slowly inched their way out the kitchen and made a beeline towards the staircase. Hermione and Ginny made to follow, but not before motioning to their older friend. Estella hesitated before shaking her head, trying to be subtle but failing miserably as her hair whipped around to smack her in the face. The two girls looked at each other before shrugging, heading up the stairs to find the boys. I would love to go but I know I can't leave the twins with their mom. They'd be dead and I don't think Mr. Wealsey, Bill, or Charlie could stop her from strangling the two. Although, Charlie does look like he works out a lot. He's definitely-Shaking her head even more, Estella tried to clear the last thought out of her head, hoping her face wasn't noticeably red.
What in the world am I thinking? I don't notice these things! Usually…blinking rapidly, she tried to wrangle her thoughts without getting noticed. Estella was so busy trying to figure out why she thought that, that she hadn't realized the man she was thinking about earlier had slide next to her and Bill. Whispering in her ear, he questioned, "I assume you know all about Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes and they're arguments?" Hazel eyes widened as she jumped slightly when she heard his voice. She glanced at him in wonder as she tried to slow down her racing heart, ignoring his amused smirk. Narrowing her eyes slightly, she scoffed. "Of course I know about the shop. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't help them with it after all?"
Charlie raised his eyebrow in amazement as he held out his hand. "So you're the famous Estella Potter I've heard about. I must admit. I never thought the Estella Potter would help those two." Snorting, her hazel eyes light up with mirth. "Who do you think helps them create those objects? They can hardly stay awake in Potions." Chuckling, Charlie opened his mouth to continue their conversation before Fred and George slung their arms around her shoulders.
"I see you've meet Charlie." They stated in unison.
She shook her head and hummed in agreement. The twins shared a mischievous glance that didn't go unnoticed by their ginger headed brother and their best friend. Here it comes.
"Instead of helping out your dear old friends-" Fred accused, dramatically flaring his arms.
"You talk to our brother!" George cried, waving his arms around.
"Favoritism!"
"Traitor!"
"Cheater!"
"What does he have that we don't?" George and Fred finished, their mouths quirked up in amusement, fighting back a smile. However, Estella was unaffected by their teasing and shot back, "A brain." Pouting, the twins wiped imaginary tears from their cheeks as they squished their black headed friend between them.
"How could-"
"Say that-"
"To your best-"
"Mates?"
Ignoring Charlie and Bill's snickering, she shoved them both off affectionately. "Get off you oversized apes." She giggled. Throwing one hand over his chest, Fred exclaimed, "That hurts. Right here." Raising an eyebrow, Estella told him dryly, "Wrong side." Not even bothering to look down, he switched hands. "Right here." He repeated. Rolling her eyes, she nodded towards the Weasley kids and made her way over to her second mother. Giving the older woman a hug, she asked, "What can I do?" Under normal circumstances, Mrs. Weasley would've insisted that Estella shouldn't move a finger. But today was not one of those days, considering her row with her twins. Signing, she pointed to the plates, looking older and more worn out than ever. "If you wouldn't mind dear, it would be nice if you could take these outside."
Estella waved off her comment with a "no problem", followed by the two eldest Weasley children. Deep in thought, she let the brothers converse as she waited for them to put up the tables. Instead, she jumped when she heard clashing sounds and loud cheering. Shaken out her thoughts, she saw Bill and Charlie battling each other with the wooden tables, Fred and George cheering while Ginny and Hermione were laughing. Noticing her little brother and his best friend, she made her way toward them just as one of the table legs soared past her. "Hey!" She shouted. Bill and Charlie gave her a sheepish grin as she rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out playfully before laughing with everyone else. I don't know what it is with Weasleys. I've talked to both of them once and I already feel like part of the family.
Percy poked his head out the window on the second floor, bellowing for them to keep it down. Reluctantly, they set the tables on the ground and Bill repaired the table with a swish, adding tablecloths. Harry, Ron, and Estella made their way to set the table.
At seven, the entire Weasley family were situated at the table, including Hermione and the Potters. Everyone was chatting earnestly while the Potter children just listened, eating as much food as they could to make up for the stale cakes they had at the Dursleys. They could hear Percy at the far end of the table bragging about the Ministry to his father; Mrs. Weasley trying to convince Bill that his fang was horrid and how his hair was "getting silly"; Fred, George and Charlie sitting next to their mother arguing about the World Cup.
"It's got to be Ireland," argued Charlie, filling his mouth with mashed potatoes. "They flattened Peru in the semifinals."
"Bulgaria has got Viktor Krum, though," countered Fred.
"Krum's one decent player, Ireland has got seven," said Charlie shortly. "I wish England had got through. That was embarrassing, that was."
"What happened?" said Harry eagerly as his sister leaned towards them to hear more, regretting more than ever their isolation from the wizarding world when he was stuck on Privet Drive.
"Went down to Transylvania, three hundred and ninety to ten," Charlie admitted gloomily. "Shocking performance. And Wales lost to Uganda, and Scotland was slaughtered by Luxembourg."
Both Potters had gotten onto the Gryffindor Quidditch team in their first years, Estella playing Chaser and Harry playing Seeker. Estella was so good, that she was notified by her previous captain that she was the new team captain for Gryffindor. None of the others knew just yet, which is why she was waiting until…now.
Thinking now was as good as a time as ever, she cleared her throat, looking at Fred and George, then her brother. Taking a deep breath, she started. "Speaking of Quidditch, I need to tell the three of you something." Shifting uncomfortably in her seat, she hesitated then began again, not daring to look them in the eye, twisting her hands nervously. "I-i-er-well-you see-oh for Merlin's sake, I'm just going to get this over with. I'M THE NEW QUIDDITCH CAPTAIN!" She shouted from the nerves, immediately covering her mouth in shock. Everyone had stopped conversing with each other to stare at her as she slumped down in her chair. Crap! I didn't mean to scream it! Grinning weakly, she let out a tiny 'oops' before she was bombarded with questions, congratulations, a hug from Harry, and high-fives from the twins.
"When did you find out?'
"Who told you?"
"How long have you known?"
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I'm so proud of you!"
"I knew you would be it!"
Even Percy added a congratulations, seeing as how he had no objections against the girl. Bill and Charlie shared a glance with raised eyebrows, thinking that she must really be something special if Percy said something. By the time the questions and congratulations were given, her face turned into the famous Weasley blush, even though she had a huge grin on her face. As the side conversations picked up again, she could hear Ron ask, "So - have you heard from Sirius lately?"
She knew that Harry had sent a letter or two to his godfather and she also knew about Harry's dream and his hurting scar. After all, she experienced those things too. Except, she had gone behind Harry's back and wrote to Sirius about the truth, not including herself in the conversations any more than she had to. Estella understood that Sirius was Harry's godfather while Remus' was hers. Guilt tugged at her heart as she know she shouldn't have deceived her brother, but she couldn't find any other options. She has a job and she intends to fulfill it, even if it means tricking her own blood.
"Look at the time," Mrs. Weasley said suddenly, checking her wristwatch. "You really should be in bed, the whole lot of you you'll be up at the crack of dawn to get to the Cup. Harry and Estella, if you leave your school list out, I'll get your things for you tomorrow in Diagon Alley. I'm getting everyone else's. There might not be time after the World Cup, the match went on for five days last time."
The Potters' eyes light up at the thought of a five day Quidditch match. "Wow - hope it does this time!" Harry exclaimed eagerly, practically bouncing in his chair from excitement.
Percy cut in. "Well, I certainly don't," Percy began importantly "I shudder to think what the state of my in-tray would be if I was away from work for five days." I love Percy just as much as I love the others but sometimes I can't help but feel that he's been changed…tampered with.
"Yeah, someone might slip dragon dung in it again, eh, Perce?" questioned Fred, whose blue eyes glinted with delight.
"That was a sample of fertilizer from Norway!" Percy protested. "It was nothing personal!"
"It was," Fred whispered to the two Potters as they got up from the table. "We sent it."
Shaking her head, Estella giggled silently before making her way towards Percy. But before she left, she slapped the Weasley twins on the arm lightly. Grinning, she exclaimed, "Leave poor Percy alone will you." Everyone in the Burrow set off on their own little group; Harry and Ron headed up to their room, with Ginny and Hermione not far behind, followed by Fred and George, Mrs. And Mr. Weasley walked to their room while Bill, Charlie, Percy, and Estella stayed in the living room for a while. The older brothers began to catch up with each others lives as Percy and Estella happily talked about the Ministry, her being the only one besides Arthur that won't fall asleep after hearing Percy talk about his work. Slowly, Bill and Charlie stopped talking to observe the twins' best friend.
Nodding his head towards the soon-to-be-seventeen year old, Bill asked Charlie, "What do you think?" Charlie thought carefully before speaking slowly. "I think she makes a great addition to the Weasley family." Raising an eyebrow, Bill smirked at his younger brother. "She would?" Charlie nodded, his red hair falling in his face. His hand moved to push his hair back when he glanced to Estella throw her head back and laugh, her black hair flying in her face and covering her charming hazel eyes. The twenty-two year old found he quite enjoyed her laugh and yearned to hear more.
His thoughts were disrupted by his older brother's booming laughter. Charlie narrowed his eyes in confusion, giving Bill a questioning Bill. "Mate, you got it bad." Flushing, Charlie stuttered, "Wha-I-no-I-I have no clue what you're talking about."
Shrugging, Bill clapped his younger brother on the back, grinning in amusement when he saw his brother's flit over to the girl helping Percy with his essay. "Well," Bill let out a huge yawn, stretching his arms. "I'm off to bed." Not really listening, he let his brother leave as he observed the girl more, wanting to get to know her better.
She really is beautiful Charlie thought as he observed her, Estella not noticing she was being watched. With her black hair that looks so soft. Her hazel eyes that hold so many emotions in them. Her laugh which sounds like church bells (which in reality, she snorts) and her body. Merlin, she had it all. Charlie felt instantly drawn to her. He quickly made a decision, deciding that the best way to spend time with her, would be on the way to the Portkey. So instead of apparating to the World Cup, he decided that he would walk with her. Just to be her friend, even though the nagging voice in his head told him otherwise. Too caught in his thoughts, he never noticed the girl leave until Percy cleared his throat with a look of interest and understanding plastered on his face.
"Daydreaming about Estella?" Percy questioned, grinning cheekily. His older brother shook his head vigorously while his face turned the signature Weasley red. Of course Percy had noticed his brother's strange behavior towards his friend and searched his face for any signs. Shrugging, Percy turned to leave his brother in peace, deciding that the twins would probably find out sooner or later. As he climbed the first two steps, he came to a halt when he heard Charlie call out to him.
Percy turned his head to look at him but Charlie didn't met his younger brother's eyes. Mumbling, he informed Percy, "I'm not going to be apparating with you and Bill so…" shifting under his brother's observant gaze, he continued. "I'll be walking with the kids to make sure they're safe and under control. You know…in case they need my help. So uh…if you wake up and I'm not there, don't freak out. I'll be with Estella-I mean the kids!" Charlie's eyes widened in horror at what he just said. Damn! He cursed in his mind. Taking a chance, he raised his crystal blue eyes to Percy's sharp and thoughtful darker eyes. Instead of teasing him, he let it go because he was tired. Quirking his eyebrow up, he gave his older brother a tiny smirk before replying "of course", and headed towards his room.
Sighing Charlie got off the coach and banged his head on the table. I'm doomed.