Authors Note: Thanks for the reviews and follows! I'm making this a longer series, so don't expect undying love right away. I plan on making this story last through the end of Goblet of Fire. If I do well, I'll make a sequel. Anyways, let me know what you like, don't like, hate, whatever. I love feedback!
Chapter 4: Camping with Rejection
Early the next morning Kaylee was woken up by Mrs. Weasley telling the girls it was time to get ready. Kaylee noticed it was still dark outside.
"Why do we have to wake up before the sun?" asked Kaylee groggily as she slipped a pair of jeans on.
"Gotta make it to the Portkey location on the other side of Stoteshead Hill before its set to depart." mumbled Ginny through the dark.
Kaylee, Ginny, and Hermione finished dressing and stumbled downstairs for breakfast. Everyone else was already there, except for Percy, Bill, and Charlie who would Apparate later. Harry and Ron were eating some porridge, while Fred and George seemed to be nearly asleep at the table. Kaylee sat down next to George and started on some porridge herself. Mr. Weasley was explaining to Harry about the preparations concerning the World Cup, but Kaylee was only half listening. George had fallen asleep and his head had fallen onto Kaylee's shoulder. Suddenly Kaylee felt wide awake.
"George!" Mrs. Weasley's voice cut through the air startling them all.
"What?" George asked jerking awake.
"Oh not you, then." said Mrs. Weasley, getting the twins confused again. "Fred! What is that in your pocket!?" she asked shrilly.
"Nothing!" said Fred quickly.
"Don't you lie to me! Accio!" Mrs. Weasley said with a wave of her wand and several Skiving Snackboxes flew through the air, and landed in her outstretched hand.
"We told you to destroy them!" declared Mrs. Weasley. "We told you to get rid of the lot! Empty your pockets, go on, both of you." she said furiously to the twins.
Only after several more summoning charms was Mrs. Weasley able to extract all of the candies from the twins. Kaylee kept silent as she watched the scene, only feeling slightly guilty that she had a supply of the sweets upstairs in her trunk. Mrs. Weasley trusted her to be the responsible one of the trio, and the majority of the time she was. She just had a soft spot for the twins and their dream of opening a joke shop.
She knew that Mrs. Weasley didn't approve of Fred and George's idea for their future, but Kaylee felt that the two brothers were well suited for owning such a business. She knew that they would only excel with their plan; they had the most original and remarkable ideas of anyone she had ever known.
Finally they said goodbye to Mrs. Weasley and after putting on their backpacks, they strode outside into the chilly morning air. Fred and George were in bad temperaments, so Kaylee decided to fall behind and walk along with Ginny and Hermione. They didn't speak much on the way, still too sleepy to manage walking and talking at the same time. After about 15 minutes of trudging uphill, it was apparent that Kaylee and Ginny were both falling behind. Their legs were much shorter than the rest of their party.
"Come on you two, or you'll be left behind!" Fred called, stopping in front of them and watching as Kaylee and Ginny were both panting trying to keep up.
"It's not our faults that we're vertically challenged." Ginny said irritably.
Fred just chuckled. "Come on then." he said offering his back to her and indicating she should climb up.
"Thanks George. I owe you one." Ginny said in a relieved voice, climbing on Fred's back and he carried her off with ease.
"Want a lift?" George asked Kaylee.
"Uh, no thanks. I'll be fine." Kayee said awkwardly. Riding on George's back would be close to torture for her.
"Oh come on. You'll miss the portkey at this rate. Come on I'm stronger than I look." he said grinning at her.
"Oh all right." Kaylee gave in knowing he wouldn't be satisfied until she agreed.
She climbed on his back and he took off, walking quickly to catch up with the others. It seemed he was right. He was stronger than he looked. Her added weight didn't seem to affect George whatsoever. Kaylee wrapped her arms around his neck so she wouldn't fall off.
Everywhere her skin met his, it seemed to burn through her. His scent filled her nose, a mixture of clean clothes, soap, and for some strange reason a hint of vanilla. Kaylee's head felt a bit woosey. She had to focus on keeping her breathing even and steady. Suddenly she remembered Ginny's advice on friendly flirting and she decided to try it out.
"You smell nice. Glad to know you shower" she said nervously.
"Only when I know you'll be around. Can't go scaring you off with my natural ruggedly manly smell." he said in a voice Kaylee had never heard him use before. It was almost sexy.
"Ruggedly manly? I think you're thinking of Bill or Charlie" she teased him.
"Hey, I'm manly too. I even shave now." he said defensively.
"Aww. They grow up so fast." Kaylee said in a playfully teary-eyed voice.
"Tell me about it. You look like you should be out of school now. I'll have to carry around my Beater's club this year to keep idiots off you."
"I don't remember giving you that job. I'm perfectly capable of handling myself." Kaylee said defensively, before fully absorbing his words.
"Against exams and teachers, yes. Against blokes? I'm not so sure." said George darkly.
"What's it to you if a bloke takes interest?" she asked, her heart skipping a beat.
"You've been my best friend since our first year. Of course I'm going to look out for your virtue. Your mum would have my head, if I didn't." he said simply.
Kaylee's heart sank. He felt obligated to protect her, not unlike the way he felt about protecting Ginny. He thought of her as a little sister. Of course he did, why would he feel any other way?
After several silent minutes they finally reached the top of the hill where the portkey location was. Kaylee hopped down off George's back.
"Thanks for the ride" she said somewhat awkwardly.
"Now we just need the Portkey. It won't be big…Come on…" said Mr. Weasley indicating they should all look around.
They all began combing the area for any object that would look useless to Muggle eyes. Kaylee wandered over to where Ginny was searching and began looking around.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't realize it was Fred who offered to carry me. If I'd have known I would have let Fred carry you and I'd have taken George." whispered Ginny fervently.
"Its alright. I used the opportunity to try out that casual flirting idea." Kaylee informed her in a low voice.
"How did it go?" whispered Ginny excitedly.
Kaylee informed her of their conversation. Ginny's face fell a bit.
"But that doesn't mean he thinks of you as a sister. It just means he is protective of you." whispered Ginny hurriedly.
"He wants to protect my virtue, which means he doesn't see me in that way. I just have to accept that." said Kaylee miserably.
Suddenly a voice from the other side of the hilltop shouted "Over here Arthur! Over here, son, we've got it!"
They all hurried over to where a man and his son were standing, silhouetted against the lightening sky. Kaylee recognized the man to be Amos Diggory, who worked in the same department as her mother.
"This is Amos Diggory, everyone," said Mr. Weasley. "He works in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. And you should all know his son Cedric?"
"Hey" Cedric said looking around at them all.
"Kaylee! How lovely it is to see you! Amelia mentioned I might see you at the Cup." said Mr. Diggory enthusiastically, stepping forward to shake her hand.
"Hello Mr. Diggory." Kaylee said, shaking his hand in return.
"You've grown over night! Cedric did the same thing this summer, didn't you Ced?" said Mr. Diggory happily. Cedric just grinned at Kaylee.
"Long walk, Arthur?" asked Mr. Diggory.
"Not too bad," said Mr. Weasley. "We live just on the other side of the village there. You?"
"Had to get up at two, didn't we Ced? I tell you I'll be glad when he's got his Apparition test. Still, not complaining. Quidditch World Cup, wouldn't miss it!" Mr. Diggory and Mr. Weasley continued chatting. Cedric was eyeing Kaylee with apparent interest. Kaylee thought that she might actually need Fred and George to protect her this year.
Cedric was handsome, that was obvious. He just wasn't red haired, tall, and hilarious. Kaylee knew that George would never see her in the same way she saw him, but she knew that she could never be romantically interested in any other guy. George noticed Cedric staring at Kaylee and began glowering at Cedric like he was something nasty on the bottom of his shoe.
Mr. Diggory was talking about how Cedric beat Harry at Quidditch the previous year.
"I said Ced, that'll be something to tell your grandchildren about that will! You beat Harry Potter!"
Fred and George both glowered at Cedric even harder. They had never forgiven him for beating Gryffindor, last year.
Finally Mr. Weasley announced that it was time to touch the portkey. They all gathered around the portkey which was an old boot, and each put a finger upon it.
"Three….two….one" counted Mr. Weasley, looking at his watch.
Instantly, Kaylee felt a jerk behind her navel, and felt herself falling through the air. She landed hard on the ground a second later.
They had arrived in a deserted stretch of misty moor. In front of them was a pair of tired looking wizards, who were clearly the Ministry wizards overseeing Portkey transportation. After a quick greeting to Mr. Weasley, the two Ministry wizards pointed them in the direction of their campsite's Manager.
They set off across the deserted moor. After about 20 minutes they arrived at a small cottage. A man standing in the doorway of the cottage greeted them. He was obviously a Muggle. Mr. Weasley told him he had two tents booked, and with some help from Harry, paid the man in Muggle money. They all set off again to their campsite.
They navigated through the maze of tents, and saw that though they were supposed to be incognito, a few wizards had added chimneys to their tents. Then they came upon the tents that were so obviously magical, it was a wonder the site manager hadn't needed more memory charms. Finally, they found their site, marked by a sign that read "Weezly".
Mr. Weasley said they had to put the tent up by hand, as they weren't supposed to use magic. Harry and Hermione did most of the work, as they were the only two who knew how to do anything like a Muggle. Kaylee stood back with Fred, George, and Ginny. They entertained themselves by looking around at the neighboring tents.
Finally, two tents were erected, and they all went in the bigger one. It was bigger on the inside, probably an undetectable extension charm, thought Kaylee. It had a bathroom, a kitchen, and several bunk beds.
"I borrowed it from Perkins at the office. Doesn't camp much anymore, poor fellow. He's got lumbago." Mr. Weasley informed them all. "Well Ron, why don't you, Harry, and Hermione go get us some water. Fred, George, Kaylee, why don't you go fetch some wood for a fire."
Kaylee followed Fred and George out of the tent and they made their way into the small wood near the campsite. Kaylee began searching for loose wood on the ground.
"So, now we're alone, tell us!" said Fred looking at Kaylee expectantly.
"Tell you what?"
"You know….The top secret event? You promised us last night?" said George.
"Oh right." said Kaylee with a smile. "Well my mum wasn't supposed to tell me, but she came home with a burn mark on her arm. It came from a dragon."
"So?" asked Fred impatiently.
"Well apparently, she's been working on preparations to import three dragons into the country for an event. An event that will take place at Hogwarts….." said Kaylee, enjoying the impatient looks on the twins faces.
"What event?" the twins said together.
"Ever heard of the Triwizard Tournament?"
The twins just gaped at her.
"You don't mean…" said Fred.
"That the Triwizard Tournament is happening at Hogwarts this year?" finished George.
"I do mean." she finished smugly.
"Wicked! I'm definitely entering!" said Fred.
"Me too! There's a huge cash payout for the winner if I remember correctly" said George.
Laughing, she finished collecting wood. When each of their arms were full, they started back towards the camp.
"Don't tell anyone else you know. Mum would have my head if she knew I told you two" warned Kaylee before they reached the tents.
"No problem. We know how to keep a secret." said George.
They set the firewood down next to the circle of rocks Mr. Weasley had set up.
"Excellent. Thank you. Now I just stack the wood and light the fire with these." said Mr. Weasley, producing a package of matches.
They all watched him arrange the wood in a pile, and start trying to light the matches. He was clearly enjoying himself. He would get a match lit, then drop it in surprise, a giant smile etched on his face.
Finally Harry, Ron, and Hermione returned with the water.
"You've been ages," said George.
"Met a few people," said Ron. "You not got that fire started yet?"
"Dad's having fun with the matches," said Fred.
Hermione moved forward to help Mr. Weasley. Finally, they got it lit but they would have to wait a while before they could cook anything on it.
Kaylee went into the tent that was designated the girls tent. Ginny was sitting in one of the armchairs, fast asleep.
"Oy!" shouted Kaylee, startling Ginny awake.
"Bloody hell! What do you think your doing?" asked Ginny irritably.
"Your Dad got the fire started. You should probably be out there when he starts cooking food." Kaylee said sitting down on one of the beds. "Mind you between Ron and the twins, you'll have a job getting anything to your plate."
"Right. Thanks." she said, standing and stretching. "So I was thinking….What if I find out how George feels about you?"
"Not a chance." said Kaylee sternly.
"Oh come on. Why not?"
"First of all, you are his sister. Even if he did feel something towards me other than friendly affection, why would he tell you about it?" asked Kaylee in a tired voice.
"Because I'm really good at getting information out of those two. I get them to spill their secrets all the time. I knew about Weasley's Wizard Wheezes ages ago." Ginny said proudly.
"Look, now that I know he thinks of me as a sister, I'm definitely not about to inform him of my, er, issues. And you, prodding him about his emotions toward me, would only clue him into how I really feel about him. Not a good idea."
"You don't have much faith in me do you?" asked Ginny shortly. "Look, unlike Ron, I have tact. I can find out in a way that won't let him suspect a thing about you. Promise. Just let me try."
Kaylee just stared at Ginny, debating it in her head.
"Please?" Ginny begged.
"Oh alright. But if he finds out how I feel about him, I'll come after you Ginny Weasley." Kaylee said in a warning voice. Ginny just rolled her eyes.
"Trust me. I've got this. I just have to get him away from Fred for a bit." she said distractedly.
"Easier said than done." Kaylee mumbled to herself, laying back on the bed.