Author's Note: Thank you guys so much for all the support! I'm getting more love everyday! Don't you worry, I've got big plans for this story, and I can't wait to show you all what's in store! FunFact: My name isn't actually Kaylee. I use that name as a Pseudonym, so I didn't name the character Kaylee after myself. I just like that name is all. Next chapter should have some interesting developments to say the least ;). Keep reading!
Chapter 9: New Arrivals
The rain had become a full blown downpour when they reached Hogsmead Station. Before exiting the train, Kaylee tapped her robes with her wand and muttered "Impervius". Water bounced off her shoulders as she ran to the nearest carriage, but she could do nothing to waterproof her face and hair.
Kaylee was relieved when they finally reached the castle, but that relief was soon destroyed as her face was met with a large amount of water as soon as she set foot into the entryway. Peeves the poltergeist was throwing water balloons at students as they entered the hall.
Dodging the remaining water balloons, Kaylee sidestepped the bulk of the crowd all who were trying to avoid Peeves while filing into the great hall. Unfortunately, Kaylee's foot found a slick puddle, and she had just started to fall backwards when a strong pair of arms caught her around the waist.
"Thanks," she muttered, turning to find it was George.
"No problem," he said, staring at her with wide eyes.
Kaylee realized George hadn't let go of her. He was looking at her as though she had sprouted an extra head. Suddenly realizing how close they were standing together, her heart began to frantically beat as though it were trying its hardest to explode. Why did he have to look so handsome, even when he was sopping wet? His soft brown eyes were shining, and it seemed he was trying to convey a message with them.
"Come on, come on! Everyone into the hall. Move along, you!" called Filch, the caretaker. Whatever trance Kaylee had been falling under while she was staring into George's eyes, broke immediately.
"Er…right. I'll see you later then," George said awkwardly, and he turned and headed off to the Gryffindor table without a second glance at her.
"What just happened?" Kaylee asked herself.
Kaylee absolutely loved Hogwarts. She loved the hidden passageways, which she knew by heart thanks to Fred and George. She loved the classes, the food, her friends, but most of all she loved that she was never alone at Hogwarts. Now she was in her 6th year, she had made enough Ravenclaw friends to ensure that even when she wasn't around the Weasleys, she still had a few choice friends to keep her mind busy. Kaylee was hardy surprised when she realized she had been back at school almost a month now.
Kaylee had been focused on her schoolwork these past few weeks. She still made time for the twins of course, but she was trying to put whatever awkwardness had formed between herself and George aside. Being slightly separated from the two seemed to be helping.
The first Saturday of October had arrived, and Kaylee had finally finished the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes product she had been working on for months. She left the Ravenclaw common room in search of her two best friends, excited to show them her hard work. She finally spotted the back of their heads, rounding the corner of the Charms corridor.
"I've finally finished it!" Kaylee said breathlessly, running up to the twins. "It works!"
"What are you on about?" Fred asked.
"You know, the big seller I told you about? The one I've been working on for months?"
"Finally! You've been teasing us with that for ages!" George said excitedly.
"It was some tricky bit of magic, and I had to get it just right, but here it is." Kaylee pulled out a small purple box from within her bag.
"That's it?" asked Fred, his face slightly crestfallen.
"Do you even know what it is?" asked Kaylee, in an irritated voice.
"A very girly looking box?" teased George.
"No my good sirs. THIS is a fully mobile, very realistic, patented daydream charm," Kaylee said flourishing the box under their faces.
"Er….come again?" asked George blankly.
"Once opened, the buyer will experience the most realistic and personalized daydream they have ever experienced. Side effects include slight drooling and dazed or vacant expression," Kaylee finished proudly.
The twins just gave her a blank look.
"For the Wonder Witch line. Girls will be lining up to buy these!" Kaylee said with a huff.
"So how do they actually work?" asked George slowly.
"It took a fair bit of extremely advanced magic I'll have you know. The user just opens the box and inhales the smoke within. It induces a euphoric sensation that allows the user to sort of hallucinate for about half an hour. It's completely safe!" Kaylee said quickly seeing the looks on the twins faces.
"They can come out of it if they need to. But the really cool part is that each daydream is completely personalized based on the user's interests. For instance, if the user likes tall blokes riding white horses, that's what they'll see. Can you imagine all the money your going to make off this? I mean, I can't think of a better way to spend another boring History of Magic class."
"Wow! I've never heard of anything like this," said Fred taking the box eagerly.
"You made this yourself?" asked George in an awed voice.
"Yeah. That's why it took me so long. It was hard to get all the components right," Kaylee said. "Don't open it Fred, unless you plan on spending the next half hour romanticizing about Maleficent Bulstrode."
"How dare you. You know I'd rather fanaticize about Moaning Myrtle," said Fred in a mock outraged voice. Kaylee just rolled her eyes at him.
"Here, if you're not completely sure about them yet, try them out yourselves. I made one for each of you to test," Kaylee dug back in her bag and produced another box, this one pink. She handed the box to George.
"Just open them later when you have about a half hour to kill, and let me know what you think about them, okay?"
"And you're sure they're safe?" asked George who eyed the box suspiciously.
"Promise. I tried one on myself earlier," Kaylee said firmly.
"What did you fanaticize about, then? Strong muscular blokes riding dragons?" grinned Fred.
"No it was Percy riding a unicorn shirtless," she said laughing. The twins began to pretend to be violently sick.
"So where have you been Kaylee? I feel like I haven't seen you in ages. At least not outside classes," Fred said as the three walked down the stairs. Kaylee had Defense Against the Dark Arts and Charms with them.
"Sorry Fred. The first couple weeks back are just a busy time for me. Catching up with my other friends, doing schoolwork…," Kaylee said evasively.
"Right. Okay," said Fred knowingly.
"What have you two been up to? Not still trying to think of ways to enter the Triwizard Tournament are you?"
"Course not, we planned that out ages ago. We figure a few drops of age potion will do it, since our 17th birthday is in April," explained George.
"Dumbledore's much smarter than that. It's never going to work," said Kaylee shaking her head at them.
"Guess we'll see on Halloween, won't we?"
"We still haven't heard from Bagman. It's been weeks now. We know he's avoiding us, the great fool," Fred said angrily.
Kaylee sighed heavily. "Might as well face it, he's never going to give you that money. I'm sorry, but it looks like he cheated you."
"We have a few tricks up our sleeve, and we know a few things about him that would look very bad on him if they were to become public knowledge," Fred said.
"You're not thinking of blackmailing Bagman are you? Because that would be a very very stupid thing to do Fredrick. He works for the Ministry!" Kaylee exclaimed.
"Keep your voice down! And I'll do whatever I need to to get that money. We were planning on using that money as a down payment for our shop," Fred said.
Kaylee just looked at George. They shared a look they had often shared in the past. The kind of look that said "Yes Fred is being crazy again, and no there's nothing we can do to stop him."
A few weeks later, day before Halloween arrived. Kaylee had been pleased to learn the twins had tried out her product and they both approved, though they wouldn't tell her what they had seen when they used it. She found this to be fair however, as she would not tell them what she had seen either.
The entire school was buzzing with excitement. Beauxbaton and Durmstrang were to arrive this evening, and the champions would be chosen tomorrow night. Kaylee hoped that Fred and George would come to their senses and realize there was no way they could enter this tournament. Not only were they too young, but Kaylee privately felt they didn't know enough magic yet to keep them alive during the tournament. The tasks the champions were going to face were supposed to be brutal, and she didn't want to see either of her best friends maimed. Classes ended early, so the students would have time to prepare themselves in preparation of their guest's arrival.
Kaylee dashed up to Ravenclaw common room after the bell rang so she could drop off her bag. She brushed out her long hair and went down to the common room to find Heather and her boyfriend Danny, as well as Jason waiting for her.
"How do you reckon they're getting here?" asked Jason.
"No idea. Maybe Floo powder?" Kaylee suggested as they walked downstairs towards the great hall.
"Too many students for that. Maybe they'll Apparate," Heather said.
"Can't Apparate inside the school grounds," Kaylee reminded her.
"This way! Ravenclaws line up here please!" called Professor Flitwick who was the head of Ravenclaw House. "First years up front!"
They all followed tiny Professor Flitwick outside onto the grounds. The moon was shining brightly as the rest of the school lined up outside. It was a bit chilly, and Kaylee shivered.
"You cold?" Jason asked.
"A bit," Kaylee replied.
Jason moved closer to her and put an arm around her shoulders. Though he was a bit too close for her comfort, warmth radiated from him and Kaylee didn't move away. Jason seemed pleased. Heather smirked at her from beneath Danny's arm.
Kaylee looked around at the others students. She could make out Harry, Ron and Hermione about four rows from the front. To her right, a couple rows over, she found Fred and George standing with Lee. Kaylee smiled and waved before realizing Jason's arm was still around her. Fred smiled at her, but George looked livid. Remembering his "need to protect her virtue", Kaylee looked away quickly.
Suddenly the silence was broken when Dumbledore called out "Ah ha. Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbaton approaches."
"Where?" asked several students.
"There!" Heather said pointing up towards the sky over the forest.
Suddenly a very large object came into view. It seemed to be flying through the air, coming right at them.
"It's a dragon!" shrieked a first year.
"Don't be stupid. It's a flying house!" called a small Gryffindor boy.
He was almost right. A huge carriage, drawn by huge flying horses landed on the grounds in front of them. Out of this enormous carriage came the largest woman Kaylee had ever seen. She had to be as big as Hagrid. She had an olive face, dark hair, and was covered from head to toe in large jewels. The students that came out of the carriage behind her looked very cold and very small in comparison to their huge headmaster.
"My dear Madam Maxine! Welcome to Hogwarts!" Dumbledore exclaimed, kissing the large woman's hand.
"Dumbleydoor, I hope I find you well," Madam Maxine boomed.
"In excellent form I assure you."
After the Beauxbatons had retreated inside, they stood waiting for Durmstrang. They didn't have to wait long when a sort of bubbling noise came from the lake. Suddenly a ship emerged from under the surface of the lake. It docked, and the Durmstrang headmaster walked out from it followed by his students.
"Dumbledore! How are you my dear fellow? How are you?" the Durmstrang headmaster called.
"Blooming, thank you Professor Karkaroff!" Dumbledore said happily.
"Dear ol' Hogwarts! How good it is to be here! How good. Viktor, come along into the warmth. You don't mind do you Dumbledore? Viktor has a slight headcold." Karkaroff said.
"Oh my gosh! It's Viktor Krum!" Heather exclaimed, shaking Kaylee's arm.