Fred and George looked at one another bored out of their minds. Their prank to introduce magic to firstie muggle borns was ruined by their own brother. Now how were they going to indoctrinate little lion Ron into the Weasley clan? He already had their name and hair!
"Now as introduction to muggle studies," Professor Burbage began, "We will cover basic muggle tools, devices, means of transportation and documents during your first year. We will get the boring knowledge out of the way first. Now many muggle have documents that are similar to wizarding contracts..."
"So this is elective period?" Hermione asked with fascination. Percy gave a terse smile.
"Not quite. Once you reach your third year you may take electives, and there are certain times when the classes are available. Many overlap so this is considered an elective period."
"Fascinating," Hermione gasped. Percy resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Charlie was on his way, and bless his brother, he was a bit too much like dad. Few things held his attention and they held it too well.
He hoped that Charlie wouldn't arrive until he could get away from Miss Granger. Perhaps he could convince her to befriend other lions. Perhaps even Ron. It didnt look like he was branching out to others, he was staying fairly close to Harry Potter, and the few times he wasn't, Neville was with him.
He thanked his lucky stars Fred and George hadn't tried to corrupt the younger Gryff. That would be difficult to deal with.
Ron lazily lifted a pawn from the board, placing it diagonal from the king.
"Checkmate Harry."
Other first years, magic born or otherwise watched in fascination of the chess skills of the ginger first year.
"You're really good," Harry smiled. Ron shrugged his shoulders.
"It's a good game to pass the time. Want to try again?" Ron asked reseting the board.
"Sure."
"Why don't you play with the wizard chess set?" Neville asked, looking at the set he swiped from a rather strange prank. Ron crinkled his nose.
"They complain too much. Always watching out for themselves rather than the entire board, even though they all get fixed at the end of the game. Maybe if they were older and understood the game more."
Neville shrugged his shoulders. He only played with Wizard chess pieces. And only his Grandmum's set. He didn't know if there was a difference or not. But her's were rather snippy.
"Besides," Ron added, "There is something so satisfactory about picking up a piece and capturing another," he said taking a knight and knocking over another knight as an example. The knight fell with a clank making Ron grin. Though Harry wasn't a good player, he did have an interest. That was good enough for Ron. No one really enjoyed the fine challenge of chess anywhere he went. An old person's game they said. He wondered briefly if he had any chess players in his birth line. Not that it mattered. It was unlikely he'd ever meet someone he was related to.
Charlie smiled as he walked into Dumbledore's office. Ah the memories. As Dumbledore was not there, he focused on Fawkes, an aging Phoenix with orange and gold plumage.
"Hey there Fawkes. Do you know where Dumbledore is?"
"I am here Mister Weasley," an old voice said. Charlie jumped, his eyes wide and his damaged wand at the ready. He sighed when he saw it was Dumbledore.
"Sorry sir. But you really shouldn't do that. You know I work with dragons and any noise means a shield at the ready," he smiled sheepishly putting his wand away. Dumbledore smiled back at him, his eyes twinkling with hidden knowledge.
"My apologizes. Mr. Weasley. I find it quite useful to walk in quietly to observe a situation before running in."
"As do I Professor. Though I am not here to talk about that."
" I would think not. You are here to discuss the first year Weasley."
Charlie's ears turned slightly red.
"Yes sir. You know, St Mungo's found mother's nurse with a dead red haired babe."
Dumbledore nodded, acknowledging what happened.
"And that baby was assumed to be Ron."
"Yes."
"But the quill that writes the letters is never wrong."
"As to this day, no one has proved otherwise."
"What kind of quill is it?"
"Pardon?"
"What creature did the feather come from. It must've been a fantastic creature," Charlie began rambling, "To be so accurate even with a spell placed on it. I mean so many feathered creatures have finicky feathers when it comes to magic. To find one that is so accurate is truly a marvel-!"
"Mister Weasley?"
"-and the spell must have taken so long to study! Oh, I hope they didn't pluck too many feathers from the creature. That can be extremely dangerous for them-"
"Mister Weasley?"
-and then there are the knolls. Misunderstood little creatures-"
"Mister Weasley," Dumbledore said a little louder.
"-and don't get me started on the gay centaur rights law-!"
" Mister Weasley!"
Charlie looked over at Dumbledore as if realizing he was there.
"Right. So what is the feather?" he asked.
"Hippogriff. Now about why you are here-"
"Well that doesn't make any sense. Hippogriff's feathers are shoddy at best for writing with."
"Mister Weasley. The first year Weasley?"
"Ah yes... What does he look like?"
" He is tall for his age, pale skin, freckled, and red hair-"
It was that moment they heard footfall coming up the stairwell. Both turned to the entrance of Dumbledore's office to see a red haired first year with a Gryffindor coat of arms as his mark of house. He swallowed keeping his eyes on Dumbledore.
"Professor Dumbledore?" he squeaked. Charlie raised a brow. The boy looked like Percy, but with Fred and George's baby fat and facial expression variety.
"Ah yes my boy. Ron Weasley. What do I owe you being here?" Dumbledore asked. Charlie's eyes widened comically. This was Ron?
Well he certainly looked the part to say the least.
"Got in a fight," he admitted, his face turning the Weasley shade of red, "And it's Ron Whetley."
"Why was that my boy?" Dumbledore ignored the correction.
"Someone destroyed my chess set. Called it nothing but mudblood trash. So I punched him in the gut. Professor Snape saw it and gave me detention. Told me to come see you."
Charlie's eyes narrowed. Before he could stop himself he spoke, "Can you describe who did this?"
Ron jumped at the new voice. His eyes landed on a man who looked like an odd combination of the Weasley twins and Percy the Prefect. He however was also marred with scars on his arms and some light burn marks on his face. His clothes smelled of faded smoke. His eyes were shaped however, like his own.
That's all for now. Sorry no poem. If you like the poems then send me ideas. If you like just the story then don't. When I find poems that work I will use them. But that's just how I roll. Let me know what you thought of Charlie in this chapter and everyone else. It feels strange writing the Weasley's.
As always, please review.