Updated: June 29th, 2017

Chapter 3: Number 4 Privet Drive

At five o'clock the next day, I found myself in front of the fireplace with Ron and Arthur. We were using the Floo Network to get to Harry's aunt and uncle's house. The time passed as Molly fussed over her husband and children. "Now straighten your clothes, Ron. Cora, try and control that wild hair of yours. Arthur let me straighten your tie."

Doing what my godmother asked, I tied my curly black hair back into a bun at the nape of my neck. Ron, however, automatically untucked his shirt from his pants, making me giggle. He had a problem with dressing nice, I could tell. As Molly attempted to straighten out Arthur's tie, I heard a commotion upstairs. The twins came bounding down. They were smiling like idiots and I noticed Fred's pockets were bulging oddly. My eyes narrowed at him. If they were planning what I thought they were planning…and if Molly found out…she'd go insane on their identical asses.

"Alright now, be good. And Arthur," Molly's husband looked up at her, "don't ask too many questions, dear. You don't want to overwhelm them."

Arthur chuckled, "Of course I won't, Molly."

The twins shared an identical grin. No, not identical. Fred had more of a lopsided grin. Arthur straightened his robes as he looked at the crazy grandfather clock on the wall. It was practically half past five now. The patriarch Weasley grabbed the green powder from the flowerpot on the mantle and stepped into the fireplace. Very clearly and rather loudly, he stated our destination and was off. George followed shortly after. Before Fred was off, he caught my suspicious glare, and with a wink, he was off. Ron jumped in the fireplace not seconds later and he too was gone.

I took my own handful of Floo Powder, "Number four Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey, England!"

The awful sensation of being sucked up a pipe happened all too fast. I closed my eyes as I 'flew' above the English landscape. Somehow, keeping my eyes closed helped settle the sick feeling in my stomach. I did not think Harry's aunt and uncle would like it very much if I threw-up in their home. My stomach gave a great lurch as I started to hear voices.

"What are we doing here? Has something gone wrong?"

"Oh, no, Ron. No, this is exactly where we wanted to end up!"

"Yeah, we're having the time of our lives here."

Before I open my eyes, I was sucked into my exit where the voices were coming from. I slammed into something solid. It made a noise and then groaned. It was dark, too dark to see anything. Then, a familiar voice pierced the darkness. "Mr. Weasley? What was that?"

"That must have been Cora," Arthur's voice said to Harry's voice. "Cora? Are you alright? I felt that landing from down here."

"Oh, don't worry about her, dad," George grunted. "Cora's not very light on her feet. She'll be fine. Ron however…"

"Ha-ha, George. Very funny," I said, my voice full of sarcasm. I tried to maneuver over Ron so I was off him. "How's your back?"

My friend grunted. I had landed on him pretty hard. Another voice answered, "Peachy, thanks for asking."

"I wasn't asking you, Fred," I told him haughtily.

"Then next time why don't you –"

"Hey now," Arthur cut Fred off, "I'm trying to think what to do…Yes…only way…Stand back, Harry."

"Wait a moment," a new voice bellowed. "What exactly are you going to –?"

There was a loud bang and I was suddenly pushed down and out of the Dursleys' fireplace. I heard a loud shriek and a girly scream. Ron and I were both breathing heavily next to each other on the floor. The Weasleys and I were covered in dust, rubble, and loose chippings from the fireplace. So much for a good first impression.

"That's better," Arthur brushed himself of dirt and grime. When he noticed Harry's relatives, Arthur introduced himself, extending a hand. The fat man in front of him backed away, dragging his vulture-looking wife with him. They stood, staring at Arthur as he explained the Floo Network to them. The vulture woman hid behind her huge husband even more. That's when Arthur noticed Harry.

"Trunk's upstairs," Harry said, grinning.

"We'll get it," Fred suddenly popped up from the floor. He grabbed his twin and the two raced up the stairs. I smirked. I knew they wanted to see Harry's porker of a cousin.

When the two were gone, the silence settled in. "Well," Arthur began as he looked around, "very nice – uh – place you've got here."

Ron and I shared a look. What was once a spotless room was now covered in dust and bricks. The Dursleys' didn't seem too happy with this remark. The fat man's face went purple and the vulture lady's eyes widened. It was a bit unsettling that they did not speak. They were probably too scared. Arthur, however, was looking around in fascination. He began chatting up the Dursleys' while Harry walked over to me and Ron.

The two exchanged no words but nodded at each other. I rolled my eyes at the two. When they had their moment, I threw my arms around Harry's neck. I just had to make a big show for the relatives. "Harry I missed you," I exclaimed as he hugged me back, laughing.

"Missed you too, both of you."

Before he could say anything else, we all noticed his super fat, super ugly cousin, Dudley, appear in the room. Harry's trunk was clunking down the stairs, which might have scared the kid. I watched in amusement as he edged along the living room wall, eyes wide in fear. I looked at my two friends from the corner of my eye. The temptation to laugh was overwhelming. Arthur asked if Dudley was having a good holiday and the boy whimpered in fear. That was when Fred and George came in carrying Harry's trunk between them. Their faces split into evil grins when they spotted Dudley. I unexpectedly felt bad for him.

"Ah, right. Better get cracking," Arthur took out his wand. The Dursley family backed into the wall, scared out of their minds. "Incendio!"

Flames rose in the fireplace, burning warmly as if it had been lit for hours. Arthur took out a small bag from his robes, opened it, took a pinch of green powder and threw it into the fire. The flames roared higher and turned green. He motioned for Fred to go first. The boy took off. A bag of sweets spilled out of his pockets, the contents rolling everywhere. I gasped softly when I saw the bright pink and orange wrapper of a candy I knew all too well. Fred scrambled around, picking up the sweets and shoving them in his pockets. He waved cheerily to Harry's relatives and was off. Vulture lady gasped in shock when Fred was sucked up the fireplace.

Harry helped George carry his trunk to the fire and turn it up so the redhead could carry it better. He was gone seconds after his twin. Ron waved to the Dursleys' like Fred did and hopped into the fire. He too disappeared and I was left with Arthur and Harry. Arthur turned to Harry, trying to get my friend to give a proper goodbye to his relatives. Harry's eyes pleaded with me as he edged to the fireplace.

"Surely you're going to say goodbye? You aren't going to see your nephew till next summer," Arthur looked Harry's uncle in the eye.

"Arthur, maybe Harry just wants to –"

I was cut off by the fat man, "Goodbye, then."

"See you," Harry already had a foot in the fire. At that same moment, a horrible gagging sound erupted behind us. Vulture lady screamed bloody murder.

Dudley was kneeling besides the coffee table, gagging on a foot-long, purple, slimy thing hanging out of his mouth. My eyes widened when I realized it was his tongue. A bright pink and orange candy wrapper lay on the floor next to him. Fred… Vulture lady grasped his tongue, trying to wretch it from Dudley's mouth. That made the boy yell and try to fight her off, his arms flailed dangerously. Arthur approached the two, his wand drawn and ready to help. That was a problem. Harry's uncle shielded his son from Arthur as he tried to explain the toffee was a joke candy made by the twins. As things got out of control faster than I thought, I grasped Harry's wrist and dragged him into the fire.

"The Burrow," I shouted. We shot up just as the fat man threw something at Arthur, narrowly missing his head and our feet. The last thing I heard was Vulture lady screaming her head off and Dudley moaning and groaning, his tongue the size of a large snake by then. The fireplace began to spin rather fast as we shot out of the fireplace, wrapped in green flames.