A/N: Hello, lovelies! As always, I love to see interest in the story. I know it has been a long wait, but I finally felt some motivation to write this chapter. As I have found that it works well with my other story, thanks will be at the bottom of the chapter.
I own nothing! Enjoy.

The following morning, Minerva woke to the sound of repetitive foot steps. With her keen hearing, the pacing from her childhood bedroom sounded like an elephant stomping in the next room. She rose from her bed and clothed herself in casual robes before walking down the hall. She tapped lightly on the bedroom door and smirked when she heard a gasp from inside. She did not have to wait but a moment before the door was swung open by her daughter.

"Oh! I am sorry. Did I wake you?"

Minerva merely chuckled and beckoned for the girl to follow her. When they reached the kitchen, she pulled out a stool and gestured for the small child to sit. "You seem to be bubbling with excited energy today, lass. Did you get all of your packing accomplished?"

Annabelle gladly hopped onto the stool and swung her legs in an oscillating pattern. "Yes, Minerva. It is all done. I am just so excited and relieved. I can't believe that I never have to go back to live with my...with those people. Also, I cannot wait to see Ginny and Ron and Mrs. Weasley and..." The small girl gulped for air before continuing. "The twins are so funny when they are not causing trouble. They play some of the best jokes, and they are so smart. I know that most people don't think that they're smart, but they really are quite intelligent. I just cannot wait to see all of them and see what their house is like. Ginny has told me so many things about their home."

"You are right, my kitten. Fred and George are both very intellectual humans. They just choose to use their brains for things that do not involve a classroom. I am sure that they will one day be very successful in the careers of their choosing as long as they do not have to submit to someone else's authority." The older woman then turned to the fridge to grab a carton of milk before reaching into the cupboard to retrieve sugar and cocoa. She mixed the three ingredients in a pot and placed the pot on the stove with the heat on low. "I believe that you will have quite a lot of fun with the Weasleys tonight. Do mind your manners and be careful though. If they decide to play Quidditch, make sure you wear your pads." She continued to stir the aromatic liquid as she turned back to the small witch. "I just want you to be safe."

Annabelle's excitement only grew as she recognized that the ingredients Minerva had grabbed would be used to make hot chocolate, but her requests helped to sober her some. "You know I will be careful. I do not want to spend any more time in the infirmary than I already have."

That one statement took both witches back to the school year, reminding them of the horrors that their little family had faced only months before when Annabelle spent nearly half of the school year in a petrified state. The older witch immediately left the stove and took the little witch into her arms. "I know, Belle. I am so sorry that you had to spend so much time in there. I hope nothing ever causes you to be in the infirmary again. I will do everything in my power to protect you. I just ask that you be careful, as well."

Annabelle melted into her mother's embrace, loving way nothing made her feel safer. "I promise that I will be careful, Mum." She uttered the final word softly, still mildly cautious about using such an intimate term.

Minerva nodded firmly before kissing her adoptive daughter's scalp. "I am sure you will. Now," She straightened herself and brushed her hands over the front of her robes, attempting to straighten them. "Let's have breakfast so that we can get you to the Weasleys' home."

Albus joined the pair for breakfast, but left McGonagall Manor as soon as he was finished eating, stating that he had business with Fudge to attend to. Minerva was concerned about the lack of details she was receiving from her husband, but she did not want to push the topic when Annabelle was so happy. She did not want to cause the little witch any more stress than she was already forced to endure.

The pair of witches made sure that Annabelle had everything she would need before flooing to the Weasleys' home.

The Weasley matriarch was expecting them, so she bustled into the room as soon as she heard the fire roar in the floo. "Oh! You are here!" She embraced the small witch and the deputy headmistress in a bone-crushing hug before calling upstairs, "Ginny, Annabelle is here!"

Rather than receiving a spoken answer, the matriarch's comment was met with four sets of foot steps thundering down the stairs before four heads with flaming red hair reached the doorway. Ginny pushed her way past her older brothers and rushed towards to blonde witch. "Annabelle!"

The two witches embraced and immediately began conversing about their summers up to that point. The older women heard something about a tour before the youngest two disappeared, closely followed by a trio of older brothers.

Annabelle was amazed by the way that everything worked at The Burrow. It was different from McGonagall Manor because the Weasleys did not have any house elves, so the Weasley matriarch did all of the chores by magic. Nothing was hidden from view as the pots washed themselves, the laundry folded itself, and a feather duster seemed to always be making its way around the cozy home.

Lunch at the Burrow was a jolly affair. Molly prepared a sandwich the length of the table and had it cut in slices for each person to take before they sat down.

As a whole, the Weasleys were focused on their impending trip to Egypt, but Ginny was less than excited. She appeared to be nervous to her best friend. After lunch, Annabelle made a point of catching a moment alone with the witch.

They walked along the garden, Annabelle stopping occasionally to admire the array of plants. When they reached the treeline, Annabelle turned to her friend and gave her a small smile. "Gin, what's going on? Why aren't you excited to go to Egypt?"

Ginny toyed with her bottom lip and took them further into the woods. "Egypt is known for its curses, especially its cursed items. What if I find another one? What it something happens to one of us?"

Annabelle hugged her friend tightly before chuckling. "You won't be handling Egyptian artifacts, Gin. Your parents won't let anything happen to you. You are going to have such a great time. I just wish I could come with you."

Ginny nodded, trying to convince herself that her friend was correct. She was being reasonable, but Ginny was merely scared. "I think we should learn to defend ourselves. Maybe Bill will teach me a thing or two about breaking curses while we're in Egypt."

The blonde witch took her friend's hand and tugged her back towards the Burrow. "Exactly my point. You will have more than enough people there to keep you safe. Someone would have to go through every single Weasley to even get a shot at getting to you."

The mere thought of anyone trying to fight all of her big brothers and her parents caused Ginny to laugh. There was not a single person alive who was capable of such an act. She linked her arm with her best friend and led her towards the shed that contained all of their brooms. "We need to practice if we are going to make the team this year." The pair high-fived before each mounting a broom. Ginny had grabbed a makeshift quaffle and the pair began tossing it back and forth. The red head had no problem balancing on her broom while catching or throwing the quaffle, but Annabelle was struggling. She would have to slow significantly before throwing the quaffle and was nearly knocked off of her broom each time she caught it.

After nearly a half hour of playing catch, they dismounted their brooms and went inside for a snack. Annabelle was exhausted already. She was convinced that there was no way that she would make the team that year since she could barely stay on her broom. She sighed in defeat as she bit into an apple. Around her bite of food, she mumbled, "It's useless."

Ginny fell into the seat beside her, looking carefree for the first time in months. "It's not useless. You had never been on a broom before September of last year. I've been flying since I could walk. You'll get used to it. You're already getting better."

Just then, the twins ambled into the room and noted the girls' haggard appearance. The first one to connect the dots grinned and swiped Ginny's apple before taking a large bite out of it. "You two playing Quidditch?"

Ginny nodded slowly as she watched her older brother toss her snack into the air before catching it.

The second twin, Fred she thought, took the apple from his twin and took a bite, as well. "I think these girls need to be shown how to play Quidditch by someone who actually knows how to play."

The first guffawed as he grabbed a fresh apple. "Why, Fred, I think you're right. Where is ickle Ronnikins? He can join them so that they have a fighting chance."

Fred bellowed up the stairs, "Ronnikins! Stop writing love letters to your boyfriend and get down here!"

A responding yell came from the attic. "Harry is not my boyfriend!" In moments, however, Ron came clomping down the stairs. He glanced toward the girls before looking squarely at his older brothers. "What do you want?"

George stepped forward then and pat Ron teasingly on the shoulder. "Well, ickle brother, we have challenged the girls to a Quidditch match."

Fred picked up where his brother left off. "And we want you to join on."

"Three on two so you small fry might have an actual chance at winning." George finished with a sly grin.

Ron looked back at the girls, noting that they were still covered in sweat from their earlier activities. They were going to get creamed, but he could not back down from the challenge. "You're on!" He turned around and hauled the girls outside with him. "We need a game plan. They will not keep one person in net at all times, but I think we need to. They are fast and they work better together than anyone else we know."

Ginny rolled her eyes at her brother's attempt at being captain. "Of course they work well together. They have spent their entire life attached at the hip unless they were on brooms." She kicked at the dirt with her hand-me-down Quidditch shoes and looked between her two teammates. Ron, you should be in goal. Belle and I will be the chasers. We've been practicing working together, so we will work better as a unit."

Ron nodded, accepting his sister's suggestions. "Plus, it's not like either of you have any practice being a keeper."

Ginny moved to tackle her brother when the twins joined them outside.

"Your team is already fighting? So much for having a chance if you can't even cooperate."

That halted Ginny's attempt at beating her brother. She looked sheepishly back at Annabelle before shaking herself off. "Come on, Ron. We have some brothers to beat."

The twins took the immediate lead when the game began. Ron was barely in position before George, or maybe Fred, tossed the homemade quaffle into the hoop. Annabelle felt like Ginny was playing against both of the twins while she merely chased the quaffle. She felt like she was never going to get her hands on it when Ginny called her name.

Ginny had stolen possession of the quaffle and was speeding towards the hoop, but one of the twins was directly behind her. He smashed into her side and appeared to be trying to get her to release the quaffle when she did just that. She threw the quaffle with all of her might in Annabelle's direction, but Annabelle would have to speed up to catch it.

Ginny was depending on her, so the blonde witch sped up and reached out with both hands. The quaffle landed squarely in her arms and knocked her off course for a moment, but she was able to right herself with the quaffle tucked closely against her side. Ginny had moved down by the hoop and both twins were coming her way. She zipped to the right and tossed the quaffle to Ginny. The red head caught the quaffle and tossed it into the hoop before either of the twins could get there.

From the other side of the makeshift Quidditch pitch, Ron hollered, "Goal!" He zipped around the hoop a few times in celebration while the twins gathered the quaffle, but the twins returned to the pitch with a new determination in their eyes.

The game continued until Molly called everyone inside for dinner. The score was daunting: 240-90, with the twins scoring twenty-four times.

With the Weasley patriarch home, all eight of them gathered around the table to eat dinner. Molly had made vegetable lamb stew with homemade bread. The meal was enjoyed in silence for a few moments before Mr. Weasley began addressing Annabelle with questions. At one point, he stood to retrieve his briefcase. "I have an item that we have been unable to identify. Perhaps you can help."

When he returned, he was holding a coiled plastic object that faded from one color to the next. It bent in his hands as he held onto either end of it. "We just do not understand what the muggles might use it for. Is this an item you have seen before?"

The serious expression on the Weasley patriarch's face was too much for Annabelle to handle. She snickered behind her hand before forcing herself to reply. "Mr. Weasley, that is a slinky."

The wizard held the item close to his face as he examined the object, hoping to gain some knowledge of its purpose from its name. "A slinky..." He trailed off and ran one finger along the coils. "What does one use a slinky to do?"

Annabelle forced herself not to laugh as she stood and held out her hand to take the object. "Let me show you."

When Mr. Weasley handed the slinky to the blonde child, she took off toward the staircase. When she reached the landing at the top of the first flight, she placed half of the slinky on the landing and allowed the other half to fall onto the next step. The slinky proceeded to tumble down the stairs in succession. "It is a toy that works by utilizing an object's potential and kinetic energies."

Mr. Weasley appeared to be captivated by the toy, watching as it fell down each stair until it finally reached the ground at his feet. "Kinetic and potential energy? I do not believe that I have heard these terms before. What do they do?"

This led to an extensive discussion about science and physics, one that Annabelle was not entirely prepared to have in such depth. Mr. Weasley wanted to know everything about how it worked, but Annabelle only had a basic understanding of how all of it worked. She was unable to explain the entire process as well as he might have liked.

Eventually, Ginny saved her friend from the never ending discussion, saying that they were going to work on their summer homework together before they went to bed. Annabelle started to protest because she had not brought her homework, but Ginny quickly shushed her and dragged her up the stairs.

Once the pair were safely in Ginny's bedroom, all kinds of snacks seemed to appear out of nowhere. "I swipe these out of the boys' secret stores. They don't think I know about them, but this is easier than stealing from the kitchen. Plus, it means I have dirt on the boys."She bit into a treacle tart and gave Annabelle a wide smile. "How is it living with our deputy headmistress?"

Annabelle reached into the pile of treats and grabbed the first one she touched. "Minerva is really nice to me. She always makes sure that I'm taken care of and feel safe. Dumbledore is not around very often right now, so I mostly just see Minerva. We read a lot and occasionally play chess. Sometimes I just follow Lindy around and help her straighten up. We have not left the manor much this summer because we were both so stressed about the court trial, but now that that's passed I hope we will go out and do more." She paused for a moment, trying to decide if she should mention the next section. "I think I am going to ask her about getting me a broom. I really want to be able to practice more often so that I can get better at it, but I don't know if she will go for it."

Ginny's eyes lit up at the thought of a new broom. "You should definitely talk to her about it! She loves Quidditch, at least that is what everyone says. She used to play back in her day, so she might even want you to play."

Annabelle shrugged. "I bet she was really good at Quidditch. What if she is unhappy about it because I'm not very good?"

Ginny frowned for a moment. "Don't worry about that. You just need practice. I am sure she will help teach you everything you need to know if you just talk to her."

Annabelle grabbed a pillow off of Ginny's bed and laid back on the ground. "You're probably right. I know that. I am just still worried about crossing a line sometimes. I don't want to take advantage of her kindness."

Ginny joined Annabelle on the floor, the red head laying on her stomach with her head pillowed on her forearms. "I think she's being more than just kind, Annabelle. I know you're worried, but I really think she loves you. You can tell by the way she looks at you. Plus, I heard her talking to my mom after the trial. She told my mom that you have taken over her entire heart. She asked Mom if that's what being a mom was like."

Annabelle gave Ginny her entire attention. "What did your mom say?"

Ginny just grinned. "She said yes."

Thank you to kane43, flxwer, MinePlusYoursEqualsHarmony, bai2468, jenny.s.72, Mia Jackson, NaruNaruko-chan, Gerda13, InVitaErAmare, Gryffinclaw-Queenly, Alynn2018, ladyaxiii, DrEismeister, tamakaru2, FanofJellicles, and emmasp527.
Lollypop101: Thank you. I try to see each character as an actual person and imagine how they would react to each situation. They honestly write themselves.

Thank you all for sticking with this story. I know it has been a drawn out process, and I won't promise super regular reviews, but I will definitely try. I am not done with this story yet.