AN: I'm currently writing chapter 11 and plan to post a new update every 2-3 weeks from now on, depending on how well I manage to finish the next chapters.
"Done!" exclaimed Harry triumphantly, breathing a sigh of relief as he put down his quill. He'd been a little grumpy when his mother gave him Transfiguration homework. Today. On a Friday. To make matters worse, she'd even insisted he had to do his homework right away and not wait until next week. Now that his essay was finally finished, Harry was relieved to be free and spend the whole weekend with his friend, Ron. They had met each other several times over the past few weeks but only for an hour or two in the evenings. This time, they had the whole weekend to themselves and could do whatever they wanted. Well, apart from the Apparition lesson they had on Sunday. But that was something Harry was looking forward to, to finally learn to Apparate.
A quick glance at his watch told Harry it was almost four o'clock, and he had time enough to prepare his broom for his trip to the Burrow the next morning. Hurriedly, he stuffed his school stuff into a drawer to get to the broom shed as quickly as possible.
As he charged down the stairs and through the back door, he almost crashed into someone standing on the other side of the door. "Oh. Hello Charlie." Harry stammered, a bit out of breath. "Nice to see you. Does Dora know you're here?"
"Oh. Hi Harry!" Charlie replied, chuckling. "Who are you running from? One could think a herd of pixies were after you." Taking a step aside, he let Harry pass. "Dora went to her room to grab a warmer jacket. I'm joining her on one of her errands. Hopefully, it won't be too long. My mum invited us to dinner tonight."
"Is it something for Dumbledore again?" Harry asked, knowing that Tonks had been out and about on the former headmaster's behalf a lot lately, mostly to figure out the whereabouts of some of his old acquaintances.
"I have no idea," Charlie replied. "All I know is we're heading to a place somewhere in the south of Scotland." His face brightened. "Speaking of the devil..."
Harry turned and was surprised to find his sister stepping out of the house with Tonks. "You want to take Emm with you?" Harry asked in astonishment.
"Nope!" Tonks replied, laughing. "But Emily asked me to take her to the Burrow later."
Surprised, Harry gaped at his sister. "What are you doing at the Burrow that late?"
Giving him a smug look, Emily confessed solemnly, "Ginny invited me. We're having a sleepover."
Surprised, Harry arched his eyebrows. This was new to him. It hadn't even occurred to him to stay overnight at Ron's or to invite his friend over. "Oh, good for you," Harry commented, slightly irritated. "I hope you have fun." Of course, he didn't begrudge his sister the fun, and he was also glad that Emily had befriended Ron's sister, even if he still wondered why the girl treated him so coldly. The tips of his ears suddenly grew warm as the image of Ginny wrapped in a towel flashed through his mind. Good thing no one knew how often this image haunted him.
"Then I'll go and pack my things," Emily called, thrilled, successfully banishing this persistent image from Harry's mind.
"Be ready to leave at 6 o'clock," Tonks called after Emily, who was already hurrying back into the house.
"I will," she called back, and ran up the stairs to her room.
"Erm, see you later. I need to prepare my broom," Harry muttered and added with a sly grin, "Can't let Ron outfly me tomorrow, can I?"
Waving his goodbye, Harry turned and headed to the broom shed. He put on the light and placed his broom, the polish, and the tools he needed to trim the twigs on the workbench and got to work. To his chagrin, Harry realized that he hadn't maintained his broom properly in a while. The broom ride last week, when the storm caught him, hadn't done any good either. He sighed. It was an old broom, after all. His father had already flown it at Hogwarts.
"Okay, let's get started then," Harry murmured, grabbing his wand and broom pliers and began to fix the broken twigs. More than once, he had to repeat a twig multiple times because his old wand wasn't doing what Harry wanted. When all the twigs finally passed his scrutiny, he grabbed a cloth and the bottle of polish and thoroughly furbished all parts of the broom.
Harry was so engrossed in his work that he was surprised that it was well after six o'clock when he tidied up his workspace, satisfied with the state of his broom. It was already dark outside when he stepped out of the shed. Raising his wand, he murmured "Lumos" and warily walked back up the path to the house, constantly ranting about his ancient wand, whose light was so dim it barely illuminated the path ahead.
When Harry walked into the kitchen, Tonks and Charlie were already sitting at the table having a cup of tea, apparently waiting for Emily, who came bursting down the stairs a moment later, a large bag over her shoulder.
"See you tomorrow at the Burrow, sis?" asked Harry, flashing his sister a smile.
"Maybe. If you get there early enough," Emily replied, buttoning her jacket.
"I'll meet with Ron at ten o'clock," Harry replied.
"Sorry, we're already gone by then," Emily said, apologetically raising her hands.
"Where are you going?" Harry asked, puzzled, eying his sister sceptically.
"I've been invited to visit Ginny's brother in London," Emily explained. "We're leaving right after breakfast."
Harry stared at his sister. Did he get that right? Emily would travel to London? The news his sister shared with him got better and better. Why hadn't she told him earlier? A brief glance at his mother, and her reaction, or rather the lack of thereof, told Harry that she knew and had approved. Not that he wanted to go to London with his sister, but he could have planned something with Ron, too. Well, it was his own fault, wasn't it? He could have come up with something himself. And as much as he wanted his sister to have fun, Harry had to admit that he was a little jealous, and miffed about himself. He sighed. Tomorrow, he would have fun with Ron, too. Maybe, he could ask his friend to come for a sleepover.
"Don't forget to be back on time Sunday morning," Tonks reminded Emily. "We want to start Apparition class. You and Charlie's siblings as well."
"Oh, yeah," Harry said, recalling Tonks talking about it earlier in the week. "I'm looking forward to it. We'll be able to Apparate all by ourselves after we've passed the exam, right?" Harry threw Tonks an expectant look.
"As far as I know, that's for the parents to decide," Tonks countered, glancing sideways at his mother.
Giving his mother a hopeful look, Harry asked, "We can, right, Mum?"
Hesitantly, his mother replied. "Let's cross that bridge when we get there. First, you have to pass the exam."
"Oh, Mum! That's not fair" Harry moaned, the initial euphoria of learning to Apparate already gone.
"Are you ready, Emm?" Tonks asked, effectively ending the upcoming dispute.
"I'm only waiting for you," Emily replied with a grin.
"Okay, then, lass. Let's go." Tonks got up and finished her cup of tea. "Charlie, if you take Emily's bag, I'll Apparate her side-along. Is that okay?"
"Fine for me. Let me just have another biscuit. Those were delicious," Charlie replied, causing Tonks to roll her eyes.
After the three of them had left, and Harry was alone with his mother, he sat down at the table, chin propped on his hand, watching her as she put the used tea service in the sink and made it wash up with a flick of her wand. When she was done, Harry glanced at her pensively. "Mum?"
"Hmm."
"I'd like to invite Ron for a sleepover. Is that okay for you?" Harry asked tentatively.
Giving him a scrutinizing look, his mother shrugged. "Why not. As long as his mother doesn't mind."
"I'll ask him first thing in the morning," Harry replied enthusiastically. "Maybe he can sleep here tomorrow night. He has to come over for Apparition lessons on Sunday morning anyway."
"Then you should hurry and tidy up your room," his mother answered, chuckling.
**HG**
Raindrops thumped persistently against the windowpane, slowly arousing Emily from her slumber. Yawning, she stretched out under the warm blanket and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. When she finally opened her eyes, ready to face the day, she halted. This wasn't her room. She breathed a sigh of relief as the memories from the night before were flooding back. She was in Ginny's room. And soon she would go to London with her friend to visit her brother, Bill. Anticipation rose in her. She couldn't wait to get into town and spend a day away from her daily routine.
Carefully, she let her legs slip out from underneath the covers. Not used to the lower camp bed, she had to gain a bit of momentum to get up.
A quick glance at the other bed told her that Ginny was already up. Probably using the loo, Emily guessed, realizing she had to go there urgently too. Peering out the window, she glanced up at the grey, cloudy sky and wrinkled her forehead. A steady rain was pouring down, and it didn't look like the weather would get better any time soon. It was one of the days she wouldn't leave the house voluntarily. One more reason to look forward to the trip to London.
"Hi. Did you sleep well?" Ginny asked as she stepped through the door with a half-stifled yawn.
"Yes. Excellent," Emily replied, indicating out the window. "What a luck we're going to London after breakfast. In this weather I wouldn't want to turn a dog out." Twisting her mouth, she mumbled urgently, "Sorry. I have to go somewhere first."
"Must be really urgent." Ginny chuckled. "You know where the toilet is?"
"Yes. I remember," Emily giggled. "After we had that bottle of homemade cider you nicked from your mother's storage room, I had to use the loo twice tonight. I'll be right back."
"You weren't sick, were you?" Ginny asked, worried, when Emily returned.
"No, no. I just had to use the loo," Emily reassured her friend.
"Good", Ginny said, glancing at her watch. "We should hurry to get down for breakfast. Bill will be there any minute. I'm done in the bathroom. It's all yours. I'll pack my things in the meantime."
When they got to the kitchen fifteen minutes later, Ginny's brother was already seated at the table, a plate of baked beans and fried eggs in front of him.
"Good morning," Emily greeted and eyed Bill briefly. He was the only one of Ginny's siblings she hadn't met yet, and she had to admit he was pretty handsome. Something Ginny had obviously forgotten to tell her. All she knew was that Bill was about ten years older than her friend.
"You have to be Emily," Bill said, giving her a warm smile. "Ginny told me about you and that she wants to show you what she's up to on the weekends she's visiting me."
"Yeah, I can't wait," Emily admitted, watching in amusement as Ginny hugged her brother after taking the seat next to him.
"Sit down, dear," Ginny's mother said as she brought their breakfast.
"I hope you don't mind sharing the living room sofa with Ginny. Unfortunately, I don't have a separate guest room," Bill said, pouring himself a mug of tea.
"That's no problem. I'm sure we'll be fine," Emily replied, glancing at her friend with a grin. "Don't you think so, too?"
"But you'll have to sleep on the front of the sofa if you need to go to the loo as often as you did last night," Ginny replied, straight-faced. "I need my beauty sleep."
With an innocent look, Emily replied, "Whatever you want. But please don't wake me up every time you have to climb over me."
"You wouldn't even notice if I put you against the wall while you were sleeping," Ginny replied cheekily.
Emily shrugged. "You would have to wake your brother to help you. And you wouldn't dare."
"That's enough," Bill interrupted them, shaking his head, slightly annoyed. "If you both want to argue all the time, you'll be back home before you even know it."
Ginny gave her brother a wounded look. "Oh, Bill. What makes you think we're arguing? We're just practising."
"Practising?" Bill narrowed his eyes.
"Yeah. It's a game," Emily confirmed, snickering. "It's all about having the final say."
"It's a game we made up last night before we fell asleep," Ginny explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Aghast, Bill looked from one girl to the other. "What have I gotten myself into?"
"Don't worry, dear brother of mine. We promise to be goody-goody while we're with you," Ginny declared, grinning. "As long as you grant us all our wishes."
Bill rolled his eyes. "If you have your things together, we can leave."
"All we have to do is get our bags from my room," Ginny said. "Are you coming, Emm?"
"Put your dishes in the sink, Ginny," Mrs Weasley called after them as she sat down at the now-empty table with a mug of tea. "And don't bug your brother too much, dear. He only wants you to have a nice time."
"I know, Mum. Don't worry," Ginny soothed her. "We'll be at our best all the time. I promise!"
When they were back with their bags over their shoulders, Bill waved Ginny over. "You're first, little sister."
With a brief scowl at her brother for calling her little sister, Ginny accepted his arm. "I'll see you in a minute, Emm," she said before disappearing with her brother.
It wasn't long before Bill returned to pick up Emily, who was already curious about what Bill's apartment would look like. They ended up in a small hallway just inside the front door. Bill led her through a wide-open door. "This is the living room. Feel free to have a look around."
Emily let her eyes wander over the spacious room. On the left, in front of a large window, was a comfortable seating area with a three-seater couch and two armchairs. The opposite side of the room had a small kitchen corner with a table and three chairs.
"The door on the right side leads to my bedroom," Bill explained, pointing to a door at the end of the kitchenette. "To the left, you can find the toilet."
"Good to know," Emily replied, discovering the door was ajar. Behind it, she heard someone cheerfully humming a tune she didn't recognize.
Emily placed her bag next to Ginny's and knocked softly.
"Come in," she heard her friend call.
Emily pushed the door further open and paused, eyes wide open.
Ginny was standing in front of the mirror, applying mascara on her lashes; more makeup utensils were spread out on the sink.
Surprised by the sight, Emily asked, intrigued, "What are you up to?"
Ginny smirked. "We're going to Muggle London. It sure can't hurt to dress up a little." She gave Emily a conspiratorial look. "Mum doesn't need to know. Don't worry, I can't do too much anyway, or Bill will complain again. Do you want some, too?"
Emily hesitated. She had never done this before and actually never thought about it.
"Come on. Look, I'll show you." After Ginny had demonstrated how to apply the mascara, she handed Emily the mascara brush. "Don't take too much at first to get used to it."
While Emily tried not to apply too much of the black mascara, Ginny pulled a dark red lipstick from her pocket.
"Don't tell me you're going to introduce me to your boyfriend today," Emily couldn't help but ask.
"Nah, what makes you think that?" Ginny asked, slightly irritated. "Don't you think it's a good feeling when one or the other bloke turns to you, giving you an appreciative smile?"
Emily snorted. "I never thought you were the type to parade around, shaking your butt."
"I am not," Ginny declared but couldn't hide a grin. "Well, I tried it once. I stumbled so badly that I almost fell on my bum. Bill laughed his head off."
After Ginny was done, she helped Emily put on some lipstick, asking, "You brought some Muggle money with you, didn't you? Bill knows some great places where we can have a sundae."
Emily raised her eyebrows. "A sundae? It's cold outside."
Ginny shrugged. "I do love ice cream, no matter the weather."
"You're probably right," Emily admitted. "We only have ice cream at home, and Mum only buys it in the summer. Winter is pudding time." Emily giggled. "Do you always go to Muggle London when you visit your brother?
"No. Actually, only when the weather's good," Ginny said. "Mostly, we go somewhere that isn't Muggle, and Bill teaches me magic. Advanced stuff, you know, stuff that Mum doesn't want to teach us yet, and doesn't even know Bill's teaching me."
"And what advanced spells do you know?" Emily was amazed that Ginny was already practising advanced magic. She certainly wasn't a bad student, but there were spells she had to practice pretty often to make them work.
"Oh, quite a few. It also helps that Bill is a pretty good teacher," Ginny replied and reluctantly admitted, "I don't know if there's anything to it, but I'm the first girl the Weasleys had in seven generations, and I'm also the seventh child in my family. I've been told this makes me pretty good with magic."
"You mean you're a child prodigy?" Emily asked, perplexed.
"No. Some things are easier for me, others not. To be honest, I don't give it that much thought. Bill told me about it when he suggested I take lessons with him. He's a curse breaker and quite good with magic himself."
"When you're finally done, can we go?" called Bill from the living room.
"I just need to use the loo," Ginny called back.
"Me too," Emily chimed in.
"You two have been on the toilet since we arrived," moaned Bill.
"Boys don't get that, Bill," Ginny replied, and Emily giggled in agreement.
Later, after an hour's walk along the Thames, where Emily admired the sights and tourist boats on the river, Bill took them to Charing Cross Road to show them the entrance to Diagon Alley. Pointing to a door that was dangling askew on its hinges and open, Bill explained, "That's where the Leaky Cauldron used to be. The pub is still there, but it's closed. No idea what happened to Tom, the barkeeper. You have to walk through the pub to get to Diagon Alley."
"Can we go in there?" Emily asked, giving Ginny a curious look. "Have you ever been to Diagon Alley?"
"Once," Ginny admitted. "Bill took me to Gringotts, where he works. There's not much going on in the alley. Most shops are closed, and not a soul is on the streets."
"It's not safe either," Bill put in. "Maybe we can go in there another time. We can ask Charlie and his girlfriend to come along. I'd feel better if we had a few more wands with us. A colleague accompanied us when Ginny was with me."
"Then let's have a sundae," Ginny suggested. "I've been looking forward to it all week."
"I know a good ice cream parlour," said Bill. "It's only 10 minutes from here, just off Piccadilly Circus."
They followed Shaftesbury Avenue, where Emily couldn't take her eyes off the theatre advertisement with the colourfully dressed Muggles. One day she would come back here to see a Muggle play, she vowed to herself. As they approached a big square with large hoardings, Bill indicated to the other side of the street. "Over there is the ice cream parlour I told you about."
Outside the cafe they found a free table that was heated. Pointing to one of several devices attached to the wall above, Bill said smiling, "It's the Muggle version of a Warming Charm. A bit strange, but effective."
"Some of the stalls at Ottery Market also have such thingies," Ginny said. "But of course, Mum uses a Warming Charm when the Muggles aren't looking."
They each ordered a sundae, Chocolate Sundaes for Ginny and Bill and a Black Forest Cherry Sundae for Emily because she thought the name was so funny.
After the waiter had served their sundaes and the bill was settled, Ginny turned to her brother. "Bill, are you going to France again before Christmas?"
"No, probably not. Why are you asking?"
"I was wondering if you'd visit your lass before Christmas," Ginny replied.
Bill gave his sister a puzzled look. "What makes you think I have a girlfriend?"
"Oh. Come on. Don't be like that. If you want to keep it to yourself, you shouldn't leave your love letters on the table," Ginny replied teasingly.
Bill's eyes widened. "Ginny. You didn't.."
"Don't worry, brother." Ginny chuckled. "I didn't read them. I didn't want to get sick from all the sweet flattery. Judging by the scent, it could only have been love letters. But if you stay in London, you could go buying Christmas presents with me."
"No problem," Bill said, spooning the last bits of ice cream out of his cup. "Just tell me when you want to come to London. Though, I don't have time the weekend before Christmas."
"Poor sod. The goblins are making you work weekends again?" Ginny asked, stealing the piece of waffle Bill hadn't eaten.
"Nope. I've got a visitor," Bill answered evasively.
"Someone I know?" Ginny asked curiously, turning sideways to look after a boy with tousled black hair strolling past.
"No. It's nobody you know," revealed Bill.
With a mischievous smile, Ginny turned back to her brother. "It's the letter writer, isn't it?"
Bill gave her a trapped look. "You're not curious, little sister. Not at all, are you?"
Ginny grinned. "I knew it. And you don't want to introduce her to the family?"
"That's too early," Bill replied. "We've only met a few months ago and rarely see each other."
"Ah, I understand." Ginny nodded with a playful smile. "I guess you guys have plenty of catching up to do when she's here." Raising her eyebrows, she eyed the black-haired boy who was just walking back from the opposite direction, holding the hand of a blonde girl.
"Seems like he's your type." Emily grinned, nodding in the boy's direction. "But sadly, he's already taken."
"He's handsome, isn't he?" Ginny said when the boy had disappeared into the crowd.
Emily eyed Ginny. Was she really into dark haired boys? She smiled to herself. "If you say so. I'm more into blonde."
Ginny chuckled. "Good thing. Then we won't get in each other's way."
"Aside from the fact that you're still too young for a boyfriend, the bloke is a little too old for you, Ginny," Bill interjected, rolling his eyes.
"How old do you think I should be to have a boyfriend?" Ginny asked indignantly. "Twenty-five? Or better forty?"
"Old enough that I won't be responsible for you when you come to London," Bill replied with an amused grin. "I don't want to get a lecture from Mum when she finds out you're fooling around with blokes while she thinks you're with me."
Ginny shot him an annoyed look. "I'm fourteen!"
"That's what I mean. You've got four or five years left," Bill commented dryly.
"Having a boyfriend would be too time-consuming anyway," Ginny replied in a huff, giving Emily an impish smile. "We'd rather enjoy the finer things in life." Turning back to her brother, she asked, "Bill, can we practice the Patronus Charm again before wee head back to your flat? I'm sure Emily wants to learn the charm, too."
"Is the charm hard to learn?" Emily asked.
Ginny nodded. "Yeah. It's a bit tricky. I've been trying to perform the charm for weeks now, and it still doesn't work. But it's pretty useful."
Emily loved the idea. "Yeah, why not. What's the charm good for, anyway?"
"Actually, it can be used for a lot of things. Originally it was used to repel Dementors. I don't know if we'll ever see a Dementor, but if you're good at the charm, you can even use it to send messages."
"That sounds fun." Emily was really excited. She turned to Ginny's brother. "Would you teach me the charm, too?"
Bill grinned. "If you really want to start with the hardest. How good is your wand? Are you getting on with it? I'm sure Ginny is having trouble with the charm because she needs a wand that suits her better. I was going to buy her one in France, but she needs to be there to choose the right wand, or rather, let the right wand choose her.
Emily made a face. "Well. My wand is fine for household charms, but I always have trouble with more complex magic."
"Well. Let's just give it a try then," Bill suggested. "But first, we have to find a secluded place to Apparate."