Chapter Text
"Mooncalf," My mother sighed as she tended the garden absently, cigarette in her hand. However, my mother was never one for gardens; however, the private drive homeowners' association was very exact in their expectations. "We have talked about this; pacing makes you look dramatic,"
"Sorry," I replied." Lugh is late, that is all,"
My hands gripped the iron only to retract. The sun hat heated the metal beyond comfort,
"He probably needed to rest; this heat is hard for an owl," My mother said. "What are you waiting on? Didn't Arlo bring your mail yesterday?"
"Ginny," I replied, "And well Hermione, but she calls,"
"Honestly, the phone needs to make its way to the wizarding world," My mother replied. "Worried about what her family will say?"
"I am sure it will be yes," I sighed. "I mean Ginny said I would pay for my ticket,"
"So why are you nervous,"
"I wasn't," I replied. "Until Lugh was late,"
"Are you sure they the only letters you are waiting on?"
I shook my head, but I didn't want to worry about those letters as well as Ginny's, "Cedric is busy with his extra lessons and …"
And George. George Weasley, the kid brother, my good friend, and the most annoying bully. He would write to me from time to time, but lately, he had been getting more frequent. I found myself looking forward to each one despite the surprises.
"And?" My mother pressed.
"And everyone else at Hogwarts has their own lives," I needed to step away from those thoughts. George and Fred enjoyed teasing me, nothing more. I needed to not read into his kindness.
I learned that second year from Pansy and Draco. That horrible little prank broke my heart.
"Alright," My mother turned back to her plants and sighed. "I must admit I was looking forward to Lugh as well," She had no idea what to do past watering and the obvious weeding. "I asked Mrs. Weasley to watch you for some time,"
"Trip?" I replied. "What is it this time?"
"A kelpie," My mother said as she cut a head off a flower, then taking a puff from her pipe. "Up near loch ness of all places,"
"How long will you be gone?" I stopped fidgeting and focused on my mother; she was a tamer. She would help capture and relocate magical creatures that were threatening exposure. It was dangerous but my dream job.
"A few weeks," My mother said. "If the Weasleys politely decline, you will stay here with Nan and Pop,"
"Or," I stepped closer, "You could take me with you," My mother shot me a look. "Come on; I can do this,"
"You are turning 15 in a month," She said. "You can wait till then,"
"You didn't!" I walked forward and stood right in her way, "Grandpa said you were ten when you went on one of his work trips,"
"That was different," My mother said. "My mother was with me to make sure I didn't get eaten while my father worked," She paused. "Nan can't come, and there is no one else,"
The subtle reminder that it was just her and I, and of course, Harry. "I will be good; grandpa says I listen better than you,"
"What if the Weasley's say yes?" My mother took a long pull from her pipe and looked at me.
"Then I will go with them," I shrugged.
My mother let out a breath of smoke and pondered. "Only if they say no," Was all she was said before turning back to her shrubs.
"Thank you!" I jumped around. "Rolf is going to be so jealous!"
"Only if Molly can't!"
I nodded and bit my lip. Please say yes, Please say yes. The idea of spending the rest of the summer with my friends made my mouth water. However, now I knew that it would not be that bad if they said no. Oh, merlin, say yes.
"Hey," I jumped around to see my lifelong friend, Harry, leaning over our fence.
"Bloody hell," I put my hand on my chest, "Harry, where did you come from?!"
"No need for that tone," My mother chided. "But come now Harry, did you apparate?"
"Sorry, Aunt Ness," Harry said. "I did wave and call you from across the street." Both my mother and I leaned over the railing to his house, seeing Petunia watering her plants with a suspicious lack of interest. I gave a short wave which resulted in an eye roll. Petunia knew what we were; she actually knew my mother, briefly through Harry's mother.
They were best friends.
"Fair enough," I muttered. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be packing,"
Harry could tell I was jealous; he let out a mischievous smile and stepped forward. "Hey, would you like me to keep the letters Lugh just brought me or-"
"Letters?" I walked over to the gate, and sure enough, Lugh flew down to meet me. Of course, he went to harry first. He had a crush on Hedwig; I reached forward and began to scratch his neck lovingly. "What letters?"
"That caught your attention," Harry grinned and held up a stack of letters. "So let's try this again, Hey Maisie,"
I smirked and stepped towards Potter, "Hey Harry, what a pleasant surprise! Would you like to come in for some tea or something?"
He smiled. "Love to; I have your mail, by the way,"
"Well, Harry!" My mother exclaimed as she walked over to my friend with an extended hand. "Thank you,"
"No problem," He opened the door while I watched my mother in great suspense; she took two letters from the pile and handed the rest to me. "Nothing from ginny, but her brother wrote to you,"
I looked at the brown envelope that sat at the top of the pile; the scratchy handwriting was enough to make my stomach flip. I knew this handwriting so well.
"So?" Harry's voice pulled me out of my memories. "Which Twin?"
As if he needed to ask, "Who else calls me Bagsy?" I muttered.
"Oh," Harry said, looking down at the letter, "Sign of George, that is for sure."
Yep, this was him. I looked to Harry; he seemed to understand my desire to read it, "Meet you downstairs in a few," He said as he followed my mother into the house. I shot him a thankful smile before taking my letters upstairs as fast as a broomstick.
I sat down at the desk and traced the edge of the letter gently. Would this have one of George's pranks? Three weeks ago, I opened a letter that exploded with glitter once I was done reading it. It took weeks to wash out of my hair, and there was still the occasional sparkle.
I decided to open the safe letter first, Cedric, as always his handwriting was easy to read and elegant. I was jealous.
May,
By now, Ginny must have gotten back to you about the match. Are you going? It's all I have been able to think about since you told me in your last letter. You will have so much fun, and if we see each other, we can have a house reunion with the others.
My father was telling me that we will be hosting the TriWizard tournament this year. Think I should join?
His letter went on about how summer was treating him and all the work he had been doing. Cedric seemed eager for the summer to pass, and just like him, I carried the sentiment.
I missed him… and George, both so much.
George.
My hand went down to his letter. Ginny's wasn't in a pile. For all I could know, he might have put her letter in the envelope.
However, I was nervous.
In the last letter, George sent, he told me I should expect good news. I knew he was talking about the world cup; I KNEW that. However, I was nervous nonetheless. I never knew what to expect from him.
I opened the letter, and nothing happened—a good start. I reached in and pulled out a page that looked as if it had been crinkled.
I smoothed it out one more time before examining the words.
Bagsy,
Make sure you pack that green sweater my sister likes so much. She wants to borrow it for the match.
Don't worry about paying for your ticket either… we got a spare. However, you must support the Irish. This is nonnegotiable.
You also must be ready with Harry, right at noon for me. Try not to bring too many bags; I can't have Ron break his back while carrying your things.
See you soon. Hope you areas------------------
Whatever he planned to say, it was crossed out, and the ink wholly smudged.
I wanted to know what he said. I enjoyed every word.
However, what I did know was that I was going.
"MAHM," I ran down the stairs to see my mother waiting for me in the backyard with Harry and Ice Tea,
"Mrs. Weasley just wrote to me," She said with a smile. Sweeping the blonde hair from her face. "Arthur will come to collect both you- Ginny and Ron will be with him,"
"Ginny?" I perked up. "I was worried since she didn't write back,"
"Maybe her letter just got lost,"
"Their owl could have sent it…" My mother thought as she handed me a glass.
I nodded and took my seat next to Harry; he stayed while I finished my letters and well into the night. While he explained all he could about the world cup to me, we packed together that I could understand.
zzzzzzzzzzzzz
"Thank you for hosting Mrs. Dursley," I said. "My mom had to leave last night,"
"Of course. After all," Petunia shot me a tight smile. "The Weasley's were… eager to meet us,"
I smiled back and fiddled with my hair. Would he be here? If George was here, how would he react to see me? I bit the inside of my cheek to keep me from blushing.
"They are late," Petunia said.
"Yeah," Harry echoed, "They probably are lost,"
"They seemed to get here fine the last time they came," Mr. Dursley chimed in. He had been sitting at his chair, nervously folding and unfolding his newspaper.
Harry snuck me a smile at the memory. My mother was away when the Dursleys tried locking Harry up. I wrote to the Weasleys for help, and sure enough, the twins came through and took us both. That year I had a particularly annoying nanny, and while I did not need saving, George didn't want to leave me.
I was about to say something when Arthurs's voice boomed through the tiny home. From that point, it was a cloud of smoke and confusion. When it settled, five people stood before me.
I found George too fast. He was watching me, while everyone else greeted Harry, he walked forward slowly.
I took in a sharp breath as I waited for him. I had never been this nervous before. What had changed?
"Bagsy," George said before pulling me into a friendly hug. I wrapped my arms around his back with a friendly pat—nothing like the last time, not even a bit.
I wanted to feel sad, but George didn't allow me to do so. Before I knew it, his lips brushed my hair. "Told you I would see you sooner than you thought,"
"Always so smug," I teased as I gripped him for a second before letting go and greeting Ginny. As I hugged her, I felt Georges's eyes drift away from me.
"Maisie, is that you? I can barely see through a parade of red hair," Fred said. He stepped forward with Ron.
"I missed you all," I said as I threw my arms around Fred. It was always easier to reach for Fred. He didn't make me flush the way George could.
"We missed you too," Ron said. "Some more than others," There was an awkward wicked smile on his face. Soon Ron looked over only to be met with his sister stepping in, "Me the most,"
She said.
"So," I turned back to George, who already had my trunk in hand. "This all of it? I figured there would be another trunk dedicated to Badger memorabilia,"
I rolled my eyes as I reached for the second bag, only to have it snatched away. "George, I can carry it-"
"Course you can," He replied. "But I got to it first,"
I looked up at him and smiled before turning to Arthur. "Mr-"
"Arthur, please!" Mr. Weasley was pleased to do something other than try to make conversation with the bewildered hosts watching us. "Oh, Maisie, you have gotten so tall since I saw you last,"
I patted Mr. Weasley on the back affectionately. My own father was a mystery in every sense of the word, making Arthur a more welcomed sight than I wanted to admit. "I grew an inch, maybe,"
"An inch taller is still taller," He replied, looking me up and down with a friendly smile. "Do you have enough sweaters packed? It gets cold," I nodded. "Toothbrush?"
"Dad," Ginny said as she grabbed my hand and smiled, "She is all packed," Ginny turned to me, "Did you remember the sweater?"
"Of course… but why didn't you just ask me?" I tilted my head.
"I did?" She replied. "It was in my letter that you NEVER RESPONDED TO BY THE WAY,"
"No," I replied, "George told me, I didn't even get your letter,"
The playful smile Ginny wore slipped from her face and replaced with an expression of confusion. "You didn't get it?"
"Yeah," I sighed. "I was a little disappointed," I fake-pouted. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw George straighten. "I missed you,"
Ginny smiled again and sighed. "I knew I should have just given it to Lugh when I had the chance," She reached forward and hugged me again. "I missed you too,"
It made me feel better than Ginny was just as disappointed in the lack of reply as I was. She then pushed me away and turned to her brother in a swift motion. "How did you know about the sweater?"
George leaned back on his foot and shrugged. "All you talked about was that sweater and how cute it would look on you and how it would impress the pants-"
"OKAY, I GET IT," She replied, her eyes dashing towards Potter, who, as always, was oblivious.
Fred came back down, and Dudley followed him back into the room. "Oh Fred," I looked down at the ground to see sweets on the floor, "Are those yours?"
Hell ensued after that.