pretty girl diggory- R.Weasley

5:4

"Your — ?"

     "My dear old mum, yeah," Sirius said. "We've been trying to get her down for a month but we think she put a Permanent Sticking Charm on the back of the canvas. Let's get downstairs, quick, before they all wake up again."

       "But what's a portrait of your mother doing here?" Harry asked, bewildered, as they went through the door from the hall and led the way down a flight of narrow stone steps, the others just behind them.

     "Hasn't anyone told you? This was my parents' house," Sirius said. "But I'm the last Black left, so it's mine now -- mine and Lyra's. I offered it to Dumbledore for headquarters— about the only useful thing I've been able to do."

     They followed Sirius to the bottom of the stairs and through a door leading into the basement kitchen.

    As they sat down Mrs. Weasley started to unload dinner plates.

   From Celestes seat she could see Mundungus fumbling nervously in his pockets, still staring at Harry, and pulled out a grimy black pipe. He stuck it in his mouth, ignited the end of it with his wand, and took a deep pull on it. Great billowing clouds of greenish smoke obscured him in seconds.

    "Owe you a 'pology," grunted a voice from the middle of the smelly cloud

    ."For the last time, Mundungus," Mrs. Weasley called, "will you please not smoke that thing in the kitchen, especially not when we're about to eat!"

     "Ah," Mundungus said.

     "Right. Sorry, Molly."The cloud of smoke vanished as Mundungus stowed his pipe back in his pocket, but an acrid smell of burning socks lingered.

    "And if you want dinner before midnight I'll need a hand," Mrs. Weasley said to the room at large. "No, you can stay where you are, Harry dear, you've had a long journey —"

     "What can I do, Molly?" Tonks said enthusiastically, bounding forward.

    Mrs. Weasley hesitated, looking apprehensive.

    "Er — no, it's all right, Tonks, you have a rest too, you've done enough today—"

     "No, no, I want to help!" Tonks said brightly, knocking over a chair as she hurried toward the dresser from which Ginny was collecting cutlery.

    "Oh, I'd love to help too!" Lyra grinned, rushing over.

   "No -- you're a horrible cook!" Sirius said.

   "Oh, shut up!"

    Soon a series of heavy knives were chopping meat and vegetables of their own accord, supervised by Mr. Weasley, while Mrs. Weasley stirred a cauldron dangling over the fire and the others took out plates, more goblets, and food from the pantry.

    "Fred — George — NO, JUST CARRY THEM!" Mrs. Weasley shrieked.

    Harry, Sirius, Celeste, Hermione, and Mundungus looked around and, a split second later, dived away from the table. Fred and George had bewitched a large cauldron of stew, an iron flagon of butterbeer, and a heavy wooden breadboard, complete with knife, to hurtle through the air toward them. The stew skidded the length of the table and came to a halt just before the end, leaving a long black burn on the wooden surface, the flagon of butterbeer fell with a crash, spilling its contents everywhere, and the bread knife slipped off the board and landed, point down and quivering ominously, exactly where Sirius's right hand had been seconds before.

   "FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE!" Mrs. Weasley screamed. "THERE WAS NO NEED — I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS — JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE ALLOWED TO USE MAGIC NOW YOU DON'T HAVE TO WHIP YOUR  WANDS OUT FOR EVERY TINY LITTLE THING!"