Raven (Fred x oc)

31. The Mystery of the Lack of a Quidditch Captain

"Can I help with anything?" I asked, stepping into the kitchen.

"Yes," Mrs. Weasley said, shoving some tablecloths into my arms. "Put those on the tables." Without another word, I nodded and went back outside. George and Ginny had come outside and were cheering with Fred as Bill and Charlie fought with their tables in the air.

"Will you keep it down?!" Percy bellowed, poking his head out of his window.

"Sorry, Perce," Bill laughed, still smiling widely. "How're the caldron bottoms coming on?"

"Very badly," Percy replied bitterly, slamming the window shut. I began to set up the tablecloths with Fred helping while the others were talking nearby. With a mischievous smirk, Fred grabbed the other tablecloth and began running away with it.

"Fred!" I cried with a laugh, running after him. "Come on, Fred, we need to set these up." He kept running around, not stopping as I ran after him, smiling widely.
.....................................................
Bill glanced over, hearing the laughter of Valerie and Fred as they ran around. "Fred!" Valerie cried, running after him until he turned, starting to chase after her.

"I'm going to get you!" he called, turning to tables as he ran after her, throwing the tablecloth in a heap on the table.

"No, Fred!" she laughed, running away as they both laughed. Fred caught up and wrapped his arms around her waist. Bill smiled as he saw how happy they both looked, their eyes light and shining as they laughed. Valerie's laughter was deep and rich, not the small chuckles he'd heard before. 
..................................................
"Let go of me!" I cried, still laughing as I struggled against Fred. Grabbing my hand, he did, pulling me to face his light, happy face, consumed with laughter. Someone cleared their throat loudly from the doorway, causing me to look over, letting go of Fred's hand. Mrs. Weasley was giving us an odd look, a dish of food in her hand. My smile faltering, I ran to quickly set up the tablecloth.

As we all sat down to eat, several different conversations started up. At the far end, Percy was talking at Mr. Weasley about his work and reports and such while Mrs. Weasley berated Bill about his long hair and the dangly fang earring he wore. "...with a horrible great fang on it. Really, Bill, what do they say at the bank?"

"Mum, no one at the bank gives a damn how I dress as long as I bring home plenty of treasure," Bill sighed patiently.

"And your hair's getting silly, dear, I wish you'd let me give it a trim," Mrs. Weasley said.

"I love it," Ginny said defensively from between Bill and I. "You're so old-fashioned, Mum. Anyway, it's nowhere near as long as Professor Dumbledore's." On the other side of me, Fred, George, and Charlie were all talking about the Quidditch World Cup.

"It's got to be Ireland," Charlie said firmly. "They flattened Peru in the semifinals."

"Bulgaria has got Viktor Krum, though," Fred said from beside me.

"One good player doesn't win the match," I countered. "From what I've heard, Ireland has got much better chasers. Personally, I think Ireland is going to win, but I wouldn't be surprised if Krum ends up being the one to catch the snitch."

"I wish England had got through," Charlie said, nodding in agreement at my assessment. "That was embarrassing, that was."

"What happened?" Harry asked.

"Went down to Transylvania, three hundred and ninety to ten," Charlie explained gloomily. "Shocking performance. And Wales lost to Uganda, and Scotland was slaughtered by Luxembourg."

"Speaking of Quidditch, do any of you know who the new Quidditch captain is for Gryffindor?" I asked, leaning forward to look at Harry as well as Fred and George.

"Honestly, I thought it was going to be you," George admitted. "You or Angelina."

"Me too," Fred said.

"No, it's not Angelina," I said. "She wrote to me asking if I knew who it was."

"Could it be Katie?" Harry asked.

"Maybe," I replied. "She's the only other person it could be, but I've been writing to her and she hasn't said anything."

"Weird," Charlie remarked, but he refused to make eye contact with any of us.

Narrowing my eyes at him suspiciously, I asked, "Charlie." He looked up. "What do you know that you're not telling us?"

"Hum?" he replied, raising his eyebrows and feigning innocence. "Nothing. What would I have to hide?"

"Charlie," I said, waiting for an answer. He gave me no answer, only smiled knowingly.

"I'll get it out of you," I stated, leaning back and taking a sip of my water.

"Get what out of me?" he asked, still smiling. I rolled my eyes. An owl swooped into the yard, landing in front of me. Carefully I removed the letter, smiling when I saw the name on the front.

"Who's it from?" Fred asked.

"It's from Dad," I said quietly, ignoring Charlie's intrigued look. "I'll be right back." Getting to my feet, I went into the house and opened the letter.

Dear Raven,
I heard you had to move away from Moony. I'm sorry, kiddo. I know how much you love him. I'm so proud of how well you did on your O.W.L.s. Since you asked, I'd suggest you just drop History of Magic and keep the rest.
That way you have plenty of options and you'll have more time to decide what you want to do. Many people will pressure you into making decisions right now, but you don't need to. Keep your options open and do what you're comfortable with and nothing more. I'll be proud of you no matter what you do with your life. Let me know how the Quidditch World Cup is.
Harry may have let me in on the fact that you're both going with Hermione and the Weasleys. Have fun and be safe. Based on what Harry's been saying and some word spreading around, something is coming. And I don't want you hurt in the process. Let me know if you need anything. Love you, Raven.
Love,
Dad

P.S. Also let me know if Fred does anything. I will become a murderer if need be.

I chuckled, folding up the letter and heading upstairs to Ginny's room. Opening my trunk, I pulled out the small red box Dad had given me of my mother's stuff. It was significantly fuller now as I had started putting Dad's letters with the other papers. Dropping the letter in, I shut the box and hid it among my things.