The Dark Mark (The Girl Who Lived part II)

Dinner For Two

I said my goodbye's to the twins. Fred was especially sad that I'd be going. Most likely because he had to put up with George's antics. He even went so far as to sit on my foot and hug my leg. "Don't go". He said, as I tried to shake him off. It was like I was a mother trying to send my child off to their first day of school. "Ron, can I get some help here?" I tried to separate him from my leg. No such luck. Fred wouldn't budge. Meanwhile George who simply witnessed the scene, felt rather insulted. "Well, I never". He said. I was able to make it to the bottom of the stair case, but no further than that. There was no more strength in my leg left. 

"Ron to the rescue". Ron tried to pry Fred off with no such luck. For lack of a better expression, Ron was sweating like a pig after the first few yanks. Large beads of sweat quickly formed on his forehead. Ron stopped for a couple minutes for a rest. He was slightly bent over, his hand on his side, panting like crazy. "I gotta lay off the pumpkin bread. And the chocolate frogs. Those cakes, too. And....." Ron trailed off. His mouth began to drool from the idea of food. Harry tried as well. And even with his strength combined with Ron, they could not make Fred budge. "Let me handle this". Hermoine said. "What you gonna do, punish me? We're not at Hogwarts. Your rule as a Prefect has no effect on me". Fred said defiantly. "Even worse". Hermoine crossed her arms. Fred's eyes widened knowing exactly what her words meant. "You wouldn't dare". "I would. I've already figured out how I'll write it. 'Dear, Mrs. Weasley'-" She stopped when Fred removed himself from my leg. "Fine. I'll see you later, Scarlet". 

We returned to the Burrow. Mrs. Weasley was quite eager to see me, as well as Mr. Weasley. I'd heard from Mrs. Weasley that Mr. Weasley couldn't put down the WD-40 and duct tape that I had bought him as a christmas present. She said in her letter to me that Mr. Weasley began using the two tools to fix everything around the house. Sure enough, I found several items around the Burrow that easily could've been fixed with magic, poorly repaired with WD-40 and the duct tape. It was late. All of the Weasley's were hungry, and I needed to unpack my bag. I insisted that they eat without me. I later crept downstairs to get myself a snack to tide me over until breakfast.

I rounded the corner and entered the kitchen, expecting no one to be sitting at the kitchen table. The lights were off. Everyone had either gone upstairs to bed or was preparing for another year at Hogwarts. Sure enough, there was. Ron sat at the kitchen table, staring at an empty plate, which had most likely been licked clean. I nearly jumped when I saw him sitting there in the darkness. "Ron, what are you doing up?" I placed my hand over my chest as if to calm my fast beating heart. "I could ask you the same thing". He said. "I couldn't sleep. And you?" "I'm hungry again. I don't know how to work the stove". He said sheepishly, staring down at the plate again. "Would you care to use your Christmas present? I'll make you anything that you want". "Yes please. I'll have a grilled cheese". "Wait a bit". I said, to him. I heated a skillet with butter. I placed pieces of simple white bread onto the sizzling pan, frying them on one side. Then, I placed cheese in between the two slices of bread on the sides that had been toasted. A white smoke came from the grilled cheese as it finished cooking. 

I cut the sandwich into triangles. Ron liked the presentation better this way. I placed the sandwich on a plate and set it in front of Ron, taking away the plate that he had licked clean and placing it in the sink. "Aren't you eating? Why don't you join me?" Ron asked as I washed the dishes. He pulled out a chair for me to sit in. When the dishes were done, I took his offer. I sat beside him, watching him bite into his sandwich. "Aren't you eating?" He asked me. "Maybe a bit later". A noise came from within my stomach. A grumble. And in all Weasley history, I witnessed a scene that I thought would never occur. Ron held up half of his sandwich. He was offering me some of his food. 

If it were an ordinary person, this wouldn't be that big of a deal. But this was Ron we were talking about. The same person who you thought would bite your fingers if you got in between him and his food. I graciously accepted the offering. The grilled cheese was no longer hot. Or warm, for the matter. But we nibbled on it anyway. I scooted out my chair, ready to wash the one plate so there would be no dishes in the sink. Ron grabbed the plate before I could. "You'd better get some rest. I heard from Mum that we're going on a trip with Dad tomorrow". I heard him say over the running water. I went upstairs to my room, but I didn't sleep.

I laid awake in bed all night. The same thoughts circled through my head as if they were part of a cycle. In the morning before the sun had risen and the rooster had awoken to say "cock-a-doodle-doo", I heard a scream. A very girlish scream. I rushed to Ginny's room to find her still in her pajamas, soaked from head to toe. Mr. Weasley and the twins stood beside her, buckets in hands. "Good that your up, dear Scarlet. We were just about to wake you up next". They said. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be at your shop?" I asked them. "We closed it temporarily. We couldn't miss an occasion as amusing as this one". Said George. "Oh, look at the time. Looks like it's time to wake up our dear little brother". Fred said, holding up his bucket full of ice more than water. "What occasion?" I asked Mr. Weasley. I still wasn't quite filled in. "I'll tell you all about it downstairs. But for now, just get dressed and pack a couple day's worth of clothes". He said before heading downstairs. He appeared eager. Rather excited. He had that glint in his eye that he only got when he discussed muggles or inspected a muggle object. I suppose that we'll be doing something that has to do with muggles.

There was the chattering of teeth. "Sorry, Ginny. Let's get you into comfortable clothes". If Ginny could be described in one word, it would be "girly". Just as you would call Hermoine, intelligent. Ginny's outfits were nearly all dresses. She didn't have any clothes that she didn't mind getting dirty. So I lent her some of mine. I returned with one of my loosest shirts and a pair of shorts that were a size too big. I was after all, skinnier than she was. I allowed her time to change out of her soaked clothes as I threw a few of my things into a satchel. We went downstairs together to find almost everyone ready to go on whatever Mr. Weasley had planned to drag us on. Whether we wanted to go, or not. Mrs. Weasley was the only one who didn't have a bag of things. "Mrs. Weasley, aren't you going with us?" She shook her head. "Someone's gotta stay here". She said. "If you want, I wouldn't mind staying behind to watch the Burrow". I offered. But she shook her head once more. Mrs. Weasley seemed perfectly content with remaining here.

"Before you return to Hogwarts, I thought it'd be fun to go on a trip as a family". "Is this mandatory?" Complained Ron. "But I need to study". Hermoine said, as she looked up from one of her books that she needed for next year. She had already gotten halfway through. "Where are we going?" I asked with enthusiasm. I figured that it'd make Mr. Weasley feel better if at least one person seemed excited about this trip. "We're going to live in the world of muggles for a few days. A couple days without magic will do us some good. Wands, please". He confiscated our wands and shoved them inside his bulky bag. I finally understood the true purpose of the trip. It wasn't because living in the muggle world would do us any good. But Mrs. Weasley wouldn't let Mr. Weasley go out on his own to explore things because she knew that he'd get into trouble. Thus, forming this into a family trip.