Relatives

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

All the Weasleys except Arthur and Molly were there, crouched around the fireplace. George was sitting directly in front of the hearth, so I couldn't see the flames, but from the bright orange glow emanating from the fireplace, I could tell it was lit.

As soon as I came into the room, the Weasleys all jumped an impressive number of feet in the air. Almost in sync, they all turned to face me, their eyes wide with surprise.

"R-Rachel!" George stuttered, hastily moving closer in front of the fireplace. What was he trying to hide? "Eavesdropping, are we?" he asked, forcing a smirk.

"I've known you were hiding a secret ever since you walked in the door." I said coldly, "I'm tired of pretending I don't know anything. What are you hiding, spit it out."

Ginny gulped, "You probably want to know who we were talking to." She said nervously.

"But," injected Charlie hastily, "As you can see, there's no one else here!"

"Actually," I screeched, my voice high with hysteria, "I came here to ask what basilisks, Philosopher's Stones, Dementors, and Patronuses are, but now that you mention it, yes I want to know who you were talking to!"

Five jaws around the room dropped, and many sets of eyes were now the size of tennis balls. For a seconds, there was a moment of shocked silence.

"Bloody hell, Rachel, where did you hear about that?!" demanded Ron.

"In a pub." I said shortly, "More specifically, the pub you, Ginny, George, his twin Fred, and a bunch of other teenagers gathered at a few years ago to organize secret defense lessons with a guy named Harry. Did I mention you were doing this to defeat some guy named Voldemort?! And what's with those sticks you were all carrying?!"

Every face in the room was white as chalk, Ginny looked like she was about to faint. Suddenly, in a blur of tangled limbs and flailing arms I felt myself being tackled to the ground. Ron kneeled on top of my chest, pinning me down to the floor. I noticed his right hand was clutching a stick, which he was pointing directly at my face. What were those chunks of wood so important for?!

"How did you know about that?!" he said, his voice deadly quiet.

"Tell me your secret and I'll tell you mine." I said stubbornly, "Now get off me."

Ron didn't move until Bills scarred hand gripped his shoulder, "Ron, get off her."

The ginger grudgingly obeyed and stood up next to his brother. A took a deep breath and rubbed my chest where Ron had been kneeling on it. I noticed someone had put out the fire. Bill turned to Ginny.

"Get mum and dad." He said. Ginny immediately turned and sprinted from the room. He turned to me, his eyes steely. "Rachel, tell us, or we will make you tell us, how did you know about that?" His eyes locked on to me, with such ferocity and intensity I couldn't help but shiver. That guy could me really scary when he wanted.

"Geez, Bill. Stop doing your werewolf stare, it's freaking her out. And me too." Said Fred, taking a few steps back. Bill blinked, as if he had just realized what he was doing.

"Sorry." He said hastily. Then, he turned back to me. "Rachel...?"

At that moment, Ginny skidded into the room, followed by Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, who were both panting for breath.

"Is it true?" asked Mr. Weasley at once. Bill nodded.

"I would erase her memory right away, but she won't say how she knows about the first D.A. meeting." Said Charlie. I noticed he was twirling a stick nervously in his fingers. Okay, those were obviously more than just sticks.