A Love Purer Than Blood

8. The Adopted Weasley Girl

Mrs Weasley sighed deeply as she sank into her favourite armchair, her mind and body finally at ease. The lasting smell of dinner still lingering in the air lulled her into a dreamlike state. She was finally at peace, all bar one of her children at Hogwarts, and her husband fixed on his work. She had expected a quiet night in with possibly a book or her knitting. What she hadn't expected was to hear the voice of her children in the fire.

"Mum... pssst... mum!" Came the frantic whispers from the flames.

"D'ya think she can hear us? Mum!" The whispers were quiet but still they seemed loud in the quiet room.

Mrs Weasley sighed, her eyes refusing to open. "I told you boys emergency only. What could you possibly have done that constitutes an emergency this early in the year?"

"Honestly woman, you call yourself our mother."

"It's like she doesn't know us at all, George."

"I bet she'd listen to Percy if he called."

"Percy doesn't make half as much noise as you two." Mrs Weasley finally opened her eyes and noticed Arthur poking his head around the corner of the room to investigate the noise. "The boys have done something."

He sighed, readying himself for a stern conversation. "Already?"

"No, mum, we need you to make a cake."

"Your birthday isn't until April." Mrs Weasley noted.

"No, mum, it's for... a friend."

"A friend." Mr Weasley frowned, knowing the boys and the potential friends they could have made.

"It's for.... What was her name Fred?"

"Lily... but dad might know her as the girl that always used to hang around Mr Malfoy."

"The dragon girl?" Arthur backed away at the news, astounded that the girl had lived this long, let alone made it to Hogwarts.

"Yeah, Mr Malfoy doesn't give her birthdays, and she's never had a cake." Fred asked.

"We could have asked more questions but of course we wouldn't want to pry."

Arthur sighed. "Of course not."

"So, mum, is it okay if you make Lily a cake?" In the silence that followed Fred's question, Arthur turned, but his wife was no longer there.

Molly had heard the name and knew instantly the type of life the girl had experienced. Determined to give the girl a good birthday, she rolled up her sleeves and donned her apron.

"Arthur." She called from the kitchen. "Get me some more butter and eggs, I'll be damned if this isn't going to be the best cake I've ever made. And get me some more wool. The girl will need a Christmas jumper."

"Yes dear." Arthur smiled at his wife warmly, for he too knew of the girl. "To bed boys, I'm sure your mum will have that cake with you by morning."

"Just don't send Erroll, we'll never get it in one piece." The boys said together as they pulled their heads from the fire.

Lily awoke the following morning with a tingling sensation in her hidden wings, the phalanges needing desperately to stretch out. Lily did her best in her drowsy state to release them quietly, grateful to herself for wearing the perfect tank top to sleep in. Her wings stretched out through the open holes of the fabric, eliciting a purr of satisfaction from the girl.

Slowly the girls in the dorm stirred awake to the sight of Lily curled up in the middle of the room, wings outstretched, and a calm look on her face.

"Lily?" Waverly asked timidly. "Are you alright?"