Hidden Within The Stars | Enemies to Lovers | Fred Weasley x Fem Reader

Chapter Twenty

Y/n, Fred and George had only gone a few paces when Hermione's bandy-legged ginger cat, Crookshanks, came pelting out of the garden, bottle-brush tail held high in the air, chasing what looked like a muddy potato on legs. She recognised it instantly as a gnome. Bare​ly ten inches​es high, its horny little feet pattered very fast as it sprinted across the yard and dived headlong into one of the Wellington boots that lay scattered around the door.

Y/n could hear the gnome giggling madly as Crookshanks inserted a paw into the boot, trying to reach it. Meanwhile, a very loud crashing noise was coming from the other side of the house. The source of the commotion was revealed as they entered the garden and saw that Bill and Charlie both had their wands out and were making two battered old tables fly high above the lawn, smashing into each other, each attempting to knock the others out of the air. Fred and George started cheering, Ginny was laughing, and Hermione and Annie were hovering near the hedge, ap​par​ent​ly torn between amusement and anxiety.

Bill's table caught Char​lie's with a huge bang and knocked one of its legs off. There was a clatter from overhead, and they all looked up to see Percy's head poking out of a window on the second floor.

"Will you keep it down?!" he bellowed.

"Sorry, Perce," said Bill, grinning. "How's the cauldron bot​toms coming on?"

"Very badly," said Percy peevishly, and he slammed the window shut.

Chuck​ling, Bill, and Charlie directed the tables safely onto the grass, end to end, and then, with a flick of his wand, Bill reattached the table leg and conjured table​cloths from nowhere.

By seven o'clock, the two tables were groan​ing un​der dish​es and dish​es of Mrs. Weasley's excellent cooking, and the nine Weasleys, Harry, Hermione, Annie, and Y/n were settling themselves down to eat beneath a clear, deep-​blue sky. Y/n listened rather than talked as she helped herself to chicken and ham pie, boiled potatoes, and salad.

At the far end of the table, Percy was telling his father all about his report on cauldron bottoms.

"I've told Mr. Crouch that I'll have it ready by Tuesday," Percy was saying pompously. "That's a bit sooner than he expected it, but I like to keep on top of things. I think he'll be grateful I've done it in good time, I mean, it is extremely busy in our department just now, what with all the arrangements for the World Cup. We're just not getting the support we need from the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Lu​do Bag​man -"

"I like Lu​do," said Mr. Weasley mildly. "He was the one who got us such good tickets for the Cup. I did him a bit of a favor: His brother, Otto, got into a spot of trouble - a lawnmower with unnatural powers - I smoothed the whole thing over."

"Oh Bag​man's likable enough, of course," said Percy dismissively, "but how he ever got to be Head of Department...when I compare him to Mr. Crouch! I can't see Mr. Crouch losing a member of our department and not trying to find out what's happened to them. Do you realise Bertha Jorkins has been missing for over a month now? Went on holiday to Albania and never came back?"

"Yes, I was asking Lu​do about that," said Mr. Weasley, frowning. "He says Bertha's got​ten lost plenty of times before now - though must say, if it was someone in my department, I'd be worried. ..."

"Oh Bertha's hope​less, all right," said Percy. "I hear she's been shunted from department to department for years, much more trouble than she's worth...but all the same, Bag​man ought to be trying to find her. Mr. Crouch has been taking a personal interest, she worked in our department at one time, you know, and I think Mr. Crouch was quite fond of her - but Bagman just keeps laughing and saying she probably misread the map and ended up in Australia instead of Albania. However" - Percy heaved an impressive sigh and took a deep swig of el​der​flow​er wine - "we've got quite enough on our plates at the Department of International Magical Cooperation without trying to find members of other departments too. As you know, we've got another big event to organise right after the World Cup."