𝐹𝑜𝓇𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 & 𝒜𝓁𝓌𝒶𝓎𝓈 | 𝐹𝓇𝑒𝒹 𝒲𝑒𝒶𝓈𝓁𝑒𝓎

Chapter 61

A few days later, Friday rolls around and with that, it means that it's time for the majority of the Weasleys to go and get her brother. And although she is slightly nervous, she is excited. She thinks the main reason for her nervousness is that she has to see her biological aunt and uncle for the first time since her third year. And it doesn't make her really happy to see the people who have been torturing her brother for years.

But here she is stuck in between Fred and a wall. "Ah. Fred move!" Lily complains.

"Harry? Harry, can you hear us?" George yells.

"Mr Weasley? Can you hear me?" they hear Harry ask yelling through the fireplace. "Mr Weasley, it's Harry... the fireplace has been blocked up. You won't be able to get through there."

"Damn!" Mr Weasley voices. "What on earth did they want to block the fireplace for?"

"They've got an electric fire," Harry explains.

"Really?" Mr Weasley asks excitedly. "Eclectic, you say? With a plug? Gracious, I must see that... Let's think... ouch, Ron!"

"What are we doing here? Has something gone wrong?" Ron asks.

"Oh no, Ron," Fred says sarcastically. "No, this is exactly where we wanted to end up."

"Yeah, we're having the time of our lives here," George says.

"Boys, boys..." Mr Weasley says. "I'm trying to think what to do... Yes... only... Stand back, Harry."

Before Lily could do anything, well, it's not as if she could do anything because she's still stuck behind Fred, a bright light and loud bang are seen and heard. The fire shoots across the room as the boarded-up fireplace bursts outwards expelling Mr Weasley, Fred, George, Ron and Lily in a cloud of rubble and loose chippings. "That's better," Mr Weasley pants, brushing dust from his long green robes and straightening his glasses. "Ah – you must be Harry's aunt and uncle!"

Mr Weasley moves towards Vernon, his hand outstretched but Vernon backs away several paces, dragging Petunia with him. "Er – yes – sorry about that," Mr Weasley says. "It's all my fault. It just didn't occur to me that we wouldn't be able to get out at the other end. I had your fireplace connected to the Floo Network, you see – just for an afternoon, you know, so we could get Harry. Muggle fireplaces aren't supposed to be connected, strictly speaking – but I've got a useful contact at the Floo Regulation Panel and he fixed it for me. I can put it fight in a jiffy though, don't worry. I'll light a fire to send the boys and Lily back, and then I can repair your fireplace before I disapparate."

"Hello, Harry!" Mr Weasley says brightly. "Got your trunk ready?"

"It's upstairs," Harry says, grinning back at everyone.

"We'll get it," Fred says at once. The twins leave the room before heading upstairs whilst Lily walks over to her brother.

"How are you? Hope they haven't been giving you any grief?" Lily asks her brother.

"No. Other than not allowing sweets and cakes in the house, it's been fine," Harry says,

"Ah, this is your cousin, is it, Harry?" Mr Weasley asks.

"Yep," Harry says. "That's Dudley."

"Having a good holiday, Dudley?" Mr Weasley asks kindly.

Dudley whimpers. Fred and George come back into the room carrying Harry's school trunk. "Ah, right," Mr Weasley says. "Better get cracking then."

He pushes up the sleeves of his robes and takes out his wand. Lily watches as the Dursleys drawback against the wall as one. "Incendio!" Mr Weasley says, pointing his wand at the hole in the wall behind him. Flames rise at once in the fireplace, crackling merrily as though they had been burning for hours. Mr Weasley takes a small draw-string bag from his pocket, unties it, takes a pinch of the powder and throws it onto the flames, which turn emerald green and roars higher than ever. "Off you go then, Fred," Mr Weasley says.

"Coming," Fred says. "Oh no – hang on –"

A bag of sweets spills out from Fred's pocket and the contents are now rolling in every direction – big, fat toffees in brightly coloured wrappers. Fred scrambles around, cramming them back into his pocket, then gives the Dursley's a cheery wave, steps forward and walks right into the fire, saying, "the Burrow!"

Petunia gives a little gasp. The is a whooshing sound and Fred vanishes. "Right then, George," says Mr Weasley. "you and the trunk."

Lily and Harry help George carry the trunk forward into the flames and turns it onto its end so that he could hold onto it better. Then, with a second whoosh, George cries, "the Burrow!" and vanishes too,

"Lily, you next," Mr Weasley says.

"See you," Lily says to the Dursleys. She grins broadly at her brother, then steps into the fire, shouting, "the Burrow!" before vanishing in a whoosh.

The first thing Lily sees when she opens her eyes again is Fred standing in front of the fireplace waiting for her, well, she assumes he's waiting for her. "Miss Potter," Fred says making Lily laugh slightly as he holds out his hand for her.

"Mr Weasley, so kind," Lily says, taking his hand stepping out of the fire and then going to lean against the kitchen counter. A few seconds later, Ron falls through the fire, covered in soot whilst Lily and Fred stand there laughing at him.

"Well done Ron," Lily says, still laughing. She walks over to him before holding out her hand to him and helping him up.

"Thanks," Ron mutters in embarrassment.

"Right, I'm going to have a shower because I look horrid. See you in a few," Lily says before kissing Fred on the cheek and heading upstairs.

***

By seven o'clock, two tables are groaning under dishes and dishes of Mrs Weasley's excellent cooking, and the nine Weasley, Harry, Hermione and Lily are settling themselves down to eat beneath a clear, deep-blue sky. At the far end of the table, Percy is telling Mr Weasley all about his report on cauldron bottoms. Next to Mrs Weasley, Fred, George and Charlie are all talking spiritedly about the World Cup whilst Ginny and Lily talk together.

About an hour later, Mrs Weasley pipes up, "Look at the time." Mrs Weasley looks at her wristwatch. "You really should be in bed, the whole lot of you – you'll be up at the crack of dawn to get to the Cup. Harry, if you leave your school list out, I'll get your things for you tomorrow in Diagon Alley. I'm getting everyone else's. There might not be time after the World Cup, the match went on for five days last time."

"Wow – hope it does this time!" Harry says.

"Well, I certainly don't," Percy says simultaneously. "I shudder to think what the state of my in-tray would be if I was away from work for five days."

However, Lily wasn't really paying attention to this, having leant her head on Fred's shoulder from being so tired. She didn't really know why she was so tired but the next thing she knows is feeling someone lift her up into her arms and then she was off.