WE'LL TAKE ON THE WORLD ; h.j.p.

2 | O.W.L. Results

The bedroom door flew open again, and he yanked the bedcovers up to his chin so hard that Hermione, Ginny, and Allison slid off the bed onto the floor. Fleur was carrying a heavily laden breakfast tray which Mrs. Weasley had been preparing a few minutes ago.

"'Arry," she said in a throaty voice. "Eet 'as been too long!"

As she swept over the threshold toward him, Mrs. Weasley was revealed, bobbing along in her wake, looking rather cross.

"There was no need to bring up the tray, I was just about to do it myself!"

"Eet was no trouble," Fleur said, setting the tray across Harry's knees and then swooping to kiss him on each cheek. "I 'ave been longing to see 'im. You remember my seester, Gabrielle? She never stops talking about 'Arry Potter. She will be delighted to see you again."

"Oh...is she here too?" Harry croaked, his cheeks deeply red.

"No, no, silly boy," Fleur said with a tinkling laugh, "I mean next summer, when we - but do you not know?"

Her great blue eyes widened, and she looked reproachfully at Mrs. Weasley, who said, "We hadn't got around to telling him yet."

Fleur turned back to Harry, swinging her silvery sheet of hair so that it whipped Mrs. Weasley across the face. "Bill and I are going to be married!"

"Oh," said Harry blankly. "Wow. Er - congratulations!"

She swooped down upon him and kissed him again.

"Bill is very busy at ze moment, working very 'ard, and I only work part-time at Gringotts for my Eenglish, so he brought me 'ere for a few days to get to know 'is family properly. I was so pleased to 'ear you would be coming - zere isn't much to do 'ere, unless you like cooking and chickens! Well - enjoy your breakfast, 'Arry!"

With these words she turned gracefully and seemed to float out of the room, closing the door quietly behind her. Mrs. Weasley made a noise that sounded like "tchah!"

"Mum hates her," said Ginny quietly.

"I do not hate her!" said Mrs. Weasley in a cross whisper. "I just think they've hurried into this engagement, that's all!"

"They've known each other for a year," Ron said, who looked oddly groggy and was staring at the closed door.

"Well, that's not very long! I know why it's happened, of course. It's all this uncertainty with You-Know-Who coming back, people think they might be dead tomorrow, so they're rushing all sorts of decisions they'd normally take time over. It was the same last time he was powerful, people eloping left, right, and centre -"

"Including you and Dad," said Ginny slyly.

"Yes, well, your father and I were made for each other, what was the point in waiting?" Mrs. Weasley said. "Whereas Bill and Fleur...well...what have they really got in common? He's a hardworking, down-to-earth sort of person, whereas she's -"

"A cow," said Ginny, nodding. "But Bill's not that down-to-earth. He's a Curse-Breaker, isn't he? He likes a bit of adventure, a bit of glamour...I expect that's why he's gone for Phlegm."

"Stop calling her that, Ginny," said Mrs. Weasley sharply. "Well, I'd better get on...Eat your eggs while they're warm, Harry."

Looking careworn, she left the room. Allison stood up from the floor and hopped back onto the bed. Ron still seemed slightly punch-drunk; he was shaking his head experimentally like a dog trying to rid its ears of water.

"Don't you get used to her if she's staying in the same house?" Harry asked.

"Well, you do," Ron said, "but if she jumps out at you unexpectedly, like that..."