(Eng) Weasleys, Pranks and other Curses

13

Time lost its meaning as I floated in drugged delirium. I could hear Ginny and Mrs. Weasley. The twins were joking with each other. But the room around me was changing. Someone had moved me. Had I let go of George before or after? I was in a car. With many more people than should actually fit in a car. Had I put on my seat belt?

Medicine kept being given to me, but my tongue was fortunately too numb to taste anything.

People around me spoke more quietly when they noticed I was waking up, but I hadn't overheard a single conversation.

My next memory was waking up on a sofa with too many people scurrying around me. The house was - taking some getting used to. It seemed to be crammed not only with people, but also with stuff. There were books and clothes everywhere and somewhere behind me a cat was grumbling to itself.

"Crookshanks, get out of there!" A girl, maybe my age with brown curls came out from the crowd of people. "Oh," she moaned softly as she looked at me. "You're awake. How are you?" She knelt down in front of me.

"I'm not sure. Where's up?" Still the room turned back and forth, like a ship in a storm. Fortunately, I didn't get seasick easily.

With the girl's help, we straightened me up. "I'm Hermione, by the way," she explained when I was secure enough so she didn't have to hold me.

"Ah! The clever one!", I blurted out. Ginny had told me about her. She was a year below me and now already had her reputation as top of the year, even though not even half of the school year was over.

Finally, the others noticed that I had come around.

"How are you?" came Misses Weasley immediately and leaned over to me. Carefully, she felt my forehead as if I had a fever. "You had us quite worried in between."

"Sorry," I mumbled uncertainly, letting her motherly concern wash over me with confusion. She didn't know me at all. Why did she go to so much trouble?

"Oh, don't. Can you get up? I've made some sandwiches. You must be starving."

Sure enough, my stomach was rumbling with a mixture of nausea and hunger. Getting up from the sofa was no problem, only standing up straight gave me trouble.

A couple of sandwiches was the understatement of the year. On the long dining table were several plates with pyramids of rolls and sandwiches. Someone pulled the chair out for me and I took a seat, stomach growling.

"It's nothing special," Misses Weasley apologized again. "But I thought this would be easiest." She nodded toward my arm. Good thinking.

"It's wonderful. Thank you so much for your trouble," I thanked her artfully. And then chaos broke out. Plates were whisked from one side of the table to the other, breads flew through the air, and a cheese sandwich landed on the plate in front of me. From across the table, George winked at me conspiratorially before snatching his bread away from Ron right in front of his mouth.

"Just say what you want," Ginny remarked with her mouth full. "I'll take care of it." She tried to wink just like George, but couldn't quite decide whether to wink left or right, so she just blinked very tensely.

I couldn't help but chuckle softly before turning my attention to the cheese sandwich.

What a chaotic family.

We were halfway through the sandwiches when the large grandfather clock to my right made a sound. One of the hands, which I couldn't make out at a distance, had jumped over. There were clearly too many hands for a normal clock, but before I could worry about it, there was a rumble behind me.

"Bill, there you are," Misses Weasley called out, jumping up from her chair. Another Weasley had arrived through the fireplace. Curious, I spun around and swallowed the last bite noisily.

"William?!", I groaned in disbelief and was halfway across the room before he looked up at me.

"Hey Renard Junior," he laughed as I wrapped my arm around his neck.

"Ouch!", I cursed and immediately took my distance again. I had been so impetuous that I had trapped my injured arm between us.

"That looks bad," he groaned, but kept a laugh in his voice. "Soon you'll have me to compete with."

I hadn't noticed the gruesome scar running across his face, and wondered for the umpteenth time where my glasses actually were. My contact lenses desperately needed to come out. "Tried to copy me what?", I joked back, only now noticing the general silence behind me.

"You guys know each other?" Fred was the first to break through the general confusion.

"Long story," William waved it off and gave me a quick nod. He respected that this was my story. He wouldn't say anything until I was ready. "Did you leave some for me, or do I have to hex one of you to get some more food?"

"Anything for you, William," George mimicked me, and immediately everyone moved a bit closer together so the first Weasley son could sit down as well.

Only when the last crumb had been devoured did their eyes wander back to me. Misses Weasley was about to come to my rescue when I surrendered with a sigh.

"Guess I have a bit of explaining to do."

"Shall we pop some popcorn?" joked Fred, earning a kick under the table. If I had to guess whether it had been Mrs. Weasley or Ginny, I couldn't have told.

But I laughed dryly. "It's too short a story for that." I wasn't ready to reveal every detail. "First, how I know William."

"Bill, please. No one calls me William."

"Bill," I corrected. "A few years ago, he and my parents worked together. A site in Greece that desperately needed curse breakers."

"And your parents are curse breakers too?" asked Ron, sitting next to Hermione and a dark haired boy I remembered. Oh yeah. Harry Potter.

Bill let out a laugh. "They're THE curse breakers, Ron. I almost had them sign an autograph for me when I first met them."

I blushed up to both ears. Yes. My parents had that reputation. And that had been the only reason for my stupidity. "I often dropped off snacks for lunch back then," I continued to explain, only getting redder. Maybe Bill had been the reason. But I'd rather have another encounter with the fog vulture than confess that.

"You've grown quite a bit since then," Bill remarked, "Too bad you don't wear the pigtails anymore."

A vein was about to burst in my brain, so much blood was in my head by now. "That was ages ago," I quickly changed the subject. "I didn't even know your name was Weasley."

"What did you think Mister W stood for?"

"William." I felt stupid. But that had been three, almost four years ago now. I really hadn't given much thought to why the supervisor had called him Mister W instead of using his full name.

"Well," I finally continued after a round of laughs at my expense. "My parents' work is kind of why I'm sitting here like this now, too." I wanted to raise my arm, but immediately let it go. The pain was getting worse again. "We were in Scandinavia and my parents were investigating an old cursed grave. And well, I guess I touched something I shouldn't have." I shrugged my healed shoulder. That was a good summary of what had really happened.

"And your parents can't do anything?" asked Ron again.

"Ron!" hissed Hermione at him. "Do you think she would have - this would have happened otherwise?"

"Sorry."

"And that's where I come in," Bill drew attention. "I can't break the curse either, but I can make sure we're safe and sound."

George must have given me the antidote for the love potion at some point, because otherwise my heart wouldn't be able to beat as fast as it did when Bill smiled encouragingly at me.

"Don't worry. I've learned a thing or two since Greece."