Change the Future

*Second Year*

Water fight

The garden at the Burrow was chaos, gnomes skittering under bushes, Fred and George cackling as they launched water balloons off the roof, and Mrs. Weasley shouting from the kitchen window. Rory, soaked to the bone, ducked behind a hedge, face flushed with laughter. Charlie slid in beside her, also dripping.

“That was your idea” he accused, pushing wet hair out of his face.

“And you followed it”

“You said it’d be a distraction. You didn’t say I’d get ambushed” Rory grinned.

“That’s on you.” He rolled his eyes, but the corner of his mouth twitched.

“You’re lucky I like you”

"I know I am" Then Fred screamed across the garden. “Come on” Rory said, grabbing Charlie’s hand and pulling him with her. “Let’s take the hose next”

Train

“I can’t wait for next year we get to go too” Harry said excitedly, glancing at Ron as they walked through King’s Cross Station. They were headed to see off Rory, Fred, and George for their second year at Hogwarts, Percy for his fourth, and Charlie for his fifth.

“Excited for another year, Nova?” Charlie asked, walking beside Rory as the group made their way through the busy station.

“Very” Rory replied, grinning. “Though it’s going to be weird without Bill this year. And what about you, Mr. Prefect are you going to try and put me in detention, or are you going to be like Bill and pretend you never saw anything?”

“That depends” Charlie said, smirking.

“On what?”

“How much you annoy me” Rory gasped mockingly.

“That’s not fair! I love annoying you it’s the only time we actually talk”

“You do know you can talk to me without being annoying, right?” he said with a raised brow.

“Sure, because every fifth year just lives for conversations with second years”

“If it’s you, I’ll make an exception” Rory grinned mischievously.

“You’re going to regret saying that, Charlie. I’m going to talk to you every single time I see you now” They both burst out laughing as the group began going through the barrier in pairs. Rory walked through with Charlie, emerging on Platform 9¾ to the sound of the train’s whistle and the hum of excited chatter.

“Right, Rory” Lily said, pulling her daughter into a hug. “Please try and be good this year”

“I’m always good, Mum” Rory replied innocently. Charlie let out a small, knowing laugh behind her.

“Have a good year, Wolf” James said, wrapping her in a warm hug. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Sirius says have fun but try not to get caught” Rory’s eyes sparkled.

“I will, Dad”

“I love you, sweetheart”

“I love you too” she said, hugging him tightly one last time before grabbing her trunk and heading off with the twins to find Lee. “LEE!” Rory called as she spotted him standing by an open compartment door. He turned at the sound of her voice and grinned, throwing his arms around her in a hug.

“Hey guys! Good summer?” They all filed into the compartment, getting settled as the train began to fill up.

“Standard summer, really” Rory said as she dropped into a seat. “Spent a lot of time with these two” she added, jabbing a thumb at Fred and George.