𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑢𝑝𝑜𝑛 𝑎 𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚 \\ 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗷. 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿

𝑋𝑋𝐼𝐼.

— ✩ ☽ ✩ —

𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙮-𝙩𝙬𝙤

— ✩ ☽ ✩ —

AN HOUR AND a half later, Mrs. Weasley was shouting for dinner. Mr. Weasley and Harry had arrived, and the large table outside in the backyard was set up by Ron, Jacob, and the twins. Caroline and Ginny rushed down the stairs, both taking bowls of food from the kitchen into the backyard, where they saw Harry greeting Ron.

      He noticed Jacob, gave him a high five, and then started looking around for Caroline. He sent her a wave when he saw her. Caroline waved back. She caught up with Ginny, quickly putting the potatoes in the table. She walked up to Harry, smiling. "Hi, Harry." she said, getting closer. His hair was longer, and Caroline liked it. She thought it was a nice change.

      "Carol, hi." Harry said, meeting her halfway. Her braids were cut away, and her dark curls were coiled around her head, a golden tint to them. She looked lighter. Harry smiled at her.

      "How was your summer?" Caroline asked. She decided she had to do it. Caroline walked closer to Harry Potter and gave him a hug. She placed her arms around his neck, her chin resting on his shoulder.

      "Good, yeah. Good." Harry said, his arms falling around Caroline's waist. He had to bite his lip to keep from smiling too big.

      Caroline pulled away. Harry did what he always did; gave her a pat on the shoulder, and Caroline's cheeks flushed. "Good. That's good," Caroline could sense the awkwardness. It was tense, and she didn't like it. "We should probably sit."

      "Yeah. Sittings good." Harry agreed. Ron came out of nowhere, pulling him over to the opposite side of the table that Ginny and Caroline's chairs were.

      Caroline walked over, composing herself, hoping her cheeks would have gone back to normal colour by the time she sat down. Ginny sent her a questioning look when Caroline sat down. Caroline brushed her off, filling her plate full of Mrs. Weasley's amazing food. Mr. Weasley sat down, and the conversation started flowing.

      "Harry, how was your summer? Are you excited for the Cup?" Mr. Weasley questioned, filling his own plate.

      Harry looked up from his conversation with Ron. "Oh, it was good, sir. And yes, I can't wait for the game. I'm really looking forward to it."

      Mr. Weasley smiled. "Good. We're going to have a full tent. Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, Harry, Hermione, Jacob, Caroline and myself. We'll make do, of course." he smiled.

      "Well, of course you'll make do. And you'll have the best time, all of you." Mrs. Weasley said, scolding the twins for doing stupid things.

      "We all appreciate the invitations, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley." Caroline said, eating some of the meat Mrs. Weasley made.

      "Oh, anytime, darlings!" Mrs. Weasley said.

      "Did you have a nice summer, Caroline and Jacob?" Mr. Weasley asked them, taking a drink.

      Caroline and Jacob nodded. "Pretty good, yeah. We didn't do much, did we?"

      Jacob shook his head. "She snuck out to chart stupid stars every night. I didn't do a lot." answered the boy, eating some of his vegetables. Caroline turned her head towards her brother, narrowing her eyes at him. Jacob was getting older, and that meant he was the stereotypical little brother, always eager to get his sister into trouble.