No Mouth But Some Serpent's

Chapter 2 - Old Family Rivalries

2. No mouth but some serpent's
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Chapter Two: Old Family Rivalries

"Ron!"

"Connor! Happy birthday, mate!"

Harry concealed a smile as he watched Ron and Connor rush together as if they'd been separated for a year instead of a few weeks. They didn't seem to quite know what to do when they'd reached each other, but they settled for one-armed hugs and slapping on the back. Then Connor stepped back and peered around Ron at the other Weasleys, who had met them just outside the brick wall at the back of the Leaky Cauldron.

"Gred and Forge," he said, with a grin, which Harry thought was probably a private joke that he didn't get. "Invented anything interesting lately?"

"Yes," said one of the twins at once. Harry had never learned how to tell them apart, since he hadn't spent enough time in Gryffindor Tower last year. He resolved to do it this term. It would help keep him from becoming more Slytherin, and that was all to the good, after the extremes to which Professor Snape had been willing to take his "persuasion" last year. "Try it." He held out a flat yellow cake to Connor, who eyed it nervously.

"Uh-no thanks, George," he said.

"I'm Fred," said the twin.

"No, I'm Fred," said the other.
Connor laughed along with Ron. Harry watched. He sometimes wished he could be as easy around other people as his twin was. Connor had adapted wonderfully well when he had to leave Godric's Hollow and go into the wider wizarding world. Things that others had taken for granted he learned to take for granted, too, even if he never appeared all that comfortable with his fame.
But then Harry pushed away his yearning for a life that couldn't be, and reminded himself that it was better this way. If he really were in the middle of everyone like that, he would have to pay too much attention to other people. This way, he could watch out for Connor.

"Connor, dear," said Mrs. Weasley, embracing Harry's brother hard enough to squeeze the rest of the air out of him. Harry studied her face for a moment. He knew she had lost two brothers in the first war against Voldemort. But she didn't show any trace of buried sadness. Perhaps the loss had been long enough ago that she had gotten over it. "I'm so glad that your parents agreed to let you come." She looked up at Lily and James then, and extended a hand, with a slightly nervous smile.

"Molly Weasley. This is my husband Arthur." She nodded to the red-haired and slightly chubby man beside her, who was engaged in reassuring an anxious-looking red-haired girl, probably his daughter. He looked up, abashed, when his wife hissed at him, and moved forward to offer his hand.

"James Potter," said their father with an easy smile, and clasped Arthur's hand back. "This is my wife Lily." Their mother nodded, her eyes scanning the way that Connor stood between the twins and Ron. Her face relaxed a second later when the girl eased nearer to Connor. Harry understood. Surrounded by so many people, his twin made a harder target to strike.

"You'll have heard of our son Ron, of course," Molly Weasley was fussing. "And this is our daughter Ginny. She's just starting at Hogwarts this year." Ginny ducked her head and flushed, hard enough to make her face compete with her hair. "These are our twins, Fred and George-" She pointed, a trifle uncertainly.

"Wrong again, Mum," said the twin on the left. "I'm George."

Molly Weasley ignored him, to her credit, Harry thought, and indicated the older Weasley boy who'd just stepped up behind Arthur, his hands calmly folded in front of him. "And this is our son Percy," she said, pride unmistakable in her voice. "He's a sixth-year, and a Gryffindor prefect, aren't you, Percy, dear?"
Percy nodded. Harry stared at him for a long moment. Percy had huge dark circles under his eyes, and his hands weren't really folded so much as clenched. He looked as though he had been under some great strain or worry lately. But his voice was calm and polite as he said, "Yes, Mother. It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Potter." He took Lily's hand, and she stared keenly into his eyes for a long moment before smiling.