A Chance Encounter | Fred Weasley

Chapter 9

The Weasleys were finishing their Christmas breakfast and enjoying several laughs as Ron and Harry began to test out some of the Weasley Wizard Wheezes products they had received from Fred and George that morning.

A knock came at the door.

Everyone looked around in slight confusion, as they weren't expecting any company.

Fred stood up to answer the door, surprised to see Michael on the other side.

"Mikey! What a surprise, mate."

Michael was beaming from ear to ear. "Good morning, Fred. Good morning everyone!" he greeted as he peered inside to see the entire household.

"What brings you here so early?" George asked as he walked over. "And did you like your gifts?"

Michael nodded. "They're brilliant! Thank you!" Michael chuckled a little, trying to contain his excitement. "Well, my sister got me a new broom for Christmas so that I could do better in Quidditch and...we wanted to issue your family a little challenge."

Fred and George looked past Michael to see both Roman and Clara standing a ways away, both clad in Quidditch gear, both with brooms in hand.

"The three of you? Versus our family? We have nearly an entire team just sitting here in the dining room. I don't think it'd be fair," Fred laughed.

Michael raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "You don't know my family very well, do you?"

"I told you they'd be too chicken, Mikey," Clara called out.

Fred shot her a mean, but playful look. "You didn't even play Quidditch in school!"

"Lucky thing I had three brothers who did!"

Ginny, Ron, and Harry had now joined the twins at the door, excited by what was being proposed.

George shrugged his shoulders. "Alright then!"

+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+

After setting up a makeshift field above the swamp, hoops standing at either end, the Quidditch game was about to begin. Bill, Fleur, Molly, Arthur, and Remus sat below to watch the match take place. It was an odd set up, seeing the four Weasleys and Harry on one side and the three Caxtons on the other.

"You sure you want to go through with this?" Fred asked, staring down Clara.

"Just handle your bat, Freddie," she shot back, George nearly falling off of his broom in laughter.

Arthur stood with the chest of Quidditch balls that the Caxtons had brought. First he released the snitch, then the two bludgers.

"Keep it clean! I don't want any Christmas injuries!"

With that, he tossed the quaffle into the air and players began to zoom around the field.

First, Ginny and Harry were acting as Chasers since they didn't have enough people. They tossed the quaffle back and forth from one person to the other while Michael tried to get it from them. It seemed an unfair game watching him go back and forth.

Until Clara stepped in.

Zooming by on her broom, she intercepted the quaffle and darted down the field, Michael and Roman quick on her heels. They flew in a tight pack, Harry surprised that they could fly that close without knocking each other off of their brooms.

They were heading straight for Ron, who looked petrified at the mass of people heading straight for him. It was as if they were trying to fit all three of them into one of the hoops instead of just the quaffle. In fact, they scared Ron so much that he dived down to avoid a collision, Clara throwing the quaffle through one of the hoops and raising her hands in victory.