Clara Diggory, Girl of Secrets - a HP fanfic

Chapter 3 - Harry Potter

A/N: I know in the books it was about three days after Harry's birthday that the Weasleys rescued him but it makes the story flow better this way.

Ginny and I woke up the next morning to hear Mrs. Weasley yelling.

"Beds empty! No note! Car gone... Could have crashed... Out of my mind with worry... Did you care?... Never, as long as I've lived... You wait until your father gets home, we never had trouble like this from Bill or Charlie or Percy..."

I heard Fred mutter something, and then,

"YOU COULD DO WITH TAKING A LEAF OUT OF PERCY'S BOOK! You could have died, you could have been seen, you could've lost your father his job-"

"I guess they've done it, then," I whispered to Ginny, grinning.

"Yeah," She whispered back. "Happy birthday, Clar."

She delved underneath her bed, and then exclaimed, "Got it!"

She handed me a wrapped present.

"Oh, Gin, you shouldn't have," I said. I knew the Weasleys weren't the richest family, so it must've been a bit of a stretch to get me this.

"Well, I did, so shut up and open it," Ginny laughed.

I unfolded the wrapping paper to find a homemade card and a scrapbook, filled with pictures of me and Ginny, me and the Twins, me and Cedric, all the Weasleys, plus blank pages at the back for more.

"Aw, Gin! Thank you so much!"

"It wasn't a problem," Ginny replied. "Let's get dressed and then go get breakfast, yeah?"

I nodded, then got some plain trousers and a pale blue blouse.

"Have you seen my jumper, Clar?"

"No, sorry!"

"I'll go ask Mum."

No sooner had Ginny left, the Weasley's cat walked into the bedroom.

Ginny's jumper was over its head.

"What the..." I muttered. I knelt down on the floor and managed to release the poor cat, then ran down the stairs, clutching the jumper in my hand.

"Ginny, I've got it -"

Ginny happened to be running up the stairs, and just grabbed the jumper and kept going.

"Ginny?" I called after her in confusion.

I carried on walking downstairs, then saw ehy she had run.
Harry Potter was in the kitchen.

I froze. Fred noticed me, and nudged George, who grinned. Harry turned around and saw me, smiling.

"Hi," He said tentatively.

"Uh - um -"

"Honestly, you'll have a fan club next, Harry," Said Fred. "I bet Clara's got a crush on you too!"

I opened my mouth, about to protest, when Fred interrupted.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot," He said. "Happy birthday, Clara!"

I felt my face go red and I ran upstairs after Ginny, dashing into her room and shutting the door behind me.

"Oh. My. Merlin," I said, sighing.

Ginny grinned at me. "I know, right? Harry Potter..."

I smiled shakily, although I wasn't thinking about Harry at all.

"I can't believe it, though," I said, sitting against the door, "Harry Potter... The Boy Who Lived! In your house... That's amazing."

"And I bet having Harry and Fred must've made you blush," Said Ginny, grinning.

"What? I-I don't know what you mean..."

"Yes you do!" Ginny laughed, elbowing me. "You have a crush on my brother and you know it."

I felt the door move and scrambled out of the way just before Percy opened it.

"And which brother might that be?" He said.

"Were you listening to our conversation?" Ginny accused furiously. "Besides, it's none of your business."

Percy said nothing, just smiled at me sympathetically and walked out. Ginny shut the door, faced me, and then we both burst out laughing.

"Oh dear Merlin, he thinks it's him, doesn't he?"

Ginny could barely talk for laughter. "I... Think... So... Oh wow, that's brilliant!"

We collapsed into giggles again. Just as we'd calmed down, Fred walked into the room. We looked at each other silently for a few seconds, then exploded into laughter.

"Uh... I'm not going to ask, but... Ginny, have you seen, the, um -" Fred was fighting to be heard. "Have you seen -" We were in hysterics now, trying to stop but failing every time we looked at each other. "HAVE YOU - Oh, for Merlin's sake, what's so funny?"

Ginny looked up at him for a few seconds, then said, "You."

I gasped and slapped her arm gently. "You can't say that!" I said, though I was still laughing.

"Um... I'm just gonna go..." Fred said awkwardly, before steadily retreating from the room.

I put my head in my hands.

"Great, now he thinks I'm weird," I complained.

"Don't worry," Ginny reassured me, "He knew that already."

I laughed again - without collapsing, this time - and got up to look out of the window. Ron, Fred, George and Harry were de-gnoming the garden.

"Ginny, they're de-gnoming the garden again!" I said excitedly.

"Aw, great," Ginny said, coming to join me. "Time to make fun of my brothers from the safety of my bedroom, Clar."

I held my hand up, and she accepted it in a high-five.

***

A/N:
I know, it wasn't that exciting, but please, no hate. I just have to follow the story, and eventually the exciting stuff will come, I promise!
Farewell, Potterheads!