Payback [Fred Weasley]

A Quiet Charlie is a Depressed and Tired Charlie (E)

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As we adjusted to living on the grounds of Hogwarts, Mia and I didn't end up leaving the area surrounding the carriage. The three schools were very separated, with many of us claiming it was that way because we were "enemies" when it comes to the tournament. Personally, I think we were just a bunch of awkward teenagers who found it stressful to talk to new people, and I was okay with that. At least I was until Mia got the great idea that she, meaning we, should speak to some of the Hogwarts students. She wanted us to finally talk with Harry Potter. She wanted to introduce herself to her boyfriend of about six months', siblings.

"Mia, why do I need to be here?" I groaned as we walked into the Great Hall.

"Moral support."

"You're scared to meet them." I said, laughing. Pulling on the hem of my uniform coat.

"No! I just wasn't planning on it happening for a while. Still, when I mentioned to Bill in a letter that we were staying at Hogwarts this year for the tournament, he said that four of his siblings were here and that I should say hi." She explained, looking like she might throw-up. Her hands fiddled with the bracelet tied around her wrist. Bill gave her that bracelet this summer, it had the Irish flag's colors on it. She never took that thing off. It became a nervous habit for her to mess with it.

"It'll be fine. What are you going to say?" I asked as we spied the group of some redheads clustered in the middle of one of the tables.

"Hi, I'm Mia, I wanted to introduce myself. I'm Bill's girlfriend...?" She suggested looking to me for help. Her eyes big and filled with worry.

"That sounds good. Makes you sound older, so maybe they won't question why a girl still in school is dating their brother." I said, laughing at the horror-filled expression that crossed her face. "Mia, I'm joking. It'll be perfectly fine. Just go do it before you chicken out."

"Okay." She said, taking a deep breath before walking confidently towards the group. I tagged along behind, watching the scene unfold in front of me. Stopping next to the group of younger students, she cleared her throat politely. Everyone turned around and looked at her, confused.

"Hi! I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is-"

"You're Mia Lupin! Woah!" A boy with an Irish accent gasped, looking at her with big eyes.

"Yeah... I'm Mia. I'm dating your brother-" she said, gesturing to the two redheads sitting in the group "-Bill. If we were going to be in the same realm as each other for this year, I wanted to make sure we knew each other." She rambled, looking extremely awkward. The two redheads had very different reactions from the other. The girl- I think Bill and Charlie said her name was Ginny- looked ecstatic. Almost like she was buzzing and wanted to crush Mia in a hug. On the other hand, the boy- I cannot remember his name- looked shocked, embarrassed, uncomfortable, a whole mix of emotions. Since this appeared like it might take a little bit, I sat down and grabbed some food to munch on since it was breakfast time.

"Mia! It's so nice to meet you. I'm Ginny. I can't believe you're dating my brother. Gosh, you could do so much better. This is so exciting!" The younger girl cheered, jumping up to hug Mia. This seemed to ease my friend's nerves as she hugged the girl back, smiling lightly. "You should meet our other brothers Fred and George. They're right there. FRED! GEORGE! Come here."

"There are so many Weasleys." I mumbled to myself, munching away at the food.

"No kidding. It's like there is an infinite number of kids in that family." A boy next to me chuckled. I sent him a smile saying I thought he was right.

"What's up, Gin?" One redhead asked as he approached our group, followed by an identical copy of himself.

"Why are you yelling?" The other questioned.

"This is Mia! She's Bill's girlfriend. I told you he was dating someone, and none of you believed me!" Ginny said, practically bouncing in place.

"Ahhhhh. So you chose a Weasley." One twin said.

"Smart girl." The other continued draping an arm over her shoulder.

"This is George." Ginny explained, gesturing towards the twin with his arm around Mia. "And this is Fred." She pointed to the other.

"Lovely to meet you. Can't believe our bloke of a brother got a quidditch player. What a surprise." Fred mused, sitting down in Ginny's previously occupied spot.

"Brother. It appears she is not the only quidditch player in attendance. Miss Velez." George commented, nodding a greeting, making all eyes turn to me.

"Are you here to announce your courtship with another one of our family members?" Fred added.

"Sadly, I do not have the patience to date any of the Weasley boys that I've met." I responded, looking him dead in the eye while eating a muffin.

"I'm sure you just haven't met the right one." He retorted, giving me a "flirty" look.

"Yeah... no thanks. I'm good with my muffin."

"Whatever you say, love." George smirked at me. Choosing to ignore their stupid commentary, I turned my attention to Mia.

"Come sit, eat, maybe introduce yourself to Mr. Potter. I'm sure your father would love to hear you're making friends with your cousins."

"Char, you can't just say things like that when people are present. It'll just confuse them." She said, rolling her eyes at me before sitting down in the empty space on my left. "So you're the great Harry Potter. My dad's Remus, I think you know him. He says hi. Anything to add, Char?"

"Not at the moment." I responded flatly, unable to properly introduce myself to our cousin with the number of people surrounding us. I don't think they would all take it too well if I led with 'I'm Sirius Black's daughter.'

"So it's not just a coincidence you have the same last name as him. Hmmm... the possibility of you being related crossed my mind after Dumbledore introduced you, but the odds of it being a reality seemed far too low. It's nice to meet you!" He greeted, giving her a warm smile.

"Same to you, mate!"

"Well, isn't this a lovely heartwarming moment. I should skedaddle. Mia, are you coming? We have a class in ten minutes." I said, standing up and looking at my watch.

"Yeah, sure. Nice to meet you all! See you around." She greeted, smiling at the group surrounding the table. They all bid their goodbyes as we left through the large doors. Ron still hadn't spoken a word. He just looked at us, dumbfounded.

"You weren't very talkative." Mia stated, glancing over at me.

"I think that there was very little airtime for me between you, Ginny, and the twins."

"That's no excuse. A quiet Charlie is a depressed and tired Charlie. You need to socialize more."

"Whatever you say, Mist. Let's get to class before Madam Abreo skins us alive for being late."