American Teen-the Sequel

Mae Francis Olivia Weasley

"Mom! Teddy stole my paints and he won't give them back!" Mae yelled. Since we've known her, she's had this incredible talent for art. Painting is her favorite medium to use. Her artwork covers the wall in our flat, and not in the "let's place it on the refrigerator" way. 

"Teddy. Give them back to her. You were just as nervous on your first day"

"Was not."

"Well you certainly weren't a brave Gryffindor, Mr. Hufflepuff." 

'Hey! Mom was in Hufflepuff."

"She was an exception. You were raised by two fantastic Gryffindors and believe or not houses do not come in your genes. They're based on your personal values in beliefs. We just thought we raised you better, Teddy" I called him out. I couldn't care less what house he was in. It's just entertaining to see a little Hufflepuff get all worked up. 

"Will you be mad if I don't make it into Gryffindor?" Mae spoke. She was pretty shy and reserved around new people, but once you got to know her she was lively and energetic. Some people get confused when they first meet her and realize George and I are her parents. They expect all our children to be loud and rambunctious. Which they all are in our house. There's at least one prank per day taking place, usually instigated by George or I. 

"Of course not. We don't care what house you get into, as long as you're happy" George said. "But if none of our children end up in Gryffindor, I'm going to have to duel the sorting hat." This caused Mae to giggle. Hopefully she'll become less nervous by the time she gets to school.

"Fred, you're coming with us this year. You'll be there in three years. No use not knowing what you're getting into. Mae and Teddy, are you sure you've packed everything?" 

"Absolutely"

"Affirmative"

"Let's go" We got in the cab I had called earlier outside the Leaky Cauldron. You can't access Kings Cross Station by floo powder and it's too much of a hassle to apparate with three kids, owls, and trunks. As soon as we got there, Teddy immediately ran off to find his friends. 

"Teddy Lupin! Get back here. I know you're eager, but I'm not above putting you in a full body bind and hauling you onto the train myself when it's time to go!" I shouted above the crowd. By now Teddy was used to us completely embarrassing him in front of everyone on the platform. In fact, I think he quite liked the attention. Mae, however, did not. She shied away and hid her face behind me. 

"Mae, sweetie, don't be nervous. All the professors there are absolutely brilliant. And you've met Professor McGonagall before, and she's the headmaster. So you're already set for the next seven years. And between you and me, you'll definitely be her favorite Weasley child. I'm sure Teddy has given her a thousand heart attacks. And Fred isn't much better. You at least know how to hide it better than they do." Mae chuckled. She's pretty good at pranking. Hers are smart and well planned, unlike Teddy and Fred's impulsive, obvious, show-stopping ones. She's meticulous. 

"It's true. You'll definitely get less detentions just because you're smarter than they are. Your mom was always able to sweet talk herself out of detention" George said with a hint of jealousy in his voice. It did help that I could just blame everything on him and Fred and no teacher would ever question me. 

"She can also turn into a cat, which is your favorite animal." Mae perked up ever more at the fact that Minerva can turn into a cat, which I thought was so cute. "Some of your cousins are starting now too, but don't try to just hang out with them. Same with your brother. Try to make some friends of your own. I know it'll be hard at first, but just try."

"See if you can find some other first-years to sit with. That's how I met your mom. You'll do great. You're incredibly smart and talented. We love you." We gave her a big hug before sending her off to the train. 

"Love you too Mom. Love you Dad" Mae hugged us back. It still pulled at our heart strings when she calls us that. Same with Teddy. We made sure no child felt the need to call us Mom or Dad, and in the beginning Mae didn't since she already had a mom. But after a year she slipped and called me Mom, and it took all my power not to break out in tears. Teddy has called us that since the beginning. Same with Mae's brother. They didn't know their real parents, so we're the closest they have. But they do know we're not their birth parents. The fact that they consider us their 'real' parents however is the most amazing thing on this planet. 

"Alright, Teddy. You can go find your friends now. I want you to watch over your sister, but if she's being clingy I want you to help her find some friends her age. I have a feeling she'll be in Hufflepuff." 

"I think she'll be in Ravenclaw." George piped up.

"Oh really?'

"She reads a lot of books."

"Oh yes because the number one character trait of Ravenclaw is just 'books'. I hope you're ready to lose just like you did four years ago."

"Well she's also very smart about her pranks. She cares way more than Fred and I ever did. We put a lot of thought into ours, but mainly just because we wanted the biggest effect possible." 

"10 galleons again?"

"You're on."

"Wait, what do you mean again?"

"Teddy, your father and I bet on which house you'd be in all those years ago. I won because, as you know, I'm better than your father in every way. He's a little on the...weaker side if you know what I mean." 

"Hey" George said. "That's hurtful" He dramatically placed his hand over his heart. Teddy just rolled his eyes.

"Bye Teddy. Go find your friends and have fun this year." He gave each of us a hug and ran off to the train. 

"And if Filch hasn't quit by the end of this year we're disowning you!" George shouted above the crowd causing everyone to look at us for the second time today. Teddy looked back with wide-eyes. 

"Same goes for you Mae!" Mae, who was leaning out the window of a compartment immediately jumped back and pretended like she didn't know who we were. It's basically tradition for George and I to embarrass our children on the first day of school. 

"I think we finally managed to thoroughly embarrass them." I commented.

"Finally. It was beginning to look like that boy had no humility. As for Mae, she'll get used to it" George said as he placed an arm around my shoulder. His other hand was holding onto Fred. Just then we caught an old woman looking at us and judging how we were acting. Simultaneously, we stuck our tongues out at her causing her to look away in disgust. 

We looked at each other and bust out laughing. 

"We should never be allowed out in public." I said, shaking my head. We couldn't help ourselves sometimes. 

"Oh the people love us. Their lives are so boring that they love the entertainment we provide." He then turned to our youngest. "What do you say, Fred? Want to get some ice cream?"