Weasley Charm | Fred Weasley

Chapter 3-9: The Bludger

Delaney woke up with a rush of excitement. Today was the last Quidditch match of the year, the winner would be awarded the Quidditch Cup, and Gryffindor was in the running. Hermione must have already gone downstairs because her bed was empty when Delaney finally sat up. She quickly threw on her Gryffindor clothes and styled her hair before walking down to the Great Hall.

"You couldn't have woken me up? What if I slept through the match?" Delaney asked as she took a seat at the Gryffindor table with Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"Oh no, don't blame this on me. I learned my lesson over the past two years not to wake you up unless it was Christmas," Hermione laughed.

"Oh I am not that bad," Delaney objected, her face contorting as she felt slightly offended.

"You threw an alarm clock at me once," Hermione countered with an astonished grin. Harry and Ron's eyes grew large.

"Okay, maybe I am," Delaney laughed before she began eating her breakfast. She knew when she was bested.

"What's this we're hearing about alarm clocks being thrown?" George asked, who had just walked up with Fred in their Quidditch robes.

"It's nothing really," Delaney said, swatting her hand to dismiss the subject.

"Oh no, I want to hear this story," Fred grinned, beaming as he leaned forward on his toes.

"It sounds as though Hermione tried to wake Delaney one morning and she threw an alarm clock at Hermione," Ron said, a proud look on his face since the taunting wasn't about him.

Fred and George both laughed, "Brilliant."

"Shouldn't the two of you be off getting ready for Quidditch?" Delaney asked, sending a pointed look to the two of them.

"Speaking of Quidditch, have you asked Lupin if it's alright for you to go to the World Cup with us over the summer?" Ron asked, tearing her gaze away from the twins.

"No, it completely slipped my mind. But I'll go do it now," Delaney said, standing up and walking in the direction of Lupin's office. Just as she walked up to the door Lupin walked out.

"Delaney, I didn't expect you to be up here. I was just about to make my way down to the Quidditch pitch," Lupin said, gesturing to her to walk with him.

"I came to ask you something actually," Delaney, looking up to Lupin as she fell into stride with him.

"Oh well then, by all means, ask away," he smiled.

"Well, Ron has asked Harry, Hermione, and I to go with him and his family to the Quidditch World Cup. So I guess what I'm trying to ask is if I can go with them?" she asked with a pleading smile, hoping he'd agree. She'd heard tales of the electric energy that surrounded the event.

"I suppose so, as long as Molly and Arthur are alright with you going," Lupin nodded.

"Really?" Delaney's face lit up.

"Well, it's a full moon anyway so you'd be out of the house no matter what," Lupin smiled again.

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you," Delaney said, hugging Lupin tightly.

"You're welcome. Now go, find your friends before the match starts," Lupin laughed, releasing her from his hold.

Delaney was ecstatic as she departed from her godfather, eager to find her friends. After being unsuccessful in finding them in the great hall, she walked to the Quidditch pitch in hopes of finding them already in the Gryffindor stands. With her luck, Delaney found them right away, sitting in the front row of one of the Gryffindor towers.

"There you two are. I was looking all over for you," Delaney said, squeezing her way into the space next to Hermione.

"So, what did Lupin say?" Ron asked from the other side of Hermione.

"He said I can go!" Delaney beamed.

"That's great! Oh, this is going to make this summer so much better," Hermione said with excitement in her eyes.

The three conversed a bit more before the match started about their plans for the summer and the world cup. Delaney hadn't known what her summer had in store besides the Quidditch World Cup. Lupin said he had a plan but he never let Delaney know what the plan was. She was intrigued to find out though.

"Hey look, they're coming out," Neville said, pointing to the bottom of the pitch. Before anyone knew it the Gryffindor team came soaring out over the stands. Cheers erupted from not only the Gryffindor stands but some of the Ravenclaw stands as well. Delaney saw a few Hufflepuffs cheers but she knew the Hufflepuffs were rooting for the Slytherins. A very unlikely alliance, but it seemed to work peacefully.

The game was going quite well, Gryffindor was leading 60-10 in only a very short amount of time. Smiles were on all of Gryffindor's faces.

"Go, Harry!" Delaney and Hermione shouted.

"Hey Delaney, I have a question about Lupin," Hermione said in a quieter voice than normal.

"Right now? Can it wait until later?" Delaney asked, looking at Hermione while she pointed to the match going on in front of them.

"Delaney look out!" Ron shouted, ripping her attention from her best friend.

A bludger was hurtling straight toward her. She was quick to duck but it never came. She looked up after a few seconds to find Fred hovering not that far from them. Strange, because Fred was across the pitch just a few seconds before. He must have knocked it out of the way. Delaney looked at Fred and gave a nod that indicated her thanking him as she smiled. Fred simply gave a quick wink before flying off and continuing the game.

"What was that all about?" Ron asked, quite confused.

"I have no idea, but I'm glad he was there," Delaney said, thankful she was not being sent to the hospital wing for taking a bludger to the head.

* * *

It was late in the night now, and everyone in the Gryffindor common room was celebrating Gryffindor winning the Quidditch cup. Delaney stood leaning against the wall in a comfy sweater she was given for Christmas from Lupin and a comfy pair of leggings.

"So, did you enjoy the show?" Fred asked, coming up to lean against the wall next to Delaney.

"What, do you mean you saving from that bludger?" Delaney asked.

"Well that and the match itself," Fred laughed, crossing his arms over his chest as he scanned the buzzing crowd in front of him.

"I thought it was an exciting match," Delaney looked up at Fred who towered a good few inches above her. "And thank you for saving me from that bludger. I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to celebrate tonight if you hadn't been there."

"Well, of course. I couldn't let the daily prophet come out with an article saying 'thirteen-year-old Delaney McKinnon moved to St. Mungos after being struck by a bludger while spectating a Quidditch match' it would be totally barbaric," Fred said with a joking smile.

"For your information, I'm fourteen. My birthday is on Halloween," Delaney smiled.

"Oh my apologies, fourteen-year-old Delaney McKinnon, moved to St. Mungos after being struck by a bludger while spectating a Quidditch match. Still rather barbaric I think," Fred laughed again.

"Perhaps, but that's much better," Delaney grinned defiantly.

"Well let's just hope it doesn't happen at the World Cup. I'm not sure I can be a hero all the time," Fred smiled.

"Yeah, let's hope so," Delaney smiled, looking up at Fred to find him already looking at her with his own grin.