𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗹, draco malfoy

˗ˋ 38

CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT
✧
-: fourth year :-

── IN WHICH THEY FEAST (PRACTICALLY)

. . .

"You brilliant bastards!" Marlie announced with a gasp as the Burrow's kitchen came into view. She only felt a little sick from the method of travelling, hands reaching out and tugging her into the classroom.

Identical faces filled her faces. "How long was it?" Fred asked, sparks at mischief at the innuendo within the words. 

"Four feet at least - before I left anyway." Marlie replied, the twins high-fiving before leading her over to table where her brother and Ron were sat, along with two other boys with the matching red hair - they were much older than any of the others, and must be Charlie and Bill. "Genius way of getting him to try one - he's been on this god-awful diet all summer." 

"You don't say. Didn't mention it once in your letters, right?" George smirked over at his brother, rather glad that their efforts had worked. They looked over to the two oldest brothers of the Weasley children, nudging Marlie over. 

"This is Charlie and Bill - they're coming with up to the finals." Ron took this as a opportunity to steal his best friend back from Fred and George.

The shorter of two stepped forward first, offering his hand. It must have been Charlie, judging from the calluses and blisters under his fingers - he worked with dragons in Romania and his friends had been the one to pick up Norberta. Charlie was built like the twins, shorter and stockier than Percy and Ron, who were both long and lanky. He had a broad, good-natured face, which was weather-beaten and so freckly that he looked almost tanned; his arms were muscular, and one of them had a large, shiny burn on it.

He noticed Marlie eyeing the burn, a grin on his face. "Irene gave me that one - dragons can be rather.. temperamental for lack of better word." But there was no upset in his words - clearly he liked his work. 

As for Bill, well Marlie was rather taken aback when she first saw him. As told by Ron, the eldest Weasley child had been Head Boy during his final year of Hogwarts and now worked at Gringotts. Quite honestly, she had been expecting an older version of Percy, fussy about rule-breaking and fond of bossing everyone around. However, Bill was nothing like that at all. He was tall, with long hair that he had tied back in a ponytail, and hidden behind a tucked strand of hair was a pierced ear - a fang dangling from it. And rather than usual leather making up his boots, it was dragon hide.

Like Charlie, Bill got up and shook her hand, but before anyone could say anything else, there was a faint popping noise, and Mr Weasley appeared out of thin air at George's shoulder. He was looking angrier than either of the Potter twins had ever seen him. "That wasn't funny, Fred!" The man erupted in seconds. "What on earth did you give that Muggle boy?"

"I didn't give him anything." Fred replied with another evil grin. "I just dropped it... It was his fault he went and ate it, I never toldhim to." 

"You dropped it on purpose!" Mr Weasley's voice was steadily raising. "You knew he'd eat it, you knew he was on a die-"

"How big did his tongue get?" George asked eagerly. 

"It was nearing five feet long before his parents would let me shrink it!" The group roared with laughter. "It isn't funny!" Mr. Weasley shouted. "That sort of behavior seriously undermines wizard–Muggle relations! I spend half my life campaigning against the mistreatment of Muggles, and my own sons-"