Harry Potter: The Boy Who Lived

Chapter Fifteen - Problem Solved, Obstacles Overcome

Ron proclaimed, with his mouth stuffed with his favorite breakfast foods, that there was no chance he was going to miss out on a game of Quidditch.

“The weather is perfect. There’s not a cloud in the sky. I’m heading down to the pitch after breakfast, garden gnomes be damned,” he declared. “I’m too tired after the concert last night to do yard work.”

Hermione had a look on her face that told them she about to object, but surprised everyone when she actually spoke. “Could I join you?”

To say that Ron looked shocked beyond belief would be a severe understatement. He could barely respond, for it seemed that he had lost the ability to speak. “What?” he choked. He shook his head and cleared his throat. “Sure, of course,” he stammered. “We’d love for you to join us, right Mate?”

Harry looked bewildered at having been brought into Ron and Hermione’s discussion. “Yeah, sure. Right, Ginny?”

Ginny, who had been engrossed in conversation with Neville and Luna, looked up in extreme confusion. “If you say so, Harry.”

Neville looked lost. Luna, who had been keeping an ear on both conversations, was the only one who didn’t look baffled. “I think we should all play,” she offered. “I’ll commentate.”

Ron looked both happy at the prospect of another round of Luna’s commentating, and disappointed that they didn’t have enough people to play a proper game.

Harry, sensing Ron’s disappointment, offered a suggestion. “What if we play with smaller teams? We could have two Chasers, a Beater, a Keeper and a Seeker. That way, if we find four more people, we could play a proper game.”

Like magic, Fred and George showed up at the breakfast table yawning largely.

“Morning,” Fred mumbled, sitting down next to Harry. “Bloody amazing concert last night.”

“Early morning,” George corrected, sitting next to Luna. “I think we got home in the morning.”

“Hurry up and eat so we can play Quidditch,” Ron demanded. “We have almost enough people to play.”

“We’re still short two people,” Hermione noticed. “What are the two of you doing here?”

“Sleeping,” Fred responded promptly, filling his plate with food. “We were too tired to Apparate home last night.”

“Eating,” George added, already in the middle of eating the food he had nicked from Fred’s plate.

“and apparently, we’re going to play Quidditch with the lot of you,” Fred continued.

“after which, we need to talk with our most,” George enunciated.

“benevolent benefactor,” Fred finished smartly.

Ginny wasn’t surprised to see her twin brothers, and even though she had no idea what was going on, she knew it must be a good thing. They wouldn’t have left the shop unless they had completed the task Harry had set them to. “Way to go, guys!”

The group was just getting up from the table when Bill and Fleur Apparated into the kitchen. They were looking happy, just having returned from their honeymoon to Russia. Ron looked away from Fleur’s beaming face and quickly caught Hermione’s eye.

Ginny and Harry rose to greet them, asking how the trip went. Hermione and Luna joined Ginny in asking Fleur about all the places they visited. Ron, Fred, and George merely gave Bill a hard time about being married to one witch for the rest of his life. Harry refrained from entering the catcalling, choosing instead to ask where they had stayed.