An American at Hogwarts: Book Two

Chapter Three

Fred and George walked me through every step of their plan (Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, as they called it). They weren't quite sure where they'd get the funding, and they admitted that they'd have to wait until after graduating to get a physical store location, but everything else was planned out. Planned and currently in the works.

"Holy crap you guys, this is amazing!" I said once they'd finished. "You're literally starting your own business."

"That's the plan anyway," said George with a grin.

"We're hoping to start testing some of our products in the coming weeks and months at Hogwarts," added Fred. That sentence made me lean way back.

"Okay, I am all for this and I want to help you guys, but keep that stuff away from me, okay? That run-in with your puking pasties prototype last year was more than enough for me."

They both rolled their eyes.

"Don't worry Alexa, we're not going to test them on you," said Fred.

"Yeah, we're going to test them on the unsuspecting public," added George.

I laughed. "Amazing. Keep me posted as you develop all this stuff, okay? And let me know if there's anything I can do to help!"

"We will!" the twins promised in sync. They turned back to their pile of ashes on the floor, and it looked like they were going to start setting up another experiment when their mom's voice called up from downstairs.

"Dinner's ready!"

"Yes!" All three of us spoke together this time, jumping up from our seats on the floor.

"Hold on a minute, isn't it way earlier to you?" asked George. "Because of the time difference?"

"So? Food's food whatever time it is, I'm not about to turn it down!"

"Fair enough," laughed Fred as the three of us headed downstairs.

We picked up Ginny on our way down, and the four of us walked into the kitchen as Mrs. Weasley levitated the dishes into place. Percy had arrived while I was upstairs, and he had his nose buried in a stack of papers on the table.

I plopped down next to him and he didn't even look up from his work. I cleared my throat loudly, and still, nothing. The twins were motioning for me to elbow him really hard in the side, and while I was a little tempted, I decided on a less aggressive approach.

"Hey Perce," I said instead, smiling brightly.  Percy still jumped at the sound of my voice like he just noticed me sitting next to him.

"Alexa! When did you get here?" he asked, shuffling his papers and taking them off the table at a stern look from his mom.

"I've been here for a few hours, actually," I said. Percy paused, looking genuinely surprised and confused. While he processed the new information of my arrival, Ron made his first appearance as he came trudging down the stairs to dinner.

"Hey Ron!" I called, raising a hand to wave.

"Hey Alexa! Glad you're here!"

"Me too. How's your summer been so far?"

"It's been alright. Mum and I used the muggle mail to send Harry a letter about the World Cup!"

"Really? Nice job guys!"

"I just hope we managed to get enough stamps on it," worried Mrs. Weasley, sitting down across from Percy as she set down the last few dishes.

"I'm sure you did," I said, giving her a reassuring smile. "You only need a few and the post office will take it."