The Sun, Moon & Stars

64. The Invitation

Only seconds after yelling their destination; Remus, Ginger and Ophelia found themselves toppling into the sitting room of the Weasley's abnormal house, coughing slightly from the soot in the fireplace and straightening out their clothes as they stood up and collected themselves.

They were immediately immersed in the loving warmth that radiated from the Weasley home. The scent of some sort of delicious food wafting into their nostrils as they inspected the sitting room; knitting needles knitting a scarf all by themselves, the infamous spoon clock ticking, and piles and piles of handmade wooly blankets folded on the sofa. It was cozy, serene — perfect.

"Ophelia!"

It was Harry's voice she heard first, and before she could put a face to the voice she was enveloped in a hug.

"Hey! When did you get here?" She asked, pulling away to study the boy more closely.

His hair was longer and messier than it had been last June; he was slightly taller, about 5'8 if she had to guess, though admittedly still shorter than her (she was now about 5'10). But his piercing emerald green eyes and his warm smile were just the same as they had been before.

"A couple days ago. It was a whole chaotic situation with the Dursley's, I'll fill you in later." He shrugged, turning to Remus and Ginger, "Nice to see you two again."

"Ah yes, same here, Harry. How have you been since I saw you last?" Remus asked, as he shook hands with the boy.

Harry's lips tugged into a smile, "Sirius has been writing me quite bit. It's makes being at Privet drive much more enjoyable, but it drives Vernon around the bend. How about you guys?"

"Very well, thank you!" The small elf squeaked, happily.

Not even seconds later, Ron and Hermione were in the room; hugging her similarly, asking questions about how her summer was and filling them in on when everybody had arrived. Hermione had arrived the previous day, the Diggory's would be joining them early the next morning and they were unsure of whether or not Lee Jordan would be tagging along with the twin's; as they hadn't yet received a response.

Hermione and Ron, similarly to Harry, looked a bit different. Hermione had evidently discovered the realm of makeup; her lips glossed, and her eyelashes perkier and fuller than normal. Her hair was done into a neat ponytail, and her height hadn't changed much — still at about 5'7, but notably shorter than the rest of them. Ron, on the other hand, had grown quite a bit taller; sprouting from his previous stature of 5'7 to a staggering 5'9 in just two months, but other than that — he was still the pasty, freckle-faced ginger he had been in June.

"Hermione. Ron. Lovely to see you both." Remus smiled, shaking their hands pleasantly, "Good summer?"

"Oh yes." Hermione smiled, "It was quite quiet, but it was lovely to spend some time with my parents. They're muggles, as you know, so..." She rambled on to Remus, going on to discuss just about everything she could think of, as Ron awkwardly listened next to her.

Harry had taken to chatting with Ginger by now, and Ginger was thrilled anyone wanted to speak to her alone as they discussed their plans for the next few days.

"Ophelia! This is Charlie and Bill." Came Ginny's voice, tugging two young men she only recognized from photographs along with her, "I'm sure you've heard of them, yeah?"