In His Shadow (A Harry Potter Fan Fiction)

Chapter 3- The Weasley Twins

Chapter 3

I finally got the last of my clothes into the chest of drawers next to my bed, and tucked my suitcase in the corner.

I pulled my long red hair into a high ponytail, and sat down on my bed.

Two tall boys with ginger hair tumbled into the room,

“Oi Ginny! Where’s the… Oh.”

I smiled,

“Sorry, I don’t know where Ginny is. I’m Ava.”

Both boys looked identical. They had to be twins. One of them grinned,

“I’m Fred. This is my brother George.”

I laughed,

“I guess you two are twins. You look pretty identical.”

Why was everyone here ginger, as well?

George nodded,

“We’re never separated either.”

Fred grinned,

“Just like two peas in a pod!”

I stood up,

“So is this where you guys live?”

“No. We’re staying here because of the Order.”

I frowned,

“The Order?”

George ruffled his hair,

“It’s the group of adults who think about fighting You-Know-Who.”

I sighed,

“I’m sorry. I only found out I’m a witch several hours ago. So I don’t know who.”

Fred raised his eyebrows,

“Anything else important you want to tell us?”
I shook my head,

“I don’t think so.”

There was a call from downstairs,

“Dinner’s ready!”

I shrugged,

“We better go down. I’m sort of hungry.”

I followed the twins into the kitchen. Ginny waved me over,

“Ava! I saved a seat for you!”

I smiled gratefully and sat down next to her. The woman with the ginger hair and the apron put some plates in the middle of the table. Ron mumbled,

“Thanks Mum.”

Aha. So she was Mrs. Weasley.

As everyone started to help themselves to food, I looked around. I recognised most people. Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, Mrs. Weasley, Hermione… There were two men I didn’t recognise.

One of them had ginger hair. I guessed he was Mr. Weasley.

The other one had brown, raggedy hair. He caught me looking at him, and I blushed, turning away.

Mrs. Weasley smiled,

“Ava, dear, where were you staying before you came here?”

All eyes were on me. I looked at my plate,
“A care home. I was in and out of the same one for fifteen years.”

Hermione asked,

“Did you not like it very much?”

I shook my head,

“All I really wanted was a family.”

Ginny laughed,

“Now you’ve found out you’re Harry Potter’s sister!”

Fred choked on his drink. I looked at him,

“Are you alright?”

He coughed,

“You’re Harry Potter’s sister?”

“Yeah.”

“Didn’t that come under ‘anything else important you want to tell us’?”

I shrugged,

“I didn’t realise you wanted to know.”

He grinned,

“You have a lot to learn, newbie.”

Mrs. Weasley started to collect the plates,

“That’s enough now, Fred. I think it’s your turn to help me wash up tonight.”

He groaned,
“Mum! Really?”

I tried to cover up my laugh with a cough. Fred glared at me,

“I think Ava should help too. So she knows the rules of the house…”

The man with brown, raggedy hair cleared his throat,

“Actually, Fred, I’d like to talk to Ava tonight.”

I looked at him, confused. What did he want to talk to me about?

He stood up, and I nervously followed him out, up the stairs to an empty room.

He shut the door behind him,

“You don’t know who I am, do you?”

I shook my head,

“No. Sorry.”

“I’m Sirius Black. Your godfather. And my, you do look like Lily.”

I gasped,

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realise who you were.”

“It’s okay. I was James’ best friend. I was very happy to be made your godfather.”

I blurted out,

“I think Harry misses you a lot. When I asked him about you earlier… he seemed a bit sad.”

He nodded sadly,

“Harry has had a tough life. Before he found out he had you, I think he saw me as the only family he had left.”

I looked at the floor,

“I wish I could have been there for him. I’m his older sister. I bet my mum and dad would have wanted me to protect him!”

Sirius put a hand on my shoulder,

“You couldn’t. Don’t worry, he’s pulled through.”

I took a deep breath,

“It’s been a long day, Sirius. I think I’m going to have an early night.”

He nodded,

“Sure! Of course! Goodnight.”

I opened the door,

“Goodnight.”

I made my way towards the bedroom. I stopped when I heard Ginny and Hermione talking on the other side of the door,

“Harry’s brave.”

“It really upset him, when Cedric got…”

“Mione, I wish we could see him now.”

I opened the door, and they both fell silent. I walked towards my bed and pulled out a pair of pyjamas,

“I’m going to bed now.”

They both nodded.

I got changed and brushed my teeth, before snuggling into the warmth of my bed.

Tears rolled onto the pillow. I wished I could have been there for Harry.