Apparate | Charlie Weasley

- 12 -

   "I also remember you - you tried to sneak into the forbidden forest in your first year". 

Jess felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment as Hermione Granger-Weasley brought up the reason behind her very first detention which Hermione had supervised as Head Girl.

   "I grew up with horses but never saw a unicorn, and I heard that they existed in the forest", Jess explained, earning some amused chuckles. 

   "Oh, are you a muggle-born then?" Hermione asked she was also holding a baby in her arms, Hugo if Jess remembered correctly from Bill's introductions.

   "No, half-blood, dad's a muggle and mum's a witch, but she was the only magical person I ever met before getting my Hogwarts letter. She tutored me in magic but other than that I had a regular muggle-upbringing", 

After some small talk with Charlie's siblings, Molly ushered everyone toward the dining table. It was a bit cramped to get everyone to fit, even with the children sitting at their very own table, except for the babies and Bill's youngest who refused to sit anywhere other than in Charlie's lap.

Jess was seated close to Ginny and Angelina and they happily filled her in on the latest news on the quidditch season since she missed the last year due to the fact that she was stationed in Australia. It was harder to follow all the events from the other side of the world, especially since quidditch wasn't as popular Down Under. 

Ginny was very flattered that Jess had followed her quidditch career. 

Now and again, when she didn't speak directly with anyone, she would glance over at Charlie who sat several chairs down from her. He had some mashed potatoes in his beard after Louis 'accidentally' smacked his spoon against his uncle's chin at one point. 

She also listened to when Ron and Harry talked about their work as Aurors. It was strange to sit in such close proximity to so many war heroes. She even worked with some of them. From all the stories she heard about the battle of Hogwarts, she knew that Charlie had played a big part in turning the tide of the battle. 

It was hard to imagine them in battle, especially Charlie as he tried to eat without getting more food stuck in his beard. 

But they were just people, after all, talking about sports and work, babysitting their nieces and nephews, eating a delicious family dinner, just like any other family.

Dinner ended with dessert in the form of the greatest chocolate chip cookies Jess ever had and some ice cream. The children got a sugar rush so there was a lot of screaming and running around. Some plates broke in the process. Nothing that couldn't get fixed with the help of magic of course, but Molly urged them out with a motherly scolding. George and Charlie took it upon themselves to arrange a game of tag to get the sudden energy burst out of the children's bloodstream before they needed to go home so that all the parents could have an easier time getting them to bed. 

Ginny, Ron, and Harry soon joined in the game. Amarée had once again disappeared into the kitchen to help Molly along with Arthur. She continued to talk quidditch with Angelina and then talked about her time at Hogwarts with Hermione and Percy, who jumped into the conversation whenever Jess revealed that she had been named Head Girl. 

She also spoke with Bill and answered all the questions he had about life in Romania, how she found it if she planned on staying long and how Charlie really doing. She didn't think much of her questions. To her, he was just a concerned older brother looking out for his brother. Fleur was easy to talk to and Jess liked the fact that she could practice her French a little. Fleur seemed to appreciate that too.