DUSK; Cedric Diggory

Chapter 35

"4 Privet Drive, Surrey!" Ophelia exclaimed, the flames flashing before her.

"Ouch!" Ophelia bumped into a dark wall as she tried to walk forward. "Fred? George? Mr. Weasley?"

"Ri-right here," came Fred's squeezed voice from right behind her. "It seems like the fireplace is blocked."

Ophelia smacked Fred in the back of his head. "Idiots, of course it's closed! They're no majs, for Merlin's sake."

"Maybe Harry can hear us, Dad—maybe he'll be able to let us out—" Fred started to hammer against the blocked wall.

"Harry? Harry, can you hear us?" Ophelia called.

"Mr. Weasley? Ophelia? Fred? Can you hear me?" it was Harry. "The fireplace has been blockked up...you won't be able to get through here."

"Damn!" said Mr. Weasley. "What on earth did they want to block up the fireplace for?"

"They've got an electric fire."

"Really? Eclectic, you say? With a plug? Gracious, I must see that...let's think...ouch, Ron!" As if it wasn't crowded enough with the four of them bunched up together, Ron bumped into all of them.

"What are we doing here? Is this Harry's?"

"Oh yes, this is definitely where we wanted to end up." Fred said sarcastically, earning a snicker from Ophelia.

"Yeah, we're having the time of our lives here," Ophelia added.

"Boys...Ophelia..." Mr. Weasley hushed them. "I'm trying to think what to do...yes...only way...stand back, Harry!"

Ophelia's eyes widened when Mr. Weasley pulled out his wand, muttering an incantation under his breath when the wall in front of them exploded into pieces, creating a large enough hole for all of them to get through.

"That's better," Ophelia said, breathing in the fresh air.

"Ah—you must be Harry's aunt and uncle!" Mr. Weasley said with pleasure, his hands outstretched to a beefy man with a terrible moustache—that must be Mr. Dursley, Ophelia thought.

The man and the woman only stared at him with disbelief, prompting Mr. Weasley to lower his hand. "Er—yes—sorry about that. It's all my fault, it didn't occur to me that we wouldn't be able to get out at the other end. Don't worry, I've got a useful contact at the Floo Regulation Panel and he fixed it for me. I'll light a fire to send every back and then I'll be able to repair your fireplace before I Disapparate."

After giving long overdue hug to her favorite—now fourth year—she shared an amused look with Harry. It was clear that his aunt and uncle had no idea what Mr. Weasley was babbling about. Although even up to this day, most of the American Wizarding community were purebloods with a few halfblood families—that's just how it was. Unlike a lot of the pureblood supremist families here in Europe, a lot of pureblood families in America were pretty educated with the muggle world and Ophelia herself really enjoyed muggle pop culture and music.

"Hello, Harry!" Mr. Weasley turned his attention to him. "Got your trunk ready?"

"It's upstairs," said Harry, grinning at the man he considered to be more of a family than the one he lived with.

"We'll get it," Ophelia said, winking at Harry as she pulled both Fred and George up the stairs. They knew that he lived on the smallest bedroom in the house, and Ophelia knew that Fred and George had rescued him in when Harry was only a second year with a flying car.

"I've got it!" George said, coming out from Harry's room. Fred and Ophelia had tried to look for Dudley, but there was no sign of him—he must've left to go downstairs.