Dear Remus,
I hope you are doing well and adjusting to a more regular life after this past years events. Ron's still in a bit of a daze himself! The poor thing is still slightly shaken about the Scabbers situation, but I'm sure you know more than me on the matter.
Anyhow, Ron has expressed the desire to Arthur and myself to bring along his friends to the Quidditch World Cup this year on the 18th of August. We're still figuring out how to get a letter to Harry and Hermione, but I'm sure it'll all go smoothly. Arthur will be taking them. The twin's, Ginny and Percy are also going, but not Charlie or Bill. They're so busy these days! What can I say though? I'm very proud of their endeavours. Additionally, Mr Diggory and his son, Cedric will also be accompanying them, so no need to worry about supervision. I'm sure you remember Cedric? A darling little boy, but it's been years since we've seen him!
To my understanding, the 18th of August also falls on a full moon. I completely understand if Ophelia is unable to come, but I wanted to extend the offer of her staying for the rest of summer. We are happy to transport her to Kings Cross station on September the 1st. And it is no burden whatsoever, your daughter is a true delight and we would be more than happy to look after her.
Furthermore, you are more than happy to accompany them as well if you please, but again, to my understanding it is a full moon. I'm so sorry dear!
If the answer is yes, Arthur has requested her arrival by no later than the 17th of August at the burrow. He likes to be extra prepared, you see. In any case, feel free to bring her over as early as you like. Ron is very much looking forward to seeing her at one point or another, but once again — do not feel any pressure to accept. Whatever works for you works for us. Send me an owl and let me know.
Best wishes and lots of love,
Molly Weasley x
Remus peered over the parchment in his hands, smirking at the way Ophelia drummed her fingers on the table in eagerness.
"You can go." He said simply, smiling, as he placed the letter onto the table and brought his mug of tea to his lips.
"Really? Thank you!" She jumped up and kissed him on the cheek, "I have to go pack and write to tell Sirius!"
"You know, I never took you as a Quidditch fan." He smirked, placing his mug down.
"Well, I'm not. But it'll be exciting to see everybody, and Harry likes Quidditch so I suppose I should start putting in some sort of interest-"
"I'm only joking, sweets." He cut her off, chuckling, "I'm sure you'll have fun with your friends. You should go tell Ginger."
"Right! Ooh, she'll be so excited!"
Remus' lips tugged into a smile as she fled the room, letter in hand, and black curls trailing behind her as she disappeared out of view; reminiscing about when James' family had taken him and the rest of the marauders to the 403rd annual Quidditch World Cup in the summer of 1975.
...
A couple days letter, with her trunk and Sherlock's cage in hand, the three of them used the floo network to get to the Burrow on the morning of the 17th of August.
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?"
"Of course. The infamous eldest Weasley children." She grinned, extending her arm; shaking hands with them both. "Lovely to meet you."
"Same here. We've heard lot about you." Charlie smiled.
"Oh yeah, Ron does not shut up about you three in his letters." Bill agreed, one hand on his brother's shoulder as they chuckled.
"Only the best things are said, I hope?" She laughed lightly, crossing her arms in mock suspicion.
"Oh, absolutely." They nodded, laughing with her.
Upon talking to them, she got a good look at them both. Bill was the taller and slimmer one out of the two, at about 6'3 and Charlie had to be about 6'1 with a more muscular build; thanks to the dragons, likely. Both of them had the same freckle-dotted faces and ginger hair that was prominent to all the other Weasley's, but unlike the rest of them, Bill had piercing blue eyes whilst Charlie had the same chocolate brown ones similar to the others.
"If it's any consolation, I've heard lots about you two as well." She added, smiling.
"Oh yeah? Anything notable?" Bill grinned.
"Well, one of you works with potentially life-threatening dragons on the daily in a foreign country, and the other works in Egypt on a top secret mission with the Gringotts goblins. I think it's safe to say your professions alone are notable." She chuckled.
Charlie's face lit up at the admission, "You know, I'd be happy to chat with you about the dragons if you're interested. Really misunderstood creatures-"
"He's obsessed." Bill cut in, chuckling, "Feel free to decline that. On the contrary, you can come to me if you have any questions about Gringotts."
"Yes, I'm sure she'd be more interested in finance than living creatures, Bill, sure." Charlie rolled his eyes sarcastically.
"Ophelia! Remus! Ginger! I didn't know you were here!" Molly's voice rang through the house as she entered the sitting room; cutting off Ophelia before she could even reply to Charlie.
"Better go, yeah? Seems like you're about to be ambushed Molly Weasley style." Bill grinned, patting her on the shoulder as he passed.
"See you later." Charlie added as he did the same.
Before they were even out of the way, Molly had wriggled her way to where they all stood; short and wavy red hair falling just to her shoulders, wearing a brown dress, a patched apron and a warm smile as she approached.
She hugged Ophelia first, commenting on her beauty like she always did, and proceeding to give Ginger a quick hug before she examined Remus properly.
"Stand straight."
Remus followed the command, chuckling slightly, as she inspected him.
"You're much too skinny." She concluded, "Luckily lunch is coming up." She informed him, cupping his face like a loving grandmother as he leant down to kiss her on the cheek.
"And you're much too kind for your own good, Molls." He chuckled as he stood straight once more, having to had bend down significantly to even reach her with the height difference of almost two feet, "But it's lovely to see you too."
She flushed, "Oh, come on now all of you, let's give them some space." She announced, batting her hands as if to get her children to spread out. "They've only just arrived."
"Ginny, dear, take Ophelia to where she'll be staying so she can put her belongings away." Molly instructed, and Ginny gave a curt nod as she gestured for Ophelia to follow up the stairs.
Ophelia followed without another word as Ginger and Remus were whisked away into the kitchen. Neither of them would be staying over, but it was Molly Weasley — they'd be here for a couple more hours at the minimum.
"You'll be staying in my room with Mione and I. We don't have all that much space, especially when Charlie and Bill are home." She informed her.
"It's alright." Ophelia said reassuringly from behind, "I thought they weren't coming though?"
"Not to the game, they leave tomorrow afternoon so it wouldn't work."
Ophelia nodded, though Ginny couldn't see it, as she kept rambling. "And Percy has his own room now because he's so special with his work-"
"I can hear you, Ginerva." Came Percy's cold voice from a room at the top left of the stairs.
"That's the point, Percival." Ginny sneered, as the two entered his room.
Percy was sitting at his desk, stacks of parchment all around him and a trash can filled to the brim with rumpled up pieces of paper in the corner. It was a small room, but spacious with only one occupant; however, Percy's mess of parchment took up most of the beloved space that had previously been shared by Ron as well.
Percy, however, looked no different than when she saw him last; perhaps a bit more stiff, and a tad more smug, but there was virtually no difference in appearance than when he had graduated last June.
"Percy has a new job at the ministry." Ginny filled in.
"Not just any job." He spat, swinging around in the chair to face them, "I am Mr Crouch's assistant."
"Impressive." Ophelia noted, duly.
"It is, isn't it?" He sneered, "None of my dear siblings seem to agree, except for perhaps Charlie and Bill."
"Who only say that because they don't want to upset Mum." Ginny added, crossing her arms, "And Ophelia's too nice to say anything of the contrary."
"You ought to take a page out of her book." Percy snapped, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm up to my ears in paperwork and I must get back to work. You two are a disturbance."
"Okay, see you." Ophelia barley managed to get out as Percy strode from his chair and slammed the door in their faces.
"Charming as always, huh?" Ginny huffed.
Ophelia could do nothing but laugh as they kept going down the hallway, peering into each of the rooms, finding herself searching for the one person she was yet to run into.
"Lupin!" George had near collided with her, as if on cue, while darting out of a room to the right.
"Thought I heard commotion downstairs, didn't know you'd be coming this early."
"Hope it's not a problem." She chuckled.
"No, no, not at all." He said quickly, "It's good to see you." He added more calmly after.
"It's good to see you too." She replied, gaze averting to the floor.
"Well, anyway, I'll uh — I'll be downstairs. Right, well, I'll see you — later. Or soon. Or you know, whenever." George fumbled as he wriggled past them and began to make his way down the stairs.
"You are the most oblivious person in the world, you know that?" Ginny laughed, rolling her eyes.
Ophelia turned to the younger girl, "What's that supposed to mean?" She challenged, eyes narrowed at the red-head.
"Nevermind." Ginny groaned, beckoning her to a door on the left, "This is it. After you."
...
Later in the evening; after Remus and Ginger had departed to go back home, and the sun had set, the four (now reunited) friends sat in the sitting room in their pyjamas on with mugs of butterbeer in their hands.
The crackling fire before them, and the dim wand light from Hermione's wand, illuminated the all but pitch black room as they caught up with each other; in hushed voices and with minimal movement as to not wake up anyone else.
"Padfoot's been writing you both?" Hermione asked, placing her mug down on the coffee table gently, eyes darting between Harry and Ophelia, whom sat next to each other.
"Oh yeah, quite a lot actually." Ophelia nodded, not being able to help the stupid grin that tugged at her lips, "It's great. Once it's safe, he's going to come live with us, and then you too Harry, it'll be wonderful."
Harry couldn't help but grin similarly, and Ron and Hermione didn't try to resist the small smiles their lips curved into; immensely happy for their two friends who had been all but depressed the past year and had finally gained something good.
"And Percy?"
"What about him?" Ron snorted, "He doesn't shut up, that one. It's always my job this, my job that, and of course Mum is babying him because of it. His own room, special treatment, it doesn't end."
"Well, it is a ministry position-" Hermione offered.
"Hardly." Ron huffed, "He doesn't actually speak directly with Mr Crouch on most days. He brings him coffee and danishes, files his paperwork and occasionally makes small talk about the weather. He doesn't do anything of importance, there's nothing to glorify."
The three of them smirked listening to him ramble on so heatedly, having likely needed an outlet for the past two months but having nobody to rant to, so they listened intently.
Eventually, it faded to lighter conversation. Ron spoke about Charlie's recent plans in Romania, or Bill's in Egypt, and Ophelia commented on how nice him and Bill had been to her when they met. He talked about Ginny and his excitement for the match, and Fred and George's early stages of their trails for their Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products.
Apparently, Molly had found some samples and was less than pleased with the two of them. Ophelia couldn't imagine what the woman would think when she learned their ambition was to open a joke shop — she just hoped she wouldn't be there to witness it.
In any case, it was nice to talk to the three of them again; normally, together, sharing laughs and drinks in the warmth and comforting ambience of the Weasley house. She had missed nights like this, normal nights like this.
"In any case, I hope the Chudley Canons win the match." Ron signed eventually, taking another swig of butterbeer.
"I don't even know the names of the teams." Ophelia admitted, and Hermione nodded in agreement, "I'm sure you can catch us up though. It's a what, two hour game?"
Ron let out a bark of laughter, "Oh no, it can last for days at a time!"
Only slightly concerned about what she had so quickly agreed to, she plastered on a smile. "Wonderful. Lots of time to learn."
"You four!" Came Molly's voice, a low hiss, as she flicked on the light; hands on her hips, giving the them a death stare, "You have to be up at the crack of dawn to leave for the match! Go to bed. Now!"
The four scrambled to their feet, giggling, and stumbling into each other as they apologized profusely and climbed the stairs; Hermione and Ophelia parting from the other two as they made their way into Ginny's room.
The younger girl was asleep, just like the two had left her when they ventured downstairs earlier, and didn't wake as they made their way back into their sleeping bags quietly.
"Night." Ophelia mumbled, shifting over and pulling one of Molly's wooly blankets over herself.
"Night." Hermione replied, murmuring the spell to make the wand light go out, plunging the room into darkness once more.
"You don't think it'll actually take days, do you?" Ophelia murmured, abruptly, not even a second later.
"I wouldn't be surprised." Hermione sighed, in slight defeat, "Wizards take Quidditch just as seriously as muggles take football."