After that bonding that I truly needed, the remainder of my break in Forks is spent trying to repair the relationships with the rest of my family, which they are more than happy to do. My dad and I go for a run - when I say we, I mean he carried me while he ran - and we go sight seeing in nature at places humans can't dream of getting to. With mom, we go clothes shopping. We also get a head start on my school shopping. To my immense surprise, I see that I need a dress for formal occasions. I'm not sure what it could be for, but I don't care. I take this as an opportunity to go hog wild on dress shopping! I want to have a sexier dress so I can show off my body to the rest of the school. My parents, however, aren't as keen on the idea as I am.
I pull several dresses that I would like. All of them either black or red with slits in the leg and varying necklines, all of them so tight they look like a second layer of skin. My dad says no only after he finishes laughing at the idea that I thought they'd say yes. Long story short, finding dresses isn't easy. We finally find a dress that is their version of a compromise. It's a burgundy fit and flare type dress, and it has no straps but it doesn't show even the slightest bit of cleavage. It doesn't have a slit in the leg either, but it's the closest we can get to a compromise. On the outside I say that I'm okay with it, but on the inside I make a mental note to look at clothes altering books at Hogwarts. To go with the dress, we get diamond earrings, a burgundy choker necklace and shoes of the same color.
About two weeks before the start of school is when the Weasleys said they are going to pick me up. I'm excited at first, but as the day of departure gets closer, I start to really regret how withdrawn I've been this whole time. I've wasted countless hours moping around in my room while I could have been spending that time with my mother. That means that every opportunity I get I spend with her. Most of that means packing. Finally, the day arrives. I'm going to Fred's house for the first time! Oh, and Ron will be there to.
I decide that, since they've never been to my house before, that it would be best if I wait in the living room for them. I'm not sure when they'll be here, but I know they are getting here by floo powder. I decide to watch America's Got Talent while I wait. It doesn't get exciting until I'm halfway through and the fireplace suddenly emits emerald flames, which alerts everybody in the vicinity. Not even a second later, Ron comes tumbling out of the fireplace. As soon as he's steady, I get up and hug him.
"Hey!" I say. I don't think he's paying too much attention to me though. He's looking around our house. "Wow! Is this what muggle houses look like?" he asks. I roll my eyes. "Not all of them," I say. I don't get a chance to say much else because just then, Fred comes out of the fireplace! I run up and hug Fred as tight as I can. I've been going through Fred withdrawls as well. Only when I hear someone clearing their throat do I realize that there are other people in the room. I pull away and look around. Mr. Weasley, a tall and balding man, has appeared and I didn't realize, so has George. The one who cleared their throat, however, was my dad. I have no shame.
Fred and I appear to be the only ones who don't find this awkward. To break this, I say, "C'mon. You guys can help me with my stuff while our parents talk," I say. Without waiting for a response, I grab all of them and drag them upstairs to my room. "Is the entire back wall glass?" Ron asks. I chuckle and nod. His reaction is even better when we get to my room. "Bloody hell... This is huge!" he says. I giggle. "Yes it is. Now help me," I demand, pointing to the mess on my bed. "I already have my luggage packed, I just need someone to carry it downstairs. I'm going to give Ginny my clothes that don't fit me anymore, so I need help putting them into garbage bags," I say.
Fred and George help me willingly enough, but Ron stares at my clothes. "What do you need all these clothes for? Also, why do you have so many?" he asks. I roll my eyes. "My mom, aunt and I strongly believe in retail therapy. Plus, my aunt doesn't remember being human, so I let her treat me as her human Barbie Doll. That means that I hardly ever wear clothes more than once. Most of this stuff would get donated but I would rather see my clothes go to a loving home," I say while putting an old pair of jeans into a garbage bag. Ron rolls his eyes but helps me put the clothes into the garbage bags anyway.
Three garbage bags later - and many sarcastic comments from Ron - we're finally ready to go downstairs with Fred, George, and my suitcase leading the way. Downstairs I see Alice showing Mr. Weasley around our living room. Alice isn't showing him anything of any particular value in my opinion. Not one of Carlisle's many awards from over the centuries or his photographs, nor is Alice showing him Edward playing the piano. Alice is showing him our lamps, television, basically anything that can plug into a wall. Beside me, I can see Ron's ears redden to the color of his hair.
"Dad, we're ready," Fred says. Mr. Weasley looks at us and he looks less than willing to leave, but he goes to the fireplace again anyway. "Very well," he says and reignites the flames with his wand. "Fred, you and the trunk first," Mr. Weasley says. With my luggage in one hand - and with George's help - Fred puts floo powder in the fireplace and steps into the flames. "The Burrow," he says and vanishes. "Okay. George, take one of the bags," Mr. Weasley says. I hand him a bag and George repeats the process. After George is Ron, and then, finally, there's me. After hugging my mom and dad, I step into the flames, which don't bother me at all. "The Burrow," I say, and I can see my living room vanishing from sight. I've never traveled by floo powder myself, but I have read about it. I tuck my arms into my side. I quickly start to feel nauseous. After several minutes, I feel myself start to slow down, so I open my eyes and I see a house coming into view.
Fred catches me before I can hit the floor. The room I've landed in is a tiny kitchen, with a kitchen table in the middle and chairs that don't match. Somehow it's still homey though. I'm about to examine more of the house when I remember that I literally just traveled via fireplace. I look down and I'm covered with soot! Hair, clothes, skin, everything. I squeal and immediately put all of my attention on getting the soot off me. "Really?" I hear Ron ask. I look up while trying to get the soot out of my hair. "Yes. Really. I hate being dirty," I say and continue to work. A minute later, I hear someone new enter the kitchen. I look up and see Mrs. Weasley, a plump witch who has a kind face.
"It's nice to finally have you over, dear. Fred and Ron have told me so much about you. You'll be rooming with Ginny. If you wish, you can go take a shower. Now, boys," she says, turning to her sons. "Bill and Charlie will be here this afternoon. Fred, George, finish cleaning out your rooms. Ron, make room for Fred and George, not just Harry. Ginny, could you show Chloe to your room?" Mrs. Weasley asks. Ginny is the only one who seems to be happy about these tasks. While Ginny takes me upstairs, I look around the rest of the ground floor. The living room has another fireplace and many magical objects that I don't know the names of. There's a clock that has each Weasley's face on it, and each face is pointing to a spot on the clock that say things like "traveling", "lost", and "mortal peril", among others.
The hallway is pretty narrow, but Ginny doesn't take me very far. Turns out her room is on the first floor. It's a bright room with posters of bands I've never heard of on the walls and a poster of a Quidditch team called "The Holyhead Harpies". She also shows me where the shower is. "Thank you. While I'm in the shower, I want you to go through these clothes and see which ones you like the most!" I say excitedly. I take my sweet time in the shower, making sure to get every teeny speck of soot out of my hair and off my body.
An hour later, I return to Ginny's room, and I find that she's finished sorting through the clothes! That means we can have a fashion show. From there, Molly helps us alter the clothes as needed. For most of the clothes, it involves taking inches off. I immediately take note of this and memorize the spell and movements. On a couple pairs of pants from my younger years, she adds some fabric to them with magic. I also memorize that spell and wand movements.
My day isn't spent just with Ginny. Once we have had a mini fashion show, I manage to hunt down Fred and George and spend some time with them. As soon as Fred and I got together, he mentioned that he and George want to open up a joke shop, and I've been completely supportive because I think that is the perfect career choice. They'd make amazing business men, they're great wizards, and they're really smart. Unfortunately, their mom isn't as supportive and she's destroyed a lot of their products, so I devote a lot of my time trying to help him and George under the guise of spending casual alone time with my boyfriend and his brother.
It's around 3:00 when Mrs. Weasley makes us all go back downstairs again. I'm with Ginny - helping her put some clothes away - when Mrs. Weasley comes back into the room. "Girls, Bill and Charlie are here," she says. I can see Ginny get excited and, without taking the new clothes off, she rushes downstairs. I debate about just staying up here, but I decide not to be rude, so I follow her and Mrs. Weasley downstairs. Downstairs, I can see two red headed people in the living room that I've never met. One of them is taller with long hair that's tied back in a ponytail, and he has an earring with a fang on it. The other is my height and covered in freckles with muscled arms.
As soon as I'm almost down the stairs, Molly takes my hand and takes me over to the two Weasleys, who are being hugged by Ginny. "Chloe, this is Bill and Charlie," she says excitedly. I can tell she's giddy about having them back home. Both boys look at me, and I shake hands with both of them. "Fred and Ron have told us a lot about you," Bill says. "All good things, I hope," I say, while looking at Ron over Charlie's shoulder. Fred wouldn't say anything bad about me - probably - but Ron definitely would. I notice Ron's ears turn red, and I scowl.
The rest of the day is relatively uneventful. It's mostly spent centered around Bill and Charlie, and I tell them about myself. Hometown, parents, hobbies, things like that. As soon as dinner is over, I go to sleep because time change, and I wake up around noon the next day to an empty room. I'm confused for a second, but then I realize that Ginny is probably either with her brothers or going with her dad to pick up Hermione. I take this opportunity to get dressed. I put on blue ripped skinny jeans, a tan and blue shirt with a deep off the shoulder sleeve, tan feather earrings, and tan sandals. As for my hair, I put it up in a half up, half down style. Then and only then I go downstairs, where I see Mrs. Weasley in the kitchen.
"Oh, good you're awake. I was going to wake you up, but Arthur thought it best to let you sleep," she says as she puts a BLT in front of me. Not knowing what to say, I smile politely and start eating. While I eat, we idly talk. Just as I finish eating, I see the fire in the fireplace turn emerald green and a second later, Fred comes out, holding a trunk that I recognize to be Hermione's. He is followed by Ron, Ginny, and then Hermione. This is exactly what I've been waiting for! I'm anxious to have some girl time with girls my own age. I want the dirt on any guys that Hermione might like. Not to mention, Ginny wants details about me and Fred. As soon as Hermione is acquainted with everybody, the three of us girls go up to Ginny's room.
"Alright Chloe, I've waited long enough. What's going on with you and Fred?" Ginny asks. I smile. "I'm still helping him with his joke shop. I'm no longer having withdrawals. He's so attractive, it's starting to hurt. I love the moments when we're alone together. It's like we're the only two people in the world..." I say as I start to go into la la land. Kissing, me wishing that it would go onto something more, but I know that we can't do that here. "Have you said I love you to each other?" Hermione asks. I sigh and then shake my head. Both of them look shocked. "Really? Why not?" Hermione asks. I shrug. "The opportunity hasn't arisen. We're always with other people, and I don't even know if he feels that way," I confide. I haven't told many people about this. Only my mom. It's easy to know if people are in love from the outside looking in, but when you're in the situation yourself, it's hard to know how the other person truly feels.
"You won't really know unless you tell him," Ginny says sympathetically. "I can tell you love him. That much is obvious," Hermione says. I snap my head up and look at her. "What do you mean?" I ask. "It's hard to put into words really," Hermione says, and Ginny nods in agreement. "The way you look at him. I don't even think you realize you're doing it. Everyone around you it seems can... see your feelings for him in your eyes. When you're together, you move as he does. If he moves a little, so do you. I've never seen anything like it," Ginny says. I can't help but smile. We sound like an adorable couple.
"Enough about me. Hermione, it's your turn. There's got to be someone who you like," I say. This shuts her up. She blushes. "That means there is," I tease. "Who is it?" silence. "Is it George?" I ask. No visible reaction. "Fred?" I ask, this time with an edge I didn't even mean to add. She hears this edge, and shakes her head no. "Percy? Please say no," I say, causing Ginny to laugh. I can see the blush fading, so that means I'm not getting any closer. "Bill? Charlie?" I ask with skepticism. No response. I think about this. Her and Ron have quite the history, not all of it good. She gets along with Harry just fine though. "Harry?" I ask. "...as a friend," she says. So there definitely is someone. Only one guy left that she's close with. The last one that I'd expect - considering their personalities are so different - but it makes perfect sense in a weird way.
"Ron?" I ask. She blushes. I gasp. "Oh my god! You like Ron!" Ginny says with a grin. "Sh!" she tells us. I don't even know how much time passes while Ginny and I interrogate Hermione. We start off slow, asking her how long she's had feelings. She doesn't give us a straight answer. After a while, she starts to confide in us. She'd love for Ron to feel the same way, but she doesn't know if he does. I tell her I don't know either, and when I think about it, I realize that it's the truth. There are some situations where I think he could like her back, but others where he definitely doesn't.
At 5:00, I make my way downstairs so we can go get Harry. I'm dying to see his cousin up close. We don't get to leave as quickly as originally planned though. Mrs. Weasley wants her kids to not give the Dursleys any reason to forbid Harry from going, so several times she makes Ron go back upstairs to clean dirt off his face. Finally, fifteen minutes after we were already supposed to be there, we leave. Mr. Weasley is the first one to disappear into the fireplace. A minute later, I step into the flames. "4 Privet Drive," I say and I see the Weasley kitchen disappear.
Again, it's a long and uncomfortable ride, traveling via fireplace. I have to shut my eyes and I only open them when I feel my head bang against something hard. I'm in a tiny confined space made of stone, and I'm standing next to Mr. Weasley. "Where are we?" I ask. Before he can answer, we are joined by a new person. Fred. "Ouch! Fred, no - go back, go back, there's been some kind of mistake - tell George not to -" "OUCH!" I hiss at George as I massage my toe. Definitely should not have worn sandals. "George, no, there's no room. Go back quickly and tell Ron -" "Maybe Harry can hear us, Dad - maybe he'll be able to let us out -" I'm so desperate to get out of this place I bang on the wall first. Being squished between Mr. Weasley and Fred definitely isn't comfortable or attractive.
"Harry? Harry, can you hear us?" I ask. I hear a grumble from the other end, probably Mr. Dursley. "What is this? What's going on?" "They - they've tried to get here by Floo powder. They can travel by fire - only you've blocked the fireplace - hang on -" I'm an idiot. Why didn't I think of this? "Chloe? Can you hear me?" "Sh!" I hear Mr. Weasley say. "It's Harry... the fireplace has been blocked up. You won't be able to get through there." "Damn! What on earth did they want to block up the fireplace for?" "They've probably got an electric fire," I tell him, just as Harry says the same thing. "Really?" says Mr. Weasley, completely distracted. I roll my eyes. We're going to be here all day. Just as I'm about to say something, we are joined by someone else, causing me to be completely shoved into Fred with zero room to spare. Not that I'm complaining. "What are we doing here? Has something gone wrong?" "No, not at all. This is exactly where we wanted to end up," Fred says. I giggle. "Yeah, we're having the time of our lives here," says George.
"Boys, boys..." says Mr. Weasley. "I'm trying to think what to do... Yes... only way... Stand back, Harry." I hear a loud BANG right next to my ear. I'm thrown from inside the fireplace and I only just manage to land on two feet. Carefully, I stand up and appraise my surroundings. Mrs. Dursley is on her back behind the coffee table in her husbands arms. They couldn't be more different. She's skin and bones, he is the heaviest man I've ever seen. Their faces are priceless. He's gaping like a deer in the headlights. "That's better," pants Mr. Weasley. That reminds me to get the dust off me. I hardly pay attention to their conversation as I try and get every last dust particle out of my hair and off my clothes. I only pay attention when Mr. Weasley starts talking to Harry.
"Got your trunk ready?" he asks. "It's upstairs," says Harry, grinning. "We'll get it," says Fred at once. I smirk. He's wanting a glance ad Dudley. I think about going with them, but then I decide to stay here and enjoy the sight of Mr. and Mrs. Dursley. There's a long and awkward silence. Mr. Dursley's face seems to get more purple by the minute, and Mrs. Dursley is about to chew her lip off. From the way they're looking at us, you would think we've got guns pointed to their heads. Then comes the moment I've been waiting for. Dudley appears. I thought Harry was exaggerating in his letters about how big his cousin is, but I was wrong. This kid is literally hundreds of pounds overweight. He's bigger round than he is tall. And... is he grabbing his ass? He tries to hide himself behind his parents, but he does an abysmal job. He sees me appraising him and blushes. I recognize that look he's giving me. I don't mind that he's not all that attractive. What I do mind is him treating Harry like dirt. If he ever asked me out I'd answer him with three words. Oh. Hell. No.
"Is this your cousin Harry?" I ask while still looking at Dudley even though I know the answer. "Yep. That's Dudley." I have to try my hardest not to bust out laughing along with Harry and Ron, who are having the same problems I am. He's clutching his ass even tighter. Does he not realize that if he even wanted a chance of me giving him the time of day, he needs to stop grabbing his own ass that tight? "Having a good holiday, Dudley?" Mr. Weasley asks kindly. Dudley whimpers and I have to turn away to hide my giggles. I turn around just in time to see Fred and George entering. I can practically see the gears turning in their heads when they see Dudley. I would recognize the meaning behind those grins anywhere.
"Ah, right," says Mr. Weasley. Better get cracking then." He points his wand at the fireplace and makes flames arise from nowhere. He throws a tiny bit of floo powder on the fire and it turns green. "Off you go then, Fred," says Mr. Weasley. "Coming. Oh no - hang on -" I know exactly what Fred is doing because it was my idea. After I refused to be his test dummy, I voluntold Dudley. He's going to purposefully leave one on the floor. Once he's picked most of them up, he disappears in the fire. "Right then, George," says Mr. Weasley, "you and the trunk." While George and Harry are getting the trunk, I'm concentrating on Dudley. He sees me looking at him and completely misinturprets it. His dad sees me looking and his face turns purple.
Just as Harry is about to leave, Dudley does the thing I've been waiting for. Before his parents realize it, I see Dudley bend down, open the candy, and eat it. He immediately starts gagging and his tongue starts to rapidly swell. I can't hold back my laughter then. I try, but I can't. His mom tries to yank his tongue, Mr. Weasley tries to help but they must think he's satan in disguise because that's how they are treating him. "Now really! I'm trying to help!" "Harry, go! Just go! I'll sort this out!" Harry does this as soon as Mr. Dursley throws something at him. I briefly debate about helping Mr. Weasley, but then I see Mr. Dursley throw a pillow at me. I don't see it in time to catch it though, and it lands on top of my head, making my hair go frizzy. He did not just mess up my hair! "Chloe, go!" Mr. Weasley shouts. Violence isn't the answer here, violence isn't the answer here... I tell myself. I decide to give Mr. Dursley his pillow back. I throw it back at him, not aiming for his face but for the expensive looking lamp behind him. Of course, I hit my target with perfect accuracy, making the lamp fall to the ground and shatter. With one last grin, I step into the fire and disappear.