Login
MuggleNet Fan Fiction
Harry Potter stories written by fans!

The Gryffindor Gang by U-No-Poo

[ - ]   Printer Chapter or Story Table of Contents

- Text Size +
Chapter Notes: After three hours of solid work last night, I finally completed this chapter. I had so much fun writing it!

In this chapter, we have less of the gang and more of the Weasleys - I've been looking forward to the Weasley scenes in this. It features Al, Rose and Scorpius, with a hint of Claudia and Adam. No Nina, I'm afraid.

Thanks to Sarah (Dumbledores_Fave) as always for her speedy beta'ing!

Also, I am aware that I have much longer chapter notes than everyone else.
Rose:

Christmas was coming. We could all feel it in the air; it was infectious. Wherever we went in the castle, we could see the signs. Two weeks before the end of term, the Prefects, teachers and their helpers began the decoration of Hogwarts Castle for Christmas. Real, unmelting icicles hung from the corridor ceilings, wreaths of holly and ivy filled with nests of doves were draped along the walls, and the suits of armour were bewitched to sing Christmas carols. In the Great Hall, twelve massive Christmas fir trees were decorated in the hall, brightening up the room, and in the Entrance Hall and intertwined along the marble staircase were multicoloured fairy lights (with real fairies, obviously). Peeves the poltergeist was more of a hindrance than a help in this process – he’d be constantly shouted at by Bastian Jones, the school caretaker. It was all very festive, anyway.

Ever since the fiasco at Halloween, the five of us – Al, Adam, Claudia, Scorpius and I – had been as close as ever. Adam seemed to forgive Claudia and me easily, and we were all virtually inseparable. Throughout November, nothing bad happened. Classes were interesting and fun now that we’d mastered the basics (everyone scoffed at me when I said this), and nobody was mean to anyone. We’d been very suspicious about Nina’s involvement in Claudia’s accident at Halloween, but when we had asked Claudia, she’d told us she didn’t remember much, she’d been too drugged up afterwards.

As December came around, Scorpius had started becoming moody and depressed. Nobody could work it out until one morning when Neville came around with a sign-up sheet for those who’d be staying at Hogwarts over the winter break. Scorpius was just about to wave Neville over when Al realised why he’d been so miserable.

“You’re not going back home for Christmas, are you?” he said, not as a question but more like a statement. Scorpius nodded.

“I just don’t think I want to face my dad yet,” Scorpius replied. “I’m not ready for that one yet. I think Christmas at Hogwarts would be a whole lot more pleasant than a Malfoy family affair.”

“Hang on a second, don’t sign up yet! Come stay with me!” said Al excitedly. “You can come to the Weasley family Christmas at my grandparent’s house – Rose will be there too!” he said, gesturing at me.

“No offense Al… but would your parents really want a Malfoy spending Christmas with them? I don’t know what your father has told you, but from the way mine tells it, they HATED each other.”

Al just waved his comment away. “Nah, Dad’s into the whole ‘forgiving past rivalries and wizarding world peace’ thing now. And my mum wouldn’t care if you had five ears and two noses, she’d still treat you the same as anyone else.”

Scorpius looked hesitant. “Well… if you’re sure then…”

“Course I am,” said Al, his mouth now full of scrambled eggs. “I’ll write home tonight.”

Three days later, Aunt Ginny wrote back to Al, who confirmed that they’d be happy to have Scorpius for Christmas and the whole winter break. Scorpius looked delighted at spending the holidays with his friends, and not his family.

Personally, I couldn’t wait to see my family. I was missing Mum, Dad and Hugo terribly; it was a shock to be without my family every day. Actually, scratch that – there were so many Weasleys at Hogwarts that it seemed like I’d never left home. And… well, Hogwarts was becoming more like home with every passing day.

Claudia was also very excited to be going home, to “the normal world” as she dubbed it. I knew that she couldn’t write home as much as she’d like, mostly because that too many owls flying into her street and dropping letters at her doorstep would cause unnecessary problems for her mother. She said that she was going to catch up with some of her Muggle friends and do Muggle things. I’d gone to a Muggle primary school too, which my mother had insisted upon, so I could understand what Claudia talked about, unlike Scorpius, ever the pureblood, who asked us one day why Muggles had telephones. Only he pronounced it “fellytone”. Needless to say, we all got a kick out of that one, even Adam and Al who hadn’t attended a Muggle school. When we asked Adam what he’d be doing he told us that his family were going to Spain after the New Year.

Finally, the last bell of the term rang, and we were free! We stampeded out of the dungeons, leaving a disgruntled Zabini in our wake. I’d begun to detest Zabini along with the rest of the Gryffindors. Stupid, prejudiced git. And he made me pick up a spider three days ago.

The next day, with our trunks, owls (well, owl – Marmite, Adam’s bird, looked a bit put-off to be in his cage again) and other bits and pieces, boarded the Hogwarts Express. We claimed a carriage together, and chatted happily while playing several games of Exploding Snap.

“I can’t wait to show my mum the Wizarding World!” exclaimed Claudia as we played. Along with Adam and his family, they’d been invited to the Potter’s big New Years’ annual party at Godric’s Hollow. I loved going to those, it was one of the highlights of the holidays. And this year, it’d be especially fun, because all five of us would be there! Hundreds of witches and wizards, all friends of the Potter’s, would turn up. And obviously, the whole Weasley clan.

“Your mum will love it, trust me,” I said. “So, you’ll drive over to our house, and we’ll all Floo to the Potter’s?”

“Yep,” she replied. Because Claudia only lived half hour from me, and her mum wouldn’t be able to drive to Godric’s Hollow (it was Unplottable), they were going to come to my house, which was in a Muggle suburb. I think Claudia’s mum was nervous to do just that.

As it got darker, the surroundings of the landscape became more and more suburban as we edged nearer and nearer to London. As much as I loved Hogwarts and the countryside, there was something about London that I loved – and not the wizarding half of it either. Magic couldn’t touch the chaos of the city, and that’s what I loved.

The train started slowing down, and a voice acknowledged this, magically magnified to carry across the carriages. “We will be pulling up at King’s Cross Station in five minutes. Please disembark with decorum. Have a lovely winter break!”




Albus:

The five of us all got off the train, subject to the chaos that was now happening on Platform Nine and Three Quarters. Students, parents and trunks were flying left and right, and through it all, we were trying to find our parents.

“Albus!” cried a voice to my left. Suddenly, I found myself enveloped in a smothering hug from Ginny Potter, my mum. I hugged her back, happy and relieved to see my mum again.

“Where’s Dad?” I asked when we broke apart, “and Lily?”

“He had to go into the office unexpectedly,” Mum replied. “Apparently Cormac McLaggen arrested a Muggle in Wiltshire for use of the Imperius Curse.” Her distaste for the man was evident in her tone. “So your Dad, along with the Obliviator Squad, had to smooth things over. I hope Harry fires that…”

“Mum,” I said hurriedly, “this is Scorpius,” I introduced Scorpius to my mum, who had been standing by my side awkwardly.

“Hello, Scorpius,” she grinned.

“Mrs. Potter,” he said formally, holding out his hand. I smirked.

“Please, call me Ginny,” she said, shaking Scorpius’ hand. “Mrs. Potter makes me feel old. And in response to your other question, Al, Lily’s at Nana and Pop’s house. She and Hugo are spending the day there.”

“Oh, Mum, this is Claudia,” I said, realising that Claudia was still there. Rose and Adam had gone off to find their own parents. But obviously, Claudia’s mum would be waiting outside in the Muggle platform.

“Hi, Ginny,” she grinned.

“So you’re the one who my son and my niece and their friends saved in the Forbidden Forest?” she grinned. Crap, they told her about that?

“Yes, Albus, the school told me,” Mum said, laughing as she saw the look on my face. “Professor McGonagall sent a letter to your father and I, and also one to your aunt and uncle. Merlin, you’re getting more like your father every day! Always saving the world!”

I smiled as Claudia and Scorpius laughed with Mum, but I was pretty fed up, to tell you the truth. I wasn’t like my father – why did everyone assume this? Was it the hair, or the eyes? James was more like Dad – we needed more than one hand to count the number of times James had been in trouble with the school. However, my brother looked different to Dad; his hair was lighter and he’d inherited Mum’s eyes, a cinnamon brown colour. Anyway, I tried to let none of this bother me.

James joined the reunion party, and after Mum had smothered him in a hug as well (James had kept checking behind his back to make sure none of his friends were watching), we joined the queue of families waiting to get back to the Muggle world, and said goodbye to Claudia, who’d found Ron, Hermione and Rose to cut in the queue with. None of us really understood why the Granger-Weasleys (it’s easier at times to group our Weasley relatives like that) had decided to live in the heart of Muggle London, but they seemed to love it.

Thirty minutes later (the line was long), I stepped into the sitting room of our family home at Godric’s Hollow. James was already there, and he had already sprawled himself across one of our beige lounges, his trunk lay forgotten beside him. I couldn’t see this scene, however, until I’d taken my glasses off and cleaned them quickly against my travelling cloak. Not a day went by when I cursed my father for giving me his poor vision gene to me. I dragged my trunk away from the fireplace just in time as ten seconds later, Scorpius appeared there in a blaze of green flames.

“This is the sitting room,” I said, gesturing around the room, which was decorated rather simply, but nicely. Mum had gone for a more modern look when she’d decorated this room. We had a large beige lounge suite at the back of the room, accompanied by a few matching armchairs. These all centred a glass coffee table. A Quidditch book, entitled Quentin’s Quidditch Collection, sat on top of it. A small Japanese Zen garden was placed in the middle. When I was little, Mum had had to hide the Zen garden from James and I as we’d spill sand everywhere on the carpet. Now that the three of us were older, she’d deemed us more trustworthy. Lily had never touched this without permission – she was the golden child of us.

On the cream-coloured walls, assortments of family photos were displayed. There were three baby photos, one for each of us Potter children. There was a picture of Mum and Dad’s wedding, where the happy couple, the maid of honour, Hermione, and the best man, Ron, waved happily at the camera. There was a photo of the five of us last year on James’ first day of Hogwarts, and a large one taken three years ago at the Weasley family Christmas, with all of our relatives in it together. And last, but not least, my favourite – a collection of three small photos. The top one was a photo of the First Wizarding War’s Order of the Phoenix, and the Second War’s group at the bottom. In the centre was a photo of Dumbledore’s Army, the rebel group that Mum, Dad and their friends started at Hogwarts. I constantly marvelled at how young my parents looked in that photo and how much Dad really did look like me at that age. Anyway, back to Scorpius.

“Thank you, Captain Obvious,” Scorpius said, rolling his eyes. “I can tell that this is the sitting room.”

Ginny Potter appeared behind me, stepping out of the fireplace much more gracefully than us. “Why don’t you show Scorpius up to the guest room, and let him have a chance to unpack?” she said.

“My room’s up this way,” I said, pointing up the staircase, as we stepped into the hallway. It was quite a struggle for us to get our trunks up the staircase. I really wished that we could magic them up.

“Muuuuuuuuum!” I hollered, “Can you levitate our trunks upstairs, please?”

“No, some Muggle labour would do you good,” she replied, equally as loud. “I’m going to start making dinner.” I sighed, and took the other end of Scorpius’ trunk as we lifted them up, one by one.

We visited the spare bedroom first. Nothing special about it; it just contained basic timber furniture, cream walls and beige carpet. The bedspread was a moss green colour, and Scorpius just chucked his things on his bed, with the promise of “I’ll unpack later”.

“Okay, let’s go to my room,” I said.

For the first time in nearly six months, I opened my bedroom door. My bedroom was spacious, just like every other room in the Potter household. Our house was one of the largest in Godric’s Hollow, but we weren’t that rich. Not as rich as Scorpius, anyhow. But seeing his reaction to my bedroom, you’d think that he lived in a housing commission.

“Wow, your room’s so cool, Al!” he exclaimed.

It was, actually. I’d decorated it in sky blue and navy, the colours of the Tutshill Tornadoes, my favourite Quidditch team, much to the dismay of certain members of the Weasley clan. Ron once joked that he was going to disown me because I’d told him that the Tornadoes were my favourite team. I cried for a week because I thought he’d been serious. I had simple, timber furniture – a bed, a matching beside table, a chest of drawers and a desk. The walls were painted blue, matching the theme. However, every inch of the walls was covered in Tornadoes posters of their star players and team game play. Aries Kashia, the Tornadoes’ star Seeker, zoomed around in his picture, almost invisible with the speed of the Firebolt.

“Tornadoes supporter then, Al?” said Scorpius, clearly stating the obvious.

“Yep, the coolest team in the world!” I replied proudly. “Second on the league, too!”

“Yeah, but they’re not as cool as Puddlemere United, who are winning!”

“You have the worst Seeker in the world! Devon Bentley’s only made two catches out of six this season, and if it wasn’t for their new Chasers, they’d still be at the bottom of the table like a few years ago, where they belong!” This Quidditch talk continued for a good hour or so. We were still discussing Seeking tactics when Mum called us down for dinner.

“Al, can you set the table for dinner?” said a new voice. I turned around to face my father, who held his arms open as I gave him a hug. “It’s good to have you home.”

A nine year old witch stood behind Dad, her flaming Weasley hair hanging down to her waist.

“Lily!” I exclaimed as I saw my baby sister, and rushed over to hug her too. She looked delighted to see me, which was always nice.

“Al! I’ve missed you!” she said. “Guess what? Hugo and I made a cubby at the Burrow! It’s so cool; I can’t wait to show you it at Christmas!”

I laughed. “Sounds great. Lily, this is Scorpius, a friend from school.”

“Hey, Scorpius! Can I call you Scorpy?”

“No.”




Scorpius:

I had to give to give the Potters credit – everything they did, whether it was their interested, but not intrusive questions about my life that Harry and Ginny asked, or simply letting me have the last roll at dinner, made me feel more at home. Lily was the cutest little thing; I could tell that Al and James simply adored her. James was nice to me as well; I had thought that he might’ve had a grudge against me, but instead he laughed, talked, joked and played backyard Quidditch with me and Al. It was nice to have company with people my own age, anyway. I’d always resented the fact that my parents had only chose to have one child. It was a lonely life.

“Scorpius, do you want second helpings of spaghetti?” Ginny asked me at dinner the night before Christmas Eve. I noticed that her plate was barely touched, her food growing cold.

“Mum, are you alright?” James asked, worried. Al looked up from his plate, anxious also.

“Yeah, just not feeling that hungry,” she replied. James and Al looked happy enough with that answer and returned to their meals, but I noticed the knowing look that Ginny Potter gave her husband. Something was up.

“Albus! James! Look at you, you’ve both grown so much!” cried an old woman’s voice as we arrived at the Burrow, Al’s grandparent’s family home, the next day. We’d all brought overnight bags with us; we’d be staying the night as a family tradition. I felt a little nervous, being the newcomer, but Al’s Nana Molly was welcoming enough.

“And you must be Scorpius,” she said after she’d stopped smothering her grandkids in hugs and kisses. She hugged me and then held me out arm’s length, studying me critically. “My god, do you ever eat? You’re skin and bones!”

“Just a family trait,” I replied, shrugging.

“Well, no matter, we’ll feed you up while we have the chance!” she replied. “Anyway, George, Angelina and the kids are the only others here, and they’re in the sitting room. Kids, put your bags to the side in the sitting room. You’ll be sleeping there tonight, of course, as per usual.”

We went inside, for which I was grateful for, as the chilly air was starting to get through my thick cloak to my body. It had also begun to snow.

“A white Christmas!” exclaimed Lily in delight. “Race you guys!” James, Al and I had no choice but to follow the redhead to the front door at a sprint. We weren’t going to let our pride be beaten by a little nine year old girl.

Fred and Roxanne Weasley were sitting on the old sofa, looking bored and clearly waiting for some of their cousins. Fred greeted me with a grin, but Roxanne, who was ten and wasn’t at Hogwarts yet, looked at me quizzically. “Who’re you?” she said, staring up at me.

“Roxy, this is Scorpius. He’s my friend from school.”

“You have friends?” she said teasingly at her cousin, who playfully whacked her over the head while I laughed.

“Shut up, Scorpius!” he said, seeing my grin. I was already starting to love these Weasleys already.

“Yoohoo!” cried an annoying woman’s voice, and a lavishly dressed woman appeared in the sitting room. She had far too much make-up on her face, dangly earrings and was hanging her leopard-print cloak and matching witch’s hat up on the stand. “We’re here!”

“Hello Audrey,” replied Al mechanically as he was subjected to the woman’s kisses, along with the other Weasley children. Two shy-looking girls stood behind their mother, both with blonde, curly hair similar to Audrey.

“Scorpius, this is my aunt, Audrey, who’s married to my uncle, Percy,” Al introduced. “And this is Molly and Lucy, their daughters. You might know Molly, she’s a second-year Ravenclaw?”

Truthfully, I didn’t, but I waved hello to Molly, who ducked behind Audrey in fright, and her sister did the same when I greeted her in the same way. Talk about shy.

“Where’s your parents?” she asked Fred, Roxy, James, Lily and Al. They all pointed to the kitchen, where voices were coming from and dishes, pots and pans were clanking loudly.

“Urgh,” Fred grumbled as soon as Audrey had left the room, the girls trailing behind her. “She’s a little overbearing, isn’t she?”

“Bit annoying, actually,” I replied. “But she’s just like my mother, mention Beauford D’Aubigne, the robe designer, and she’ll probably squeal too.”

“That’s a good one, Scorpius,” grinned Rose as she came into the room as well, her overnight bag and little brother in tow. Hugo Weasley looked mortified to be found holding hands with his sister, and quickly dropped her hand as if it were on fire.

Another woman entered the Burrow. She was older; about the age of Al’s nana. Her long, flowing black hair was recognisable anywhere. I hadn’t seen her for years; Grandmother Narcissa and her hadn’t spoken much in years.

“My word, it’s Scorpius Malfoy!” cried Andromeda Tonks as she dusted off her snowy jacket. I gave her a hug. She was one of the only Malfoy relatives I could actually stand. My other great aunt, Bellatrix, was currently one of Britain’s Most Wanted wizards and witches. I didn’t know why Aunt Meda was here though. That was to be explained later.

Two hours later, the entire Weasley clan had arrived. All in all, there were twelve Weasley kids. Not only were there James, Lily, Al, Fred, Roxy, Molly, Lucy, Rose and Hugo, but there were also the French Weasleys, the Delacour-Weasleys. They arrived much later than everyone else.

“Blasted traffic,” grumbled Bill Weasley as his family was ushered inside by Molly, who was fussing over the lot of them. The family looked cold, wet and disgruntled; the snow was falling fast and thick now, leaving a pretty white carpet over the lawns outside.

Victoire Weasley, or Tori as she preferred, I’d already met. She was extremely pretty, just like her mother, Fleur. Her long, silver hair flowed as she spoke, swishing it around. She was the Head Girl at Hogwarts, much to her parent’s delight. Tori’s eyes swept the room as soon as she entered, apparently searching for someone. Aunt Meda gave her a knowing, kind look.

“He and Charlie’s flight got delayed, they’ll be here later this afternoon,” she told her. I had no idea what they were referring to, but the rest of the Weasley clan did - Molly beamed proudly at her first grandchild, while Dominique caught Fred’s eye and rolled her own.

Dominique, or Dom as most people called her, was Tori’s sister, and she couldn’t be any more different to her. She had the flaming Weasley hair instead of the silver Delacour kind, and was hardly the girly, goody-two-shoes type that her sister was. Dom was one of the Gryffindor Beaters on our house team, the other one being her cousin and fellow third year, Fred. She was notoriously known as a rebellious tomboy with no regard for the rules, and she and Fred were known as the biggest pair of troublemakers to hit Hogwarts since Fred’s father and his namesake. Her hair was just as flowing and pretty as her sister’s, but she wore it no further than her shoulders, her hair sticking out in all directions.

Louis Weasley was a little pest of a seven year old, just like every other boy his age. He was the baby cousin of the family, and resented it. His hair was silver also, but he had a real Weasley look to his face. He followed his older boy cousins – James, Al and Fred – everywhere. And me, of course, although I wasn’t a Weasley.

Arthur Weasley cleared his voice loudly as soon as everyone was sitting comfortably. “Alright, we have a lot to do before we can celebrate, so why don’t you listen to –”

His wife cut him off and took charge. “Okay, I want all the men outside, setting up the outdoor area – tables, chairs, the lot! You know where to find them!” She pointed outside as Harry, Ron, Percy, George and Bill trudged out the door, grumbling. Arthur smirked at them until Molly wagged her finger, instructing her husband to follow as well.

“Anyway,” she continued, “I want Meda, Fleur, Hermione and Victoire in the kitchen with me.”

“Why not me and Angie?” asked Ginny, her nose flaring.

“Ginny, dear, do you remember what happened last year?” she sighed.

“Hey!” she cried, “that was all Angie’s fault!”

“Was not!” replied Fred and Roxy’s mother.

“You were the one who enchanted the turkey!”

“Girls!” cried Molly, although the two women were far too old to be considered ‘girls’, “you can do the outside decorating.” They left, smiling at their good fortune not to be stuck in the kitchen.

“What can I do to help, Molly?” Audrey asked chirpily.

“Umm… whatever you feel like, Audrey dear,” replied Molly half-heartedly.

“And, kids – you know the drill!”

“CHRISTMAS TREE TIME!” cried Lily as the younger children all squealed.

“Fred, James – go and get the stuff from the attic. Dom, go help them.”

We all set to work, decorating the sitting room and the Christmas tree. “I know you probably think this is lame and stuff…” said Al nervously.

“No, this is fun! I’ve never done this before! At home, we normally get house-elves to do the work for us.”

It was starting to get dark by the time we heard another knock at the door. Molly opened it to reveal two men, standing in the cold.

“Hey, Mum,” greeted one of them, as he was kissed and hugged by his mother. This was Charlie, Al’s cool dragon-taming uncle. I could see a fresh scratch mark on his face as he stepped into the light of the warm, cosy room. The other man was now being given the Molly Weasley greeting, and had barely stepped into the sitting room when Tori had jumped up from where she had been sitting, ran over to the young man, who looked fresh out of Hogwarts, and kissed him full on the mouth. Wolf whistling and averting eyes followed this public display of affection.

“Scorpius, this is Teddy Lupin,” Al said, introducing me to him after he and Tori were done. “He’s Meda’s grandson, and Tori’s boyfriend. He just graduated Hogwarts and is studying dragons in Romania. Teddy, this is my friend, Scorpius Malfoy.”

I did some quick thinking in my head. “So, you’d be my…”

“Second cousin, I guess,” replied Teddy, and grinned and held out his hand, which I shook. Up close, I realised that Teddy’s hair was a bright shade of purple. But I could have sworn that two seconds ago…

“Yep, I’m a Metemorphagus,” he said, smiling at my puzzled expression.

“He inherited it from his mum,” said Aunt Meda proudly as she got up to greet her grandson, who bent down to kiss her.

“Dinner’s ready in twenty minutes!” cried Molly, her voice slightly frantic. “Alright, I want everyone everybody setting the table. Outside, now!”

“Are we eating outside?” I asked Al, confused.

“Course we are – can you imagine us fitting all of us in the dining room?” he said, shaking his head as if I was stupid.

“But it’s snowing outside!” I cried.

“Thank you, Captain Obvious,” he replied. “No, we’ve enchanted it so the eating area outside is thermal controlled; in other words, it’ll be just as warm out there as it is in here.”

“Cool!” I exclaimed. Merlin, I loved magic.

Exactly twenty minutes later, we were all seated at the longest table I’d ever seen. The twenty-eight of us sat down, which was groaning in Molly’s Christmas dishes. My stomach rumbled loudly, and believe me, mine wasn’t the only one.

The area had been done up very festively. Fairy lights (Muggle ones, not the type that Hogwarts had) were draped around every possible wall and post. Candles were lit as well, and wreaths of holly and mistletoe were hanging from the invisible ceiling, similar to Hogwarts’. A floating Santa, enchanted by George Weasley, was drifting above our heads, shouting random Christmas phrases, such as “Merry Christmas!” and “Ho Ho Ho!” I felt very much at home here as well. As we all ate the lovely courses, everyone chatted about absolutely everything – Hogwarts, Quidditch, family friends, Quidditch, George’s shop and… you guessed it, Quidditch.

Arthur Weasley stood up after the last of the pudding had disappeared. “I’d like to propose a toast,” he said. “To family – may we always be together.”

“To family,” replied everyone, and we raised our glasses. I saw Harry shoot his wife a look, who got up slowly.

“Everyone, I have an announcement to make!” she said. Everyone looked surprised; even her own children had no idea what was going on.

“It’s really unexpected, and we didn’t exactly plan it, but…”

“Oh, spit it out!” grumbled George.

“I’m pregnant.”
Chapter Endnotes: Yep. Gave you another bombshell! Gotta love 'em...

Anyway, like that chapter? TELL ME! Leave your review after the beep... [beep]