Dream a Little Dream

Chapter 1

"Come on, Fred, tie up your shoes quicker! Bill, for heavens sake, take that earring out, you've got to look respectable. Ginny, dear, are you sure you don't want me to put your hair in two nice plaits, make it look a bit neater -"

"No, Mum," Ginny said for the fourth time that morning.

"Why do we have to be up so early?" Ron yawned.

"Because you haven't seen Rebecca for seven years, and because we want everyone here to welcome her even though she had to get an early Floo, and because her father is the Ministry's ambassador to Spain," Mrs Weasley said, as though this settled the matter.

"Oh, that's right," Ron mumbled. "The important cousins get special treatment..."

"Quiet," Mrs Weasley snapped. "She'll be here soon, breakfast's nearly ready, everyone's up and dressed and downstairs... I think..." She looked around the crammed kitchen, checking off family members and counting on her fingers as she did so. "Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, me... that's eight... ARTHUR!" she shouted up to the second floor.

Mr Weasley came down the stairs, straightening his robes.

"Why do we have to be up -" he began.

"Don't ask..." Ron warned.

Suddenly, the warm orange flames in the fireplace turned bright green.

"Ooh, here she comes!" Mrs Weasley said excitedly. She seemed to be the only one who felt this emotion - everyone else was either too tired, or just didn't care. A dark figure grew in the flames, then took colour itself, and stepped into the kitchen.

In front of them stood a girl. She was about half a foot shorter than Ron and had shoulder-length red hair, green-blue eyes and a round face. She looked nervously round the kitchen and gave a little smile.

"Um, hello," she said a little nervously.

"Rebecca, dear, it's lovely to see you again!" Mrs Weasley said, as she she strode over to Rebecca, and gave her a huge, auntly hug. "Look how much you've grown!"

"Good to see you too, Aunt Molly," Rebecca said in a slightly muffled voice, what with being quite squashed. Mrs Weasley released her, then gave a meaningful look to everyone else, who suddenly came foreward, all talking very rapidly, which was not easy to understand.

"All right!" Mrs Weasley shouted. "We can all talk at breakfast, which will be ready in about ten minutes. Ron, Ginny, why don't you show Rebecca where she's sleeping?"

"Er, yeah, all right," Ron nodded. "Come on, follow me."

He, Ginny and Rebecca walked up the three staircases to Ron's room.

"You have to sleep in here, it's the biggest and least full," Ron said apologetically.

Rebecca gave another small smile. "It's... cosy. Is that my bed?" she said, pointing to a camp bed in the corner.

"Yeah... Sorry it's nothing better, we reckoned you'd be used to, you know, luxury and all at the Embassy, but..."

"No, not really. Well, yeah," Rebecca decided. "But, you know, this is fine. I can learn to - I mean - this is fine. Yeah." She took the levitation spell off her bags and placed them next to her bed, which she sat down on. Ron did the same, but on his own bed, and began fiddling with a hole in the duvet cover. Ginny stood awkwardly in the doorway.

Ron cleared his throat. "So, Rebecca -"

"Becci," his cousin said shortly.

"What?"

"Call me Becci. I mean, I don't mind 'Rebecca', and my parents and so on call me that, but my friends call me Becci. Mostly."

"Okay... Becci... how old are you now?"

"Fifteen. I'll be sixteen in October."

"So, you'll be starting fifth year next week, with me," Ron said, in a tone that implied he was trying to keep up the conversation.

"Yeah. What year is everyone else in?"

Ginny leapt at the chance to be included in the conversation.

"I'm gonna start fourth year, Fred and George -"

"They're the twins, right?"

"Yeah, they're gonna be in seventh year, this is their last year at school. All the others have left already. Bill and Charlie are only home for the week, they'll be off again soon," Ginny explained.

"What about the other one, erm, whassisname, Percy? What does he do?" Becci asked.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "We don't see much of him either, though he still lives here."

"Oh," Becci said with a little laugh. The conversation was a little stilted again. Becci decided to open up another subject. "Have you two done anything interesting over the holidays?" she asked.

"Not really, but I've got some friends arriving tomorrow, Harry and Hermione," Ron told her. "Hermione's a girl -"

"Gathered that."

"- so you'll have another girl here, y'know."

"What about Ginny?"

"She doesn't count."

"Hey!" Ginny protested. "I count!"

"Ginny counts!" Becci agreed.

"Thank you."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Girls," he muttered.

"Want to show me your room?" Becci asked Ginny.

"Okay," Ginny began to say, but at that moment, Mrs Weasley shouted up the stairs.

"Ron! Ginny! Rebecca! Breakfast!"

"Come on, then," Ron said. "You can see Ginny's room later."

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