The Eighth Weasley

Notes: Yay! We’re where I’ve been dying to reach for AGES! Or at least we’re the chapter before it :D This is where I get super-giddy and you all stare at your screens and wonder if I’m as much a freak as I sound :) (and I am, so don’t worry unless I appear at your front door holding a very attractive and deadly-looking axe)

I'm also currently working on the first few chapters of a BIG story (my first straight Harry Potter big fic cos everything else I've done so far has been crossover work), which is going to take me months to write and whee! Its fun!

Also, this chapter looks to be bigger than average (average being 6-7 short pages). Imagine your good self - as a Harry Potter fan - finding out that the whole HP-verse actually exists and that you are actually being invited into it. And yes, you are getting a vague idea of what is about to happen to Miss Summers Jr.

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"But are you sure it’s a good idea to send her somewhere else?"

Dawn leaned against the wall, halfway down the stairs, her face tight with anger and confusion. Yeah, she had been told about the whole Key deal ages ago, but Buffy wanted to get rid of her?

Her feet two steps down, she leaned forwards, her elbows on her knees, her long hair sweeping lightly against her hands as she listened. Her mother, Buffy and Giles were talking in the dining room and apparently weren’t aware that she was there.

"It would certainly be a lot safer, Joyce," Giles said. He was speaking in his protective, almost father-like tone. "They’re powerful and they will be able to shield her from Glory in ways that we can’t and keep her out of trouble."

Yeah, because she couldn’t look after herself.

The teenager scowled a little more darkly.

She heard her mother sigh before she started speaking again.

"Where would we be sending her to?" Oh, gee, thanks for the support and love, mom. You just tell them to send me right away. "I mean, where is there that is safer than with you, Buffy?"

"Its a wizarding school," Giles said.

WHOA!

Hold the phone!

What was THIS?

Wizarding school?

That sounded so Harry-Potter!

Okay, if they were going to send her to somewhere like Hogwarts, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad...

That would be so cool!

Easing down a step, she leaned forward a little, listening closely. "A wizarding school?" she heard her mom asking, sounding as surprised as she felt. "But I didn’t think wizarding schools were real."

"Nor did we, but it turned out Willow was a real witchy type, so she moved away from Sunnydale to go and learn her witchy stuff at a school," Buffy explained, Dawn’s mouth opening in astonishment.

"Willow’s there?" Joyce sounded reassured. "Is...is it a nice school? I mean, it’s not one of those horrible movie-style boarding schools, is it? I would hate to send her anywhere like that..."

"Will loves it," Buffy confirmed. "And I bet Dawn will too."

Taking that as her cue, Dawn stood up and walked into the room, crossing her arms over her chest. "You could have just asked me," she said, giving them her best sulky teenager look.

Giles and Buffy had matching looks on their faces: the expression that said ‘We are so busted!’

"Dawn, what have I told you about listening in on other people’s conversations?"

"Mom, you were all talking so loudly I couldn’t not hear it," Sliding into the vacant seat next to her sister, Dawn grinned. "So...where’s this wizarding school thing and when do I go?"

Three pairs of eyes stared at her. "You want to go?"

Dawn shrugged. If it was confusing the ‘adults’, even better. "Sure!" she replied, tossing her hair back over her shoulders. "I wanna see Willow. I haven’t seen her in so long."

"Well, that was easier and less painful than I expected..." Giles remarked, taking off his glasses and cleaning them.

"How do I get there? When do I go? Is it a big school? Like in Harry Potter?" Her sister and Giles exchanged a strange look. "What? Is it tiny? Is it a one-person school or something?"

"Firstly, Dawn," Giles started to speak. "You would have to fly to England, on a plane not on a broomstick," he deliberately emphasised it and she pouted. "One of Willow’s brothers will meet you at the other end and take you to the school."

"Willow has brothers?"

"Yeah, mom," Buffy answered. "It turns out she was kidnapped by a bad wizard guy when she was a baby and there’s this whole big thing where she’s related to this magic family."

"If Harry Potter was real, I bet she would be a Weasley," Dawn said thoughtfully, tracing circles on the tabletop. Giles made a noise that sounded like a laugh turned into a very fake sneeze. "What?"

"Oh, nothing, Dawn," He smiled. "Now, perhaps we should decide how we are to get the transport arranged..."

***

"Two staff meetings in two weeks, Albus...I’m starting to get quite concerned about you," Professor McGonagall muttered to the Head Master, as she sat down beside him on the low couch in the main staff room.

"Nothing to worry about, my dear," the Head master replied, patting her hand. "Is everyone present and correct?"

Murmurs of assent passed around the teaching body.

"As I mentioned at our last meeting, the Slayer had my permission to contact me, should she need our assistance in the concealment of the artefact, which the Hell Goddess is looking for."

"Let me guess," Snape said dryly. "She needs our help."

Professor Dumbledore’s face creased in a smile beneath his beard. "For a short time, yes. She has requested that we grant sanctuary to the Key. She will be arriving some time early next week."

"The Slayer?"

"No. The Key."

Hermione Granger raised a hand questioningly. "I know I’m not the only one thinking ‘eh?’ here, Head Master," she said, her forehead creasing. "Are you saying that the Key is a person?"

"That is exactly what I’m saying, Professor Granger."

"Which is why you said it would be morally wrong to destroy it..."

The Head Master smiled serenely. "I do so love it when a good puzzle comes together," he remarked, twiddling his thumbs. "Perhaps I ought to explain. In order to give the Slayer incentive to protect the Key, the previous protectors of the Key sent it to her in a human form, with memories and attachments. To the Slayer and everyone who knows the Key, the Key is a real person."

"But to us, she’s simply a Key..."

Dumbledore chuckled. He had heard all about Dawn, when he had been contacted by Rupert Giles. "Ah, yes, Minerva, but I would suggest waiting until you meet her. A fourteen-year-old girl going through puberty behaves...strangely enough as it is, but to be told you are an interdimensional lockpick..." His eyes twinkled. "I’m sure she will be an interesting addition to the school."

"Albus, you thought Willow Weasley was going to be an interesting addition to the school and she blew the wall of my charms classroom across the lake..." Professor Flitwick piped up.

Dumbledore’s eyes sparkled. "Personally, I did find that rather interesting," he said with a barely hidden smile.

"How is the Key getting here?"

"The Key," the Head Master started to speak again, his expression turning serious. "Is to be called Dawn under all circumstances. Should she be referred to as the Key, we would all be placed in grave peril."

"Tune in next week for another death-defying adventure at Hogwarts, the safest Wizarding School in the world..." Hermione muttered. Dumbledore gave her a reprimanding look, belied by his twinkling eyes.

"She will be arriving on the Hogwarts Express from London with a couple of special visitors at some point in the next week," he said jovially. "I’m sure you’ll see her when she arrives."

"And where will she be staying?" Blue eyes twinkled in Hermione’s direction. "Oh, no! No you don’t! Sharing with Willow and Oz is bad enough for now! I’m not having a hormonal timebomb in my room!"

"I have been assured that she is very well behaved."

"Compared to WHAT?"

"Professor Granger, she knows Miss Weasley," Dumbledore’s tone changed a little. "I would feel more secure in the knowledge that she is staying with someone she knows and trusts, at least until she is used to the school."

Hermione sighed. "All right, Albus," She pointed a finger in his direction. "But don’t you dare say that I never do anything for you."

"You are an angel, Professor Granger. A gem. A star. The brightest star to ever grace the highest of the heavens and we are truly blessed to have your luminous radiance bestowing it's light upon us!"

"Oh, shut up," Hermione said grumpily, hiding a smile.

***

Walking through the passageway behind the rest of the passengers from the flight, Dawn felt a pack of butterflies doing the lambada in her stomach, her hands gripping onto the shoulder straps of her rucksack and the extended handle of her wheeled case which was running along behind her.

It was nearly fourteen and a half hours since she had boarded the flight in Los Angeles airport, her mother, sister, Giles, Xander and Anya seeing her off with a few tears from everyone.

One of the stewardesses on the flight had been assigned to keep check of her. She had acted annoyed about it, but secretly she was relieved to have someone watching out for her.

That same stewardess had been traded as soon as she landed for one of the ground staff at Heathrow Airport, who was now walking alongside her and talking in a voice with a very cool, very Gilesy accent.

She had slept for most of the flight, but now, she was in London, walking out into a strange country, expecting a group of complete strangers to recognise her and take her to a magic school.

How was she going to recognise them? Did they look like Willow? What if they didn’t see her or she didn’t see them and they missed each other and she was left standing in the middle of the airport and...

Okay...

She stopped short.

So, she wasn’t going to miss them by accident.

On purpose maybe, but not by accident.

A group of men were standing under a large, hideously colourful - and were the words flashing in different colours? - banner with the word ‘Dawn Summers, come on down!’ printed on it.

Oh...God...

Smiling awkwardly, Dawn started walking up the hall towards them, where they stood at the railings, then stopped again, staring, her heart jumping down to her toes then back to her throat in one quick bungee.

Oh...

My...

God...

The men that were waiting for her...every single one of them had red hair.

Bright red hair.

And two of them were identical, wearing wool sweaters with the letters ‘F’ and ‘G’ on them.

And one of them was tall and gangly with a long nose and freckles.

And one had horn-rimed glasses on and a suit and an expression that said he would prefer to be working.

And the last two...one was short and stocky with burns on his grinning face and singed hair, the other tall and wearing what looked like leather, his long hair pulled back from his face.

Dawn blinked.

She had to be seeing things.

"Hey!" one of them shouted to her. "You’re Dawnie, right?"

Unable to think of anything to say, she nodded, staring. The short, stocky man ducked under the barrier and hurried towards her, grabbing her case with one callused hand and her arm with the other.

"All right?" he grinned at her.

"Uh...hi..."

"I’d guess that’s the jetlag talking," he remarked, as the banner they had was hauled down and she was helped under the rail by several pairs of hands. "I’m Charlie, by the way," he said. "Charlie Weasley."

Dawn blinked.

"You all right? You look a bit peaky."

The teenager looked faintly up at the one who had spoken. It was the tallest of the group, with the long nose and millions of freckles and despite him being a lot older than he should be, she knew who he was.

"R-Ron?"

The man with the long hair let out a guffaw, which drew startled looks from all around them. "Oh, this is bloody priceless!" he said, pointing at her. "She’s read the books! She’s read the bleeding books!"

"So that’s why Wills told all of us to be here and for us two to wear our lettered jumpers..." the man with the ‘F’ sweater said. He studied Dawn with a grin. "I’m George, by the way. And you look like you’re going to faint."

"Uh...I...I think I should sit..."

Helped over to a block of seats, Dawn sat down heavily, feeling very, very dizzy.

"I-I’m not just dreaming this, am I? I’m not still asleep on the plane...?"

"No, you’re not dreaming this," Ron said comfortingly, then looked around at his brothers. "Any of you got any chocolate?"

"I’ve got a burnt bar..." Charlie offered. "If you can chip the crust off, it should be all right."

George rooted through his pockets. "Canary creams...ton tongue toffees... ever-growing gobstoppers...lick-n-stick mice..." he shrugged helplessly. "Sorry, Ron, no chocolate today."

"Useless, absolutely useless," The bespectacled one reappeared, pushing between them and holding out something called a ‘twirl’. "Here, Miss Summers, I think this should suffice."

Dawn tried to say thanks, but her words caught, her hands shaking a she tried to open the purple wrapper of the bar of chocolate.

"Here," Ron opened it for her. He was squatting on his toes beside her, studying her with concern. "You all right?" She nodded, staring at him, wide-eyed. "Willow is dying for this one! This is just mean!"

"W-wait...you’re Willow’s brothers?"

"That’s us. Even Perce, although we had to abduct him by force from work," The one with glasses huffed indignantly. "We've got a charm on us so no other muggle sees us as a madcap band of red-haired men but you."

"Willows a Weasley..." Her stunned expression was rapidly giving way to a broad smile, her blue eyes shining with excitement. "Willows a Weasley! I knew it! I knew that she couldn’t be a red-haired witch and not be related to you guys!"

"So you can deal with the fact that a bunch of fictional characters aren’t fictional now?" Ron said, giving her a grin. Dawn ducked her head and went scarlet. He might be older than her sister, but OMIGOD! didn’t cut it!

"Have you got her?" A female voice interrupted. "Did she get here all right?"

"Yeah, Ginny," Charlie called, waving someone over. "Willow didn’t bother telling us that she had read the books..." he glanced down at Dawn, then added in a lower voice. "Is you-know-who still in the car?"

"You-Know-Who?" Dawn squeaked, going white.

"Oh crap..."

"Well done, Charlie."

Ron sighed, shaking his head. "Don’t worry, Dawn, not that You-Know-Who. Its someone we call you-know-who in the family because he went and got too bloody famous to go anywhere without a media frenzy."

"Yes, he’s still in the car," Ginny added. Dawn glanced at her. If she hadn’t seen the woman’s face, she would have sworn it was Willow. Ginny Weasley was as slim and petite as Willow was. "And we better get back, cos we don’t want to look too suspicious, throwing all of us in one car...hi, Dawn! I’m Willow’s twin, Ginny," she held out a hand, which Dawn shook as she was hauled to her feet and they set on their way again. "Nice to meet you."

"You too."

"So where is he, sis?"

Ginny pointed to a Ford Anglia. Dawn’s eyes bugged for the hundredth time in minutes. "Omigod!" she squealed. "I thought it escaped!"

"This is the second one," Ron grinned. "It’s Fred and George’s for experimenting with. They turned it into a Port Key for today, though. We can’t all be seen travelling it, even if we want to be."

They hurried towards it, a man climbing out of the driving seat to open the boot for Dawn’s case.

The brothers started piling into the back seat of the car which was as wide two couches stuck together, while Dawn and Ron went to the back of the car to put Dawn’s luggage in.

"All right?" the man standing there said, giving Dawn a grin.

Holy crap, he was beautiful! And the smile only seemed to make him look even more like he had just stepped out of a commercial.

She almost melted, then she realised...

Realised just WHO she was staring at.

Black hair mussed and waving in the wind over a gorgeous face with a dazzling grin, emerald green eyes twinkling behind wire-framed glasses, a small, lightening shaped scar visible on his forehead...

"You...you’re Harry Potter..." she whispered.

That said, her eyes rolled in her head and she fainted.

Ron, luckily, had managed to catch her.

"Now why is it," he asked, giving his friend a dirty look. "That you’re the one that has this effect on women?"

"Stunning good looks?" Harry suggested, as Ron lifted the girl up.

"I’d say it was the bad breath," Ginny chuckled, holding the door open for Ron to climb in. "Honestly, Harry, you had to do the ‘I know I’m gorgeous, but just LOOK and see how gorgeous I am’ smile, didn’t you?"

"I just asked if she was all right," Harry mumbled. "Is it my fault I’m so bloody good-looking?"

"Well, if Ginny would let us, we could change that..." Fred offered, slapping a fist against his palm.

"You’re agreeing my husband is good-looking?" Ginny murmured, eyes twinkling.

"Shut up and sit down, Ginny. The car leaves in a minute."

Adjusting Dawn so she was comfortably positioned in Ron’s lap, her head on his shoulder, they shifted about until there was a pop and the Ford Anglia and it’s nine passengers vanished into thin air.

***

"Omigod! That has to be the coolest thing ever!" Harry and Ron exchanged looks, grinning. The American muggle was downright adorable. "I’ve been on the Hogwarts Express with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley!"

She had been bouncing all over the compartment of the train for the full journey, pressing her nose against the windows as the countryside flitted by, as well as sticking her head out into the passageway regularly to check for the witch with the trolley.

Ron and Harry had tried to fill her in on the happenings of the wizarding world after the incidents of the tri-wizard tournament, so she knew where, when, what and how Voldemort had been defeated and what she could and couldn't say in front of people.

Ron was following her down onto the platform. "Wait until we get to the boats."

"The boats?" Dawn turned to look at him, as she climbed down from the train onto the platform. It was evening by the time they had reached Hogsmeade Station, the three-quarter-moon shining above them. The American girl had been given a set of Ginny’s deep blue robes, which she was wearing with delight, and they rustled around her in the light breeze that swept along the platform.

"HARRY!" the thunderous boom of a voice from further down the platform made the girl nearly jump out of her skin. "RON!" She swung around and saw who was speaking before they did.

"Hagrid!" she managed to gasp, staring.

"A’ righ’, you two?" Both Harry and Ron, at over six feet tall, were hardly light but the giant hoisted them both up in a warm hug that left their feet dangling a good foot off the ground. "An’ who is this?" he asked warmly, placing both men back on their feet.

Straightening his glasses, grinning, Harry brought Dawn beside them. "This is Dawn Summers, from America, Hagrid," he said. "She’s going to be staying at Hogwarts for a while."

"HOGWARTS!?!?"

Ron and Harry both groaned.

"I knew there was something we forgot to tell you," Ron said, shaking his head.

"I-I-I’m going to the Hogwarts?"

"Bet you anything she says ‘omigod’," Harry muttered. "Yes, Dawn, the wizard school you’re being sent to is Hogwarts."

"OMIGOD!"

"Good guess, Harry," Ron grinned. "You got the boats out and about, Hagrid?"

"Got enough for us," Hagrid was looking at Dawn with a twinkle in his black eyes, as he held out a massive hand to her. She managed to grip one giant finger with her whole hand. "Nice to meet yer, Miss Summers."

"Call me Dawn," she grinned up at him. "Do you like dragons?"

Once again, Ron and Harry groaned.

***

Dumbledore was seated at the teacher’s table, when the doors of the Great Hall opened. The evening feast was going on, so there were a few puzzled looks, because everyone was supposed to be in the Hall.

Glancing sidelong at the youngest Weasley, he met her eyes and nodded. The red head was on her feet in a heartbeat and her hands came to her face, as she ran around the edge of the Gryffindor table to the centre aisle.

"DAWNIE!"

At the far end of the hall, a nervous-looking brunette teenager’s mouth fell open and she started to run down the long hall, Willow running towards her, both of them laughing as they parodied several paces of slow-motion sprinting. "WILLOW!"

Crashing into each other’s arms half way up the hall, Willow hugged the younger girl tightly, then held her at arms length to examine her.

"Willow! Omigod, Willow!" Dawn was excitedly gripping Willow’s hands with her own. "We’re at Hogwarts!" She pointed to the roof. "OMIGOD! It’s just like in the books and with the ceiling! And the stars!" Her eyes went to the teachers table. "And Dumbledore and everybody!" Waving excitedly, she received smiles and waves from a brown-haired witch and a sandy-haired man. "This is so cool!"

"And look at you! All robey!" Willow tugged at the blue robes. "Did you steal these off Ginny?" Dawn nodded, grinning. "And my brothers...they didn’t scare you too much, did they?"

"They are so cool! I always wanted to meet the Weasleys and now you’re a Weasley! Oh! That reminds me! Ron! Harry!"

Willow gave a loud squeal of delight, when she saw her brother and brother-in-law in the doorway, running the rest of the length of the hall and throwing herself at both of them. "Harry! Ron!"

Both men went beetroot when she splattered kisses all over their faces, then grabbed Harry’s head between her two small hands and planted a very, very naughty looking kiss on him.

Many of the pupils were staring in shock.

So were many of the teachers.

Except Hermione and Lupin who looked like they were going to have embarrassing accidents if they didn’t get to a toilet very soon, both of them were laughing so hard at the stunned look on Harry’s face.

One of the greatest legends of their life times was standing at the top of the centre aisle of the Great Hall, scarlet in the face, being kissed in a more than just-good-friends-or-in-laws way by one of the other legends of their times.

Dumbledore, at the head of the hall, chuckled and clapped his hands. He managed to draw about a fifth of the audience’s attention.

"Yes," he called out. "We have some very special guests present today, and if Miss Weasley would be kind enough to disentangle her tongue from Mr Potter’s, we might be able to introduce them."

"Easy, tiger!" Ron hauled the grinning Willow off the scarlet Harry. "Does Ginny know you play tonsil-tennis with her Mister?"

"Can’t play tonsil tennis, Ron," she smirked. "No tonsils."

"And mum says you’re nice..."

The red-haired witch just laughed, looping her arm through her brother-in-law’s and her brother’s. Harry, however, shifted uncomfortably and straightened his glasses more times than was really necessary.

"What was that about?" Harry muttered to her, as she breezed down the aisle with them both.

"What? Oh! The whole me-licking-your-mouth-and-biting-your-ear?" Her eyes were twinkling naughtily at him. "Oh admit it, Harry, you’ve been meaning to leave Ginny for me since the first day you saw me..."

Harry’s mouth dropped open and the red that was fading from his cheeks returned full force, as they reached Dawn. "W-Willow..."

"I’m teasing, Harry," she laughed, leaning close to him, as she loosed her arm from Ron’s. "Although," she added in a husky murmur that made Harry’s brows ascend to his hairline. "You are a nummy treat..."

"What’s got into her?" Ron asked, shaking his head in his sister’s direction.

Dawn shot a look at the table where Willow had been sitting before she began her dash up the hall and snickered. "Oz, apparently."

Ron looked down at the girl beside him, then at his sister. "Eeuuurgh! That’s just given me an image I didn’t need before I eat!"

"I always wanted to hear how you said that," Dawn grinned up at him.

"What? That my sister shagging a wolf puts me off my dinner?" A few pupils gaped at him and he grinned at them. "Don’t worry!" he said importantly. "Famous Ron Weasley is allowed to have a gutter mouth and mind."

"Ron Weasley!" A Hufflepuff exclaimed, before going as red as Harry had.

Dawn giggled. "You know," she muttered to him conspiratorially. "With all these famous people around, I think its gonna be a real fun meal."

They came to a halt in front of Dumbledore at the head table, Dawn’s eyes growing enormous as she stared at him. He gave her a wink, as he stood up, visible to everyone in the Great Hall.

"As you can all say, we have been graced with the presences of Mr. Harry Potter and Mr. Ronald Weasley," he looked down at them both with fondness. "For those of you who do not know which is which, Ronald is the one with red hair, while Harry is the one with the red face."

"Git," Harry moaned.

"I try, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore muttered with a chuckle, then looked down at Dawn. "We also have a short term visitor with us from the United States of America and, as you saw, she is a friend of Miss Weasley’s," He motioned for her to step onto the step that the Teacher’s table stood on. "This is Miss Dawn Summers."

Waving around, Dawn was smiling so widely it felt as if her face would crack. "Hi!"

"She will be staying with Professor Granger and Miss Weasley, but may be attending some of your classes as an observer," Professor Dumbledore said, as she hopped down. A few teachers were leaning forward for a look at her. "I trust you will all make her welcome."

"WHOOHOO!" Someone yelled from the Gryffindor table. "Go Dawnie!"

"What has wolf-boy been slipping her?" Ron pondered aloud.

"Ron, if you don’t know that by now, I’m not gonna be the one to tell you," Dawn said, grinning.

Harry and Ron both turned horrified eyes on the girl. "Stop that!" Ron pointed a finger at her. "Stop that now!"

"Actually," a voice called from further down the teacher’s table. Hermione gave them a wave. "Willow’s just a little...um...exuberant, because they were doing some confidence charm work with her today..."

Ron, Harry and Dawn all nodded and said, "Ah..."

"See," Ron said primly to Dawn. "Nothing kinky at all."

Dawn cleared her throat loudly and nodded towards Willow, who was in a very intense lip-lock with her boyfriend. "Yes, Ron," she nodded sagely. "Willow is a good little witch who would never pull a werewolf’s tail..."

Ron and Harry both choked and went red.

Dumbledore actually giggled behind his hand.

By far the oddest sound, though, was the quiet chuckle from a man Dawn recognised as soon as she turned to see who had laughed.

Snape.

There was a wicked glint in his black eyes and he was smirking at Ron and Harry, who were both red in the face looking utterly horrified and flabbergasted by what Dawn had said.

Dawn smirked back at him. She couldn’t help it. She was a teenager and if she could embarrass people, then get Snape - evil, scary, loomy master of the cranky - to smirk and snigger at them...

Oh, boy, was she going to have fun!

***

"Oh God..." Willow’s charm had finally worn off and she was lying on her bed, her face buried in a pillow, her voice muffled. "Kill me now..."

Dawn grinned from where she was unpacking. "Why, Will? Its not like you did anything uber-embarrassing like...oh, I don’t know...sticking your tongue in Harry Potter’s mouth..."

The red head gave another anguished wail and shoved her head under her pillow, kicking her feet against the mattress. "I told them to leave me here! I told them not to take me anywhere!"

The brunette couldn’t help smiling.

She felt like she was home already.

After the meal - and Hermione prising Willow off Oz with a spell - she had been shown to the room she would be sharing with the two older witches, until she got settled enough to be fitted into one of the house rooms if she wanted when she had made some friends.

Apparently the room had been enlarged to fit a third four-poster bed into it. When she walked in the door, Dawn had been greeted by the end of her bed. Hermione’s stood to one side, Willow’s to the other.

It was incredible!

The bed was the most comfortable thing she had ever had, with thick, blue and gold blankets and she had thrown herself down on it and didn’t stop bouncing for a full two minutes.

Now, though, she was unpacking and placing her clothes into a chest of drawers beneath the window-seat, while trying not to get distracted by the fact she was - eep! - at Hogwarts!

"Knock-knock!"

"Ron!"

Ron grinned as he entered the room, then whistled. "Blimey...now I know why you never visit ho...Will? You are aware your head is being eaten by a pillow?"

"Go away," Willow moaned. "I’m dying of embarrassment under here."

Hermione squeezed past Ron with Oz, both of them carrying fresh towels and some supplies for Dawn. "She’s even worse than the time Dumbledore let her know that he knew she and Oz had been...er...cuddling outside on the far side of the lake..."

"Nooooooooooooo..." the moan came from under the pillows.

"Willow Weasley!" Ron gasped, looking scandalised. "You cuddled outside?"

Sitting up, her hair on end, Willow looked over at Hermione. "You know the Avada Kedavra thing, right?" She pointed at herself. "Willing test subject - do it. Kill me now and quickly, before anything else is mentioned."

"What about slippery nipple?" Oz murmured, eyes twinkling.

"WHAT!?!" Ron and Dawn both shrieked.

"Hemione! Why did you tell him about that?" Willow wailed in despair, flopping back on the bed and lifting the pillow over her face. "It’s what you need for opening a nun painting..."

"You have to have one? Cos if you need one, I’m pretty sure you could both ask Harry for a hand with that...or a tongue..."

"RON!" Both Hermione and Willow squealed and Ron marked a one tally in the air, grinning. Dawn was doubled over laughing, her cheeks and stomach hurting from laughing so much and so hard.

This was definitely way cooler than being stuck at home.