Connections

Chapter 4: Introductions

They all traveled back to the Burrow. The younger Weasleys, Harry, Hermione, and Molly traveled via the floo network from the Leaky Cauldron. Bill, Charlie, Bethany and their friends apparated to the Burrow's back yard.

The younger Weasleys and friends were whispering excitedly about the day's revelations as they carried their packages up to their rooms. Harry and Ron stopped outside of Ginny's room to talk to Ginny and Hermione some more.

"I wonder why they had to keep it secret?" Ron asked.

"I'm sure Charlie had a good reason," Hermione added.

"Yeah, he had to have a really good reason," Ginny said, "Charlie has always been one to get into mischief but he never has deceived mum and dad before. He just wouldn't do that without a good reason. I think that is why mum is so mad."

"Why do you say that, Gin?" Harry asked realizing that was the longest string of words he had ever heard from Ginny.

"Because mum didn't expect this from him," Ginny explained, "You know Bill and Charlie have both spoken about Bethany over the years. Just neither one of them ever said that they were, well, serious about her. I don't think mum ever put her in anywhere other than the just a friend category in her mind."

"I remember them talking about her before," Ron added, "always talked about her doing wonders with the dragons that no one else could handle. Of course, I never exactly pictured her when I thought about the person they were talking about." Ron flushed and Hermione gave him a soft backhanded slap in the chest. He feigned injury and smiled at Hermione's jealousy.

"As I was saying," Ginny rolled her eyes as she continued her explanation, "Mum wouldn't have been as shocked if Bill had shown up in Diagon Alley today with a wife, two kids and a dog that he had failed to mentioned to the family. She wouldn't be thrilled but she would accept it as Bill just being Bill. This is so unlike Charlie to keep the relationship a secret not to mention the marriage. He usually tells them so much."

"Charlie is real close with Mum and Dad, closer than any of us. He always sends mum letters, almost two a week when he is away, and he never misses a holiday visit. This summer is the longest Bill has spent back at the Burrow since he finished Hogwarts," Ron offered.

"See what I mean. I think if they had told mum before or even sooner, she would have taken it better. And Charlie has been here almost since term ended and hasn't said a thing. That couldn't have helped the situation any," Ginny told them as the others agreed with her point.

"So what was it that Bethany meant when she said she had met you two," Ginny asked Harry and Hermione.

Hermione bit her lip as she looked back and forth between Harry and Ron and said, "Norbert."

"Norbert?" Ron asked.

"Who or what is Norbert?" Ginny asked.

"What does Hagrid's baby dragon have to do with anything?" Ron asked answering Ginny's question with his own.

Ginny looked a little shocked when Ron revealed that information. She knew nothing of the trio's first year experience with the baby dragon.

Harry turned to her, "Hagrid hatched a dragon's egg our first year. He wanted to raise it in his hut but for obvious reasons he had to get rid of it as it got larger. Ron wrote to Charlie asking for help. Hermione and I sneaked the dragon through the castle up to the astronomy tower to have him picked up."

Ginny laughed thinking about the idea but understood Hagrid's tendency towards unusual creatures, the more dangerous the better in his eyes. She wasn't really surprised that he would have wanted a dragon as a pet.

"Charlie's friends, Bethany included, are the ones who picked up Norbert to take him to Romania in our first year. Remember, Ron, we said how nice they all were?" Hermione said.

The sound of cupboard doors slamming and pots banging drifted up the stairs from the kitchen below. "You better be getting your new things put away right now," Mrs. Weasley yelled up at them.

"Yes, Ma'am," Ginny called down to her, "we are."

"So how did you two sneak a dragon through the castle?" Ginny asked.

"Come on, Ginny," Hermione said as she pulled her into her own room, "I'll tell you all about it as we put all our stuff away."

Harry and Ron went up the next to flights of stairs to Ron's room. Harry thought, "I never realized how much Ginny doesn't know." Then speaking his thoughts out loud said, "You know Ron we should tell Ginny some more of our stories."

Ron smiled a bit, "Yeah, I guess. If you really want to, she has been spending more time with us and it seems that she and Hermione have become better friends this past year too."

Harry didn't think it wise to add that he would really like to become better friends with his little sister either.

* * * * *

"This looks like a good spot," Carlo said, "Not too far, but far enough that we can talk outside the tent without disturbing the Weasleys."

"And," T.J. added, "it isn't in direct view of any of the windows. Except for the one at the top." As he said the last part he pointed to Ron's bedroom window.

"Hey, Charlie, whose room is that anyway?" Merrick asked pointing up in the same direction.

Charlie didn't answer. He was staring down at the grass under his feet. Bethany nudged him. "Oh, sorry," he answered sullenly, "that's Ron's room. Just him and Harry in there."

Merrick nervously walked closer to the couple, "Hey mates, I really am sorry about what I said. You know me, I always seem to speak before I think. Is there anything I can do to help? Maybe I can talk to your mother," he offered.

"NO!" Charlie and Bethany answered in unison. T.J. and Carlo laughed.

"She's waiting for dad to come home before she'll talk about this any more. This is a good thing. Dad will be disappointed that he was left out and all, but he'll love Beth and he'll be able to bring mum around," Charlie said trying to reassure himself more than the others.

Bethany hugged him, resting her head on his shoulder, "She will come around, Charlie. Do you think it would help if I sent for my grandfather or Remy?"

She stood next to Charlie as they watched T.J. remove the tent from his pack and say the spell to restore its size and cause the tent to set itself up properly.

"Let's see how she takes the whole thing first," he paused to kiss Bethany on the forehead, "Bill will be around to help and if we need to we can contact your grandfather." Charlie moved behind her wrapping his arms around her waist from behind and pulling her to him. He kissed her lightly on the neck and said, "Besides, we can't call your brother."

"Hmm?" Bethany asked enjoying being close to her best friend once again, "Why not?"

Charlie laughed and pointed to the early evening sky with a bright full moon coming over the horizon. "Duh," she said out loud to herself, "You'd think it would be me that would have realized what time of the month it was."

Bill walked up to them, "Hey, Charlie, are you and Bethany sharing a room in this thing now?"

"Well, yeah, some of my stuff is still in my old room, but I've pretty much moved into Beth's room. Why?" Charlie said as he stooped down to tighten a rope to secure the tent.

"On Friday Percy's girlfriend, Penelope, is coming for a visit and I just thought it would be easier for me to bunk here in your room then Penelope could stay in our room," Bill explained.

Charlie laughed, "And you can avoid having to share a room with Percy."

"I do have to admit that not sharing a room with our younger brother is my biggest motivator in this, but I did think it would be nice too," Bill admitted then turned to his sister-in-law and said, "So Mrs. Weasley, would you welcome a wayward friend into your home?"

She glared at him and raised her right eyebrow, "If you keep calling me by your mother's name, you can forget it. But if you are okay with getting into the cleaning and cooking rotations with the rest of us then I might overlook your breech in etiquette and provide you with shelter."

"I hate to break this news to you, Bethany. But you married my brother. You are a Weasley now," Bill said, but Charlie shook his head.

"Nope she's keeping her last name. It's part of the inheritance thing with her family, but don't you just love how it makes her turn all red in the face when you call her that?" Charlie said as he dodged the clump of dirt hurled in his direction from his wife.

Bill laughed, "I will keep this sensitive issue in mind, Ms. Donnalaith. And no, I have no problem joining in on the cooking and cleaning rotations."

"Good," T.J. said, "Because tonight is your night to clean." He smiled and added, "Welcome to our humble abode," as he bowed and motioned toward the entrance to the tent.

They all turned when they heard giggling and saw Ginny and Hermione walking slowly over to them.

"Come on, you two," Charlie called, "I suppose you'd like a tour." Then he added, "Well, Ron, Harry, come on."

Bill laughed again, "I didn't see them."

"They were behind the hedge. Been there since just before you walked over," Bethany told him and walked into her tent.

"Okay who packed the tent?" she yelled from inside, "You forgot the restraining spell before you folded it up and stuff is all over the place." She began casting spells to return items to their previous locations and to repair a few broken items.

Harry walked over with Ron, "Boy that tent is much bigger than the ones we used at the World Cup."

Carlo walked up behind them, "This tent isn't your average tent even for the wizarding world. This one," he said pointing at the large structure, "has five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, a den, a library, a game room and a study"

"Wow," Ron said eager to go inside, "You've got a fold up house bigger than our regular one." The tent was large, about seven meters square and four meters high.

Carlo, Harry and Ron turned as Hermione and Ginny giggled. Both girls were blushing but there was no mistaking what they were looking at as they giggled and whispered to one another.

Carlo looked down at his bare chest, "Sorry," and took his shirt from the waistband of his leather trousers that he had tucked it in and put it on, "I don't usually have to worry about having ladies around."

Merrick walked up, "I'm afraid we'll be apologizing quite a bit for our manners, the only females we are around are dragons."

"What about Bethany?" Hermione asked.

"Like I said, just dragons, Annie has got a temper the likes of which even you Weasleys haven't seen," Merrick told them softly then proceeded to redden as he was greeted by Bethany who stood in the entrance glaring at him.

Carlo and T.J. laughed. Bethany smirked and said, "and you are about to witness the full fire-breathing potential of this dragon. You know, Merrick, you are pushing your luck today."

She turned to the others, "Seems we'll have to keep apologizing for Merrick but we are used to it. Of course, I have been called worse than a dragon."

Then touching Carlo on the shoulder, "But you, dear Carlo, have never had to apologize for appearing without your shirt," he blushed and she laughed. Her laugh lightened everyone's moods.

"I heard that," Charlie shouted from the other side of the tent where he was checking the ropes with Bill.

Bethany put her finger in front of her mouth and grinned mischievously, "Yes, I'm sure Hermione and Ginny enjoyed it," the girls blushed and giggled quietly as she continued, "Carlo don't do that. I don't think that Bill and Charlie would appreciate you doing that to their little sister." She was giggling quietly as she waited for her two best friends.

Charlie and Bill came running around the side of the tent.

"You two are so gullible," Bethany said laughing. Showing that Carlo and their youngest sibling were engaged in no inappropriate behaviors.

"I'm so offended," Carlo said in his Italian accent as he clutched his chest, "I have known you for many years, Charlie, and you believe this about me."

"It is because I've known you for about ten years that I came running, Carlo," Charlie said as he laughed.

Bethany turned to the quartet of Hogwarts students and said, "You can come on in and have a look around if you'd like. There are a few things out of place but T.J. and I got most of it earlier."

They all walked into the tent entering into a large kitchen. The kitchen was well equipped and looked capable of feeding more than just the five residents. Hermione thought it looked like a restaurant kitchen. The space was large and easily accommodated the large group.

Charlie held his arm up to the kitchen, "as you can see, our kitchen is equipped for muggle cooking but it does have a few magical improvements here and there."

Merrick walked in, "Charlie here is a great cook. I think he uses a lot of your mum's recipes. But he isn't as good as Carlo. Oooh! Carlo is our gourmet. Annie here isn't a bad cook either but she always wants to cook something exotic she's eaten when she's been traveling so we never really know what we will get. T.J. can handle the basics all right but he tends to want to eat hamburgers and hot dogs all the time- yank that he is. Now on my night to cook- well..."

"On Merrick's night to cook we usually go hungry," T.J. said with a smile, "Because none of us are brave enough to taste what he cooks. Shoot, half the time we can't even tell what it is."

Bethany showed them through a door to a hallway. She pointed to a door on the left, "This is the formal dining room. Unless we are here for major holidays or have a bunch of people over we never use it to eat. It usually ends up a spot to spread out large projects."

They continued down the hallway stopping in front of an arched doorway with the multi-paned glass French doors on the right of the hall. Charlie said, "This is the formal living room- used when one wants to impress company." He pointed across another arched entry way that lead to another hall, "That goes to the foyer and front entry."

"Is that a Picasso?" Hermione asked indicating the small painting that hung above the chocolate brown leather sofa.

"Yes, it is," Bethany told them, "It's Carlo's. He is related to him somehow and it has been in his family for a few years."

Charlie motioned to his left and they entered a large but cozy looking room. The walls were covered with what were apparently family photos of the residents. They had wizard photos that moved about and muggle pictures that held their images exactly as they were when they were taken. The furniture was large and overstuffed but looked very comfortable. Along one wall was a large fireplace in which a grown man could almost stand.

Harry walked up and laughed at a photo of him, Ron and Hermione. It was one taken after a Quidditch match in their third year that Colin Creavy must have taken. Harry was wearing his Quidditch robes and had his arms around his two best friends who flanked him on either side. "Cool," Harry thought, "I'm on someone's family picture wall."

"Ugh," Ginny said from the other side of the room, "Don't you have a more recent photo of me?" Ginny pointed to the photo of herself from her sixth year of primary school, "I look like such a baby in this one."

"You were a baby," Ron said and made a face at his sister who glared at him.

Harry walked up behind Ginny to get a closer look at her old photo and said, "Aw, Ginny you were cute." Then he and Ginny both flushed to a rather brilliant shade of scarlet.

Bethany sensed the embarrassment smiled and said, "Well, Ginny, while we are here we'll make sure to get a new photo and we can retire this one to the Weasley family photo album." She pointed to the five large books on the shelf. The spine of each book bore a different initial obviously representing each member of the household. Bethany's book had the D for Donnalaith. Merrick's had an E for Edwards. There was a book belonging to T.J. with the letter M for Marsh. Carlo's book had a very ornate looking F for Fazio. And of course, Charlie's book had a W.

"Is this a cousin or something?" Hermione said pointing to a photo of a red head about their age.

Ron walked by her and placed his arm on Hermione's shoulder, as he leaned in for a closer look, "No I've never seen her before, but she is kinda cute." Hermione gave Ron another playful slap to the stomach following his remark.

Bethany laughed at their adolescent display. "Actually that is my cousin, Mona. She lives in New Orleans, Louisiana, and she'd be thrilled by the attention. She used to give her parents fits. She has gotten herself kicked out of more schools in the city and now has private tutors. She is very smart and probably does a lot of what she does out of boredom. I probably wouldn't have lasted in a regular muggle primary school long myself. I do need to call and check on her. Our great aunt has been given the responsibility of her care since the deaths of her parents a few years back and she is not a young woman."

Charlie walked to the far side of the room to a large wooden door, "Through here is our library."

Hermione was at the door with her hand tuning the knob as she asked, "May I?"

Charlie nodded and she entered the room. The walls were lined with books from floor to ceiling. There was a small table on one end and two wing-backed leather chairs each with its own lamps beside them on the other end of the room.

Hermione was standing just inside the doorway looking in awe at all of the books. Some were new but many were very old. The majority were wizarding books but some were muggle. There was a small group of books held inside what looked like an enchanted case. The writings on some were in languages Hermione could not even guess to identify.

Bethany came up behind Hermione. "This is my favorite room. Most of them are mine, but my roomies are not illiterate by any measure so a few actually belong to them. Many came from my mother's and father's private libraries but a few I have collected on my travels," she told her as Hermione walked up to a bookshelf and began examining titles.

"Feel free to look around, Hermione. You can spend all the time you'd like here while we are here. And, if you want to borrow one, well, if you can get it from the shelf, feel free. We have our own restricted section and you will not be able to remove anything you shouldn't from the shelves," Bethany told her as she left her.

Ron walked over and stuck his head in the doorway then turned back to talk to Charlie, "Hey big brother, I hope you don't mind sharing your home with Hermione because you'll never get her to leave now."

"If you want to stay and look around longer, Hermione, that is fine. We are going to show the others the second floor," Bethany said to Hermione who just nodded her reply as she read the titles of the different books.

They headed up the stairs along the wall by the dining room. Harry stopped at the bottom of the stairs looking at a door to a cupboard under them just like his on Privet Drive. He felt himself getting a little queasy as he remembered his last night there. Charlie stopped beside him and said, "Oh we forgot to show you our smallest room. It is meant to be a storage cupboard but Beth reads and escapes, as she puts it, in there. She put a silencing charm on it and unless they ring this bell she couldn't hear a heard of Norwegian Ridgebacks dancing in the den."

"I like it in there. It's cozy. It's sort of an inner sanctum for me," Bethany said in defense of the small room.

Harry looked over at her and said, "I have one of these at my aunt's house, but I have to share it with the holiday decorations and a few spiders. I used to hate it. Now, though, it is probably the only room I feel comfortable in at their house."

Bethany wanted to hug Harry. She hadn't told him yet about the times she had spent with his parents before their deaths. The suffering he had to experience growing up with his family hurt her, but she knew it was what he needed to become the person he is today.

Bethany looked at him knowingly and said, "Sometimes it's nice to have a familiar place to go to that you can just get away and think or sort out problems." Harry nodded and smiled at Bethany. He thought, "She really seems to understand me."

They followed Ron and Ginny up the stairs and entered another large room.

Ron gasped when he reached the landing at the top of the stairs. "Wow, this is awesome."

"This is the game room," Bill said. He had been upstairs checking out his new room to see what he needed to bring over from his room at the Burrow.

There were sofas and chairs scattered about with tables for chess, exploding snap, and other wizarding and muggle games.

"What's this for?" Ron asked pointing at a game with stick-like poles run through plastic figures over a table.

"That is a foos ball game. T.J. brought it here from the states. He is our resident expert but Charlie does give him a run for his money. The guys usually play as teams," Bethany said as she walked over and sat next to Bill on a sofa.

"Oh, cool," Harry said looking down at a table with a large glass dome, "Is this some sort of Quidditch game? It looks like it would be great to work out game strategies. I have never seen one like this."

"That's mine," Charlie said as he jumped up to show Harry and his siblings his favorite toy, "Beth gave it to me for Christmas a few years ago. You can set it up so that the players have the personalities and skills of whichever players you'd like. During the winter we put in the teams we have out at the preserve so we can continue playing even in the heavy snow."

Bethany rolled her eyes, "Yes, perhaps one of my biggest mistakes ever, buying that thing, but he does enjoy it. And, like you suggested Harry, it would come in handy to teach Quidditch strategy."

Charlie winked at her and said, "On with the tour. Dad will be home soon."

The sound of running water could be heard coming from behind a door at the far side of the room.

"This obviously is a bathroom. We won't show you in there because it is currently in use. I do believe it is Carlo so, Gin, if..." Bill was stopped by the impact of a sofa pillow hitting him in the face. Ginny turned a bright red after throwing it at her older brother.

"You know Bill, that's a very dangerous suggestion with Carlo. He tends to not discriminate against age. As a matter of fact we should probably warn your mother about him too," Bethany said, "or should we just warn your dad?"

"He doesn't discriminate against much. He's a regular dingo when it comes to the ladies," joked Merrick who had just come upstairs, then as he banged on the door he added, "Hurry up and come out descent or I do believe you will have several Weasley men turn you into dragon chow."

"Around this way," Charlie gestured to a hallway and to the left, "You'll find the study. It's like a quiet den. This is where you will usually find Carlo if he isn't in the kitchen."

The room was a nice size. Not too big so it wouldn't be cozy but definitely large enough so it didn't feel cramped. There were two writing desks and a few comfortable chairs to read in positioned in front of the small fireplace.

They left the room. Merrick was standing in front of the doorway directly across from the den. "This is my room," he said, "and it's a mess."

Bethany pointed down the hall in the opposite direction. "And next to his is Carlo's, then T.J.'s, then Charlie's at the end. Mine is around the corner- well, I guess it would be Bill's and then our room around the corner," she corrected herself as she told them, "they are all pretty much the same, except usually a lot neater than, Merrick's room."

"Beth's room has its own bathroom. The privilege of being the only female house mate and it helped that she owns the place," Charlie added.

Bill walked out of the room at the end of the hall. "Charlie, are you taking any of the furniture out of here?" he asked his brother.

"Doubt it. At least not right away. Are you moving out tonight?" Charlie asked. Ron, Harry, and Ginny looked confused.

"Bill is going to stay here while Percy's girlfriend visits," Charlie explained to Harry and his siblings.

"Smart thinking, Bill, because otherwise you'd get stuck sharing a room with Mr. I-Want-To-Be-The-Next-Minister-Of-Magic," Ron said then turned to his other brother, "You sure that isn't why you married Bethany here? To avoid ever having to share a room with Percy."

They laughed and Bill told them, "Ron, you go get Hermione then go back to the Burrow and get cleaned up for supper. Behave. Tell Fred and George I said no funny business tonight," Bill instructed, "we'll most likely eat outside tonight with all the company. After dinner Mum and Dad are going to speak with Charlie and Bethany. So you will need to stay up in your rooms and out of trouble."

"You are all welcome to hang out here. It will give you a little more freedom for fun without worrying about your mother," Bethany offered, "be sure and to let Fred and George know they are welcome, too."

Ginny, Ron and Harry walked toward the stairs, "I'm sure T.J., Carlo, and Merrick will tell you plenty of stories about Charlie tonight," she added before they left.

They collected Hermione and headed back to the Burrow.

"The library is fantastic. They have books that are in the restricted section at school and everything. At first I thought that the books would be mostly about dragons and other beasts but they have books on almost every topic," Hermione said saying the words so fast that she was gasping for breath at the end.

Harry, Ron, and Ginny filled her in on what she missed upstairs, Bill's instructions for the evening, and Bethany's offer to visit there while she and Charlie talked to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.

"So do you think your mum and dad will come around?" Harry asked Ginny, "I really think they make a good couple."

"I think Bethany will win dad over with no problem, and I do think that Mum will have had a chance to settle down by now. All she really needs to do is watch them together," Ginny replied.

"Boy, I know. You can almost feel the warmth from them just when they look at each other. Their eyes connect or something," Hermione added.

"They do seem to really love each other," Ginny agreed.

As they walked inside, they looked up at the family clock. The hands representing all of the Weasleys pointed to home except for Percy's and Arthur Weasley's. Theirs pointed to traveling.

As they reached the landing outside Ginny's room they could hear Percy asking his mother, "Is something wrong? You've been crying. What's happened, mum?"

Mr. Weasley joined in with the concern. "Oh Arthur, my baby," she cried.

"Ginny?" he said worriedly, "has something happened to Ginny?"

"No. Not Ginny. Charlie," she was now sobbing heavily, "he didn't even tell us. He just did it on his own anyway."

"I've said before that nothing would come of him living out in the woods like that. Dragon Tamer what kind of responsible job is that?" Percy said.

"Percy, I don't need this right now," Mrs. Weasley told him. He apparated to his room and was soon heard moving around inside by the others still standing on the landing.

Ginny and Hermione went into Ginny's room. Harry blushed when he overheard Ginny say, "Yes, Carlo did look great but I'd love to see Harry shirtless in leather trousers."

The girls disappeared behind the door and a wave of giggles.

Ron hadn't heard his little sister's comment just the giggles, "Girls," he said as he rolled his eyes, "they have been so giggly today."

Harry didn't bother to clarify to his friend. He didn't think it was necessary or wise.