The Unknown Legacy

A Warm Welcome

Lydia felt loads better after she woke up about three hours later. She was surprised to see that the teapot was still steaming hot, and thankful for the little sandwiches now as her stomach growled. She poured a cup of tea for herself and ate about ten of the tiny sandwiches. She felt like she'd never had anything so delicious before.

Once she was done, she put on her set of navy blue robes and skillfully French braided her own hair. It still amazed her when she felt how light the robes were. Normally, any long sleeved clothing worn in the summer would be far too hot, but the material seemed very breathable, despite the fact of how thick it was. She supposed it was enchanted to do just that.

She picked up the tea tray and walked out the door and downstairs with it. Tom looked up and took it from her, and vanished it.

"Glad to see you up and about. Weasley tells me that you'll be staying at the family house from here on out," he said. Lydia nodded.

"Yeah, I've always wanted to see a wizard house," she admitted and let out a content sigh. Tom smiled as he poured a drink and floated it to a table off in the corner.

"Well it's nothing special. They've got walls and roofs and windows. Not much else is different I would expect, 'cept maybe for the lack of Muggle inventions. But then again, from what I've heard about Arthur Weasley, he's got more Muggle things then most Muggles."

Lydia chuckled and pointed to the rear of the pub.

"I'll be back then," she said and began walking to the back of the pub. When she was almost there, she remembered that someone needed to open the archway to Diagon Alley for her. She asked a witch sitting near the back. She gave Lydia a surly look.

"What, is your wand broken lassie?" she asked, slurring her speech ever so slightly. Lydia almost frowned.

"No, I'm a Muggle." she said. The woman rolled her eyes and got up. She opened the archway and walked off.

"Thank you!" Lydia called after her. The woman waved her hand in a dismissive fashion over her shoulder at Lydia and muttered something to herself. Lydia shrugged and walked through the archway. She was in no hurry to get to the joke shop, which was all the way at the other end of the alley. Today would be her last day here and she wanted to take it all in one last time. Her heart swelled and she took a deep breath. She loved it here. Surely she would have to return next year. Too bad she couldn't bring her friends. She wasn't sure they could keep the magical world a secret.

Lydia stopped into the Magical Menagerie, a store she hadn't bothered stopping into before. It was loud and slightly smelly. There were all kinds of wondrous creatures packed into the tiny shop. Hissing, squawking, and chirping seemed to come from every direction. A woman behind the counter wearing heavy black glasses smiled at Lydia.

"Hi, can I help you?" she asked. Lydia grinned.

"I'm just looking. I doubt any of these animals will like me. I'm a Muggle," Lydia sighed. The woman walked over and smiled.

"Not all magical creatures mind Muggles dear, though you're likely to be the first one some of these creatures have seen. I'll mind you to stay away from the pen in the corner though, the Crups there really don't like Muggles at all, it's part of their make up," she said and pointed to the corner. Lydia looked into the corner. It was a pen filled with little dogs. They looked like Jack Russell Terriers and had forked tails. Almost as soon as Lydia looked at the animals, they all stared back...and whimpered like cowards. The witch looked shocked.

"That's amazing! They usually try and attack Muggles! Are you sure you're a Muggle?" she asked Lydia, giving her a suspicious look. Lydia nodded.

"Well then how'd you get into Diagon Alley? You're wearing robes, and that American accent of yours is impossible to miss!"

"Oh, these? Yeah, my-eh- little brother is starting his first year at Hogwarts. He's the first Wizard in our family, and my parents (she almost choked on the word) wanted us to make him feel ok with it, because he's really scared. Mom (another close to choking moment) read up on the schools when he got a letter for a wizardry school in America and decided she wanted him to come to Hogwarts instead. She said it's the best."

The witch believed her quick lie. She thought it was absolutely sweet.

"Ah, too true! Hogwarts is run by Albus Dumbledore! He's a great wizard; your parents chose well! Speaking of which, does your brother have an animal already? You know, most first years like to have an animal. Most of them take a cat, owl or toad. Could I show you so-" the witch was cut short by a large black bird swooping through the store door and landing on Lydia's shoulder.

"Oh no!" the witch stammered. "You're back again are you? Stand still dear, he's just trying to frighten you out of the store, like he always does. Bloody hell!" She said irritably and slowly approached Lydia. But when Lydia turned her head to look at the bird, it merely blinked its yellow eyes at her and cawed softly in an unmistakable greeting.

"Hello," she said back to the bird. She got the sudden feeling that it was trying to communicate with her. She got the strong impression that it had known she was here and had waited all week for her to finally come into the shop.

"Are you a raven?" she asked the bird. The witch apparently thought Lydia was talking to her, because she chimed in.

"You're right there deary! His name's Ichabod, but it's odd. I've never seen him react this way to anyone before! I've had several offers for him over the past 4 years, but they always choose another animal when he tries to eat their fingers. I can't keep him in a cage either, he tends to melt them. He's the reason I have to leave the door open, otherwise he just breaks the glass to get out," she said and stepped closer.

"Alright Ichabod, down you get," she sighed and reached for the bird, but he turned very nasty and snapped at the witch's fingers. She jumped back. Lydia felt a surge from the animal.

"He needs to go with me," she said. Ichabod made a soft sound of approval. Lydia took out her sack of money, which was now mostly knuts and sickles. The witch looked flabbergasted. Never in all her life, would she have EVER thought a Muggle could tame that wild bird.

"Um, he's five Galleons," the witch said. Lydia giggled as she dug through her bag. She ended up giving the witch three galleons and thirty-four sickles. Lydia couldn't believe she'd spent the equivalent of almost £300 in Diagon Alley the past few days. The witch put the money away and looked to Ichabod, who was grooming his wing indifferently.

"And good riddance of you!" she said to the bird, who'd actually cost her five galleons to obtain and therefore was worth ten galleons. At least she got her money back. He looked up and gave her an irritated squawk.

"I'm glad he's found a person he likes, but he's been a regular nuisance. He's chased more customers out of the store then I have hairs on my head!" the witch said and nodded firmly. Lydia grinned at the woman and was about to leave, when she turned back around.

"Er, I suppose I should ask how to take care of a raven," She said and bit her lip. The witch laughed.

"He'll take care of himself. He can feed himself and such, so don't you worry about it," she said and waved cheerfully as Lydia left the store.

In normal circumstances, Lydia would have felt ridiculous walking down a crowded street with a large bird perched on her shoulder, but in this place, it didn't feel any different then talking on the phone.

"We'll be fine together, won't we Ichabod? Do you even like that name?" she asked. Ichabod flapped his wings and puffed out his chest feathers importantly. Lydia looked away from him and chortled.

"I'll take that as a yes. I wasn't expecting to come out of there with a new companion, my friend George told me that magical creatures don't like Muggles," Lydia said, very offhand. She looked at the bird. Was that a flash of musement in his eye? Lydia decided that it was. George had told her that magical everyday creatures had more capacity to express and behave in a human like manner then their Muggle counterparts.

"So I want to ask you a question, why me? What made you pick me Mr. Ichabod?" Lydia smiled and scratched the bird's head. This was extremely amusing. As she put her arm back down, she remembered her dream with the spooky women. The phrase 'Responsibility to the World' kept crossing her mind. She giggled.

"Ok, I get the point; it's destiny. By the way, we're on our way to meet my friends. I'm eh, rather close with one of them, George Weasley. I'm hoping you won't be mean to them. I doubt they'll try to touch you or anything," she told the bird. He seemed to be ignoring her. She sighed and walked into Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Fred was behind the register. Some people were amazed that Lydia could tell Fred and George apart so easily. She knew it was a silly thought, but Lydia felt that George was the cuter one of the twins. Fred looked up and grinned.

"Wow, where'd you get him?" he asked. Lydia scratched Ichabod and told him the story of the bird swooping in the shop and landing on her shoulder.

"The witch said he was a bit mean though. He was defiantly mean to her. But that's only because she was so grumpy with you, isn't Ichabod?" Lydia cooed to the bird. She was surprised at how quickly she'd become attached to the bird.

"You know Lydia, I remember when you first came in here. You looked so lost. So beautifully lost, I might add! But now, here you are, wearing robes with a large bird on your shoulder. You've adapted to life here nicely. No one would be able to tell that you aren't a witch," Fred commented. Lydia positively shined. She'd been desperate to fit into this new world, and now she did!

"So, you're coming to The Burrow with us? You'll really like it there. Our dad is crazy about Muggles. I'll bet he can't wait to meet you."

Lydia helped close up the shop. Ichabod perched himself on top of a shelf. George came in the shop while she was helping Lee straighten up the candy rack. Lee of course was done long before her, because he was using his wand, while Lydia had to separate the candies by hand.

"Blimey, where did that come from?" George asked when he saw the raven. Lydia smiled proudly.

"That's my new friend Ichabod. I found him in the Magical Menagerie," she said as she separated the last canary cream from the yummy fangs that turned your teeth into oversized fangs that made it impossible to open your mouth. George walked up to the shelf and looked up at Ichabod.

"He's a fine looking bird."

"Isn't he? He picked me out. I wasn't in the store for a minute before he swooped down on me. I think he can communicate with me. Whenever I talk to him, I always get a strong visual impression of something that relates to the topic," she said. George nodded at this.

"Yeah, different creatures have different powers. But either way, I got some floo powder for us!" George said and held up a tiny baggie.

"What is floo powder?" Lydia asked. She hoped that it wasn't a drug.

"It's a powder we use to travel around. You throw a pinch into a fire place and step in, then say where you want to go. It's really simple. It's how you're going to get to my house," he said and put the bag in his pocket. Lydia stood up and brushed her hands together. In the time that it had taken her to sort her side of the bin by hand, everyone had finished everything else. Ichabod flew down onto her shoulder.

"Well, I guess I better go back to the Leaky Cauldron and get my things ready," Lydia said. Everyone walked out of the shop, and Fred locked it with a casual flick of his wand.

The four walked down Diagon Alley with their arms over each other's shoulders. They practically danced together down the street, getting irritated glances from people they nearly ran over. Fred, George and Lee all sang a loud pub song they knew called 'Willard the Wacky Wizard and his Woeful Waddling Weasel', while Lydia laughed at how horrible they sounded. Ichabod was close to irate, since he no longer had a perch on Lydia's shoulder and flew towards the pub. She expected when she got there he would be calmed down a bit.

Lydia went upstairs to pack when they got to the pub. Ichabod flew through the window and perched on the open door to her room.

"You're leaving then?" The man in the painting asked, sounding a bit crestfallen. Ichabod eyed the painting and cocked his head to the side as it spoke.

"I'm packing aren't I?" Lydia replied.

"Well, it's just most wizards and witches don't bother talking to paintings. It was nice to have someone as chatty as yourself stay here. It gets boring hanging in the same place year in and year out, having people tell you to hush up while they're getting ready for bed, and there are only so many other paintings I can visit in the pub. The Lady Britanni hanging in room 12 can't stand me," he said. Lydia pouted at the painting.

"Awww, well I'm glad I was able to at least give you some company then," Lydia said as she closed her suitcase. She turned around one last time. "See you later," she said and waved at the painting as she left. Ichabod flew down on her shoulder as she passed through the door.

"What? No kiss?" the painting called after her.

Back downstairs everyone was chatting loudly at a table closest to the fireplace. Lydia settled her remaining balance with Tom (only 14 sickles) and wished him well. They all stood up when Lydia walked over.

"Ready then?" George asked. Lydia nodded. George took out the bag of floo powder.

"Here, watch Fred. He'll show you how it's done," George said and handed the bag to Fred. He took a pinch of the powder and threw it into the fire. Fred then stepped into the green flames.

"The Burrow!" he cried and disappeared with a woosh. Lydia was a little shocked at this. George handed her the bag. She took a pinch.

"So, I just throw it in and walk into the blazing inferno?" she asked. George laughed.

"It won't be hot," he assured her. Lydia took a deep breath and tossed the pinch into the fire. It turned green like it was supposed to, but when she stuck her hand out into the green flames, she got burnt.

"Ow!" she shrieked, causing people to stare. Ichabod squawked angrily. George and Lee were shocked.

"Are you alright?" Lee asked as George looked at her hand. She looked at George.

"You said it wouldn't hurt!" she almost sneered at George. He and Lee both looked baffled.

"It isn't supposed to," he said. Lee chimed in.

"Maybe it's because you're a Muggle Lydia," he suggested with a shrug. George shook his head.

"Ron says that Hermione's parents use floo powder to visit her in Rome, and they're Muggles," he said. Lydia wondered who Hermione was. She knew Ron's name. He was one of George's brothers.

"What's she doing in Rome again?" Lee asked. George swished his wand, and gauze shot out the end, and wrapped itself around Lydia's burnt hand. It not only covered the wound, but stopped the pain too.

There's no way I'm immune to magic then, Lydia thought and flexed her fingers.

"She's translating some things for some library there," George said. "Does it feel better Lydia?" he asked. She nodded.

"Yes it does. But it would seem I'm stranded here if I can't do the 'popping-disappeary-thing' you all do or use the powder stuff."

"Nah, I think I can still get you there. Here, hand me your luggage, I'll take it to the house and be back in a few minutes," George said. Lydia complied. He then chuckled at her.

"Popping-Disappeary-Thing indeed," he grinned and shook his head before disapparating. Lee sighed and sat down at the table again.

"So is it true then? George and Fred think you're immune to magic," he said. Lydia shrugged.

"Well, his little anti pain and bandage spell worked on me. I can't be too immune can I?" She asked, and shooed Ichabod from pulling a loose thread in her robes.

"Who knows?" he said finally. A few minutes later, George reappeared holding two brooms.

"Go on ahead Lee. We'll be there in a while. We're taking the long way," George said. Lee nodded and used the floo powder. He'd never bothered to get an Apparation license. Lydia stared at the brooms. George had talked about flying brooms before.

"Are we going to fly to your house on those?" she asked. George nodded.

"Yes we are. You won't believe it, there's tons of people at the house. Mum managed to wrangle up all my brothers, even Percy. I bet she had to threaten Percy to get him to come away from work like that," George snickered. Lydia smiled. She'd heard stories about Percy Weasley, the stuck up, rule loving brother. The most recent one was when Fred had slipped him a ton-tongue toffee. George handed Lydia one of the brooms. It looked to be slightly beaten and well worn.

"These brooms belong to Fred and myself. They were our Quidditch brooms," he explained. The broom quivered in Lydia's hand.

"Are they supposed to vibrate like this?" she asked. George grabbed the broom. He felt it quiver for a second, and then it stopped abruptly.

"That was peculiar. I should probably test it outside before I let you ride it," he said finally. They walked outside. He mounted the broom, and zoomed around the alley, his back draft knocking people's hats off as he flew by. He came back to Lydia and got off.

"Well it seems to be in order," he said. "I'll need to tether them together. Don't want you letting lost up there, I'd never find you again!" he laughed and preformed the tethering charm. The brooms hovered at a proper mounting height. He showed Lydia how to properly hold the broom and mount it. Ichabod perched on the broom and watched. Once she had the hang of it, George mounted the other broom and took his wand out again.

"Now, we need to make ourselves invisible. Muggles absolutely cannot see two people flying on broomsticks. I'd be paying off the fine for the rest of my natural life! I just hope this works on you or we're going to have a problem," he said hopefully. Lydia gulped and closed her eyes as he waved his wand at her.

Please work, please work. Please let this work, she thought. George suddenly let out an excited whoop and even though her eyes were closed, she could now see him.

"It worked!" he cried. Lydia looked down at herself, only to see the ground a few feet below her.

Yup, definitely not immune to magic, must have been a random chance that first time, Lydia thought. She didn't really care at the moment either.

"Oh my god, this is freaky! I can still see you when I close my eyes!" Lydia squeaked. George laughed and cast the charm on himself.

"That's because your eyelids are transparent," he said. "Now, are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be I suppose," she replied.

"Ok, hang on then!" he said happily. Lydia's stomach gave a lurch as she felt the broom move. She looked at the ground, which was sinking further and further away from her. She was really flying!

"You alright over there?" she heard George ask. Lydia giggled shrilly.

"Are you kidding? This is awesome! I've never felt so free before!" she said. She looked over her right shoulder and saw Ichabod soaring beside her.

He must still be able to see us, she thought as the bird turned its head to look back at her.

"How long will it take to get to your house?" Lydia asked and scratched her nose. She heard George chuckle.

"Not long if we go top speed. These are Cleansweep 5 brooms. They're not the fastest brooms out there, but they're still quick if you've never been on a broom before. Ron's friend Harry has a broom that can go 150 mph," he said nonchalantly. Lydia gulped. That was really fast. She was glad she wasn't on Harry's fast broom.

"Well," she started. She was feeling a bit brave. She reasoned that she could always ask George to slow down if it got too fast for her. "Ok then, let's go top speed!"

"Ok, hang on!" George said. Lydia immediately felt the speed increase. It put her heart up into her throat. The scream she let out was similar to one she would use on a roller coaster. George slowed down immediately.

"I guess not then," he chuckled. Lydia made a grumpy face and then remembered that they were both invisible.

"That was not a scream of terror. It was a scream of terrified joy! DO IT AGAIN!" she squealed. George whooped with excitement and put the speed back on. Lydia looked to her right again. Ichabod wasn't there.

"Oh no George! We left Ichabod behind!" Lydia cried in a panic.

"Don't worry about it. He knows where we're going. He'll catch up once we get there," George reassured her. Lydia bit her lip as the wind whipped her hair around wildly.

"Are you sure?" she asked. George chuckled.

"He's a magical bird. He can find people. It's why we use owls to deliver mail. They're swift, smart and silent...Well, most of them are anyway," he said after thinking of his brother's owl, Pig. They chatted off and on for about half an hour. Lydia was beginning to get cold from the constant wind.

"Look! Down to your left. That's the edge of the village. We live a bit beyond," George said and slowed down the brooms.

"Good, I was getting cold," Lydia said. Finally, after another five minutes, she felt the broom begin its descent. They were moving towards a large narrow crooked house. Additions were stuck on in random and unexpected places. She didn't see how the house managed to stay standing.

"Is that it?" she asked.

"That's it!" George said. They touched down on the front lawn. "Keep hold of the broom, Fred would kill me of we lost it."

She heard George say an incantation and watched him come back into view. He looked around.

"Ok, now where are you?" he asked. Lydia suddenly got an idea.

"That IS the question of the day isn't it?" she giggled and blew into his left ear. She jumped out of his way before he could bump or make a blind grab at her. He looked amused.

"You know I could just leave you like that forever," he said and smirked. Surely that would do the trick. Lydia walked in a circle around him to confuse the sound direction

"Oh come now, there's a whole house full of Wizards behind us, I'm sure one of them would be willing to put me right," she said and poked him sharply in the tummy. She tried to jump back quickly, but wasn't quick enough. This time George's blind grab had gotten a hold of the short cape on her robes.

"Aha! Got you!" he said triumphantly and cast the charm. It was amazing watching her reappear. She was looking into his eyes and had that beautiful smile playing on her lips. George felt his heart plunge into his stomach. He rubbed his hand on the side of her arm and leaned his face towards hers. Lydia's breath quickened, and her heart thumped loudly.

"Are you ready to meet the horde?" he asked and grinned. For a second, her eyes sparkled before she shook her head.

"I need to brush my hair," she said and felt into the pockets for her mini hairbrush. George almost rolled his eyes.

"Lydia, you look perfect," he said in all honesty as she began brushing. Lydia half chuckled at this and gave George a sideways glance

"Thanks for the lie," she said. Once she was done, she stood tall and grinned at George. He led her to the house, but before George could reach the door, it was thrown open. Fred stood there for a second in old fashioned robes. George thought they looked like his dress robes, charmed to have a ruffled collar like Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor house ghost at Hogwarts.

"Announcing Master George Weasley accompanied by the Lady Lydia Spinelli!" he bellowed to the house and stood at attention. Lydia turned red while George smirked and tried not to laugh.

"Fred, stop that! You're embarrassing her!" said a plump woman with red hair as she appeared in the doorway and led the two inside. Lydia could only conclude that this was their mother, Mrs. Weasley. She turned to Lydia.

"Hello dear, I'm Molly Weasley, Fred and George's mother," she said with a pleasant tone and took Lydia's arm. She led her to the center of the living room, filled with people, mostly with red hair. She started pointing people out, going left to right across the room.

"This is my daughter Ginny. That's Bill over there with the ridiculous earring, Percy is next to him in the glasses. (Percy nodded stiffly and said, 'How do you do?') That's Charlie in the corner, and over here, we have Ron and his friend, Harry. Of course you already know Lee and Fred," she said. Lydia caught the quick look of disapproval she shot at Fred, whose ruffled robes were now slung over his shoulder. Everyone greeted Lydia. Molly continued.

"My husband couldn't make it to meet you, but he'll be home around seven," Molly sighed. Percy stood up.

"Speaking of work mum, I really should be getting back. It was nice to meet you," Percy said and nodded to Lydia. Fred and George immediately began mocking Percy by adjusting pretend glasses and muttering to each other about appointments elsewhere in dignified voices. Lydia heard them say words like 'Old Chap' and 'spiffing'. They earned a stern glance from Mrs. Weasley before she kissed Percy goodbye. Percy gave his twin brothers a grumpy glare of his own before disapparating. Just then, Ichabod flew through an open kitchen window and landed on Lydia's shoulder.

"There you are, Ichabod! I was getting worried," she told the bird and scratched his wing. Ichabod closed his eyes and enjoyed his attention.

"George, why don't you show our guest the house? And where she'll be staying?" asked Mrs. Weasley. George grabbed Lydia's arm and led her up a narrow, crooked staircase. As they ran up past rooms and around odd corners, more staircases appeared.

"We'll start at the top, then work our way down," George said as they came to what she hoped was the final floor. There was only one door on this level, and it was marked with a plaque that said, "Ronald's Room."

George opened the door to a blinding orange room. Lydia blinked once or twice. George smirked behind her.

"Ron's favorite Quidditch Team is the Chudley Cannons. They wear orange robes," George explained. Lydia smiled. It seemed so quiet and peaceful. She told George this, and he chuckled.

"Yes, until the ghoul in the attic starts knocking the pipes and wailing when it gets too quiet at night. You'll be staying on the second floor though so maybe you won't hear him," George said. He quickly showed her everyone else's rooms, and finally got to the room where she was to stay.

"This is Percy's old bedroom," he said and pointed out Lydia's stuff. The window was open, possibly to air out the room. Ichabod cawed happily and flew out. Apparently, house tours bored him. Lydia slowly followed Ichabod's path to the window. The sun was setting, and the sky was a shade of deep coral with purple clouds.

"Look at that, the sky is beautiful," she sighed and crossed her arms. She heard George walk up behind her, but much to her delight and surprise, he put his arms on her shoulders. After a few seconds she allowed herself to lean back against him. She was just tall enough so that the hair on the top of her head brushed his nose. She felt and heard his breath catch in his chest. They stood that way, peacefully watching the sunset for a few minutes before George spoke up. His voice was barely a whisper, but she heard him perfectly.

"Er, Lydia... I'm not really sure what you'll think of what I'm about to say to you." George sounded nervous as he spoke. Lydia pulled away and turned around to face him.

"I think I know what you're going to say, and believe me, I would love to hear it," she said and touched his hand. He took a deep breath and exhaled.

"I think you're amazing," he finally stuttered. "And I'm really glad that you're here."

Lydia's smile was broad and sincere as she said, "I'm glad I'm here too. You're family is really nice." It was the same smile that he first saw her with. He was happy that she'd put the unpleasant events of the day behind her.

Without warning, and quick as a flash, Lydia stood up on her toes and gave George a peck on the cheek.

"We better get back downstairs, they'll wonder where we've gone off to," Lydia said and pulled away, but George wasn't about to let that happen. Before he could stop himself, he reached out, embraced her, and pressed his lips to hers. Lydia let out a surprised squeak.

Oh shit, what did I just do? Please don't pull away, he thought, slightly panicked.

Her heart melted right then and there like hot wax and surged through her bloodstream. The rush of intoxicating adrenaline made her weak and invincible at the same time. She was rigid for less then a second, before she leaned into the kiss and put her arms around him. If he hadn't held her up, she would have crumpled in a heap on the floor at his feet.

A second later, they were parted, but it truly felt like an eternity. Now that she was no longer using George as a support, she really was going to crumple. She sat on the bed before that could happen.

"I'm sorry," George gasped. Lydia looked up at him, her mouth still tingling. Her heart was racing at an unhealthy speed.

"Why?" she asked when she found her voice and remembered how to speak. "I'm not sorry. Surprised maybe, but not sorry. I just wonder why we've been trying to avoid doing that all week?"

"I just didn't mean for that to happen that way, but I couldn't stop myself. You're the most beautiful woman I've ever met," he said and sat on the bed beside her. She blushed and put her arm around him.

"Does it matter how it happened?" she asked. He thought for a moment, then grinned.

"No I guess it doesn't," he said and kissed her cheek. Lydia stood up.

"Now, like I said, we should be getting back downstairs before they miss us. I want to get to know your family and friends better," she said. George stood up and they walked down the staircase, George with his arm over Lydia's shoulder.

That night after a sumptuous feast, everyone was tired and ready to go to bed. Mr. Weasley had certainly lived up to his reputation of being a Muggle lover. Lydia was sure he would have drilled her with boring questions all night if Mrs. Weasley hadn't asked him to stop. She felt like she really couldn't blame him though. They were really from two different worlds. Lydia, who was used to TV and electric lights found magic fascinating. She supposed her world held the same alien mystique for Mr. Weasley.

Long after the rest of the house was asleep, Fred and George were both in their room, all ready for bed, and discussing new product ideas for the holiday season that always came quicker then expected. However, the brainstorming session turned into a little chat about their new house guest.

"I kissed her today Fred," George said finally. Fred grinned.

"It's about time. You two have been dodging each other all week," he chuckled, then looked at his brother curiously. "What did she do?"

"She found a copy of Perce's old cauldron bottom report and smacked me with it," George replied automatically. Then he grinned at his brother. "She kissed back," he said with a bit of triumph in his voice. His face fell slightly. "But she's going back to America in a week. What's going to happen then?" George continued, less cheerfully and flopped back on his pillow. Fred rolled his eyes and smiled

"You know there's always portkeys and floo powder. You could go and visit her every day," Fred said. George's face didn't change

"Sure, I could. But how is all that going to fit into her life there? I reckon her family won't appreciate me popping in and out of their house whenever I choose."

"You'll need to discuss it with her," Fred sighed and laid his head on his own pillow. He yawned and turned towards his brother.

"We'll get to work on those squirting ink quills tomorrow. Maybe once we're done, we can have Ginny sneak one into the school and put it in Snape's inkwell." Fred grinned. This thought made George grin too.

"You think she'd do that?" George asked. Fred rolled over and closed his eyes.

"She sneaked in the Dribble cauldron last year didn't she? Snape's toes took months to grow back after that little incident."