Chapter 1 - 'Ello

It was a misty Monday morning that Harry arrived at the all too familiar Burrow. When he got to the door dragging his trunk behind him an older girl he had never met before answered.

“'Ello.” She greeted cheerily and a bit surprised, she spoke with a slight brogue. She had short dark hair which she had up sloppily in a clip behind her head and bright blue eyes, on her pail skin were freckles that seemed to have faded with age. She wore a pair of ripped jeans and a t shirt that he had seen on one of the twins.

“Umm, hello...” Harry said hesitantly “Umm, is Ron here?”

“That lazy little bugger is having a lie-in.” she laughed “All the boys are, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley are out for the moment, you know doing a bit of shopping.”

“Oh…” Harry said searching for what to say next.

“How rude of me, I almost forgot to introduce myself.” She stood up proudly “The name's Caitlyn Griffin. I'm a friend of Fred and George. You're Harry Potter, right? Ron is really excited about you staying holiday with us. It was all he could talk about last night.” She laughed again and flashed a smile revealing her teeth. “Come in, Come in!” She said and ushered him into the room. “Ginny and Hermione are fixing something for us lot to eat. Come on and we'll just take your things up to Ron's room for now, I need to wake all of those lazy bugs anyway.”

Harry allowed himself to be led by Caitlyn up the flights of stairs to Ron's room on the top floor. “Put your things ore' there.” She gestured then walked over to one of the four poster beds “Ronald! Ronald!” She shook the lump of blankets “Get up, Harry's here!”

Ron rolled over to look at her; he had a major case of bed head and a drowsy look in his eyes. “Can't I sleep just a little longer, Cait?” He whined.

“Not if you want breakfast, Duckie.” She said playfully and ruffled his hair.

“Hey Harry” Ron yawned and looked over at his best friend “When did you get here.”

“Not to long ago,” Harry replied and tried to give Ron sometime to wake up before starting conversation.

“Bill, Billy boy!” Caitlyn had apparently moved onto the task of waking Ron's eldest brother who slept in the other bed. “William! Wake up!”

The pile of blankets in the bed simply pushed Cait away. “Just a little longer, you bloody witch…”

“That's right, Bill, I am a witch.” She said and pulled out her wand. She then cast a little spell that made the blankets on Bill's bed twist around him. “Now wake up, mate.”

“Yes Mum,” He said in a mocking tone and crawled out of bed. “Nice to see you again, Harry.” He nodded in Harry's direction.

Caitlyn left the room once she was sure that Bill and Ron were awake for sure and Bill got dressed and left shortly after. Ron and Harry stayed behind.

“That Caitlyn, she may seem like the untamable little fireball, but she really is a nice girl when she's not playing mum.” Ron said as he slipped on a shirt. “She's interesting to talk to if she ever lets you get a word in.”

“She's coming on holiday with us?” Harry asked.

“Yeah, Fred and George met her when they left school, to start that joke shop. She's helped them out a lot and she stayed the summer break here at the burrow. I'm sorry you didn't get here earlier. Hermione has really taken to her and I've been a bit bored.”

“Yeah well, I wish I could have been too, but you know my uncle.” Harry said “We have the whole summer ahead of us anyway.”

“Yeah” Ron said happily as they headed downstairs. When they past the twins room, they could see Caitlyn using a spell to levitate the twins above there beds (as they tried to get down and blurted out tired curses) and nudging a pile of blankets with her toe.

Harry assumed that the pile of blankets was Charlie.

“Duckie? Duckie!” She called out to Ron “Could you wake Percy for me?” With out waiting for a response she smiled and said “Thanks, Ron.”

“Duckie?” Harry asked, confused.

“She's been calling me that since she got here. Fred and George say it's her way of showing that she's taking a shine to me. Of course she picked me too call a ridiculous nickname…” Ron said and pounded on Percy's door.

“What is it you want, Ronald, I'm busy…” Percy said, it seemed he had been awake for quite sometime.

“Breakfast is about done, If I were you I would get downstairs, Cait is on her morning wake up patrol.” Ron said warningly.

“Maybe if you didn't all lie-in every morning little Caitlyn wouldn't have to have a wake up patrol.” He said curtly, apparently he thought that Caitlyn was absolutely adorable. “I'll be down when I feel like it.”

When Ron and Harry got out of earshot from Percy Ron chuckled and turned to Harry “Percy doesn't realize that `little Caitlyn' was the one who put a toad in his tea last week not Fred and George.”

Both boys chuckled as they reached the kitchen to find breakfast on the table.

“Harry!” Hermione and Ginny both shouted happily. Hermione ran up and gave him a hug whilst Ginny just gave hi a shy smile.

“Everybody else will be along shortly” Ron said and sat down at the table. Hermione sat next to him and gestured for Harry to sit on her other side. The three friend had a pleasant conversation and caught up whilst Ginny and Bill argued about what was the right thing to put on toast. Percy arrived a moment later without much of a greeting and simply poured himself a cup of coffee and stood near the door way.

“Put me down this instant! If you don' put me down I'll put such a hex on your `eads!” The group could hear Caitlyn half scream half laugh from the stairs.

“Maybe we should have used a spell that could make her be quite” Fred laughed.

“I don't think there is magic that powerful” George chuckled in reply.

“Oh, you two! If Charlie hadn't snatched my wand….” She said in false anger.

“I only snatched it because you threatened to set me on fire!” Charlie said now laughing too.

The four of them finally arrived in the kitchen and everyone could see what all the commotion was about. Caitlyn was sitting with her legs crossed and her arms folded across her chest and floating upside down through the air. Fred looked as though he had just come out of the rain and George's hair was slightly scorched. All four of them appeared to be laughing hysterically.

Caitlyn noticed that every one was looking at them “What are you lot staring at?” she said still floating upside down.

Ron nudged Harry and whispered “looks like they had another magic fight, happens every few days, last time Bill got involved and Charlie wound up covered in fur.”

“Honestly, just because you can use magic doesn't mean you should.” Percy said in a disapproving tone “This is something I've come to expect from the twins but Charlie, you're an adult, and Caitlyn… you're too bright for this sort of thing. Don't you think so Hermione?” Percy said turning to look at Hermione who had a mouthful of eggs.

She swallowed and then hesitantly said “Well, no one appears hurt and it looks like they had a bit of fun. Surely woke them up…”

“Arg, has every one lost their senses?” Percy said and stormed off.

The group which had managed to remain for the most part silent broke out laughing as soon as Percy left the room. Cait still upside down held her side which had apparently gotten a stitch from laughing.

“Would you please put me down now?” Caitlyn pleaded with George after the laughter died down.

“As you wish, Madam.” George asked and lowered his wand, causing Cait to fall directly into Fred's open arms.

“Aw, Caity, I didn't know you were falling for me.” Fred joked as he put her down.

The rest of the meal was very loud. There was the sound of Fred, George, and Cait plotting a prank to pull on Percy. And the constant shouts of “butter!” and “jam!” coming form Bill and Ginny and the occasional “Just shut up and eat your toast!” from Charlie.

“That's not good at all! It'll never work!” George said loudly.

“It'll work just fine.” Fred argued back.

“No it won't!”

“Yes it will!”

“No you idiot!”

“You don't have to help, you little git!”

“Charlie give me back my wand…” Caitlyn whispered, she was apparently going to split the twins up, which was a wise idea.

“Oh, no you don't!” both the twins said in unison and then before anyone knew what happened Caitlyn was back to hovering upside down and her wand had shot out of Charlie's hand into the china cabinet almost knocking it over.

“Honestly! Fred! Put me down! George!” Cait said impatiently.

“This argument is between me and my git of a twin, you shouldn't have gotten involved” Fred stated bluntly.

“You're the git!” George said angrily and aimed his wand at Fred.

At this point Harry could barley hear him self think.

“Idiot!”

“Jam is best!”

“Moron!”

“Put me down now, Fred!”

“Butter, and you know it!”

“Never any peace in this house!” Percy reappeared looking as pissed as ever.

“Ron dear, could you fetch my wand for me?”

“…alright”

“Don't do it, Ron. Don't get involved”

“Shut up and eat your toast already!”

“I'm trying to work upstairs”

“I won't eat until he admits jam is better on toast!”

“It won't work!”

“Then she can starve, cause I won't say it.”

“Ronald Dear, My wand.”

“I bet Mr. Crouch never acted like this at breakfast.”

“Ron if you get involved you're brothers are liable to put you upside down too.”

“It will work just fine!”

Just as Charlie picked up a jar of jam and a stick of butter and put them onto Ginny and Bill's faces, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley appeared in the kitchen door way.

Every one instantly stopped yelling. Fred and George lowered their wands and Hermione stopped holding Ron back from the china cabinet. Caitlyn then fell to the ground and landed with a thud in the center on the table.

Ginny was the first to speak, all she could muster was a weak “Hi, Mum.”

After that everyone started to speak at once. Fred and George were trying to blame everything on each other. Charlie was trying to explain that he only put toppings onto his siblings' heads because they wouldn't shut up. Caitlyn was trying to explain that she was trying to help but Ron wouldn't give her her wand. Ron of course retorted by saying that he didn't have her wand. Hermione was trying to explain that it really wasn't anyone's fault. And Percy was going on about how he was the only one in the whole house with any sense. Harry just stood in the middle of it all.

Mrs. Weasley finally opened he mouth and the group fell silent again. “Out…. I want all of you… out of the house… right now….” She said and looked as if she was in a lot of pain. Everyone stayed still for a moment “NOW!” She bellowed.

Everyone rushed outside, George and Fred helping Caitlyn limp out, the fall to the table had twisted her ankle. Hermoine left with her mouth still open as if she might say something, but Ron put his hand on her should as if to discourage her from it. Harry was the last one out and he was stopped by Mrs. Weasley.

“Harry Dear! Did you get her alright?” She said in a happy tone and gave him a hug.

“Good to see you again, Boy.” Her husband added with a hand shake and then he joined the others outside.

They had all apparently put their differences aside and were sitting together on the grass. Caitlyn, who was using magic to remove jam form Ginny's hair, stated in an awestruck tone “I've never seen your Mum so mad.”

“We have,” said George who was sitting behind the two girls.

“Even madder,” agreed Fred who was sitting next to George.

“We should probably calm down for a while…” said Ron thoughtfully.

“Yeah, your mom needs to cool off,” said Hermione who was sitting very close to Ron and looked sort of afraid.

“Those are the first sensible words I've heard out of any of you today!” mumbled Percy, who was unlike all the others standing, and looking quite angry.

“I was thinking about having a bit of a magic fight in the woods…” Bill said, he had been disappointed about not being in the one earlier.

“I'm in,” Charlie said happily.

“Us, and Caity too.” George said volunteering them.

“I'll join in!” said Ron.

“You're not aloud to use magic out of school, Duckie” Caitlyn said reminding him.

“We'll just watch…” Hermione suggested.

“Me, too,” chimed in Ginny.

“Don't you lot every change? I can't believe I'm related to any of you. And you think you would give up after what just happened.” Percy said angrily.

No one seemed very affected by Percy's words and started to walk of toward the woods. After a moment of standing there awestruck and annoyed Percy gave up and followed suit.

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