The Beater and Badger

Chapter 1: Everything's Coming Up Roses

Rose flew higher into the cerulean sky, her red curls tangling themselves in the wind. She didn't bother to pull them into a knot, but merely swatted a wayward strand out of her face as she searched for it.

"GOAL!" James shouted as Louis's shot went through Albus's wide arms and into the bubblegum pink hula hoop. Rose sighed and shook her head as Albus nearly flipped over the side of his broom. Albus just wasn't any good at Quidditch. But Teddy was too nice a person to not have picked him for his team. James on the other hand, he was much smarter and picked Lily before he dared choose his younger brother! Tiny little thing Lily was, she still made an excellent seeker. Which is what you should be doing! Rose reminded herself sternly. Leaning forward on the handle, the broom shot forward and she circled the field for a glint of gold.

There it was! Rose dropped onto her stomach, forcing the handle to turn downwards and sprint for the glittering gold. Lily saw what Rose was after and flew after her quickly, the other players turned and stopped to watch them. Lily was smaller and quicker, but Rose had a huge head-start and she knew what she was doing on a broom, even if she wasn't built to be a seeker. Rose reached out a hand as Lily drew up close on her right and her fingers closed over the golden ball.

Not to mention my arms are longer, Rose thought smugly as she triumphantly lifted the Snitch into the air, amid cheers from her teammates Albus and Fred.

"It is too bad Dommie couldn't be here, Rose," Freddy remarked as ran up to meet her on the ground. "Or else you could have practiced Beater." Rose grinned at the thought of being Beater. It was her favorite position; she was built for tackling bludgers with her sturdy build that kept her grounded, long arms to smack her bat into the jet-black balls and a confidence in flying unhanded.

"Dominique will be back soon," Albus promised as he wobbled back down to earth. "The Tri-Team Tournament only lasts a week." The Ravenclaws had won the Quidditch Cup last school year and so, Dominique had gone with her team to compete with Beauxbatons and Durmstrang in a Quidditch tournament that had been set up fifteen years or so to 'improve the relationships between schools and their students,' according to her Mum. "But it's too bad Teddy and Vic aren't around anymore. She sure started real life fast!" Victoire had started her internship with St. Mungos the week after her graduation and Teddy had returned to studying Transfiguration in hopes of getting a mastery.

Rose desperately wanted to compete in The Tri-Team Tournament like her cousin Dominique next summer, but for her to play for Hogwarts, she'd have to play on the Hufflepuff team and they'd have to beat Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Gryffindor. It was a tall order—and one Hufflepuff hadn't come even close to succeeding in for twenty-five years.

Lily ran ahead of the Weasley-Potter teams and called out as she came to a stop by the hen house. "Whose's car is that?" The little redhead asked, pointing off in the distance. James, Fred and Louis ran up to her and watched this mysterious car as the rest of them caught up. Rose didn't recognize it either. It was small and compact, but it was also the ugliest color of pukey-beige Rose had ever seen. It could have belonged to any muggle, but it didn't. If it belonged to any muggle, then it wouldn't be driving up the dirt lane to the Burrow.

Albus nudged her. "Do you think Uncle Percy got a new car?" he suggested. Rose shook her head and Fred answered.

"He'd still be at work right now, maybe that's Aunt Audrey driving Molly and Lucy here?"

"Not unless Aunt Audrey is donning a hat, grew a mustache and dyed her hair Weasley red," Louis countered.

The car continued up the lane until it came to a stop in front of the house, sending several chickens squawking as they took cover. The door opened, and the man who was not Uncle Percy or Aunt Audrey stepped out. He was a remarkable plumpy man, wearing a pine-wood colored tie and a darker suit and sported a stiff bright red mustache that completely hid his upper lip. The other car door opened now too and a woman stepped out, her hair was permed horribly reminding Rose of a little french poodle. The woman had darkly tanned skin yet her hair was a blonde that clashed horribly. Even from a distance, Rose could see that her eyes were such a dark color that they had no pupil.

Rose wanted to stay and watch these strange, so obviously muggle couple, but Roxanne pulled her along. "C'mon," the cocoa-skinned girl whispered. "Let's get inside, we can hear what they want." Rose eagerly followed her cousins in the back door as they scurried through the living room. They were barely over the kitchen threshold when a doorbell sounded, the bustle of Grandmum Weasley as she set down her stirring spoon and made her way to the door, the door opened and then—

"Sweet Merlin!" Grandmum startled at the sight of the muggle man, his wife behind him. "Orville Prewett?" The man edged uneasily from foot to foot.

"Hello Molly," he replied after a moment's pause to exchange a glance with his wife. "We have something important we need to discuss with you." His eyes widened at the number of children attempting to squeeze themselves into the kitchen at this point. "Alone." Molly Weasley whipped around and caught them guilty of attempting to eavesdrop.

"Everybody out," she stated firmly as the groans and complaints started up.

"But why not?"

"Just because—"

"Who are those people?"

"But—"

"OUT!" Grandmum Weasley shouted, her wand out and pointed at the door as it slammed shut in their faces once the last finger had been shoved out it's way.

They all stared dumbfounded at each other for a moment. What could be so important that a muggle would want to talk to Grandmum alone?

"She did magic in front of him!" Hugo gasped suddenly, his brown eyes wide. "Grandmum could go to Azkaban for that!" Albus shook his head no, his eyes bright Slytherin green.

"If that muggle came here for Grandmum, then he must already know about magic." He decided.

Rose revolved on the spot and wriggled her left eyebrow at three of her cousins.

"All right you three," she started firmer than Grandmum Weasley when she was enforcing her 'no cookies before dinner' rule. "I know that none of you would go anywhere without some tricks up your sleeves. What have you got?" The three boys exchanged glances before unloading their supply. It was the jackpot of tricks and treats outside of the joke shop, but all they were interested in was the waxy looking ear. James snatched it up and fed the gummy string under the door as all ten of them crowded around the ear he held.

Noise filtered through it loud and audibly, as if they were in the room with them.

"I really didn't know what else to do, so when we got it, I tracked down your address and came straight here."

"I really don't see what the problem is, Orville." Grandmum said anxiously. "You're not the first to have this happen." The woman laughed, a painfully high-pitched sound.

"She wants to be one though, and she wants to know about it…" the man trailed off purposefully.

"There's no shame in being one, Orville!" Grandmum snapped, Rose could hear what a huff she was in, even over the Extendible Ear. "And to think you actually grew up with us—"

"You see, Molly?" it was the thin-voiced woman now. "Orville knows what it's like to be at an ill-advantage, thrust into muggle—"

"Protego!" Grandmum Weasley suddenly said as the Ear shot backwards, knocking them all of their feet and hitting various pieces of furniture and floor with loud bangs and groans.

"Dam—" Louis started, before Roxanne turned her wand on him.

"Langlock," she said calmly as Louis's tongue glued itself to the roof of his mouth. "Be grateful that Grandmum didn't hear you or else you'd be gagging on soap bubbles," Roxanne advised. Footsteps could be heard now, someone was coming close to the door. James, Fred, Louis and Rose all scrambled for Grandpa's chair as both Albus and Roxanne calmly settled for the floor as the doorknob twisted and Grandmum stood there, blocking most of the dumpy man and clashing woman.

"I have a surprise for you," Grandmum began. "A distant cousin of mine will be staying here for the rest of the summer." Rose looked bewilderedly at the redheaded man. Sure his hair was the right color, but the rest of him fit better at some muggle government meeting than at the Burrow which was filled with the unexpected.

"Hdwbllmrrhy!" Louis tried to bleat as James and Fred snickered. The man's expression turned pale as Grandmum Weasley waved her wand at him. Louis gasped for breath as his tongue was unwretched.

"Now, I want all of you out of the house while I get our guest settled in. Out! All of you, now!" Grandmum ordered them until they reluctantly went back out the door.

From the distance, they could see Grandmum holding the door open as the red-mustached man lugged a trunk inside. Even without looking, they all knew her wand was in her apron pocket.

"He's scared of magic," Roxanne listed. "He knows Grandmum, she called him a distant cousin, he knows about magic, he's staying here for the rest of summer, probably with that woman, but they only brought one trunk." She paused, and looked back up at her cousins. "It doesn't fit." The caramel skinned girl said.

Albus shook his head. "That's because we're missing parts of the puzzle that Grandmum's not telling us."

"Why are you still obsessing over this?" Roxanne's older brother, Fred, broke in. Unlike his sister, he was pale and covered in freckles, but his red hair broke out into an afro. "We're going to have to spend a whole summer with Muggle Man and Miss Poodle-Hair, don't you realize how boring it will be here?" Freddie yawned, although Rose wasn't sure if it was faked. Glancing around, she realized Fred was right. Lily was making long daisy chains and Hugo was diligently reading a book next to her; James and Louis had gone back to the Quidditch paddock and now Fred was chasing after them.

Grandmum Weasley came out then, fat brown chickens scrambling out of her way. Her expression was still rueful, although it had brightened considerably, from apocalyptic to ice age.

"Well," she began loudly, then quieted to normal. "isn't anyone hungry?"

A bell and starting gate could not have set her grandchildren off faster as they raced to the dining table for lunch. Rose and Louis were neck-to-neck when they all came to a crashing halt at the end of the table.

Across from them was a girl, with the same red hair as the man and Mrs. Poodle's black eyes. Rose realized that her too-dark eyes were oddly shaped similarly to a triangle. Orville Prewett and his wife were nowhere to be seen.

"Children," Grandmum's voice came out from behind them as James stumbled to a stop, bumping Rose's shoulder. "This is my third cousin, Mafalda Prewett and she'll be staying here for the summer."

The rushing sound from the pukey-beige car sounded as the car was started and driven away outside, quickly leaving Mafalda Prewett behind at the Burrow.

Lunch was the quietest Weasley meal Rose had ever attended.

"So, Mafalda," Grandmum said brightly as they sat down at the table, all of the cousins sneaking stares at her. "I think you'll have fun with all your new cousins, as most of them are your age and we usually have at least four Weasleys and Potters here most days."

Mafalda's triangle eyes flickered to her cousins, as if silently measuring herself against them. "How many cousins do I have?" Rose flared slightly at that as Grandmum flinched then regained herself.

"You have thirteen cousins Mafalda." Grandmum stood up and began walking around the table as she pointed out each chair where one of her grandchildren ordinarily sat. "Teddy—my surrogate grand-son;" she added proudly, "and Victoire but she started her internship at St. Mungo's so you won't see her here too often; Dominique sits here, but she won't be back till August; Lucy and Molly are the twins, you'll see them here tomorrow; these three are James, Fred and Louis, no, they're not triplets no matter how much they act it and don't accept anything especially a peace offering from them or else it will probably explode—Roxanne; Albus and Rose; Hugo, he's your age and will be starting at Hogwarts with you, so maybe you'll end up in the same house; and Lily." Grandmum rushed to finish as she settled back into her seat. In the time it took her to introduce them all, Rose had finished half her lunch. "Teddy and Victoire have graduated Hogwarts already and Lily is still too young, but the rest of them are all in Hogwarts and all in different houses, so no matter where you end up, you'll have someone to look out for you." Grandmum assured Mafalda.

Mafalda was going to Hogwarts? Rose stopped chewing and tried to digest this fact. She knew that Grandmum's maiden name had been Prewett so Mafalda had to be related to her, but why was she here?

Nobody except Grandmum spoke again during lunch, as Grandmum tried to get them talking as she acted interested in hearing about Mafalda's life but Mafalda didn't seem very interested in it. Finally, when Grandmum had given up talking to finish eating, she allowed them free from the table.

"Mafalda, perhaps you'd like to go unpack and settle in now," Grandmum suggested. "You're on the third floor in Ginny's old room—Rose, Roxanne, why don't you go help her and get to know each other," Grandmum trapped them with a suggestion that they be nice or else. Unwillingly, Rose and Roxanne trudged up after Mafalda to Aunt Ginny's old room. Nowadays, Grandmum kept it as a girl's guest room. Mercifully, Albus followed them up as the others fled outside.

When Mafalda reach the third floor landing and stepped into her new room and turned back to them.

"I can settle myself in," she said snootily before shutting the door.

The whole purpose of their trek defeated, Roxanne shrugged at them before she stampeded down the stairs to join the others. Albus shook his head at the door and kept going up the stairs. Rose stuck her tongue out at the door and followed after Albus to the top landing.

I'm back! And because of the great advertisement and long talks about the most random Harry Potter subjects you give me, this chapter is dedicated to you Ast!

So Year 2 begins! For those of you who are unfamiliar with my stories I suggest you start with Year 1: The Hallows of Hogwarts. I'd also like to mention that in the six months or so since I finished Year 1, I reworked every inch of this series and I am very excited for the future and I hope you will all be too.

On a more unfortunate note, I have a full schedule this summer (driver's ed, job, class, practice, sleep and repeat) and I will try to keep a constant update but we'll see how it goes. Fortunately though, I have finished school, have one year left to go and am done with math FOREVER!