adelaiderhosynweasley

[adelaiderhosynweasley]

Pain. Pain in her back, in her arms, the tightness in her chest as her heart tried to beat its way out of her rib cage in order to escape the absolute horror of whatever was happening inside of her. It was the main thing in Adelaide’s mind as she floated through the darkness of unconsciousness, no longer present, but more of a memory that she couldn’t escape from. It bothered her a great deal, this pain, but not nearly as much as the fear that came with it. There had been a moment, before the pain had become so severe she could no longer process it, that all she could see was sky-blue eyes full of a kind of terror she’d never seen there before. Gully’s eyes. That created another kind of ache, one in her heart that had her wishing she could reach out to help calm him or turn around to fight whatever it was behind her that had him so afraid. And yet, at the same time, Addie knew, that it wasn’t something else that had had her best mate looking at her like that. It had been Addie, herself. Though whether the fear had been of her or for her, she couldn’t tell. She needed to help him… To let him know everything was going to be okay. It was going to be okay, right? It had to be. The pain had subsided as she drifted, lingering more like a gentle annoyance now that she sensed, more than knew, would hurt again if she were to move. But she couldn’t move… Adelaide attempted it. To twitch her toes or her fingers, to crook a leg the way she liked when she was sleeping, but nothing. She was vaguely aware of her body every now and then, but it only lasted long enough for her to determine several things. First, she was lying on her stomach. Secondly, the surface beneath her was soft. And lastly, it smelt like antiseptic.

As time passed, Addie became more aware of what was happening around her. She could hear the rustle of fabric, the whisper of voices nearby so muffled that she couldn’t understand what they were saying. A gentle hand passed over the back of her head, stroking down her hair, the scent of wool and soap easing away the anxiety that was pressing at her. Her Mama was with her. This became even more apparent as Caerwyn’s voice rose, obviously still trying to remain quiet but unable to completely keep to a whisper.

“She’s going to fucking lose her mind without her Papa. I don’t fucking care what you have to fucking do, Harry Potter, but if you don’t get my goddamned fucking husband home before she wakes up, I’m going to shove one of my cocksucking boots so far up your boney ass you’ll wish you-… Fine. Fine. Just fucking… Get. Him. Here.” Caerwyn’s sigh was a heavy one as she hung up her phone, sinking down in the chair beside her daughter’s hospital bed. She hadn’t slept or eaten, just sat, staring down at her poor baby and waiting for Louis to show up. She hadn’t been alone of course. Rose had been her first call after she’d spoken to Vic, asking her to come fetch Rhydian and then get Owena from school when it let out. She didn’t need her younger two children seeing their sister in such a state, it would just frighten them. Fleur had arrived at the hospital right after Caerwyn, before she’d been allowed to see Addie yet. Vic and her co-matron had done what they needed to in order to make the teenager stable enough to travel from school, but there were still things that needed to be done in order to continue keeping her safe. Fleur had held Caerwyn, had let her cry onto her shoulder as the worry for her daughter had finally overcome her, unable to hold it in any longer. It had taken Vic a little longer to arrive. Apparently Gully was extremely upset, as was understandable, and he’d been fighting about being allowed to come once he’d realized that Addie had been taken to St. Mungo’s. Caerwyn, having been left behind when Louis’s Veela had fully shown itself in their sixth year, could understand the sentiment. They were best friends, that was for certain if the way they had played together over the summer was any indication. She knew the boy would be worried, had probably seen more than anyone his age should have to but… It wasn’t up to Caerwyn whether he should be allowed to come visit Addie. For now, there were other things the former Gryffindor had to worry about.

The Healers had asked what she wanted to do about her daughter’s wings.

Caerwyn had stared at them from across the desk in the small office they had taken her, Fleur, and Vic into in order to discuss matters in a more private setting than the waiting area. They had given her three options. Either they could wait for Addie’s wings to retract on their own, in which case, they would closely monitor the situation to make certain she stayed stable during the process but there was no telling how long it would take as everyone was different. They could use magic to remove the feathers that would grow back, force the wings back into Addie and seal the wounds shut or remove them entirely. It was this last one that had Caerwyn reeling. On the one hand, she never, ever, wanted Addie to have to go through the pain of having her wings come out again. On the other… it really wasn’t her choice to make. Bill and Fleur had allowed their own children to decide for themselves on what they wanted to do with their wings, had given them that option because, despite removing them solving so many future problems, they were still a part of their bodies. Adelaide was still young, but those wings still belonged to her. They could discuss it, weigh the pros and cons, but at the end of the day, it would have to be her choice. Louis… She needed Louis. He would have a better idea of what to do here, but he was in the field.

At the end of it, Caerwyn had chosen what felt like the least terrifying option of just allowing Addie’s wings to retract on their own for now. At least until she could talk to Louis and see what he thought about the second option. She wasn’t fully opposed to it, but it felt kind of.. violent. Taking off the feathers and forcing the wings back in. No, it was better to wait. So she did. She waited with Fleur and Vic in the waiting room and then, in the room where Addie had been placed. Her daughter was so pale, but she had been cleaned up. They had placed a hospital gown on her and laid her safely on her stomach, head turned so she could keep breathing. Caerwyn had stared down at her, at the gorgeous white wings spotted with bronze spread out on top of blanket that had been placed over Addie’s lower half, at the matching layer of feathers decorating her daughter’s arms. She had cried again, had stroked her baby’s hair and tried to ignore the bandages taking up the majority of Addie’s back. At some point, Nugget had been delivered, the chicken clucking with absolute indignation at having been left behind. The Healers had a small fit but it had quickly been resolved with the explanation of her being the girl’s familiar. Chickens were definitely not the standard. Nugget was quick to curl up between Addie’s knees, watching with a steely gaze any time someone so much as touched her girl but remaining calm otherwise.

It was in the wee hours of the morning that the Hufflepuff began to stir, her face grimacing. Caerwyn reached for her quickly, tightening her grip on the hand she was already holding and using the other to stroke at the side of Addie’s face.

“Shhh, it’s alright, babi. You’re alright, my little fucking Shit Nugget.” Caerwyn kissed at her temple and Addie calmed momentarily, her eyes opening. They spun with silver as she looked around, taking in the dim surrounding of the too-white room, her mother in the chair beside her. Addie grimaced as she shifted ever so slightly, her back burning. “Stay fucking still, love. Papa’s on his way.”

“G-gully…” Addie croaked out, her eyes searching around the room even further. She released her mother’s hand and tried to push upwards, but the pain in her back had her quickly deciding against it. Her head flopped back down onto the pillow. Gulliver…. He’d been so afraid. What had happened? She had been… She’d been so upset, sick in her chest. She’d found Gully in the Great Hall and he’d taken her someplace quiet, away from other people. It was blurry after that. Addie remembered the itching and burning in her arms and back, and then the fear in Gully’s eyes as he’d stared at her… then nothing. “Mama… Gully… where?”

“Shhh, babi. Gully’s at school. He’s fine.” Caerwyn promised, staring at her daughter with a bit of surprise. She’d been fully expecting her to ask for Louis the moment she woke up, as she always had. Whether it was nightmares or injuries, anxiety or excitement, it had always been Louis that Addie went to first or asked for.

“My phone…” Addie blinked, head turning again. Where had she left her phone? It had been in the back pocket of her jeans, but where had her jeans gone? She could tell by the sensation of the sheets against her legs that she wasn’t wearing them. She needed to find her phone. Needed to call Gully and make sure he was alright for herself. “Mama, my phone.”

“I don’t know where the fuck it is. It’s the middle of the fucking night, love.”

“No. No. Gully… I need to…” Addie squirmed slightly, wincing. Had her phone fallen out of her pocket? Had it ended up wherever her jeans had gone? “Mama, he was so scared… I have-” The Hufflepuff paused, finally noticing the feathers on her arms and the added weight on her back that hadn’t ever been there before. “Mama… What happened?”

That ‘Veela’ Shit

The summer had been probably one of the absolute best ones Adelaide had experienced in her life. After that first sleepover with Gulliver, it was like some kind of barrier had been broken down when it came to her parents and they had allowed the pair to hang out more. Most of the time, it was Gully who was coming over, where Louis and Caerwyn could keep a close eye on the pair to make sure there were no shenanigans going on that they wanted to avoid. Gulliver though, proved to be just as behind in his development as Addie and the more the Weasleys got to know him, the more comfortable they became with his presence. Well, Caerwyn and the kids had at least, but Louis was still wary, still overprotective. Sleeping bags were always stuck down to the floor in the living room, musicals were watched, instruments were shared, and sand was tracked into the house stuck in bathing suits. Beside the salted caramel jar in the cupboard, a similarily shaped one of hot fudge had become a kind of staple, Gully’s favorite snack the same way cheetos were Addie’s. It had gotten to the point where Adelaide was asking nearly every day if he could come over or if she could possibly go to his. That had only been allowed the once, Addie spending the night at the Stonefyres home among a multitude of other children who had all piled onto the living room floor in piles of blankets, pillows, and sleeping bags. Gully’s older sister had baked them all snacks, they had gone swimming down in the lake, had a large bonfire where the boy’s many assorted uncles had gladly helped the Ravenclaw learn some new tricks on her violin that had really improved her ability to play it. Adelaide had been sad to leave the next day, even if she was happy to see her own family again. All in all, the pair of young Ravenclaws had ended up having maybe two or three sleepovers a week by the time the summer was over. By the fifth one, Louis had given in and opted for allowing their fireplace to connect directly to the Stonefyres’ over the Floo Network, something he didn’t do lightly, but it was better than constantly taking the Knight Bus to retrieve the annoying little redhead. Obviously, the kids still had to ask permission, but it made it easier for them to see eachother. Addie had written to Sunny to see if she wanted to come over for a night, but the blonde had already been at Willow’s grandmother’s by that point, but they would see eachother when school started back up again. Their reunion had been a bit… awkward. The pair hadn’t spent the entire summer apart after first or second year, but the gap that had been there at the end of the school year had remained. Addie still loved Sunny dearly, still considered her one of her best friends, but there was no pretending that their interests had changed as the blonde embraced puberty and Addie remained behind.

Getting on the train on the first had been a tearful event, but not for the usual reason of Addie being anxious. Rather, she was excited for school to start back up, for the club to get going on their next play and maybe, if she had the balls enough, to perhaps try out for the Quidditch team . She had debated it the year before but decided against it, figuring she wouldn’t be good enough. After playing a pick up game with Gully’s sisters and cousins though, she was feeling more confidant about her abilities and thought, maybe, just maybe… Her Dad had been on the team in school and Quidditch was something Adelaide enjoyed even if she didn’t talk about it nearly as much as she did chickens or music. The tears that had really been shed that day had come from her two younger cousins, Briar and Thistle, who were off for their very first year. They would be twelve soon enough, late fall babies, but being slightly older didn’t exactly fully prepare them for being away from their parents and sisters for the first time ever. Addie had understood, fully, what they were going through and had kept them close throughout the journey, introducing them to other friends, watching them calm even further as Zander joined them in their compartment. Another familiar face. It had been a tight squeeze with all of them actually. Addie, the twins, Sunny, Willow, Zander, Gully, and then M’n’M who had tripped over her robes and ended up in Addie’s lap when she’d finally located them. There had been a lot of joking, pranks, snacks, and games to cheer the two younger girls up and by the time they were arriving, Briar and Thistle were looking a good deal more relaxed. Enough to be smiling, if nervous, during their sorting where they, thankfully, had been placed in the same house. Addie knew it would be a similar situation next year, when her own siblings would both be eleven. Owena would be absolutely fine, but Rhydian was… well, he was already begging to continue to be homeschooled.

The first few weeks of school passed in a blur. Adelaide had not been anticipating their work getting even harder than it had been the previous year when they’d added more classes to their schedules, but now that they had hit fourth year… Well, the professors were already talking about their O.W.Ls that they wouldn’t even be taking until the end of their fifth year! Even so, getting back into the groove of things, of seeing all of her friends, and being in the club room again after being gone for the summer was just as fun as Addie had been anticipating. Professor Mendes had greeted them all with a gentle smile when they had traipsed into the room for their first meeting of the year, though the poor man had been giggled at and informed, point blank by Gully that ‘Auntie Freya got lipstick on you again, Uncle Max.” The professor had turned pink and found a mirror to try and get the bright cherry red lip print off of his cheek while the club had settled into trying to decide what they were going to be doing for a play this winter. They would have three and a halfish months to prepare the cast, the scenery, the music, the props and costumes. There was a great smattering of agreement about doing the pirate show they all liked a good deal, but there was also a suggestion of putting on one of the classic Beedle stories. Before the brunette knew it, they were nearly a month into the school year and the postings for Quidditch try-outs had gone up. She had brought her broomstick along, a hand-me-down from her dad that was still in good condition, and signed up before she could psych herself out of it. Thus, it was on the pitch that Adelaide found herself on a slightly foggy Saturday morning, nerves and coffee coursing through her system due to a lack of sleep caused by anxiety. Her eyes shifted to the stands were she could see the familiar shock of Gulliver’s red hair. Sunny waved to her, a bright grin on her face while Zander locked Gully under one arm, trying to fight him for the piece of toast he’d brought along. Willow appeared, running up the steps, her arms containing snacks to keep them all refreshed while they watched the try-outs. Gully had been the only one not surprised when she’d mentioned she’d signed up, having already mentioned it to him over the summer, but all of her mates had pressed her with encouragement and now, they were here, ready to cheer her on.

Addie gulped, clutching her broom tightly as the Ravenclaw captain marched across the pitch in front of them, indicating where each of them should group up depending on which position they were aiming for. Adelaide joined the other potential Chasers, having the most practice with that particular position, and looked up at the stands again, brow furrowed with a nervousness she couldn’t hide completely behind a cool exterior like her parents might have been able to. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she glanced down at it.

‘You got this, Feathers.’

Addie smiled and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Yes, she had this. The worst thing that could happen would be she wouldn’t make the team and as disappointing as that would be, it wouldn’t kill her.

[adelaiderhosynweasley]

It was only Victoire’s years of training that kept her from losing her mind when she saw the tell-tale wings dripping blood on the floor of her clean infirmary from her niece’s back. She could not panic. She had to steal herself and push forward automatically as she would have for any other student in the same situation, using her wand to lift the limp body of someone she loved so dearly off of the struggling fourteen-year-old boy who had, somehow, hauled her here. She vaguely recalled calling for the other matron, needing immediate assistance in staunching the blood flow, unable to focus fully on anything else as her hands and wand flew. She knew this kind of damage, had seen it on her little brother’s back more than once, had felt the pain of it personally. Her shoulder blades twinged at the thought of it, but her own wings had been removed years ago, a choice she had made for herself in order to prevent it from ever happening again. Her parents had left it up to her, up to Dom, and to Louis, who had chosen to keep his, unable to fully let go of that part of himself despite the danger it put him in. But Addie… they had been so sure when she’d been born that she wasn’t going to have to deal with the same fate. Vic had been there, had seen the head of reassuring dark hair that spoke to a lack of veela magic lingering underneath. It had been the same with Owena’s bright red curls and Rhydian’s darker locks. None of those babies had had the tell-tale white feathery blonde at birth the same way she and her own siblings had. There had been no signs… Nothing. Of course, Adelaide had always had that temper of hers… Unexpectedly fierce when she was typically so mild-mannered in general, but with her parents, it hadn’t been entirely surprising. Why wouldn’t Louis and Caerwyn’s daughter have a bit of fire in her? It was only to be expected honestly. But this… Merlin, why hadn’t they double-checked? A simple spell would have given her a look at the bones inside her niece, enough to show her if there were wings tucked away. She should have checked.

It took the better part of an hour to get the blood under control, but Vic didn’t stop, not until she knew for certain Addie was going to be stable enough to move. She couldn’t put Addie’s wings back by herself though. They would either have to go back in on their own, or be forced inside by multiple Healers so they could fully seal her back up depending on whatever Louis and Caerwyn chose to do. Shit… Louis and Caerwyn. Victoire looked down at her bloody hands, knowing she would need to wash them before she contacted her family.

“Send to St. Mungo’s for an emergency extraction. She needs to go in.” Vic spoke firmly to the matron beside her, a slightly younger woman who’s eyes were wide. She was still new enough that it was unlikely she had ever seen anything like this before. “I’ll call her family to alert them of the situation.”

“Lupin, isn’t she your-”

“Go!” Victoire commanded, her voice harsher than she meant it to be. The other woman scrambled towards the office. Vic paused for a moment, taking a deep breathe as she ran her hands under the water of the closest sink, washing the blood off of her hands before pulling out her phone. Caerwyn was probably at home with the Rhydian and it was much too early for her to be fetching Owena from school. Louis… well, Vic didn’t know if he was home or at work or off on another mission. So Caerwyn it was. She dialed, waited for the phone to ring…

“...I swear to fucking god, if you set your cocksucking maths work on fire again, there will be no fucking ice cream after dinner tonight. Yeah, Vic?” Caerwyn’s answer was typical. Never a proper hello but there didn’t ever need to be one. They were too close for those kinds of typical niceties.

“Caerwyn.” Vic tried to keep the shaking out of her voice as she glanced at the form of her niece slumped on the bed, wings splayed open over her now bandaged back. No blood leaking through… Good.

“...What happened?” Caerwyn’s tone changed, automatically on high alert now. It was rare for Victoire to call her during the day like this, especially when she was probably at the school. Which meant something was going on with Addie.

“She’s fine. She’s going to be absolutely fine.” Victoire promised. “Caerwyn… Addie’s… She’s… Merlin… Caerwyn, Addie’s got wings.”

“No. No! She… She fucking doesn’t. She doesn’t. None of them…. They were all… fucking normal!” Caerwyn shouted but Victoire could hear the panic rising in her voice. She could still see her, that small sixteen-year old girl staring down Louis’s broken and bleeding body, the visceral screaming that had followed, and the way she’d passed out right next to him, unable to handle to sight of the man she loved in such a broken state. “Rhydian, get your fucking shoes on and don’t you dare argue with me right now, just fucking do it. Goddammit Louis!… No, Rhydian. Papa’s fine, don’t cry… How did she even… Why did they… How?”

“I don’t know yet, but I’ve got the bleeding stopped, she’s going to St. Mungo’s now, they’ve arrived. I’ll meet you there as soon as I can. I’ve got…” Vctoire’s eyes slide over to the young man currently slumped down against the wall, also splattered with blood. His white school shirt was probably done for, but that was the least of their worries. It took her only a couple of moments to recognize him. Addie’s mate, Gulliver Stonefyre. From what Louis had said or rather, complained about, the pair had become thick as thieves and he’d probably seen more of Gully that past summer than the boy’s own parents. Though, Vic felt he was probably embellishing that last bit at least a little bit. “I’ve got to tend to Gully first.”

“Gully? Is he alright?” Caerwyn asked, genuine concern for the boy filling her voice. She knew how she had felt seeing Louis with wings, and she had known about them beforehand. There was no telling how Gulliver was doing seeing Addie with hers… fuck, they hadn’t even known she had them.

“I think he’s in shock, but Caerwyn… He carried her here. All by himself. I don’t know how far, but…” Victoire shook her head, still unable to completely believe it even though she’d seen it with her own eyes. The pair of Ravenclaws were about the same height but last year, Gully had been substantially smaller than the rest of his peers, seeming to take more after his mother than his father. “He probably saved her life.”

“I fucking knew he was a good kid.” Caerwyn whispered. “Alright, I’ll see you there.”

“See you.” Vic hung up the phone and pocketed it before running the warm water in the sink again. This time though, she wetted a couple of wash clothes and wrung them out before carrying them and a dry towel over to Gulliver. She kneeled down in front of him, carefully reaching out to clutch at his wrists so she could pull his hands away from his face. Her voice was gentle as she spoke, as if he were a small animal that had curled up in a thicket to hide. “Everything is alright, Gully. Addie’s going to be just fine.” She removed his dirty glasses from his face, set them aside on the floor and lifted a cloth, stroking it down the side of his face to start removing some of the bits of dried blood that had settled on his skin. “You did well. Can you tell me what happened? I know it’s a very frightening thing to witness, especially when it’s someone you’re close to. If you don’t want to talk right now, we can just get you washed up and you can have a lie down in some clean pajamas. I could call your mum or dad or…. You have an older sister here still. Ophelia right? I could have someone fetch her for you or one of your mates. Whatever you want.”

That ‘Veela’ Shit

The summer had been probably one of the absolute best ones Adelaide had experienced in her life. After that first sleepover with Gulliver, it was like some kind of barrier had been broken down when it came to her parents and they had allowed the pair to hang out more. Most of the time, it was Gully who was coming over, where Louis and Caerwyn could keep a close eye on the pair to make sure there were no shenanigans going on that they wanted to avoid. Gulliver though, proved to be just as behind in his development as Addie and the more the Weasleys got to know him, the more comfortable they became with his presence. Well, Caerwyn and the kids had at least, but Louis was still wary, still overprotective. Sleeping bags were always stuck down to the floor in the living room, musicals were watched, instruments were shared, and sand was tracked into the house stuck in bathing suits. Beside the salted caramel jar in the cupboard, a similarily shaped one of hot fudge had become a kind of staple, Gully’s favorite snack the same way cheetos were Addie’s. It had gotten to the point where Adelaide was asking nearly every day if he could come over or if she could possibly go to his. That had only been allowed the once, Addie spending the night at the Stonefyres home among a multitude of other children who had all piled onto the living room floor in piles of blankets, pillows, and sleeping bags. Gully’s older sister had baked them all snacks, they had gone swimming down in the lake, had a large bonfire where the boy’s many assorted uncles had gladly helped the Ravenclaw learn some new tricks on her violin that had really improved her ability to play it. Adelaide had been sad to leave the next day, even if she was happy to see her own family again. All in all, the pair of young Ravenclaws had ended up having maybe two or three sleepovers a week by the time the summer was over. By the fifth one, Louis had given in and opted for allowing their fireplace to connect directly to the Stonefyres’ over the Floo Network, something he didn’t do lightly, but it was better than constantly taking the Knight Bus to retrieve the annoying little redhead. Obviously, the kids still had to ask permission, but it made it easier for them to see eachother. Addie had written to Sunny to see if she wanted to come over for a night, but the blonde had already been at Willow’s grandmother’s by that point, but they would see eachother when school started back up again. Their reunion had been a bit… awkward. The pair hadn’t spent the entire summer apart after first or second year, but the gap that had been there at the end of the school year had remained. Addie still loved Sunny dearly, still considered her one of her best friends, but there was no pretending that their interests had changed as the blonde embraced puberty and Addie remained behind.

Getting on the train on the first had been a tearful event, but not for the usual reason of Addie being anxious. Rather, she was excited for school to start back up, for the club to get going on their next play and maybe, if she had the balls enough, to perhaps try out for the Quidditch team . She had debated it the year before but decided against it, figuring she wouldn’t be good enough. After playing a pick up game with Gully’s sisters and cousins though, she was feeling more confidant about her abilities and thought, maybe, just maybe… Her Dad had been on the team in school and Quidditch was something Adelaide enjoyed even if she didn’t talk about it nearly as much as she did chickens or music. The tears that had really been shed that day had come from her two younger cousins, Briar and Thistle, who were off for their very first year. They would be twelve soon enough, late fall babies, but being slightly older didn’t exactly fully prepare them for being away from their parents and sisters for the first time ever. Addie had understood, fully, what they were going through and had kept them close throughout the journey, introducing them to other friends, watching them calm even further as Zander joined them in their compartment. Another familiar face. It had been a tight squeeze with all of them actually. Addie, the twins, Sunny, Willow, Zander, Gully, and then M’n’M who had tripped over her robes and ended up in Addie’s lap when she’d finally located them. There had been a lot of joking, pranks, snacks, and games to cheer the two younger girls up and by the time they were arriving, Briar and Thistle were looking a good deal more relaxed. Enough to be smiling, if nervous, during their sorting where they, thankfully, had been placed in the same house. Addie knew it would be a similar situation next year, when her own siblings would both be eleven. Owena would be absolutely fine, but Rhydian was… well, he was already begging to continue to be homeschooled.

The first few weeks of school passed in a blur. Adelaide had not been anticipating their work getting even harder than it had been the previous year when they’d added more classes to their schedules, but now that they had hit fourth year… Well, the professors were already talking about their O.W.Ls that they wouldn’t even be taking until the end of their fifth year! Even so, getting back into the groove of things, of seeing all of her friends, and being in the club room again after being gone for the summer was just as fun as Addie had been anticipating. Professor Mendes had greeted them all with a gentle smile when they had traipsed into the room for their first meeting of the year, though the poor man had been giggled at and informed, point blank by Gully that ‘Auntie Freya got lipstick on you again, Uncle Max.” The professor had turned pink and found a mirror to try and get the bright cherry red lip print off of his cheek while the club had settled into trying to decide what they were going to be doing for a play this winter. They would have three and a halfish months to prepare the cast, the scenery, the music, the props and costumes. There was a great smattering of agreement about doing the pirate show they all liked a good deal, but there was also a suggestion of putting on one of the classic Beedle stories. Before the brunette knew it, they were nearly a month into the school year and the postings for Quidditch try-outs had gone up. She had brought her broomstick along, a hand-me-down from her dad that was still in good condition, and signed up before she could psych herself out of it. Thus, it was on the pitch that Adelaide found herself on a slightly foggy Saturday morning, nerves and coffee coursing through her system due to a lack of sleep caused by anxiety. Her eyes shifted to the stands were she could see the familiar shock of Gulliver’s red hair. Sunny waved to her, a bright grin on her face while Zander locked Gully under one arm, trying to fight him for the piece of toast he’d brought along. Willow appeared, running up the steps, her arms containing snacks to keep them all refreshed while they watched the try-outs. Gully had been the only one not surprised when she’d mentioned she’d signed up, having already mentioned it to him over the summer, but all of her mates had pressed her with encouragement and now, they were here, ready to cheer her on.

Addie gulped, clutching her broom tightly as the Ravenclaw captain marched across the pitch in front of them, indicating where each of them should group up depending on which position they were aiming for. Adelaide joined the other potential Chasers, having the most practice with that particular position, and looked up at the stands again, brow furrowed with a nervousness she couldn’t hide completely behind a cool exterior like her parents might have been able to. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she glanced down at it.

‘You got this, Feathers.’

Addie smiled and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Yes, she had this. The worst thing that could happen would be she wouldn’t make the team and as disappointing as that would be, it wouldn’t kill her.

[adelaiderhosynweasley]

Warm. Gully was so warm as Addie locked her arms tightly around him, for once ignoring the chicken clucking excitedly by her feet. When had that happened? That, for the first time, Adelaide was seeking comfort from a peer instead of her beloved chicken who had gotten her through so many hurdles? As a child and still to this day, it was her Papa she usually went to, or Mama, depending on who was home, and then Nugget. In her first year, it had been her Tante Vic until she’d been allowed to have Nugget join her at school and managed to make friends with Sunny. Now, at fourteen, her stumbling feet had led her directly to the one person her heart knew she could rely on, if he was even speaking to her after the way she had been treating him for the past couple of weeks. She half expected him to push her off of him, to ask her what the bloody hell she was doing, but he didn’t. No, Gulliver, true to form, latched his arms around her as well, holding her to him as tightly as she as to him as she buried her sweaty face against his neck. Everything faded momentarily in that hug but was soon brought back by the words being spoken close to her ear, asking if she was okay. Addie couldn’t even bring herself to shake her head as the noise of the Great Hall hit her again. The scraping of the cutlery, Zander’s own question of what they should do, the fact that people, ever curious, were probably starting to stare. Ugh, Addie hated being stared at… Her shaking grew worse at the thought of it and she clutched onto the redhead even more firmly, refusing to release him even as he attempted to press her back a little bit. No. She wasn’t about to let go of Gully, not after two weeks of ignoring him, not when her heart was racing so rapidly in her chest she it was becoming difficult to breathe… If she passed out, surely he would catch her, right?

It was the gentle press of hips on her own and a knocking of feet that had Addie shifting ever so slightly. The promise of someplace private and quiet got her moving more, though she still didn’t relinquish her hold on Gully. She loosened up enough to start walking, shifting her arms from around his shoulders to his middle, turning so that they could see where they were going as he wrapped an arm protectively around her shoulders. The brunette closed her eyes, fingers curling tightly into the fabric of Gully’s shirt as he led her along, moving away from the cacophony of noise that was the Great Hall. It began to fade away, only replaced by the heavy thump-thump-thump of Adelaide’s rapidly beating heart. It pounded in her ears, as if she were underwater all of a sudden and her chest, it felt so tight. Her skin had gone from simply itching to burning in a way that made her want to dunk herself into an ice bath and she wouldn’t have been surprised if she had looked down to find her arms on actual fire. She opened her eyes as they stopped walking, blinking back tears that had already started to fall without her realizing it. Her lungs constricted even further and she let go of Gulliver, grabbing at her own shirt, trying to tug the collar away from her throat, as if that would help her breathe better. Her vision was going blurry. A vicious, stabbing pain shot across her back and she clenched her teeth, stumbling forward but held up by the fact that Gully now had his hands on her shoulders. What was it he was saying? Adelaide attempted to focus on his face, the familiar sky-blue eyes, the countless freckles and red curls skimming his brow. The world spun, her knees losing themselves to the jelly-like numbness that overtook them again. She grabbed at Gully as he hugged her, releasing a gasping breathe that felt as though she had been holding it for far too long. She tried to inhale… and found it more difficult than it had been just a few moments ago. It was getting worse. The beating in her brain, her tight chest, and now her throat… her arms, Merlin, they hurt, they hurt!

Adelaide held onto one of Gully’s shoulders as she tried to grab at her arm, to put the fire out that surely, surely, had to be there. She beat on her arm rapidly, unable to see the way blood had started to speckle the fabric of her sleeve, the hard bumps underneath her skin pressing upwards more and more and more… There was fire there, on both of her arms, on her shoulders, on her back!

“Put it out! Put it out!” Addie cried, shaking as she reached over her shoulder, searching for the pain that was there now. Her shoulder blades… The skin above them felt as if it were being sliced by a sharp knife while her arms were covered with a thousand little needles but on the inside. All of the pressure weighing down on her from trying to do too much. To keep up in class, to attend club, to do well in Quidditch, to not let her friends or family down, puberty in general… Every ounce of it pushed hard on Addie until her body began to mutiny against her, her emotions overwhelming her beyond anything she had ever experienced before in her life. Her eyes, swimming with tears, silvered, the metallic shade completely hiding away her usual, lovely brown. It swirled, bright and other-worldly as she released a scream and buckled.

Adelaide’s knees hit the stone floor as she released a screech that was unlike anything she had ever made before. One hand wrapped around her middle, the other holding her up a bit, fingers splayed flat and straining against the floor as her shirt began to tear. Feathers, white and speckled with bits of brown where they weren’t covered in blood, pressed free from the skin of her arms where the goosebumps had been previously. It was not the pain of these, though, that had Addie howling, but the rending of the flesh in her back as new appendages forced their way out of her back, ruining her shirt and splaying wide. Wings, covered with the same feathers as her arms, extended outwards behind the Ravenclaw, attached to her somewhere inside, where they had been hiding, lingering underneath her skin her entire life until it was time for them to show themselves. Addie, as it turned out, was even more like her father than anyone had ever expected her to be. No one in their family would have anticipated it, not with how diluted their blood had become with every single generation born. It shouldn’t have been wholly possible, and yet, it had happened. Unable to deal with the pain, with her body’s exhaustion, Addie slumped completely onto the floor, splayed out like a broken bird on the stones, as the world went dark.

That ‘Veela’ Shit

The summer had been probably one of the absolute best ones Adelaide had experienced in her life. After that first sleepover with Gulliver, it was like some kind of barrier had been broken down when it came to her parents and they had allowed the pair to hang out more. Most of the time, it was Gully who was coming over, where Louis and Caerwyn could keep a close eye on the pair to make sure there were no shenanigans going on that they wanted to avoid. Gulliver though, proved to be just as behind in his development as Addie and the more the Weasleys got to know him, the more comfortable they became with his presence. Well, Caerwyn and the kids had at least, but Louis was still wary, still overprotective. Sleeping bags were always stuck down to the floor in the living room, musicals were watched, instruments were shared, and sand was tracked into the house stuck in bathing suits. Beside the salted caramel jar in the cupboard, a similarily shaped one of hot fudge had become a kind of staple, Gully’s favorite snack the same way cheetos were Addie’s. It had gotten to the point where Adelaide was asking nearly every day if he could come over or if she could possibly go to his. That had only been allowed the once, Addie spending the night at the Stonefyres home among a multitude of other children who had all piled onto the living room floor in piles of blankets, pillows, and sleeping bags. Gully’s older sister had baked them all snacks, they had gone swimming down in the lake, had a large bonfire where the boy’s many assorted uncles had gladly helped the Ravenclaw learn some new tricks on her violin that had really improved her ability to play it. Adelaide had been sad to leave the next day, even if she was happy to see her own family again. All in all, the pair of young Ravenclaws had ended up having maybe two or three sleepovers a week by the time the summer was over. By the fifth one, Louis had given in and opted for allowing their fireplace to connect directly to the Stonefyres’ over the Floo Network, something he didn’t do lightly, but it was better than constantly taking the Knight Bus to retrieve the annoying little redhead. Obviously, the kids still had to ask permission, but it made it easier for them to see eachother. Addie had written to Sunny to see if she wanted to come over for a night, but the blonde had already been at Willow’s grandmother’s by that point, but they would see eachother when school started back up again. Their reunion had been a bit… awkward. The pair hadn’t spent the entire summer apart after first or second year, but the gap that had been there at the end of the school year had remained. Addie still loved Sunny dearly, still considered her one of her best friends, but there was no pretending that their interests had changed as the blonde embraced puberty and Addie remained behind.

Getting on the train on the first had been a tearful event, but not for the usual reason of Addie being anxious. Rather, she was excited for school to start back up, for the club to get going on their next play and maybe, if she had the balls enough, to perhaps try out for the Quidditch team . She had debated it the year before but decided against it, figuring she wouldn’t be good enough. After playing a pick up game with Gully’s sisters and cousins though, she was feeling more confidant about her abilities and thought, maybe, just maybe… Her Dad had been on the team in school and Quidditch was something Adelaide enjoyed even if she didn’t talk about it nearly as much as she did chickens or music. The tears that had really been shed that day had come from her two younger cousins, Briar and Thistle, who were off for their very first year. They would be twelve soon enough, late fall babies, but being slightly older didn’t exactly fully prepare them for being away from their parents and sisters for the first time ever. Addie had understood, fully, what they were going through and had kept them close throughout the journey, introducing them to other friends, watching them calm even further as Zander joined them in their compartment. Another familiar face. It had been a tight squeeze with all of them actually. Addie, the twins, Sunny, Willow, Zander, Gully, and then M’n’M who had tripped over her robes and ended up in Addie’s lap when she’d finally located them. There had been a lot of joking, pranks, snacks, and games to cheer the two younger girls up and by the time they were arriving, Briar and Thistle were looking a good deal more relaxed. Enough to be smiling, if nervous, during their sorting where they, thankfully, had been placed in the same house. Addie knew it would be a similar situation next year, when her own siblings would both be eleven. Owena would be absolutely fine, but Rhydian was… well, he was already begging to continue to be homeschooled.

The first few weeks of school passed in a blur. Adelaide had not been anticipating their work getting even harder than it had been the previous year when they’d added more classes to their schedules, but now that they had hit fourth year… Well, the professors were already talking about their O.W.Ls that they wouldn’t even be taking until the end of their fifth year! Even so, getting back into the groove of things, of seeing all of her friends, and being in the club room again after being gone for the summer was just as fun as Addie had been anticipating. Professor Mendes had greeted them all with a gentle smile when they had traipsed into the room for their first meeting of the year, though the poor man had been giggled at and informed, point blank by Gully that ‘Auntie Freya got lipstick on you again, Uncle Max.” The professor had turned pink and found a mirror to try and get the bright cherry red lip print off of his cheek while the club had settled into trying to decide what they were going to be doing for a play this winter. They would have three and a halfish months to prepare the cast, the scenery, the music, the props and costumes. There was a great smattering of agreement about doing the pirate show they all liked a good deal, but there was also a suggestion of putting on one of the classic Beedle stories. Before the brunette knew it, they were nearly a month into the school year and the postings for Quidditch try-outs had gone up. She had brought her broomstick along, a hand-me-down from her dad that was still in good condition, and signed up before she could psych herself out of it. Thus, it was on the pitch that Adelaide found herself on a slightly foggy Saturday morning, nerves and coffee coursing through her system due to a lack of sleep caused by anxiety. Her eyes shifted to the stands were she could see the familiar shock of Gulliver’s red hair. Sunny waved to her, a bright grin on her face while Zander locked Gully under one arm, trying to fight him for the piece of toast he’d brought along. Willow appeared, running up the steps, her arms containing snacks to keep them all refreshed while they watched the try-outs. Gully had been the only one not surprised when she’d mentioned she’d signed up, having already mentioned it to him over the summer, but all of her mates had pressed her with encouragement and now, they were here, ready to cheer her on.

Addie gulped, clutching her broom tightly as the Ravenclaw captain marched across the pitch in front of them, indicating where each of them should group up depending on which position they were aiming for. Adelaide joined the other potential Chasers, having the most practice with that particular position, and looked up at the stands again, brow furrowed with a nervousness she couldn’t hide completely behind a cool exterior like her parents might have been able to. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she glanced down at it.

‘You got this, Feathers.’

Addie smiled and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Yes, she had this. The worst thing that could happen would be she wouldn’t make the team and as disappointing as that would be, it wouldn’t kill her.

[adelaiderhosynweasley]

Addie didn’t talk to Gully or MnM for a whole week after the incident in the closet. She was upset, severely so, but in a kind of hurt way that she purposely forced into anger so that it wouldn’t ache so badly when she was brooding to herself about what had happened. Her mates, at least two of them, thought that she couldn’t handle herself and with that came the underlying worry that they didn’t want her around if they were even so much as suggesting she cut back a bit on their club meetings. Despite her outward stiff upper lip and fierce resolve when it came to conflict, Adelaide had always been a gentle soul hiding underneath. She had struggled terribly in primary school, enough of an odd duck that the other children hadn’t always been kind to her. People she had thought were her friends had shunned her away for being weird. They didn’t like that she talked so much about chickens, didn’t like the strange things that happened around her that no one could really explain. Her anxiety issues hadn’t helped in the least but she had stuck through it if only to make her parents proud of her. It wasn’t as if she was Rhydian who suffered from something more serious than just nerves. Her little brother had it much worse than she did and it made total sense for him to be home schooled for all of the basic stuff. But Addie wasn’t a little kid anymore. She was fourteen. She could handle things herself now. She didn’t need her Mama cuddling her after a rough day on the playground or her Papa holding her while they danced to one of their favorite songs with her head on his shoulder. She also didn’t need mates who were going to talk about her behind her back. If that’s how they were going to be… then… then she would just not speak to them.

The brunette barely thanked Sunny when she returned her bag to her, all of her things clean and her usual crumpled up bits of parchment flattened back out and placed into the correct folders. Everything had been organized back into a much more manageable state that would maybe last a few days before she started just shoving stuff into it again in her haste to get to where she was going next. It was how she’d always been despite the lack of trying. The blonde had simply smiled and told her she’d wait for Addie to get dressed before they headed down to breakfast together. Usually, Sunny was rearing to get going to meet up with Willow with the full knowledge that Gully would usually be waiting for Addie in the common room anyway. The smile had faded when she’d seen the red scratches all over her friend’s arms and back, parts pink and others slightly open and looking as if they’d bled a bit.

“Probably just allergies, I’ll shower and go see Tante Vic if it continues.” Addie had promised sullenly, not able to figure out what else it could possibly be. She’d never been so itchy in all her life to be honest. It had eased up during the school day and practice when she was distracted but got worse again at night but by then… Well, if she got caught out of bed, she’d probably just end up with detention. She’d go in the morning. Over and over again, but every morning she felt better and there was no time. She had to get dressed, get to class, go to Quidditch or Nugget club and by the time she remembered, she was already passing out again. Maybe there was a new soap being used on their clothes or something. Addie didn’t even tell her parents about it. Her Papa was away on another mission and her Mama would just worry. If she told them what was going on, would they think the same as her supposed friends? That she couldn’t handle everything she was doing? She didn’t even want to think about it and by the time the weekend was rolling around, Addie figured she could just go to morning practice and visit the Hospital Wing afterwards.

“Weasley! That was a wide open opportunity!” Addie flinched slight as the Captain called her out for the third time that morning already. The itching had gotten worse last night to the point where she really hadn’t slept much. Now she was groggy, had missed breakfast, and wasn’t playing nearly up to her usual standard. To make matters worse, she had a slew of homework to catch up on later and, to be honest, her heart was aching. It was a strange kind of sensation, having an achy heart. Now, it wasn’t like Addie had never experienced such a thing, but it had never been quite this bad or long lived. Despite herself, despite her resolved, the Ravenclaw found herself desperately missing Gulliver. They had been nearly inseparable the end of last year, and then again over the summer once reunited and into this year. It wasn’t the same kind of hurt she’d had when she’d realized she and Sunny weren’t as close as they had once been. It was a stronger, more palpable sensation that something terribly important to her was no longer there. As if a piece of her had been taken away without any kind of visible wound. Addie was fully aware that Gully had become her best mate, that he was the one she usually sought out above all of their other friends, but she hadn’t completely recognized just how severely reliant on that connection she had become.

Maybe she should apologize. Would he even want to hear it? She had been cold to him all week, turning her head away when he’d tried to speak to her the day after she’d yelled at him. Had ignored him to the point where he’d seemed to understand that she didn’t want to talk to him. Adelaide hadn’t sat next to him in class or meals, hadn’t acknowledged him at club meetings and was treating MnM exactly the same way. But it was different with Gully… She wasn’t close to MnM in the same way. Addie also wasn’t sure she’d been totally in the wrong aside from yelling at them… was she? Gully had said he wanted to talk, but saying she had too much on her plate… To imply she was incapable of doing all of the things she wanted to do had hurt to hear. Because maybe it was true… Maybe she wasn’t able to do everything and her poor performance at practice proved that. She let the arm holding her bat fall a bit and sighed.

“I don’t feel well, I’m gonna go to the hospital wing.” Addie headed for the ground before the captain could respond, landing hard and barely setting her bat back down with the rest of the supplies before tossing her broom onto her shoulder and heading for the castle. She was sweating but it quickly cooled in the mildly foggy autumn air. She hadn’t bothered to retrieve her hoodie from the locker room, but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered at the moment except getting to the safe sanctuary of her auntie because how was she supposed to do it all? Keep up with her classes, go to every club meeting, and Quidditch practice. She had class, homework, projects, music to edit, a small band to train up, costumes and scenery to help create, dancers to play for so the timing could be perfect to live music, a costume room to organize, a million plays to learn, teammates to build chemistry with, and all of this goddamned motherfucking itching!

Addie nearly dropped her broomstick as she hissed and reached around for her back, trying to scratch at the prickling, pin-like sensation that felt as if it was crawling underneath her skin. She picked up her pace a bit, pushing rapidly through the big oak doors to the castle and then she did drip her broom. Because he was right there. Red hair bright against the gray of the castle stones, grease smeared on both hands and one cheek, looking completely comfortable in his regular Muggle clothes because it was the weekend and Nugget at his heels. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

Adelaide stared at Gully, a tight sensation starting to well up in her chest. She reached up to grasp at the front of her shirt, tugging at it to try and relieve some of the pressure but it did nothing to help with the constriction. She stumbled forward a bit, let go of her shirt and reached for an arm, pushing up a sleeve so that her nails could bite at the already tender, scratched up skin. It did nothing to relieve the relentless itching but she kept scratching, not noticing the way her skin was pimpling with goosebumps because if she made it burn then maybe it would feel better than the itching at least. She blinked a few times, wondering when the castle had gotten so loud. She could hear other students in the Great Hall finishing up a late breakfast. Their voices, the scrape of forks against plates, of laughter and the grating of wood against stones. It had been cold outside but Addie was feeling hot, too hot all of the sudden when normally the school was actually a bit on the chilly side. Her legs were going numb, why were they going numb? The sounds in the Great Hall faded a bit, replaced by a thrumming in her ears that turned into a steady pounding that increased in pace the more she focused on it. Addie grabbed at her shirt again, her stomach twisting as she felt her heart beating, beating, beating, as if it were trying to escape right out of her chest. Was this what a heart attack felt like? Addie’s eyes dashed around the room as her breathing increased, trying to get enough air because why was the air suddenly so thin in here. Those brown orbs fell onto blue ones and, trembling, Addie moved forward again, heading for what felt like the only safe spot right now as tears began to leak from her eyes.

Heading for Gully.

That ‘Veela’ Shit

The summer had been probably one of the absolute best ones Adelaide had experienced in her life. After that first sleepover with Gulliver, it was like some kind of barrier had been broken down when it came to her parents and they had allowed the pair to hang out more. Most of the time, it was Gully who was coming over, where Louis and Caerwyn could keep a close eye on the pair to make sure there were no shenanigans going on that they wanted to avoid. Gulliver though, proved to be just as behind in his development as Addie and the more the Weasleys got to know him, the more comfortable they became with his presence. Well, Caerwyn and the kids had at least, but Louis was still wary, still overprotective. Sleeping bags were always stuck down to the floor in the living room, musicals were watched, instruments were shared, and sand was tracked into the house stuck in bathing suits. Beside the salted caramel jar in the cupboard, a similarily shaped one of hot fudge had become a kind of staple, Gully’s favorite snack the same way cheetos were Addie’s. It had gotten to the point where Adelaide was asking nearly every day if he could come over or if she could possibly go to his. That had only been allowed the once, Addie spending the night at the Stonefyres home among a multitude of other children who had all piled onto the living room floor in piles of blankets, pillows, and sleeping bags. Gully’s older sister had baked them all snacks, they had gone swimming down in the lake, had a large bonfire where the boy’s many assorted uncles had gladly helped the Ravenclaw learn some new tricks on her violin that had really improved her ability to play it. Adelaide had been sad to leave the next day, even if she was happy to see her own family again. All in all, the pair of young Ravenclaws had ended up having maybe two or three sleepovers a week by the time the summer was over. By the fifth one, Louis had given in and opted for allowing their fireplace to connect directly to the Stonefyres’ over the Floo Network, something he didn’t do lightly, but it was better than constantly taking the Knight Bus to retrieve the annoying little redhead. Obviously, the kids still had to ask permission, but it made it easier for them to see eachother. Addie had written to Sunny to see if she wanted to come over for a night, but the blonde had already been at Willow’s grandmother’s by that point, but they would see eachother when school started back up again. Their reunion had been a bit… awkward. The pair hadn’t spent the entire summer apart after first or second year, but the gap that had been there at the end of the school year had remained. Addie still loved Sunny dearly, still considered her one of her best friends, but there was no pretending that their interests had changed as the blonde embraced puberty and Addie remained behind.

Getting on the train on the first had been a tearful event, but not for the usual reason of Addie being anxious. Rather, she was excited for school to start back up, for the club to get going on their next play and maybe, if she had the balls enough, to perhaps try out for the Quidditch team . She had debated it the year before but decided against it, figuring she wouldn’t be good enough. After playing a pick up game with Gully’s sisters and cousins though, she was feeling more confidant about her abilities and thought, maybe, just maybe… Her Dad had been on the team in school and Quidditch was something Adelaide enjoyed even if she didn’t talk about it nearly as much as she did chickens or music. The tears that had really been shed that day had come from her two younger cousins, Briar and Thistle, who were off for their very first year. They would be twelve soon enough, late fall babies, but being slightly older didn’t exactly fully prepare them for being away from their parents and sisters for the first time ever. Addie had understood, fully, what they were going through and had kept them close throughout the journey, introducing them to other friends, watching them calm even further as Zander joined them in their compartment. Another familiar face. It had been a tight squeeze with all of them actually. Addie, the twins, Sunny, Willow, Zander, Gully, and then M’n’M who had tripped over her robes and ended up in Addie’s lap when she’d finally located them. There had been a lot of joking, pranks, snacks, and games to cheer the two younger girls up and by the time they were arriving, Briar and Thistle were looking a good deal more relaxed. Enough to be smiling, if nervous, during their sorting where they, thankfully, had been placed in the same house. Addie knew it would be a similar situation next year, when her own siblings would both be eleven. Owena would be absolutely fine, but Rhydian was… well, he was already begging to continue to be homeschooled.

The first few weeks of school passed in a blur. Adelaide had not been anticipating their work getting even harder than it had been the previous year when they’d added more classes to their schedules, but now that they had hit fourth year… Well, the professors were already talking about their O.W.Ls that they wouldn’t even be taking until the end of their fifth year! Even so, getting back into the groove of things, of seeing all of her friends, and being in the club room again after being gone for the summer was just as fun as Addie had been anticipating. Professor Mendes had greeted them all with a gentle smile when they had traipsed into the room for their first meeting of the year, though the poor man had been giggled at and informed, point blank by Gully that ‘Auntie Freya got lipstick on you again, Uncle Max.” The professor had turned pink and found a mirror to try and get the bright cherry red lip print off of his cheek while the club had settled into trying to decide what they were going to be doing for a play this winter. They would have three and a halfish months to prepare the cast, the scenery, the music, the props and costumes. There was a great smattering of agreement about doing the pirate show they all liked a good deal, but there was also a suggestion of putting on one of the classic Beedle stories. Before the brunette knew it, they were nearly a month into the school year and the postings for Quidditch try-outs had gone up. She had brought her broomstick along, a hand-me-down from her dad that was still in good condition, and signed up before she could psych herself out of it. Thus, it was on the pitch that Adelaide found herself on a slightly foggy Saturday morning, nerves and coffee coursing through her system due to a lack of sleep caused by anxiety. Her eyes shifted to the stands were she could see the familiar shock of Gulliver’s red hair. Sunny waved to her, a bright grin on her face while Zander locked Gully under one arm, trying to fight him for the piece of toast he’d brought along. Willow appeared, running up the steps, her arms containing snacks to keep them all refreshed while they watched the try-outs. Gully had been the only one not surprised when she’d mentioned she’d signed up, having already mentioned it to him over the summer, but all of her mates had pressed her with encouragement and now, they were here, ready to cheer her on.

Addie gulped, clutching her broom tightly as the Ravenclaw captain marched across the pitch in front of them, indicating where each of them should group up depending on which position they were aiming for. Adelaide joined the other potential Chasers, having the most practice with that particular position, and looked up at the stands again, brow furrowed with a nervousness she couldn’t hide completely behind a cool exterior like her parents might have been able to. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she glanced down at it.

‘You got this, Feathers.’

Addie smiled and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Yes, she had this. The worst thing that could happen would be she wouldn’t make the team and as disappointing as that would be, it wouldn’t kill her.

[adelaiderhosynweasley]

“Talk.” Addie repeated, her brow knitted with concern as it always did when someone would bring up talking about, well, anything. Typically, when someone said they wanted to talk it would be about something serious. If it wasn’t, well, they would just say what was on their mind wouldn’t they? Addie knew Gully well enough to know that what he wanted to discuss was something along those lines, because why else would he want to speak privately? Her stomach began to churn, knotting up in a way that it had started doing more and more often lately. She hadn’t experience this much tummy twisting in ages, not since her first few weeks of Hogwarts when she’d been eleven and trying to figure things out. Back then, she had been anxious almost all the time, but spending most of her free time in the Hospital Wing with Vic had helped. Now she was older and she could handle it on her own. She didn’t need to go whining to her auntie over silly things like the anxiety she should have the ability to deal with by herself now. It wasn’t like she was some little kid who needed her Papa to make every thing better the way she had when she’d first started primary school. So Addie did her best to ignore the sensation, focusing her attention on her best mate’s face, a frown on her own. “Yeah, sure.”

Pushing up from her chair, Addie stumbled a bit over her own feet, reaching a hand out rapidly to grab at the table to recenter herself. She’d been doing that more lately. Tripping or knocking things over, as if she wasn’t entirely sure of where her body was in relation to objects. It was normal behavior for her to be clumsy, she always had been, but this was… different. Maybe she was going through another growth spurt. Ugh she was tired. She reached up, rubbing at her forehead where it had started to ache a bit. Her eyes were starting to hurt too… maybe some more coffee… Addie turned a bit, looking for her water bottle but it wasn’t on the table she’d been working at. Where had she left it? She’d just have to find it before she left the club room, it had to be around here somewhere. And if she didn’t locate it, one of her mates would and return it to her. For now, she trailed after Gulliver, heading into the costume closet that definitely needed to be reorganized but another day. Addie put it into her mental list of things to do, even if it was mainly MnM’s responsibility at this point. She couldn’t always reach the higher up racks though… Addie physically shook the thought from her head for the time being. It wasn’t a big deal. The costume closet only really needed to be organized when they were closer to the show anyway and that was a couple months off still.

Once the door had closed, Addie leaned up against the door frame, her posture mimicking Gully’s as she crossed her own arms over her chest. She’d already changed into a t-shirt and track pants, but he was still in his uniform, the sleeves of his white shirt pushed up to his elbows as he tended to do. She could see bits of grease streaked on his forearms, as was usual, and bits of paint from set building. He had a bit of a grease stain on the collar of his shirt again, but somehow the house elves always managed to get the stains out no matter how bad they got. He never noticed his clothes getting dirty until he was finished with whatever project he was working on or had to pause on it. On occasion, the other would chide him for it, but it never bothered Addie. That was just how Gully was. Now, as he leaned back against the counter, the brunette glanced from his arms to his face, his expression unusually serious. Her nerves tightened, but then loosened back down a bit as he relaxed his posture, switching his hands to his pockets in that way he had. Addie didn’t allow her own arms to drop, on alert, but the crease between her eyebrows did lessen a bit.

“Too much on my plate?” The Ravenclaw bristled at that, standing up straighter as Gully explained that he was worried about her. But ‘we’, he’d said before correcting himself. So it wasn’t just him… and M’n’M had been the one to mention talking to her. Which meant at least two of her friends had been discussing her without her knowledge. She knew she had been tired, had been messing up a little more than usual but… Well, she was doing her best. Now, on a regular day, Addie didn’t enjoy being told she was incapable of doing things, or feeling like that was what was being said. She was fiercely independent in that aspect. Today though, she was particularly tired, her head was hurting, and she knew she was definitely falling behind even if she didn’t want to admit it. Gully’s words, though meant to be helpful and kind, cut through her like a knife of accusation. He didn’t think she could keep up. That she was incapable of doing all the things she wanted to and he was supposed to be her best friend. If he didn’t believe in her… “What, so you think I can’t handle things? You and whoever else has been talking about me behind my back? Thanks a lot, Gully.”

Addie straightened up to her full height, her nose wrinkling in that way it did when she was angry. Her arms dropped and she marched forward, shoving a finger into Gully’s chest as she leaned in, getting right into his face. It was easier now that they were the same height. “For your information, Gulliver Stonefyre, I’m doing perfectly fine. I don’t need any help! D’you guys just… just not want me around? Is that it? Are you mad that I chose to try for Quidditch and made it and I don’t have as much time to dedicate to the club right now? And here I was, thinking you lot were all happy for me!”Addie’s voice rose in volume gradually until she was shouting, face going red with anger as her eyes pricked ever so slightly with tears that she refused to allow to fall. She backed away, tripping backwards on a hanger that had been left on the floor. Her back hit the wall, keeping her from falling completely. “Well I’m fine! Just… fine!” She reiterated even more loudly now, enough that the door opened and Sunny poked her head in.

“You guys good?” The blonde asked, the tips of her hair singed on one side as though she had accidentally set it on fire within the last several hours.

“We’re fine!” Addie shouted, kicking at the door frame hard enough that it cracked a bit and causing Sunny to jump. She pushed out of the closet, moving past Sunny and stomping across the room to where she had left her bag. She snatched it up from the floor, slinging it over a shoulder without realizing the strap had twisted so that her bag was up-side-down. The flap opened, spilling her bags contents all over the floor. Ink bottles cracked leaking into parchment and books. Her red water bottle rolled, the metal now dented in slightly on the bottom. Addie stood there for a moment, staring down at her things before she released a frustrated yell, slammed her bag down on the floor on top of the mess of her things and marched out of the classroom with her fists clenched at her sides. She slammed the door behind her, her pace picking up as she moved down the corridor. How dare Gully think she couldn’t handle everything she was doing. She was perfectly capable of keeping up with her school work, the club, and Quidditch. So what if she wasn’t getting enough sleep? She would be alright, it was just part of getting older. Addie’s feet moved faster, breaking into a run even as the tears began to finally leak out from her eyes as she raced for Ravenclaw Tower and the solace of the dorms.

Addie collapsed onto her bed, curling up and not even bothering to kick off her shoes as she buried her face into her pillow. Her hand sought out the ragged stuffed chicken hidden underneath it, hand wrapping tightly around Chicky’s neck as she had always done. The skin on her arms was itchy, prickling again in a way that was so uncomfortable it had her scratching at them. Her back, too, was starting to get the same sensation right around her shoulder blades. It was frustrating to the point she was tugging both her shirt and bralette off, trying to scratch at the skin there as well. She rolled over as Nugget hopped up onto the bed, clucking softly in that way she had whenever Addie was upset about something. The Ravenclaw reached for her chicken, hugging her close. She only stopped crying when she finally fell asleep, arms and back red from scratching.

That ‘Veela’ Shit

The summer had been probably one of the absolute best ones Adelaide had experienced in her life. After that first sleepover with Gulliver, it was like some kind of barrier had been broken down when it came to her parents and they had allowed the pair to hang out more. Most of the time, it was Gully who was coming over, where Louis and Caerwyn could keep a close eye on the pair to make sure there were no shenanigans going on that they wanted to avoid. Gulliver though, proved to be just as behind in his development as Addie and the more the Weasleys got to know him, the more comfortable they became with his presence. Well, Caerwyn and the kids had at least, but Louis was still wary, still overprotective. Sleeping bags were always stuck down to the floor in the living room, musicals were watched, instruments were shared, and sand was tracked into the house stuck in bathing suits. Beside the salted caramel jar in the cupboard, a similarily shaped one of hot fudge had become a kind of staple, Gully’s favorite snack the same way cheetos were Addie’s. It had gotten to the point where Adelaide was asking nearly every day if he could come over or if she could possibly go to his. That had only been allowed the once, Addie spending the night at the Stonefyres home among a multitude of other children who had all piled onto the living room floor in piles of blankets, pillows, and sleeping bags. Gully’s older sister had baked them all snacks, they had gone swimming down in the lake, had a large bonfire where the boy’s many assorted uncles had gladly helped the Ravenclaw learn some new tricks on her violin that had really improved her ability to play it. Adelaide had been sad to leave the next day, even if she was happy to see her own family again. All in all, the pair of young Ravenclaws had ended up having maybe two or three sleepovers a week by the time the summer was over. By the fifth one, Louis had given in and opted for allowing their fireplace to connect directly to the Stonefyres’ over the Floo Network, something he didn’t do lightly, but it was better than constantly taking the Knight Bus to retrieve the annoying little redhead. Obviously, the kids still had to ask permission, but it made it easier for them to see eachother. Addie had written to Sunny to see if she wanted to come over for a night, but the blonde had already been at Willow’s grandmother’s by that point, but they would see eachother when school started back up again. Their reunion had been a bit… awkward. The pair hadn’t spent the entire summer apart after first or second year, but the gap that had been there at the end of the school year had remained. Addie still loved Sunny dearly, still considered her one of her best friends, but there was no pretending that their interests had changed as the blonde embraced puberty and Addie remained behind.

Getting on the train on the first had been a tearful event, but not for the usual reason of Addie being anxious. Rather, she was excited for school to start back up, for the club to get going on their next play and maybe, if she had the balls enough, to perhaps try out for the Quidditch team . She had debated it the year before but decided against it, figuring she wouldn’t be good enough. After playing a pick up game with Gully’s sisters and cousins though, she was feeling more confidant about her abilities and thought, maybe, just maybe… Her Dad had been on the team in school and Quidditch was something Adelaide enjoyed even if she didn’t talk about it nearly as much as she did chickens or music. The tears that had really been shed that day had come from her two younger cousins, Briar and Thistle, who were off for their very first year. They would be twelve soon enough, late fall babies, but being slightly older didn’t exactly fully prepare them for being away from their parents and sisters for the first time ever. Addie had understood, fully, what they were going through and had kept them close throughout the journey, introducing them to other friends, watching them calm even further as Zander joined them in their compartment. Another familiar face. It had been a tight squeeze with all of them actually. Addie, the twins, Sunny, Willow, Zander, Gully, and then M’n’M who had tripped over her robes and ended up in Addie’s lap when she’d finally located them. There had been a lot of joking, pranks, snacks, and games to cheer the two younger girls up and by the time they were arriving, Briar and Thistle were looking a good deal more relaxed. Enough to be smiling, if nervous, during their sorting where they, thankfully, had been placed in the same house. Addie knew it would be a similar situation next year, when her own siblings would both be eleven. Owena would be absolutely fine, but Rhydian was… well, he was already begging to continue to be homeschooled.

The first few weeks of school passed in a blur. Adelaide had not been anticipating their work getting even harder than it had been the previous year when they’d added more classes to their schedules, but now that they had hit fourth year… Well, the professors were already talking about their O.W.Ls that they wouldn’t even be taking until the end of their fifth year! Even so, getting back into the groove of things, of seeing all of her friends, and being in the club room again after being gone for the summer was just as fun as Addie had been anticipating. Professor Mendes had greeted them all with a gentle smile when they had traipsed into the room for their first meeting of the year, though the poor man had been giggled at and informed, point blank by Gully that ‘Auntie Freya got lipstick on you again, Uncle Max.” The professor had turned pink and found a mirror to try and get the bright cherry red lip print off of his cheek while the club had settled into trying to decide what they were going to be doing for a play this winter. They would have three and a halfish months to prepare the cast, the scenery, the music, the props and costumes. There was a great smattering of agreement about doing the pirate show they all liked a good deal, but there was also a suggestion of putting on one of the classic Beedle stories. Before the brunette knew it, they were nearly a month into the school year and the postings for Quidditch try-outs had gone up. She had brought her broomstick along, a hand-me-down from her dad that was still in good condition, and signed up before she could psych herself out of it. Thus, it was on the pitch that Adelaide found herself on a slightly foggy Saturday morning, nerves and coffee coursing through her system due to a lack of sleep caused by anxiety. Her eyes shifted to the stands were she could see the familiar shock of Gulliver’s red hair. Sunny waved to her, a bright grin on her face while Zander locked Gully under one arm, trying to fight him for the piece of toast he’d brought along. Willow appeared, running up the steps, her arms containing snacks to keep them all refreshed while they watched the try-outs. Gully had been the only one not surprised when she’d mentioned she’d signed up, having already mentioned it to him over the summer, but all of her mates had pressed her with encouragement and now, they were here, ready to cheer her on.

Addie gulped, clutching her broom tightly as the Ravenclaw captain marched across the pitch in front of them, indicating where each of them should group up depending on which position they were aiming for. Adelaide joined the other potential Chasers, having the most practice with that particular position, and looked up at the stands again, brow furrowed with a nervousness she couldn’t hide completely behind a cool exterior like her parents might have been able to. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she glanced down at it.

‘You got this, Feathers.’

Addie smiled and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Yes, she had this. The worst thing that could happen would be she wouldn’t make the team and as disappointing as that would be, it wouldn’t kill her.

[adelaiderhosynweasley]

Addie couldn’t keep her leg from bouncing as she glanced at the board and back to her homework, then the board again. The anticipation, the waiting, it was murder. Adelaide couldn’t remember a time when she had been so keyed up, not since… not since starting Hogwarts for the first time ever, she didn’t think. Sure, last year with the play she had been nervous, but she’d also had other to fall back on during that. They had all been in it together, working diligently towards the final result that had gotten a standing ovation at the end of it. Even though it had only been months ago, it felt like ages. This time, with Quidditch, it was all solely on Addie’s own performance for whether she had made the team or not. There was no one to look to this time, no one to share the burden of failure if she didn’t get it. It would all fall upon her own shoulders. The Ravenclaw scratched at her arms then, the skin itchy and irritable to the point where she was wondering if she should go ask Vic for a different kind of lotion than the one she occasionally used in the winter when her hands got chapped and dry. She’d never had any kind of allergic reaction to anything before and there was nothing new in her environment to trigger such a thing anyway. Unless maybe the washing solution used here at school had been changed, but her clothes didn’t smell any different than usual. No, her skin was probably just… dry or something, even if it didn’t look it. It had been particularly bothersome this whole week. Had she maybe gotten some of Willow’s itching powder on herself from that prank they had played on Zander? But no, wouldn’t that have washed off by now? The skin on Addie’s left arm was starting to turn a bit red from the scratching by the time Gulliver was exclaiming from beside her. Even with his mouth full of chocolate, she knew what it was about.

The brunette’s eyes went automatically to the board where the Quidditch captain was holding his arms up, moving out of the way as the horde of students came at him. He made it far enough from the bulletin board to not get taken out in the process. Addie sat there, unable to move, her brown eyes shifting back to Gully’s face but not really seeing him as she felt her blood begin to pound in her head. This was it… If she hadn’t made the team, there was always next year, if she even had the confidence to try out again after working so hard this past time already. If she didn’t made it, she probably wouldn’t bother again, would just… give it up because what would the point be? She was already in her fourth year, if she didn’t make it… if she didn’t beat out a third year for a spot… Ugh, what had she even been thinking!? There was no way she was going to make that team. There were so many other better options for the captain to have chosen over her… Maybe she shouldn’t even go look at the list. Or at least wait until the crowd had died down enough to get through more easily. Addie was tall, but she wasn’t about to go pushing people out of the way when she wasn’t even sure if she’d see her name there.

It was Gulliver that broke Addie out of her head. She stared at him, her name flowing from his lips a couple of times before she heard him. She blinked, still frozen in place, but then his hand was on hers and Addie gripped onto him tightly. Right. She could do this. Her friends were right here with her. So what if she hadn’t made it? They’d still love her anyway and they had plenty of other things to be doing that weren’t silly stupid old Quidditch. Adelaide pushed to her feet, letting Gully drag her towards the bulletin board, not giving her an option of waiting it out. He pulled her right on through the crowd, pushing forward in that way only someone who has grown up with siblings knows how to. Addie brought her free hand to her lips, nibbling on a fingernail as her eyes scanned the list, searching for her name and not seeing it… the writing on the page began to blur a bit as her eyes defocused, panning to everything and anything but the list now, unable to even finish reading it. She tried to refocus, but then someone was saying her name.

Addie looked up, turning her head to find the captain of the team. He was here to apologize, to let her know that she hadn’t done well enough, that he thought she better stick to other things instead because she just wasn’t cut out for-

“You’re going to be a great beater…”

Addie’s head whipped back around to look at the roster again. Her eyes landed on the Beaters and there, written just underneath, was her name. The churning that had begun to roll around in her stomach flared, but it was not longer unpleasant. Joy flooded her and Addie turned her attention back to the captain as he clapped her on the shoulder. Her whole being lit up with the smile that spread across her face then, her grip on Gully’s hand tightening as she squeezed onto him in excitement now. “Thank you. I won’t let you down, I swear!”

The Ravenclaw turned to her best mate, releasing a squeal as he let go of her hand and started jumping. Addie joined him, the smile on his face infectious. Addie turned around as she bounced, raising both hands in the air as she looked at the rest of her friends in absolute victory. She’d done it! She had to text her Papa, he was going to be so proud of her, she just knew it.

The next few weeks were the absolute busiest Addie had ever been in her entire school career. On top of her classes and homework, she had the Nugget Club and with Quidditch added to the mix, it was as if she never had a spare moment for anything else. The Ravenclaw captain was serious about the team doing well this year and had booked extra practices on the pitch in order to get them all working together and learning the plays as quickly as possible. Addie would have to rush straight from there to club, barely stopping to grab something to eat in between and half the time she was smeared with mud. After club, she still had the homework and studying to do that used to happen when she now had Quidditch practice. Addie hadn’t anticipated her schedule becoming so very full so quickly, but she was a fourth year now. Maybe if she hadn’t been one of the co-founders of the club, she might have skived off once or twice a week when they were just doing basic things they didn’t necessarily need her for but she felt a profound amount of responsibility not to miss it. The club existed because of her and her friends after all. It was part of her duties to make sure it did well and not just… push it off on the rest of them. Even if she was slogging tiredly to breakfast in the morning and it was beginning to show.

“Mmm?” Addie lifted her head from her arms as M’n’M spoke to her in the club room one afternoon. She had just been through a particularly grueling practice in the rain because they only postponed for lightning and her hair was still wet even if she’d changed clothes. “What was it again?”

“I was asking if you thought we should use real metal for dance belts or if you think the jingling would interrupt the actual music.” M’n’M asked, holding up a bit of gauze with jangling beads and metal bits hanging down from it. It was pretty, that was for sure, but would it be too loud? Addie took the bit in her hands and gave it a shake.

“Maybe replace some of the coin-bits with shiny stiff bits to muffle it without fully taking away the whole jingle?” Addie suggested, knowing that they could easily make some fabric coins to look similar enough to the real ones so they would still look good on stage. The Ravenclaw yawned, bringing a hand to her face and rubbing at one eye.

“Sounds good… Y’know, you can go up to bed if you want. We’ll be fine here.” M’n’M promised as she took back the dancing skirt. “We can save sound questions for another day.”

“It’s fine.” Addie insisted, waving a hand and turning her attention back to… what had she been working on? She looked down at the slightly smudged music paper on the table in front of her. Right. Editing the score a bit so it would work with what they had for instruments. There were more this year, with the introduction of new first years and more people were interested in joining up now that they had seen how well last year’s production had gone. M’n’M frowned but nodded, heading back across the room.

“Gully, I thought you were going to talk to her.” M’n’M whispered, though her voice carried a bit in the otherwise fairly quiet space. The majority of their cast list was next door working on dances with Zander and the rest of them were currently on costumes. Addie glanced up from her sheet music.

“Talk to me about what?”

That ‘Veela’ Shit

The summer had been probably one of the absolute best ones Adelaide had experienced in her life. After that first sleepover with Gulliver, it was like some kind of barrier had been broken down when it came to her parents and they had allowed the pair to hang out more. Most of the time, it was Gully who was coming over, where Louis and Caerwyn could keep a close eye on the pair to make sure there were no shenanigans going on that they wanted to avoid. Gulliver though, proved to be just as behind in his development as Addie and the more the Weasleys got to know him, the more comfortable they became with his presence. Well, Caerwyn and the kids had at least, but Louis was still wary, still overprotective. Sleeping bags were always stuck down to the floor in the living room, musicals were watched, instruments were shared, and sand was tracked into the house stuck in bathing suits. Beside the salted caramel jar in the cupboard, a similarily shaped one of hot fudge had become a kind of staple, Gully’s favorite snack the same way cheetos were Addie’s. It had gotten to the point where Adelaide was asking nearly every day if he could come over or if she could possibly go to his. That had only been allowed the once, Addie spending the night at the Stonefyres home among a multitude of other children who had all piled onto the living room floor in piles of blankets, pillows, and sleeping bags. Gully’s older sister had baked them all snacks, they had gone swimming down in the lake, had a large bonfire where the boy’s many assorted uncles had gladly helped the Ravenclaw learn some new tricks on her violin that had really improved her ability to play it. Adelaide had been sad to leave the next day, even if she was happy to see her own family again. All in all, the pair of young Ravenclaws had ended up having maybe two or three sleepovers a week by the time the summer was over. By the fifth one, Louis had given in and opted for allowing their fireplace to connect directly to the Stonefyres’ over the Floo Network, something he didn’t do lightly, but it was better than constantly taking the Knight Bus to retrieve the annoying little redhead. Obviously, the kids still had to ask permission, but it made it easier for them to see eachother. Addie had written to Sunny to see if she wanted to come over for a night, but the blonde had already been at Willow’s grandmother’s by that point, but they would see eachother when school started back up again. Their reunion had been a bit… awkward. The pair hadn’t spent the entire summer apart after first or second year, but the gap that had been there at the end of the school year had remained. Addie still loved Sunny dearly, still considered her one of her best friends, but there was no pretending that their interests had changed as the blonde embraced puberty and Addie remained behind.

Getting on the train on the first had been a tearful event, but not for the usual reason of Addie being anxious. Rather, she was excited for school to start back up, for the club to get going on their next play and maybe, if she had the balls enough, to perhaps try out for the Quidditch team . She had debated it the year before but decided against it, figuring she wouldn’t be good enough. After playing a pick up game with Gully’s sisters and cousins though, she was feeling more confidant about her abilities and thought, maybe, just maybe… Her Dad had been on the team in school and Quidditch was something Adelaide enjoyed even if she didn’t talk about it nearly as much as she did chickens or music. The tears that had really been shed that day had come from her two younger cousins, Briar and Thistle, who were off for their very first year. They would be twelve soon enough, late fall babies, but being slightly older didn’t exactly fully prepare them for being away from their parents and sisters for the first time ever. Addie had understood, fully, what they were going through and had kept them close throughout the journey, introducing them to other friends, watching them calm even further as Zander joined them in their compartment. Another familiar face. It had been a tight squeeze with all of them actually. Addie, the twins, Sunny, Willow, Zander, Gully, and then M’n’M who had tripped over her robes and ended up in Addie’s lap when she’d finally located them. There had been a lot of joking, pranks, snacks, and games to cheer the two younger girls up and by the time they were arriving, Briar and Thistle were looking a good deal more relaxed. Enough to be smiling, if nervous, during their sorting where they, thankfully, had been placed in the same house. Addie knew it would be a similar situation next year, when her own siblings would both be eleven. Owena would be absolutely fine, but Rhydian was… well, he was already begging to continue to be homeschooled.

The first few weeks of school passed in a blur. Adelaide had not been anticipating their work getting even harder than it had been the previous year when they’d added more classes to their schedules, but now that they had hit fourth year… Well, the professors were already talking about their O.W.Ls that they wouldn’t even be taking until the end of their fifth year! Even so, getting back into the groove of things, of seeing all of her friends, and being in the club room again after being gone for the summer was just as fun as Addie had been anticipating. Professor Mendes had greeted them all with a gentle smile when they had traipsed into the room for their first meeting of the year, though the poor man had been giggled at and informed, point blank by Gully that ‘Auntie Freya got lipstick on you again, Uncle Max.” The professor had turned pink and found a mirror to try and get the bright cherry red lip print off of his cheek while the club had settled into trying to decide what they were going to be doing for a play this winter. They would have three and a halfish months to prepare the cast, the scenery, the music, the props and costumes. There was a great smattering of agreement about doing the pirate show they all liked a good deal, but there was also a suggestion of putting on one of the classic Beedle stories. Before the brunette knew it, they were nearly a month into the school year and the postings for Quidditch try-outs had gone up. She had brought her broomstick along, a hand-me-down from her dad that was still in good condition, and signed up before she could psych herself out of it. Thus, it was on the pitch that Adelaide found herself on a slightly foggy Saturday morning, nerves and coffee coursing through her system due to a lack of sleep caused by anxiety. Her eyes shifted to the stands were she could see the familiar shock of Gulliver’s red hair. Sunny waved to her, a bright grin on her face while Zander locked Gully under one arm, trying to fight him for the piece of toast he’d brought along. Willow appeared, running up the steps, her arms containing snacks to keep them all refreshed while they watched the try-outs. Gully had been the only one not surprised when she’d mentioned she’d signed up, having already mentioned it to him over the summer, but all of her mates had pressed her with encouragement and now, they were here, ready to cheer her on.

Addie gulped, clutching her broom tightly as the Ravenclaw captain marched across the pitch in front of them, indicating where each of them should group up depending on which position they were aiming for. Adelaide joined the other potential Chasers, having the most practice with that particular position, and looked up at the stands again, brow furrowed with a nervousness she couldn’t hide completely behind a cool exterior like her parents might have been able to. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she glanced down at it.

‘You got this, Feathers.’

Addie smiled and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Yes, she had this. The worst thing that could happen would be she wouldn’t make the team and as disappointing as that would be, it wouldn’t kill her.

[adelaiderhosynweasley]

Addie didn’t bother opening her eyes as she heard the footsteps of her mates on the grass around her, recognizing them with ease. She felt them flopping down, joining her and she released a puff of a laugh, brown orbs finally lifting to the sky to look up at the puffy clouds dotting them. It was such a brilliant day out and she felt… amazing. Alive. Despite the hard work of the try-outs and the gentle burning in her muscles that she knew would only get worse the longer she stayed still instead of stretching it out, the endorphins currently pushing through the Ravenclaw had her beaming, body thrumming with excitement. She was sweaty, hair a mess in her normal twin braids as it stuck to her face where it had come loose, and she most definitely needed to hit the showers, but at the moment… nothing else mattered but the sensation of joy that had filled her. The anxiety of the morning had passes and now, all that hung over her head was the curiosity of if she’d been good enough. She grinned, as her friends commented on how well she had done, the ages of practice she’d done showing even if it had mostly been playing with her brother and sister and scrimmaging with Gully’s siblings. Aside from boat and water safety, broomstick safety had been one of the first things Addie and her little siblings had learned when they’d become old enough. It had actually, for some reason, terrified her mother way less than their swimming lessons had even though Louis had taken them into the water as early as possible in their lives. Addie had been able to float safely on her back before she’d even been one year old, just enough to keep her face up and out so she could keep breathing until someone could get to her if something terrible were to happen. Even now, Caerwyn didn’t go very deep into the ocean when they were playing, and they always had to have a buddy if they were going to be swimming at all.

“You reckon?” Addie asked, laughing as she turned her head to look at Gully, knowing how much he prized his favorite wrench that was probably, even now, in one of his pockets with the rest of his toolkit. She certainly hoped she’d be able to make the team and if she didn’t, well… there was always next year. Maybe. At least she hadn’t told her parents, so they couldn’t be disappointed in her if she didn’t. Not that they would have been, just… well, it was just her who would be saddened. They would be understanding and encouraging, but still… It was enough to have her friends know, to be able to share today with them and hopefully, the joy of the outcome later on.

“You’ll get it, you were amazing!” Sunny promised from her other side, reaching out to give the brunette’s hand a squeeze. Adelaide turned her head the other way and grinned, giving her a squish back before she was pushing upwards, grass sticking to the back of her shirt. The blonde grimaced, sitting up as well and making a slight gagging noise. “I’d hug you, but girl, and I mean this from the deepest parts of my heart with love…”

“You smell worse than Zander’s thongs after dance rehearsal.” Willow finished, pinching her own nose, eyes gleaming as she grinned at Addie from Sunny’s other side.

“Oi!” Addie laughed, plucking up a handful of grass from the pitch and tossing it at her. Willow laughed, ducking and rolling out of the way.

“Nothing smells worse than that.” M&M coughed at the thought of it, waving a hand in front of her face before shooting a sheepish glance at Zander, who they all knew preferred his special dance undies to be called his ‘dance belt’ as was proper and ‘necessary for tights!’. But even the tiny blonde was teasing now, all of them having made fun of Zander’s ‘Plie’ Panties’ a good deal since they had learned about them. This got the girls giggling, more grass as thrown and good natured insults shot back and forth, but soon, despite the fun, Addie found herself rising from the ground to hit the showers. She lifted an arm as she went and gave herself a sniff that sent her eyes watering a bit. Okay, maybe she did smell pretty bad…

Later that evening, once everyone was grass free and fed, Adelaide had taken to a chair in the Ravenclaw common room with her mates. They had decided to at least try to study for an upcoming Transfiguration quiz and maybe attempt that one Potions project that wasn’t due for another month, when the chattering began to die down. Now, this wasn’t uncommon as most nights went and people started to head for bed, but it was barely after dinner. Addie looked up from her book, eyes shifting to the notice board where the Captain was tacking up a piece of parchment with the try-out results. She stared for a moment, barely registering as people began to flock for the board, giving the Captain very little time to even get out of the way before the clammering started. There was laughing and excited cheering, swearing, and grumbling, and Addie just sat there, staring. Her heart had begun to hammer in her chest and she placed a sweaty palm over it, fingers twisting a bit into the fabric of her shirt. “Is… D’you think…?” She asked quietly, a bit pale as the anxiety of the situation began to beat at her as it had that morning before the tryouts.

That ‘Veela’ Shit

The summer had been probably one of the absolute best ones Adelaide had experienced in her life. After that first sleepover with Gulliver, it was like some kind of barrier had been broken down when it came to her parents and they had allowed the pair to hang out more. Most of the time, it was Gully who was coming over, where Louis and Caerwyn could keep a close eye on the pair to make sure there were no shenanigans going on that they wanted to avoid. Gulliver though, proved to be just as behind in his development as Addie and the more the Weasleys got to know him, the more comfortable they became with his presence. Well, Caerwyn and the kids had at least, but Louis was still wary, still overprotective. Sleeping bags were always stuck down to the floor in the living room, musicals were watched, instruments were shared, and sand was tracked into the house stuck in bathing suits. Beside the salted caramel jar in the cupboard, a similarily shaped one of hot fudge had become a kind of staple, Gully’s favorite snack the same way cheetos were Addie’s. It had gotten to the point where Adelaide was asking nearly every day if he could come over or if she could possibly go to his. That had only been allowed the once, Addie spending the night at the Stonefyres home among a multitude of other children who had all piled onto the living room floor in piles of blankets, pillows, and sleeping bags. Gully’s older sister had baked them all snacks, they had gone swimming down in the lake, had a large bonfire where the boy’s many assorted uncles had gladly helped the Ravenclaw learn some new tricks on her violin that had really improved her ability to play it. Adelaide had been sad to leave the next day, even if she was happy to see her own family again. All in all, the pair of young Ravenclaws had ended up having maybe two or three sleepovers a week by the time the summer was over. By the fifth one, Louis had given in and opted for allowing their fireplace to connect directly to the Stonefyres’ over the Floo Network, something he didn’t do lightly, but it was better than constantly taking the Knight Bus to retrieve the annoying little redhead. Obviously, the kids still had to ask permission, but it made it easier for them to see eachother. Addie had written to Sunny to see if she wanted to come over for a night, but the blonde had already been at Willow’s grandmother’s by that point, but they would see eachother when school started back up again. Their reunion had been a bit… awkward. The pair hadn’t spent the entire summer apart after first or second year, but the gap that had been there at the end of the school year had remained. Addie still loved Sunny dearly, still considered her one of her best friends, but there was no pretending that their interests had changed as the blonde embraced puberty and Addie remained behind.

Getting on the train on the first had been a tearful event, but not for the usual reason of Addie being anxious. Rather, she was excited for school to start back up, for the club to get going on their next play and maybe, if she had the balls enough, to perhaps try out for the Quidditch team . She had debated it the year before but decided against it, figuring she wouldn’t be good enough. After playing a pick up game with Gully’s sisters and cousins though, she was feeling more confidant about her abilities and thought, maybe, just maybe… Her Dad had been on the team in school and Quidditch was something Adelaide enjoyed even if she didn’t talk about it nearly as much as she did chickens or music. The tears that had really been shed that day had come from her two younger cousins, Briar and Thistle, who were off for their very first year. They would be twelve soon enough, late fall babies, but being slightly older didn’t exactly fully prepare them for being away from their parents and sisters for the first time ever. Addie had understood, fully, what they were going through and had kept them close throughout the journey, introducing them to other friends, watching them calm even further as Zander joined them in their compartment. Another familiar face. It had been a tight squeeze with all of them actually. Addie, the twins, Sunny, Willow, Zander, Gully, and then M’n’M who had tripped over her robes and ended up in Addie’s lap when she’d finally located them. There had been a lot of joking, pranks, snacks, and games to cheer the two younger girls up and by the time they were arriving, Briar and Thistle were looking a good deal more relaxed. Enough to be smiling, if nervous, during their sorting where they, thankfully, had been placed in the same house. Addie knew it would be a similar situation next year, when her own siblings would both be eleven. Owena would be absolutely fine, but Rhydian was… well, he was already begging to continue to be homeschooled.

The first few weeks of school passed in a blur. Adelaide had not been anticipating their work getting even harder than it had been the previous year when they’d added more classes to their schedules, but now that they had hit fourth year… Well, the professors were already talking about their O.W.Ls that they wouldn’t even be taking until the end of their fifth year! Even so, getting back into the groove of things, of seeing all of her friends, and being in the club room again after being gone for the summer was just as fun as Addie had been anticipating. Professor Mendes had greeted them all with a gentle smile when they had traipsed into the room for their first meeting of the year, though the poor man had been giggled at and informed, point blank by Gully that ‘Auntie Freya got lipstick on you again, Uncle Max.” The professor had turned pink and found a mirror to try and get the bright cherry red lip print off of his cheek while the club had settled into trying to decide what they were going to be doing for a play this winter. They would have three and a halfish months to prepare the cast, the scenery, the music, the props and costumes. There was a great smattering of agreement about doing the pirate show they all liked a good deal, but there was also a suggestion of putting on one of the classic Beedle stories. Before the brunette knew it, they were nearly a month into the school year and the postings for Quidditch try-outs had gone up. She had brought her broomstick along, a hand-me-down from her dad that was still in good condition, and signed up before she could psych herself out of it. Thus, it was on the pitch that Adelaide found herself on a slightly foggy Saturday morning, nerves and coffee coursing through her system due to a lack of sleep caused by anxiety. Her eyes shifted to the stands were she could see the familiar shock of Gulliver’s red hair. Sunny waved to her, a bright grin on her face while Zander locked Gully under one arm, trying to fight him for the piece of toast he’d brought along. Willow appeared, running up the steps, her arms containing snacks to keep them all refreshed while they watched the try-outs. Gully had been the only one not surprised when she’d mentioned she’d signed up, having already mentioned it to him over the summer, but all of her mates had pressed her with encouragement and now, they were here, ready to cheer her on.

Addie gulped, clutching her broom tightly as the Ravenclaw captain marched across the pitch in front of them, indicating where each of them should group up depending on which position they were aiming for. Adelaide joined the other potential Chasers, having the most practice with that particular position, and looked up at the stands again, brow furrowed with a nervousness she couldn’t hide completely behind a cool exterior like her parents might have been able to. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she glanced down at it.

‘You got this, Feathers.’

Addie smiled and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Yes, she had this. The worst thing that could happen would be she wouldn’t make the team and as disappointing as that would be, it wouldn’t kill her.

[adelaiderhosynweasley]

Addie had begun to chew on her nails as she listened to the Captain explaining how everything was going to work. First, they would be checking their flying skills and then, work into a scrimmage where they would play both the position they were tying out for and potentially a second if they appeared to have what it took to perform it. The brunette stood firm in her sneakers, pads on, helmet at her feet for when it was time to go into the air. Her eyes drifted around the pitch, taking in her house mates, the way the wind blew the clouds rapidly along above the, and then to her friends in the stands. A smile fell across her lips at the sight of the long banner they had unrolled to hold up, waving it while shouting words that got lost in the wind. Adelaide’s heart lightened a bit and she stood a little taller, drinking in the fact that she had friends. Growing up, the Ravenclaw hadn’t exactly had the easiest of times, never really connecting with anyone in primary school, hiding behind her mother’s skirts or burying her face against her father’s neck as she hid away from the big world beyond the safe little cottage she called home. Of course, Addie had her family, her sister and brother, her cousins, but there was still a kind of… loneliness to being the first born out of all of her generation. The big sister, the eldest granddaughter, and the guinea pig for her parents as far as child rearing went. There were certain responsibilities that fell upon her thin shoulders, a kind of reliability expected of her even if she was forgetful and clumsy, even if it was never spoken out loud. Addie felt it. With her mates, there was still a kind of need to lead, especially when it came to the club, but at the same time, at least it was with her friends.

At first, it had just been Sunny. The girls had connected within the first month of school, bonding over Nugget who had been sent after Addie struggling the first few weeks and hiding away in the hospital wing with her auntie as often as possible. Sunny, as it turned out, was a great animal lover and had never seen such a well behaved chicken in her life. While the other girls in their dorm had made fun, Sunny had gotten involved, giggling and encouraging, forcing herself into Addie’s bubble until the pair had become quite good friends. Up until last spring though, it had mostly been just the pair of them. Then Willow had joined the mix after her and Sunny had been paired up for an assignment and found how well they meshed. Then Gully, an enemy at first, which felt entirely ridiculous now that she knew him, and of course, Zander had come with him as a kind of package deal. Their club had brought them other friends as well, including M’n’M who was their token snack bringer and even clumsier than Addie, but the brunette figured that had something to do with her long hair and poor fitting robes more so than the girl herself. Now, all of them stood, cheering her on and waving the banner painted with red words, her favorite color, on a deep blue fabric that looked suspiciously like one of the table runners from the Ravenclaw common room.

The flying portion of try-outs was easy as far as Addie was concerned. She’d learned how to maneuver a broomstick at an early age, her father wanting his children to be capable in all modes of magical transport. She couldn’t do all sorts of neat tricks like Gully’s sisters and cousins, but she was still kind of a rail of a girl, able to squish herself down against her broom to dodge and swerve in a way the more bulkier players couldn’t. The brunette only had one incident where another girl ran into her in an attempt to get out of the way of a Bludger, sending them both spiraling towards the ground. Addie had been able to right herself, but the other girl had been sent up to Vic with what was probably a broken arm from the impact of hitting the ground. Moving into the scrimmage, things got a bit more difficult. Addie was placed on a team of seven players, all of them working together to play against another makeshift team. She threw the Quaffle as hard and as far as she could, passing it but also holding on to it as she flew across the pitch, eyes searching for her teammates in the process. The Captain had narrowed his eyes watching her and when she’d landed, sweating and heading straight for her water bottle, he had approached her.

“Weasley, next round I want you with this.” He stated seriously, holding out a Beater’s bat that had her furrowing her brow in confusion, reaching to accept it.

“I’m not…”

“You bruised Madden with your last pass.” The Captain pointed to the boy who Addie had thrown the Quaffle to just minutes prior, holding his arm and staring daggers at her. “Put that strength into this bat, and you might just make the first string.”

Adelaide stared, having not expected that at all, but she held the bat firmly in her right hand, looking down at it. She didn’t have a lot of experience playing as a Beater, having always preferred Chaser and occasionally Keeper if required, but Beater? It had never crossed her mind. Her dad had been a Beater… Addie nodded in agreement at last, hefting the bat and giving it a few swings to test the weight of it. She looked up at her mates and raised the bat a bit, shrugging at them, confusion plain on her face despite the Captain’s insistence. The brunette took her break, chugging water so hard it spilled a bit down her front, but by the time she was being called back, she was refreshed enough to climb back onto her broom.

As it turned out, forcing her strength down the bat and into a Bludger was exactly what the captain had been expecting out of Addie. She had the aim of a Chaser, but she was strong and lithe enough for Beater too, her brown eyes pinpointing opponents and slamming the black balls at them with such force she felt it rattle her bones a bit. By the time they were landing again, there were more bruises than not on the opposing side and most of Addie’s given teammates had faired pretty well considering. She wasn’t perfect at it, still needing practice, but the approving smile she got from the Captain told the Ravenclaw plenty. It wasn’t until well past lunch that the try-outs finally ended and they could expect a list in the common room later after the more senior players had had a chance to confer. Panting, Addie all but flopped off her broomstick onto the ground, lying back on the grass and closing her eyes for a minute. Her hair stuck to her forehead with sweat and she had stains forming in the pits of her t-shirt, but she didn’t care. She had done her best and that was all she could ask of herself at the end of the day.

That ‘Veela’ Shit

The summer had been probably one of the absolute best ones Adelaide had experienced in her life. After that first sleepover with Gulliver, it was like some kind of barrier had been broken down when it came to her parents and they had allowed the pair to hang out more. Most of the time, it was Gully who was coming over, where Louis and Caerwyn could keep a close eye on the pair to make sure there were no shenanigans going on that they wanted to avoid. Gulliver though, proved to be just as behind in his development as Addie and the more the Weasleys got to know him, the more comfortable they became with his presence. Well, Caerwyn and the kids had at least, but Louis was still wary, still overprotective. Sleeping bags were always stuck down to the floor in the living room, musicals were watched, instruments were shared, and sand was tracked into the house stuck in bathing suits. Beside the salted caramel jar in the cupboard, a similarily shaped one of hot fudge had become a kind of staple, Gully’s favorite snack the same way cheetos were Addie’s. It had gotten to the point where Adelaide was asking nearly every day if he could come over or if she could possibly go to his. That had only been allowed the once, Addie spending the night at the Stonefyres home among a multitude of other children who had all piled onto the living room floor in piles of blankets, pillows, and sleeping bags. Gully’s older sister had baked them all snacks, they had gone swimming down in the lake, had a large bonfire where the boy’s many assorted uncles had gladly helped the Ravenclaw learn some new tricks on her violin that had really improved her ability to play it. Adelaide had been sad to leave the next day, even if she was happy to see her own family again. All in all, the pair of young Ravenclaws had ended up having maybe two or three sleepovers a week by the time the summer was over. By the fifth one, Louis had given in and opted for allowing their fireplace to connect directly to the Stonefyres’ over the Floo Network, something he didn’t do lightly, but it was better than constantly taking the Knight Bus to retrieve the annoying little redhead. Obviously, the kids still had to ask permission, but it made it easier for them to see eachother. Addie had written to Sunny to see if she wanted to come over for a night, but the blonde had already been at Willow’s grandmother’s by that point, but they would see eachother when school started back up again. Their reunion had been a bit… awkward. The pair hadn’t spent the entire summer apart after first or second year, but the gap that had been there at the end of the school year had remained. Addie still loved Sunny dearly, still considered her one of her best friends, but there was no pretending that their interests had changed as the blonde embraced puberty and Addie remained behind.

Getting on the train on the first had been a tearful event, but not for the usual reason of Addie being anxious. Rather, she was excited for school to start back up, for the club to get going on their next play and maybe, if she had the balls enough, to perhaps try out for the Quidditch team . She had debated it the year before but decided against it, figuring she wouldn’t be good enough. After playing a pick up game with Gully’s sisters and cousins though, she was feeling more confidant about her abilities and thought, maybe, just maybe… Her Dad had been on the team in school and Quidditch was something Adelaide enjoyed even if she didn’t talk about it nearly as much as she did chickens or music. The tears that had really been shed that day had come from her two younger cousins, Briar and Thistle, who were off for their very first year. They would be twelve soon enough, late fall babies, but being slightly older didn’t exactly fully prepare them for being away from their parents and sisters for the first time ever. Addie had understood, fully, what they were going through and had kept them close throughout the journey, introducing them to other friends, watching them calm even further as Zander joined them in their compartment. Another familiar face. It had been a tight squeeze with all of them actually. Addie, the twins, Sunny, Willow, Zander, Gully, and then M’n’M who had tripped over her robes and ended up in Addie’s lap when she’d finally located them. There had been a lot of joking, pranks, snacks, and games to cheer the two younger girls up and by the time they were arriving, Briar and Thistle were looking a good deal more relaxed. Enough to be smiling, if nervous, during their sorting where they, thankfully, had been placed in the same house. Addie knew it would be a similar situation next year, when her own siblings would both be eleven. Owena would be absolutely fine, but Rhydian was… well, he was already begging to continue to be homeschooled.

The first few weeks of school passed in a blur. Adelaide had not been anticipating their work getting even harder than it had been the previous year when they’d added more classes to their schedules, but now that they had hit fourth year… Well, the professors were already talking about their O.W.Ls that they wouldn’t even be taking until the end of their fifth year! Even so, getting back into the groove of things, of seeing all of her friends, and being in the club room again after being gone for the summer was just as fun as Addie had been anticipating. Professor Mendes had greeted them all with a gentle smile when they had traipsed into the room for their first meeting of the year, though the poor man had been giggled at and informed, point blank by Gully that ‘Auntie Freya got lipstick on you again, Uncle Max.” The professor had turned pink and found a mirror to try and get the bright cherry red lip print off of his cheek while the club had settled into trying to decide what they were going to be doing for a play this winter. They would have three and a halfish months to prepare the cast, the scenery, the music, the props and costumes. There was a great smattering of agreement about doing the pirate show they all liked a good deal, but there was also a suggestion of putting on one of the classic Beedle stories. Before the brunette knew it, they were nearly a month into the school year and the postings for Quidditch try-outs had gone up. She had brought her broomstick along, a hand-me-down from her dad that was still in good condition, and signed up before she could psych herself out of it. Thus, it was on the pitch that Adelaide found herself on a slightly foggy Saturday morning, nerves and coffee coursing through her system due to a lack of sleep caused by anxiety. Her eyes shifted to the stands were she could see the familiar shock of Gulliver’s red hair. Sunny waved to her, a bright grin on her face while Zander locked Gully under one arm, trying to fight him for the piece of toast he’d brought along. Willow appeared, running up the steps, her arms containing snacks to keep them all refreshed while they watched the try-outs. Gully had been the only one not surprised when she’d mentioned she’d signed up, having already mentioned it to him over the summer, but all of her mates had pressed her with encouragement and now, they were here, ready to cheer her on.

Addie gulped, clutching her broom tightly as the Ravenclaw captain marched across the pitch in front of them, indicating where each of them should group up depending on which position they were aiming for. Adelaide joined the other potential Chasers, having the most practice with that particular position, and looked up at the stands again, brow furrowed with a nervousness she couldn’t hide completely behind a cool exterior like her parents might have been able to. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she glanced down at it.

‘You got this, Feathers.’

Addie smiled and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Yes, she had this. The worst thing that could happen would be she wouldn’t make the team and as disappointing as that would be, it wouldn’t kill her.

[adelaiderhosynweasley]

That ‘Veela’ Shit

The summer had been probably one of the absolute best ones Adelaide had experienced in her life. After that first sleepover with Gulliver, it was like some kind of barrier had been broken down when it came to her parents and they had allowed the pair to hang out more. Most of the time, it was Gully who was coming over, where Louis and Caerwyn could keep a close eye on the pair to make sure there were no shenanigans going on that they wanted to avoid. Gulliver though, proved to be just as behind in his development as Addie and the more the Weasleys got to know him, the more comfortable they became with his presence. Well, Caerwyn and the kids had at least, but Louis was still wary, still overprotective. Sleeping bags were always stuck down to the floor in the living room, musicals were watched, instruments were shared, and sand was tracked into the house stuck in bathing suits. Beside the salted caramel jar in the cupboard, a similarily shaped one of hot fudge had become a kind of staple, Gully’s favorite snack the same way cheetos were Addie’s. It had gotten to the point where Adelaide was asking nearly every day if he could come over or if she could possibly go to his. That had only been allowed the once, Addie spending the night at the Stonefyres home among a multitude of other children who had all piled onto the living room floor in piles of blankets, pillows, and sleeping bags. Gully’s older sister had baked them all snacks, they had gone swimming down in the lake, had a large bonfire where the boy’s many assorted uncles had gladly helped the Ravenclaw learn some new tricks on her violin that had really improved her ability to play it. Adelaide had been sad to leave the next day, even if she was happy to see her own family again. All in all, the pair of young Ravenclaws had ended up having maybe two or three sleepovers a week by the time the summer was over. By the fifth one, Louis had given in and opted for allowing their fireplace to connect directly to the Stonefyres’ over the Floo Network, something he didn’t do lightly, but it was better than constantly taking the Knight Bus to retrieve the annoying little redhead. Obviously, the kids still had to ask permission, but it made it easier for them to see eachother. Addie had written to Sunny to see if she wanted to come over for a night, but the blonde had already been at Willow’s grandmother’s by that point, but they would see eachother when school started back up again. Their reunion had been a bit... awkward. The pair hadn’t spent the entire summer apart after first or second year, but the gap that had been there at the end of the school year had remained. Addie still loved Sunny dearly, still considered her one of her best friends, but there was no pretending that their interests had changed as the blonde embraced puberty and Addie remained behind.

Getting on the train on the first had been a tearful event, but not for the usual reason of Addie being anxious. Rather, she was excited for school to start back up, for the club to get going on their next play and maybe, if she had the balls enough, to perhaps try out for the Quidditch team . She had debated it the year before but decided against it, figuring she wouldn’t be good enough. After playing a pick up game with Gully’s sisters and cousins though, she was feeling more confidant about her abilities and thought, maybe, just maybe... Her Dad had been on the team in school and Quidditch was something Adelaide enjoyed even if she didn’t talk about it nearly as much as she did chickens or music. The tears that had really been shed that day had come from her two younger cousins, Briar and Thistle, who were off for their very first year. They would be twelve soon enough, late fall babies, but being slightly older didn’t exactly fully prepare them for being away from their parents and sisters for the first time ever. Addie had understood, fully, what they were going through and had kept them close throughout the journey, introducing them to other friends, watching them calm even further as Zander joined them in their compartment. Another familiar face. It had been a tight squeeze with all of them actually. Addie, the twins, Sunny, Willow, Zander, Gully, and then M’n’M who had tripped over her robes and ended up in Addie’s lap when she’d finally located them. There had been a lot of joking, pranks, snacks, and games to cheer the two younger girls up and by the time they were arriving, Briar and Thistle were looking a good deal more relaxed. Enough to be smiling, if nervous, during their sorting where they, thankfully, had been placed in the same house. Addie knew it would be a similar situation next year, when her own siblings would both be eleven. Owena would be absolutely fine, but Rhydian was... well, he was already begging to continue to be homeschooled.

The first few weeks of school passed in a blur. Adelaide had not been anticipating their work getting even harder than it had been the previous year when they’d added more classes to their schedules, but now that they had hit fourth year... Well, the professors were already talking about their O.W.Ls that they wouldn’t even be taking until the end of their fifth year! Even so, getting back into the groove of things, of seeing all of her friends, and being in the club room again after being gone for the summer was just as fun as Addie had been anticipating. Professor Mendes had greeted them all with a gentle smile when they had traipsed into the room for their first meeting of the year, though the poor man had been giggled at and informed, point blank by Gully that ‘Auntie Freya got lipstick on you again, Uncle Max.” The professor had turned pink and found a mirror to try and get the bright cherry red lip print off of his cheek while the club had settled into trying to decide what they were going to be doing for a play this winter. They would have three and a halfish months to prepare the cast, the scenery, the music, the props and costumes. There was a great smattering of agreement about doing the pirate show they all liked a good deal, but there was also a suggestion of putting on one of the classic Beedle stories. Before the brunette knew it, they were nearly a month into the school year and the postings for Quidditch try-outs had gone up. She had brought her broomstick along, a hand-me-down from her dad that was still in good condition, and signed up before she could psych herself out of it. Thus, it was on the pitch that Adelaide found herself on a slightly foggy Saturday morning, nerves and coffee coursing through her system due to a lack of sleep caused by anxiety. Her eyes shifted to the stands were she could see the familiar shock of Gulliver’s red hair. Sunny waved to her, a bright grin on her face while Zander locked Gully under one arm, trying to fight him for the piece of toast he’d brought along. Willow appeared, running up the steps, her arms containing snacks to keep them all refreshed while they watched the try-outs. Gully had been the only one not surprised when she’d mentioned she’d signed up, having already mentioned it to him over the summer, but all of her mates had pressed her with encouragement and now, they were here, ready to cheer her on.

Addie gulped, clutching her broom tightly as the Ravenclaw captain marched across the pitch in front of them, indicating where each of them should group up depending on which position they were aiming for. Adelaide joined the other potential Chasers, having the most practice with that particular position, and looked up at the stands again, brow furrowed with a nervousness she couldn’t hide completely behind a cool exterior like her parents might have been able to. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she glanced down at it.

‘You got this, Feathers.’

Addie smiled and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Yes, she had this. The worst thing that could happen would be she wouldn’t make the team and as disappointing as that would be, it wouldn’t kill her.

[adelaiderhosynweasley]

Addie handed Clover back to her auntie, watching for a moment as the little one grappled at her shirt and began to suck on her mother’s shoulder. Babies were weird, but in that cute kind of way that was amusing instead of creepy. Had she done that to her mother at her age, Adelaide would have had some explaining to do. She pushed up from the couch, grinning at the agreement to head outside from her mates. Her head turned as Zander spoke to his mother, her eyes glancing over to where her parents were. They looked… apprehensive. Her Papa’s brow was doing that crinkling thing and her mother’s eyebrows had risen slightly. She frowned, not really understanding why until Caerwyn moved forward and reached out to pull one of her braids out from the back of Addie’s shirt where it had gotten stuck.

“Byddwch yn dda fy bach, Shit Nugget.” Caerwyn smiled, leaning foreward to press a kiss to Addie’s forehead before stepping back to reach for Louis’s hand. It was a very tight hold, meant to squish his fingers on purpose, her eyes giving him a direct message without speaking it out loud. ‘Let her fucking go. It’ll be fine. If you embarrass her in front of her friends I will fucking smother you with a pillow later after chopping off your tiny-ass dick and shoving it into your goddamn mouth.’ The rest of her face was smiling though, despite her eyes searing into her husband’s. “Have fun, Addie.”

With her mother’s obvious permission, Adelaide brightened, kissed her mother’s cheek and bolted for the back screen door. All three teenagers headed outside into the warmth of the day, the sun shining down brightly on their cheeks as the door slammed behind them, the piston that normally made it close slowly stolen by a pair of mischevious children who needed it for their ‘fort’. Lysander had let it go and Johiah had as well. They could always get a new one or duplicate the other later if it actually became an issue. Addie’s flip flops went flying as they all but stampeded onto the back porch, leading the way down the stairs and into the back garden that might as well have been some kind of very unique barnyard. There were chickens, of course, some that had laid the eggs that contained several of her own chickens at home. Nugget was making herself right at home, pecking at the ground for bugs and missed bits of feed from that morning. The others accepted her without complaint, having been introduced years ago when she was just a chick and visited enough to become an honorary member of the flock. She glanced up as the teenagers came outside and gave an excited squawk, running on her little legs to get to them. She went straight to Zander, pecking at his shoes in greeting and tugging at the laces, undoing the knots all the way. It was an old trick Addie had taught her years ago when she’d been a bit younger. A party trick she had used to tease her cousins and siblings whenever they went to visit their great-grandparents at the Burrow. Usually, Nugget would wait for a prompt from Addie before doing it, but in this particular case it was Zander, and therefore, not entirely surprising. Nugget liked to pick on him just as much as the rest of their main friend group did. She laughed, picking up her chicken and giving her little head a kiss before tugging a teeny tiny straw hat from the back pocket of her jean shorts and situated it on the chicken’s head, tying it into place.

“The sun is bright today, you don’t wanna hurt your fucking eyes.” Addie set her chicken down, releasing her to the rest of the flock. Nugget hopped along after them instead, heading past the hen house to the large barn that sat a fair distance from the house, but not by a lot. It was bigger than the house, three stories tall and very long, not that you could tell looking at it from the front. It was in wonderful shape, as though it was well taken care of and hadn’t been around for ages. Addie led the way to the double doors in the very center of the front, outer walls natural looking wood that had been coated with something to keep it safe from the elements. Both of the doors were already propped wide open, the well traveled little dirt path in the grass that had simply been worn down over time connected directly to the floor of the barn, sloping a little bit upwards in the process. The foundation was stone, but the floors were all wooden, hay scattered here and there where it had fallen out of stalls and pens. Even with her bare feet, Addie was fine going into the barn. The wood was soft, well sanded so not a single sliver would be possible without actual damage to the wood itself beforehand. The walls inside were a great deal different than the outer ones though. Color filled the building up, murals, unique abstract designs, lots and lots of realistic flowers and clouds higher up to the steeped ceiling that could be seen from the middle through a large long gap in the floor above, letting light in from the upper windows. There was plenty of space to move about, hardly any of the stalls currently closed, names carved into metal pieces of every single door. A lot of the first floor was empty at the moment, other doors on all three sides also open to allow the inhabitants to roam at their own pleasure inside a protected area of land that spread wide enough for them to feel happy and free but with a safe place to call home if they needed it. Above them, in the first and second lofts, birds perched on railings, or flew overhead, chirping while other smaller things chittered around, climbing up support beams that, on closer inspection, were actual trees that had grown upwards through both of the bright, sunny lofts where they topped out before they could hit the ceiling. There were all sorts of creatures crawling about on the trees, birds nesting or plucking at the wood for possible food in the form of bugs that had gotten into the barn.

“This way.” Addie waved a hand, leading her mates down the center of the barn in the direction of where she knew several animals would probably still be in their stalls, either recuperating from an injury or more nocturnal and sleeping. They passed by the intersection in the middle that held each of the side doors, identical to the others, another visible on the opposite side from where they had come in. About halfway down the stalls on this end, Addie stopped. Laughter was coming from inside one of the bigger ones, the door ajar in a manner that indicated someone hadn’t closed it all the way. She smiled, rising up a little bit on her toes to see over the side. There, she found her siblings and younger cousins gathered around a particulary docile hippogriff. Owena was on his back, hugging him around his big feathered neck. Rhydian had stayed back a bit to one side, his little hands playing with the hem of his tshirt as though he wasn’t so sure about all of this. With them were several other children of various ages, either sitting on a kind of bench-like railing inside the walls or nearby enough to still be involved without overwhelming the creature. His eyes were closed as a teeny blonde tot on wobbly legs petting the center of his face downwards with surprisingly gentle hands, dressed in a light blue romper. Another girl, not too much bigger but definitely not quite a baby was spinning in circles, arms wide as the skirt of her pale purple dress flaired out just enough to make her giggle and jump up and down with excitement, her curly red pigtails flying bouncing on either side of her head.

“He likes you.” A pair of indentical little boys in orange short-alls over bare chests chimed out at the same time, both tilting their little heads to the right with a smile as Owena nuzzled at the hippogriff and then sat up more, looking very pleased with herself, a bright smile on her face as per usual. Their blonde hair was impossibly light and curly, laying the same way on both of their heads.

“Are you lot in here bothering poor Hoof-Feather?” Addie asked, though she was smiling as she pulled open the gate to the stall more. Hoof-Feather, while spry and energetic in the mornings and evenings, especially enjoyed an afternoon nap after all of his frolicking and flying around outside. Especially when the weather was hot like it was today, but beautiful all the same. She headed over to the hippogriff, patting the top of his head once he had sniffed at her, remembering who she was.

“No.”

“He likes company.” The twins spoke, eyes sparkling with a kind of innocent mischeif that they could have easily gotten away with just about anything when it came to their freckled cherub faces and dimples. Addie loved them dearly. The way they always held hands as they ran together, constantly connected, never one without the other. Their eyes were her favorite part of them though, each sporting a blue right eye and a brown right one, as though their bodies hadn’t been able to decide who got which and thus, had just given them one of each to keep it balanced.

“These are my cousins and sister. Well, I suppose they’re Zander’s cousins too technically, as least Cedar and Willow are.” Addie pointed to each twin in turn.

“I’m Cedar.”

“I’m Willow.” They corrected her, pointing at one another before sticking their little tongues out at her before they barreled past her and Gully to get to Zander, each one wrapping around a leg. “Bebe! Bebe!”

“I wanna piggyback ride.”

“No me.”

“Me first!

“No!”

Addie laughed and shook her head, reaching down to lift up the littlest one. “This is Wisteria. That’s Lilac.” She pointed to the other little girl who had stopped her spinning to run around to the other side of the hippogriff, peering over his back in front of where Owena was sitting to gaze at them. Adelaide adjusted the toddler onto her hip, holding her with both hands under her bottom. “This is Hoof-Feather. He’s very sweet, loves little kids, but if you wanna pet him you’ll probably have to get his approval first because your bigger.” She explained to Gully simply. “Owena, where are the others at? Up?” She pointed, knowing that the rest of her cousins were probably on one of the higher levels where they had a little kind of fort built into the corner. The smaller ones weren’t allowed up there yet, too little to be trusted with climbing the ladders. The twins were only allowed if they had an adult with them, having prooved previously that they could not be trusted alone just yet unlike their other cousin, Poppy, who was only a year older than them but much more level headed.

*Be good my little, Shit Nugget.

It’s... It’s a Fucking BOY!?

“Pleeeease.” Adelaide whined as she hung off her father’s shoulders, dangling down his back from where she had clung on when he’d risen from the kitchen chair after breakfast. She had been hounding both him and her mother to allow her mate to come have a sleep over with her for the past two weeks nearly nonstop. At first it had been wonderful to be out of school but now, a month into the summer holiday, Addie was finding that she was really missing Gulliver quite a lot more than she had anticipated she would. Usually the Ravenclaw enjoyed the break from school. She would spend time down on the beach with her brother and sister, collecting shells and swimming, building sand fortresses and only returning to the house for meals some days. Or she’d be out with her chickens, Nugget trailing along after her while she sat with them, reading out loud stories from old books, collecting their eggs and making sure they had plenty of fresh feed and water. On rainy days, there was puddle jumping with Owena, shouting at the skies as it poured buckets down upon their skin, getting soaking wet until they were heading back into the small house to share a bath in order to warm up before curling up on the couch to play video games. Adelaide practiced her instruments, the piano and guitar, her precious xylophone, and the new violin sent from France by her great grandmother after Addie had expressed her interest in learning to play that one as well over the winter break. They had visited Shell Cottage several times to see their grandparents, and gone down the sea shore to see their other set. There had been yet another party at the Burrow, one to welcome the birth of another new cousin and a trip to Potter Manor where the children had run across the meadows full of wildflowers with Auntie Lils and Uncle Lorcan’s ever growing brood of girls.

Mama had insisted that Adelaide wait until her father got home form his most recent work trip before they made any kind of decisions about having friends over. It wasn’t that they didn’t want their daughter to have a friend, but this new soul she had become attached to wasn’t someone they had met before and with Louis’s line of work along with their last name… well, it was better to be safe than sorry. Perhaps if it had been Sunny Addie was asking to have over it would have been different. They had met the girl before as well as her parents on several occasions, but this new ‘Gully Stonefyre’ child was an anomaly. Who the fuck named their daughter ‘Gully’? Or was it a nickname? Another Ravenclaw, Addie had said, her best best best friend, which had then begged the question about what had happened with Sunny. Adelaide had frozen a bit at that before murmuring that Sunny liked spending time with Willow better now. The pair of girls had reconciled their relationship, but it wasn’t exactly what it used to be back before Sunny had properly hit puberty and Adelaide, well, hadn’t. Sunny had forgiven Addie for not telling her about her first and only kiss, but things had become a bit more strained than they used to be. As though they couldn’t confide in one another like they had before. A rift in the friendship that had left Addie spending far more copious amounts of time with Gully who had the same interests she did. Caerwyn had felt for her daughter, watching the way her face fell at the mention of Sunny but she hadn’t pressed the issue too much, only seeking the information she needed in order to realize that the girls were growing apart a bit, as was, unfortunately, the natural order of things sometimes.

Papa had returned the afternoon before, looking worn out as he always did when he got home from a trip. He’d been gone a full two weeks this time. The children knew better than to bother him too much on days like these. They’d snuggled on the couch with him for a bit until Caerwyn had gone to drag the silent Louis away into the bedroom. This was the course of things, the normal routine for when Papa came home from trips. Their bedroom door would close, blocking out the music playing from inside, a silencing charm on the walls and they would be gone for the next several hours while the children fended for themselves now that they were old enough to do so. When they’d been smaller, Caerwyn would always tote them off to a relative to be baby sat for a while so she and Louis could have a bit of private time. When they got home Papa would be there, excited to see them. After the bedroom, they would shower together, and Papa would look much more refreshed. She wasn’t entirely sure what it was her parents were doing in there, but she had always grown up assuming Papa just needed a nice restful nap with Mama and a shower before he’d feel better. Of course, she was a little more aware now of what may or may not have been going on in her parent’s bedroom, but she’d rather not think about it, pushing the grossness out of her mind. Now, the next morning, with more sleep under his belt, Adelaide had no qualms about bothering her father for what she wanted.

“Let your dumbass Papa at least finish his fucking coffee, Shit Nugget.” Caerwyn sighed, shaking her head and nursing her own cup of strong, black liquid. She was worn out from all the incessant asking. It was almost as bad as the time Owena had wanted to go to a slumber party at a classmate’s house last year. Caerwyn hadn’t been keen on it. Owena was still in primary school, all her little mates were Muggles, though she only had one year left there after this summer before she and Rhydian would be starting Hogwarts. Rhydian was a different story entirely. Caerwyn had had to home school him, unable to send her poor boy away like she had his sisters. A muggle school would never have understood the blood curse they shared and already, Rhydian had begun asking if he could continue to be homeschooled instead of sent to Hogwarts as well. Caerwyn had put her foot down on that one, refusing to even discuss it. He had to go out in the world sometime.

“Please please please!” Addie continued, releasing her father’s shoulders and sliding down his back onto her feet instead. She locked herself around him from the front, tilting her chin up so it rested on his chest, staring up at him with those big brown eyes that matched his own. Her hair was still a mess from the braids she’d put in the day before, having not yet bothered to fix them up, hoping he’d do it for her after breakfast. “Pretty please, Papa? I promise we’ll be so good and we won’t make any trouble.”

[adelaiderhosynweasley]

“Oh, we’re telling her.” Addie laughed, not about to let something this good go to waste by not informing Willow and Sunny of it. Zander gave all of them plenty of trouble throughout the year, enough that it was good to have something hanging out in her arsenal for when they needed to get back at him. She also knew it would make their mates laugh their asses off when they found out about Zander’s life long pet name from his aunt. She knew it was something that the other girls, especially Willow, would never let Zander live down. She supposed it was part of being friends with someone though, taking the piss out of them on occasion. Zander had taken plenty out of all of them every chance he had, so it was only fair to level the playing field every now and then. She cooed happily down at Clover, bouncing the baby a bit in her lap, helping her stand up on her thighs while she babbled away happily, blowing bubbles with her spit. “She can’t even talk yet, can you Clovey? No you can’t, no you fucking can’t. Yeah, who’s a cute little button bean baby? Is it you? Yes it is, yes it is.”

Adelaide held Clover up as Gulliver sat down next to them, not minding as he leaned closer to get a better look at her tiny cousin. Clover squealed with absolute delight at his simple game of peek-a-boo, finding it the most hilarious of things she had ever experienced in her young life. Gully had plenty of younger siblings, so he obviously knew how babies worked. Peek-a-boo was an easy thing to play with them, even better if you threw in some kind of towel to make it more extreme and exciting. She repositioned Clover in her lap, reaching over to the laundry basket to tug out a tea towel and hand it to Gulliver. “Here, she likes it a lot when your whole face is completely covered. Last time she laughed so hard bubbles started coming out of her ears. It was hilarious.”

Caerwyn took a slight sidestep away from the young man who had reached for her hand, releasing her son as he squirmed down to get off of her hip and chase after both his sister and their cousins in the back yard. She laughed as Rhydian landed on the teenager’s toes and then rolled her eyes as he took her hand, starting to bring it to his lips as he commented about knowing where Addie got her good looks. Now that, was the most ridiculous thing Caerwyn had ever heard in her life. She knew who Addie looked like, and it most definitely was not here. Adelaide had come out as a tiny version of her father, the only thing taken from Caerwyn being her darker shade of hair that had kind of mixed. It wasn’t really black like hers, but it wasn’t red like Louis’s, more of an odd shade of brown that seemed to have been unable to decide which end of pigmentation it had wanted to take on. Aside from that, Adelaide was the spitting image of Louis. Her eyes, her freckles, her stature… Louis’s snort broke Caerwyn’s attention and Zander moved back from her, just shy of kissing her hand. He looked nervous as Louis spoke, non-threatening but just stating the facts.

“Zander, I know you’re not back there hitting on my Mama.” Adelaide stated, looking over her shoulder and raising an eyebrow at her mate.

“Fucking funny how he thinks she looks anything like me. I swear to god, does no one know a goddamn thing about eggs anymore?” Caerwyn asked, eyeing her husband seriously before returning her gaze to Zander. “I had nothing to fucking do with that one, it was all him, kid. Laid it, sat on her for nine months, then she fucking hatched.”

“You’re supposed to be in Australia.” Addie reminded the Slytherin, shaking her head. “Besides, Gully is way more fun to hang out with. He at least likes chickens and stuff instead of just boobs. Here, make Clover laugh. She’s more in your league, but only because she thinks everything is funny and doesn’t really know anything about the world yet. Or d’you guys wanna go outside and visit the animals?”

It’s... It’s a Fucking BOY!?

“Pleeeease.” Adelaide whined as she hung off her father’s shoulders, dangling down his back from where she had clung on when he’d risen from the kitchen chair after breakfast. She had been hounding both him and her mother to allow her mate to come have a sleep over with her for the past two weeks nearly nonstop. At first it had been wonderful to be out of school but now, a month into the summer holiday, Addie was finding that she was really missing Gulliver quite a lot more than she had anticipated she would. Usually the Ravenclaw enjoyed the break from school. She would spend time down on the beach with her brother and sister, collecting shells and swimming, building sand fortresses and only returning to the house for meals some days. Or she’d be out with her chickens, Nugget trailing along after her while she sat with them, reading out loud stories from old books, collecting their eggs and making sure they had plenty of fresh feed and water. On rainy days, there was puddle jumping with Owena, shouting at the skies as it poured buckets down upon their skin, getting soaking wet until they were heading back into the small house to share a bath in order to warm up before curling up on the couch to play video games. Adelaide practiced her instruments, the piano and guitar, her precious xylophone, and the new violin sent from France by her great grandmother after Addie had expressed her interest in learning to play that one as well over the winter break. They had visited Shell Cottage several times to see their grandparents, and gone down the sea shore to see their other set. There had been yet another party at the Burrow, one to welcome the birth of another new cousin and a trip to Potter Manor where the children had run across the meadows full of wildflowers with Auntie Lils and Uncle Lorcan’s ever growing brood of girls.

Mama had insisted that Adelaide wait until her father got home form his most recent work trip before they made any kind of decisions about having friends over. It wasn’t that they didn’t want their daughter to have a friend, but this new soul she had become attached to wasn’t someone they had met before and with Louis’s line of work along with their last name… well, it was better to be safe than sorry. Perhaps if it had been Sunny Addie was asking to have over it would have been different. They had met the girl before as well as her parents on several occasions, but this new ‘Gully Stonefyre’ child was an anomaly. Who the fuck named their daughter ‘Gully’? Or was it a nickname? Another Ravenclaw, Addie had said, her best best best friend, which had then begged the question about what had happened with Sunny. Adelaide had frozen a bit at that before murmuring that Sunny liked spending time with Willow better now. The pair of girls had reconciled their relationship, but it wasn’t exactly what it used to be back before Sunny had properly hit puberty and Adelaide, well, hadn’t. Sunny had forgiven Addie for not telling her about her first and only kiss, but things had become a bit more strained than they used to be. As though they couldn’t confide in one another like they had before. A rift in the friendship that had left Addie spending far more copious amounts of time with Gully who had the same interests she did. Caerwyn had felt for her daughter, watching the way her face fell at the mention of Sunny but she hadn’t pressed the issue too much, only seeking the information she needed in order to realize that the girls were growing apart a bit, as was, unfortunately, the natural order of things sometimes.

Papa had returned the afternoon before, looking worn out as he always did when he got home from a trip. He’d been gone a full two weeks this time. The children knew better than to bother him too much on days like these. They’d snuggled on the couch with him for a bit until Caerwyn had gone to drag the silent Louis away into the bedroom. This was the course of things, the normal routine for when Papa came home from trips. Their bedroom door would close, blocking out the music playing from inside, a silencing charm on the walls and they would be gone for the next several hours while the children fended for themselves now that they were old enough to do so. When they’d been smaller, Caerwyn would always tote them off to a relative to be baby sat for a while so she and Louis could have a bit of private time. When they got home Papa would be there, excited to see them. After the bedroom, they would shower together, and Papa would look much more refreshed. She wasn’t entirely sure what it was her parents were doing in there, but she had always grown up assuming Papa just needed a nice restful nap with Mama and a shower before he’d feel better. Of course, she was a little more aware now of what may or may not have been going on in her parent’s bedroom, but she’d rather not think about it, pushing the grossness out of her mind. Now, the next morning, with more sleep under his belt, Adelaide had no qualms about bothering her father for what she wanted.

“Let your dumbass Papa at least finish his fucking coffee, Shit Nugget.” Caerwyn sighed, shaking her head and nursing her own cup of strong, black liquid. She was worn out from all the incessant asking. It was almost as bad as the time Owena had wanted to go to a slumber party at a classmate’s house last year. Caerwyn hadn’t been keen on it. Owena was still in primary school, all her little mates were Muggles, though she only had one year left there after this summer before she and Rhydian would be starting Hogwarts. Rhydian was a different story entirely. Caerwyn had had to home school him, unable to send her poor boy away like she had his sisters. A muggle school would never have understood the blood curse they shared and already, Rhydian had begun asking if he could continue to be homeschooled instead of sent to Hogwarts as well. Caerwyn had put her foot down on that one, refusing to even discuss it. He had to go out in the world sometime.

“Please please please!” Addie continued, releasing her father’s shoulders and sliding down his back onto her feet instead. She locked herself around him from the front, tilting her chin up so it rested on his chest, staring up at him with those big brown eyes that matched his own. Her hair was still a mess from the braids she’d put in the day before, having not yet bothered to fix them up, hoping he’d do it for her after breakfast. “Pretty please, Papa? I promise we’ll be so good and we won’t make any trouble.”

[adelaiderhosynweasley]

Adelaide stared in mild shock as Zander, of all people!, appeared in the living room of her aunt and uncle’s house. He went right for Tante Tabledancer, sitting in her lap the same way a small child might have and letting her hug him tightly, kissing at his cheeks. Since when was she his aunt as well? Though, Addie supposed, Joey wasn’t actually her aunt. Technically, Lily was her father’s cousin, making her Addie’s second cousin, and, by marriage, her uncles and Johiah as well. The very idea that she was related to Zander, even if it was just through marriage, was so wild Addie couldn’t even begin to comprehend it. She stared at the boy, her brown eyes wide as she took in the scene, unable to find words for the situation even as Zander finally seemed to notice her and Gulliver. The boys exclaimed at the same time, as they tended to do because of how close they were, and then the explanation of Zander’s presence became more clear.

“I don’t.” Addie stated rapidly, shaking her head as Zander confirmed that him and her definitely had no connection outside of school. At least, not one they had known about previously. She hadn’t even met him properly until this past year through Gulliver, so it was kind of wild seeing him here in a place she knew so very well. As far as she was concerned, this was her aunt and uncle’s house, but… it was also Zander’s aunt and uncle’s house? The confusion filled her strongly for a few moments before it dawned on her that Zander was ‘Bebe’. Auntie Joey had talked about him plenty of times before, always with such fondness, but Adelaide hadn’t always really been listening. She didn’t have much interest in hearing about her aunt’s other nephew when there was so many better things to do around here, like swim in the pond and ride on the hippogriff. Even photos she’d seen were of Zander at a much younger age than he was now but looking at him, she recognized that he was the same as the little boy in one of the many pictures on the mantle.

“Hmm? Papa, Zander’s part of our club. He’s our choreographer... and… and our friend.” The Ravenclaw explained nervously to her father, watching the way his face fell despite the fact that he was holding a tiny newborn in his arms. Papa never frowned when holding a baby, so he must be pretty concerned. She opened her mouth again, not sure what else to say, when Zander started for her. She froze up as he reached out, intent on hugging her the way a familiar friend might have, but, thankfully, Gully distracted him. Adelaide wasn’t big on touching people outside of her family unit, people she’d known her entire life for the most part, and somehow, Gulliver seemed to maybe have figured that out. Or perhaps, he was simply saving her the need to explain to her father that she was, in fact, friends with more than just one boy. Though she definitely wasn’t as close to Zander as she was Gully and they never hung out outside of a group setting to be honest. Adelaide sighed and then cocked a smile, grinning at the nickname. Zander loved picking on them, but now they had their own fuel to add to the fire.

“Bebe means ‘baby’ in French. It’s not a nickname, it’s a fucking pet name.” Addie explained brightly to Gully, her eyes meeting his with a mischievous glance. She had never heard her aunt ever refer to Zander as anything but ‘Bebe’, almost as if it were his actual name, something that had stuck to him his entire life whether he wanted it to or not. “What d’you think Gully? Should we change his name on our cast list this year? Hey, Bebe, I bet Willow would be glad to use it on the show pamphlets, we’ll just have to tell her.”

Addie laughed, her grin bright as she slammed a punch into the Slytherin’s arm, letting him know she was just kidding. Her voice was teasing but not the least bit cruel. She liked Zander well enough as a friend, even if he wasn’t exactly always the most… well behaved of blokes. Like her own female mates, the boy was growing faster, maybe even more than Willow and Sunny, to the point where sometimes all he talked about was finding dates. He’d even rated girls based on appearance when they’d come to audition for the Wizard of Oz back in the spring, something they’d all given him shit for. He was, for lack of better description, what could be referred to as a ‘dog’, but the group of friends he kept held him on as tight as leash as they could to keep him from making too much of a fool of himself… most of the time. Other times they’d let him loose and watch him get shot down by asking out someone too old for him, but that never stopped him from trying.

“Language, chicken.” Lysander reminded gently, though he knew it was pointless. All of Louis and Caerwyn’s children had mouths on them, compliments of their mother who, to be honest, had been quite a riot at family get togethers when the pair had first become an item.  He reached down, plucking up the pile of laundry Lily had been trying to fold before Owena had climbed into her lap to unintentionally destroy it. He tossed the things neatly back into the basket, making space for more bottoms on the couch as needed. He reached out, lifting the his redheaded sister-in-law upwards just long enough to plant himself down on the couch and hold her in his lap, chin resting down on her shoulder. Lily leaned forward a bit, grabbing a muffin from the bowl on the coffee table to hand feed him bites, knowing how tired he was taking care of the new little one with Joey on top of their six year old twins. There were no odd looks from anyone over this, an unspoken understanding of the life-long friendship.

“Sorry.” Adelaide shrugged, flopping down on the couch and leaning over to steal a bite of the muffin. Banana nut, classic Uncle Lys. She held her arms out to her other uncle, knowing there was no way she’d be able to take Summer from her father any time soon. He was just about addicted to that newborn scent. “Can I hold Clover?”

Caerwyn looked over her daughter’s head at her husband as the other infant in the room was deposited into Adelaide’s lap. Clover giggled, a happy little thing as she tugged at Addie’s braids, but Caerwyn was watching Louis and the way his face had fallen at the sight of Zander. Because he was yet another boy that Addie seemed to know… that, as their girl had said, was another friend of hers and Gully’s. That made two boys, and this one, Zander, definitely wasn’t nearly as innocent. He was growing at a regular rate from the looks of things. Caerwyn had met him before, on occasion, when he’d been much, much younger. It was rare her and Louis ever ran into Joey’s side of the family, especially as they were so spread out now and there was always a bit of… tension there. Old and thin, but it remained, the awful things the younger woman had been put through always made Caerwyn shudder when she thought about it. She bent slightly, to kiss Addie’s head and tickle as Clover’s belly before bending just a bit to hoist Rhydian onto her hip. He was probably too big for this now, but she held him with strong arms, keeping him close with a grateful heart that she was lucky enough to have all of her children. Even if the threat of boys hanging out with their oldest was upon them sooner than they had hoped it would be.

It’s... It’s a Fucking BOY!?

“Pleeeease.” Adelaide whined as she hung off her father’s shoulders, dangling down his back from where she had clung on when he’d risen from the kitchen chair after breakfast. She had been hounding both him and her mother to allow her mate to come have a sleep over with her for the past two weeks nearly nonstop. At first it had been wonderful to be out of school but now, a month into the summer holiday, Addie was finding that she was really missing Gulliver quite a lot more than she had anticipated she would. Usually the Ravenclaw enjoyed the break from school. She would spend time down on the beach with her brother and sister, collecting shells and swimming, building sand fortresses and only returning to the house for meals some days. Or she’d be out with her chickens, Nugget trailing along after her while she sat with them, reading out loud stories from old books, collecting their eggs and making sure they had plenty of fresh feed and water. On rainy days, there was puddle jumping with Owena, shouting at the skies as it poured buckets down upon their skin, getting soaking wet until they were heading back into the small house to share a bath in order to warm up before curling up on the couch to play video games. Adelaide practiced her instruments, the piano and guitar, her precious xylophone, and the new violin sent from France by her great grandmother after Addie had expressed her interest in learning to play that one as well over the winter break. They had visited Shell Cottage several times to see their grandparents, and gone down the sea shore to see their other set. There had been yet another party at the Burrow, one to welcome the birth of another new cousin and a trip to Potter Manor where the children had run across the meadows full of wildflowers with Auntie Lils and Uncle Lorcan’s ever growing brood of girls.

Mama had insisted that Adelaide wait until her father got home form his most recent work trip before they made any kind of decisions about having friends over. It wasn’t that they didn’t want their daughter to have a friend, but this new soul she had become attached to wasn’t someone they had met before and with Louis’s line of work along with their last name… well, it was better to be safe than sorry. Perhaps if it had been Sunny Addie was asking to have over it would have been different. They had met the girl before as well as her parents on several occasions, but this new ‘Gully Stonefyre’ child was an anomaly. Who the fuck named their daughter ‘Gully’? Or was it a nickname? Another Ravenclaw, Addie had said, her best best best friend, which had then begged the question about what had happened with Sunny. Adelaide had frozen a bit at that before murmuring that Sunny liked spending time with Willow better now. The pair of girls had reconciled their relationship, but it wasn’t exactly what it used to be back before Sunny had properly hit puberty and Adelaide, well, hadn’t. Sunny had forgiven Addie for not telling her about her first and only kiss, but things had become a bit more strained than they used to be. As though they couldn’t confide in one another like they had before. A rift in the friendship that had left Addie spending far more copious amounts of time with Gully who had the same interests she did. Caerwyn had felt for her daughter, watching the way her face fell at the mention of Sunny but she hadn’t pressed the issue too much, only seeking the information she needed in order to realize that the girls were growing apart a bit, as was, unfortunately, the natural order of things sometimes.

Papa had returned the afternoon before, looking worn out as he always did when he got home from a trip. He’d been gone a full two weeks this time. The children knew better than to bother him too much on days like these. They’d snuggled on the couch with him for a bit until Caerwyn had gone to drag the silent Louis away into the bedroom. This was the course of things, the normal routine for when Papa came home from trips. Their bedroom door would close, blocking out the music playing from inside, a silencing charm on the walls and they would be gone for the next several hours while the children fended for themselves now that they were old enough to do so. When they’d been smaller, Caerwyn would always tote them off to a relative to be baby sat for a while so she and Louis could have a bit of private time. When they got home Papa would be there, excited to see them. After the bedroom, they would shower together, and Papa would look much more refreshed. She wasn’t entirely sure what it was her parents were doing in there, but she had always grown up assuming Papa just needed a nice restful nap with Mama and a shower before he’d feel better. Of course, she was a little more aware now of what may or may not have been going on in her parent’s bedroom, but she’d rather not think about it, pushing the grossness out of her mind. Now, the next morning, with more sleep under his belt, Adelaide had no qualms about bothering her father for what she wanted.

“Let your dumbass Papa at least finish his fucking coffee, Shit Nugget.” Caerwyn sighed, shaking her head and nursing her own cup of strong, black liquid. She was worn out from all the incessant asking. It was almost as bad as the time Owena had wanted to go to a slumber party at a classmate’s house last year. Caerwyn hadn’t been keen on it. Owena was still in primary school, all her little mates were Muggles, though she only had one year left there after this summer before she and Rhydian would be starting Hogwarts. Rhydian was a different story entirely. Caerwyn had had to home school him, unable to send her poor boy away like she had his sisters. A muggle school would never have understood the blood curse they shared and already, Rhydian had begun asking if he could continue to be homeschooled instead of sent to Hogwarts as well. Caerwyn had put her foot down on that one, refusing to even discuss it. He had to go out in the world sometime.

“Please please please!” Addie continued, releasing her father’s shoulders and sliding down his back onto her feet instead. She locked herself around him from the front, tilting her chin up so it rested on his chest, staring up at him with those big brown eyes that matched his own. Her hair was still a mess from the braids she’d put in the day before, having not yet bothered to fix them up, hoping he’d do it for her after breakfast. “Pretty please, Papa? I promise we’ll be so good and we won’t make any trouble.”

[adelaiderhosynweasley]

“Papa likes dancing.” Addie laughed, beaming with delight as Gulliver and her father both joined her. They had a bit of a dance party, unable to settle down because of the pure excitement that sleepovers tended to bring. It was a couple of hours still until the pair of teenagers had worn themselves out completely after gorging on ice cream and cheetos, watching half of another movie before they were scooching into their sleeping bags to settle in for the night. The movie stayed on even as Addie relaxed, her head comfy on her pillow as she and Gulliver chattered back and forth until their comments got further apart, the silences longer until both of their eyes had shut. Adelaide slept soundly on the floor, feeling safe in her own living room with her father on the couch and her best mate nearby. She shifted in her sleep, as she always did, never able to stay still even when she was out cold. Her legs pushed inside her bag until she had slid upwards far enough to press the top of her head against Gulliver’s. The sensation was what she’d been seeking and she settled again for a while until she was flinging her arms up above her head, stretching them out. One small hand located another and clasped it, warm and comfortable as she interlocked her fingers with Gully’s.

Addie didn’t notice when her father was pulled from the living room by her mother nor when he tugged her back away from her best mate but she definitely noticed when her younger siblings arrived to wake them up. She grumbled, rolling over, irritated at having been woken before she was ready. Her braids were a mess, hair sticking out every which way in a manner that said they definitely needed to be redone. She finally sat up, stretching and rubbing at her eyes before she looked around, grinning as she spotted Gully. She gave him a gentle prod and shivered as she pushed up out of her sleeping bag. She went to the bathroom, bare feet padding across the floor as she yawned, intent on getting ready for the day.

Breakfast was a busy affair of multiple boxes of cereal on the kitchen table and a jug of milk that kept floating away with an innocent Owena stating that she had no idea why it was happening. Addie gave the hairbrush to Louis so he could fix her up, her excitement at meeting her newest cousin rising the closer they got to leaving. She adored playing with babies and it had been a good while since her Uncle Lys and Auntie Joey had had a new baby. She wondered what Summer looked like, who she had taken after. Would she be blonde? Brunette? Blue eyes or brown? It didn’t really matter because Addie knew she’d love her no matter what so long as she didn’t cry too much. Once breakfast was over and everyone was ready, they flooed their way over to their relative’s house. Addie grinned brightly as she straightened up, releasing Gulliver’s hand as she stepped out into the sunny kitchen. She moved forward rapidly, wrapping her arms around the tall blonde man who had a bright smile on his face as he spoke to her father.

“...really well. No complications, thank Merlin.” Lysander nodded before he was bombarded by his niece’s affection. He lifted her automatically, spinning her around once before setting her down and patting her head with a bright smile. “Hey there, chicken.”

“Uncle Lys, this is my best mate, Gulliver. We’ve had a sleep over.” Addie announced happily, pointing to the redhead behind her. Lysander’s eyes roved over the young man with curiosity. He looked at Gulliver and then at Louis, trying to figure out exactly how the hell this particular child had managed to infiltrate the Weasley’s home when he was, well, a boy. If he had been Rhydian’s friend it would be different, but the fact of the matter was that he belonged to Addie. There was no way Louis and Caerwyn had known beforehand otherwise they would haven’t allowed such a thing to happen. They were much more strict about certain things when it came to their children, but Lysander could understand the reasoning behind it. They had been young when Addie was conceived, not exactly ready to be parents at the time but they had done it anyway. It just meant they were extra careful when it came to friends of the opposite sex.

“Nice to meet you, Gulliver.” Lysander finally stated after he got over the shock of it. He offered his hand to Gulliver and then waved for them all to follow him to the living room. The cottage was bright and happy, overflowing with pretty colors that had always made Adelaide think of springtime. Yellow kitchen cabinets, gentle blue walls and honey colored wood floors. The rug in the living room was a soft shade of green, the walls in here covered with pretty floral printed wallpaper. Birds chirped through the open windows while a breeze blew in, the smell of grass mixing with that of hay and the tell-tale scent of what could only be some kind of farm. The noise of animals filtered into the cottage, but none of them were similar to that of what one would normally hear in a barn yard. Typically there’d be chickens clucking, cows mooing, sheep bleating… but here all the sounds were different. A hippogriff’s foot stomping as it scratched at the ground. The humming of puffskeins and the hoot of an owl who was irritated from having been woken from their nap, and the snore of what could only have been a sleeping dragon soaking up some sunshine. The back screen door in the kitchen was wide open, letting in whatever creature wanted to visit for a bit.

“Hi Pumpernickel.” Addie grinned, reaching out a hand to pat the head of an aurgery sat perched on the back of the couch. The dark phoenix gave a chirp in response, pressing up into her hand before she was quickly distracted by the light orange bassinet off to one side of the room. A dark haired woman sat nearby in a rocking chair, dozing while another blond man identical to Lys relaxed at her feet, a blonde baby in a carrier on his chest, carefully painting her toenails while a redheaded woman sorted through laundry on the couch.

“Hey baby.” Lily smiled, reaching up a hand to press it to Addie’s cheek while Owena scampered in to climb onto her lap, sending clothes flying from their near pile. Lily laughed and hugged her niece, kissing at her head before greeting Rhydian who was clinging to Caerwyn’s skirt. “Albus just took the rest of the lot down to the pond to keep them occupied.

“Auntie Lily, Uncle Lorcan, Auntie Joey.” Adelaide pointed to each in turn before introducing them to Gully properly. They greeted him with enthusiasm before Lysander was moving towards the bassinet and picking up the little bundle wrapped in gauzey white linen.

“This is Summer.” The former Hufflepuff stated proudly, automatically offering the tiny baby to Louis first. The man was some kind of baby magician and Summer didn’t even stir as she was placed in his arms. Her dark hair sat in a poof of curls on top of her head, her skin still that brand new baby red.

“Well, you’re not fucking getting her back for at least three hours.” Caerwyn commented, but her voice was amused. She knew exactly how her husband felt about babies and it would be a miracle if they were able to even leave the cottage without one later after he offered to babysit. Lily and Lorcan had plenty of little ones, younger than their own children, to choose from. Their most recent was about five months, another little girl added to their endlessly growing brood. She leaned close to Louis, running a gentle finger down her new niece’s cheek with a soft smile. “She’s fucking gorgeous.”

“I wanna see!” Adelaide bounced, moving closer so that she too, could admire her new cousin. She beamed brightly, her eyes widening as she pressed her hands to her cheeks, her excitement overwhelming her. “She’s so cute! Gully, come see.”

A thud sounded from the kitchen and Lysander looked up, his face brightening again. “That’ll be her sister and nephew, Bebe. We haven’t seen them in ages, they’ve been away in Australia.” He gently prodded at his wife’s shoulder, bending to kiss her head. “Ma colibri, everyone is here. Come on in guys.”

It’s... It’s a Fucking BOY!?

“Pleeeease.” Adelaide whined as she hung off her father’s shoulders, dangling down his back from where she had clung on when he’d risen from the kitchen chair after breakfast. She had been hounding both him and her mother to allow her mate to come have a sleep over with her for the past two weeks nearly nonstop. At first it had been wonderful to be out of school but now, a month into the summer holiday, Addie was finding that she was really missing Gulliver quite a lot more than she had anticipated she would. Usually the Ravenclaw enjoyed the break from school. She would spend time down on the beach with her brother and sister, collecting shells and swimming, building sand fortresses and only returning to the house for meals some days. Or she’d be out with her chickens, Nugget trailing along after her while she sat with them, reading out loud stories from old books, collecting their eggs and making sure they had plenty of fresh feed and water. On rainy days, there was puddle jumping with Owena, shouting at the skies as it poured buckets down upon their skin, getting soaking wet until they were heading back into the small house to share a bath in order to warm up before curling up on the couch to play video games. Adelaide practiced her instruments, the piano and guitar, her precious xylophone, and the new violin sent from France by her great grandmother after Addie had expressed her interest in learning to play that one as well over the winter break. They had visited Shell Cottage several times to see their grandparents, and gone down the sea shore to see their other set. There had been yet another party at the Burrow, one to welcome the birth of another new cousin and a trip to Potter Manor where the children had run across the meadows full of wildflowers with Auntie Lils and Uncle Lorcan’s ever growing brood of girls.

Mama had insisted that Adelaide wait until her father got home form his most recent work trip before they made any kind of decisions about having friends over. It wasn’t that they didn’t want their daughter to have a friend, but this new soul she had become attached to wasn’t someone they had met before and with Louis’s line of work along with their last name… well, it was better to be safe than sorry. Perhaps if it had been Sunny Addie was asking to have over it would have been different. They had met the girl before as well as her parents on several occasions, but this new ‘Gully Stonefyre’ child was an anomaly. Who the fuck named their daughter ‘Gully’? Or was it a nickname? Another Ravenclaw, Addie had said, her best best best friend, which had then begged the question about what had happened with Sunny. Adelaide had frozen a bit at that before murmuring that Sunny liked spending time with Willow better now. The pair of girls had reconciled their relationship, but it wasn’t exactly what it used to be back before Sunny had properly hit puberty and Adelaide, well, hadn’t. Sunny had forgiven Addie for not telling her about her first and only kiss, but things had become a bit more strained than they used to be. As though they couldn’t confide in one another like they had before. A rift in the friendship that had left Addie spending far more copious amounts of time with Gully who had the same interests she did. Caerwyn had felt for her daughter, watching the way her face fell at the mention of Sunny but she hadn’t pressed the issue too much, only seeking the information she needed in order to realize that the girls were growing apart a bit, as was, unfortunately, the natural order of things sometimes.

Papa had returned the afternoon before, looking worn out as he always did when he got home from a trip. He’d been gone a full two weeks this time. The children knew better than to bother him too much on days like these. They’d snuggled on the couch with him for a bit until Caerwyn had gone to drag the silent Louis away into the bedroom. This was the course of things, the normal routine for when Papa came home from trips. Their bedroom door would close, blocking out the music playing from inside, a silencing charm on the walls and they would be gone for the next several hours while the children fended for themselves now that they were old enough to do so. When they’d been smaller, Caerwyn would always tote them off to a relative to be baby sat for a while so she and Louis could have a bit of private time. When they got home Papa would be there, excited to see them. After the bedroom, they would shower together, and Papa would look much more refreshed. She wasn’t entirely sure what it was her parents were doing in there, but she had always grown up assuming Papa just needed a nice restful nap with Mama and a shower before he’d feel better. Of course, she was a little more aware now of what may or may not have been going on in her parent’s bedroom, but she’d rather not think about it, pushing the grossness out of her mind. Now, the next morning, with more sleep under his belt, Adelaide had no qualms about bothering her father for what she wanted.

“Let your dumbass Papa at least finish his fucking coffee, Shit Nugget.” Caerwyn sighed, shaking her head and nursing her own cup of strong, black liquid. She was worn out from all the incessant asking. It was almost as bad as the time Owena had wanted to go to a slumber party at a classmate’s house last year. Caerwyn hadn’t been keen on it. Owena was still in primary school, all her little mates were Muggles, though she only had one year left there after this summer before she and Rhydian would be starting Hogwarts. Rhydian was a different story entirely. Caerwyn had had to home school him, unable to send her poor boy away like she had his sisters. A muggle school would never have understood the blood curse they shared and already, Rhydian had begun asking if he could continue to be homeschooled instead of sent to Hogwarts as well. Caerwyn had put her foot down on that one, refusing to even discuss it. He had to go out in the world sometime.

“Please please please!” Addie continued, releasing her father’s shoulders and sliding down his back onto her feet instead. She locked herself around him from the front, tilting her chin up so it rested on his chest, staring up at him with those big brown eyes that matched his own. Her hair was still a mess from the braids she’d put in the day before, having not yet bothered to fix them up, hoping he’d do it for her after breakfast. “Pretty please, Papa? I promise we’ll be so good and we won’t make any trouble.”

[adelaiderhosynweasley]

“Awesome.” Addie grinned, a cheeto half hanging out of her mouth. She was excited by the possibility of having some proper instruction into the ways of the violin, especially if it involved learning Irish folk music from what she considered to be ‘professionals’. She was certain Gully’s uncles must be good at playing if they enjoyed it enough to do at family things and people seemed to like it. It also meant spending more time with Gulliver as well, which, at the end of the day, was something Adelaide desperately desired. The boy and her hadn’t exactly gotten along at first, not until a shared goal of saving Nugget from some older boys had forced them together. They had quickly discovered that they shared quite a few common interests and as the year had gone one, the pair had grown closer due to the simple fact that they were behind their peers in several serious categories. This wasn’t to say they weren’t growing right, just slower and at their own pace. It had brought them even closer until they were both much more interested in hanging out with each other than most of their other peers. Of course, the Ravenclaws still adored their mates. Sunny, Willow, Zander, and M&M were all wonderful and made life a lot more fun, but… Addie never felt as at ease around them as she did when it was just her and good old Gillyweed. They had shared their secret fears in the way only best mates could. Gully would forever be Addie’s first kiss as well, even if it hadn’t been anything remarkable to either of them, just something they could try together without anyone giving them shit over it. She was grateful for that actually, not having to deal with any kind of bad aftermath except for Sunny being angry that she hadn’t told her about it. The blonde still didn’t know who it had happened with and Addie wasn’t going to budge on that one. That was private. Just for her and Gully the way so many things were quickly becoming.

As the movie began, Adelaide tuned in, her eyes focusing on the screen but her mind was still easily distracted. She heard the sliding glass door open and close, the way the lock clicked into place and then her father walking down the hall. Her head turned as Louis moved around them to sit down on the couch, his legs adding to the space between the pair of teenagers, ever careful of Nugget and the snacks. Addie leaned against him, letting her head rest down comfortably on his knee. He smelt like he always did. The sea, coffee, an underlying of Mama’s perfume but all of it was shrouded slightly at the moment by cigarette smoke. Addie wished he would stop smoking, but with a job as stressful as her Papa had, well, she couldn’t exactly blame him. According to Mama, Louis didn’t smoke nearly as much as he had when they were younger, slowing down to where he seemed to only do it when he was particularly stressed out. Even her mother, every now and then, would take the fag from his fingers and inhale, her shoulders relaxing down in a manner that said it was familiar to her as well. Caerwyn didn’t smoke though, not the way Louis did. Adelaide didn’t mind the smell of the cigarette smoke. It was just as soothing and comforting as the rest of her Papa was.

The Ravenclaw closed her eyes, fingers curling into the fabric of Louis’s jeans as she listened to the music of the movie she had seen enough times to play in her head. Maybe. Papa had said. Well, a maybe was better than a straight out ‘no’ at least. Addie opened her eyes back up when Gully began to speak again, motioning to the screen with a question of Zander’s abilities to mimic the dance. Adelaide nodded in agreement, knowing full well that Zander was capable of just about anything when it came to dance. The boy could even do a full split, his body as limber as a contortionist’s. She leaned forward a bit, so she could better see Gulliver past her Papa’s legs. “He could. I bet he could teach it easy too, if people are willing enough. They have a full cast, but a lot of the dances use extra people just to make them more thrilling. Their presence isn’t entirely important to the story. See? If you watch this bit, there’s five main characters and the rest are all back ground. That means we’d really only need five people able to do this part and then add more if we can find some. I’d be more concerned about finding someone who can play a trumpet that well. I might have to start practicing when we get back, just in case. And we’re going to need a really nice tenor for the main character, but that’s not as difficult if we get a guy who’s voice hasn’t finish changing yet. He’d still have the ability to reach into the higher range. That or we cast a girl and either have her portray a guy or make the romantic portion gay.”

Adelaide reached down for the cheetos again, taking two this time and shoving them up under her top lip. She clapped her hands together and barked a bit, shaking her head. “’ook ‘uwwy, I’mma walwus.”

Addie giggled as one of the cheetos fell out of her mouth and she chewed the other one up instead. She let the lost one go to Nugget as the chicken bounced for it, clucking excitedly, her previous one dented to the point where it wasn’t nearly as fun to peck at any longer. The Ravenclaw contented herself with shoving more cheetos in her mouth for a bit before the next song came on, fast paced and exciting enough to have her pushing up from the floor. “This one’s my favorite. It’s super easy, look.”

Addie mimicked the dance movements on the TV, following along with ease and obvious previous practice. It really wasn’t a hard one, fairly simple with a lot of repetitions that made it fun to do. She had taught it easily to her younger siblings and her father who was better at letting down his guard around his children to do things he normally wouldn’t have around other adults. Caerwyn had recorded it on her phone, laughing the whole time but even she had eventually been literally swept up into joining them by Louis who had held her close instead then. The children had scattered when he’d kissed her though. “C’mon Gully. Even Papa knows this one. Danser, Papa!”

*Dance

It’s... It’s a Fucking BOY!?

“Pleeeease.” Adelaide whined as she hung off her father’s shoulders, dangling down his back from where she had clung on when he’d risen from the kitchen chair after breakfast. She had been hounding both him and her mother to allow her mate to come have a sleep over with her for the past two weeks nearly nonstop. At first it had been wonderful to be out of school but now, a month into the summer holiday, Addie was finding that she was really missing Gulliver quite a lot more than she had anticipated she would. Usually the Ravenclaw enjoyed the break from school. She would spend time down on the beach with her brother and sister, collecting shells and swimming, building sand fortresses and only returning to the house for meals some days. Or she’d be out with her chickens, Nugget trailing along after her while she sat with them, reading out loud stories from old books, collecting their eggs and making sure they had plenty of fresh feed and water. On rainy days, there was puddle jumping with Owena, shouting at the skies as it poured buckets down upon their skin, getting soaking wet until they were heading back into the small house to share a bath in order to warm up before curling up on the couch to play video games. Adelaide practiced her instruments, the piano and guitar, her precious xylophone, and the new violin sent from France by her great grandmother after Addie had expressed her interest in learning to play that one as well over the winter break. They had visited Shell Cottage several times to see their grandparents, and gone down the sea shore to see their other set. There had been yet another party at the Burrow, one to welcome the birth of another new cousin and a trip to Potter Manor where the children had run across the meadows full of wildflowers with Auntie Lils and Uncle Lorcan’s ever growing brood of girls.

Mama had insisted that Adelaide wait until her father got home form his most recent work trip before they made any kind of decisions about having friends over. It wasn’t that they didn’t want their daughter to have a friend, but this new soul she had become attached to wasn’t someone they had met before and with Louis’s line of work along with their last name… well, it was better to be safe than sorry. Perhaps if it had been Sunny Addie was asking to have over it would have been different. They had met the girl before as well as her parents on several occasions, but this new ‘Gully Stonefyre’ child was an anomaly. Who the fuck named their daughter ‘Gully’? Or was it a nickname? Another Ravenclaw, Addie had said, her best best best friend, which had then begged the question about what had happened with Sunny. Adelaide had frozen a bit at that before murmuring that Sunny liked spending time with Willow better now. The pair of girls had reconciled their relationship, but it wasn’t exactly what it used to be back before Sunny had properly hit puberty and Adelaide, well, hadn’t. Sunny had forgiven Addie for not telling her about her first and only kiss, but things had become a bit more strained than they used to be. As though they couldn’t confide in one another like they had before. A rift in the friendship that had left Addie spending far more copious amounts of time with Gully who had the same interests she did. Caerwyn had felt for her daughter, watching the way her face fell at the mention of Sunny but she hadn’t pressed the issue too much, only seeking the information she needed in order to realize that the girls were growing apart a bit, as was, unfortunately, the natural order of things sometimes.

Papa had returned the afternoon before, looking worn out as he always did when he got home from a trip. He’d been gone a full two weeks this time. The children knew better than to bother him too much on days like these. They’d snuggled on the couch with him for a bit until Caerwyn had gone to drag the silent Louis away into the bedroom. This was the course of things, the normal routine for when Papa came home from trips. Their bedroom door would close, blocking out the music playing from inside, a silencing charm on the walls and they would be gone for the next several hours while the children fended for themselves now that they were old enough to do so. When they’d been smaller, Caerwyn would always tote them off to a relative to be baby sat for a while so she and Louis could have a bit of private time. When they got home Papa would be there, excited to see them. After the bedroom, they would shower together, and Papa would look much more refreshed. She wasn’t entirely sure what it was her parents were doing in there, but she had always grown up assuming Papa just needed a nice restful nap with Mama and a shower before he’d feel better. Of course, she was a little more aware now of what may or may not have been going on in her parent’s bedroom, but she’d rather not think about it, pushing the grossness out of her mind. Now, the next morning, with more sleep under his belt, Adelaide had no qualms about bothering her father for what she wanted.

“Let your dumbass Papa at least finish his fucking coffee, Shit Nugget.” Caerwyn sighed, shaking her head and nursing her own cup of strong, black liquid. She was worn out from all the incessant asking. It was almost as bad as the time Owena had wanted to go to a slumber party at a classmate’s house last year. Caerwyn hadn’t been keen on it. Owena was still in primary school, all her little mates were Muggles, though she only had one year left there after this summer before she and Rhydian would be starting Hogwarts. Rhydian was a different story entirely. Caerwyn had had to home school him, unable to send her poor boy away like she had his sisters. A muggle school would never have understood the blood curse they shared and already, Rhydian had begun asking if he could continue to be homeschooled instead of sent to Hogwarts as well. Caerwyn had put her foot down on that one, refusing to even discuss it. He had to go out in the world sometime.

“Please please please!” Addie continued, releasing her father’s shoulders and sliding down his back onto her feet instead. She locked herself around him from the front, tilting her chin up so it rested on his chest, staring up at him with those big brown eyes that matched his own. Her hair was still a mess from the braids she’d put in the day before, having not yet bothered to fix them up, hoping he’d do it for her after breakfast. “Pretty please, Papa? I promise we’ll be so good and we won’t make any trouble.”

[adelaiderhosynweasley]

[adelaiderhosynweasley]

[adelaiderhosynweasley]

“A couple weeks ago.” Addie grinned, giving another slide of her bow across her strings, trying to find the right amount of pressure still. Sometimes she pressed too hard or too lightly and ended up with a not so pleasant squeaking noise but she was getting better at avoiding it. The chords were the easier part. Her fingers had already built up decent callouses from playing her guitar to the point where pressing down on the violin strings didn’t hurt and she could already move pretty well over the instrument with some minor adjustments for the new body positioning. She shifted her chin a bit, still getting used to having it there as she played instead of in her lap. The bow was the hardest bit to master so far for her, but in due time, she was sure she’d get it so long as she practiced properly. She watched the way Gully’s eyes shone behind his glasses and grinned, holding out her violin for him to get a proper look at. “No taking it apart. Look here, it’s made to look pretty much all the same but it’s actually got several different types of woods. See, the faceplate here on the front, that’s spruce. The back is maple, this part is the fingerboard, it’s ebony, and these bits here are rosewood.”

Adelaide pointed out the different pieces to Gulliver, knowing he’d like that someone had taken all different types of woods, meshed them together and made them all look basically the same with a simple reddish stain. She had been slightly obsessively researching violins since the spring, her eyes always glued to her phone as she scrolled through information, tutorials, and different tips and tricks. By the time her great-grandmother had decided to send her one, Addie knew every piece, the most famous makers, and some of the top violinists of both this age and in history. It was her most researched instrument to date, others having made their way into her life mostly through family members who already played them. Her father had taught her piano, Uncle Teddy had brought her an old guitar, and her xylophone, well, that was all Addie herself listening to the combinations of songs and repeating them until she had them figured out. Her mother had never been quite sure what to make of her eldest daughter’s special interest but there was really no actual reason to worry so long as she made friends outside of her instruments as well. It had been an early on concern when Addie had been little and starting school. She hadn’t quite figured out how to behave and interact with other children at the time, always crying about being dropped off and not wanting to leave home. She’d never had trouble with her cousins though and she’d really started coming into her own after starting Hogwarts.

“I’ve learned a few songs, but not nearly as many as I’d like. And it still squeaks sometimes which isn’t very pretty. D’you think your uncles could show me how? Or teach me some folk music?” Adelaide asked excitedly, her eyes brightening at the idea of learning from someone in person instead of from videos on her phone. She did well enough with them, but there was nothing like someone being able to show you the exact right pressure to put on something. Addie had always learned best with visible representations right in front of her, like watching her Papa’s fingers move along the piano keys or Teddy strumming his strings slowly. Carefully, Addie set her violin back down in its case and moved over to the television. She opened the cupboard off to one side of it, revealing numerous DVDs in rows upon rows. The top two shelves were labeled ‘Mama’s Don’t Fucking Touch’ and contained a slew of horror films that would have given even the bravest of people nightmares sometimes. Below that were Addie’s musicals, a few things Louis had found he actually enjoyed watching, and then simpler things for Owena and Rhydian that were fun but safely rated for their age. Addie tugged out the pirate film, the cover depicting the actors on the stage in full dress and make-up. It had been filmed in an actual theater for reproduction and it had becomes one of Adelaide’s favorites simply because it contained plenty of sword fighting. She undid the case, checked to make sure there was no DVD already in the player, and then got it loaded, switching the television over from the video games so they could watch it.

With the movie ready, Addie grabbed up her bag of cheetos and sat down on the floor between the sleeping bags, not really ready to settle into her bag just yet. Nugget clucked and the brunette set a cheeto down on the floor for her to peck at before shoving one into her mouth and offering another with already cheese dusted fingers to Gulliver. She grinned, cheese clinging to her lips and slightly to her teeth, excited for their sleep over even more now that it was happening but also dreading the end of it. The more fun they had, the more time they spent together, the less time they would have remaining to actually do those things. Part of her was worried that it was all going to end too soon and she wouldn’t see Gulliver again until the beginning of the school year. She glanced at her chicken and then at her father who was, as always, lingering nearby. “Hey Papa, can we have more sleepovers after this? Nugget says she really, reeeeeally missed Gully and doesn’t think she can stand to be apart for a whole month again.”

It’s... It’s a Fucking BOY!?

“Pleeeease.” Adelaide whined as she hung off her father’s shoulders, dangling down his back from where she had clung on when he’d risen from the kitchen chair after breakfast. She had been hounding both him and her mother to allow her mate to come have a sleep over with her for the past two weeks nearly nonstop. At first it had been wonderful to be out of school but now, a month into the summer holiday, Addie was finding that she was really missing Gulliver quite a lot more than she had anticipated she would. Usually the Ravenclaw enjoyed the break from school. She would spend time down on the beach with her brother and sister, collecting shells and swimming, building sand fortresses and only returning to the house for meals some days. Or she’d be out with her chickens, Nugget trailing along after her while she sat with them, reading out loud stories from old books, collecting their eggs and making sure they had plenty of fresh feed and water. On rainy days, there was puddle jumping with Owena, shouting at the skies as it poured buckets down upon their skin, getting soaking wet until they were heading back into the small house to share a bath in order to warm up before curling up on the couch to play video games. Adelaide practiced her instruments, the piano and guitar, her precious xylophone, and the new violin sent from France by her great grandmother after Addie had expressed her interest in learning to play that one as well over the winter break. They had visited Shell Cottage several times to see their grandparents, and gone down the sea shore to see their other set. There had been yet another party at the Burrow, one to welcome the birth of another new cousin and a trip to Potter Manor where the children had run across the meadows full of wildflowers with Auntie Lils and Uncle Lorcan’s ever growing brood of girls.

Mama had insisted that Adelaide wait until her father got home form his most recent work trip before they made any kind of decisions about having friends over. It wasn’t that they didn’t want their daughter to have a friend, but this new soul she had become attached to wasn’t someone they had met before and with Louis’s line of work along with their last name… well, it was better to be safe than sorry. Perhaps if it had been Sunny Addie was asking to have over it would have been different. They had met the girl before as well as her parents on several occasions, but this new ‘Gully Stonefyre’ child was an anomaly. Who the fuck named their daughter ‘Gully’? Or was it a nickname? Another Ravenclaw, Addie had said, her best best best friend, which had then begged the question about what had happened with Sunny. Adelaide had frozen a bit at that before murmuring that Sunny liked spending time with Willow better now. The pair of girls had reconciled their relationship, but it wasn’t exactly what it used to be back before Sunny had properly hit puberty and Adelaide, well, hadn’t. Sunny had forgiven Addie for not telling her about her first and only kiss, but things had become a bit more strained than they used to be. As though they couldn’t confide in one another like they had before. A rift in the friendship that had left Addie spending far more copious amounts of time with Gully who had the same interests she did. Caerwyn had felt for her daughter, watching the way her face fell at the mention of Sunny but she hadn’t pressed the issue too much, only seeking the information she needed in order to realize that the girls were growing apart a bit, as was, unfortunately, the natural order of things sometimes.

Papa had returned the afternoon before, looking worn out as he always did when he got home from a trip. He’d been gone a full two weeks this time. The children knew better than to bother him too much on days like these. They’d snuggled on the couch with him for a bit until Caerwyn had gone to drag the silent Louis away into the bedroom. This was the course of things, the normal routine for when Papa came home from trips. Their bedroom door would close, blocking out the music playing from inside, a silencing charm on the walls and they would be gone for the next several hours while the children fended for themselves now that they were old enough to do so. When they’d been smaller, Caerwyn would always tote them off to a relative to be baby sat for a while so she and Louis could have a bit of private time. When they got home Papa would be there, excited to see them. After the bedroom, they would shower together, and Papa would look much more refreshed. She wasn’t entirely sure what it was her parents were doing in there, but she had always grown up assuming Papa just needed a nice restful nap with Mama and a shower before he’d feel better. Of course, she was a little more aware now of what may or may not have been going on in her parent’s bedroom, but she’d rather not think about it, pushing the grossness out of her mind. Now, the next morning, with more sleep under his belt, Adelaide had no qualms about bothering her father for what she wanted.

“Let your dumbass Papa at least finish his fucking coffee, Shit Nugget.” Caerwyn sighed, shaking her head and nursing her own cup of strong, black liquid. She was worn out from all the incessant asking. It was almost as bad as the time Owena had wanted to go to a slumber party at a classmate’s house last year. Caerwyn hadn’t been keen on it. Owena was still in primary school, all her little mates were Muggles, though she only had one year left there after this summer before she and Rhydian would be starting Hogwarts. Rhydian was a different story entirely. Caerwyn had had to home school him, unable to send her poor boy away like she had his sisters. A muggle school would never have understood the blood curse they shared and already, Rhydian had begun asking if he could continue to be homeschooled instead of sent to Hogwarts as well. Caerwyn had put her foot down on that one, refusing to even discuss it. He had to go out in the world sometime.

“Please please please!” Addie continued, releasing her father’s shoulders and sliding down his back onto her feet instead. She locked herself around him from the front, tilting her chin up so it rested on his chest, staring up at him with those big brown eyes that matched his own. Her hair was still a mess from the braids she’d put in the day before, having not yet bothered to fix them up, hoping he’d do it for her after breakfast. “Pretty please, Papa? I promise we’ll be so good and we won’t make any trouble.”