Disclaimer: You know the drill - characters, places, objects, etc. - all J.K. Rowling's. I'm just playing with them for a while. :)
Date: Same day. In my room
Well, it could have been worse. I'm not entirely certain how, but I bet it could have been.
Mum dragged me down the ladder. Literally. I put up a pretty good fight, even if I do say so myself. But remember, this is the woman who raised six rowdy boys, and who can still keep them under control, even though most of them have long since moved out. I've never stood much of a chance against Mum.
As soon as we got to the bottom of the ladder, she took one look at me and started positively howling. Apparently, I got quite dusty up in the attic. I offered to go and clean myself up, but she just scowled and flicked her wand, removing all traces of dust from my hair and clothes. I reckon she was remembering the time when I was ten. I got caught helping Fred and George in their latest escapade, which had involved sneaking into Dad's shed, and resulted in my becoming absolutely filthy. I hurried to the loo to clean myself up, told Mum I'd just be a minute, and hopped out of the window, taking refuge in the woods for the next few hours. By the time Mum found me she was practically in tears, and I got let off with a few stern words and a big hug. My brothers dubbed the incident "classic," and have tried to recreate it several times. It never worked though. They just can't play our parents like I can.
Anyway, once I was dust-free, she dragged me down into the sitting room where Auntie Murielle, Vicky and Laura were all sitting daintily, little mugs of tea clasped primly in their hands.
Mum gave me a sharp poke in the ribs, and I smiled and uttered a strained, "Hi." (Just for her sake, though). The gruesome twosome barely acknowledged me; they took a sip of their drink in unison, and exchanged amused glances. Auntie Murielle, on the other hand, leapt up from the sofa, sending her mug flying, and grabbed me. I thought she was trying to strangle me, but it turned out she was just giving me a rather overly-enthusiastic hug. I guess she's forgotten our last encounter.
"Oh Ginevra!" She gave me a big kiss on my cheek (thank Merlin – Ron and the others get theirs on the mouth) before continuing. "How are you, dear? It's been the longest time! And the girls have told me such stories about you! Now, I know you all had a little disagreement some time ago, but I'm certain you'll be able to put it all behind you now, won't you?"
I attempted a nod – anything to get out of there as quickly as possible. She beamed and turned to her daughters. "See that? I told you!" They just took another sip of their tea. Auntie Murielle turned back to me. "Now dear, I think you should help your cousins take their bags up to your room, don't you? Off you pop!"
And so I was stuck with lumbering suitcase after suitcase up the stairs, while my cousins each took a handbag and a tiny little vanity case before declaring themselves "fatigued."
I dumped their stuff down on the beds Mum had conjured and attempted to pick my way out of the over-crowded room, before realising that I had inadvertently blocked my only escape route with a particularly large suitcase. I hopped up onto one of the beds to try and scramble across, eliciting squeals of protest from the two… girls. I was almost out of the door, before one of them (no idea which one) darted in front of it, and the other slammed it shut.
The darting one reached out and grabbed my shoulder, forcing me back onto my bed. The other took out her wand, and locked the door. Shite.
"So," said the one who had pushed me onto the bed, as she sat down beside me. "You and Harry." Oh no oh no oh no. "Are you still going out with him?"
"Uh." She was still grasping my shoulder – hard. I was so tempted to sock her one, but I'm going to have to share a room with the two of them for who knows how long, and I don't want them mad. No-one wants those two mad. "No. I'm – er. I'm not." Articulate, I know.
"Oh," said the other one, who was still standing. "Is he coming here?" I nodded. She exchanged a devilish glance with her sister. "Ok. Thanks."
And, just like that, I was let off the hook. They unlocked the door and disappeared back downstairs.
Great. So all I need to do now is stop one – or both - of them from stealing my – my, uh, jewellery. I mean, they can have Potter if they want. It's not like I still like him. Well – I mean, I like him. How could you not like him, with his messy black hair and big emerald eyes and quick sense of humour and amazing Seeker's skills and adorable lop-sided smile and – oh for Merlin's sake. That's it. I'm going to go and read a book or something…
Date: Same day. Chicken coop
I am a genius. They always said Percy was the smart one – well HA! Did Percy ever think of hiding out in the chicken coop? I think not! I mean, yes, it smells pretty bad in here, and it's really dark so my writing's probably all over the place, and every now and then a chicken will start tugging on my hair, which actually hurts like hell – but they can't find me! Laura and Vicky, I mean. When I finally ventured out of my room and down the stairs (I was starving), I bumped into one of them flouncing around in a bikini. A bikini. In Britain. She obviously thinks Harry's coming today. I'm not going to correct her. She can freeze her arse off if she wants. But I was mentally scarred.
Out to the chicken coop we go.
The really great thing, as I think I mentioned, is there is no way either of them is going to find me in here. I mean, they might muck up one of their nails or something, should they dare venture into the chicken coop. Gods forbid. And there's food, too! No, I don't mean the chickens – I'm not eating a live bird – but they have bird seed in here! I can live off bird seed until they're gone!