A Dinner of thirteen

Sunday afternoon, Chris, Ginny and Hermione were walking in the garden. Crookshanks, Hermione's ginger cat, were chasing a gnome, which was barely ten inches high, its horny little feet pattered very fast as it sprinted across the yard. An owl was zooming around, hooting happily.

"Shut up Pigwidgeon." Ginny said angrily, who was trying to explaining the Quidditch semi-finals. "Or else go to Ron's room."

The owl, Pigwidgeon stopped hooting.

Pigwidgeon was Ron's new owl, which Sirius Black gave him last year. Ginny named it Pigwidgeon, as expected Ron didn't liked the name and tried to change it but the owl liked it.

"And then Mullet scored. It was on Daily Prophet. The goal was miraculous." Ginny said excitedly.

"So you think Ireland will win the cup?" Hermione asked.

"I think so. The Ireland players seems strong." Chris said.

"I agree." Ginny said.

"Ron's too hung up on Bulgaria. He said Krum is a great seeker." Hermione said.

"That he is actually." Chris replied. "But..."

Chris was interrupted by an beautiful owl, who dropped a letter in her hand and sat on her shoulder. It was Chris's owl Leon. Chris patted Leon and he rubbed his head on Chris's hair affectionately. Chris smiled and opened the letter, it was from her father.

"I'll go inside. Ginny?" Hermione looked at Ginny.

"Yeah. Me to. Chris come in when you've finished reading the letter." Ginny said smiling and left with Hermione.

My dear Chris,

I got a letter from Mr Weasley. He informed me about the Quidditch World cup. I hope you enjoy it. I'm very jealous of you, I even asked Mr Weasley that if I can join; but he said it's not possible.

I know you're enjoying your stay with the Weasleys. I've no doubt that they're treating you as their own.

Stay happy my little Eagle. I miss you. Love you.

Love, your dad..

P. S. - I've send some money for you. Keep it with yourself.

Chris checked the envelop and found some wizarding money and some muggle money. She put the letter and the money in her jeans' pockets and went inside.

Mrs Weasley was bustling in the kitchen, angrily.

"Can I help Mrs Weasley?" Chris asked looking at the potatoes, which were lying around the floor and were all over the walls.

"Sure. Sure dear. Please help me to clean this mess a bit." She said directing her wand at a dustpan, which hopped off the sideboard and started skating across the floor, scooping up the potatoes. "Sirius and Harry will be here soon, I've so much work and those two... OH NOT AGAIN!"

She had picked up her wand from the table, and it had emitted a loud squeak and turned into a giant rubber mouse.

Chris understood it was Fred and George and their fake wands. They had tricked Chris many times with those. Chris always found it amusing but now was not the time to praise them.

"I'll do it." She brought some fresh potatoes and put them into the sink.

"I don't know what's go­ing to happen to them, I really don't. No ambition, unless you count making as much trouble as they possibly can. …"

Mrs. Weasley took her wand and put the large copper saucepan down on the kitchen table and began to wave her wand around inside it. A creamy sauce poured from the wand tip as she stirred.

"It's not as though they haven't got brains," she continued irrita­bly, "but they're wasting them, and unless they pull themselves together soon, they'll be in real trouble. I've had more owls from Hogwarts about them than the rest put together. If they carry on the way they're going, they'll end up in front of the Improper Use of Magic Office."

"I think they're just a little different, Mrs Weasley. I'm sure they'll make you proud one day." Chris said as she put the saucepan on the stove.

"I don't know where we went wrong with them," said Mrs. Weasley, as she lit the stove with her wand and started to pull out still more saucepans. "It's been the same for years, one thing after another, and they won't listen to me or Arthur."

"You and Mr Weasley are absolutely great, Mrs Weasley. Its like my dad used to say, when our five fingers are different from each other, how can we expect all persons to be the same?" Chris said calmly and brought few knives, spoons, forks and plates out of their cutlery set.

Chris was taking out the potatoes from the sink when a sudden motion in the kitchen fireplace stopped her. Chris looked down and saw a skinny boy almost fell from the fireplace flat on the ground.

"Harry dear." Mrs Weasley pull him up. He stood up and grinned at Mrs Weasley.

As she pulled Harry into a tight hug, another figure emerged from the fireplace. Sirius Black came out with smile.

"How are you Molly?" He asked.

"I'm good. How are you?" Mrs Weasley said as she let go of Harry.

"I'm fine." He said and looked around. "Hello Christina."

"Hello Mr Black." Chris smiled.

"Arthur! Ron! Look who's here?" Mrs Weasley called.

"Hey." Harry grinned at Chris and hugged her.

"Hey." Chris replied with a smile.

Mr Weasley, Ron, Bill and Charlie entered the kitchen.

"Harry! I was waiting for you." Ron said excitedly.

"How're you doing, Harry?" Chalie said coming close. Harry smiled and shook hand with him. Next came Bill who shook hands with Harry as well. Then came Hermione and Ginny, both greeted Harry. Mr Weasley took Sirius with him and Ron took Harry to show his room.

"Now. Now. Bill, Charlie set the tables outside. We'll eat out in garden. Here's no room for thirteen people." Mrs Weasley ordered to Bill and Charlie. Then she turned towards Chris, Hermione and Ginny, "Could you take the plates, knives and forks outside, girls?"

All of them nodded.

Chris took the plates outside, and almost dropped them hearing a very loud crashing noise. She saw that Bill and Charlie both had their wands out, and were making two bat­tered old tables fly high above the lawn, smashing into each other, each attempting to knock the other's out of the air. Fred and George started to cheer them. Ginny who was behind Chris, started to laugh. And Hermione was shocked first then she was hovering near the hedge, apparently torn between amusement and anxiety. Chris cheered them as well, laughing.

Bill's table caught Charlie's with a huge bang and knocked one of its legs off. There was a clatter from overhead, and they all looked up to see Percy's head poking out of a window on the sec­ond floor.

Chris hadn't seen Percy much in the Burrow, Percy was obsessed with his work, he was working like 24 hours a day. Mr Weasley had to drag him home from the Ministry office.

"Will you keep it down?!" Percy bellowed, with his horn-rimmed glasses and a very annoyed expression.

"Sorry, Perce," said Bill, grinning. "How're the cauldron bot­toms coming on?"

"Very badly," said Percy peevishly, and he slammed the window shut. Chuckling, Bill and Charlie directed the tables safely onto the grass, end to end, and then, with a flick of his wand, Bill reattached the table leg and conjured tablecloths from nowhere. Chris set the plates, spoons, knives and forks on the table neatly. After few minutes, Mrs Weasley came with the food and piled it in the table.

By seven o'clock, the two tables were groaning under dishes and dishes of Mrs. Weasley's excellent cooking, and the nine Weasleys, Chris, Sirius, Harry, and Hermione were settling themselves down to eat beneath a clear, deep-blue sky.

As Chris was helping herself with chicken and salad, she heard at the far end of the table, Percy was telling his father all about his report on cauldron bottoms.

"I've told Mr. Crouch that I'll have it ready by Tuesday," Percy was saying pompously. "That's a bit sooner than he expected it, but I like to keep on top of things. I think he'll be grateful I've done it in good time, I mean, it's extremely busy in our department just now, what with all the arrangements for the World Cup. We're just not getting the support we need from the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Ludo Bagman —"

"I like Ludo," said Mr. Weasley mildly. "He was the one who got us such good tickets for the Cup. I did him a bit of a favor: His brother, Otto, got into a spot of trouble — a lawnmower with un­natural powers — I smoothed the whole thing over."

"Oh Bagman's likable enough, of course," said Percy dismis­sively, "but how he ever got to be Head of Department … when I compare him to Mr. Crouch! I can't see Mr. Crouch losing a mem­ber of our department and not trying to find out what's happened to them. You realize Bertha Jorkins has been missing for over a month now? Went on holiday to Albania and never came back?"

"Really? Well that's a odd thing." Sirius said.

"Yes, I was asking Ludo about that," said Mr. Weasley, frowning. "He says Bertha's gotten lost plenty of times before now — though I must say, if it was someone in my department, I'd be worried. …"

"Still, Arthur I think we should keep update about this. Don't forgot sometimes simple things make bigger problems." Sirius replied.

"Oh Bertha's hopeless," said Percy. "I hear she's been shunted from department to department for years, much more trouble than she's worth … but all the same, Bagman ought to be trying to find her. Mr. Crouch has been taking a personal interest, she worked in our department at one time, you know, and I think Mr. Crouch was quite fond of her — but Bagman just keeps laugh­ing and saying she probably misread the map and ended up in Aus­tralia instead of Albania." Percy said to Sirius.

"I see," Sirius said frowning.

It was very clear to Chris that both Percy and Sirius didn't liked each other at all.

Percy heaved an impressive sigh and took a deep swig of elderflower wine — "However, we've got quite enough on our plates at the Department of International Magical Cooperation without trying to find members of other departments too. As you know, we've got another big event to organize right af­ter the World Cup."

Percy cleared his throat significantly and looked down toward the end of the table where Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting. "You know the one I'm talking about, Father." He raised his voice slightly. "The top-secret one."

"That means you can't tell us what is it? Right?" Chris asked Percy.

"Of course not. You're not supposed to know..." Percy said trying to sound superior but Chris interrupted, "Then drop the topic."

Almost everyone chuckled on the table but Percy frowned.

Fred, George, and Charlie started talking spiritedly about the World Cup.

"It's got to be Ireland," said Charlie thickly, through a mouthful of potato. "They flattened Peru in the semifinals."

"Bulgaria has got Viktor Krum, though," said Fred.

"Maybe," said Chris, who was sitting between Ginny and Charlie. "But a team can't win with just a one player. I think Ireland will win."

"I agree. Ireland has got seven decent players," said Charlie shortly. "I wish England had got through. That was embarrassing, that was."

"What happened?" said Harry eagerly.

"Went down to Transylvania, three hundred and ninety to ten," said Charlie gloomily. "Shocking performance. And Wales lost to Uganda, and Scotland was slaughtered by Luxembourg."

Again everyone concentrated on eating, Chris noticed Sirius was looking at Harry time to time, specially at his scar.

Mr. Weasley conjured up candles to light the darkening garden before they had their homemade strawberry ice cream, and by the time they had finished, moths were fluttering low over the table, and the warm air was perfumed with the smells of grass and hon­eysuckle.

"Look at the time," Mrs. Weasley said suddenly, checking her wristwatch. "You really should be in bed, the whole lot of you — you'll be up at the crack of dawn to get to the Cup. Harry, if you leave your school list out, I'll get your things for you tomorrow in Diagon Alley. I'm getting everyone else's."

"No need Molly. I already brought his things." Sirius said smiling. "We went to Diagon Alley yesterday."

"Oh! That's great. Actually you see Sirius, I thought, there might not be time after the World Cup, the match went on for five days last time."

"Wow — hope it does this time!" said Harry enthusiastically.

"Well, I certainly don't," said Percy sanctimoniously. "I shudder to think what the state of my in-tray would be if I was away from work for five days."

"Your brother need to get a life, Ginny." Chris whispered.

"Good night then everyone." Sirius said getting up first. "As usual the dinner was excellent, Molly. But now I should take my leave. I'll meet you all tomorrow in the match, Arthur."

He shook hands with Mr and Mrs Weasley, smiled at everyone and took Harry aside, he said something to him. Then with a nod, he disapparate from there.