Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs solely to Jo Rowling

Prologue
Chapter 1 - Leaving
Chapter 2 - New
Chapter 3 - Quidditch
Chapter 4 - The Letter
Chapter 5 - The Other Letter
Chapter 6 - Diagon Alley
Chapter 7 - September
Chapter 8 - Durmstrang
Chapter 9 - Detention
Chapter 10 - June 1992
Chapter 11 - October 1994
Chapter 12 - The Tryouts
Chapter 13 - Off to Hogwarts
Chapter 14 - Hogwarts
Chapter 15 - Beards, Books and Beanies
Chapter 16 - Winter at Hogwarts
Chapter 17 - Yuletide

-----

The Eighth Horcrux


Gorgeous banner by GoldenSnake

Prologue

Three people stood waiting in the dark outside the front door of Malfoy Manor. A woman, with long straggly black hair, her arms crossed and her gestures impatient as she rang the bell, a tall man with broad shoulders and a slightly hunched posture, and a little girl. She was no older than three, and despite it being the middle of summer, it was strangely cold and she was only wearing a short-sleeved polka-dotted dress. She was shivering, but her parents did not seem to notice.

They heard someone approach the door and ask who was calling.

‘It’s me, Cissy!’ whispered Bellatrix. ‘Let us in, it’s urgent we talk!’

There was a sound of wood on wood, a click of a lock and the door opened to reveal a woman with shining pale hair and an equally pale expression on her face.

‘Bella! Is it true, what they’re saying? That the Dark Lord’s—’

‘Close the door before you say anything, Narcissa!’ Bellatrix hissed, hastily entering the entrance hall, her husband and daughter following suit. They went into the living room, where a man with long blond hair was sitting in front of a roaring fire, clearly deep in thought, but as soon as the four entered, he seemed to come out of his reverie and got up, making his way towards them.

‘Ah, Bellatrix, Rodolphus, what a pleasant surprise—’ he started.

‘This isn’t a time for warm welcomes, Lucius,’ Bellatrix cut in, rather angrily. ‘You know perfectly well why I’m here!’

There was a short pause as Lucius stared, rather taken-aback at Bellatrix’s way of saying hello. ‘Let’s sit down,’ he suggested.

Rather reluctantly, Bellatrix sat down at the oak table and after they had accepted a glass of wine from the family house-elf she looked expectantly at her sister and her brother-in-law. They didn’t speak, so she got straight to the point.

‘It is true that the Dark Lord has lost his powers,’ she said darkly. 'He's disappeared.'

‘So are you saying you’re going to look for him?’ said Lucius. He was trying to hide the uneasiness he felt.

‘Obviously,’ spoke Rodolphus.

Another pause.

‘Well? Are you coming?’

Narcissa shot a look at Lucius, who after a second replied, ‘Do not misunderstand me. I am not saying this out of disloyalty, but don’t you think it’s best if we lie low for the time—’

‘Exactly the answer I’d have expected from you, Lucius,’ snarled Rodolphus, scowling menacingly.

‘Yes, Lucius, Narcissa, I’d have thought better of you. We’re not—’

‘But think about it, Bella,’ Narcissa spoke quietly, ‘Ministry officials will be everywhere now, they’d do anything to get their hands on us now that Dark Lord’s – well, he can’t help us, can he?’

Bellatrix had a glint of madness in her eyes which never meant good news. ‘Are you meaning to say that you are only Death Eaters as long as he’s there to save you?’ growled Bellatrix. ‘We strive to follow his path even if it gets us a cell in Azkaban! Isn’t that right, Rodolphus?’

He nodded grimly. Lucius and Narcissa couldn’t think of anything to say after that. The little girl had been silent all the while, sitting obediently next to her mother.

A few tense minutes passed.

‘So be it.’ Bellatrix downed the last of her wine and got up; everyone else did the same. ‘But we still have one favour to ask. We may not be back for a while, so I must ask you to take Amarantha under your roof for the time being.’

‘Bella, you can’t be serious – what if you get caught?’ said Narcissa, her voice quavering slightly.

‘I think we have already made ourselves clear,’ huffed Bellatrix, in a voice that ended the matter. ‘Goodnight.’

They left without another word. The girl, Amarantha, sat still on her chair, staring curiously at her aunt and uncle’s furniture, and didn’t realize that her parents had left without as much as a goodbye.

*

A few days later, as Narcissa Malfoy had been right in predicting, the Ministry had already rounded up a large number of Death Eaters and most of them were being sent off to Azkaban without as much as a trial.

When the news that her sister had been arrested arrived, along with her husband and two other Death Eaters, it didn’t take Narcissa by surprise; she had been constantly worrying about when it would happen. A trial was to be held a few days from now, but how could she ever hope that her sister would be let off? There was proof enough that she’d tortured two people into insanity, and her record wasn’t exactly what you’d call clean.

Predictably, when the Daily Prophet arrived a week later, the front page bore the news that they had been sent to Azkaban, and in the meantime a few other Death Eaters had been caught. Narcissa sat down in front of the living room fire, her head in her hands, watching her one-year-old son playing on the carpet with a toy wand and making the fire turn different colours. Her husband had found a job at the Ministry and so far they hadn’t been convicted of anything. A swift lie and a few sacks of galleons – and the Minister had believed them.

Her niece sat, barely visible, on the other armchair, watching her cousin change the fire from red to blue to black and making little gasps of surprise every time. She was still wearing the same dress she’d worn the first night there, but her raven hair looked shinier and she looked considerably happier.

She’ll have to go soon, though, thought Narcissa, shifting her gaze and now staring at Amarantha. What if they found out? Lucius and Draco, they can’t know...

The front door opened and a cold breeze came swooping in, making the fire in the grate dance. Narcissa got up and went into the entrance hall.

‘Lucius,’ she greeted her husband, pecking him on the cheek.

‘How is Draco doing?’ he asked, taking off his travelling cloak. ‘I suppose he’s gotten over that little disagreement with his cousin this morning?’

‘Oh, he’s perfectly fine, yes,’ said Narcissa. She shifted her weight. ‘Listen, Lucius. I was thinking – the girl, she – well... do you think we should send her away? To St Nicholas’s?’

‘Yes, I was thinking about that too,’ mused Lucius. Narcissa looked positively relieved at his words. Lucius made his way into the living room and called the house-elf to get him a glass of wine after seating himself at the oak table. ‘She’s too much of a bother, if you ask me, and we already have our own son to take care of. But do you think Bellatrix would be happy about it?’

‘Well, it’s not like she really cared for the girl,’ said Narcissa briskly, as she followed him and sat down opposite at the oak table. The reminder that her sister was in Azkaban made her agitated. She lowered her voice so that only Lucius would hear her. ‘Amarantha doesn’t have any godparents, and, well, she probably won’t be back for some time too...’ She sighed heavily.

‘I understand how you may feel about your sister, Narcissa,’ he said, then paused to take a sip. After a moment’s hesitation, he said, ‘But it was unwise of them to do that. They should have—’

‘Don’t talk about Bella like that!’ Narcissa suddenly snapped. Then she let out a little gasp as if she couldn’t believe she’d just spoken that way.

‘I guess we should do as we said, then,’ he continued. ‘Tomorrow, take the girl to the orphanage and after we might as well go on with our normal lives.’

Narcissa nodded in agreement. It would be an enormous relief to get rid of another load of trouble. The past few weeks had drastically changed her life, and she was ready to do anything to go back to living quietly.

-----

A/N: So this is my first go at a Harry Potter fanfic. I'll be honest, I'm kinda nervous to see what people think of it, and I'd really appreciate any comments. I hope you liked it!

Thank you for sharing your talent with us! Please be sure to edit your first post with a chapter index when you next update (even if it is a one shot) and, as always, update often and have fun!

Okay... I had just put a bunch of effort into a very long comment with quotes and fan-girling and stuff but then my browser quit on me and I am mad at it...Either way, to sum it all up:

Bella = Evil
Bella's Daughter - Lovely!
Narcissa = Grr....why did you give your niece away?!
Questions?: Is Amara the eighth horucrux?
Comments: You are amazing! I love this writing and plot and such, it's great! No need to be nervous abut the readers, we won't kill you but you might want to run because we will stalk you!

First reader Thanks so much for reading!

I'm a victim of very slow internet and a freezing computer too, so I know how that feels, it's maddening! And I might have to acquire an Invisibility Cloak now if people are gonna stalk

Thanks so much for commenting!

Here's chapter 1, folks! Thanks to everyone who read, and LillyJames for commenting

-----

Chapter 1 - Leaving

A set of curious, twinkling black eyes stared back out of a hand mirror.

Amarantha lay on her back on her bunk bed in the room she shared with another girl called Dita Williams, observing herself in the mirror held in her hands. Somehow, she pondered, the only thing she really liked about her appearance were her eyes. She didn’t look too unordinary, but her eyes stood out. They were the dark shade of obsidian, and the pupils were barely visible. It unnerved people sometimes.

She was quite alone; the sounds of the children talking and playing around the orphanage were the only thing disturbing her right now. A loud bang issued from downstairs followed by someone shouting and Amarantha suspected it was Tim setting something alight again.

The couple would soon arrive to take her now. It was near noon and that was when they’d promised to come. Amarantha had met her adoptive parents once before; they were a middle-aged witch and wizard who looked quite strict but not unkind, though the man had had a permanent annoyed look on his face. They’d worn dark blue robes and had introduced themselves as Mr and Mrs Burke.

Amarantha slowly got to her feet and put the mirror in her small trunk at the end of her bed. She had packed everything she owned: a few clothes, an alarm clock with twelve hands which she was very fond of, her collection of Chocolate Frog Cards, a tattered old version of Tales of Beedle the Bard and a few other books, and a bright orange quill which Dita had given her for her eleventh birthday. She would miss the orphanage; it had certainly felt like home to her. She knew she’d been barely over three years old when the orphanage had become her home, but she couldn’t remember ever feeling like that anywhere else. She supposed her parents had died before she could remember them. She only had a vague memory of them.

All the Matron had ever told her was that the woman who’d brought her here had said her name was to be Amara Black. From now on, though, she could consider herself a Burke.

‘Amara, Matron says to come down quick, they’re here,’ someone said behind her, making her jump.

‘Oh, ok, Tim, tell her I’m coming,’ she said, and the little boy of around six hurried off, his long mane of curly hair bouncing behind him. Amara closed the trunk and carried it downstairs, where the Matron and Mr and Mrs Burke were waiting for her at the foot of the stairs.

‘There you are, come along now,’ the Matron greeted her, gesturing her to the entrance hall. When they were near the door, she looked down at Amara. ‘Isn’t this wonderful, Amara? Not many of the children here get to have parents, and this is finally your turn!’ She smiled briskly.

‘Amara!’ A girl came hurrying towards them, her braided hair flapping behind her. She looked cautiously at the grown-ups and then said, ‘We’ll see each other soon, right? You’re starting Hogwarts this year!’ She gave her a swift hug. ‘Write lots, OK?’

‘I’ll write as much as I can,’ Amara smiled.

‘Well,’ spoke Mrs Burke, ‘we’d best be moving on, right?’ She turned to the Matron. ‘Thank you for your assistance, Miss Piggons.’ She opened the door and took one step outside.

‘See you, then,’ said Amara. ‘Goodbye, Matron.’

And just like that, she was gone from St Nicholas’s as suddenly as she’d come.

Vaguely, Amarantha could remember something of the day she’d first set foot at the orphanage. A woman had brought her here, when she herself hadn’t been more than three years old. She remembered walking down that same street she was walking up now, but she couldn’t remember anything else – who the woman was, or how she looked. Could she have been a relative, or possibly her own mother, who hadn’t wanted her anymore? The same question had bugged her ever since she could remember, but now it didn’t matter, she wasn’t an orphan anymore, she was walking towards the Burkes’ clean, polished car, shining in the August sun, and she needn’t worry about that right now.

-----

A little shorter this time...next chapter will be longer though! Don't forget to comment

Love it!

Aw...I'm sure you're pretty Amarantha!

I love the sound of Tim

I read that and just about died...It was great!

Because she never had home!!! (Sorry....still mad at Bellatrix and Narcissa)

All the Matron had ever told her was that the woman who’d brought her

Loved this line!

I love it as usual! I wonder if this couple will be good or not? And what will happen if she ever finds who her parents are? Sigh..


P.S. Pams!!

*squee* Me loves your mega long review

Amara seems to be reaching puberty, that's why she feels bad about her appearance Tim...he won't be in the story much, but in later chapters he will be Ikr Bellatrix and Narcissa...and Lucius, you'd think they'd have cared since she was pureblood, but Bella&Rodolphus don't like kids, and Narcissa would agree with her sister I guess? Ah well, as for the rest, you'll find out soon Thanks again for reading and commenting! ^.^

WEll, my first comment would have been even longer than that one, but then my internet was all messy up.. and yeah. I mean, I'm glad that she got a better life than she would have living with Bellatrix and Rodolpus and with Narcissa and Lucius, but still...bad parenting!!!

This is fantastic! Can't wait for more. Don't worry about us readers, we are all friends here!

Yeah, I definitely know what you mean
Hehe well I guess it's to be expected from dark wizards.

Thanks! I'll update soon
I'm sure no one on SS is mean but I've read some reviews on fanfictions on other sites that were pretty harsh

Gah, I'm excited for the next chapter.
Intriguing plot.

Thanks, Taz

OK, I'm starting to procrastinate now, so to make myself write more I'll post the rest of what I've written. Really long chapter ahead, and some funny Weasley goodness

-----

Chapter 2 - New

Her first few days at the Burkes’ were unlike anything she’d ever experienced. The Burkes had a house at the end of a village called Ottery St Catchpole, a village which Amarantha learned was mostly inhabited by Muggles. Their house looked quite ordinary from the outside, save for the strange pot plants which were placed around the perimeter of the house and the terrace sticking out of the hipped roof. Through the windows you could see a normal kitchen and a living room, but once you entered it all looked so unlike from what you could see outside.

It was a manor. A very Elizabethan manor, with two fireplaces and too many rooms for Amara to remember her way around the house. She loved exploring it though; magic was obvious in every room, there was a grandfather clock on the first floor which screamed insults at you if you forgot to remember what you were supposed to be doing at the time, a dusty library which shifted its shelves around according to what you wanted to read, couches and chairs which slid away when they realized you were getting too comfortable, and a lot of other things which took some time to get used to. Amara described everything in detail in her letters to Dita.

One bright morning in August, Amara woke up to the sound of Mrs Burke swishing the curtain aside to let the sun into her new bedroom, who told her that they were having a dinner party that night with some rich wizard family who had a daughter her age. Amara groaned inwardly; this was the third time in one week already. The Burkes liked having friends over for dinner, since the house felt too empty with just three people, but so far every family that came was just as posh and polite as the two Burkes; in fact, Amarantha didn’t think she could ever get used to being posh and polite. No matter how hard she tried, she just wasn’t up to that sort of etiquette. She always managed to slurp food all over her dress, drop her glass or stain the tablecloth with her drink. Nevertheless, she forced a smile and pretended that the dinner party was something she was looking forward to.

‘Why don’t I take you to the playground after breakfast, dear? Your father and I were planning on going shopping today. That is, unless you’d like to come with us?’

Amara was quite surprised at the way she spoke. Your father and I.

‘Um – yes, OK, thanks,’ she said, smiling politely and changing into her brand new dress. She went downstairs, ate breakfast quietly, and set off with Mrs Burke. Their house was at the end of the street, so they were in countryside after a few minutes’ walk on a footpath, which eventually led to a small playground where a few children were playing.

‘I’ll be going, Amara,’ said Mrs Burke as she made to leave. ‘If you need anything, just give next door’s a call.’ Amara nodded and watched her make her way back up the path.

She turned towards the swings and walked slowly up to a girl and a boy who looked about her age. They looked like Muggles, and both had light brown hair cut identically. Apart from three other children with their mother the park was quite empty.

Amara sat on a swing and wondered whether she should talk to the Muggle children. She was wearing Muggle clothing so they couldn’t guess anything, could they?

‘Are you from around here?’ asked the girl with identical hair to her brother’s. ‘I’ve never seen you. We come here every day.’

‘No, I only just came here,’ replied Amarantha. It was a bit strange, she had never talked to Muggles, but they seemed perfectly normal to her. ‘I live with the Burkes,’ she added.

‘Oh, so you’re adopted?’ piped in the boy. ‘We did hear Mrs Burke was adopting. Her husband wasn’t too keen, I heard. Kept having these loud arguments. You could hear them from across the street—’

‘Yes, that’s them,’ said his sister, clearly wanting him to shut up.

‘So how is it?’ the boy asked. Amara glanced at him. He’s really nosy, she concluded.

‘They’re really nice.’

‘Really? Because I heard old Mr Burke got into some nasty trouble a while ago.’ His sister rolled her eyes. ‘Toby – that’s the postman –’ he went on, not noticing his sister ‘– he went up to the house to give him some strange package, kept rattling and making funny noises, he said, and guess what? He set one of those weird plants on him!’

Neither Amarantha nor the other girl looked amused. His sister had probably already heard him tell the story a dozen times, and Amarantha figured that a Devil’s Snare had gotten in the way by mistake. She had read about them in the Burkes’ library.

The playground had gone very quiet. Amara turned her head to the other side of the park, where two boys with identical red hair and mischievous smiles had quite suddenly appeared. Even their clothes were matching; grey shorts and black shirts with yellow stripes, both bearing two crossed Ws over what looked like a wasp.

‘It’s them again!’ hissed the nosy boy, looking round too. ‘Weird pair. I heard they’ve got twenty brothers and sisters and their dad’s a magician—’

‘Come on, Luke,’ said his sister, grasping his arm. ‘Mum said not to go near them.’ She turned to Amarantha.

‘You should go too,’ she told her, as the mother with three children made for the footpath. ‘I’m Lisa, by the way. What’s your name?’

‘Amara.’

‘This is my very nosy and talkative brother Luke,’ said Lisa.

‘Hey!’ he protested.

‘It was nice to meet you,’ she finished. And they hurried off.

The park was empty now, except for the two boys and Amarantha. She sat still on her swing and watched the two red-haired boys make their way towards her.

‘Hey, aren’t you supposed to be running away?’ one of them said, grinning.

‘I suppose no one has told her about the whomping see-saw yet, George,’ the other said, grinning too.

‘Yeah, ouch, haven’t seen Dad like that since we set a spider on Ron,’ said George, wincing and rubbing his rear. ‘It still hurts...’

‘You’re wizards, aren’t you?’ said Amara, smiling. She’d thought there must be others near.

The twins looked slightly taken aback.

‘Didn’t think we’d run into one like us over here,’ said George finally, sitting down on a swing.

‘Yeah, do you live in that Muggle village?’ said the other twin, sitting down next to him.

‘I came here a week ago. I live with the Burkes,’ she said again.

‘The Burkes? I heard old Mr Burke can get really angry when he wants to. He could compete with Dad,’ chuckled the boy next to her. ‘I’m Fred, by the way, and this is George,’ he said, shaking her hand.

‘I’m Amara.’

‘Actually, I’m George,’ the same twin added.

‘Hey, I know you’re jealous since my name sounds better and all,’ said the other twin. ‘But don’t mind him. I am George.’

Amara laughed. They reminded her of Tim from the orphanage. He was a joker too, and was like Amarantha’s little brother at that time. She felt a little pang of homesickness.

‘We live up there,’ said the twin whom she guessed was Fred, gesturing towards the hills, ‘we’re quite a big family of wizards. So, can you do any magic yet?’

‘Um, not really, no,’ she said. Come to think of it, the only magical thing she’d ever remember doing was cure Dita’s pet rabbit when he’d gotten a bad case of snuffles a few years back. What she’d done wasn’t really remarkable.

‘Really? We can do loads of stuff, already!’ jumped up Fred, his twin following suit. ‘Watch!’

They knelt down and uprooted a few flowers, and then lit them like they were setting off fireworks. Letting go, they flew ten feet into the air and exploded in a shower of sparks. The twins smirked at the look of awe on Amara’s face.

‘Whoa... how’d you do that?’ she said, suddenly realising her mouth was open and closing it quickly. She blushed; she must’ve looked like a right idiot.

‘It’s more a matter of luck, really,’ said Fred. ‘Most of the time we can’t control it. We could be eating and all of a sudden the plates are gone and there’s nine holes in the ceiling.’

‘Mum isn’t too pleased when that happens, but at least it makes Ginny laugh,’ said George. ‘She’s our little sister,’ he added, as they sat back on the swings.

‘Do you support the Wimbourne Wasps, then?’ asked Amara, gesturing at their shirts. ‘They did beat the Chudley Canons, but the Falmouth Falcons beat them by sixty points last season.’

‘They cheated!’ protested Fred, but he was grinning. Everybody loved a little Quidditch banter.

‘Did not! Stevens got in the way of a Bludger, he didn’t fly into Becket on purpose.’

‘Yeah, but Bagman sent that Bludger at Thompson after he’d caught the Snitch,’ George added.

‘OK, so maybe he was a little angry they’d caught the Snitch, but they still won by sixty points, didn’t they?’

Amara tried for a winning ‘ha!’ when they couldn’t think of a counter-attack but ended up choking on a fly, much to her embarrassment and the twins’ amusement. They happily exchanged their views on the last match between their favourite teams for a while. The sun had reached its highest point when Mrs Burke came for Amara.

‘See you later!’ called George, as they too made their way home.

‘We practice Quidditch in an orchard near our house, you should come up there some time and we’ll see how you play,’ called Fred, smirking.

‘We’ll see,’ Amarantha said, hiding a grin and already making her way up the footpath with Mrs Burke. She’d made up a story of how she’d once made a spectacular save back when she was still in the orphanage, and the twins were eager to see how well she could play. In truth she’d only ever played Quidditch once, after she, Dita and a few others had broken into the broom shed back at the orphanage - but ten minutes into the game and they’d been called off by the Matron. Amara still had a souvenir of the shape of the Matron’s fingers still raw pink just underneath her back.

-----

MY TWINNEHS! I lovesh them! This is an amazing story, and if it has twins in it!

PAMS!

Who doesn't love them, really? Thanks! And yes, this story will have quite a lot of F&G in it

Exactly! LOVESH MA TWINNEHS! Storyies with F&G in are awesome... Just are... Period...

Agreed

I love this story PAMS

Thankyou Will update soon!

Love this! Can't wait to hear more!

I am such a horroble person! I missed being the first commenter on this chapter! Dx Oh well...for that I shall make this an EXTRA long comment.



I loved this part! I love the way you described the house. I could picture all of it!

LOVE IT! She's a part of a real family!!! Okay, I thank Narcissa for giving her up now!!

I wish I had gone to the park every day

Ah...Sibling love!

Haha, I love it...I also guessed instantly who they were talking about...Because I'm just that good.

Be Afraid. Be very afraid....or not....

oh gosh, what did these two do now...BAD GEORGE AND FRED you two know better...you're supposed to enchant the sandbox to be quicksand..

Poor Ron, being scarred for life...and poor children...never going on the see-saw again....And poor George for his ear still hurting.

Classic Fred and George banter...but I confused...who is George and who is Fred?

Hahaha I laughed at this...



Me and my slowness..my reactions...


OHH :

Thankyou! I'll update soon

That's ok, your comments still make me happy, whether they're first or not =3 THANKYOU ^.^


That part is actually my favourite part


Everyone would choose living in a big magical manor and hanging out with the Weasleys over staying with the Malfoys

Awsh, that's ok, I didn't go to the park that much when I was little either


Yep, be very afraid oh yes The sandbox/quicksand idea is great, didn't think of that! Oh and George was actually rubbing his rear...as in butt

Hehe couldn't resist putting in the little 'no I am' thingy...I don't know which is which either


Don't worry, I also couldn't really remember what I meant when I re-read it should've written it better I guess!

Thanks again everyone for reviewing! You're the best

-----

Chapter 3 - Quidditch

'But why? Why can’t I play?’

‘Because you’re too little, Ginny,’ Fred answered automatically. He’d lost count of the times he’d had this conversation. ‘You have to be older for Quidditch.’

‘I am not little!’ said his sister shrilly. ‘I’m eight now! And Ron’s only a year older and you let him play!’

‘Hey, keep me out of this...’

The twins grinned. Just like their older brothers had teased them about not being old enough for Quidditch when they were younger, they enjoyed doing the same to their little sister.

‘I know how to fly, if that’s what you’re saying,’ said Ginny, her arms crossed as she stood outside the back door of The Burrow.

‘How can you know?’ laughed Fred. ‘Hey – wait! You haven’t—’

‘She can’t have, Fred,’ said George rationally. ‘The broom shed’s always locked.’

‘Yeah, you’re just bragging,’ Fred told his sister, convinced. ‘Well, see you! Go play with the gnomes or something.’

With an angry shout of exasperation, their sister went back inside, saying something about telling Mum. The twins laughed in spite of themselves, and made their way to the orchard behind their back garden with their eight-year-old brother Ron, the afternoon sun hot on their necks and a warm breeze ruffling their hair. Their brooms hung over their shoulders and Fred carried a ball strangely decorated with black pentagons he’d found years before in the playground; they were going to use it as a substitute for a Quaffle. Percy never played, and Bill and Charlie apparently were too busy to play with them nowadays; Fred and George had heard their mother say something about a ‘scary stage of life’ called "adolescence". They weren’t too sure what it meant but they didn’t care enough to ask.

‘We’re playing as two teams today, Ron,’ said Fred. ‘You’d better fly better, at least try to outstrip the speed of a butterfly this time.’

Ron scowled and punched his brother playfully. ‘It’s not my fault my broom’s lousy. Anyway, how are we supposed to have two teams with just the three of us?’

‘There’s a girl from the village who’ll be playing too. She says she’s a pretty good Keeper,’ said George, giving him a meaningful look.

They arrived at a wide paddock after a few moments, where Amara was waiting, sitting under the shade of a tree and eating an apple. Her broom lay at her feet, a Nimbus 1000 she’d borrowed from the Burkes’ broom shed. It was quite old, the handle was badly scratched and some of its twigs were bent, but it was good as far as she was concerned.

‘Hey, I thought we were meeting back there,’ said Fred, pointing his thumb behind him.

‘I got a little lost,’ said Amara vaguely, finishing her apple and throwing the core in the trees.

‘Is that a Nimbus?’ George said, walking over and gazing at the broom with wide eyes.

Amara nodded, and the three brothers bent down to get a close look at the broom.

‘The Chudley Cannons use those!’ said Ron excitedly. ‘Can I have a go? It looks amazing – of course if it wasn’t they wouldn’t have got one for everyone in the team... needs polishing, though,’ he added in a proficient tone. ‘And the twigs need to be unbended.’

‘Thanks for pointing that out, Ron, we wouldn’t have realised if it wasn’t for you,’ Fred said, rolling his eyes. Ron’s ears turned scarlet.

Amara saw his embarrassment and smiled. ‘That’s ok – Ron, isn’t it? You can try it out if you like. That Shooting Star’s the same one the Wimbourne Wasps use, so it can’t be too good, can it?’ she laughed, glancing at the twins.

‘The Falmouth Falcons fly on Comet 250s! Those are even worse!’ protested Fred.

‘Yeah, and how come Ickle Ronniekins gets to try the Nimbus and we don’t?’

‘Because at least he supports a decent team,’ said Amara, grinning at the twins’ indignation.

Fred and George got up, Cleansweep 5s in hand.

‘Go on, then,’ smirked Fred.

‘You and Ron against us,’ said George, smirking identically.

‘We were going to be nice and let both of you pair up with one of us—’

Amara snorted and got up, Ron following her lead. They swapped their brooms and turned back to the twins, looking superiorly expectant.

‘Our goalpost is between that tree and that one,’ said Fred. ‘And yours.’ He pointed at two apple trees slightly wider apart than theirs.

‘Wait, we can’t just let you have the upper hand like that. Your goalpost is smaller, so we take the ball,’ said Amara, pulling the football out of Fred’s hands and giving it to Ron, who looked slightly scared at being the Chaser. Fred shrugged in a we’ll-pound-you-anyway way.

‘OK, then,’ he said. ‘Mount your brooms. Ready? – Oh, what’s that behind you Ron? – GO!’

They pushed hard off the ground and flew five, ten, fifteen feet into the air, Ron a few seconds late. It didn’t feel strange to Amara for a second time, but not familiar either. She guessed that after a few more flights she would get used to it. The wind blowing in her face was exhilarating, but it made her feel slightly nervous too. Thirty feet above the ground and she was glad she was wearing shorts instead of a skirt – the wind was strong at this height. She rushed over to the space between their two trees and waited, watching Fred trying to wrestle the ball out of Ron’s hands.

After five minutes of continuous struggle, with Fred swearing loudly (only because Mrs Weasley wasn’t around to hear) and Ron securing the ball tightly underneath his chest and holding onto the Nimbus 1000 for dear life, Amara glanced at the opposite side, where George was crying with mirth and trying not to fall off his broom. She caught his eye and couldn’t help it any longer; she burst out laughing too.

Bent down, laughing uncontrollably, she heard a sharp whoosh to her right; she looked up and saw Fred, punching the air and bowing to an invisible cheering crowd, and behind her, the ball lying innocently in the shade of a tree.

‘Well, that was fast,’ Amara mumbled, crossing her arms and feeling thick for letting him score so easily. George was still laughing on the opposite side, and Fred had gone for the ball.

An hour passed, and as Amara saved another goal (they had changed course a few times and now Amara was Keeper and the others were all trying to score), a bob of red hair and shining glasses appeared below them, yelling something.

‘What’s that, Perce? Sorry, I can’t hear you!’ George shouted back, flying around in circles to annoy him.

‘MUM SAYS—’

‘Oh, who cares what Mum says?’ said Fred.

‘—SHE SAYS IF YOU DON’T COME NOW, YOU’LL BE DE-GNOMING THE GARDEN EVERYDAY FOR—’

Apparently Fred did care what his mother had to say, because he suddenly stopped in mid-throw, and grudgingly landed next to who Amara presumed was his brother. George, Ron, and Amara followed.

‘Well, I guess you’re not half-bad, Amara,’ said Fred, clapping her on the back.

‘Half-bad?’ laughed Amara. ‘Well, actually, that was only my second time Keeping.’

Fred, George and Ron gaped at her.

‘I’d say you’re pretty good, then,’ said George finally, grinning again.

‘Mum’s really angry, you know,’ cut in their brother, pushing up his horn-rimmed glasses. ‘Half the chickens have escaped—’

‘Why’s she blaming us?’ said George innocently.

‘—she found a bunch of gnomes eating Ginny’s birthday cake and Dad’s clothes have gone missing!’

‘The ghoul was cold! That old pyjama he had—’

‘It’s summer, Fred!’ snapped his brother, but Fred and George went on conversationally:

‘What baffles me is how she knew we’d fed the chickens that weird potion—’

‘—we did try to keep them from flying away, mind—’

‘—but we definitely didn’t let any gnomes near Ginny’s birthday cake, at least not on purpose.’

Their brother looked on the brink of exploding, so Amara quickly bade them goodbye and made her way out of the orchard, this time taking the lane going from The Burrow to the village. She didn’t want to imagine their mother’s reaction after seeing their brother’s. She laughed quietly. Having a big family must be fun.

Something thudded to her right and she heard a soft ‘umph!’ as someone fell. She looked around curiously, and peering through a clump of trees, she saw a girl getting up from the ground, a broom in her hand. She wasn’t much younger than Amara, and she recognized a long mane of bright red hair.

‘Hey, you’re from around here, right?’ she said, walking towards her.

The girl jerked around, her long hair gleaming in the sun. ‘Oh – hi. I thought you were a Muggle.’

‘No, I’m not,’ confirmed Amara, indicating her broom and realising that she'd left the Nimbus back with Ron. ‘Why weren’t you practicing with the others?’

‘You know my brothers?’ she asked, quite startled. ‘Oh, well, they don’t let me. Say I’m too young...’ she mumbled.

‘What? That’s stupid,’ said Amara sympathetically.

‘So were you playing just now?’ asked the girl rather sadly.

‘Yes, well – don’t worry, I’ll tell them to—’

‘Oh, no, don’t even bother,’ she said. ‘I’ve been trying as long as I can remember. Guess I’ll have to practice on my own. Then they’ll be all surprised when they see me on the team at Hogwarts...’ she trailed off, staring ahead.

‘I’ll practice with you.’

Ginny looked back at her suddenly.

‘I mean – if you want to, that is...’

‘That’s awesome! Of course I want to! What position are you?’

‘Um, Keeper, I think...’

‘That’s perfect, then! I play Chaser, though practicing with apples is rather different... What’s your name, by the way? I’m Ginny.’

‘I’m Amara,’ she said. Ginny took out an apple from her robes and mounted her broom. She raced towards two trees with their branches forming a rectangular goalpost.

‘Better hurry up, then!’ she said cheerily, as Amara too mounted her broom.

-----

This chapter was a little filler - I know, sorry. I'm quite happy with it though. Let me know what you think of it Thanks as always for commenting and keeping it alive!

TAKE THAT AMARA! TWINS RULE! Aw, Ginny! SHE'S SO SWEET!

Take what? *confused* don't you like Amara? *sad face*

Yay, I love the Weasleys twwoooo