The Tent
Wren didn’t want to leave her bed that morning, the blankets were warm and comfortable and the house was cold, way colder than any house should be in July; then she smelt the bacon Molly was cooking in the kitchen, and she was forced to reevaluate her priorities.
Now sat at the dining table with a mug of tea in hand listening to the comforting sound of sizzling bacon, she was nearly knocked back to sleep. “Wren dear, your bacon’s done.” came Molly’s voice and Wren was wide awake once again, thanking Mrs Weasely for the crispy meat now sat on her plate.
“Boys! Ginny! Hermione! Breakfast is on the table!” Within a matter of seconds, stomping could be heard from the staircase of the burrow - Fred was the first to make it down.
“Oh thanks, Mum, you’re a saint.” He gave her a quick side hug before stealing a rasher of bacon from Wren’s plate and sitting in the seat next to her, her jaw dropped as she watched him devour a third of her breakfast in one bite. “It's rude to stare Hawthorn.” He smiled cheekily.
“Fred that was mine!” She pinched his bicep and he grabbed his arm letting out a mocking cry of pain. “Oh, it’s killed me! It’s killed me!”
“Fred you really need to learn some basic manners.” Ginny had appeared at the bottom of the stairs and was making her way over to the table. “If Wren gets hungry in the afternoon and curses you out of annoyance the only person you’ll have to blame is yourself.” The chair across from them scraped across the floor and Ginny sat down.
“Morning.” Called George, emerging from outside the burrow, a light sheen of sweat spread across his forehead.
“Where have you been?” Fred inquired, going to steal another rasher of bacon before his hand was slapped away by the increasingly annoyed brunette sat next to him.
“I was chucking garden gnomes over the hedge.”
“Isn’t it a bit early for that?” Wren glanced at the clock, pest control wasn’t due for at least another week.
“Mind sparing me some bacon Thorn?” George sat next to Ginny, leaning over the table, but before her plate could once again be assaulted, Ginny kicked him and he fell back. Grateful, Wren turned her attention to the quick-witted girl in front of her.
“Have you got your bag ready?” Ginny stopped ugly looking at George to converse with Wren.
“I think so, but I’ve overpacked quite a bit.” Today was the beginning of the Quidditch Championships, and Wren had been invited to go with the Weasely’s - of course, she’d eagerly accepted, and up to this point, she had just spent the entire summer at the Burrow, both a blessing and a curse.
“I wouldn’t worry too much Gin, I’m sure Hermione has a charm to reduce the weight of the bag.
“I know a charm for baggage weight-” begun Fred. “-just packing enough for a weekend because that’s how long we’ll be there.” Finished George.
“It’s good to be well prepared,” Wren said, swiftly elbowing Fred.
“Hawthorn darling, what on earth could happen at a weekend Quidditch tournament that would require a fire extinguisher?” He raised his brows at her knowingly. An entertained glimmer dancing around the caramel brown of his iris.
“Fires happen to be VERY common at festivals, I’ll have you know Fred Weasley, I could be saving your life for all you know.” His brows furrowed in confusion but the smile remained on his face.
“What about magic, surely that will distinguish fires just as well?”
“What if you lose your wand? It could-it could set on fire! Or it could be stolen!” Fred laughed throwing his head back before pressing his hand on Wren’s thigh and leaning forward to stand up.
“Alright Hawthorn, you’ve clearly thought of everything.” He whispered into her ear before standing and walking into the kitchen to help Molly with the eggs. Wren felt her face warm.
“You two are disgustingly romantic,” remarked Ginny before smiling in the direction of the staircase. Harry, Hermione and Ron walked over and sat down at the table.
“Do you reckon we’ll get to meet Krum?” Ron grinned excitedly, he was already wearing a Quidditch Jersey and he couldn’t quite sit still. Wren smiled to herself.
“No, I don’t,” said Ginny grimly, eyeing her brother in disgust. Ron had taken a box of cereal and was now eating oatmeal by the handful. He smiled innocently at her.
After breakfast, Wren found herself sat at the entrance of the burrow. Watching the sunlight bounce off the tall grass, she felt a tall shadow cast over her and Fred sat down beside her, smiling over at her calmly.
“You ready to go?” She asked him, he just nodded at her before turning to face the field in front of the house.
“We’re travelling with pretty boy,” he said quite grimly before glancing over at Wren, she was slightly frowning. “What’s wrong Hawthorn?” Fred placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it for reassurance.
“I don’t know about this trip, I mean, there was a murderer in Hogwarts last year Freddie, I feel like something is going to go terribly wrong.” His gaze softened and Fred put his arm around Wren’s shoulder.
“It might not seem like it Wren, but the Quidditch Cup is really well guarded, I mean, they have wizards there who are trained to deal with absolute crazies like me and George. I wouldn’t worry, it's probably one of the safest places to be right now.” Wren looked at the floor, but Hogwarts was supposed to be the safest place to be.
“Right!” Came Mr Weasely’s voice from inside, “we’d better make tracks!” Fred quickly pulled away his arm and stood up, not stopping to spare her another glance.
The family headed out into the field and met up with Amos and Cedric, the Diggory’s had a port key, which seemed to be the fastest way there. Wren had learned to apparate over the summer but she didn’t actually know where the tournament was, so she’d probably just get lost and splinched if she tried that.
“Get out of the kitchen Ron.” ”Get out of the kitchen Ron." “Feet off the table!” ”Feet off the table!" the tent was pretty busy, Ron had walked off into the kitchen to get a ‘focus’ snack after realising that Wren was winning their match of wizard’s chess, he would probably surpass her soon anyway, even if she was in Ravenclaw, his chess skill was remarkable and he adapted very quickly, so it was best to beat him while she could.
“Let’s head off to the match!” Arthur called and Wren locked the pieces of the chessboard in place with a quick charm before heading off.
The game itself was exhilarating, the only complaint she had was having a run-in with the Malfoys. Draco wasn’t particularly tall, Wren was 5′11, so he immediately felt threatened by her for some reason. “Hawthorn, almost didn’t recognise you with all the muck and the smell, spending too much time around the Weasleys I gather?” Wren look right over the top of his head mocking confusion before looking down at the blond brat stood in front of her.
“Malfoy! Have you shrunk? I almost mistook you for a mouse, although based on your greasy hair, big nose and dirty clothes, I’d say you look more like a rat, act like one too. Bit of a pest aren’t you?” She smiled at him before going to walk past, but he shoved her away, being the Ravenclaw seeker she was pretty athletic and didn’t move too far, but she was taken off guard.
“Watch is Malfoy,” Fred seethed, his jaw clenched and his gaze firey. “wouldn’t want a tragic accident now would we, plummeting down onto the pitch without a wand or a broom?” “They’d be cleaning up your guts for days.” finished George. If Draco was at all afraid of Fred and George, he hid it well but backed down almost immediately. Fred put his hand against the small of Wren’s back and guided her out of the stadium.
.
A/N
Not gonna lie, I have a very vague map of where I’m taking this book, and when I say vague, I mean, as vague as the marauder map when mischief has been managed.
So! Questions:
1) Should I save Cedric?
2) Which side character do you want to see most that was underrepresented in the books and films?
3) Any suggestions for where to take the book? I’ve just rewritten the chapter and I have a much more fleshed out version than I did before but I’d like a few subplot ideas.
I think that’s all - hope you enjoyed.
