The Summer Holidays of Fourth Year

In the blink of an eye, it was summer vacation. After spending just one week in Godric's Hollow, Evita came to The Burrow, where she received a very warm welcome.

"I'm so happy to see you, dear Evita," Molly said, giving her a warm hug. "Come inside. Dinner will be ready soon."

"Yes, I'm very happy too." Evita smiled a little shyly and followed her inside.

She went first into the kitchen, a small and rather crowded room with a scrubbed wooden table and several chairs in the middle.

Evita sat down on a chair and looked around with interest. The clock on the opposite wall had only one hand and no numbers. Instead, its face bore phrases such as "make tea," "feed the chickens," and "you're going to be late."

Molly clattered about making dinner, tossing two potatoes into a frying pan.

A red-haired girl ran out and greeted Evita enthusiastically. "Hello! They always talk about you at home, especially Charlie. He's always going on and on about your matches."

"Hello to you too. You must be Ginny." Evita's eyes crinkled, and she looked very happy.

"Girls really are a bit strange," Charlie, who had come in behind them, whispered to Bill. "They've only just met, and they're ten years apart."

Bill said, "If Evita decides to curse you, I won't be able to stop her."

Charlie said, "What?"

Bill said, "Look up."

Charlie obeyed instinctively and looked up at once, only to meet Evita's smiling eyes. A short distance away, his own little sister stood with her hands on her hips, watching the show.

He gave a dry laugh and edged away from the scene.

Evita paid the two boys no more attention, and Ginny led her to her room.

They left the kitchen, passed through a narrow passage, and came to a flight of uneven stairs that twisted and wound upward. On the third landing, a door stood half open, with a small sign on it that read "Ginny's room."

Ginny, who was almost five, was undoubtedly an outgoing, enthusiastic girl. She brought Evita a stool and asked, her eyes sparkling, "I heard them say-well, those two always talk about it when they come home for the holidays—that you're really good at flying, aren't you?"

"I think so." Evita nodded.

"What's flying like?" Ginny pressed curiously. "Is it fun? Can you suddenly fall to the ground and break a bone?"

"Weightless," Evita answered earnestly. "It's like growing wings. When you dive at top speed, even the wind gets left behind."

Ginny couldn't help looking wistful. Evita, unable to bear it, looked away. Fortunately, a sudden burst of noise saved her.

The Ghoul in the attic began howling loudly and banging happily on the pipes. There was the sound of the door closing as Mr. Weasley came home, and all sorts of noises Fred and George were making in their room...

And a voice drawing closer: "Good afternoon!" Fred and George, both a little over eight, poked their heads in. They had already come down from their room.

"Good afternoon," Evita replied, waving too. The two red-haired boys hurried over and muttered, "We still haven't figured out that letter from before."

Evita smoothly brushed them off. "You'll understand when you start school."

Fred said, "That's awful-"

George said, "We've still got three years before we can go to school!"

"All right," Evita said. "It was actually a little bit of Transfiguration and the Bubble-Head Charm."

The twins finally understood and said in unison, "It's so unfair that we don't have wands..."

Ginny giggled, and downstairs, Molly began calling the children to dinner.

They were going to eat dinner in the garden, since there were ten people in all.

Bill and Charlie were setting the table, Percy grabbed a big handful of cutlery and carried it over, and Ron came pattering downstairs and walked into the garden with the four of them.

Aileg the Kneazle was playing with a Gnome in the garden, his tail held high and looking very happy.

Seeing that the adults weren't looking their way, Bill quietly took out his wand and guided two battered tables down onto the grass, then conjured tablecloths out of thin air.

At seven o'clock, delicious dishes were laid out on the table, and everyone sat down to dinner beneath the deep blue sky.

"The Quidditch World Cup is this year," Charlie said eagerly. "The United States national team is playing. Their captain and Seeker is Maxi Brankovitch III, and he's pretty good. The other team is Brazil. They made it to the final last time, and they've done it again this time."

"I wonder who'll win," he mumbled, his mouth full of potatoes. "The two teams are about evenly matched."

"And this one's being held in England," he went on, sounding a little wistful. "I wonder if Dad can get a few tickets."

"As a matter of fact, Mr. Bagman is a pretty decent fellow, and I got ten tickets through him," Mr. Weasley said gently. "Evita, would you like to come and watch the match with us?"

Evita shook her head. "I've already bought a ticket, sir. I bought it with Lily and the others."

Molly looked delighted. "I haven't seen Lily in ages. Are they going to the match too? We could meet up there."

"Lily would love that too," Evita said warmly. She looked down and took another bite of strawberry ice cream.

Mr. Weasley conjured a number of candles to float above the table, and the scent of grass spread through the warm air.

After dinner, a whole bunch of children gathered to play games. As the two oldest among them, Evita and Bill naturally took the lead.

They split into two teams to play video games, while Mr. Weasley watched with great interest.

"Every time I see them, I think they're really quite good," Mr. Weasley said, helping shrink several of the game consoles. "Amazing."

Ginny sat in Evita's lap, copying almost everything she did. Together, the two of them charged in and out through the flustered boys again and again, while the twins, who had been kicked out of the first round because Evita had given them a game console before, fretted in circles.

Ginny laughed happily and clapped for herself. Ron was so annoyed that he promptly sat down in his eldest brother's lap.

Bill looked helpless. "There's no point sitting in my lap, Ronnie. I don't know how to use this."

Ron shouted, "Fred and George know how, and so does Evita. You're the only one who doesn't."

Hearing this, Charlie moved over and asked, "Aren't we good friends? How come you didn't give me a game console?"

"That's not my fault," Evita said. "Electronic equipment stops working at Hogwarts, and as for the holidays... I forgot. Yes, it's just what you think: my memory automatically clears as soon as the holidays start."

"Should I say I believe you?"

"You should."

"All right."