The kettle Alex had been holding in her hand slipped from her fingers as she felt her stomach leap over the woman standing in front of her.

Her aunt.

Alliana had hardly talked about her sister before to Alex, seeing as she had been disowned and they had never spoken since she left home.  And while Alex knew that the family didn't care for her, being the daughter of "blood-traitors," she still wondered what they were like.

"I'm so sorry to have bothered you," Ivory spoke up with a nervous laugh, breaking Alex from her train of thought. Ivory made a move to walk back toward her tent.  "You just look like her so much.  I'll leave you be-"

"You're Ivory?" Alex asked, finally finding her voice as she took a small step toward the woman.  "You're my mum's sister?"

The nervous smile that had been on Ivory's face softened as she looked at Alex again before nodding. 

"Yes," she confirmed, "I suppose that would make me your Aunt Ivory."

At the sound of that, Alex felt her stomach do another leap.  "There's so many questions I want to ask but we don't even know each other, so I wouldn't even know where to begin," Alex nervously laughed, almost going to take a step away.

"No, it's okay!" Ivory reassured her, gently grabbing Alex's hands to keep her close for a second longer.  "I mean, we are family, after all, right?"

Alex smiled.  "Right."

"Alex!" Ron called from where they were standing in the queue, showing they would be next to use the tap.  "Come on!"

"I really have to get back to my friends," Alex told her.  "But would it be alright if I sent you an owl?"

"Absolutely!" Ivory exclaimed happily before rushing into her tent they had been standing by and returning with some contact information on where to send owls to.  "Please don't hesitate to reach out."

"I won't," Alex reassured before running back over to where the group had begun to fill up the saucepans Mr. Weasley had given them.

"Who was that?" Harry asked, seeing the woman offer the group a smile before disappearing into one of the tents close by.

"I'll tell you about it later," Alex responded, a small smile on her face over the interaction.

She didn't know why but meeting Ivory felt like perfect timing.  Seeing as she couldn't exactly be with her parents because they were on the run, meeting her aunt for the first time offered a small ray of hope for what the future could bring. Maybe she could reunite her aunt and mother and they would be able to bury whatever hatchet needed to be buried.

As they walked back to their tent, Alex was lost in her thoughts and didn't bother looking around for faces as she smiled softly to herself over thought of reuniting her family.

So when she didn't hear someone repeatedly shouting her name, it wasn't much of a shock when she was suddenly lifted off her feet, causing her to scream and drop the kettle she had been holding.

"You really need to get your ears checked," a familiar voice spoke, causing Alex to gasp as the person set her down and she turned to see Velkan.

"Eşti aici!" She exclaimed, wrapping her arms around him with a laugh as he lifted her off her feet again. "Charlie said you would be here."

"Of course I'd be here!" Velkan laughed. "And did you just slip and speak in Romanian? I didn't even know you still knew any."

"Of course I still know it," she defended. "You forget I lived there from when I was almost three until I was nine."

"Well then," Velkan smirked.  "Cat de mult iti amintesti?"

"I remember enough, thank you very much."

Velkan shook his head before they both looked to see her friends were watching the interaction with raised eyebrows, obviously wondering why a stranger had suddenly lifted Alex up off her feet and she was being friendly with him now.  Not only that, but she had spoken in a foreign language, one they had never heard her speak in before.

"Oh, how rude of me!" Alex exclaimed before gesturing to the older man. "Guys, this is Velkan Crane, he worked with my mum at the dragon sanctuary. Velkan, these are my friends: Ron, Hermione, and Harry."

"Merlin's beard, Harry Potter?" Velkan asked with wide eyes. Harry sheepishly nodded. "What an honor it is to meet you! Alexandria, you never told me that you were friends with the famous boy who lived!"

"It's not something I would exactly shout for all to hear!" She defended. "Harry enjoys his privacy, after all."

"Ah, of course," Velkan realized. "Well, it is nice to meet you all."

"Velkan!" A new voice shouted, causing them all to turn to see a new face walking up to the group. "Did you ever find the tap?" He stopped talking when he realized that Velkan wasn't alone. "Oh, I am sorry, I did not realize you had found company."

Alex's eyes widened as she looked at the man standing before them. He had to be a few years older than her and he was quite handsome. His eyes seemed to settle on her as well and he offered a small smile before looking to Velkan.

"Who are your friends?" The man asked to Velkan and it was then that Alex could hear his accent, his Bulgarian accent.

"Oh, yes," Velkan said.  "Everyone, this is my cousin, Nikolai. Nikolai, this is Alexandria, the young girl, whose mother I worked with at the dragon sanctuary until a few years ago and her friends."

"Ah, ov course!" Nikolai exclaimed, realizing who she was as he extended his hand. "It is so nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Alex responded, grabbing his hand but being shocked when he kissed the back of hers. "Is-Is that a Bulgarian accent?"

He laughed. "You are very observant."

Alex smiled softly. "I've come across a few accents in my life, especially when we lived in Romania."

Someone clearing their throat behind her caused her to turn to see her friends watching her, Hermione was even smirking as they all watched the interaction.  A light blushed creeped up onto Alex's face.

"Oh, right," Alex said. "These are my friends: Ron, Hermione, and Harry."

"It is very nice to make all ov your acquaintances," Nikolai told them.

"Well, we'd better be heading back to our campsite!" Ron exclaimed, obviously wanting to get back and get some lunch hopefully.

"Wait, I need to go get more water," Alex told them since the kettle she was holding had spilled everywhere when Velkan had picked her up.

"Not to vorry," Nikolai told her, stepping forward and pointing his wand discreetly at the kettle as he watched for Ministry officials walking by. It filled up with water instantly, which made her smile and thank him.

"It vas very nice to meet you, Alexandria," he said, gently kissing the back of her hand again. "I hope ve can meet again."

Alex let out a nervous giggle before covering her mouth and nodding, unable to respond. She bid the both of them goodbye before following after her friends, who began to walk back to their tent.

"What was that?" Hermione asked as they trailed behind Harry and Ron.

"What?" Alex asked casually.

Hermione raised an eyebrow at her. "Don't be dim, Alex," she told her with a nudge. "'I hope ve can meet again.'"

"Oh, stop it!" Alex exclaimed, feeling the blush burning up her cheeks as they walked back up to the tent.

"You've been ages," George commented as they walked up.

"Met a few people," Ron told him as they all set the water down. "You not got that fire started yet?"

"Dad's having fun with the matches," Fred told them.

They all looked over to see Mr. Weasley surrounds by splintered matches on the ground. However, while Alex thought he would be annoyed, he looked absolutely ecstatic.

"Oops!" He exclaimed after managing to light one, only to drop it out of surprise.

"Come here, Mr. Weasley," Hermione said, taking the box from him and showing him how it was done.

Finally, the fire was lit but it would take awhile before they could actually cook something. Alex walked into her tent and grabbed the book on healing magic she had brought with her to read while they waited.

"Interesting reading choice," Fred commented as he saw the book in her hands.

"Just doing some research into a potential career choice," she told him with a smirk.

"Oi!" George exclaimed, sitting in front of her legs. "What about working in our shop?"

They all glanced over to see Mr. Weasley was just commenting on the people walking by to Harry and Hermione. He wasn't bothered to hear what they were talking about.

"I said I would if I didn't find what I wanted to do and I think I have," she told him with a nudge to his back since he was leaning against her legs.

Ginny came and sat next to Alex after having sat with Hermione, a smirk on her face. "Alex, what's this I hear from Hermione about you flirting with a Bulgarian hunk?" Ginny asked, causing a blush to rise on her cheeks.

"What Bulgarian hunk?" George asked, turning to face her with a curious look in his eyes.

"No one!" Alex exclaimed but the blush creeping on her face said otherwise. "We ran into Velkan, an old friend of mine, and his cousin, who happens to be a little older and talked for a second, that's all!"

Fred's smile dropped when he saw the blush creeping on her face.  Not only that, but he could see her biting her lip to keep the smile from widening on her lips.  It caused his chest to tighten with jealousy as he watched Ginny continue to tease her for more details, even though Alex insisted that there weren't any.

"C'mon, Alex!" Ginny pleaded, dramatically falling across her lap. "Just tell me what he looked like."

"She obviously doesn't remember," Fred found himself snapping. "Drop it, Gin!"

With that said, he stormed into the tent, leaving the three of them sitting there, wide-eyed over his sudden outburst.

"What's up his arse?" Ginny asked but sent a knowing look to Alex, who shook her head, as if to say that now was not the time.

"I'll go talk to him," George offered, going to stand, but Alex put a hand to his shoulder, causing him to stop.

"Actually, I'll go, yeah?" She told him before standing and following Fred into the tent.

Alex looked around before spotting him sitting on the bottom bunk off to the side and furiously drawing something in the notebook she had gotten him the year before for Christmas.

"I know what you're going to say, George," Fred stated, not even looking up. "And I do not need to hear it right now."

"What would George say?" She asked, causing Fred to look up in shock over the fact that it was actually Alex and not his twin, who had followed him into the tent.

"Nothing you need to know," Fred simply shrugged before looking back down at his notebook and continuing to draw.

Alex took a cautious step forward. Fred was very obviously annoyed, but she didn't understand why. It couldn't be that he was jealous of the thought of her talking to another guy, right? He had been the one the previous year to say he basically just wanted to remain friends. 

Yes, they had kissed each other and while Alex felt something more about it, Fred obviously didn't since he had said that it was a heat of the moment thing.  That's why Alex had spent the summer attempting to forget about her unrequited crush.

"Fred, please look at me," Alex practically pleaded, sitting next to him on the cot.

He took a slow breath before looking up into her soft blue eyes, so soft, Fred felt like he could stare into them all day. He gulped back the temptation to lean over and kiss her because that ended so well last time.  Not only that, but it would cause more confusion, at least on Fred's end.

"What are you so upset about?" She asked softly.

Finally looking away from her eyes, his face fell on the attempted logo of their shop and brand.  Him and George had been brainstorming ideas for so long but had yet to come up with anything solid.

But his mind was heavily distracted.  And how could he tell Alex he was worked up because she was flirting with a guy?  A guy he hadn't even met?

"I just worry about you, ya know?" He finally said.

His words caused her chest to warm up, wondering if the tone behind it was because he felt something more.  For a second, she felt a sliver of hope.

"What do you mean?" She dared to ask.

Fred hesitated before finally answering, "You're like a little sister to me and I don't want you to get hurt by some Bulgarian hunk you don't even know."

Moment gone.

Alex tried not to show her shoulders physically deflating as she looked forward, willing the tightening of her throat to go away.

"Well, it's not like you can always be there to protect me," she told him with a shrug, keeping her gaze off him.

"Doesn't mean I can't still try," he said, looking up at her.

Alex met his gaze again, feeling her throat tighten over how close their faces were before someone called their names from outside the tent and they pulled away from each other.

"We'd better go and join the others," Alex stated before standing and making her way out of the tent, not bothering to see if Fred was following her or not.

She claimed her spot back next to Ginny, who had been talking to George but they both immediately stopped their conversation as she walked back over.

"Where's Fred?" George asked.

"Right here," Fred said as he plopped down on the ground next to where George was leaning against Alex's legs again.

Alex smiled at him as he leaned back against her other leg.  The twins began to look at their notebook again, still doodling possible logos while Alex went back to reading and Ginny walked over to talk to Hermione again.

However, Alex could barely focus as the twins leaning against her legs were continually arguing over different designs. She glanced up from her book and finally decided to lean forward.

"You know, you're missing out on quite the idea," Alex told them, grabbing the notebook from their hands.

"Why do you say that?" Fred asked as she took the quill from her hand.

"Give me one second," she mumbled as she began to draw on the paper.

After a couple of seconds and letting the ink dry, she passed the notebook back to Fred. On the paper was the letter W but on the end of it, sparks were coming out, making it look like a wand.

"That's bloody brilliant!" George exclaimed as he looked over the logo himself.

"Thanks," Alex told them with a proud smile.  "I expect royalties for my contribution."

That caused the twins to laugh.

⊰ ⁜ ⊱

A little while later, as they were beginning to finally cook lunch, the three eldest Weasley sons came walking out of the woods toward where they were all sitting.

"Just Apparated, Dad," Percy told them.  "Ah, excellent, lunch!"

As Alex enjoyed her own lunch, Charlie claimed the spot next to her, stealing a piece of sausage from her plate.  She immediately looked up and glared at him.

"What?" He mumbled, mouth full of sausage.

"Who told you that you could steal food from my plate?" She asked.

"It's just one piece," he teased.

Alex then filled her spoon with a piece of egg and flung it at Charlie, who it hit right in the face.  He wiped it off and laughed, "What was that for?"

"What?" Alex asked innocently.  "It was just one piece."

Charlie laughed before going to serve his own plate, ruffling Alex's hair as he walked away for a second.  They all ate in silence before Mr. Weasley stood up and began waving at a man walking toward their tent.

"Aha!" He exclaimed.  "The man of the moment!  Ludo!"

Glancing up, Alex watched the man approach before looking back down at her food, not entirely interested in the conversation, but still listening partially to hear what was being said.

"Ahoy there!" The man known as Ludo called as he made his way over.  "Arthur, old man, what a day, eh?  What a day!  Could we have asked for more perfect weather? A cloudless night coming... and hardly a hiccough in the arrangements... Not much for me to do!"

Alex couldn't help roll her eyes as a group of haggard looking wizards rushed past towards some magical fire that was shooting violent sparks up into the sky.

"Not much for you to do, my arse," Alex mumbled, taking a bite of sausage and causing Charlie to choke on the tea he had been drinking beside her.

Percy stumbled forward with his hand outstretched to greet Mr. Bagman but Alex only saw it as Percy sucking up.

You know, the usual.

"Kiss-arse," she mumbled as she sipped her tea.

"Young lady, you are going to make me choke on my food if you don't stop!" Charlie coughed from inhaling some eggs as he laughed.

Alex shook her head. "They're just little quips."

"Ah - yes," Mr. Weasley began, "this is my son Percy. He's just started at the Ministry - and this is Fred - no, George, sorry - that's Fred - Bill, Charlie, Ron - my daughter, Ginny - and Ron's friends, Hermione Granger, Alexandria Black, and Harry Potter."

Alex offered a forced smile but noticed as his gaze lingered on her for a few seconds longer than usual, no doubt recognizing her infamous last name.  Was it risky to go by her dad's name now?  Probably, but she knew the truth and she wasn't going to let the fear of others judgement cause her to hide in shame of who she really was.

And that was Sirius Black's daughter.

"Everyone, this is Ludo Bagman, you know who he is, it's thanks to him we've got such good tickets -"

Ludo Bagman smiled brightly and waved it off, as if to say it wasn't anything, but Alex rolled her eyes slightly.

"Fancy a flutter, Arthur?" Ludo asked as he jingled the pocket of his robes, which seemed to be full of money. "I've already got Roddy Pontner betting me Bulgaria will score first - I offered him nice odds, considering Ireland's front three are the strongest I've seen in years - and little Agatha Timms has put half shares in her eel farm on a week-long match."

"Oh... go on then," Mr. Weasley said. "Let's see... A Galleon on Ireland to win?"

"A Galleon?" Ludo asked partially disappointed. "Very well then... any other takers?"

"They're all a bit young to be gambling," Mr. Weasley said.  "Molly wouldn't like -"

"We'll bet thirty-seven Galleons, fifteen Sickles, three Knuts," Fred began, which caused Alex to look up from her reading out of curiosity, "that Ireland wins - but Viktor Krum gets the Snitch.  Oh, and we'll throw in a fake wand."

"You don't go showing Mr. Bagman rubbish like that -" Percy tried to say but Ludo Bagman didn't seem to share Percy's opinion of the twin's product.  In fact, when it gave a loud squawk and turned into a rubber chicken, he laughed loudly.

"Excellent!" Ludo exclaimed.  "I haven't seen one that convincing in years!  I'd pay five Galleons for that!"

Alex yanked on Fred's arm, causing him to turn and look at her.  "Why are you betting all that you have saved?" She asked curiously.  "What about the shop?"

"Alex, darling," Fred told her, not knowing the effect that him calling her darling had on her, "this is for the shop.  The payout will be more than enough to get started and to make up for the supplies that Mum has destroyed."

With an approving nod, Alex felt a smirk grow on her face over the boy's plan.

"That's very clever," she told him before looking over at Ludo. "Mr. Bagman -" Ludo looked up from his discussion with Mr. Weasley "-add another fifteen Galleons to the twins bet." When Fred looked down at her with a surprised look, her smirk only grew. "Call it an investment into the business."

Fred felt his chest tighten as he smiled down at Alex.

"Cheers," George said with a smile as he took the slip from Ludo Bagman.

Alex disappeared into the tent and brought out her money pouch to add to their bet money.  Bagman eyed the amount in her pouch but she snapped it shut before he could try to convince her to raise the amount of money.

"Couldn't do me a brew, I suppose?" Ludo asked Mr. Weasley.  "I'm keeping an eye out for Barty Crouch."

Upon hearing the name, Alex froze. She knew that name all too well. When she was younger, her mother would always talk about how cruel Barty Crouch was, seeing as he had sent Sirius to Azkaban without so much as a trial or even the chance to say goodbye to his wife and daughter.

To put it simply, Alex did not think too highly of Mr. Crouch.

"Mr. Crouch?" Percy said quickly, looking too excited after Ludo had mentioned needing him as a language interpreter. "He speaks over two hundred! Mermish and Gobbledegook and Troll..."

"Oh good for him!" Alex spoke up with an eye roll. "He knows how to point and grunt like a troll? Major accomplishment, that is!"

Percy sent her a nasty glare but Alex didn't care as she went back to eating while almost everyone - excluding Ludo, Mr. Weasley, and Percy - were stifling their laughter from her comment.

"Oh - talk of the devil! Barty!" Ludo exclaimed, causing Alex to look up as the man who had just Apparated next to their tent.

Alex couldn't help but glare slightly at the man, even if he didn't know who she was and probably wouldn't care to find out.

"Pull up a bit of grass, Barty," Ludo told him as he patted the ground next to him.

"No thank you, Ludo," the older man responded. "I've been looking for you everywhere. The Bulgarians are insisting we add another twelve seats to the Top Box."

"Oh is that what they're after?" Ludo asked. "I thought the chap was asking to borrow a pair of tweezers. Bit of a strong accent."

"Mr. Crouch!" Percy exclaimed as he tried to bow but also stumbled toward the older man.  "Would you like a cup of tea?"

"Oh," Mr. Crouch said, looking at Percy slightly surprised.  "Yes - thank you, Weatherby."

Alex, who had been looking down at her plate, nearly burst out laughing as the twins choked on their tea that they had been drinking.

"You boys look like Christmas came early for you," Alex whispered to Fred and George, who were grinning from ear to ear.

"You have no idea," George told her with a smirk.

Alex snorted before finishing off her food. She then set her plate aside and began to read but still partially listened to the conversation happening between the older men.

"So, been keeping busy, Barry?" Bagman asked.

"Fairly," Mr. Crouch responded.  "Organizing Portkeys across five continents is no mean feat, Ludo."

"I expect you'll both be glad when it's over?" Mr. Weasley asked.

Ludo Bagman looked shocked over Mr. Weasley's words.  "Glad!  Don't know when I've had more fun... Still, it's not as though we haven't anything to look forward to, eh, Barty?  Eh?  Plenty left to organize, eh?"

"We agreed not to make the announcement until all the details -" Mr. Crouch tried to say, obviously trying to be discreet, which caused Alex to stop reading and just full on listen in.

"Oh details!" Ludo Bagman exclaimed with a wave of his hand.  "They've signed, haven't they?  They've agreed, haven't they?  I bet you anything these kids'll know soon enough anyway.  I mean, it's happening at Hogwarts-"

That caused Alex to look up from her book to watch interaction.  Something was happening at Hogwarts the coming year?

"Ludo, we need to meet the Bulgarians, you know," Mr. Crouch cut in before Ludo could reveal too much.  "Thank you for the tea, Weatherby."

Alex watched Mr. Crouch hand the tea he hadn't even taken a sip of back to Percy and waited for Ludo to stand back up. He did after struggling, which made Alex snicker.

"See you later!" Ludo said to the group. "You'll be in the Top Box with me - I'm commentating!"

With that, both Ludo and Mr. Crouch Disapparated.

"What's happening at Hogwarts, Dad?" Fred asked as soon as the two men were gone. "What were they talking about?"

"You'll find out soon enough," Mr. Weasley responded with a slightly mischievous smile on his face.

"It's classified information until such time as the Ministry decides to release it," Percy stated. "Mr. Crouch was quite right not to disclose it."

"Oh shut up, Weatherby," Fred snapped, causing Alex to spit out the tea she had been drinking.

⊰ ⁜ ⊱

Totally did not mean for this chapter to take forever.  I've had it written, I just needed to edit it and I was procrastinating doing that HARDCORE!

But enjoy the fun happy times because I have more drama coming lol

Also, I'm gonna be posting a new Fred Fic on Oliver and James Phelps birthday, so keep an eye out for that!

Please vote and comment!

-Squid♡