CHAPTER TWO ─── ❛ fake brothers ❜

∘☽༓☾∘

𝕿he Quidditch World Cup was unlike anything that Madge had experienced before in her life. The sound of the crowd was deafening, and that was before the match had even started! Everywhere you looked there were witches and wizards, dressed in their countries colours, cheering, chatting, laughing and messing around with others. There were brooms and golden snitches, stalls of food and butterbeer, fireworks and streamers.

In some ways, Madge was reminded of Hogwarts and the Great Hall after a Quidditch match, but in other ways this was completely different.

"Madge! Keep up!" The girl was pulled away from staring at her surroundings, jogging to catch up with Fred and George. The twins were already counting their money, looking at the stalls and trying to work out where they'd get the best for their coins. 

The campsite was a plethora of colours, smells and new people that even Madge could not wait to explore.

"We should catch up. Don't need to lose everyone or we're gonna struggle to find it again."

"Got it!" Madge had to shout to be heard over the noise, and even then she wasn't sure if the twins had actually heard her over the cheers, but both boys shot her identical grins and thumbs up all the same so she took that as a good sign.

They continued through the crowd, brushing past people as they reached the other red heads of the Weasley family, who were waiting by a tent entrance. Arthur raised a eyebrow at their disappearing act, before holding the tent flap open for the trio to duck into.

The inside was deceptively bigger than the outside let on, filled with bunks, a kitchenette and a bathroom area. Immediately, Madge threw her bag onto the top bunks, as Fred and George quickly claimed the other two spare ones in that area. 

"Fred! George! Madge!" The trio's heads snapped up, before they all grinned at the sight of the oldest of the Weasley's siblings.

Bill, who's real name was actually William, had not changed at all since Madge had last seen him. He had the same long hair, that Molly was sure to have an aneurysm about, and a dragon fang earring that Madge distinctly remembered about him. It was something that had made her mother laugh hysterically when she had first seen him, and then slap the man on the back.

The ginger man pushed Fred and George aside, to give Madge a hug, laughing at the sight of her. Madge squeaked as he picked her up.

"Mum was telling me that you made prefect this year." Bill finally set her down, as Fred and George stood behind their brother with their jaws practically on the floor. "She was also telling me about your OWLs and all of that. Seems like all that studying paid off."

The summer before, Bill had practically tutored Madge in her subjects that she didn't pay attention in (mainly Herbology). That being said, the pair were close to one and other, and Madge saw him as the older brother that she never had and always wanted (Fred and George were the unwanted ones).

"Excuse me?" Fred called, an eyebrow raised.

"What about us? Your actual brothers?" George waved. "You do remember we exist."

"I see you all the time." Bill brushed them off. 

"You live in Egypt!"

"We never see you!" Fred and George cried indignantly.

"Wrong, you saw me last year when I gave you a tour of Egypt." The twins scowled, before Bill wrestled the pair into headlocks as another laugh sounded from behind her. Spinning around, Madge was met with a slightly familiar looking man. Perhaps she'd seen him in Hogwarts before.

The man was smaller than Bill, and Fred and George, but broader than all three. There was a fresh looking scar on the side of his chin, and his ginger hair was an unruly mop of curls upon his head. He was so freckled that he looked tan, and Madge's eyes narrowed as she tried to work out who he was.

Ginny began to giggle, before turning to the girl.

"Madge, this is the fake brother." Madge's eyes lit up as recognition finally hit. This was their fake brother, Charlie. Charlie's eyes narrowed, turning to look at his siblings in confusion.

"This is Charlie?" Ron and Ginny nodded, as Charlie continued to look back and forth between them in confusion at what was happening. "Woah. I can't believe you guys actually told me the truth!"

"We always tell you the truth!" Fred protested, managing to get out of Bill's chokehold.

"Yeah, why would we lie about our own brother?" George shook his head, his eyebrows raised.

"You tried to convince me that you were related to Hannah Abbot for a whole year because she had vaguely red hair." Madge began to list off as the twins thought back on their various pranks that they'd pulled on the girl over the years. "Then it was the fact that Professor Grubbyplank was your long lost uncle the year before that and then there was the other student three years above us that you said was your brother-"

"No, that was actually Charlie."

"-so when you told me that you had a reclusive older brother who I wasn't likely to meet, I immediately thought you were lying. You do this on a yearly basis nowadays!" Madge rolled her eyes. "I think that it's a justified response."

"Sorry, reclusive?" Charlie stopped the twins from protesting, looking between them and Madge. The other siblings began to giggle and snicker amongst themselves.

"Charlie, it's not what you think," Fred tried to placate. Madge saw an opening.

"They also said that you were the dumb older brother and that's why you ran off to another country." Charlie's eyebrows seemed to raise further as Fred and George started shaking their heads, adamantly protesting it. 

"Come on, Charlie. Haven't you missed us?" George tried to change tactics. Charlie smiled at that, lulling them into a false sense of security as he wrapped his arms around the twins' shoulders, squeezing tightly.

"Next time you come to the reserve, I'm going to feed you to our Hungarian Horntails." Charlie released them, as Fred and George gulped and paled. "We're gonna have so much fun."

"That was a joke, right?" Charlie walked off, not dignifying that with an answer.

"Charlie?" He continued to ignore them, as Madge cackled at the looks on their faces.

"Thanks, Midge," George hissed, causing Madge to scowl at the nickname.

"No problem, Georgie." She snapped back, before Fred nodded his head and pulled a face.

"I'll admit, that was a good one," George sighed and nodded, as Madge grinned. 

"Payback for making me think that your older brother was fake," She replied, before pulling an appreciative face as she watched the older man talk to Bill.

"What?" George had noticed the look on her face, glancing back and forth between her and Charlie. "What is it? What's going on in that brain of you?"

"Well, my theory has been confirmed," The twins furrowed their eyebrows, looking at her. "You two are the ugliest of all of your siblings."

"I didn't know that today was verbally attack Fred and George day?" Fred complained.

"That's everyday." George seemed to still be processing Madge's theory.

"What? Even Percy is better looking than us?" He looked horrified at the idea.

"Percy's got this whole nerdy, adorable thing going for him." Madge nodded, before slapping the pair on the back and walking off. "Make of that what you will."

∘☽༓☾∘

Hiya,

I live for Madge, George and Fred's relationship, I just do (this is just me and my brother on a daily basis) and the fact that the twins have tried to convince her multiple times that they're related to someone when they're not is funny. Also, Charlie's here and we get more interactions next chapter.

Let me know what you think,

Love Li xx