If Allie turned back, she would see a lonely figure standing atop the highest astronomical tower of Hogwarts.
Ottery St. Catchpole.
This was the home of the Weasley family. With its unique style, it was full of wonders to Allie, brimming with magical creatures and magical items. Standing at least four or five stories high, it looked crookedly built, yet sturdy enough that it surely must have been enchanted. Although The Burrow was located just outside the village of Ottery St. Catchpole, it was so well concealed that there were no other wizards around, making it very quiet.
"My dear Allie, let me introduce you to your new home," Mr. Weasley said with a touch of humor as he walked ahead carrying the luggage, introducing the place. "There's a ghoul in the attic of The Burrow, and gnomes living in the garden, but don't worry, we have ways of dealing with them, and they're quite amusing."
Mr. Weasley raised a hand and pointed toward a shed beside the house. "See that over there? That's full of my treasures. When we get the chance, I'll definitely show you some of the wondrous things from the Muggle world."
Mrs. Weasley walked behind, holding Allie's hand, and shot a playfully exasperated look at Mr. Weasley. "Don't listen to him, dear. He's always tinkering with Muggle things and making a mess of the house. Oh, and dear, you can call me Molly. Actually, our family used to be good friends with your mom and dad."
Mr. Weasley bumped the front door of The Burrow open with his shoulder and stepped aside to let the two of them in.
The house had several stories, and though the space was narrow, it felt very cozy. Looking out the window, a flock of chickens was kept outside, and the garden truly did have a lot of gnomes. Against the wall stood a large grandfather clock with nine hands, each bearing a portrait picture that presumably represented a member of the Weasley family. Instead of numbers, the clock face was marked with twelve different positions: 'Prison', 'Home', 'Work', 'School', 'Missing', 'Mortal Danger'…
On the kitchen wall, connected to the living room, hung a smaller clock. It likewise had no numbers, only phrases like 'Tea time', 'Feed chickens', 'You're late', and so on. Piled three tiers high on the mantelpiece were books: *Enchanting Cakes for All Occasions*, *Magic Apple Pies*, and *A Feast of Magic Dinners*. Allie even noticed that on a nearby armchair, a pair of knitting needles was automatically knitting a sweater.
All of this was entirely novel to Allie.
"Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley, could you tell me about my parents? And my brother, Harry?"
Mrs. Weasley pulled Allie over to a nearby sofa to sit down. "Of course, child, we have plenty of time to catch up. But you can get to know my children first."
Mr. Weasley walked over to the foot of the stairs and shouted at the top of his lungs for the people upstairs to come down.
The stairs gave a heavy thudding sound as two identical people came down.
"Hello! I'm Fred," Fred said, holding out his left hand.
"Hello! I'm George," George said, holding out his right hand.
Allie stood up from the sofa, somewhat at a loss, and shook each of their hands in turn. "Hello, I'm Allie Evans. You can just call me Allie."
Next, Ron and Ginny came down one after another. The two of them looked to be about her age.
Mr. Weasley beckoned for them to come over. "This is my youngest son, Ron, and my daughter, Ginny. They're about your age and will make great companions for you."
The boy Ron had a head of bright red hair... well (??ω???) everyone in their family had red hair, and he looked like a straightforward sort.
The girl Ginny was a bit shy; one could tell from the way she tightly clutched the hem of her skirt that she was actually very nervous as well.
The last to come downstairs was Percy. He looked very serious and said with a solemn air, "Welcome to our family, Allie. I'm Percy."
Seeing that all the children had arrived, Mrs. Weasley smiled and said to Allie, "Children, take Allie up to see her room. Allie, you'll be sharing a room with Ginny on the second floor."
Summoning up her courage, Ginny walked over and pulled Allie along. "Come on, Allie, let's go check out our room. There's a balcony there you're going to love."
Allie followed Ginny upstairs, and upon entering the bedroom, she was captivated by the beautiful scenery outside the window.
"Wow, what a gorgeous view!" Allie couldn't help exclaiming.
"Yeah, I love watching the sunset from here," Ginny said with a smile.
Allie walked over to the bed and stroked the soft mattress. "Thank you, Ginny. It feels so cozy here."
"Don't mention it, Allie. From now on, this is your home too!" Ginny said happily.
At that moment, a knock sounded at the door. Percy stood in the doorway holding a book.
"I brought you some books on magic. You might find them interesting," Percy said.
Allie took the book and looked at Percy gratefully.
"Thank you, Percy."
"You're welcome. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me anytime," Percy said, then turned and left.
Ginny, standing behind her, explained, "Percy is always like that—a bit stiff. I often think that if George and Fred could share some of their liveliness with him, this household would be a lot more harmonious."
Before Percy had even closed the bedroom door as he left, one of the twins leaped out from behind him. "Ginny, are you complaining that Fred and I aren't fun enough? Oh well, I came to give Allie a little present." With that, he pulled out a small tin box and handed it to Allie.
"Don't—" Ginny hadn't even finished her warning when Allie opened it.
Almost instantly, the entire room was filled with a loud screeching noise coming from inside the box.
Ginny squeaked with fright and ducked out of the way.
Seeing this, Allie hurriedly reached in and pinched the creature inside. "Don't be scared, Ginny. This is a cicada, also known as a screech-bug. Fang is always catching these to eat. They're very noisy, but once you hold their wings, they stop making a fuss."
Ginny managed to get a clear look at the bug in Allie's hand, though she still didn't dare to come close. Angrily, she shouted, "George, I'm telling Mom! You're pulling pranks again, and you are not allowed in my room ever again!"
"George" snatched up the cicada and bolted downstairs, intending to destroy the evidence. He had underestimated Allie; she wasn't afraid of bugs at all.
Allie soothed the frightened Ginny, promising to help her punish the culprit.
"Ginny, that was actually Fred just now, not George."
Ginny looked surprised. "You can tell them apart? ... I mean, even Mom often mixes them up." She looked skeptical. "No way, we have to go tell Mom. They need to be punished."
Allie and Ginny found Mrs. Weasley and recounted what had happened. Mrs. Weasley shook her head helplessly and called both Fred and George over.
"Which of you two used a screech-bug to scare Allie and Ginny? You'd better tell me right now, or there won't be any dinner for you tonight!" Mrs. Weasley felt utterly helpless with her two mischievous sons. They always managed to think up fresh pranks to tease people, and to make matters worse, even she often couldn't tell which was which.
Fred and George exchanged a sly smile, and then both pointed at each other at the same time and said, "He did it!"
Mrs. Weasley looked at the twins with a headache, and just as she was about to scold them, Allie spoke up. "It's alright, Mrs. Weasley. Can I still have a word with them?"