Mischief Managed

"Well, here we are, sweethearts!" my mother said, looking up at the Burrow. "You have fun, okay? Tell Mr. and Mrs. Weasley I said 'hello'!"

"Mom, don't be silly. Come inside with us. You haven't seen them in forever!" I laughed, unbuckling my seatbelt. "Plus, Arthur will want to hear all about how over the summer Dad taught you how to drive a car!"

"Oh, fine... If you insist," my mom winked, getting out of the vehicle.

I, Ella Elkins, am just an average teenager - I'm a half-blood witch - my mother being a pureblood witch, and my father, a muggle. My mom, Crystal, went to school with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley when she was younger and they were great friends. Then, when my three siblings and I turned out to be witches and wizards, both of our families were thrilled and all became very, very close. Sometimes, us Elkin children would stay with the Weasley's - sometimes the Weasley children would stay with the us. It just depended on the matter.

I adored the Weasley family, though. They all treated me, and my siblings, like family. My three siblings are Jacob, Caden, and Ava, all of whom go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, also. Jacob is a 7th year, in his last year of Hogwarts. We didn't always get along the best, but he was always there for me whenever I needed an older brother. I am starting 4th year of Hogwarts, the same year Ronald Weasley, one of my best friends, is in. Caden is starting his 2nd year of Hogwarts and Ava is finally starting her 1st year. Both of my younger siblings cling to my side basically, but I never mind. I love having such a close bond with my younger siblings.

Mom, Jacob, Caden, Ava, and I all walked up to the Burrow, Hogwarts things in hand, and Mom knocked on the door. Quickly, Mrs. Weasley answered the door.

"Oh my! The Elkins family at my doorstep? I haven't seen them in here almost a year!" Mrs. Weasley joked, holding the door open for my family and me. "Where is John at?"

"Oh, he's back at home with the dogs," Crystal laughed.

"Well, it's so nice to see you Crystal!" Molly laughed, pulling her old best friend into a hug. "You four can go put your things in the rooms - you know where they're at."

See, us Elkin children always had set rooms to stay in whenever we stayed at the Burrow, seeing as how we stayed here for half of our childhood. Ava and I stayed in Ginny's room, Jacob stayed in Fred and George's room, and Caden was forced to stay in Ronald's room, to Ron's disliking, because Caden was two years younger than Ron was himself. Molly, however, didn't have a care in the world about what Ron thought about the rooming arrangements.

"Alright, thanks!" I said before going up the stairs to Ginny Weasley's room with Ava at my heels. Once we arrived to the small room the door was wide open, with Ginny and Hermione both in it already.

"Ella!" they both shrieked at the same time and ran over to me, attempting to pull me into a bear hug at the same time.

"Ginny! Hermione!" I gasped back. "Excuse me, I've got something to do."

They both let go and looked at me. "What?"

"Breathe," I said jokingly, letting out a big breath. "And put my things down!"

"Sorry," Ginny giggled. "We've just missed you all summer!"

"And Ava!" Ginny said, picking up Ava in her arms. "How was your summer?"

"Good!" Ava said, showing a toothy grin.

"That's good! Are you excited for your very first year of Hogwarts?" Hermione asked, walking towards her and Ginny.

"Yeah, but I'm nervous," Ava said, laughing. Then she ran to her things and dumped out her suitcase full of clothes.

"Ava, we're only staying for a night! Then we're going to the Quidditch World Cup with Arthur, Fred, George, Ron, Harry, Hermione, Jacob, Caden, Ginny, and me!" I said, walking over to her clothes and throwing them back in her bag.

"Oh yeah..." Ava said, laughing.

I rolled my eyes and smiled at the funny smirks Ginny and Hermione had on their faces. Suddenly, Hermione mouthed, 'We need to talk to you - alone.' towards me. I nodded swiftly and turned towards Ava.

"Ava! I have an idea!" I said. "How about you go find Caden in Ron's room and you two go downstairs and see mommy before she leaves, okay? Or, like, get something to eat. You know Caden likes to eat!"

"Okay..." Ava said, raising an eyebrow, then quickly walked out of the room.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Have you seen Fred yet?" Hermione asked, with a small wink.

"No..." I said, walking back towards my bed. "Why?"

"Well, we - Ginny and I - just kind of think you two have something going on," Hermione said once more.

Suddenly, my clothes began to really fascinate me. "Nope, just friends."

"Are you sure?" Ginny asked, smiling.

"Yep, why would I lie to you two?"

"Oh, I don't know..." Hermione said dreamily.

"Trust me, Hermione. Me and Fred -" I started, but got cut off.

"You and Fred what?" came a very familiar voice. I turned around and saw Fred and George Weasley standing in the doorway, a sly grin across their faces.

"Oh, me and Fred and George are definitely going to have to catch up!" I said on the spot and ran over towards the twins, engulfing them into big hugs.

As I rested head between the boys' shoulders, I felt quite at home again. I truly felt happiest when I was at the Weasley's.

Once the three of us parted, I felt myself blush slightly so I turned my head quickly, so the twins wouldn't notice. Hermione and Ginny gave an identical what-did-we-tell-you look. I, being the mature young woman that I am, stuck out my tongue at the two.

"Ella Elkin! Why wasn't I told one of my best friends was here?" came the familiar voice of Ronald Weasley.

"Ronald!" I shouted and ran towards him. I always called him by Ronald because I simply found the name 'Ronald' more fitting than Ron. Ron, of course, disagreed, but I truly did not care.

Since Ron and I were the same age, Ron was the Weasley that I was with the most, and the one I was closest with.

"Where is Harry?!" I asked, as Ron and I parted.

"We're about to go get him now, actually," Arthur said, walking into the now overly crowded bedroom.

"Arthur!" I smiled, hugging him, also. He was like the wizard dad I never had - literally. The best thing about having a witch for a mother and a muggle for a Dad, however, was just the fact that I got a little of column A and a little of column B. I learned magic, while still knowing all the little muggle tricks, which surprising came in handy quite often.

"How you doin' kiddo? Your mom just got done explaining to me about Muggle cars," he said with a laugh. "Amazing how they get by without magic."

"Yeah, well, if you grow up without magic, it doesn't seem so bad. Muggles are smarter than what we think, y'know," I chuckled.

"Perhaps," he said with a smile.

"We're going to meet Bill, Charlie, and Percy at the World Cup tomorrow," George said, as he noticed my eyes wander across the room. I was super close with Bill and Charlie, but Percy was more like... a nuisance to us all more than anything. But deep down, I knew he wasn't just a prat. I smiled at George, just as Mom and Mrs. Weasley ran upstairs.

"Boy, it's crowded," my mom said in a deep breath. "Anyways, I'm going to have to get going! Transporting the muggle way isn't as quick as apparating."

"Or, if you want, Arthur can bewitch your car to fly, let you apparate, and Ronald and Harry can fly it back for you," I said with a wink, as Ronald's ears turned bright pink.

"I'll pass," mom said with a small smile. "Anyways, I need to go now. I already said goodbye to Jacob, Caden, and Ava. Now just my little Ella and I'll be off!"

"Bye, mom, love you," I said, giving her a hug.

"Bye, Crystal. Have a safe drive back!" Arthur said, hugging her after me and kissing her head.

"Bye everyone!" Mom yelled and hurried down the stairs.

"Well, Fred, George, Ron, we better go get Harry real quick, then," Arthur said quickly. "It's about five."

"Okay, Dad," George said, he and Fred both stuck their hands in their pockets. I saw a slight bulge in them. Giving the twins a questioning look, they just winked and walked out of the room.

I looked around the room and smiled once more, then slowly walked over to my bed, and flopped down onto it.

"It's good to be back home."