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── IN WHICH SHE ARRIVES AT THE BURROW
. . .
It was a clear summers day at the Burrow. Peaceful; barely a sound, not even a leaf tumbling across the ground. It was rarely like that, and usually yelling could be heard - either from one of the many Quidditch matches played there or from de-gnoming the garden, which happened plenty more times in summer than it did any other time of year.
The silence was broken by a loud crack and a string of swear words, a girl appearing on the ground besides a small copse of trees nearby it. She quite literally appeared out of nowhere, but seemed to have travelled quite a distance.
The girl seemed to be trying not to throw up, taking deep breaths as she sat on the grassy ground. When it seemed she was alright, the girl took a few moments to check her entire body, hissing a small celebration as she realised nothing was any different - other than her stomach twisting and turning.
She finally got up, and glanced around, retrieving a faded yellow suitcase from under a nearby bush. It had one been rather bright, but with time had achieved a rather aged appearance - so much so that it almost looked like it was about to fall apart.
With case in hand, the girl began towards the Burrow, arms swinging by her side as she practically skipped her way there. She didn't even need to knock as she reached the front door, simple pushing down the worn handle and walking inside.
At the time of day it was, she had expected the kitchen to be full of life. But it was empty, the long table without any people, no food anywhere to be seen and the dishes washing above the sink, magical bubbles floating around it.
"Oh." She exclaimed, stood still as she stared. Placing her suitcase flat on the table, the girl moved around into the living room, surprised to find that it was also empty. Which was surprising, given the usual hustle and bustle of the Weasley household.
It seemed like the entire house was silent, and so she decided to make herself a cup of tea whilst she waited. And with her cup of tea, she sat down at the table, getting comfortable.
"Fred! George! Stop that this instant." The first sound of any Weasley was of course Molly - and it seemed to be heard from a while way, as the girl stood up and walked over to the window, seeing the family approaching from some distance.
A smile on her face appeared as she waited, sat down in the rickety wooden chair, finishing the last dregs of her tea. The front door burst open, Molly Weasley leading the group, making sure all her children entered.
She turned towards the kitchen and jumped out of her skin, eyes focused on the girl, who stood up with a smile on her face. Molly Weasley approached her, arms wide as she greeted the girl with a hug. "Kaida dear, I didn't know you were coming today!" The woman exclaimed, and Kaida Phoenix was squished into a hug.
Six heads appeared behind Mrs Weasley at the greeting, surprised to hear a name other than any of your siblings. "What's going on here?" Arthur, who had herded his children through the front door, appeared just as shocked as his wife to see his second oldest son's best friend.
"Lovely to see you." Arthur greeted Kaida, and then she was bombarded by the younger Weasleys. She complimented Ginny's dress, asked Ron about his rat (which Charlie had traumatised by tying wings around it's middle on multiple occasions), Fred and George asked her to come and see something in their - no doubtedly a prank - and she discussed OWLs with Percy.
And after greeting the five younger Weasley children - they had grown to like her a lot after the Christmas break in her first year in which she appeared beside Charlie on the platform, no prior warning to his parents that she was coming to stay - all that was left was to say her hellos to the boy she had really come there for.
"Charles." She said, the boy approaching her. He rolled her eyes before pulling her into a hug - Kaida ruffling his hair as she pulled away.
"Planning on telling us why you're here or..?" Charlie asked, looking between Kaida and trunk. The Phoenix girl sighed, and her attention turned from her best friend to his parents.
"I was wondering if I could stay here for a little bit. Maybe until school starts again?" Kaida looked sheepish, her gaze directed towards the ground. It had happened many times before, her escaping her own home by going to the Burrow. It wasn't anything serious, it was just that her muggle parents weren't always entirely comfortable with there being a witch in the house - they never had been.
Charlie swung his arm around his best friend's shoulders, voice confident as he spoke. "Of course she can, right mum?" He said.
"Of course she can." Mrs Weasley replied.
And so, Kaida would spend the next two weeks or so at the Burrow.
