Twisted Fascination

I awoke early, just as usual, and headed down to the kitchen. I briefly worried about my Daily Prophet not arriving, but I eventually dashed those thoughts as an owl arrived with my usual paper. I also received an owl that dropped off a letter from Hogwarts. I set aside Harry's letter as I sat down at the table. I opened my paper up and checked over the stocks as usual before deciding that I seriously needed to look into Lockhart and why he was such a success.

"Oh, you're up early!" Mr. Weasley said as he entered the kitchen.

"I frequently wake up early," I admitted as I flipped through my paper.

"Would you like a coffee?" Mr. Weasley offered before immediately seeming to catch himself. "I mean-"

"I would love a coffee," I said honestly. "Do you need any help with making it?"

He waved me off. "No, I'll be fine. How strong do you like your coffee?"

"Dark with a single shot of cream and two cubes of sugar," I answered.

He gave a grin to himself. "You must really like coffee if you've already got an order down."

I flushed a bit. "Well, Hogwarts doesn't have any coffee for the students, and my uncle doesn't like sharing much, so it's been a while since I've had a good cup."

"I believe sixth and seventh years are allowed coffee if you go to the staff room and ask politely," the man mused to himself.

I immediately made a mental note of that, already planning to pay an upper year student for some nectar of the Gods.

"How did you sleep last night?" He questioned as he began to start up a muggle coffee maker that he had.

"Very well, thank you for asking," I replied. "I noticed you weren't at dinner last night. Did you have any sleep?"

"No, but don't tell my wife that," Mr. Weasley said as he flashed me a cheeky grin.

I chuckled as I looked back at my newspaper. "Very well."

We remained comfortable in the silence of the morning.

Mr. Weasley soon came over with two mugs of coffee. He set one down next to me and sat down with his own newspaper.

"Do you know who Lockhart is? I'm afraid I don't know much beyond the fact he's a celebrity of sorts," I inquired.

The redhead didn't even look ashamed to roll his eyes. "Lockhart is very attractive with the ladies."

"Ah…" I said, figuring him to be the wizard equivalent of a movie star.

"Indeed," Mr. Weasley agreed, "He wrote a few books on his adventures across the world, but I have my doubts that everything in them is factual."

I immediately perked up. "Oh?"

"Well…" The man sighed heavily. "He used to be an Obliviator for the Ministry. He was good at what he did, but he didn't really show any talents outside of that."

"So you believe he's making stories up?" I questioned.

"They're real," Mr. Weasley denied right away, "The Ministry looked into them after the fact, and they all seemed to happen as he said."

I hummed softly before closing up my newspaper. "Do you believe him to be taking credit for other people's hard work?"

"I believe he should have been accepted into the Aurors if he's truly as talented as his books lead others to believe," the man admitted.

"Inconsistency is the biggest downfall of a chronic liar," I said, "Has someone run through all his books to check up on the dates?"

"I don't believe anyone has," he said honestly. "I know that I got bored after one because he kept referring to himself in an extremely positive light."

"Well, I suppose I shall leave it as a pet project for now," I mused as I folded up my newspaper and finally took a sip of my coffee. I smiled at the rich taste, happy that he asked me if I wanted a cup. I then opened my letter from Hogwarts and pulled out the list of necessary books for that year. I paused before carefully looking over the many books once more. "Make that a pet project I will actually have to focus on…"

"Hm?" He turned his head toward me, only to raise an eyebrow at how long the list was for books.

"I'm assuming a vast majority of Lockhart's books are on this list," I said as I handed it over to the man.

He immediately looked at the list, his face falling. "This is all of them, except for the autobiography and his guide on house-hold pests."

"Ah…" I said before leaning back in my seat. "I imagine it will cost a fortune, especially if he's coming out with a new book, which should be that autobiography of his."

Mr. Weasley grimaced as he looked down at his hands.

"I would like to pay off my debt to you by buying the books for whoever needs them in your family," I stated.

"Debt?" He repeated questioningly before immediately frowning. "No, you owe neither my family nor I any kind of debt."

"I do," I argued, "I am only here out of your kindness, so please allow me to repay that kindness the only way I can."

"You being safe is plenty-"

I shook my head in denial. "No, it's not. I cannot offer your family a safe haven, nor can I provide food and warmth. Therefore, allow me to pay for something in return."

"You're still a child, though," he stressed.

"You say that like it matters in the outside world," I said as I made a vague motion signaling the wide world beyond the borders of the Burrow.

The man grimaced again before shaking his head firmly. "I refuse."

"What can I do?" I asked.

"Nothing," he replied.

"I can dig for something against the Malfoys," I offered, and he looked at me in surprise. "I'm in Slytherin, and Lucius Malfoy is your work rival if Draco is to be believed. I'm sure I can-"

He held his hand up, silencing me. "If you insist upon paying me back, don't go looking for trouble. I can handle Lucius on my own."

"But-"

"I can," he insisted.

I lowered my head as I took back my long list of things needed. "One set of books?"

"You don't know if the other years will have them," the redhead pointed out.

"I'm willing to bet a few stocks on it," I grumbled as I looked over the other books needed.

"Stocks?" Mr. Weasley repeated. "You own stocks?"

"It's important to invest money for the future," I said before perking up. "How about I recommend some for you to invest in? I've developed good instincts on the stock market over the years."

"How?" The man asked.

"Someone had to listen to my uncle ramble about the muggle stock market, so I picked up a few things," I waved off dismissively.

"Oh, what's the muggle stock market like?" Mr. Weasley questioned eagerly.

"It's always changing, just like the wizarding one," I admitted, "It acts primarily the same, but the money is obviously different. Furthermore, there isn't just one centralized location at one bank, as muggles have many different banks and stock market locations."

"Fascinating," he said, and he clearly meant it.

"Technology is a major stock that is being fought over now," I explained, "Muggles are always seeking to make better technology. My uncle, who works for a drill-making company, is eager to improve his own company through technological means."

"What's the most advanced piece of muggle technology that you know of?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"I'm sure you would be fascinated with mobile phones," I said as I clasped my hands together. "Instead of writing messages on parchment and waiting for a reply by mail, muggles made a device that allows one person to call another person and talk as if they were in the same room as each other. That's the telephone, which was made into a mobile device. You can take it with you wherever you go, and, so long as telephone towers are nearby, you can call another person."

"That's amazing!" Mr. Weasley chirped, looking like a child in a candy shop. "How do they work?"

"You know about cars with their big engines, yes?" I asked, and he nodded eagerly. "Imagine a very small engine inside of the mobile device," I said, and he looked positively amazed. "Instead of running on gasoline, however, it runs on electricity."

"And these mobile devices - how big are they?" He pressed.

I made the rough dimensions of the phone with my hands before telling him the weight of it. "It's rumored that technicians of telephone companies are trying to make their mobile devices send and receive messages."

"What does that mean?" The redhead questioned.

"So, a letter is a written message on a piece of parchment that is sent by owl," I explained, earning a slow nod, "Well, a mobile message will be like that, but it will be transmitted from one phone to another in almost an instant."

"So there will be no need for muggle postmen when writing messages?" He questioned, and I nodded in approval.

"Yes, exactly," I said, "It will also allow those who are hard of hearing or deaf to communicate with those who hear just like you and I. They won't need to use sign language to communicate, as they can simply write out a message and send it from their phone to another."

"That's amazing!" Mr. Weasley chirped as he clapped his hands together. "In the wizarding world, whenever someone cannot hear and/or speak, they cast a spell that will make their words into text from a ribbon from the end of the wand. Of course, there is sign language, but most witches and wizards nowadays will simply use the spell."

Before we could continue the conversation further, Mrs. Weasley came into the kitchen while stifling a yawn. "Good morning, Arthur, honey."

"Good morning, Molly, darling," Mr. Weasley replied as he got up. "Shall I make you a strong cup of tea?"

"Oh, thank you," Mrs. Weasley replied with a smile.

"Good morning, Mrs. Weasley," I said as I smiled at the woman. "How did you sleep?"

"That should be my question, dear," she replied as she gave a small grin."I'm sure it wasn't easy sleeping in a new place."

"I don't think any human can sleep in a new place so easily, save Harry, maybe," I mused as I rubbed my chin.

"Is Harry a heavy sleeper?" Mrs. Weasley questioned.

"Harry could sleep through the end of the world," I commented before taking a sip of my coffee. "Once, he slept through a hailstorm that was so bad, I couldn't sleep a wink all night."

"That sounds just like Ron," Mrs. Weasley said as she gave a chuckle.

I hummed softly at the information given to me.

"Here you go, darling," Mr. Weasley said as he returned to the table to give his wife the tea he had brewed.

"Thank you, dear," Mrs. Weasley said as she gave her husband a quick peck on the lips. She then turned toward me and said, "Oh, yes. Would you mind going with us to Diagon Alley this week?"

"Oh, of course not. I need to pick up my school supplies," I said.

"Oh, have those letters finally arrived?" Mrs. Weasley asked as she glanced toward the counter.

"Yes, ma'am. I already took Harry's and mine, if you don't mind," I said, holding back a cringe as I expected the worst.

"It is your mail," she said.

I felt that was fair, so I simply sat back.

"What would you like for breakfast?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"I'll be fine with anything," I replied.

"Do you want anything specific?" She pressed.

"No, thank you for offering," I said, "I'm sure Harry would love some eggs and sausage, though."

She gave a small nod, looking as though she were holding back a sigh.

I ignored that oddity and merely went back to sipping my coffee.

The woman eventually got up and moved toward the counter, where she began to prepare breakfast for her family, Harry, and I. She turned on the wizarding radio and allowed the voice of a witch named Celestina Warbeck to fill her space as she worked.

Eventually, the twins ambled down, still in their pajamas. They were yawning loudly when they spotted the envelopes on the table with their names on them. They eagerly sat down and swiped up their letters, George sitting to the left of Fred, if their letters were anything to go by. They looked over their lists before looking over at me.

"Do you have all of Lockhart's books, too?" Fred asked.

"Indeed, I do," I answered, "I suspect that is the case for all students."

"That's going to cost a fortune," George mumbled worriedly.

At that moment, Ginny walked into the kitchen. "What's going to cost a fortune?"

"Lockhart's books," Fred answered.

She gave a small grimace as she sat down on Fred's other side.

"Well, we can get a lot of Ginny's things second-hand," Mrs. Weasley said, though the sheer amount of anxiety in her voice made me hold in a cringe.

I looked over at Mr. Weasley, but he pointedly ignored my gaze. I internally sighed before straightening up as Percy came down, looking as pristine as he had yesterday.

"Morning, everyone," he said briskly.

"Good morning," I replied politely.

The boy sat down next to Ginny, meaning he's also be sitting next to Mr. Weasley. He grabbed his letter and opened it effortlessly. He pulled out the list, only to immediately look at his twin brothers in a silent plea.

The twins didn't verbally reply, but their expressions made it evident that they didn't want to break the horrible news to their older sibling.

Percy immediately snapped his head around to his father.

The man shook his head silently, and Percy remained silent as well.

I felt awkward as I just looked down at the table.

That's when Harry and Ron finally came into the kitchen, both still in their pajamas and looking plenty tired instead of rested.

"Did you even sleep at all?" I asked incredulously.

"Of course we did," Ron snapped irritably at me.

Harry gave a sheepish expression that indicated he was guilty of not sleeping nearly as much as he should have.

I held in a sigh before motioning for Harry to sit down. "Your letter from Hogwarts arrived."

Harry immediately sat down, along with Ron. They basically tore their letters open and looked at the long list of books they'd need.

"Who's Lockhart?" Harry asked.

"Some famous wizard," I waved off dismissively.

"Mum's a fan," Fred said with a grin, earning a sharp glare from his mother.

"That's because he's truly exquisite," Mrs. Weasley said with a sniff, "He's been defeating dark creatures and such for quite a while now. I don't see you doing any such thing."

"Mum, that's boring," Fred complained.

"Yeah, Mum. Who wants to be in the limelight that much?" George asked.

"Not me," Harry grumbled under his breath.

"Oh, enough of that," Mrs. Weasley demanded as she waved off her twin sons. She then brought over some sausages and eggs for us to eat. She piled a bunch of food on everyone's plate, mine included.

After eating what I could, I waited for Percy to dismiss himself. I then got up from the table while asking, "Do you, by any chance, have the time to give me the book on goblin rebellions?"

"Oh, of course!" Percy exclaimed. "Thank you for reminding me. Follow me." He then headed off, and I followed after him up to his room.

I waited outside the door to his room like a polite person and was soon presented with a book on various rebellions that happened over the years between goblins and wizards. "Thank you, Percy. I'll bring it back once I finish my essay."

"It's no problem, and don't forget that I can help you if you ever get stuck," Percy said with a grin.

I nodded once in acknowledgement before heading back to my room across the hall. I quickly began to read the book, making notes here and there on a different sheet of parchment for my essay. Once I was done combing through the book for useful information, I turned my focus to organizing my notes in a rough draft before making a final draft of my essay. I was satisfied with the results of my work, and I moved onto my Transfiguration homework. I got so involved in taking notes that I completely forgot about the time schedule of the Weasleys. Therefore, when a knock came at the door, I nearly screamed. Once I calmed my beating heart, I headed over to the door and opened it cautiously. "May I help you?"

"Mum says you have to eat dinner since you managed to skip lunch," Percy explained to me.

"I missed lunch?" I repeated in surprise before immediately becoming sheepish. "I'm sorry if I ruined the meal."

He waved me off. "It's perfectly understandable, especially considering you're studying hard."

I nodded once before Percy motioned for me to follow after him. I quickly did as commanded, heading down to the kitchen, where I washed my hands before taking my usual seat.

"Finally!" Ron exclaimed as soon as I sat down. "Now, can we eat?"

"Oh, go ahead," Mrs. Weasley said as she waved off her son.

I immediately began to eat the large plate of food in front of me at a sedated pace.

"Were you actually studying this entire time?" Fred questioned.

"Of course," I replied, "Getting an education is very important."

Ron made a gagging expression, clearly not interested in actually graduating with O.W.L.'s and N.E.W.T.'s.

Mrs. Weasley saw his face and swatted his head in a scolding manner. "Eat your food, Ron."

Ron glowered at me while his elder twin brothers snickered.

I quickly refocused myself to eating my dinner. I only ate about half of what the matriarch served me before sitting back.

"Which teacher is your favorite?" Ginny asked as she looked between Fred and George.

The two boys gave mischievous grins.

"Why?" George asked.

"Do you want to get up to some mischief, too?" Fred inquired.

"No," Ginny denied, "I just want to know which is the best."

"I would go with either Sprout or Flitwick," I stated, "Though I do lean more toward Flitwick."

"You're not going with your own Head of House?" Ron asked incredulously.

"Goodness, no," I denied right away, "Snape's a horrible teacher. He doesn't like the majority of his students, and he expects students to naturally understand the material when some people haven't even been exposed to potions and/or brewing before."

"But you're a Slytherin," Ron said as if that actually meant something.

"And?" I questioned as I shot him a raised eyebrow. "Does that mean McGonagall is your favorite?"

The boy flushed a bit. "Well, no, but-"

"Then why would I automatically stand by his side?" I questioned, "You know as well as I do that teaching isn't the man's forte."

"He has a point," Harry said, "Besides, Snape is mean."

"Wait, so why is Flitwick your favorite?" Ginny interjected.

"He actually teaches his students efficiently," I stressed, "He goes over the material while answering all the questions students have to offer him. Then, he demonstrated what we have to do. Finally, when someone is having trouble, he actually helps them. That's what being a teacher is all about."

"Well, what about Sprout?" Ginny pressed.

"Oh, she's plenty nice," I said, "She also doesn't yell when someone gets something wrong. She merely helps them get it right, and then gives them House points for improving."

Ginny looked contemplative of my answer. "Well, what is McGonagall like?"

"Stern is the best way to describe her," I stated, "She doesn't tolerate any fooling around, and she will take away House points if you are caught doing so. She also expects near perfection in Transfiguration, which is hard to accomplish in your first year, especially if you haven't read over your book yet."

"So I should read over her book before class begins?" The girl asked fretfully.

"That, and the Potions book," I agreed, "Snape starts off with having students brew the Cure for Boils with only instructions on the board, so you'll need to read over the beginning of the textbook a few times just to make sure you understand the process."

"Got it," she said with a nod.

I nodded once back in approval.

"Did the hat try to put you in Ravenclaw?" George asked me curiously.

"I don't believe so," I admitted, "If it did, it didn't tell me."

Fred hummed softly before giving me a mischievous grin. "So, Colton, what do you think of practical jokes?"

Percy rolled his eyes dramatically, clearly not approving of their so-called practical jokes.

"I believe that they're childish at best," I stated, "However, I also know that they're useful at things like making others laugh and such. Basically, I believe, in moderation, they're acceptable."

"Hah!" Fred exclaimed loudly, causing me to look at him oddly. "I knew you weren't as uptight as you first appeared!"

My face flushed a bit as Mrs. Weasley began to scold the boy harshly. Not knowing what to say to move the conversation in a different direction, I quickly turned back to my meal and continued eating.

"Anyway," Mr. Weasley piped up, "I have another raid tonight, so I may not be around for breakfast."

"Be safe, dear," Mrs. Weasley pleaded as she gave her husband a look of concern.

"Yeah, Dad," the twins said in unison.

"Beat up the bad guys!" Ginny exclaimed eagerly.

Percy sighed softly. "Ginny, that's-"

Mr. Weasley chuckled fondly. "I'll try, Ginny, I'll try."

I waited until the majority of the people were done eating before taking my leave. I had to make a plan to get Mr. Weasley to accept the fact I owed him a debt so I could repay it.