He knocked on the door precisely three hours after her departure. How he had found the Burrow was anyone’s guess as Molly welcomed the tall, brown-haired, blue eyed American boy into her home. Arthur was the first to greet him, and then came Fred, George, Charlie, Bill and, lastly, Ron.
“You must tell us about America, Mr. Russell,” Mr. Weasley said excitedly. "Please?"
“Call me Devon, please,” the boy said with a smile. “I’m very glad to meet all of you, but where’s Ginny? I sent her a letter, she knew I was coming.”
Molly paled slightly. “Ginny isn’t here, dear, I’m sorry.”
Devon frowned and brushed a hand through his fine, brown hair.
“Will you tell her I came by?” he asked hopefully.
Arthur glanced at him. “How exactly did you find us, Devon?”
At the question, the boy froze, blinking at the Weasleys. “Well, Ginny’s told me all about herself, including the fact that she’s a witch. I wasn’t surprised at all, you see. I knew there was something special about her the moment I met her. I just didn’t know it was something like that.”
Fred and George glared at him, moving closer.
“Oh, no, no,” he said as he caught their movements. “I don’t mean it in a bad way. I think it’s really neat.”
“Neat?” Bill said crossly. He took a step nearer and pushed his hair out of his eyes. “It’s not neat, Mr. Russell – no, you will sit down and listen – Ginny made the mistake of meeting you, and we are her family and we’re going to protect her.”
“But I…” Devon started, slowly taking a seat back down.
“We can’t allow anyone outside our world to know what we are,” Bill said sharply. “It’s far too risky.”
“What can they do to you if they can’t find you?” Devon asked.
“That’s the problem,” Arthur Weasley said, contently wiping his glasses clean, and placing them back on his nose. “Because you do know where we are.”
“Obviously, Ginny told him, because she trusted him," Charlie pointed out.
“Trust is fragile with Muggles!” Bill snapped. “One sniff of something strange and they run or worse. Ginny could have been left heartbroken, put in one of the mental hospitals in their world.”
“I love Ginny,” Devon whispered. “I would never betray her like that.”
“No one can love her like her family,” said Bill, his tone light. Clearly, he had calmed down.
“I can!” argued Devon, finally standing up, and not flinching when someone told him to sit. “I have for the past six months.”
“That is too soon for my child to trust you,” Arthur said tightly. “Or love you. Don’t you see? Ginny should be with someone who understands her, someone who is exactly like her, and not some Muggle American boy who would never last in this world without being tested by an Unforgivable.”
“She told me about those, too,” Devon said swiftly. “They’re kind of like an illness in America, or a gun, that causes a lot of pain and harm to someone.”
The front door had slammed, and Bill Weasley was nowhere to be found. The others stood around this stranger with worried expressions, and it wasn’t until Molly returned to the room with biscuits that Devon sat down, and placed his head in his hands.
“Mrs. Weasley,” he said kindly, “where is she?”
“I’m afraid, I don’t know,” Molly said as she took a seat next to her husband. “She left sometime last night.”
Devon blinked at her, his eyes questioning.
“He can’t,” Arthur said. “Send him to The Three Broomsticks.”
“He’ll be humiliated there!” Hermione said, speaking for the first time.
“So, go with him,” Molly suggested. “Show him how it works… tell them he’s new at being a wizard… but do something, please, Hermione. While you’re there, find my baby girl.”
With a sigh, Hermione Granger came forward and looked down at Devon. She grabbed his arms, and when he didn’t protest, she Apparated them to Hogsmeade. He choked abruptly when they landed and looked around, amazement blazing in his blue eyes. “This is…” he said, astonished.
“This is our world.” Hermione nodded.
“The Three Broomsticks?”
“A very well-known pub and inn, Russell,” Hermione addressed him harshly. “Now, let’s go.”
As they walked, Devon watched all the people passing him; there were groups with cloaks on, holding wands, and casting spells around him. He glanced at Hermione and found that she had a good-natured face, and was very attractive. He stopped short and shook his head.
“I can’t do this,” he said, swallowing nervously.
The brunette stopped and turned her head. “I’m not going back to the Burrow with you, not with Bill there.”
“He seems like an angry person. Ginny told me her family was nice.”
Hermione stopped and scowled at him. “Bill Weasley is one of the bravest men I know. Don’t you ever say that about him, do you understand me?”
Since he wasn’t about to argue with a witch, Devon simply nodded and kept walking.
“Here,” she said, gesturing to the big building in front of them. “Now go in and ask for a room. Oh, and don’t forget these,” she handed him a few odd-looking coins.
“But, I…” he started and turned to find that she had gone. He sighed and pushed the door open, and stopped as the people look suspiciously at him. All the noise seemed to stop as well. He cleared his throat and said, “I’d like a room, please.”
“You don’t look like a wizard,” said a snotty blond man from the back. He was dining with a young woman that looked very familiar to Devon. He realized there were probably a thousand red-haired girls in this world, and he knew Ginny would never mix with that sort of crowd.
“Draco, that’s not nice,” said the snobby man’s date, and as they stood to leave, the redhead turned and stopped.
Devon Russell stared at his girlfriend, who was with another man.
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