HP: Hogwart's Journey

Mrs. Weasley watched as a whole swarm of children emerged from the tent, looking somewhat dazed. "What's going on, kids? Is the tent too small?" she asked, her face turning slightly displeased as she looked at Mr. Weasley. "I told you we should've gotten a bigger tent..." 

At that moment, Mr. Weasley was quite the sight—covered head to toe in sweat, dirt, and dust, making him look like a little grey monkey. When he heard Mrs. Weasley speaking to him, he turned his head, wiped his forehead with his sleeve, and left behind a black streak that made it seem like he'd grown a little mustache. "Oh, is that so, Molly? I thought two people would be enough for one room..." He paused for a moment. "Hmm... ah, hahaha, I seem to have forgotten about Robert!" He then muttered under his breath, "Lucky Charlie couldn't make it..." 

Mrs. Weasley's expression stiffened, and it seemed like she was about to get angry. Robert quickly grabbed her arm and said, "It's not the tent's fault. It's quite spacious inside. We could even do somersaults in there! By the way, we're about to boil some water. Would you like some hot cocoa before bed, Mrs. Weasley?" 

Mrs. Weasley slapped her forehead, looking frustrated. "Look at me, I completely forgot about boiling water. You all go ahead, but be careful and don't wander too far from the camp." 

The kids nodded and left together. 

The Ministry of Magic in Leaf Country had clearly gone to great lengths for the Quidditch World Cup, as all the signs were highly visible, and they even lit up when someone got close. 

"Running water is on the left, and the firewood pile is on the right. Let's split up here," Robert said, pointing at the signs on the trees. The group then split into two paths. 

The forest was eerily quiet, and there were no tents nearby along the trail, which showed that the camp had been set up with privacy in mind. Occasionally, voices could be heard in the distance, making the area seem quite lively. 

"Where should we collect the firewood?" Ginny asked eagerly. She was thrilled, since this was her first time wandering through such a large forest, and she had no intention of heading back anytime soon. 

Robert scratched his head. "Hmm, I don't think they'll actually make us collect real firewood... It's not like we're supposed to stack a bonfire right outside the tent or anything." 

"Bonfire?" Both Ginny and George perked up. 

Robert sighed. "Alright, since you're interested..." 

Ten minutes later, they arrived at the spot marked for the firewood pile, where an elderly caretaker seemed a bit surprised to see three children approach. However, he didn't say anything and simply handed them a basket of coal before sending them on their way. 

"This is coal?" Ginny asked, eyeing the black lump of coal suspiciously and wrinkling her nose. "Aren't we supposed to collect firewood?" 

"It's for indoor use—smokeless coal. It doesn't have much of a smell when it burns," Robert explained. "Now we can go pick up some twigs..." 

The forest was abundant with dead branches, and after a flurry of activity, they managed to gather a good amount of firewood. 

"It seems so heavy..." Ginny pouted, looking a little disappointed. The excitement she'd had at first was fading, and she looked at the three bundles of firewood with a bit of a headache. 

Robert and George exchanged glances and grinned mischievously before reaching for the firewood. 

Ginny's eyes widened in surprise as she watched the firewood disappear. "How did you do that?" she asked, incredulously. 

Robert handed her a small pink pouch. "This is how." 

Ginny took it and examined it several times, still baffled by how such a small pouch could hold so much firewood. 

"This pouch is made from the skin of a shape-shifting lizard. They're pretty common now since these lizards have apparently become quite overpopulated," Robert explained. He cleared his throat when he saw Ginny fondling the pouch but not quite letting go. "So, could you help us carry the firewood back to the camp? As a reward, this pouch is yours." 

Ginny hesitated for a moment, not taking the pouch back. "I'm just helping carry the firewood back. You don't need to reward me for that..." 

"Come on, Ginny. It's really for you. We just didn't have a chance to give it to you until now," Robert said with a grin. "Everyone gets a share, and come on—do you really think your brothers would want a pink pouch?" 

Ginny scrunched up her nose and huffed, "So I'm the last to get it!" Then, she laughed and hung the pouch around her neck. "Thanks, Robert." 

Robert waved it off, not caring. 

This was the shape-shifting lizard skin pouch he had bought from the Devis-Bans shop. After inquiring, he found out that they were uninterested in the finished pouches but were more fascinated by the raw materials. So, Robert had bought a large batch of lizard skins, intending to take them with him when he visited Flower Country. The finished pouches from Devis-Bans, on the other hand, were being given out slowly to his friends. 

As for why he didn't keep one for himself... Well, though there's a saying in the Beggar's Sect that the more pouches one carries, the higher their status, it sounded pretty embarrassing to him to have a bunch of pouches hanging from his waist like some kind of elder. 

The three of them returned empty-handed to the camp, where Mrs. Weasley was still watching Mr. Weasley try to pitch the tent. However, she had now started helping, clearly having lost faith in his ability to set up the tent. It was hard to believe that Mr. Weasley, who could easily repair a mechanical transformer by hand, struggled with something as simple as pitching a tent. 

When Mr. Weasley finally finished setting up the tent, he looked up and saw the bonfire lit up in front of the camp. 

"Bonfire?" he exclaimed in surprise. "Did you all do this yourselves? How did you manage it? It looks amazing! We must be the most Muggle-like family here! Even real Muggles wouldn't be suspicious if they saw this!" 

No, Muggles would definitely not start a fire in such a tree-dense area, Robert thought to himself silently. If it weren't for magic, he wouldn't dare to light a fire, especially in Leaf Country, which almost always experienced wildfires every year. 

Mrs. Weasley waved her wand, seemingly casting fire protection charms. That was the moment Robert realized that while it was fun to join Mr. Weasley in mischief, when it came to venturing outside, it was definitely safer to have Mrs. Weasley around. 

The group gathered around the bonfire, singing and dancing. They roasted bread and fresh fish, having a wonderful time until Mrs. Weasley shooed everyone back to the tents. 

"It's getting late, kids," she clapped her hands, calling out. "Time for bed. We have to wake up early tomorrow!" 

(End of Chapter)