Harry Potter and the Forest of Mysteries

Author’s Note: Thanks to those of you who reviewed! I’m hoping this this chapter will be longer and better because there will be more dialogue. I would also like to thank my wonderful beta Another!

Please review!

Harry Potter and the Forest of Mysteries: Chapter 2- Back to the Burrow.

The drive to the Burrow was long and mostly silent one. Ron and Harry talked for a little bit but Ron decided not to ask anything that would make Mr. Weasley and Lupin question them.

So they talked about Quidditch. Apparently, Fred and George bought some Quidditch supplies, like a quaffle, resizable posts and two new brooms. They wee planning a nice Quidditch match for when Harry arrived and just thinking about flying again made Harry’s spirits soar.

When they finally reached the Burrow, Mrs. Weasley, Ginny and Hermione were waiting for them outside. Harry and Ron got out of the car and Mr. Weasley and Lupin grabbed Harry’s trunk.

“Harry! Ron!” Hermione said and ran to her friends as fast as she could. She collided into Harry and pulled him into a big hug. Harry hugged back thankful to see her again.

“I’ve only just arrived.” She explained and let go of Harry to hug Ron.

“How are you Harry?” She whispered as the three of them began to walk back up to Mrs. Weasley and Ginny.

“I’ll be fine Hermione. How are you?” he replied automatically.

“I’ve been better, ” she sighed as they reached the house.

“Harry dear!” Mrs. Weasley said warmly and pulled him into a hug.

“Hello, Mrs. Weasley.” Harry smiled back at her.

“How are you?” She mothered him, smoothing away a wrinkle on his shoulder. Harry was beginning to get annoyed with everyone asking how he was.

“Fine,” he muttered back.

“Hey Harry!” Ginny said from beside her mother.

“Hello Ginny,” Harry said to the younger girl. Just then Mr. Weasley came up the walk with Lupin in tow. It seemed they gave up trying to carry the heavy trunk so it was now floating gracefully between the two of them, with Hedwig’s cage perched on top.

“Well now, everyone inside lunch is almost ready,” Mrs. Weasley said, ushering everyone into the house. Fred and George were sitting at the table when they came in.

“Hey Harry,” Fred said, but then he bent over a piece of parchment and ran his hand through his ginger hair.

“Working on a new project.” George winked as Harry walked by. Mr. Weasley dropped the trunk onto the floor and Harry picked it up to bring upstairs. He noticed that it was incredibly light and figured Mr. Weasley must have put a charm on it. Ron and Hermione followed Harry up to Ron’s room, closing the door behind them.

“Harry, have you been having any dreams?” Ron asked worriedly. Harry set down his trunk and scrunched up his face. He remembered one dream, but it wasn’t really a dream. He saw flashes of worm tail talking to Voldemort but he couldn’t hear them or see where they were.

“No,” Harry lied and plopped on Ron’s bed with a sigh. “Why?”

Ron sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

“Well, some of the Order meetings have been held here, and Fred, George, Ginny and I have been using extendable ears, and well, we overheard that you-know-who is looking for allies. Lupin said that his emotions will be high if something goes wrong, or if something goes well and they seem to think that you would dream it.” Ron strained to put the words out, not sure how to say it. Hermione gave a log sigh and looked out the window lost in thought. Ron’s eyes were glued to the floor and he was rocking on the balls of his feet

“What do you mean ‘looking for allies’?” Harry snapped, feeling his temper rise but he wasn’t sure why.

“Well, you know how Dumbledore wanted the giants to be on our side?” Ron asked glancing at Harry.

Harry wasn’t sure how to respond to this. He still, hasn’t told anyone about the Prophecy. He wasn’t sure he wanted to. The three of them stood in uncomfortable silence for awhile wishing they could have something to say. ‘When did things get weird between us?’ Harry wondered.

“Lunch is ready!” they heard Mrs. Weasley’s voice call from downstairs. Harry slowly rose from the bed and the three of them walked downstairs into the kitchen.

Mrs. Weasley set down the last plate as Ron, Harry and Hermione sat down at the table.

“Arthur, when did Bill say he was coming?” Mrs. Weasley asked, sitting down next to Ginny.

“Around dinner time,” Mr. Weasley replied.

“Excellent then we’ll have even teams for Quidditch! One seeker, a keeper and a chaser a team,” George said, winking at Harry.

With the promising thought of Quidditch, Harry’s mood lightened throughout the day. He and Ron played a few games of chess while Hermione read, watching them. For some reason Harry couldn’t get rid of he thought that they weren’t as good of friends as they were. He wanted to tell them about the Prophecy but couldn’t bring himself to do it. He didn’t want them to worry.

After the third game of chess (and Ron’s third win), Harry suggested that the three of them take a walk.

The walked out of the back door and once the fresh air hit them; they all took a deep breath in. They walked in silence as they entered the small woods behind the house. Harry didn’t know what to say. He never thought it would be so weird to talk to his best friends.

They reached a small clearing with a large, smooth rock, big enough for the three of them to sit on. Harry paused for a minute eyeing the rock with interest. Ron and Hermione stopped as well when they notice Harry had.

Harry sighed and sat on the rock resting his arms around his knees. Hermione walked over and climbed up the rock next to Harry, with Ron right behind her. The three sat in silence watching the scenery. Finally, Harry sighed and spoke.

“What’s wrong with us?” he muttered, staring at his feet.

“What do you mean?” Ron asked a little hoarsely.

“You know what I mean. When did things get weird between us?” Harry asked, watching and ant crawl around the rock’s surface.

“Is it that bad?” Hermione asked. She looked as if she was on the verge of tears.

There was a long pause. Harry kept on watching the ant while Ron was studying the ground.

“I’m sorry,” Harry whispered not looking at either of them.

“For what?” Hermione asked turning her head slowly towards him.

“For being so mad at you two last year. I know it wasn’t your fault, but I still took it out on you.” Harry groaned, furious with himself.

“It’s okay Harry, we understand,” Ron muttered. Harry felt a quick surge of anger.

‘They don’t understand.’ he thought flatly. He felt guilty for being angry at them; he was doing what he wanted to be avoided.

“Harry, I want you to talk to us,” Hermione said boldly.

“What do you mean I’m talking to you now?” Harry rolled his eyes.

“No I want you to talk about Sirius,” Hermione whispered, afraid that Harry would start yelling.

Harry took in a sharp breath. He didn’t want to talk about him.

“I don’t want to,” he said bitterly, sliding off the rock and onto the ground.

“This is why things are different between us! You won’t talk to us!” Hermione snapped hopping down to the ground as well. Harry opened his mouth to respond, but instead he sighed and leaned up against the rock.

“Come on Harry, it might make you feel better…” Ron persuaded, looking over at his friend with cautious eyes. Harry kept his eyes on the ground for a moment, letting out several sighs.

“It’s my fault,” Harry said, sticking his hands in his pockets and lifting his eyes to scan the tree tops.

“Oh Harry! Of course it’s not!” Hermione said sympathetically.

“Yes it is! You were right, I’m too much of a hero! I got Sirius killed and I almost got everyone else killed too!” he said, feeling the guilt wash over him.

“That’s because you are a hero!” Ron said joining his two friends on the ground. “If you didn’t go and you-know-who really was torturing Sirius, what would you have done when you found out? You would have blamed yourself just as you’re doing now! You saved him and you saved our lot too!” Ron exclaimed flailing his arms with emphasis. “Do you think Sirius would want you to blame yourself?”

Harry paused at his words.

“He’s right Harry. The only ones who are to blame are Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange. Please Harry, please don’t blame yourself,” Hermione pleaded.

“You don’t understand! It haunts me,” Harry muttered turning away.

“You have to try to forget Harry. Just think of good things, don’t let it eat you alive,” Hermione said grasping his shoulders. Her words seeped into Harry’s mind.

‘She’s right. I can’t let Voldemort take control. I have to stop him before anyone else gets killed,’ he thought feeling his hatred for Voldemort boil in his veins.

After a long moment, Harry slowly nodded and Hermione let her hand slide off his shoulder.

“Are we…OK?” Ron asked stepping over to Harry and Hermione. Hermione glanced over at Harry who nodded.

“Of course, thanks you guys,” Harry said hoarsely, trying to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat. The stood there for a moment, each of them trying to gain control of their emotions, when Hermione flung her arms around Harry and Ron. The two boys patted her shoulders awkwardly for a moment before they hugged back.

After a moment, Hermione pulled away, her eyes red and puffy with unshed tears. She flashed them both a smile which they returned.

“Come on let’s get back to the Burrow,” Harry said, looking in the direction of the house.

The three of them started began to head back, all feeling a lot better.

“There you are! Come on now grab your broom Ron, don‘t worry Harry George has a spare for you,” Ginny said to Ron and Harry as they walked back into the house.

“Fred, George and Bill are already out back, hurry up!” she said, rushing out the door.

Ron rushed upstairs and Hermione retrieved her book from the couch.

Harry gave a sigh of longing as Ron returned holding his broom in his hands. His Firebolt was still locked up in the Umbridge’s former office.

They walked outside and George handed Harry a Comet 260.

“Right, the teams will be Harry, George, and Ron versus, Bill, Ginny and I,” Fred said as he mounted his broom.

“Bill and I are the chasers, Ron and Fred are the keepers and Harry and Ginny are the seekers,” George said as he too, mounted his broom. Harry looked at both sides of the pitch where there were now three posts on each side.

“How did they get there?” Harry asked Ron.

“Fred and George invented them. They’re about the size of toothpicks and if you add a bit of water to them, they grow to full height,” Ron explained, and Harry nodded his head, impressed.

“All right, release the snitch!” Bill called to Fred who pulled a struggling snitch out of his pocket and tossed it into the air. George then picked the quaffle from the ground.

“Keepers into positions,” he instructed and Fred and Ron sped off to their posts. Bill and George floated into the air and Fred tossed the quaffle in the air. In the next second, Harry kicked off the ground and into the air.

As the wind flapped around his hair, Harry felt lighter then he had in ages. After spending a few minutes flying back and forth the pitch, getting the feel of fling again, he sped off to search for the tiny golden ball.