a/n: Thanks for the kind reviews - all 3 of them! I hope to make regular updates, at least in the beginning.
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Chapter 2: the good news
Harry's feet slammed into the ground, but he managed to stay standing with the help of Lupin. He looked around and found himself standing in the deserted kitchen of The Burrow. While the kitchen was empty at the moment, Harry could tell it was usually extremely busy. Pieces of parchment were scattered everywhere, cloaks draped over chairs, and bags deposited all over the room. He looked over his shoulder to see Lupin and Tonks watching him and gauging his reaction, and Moody walking away towards the fireplace.
"I guess I should be getting to bed now," Harry said looking from Lupin to Tonks, who nodded. "I'm in Ron's room?"
Lupin merely nodded before walking over and giving Harry another hug. "We'll see you soon, if not tomorrow. Have a good night, Harry." And with that Lupin and Tonks disapparated, leaving Harry alone.
Harry slowly walked out of the kitchen, dragging his trunk and Hedwig's cage behind him. He took the stairs up, following the familiar route to Ron's bedroom. Surprisingly he found Ron awake waiting for him, and immediately walked over and shook his hand.
"Good to see you mate, really good," Ron greeted Harry, sounding somewhat wary of Harry's reaction.
"Yeah, it's been awhile. How're you doing, Ron?"
"I'm fine, it's been a boring summer so far without you or Hermione though," Ron said with a bit of a laugh in his voice.
"Hermione's not here yet? Oh wait that's right, she's still on holiday in France."
Ron nodded, grabbed Hedwig's cage and stored it on top of his wardrobe next to Pig's. Harry pulled his trunk over to the bed he'd be sleeping on, and put on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt to sleep in. Climbing onto the mattress, Harry turned to see Ron getting into bed as well.
"Sorry we couldn't talk more tonight, mate, I'm just knackered. Fred and George were chasing me around the house today - they needed a new test subject," Ron said with a visible shudder.
Harry laughed, and said, "It's no problem; we've got all summer to talk. 'Night, Ron."
"'Night, Harry."
And with that both boys fell asleep; Ron into a peaceful sleep with dreams of flying, and Harry into a nightmare-filled sleep with the image of Hermione falling to the ground playing over and over.
The next morning Harry awoke with a start after having just seen Hermione collapse yet again. He found he was covered in a cold sweat, and that his shirt was plastered to his stomach. Harry mentally shook himself, and climbed out of bed happy with the prospect of a good day at The Burrow. He climbed out of bed and saw that Ron wasn't in the room anymore. "I must've slept in pretty late if even Ron isn't sleeping," Harry thought with a small smile.
After getting cleaned up and showering, Harry returned to Ron's bedroom and got dressed. Never one to care about what he wore, he threw on an old t shirt and a pair of khaki shorts. It was a hot summer, and The Burrow even hotter with all the people milling about inside. Harry went downstairs to the kitchen, and was promptly greeted by what seemed like the entire Weasley family.
"Harry!"
"Hey mate! How's it going?"
"Hi Harry!"
Harry was overwhelmed, but happy to see them none the less. He hugged Mrs. Weasley, shook hands with Mr. Weasley, Bill, Charlie, Fred, and George, and waved at Ginny. Harry walked over to the table and sat down next to Ron, who looked exasperated with his family. He helped himself to toast and juice, and was soon engaged in a heated conversation with Ron about the Chudley Cannons.
He had fully enjoyed himself at breakfast, and spent the rest of the day lounging around playing Exploding Snap and wizard's chess with Ron. Many members of the Order stopped in throughout the day, some popping into the lounge to say hello to Harry and Ron, others merely walking by and dealing with any business they had with the Order.
Harry wasn't in the best of moods by the end of the day though. It wasn't because of Ron or anyone else, no, it was just the usual pangs of grief that Harry had felt so often before this summer. However, after dinner Harry received the best news he had heard all summer.
Ginny walked into the lounge where Ron and Harry were engaged in another game of chess, and sat down to watch. "You know that Hermione arrives tomorrow."
A huge grin spread across Harry's face at this news, and he wasn't even sure why. Sure he missed his best friend, but this was strange. He felt so happy and excited about seeing her, not the same way he felt about seeing Ron. Harry's grin didn't go unnoticed by Ginny and Ron, both of whom were staring at Harry. He quickly snapped out of his daze and looked from Ron's confused expression to Ginny's knowing smile.
"I…er…just can't wait to see her," he said rather lamely.
At this Ron shrugged and went back to focusing on the game, and Ginny's smile widened. Harry briefly wondered what was so amusing about him and why Ginny kept smiling, but soon brought his focus back onto the game as Ron's triumphant shout of, "Checkmate!" rang through his ears.
That night Harry went to bed feeling happier than he had all summer, knowing that he'd see his other best friend in just a few short hours. With a smile on his face, he fell into a dreamless sleep.