Chapter 3
Harry and Ron just stared at each other for a moment until Ron's open mouthed gape turned into wide grin.
"How you been mate," Ron said beaming. "And blimey Harry, when did you learn to apparate?"
Harry grinned back at him. "I dunno Ron, I was just laying in bed thinking about Grimmauld Place and..."
Harry was cut off as the door to he and Ron's room burst open. Mad-Eye Moody, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Arthur Weasley, and Bill Weasley were all outside the door, wands at the ready, pointed at Harry.
"Harry?" Stammered a gaping Lupin, who seemed to be the first able to recover after the initial shock of seeing Harry sitting upstairs in Grimmauld place.
Harry grinned. "So are you guys going to hex me or are you going to put your wands down?" A few of the member's of The Order of the Phoenix laughed and put their wands away. Moody, however did not.
"What kind of patronus do you make Potter?" Moody asked him threatenly. Harry rolled his eyes at him.
"A stag, Professor." Seemingly satisfied, Moody put his wand back in his robes. A few of the members, Tonks in particular, giggled loudly. Mad-Eye was known for being very paranoid. But if he had been locked in a trunk for 9 months Harry probably would have to.
"What is all this ruckus?" came the voice of Molly Weasley, and seeing Harry she rushed in and gave him a great hug.
"OH Harry!" she exclaimed. "We were just about to come and get you-wait a minute," she said sternly. "How exactly did you get here?"
"That I think," broke in Remus. "Is something we'd all like to know."
"Well, can we please go downstairs first?" Harry asked. "It's pretty crowded in here."
With that they all went downstairs and he told them exactly what had happened, how he had just imagined the room and then he had appeared here. When he was done Kingsley whistled lowly. Harry realized that everyone was staring at him admirably.
Harry felt like his ignorance of the wizarding world was keeping him from something again.
"What?" he said loudly.
It was Remus who spoke first. "Harry, not many people in the wizarding world can successfully apparate exactly where they wanted to on there first try. It's unheard of." he finished and Harry still didn't get what the big deal was.
"So I got lucky then. What's the big deal?"
"The big deal Potter," Moody broke in. "Is that no one I have ever heard of has apparated successfully on their first try, especially not when they weren't even trying to."
Harry opened his mouth to speak but Moody wasn't finished. "Not even Dumbledore." He said calmly, looking straight into Harry's eyes.
Harry mouthed "wow" and the subject changed to his treatment by the Dursley's over the summer. Harry still didn't think it was that big a deal though, he only mouthed "wow" to get them off his back.
So he broke in to telling them all how the summer went, how Dudley was still about the size and weight of a baby whale, and how Uncle Vernon had pretty much ignored him, and Aunt Petunia had actually warmed up to him a bit, they even had a few discussions about the wizarding world while Vernon was away.
A couple of the Order raised their eyes at this, but said nothing. So he went on about the summer, but paused when he got to his 2nd cousin. He didn't see the need to tell them about it, so he just skipped over it, making a mental note to be sure to tell Ron and Hermione first, and then ask Lupin about it later.
This brought him to the realization that Hermione wasn't there. "Hey, where's Hermione?" he asked.
Ron grinned. "She's on her way. But she doesn't know that you can apparate now mate." Ron said, grinning. "We're gonna have fun with this one."