Ms. Rowling, thanks for letting everyone out to play!
A/N - Reviews! Please! It's disappointing to have an average of 200 hits per chapter yet only receive 1-2 reviews. If you like the story, leave a note. If you don't like the story, leave a note anyway.
Chapter 6 - It's good to be home
The loud thumping on the door accomplished little more than to have the two heads draw deeper under their covers. "Hey, up you two!" cried Ginny. "Oi, just a little longer" Ron managed to grumble from the depths of his bed. "No, NOW! If you don't get moving you're not going to have time for breakfast before we leave for the train, so I suggest you get moving Ron. Harry, you too." Ginny said sternly.
Ron muttered something about 'respect for the dead' as he struggled to find his way out of the python-like grip his coiled sheets had around him. Harry merely grinned and sought out his glasses lying on the nightstand. Oh, but to have to leave the Burrow and Molly's wonderful cooking. Harry felt as though he had already gained a good five pounds in the short time he had been here with the Weasleys. Not that Molly was satisfied; "You're much too thin, Harry dear, why you're nothing but skin and bones," she would say while filling his plate with even more food.
As Ron had finally extracted himself from his bed, Harry grabbed a robe and together proceeded to wearily stagger from the room to the smell of sausage, ham, fresh biscuits, and eggs. The Weasley's may not have been the richest wizarding family, but they never went hungry. It was part of what made the Burrow feel something like a home to him. That and the ever present hugs and kind words of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. They made him feel wanted. Just like Sirius did - had. 'Don't go there Harry,' his little voice called out, 'Be happy and grateful for what you have,' he thought, so he worked to force it out of his mind.
"Good morning, Harry, Ron," chirped Hermione. "Isn't it such a beautiful day? A wonderful day for traveling," she added as she twirled around on her toes. "I suppose," grunted Ron with a mouthful of potatoes. Hermione and Ginny had obviously been up for some time. They were both dressed in their traveling clothes and had packed trunks already at the door. Just finishing up their breakfast, smiling with their standard issue impish grins, were Fred and George.
"Oh ickle Ronnykins, just how--"
"Are you going to survive--"
"Without us?" the twins proclaimed in their usual ping-pong fashion. "Good thing you'll have Harry and Hermione there to help you," said George. The twins exchanges wicked glances. "Or is there someone else we should know about, eh?" added Fred.
"Off with you, you prats!" was all Ron had to say. Although their joke shop, Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, had been doing quite well, Fred and George still stayed at the Burrow. This was their feeble attempt to appease their mother's chagrin at their choice of profession.
Molly paused from her bustle around the kitchen. "Best hurry boys, Arthur will be here in an hour with the Ministry van. You two still need to clean up and bring your trunks down." Ron glanced up from his plate to Harry, who had the same guilty look on his face as Ron. Hermione couldn't help but notice and hastened to add, "Best pack them first before bringing them down, I suppose? Honestly, what were you two doing up in the room last night?" Ron and Harry could only shrug.
A short time later, cleaned and packed, the boys brought their trunks down to the door just as Mr. Weasley pulled into the yard.
"Good morning, Harry!" called Arthur as he stepped out of the car, "Is everyone ready?" "Yes, Mr. Weasley and good morning, Mr. Moody" replied Harry as he saw Mad-Eye Moody step from the van. Mad-Eye was an Auror, in fact, one of the best, partly due to his paranoia, part to his mantra of 'constant vigilance', and a large part from the eye that has given him his nickname.
"Right then. Let's get these trunks into the boot and we'll be off!" said Arthur. As the troop got their trunks loaded, Harry was again thankful for the expanding enchantments used on the van's interior. On the outside, the car appeared to be a common mini-van; however, on the inside it resembled more of a full sized bus. With Harry, Ron, and the help of the twins, in no time at all they had the trunks loaded and were ready for the road. As they pulled away from the Burrow, Harry couldn't help but feel a little melancholy. Could this be the last time he saw the only place besides Hogwarts he felt he could call home? Could this be the year Voldemort makes good on the prophecy? 'Don't go there,' his inner voice chided him once again, 'Don't go there,'.
The trip to Kings Cross went rather quickly. Everyone was in a talkative mood after Moody congratulated the twins on their prank on the Dursleys. "Teach 'em a thing or two, it might. Too bad that lot won't understand that it was the real them shine'n through.". Everyone tried to hide their smirks after that statement but found the harder they tried the more they burst into laughter. It was shaping up, as Hermione had said, to be a beautiful day.
After they unloaded and carted everything off to platform 9 ¾, where Arthur took the opportunity to pull Harry aside. Arthur frowned and looked intently at his shoes, "Harry, we've wanted to have a chat with you since you came to the Burrow, but the time never seemed right. Now… well I just feel I need to say this before a new year starts. Harry, I know it's not your cup of tea staying with the Dursleys, especially after Sirius… well, after… but Harry you must…"
"It's ok Mr. Weasley," interrupted Harry. "I'm fine, you…"
"No, Harry, let me finish" stated Arthur. "Harry, black hair or no, I want you to know that I love you as a son. There isn't anything that Molly, I, or any of the family wouldn't do for you. If we could, we would have you with us all of the time Harry. I know we can't replace Sirius, and frankly, I wouldn't even if I thought I could. I don't believe it fair to his memory to try and do so. I know you feel somehow that you are to blame for Sirius. I also know from Ron, Hermione, and Ginny that they haven't had much success in convincing yourself otherwise. But know this, Harry," he said in a soft but stern tone, "Sirius was and always had been his own man. You've heard the stories of your father, Sirius, and Remus during their days at Hogwarts. Do you think he would have stayed behind even if you had asked him?" Harry just shrugged. Mr. Weasley grasped his shoulders and looked him in the eye. "Harry, what happened to Sirius was horrible to be sure, but it was nothing you could have stopped. You were there trying to protect and save someone you dearly love and he was doing what he loved for who he loved. Always remember that Harry."
Harry looked at Mr. Weasley and fought back the tears that threatened to well up and burst forth. He didn't know what to say to Arthur. Consciously he knew it hadn't been his fault, but that still didn't seem to quench the guilt he had burning deep inside. He hadn't grieved yet for Sirius. Not really. He had been whisked off to the Dursleys so quickly and now Mr. Weasley was telling him he loved him as a son. Harry was riding a roller coaster of emotions and didn't know what to do other than hug Mr. Weasley and whisper a quiet "Thank you."
Harry had little time to dwell on his feelings when Molley ushered everyone onto the train as the final boarding whistle began to sound. With final farewells and words of reassurance from all, the train pulled away from the station.
The group slowly made their way down each car, looking for an unused compartment. "It looks like they're all full, Harry," said Ron. "Wait, here's one with only one person." called Hermione from down the hall. Opening the door, Hermione peered in and asked, "Excuse me? May the four us sit with you?" The girl, who turned and replied, had dull brown hair and rather plain looking robes and was someone Hermione had never seen before. "Sure, come on in. Might make for a less boring trip," she answered.
As the group settled in, Hermione made the introductions, "I'm Hermione, and this is Ron, Luna, and Harry." "Nice to meet all of you," was the simple reply from the unknown girl as she sat looking out the window. The four all glanced at one another with a look of puzzlement. With a shrug, Ron plopped down onto a seat and positioned himself for a quick kip.
The train steamed on through the rolling green countryside of England for some time. All their subtle, and some not so subtle, attempts at initiating a conversation with their unknown passenger were fruitless. Giving into the inevitable, Ron struck up a conversation with Harry about the upcoming Quidditch season. Likewise, Hermione and Luna occupied themselves in another corner with a spirited discussion on the possible existence of the Red Crested Thrumper. None of them could see the glint of a smile that had spread across the face of their secretive passenger.
"Luna, I just don't see how you can believe in such things when there has never been even a single documented sighting," sputtered an exasperated Hermione. "Why do you waste your time on these pursuits when there are so many wonderfully alive and interesting creatures that you could study?"
"But it's my time to waste, Hermione. To Muggles, none of the magical creatures we know so well exist. To them, most are simply myths. Who is to say that of our mythical creatures don't exist? That's why daddy tries so hard to write about them in the Quibbler," explained Luna in an earnest voice.
"What, afraid that the Lunatic might know something you don't, Mudblood? Although, I would think that only a Muggle or Mudblood would believe anything written in that worthless rag," came a voice from the doorway, dripping with sarcasm.
"Sod off, Malfoy! You and your two slugs, go crawl back under your rock," replied Hermione, her eyes glaring like daggers.
"What do you want, Malfoy?! Leave, before you get hurt!" growled Harry, slowly reaching into his robes.
"What? I can't come by a compartment and bid my fellow classmates hello now, Potter? Listen: you, Weasleby, and the Mudblood don't have your bumbling Bumblebore here to interfere, so you best watch who you're threatening," a very pompous Malfoy replied, reaching into his robe.
Without thinking, Harry had drawn his wand out and was pointing it at Draco, "The names are Dumbledore, Hermione, and Weasley, and you'd do well not to insult them in front of me."
"I don't take orders, or threats, from the likes of you, Potter!" retorted a scowling Malfoy. What Draco didn't notice were the surprised looks and stifled snickers that were beginning to erupt from the rest of the room's occupants as Malfoy's face began to transform into a somewhat cartoonish donkey. Further infuriated by the snickering that was now growing into outright hysterics, Draco opened his mouth to continue his tirade but "BeerrrAhhh" was all that came out.
The compartment now fell into utter chaos as nearly everyone was on the floor in debilitating laughter. The ruckus grew even more, as the group discovered that this particular donkey had the ability to turn a bright shade of red with steam pulsing out his ears in rhythm with the train.
Crabbe and Goyle quickly grabbed either side of Draco and tried to usher him back out into the corridor. "Braahhhg, BeerAhh," bellowed Malfoy as he struggled against his two goons.
"Oh…Oh H…Harry!" giggled Hermoine, "that was brilliant!"
"But…But…I…I thought…it was you…or… or Ron," said Harry, gasping for breath.
"No, it wasn't us" replied Ron, with a face as red as his hair.
"But who then?" asked Hermione. As she started to look around the room, her eyes widened in surprise as her gaze fell upon their unknown traveler. "YOU! You…sneak!" she bellowed. Everyone now turned to look at the room's grinning corner occupant, whose hair had turned an eye popping yellow with spikes of green. "Tonks!" they all exclaimed.
"Wotcher, Harry! I said the trip might be at bit less boring with this lot around," smiled their friend.
"But, what are you doing here?" asked Harry as he picked himself up off the floor and dusted himself off.
Tonks looked at the group and replied, "I'm here to keep an eye on you. You know, keep you out of trouble and such… amongst other things."
"What other… things?" queried a suspicious Harry.
"Say hello lads, and lassies, to your new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor!" a sheepish Tonks replied.
"Whoa, that's brilliant!" exclaimed Ron. "Finally, a Defense teacher who can teach us something… I mean, it's not like Professor Lupin wasn't great and all, but…well, he won't come back and…"
"Ok, I get ya' Ron. Thanks everyone." smiled Tonks as she slowly looked to each person in the room, "although I hadn't expected you to serve me up Malfoy like that as a welcome gift."
The rest of the journey was spent trouble free, catching up on Tonk's activities over the summer, re-reading Hogwarts - A History, in the case of Hermione, or being trounced by Ron in a game of Wizard's Chess. Before they knew it, the train was pulling into Hogsmeade.
"Firs' years down 'ere!" came Hagrid's familiar chant as they stepped off the train. " Allo 'arry, Ron. 'Allo Luna, and how is our 'ermione? 'ad a good summer now, di' ya'?"
"Hello, Hagrid!" beamed Harry as he dropped his trunk to give him a hug. "Good, now that I'm back here with you and everyone else…" whereupon Harry's face turned a little more glum as he realized that it wasn't quite everyone.
Seeing Harry's look of depression start to descend again, Hermione rushed in to give both Harry and Hagrid one of her bone crushing hugs. This was quite a feat, considering the fact that Hagrid towered over both of them with dimensions like that of a great oak tree. "Oh, it's so good to see you again, Hagrid!" squealed Hermoine.
"Best be off then! I needs ta round up this 'ere bunch of firs' years an' get 'em down to the boats. I'll see ya' at the feast!" and with that he was off.
Ron, Luna, and Tonks had already loaded the trunks into a carriage and were waiting inside. Hermione watched sadly as Harry began to stroke the empty air at the front of what appeared to be the horseless carriage. She knew it wasn't horseless at all, but pulled by Thestrals. The same great winged beasts that had carried them to the Ministry of Magic last year in their misguided attempt to rescue Sirius. Since she had been unconscious during the final fight and hadn't seen Sirius' death, she still couldn't see the Thestrals. But Harry could. So much death he had been forced to witness. So much hurt in his life. A single tear began to roll down Hermione's cheek as she gently grasped Harry's hand and led him into the carriage. As if to an unheard call, the carriage rumbled forward and they left for the castle and a new year.