AN - Thank you all for your votes in the competition! I know we didn't make it to the end, but that's ok! This has been a joy to write, and I am not done yet! So, here is your newest chapter. I think I have taken on a more contemporary view of the Trio. I just think that ignoring the muggle world is stupid, so I have taken a little into account here. Hope you all enjoy it. Oh! And there will be some action coming up in the next chapter!!!
Again, A HUGE thanks to my beta, because she rocks. Believe me; this chapter would be hard to read without her! Thanks PhoenixFirebolt!!!!! *hugs*
Chapter Seven: To Be or Not To Be
Harry sat on the couch in the living room staring at the thick parchment envelopes in his hands. They had the Hogwarts seal on them, and Harry knew what they were. He had expected this; the last few weeks of protection were coming to a close. Harry knew before hand that the three of them only had a short time in which they could be safe. Once Tom realized that they weren't in school, he would start looking for them. So the time was coming when it would be open war fare and open searching for the golden Trio.
Harry knew that the letters were eventually going to come, but the part that he hadn't expected was the small bulges in two of them. Well, he had expected one of them, but definitely not two. Hermione's letter had the telltale bulge in it that told Harry that she had been made Head Girl. No surprise there. The surprise was the bulge in his envelope. He was already Quidditch Captain so that meant that he had also been made a head student. But why would McGonagall make him Head Boy? It didn't add up, but still, it posed a problem.
"You know where these letters came from and we knew that they would come," Harry said, as he looked up at his friends. "You can go back, if you want. I understand. But I am sticking by my choice, I can't go back there." He carefully placed his letter on the coffee table. "Even if I did make Head Boy," Harry finished lamely.
"Oh Harry!" Hermione said, quickly hugging him. "That's wonderful!"
"And you made Head Girl, of course," Harry replied with a smile.
"No surprise there!" Ron chortled. "But why did you make Head Boy, Harry?" he asked skeptically.
"I think it's because they want me to be a kind of shield for the school. They want it to look good," Harry said exasperatedly.
"Good point. But it doesn't matter. None of us are going back," Hermione said, staring at her letter.
Harry knew how hard it was for her to do that. He knew that she had wanted to be Head Girl since she started school seven years ago. It wasn't fair that Harry's circumstances had changed all of that. Because of Harry, she wasn't going to fulfill one of her dreams.
"Hermione, I know you want to go. You've wanted to be Head Girl since you were eleven," Harry said, feeling horrible. "I hate to think that I am holding you back."
"Don't even go there, Harry, you know I make my own decisions. I just think that it would be wise for us to stay away from Hogwarts this year. We'd only bring trouble," Hermione said, Ron nodding in agreement for once.
"Thanks, you two. It means a lot," Harry said, smiling lopsidedly at them. "I've also been thinking; our protection is up. Tom is going to come after us soon. Once we aren't at school, he's going to know something is up, and my first bet is he is going to start taking Horcrux inventory." Harry looked back and forth between his friends.
"Good point, Harry, but I don't think Tom is going to come after us immediately. It's not the way he plays. He's going to try to drag us out, rather than wasting resources trying to find us," Ron said, putting on the same face that he always did during a chess game. His talents clearly lay in planning out strategies. "I think he is going to try to strike at people close to us. If he can get us riled up enough to come out of hiding, then he has us as good as any other time," he finished, looking up.
He had a smile on, but it wasn't the same smile that Harry had looked at for seven years. This was a Ron that he had never really met, but always knew was there. There was a part of Ron that had never really grown up, the immature part of him that had always kept him in a perpetually boyish stage of life. But recently, that had changed. He was finally growing into the person that he was supposed to be. He was changing into the man that would finally step out of the shadow of his brothers.
Harry really felt that Ron was finally coming into his own, no longer being hidden by the incredible accomplishments of his brothers. Part of the reason that he had stayed there so long was because he was too wrapped up in the drama of the situation; he had always felt bad for himself. This year though, it seemed that he was dragging himself up and realizing that life was only what you made of it. And Harry thought that Ron had finally started to make his life into what he wanted. He was proud of his friend.
"I think you're…right…." Hermione said with a grimace on her face. She looked down at her shoes and then laughed. "I actually agreed with him!" She said through her giggles.
Soon Ron was laughing, too, and Harry was also. Partly because it was funny, and partly because he was glad that his days as mediator were over. Finally they could function as a team rather than two against one all the time. It was all clicking into place.
"Ok, so who are our victims?" Harry asked, once they had all simmered down somewhat.
"Well, I think it would be obvious that my parents are high on the list. They are just prime subjects. I should talk to them and see if I can get them out of the house for a while," Hermione said calmly.
"Maybe I should go to the Burrow for the afternoon and talk to my family? `Course, I think that they are more prepared than any other wizarding family in Britain," Ron said, but Harry nodded to him all the same.
"It would be good to talk to them about it anyways. Besides, I'm sure that they all want to see you again," Harry said. "But what about me? I am totally alone right now. Dumbledore is gone and so is everyone else that was close to me. Remus is safe in his own way. As dangerous as his position is, he is still safe…." Harry said, trying to figure out who would be the target.
"Don't think that you have a different target, Harry. Consider it. Our families are most likely your target, too. What would hurt you the most? If one of us was in pain like that, it would cause you almost as much suffering," Hermione said softly.
Harry had to agree with her, but it didn't make him feel any better. Now he was worried about his friends' families. But then again, hadn't they always been in danger? Harry let the thought process end there.
"Okay, well, we can all go to both the houses today. It would be a good idea to give them plenty of heads up," Harry said. But before he could even get up from the couch, the fireplace burst into flames, and Fred's head appeared. Or was it George's?
"Heya, Harry! How's it goin'?" He asked in a jovial tone. "Had enough of my brother yet?" He laughed a little and smiled.
"Hey, you! Wait till I get my hands on you!" Ron said, but the threat was lost as he smiled at his brother.
"We're fine. What do you need?" Harry asked, curious to why they would call.
"Well, we finished some new projects at the shop and we figured that you three would love a look at them. They aren't pranks though, this is the good stuff, and all the things the Ministry is begging us to sell them." He smiled mischievously.
"Really!? That's great. Can we come down today? We have some other errands to run, but we could stop there first," Harry said hurriedly.
"Sure, Harry, any time! We'll see you this afternoon then!" George's head disappeared. Or was it Fred's?
Harry wondered what kind of things the Twins had cooked up this time. He hoped that they were as useful as the shield hats and the like.
"Let's get going; I don't want to spend all day out. I don't think it would be good for us to be in public too much," Harry said, and Hermione nodded her agreement. "We can go to the shop first. Meet you there?" Harry asked, and after another affirmative nod, they all disapparated.
They all apparated outside the shop with a loud crack. A number of witches and wizards pulled out their wands at the noise. Everyone seemed extremely on edge, but that was better than everyone ignoring the obvious facts.
The shop was entirely different now, no longer being a joke shop. From the looks of it, it seemed that most of the jokes had been transformed into defense objects, or better put, they were all useful for the war now. There seemed to be a joke section in the back, but now the most prominent items were the defensive ones.
"Hey, guys!" Fred said from the back. The only reason that Harry knew which twin had addressed him was because he was wearing a name tag.
"Come around back, I think you will like the packs that we have cooked up for you," George added from his brother's side.
The three followed him around back and when they got to the room, they were greeted with a table. The table had three small backpacks on it, but Harry knew better now not to judge things based on appearance anymore.
"These are our backpacks that we have improved for you. The packs are charmed so that way they can never be filled, and when you reach in and think of what you are looking for, it jumps to your hand," Fred explained.
"Wicked!" Ron exclaimed. Harry had to agree.
"There are all sorts of things in them already. Of course, there are the shield hats and gloves. Darkness powder, and, incase of an incident like last year, there is also Light Powder now. It instantly reverses the effects of the darkness powder. But that isn't for sale so no one can get a hold of that except for you three. Let the Death Biters think they have the upper hand with that." George smiled wickedly.
"There are also mini potion kits in there along with some pre-made potions. Veritaserum, Polyjuice, Antidotes, and some other dangerous potions. I figured that would appeal to Hermione." This was true because her eyes had lit up at the thought of having some of those potions made right away. "Oh, yeah, and there is some Felix Felicis in there, too, for that extra boost," Fred added.
"Excellent, that will come in handy," Harry said, remembering what it felt like to be filled with the Luck potion.
"We went through the liberty to buy you each an extra wand. Obviously, it won't work as well as your original, but it will work. We had one of our friends use some of your DNA and match you with the wand, so don't worry."
"How did you manage to get some of our DNA?" Harry asked curiously.
"You think that you spent time at our home and we didn't prepare for all of this?" George responded as Fred laughed. Harry should have known that this had been in the works for a while.
"Oh, and these are really neat, too," Fred said, pulling three cell phones from the drawer in a desk. Harry knew what they were, but Ron was confused.
"These are communication devices. They have an extendable ear in there, but it has been charmed to work in ordinance with the other phones. You can get in contact with the other phones any time." The phones that he handed them were small, being standard flip phones, but when Harry opened his, on the screen it said `Chosen One'.
"What's the inscription for?" Harry asked.
"Well, that is your code name so you don't give too much info out by accident. Hermione and Ron have them, too."
Hermione giggled when she looked at hers. "I'm `Bookworm,'" she said with a smile.
"I am `The King'," Ron said, and busted out laughing.
"Yes, we picked the names nicely I think; they all fit you, but make sure to use them. And that is also how you place a `call'. You say the other's code name and it will link to that phone so that way not just anyone can use the phone," Fred finished. "I think they could be quite useful."
"I agree. This will make things easier all around. You guys amaze me," Harry said, tucking his phone into his pocket.
"There are some distraction bugs in there, too. You might be in a situation where you need that. That's about all that is in the bags though. I wanted to show you the last items," Fred said, his face going solemn.
George turned and took something off a shelf, and when he turned back to the three teens, he had three guns in his hand. They were totally black handguns. Harry had seen them in movies like The Godfather and such. The guns were average size, and from the looks of them, they packed a punch. When George handed it to him, it felt very light, as light as his wand. It must have been charmed that way.
Hermione on the other hand looked at the gun with some very obvious disgust on her face.
"What's the problem?" Harry asked his girlfriend before he let George continue.
"I don't like guns. My uncle killed himself with a handgun just like that. I've never felt the same about those things since then," She said, looking away.
"Hermione, these are no different from our wands. If this gives us an upper hand, don't you think that it would be worth it?" Harry said, trying to convince her.
"Yes, I suppose, but what do we need them for? What is the difference between them and our wands?" Hermione asked, looking at George critically.
"Well, these are for many purposes. The guns have three settings; stun, kill, and Silver. The silver function is incase you find yourself face to face with a werewolf. The silver bullet will kill him instantly, in human form or not." The grimace on Fred's face was evident. What had happened to his brother only months before must have still stung. "The stun setting obviously fires a full power stunner. Normally that wouldn't be anything special, but if you keep pulling the trigger, it fires them out really fast. The kill setting fires out an AK. Granted, you still are going to need the hatred to fire the curse, the gun doesn't do that for you, and it will still take away from your magical energy. But the point is that it's silent, fast, and just as effective. When you're charging a building, it might be nice to have this in your hand rather than your wand," George finished.
"Let me give you a demo," Fred said, and took Harry's gun. With a flick of his finger, he put it on stun setting and the glass window on the barrel started to glow red. He spun on his heel and pointed it at a dummy in the corner. He pulled the trigger three times; three bright orange-red blasts fired out of the gun and hit the target all in the head. The stunners had almost over ridden each other, that's how fast they had come out of the gun.
"It will do that just as fast for the AK's, but like I said you still need the hatred behind it to make it work."
"Ok, so I concede that they would be a good asset to us. If they can fire that fast then they are definitely an upper hand against the Death Eaters," Hermione said, caving. Even she had to be impressed with an item like that. Harry smiled. He knew that logic would win his girl over.
"That is really great," Ron said, looking at them with awe. He, of course, had never heard of guns before. The entire concept was all new to him.
"That is amazing and I can't thank you two enough for all of this. These will make a lot of things easier. How much do I owe you for all this?" Harry asked.
"Nothing. Kill that bastard for us and you get all the free stuff you want," Fred said with a bite to his tone. He was serious.
On their way out of the shop, the twins fitted all three of them with holsters for their guns. The sleek black backpacks fitted on their backs were small and light. The guns fit on one hip, while their wands fit on the other. The second wand was tucked into a secret holster on their calf. In essence, they were totally decked out with weapons. Harry found a small problem though.
"If we just wear all this stuff, don't you think that we will be drawing attention?" He said, looking at Ron covered with black holsters.
"Good point! Well, here." Fred took the pack and shrunk it. It was about pocket size now, and it easily slipped into a compartment on Harry's belt.
"That's great, but I am still covered with weapons," Harry pointed out. Ron laughed.
"Doesn't it feel good to have this much firepower? I feel like I could take out ol' Tommy now!" Ron said. Hermione cut him off however.
"Do you have anything we could wear to cover all this? A robe or something?" She asked curiously.
"We could give them the prototypes of the shield robes," George added to Fred. Fred smiled in return and disappeared into the back room. When he came back he had three sleek black sets of robes.
"These things have the same properties as the shield hats do, except they cover your whole body. They should be able to block most curses, well, anything short of the Unforgivables," Fred said as he fitted them.
"I like these!" Ron said as it slipped around his shoulders. Harry, again, had to agree with Ron's assessment.
"These will make us slip into the crowd more. Thanks, you two," Hermione said to them appreciatively.
"Remember, you three, you are the only ones with this stuff. So make sure to use it well, okay? They won't know what hit them," Fred said as they were leaving.
"Good luck, we are all depending on you," George said as he closed the door to the shop.
The three teens in sleek black robes hiding their weapons, walked away. After a few silent steps, Harry spoke. "How about you go to the Burrow, Ron. Hermione and I will take care of her parents. Spend some time with your mum, she's going to need it. Be back at Godric's Hollow at six and call on the wireless if anything happens," Harry said, and Ron nodded.
"I suppose this means that none of us are going to be head students, huh?" Ron said with a grin. Harry laughed.
"No, I suppose not." He smiled and looked at Hermione. She smiled back and took his arm. A moment later, all three of them were gone.
-->