A/N: here ya go, as always any screwups are all my fault
Chapter 4: A Joining of Fire and Ice.
********************The Burrow****************************
July 10, 1997
The weather was perfect for a July wedding, a comfortable; gentle breeze blew across the spectators as they waited, milling about on the lawn for the signal to take their seats. Harry was standing near the front porch, his emerald-green dress robes shining in the summer sun. He had just spoken with Neville, hurriedly filling in the one, that if not for the decision of a mad, would-be, tyrant, could have very well been in Harry's position today. But there are no guarantees. Harry thought as he spotted Ginny in a black dress that if Molly had not been distracted with the wedding, she would have had to go change long before, and if that the dress was not one that Fleur had chosen for her bridesmaids, of course.
Harry's looked at her, her hair glinting brightly as it spilled like a fall of fire over her bare back, and was surprised when he felt nothing really. Especially not when she was laughing at some joke Neville said, and patting his arm possessively. No odd beast rose up in his chest at the sight, save some vague question of what might have been. He glanced over at the already burgeoning buffet table that was set to one side, for the reception later today, only to have to hide a sudden grin as he watched Ron being chased away from it by Molly. His hidden grin only widened as he thought back and compared the sleek, black dress robes Ron was wearing today to the infamous maroon, lacey ones that circumstances had forced on him for the Yule Ball. His grin mostly disappeared as the other events of that year flitted across his thoughts, in his distraction; he missed the contemplative look that Ginny threw in his direction.
But what he did catch was in its own way; even more important. A shiny, shimmering presence, like the moon dancing in the daylight, glided up behind Ron and touched him on the shoulder. Harry was a touched, shocked, and Ron...Ron looked like Harry had felt the night he had first seen Hermione at the Yule Ball.
Luna looked as if she were the one who was getting married, not Fleur. The blond girl said something to Ron and he just nodded, as he looked her over and far from discretely. He took in the sparkling, silver sleeveless gown that was closed in at the throat and open down to the small of her back in the rear. She smiled softly up at him, her silvery-gray eyes oddly nervous as she adjusted a tiara of lilies on her hair.
"Pick up your jaw, Ron." Hermione muttered as she slipped in behind Harry. Harry turned to her, and his heart...hiccupped. Her eyes twinkled as she stood arms akimbo. Hermione's hair was straight and twirled up into a knot on the back of her head, with a loose strand falling forward on either side to frame her face. A long, silver needle held the knot up, with a bright green jewel on the tip. She did a little twirl as he slowly panned down, to take in the red version of Luna's dress, with a few alterations to fit the older witch, such as the slit hem on the right that went up almost to her hip, which as he caught a flash of skin as she moved, seemed to indicate that there was basically only her under it. A small, emerald glinted at her throat, held up by a platinum chain, setting off a pair of small emerald studs in her ears. "Well how do I look?" She asked with one eyebrow raised. He swallowed hard, and she grinned.
"Fine." Harry choked, and a look of hurt flashed darkened her chocolate eyes, she started to glance away, to stop at a hand on her arm. "I'm sorry Hermione, you look gorgeous. You shocked me a bit." She gave him a shy smile. A sudden commotion came from near the house and the duo watched the guests start to file towards the backyard. Molly came and collected Ron and Ginny and led them off. Fleur had picked Ginny to be one of her bridesmaids while Ron had lost the lot to stand up with Bill. The competition had been fierce between the twins and Ron over who would have to stand up with Bill. Normal Wizarding tradition would have had Charlie and Percy as companions to Bill, but as Percy hadn't even bothered to show up, the other Weasley boys had to substitute. While the entire family now heartily accepted Fleur as one of their own after her stanch defense of her husband to be at Hogwarts not a month ago, the younger boys had bemoaned having to stand up with Bill, so in the end, Bill had just chose Ron to end the bickering. Privately Harry thought Ron was happy to stand up with Bill, but he could never admit it to the twins.
"Would you escort me to my seat, kind sir?" Hermione asked cheekily.
Harry rolled his eyes and let out a long-suffering sigh, "If you insist." Hermione gave him a light punch on the arm, before taking his proffered arm in hers. They proceeded down the aisle to the groom's side and took seats about halfway down. Harry gave a soft greeting to Lupin and Tonks as they sat down in front of the pair. Harry and Hermione sat down, leaning their heads together and talking together in that odd, linked way that had come back to them so easily. They were totally oblivious to Tonks' slight eye roll and motion towards them, or Remus' responding laugh that was quickly covered as errant cough.
The music started and they stood. Ron, and Charlie climbed to the stage, with the elder Weasley taking up the post of best man. Hermione watched and dabbed away a tear as first Ginny and then Gabrielle marched slowly down the aisle and were helped to the stage with a hand from the boys. The music changed and every eye fell on the vision making her way up the aisle, alone and proud. Every eye except Harry's, whose gaze kept sliding to the girl next to him. Hermione caught his eye as Fleur reached the front and mouthed, "what." Harry just shook his head and glanced up front, missing the slight smile that danced on soft lips for just a moment.
The rest of the wedding was a blur, spent in a pleasant hum of normalcy. His best friend, confidante, whatever was at his side, laughing, as they watched Ron dance nervously on the stage, seemingly, more nervous than the groom himself. They chuckled softly together, catching the silent ire of Molly at least once, as they watched Ron's gaze periodically glance over at Luna, who was sitting a few seats from them. Harry's attention snapped back to the present as Fleur ran her fingers gently over Bill's scarred cheek, her ring glinting in the sun, and whispered, "forever, my love." Harry swallowed heavily for some reason and stared, almost dumbfounded as the minister announced them as husband and wife.
Hermione laughed softly as she grabbed his hand to pull him to his feet as the wedding party started to regress back down the aisle. They stood closely together, her hand not quite holding his as they watched the eldest Weasley escort his bride down the aisle in their first stroll as husband and wife. As the rest of the wedding party filled out from their seats Harry stayed, and sat back down. Puzzled, Hermione sat in the seat next to him and waited. "Hermione?"
"Yeah Harry?" She asked as a slight breeze played with the loose tendrils of her hair.
He frowned and looked down, "Do you think my Mum and Dad's wedding was like this? I mean I have pictures, but..."
"Oh Harry," Hermione sighed and bit her lip, "I'm sure it was beautiful. Just like I'm sure yours will be someday." Her eyes caught his and they both fell suddenly silent. After a minute he grinned at her and stood, extending his hand. She took it demurely and let him help her to her feet. "Lets go congratulate Bill and Fleur."
The line to congratulate the newest Weasley couple was long; winding around the outside of house all the way to the back, where the wedding had been so they really didn't have to go far. While in line, Hermione elbowed Harry and pointed out Ron as he seemed to be sneaking periodic bits of food from the buffet by levitating them over with his wand behind his back, while at the same time, returning the handshakes and words of the guests as he stood in the reception line next to Charlie and Ginny. Hermione leaned over to Harry just as they took another step and whispered, "interesting cough Ron has developed, seems that every time he has to cover his mouth, he has to chew right after."
Harry grinned, "at least he's swallowing before answering." He muttered back and she laughed. Remus and Tonks spun to look back at them from about five people in front of them, and let the others pass.
"What's so funny?" Remus inquired with a Marauder-worthy glint in his eyes. Hermione smiled and whispered the answer to the Lycan behind her hand. He glanced over and chuckled, and after he related the item to his date, her trademark braying laugh rang out over the lawn. Several guests turned and looked at the quartet, with a few muttering things about the "chosen one." Harry frowned a bit and turned away. Hermione's eyes grew hard and her glare caused the worse offender, some Ministry hack that had been invited because of Arthur's job, to turn her face back to her date.
"Harry, they're idiots." Hermione whispered to him as he paused and let others go past him. He shook his head as his eyes examined the grass minutely. She waved to Remus to save their place in line as she led Harry to the side once more. Her eyes were only on Harry; not catching the hard gaze of another pair of dark brown eyes as they flicked over to them from the reception line. "Harry, you can't listen to them...it's..."
"You don't think I don't hear them Hermione?" He whispered bitterly, "about how their 'chosen one' couldn't even save Dumbledore from a teacher...about how he let Draco fucking Malfoy get the better of him? Did you ever think that maybe the reason I didn't want to go back to school, was what I'd have to hear from the Slytherins...you know that you will be telling me to just take it, to not do anything..."
"No actually." She said softly. A trace of regret for something, some lost bit of childhood colored her voice, "no, those days are over Harry. We won't be able to back down from anything or anyone..." Harry looked up surprised, and she gave him a sad, little smile. Fingers came forward of their own volition and swept inky bangs out of his eyes. "I am telling you now, and I'll tell Ron later. We will have to own that school, go back to the old days of the Heads, make the Slytherins look over their shoulders at every moment...now, however if you two are stupid or capricious about it you will have to answer to me."
"Yes, mum" Harry grunted and she laughed.
They progressed through the line, eventually greeting the wedding party. And if Ron's hug of Hermione was a tiny bit uncomfortable and Ginny's slight reluctance to let go of Harry was evident, it wasn't really noticeable. Harry stepped to Fleur and the blond witch grinned and swept him into a hug. "'arry. Bill and I would like to zeak to u" She muttered in his ear and he gave her an odd, questioning glance as he stepped back. She nodded and handed him off to her new husband. As Bill embraced him, he repeated Fleur's comments in a hurried undertone. As they left the line, a shared glance and Harry knew that Hermione had been asked the same.
Several minutes later, after Harry had retrieved a plate of food for each of them, and Hermione had acquired a pair of butterbeers, they sat down at a table slightly set off from the rest. Harry glanced up in the middle of cutting his meat and caught her doing the same. He laughed and his thoughts flashed back to thousands of meals at Hogwarts, with her sitting across from him, under the watchful gaze of his mentor...his grandfather in all that mattered really, and his smile fell.
Hermione's lip was captured in her teeth as she saw his expression. Her hand came across the small table to rest on his; then shot apart as Bill and Fleur came around on their rounds, Charlie and Ron were trailing them as they smiled down at them. Ron looked a touch, conflicted, as he looked down at Harry and Hermione, but he sat at Harry's left without another thought. Harry's eyebrows shot up as Bill's wand described a pentagram in the air and a shimming cone enveloped the table for an instant before becoming invisible.
Bill sat next to Harry, as Fleur perched on Bill's knee. Charlie leaned forward on the table, "Harry..." Bill's gaze flicked to Fleur's and she gave him a small smile. "We know."
"Know what?" Ron asked with a quick glance to Harry and Hermione.
"We aren't stupid, little bro." Charlie replied, smiling.
"We know that you three are up to something." Bill replied. He looked directly at Harry, "We knew, even if mum would never admit it that it was always going to between you and Voldemort. And that you two would be there with him until the end." He glanced at his oldest brother and his wife, "We just want you to know that whatever you need, whenever, we'll be there."
"All of uz." Fleur put in. She squeezed Bill hand and leaned forward over the table. Her head cocked towards Harry slightly. "'arry, 'ermione...Ron. Gabrielle is going to 'ogwartz this year. Keep her zafe."
"Fleur, I couldn't...I can't save anyone, I couldn't save Dumbledore." Hermione's eyes dropped and met Ron's sadly. Her eyes never left Ron's as she reached across the table to grab Harry's hand. His neck barely bent, but the nod was still there all the same. None of the trio caught the looks that Bill, Charlie and Fleur passed amongst themselves.
"We'll do what we can." Hermione answered for her boys and Fleur answered with a jerky nod. Bill gave them a small smile, and Fleur gave Ron and Harry a kiss on the cheek as they got up and left.
After they had gone around the corner, and left Charlie to investigate the possibilities of finding a gillywater martini for Fleur and a pair of fresh beers for him and Bill, Bill grinned and pulled Fleur in for a hard kiss. She smiled against his lips as they hid from hurricane Molly as she passed by looking for the wedding party. "What's the chances of you and I sneaking off, M'lady?"
Fleur giggled as Bill nuzzled on her neck. "For 'enzligh lezzons?" They both laughed. "Bill?" Fleur asked suddenly.
"Aye, luv?" Bill replied with distracted air of one who had been married for about two hours and had yet to really have a moment with his wife.
Her eyes were concerned as she glanced back in the general direction of the trio. "'zhe'z 'ztill trying...I can zell it'" She ran her hands up and down Bill's arms as he pulled her into his chest. She kissed the shoulder of his robes as his hands ran up and down her back contemplatively.
"I know, Fleur, I know." At that very instant Charlie returned with drinks in hand. He handed them out, receiving a tired smile in return from Bill.
"Why the long faces." Charlie asked with a laugh, then sighed and glanced around..."Let me guess, its still going on, isn't it?" Fleur just nodded, and leaned back into Bill's arms.
"I wizh, I waz not a Veela...I would not knowz..." She added softly. She glanced up and back at Bill. And he shook his head sadly.
"I tried. But you saw today. Maybe the point is moot, they certainly seem to be on the way back to normal..."
"You mean where they should have been last year if it were not for?" Charlie replied. "You know that if they figure out what happened...it'll split the family, mum'll never believe that her baby could do such things, Bill."
Fleur looked between the two, "iz 'is not a wedding?" She asked and the boys laughed. She squeaked loudly as Bill picked her up and swung her around, kissing her firmly the whole time. The discussion was tabled, for now...
Back at the table they had left, the trio was looking at each other silently. Ron was working on a heaping plate that he had retrieved from the buffet, while Harry sat picking at his food. Hermione glanced between the two, torn over what exactly to say, Hell, I don't know what I'm feeling really, let alone to say. She popped a chocolate-covered strawberry in her mouth and chewed contemplatively. They all turned as a tinking sound echoed in the glen and Charlie stood at the head table.
He raised a flute of champagne in his right hand. He glanced down at Bill and Fleur and back into the crowd that was standing and sitting around the clearing that housed the Burrow. "When Bill came to me last summer and told me that he was getting married..." Charlie grinned, "Well I admit I was shocked. I told him, Bill...you know this is one bird for the rest of your life, are you insane?" Laughter broke out among the crowd; even Minerva McGonagall cracked a grin at the reminder of her infamous, former seeker and Head Boy's antics with the fairer sex at Hogwarts. "And then," he continued, "he told me of this wondrous girl, she was gorgeous he said, but that didn't matter because she had the heart of a lion, and her inner beauty far outstripped anything on the outside. Well I wasn't too sure that the boy hadn't been confunded, because I only knew of her through her being chased by dragons." Fleur laughed. "But then I got to really know her, and I am proud to welcome her to the clan...welcome sister." A tear blossomed, as Charlie raised his glass above his head. "To Bill and Fleur...may their hearts provide them all the comfort they need, and may they never need any comfort other than each others'...and may they have kids really soon so mum gets off the rest of our cases."
"HERE HERE." Came an anonymous voice from the rear.
Charlie laughed for a moment, "William, my brother, congratulations...and Fleur, good luck...you'll need it. Bill and Fleur."
"Bill and Fleur."
Music floated out over the air, and Bill and Fleur slipped to a large, conjured hardwood floor sitting out in the middle of the clearing. She flowed into his arms and more than one "awww," was heard from the female guests. The happy couple danced alone, all eyes on them, for the first song and halfway through the second when other couples started to drift out onto the dance floor. Hermione pointed and laughed as Gabrielle, little tiny, fourteen-year-old Gabrielle was dancing with Charlie. The future Head Girl glanced at both of her boys; sighed and looked longingly out at the dancing couples.
Harry's gaze met Ron's and something passed between the two boys, but before either could say anything to the other, a soft, airy voice came from behind Ron's shoulder, "Um, Ronald?" Luna asked as she stood in her silver gown, her head was cocked at an odd angle like a large crane and her voice was a touch tremulous, "would you..."
Ron looked at Hermione and Harry, and rose slowly to stand over Luna. He took her hand, gracefully brought it to his lips and she almost collapsed, "I would be honored, my lady." He led the willowy blonde onto the dance floor and Harry and Hermione watched with slightly slack jaws as Ron and Luna started to sway together to the music. "Well..." Harry said, softly, "Okay then..."
"Yeah." Hermione replied, equally as thoughtfully. She glanced over Harry's shoulder, "Harry, Ginny's coming for you like a herd of Tamerian Snortcats."
"Huh?" Harry replied to Hermione's Lunaism. He glanced back out of the corner of his eye to see a slight, vision in red and black approaching and stood quickly. He never turned as he extended his hand to Hermione, "If you would grace me with this dance." Hermione's eyes came up to meet his and she nodded. She never let herself turn and look at Ginny as she let Harry lead her out onto the dance floor by the hand. Her arms went around his neck of their own accord as she felt his hands settle on her hips. "Thanks Mione." Harry said softly as they started two sway to the music and his heart pounded at the sudden escape...
She snorted softly, "for what?"
"Saving my arse like always." Harry replied with a grin and she giggled. "Ginny was coming to try to get me out here so she could try again to get me to let her come with us" He shrugged under her wrists, "I'm tired of telling her no."
Hermione looked down at their feet. "Harry you could let her come with us...at least to Grimmauld, you could..." Hermione felt her heart start to race, as she suddenly couldn't bear to see his eyes when he agreed with her.
"No, Mione." Harry whispered as his hands slipped off her hips to rest together on the small of her back. Her eyes slowly came back up to his as she felt her heart pounding in her chest. "I meant it then, and I'm not telling her any different...she has no idea what she would be in for..." he sighed as her arms slid higher around his neck. "And she has no idea who I really am, not like..." Harry trailed off as he spotted Ron over Hermione's shoulder. He grinned suddenly and indicated his friend with a nod. "I guess Ron is noticing Luna" Harry announced, then as Hermione glanced back, with an odd, longing expression to find Luna head tucked under Ron's and a beauteous smile on her lips. "Hermione..."
"It's over Harry," she replied before he could even complete his thought and his stomach flip-flopped, hard. "Whatever it was, its over." Her whispered soprano was wistful, but not quite sad. It was more as if she were merely commenting on the loss of a sentimental dream than anything real. She bit her lip and dropped her head to his chest. Her left cheek pressed against Harry's chest as the crown of her head tucked perfectly under his chin. Her eyes slipped closed as a feeling of peace filled her for the first time since that fateful night that she had seen the body of her Headmaster lying motionless on the ground under the Astronomy Tower.
Neither of them saw the burning eyes of a girl in a night-black dress as she stomped off.
The song ended and they slowly pulled away from each other, neither quite wanting to meet the others' eyes, just in case. Harry and Hermione returned to their table from before. Harry held out her chair as she sat, and sat himself. Harry looked out over the guests and the couples still on the dance floor, "Hermione," Harry's gaze was troubled as he watched Ron continuing to dance with Luna. "Are you ok with this, really?"
She smiled at him, wanly, "Yeah Harry, I really am...I've known it was over for few days now. When I went to your Aunt's place I knew, I just didn't admit it to myself until we got back here and Ron and I were fighting within the hour." Hermione shrugged and took a slip of some cocktail that appeared at her elbow with a soft pop. Harry made a mental note to give Dobby a raise.
A sudden commotion caused them both of them to stand and hurry back to the dance floor. Harry's hand was on his wand as she hurriedly pushed though the crowd, and he was not so distracted to miss the sight of Hermione's hand slipping under the slit in the side of her dress and emerging with her wand. So that explains the garter. The random thought slipped across his brain as he came into the cleared area at the center of the dance floor, with Hermione at his back and Ron at his side a heartbeat later. As they witnessed the scene on the dance floor, a huge grin broke out on his face. Harry's wand slipped back into his robes as Hermione let out an odd "squee" sound next to him and Ron chuckled.
"Nymphadora..." Remus said softly as every eye in the clearing was on him. He had been nervous about doing this here, but Tonks was to leave tomorrow for a bit on a mission for the remnants of the Order, and he was damned if he would let her leave without knowing his true feelings. And besides, Fleur had thought the idea terribly romantic and Bill had just shaken his hand when he asked their permission to do this on their special day. "You are far too good for me, and I can't say how good a husband or a...father I would be, but I love you more than my poor words can express. Marry me? Please?"
Harry thought he could see the pulse pounding in poor Remus' throat as he knelt, looking up at the black-haired, gray-eyed, base form of his lover. A sudden silence fell over the place as more than one person waited on her response. Tonks' mouth opened and closed a couple of times, with only a strangled, "wotcher" slipping out. Finally she gave up on speaking, fell to her knees in front of Lupin and dove forward onto him. She was raining kisses on his face as loud, tumultuous applause erupted, none being louder than that from the wedding party or Harry, Hermione and Ron.
*****************************Harry and Ron's Room************************
11:12 pm
After several hours of dancing, revelry and a truly amazing amount of butterbeer consumed by the guests, the Burrow was once again filled with only Weasleys or those considered such. Fleur had beamed as she came into the living room at Bill's excited yell to find her name on the clock. Molly cried as the blond witch gave her a hug, with more than a few tears of her own mixing with the Weasley matriarch's. Her and Bill had left to London, where they would leave from for a short Honeymoon in the morning.
Almost every non-married female and a couple of the married ones had flocked to Tonks to minutely examine the ring that Lupin had given her. Even ever practical Hermione and, slightly not on the same plane of existence, Luna had basked in the reflected glow from Tonks. A few of Fleur's more annoying relatives had pooh-poohed the odd ring, with a tiny, engraved wolf in the gold band, and its odd, color-changing, main stone, but Harry had thought it rather appropriate. The werewolf and the metamorph had vanished soon after to go...celebrate, and Harry and Ron had muttered a few ribald jokes at Lupin's expense, until Hermione had whacked both of them upside the head. Her eyes had been grinning though.
Harry looked up from the packages spread out on his bed as the door to the room opened. A brief white flash lit the room as Hermione cast an Imperturbable spell on the room. Ron glanced up from his Quidditch Quarterly, and grunted a greeting. Hermione gave him a slight, sneering, eyeroll and Harry silently chuckled at them. "Are these what the twins brought by Harry?" Hermione inquired with an eager note to her voice. She looked over the open roll of equipment, and bent down curiously to examine a few of the objects in detail.
"Yeah Hermione." Harry replied as he walked over to Ron's bed and kicked it.
"Oi?"
"Get your arse over here mate."
"Seen it," Ron replied, annoyedly, "Those are the mark two kits they are selling to the Aurors." CRACK. Ron fell out of his bed as Fred and George appeared at the foot of his bed. "Bloody hell you two, how did you get past Hermione's Imperturbable charm?"
"Because it doesn't guard against apparation Ronald." Hermione replied exasperatedly, "and they are Weasleys, they are allowed past the house wards."
"Yes little brother." Fred said as he pulled Ron to his feet.
"Pay attention, Ronniekins, because it could just save your life" Inserted George as he walked over to Harry and handed him three packages. He went over to Fred to stand near their wares and waited for Harry. Harry tossed one of two identical packages to Hermione and the second to Ron, who fielded it absently.
"Happy birthday." Harry said softly as Ron opened his, and gasped. "Yeah Ron, I got tired of you trying to fit under the cloak with us." He glanced at the twins, "Nothing leaves here; I mean it." They nodded as Harry walked over to Ron and pulled a golden key on a chain from his pocket. "Welcome to the firm, Ronald." Ron looked confused, as Harry took pity on him, "That my friend, is something that I had set up before Hermione had convinced me to go back to Hogwarts, I think she is right, but this should still prove useful. You are now my chief field investigator for Fawkes Industries."
Ron glanced down at it thoughtfully, "thanks Harry."
"What little bro, no odd protestations that you shouldn't take it?" Jibed Fred.
"It's not charity Ron," Harry put in as Hermione took care of glaring at the twins for him. Fred raised his hands in surrender.
"I didn't think it was Harry," Ron looked up with a slight grin, "so how much?"
"100,000" Harry replied and the twins whistled. "A year." Their jaws dropped. Ron did look shocked then and started to toss back the key but Harry shook his head, "No Ron, I'm serious, you need the money just in case. Ok?"
"And Hermione?" Ron asked curiously as he hung the chain around his neck.
"Harry set something similar up for me." Hermione replied with the barest of eye flicks in Harry's direction. She took her invisibility cloak out from the package that Harry had given her. She tossed it over herself and vanished. She reappeared a moment later as she took it off. "Where the heck did you two get a pair of these? Its hard enough to find one." Fred opened his mouth to respond, "never mind, I don't want to know." She corrected herself as she muttered things like "I'm a felon and I'm not even eighteen."
Harry and Ron grinned at each other behind her back. "Ok then, you two lets see what you brought." Harry watched as the twins...glowed as they started to explain their latest creations. He slipped the package containing Muggle pounds that he had had the twins get for him into a pocket of the cargo pants he had changed into after the wedding. Ron and Hermione came over to him and the trio stood on the opposite side of the bed from the twins as the two opened their mouths.
"First," Began George, "Two sets of our shield hats and cloaks each. These are special in that they automatically change to look like either Muggle or Wizarding attire according on where you are. They should appear to look like standard clothes as well, not like the older ones that everyone knew were special." Fred held up a small box, he opened it to show tiny bottles and flasks, and a one-inch cauldron. "A full miniaturized potions lab, it automatically expands and shrinks as needed. There's a full set of ingredients for things such as the Strengthening Potion, Blood-Replenishment, etc. Hermione, yours is a little bigger, it has a larger set of ingredients, for things like Polyjuice, Veritaserum...we can get more for the rest of you, but most of those are restricted...we cleaned out our private stocks for you." Harry nodded his thanks; there was nothing else to say.
Fred waved at another group of items, "The instant darkness powder, and these..." he held up a pair of slightly odd looking glasses, "After Hogwarts...we made these, these will allow you to see in the darkness, I charmed yours with your prescription Harry. Those are not for sale. The only ones in existence right now are these three pair and a pair for each of us. We should have the rest ready for the DA and the Order, what's left of it, by the fall." He picked up several shiny disks with metal teeth embedded in the rims. "Expanding Very-Fanged Frisbees. These can be thrown directly, or can be set to act as defenders of the wielder, attacking any non-friendly within fifty feet; you choose the friendly. You can chose between steel and silver for the blades with a spell. Argentium Grenade, shoots silver spikes up to twenty feet, I would make sure you are further away than that, even if you aren't a werewolf." Ron pulled his hand back from examining the silver orb, and George snickered softly.
"Anti-floo powder." Fred said as he held up a half dozen phials of a red powder, "shuts down a floo fire, both ways, for a half hour. Fire does not actually have to be lit if its something like a fireplace, just smash a vial in the hearth. Shocking Ropes...not sure what you will do with them, but we made them up the other day. They provide a shock to whatever you tie them up with. Also a set of Ever-Expanding Ropes for Climbing. Portkey Scrambler; redirects any targeted Portkey to a site of your choosing, it's similar to the spell." He answered Hermione's question before she asked it.
"Bugs." George said as he held up a jar, of what did really appear to be tiny, silver bugs. "Let them go, and they will come back in an hour and dump their memories into any Pensive. Good for things like rooms that certain people guard with Imperturbable charms to save the little children's feelings."
"Couldn't come up with a better name?" Ron snorted.
"We were in a hurry, Angelina will come up with a better name after you three take down Voldemort." Fred retorted sarcastically. "Would you rather we made them all look like spiders?" Ron wisely shut up. "That's basically it for now Harry. There are a few more things that we are working on, but they are still unreliable...we won't let you guys use something that might fail on you."
"Thanks guys." Harry replied gratefully, and then stopped as Fred raised one finger and pulled an odd, t-shaped item from the pockets of his robes. A plethora of lights lit the surface of the odd instrument, as he looked at it.
"We were thinking of what you said about testing the staff at Hogwarts, Harry." Fred explained. "We had started work on this a while ago to detect aura deviations that indicate someone was under the influence of external magics....potions, the Imperious, the usual." He ran it over himself and it remained quiescent. Fred nodded and turned a knob. The lights lit up as he passed it over Harry and Hermione and he whacked it on the side, hard. "You aren't still being possessed by Moldieshorts are you?" He joked.
"I hope not," Harry, replied wryly, "bugger has the worst sense of humor."
"Thought not." George sighed, "I guess we will take it back to the shop with us, I hope we can get it working for you by the start of school. If it works, we will rig up something with a Protean charm...if Hermione will help us?" She nodded with a small smile, "so you don't have to have the unit visible, maybe something like a quill?" He mused.
Harry went over to his pack and pulled it open. He set his old pocket sneakascope out on top of some clothes as he dug in the bottom. He pulled a small, jingling bag from a hidden flap in the bottom, and pressed it into Fred's hand. "Here you go. Guys, let me know you need any..." Fred opened the bag and poured half of the coins within, out, and handed them back to Harry.
"You're family Harry, all of this and the DA gear is at our cost," Fred said softly. We'll see you guys later. Don't get yourselves killed, we want you three for endorsements after the war." And with that the twins vanished with a CRACK.
"Endorsements?" Ron asked as the echoes of the twins' apparations faded from the room. "What the bloody hell are those? Some odd doormen?" His face was classically Ron, classically puzzled. Hermione bit her lip as her gaze flicked over to Harry. Chocolate met emerald and they both lost it. "What?" Ron whined and their laughter redoubled.
"It's a Muggle thing Ron." Hermione replied after a moment. She opened her mouth to say something else and a loud knock was heard faintly through the ward. It was instantly apparent why the Trio was unstoppable when they were together. Hermione's wand was already flashing as she Envesco'ed the gear from the twins. Ron picked up his discarded Quidditch magazine and slipped his new cloak under his pillow as Hermione made a large spellbook appear from somewhere and sat cross-legged on the bed in her sweats and t-shirt, while Harry flopped on the bed so as to look as if they were doing homework. The ward died as Harry pocketed his wand and Hermione shouted, "come in" towards the door. All in the span of about ten seconds.
The door opened slowly to find Ginny standing alone in the doorway. "I thought I heard an apparation?" Hermione's eyes flicked over to meet Ron's, which were rolled heavenward behind his magazine where Hermione could, but Ginny could not see them from her angle at the door. Hermione knew damn well that the trio could have had a marching band in here with her wards up and no one would have been wiser.
"No Ginny." Harry replied softly, "What's up?"
"I was just wondering what you were up to?" She replied as she came over and sat next to Harry on the bed. A brief scent of roses flitted across his nose as she leaned close to him to examine the book he and Hermione had open between them, "what's this?" She asked.
"Oh," Hermione replied with a long, annoyed, sigh, "like usual Harry was behind on his homework for the summer. So I was helping him. I swear these two would fail out if I didn't harass them."
Ginny gave her small nod and a smile that did not quite reach her eyes. She leaned across Harry and a hint of roses met his nose once more. His mind started to process some obscure fact that had eluded him for a year, when it was interrupted by Ginny. "So Ron, what's up with Luna?" The cut of her eyes towards Hermione was almost undetectable.
"We had a nice time" Ron replied saccharinely, as he slipped into the old patterns of brother and sister. "What was up with you pawing Neville? Huh Sis?"
Ginny shrugged as she leaned close to Harry, "He's nice, I bet he would be a good kisser, what about Luna huh, get in a snog or two?"
Harry's breath caught, as a growl of something ate its' way up from the pit of something. His eyes hardened as he started to say something, then without any warning another old companion came home to roost. Neville's a nice bloke. Hermione voice rang in his head; he'll be good for her. "Good for you Ginny." Harry put in with a genuine smile. He yawned, "I don't know about you guys but I would like to go to bed." Hermione gave him the feeblest of nods as his eyes caught hers and she got up.
"Ok Harry, we'll work on this tomorrow. At Godric's Hollow she mentally finished. Her eyes caught the five splayed fingers Harry held down by his side as she and Ginny left out the door to the room and closed it behind them as Harry was walking to his trunk to get sleep pants out. He dug for a second; then glanced over suddenly as a soft whirring penetrated his tired thoughts to find the sneakascope still spinning.
A/N: Next Chapter, A small Muggle village in Wales.