Salvation Takes Time
Chapter One
Harry stumbled out of the fireplace and landed face down on the floor of the Weasley kitchen. He was really growing to dislike magical travel as thus far they all seemed to have left him face first on the floor or ground at some point. He'd either crashed or fallen off his broom playing Quidditch countless time, the portkey back to Privet Drive from Hogwarts left him in a heap on his bedroom floor while Mooney tried to stifle his laughter, the Knight Bus ride was an unabashed nightmare and the less said about his mishaps with floo powder, the better.
Two pairs of hands grabbed his upper arms and hauled him up and he found the eager faces of Fred, George and Ron. As Fred and Ron cleaned him up, George looked at him eagerly and asked, "Did he eat it?"
Harry shook off the wobbly feeling the trip gave him and nodded awkwardly, "Yes… What was it?"
Fred smirked at him while George brushed the last bits of soot off Harry's shoulders with an equally wicked expression. Fred then proclaimed proudly, "Ton-tongue toffee, our latest invention."
As Harry had come to expect over the last three years, George picked up where his brother left off, "We've been looking for a test subject all summer."
Both twins cast an annoyed look at Ron who frowned and said, "Need I remind you that it was James and my idea to use that fat muggle as a test?"
There was laughter at the kitchen table and Harry found two red-haired men he'd never met. He had seen them in pictures enough to recognize them as Ron's oldest brothers, Bill and Charlie. The stockier of the pair got to his feet and held out his hand, "How're you doing, Harry?"
The other man, Bill, looked up from his breakfast and grinned, "Nice to meet you Harry."
Ron gestured to the men, "Harry these are my other brothers, Charlie and Bill."
Harry smiled, "A pleasure." He then shook their hands in turn.
Fred and George looked about ready to pump him for information when Mr. Weasley appeared in the Kitchen with a pop and looked far angrier then he'd ever seen him. He turned on the twins and fumed, "That wasn't funny Fred! What in the name of Merlin did you give that boy?"
Fred didn't even attempt an innocent expression, he merely allowed a wicked gleam to shine in his eyes, "I didn't give him anything, I dropped it. It's not my fault that he didn't have the sense not to eat something off the floor."
Harry watched as Bill, Charlie and Ron all tried desperately not to laugh, Arthur turned on all of them, "THIS IS NOT FUNNY! Things like this hurt relations between Wizards and Muggles! After all the work I do and my own sons-"
George shook his head, "We didn't do it because he's a muggle dad, we did it because he's a
bullying git!"
Fred nodded and turned to Harry, "Isn't that right, Harry?"
Harry nodded, "It's true Mr. Weasley."
Arthur seemed to deflate for just a moment before shaking it off, "That's not the point, and you just wait until I tell your mother-"
Mrs. Weasley chose that moment to enter the kitchen from the next room, "Tell me what?" She narrowed her eyes at the twins for just a moment before she noticed Harry. Her face immediately softened, "Hello, Harry dear." She gave him a quick appraisingly look, "My word, you are much too thin Harry! I'll just make you a quick breakfast before I start lunch. You and James really need some meat on your bones." Harry noticed out of the corner of his eye that Arthur, Fred and George all seemed to relax as Mrs. Weasley doted on him, perhaps Mr. Weasley hadn't really wanted to tell them.
She turned to her husband and the suspicious look returned, "Tell me what, Arthur?"
Mr. Weasley frowned and looked away, "Well… George and Fred… They… I-ah, I've talked to them already…"
She stared at the twins for a very tense moment before turning to Harry again, "Sit down, dear. I still have some eggs and sausage; I'll make some for you and James."
Harry suddenly smiled, "Siri- James is here?"
"I arrived a few days ago Pronglet."
Harry turned around at the familiar voice behind him. Sirius, now officially James Sothis Tonks stood in the doorway with a smirk on his face. Harry was surprised at how different his Godfather looked from that night in Dumbledore's office. He was much younger of course, though some of his features still shone through, his grey-blue eyes were now alive with both mischief and youth. His face was softer but still aristocratic and had a fullness that marked a young man who was eating well, despite what Molly might think. His hair was shorter and no longer messy and dull, Harry could see a hint of the haunted expression in his eyes but it was buried deep down underneath the mirth on his face.
Sirius looked alive, Harry crossed the room and the two young men crushed each other in a brotherly hug. Harry laughed and pulled back, gripping his Godfather's forearms, "You look great!"
Sirius laughed, "I feel great, even after the potion reversed my aging process, I was still very ill. Andromeda and Ted pumped me full of nutrient potions for the first week and fed me almost as well as Mother Weasley here. Then Nymph took me out and got me a new wand at Ollivander's and she put me through the paces, otherwise with all I was being fed I'd be as large as that obese uncle of yours."
The pair suddenly found themselves being ushered to the table by Molly. She sat them down and dropped plates in front of them. "I'll be just a few minutes cooking the eggs and sausage."
Ron sat down across from them, "She's been feeding Snuffles about five times a day."
Fred and George flanked Harry with a pair of chuckles. Fred clasped his hands over his heart and said. "'You simply must eat James, you need your strength.'"
George laughed, "'You're nothing but a bag of bones, why look, you can still see your feet.'"
Molly returned moments later with a pan of eggs which she split between them. "Tuck in boys."
James smirked into his plate and Harry tried to swallow his chuckle then began to eat himself. He was grateful for the meal after the last few weeks at Privet Drive. As he ate, he noticed Fred and George watching their parents out of the corner of their eye, seemingly waiting.
After Mrs. Weasley gave them the sausages, Mr. Weasley whispered in his wife's ear for a moment then said he was going out to the shed to work on some muggle devices he'd brought home a few weeks ago, Mrs. Weasley puttered for a few minutes then said she was going to check on him, though Harry noticed a strange grin on the woman's features as she exited.
Harry looked around the table to see several different expressions on the Weasley Brothers faces. Fred and George looked relieved, Bill and Charlie were smirking and Ron had turned a rather unappetizing shade of pale. "That's disgusting!"
Bill laughed, "What's the matter Ron? Not in the market for another baby brother or sister?"
Harry knew he missed something, but after Bill's comment he decided that was for the best. The idea of Molly and Arthur… he crushed the thought before it became a mental image. Fred and George leapt up, Fred then said. "Never mind that…"
George continued for his brother, "We have something for you Harry." George reached into his pocket and produced a folded piece of parchment. Both twins then chorused, "Happy Birthday Harry!"
Harry smiled enthusiastically, his birthday was a few days earlier and the Weasleys (as well as Hermione, Hagrid, and the Tonks family) had sent him birthday cakes he was still excited to receive presents. He picked up the parchment and looked it over, flipping it over in his hands. It was completely blank. Harry knew Fred and George were jokesters, but he didn't think their sense of humor was so eccentric. "It's just a piece of parchment." He then held it up to them, "I'm afraid I don't get the joke."
George beamed, "Oh you will."
Fred took the parchment then produced his wand while George waved all of them around the parchment. Fred then tapped his wand to the parchment and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
Suddenly the parchment sprang to life; lines began drawing themselves and resolved into words. "Messrs. Fredrick and George Weasley Proudly Present to You the 'Weasley's Wizard Wheezes' Official Catalogue: Offering Magical Pranks for All Occasions." Harry immediately turned to James with a grin; they'd used the same charm as the Map.
He heard one of the twins say, "James offered up the charm for the parchment and we kept the password to honor our idols."
James pretended to wipe a tear away, "Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs would be proud to see someone taking up their fight against gits and arses." They shared a laugh before turning back to the parchment.
He opened and read through it, chuckling at the product names and descriptions. He finally stopped at a potion marked new and read the description aloud, "'Marauder's Delight: Is there someone in your life who's especially slimy, disgustingly greasy hair, oily skin, perhaps even foul tempered? Slip them a little of this and they'll be a joy to be around, bright shiny hair, healthy color and a joyful attitude. We guarantee it to bring a tear to Prongs' eye.'"
Ron laughed, "We even tested it on Pansy Parkinson a couple of weeks ago, I was shocked, because she was rather pleasant to talk to, smarter then I thought someone who clung to Malfoy's coat-tails to be, she actually knew who Viktor Krum was."
Harry just nodded politely, hoping that Ron might give him a clue to who Viktor Krum was. But quickly decided that some teasing was required, "So, when's the wedding then Ron?"
"Pardon?" Blue eyes narrowed to wary slits while Ron's mouth became an annoyed frown.
He shrugged, "It's just you sound like you fancy her is all."
Ron's knuckles cracked menacingly, "You're dead Potter."
However before Ron could make good on his threat his older brothers pounced on the opportunity to pick on him allowing Harry and James to finish their breakfast and escape the suddenly boisterous kitchen. The last thing he heard clearly was Charlie's voice saying. "Little Ronnie Parkinson…" Then Ron roared and the sounds of wrestling overtook the teasing voices.
As they slipped out the back door and sat down on the porch Harry turned to his companion and said, "Hey Sirius, who is Viktor Krum?"
Sirius shrugged and his eyes twinkled with mirth when George's (or maybe Fred's) voice carried out to them, "OW! Bloody Hell Bill!"
"Bulgaria's seeker, I guess he's the youngest seeker on the international circuit in years. Ron and the Twins haven't shut up about him in three bloody days." He pointed to the catalogue in Harry's hand, "I have to admit, Fred and George have cooked up some ingenious little items. I especially like the 'Puking Pastilles.'" He then said, "Shut it off will you Harry, they're worried about their Mother's reaction."
He pulled out his wand and tapped the parchment, "Mischief managed." The parchment then cleared completely
and Harry pocketed it. "So, did you get your letter?"
James grinned, "And my books and my robes and did my homework assignments for the summer, as far as the Ministry is concerned I'm James Tonks and speaking of homework assignments…"
The rumbling in the kitchen was quickly subdued by a familiar shrill tone. "Honestly Ronald! Shouldn't all of you be beyond this rough-housing?"
James smirked, "Well, it's probably a good thing Hermione didn't know your father and I when we were Bill and Charlie's age."
The door sprang open and Harry suddenly found himself crashing off the porch with Hermione tangling him up in her arms. "Harry!"
He laughed and returned her hug, "It's good to see you too, Hermione." He noted strangely that her cheeks reddened slightly when he said it but set the thought aside.
After a few moments, she pulled herself out of his arms and to her feet. He quickly followed suit and the pair sat down on the porch while ignoring James' smirk and the strange expression on Ginny's face. Hermione spent a moment smoothing her skirt before she turned to him. "How was your summer?"
He shrugged, "As good as a summer with the Dursleys can be expected to be. I landscaped the backyard."
She gave him a sympathetic expression, "And your birthday? Did you enjoy the cake my mother and I baked?"
He smiled, "It was great Hermione."
She blushed again and looked away, Harry also noticed a frown mar Ginny's face for a moment. Finally, Hermione coughed and said, "Your homework, did you keep up on it?"
He nodded, "I finished it a few days ago."
She gave him a mildly stunned expression before a smile stuttered its way onto her face. "You did?"
He nodded, "Well, the Quidditch Cup you see. I knew if I didn't finish my work, you'd houn-" He flushed and coughed at her raised eyebrow and amended his statement, "Be disappointed in me so I finished it all."
She grinned at him, "It took me a day to get Ronald to even start his, so despite your motives I'm proud of you and I'd be happy to review your work."
&&&&&&&&&
It had taken several hours for life at the Burrow to settle down, shortly after Hermione offered to check over Harry's homework Percy came storming into the kitchen in a snit about some report he was writing for his job at Gringott's. Bill then remarked that as Percy's supervisor, he'd let it slide, followed quickly by the twins calling Percy a boot-licker, which only renewed verbal hostilities between the Weasley brothers (mostly Percy and the Twins) the argument got so heated that shoving resumed and a second brawl broke out in the kitchen and it took a jet of red sparks from the wand of an extremely annoyed and disheveled Mrs. Weasley to stop it. The boys immediately froze in position; Percy had George in a headlock while Fred and Ron were on the floor, Bill and Charlie were trying to stifle their laughter.
She sent Bill and Charlie out into the back yard to set up the tables for dinner while she sent Ron and Ginny out into the back yard to De-gnome the garden, Percy went back to his room to finish his report. She then shooed Harry and Hermione off into the other room.
As they were exiting the kitchen, Harry heard Molly say. "As for you three, don't think I don't know about those blasted Order Forms. It's bad enough that Fred and George want to sell these things, but you're a grown man, Sirius!"
Harry heard the newly young man reply, "Ah, but Mother Weasley, as you know, Sirius Black is no more, I'm James Tonks, a fourteen year-old boy. Can I help it if your sons corrupted me?"
"Don't argue semantics with me young man!"
Harry bit down on his laughter, he wasn't sure until this moment, but his Godfather may have been a genius. Hermione turned to him with a morbid grin, "I think Dumbledore made a huge mistake bringing him back to Hogwarts."
Harry shrugged, "I don't know Hermione, he wants to bring out the best in his students and who better to bring out the best in Gred and Forge than a Marauder?"
She smiled at him, "It scares me that that might be one of his reasons Harry."
&&&&&&&&&
"Who knew that your mother had so many pots and pans?"
Fred and George both smirked at Sirius and said simply, "We did."
The dark-haired man smiled, "Well it was good practice for this year's detentions."
The twins laughed and left the kitchen for their bedroom-slash-laboratory before Bill and Charlie could return. This left him with the chance to actually catch up with Harry. He knew the boy had to have a thousand questions about his father and mother and it would be his greatest pleasure to let Harry know all about Lily and James as well as Remus and maybe even himself.
He stepped into the sitting room and found Harry sitting at a small table in the corner with Hermione. The table looked to be loaded down with books and quills and parchment. The young girl was looking over Harry's essays and other assignments with an expression that reminded him of two women he loved dearly, McGonagall and Lily. The girl was very clearly in love with the learning process. She finished the parchment in her hand and gave Harry a pleased expression, "This might be some of your best work Harry. I don't see any reason for Professor Binns not to give you an 'Outstanding.'"
That was the moment something interesting happened and Sirius' plans of re-forging the Marauders were forced to change. Harry blushed slightly and looked down and away. Because he looked so much like his father, Harry's expression rang clear. It was the same look James had when Lily would tell him that she loved him. It was an expression of stunned admiration.
Molly gently touched his shoulder, "Help me in the kitchen dear?" He followed her into the kitchen and she handed him a bag of potatoes to wash while she set the carrots out to begin peeling themselves. "You saw it then. I remember seeing James and Lily bringing Harry to Diagon Alley for his first birthday. It was right before they went to Godric's Hallow, I knew all of you through the Order of course but I had never seen any of you outside that setting. I was very pregnant with Ginny as well as taking Bill to Madam Malkin's for his first set of school robes."
She turned to look out the window to see Bill and Charlie bashing the tables together and repairing them over and over again. She smiled at the boys then turned back to him. "James was showing Harry a snitch he'd bought him and Lily frowned and said that she wouldn't let Harry play that barbaric sport. James retorted that it was a child's snitch and would teach Harry eye-hand co-ordination and help his reflexes."
He grinned, "Prongs told me the day before about buying it and we spent an hour coming up with that argument. Besides being the truth, we felt that would be the best one."
She nodded at him, "Lily looked at James for a long time before she said that she knew that wasn't why he bought but she didn't care because he believed that it would be good for Harry just the same. James gave her such a bashful smile, so unlike the one he'd flash in meetings after you two had done something fool-hardy and bull-headed." She nodded out towards the room Harry and Hermione were in, "Harry flashes that very same smile every time Hermione is pleased with him."
She sighed, rubbed her forehead for a moment then turned back to him. "That's what makes it so hard James, knowing how he feels for Hermione when he's the one person my only daughter wants."
&&&&&&&&& End Part One &&&&&&&&&
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