The Final Lesson
by Jardyn39
Chapter 6 - Flowers
Harry felt a little claustrophobic once the Entrance Lobby went from view as the call box rose up towards street level. He really couldn't believe that six of them had squeezed into this very same telephone box.
He felt the same pang as he always did whenever his thoughts returned to that evening.
Harry looked up, eager for some sunlight on his face and some fresh air in his lungs but the lift would not be hurried from its slow ascent.
He distracted himself by deciding what to do with the remainder of the day. He would take Percy's file back to the Room of Requirement for safety and then pay a visit to Fred and George.
Just then the first cracks of sunlight became visible and soon he was looking out of the small windows.
All was quiet outside, so Harry pushed open the door and exited.
There was no sign of Percy, but then Harry was a little early. Percy, no doubt, would be precisely on time.
Shivering slightly in the cool air, Harry walked across the deserted road to the other side. There was an odd assortment of cones scattered around but the skips he remembered being there had long gone.
From the other side he had a good view of the curved side street going off to his left and the road leading up to the main road. He could hear cars in the distance and saw a red double decker bus pass the junction several yards away.
Harry heard a dull thump and one of the tall wheeled rubbish containers down the side street rolled a few feet into the roadway.
Harry immediately withdrew his wand and began walking towards the container, realising that the containers were wide enough to conceal several people behind. They also looked like they were made from heavy galvanised steel that could block or shield weaker spells.
He had gone only a few paces when three struggling figures emerged from behind the bin.
Seeing one of them was Percy, Harry broke into a run.
Harry fired as soon as he was in range but one of the assailants moved their head at the last moment and his stunner missed.
Alerted, the hooded figure he'd just shot at turned and fired a volley of spells and hexes at Harry.
He dodged the first stunner and blocked the stinging hexes before returning fire.
Meanwhile, the second attacker had fired something at Percy who fell limply onto the tarmac. He then grabbed a something from inside Percy's robes and both of them ran off away from Harry.
Harry hurried after them but he soon reached the blocked off end of the side street. They must have had time to stop and Disapparate themselves away.
He turned and hurried back to where Percy was lying unconscious in the middle of the road.
Percy was still but breathing regularly. He had a cut on one side of his face and a reddening bruise on the other side.
"Ennervate!"
Percy began to stir and Harry found his horn rimmed spectacles and wand under one of the metal waste containers.
Percy groaned and lifted his head up.
"Harry?"
"Yes, Percy. Are you alright?"
"Help me up will you? I've no idea what he hit me with."
Harry pulled Percy to his feet but was concerned to see him clutch his right side in obvious pain. He was also unable to put any weight onto his left foot.
"They got the file, Percy," said Harry, handing him his glasses.
"No, that was just a blank copy. The real copy is safe enough."
"How long will it be before they realise?"
Harry's question was answered almost at once as three hooded figures Apparated a few feet away.
Percy fumbled for his wand but Harry knew they had to get away.
He gripped Percy tight and Disapparated them away as three stunning spells came flying towards them.
*
"Hello?!" shouted Harry, struggling to keep Percy upright.
Blood was flowing freely from Percy's head wound now and as he fainted Harry could feel his dead weight pulling him down.
Harry staggered forward trying to drag Percy towards the door which was unusually closed. For a moment Harry was afraid that no-one was at home, but then the door opened.
"What on earth?"
"Mrs Weasley!" gasped Harry has she rushed forward to help. "Percy was attacked outside the Ministry."
They dragged him inside and he began to come round again.
"Oh, Percy!" Mrs Weasley cried as they dumped him in the chair beside the fireplace.
"I'm fine, mother," said Percy, slumping slightly. His eyelids drooped and flickered as his head lopped forward.
Suddenly he woke again, and his head popped up again.
"Harry?"
"I'm here, Percy. You're safe now."
"The report!"
"You said they only got a blank file, Percy."
Percy began searching through his pockets in an agitated state.
"Ah, here it is!"
With a triumphant look, he placed a paperclip into Harry's palm.
"Er, thanks, Percy."
"Where's my wand?" he asked. "I'll transfigure it back for you."
Mrs Weasley handed him his wand that she had retrieved from Harry's pocket and with a small pop, the paperclip was replaced with a thin brown manila file.
Percy sighed with relief and muttered, "That's better," before falling unconscious for a final time.
"What happened, Harry?"
"He was attacked right outside the Ministry," said Harry. "They were after this file, but I don't see how they even knew he had it."
"What was he hit with?"
"I'm not sure. I wasn't close enough to hear an incantation but it looked like a stunner only bluish. It was fired from very close range."
"Help me get him upstairs, will you Harry? He should stay here until he's fully recovered."
"Sure. I wasn't certain where to bring him for the best. I was afraid that if I raised the alarm with the Ministry, even more harm would come to him."
"You did the right thing, Harry. Did you read about the Droom family? It was in the paper this morning. All five vanished, including the baby, and they were last seen at the Ministry. I'm so glad Percy will be safe with us for a while at least. Mind you, perhaps we shouldn't tell Fred and George just yet."
"What about Ron?" Harry asked. "And Mr Weasley?"
"I'll handle them," said Mrs Weasley firmly.
*
Harry followed Mrs Weasley back down the stairs and into the kitchen.
"Mrs Weasley? Hermione said she would be back home this evening, but I had planned on visiting Fred and George this afternoon."
"Did she say a time, dear? I did get a note to say she would come here, but she wasn't sure when."
"Not really. Her parents wanted her to stay for dinner, though."
"Well, I'll tell you what. It's four o'clock now, so why don't you go to Diagon Alley? I'll keep your dinner warm in case you're late returning."
"Thanks, Mrs Weasley. Should I put Fred and George off if they want to come back here this evening?"
"Oh, no, dear. That would just make them suspicious. Actually, it would be better if they did come this evening. I think I'll invite them, just to make sure."
"What about Percy?"
"Oh, he'll be fine," with a warm smile and a glance up to the ceiling.
*
Harry bid goodbye to Tom the Innkeeper in the Leaky Cauldron and made the short walk down Diagon Alley to the twin's shop.
The moist warm air inside was a welcome relief from the cold outside but had the unfortunate effect of misting up his glasses almost at once.
Harry wiped his glass lenses with a handkerchief, warming the glass at the same time. Around him blurred shaped continued to make happy chattering noises.
Eventually he put on his glasses and looked around.
As usual, the shop was busy with customers. Harry made his way towards the counter and was waiting to speak to one of the assistants when he heard his name being called out.
"Harry!"
"Hello Fred," said Harry with a smile.
"Come on through. George is just talking to Mum."
Harry nodded and followed Fred into the back rooms though a store room that looked much larger than the last time he had been there.
"Are you expanding, Fred?"
"Well, maybe I should cut down on the Cauldron Cakes. Oh, you mean the stores?"
"Yes," said Harry with half a laugh. Fred was actually physically no different from the day he'd left Hogwarts.
"Well, we've been rearranging things. Certain lines are more bulky than others. I wasn't sure that we could sell Jumping Beans by the crate load, but they've gone well. The planting season is over shortly, so we'll have this space back again in a few weeks."
"Jumping Beans?"
"Yes. Mum won't let us plant any at the Burrow. She says they are too dangerous."
"In what way?"
Fred didn't answer, but he did touch his wand to one of the crates. The lid immediately flew open and a massive brown bean flew up, bounced off the ceiling and headed straight for Harry. The bean was about ten inches end-to-end and Harry made to catch it like a ball.
Unfortunately, the moment it touched his fingers it flew up again and hit him in the face.
Fred pointed his wand at the flying bean just as it was headed for the doorway out into the shop. The bean froze in mid air before being pulled back and secured inside the crate.
"You sell many of those things?"
"Loads! Want a few?"
"No thanks," Harry replied rubbing his chin. "Do they do anything else?"
"No, bouncing is pretty much it."
"Why are they so popular then?"
"They are very good intrusion detectors. Just leave a couple in an unused room and they go berserk if anyone disturbs them. They are almost impossible to detect in the dark too. Well, that is, if you don't count being hit in the face as detecting them."
Harry nodded.
"We've been invited for dinner!" said George as they entered the office.
"What's the occasion?" asked Fred.
"Er, that would be that Harry's coming as well. Hello, Harry. Want any beans?"
"No thanks, George," said Harry with a laugh. "Actually, Hermione should be back tonight from visiting her parents."
"Oh, well give her our regards," said Fred.
"You're not coming to the Burrow?"
"Well, we've made plans, you know?"
"Actually, Fred," said George, "she did sound rather insistent. To be honest, one of Mum's cooked meals seems a lot more appealing."
"True. Oh well, the Burrow it is then!"
"Great," said Harry, sitting down on the typist stool George had just kicked over to him and taking a mug of tea from the tray that was hovering beside him. The tray then delivered the two remaining mugs.
"Thanks," said Harry, taking a sip. "Is Ron around?"
"No, he's out making a delivery."
"Edgware, wasn't it?" said Fred, looking up at the wall clock. "Overdue again, I see."
"He's overdue?" asked Harry with concern. "Do you think something happened to him?"
Harry looked between Fred and George who looked like they were considering their answer.
"No, Harry, we are not too concerned," said George.
"You see," continued Fred, "Ron generally takes his time on these errands."
"Yeah, he skives off most days."
"Well, that's not his story, of course. He keeps going out at odd times and we keep seeing him head off down Knockturn Alley."
Harry looked down and sighed.
"This is what I wanted to speak to you about. Well, Ron going down Knockturn Alley, I mean."
The twins nodded seriously.
"Ron told me he was going down there at lunchtimes. He said it was much cheaper to buy food down there."
"That's true," said Fred, "but the difference isn't that great. Most of the shops around here do discounts for people working in the street. We certainly do here."
"I've become a little concerned about Ron," admitted Harry. "He, er, showed me a new hex he'd learned and it was pretty dark stuff. I'm worried about the influence people he is coming into contact with may be having on him."
Fred and George put on identical expressions of surprise.
"Harry, we thought you were sending him down there!"
"No, I had no idea until Ron told me."
"He led us to believe that he was keeping an eye out for activity down there on your behalf. He said that after we had a go at him for spending so much time out on his lunch break. After that we just let him get on with it."
"Do either of you spend much time down there?"
"Us? No, not at all. The traders down there don't exactly give us the trade discounts we've come to expect. Besides, there are better people we'd rather deal with."
"Anyway," said Harry. "Getting back to Ron. I know he hasn't been too happy working here just lately. He feels left out of things."
"Well, we can't deny that," admitted George. "We've been very reluctant to give Ron access to some of our more sensitive areas of endeavour."
"You don't trust him?"
"It isn't really that we don't trust him."
"No, it's more like we don't trust him not to mention something in passing to someone who might later decide to break in and take our stock."
"Is that likely?"
"We've had two attempted break-ins so far, and both since Ron has begun spending half the day down Knockturn Alley."
"That could just be coincidence, you know?" said Harry.
"Yes, that's what we hope, anyway."
"How about giving Ron a bit more responsibility?" suggested Harry. "Make him feel he's valued. Trust him."
Neither Fred nor George answered at once.
"Have you listened to Ron lately, Harry?" asked George carefully.
"Sorry? Of course I've listened to him."
"He hasn't said anything you found, shall we say, unpalatable?" asked Fred.
"No, of course he hasn't. What are you talking about?"
"He's let slip a couple of things, that's all."
Harry frowned, wondering what on earth Ron could have said to offend them. He also wondered what the twins did to provoke Ron in the first place.
Looking like he was going to regret it, George said, "Okay, Harry. You win. We'll have a think about what we can get Ron to do."
"Thanks," said Harry with relief.
*
Fred, George and Harry returned to the Burrow early that evening using the Floo Network, having spent rather longer than they anticipated finding a suitable bouquet of flowers for Mrs Weasley.
Her sons had explained their dilemma to Harry at some length as they looked.
If the flower arrangement was too elaborate, she would immediately become suspicious that they were up to something. If their selection was too meagre, she would spend the evening trying not to mention this but actually doing precisely the opposite. Since the twins were actually up to several somethings, they were very keen on keeping their mother entirely happy.
George had been quite incredulous when Harry just asked for a small selection for Hermione, not caring that much what he was buying or how much he paid.
After making sure that they had at least two more flower stems than Harry, they proceed home.
They found Hermione chatting happily to Mr and Mrs Weasley in the kitchen as around them the evening meal prepared itself.
Harry found himself totally transfixed at the sight of Hermione and only vaguely registered Mrs Weasley tugging the bouquet of flowers out of his hand having assumed that he had brought her flowers like the twins had.
"Oh, thank you Harry Dear," said Mrs Weasley hugging him. "You really shouldn't have."
Over Mrs Weasley's shoulder, Harry smiled seeing Hermione grinning at his predicament.
Mrs Weasley released him and Harry looked down into her watery eyes and said, "I hope you like them. I'm afraid they aren't as nice as Fred and George's. They insisted on buying all of the best flowers in the shop."
Mrs Weasley sniffed and moved swiftly back to hug her twin sons for a second time.
"Yes, okay Mum," said an exasperated Fred.
Harry turned back to Hermione who was now standing close to him. She reached up and kissed him lightly on his cheek, whispering, "Thank you, Harry. It was a lovely thought."
He smiled and gently stroked his hand down her arm in search of her hand. Amongst the delicious cooking smells Harry caught the cool scent of Hermione's lavender perfume.
Their fingers touched for barely an instant before Mr Weasley interrupted them saying, "Drink?"
They each took a wine glass and thanked him, although Harry wasn't at all keen on the moment being broken. He had missed Hermione more than he could say.
He was about to suggest they make any excuse and leave when the fireplace flared up again.
Ron stepped out into the room looking like he was in a thoroughly bad mood.
Angrily brushing himself down, Ron looked darkly at Fred and George. Perhaps sensing trouble, Hermione left Harry's side and went around the table to greet Ron.
This immediately had the desired effect. As keen as he was to have a shouting match with the twins, Ron also knew that this would only upset Hermione.
"Hello Hermione. Welcome back."
"Thanks, Ron. I only arrived a few minutes ago."
"I suppose I should be glad I got back at all," complained Ron quietly.
"What's the matter Ron?" asked Fred in an amused tone.
"You know very well, Fred," answered Ron firmly. "That old cow-"
"Customer, Ron," chided George from across the room.
"That old customer," repeated Ron, "said you told her that I would demonstrate the Ioco she bought for her nephews."
"Absolutely!" said Fred. "Adding value to our service is what keeps the customers coming back."
"First off she wouldn't let me go until I'd shown her how to do it. It took ages. Then she complained about the state of her living room."
"You demonstrated the Ioco indoors?" asked Fred laughing loudly.
"She wouldn't come outside; she insisted it was too cold!"
"Oh well, at least you were covered for breakage by our waiver that she signed," said George.
"Yes, I explained about that before I started," said Ron. "Unfortunately she didn't quite see the funny side after her windows were blown out and the ceilings came down."
George tried to say something but he was laughing too much.
"It got quite bad after that," added Ron to Harry and Hermione who were alone in not laughing at Ron.
"What happened then?" asked Hermione with concern.
"Well, then her two nephews came home from school. Those perishers knew exactly how to use the Ioco and used it against me. She told them to keep firing it at me until I agreed to clean everything up."
"What did you do?" asked Harry.
"I dealt with them," said Ron darkly, taking a sip of wine.
"Ron, dear, come and help lay the table," said Mrs Weasley who hadn't been listening.
"Yeah, okay, Mum."
"I'll help," volunteered Hermione at once.
"Oh, thank you dears," said Mrs Weasley as she returned to the stove. "I had a lovely letter from Ginny today too. You must remind me to show you after dinner."
Harry went over to the still giggling twins and said, "I think you should ease up on Ron, okay?"
"Alright, Harry."
"He doesn't make it easy, though, does he?"
*
All though dinner Hermione kept up a constant stream of encouraging remarks to Ron whilst giving mild rebukes to Fred and George. She had even sat between them in the hope that their sniping would subside a little.
Although Harry enjoyed the meal, he was rather resentful that he didn't have Hermione to himself that evening.
Sat between Mr and Mrs Weasley, he had to content himself with the exchange of fleeting smiles from across the table.