"Argh," Harry groaned as he again found himself flat on his back, the quarterstaff lying useless beside him. They had been practicing for about two days straight with weaponry but Harry was still struggling. He found it hard to attack while also keeping up a good defence. Mr. Davis had been pushing him and would shout advice while in the middle of one of their intense battles which usually ended up with Harry making a mistake. Hermione, who had been delighted to find she was allowed free access to all the books in the closed off library, was now sitting at the study table deeply consumed in a gigantic book. At first she could barely watch the two wizards training, but after Harry got a few nasty hits she seemed to come to the conclusion that that would be the worst he would receive and was now gladly able to continue with her research into dark creatures and other aspects of magic she would not be taught at Hogwarts.
She had also read most of the text books that they would use for their second year at Hogwarts. Harry still found it quite tiresome to listen to stories that revolved around Gilderoy Lockhart. Hermione had read and memorised every word he had supposedly written. She was enthralled by his charms as Davis had once put it, earning a very harsh glare from her. Harry smiled at the fond memory. Even though his life didn't look positively appealing he had to admit that for now he was enjoying himself. Especially now Hermione was involved. He was very grateful to Mr. Davis for allowing her to remain with them while they trained and also for involving her in their research. But he couldn't get rid of the nagging feeling in the back of his mind which kept him wondering what would be the consequence of that decision. How much danger would she face now that she was included?
"Focus Harry. It is only your mind that is stopping you. You must overcome it," Davis encouraged. Sighing Harry lifted himself up off the ground. He retrieved his quarterstaff and positioned himself correctly. The battle started again, the clicking as the wood made contact sounding ominously throughout the room. Then Davis using his staff and seeing an opening, hit Harry squarely on the jaw sending Harry twirling and with a smack landed stomach down on the marble floor. "Oof," exclaimed Harry as he felt the wind knocked out of him. Without hesitation he jumped back onto his feet and started attacking Davis, this time with increased ferocity.
Davis found himself stepping backward to avoid Harry's blows. He nearly had him cornered when Davis kicked a wooden chair, which collided with Harry's legs, and sent him crashing to the ground. "Hey!" Harry yelled. Davis smiled deviously. "Another significant matter to remember, always know your surroundings so you can use them to your advantage."
With a wide sweep of his legs, Harry took Davis off his feet. Then jumping up with incredible speed, he grabbed his quarterstaff and had it pointed under Davis's chin. With one thrust he could have killed Davis. "Never let your guard down," Harry said simply.
As Davis returned to his office to freshen up, Harry took a seat beside Hermione. She was now reading The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Two and looked up when she noticed his tired demeanour. "You should go lie down. I mean you've been through a lot, especially these last two days," she advised.
"No, I'm alright. I should start getting used to it. I mean once classes start I'll have to deal with both homework and training."
"I'll help you. Don't forget that," she said earnestly.
Harry grinned and nodded his head in agreement. "So…anything interesting in the new books?"
"Well we'll obviously be stepping it up in Charms this year. We did nothing last year compared to what we will be doing. Obviously last year we had a lot of theory, this year there'll be more but we already know the basics."
Mr. Davis strode over to their table casually throwing his tweed jacket on. "As you know, tomorrow is your last day of the holidays. I think it best that you go to Platform Nine and Three Quarters and get the Hogwarts Express. This way there will be no suspicious questions about your being here. I have arranged for you to stay with a family and travel with them to Kings Cross. I think you know them. The Weasleys?"
"Er…yeah. Ron helped us get the Philosophers Stone last year," said Harry.
"Well I fought alongside his uncles against the Death Eaters during the first war that's how I know his mother. The father is quite a character. Loves anything to do with muggles. Anyway they don't mind at all taking care of you."
"So when are we going?" asked Hermione keenly. She didn't get on with Ron at the best of times but Harry knew she would be enthusiastic to see a wizards home.
"Well…uh you'll be arriving there sometime in the afternoon tomorrow. Stay the night and then I'll see you bright and early on the Wednesday morning, first day of term."
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The next day, Harry and Hermione were to be found waiting patiently in Professor Dumbledore's office. It was just going on one o'clock and the sun was shining brilliantly in the clear blue sky. Mr. Davis arrived pushing his glasses back up onto the bridge of his nose. With some trepidation Hermione stepped through into the chimney. Harry followed and Mr. Davis came last. Harry found himself in an oddly packed living room that led into a rectangular kitchen. The place seemed to be overflowing with objects that had been packed into every nook and cranny of the house. This is a real house, Harry thought. The white surgical Privet Drive always seemed so empty but this house was filled with character. All the different coloured objects seemed to give the house a vibrant atmosphere.
Turning Harry spotted Ron with a sheepish grin standing beside the two older Weasley twins, the infamous Fred and George. Taking a step forward he shook Harry's hand in a very manly way. "Hey mate. Welcome to the Burrow." Harry laughed at his welcoming. "Thanks for having us."
Fred sidestepped Harry and offered Hermione his arm. "Come Ms. Granger," he said politely. "Welcome to our humble abode. Let me show you your way."
George and Ron burst out laughing and Harry couldn't suppress a smile. Hermione seemed to be contemplating laughing or snapping at him. With a last look at Harry she started laughing. Mr. Davis was talking animatedly with Mrs. Weasley. She was a short plump woman, with a kind face and there was a very motherly look about her. She was wearing a flowered apron and had obviously just been cooking the dinner as she sported a green tea towel in her hand along with a wooden ladle. Her brow was knitted with concentration as she listened to Mr. Davis but then her eyes found Harry and her expression softened. "Harry dear. How are you?" she said considerately. "Fine," answered Harry.
"And this must be Hermione. How are you darling?'
"Great," replied Hermione. Fred wrapped his arm around Hermione's and nearly dragged her up the stairs. "Come on Ron," he shouted down the stairs. "Let's show them the house!"
Ron just shrugged his shoulders and followed them up the staircase. "I need you to de-gnome the garden soon, Ron, Fred and George," Mrs. Weasley yelled after them. The three boys sighed tiredly. The staircase they were climbing seemed to become narrower until they came to the first landing.. "Bathroom," said Fred pointing at a bright blue door. They continued up the more stairs and passed another floor. When they reached the third floor they stopped again.
"Ginny's, where you will be staying my dear," George said indicating a pink door.
"Percy the prat's place," said Fred, with a nod at a red door.
They continued on up a spiral staircase to the next landing. This landing seemed to have more windows as it was much brighter. "The Masters Dwelling," Fred and George announced proudly. "You can't enter though. It is forbidden," Fred whispered dramatically.
"We conduct tests and some experiments that may be considered…harmful. So it's best to keep strangers, or those not accustomed to our room, out of it," finished George. Suddenly there was a loud popping noise and Fred immediately let go of Hermione and rushed into the room which was the source of the noise. Hermione took a step back towards Harry, obviously fearful of the twin's doings.
"It's alright. Everything is in order," said Fred brightly as he returned shutting the door tightly behind him.
After pointing out their parent's room they turned to climb the stair until Ron stopped them. "Oh this is Ginny. She's going to Hogwarts this year," he said indicating the staircase they had just ascended. Ginny looked slightly dazed as she stopped at the top of the stair. Her Weasley red hair reached down to her shoulders and was slightly covering her face but Harry noticed the bright brown eyes staring fixedly at him.
"Hi," Harry and Hermione both acknowledged.
They continued up two more flight of stairs, Ginny following as if in a trance, until they reached a door with peeling paint and a small plaque which read `Ronald's Room'.
As Harry stepped into the room, his head nearly touched the sloping ceiling. They all piled into the room and the twins sat on Ron's bed while Ron sat low down on a small camp bed that had been assembled under the tiny window that looked out over the green English countryside. Hermione stood nervously at the door beside Ginny while Harry stood in the middle of the room, his eyes taking in its contents. The whole room seemed to be covered in a fiery orange. On the bedspread Harry noticed two giant black C's and a speeding cannonball. Looking up at the posters on the wall he noticed they all seemed to have the same seven witches and wizards, all wearing burning orange robes and carrying broomsticks while waving vigorously.
"The Chudley Cannons," Fred sighed rolling his eyes. "Ron's fascinated with them."
"I'm not fascinated. They're my favourite team," Ron stated defensively.
"He even has a Cannon's teddy bear," piped Ginny with a grin. The twins sniggered and by the look on Hermione's face she was trying desperately not to laugh. Ron cheeks went pink but he quickly retorted. "You like them too. Anyway I got that teddy bear from dad ages ago. I was only about six years old."
They sat for awhile talking about their summers. Harry of course saying nothing but listening to the Weasleys talking about their trip to the South of England while Hermione gave an account of her holiday in Germany. Harry felt increasingly uncomfortable while under Ginny's stare which for some odd reason seemed to thoroughly annoy Hermione. The only time she wasn't gazing at Harry was when she had something to say about their holiday or when they ended up on the topic of Hogwarts she immediately started firing off questions which the group answered together.
Soon they heard a call from downstairs and Fred stood up. "Come on, we'd better start the de-gnoming so we can get it done before dinner." They filed down the stairs, and Harry was a bit disappointed to see Mr. Davis had already gone. After filing through the kitchen they reached the yard. Only then did Harry get a good look at the house. It looked as though it had once been a pigsty, the lower floors were built of solid grey stone, but extra rooms had been added here and there until it was several storeys high and so crooked it looked as though it was held up by… "Magic," whispered Hermione.
Chickens were bustling around the yard in small groups, pecking at the ground. Round the front door lay a collection of muddy Wellington boots and a very rusty red cauldron. "Do you need any help? I can read up on tips to de-gnoming the garden. Gilderoy Lockhart is really superb when it comes to household pests," came Mrs. Weasleys voice from the door. "Oh…do you like him Mrs. Weasley. I think he is just wonderful," said Hermione walking back into the kitchen to talk to her and earning a furtive scowl from Harry.
Turning his attention to the garden Harry took in its natural beauty. It didn't look exceptionally wonderful but Harry couldn't help but feel that the weeds, the overgrown grass and the gnarled tree brought out the innate splendour. Harry's attention turned to a sprawled green bush which was rustling with activity. He approached it curiously. Suddenly a small leathery figure traipsed out of the sea of green, startling Harry who immediately took a step backward. The figure was undoubtedly a gnome, its tiny eyes in its small head were glancing suspiciously around the garden and it failed to look ahead, walking directly into Harry. It fell onto the thick blades of grass with a soft plump. Harry crouched but immediately regretted doing so as the gnome instantly attacked him, gnawing at his jeans.
Harry started kicking his leg trying to rid it of the fiery of the gnome. Ron scrambled over and picked up the gnome, getting a good grip around its ankles. Holding the gnome high in the air, he spun around and released it, so that it went soaring into the next field. "You have to make them really dizzy so they get lost and can't find their gnome-holes again."
Fred and George were quite a bit stronger than Ron was, and their gnomes rocketed higher into the air, nearly sending them thirty feet into the next field. The gnomes kept coming out of their hiding places, curious to the events occurring and oblivious to the position they were in. Each time they scrambled out from safety, they would be picked up and thrown next to their comrades. Hermione and Ginny sat on the step leading to the kitchen, watching the boys at work, unfazed by the obvious signs of tiredness. Harry, who had built his stamina since beginning training, wasn't deterring but the others were constantly wiping perspiration from their foreheads.
When the final one had been thrown, a whopping fifty feet by Harry, the gnomes walked away in a straggling line, shoulders slumped and heads bowed, defeated in the battle for their territory.
"Dinner should be ready soon," said Fred, examining his watch.
"Yeah, Dad will be back soon," grinned Ron pulling off his jumper trying to cool down. "Wow, Harry. You didn't even break a sweat!" he exclaimed when he saw Harry standing beside Hermione at the doorstep.
Harry gave Hermione a nervous glance then explained "Quidditch."
"Yeah, Wood's sessions can be bloody exhausting sometimes. I suppose being seeker requires a certain physical strength than just being thin and small," George said pensively.
Before Harry could even think of someway to change the subject, the sound of a man's voice came from the kitchen. "Come on boys…dinner!'
"Dad's home," Ron said bounding through the door. The rest followed, Harry and Hermione staying shyly at the back. Mr. Weasley was slumped in a kitchen chair with his glasses off and his eyes closed. The table was now full of food, potatoes, roast beef and gravy seemed to be the main course. "Ah," said Mr. Weasley standing up and grabbing Harry's hand. "This must be Harry Potter. Ron's told us all about you." Standing up, Harry noticed he was a thin man, going bald, but the little hair he had was as red as any of his children's. He was wearing long green robes which were dusty and travel worn.
"And this must be Hermione," he said wringing her hand also. When introductions had finished they all sat down at the table and started scooping food onto their plates. Mr. Weasley was telling them about his troublesome day at work. Harry and Hermione already knew about his work at the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office. Ron had explained the occupation last year. When they had finished their meal Harry turned to Hermione to see her engrossed in a conversation with Mr. Weasley about rubber ducks and their functions. Ron, Ginny, Fred and George were talking feverishly about Quidditch while Mrs. Weasley was complaining to Percy about their decrepit owl Errol. Harry soon became involved in the rubber duck conversation.
It had soon grown dark outside and from the kitchen Harry spotted the bright stars shining through the black abyss. "Bedtime," said Mrs. Weasley with a tone of finality.
They made their way upstairs and Ginny dragged Hermione in to show her where she would be sleeping. After Fred and George bade them goodnight they ascended the last flight of stairs. Ron shifted some books and comics to give them more room to manoeuvre in. After getting changed Ron jumped straight under his duvet while Harry held up his toothbrush in a questioning manner. "There's toothpaste in the white cabinet in the bathroom," Ron said.
Harry crept down the stairs and when he reached the bathroom noticed the sliver of light coming from the door which was slightly ajar. The door opened suddenly and Hermione was standing in a purple nightdress with a toothbrush in her hand. "I can't find the toothpaste," she whispered anxiously.
Harry chuckled and walked past her to the white cabinet. "Voila," he laughed holding it out to her. "So are you okay?" he asked seriously after a moment.
Hermione nodded her head. "Yeah, they are such a nice family."
"What about Ginny? You don't mind staying with her?"
"No, she's really lovely. She's actually not that quiet. She's fine, once she's not around you," she finished with a slight hint of bitterness that only Harry would catch.
"She's fallen for the hero thing," said Harry regretfully. "Well I'm sure she'll grow out of it. I mean it's not like I'm the Chosen One or anything," he joked.
"Hush," giggled Hermione shutting the door so no one would hear. When they had finished using the toothpaste Harry replaced it the cabinet. "Well goodnight," Hermione whispered, standing outside Ginny's bedroom door. "Yeah…sleep tight," grinned Harry. She hugged him briefly before stepping through into the room and out of sight. Harry waited a moment before climbing the stairs to Ron's room. He could already hear Ron snoring loudly when he reached the room. Stepping carefully through the darkness he found his low camp bed and was soon wrapped in the warm covers. He gazed at the stars for a while before sleep overcame him and he drifted into his dreams.
End Chapter
Sorry about the wait. Back to school now so more pressure. Thanks for reading and I hoped you liked it.
Please review.
Take care,
Radagast
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