Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J. K. Rowling, not me.
Dumbledore Answers Harry - Chapter 29 - The Summer of Hell
The next morning, Harry arrived in the Gryffindor common room in a very good mood. After he'd explained how exhilarated he'd felt after acing the Defense O.W.L., Hermione had pulled him into a broom closet to show him how happy she was with him, leaving Ginny to find Neville and snog him.
He found Hermione was already waiting for him, and decided to be more charming than usual, in hopes of getting another session with her in a broom closet. Besides, he really did think she was wonderful, and thought that it was only right to let her know that he did every now and then. She walked up and gave him a quick kiss. "Good morning."
He grinned at her. "It is now."
She blushed slightly. "Ginny and Neville have already left for breakfast. You've overslept a bit."
"Well," Harry said, "I had a hard time going to sleep. I kept thinking about how beautiful your smile was yesterday after the test."
"Sure you were," she said, though her ears were pink.
"Obviously, you don't know how beautiful your smile is," he said confidently. Then, sounding a bit nervous while blushing slightly, he added, "When you're smiling, it's like your whole face starts to glow, and your eyes sparkle even brighter than usual…"
"Are you trying to get another kiss," she asked as her whole face turned red.
"No. I'm just telling the truth. Last night I was thinking about how exceptionally beautiful you are."
"And did those thoughts turn into…dreams?" she asked suggestively. She then winked, causing his face to turn Gryffindor red as he began to study his shoes closely.
She laughed as he managed to say, "I, er, will never confirm nor deny that allegation."
"Come on. We've got to hurry if we want to make breakfast." She grabbed his hand as she continued to laugh at his embarrassment.
-
When they reached the Great Hall, they saw that most of the students were almost finished with the meal, but were still sitting down. They found Ron, Ginny and Neville sitting in the middle of Gryffindor table and joined them. Harry looked at both of their frowning faces and asked, "What's wrong?"
The couple exchanged a look, and Ginny turned to Harry and Hermione, speaking in a low voice, "Last night at about nine o'clock, Lavender wanted to talk to Professor Lupin about her grade. She went to his office and opened the door…"
"But it was a full moon," interjected Hermione with a concerned expression on her face. "Lavender wasn't in her bed last night. Was she…hurt?"
"No," said Ginny. "He forgot to lock his office, so when she opened the door, she saw him as a werewolf curled up. He'd taken wolfsbane, so he didn't attack or anything, but she ran out of there screaming, trying to find another teacher. She spent the night in the hospital wing with a dreamless sleep potion, but as soon as she got here, she started telling everyone about it, including that Dumbledore asked her not to tell."
"What?" asked Harry, shocked. "She's telling even though Dumbledore asked her not to."
"She never could keep a secret," commented Hermione angrily.
"Well, what do you expect?" asked Ron defensively. "How would you expect someone to react when they see a werewolf? She didn't know he was on wolfsbane."
"Sounds like you fancy her, Ron," said Ginny with a smirk.
"Lupin's not here," said Harry, looking toward the staff table.
"Yeah," said Neville sadly, "He's resigned."
"What!?" exclaimed Harry.
"He has to," said Hermione. "Most parents won't want a werewolf teaching their children."
"They didn't mind a Death Eater doing it until Snape got sacked, did they?" hissed Harry.
"I doubt that people knew he was one," said Hermione, "Except for the other Death Eaters' children."
"And they were happy he was here," said Harry angrily. "They probably got a good laugh at Dumbledore for keeping him here every time he blatantly favored them."
"I suppose even Professor Dumbledore can make mistakes."
"I know," said Harry, sighing. "He was just trying to give Snape a second chance, but I wouldn't have bothered with that…"
"Harry," interrupted Hermione.
"Person," said Harry with a grin. "I was going to say person."
"Naturally," she said, not looking at all convinced.
"Anyway," said Harry, "hopefully Moony will come to Potter Manor this summer."
-
On the afternoon before they were to leave on the Hogwarts Express, Harry found himself reaching out his hand to knock on Dumbledore's office door. He'd received a note from him at breakfast requesting a meeting.
"Come in, Harry," said Albus, as the door opened of its own accord.
Harry walked in, and was surprised to find that the usual twinkle in the Headmaster's eye wasn't there. "Good afternoon, sir."
"Good afternoon. Sit down."
Harry complied. "You wanted to see me?"
The headmaster folded his hands on the desk and sighed. "Yes. I've had a rather interesting conversation with your Uncle. He claims that you impersonated him and bullied your cousin, Dudley, last summer."
Harry swallowed as the room's temperature seemed to rise. He felt beads of sweat begin to form on his forehead. "Really?" he managed as he unconsciously lowered himself a bit on his chair.
"He therefore told me that you were no longer welcome in his home."
Despite how uncomfortable he was feeling, Harry had to stop himself from grinning. "Oh. I won't be returning?"
"I managed to come up with an arrangement that will allow you to return, and I'll explain it later. Right now, I want to know if it's true. Did you bully your cousin?"
The thought of lying to the professor didn't occur to Harry as he felt himself slide further down the chair, trying to avoid those penetrating blue eyes that seemed to see straight to your soul. His collar was feeling awfully tight around his neck. Harry knew he had to answer. He cleared his throat and swallowed again. "Yeah," he whispered.
"Pardon? At my age, I believe my hearing may be diminishing. What did you say?"
"Yes, sir," Harry repeated in a normal tone of voice.
"Are you aware that such behavior toward muggles is not only unethical, but illegal, regardless of your age?"
Harry put his head down. "Y-yes, sir."
"And that such behavior earns a expulsion from Hogwarts and up to a six-month residency in Azkaban?"
Harry swallowed again. He didn't know what to say.
"Fortunately, the Dursleys haven't pressed charges against you, but I must impress upon you the seriousness of your bit of fun. That sort of behavior causes muggles to fear us, and is one of the reasons we have to stay hidden from the muggle world."
Harry released the breath he didn't know he was holding. At least he wasn't going to jail. Dumbledore continued, looking a bit more sympathetic as he put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "I understand that they have done far worse than that to you, and it is only natural to seek revenge, but you must not give in to that impulse."
"Yes, sir. I'm sorry." Harry's curiosity got the better of him, and before he knew it, he blurted out, "How did they find out?"
Albus slightly grinned. "A few days after you left last year, Mr. Dursley walked out into the lawn while Dudley was mowing it, and the boy immediately started crying, saying he'd work faster if he wouldn't beat him. This, naturally, led Mr. and Mrs. Dursley to question the boy, and they came to the conclusion that you had impersonated your uncle."
"Er, yeah I did."
"May I ask how?" asked the headmaster, and Harry could see that he was genuinely curious. "As far as I know, you have only learned how to perform glamour charms to change your hair, eye, and skin color - not your size."
Harry knew that his one ability that he kept secret from the Headmaster was about to be revealed. He decided to do it with style. He closed his eyes in concentration and grew his neck and arms longer while changing his face to look like Tonks (with electric-blue hair) and said, "Don't tell anyone else, but I'm a Metamorphmagus. I found out last summer."
Harry saw the twinkle return to the old man's eyes as he smiled widely. "That's quite remarkable," he said, as though commenting on the weather.
"Thank you," said Harry. "Only a few people, like Tonks, who's helped me with that, know about it, and they're all under orders not to discuss it. I want that to be a surprise if I use it against Riddle."
"That's a very wise decision. I won't discuss that with anybody, either. Now," said Dumbledore, "we must discuss your living arrangements on Privet Drive for the first two weeks of summer. The Dursleys have been paid to allow you to stay in your room for fifteen days, during which time you will not be allowed to leave it. I have sealed the door so that they will be unable to disturb you, as well as placed a silencing charm so that no sound will pass between your room and the rest of the house."
While Harry had no objection to not having contact with the Dursleys, there were certain…necessities of life that required that he leave the room at least a few times every day. "Then how will I…er?"
"Your trunk will be in that room, and you will be staying in your trunk, which I believe contains a fully furnished apartment. Your house elf, Dobby, will be able to bring you meals."
"Oh," said Harry dumbly. "How did you know about that?"
His eyes twinkling madly, the headmaster replied mysteriously, "There are very few magical items that can be brought into this school without my knowledge."
"Wow," said Harry, genuinely impressed.
"Now, the Dursleys have also stipulated that they don't wish to see you at all, which means that they won't pick you up from Kings Cross station. I therefore have concluded that it would be best for all concerned if you simply leave directly from Hogwarts to your room, instead of taking the Express." He handed Harry an empty tootsie roll wrapper. "This portkey will take you directly to your room at precisely eight a.m. tomorrow morning. If you've no objection, I'll let Sirius know."
"Er, no," said Harry, taking the wrapper from Dumbledore's hand and stuffing it in his pocket. "I'll, er, just have to say goodbye to everyone tonight."
"Very well," the aged professor said. "Another matter that I believe will interest you is that I have reviewed my memory of our adventure in the Chamber of Secrets."
Harry's eyes widened. "Really? Why?"
"Something was bothering me - a detail that I couldn't get out of my head. I'd distinctly heard a scream down there that didn't belong to the basilisk."
"A scream?" Harry repeated. "How could you hear anything but the rooster?"
Albus smiled. "Perhaps, on occasion, my hearing is better than other times. I have determined that the scream occurred when you killed the smaller snake."
Harry looked at his mentor in confusion. "The snake that bit me? How? Snakes don't scream."
"But Horcruxes do, when destroyed," answered Dumbledore. "It is my belief that Voldemort's snake was a Horcrux, which reduces the number that we must search for to two. If you wish, you may review the memory and make your own conclusion."
"Okay, as long as you don't make me watch you cut the basilisk into pieces."
-
Dark curtains were covering the smallest bedroom at number four Privet Drive. A stack of broken toys from years before was lying in one corner. An old dresser, desk and bed were also present. Unlike the rest of this tidy house, this room was covered in dust, as though no one had stepped inside it for almost a year - which was almost true. A few days before, when the house's occupants found out that their nephew would be arriving magically, Petunia had hastily put proper curtains in place to make sure no one would see the freak arrive.
Suddenly the air was disturbed as a teenage boy appeared from out of nowhere. He was still holding onto a small piece of trash as he tumbled to the ground. Getting up, he muttered, "I hate portkeys," and did something very strange. He pulled out his black wallet and placed it on the floor, saying, "Expand," just before releasing it.
The wallet grew and reshaped itself within seconds into a large, black trunk. Harry opened the trunk to the sixth compartment, where he found a large staircase, and walked down into it, closing the lid behind him and setting the security features so that no one could disturb him. He said, "Hello," to Hedwig, who was on a perch in the living room, before picking up one of his schoolbooks and sitting on a burgundy recliner. It was going to be a long, boring, two weeks. 'Still,' thought Harry, 'It's better than actually seeing the Dursleys.'
-
It was indeed a tedious and dull two weeks for Harry, with his only visitor being Dobby at mealtimes, when Harry insisted they dine together. Dobby also acted as mail carrier, since owls couldn't come or go from Harry's trunk, and he avoided leaving it as much as possible, with the exception of letting Hedwig out his bedroom window every night, and back inside at precisely eight a.m. Through letters from Ginny and Ron, Harry found out that Percy had gotten a position at the Ministry of Magic, and was writing reports about cauldron bottom thickness. He'd also complained that he'd have gotten five Galleons more per hour if he'd been Head Boy, and still blamed Harry for that. Within a week and a half, Harry had gotten through all his summer homework. It still amazed him how much school work he could get done if he weren't bothered with a million chores. He kept up his exercise, making sure he wouldn't lose his edge over Voldemort - the gasping ghoul. Although it was difficult without a partner, he practiced his defensive (and offensive) spells as much as possible on a dueling dummy. He was very happy when the two weeks were over.
The trunk opened up, and Harry walked up the steps and into his room. The previous night, he'd told Hedwig to fly to Potter Manor instead of back to Privet Drive when she was done hunting. He closed the trunk and grabbed the handle, saying, "Shrink," and quickly stuffed his wallet/trunk into his back pocket. He then used the portkey hanging around his neck by saying, "Activate Potter Manor."
-
"Harry, you're here!" exclaimed a bushy-haired girl before enveloping her boyfriend in a back-breaking hug before he had time to fall. "I've missed you so much."
He returned the hug happily. "I missed you, too." He then pulled back a bit so he could see her face, and gave what he'd intended to be a quick kiss. The moment their lips met, however, he forgot what a quick kiss was. They hungrily began devouring each other's mouths until they were interrupted by someone clearing his throat, causing them to pull apart and blush as they realized they had an audience.
Sirius Black was standing between Angela Harper (holding her hand) and Remus Lupin. Tonks was on the other side of Moony. Ginny was there with Neville, Ron, Fred, George and Mrs. Weasley. They were all smiling brightly at the reunited couple. Padfoot said, "I was afraid you'd forgotten how to separate."
Surprising himself with his boldness, Harry answered with a smirk, "You'd forget that too if you were kissing Hermione."
She slapped his arm lightly as her face reddened even more than before. "Harry!" she said as she hid her face. Sirius wolf-whistled while the others laughed.
"Maybe she's taken lessons from my fiancé," suggested Padfoot while wagging his eyebrows, causing Angela to blush slightly. "Anyway, I thought we'd have a bit of a get-together, to celebrate your return home."
At that moment, Molly Weasley couldn't hold back anymore and engulfed Harry in a tight hug, followed by Ginny. Within minutes, the group was outside beginning a pick-up game of Quidditch with five on five, and Molly acting as referee, "To make sure you lot don't kill yourselves."
The team captains were Sirius and Remus, and the teams they picked had three Chasers (Sirius, Harry and Angela vs. Ginny, Hermione and Tonks), a Keeper (Ron vs. Remus) and a Beater (Fred vs. George) respectively. They decided to play to two hundred points.
Angela immediately began showing that she hadn't forgotten anything from her days as a professional Chaser as she got the Quaffle first and made a goal before Lupin knew what was happening. Ginny, however, gave her a run for her money and it soon became a competition of youth versus experience. Harry was impressed that Remus seemed to be as good a Keeper as Ron. The first couple times Harry got the Quaffle, Moony stopped him from making a goal, so he started simply passing it to Angela or Sirius (who wasn't that bad, either, but had nothing on his fiancé). Harry got upset when Tonks grew out her arm to intercept a pass, knowing that he didn't want to reveal his own similar powers, so he called her a cheater. Molly didn't give her a penalty, but asked her not to do that again. In the end, due to Angela's superior skill, Sirius and Harry's team won, but only by twenty points.
They were having lunch outside under the pavilion near the swimming pool, when suddenly Hermione let out a small scream. Instantly, everyone was standing up with their wands pointed in the direction Hermione was indicating. There, relentlessly coming toward the group, were five handsome tawny owls, each of which was carrying a large square envelope.
In a terrified whisper, Hermione said, "One for each of us that took O.W.L.s."
Harry let out a sigh of relief before turning to his girlfriend. "I thought the Death Eaters were attacking the way you screamed."
She had the decency to blush and mutter, "Sorry." The Ministry owls flew to Fred, George, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny, respectively.
Hermione's hands were literally trembling as she held her envelope. "If you messed up, you can always take that O.W.L. again with the rest of us in two years," said Ron, earning a glare from Harry and Ginny. Hermione's face was pale, and it appeared that she believed that's what would happen.
"Only one way to find out," said Harry as he opened his package with fumbling fingers. He read it over three times before breaking out into a wide grin. "I got an O! It says that I got the best defense score in ninety-seven years."
"Wow. That would be when Professor Dumbledore took his O.W.L.s," said Hermione, earning curious glances all around. "I read about him in Which Wizard - Who's Who in the Wizarding World."
"So, what did you get?" asked Harry, noticing that she hadn't opened her envelope yet.
While Hermione was fumbling with her envelope, Ginny said, "I got an E," with a slightly disappointed look on her face, "It also says I'm the youngest person ever to get a Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L."
"That's wonderful!" said Mrs. Weasley proudly, as she hugged her only daughter. She then said, "Fred, George, what did you get?" when she noticed them trying to stuff their letters into their pockets. "Accio!" she said, causing the envelopes to come straight into her hands. She looked each of them over as her face took on a look of disappointment and finally anger. "Three O.W.L.s each?! JUST WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING AT HOGWARTS ALL THIS TIME?"
"But they're good subjects," said Fred defensively, "and we got O's in all three."
"Potions, Transfiguration and Charms are difficult," said Fred.
"And we should've gotten Exceeds Expectations just for showing up for the rest," added George.
"SHOWING UP!? SHOWING UP!?" Mrs. Weasley took a deep breath, obviously trying to control her temper as her face got redder and redder. "As glad as I am you aced three exams, I would've expected that you'd have gotten at LEAST FOUR MORE O.W.L.s EACH! GINNY'S ALREADY GOTTEN ONE, AND SHE'S JUST ABOUT TO START HER THIRD YEAR! T's IN EVERYTHING ELSE! IT'S AS IF YOU PURPOSELY FAILED THE EXAMS! I KNOW YOU'RE SMARTER THAN THAT…" On and on she rambled, chasing after the twins, who were running back to the house.
Harry turned back to Hermione, who was reading her exam results with a slightly disappointed look on her face. "How'd you do?" he asked his girlfriend.
"An O. That's all. No special records or anything. You did better than me."
"You're complaining about getting an O?" asked Ginny with a disgusted look on her face. "I suppose you think I failed and should retake it!"
"Oh, no," said Hermione worriedly. "I didn't mean that. I just, well hoped…"
"…that you'd do the best out of us?" said Harry gently. He then put his hands on her shoulders. "You did very well on the exam, better than most of the fifth-years. You should be proud." He turned to Ginny. "And so should you. I'll bet you did a lot better than most people, and you will go down in history."
"Exactly," said Sirius. "You three did great!"
"I'm impressed with all of you," said Angela.
"I agree," said Lupin. "You all were amazing! I'm proud that I was your Defense teacher, even if I can't continue. The question is whether you'll take the N.E.W.T. classes with the sixth years, or continue independent studies. You could also not bother with that subject until you're sixth-years."
Taking a deep breath, Harry said, "I haven't discussed it with these two yet, but I think I'd prefer independent study. We've done great with that before, and I think we'll get through the material faster that way. I'd like to try for my N.E.W.T. next year."
The girls each nodded their agreement. Harry then asked, "Remus, I know that Professor Flitwick will help us once we get back to Hogwarts, but do you think you could get us started in our Defense N.E.W.T. study now?"
The werewolf smiled brightly. "I'd love to."
-
The summer passed quickly after that, with Harry, Hermione and Ginny spending their mornings training in Potter Manor. At least once per week, Neville and/or Ron would come by to practice dueling with them, but neither was trying to learn all the N.E.W.T. material early. Hermione had insisted that she inspect the homework Harry had done while in his confinement at Privet Drive, and was very pleased with his results. In other words, she didn't have to make that many corrections.
Like in the summer after their first year, Hermione's family went on their holiday to a place that had floo access so she could continue her studies every morning. When Harry's birthday came, she spent the whole day at Potter Manor, until the party ended at around ten p.m. Their regular Hogwarts letters arrived that day, but they decided not to go to Diagon Alley until after Hermione's family returned, which was the day before Sirius and Angela's wedding.
As that day was too busy with last-minute preparations, they planned on going shopping for school supplies the day after the wedding - the day before Ginny's thirteenth birthday. The Weasleys would be going with Hermione, Harry, Remus, Tonks, and a few other Order members. That was also the day that Angela announced that her boss, Ludo Bagman, had given her seven tickets for the Quidditch World Cup that would be used for her, Sirius, Harry, Remus, and the three Grangers. Arthur Weasley commented that Ludo had given him enough tickets for his family as well. Harry was a bit surprised that England was hosting the event, considering that Voldemort was still at large, but Minister Bones was determined not to let You-Know-Who control their lives. There would be extra security there, but they would go on with their lives - and that included watching Quidditch matches.
-
On Saturday, August 9th, a small group of people, containing many Order members, Angela's family, and other friends, including Hermione's parents, gathered in the huge backyard of Potter Manor. When Harry looked at the decorations, he was glad that Dobby had insisted on handling them himself (with the help of a few Hogwarts elves Dumbledore had lent them). He knew he wouldn't have wanted to do the decorating.
Despite the blessed event, he knew that they were all worried. It had been awhile since Voldemort had done a major attack, and a wedding at Harry Potter's house might seem like a good opportunity. Harry hated how uncomfortable the dress robes he was wearing felt, and wondered if he'd be able to fight in them at all if there were an attack. He did have his wand ready, but hoped he wouldn't need it, especially considering how warded the property was.
Both he and Lupin were wearing matching outfits, since both of them were best men. He was holding Sirius' ring while Remus was holding Angela's. He was relieved that he wouldn't have to speak. As long as he didn't lose the ring, he'd be alright. It was then that he noticed one of the bridesmaids, a beautiful girl dressed in an amber robe, as she approached. Her brunette hair was fixed in a style he'd never seen it in before. He smiled at his girlfriend to silently communicate his approval of her appearance. Catching his expression, Hermione's ears turned a bit pink as she smiled back at him.
During the ceremony, Harry went between paying attention and looking at his girlfriend, and didn't notice a witch in the last isle pull out a mirror, hide it in a handkerchief, and whisper into it. No one else noticed, either, assuming that the woman was simply crying. Harry managed to give Sirius the ring after dropping it on the ground only once, much to the crowd's (and Hermione's) amusement.
After the ceremony, they had dinner under the pavilion, followed by dancing. Harry had paid for the band as a wedding gift. After Sirius and Angela started it out, Harry took his girlfriend onto the dance floor, and was followed by several other couples, including Neville and Ginny. Harry was surprised to see that Ron had brought Lavender Brown as his date, and was amused to see Tonks dancing very closely with Remus. He also noticed that Percy, who'd been invited, wasn't there. Harry (and Hermione) found that he wasn't the most graceful dancer in the world, but he did manage to avoid stepping on her feet - mostly - during the first dance.
Hermione whispered, "Let me teach you how to dance. Calm down and pay attention."
Looking into her eyes and following her instructions, he managed to learn a basic waltz, and had one dance with the bride (while Hermione danced with the groom), another with Ginny (while Hermione danced with Neville) and another with Mrs. Granger (while Hermione danced with her father) before the party was over.
Hermione and her parents were among the last to leave. Sirius and Angela were spending a week at a different Potter property, at Harry's insistence, and had already left. Remus was staying at the house, and was in another room 'speaking' with Tonks.
"That was a very beautiful ceremony," said Mrs. Granger. "I wonder if I'll be watching you and Hermione in a similar…"
"MOTHER!" interrupted a red-faced Hermione while her boyfriend looked away.
Harry managed to clear his expression and say, "Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Granger. It's always good to see you."
"I already told you to call us Adam and Marissa," said Mrs. Granger, "and it was good to see you as well."
"Goodnight, Harry. I'll see you in the morning for class," said Hermione, before kissing him quickly.
"Goodnight."
The three Grangers stepped into the huge fireplace and Hermione threw down some floo powder, clearly saying, "Granger residence," and they disappeared into green flames.
Sighing, Harry turned around to make his way to his bedroom when Tonks and Remus, looking rather disheveled, entered the room, with Tonks tripping on a chair near the door.
"Wotcher, Harry. I've got to get back home. Got work early in the morning."
He smiled at Sirius' cousin. "Goodnight, Tonks."
She walked toward the fireplace, but before she got there, it glowed green as three figures appeared. One of them ran straight up to Harry, who'd drawn his wand in surprise. She flung her arms around him and cried on his shoulder, "Oh, Harry! It was awful! Our house is in ruins!"
The moment Hermione's arms were around him, he recognized his girlfriend. As he was putting his arms around her, he looked at his other guests to see they were her parents.
"We didn't know where else to go," continued Hermione, between sobs.
Adam Granger then spoke. "Harry, when we arrived, the house looked like an explosion had occurred inside it, but the fireplace was still intact. Hermione insisted that the Death Eaters that assumedly did it might be outside waiting for us, so she suggested we return here. I hope you don't mind."
"Of course not," Harry said immediately. He then thought about the bedrooms, realizing that of the five bedrooms, one was his and one was Sirius,' with Lupin using another. "There are two available bedrooms. Hermione can have one and you and Marissa can have another." He thought of another problem. "We can get you some clothes tomorrow."
Before the Grangers could respond, there was a knock at his door. He started walking toward it, but Dobby popped to it faster, opening it to reveal the Weasley family. Arthur, Molly, Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny were there, and looked terrible. There was soot on their clothes, and worse than that, they all looked very sad. In fact, Mrs. Weasley and Ginny were crying.
Arthur walked up to Harry. Trying (and failing miserably) to sound cheerful, he said, "Hello, Harry. It, er, seems that every Order wedding guest had their house, er, destroyed during the ceremony - almost as if somebody told them who was at the wedding." He looked down. "When we got home, we found…"
"P-Percy," sobbed Molly as she put her arms around her husband and sobbed on his shoulder.
"Yes, um, Percy was hurt badly. It looks like he fought them. We found one dead from a Reducto. Percy wasn't hit with the killing curse, though. He's at St. Mungo's now. Er, they don't know if he'll live or die. They know for sure that he's lost his left leg." Harry could see that the Weasley patriarch wanted to cry and was fighting it. "We went to headquarters and found that house is already full of families." He looked down as though it hurt his pride. "I was wondering if you might…"
"Let you stay the night?" asked Harry. "Of course, but it might be a bit crowded. The Grangers' house was destroyed, too. Tomorrow, we'll look at the other houses I have and figure out a more convenient solution. Let's see. Ginny can stay in Hermione's room." His girlfriend nodded. "Ron can stay in mine. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley can have Sirius' bedroom. The twins..." he paused. "Do you mind if they stay with you, Remus?" The werewolf nodded his head. "I'm sure we'll all feel better with you keeping an eye on them. That way they can't blow anything up." There were a few small smiles at that pronouncement.
He then asked Dobby to conjure spare beds where needed while Tonks went home, which she soon notified them was untouched. Auror houses got special wards placed on them by the Ministry due to the nature of their work, so it would take more than your average Death Eater to attack her house successfully.
-
As light poured into the master bedroom of Potter Manor, Harry began the slow process of waking up. He began to hear the familiar snores that only Ron Weasley could produce and remembered what had happened. He dragged himself out of bed, thankful that he hadn't needed glasses for about a year now, and pulled open a drawer in his desk. He pulled out a parchment and closed the drawer, and then he put on a robe. He quietly made his way out of the bedroom.
He walked to the library, where he was pleasantly surprised to find he was not alone. "Good morning, Hermione," he said as he sat next to her on a sofa.
"Oh, good morning, Harry," she replied after slightly jumping in surprise. She'd nearly dropped the book she'd been reading. After kissing him, she said, "I'm surprised you're up this early."
He shrugged his shoulders. "I think I've been spoiled for the last month not hearing Ron's snoring." She giggled. "Anyway, I thought I'd look over my houses to figure out where the Weasleys can move to. I know Dobby's been keeping them all in order. Y'know, dusting them every week, that sort of thing." He then showed her the scroll he'd gotten from Gringotts. "My houses."
He unrolled it to see the list of all the houses he owned, starting with the one he was in. They looked through them all, including the one Narcissa and Draco Malfoy were occupying, and quickly went past the picture of the destroyed cottage in Godric's Hollow.
They were looking at a five-bedroom house at Portsmouth in Hampshire that was about the size of Potter Manor. Hermione exclaimed, "That's perfect! It's got enough bedrooms for everyone. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley obviously share a room, as do Fred and George. That leaves one each for Percy, Ron, and Ginny."
Harry smiled at his girlfriend and gave her a quick kiss. "Portsmouth it is, then."
-
About an hour later, the rest of the house had woken up. Both Harry and Hermione had showered and were dressed. Harry was in shorts and a t-shirt while Hermione had jeans and one of Harry's old Quidditch jerseys that had been in her wallet/trunk that she kept with her everywhere. It had been in her purse during the wedding. All the house's occupants sat at the table while Dobby served them breakfast. Since it was Sunday, Mr. Weasley didn't have to go to work, although the Weasleys did plan on visiting Percy at the hospital later. Harry figured that now was the right time to discuss the family of redheads' living arrangements. He glanced at Hermione, who nodded as though she were reading his mind. He cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention.
"Well, er, remember last night I said we'd figure out a more convenient solution to the living space problem?" The Weasleys all nodded. "I think I've come up with an answer." He pulled out his wand. "Accio, Gringotts scroll." As the scroll came zooming toward them from the library, Harry continued, "I have the perfect house for you in Portsmouth. You can move in there today, if you like. It's got five bedrooms." He caught the scroll and showed Arthur the picture of the house. As Mr. Weasley was reading the description, Harry looked at the Grangers. "We'll also add all new clothes for you and the Weasleys to our planned shopping trip, so you don't have to keep transfiguring your clothes. We'll stop by a muggle clothes store on the way."
"Harry," said Mr. Weasley, "That's a generous offer to let us stay there, but we don't know when we'll be able to rebuild the Burrow."
"How much do you need?" asked Harry.
"No," said Molly, "We couldn't let you pay for that."
"Then stay at my house that currently isn't doing anybody any good for as long as you need it. I want to help."
Taking a deep breath while swallowing some of his pride, Arthur said, "Alright. Thank you. We'll visit Percy once we get school supplies. Then you and the Grangers can go clothes shopping."
"Mr. Weasley, you need clothes. Do you expect to wonder around the house starkers while what you're wearing is cleaned?"
"But we don't have the money for them," he admitted, "and I'm not letting you pay for everything."
"Then let me pay for it," said Ginny, thinking about the nearly fifty thousand Galleons she had in the vault Harry had given her about two years before. "I still have most of the money I got when Lucius Malfoy and Cornelius Fudge were arrested."
"No, darling," said Molly, "That money is yours, and if you're wise, you'll keep it until after you graduate to spend on a nice house. I refuse to take it from you."
"Or invest it," said George.
"In a lucrative business," said Fred.
"Like we would," they said together.
Ginny looked at her brothers like they'd grown an extra nose. "Invest? You'd probably just use the money to blow something up."
"You wound us," said Fred, faking being hurt.
"To think, our only sister," said George.
"Would think we don't have business aspirations," said Fred.
"We want to open a joke shop," said George.
"Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes," they said together.
"YOU'LL DO NO SUCH THING!" yelled Molly, "so that had better be a joke."
In the mean time, Ginny was looking at them pensively. "Mum, you haven't approved of Bill's or Charlie's careers either, but they both make a good living," she said.
"A fine point," said Fred.
"Well said," agreed George.
"Stay out of this, Ginny-dear. It's not your concern," said Molly.
"Yes it is, actually," she said, "because at some point I'm going to choose a career, too. And quite honestly, you've disapproved of all our career choices so far."
"That's not true, dear," she interrupted.
"Unless it's working at the Ministry. I hate to break it to you, but government work isn't the only career out there."
"We'll continue this discussion later," said Arthur. "Right now we're figuring out how to get clothes."
"I'll buy them and you can consider it a loan if you'd like," said Harry, doing his best not to sound impatient. He wanted to say that Arthur's pride would have his family living on the street, but knew that wouldn't help. "The point is that you need clothes now, not in a month."
Giving in, Arthur said, "Thank you. We will pay you back."
-
Mad-Eye Moody and (surprisingly) Sirius and Angela Black showed up at Potter Manor just before they were to leave on their shopping trip. Sirius explained, "We're still on our honeymoon, and won't be spending the night here, but neither one of us would like to spend all day worrying about you lot, so we decided to join you." His face took on a grim expression. "Mad-Eye told us what happened. We were very sorry to hear about it."
-
They made their trip to a muggle mall (with Mad-Eye hiding under an Invisibility cloak) where a nice saleswoman made a huge commission off of an entire wardrobe for the Weasleys and Grangers, as well as some new clothes for Remus, Sirius, Harry and Angela (at the new Mrs. Black's insistence). Mr. Weasley was keeping track of precisely how much money was spent on his family. With Mad-Eye still under his cloak, and Harry under his, they went on to Diagon Alley.
Harry only came out from under his cloak at Madam Malkin's so she could measure him for new robes, including dress robes, which the Hogwarts letters had specified they needed that year. When Molly suggested it, Harry politely refused to let them look for dress robes in the second-hand clothing shop, insisting that she consider them a gift. Ron seemed uncomfortable with this idea, but appeared to like the robes that he ended up with. At a different shop, Harry whispered to Hermione to get the gift he'd picked out for Ginny's birthday.
Ginny was the only Weasley who didn't need all her school supplies replaced. Like Hermione, she'd been in the habit of taking her trunk (in wallet form) with her everywhere, and both the girls had had them in their purses at the wedding. Each had contained all their school stuff, including books (for which Hermione was especially grateful - she'd kept all her magic books in the trunk), old Hogwarts robes, and a few casual outfits. When Ginny made that announcement, she gave the impression that she'd bought it for herself to save any embarrassment from either Harry or her parents. Under those circumstances, not even her mother could say that the expensive trunk was anything but a wise investment.
Once the rest of the supplies were bought (Mrs. Weasley picked out a few cook books at Flourish and Blotts while they were there), Harry summoned Dobby to take the Weasleys' purchases to the house they would be staying at. Since they weren't friends with Percy, the non-Weasleys went back to their homes while the Weasleys went to St. Mungo's to visit their injured son, after Harry gave them a bit of cash so they could buy food, and a portkey necklace to the house he'd gotten Lupin to make. Harry wanted to keep his portkey so that he could visit them whenever he wanted, and Minister Bones had made it legal to create (or have someone else create) a portkey to your own home.
-
The next morning, Errol surprised Harry by crashing into his window, waking him up at the crack of dawn. When he opened his window to let the Weasley family owl inside, he took the note that was attached. It was from Molly.
"Dear Harry,
Thank you once more for letting us stay in this lovely house until the Burrow is rebuilt, and for all the generosity you've shown us. Your parents would be quite proud of you. As you can see, Errol somehow survived the attack on our home, and found us yesterday.
According to the Healers, Percy will survive, but they couldn't save his leg. When he's recovered enough, they'll be fitting him with an artificial replacement like Alastor has. I'm afraid that he somehow blames you for what happened. I tried to explain that it wasn't your fault, and if he hadn't been so stubborn to refuse to attend the wedding at your house he wouldn't have been hurt, but he wouldn't listen. He got rather upset when I mentioned that we're staying at a house that belongs to you, and said something about getting his own place once he left the hospital. Hopefully, he'll change his mind and see reason soon.
The reason I'm writing is that despite the circumstances, we are still holding Ginny's birthday party as planned at 2 o'clock - only at the house we're staying at instead of the Burrow. Although I'm quite proud that Errol has made it this far, I don't think he's up to making several deliveries in a day. Therefore, I'm asking you to inform everyone who was invited, especially that boy, Neville. Ginny seems to like him.
Love,
Molly Weasley"
Harry chuckled at the way Mrs. Weasley referred to Ginny's boyfriend. Apparently, she wanted to pretend that Ginny only had a crush on Neville, as opposed to the fact that they were snogging at every opportunity. He shrugged his shoulders and walked to the room where Hedwig's perch was.
-
At precisely 2 p.m., Harry and the rest of the inhabitants of Potter Manor, in addition to Neville Longbottom, arrived at the house in Portsmouth. Harry hadn't changed the security on the floo yet, so Neville wouldn't be able to use that method. Harry intended to rectify that while he was there. As it was, only a Potter could floo there without being sent back, but anyone could floo away. Ginny immediately ran to Neville, so Harry and Hermione decided to take a walk around the grounds.
They had been here once before, while they (along with Ginny) were inspecting all of Harry's houses, but it had been a long time. The grounds of this place included a nearby pond and (as Harry had noticed every Potter property contained) a Quidditch pitch.
When the couple returned, they found that a Quidditch game was about to begin. Harry gave Ginny his gift- a pair of Chaser gloves - just before the game, figuring that it's better to let her have them while they were playing than later. After that, they went swimming for an hour, and it was time to eat. Harry noticed that Mrs. Weasley was staring intently at everyone while they were stuffing their faces, especially while they were consuming the cake. He finally asked, "Mrs. Weasley, is there something wrong with the food? You keep watching us as though you expect someone to complain."
She looked like a deer caught in headlights as everyone turned their attention toward her. "Oh, no, dear. I just used a different recipe from a cookbook." She then looked at everyone. "Did you all like everything?" When they all nodded their accent, she announced, "That was probably the healthiest cake you've ever eaten."
Hermione said with a frown, "How. That didn't taste like sugar-free chocolate frosting. I know because we use that." She indicated her parents, who nodded in agreement.
With a grin, she said, "Because I conjured the unhealthy ingredients."
Hermione replied, "But conjured food is of…no nutritional value." She gasped before grinning broadly. "It flavors the food, and then disappears before it can do anything detrimental to our bodies. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant!"
Mr. Granger commented, "You can have your cake and eat it, too," with a grin.
Ron interjected, "You mean I can eat all the cake I want, and won't get sick or fat?"
"Exactly," said Mrs. Weasley.
"You've got to teach me to conjure, mum," he said pleadingly. Everyone present laughed.
-
The rest of the week went by quickly, and soon Sirius and Angela were back from their honeymoon. Almost a week after that, on August 22nd, was Percy's 18th birthday. By a lucky coincidence, he had been scheduled to be released from St. Mungo's on that day, so all the Weasleys, Bill and Charlie (who'd come for the upcoming Quidditch match) included, went to St. Mungo's, only to find that Percy had already left the hospital. He'd left a note behind with the receptionist. It said,
"Dear Weasley family,
I have rented a flat and will not be joining you at Mr. Potter's house. I hope that I never find myself in such a state that I am dependant on someone else's generosity for survival.
Sincerely,
Mr. Percival Weasley"
What had upset the family most was the prat's formality, writing to them like he barely knew them. However, most of them didn't have much time to dwell on that, as all of them were looking forward to attending the World Cup in just a few days.
Minister Bones had arranged for the muggle caretakers of the event's location to be on a cruise at the time (they thought they'd won a contest) so that they wouldn't have to worry about secrecy or obliviating them. The temporary workers that had been hired to replace them were actually aurors disguised as muggles. There would naturally be a lot of security at an event like this. Harry was bringing his trunk, which had a three-bedroom apartment in it, to stay in. One room would be for Sirius and Angela, another for Hermione's parents (who were dressed in wizard robes to blend in), and another for himself and Neville (whose Gran allowed him to go after much persuasion - mainly because he'd be staying with Harry Potter). Hermione would be staying with Ginny and Mrs. Weasley in one of the two tents the Weasleys brought. Since Percy had left the family, they didn't want to let his ticket go to waste, and Arthur had talked his wife into going, "To chaperone the girls."
-
Soon after arriving by portkey, the kids walked off to mingle with everybody and explore the campsite. Harry was wearing the green dragon hide Irish National Quidditch team jacket Angela had given him a year ago for his thirteenth birthday. It had a small wizarding picture of a leprechaun on his heart and a large wizarding picture of the team flying out into a pitch on the back. The reason he could still wear the jacket is because it was charmed to adjust its size to the person wearing it. Harry was holding Hermione's hand; Neville was holding Ginny's hand; Ron was looking around for Lavender, who'd been there for a week since her family couldn't get good tickets. Ron told them that they were now dating.
"There you are," said Ron when they ran across the Brown family's tent.
The blonde airhead ran up to him, put her arms around him, said, "Won-Won!" and enthusiastically kissed him.
Harry looked at the others and mouthed Ron's nickname with a revolted expression. He whispered to his girlfriend, "If you start calling me 'Har-Har,' we're through."
She burst out laughing. "But now you've given me the idea…" she said with a smirk before he put his hand over her mouth. She pulled it away, getting no resistance from her boyfriend.
Ginny looked at her boyfriend, and with mock awe on her face exclaimed, "Oh, Nev-Nev!" before putting her arms around him in a melodramatic gesture.
"Oh, Gin-Gin," he said in response, and they both burst out laughing, which finally got the newest couple to break apart. Lavender glared at them while Ron studied the ground.
"I'm sorry if it amuses you that I missed my boyfriend. I haven't seen him in a week! Come on, Ron."
She dragged him off as he shouted, "I'll see you at the campsite."
"I wonder if he knows what he's getting into," said Hermione, once Ron and Lavender were out of earshot. Then a disgusted look appeared on her face. "Lavender always talks about her dates in the dorm. I think I'll throw up if she…"
"Gross!" said Ginny. "For once, I'm glad I'm a year behind you."
-
They continued exploring, meeting Seamus' family. His mother was very complimentary of Harry's jacket, which clearly showed support for the Irish team that would be playing against Bulgaria. Their tent was covered with green shamrocks, as were several neighboring ones as well.
When they reached the portion of the campsite supporting Bulgaria, they saw pictures of one player, who Ginny identified as Viktor Krum, everywhere. "Looks like a grouchy git to me," commented Harry while examining the scowling face.
"Perhaps, but is quite good-looking," said Hermione absently, causing Harry to turn and look at her smirk before she started giggling with Ginny. "You should see the look on your face."
"So, do you think that git's handsome or not?" Harry demanded, suddenly feeling quite jealous.
"If I say no, you won't believe me, and if I say yes, you'll be angry," his girlfriend replied evenly. "Therefore, I see no reason to answer your question."
"Fine," he spat, causing Hermione to laugh out loud as she put her arms around him. "You're the only one I fancy," she said before kissing him rather passionately until Neville cleared his throat.
"I think we should be moving on," he said. "Why don't we look at what those venders are selling?"
-
Fifteen minutes later, they were walking away from a vender. Each of them had a pair of Omnioculars. Neville was sporting a dancing shamrock hat, while the girls each had a green rosette. They all had programs as well.
Suddenly, there was an explosion nearby. Harry sensed rather than saw a green beam of light coming toward him. He instantly squatted down, pulling the others with him, so that the death curse soared above his head into a tree. Automatically, he pulled out his wand and turned to see a group of about twenty masked Death Eaters facing him.
"Reducto!" he shouted, relieving the closest one of his wand hand. With his peripheral vision, he saw the girls do the same thing while Neville managed to disarm one. He ducked another Avada Kedavra aimed at him.
"Crucio!" shouted another one, sending Neville to the ground writhing in pain. Harry turned to that Death Eater, intent on stopping her until he noticed that Ginny had just blasted off her hand, breaking the guilty wand in the process.
At that moment, a group of thirty witches and wizards appeared in between them and the Death Eaters with a loud pop. They were dressed in gold robes, and immediately began firing hex after hex at the attacking force. Harry took the moment to look around, and noticed that there were several small battles occurring all over the area, and the gold-clad figures were quickly turning the tide. Harry did keep alert, to make sure that none of them fell to a stray curse. He saw one Death Eater sneak up from behind to try to curse a member of what he realized was the Life Force that Minister Bones had created. He shot a, "Reducto!" that relieved the murderer of his life, decapitating him. Harry vomited at the sight. He felt Hermione's left hand on his back comforting him, but knew that her wand was in her right hand, and she was watching for anybody who would dare attack him now.
It was over within five minutes, and all the Death Eaters had either been killed, captured, or escaped. The Life Mark was shot into the air, depicting a lion eating a snake, as a sign of victory. As Harry and his friends made their way back toward the campsite, they heard the magically amplified voice of Amelia Bones.
"This is Minister Bones. I am very sorry that this attack happened, and that any casualties occurred. Two deaths have been reported thus far, as well as about a dozen injuries. Forty-three of the cowards known as Death Eaters have been captured, and twenty-two were killed. This has been a victory against You-Know-Who.
"Among the injured was Michael Dimitrov, one of Bulgaria's Chasers. He will be replaced by one of their reserves - Amy Volitov - and the game will go on as scheduled. We will NOT let a terrorist rule our lives!"
Harry was surprised to hear cheering after that statement, but then again, most of them hadn't just decapitated a man. He realized that he needed to pull himself together if he hoped to fulfill the prophecy by killing Voldemort, and so he decided to talk. "We need to find out if any of our people were hurt." He didn't even want to consider the possibility that anyone he knew had been killed. He picked up the pace, and felt Hermione grab his hand and match his steps. They heard Ginny and Neville, who seemed shaken up but alright, behind them.
When they reached the campsite, they found that everyone was fine. Hermione's parents had hidden in Harry's trunk during the attack, while the others helped fight the Death Eaters until the Life Force arrived. Sirius, Angela, and Molly all took turns hugging Harry (Molly had hugged Ginny first). Ron was already back, reporting that Lavender was alright. Fred and George, though, seemed more upset that their mum had stopped them from placing a bet with Ludo Bagman on the outcome of the match than that an attack had occurred. Ginny asked to talk to the twins privately.
The game was quite exciting to see. Harry sat next to Hermione, holding her hand. When Bulgaria's mascots, a group of veelas, had been introduced, Harry had been mesmerized until Hermione squeezed his hand. He found himself on his feet, and wondered how he'd gotten there as he quickly sat down.
To Harry's surprise, the best Chaser Bulgaria had was Volitov, the reserve player. She actually managed to score four times, despite her teammate's blunders. The Irish Chasers, however, were superb, and worked together like a well-oiled machine. They scored seventeen goals, and it looked like they were going to win. However, Bulgaria's Seeker, Viktor Krum, managed to grab the Snitch, ending the match with Bulgaria winning 190 to 170. Despite his Irish jacket, Harry was on his feet cheering for Krum, who had clearly demonstrated the importance of a good Seeker. He noticed that Hermione was cheering next to him, and heard her comment that he was very brave when he'd caught the Snitch, despite having a broken nose, and felt a twinge of jealousy.
-
They spent the night at the campsite, where, when Mr. and Mrs. Weasley weren't around, Angela informed the students that Hogwarts would be hosting an event called the Triwizard Tournament that year.
-
Please review. Thank you to those who have.
And so Lupin falls victim to the DADA curse. I could've had a lot worse happen to him, but after reading DH, I don't have the heart to hurt him.
Dumbledore's age is taken from the date given on JKR's website this month (September 2007 Wizard of the Month), which says he was born in 1881. It is also on the Harry Potter Lexicon. From that, I calculated when he'd have taken his O.W.L.s (assuming he didn't take them early).
An interesting observation I've made is that Percy is the only Weasley child whose career Molly approved of, and he turned his back on the family in a heartbeat (and after working for Voldemort for a year finally decided to admit he was wrong - which had been proven 2 years before).