Harry Potter was not at Privet Drive for his seventeenth birthday this time. He was at The Burrow, home of his best friend Ron's family. Ron's family was really poor, but their house was the best house Harry had even visited. A ghoul lived in the attic in the bedroom above Ron's room. Harry loved looking out of Ron's bedroom window at the gnomes. These trouble making gnomes loved to bury deep down into the lawn. This caused trouble for the Weasley family, because they had different opinions of the gnomes. Mr Weasley loved them but Ginny and Mrs -Weasley hated them.
Harry didn't care about the gnomes, now. He was in the middle of the best birthday celebration of his life. He had opened all his presents. He looked at Mrs Weasley guiltily. "Mrs Weasley, you didn't need to buy me polishing wax for my broomstick. It costs a lot of money. I know because Hermione told me."
Mrs Weasley shoved a stack of jammy buttered toast into his lap. "Eat it. Harry, listen, I bought you that wax because I know you have a broomstick. I overheard you telling Hermione that you were out of wax, so I bought some more for you. I think you ought to be grateful because that cost me eleven Galleons."
"I am grateful, Mrs Weasley, don't worry about that. But you really didn't need to buy me some, because I know your family is - um - well, that you don't have much money." Harry held his breath and looked at Ron, whose face now held a shocked but surprised expression merged with a weak smile.
"I know, Harry." Mrs Weasley raised her eyebrows.
There was a horrible silence after that. Soon it was broken by the doorbell. "Ah, that must be Ginny. She said she was going to pick up Luna."
She went over to the door and opened it. Harry looked at Mrs Weasley's clock, and noticed Ginny's picture was not on there. He looked at Ron, and pointed to the clock. "Where's Ginny's - "
He didn't get to finish his sentence, because Ron cut him off. Mrs Weasley was looking quizically at both of them. "Never mind about that, I'll ask later," Harry hissed in Ron's ear, smiling at Mrs Weasley. She smiled back at him and turned to Ginny. Ron frowned.
"Mum, is it okay if Harry and Hermione come upstairs with me?"
Mrs Weasley, who was in the middle of smoothing Ginny's hair down, turned round. "Of course. Only, please take Luna up with you and show her where she is going to be sleeping. Ginny's room." Luna hoisted her backpack onto her shoulder and Ginny looked at her mother in horror.
"Mum, please can you make other - "
"Not now, Ginny, I'm trying to dry your hair," Mrs Weasley said absent-mindedly. "Thanks, Ron, for showing Luna her room for the duration of her stay." Ginny whimpered as Mrs Weasley ran a brush through a tangle. "Don't be such a baby. Ron, I know you have not shown her yet but I'm thanking you in advance."
Ron nodded and started up the stairs. Luna followed. "Oh, Harry," she called. "I was going to tell you that my father has seen another Crumple-Horned Snorcack near Scotland, and he told me to tell you." Harry smiled. He was used, now, to the silly creatues that exsisted in Luna's world and inside her head.
Hermione appeared next to Luna. "Harry, do you know anything about the plans of Lord Voldemort?"
It was surprising that a question like that had come out of the blue, and from Hermione's mouth. Luna looked at Hermione like Hermione was a lunatic. Harry merely smiled. "No, I don't know anything yet. But the Daily Prophet will come today, and we can look then."
Hermione nodded, reassured.
Ron, however, had red ears. He wasn't embarassed, just surprised. "I can't believe you're paying for that rubbish. You'd do better to get a decent magazine like the Quibbler, that prints a few lies but mostly the truth."
Luna smiled.
"Thanks for talking about my father's magazine like that, Ron, I admire you." She held up the recent edition and handed it to Harry. "See if you can find anything in there. Keep it for a long as you like, but make sure you give it back to me before we are at Hogwarts."
Harry nodded.
"I will. Thank you."
Harry took the magazine from her.
Ron stopped at Ginny's bedroom, shoved Luna in and closed the door. "Leave her to make herself at home," he muttered to the rest of the party on the stairs. "Come on, let's get to my bedroom. Hermione, I hope you don't mind but you have to sleep in my room this time."
Hermione, who, secretly, had always wanted to sleep in the same room as Ron so she could record him snoring and then replay the tape at breakfast, shook her head. "No. It will be a pleasure."
Ron nodded, and opened the door to his room. Pig was on the windowsill, hooting shrilly. Ron tossed Pig a few owl treats. Pig flew out of the window, moaning happily with a full stomach. "Stupid as ever," Ron said. "Hermione, put your stuff next to the wardrobe. Harry, put your stuff there too. I can't be bothered to make the beds yet, we've got ages before it's dark. I want to show you something I made."
"I was going to read a book and try and learn advanced magic, but I guess I can see this thing you made. It better be good. Otherwise I will go back to reading." Hermione wrinkled her nose. Ron, who thought Hermione read too much, said nothing as he didn't want to ruin his chances to show her how good he was with a glue gun.
He went to the wardrobe and brought out a box. Hermione hand reached for the lid, but Ron slapped it away. "Looking is not permitted until I say so." Harry thought for a horrible second that Ron sounded like Percy. He was Ron's brother, but he'd left the family two years ago and was living in London.
He took off the lid. Inside, there was a model.
"What do you think?"
Harry was dumbstruck, his words frozen inside his mouth. He managed to say a few. "I... um, let me take another minute to look." The model was of Godric's Hollow, the place where his parents were living when they were murdered. The sight of it, even a model version, brought memories to his brain and tears to his eyes. "Ron... I don't know what to say. Do you actually know what you have made?"
Hermione looked shocked.
"Harry, that's Godric's Hollow. It was the place where you parents died. I know because... well, because Ron made a little cardboard Dark Mark and coloured it in green," she whispered frantically. She backed away from Ron, crashing into the wardrobe. She pointed to a spot just above the model house that Harry had only noticed a few seconds ago. Harry squinted. Hermione was right about the Dark Mark.
He shivered. Even though it was only a bit of cardboard, everyone in the room except Ron was panicking. Harry was the only one in the room who, actually, had no reason to be afraid of the Dark Mark. He was really powerful, more powerful than Lord Voldemort so the Dark Mark didn't really scare him. But to see one that his best friend had made... it was pure torture. Harry could not believe what Ron had done.
Ron shook his head, his eyes wide. He looked down at the model and dropped it like it was red hot. He looked at Harry and Hermione.
"Crush it," Hermione insisted.
Ron brought down his foot onto the model, and it was crushed under his feet. Steam hissed from the cardboard chimney. Ron picked up the crushed cardboard and threw it out of the window. "I don't know why I made that. I wasn't posessed, I just... well I don't know why."