Ron Weasley woke with a groan as he heard several loud explosions come from the floor underneath him. "Fred and George!" He said, exasperated, and crawled out from under his covers. He didn't really mind that he had been woken up, but he did mind that nobody had come to wake him up earlier. One thing that nobody in his family had noticed was that today was his birthday. Yes, Ronald Weasley was going to be sixteen years old today, and starting his sixth year at Hogwarts tomorrow.
Ron sighed as he thought about the day ahead. Harry was coming at eleven o'clock this morning, and bringing his stuff for school. They would be taking him, Ron, and Ginny, Ron's little sister, to King's Cross tomorrow, to catch the train at Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters. Not expecting so much as a birthday card, he went downstairs slowly.
As he reached the final landing of stairs (his room was on the fifth floor), he groaned as he heard his mother yelling at Fred and George, his twin brothers, who were home on vacation. Probably blew up one of her Lockhart books again. He thought smugly, and smiling, entered the kitchen.
The scene that had met his eyes was not what he expected. Ingredients from what looked to have been Treacle Fudge were strewn across the entire kitchen, plastered on the walls, and even on the underside of the table. Fred and George were standing with their hands behind their backs, looking guiltily at the mess. Mrs. Weasley was still shouting, and then, all of a sudden, yelled, "Accio Fireworks!" With that, several large bags of Filibuster's Fireworks zoomed out from all sorts of unlikely places. She caught the last bag, which had come from Fred's cap, and threw it into the fireplace. The fire roared as all of the fireworks lit, and sputtered.
"...Sorry mum...we won't do it again..." They mumbled at the same time, and shuffled out of the kitchen, still looking towards their feet. Mrs. Weasley sighed and took out her wand once more. Uttering different words, the kitchen suddenly started to clean itself. Ron cleared his throat.
"Oh!" She said, in a surprised tone. "Ron! I didn't think that you would have been up so early!" Mrs. Weasley gasped.
"Yeah, well, neither did I." He frowned, thinking about the explosions. He decided to avoid the subject. "So what were you making the Treacle Fudge for?" He asked hopefully.
"Oh dear. I don't have enough ingredients to make another batch. It was for Harry, dear. The poor dear probably hasn't had much to eat since he came home for the summer. Now, be good and go clean your room, dear." She said with a sniff. Ron sighed, and started to head back upstairs.
Harry this, Harry that! When will I ever get some notice? He wondered to himself miserably. As he went past the den, he noticed his father in there reading the Daily Prophet. Hoping to get some sympathy from him, he went in and sat down across from him. "Hey dad. Are Fred and George grounded?" He asked, with a hopeful tone to his voice. Mr. Weasley looked at Ron, and then frowned. What did I do?!
"Ron! Look at that mess you've made! Take off those socks!" Ron looked down at his feet, startled. Mr. Weasley never yelled! Ron quickly pulled his socks off, for they had bits of Treacle Fudge all over them, and he had been leaving a trail ever since he had left the kitchen. He hurried back up to his room as fast as he could go, hoping not to get into any more trouble before Harry got there. Ron sighed miserably as he started to make his bed, wishing that they could cast magic outside of Hogwarts. He looked into the mirror in his bedroom, and was taken back by the site he saw. His red hair was messier than it usually was, and he had dark circles under his eyes. His face was very pale, and he looked as though he had not eaten in weeks.
I look like I just died. And they don't even say anything about it! Just then, Ron heard the doorbell. Harry was here already! He hastily threw some books under his bed, and surveyed his room. He could feel himself blushing with embarrassment. The Weasleys were a rather poor family, and Ron's room resembled a small pigpen. Oh well. Guess I better go greet Harry, then. He ran back downstairs, and heard the front door squeak open.
"Oh, hello Harry, dear. Why don't you go put your things up in Ron's room?" His mother suggested warmly.
"Thanks Mrs. Weasley. Where's Ron?" Came Harry's voice.
"Oh, I'm sure that he is still trying to tidy up that mess he's got up there. You know how his room can get, Harry." Ron bristled as he heard both his mother and Harry laughing over the simple statement. Just then, Harry came into the hall where Ron was. He was lugging his heavy trunk, Hedwig's cage, and a long package, which Ron assumed to be Harry's Firebolt. .
"Hey Ron! How's it going?" Harry asked cheerfully.
"Fine." Ron grunted, and offered to take Harry's trunk.
"Thanks. Same place as last time?"
"Nope. You're going to be in Percy's old room. He has another place now. Come on, I'll show you." They started up the vast flights of stairs, and finally stop on the third story of the house. "Here, put your stuff in here." Ron said, and walked in. He set Harry's trunk down at the foot of the bed, and watched as Harry looked around the room.
"Wow, Percy had a nice room." Harry commented, and set Hedwig's cage on top of the desk in the corner.
"Yeah, well, that's Percy. Wanna come play Quidditch with me?" Ron asked.
"Sure, but first, I've got something for you." He handed Ron the long package, and his heart skipped a beat.
"Harry...this isn't...is it?..." He asked, stuttering.
"Well, open it up and see!" Said Harry impatiently.
"Okay!" With that, Ron tore the paper off of the package, and gasped. It was a brand new Firebolt, something that he had been wanting for years. "Wow, Harry! Thanks!" He grinned, and touched the new broom ecstatically. Harry also tossed him another, smaller package. Ron looked at him with questioning eyes.
"Well, go on! Open it!" Harry demanded. Ron tore open the package as quickly as he could, and found a new broom-servicing kit.
"Harry! I can't believe it! Thanks!" He grinned, and rapidly started going through the contents of the kit.
"Well, you want to go play Quidditch or not?" Harry asked.
"Oh yeah!" With that, they both bolted downstairs and into the clearing out back of The Burrow.
***
"Ron! Harry! Come on inside! Mum's got supper fixed for us, with some more treacle fudge!" Ginny yelled into the falling blackness of the night. Having heard her, Harry and Ron landed on the ground, their faces red with exhaustion.
"That was awesome!" Ron exclaimed.
"Now you know how I feel every time I get on my broom..." Harry said quietly. Ron frowned.
"What's the matter, Harry?" He asked curiously.
"...Nothing...except..." He sighed deeply.
"WHAT?"
"My scar hurt me last night...It woke me up..." Ron sighed.
"Harry...did you write to Sirius?" He asked, putting on a concerned tone. Harry quickly looked over his shoulder.
"Shh! Your mum doesn't know about him! Snuffles, remember? His name is Snuffles."
"Relax, Harry. Remember last year? When you were still in the hospital wing? My Mum was there, too. She saw Sirius, and Dumbledore told her about him. Don't worry." Harry relaxed for a moment, but then tensed again.
"But...No, I didn't write to Sirius...I heard a rumor...I heard that Sirius was sent to a...well, that Sirius was caught...last week...by a Muggle..." Ron gasped, and stumbled backwards.
"Wh...where is he? I mean, he's not at a Muggle police station, is he? He can break out of those!"
"I know. You see...the thing is...they don't exactly know where he's at...they haven't seen him since he was caught..." Harry stared at the wall behind Ron so convincingly that Ron had to turn around to see if there was something. Abruptly, Ron's mother came flying into the hall where they had been standing.
"Where have you been?! Everybody is waiting just for you two! Now go on, get into the kitchen!" She waited until they left the hall, and walked behind them, shooing them quickly into the kitchen.
***
The next morning, Ron was woken by another series of loud explosions. More than likely Mum didn't get their whole supply of Fireworks. He thought to himself, laughing. Shrill screams, and the clanging of pans on the kitchen floor soon disrupted his laughter. He hurriedly got out of bed, and dressed as quickly as he could. Rushing down the ever-tormenting flights of stairs, he stopped outside the kitchen door, with his ear pressed against it.
"Molly, shush! You've probably waken the kids! But, listen to me! There have been a few...well, several mishaps going on around here. There have been quite a few involvements with the Muggle peace-keepers, oh dear...I believe that they are called 'Please-Men.' Anyway, I have been hearing a few rumors that some...catastrophes...have been taking place in the Department of Mysteries. A couple of their Unspeakables were brought in this morning...I believe that they were the ones that started this whole ordeal. Poor fellows...I'm sure that they've got it in for them. Apparently, Memory Charms have been used so much on these certain Please-Men that they are afraid to do it again. Makes them a tad disoriented, you see, however, the last time the Memory Charms were used, they came home and practically beat their wives, not knowing who they were." He said, uncertainly.
"Oh, Arthur! What are you going to do? Does this mean that you have to stay at the office for some extra time, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked, her voice rising.
"Shh! No, not that I know of. Unfortunately...well...you don't mind me bringing a couple of extra children home with me tonight, do you?" He asked hesitantly. Mrs. Weasley paused for a moment, considering the subject.
"How are you supposed to get all of their things home with you, Arthur?" She asked, in an unconvinced tone.
"Er...well...I was going to come home and fetch Ron and Harry...the children...girls...are the same age as them...and they could help with their things..."
"How are they supposed to get to your office?!" She asked, doubt in her voice.
"I've had a portkey set to go off in an hour. I will apparate down to The Burrow, and fetch Ron and Harry. Please advise them to be ready. See you in a bit." With a loud pop, the noise from the kitchen stopped. Ron quickly ran back to his room, and pretended to be asleep. He heard his mother climbing the stairs after him, stopping in Harry's room on the third floor. After a few moments of hurried discussion, he finally heard two pairs of feet come into his room, and shake him.
"Ron, dear...it's time to get up...your father needs some help down at the office today. There's some breakfast waiting in the kitchen. Hurry, before I have to set the ghoul on you." With those last words, Ron rapidly got dressed once more, and flew downstairs, meeting Harry at the bottom.
"Hey Ron..." He said in a dull voice.
"Hey Harry. Let's go get something to eat.. ." They both turned and headed into the kitchen, where the site that lay before their eyes was not the usual Weasley mess. Instead of Fireworks being strewn all over the floor, ashes from the fire were laying in piles across the table. Piles and piles of dirty dishes were in the sink, and batter from what looked to be breakfast was still in different bowls. They quickly ate a little of what Mrs. Weasley had put out, and went outside to wait for Mr. Weasley. Just at that moment, he appeared right next to them, and smiled grimly.
"Hello Ron, Harry. Nice morning, isn't it? Well, let's be going." They set out towards the lot out back of The Burrow, and began searching for what turned out to be an old rusted soda can. Mr. Weasley checked his enchanted watch. "Er...we've only got about a minute...take a hold boys, you know how this works..." They each placed a finger onto the can. Within seconds, Ron felt that familiar sensation behind his navel. It felt as though a hook had been placed there, and somebody was tugging on it.
After a moment, he felt his feet touch solid ground, and he looked around at his surroundings. They were in a large circular, cut-off gap in a forest. It was dark, and rather spooky. Not unlike the Forbidden Forest. Mr. Weasley, Ron, and Harry all began walking what looked to be due South. After what seemed to be an eternity, they reached the end of the forest. It opened into a large clearing. A tall building stood. It had a small door for an entrance and no windows.
"Here we are boys....The Ministry of Magic....My workplace." They walked to the small door and bent their heads as they walked in, so as not to hit their heads.
"Not exactly what I was expecting...," Harry mumbled to Ron as they entered a dimly lit foyer. "Seems more like a dark room for picture developing..."
"What?"
"Never mind Ron..." They continued to walk until they reached another door, this time, it was rather large and looked as if it were made for giants. Mr. Weasley opened the door and walked into a bright room. The ceilings were high and the walls were a light shade of blue with nice plush carpeting. Ron felt his feet sink into the ground a little ways. It was a nice feeling. Still, they trudged on, past a reception area where a tired looking witch sat, painting her nails a nasty shade of pink. Her face lit up when she saw them.
"Good morning Mr. Weasley...Are you here to.....take them away?" she said in a somewhat confidential tone. He nodded and she sighed a breath of what seemed like relief. Mr. Weasley ignored her and continued to walk along until they reached yet another hallway.
"This place is like a maze!" Ron said with an exhausted look on his face.
"It's easy once you've been working here for years." Harry and Ron dragged their feet behind Arthur.
"What exactly are we here for?" Harry finally asked as they reached ANOTHER door. Mr. Weasley hesitated for a second, before he could answer them, they heard Cornelius Fudge's voice raise very high as he shouted,
"Are you even listening to me?!" Ron couldn't resist, so he pried open the door a notch and peeked in. Two girls sat before a red faced Fudge. One of them had a pair of headphones on her head and was head banging, while the other one seemed to be quite keen on messing with the quills on Fudge's desk. The girl with the headphones on looked up at him from doing the metal sign with her free hand that wasn't placed tightly on her CD player.
"What?" The girl with the quill looked up too.
"Wha?" Fudge pounded his fist on his desk.
"I WAS ASKING YOU WHY YOU DID THAT TO THE PLEASE-MEN!!"
"Police men..," the girl with the quill in her hand corrected.
"DAMNIT! That's what I said!"
"Uhh...No..," The girl with the headphones retorted.
"Yes it was! Don't argue...Go back to listening to your Muggle music...I mean! Pay attention!!" In spite of what he said, the girl put her headphones back on.
"ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME!!!??? FOX?!" he looked over at the girl with the quill, "WOLF?!" he looked over at the girl with the headphones.
"Nope...," Wolf sighed. Fox looked up when the quill she was playing with broke.
"Uhh...Whoops?"
"ARRGGHHH!" He grabbed the broken quill from her hands and threw it across the room. "That's the hundredth one this MORNING!!! WHERE IS WEASLEY?!!" There was a moment of silence as Fudge began to pace back and forth behind his desk.
"Isn't this when you are supposed to resume your lecture?" Wolf asked.
"Oh yes...Thank you...I mean....Err.... WHY DID YOU DO THAT TO THE PLEASE-MEN?!!!"
"That would be POLICE MEN for the fiftieth time....And....you're being a tad bit redundant aren't you?" Wolf looked over at Fox and smiled with pleasure as Fudge began to bang his fist on his desk again.
"SHUT UP!" He yelled. They looked at each other and said in unison,
"Yes sir, anything you say sir, right away sir!" Fudge had about enough already.
"AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" He pulled on his hair and sat down at his desk, twiddling his thumbs. "Well...he should be here any moment now...," he said, trying to calm himself down. Fox had picked another quill up from his desk and was now "accidentally" tearing that one apart too.
"Uhh...you were saying?" she piped up.
"Right...thank you young lady...I MEAN!!! Right....WHY DID YOU DO THAT TO THE PLEASE-MEN?!!!" They chorused together,
"THAT'S POLICE MEN!!!"
"THAT'S WHAT I SAID!!!!!!!" He grabbed a wad of his hair and pulled it out of his head.
"That looked painful," Wolf said. Mr. Weasley couldn't hold back his laughter any longer. His chuckling echoed through the building in delight.
"WEASLEY!!!!!!!!" Fudge bellowed.
"Yes!?" Arthur walked in quickly, Harry and Ron following closely behind. There was a moment of tense silence before the quill Fox was playing with snapped in two.
"Uhh.....Whoops?" Fudge started to bang his head on the desk.
"UGHHHH!!! Those are expensive quills!!! You have already ruined two million already!!!"
"Two million and one to be exact," Wolf said, pulling out her laptop and printing out a data sheet. Fudge looked up at Mr. Weasley and gave him a nasty smile.
"TAKE THEM! LEAVE!!! NOWWWWW!!!!"
"Awww....I wanted to stay and play with the quills," Fox sighed, picking up another quill.
"Yeah...Uncle Fudgy.......Can we stay...PWEASE!!!!" Wolf said in a fake child's voice. They both gave Fudge different variations of "puppy dog" faces.
"G-G-GET OUTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!" Fudge stuttered. Fox stuck her tongue out at him and grabbed the last quill on his desk before she got up. Wolf gave him a menacing look.
"I know where you sleep..." Fudge shuddered.
"My God......that's a scary thought..."
"You betta recognize!" Wolf called out as she got up. Mr. Weasley, Ron, and Harry picked up their bags (which had been so kindly thrown in the office by the receptionist) and headed for the door. Fox followed them, and Wolf shortly behind. Fox tripped over an antique vase and fell on Ron, the vase shattered and he dropped her bags. Fudge was now a bright red.
"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!" He bellowed. Wolf helped Fox out and before she left his office, asked,
"This doesn't mean we're fired....does it?" Fudge picked up his empty quill holder.
"OUTTT!!!" Wolf ran out of the room and slammed the door shut just as he threw the quill holder.
"We still have our jobs!" Wolf called out to Fox as they walked down the hallway. They passed none other than Percy in the halls, he was on his way to Fudge's carrying a "classified" folder under his arm.
"The caldron crisis....Day three hundred and sixty something...," Wolf whispered to Fox as he walked by. Percy turned on his heel and faced them.
"I heard that! I would just like to inform you that my work is very important! I heard Fudge yelling at you two....AGAIN! He should fire you!!!" Wolf gave him an unamused glance.
"Well Mista Percy," she said in a southern accent," I hate to tell yeh this, but I reckon' we's the only people he can find for the job..." Wolf pinched his cheek like a grandmother would and gave him a big kiss on the lips. Ron was disgusted. "I watch too many episodes of looney tunes. Bugs Bunny is my hero...Wait....No that's Groucho Marx...Sorry..." Percy looked utterly shocked and hurried down the hallway. "You damn right!" she called after him. Mr. Weasley was not amused.
"Wolf! Fox! Behave yourselves!" They both looked at each other, and grinned demonic smiles, saying in unison,
"Yes sir, anything you say sir, right away sir!" They burst out laughing, and Wolf grabbed her CD player from her pants pockets.
"YE-AH!" She yelled. Ron and Harry looked towards the pair of them with interest.
"Where're you from, anyway?" Harry asked, directing it mainly towards Wolf. She looked up from doing the metal sign and raised an eyebrow.
"Uhh...Yremogtnom..." She said.
"...Where's that?"
"...Uhh...America? I think...last time I checked, at least..." She grinned evilly, and ran to catch up with Fox, who was talking to Mr. Weasley.
"-The Burrow? Never heard of it...uhhh...where exactly is Hogwarts at?"
"I don't know. I don't think anybody does, besides Dumbledore." He replied.
"Dumbledore? Who the hell has a name like that?!" Wolf asked. Mr. Weasley eyed her.
"Never, EVER talk about your headmaster like that!" He roared, his face turning red.
"Unless his name is Cornelius Fudge..." She replied, somewhat silently...for her.
"You don't mean to tell me that you've never heard of Dumbledore!" Harry gaped.
"I reckon that's what I'm tellin' ya!" Almost everybody in earshot turned to stare at the back of her head. Immediately, whispers broke out, making it seem like silent winds were following them down the endless halls. Wolf looked behind her, and the whispering stopped automatically. "I feel like I'm a character in a bad book or something..." She turned back around again, and followed the Weasleys and Harry out of the Ministry of Magic Office.
"You said something about a job here...what exactly did you do?" Harry asked, trying to start up a conversation once again.
"Well...ya see...." Mr. Weasley shot her a warning glance, and she started again. "Secretarial work..." As she turned to see what Fox was up to, she saw her trip over Ron's robes, and fall onto the ground.
"Owww...ugh...that kinda sucked..." She said, getting back to her feet, immediately to catch her shoe laces on a nearby tree limb, and stumbling once again. "Ah, crap!!" She yelled, grabbing onto Ron for support, who was nearest by. He fell over, dropping all of the luggage he was carrying onto Harry, which, in turn, hit a close by tree.
"Fox...your klutziness is contagious..." Wolf said, and laughing, helped all of them up. Mr. Weasley was surveying the scene with a look of utmost contempt on his face. She noticed the look on his face, and took a look at everybody. "Uhhh...how about I just carry all of the luggage?" She asked, in an innocent voice. Fox looked at her suspiciously.
"...whatever..." She leaned over, and whispered, "what exactly are you planning to put in them this time?" She asked. "I don't think that we have anymore of those Dung bombs...at least...I don't have any..."
"Oh, nothing..." She said, still using that innocent voice that got on Fox's nerves. Fox eyed her. "Well?"
"Never mind...." Harry, Ron, and Mr. Weasley glanced at them suspiciously.
"Uhh...there's a tree....and what do you know, there's another tree...And another...," Wolf spoke up louder, doing a horrible job of covering up their conversation. Fox shook her head.
"I thought you could do better than that....seeing how we were..."
"SHUT IT!" Wolf exclaimed.
"Oh yeah...." Fox fell silent. Ron looked over at Fox.
"What were you?" Before she could get a word in, Wolf said,
"Death and decay! Hey....I need help tying my shoe laces...Fox..will you stay behind with me?" This would have been another poor excuse, had it not been for all the luggage she was carrying.
"Uhh...sure." Fox looked around at the others. "Okay..." Wolf dropped the bags on the ground after Ron, Harry, and Mr. Weasley were out of sight.
"Should we apparate now? Walking to that damn portkey is going to be a pain in the ass!" Fox looked around to make sure no one was looking.
"SURE!"
"By the way...can you tie my shoe....I can't reach it...my arms are too tired." Fox sighed and tied her shoe lace. A little too tight....Wolf couldn't feel her leg after about five minutes.
"DAMNIT!! UNTIE IT!!! QUICK! QUICK!!" She quickly untied the shoe. "This time, don't tie it so tightly." Wolf watched Fox carefully as she tied it this time. "That's better...I can feel my leg. Good job!" Fox sighed as Wolf picked up their bags again.
"Ready to apparate?"
"Yeah.."
"Alright then.." Fox stood there a second and finally said,
"You don't think we should tell them we are gonna apparate..do you?" Wolf rubbed her chin and thought for a second.
"Nah!"
"OKAY!" They disappeared in a puff of smoke.