Tiptoeing Past Danger
Full Summary
"I really don't care about his reasons or excuses. Not that he'd actually give me any," she added. "All I care about is giving him a taste of his own medicine. After all, even a master of pranks can learn a trick or two from a so called 'amateur'. And not only will he learn a trick from me, he'll learn an entirely new lesson; never mess with Hermione Granger."
After Harry finally defeated Voldemort, he, Hermione, and Ron decided to all return back to complete their last year of Hogwarts. And even though the war is over, Dumbledore has one final mission for George to complete for the Order. Unwillingly, George accepts, expecting a year of trifles and boredom. But George's mission turns into a surprise the trio never expected. And what happens when George gets thrown into an unanticipated war of his own? What will come out of this battle of wits and, more importantly, of pranks?
Chapter One: Celebrations
The twisting halls within the Burrow were overflowing with excitement and laughter, much like the summers many years before, back when Harry's biggest troubles were the Dursley's. The world was so much simpler then for all of the Wizarding World, so much freer. There were no boundaries, nothing to stop you in the world. Death Eaters was just a scary phrase with no real terror behind it. Fear didn't control the lives of witches and wizards everywhere.
Then, the world changed. The wind grew cold instead of soft and welcoming. That's when Voldemort returned, when the Wizarding World went into a constant state of alarm. Many lives were lost, and a vast amount of hope slyly faded away, thought never to return.
Harry Potter returned the hope, though, with the defeat of Voldemort. Children cheered and parents cried when they heard the news. And for the first summer, in many years, there was something to celebrate. And Harry's 18th birthday was a celebration indeed.
"This is spectacular," Harry murmured half to himself. Beside him, his two best friends grinned; Harry deserved to have, for the first time in his young life, a birthday party.
"It looks like everyone we know showed up," Ron awed.
"More than that," Harry claimed. "I see at least ten people right now that I've never met before."
"Not to mention all the people in the back yard," added Hermione cheerfully. "Everyone wants to be a part of the celebration; if possible, you've acquired even more fame than before you defeated Voldemort!"
Harry started making his rounds; he visited those he never met, shaking their hands firmly, and he hugged his Hogwarts companions. Slowly, he began drifting away from his two best friends, both who could not keep up with their friend's ecstatic pace.
"Neville!" Harry cried, calling the lanky teenager's attention. Neville turned around, a bright smile engulfing his face. He let go of a small, glass cup, presumably filled with butterbear, and the glass lightly floated down to the nearest table. The space between the two friends was quickly diminished into a few feet.
"Harry," Neville bellowed, "Happy birthday, mate!" Harry grinned as he pulled Neville into a quick, manly hug.
"Oh no, happy birthday to you! I know your birthday was just yesterday." Neville thanked him all but timidly before pulling Harry into a conversation.
"So, all this news about Hogwarts is huge, isn't it?" Harry nodded in agreement as his glasses slightly budged down the bridge of his nose. He pushed them back up to their rightful position automatically before responding.
"Dumbledore is really going out of his way to make everyone happy. Apparently, this goes out of all the rules of Hogwarts. Once you leave Hogwarts, students typically aren't allowed back in." Dumbledore was, after weeks of consideration, letting all students who were pulled out of Hogwarts due to the war return with no penalty. Such a thing was unheard of for the Wizarding World, and everyone was making a big fuss over the matter. The Daily Prophet claiming that he wanted his "Golden Boy" back at Hogwarts for a final year, but everyone knew better than to trust the Daily Prophet by now; everyone assumed, correctly, that it was just due to the unfortunate situations of the past. Dumbledore also wanted students to be back into the safe walls of Hogwarts, if allowed.
"And he's letting anyone repeat last year if they want to!" Neville added. "The last year at Hogwarts was pretty corrupt, and he's allowing people to retake it if they want because of improper learning situations, or something like that. You're going back to Hogwarts, aren't you Harry?"
"I don't think I could pass up another year at Hogwarts," Harry explained as Neville proudly admitted that he was going back as well.
"I think most of the seventh years want to return. Except most of the Slytherins aren't coming back, of course. Maybe we can have one year of Hogwarts that isn't filled with chaos." Both Harry and Neville knew that this fact, though, was entirely and utterly impossible and in some odd ways, unwanted.
Hermione scanned the kitchen, trying to see through the crowd of people. What was normally an busy kitchen filled with dishes flying everywhere was now a hit spot at the party; being close to the food always had it's perks, especially when you were at a Weasley's house. Hermione took in the plethora of aromas, strolling through the crowd. She casually picked up a small plate of finger food, pivoted around, and returned to Ron who was sitting in a lumpy chair in the living room.
"Just look at them," Ron muttered disgustedly, not even bothering to greet Hermione back.
"Who?" Hermione turned around and tried to look at the room as if she were Ron.
"Fred and George, who else?" Hermione could think of many other people it could have been, but she didn't mention anything to Ron. There, in the far corner of the room, were the two Weasley twins. They were hunched over in a casual manner that would only make the ones close to them look twice.
"Up to no good, obviously," Ron muttered. "And on Harry's birthday, of all days. Can't they take a break for one minute?"
"Honestly Ron, when have they ever been up to good?" Hermione pointed out. "I don't know why you'd expect today to be any different."
"Because it's Harry's first birthday party, that's why!" Ron roared. "They should show some respect to him! After all, we'd all probably be dead and gone by now if it wasn't for him!" Hermione rolled her eyes, but at the same time, she agreed to what Ron was saying. Why couldn't they take one day off from the jokes?
"Well look," Hermione started, "Dumbledore is walking up to them. He's probably going to break things up."
"Serves them right. They deserve to actually get in trouble with him for once. Maybe, he will tell them to finally grow up like any other wizard their age who has been through a war would." Ron slouched down in his chair, pouting, as Hermione concurred silently. Nobody wanted to admit it out loud, but everyone knew that those two deserved to get into some trouble that they took seriously for once in their lives.
Author's Notes: I do not, in any shape or form, own Harry Potter. Just getting that out of the way
Now, I want to thank you guys for taking the time to read this. I haven't posted any fan fiction for a few years, so I'm getting back into the scene with a new username. I'm really grateful for all of you reading, and I hope you enjoy!
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