When I Grow Up
Harry gazed longingly out of the frosted window. He so desperately wanted to be away from No. 4 Privet Drive and be reunited with his friends again at Hogwarts. He knew he was leaving for Hogwarts tomorrow and he would see his friends again soon, but there was just something about wintertime that always made him feel more lonely than usual.
Just four more hours until I have to be up and at the train station Harry thought. As tired as he was he just couldn't bring himself to drift into sleep. Must be all the excitement of starting a new term and being reunited with the ones he loved.
Harry sat on his bed with a copy of The Standard Book of Spells –he was determined to do better in his classes this term since he wanted to be an Auror. He was having some trouble mastering the list of advanced spells given to him to practice before term began. He was in the middle of working on the Protego Totalum charm when he heard a loud bang outside his window, reminiscent of a gunshot. Harry tried to rub the condensation off the window so he could see what was going on outside. He opened the window to get a better look.
"Harry!" gasped Hermione.
The young wizard was so happy to see Hermione that he didn't even register the terror in her voice. He ran out the door and wrapped her in a bear's embrace.
"Harry, now is not the time! Although I did miss you as well." Hermione shot Harry an annoyed look, but quickly changed her demeanor when she saw the hurt registered on his face.
"It's been so long!" Ginny ran up and hugged Harry blushing slightly. Hermione knew Ginny wanted to get all dressed up to impress Harry, but this really wasn't the time for trying to impress him with everything going on at the Burrow.
"Harry, it really is good to see you and I wish it were under better circumstances, but we really need to go. The Burrow is under attack by a group of Death Eaters." Hermione looked concerned so of course Harry believed her, although he wished she was lying.
Hermione, Harry, and Ginny grabbed hands and apparated to the Burrow.
When the three wizards appeared on the grounds of the Burrow they were met with a scene that looked like something from a horror film. There were fires all over the grounds and the Burrow itself was on fire. Fights were raging all around with various members of the Death Eaters going up against Harry's friends and family; Ron was in the middle of a duel with Amycus Carrow. Harry couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"Stupefy!" Amycus yelled, hate filling his eyes. A bright red streak of light shot out of his wand straight at Ron's chest. Ginny watched in horror as the spell hit her brother before he could cast his shield charm.
"No!" Ginny shouted, her eyes filling with tears. She aimed her want at Amycus and shouted "Incarcerous!" as her brother's unconscious body hit the ground. A slew of ropes emitted from the tip of her wand and bound the death eater.
Alecto watched as her brother fell to the floor as well, bound by Ginny's spell. She cast the Confringo spell, hoping to get the best of the witch who captured her brother, but before her spell made contact—
"Protego Maxima!" Hermione whispered pointing her wand at the area between Ginny and Alecto. Ginny stumbled back as the Confringo spell created an explosion against the magical barrier Hermione summoned.
Hermione looked at the Death Eater and, filled with anger, she shouted "Petrificus Totalus!". Alecto fell, with a horrified look on her face.
Harry, Hermione, and Ginny looked around to survey the damage done. In the midst of the fighting, Tonks had taken down a group of Death Eaters and managed to put out the fire to the Burrow. Everything seemed to have calmed down. The Death Eaters had all apparated, except for Alecto and Amycus, who had been captured while they were unconscious. Ron still hadn't recovered from the stunning spell he had taken and was lying on a bed in the makeshift hospital that Molly had set up. Among the others wounded were Cormack, Cho, Krysta, and Fred. They, and some other students from Hogwarts were spending some time at the Burrow since they were becoming closer with the group.
"What was that about?" Harry asked confused, finishing with the repairs to the burrow.
"No idea mate" George shrugged. "They just appeared out of nowhere and started attacking us."
The group did some conversing on what the attack on the Burrow could mean before they headed to dinner. Everyone knew tomorrow was the first day of the new term and they would need to be rested as they started their final and hardest year at Hogwarts. At the end of the night the group decided they would increase the security at the Weasley house, having some of the Order of the Phoenix stay. They knew with the students going back to school this was one of the safest ways to ensure that the Burrow would remain intact.
All of the students were uneasy about going back to school, but they knew it had to be done. They needed to make sure the castle was untouched by the Dark Lords reach. Harry knew if the castle fell under Death Eater control, there would be little anyone could do to prevent Voldemort from killing anyone and everyone. He packed his things along with the rest of the group.
Once everyone had finished packing, they met in the dining room for dinner.
"So Harry," Remus started. "Not exactly how you envisioned your reuniting moments with your friends would go, huh?"
"No, not exactly." Harry answered, visibly exhausted.
"Enough talk about the event that occurred earlier, Remus." Molly, scolded. "We don't need that negative energy in here affecting our auras."
The group sat in silence for a bit while they finished dinner. They made some small talk towards the end but mostly everyone was nervous and excited for tomorrow. Once everyone had finished, they went upstairs to their rooms to try to get some rest for the big day tomorrow.
