Chapter 3: Sibling Duel
Harry awoke the next morning feeling horrible. He spent a restless night trying to figure out what it was that bothered him. He couldn't grasp it, but he knew that ever since returning from Private Drive, something didn't feel quite right. Trying to ignore the nagging feeling, he got up and went down stairs for breakfast.
For the second time in the last twenty-four hours Harry walked into an empty kitchen. Surely Mrs. Weasley had just simply walked out? Harry shrugged to himself as he grabbed a hot biscuit, charmed so that it stayed piping hot, from the middle of the table and conjured up a cup of tea, something he had learned while looking for horcuxes with Hermione and Ron. As he finished his meal, he happened to glance out of the window to see a flash of red in the distance. As he went up to the window for a closer look, he managed to distinguish the familiar shape of someone flying on a broomstick. Although the flyer had already disappeared from view, Harry knew that it must be Ginny. Ginny wasn't necessarily cold to Harry, nor did it seem as if she avoided him intentionally. Well, unless she was intentionally practicing on her broomstick from dawn to dusk to avoid Harry… Harry didn't think so, but it didn't stop him from feeling a tiny bit nervous that Ginny wouldn't want anything to do with Harry anymore.
Sighing, Harry returned to the table only to see a letter on the far end of the table that he failed to notice when he came down. Curious, he glanced down to read its message.
Morning Weasleys & Harry
Your father and I have stepped out for a bit to pick up some potion ingredients for Charlie's arm. Ron, make sure you take George some breakfast, and leave Charlie alone, he had a particularly painful night last night.
Ginny dear, I do hope you rest today from flying. At least wait until I come back with a new cloak for you, yours is worn thin.
Harry, if you want to meet us here to buy your Owl, We'll be stopping for at the Leaky Caldron at around ten.
We'll be back in time for lunch. Don't touch the pies in the oven Ron!
Harry glanced at the wall clock, when his eyes found the Weasley Family clock. When Bill and Fleur got married, Fleur's name and picture had appeared on the clock, along with a new stop labeled "Shell Cottage" which was where Bill and Fleur were now. Harry had been added only last week. Nervously, he looked for Fred, wondering if Fred had disappeared off the clock. However, Fred's picture and name was still there, pointing to another new stop labeled "In Loving Memory" which seemed all too appropriate. There it is again, that nagging feeling that he was missing something, something important. What was it? George, he was surprised to see, was not at home, but in fact "traveling." For the past week, George had shut himself up in his and Fred's old bedroom, unwilling to join the family at mealtimes. In fact, Harry didn't remember seeing George for the past few days. Frowning again, he wondered if George had went to his shop in Diagon Alley. Although owl after owl had come with new orders and once, even a threat to break in through the window if the store didn't open immediately, George had ignored every letter, mumbling that Fred had made sure that even someone with Hagrid's strength couldn't put so much a scratch on their window that was reinforced with heavy magic.
Harry went up to his room to grab his cloak, and wand. He took note, from the pocketwatch that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had given him for his seventeenth birthday, that it was only a few minutes past eight, and walked back downstairs to Ron's room.
As Ron was still sleeping, he grabbed a quill and quickly wrote a note explaining he's gone to Diagon Alley.
Diagon Alley was reopening with all its original splendor. Although still not as busy with people shopping as it was had been, many of the shops were taking this opportunity to display their products with more lights, colors, and outrageous spell work that Harry couldn't help but marvel again at the shops. Checking in his pocket to see if he needed to visit Gringrotts, he decided to go straight to buy his owl. Once in the store, noisy as always with the hundreds of owls hooting and toads crocking, he was immediately noticed by an assistant who bustled over to him with an owl on his shoulder and two black shiny rats poking out of his robe pockets.
About an hour later, Harry had purchased a large male Barn Owl he had decided to name Loren. Hedwig's name meant battle, warrior, and it was only fitting that as Hedwig died during battle, this owl's name meant victory. Loren was distinctively different from Hedwig, which is what he wanted. No owl could replace Hedwig, and he wasn't going to try. Loren, a young Barn Owl, had a white face, but the rest of his plumage was sable and brown.
Walking into the Leaky Cauldron, Loren let out a loud screech that drew the attention of all the customers. So that he wouldn't be noticed, Harry drew his cloak tightly around him, flattened his hair so that it covered his scar and took a seat in a corner where he had a clear view of the back door to look out for Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.
After ordering a butterbeer, Harry couldn't help but look over at the two wizards sitting near him. They were having a heated discussion about Aurors, and Harry thought he had heard them say Stone. Straining to hear, he wished for extendable ears.
"working with muggles…. Few months…."
"does no good to save muggles… wasn't it Kingsley?... bad judgment on his part…"
"heard the muggles were horrible to him ya know"
"not worth a bloody knut I tell you"
"still, Stone had it hard, her muggle parents were killed"
"bloody hell you cobbwonbusket, everyone's parents were killed during You-Know-Who's first run, don't mean everyone had a personal Auror protecting them! If they're protecting anyone, I'd want them to protect OUR kind first!"
"but they're HIS relatives!"
"sure didn't act like his relatives from what I hear. Ah but still, I guess Stone was so keen
because of her relationship with his mum"
"his mum? Lily? Lily Potter? What she have to do with Stone?"
"Stone was the only muggleborn her first year at Hogwarts, she was an outcast she was. It was still a time when muggleborns were still pretty rare, and Stone had a hard time making friends. Lily, you know, was a muggleborn, was Head Girl too, an amazing witch if I ever saw one. Took notice of Stone see? I heard Lily personally taught Stone some of most complex spells. Tutored her in potions as well. Even got Slughorn to include Stone in his little circle."
"Stone viewed Lily as like a idol, though Lily and Stone were only in school together for a year."
"Bet Stone was a better sister to Lily than that muggle ever was"
Heart beating, Harry quickly paid for his drink and walked out of the Leaky Cauldron, only to bump into Mr. and Mrs. Weasley in the back alley.
"Why Harry! You're here early! Oh what a lovely bird!" exclaimed Mrs. Weasley as she dropped the packages in her arms to take Harry's cage.
"Hello Harry, something the matter son?" asked Mr. Weasley, noticing that Harry had gone white. He was also laden with packages.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. I…er…. Need to get back to Burrow, do you need me to take some of the packages back with me?" replied Harry, walking back into the Leaky Cauldron, careful to keep his back to the two wizards who were still whispering together.
"Oh would you dear? There is one more ingredient we need to buy for Charlie's potion and its been quite difficult to find, dragon blood, very rare and has extraordinary healing powers, and St. Mungo's high demand for them at the moment, so the local store was all out. Although I'm about to give up, I don't know where else to look." Replied Mrs. Weasley.
Harry took Loren and as much packages he can carry and flooed back to the Burrow. For the third time, he was surprised as he arrived in the Burrow kitchen, this time not because it was empty, but rather because it was full of jinxes flew back and forth in a very heated fight.
Dropping the packages, he ducked to avoid a jinx coming his way and covered Loren's cage with his body, the last thing he wanted was to lose Loren the same way he had lots Hedwig, the same day he got him!. The pause of the spells gave room for the duelers to shout.
"HOW DARE YOU GINNY WEASLEY!!!!" yelled George from one side of the dinner table.
Ginny, across from him with a glare in her eyes that Harry had never seen before, looked frightening with her long red hair flaring out as if electric currents were flowing through them. In one hand she clutched her wand, the other, her broom.
"FRED DID NOT BELONG TO YOU GEORGE WEASLEY. HE WAS AS MUCH BROTHER TO ME AS HE WAS TO YOU!" she shrieked back, sending a jinx that broke a window behind George.
"FRED IS. IS MY BROTHER. NOT WAS MY BROTHER. HE IS, ALWAYS WILL BE MY BROTHER! MY TWIN! NOTHING CHANGES THAT!" hollered George as he attempted to use the spell "Accio Broom!" only to fail as Ginny put up a protective shield around the broom she clutched. Harry thought George's choice of jinx spells was unusual, but Ginny holding so fiercely onto the broom was weird too. Wildly, Harry looked around the destroyed kitchen, the biscuits still in the basket in the middle of the table, letting off steam. He saw Ron staring wide-eyed, from safety of the staircase. He motioned to Harry to join him.
"YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN GEORGE WEASLEY, DON'T GET ALL PERCY ON ME NOW. AS IF YOU EVER CARED ABOUT GRAMMER." Another jinx shot out from Ginny's wand.
"NO RIGHT GINNY! NO RIGHT TO TOUCH THAT BROOM!" George shot back with a spectular jinx that burst out in fireworks inches from Ginny's hair.
"Bad timing mate" Ron said as Harry joined him on the staircase lugging Loren's cage along, after dodging jinxes and being careful not to step on anything. Ron had put a silencing spell on the staircase, so the loud screaming voices of Ginny and George, and the deafening noises of jinxes exploding and things breaking were drowned out.
"what happened!?" asked Harry as he watched the silent duo still firing jinxes at each other, while things exploding around them as they missed.
"Its Fred's broom" Ron replied dejectedly without taking his eyes off the duel.
"oh." Harry replied sadly.
"I always thought Ginny was flying with Bill or Charlie's old broom," said Ron.
They watched in silence as more plates broke and curtains ripped.
"should'nt we stop them? Your parents were almost finished shopping, they should be home any minute now" said Harry as he watched the biscuits fly through the air missing George by mere hair.
"Dad put a spell in the kitchen when I was eight." Offered Ron as explanation to the unasked question. "That's why Ginny's and George's spells aren't hitting. Fred and George used to fling food during meal times, and once they hit Bill in the face with gravy. Bill had just turned seventeen, so he whipped out his wand and to jinx them, only, he missed and hit Ginny. Ginny was six. It threw her little body all the way across the room, broke a few bones, and she wouldn't stop bleeding for days. After that, mum had dad put a spell around the kitchen area that prevented any spells from hitting a human body. I guess she knew Fred and George wouldn't stop throwing food, though Bill, Fred, and George weren't able to sit for a week- Mum punished them so bad."
"I guess that's a good thing" Harry replied as he turned back to the duel. When a spell aimed for Ginny bounced, Harry watched in horror as it hit the Weasley Family Clock. In an instant Harry drew his wand and broke the silence charm Ron casted.
"IMMOBULUS!" Harry screamed. Everything stopped in midair and George and Ginny both whipped around to glare at Harry. Ignoring them, he walked across the kitchen to where the Weasley Family Clock was stopped. Inspecting it, he found that the jinx had damaged Fred's handle and picture. Glaring at Ginny and George, Harry vented his anger. "BLOODY HELL GINNY! GEORGE! FRED WOULD BE PISSED IF HE KNEW YOU GUYS BLASTED HIS NAME OFF THE CLOCK! IN BLOODLY LOVING MEMORY MY TOADSTOOL! OH YEAH, ITS SO LOVING TO TRY TO KILL EACH OTHER IN HIS MEMORY!" Harry roared as he glared from one sibling to the other.