Sorry, I know it's late. I'm beta searching at the moment, anyone interested?
Harry woke to a light tap on the door, and Charlie peeked into Ron's bright orange room uneasily.
"Good morning. I wasn't sure if you were awake yet." He said with a smile, walking in with a tray of food. Harry gasped theatrically, his hands on his cheeks.
"Breakfast in bed? Oh this is so romantic!" He cried, wiping a fake tear. Charlie laughed and rolled his eyes, but played along.
"You know I'd do anything for you baby." He said emotionlessly and Harry snorted, dropping the act. He threw Ron's covers off of him and slid off the bed, standing carefully so not to hurt his abdomen.
"Thanks, but this isn't necessary. I can go downstairs and eat at the table with you guys." He insisted, stretching his sore arms. He really was feeling a lot better today, he barely even felt any pain in his arms anymore, and his stomach only hurt half as bad as it did yesterday. He didn't take the tray off of Charlie's hands though, because he didn't want to risk dropping it all down the stairs. Charlie shrugged, and led him down the staircase.
"Mum's going to kill me for letting you out of bed, you know." Charlie muttered sourly, and Harry shrugged.
"Better you than me." He said unsympathetically, and then laughed at the dirty look Charlie gave him over his shoulder. As they reached the bottom floor of the Weasley domain, Harry could hear the laughter and voices of all the Weasley children and he soaked it in blissfully, missing the sound of happiness. Charlie led him though the living room and into the full kitchen, where all noises suddenly ceased.
"Harry! What on earth are you doing out of bed?" Mrs. Weasley cried, and she turned on Charlie who shrunk back from the accusing glare.
"I feel better." Harry said simply, and then grinned. He watched Mrs. Weasleys resolve disperse slowly, and she sighed.
"Alright Dear… just promise you won't over do it." She said submissively, and Harry smiled happily. He went and took the empty spot in between Ron and Fred, beaming at Ginny from across the table. The chatter resumed and Harry turned to his old/new friend Ronald Weasley.
"Hi," He said, sticking his hand out. "I'm Harry." Ron looked up at him slightly star struck, and took his hand.
"Ron." He said breathlessly, like he couldn't believe Harry Potter was sitting next to him, eating at his kitchen table. Harry grinned toothily at him, then picked up a piece of bacon and took a crunchy bite. His mouth exploded with flavor, and he realized just how hungry he really was. Even as he tried to pace himself so he wouldn't get sick later, he ate twice as much as anyone at the table, and was finished second only behind Ron.
"Mrs. Weasley, that was delicious. You are an amazing cook!" He praised, only sucking up a little. He wiped his fingers on his napkin and slumped in his chair. Suddenly he realized he should probably learn the names of all the Weasleys before he made the same mistake he had with Ginny with anyone else. "Umm, so what's everybody's name? I mean, I think you already know who I am." He said, sitting up in his chair.
"I'm Forge and that's Gred… I mean, that's George and I'm Fred." Fred said with a grin, and Harry laughed.
"I'm Percy Weasley, very nice to meet you Mr. Potter." Percy said in a very self-important voice, and Harry heard George imitating him under his breath while Fred snickered.
"Charlie." Charlie said simply, flashing him a small smile. Harry smiled back, and then looked at Ginny.
"Then there's Ginny," he said, then he turned to his right."And Ron." They both nodded in agreement.
"And we have another brother, Bill." Ron piped up. "But he's already graduated." Charlie cleared his throat loudly, and Ron quickly added, "Charlie's graduated too, he just won't leave." The whole table besides Charlie and Mrs. Weasley snickered, and Charlie rolled his eyes.
"I leave for Romania when the school year starts." He said, and his Mum beamed over at him.
"Charlie's going to be a Dragon Tamer!" Ginny exclaimed from across the table and Harry pretended to be amazed, remembering the way he'd reacted the first time.
"You're going to tame REAL DRAGONS?!" Harry exclaimed, and Charlie flushed proudly. Harry gaped at him openly for a few seconds, and then closed his mouth. "That's cool." He said nonchalantly, and smiling when the Weasley children laughed. He waited for everyone to finish before excusing himself, mainly because Ginny was the last one to be done.
"Hey, do you want to go play outside?" He asked her after she had cleaned her plate, and she nodded timidly and smiled. They walked side by side, not speaking until they reached the back door where Harry froze.
"What is it?" She asked, but Harry barely heard her, because he was staring at a cage that sat on top of a side table in the living room. Inside was a fat, old brown garden rat that was sleeping without a care in the world. Heat flashed up his spine, and he could hear his teeth grinding together loudly. He was brought back to earth at the sight of Ginny's worried face, making him take a deep breath and force a smile on his face.
"It's nothing, lets go." He murmured, stalking out the back door. Ginny trailed behind him confusedly, still wearing that worried expression. Harry pushed the damned rat from his mind, focusing only on Ginny and was surprised at how immediately he felt better. He pointed in the direction of the orchard that resided behind the tall wood fence lining the Weasleys yard. "Can we go exploring?" He questioned her innocently and she looked back at the house uncertainly, but nodded nonetheless.
"Yeah, sure." She complied, and she led him through the gate in the fence while looking closely at him. "Harry, are you okay?" She questioned him uneasily, and Harry smiled tenderly. She was just too cute when she worried about him like that.
"I'm fine, I promise. I'm just a little sore." He lied smoothly, but the worry didn't leave her face. They made their way through the orchard in silence, listening to the birds chirp and the wind rustle through the leaves. The trees were thinning, and eventually they reached a grassy hill covered in little dandelions and other weeds or flowers, Harry wasn't quite sure. "Want to rest here?" He asked Ginny, and she shrugged.
"Okay. I haven't ever gone this far into the woods before." She said, and she ran up the slope until she reached the top, then she stood there slightly awed. "Harry, come look at this!" Harry carefully made his way up the hill, and immediately understood why she was so amazed. From the top of the mound, you could see the rolling hills that went on for miles. "Isn't it gorgeous?" She said breathily, her eyes shining brightly.
"Not in comparison with you, it isn't." He replied cheesily, and she flushed scarlet. He laughed and plopped down on the dewy grass, patting the spot next to him for her to sit. She dropped down and stared out towards the hills, her blush fading slowly. "Hey Gin…" Harry murmured, then trailed off suddenly unsure of himself.
"Yeah?" She said, sounding surprised at the nickname. Harry turned and looked deep into her toffee colored eyes, and felt his insides squirming with apprehension.
"Umm… I know we've only known each other for two days, and during those two days I've made you cry about a billion times, but I just thought you should know that… I really like you. More than I've ever liked a girl." He confessed, hoping he wasn't overwhelming her too much. What he had just told her did not even graze the amount of affection he held for the beautiful red head sitting to his left. Harry had been careful to say 'a girl' to insure that she understood he wasn't talking about as a friend. She stared down at her hands, with her fiery red hair blocking her face from view. She cleared her throat and tucked her hair behind her ear.
"You did not make me cry a billion times." She replied defiantly, crossing her arms with a mock angry expression. Harry laughed, feeling stupid about previously harboring thoughts in which she would freak out and run away. Ginny's expression turned soft and her cheeks red, her eyes reverting back to the small hands that she rested in her lap. "And I like you too. I mean, I've heard stories about you ever since I was a little girl…" Harry felt his heart drop into his stomach. It was like a slap in the face to hear that she only liked him for his fame and the heroic image of the overly exaggerated stories 'the-boy-who-lived', and he stood up abruptly.
"Well, if that's the only reason then-" He started angrily, his muscles tense and aching to run away. She cut him off with equal vigor, her eyes flashing irately.
"Perhaps if you would let me finish, you would know that I was going to say I'd heard stories about you since I was a little girl, but you're even more amazing than I'd ever thought was possible. Every time I see you I want to smile, and you look at me like I'm someone important and not just Ron or Percy or whoever's little sister." She retorted, angry at first then slowly simmering down to embarrassment.
Harry stared at her astonished. It seemed he had miscalculated the amount of affection she held for him. Could she really feel this way about him already? It took Harry at least six years to even notice her the first time around. He continued to stare at her, his heart suddenly feeling light as a feather beating away happily in his chest. They were both completely still, and Ginny seemed to be preparing for rejection. Finally Harry rejoined her on the slippery slope, leaning back on his hands nonchalantly.
"I knew you were madly in love with me." He said with a cocky grin, and Ginny's head whipped around so fast her hair slapped Harry in the face. She looked a mix between offended and mortified as she stuttered her denial, making Harry's grin widen. For the first time in a long time, Harry felt completely at ease.
Harry stared in shock at the moving black and white picture of Sirius Orion Black, looking oh so menacing with his crazed eyes and fists clenched on a numbered plate. It wasn't possible. He shouldn't have escaped until the Weasley's were in the Daily Prophet for winning some kind of lottery with the Ministry. Could Harry have possibly caused this much of a change by just the little he had done since his arrival in the past? He didn't think so, but what did he know? Harry had a nagging suspicion that his blissful break from reality was to be short lived.
He lifted his eyes from the frightening picture of his godfather, resting them on Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's anxious faces. The whole Weasley family crowded around the distressing paper as Mr. Weasley read aloud the article on Sirius' escape.
SIRIUS BLACK ESCAPES ASKABAN
Sirius Black, possibly the most infamous prisoner ever to be held in Azkaban fortress, suddenly disappeared from his cell on May 29th. The Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, has reassured us that he has every available Auror on the case, and Black will soon be brought back into custody. He has warned us though that while Black is at large, everyone should remain very alert and keep their eyes open for any signs of danger. More information on the case will be released in Monday's issue of The Daily Prophet, along with 10 way to tell if someone is really a mass murderer in disguise.
Mr. Weasley stopped there, looking seriously at each of their faces, his eyes lingering on Harry's for a moment then moving to the next face.
"This is a very serious issue, kids. Sirius Black is very dangerous, and he won't hesitate to hurt or kill any of you. Do you understand me?" He said in a grave voice. The Weasley children and Harry nodded silently, the formers looking both frightened and excited while the latter looked very confused and faintly happy. Harry was going to see his Godfather again, something he had given up all hope on. He would clear Sirius' name once and for all, and he knew exactly how to do it. Harry slowly looked up at the rat sleeping in its cage, his eyes narrowing deviously.