Chapter Three

Whomever said it would be easy or pleasant to become and Animagus ought to be slapped. IT WAS HARD. And often times not at all pleasant. I would say I was pretty good in both Potions and Transfiguration, and it was hard for me. The process involved a LOT of potion making, reciting the same incantations and downing horrible tasting potions twice daily. To top it off the mandrake leaf on the tongue for a month was absolutely vile. Easily and by FAR the worst tasting stuff I've ever tasted. Unfortunately there was no thunderstorms during my initial start of the process, so I had to continue the consumption of the vial tasting potions until one presented itself. True the word, the making of the potions and reciting of the inactions was draining but I grew strong and didn't get tired as often. The dizziness and lightheadedness went away as my magical supply was being used at a steady pace. I felt normal again, but Nox, he refused to let me out of his sight, in case of a relapse.

It wasn't very long after the month of potions and nearly going stir-crazy that I received an owl from my favorite pair of red-haired twins, an invitation for me remaining with them at their house with their family until the start of term. The idea intrigued me and I was super up for the idea, feeling normal again, and I did miss them. I had to get permission from McGonagall, Dumbledore, Snape, AND had to be cleared my Madam Pomfrey to go. She made me swear that if I felt ill, off, or in general odd or funny to come immediately and see her. And apparently the Professors and Healer both gave Nox instructions to remind me of my potions, a duty he took seriously.

Finally after much convincing, and promising I soon found myself sitting in the Hogs Head Pub in Hogsmeade, a small village just outside Hogwarts. Fred and George tell me it's where the older students, with permission, go to get sweets and other things that they need. I had a small rolling suitcase with the essentials. Inside were a set of robes, various muggle clothes for the stay, and of course my large flash of the Animagus potion as well. If I needed more Professor Snape had confirmed he would send me more if necessary. I had a small cross-body purse with a small pack of smaller vials of my potion for easy access, money, my wallet, and bag full of Wizard money, and of course my Hogwarts Express ticket tucked away. In all honest, it felt odd being in the pub, not only was I underage, but I was fairly certain I stuck out like a sore thumb.

I wore dark jeans, and a red shirt with a golden Gryffindor lion emblazoned on the back. Mis-matched socks were tucked onto my feet and shoved into maroon converse. I had wrangled my hair into submission with a large hair clip. Nox was resting around my neck like a scarf. The only indication that it was indeed an animal and not stuffed was the occasional twitch of the tail. For the most part people in the pub left me alone. There were a few lecherous looking men, who had, attempted to approach me but quickly turned the other way or walked past me when Nox had turned his dark gaze on him. A Kneazle's star was unnerving, even more so when the said Kneazle's eyes were ruby red and often unblinking that seemed to stare right into your soul.

I nervously glanced up at the clock above the bar, it was a quarter till ten, and the boys would be here any moment. They would be arriving with their mother and the four, well five if you included Nox, would head out to their house. I was both nervous and excited.

"There you are!"

Almost immediately the Kneazle around my neck began to purr. Turning slightly, I was happy to see Fred and George approaching me. Fred wore a green t-shirt and worn jeans, meanwhile George wore and identical outfit his shirt however was blue. They both had grown a bit taller and their voices deepened slightly. They sat on either side of me, sandwiching me in a hug.

"It been forever!" they cried.

I snorted at their exaggeration.

"It's only been a month you goobers!"

They both shrugged and gave me their crooked grins.

"You look good," Fred complimented, and George nodded in agreement.

I look down at myself, I hadn't changed month in the month we'd been apart honestly. I was still as short as ever. My hair had grown slightly, I was finally hitting puberty, and slowly I wasn't looking like an adolescent boy any more.

"Mum will be along in a bit," George answered my unasked question.

"She saw the jam shop, wanted to stop in a get a few things. We decided to come fetch you." Fred added.

At first it was weird when they seemed to know what I was thinking but that weirdness went both ways. We often knew what the other was asking without voicing the words. So I embraced it and rolled with it. I knew the shop they had mentioned, I had stopped there too before coming to the pub. They really had some amazing stuff.

"Anything new and exciting to report?" I asked.

The boys shook their heads.

"Nothing much, really. Ron is heartbroken," George said sarcastically.

I gazed at the boys confused. Out of the golden trio, Ron wasn't one I had really bonded with, and I hadn't honestly been aware he was dating someone. The boy snickered.

"Your cousin hasn't responded to any of the letters Ron had sent him, he's beginning to take it personally." Fred explained.

Realization dawned on me and rolled my eyes.

"If it makes Ronald feel any better, I've not received anything either,"

Although we verbally joked about the situation, I knew they were worrying just as much as I was.

"I hope he's alright, Hermione hadn't heard anything from him either," I mumbled.

The boys exchanged a look and it seemed to confirm something, but what it was I couldn't say. They were planning something.

"Ginny still brimming with excitement?" I asked changing the subject.

At that the pair snickered even harder. In the letters the boys have sent me, they had told me about their younger sister, Ginny. She would be starting Hogwarts this term, and she was super excited to be meeting THE Harry Potter. It was a huge crush.

"I'm sure if she could fly from the excitement, she would be. She's absolutely obsessed." Fred grimaced.

The two continued snickering at the thought when the two flinched by being slapped upside the head. The aggressor was a woman, who stood at five three, she had curly red hair and brown kind eyes. She wore a royal purple dress that ended at mid-shin and had purple rosebuds scattered amongst the dress. She wore a warm brown cardigan with ¾ sleeves, brown flats adorning her feet. The boys both wore a pair of matching mischievous grins despite rubbing the back of their heads where they were hit.

The woman looked annoyed but there was a tenderness in her eyes.

"Picking on Ginny again?"

Fred and George scowled up at their mother.

"It's not picking on her if the entire family knows about her obsession," George argued.

"She's only talked about it all summer," Fred added.

She gave the boys a stern look.

"Nonetheless, if I find out you two are picking on her…"

She left the threat hang in the air. Her attention then turned to me.

"You must be Harper! I've heard so much about you, thank you so much for helping the boys!" She gushed happily.

She seemed to swoop in and scoop me out from between the boys and into a hug. While the hug was completely unexpected, it was not displeasing, she seemed like a very warm-hearted individual and seemed to smell like cookies.

"Thank you so much for coming out to get me, I know it's not an easy journey. And Fred and George seem to pick up what I'm teaching fairly quickly."

She beamed at me prettily. She looked at me over and smiled fondly.

"I though Minerva was exaggerating when she told me you look so much like Maggie, but you are almost a carbon copy. We were good friends she and I." She complimented.

I blushed at the compliment, I had only recently obtained a photo album of pictures of my mother, and the fact that people thought I even remotely looked like her was a huge compliment. But even I had to admit, I did look almost exactly like her.

"Thank you for the sweater and the sweets. Both were amazing,"

Now it was her turn to blush at the compliment and she shook her head.

"No trouble at all dearie,"

She looked up at the clock over the bar and she smiled.

"Well, we best be off. We got a bit of a drive."

I paid for my soda and followed Ms. Weasley and the twins to a parking lot where an old Ford Anglia sat. It was turquoise in color and had a gray roof. Fred helped with my suitcase and put it in the trunk while Mrs. Weasley got in the driver's seat. Nox had leapt from his spot around my neck and occupied the passenger seat beside her. The twins and I clamored into the back seat and buckled up. Fred caught sight of my perplexed expression.

"Dad is borrowing the car from the Ministry, it's not like your average Muggle car,"

Once we were settled, Mrs. Weasley pulled the car into reverse and we soon headed down the road and away from Hogsmede. Once we were on the road a ways, she hit a button on the console and the car seemed to shudder… she then pulled a level which had though to a shifter, and the car rumbled and began lifting into the air. We were FLYING. I unbuckled and clamored over Fred to look out the window, I felt Fred chuckle at my antics and I could have sworn I saw Mrs. Weasley smile in the review mirror.

It was amazing, the clouds were fluffy and like the cotton-candy I had imagined. It was exhilarating, the boys teased me, and Mrs. Weasley went to scold them, but was pleasantly surprised when I could handle myself. She even laughed at a few of the comebacks I had delivered back to the pair. We flew for about an hour before I noticed we had started to descend, with a slight bump once we touched the ground in landing. We had landed beside a tumbledown garage in a small yard.

The home itself had once been a large pen made of stone from what I could see, but over the years extra rooms had been added here and there until it was several stories high. The house was so crooked that it likely was held up by magic, I could see there were four or five chimneys were perched on top of the red colored roof. A lopsided sign stuck in the ground near the entrance: THE BURROW.