Well, 2005 to 2009. The story is now completely AU, obviously, and I'm not sure I can possibly replicate the success of my prior writing attempts - but I will absolutely attempt to.
I don't own Harry Potter, obviously, that belongs to Ms Rowling and whichever studio happens to have the rights to the movies - I keep forgetting which. I love reviews - even negative ones, so long as there's something constructive in them I can use to improve upon my story writing techniques.
Somewhere in the city of Whitehall, in London, the seat of Britain's civil service, a lift was traveling. "Department of Mysteries," a pleasant female voice intoned, as the lift doors opened onto Level Nine of the Ministry of Magic. Mafalda Hopkirk, a portly woman with slightly too much lipstick and heavy curls in her hair walked briskly out with a small briefcase in hand. She walked own the blank corridor leading to a plain door. She stepped through, and stopped still as the circular chamber in which she stood revolved around her. She sighed in irritation and pulled out a pocket watch. Examining it, and realizing she was a minute late, she huffed her shoulders as the room finally stopped spinning. She walked straight through a door to her left without a single pause as though the room had barely moved at all. Moving straight through a room filled with clocks and time keeping she nodded towards a middle-aged man dressed in sky blue robes. "Morning Dirk," she greeted. Without waiting for a reply, she continued on and entered the Hall of Prophecy.
Since her transfer to the Department of Mysteries as Administrative Undersecretary, she had become quite accustomed to the oddities and peculiarities of the clandestine division, but even so the Hall of Prophecy gave her a small shiver. The shelving had been quickly repaired after the Death Eater incursion, but so many gaps existed where once orbs of the future resided. As she walked past row upon row of prophecy, she spotted row one hundred and fourteen, where two men were standing in wait. She slowed to a halt in front of them, and looked at them both.
"Bode. Croaker. You asked to see me?" Mafalda looked at them both expectantly. Neither men made a sound, but pointed instead to the shelf immediately above Mafalda's head. "Something to do with a prophecy, I'm assuming," she asked dryly.
"New prophecy came in 'bout an hour ago," intoned Bode. Mafalda blinked at him a few times.
"Prophecies come in all the time. What's so special about this one?"
Bode and Croaker looked at each other, before Croaker feebly gestured towards the orb. Mafalda pursed her lips and looked at the two men as though they were idiots, before turning around and examining the shelf for herself. "Swirling mist in a crystal ball. Looks like a standard prophecy to me."
"There's no name on it."
Mafalda turned her head to look at Bode who had just spoken and gives him a look of skeptical disbelief. "Well of course there's a name," she snapped as she looked back towards the swirling prophecy. Searching it with her eyes intently, she looks in vain to prove the two Unspeakables wrong. Staring for a moment, she breathlessly exclaims "That's not possible..."
Leaning forward, she reaches her hand towards the orb experimentally, as though worried her hand might fall off if she actually grasps it. "Whoa, whaddyer think yer doin'?" Croaker exclaimed, speaking for the first time since Mafalda had arrived.
"Well, if there's no name on it, anyone should be able to retrieve it. Either it's a prophecy about no-one, or a prophecy about everyone. Either way, we'll soon find out." Mafalda reached forward again, slightly more confident in her reasoning, and grasped the prophecy. It glowed for a moment while Mafalda held it, and as it was pulled from the shelf, a voice intoned around the chamber and echoed eerily out from the orb.
"A storm in Summer shall herald the beginning of the end;
The learning ground will close and madness shall reign across the lands
And Fire in Flight shall not be prepared, no quarter given by Serpent's Tongue."
The voice dissipated slowly. The three Ministry workers looked at the orb with almost blank expressions, none of them wanting to move. Mafalda, gathering herself, placed the orb slowly back on the shelf where it sat with clouds happily swirling inside. Mafalda turned her attention to Bode and Croaker, "Don't speak of this again. We'll leave it here, and say no more. If anyone else notices it, tell them to leave it be," she instructed slowly. The two Unspeakables inclined their heads and walked away from Mafalda who turned her attention back to the shelf. Staring warily at the orb, she shook her head quickly and moved away back down the corridor, leaving the prophecy in its new home.
Harry woke up at around ten thirty the next morning. Failing to remember how he arrived at his bed, he sat up slowly. His eyes felt blurrier than normal, and he began to hunt for his glasses. Finding them on the nearby table, he put them on. The world came into a half focus which continued to sway around him. For a moment Harry wondered if he had been cursed, and then flashes of his over indulgence returned to him. He stumbled out of the room and down the stairs thinking that he might have done a better job of it had he left his glasses behind.
Making his way into the kitchen, the smell of Mrs. Weasley cooking a fry-up hit him like a brick wall and for a moment Harry wasn't sure that he would keep his stomach from returning its contents. He tried to unobtrusively sit down, and failed miserably when he tripped over the leg of a table which he had sworn was stationary.
"Oh good morning Harry!" Mrs. Weasley yelled, in a voice that Harry considered far too cheerful and loud for such a grey and unpleasant morning.
"Good morning, Mrs...Molly," Harry groaned, as he sat himself down in a chair and rested his head in his hands to block out the light.
"Well, you're faring a lot better than Ron. He was up half the night with the porcelain. First hangover, I suppose?" Mrs Weasly continued to yell.
"Yes.. I don't suppose you could be a bit quieter could you please?"
Mrs. Weasley looked him over with some sympathy, before putting a potion down in front of him. "Here. Now drink that up, you'll feel right as rain in a moment. At least you kids had your first alcohol fueled night here where we could keep an eye on you! The twins, well.. that's a story best left untold. Well, what are you waiting for, drink!"
Harry looked at the vial before him. It was a horrid shade of puce, and Harry was certain that if he drank it he'd collapse. He decided to trust Mrs Weasley, thinking that nothing could possibly be worse than what he was experiencing. To Harry's great surprise, the overwhelming nausea and dizziness almost instantly vanished, and was replaced with a dull thud at the back of his head. "Thanks!"
"Don't be too grateful. It's not full strength. I feel it's best to leave a little reminder of your first hangover, otherwise there's no incentive not to get drunk every chance you get," Mrs. Weasley said. She gave him a motherly smile before returning to her cooking. Thuds on the staircase informed them that others had awoken, and soon Charlie, Ron and Hermione all entered the kitchen.
"Morning Harry," Charlie said, "Did you get your hangover potion yet?"
"Yeah," Harry replied, "your mum had one ready for me."
"Well, she's had plenty of practice with her other kids. Though you were pretty funny last night!"
Harry winced while a slightly pale Ron sniggered at him. Hermione hit his arm in reproach. "You're one to talk, Ronald, considering what you were getting up to." Charlie immediately picked up on Hermione's comment and gave her an inquisitive look. "Let's just say that it's a good thing you can't propose to portraits with the voice of a banshee," Hermione said, grinning.
"You mean Mrs. Black? And Ron was..." Harry left the sentence unfinished and began to snicker behind his hand.
"Oh real funny, yeah laugh it up. Obviously I was Imperiused, or something.." Ron tried to defend himself while his face turned a great shade of strawberry.
"And you think a crush on Snape is disgusting!" Harry burst out in between snickers. Charlie and Hermione looked at Harry horrified.
"Harry," Charlie began, "you don't mean Professor Snape do you?" Harry looked at Charlie, and burst into even more laughter, which had Hermione joining in soon after. Realizing, or hoping, that this was indeed some sort of inside joke, Charlie shook his head in amusement at the trio, before moving off to help his mother. While the two Weasley adults finished up breakfast and began serving, Neville entered the room quietly and took a seat next to Hermione. Beaming at the group, he relaxed into the company of his friends.
"Breakfast smells really good, Mrs. Weasley," he said enthusiastically.
"Oh, it's nothing dear, really, just a few eggs and bacon," she replied, "Ah, Augusta! I'm so glad you decided to stay for Breakfast."
Mrs. Longbottom entered the room with a polite smile, set her green handbag on the surface of a nearby cabinet and glided over to the other side of the table to take a seat next to her grandson. "I could hardly not after smelling it from my quarters, Molly. Have you been enjoying yourself here Neville?" Mrs. Longbottom looked expectantly at her grandson, who responded quickly.
"Yeah, Gran, it's really cool... and we've been learning stuff as well," he added, hoping that his grandmother wouldn't think that spending the holidays away was frivolous.
"Of course you have, with old Alastor running you all ragged. Though I hear you all kept a 'study group' going throughout last year," she addressed to the whole group, giving a knowing look and smirk to Harry. Harry seemed to have no idea how to respond, and simply sat there, smiling at Mrs. Longbottom quite stupidly, before Hermione intervened.
"We felt, as a group, that we should be prepared for anything. In our OWLs," she added quickly. Mrs. Longbottom simply smiled at the group as she accepted a cup of tea from Charlie. As Molly began to serve breakfast, Remus and Tonks entered the kitchen.
"Morning Molly," Remus said with a smile, "Arthur at work already?"
"Yes," Molly replied with pursed lips, "something to do with a Muggle chess set attacking its owner after a checkmate." Ron snickered for a second, but quickly stifled it. Mrs. Weasley wasn't fooled. "Oh yes, absolutely hilarious! People don't have better things to do than Muggle-bait in this day and age - Oh!" Molly was cut off by the arrival of an owl zooming past her from an open window, holding the morning edition of the Daily Prophet. It flew straight into Remus and dropped the paper into his lap, which he calmly unfolded and looked at the front page. As he read, his face drained of colour, and he put the paper down with a whisper. "Oh, Merlin."
Hermione snatched the paper from the table and began to read aloud.
"BEAUXBATONS ATTACKED - SCHOOL NOT SAFE
Late last night Beauxbatons Academy of Magic located near Marseilles, France, was targeted by Death Eaters in what appeared to be a clear terrorist attack, as no person or object was specifically targeted. Beauxbatons is one of the 'Big Three' magical schools in Europe, the other two comprising Durmstrang Institute and Britain's own Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Witnesses near the school described men, dressed in what they could see as black robes and white masks, entering the castle as spells and explosions were suddenly seen. As the attack occurred during the summer holidays, no students were put in any harms way, however four members of staff who were residing in the palatial ice structure were killed attempting to defend it. After considerable damage was done (see Column, page 4, for more information on the damage caused to the structure and grounds) the Dark Mark was released into the air above the sky. The Ministry of Magic has sent Obliviators and Aurors to assist the French authorities in cleaning up the site, as well as hoping to track those responsible. Headmistress Olympe Maxim, who was injured but is believed to be recovering well, described the attack as "a horrendous act of violence. This cowardly act shall not go unpunished, and the staff of Beaxbatons will not relent until those responsible are brought to swift justice."
The Headmistress, a woman of grand stature, also reassured parents that the school would be completely safe for students to return. However, concerned parents were unsure. Jean Frasson, whose thirteen year old son currently attends Beauxbatons, says that his son will not be returning for the next school year. "It is awful," he exclaimed, "zat our students could be put in danger for seemply wishing to study! My son will be 'ome-schooled." A spokesperson for the school's board of governors indicated to us that the school may not re-open in the event that the governors were unsatisfied with security at the school." In an official statement, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore of Hogwarts extended an invitation for any staff and student of Beaxbatons to attend Hogwarts for the next year while Beauxbatons is rebuilt. No statement has been released, or is expected, from Durmstrang.
See Editorial: 'Are our children safe at school?'"
Ron was the first to speak after Hermione had finished. "Blimey, do you really think they'll come to Hogwarts?" Hermione looked at him and sighed sadly.
"Some will. I doubt many will though." Hermione began flipping through the pages of the newspaper to find any more details. Mrs. Longbottom took a thoughtful sip of tea.
"The French are very proud of their school. Coming to Hogwarts would be the height of shame for them. Rotten frogs," Mrs. Longbottom added under her breath. Ron suddenly perked up and looked at Harry.
"Hey, do you think Fleur will come? That'd be - OW!" Ron was cut off mid sentence as Hermione hit him across the head with the newspaper. "Sorry, but she's a Veela! No-one can resist her."
"I managed it alright," Harry interjected. Ron looked at him like he'd grown a second head. Neville jumped in to try and save face.
"I guess I didn't either, Ron. Maybe she only turns the charm on around people she likes..." Neville trailed off, while Ron's face lit up yet again.
"You think so? That'd mean she'd like me, right? Ouch, Hermione," Ron jumped from his seat as he was attacked yet again by a rolled up Prophet.
"No, Ronald, it's constant. I just don't think that Harry would've been affected because of.. you know!" Hermione wiggled her eyebrows towards Harry while a clueless Ron attempted to decipher what she meant.
"What are you on about 'Mione.. oh. Right. Yeah," Ron continued, trailing off. "But hang on!" he said, "if Fleur didn't affect Harry because of that, then why was Neville unaffected too, huh?" Ron looked at Neville with blank confusion, while Hermione gave him a most Molly Weasley like glare.
"Honestly Ronald, sometimes I think your head is as solid as a kettle!" Neville turned slightly red as Harry slowly examined him after his admission about Fleur not affecting him. Neville shrank away slightly under the gaze, something which didn't go unnoticed by his Grandmother.
"Right, shall we dig in then?" Mrs. Longbottom said, trying to change the topic entirely to save her grandson's embarrassment. They all ate quietly, still digesting the news about Beauxbatons. Ginny came down later, and her bright demeanour brightened the mood among the breakfast crowd.
"We need to head back to Diagon Alley today and pick up your school books and equipment. I'll be waiting for you in the living room. Thanks for a wonderful breakfast, Molly." Remus got up and made his way towards the door. Mrs. Weasley began fussing around the children once he had left.
"Alright everybody, finish up your breakfast then go and get dressed," she instructed. Ginny rolled her eyes and kept eating her food while the other four left their table settings and ventured upstairs. Mrs. Longbottom continued sipping on her second cup of tea and relaxed for a moment, rather enjoying the change in routine.
About fifteen minutes later, Remus and Tonks, along with Neville, Ginny. Harry, Ron and Hermione, were strolling through Diagon Alley having arrived at the Leaky Cauldron during its quietest time of the day. Remus scanned the street with his eyes and, spotting that Flemish and Blotts was closest, steered the group in direction of the book store.
"Alright, everyone, I hope you have your book lists. They should be in your course information pamphlets, oh come on Ron, we can go and visit them after," Remus sighed, as Ron spotted the sign for 'Weasley's Wizard Wheezes' a few shops down from where they were. An eerie purple glow seemed to be emitting from the twins' window and it seemed to have enthralled Ron. Reluctantly, Ron tore his gaze away and traipsed after the group entering Flourish and Blotts.
Harry took a good look around inside. He hadn't really spent much time in the book store before, and noticed for the first time that the shelves of books seemed to stretch on as far as the eye could see; far beyond where the boundaries of the shop appeared to stand from the outside. He noticed Hermione walking to a podium that stood in the centre of the shop's entrance way and picked up a piece of parchment. Tapping the parchment with her finger, lines danced across it forming a map of the store. She looked up and around, and noticed Harry standing looking at her curiously. She offered a sheepish smile and walked over to Harry with a second piece of parchment in his hands.
"This place is awfully big, isn't it? Just tap the parchment and say what you want to find. The parchment will give you directions," she finished, as she handed in the parchment. "Just don't get too lost. The school books are right at the front here, there are some awfully interesting additions for the NEWT courses and," Hermione trailed off her sentence, noticing that Harry wasn't actually paying attention to her but had resumed looking around the store. Hermione smiled indulgently at him before moving off to join Ginny in looking for her OWL textbooks.
Ron walked past, looking at his list of required books and muttering quietly to himself. Harry leaned over towards him, "Hey, Ron, you remember that book you got me for my birthday?"
"Huh, wah?" Ron looked up from his reverie, and looked at Harry blankly for a moment before digesting the question. "Oh, yeah, what about it?"
"Where did you get it from?" Harry asked.
"From here. Well, I got a catalogue. They've got some sort of 'lifestyle' section or something. Don't suppose you've seen 'A Treatise on Charms for the Modern World' anywhere?"
"Don't know mate, better ask Hermione. She's probably memorised the whole section by now," Harry replied, with a grin. Ron gave a small laugh in return, and set off to find the bushy-haired girl amongst the stacks.
Alone for a few moments, Harry tapped the parchment Hermione had given him and said aloud "Lifestyle section." Instantly a map was drawn, complete with flashing arrows and stick figures, showing him where to go. Harry set off in the direction of the arrow to see what other interesting reads he might find. As he walked through the sections he saw categories and sections that were completely new to him, including a whole four stacks of shelves devoted to examining Muggle life and culture across Britain and the World, several rows of books related to the identification and treatment of Spattergroit, and as he continued browsing the stacks he found his own name among the section labelled "Bibliographies: G-K." Picking up the first book he saw, his eyes widened as he read the title.
"Potter and the Pyramids: Conspiracies that surround the Boy-Who-Lived."
Wondering how on earth pyramids were possibly related to him, he opened the book and began to read the first page he came to.
".. be helped by leprechauns. Of course it is well documented that Gilderoy Lockhart, a man of well-documented philanthropy and a strange connection to the Canadian Yetis, was excited to be working alongside Harry Potter when he took the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts (for more on this cursed position, see the author's concurrently published work, "Dumbledore and the Downfall of Hogwarts, where we discuss his pact with the Harpies to assassinate each DADA teacher by the end of the school year) and felt great affection for the boy. However, sources close to both Lockhart and Mr Potter have described how jealous Mr. Potter was of Gilderoy Lockhart's fame and the wizarding world's adoration of him. 'Potter thought that he was the only saviour of the Wizarding World, but when it was clear that Lockhart was more beloved, he was furious.' It is the authors contention that Lockhart's sudden mental illness was the direct result of Harry Potter wanting him out of the way. In fact, considering Lockhart's recent ravings about a giant snake, we are convinced that Harry Potter (who we have shown to have some suspicious connections to the Selwyn family of Parseltongues) used his Dark powers to summon giant snakes that addled Lockhart's mind."
Trying to stifle a laugh, Harry put the book back and marveled at how much nonsense people could come up with. He resumed his search for the Lifestyle section and soon came upon it. Harry looked down at his map, and saw that the section stretched out for what looked like a quarter of a mile. Swearing to himself, he began walking the long section looking for the book Ron had bought him, hoping that it would be in a section that would have other interesting books. As Harry passed a section devoted to "Self-Help Transfiguration," he noticed Neville reading a book from one of the nearby shelves.
"Hi Nev!" Harry said as he approached. Neville slammed the book he was reading shut, and turned around to face Harry.
"Oh, heya Harry.. what are you doing down here?"
"I thought I'd check out some of the other parts of Flourish's, there's some interesting stuff back here. Did you know I had snake leprechauns drive Lockhart mad?"
"Huh?" Neville grunted, obviously confused.
"Never mind. Just a conspiracy book about me. What've you got there?"
"Oh, er," Neville stammered, "nothing really. Just a book. About stuff."
"Books usually are, Nev," Harry joked.
"Yeah, I guess they are," Neville said. He put the book, which had a bright fuchsia binder, back on the shelf. "You got your textbooks yet?" Harry made a face and Neville nodded knowingly.
"There's so many of 'em I haven't even tried looking for them yet. I'll get em when we get on back. Have you got yours?"
"Yeah," Neville replied, "but there's still a couple more I need from the Herbology section. I'd better go and get them now." Neville squeezed past Harry with the small space they had and flashed him a nervous smile, before tapping his parchment and asking for Herbology.
With Neville gone, Harry took the chance to look at the section Neville was browsing previously. Sure enough, the book Ron had bought him was there, along with "The Gay Guy's Guide to Enchanted Charms and Potions," "Dating: Who Transfigures a Chair for Who when you're both Gentlemen?," and "When a Witch Commits to a Witch in a Week." Harry noticed a shopping basket stack near him and picked up a free basket, and piled in a couple of books for later reading when he got home. Then, curious, he pulled out the fuchsia-spined book Neville had been reading. Turning it over, the cover read "Getting the One you Want." Expecting clandestine recipes for love potions and Imperius like lust spells, he was surprised to find that the book had very helpful advice on how to tell someone you fancied that you, indeed, fancied them.
"Spending Time With Him
Gay wizarding courtship is in some ways easier than it is for heterosexual couples as there is no translation of signals required. When two men date, they usually have a common basis to work from. As Muggles put it, men are from Mars, women are from Venus. Why Muggles believe that is ridiculous, as obviously both are from Earth. However if you take the analogy far enough, it makes sense. Men both speak Martian, and women both speak Venetian. No translation required. That said, it's sometimes not best to simply blurt out in your best Martian "I want to date you." A relationship should be built up first. Spend friendship time with the person you like before making a move. Talking to them, smiling and looking into their eyes is a good start to both show that you like the person as a friend, and if your love isn't a complete idiot he may begin to pick up on the other, non verbal signals you're giving him. Offering to help with a project or hobby is a great way to spend time together while having a purpose, and can reduce anxiety or tension between you. Then, once the relationship is established, try asking him out to dinner. Or on a walk. If a relationship between you is going to work, he'll figure out what that means.."
As the book continued, Harry wondered whether Neville was planning on trying this out on someone. Determined to study further, Harry placed the book into his basket with his other intended purchases, and continued browsing the shelves that had so suddenly awakened his interest in books.
By the time Harry finished browsing the lifestyle section forty-five minutes had passed. As he hurried back to the front of the shop, he noticed everyone gathered waiting for his arrival. Ginny was the last person in line at the check out. Harry rushed over to the group with an apologetic look on his face.
"Sorry guys, I got caught up over there," Harry started, but Hermione cut him off.
"Did you get your school books?" she asked.
"My school books. School books, crap," he exclaimed, when suddenly Hermione thrust another basket into his hands.
"There. I figured you wouldn't get them, so I picked them up for you. Potions, DADA and Magical Warding, Transfiguration and Charms. Now hurry up and get in line, we're running late," she admonished, but with an affectionate tone to her voice.
"Thanks 'Mione!" Harry ran over to the check out. Once he was finished paying for his purchases, the group left with a promise from Remus that they'd visit Fred and George's shop before anything else.
The first thing Neville noticed was that the purple glow emanating from the shop window seemed to be emanating from everything inside the shop. It was extraordinarily distracting, and Neville had a hard time focusing on anything. He squinted his eyes and tried to focus on some Skiving Snackboxes he saw on the nearest shelf. Harry, noticing that Neville was slightly dizzy, walked over to him and placed his hand on Neville's back.
"You alright, Nev?"
"Yeah, I'm fine Harry," Neville lied, but enjoying the warmth from Harry's hand which ended all too soon as Fred or George bounded out from the back!
"Welcome, welcome everyone! My brother's in the back working on some new stuff right now, so I have magnanimously offered to show you all around! Ginny, stay out of there, grownups only," the twin warned as Ginny approached a red velvet curtain she had spotted near the side of the store.
Remus walked over to the window of the shop, and looked out at Diagon Alley. Looking up, he saw dark clouds gathering above and could feel the moisture in the air trying to coalesce. Tonks noticed Remus standing on his own and walked over.
"Everything hunky dory ol' chappy?" Tonks asked, cheerfully. Remus gave her a quick glance and a small smile which didn't reach his brown eyes, then returned to staring at the clouds. Tonks, feeling the silence returning, piped up again. "Looks like rain. Maybe the twins sell umbrellas... on second thought!" Tonks giggled at her own joke, and then abruptly stopped when Remus spoke.
"It's cold."
Tonks simply looked at him. "That's what happens in Blighty, Remus, it gets cold."
"But not in the middle of summer. Even with the rain, it should be warm at the start of August." Remus continued looking at the sky, as rain started to fall from the clouds onto the streets below. People walking around dashed for cover underneath shop awnings as they all began unshrinking or transfiguring umbrellas to keep on walking.
"Well, it's just a bit of freak weather. Right?" Tonks looked at Remus expectantly. He looked at her warily, and returned his gaze to the heavens.
"I don't think so Tonks, not this time."
--
Ron was busy examining some of the new "Sbwriel Cymraeg" line which the twins said were selling quite well, as Hermione came over to join him.
"You know, I never really thought the twins paid much attention at school, but some of this is really advanced magic," she said, in awe of some of the products. "Like that hangman toy - the animation charms alone are really complex!"
Ron looked her and smiled, "Yeah," he said, "the twins know what they're doing. Soon they'll be more successful than the rest of the family put together." Ron couldn't help some of the bitterness in his voice as his smile slowly faded. He didn't really begrudge the twins their success, but was frustrated that his family continued to be poor.
"I'm sure you'll be successful too when you get out of school Ron."
"That's just the thing. I dunno what I even wanna do after Hogwarts. I don't have the grades for the Auror programme, I'm not exactly good at much. Probably just get a dead-end Ministry job like Dad."
Hermione looked at him sadly, "I know how you feel Ron. But you'll figure it out. I'm sure you will."
Ron looked up at her and said nothing for a moment before continuing, "Yeah, you're right. Come on, Remus owes us all ice cream."
--
"Alright, Harry, take a look around you. Welcome to WWW's back end. Well, not that sort of back end."
Fred had managed to steer Harry into the back of the shop, where he saw all sorts of devices and creations being invented and tested right in front of him. "It's pretty incredible!"
"Yeah, some of this stuff we're giving to the Order. Like this," Fred handed Harry an amulet. "Won't stop the killing curse, but simple curses should be blocked or slowed down. We made it as a bit of a joke really, get someone to cast a spell on you and laugh as it doesn't work, but then Dumbledore saw it and decided to buy up a bunch!"
"Wow," Harry said, "that's cool. Thanks!" Fred beamed at him.
"Here's a catalogue of our more serious stuff. We're still developing stuff though. But when you get to school, look through it, see if there's anything that you think you'll need to protect you from Death Eaters, or Snape, and we'll send it over for you."
Harry looked up at Fred and returned his smile, the happiness of the twins being infectious. He was surprised to see Dumbledore walking in behind Fred. "Professor!" he said. Fred turned around quickly and looked at the old man with reverence.
"Ah, hello Harry, Fred. I was just talking to your brother, Fred, about smuggling your Wheezes into the castle," Dumbledore said, with a small twinkle in his eye, "seeing as how Mr. Filch has completely banned any of your products from the school."
"Oh, no, Professor, we wouldn't dream of trying to smuggle banned goods into the school," Fred began in an obvious lie. Dumbledore held up his hand and Fred stopped talking instantly.
"Now, far be it from me to dispute the authority of the school caretaker. He is, of course, welcome to ban whatever products he feels appropriate. However, I am certain that not all of the mail need be searched." Fred gaped at the Headmaster, unable to say anything. The twinkle in Dumbledore's eye grew larger. "Now, of course, any product that would do harm to students or staff, or would irreversibly damage property cannot be ignored, nor anything that is age-inappropriate for a school. However, a small blind eye may be turned in certain cases. Skiving Snackboxes, for instance."
"That's very.. interesting of you, Sir," Fred said. Dumbledore gave a small chuckle.
"My dear boy, we are at war. But even in war, children still need laughter. Now if you will excuse me, I must pay a visit to Fortescues, I hear that they have a new flavour of ice cream in I'm desperate to try. Good day to you both. Harry, I will talk to you soon, I am sure." With a smile, Dumbledore walked straight past the two and out of the shop. Fred simply gaped for a moment before shouting out to the furthest part of the back room.
"Hey, George!"
"Yeah?" George's voice echoed back towards them.
"Dumbledore!"
"Yeah, he's mental!"
By the time everyone had left Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, picked up their apothecary ingredients and other equipment their lists demanded and arrived at Fortescues, the rain was pounding heavily onto the cobbled Alley. Underneath the canopy of the ice cream shop, however, everyone was toasty warm and looking forward to their ice cream. Remus presented them all with a cone and they began to dig in.
"I hope everyone's enjoyed themselves today," Remus said. He received simply nods in return, everyone being too busy with their ice cream. "Fantastic! Right, Harry, we'd better go to your Uncle and Aunt's house later to let them know you'll be staying with us for a bit longer." Harry gulped down part of his icecream before responding.
"They probably haven't even noticed that I'm gone."
"Be that as it may," Remus said in a tone that brokered no argument, "they are your guardians and we have to tell them. It'll only take a few minutes. Right, the rest of you, off to Grimmauld Place!" Ron had already finished his ice cream and was holding his head as they ran across the rain to Diagon Alley's floo connection.
"What's wrong with you?" Ginny asked as they waited for their turn at the floo gate.
"Brain freeze," Ron replied, looking like he was about to be sick.
"That's what you get for being a greedy pig," Ginny retorted. Ron stuck his tongue out at her, unable to come up with a witty response of his own. Harry, Hermione and Neville simply laughed at the siblings as their turn to use the floo came. Quickly, they left the alley to continue being soaked in a rain that seemed to Remus to be far more unnatural than a normal storm. Remus was the last to enter the floo and turned around for a last look at the sky before heading into the fire place. Just as he threw down his floo powder, he noticed an arc of lightning fill the sky with white, but had little time to observe as the green fire claimed him back to Order Headquarters.
Later that night the heavy rain and lightning continued. Charlie wrapped up warm and covered in Impervious charms and headed out to the Fellytone club he had visited the other night. Once inside, he scoped the room. Few people were in tonight; the music was on low and he could hear the clink of glass as bar staff diligently worked despite the few patrons. At the corner of the bar, he spotted James Waterbucket from the other night and walked over.
"Trying to pick up guys, are we?" Charlie said cheekily, as he plopped down next to James. James smiled deeply and looked directly into Charlie's eyes.
"Actually I've been sitting here every night since we met hoping you'd come back. I'm glad you did."
"I had no other way to contact you, and an owl post seemed silly to ask someone on a date." James' eyebrows shot up slightly at the mention of a date.
"Well, I'm here now." Charlie looked James over for a moment before ordering a drink.
"I haven't decided to ask you out yet," Charlie retorted. James looked crestfallen for a moment before he recovered.
"Can I help you decide?" James asked, flirting. Charlie looked directly at James.
"You can tell me why you were so interested when I mentioned Harry Potter." James sighed and looked at his drink.
"I guess you wouldn't believe that I'm just a huge fan," he started. Charlie looked on, unwavering. James rolled his eyes and pulled his shirt down slightly from his neck, revealing a Phoenix shaped medallion that belonged only to Order members. Charlie looked at it surprised, and with his wand, checked briefly that it was authentic.
"Why didn't you tell me before?" Charlie said. James snorted and returned to his drink.
"I only realised you were a Weasley when your mother came by to get you. I don't run around shouting 'Hey I'm an Order member!' to people. It's an easy way to make yourself a target."
"I've never seen you at meetings, though," Charlie said.
"I get reports from Tonks after the meetings. I try not to travel to HQ if I can, avoids suspicion. But I set up Harry's floo connection at his Uncle's house. That's why I was interested. I guess he isn't using it since he's staying at headquarters now."
"No," Charlie said, "and I'm sorry, I just - you've gotta be careful these days, right?" Charlie offered James a cheeky grin. It looked like James might not return the friendly gesture, but he did.
"It's OK. So, have you made up your mind yet?"
"Can I buy you a drink, Mr. Waterbucket?" Charlie responded. James grinned, and touched Charlie's shoulder.
"I think that'd be just fine, Mr. Weasley," James said, leaving his hand on Charlie's shoulder, as the two settled in for what could be an interesting night.
hr /
Mafalda Hopkirk hated working overtime. Pay at time and a half was an incentive, sure, but overtime usually meant something was going wrong. And according to Bode and Croaker, something had indeed gone wrong. Ms. Hopkirk was now standing once again in the last place she wanted to be, the Hall of Prophecy, and was once again staring at the prophecy that she had picked up only that morning. The clouds within had gone dark, and the crystal glowed with a dark blood red, indicating that the prophecy had been fulfilled.
"Already?" she asked, surprise evident in her voice. Croaker simply shrugged his shoulders at her, while Bode began reading from a piece of paper.
"Beauxbatons is gonna be closed for this year, so say the governors of the school, and then we had that freak thunderstorm over London earlier today. They both fit."
"But what's the point of it? Beauxbatons closed, a bit of rain, so what?" As Mafalda said those words, a sharp wind blew through the Hall of Prophecy, and began to coalesce to form a new crystal, sitting right next to the blood red one from earlier. She stared at it, noting the bright blue colour and swirling clouds inside. Quickly she looked for a name against the prophecy, but couldn't see one.
"Well. I guess that first one was just the start then." She reached out to grab the new one. Bode and Croaker stiffened up, but made no move to stop her. Just as her hand was about to close around the orb, Mafalda hesitated, and pulled her hand back. Quickly, she turned to the two Unspeakables. "I think perhaps we should wait on listening to it. Call the Minister, I think he should know about this. And see if we can find a Seer - a real one! - to come and help us with this. Strictest confidentiality, of course." The two Unspeakables nodded, and left the hall quickly to carry out their work. Mafalda quickly left also, in the other direction, towards the lift. As the doors to the magical elevator opened, and a female voice intoned "Level Nine, Department of Mysteries," she briskly strode inside and pressed the button to the Atrium. As she arrived, and entered a fire place next to the fountain headed for home, she shivered in recounting the days events. But she took some comfort in the fact that this was such a strange situation, someone else would take over case management, leaving Mafalda free to do anything else other than working overtime.
So after 4 years! Have I lost the touch? Did I ever have it? What do you think of the developments? Was anything boring? Was it slow in places? Did it have excitement and good dialogue, or was it a dud? Please let me know. Reviews will keep my writing spirit alive, both positive and constructively negative.
Thanks to the reviewer from the other day who asked me to restart this story. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint.