UPDATED!!!!!!! For thoseof you who have read this before August 12th, I have made corections & added a little bit. Just a few things I forgot to add before, but it isn't critical.
Chapter 6
Explosions and Celebrations
"Even if we haven't known each other for eight years it feels as though we have. It's almost as if the three of us were meant to be together for something greater then ourselves." Ron paused here as he let everything they had said sink in. When no one had spoken for a few minutes he spoke again. "So...err...Mum? Dad? Anyone have anything to say?"
Just as Mrs. Weasley was about to respond to what her youngest son and his two new friends had said there was a loud explosion.
All eight occupants of the small room were thrown to the ground hands covering their heads in an attempt to protect themselves.
A loud voice seemed to boom over all the noise of the explosion. "You can't hide anymore boy. You may have escaped my wrath once but no longer. Prepare to die Harry Potter!"
Harry and Hermione quickly ducked under Harry's desk for protection, soon joined by Ron's younger sister Ginny. A blue glow seemed to close around every occupant of the room as the five remaining people in the room stood with their wands raised, ready and waiting for something to happen.
Ginny quietly explained that it was illegal to do magic before you are a full fledge wizard when the door burst open, falling to the floor much like it had when Harry had first met Hagrid in the little cottage on the island on his eleventh birthday.
In its wake there were two men, one with long platinum blonde hair pulled back with a tie, the other slightly shorter then the first, but with the same bright hair styled in spikes on top his head.
"Malfoy."
"Weasel. I should have guessed that you and your disgusting family would be protecting Boy Wonder."
"Draco," the older man spoke coolly for the first time. "There is no time for petty rivalries and snide comments. There are more dire things that need to be taken care of."
"Yes, of course father." The younger boy, Draco, nodded to his father with respect.
"What do you want Malfoy?"
"Why Author, what are the formalities for? We are all --friends here. Please call me Lucius."
"Like hell Malfoy. What exactly do you want?"
"Why I thought that would be obvious, even for one of your stature. We want the Potter boy. We know he's here."
"How are you so sure Malfoy?" George spoke up for the first time.
"How can you be so sure that we didn't send him away by port key as soon as we heard the explosion," echoed Fred.
At that Ginny turned slightly to Hermione and Harry. "Right that's the cue. This," Ginny held up an old looking shoe, "is a port key. We use it to travel from place to place. As soon as both of you touch it we will disappear and reappear at The Burrow, where we live."
They both look skeptically at her, and with an exasperated sigh she continued. "Alright you will feel a slight tug at your navel, but that's it."
As soon as Harry and Hermione each touched a finger to the shoe they felt the tug at their navel just as Ginny had said. They were soon crashing to the living room floor of the Burrow.
Mean while, back in Harry and Ron's room
"You wouldn't have had the foresight to do something of that sort." Sneered Draco.
Molly quickly glanced behind her to watch as the three did disappear, and looked forward with a raised eyebrow. "Now Lucius, as much as we do enjoy playing your little games we must go. Wouldn't want to miss out on Easter dinner, would we boys?"
Fred, George, and Ron smiled at each other, before answering in unison. "Us? Miss dinner? Never."
With that, all five Weasley's disaperated out of the dorm room leaving both Malfoy's behind in confusion before they could even begin to hex them.
At the Burrow
Ginny helped Harry and Hermione to the couch and fetched them each a glass of pumpkin juice to try and get them to relax.
"...but what about Ron? Ginny can't they get hurt? What if the Malfoys try and hurt them! What if--"
"HERMIONE!" Ginny yelled. "Ron and the rest of my family will be fine. They know what they are doing. They are all fully trained Wizards and can disaperate before anything happens."
As she said this five pops could be heard outside, followed by running foot steps. The five redheads ran quickly into the room but one ahead of the others.
"Harry! Hermione! Oh that Merlin you're alright!" Ron said out of breath as he hugged his friends tightly.
They both quickly hugged him back quite glad to know he was all right.
When the three separated, Molly Weasley flung her arms around her youngest son's two friends.
"Umm... Mrs... Weasley? Not that I...don't mind a hug... but breathing is ... becoming an issue."(bad Maggie stealing from buffy)
"OH!" Molly exclaimed loosening her grip of the two eighteen-year-olds. "Sorry dears, I'm just so glad that you are both alright!"
"It's okay Mrs. Weasley.."
"Hermione dear please call me Molly you too Harry."
Both smiled gently thankful for all of her kindness. "Okay, Molly. Why were the Malfoys after Harry? How did they know where he was?"
"I second that question. A bloke should know why people are after him."
Molly lead them to the couch to sit down. Ron quickly sat on the other side of Hermione. The twins and Ginny sat on another small couch while Mr. Weasley sat on the arm of the large chair Molly sat in.
"Alright, I assume Ron here has told you about our world. Your world as well I suppose." As the two nodded she continued, "The Malfoys are death eaters, and are in He-who-must....in Voldemort's inner circle. Saying that Voldemort still holds a grudge against Harry because he defeated him at little over a year old is the understatement of the millennium." Molly paused to take a breath as Arthur continued for her.
"Needless to say Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, wasn't the only one looking for you when you didn't show up on the first day of the semester. We had thought that Ron would be targeted when you both met; being that you knew each other as children and what with the prophesy as well. Before you even ask, despite our age difference, we knew your parents well Harry. We were in our sixth year when your parents were in their first. Lily and Molly hit it off straight away; both were very quick and involved in their studies. Molly quickly took Lily under her wing so to speak. Ron was a couple months old when you when you were born Harry. I don't think I ever saw two babies take to each other so quickly. We knew you would both be best of friends, but after every thing happened when you were fifteen months old, you went to your mother's sister. We fought our best to try to get Dumbledore to let us take you in with us. He denied us every time, and then made it so that we would not even be able to find you until you went to Hogwarts.
"Even though we thought Ron would be targeted by being friends with you we knew we wouldn't want anything else. We so wanted for you to find each other once again. Our family would always be targeted by Voldemort's supports because we are as they call us 'Muggle lovers'." Arthur paused trying to allow everything to sink in for the two boys.
"Okay so Harry and Ron knew each other when they were very young. Voldemort is after Harry because is pride was hurt more or less, but how did he know where Harry was? And why did you have a port key set up and a cue for Ginny to leave with it?"
Fred spoke up this time, "We obviously knew who Harry was after mum and dad met him back in January, and we knew that HE was still searching for Harry, hence why we had the extra precaution in case anything happened. But..."
"We don't know for sure HOW exactly the Malfoy's found out where Harry was, I would say it was one of the death eaters kids going to school here, but they wouldn't go to a Muggle school." George finished for his brother.
"We should probably floo(firecall?) Dumbledore; let him know what happened and that you are all safe."
Arthur proceeded to grab some powder from above the fireplace and throw it into the flame before shouting the professor's name.
Harry and Hermione watched with wide eyes as the face of an older man appeared in the green flames.
"Ah, Arthur, how did every thing go at Ronald's school?"
"It could have gone better professor. We had a little run in."
The professor's face grew worried, "What happened? Are the boys all right Arthur?"
"Yes all three of them are fine, they don't have a scratch on them."
Dumbledore's face began to relax before realizing what the younger man had said. "Three?"
"Yes, Harry, Ron, and a good friend of theirs"
"Oh dear are you planning on a memory charm?"
Hermione stood up then, "Professor there will be no need to wipe my memory of the wizarding world, you'd have to get all the memories since I was nearly eleven for that." At the older man's confused face Hermione continued. "If my parents had allowed me, I would have been in the same year as Ron and Harry. When Professor McGonagall came to tell me I was a witch, they out right refused to allow me to go."
"Well then, no need for a charm of any kind then." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled lightly at the young girl as she sat back down between the two boys, interlocking her hand with Harry's, resulting in Harry lifting her hand and kissing it. "Who was it that you encountered Arthur?"
"Malfoy, both of them."
"Professor, may I ask you something?"
Dumbledore smiled up at Harry, "Anything Harry."
"How come the Malfoys found me today, if you searched for me as much as Ron said you did?"
"In your Aunts home you were protected because she is your blood relative. When Hagrid came to get you, if I remember correctly, you were not home. Before you ask about all the letters, they find you no matter what. We couldn't find you after Hagrid took you to Diagon Alley because your blood relatives did not want you to be found by anyone in the wizarding world. As the saying goes blood is thicker then water; and no matter if they wanted to keep themselves or you safe the only thing that mattered was that they didn't want you to be found
"We knew where you were of course, but he just couldn't get to you. I don't know how they tracked you, but they were able to because you were not at their home, nor in a place you consider your home."
"Albus?"
"Yes Molly?"
"Would it be possible for them both to stay here? That is if Harry and Hermione wanted to of course."
Harry and Hermione's eyes shot up to meet Molly's. "Y-you want us to live with you?"
"Of course Harry. Arthur told you how we tried to get you to live with us when you were a baby and how close we were with your parents. Also I would like to think you would be able to call the Burrow more of I home than your Aunt and Uncles from what I have heard anyway.
"Before you ask Hermione, besides the fact that we know about your relationship with your parents, we also know that we could never take you three apart from one another. You and Harry have only known Ron for four months, yet you are the best of friends already."
Ron had a huge grin on his face, "This is so wicked! You guys won't have to live with those Muggles anymore!"
"Well we know how young Ronald feels about this. What do you say Harry? Hermione? Would you like to live with the Weasleys?"
"How could we turn down an offer like that Professor?"
"We'll be able to be somewhere where there are people who haven't even known us for a day and already care about us. Besides, we get to do something we should have done eight years ago. We get to learn magic Hermione."
"Ahh, and that you will Hermione. Although I do want all of you to finish your education at Londondale there are changes that will be made. There will be spells put on both of your rooms, and we will cast a glamour on all of you so that only Muggles will see your real appearance. Also Ron you are not to use magic while at school if at all possible lest it attract any attention. After this year I think you should be what I believe they call commuter students. That way we don't have to worry as much about the Malfoys or other death eaters finding you again. However, if they do, you will all have emergency port keys with you just in case.
"As to learning any magic Molly and Arthur can take you both to get wands so that Ron can begin to teach you some of the basics while you are at the Burrow. Just remember, no magic at your college. I will be putting up an alarm that will detect any magic so that some one will come in case something is wrong."
"Umm professor, what about wand less magic, or I guess it would be accidental magic.?"
"That's an understatement. That's how we figured out they were both wizards, or a witch in Hermione's case anyway." Hermione glared at Ron as he laughed. Hermione just stuck her tongue out at him and crossed her arms, which just made Ron laugh even more, causing Harry to join it, and earning them both a swat on the shoulder.
"Boys! You two are going to be the death of me!"
"Aww come on Mione you know you love us. If you didn't you would have run away screaming already." Hermione just glared at her boyfriend and stuck her tongue out again.
Dumbledore's eyes just sparkled with even more amusement at their antics. "Molly, do you know who the three of them remind me of?"
"Oh course, James, Lily, and Sirius." Harry's eyes shot up at the mention of his parents. "The three of them would bicker and tease each other constantly, but no matter what they were always the best of friends. All they need is some one like Remus."
"My mum and dad? W-we remind you of my parents?" Hermione and Ron just grinned at the excitement in Harry's voice as the adults just smiled and nodded their heads. "Who are Sirius and Remus? Well besides my mum and dad's friends."
"Sirius is your godfather Harry. After your parents were killed he went after the man who betrayed them, Peter Pettigrew. He set Sirius up making it look like Sirius murdered several muggles and wizards as well as Peter. Sirius was sentenced to the wizarding prison, Azkaban. He escaped in Ron's third year after seeing a photo of the Weasleys was printed in a newspaper with a rat on Ron's shoulder. Sirius recognized it as Peter in his animagus form. An animagus is basically an animal form that he could turn into. Believing that you were at Hogwarts he went after Peter. When Sirius found Peter the Ministry realized that Sirius was innocent and dropped all of the charges making him an innocent man.
"Sirius doesn't know that we have found you yet, as we didn't know if you wanted to be part of the wizarding world. Sirius is our Defense against the dark arts professor. He is at Hogwarts now, if you would like to meet him."
"I want to. Maybe after the semester in over in a few weeks though, so we have time to get to know each other." Harry couldn't stop smiling.
"I shall not tell Sirius we have found you. I think it would be quite a surprise for him to see a double of your father, save your eyes, walk into a room." Again Dumbledore's eyes glittered in the light of the fire. "Now, if you don't mind I must get going. I have a few things that need to be taken care of."
"Of course, thank you for your time Albus."
"Any time Arthur. Good day to all of you." With that the Professor disappeared from the fireplace.
"Ron, why don't you show Harry and Hermione around. Harry will share your room and Hermione will be with Ginny when you guys are all here."
Hermione and Harry quickly followed Ron and Ginny as they took them on a tour of the Weasley's house, their house as well now.
'This has to be one of the best days of my life only competing with the day Hagrid told me I'm a wizard. I can't believe this is actually happening. I have a girlfriend whom I adore and really cares about me, I have a best friend, I get to have theatre AND magic in my life, and now I have a family who after knowing me for less then a day already loves me. Yes I think this tops finding out I'm a wizard, and that's saying something.'
END CHAPTER SIX
UPDATED AUGUST 12, 2004