"Oh thank goodness, thank goodness!"
Mrs. Weasley, who had evidently been waiting for them in the front yard, came running toward them, still wearing her bedroom slippers, her face pale and strained, a rolled-up copy of the Daily Prophet clutched in her hand.
"Arthur - I've been so worried - so worried-"
She flung her arms around Mr. Weasley's neck, and the Daily Prophet fell out of her limp hand onto the ground. Looking down, Harry saw the headline: SCENES OF TERROR AT THE QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP, complete with a twinkling black-and-white photograph of the Dark Mark over the treetops.
"You're all right," Mrs. Weasley muttered distractedly, releasing Mr. Weasley and staring around at them all with red eyes, "you're alive. . . . Oh boys. .
And to everybody's surprise, she seized Fred and George and pulled them both into such a tight hug that their heads banged together.
"Ouch! Mum - you're strangling us -"
"I shouted at you before you left!" Mrs. Weasley said, starting to sob. "It's all I've been thinking about! What if You-Know-Who had got you, and the last thing I ever said to you was that you didn't get enough OW.L.s? Oh Fred. . . George. .
"Come on, now, Molly, we're all perfectly okay," said Mr. Weasley soothingly, prising her off the twins and leading her back toward the house. "Bill," he added in an undertone, "pick up that paper, I want to see what it says. And you boy's would you like to come in for a cup of tea?" he added to the three Brothers.
"It would be our pleasure" said Tiberius smiling.
Weasley a cup of very strong tea, into which Mr. Weasley insisted on pouring a shot of Ogdens Old Firewhiskey, Bill handed his father the newspaper. Mr. Weasley scanned the front page while Percy looked over his shoulder.
"I knew it," said Mr. Weasley heavily. "Ministry blunders... culprits not apprehended… lax security... Dark wizards running unchecked... national disgrace... Who wrote this? Ah... of course... Rita Skeeter."
"That woman's got it in for the Ministry of Magic!" said Percy furiously. "Last week she was saying we're wasting our time quibbling about cauldron thickness, when we should be stamping out vampires! As if it wasn't specifically stated in paragraph twelve of the Guidelines for the Treatment of Non-Wizard Part-Humans -"
"Do us a favour, Perce," said Bill, yawning, "and shut up."
"Thank you William" said Tiberius.
"Any time" said Bill smiling.
"Mrs. Weasley," said Harry suddenly, unable to contain himself, "Hedwig hasn't arrived with a letter for me, has she?"
"Hedwig, dear?" said Mrs. Weasley distractedly. "No...no, there hasn't been any post at all."
Ron and Hermione looked curiously at Harry and sent a meaningful look at both of them, something Tiberius didn't miss.
"Mrs Weasley. Ronald wouldn't by any chance be able to give the grand tour would he?" ask Tiberius.
"Oh of course not dear…wait, who might you be?" asked Mrs Weasley.
"Oh my apologies Mrs Weasley, my name is Tiberius these are my Brothers Alexander and Octavian. We meet you wonderful husband and children while looking for the port key and seemed to be nearby ever since. If we must leave before he comes back please give him our utmost thanks for inviting us in for tea, and in such a lovely home at that. Please, I'd love for you son to show me more." said Tiberius to Mrs Weasley.
"Oh of course dear, Ron please give or guest a tour of the house." said Mrs Weasley.
"Ok mum." said Ron begrudgingly.
Tiberius shoot a look at Harry saying "get your ass up!"
"Yeah... think I will too," said Harry at once. "Hermione?"
"Yes," she said quickly, and the four of them marched out of the kitchen and up the stairs.
"So where would you like to see first?" asked Ron quit melodramatically.
"The attic should suffice" replied Tiberius.
"Monsieur Black sends his regards." said Tiberius, the moment they had closed the door of the attic room behind them.
"What?" exclaimed Harry.
"Your God Farther, he speaks often of you. Quite fondly I might add." said Tiberius
"How do you know Sirius?" asked Harry.
"Dumbledore asks me to check up on him every now and then. You know food, water maybe a flee bath if he's feeling lucky" laughed Tiberius.
"You know Dumbledore?" asked Hermione.
"I should hope so he's my God Farther." said Tiberius. "Regardless, both told me to keep the three of you safe…well as safe as things get when it comes to the three of you." He laughed.
"So Harry what's troubling you" asked Tiberius.
"There's something I haven't told you," Harry said. "On Saturday morning, I woke up with my scar hurting again."
Ron's and Hermione's reactions were almost exactly as Harry had imagined them back in his bedroom on Privet Drive. Hermione gasped and started making suggestions at once, mentioning a number of reference books, and everybody from Albus Dumbledore to Madam Pomfrey, the Hogwarts nurse. Ron simply looked dumbstruck. Tiberius simply stood there contemplatively, staring at the ground with his hand on his chin.
"But - he wasn't there, was he? You-Know-Who? I mean - last time your scar kept hurting, he was at Hogwarts, wasn't he?"
"I'm sure he wasn't on Privet Drive," said Harry. "But I was dreaming about him… him and Peter - you know, Wormtail. I can't remember all of it now, but they were plotting to kill...someone."
He had teetered for a moment on the verge of saying "me," but couldn't bring himself to make Hermione look any more horrified than she already did.
"It was only a dream," said Ron bracingly. "Just a nightmare."
"Yeah, but was it, though?" said Harry, turning to look out of the window at the brightening sky. "It's weird, isn't it? My scar hurts, and three days later the Death Eaters are on the march and Voldemort's sign's up in the sky again."
"They weren't after you Harry." said Tiberius. "If you were the target why would he make his move on the largest social event in the wizarding world, it doesn't make any sense. But they were making a statement, and your dream has something to do with whatever Voldemort's planning.
"Don't - say - his - name!" Ron hissed through gritted teeth.
"And remember what Professor Trelawney said?" Harry went on, ignoring Ron. "At the end of last year?" Professor Trelawney was their Divination teacher at Hogwarts. Hermione's terrified look vanished as she let out a derisive snort.
"Oh Harry, you aren't going to pay attention to anything that old fraud says?"
"You weren't there," said Harry. "You didn't hear her. This time was different. I told you, she went into a trance - a real one. And she said the Dark Lord would rise again… greater and more terrible than ever before… and he'd manage it because his servant was going to go back to him. . . and that night Wormtail escaped."
"So that means according to your dream Pettigrew has made it back to You-Know-Who by now." said Tiberius.
There was a silence in which Ron fidgeted absentmindedly with a hole in his old Chudley Cannons bedspread.
"Why were you asking if Hedwig had come, Harry?" Hermione asked. "Are you expecting a letter?"
"I told Sirius about my scar," said Harry, shrugging. "I'm waiting for his answer."
"Good thinking!" said Ron, his expression clearing. "I bet Sirius'll know what to do!"
"I hoped he'd get back to me quickly," said Harry. "But we don't know where Sirius is… he could be in Africa or somewhere, couldn't he?" said Hermione reasonably. "Hedwig's not going to manage that journey in a few days."
"I'd doubt Sirius would send his response through Hedwig" said Tiberius.
"Why?" asked Ron.
"Because he's not that stupid… The entire ministry will be looking for leads after what happened and do you really think they won't check the quite famous Harry Potters quite 'hard to miss' Owl?" responded Tiberius.
Harry had a leaden feeling in his stomach as he looked out of the window at the Hedwig-free sky.
"Come and have a game of Quidditch in the orchard, Harry" said Ron. "Come on - three on three, Bill and Charlie and Fred and George will play… You can try out the Wronski Feint..."
"Ron," said Hermione, in an I-don't-think-you're-being-very-sensitive sort of voice, "Harry doesn't want to play Quidditch right now... He's worried, and he's tired... We all need to go to bed..."
"Yeah, I want to play Quidditch," said Harry suddenly. "Hang on, I'll get my Firebolt."
"Well as I detest Quidditch I think it may be best that I make my leave. I'll be seeing the three of you very soon" said Tiberius as he walked down form the attic.
