Title: Whisper on a Stream (7/?)
Author name: darkforest214
Category: Drama, Angst
Spoilers: Books 1 through 5
Rating: PG
Summary: Um, well it's Harry's 6th year and some surprises await him (as does danger).
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Aka... I own nothing (except for a few characters...my little first years and few others I won't mention just yet...)
Chapter Seven
The rest of the week passed without to many incidences. Fred and George went to their store everyday while Ginny, Harry, Ron and Liv continued to help Mrs. Weasley out around the house. Not much happened until Friday night, when Mr. Weasley came home from work (and headquarters).
Mr. Weasley walked into the living room and immediately noticed two children that weren't his own. "Harry! Harry, it's good to see you again," he said.
"Dad!" said Ginny excitedly as she ran up to him and gave him hug.
"I've missed you too," he said, embracing his youngest child and only daughter. After setting Ginny down he turned to Fred and George, "You two have been staying out of trouble...I hope."
"Of course!" said Fred.
"Why would we cause trouble?" said George, making Harry laugh.
"Come here, Ron," said Mr. Weasley, ignoring the twins' remarks. Ron stood up and gave his father a hug. "Your snoring isn't keeping Harry awake, now is it?" Ron didn't answer, his ears turned red, causing Liv to laugh this time. Mr. Weasley turned to Liv, "I'm sorry, but...who are you?" he asked.
"I'm Olivia, one of the exchange students," she said as she crossed the room to shake his hand.
"Oh! Well, Olivia, Dumbledore has told me quite a bit about you!" said Mr. Weasley as he took her hand in his.
"All good things, I hope," said Liv shyly.
"He told me you know a lot about muggles–"
"Arthur, you must be hungry," interrupted Mrs. Weasley.
"Maybe some other time then... Yes dear, I'm starved. One of the things I miss most while being away is your cooking," said Mr. Weasley as he followed her into the kitchen.
"Mum just saved you," said Fred.
"Yeah, Dad would have asked you a million questions," said George.
"Dad's fascinated with muggles," said Ron.
"Don't let him see you with your guitar... he'll want to borrow it so he could take it apart to see how it works," said Ginny.
"Whoa! Too many red heads speaking at once!" Liv joked. "How bad can it be? Your dad seems really nice."
"He is really nice, he's just obsessed with muggles," said Ginny.
"The first summer I spent here he always had me sit next to him at meals," said Harry. "And he'd always be asking me about different muggle objects, such as the postal service and plugs."
"Plugs?" asked Liv.
"He collects them," said Fred.
Mrs. Weasley re-entered the living room. She sat down in a chair next to Liv. "Olivia dear, Arthur and I were talking and your brother's train comes in tomorrow around noon. We plan on going to meet him and the Grangers tomorrow for lunch.
"Seriously!?" Liv exclaimed and Mrs. Weasley nodded. "That would be amazing! It feels like I haven't seen him in months!"
"Good, then it's settled. We'll all go down to the train station to meet them," said Mrs. Weasley.
"Even us?" asked Fred.
"You'll be too busy, you do have a business to look after," said Mrs. Weasley, a hint of resentment in her voice.
"Good point," muttered George, "Saturday is a good day for business..."
"Just because I mentioned it, doesn't mean you need to talk about it in front of me," Mrs. Weasley snapped.
"But how are we going to get there?" asked Harry.
"Not the Knight Bus, I hope," said Liv.
"No, not at all... that bus makes one dreadfully queasy," said Mrs. Weasley. "Arthur has arrangements for a car from the Ministry."
"The Ministry is helping you guys again?" asked Harry.
"Yes, ever since that night, with...when..."
"That's okay, I know the night," Harry cut her off.
"Well it seems like they're trying to make up for what happened. They've certainly started treating us better, giving Arthur a raise," said Mrs. Weasley.
"And the Daily Prophet has stopped calling Harry an attention seeking liar," said Ron.
"That's right, and they've printed on numerous occasions that they were sorry for calling Harry and Dumbledore liars," said Ginny.
"It's getting kind of late, maybe you all ought to go to bed," said Mrs. Weasley in a tone of voice that said she was telling them, not asking.
"Hurry, Liv, hide!" Fred joked as they went upstairs.
"Yeah, Dad's almost done eating," added George.
"I don't know how I'm suppose to sleep now... knowing that I get to see my brother tomorrow," Liv said to Ginny as the two girls got ready for bed.
"Just try and get some sleep," said Ginny with a smile.
"You'll like my brother," said Liv as she crawled into bed. "I just know it... in fact, I think he'll like you too..."
"Goodnight, Liv," said Ginny. Good thing the room was dark; otherwise Liv would have seen Ginny blushing.
"How am I supposed to sleep knowing that we're going to see Hermione tomorrow?" Ron asked Harry as he lay on his back staring at the ceiling in the dark.
"Just try and get some sleep," said Harry calmly, even though his mind was going a mile a minute. Hermione would meet Liv; everyone would meet Liv's brother and best friends would be reunited...if only for a few hours.
"What do you think Liv's brother is like?" asked Ron, bringing Harry out of his thoughts.
"I wouldn't be too worried if I were you Ron," said Harry, "as long as he doesn't mind your snoring," he muttered.
"I heard that," said Ron. "You know... I was thinking about this and I found it doesn't make sense."
"Thinking about what? What doesn't make sense?" asked Harry. "It would be nice if I knew what you were talking about before you start asking me questions," said Harry sarcastically.
"Liv is a girl, why was she sent to your house? Why would Dumbledore send a sixteen-year-old to live with two teenage boys all summer?" asked Ron.
"I don't know, maybe–"
"I'm not finished," interrupted Ron. "Liv's brother is being sent to Hermione's house... but why? He's a boy, she's a girl. Wouldn't it have made more sense to send Liv to Hermione's and send her brother to your aunt and uncle's?"
"Maybe there was a mix-up, we could always send Liv home with Hermione tomorrow, but that would be unfair to Ginny," said Harry sarcastically. "You know, Ron, you present an interesting question... we could always ask Dumbledore next week..."
"He would probably give us one of those riddle like answers... and we both know how I am with riddles," said Ron.
"Let's just say it's not one of your strong points," said Harry. "Let's not dwell on it, we should get some sleep."
"Goodnight, Harry," said Ron as he rolled onto his side.
"Goodnight...oh and, Ron?"
"Yeah, Harry?"
"Try not to snore..."
Harry was walking along the same stream he had walked along countless nights before. "Harry...Harry," the whispering voice called out. Harry stared into the water and strained his ears to hear. But the only thing he heard was his name.
"What? What is it?" Harry asked the voice. But before the voice could answer something jumped on him, waking him up. 'Please don't be Dobby, please don't be Dobby...' thought Harry before opening his eyes. Slowly he opened them and squinted against the sunlight coming into the room.
"Liv?" said Harry as he looked up, blurry eyed, into the face of a dog. She tilted her head sideways and whined softly. "Morning, Liv." Liv jumped down off of Harry's bed and jumped up onto Ron's. Harry rolled over and grabbed his glasses, putting them on in time to see Liv let out a sharp bark.
"What?!" said Ron as he was startled awake. "Whoa!"
"It's just Liv... time to get up," said Harry. "A bit anxious are you?" Harry asked Liv. She barked once before turning and running out of the room.
"A bit odd..." muttered Ron.
"No, she's just excited," said Harry.
"Right," said Ron sarcastically. Just then Marty flew into the room through the open window. "I didn't know he left," muttered Ron.
"What ya got there Marty?" asked Harry as he sat on the bed so Marty could curl up in his lap. The black owl jumped over to Harry. "Liv just left..."
"Maybe it's for you," suggested Ron.
"Oh..." Harry took the envelope from Marty's beak. Once he had, Marty turned into a cat and crawled up into Harry's lap.
"What's that?" asked Ron."I don't know...haven't opened it yet," said Harry. He opened the envelope and found not a letter, but a set of pictures.
"Well?"
"They're pictures," said Harry as he flipped through them. "Liv is in some of them...but I'm not sure who some of the other people are. I think this is her brother, he's in almost all of them."
"Either that or it's her boyfriend from back home," Ron joked. He crossed the room and sat next to Harry to look at the pictures. "They aren't moving!"
"Muggle photos don't move," said Harry matter-of-factly.
"Hey look, there's writing on the back," Ron said as he picked up a picture Harry had just dropped.
"What does it say?" asked Harry.
"'Ollie and Ty's 16th Birthday, February 25th,'" read Ron. "Ollie?"
"That's Tyler's nickname for Liv," said Harry as he took the picture from Ron. he looked at the picture and there was Liv smiling up at him, her arm over her brother's shoulder. Her brother was smiling too as he stood with his arm around her waist.
"You've seen the pictures, now get dressed!" said Liv as she reappeared standing in the doorway.
"So that's your brother?" asked Ron.
"Yes, no hurry up! The sooner you guys get dressed, the sooner we can leave," she said anxiously.
"Sure, be down in a bit... but I can't decide what to wear," said Harry speaking slowly. "I was thinking, maybe this shirt with these pants... What do you think?" he asked holding out an outfit that didn't match at all.
"Just make sure you have either Fred or George pop over to the Dursley's so you can borrow Dudley's polka dot bow tie," said Liv sarcastically before going back downstairs.
"You're not going to wear that are you?" asked Ron, looking horrified.
"No, I was just kidding," laughed Harry. "You can tell she's really anxious and excited," said Harry as he set the pictures on Ron's desk.
"She and her brother must be really close," said Ron.
"From what she's told me they're as close as Fred and George... or even us and Hermione," Harry added as an afterthought.
"That's right! We get to see Hermione!" said Ron excitedly. "C'mon, Harry, hurry up and get dressed!"
Harry laughed as Ron quickly started to dig through his dresser drawers.
"Hurry up!" Liv's voice drifted up the stairs. Harry laughed and got dressed.
The car pulled into the parking lot around 11:30 in the morning. "And you were worried about being late," said Harry sarcastically.
"We're not late, are we?" Fred asked as he and George appeared in the car as everyone was climbing out.
"Fred! George! What are you two doing here?" asked Mrs. Weasley looking slightly shocked at their abrupt appearance.
"But who's going to look after your store?" asked Liv.
"Lee is taking care of things for us," said George.
"Don't worry, Mum. We're just here to meet Liv's brother, then we'll be gone," said Fred before Mrs. Weasley could protest.
"As long as you don't plan on coming to lunch with us... then I guess it's all right," said Mrs. Weasley.
"That'll be great! I'd love for you guys to meet Tyler," said Liv.
"Well, let's not just stand around out here in the parking lot," said Harry. "Let's go inside."
"Maybe we'll find Hermione," said Ron.
"Oh yeah, real subtle, Little Bro," Fred muttered sarcastically so only Liv and George could hear.
"Do you know what platform his train is coming in?" George asked Liv.
"Probably the same one I came in," said Liv, "Platform nine."
"Platform nine?" asked Fred. "That's not far from platform nine and three-quarters."
"Nine and three-quarters?" asked Liv.
"You'll get to see it later," said Ginny quietly.
"Keep a sharp eye out, we wouldn't want to miss them," said Mr. Weasley as he looked around in amazement at their surroundings.
The large group sat on a bench, well most of them sat, near platform nine to wait for the train to come in. Harry was nervous about meeting the other exchange student, but he was also excited about seeing Hermione again. She could be annoying at times but all is forgiven when you're away from your best friends and stuck with your nightmare of a cousin for the summer.
"Liv, look! The train is coming in!" said Ginny all of a sudden.
"Wow! The muggle trains are running on time! Fascinating!" said Mr. Weasley excitedly.
Liv stood anxiously on the platform with Harry and Ginny at her side as she tried to see the faces through the tinted windows of the train. She watched as one by one people stepped off the train when Harry suddenly disappeared from her side.
"Hermione!" he said as he ran to see his friend.
Liv returned her attention to the people getting off the train with a laugh. Just then she spotted her brother. "Tyler! Ty over here!" she called out as she moved as quickly as possible through the crowd to greet her brother.
"Ollie!" The boy called out. The travel worn, tousle haired boy set down his cat carrier and trunk so he could hug his twin sister.
"It really sucks being away from you," Tyler said as he held on tight to his sister.
"Who cares, we're together again..."
"And ready to cause trouble?" Ty asked sceptically.
"Mum sent us to round you all up," said Fred as he and George approached them.
"Yeah, Harry and Ron scattered when they saw Hermione. And you ran off so fast you left poor Ginny all alone," said George.
"Oops..." Liv muttered quietly. She picked up her brother's cat carrier and looked into it. "Hello, Sammy," she said softly. The cat meowed and rubbed her orange face up against the bars.
"C'mon, let's go meet up with everyone else," said Fred.
"I'm sure they're just dying to meet you," said George.
"I think I'm getting confused," said Tyler.
Liv laughed, "Really? I can tell them apart," she said with a shrug.
"No way!" said Fred.
"We don't believe you," said George.
"Oh c'mon, it's really easy..." said Liv.
"What do you mean?" asked Fred.
"You're Fred," she said pointing to the twin that had just spoke, "and you're George," she said as she smiled at him.
"Okay, so you can tell us apart...but what if we got all mixed up and—" said Fred.
"Liv, Liv come here," Harry called as they approached Harry, Ron and Hermione. "Liv, I want you to meet Hermione. Hermione, this is Liv."
"Hello, it's nice to meet you," said Hermione.
"It's great to finally meet you too. Harry has told me so much about you," said Liv with a smile.
"Really? 'Cause I haven't heard a thing about you," Hermione replied sarcastically as she glared at Harry; who sheepishly looked down at the ground.
"Is this–?" asked Harry.
"Oh, sorry... Harry, this is Tyler. Ty, that's Harry," said Liv.
"Hello," said Ty, sounding somewhat nervous.
"Hi," said Harry.
"All right, now that everybody knows everyone else, let's go meet up with the rest of the family," said George. The twins had been so unusually quiet that their presence had been forgotten.
"Mum, Mum we found them," Fred called out as they neared Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ginny and Mr. and Mrs. Granger.
"Uh, Tyler, these are my parents," said Hermione as she pointed out the two 'normally' dressed adults. "They're muggles," she said quietly.
After more introductions had been made they made plans to meet at the Leaky Cauldron for lunch and the large group divided up and headed to the cars.
Fred and George returned to their store but not without trying to sell some stuff to Tyler, but after receiving glares from both their mother and Hermione (and giggles from Liv and Ginny) they gave up.
Olivia and Tyler went with Hermione and her parents, leaving Ginny, Ron and Harry with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. In the Granger car Hermione was learning more about the two exchange students and about life as a teenage American witch and wizard. While in the Weasley car there was mostly talk about Tyler. So far his first impression was good. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley seemed to like him (already) and Harry couldn't help but wonder what kind of trouble they would get into this year.
"Won't it be odd bringing two muggles into the Leaky Cauldron?" Harry asked as Mr. Weasley parked the car across the street from the run down looking pub.
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about it too much, they've been there before," said Mr. Weasley cheerfully. "That and their daughter is one of the best and brightest students at Hogwarts."
"You don't have to rub it in," mumbled Ron.
"She'll probably be Head girl next year," said Ginny.
"Yeah, with Harry as Head Boy," said Ron.
"I hope not," said Harry quickly.
"Why not? Your father was Head Boy," said Mrs. Weasley.
"Ron would make a better Head Boy than I would," said Harry. He didn't have to look at Ron to know that his ears had turned red. Mrs. Weasley didn't say anything but Harry thought for sure that she was swelling with pride.
"Just don't let Fred and George hear you say that..." Ginny whispered so only Harry could hear.
"Well, here we are," said Mr. Weasley as he got out of the car went around to the other side and held the door open for his wife.
"Fred and George aren't coming?" asked Hermione, sounding hopeful as she got out of the car and came toward the Weasleys.
"No," answered Liv, "They're uh... they're working," she said quietly so Mrs. Weasley wouldn't hear.
"Don't worry, lunch will be peaceful," said Harry.
"If not somewhat boring," muttered Ginny.
"Why would you say that?" asked Tyler, he didn't really know the nature of the twins, having just met them.
"They're the life of the party," said Ginny.
"And the cause of many of them back at school," said Ron.
"Who's going to throw parties and sneak food up from the kitchens now that they're gone?" asked Harry.
"Hopefully there won't be any parties this year. They're loud, distracting, and they leave a lot of work for the house elves," said Hermione. Ron groaned and Harry silently agreed with him; they didn't want Hermione to start lecturing about S.P.E.W.
"What are we standing around out here for?" Mrs. Weasley asked. "Let's get inside."
Everyone entered the dumpy little café and had o stand in the doorway for a moment or two to let their eyes adjust to the dim, candle lit room.
"My, my, what a large group!" said Tom, the bartender. "Cutting through to Diagon Alley?"
"No, not today, we're here for lunch," said Mrs. Weasley.
"Oh, good! Go ahead and pick a table or two, here, let me help you move that," said Tom as Mr. Weasley and Mr. Granger started to push some of the smaller tables together. "Will you be needing menus or are you ready to order?" he asked once everyone was settled; adults at one end and the students at the other.
"We'll need menus please," said Mrs. Weasley.
Once everyone had ordered they settled down to talk while they waited for their food. Harry, Liv, Ginny and Tyler were engaged in a deep conversation and Hermione took this as a chance to speak alone with Ron.
"Ron, she whispered, getting his attention. "How is Harry handling things?" She looked cautiously over at Harry to see if he had heard.
"I don't, know," said Ron.
"What?"
"There was only once when Sirius was mentioned and it barely fazed him," said Ron. "I thought for sure that he would be gloomier or moodier... or something..."
"How has he been if he's not moody?"
"He seems... I don't know... happy," said Ron.
"Happy?" said Hermione. She was slightly shocked, "But he was anything but happy a few weeks ago... we could barely talk to him!"
"I know, I know," said Ron quickly, "But he either talked to someone since then, or he's completely pushed it out of his mind."
Hermione looked over at Harry; who was watching avidly as Liv spoke. She thought she caught a glimpse of a familiar look in his eyes. Familiar because she had seen him look at Cho Chang that way, but only once before; When Harry liked her, but knew he couldn't have her.
"Do you think talked about it with Liv?" asked Hermione.
"He could of. He told me that they talked a lot those few days they spent together at his aunt and uncle's house...before Fred and George came for them," said Ron.
"Do you think you could find out?"
"Oh that'll be a cheery conversation," he said sarcastically, "so, Harry, talk to anyone about your dead godfather lately?"
"Shh, he might hear you," scolded Hermione. "I meant, could you ask Liv? She might tell you."
"Why don't you ask her? You're a girl."
"But she's staying at your house!"
"Aww, look at the two love birds, deep in a private conversation," teased Ginny. The others laughed but Hermione blushed slightly and looked down at her hands in her lap while Ron's ears turned red.
"What are you two talking about?" Harry asked as he tore his eyes off Liv.
"We were just arguing about house elves," said Ron, thinking fast. Hermione nodded her head in agreement.
"Okay," said Ginny, but her tone said that she didn't believe them. Ron just glared at her.
"Sorry it took so long," said Tom as he crossed through the nearly empty pub. "Such a large group, and a rather large order. Who ordered the pea soup?" He made several trips but soon everyone had their lunch in front of them.
While they were eating a man wearing a black cloak entered the pub from muggle London. He kept his hood up and walked over to the bar. Harry thought he saw the cloaked head turn his way, but it was too hard to tell.
"Fire whiskey," the man ordered in a gruff voice. The bartender moved quickly so as not to upset this mysterious customer.
"Would you like anything else, sir?" asked Tom as he handed him his drink. The man must have glared at him from under the hood because Tom turned and left him alone.
Harry was enticed by the strange man's actions; he couldn't help but stare. Hermione noticed he was staring and nudged him in the ribs. Harry was then able to look away and continue eating, but he still kept an eye on the stranger.
Either the stranger had felt Harry's eyes staring at his back, or he just wanted a more comfortable seat because he got up and reached out a thin, pale hand for his drink. A shudder ran down Harry's spine and he tensed as once more the opening in the hood turned his way. The man moved to a dark corner of the bar and sat at an empty table, disappearing into the shadows.
Hermione nudged Harry again, "Who do you think that was?" she asked quietly.
"Or what?" asked Ron.
"My thoughts exactly," said Harry. Remembering the pale, bony hand that had reached out for the glass, he shuddered once more. He thought of the gruff voice, the harshness of it, and the way the stranger behaved... "Oww," he moaned suddenly. He reached up to his forehead and rubbed his scar, trying to dull the pain.
"Scar?" asked Hermione worriedly. Ron looked nervously at the others at the table, luckily they hadn't noticed, otherwise Mrs. Weasley would have insisted on going home immediately.
"You don't think You-Know-Who is near... do you?" Ron asked cautiously.
"Don't be ridiculous, Ron," snapped Hermione. "Why would—?"
"No, it wasn't strong enough for him to be near," said Harry.
"You don't think it was that guy in the cloak, do you?" said Ron.
"I-I don't know. It hasn't hurt much since... since before Sirius..." said Harry, his voice trailing off.
Hermione and Ron exchanged looks, Harry had mentioned Sirius. Neither one said anything, but they didn't have to. Harry knew they were being careful when it came to issues involving Sirius.
"Are you three done?" asked Mrs. Weasley, breaking the tense moment without realizing it.
"Uh, yeah... I've lost my appetite," muttered Harry as he glanced toward the dark corner. While Mr. Weasley and Mr. Granger were paying for lunch Harry thought he saw the figure lean forward, as if thinking about getting up.
"C'mon, Harry," said Liv, "What're you waiting for?"
"Nothing," he said as he looked toward the door where Liv was waiting. "Where is everyone?"
"They're outside already. Now, c'mon before they leave without us."
"Don't worry, they won't," Harry said more to himself than to Liv. He walked slowly toward the door, trying to resist the temptation to look back at the cloaked figure.
"Ollie, I wanna say goodbye," Tyler called out.
"I'm coming, keep your pants on," she replied sarcastically as she and Harry crossed the street.
"I'll see you in a week, Ollie," said Tyler when she was next to him.
"Behave yourself, Ty... stay out of trouble," said Liv with a smile as she locked her brother in a suffocating hug.
"Ollie! Ollie let go... I can't breathe!" Tyler gasped.
"What, tighter? Okay!"
"Ollie no!" Tyler started tickling her in an attempt to get her to let go.
"Ty!" she squealed. She released her hold on him and squirmed away.
"Oh, come back...I'm not done with you yet!" said Tyler, trying to chase her, but she ran and hid behind Harry, using him as a human shield. "No, fair..."
"Life's not fair," she said, sticking her head slightly over Harry's shoulder. "You're too tall, I can't see," she said quietly.
Harry shrank down a bit and Liv was able to rest her chin on his shoulder. "That better?" asked Harry. He could feel her head nod on his shoulder and took that as a 'yes.'
"All right, that's enough..." said Mrs. Weasley, stepping in.
"Aww, we were just messin' around," said Liv as she lifted her head and placed her hands on Harry's shoulders. Harry wished she would get closer to him again, he liked having her near.
"I'll see you later, Ty," said Liv as she remained behind Harry.
"It was nice meeting everyone," said Tyler. "Bye, Ollie," Liv waved goodbye and let go of Harry to climb into the car while Hermione came over to give a quick goodbye to Harry and Ron.
"Let me know if you scar hurts again," she said quietly to Harry before leaning over to Ron and whispering, "Don't forget..."
"Bye, Hermione," Ron said forcefully.
"I'll see you guys later," she called out as she ran over to the Granger's car and climbed in the backseat with Tyler.
"Boys, let's get going," Mr. Weasley called from the driver seat. Harry and Ron filed into the backseat with Ginny and Olivia.
"Well, that was fun, wasn't it?" said Mrs. Weasley cheerfully as they drove home.
"It was a blast and a half," said Liv, for once her voice didn't carry its usual sarcasm.
"You all seemed to get along pretty well, maybe we don't need to have that party after all," said Mrs. Weasley, thinking out loud.
"But it would be so much fun," said Ginny.
"Yeah, we didn't get to spend enough time with them," said Ron.
"Besides, didn't the letter say that some of the professors would be there?" said Harry. "It would be to their advantage to meet them before school starts.
"Harry has a good point, Mum," said Ginny.
"What do you think about it Olivia?" asked Mrs. Weasley. She was the only one who hadn't said anything about it so far.
"I don't mind," she answered.
"Huh?" said Ginny, looking at her, an odd expression on her face.
"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention... What were you talking about?" said Liv as she looked away from the window.
"Never mind, forget I ever mentioned it. We'll still have the party, don't worry about it," said Mrs. Weasley.
"Wicked," said Ron with enthusiasm.
When they arrived at the Burrow, Errol was laying on the kitchen table unconscious, awaiting the family's return with a letter tied to its leg. He stirred and let out a loud 'hoot' as Mr. Weasley walked through the door.
"Oh, 'ello Errol. What have you got there?" asked Mr. Weasley as he untied the letter from the old owl's leg.
"I hope it's not their Hogwarts' letters," said Mrs. Weasley upon entering the kitchen. "If we had gotten them sooner we could have killed two birds with one stone and got our shopping done today too. Oh shut up, Errol," she said when Errol let out a loud hoot. "It's only a figure of speech, we wouldn't have killed any birds." Errol swivelled his head as if thinking about it, then took off and flew out through the kitchen window, narrowly missing the wall. "Who's it from dear?"
"Professor Dumbledore," said Mr. Weasley as he unrolled the parchment. "Hermione's parents can't make it to the party, something about a dentists' convention..." he said, looking over the letter. "So Albus has decided to hold the little get together at headquarters. He's asked if you could help with the food preparations, Molly dear."
"Of course I'll help out," said Mrs. Weasley. "I imagine the place is a mess without someone living there all the time. We'd be living there, keeping things neat and tidy if I didn't feel I was neglecting our own home."
"We wouldn't be neglecting it," said Mr. Weasley. "Fred and George could stay here and take care of things."
"Have you been in their room lately?" said Mrs. Weasley sarcastically. Ron had come in to ask his parents something but immediately turned around and left when he heard his mother's tone of voice. "If we trusted them alone with the house, it wouldn't be here when we came back!"
"Uh...oh, the letter also says I need to pop on over to headquarters to have a quick little chat with Albus as soon as I get this," said Mr. Weasley nervously. He gave his wife a quick kiss on the cheek before Disapparating to headquarters. Ron re-entered when he heard the sharp 'pop.'
"Mum?"
"Yes dear?" Mrs. Weasley said distractedly as she fumbled around the kitchen looking for something to do. "I was wondering if..." his voice trailed off as he looked out the window. Ginny, Harry and Liv were still outside and out of earshot, but Ron was still slightly nervous.
"If what, dear?" said Mrs. Weasley as she stopped going through one of the cupboards and turned to look at her youngest son.
"I was wondering if you happened to notice that guy at the Leaky Cauldron, the one wearing the black cloak, with a hood hiding his face," said Ron, quietly.
"I don't know, son. Why?"
"There was something weird about him. He seemed... there was a sense of evil around him, or something," said Ron. he looked out the window again then looked back at his mother.
"Sense of evil?" said Mrs. Weasley, slightly perplexed.
"He sent chills down my spine, and once, when he looked at Harry—"
"What happened?" she interrupted.
"Harry's scar...it started to hurt," Ron answered hesitantly. He was nervous that his mother would immediately run outside to see if Harry was all right, but he was shocked to see his mother sink into a chair with a heavy sigh.
"Yes, I noticed the man. The order has recently begun to believe that someone is following Harry for the Dark Lord. If Harry's scar burned when he unknowingly met eyes with that stranger then he most likely is one of the people tracking him," said Mrs. Weasley.
"Why didn't you tell us before?"
"I can't tell Harry. If he starts acting like he knows he's being followed by someone other than the members of the Order, V-Voldemort will know," she said, stumbling over the Dark Lord's name. "We can't tell him, and you mustn't either," she said seriously, looking Ron in the eyes.
"You don't think Harry's...stalker is going to hurt him, do you?" Ron asked worriedly.
"No, he won't hurt him. Voldemort wants him for himself," said Mrs. Weasley quietly, Ron looked down at his hands.
"Hey Ron! What're you doing in there?" Ginny called out.
"I won't tell them, Mum," said Ron quietly as he stood up. He stepped out of the kitchen and outside to the bright and sunny yard. Mrs. Weasley remained in her chair for a moment before Disapparating to headquarters. She had to confirm the belief that Harry was being followed by the Dark Lord's followers. She knew Harry would be safe, and wasn't worried about leaving the four children alone. There was a member of the Order watching the Burrow and she knew that Liv was an advanced witch and could be trusted. Dumbledore had made sure of that.
A/N:R&R, lemme know what ya think...