Chapter Seven

Ron and Hermione arrived at 87 Bollinger Rd at a little after eight o'clock on that Friday evening. Harry told them it was safe to Apparate into the backyard, which was where he was waiting, already dressed and ready to go. He was actually wearing painfully
Muggle clothing, and Ron pointed that out to him.

"You forget, Ron, but I am a Muggle," Harry said, his tone layered in snark. "I'll have you know that I look a lot better than you."

Hermione just watched them in mild amusement. Wow, she had missed her boys. "Okay, okay, you can whip them out and measure later. Right now, I think we have a dinner to get to."

Harry and Ron stared at her, each of them shocked.

"Hermione Granger," Harry said, exaggerating a gasp. "I never."

Despite herself, Hermione laughed. She put her hand out for him to take. "Let's go."

The Trio decided it would be better if Harry waited a while to make his entrance. Ron had tried to get details on his father's secret meeting but everyone seemed very tight-lipped about the entire thing. Hermione convinced him that they probably didn't
know what it was about. And the fact that all but one of Ron's brothers weren't privy to the night meeting meant that they probably weren't involved with whatever was going on in the Order.

Harry hid himself behind a tree, which actually made him laugh.

"What?" Hermione queried before she and Ron made their way to the house.

"It's just, well, I kind of own a Cloak of Invisibility, and I'm hiding behind a tree," he said, smirking.

Ron ignored the remark, his mind focused on the task at hand. "Okay, Hermione and I are going to go in there and suss out what we can about the meeting. Mum mentioned that Percy was going with Dad to the meeting, which really means one thing. That filthy
mongrel."

Hermione put a hand on his arm. "Don't make assumptions."

He shook his head. "It's Percy, Hermione." That was all he needed to say. "Anyway, everyone will probably be really excited to see Harry. That's all fine and dandy, but we're going to have to be alert for reactions. Especially when we tell them that Hermione's
figured out a way to get his magic back. I'm not sure what we're looking for but if you suspect anything, anything at all, give the signal."

"And what exactly is the signal, Ronald?" Hermione asked.

Ron laughed. "Well, we have a few options..."

Once they decided - well, Ron decided and Harry and Hermione didn't have the will to argue - Harry watched Ron and Hermione walk towards the Burrow.

The Burrow. Now, there were a lot of memories. Not all of them good, he had to admit. There had been a fair share of loss around the house.

Harry waited some twenty five minutes before he made the trek to the back door to the Burrow. It was almost surreal, an out of body experience, as he walked through the door to a table full of open mouths and wide eyes. It was Molly Weasley who recovered
first, rising and rushing to crush him in a motherly hug. From there, Harry was flooded with hugs and questions of where he had been for the better part of five years.

He managed to avoid giving any answers as he took in all of them. Altogether there seemed to be a hundred people around the table. Molly, of course, headed the table in her husband's absence. Bill and a very pregnant Fleur were present. And Charlie, who
looked more out of place than all of them. Harry would have to say that he actually looked Romanian. Percy was out somewhere, meeting with people who were planning on committing an atrocity. George had a stupid smile on his face as he stared
at Harry, clearly wanting to say something of which his mother would strongly disapprove.

Of course there was Ron, who looked quite chuffed with himself, at the fact that he knew of Harry's reappearance. And then there was Ginny, who was sitting quietly, unmoving and unresponsive. Before Harry moved towards her, he was greeted by Angelina
Johnson, Neville Longbottom, and by Luna Lovegood. They needn't have told him what they were doing there. Harry knew. Hermione didn't know how he knew, but he knew.

Harry spent a moment with Ginny, hugging her and assuring her that he hadn't died. He also apologised for the way things had ended, and that was that.

Molly quickly got their attentions and stated that they should get back to eating. She set a place for Harry right by her, desperate to have him close. He had been gone for so long; she wouldn't let him out of her sight again.

Conversation took off about things Harry-related. Ron divulged that Harry was happily working with food, which made Ginny raise an eyebrow.

"From what I remember, you struggle with frying bacon," she pointed out.

"I've improved considerably," he said, just managing to laugh at himself. "And I don't do the actual cooking. Just the baking. Requires different skills."

Somehow, they got onto the topic of his magic, and Hermione was able to mention that she thought she found a way to get it back. After her revelation, everyone was silent for a moment. Ron, Harry and Hermione looked from one person to the next, trying
to gauge their reactions. So far, nothing.

"That's brilliant, Harry," George said, beaming. "Trust Hermione to be the one to figure it out."

"She never gave up on you," Ginny said, somewhat seriously. Not like the rest of us, she didn't add, even though it was implied.

Thankfully, none of the trio had to make use of the signal. Just yet. Harry would have been particularly embarrassed if he had. Conversation continued about Harry's magic, and Hermione mentioned that they were close to finding a way to get it back. Very
close.

It wasn't until Ron threw his head back and then forward, coughed violently and literally spat onto the floor that the conversation fell to shocked silence.

Harry immediately paled, his heart rate rising dangerously. Who? Who was it?

Harry and Hermione looked at Ron, who used his eyes to indicatehis mother. Harry's face fell, a feeling of utter defeat taking hold of him. No, not Molly. She couldn't be part of it.

Hermione, however perplexed she was, was just relieved she hadn't had to give the signal. It was truly disgusting, which Ginny so aptly pointed out.

"Eew, Ron, that's gross!" she exclaimed, pulling a face. "Honestly, were you born in a barn?"

Ron ignored her, his attention focused on his mother. "Mum, what time did you say Dad would be back?"

Molly pried her eyes away from the clock she had been consistently checking since Harry's arrival. "I didn't actually say."

Harry pushed on. "When is Mr Weasley returning?" he asked politely. "I would very much like to say hello."

Molly's lack of response was a fact not lost on any of the other children. In fact, George even went so far as to join in, querying about his father's night meeting.

"He didn't say," Molly eventually responded. "You know how the Ministry can be. If anyone should understand, it should be you kids."

"The Ministry?" Hermione asked.

"I thought Dad's night meetings were to do with the Order," George pointed out, and the Golden Trio sent him a mental thank you.

Molly looked perplexed, like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Mum?" Ginny queried.

Molly waited a beat before she responded strongly, having recovered. "I don't know," she said. "I stopped asking about your father's night meetings a long time ago." The way she said it almost told Harry that she might have known something, but she wasn't
particularly in support of it.

Conversation managed to move on past that, with Luna reprimanding Ron for his horrific table manners. What was odd though was that Molly had nothing to say about the spitting incident. And all the children noticed. Molly seemed particularly fidgety.

It was plain for the trio to see that, even if she wasn't involved in whatever the Order was trying to do, she did know something. Hermione kept her eye on Harry as he forced himself to get through the rest of the evening.

It was almost midnight by the time Harry was allowed to leave. Molly made a point of keeping Harry close but Arthur Weasley did not return. By the end of it, Harry knew that he didn't actually want to see the man. He wanted to leave and possibly never
come back. He'd discovered a little too much for one night, and all he wanted was to go home.

Ron, Luna and Hermione left with Harry. They walked a ways away from the Burrow before Luna brought them all to a stop.

"All right. I know something is going on," she said it matter-of-factly; as if it was an observation that didn't quite alarm her. Calm as ever, Luna Lovegood. "Harry wouldn't just show up here for no reason." She looked at Harry. "Although, it is mightily
fantastic to see you, Harry."

Harry managed a smile.

"I think you would have told me if it was important enough," Luna continued, looking at Ron. "But you're not telling me because it's dangerous." It wasn't an accusation; it was more of a statement. Another one of her spot-on observations. "So all I have
left to do is ask if there is anything I can do to help."

The Golden Trio just stared in silence. Of course, what would they have expected? This was Luna they were dealing with. Ron would have flung his arms around Luna and exclaimed how wonderful she was, but Hermione beat him to it.

The boys just watched in amusement as the two girls displayed just how close they really were. Over the years, after Hermione managed to get past all the inner turmoil of her ex-boyfriend starting to date one of her friends, she and Luna had become the
best of friends. Which wasn't always the best thing for Ron. He mentioned that to Harry while they waited. Then he got very serious again.

"I actually can't believe her," Ron said, referring to his mother. "I can't believe it."

Again, Hermione put a hand on his arm. "Don't make assumptions."

"I'll damn well make assumptions," Ron said, sounding particularly frustrated. "She knows something."

"So why don't we just ask her?" Harry asked curiously. "I don't think she would lie."

"But would she really admit to being part of the reason you're a Muggle, Harry?" Hermione pointed out.

"I wouldn't," Luna said, catching on and doing her best not to convey her dismay at what she managed to decipher from their conversation. "I assume you're talking about your mother."

Ron merely nodded.

"In her eyes, whatever Mr Weasley has done is bad, but she will protect him without a fault," Hermione said. "In the end, Arthur is family."

"And I'm not," Harry said weakly. It was a truth that sat in the air for about a minute. Even the people who Harry had once considered family couldn't be trusted entirely.

Ron, using his Auror experience, moved on from the morbid talk, to even more morbid talk. "I don't see a way forward right now," he admitted. "Sure, we can ask my mother what she knows, but she will probably talk to my father about it, and then the entire
Order two point oh will know that we know that they're up to some sketchy things."

The three others just stared at him, trying to figure out where all of that came from. It was Hermione who asked him about it.

"What?" Ron said innocently, even shrugging. "My best friend became a Muggle. I had to brush up on some terminology."

If Luna could have loved him any more than she already did, she probably would have. Harry didn't think he could say anything even if he tried. He subconsciously stepped towards the redhead, and Hermione seemed to gravitate towards the boys. Even after
so many years apart, the Golden Trio easily fell into their own ways: going at the world together.

Luna watched them with a certain curiosity. There was no part of her that wondered where it was she fit into this world of theirs. She was by no means deluded into thinking she could be the one to infiltrate or even figure out what it was that made the
Trio who they were. They had been through too much together for anyone else to understand, even remotely.

"Kingsley wants Harry at the Ministry on Monday," Ron said. "I'm going to try to find out what I can from him without drawing too much attention to myself."

Hermione wanted to protest but they all knew that Ron was their best chance of getting information from Kingsley because, as much as Harry pressed, Kingsley wouldn't reveal much else. Or would he?

"I could have a go at him," Harry said, involuntarily standing up taller. "Out of all of us, I'm supposed to be the only one who knows anything about what the Order might be up to. I think that if I were to be alone in a room with him, I could get him
to say things he wouldn't normally say in the presence of others."

Hermione was already shaking her head. "No. It's too dangerous. He's already authorised the Cruciatus Curse on you. Whose to say he won't do it again if you push him hard enough?"

Harry gave her a look that told her that he didn't really care. He had faced it before and he could face it again. "I can handle it."

"Harry," Hermione sounded. "Think of Julia."

Harry's features hardened. "I am thinking of her. It won't end until I make it end. And what good am I if I've got the Order and the Ministry on my back?" he asked, irritated with the mention of Julia, as if he wasn't already thinking of her. "She's in
more danger now than she ever was, and I'm just a Muggle. I can't even protect her. So I really don't need you to tell me to think about her, okay, Hermione. Trust me, she's all I ever think about anyway."

The awkwardness that followed Harry's outburst was almost too much to handle. Hermione didn't know what to say and the fact that Harry still seemed annoyed wasn't helping. Ron just looked at Hermione sympathetically and Luna watched the interaction with
keen interest. Harry said what he said for a reason; a reason she was sure he didn't even know existed.

Now was not the time to point that out though.

Ron stepped forward. "Listen, mate, don't worry about Julia. I'll put up some protection enchantments around the house, and the shop. She'll be safe, I promise."

That did very little to calm Harry. The truth was that he felt rather guilty about his outburst but he was too proud to say so. What was worse was that he had no idea from where it came. It was just something about having Hermione mention Julia that made
him feel unworthy; like he had to overcompensate for something.

"I should probably get back," Harry said, his eyes drifting from Ron to Hermione.

Luna watched Harry's gaze soften. For a moment, she was sure he would say something, but Ron cut into the moment. Argh, Ron.

"Let's get you home," Ron said, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder. After a muttered farewell, the boys left, leaving Luna and Hermione to ponder the events of the evening.

"Harry's always been stoic and noble," Luna said as she and Hermione started to walk again. "He's always done what he believes is the right thing."

"I know that."

Luna raised an eyebrow. "Do you? Because you make the core of who he is waiver just by being who you are."

Hermione frowned. "What does that even mean?"

"I reckon he'd forget all about who he is for you," she admitted.

Hermione almost laughed. "And why on earth would he do that?"

Luna stopped walking to look at Hermione. The blondewitch met Hermione's gaze, the severity of what she was about to say taking precedent. "Because you're Harry and Hermione. You cannot honestly tell me that you've never felt anything there." At
Hermione's silence, Luna continued. "I was there, you know? I saw it all. I watched you fight with yourself over your loyalty to Harry and your attraction to Ron. He told me what happened during the hunt for the Horcruxes; about the fact that he left
and you stayed. You stayed."

"That didn't mean anything."

"Of course it did. It was all just a long list of reasons why we're all convinced that the two of you were made for each other."

That had Hermione frowning. "We?"

"Ron also told me why the two of you ended. You couldn't give up on Harry, and we all know that he wouldn't have given up on you either."

Hermione couldn't dispute that, as much as she wanted to.

"You and Ron would never have worked out in the long run. Not as long as Harry needed you. Sure, the two of you complement each other in a way that I probably won't complement him, but you've been doing that as friends for ages. I can imagine the type
of life we all could have had if Harry still had his magic. But he doesn't. And our lives are so different now."

"That's all fine and dandy, Luna, but what you're saying is insane. Harry left. He disappeared and, sure, it might have been to protect all of us, but he was still able to do it."

"I know," Luna said sadly. "But it's easy to see that you're the one he feels the most guilty about. And did you see him blowing up over Ron mentioning Julia? Who I assume is Harry's person. No you didn't. Because it doesn't matter if Ron mentions her.
But when you do it, it's a reminder to him that he's here with you instead of her; enjoying your company instead of hers."

"What are you talking about?"

"You're the type of girl you come back for, Hermione."

"That's absurd."

Luna sighed. "Maybe. But think about this: Harry could have stayed hidden, he could have fought harder to resist, or he could have run again. But he didn't. Why?"

"He stayed for her," Hermione said, her voice emotionless.

"Or he stayed for you..."