A/N Don't forget to review! :) xxx

Chapter Nine

Celebrations

Everyone was in good spirits over the next few days, now that the Hearing was out of their minds. Amara couldn't believe how the old house could have so many happy spirits in it, even though they still had to clean most of it thoroughly.

"Have you seen Sirius lately?" Harry asked them one day, when they were cleaning out a really mouldy cupboard near Fred and George's room. "He's been withdrawn ever since I got cleared. I'm worried about him."

Amara thought back to the last few days and was surprised to discover Sirius was not in any of her memories. In fact, he hadn't spent any time with them at all and was normally in Buckbeak's room, by himself.

"Don't you go feeling guilty!" said Hermione sternly. "You belong at Hogwarts and Sirius knows it. Personally, I think he's being selfish."

"That's a bit harsh, Hermione," said Ron, frowning as he attempted to prize off a bit of mould that had attached itself firmly to his finger, "you wouldn't want to be stuck inside this house without company."

"He'll have company!" said Hermione. "It's headquarters to the Order of the Phoenix, isn't it? He just got his hopes up that Harry would be coming to live here with him."

"Why would he do that when there was a chance he wasn't going to?" Amara pointed out, now trying to pull the mould off Ron's finger.

"I agree," said Harry, wringing out his cloth. "He wouldn't give me a straight answer when I asked him if I could live here."

"He just didn't want to get his own hopes up even more," said Hermione wisely. "And he probably felt a bit guilty himself, because I think a part of him was really hoping you'd be expelled. Then you'd both be outcasts together."

"Come off it!" said Harry and Ron together, but Hermione merely shrugged.

"Suit yourselves. But I sometimes think Ron's mum's right, and Sirius gets confused about whether you're you or your father, Harry."

"So you think he's touched in the head?" said Harry heatedly.

"No, I just think he's been very lonely for a long time," said Hermione simply.

At this point Mrs Weasley entered the bedroom behind them.

"Still not finished?" she said, poking her head into the cupboard.

"I thought you might be here to tell us to have a break!" said Ron bitterly. "D'you know how much mould we've got rid of since we arrived here?"

"You were so keen to help the Order," said Mrs Weasley, "you can do your bit by making headquarters fit to live in."

"I feel like a house-elf," grumbled Ron.

"Well, now that you understand what dreadful lives they lead, perhaps you'll be a bit more active in S.P.E.W.!" said Hermione hopefully, as Mrs. Weasley left them to it again. "You know, maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to show people exactly how horrible it is to clean all the time — we could do a sponsored scrub of Gryffindor common room, all proceeds to S.P.E.W., it would raise awareness as well as funds —"

"Yeah, 'cos everyone wants to clean the Gryffindor common room," grumbled Amara, to Ron and Harry.

"Yeah, I'll sponsor her to shut up about spew," Ron muttered irritably.

-OOOOO-

Tally's last day at Grimmauld Place was a few days before the end of the holidays.

Her flight was early in the morning, so Jesse and Adrien were taking her up to the airport that night so she'd be there on time.

Because of all her help throughout the summer, and because the Weasley's were now quite attached to her, nearly as much as they were to Amara, Mrs Weasley cooked her favourite food and let a few people stay for dinner (meaning her brother and Adrien, Tonks, Amelia, Jennifer and even Kingsley and Lupin dropped by).

It was a joyful yet sad evening, because Tally didn't want to go back to France with everyone else staying here. Amara and Ron were sad too, as well as Ginny, who was becoming Tally's best friend.

They sat and ate and laughed the majority of the evening before Jesse told them the bad news that Tally had to go.

"You guys better write," Tally said, sniffing slightly. "All I have are girls who don't care about anything other than their hair."

"Of course," said Ginny, who was sniffing too. "Come back next summer, won't you? You can always stay with us."

"You're always welcome, Tally, dear," said Mrs Weasley before Jesse ushered her out the kitchen and out of Grimmauld Place.

They didn't clean much over the next few days, considering it was nearly the end of the holidays, and everyone was bit subdued now Tally had gone. It was very lonely in Amara's room now, and so she spent as little time in there as possible (meaning Ron and Harry generally had her presence in their room).

However Amara was soon dreaming, not about Cedric, but about Hogwarts. Having spent the majority of the summer in one place meant Amara was eager to escape back to Hogwarts, where she couldn't wait to see Tessie and Ethan and all of her other friends and acquaintances. The sloping lawns and her four poster bed - visiting Hagrid and doing all the lessons she loved (a few she didn't). And Quidditch matches and visiting the kitchens - having feasts in the Great Hall and visiting Hogsmeade on weekends. Ethan was now able to join in and Tessie would be making new friends and finding her talents in the different subjects.

Her daydreams went on for ages, and normally one of the Weasley's snapped her out of it so that she could carry on cleaning the cupboard or invested wardrobe.

On the last day of the holidays, Amara, Ron and Ginny went downstairs whilst the others were packing to get their booklists, which had arrived that day. Amara knew her mother would be rather irritated by this.

Sirius handed Amara Fred and George's letters as well, because they hadn't come down, whilst Ginny took Hermione's and Ron took Harry's.

Amara didn't stop to chat at Fred and George's room because they were more than likely experimenting with their newly-found ingredients.

She opened hers as she walked to Ron and Harry's room and found she only needed two new books: The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5, by Miranda Goshawk and Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard.

Amara raised her eyebrows at the last book as she entered the boys' room. Harry was reading off his list whilst standing on a chair whilst Ron was facing away from him.

"What's this Slinkhard book all about, huh?" Amara said, standing next to Harry.

Crack.

Fred and George Apparated right beside Harry and Amara.

"We were just wondering who assigned the Slinkhard book," said Fred conversationally.

"Because it means Dumbledore's found a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher," said George.

"And about time too," said Fred.

"What d'you mean?" Harry asked, jumping down beside them. "Well, we overheard Mum and Dad talking on the Extendable Ears a few weeks back," Fred told Harry and Amara, "and from what they were saying, Dumbledore was having real trouble finding anyone to do the job this year."

"Not surprising, is it, when you look at what's happened to the last four?" said George.

"One sacked, one dead, one's memory removed, and one locked in a trunk for nine months," said Harry, counting them off on his fingers. "Yeah, I see what you mean."

"What's up with you, Ron?" asked Fred.

Ron didn't answer, and Amara saw his mouth was open, gaping at his letter.

"What's the matter?" said Fred impatiently and he and Amara walked to where he was standing to see what the matter was with him.

Ron was holding a third letter in his hand which unmistakably had the words PREFECT on it.

Amara and Fred's mouths fell open as they gaped at one another.

"Prefect?" They said chorally.

Fred was staring incredulously at the letter. "Prefect?"

George leapt forward, seized the envelope in Ron's other hand, and turned it upside down. A scarlet and gold prefect badge fell onto George's palm. Harry saw something scarlet and gold fall into George's palm.

"No way," said George in a hushed voice.

"There's been a mistake," said Fred, snatching the letter out of Ron's grasp and holding it up to the light as though checking for a watermark. "No one in their right mind would make Ron a prefect. . . ."

The twins' heads turned in unison and both of them stared at Harry.

"We thought you were a cert!" said Fred in a tone that suggested Harry had tricked them in some way.

"We thought Dumbledore was bound to pick you!" said George indignantly.

"Winning the Triwizard and everything!" said Fred.

"I suppose all the mad stuff must've counted against him," said George to Fred.

"Yeah," said Fred slowly. "Yeah, you've caused too much trouble, mate. Well, at least two of you's got their priorities right."

He strode over to Harry and clapped him on the back while George hugged Amara gleefully. Fred was giving Ron a scathing look.

"Prefect . . . ickle Ronnie the prefect . . ."

"Oh, Mum's going to be revolting," groaned George, tightening his grip on Amara (she was starting to lose oxygen) and thrusting the prefect badge back at Ron as though it might contaminate him.

"You realise Hermione's got prefect too, for definite?" Amara said in a strained voice as George continued to hug her, whilst edging away from Ron.

Fred and George groaned. Ron, who hadn't answered, took the badge, stared at it for a moment, and then held it out to Harry as though asking mutely for confirmation that it was genuine. Harry took it. As he was examining it, the door banged open. Hermione came tearing into the room, her cheeks flushed and her hair flying. There was an envelope in her hand too.

"Did you — did you get — ?"

She spotted the badge in Harry's hand and let out a shriek.

"I knew it!" she said excitedly, brandishing her letter. "Me too, Harry, me too!"

"No," said Harry quickly, pushing the badge back into Ron's hand. "It's Ron, not me."

"It — what?"

"Ron's prefect, not me," Harry said. Amara snorted at Hermione's expression.

"Ron?" said Hermione, her jaw dropping. "But . . . are you sure? I mean —"

She turned red as Ron looked around at her with a defiant expression on his face.

"It's my name on the letter," he said.

"I . . ." said Hermione, looking thoroughly bewildered. "I . . . well. . . wow! Well done, Ron! That's really —"

"Unexpected," said George, nodding from his place by Amara, who was still grinning.

"No," said Hermione, blushing harder than ever, "no, it's not . . . Ron's done loads of . . . he's really . . ."

The door behind her opened a little wider and Mrs Weasley backed into the room carrying a pile of freshly laundered robes.

"Ginny said the booklists had come at last," she said, glancing around at all the envelopes as she made her way over to the bed and started sorting the robes into two piles. "If you give them to me I'll take them over to Diagon Alley this afternoon and get your books while you're packing. Ron, I'll have to get you more pyjamas, these are at least six inches too short, I can't believe how fast you're growing . . . what colour would you like?"

"Get him red and gold to match his badge," said George, smirking.

"Match his what?" said Mrs Weasley absently, rolling up a pair of maroon socks and placing them on Ron's pile.

"His badge," said Fred, with the air of getting the worst over quickly. "His lovely shiny new prefect's badge."

Fred's words took a moment to penetrate Mrs Weasley's preoccupation about pyjamas.

"His . . . but . . . Ron, you're not. . . ?"

Ron held up his badge.

Mrs Weasley let out a shriek just like Hermione's.

"I don't believe it! I don't believe it! Oh, Ron, how wonderful! A prefect! That's everyone in the family!"

"What are Fred and I, next-door neighbours?" said George indignantly, as his mother pushed him aside and flung her arms around her youngest son.

"Wait until your father hears! Ron, I'm so proud of you, what wonderful news, you could end up Head Boy just like Bill and Percy, it's the first step! Oh, what a thing to happen in the middle of all this worry, I'm just thrilled, oh Ronnie —"

Fred and George were both making loud retching noises behind her back but Mrs Weasley did not notice; arms tight around Ron's neck, she was kissing him all over his face, which had turned a brighter scarlet than his badge.

"Mum . . . don't . . . Mum, get a grip. . . ." he muttered, trying to push her away. Amara couldn't help but be happy for Ron for getting prefect, he never got anything like it. She wondered if Harry was bothered that they didn't get one. Amara wasn't that bothered by it - there was not question of who would get it when Hermione was in the picture - and she didn't exactly want the extra pressures.

Mrs Weasley let go of Ron and said breathlessly, "Well, what will it be? We gave Percy an owl, but you've already got one, of course."

"W-what do you mean?" said Ron, looking as though he did not dare believe his ears.

"You've got to have a reward for this!" said Mrs Weasley fondly. "How about a nice new set of dress robes?"

"We've already bought him some," said Fred sourly, who looked as though he sincerely regretted this generosity. Amara was surprised they'd even thought of that - they never did anything like that to their brothers.

"Or a new cauldron, Charlie's old one's rusting through, or a new rat, you always liked Scabbers —"

"Mum," said Ron hopefully, "can I have a new broom?"

Mrs Weasley's face fell slightly; broomsticks were expensive.

"Not a really good one!" Ron hastened to add. "Just — just a new one for a change . . ."

Mrs Weasley hesitated, then smiled.

"Of course you can. . . . Well, I'd better get going if I've got a broom

to buy too. I'll see you all later. . . . Little Ronnie, a prefect! And don't forget to pack your trunks. . . . A prefect . . . Oh, I'm all of a dither!" She gave Ron yet another kiss on the cheek, sniffed loudly, and bustled from the room.

Fred and George exchanged looks.

"You don't mind if we don't kiss you, do you, Ron?" said Fred in a falsely anxious voice.

"We could curtsy, if you like," said George. Amara rolled her eyes at the twins.

"Oh, shut up," said Ron, scowling at them.

"Or what?" said Fred, a truly evil grin spreading across his face. "Going to put us in detention?"

"I'd love to see him try," sniggered George.

"He could if you don't watch out!" said Hermione angrily, at which Fred and George burst out laughing and Ron muttered, "Drop it, Hermione."

"We're going to have to watch our step, George," said Fred, pretending to tremble, "with these two on our case. . . ."

"Yeah, it looks like our law-breaking days are finally over," said George, shaking his head.

And with another loud crack, the twins Disapparated.

"Those two!" said Hermione furiously, staring up at the ceiling, through which they could now hear Fred and George roaring with laughter in the room upstairs. "Don't pay any attention to them, Ron, they're only jealous!"

"I don't think they are," said Ron doubtfully, also looking up at the ceiling. "They've always said only prats become prefects. . . . Still," he added on a happier note, "they've never had new brooms! I wish I could go with Mum and choose. . . . She'll never be able to afford a Nimbus, but there's the new Cleansweep out, that'd be great. . . . Yeah, I think I'll go and tell her I like the Cleansweep, just so she knows. . . ."

He dashed from the room, leaving Harry and Hermione alone.

Harry turned away from Hermione as soon as Ron has gone. He busied himself with the robes Mrs Weasley had brought in.

"Harry?" said Hermione tentatively, after exchanging glances with Amara.

"Well done," said Harry his voice rather strange as he continued to avoid his gaze. "Brilliant. Prefect. Great."

"Thanks," said Hermione. "Erm — Harry — could I borrow Hedwig so I can tell Mum and Dad? They'll be really pleased — I mean, prefect is something they can understand —"

"Yeah, no problem," said Harry. "Take her!"

Hermione crossed to the wardrobe and called Hedwig down as Amara silently sat on Ron's bed. Harry had probably forgotten she was there. A few moments passed; Hermione left the room with Hedwig on her shoulder and Harry stayed by his trunk.

"You okay?" Amara asked finally and Harry jumped and smacked his head on his trunk. "Ah - sorry." Harry rubbed his head and looked around.

"Thought you'd left," he muttered at her.

"Gathered as much," said Amara.

Harry straightened up - still rubbing his head - and sunk onto his own bed. There was a moment's pause.

"You're not - you're not annoyed that Ron got the badge?" Amara asked.

Harry didn't answer for a few seconds.

"Not, not really," he said finally.

"You have to be happy for him," Amara said. "This is the first thing he's got which trumps you, you know."

Harry looked at her, and she could tell a lot of thoughts were entering his brain.

"Ron didn't ask for the badge, it was given to him," Amara carried on. "It's the best thing that's happened to him all summer."

Harry nodded, and he seemed to be having an internal battle with himself.

"I'm going to ask Mrs Weasley if she needs any help in Diagon Alley - I'm pretty much packed already," Amara said, standing up and stretching. She patted Harry on the arm before leaving the room. She met an ecstatic Ron on the stairs - he was bounding up them - and he told her Mrs Weasley was getting him the Cleansweep broom.

Mrs Weasley was down in the kitchen when Amara went in, and she seemed rather grateful that Amara offered to go to Diagon Alley with her.

"Thank you so much dear," she said fondly. "I wouldn't be able to deal with seven people's things by myself very well."

It took a while in Diagon Alley. It was packed full of people jostling to get their Hogwarts supplies on the last day. Flourish and Blotts nearly ran out of books (the assistant looked shocked when Mrs Weasley asked for seven copies of Defensive Magical Theory and copies of the Standard Book of Spells Grades four, five and seven.

They stopped at Madam Malkin's (which was swamped) to make Ron's, Fred and George's and Harry's robes longer, and they stopped in all the other places necessary for the things at Hogwarts. As Amara had already been with her parents, she only needed the books from Flourish and Blotts. Because of this, Mrs Weasley hesitantly let her go buy Ron's broomstick (Cleansweep Eleven) from Quality Quidditch Supplies whilst she got the other things.

Amara saw her mother dragging Ethan out of the Quidditch shop when she went in, which made her laugh out loud. She stopped for a small chat before entering the tightly packed shop to get Ron's new broomstick. The person at the register wrapped it in thick brown paper once she'd brought it with the money Mrs Weasley gave her (she paid a little of her own money, and decided to pretend it wasn't as much as Mrs Weasley thought it was).

They returned to Grimmauld Place at six o'clock, and Amara had the task of handing them their packages. Fred and George eagerly told her of how Ron couldn't stop fiddling with his prefect badge, which made Amara roll her eyes and told them to leave him alone.

"Or what?" Fred said smirking. "You're not a Prefect."

"Yeah, and that means I can jinx you," said Amara, returning the smirk. "Or whack you over the head with a book." She raised the stack of books she was holding whilst Fred cowered and George laughed.

"Dinner's ready anyway," Amara told them, flicking Fred away as he tried to grab her weapon off her. "Bugger off Fred."

Down in the basement Mrs Weasley had hung a scarlet banner over the heavily laden dinner table, which read Congratulations Ron and Hermione — New Prefects. Mrs Weasley seemed in a very happy mood.

"I thought we'd have a little party, not a sit-down dinner," she told Amara, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Ginny as they entered the room. "Your father and Bill are on their way, Ron, I've sent them both owls and they're thrilled," she added, beaming.

Fred rolled his eyes, so Amara flicked him.

Sirius, Lupin, Tonks, and Kingsley Shacklebolt were already there and Mad-Eye Moody stumped in shortly after they'd all helped themselves to butterbeer.

"Oh, Alastor, I am glad you're here," said Mrs Weasley brightly, as Mad-Eye shrugged off his traveling cloak. "We've been wanting to ask you for ages — could you have a look in the writing desk in the drawing room and tell us what's inside it? We haven't wanted to open it just in case it's something really nasty."

"No problem, Molly . . ."

Moody's electric-blue eye swivelled upward and stared fixedly through the ceiling of the kitchen.

"Drawing room . . ." he growled, as the pupil contracted. "Desk in the corner? Yeah, I see it. . . . Yeah, it's a boggart. . . . Want me to go up and get rid of it, Molly?"

"No, no, I'll do it myself later," beamed Mrs Weasley. "You have your drink. We're having a little bit of a celebration, actually. . . ." She gestured at the scarlet banner. "Fourth prefect in the family!" she said fondly, ruffling Ron's hair.

"Prefect, eh?" growled Moody, his normal eye on Ron and his magical eye swivelling around to gaze into the side of his head. Amara did not know where it was looking, which made her uncomfortable and so she walked to stand between Fred and George as if they'd protect her from Moody's weird eye.

"Can't get used to that weird ass eye," Amara muttered as they sipped on the butterbeer.

Fred snorted.

"It's not going to kill you," he said.

"He could," said Amara fervently. "But who knows what he can see with it?"

"Don't worry," said Fred. "We'll protect you."

Amara scowled at him and moved closer to George.

"Git," she said. "Knew there was a reason I preferred George."

Fred looked aghast whilst George whooped loudly.

"You prefer him?" he said. "You know that's not true! I am deeply offended."

"I'm not," said George. "She prefers me!"

"He's not even the best-looking!" Fred exclaimed.

"Am too!"

"Are not," said Fred. "Amara, you've made a big mistake. You definitely love me more."

Amara giggled as Fred stared down at her, his face looking 'hurt' but his eyes twinkling with laughter.

"Of course," she said, still giggling and Fred cheered and spun her around.

Before George could complain, Mr Weasley, Bill and Mundungus entered, and Mrs Weasley quickly gave them a drink.

"Well, I think a toast is in order," said Mr Weasley. He raised his goblet. "To Ron and Hermione, the new Gryffindor prefects!"

Ron and Hermione beamed as everyone drank to them (Even Fred and George) and then applauded.

"I was never a prefect myself," said Tonks brightly from next to Amara as everybody moved toward the table to help themselves to food. Her hair was tomato-red and waist length today; she looked like Ginny's older sister. "My Head of House said I lacked certain necessary qualities."

"Like what?" said Ginny, who was choosing some food.

"Like the ability to behave myself," said Tonks.

Ginny and Amara laughed; Hermione looked as though she did not know whether to smile or not and compromised by taking an extra-large gulp of butterbeer and choking on it.

"What about you, Sirius?" Ginny asked, thumping Hermione on the back.

Sirius, who was right beside Harry, let out his usual bark-like laugh.

"No one would have made me a prefect; I spent too much time in detention with James. Lupin was the good boy, he got the badge."

"I think Dumbledore might have hoped that I would be able to exercise some control over my best friends," said Lupin. "I need scarcely say that I failed dismally."

Ron was rhapsodizing about his new broom to anybody who would listen.

". . . naught to seventy in ten seconds, not bad, is it? When you think the Comet Two Ninety's only naught to sixty and that's with a decent tailwind according to Which Broomstick?"

Hermione was talking very earnestly to Lupin about her view of elf rights.

"I mean, it's the same kind of nonsense as werewolf segregation, isn't it? It all stems from this horrible thing wizards have of thinking they're superior to other creatures. . . ."

Mrs Weasley and Bill were having their usual argument about Bill's hair.

". . . getting really out of hand, and you're so good-looking, it would look much better shorter, wouldn't it, Harry?"

"Oh — I dunno —" said Harry, looking slightly alarmed at being asked his opinion. Amara snorted as she walked back over to Ron and his ramblings to Tonks. Tonks looked quite relieved that she didn't have to listen anymore and jumped up for some food.

It was easy listening to Ron's ramblings because it meant that she didn't have to listen all that much. All she had to do was nod a few times and say 'Yeah' on occasion when he wanted and she was set. Her mind kept wandering back to the events in June, however, when she zoned out, so she snapped out of it and listened to what Ron had to say. Her nightmares had become less frequent when they had more work in the day, but they still came back to haunt her.

". . . the handle's made of Spanish oak with anti-jinx varnish and in-built vibration control —" Ron was saying as Amara came back to reality.

Mrs Weasley yawned widely.

"Well, I think I'll sort out that boggart before I turn in. . . . Arthur, I don't want this lot up too late, all right? 'Night, Harry, dear."

She left the kitchen and Amara turned her attention back to Ron. It wasn't long before they were discussing which broom company was better: Comet or Cleansweep.

They were joined by Ginny and Hermione and Tonks later on in the evening and they all had a good discussion over different matters. All too soon, however, Mr Weasley directed them all upstairs to bed.