At the Weasley's, Ginny was pacing. She had not heard a single thing about Harry's condition since the teachers visit and what little information they had prized out of them had not done anything to reassure her.
'He almost didn't make it. He almost died.' She reminded herself again as she wonder what had happened in the four hours that had passed since the professors had left. Around and around her bedroom she went. At times she stopped and gazed out the window, searching the skies for dappled wings but each time a few minutes was all she could stand before she was off again. Eventually she wore herself down enough that she flopped down on her bed. Even though she was absolutely exhausted she couldn't sleep.
"Breakfast!" came the call from down stairs. With a sigh which turned into a yawn she clambered to her feet and made her way down. Ron was sitting at one end of the table when she got to the dining room looking almost as bad as she felt. His eyes were blood shot and the dark bags under them were a mute testimony to the fact that he hadn't slept at all. A single glance at her mother was enough to say the same there. Her father had already left the house for work and the twins had yet to show up for breakfast. The clatter of cutlery hitting the table made Ginny realise that she was looking for signs of betrayal amongst her family. Percy's behaviour had affected her more then she thought it had and she wasn't sure who she could trust.
When they had finished eating and the dishes were washed and put away, the five Weasleys gathered in the living room to await news regarding Harry. The silence that had descended over the place was so heavy they seemed to bend under the pressure. Finally it got too much for one of the twins. With a muttered curse which his mother glared at him for, Fred yanked himself out of the chair he was lounged in and over to the fire place. A handful of floo powder later and he was facing Dumbledore's head in the fire.
"He has woken." Was the first thing that the headmaster said when he saw who was in the room. "Professor Snape said that his injuries are well on the way to healing though we are wait for Poppy to return before we use any more spells on him. The potions are working well though so he should be well enough to receive visitors in a few days at the most."
Relief flooded the room throwing of the silence and bringing back to their minds the unanswered questions of the night before, the biggest of which; was it Harry's muggle family who had done this to him? After a few moments of thought Dumbledore predicted what the next question would be.
"Right now we are leaving any questions until Harry in stronger, so we don't know for certain if it was the Dursley's or some other unknown who did this to him."
"Thankyou for telling us." Ginny said quietly. Dumbledore took in the appearance of the Weasleys present and was surprised to see how badly they were affected. This, more than anything else proved to him how attached to Harry they really were, to them he was one of the clan. Ginny could see the revelation in his eyes.
'Good' she thought. Maybe he could see how well he fitted in and would let him stay for longer this summer. This could be just the thing to use to push the headmaster into letting Harry live with them permanently. Her mother would be happy enough to give him Percy's room as soon as he moved out, which she knew wouldn't be very far in the future after his behaviour towards the rest of the family.
"That's perfectly alright Miss Weasley." He said with a little more of his usual sparkle and energy as he pulled back and disappeared with a small pop. The Weasley's sat and absorbed the information silently for several minutes. It was George who was he first to speak this time.
"Well that helped." He said to his brother. Fred laughed and stood, helping his brother to his feet.
"I don't know about you lot but I think I might just see if I can concentrate on some work in my room, what say you Forge? Should we try that formula we discussed?"
"I say you read my mind Gred. Do cheer up my fellow clan members." George told them grandly. "Our honorary brother is on the mend!"
"Nicely done, very diplomatic." Fred told him as they walked over to the stairs. "If you don't watch it though you'll end up like the dear Minister Fudge." He burst out laughing at the glare George sent him and race for the room they shared with his twin in hot pursuit. They heard the boy's feet thundering up the stairs their door slam closed.
With a sigh Mrs Weasley hauled herself out of her chair stretching as she headed for the kitchen.
"Do you want to help me with some baking Ginny, Ron?" she asked the other two.
"No thanks mum. Every time I start measuring and mixing anything together I get the distinct feeling that professor Snape is going to appear right behind me and give me detention for something." Ron said with a shudder. Ginny looked at him and shook her head.
"You really do have a problem with him don't you? Maybe it's because you have spent a year longer under his tuition or maybe it is just that I am better than you, but I never have that problem. What are we making mum?"
"I will pretend I didn't here you make most of those comments but you shouldn't be saying that about anyone. Now we need to make a couple batches of biscuits, scones and a few cakes. It doesn't take this family long at all to go through even that amount of food." She turned and bustled into the kitchen looking much livelier than before. Her voice floated through the doorway as Ginny headed to the door. "What do you say, should we make a special cake for Harry? Or maybe some of that hand made fudge he likes so much?"
AN: sorry about the delay between chapters. I have been having a lot of trouble