Chapter 20
"Wow!"
"Brilliant!"
"You've actually been inside them, Bill? Do we get to go in too?"
The oldest Weasley boy chuckled, ruffling his baby sister's hair as she stared eagerly up at the Egyptian Pyramids. "Yes, I've been inside, Ginny, and no, you won't get to unless you become a certified Curse Breaker."
"I'll do it! I'll study hard and be just as good of one as you!"
"Sounds like a plan, little sis," Fred piped up.
"But you probably don't want to go mentioning it to Mum!" George added, which got a laugh out of Harry and Ron.
"Yeah, Mum would go absolutely starkers if she lost you to the same 'dangerous lifestyle' as Bill," the latter grinned.
"It's not as dangerous as Charlie's job!" Bill protested, defending his chosen profession.
"I beg to differ! At least with dragons, you can see the danger coming - mucking about in dark tunnels filled with ancient curses, it's a wonder you can tell when you've gone and buggered something at all!" Charlie's response set all the Weasley kids off laughing, even Percy.
The eight of them were taking a morning walk around Bill's current worksite while their parents had a nice lie-in back at the hotel. Everybody wore clothing in the local styles, even Scabbers, for whom Bill had transfigured a scrap bit of cloth into a mini-sunhat. The outfits made quite a difference, as even early morning sunlight was causing a fair bit of heat to reflect up from the surrounding desert.
After a tense school year, the relaxing family vacation was just what everyone needed to let some stress out. At first, plans had simply been for Bill and Charlie to get a little time off and come join the rest of the Weasleys at a seaside resort still on British soil, but that was before their dad won a newspaper contest and received a fairly large monetary first prize. Then, some quick correspondence between the members of the family had them deciding to visit Bill instead - because, as Charlie had pointed out, turning the twins loose onto a dragon reserve ranked with the five worst decisions ever made in wizarding history.
"Do you ever wonder what it must have been like?" Harry suddenly asked as their group rounded a pyramid's corner, startling his assorted siblings. "This place was thriving long before the days of the Statute of Secrecy, so they had both muggles and wizards work to build the pyramids and temples and palaces, right?"
"Weird, but yeah, I guess so," Ron murmured.
"Granted, population wise, it would've been a much more even ratio of magicals to muggles," Percy pointed out. "And therefore easier for the wizards and witches to stay in control of the masses, especially with them all packed into the habitable river delta areas."
"Isn't ancient history grand?" Charlie butted in, grinning. "So much more interesting than anything Binns drones on about."
The lot of them continued to talk about ancient Egyptians, school, and other historical groups as they headed back to town, where their parents met up with them for a late breakfast. The local food took a bit of getting used to, especially for Ron, but it filled one's belly and that was what was important.
The rest of the morning and early afternoon saw them touring other locales and monuments of note, at least until a couple of reporters caught up to the family. They asked a few questions about winning the contest and how the Weasleys were enjoying using the prize money, before one lifted her camera and asked for a picture. All ten redheads arranged themselves in a vague couple of lines, making sure that the shortest of their number got to stand in front for the photograph.
"Excellent!" The other reporter declared as soon as his companion's flash went off. "Now, last question, how is it you manage to feel safe in such an exposed environment, knowing that the presence of your adopted son may very well invite attack by Dark wizards and the like?"
The Weasleys, as one, blinked. Then, also as one, they got angry, especially when Harry's shoulders hunched defensively. A babble of irritated voices broke out, Mrs. Weasley's rising above the lot of them.
"Anyone foolish enough to attack my children would soon find themselves in a great deal of pain or worse!"
"I think that's enough," her husband said, glaring at the reporter as he steered Harry to the middle of the group. "Thank you for your time, have a nice day." The pair, realizing they'd overstepped a boundary and having no desire to further irritate the family of the Boy-Who-Lived, beat a hasty retreat.
It took a lot of furious pronouncements and reassurances towards Harry that his presence didn't put their family in harm's way for the boy to stop looking so despondent. Eventually, the twins managed to cheer him up again by unleashing some small tricks on Bill and Charlie, prompting some good-natured wrestling that all the siblings wound up joining. After that, the family collectively decided to order in their dinner and spend the evening just relaxing in their hotel suite, retelling funny stories and ignoring ill-feelings stirred up by the inappropriate questions of reporters.
A week later, everyone had to say goodbye to Bill as they returned to either Britain or Romania. They spent the morning busily packing up belongings and re-checking everything before their international portkeys were scheduled to go off, with Fred and George not helping in the slightest as they took turns pretending to have forgotten something or other over and over again. Eventually Charlie offered to stun them for some peace and quiet, to which the twins responded with growing amounts of mock outrage. The two had just gotten to the point of challenging their older brother to a duel when the portkey went off, whisking them all away. Bill and Charlie got to share an amused grin, as the second oldest Weasley brother's portkey had a few more minutes before activating.
In that time, a copy of the Daily Prophet arrived, but it wasn't until Bill was once again alone in his flat that he went to look at it - and nearly fainted.
SIRIUS BLACK ESCAPES AZKABAN! BOY-WHO-LIVED AT RISK?
-TEW-
As they'd been out of the country for the better part of two weeks, Arthur had put a temporary hold on his Daily Prophet subscription. So, neither he, Molly, or any of the children still living at the Burrow heard about Sirius Black being on the loose once again.
At least, not until the evening after their return home, when Headmaster Dumbledore arrived to talk to them about it.
-TEW-
When Molly finally headed upstairs to check on her children before turning in, she wasn't surprised in the least to find Ginny and Ron both seated on Harry's bed, the green-eyed boy tucked between them. All three stared at her silently until Molly plopped down in front of them.
"We're going to get the house wards renewed and expanded," she told the trio, "And have gently but firmly told the Headmaster that under no circumstances will we allow him to whisk Harry off somewhere else to hide for the summer."
The children each let out a sigh of relief.
"Hogwarts will be safe, won't it Mum?" Ron asked first off.
"Safest place in all of Britain, love."
"And you and Dad will be alright when we're all there?" Ginny gave her mother a serious look.
"We'll be just fine - your father will be at work most of the time anyway, and even when he's home with me we'll both wear emergency portkeys tied to Hogwarts."
Harry didn't bother asking anything at all. He simply leaned forward for a hug, which Molly was all too happy to give.
"It's going to be fine, my dears. I promise."
-TEW-
"I can't tell a difference," Harry said, peering at the boundary fence of the Burrow's property.
"Well, that's probably a good thing. No one else will be able to either," Ginny pointed out. "At least, not before they try to get in."
"Right... So, someone with a Dark Mark tries to get in, they get Stunned and we all hear the alarm, yeah?"
"Mm-hm. And anyone else trying to cross the property line if they haven't been invited hit a wall, and we also hear the alarm."
Harry nodded, shuffling a step closer to the spot where some growing bushes had broken down portions of the fence. "Seems like a good defense to me - we've got all the bases covered." He was just about to turn away and join his sister in heading back for the house, when a quiet noise caught his attention.
"What was that?" Ginny looked over right as Harry crouched down beside the bushes. Something was sitting on the far side, he was sure, and it wasn't a person.
"Hello there," the boy murmured, nudging some leaves aside. "Are you lost? Come here now, there's a good dog-"
Neither of the siblings were prepared for what happened next.
"Whoa!" Harry yelped as he fell over backwards, a massive black dog suddenly standing over him. Ginny only had half a moment to panic before the animal unexpectedly began licking her brother - with a great big, slobbery tongue that proceeded to drench the older boy's face, shirt, and hands as he held them up in protest. "Ack! Hey! Quit that, you mangy mutt!" Despite the words of protest, he laughed at the impromptu bath.
Carefully, Ginny inched over, and touched her fingertips to the matted, filthy fur. Instantly, the dog's head swung up and around to look at her. The girl froze, scared again. Then the animal gave her hand a nudge, as though encouraging her to keep petting him. Ginny did so, running both hands down the dog's back and head, smiling as his tail began to wag even harder.
"Alright, so clearly he's friendly." Harry stated, attempting to wriggle out from beneath the beast, which was decidedly easier said than done.
"I don't think he wants you to leave until you're done getting a washing, Harry." His sister giggled, which strengthened into full blown laughter when the dog began to nod his head up and down empathetically.
"Oh, my..." Both kids twisted around to see their mum standing a few feet away, watching them and the dog with wide eyes.
"Mum! Isn't he great!" Harry beamed, not noticing the almost startled expression to flash across the animal's face. "Can we keep him?"
Seeing the expectant looks on her two youngest children's faces, Molly felt her resolve crumble away. This beast was a fair bit different from the rat Percy had claimed as his own years before, but she could tell Harry and Ginny were already just as attached to the dog as their older brother had been to Scabbers.
She sighed. "As long as you don't intend to bring him in the house without a good dousing..."
"YES!"
Half an hour later saw Ron and the twins joining their younger siblings in what should have been an simple bath for the dog, but which swiftly turned into an all-out water war. Percy poked his head out the door at one point, rolled his eyes in exasperation, and then announced that he was popping over to Diagon Alley to get some treats along with a collar and lead. A resounding chorus of "Thanks, Perce!" followed him back inside, causing the seventeen year old to smile. He told his mum where he was going, and she gave him a hug and a grateful smile before shooing him towards the fireplace.
"You'll be back in an hour or two, right?"
"Yes, Mum!"
Nodding, Molly spared a glance out the kitchen window to watch the rest of her brood as they whooped and hollered, running about with dripping sponges and buckets of water, the dog racing between them all and barking happily as everyone became soaked through. As far as summer activities went, it was clearly a well-received one.
Briefly, the Weasley matriarch wondered what Hogwarts' official rules regarding dogs were, before shaking the thought out of her head. That animal had to be far too large to be accepted at the school as a familiar.
Perhaps, though... Perhaps she might ask Professor McGonagall about it, before the fall term began... Especially with Sirius Black on the loose and quite likely searching for Harry...
By the time that Arthur returned for dinner that evening, the dog had been washed and dried, given the name Scruffy (though Fred and George had lobbied hard for 'Marauder' thanks to the animal's obvious sense of humor), and allowed inside to sit patiently by the kitchen door. Molly was insistent that he not be fed from the table, and so Scruffy had to remain far out of reach of sneaky hands. Everyone was hard pressed, however, to keep from laughing when she slipped the dog some leftovers while washing the dishes.
After dinner, Arthur decided to give his children a bit of warning. "I know you all want to keep Scruffy, but considering how friendly and well trained he is, I just want it known that he might have other owners who come looking for him."
"Merlin, I hope not." Harry frowned. "Haven't you seen how skinny he is, Dad? Barely more than skin and bone!" The dog in question promptly picked himself up from where he'd been laying on the floor by the sofa, and nudged his nose beneath Harry's clenched hand. Smiling, he went ahead and started petting the animal.
"I wouldn't be surprised if he ran off from his last home 'cause they were mistreating him or something." Ron put in. The others nodded their agreement, and Arthur sighed.
"Alright, fair enough. But if that's the case, and someone turns up looking, don't punch them, got that?"
"Got it, Dad!"
Someone did get punched that night, but it certainly wasn't a person looking for their lost dog.
Harry and Ron were leading Scruffy up to their room for bed, when his hackles suddenly went up. Before either boy could stop him, the dog was bounding through the open door, growling in a ferocious manner. Neither could understand it - until they heard terrified, high-pitched squeaking.
"Scabbers!" Ron bellowed, racing into the bedroom himself to try and save the rat, only for him to come streaking out between the boy's feet. Scruffy followed not a moment later, knocking Ron down in the process. Harry stayed close behind the animals, desperately hoping for an opening to snatch Scabbers and keep him out of harm's way - somehow, he figured Scruffy wouldn't go after the rat if he was being held by human hands.
People shouted as both animals came racing down the stairs and into the living room, sending everything into mass chaos. Percy had to dive over the back of the sofa to avoid being clobbered by incoming dog, while the twins accidentally smashed their skulls together trying to grab Scabbers at the same moment. Scruffy leapt right over their prone forms, ignoring everything in his effort to catch the rat.
Finally, the dog managed to get his jaws around the fat little body, but instead of chomping down as everyone expected he merely stopped and sat, looking at them expectantly.
"...I guess he's trained to be a rat catcher, or something?" Harry withered under the glares his adopted family members were sending his way. "I'm sorry. C'mon, Scruffy, let Scabbers go-" The dog wouldn't budge. He didn't do anything while Harry tried to tug his jaws apart, but growled the instant his prey began to wriggle. Scabbers froze, letting out one lone, pitiful squeak.
And then he started to change.