Author's notes: Hello all and thank you for reading. This is the first chapter of Goblet of Fire, and it starts the day the Weasley's are due to pick Harry up from the Dursley's. I really hope everyone who's read the story so far is enjoying it. Feel free to reach out with any comments or questions.
Also, I apologize for shortening the dialogue and scenes from the book. I felt that summarizing them would be easier unless I felt some parts of them needed to be changed to fit my story.
Harry Potter and all its related works aren't mine; they belong to JK Rowling. It's her sandbox, I'm just building a new castle in it.
Chapter One
Harry lay on his bed, his trunk packed and standing next to his bedroom door, waiting for the Weasley's to arrive. He almost couldn't believe his luck. Only two days ago, he'd awoken from a dream with his scar burning and today he was leaving the Dursleys' two weeks early to go to the Quidditch World Cup! The pronouncement that a group of wizards would soon be arriving had caused a feeling of tension to fill the house. Knowing it was best to remain out of site, Harry retreated to his room so as to write in his diary.
It still gave him a thrill to see the small blue book, with its silver cursive and lock on the side. It had been difficult at first to put down in writing the thoughts in his head, but the more he did so on a regular basis, he came to see the book as a close friend he could tell anything too, even things he didn't feel comfortable expressing to Hermione. He would never admit this to anyone, but the first time he had put quill to paper, a small part of him was afraid the ink would fade and be replaced by words from something possessing the book, as had happened in the last diary he had written in.
Hermione had given the diary to him at the end of last term, telling him to write about his feelings on being 'part girl' as they'd taken to calling it, over the summer holidays. Thanks to the Dursley's newfound fear of Harry's godfather, unlike during previous summer's he'd finally been able to send Hedwig to Ron and Hermione regularly. She'd written him several times, forwarding his Witch Weekly subscription, and also sending sweets to help him survive Dudley's new diet, which the whole family was following in unwilling support.
Rifling through the pages until he found the next empty one, Harry saw all of the article clippings, both from Witch Weekly as well as muggle articles from Aunt Petunia's magazines, which he had accumulated over the past weeks. Along with these were pictures of both wizarding and muggle girls in various outfits or with hairstyles he'd liked the looks of. Pausing to listen as the sound of a car pulling up outside came through the open window, it was only Mr. Number Three coming home from work, Harry went back to writing
Sunday, August 17, 1994
Dear diary,
Harry had decided early on to begin each entry with those words, as that was what he thought all girls must do in their diaries.
Hopefully the Weasley's come soon, the tension here is painfully thick. I can't wait to see Hermione, and Ron, again. I hope she and I can find time to talk at The Burrow. All of the reading I've done over the summer while not being able to dress has made me even more anxious to get back to it. I'm so excited to get to Hogwarts and be able to wear girl's clothes again.
It feels weird to admit but I'm looking forward to seeing Hermione more than Ron. When he wrote yesterday that Hermione would be there my heart lept in a way it hadn't when I first read Ron's handwriting. I know I'm probably being thick, but I'm still afraid of what he's going to say if he ever finds out about this.
I wrote to Sirius the other morning about that dream of mine. I hope he's safe.
Just as he was finishing the words of this last sentence, pandemonium broke out downstairs. Harry realized with a start that he hadn't even noticed that five o'clock had come and gone. Quickly closing and locking his diary, Harry threw it in his rucksack and tore down the stairs. He passed Dudley fleeing from the room, hands covering his round bottom, face white with terror. Rushing into the Living room he saw both Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia staring with thunderstruck expressions at the boarded-up fireplace.
From inside came the sounds of someone banging on the boards and muffled cries were indiscernible in the noise.
"What is this, boy?" said Uncle Vernon rounding on Harry.
"They've tried to get here using Floo Powder", said Harry, trying his best not to laugh at the situation. Slowly, doing his best to avoid the reach of Uncle Vernon's hands which kept spasming to indicate how close he was to throttling him, Harry edged closer to the fireplace. Knocking cautiously, he called out "Mr. Weasley, you can't get in this way. The fireplace has been boarded up."
A muffled wump as if a person had landed on someone else, and then Mr. Weasley's voice came back somewhat strained. "Damn. Well, nothing else for it then. Stand back Harry."
Backing quickly away just as Uncle Vernon started forward to protest, a loud bang split the room, sending plaster and debris outward from the fireplace. Practically falling out of it, the four Weasley men did their best to keep what balance they had. Mr. Weasley, who'd kept his feet the best and was remarkably clean considering the state of the room, approached and tried shaking Uncle Vernon's hand. Aunt Petunia backed away, her face going white and not just from the plaster, mouth agape. With how badly the situation had started, Harry wasn't surprised that things got much worse.
Fred and George offered to go upstairs to get Harry's trunk and rucksack, with the hope of seeing Dudley, leaving a very tense feeling in the living room. Mr. Weasley tried making small talk about electricity, a subject the Dursley's had no interest in discussing, and eventually lapsed into silence. Once Fred and George got back with Harry's trunk and rucksack, Mr. Weasley lit a fire in the grate with his wand. Fred, George, and Ron left quickly, Fred accidentally spilling a pocketful of sweets as he lifted the trunk into the fire. Just as Harry was stepping up to follow them, Dudley, who had picked up a piece of candy and greedily eaten it, started to gag and splutter as his tongue grew to nearly a foot long. Weasley did his best to try and help, but Uncle Vernon had no interest in his help and began throwing small glass objects at the both of them. Mr. Weasley yelled for Harry to go, and with a quick look back Harry stepped into the emerald green flames and cried "The Burrow!"
A whirl of fire, a mouthful of ash, and Harry found himself landing on the kitchen floor of the Weasley's house. Amid the sound of laughter, he got to his feet and looked around. The twins and Ron were standing there waiting for him, expectant looks on their faces. At the table next to them sat two people Harry at never met before. Based on the red hair he assumed they were Ron's two eldest brothers. As he brushed soot and dust from his t shirt, the two rose to greet him. The first seemed older and Harry had no other word to describe him than "Cool." He had long red hair pulled back in a pony tail and a dragon fang earring in. Holding out his hand he said "Hi Harry. I'm Bill, how's it going".
Before Harry could answer his eyes slid to the next brother who had just turned around. Looking him up and down, a tingle grew in his spine that he had felt once before, during the quidditch match last year against Ravenclaw. His mouth opened once then shut quickly without issuing any words.
The man held out his hand and said "Nice entrance Harry, I'm Charlie." He was almost as tall as Bill and the twins and was so freckled he almost looked tan. Harry took the proffered hand and tried to reply, but found that his voice still wasn't working properly. He felt like he stood there for eternity holding Charlie's hand, which were very rough and calloused, before he finally broke the handshake and turned to face the twins. It was only then that he saw the two girls who had entered the room since he'd arrived. One, who had long bushy brown hair, was his best friend Hermione. The other, whose hair matched the fiery redheads all around was Ginny, the youngest Weasley.
The twins were eager to hear about the candy, a tongue ton toffee that they had created, and Harry was just starting to feel more normal when Mr. Weasley arrived in a towering temper, followed closely by his wife. After the usual hug from Mrs. Weasley, she quickly turned and, finding out about the events at the Dursley's began yelling at Fred and George. On the whole it was decided that Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny would slip upstairs on the pretense of showing Harry where he would be sleeping. Ginny didn't stick with them long before slipping into her room as they went up the stairs. She had gone scarlet in the face when she saw Harry, something he was used to at this point, and left the three to continue up the stairs.
They quickly settled into Ron's room, which was plastered orange, laughing about what had just happened downstairs. Harry had just gotten done telling them about Uncle Vernon's reaction to his best suit being ruined when a knock came at the door. Ginny, her face going red again at seeing Harry, poked her head in.
"Ron, Mum wants you in the kitchen. She's on the warpath about Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and wants to know if you had any part in it."
"Oh, bloody hell" said Ron, getting up from his bed, "I'll be back in a moment."
He and Ginny disappeared down the stairs and when they'd been gone long enough to be out of earshot, Hermione turned to Harry. She quickly hugged him and he hugged her back.
"Blimey I've missed you" Harry said through her hair.
Releasing him, she gestured at his rucksack, which was sitting next to him, "Had a good summer? Been writing in your diary?"
"Loads, Hermione. I can't wait to show you" he replied smiling at her.
"I bought you some things over the summer. They're in my trunk. I'll try and see if I can get them to you before we get to Hogwarts"
"Do I get any hints?" Harry asked excitedly.
"Of course not," she laughed, "that ruins the surprise and I want to see your face when you see what I have."
"You're the best, Hermione"
"I do have a bit of a challenge for you, though" Hermione said.
"What is it?" Harry replied, slightly hesitantly.
"Well, I know I didn't have much time to help you be a girl last term, and I know you didn't wear the clothes I gave you very much after Christmas, so how about for the rest of the time we are at the Burrow you wear girl's underwear?" She suggested, starting at him.
"But won't that be noticeable?"
"I don't think so, not if you're careful. Just make sure to wear something over your t-shirt and you'll be fine." Hermione replied, reaching out to hold his hand reassuringly.
"Ok," said Harry, getting excited despite his nerves, "do you have them with you?"
"No, but I'll get them to you soon. Now, I happened to notice that your face was close to matching the hair of everyone else in the kitchen when I walked in. Care to explain?" She asked grinning.
Harrys face immediately went pink again. "I was really hoping no one noticed that." He said sheepishly, glancing at the door to make sure no one was there.
"I doubt anyone but me and maybe Ginny did. No offense, but boys tend to be oblivious about things like that. So, was it Bill or Charlie?" She finished very directly.
Harry considered not telling her, but he knew she wasn't going to let this go. "Charlie" he admitted quietly.
"He is cute isn't he. A little too outdoorsy for me though" she said, also lowering her voice.
Harry's response died on his lips when the door opened and Ginny stuck her head in again. Seeing them sitting close on the bed she stopped in her tracks, before saying a little more crisply than she might have intended, "Mum wants everyone to help get dinner ready". Without waiting for a response, she turned and dashed back down the stairs.
Harry turned to Hermione, "How much of that do you think she heard?"
"I don't know. But I think she got the wrong idea about whatever she just saw."
Together they both went down to the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley was in a bad mood as they came in, brusquely giving them orders to carry things out to the garden. Dinner ended up being a lot of fun. Harry was sat next to Bill and across from Charlie, with Hermione next to Charlie. He had a hard time not staring at Charlie, which was made even more embarrassing by the knowing looks that Hermione was giving him whenever she caught him looking. Charlie was talking about Quidditch to his father, and Harry tried to join in as best he could. That night as everyone went off to bed, Harry saw Hermione and Ginny whispering off to the side, and Ginny stole a quick look at Harry. He wasn't sure what they were talking about, and he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know.