It was roasting, but soon to be cool, at number four Private Drive. Uncle Vernon had let Dudley run the air conditioner so much that one day it started shaking, smoking, had made a loud pop and quit on them. A new one had just been installed, and Harry was lying down on the hardwood floor next to the vent savoring every breeze of cold air that hit his face. He had been away from Hogwarts for at least two and a half weeks now-not that he was very happy about that. The minute Harry had stepped into the car for the ride home from the train station Uncle Vernon started in on him about the incident that occured the last time they had been in the same room together. Harry sat back in the chair, not really listening. He imagined every one of the words his uncle was saying floating in the air and going in one of his ears and out the other as he watched trees and houses go by.He had been through too much this past year to care what Uncle Vernon said or did to him.
" Are you listening boy?!", his Uncle had said.
" Yes." And so he had continued carrying on about how awfu the Weasley family was. But Harry didn't care. And he was sure the Weasley family wouldn't care what a big fat Muggle had to say about them anyway.
"What are those people teaching you? To blow peoples tongues up!" Uncle Vernon had continued. But even though he said these things about the wizardring world, Harry knew that Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley were all terrified beyond belief of Harry and the people he often spoke of. For instance, when his Aunt had told him to vacuum and dust the entire house the first day of summer vacation, Harry had politely said he was tired from the trip and he would be much obliged if they would allow him to sleep for the remainder of the evening. Aunt Petunia looked astonished at having been asked such a quesion from Harry, Uncle Vernon looked like a big purple eggplant, and Dudley looked anxious to hear Harry's punishment. But Harry was going to rest, and he wasn't going to be punished.
" If you don't let me rest, I CAN send a letter to the Weasley family and tell them that I've been home for less than five minutes and already I am being put to work like a house elf. Sirius might like to he-" said Harry, but was cut off.
" Allright!Allright! Go sleep, but be prepared to do double work tomorrow." said his uncle, looking like he was ready to burst his eggplant-like gutts everywhere.
" No, I dont think you heard me right- I will not be put to work this summer." said Harry.
" OH YES YOU WILL! IF I SAY YOU WILL-YOU WILL!!"
" No I won't." Harry said calmly.
His Uncle threw up his hands and left the room.
Aunt Petunia rounded on Harry. " Your Uncle will not be spoken to like that!", she yelled in Harry's face. Harry got up closer to hers.
" You know that guy that killed your sister?Well, that guy is back. I fought him this year. I a friend of watched mine die right in front of me because this guy-Voldemort-did an unforgivable curse on him." ,his sparkling green eyes met her cold blue ones." I think I can handle a bunch of snot-nosed muggles." said Harry in a deadly low voice. Aunt Petunia had a frightened look in her eyes for a moment and then stuck her nose in the air, smacked Harry across the face for talking to her in such a manner, and left the room. Oh, but Harry knew that was all the trouble he was going to get from the Dursley's this summer. He was almost fifteen, and old enough to stand up for himself. He had then taken his things upstairs to his room, and settled in for the summer.
He raised himself up from the floor. His room was cooling quickly.As he stretched he looked around. He had written Ron, and his parents had agreed to send food every three days for him.Harry never left his room except to go to the bathroom. He had all of his school books in his room, food and rink, Hedwig, and the Daily Prophet sent to him every week. He was actually quite comfortable, except it got lonely and boring.
He sat on bed next to Hedwig who was perched on the footboard. He stroked her head and she ruffled her wings before flying over to the vent and squinting her eyes against the air blowing in her face. Harry grinned at the sight of her. He slid under the blanket-the new air conditioner worked, it was beggining to get cold- and he fell asleep.
~***~
Five days later, Harry was flopped out on his bed reading the Daily Prophet. The front page read:
MINISTER OF MAGIC REFUSES TO BELIEVE THE INEVITABLE
Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, refuses to believe that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned despite the frequent occurance of missing ministry employees, and continuous dark mark sightings. Many a witch and wizard are beggining to think that the minister himself is mad. Though that may not be the case, the fact remains that we need to take precaution. If He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned, we must do everything we can to destroy him. How are we supposed to do that witha minister who won't even believe the boy who lived? That's right folks, Minister Fudge himself does not believe that the young Harry Potter was there the night the Dark Lord returned.Even with everything that has been happening in our world he still does not believe a word the Potter boy said. Is that the kind of Minister we want? One that even with the possibility that the one who destroyed many of our lives is returning right when we are finally putting the pieces back together? Ladies and Gentleman, the reason for this article is to ask you this: Do we need a new Minister of Magic?
Harry grinned despite himself. He was still angry at the fact that Minister Fudge didn't believe anything Harry had said the night of the Triwizard Tournament. He had always thought Fudge to be a fair man, but he had proved him wrong. But, then again, Harry thought, fear can make people do strange things.He continued to flip through the pages of the paper, glad to be somewhat connected with his world. He stopped dead when he saw the picture of a huge black dog.
DOG SAVES LIFE OF HOGSMEADE CITIZEN
Last night, at 2:17, Miss Elise Franguntle, an insomniac, was taking a walk through the seemingly harmless forrest near her home when she was attacked by a gang of drunk Gypsy Flies. A heroic dog heard her cries for help, and running at full speed and barking with force that could be heard a mile away, fought off the flies.The shaggy black dog is being pampered at home with his owner Remus Lupin.
Harry was happy to find that they hadn't kept Sirius in a dog shelter of any kind. He was also glad Lupin had found him. He put down the paper as a small gray owl flew through the window and landed in a heap on the bed. Harry untied the letter from Pig, and set him in Hedwigs cage for a drink. Hedwig, who was stting by the vent, which she had taken a liking to, hooted in disapproval as she always does He opened up the letter.
Hey! How have you been? Have the Dursleys been working you to death? Don't you wish you could use magic on them? I myself would turn them into pet flubberworms. You will never believe what Fred and George did. They bought me a new pair of dress robes! Dark midnight blue ones. They are sooooo much better than the maroon ones. I have no idea where they got the money. Mum says it's because they were selling their gag gifts to people at Hogwarts. She was furious about that. Have you heard from Hermione any? I have a few times. Hey,and I would've sent food with this letter, but since we sent you some yesterday I didn't think you'd need it. Mum talked to Dumbledore. He said that we could come and get you anytime we wanted, so we will be there tomorrow. We are hoping that Hermione will be able to visit sometime too. Oh! And have you read the paper? Sirius saved a womans life! Oh, and they are wanting to get a new minister. That stupid git Fudge isn't worth two knuts. Well, I'll see ya tomorrow!
Harry leaned back in his desk chair. Just a few more hours and he'd be off to the Weasleys. He couldn't wait.
~***~
Screeeeeeeccchhhhhh. Harry looked up from his homework as he heard a car come to a halt in front of his house. He bolted downstairs. The Dursleys looked alarmed to see him-like they'd forgotten he was there, which wasn't unlikely. Harry opened the door. Uncle Vernon, who was, along with his aunt and cousin, looking out the window, grabbed hold of his wrist. Harry looked at him with innocent eyes.
" Don't you dare go out there!", His uncle growled.
" I may not go out there, but they are coming in." said Harry. And sure enough as he said it, Mr.Weasley walked in the door dressed from head to toe in wizards clothes. He moved out of the way so Ron,Fred,and George could come in behind him.
" Why, hello Mr.Dursley!", said Mr.Weasley. The Dursleys shrank back in fear. The warm smile faded from Mr.Weasleys face, but then returned as he told the boys to help Harry get his things. As they went up the stairs Harry heard Mr.Weasley saying:
" Haven't quite mastered the art of using a muggle automobile. I am afraid I put some skid marks on the road outside your drive. But I am sure I can fix that." he said. The Dursleys stared.
" Wow Harry. Didn't bother to clean up did you?" said Ron as they entered his room.
" Well, since this is where I spend most of my time at, I thought I might as well make it feel as comfortable as possible." said Harry. He and Fred got his trunk and took it downstairs and all four of them worked at getting the room a little bit cleaner than it was before they came in. When they all gathered downstairs Mr.Weasley was rocking back and forth on his feet.
" Everyone ready?" he asked, obviously wanting to leave A.S.A.P.
" Yeah." said Ron.
"Goodbye then!" Mr.Weasley said cheerfully, and in return getting no response from the Dursleys. He then walked quickly to the car, follwed by the others. Harry breathed a sigh of releif when he sat down.
" I'm free!" he said. Mr.Weasley chuckled.
" I would be the same way. I just don't understand why they are so frightened of us." he said.
" Cause we can do things like make objects float in the air, and that just isn't considered natural in their world." said Harry.
" What isn't natural to me is having such a picture perfect house." said Ron. He shuddered. " Now that's scary."
On the way to the Burrow Harry found out that Mrs.Weasley had given up on trying to stop the twins from developing Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.
"She realized we wanted to do it too much." said George.
" And that it was something we strongly believed in." said Fred.
"Setting peoples butts on fire, what a belief." said Ron.
" What?" asked a laughing Harry.
" Something new we came up with." said Fred.
"We call them Fire-up-yours." said George. Mr.Weasley covered his face with his hands so as to not to let them see him laughing.
When they pulled up to the Burrow, Harry had never felt more at home. He followed Ron past the chicken in the front yard and in through the front door. Harry stopped him and asked him in a quiet tone:
" Where did your dad get a car?"
" Mum doesn't know but he's been working on another one since we smashed the last one." said Ron.
" Harry!" said Mrs.Weasley, walking up to him and giving him a hug. "How are you?"
"He's fine Mum." said Ron, starting to drag Harry up the stairs. Harry gave Mrs.Weasley and apologetic look and followed him. They were halfway up the twisting and turning stairs when Ginny came out of her room.
"Oh, hi Harry." she said, with a smile, then continued on her descendant of the stairs. Harry was slightly surprised.
" What was that about?" he asked.
" I have no idea." said Ron with the same confused expression. "We'll find out later though." he said, continuing climbing.
Harry realized why Ron had been so anxious to get upstairs. His room had been totally redone. It looked good, Harry thought.
" Dad extended it for me. He knocked out the wall between my room and the one next door." said Ron. It had also been painted a dark green color, and there were no more cracks in the walls. The room was no longer covered in orange, but dark blues and greens. He still had all of his Chudley Cannons stuff all over the place, though. Harry jumped as an explosion and 'whoops' of excitement eurupted from the backyard.
" Lets go see who Fred and George have set on fire." said Ron. And they flew down the stairs.
~***~
It was now three weeks until school started. Hermione had arrived to spend those weeks with the Weasleys. She was looking taller, and she was wearing make-up, but her hair was as bushy as ever. She had been there since Harry's birthday, when the Weasleys had thrown him a small party, of which he was grateful for.
" Ron, I have not seen Viktor this summer at all, allright?" Hermione said to Ron at breakfast one morning.
" A'ight, fin, I'm 'appy 'ow. " he said sarcastically through a mouthfull of pancakes.
"You'd better be." she said, grinning. Ron grinned widely with his cheeks bulging with food, squinted his eyes,and nodded. Hermione giggled. Charlie suddenly apparated behind Ginny without her noticing. He motioned for everyone to be quiet. She screamed as he lifted her up in the air and over his shoulder, going in circles while singing in a squeaky voice:
"Fuzzy wuzzy was a bear, fuzzy wuzzy had no hair, fuzzy wuzzy wasn't fuzzy was he?"
" Charlie put me down!!!" said the now fourteen year old Ginny. She punched him playfully as he set her on the floor. She smoothed her hair down and sat back in her chair.
" Hey Harry." said Charlie.
" Hullo."
"Where would mum and dad be at the moment?' he asked.
" Dads at work-you remeber, he has that job at the ministry and he works during the day- and Mum is in the garden. We're about to help her de-gnome it." said Ron.
" Thanks." said Charlie, heading for the garden.
" Well, I'm done eating. Lets go catch some gnomes." said Ron. Harry and the rest followed.
Hermione had obviously never done the de-gnoming thing before. When Ron finally helped her get the hang of it they found she had a pretty good arm though. Ginny threw the gnomes with experience. Harry couldn't quit laughing when she got into a screaming match witha particularly smart-elick one. When Ginny finally raised her foot to squash it, it went running in the other direction. She looked proud.
"Nice work." said Harry.
"Why thank you." she said, raising her chin and grinning.
Hermione lifted up a gnome and was swinging it around when Percy startled her by aparating behind her. The gnome flew out of her hands and hit him on the side of the head. Ron doubled over with laughter while Hermione gasped and threw her hand over her mouth. Percy stood still. He then fixed his glasses.
" Where's Mum?"
" Sh-she's over on the swing." said Ron, gasping for breath. Percy walked away looking very aarogant, and muttering something about hating yard gnomes.
" Hermione that was brilliant." said Ron.
" No, that was awful of me." she said, but grinning all the same.
Ron put his arm around her shoulders.
" This calls for a celebration. I'm gonna get you some of Fred and Georges Mouth Moths." he said, leading her into the house." The make brightly colored moths made out of smoke come out of your mouth when you eat them."
Harry didn't see any more gnomes to throw. He looked around for something to do. He noticed Ginny. She was climbing the fence surrounding the garden, and he followed.
" Hey Ginny! Wait up!" he called, jumping over the fence. She turned around, slightly startled, and waited for him to catch up.
"So, where are you going?" he asked, as they began to walk away from the Burrow.
" I was going to the pond. There's a huge one back this way." she said.
" Mind if I come?" Harry asked.
" No, you can come."
They walked for a while across a huge, green, grassy field. Ginny often picked handfulls of wildflowers. They didn't say much, and for the first time Harry realized he knew next to nothing about Ginny Weasley. Only bits and pieces.
" Here we are." she said, as a huge pond came into view. " Isn't it lovely up here?"
"Yeah." said Harry. It really was. There were countless flowers bordering the whole thing, and forrestry surrounded it. He sat down at the waters edge.
" I've been curious about something." he said.
"And what's that?"
" I don't mean anything by this, but you're not shy anymore. At least not as shy as you were around me." said Harry.
" Harry, I was eleven years old when I didn't even want to be in the same room with you." said Ginny with a grin.
" I know it's just......."
" Are you dissapointed?" she asked.
" Well.........no......" he said. That was when he realized he was dissapointed. He thought it was awful and selfish of him, but all the same he was dissapointed.
" Well, that's good." she said.
" Yeah, and since I can have a conversation with you without you knocking something over, maybe I can get to know you better." said Harry.
" Yeah, and vise-versa." she said.
" So tell me, Ginny Weasley, why do you come up here."
" To get away from explosions, teasings, and sarcasim."
" Makes sense to me." said Harry.
" So tell me, Harry Potter, why did you give all of your prize money from the tournament to my twin brothers?" Harry choked on his own spit.
" What?!" he asked.
" Yes, I know all about that. George really needs to learn to keep his bedroom door shut when he and Fred are having a secret conversation." she said, grinning mischevously.
" You haven't told anyone?"
" No, and I don't plan to. Actually I wanted to thank you for it."
" No need, I wanted to give it to them, I have no use for it." he said. Ginny lowered her head.
" Well, they do." she said. She walked over to where a large rose bush was growing and picked one of them. As she held it up to her nose and turned around a looked at Harry, an image flashed before his eyes. A woman with dark red hair and green eyes sniffing of a Rose and looking at a man with black, unruly hair and dark brown eyes. (okay,as if THATS not the most obvious thing you've ever read........)Harry shook his head and the image went away.
" Are you allright?" Ginny asked, her eyebrows arched.
"Huh? Yeah....I'm fine." he said, trying to figure out why that just happened. Ginny gave him a funny look.
"Lets go back now, I'm hungry." she said. Harry followed her as she hiked through the field.
By the time they got back, Harry was drenched in sweat. His white shirt had clear blotches all over it. Ginny looked in much better shape. She jumped the fence with the grace of a cat. Harry slowly climbed over it.
" Are you sure you're okay?" she asked, steadily trying to catch her breath.
He held his hand up as he caught his breath," I'm fine." He took his shirt off."(ooohhhh!shirtless harry! shirtless harry!...) I just need to change and get something to drink."
" Allright, lets go in then." she said. Harry went upstairs while Ginny got them something to drink. He came back down with a lightweight yellow shirt on and some new jeans. Hermione and Ron had joined Ginny at the table.
" Harry, watch this." said Hermione. She popped a taffy looking candy in her mouth and puffed out some butterfly-looking smoke moths. They landed on the table where they disentagrated.
"Aren't they lovely?" Harry grinned in reply.
" Here." said Ginny, handing him a glass of ice water.
"Thanks." he said before draining the glass. He ran his hand through his sweaty hair. Hermione and Ginny giggled.
" Need a hairbrush?" Ron asked.
"What?" asked Harry. He went to the mirror hanging beside the window. The mirror gasped.
" Good lord child! What on earth happened?" it asked. Harry probably would've said the same thing. His sweaty hair was sticking straight up on his head at least three inches. If he passed himself on the street he'd think he'd been electricuted.
" I think I need a haircut."
~***~
Diagon Alley was swarming with people buying things for the up-coming school term. Harry was sitting in a barbers shop getting his hair cut by a very strange, short looking wizard with a huge crooked nose. He was taking his wand and Harry could see little red,green, and gold sparks flying in front of his face with every lock of hair he magic-cut. When he got done and washed and dried his hair one last time he gave Harry a mirror. He was amazed.
" I wish I could've gone to a wizards barber shop before." said Harry. His hair was shorter, but still sticking out in every direction; therefore, the wizard had put gel in it to tame it, and he thought that there was some sort of spell put on it to make it stay in place. He thanked the wizard, and paid him then went outside to see what the others thought.
" Wow Harry, it looks great." said Hermione.
" Still kinda spikey looking though." said Ron," But it looks better."
" Looks good." said Ginny, grinning.
The four of them walked along the streets holding bags and bags of school supplies. Mrs.Weasley stopped them and put spells on the bags so that they followed her around.
Ron and Harry went into the quidditch supply store while Ginny and Hermione went next door to Miss Charlotte's beauty store. Harry had just enough gold to buy he and Ron some quidditch magazines. When Hermione a Ginny finally came out of Miss Charlotte's they were each wearing a new pair of dangling silver earrings and carrying little bags of lipgloss and such.
" Well Ladies, after a tedious day of shopping we need to be on our way home." said Harry. Hermione linked aroms with Ron and Ginny, and Ginny linked her free arm with one of Harry's. And together they found Mrs.Weasley and took a wild ride by floo powder back to the Burrow.
A/N: Please excuse any mis-spellings. I haven't the time nor the patience to look up words. Before I upload the next chapter I'm gonna hafta figure out how. :-s Hmmmm.........Well, anywayz, I'm gonna hafta figure out a plot too. lol. Laterz fanfic ppl.
P.S. PLEASE REVIEW!!!!