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Harry Potter and the Robbery Return

Chapter 3 - The New Hermione

"Vold-He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? Well, of course it's him! Who else would 'He' be?" Ron demanded. Harry motioned his hand for him to calm down. "I know, I know. But.how? And-and what?" Mrs. Weasley came scampering over, holding many battered books in her arms, struggling to keep them balanced. "What's all this ruckus?" she exclaimed. "Ron, we'll have to do with these." This is how it had been every year. Harry had always felt uncomfortable when Ron always got stuck with hand-me-downs and used supplies, while he had a huge fortune his parents had left for him at Gringotts. He would help them. He really would, but he didn't want to make them poor. "Nothing, Mum," Ron sighed with annoyance. Harry and Ron walked around Flourish and Blotts, debating while Harry grabbed his supplies. "How could he come back? Well, I guess he has his ways, but.oh not again he can't!" Harry dreaded what would happen if he did come back. He would probably do anything in his power to finally kill him. After finishing in Flourish and Blotts, they made their way to Madam Malkin's Robe for All Occasions. Harry and most of the Weasley's needed new work robes, for they had outgrown their old ones. The sky in Diagon Alley turned a redish purple as the sun setted and Weasleys and Harry got ready to make their way back home to Grannys. They tiredly walked back to the Flourish and Blotts fireplace and finally made it back home. It was late and everyone went strait to bed without a word.

The next week was great, especially for Harry. They played game after game of wizards chess along with exploding snap and best of all Quidditch. The Floo Powder incident just slipped their minds; all for the better. Hermione was coming that day. She too would be staying with the Weasley's until term started. Anxiously awaiting her arrival, Harry and Ron took a few rounds of Quidditch practice in an opening in the back of Granny Weasley's gigantic house. "Over here, Harry!" Ron yelled, waving his hands in the air, making Fred's broomstick wobble violently. Harry tossed the golf ball they had been using as a substitute snitch to Ron. As he reached for the small, white ball he took his whole body with him an feel to the ground with a crash! All Harry could do was laugh under his breath. Being only five feet in the air, he couldn't have been hurt to badly. "You okay?" he asked swooping smoothly down towards him. Ron shot up and brushed himself off casually, "Yeah, yeah! I'm alright." "LUNCH!" A voice rang out through the afternoon air. "Good.I'm starved!" Ron exclaimed, nothing new. They walked back to the house, Harry laughing under his breath. "Shut up."

As they entered the kitchen they could smell the superb cooking of Granny's. "Were here," Harry said. "So am I!" Hermione was sitting at the kitchen table with Ginny. "Hey!" Harry exclaimed. "Hey!" Hermione replied. She looked different. Pretty even. Her bushy hair was fine and slightly curly at the ends. She was taller too. Ron walked over to her, "What's up? Harry and I were just practicing Quidditch outside." "Right, your mum told me, I just thought I'd hang out with Ginny and wait for you to finish." Ron gave her a puzzled look. "Okay. Well, why don't we have a bite to eat?" As they ate, they about up on lost time. Hermione had to visit Viktor Krum for the day in Bulgaria-as friends. She also went to Egypt with her parents. A magic-free week had turned into anything but. Turns out, she and her mother and father had run into Ron's brother, Bill, and practiced magic the whole week. Of course, since Hermione, being a student at Hogwarts wasn't supposed to do magic away from Hogwarts, it was pretty much her gawking over Bill. "It was so cool! He showed me all these neat spells! You're lucky to have him as a brother, Ron!" Hermione exclaimed and popped a bite of fruit in her mouth. Ron grunted, "Unh."