**Oh man, some of you are coming dangerously close to guessing the outcome of this story **GIGGLE** like it's all that hard! Thanks to…
Marauder – don't worry, I'll work that out later. I promise I will go and review your story, only last time I'd so nearly finished reading it and Dad nicked the connection.
Alexa Black – Well, one of them is right, but that includes number 5 so no one's going to get very far on those theories.
Skaduky – Yeah well, I hardly take my time. (Sorry if I spelt it wrong)
Amazing Typo – Yeah! Poor you, though. Sorry about the cleaning and that. I never have time because I have to much 'homework'…Muahahahah! I'm glad you like my updating policy, only don't get too used to it – my French orals are on Wednesday and I'm terrified, do you hear me? TERRIFIED!
Tiger Lily – yeah whatever, s'long as you give me a lovely review!
Kaylin – too true, my friend, too true. He he!
WeaslyTwinsLover1112 – arrrghhhhhhh! Why do you have such a long pen name? My fingers protest every time I have to write it! **Weirdo portal voice: Get on with it! ** Ahem, right, sorry. Er, well, ok, hear is the update! **
More Pressing Matters – Like Voldemort. Chapter 3: Strictly business.
Harry hastily grabbed a jacket and pulled it on. He pulled out something very sticky and old from one of the pockets and grimaced. He wasn't sure how long he had had this jacket and not worn it.
Oh well, he thought. He probably wouldn't need it anyway. He made to go out of the room, but after a hesitation, grabbed the Marauders Map from his trunk. Ron would be interested in how Harry was keeping tabs on Snape.
~
When Sirius, Remus and Harry arrived with a whoosh in the fireplace in the Weasley's kitchen, one of them got hit with a large flour sack that conveniently split open as it struck.
It wasn't Remus.
It would have been Harry, but he dived out of the way just in time.
He thanked Quidditch for his reflexes again and again as he laughed and laughed at the sight of Sirius, white from head to toe.
Remus chuckled. When Harry looked around, he saw Fred and George, who were looking at his Godfather in horror. Both were as flour covered as the man himself.
Ron and Ginny were hiding under the table looking disgruntled. "Have you finished yet?" Ron asked.
"Oh, no," growled Sirius, making Ron jump so that his head banged against the wood. "We're nowhere near finished."
And with that, he yanked out his new wand and started directing all the flour on himself, the floor and pretty much everywhere else, onto the Weasley twins.
The only trouble about this, apart from that fact that it made Fred and George sneeze so hard their heads almost fell off, was that the spell accidentally on purpose started hitting them with other, much harder things.
"Watch it!" called Fred, as a frying pan with a mean disposition just missed his head.
"I think they've had enough now, Sirius," said Remus with a big smile. The flour and kitchen implements dropped to the floor.
"Spoilsport," said Sirius with a grin.
Just then Mrs Weasley came in, screamed, welcomed Harry, Sirius and Remus with a tremor in her voice, and set upon the twins.
Everyone else made himself or herself very scarce.
"Neat wand work Sirius," said Ron when they were safe in the garden, and Hermione, who was also over for the day, had joined them.
Sirius smiled and twirled the brand new wand (ebony and unicorn hair, twelve inches) between his fingers. "I've still got it in me," he remarked.
"And he's been looking for someone to practise on since he bought it," said Remus. Everyone laughed.
"What were they doing in there, Ron?" asked Harry incredulously.
"I have no idea. One minute Ginny and me were clearing up the breakfast things, next thing we know everything goes white and we're under the table. Something's weird though," he went on looking slightly puzzled. "I don't know where they're getting it, but all this stuff keeps appearing. All that flour, bottles of weird stuff under the mattress.." Hermione shot Ron a very accusing look.
"Well, I had to find out didn't I?" said Ron looking very innocent. "Anyway, I don't see where they're finding the money.."
"There you all are!" Harry was very glad at Mr. Weasley's interruption. He wanted the twin's newfound wealth to remain a secret.
"I've been wondering where you'd got to…" Mr. Weasley's eyes strayed to Sirius' now neatly cut hair, turned slightly grey by the flour he had not managed to rebound upon Fred and George.
Noticing, Sirius shook it out with his hands.
"Very energetic children you have Arthur," said Remus, and shook Mr. Weasley's hand.
"Ah, yes," said Mr. Weasley, a little worriedly. "But we bring our own sin upon ourselves…"
What an odd thing to say, thought Harry. But it was only a brief uncomfortable moment. Sirius sneezed loudly, making Hermione jump. They all laughed again.
~
The food was excellent of course. Mrs. Weasley's cooking always was. They ate in the garden like they had last year, before the world cup. Harry felt so full and contented afterwards that he just lay back in his chair, and let the sun warm his face. The old jacket had long since been discarded.
He was flying on something invisible but quite solid. His body felt light with air. All he could see around him was grey mist. Although the colour was dull, the simple beauty of his surroundings took his breath away.
Suddenly he could see below him, a house, a small cottage with thatched roof and round windows. The something invisible that he had been flying on took him down to the green painted ornate front door. He could tell that it stood beside him as he opened the door.
It couldn't be rude, he reasoned, because he was dreaming, and he knew that you always did what your instincts told you in dreams, and his were telling him that he had to go through that door.
His mother and father were watching what looked like a very blurred television screen. When Harry squinted, he saw that the blur was his own face, and Dumbledore's, and Snape's, all merging into each other like paint. When Lily Potter turned to face in his direction, he knew she couldn't see him.
"I hate this!" she sobbed into her hands. "I hate just sitting here and watching it!"
"I hate it too," James assured her, turning and wrapping his arms around her. Harry remembered so clearly the details of his face, just as they had been on his fifteenth birthday. **If you don't get that – READ THE PREQUEL! **
Lily pushed him away. "But you brought it!" she said. "Can't we just make it go away?"
"I've tried," said James, and his voice was tired as if he had already answered this question countless times. "Nothing will get rid of it. We are meant to watch it. Maybe there is something we can do."
"We're dead James!" said Lily Potter. "We don't even know why we are here, why we aren't with everyone else who has died. I would have liked to see my father again… but that's just too simple isn't it? I can't even die without something going wrong…"
"Lily, you're hysterical," said James, and held her close. When Harry turned around, unable to watch any further, he turned, and saw the enormous silver stag that had flown him there. Then he felt a sharp pain in his ankle, and he –
"Ouch!" yelled Harry, jumping off the seat and grabbing his ankle. Something soft and smooth slithered up his arm and settled around his neck. Ron, Hermione, Fred, George and Mrs. Weasley gasped. Ginny screeched and ran into the house. Remus, Sirius and Mr. Weasley froze.
Sirius growled; "Stay very still Harry, don't move…"
"Why not? Said Harry. "It's just a grass snake."
"Are they afraid of me?" hissed the snake with what could have been a laugh.
"Only because you came so suddenly," answered Harry. Sirius backed off a little.
"I am sorry," said the snake. "But you were in a bad place. I brought you back, you see."
"Oh," said Harry. "Thank you. But it wasn't a very bad place surely? My parents were there."
"Yes," said the snake vaguely. And then, "wasn't even the young red one afraid of me? She has gone away."
"Well, yes, she was a bit afraid of you," said Harry with a smile. He didn't know that that smile along with the manic glint in his eye was unnerving.
"Oh good," said the snake. "I get very little chance to be frightening."
"You mustn't make it a habit," said Harry.
"Mustn't I?"
"No," said Harry firmly. "If you are kind and careful, you will make more friends."
"I don't want friends," said the snake huffily. "I just want to be frightening."
It slid off Harry's neck and into the back garden. Harry sat back down again.
Everyone except Harry breathed a sigh of relief.
"What was that all about, Harry?" asked Ron. Remus was pulling Sirius back into his normal position. Harry took off his sock and inspected the damage to his ankle.
"Oh, nothing," he said vaguely, prodding the area with his fingers. He was hardly hurt at all.
"It just wanted to be frightening, that's all."
"Well, it did that all right," said Sirius, who was shaking. "Harry, I knew you were a Parselmouth, but hearing it and seeing it are two different things. You went…" he broke off, searching for the right words.
"Evil?" suggested Ron.
"It can't be that bad," said Harry, putting his sock and shoe back on again. "All it said was that it wanted to be frightening, and he was sorry he arrived so suddenly and bit me, but he had to bring me back from a bad place."
"What bad place?" said at least three people.
"I… can't remember," said Harry, but he could. He needed to check the map now. He had to see whether Snape and Dumbledore were still at Hogwarts, but Fred and George would go mental if he did it in front of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.
"I'll go and find Ginny," murmured Arthur Weasley, getting up.
"I'll clear," said Mrs. Weasley. "No, Hermione, I'll do it. There isn't much."
What luck. As soon as both were inside the house, Harry whipped out the Marauders map from the jacket on the ground.
** **Yawn** Ok, I seriously need to sleep tonight. See you lot later after a great big reviewing session! REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ~ **