Chapter Eleven: Back to The Burrow

The first thing I noticed when I arrived in The Burrow, another place I hadn't had time to visit before, was that the Weasley's clock had changed. The usual nine hands had become fourteen; there were now hands reading "Harry", "Joanne", "Hermione", "Sirius", and "Remus". Twelve of the hands pointed to "home"; Bill's and Charlie's were pointed to "work".

"Now," said Moody, "this is going to be difficult. I think this is going to call for a Multiple Secret-Keeper Charm, because if only one person knows your whereabouts, then we're going to have some communication problems. Here's what I propose. Myself, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Sirius and Remus should be the Secret-Keepers for the children and Joanne." Ron scowled at the word. "That means that none of you underage ones can leave the house, or else Voldemort could find you. And it should be all the children in the house who have Secret Keepers. Sirius and Remus, are you two willing to go without any sort of magical protection?"

They looked at each other and nodded. "I'm going to do Memory Charms on all the Hogwarts teachers, so none of them will remember where the children are. Now if I could have the Secret Keepers come outside, please, and I'll perform the charm." They left out the front door.

"Children!" exclaimed Ron indignantly. "He makes us sound like a bunch of infants."

"Imagine not leaving the house until Voldemort's defeated again," said Harry gloomily. "No Quidditch practicing, no traveling..."

"What are you lot doing here?" It was Fred. He and George had just come down the stairs.

"Don't worry, Hermione, I'll do the explaining this time," I said. I did. They gaped.

"And all these people are supposed to be living in our house?" asked George.

I looked around. He was right, it was going to be quite a stretch.

"Let's see," said Ron. "Hermione and Jo can share Ginny's room. Harry can share mine. Percy can move in with Fred and George and give Sirius and Remus his room."

"Or Fred and George could move into mine," said Percy. "After all, they've got the two beds."

There was an uncomfortable silence. "I don't think Sirius and Remus will mind sharing a double bed," said Harry. The silence continued.

"All right," I said, "this is getting stupid. We aren't going to be able to have too many secrets if we're all living in the same house. Sirius and Remus are lovers. Anyone who has a problem with it can live with it, because there isn't anything else you can do."

Percy squirmed. I tried not to laugh. "Oh, and Percy, they've been known to have sex in other people's beds before, just to warn you."

His face turned as red as his hair. "Don't worry, Perce," said Ron. "I have a feeling we're all going to be too busy and stressed to think about things like sex."

I glanced over at Fred and George. They were going into silent convulsions.

The next morning, I awoke with Hermione's feet next to my head. We'd let Ginny have the bed, and were going to take turns each night.

Ginny's room was the smallest in the house, from what I could tell. When we were asleep, every inch of floor space was covered. There was a gentle knock on the door. "Come in," called Ginny sleepily.

Mrs. Weasley opened the door. "All your things came just came from Hogwarts, Hermione. Hagrid sent them. Oh, and Joanne, you've got your computer back. You know, the one the Ministry turned into a Portkey."

I sat up straight. I had my computer back. Now I could use my e-mail and IM to communicate with the Muggle world! They must be so worried about me. I leaped out of my sleeping bag, grabbed the laptop from a startled Mrs. Weasley, and turned it on. Sure enough, I had mail. It was from Lisa, my agent.

Joanne:

Where are you? Your husband and Jessica are frantic. I hope wherever you are, your computer is with you and you can receive this message. The press is having a field day, by the way. We had to turn in a Missing Persons report for you. Please answer immediately if you get this.

Lisa

I typed an answer.

Lisa, please tell everyone I'm all right, and cancel the Missing Persons report. I know you won't believe this, but the Harry Potter books are not fiction. A lot has happened, but now I'm at The Burrow and I'll have to stay here for a while. Joanne.