When Harry woke up the next morning and made his way to the window for a
bit of fresh air, he nearly fell out of the window in shock: where there
had been yesterday green hills and forests, lay an ocean, its waves
breaking lazily on a rather rocky beach, and seagulls flying everywhere.
Harry rubbed his eyes a few times, looked out the window again, but still,
the ocean was there. He then made his way across the room (a lot quicker
than the day before) and ran down the stairs to Dumbledore. He found him
speaking to Fawkes, his phoenix, in the living room.
"Ah, good morning, Harry!" Dumbledore said cheerfully. "I hope that bed of mine hasn't been causing you too much trouble again?"
Harry looked at him, astounded. Did Dumbledore not even notice the change of landscape? Or was Harry dreaming?
"But, professor..." he stammered, taken aback by Dumbledore's perfectly normal-looking behaviour.
"Yes, Harry?"
"Didn't you notice the... the ocean outside?" Harry finished quietly, feeling quite foolish. What if there was no ocean at all?
To his astonishment, Dumbledore replied joyfully, "Oh, yes! Very nice place, isn't it? Quite pleasant; and a wonderful weather, too!"
Dumbledore chuckled at the bewildered look on Harry's face and explained:
"This house is bewitched, Harry! It changes its location once every week or so. And, although I never choose the destination, I'm usually very satisfied with it . As I am right now. What would you say of taking a walk along the beach?"
This was so new to Harry, and so unexpected, that for a few seconds he just stood in front of Dumbledore, his jaw dropped and his eyebrows raised. Then, finally, as if coming back to his senses, he asked Dumbledore:
"But... how does it work? I mean - the Muggles! They must notice it, don't they?"
"It's never happened to this day," said Dumbledore simply.
"But - why do you keep changing places like that?"
"Why, Harry, simply because I like travelling!" answered Dumbledore, a wide smile spread across his wrinkled face. "And also - I must admit - for safety."
"For safety, sir?" said Harry, surprised. "But I thought that even Voldemort was afraid of you. How could you need any protection?"
"No, I don't need any particular protection, Harry - although I am not, just the same, invulnerable: please do believe we are all equals face to threats such as Voldemort. But my friends sometimes find themselves in need of a safe shelter, and - as you will recognize - this house is the perfect hiding place."
Harry could only agree with this statement. He then thought of something:
"Is that... is that why I'm here right now?"
Dumbledore smiled gently.
"Well, for that and other reasons. Since you were with Sirius, and he has some business to discuss with me here, right now, we thought it was the most obvious thing to do - as Sirius will be coming back here anyway. And, well, we also thought it would be a good place to loose anyone who had tried to follow you when you left the Dursleys."
Harry gulped - the Dursleys! He had completely forgotten about them.
At once, he started to explain to Dumbledore his worries about them not being safe. He tried to not sound too eager, though, since he was speaking about his wretched relatives after all, and wasn't exactly sure of Dumbledore's reaction. However, Dumbledore gave him a look full of kindness - and did he also distinguish esteem? - before answering:
"Sirius expressed to me your concerns about them. I've had that problem taken care of. They will be just fine, don't worry."
Sirius. This reminded Harry of something else.
"Sir? How will Sirius be able to find us if the house keeps moving?"
"There are portkeys all over the country that are connected to my house, Harry. And Sirius knows where every single one of them is located." He stroked Phoenix gently on the chest, and continued, "As long as you stay here, and as long as Sirius is cautious, there's no reason for you not to see him again before you leave for Hogwarts. And even then," he added with a twinkle in his eye, "I have reasons to believe he'll be visiting you quite often this year."
Harry's heart leapt ten inches in his chest: he was going to be seeing Sirius at Hogwarts! With the perspective of spending time with his godfather and knowing that his friends were safe, Harry felt he could really start enjoying the quite relaxing holidays he was spending with Dumbledore - although it did feel a bit odd to spend the holidays with your headmaster.
The next few days went by peacefully - they changed location once again, and were now next to a small lake - and Harry had a lot of fun learning new spells with Dumbledore. He learned that the shrinking spell Sirius had used on his trunk was in fact the same one Mad-Eye Moody had shown him in the Defence Against the Dark Arts class the year before: 'Reducio' shrunk the object, and 'Enlargio' restored it to its normal size. Sirius was right, though: it was a difficult spell. It took Harry three whole days of practice and a lot of disappeared objects to finally master it.
As pleasant as his holidays were, Harry couldn't help thinking about Sirius, and how much better they would be if only he were there with him. He actually started getting a bit worried when Sirius still wasn't back after five whole days. Dumbledore himself seemed troubled, but as he didn't bother talking to Harry about Sirius, Harry thought it better not to be the one to tackle the subject.
One morning, a week after he had arrived, Harry was greeted by Dumbledore holding a small, filthy envelope.
"For me?" Harry immediately asked.
"Actually, it was addressed to me, but it concerns you," answered Dumbledore with a wide smile.
"Is it from Sirius?" Harry asked again, full of hope.
Dumbledore frowned slightly.
"I'm afraid it's not from Sirius, but it still carries good news!"
Harry was curious to know who could have written to Dumbledore concerning Harry other than Sirius. He was astonished when Dumbledore told him:
"It's from Mr Filch."
"Mr Filch? What did I do now?" Harry asked automatically.
Mr Filch was the caretaker at Hogwarts; Harry was used to being in trouble whenever his name was spoken.
Dumbledore chuckled.
"I don't think Mr Filch would be as heartless as to punish you during the holidays, Harry. Anyway, I would certainly not permit it. No, Mr Filch has in fact been kind enough to inform me that your owl, Hedwig, has arrived at Hogwarts yesterday, and has been allowed to stay in the owlery until the start of term."
Harry started - Hedwig! He had completely forgotten about her! He was used to her leaving for two or three days, but it had been an entire week and he hadn't even noticed her absence yet. He wondered why she had gone to Hogwarts, though? Of all places to stay... with Mr Filch!
Dumbledore smiled and added, answering Harry's unspoken question:
"That's a very clever owl you've got there, Harry... It knew that the best place to go and wait for you is Hogwarts. I believe it didn't come looking for you here because it knew it would be a danger to you. Very clever owl indeed!"
With that, he turned around and headed for the terrace, where he started merrily trimming some extremely ugly-looking purple plants while whistling.
Harry's enjoyable holidays began to turn into a nightmare when, after ten days of absence, Sirius still hadn't come back. Dumbledore seemed now positively alarmed at Sirius' silence. Harry could hear him mutter in his office or walking down the halls:
"... portkeys all over Europe... Unless - no... He should have come back..."
Dumbledore's concern over Sirius made Harry feel even worse: he had always thought that Dumbledore could solve any problem - and, even though he had seen him angry before, he had never seen him scared...
The tension continued to build in Harry's mind over the next few days. Why wasn't Sirius back yet? And, although he kept asking himself this question over and over again, Harry dreaded the answer.
One morning, while Harry was eating breakfast (he could find his way around the house fairly easily now) Dumbledore walked in and announced that Harry would be leaving to go stay with the Weasleys. Harry started at this unexpected news:
"But Sirius isn't back, yet!"
"Precisely," replied Dumbledore. "And the only point in you staying here was for you to see Sirius again. But as he still hasn't returned..." He paused for a second and sighed, but almost immediately continued, smiling, "I daresay you would rather spend the remainder of the holidays with your friends rather than with an old warlock like myself?"
Harry protested that he had truly enjoyed himself with Dumbledore, but apparently his excitement at going back to the Burrow showed more than his appreciation of Dumbledore letting him stay with him because Dumbledore said, in a rather indulgent tone:
"I thought you might like that arrangement. You will be travelling by Floo Powder, and leaving as soon as misters Fred and George Weasley are done experiencing the effects of their new Freezing Toffees on various body parts in the fireplace - I've been watching them in the Book of Seers. Unfortunately, they haven't had much success up until now, and I'm afraid that your sudden arrival in the chimney might have disastrous consequences..."
Although still worried for Sirius, Harry was starting to feel excited at the idea of going back to the Burrow: he loved the Weasleys, and the Weasleys appreciated his company, something that Harry was not used to - and, he would be spending three weeks with his best friend, doing whatever he wanted, including playing Quidditch.
But his heart sank almost immediately as he thought of something:
"But - Professor? Won't I put the Weasleys in danger by going there? I mean, what if Voldemort is looking for me -"
"Voldemort is looking for you, Harry; there's no point in denying that," interrupted Dumbledore. "But as long as the Book of Seers is in my possession, there's no possible way any serious harm could come to any of my students, as I can travel anywhere immediately in case of danger. And I assure you, Harry," he added in a very firm and somewhat menacing voice, "that I will never permit Voldemort or his followers to come near you or any of your schoolmates - or their families."
An hour later, Harry was standing next to the chimney in Dumbledore's living room, his trunk once again safely tucked away in his pocket, waiting for Dumbledore to throw the Floo Powder into the fire. Finally, Dumbledore came down from his office and said that Fred and George were done with their experiences at last. Harry was eager to be at the Burrow, so he stepped at once in front of the chimney.
"My, my, you seem rather impatient, Harry!" said Dumbledore as he took a handful of Floo Powder from inside an old boot.
Harry realized that he was probably sounding impolite and quickly replied:
"I'm not impatient to leave! I've had a wonderful time, here, really. I'm just... impatient to see my friends again."
Dumbledore smiled at him.
"And that's quite understandable. In fact, I would have been surprised if you had expressed the desire of staying any longer with me."
Harry smiled gratefully at Dumbledore - he was glad that he understood how he was feeling.
"Well then," continued Dumbledore. "I think it's about time for you to go. I imagine Mr Ronald Weasley will be most pleased to see you - his brothers have been giving him at hard time, this summer. I will, of course, inform you any way I can as soon as I have news from Sirius."
There was a few seconds' silence, before Dumbledore finally said in a strangely emotional voice, "Good luck, Harry."
He then threw the Floo Powder into the fire, which instantly turned emerald green, and after one last look at Dumbledore, Harry jumped into the flames.
A few seconds later, he was thrown onto the hard ground in the Weasleys' kitchen. Before he even had the time to stand up, he slipped and fell flat on his face in surprise as a high-pitched scream coming from the yard pierced his eardrums. He got up at once and ran to the door, panicking: was Voldemort attacking the Weasleys?
In answer to his questions, someone outside yelled:
"George! You bloody...! Are you crazy?! Almost gave me a heart attack!"
Harry came to a halt just outside the door and laughed in relief at the scene that greeted him: Ron was standing in the middle of the yard, broomstick in hand, clutching his heart, while the twins had both collapsed with laughter and were now rolling on the ground, holding their ribs. Ron turned around when he heard Harry and had yet another shock upon seeing his best friend standing in front of his kitchen door.
"Harry!" he exclaimed running toward him. "What're you doing here?"
"Spending the rest of the holidays with you!" answered Harry, grinning from ear to ear.
He added in an undertone:
"It's a long story, I'll explain later."
Ron nodded, and, as if barely realizing Harry was there, grinned widely and said:
"Blimey, am I glad to see you! Fred and George have been impossible this summer! Almost killed me twice! Last week they set off a Filibuster Firework right under my legs!"
"I know!" said Harry, trying to suppress the urge of bursting with laughter.
He saw Ron's puzzled look, and quickly added:
"I mean... I can imagine that."
He wasn't sure whether Dumbledore wanted him to talk about the Book of Seers to anyone, just yet.
Just then, Fred and George, finally recovering from their fit of laughter, spotted Harry and started walking towards him, Fred still hiccoughing occasionally.
"Here they come..." mumbled Ron.
"Oy! Harry!"
"Come to visit us?"
George started mimicking Percy and said:
"What a delightful surprise!"
Ron rolled his eyes.
"Care for one of our Screamers?" Fred handed Harry a multi-coloured piece of candy the size of a bubble-gum.
"Uh..." hesitated Harry, alarmed by the look of warning Ron was giving him.
"Each one of them'll make you scream in a different way - high, low, terrified, agonizing..." explained George enthusiastically.
"For the joke shop," mouthed Ron.
Harry wasn't exactly sure what to say: he wanted to avoid at all costs having to taste one of the Screamers.
"Wow! You - you guys made those?"
The twins puffed up their chest proudly:
"Our latest invention..."
At that moment, Harry and Ron were rescued by Charlie, Ron's older brother, who came walking into the yard. Harry raised his eyebrows:
"Charlie! What're you doing here?"
"Hello, Harry! I was wondering why you weren't here yet!"
"You knew he was coming?" asked Ron in dismay.
" 'Course I did," replied Charlie shortly, without worrying about the reproachful and somewhat hurt look on Ron's face. "Hope you travelled okay. I know Fred and George have been messing around with the chimney all morning - I tried to warn them that you were coming, but I think they were in too much pain at the time to actually listen to me. Freezing Toffees - honestly! They're still too weak to avoid the burning..."
He shot a disapproving look at the twins, who, judging by the way they started laughing again, didn't mind the burns in the least.
"I only hoped you wouldn't have any problems getting here," added Charlie.
"It was fine, thanks."
Harry grinned. He was glad Charlie was at the Burrow, but was intrigued nonetheless about the reason of his visit. "Aren't you supposed to be in Romania?"
"Oh, right! Romania. Actually, I was already planning to spend a couple of weeks here during the summer, but after everything that happened with You- Know-Who, I decided to come home earlier," he finished in a low voice.
Harry suddenly noticed a huge burn on the side of Charlie's head. It looked quite recent.
"What happened to you?"
"What? Oh, that..." said Charlie, running his hand over the burn, looking embarrassed, and yet quite amused. "Well, I came here right at the beginning of the holidays, and wasn't going to go back to Romania, but we had an emergency to take care of: Horntail attacking a whole village up in the mountains. Took us two weeks to sort everything out. Nasty one, that dragon was... Gave me this - it's barely started healing."
He pointed at the burned flesh, and Harry couldn't keep from shuddering. He promised himself that he would never work with dragons - especially after the experience he had had with them the previous year.
"Ah, good morning, Harry!" Dumbledore said cheerfully. "I hope that bed of mine hasn't been causing you too much trouble again?"
Harry looked at him, astounded. Did Dumbledore not even notice the change of landscape? Or was Harry dreaming?
"But, professor..." he stammered, taken aback by Dumbledore's perfectly normal-looking behaviour.
"Yes, Harry?"
"Didn't you notice the... the ocean outside?" Harry finished quietly, feeling quite foolish. What if there was no ocean at all?
To his astonishment, Dumbledore replied joyfully, "Oh, yes! Very nice place, isn't it? Quite pleasant; and a wonderful weather, too!"
Dumbledore chuckled at the bewildered look on Harry's face and explained:
"This house is bewitched, Harry! It changes its location once every week or so. And, although I never choose the destination, I'm usually very satisfied with it . As I am right now. What would you say of taking a walk along the beach?"
This was so new to Harry, and so unexpected, that for a few seconds he just stood in front of Dumbledore, his jaw dropped and his eyebrows raised. Then, finally, as if coming back to his senses, he asked Dumbledore:
"But... how does it work? I mean - the Muggles! They must notice it, don't they?"
"It's never happened to this day," said Dumbledore simply.
"But - why do you keep changing places like that?"
"Why, Harry, simply because I like travelling!" answered Dumbledore, a wide smile spread across his wrinkled face. "And also - I must admit - for safety."
"For safety, sir?" said Harry, surprised. "But I thought that even Voldemort was afraid of you. How could you need any protection?"
"No, I don't need any particular protection, Harry - although I am not, just the same, invulnerable: please do believe we are all equals face to threats such as Voldemort. But my friends sometimes find themselves in need of a safe shelter, and - as you will recognize - this house is the perfect hiding place."
Harry could only agree with this statement. He then thought of something:
"Is that... is that why I'm here right now?"
Dumbledore smiled gently.
"Well, for that and other reasons. Since you were with Sirius, and he has some business to discuss with me here, right now, we thought it was the most obvious thing to do - as Sirius will be coming back here anyway. And, well, we also thought it would be a good place to loose anyone who had tried to follow you when you left the Dursleys."
Harry gulped - the Dursleys! He had completely forgotten about them.
At once, he started to explain to Dumbledore his worries about them not being safe. He tried to not sound too eager, though, since he was speaking about his wretched relatives after all, and wasn't exactly sure of Dumbledore's reaction. However, Dumbledore gave him a look full of kindness - and did he also distinguish esteem? - before answering:
"Sirius expressed to me your concerns about them. I've had that problem taken care of. They will be just fine, don't worry."
Sirius. This reminded Harry of something else.
"Sir? How will Sirius be able to find us if the house keeps moving?"
"There are portkeys all over the country that are connected to my house, Harry. And Sirius knows where every single one of them is located." He stroked Phoenix gently on the chest, and continued, "As long as you stay here, and as long as Sirius is cautious, there's no reason for you not to see him again before you leave for Hogwarts. And even then," he added with a twinkle in his eye, "I have reasons to believe he'll be visiting you quite often this year."
Harry's heart leapt ten inches in his chest: he was going to be seeing Sirius at Hogwarts! With the perspective of spending time with his godfather and knowing that his friends were safe, Harry felt he could really start enjoying the quite relaxing holidays he was spending with Dumbledore - although it did feel a bit odd to spend the holidays with your headmaster.
The next few days went by peacefully - they changed location once again, and were now next to a small lake - and Harry had a lot of fun learning new spells with Dumbledore. He learned that the shrinking spell Sirius had used on his trunk was in fact the same one Mad-Eye Moody had shown him in the Defence Against the Dark Arts class the year before: 'Reducio' shrunk the object, and 'Enlargio' restored it to its normal size. Sirius was right, though: it was a difficult spell. It took Harry three whole days of practice and a lot of disappeared objects to finally master it.
As pleasant as his holidays were, Harry couldn't help thinking about Sirius, and how much better they would be if only he were there with him. He actually started getting a bit worried when Sirius still wasn't back after five whole days. Dumbledore himself seemed troubled, but as he didn't bother talking to Harry about Sirius, Harry thought it better not to be the one to tackle the subject.
One morning, a week after he had arrived, Harry was greeted by Dumbledore holding a small, filthy envelope.
"For me?" Harry immediately asked.
"Actually, it was addressed to me, but it concerns you," answered Dumbledore with a wide smile.
"Is it from Sirius?" Harry asked again, full of hope.
Dumbledore frowned slightly.
"I'm afraid it's not from Sirius, but it still carries good news!"
Harry was curious to know who could have written to Dumbledore concerning Harry other than Sirius. He was astonished when Dumbledore told him:
"It's from Mr Filch."
"Mr Filch? What did I do now?" Harry asked automatically.
Mr Filch was the caretaker at Hogwarts; Harry was used to being in trouble whenever his name was spoken.
Dumbledore chuckled.
"I don't think Mr Filch would be as heartless as to punish you during the holidays, Harry. Anyway, I would certainly not permit it. No, Mr Filch has in fact been kind enough to inform me that your owl, Hedwig, has arrived at Hogwarts yesterday, and has been allowed to stay in the owlery until the start of term."
Harry started - Hedwig! He had completely forgotten about her! He was used to her leaving for two or three days, but it had been an entire week and he hadn't even noticed her absence yet. He wondered why she had gone to Hogwarts, though? Of all places to stay... with Mr Filch!
Dumbledore smiled and added, answering Harry's unspoken question:
"That's a very clever owl you've got there, Harry... It knew that the best place to go and wait for you is Hogwarts. I believe it didn't come looking for you here because it knew it would be a danger to you. Very clever owl indeed!"
With that, he turned around and headed for the terrace, where he started merrily trimming some extremely ugly-looking purple plants while whistling.
Harry's enjoyable holidays began to turn into a nightmare when, after ten days of absence, Sirius still hadn't come back. Dumbledore seemed now positively alarmed at Sirius' silence. Harry could hear him mutter in his office or walking down the halls:
"... portkeys all over Europe... Unless - no... He should have come back..."
Dumbledore's concern over Sirius made Harry feel even worse: he had always thought that Dumbledore could solve any problem - and, even though he had seen him angry before, he had never seen him scared...
The tension continued to build in Harry's mind over the next few days. Why wasn't Sirius back yet? And, although he kept asking himself this question over and over again, Harry dreaded the answer.
One morning, while Harry was eating breakfast (he could find his way around the house fairly easily now) Dumbledore walked in and announced that Harry would be leaving to go stay with the Weasleys. Harry started at this unexpected news:
"But Sirius isn't back, yet!"
"Precisely," replied Dumbledore. "And the only point in you staying here was for you to see Sirius again. But as he still hasn't returned..." He paused for a second and sighed, but almost immediately continued, smiling, "I daresay you would rather spend the remainder of the holidays with your friends rather than with an old warlock like myself?"
Harry protested that he had truly enjoyed himself with Dumbledore, but apparently his excitement at going back to the Burrow showed more than his appreciation of Dumbledore letting him stay with him because Dumbledore said, in a rather indulgent tone:
"I thought you might like that arrangement. You will be travelling by Floo Powder, and leaving as soon as misters Fred and George Weasley are done experiencing the effects of their new Freezing Toffees on various body parts in the fireplace - I've been watching them in the Book of Seers. Unfortunately, they haven't had much success up until now, and I'm afraid that your sudden arrival in the chimney might have disastrous consequences..."
Although still worried for Sirius, Harry was starting to feel excited at the idea of going back to the Burrow: he loved the Weasleys, and the Weasleys appreciated his company, something that Harry was not used to - and, he would be spending three weeks with his best friend, doing whatever he wanted, including playing Quidditch.
But his heart sank almost immediately as he thought of something:
"But - Professor? Won't I put the Weasleys in danger by going there? I mean, what if Voldemort is looking for me -"
"Voldemort is looking for you, Harry; there's no point in denying that," interrupted Dumbledore. "But as long as the Book of Seers is in my possession, there's no possible way any serious harm could come to any of my students, as I can travel anywhere immediately in case of danger. And I assure you, Harry," he added in a very firm and somewhat menacing voice, "that I will never permit Voldemort or his followers to come near you or any of your schoolmates - or their families."
An hour later, Harry was standing next to the chimney in Dumbledore's living room, his trunk once again safely tucked away in his pocket, waiting for Dumbledore to throw the Floo Powder into the fire. Finally, Dumbledore came down from his office and said that Fred and George were done with their experiences at last. Harry was eager to be at the Burrow, so he stepped at once in front of the chimney.
"My, my, you seem rather impatient, Harry!" said Dumbledore as he took a handful of Floo Powder from inside an old boot.
Harry realized that he was probably sounding impolite and quickly replied:
"I'm not impatient to leave! I've had a wonderful time, here, really. I'm just... impatient to see my friends again."
Dumbledore smiled at him.
"And that's quite understandable. In fact, I would have been surprised if you had expressed the desire of staying any longer with me."
Harry smiled gratefully at Dumbledore - he was glad that he understood how he was feeling.
"Well then," continued Dumbledore. "I think it's about time for you to go. I imagine Mr Ronald Weasley will be most pleased to see you - his brothers have been giving him at hard time, this summer. I will, of course, inform you any way I can as soon as I have news from Sirius."
There was a few seconds' silence, before Dumbledore finally said in a strangely emotional voice, "Good luck, Harry."
He then threw the Floo Powder into the fire, which instantly turned emerald green, and after one last look at Dumbledore, Harry jumped into the flames.
A few seconds later, he was thrown onto the hard ground in the Weasleys' kitchen. Before he even had the time to stand up, he slipped and fell flat on his face in surprise as a high-pitched scream coming from the yard pierced his eardrums. He got up at once and ran to the door, panicking: was Voldemort attacking the Weasleys?
In answer to his questions, someone outside yelled:
"George! You bloody...! Are you crazy?! Almost gave me a heart attack!"
Harry came to a halt just outside the door and laughed in relief at the scene that greeted him: Ron was standing in the middle of the yard, broomstick in hand, clutching his heart, while the twins had both collapsed with laughter and were now rolling on the ground, holding their ribs. Ron turned around when he heard Harry and had yet another shock upon seeing his best friend standing in front of his kitchen door.
"Harry!" he exclaimed running toward him. "What're you doing here?"
"Spending the rest of the holidays with you!" answered Harry, grinning from ear to ear.
He added in an undertone:
"It's a long story, I'll explain later."
Ron nodded, and, as if barely realizing Harry was there, grinned widely and said:
"Blimey, am I glad to see you! Fred and George have been impossible this summer! Almost killed me twice! Last week they set off a Filibuster Firework right under my legs!"
"I know!" said Harry, trying to suppress the urge of bursting with laughter.
He saw Ron's puzzled look, and quickly added:
"I mean... I can imagine that."
He wasn't sure whether Dumbledore wanted him to talk about the Book of Seers to anyone, just yet.
Just then, Fred and George, finally recovering from their fit of laughter, spotted Harry and started walking towards him, Fred still hiccoughing occasionally.
"Here they come..." mumbled Ron.
"Oy! Harry!"
"Come to visit us?"
George started mimicking Percy and said:
"What a delightful surprise!"
Ron rolled his eyes.
"Care for one of our Screamers?" Fred handed Harry a multi-coloured piece of candy the size of a bubble-gum.
"Uh..." hesitated Harry, alarmed by the look of warning Ron was giving him.
"Each one of them'll make you scream in a different way - high, low, terrified, agonizing..." explained George enthusiastically.
"For the joke shop," mouthed Ron.
Harry wasn't exactly sure what to say: he wanted to avoid at all costs having to taste one of the Screamers.
"Wow! You - you guys made those?"
The twins puffed up their chest proudly:
"Our latest invention..."
At that moment, Harry and Ron were rescued by Charlie, Ron's older brother, who came walking into the yard. Harry raised his eyebrows:
"Charlie! What're you doing here?"
"Hello, Harry! I was wondering why you weren't here yet!"
"You knew he was coming?" asked Ron in dismay.
" 'Course I did," replied Charlie shortly, without worrying about the reproachful and somewhat hurt look on Ron's face. "Hope you travelled okay. I know Fred and George have been messing around with the chimney all morning - I tried to warn them that you were coming, but I think they were in too much pain at the time to actually listen to me. Freezing Toffees - honestly! They're still too weak to avoid the burning..."
He shot a disapproving look at the twins, who, judging by the way they started laughing again, didn't mind the burns in the least.
"I only hoped you wouldn't have any problems getting here," added Charlie.
"It was fine, thanks."
Harry grinned. He was glad Charlie was at the Burrow, but was intrigued nonetheless about the reason of his visit. "Aren't you supposed to be in Romania?"
"Oh, right! Romania. Actually, I was already planning to spend a couple of weeks here during the summer, but after everything that happened with You- Know-Who, I decided to come home earlier," he finished in a low voice.
Harry suddenly noticed a huge burn on the side of Charlie's head. It looked quite recent.
"What happened to you?"
"What? Oh, that..." said Charlie, running his hand over the burn, looking embarrassed, and yet quite amused. "Well, I came here right at the beginning of the holidays, and wasn't going to go back to Romania, but we had an emergency to take care of: Horntail attacking a whole village up in the mountains. Took us two weeks to sort everything out. Nasty one, that dragon was... Gave me this - it's barely started healing."
He pointed at the burned flesh, and Harry couldn't keep from shuddering. He promised himself that he would never work with dragons - especially after the experience he had had with them the previous year.