Thanks for my one review~!! I'm not a total failure WhooHoo! Chapter Four, here I come!!!!
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Harry was ecstatic. The letter had finally come from Dumbledore saying that he could stay at Weasley's. Even the Dursleys thought he was acting odder than normal and they thought he was very odd.
"What are you so happy about, boy?" Uncle Vernon growled.
"I'm going to stay at Weasley's house tomorrow," he answered calmly.
"Oh, you are?" Uncle Vernon asked, his tone slightly amused. "I don't believe you have asked me or your aunt yet, have you?"
"No, I haven't, but it doesn't matter, they'll come to get me anyway. All they have to do is drop a couple Ton-Tongue Toffees to distract Dudley and I'm on my way."
"Boy, you better watch your tongue!"
"And you better watch Dudley's…"
"FINE!"
Harry loved making the vein on Uncle Vernon's forehead bulge, especially when he knew that Vernon couldn't lock him in the cupboard under the stairs without the Weasley's blasting apart the living room. He nearly skipped to his room to pack his trunk.
When Harry got to his room, the thoughts in the back of his head came rushing toward the front. His thoughts, of course, were of Voldemort.
Would he be as safe as possible at the Weasley's? Voldemort was in full power after all. He didn't even have his mother's protection anymore because his blood ran through Voldemort now also. Don't be stupid, his head told him. Dumbledore would have done everything possible to protect the Burrow. The Weasley's are great wizards, you'll be fine.
The Weasley's arrived the next day in a nice-looking Ministry car. After last year's fireplace fiasco, they no doubt wanted to make a better impression (and save the Dursleys money fixing up the living room!). Vernon was aghast at the quality of the cars and was obviously quite jealous.
Mr. Weasley got out of the car first. His wizard's robes were shabby and he looked tired himself, yet he greeted Harry with a smile. "Hello, Harry!"
"Hi, Mr. Weasley. I like the car," Harry responded with a smile. Mr. Weasley grinned. "Don't tell them where it came from," Harry muttered under his breath, indicating to his relatives. "They're jealous, I can tell."
"Okay." After he politely greeted Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia he headed inside to grab Harry's trunk.
Next came Ron, then Ginny. "Hi, Harry!" they exclaimed simultaneously. Ginny, Harry noticed, was quite a bit taller than when he had seen her last and her gorgeous red hair was longer, cascading in delicate waves down her back. Ron was taller, leaner, and frecklier than Harry had ever seen him.
"Hi, Ron. Hi, Ginny," Harry answered, beaming.
"How's it going here?" Ron muttered.
"Same old, same old…"
"Finally Dumbledore's letting you come. I thought he'd make you stay here all summer. Mum can't wait, of course. She just loves it when you're over."
"I'm so glad. I didn't think I would be able to take it here much longer, anyways." Meanwhile, the Dursleys were edging back toward the house, Dudley clutching his bottom and making sure not to pick up anything. "He's scared of the toffees," Harry explained.
"Only that? Well, I have some Canary Creams he may not mind," Ron smiled mischievously.
"Ron!" Ginny exclaimed.
"Relax, Gin. I was just kidding!" Ron said innocently, raising his hands in the air.
"That's what he always says," Ginny explained to Harry. "He's been turning into Fred and George all summer, I swear, it's horrible!"
Ron gave an "I'm up to no good but I won't tell you" smile and gestured toward the car. "Shall we?"
"Of course," Harry answered in the same mischievous fashion. "Bye!" he shouted over his shoulder. The Dursleys rushed into the house and shut the door.
"They seemed pretty keen to get away, eh?" Ginny mused
"Ginny, you have a lot to learn about my 'family.'" Ginny laughed
"I guess I do."
The car ride was much like the one Harry had taken before third year to King's Cross Station. The Ministry car seemed to be able to fit through the tiniest cracks between buildings and jumped several cars ahead to "beat the traffic." They arrived at the Burrow in no time.
The Burrow was better than Harry had ever remembered it. There seemed to be a few new additions to the house including a room right above Ron's at the top. Maybe they used the raise to add a few new improvements, Harry thought. As he stepped into the tiny kitchen, he was suddenly hit with a wave of heat. Not only were about fifteen witches and wizards were crowded into the small room but four or five large soup pans were heating over a roaring fire. "Did I tell you?" Ron mumbled. "We are sort of acting as a shelter for the wizards who've lost their homes and families from the Death Eaters. That's what the extra rooms are for."
"That's fine," Harry replied.
"Stand back! STAND BACK!" suddenly rang through the kitchen. It was the voice of Mrs. Weasley. "Please, gentlemen. Form a line." The wizards in the kitchen organized themselves and a very hassled-looking Mrs. Weasley immerged.
"Let's get out of here," Ron whispered. "We go through this every day. It's not real pretty. You'd think that they'd learn not to cross Molly Weasley." Harry laughed.
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"Wingardium Leviosa!" Aidan whispered for the thousandth time. For weeks he had been teaching himself spells, charms, hexes and jinxes. He had gone through several spell books in his room and he had finally mastered the Unlocking Charm, the Summoning Charm, the Jelly-Legs Jinx, levitation, Furnunculus Curse, the Lumos spell, and Cheering Charms. Now he was reviewing, doing all he could to prepare for Hogwarts.
It was about midnight and Aidan was lying under his propped-up sheets with nothing but his wand (swishy, made of willow, 9 ½ inches) and a feather. It was fascinating to make things fly. He would practice this charm most, watching the feather zoom across the room until he fell asleep.
Aidan loved being a wizard. He loved saying words and believing something so much to make it happen. At least it gave him something to believe in.
Sam and Jennifer were the nicest adults he had ever met. Sam was transferred to England with the Ministry last year. He worked in the Department of International Cooperation. He loved his job, though he was a bit paranoid about Voldemort. Jennifer was a stay-at-home mom. The strangest thing though, Aidan thought, was that they acted like he was always there, that he didn't just show up a couple weeks ago. Though the change was nice, it creeped him out a bit.
As much as Aidan loved levitation, he decided to get to bed tonight. Tomorrow would be the trip to Hogwarts and he needed all his energy. In the pit of his stomach he could feel the nerves squirming around and he could have almost sworn that they were worms. He just had to fit in here. He didn't know what else he could do if he didn't. He didn't even know how he got where he was.
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"Sam, when are we going to tell him? Is he ever going to know?" Jennifer O'Reilly whispered to her husband after Aidan had gone to bed.
"Jen, Dumbledore will let him know when it is time."
"But he's been acting so normal like he's been here all along."
"So are we. There's nothing to worry about. As long as we love him and are true parents to Aidan, that's all that matters."
"I guess you're right. It's amazing though, isn't it? He's the first Muggle that the Ministry has given magical talent, and from what I've seen, he's a damn good wizard."
"I reckon it's a mistake that he wasn't a wizard all along. I'm glad Dumbledore trusted us with him. He was such a poor kid as a Muggle. I feel better just being able to provide for him better."
"I'm sure you do. Now let's get to bed, we have to get up early tomorrow."