Book 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Created by J.K. Rowling
Anticipated for Impatient Readers by Chrissy
Disclaimer: Harry and all of his friends belong to J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., etc., and not me. Obviously I don't know what the Order of the Phoenix is in her mind; this is merely my interpretation. No money is being made off of this story, and no copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: Thanks to Becky for pointing out my rather obvious reference to GoF at the beginning of the chapter. It's one of my favorite little character moments from Uncle Vernon, along with his dressing for intimidation!
A/N 2: This is the updated, fully beta-read version. Enjoy.
Chapter Three: The Knight Bus Returns to Magnolia Crescent
By six o'clock, even the Dursleys had run out of things for Harry to do. He was forced to wait by the front door, sitting on his trunk, his broom in one hand, his wand in the other.
Uncle Vernon paced back and forth through the hallway. "Why haven't you left yet?" he snapped. "You'd think a person would have the decency not to interfere with his family's plans. We could have been planning to go out; you don't know. What if we had reservations somewhere?"
"Well, you don't, do you?" Harry pointed out.
"That's not the point!" Vernon snapped. "It's this… abnormality of yours. What do they teach you at that school, anyway? What about punctuality? Consideration? It will be the end of your kind, I daresay," he muttered darkly.
"That's it. I'm going." Harry stood up, annoyed and ready to leave. 'Hedwig will have had more than enough time to reach the Weasleys by now. I would know by now if there was a problem.'
Without even saying goodbye, Harry shoved his belongings out the door, which slammed shut promptly behind him. Harry distinctly heard someone mutter, "Good riddance!" and then all was quiet.
Grunting under the effort, Harry got behind and pushed his trunk down the drive and onto the road. His broomstick and cauldron were piled on top. Once he had reached the next street, he paused to catch his breath, and then, hesitantly, stuck out his wand.
Immediately, there was a great rushing noise, and an enormous purple bus ground to a halt in front of Harry. The doors opened, and the conductor stepped out. He was a tall, older man with brown hair and dark eyes.
"Welcome to the Knight Bus," he intoned. He grabbed Harry's trunk and shoved it on board. Harry climbed on after him, the doors slammed shut, and Harry had to grab onto a nearby bedpost to keep from falling over.
"Where to?" the conductor questioned, turning to Harry. As he looked at Harry for the first time, his jaw dropped in disbelief. His eyes immediately flickered up to Harry's scar, and then he looked away quickly.
Harry waited for the impending exclamation, and was relieved when none came. "Ottery St. Catchpole," he replied, "the Weasley residence."
The conductor nodded, his eyes now refusing to meet Harry's. "That'll be seven Sickles. Ten with hot chocolate, twelve with a hot water bottle and a toothbrush."
"No thank you," Harry replied, pulling his money bag from his pocket and digging out the required coins.
The conductor nodded quietly, and accepted the money. He led Harry to the back of the bus. "Your bed's here." He pointed. "We're in Huntingdon now; we'll be at your stop in about half an hour."
Harry nodded. "All right." He sat back against the headboard of his bed, looked out the window, and immediately felt dizzy. He turned back to the conductor, who was retreating down the aisle. "Where's Stan Shunpike?" Harry questioned suddenly, recalling his last trip aboard the bus.
The conductor barely turned around. "Quit," he said shortly.
Harry watched him curiously, wondering why he seemed so hesitant, but didn't say anything further as the man returned to the front of the bus.
Harry looked again out the window, watching cities, roads, and scenery whiz by at a dizzying speed. He didn't know where they were or where they were going, but one moment there were mountains in the distance, and the next minute the land was flat.
Ten minutes later, the bus stopped. The conductor approached the witch next to Harry, saying softly, "We've reached Southampton, madam." The witch thanked him, and climbed out carefully. The conductor tossed her trunk out behind her and immediately the bus continued on its way.
Harry watched as three other passengers disembarked, and then the bus was all but empty. Harry eyed the conductor again, this time somewhat nervous: only too aware that he was now alone with a man who was behaving very strangely toward him, and a driver who had yet to say a word. "Have we reached my stop yet?" he called down the aisle.
The conductor turned around to study him, and seemed to be waiting for something. "Just another minute," he said finally.
Five minutes later, they had reached Ottery St. Catchpole. Harry could see the Burrow just up the road. He moved to get off the bus, but stopped and turned, feeling a hand on his shoulder.
The conductor was standing just behind him. "You're Harry Potter."
Harry eyed him warily. "Yes."
The conductor nodded, and clucked. "You shouldn't be traveling alone. I know what happened last year." He straightened up, and smiled. "Good luck, Harry. We'll be watching out for you."
Harry opened his mouth to ask who would be watching out for him, but before he could, his trunk was tossed out beside him, the doors to the bus closed, and a flash of purple sent the bus on its way.
Harry shook his head, half amused, half suspicious, and began to shove his trunk up the road to the Weasleys' house. It wasn't very far, but by the time Harry reached their walk, he was out of breath and exhausted. His trunk was very heavy from all the belongings he'd accumulated over four years at Hogwarts, including all of his schoolbooks, and the new ones he'd gotten for his birthday.
After a moment, Harry reached the little wooden sign at the edge of the Weasleys' garden. Painted in big red letters were the words, "The Burrow". With renewed vigor, Harry pushed and pulled his belongings until he reached the front stoop. Excited, he reached out and knocked three times on the door.
A moment later, he heard footsteps coming closer, and then the door was yanked open. Mrs. Weasley stood in front of him, looking shocked. "Harry!" she exclaimed loudly. "What are you doing here?"
Harry heard the sound of supper ware clinking behind her, and four voices chorused behind her:
"Harry!"
"Is Harry here?"
"Is he coming to stay?"
"Our Harry?"
"Corking!"
He heard more feet jumping up and running to the door, and a moment later, four red heads peered out from behind Mrs. Weasley.
"Hi!" Harry offered weakly. He frowned. "Didn't you get my owl? I sent Hedwig ahead to tell you I was coming. I got a letter from Dumbledore earlier today; he said I could spend the rest of the summer with you." He hesitated. "Is that okay? I didn't mean to interrupt your supper or anything."
"Of course!" Ron exclaimed excitedly.
Mrs. Weasley smiled widely. "It's fine, Harry! You know you're always welcome here!"
"Excellent," Fred and George agreed.
"Well, come inside!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, ushering him in. "You must be tired. Have you eaten? How did you get here?"
"I took the Knight Bus," Harry explained. He smiled. "And actually, I haven't had supper yet."
"You must be hungry!" Mrs. Weasley said, suddenly bustling back into the kitchen. "Fred! George! Go and fetch Harry's trunk!" She poked her head out of the kitchen quickly. "He'll stay in your room, Ron?"
"'Course," Ron replied, making an extra space at the table. "You can sit here, Harry." He grinned. "I didn't think you were going to be able to make it! Ruddy brilliant, this is!"
"Language!" Mrs. Weasley called sharply.
"Now we can go to Diagon Alley together," Ron continued as they both sat down. "You haven't gotten your books yet, have you?"
Harry shook his head. "No. I just got the letter this morning."
Ginny smiled from across the table. "We did, too."
The twins came in then, carrying Harry's trunk between them. "Up to Ron's room?" George questioned.
"Ron's room!" Mrs. Weasley echoed from the kitchen. She came out a moment later carrying a plate for Harry. "Here you go then, dear. Help yourself. There's ice cream for dessert when you're done." She took her seat at the end of the table. "How was your trip, Harry?"
"It was all right," Harry replied, helping himself to a jacket potato.
"The Knight Bus must have been dreadfully crowded," Mrs. Weasley fretted. "Did you manage to get a bed all right?"
Harry nodded and shrugged. "Yeah. Actually, it seemed pretty empty."
Mrs. Weasley paused. "And how are your aunt and uncle?" she questioned hesitantly.
Harry snorted. "All too pleased to get rid of me," he said wryly.
Mrs. Weasley pursed her lips. "Oh dear," was all she would say. She leaned forward. "You said you got a letter from Dumbledore, Harry?"
Harry nodded and frowned, feeling guilty. "Yeah. I'm really sorry you didn't get Hedwig's note before. She should have arrived by now."
"That's odd," Ron agreed. "Well, perhaps she's just tired. Maybe she stopped along the way."
"Maybe," Harry agreed, but he still felt worried. It wasn't like Hedwig at all. He looked up as Fred and George returned, and glanced around the table. "Where's Mr. Weasley?"
"Arthur's still at work," Mrs. Weasley replied. "Ever since last spring, things have been rather hectic around the Ministry." She sighed. "Cornelius Fudge just refuses to see the truth about these things, and Arthur has to take care of it. Percy's been helping them, but both of them have still been working around the clock."
"Oh," was all Harry could think to say. He couldn't help but feel guilty, as if Voldemort's actions were somehow connected to his own. He knew that Voldemort's rise would not be driven purely by his quest for vengeance, but certainly many of his actions were linked to that motive. Harry had thought about it all summer; he'd had nothing else to distract himself. In the end, he couldn't help but feel that Cedric Diggory had died for him the year before. He could only hope that he could prevent it from happening again.
Ron grinned at Harry, oblivious. "Anyway, it gets Percy out of the house. He's really been obnoxious lately, especially since Mr. Crouch's death. He's heading the department now."
"Only until a replacement can be appointed," Mrs. Weasley corrected, but she couldn't completely wipe the proud smile from her face.
"Try telling that to Percy," George snorted.
"I reckon if someone else tried to take over, Perce might just hex them when they weren't looking," Fred put in.
"You're just jealous," Ginny argued. "At least Percy's got a real job."
Harry saw her sticking her tongue out at the twins, and snickered into his potatoes. He took a bite and looked up again. "Have you heard from Hermione?" he asked Ron.
Ron's expression darkened. "She wrote me once at the beginning of the summer. Too busy making time with her precious Vicky, I expect."
Harry shook his head. "I got a birthday card from her," he said. "She's back from Bulgaria. Visiting her grandparents, I think. She said she might come here next week."
Ron struggled valiantly not to look pleased, but Harry could see the tips of his ears turning pink.
"Excellent," Mrs. Weasley said. "She can go to Diagon Alley with us next Tuesday."
Supper was over too soon, and Mrs. Weasley hustled the children up the stairs. "I'll send your father up to say good-night to you if he doesn't get home too late. Off to bed, now." Ginny got off at the first landing, muttering good-night to everyone, and the boys continued up the stairs to the next floor.
"Night, Harry," Fred said, as he and George went to their room.
"Night," Harry replied. He entered Ron's room, and Ron pulled the extra mattress from under his bed. Maneuvering as well as possible in Ron's tiny room, they pushed his trunk out of the way and set the mattress out next to Ron's bed.
"Did you get a chance to watch the match?" Ron asked him, his red hair contrasting horribly with the layer of orange that covered everything in his room.
Harry shook his head. "No. I just got it last night and the Dursleys put me to work all day today."
"Well, pull it out now!" Ron suggested eagerly, settling in on his bed.
Harry dug the Omnioculars out of his trunk and held them up to his eyes. "When was the game?" he asked as play began.
"Last week," Ron replied. "Percy had off of work and wanted to show off his paycheck, I think. He took all of us. Well, Mum and Dad didn't go."
"That was nice of him," Harry commented as he rewound the Omnioculars quickly to watch the Cannons' Seeker perform a near-perfect Wronski Feint.
Ron shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so." He toyed with the edge of his Chudley Canons blanket. "To be honest, Percy's been acting kind of weird all summer. He's not here all the time anymore - even when Dad gets home, Percy will come home even later. He's even stayed out all night before. You wouldn't believe the rows that he and Mum have had." He laughed quietly. "I went to look for Pig in his room the other day, and there were newspaper advertisements all over the place. I think he's looking for his own apartment."
Harry shrugged, setting the omnioculars aside. "Well, he's nineteen now, right? He had to leave sooner or later. Bill and Charlie did."
Ron nodded. "Yeah. I guess it's just… well, Bill and Charlie are so much older than I am. They both moved out before I even started at Hogwarts." He was quiet for a moment. "I guess I'm just used to having Percy around… not that I'll mind having the extra space!" He looked a little embarrassed. "Plus…um…I think he has a girlfriend."
Harry's jaw dropped. "Percy?"
Ron grinned. "Yeah, that's what I thought too. But I know he dated that Ravenclaw prefect a few years ago. I don't know if it's her or someone else, but Fred and George reckon that's where he's been on those all-nighters."
Harry burst out laughing. "That's really…gross."
Ron laughed.
