Prologue
Harry Potter stared out at the dark world, his green eyes hooded. Sleep wasn't coming to him, not since those dreams had begun plaguing him at the beginning of the summer. They were always of Voldemort and his Death Eaters. The Daily Prophet occasionally recorded their activity, but most were buried or belittled; cited as not the work of evil, just random occurrences.
The summer had been long and hard, and having to deal with a grumpy Dudley seemed to be an impossible task, especially as he was still putting on weight despite the diet. Now the Dursleys had to have all of Dudley's school uniforms custom made, as well as replace the full size bed with a king size bed, because Dudley had not just broken it, he had also over- grown it.
They had almost swapped beds with Harry, giving him the broken old bed, but had thought better of it once Harry had started talking animatedly about seeing off a letter to Sirius. His aunt and uncle didn't have to know his godfather was dead.
Harry turned his attention back to his summer break essay for Transfiguration (Famous Art Stolen by Wizards.Do Our Laws Protect Muggle Artefacts and Should We Protect Them Further? Explain) and tried to concentrate. It did no good. Harry's birthday was one week away. His seventeenth birthday. He would finally be of age.
He would be free. He could leave then. Bill Weasley had already agreed to pick him up from the Dursleys the day of his birthday so he could spend it with his friends. He wished he could say family but, though Dursleys were his only family, he doubted they would even acknowledge his existence.
The holiday had been long and difficult but now, thankfully, the worst was over. In one week, he would be able to just have fun.
Chapter 1
Harry packed his last book in his trunk, satisfied that he had every last item that he wanted out of this house. He doubted he would ever come back. He knew he wouldn't be welcome here again, not that he had ever been welcome in the first place.
Harry carried his trunk down the stairs to where the Dursleys stood, looking horribly nervous. Uncle Vernon's moustache twitched nervously as his beady eyes swept the living room, as if expecting something would explode if he didn't keep his eye on everything all at once.
Uncle Vernon's eyes narrowed as he fixed Harry with a stare. "Well, this will be the last time we have to see you. No more worrying about odd- looking mishaps popping up. And now I can safely invite my poor sister over without having to worry about you killing her."
Harry stood at the end of the staircase, near the cupboard that had been his home for so many years before he had finally been given Dudley's second bedroom. All at once, it was just too much. "I have never acted ungrateful to you. That only happened because for once I didn't want to let you and your family bully me. I feel sorry for you that you haven't been able to treat me like a human being-"
"That's because you're-" Aunt Petunia's sneering comment was cut short by a soft *pop* of Bill Apparating. Harry turned and smiled at Ron's oldest brother.
"Hiya Harry. Ready to go?" Bill asked, aiming his wand at Harry's trunk. With one flick of his wand, it was reduced to a box the size of a pack of cards. Harry could only smile.
"I sure am."
Harry ignored his aunt and uncle's protests as he walked outside into a rare sunny day on Privet Drive. Outside was dark blue car and he could see Mr. Weasley at the steering wheel, waving madly.
He would have been happy to go and get his Apparating License today, because it was his 17th birthday but no one had been able to sign off on his permission slip to train for Apparating. Sirius had died at the end of his fifth year and Dumbledore had told him to wait. He had been frustrated, as he had been since the end of his fourth year at Hogwarts. But almost everyone he knew wasn't getting Apparating License until the end of the year. Only the twins had been odd in getting their licenses before the school year ended.
He tried not to show his emotions as he got into the back seat of the car. He looked back at the house he had just left but he already knew the door would be shut and the Dursleys would be standing inside no doubt feeling relieved that once and for all, he would be out of their hair.
He felt a moment of confusion and a second of hurt but as the car pulled away from kerb, he left those feelings behind and started his seventeenth year.
Harry and Mr. Weasley drove to the Ministry of Magic to leave the car before they Flooed into the sitting room of the Burrow. Immediately Harry felt at home. Noise flooded from every room and people scurried about. He stepped into kitchen to be greeted by Mrs. Weasley and Hermione.
"Harry! Happy Birthday," Hermione greeted him with a hug. Mrs. Weasley beamed at him, tears in her eyes.
"Our Harry is coming of age today," Mrs. Weasley said, sniffling, and engulfing Harry in a hug when Hermione had released him. Harry closed his eyes as he felt tears prick his eyelids. He didn't want them to see how much that comment affected him. Someone cared.
The table was being set outside. Mrs. Weasley had called the boys in from the field where they had been practising when Harry had arrived at the Burrow. Ron had made the Gryffindor team two years ago as Keeper, even though he had really wanted to play Chaser. It looked as if this season he would be able to.
"Happy Birthday, Harry," Ron said with a grin. He clapped Harry on the shoulder. Harry grinned back at him. He had hated the past seven summers. Having to be away from his friends and the world which accepted him for who he was had been very painful and trying.
"Thanks," he said, turning to the twins who had come up behind Ron. "Practising again?"
Fred tried to catch his breath. "Ron's been like a madman all summer. None of us can keep up with him."
Harry nodded just as Mrs. Weasley came out carrying a large pot of mashed sweet potatoes. "Come now, go get cleaned up. We have company coming."
Ron chuckled as he shifted his broom to his other hand. "Come on mum, Harry and Hermione aren't exactly company now, are they?"
"That wasn't who I meant. And no, Harry and Hermione aren't company, they're more like part of the family. I meant someone else."
Bill took Ron's broom from him and put it inside the broom shack. "Who now, Mum?"
But Mrs. Weasley had already gone back inside the house. Charlie rolled his eyes and wiped the sweat from his brow. "It isn't often we have guests, but Mum gets so nervous when someone does come over. Like this one time-"
Bill scowled. "You aren't going to tell them about when Alex and her family came over?"
A dark look passed over Charlie's face quickly before he turned and walked towards the house. Harry frowned. It was unlike Charlie to act like this. Nothing seemed to bother him. Except. "Who is Alex?"
"Lady Alexandra Ross, born to the Duke and Duchess of Feydin. She was in Charlie's year. She was quite the beauty, I suspect half the school had a crush on her. You should ask Percy about her." Bill said, his eyes on the door Charlie had just passed through.
Harry and Ron looked at each other as Hermione came running out. "I just received my owl from Hogwarts! Harry, Ron, I was named Head Girl!"
Ron grinned. "That's brilliant, Hermione! But I suppose that means I'll see even less of you this year."
Hermione sighed. "Is that all you can say? This is one of the greatest honours a student can receive."
Harry rolled his eyes. Not another legendary fight between his two best friends. One of these days, he was going to end up in the lunatic ward of St. Mungos thanks to these two.
Ron's ears turned bright red and Harry knew he was getting ready to start just when Mrs. Weasley shouted from inside, "Dinner is ready. Wash up!"
Chaos ensued as it always did during Weasley family dinners. Most of the family were outside at the tables but Mr. Weasley was in the living room, standing by their fireplace.
Harry sat down in between Hermione and Ron as a buffer, since their fight had escalated until Percy had come out and bellowed for them to shut up. After the ministry had come out and admitted Voldemort had indeed returned, Percy had since made his peace with his family. Things were still tense between most of the other children and Percy.
Not that anyone had really listened but it distracted them long enough so Harry could drag Ron off to calm him down. He was sure Ginny was doing the same with Hermione.
Ginny was now seated across from Hermione and Percy was sitting across from Harry. Fred and George were sitting down by Mrs. Weasley's seat at the other end of the table where she could keep an eye on them. Mr. Weasley's normal seat at the head of the was empty, while Mrs. Weasley was bustling in and out of the house, bringing plates of food for the table.
Just as Bill sat down at the table, Percy frowned. "Mum, you have an extra setting." Mrs. Weasley sighed. "Of course. For the last time, we have a guest coming for dinner."
Ron looked up. "Percy, Bill mentioned you knew about Lady.Alexandra? Why is Charlie so sensitive about her?"
Percy nodded. "That's right. You're too young to remember that. Lady Alexandra was in Charlie's year. She's from a wealthy and titled family that has always been very prominent in both the wizarding and muggle world. I believe they got their title when the first duchess saved the King of England's life using magic, although the details are very sketchy at best."
"Lady Alexandra was a brilliant witch, one to rival Hermione for sure. On her O.W.L.s I think she even had me beat. But her parents, while they came from prominent wizarding families, were Squibs. They had kept her, their only magical child, sheltered at their muggle home, until she was ready to attend Hogwarts. She was quite popular there until her seventh year.
"The school had its scheduled Hogsmeade afternoon. One of the fourth years had sworn he had seen her leave with Lucius Malfoy. There was uproar amongst the students because at that time, it was common knowledge that Malfoy was a Death Eater. All I know is that time she returned with Professor Snape and was unharmed.
"Then later on that year, she was kidnapped from Hogwarts. School was cancelled and there was talk of us being sent home. Several kids had said she had left on her own accord. Some even said she was under the Imperius curse from Voldemort but a week later, she was found wandering in the Forbidden Forest. The only problem was her magic was gone."
Harry frowned. "How could that have happened?"
Percy shrugged. "Not a clue. They never took away her wand. I think the Ministry felt sorry for her. It was a tragedy really. They let her graduate from Hogwarts anyway. Dumbledore even supervised her N.E.W.Ts himself."
Hermione looked thoughtful. "What does this have to do with Charlie?"
Ron grimaced and nodded. "Charlie stalked off when Bill mentioned her."
Bill poured a glass of pumpkin juice for himself. "He's probably bitter. He was madly in love with her, but she went into hiding after all of this, even though any wizard would have taken her for a wife. She was utter lovely. All that long blond hair and those incredible pale green eyes. Like I said before, half the school was in love with her."
"Only half?"
Bill laughed. "The other half of the school was female."
Charlie scowled as he walked into the room. "I forbid you to mention her name. I've tried to forget all of that nonsense."
"What nonsense?" Mrs. Weasley asked as she dropped the basket of rolls on the table.
"Alex," Bill said as he took a sip of his drink.
"Did I hear my name mentioned?"
Harry turned towards the voice and gaped. When Bill had waxed poetic about Alex's beauty, he had conveniently forgot to mention her curves, which her muggle clothing, a lemon yellow sun dress, was cut to enhance. Her long, platinum hair hung down her back in thick curls, which bounced as she walked into the room.
Her green eyes were full of light and mischief as she walked up to the table. Mrs. Weasley sought to break the silence as she curtsied. "Lady Ross- "
Alex laughed. "Lady Ross is my mother. Please call me Alex. After all, I did go to school with your children."
Mrs. Weasley blushed and bustled around the table. "Of course you remember Bill, Charlie and Percy, but I don't believe you've met Ron or Ginny. And then here are Fred and George, the twins."
Bill stood up and kissed Alex on the cheek. "It's been a long time."
Alex blushed and smiled. "Yes, it has. I find my studies keep me busy."
Percy smiled and waved, as did Ron, the twins and Ginny. All but Charlie. He sat there stone-faced yet Alex didn't acknowledge his presence. Harry frowned.
Mr. Weasley pulled out Alex's chair and she sat down next to Hermione. "And this is Hermione Granger, Ron's girlfriend. Next to her is Harry Potter."
Harry wasn't sure what he expected when he was introduced to Alex, maybe something along the lines of what he was used to - people exclaiming about who he was, as if he didn't know already. When she smiled and simply waved, he let out a breath and looked at Percy and Bill.
They were both staring at her like lovesick fools. Harry tried to hold back laughter as he nudged Ron underneath the table.
They started eating and the noise increased threefold. Ron and Hermione were finally speaking civilly, so Harry switched seats with Hermione so they could be next to each other. That put him next to Alex.
He felt odd calling her Alex. Never had he sat next to a lady of breeding, yet she looked no different from anyone else at the table. Other than the blond hair, she fit right in with the Weasleys.
And right now, Mr. Weasley was quizzing her on muggle items. "And you say it has a picture of the scene and people all around the world are talking to each other on it?"
Alex laughed. "No.it's like a television but it's hooked into a phone line.oh never mind. I'm not sure I understand it all anyway. But I will tell you, this Internet thing is going to be big in a few years."
"A connector?"
"A computer," Alex said with a laugh.
Hermione nodded. "My parents have one. You can play games on it and print off assignments. I say, it is tempting to write out my essays on the computer except it wouldn't print off on a sheet of parchment. Do you have one at your house?"
"Yes, we do. Mum loves it. She talks with some of our relatives over in the US on the Internet. They're distant cousins, but they just sold their network to some company called AOHell."
"You mean AOL."
Alex nodded. "I do believe so. We have a connection to the Internet via the House of Lords since my father uses the e-mail constantly but I think he is hard pressed to get my mother off it sometimes."
Bill stared at Alex with that same lovesick look on his face. "So what have you been doing lately with yourself?"
Alex smiled and folded her napkin in her lap. "Oh, I've done some travelling, especially to the US. We have a lot of family over there from the time John Ross gave up his title to his brother so he could explore the Americas. There is a lot to be done over there for the organisation of magical folk. None of my family there even knew they were descendants of witches and wizards, all they knew was their daughter could levitate the couch and talk to their cat. And how about all of you?"
Bill grinned. "I took a few days off from working in for Gringotts. When I heard it was Harry's seventeenth birthday, well I just had to head home."
Percy snorted. "Yes, you wouldn't ever want to see your dear family. As for myself, I work at the Ministry of Magic in the International Co-operation Department, so I will pass your comments along about the Americas."
Fred and George snorted from down at the other end of the table, trying to keep their laughter in. Mrs. Weasley smacked them both on the shoulders. "And these two have their own shop in Hogsmeade now too along with their Diagon Alley store."
"Of course, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. I thought that was run by Charlie."
Charlie's head snapped up and dark blue eyes focused on the blond woman across the table. "No," he said, his voice oddly subdued. "Excuse me Mum, but I think I would like to go upstairs."
The whole table stared as Charlie left quietly, leaving his napkin sitting on his plate. Alex stared at her plate as Mrs. Weasley bustled after Charlie. Fred finally spoke to break the silence that had stretched out. "George, help me clear the table."
George looked like he was ready to argue with Fred until he received a look from Bill. They started gathering the tables, stacking them using their wands and carrying them into the kitchen. Harry could hear Mr. Weasley urging Alex to stay at their house.
"I couldn't possibly," she said demurely.
"Absolutely. I insist you stay. We consider you to be part of the family here."
Alex smiled. "Well, when you put it that way, how can I refuse?"
They stood, at which point so did Harry, picking up his empty plate. Mrs. Weasley had come out, her cheeks pink and anger sparking in her eyes. "So sorry about that Alex.and don't you dare try to clean up. You two are guests in our home."
Ron rolled his eyes. "Like Harry is really a guest. He's family!"
Alex smiled ruefully. "Everyone is family here I think. And please, you have enough to do. Thank you for the lovely dinner, by the way."
Mrs. Weasley shooed them off into the living room. "Would you like to take dessert out there, along with some tea?"
Harry, Ron and Hermione followed Mrs. Weasley into the kitchen where she waved her wand at the cabinets. Doors and drawers flew open to prepare the tea and dessert. "Now, no mention of magic around Alex. She is of such a delicate mind, especially since.well I am sure Percy told you."
Hermione stepped forward. "Do you know what happened?"
Mrs. Weasley shook her head. "I don't think anyone but Alex knows. Maybe Dumbledore does, since he was the one who found her at the edge of the forest after she was kidnapped. But not a word of this to her."
With the tone Mrs. Weasley had taken on, no one was going to argue with her. They followed the floating trays to living room where Bill and Mr. Weasley sat with Alex.
The evening passed quickly, with much talk of Quidditch and the World Cup that was taking place next summer. Word was Scotland was finally shaping up to be a brilliant team. Oliver Wood, the keeper from Gryffindor that had graduated three years ago, was now the keeper for Scotland.
It was quite late and Harry could barely keep his eyes open. Ron dragged him off the sofa and pulled him upstairs. He tried to cover his yawn as he waved good night to Ginny and Hermione.
"Happy Birthday Harry," Ron said quietly as they climbed into bed.
"Thanks."
Harry Potter stared out at the dark world, his green eyes hooded. Sleep wasn't coming to him, not since those dreams had begun plaguing him at the beginning of the summer. They were always of Voldemort and his Death Eaters. The Daily Prophet occasionally recorded their activity, but most were buried or belittled; cited as not the work of evil, just random occurrences.
The summer had been long and hard, and having to deal with a grumpy Dudley seemed to be an impossible task, especially as he was still putting on weight despite the diet. Now the Dursleys had to have all of Dudley's school uniforms custom made, as well as replace the full size bed with a king size bed, because Dudley had not just broken it, he had also over- grown it.
They had almost swapped beds with Harry, giving him the broken old bed, but had thought better of it once Harry had started talking animatedly about seeing off a letter to Sirius. His aunt and uncle didn't have to know his godfather was dead.
Harry turned his attention back to his summer break essay for Transfiguration (Famous Art Stolen by Wizards.Do Our Laws Protect Muggle Artefacts and Should We Protect Them Further? Explain) and tried to concentrate. It did no good. Harry's birthday was one week away. His seventeenth birthday. He would finally be of age.
He would be free. He could leave then. Bill Weasley had already agreed to pick him up from the Dursleys the day of his birthday so he could spend it with his friends. He wished he could say family but, though Dursleys were his only family, he doubted they would even acknowledge his existence.
The holiday had been long and difficult but now, thankfully, the worst was over. In one week, he would be able to just have fun.
Chapter 1
Harry packed his last book in his trunk, satisfied that he had every last item that he wanted out of this house. He doubted he would ever come back. He knew he wouldn't be welcome here again, not that he had ever been welcome in the first place.
Harry carried his trunk down the stairs to where the Dursleys stood, looking horribly nervous. Uncle Vernon's moustache twitched nervously as his beady eyes swept the living room, as if expecting something would explode if he didn't keep his eye on everything all at once.
Uncle Vernon's eyes narrowed as he fixed Harry with a stare. "Well, this will be the last time we have to see you. No more worrying about odd- looking mishaps popping up. And now I can safely invite my poor sister over without having to worry about you killing her."
Harry stood at the end of the staircase, near the cupboard that had been his home for so many years before he had finally been given Dudley's second bedroom. All at once, it was just too much. "I have never acted ungrateful to you. That only happened because for once I didn't want to let you and your family bully me. I feel sorry for you that you haven't been able to treat me like a human being-"
"That's because you're-" Aunt Petunia's sneering comment was cut short by a soft *pop* of Bill Apparating. Harry turned and smiled at Ron's oldest brother.
"Hiya Harry. Ready to go?" Bill asked, aiming his wand at Harry's trunk. With one flick of his wand, it was reduced to a box the size of a pack of cards. Harry could only smile.
"I sure am."
Harry ignored his aunt and uncle's protests as he walked outside into a rare sunny day on Privet Drive. Outside was dark blue car and he could see Mr. Weasley at the steering wheel, waving madly.
He would have been happy to go and get his Apparating License today, because it was his 17th birthday but no one had been able to sign off on his permission slip to train for Apparating. Sirius had died at the end of his fifth year and Dumbledore had told him to wait. He had been frustrated, as he had been since the end of his fourth year at Hogwarts. But almost everyone he knew wasn't getting Apparating License until the end of the year. Only the twins had been odd in getting their licenses before the school year ended.
He tried not to show his emotions as he got into the back seat of the car. He looked back at the house he had just left but he already knew the door would be shut and the Dursleys would be standing inside no doubt feeling relieved that once and for all, he would be out of their hair.
He felt a moment of confusion and a second of hurt but as the car pulled away from kerb, he left those feelings behind and started his seventeenth year.
Harry and Mr. Weasley drove to the Ministry of Magic to leave the car before they Flooed into the sitting room of the Burrow. Immediately Harry felt at home. Noise flooded from every room and people scurried about. He stepped into kitchen to be greeted by Mrs. Weasley and Hermione.
"Harry! Happy Birthday," Hermione greeted him with a hug. Mrs. Weasley beamed at him, tears in her eyes.
"Our Harry is coming of age today," Mrs. Weasley said, sniffling, and engulfing Harry in a hug when Hermione had released him. Harry closed his eyes as he felt tears prick his eyelids. He didn't want them to see how much that comment affected him. Someone cared.
The table was being set outside. Mrs. Weasley had called the boys in from the field where they had been practising when Harry had arrived at the Burrow. Ron had made the Gryffindor team two years ago as Keeper, even though he had really wanted to play Chaser. It looked as if this season he would be able to.
"Happy Birthday, Harry," Ron said with a grin. He clapped Harry on the shoulder. Harry grinned back at him. He had hated the past seven summers. Having to be away from his friends and the world which accepted him for who he was had been very painful and trying.
"Thanks," he said, turning to the twins who had come up behind Ron. "Practising again?"
Fred tried to catch his breath. "Ron's been like a madman all summer. None of us can keep up with him."
Harry nodded just as Mrs. Weasley came out carrying a large pot of mashed sweet potatoes. "Come now, go get cleaned up. We have company coming."
Ron chuckled as he shifted his broom to his other hand. "Come on mum, Harry and Hermione aren't exactly company now, are they?"
"That wasn't who I meant. And no, Harry and Hermione aren't company, they're more like part of the family. I meant someone else."
Bill took Ron's broom from him and put it inside the broom shack. "Who now, Mum?"
But Mrs. Weasley had already gone back inside the house. Charlie rolled his eyes and wiped the sweat from his brow. "It isn't often we have guests, but Mum gets so nervous when someone does come over. Like this one time-"
Bill scowled. "You aren't going to tell them about when Alex and her family came over?"
A dark look passed over Charlie's face quickly before he turned and walked towards the house. Harry frowned. It was unlike Charlie to act like this. Nothing seemed to bother him. Except. "Who is Alex?"
"Lady Alexandra Ross, born to the Duke and Duchess of Feydin. She was in Charlie's year. She was quite the beauty, I suspect half the school had a crush on her. You should ask Percy about her." Bill said, his eyes on the door Charlie had just passed through.
Harry and Ron looked at each other as Hermione came running out. "I just received my owl from Hogwarts! Harry, Ron, I was named Head Girl!"
Ron grinned. "That's brilliant, Hermione! But I suppose that means I'll see even less of you this year."
Hermione sighed. "Is that all you can say? This is one of the greatest honours a student can receive."
Harry rolled his eyes. Not another legendary fight between his two best friends. One of these days, he was going to end up in the lunatic ward of St. Mungos thanks to these two.
Ron's ears turned bright red and Harry knew he was getting ready to start just when Mrs. Weasley shouted from inside, "Dinner is ready. Wash up!"
Chaos ensued as it always did during Weasley family dinners. Most of the family were outside at the tables but Mr. Weasley was in the living room, standing by their fireplace.
Harry sat down in between Hermione and Ron as a buffer, since their fight had escalated until Percy had come out and bellowed for them to shut up. After the ministry had come out and admitted Voldemort had indeed returned, Percy had since made his peace with his family. Things were still tense between most of the other children and Percy.
Not that anyone had really listened but it distracted them long enough so Harry could drag Ron off to calm him down. He was sure Ginny was doing the same with Hermione.
Ginny was now seated across from Hermione and Percy was sitting across from Harry. Fred and George were sitting down by Mrs. Weasley's seat at the other end of the table where she could keep an eye on them. Mr. Weasley's normal seat at the head of the was empty, while Mrs. Weasley was bustling in and out of the house, bringing plates of food for the table.
Just as Bill sat down at the table, Percy frowned. "Mum, you have an extra setting." Mrs. Weasley sighed. "Of course. For the last time, we have a guest coming for dinner."
Ron looked up. "Percy, Bill mentioned you knew about Lady.Alexandra? Why is Charlie so sensitive about her?"
Percy nodded. "That's right. You're too young to remember that. Lady Alexandra was in Charlie's year. She's from a wealthy and titled family that has always been very prominent in both the wizarding and muggle world. I believe they got their title when the first duchess saved the King of England's life using magic, although the details are very sketchy at best."
"Lady Alexandra was a brilliant witch, one to rival Hermione for sure. On her O.W.L.s I think she even had me beat. But her parents, while they came from prominent wizarding families, were Squibs. They had kept her, their only magical child, sheltered at their muggle home, until she was ready to attend Hogwarts. She was quite popular there until her seventh year.
"The school had its scheduled Hogsmeade afternoon. One of the fourth years had sworn he had seen her leave with Lucius Malfoy. There was uproar amongst the students because at that time, it was common knowledge that Malfoy was a Death Eater. All I know is that time she returned with Professor Snape and was unharmed.
"Then later on that year, she was kidnapped from Hogwarts. School was cancelled and there was talk of us being sent home. Several kids had said she had left on her own accord. Some even said she was under the Imperius curse from Voldemort but a week later, she was found wandering in the Forbidden Forest. The only problem was her magic was gone."
Harry frowned. "How could that have happened?"
Percy shrugged. "Not a clue. They never took away her wand. I think the Ministry felt sorry for her. It was a tragedy really. They let her graduate from Hogwarts anyway. Dumbledore even supervised her N.E.W.Ts himself."
Hermione looked thoughtful. "What does this have to do with Charlie?"
Ron grimaced and nodded. "Charlie stalked off when Bill mentioned her."
Bill poured a glass of pumpkin juice for himself. "He's probably bitter. He was madly in love with her, but she went into hiding after all of this, even though any wizard would have taken her for a wife. She was utter lovely. All that long blond hair and those incredible pale green eyes. Like I said before, half the school was in love with her."
"Only half?"
Bill laughed. "The other half of the school was female."
Charlie scowled as he walked into the room. "I forbid you to mention her name. I've tried to forget all of that nonsense."
"What nonsense?" Mrs. Weasley asked as she dropped the basket of rolls on the table.
"Alex," Bill said as he took a sip of his drink.
"Did I hear my name mentioned?"
Harry turned towards the voice and gaped. When Bill had waxed poetic about Alex's beauty, he had conveniently forgot to mention her curves, which her muggle clothing, a lemon yellow sun dress, was cut to enhance. Her long, platinum hair hung down her back in thick curls, which bounced as she walked into the room.
Her green eyes were full of light and mischief as she walked up to the table. Mrs. Weasley sought to break the silence as she curtsied. "Lady Ross- "
Alex laughed. "Lady Ross is my mother. Please call me Alex. After all, I did go to school with your children."
Mrs. Weasley blushed and bustled around the table. "Of course you remember Bill, Charlie and Percy, but I don't believe you've met Ron or Ginny. And then here are Fred and George, the twins."
Bill stood up and kissed Alex on the cheek. "It's been a long time."
Alex blushed and smiled. "Yes, it has. I find my studies keep me busy."
Percy smiled and waved, as did Ron, the twins and Ginny. All but Charlie. He sat there stone-faced yet Alex didn't acknowledge his presence. Harry frowned.
Mr. Weasley pulled out Alex's chair and she sat down next to Hermione. "And this is Hermione Granger, Ron's girlfriend. Next to her is Harry Potter."
Harry wasn't sure what he expected when he was introduced to Alex, maybe something along the lines of what he was used to - people exclaiming about who he was, as if he didn't know already. When she smiled and simply waved, he let out a breath and looked at Percy and Bill.
They were both staring at her like lovesick fools. Harry tried to hold back laughter as he nudged Ron underneath the table.
They started eating and the noise increased threefold. Ron and Hermione were finally speaking civilly, so Harry switched seats with Hermione so they could be next to each other. That put him next to Alex.
He felt odd calling her Alex. Never had he sat next to a lady of breeding, yet she looked no different from anyone else at the table. Other than the blond hair, she fit right in with the Weasleys.
And right now, Mr. Weasley was quizzing her on muggle items. "And you say it has a picture of the scene and people all around the world are talking to each other on it?"
Alex laughed. "No.it's like a television but it's hooked into a phone line.oh never mind. I'm not sure I understand it all anyway. But I will tell you, this Internet thing is going to be big in a few years."
"A connector?"
"A computer," Alex said with a laugh.
Hermione nodded. "My parents have one. You can play games on it and print off assignments. I say, it is tempting to write out my essays on the computer except it wouldn't print off on a sheet of parchment. Do you have one at your house?"
"Yes, we do. Mum loves it. She talks with some of our relatives over in the US on the Internet. They're distant cousins, but they just sold their network to some company called AOHell."
"You mean AOL."
Alex nodded. "I do believe so. We have a connection to the Internet via the House of Lords since my father uses the e-mail constantly but I think he is hard pressed to get my mother off it sometimes."
Bill stared at Alex with that same lovesick look on his face. "So what have you been doing lately with yourself?"
Alex smiled and folded her napkin in her lap. "Oh, I've done some travelling, especially to the US. We have a lot of family over there from the time John Ross gave up his title to his brother so he could explore the Americas. There is a lot to be done over there for the organisation of magical folk. None of my family there even knew they were descendants of witches and wizards, all they knew was their daughter could levitate the couch and talk to their cat. And how about all of you?"
Bill grinned. "I took a few days off from working in for Gringotts. When I heard it was Harry's seventeenth birthday, well I just had to head home."
Percy snorted. "Yes, you wouldn't ever want to see your dear family. As for myself, I work at the Ministry of Magic in the International Co-operation Department, so I will pass your comments along about the Americas."
Fred and George snorted from down at the other end of the table, trying to keep their laughter in. Mrs. Weasley smacked them both on the shoulders. "And these two have their own shop in Hogsmeade now too along with their Diagon Alley store."
"Of course, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. I thought that was run by Charlie."
Charlie's head snapped up and dark blue eyes focused on the blond woman across the table. "No," he said, his voice oddly subdued. "Excuse me Mum, but I think I would like to go upstairs."
The whole table stared as Charlie left quietly, leaving his napkin sitting on his plate. Alex stared at her plate as Mrs. Weasley bustled after Charlie. Fred finally spoke to break the silence that had stretched out. "George, help me clear the table."
George looked like he was ready to argue with Fred until he received a look from Bill. They started gathering the tables, stacking them using their wands and carrying them into the kitchen. Harry could hear Mr. Weasley urging Alex to stay at their house.
"I couldn't possibly," she said demurely.
"Absolutely. I insist you stay. We consider you to be part of the family here."
Alex smiled. "Well, when you put it that way, how can I refuse?"
They stood, at which point so did Harry, picking up his empty plate. Mrs. Weasley had come out, her cheeks pink and anger sparking in her eyes. "So sorry about that Alex.and don't you dare try to clean up. You two are guests in our home."
Ron rolled his eyes. "Like Harry is really a guest. He's family!"
Alex smiled ruefully. "Everyone is family here I think. And please, you have enough to do. Thank you for the lovely dinner, by the way."
Mrs. Weasley shooed them off into the living room. "Would you like to take dessert out there, along with some tea?"
Harry, Ron and Hermione followed Mrs. Weasley into the kitchen where she waved her wand at the cabinets. Doors and drawers flew open to prepare the tea and dessert. "Now, no mention of magic around Alex. She is of such a delicate mind, especially since.well I am sure Percy told you."
Hermione stepped forward. "Do you know what happened?"
Mrs. Weasley shook her head. "I don't think anyone but Alex knows. Maybe Dumbledore does, since he was the one who found her at the edge of the forest after she was kidnapped. But not a word of this to her."
With the tone Mrs. Weasley had taken on, no one was going to argue with her. They followed the floating trays to living room where Bill and Mr. Weasley sat with Alex.
The evening passed quickly, with much talk of Quidditch and the World Cup that was taking place next summer. Word was Scotland was finally shaping up to be a brilliant team. Oliver Wood, the keeper from Gryffindor that had graduated three years ago, was now the keeper for Scotland.
It was quite late and Harry could barely keep his eyes open. Ron dragged him off the sofa and pulled him upstairs. He tried to cover his yawn as he waved good night to Ginny and Hermione.
"Happy Birthday Harry," Ron said quietly as they climbed into bed.
"Thanks."