Hey yall. Lets see why Hermione was crying…mwahahahah!
Chapter 4: Percy Told a Joke
"Hello, Harry," the Weasleys chorused. Harry saw that all of the Weasleys were crammed into the car, including Bill and Charlie, and excluding Ron's dad. Harry assumed he was driving.
"Er…hello. Ron? Everything all right?" Harry inquired, very worried. Ron's face was sunken and paler than ever. Ron opened his mouth to speak but for some reason he couldn't get any words out. Harry looked to Mrs. Weasley in desperation.
"Harry, there has been a terrible happening. You see…just a few weeks ago…" and Mrs. Weasley started sobbing and couldn't speak anymore.
"There, there, Mrs. Weasley." Hermione said to Mrs. Weasley. Harry was panicking from the inside; he had never seen the Weasleys this depressed. The girls were all crying and Ron was still trying to open his mouth to speak. Bill looked up at Harry. He opened his mouth to speak, and for a few moments he couldn't, just like Ron. Harry noticed Bill looked like a skeleton-he probably hadn't eaten in days. Finally, Bill regained his voice.
"Dad's dead."
Harry's stomach did a flip and his eyes nearly flew out of his head. Mr. Weasley? Dead? Suddenly, Harry found his eyes filling with tears and his head hanging in sorrow and shock. He couldn't open his mouth to ask when or how; it was so hard to speak…instead of talking, he just grabbed his face and started sobbing. The girls all burst into loud tears and flung themselves on Harry. Harry looked up a few times and saw that the boys were all crying softly.
After awhile, Harry had stopped crying and the hollow, depressed feeling was starting to make a hole in his chest. Ron's dad had been like Harry's uncle-he was funny and extremely kind…Harry had just lost another person that meant anything to him…first his mum and dad…then his godfather…and now his best friend's dad…
"Harry, dear? Would you like a snack?" Mrs. Weasley asked him quietly. He shook his head and looked away. He couldn't stand seeing their painful faces or he would start crying again. Without looking up, Harry asked Ron more about his dad.
"Ron…your dad…well, I'm sorry for asking, but…how did it happen?" Ron looked up. This time, it only took him a few seconds to begin speaking.
"Voldemort." He said. Harry looked at him in absolute surprise. Hey, Ron just said his name…Harry thought. But that wasn't the time to be thinking about that.
"Voldemort?! What…I mean how-"
"Oh, we ran into Lucius Malfoy on the way back from Romania. Of course, running into Malfoy meant that You-Kno-I mean, Voldemort was near. That *cuss word* decided that it was time to get rid of some filth, as he put it. They attacked us and we ran for help; but dad, Bill, and Charlie stayed behind. It was at least 15 Death Eaters versus dad, Bill, and Charlie. They held them off for as long as they could…and then…then…" Ron couldn't speak anymore. Harry didn't blame him…they were all crying again. Fred picked up.
"Then Voldemort slithered his snake up to dad and bit him. The cowards attacked dad while he was weak and before Bill and Charlie could do anything about it, he was dead. *long string of cuss words*!!!!!"
George banged his hand on the window of the car and cussed along with Fred. Harry looked at Bill and Charlie…they were both looking away from everyone. They must have felt they didn't do enough for their father.
"Bill and I only escaped when Dumbledore showed up. Seems mum found a fireplace she could use and got him to Apparate near us. Unfortunately, it was too late…" Charlie trailed off quietly and looked away again.
"Did you at least kill anyone?" Harry asked savagely. Now he was enraged; Ron's dad only died because Voldemort and his followers were too cowardly to defeat him in a real wizard's duel.
"Not at first. But Dumbledore stunned two of them and when Voldemort and his *cuss words* fled, they left them behind. They were sent to Azkaban and received the Kiss." Ron said almost triumphantly.
"Serves them right!" Ginny said on the verge of tears. Hermione patted her back and nodded in agreement.
Harry looked around at the Weasleys. He had never felt so sad and sorry in all his life. At least when Harry's parents died, he didn't remember them. The Weasley children grew up with their father and were torn from him so abruptly. They're actually old enough to understand the pains of death. Harry found himself shaking with fury.
"I swear to you all," Harry spoke with a dangerous voice, "I will kill him. And he will suffer."
The Weasleys and Hermione looked at him with slight shock, but murmured an agreement.
"And we'll all help." George and Fred said.
~
A little later, they pulled off the road in the middle of nowhere. Fred looked out the window.
"No cars Perce! Go ahead on up!" he said loudly to the front seat. Harry just realized that Percy was here also. He was too caught up in the news of Mr. Weasley's death to remember Percy; he just thought the car was enchanted.
"Right." Said Percy tonelessly, and suddenly the car jolted upwards into the sky. They flew for a few minutes before Harry nudged Hermione.
"Hermione…what's up with Percy?"
"He's been acting very strange…I believe he's rather confused. You remember last year when he didn't talk to the rest of the Weasleys at all? Especially his father? Well, he's probably very, very sad about Mr. Weasley…but on the other hand…inside, I think he still believes he was right and is still a bit defiant. And…so…well, like I said, he's confused…I think." She explained quietly.
"I see." Harry said. "I just feel so horrible…"
"Me too, Harry…"
"I mean, he didn't do anything, he just died…"
"At least honorably, you know…"
"This is all my fault…"
"What?! Harry!"
"Well it is!" he said. "If I hadn't been so stupid last year and stayed away from that dumb prophecy, Voldemort wouldn't be at power-"
"STOP IT."
Harry and Hermione looked up. Ron was looking at Harry very angrily.
"It wasn't your fault, you bloody moron! Just stop!" Harry stared at him in surprise. After that he didn't feel like talking anymore; he lay his head on Hermione and dozed off.
When he woke up, they were at the Burrow. Harry didn't know what time it was, but the sun had set and he was very stiff-legged. He stepped out of the car unto the damp grass (it had obviously rained) and got his luggage out of the trunk. As he walked up to the Weasley house, he saw Percy for the first time.
"Hello, Percy." Harry said.
"Yeah…" Percy clearly wasn't in the best mood. So Harry went inside the house where Mrs. Weasley told him to but his things in Ron's room. Harry and Ron got his stuff up to Ron's room in one trip.
"Here. Sorry it's late." Ron handed Harry a small package. It said "Happy Birthday" on it.
"Oh, Ron, you didn't-"
"Yeah, I did. It's pretty cool…go on, then."
Harry tore of the paper. It contained a tiny cauldron/bowl looking thing with swirling, wispy liquid in it. Harry looked at Ron questioningly.
"It's called a Pinisieve. Think of it like a mini Pensieve! It keeps three thoughts in it. It's good for wanting to remember your homework or a meeting." Ron said brightly. He even smiled as Harry's eyes widened and jaw dropped.
"Ron! This is WICKED! Where'd you get it?" Harry was excited for the first time since he met with the Weasleys.
"Charlie knew a shop owner in Romania so he gave it to me for practically nothing. Hey, why don't you try it out?" Just then Hermione walked in.
"Oooh, Harry got his Pinisieve! Well, let's see it!"
Harry grinned and took out his wand. He had seen it being used before (by Professor Dumbledore) so he put his wand to his temple and thought of something he needed to remember. He slowly brought the wand from his head and dipped it into the Pinisieve. The three of them watched as Harry's silvery thought swirled around in the liquid.
"It worked! Well…what did you put in there?" Ron asked.
"The Potions essay I need to finish." Harry said frankly. He had put that one off for the whole summer.
"Oh yeah, I need to do that, too."
"By the way, you two, Mrs. Weasley wants us down for dinner. Roast beef and potato stew. Sounds good." Hermione said to Harry and Ron. "But first…"
Hermione handed Harry a wrapped gift (that looked like a book). He smiled in appreciation and opened it; it was a book, but not what he expected…it was a photo album.
"Open it, Harry." Hermione said eagerly and she and Ron peered over Harry's tall shoulder as he did.
"WHOA!" Harry exclaimed happily. It was pictures of them all the way back to their first year. "Where'd you get these pictures, Hermione?!"
"The first year I had Hagrid take a few pictures here and there, remember? He only took one where you two were actually paying attention"-it was true; Harry and Ron were only looking at the camera once in the first year pictures-"and after that, I paid Collin Creevy to take some." Harry sat on Ron's bed and they all looked at the pictures…Harry and Hedwig, Ron cringing from a spider, all three walking into Potions (they looked so sad), Harry fighting a dragon, Hermione smiling on the entrance steps, Draco picking his nose (they laughed so hard), the trio looking sullen at the breakfast table-
"YOU THREE! DINNER'S GETTING COLD!" Mrs. Weasley yelled from downstairs. They screamed back they were coming and reluctantly closed the photo album. Ron dashed downstairs quickly; he was either really hungry or just scared of his mum. Harry and Hermione walked calmly out of the room.
"Thanks, Hermione. That was a really wicked present." Harry told her.
"I thought you'd like it." She replied, blushing. Harry hugged her then smiled mischievously and ran downstairs after Ron. Hermione shook her head and walked downstairs to supper. She arrived and sat down, everyone already eating. They ate in silence for a few minutes until Percy spoke.
"Weird not having dad at the head of the table, huh?" he said quietly then went back to eating. Everyone stared at him confused and nodded. One by one, the Weasley children, Harry, and Hermione stopped eating.
"What's wrong with you kids?" Mrs. Weasley asked worriedly when she saw them not eating. "Is something wrong with the food?"
The kids looked around at each other until Fred decided to answer.
"No mum. I guess we all just lost our appetites." He told her and looked away. Mrs. Weasley looked at each of them as if not knowing what to say. She thought for a few moments.
"OK, here's the deal. Listen, all of you, especially my children. For weeks we've been moping around! It's time we move on and accept that your father is gone! If we stayed caught up in all this depression, Voldemort has an advantage. You realize he WANTS us to feel this way! Just be happy the rest of us are alive…you all know Mr. Weasley wouldn't want us to cry for him all day." She said this with tears in her eyes, but nevertheless made a good point. Everyone murmured an "OK" and continued eating. And then, Percy spoke up again.
"All right everyone, here's a good one I learned in the 5th year at Hogwarts! What do you get when you mix frog eyes, cherry pits, an ounce of wolf blood, and a pinch of rat dung?" Percy asked brightly. He looked around at everyone, expecting an answer. "C'mon, Harry, you might know the answer!"
"Er…actually…I…don't." Harry said slowly. He looked at Ron who shrugged his shoulders.
"No one knows? Not even you, George?"
"OK Percy, what?" George said, rolling his eyes.
"Don't ask me, ask Professor Snape!" Percy said loudly then burst out laughing. But no one else laughed, not even giggly Ginny. Mrs. Weasley looked at Bill and Charlie like they knew why Percy was acting mad. They too shrugged their shoulders.
"Percy, what in the bloody hell-" Charlie began.
"DON'T YOU SEE? I'm happy! I just told a joke!"-"an awful one" Fred added-"Mum's right! Everyone, smile!" Percy screamed as he stood up. No one smiled; in fact they all just stared rather blankly at Percy. A few moments passed then Percy bolted from the table to his room.
"Mum? What just happened?" Ginny asked Mrs. Weasley.
"Percy is just taking this a bit harder than the rest of us, dear. Just leave him alone for awhile and don't do anything to set him off." She answered. Harry noticed she looked quite worried. They ate the rest of the meal talking about the start of the new Hogwarts year and who might be teaching the Defense of the Dark Arts class. When they finished, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny went to bed while the older Weasleys stayed up and talked in the living room.
Chapter 4: Percy Told a Joke
"Hello, Harry," the Weasleys chorused. Harry saw that all of the Weasleys were crammed into the car, including Bill and Charlie, and excluding Ron's dad. Harry assumed he was driving.
"Er…hello. Ron? Everything all right?" Harry inquired, very worried. Ron's face was sunken and paler than ever. Ron opened his mouth to speak but for some reason he couldn't get any words out. Harry looked to Mrs. Weasley in desperation.
"Harry, there has been a terrible happening. You see…just a few weeks ago…" and Mrs. Weasley started sobbing and couldn't speak anymore.
"There, there, Mrs. Weasley." Hermione said to Mrs. Weasley. Harry was panicking from the inside; he had never seen the Weasleys this depressed. The girls were all crying and Ron was still trying to open his mouth to speak. Bill looked up at Harry. He opened his mouth to speak, and for a few moments he couldn't, just like Ron. Harry noticed Bill looked like a skeleton-he probably hadn't eaten in days. Finally, Bill regained his voice.
"Dad's dead."
Harry's stomach did a flip and his eyes nearly flew out of his head. Mr. Weasley? Dead? Suddenly, Harry found his eyes filling with tears and his head hanging in sorrow and shock. He couldn't open his mouth to ask when or how; it was so hard to speak…instead of talking, he just grabbed his face and started sobbing. The girls all burst into loud tears and flung themselves on Harry. Harry looked up a few times and saw that the boys were all crying softly.
After awhile, Harry had stopped crying and the hollow, depressed feeling was starting to make a hole in his chest. Ron's dad had been like Harry's uncle-he was funny and extremely kind…Harry had just lost another person that meant anything to him…first his mum and dad…then his godfather…and now his best friend's dad…
"Harry, dear? Would you like a snack?" Mrs. Weasley asked him quietly. He shook his head and looked away. He couldn't stand seeing their painful faces or he would start crying again. Without looking up, Harry asked Ron more about his dad.
"Ron…your dad…well, I'm sorry for asking, but…how did it happen?" Ron looked up. This time, it only took him a few seconds to begin speaking.
"Voldemort." He said. Harry looked at him in absolute surprise. Hey, Ron just said his name…Harry thought. But that wasn't the time to be thinking about that.
"Voldemort?! What…I mean how-"
"Oh, we ran into Lucius Malfoy on the way back from Romania. Of course, running into Malfoy meant that You-Kno-I mean, Voldemort was near. That *cuss word* decided that it was time to get rid of some filth, as he put it. They attacked us and we ran for help; but dad, Bill, and Charlie stayed behind. It was at least 15 Death Eaters versus dad, Bill, and Charlie. They held them off for as long as they could…and then…then…" Ron couldn't speak anymore. Harry didn't blame him…they were all crying again. Fred picked up.
"Then Voldemort slithered his snake up to dad and bit him. The cowards attacked dad while he was weak and before Bill and Charlie could do anything about it, he was dead. *long string of cuss words*!!!!!"
George banged his hand on the window of the car and cussed along with Fred. Harry looked at Bill and Charlie…they were both looking away from everyone. They must have felt they didn't do enough for their father.
"Bill and I only escaped when Dumbledore showed up. Seems mum found a fireplace she could use and got him to Apparate near us. Unfortunately, it was too late…" Charlie trailed off quietly and looked away again.
"Did you at least kill anyone?" Harry asked savagely. Now he was enraged; Ron's dad only died because Voldemort and his followers were too cowardly to defeat him in a real wizard's duel.
"Not at first. But Dumbledore stunned two of them and when Voldemort and his *cuss words* fled, they left them behind. They were sent to Azkaban and received the Kiss." Ron said almost triumphantly.
"Serves them right!" Ginny said on the verge of tears. Hermione patted her back and nodded in agreement.
Harry looked around at the Weasleys. He had never felt so sad and sorry in all his life. At least when Harry's parents died, he didn't remember them. The Weasley children grew up with their father and were torn from him so abruptly. They're actually old enough to understand the pains of death. Harry found himself shaking with fury.
"I swear to you all," Harry spoke with a dangerous voice, "I will kill him. And he will suffer."
The Weasleys and Hermione looked at him with slight shock, but murmured an agreement.
"And we'll all help." George and Fred said.
~
A little later, they pulled off the road in the middle of nowhere. Fred looked out the window.
"No cars Perce! Go ahead on up!" he said loudly to the front seat. Harry just realized that Percy was here also. He was too caught up in the news of Mr. Weasley's death to remember Percy; he just thought the car was enchanted.
"Right." Said Percy tonelessly, and suddenly the car jolted upwards into the sky. They flew for a few minutes before Harry nudged Hermione.
"Hermione…what's up with Percy?"
"He's been acting very strange…I believe he's rather confused. You remember last year when he didn't talk to the rest of the Weasleys at all? Especially his father? Well, he's probably very, very sad about Mr. Weasley…but on the other hand…inside, I think he still believes he was right and is still a bit defiant. And…so…well, like I said, he's confused…I think." She explained quietly.
"I see." Harry said. "I just feel so horrible…"
"Me too, Harry…"
"I mean, he didn't do anything, he just died…"
"At least honorably, you know…"
"This is all my fault…"
"What?! Harry!"
"Well it is!" he said. "If I hadn't been so stupid last year and stayed away from that dumb prophecy, Voldemort wouldn't be at power-"
"STOP IT."
Harry and Hermione looked up. Ron was looking at Harry very angrily.
"It wasn't your fault, you bloody moron! Just stop!" Harry stared at him in surprise. After that he didn't feel like talking anymore; he lay his head on Hermione and dozed off.
When he woke up, they were at the Burrow. Harry didn't know what time it was, but the sun had set and he was very stiff-legged. He stepped out of the car unto the damp grass (it had obviously rained) and got his luggage out of the trunk. As he walked up to the Weasley house, he saw Percy for the first time.
"Hello, Percy." Harry said.
"Yeah…" Percy clearly wasn't in the best mood. So Harry went inside the house where Mrs. Weasley told him to but his things in Ron's room. Harry and Ron got his stuff up to Ron's room in one trip.
"Here. Sorry it's late." Ron handed Harry a small package. It said "Happy Birthday" on it.
"Oh, Ron, you didn't-"
"Yeah, I did. It's pretty cool…go on, then."
Harry tore of the paper. It contained a tiny cauldron/bowl looking thing with swirling, wispy liquid in it. Harry looked at Ron questioningly.
"It's called a Pinisieve. Think of it like a mini Pensieve! It keeps three thoughts in it. It's good for wanting to remember your homework or a meeting." Ron said brightly. He even smiled as Harry's eyes widened and jaw dropped.
"Ron! This is WICKED! Where'd you get it?" Harry was excited for the first time since he met with the Weasleys.
"Charlie knew a shop owner in Romania so he gave it to me for practically nothing. Hey, why don't you try it out?" Just then Hermione walked in.
"Oooh, Harry got his Pinisieve! Well, let's see it!"
Harry grinned and took out his wand. He had seen it being used before (by Professor Dumbledore) so he put his wand to his temple and thought of something he needed to remember. He slowly brought the wand from his head and dipped it into the Pinisieve. The three of them watched as Harry's silvery thought swirled around in the liquid.
"It worked! Well…what did you put in there?" Ron asked.
"The Potions essay I need to finish." Harry said frankly. He had put that one off for the whole summer.
"Oh yeah, I need to do that, too."
"By the way, you two, Mrs. Weasley wants us down for dinner. Roast beef and potato stew. Sounds good." Hermione said to Harry and Ron. "But first…"
Hermione handed Harry a wrapped gift (that looked like a book). He smiled in appreciation and opened it; it was a book, but not what he expected…it was a photo album.
"Open it, Harry." Hermione said eagerly and she and Ron peered over Harry's tall shoulder as he did.
"WHOA!" Harry exclaimed happily. It was pictures of them all the way back to their first year. "Where'd you get these pictures, Hermione?!"
"The first year I had Hagrid take a few pictures here and there, remember? He only took one where you two were actually paying attention"-it was true; Harry and Ron were only looking at the camera once in the first year pictures-"and after that, I paid Collin Creevy to take some." Harry sat on Ron's bed and they all looked at the pictures…Harry and Hedwig, Ron cringing from a spider, all three walking into Potions (they looked so sad), Harry fighting a dragon, Hermione smiling on the entrance steps, Draco picking his nose (they laughed so hard), the trio looking sullen at the breakfast table-
"YOU THREE! DINNER'S GETTING COLD!" Mrs. Weasley yelled from downstairs. They screamed back they were coming and reluctantly closed the photo album. Ron dashed downstairs quickly; he was either really hungry or just scared of his mum. Harry and Hermione walked calmly out of the room.
"Thanks, Hermione. That was a really wicked present." Harry told her.
"I thought you'd like it." She replied, blushing. Harry hugged her then smiled mischievously and ran downstairs after Ron. Hermione shook her head and walked downstairs to supper. She arrived and sat down, everyone already eating. They ate in silence for a few minutes until Percy spoke.
"Weird not having dad at the head of the table, huh?" he said quietly then went back to eating. Everyone stared at him confused and nodded. One by one, the Weasley children, Harry, and Hermione stopped eating.
"What's wrong with you kids?" Mrs. Weasley asked worriedly when she saw them not eating. "Is something wrong with the food?"
The kids looked around at each other until Fred decided to answer.
"No mum. I guess we all just lost our appetites." He told her and looked away. Mrs. Weasley looked at each of them as if not knowing what to say. She thought for a few moments.
"OK, here's the deal. Listen, all of you, especially my children. For weeks we've been moping around! It's time we move on and accept that your father is gone! If we stayed caught up in all this depression, Voldemort has an advantage. You realize he WANTS us to feel this way! Just be happy the rest of us are alive…you all know Mr. Weasley wouldn't want us to cry for him all day." She said this with tears in her eyes, but nevertheless made a good point. Everyone murmured an "OK" and continued eating. And then, Percy spoke up again.
"All right everyone, here's a good one I learned in the 5th year at Hogwarts! What do you get when you mix frog eyes, cherry pits, an ounce of wolf blood, and a pinch of rat dung?" Percy asked brightly. He looked around at everyone, expecting an answer. "C'mon, Harry, you might know the answer!"
"Er…actually…I…don't." Harry said slowly. He looked at Ron who shrugged his shoulders.
"No one knows? Not even you, George?"
"OK Percy, what?" George said, rolling his eyes.
"Don't ask me, ask Professor Snape!" Percy said loudly then burst out laughing. But no one else laughed, not even giggly Ginny. Mrs. Weasley looked at Bill and Charlie like they knew why Percy was acting mad. They too shrugged their shoulders.
"Percy, what in the bloody hell-" Charlie began.
"DON'T YOU SEE? I'm happy! I just told a joke!"-"an awful one" Fred added-"Mum's right! Everyone, smile!" Percy screamed as he stood up. No one smiled; in fact they all just stared rather blankly at Percy. A few moments passed then Percy bolted from the table to his room.
"Mum? What just happened?" Ginny asked Mrs. Weasley.
"Percy is just taking this a bit harder than the rest of us, dear. Just leave him alone for awhile and don't do anything to set him off." She answered. Harry noticed she looked quite worried. They ate the rest of the meal talking about the start of the new Hogwarts year and who might be teaching the Defense of the Dark Arts class. When they finished, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny went to bed while the older Weasleys stayed up and talked in the living room.