Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.
CHAPTER TWO
It was two forty-five. Harry was getting more and more excited as the clock ticked. The Weasleys were claiming him at three o'clock sharp.
Harry was sitting on the sofa in the living room. His trunk was still upstairs in his room. It was too heavy for him to carry by himself and neither Uncle Vernon nor Dudley wanted to help him lug his trunk down the stairs.
Three o'clock at last. Harry heard a car pull up on the driveway. Uncle Vernon jerked awake. He had been napping for the past hour. Aunt Petunia came running from the kitchen and Dudley, who was watching TV in the same room as Harry, ran up to his room to seek refuge from wizards.
Harry stood up and walked over to the window and pulled back the curtain to check if it was the Weasleys.
It was the Weasleys. They came in a car. The car belonged to the Ministry of Magic.
Ron was the first one to get out of the car. He looked taller (if that was still possible), and Ginny, getting out of the car after him. Mr. Weasley got out from the passenger seat. Harry grinned and waved at them.
Uncle Vernon was hovering over Harry's back to see if any neighbors were watching. Fortunately, there weren't any.
Harry ran to the door to open it and welcome the Weasleys into the Dursley household.
"Hello, Harry! Ready to go? Where are your things?" Mr. Weasley greeted him.
"They're upstairs. My trunk is too heavy for me to carry alone," Harry replied.
"Why don't you, Ron and Ginny get your trunk while I wait here," Mr. Weasley suggested. Harry knew he was itching to examine the electronic gadgets the Dursleys had but Harry also knew that Uncle Vernon would never let a wizard touch any of his belongings.
Harry led Ron and Ginny upstairs to his room to get his trunk.
"How've you been?" asked Ron while Harry opened his bedroom door.
"Fine. How are Fred and George? Have you heard from them lately?" Harry asked.
"They're doing really good with their joke shop. When I get out of Hogwarts, I'm going to be just like them," Ginny replied as the three of them heaved Harry's trunk from his bed.
Ron shook his head. "What news did you want to tell me?"
"I'll tell you later when we get to your house," Harry replied. The three of them carried the trunk down the hallway where they bumped into Dudley. Ron and Ginny tried to hold back their laughter but they couldn't.
"Bye, Dudley," Harry laughed.
Dudley ran out into his room.
"Baby," Harry muttered.
He, Ron and Ginny finally got to the living room where Mr. Weasley was waiting. Aunt Petunia was pretending to read a magazine but was really staring at Mr. Weasley. Uncle Vernon was glaring at Mr. Weasley. The silence was dreadful.
"Ah, Harry. Need a hand?" Mr. Weasley asked, desparate to break the silence.
"No thanks, Mr. Weasley. We've got it all under control," Harry replied.
Mr. Weasley helped them anyway. He bewitched the trunk to float so that none of them would have to carry it. Mr. Weasley walked out of the house followed by Ginny. Only Harry and Ron stayed.
"See you next year then," Harry said before exiting the house.
"See you," Uncle Vernon grunted. Aunt Petunia didn't even bother talking to him. Harry just helped himself and Ron to get out of the house.
"Where'd you get the car?" Harry asked when the car was up in the air. There was an Invisibility Booster, of course.
"Dad. He asked the Ministry if he could borrow a car to pick you up. The Ministry agreed since they owe you an apology," Ron replied.
"How was your vacation, Harry?" Ginny asked him.
"Ok. At least I was able to watch TV. I mean, any channel I want to watch, not just the news. The Dursleys went to Majorca this summer and left me in Mrs. Figgs' house. She allowed me to watch her TV," Harry replied.
"What's a TV?" Ginny asked.
Harry explained to her what a TV was and Mr. Weasley was, of course, listening.
"Looks like your cousin gained weight," Ron commented.
"He did. No matter how little he eats, he still doesn't lose weight," Harry replied.
"Weird. You know what, you should've given him some Farting Food or a Canary Cream or a Nosebleed Nougat or something," Ron sighed.
"I did. I gave him some Farting Food. Uncle Vernon was furious at me," Harry laughed.
Harry, Ron and Ginny talked about Quidditch the rest of the way to the Burrow. Harry didn't tell them that he was the new Captain.
"You're allowed to play again right?" Ginny asked.
"Yeah," Harry replied.
"If you get on the team, will you still be Seeker?" Ginny asked.
"I guess so. Yeah," Harry replied.
"Oh. I guess I'll have to be one of the Chasers. I wonder who the new Captain will be now that Angelina is gone," Ginny wondered.
Harry gulped, and didn't say a word.
The ride to the Burrow didn't take that long. As if there would be traffic on air. The Weasleys and Harry were at the Burrow in about an hour.
"Bill and Charlie are here, by the way," Ron said before opening the door to let themselves in.
Harry stepped into the Weasleys' cramped and dark kitchen. A light came out from nowhere and Mrs. Weasley, Bill and Charlie yelled "Happy birthday, Harry!", and Charlie was holding a banner that said "HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY!"
Harry grinned. He was finally home.
"We're so glad to have you back," Mrs. Weasley greeted Harry while giving him a big, warm bear hug. It felt good to Harry to be hugged.
"Thanks for having me, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said.
"No problem," Mrs. Weasley said.
Bill and Charlie greeted Harry before they started to eat. Harry, who had half a quarter of melon for breakfast and two grapes for lunch (Dudley still ate more than him) was starving to death. He helped himself to some ham and steak and mashed potatoes. For dessert, he had treacle fudge and some of his birthday cake, which Mrs. Weasley baked. Everything tasted fantastic.
"What's the news?" Ron asked when he and Harry were in his room.
"Angelina made me Captain," Harry answered quietly.
"Sorry? Could you repeat that?"
"Angelina made me Captain."
"Captain of what?"
"The Gryffindor team. You know, Quidditch."
Ron jumped up from his bed in glee. "No way! That's so cool!"
"I know. Don't tell anyone. I want to surprise everyone."
"Ok. Who are you planning to recruit and keep?"
"I don't have much choice so I'm going to keep you as Keeper but I'm training you harder. I'm going to make Ginny the Chaser. I have no idea who I'm going to fill in for the rest of the positions."
"Want to play Quidditch, Harry?" Ron asked, looking out the window. "You can start training me now."
"Sounds good. Hold on, I'll get my broomstick." Harry stood up from Ron's bed and went over to his trunk to get his broomstick while Ron went to get his own broomstick.
Harry and Ron went down to the Weasleys' backyard to train Ron. Harry threw apples at him to catch. The apples weren't as big as Quaffles but they didn't have anything else to use. Harry trained Ron until it got dark and Mrs. Weasley called them to set the table for dinner. Harry and Ron went back inside the house.
"I was watching you play and you've improved but you still need to work harder," Ginny said while they sat down to dinner.
"Thanks, Ginny. What position are you trying out for? I mean, since Harry's going to be the Seeker again," Ron asked.
"Chaser. I don't really want to be a Beater. I stay as far away as I can from the Bludgers," Ginny answered.
Harry and the Weasleys forgot all about Quidditch when Mr. Weasley asked Harry what a stereo was and how a stuffed bear worked. Mrs. Weasley was furious at Mr. Weasley for asking Harry such questions.
Harry and Ron woke up early the next day to spend the whole day just training Ron. While at breakfast, Harry, Ron and Ginny received mail from Hogwarts.
"Oh look, our Hogwarts letters are here," Ginny said. She passed Ron his envelope and Harry his envelope.
Harry wasn't surprised that Dumbledore knew where he was. Dumbledore knew everything.
"Not many books on our list this year. Just one. For Transfiguration," Ron commented.
Harry looked down at his book list and the only book they had to get was The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 6) by Miranda Goshawk. They had that book every year. Harry wondered who their new Defense Against Dark Arts teacher was going to be when another owl came in from the window.
Ron grabbed the letter from Errol and exclaimed "It's from Hermione!" He read it out loud. It said:
Dear Ron and Ginny (and Harry if you're there), It's great to hear from you again. How are you O.W.L.s? I got sixteen O.W.L.s. a bit less than I expected ("Sixteen O.W.L.s? a bit less than she expected? I got nine O.W.L.s and I'm satisfied!" Ron exclaimed). I hope yours are good, too. I'm going to be staying in Diagon Alley for about three days next week. My parents are cutting our Switzerland trip short by a week because they have a business trip and are going to the States and won't be back till the end of September so I can't go with them. Hope to see you in Diagon Alley soon. Love, Hermione"Would you like to stay in Diagon Alley for three days as well?" Mrs. Weasley asked Ron and Harry.
"That's be cool," Ron said.
"I don't really mind. But how are we going to get to King's Cross?" Harry asked.
"We'll pick you up. Or maybe we'll go with you to Diagon Alley. How about that?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
"I don't mind. Then we can visit Fred and George. Harry?" Ron asked.
"Sounds good to me," Harry said.
"Good. Write to Hermione and tell her that you're going to meet her there," Mrs. Weasley instructed.
"What if we surprise her instead?" Ginny suggested.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
