Disclaimer: Harry Potter and associated characters are property of J.K.
Rowling.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Chapter 8: Arrival
The carriage finally arrived at the inn where the Weasleys were staying. Harry gently nudged Hermione and her eyes fluttered open.
"Harry, are we finally here?" she asked.
"Yes, we're here. Come, let's get our things," Harry said as the door to the carriage opened and they saw Walter unloading the trunks, putting them on the ground and entered the inn to announce their arrival to the Weasleys as Harry and Hermione stood outside, looking around.
As they looked around at the town, they could see that it was fairly old and the houses were made entirely of brick and had wooden roofs. The windows on the buildings were made of glass and had wooden shutters. The dirt road leading out of the town became a cobblestone road as it went further into a town and the town didn't appear to have any electricity since the street lamps lining the roads were old-fashioned gas lamps.
The townspeople were dressed in modern-day clothing despite the fact that they still used horse-drawn carts to get around the town. Although the people just passed by, Harry and Hermione were confused as to why the people were looking at them as if they had died. However, when Walter came out, the people scurried away and hid. It was clear that Walter frightened them as much as he did Hermione.
"Your friends are waiting inside. I'll help you with your things," he said as he picked up one of their trunks and went back inside.
Harry and Hermione picked up the other trunk and followed.
When they got in, Harry noted that Walter was already bringing Hermione's to her room. They noticed saw a boy with red hair whom they recognized as Ron and Ginny, who was standing next to him, was looking at Harry, blushing the entire time. The rest of the Weasley family was also present, standing in a line in front of them.
When Hermione saw them, she immediately dropped her end of the trunk and ran towards them a big hug, starting with Ron, who blushed a bright red when she did so, and moved down the line until she got to Molly Weasley.
As Harry was watching Hermione hug Ron, he felt his insides leave him, but he made every attempt to keep a straight face. He wasn't about to lose his self-control and reveal all of his feeling for Hermione just because she was hugging her other best friend and the rest of his family.
"Harry!" Ron exclaimed as he came up to him and greeted him.
"Ron, how have you been?"
"Bored stiff, but I'm doing well. How about you? How did you know we were here? How come you and Hermione didn't get here yesterday? Did something go wrong with the portkey? Who's that old guy who came in with Hermione's trunk?"
"It's a long story. I'll tell you later," Harry said, still holding the trunk.
"Harry," he heard Molly Weasley say. "How are you? We had been so worried when you and Hermione didn't show up yesterday. Did everything go alright?"
"I'm doing fine Mrs. Weasley," he said as she came over and hugged him. "The portkey didn't work as well as we thought, but at least we ended up nearby."
"Yes, those don't always work as they're supposed to. They're incredibly hard to set up and are very unpredictable," Arthur Weasley said, standing next to Percy. "Percy has been working for Mr. Fudge on ways to make them better so that they don't end up dropping people off in the wrong places, right Percy?"
"Yes that's right dad," Percy said in his usual lofty tone. "Unfortunately, we haven't been making much progress but we have discovered that the portkeys have the tendency to take people where there is a powerful magical force. The longer the distance traveled, the more likely the portkey will drop you off somewhere other than your destination."
Ron smirked at this. He liked the idea of Percy not being able to brag about another accomplishment.
"I didn't know that. At least we ended up safe thanks to Walter," Harry said as Walter entered the room again.
Walter went up to Harry and offered him his hand.
"Mr. Potter, I hope to see you again. It was entertaining to see you and Miss Granger fight off those ghouls in the graveyard," he said with a smile.
"Yes, I hope to see you again as well. Thank you for saving us from the vampire," Harry said, taking his hand and shaking it.
"My pleasure. Dispatching beasts like it is my job and I enjoy doing it. Good bye Mr. Potter - Miss Granger," he said with a bow and left the inn.
"Well, now that he's gone, how about you show Harry to his room, Ron?" Mrs. Weasley said. "Then we can all have some lunch."
"Alright, Harry, come with me. You'll be sharing my room," said Ron as he grabbed the other end of Harry's trunk and they lugged it to their room.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When they got to his room, they found it was pretty small. There were two single sized beds and a wooden lamp table in between them. There were two windows on the right, but the only light in the room for nighttime, would come from the oil lamp on the table.
They placed his trunk in front of the bed on the right and walked out of the room towards the foyer where everyone else was waiting. Then the entire group walked outside with Arthur and Molly Weasley leading the way to the restaurant.
During the entire time, Ron was telling Harry and Hermione about his stay, how Charlie was doing with the dragons and they asked him how Nobert was doing. Nobert was the Norwegian Ridgeback that Hagrid won from a stranger in a pub, who turned out to be Professor Quirrell in disguise, during their first year at Hogwarts. Ron said that Nobert was doing well and they were going to see Charlie again tomorrow.
The walk took all of 5 minutes, and the restaurant turned out to be a small tavern that served food from different regions of Romania.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat at their own table while the others sat at a long table, which they had reserved ahead of time. They were given menus and the waiter took their orders. Harry and Ron both ordered the Sauerkraut with beef while Hermione settled for stuffed pike.
During lunch, Ron asked Harry and Hermione what happened the day before. Ron was a good listener as they told him about how they ended up in the graveyard and how they got attacked by the zombies and the vampire before Walter and the Count came and saved them. Ron was amazed that they managed to hold off for so long without help. Then they told him about their stay in the castle (at which Ron exclaimed, "bloody brilliant!"), the gargoyle attack, and the mirror. Oddly, neither of them mentioned Harry's new abilities nor the fact that they had been sleeping in the same room at night.
"So what happened to the Count? He just left you guys in the castle with Walter?" said Ron after they were finished. "Walter's really creepy."
"Yes he is. His skeletons frightened me at least three times during our stay," said Hermione matter-of-factly.
"I don't think so. He smiles too much for a person who's supposed to be a master of the dark arts," countered Harry.
"Really Harry, I'm horrified at your taste in company. It's not becoming of you," said Hermione with a revolting look on her face.
"Sorry," he said as he grinning at her.
They finished lunch and went back to the inn. Harry, Ron, and Hermione played several games of exploding snap in their room, after Hermione cast a silencing charm around it so that no one would hear the cards explode.
During a game, Ron asked them if they could go back to the castle again before they left. Harry didn't mind, but Hermione glared at him, causing him to withdraw his suggestion. Hermione soon grew tired and went to her room to take a nap while Harry and Ron played a game of wizard's chess.
"Hey Harry," Ron said while thinking of a move to make.
"What?"
"Do you think I have a chance?"
"Of course you do, I haven't won a game against you in years, why would I start now?" he answered, confused as to why Ron was asking such a question.
"I meant with Hermione."
"Oh," said Harry while trying not to show his disappointment at Ron's statement. "I guess you do if you would stop getting her peeved at you. Why do you ask?"
"Because I've had a crush on her since last year. I couldn't stand the fact that she was going out with Krum. I mean do you think she likes me?"
"Ron, you're just being jealous. If you had acted sooner, maybe Hermione would have gone with you rather than with Krum," Harry pointed out, though he too wished that he had asked her out himself. Now that Ron told him he wanted her, he couldn't bring himself to interfere with Ron's wishes. He mentally kicked himself for being such a gentleman, but this was his best friend and so he would allow him to pursue her, unless Hermione decided that she didn't want Ron.
*As if Hermione's ever going to want me. * he thought to himself, but in the process, he made a bad move and Ron checkmated him.
"Well Harry? What do you think I should do about Hermione?" Ron asked, while cleaning up the pieces before sitting down on his bed.
Harry was still sitting on the floor trying to remain calm, but after Ron's last question, he lost it a bit.
"Ron, if you really want to see if you can date Hermione, then just ask her. Whether she accepts or not that's up to her," he said, very agitated that Ron was being such a prat.
Harry then got up and left the room to go chat with Fred and George outside while Ron just sat on his bed in silence with a stunned look on his face.
A/N: YES! 2 chapters in less than 24 hours! Well, what'd you think? Sorry if these chapters seem a bit boring, but more action will come soon.
Messages to people who reviewed:
Wink at J00: Don't worry, I'll let Hermione become an animagus, dunno about the fox though.
Promy: Sorry about the confusion.
Angelis: Thank you for your kind reviews.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Chapter 8: Arrival
The carriage finally arrived at the inn where the Weasleys were staying. Harry gently nudged Hermione and her eyes fluttered open.
"Harry, are we finally here?" she asked.
"Yes, we're here. Come, let's get our things," Harry said as the door to the carriage opened and they saw Walter unloading the trunks, putting them on the ground and entered the inn to announce their arrival to the Weasleys as Harry and Hermione stood outside, looking around.
As they looked around at the town, they could see that it was fairly old and the houses were made entirely of brick and had wooden roofs. The windows on the buildings were made of glass and had wooden shutters. The dirt road leading out of the town became a cobblestone road as it went further into a town and the town didn't appear to have any electricity since the street lamps lining the roads were old-fashioned gas lamps.
The townspeople were dressed in modern-day clothing despite the fact that they still used horse-drawn carts to get around the town. Although the people just passed by, Harry and Hermione were confused as to why the people were looking at them as if they had died. However, when Walter came out, the people scurried away and hid. It was clear that Walter frightened them as much as he did Hermione.
"Your friends are waiting inside. I'll help you with your things," he said as he picked up one of their trunks and went back inside.
Harry and Hermione picked up the other trunk and followed.
When they got in, Harry noted that Walter was already bringing Hermione's to her room. They noticed saw a boy with red hair whom they recognized as Ron and Ginny, who was standing next to him, was looking at Harry, blushing the entire time. The rest of the Weasley family was also present, standing in a line in front of them.
When Hermione saw them, she immediately dropped her end of the trunk and ran towards them a big hug, starting with Ron, who blushed a bright red when she did so, and moved down the line until she got to Molly Weasley.
As Harry was watching Hermione hug Ron, he felt his insides leave him, but he made every attempt to keep a straight face. He wasn't about to lose his self-control and reveal all of his feeling for Hermione just because she was hugging her other best friend and the rest of his family.
"Harry!" Ron exclaimed as he came up to him and greeted him.
"Ron, how have you been?"
"Bored stiff, but I'm doing well. How about you? How did you know we were here? How come you and Hermione didn't get here yesterday? Did something go wrong with the portkey? Who's that old guy who came in with Hermione's trunk?"
"It's a long story. I'll tell you later," Harry said, still holding the trunk.
"Harry," he heard Molly Weasley say. "How are you? We had been so worried when you and Hermione didn't show up yesterday. Did everything go alright?"
"I'm doing fine Mrs. Weasley," he said as she came over and hugged him. "The portkey didn't work as well as we thought, but at least we ended up nearby."
"Yes, those don't always work as they're supposed to. They're incredibly hard to set up and are very unpredictable," Arthur Weasley said, standing next to Percy. "Percy has been working for Mr. Fudge on ways to make them better so that they don't end up dropping people off in the wrong places, right Percy?"
"Yes that's right dad," Percy said in his usual lofty tone. "Unfortunately, we haven't been making much progress but we have discovered that the portkeys have the tendency to take people where there is a powerful magical force. The longer the distance traveled, the more likely the portkey will drop you off somewhere other than your destination."
Ron smirked at this. He liked the idea of Percy not being able to brag about another accomplishment.
"I didn't know that. At least we ended up safe thanks to Walter," Harry said as Walter entered the room again.
Walter went up to Harry and offered him his hand.
"Mr. Potter, I hope to see you again. It was entertaining to see you and Miss Granger fight off those ghouls in the graveyard," he said with a smile.
"Yes, I hope to see you again as well. Thank you for saving us from the vampire," Harry said, taking his hand and shaking it.
"My pleasure. Dispatching beasts like it is my job and I enjoy doing it. Good bye Mr. Potter - Miss Granger," he said with a bow and left the inn.
"Well, now that he's gone, how about you show Harry to his room, Ron?" Mrs. Weasley said. "Then we can all have some lunch."
"Alright, Harry, come with me. You'll be sharing my room," said Ron as he grabbed the other end of Harry's trunk and they lugged it to their room.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When they got to his room, they found it was pretty small. There were two single sized beds and a wooden lamp table in between them. There were two windows on the right, but the only light in the room for nighttime, would come from the oil lamp on the table.
They placed his trunk in front of the bed on the right and walked out of the room towards the foyer where everyone else was waiting. Then the entire group walked outside with Arthur and Molly Weasley leading the way to the restaurant.
During the entire time, Ron was telling Harry and Hermione about his stay, how Charlie was doing with the dragons and they asked him how Nobert was doing. Nobert was the Norwegian Ridgeback that Hagrid won from a stranger in a pub, who turned out to be Professor Quirrell in disguise, during their first year at Hogwarts. Ron said that Nobert was doing well and they were going to see Charlie again tomorrow.
The walk took all of 5 minutes, and the restaurant turned out to be a small tavern that served food from different regions of Romania.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat at their own table while the others sat at a long table, which they had reserved ahead of time. They were given menus and the waiter took their orders. Harry and Ron both ordered the Sauerkraut with beef while Hermione settled for stuffed pike.
During lunch, Ron asked Harry and Hermione what happened the day before. Ron was a good listener as they told him about how they ended up in the graveyard and how they got attacked by the zombies and the vampire before Walter and the Count came and saved them. Ron was amazed that they managed to hold off for so long without help. Then they told him about their stay in the castle (at which Ron exclaimed, "bloody brilliant!"), the gargoyle attack, and the mirror. Oddly, neither of them mentioned Harry's new abilities nor the fact that they had been sleeping in the same room at night.
"So what happened to the Count? He just left you guys in the castle with Walter?" said Ron after they were finished. "Walter's really creepy."
"Yes he is. His skeletons frightened me at least three times during our stay," said Hermione matter-of-factly.
"I don't think so. He smiles too much for a person who's supposed to be a master of the dark arts," countered Harry.
"Really Harry, I'm horrified at your taste in company. It's not becoming of you," said Hermione with a revolting look on her face.
"Sorry," he said as he grinning at her.
They finished lunch and went back to the inn. Harry, Ron, and Hermione played several games of exploding snap in their room, after Hermione cast a silencing charm around it so that no one would hear the cards explode.
During a game, Ron asked them if they could go back to the castle again before they left. Harry didn't mind, but Hermione glared at him, causing him to withdraw his suggestion. Hermione soon grew tired and went to her room to take a nap while Harry and Ron played a game of wizard's chess.
"Hey Harry," Ron said while thinking of a move to make.
"What?"
"Do you think I have a chance?"
"Of course you do, I haven't won a game against you in years, why would I start now?" he answered, confused as to why Ron was asking such a question.
"I meant with Hermione."
"Oh," said Harry while trying not to show his disappointment at Ron's statement. "I guess you do if you would stop getting her peeved at you. Why do you ask?"
"Because I've had a crush on her since last year. I couldn't stand the fact that she was going out with Krum. I mean do you think she likes me?"
"Ron, you're just being jealous. If you had acted sooner, maybe Hermione would have gone with you rather than with Krum," Harry pointed out, though he too wished that he had asked her out himself. Now that Ron told him he wanted her, he couldn't bring himself to interfere with Ron's wishes. He mentally kicked himself for being such a gentleman, but this was his best friend and so he would allow him to pursue her, unless Hermione decided that she didn't want Ron.
*As if Hermione's ever going to want me. * he thought to himself, but in the process, he made a bad move and Ron checkmated him.
"Well Harry? What do you think I should do about Hermione?" Ron asked, while cleaning up the pieces before sitting down on his bed.
Harry was still sitting on the floor trying to remain calm, but after Ron's last question, he lost it a bit.
"Ron, if you really want to see if you can date Hermione, then just ask her. Whether she accepts or not that's up to her," he said, very agitated that Ron was being such a prat.
Harry then got up and left the room to go chat with Fred and George outside while Ron just sat on his bed in silence with a stunned look on his face.
A/N: YES! 2 chapters in less than 24 hours! Well, what'd you think? Sorry if these chapters seem a bit boring, but more action will come soon.
Messages to people who reviewed:
Wink at J00: Don't worry, I'll let Hermione become an animagus, dunno about the fox though.
Promy: Sorry about the confusion.
Angelis: Thank you for your kind reviews.