Harry Potter and the Fountain of Magical Brethren
Chapter 4: The Scoop
In the shock of the intrusion, dinner was abandoned, and Mrs. Weasley was reluctant to let any of the children out of her sight- even if it just meant trips to the bathroom.
"Alastor, why didn't you mention that you saw someone!?" she asked in a frazzled tone.
"Must have been upstairs- I was keeping my eye on the back door until I heard the crash," said Moody.
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny decided to retire early, telling Mrs. Weasley that they were "exhausted from the stress of the evening." As soon as they were out of earshot, they agreed to meet in Harry and Ron's bedroom as soon as they were changed for bed. As the four assembled in the cramped room, a random thought struck Harry.
"Hermione, I thought you said your parents were staying here, too," he said.
"Oh, they arrived when I did, but then they had to go right away and visit my aunt. She lives a few hours away and hasn't been feeling great lately. They'll be back here sometime tomorrow morning. They they're staying until our house is done, about a week before we go back to school."
With that, they began discussing various theories on the intruder. Everyone's initial thought was, of course, that it had been a Death Eater, as there seemed to be no other logical possibilities.
"I bet it was Lucious Malfoy," said Ron grimly. "Nah, I beg he'd be too high and mighty to come into the house of great Muggle-lovers like us."
"Come on, Ron. We know he hasn't gotten out of Azkaban yet," Hermione said rationally, "and I don't think it matters who it was- the important thing is figuring out how Voldemort knows about the Order and that we'd all be here."
The pondering that took place after this was interrupted when Fred and George entered the room, looking uncharacteristically troubled. They had searched the house upside down but there had been no sign of the mysterious invader.
"Hey, so it looks like you guys are in the Order now, huh?" asked Harry enviously.
"Yeah," said Fred, "it took a lot of convincing for Mum to vote us in, but since we're of age, there wasn't too much she could do."
"We haven't had too much to do yet- they only give us the little jobs, like research and keeping an eye out for funny incidents in Diagon Alley.
"Oh yeah, I can't wait to visit your shop. I bet it's loads better than Zonkos."
"That it is, Harry, that it is…"
Hoping he wasn't bring up too touchy a subject, Harry asked quietly, "So I heard your parents and Bill and Charlie talking about Percy. What's going on with him?"
The Weasleys exchanged glances and Ginny spoke up. "Well, he's back on speaking terms with Mum and Dad, but the rest of us aren't too keen on forgiving him that easily. I, for one, still think he's a complete prat."
"Yeah," Ron agreed, "I don't see how he thinks he can just come back one day without even apologizing and expect to be welcomed back with open arms."
"Mum's thrilled," said George darkly, "and Dad's happy too, although we're sure he doesn't trust Percy completely. And I don't blame him. The rest of us have all agreed that he'll never be a part of our family again."
Harry felt somewhat guilty, for he knew that his friendship with the Weasley family was a part of the cause of the rift. However, he shoved that thought to the back of his mine, and brought up something else that he had been contemplating.
"So what's Fudge been doing these days? I've been reading the Daily Prophet, but all that's in there is people writing in claiming that their new next-door neighbors are Death Eaters, or that Voldemort is their schoolteacher. I've actually been quite amused by it, but it doesn't really help me when I need to find out information."
"Well," Ron began, "it's completely ridiculous. Right after school ended, he sent out these pamphlets to all the wizarding families. They're so stupid- they are supposed to tell what to do if You-Kn," Ron stopped and stammered bravely, "I mean, V-Voldemort shows up at your house. I mean, for one thing, how are you supposed to have time to call the Ministry if you have Death Eaters throwing curses at you. For another, any idiot could reflect the Jelly-Legs Jinx. So that's all Fudge's done so far, and there are rumors that right now he's taking a vacation in Majorca!"
Ginny stifled a yawn, which caused the rest to follow suit. "Shouldn't you two be doing something for the Order, anyway?" Hermione asked Fred and George.
"Well, actually, we were given the great task of coming up here and making sure you guys went straight to bed without talking… I guess we blew that one," said Fred.
They all laughed at the irony of the situation before deciding that they probably really should go to bed. As Harry lay there in the dark, he drifted slowly off to sleep, dreaming of Percy performing the Jelly-Legs Jinx on Minister Fudge while Lucius Malfoy sat and watched idly, eating Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.
The next morning, Harry awoke to the sound of many voices downstairs. He looked around, and saw that Ron was still asleep. Quietly, he got dressed, and proceeded downstairs for breakfast. He saw Ginny and Hermione sitting at the table with Hermione's parents, whom he had only briefly met once before.
"Harry, you remember my parents, Phil and Linda Granger, right?" said Hermione, who was always up at the crack of dawn studying. Harry greeted the Grangers, who both had pleasant faces and perfect teeth.
"How have you been, dear?" asked Hermione's mother with a smile.
"Fine, thanks, how about you?" Harry responded.
"Oh, pretty well. The renovations on the house certainly are tiring, but it was so kind of Molly to offer to let us stay here for a while."
From the other side of the room where she was making breakfast, Mrs. Weasley gave a smile and said, "Think nothing of it, Linda. Hermione talks about you two all the time, and it certainly will be lovely to get to know you better. Of course, in this house, it's always the more the merrier." Harry enjoyed this credo, especially compared to the Dursleys, to whom even four people was too many to have in their home, when Harry was the fourth. "I do have to warn you, though," Mrs. Weasley continued, "when my husband gets home, there will be a lot of interrogation about various appliances in your home. But you can feel free to ignore him."
Harry smiled at Mr. Weasley's fondness for Muggle objects; he had been asked to explain television countless times. He wondered, though, how much the Grangers knew about the wizarding world. He was also curious how much Hermione had told them about the various dangerous escapades that they had accumulated over the years. He decided to ask Hermione later.
They heard a muffled yelling upstairs, and the atmosphere of the room changed immediately. For the second time in only twenty-four hours, Mrs. Weasley grabbed her wand, and reluctantly motioned for Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny to do the same and follow her. The Grangers followed apprehensively as they followed the sound up the creaky stairs. They reached a closed closet door and Mrs. Weasley, pale and shaky, laid her hand upon the doorknob.