Chapter Two
Melanie L. Bowman
Harry sighed with relief at the sight of the Weasleys' tall, rundown house. To him, home was either here or at Hogwarts. Mr. Weasley sluggishly dragged Harry's trunk up the front walk scattering chickens as he went. Harry grabbed Hedwig's cage and followed after him.
Inside Ron's room at the top of the house, Harry unpacked his things. "Have you heard from Hermione?" Ron asked, setting Harry's Firebolt on the bed.
Harry nodded, "She's somewhere in the United States with her cousin."
"Lucky," Ron muttered. "I barely get to go anywhere. Well, except for Egypt last year." Harry shot him an amused look and pulled the letter from Hermione out of his school chest. Hurriedly he thrust it into Ron's hands, because he'd suddenly remembered about the invisible cake, or what was left of it. Harry tapped the platter still inside his trunk with his wand and frowned at the brown icing that had smeared all over his books.
"Too bad we can't use magic over Summer Holiday," Ron chortled. Then Ron left to find a towel to clean up the mess, leaving Harry alone in the room. The door was open and Harry could hear the usual small explosions coming from one of the floors below.
It was only three minutes before Ron returned. The two boys began cleaning and were finished in no time. When they had put everything in it's rightful place, Ron opened Hermione's letter and read through it. Harry in the meantime looked around Ron's room, which was covered from top to bottom with blazingly orange posters of the Chudley Cannons. The Chudley Cannons were Ron's favorite quidditch team.
"Did you know Hogwarts is accepting transfer students this year," queried Ron out of the silence. He was still looking at Hermione's letter with a puzzled expression.
"No," replied Harry. "I never even knew they didn't accept transfer students. I wonder if they are getting any other transfers besides Hermione's cousin this year."
There was a knock on the door and Fred and George Weasley came into the room. They were tall with bright red hair and freckles like Ron. The twins' faces broke into identical grins when they saw Harry.
"Too bad we couldn't come to pick you up Harry," said George. "We could've tested some of our new inventions on that cousin of yours," He winked. They laughed remembering when Fred and George had left one on their inventions on the Dursley's living room floor. It was a Ton-Tongue Toffee, which Dudley wasted no time in devouring. His tongue was several feet long before Mr. Weasley was finally allowed to shrink it.
"Say, Harry," Fred said slyly, "would you like some raspberry tarts? We have plenty to share," he reassured Harry.
Harry laughed. "No, I don't think so. I'll probably turn into a bird or something."
"Actually, you would be spitting sparks out of your mouth for about an hour," Fred chuckled.
"Well I am a bit hungry though." Harry turned to Ron.
"Oh, right. We should go get some lunch from Mum. Fred, George, you coming?" Ron asked as he headed for the door.
"Nah, we already ate," George answered. "Hey Fred, let's try our Foot Fungi Fudge on Percy!" The twins walked down to their room, all the while scheming a way to make Percy try their newest invention.
"Well, to lunch then," Ron said starting down the steps. Harry followed in a better mood than he had been in for a while. The Weasleys' house always made him feel safe. He hoped that while he was there, the nightmares of Voldemort's return would trouble him less.
The day flowed by quickly. Before Harry and Ron retired to bed they wrote a short letter to Hermione to tell her that Harry was at Ron's house. Ron also suggested that they all meet at the Leaky Cauldron one week before the school train left on September the first. They sealed the envelope and sent Hedwig on her way.
Harry and Ron spent most of their time during that summer playing quidditch in the Weasleys' paddock. They barely ever saw Percy or Mr. Weasley who were busy working at the Ministry of Magic dealing with the panic that followed the rumors of Voldemort's return. Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic had refused to accept the fact that Voldemort had returned, but the people who knew the rumor's truth including the Weasleys were doing everything in their power to prepare for his attacks that were certain to come.
"Good morning, boys," Mrs. Weasley said in a warm voice one bright day as Harry slowly made his way into the kitchen followed by a bedraggled Ron. Mrs. Weasley smiled slightly and handed them both plates full of sausages, eggs, and toast. They accepted gratefully and sat down to eat their food. Harry saw two dirty plates on the table and knew that Percy and Mr. Weasley had left for work hours ago.
Harry and Ron started their meal in silence. They were still tired from the events of the night before. That evening, Fred and George had managed to slip one of their joke shop inventions into Ginny's soup at dinner. Their invention was called Sour Singing Solution. It was intended to give the drinker ten other voices that all clashed with each other. That would have been bad enough, but something in the soup reacted with the solution and it backfired. Instead of speaking in ten different human voices, Ginny croaked in ten different frog voices for two hours. When the croaks first came out of her mouth, Mrs. Weasley had immediately turned to Fred and George as Ginny ran to her room and dissolved into tears. When Mrs. Weasley finally caught up with them, she gave Fred and George a very long and loud lecture then stomped off to comfort Ginny. Just then, Fred and George came sneaking into the room. They tried to quickly grab some toast and slip away, but Mrs. Weasley was ready for them. She grabbed them both by the ear and sat them down at the table across from Ron and Harry. With a cold glare, Mrs. Weasley placed two plates with one piece of toast and one piece of sausage each in front of the twins. George opened his mouth to say something, but quickly decided against it. Harry and Ron grinned across the table at Fred and George and they grinned back. Mrs. Weasley turned around to give them some orange juice and saw them grinning, but she didn't see Harry and Ron. "What are you two sniggering about? You had better not be planning to do something else to poor Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley cried out suddenly. "Mum, we" Fred tried to say something, but Mrs. Weasley kept shouting. "You can't keep inventing these silly tricks! Do you two realize that this is your last year at Hogwarts and you'll need to find jobs? I suggest you start studying for your N.E.W.T. this very day or you'll find yourselves without work and money! Look how well Percy did on his N.E.W.T. and see what a great job he has in the Ministry! At this rate you'll be lucky to be bus drivers!" Fred and George groaned at the comparison to their nearly perfect brother Percy, but Mrs. Weasley didn't notice. She would've continued her lecture for many more hours it seemed if Errol, the family owl, hadn't flown in the window, slid down the table, and crashed right into George's breakfast plate. "Oh, dear," Mrs. Weasley muttered taking five letters from the collapsed owl. It was obvious by the writing on the front that they were the school supply lists from Hogwarts. Mrs. Weasley seemed to be completely distracted by the arrival of the letters. She handed them to Fred, George, Harry, Ron, and Ginny who appeared in the door to the kitchen at that moment. Ginny saw Harry and her face flushed. She was still embarrassed from the night before and Ginny had had a crush on Harry ever since she had laid eyes on him when he was boarding the train for Hogwarts in his first year. She was only one year younger than Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Ginny feigned a lack of interest, grabbed a couple pieces of toast, and carried Errol up the stairs to recover. Harry immediately opened his letter to see what he would need for his classes this year. The list looked much the same as it had the past four years with the addition of dress robes, which had been added in the past year. The students should only have needed them last year at the Triwizard Tournament dance, though. Why would they be needed this year, Harry wondered. Harry read the list over to himself and couldn't help taking a closer look at the Defense Against the Dark Arts supplies to try guessing the personality of the new teacher, but he couldn't determine anything. He would just have to wait and see. Fred and George had moved their seats closer to Harry and Ron. Fred whispered, "I can't believe they actually want us back this year." "Hogwarts will never be same when we're gone," George added dramatically. Ron snickered, "Yeah they won't have to worry about missing toilet seats." Harry heard Mrs. Weasley sigh worriedly and looked up to see that she was looking over George's list. Harry wished he could give them money, but any offer he could make would only embarrass them so he dared not try. They would make it by passing down books through the family the way they had always done it. Harry was glad that he had at least been able to give Fred and George his Triwizard Tournament winnings from that year. He had asked them to use it to start their joke shop after they graduated and judging by last night's episode, they fully intended to do just that.
On a tepid morning near the end of August, Harry lay sleeping in a comfortable bed. Harry gently awoke, but did not open his eyes. He wanted to savor the peaceful moment and the smell of the fresh summer air before Aunt Petunia's voice called him back to reality. He lay in bed dreading to face the Dursleys. Harry was surprised when he heard the loud, but friendly voice of Mrs. Weasley instead. As he sat up in his bed he remembered that he was at the Burrow in Ron's room. Mrs. Weasley was waking all the children in the house to go to Diagon Alley for school supplies. Harry changed into his clothes and finished gathering his things for Hogwarts. He and the Weasleys would be staying at the Leaky Cauldron during the last week of summer along with Hermione and her family. Harry wondered briefly about Hermione's cousin Melanie. Mrs. Weasley hustled into Ron's room and was startled to find Harry awake and ready to go. She paused in the doorway and glanced at Ron. "Harry, could you wake him up, please?" Mrs. Weasley begged. She looked very frazzled and Harry knew she didn't have the time to wake Ron up. He had been about to wake Ron anyway and told Mrs. Weasley so. She thanked him and bustled out of the room again.
Harry turned around to face Ron's bed. "Ron, wake up," Harry said shaking him by the shoulder. Ron didn't budge. "Ron," Harry said a little more forcefully.
"But Fred, I don't wanna. No, I won't try that lollypop. It'll turn me into a chicken." Ron muttered in his sleep. Harry's mouth curved into a slight smile at the situation Ron was apparently in. "Ron, it's time to get up," Harry said. Ron didn't respond so Harry shook him harder. "B-bawk!" Ron cried out suddenly. He woke with a start and sprang up in bed. Ron blinked and looked around at Harry who was now chuckling. Ron colored when he realized that he had been talking in his sleep. Harry could tell that his temper was rising, but ignored it. "Your mom wanted me to wake you up. You need to finish packing your things and getting dressed," Harry said still grinning a little. He started packing away the Hogwarts robes Ron had laid out beside his trunk. Harry and Ron dragged their trunks down the stairs and handed them to Mr. Weasley who had taken a few hours off work to take their school things to the Leaky Cauldron in a taxi. They both strode into the kitchen for breakfast. It looked as though the room had exploded. Everything was in chaos as people tried to snatch pieces of toast half in their pajamas and half in their day clothes. Fred and George had yet to pack all of their things for Hogwarts because they had apparently been working on Weasley's Wizzard Wheezes forms for their joke shop. Harry sat down at the kitchen table, which was covered with items that had been forgotten by the Weasleys in their haste. Harry and Ron ate quickly and went back upstairs to retrieve Hedwig. As Harry picked up Hedwig's cage a Barn owl flew in through Ron's open window. Ron reached over and took a letter from the large owl. "Who's it from," Harry asked. Ron showed him the front of the envelope. It was from his older brother Charlie who worked with Dragons in Romania. Harry set down Hedwig's cage as Ron opened the small letter. Ron read aloud. " Dear Ron and Harry,
I wanted to tell you to practice protecting yourselves against
dragons. I hope you won't really need it, but you should still
practice just in case. You will be meeting one of my old friends at
Hogwarts this year. His name is Amos Feldebar, but it would be best
if you just called him Scar. Watch out for him, he is a Dragon Lord
and can be very ill tempered at times. I can't tell you any more, I
probably shouldn't even have told you this much. Have a good time at
Hogwarts this year.
With Love,
Charlie"
"Ron, what's a Dragon Lord?"
"I-I don't know," Ron stammered. "Charlie's never said anything about Dragon Lords except that there aren't many left." Ron turned to see George peeking around the door, but just as he did, George left. Suddenly Ron remembered something he had wanted to talk to Harry about.
"Er, Harry?" said Ron hesitantly.
"Yeah?" Harry replied.
"Have you heard anything about.You-Know-Who, lately?" Ron was speaking at a whisper that was barely audible. Harry, however, spoke in an almost normal voice giving Ron more confidence.
"Yes, but it doesn't really make sense," Harry paused. He was confused by the news from Sirius and The Daily Prophet and wondered whether or not to tell Ron.
"Well what was it," Ron said with a little more than a hint of impatience.
"Did you read about a death rumored to be Voldemort's work in The Daily Prophet?"
Ron flinched at Voldemort's name as almost all wizards did. "Yes I think so. Was it that lady found in her living room?"
"Yes, that one."
"I don't know, Harry. I mean it was just called a rumor and that article might have been written by someone like Rita Skeeter." Rita Skeeter had once been a reporter who had tried to make Harry look like a lunatic in their fourth year. She had secretly listened in on private conversations and used them to write vicious articles attacking Harry, Hermione, and Hagrid. No one knew how she was listening to the conversations, but at the end of the year Hermione discovered that she was an animagus.
"That's what I thought at first, but Sirius sent a letter and he said it was Voldemort's work. He said he was after something, but he didn't know what." Harry wondered if maybe he shouldn't have said what he did because Ron's expression quickly changed from apprehension to surprise.
Ron opened his mouth and closed it before managing to say, "oh" quietly.
"Er, I've got Hedwig. Let's take her down to your dad."
"Okay," Ron said trying to act normal again. He just wasn't ready to face Voldemort's attacks, but he knew it was the truth.
As they were walking down the stairs, Ron suddenly blurted, "wonder what Melanie is like?"
"Uhh, well I thought she looked kind of pretty-" Harry replied innocently.
"So? She's American, some of them can be really pretty, but those ones you really have to look out for because they're vain. Plus a lot of pretty Americans are sassy."
Harry was taken aback by Ron's small speech. "How would you know? You've never met an American."
"Yeah, well." Ron stammered in his defense.
Harry smiled. "I think you'd better keep those thoughts to yourself especially around Hermione and Melanie," he chuckled.
Ron was slightly red on the tips of his ears, but he stayed silent.
Harry, Ron, Fred, George, Ginny, and Mrs. Weasley were gathered around the Weasleys deep fireplace. They were going to use Floo Powder to travel to Diagon Alley while Mr. Weasley took their things to their rooms at the Leaky Cauldron in a taxi. Harry had traveled with the Weasleys to Diagon Alley using Floo Powder in the summer of his second year, but it had not gone well. He had not spoken his destination clearly and landed in the dodgy Knockturn Alley full of dark shops.
"Ginny, you go first," said Mrs. Weasley casually holding out a flowerpot full of Floo Powder. Ginny stepped up to the fireplace with its small orange fire. She took a small handful of the powder Mrs. Weasley held out and threw it into the fire. The fire turned green and grew several feet to the top of the fireplace as Ginny stepped in.
"Diagon Alley!" Ginny shouted and disappeared.
"Alright, Fred," said Mrs. Weasley. First Fred, then George, and Ron disappeared into a roaring green fire. Harry stepped up to the fire and was about to take some powder, but Mrs. Weasley had more to say about this. "Harry, are you sure you want to try this again?"
"Yes," said Harry firmly.
Mrs. Weasley looked uncertain as she thought about what had happened the last time Harry had used Floo Powder. "Well, just remember to say Diagon Alley very clearly," she said slowly. "Watch for the others, they should be waiting for you."
"I will," Harry replied. He grabbed some powder, threw it into the flames and walked into the tall fire. "Diagon.Alley!" Harry coughed out, trying not to swallow too much soot. He closed his eyes as he began spinning incredibly fast. After a few moments he tried opening his eyes again. When he saw all the fireplaces rushing by he felt sick, but he tried hard to keep watching.
Suddenly he saw Ron's face through one of the fireplaces. Harry's arms shot out and he fell forward out of the fireplace. Ron and George caught him before he hit the ground. "Thanks," he muttered. Harry looked around at the place he had come out. It was the back of the Leaky Cauldron at Diagon Alley. Mrs. Weasley came right after Harry and immediately took out a brush and wiped away the soot on Harry's robes, thankful that he had made it without a hitch this time. When she had finished, she brushed off each one of her reluctant children's robes. "We'll all stay together at Gringott's and then I'll send you off on your own," Mrs. Weasley explained as everyone filed out of the Leaky Cauldron into Diagon Alley. At Gringott's Harry whispered to Mrs. Weasley that he wanted to go to his vault alone. She agreed and asked him to wait for them when he came back. He was more than willing to cooperate. Harry was thankful that the Weasleys weren't going to see the small fortune his parents had left him again. It was very large in comparison to the Weasleys' savings and he felt awkward when that fact was pointed out. While Harry was down under Gringott's in his vault he took as much money as he thought he might need that year and a little more to buy a few things he'd want. Harry gathered the money into a sack, which he tucked safely into his pocket and a goblin took him back up to the surface. He arrived in the long hall of Gringott's to find the Weasleys were already there. Harry joined them as they walked out onto the entrance steps of the wizard bank. "Fred, George I want to see you at the Leaky Cauldron by 5 o'clock sharp is that clear? And no wandering into Knockturn Alley," Mrs. Weasley said stiffly. "Harry and Ron, that goes the same for you and if you find Hermione ask her to come along and meet us at the Leaky Cauldron," she said sweetly. "Ginny you can come with me, but if we see Hermione you can finish your school shopping with her." Harry and Ron roamed around the streets of Diagon Alley buying their books, potions supplies, and other things they would need at Hogwarts. They stepped inside Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions to finish up their school shopping. Ron looked over his supply list and moaned, "oh no, what am I going to do about dress robes? We need them again this year."
Harry began to feel a little uncomfortable because he had enough money to buy himself a whole new set of robes plus new dress robes, which was exactly what he needed to do. He had had a large growth spurt during that summer and all his robes, including his dress robes, were now too short on him. Just then Fred and George walked into the store and Harry remembered giving them enough money to buy Ron some new dress robes. They walked through the store over to Harry and Ron.
"Hey Ron, what's up," Fred asked seeing the worried expression on his face.
"I don't know what to do about dress robes, I ruined that red one I had last year," Ron replied.
"Oh don't worry about that," said George, "come to the fitting room we have a surprise for you."
"Okay." The four of them walked back to the fitting room. Ron had no idea what was going on, but Harry was breathing a sigh of relief. The twins had remembered to buy him dress robes.
"Excuse me, Madam Malkin," called Fred. A short, smiling witch quickly walked up to the group.
"Yes," Madam Malkin said in a pleasant voice.
"Ron Weasley's here to be fitted for his dress robes," replied George.
"Ahh, yes I remember that order, made just a few hours ago. Come here Ron let's match you up with a lovely color."
Ron was speechless. "B-but, I don't have enough money."
"Nonsense dear it's already been paid for," Madam Malkin laughed. Ron looked at Fred and George.
"We, er, acquired a bit of money," whispered Fred grinning. Madam Malkin led an astonished Ron off to look at robes. It didn't take very long for her to find him a handsome dark blue robe. Ron carefully tucked it into a bag still awestruck at his brothers' generosity.
"There must be a hitch. What do you want me to do?" Ron was afraid of the answer.
"Nothing. We just couldn't stand to see you in that dress robe again this year," George chimed innocently. Harry easily found a good dress robe for him and bought some new school robes. As they walked out the door, the twins winked at Harry and walked off down the street.
"Looks like we're done buying school things. Let's have some ice cream at Florean Fortescue's," said Ron happily. Harry ordered a large sundae with caramel and chopped nuts while Ron had one with strawberries and whipped cream. They sat eating their ice cream and talking for a short while. Just as they finished Ron glanced past Harry and exclaimed, "look! It's Hermione!"
Harry turned around in his chair and saw Hermione ordering some ice cream. He quickly stood up and followed in Ron's trail as he headed for Hermione. "Hermione! Over here," yelled Harry. Hermione spun to find the face that belonged to the voice calling her name. A broad smile spread across her face as she spotted Harry and Ron.
Ron reached Hermione first and Harry came immediately after him. They said their 'hello's and exchanged quick descriptions of their summers. Then Hermione tapped a girl on the shoulder who was talking to someone else. She turned around to face Harry and Ron. "Harry, Ron, I'd like you to meet my cousin Melanie. Melanie these are my best friends from school."
"Hi, nice to meet you," she said pleasantly in a thick American accent. She held out her hand and smiled. She was even prettier than she had looked in the picture, but Harry couldn't understand a word she had just said. The words had tumbled out of her mouth so fast it sounded like she was speaking an entirely different language.
"What," said Ron perplexed. "Did you say you were going to chew something?"
Melanie's smile faded. "No, I said NICE TO MEET YOU" she said very slowly and loudly so they could understand. She hadn't run into this problem with Hermione. Of course Hermione had met Americans before, though.
"Oh, nice to meet you, too Melanie," Harry chimed in quickly. He shook her hand and nudged Ron. Ron shook her hand too, but it was very short. "Where do you come from in America? Have you lived in Galleon Avenue all your life," Harry said carefully. The smile returned to Melanie's face at his courtesy.
"No, I'm actually from New York. My mom and I were there for vacation," Melanie replied politely. Harry could understand most of what she said, but he wasn't quite sure what Melanie had said she went to Galleon Avenue. He tried to piece it together for a moment, but couldn't.
"I'm sorry," Harry said. "What did you say you went there for?"
"My mom and I were on vacation," Melanie said a little more slowly. Harry was starting to cotton onto her accent despite her fast speech. Ron, however, didn't seem to know what had just taken place at all. Hermione saw Ron's puzzled expression and tried to help him out.
"She's from New York, but she was vacationing in Galleon Avenue," Hermione whispered in his ear. Ron told Hermione he'd known what she said all along. He said he had just been thinking about something else, thank you very much.
"Er, Hermione it's about time for us to meet at the Leaky Cauldron for supper. Melanie should come along, too. I'm sure the others would like to meet her," Harry said checking his watch. They set off toward the Leaky Cauldron just as it was about to turn 5 o'clock.
They reached the Leaky Cauldron at two past five. "Oh, good timing," said Mrs. Weasley cheerily. "Hermione, dear how nice to see you again. And who's this," Mrs. Weasley asked warmly.
"This is my cousin Melanie. She's transferring to Hogwarts this year."
"Really? I didn't realize Hogwarts had started accepting transfers. Anyway, it's nice to meet you Melanie." Mrs. Weasley held out her hand. Melanie took it.
"It's nice to meet you, too, but I don't know who you are," Melanie responded slowly so that Mrs. Weasley could understand her more easily. Mrs. Weasley seemed quite surprised when she heard Melanie speak. She hadn't known she was from America.
"Oh I'm sorry, I'm Ron's mother. You have met Ron right," Mrs. Weasley inquired.
"Yes," Melanie answered with some ice in her voice. Ron hadn't made a very good first impression on her, but she apparently liked his mother. Everyone sat down to eat at a long table. She was seated next to Fred and he and George immediately struck up a conversation with her. They thought her to have a great sense of humor much like their own and unlike Ron and Harry they seemed to have no problem understanding her accent. Ginny also took a liking to her very quickly.
(Disclaimer: We do not own any of J.K. Rowling's characters, plot ideas, nor places. Our story is an original one based upon the first four books written by J.K. Rowling and includes many things created by her. We are not making money in any way by creating this story.)
Melanie L. Bowman
Harry sighed with relief at the sight of the Weasleys' tall, rundown house. To him, home was either here or at Hogwarts. Mr. Weasley sluggishly dragged Harry's trunk up the front walk scattering chickens as he went. Harry grabbed Hedwig's cage and followed after him.
Inside Ron's room at the top of the house, Harry unpacked his things. "Have you heard from Hermione?" Ron asked, setting Harry's Firebolt on the bed.
Harry nodded, "She's somewhere in the United States with her cousin."
"Lucky," Ron muttered. "I barely get to go anywhere. Well, except for Egypt last year." Harry shot him an amused look and pulled the letter from Hermione out of his school chest. Hurriedly he thrust it into Ron's hands, because he'd suddenly remembered about the invisible cake, or what was left of it. Harry tapped the platter still inside his trunk with his wand and frowned at the brown icing that had smeared all over his books.
"Too bad we can't use magic over Summer Holiday," Ron chortled. Then Ron left to find a towel to clean up the mess, leaving Harry alone in the room. The door was open and Harry could hear the usual small explosions coming from one of the floors below.
It was only three minutes before Ron returned. The two boys began cleaning and were finished in no time. When they had put everything in it's rightful place, Ron opened Hermione's letter and read through it. Harry in the meantime looked around Ron's room, which was covered from top to bottom with blazingly orange posters of the Chudley Cannons. The Chudley Cannons were Ron's favorite quidditch team.
"Did you know Hogwarts is accepting transfer students this year," queried Ron out of the silence. He was still looking at Hermione's letter with a puzzled expression.
"No," replied Harry. "I never even knew they didn't accept transfer students. I wonder if they are getting any other transfers besides Hermione's cousin this year."
There was a knock on the door and Fred and George Weasley came into the room. They were tall with bright red hair and freckles like Ron. The twins' faces broke into identical grins when they saw Harry.
"Too bad we couldn't come to pick you up Harry," said George. "We could've tested some of our new inventions on that cousin of yours," He winked. They laughed remembering when Fred and George had left one on their inventions on the Dursley's living room floor. It was a Ton-Tongue Toffee, which Dudley wasted no time in devouring. His tongue was several feet long before Mr. Weasley was finally allowed to shrink it.
"Say, Harry," Fred said slyly, "would you like some raspberry tarts? We have plenty to share," he reassured Harry.
Harry laughed. "No, I don't think so. I'll probably turn into a bird or something."
"Actually, you would be spitting sparks out of your mouth for about an hour," Fred chuckled.
"Well I am a bit hungry though." Harry turned to Ron.
"Oh, right. We should go get some lunch from Mum. Fred, George, you coming?" Ron asked as he headed for the door.
"Nah, we already ate," George answered. "Hey Fred, let's try our Foot Fungi Fudge on Percy!" The twins walked down to their room, all the while scheming a way to make Percy try their newest invention.
"Well, to lunch then," Ron said starting down the steps. Harry followed in a better mood than he had been in for a while. The Weasleys' house always made him feel safe. He hoped that while he was there, the nightmares of Voldemort's return would trouble him less.
The day flowed by quickly. Before Harry and Ron retired to bed they wrote a short letter to Hermione to tell her that Harry was at Ron's house. Ron also suggested that they all meet at the Leaky Cauldron one week before the school train left on September the first. They sealed the envelope and sent Hedwig on her way.
Harry and Ron spent most of their time during that summer playing quidditch in the Weasleys' paddock. They barely ever saw Percy or Mr. Weasley who were busy working at the Ministry of Magic dealing with the panic that followed the rumors of Voldemort's return. Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic had refused to accept the fact that Voldemort had returned, but the people who knew the rumor's truth including the Weasleys were doing everything in their power to prepare for his attacks that were certain to come.
"Good morning, boys," Mrs. Weasley said in a warm voice one bright day as Harry slowly made his way into the kitchen followed by a bedraggled Ron. Mrs. Weasley smiled slightly and handed them both plates full of sausages, eggs, and toast. They accepted gratefully and sat down to eat their food. Harry saw two dirty plates on the table and knew that Percy and Mr. Weasley had left for work hours ago.
Harry and Ron started their meal in silence. They were still tired from the events of the night before. That evening, Fred and George had managed to slip one of their joke shop inventions into Ginny's soup at dinner. Their invention was called Sour Singing Solution. It was intended to give the drinker ten other voices that all clashed with each other. That would have been bad enough, but something in the soup reacted with the solution and it backfired. Instead of speaking in ten different human voices, Ginny croaked in ten different frog voices for two hours. When the croaks first came out of her mouth, Mrs. Weasley had immediately turned to Fred and George as Ginny ran to her room and dissolved into tears. When Mrs. Weasley finally caught up with them, she gave Fred and George a very long and loud lecture then stomped off to comfort Ginny. Just then, Fred and George came sneaking into the room. They tried to quickly grab some toast and slip away, but Mrs. Weasley was ready for them. She grabbed them both by the ear and sat them down at the table across from Ron and Harry. With a cold glare, Mrs. Weasley placed two plates with one piece of toast and one piece of sausage each in front of the twins. George opened his mouth to say something, but quickly decided against it. Harry and Ron grinned across the table at Fred and George and they grinned back. Mrs. Weasley turned around to give them some orange juice and saw them grinning, but she didn't see Harry and Ron. "What are you two sniggering about? You had better not be planning to do something else to poor Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley cried out suddenly. "Mum, we" Fred tried to say something, but Mrs. Weasley kept shouting. "You can't keep inventing these silly tricks! Do you two realize that this is your last year at Hogwarts and you'll need to find jobs? I suggest you start studying for your N.E.W.T. this very day or you'll find yourselves without work and money! Look how well Percy did on his N.E.W.T. and see what a great job he has in the Ministry! At this rate you'll be lucky to be bus drivers!" Fred and George groaned at the comparison to their nearly perfect brother Percy, but Mrs. Weasley didn't notice. She would've continued her lecture for many more hours it seemed if Errol, the family owl, hadn't flown in the window, slid down the table, and crashed right into George's breakfast plate. "Oh, dear," Mrs. Weasley muttered taking five letters from the collapsed owl. It was obvious by the writing on the front that they were the school supply lists from Hogwarts. Mrs. Weasley seemed to be completely distracted by the arrival of the letters. She handed them to Fred, George, Harry, Ron, and Ginny who appeared in the door to the kitchen at that moment. Ginny saw Harry and her face flushed. She was still embarrassed from the night before and Ginny had had a crush on Harry ever since she had laid eyes on him when he was boarding the train for Hogwarts in his first year. She was only one year younger than Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Ginny feigned a lack of interest, grabbed a couple pieces of toast, and carried Errol up the stairs to recover. Harry immediately opened his letter to see what he would need for his classes this year. The list looked much the same as it had the past four years with the addition of dress robes, which had been added in the past year. The students should only have needed them last year at the Triwizard Tournament dance, though. Why would they be needed this year, Harry wondered. Harry read the list over to himself and couldn't help taking a closer look at the Defense Against the Dark Arts supplies to try guessing the personality of the new teacher, but he couldn't determine anything. He would just have to wait and see. Fred and George had moved their seats closer to Harry and Ron. Fred whispered, "I can't believe they actually want us back this year." "Hogwarts will never be same when we're gone," George added dramatically. Ron snickered, "Yeah they won't have to worry about missing toilet seats." Harry heard Mrs. Weasley sigh worriedly and looked up to see that she was looking over George's list. Harry wished he could give them money, but any offer he could make would only embarrass them so he dared not try. They would make it by passing down books through the family the way they had always done it. Harry was glad that he had at least been able to give Fred and George his Triwizard Tournament winnings from that year. He had asked them to use it to start their joke shop after they graduated and judging by last night's episode, they fully intended to do just that.
On a tepid morning near the end of August, Harry lay sleeping in a comfortable bed. Harry gently awoke, but did not open his eyes. He wanted to savor the peaceful moment and the smell of the fresh summer air before Aunt Petunia's voice called him back to reality. He lay in bed dreading to face the Dursleys. Harry was surprised when he heard the loud, but friendly voice of Mrs. Weasley instead. As he sat up in his bed he remembered that he was at the Burrow in Ron's room. Mrs. Weasley was waking all the children in the house to go to Diagon Alley for school supplies. Harry changed into his clothes and finished gathering his things for Hogwarts. He and the Weasleys would be staying at the Leaky Cauldron during the last week of summer along with Hermione and her family. Harry wondered briefly about Hermione's cousin Melanie. Mrs. Weasley hustled into Ron's room and was startled to find Harry awake and ready to go. She paused in the doorway and glanced at Ron. "Harry, could you wake him up, please?" Mrs. Weasley begged. She looked very frazzled and Harry knew she didn't have the time to wake Ron up. He had been about to wake Ron anyway and told Mrs. Weasley so. She thanked him and bustled out of the room again.
Harry turned around to face Ron's bed. "Ron, wake up," Harry said shaking him by the shoulder. Ron didn't budge. "Ron," Harry said a little more forcefully.
"But Fred, I don't wanna. No, I won't try that lollypop. It'll turn me into a chicken." Ron muttered in his sleep. Harry's mouth curved into a slight smile at the situation Ron was apparently in. "Ron, it's time to get up," Harry said. Ron didn't respond so Harry shook him harder. "B-bawk!" Ron cried out suddenly. He woke with a start and sprang up in bed. Ron blinked and looked around at Harry who was now chuckling. Ron colored when he realized that he had been talking in his sleep. Harry could tell that his temper was rising, but ignored it. "Your mom wanted me to wake you up. You need to finish packing your things and getting dressed," Harry said still grinning a little. He started packing away the Hogwarts robes Ron had laid out beside his trunk. Harry and Ron dragged their trunks down the stairs and handed them to Mr. Weasley who had taken a few hours off work to take their school things to the Leaky Cauldron in a taxi. They both strode into the kitchen for breakfast. It looked as though the room had exploded. Everything was in chaos as people tried to snatch pieces of toast half in their pajamas and half in their day clothes. Fred and George had yet to pack all of their things for Hogwarts because they had apparently been working on Weasley's Wizzard Wheezes forms for their joke shop. Harry sat down at the kitchen table, which was covered with items that had been forgotten by the Weasleys in their haste. Harry and Ron ate quickly and went back upstairs to retrieve Hedwig. As Harry picked up Hedwig's cage a Barn owl flew in through Ron's open window. Ron reached over and took a letter from the large owl. "Who's it from," Harry asked. Ron showed him the front of the envelope. It was from his older brother Charlie who worked with Dragons in Romania. Harry set down Hedwig's cage as Ron opened the small letter. Ron read aloud. " Dear Ron and Harry,
I wanted to tell you to practice protecting yourselves against
dragons. I hope you won't really need it, but you should still
practice just in case. You will be meeting one of my old friends at
Hogwarts this year. His name is Amos Feldebar, but it would be best
if you just called him Scar. Watch out for him, he is a Dragon Lord
and can be very ill tempered at times. I can't tell you any more, I
probably shouldn't even have told you this much. Have a good time at
Hogwarts this year.
With Love,
Charlie"
"Ron, what's a Dragon Lord?"
"I-I don't know," Ron stammered. "Charlie's never said anything about Dragon Lords except that there aren't many left." Ron turned to see George peeking around the door, but just as he did, George left. Suddenly Ron remembered something he had wanted to talk to Harry about.
"Er, Harry?" said Ron hesitantly.
"Yeah?" Harry replied.
"Have you heard anything about.You-Know-Who, lately?" Ron was speaking at a whisper that was barely audible. Harry, however, spoke in an almost normal voice giving Ron more confidence.
"Yes, but it doesn't really make sense," Harry paused. He was confused by the news from Sirius and The Daily Prophet and wondered whether or not to tell Ron.
"Well what was it," Ron said with a little more than a hint of impatience.
"Did you read about a death rumored to be Voldemort's work in The Daily Prophet?"
Ron flinched at Voldemort's name as almost all wizards did. "Yes I think so. Was it that lady found in her living room?"
"Yes, that one."
"I don't know, Harry. I mean it was just called a rumor and that article might have been written by someone like Rita Skeeter." Rita Skeeter had once been a reporter who had tried to make Harry look like a lunatic in their fourth year. She had secretly listened in on private conversations and used them to write vicious articles attacking Harry, Hermione, and Hagrid. No one knew how she was listening to the conversations, but at the end of the year Hermione discovered that she was an animagus.
"That's what I thought at first, but Sirius sent a letter and he said it was Voldemort's work. He said he was after something, but he didn't know what." Harry wondered if maybe he shouldn't have said what he did because Ron's expression quickly changed from apprehension to surprise.
Ron opened his mouth and closed it before managing to say, "oh" quietly.
"Er, I've got Hedwig. Let's take her down to your dad."
"Okay," Ron said trying to act normal again. He just wasn't ready to face Voldemort's attacks, but he knew it was the truth.
As they were walking down the stairs, Ron suddenly blurted, "wonder what Melanie is like?"
"Uhh, well I thought she looked kind of pretty-" Harry replied innocently.
"So? She's American, some of them can be really pretty, but those ones you really have to look out for because they're vain. Plus a lot of pretty Americans are sassy."
Harry was taken aback by Ron's small speech. "How would you know? You've never met an American."
"Yeah, well." Ron stammered in his defense.
Harry smiled. "I think you'd better keep those thoughts to yourself especially around Hermione and Melanie," he chuckled.
Ron was slightly red on the tips of his ears, but he stayed silent.
Harry, Ron, Fred, George, Ginny, and Mrs. Weasley were gathered around the Weasleys deep fireplace. They were going to use Floo Powder to travel to Diagon Alley while Mr. Weasley took their things to their rooms at the Leaky Cauldron in a taxi. Harry had traveled with the Weasleys to Diagon Alley using Floo Powder in the summer of his second year, but it had not gone well. He had not spoken his destination clearly and landed in the dodgy Knockturn Alley full of dark shops.
"Ginny, you go first," said Mrs. Weasley casually holding out a flowerpot full of Floo Powder. Ginny stepped up to the fireplace with its small orange fire. She took a small handful of the powder Mrs. Weasley held out and threw it into the fire. The fire turned green and grew several feet to the top of the fireplace as Ginny stepped in.
"Diagon Alley!" Ginny shouted and disappeared.
"Alright, Fred," said Mrs. Weasley. First Fred, then George, and Ron disappeared into a roaring green fire. Harry stepped up to the fire and was about to take some powder, but Mrs. Weasley had more to say about this. "Harry, are you sure you want to try this again?"
"Yes," said Harry firmly.
Mrs. Weasley looked uncertain as she thought about what had happened the last time Harry had used Floo Powder. "Well, just remember to say Diagon Alley very clearly," she said slowly. "Watch for the others, they should be waiting for you."
"I will," Harry replied. He grabbed some powder, threw it into the flames and walked into the tall fire. "Diagon.Alley!" Harry coughed out, trying not to swallow too much soot. He closed his eyes as he began spinning incredibly fast. After a few moments he tried opening his eyes again. When he saw all the fireplaces rushing by he felt sick, but he tried hard to keep watching.
Suddenly he saw Ron's face through one of the fireplaces. Harry's arms shot out and he fell forward out of the fireplace. Ron and George caught him before he hit the ground. "Thanks," he muttered. Harry looked around at the place he had come out. It was the back of the Leaky Cauldron at Diagon Alley. Mrs. Weasley came right after Harry and immediately took out a brush and wiped away the soot on Harry's robes, thankful that he had made it without a hitch this time. When she had finished, she brushed off each one of her reluctant children's robes. "We'll all stay together at Gringott's and then I'll send you off on your own," Mrs. Weasley explained as everyone filed out of the Leaky Cauldron into Diagon Alley. At Gringott's Harry whispered to Mrs. Weasley that he wanted to go to his vault alone. She agreed and asked him to wait for them when he came back. He was more than willing to cooperate. Harry was thankful that the Weasleys weren't going to see the small fortune his parents had left him again. It was very large in comparison to the Weasleys' savings and he felt awkward when that fact was pointed out. While Harry was down under Gringott's in his vault he took as much money as he thought he might need that year and a little more to buy a few things he'd want. Harry gathered the money into a sack, which he tucked safely into his pocket and a goblin took him back up to the surface. He arrived in the long hall of Gringott's to find the Weasleys were already there. Harry joined them as they walked out onto the entrance steps of the wizard bank. "Fred, George I want to see you at the Leaky Cauldron by 5 o'clock sharp is that clear? And no wandering into Knockturn Alley," Mrs. Weasley said stiffly. "Harry and Ron, that goes the same for you and if you find Hermione ask her to come along and meet us at the Leaky Cauldron," she said sweetly. "Ginny you can come with me, but if we see Hermione you can finish your school shopping with her." Harry and Ron roamed around the streets of Diagon Alley buying their books, potions supplies, and other things they would need at Hogwarts. They stepped inside Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions to finish up their school shopping. Ron looked over his supply list and moaned, "oh no, what am I going to do about dress robes? We need them again this year."
Harry began to feel a little uncomfortable because he had enough money to buy himself a whole new set of robes plus new dress robes, which was exactly what he needed to do. He had had a large growth spurt during that summer and all his robes, including his dress robes, were now too short on him. Just then Fred and George walked into the store and Harry remembered giving them enough money to buy Ron some new dress robes. They walked through the store over to Harry and Ron.
"Hey Ron, what's up," Fred asked seeing the worried expression on his face.
"I don't know what to do about dress robes, I ruined that red one I had last year," Ron replied.
"Oh don't worry about that," said George, "come to the fitting room we have a surprise for you."
"Okay." The four of them walked back to the fitting room. Ron had no idea what was going on, but Harry was breathing a sigh of relief. The twins had remembered to buy him dress robes.
"Excuse me, Madam Malkin," called Fred. A short, smiling witch quickly walked up to the group.
"Yes," Madam Malkin said in a pleasant voice.
"Ron Weasley's here to be fitted for his dress robes," replied George.
"Ahh, yes I remember that order, made just a few hours ago. Come here Ron let's match you up with a lovely color."
Ron was speechless. "B-but, I don't have enough money."
"Nonsense dear it's already been paid for," Madam Malkin laughed. Ron looked at Fred and George.
"We, er, acquired a bit of money," whispered Fred grinning. Madam Malkin led an astonished Ron off to look at robes. It didn't take very long for her to find him a handsome dark blue robe. Ron carefully tucked it into a bag still awestruck at his brothers' generosity.
"There must be a hitch. What do you want me to do?" Ron was afraid of the answer.
"Nothing. We just couldn't stand to see you in that dress robe again this year," George chimed innocently. Harry easily found a good dress robe for him and bought some new school robes. As they walked out the door, the twins winked at Harry and walked off down the street.
"Looks like we're done buying school things. Let's have some ice cream at Florean Fortescue's," said Ron happily. Harry ordered a large sundae with caramel and chopped nuts while Ron had one with strawberries and whipped cream. They sat eating their ice cream and talking for a short while. Just as they finished Ron glanced past Harry and exclaimed, "look! It's Hermione!"
Harry turned around in his chair and saw Hermione ordering some ice cream. He quickly stood up and followed in Ron's trail as he headed for Hermione. "Hermione! Over here," yelled Harry. Hermione spun to find the face that belonged to the voice calling her name. A broad smile spread across her face as she spotted Harry and Ron.
Ron reached Hermione first and Harry came immediately after him. They said their 'hello's and exchanged quick descriptions of their summers. Then Hermione tapped a girl on the shoulder who was talking to someone else. She turned around to face Harry and Ron. "Harry, Ron, I'd like you to meet my cousin Melanie. Melanie these are my best friends from school."
"Hi, nice to meet you," she said pleasantly in a thick American accent. She held out her hand and smiled. She was even prettier than she had looked in the picture, but Harry couldn't understand a word she had just said. The words had tumbled out of her mouth so fast it sounded like she was speaking an entirely different language.
"What," said Ron perplexed. "Did you say you were going to chew something?"
Melanie's smile faded. "No, I said NICE TO MEET YOU" she said very slowly and loudly so they could understand. She hadn't run into this problem with Hermione. Of course Hermione had met Americans before, though.
"Oh, nice to meet you, too Melanie," Harry chimed in quickly. He shook her hand and nudged Ron. Ron shook her hand too, but it was very short. "Where do you come from in America? Have you lived in Galleon Avenue all your life," Harry said carefully. The smile returned to Melanie's face at his courtesy.
"No, I'm actually from New York. My mom and I were there for vacation," Melanie replied politely. Harry could understand most of what she said, but he wasn't quite sure what Melanie had said she went to Galleon Avenue. He tried to piece it together for a moment, but couldn't.
"I'm sorry," Harry said. "What did you say you went there for?"
"My mom and I were on vacation," Melanie said a little more slowly. Harry was starting to cotton onto her accent despite her fast speech. Ron, however, didn't seem to know what had just taken place at all. Hermione saw Ron's puzzled expression and tried to help him out.
"She's from New York, but she was vacationing in Galleon Avenue," Hermione whispered in his ear. Ron told Hermione he'd known what she said all along. He said he had just been thinking about something else, thank you very much.
"Er, Hermione it's about time for us to meet at the Leaky Cauldron for supper. Melanie should come along, too. I'm sure the others would like to meet her," Harry said checking his watch. They set off toward the Leaky Cauldron just as it was about to turn 5 o'clock.
They reached the Leaky Cauldron at two past five. "Oh, good timing," said Mrs. Weasley cheerily. "Hermione, dear how nice to see you again. And who's this," Mrs. Weasley asked warmly.
"This is my cousin Melanie. She's transferring to Hogwarts this year."
"Really? I didn't realize Hogwarts had started accepting transfers. Anyway, it's nice to meet you Melanie." Mrs. Weasley held out her hand. Melanie took it.
"It's nice to meet you, too, but I don't know who you are," Melanie responded slowly so that Mrs. Weasley could understand her more easily. Mrs. Weasley seemed quite surprised when she heard Melanie speak. She hadn't known she was from America.
"Oh I'm sorry, I'm Ron's mother. You have met Ron right," Mrs. Weasley inquired.
"Yes," Melanie answered with some ice in her voice. Ron hadn't made a very good first impression on her, but she apparently liked his mother. Everyone sat down to eat at a long table. She was seated next to Fred and he and George immediately struck up a conversation with her. They thought her to have a great sense of humor much like their own and unlike Ron and Harry they seemed to have no problem understanding her accent. Ginny also took a liking to her very quickly.
(Disclaimer: We do not own any of J.K. Rowling's characters, plot ideas, nor places. Our story is an original one based upon the first four books written by J.K. Rowling and includes many things created by her. We are not making money in any way by creating this story.)