CHAPTER THREE: BILL'S BIG NEWS
As footsteps echoed through the house and sunlight filtered through the dusty windows signaling the beginning of a new morn, Harry realized with sinking enthusiasm that as much as he would like to stay holed up in this very room and begin to read his mother's diary, the Weasley's were waiting to greet him downstairs. The smell of Mrs. Weasley's eggs, bacon and toast permeated his nose, and as if confirming that he indeed needed to make an appearance, his stomach gave a rather loud rumble.
Five minutes later, hair somewhat in order and completely dressed, Harry descending each level listening to the loud voices coming from the kitchen. He was absolutely certain that by the many different pitches of voices that almost the whole of the Weasley family was congregated in the room. This thought was confirmed as he entered, and the room's noise level dropped dramatically.
Sitting together and pointing at a rather large color advertisement for the Grand Opening of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, Fred and George looked up with grins as Harry made his way towards the table. Mrs. Weasley, however, still looked extra red-eyed and puffy faced with worry lines clearly visible on her face. She made an attempt to cough, miserably failing at concealing a new sob. To make matters worse, Ginny and Hermione looked as if they too would have a go at it if things continued.
"Listen," Harry said, clearing his throat and continuing on in a deeper, steadier voice. "I'm fine. Everything's fine. No one needs to worry about everything. We have everything under control."
"Blimey well put Harry," Fred declaring, banging his fist against the table. "Now, would you care to try out some new Malife--"
"Harry, how can you say everything's fine?" Hermione said, in an abnormally high voice. "We..."
"Needn't to talk about it, dear!" Mrs. Weasley yelped, slamming down a large helping of scrambled eggs which sloshed yellow globules onto the table. Her gaze traveled to the doorway.
"Bill, sit down and eat," she commanded tersely, turning her back on the group.
Harry watched as Bill, his hair longer than ever and a blood-stained fang hanging from his ear, gave Harry a weak smile, and sat down, helping himself to several strips of bacon.
"Hand me some toast mate?" Ron said softly, and Harry jumped, forgetting that his best friend sat glumly by his side, his shoulders slumped as if an invisible weight was pushing him down. Harry did as asked, but as he pushed the plate in Ron's general direction, whispered --
"Upstairs after breakfast, you, me and Hermione."
Ron nodded but didn't look up. They all ate in silence, the air so thick that Harry began to feel the onset of another round of nervousness. Looking around the table he tried to pinpoint a conversation starter.
"Er, so how are things going at the Ministry?" he asked Bill nonchalantly, his teeth pressing into the metal of his egg-ladened fork.
"Ah, yes Bill how is the ministry?" George grinned.
"Or," Fred chimed in. "better yet, how is Fleur?"
Soft laughter echoed around the table, and even Mrs. Weasley couldn't suppress a smile as she nibbled on the corner of a piece of toast. Bill, however, cast a scathing look at his twin brothers.
"Er," Harry began, unsure of whether to laugh or glance around just as scathingly. "Wha' about her?"
"Bill," Hermione said, with a roll of her eyes at Fred and George, "is getting married. In two weeks isn't it?"
Harry watched as Bill ducked his head, grunting what he assumed was a yes. Meanwhile, the twins continued to twitter, leaning over Ron to whisper to Harry, "We're in charge of the bachelor party mate. Anyone of age is invited, well except Perc--"
"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU NOT TO SPEAK OF--"
"Sorry mum," Fred mumbled, sitting back in his seat. George quickly followed suit, staring sullenly at his plate.
"Is Percy still--" Harry whispered as softly as possible to Ron, who nodded.
"It's bad...I'll, er tell you when we get..."
As if propelled by the long agenda of things to discuss, they finished soon after, excusing themselves upstairs amidst curious looks from Bill, Ginny and the twins. Harry lead the way with Ron and Hermione following, into his room, closing the door behind them the moment they were inside.
"Harry," Hermione began. "We know bits and pieces of what Dumbledore told you last night. Fred and George--"
"They're in the Order now.." Ron added.
"They filled us in on it. Oh, Harry!" Hermione cried and in a whirl of bushy hair attacked him, her arms locking tightly around his waist. Harry stood uncertainly, his fingers gently pushing into her back in a small sign of comfort.
"C'mon 'ermione, gerrof him," Ron grumbled, tugging at her hand. After several tries she finally came loose, shooting a dirty look at Ron, but nevertheless sitting beside him. Both of them looked up at Harry.
"Er, well...if you know..." Harry stumbled around for the right words but none came. "I have a year," he finally said, his voice wrought with finality. "I'm going to fight."
Hermione looked like she might start to sob again and horrified, Harry saw that Ron didn't look too far behind. However, it was Ron who stood up first, his jaw set.
"Well you'll have Dumbledore...and me."
"And me," Hermione added, standing up. "I'll scour the library. There has to be some way..."
"No book will beat Voldemort, Hermione," Harry reminded, walking towards the window and looking down at Grimmauld Square. "No book, nor my wand. It will be something else...something that won't come to me until my final minutes," he added.
"You're NOT going to die, Harry," Ron groaned. Harry's eyes shifted to watch as he pulled a tuft of red hair from his scalp, too distraught to feel the pain. "Anyhow, we have a whole year. We can't just sit here and worry..."
"Harry dying is something to worry about! We only have until the end of the school year! I swear Ronald Weasley, sometimes you can be so selfish and..."
Harry braced himself for the beginning of another quarrel between the two, shutting his eyes to control his temper, much like a parent overseeing two little children, but the bickering never started. Opening his eyes he watched, surprised, as Hermione, crying softly, leaned into Ron who, doing much better than Harry did, hugged her tightly and whispered something that relaxed her shoulders immensely.
"Er," Harry coughed, feeling a blush creep along his face. Ron looked at him, almost apologetically, and at once let go of Hermione, who turned, but not before wiping at the wet stain sinking into Ron's shirt.
"This is ridiculous," she declared with a strong voice that conflicted very much with her blotchy face. "Why don't we..." she looked back at Ron, who immediately shifted his gaze to the ceiling, his fingers trailing the spot where her tears seeped through. "Why don't we forget about all this, enjoy the next two weeks and then get down to work," she said with a sigh. "I mean there's a wedding coming up!"
"Yeah, er, there is!" Harry said trying to force enthusiasm into his voice. Attempting a half smile, he sat on his bed, his hands beginning to reach for the diary. "And I've got to show--"
He trailed off as a knock sounded at the door, and Bill's voice came through the solid wood.
"Er, Ron mum wants you back in the kitchen fer a few minutes. Measure you for your, er, robes for the, yeah..."
He trailed off and the footsteps receded. Harry watched as Ron and Hermione shared a soft smile and he felt, for the first time that he might be intruding, but on what, he did not know.
"Mate, do you mind if I run down there really quick? I'm in the wedding and..."
"What? No, of course not, no problem. Actually I'll see you around lunchtime I er,"
"Didn't you say you had something to show us?" Hermione interrupted, her eyes going from him to his hand, which Harry quickly pulled from under the spread.
"Did I? No, I don't. Must have just slipped out wrong. Go on," Harry forced a smile.
Ron made towards the door, turning it but stopped before sliding out, gazing back at Harry with a look as if he had just remembered something important.
"Hermy, would you mind filling Harry in on Percy?"
Harry had forgotten about his inquiry about the ongoing status of Percy's place in the Weasley family. Hermione nodded however, and shut the door behind Ron, talking only when she heard his footsteps going downstairs.
"You don't have to, I just was cu--"
"Of course you're curious! And you DO need to know Harry," she said looking very uncomfortable. "The Order has a strong suspicion that Percy might have joined forces with the Death Eaters. Of course, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley hope it isn't true, but if it is, oh, I only hope it's because he's being controlled by the Imperious Curse. It would break their hearts if he was doing it on his own accord," she sighed deeply.
Harry thought of Percy, his least favorite of the Weasley brothers and wondered how anyone so focused on rule-following could join forces with people who cared less about right and wrong unless...
"I suppose Percy is still hungry for power," Harry said out loud, but mostly to himself.
"Well, the ministry let him go. He was trying to take over, but there have been rumors. They say he's gaining in the ranks elsewhere, but..."
"What will be will be," Harry said, most anxious to stop picturing Percy in the Death Eater's circle, a faceless entity bowing to their Dark Lord...
"Besides, what's going on with you and Ron?" he blurted, trying to meet Hermione's quickly fleeting gaze.
"I don't know what you mean Harry..."
Harry sat dumbfounded, unsure how to explain. What was he to say? 'How come Ron was actually patting your back properly?' No, that definitely sounded stupid...
"I don't either...listen, I think I'm going to lie down for a couple more hours. See you at lunch?" he asked. He thought he heard her breath a sigh of relief, and a smile emerged on her lips.
"Sure Harry, get some rest."
She patted his knee, and headed towards the door, giving him a parting wave before closing the door behind her. As she retreated Harry sank back into the pillows, his hand reaching under his spread once more and pulling out his mother's diary. Again, he flipped to page one, determined not to fall asleep this time...
As footsteps echoed through the house and sunlight filtered through the dusty windows signaling the beginning of a new morn, Harry realized with sinking enthusiasm that as much as he would like to stay holed up in this very room and begin to read his mother's diary, the Weasley's were waiting to greet him downstairs. The smell of Mrs. Weasley's eggs, bacon and toast permeated his nose, and as if confirming that he indeed needed to make an appearance, his stomach gave a rather loud rumble.
Five minutes later, hair somewhat in order and completely dressed, Harry descending each level listening to the loud voices coming from the kitchen. He was absolutely certain that by the many different pitches of voices that almost the whole of the Weasley family was congregated in the room. This thought was confirmed as he entered, and the room's noise level dropped dramatically.
Sitting together and pointing at a rather large color advertisement for the Grand Opening of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, Fred and George looked up with grins as Harry made his way towards the table. Mrs. Weasley, however, still looked extra red-eyed and puffy faced with worry lines clearly visible on her face. She made an attempt to cough, miserably failing at concealing a new sob. To make matters worse, Ginny and Hermione looked as if they too would have a go at it if things continued.
"Listen," Harry said, clearing his throat and continuing on in a deeper, steadier voice. "I'm fine. Everything's fine. No one needs to worry about everything. We have everything under control."
"Blimey well put Harry," Fred declaring, banging his fist against the table. "Now, would you care to try out some new Malife--"
"Harry, how can you say everything's fine?" Hermione said, in an abnormally high voice. "We..."
"Needn't to talk about it, dear!" Mrs. Weasley yelped, slamming down a large helping of scrambled eggs which sloshed yellow globules onto the table. Her gaze traveled to the doorway.
"Bill, sit down and eat," she commanded tersely, turning her back on the group.
Harry watched as Bill, his hair longer than ever and a blood-stained fang hanging from his ear, gave Harry a weak smile, and sat down, helping himself to several strips of bacon.
"Hand me some toast mate?" Ron said softly, and Harry jumped, forgetting that his best friend sat glumly by his side, his shoulders slumped as if an invisible weight was pushing him down. Harry did as asked, but as he pushed the plate in Ron's general direction, whispered --
"Upstairs after breakfast, you, me and Hermione."
Ron nodded but didn't look up. They all ate in silence, the air so thick that Harry began to feel the onset of another round of nervousness. Looking around the table he tried to pinpoint a conversation starter.
"Er, so how are things going at the Ministry?" he asked Bill nonchalantly, his teeth pressing into the metal of his egg-ladened fork.
"Ah, yes Bill how is the ministry?" George grinned.
"Or," Fred chimed in. "better yet, how is Fleur?"
Soft laughter echoed around the table, and even Mrs. Weasley couldn't suppress a smile as she nibbled on the corner of a piece of toast. Bill, however, cast a scathing look at his twin brothers.
"Er," Harry began, unsure of whether to laugh or glance around just as scathingly. "Wha' about her?"
"Bill," Hermione said, with a roll of her eyes at Fred and George, "is getting married. In two weeks isn't it?"
Harry watched as Bill ducked his head, grunting what he assumed was a yes. Meanwhile, the twins continued to twitter, leaning over Ron to whisper to Harry, "We're in charge of the bachelor party mate. Anyone of age is invited, well except Perc--"
"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU NOT TO SPEAK OF--"
"Sorry mum," Fred mumbled, sitting back in his seat. George quickly followed suit, staring sullenly at his plate.
"Is Percy still--" Harry whispered as softly as possible to Ron, who nodded.
"It's bad...I'll, er tell you when we get..."
As if propelled by the long agenda of things to discuss, they finished soon after, excusing themselves upstairs amidst curious looks from Bill, Ginny and the twins. Harry lead the way with Ron and Hermione following, into his room, closing the door behind them the moment they were inside.
"Harry," Hermione began. "We know bits and pieces of what Dumbledore told you last night. Fred and George--"
"They're in the Order now.." Ron added.
"They filled us in on it. Oh, Harry!" Hermione cried and in a whirl of bushy hair attacked him, her arms locking tightly around his waist. Harry stood uncertainly, his fingers gently pushing into her back in a small sign of comfort.
"C'mon 'ermione, gerrof him," Ron grumbled, tugging at her hand. After several tries she finally came loose, shooting a dirty look at Ron, but nevertheless sitting beside him. Both of them looked up at Harry.
"Er, well...if you know..." Harry stumbled around for the right words but none came. "I have a year," he finally said, his voice wrought with finality. "I'm going to fight."
Hermione looked like she might start to sob again and horrified, Harry saw that Ron didn't look too far behind. However, it was Ron who stood up first, his jaw set.
"Well you'll have Dumbledore...and me."
"And me," Hermione added, standing up. "I'll scour the library. There has to be some way..."
"No book will beat Voldemort, Hermione," Harry reminded, walking towards the window and looking down at Grimmauld Square. "No book, nor my wand. It will be something else...something that won't come to me until my final minutes," he added.
"You're NOT going to die, Harry," Ron groaned. Harry's eyes shifted to watch as he pulled a tuft of red hair from his scalp, too distraught to feel the pain. "Anyhow, we have a whole year. We can't just sit here and worry..."
"Harry dying is something to worry about! We only have until the end of the school year! I swear Ronald Weasley, sometimes you can be so selfish and..."
Harry braced himself for the beginning of another quarrel between the two, shutting his eyes to control his temper, much like a parent overseeing two little children, but the bickering never started. Opening his eyes he watched, surprised, as Hermione, crying softly, leaned into Ron who, doing much better than Harry did, hugged her tightly and whispered something that relaxed her shoulders immensely.
"Er," Harry coughed, feeling a blush creep along his face. Ron looked at him, almost apologetically, and at once let go of Hermione, who turned, but not before wiping at the wet stain sinking into Ron's shirt.
"This is ridiculous," she declared with a strong voice that conflicted very much with her blotchy face. "Why don't we..." she looked back at Ron, who immediately shifted his gaze to the ceiling, his fingers trailing the spot where her tears seeped through. "Why don't we forget about all this, enjoy the next two weeks and then get down to work," she said with a sigh. "I mean there's a wedding coming up!"
"Yeah, er, there is!" Harry said trying to force enthusiasm into his voice. Attempting a half smile, he sat on his bed, his hands beginning to reach for the diary. "And I've got to show--"
He trailed off as a knock sounded at the door, and Bill's voice came through the solid wood.
"Er, Ron mum wants you back in the kitchen fer a few minutes. Measure you for your, er, robes for the, yeah..."
He trailed off and the footsteps receded. Harry watched as Ron and Hermione shared a soft smile and he felt, for the first time that he might be intruding, but on what, he did not know.
"Mate, do you mind if I run down there really quick? I'm in the wedding and..."
"What? No, of course not, no problem. Actually I'll see you around lunchtime I er,"
"Didn't you say you had something to show us?" Hermione interrupted, her eyes going from him to his hand, which Harry quickly pulled from under the spread.
"Did I? No, I don't. Must have just slipped out wrong. Go on," Harry forced a smile.
Ron made towards the door, turning it but stopped before sliding out, gazing back at Harry with a look as if he had just remembered something important.
"Hermy, would you mind filling Harry in on Percy?"
Harry had forgotten about his inquiry about the ongoing status of Percy's place in the Weasley family. Hermione nodded however, and shut the door behind Ron, talking only when she heard his footsteps going downstairs.
"You don't have to, I just was cu--"
"Of course you're curious! And you DO need to know Harry," she said looking very uncomfortable. "The Order has a strong suspicion that Percy might have joined forces with the Death Eaters. Of course, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley hope it isn't true, but if it is, oh, I only hope it's because he's being controlled by the Imperious Curse. It would break their hearts if he was doing it on his own accord," she sighed deeply.
Harry thought of Percy, his least favorite of the Weasley brothers and wondered how anyone so focused on rule-following could join forces with people who cared less about right and wrong unless...
"I suppose Percy is still hungry for power," Harry said out loud, but mostly to himself.
"Well, the ministry let him go. He was trying to take over, but there have been rumors. They say he's gaining in the ranks elsewhere, but..."
"What will be will be," Harry said, most anxious to stop picturing Percy in the Death Eater's circle, a faceless entity bowing to their Dark Lord...
"Besides, what's going on with you and Ron?" he blurted, trying to meet Hermione's quickly fleeting gaze.
"I don't know what you mean Harry..."
Harry sat dumbfounded, unsure how to explain. What was he to say? 'How come Ron was actually patting your back properly?' No, that definitely sounded stupid...
"I don't either...listen, I think I'm going to lie down for a couple more hours. See you at lunch?" he asked. He thought he heard her breath a sigh of relief, and a smile emerged on her lips.
"Sure Harry, get some rest."
She patted his knee, and headed towards the door, giving him a parting wave before closing the door behind her. As she retreated Harry sank back into the pillows, his hand reaching under his spread once more and pulling out his mother's diary. Again, he flipped to page one, determined not to fall asleep this time...