CHAPTER FOUR
NUMBER NINETY-THREE, DIAGON ALLEY
"Congratulations Harry!" said Fred merrily ruffling up Harry's hair, making it even messier than it had been.
"You wouldn't stand a chance if we were still on the team though!" said George chuckling.
It was another glorious Sunday with clear sapphire sky, and Harry was sitting on the lawn in the Weasleys' yard, surrounded by Ron, Fred, George, Ginny, and Bill; Ron's elder brother, who worked for Gringotts, the wizarding bank, and was at the same time a member of the Order of the Phoenix. Bill lived in London after he had returned to England from Egypt the very last summer to help the Order, and from what Harry had seen, he was a rather busy member of the Order as this was the first time Harry had seen him since his arrival at the Burrow.
"Don't listen to those two, Harry, you're the best player Gryffindor have ever had!" said Bill patting Harry on the back. His appearance didn't seem to have changed much; his long hair was tied back in a ponytail, and he wore an earring with a fang dangling from it, and clothes that were fit for a rock concert.
"So you're going to pick me as a Chaser, right Harry?" asked Ginny eagerly.
"That would be decided after I've seen your tryout," said Harry, snickering.
"Starting to feel conceited, are we?" said Ginny, giggling.
"So, when are you going to buy your new school books, Harry?" asked Fred, grinning at Harry.
Harry sighed and frowned a little.
"I was thinking tomorrow, your Mum and Dad didn't seem quite keen on it though," he said dully.
"It's not that dangerous though," said Ron briskly, "I mean, it'll be broad daylight, and members of the Order will be coming with you, besides, You-Know-Who's done what he's been up to, hasn't he?"
Harry had a fleeting image of Hermione, staring at him sternly; what would Hermione say if she were with them now? Surely she would try to avert him from going to Diagon Alley and, in her opinion, risking his life! Harry suppressed a snicker at that thought.
"If you get to Diagon Alley, drop in at number ninety-three, will you, Harry?" said Fred still grinning.
"We've hired our first employee ever," said George smirking, "and we'd like you to meet him."
Harry nodded.
Harry had barely finished breakfast next day, when three loud cracks announced the arrival of Tonks, Moody, and Lupin at the Weaslys' tiny kitchen.
"Good morning!" said Tonks brightly, Her spiky hair was bubble-gum-pink - which Harry thought was probably today's color as she could change her appearance at will, being a Metamorphmagus - and she was wearing her purple T-shirt that bore THE WEIRD SISTERS legend.
"Good morning!" replied Harry grinning.
"How was your summer?" asked Lupin beaming at him, his face was pale, his hair was graying, and he was wearing battered jumper and trousers.
"Er .. fine," lied Harry.
"I've heard you've done a nice Patronus Charm back in Hogsmeade, Harry, you've really made me proud," said Lupin, patting Harry on the back.
"Thanks," replied Harry awkwardly.
Mad-Eye Moody was holding a staff, and wearing his voluminous traveling cloak and his bowler hat that covered his magical eye, but still, Harry had an unpleasant feeling that it was resting upon him under that hat.
"Let's go then, shall we?" growled Moody.
After listening to Mrs. Weasley's last-minute word, in which she tried to persuade him to stay at the Burrow while she got his things for him from Diagon Alley, and which he rejected kindly, Harry set off into bright sunlight, accompanied by Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Ginny, Tonks, Moody, and Lupin.
They took an Underground train, and their journey was eventless this time. Soon, Harry found himself at the entrance of the familiar grubby-looking pub, The Leaky Cauldron. He entered Diagon Alley through the archway in the courtyard's wall with Mrs. Weasley, Ron, and Ginny, leaving Tonks, Moody, and Lupin at the crowded bar.
They dropped in at Gringotts, the wizarding bank, and Harry withdrew some gold Galleons from his vault (which, to him, was the most embarrassing procedure as he didn't want Ron to see the mountain of gold that lay in his vault, when there was only a little pile of silver Sickles in the Weasleys' vault), and they were at Flourish and Blotts when Harry spotted a tangle of brown bushy hair behind a huge stack of heavy books that were moving toward the exit.
"Hermione?" said Harry uncertainly.
A pair of eyes appeared from behind the stack of books and widened promptly. There was a loud scream, and the stack of books fell to the ground with a loud thud, causing many faces in the crowded bookshop to turn sharply toward the source of the racket.
"HARRY! At last!" squeaked Hermione, hugging Harry so tightly that he was actually knocked backwards.
"How are you? Oh, I've been so worried! Oh, those dementors!" she was observing him through watery eyes.
"It's OK, I'm fine Hermione, get a grip!" said Harry, struggling to get away from her.
"Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Ginny, how are you?" said Hermione, finally noticing the three Weasleys.
"We're fine dear," said Mrs. Weasley, beaming at her in a motherly fashion.
Mr. And Mrs. Granger, who had been at the back of the bookshop, jostled their way through the crowd toward the spot where their daughter's scream had come from.
"Mrs. Weasley," said Mr.Granger, beaming and shaking Mrs. Weasley's hand, "it's nice to see you again."
"So, how did you know about the dementors thing?" asked Harry conversationally, as Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and himself strode out of Flourish and Blotts, their hands free, while Mrs. Weasley strode toward the Leaky Cauldron, chatting merrily to Mr. And Mrs. Granger who were walking alongside her, a huge stack of books hovering ahead of the three of them conducted by Mrs. Weasley's wand. Harry, Ron, and Ginny had actually managed to convince her to meet them in the pub half an hour later.
"The Daily Prophet," replied Hermione simply.
"Odd," said Harry slightly puzzled, "I've been reading the Prophet, but I don't recall seeing any article about what happened in Hogsmeade!"
"That's because it wasn't exactly an article, Harry." Said Hermione sarcastically, "there were barely two lines on one of the last pages."
"It's that git, Fudge, he's trying to hush it all up!" said Ron indignantly.
"If only Dad were Minister of Magic!" said Ginny eagerly.
"Hello Harry," said a voice cheerfully from behind them, and the four of them spun around simultaneously to see a little boy with tidy dirty-blond hair and emerald-green eyes beaming at them. He was holding many bags with one hand, and a cage that contained a handsome tawny owl that was snoozing in it, with the other.
"Hello, Mark, it's good to see you again!" said Harry, a wide smile suddenly spreading through his face.
"Oh, sorry," said Harry noticing the puzzled looks on his friends' faces, "this is Mark Evans, my cousin," he continued, gesturing toward the little boy, "Ron, Ginny, and Hermione, my best friends," he said, indicating each one of them in turn.
There was a moment of stunned silence, in which Ron, Ginny, and Hermione looked from Harry to Mark, evidently confused.
"I thought your cousin was a bit larger," said Ron, perplexed.
Both Harry and Mark laughed for a few moments, ignoring the fact that the other three were now looking at each other, utterly bewildered.
"You mean Dudley?" said Harry, still chuckling, "no, Mark's my other cousin, I'll explain later."
He turned to face Mark.
"Why don't you come with us? We're going to see friends of ours, they own a joke shop!" said Harry eagerly, but Mark shook his head.
"Sorry, Harry, I can't, my gran's waiting for me," he indicated an old witch with good-natured face, who was standing outside an Apothecary, examining closely what looked like bright yellow powder.
"Well, see you at school, then, Harry," he said cheerfully.
"OK," said Harry gloomily.
"Nice meeting you! Bye," said Mark brightly, waving at them, and striding away toward his grandmother.
Harry spent the next five minutes explaining about his newly found cousin to Ron, Ginny, and Hermione.
"You mean the muggles knew all along, and they never told you!" said Ron, looking utterly amazed.
"Well, you know my aunt and uncle," said Harry bitterly, "If Dumbledore didn't make them take me in as a child, I wouldn't even know that I have an aunt and an uncle."
They came to a halt at a very crowded area; people seemed to be jostling outside some store, trying to get inside it, a scene that reminded Harry forcibly of the day that Gilderoy Lockhart, their former Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, had come to sign his books at Flourish and Blotts, four years earlier.
"What's this all about?" asked Harry, staring at the crowd, "You don't reckon Lockhart's out of St. Mungo's, do you?" he finished, looking nervously from Ron to Ginny to Hermione. Ron and Ginny both laughed.
"I don't think so, Harry," said Ginny, still giggling, "this is number ninety-three," she indicated a huge sign that was hanging over the store door.
Harry stared at it and saw that there were huge letters of various bright colors that were dancing merrily on it, forming the words:
WEASLEYS' WIZARDING WHEEZES
Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione jostled their way into the store, and instead of hearing a bell of some kind announcing their presence as they stepped inside, the Weasley twins' voices chorused from somewhere above them: "WELCOME, MARAUDER!"
It was very crowded inside; young Witches and wizards, who all seemed to be Hogwarts students, were examining excitedly the stacks of Skiving Snackboxes, Weasleys' Wildfire Whiz-Bangs boxes, the jars of Ton-Tongue Toffee, and many other products that Harry could not recognize.
They could hear Fred and George's voices over the excited chattering of the students, they jostled their way toward the place that the voice was coming from, and when they had finally emerged out of the sea of students, they found themselves standing at a long counter, and behind it, busy demonstrating the qualities of the merchandise to astonished-looking customers, were Fred, George, and - to Harry's amazement - Lee Jordan.
"Harry! So nice to see you at our humble joke shop," said Fred grinning, at the sight of Harry.
"You wouldn't be stopping me from selling this Skiving Snackbox, now, would you, Hermione?" said George, smirking, and handing the Snackbox to a grinning, sinister-looking blond boy, who shoved some gold into George's hand in return.
Hermione flushed furiously.
"Look who's here! The new Gryffindor Captain, and the promising Keeper, and Seeker, along with our law-abiding Prefect!" said Lee brightly, beaming at them.
Hermione flushed even worse.
"Well, I think I'm going to try out for Chaser," said Ginny earnestly.
"So, you're the new Employee?" said Harry, looking intently at Lee.
Lee gave a tiny chuckle, then, grinning, he said:
"Well, I don't think I've got too many choices, not with my four N.E.W.T.s."
"Well, if you ask me, I'm surprised our little bro here's managed to scrape eight O.W.L.s, including an Outstanding!" said Fred, shaking his head sadly, as he handed a vividly colored box, which bore the words PORTABLE SWAMP, to an excited-looking little boy, "oh, the shame of it!"
Ron blushed badly as Harry and Hermione both turned simultaneously to stare at him.
Harry was suddenly aware that he had not asked Ron about his O.W.L.s results, and it seemed from Hermione's reaction that what she had just heard was news to her too.
"What was the O.W.L you've got an O in, Ron?" Harry asked eagerly.
"Defense Against the Dark Arts," muttered Ron, "I've got three E's in Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures, and Potions, a P in Divination, and A's in the rest." He finished before anyone could ask him another question.
There was a moment of stunned silence, in which Ron stared at the floor while his ears seemed to grow even redder.
"Well that's good, isn't it?" Hermione spoke finally, "I mean - an O in Defense Against the Dark Arts, and an E in Potions - and the Potions O.W.L exam wasn't that easy if you ask me!"
Both Harry and Ron were staring awestruck at Hermione now.
"Hermione, are you feeling well?" asked Ron, eyeing her incredulously.
"Oh, come off it!" she said impatiently.
George, who had disappeared for a few minutes, emerged from a door behind the counter carrying a large, heavy-looking box.
"Here you go, Harry," he said, putting the box on the counter under Harry's nose, "a sample of our merchandise - free of charge," he finished, grinning.
"I - you don't have to - " Harry mumbled awkwardly, staring at the box.
"It's nothing .. without you, we would never have been able to open this joke shop, mate, besides, it's good publicity in Hogwarts for our shop after all!" said George, grinning broadly, and winking at him.
"Thanks," said Harry, grinning back.
"So - haven't you two considered - er - going back to Hogwarts?" said Hermione tentatively, looking nervously from Fred to George.
Fred, George, and Lee all laughed.
Hermione blushed a little, but continued firmly.
"You ought to consider it, now that Umbridge's gone - the joke shop can wait another year, you know - Lee can take care of it while you're - "
"Hermione!" said Fred, still chuckling, "You sound just like Mum - you should've been her daughter!"
Harry suppressed a giggle.
Hermione blushed worse, but did not utter a word.
"I hate to admit it," said Ginny earnestly, staring thoughtfully at the twins, "but I think the Gryffindor Quidditch team will never have Beaters as well qualified as you two are!"
"Well, that's our sister!" said George, grinning broadly, and patting Ginny on the head, "but there won't be any discounts here, today, though - business is business!" he continued, chuckling.
"Looks like they're doing really good," said Harry ten minutes later, he was carrying the heavy box that George had given him, and walking up Diagon Alley with Ron, Ginny, and Hermione alongside him, "I've got a feeling we're going to miss them on the Quidditch field, though!"
"I reckon Filch's the one who's going to miss them most!" Ron snickered.
Everybody laughed.
"You're late!" said Mrs. Weasley the moment they entered the pub again, "it's been forty minutes now!"
"Mum! It's not like Death Eaters are going to Attack us at any moment - " Ron began, but at that precise moment, there was a loud explosion sound somewhere in the street outside the pub, closely followed by a loud racket, and screams of terrified people.
Lupin, Moody, and Tonks, who were sitting at a table not far from where Mrs. Weasley was standing, leapt to their feet promptly, whipping out their wands. Mrs. Weasley, who was very white now, followed suit.
Ron, however, looked very appalled now; he was staring transfixed at the pub door with his mouth half open.
The pub was suddenly very quiet, everyone was now gazing horror-struck at the pub door, behind which the loud noises and horrified screams were becoming more pronounced by the moment, some wizards and witches had already pulled out their wands.
Mr. Granger Was standing with his arm around Mrs. Granger's shoulder, they were both standing very close to each other in a corner, looking extremely terrified.
Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione, who were now recovering slightly from the shock, all pulled out their wands and held them in front of them.
"Stay where you are!" whispered Lupin fiercely, shooting them a fleeting glance, as he picked up an empty bottle from the table in front of him.
"Portus," he muttered, pointing his wand at the bottle, which glowed blue, and trembled in his hand for a few moments, then became still again.
"Molly, kindly, escort the Grangers and the rest to the Burrow," he whispered again, as he lowered the bottle to the floor and gave it a tiny push, making it roll across the pub floor toward the place where Harry and his friends were standing with their wands still at the ready.
But as the bottle was exactly midway between Lupin and Harry, there was a deafening blast, and the pub door, and front wall were blown so forcibly, sending bricks, chunks of wood, and dust in all directions, and causing the bottle to roll away madly. There were several screams in the pub; Hermione actually gave a feeble whimper.
"DUCK!" bellowed Lupin, dropping rapidly onto the rubble-strewn floor, with his wand held at the ready in front of him, like a policeman taking cover.
Harry did not need to hear that echoing yell to duck, as he was already flat on his stomach, on the floor, and so were the Weasleys, and the Grangers.
Harry was lying behind the large box that George had given him, and as he took off his glasses to wipe them clean of the dust that now covered them obscuring his vision, he felt a couple of jets of green light streak over his head.
"Well, well, if it isn't the famous Harry Potter!" he heard a harsh, horribly familiar female voice speak from somewhere near the ruined wall.
Harry's insides plummeted horribly, his heart was hammering madly. He put his glasses frantically back on, and, coughing and blinking madly in the dusty air, he looked up toward the place that the voice was coming from.
NUMBER NINETY-THREE, DIAGON ALLEY
"Congratulations Harry!" said Fred merrily ruffling up Harry's hair, making it even messier than it had been.
"You wouldn't stand a chance if we were still on the team though!" said George chuckling.
It was another glorious Sunday with clear sapphire sky, and Harry was sitting on the lawn in the Weasleys' yard, surrounded by Ron, Fred, George, Ginny, and Bill; Ron's elder brother, who worked for Gringotts, the wizarding bank, and was at the same time a member of the Order of the Phoenix. Bill lived in London after he had returned to England from Egypt the very last summer to help the Order, and from what Harry had seen, he was a rather busy member of the Order as this was the first time Harry had seen him since his arrival at the Burrow.
"Don't listen to those two, Harry, you're the best player Gryffindor have ever had!" said Bill patting Harry on the back. His appearance didn't seem to have changed much; his long hair was tied back in a ponytail, and he wore an earring with a fang dangling from it, and clothes that were fit for a rock concert.
"So you're going to pick me as a Chaser, right Harry?" asked Ginny eagerly.
"That would be decided after I've seen your tryout," said Harry, snickering.
"Starting to feel conceited, are we?" said Ginny, giggling.
"So, when are you going to buy your new school books, Harry?" asked Fred, grinning at Harry.
Harry sighed and frowned a little.
"I was thinking tomorrow, your Mum and Dad didn't seem quite keen on it though," he said dully.
"It's not that dangerous though," said Ron briskly, "I mean, it'll be broad daylight, and members of the Order will be coming with you, besides, You-Know-Who's done what he's been up to, hasn't he?"
Harry had a fleeting image of Hermione, staring at him sternly; what would Hermione say if she were with them now? Surely she would try to avert him from going to Diagon Alley and, in her opinion, risking his life! Harry suppressed a snicker at that thought.
"If you get to Diagon Alley, drop in at number ninety-three, will you, Harry?" said Fred still grinning.
"We've hired our first employee ever," said George smirking, "and we'd like you to meet him."
Harry nodded.
Harry had barely finished breakfast next day, when three loud cracks announced the arrival of Tonks, Moody, and Lupin at the Weaslys' tiny kitchen.
"Good morning!" said Tonks brightly, Her spiky hair was bubble-gum-pink - which Harry thought was probably today's color as she could change her appearance at will, being a Metamorphmagus - and she was wearing her purple T-shirt that bore THE WEIRD SISTERS legend.
"Good morning!" replied Harry grinning.
"How was your summer?" asked Lupin beaming at him, his face was pale, his hair was graying, and he was wearing battered jumper and trousers.
"Er .. fine," lied Harry.
"I've heard you've done a nice Patronus Charm back in Hogsmeade, Harry, you've really made me proud," said Lupin, patting Harry on the back.
"Thanks," replied Harry awkwardly.
Mad-Eye Moody was holding a staff, and wearing his voluminous traveling cloak and his bowler hat that covered his magical eye, but still, Harry had an unpleasant feeling that it was resting upon him under that hat.
"Let's go then, shall we?" growled Moody.
After listening to Mrs. Weasley's last-minute word, in which she tried to persuade him to stay at the Burrow while she got his things for him from Diagon Alley, and which he rejected kindly, Harry set off into bright sunlight, accompanied by Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Ginny, Tonks, Moody, and Lupin.
They took an Underground train, and their journey was eventless this time. Soon, Harry found himself at the entrance of the familiar grubby-looking pub, The Leaky Cauldron. He entered Diagon Alley through the archway in the courtyard's wall with Mrs. Weasley, Ron, and Ginny, leaving Tonks, Moody, and Lupin at the crowded bar.
They dropped in at Gringotts, the wizarding bank, and Harry withdrew some gold Galleons from his vault (which, to him, was the most embarrassing procedure as he didn't want Ron to see the mountain of gold that lay in his vault, when there was only a little pile of silver Sickles in the Weasleys' vault), and they were at Flourish and Blotts when Harry spotted a tangle of brown bushy hair behind a huge stack of heavy books that were moving toward the exit.
"Hermione?" said Harry uncertainly.
A pair of eyes appeared from behind the stack of books and widened promptly. There was a loud scream, and the stack of books fell to the ground with a loud thud, causing many faces in the crowded bookshop to turn sharply toward the source of the racket.
"HARRY! At last!" squeaked Hermione, hugging Harry so tightly that he was actually knocked backwards.
"How are you? Oh, I've been so worried! Oh, those dementors!" she was observing him through watery eyes.
"It's OK, I'm fine Hermione, get a grip!" said Harry, struggling to get away from her.
"Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Ginny, how are you?" said Hermione, finally noticing the three Weasleys.
"We're fine dear," said Mrs. Weasley, beaming at her in a motherly fashion.
Mr. And Mrs. Granger, who had been at the back of the bookshop, jostled their way through the crowd toward the spot where their daughter's scream had come from.
"Mrs. Weasley," said Mr.Granger, beaming and shaking Mrs. Weasley's hand, "it's nice to see you again."
"So, how did you know about the dementors thing?" asked Harry conversationally, as Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and himself strode out of Flourish and Blotts, their hands free, while Mrs. Weasley strode toward the Leaky Cauldron, chatting merrily to Mr. And Mrs. Granger who were walking alongside her, a huge stack of books hovering ahead of the three of them conducted by Mrs. Weasley's wand. Harry, Ron, and Ginny had actually managed to convince her to meet them in the pub half an hour later.
"The Daily Prophet," replied Hermione simply.
"Odd," said Harry slightly puzzled, "I've been reading the Prophet, but I don't recall seeing any article about what happened in Hogsmeade!"
"That's because it wasn't exactly an article, Harry." Said Hermione sarcastically, "there were barely two lines on one of the last pages."
"It's that git, Fudge, he's trying to hush it all up!" said Ron indignantly.
"If only Dad were Minister of Magic!" said Ginny eagerly.
"Hello Harry," said a voice cheerfully from behind them, and the four of them spun around simultaneously to see a little boy with tidy dirty-blond hair and emerald-green eyes beaming at them. He was holding many bags with one hand, and a cage that contained a handsome tawny owl that was snoozing in it, with the other.
"Hello, Mark, it's good to see you again!" said Harry, a wide smile suddenly spreading through his face.
"Oh, sorry," said Harry noticing the puzzled looks on his friends' faces, "this is Mark Evans, my cousin," he continued, gesturing toward the little boy, "Ron, Ginny, and Hermione, my best friends," he said, indicating each one of them in turn.
There was a moment of stunned silence, in which Ron, Ginny, and Hermione looked from Harry to Mark, evidently confused.
"I thought your cousin was a bit larger," said Ron, perplexed.
Both Harry and Mark laughed for a few moments, ignoring the fact that the other three were now looking at each other, utterly bewildered.
"You mean Dudley?" said Harry, still chuckling, "no, Mark's my other cousin, I'll explain later."
He turned to face Mark.
"Why don't you come with us? We're going to see friends of ours, they own a joke shop!" said Harry eagerly, but Mark shook his head.
"Sorry, Harry, I can't, my gran's waiting for me," he indicated an old witch with good-natured face, who was standing outside an Apothecary, examining closely what looked like bright yellow powder.
"Well, see you at school, then, Harry," he said cheerfully.
"OK," said Harry gloomily.
"Nice meeting you! Bye," said Mark brightly, waving at them, and striding away toward his grandmother.
Harry spent the next five minutes explaining about his newly found cousin to Ron, Ginny, and Hermione.
"You mean the muggles knew all along, and they never told you!" said Ron, looking utterly amazed.
"Well, you know my aunt and uncle," said Harry bitterly, "If Dumbledore didn't make them take me in as a child, I wouldn't even know that I have an aunt and an uncle."
They came to a halt at a very crowded area; people seemed to be jostling outside some store, trying to get inside it, a scene that reminded Harry forcibly of the day that Gilderoy Lockhart, their former Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, had come to sign his books at Flourish and Blotts, four years earlier.
"What's this all about?" asked Harry, staring at the crowd, "You don't reckon Lockhart's out of St. Mungo's, do you?" he finished, looking nervously from Ron to Ginny to Hermione. Ron and Ginny both laughed.
"I don't think so, Harry," said Ginny, still giggling, "this is number ninety-three," she indicated a huge sign that was hanging over the store door.
Harry stared at it and saw that there were huge letters of various bright colors that were dancing merrily on it, forming the words:
WEASLEYS' WIZARDING WHEEZES
Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione jostled their way into the store, and instead of hearing a bell of some kind announcing their presence as they stepped inside, the Weasley twins' voices chorused from somewhere above them: "WELCOME, MARAUDER!"
It was very crowded inside; young Witches and wizards, who all seemed to be Hogwarts students, were examining excitedly the stacks of Skiving Snackboxes, Weasleys' Wildfire Whiz-Bangs boxes, the jars of Ton-Tongue Toffee, and many other products that Harry could not recognize.
They could hear Fred and George's voices over the excited chattering of the students, they jostled their way toward the place that the voice was coming from, and when they had finally emerged out of the sea of students, they found themselves standing at a long counter, and behind it, busy demonstrating the qualities of the merchandise to astonished-looking customers, were Fred, George, and - to Harry's amazement - Lee Jordan.
"Harry! So nice to see you at our humble joke shop," said Fred grinning, at the sight of Harry.
"You wouldn't be stopping me from selling this Skiving Snackbox, now, would you, Hermione?" said George, smirking, and handing the Snackbox to a grinning, sinister-looking blond boy, who shoved some gold into George's hand in return.
Hermione flushed furiously.
"Look who's here! The new Gryffindor Captain, and the promising Keeper, and Seeker, along with our law-abiding Prefect!" said Lee brightly, beaming at them.
Hermione flushed even worse.
"Well, I think I'm going to try out for Chaser," said Ginny earnestly.
"So, you're the new Employee?" said Harry, looking intently at Lee.
Lee gave a tiny chuckle, then, grinning, he said:
"Well, I don't think I've got too many choices, not with my four N.E.W.T.s."
"Well, if you ask me, I'm surprised our little bro here's managed to scrape eight O.W.L.s, including an Outstanding!" said Fred, shaking his head sadly, as he handed a vividly colored box, which bore the words PORTABLE SWAMP, to an excited-looking little boy, "oh, the shame of it!"
Ron blushed badly as Harry and Hermione both turned simultaneously to stare at him.
Harry was suddenly aware that he had not asked Ron about his O.W.L.s results, and it seemed from Hermione's reaction that what she had just heard was news to her too.
"What was the O.W.L you've got an O in, Ron?" Harry asked eagerly.
"Defense Against the Dark Arts," muttered Ron, "I've got three E's in Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures, and Potions, a P in Divination, and A's in the rest." He finished before anyone could ask him another question.
There was a moment of stunned silence, in which Ron stared at the floor while his ears seemed to grow even redder.
"Well that's good, isn't it?" Hermione spoke finally, "I mean - an O in Defense Against the Dark Arts, and an E in Potions - and the Potions O.W.L exam wasn't that easy if you ask me!"
Both Harry and Ron were staring awestruck at Hermione now.
"Hermione, are you feeling well?" asked Ron, eyeing her incredulously.
"Oh, come off it!" she said impatiently.
George, who had disappeared for a few minutes, emerged from a door behind the counter carrying a large, heavy-looking box.
"Here you go, Harry," he said, putting the box on the counter under Harry's nose, "a sample of our merchandise - free of charge," he finished, grinning.
"I - you don't have to - " Harry mumbled awkwardly, staring at the box.
"It's nothing .. without you, we would never have been able to open this joke shop, mate, besides, it's good publicity in Hogwarts for our shop after all!" said George, grinning broadly, and winking at him.
"Thanks," said Harry, grinning back.
"So - haven't you two considered - er - going back to Hogwarts?" said Hermione tentatively, looking nervously from Fred to George.
Fred, George, and Lee all laughed.
Hermione blushed a little, but continued firmly.
"You ought to consider it, now that Umbridge's gone - the joke shop can wait another year, you know - Lee can take care of it while you're - "
"Hermione!" said Fred, still chuckling, "You sound just like Mum - you should've been her daughter!"
Harry suppressed a giggle.
Hermione blushed worse, but did not utter a word.
"I hate to admit it," said Ginny earnestly, staring thoughtfully at the twins, "but I think the Gryffindor Quidditch team will never have Beaters as well qualified as you two are!"
"Well, that's our sister!" said George, grinning broadly, and patting Ginny on the head, "but there won't be any discounts here, today, though - business is business!" he continued, chuckling.
"Looks like they're doing really good," said Harry ten minutes later, he was carrying the heavy box that George had given him, and walking up Diagon Alley with Ron, Ginny, and Hermione alongside him, "I've got a feeling we're going to miss them on the Quidditch field, though!"
"I reckon Filch's the one who's going to miss them most!" Ron snickered.
Everybody laughed.
"You're late!" said Mrs. Weasley the moment they entered the pub again, "it's been forty minutes now!"
"Mum! It's not like Death Eaters are going to Attack us at any moment - " Ron began, but at that precise moment, there was a loud explosion sound somewhere in the street outside the pub, closely followed by a loud racket, and screams of terrified people.
Lupin, Moody, and Tonks, who were sitting at a table not far from where Mrs. Weasley was standing, leapt to their feet promptly, whipping out their wands. Mrs. Weasley, who was very white now, followed suit.
Ron, however, looked very appalled now; he was staring transfixed at the pub door with his mouth half open.
The pub was suddenly very quiet, everyone was now gazing horror-struck at the pub door, behind which the loud noises and horrified screams were becoming more pronounced by the moment, some wizards and witches had already pulled out their wands.
Mr. Granger Was standing with his arm around Mrs. Granger's shoulder, they were both standing very close to each other in a corner, looking extremely terrified.
Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione, who were now recovering slightly from the shock, all pulled out their wands and held them in front of them.
"Stay where you are!" whispered Lupin fiercely, shooting them a fleeting glance, as he picked up an empty bottle from the table in front of him.
"Portus," he muttered, pointing his wand at the bottle, which glowed blue, and trembled in his hand for a few moments, then became still again.
"Molly, kindly, escort the Grangers and the rest to the Burrow," he whispered again, as he lowered the bottle to the floor and gave it a tiny push, making it roll across the pub floor toward the place where Harry and his friends were standing with their wands still at the ready.
But as the bottle was exactly midway between Lupin and Harry, there was a deafening blast, and the pub door, and front wall were blown so forcibly, sending bricks, chunks of wood, and dust in all directions, and causing the bottle to roll away madly. There were several screams in the pub; Hermione actually gave a feeble whimper.
"DUCK!" bellowed Lupin, dropping rapidly onto the rubble-strewn floor, with his wand held at the ready in front of him, like a policeman taking cover.
Harry did not need to hear that echoing yell to duck, as he was already flat on his stomach, on the floor, and so were the Weasleys, and the Grangers.
Harry was lying behind the large box that George had given him, and as he took off his glasses to wipe them clean of the dust that now covered them obscuring his vision, he felt a couple of jets of green light streak over his head.
"Well, well, if it isn't the famous Harry Potter!" he heard a harsh, horribly familiar female voice speak from somewhere near the ruined wall.
Harry's insides plummeted horribly, his heart was hammering madly. He put his glasses frantically back on, and, coughing and blinking madly in the dusty air, he looked up toward the place that the voice was coming from.