Chapter Two: Flock of Red Heads
Harry fell on all fours, for he had just been transported to Diagon Ally. The elate was quiet and peaceful, he knew that the serenity wouldn't last long; the students and their parents would be here tomorrow to pick up their school supplies.
Harry gathered his things and headed to Hogs Head. He rented a room, while the butler stared stupidly at his scar. He walked up to Number Six and opened the door. It smelled awkward, but it was ten times better then staying with the Dursleys.
Harry unpacked his things and fell onto the bed. The first time all summer he felt lighthearted. Soon he would be reuniting with Ron and Hermione.
Then pretty soon, they would be heading back to Harry's one true home.
Harry wondered around Diagon Ally, scanning all the witches and wizards, trying to find a glimpse of Ron and or Hermione.
"Harry!" a familiar high-pitched voice said. "Harry, over here!"
Harry spun around, he had no idea who was calling him; no one looked familiar to him... He decided to that he had just imagined it and kept on walking.
Harry passed Ollivanders, Hogs Head, and Florish and Blotts, but he couldn't find Ron nor Hermione anywhere. He had bumped into a round faced boy named Neville Longbottom, and Justin Flinch-Flinchey, and the hadn't seen them either.
"Harry!" the high-pitched voice was back.
Harry spun around again, but saw no one he knew. The was a large women talking very fast to her son, an old man who looked as if he was going to have a heart attack, and an extremely pretty girl who was beaming at him, broadly. Harry squinted his eyes to see who the girl was. He looked over his shoulders to see who the girl was staring at, but no one seemed to pay attention. The girl started running towards Harry. Before he knew it, the girl had flung her arms around his neck and started to talk very fast.
"Oh Harry, it's so good to see you again! I missed you and Ron so much and I was just "
"Hermione?" Harry asked astonished after she let go of him. Hermione wasn't the Hermione had remembered. Her brown, bushy hair was now shinny and straight. Apart from hair, Hermione's smile somehow made her face bright up.
"Of course!" Hermione said. They squeezed through the public, and approached the candy shop, Sweaty Sweets.
"Oh, well...er...you just look...different," Harry said, still struggling though the public. Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Oh it's not different as in bad...just as in well... you I....er are you sure you want to get sweaty sweets?" Harry babbled on, changing the subject.
"Oh, It's just the name," Hermione said. They walked in and got two Chocolate Frogs, and a Box of Bertie Botts Beans.
Harry stared at her and finally said, "Have you seen Ron?"
"No, I've been writing to him, but he never answered me," she said.
"Same here," Harry said wondering why Ron hadn't replied to any if their letters. "Maybe he's been preoccupied."
"Maybe," she said and took a bit out of her Chocolate Frog. "I wonder if he's come to Diagon Ally to "she looked out the window and pointed. "Harry look, it's Ron!"
Harry looked out the window. Ron's flaming red hair was brighter then ever, so was his face. He was staring blankly at someone. Harry and Hermione quickly walked out of Sweaty Sweets to meet with Ron.
"Hi, Ron!" Hermione said beaming at him.
Ron didn't answer.
"Ron?" Harry asked. He waved his hand up and down in front of Ron's bright pink face.
"Huh? Wh I," Ron stammered. He looked at them. "Oh, yeah...hi you guys...er..." He was getting redder by the minute.
"Ron what were you looking at?" Harry asked looking around.
"Er...Nothing...I lets just get our book." Ron said fidgeting with long, mop-like hair. He didn't even seem to notice Hermione's new looks, or that Harry had grown as tall as him.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione wandered in almost every place in Diagon Ally. They had a lot of catching up to do. Unlike Harry, Ron and Hermione had a wonderful summer.
"Me and my parents went to America and oh my god New York is so amazing. I loved it!" Hermione told them. They entered Hogs Head and went up to Harry's Room. "What did you do Ron? Ron? RON!"Ron seemed to be staring into space.
"Huh? Oh yes I agree," Ron said stupidly. Harry and Hermione exchanged confused looks. "Er...what were we talking about?"
"What did you do this summer?"
"Oh, we just you know hung out and oh yeah we went to visit my cousin. Quite fun, actually," Ron said.
"You two had fun," Harry said. "I was stuck with the Dursleys with no letters from you Ron!" Harry said with a little anger.
There was knock on the door. Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, Fred and George stepped inside. Ron and Hermione sighed with relief; they were afraid Harry was going to blow his top at them like he had done last year.
"HARRY! HERMIONE!" Mrs. Weasley squealed as she squeezed them tightly. "Oh, its so good to see you two again!"
"Mum, stop trying to kill them!" Ron said. Mrs. Weasley let go of them.
"Did you have a good summer, Harry?" Fred asked.
"Well, it was " Harry started.
"That's great! Say Hermione, do you want to try one of our brand-new, tasty candy?" George said as Fred bit his lip, trying not to laugh. Hermione looked at Fred with one eyebrow raised.
"Do you guys think I'm stupid?" Hermione said.
"Well " Fred said.
"Don't answer that I know it's one of your tricks!"
"I knew we should of tried it on someone stupid," Fred said. "Hey Ron! Do you want to try one of our brand-new, tasty candy..."
"Tell me Harry," Mrs. Weasley continued. "Anything weird happen?"
"Fortunately, nothing weird happened, but I'd happy if something did, because I had a really dull, not-so-great summer."
"It couldn't be as bad as mine!" Ginny said. "That god-for-nothing Michael Corner kept filling me with desperate love letter, which were really bad. Apparently, Cho dumped him as well Oh my I'm so sorry Har "
"It's okay," Harry said not caring. "I didn't even think about that at all. I was more interested in why Ron hadn't written to me."
"Oh I know why he hadn't been writing," Ginny said grinning. "He was too busy drooling over "
Fred and George fell to the ground howling with laughter.
Apparently, Ron had just eaten one of Fred and George's "oh-so-tasty candies" and his face was swelling up like a balloon.
"FRED! GEORGE!" Mrs. Weasley yelled. "THAT IS IT! I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!" She sounded like Uncle Vermon. "FIRST, YOU COME HOME TWO MONTHS BEFORE YOUR SUPPOSED TO. SECOND, YOU AREN'T EVEN THINKING WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO DO FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIVES. THIRD, YOUR BLOWING UP MY SON. FOURTH, YOU'RE DRIVEN ME ABSOLUTELY MAD!"
Fred and George looked has if they were going to crack up even harder now. Mrs. Weasley started screaming at them again. Harry and Hermione tried their best to ignore the "conversation." They didn't want to...interfere.
"Oh, don't mind mum," Ginny said understanding why Harry and Hermione were uncomfortable. "She's been like this ever since Fred and George quit school. Mum and Dad were already stressed out because of Percy. And when they came home early, it was a complete fiasco."
"Is Percy still acting like a...well " Harry said trying to find a positive word for Percy.
"Idiot? Yeah. We thought he would have came back, now that Fudge is gone, but..." Ginny said.
Fred and George set Ron right, still cracking up. "Hey, no hard feelings bro?" George asked.
"I'm going to kill you," Ron said feeling his cheeks.
"Alright, alright," Fred said. "We'll make it up to you. Hey, I've got an idea! How about you try one of our super mints?"
"FRED! GEORGE!"
"Damn, well I guess we can always try it on that Neville kid," Fred said, and the pair of them left the room.
"Well, I'll see you two later," Hermione said as she got up. "My mum and dad are picking me up, and I have to leave as well. I'll see you soon."
Harry and Ron waved at her, Harry still amazed how much she had changed.
"Well, it's getting late, Harry," Ron said. " I'm just going to hit the hay. See you tomorrow." Time had flown very fast.
Ron and his family were staying at Hogs Head too. They said that they were staying because Mr. Weasley had an "important meeting" there, but Harry knew for a fact, that they were staying to keep him company, but then again, the Ministry of Magic was falling apart.
The Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, was...not up to Ministry of Magic standards. When Voldemort came back, the Ministry was dumbfounded when they found out that he was in the Department of Mysteries all along. The Ministry of Magic would be getting a new Minister soon...
Harry changed and nestled into his bed and instantly fell asleep.
During the remainder of their summer, Ron and Harry spent their days roaming the streets of Diagon Ally. A lot of new things had arrived and they were really cool things. Harry wanted to buy a few of them, but then restrained himself; Ron's family was what you call rich, and Harry didn't want to buy expensive, new things in front of him.
Harry and Ron spent their nights catching up on homework, projects, and whatnot. They would head down to the parlor and chat with the rest of the Weasleys. Because of them, Harry's summer was now going great.
Mr. Weasley finally returned from his "important business trip" and things were even better. He had brought many funny jokes along, and told them to the lot the day before the students went back to Hogwarts.
"So then the kid tells the old man, ' Not to worry Mister, we can both be saved from the crashing airplane, because the World's Smartest Man took my backpack, instead of the parachute!'" Mr. Weasley told.
Grins formed on the Weasleys' and Harry's faces. Harry was really enjoying himself.
"So, Harry, how was your summer?" Mr. Weasley asked as everyone was enjoying their dinners.
"Er...it was okay, I guess, how's everything at the Ministry?" Harry asked, hoping to find out who the new Minister was.
"Still lots of mayhem," Mr. Weasley explained. "We still need to find a new Minister, and things are, well, not too great."
"I bet everything will be alright," Harry said.
Mr. Weasley nodded, but he still looked uncertain.
As the night became more dark, Mrs. Weasley sent them upstairs. "You all need lots of read, you have to wake up bright and early tomorrow "
"But mum, why do we have to sleep this early?" George complained. It was 12.30A.M
"Did you pack everything Ron? Harry? Ginny where's Ginny? Did you pack?" Mrs. Weasley continued, ignoring George.
Everyone settled down, crawled into bed, and fell asleep. Images of Hogwarts, its teachers except Snape the Quidditch field and Ron and Hermione filled Harry's head.
A smile spread across his face.
The next morning, Mrs. Weasley woke each of them up, and told them to get ready. Harry scratched his eyes, it seemed like he had only slept for an hour.
After a great deal of strength, Harry pulled off the covers and got ready. He joined Ron, Fred, and George and headed downstairs.
Mrs. Weasley had cooked up a whole buffet. Harry didn't know where to start. The bunch stuffed themselves with eggs, cereal, toast, fruit, bacon, pancakes, waffles, milk and juice.
Harry put down his last fork, after finishing his stack of pancakes.
"Come on, everybody, into the car." Mrs. Weasley said.
Harry groaned, he had no idea how he was going to fit in the car.
Mr. Weasley drove Harry, Ron, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley to King's Cross Station. (Which was a painful experience) With five minutes to spare, Harry, Ron and Ginny causally leaned against the middle of Platform 9 and 10 and they were instantly transported to Platform 9 3/4.
They met up with Hermione who had already packed all of her things inside.
Mrs. Weasley hugged each of them and started to babble on very fast.
"Oh take care Harry, Hermione, you to Ron, no funny business I'm not afraid to send Howlers Ginny take care, don't let that Michael Corner boy bug you, write to me. Okay? Don't cause any trouble and don't forget to change your "
"MUM! We know!" Ron said reddening. Mrs. Weasley hugged them for the sixth time and they walked onto the train.
The train ride went pretty fast, talking about the O.W.L.S passed the time. After about an hour, the train came to a halt.
Harry looked up at the beautiful, massive castle.
He was home.
Harry fell on all fours, for he had just been transported to Diagon Ally. The elate was quiet and peaceful, he knew that the serenity wouldn't last long; the students and their parents would be here tomorrow to pick up their school supplies.
Harry gathered his things and headed to Hogs Head. He rented a room, while the butler stared stupidly at his scar. He walked up to Number Six and opened the door. It smelled awkward, but it was ten times better then staying with the Dursleys.
Harry unpacked his things and fell onto the bed. The first time all summer he felt lighthearted. Soon he would be reuniting with Ron and Hermione.
Then pretty soon, they would be heading back to Harry's one true home.
Harry wondered around Diagon Ally, scanning all the witches and wizards, trying to find a glimpse of Ron and or Hermione.
"Harry!" a familiar high-pitched voice said. "Harry, over here!"
Harry spun around, he had no idea who was calling him; no one looked familiar to him... He decided to that he had just imagined it and kept on walking.
Harry passed Ollivanders, Hogs Head, and Florish and Blotts, but he couldn't find Ron nor Hermione anywhere. He had bumped into a round faced boy named Neville Longbottom, and Justin Flinch-Flinchey, and the hadn't seen them either.
"Harry!" the high-pitched voice was back.
Harry spun around again, but saw no one he knew. The was a large women talking very fast to her son, an old man who looked as if he was going to have a heart attack, and an extremely pretty girl who was beaming at him, broadly. Harry squinted his eyes to see who the girl was. He looked over his shoulders to see who the girl was staring at, but no one seemed to pay attention. The girl started running towards Harry. Before he knew it, the girl had flung her arms around his neck and started to talk very fast.
"Oh Harry, it's so good to see you again! I missed you and Ron so much and I was just "
"Hermione?" Harry asked astonished after she let go of him. Hermione wasn't the Hermione had remembered. Her brown, bushy hair was now shinny and straight. Apart from hair, Hermione's smile somehow made her face bright up.
"Of course!" Hermione said. They squeezed through the public, and approached the candy shop, Sweaty Sweets.
"Oh, well...er...you just look...different," Harry said, still struggling though the public. Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Oh it's not different as in bad...just as in well... you I....er are you sure you want to get sweaty sweets?" Harry babbled on, changing the subject.
"Oh, It's just the name," Hermione said. They walked in and got two Chocolate Frogs, and a Box of Bertie Botts Beans.
Harry stared at her and finally said, "Have you seen Ron?"
"No, I've been writing to him, but he never answered me," she said.
"Same here," Harry said wondering why Ron hadn't replied to any if their letters. "Maybe he's been preoccupied."
"Maybe," she said and took a bit out of her Chocolate Frog. "I wonder if he's come to Diagon Ally to "she looked out the window and pointed. "Harry look, it's Ron!"
Harry looked out the window. Ron's flaming red hair was brighter then ever, so was his face. He was staring blankly at someone. Harry and Hermione quickly walked out of Sweaty Sweets to meet with Ron.
"Hi, Ron!" Hermione said beaming at him.
Ron didn't answer.
"Ron?" Harry asked. He waved his hand up and down in front of Ron's bright pink face.
"Huh? Wh I," Ron stammered. He looked at them. "Oh, yeah...hi you guys...er..." He was getting redder by the minute.
"Ron what were you looking at?" Harry asked looking around.
"Er...Nothing...I lets just get our book." Ron said fidgeting with long, mop-like hair. He didn't even seem to notice Hermione's new looks, or that Harry had grown as tall as him.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione wandered in almost every place in Diagon Ally. They had a lot of catching up to do. Unlike Harry, Ron and Hermione had a wonderful summer.
"Me and my parents went to America and oh my god New York is so amazing. I loved it!" Hermione told them. They entered Hogs Head and went up to Harry's Room. "What did you do Ron? Ron? RON!"Ron seemed to be staring into space.
"Huh? Oh yes I agree," Ron said stupidly. Harry and Hermione exchanged confused looks. "Er...what were we talking about?"
"What did you do this summer?"
"Oh, we just you know hung out and oh yeah we went to visit my cousin. Quite fun, actually," Ron said.
"You two had fun," Harry said. "I was stuck with the Dursleys with no letters from you Ron!" Harry said with a little anger.
There was knock on the door. Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, Fred and George stepped inside. Ron and Hermione sighed with relief; they were afraid Harry was going to blow his top at them like he had done last year.
"HARRY! HERMIONE!" Mrs. Weasley squealed as she squeezed them tightly. "Oh, its so good to see you two again!"
"Mum, stop trying to kill them!" Ron said. Mrs. Weasley let go of them.
"Did you have a good summer, Harry?" Fred asked.
"Well, it was " Harry started.
"That's great! Say Hermione, do you want to try one of our brand-new, tasty candy?" George said as Fred bit his lip, trying not to laugh. Hermione looked at Fred with one eyebrow raised.
"Do you guys think I'm stupid?" Hermione said.
"Well " Fred said.
"Don't answer that I know it's one of your tricks!"
"I knew we should of tried it on someone stupid," Fred said. "Hey Ron! Do you want to try one of our brand-new, tasty candy..."
"Tell me Harry," Mrs. Weasley continued. "Anything weird happen?"
"Fortunately, nothing weird happened, but I'd happy if something did, because I had a really dull, not-so-great summer."
"It couldn't be as bad as mine!" Ginny said. "That god-for-nothing Michael Corner kept filling me with desperate love letter, which were really bad. Apparently, Cho dumped him as well Oh my I'm so sorry Har "
"It's okay," Harry said not caring. "I didn't even think about that at all. I was more interested in why Ron hadn't written to me."
"Oh I know why he hadn't been writing," Ginny said grinning. "He was too busy drooling over "
Fred and George fell to the ground howling with laughter.
Apparently, Ron had just eaten one of Fred and George's "oh-so-tasty candies" and his face was swelling up like a balloon.
"FRED! GEORGE!" Mrs. Weasley yelled. "THAT IS IT! I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!" She sounded like Uncle Vermon. "FIRST, YOU COME HOME TWO MONTHS BEFORE YOUR SUPPOSED TO. SECOND, YOU AREN'T EVEN THINKING WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO DO FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIVES. THIRD, YOUR BLOWING UP MY SON. FOURTH, YOU'RE DRIVEN ME ABSOLUTELY MAD!"
Fred and George looked has if they were going to crack up even harder now. Mrs. Weasley started screaming at them again. Harry and Hermione tried their best to ignore the "conversation." They didn't want to...interfere.
"Oh, don't mind mum," Ginny said understanding why Harry and Hermione were uncomfortable. "She's been like this ever since Fred and George quit school. Mum and Dad were already stressed out because of Percy. And when they came home early, it was a complete fiasco."
"Is Percy still acting like a...well " Harry said trying to find a positive word for Percy.
"Idiot? Yeah. We thought he would have came back, now that Fudge is gone, but..." Ginny said.
Fred and George set Ron right, still cracking up. "Hey, no hard feelings bro?" George asked.
"I'm going to kill you," Ron said feeling his cheeks.
"Alright, alright," Fred said. "We'll make it up to you. Hey, I've got an idea! How about you try one of our super mints?"
"FRED! GEORGE!"
"Damn, well I guess we can always try it on that Neville kid," Fred said, and the pair of them left the room.
"Well, I'll see you two later," Hermione said as she got up. "My mum and dad are picking me up, and I have to leave as well. I'll see you soon."
Harry and Ron waved at her, Harry still amazed how much she had changed.
"Well, it's getting late, Harry," Ron said. " I'm just going to hit the hay. See you tomorrow." Time had flown very fast.
Ron and his family were staying at Hogs Head too. They said that they were staying because Mr. Weasley had an "important meeting" there, but Harry knew for a fact, that they were staying to keep him company, but then again, the Ministry of Magic was falling apart.
The Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, was...not up to Ministry of Magic standards. When Voldemort came back, the Ministry was dumbfounded when they found out that he was in the Department of Mysteries all along. The Ministry of Magic would be getting a new Minister soon...
Harry changed and nestled into his bed and instantly fell asleep.
During the remainder of their summer, Ron and Harry spent their days roaming the streets of Diagon Ally. A lot of new things had arrived and they were really cool things. Harry wanted to buy a few of them, but then restrained himself; Ron's family was what you call rich, and Harry didn't want to buy expensive, new things in front of him.
Harry and Ron spent their nights catching up on homework, projects, and whatnot. They would head down to the parlor and chat with the rest of the Weasleys. Because of them, Harry's summer was now going great.
Mr. Weasley finally returned from his "important business trip" and things were even better. He had brought many funny jokes along, and told them to the lot the day before the students went back to Hogwarts.
"So then the kid tells the old man, ' Not to worry Mister, we can both be saved from the crashing airplane, because the World's Smartest Man took my backpack, instead of the parachute!'" Mr. Weasley told.
Grins formed on the Weasleys' and Harry's faces. Harry was really enjoying himself.
"So, Harry, how was your summer?" Mr. Weasley asked as everyone was enjoying their dinners.
"Er...it was okay, I guess, how's everything at the Ministry?" Harry asked, hoping to find out who the new Minister was.
"Still lots of mayhem," Mr. Weasley explained. "We still need to find a new Minister, and things are, well, not too great."
"I bet everything will be alright," Harry said.
Mr. Weasley nodded, but he still looked uncertain.
As the night became more dark, Mrs. Weasley sent them upstairs. "You all need lots of read, you have to wake up bright and early tomorrow "
"But mum, why do we have to sleep this early?" George complained. It was 12.30A.M
"Did you pack everything Ron? Harry? Ginny where's Ginny? Did you pack?" Mrs. Weasley continued, ignoring George.
Everyone settled down, crawled into bed, and fell asleep. Images of Hogwarts, its teachers except Snape the Quidditch field and Ron and Hermione filled Harry's head.
A smile spread across his face.
The next morning, Mrs. Weasley woke each of them up, and told them to get ready. Harry scratched his eyes, it seemed like he had only slept for an hour.
After a great deal of strength, Harry pulled off the covers and got ready. He joined Ron, Fred, and George and headed downstairs.
Mrs. Weasley had cooked up a whole buffet. Harry didn't know where to start. The bunch stuffed themselves with eggs, cereal, toast, fruit, bacon, pancakes, waffles, milk and juice.
Harry put down his last fork, after finishing his stack of pancakes.
"Come on, everybody, into the car." Mrs. Weasley said.
Harry groaned, he had no idea how he was going to fit in the car.
Mr. Weasley drove Harry, Ron, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley to King's Cross Station. (Which was a painful experience) With five minutes to spare, Harry, Ron and Ginny causally leaned against the middle of Platform 9 and 10 and they were instantly transported to Platform 9 3/4.
They met up with Hermione who had already packed all of her things inside.
Mrs. Weasley hugged each of them and started to babble on very fast.
"Oh take care Harry, Hermione, you to Ron, no funny business I'm not afraid to send Howlers Ginny take care, don't let that Michael Corner boy bug you, write to me. Okay? Don't cause any trouble and don't forget to change your "
"MUM! We know!" Ron said reddening. Mrs. Weasley hugged them for the sixth time and they walked onto the train.
The train ride went pretty fast, talking about the O.W.L.S passed the time. After about an hour, the train came to a halt.
Harry looked up at the beautiful, massive castle.
He was home.