Two hundred reviews!
Points to Margarita Mocha for being the two hundredth and even more points for being such an avid reviewer. Your reviews have such attitude! I love it! This story has almost become a personal quest for me to show you that there are still good guys left, even if it is only on a computer screen. I don't know what kind of problem you had with members of the my sex (or even if you've had one), but if happens again, I'll scrounge up a gang of friends and we'll break his fucking legs. (I hope you can see the irony in that last statement.)
Thanks for all the support on the Susan thing. Everyone was pretty universal in their opinion of her; even the Harry/Ginny supporters. Which will make the rest of the story that much more fun to write. Ha!
To Erhothwen: I'm afraid you might not like this chapter. But it's not gonna happen the way you think. There will just mainly be a lot of tension. Read it anyway. Oh, and by the way, you have to explain your name to me. I like it. I just don't understand it. Maybe I'm missing something.
Harry crept forward slowly. He looked from right to left, and then made a sharp motion with his hand. Hermione, Quentin and Susan stepped out of cupboard that they had been hiding in and walked over to Harry.
They were in the sub-basement, the location of the hotel's fireplace. It was well lit for being so far
underground. But getting there hadn't been easy. They had to stop every few feet and duck into food cupboards and laundry rooms to avoid being seen by the hotel staff.
"Where to, now?", Harry asked Quentin, who had been the one who found the fireplace earlier.
Quentin motioned to a small room at the end of the hallway they were in. The group crept forward until they in front of the door. Harry heard a noise behind him and turned quickly. Standing at the end of the hall was one of the hotel workers.
"Hey, what are you kids doing here? This is off limits!"
Harry couldn't think of anything to say, so he turned back to the door and tried the knob. It was locked. Quentin whipped his wand out of pocket and pointed it at the lock. Hermione and Susan moved to block the hotel worker from seeing the magic. They positioned themselves so their backs obstructed the worker's view.
"Alohamora," Quentin whispered, and the door opened.
Harry pushed his friends into the room and then ran in, himself. As he was closing the door he heard, "I'm reporting this to my supervisor!"
Harry looked around the dark room. It was so dark that couldn't see his hand in front of his face. He reached into a pocket of his shorts and pulled out his own wand. He extended it over head and said, "Lumos,"
Pale light flooded the small room. It looked like a broom closet.
Quentin walked over to Harry. "I forgot about that lock. Sorry."
"Don't worry about it." Harry said. "Where is the fireplace?"
"Over here." Quentin said and then walked to the far corner of the room. He pushed aside some brooms and sure enough, there was a decrepit fireplace underneath. "I don't think anyone uses it. I'd be surprised if anyone knew about it besides the hotel owner."
Harry looked to the right side of the fireplace and saw a flowerpot hanging about two feet off the floor. He glanced inside and saw a greenish powder inside. "Floo powder." Harry said. "You were right, Quent. I just hope it's still in the Network. It looks really old."
Hermione shoved herself forward. "Only one way to find out." she said as she grabbed a handful of Floo powder. She climbed into the fireplace.
Harry stepped forward. "I know you're anxious to get there, Hermione, but I don't think this is safe. It's too old. You could end up-"
Hermione threw the powder at her feet. "The Burrow!" she screamed.
She disappeared in a gout of green flame. Harry flinched away from it before he remembered that the fire wasn't hot. He turned to Quentin and Susan. "Looks OK. Who's next?"
Quentin stepped forward eagerly, but Susan stayed back, her eyes tightened slightly with fear. "I've never done this before, Harry."
Harry smiled. "I admit that this certainly isn't my favorite way to travel, but if done right, it's pretty safe." He turned to Quentin, who stood in front of the fireplace with a handful of Floo powder in his hand. Quentin was looking back at Harry and Susan with a questioning look on his broad face.
Harry waved Quentin forward. "Don't worry, Quent. I'll walk her through it."
Quentin nodded and moved into the fireplace and disappeared.
Harry turned back to Susan. "It's pretty easy. Truth be told, I was pretty nervous my first time. That was the reason it didn't work."
Susan's eyes widened. "What happened?"
Harry laughed. "I ended up in Knockturn Alley. Nasty place. But don't worry. You'll be fine."
"What do I do?"
"Just grab a handful of the stuff in that pot, get in the fireplace and throw the powder at you feet. This kind of traveling is pretty scary if you don't know what's coming. Just keep your elbows in and you'll be OK."
"I don't know, Harry."
Harry smiled. "I'll tell you what. I'll go first. That way, you can see how to do it."
Susan nodded nervously.
Harry grabbed some Floo powder and stepped into the fireplace. A thin line of fear traced up his back, but he ignored it and threw the powder. "The Burrow!"
Harry's head spun as he was thrown through the Floo Network. He was glad he hadn't eaten anything that morning, because he was sure he would have lost it. He saw a light fast approaching and felt himself being spewed out. When he regained his bearings, he glanced around him. The Burrow was much the same as the last time he saw it. The comfortable color scheme of browns and light greens was easy on his eyes. Old, comfortable chairs and a well-used couch sat in the living room.
Strangely, the room was empty. Usually, every room in the Burrow was bustling with people. Percy had moved into an apartment in London with his girlfriend Penelope, but that still left five members of the family that should have been there.
Harry was contemplating this when he heard a belching noise from behind him. He spun around to see Susan stumble out of the fireplace. She tripped over her own feet and would have gone down if Harry hadn't caught her. She was breathing hard, and Harry could feel her heart beating quickly.
She shook her head slightly and looked around her. "We made it!"
Harry nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Her closeness broke his concentration. He still had his arms around her and didn't want to let her go.
Susan also noticed that Harry was holding her a little longer than necessary. She looked up at him. "Good catch." she said shyly.
Harry raised his eyebrows slightly. "Of course. I'm not the youngest Seeker in a century for nothing, you know."
Susan's smile widened, and she opened her mouth to say something, but she was cut off by a voice.
"Get a room, you two."
Harry looked to the voice and saw Quentin and Hermione smiling widely. He felt himself blush horribly as he helped Susan to her feet. She too was blushing.
Quentin, of course, wouldn't let it go so easily. Smiling, he said, "We did have a reason for coming here, remember. You two can stare into each other's eyes some other time."
Harry and Susan continued to blush through this tirade. Quentin obviously thought they had enough, because he stopped talking. He just smiled and gave Harry a suggestive wink.
To change the subject, Harry said, "I wonder where everyone is."
Harry led the small group around the first floor of the house, but they didn't find anyone. They followed Harry up the stairs and to a door on the second floor. Harry could hear light music through the door. Ginny, he thought happily. She loved to listen to light music when she was reading.
Why do I know that?, Harry thought. He shrugged mentally and pushed open the door.
Ginny was sitting on her bed with her back leaning up against the wall. She had a book on her lap and was scanning it idly. She hadn't heard the door open, so Harry took a moment to look her over. She was wearing a white T-Shirt and comfortable shorts. She was wiggling her toes absently. Harry had to admit that she looked...cute.
What?!
Harry shook his head and knocked on the wooden doorframe. Ginny's eyes didn't even leave her book. "Yeah?"
Harry fought down a laugh. "What do mean, 'Yeah'. Aren't you going to say 'Hi'?"
Ginny's eyes snapped to Harry's face. Her eyes lit up when she saw him, and Harry had to admit it was flattering.
"Harry!" she screamed and threw her book down on her bed. She leapt from her bed and threw her arms around him.
Harry laughed and twirled her around. Harry knew he was quite fond of her. He had saved her life in second-year, and that isn't something two people can go through and not feel some sort of connection. He had watched her grow up into the young woman she was today. He remembered the ridiculous crush she had on him during her first year at Hogwarts. But he had always thought of her as a sister.
Harry set her back down pointed into the hallway, where Hermione, Quentin and Susan were standing. Susan seemed distressed about something. Why is she scowling?
Ginny hugged Hermione tightly and turned to Quentin and Susan.
Harry motioned to Quentin and said, "Quentin Boyd meet Ginny Weasley."
Quentin blushed and stammered like he always did when meeting attractive girls. "N-N-Nice to meet you."
Harry fought with a smile and moved on to Susan. "And this is Susan Posenjak."
Ginny smiled widely and offered Susan a hand. Susan smiled back and took Ginny's hand, but there was a strange tightness in her eyes. Harry wondered about this, but turned back to Ginny.
"So, Dot, how are things going on in the Burrow."
Ginny exclaimed in outrage when Harry called her by the nickname he had come up with in the last school term. Ginny had accidentally written on her face with a PermaQuill during breakfast, one day. Ron had forbidden anyone to tell her about it. He had been having far too much fun watching his sister walk around school with an ink stain on her face. During that day, Harry began calling Ginny 'Dot'. She hadn't known what the nickname meant until she had gone to the bathroom before bed. The next morning she had punched Harry hard enough in the arm for him to bruise. The ink mark lasted a full week. But unlike most girls, Ginny could see the humor of the situation and had allowed Harry to call her 'Dot' since. She only occasionally got mad about it.
"You, shut up, Harry Potter." she said with a genuine Weasley smile. She punched him in the arm and Harry saw that she remembered the 'Dot' as well as he did..
Harry saw Susan's scowl deepen.
What's that all about?, he thought.
He was brought out of his thoughts by Hermione's voice. "Where is everyone, Ginny?"
Ginny sighed loudly. "They're probably out back looking at Fred and George's new inventions. The twins spend all their time in a shed that they had built. Nobody knows where they got the money to build it."
I do, Harry thought.
"But no one really wants to ask either." Ginny finished.
"Why don't we go back there?" Harry asked.
"Sure. Wait-" Ginny said, looking around at the group. "where's Ron?"
"That's kind of why we came here, Dot." Harry said.
A scared look formed on Ginny's face. "What's wrong? Is he OK? Is he hurt?"
Harry put an arm around her and gently led her out of the door. "We should get everyone together, first. That way we'll only have to say this once."
"He's-He's not dead is he?"
Harry shook his head slowly. "No, he's not dead." Not yet, he thought.
The group went down the stairs and into the back yard. There, Harry could see the new shed the twins had built. It wasn't any thing amazing, but without the money Harry had given them, they probably wouldn't have been able to afford it. Harry could see a bright light coming from the crack between the door and the floor. Harry reached out a hand to the handle, but Ginny stopped him.
"It's better to knock first. You never know what's going on in there." She rapped the door loud enough to shake the entire shed.
"Come in." said a voice that Harry recognized as George's.
Before Ginny put her hand to the handle, she turned back and looked at the group. "Be prepared. This thing doesn't look like much from out here, but once you get inside... Well, you'll see."
Ginny pushed the door open and Harry caught his first look of the work that Fred and George had been doing since graduation. There were tables spread out through he length of the shed, which had been magically enlarged. Every table was covered prototypes of jokes, pranks, and gags. The tables stretched beyond Harry's vision. The shed was huge in a way that boggled Harry's mind.
Standing near the entrance of the shed was George. He didn't look up from what he was working on. He had just assumed it was Ginny. "You've gotta look at this, Gin." He said pointing to what he was working on. It looked like a push-dial telephone. "All you have to is tell this thing a phone number, and it always remembers it. I already programmed the only number I know. Watch. The Dursley's." he commanded it.
Small, green arms popped out of the side of the phone and began dial the number. Then, it seemed to have a second thought, because it stopped dialing. George wasn't happy. "The Dursley's!" he screamed at it.
One of the small, green hands promptly gave him the finger.
"What the fu-" George started, but Ginny cut him off.
"George! We have visitors." she said.
George looked up from the phone, which was now giving him the bird with both hands, and screamed. "Harry! Hermione! How the hell are you? Aren't you supposed to be in America?"
Harry was going to answer when he heard Mrs. Weasley's voice from deeper in the shed. "George, have you gone daft? Harry's in America with Ron. I swear, I think you spend too much time out here."
George smiled and called back. "No, mum. I haven't gone daft. Harry's right here! With Hermione!"
Harry heard a running noise and soon saw Mrs. Weasley sprinting over to them. Because of her considerable girth, she was breathing very heavily when she reached them.
"Harry,...Hermione...what...are...you...doing....here?"
Harry ignored the question and asked, "Is Mr. Weasley here?"
George answered when he saw his mother was having trouble breathing. "Yeah. Dad's farther back with Fred."
"Good. We need to see them both."
George nodded and reached over to the table he had been working at where, sitting on one corner was a small megaphone. He brought it to his lips and spoke into it. "DAD, FRED, GET UP HERE. WE HAVE SOME UNEXPECTED VISITORS."
The megaphone was magically enhanced and it echoed down the massive shed.
Mrs. Weasley, who had finally regained her breath asked, "Where is Ronald? Did he forget something. Is he in the house?"
It pained Harry to not answer the woman who, through the years, had become like a mother to him. "We'll talk once everyone is here. We should probably go back to the house. It's a long story and you'll want to sit down."
All the way back to the house, Harry answered Mrs. Weasley and George's questions as vaguely as possible. Is he dead. No (not yet). Is he hurt. No (as far as I know). Is he in trouble. No (more than you could possibly imagine).
When reached the house, Harry introduced Quentin and Susan to the Weasley's. When Fred and Mr. Weasley finally caught up, Harry reintroduced them. Then he turned to the Weasley clan and said, "I want you all to sit down."
"What's going on, Harry?" Mr. Weasley asked once every one had sat down. Harry and Hermione stood in the middle of the living room surrounded by the Weasleys. Quentin and Susan went and sat on the floor by the fireplace, and felt very out of place.
Harry began telling the story. He started with the incident with Kyle, and how Ron had beaten the hell out of him. He told them about Fredo Rizzi, the man to first proclaim Ron as a Sentinel. He told them about the banquet and Ron's special assignment. Finally he told them about Ron and Hermione's disappearance. He finished and Hermione picked up where he left off.
While Hermione spoke, Harry went over to the doorway into the living room and leaned against it, not wanting to look the Weasley's in the eye. They had become so much to him, and he didn't want to see them in pain.
When Hermione finished, she was in tears. She ran over to Mrs. Weasley, who was sitting next to her husband with tears in her own eyes, and hugged the plump woman fiercely. "I'm so sorry." she said as she laid her head on Mrs. Weasley's shoulder.
Ginny and Mrs. Weasley were crying openly. Fred and George looked extremely worried and were wringing their hands. Mr. Weasley, who had promised himself that he would always be strong for his family, stared stonily into a wall. "Sentinels. I can't believe it."
Harry turned back to the living room and asked, "You know of them?"
Mr. Weasley nodded his head. "I'm not supposed to know, but I do. I overheard a conversation at the Ministry between the Minister and his scribe. They were speaking about these Sentinels. I thought I had misunderstood at the time, but apparently not."
George stood up from his seat quickly. "So, what the hell are we going to do?"
Fred stood also. "Yeah! We gotta get him out of there."
Harry nodded. He had known he could count on the twins. "I agree. But we don't know enough about the situation. We don't know where they're keeping him. We don't know how many people have him. Even if we find the building, Hermione said it's built like a god-damned fortress. All stone and wood. How do we in get there?"
Ginny, who was the smartest of all the Weasley children with the possible exception of Percy, asked, "Hermione, how did you travel?"
"What?" Hermione said.
"When you left the Sentinel building. How did you get back to Florida?"
Hermione shook her head slowly. "I can't remember. I remember leaving the room they had Ron in, and then I remember showing up in front of the hotel. I can't believe I didn't think of it until now."
"Memory Charm." Susan said from her seat by the fireplace. "They're supposed to be illegal."
"They are." Mr. Weasley spat.
"So the building could be right there in Florida!" Fred exclaimed.
"No." Hermione said. "I'd be able to tell if he was that close. I'd...feel it."
In any other situation, Harry knew the twins would have teased Hermione about the Sentinel thing, but as it was, the situation was far too serious. Harry was sure the teasing would come later.
"I could find out." Mr. Weasley said. "But if I'm caught, I'll lose my job and maybe even go to jail."
"How could you find out?" Harry asked.
Mr. Weasley drew in a deep breath. "I'll search the Confidential files at the office. They're kept in a secret room, but I know where it is. It's another one of those things that I shouldn't know." he said with a small smile.
Harry nodded. "Do that." He turned to Fred and George. "I want you two coming back with us. Bring all the supplies you need to make a few things we may need."
Fred and George nodded. Mrs. Weasley seemed distressed at having the twins leaving the Burrow.
Harry turned back to Mrs. Weasley. "I need someone to write McGonagall a letter saying that Hermione and I will be staying the night here. She won't be happy about it, but the news will come easier if it's from you. I had hoped to be back in America by dinner, but I hadn't considered that the twins would have some things we might need. It'll take most of the night to get it together."
"What do we have that you need, Harry?" George asked.
Harry laughed. "I'm not sure yet. You two are pretty good with charming objects. We're gonna need weapons of some sort and something to distract a large amount of people."
Fred nodded. "We've got just the stuff."
Harry turned to Quentin and Susan. "You two are welcome to go back, now. I don't want either of you getting into trouble."
Quentin snorted and stood. "I think Headmaster Gabriel can survive for a while without me." he said sarcastically. "Besides, I want to help." He walked over to where Mrs. Weasley was sitting. "I've never met your son, mam. But over the last couple of days, I've had the pleasure of getting to know Harry and Hermione and they seem willing to do anything for him. That kind of friendship is rare. It would go against everything I believe in if I didn't help. I'll follow Harry's lead. Were friends-" He made that simple statement seem like so much more than that. "and friends take risks for each other. It might not seem like much, considering where your son is right now, but I'm willing to risk much more than a little trouble with the Headmaster to get your son free again." He smiled suddenly. "I'd take these risks just for the chance to meet him. His friends say such good things about him."
Quentin suddenly seemed embarrassed and he began to stand up again when Mrs. Weasley caught his arm and stood with him. With tears in her eyes, she went up on tiptoe and kissed Quentin lightly on the cheek. Mr. Weasley stood and shook Quentin's hand. "Thank you, boy."
Quentin nodded and Harry felt proud to know him. Harry turned to Susan.
"What about you, Susan." he asked.
Without taking a moment to consider it, Susan said, "I'll stay." For some reason, her eyes went Ginny for a moment and then returned to Harry.
Harry clapped his hands together. It felt good to be doing something. "All right! So, Hermione, the twins, Quentin, Susan and I are all going back, tomorrow."
"I'm coming.", Ginny said calmly, as if expecting the ensuing shouting match.
Harry immediately shook his head. "No, Ginny, it's too dangerous."
Harry expected Ginny to get upset, but she stayed surprisingly calm. "But it's not too dangerous for you? What makes you so special?"
Harry could have answered 'Because I'm Harry Potter: the Boy Who Lived', but he had spent too many years trying to get away from that. It would be hypocritical to bring it up now. "You're too young." he said and regretted it immediately.
Ginny's eyebrows went up on her forehead. "Too young? I'm less than a year younger than you are. No, you mean I'm too fragile. Are you scared I'll break, Harry? Well, screw you!" she said, finally raising her voice. She pushed herself off the couch and started stalking Harry around the room. He backed up uncertainly.
"He's my brother! Just try and stop me, Harry."
With a wave of his arms, Harry gave up. "Fine! You can come."
Harry threw a distressed at the twins. "Why do I have to surround myself with women with such tempers? I thought Hermione was bad enough. Now, I've got Ginny and Susan too!"
Fred threw an arm around Harry's shoulders. "Just stick with us. Somehow we end up driving away every woman we meet."
George shook his head sadly. "We just don't get it. We're so charming!"
Everyone laughed at this and the tension was eased slightly.
"OK. Everybody out to the shed." Harry said. "Start bringing in anything you'll think we'll ever need."
Everyone but Mr. and Mrs. Weasley nodded and headed out of the living room. Harry heard George begin to talk to Hermione. "So...you love Ron, huh?" Harry didn't hear the answer, but he hoped Hermione was ready for a full night of taunts from the twins.
Harry idly wondered why people ever listened to him. He had been in nothing but trouble for six years now. He could almost understand why Hermione, Susan, Quentin and Ginny listened to him. They didn't really have a reason not to. But Fred and George were two years older than Harry. In all truth, they should have been leading this little expedition. But they followed Harry with the same excitement and blind faith that everyone else did. Harry just hoped he wouldn't let them down.
Harry began to follow everyone out to the back yard when Mrs. Weasley's voice stopped him. "Harry."
Harry turned and saw that she was sitting back down on the couch next to her husband. "Yes, mam?"
"Come here, honey."
Harry went and kneeled in front of Mrs. Weasley. She reached out and grabbed Harry's hands. "You're going to save my son, right?"
Harry felt like crying to see her this way. "I'll do my best. I promise."
"We know." Mr. Weasley said. "Keep an eye on the rest of them, too. Fred and George screw around a lot, but they're smart. They see a leader in you. And that's good enough for us. Just bring our son home."
In that moment, Harry knew that he would have gladly given his own life to make Mrs. Weasley
happy again. "I'll bring him home. Go to bed, mam. It'll be a long night."
***
Haley Johansen, the Inventory Manager of the hotel where the Gryffindor's were staying, had been pulled out of a faculty meeting by an excited basement worker. He had claimed that kids were sneaking around in the sub-basement.
Haley went to check on it herself. When she had found nothing but brooms and an old fireplace in the room that these kids had 'supposedly' gone through, she smacked the worker across the top of the head and yelled, "What happened to your phantom teenagers? Do you think people can just disappear? Get back to work!"
Haley went back to her faculty meeting, and by the time she reached the elevator, her thoughts were nowhere near the crazy sub-basement worker and his disappearing teenagers.
Give it to me! There will be further teasing from the twins in the next chapter. It just didn't seem right...yet! Tension! If you're not happy about the Ginny perspective, I'm sorry. It's been in the planning for too long to be forgotten now. Shrug.
Points to Margarita Mocha for being the two hundredth and even more points for being such an avid reviewer. Your reviews have such attitude! I love it! This story has almost become a personal quest for me to show you that there are still good guys left, even if it is only on a computer screen. I don't know what kind of problem you had with members of the my sex (or even if you've had one), but if happens again, I'll scrounge up a gang of friends and we'll break his fucking legs. (I hope you can see the irony in that last statement.)
Thanks for all the support on the Susan thing. Everyone was pretty universal in their opinion of her; even the Harry/Ginny supporters. Which will make the rest of the story that much more fun to write. Ha!
To Erhothwen: I'm afraid you might not like this chapter. But it's not gonna happen the way you think. There will just mainly be a lot of tension. Read it anyway. Oh, and by the way, you have to explain your name to me. I like it. I just don't understand it. Maybe I'm missing something.
Harry crept forward slowly. He looked from right to left, and then made a sharp motion with his hand. Hermione, Quentin and Susan stepped out of cupboard that they had been hiding in and walked over to Harry.
They were in the sub-basement, the location of the hotel's fireplace. It was well lit for being so far
underground. But getting there hadn't been easy. They had to stop every few feet and duck into food cupboards and laundry rooms to avoid being seen by the hotel staff.
"Where to, now?", Harry asked Quentin, who had been the one who found the fireplace earlier.
Quentin motioned to a small room at the end of the hallway they were in. The group crept forward until they in front of the door. Harry heard a noise behind him and turned quickly. Standing at the end of the hall was one of the hotel workers.
"Hey, what are you kids doing here? This is off limits!"
Harry couldn't think of anything to say, so he turned back to the door and tried the knob. It was locked. Quentin whipped his wand out of pocket and pointed it at the lock. Hermione and Susan moved to block the hotel worker from seeing the magic. They positioned themselves so their backs obstructed the worker's view.
"Alohamora," Quentin whispered, and the door opened.
Harry pushed his friends into the room and then ran in, himself. As he was closing the door he heard, "I'm reporting this to my supervisor!"
Harry looked around the dark room. It was so dark that couldn't see his hand in front of his face. He reached into a pocket of his shorts and pulled out his own wand. He extended it over head and said, "Lumos,"
Pale light flooded the small room. It looked like a broom closet.
Quentin walked over to Harry. "I forgot about that lock. Sorry."
"Don't worry about it." Harry said. "Where is the fireplace?"
"Over here." Quentin said and then walked to the far corner of the room. He pushed aside some brooms and sure enough, there was a decrepit fireplace underneath. "I don't think anyone uses it. I'd be surprised if anyone knew about it besides the hotel owner."
Harry looked to the right side of the fireplace and saw a flowerpot hanging about two feet off the floor. He glanced inside and saw a greenish powder inside. "Floo powder." Harry said. "You were right, Quent. I just hope it's still in the Network. It looks really old."
Hermione shoved herself forward. "Only one way to find out." she said as she grabbed a handful of Floo powder. She climbed into the fireplace.
Harry stepped forward. "I know you're anxious to get there, Hermione, but I don't think this is safe. It's too old. You could end up-"
Hermione threw the powder at her feet. "The Burrow!" she screamed.
She disappeared in a gout of green flame. Harry flinched away from it before he remembered that the fire wasn't hot. He turned to Quentin and Susan. "Looks OK. Who's next?"
Quentin stepped forward eagerly, but Susan stayed back, her eyes tightened slightly with fear. "I've never done this before, Harry."
Harry smiled. "I admit that this certainly isn't my favorite way to travel, but if done right, it's pretty safe." He turned to Quentin, who stood in front of the fireplace with a handful of Floo powder in his hand. Quentin was looking back at Harry and Susan with a questioning look on his broad face.
Harry waved Quentin forward. "Don't worry, Quent. I'll walk her through it."
Quentin nodded and moved into the fireplace and disappeared.
Harry turned back to Susan. "It's pretty easy. Truth be told, I was pretty nervous my first time. That was the reason it didn't work."
Susan's eyes widened. "What happened?"
Harry laughed. "I ended up in Knockturn Alley. Nasty place. But don't worry. You'll be fine."
"What do I do?"
"Just grab a handful of the stuff in that pot, get in the fireplace and throw the powder at you feet. This kind of traveling is pretty scary if you don't know what's coming. Just keep your elbows in and you'll be OK."
"I don't know, Harry."
Harry smiled. "I'll tell you what. I'll go first. That way, you can see how to do it."
Susan nodded nervously.
Harry grabbed some Floo powder and stepped into the fireplace. A thin line of fear traced up his back, but he ignored it and threw the powder. "The Burrow!"
Harry's head spun as he was thrown through the Floo Network. He was glad he hadn't eaten anything that morning, because he was sure he would have lost it. He saw a light fast approaching and felt himself being spewed out. When he regained his bearings, he glanced around him. The Burrow was much the same as the last time he saw it. The comfortable color scheme of browns and light greens was easy on his eyes. Old, comfortable chairs and a well-used couch sat in the living room.
Strangely, the room was empty. Usually, every room in the Burrow was bustling with people. Percy had moved into an apartment in London with his girlfriend Penelope, but that still left five members of the family that should have been there.
Harry was contemplating this when he heard a belching noise from behind him. He spun around to see Susan stumble out of the fireplace. She tripped over her own feet and would have gone down if Harry hadn't caught her. She was breathing hard, and Harry could feel her heart beating quickly.
She shook her head slightly and looked around her. "We made it!"
Harry nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Her closeness broke his concentration. He still had his arms around her and didn't want to let her go.
Susan also noticed that Harry was holding her a little longer than necessary. She looked up at him. "Good catch." she said shyly.
Harry raised his eyebrows slightly. "Of course. I'm not the youngest Seeker in a century for nothing, you know."
Susan's smile widened, and she opened her mouth to say something, but she was cut off by a voice.
"Get a room, you two."
Harry looked to the voice and saw Quentin and Hermione smiling widely. He felt himself blush horribly as he helped Susan to her feet. She too was blushing.
Quentin, of course, wouldn't let it go so easily. Smiling, he said, "We did have a reason for coming here, remember. You two can stare into each other's eyes some other time."
Harry and Susan continued to blush through this tirade. Quentin obviously thought they had enough, because he stopped talking. He just smiled and gave Harry a suggestive wink.
To change the subject, Harry said, "I wonder where everyone is."
Harry led the small group around the first floor of the house, but they didn't find anyone. They followed Harry up the stairs and to a door on the second floor. Harry could hear light music through the door. Ginny, he thought happily. She loved to listen to light music when she was reading.
Why do I know that?, Harry thought. He shrugged mentally and pushed open the door.
Ginny was sitting on her bed with her back leaning up against the wall. She had a book on her lap and was scanning it idly. She hadn't heard the door open, so Harry took a moment to look her over. She was wearing a white T-Shirt and comfortable shorts. She was wiggling her toes absently. Harry had to admit that she looked...cute.
What?!
Harry shook his head and knocked on the wooden doorframe. Ginny's eyes didn't even leave her book. "Yeah?"
Harry fought down a laugh. "What do mean, 'Yeah'. Aren't you going to say 'Hi'?"
Ginny's eyes snapped to Harry's face. Her eyes lit up when she saw him, and Harry had to admit it was flattering.
"Harry!" she screamed and threw her book down on her bed. She leapt from her bed and threw her arms around him.
Harry laughed and twirled her around. Harry knew he was quite fond of her. He had saved her life in second-year, and that isn't something two people can go through and not feel some sort of connection. He had watched her grow up into the young woman she was today. He remembered the ridiculous crush she had on him during her first year at Hogwarts. But he had always thought of her as a sister.
Harry set her back down pointed into the hallway, where Hermione, Quentin and Susan were standing. Susan seemed distressed about something. Why is she scowling?
Ginny hugged Hermione tightly and turned to Quentin and Susan.
Harry motioned to Quentin and said, "Quentin Boyd meet Ginny Weasley."
Quentin blushed and stammered like he always did when meeting attractive girls. "N-N-Nice to meet you."
Harry fought with a smile and moved on to Susan. "And this is Susan Posenjak."
Ginny smiled widely and offered Susan a hand. Susan smiled back and took Ginny's hand, but there was a strange tightness in her eyes. Harry wondered about this, but turned back to Ginny.
"So, Dot, how are things going on in the Burrow."
Ginny exclaimed in outrage when Harry called her by the nickname he had come up with in the last school term. Ginny had accidentally written on her face with a PermaQuill during breakfast, one day. Ron had forbidden anyone to tell her about it. He had been having far too much fun watching his sister walk around school with an ink stain on her face. During that day, Harry began calling Ginny 'Dot'. She hadn't known what the nickname meant until she had gone to the bathroom before bed. The next morning she had punched Harry hard enough in the arm for him to bruise. The ink mark lasted a full week. But unlike most girls, Ginny could see the humor of the situation and had allowed Harry to call her 'Dot' since. She only occasionally got mad about it.
"You, shut up, Harry Potter." she said with a genuine Weasley smile. She punched him in the arm and Harry saw that she remembered the 'Dot' as well as he did..
Harry saw Susan's scowl deepen.
What's that all about?, he thought.
He was brought out of his thoughts by Hermione's voice. "Where is everyone, Ginny?"
Ginny sighed loudly. "They're probably out back looking at Fred and George's new inventions. The twins spend all their time in a shed that they had built. Nobody knows where they got the money to build it."
I do, Harry thought.
"But no one really wants to ask either." Ginny finished.
"Why don't we go back there?" Harry asked.
"Sure. Wait-" Ginny said, looking around at the group. "where's Ron?"
"That's kind of why we came here, Dot." Harry said.
A scared look formed on Ginny's face. "What's wrong? Is he OK? Is he hurt?"
Harry put an arm around her and gently led her out of the door. "We should get everyone together, first. That way we'll only have to say this once."
"He's-He's not dead is he?"
Harry shook his head slowly. "No, he's not dead." Not yet, he thought.
The group went down the stairs and into the back yard. There, Harry could see the new shed the twins had built. It wasn't any thing amazing, but without the money Harry had given them, they probably wouldn't have been able to afford it. Harry could see a bright light coming from the crack between the door and the floor. Harry reached out a hand to the handle, but Ginny stopped him.
"It's better to knock first. You never know what's going on in there." She rapped the door loud enough to shake the entire shed.
"Come in." said a voice that Harry recognized as George's.
Before Ginny put her hand to the handle, she turned back and looked at the group. "Be prepared. This thing doesn't look like much from out here, but once you get inside... Well, you'll see."
Ginny pushed the door open and Harry caught his first look of the work that Fred and George had been doing since graduation. There were tables spread out through he length of the shed, which had been magically enlarged. Every table was covered prototypes of jokes, pranks, and gags. The tables stretched beyond Harry's vision. The shed was huge in a way that boggled Harry's mind.
Standing near the entrance of the shed was George. He didn't look up from what he was working on. He had just assumed it was Ginny. "You've gotta look at this, Gin." He said pointing to what he was working on. It looked like a push-dial telephone. "All you have to is tell this thing a phone number, and it always remembers it. I already programmed the only number I know. Watch. The Dursley's." he commanded it.
Small, green arms popped out of the side of the phone and began dial the number. Then, it seemed to have a second thought, because it stopped dialing. George wasn't happy. "The Dursley's!" he screamed at it.
One of the small, green hands promptly gave him the finger.
"What the fu-" George started, but Ginny cut him off.
"George! We have visitors." she said.
George looked up from the phone, which was now giving him the bird with both hands, and screamed. "Harry! Hermione! How the hell are you? Aren't you supposed to be in America?"
Harry was going to answer when he heard Mrs. Weasley's voice from deeper in the shed. "George, have you gone daft? Harry's in America with Ron. I swear, I think you spend too much time out here."
George smiled and called back. "No, mum. I haven't gone daft. Harry's right here! With Hermione!"
Harry heard a running noise and soon saw Mrs. Weasley sprinting over to them. Because of her considerable girth, she was breathing very heavily when she reached them.
"Harry,...Hermione...what...are...you...doing....here?"
Harry ignored the question and asked, "Is Mr. Weasley here?"
George answered when he saw his mother was having trouble breathing. "Yeah. Dad's farther back with Fred."
"Good. We need to see them both."
George nodded and reached over to the table he had been working at where, sitting on one corner was a small megaphone. He brought it to his lips and spoke into it. "DAD, FRED, GET UP HERE. WE HAVE SOME UNEXPECTED VISITORS."
The megaphone was magically enhanced and it echoed down the massive shed.
Mrs. Weasley, who had finally regained her breath asked, "Where is Ronald? Did he forget something. Is he in the house?"
It pained Harry to not answer the woman who, through the years, had become like a mother to him. "We'll talk once everyone is here. We should probably go back to the house. It's a long story and you'll want to sit down."
All the way back to the house, Harry answered Mrs. Weasley and George's questions as vaguely as possible. Is he dead. No (not yet). Is he hurt. No (as far as I know). Is he in trouble. No (more than you could possibly imagine).
When reached the house, Harry introduced Quentin and Susan to the Weasley's. When Fred and Mr. Weasley finally caught up, Harry reintroduced them. Then he turned to the Weasley clan and said, "I want you all to sit down."
"What's going on, Harry?" Mr. Weasley asked once every one had sat down. Harry and Hermione stood in the middle of the living room surrounded by the Weasleys. Quentin and Susan went and sat on the floor by the fireplace, and felt very out of place.
Harry began telling the story. He started with the incident with Kyle, and how Ron had beaten the hell out of him. He told them about Fredo Rizzi, the man to first proclaim Ron as a Sentinel. He told them about the banquet and Ron's special assignment. Finally he told them about Ron and Hermione's disappearance. He finished and Hermione picked up where he left off.
While Hermione spoke, Harry went over to the doorway into the living room and leaned against it, not wanting to look the Weasley's in the eye. They had become so much to him, and he didn't want to see them in pain.
When Hermione finished, she was in tears. She ran over to Mrs. Weasley, who was sitting next to her husband with tears in her own eyes, and hugged the plump woman fiercely. "I'm so sorry." she said as she laid her head on Mrs. Weasley's shoulder.
Ginny and Mrs. Weasley were crying openly. Fred and George looked extremely worried and were wringing their hands. Mr. Weasley, who had promised himself that he would always be strong for his family, stared stonily into a wall. "Sentinels. I can't believe it."
Harry turned back to the living room and asked, "You know of them?"
Mr. Weasley nodded his head. "I'm not supposed to know, but I do. I overheard a conversation at the Ministry between the Minister and his scribe. They were speaking about these Sentinels. I thought I had misunderstood at the time, but apparently not."
George stood up from his seat quickly. "So, what the hell are we going to do?"
Fred stood also. "Yeah! We gotta get him out of there."
Harry nodded. He had known he could count on the twins. "I agree. But we don't know enough about the situation. We don't know where they're keeping him. We don't know how many people have him. Even if we find the building, Hermione said it's built like a god-damned fortress. All stone and wood. How do we in get there?"
Ginny, who was the smartest of all the Weasley children with the possible exception of Percy, asked, "Hermione, how did you travel?"
"What?" Hermione said.
"When you left the Sentinel building. How did you get back to Florida?"
Hermione shook her head slowly. "I can't remember. I remember leaving the room they had Ron in, and then I remember showing up in front of the hotel. I can't believe I didn't think of it until now."
"Memory Charm." Susan said from her seat by the fireplace. "They're supposed to be illegal."
"They are." Mr. Weasley spat.
"So the building could be right there in Florida!" Fred exclaimed.
"No." Hermione said. "I'd be able to tell if he was that close. I'd...feel it."
In any other situation, Harry knew the twins would have teased Hermione about the Sentinel thing, but as it was, the situation was far too serious. Harry was sure the teasing would come later.
"I could find out." Mr. Weasley said. "But if I'm caught, I'll lose my job and maybe even go to jail."
"How could you find out?" Harry asked.
Mr. Weasley drew in a deep breath. "I'll search the Confidential files at the office. They're kept in a secret room, but I know where it is. It's another one of those things that I shouldn't know." he said with a small smile.
Harry nodded. "Do that." He turned to Fred and George. "I want you two coming back with us. Bring all the supplies you need to make a few things we may need."
Fred and George nodded. Mrs. Weasley seemed distressed at having the twins leaving the Burrow.
Harry turned back to Mrs. Weasley. "I need someone to write McGonagall a letter saying that Hermione and I will be staying the night here. She won't be happy about it, but the news will come easier if it's from you. I had hoped to be back in America by dinner, but I hadn't considered that the twins would have some things we might need. It'll take most of the night to get it together."
"What do we have that you need, Harry?" George asked.
Harry laughed. "I'm not sure yet. You two are pretty good with charming objects. We're gonna need weapons of some sort and something to distract a large amount of people."
Fred nodded. "We've got just the stuff."
Harry turned to Quentin and Susan. "You two are welcome to go back, now. I don't want either of you getting into trouble."
Quentin snorted and stood. "I think Headmaster Gabriel can survive for a while without me." he said sarcastically. "Besides, I want to help." He walked over to where Mrs. Weasley was sitting. "I've never met your son, mam. But over the last couple of days, I've had the pleasure of getting to know Harry and Hermione and they seem willing to do anything for him. That kind of friendship is rare. It would go against everything I believe in if I didn't help. I'll follow Harry's lead. Were friends-" He made that simple statement seem like so much more than that. "and friends take risks for each other. It might not seem like much, considering where your son is right now, but I'm willing to risk much more than a little trouble with the Headmaster to get your son free again." He smiled suddenly. "I'd take these risks just for the chance to meet him. His friends say such good things about him."
Quentin suddenly seemed embarrassed and he began to stand up again when Mrs. Weasley caught his arm and stood with him. With tears in her eyes, she went up on tiptoe and kissed Quentin lightly on the cheek. Mr. Weasley stood and shook Quentin's hand. "Thank you, boy."
Quentin nodded and Harry felt proud to know him. Harry turned to Susan.
"What about you, Susan." he asked.
Without taking a moment to consider it, Susan said, "I'll stay." For some reason, her eyes went Ginny for a moment and then returned to Harry.
Harry clapped his hands together. It felt good to be doing something. "All right! So, Hermione, the twins, Quentin, Susan and I are all going back, tomorrow."
"I'm coming.", Ginny said calmly, as if expecting the ensuing shouting match.
Harry immediately shook his head. "No, Ginny, it's too dangerous."
Harry expected Ginny to get upset, but she stayed surprisingly calm. "But it's not too dangerous for you? What makes you so special?"
Harry could have answered 'Because I'm Harry Potter: the Boy Who Lived', but he had spent too many years trying to get away from that. It would be hypocritical to bring it up now. "You're too young." he said and regretted it immediately.
Ginny's eyebrows went up on her forehead. "Too young? I'm less than a year younger than you are. No, you mean I'm too fragile. Are you scared I'll break, Harry? Well, screw you!" she said, finally raising her voice. She pushed herself off the couch and started stalking Harry around the room. He backed up uncertainly.
"He's my brother! Just try and stop me, Harry."
With a wave of his arms, Harry gave up. "Fine! You can come."
Harry threw a distressed at the twins. "Why do I have to surround myself with women with such tempers? I thought Hermione was bad enough. Now, I've got Ginny and Susan too!"
Fred threw an arm around Harry's shoulders. "Just stick with us. Somehow we end up driving away every woman we meet."
George shook his head sadly. "We just don't get it. We're so charming!"
Everyone laughed at this and the tension was eased slightly.
"OK. Everybody out to the shed." Harry said. "Start bringing in anything you'll think we'll ever need."
Everyone but Mr. and Mrs. Weasley nodded and headed out of the living room. Harry heard George begin to talk to Hermione. "So...you love Ron, huh?" Harry didn't hear the answer, but he hoped Hermione was ready for a full night of taunts from the twins.
Harry idly wondered why people ever listened to him. He had been in nothing but trouble for six years now. He could almost understand why Hermione, Susan, Quentin and Ginny listened to him. They didn't really have a reason not to. But Fred and George were two years older than Harry. In all truth, they should have been leading this little expedition. But they followed Harry with the same excitement and blind faith that everyone else did. Harry just hoped he wouldn't let them down.
Harry began to follow everyone out to the back yard when Mrs. Weasley's voice stopped him. "Harry."
Harry turned and saw that she was sitting back down on the couch next to her husband. "Yes, mam?"
"Come here, honey."
Harry went and kneeled in front of Mrs. Weasley. She reached out and grabbed Harry's hands. "You're going to save my son, right?"
Harry felt like crying to see her this way. "I'll do my best. I promise."
"We know." Mr. Weasley said. "Keep an eye on the rest of them, too. Fred and George screw around a lot, but they're smart. They see a leader in you. And that's good enough for us. Just bring our son home."
In that moment, Harry knew that he would have gladly given his own life to make Mrs. Weasley
happy again. "I'll bring him home. Go to bed, mam. It'll be a long night."
***
Haley Johansen, the Inventory Manager of the hotel where the Gryffindor's were staying, had been pulled out of a faculty meeting by an excited basement worker. He had claimed that kids were sneaking around in the sub-basement.
Haley went to check on it herself. When she had found nothing but brooms and an old fireplace in the room that these kids had 'supposedly' gone through, she smacked the worker across the top of the head and yelled, "What happened to your phantom teenagers? Do you think people can just disappear? Get back to work!"
Haley went back to her faculty meeting, and by the time she reached the elevator, her thoughts were nowhere near the crazy sub-basement worker and his disappearing teenagers.
Give it to me! There will be further teasing from the twins in the next chapter. It just didn't seem right...yet! Tension! If you're not happy about the Ginny perspective, I'm sorry. It's been in the planning for too long to be forgotten now. Shrug.