The Fifth House
Disclaimer: We all know. Do you remember? I do not own the characters. Or the setting. I own those weird kids that were in Harry's happening thing, and also those wonderful little cherubs that were, for some strange reason, were on Privet Drive so late at night. I own the plot too. J. K. Rowling owns everything else.
Sigh.
Author's Note: Hi people! Happy New Year! It is January First, 2003, and my new year's resolution is to update every 3 to 7 days! How many times have I said that? A lot, I think. This lovely chapter takes place at the Burrow {as a main setting, there are a few parts that are on Privet Drive, and maybe some other places, I'm winging this chapter}. So, read, review, and repeat with all chapters to come!
Lalala.
Curtains Up!
Chapter Five
"Hey Harry, how's it going?" asked Ron.
" It's going, how about you?" Harry answered.
"I'm alright. You don't mind that we, er, kind of, stopped by, do you?" asked Ron in a way that gave Harry the impression that he was nervous.
"No, I don't mind, of course, but I'm not so sure about the Dursleys…"
That was when Uncle Vernon walked out the front door. He looked perfectly normal. He didn't realize who was on his front lawn.
"Excuse me, but who are—?" he started.
Suddenly his expression completely changed. He squished his face, and it was slowly reddening. His body shook. Then he exploded.
"What on earth, are all of you doing here? And, why are you outside, boy, when you need to be helping your Aunt clean?"
Harry gave the Weasleys an apologetic look.
Mrs. Weasley spoke up. "Well, you see, Mr., er, Harry's uncle, we invited Harry to our house over the summer, and it is to my understanding that you are allowing him to, so we just thought that we'd pick him up now."
"Well, yes, I did say he could go, but, well…" Mr. Dursley was losing his strength every second.
"Fine, then. But the boy is to get his things together this instant and get out of my face as soon as possible!"
Mrs. Weasley looked appalled at the lack of care Mr. Dursley had for Harry.
"Well, I'm sure Harry can get his things together very quickly," Mr. Weasley said. "Fred, George, Ron, why don't you all help Harry?' he suggested pointedly.
"Okay Dad," answered the twins in unison.
Harry felt a great amount of relief. He had thought that the Weasleys would arrive soon after his letter had been sent, but he hadn't expected it this soon.
"Sorry about that Harry," Ron said. "Dad really thought that we should come get you today. He seemed really certain that you would be able to come, I have know idea how he knew."
"Sorry? Why should you be sorry? You saved my life! One more day with the muggles and I'd pop!" Harry answered Gratefully.
"I thought so," said Fred.
"Yeah, and even if the muggles hadn't given you permission, that wouldn't have stopped us anyway. Remember the summer before your second year?" George added.
Harry laughed. It had been very funny, the way Fred, George, and Ron had rescued Harry from his bedroom prison in a flying Ford Anglia. It was a memory from the good old times, before Voldemort had come back.
Harry noticed that Ron was being very quiet.
Harry, with the help of the Weasleys, packed all of his things quickly. As Fred and George were inspecting a rather boring looking lamp that had the ugliest fake jewels Harry had ever seen on it, Harry walked over to where Ron was getting some of Harry's schoolbooks together.
"Ron, are you okay?" Harry asked gently.
"What? Oh yeah, I'm fine. It's just, it's kind of embarrassing, but, …"
" Hey Harry, are these jewels worth anything?" Fred interrupted.
"Those, no, they're plastic. My aunt got that for Dudley at a garage sale. She thought He'd like it for some reason or another. It's broken, and that's why I got it. You can have it."
"Thanks Harry!" said George. Hey, We've got everything, we should probably get going, don't you think?"
"Yeah sure," Harry said. He turned back to Ron.
" I'll tell you later. Hey Hermione's arriving tonight, by the way," Ron said.
"Okay," said Harry slowly.
The four boys ran down the stairs and through the door. Harry noticed His uncle looking suspiciously at the lamp in Fred's hands. Harry and the Weasleys piled into the car, which Harry noticed had been fixed like one he'd ridden in before, the seats were bigger in the car than any muggle could imagine. The Dursleys, who were all outside now, were stricken with amazement as the ten passengers got into the car and drove down Privet Drive.
* * * *
The car ride was spent catching up. Harry heard all he'd missed in the wizarding world, and the Weasleys heard all about Harry's summer so far.
Well, almost all about it.
Harry thought it would be the best to leave out all the parts about the letters from P.1 Rebirth, the weird happening experience, the children in the street, and the cloud his parents were visiting him through.
So, he pretty much left out all that had happened.
When they arrived at the Burrow, Mr. Weasley announced that he had to return to his office at the ministry.
"But Arthur, Harry has only just joined us, don't you think it impolite to leave at this point?" Mrs. Weasley persisted.
"I wish I could stay, Molly dear, but really, with all the dark business these days, I need to be there very often. They need me.''
Mrs. Weasley finally gave in. "Oh, fine, but be back before dinner, Hermione should be arriving around then."
Mr. Weasley left and Ron helped bring Harry's things to his room.
" Harry, about what I was saying before,…" Ron started.
Harry saw that Ron looked very nervous; it was visible in his eyes.
Ron Continued.
"Well, it is very embarrassing, and I don't know what I'd do if Fred and George ever found out, but I guess you won't laugh. You won't right?"
" No, I swear," Harry answered.
Ron gulped. "It's just, No one mentioned it in the car, but You-Know-Who has killed two more people after Cedric. One was some woman from a foreign country, Canada or somewhere. But the other was a ministry worker. Dad knew him, they were friends. Both victims were killed with Avada Kedavra. The woman was murdered in her home, but the man, he was killed at the Ministry building. Where Dad works. Harry, d'you remember Dad ever talking about some old wizard he worked with in misuse of Muggle Artifacts office? Well, That was who died. I can't recall his name, it's rather strange, but I shouldn't really talk, I mean strange names have almost lost their strangeness I've heard so many. Back to the point. I'm really scared Harry, I don't want anything to happen to Dad. Think about how easy it could be to trick him into meeting up with You-Know-Who somewhere, all they'd have to do was tell him that they'd give him some batteries or plugs or something. I just don't want him to die."
By now Ron's eyes were glistening. He also looked very pale. Harry realized that this would now be a fear of his own. Harry was just about to say something when Mrs. Weasley's voice rang through the staircase.
"Boys, Hermione's here!"
Ron wiped the moisture from his eyes, and stood up quickly. Harry looked him in the eyes. He had to say something before they went downstairs.
"Ron, nothing will happen to your dad. He's a really smart wizard, he wouldn't get fooled that easily. Plus, he has enough batteries and plugs already."
Ron laughed. "Yeah, Harry, I guess you're right, I was just kind of out of it, I guess. Might be because both murders were within this last week. But I should be okay now, thanks for not laughing. But, can you promise one more thing?"
"Yeah sure," Harry answered.
"Don't tell Hermione, I really don't want her to try to read about it in some book," Ron said.
"Sure thing," Harry said, through a laugh. "And, after dinner, I think I have to tell you and Hermione something."
"Okay, but it's weird how we both have all these secrets now. You know what that means?" Ron hinted.
"No, but I don't think it sounds too great," Harry answered slowly.
"Oh, It's not bad, we just have to get Hermione to tell us something."
Harry laughed. "But, she won't know what you told me, she won't let you off that easily."
Ron had a very mischievous look on his face, "Well," he said, "I could always tell her that my dear brother George had a major crush on her in our third year."
"I never knew that," Harry said, he was very surprised.
"Well, neither does George, but Hermione doesn't have to know that. I may have a whole new and improved story to tell by the time dinner is over."
By now Harry's stomach hurt from laughing. The old Ron was back.
"Honestly, you two, what is so funny?" asked a voice at the door.
Harry and Ron both stopped laughing immediately.
"Oh, hi Hermione, how nice to see you," Ron said.
"Hey, sorry about Ron, he accidentally ate some new food Fred and George invented, it makes you crack up laughing. It's very hard to not laugh when you see him like that," Harry covered up quickly.
"Alright then. So what's Fred and George's new invention called? Then?"
Harry felt defeated. He and Ron looked at each other.
"What new invention of ours?" two voices asked, joining Hermione at the doorway.
"Hi Fred, hi George. You know your new invention, that food that makes you crack up into unstoppable laughter?" Hermione said.
"Hi Hermione," said George. Harry and Ron fought to keep from laughing again.
" That's a great idea, Hermione! We'll give you credit for the idea; we'll call it the Laughing Lemon Drop of Death! Actually, we should probably leave out the "of Death" part, or else people may hesitate to try it for some reason!" Fred added.
The twins left the doorway talking excitedly, making plans for the Laughing Lemon Drops, no doubt. Hermione gave Harry and Ron a very suspicious look. They gave her looks that said, 'Who, us? We didn't do anything!' Hermione looked just about ready to say something that ran along the lines of their immaturity and how their conversations could be so much more interesting if only they would read.
Harry rescued them by speaking up. "I think it's time we went down for dinner."
Hermione shot him and Ron Looks that were very easy to read, 'I'm not through with you lot yet'.
Harry was almost grateful that he had something to tell Ron and Hermione after dinner. It may not be good news, but it would make Hermione forget about telling them off. Harry had to be careful about how much he told them, though.
He didn't want to think about all the books Hermione would shove at him.
Harry Potter also did not know who else could be listening.
* * * *
The dinner Mrs. Weasley had prepared was very good. There was fried chicken, Yorkshire pudding, mashed potatoes, a very large salad, and a towering cake at the very end of the meal, which Harry was not sure of the purpose for.
After dinner all of the Weasley kids, Harry, and Hermione helped clear the table. Most of the Weasleys wanted to talk in the kitchen, so Harry, Hermione, and Ron only stayed in there for a short while before they decided to go outside. Harry actually would not have minded staying in; there were several interesting conversations. Mrs. Weasley Had already heard about The Laughing Lemon Drops, and was not at all pleased. Ron's two oldest brothers, Charlie and Bill, were swapping stories from there work places. Charlie works with dragons, and was informing Bill of the dragons that resided in Egypt, which was where Bill worked for The Ministry. Percy, however, was boring Ron's younger sister, Ginny, with the latest subject he was reporting on for the ministry. Mr. Weasley arrived home just then, and Mrs. Weasley left the twins alone for just a minute to talk to him about being home for dinner. She randomly called out, "Fred and George, don't you two dare go upstairs!" Even with her back turned, she knew that they had tried to creep up the stairs.
When, Harry, Ron, and Hermione finally got outside, they sat down under a maple tree in the Weasley's front yard. Ron managed to say quietly to Harry, "I'm sticking to the same story about George." Harry grinned at him. Hermione glared at both of them.
"What are you two always whispering about?" she demanded.
Ron grinned. " You see Hermione, it's kind of a secret, so if we tell you, you have to tell something, too."
"Well, what about Harry?" she asked.
"I'll find something to tell," Harry said defensively.
"Fine, what is it, Ron?"
"My brother, George, you know him?" Hermione glared. " Yes, well, in our third year, he had a crush on you."
Hermione blushed. "Ronald Weasley, if I find out you're lying, I'll kill you!"
"Fair enough. Your turn."
"Well, I can't really think of anything, give me a minute"
She concentrated very hard for five minutes; each time she was ready to talk, she hesitated and changed her mind.
" Okay, well, you know that test we had in Flitwick's class last year, before the exams, the one a aced?"
"Which test haven't you aced? Plus, everyone aced that test."
"Well, you see, I didn't really get a perfect score, I actually got a six out of ten."
" You lied to us!" Ron said.
"Well, I didn't want you to know that I got a lower score than you, because I knew you'd brag, and you would."
"Wow, Hermione, that had to be hard to tell," Harry said jokingly.
"It was!"
" Yeah I know, I'm just kidding. I never do too well in Charms anyway."
Ron turned to Harry. "Okay, your turn."
"Just to inform you, it's pretty long, so if you get bored I'm sorry. And you both have to swear not to tell."
"Okay, okay, we swear we won't tell, so what's up?"
" Well, this has been a strange summer for me. In a weird, scary sense. I've been getting strange letters. They say all this rubbish about some evil being after me, and how it's waiting at Hogwarts, and they also go on about how I won't know who to trust anymore, and how people in my life's roles will change. Weird stuff like that, it almost sounds like Professor Trelawney is sending them. They're signed from some person who calls themselves P.1 Rebirth. I opened my window once, and heard whispers and I closed my eyes and I was at a park. There were children, and it was a beautiful day until this huge storm came, with thunder and lightening. Then a wizard behind me shot sparks out of their wand that burst into fireworks. But the sparks from the fireworks hit the ground and sunk holes, the children were all together in a bunch surrounded by these holes. Then, someone laughed, a really high pitch laugh, and I opened my eyes and was back in my room. Then there were four kids and a big dog out on my street at, like, three in the morning. Last, there was this evil cloud that kept slamming against my window, trying to break into my room. And that's my wonderful summer."
Hermione and Ron were both pale, breathing heavily and they looked scared. The silence was killing him.
" Well, do either of you have anything to say?"
" Harry, I can read some things about clouds and dreams, even though it has to do with divination. This is really serious."
"Should I ask Dad? No, I promised not to tell, sorry, yeah, I'll read some stuff too I guess. Mum liked divination all right, maybe she'll know something about the dream thing."
"Thank you so much guys, you have no idea how much you're helping me."
"Omigosh! Harry, have you told Dumbledore?''
"Hermione, he has enough to consider right now, with Voldemort back and all. I can't tell anyone who could help except you guys. I haven't even told Sirius."
"Okay, but you should still try, Harry," Hermione said. "Did you notice anything unusual that all of the scrolls from, who was it?"
"P.1 Rebirth," Harry answered.
"Yes, well have you noticed anything unusual that all of the letters from P.1 Rebirth had in common?"
Harry thought hard. There had only been two. They had both been on parchment, not the normal kind, but a really rich kind of parchment. He assumed they'd both been delivered by the same crazy owl. He told Ron and Hermione this, and then pulled the letters out of his pocket.
Hermione noticed a lot of little things. Then she looked really amazed. "Harry. You didn't see this seal on both of them?"
Harry looked closely at the design that was on the top of the parchment, apparently it held it together, but Harry had ripped them both open so it was likely he didn't see it. It was a rich purple color. The design was a very small, barely noticeable wolf. It was a very strange symbol.
"Hermione, do any wizarding schools use wolves as a symbol?" Ron asked.
"Not that I know of, and not to brag, but I've read a lot about other schools of magic," Hermione answered honestly. " But it could be a symbol for something else in the wizarding world, I don't think they'd use any muggle customs."
" Thank you so very much, Encyclopedia Hermione," Ron answered.
Hermione rolled her eyes.
Harry was so glad that his friends were helping him, that he hadn't even noticed nightfall. "Hey you guys, we should really get inside, Ron, your mum might worry."
"Oh yeah, it's pitch black."
"Actually Ron," Hermione corrected, "It's really more of an eerie indigo color."
Harry hadn't ever heard Hermione correct Ron about something so simple. Yes, the sky was indigo, and yes, it was eerie, but it sounded so familiar.
Then he remembered, the letter.
He didn't want to freak Hermione out by telling her she quoted the letter. He was sure she hadn't read it, she would have found some comment to say about bad grammar or how another, larger, more genius-level vocabulary word would work so much better.
When the three got in the house, Mrs. Weasley was slightly mad. "I didn't know where you were, oh, and you should all go to bed, we're going to Diagon Alley tomorrow. I assume you all know where you're sleeping. Harry, you're with Ron, Hermione, you're staying with Ginny and your things have been brought up, Fred and George volunteered."
Harry knew that the twins hadn't volunteered as much as Mrs. Weasley had volunteered them.
Harry was grateful to go to bed; he was exhausted. He was almost asleep, but still thinking about the letter. He thought about how Ron had admitted to being scared for the first time, and how Hermione had criticized Ron for getting a color wrong. 'What was up with them?' he thought.
That was when he realized that the letter's predictions were coming true. He couldn't believe it. He concentrated hard to find a place that he thought he should never be. He came up with nothing, but he would find a new sanctuary sooner or later. He thought of that line in the letter:
Roles change, as you will find a new sanctuary, which will be where you never thought you should be.
Then there was another line:
Ones once friends turn to ones to be lost in the world's new outlook.
Would the world's new outlook never see black skies? Would they show new fears? Harry had a new fear: Ron's Dad being killed by Voldemort. Harry associated that with another line from a letter:
New fears take places where old ones dissolve.
Harry wasn't sure what old fears would dissolve, but he knew a fear would sooner or later. Everything the letter said would occur eventually; it was a fate.
But Harry Potter did not know it was a fate far worse than death.
Curtains Close!
Author's Note: Whoa that was really long. It's eight pages off Microsoft Word. I could have broken that into two separate chapters, but I think it flows better this way. Plus, where would I have broken it in half?
Words of Wisdom: No matter what anyone ever does, whacking your head against the wall will not resolve your problems; it will only give you a headache.
That's so true! Take it from someone who knows.
I've given you a lovely piece of advice, and I'll give you more next chapter if you review. Remember, I love you!
I love you all!
Ciao!
~Starry