He saw Hermione begin running away from the door, tears still streaming down her face. "Hermione! Wait!" Harry shouted after her, running out the door of the kitchen. He got to the door of the house, and he saw Hermione already half-way up the street. He ran outside and ran after her as fast as he could. "Hermione! Stop running!" Harry yelled. She looked back at him before collapsing to the ground on a sidewalk. Harry caught up to her, and stood near where she was kneeling on the ground. "Hermione, listen to me. I know how you feel, he was my best friend too. But everything will work out fine! I promise! The Order is going to make sure nothing bad happens!" Harry told her. looking into her eyes. "Trust me Hermione. Everything will be fine," he assured her.
He helped her up off the ground, and walked her back towards the house at Number 12 Grimmauld Place. "Now, you should go get some rest," Harry told her once they had entered the house. She went up the stairs to the room she always slept in, and slammed the door behind her. Harry could tell she was still very upset, and she had every reason to be upset. After all, one of her best friends was in hiding from the most powerful dark wizard to walk this planet. Harry stood there staring at her door for a few minutes before walking off. He knew how she felt about Ron. He felt the same way about Ginny. Harry knew there was a chance he would never be able to see her again, and he really wished he would be able to be in her presence one last time. "Harry! C'mon in here," Sirius shouted, interrupting his thoughts about Ginny. "Oh, yes, of course. I'm coming," Harry replied, walking towards the kitchen.
Sirius was the only one left in the kitchen. Harry figured the rest of the Order members had finished their discussion without him. "Harry, I just want to thank you one more time for saving me. You're just like your father, always looking out for your friends," Sirius said, smiling at Harry. Just then, Harry got an idea. "Sirius, I got you back from the realm of the dead, right?" Harry asked him. "Umm...yeah. Why?" Sirius asked. He was quite confused by Harry's sudden train of thought. "Well, doesn't that mean that I can bring my parents back from the realm of the dead?" Harry said. "Harry, I know what you're thinking. And the answer is no. You see, I wasn't dead when you brought me back. I was just stuck in that realm, but I was not yet dead. Your parents on the other hand, are dead," Sirius replied. Harry buried his head in his hands for a few moments before going back up to his room to get some rest.
When he entered his room, he saw an owl on his bed with a letter in his hand. Carefully he untied the letter from it's leg, and watched as the owl flew right out his window. "I wonder who this is from..." he thought to himself. He unrolled the peace of parchment, and read the letter quietly to himself.
Harry~
We have good news, and we have bad news for you. You know how we told you we were taking Zonko to court? Well, we did. The trial was the other day. We won the case, and they are granting us 200,000 galleons! Can you believe it?!
Harry gasped when he read that. "Two-hundred thousand galleons?! Wow!" he thought to himself. His face lit up brightly as he thought of all of the things Fred and George would be able to do now. He was happy for the twins. He saw there was more to the letter, so he went on reading.
The bad news is that Zonko will no longer have a shop in Hogsmeade. We're sorry you won't have a place to go for all of your prankster needs, but we have enclosed several order forms for you to use for our store. Don't forget, you still have your 40% discount! Have fun, and send Peeves our regards!
~Fred and George Weasley
P.S. Give Filch hell!
Harry sat the letter on his bed, and grabbed one of the order forms. He quickly scratched some info down on the form and ordered some fireworks, a portable swamp, and some Skiving Snackboxes. He laughed as he tied the letter to Hedwig's leg, and sent Hedwig off to deliver the letter. Buckbeak was sitting on the floor, his eyes wide awake. He was staring at Harry with a big smile on his face. "Happy Sirius is home, aren't you?" Harry said to the bird. It looked as if Buckbeak was nodding in reply. "So am I, Bucky. So am I..." he replied.
Weeks went by in a blur. The Order members had all been restored to full health, and the anticipation of the Ravenclaw game grew even more. It was only two days away, and Harry was getting more nervous by the minute. This was just one more thing he had to be worried about, stacked on top of all of his other worries. The threat of Lord Voldemort trying to kill him again was becoming stronger, especially since he had nearly escaped the grasp of the Order of the Phoenix. There were many rumors going around the school about where Ron and Ginny had disappeared to. Only Harry and Hermione really knew what was going on. Harry hadn't heard anything from Fred and George since he had sent them the letter, thus leading Harry to conclude that they too had gone into hiding with their family. Harry had found a replacement for Keeper for the game, and that was a kid named Euan Abercrombie. Harry did not know how he would do under the pressure of the game, but he was quite impressed by the kid's abilities during practice. Everybody else was doing fine, especially since Hermione had brewed enough of the stress relieving potion for everyone on the team.
On Saturday, Harry received a letter from Pidwidgeon. It was from Ron.
Harry~
I'm sorry to tell you this, I know it'll probably make you very upset, but I'm afraid to say that Bill was killed. The whole family is devastated, and I just thought you ought to know. HE sent men after us and HIS men killed Bill, who put his life on the line to make sure the rest of us got out safely. Please, do not tell Hermione what has happened; I know it will only make her more saddened than she already is.
~Ron
P.S. Take care of Hermione for me.
There were tear drops on the parchment, and the writing was very shaky. Just when Harry thought nothing could've made his life worse, something like this had to happen. It was obvious to Harry who HE was. Ron had meant that Voldemort's Death Eaters had killed his brother.
"Oh my god," Harry thought to himself, tears welling up in his eyes. "I wonder if Dumbledore knows? Oh, that's a stupid question. Of course Dumbledore knows," Harry reminded himself. He left the Great Hall in a hurry, and Hermione chased after him. "What's wrong?" she called after him. Harry just chose to ignore her. He broke into a fast pace, running towards the common room. When he arrived, he went up to the dormitory and laid down on his bed. There couldn't have been a worse time for something like this to happen. With the growing threat of the Ravenclaw game the next day, Harry did not need anything like this to be happening to him. This had broken him up inside. He surely wouldn't be able to play the game the next day as well as he normally did. "What's wrong, Harry?" he heard someone ask. He sat up in his bed, and saw Neville Longbottom sitting in his own bed. "Oh, hey Neville," Harry said. His voice was very soft, and anybody could tell that something horrible was wrong. "I'm sorry Neville, but I don't think I'm allowed to be telling anybody," Harry replied. "Oh, it's something to do with the Order, isn't it?" Neville asked. "How do you know about the Order?" Harry assked. "Oh, well, my grandma tells me all about it. She knows my parents were part of it, and she tells me all about what they used to do for the Order," Neville told him. "Oh, well, yeah. It does have something to do with the Order," Harry replied. "Okay, then I guess I understand why you can't tell," Neville replied.
"So, Neville, I was thinking about restarting the D.A. next Saturday. Would you be interested in it again?" Harry asked him, trying to change the conversation. "Of course!" Neville told him. "Alright then, tell some people about it. We'll meet in the Three Broomsticks next Saturday during the Hogsmeade trip," Harry replied. "Okay! I'll spread the word!" Neville said, his smile growing across his face. He left the room, leaving Harry there in the dormitory. Harry sat there for a little bit before grabbing a photo album from his trunk. It was full of pictures from over the years of Ron, Hermione, and all of his other friends. He saw many pictures where he and Ron were having tons of fun, like the summer he spent with the Weasley's at the Burrow. He saw Bill in many of the pictures, but he was forced to turn the page to keep himself from getting too depressed. Hermione walked in on him, and he hurriedly put the photo album away. "Hey Hermione!" exclaimed Harry, who was trying to put a fake smile on his face. "Harry, don't try to look happy. I know there is something in that letter that you don't want to tell me. Now, I understand if it is something private that you don't want to tell me, but you shouldn't bottle up all of your feelings like this," Hermione told him. "Hermione, you'll know soon enough. You're bound to find out sooner or later. But I'm just not the one to be telling you this. Now, let's go outside. I need to get some air," Harry told her, getting up and walking out of the dormitory.
They walked outside of the school building and began talking about reinstating the D.A. "I think it's a wonderful idea, Harry!" Hermione told him. "Yes, and I was wondering if you would want to be maybe a sort of co-teacher sometimes. I mean, you're great at magic as well," Harry replied, making Hermione blush. "Well, I wouldn't say [I]that[/I]," she told him. It was at that moment that a first year girl walked up to Harry. "Hello Harry," the girl said. Harry had an odd feeling that he had met her before, but he wasn't quite sure where. "Hello," Harry replied, trying to act as if he knew who she was. "I just wanted to warn you about Draco Malfoy. Stay away from him at all times! He is planning something very evil!" the girl told him. "Well, Malfoy's always planning something evil that has to do with [I]me[/I]. There's no surprise there," Harry replied. "Yes, but this is something extremely worse than anything he's ever done!" she exclaimed. "Oh, and how do you know this?" Harry asked her, rolling his eyes. "Because. I'm his sister," she told him. This would be the point in cartoons where the character's jaw drops ten feet and crashes to the ground. Harry was shocked. Why would she be warning him? She's a Malfoy! Should he trust her?
"Why should I believe you? What makes you different from the rest of your family?" Harry asked her. "Because, I hate my family!" she told him, "I'm not even in Slytherin." "Really?" Harry replied. He still did not believe that she wasn't like the rest of her family. He knew if she was this different from the Malfoy's that her life must've been hell while living at home. "Yes, really. I'm in Ravenclaw," she told him. "Oh, I didn't know that," he said. "Well, I must be going now," she told him before walking off towards the school. "Well, that was certainly strange," Hermione said to Harry. "Yes, kind of freaked me out," Harry agreed. "Let's go talk to Hagrid," Hermione suggested. "Alright, sounds good to me," Harry replied. They walked down the path towards Hagrid's cabin. From far away, they could hear Fang barking loudly and they knew something must've been happening inside.
He helped her up off the ground, and walked her back towards the house at Number 12 Grimmauld Place. "Now, you should go get some rest," Harry told her once they had entered the house. She went up the stairs to the room she always slept in, and slammed the door behind her. Harry could tell she was still very upset, and she had every reason to be upset. After all, one of her best friends was in hiding from the most powerful dark wizard to walk this planet. Harry stood there staring at her door for a few minutes before walking off. He knew how she felt about Ron. He felt the same way about Ginny. Harry knew there was a chance he would never be able to see her again, and he really wished he would be able to be in her presence one last time. "Harry! C'mon in here," Sirius shouted, interrupting his thoughts about Ginny. "Oh, yes, of course. I'm coming," Harry replied, walking towards the kitchen.
Sirius was the only one left in the kitchen. Harry figured the rest of the Order members had finished their discussion without him. "Harry, I just want to thank you one more time for saving me. You're just like your father, always looking out for your friends," Sirius said, smiling at Harry. Just then, Harry got an idea. "Sirius, I got you back from the realm of the dead, right?" Harry asked him. "Umm...yeah. Why?" Sirius asked. He was quite confused by Harry's sudden train of thought. "Well, doesn't that mean that I can bring my parents back from the realm of the dead?" Harry said. "Harry, I know what you're thinking. And the answer is no. You see, I wasn't dead when you brought me back. I was just stuck in that realm, but I was not yet dead. Your parents on the other hand, are dead," Sirius replied. Harry buried his head in his hands for a few moments before going back up to his room to get some rest.
When he entered his room, he saw an owl on his bed with a letter in his hand. Carefully he untied the letter from it's leg, and watched as the owl flew right out his window. "I wonder who this is from..." he thought to himself. He unrolled the peace of parchment, and read the letter quietly to himself.
Harry~
We have good news, and we have bad news for you. You know how we told you we were taking Zonko to court? Well, we did. The trial was the other day. We won the case, and they are granting us 200,000 galleons! Can you believe it?!
Harry gasped when he read that. "Two-hundred thousand galleons?! Wow!" he thought to himself. His face lit up brightly as he thought of all of the things Fred and George would be able to do now. He was happy for the twins. He saw there was more to the letter, so he went on reading.
The bad news is that Zonko will no longer have a shop in Hogsmeade. We're sorry you won't have a place to go for all of your prankster needs, but we have enclosed several order forms for you to use for our store. Don't forget, you still have your 40% discount! Have fun, and send Peeves our regards!
~Fred and George Weasley
P.S. Give Filch hell!
Harry sat the letter on his bed, and grabbed one of the order forms. He quickly scratched some info down on the form and ordered some fireworks, a portable swamp, and some Skiving Snackboxes. He laughed as he tied the letter to Hedwig's leg, and sent Hedwig off to deliver the letter. Buckbeak was sitting on the floor, his eyes wide awake. He was staring at Harry with a big smile on his face. "Happy Sirius is home, aren't you?" Harry said to the bird. It looked as if Buckbeak was nodding in reply. "So am I, Bucky. So am I..." he replied.
Weeks went by in a blur. The Order members had all been restored to full health, and the anticipation of the Ravenclaw game grew even more. It was only two days away, and Harry was getting more nervous by the minute. This was just one more thing he had to be worried about, stacked on top of all of his other worries. The threat of Lord Voldemort trying to kill him again was becoming stronger, especially since he had nearly escaped the grasp of the Order of the Phoenix. There were many rumors going around the school about where Ron and Ginny had disappeared to. Only Harry and Hermione really knew what was going on. Harry hadn't heard anything from Fred and George since he had sent them the letter, thus leading Harry to conclude that they too had gone into hiding with their family. Harry had found a replacement for Keeper for the game, and that was a kid named Euan Abercrombie. Harry did not know how he would do under the pressure of the game, but he was quite impressed by the kid's abilities during practice. Everybody else was doing fine, especially since Hermione had brewed enough of the stress relieving potion for everyone on the team.
On Saturday, Harry received a letter from Pidwidgeon. It was from Ron.
Harry~
I'm sorry to tell you this, I know it'll probably make you very upset, but I'm afraid to say that Bill was killed. The whole family is devastated, and I just thought you ought to know. HE sent men after us and HIS men killed Bill, who put his life on the line to make sure the rest of us got out safely. Please, do not tell Hermione what has happened; I know it will only make her more saddened than she already is.
~Ron
P.S. Take care of Hermione for me.
There were tear drops on the parchment, and the writing was very shaky. Just when Harry thought nothing could've made his life worse, something like this had to happen. It was obvious to Harry who HE was. Ron had meant that Voldemort's Death Eaters had killed his brother.
"Oh my god," Harry thought to himself, tears welling up in his eyes. "I wonder if Dumbledore knows? Oh, that's a stupid question. Of course Dumbledore knows," Harry reminded himself. He left the Great Hall in a hurry, and Hermione chased after him. "What's wrong?" she called after him. Harry just chose to ignore her. He broke into a fast pace, running towards the common room. When he arrived, he went up to the dormitory and laid down on his bed. There couldn't have been a worse time for something like this to happen. With the growing threat of the Ravenclaw game the next day, Harry did not need anything like this to be happening to him. This had broken him up inside. He surely wouldn't be able to play the game the next day as well as he normally did. "What's wrong, Harry?" he heard someone ask. He sat up in his bed, and saw Neville Longbottom sitting in his own bed. "Oh, hey Neville," Harry said. His voice was very soft, and anybody could tell that something horrible was wrong. "I'm sorry Neville, but I don't think I'm allowed to be telling anybody," Harry replied. "Oh, it's something to do with the Order, isn't it?" Neville asked. "How do you know about the Order?" Harry assked. "Oh, well, my grandma tells me all about it. She knows my parents were part of it, and she tells me all about what they used to do for the Order," Neville told him. "Oh, well, yeah. It does have something to do with the Order," Harry replied. "Okay, then I guess I understand why you can't tell," Neville replied.
"So, Neville, I was thinking about restarting the D.A. next Saturday. Would you be interested in it again?" Harry asked him, trying to change the conversation. "Of course!" Neville told him. "Alright then, tell some people about it. We'll meet in the Three Broomsticks next Saturday during the Hogsmeade trip," Harry replied. "Okay! I'll spread the word!" Neville said, his smile growing across his face. He left the room, leaving Harry there in the dormitory. Harry sat there for a little bit before grabbing a photo album from his trunk. It was full of pictures from over the years of Ron, Hermione, and all of his other friends. He saw many pictures where he and Ron were having tons of fun, like the summer he spent with the Weasley's at the Burrow. He saw Bill in many of the pictures, but he was forced to turn the page to keep himself from getting too depressed. Hermione walked in on him, and he hurriedly put the photo album away. "Hey Hermione!" exclaimed Harry, who was trying to put a fake smile on his face. "Harry, don't try to look happy. I know there is something in that letter that you don't want to tell me. Now, I understand if it is something private that you don't want to tell me, but you shouldn't bottle up all of your feelings like this," Hermione told him. "Hermione, you'll know soon enough. You're bound to find out sooner or later. But I'm just not the one to be telling you this. Now, let's go outside. I need to get some air," Harry told her, getting up and walking out of the dormitory.
They walked outside of the school building and began talking about reinstating the D.A. "I think it's a wonderful idea, Harry!" Hermione told him. "Yes, and I was wondering if you would want to be maybe a sort of co-teacher sometimes. I mean, you're great at magic as well," Harry replied, making Hermione blush. "Well, I wouldn't say [I]that[/I]," she told him. It was at that moment that a first year girl walked up to Harry. "Hello Harry," the girl said. Harry had an odd feeling that he had met her before, but he wasn't quite sure where. "Hello," Harry replied, trying to act as if he knew who she was. "I just wanted to warn you about Draco Malfoy. Stay away from him at all times! He is planning something very evil!" the girl told him. "Well, Malfoy's always planning something evil that has to do with [I]me[/I]. There's no surprise there," Harry replied. "Yes, but this is something extremely worse than anything he's ever done!" she exclaimed. "Oh, and how do you know this?" Harry asked her, rolling his eyes. "Because. I'm his sister," she told him. This would be the point in cartoons where the character's jaw drops ten feet and crashes to the ground. Harry was shocked. Why would she be warning him? She's a Malfoy! Should he trust her?
"Why should I believe you? What makes you different from the rest of your family?" Harry asked her. "Because, I hate my family!" she told him, "I'm not even in Slytherin." "Really?" Harry replied. He still did not believe that she wasn't like the rest of her family. He knew if she was this different from the Malfoy's that her life must've been hell while living at home. "Yes, really. I'm in Ravenclaw," she told him. "Oh, I didn't know that," he said. "Well, I must be going now," she told him before walking off towards the school. "Well, that was certainly strange," Hermione said to Harry. "Yes, kind of freaked me out," Harry agreed. "Let's go talk to Hagrid," Hermione suggested. "Alright, sounds good to me," Harry replied. They walked down the path towards Hagrid's cabin. From far away, they could hear Fang barking loudly and they knew something must've been happening inside.