Fleur nodded graciously and said, "It is a pleasure to see you, too, 'Ermione. So, 'Arry, Bill was telling me earlier that the sword you used to light your Life Light was one that you were given the night of your induction into the Order, yes?"
A loud crash behind Harry made them all jump and spin around. A full plate of food and a bottle of butterbeer had crashed to the floor and Ron, eyes wide and mouth agape, could only sputter, "WHAT?"
*~*~*~*
"Thank you ever so much, Fleur," Hermione said acidly just as a loud series of shots, followed by a resounding bang! erupted from the opposite side of the hall. Harry, only tearing his eyes from Ron when Ron himself turned towards the noises, saw that Fred and George had just set off a small crate of their fireworks and had begun a pyrotechnic show.
Red and gold sparklers were whirling around, sending off sparks of light that mingled amongst the still-present golden points of light twinkling above. Purple rockets were shooting off from the crate, leaving a trail of silver stars behind them and shocking pink Catherine wheels (that coincidentally matched the color of Fred's robes) were whizzing like miniature saucers from the crate.
Harry felt himself being led off to the side and then noticed that Hermione, steering him by his arm, had also latched onto Ron and was leading them to a set of doors from the hall. She didn't get them all the way out of the hall though before Ron pulled loose and indignantly protested, "Hey!"
"Shut it!" Hermione snapped. "You're just lucky the twins had the good timing to divert attention from your oncoming little snit!" she said waving about at the room increasingly filling with fireworks whose noise was currently covering up the fact they were shouting at each other.
Ron, quickly turning an angry shade of red, opened his mouth to speak but Hermione whipped out her wand towards him and screamed, "SHUT UP!" before Ron could speak. "You will NOT ruin this night!" she shouted.
Ron looked taken aback at her vehemence. Hermione then took two quick strides towards Ron, gathered the front of his robes and, in a low voice Harry could barely hear over the noise, said, "This is a night of Celebration and Harry's night to enjoy himself and his friends. So help me god, Ron, if you insist on making trouble, I will not hesitate to hex you blind, deaf and dumb and then feed to a giant tank of spiders!"
"Hermione," Harry said reasonably, not used to trying to be the voice of reason between the three.
She dropped her hand from Ron's robes and turned to Harry as she said, "You handle him how you see fit. But I just wanted to make it clear that this is not the time for one of Ron's hard-done-by fits of indignation!"
Harry took a deep breath and could not argue that he was at least pleased that Hermione had managed to extract them from the middle of hall where they might have quickly become the center of attention even amongst all the other fireworks. Hermione then nodded once and said, "I'll leave you both to it then. And remember—this is a party."
But before she could turn to leave, Mrs. Weasley, hands on her hips, stopped her short. "Ronald!" she exclaimed shrilly. "How in blazes do you think it's acceptable for you to drop a plateful of food and a whole bottle of drink—which by the way, I see is not Butterbeer at all!—in the middle of a formal gathering? Your brothers are bad enough what with their--" her arms made wild motions all about the room just as one Catherine wheel whizzed by merrily.
"Mrs. Weasley," Hermione interrupted, trying to grab the older woman's arm and lead her away. "Harry and Ron need to have a short chat--alone."
Mrs. Weasley immediately tried to shirk away from Hermione's grip.
"No," Ron said, and Harry now saw that Ron was in full scowl mode. "Did you know, Mum, that Harry here is in the Order?" Ron glared coolly at his mother who had gone slack at his question and stopped struggling against Hermione's grip.
"What? What is going on here?" Mrs. Weasley demanded. She looked quickly between Harry and Ron. Harry and Hermione knew very well she'd been worried that Ron would find out he was the only one of the trio not in the Order ever since summer.
"Why don't you all tell me!?" Ron said looking angrily between Harry, Hermione and his mother. He focused in on Harry and demanded, "Are you in Order? Is it true?"
"Yes," Harry said simply as Mrs. Weasley gasped and rounded on him.
She looked like she wanted to smack Harry for telling this to Ron but instead, rounded back towards Ron and said, "Don't you go getting any wise ideas!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ron sputtered.
Mrs. Weasley was doing her best to look down upon her taller son as she pointed her finger and glowered, saying, "Like thinking you can join up with the Order. I'll not allow it and—"
"Harry did!"
"You're not Harry!" she shouted back.
Ron pulled a disgusted looking face. "Yes, tell me about it," he spat with a glare at Harry.
Harry looked quickly over at Hermione whose brow was furrowed. She exchanged a quick glance with Harry and then tried to interject, "I really don't think this is the time or place for—"
"More secrets?" Ron shot back to her. He tapped his finger to his mouth in mock thought and said, "Hmm, let me think here, there's this prophecy about Harry that—"
"Who told you about that?" Hermione said in a deathly whisper with her eyes wide.
Her gaze slid to Harry in question but he could only shake his head as Ron, snorting derisively, said, "Oho! I see yet another person—other than me—knows all about this!"
"Ron," Harry started.
"Don't 'Ron' me!"
"I'll 'Ron' you all I want!" Harry shouted back. He schooled his face then and calmly asked, "Now, do you want to ask your questions civilly so you can actually get answers or do just want to rant, rave and then storm off? Because if that's the case, then you can just leave now—there'll be no ranting and raving here tonight!" Harry glared hard at Ron.
"Questions!" Mrs. Weasley shrilled, rounding on Harry.
He turned his glare on her though and said firmly, "I meant from none of us when I said there'd be no ranting."
Mrs. Weasley snapped her mouth shut and took a deep breath, her chest puffing up as if she were preparing to let loose a string of chastisements.
"How long have you been in the Order?" Ron asked coolly before his mother could begin to spout.
Mrs. Weasley started to say, "I think this—"
But Harry cut her off as he answered, "Since summer."
Ron shifted from one foot to the other, crossing his arms and grinding his jaw to keep his mouth shut. He lost the battle though and threw up his arms as he exclaimed, "Anything else start this summer that I should know about?" He started to tick off on his fingers as he recounted, "You got to join the Order, you started to shag Hermione—"
"Ronald Weasley!" his mother admonished with a backhanded swat.
"Excuse me?" Hermione snapped indignantly with a dangerous gleam in her eye.
"This has nothing to do with Hermione, Ron, so just leave her out of it," Harry said warningly through gritted teeth.
Ron mimicked Harry as he parroted in a high voice, "Nothing to do with Hermione!" He huffed then and stepped challengingly towards Harry as he asked, "You're telling me she doesn't—that even then, she didn't know all these secrets? You're telling me you weren't shagging her then?"
"Why you little—" Hermione started in and advanced towards Ron but was cut off by Harry stepping between them.
"You're toeing a very dangerous line," Harry warned with a pointed finger.
Ron snorted as he said, "Please—how many other secrets do you keep? Why even bother with the charade we're friends?"
A loud bang! from a firework exploded around the same instant that something snapped inside Harry. He was getting very close to losing his self-control and he got right in Ron's face as he said, "Let me give you a news flash, Ron—when you find out there's something no one's told you, it's not always about you! And if it is something that hasn't specifically been told to you, and you happen to blow a gasket when you find out about whatever it is—that's probably the very damn reason no one wanted to tell you in the first place!"
Ron's scowl was faltering as Harry picked up steam in his verbal attack. "Get a grip on yourself and stop being an unreasonable, insufferable, arse! Hermione and I could have told you we were seeing each other much sooner if you hadn't been so spiteful and insistent upon holding a grudge against her for not fancying you! I could have told you about us being in the Order if it wasn't a done deal that you'd be jealous and never shut up about being the one left out! Tell me one good reason why I should have told you about all this sooner? Is it even possible that you would not have blown up no matter when or how you found out? Is it?"
Ron sputtered as he tried to keep huffing and not let his fright at Harry's anger show. "Well that's just…completely off the point…"
"Then what IS your point?" Harry demanded with a snarl. Ron gaped and couldn't find anything to say. "You want to know what you joining the Order would get you? You think you'd suddenly know everything that went on and know all these fabulous secrets? THINK AGAIN! You're already as much in the Order as most anyone else in this room! The Order isn't some democracy that goes over every little detail with every little member and then votes on each and every little action—you don't get to know anything at all necessarily!"
"That's right!" Mrs. Weasley shouted, trying to lean around Harry.
Harry stepped over to block her out and went on, shouting in Ron's face as a set of sparklers whizzed by overhead. "You think you'd get to DO things?! Well, I've asked you—and it was indeed a request on behalf of the Order—to do something and you haven't done a damn thing on it!" Ron made a confused face and Harry shouted, "House unity! The DA! Getting more than just three Slytherins to join! That's been your one and only mission and you've failed to even try!"
Ron stepped backwards, away from Harry and backed right into a wall. "That's not true!" he protested. He looked back and forth between Harry and Hermione and said, "The Slytherins don't want anything to do with us any more than we want anything to do with them! You only got those two girls because they fancy you! And Hermione—" he scowled at her, "—probably only got Zabini because she tarted herself up! Everyone says—"
CRACK!
A bright explosion of whirling sparklers erupted overhead as Harry's fist struck Ron's jaw. A second jet of blue light struck Ron in the face and his mouth snapped shut; his lips sealing themselves together with a silver zipper.
Harry, even though his right hand was stinging madly, was clutching the front of Ron's robes and had him lifted up against the wall. Hermione, her wand out to indicate it was her who had hexed Ron's mouth shut, stalked forward and threateningly pointed her wand at Ron's face.
"Don't you EVER speak of me again!" she hissed at Ron as Harry held onto him.
Harry felt tugging at one arm and Mrs. Weasley was there, shrieking, "Harry! Don't hurt him! Let me deal with him!"
Another hand tugging at his other side revealed Charlie, pale and looking a bit unsettled, "Let him go, Harry. Let him go," he said quietly as the room lit up with yet more flashes of light and several people ooh'd and ahh'd.
Harry let Ron drop back down from where he was held up against the wall. The anger was roiling through his veins as he kept replaying Ron's insult to Hermione. He'll pay for that, Harry vowed to himself.
As Harry backed away at Charlie's insistence, Mrs. Weasley grabbed Ron by one ear and made to tug him away and out the door. Hermione, however, still had more to say. "Just one minute," she snarled, still brandishing her wand at Ron. "You listen up and you listen well. You want to know why I would never fancy someone like you? You want to know the difference between you and Harry? THIS! Your complete lack of maturity! You're a selfish, lazy, jealous, chauvinistic arse who always whinges when he doesn't get things the easy way! You're an awful friend—look at you! Only you would be selfish enough to ruin this night for Harry! ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?"
"Hermione," Charlie said, now trying to restrain Hermione as she leaned forward towards Ron, snarling and screaming her words.
Harry suddenly realized he could hear the scuffing of Ron's feet as his mother led him by the ear out of the hall; small noises of protest coming from his zippered lips. Only after Ron and Mrs. Weasley disappeared around the door, did Harry turn and realize the fireworks had died down now, just in time for every face to be staring across where Harry, Hermione and Charlie remained.
Luckily one of the faces was Dumbledore who, with raised eyebrows, promptly waved his wand at his assembled animated orchestra so that a lively waltz now filled the silent hall. Harry, feeling the need to go on about this party as if the night hadn't just been ruined, quickly straightened his robes and walked over to a shaking Hermione. "Dance with me," he said as he offered his hand to her.
She grabbed it automatically and he winced at the burst of pain in his knuckles. "Oh, Harry," Hermione said looking at his hand now. "We should heal that."
"Not now," he said, shaking his head and leading her with his other hand now out to the center of the floor where Fred and George were giving them concerned looks. "Just dance with me," he pleaded again as he placed one hand upon her back and, with his injured right hand, loosely held her left.
If they could just pretend like nothing had happened, then at least everyone else could go on to enjoy the night. He could suffer through one dance with his hand throbbing. Hermione must have understood because she threaded her free arm around his neck, her fingers curling into the back of his hair, and, as they began to move in rhythm to the music, they each relaxed considerably.
"Of all the times," she said dejectedly as her one hand caressed Harry's injured one.
Harry sighed deeply and closed his eyes. "You don't even know. Remember how you heard me yelling earlier in my room? That was the twins I was yelling at." Hermione looked questioningly at Harry. "They were talking openly about the prophecy and what they knew about it because they assumed that Ron and the others would know."
"You're joking," Hermione said flatly, stopping completely.
Harry shook his head and urged her to keep moving. "Nope. So Ron was already ticked that there was some secret he didn't know about. I lashed into the twins."
"And well you should have!" Hermione said. She snapped her mouth shut before her voice rose too high and they both looked around to see if anyone had heard. Several other pairs were now dancing in the center of the floor like them and only Professor Dumbledore, dancing with Andy Tonks, seemed to be paying them any mind.
Harry just shook his head. "I feel like I don't even care right now what he thinks. I mean it's one thing to have hurt feelings—like me last year when the two of you were named prefects. Sure I felt hurt just because I was left out of something and wondered why not me. But you didn't see me go off in a huff about it—and I was tetchy as could be last year!" As they moved in slow and steady circles, not even conscious of the steps, the music seemed to actually be calming Harry's nerves. "But Ron now, well, I can't even be moved to feel too bad for him when he goes off and deliberately says things like—" Harry just shook his head and looked down at Hermione. "You know he says those things just to get to you, don't you? He doesn't mean it."
Hermione looked up at Harry. "You're already defending him," she said incredulously.
"No, no, it's not that," Harry rushed to say and then laughed shortly. "In fact, I'm well ticked at him for what he said. But you, you shouldn't let what he said get to you. No one believes what he said—in fact he—he probably just said it because he wishes it were true and that you really were such an awful person. Then he probably thinks it would be easier to not be so jealous of us."
"You think?" Hermione said, worrying her lower lip and looking down.
Harry pulled her closer to him and now wrapped both arms around her waist. "Yeah, I think it's possible. If I make one comment about you—not that, you know—er, I mean something like 'Hermione's really one about that Potions essay' or something. Anyway, if I say one small thing—even just like mentioning that you want to study in the library later or such, Ron, since we've been together, will always latch onto that and start in on you. I hate that. It's like he's just looking for some weakness between us to exploit and like he's just trying to get me to agree with him that you're—this isn't helping make you feel better is it?"
Hermione laughed and sniffed as she let her head fall forward onto Harry's shoulder. "Was that your point? To make me feel better?"
"Er, well, I think, but, oh yes—I was trying to explain that I think he's just jealous or at least still bitterly spiteful about us. And you know, it's not even you that I think he's so jealous of. Actually, I've often gotten the feeling that it's me he wishes he could be with more—I mean not in that way. But you know, just hang around with more. I think he's actually jealous that you're closer to me than he is."
Hermione raised her head and looked at Harry consideringly. "You know," she said. "You might be right on that."
"Well, whatever," Harry said dismissively and he moved them around faster to meet the increased tempo of the music. "He's not getting off without apologies to both of us—you especially. He just better hope it's not too late by the time he gets around to it. Either way, I refuse to let him ruin this night." Harry tried his best to smile at Hermione but winced as his hand throbbed painfully yet again as he moved it up her back.
Hermione pulled his hand in front of her and held it gently as she examined it. "You're lucky you didn't get caught in my crossfire when I hexed him, you know." Harry just grunted as she pressed on an extremely painful spot that he could see was already looking a bit swollen and bruised. The music ended then and Hermione gave Harry a stern look as she said, "Come on and let's sit down so I can heal your hand. Besides, I think Professor Dumbledore wants to interrogate you as to what just happened."
As they walked from the center of the floor to one of small tables along the far side of the hall, Harry saw the Grangers watching them closely. "Oh great," he muttered.
"What?"
"Your parents saw everything. Great. Now they probably think I'm some brawling hooligan that attends St. Brutus' Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys." Hermione just gave him an amused look as she pulled out a chair at one unoccupied table. "Nevermind," Harry muttered. "Private joke with the Dursleys."
Hermione just nodded, not sure whether he was serious or not. "Well, here comes Professor Dumbledore—like I said. Why don't I just go over and talk to my parents quick? I'll be right back."
She left just as Harry, in the act of sitting down, inadvertently leaned on his stinging hand, causing him to utter a curse.
"Would you like me have a look at your hand, Harry?" Dumbledore asked as he approached congenially.
Harry motioned for him to take a seat and reluctantly held out his hand for inspection.
Dumbledore, without a word, took it in his own aged hands and peered through his half-moon spectacles at the swollen and bruised knuckles. With one hand, he ghosted it over Harry's, as if pushing around some invisible layer. It felt to Harry like each time Dumbledore moved his hand over his own, that something moved around inside his hand. Finally, he realized, the pain was subsiding and he could even see that the swelling was going down.
"The bruising will remain for a day or so, I believe," Dumbledore said with a nod as he let Harry's hand drop to the table. He then peered over his glasses intently at Harry, obviously preparing to speak.
"You know, Potter," Moody said as he sidled up to the table and dropped down unceremoniously into a chair. "The wonderful thing about being a wizard is that you can attack a person or teach 'em a lesson without getting your own hands dirty." He nodded over at Harry's hand. "It's why they give you a wand."
Harry just made a sour face at Moody. "Don't even ask," Harry said pre-emptively when he saw Dumbledore draw breath to open his mouth. "Ron found out some secrets that were being kept from him just because of how we suspected he'd react and sure enough—he reacted."
Dumbledore looked serious at this and asked, "Secrets of what nature?"
"Well, he knows, thanks to the twins, that the prophecy from the Ministry has something to do with me and that everyone in the Order knows something about it. Then he just overheard Fleur say something about me being in the Order. The rest—well, apparently he's still holding a grudge about some other things that I thought he was over. Guess I was wrong."
Moody grunted as he unscrewed the top of his hip flask and then took a swig. "Arthur went out now to go find Molly and Ronald. Bill said something about Charlie having a loose mouth, too—what was that about, you know?"
Harry rolled his eyes. It really wasn't a very good day thus far for being a Weasley. Now, as Harry recalled Charlie's words about transfiguration being useful, his asking about a friend of Fleur's who worked at some zoo with some ferrets, and the comment about who needed prisons when you could transfigure—Harry could put them all together and he was getting a pretty shrewd idea of what it all meant. And that idea now made him laugh out loud.
As Dumbledore raised his eyes in question, Harry, laughing, said, "Well, I believe I can now guess where the captured Death Eaters are being kept. He mentioned a friend of Fleur's and transfigured ferrets—oh, I can't believe what you must have done!"
But Harry was stopped short by a very serious look on Dumbledore's face. "Harry—who heard this? To whom was Charlie speaking to when he said this?"
The smile faltered from Harry's face. "Fleur, obviously. Bill, too. Myself. Then Hermione came over but I don't know if she heard anything about it. And then, well, that 's when Fleur mentioned my induction into the Order and Ron dropped his plate. Why?"
Moody and Dumbledore exchanged a look and Moody then asked, "You want me to have a word with our boy Charlie? I think he needs a reminder about how to keep his mouth shut."
"Perhaps that would be wise," Dumbledore said with a nod. "And I," he said as he rose from the table, "shall do some investigating. Harry," he said as he looked down, "I trust you realize that the secrecy as to the whereabouts of these individuals is of the utmost importance. I've taken great care to ensure no one, save myself, could give away their location. Please—do keep all you know on this to yourself."
"Of course, sir," Harry said. So much for asking if anyone had bounced around Lucius Malfoy after he'd been transfigured into a ferret.
Harry made a point then to move about and mingle with the guests. He did his best to forget about the earlier confrontation with Ron and was pleased to see everyone having a good time. While he was filling up a plate at the buffet table, Bill came up beside him.
"Sorry about earlier," Bill said apologetically as he also grabbed an empty plate to fill up. "Fleur didn't realize anyone would be here who didn't know you were who you are. Mum should have known Ron would react like that."
Harry just waved it away; he just wanted to forget about it and move on. "He'll get over it. Eventually. Have your mum or dad come back from wherever they went to have it out with Ron?"
Bill shook his head. "Haven't seen them. Charlie got dragged off into a corner with Moody. I think he's getting an earful about something."
Harry just nodded vaguely. "Did you hear I was in Gringotts this past week?"
"Oh yes," Bill said nodding as he broke off a drumstick from a roast turkey. "The twins mentioned something and said I should ask you about it. What was that all about?"
Harry, who after being overheard by Ron earlier, now couldn't shake the habit of looking all about to see who might be listening in, scoped out the room behind them before saying, "I went in with George just for some errands and ended up meeting with their board of governors."
"What?" Bill exclaimed, dropping the gravy ladle with a clatter. "You're joking!"
Harry just shook his head. "Nope. Tomorrow, I'll send you a copy of my report on the meeting. It's too long to go over here. You can let me know then what you think."
Bill, still shaking his head, just said, "Yeah, I suppose. Punch?" he asked, offering a glass to Harry.
"Oh no, I'll just have pumpkin juice," Harry said resignedly.
"You sound like Mumsy, Harry," Tonks said brightly and almost knocking over two different candlesticks as she grabbed the pitcher of pumpkin juice. "She's all on about not drinking anything alcoholic tonight." Tonks rolled her eyes. "I think she's just dedicated to being difficult. So, you gonna dance with me soon? Remus keeps slipping away before I can corner him, that sly dog."
"Er," Bill gave Harry an apologetic grin as he popped a piece of cheese into his mouth and sauntered away. "Maybe not right now--I've got to eat first." Harry held up his plate as evidence.
"Great!" Tonks chirruped. "Ooh!" she said as her eyes lit on something across the room. "Oh, KINGSLEY!" she bellowed. She gave Harry a wink and a grin before setting off across the room. "Shack! I know you want to dance with me! Don't shake your head--OY! I see you trying to hide…"
Harry just shook his head and looked about the room. Hermione was back in the far corner near the orchestra; she was speaking animatedly with her parents. Don't want to head there just yet. His eyes continued to rove over the room until he saw Luna looking serenely back at him. She was seated with Neville who was warily listening to Mundungus Fletcher.
"Hey guys," Harry said as he made his way over. "Mind if I join you?"
"Oh, please do," Neville said quite eagerly as he slid over--away from Mundungus--to make room for Harry. "So, how's it going Harry?"
Harry just pulled a face and shrugged. "What can I say? Everything seems to be going smoothly more or less. I'm pleased. How about you? Are you both enjoying yourselves?" he asked with a nod towards Luna.
"Oh yes," Luna said nodding. "The fireworks were brilliant. Fred and George let us even set off a box ourselves. Did you see them? Ours were the rockets with stars. Ginny helped, too."
Harry looked between them both; Luna looked sincere in her question and Harry wondered if they had missed the fact that he, Ron and Hermione had put on a fireworks display of their own. "Yeah, yeah I saw them. They're always brilliant."
"I saw another fireworks display," said Dung with a sly wink. "Couldn't miss it and I should thank ye for it. Molly was ragging on me about smokin', drinkin', breathin'--you know, the usual--until you lot caught her hawk eyes." He lifted his glass in salute to Harry and drank deeply, a wafting cloud of smoke curling from his mouth as he exhaled.
"Great," Harry muttered as he cut into a slice of beef Wellington. He looked apologetically to Neville and Luna and explained: "Ron got shirty about something and I was hoping only Dumbledore and the Weasleys really noticed. Did everyone see?"
Neville grimaced in commiseration and said, "Well, we saw Ron getting hauled off and away but we weren't sure why. Ginny saw and took off after him--she left through the other doors."
Dung snorted and looked around the room before he answered in a conspiratorial whisper, "Probably because she found out her ickly baby --who's sixteen at least--wasn't just drinking butterbeer. I tell you-- the things I was doing when I was a lad that age! Well, you all can't be as lucky as I but, you might imagine." He gave a lewd wink to Harry. "But--eh! I say Sirius would be right done proud of you drinking it up and being your own man, wouldn't you say?"
"You're probably right," Harry conceded as he took a begrudging drink of his pumpkin juice.
Mundungus threw back the rest of his drink and, with a put-upon sigh, stood up and excused himself as he muttered something about finding a larger glass.
Harry finally got to eat as Luna began to describe how she wanted to ask the twins about using their patented fireworks in conjunction with her homemade hats that she wore for quidditch games. She was quite fond of the idea of having her old lion-serpent hat spout silver stars as the lion ripped into the snake. She also wanted to make rockets shoot from the mouth of the lion when it would roar.
Harry was just savouring his first mouthful of strawberry trifle when Neville cried out, "No! Harry--not the trifle!!"
But Harry had already swallowed. He looked fearfully at Neville and held his breath as he expected to turn into a Canary or some such animal at any time. But all Harry felt was a strange tingling at his scalp. Neville was looking extremely apologetic as he watched just above Harry's head and Luna just looked enthralled.
Harry reached out and just as Luna gasped excitedly, he felt a strange protuberance sprouting from his head.
"The horns of the Crumple Horned Snorkack!" Luna exclaimed excitedly. "Oh, look!"
Harry heard several other people laugh and point at him (Tonks' snicker was unmistakeable). He quickly turned to the side, pulled out his wand and conjured a mirror before him. Atop his head, was an impressive set of antlers.
"Oh, look at Harry!" one of the twins exclaimed. "We never get Harry! Never!"
"And how appropriate!" George said as he and Fred came up to Harry, grinning, to admire their work. "Our Stagnificent Strawberry Trifle--a head above the rest!"
Harry tried to glower at the grinning twins but found it difficult as his head wobbled with the added and awkward weight of the antlers.
"Nice rack, Harry," Fred said with a salacious wink.
George beamed as he stood up on tip-toe to have a closer look at his work. "It's another in our Marauder line, Harry. Don't you like it?"
Kingsley was walking up now to Harry and looking impressed. "Didn't Mad-Eye teach you to check all your food for hexes yet? No?"
"Ooh! Can I touch your rack?" Tonks said as she reached over and tried to pet Harry's antlers.
Harry jerked away and again tried to glower as everyone laughed. But he nearly toppled over from the weight on his head and this only sent everyone off into more laughter.
"You look like you could pull a sleigh!" someone shouted.
While Harry was sure this was indeed quite funny for everyone who was watching, it made him feel ungainly and out of control. He wasn't exactly blaming the twins for this--well, maybe he was. A bit. Remus was laughing at him now and he really rather just wished these bloody antlers would go away.
Tonks had just turned to laugh at some wise crack someone had made and had begun to say, "Too bad he's not a Metamorphamagus like me--he could just--"
But she was cut off by the twins' chorused shouts of, "Hey!" when Harry reached up and felt the antlers receding. Oh thank god! Go away, go away, go away… He could feel with his hand as the antlers disappeared completely and a grin broke out on his face. It was much more funny now that he wasn't trying to keep his head from falling about and teetering right and left.
"Oy!" Fred said as he smacked George on the arm. "You made that batch, didn't you? It's defective!"
"It is not!" George protested. "I tried it myself before we brought it over! Even got Neville to try it for me! It worked for a full twenty minutes!"
"Well you screwed something up, brother mine!"
"Did not!"
"Did to!"
"Not!"
"To!"
"Not!"
"To!"
"To!"
"Not!"
"HAH! Gotcha!"
"Idiot."
"Moron."
"Ugly."
"Oy! I look better than you!"
Harry was being tugged by someone. He turned as he saw Tonks, her eyes sparkling with her face serious. "Soooooo…" she said as she waggled her eyebrows. He hoped she didn't want to dance right now. "Ever like, oh, say, I don't know, gone like five years without a haircut and never had your hair grow?"
Harry's eyes narrowed as he recalled Hermione's interest into this little tidbit about him. "Why?" he asked warily.
But Tonks' just beamed and clapped her hands excitedly. "Try it again! Try it again!" She reached over and took a forkful of the trifle and tried to offer it to Harry.
"Are you mad?" he shouted as he tried to get away from her. "I like my head just fine, thank you!"
"Come on!" she pleaded as she picked up the plate of trifle, still holding the fork, and determinately followed Harry as he tried to escape her. "I'll try it too!"
"No way!" Harry shouted as he ducked behind Bill. But Bill was thinking it'd be more fun to give up Harry and shout out to Tonks that Harry was right here.
Harry Disapparated with a pop! as soon as he saw Tonks spot him.
"Hermione!" he said breathlessly as he reappeared in front of her, her parents, and Professor McGonagall. "Stop Tonks!" he pleaded.
Hermione wasted no time before she stepped in front of Harry and said, "Stay behind me." Tonks then popped! in front of Hermione and almost sent the plate of trifle clattering to the floor before she recovered. "Whatcha got there, Tonks?" Hermione asked innocently.
Harry, his hands on Hermione's shoulders as he crouched behind her, looked up innocently over at Tonks who was watching with amusement. "Need a girl to hide behind, oh hero who conquered the Dark Lord?"
"Shut it," Harry pouted. Tonks grinned wickedly now. "I need all the help I can get to keep you away from me."
"Hermione," Tonks announced primly. "I do believe I shall require your assistance. Are you aware of what your wizard here just did?"
Hermione, looking amused, just answered, "Well, it looked like Harry finally got had by one of the twins' infamous tricks."
"Indeed he did," Tonks agreed. "However, he somehow managed to get out of it well before he should have. Any idea how that might have happened?"
"Ooh!" Hermione said in understanding, making Harry wince.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked as he remained behind Hermione.
Hermione turned around then, smiling, and said, "Oh, you can trust me, Harry. Don't worry."
"Ok," Harry said with a gulp. "Now, I'm worried."
Tonks laughed heartily and swirled the trifle around on her plate. "Always knew you were a smart one, Har. Professor McGonagall! I think you might be interested in this as well!"
"Oh?" said McGonagall with an arched eyebrow. Harry just shook his head pleadingly at her.
"Please Harry?" Tonks begged as she held up a forkful of trifle.
"No."
Her smile fell and she looked crushed. She set the plate of trifle down on the mantle beside her and dropped her face into her hands. Harry couldn't believe it; he'd made her cry. Tonks. Cry. Tonks was crying. How could anyone as cheerful as Tonks ever cry? Harry felt like a heel.
He began to apologize: "Tonks…I didn't mean to--" But was cut off when three simultaneous flashes of light caught him off guard. The next thing he knew, he was being enervated by Hermione's wand pointed at his chest.
"You're under three Body-Bind spells right now," Tonks announced smugly. "And an Anti-Apparition Jinx. You're not going anywhere. We've got you right where we want you."
Harry's eyes swivelled in their sockets and he saw Tonks also had her wand pointed at him as did--Luna? Harry's eyes must have shown his amazement that she had suddenly become one of his 'captors' and she smiled as she shrugged and explained, "Sorry, Harry. It just sounded liked like fun."
"I'd help you, Harry," Mrs. Granger announced from some place off to the side. "But I don't have a wand and I can't do any magic." She didn't sound all that remorseful.
"Potter," McGonagall said slowly as she moved into Harry's view. "I've just been told some very interesting things."
Harry closed his eyes tried to concentrate on breaking the bond holding his body. He mentally cursed himself for not wearing his dragonhide boots tonight. He relaxed and blocked out what they were saying around him as he gathered his strength around him. He'd have to contract somehow and try to burst through these bonds with a surge of magic.
"Harry," Hermione's voice said softly into his ear. His eyes snapped open. Tonks was watching him with a smug smile on her face.
"Harry," Hermione said again. "Please, look at me." She moved around to stand just in front of Harry and crouched down so she was on his eye level as he was currently bound to a chair. When he met her eyes, he saw she looked unmistakably torn and, as if to confirm this for him, she even began to worry her lower lip. "I'll make a deal with you," she offered.
Harry really couldn't see what choice he had at the moment.
"You're not going to cave, are you?" Tonks shouted from behind Hermione.
Hermione just looked at Harry and just nodded. "Harry…I think you might have some ability as a Metamorphamagus," she said as if revealing a huge secret.
No, Harry immediately thought. That's impossible. The number of times I've wished my blasted scar away…no. Believe me, if I were, this scar would be long gone by now.
"Finite Incantatum," Hermione whispered apologetically as Luna and Tonks both groaned audibly.
Harry's arms went slack and his mouth opened. "You're wrong," he said simply.
But Hermione shook her head like she'd already done her research and decided upon an answer.
"Potter," McGonagall cut in. "I was told you were just able to reverse a transfigurative hex on yourself with only willpower. While Nymphadora's--" Tonks groaned in frustration, "--methods may be lacking in tact, I do believe you are likely to behold some considerable skill at self-transfigurations." A rare smile graced her face before she said, "And it's quite timely for this to be discovered now as we're due to begin studying this form of transfiguration next term."
Tonks pouted and held out a forkful of trifle. "Eat the trifle," she pleaded. "We can both grow horns and then wish them away? Pleeeeaaassse?"
Harry looked at Tonks' pouting; not completely sure if he could trust her emotions. "I really don't want any antlers. Sorry."
Tonks jutted out her lower lip. "No one ever wants to play with the Metamorphamagus," she said sullenly.
McGonagall rolled her eyes at Tonks' juvenile behavior and said, "I'll owl you some assigned reading and some exercises you can begin with while you're still on break, Potter." And with that, she left them with a nod and left Harry feeling very confused.
"See?" Hermione said with a hopeful smile as she placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "It was a good thing I thought might be true when you mentioned about your hair."
"Great," Harry muttered. "I get McGonagall complimenting me on some skill and then because of it, I get a whole load of extra homework assigned. That's great."
Tonks just held out a hand to Harry and said, "Up. You and I are dancing. Now." As it was better than having horns sprout from the top of his head, Harry agreed.
Tonks kept him dancing for two songs in a row (because the first one they only got out there for half of it) and all the while, gushed about Harry's possibility of being a Metamorphamagus like her. Of course, she also alternated between pouting about him not letting her play Grow Antlers on Harry.
After Tonks, Harry was passed around to several women including Fleur (who apologized profusely for spilling Harry's secret to Ron), Mrs. Granger (who assured him that she and Mr. Granger did not think he often went about punching friends at random) and Luna (who claimed she hated dancing but felt obligated to dance at least once with Harry).
Finally, Harry was allowed to slink off the dance floor.
"Harry," Hermione waved him over to a table where she sat alone with Neville and Ginny.
"No more dancing," he said wearily as Luna walked back to the table with him. "I need a break from moving in circles. Hey, Gin," he said with a tired nod. Ginny. He snapped his head back up. "Where's Ron?"
Ginny smirked with little humor. "Playing a game of chess with Professor Dumbledore."
"What?"
Ginny shrugged. "Don't ask me. I was told to stay out of it and that it was none of my business." Harry looked at her sceptically. "Well of course, I found a way to listen in," she said as if it were plainly obvious.
"And?"
She tried to look nonchalant about it but couldn't help a look of guilt as she said, "I know you're both in the Order."
Harry looked around the table at Hermione, Neville and Luna.
"Are you mad at us, too?" Hermione asked Ginny.
Ginny cocked her head to the side and, tucking a stray lock of red hair behind her ear, shook her head. "Not really. If I found out the three of you were in it--then I'd be furious. But, well, Ron's on the outs, too so it isn't that bad."
"And how's Ron taking it all?" Harry asked, not sure if he wanted to know the answer.
"Like it's a personal slap in his face," Ginny said simply. "Mum tried to demand that he come back in here and apologize to you both but that's when Professor Dumbledore stepped in and said something like 'forced apologies are like Unforgivables; they don't do anything unless you mean them'. Something like that."
"Where's you mum?" Hermione asked as both she and Harry each looked around the room cautiously.
"Oh, tending to Professor Snape," Ginny said absently. "Moody came and got her, asking for her help because he was injured or something. They're in the kitchen I think."
Harry, yet once again, sat stunned as another Weasley had just let out a secret of the Order.
"S-Snape?" Neville finally managed to sputter. "What's he doing here?" he asked in a horrified voice.
*~*~* ~ * ~ *~*~*