Disclaimer: All characters are property of J.K. Rowling and are being used
without permission. No attempt has been made to copyright this work. This novel
is purely for the entertainment of the author and readers and is not being used
for profit of any sort.
CHAPTER TWO
A Home Away from Home
After about a 45 minute drive (in absolute silence) they arrived at the park. Just beyond the parking lot Harry spotted the lamp post that they had picked for the rendezvous. He wasn't too surprised to see two red-headed figures already standing there waiting for them.
Arthur Weasley seemed to be investigating the properties of the lamp post itself while Ron was leaning against it eating a rather large green apple. Harry had half-expected Ron to be about 7 feet tall by now, but it seemed as though his growth spurts had finally ended as he was pretty much the same old Ron Harry remembered. "Glad to see some things in my life aren't changing.", Harry thought.
Harry got out of the car and gave an enthusiastic wave to Ron who tapped his father and pointed to where Harry and Mr. Dursley had arrived. Ron practically ran over to the car as Harry was pulling his luggage out.
"How's it goin' Harry?" mumbled Ron through half a mouthful of apple.
"Things just got a lot better, Ron." Harry replied with a smile as he handed Hedwig's cage to Ron.
Ron seemed to be amused by that statement. "Well, I'm glad somebody's happy to see me. Hermione's not talking to me much after I sat on Crookshanks a few days ago. She stopped over for a visit and brought that orange furball with her, something about him pining away without her around. Hey don't look at me like that, Harry. I swear it was an accident!" Harry was giving Ron a suspicious look but the smile hadn't left his face.
"I'm surprised Crookshanks didn't rip your backside in half." Harry joked.
"Oh he tried, he tried."
"Hello Mr. Dursley!!" beamed Mr. Weasley. He had quickly rounded on Vernon and was vigorously shaking his ham-like hand.
Mr. Dursley didn't seem to be happy at all. His last memories of the Weasleys involved a lot of magic gone awry.
"Er...doing...just fine...thank you." Mr. Dursley stammered as he retracted his hand.
"Say, that's a very fine car you have there Mr. Dursley," Mr. Weasly continued, not noticing Mr. Dursley's discomfort. "How many horses are in it? They must be an awfully small breed to fit in there."
Ron and Harry had extracted all of Harry's things from the car and had come over to Mr. Weasley and indicated that they were ready to go, saving Vernon from having to reply to that question.
"Well then," Harry said. "I guess we're off. Thanks for the ride Uncle Vernon."
"Right." said Mr. Dursley, suddenly looking very chipper now that he was rid of Harry.
"Was good seeing you again Mr. Dursley." Mr. Weasley said sincerely as he led Ron and Harry off.
Harry didn't spare a glance back as he followed Mr. Weasley and Ron through the park to a set of trash bins in an alley.
"Well then Harry, you know the drill." Mr. Weasley said as they arrived in front of a battered old guitar that Harry guessed was a portkey. "I was able to set this up with the Portkey Office without too much hassle. Amazing how a little bit of name-dropping gets things done."
Harry supposed that now that Voldemort's return was officially accepted by the Ministry, his name had a lot more public favor in the Wizarding World.
"Off we go then." Mr. Weasley encouraged as they all touched the portkey. There was that familiar yet disturbing feeling in the pit of his stomach, and after a bit of disorientation they were outside The Burrow.
The Burrow was just as Harry remembered it, and when he laid eyes on it he felt a sudden surge of emotion.
"Welcome home, Harry." Ron said with a reassuring pat on his shoulder.
Harry was going to say something, then closed his mouth. He couldn't find the words to say what he felt, and he was pretty sure Ron and his father understood anyway.
He was back at The Burrow, the only place other than Hogwarts that felt like home (and since there weren't any Basilisks or Professor Snape's running around, The Burrow might be in the lead in that category). If there was anything that could at least ease the pain of losing Sirius, it was this.
****
"Harry!! My, you have grown"
Mrs. Weasley had Harry gripped tightly in a hug that left no doubt that she had missed him. He didn't really feel like he had grown much in the past few weeks, but he did notice that Mrs.Weasley's forehead did rest just a little lower than it used to when she got him in a bearhug.
"Fred and George will be by later this evening, dear." she said when she finally released him. "I've finally convinced Bill to spend more time with his sister and he's taken Ginny with him on an expedition for Gringotts. Arthur and I have some business to take care of for the Order so I'm afraid you two will be by yourselves for awhile. Lunch is on the table." Mrs. Weasley then disappeared for a moment as Mr. Weasley grabbed a sandwich from the table. Once Mrs. Weasley returned, they bid Ron and Harry farewell and were off.
All of a sudden Harry was surrounded by something he wasn't used to in the Weasley household: silence. Harry couldn't ever remember The Burrow being this quiet in the daytime, but with just him and Ron there wasn't anyone to make the noise he was accustomed to.
"Well," Ron said, grabbing a sandwich and not seeming to be put off by the sudden silence at all, "now that you're here, I can finally get some Quidditch practice in. Let's go!"
Harry hadn't flown on a broom in weeks and was dying to get some wind in his face. He was more than happy to oblige Ron in helping with his Keeper skills. Harry wasn't the best Chaser, but he always gave Ron a run for his money.
At least, he USED to.
It only took a few shots (all rejected by Ron) for Harry to realize that Ron's keeping skills had vastly improved. "Hey!! When did you get this good?" Harry shouted at Ron as he caught yet another one of Harry's attempts.
"Bill figured out a brilliant way to enchant a scarecrow to mimic a wicked Chaser." Ron replied as he tossed the quaffle back to Harry. "I was practicing with it every morning until Fred and George decided it might help my concentration if I tried to block a shot from a FLAMING chaser."
"Ahhh." said Harry as he settled back to the ground. It was clear that Ron really didn't need much more practice and Harry hadn't eaten yet. "How are those two anyway?"
Ron landed next to Harry as he headed back to the house, he was pretty hungry too having only had a sandwich and an apple...and eggs and toast...and a sausage. "The joke shop is a hit Harry! Their...adventures...at Hogwart's were great advertising. As soon as they left they had more orders than they could handle. I actually ended up helping them out a bit until they asked me to test some of their new line. I beat it out of there after that. I'm smart enough to know better than to let those two use me as a guinea pig, which is likely one of the things I would have been transfigured into. I'm gonna go grab a quick shower, be right back."
As he sat down in the kitchen and grabbed a slice of pie, Harry noted that Ron was indeed smarter than a lot of people gave him credit for, having done better than anyone (including himself) thought he would on his OWLs. Harry could clearly remember the letter he got from Ron that summer:
Harry!!
OWL scores are in!!
Defense Against the Dark Arts: Outstanding
Transfiguration: Exceeds Expectations
Herbology:Acceptable
Charms: Acceptable
Potions: Exceeds Expectations
Care of Magical Creatures: Outstanding
History of Magic: Acceptable
Astronomy: Exceeds Expectations
Divination....well, no need to talk about that one eh, Harry?
I was really suprised at that Potions score. I guess without Snape and Malfoy around I can actually think clearly.
-Ron
Harry was very happy to see that Ron had done well. Ron's scores had reflected Harry's except for Charms (Harry had exceeded expectations somehow). Hermione of course got an Outstanding score in everything.
The only problem was that Potions score. Although Harry was thrilled that he and Ron had managed to prove Snape wrong, they still wouldn't be able to get into Snape's NEWT class (Professor McGonagall had told him that Snape accepted no less than "Outstanding" scores). The thought of seeing even more of Snape disturbed Harry deeply, but in order to be an Auror he needed that Potions score. Harry wanted to be an Auror more now than ever before. He could think of no greater service to wizardkind than ensuring that people like Bellatrix LeStrange got exactly what they deserved.
"Oi, pass those sandwiches". Ron jarred him from his thoughts as he returned from his shower slightly damp and shirtless, apparently taking the opportunity of an empty house to enjoy some freedom.
"Ron," Harry said as he passed the plate to him and tried his best to ignore his friend's state of undress, "have you given much thought to becoming an Auror lately?"
"Well...yeah," Ron replied in between munches "we can't let Percy be the only son in the family working for The Ministry."
Harry hadn't thought of Percy. He assumed that he was still estranged from his family and decided that he would have to be careful not to mention his name around Ron's parents.
"Well," Harry said, "it's going to be near impossible to get that required Potions NEWT with our OWL scores and Snape teaching Potions."
"Not a problem, mate." said Ron with an incredibly wide smile on his face. "Snape isn't teaching Potions this year."
A Home Away from Home
After about a 45 minute drive (in absolute silence) they arrived at the park. Just beyond the parking lot Harry spotted the lamp post that they had picked for the rendezvous. He wasn't too surprised to see two red-headed figures already standing there waiting for them.
Arthur Weasley seemed to be investigating the properties of the lamp post itself while Ron was leaning against it eating a rather large green apple. Harry had half-expected Ron to be about 7 feet tall by now, but it seemed as though his growth spurts had finally ended as he was pretty much the same old Ron Harry remembered. "Glad to see some things in my life aren't changing.", Harry thought.
Harry got out of the car and gave an enthusiastic wave to Ron who tapped his father and pointed to where Harry and Mr. Dursley had arrived. Ron practically ran over to the car as Harry was pulling his luggage out.
"How's it goin' Harry?" mumbled Ron through half a mouthful of apple.
"Things just got a lot better, Ron." Harry replied with a smile as he handed Hedwig's cage to Ron.
Ron seemed to be amused by that statement. "Well, I'm glad somebody's happy to see me. Hermione's not talking to me much after I sat on Crookshanks a few days ago. She stopped over for a visit and brought that orange furball with her, something about him pining away without her around. Hey don't look at me like that, Harry. I swear it was an accident!" Harry was giving Ron a suspicious look but the smile hadn't left his face.
"I'm surprised Crookshanks didn't rip your backside in half." Harry joked.
"Oh he tried, he tried."
"Hello Mr. Dursley!!" beamed Mr. Weasley. He had quickly rounded on Vernon and was vigorously shaking his ham-like hand.
Mr. Dursley didn't seem to be happy at all. His last memories of the Weasleys involved a lot of magic gone awry.
"Er...doing...just fine...thank you." Mr. Dursley stammered as he retracted his hand.
"Say, that's a very fine car you have there Mr. Dursley," Mr. Weasly continued, not noticing Mr. Dursley's discomfort. "How many horses are in it? They must be an awfully small breed to fit in there."
Ron and Harry had extracted all of Harry's things from the car and had come over to Mr. Weasley and indicated that they were ready to go, saving Vernon from having to reply to that question.
"Well then," Harry said. "I guess we're off. Thanks for the ride Uncle Vernon."
"Right." said Mr. Dursley, suddenly looking very chipper now that he was rid of Harry.
"Was good seeing you again Mr. Dursley." Mr. Weasley said sincerely as he led Ron and Harry off.
Harry didn't spare a glance back as he followed Mr. Weasley and Ron through the park to a set of trash bins in an alley.
"Well then Harry, you know the drill." Mr. Weasley said as they arrived in front of a battered old guitar that Harry guessed was a portkey. "I was able to set this up with the Portkey Office without too much hassle. Amazing how a little bit of name-dropping gets things done."
Harry supposed that now that Voldemort's return was officially accepted by the Ministry, his name had a lot more public favor in the Wizarding World.
"Off we go then." Mr. Weasley encouraged as they all touched the portkey. There was that familiar yet disturbing feeling in the pit of his stomach, and after a bit of disorientation they were outside The Burrow.
The Burrow was just as Harry remembered it, and when he laid eyes on it he felt a sudden surge of emotion.
"Welcome home, Harry." Ron said with a reassuring pat on his shoulder.
Harry was going to say something, then closed his mouth. He couldn't find the words to say what he felt, and he was pretty sure Ron and his father understood anyway.
He was back at The Burrow, the only place other than Hogwarts that felt like home (and since there weren't any Basilisks or Professor Snape's running around, The Burrow might be in the lead in that category). If there was anything that could at least ease the pain of losing Sirius, it was this.
"Harry!! My, you have grown"
Mrs. Weasley had Harry gripped tightly in a hug that left no doubt that she had missed him. He didn't really feel like he had grown much in the past few weeks, but he did notice that Mrs.Weasley's forehead did rest just a little lower than it used to when she got him in a bearhug.
"Fred and George will be by later this evening, dear." she said when she finally released him. "I've finally convinced Bill to spend more time with his sister and he's taken Ginny with him on an expedition for Gringotts. Arthur and I have some business to take care of for the Order so I'm afraid you two will be by yourselves for awhile. Lunch is on the table." Mrs. Weasley then disappeared for a moment as Mr. Weasley grabbed a sandwich from the table. Once Mrs. Weasley returned, they bid Ron and Harry farewell and were off.
All of a sudden Harry was surrounded by something he wasn't used to in the Weasley household: silence. Harry couldn't ever remember The Burrow being this quiet in the daytime, but with just him and Ron there wasn't anyone to make the noise he was accustomed to.
"Well," Ron said, grabbing a sandwich and not seeming to be put off by the sudden silence at all, "now that you're here, I can finally get some Quidditch practice in. Let's go!"
Harry hadn't flown on a broom in weeks and was dying to get some wind in his face. He was more than happy to oblige Ron in helping with his Keeper skills. Harry wasn't the best Chaser, but he always gave Ron a run for his money.
At least, he USED to.
It only took a few shots (all rejected by Ron) for Harry to realize that Ron's keeping skills had vastly improved. "Hey!! When did you get this good?" Harry shouted at Ron as he caught yet another one of Harry's attempts.
"Bill figured out a brilliant way to enchant a scarecrow to mimic a wicked Chaser." Ron replied as he tossed the quaffle back to Harry. "I was practicing with it every morning until Fred and George decided it might help my concentration if I tried to block a shot from a FLAMING chaser."
"Ahhh." said Harry as he settled back to the ground. It was clear that Ron really didn't need much more practice and Harry hadn't eaten yet. "How are those two anyway?"
Ron landed next to Harry as he headed back to the house, he was pretty hungry too having only had a sandwich and an apple...and eggs and toast...and a sausage. "The joke shop is a hit Harry! Their...adventures...at Hogwart's were great advertising. As soon as they left they had more orders than they could handle. I actually ended up helping them out a bit until they asked me to test some of their new line. I beat it out of there after that. I'm smart enough to know better than to let those two use me as a guinea pig, which is likely one of the things I would have been transfigured into. I'm gonna go grab a quick shower, be right back."
As he sat down in the kitchen and grabbed a slice of pie, Harry noted that Ron was indeed smarter than a lot of people gave him credit for, having done better than anyone (including himself) thought he would on his OWLs. Harry could clearly remember the letter he got from Ron that summer:
Harry!!
OWL scores are in!!
Defense Against the Dark Arts: Outstanding
Transfiguration: Exceeds Expectations
Herbology:Acceptable
Charms: Acceptable
Potions: Exceeds Expectations
Care of Magical Creatures: Outstanding
History of Magic: Acceptable
Astronomy: Exceeds Expectations
Divination....well, no need to talk about that one eh, Harry?
I was really suprised at that Potions score. I guess without Snape and Malfoy around I can actually think clearly.
-Ron
Harry was very happy to see that Ron had done well. Ron's scores had reflected Harry's except for Charms (Harry had exceeded expectations somehow). Hermione of course got an Outstanding score in everything.
The only problem was that Potions score. Although Harry was thrilled that he and Ron had managed to prove Snape wrong, they still wouldn't be able to get into Snape's NEWT class (Professor McGonagall had told him that Snape accepted no less than "Outstanding" scores). The thought of seeing even more of Snape disturbed Harry deeply, but in order to be an Auror he needed that Potions score. Harry wanted to be an Auror more now than ever before. He could think of no greater service to wizardkind than ensuring that people like Bellatrix LeStrange got exactly what they deserved.
"Oi, pass those sandwiches". Ron jarred him from his thoughts as he returned from his shower slightly damp and shirtless, apparently taking the opportunity of an empty house to enjoy some freedom.
"Ron," Harry said as he passed the plate to him and tried his best to ignore his friend's state of undress, "have you given much thought to becoming an Auror lately?"
"Well...yeah," Ron replied in between munches "we can't let Percy be the only son in the family working for The Ministry."
Harry hadn't thought of Percy. He assumed that he was still estranged from his family and decided that he would have to be careful not to mention his name around Ron's parents.
"Well," Harry said, "it's going to be near impossible to get that required Potions NEWT with our OWL scores and Snape teaching Potions."
"Not a problem, mate." said Ron with an incredibly wide smile on his face. "Snape isn't teaching Potions this year."