Chapter Three: The First Skirmish
Harry glanced at Mrs. Weasley; her face wore an unmistakeable look of resent. Nevertheless she sat silently, staring silently at her husband. Last year she had hotly opposed Sirius when he offered to give Harry information, but now she was sitting there unspoken. Harry felt a hot rush of anger towards her. How dare she tell Sirius how to raise his own godson? How dare she?
"Harry?" said Lupin softly eyeing the boy anxiously. Harry's gaze jumped to the werewolf. "Is there anything you want to know about?"
"Yeah," sneered Harry savagely, his temper rising. "I want to know why Sirius wasn't allowed to tell me this last year when this really mattered!" Lupin sighed exasperatedly. Mr. Weasley's glasses slid down his nose. The mood in the room changed once again. Harry could almost feel the uproar. He knew what most of the Order members were thinking. Wasn't it Harry's fault he no longer had a godfather? If he hadn't believed that stupid dream, Sirius would still be alive. As he contemplated these miserable thought Harry felt the knot in his chest tighten considerably.
The room fell silent apart from the warm crackling of the flames in the dusty fireplace. Nobody moved, Harry could feel all the eyes on him, but he couldn't have cared less. A tense period of time passed, the occupants of the kitchen stayed rooted to their seats. Harry chanced a glance towards Lupin who was deep in thought. Another jolt of anger surged through Harry and he stood up and walked out not paying any attention to Mr. Weasley who called after him. Harry ran straight to the room he and Ron had shared during the last summer. A small erratic object pelted straight towards Harry as soon as he entered. Ignoring Ron's owl Harry slammed the door behind him and strode straight to the nearest bed and collapsed.
"No Ron! You wake him up."
"Are you mad? He'll go bonkers again."
"But Dumbledore..." Harry awoke the next morning tired and grieved. The wound that was losing Sirius had reopened. Harry suddenly sat up and the whispering stopped. The dusty room was illuminated by a small oil lamp. On the bed opposite from Harry's; sat Ron, Hermione and Ginny nervously looking at Harry.
"Morning Harry," said Hermione nervously. Ron gave her a sharp look, afraid, Harry would lose it again. An awkward silence dawned inside the gloomy room as Harry recalled the events of the previous night. What had he done? Had he been out of order yelling at the Order members? And now his own friends were horrified of speaking to him. Losing Sirius was bad enough but he couldn't drive his friends away.
"Err... Look," began Harry timidly staring at the filthy floorboards. But he was cut short by a loud 'pop' as two tall figures appeared out of thin air between the beds. The Weasley twins grinned as they sat down on opposite sides of Harry.
"Careful there Harry," said George with a tone of mock disapproval. "You nearly gave old Moody a heart attack."
"Did you see his eye go flying out!?" Fred asked the others conversationally still grinning. Harry couldn't help but smile slightly as the twins continued talking about the aftermath of his departure.
"Shut up you two!" whispered Ginny acidly. Ron gave a nervous twitch and his ears reddened slightly.
"We can tell when we're not wanted," sighed George. "But we came with a message from mum."
"Yea she wants all of you, including Harry, down for breakfast right now." With another 'pop' the twins vanished. Ron, Hermione and Ginny got up slowly and walked towards the door in silence.
"Listen," said Harry staring at the floor. "I'm ... I'm sorry for what I said last night." Harry felt as if the knot loosened. Hermione paced across the room and before he knew it Hermione had thrown herself onto him in a hug that knocked him flat.
"Harry you don't have to apologize we understand!" said Hermione sympathetically.
"Let him breathe Hermione" said Ron. Harry sat back as he got ready to hear Hermione's retort. But she merely stood straight, her cheeks slightly pink.
"Let's get some breakfast shall we?" Ginny suggested impatiently. Harry, Ron and Hermione followed Ginny down the stairs, past Mrs. Black's portrait and into the kitchen. Harry felt guilt as he took a seat opposite from Mr. Weasley who was reading of a piece of parchment.
"Morning!" said Mrs. Weasley smiling as she get the table with a casual flick of her wand.
"Looks great Molly" said Lupin loading his plate with sausages. Harry took a few sausages and began to quietly eat away. No one seemed to want to talk about what had taken place the night before. Harry was half-glad but continued to feel ashamed. The door suddenly burst open and a young man with red hair tied into a short ponytail staggered into the kitchen clutching a newspaper.
"Bill!" cried Mrs. Weasley. "What happened?" Bill did not reply; he merely held the newspaper forward for his mother to see. Harry watched as Mrs. Weasley glanced at the front page of the Daily Prophet. Her expression changed from mild surprise to horror. She collapsed on the nearest chair and passed the paper onto her husband. Mr. Weasley scanned the front page and gasped in horror.
"Arthur?" asked Lupin anxiously before grabbing the paper and having a look for himself. His expression hardened as he surveyed the paper. Harry knew something bad hap happened but what? Had the war begun at last? Had Voldemort killed someone? Carefully Harry reached towards the newspaper and grabbed it.
Diagon Alley attacked; two dead
In the early hours of the morning, Death Eaters (servants of He Who Must Not Be Named) raided Madam Malkin's Robes and several other prominent stores of the wizarding High Street writes Reeta Skeeter special correspondent of the Prophet.
Eye witnesses claim: eight hooded figures apparated infront of Gringotts bank at 7 o'clock. The Death Eaters rummaged through several shops unchallenged.
"They ran amok! No one stood up to them!" says Aberknot Rumsfrey the outraged owner of Rumsfrey's Cauldrons. "And the aurors took their time! When they came there was a fight. A couple of people got killed. But the Death Eaters got away!"
Auror Gregory Dawlish and shopkeeper Madam Crawford were killed by the death eaters. There has been no official comment from the ministry however the opposition have called upon the Minister to resign for his poor handling of the situation. No Death Eaters were killed and all of them escaped unharmed.
Behind him Harry heard Hermione's sharp intake of breath. For a while the paper was passed around the room until everyone had read about the events at Diagon Alley. At last Mr. Weasley stood up.
"It's going be a long day at work, poor Dawlish," he sighed before Disapparating. Fred got up giving a meaningful look to George. Both of them made for the door.
"Boys!" cried Mrs. Weasley worriedly. "I don't want you to going to work today!" The twins turned around exchanging another glance.
"Look mum," began George seriously. "We're old enough to look after ourselves. Besides we need to check if they've done any damage to our shop.
"I don't want you getting killed!" said Mrs. Weasley tearfully.
"Mum, we'll be fine! There'll be lots of aurors there now, so we won't get hurt." said Fred soothingly. Mrs. Weasley began to sob more vigorously.
"Molly," said Lupin. "If it makes you feel any better I'll go with them."
"Me too!" sighed Bill exasperatedly standing up. Mrs. Weasley looked up, trying to smile.
"Well if you two stay with them I guess it should be fine. But don't go wandering off!" she said hugging the twins. With a synchronized pop the four of them vanished.
So what did you think? I'll get the next chapter up within a couple of days. Thanks to the reviewers.
PLEASE REVIEW!!
Harry glanced at Mrs. Weasley; her face wore an unmistakeable look of resent. Nevertheless she sat silently, staring silently at her husband. Last year she had hotly opposed Sirius when he offered to give Harry information, but now she was sitting there unspoken. Harry felt a hot rush of anger towards her. How dare she tell Sirius how to raise his own godson? How dare she?
"Harry?" said Lupin softly eyeing the boy anxiously. Harry's gaze jumped to the werewolf. "Is there anything you want to know about?"
"Yeah," sneered Harry savagely, his temper rising. "I want to know why Sirius wasn't allowed to tell me this last year when this really mattered!" Lupin sighed exasperatedly. Mr. Weasley's glasses slid down his nose. The mood in the room changed once again. Harry could almost feel the uproar. He knew what most of the Order members were thinking. Wasn't it Harry's fault he no longer had a godfather? If he hadn't believed that stupid dream, Sirius would still be alive. As he contemplated these miserable thought Harry felt the knot in his chest tighten considerably.
The room fell silent apart from the warm crackling of the flames in the dusty fireplace. Nobody moved, Harry could feel all the eyes on him, but he couldn't have cared less. A tense period of time passed, the occupants of the kitchen stayed rooted to their seats. Harry chanced a glance towards Lupin who was deep in thought. Another jolt of anger surged through Harry and he stood up and walked out not paying any attention to Mr. Weasley who called after him. Harry ran straight to the room he and Ron had shared during the last summer. A small erratic object pelted straight towards Harry as soon as he entered. Ignoring Ron's owl Harry slammed the door behind him and strode straight to the nearest bed and collapsed.
"No Ron! You wake him up."
"Are you mad? He'll go bonkers again."
"But Dumbledore..." Harry awoke the next morning tired and grieved. The wound that was losing Sirius had reopened. Harry suddenly sat up and the whispering stopped. The dusty room was illuminated by a small oil lamp. On the bed opposite from Harry's; sat Ron, Hermione and Ginny nervously looking at Harry.
"Morning Harry," said Hermione nervously. Ron gave her a sharp look, afraid, Harry would lose it again. An awkward silence dawned inside the gloomy room as Harry recalled the events of the previous night. What had he done? Had he been out of order yelling at the Order members? And now his own friends were horrified of speaking to him. Losing Sirius was bad enough but he couldn't drive his friends away.
"Err... Look," began Harry timidly staring at the filthy floorboards. But he was cut short by a loud 'pop' as two tall figures appeared out of thin air between the beds. The Weasley twins grinned as they sat down on opposite sides of Harry.
"Careful there Harry," said George with a tone of mock disapproval. "You nearly gave old Moody a heart attack."
"Did you see his eye go flying out!?" Fred asked the others conversationally still grinning. Harry couldn't help but smile slightly as the twins continued talking about the aftermath of his departure.
"Shut up you two!" whispered Ginny acidly. Ron gave a nervous twitch and his ears reddened slightly.
"We can tell when we're not wanted," sighed George. "But we came with a message from mum."
"Yea she wants all of you, including Harry, down for breakfast right now." With another 'pop' the twins vanished. Ron, Hermione and Ginny got up slowly and walked towards the door in silence.
"Listen," said Harry staring at the floor. "I'm ... I'm sorry for what I said last night." Harry felt as if the knot loosened. Hermione paced across the room and before he knew it Hermione had thrown herself onto him in a hug that knocked him flat.
"Harry you don't have to apologize we understand!" said Hermione sympathetically.
"Let him breathe Hermione" said Ron. Harry sat back as he got ready to hear Hermione's retort. But she merely stood straight, her cheeks slightly pink.
"Let's get some breakfast shall we?" Ginny suggested impatiently. Harry, Ron and Hermione followed Ginny down the stairs, past Mrs. Black's portrait and into the kitchen. Harry felt guilt as he took a seat opposite from Mr. Weasley who was reading of a piece of parchment.
"Morning!" said Mrs. Weasley smiling as she get the table with a casual flick of her wand.
"Looks great Molly" said Lupin loading his plate with sausages. Harry took a few sausages and began to quietly eat away. No one seemed to want to talk about what had taken place the night before. Harry was half-glad but continued to feel ashamed. The door suddenly burst open and a young man with red hair tied into a short ponytail staggered into the kitchen clutching a newspaper.
"Bill!" cried Mrs. Weasley. "What happened?" Bill did not reply; he merely held the newspaper forward for his mother to see. Harry watched as Mrs. Weasley glanced at the front page of the Daily Prophet. Her expression changed from mild surprise to horror. She collapsed on the nearest chair and passed the paper onto her husband. Mr. Weasley scanned the front page and gasped in horror.
"Arthur?" asked Lupin anxiously before grabbing the paper and having a look for himself. His expression hardened as he surveyed the paper. Harry knew something bad hap happened but what? Had the war begun at last? Had Voldemort killed someone? Carefully Harry reached towards the newspaper and grabbed it.
Diagon Alley attacked; two dead
In the early hours of the morning, Death Eaters (servants of He Who Must Not Be Named) raided Madam Malkin's Robes and several other prominent stores of the wizarding High Street writes Reeta Skeeter special correspondent of the Prophet.
Eye witnesses claim: eight hooded figures apparated infront of Gringotts bank at 7 o'clock. The Death Eaters rummaged through several shops unchallenged.
"They ran amok! No one stood up to them!" says Aberknot Rumsfrey the outraged owner of Rumsfrey's Cauldrons. "And the aurors took their time! When they came there was a fight. A couple of people got killed. But the Death Eaters got away!"
Auror Gregory Dawlish and shopkeeper Madam Crawford were killed by the death eaters. There has been no official comment from the ministry however the opposition have called upon the Minister to resign for his poor handling of the situation. No Death Eaters were killed and all of them escaped unharmed.
Behind him Harry heard Hermione's sharp intake of breath. For a while the paper was passed around the room until everyone had read about the events at Diagon Alley. At last Mr. Weasley stood up.
"It's going be a long day at work, poor Dawlish," he sighed before Disapparating. Fred got up giving a meaningful look to George. Both of them made for the door.
"Boys!" cried Mrs. Weasley worriedly. "I don't want you to going to work today!" The twins turned around exchanging another glance.
"Look mum," began George seriously. "We're old enough to look after ourselves. Besides we need to check if they've done any damage to our shop.
"I don't want you getting killed!" said Mrs. Weasley tearfully.
"Mum, we'll be fine! There'll be lots of aurors there now, so we won't get hurt." said Fred soothingly. Mrs. Weasley began to sob more vigorously.
"Molly," said Lupin. "If it makes you feel any better I'll go with them."
"Me too!" sighed Bill exasperatedly standing up. Mrs. Weasley looked up, trying to smile.
"Well if you two stay with them I guess it should be fine. But don't go wandering off!" she said hugging the twins. With a synchronized pop the four of them vanished.
So what did you think? I'll get the next chapter up within a couple of days. Thanks to the reviewers.
PLEASE REVIEW!!