Chapter 03: The Burrow

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The last three weeks had been extremely strange for Harry. It began around 9pm on his birthday when he seemed to transfigure a plate of food in his room. What made it unusual was that he did it just by thinking that he needed food and he didn't receive a warning from the Department of Underage Wizarding.

The next shock came when he awoke the next day. Getting out of bed and walking over to his mirror, he was startled to see that he seemed to have changed physically. As near as Harry could tell, he had shot up about a full three inches overnight. In addition, his already toned body was slightly more fit and muscled than it had been. Then there was his hair. It had always been long and messy. But that morning it was cut crew-style. Then the last surprise hit him. He wasn't wearing his glasses, but he could see perfectly.

Over the next three weeks Harry began to notice that he seemed to be developing his magical abilities at a much faster rate then before. He no longer had to practice as much or read material as many times before he understood it. He couldn't wait to get to the Burrow and see the reaction of his friends to this new development.

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Finally August 25th arrived. Harry had packed his things and was waiting in the Dursley's living room. They had gone out, not wanting to be around when, in the words of his uncle, "Those freaks arrived."

Around 5pm the doorbell rang. Harry got up and walked to the door. Looking out the peephole he smiled as he saw Mr. Weasley and Ron standing there. Looking at Ron, he could see that he wasn't the only one who had changed. Though his height remained the same, Ron's body, like Harry's, had begun to develop some muscle tone and definition. He opened the door.

"Hi Mr. Weasley, Ron." He said. They stared at him in silent shock.

"Harry?" Ron asked. "You sure have changed. Blimey, you're as tall as me now!"

"What can I say, I've had a growth spurt." Harry said, smiling. They gathered up his things and put them in the car.

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As they drove to the Weasley's home, Ron couldn't stop looking at his friend. He had thought that the changes he had noticed in himself, Hermione and Ginny were surprising; but nothing prepared him for seeing his best friend. He had changed a lot. He was no longer the small, skinny, almost pathetic looking boy he had become friends with almost five years ago.

Man, he's going to have the girls throwing themselves at him this year. Ron thought. After about two hours they drove over a small bridge and approached the Weasley family home, the Burrow.

"We're here." Mr. Weasly announced. Ron and Harry grabbed Harry's things and proceed to walk up the stairs of the Weasly's front porch and into the front door.

"Harry!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, running over to him and pulling him into a hug. "It's so good to see you. My how you've grown!" Harry couldn't help but smile. Over the last five years he'd come to view Mr. and Mrs. Weasley as substitute parents.

"Oh my god, Harrry!!!!!!!!" another female voice exclaimed and Harry was once again thrown into a bear hug, this time with Hermione. After a moment the two separated and Harry got his first good look at her. Looking at her, Harry could see that he and Ron weren't the only ones who had changed this summer. He had always thought of Hermonie as pretty, as girls go, but over the summer she had seemed to fill out rather nicely. She was stunning.

"Hi Hermione. Miss me?" Harry said.

"Harry, is that you?" another pair of voices exclaimed. Fred and George Weasley had just entered the kitchen.

"Well mate, it looks like you finally out grew your midget stage." Fred said, smiling.

"Yeah, and from the looks of it we may have some competition with the ladies this year." George followed. After several minutes of small talk Ron, Hermonie and Harry excused themselves and began to carry Harry's bags upstairs. They had just entered the living room and were approaching the foot of the stairs when Ginny Weasley came down the stairs.

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Oh my God! Ginny thought to herself as she saw Harry. He's really changed. He was cute before but now he's a stud!

"Hi Ginny." Harry said, walking over and pulling her into a friendly embrace. As he did so, he couldn't help but notice that she too had changed physically. Ginny seemed to have matured a great deal since he saw her last. Gone was the knees and elbows little sister of his best friend. In her place was the beginning of a very beautiful young woman.

Hermione might be beautiful, but Ginny is absolutely gorgeous. Harry thought to himself.

"Hi Harry." She replied, blushing slightly. They stood their looking at each other for a moment. A slight smile soon began to appear on Hermonie's face as she realized what was happening.

"Come on Harry, let's get your stuff to my room." Ron said, impatiently. Ginny headed for the kitchen and the trio climbed the stairs and were soon sitting in Ron's room, discussing the events of the last few months.

"Harry, when did this happen to you?" Hermonie asked, referring to his significant physical change. Harry began at the beginning, telling them about his vow at the beginning of the summer, his workouts, research, and finally the evening of his birthday.

"You mean most of it happened overnight?" Ron asked incredulously.

"Yeah. Strange huh? I even owled Dumbledore concerning it. He just wrote back and said it must have been a sudden growth spurt. But that's not all." He then proceeded to tell them about his increasing magical ability.

"That's very strange. I've never heard of a magical growth spurt like that." Hermonie said. "Did you tell Dumbledore about that as well?"

"Yeah. He didn't sound surprised but didn't give me any answers either. What about you guys?" He asked.

"What are you talking about?" Ron asked.

"Well, by the looks of things I'm not the only one whose gone through some changes as of late." Harry replied. "Ron, you've definately got more muscle than the last time I saw you. Hermione, you've obviously developed more. And Ginny."

"What about Ginny?" Ron asked, suspiciously.

"Well, she's changed alot." Harry said, blushing slightly, lowering his eyes to the floor. He missed the glance that Ron shared with Hermione.

"I guess you're right." Hermione said. "Funny I hadn't really noticed until now. And now that you mention it, I think we've all been having an easier time with our DADA practice."

Deciding now was a good time to chang the subject, Harry looked at the two of them. "So you two have finally figured out you're nuts for each other." Ron and Hermonie blushed quickly.

"Uh, Harry, I wanted to talk to you about that." Ron said. "It's okay isn't it? I mean, we don't want to ruin the trio." Harry laughed.

"It's more than alright. I'm glad your happy." Harry replied. "Besides maybe now you two will stop arguing all the time."

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Hermonie said, "We don't fight that much do we?" Harry just rolled his eyes.

"So how's the rest of the family reacting to this development?" Harry asked. Ron groaned.

"Mom and Dad are happy, but the twins have been a real pain. They won't stop teasing us." Ron answered.

Harry's eyes suddenly snapped up at the mention of the twins.

"Speaking of the twins, I had a question I wanted to ask you. They sent me one of their joke kits a few weeks ago and I had an idea. How would you guys feel about resurrecting the Marauders?" He asked. Ron and Hermione glanced quickly at each other.

"We're in." they said in unison, and then blushed.

"You two have been spending way too much time together." Harry said, teasingly. "Okay. But I want to bring the twins in on this as well, after all they practically worship the originals."

"Can you imagine what their reactions are going to be?" Ron laughed. "I'll go get them now." Ron got up and walked to his bedroom door.

"Uh, Ron?" Harry said. Ron turned. "Would it be alright if we brought Ginny in on this too?" Harry asked.

"I suppose, but why?" Ron inquired, smiling. Harry glanced down at his feet, then back up at Ron.

"Well, it's just we've exchanged letters this summer and we've become pretty good friends." Harry said. "Plus, I know she's felt really left out of things the last two years." Ron looked at Harry for a moment.

"Sure. Why not." With that he exited. Hermonie looked at Harry.

"You're starting to like her, aren't you?" she asked, her tone clearly stating that she thought it was true. Harry's head turned towards her.

"Yes, no. I don't know." Harry said. "I mean, I was starting to consider her a friend but then when I saw her tonight it sort of hit me. I mean, she's a very pretty girl." Hermonie smiled.

"Just be careful." She said. Harry was about to respond when Ron, the twins and Ginny walked into the room.