"Oo, that reminds me," said Hermione, "We should choose our electives."
They each took out their Hogwarts Letter and studied it carefully. Harry looked at his list of electives: Herbology Care of Magical Creatures Divination Astronomy Ancient Runes Arithmancy Muggle Studies
"Well," Harry said, "I didn't take entry level Ancient Runes, or Arithmancy, so those are out. I don't really think I need Muggle Studies..."
"Oh, are you [I]sure,[/I] Harry?" Mr. Weasley said with a pained expression, "It was my favorite course at Hogwarts."
"Daaaaad," Ron said, embarrassed.
"Right, sorry," Mr. Weasley said amiably, "It's just you know I'm a nut for eclectricity and what not— "
"Well, Care of Magical Creatures, definitely," said Ron, "Besides, Hermione's taking it too."
"Alright," Harry said, "So that leaves Herbology, Divination, and Astronomy."
"Well, I'm sick of star charts. You can always just buy them after you graduate anyway."
"Ron!" said Mrs. Weasley, "That is no substitute for knowing—"
"Mum," said Bill, "When was the last time you did any spellwork without using a star chart?"
Mrs. Weasley blushed, "That's not the point, Bill!"
"Right, so, no Astronomy. Are we done?"
"Looks like," Harry said, "Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology, and Divination with Firenze. Not too bad."
Ron screwed up his face for a moment, "D'you think I could take Astronomy and make Potions an elective?"
"Not if you want to take it in your seventh year, for a NEWT level," Hermione said.
There was an uncomfortable pause.
"Come on, Hermione," Ron said quietly, "It's over."
"Oh no it's not," Hermione said, and Harry saw the spark in her eyes that she most frequently had when she spoke about house elves, "If it's Auror you want, Ron, it's Auror you'll get. I'll make sure of it."
"What're you going to do, jinx Snape for me?" Ron said hopefully.
"No," she said icily, "I'm going to make you study for once."
"I study!" Ron protested, catching a stern glance from his mother, "I do! Loads!"
Hermione simply looked down at her place, and directed a very dubious expression at her leftover chicken.
"Oh man!" Ron said, sulkily, "Just what I needed this year, extra Potions homework." His expression brightened suddenly, "Well, at least I can do magic! That's something, isn't it?"
"Hang on," said Mrs. Weasley cautiously, "What do you mean you can do magic?"
"Oh, we got these passes, from Dumbledore, see?" Ron said gleefully flinging one across the table for his mother to look over. A dreamy expression took over his face, "I can't wait to tell Malfoy."
"Absolutely not," said Lupin sternly, "These aren't toys, Ron. If you abuse these privileges, the Ministry might revoke them. You're only to use magic in an emergency, or to help the Order."
"Would it be helping the Order if we were to turn Malfoy into a bouncing ferret again?" Harry said smirking. Ginny giggled, and Hermione tried to scowl, but the image was clearing tugging at the corners of her mouth.
"As appealing as that might sound," Lupin said, smiling, "I don't think it would help the Order very much, no."
"Ron," said Mrs. Weasley sternly, "If I hear of you...transfiguring anyone this year, so help me—"
"Molly," said Remus, diverting her attention, "I wonder if it isn't time for dessert?"
"What?" she said, irritatedly, "Oh! Oh, yes. Of course," she said, "I'll go get it." She gave Ron a stern poke in the back of the head as she walked by. He scowled and mussed up his hair again. Harry grinned and turned to Hermione.
"What are you going to take?"
"Well, I'm definitely taking Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. And I thought I'd carry on with Muggle Studies."
"Hermione?" said Ron, "You do realize your parents are Muggles?"
"And?" Hermione said defensively, her bushy hair seeming to poof up even more.
"Ron didn't mean anything by it," Harry said quickly, "But err, you do know how to operate a telephone by now, don't you think?"
"Well, yes...but...an outside perspective..."
"She's just trying to grub for more grades," Ron said dismissively, reaching for more biscuits, "Can't get ten NEWTS if you only sit nine exams, can you?"
"I—!" began Hermione, but seemed to get stuck with her mouth open, and abruptly closed it, blushing furiously.
Harry smiled, and tapped Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, and Herbology on his course list. No new books appeared, but the rest of the electives disappeared, and a small note in green ink read, "Your courses have been scheduled. See you soon." Harry looked up to see the others tapping their sheets.
Remus emerged from a conversation with Bill and smiled at them. "All settled then?"
"Looks like," Harry grinned. Suddenly, a searing pain ripped through his forehead. Hot burning anger surged through him – he was livid with rage and frustration. He curled his thin, long white fingers into a fist and slammed them into the table.
"M-M-Master – what could I do? I went there, I looked, there was nobody!"
"Luck," Harry hissed, "Dumb luck. No matter. We can still make...an example..."
"Harry!"
Harry abruptly came back to reality as though he fell there. He was standing at the table, and he felt a dull throbbing in his clenched fist. Everyone was staring at him. He instantly felt a hot wave of shame and sat down.
"What is it, Harry? Was it Voldemort?"
There was a loud crash. Mrs. Weasley stood in the doorway, her flowery housecoat and shoes covered in cake and icing which once read, "Happy Birthday, Harry."
"W-what happened?" she said.
"Voldemort," Harry said, shakily, "He...it's the Burrow."
Mr. Weasley sprang up out of his chair, as did Bill and Charlie.
"No!" shouted Harry, "He could be there right now! He's...he's angry. He sent Wormtail...Pettigrew...but nobody was home. He..."
He hesitated. Ginny, Fred, and George were looking at him with the same, mistrusting look, as though to say, "Now what? Every time you open your mouth..."
He took a deep breath, and reflected that now he knew how Dumbledore felt.
"He what?!" George said angrily, anxiously.
"He said he could still make an example out of you."
Suddenly there was a loud bang from the hallway, and seconds later, Pigwidgeon and Errol swooped into the room in a panic. Pig flew straight to Ron, landed in his lap, wiggled his way under his shirt.
"Oi!" said Ron, "What is it?! What's happened?" but Pig just stayed there, trembling.
"That's it!" Ron said, standing up, and whipping his wand out of his jeans pocket, "I'm going!"
"Oh no you're not!" said Mrs. Weasley.
"Yes we are!" said Fred and George standing up.
"Why did they give us these licenses then?" Ron bellowed angrily, "You heard Harry – Voldemort could be there right now!" Harry noticed that Ron said the name without even flinching.
"You can stop Ron," said Fred grimly. "But there's no stopping us. We're in the Order, now" said George.
"YOU MAY BE IN THE ORDER, GEORGE WEASLEY, BUT I AM STILL YOUR MOTHER!"
Bill stood and put a hand on their shoulders, urging them to their seats, "Come on you two, you said it yourself – you're in the Order now – you can't play right into his hands, even if you want to."
"So what?" bellowed Ron, "We just stay here?!" He turned to Harry and Hermione. "Are you coming?"
"What?" Harry said, completely startled out of all tact.
"VOLDEMORT!" bellowed Ron, and even Harry was thoroughly taken aback. "Are you two coming with me or not?"
"Ron," said Hermione, "We can't just go running off – remember last time, V- Voldemort might just be using Harry—"
"Even if he's not, Ron," said Harry, "if the Burrow is where he is, we need to be as far from there as possible...everyone's here," he said gesturing around the room, "We're safe for now."
"SAFE??" Ron bellowed, and he grabbed his chair and turned it over violently.
"Really!" said Hermione.
"SURE!" Ron said, "It's fine when we've got to go charging off to rescue some Sorceror's Stone, or run pell-mell into a Ministry full of Death Eaters to save Sirius, but when it's MY HOME you—"
"TAKE – THAT- BACK!" Harry roared, whipping out his wand and pointing it at Ron. Ron had gone quite pale and was shaking with anger. The silence in the room roared.
Suddenly, the fireplace roared to life, and Mad Eye Moody came tumbling out onto the kitchen floor. An instant later, there was a loud crack and Kingsley Shacklebolt and Tonks came speeding in from the hallway, just as a bright flame flashed, and a single red feather fell to the center of the table, where Dumbledore immediately materialized, Fawkes resting on his arm.
"Is everyone alright," Dumbledore said quickly, stepping down from the table, "Are you all accounted for?"
"We're here, Albus," said Mr. Weasley quickly, "Is everyone else alright?"
"They were gone by the time we got there," Mad Eye said, stumping over to the table. His magical eye focused on Harry, "You've all already heard then?"
"Harry had another vision," Lupin said quickly, "Albus, what's happened?"
"The Dark Mark," Tonks said, her eyes brimming with tears, "W..We saw it...over your house. We thought for sure...that y-you'd all..." and she sank to the floor, her back resting against the brick wall, sobbing quietly.
"She's never seen it before," Kingsley said quietly.
"Combat, I can handle," she protested gaspingly, "I'm not afraid I just...just..."
"It's alright dear," Mrs. Weasley said kindly, "We're all fine," but Harry could hear the tension in her voice.
"What happened?!" Ron demanded. Harry saw Ginny's eyes were wide as saucers, and unbeknownst to anyone else, she was clasping Ron's hand with both of hers.
There was an uncomfortable silence. Nobody seemed to want to say. Mad Eye said gruffly, "Burning. Right now. There's no saving it."
Mrs. Weasley let out a low moan, and sank into a chair next to Arthur, who put his arm around her.
"Now now, love...come on, it's only a house."
Ron, Fred, and George had already stood up and were walking purposefully to the fireplace.
"Boys!" said Dumbledore sternly. His expression softened, "The Aurors and Magical Law Enforcement are there now, they're trying to put out the fire. There's nothing else you can do."
"Like hell!" bellowed Fred, and strode towards the fire.
"FRED!!!" shouted Mrs. Weasley deafeningly, and all heads snapped towards her, "You will not speak to the Headmaster that way. Don't you think he has all our best interests at heart?"
Reluctantly, the three boys slunk back to the table and sat down.
"We should go back," Kingsley said slowly, and Harry noticed for the first time that his face was shiny with sweat and besmirched with smoke, "Tonks and I – well, we just wanted to see that you were alright. Come on then, Nymphadora," he said, extending his hand.
"S'Tonks," she said, sniffing and rubbing her tears in a business-like manner, "Not Nymphadora," and she took his hand. "Right," she said, sounding like her old self, "On the case. And don't you worry," she said to Ron, lowering her voice menacingly, "We're going to find those bastards, and we're going to nail them, and no mistake."
"Go!" said Arthur, and with a loud crack, they had Apparated.
Hermione jumped to her feet, "My parents! What'll I do? What if— "and she looked at Ron and then at Harry, horrified.
"You mean what if you're next?" Ron said coldly.
"Ronald Weasley, that will do!" shouted Mr. Weasley.
All the Weasley sons and daughters sat up straight, their eyes wide as saucers. Harry knew – when Mr. Weasley raised his voice, discussion had come to a close.
Dumbledore closed his eyes and muttered a few words under his breath. The whole room watched him.
"Hermione," he said, crouching next to her, "Tell me your address. Whisper it!" he added quickly, as she opened her mouth. Hermione put her hand to his ear and whispered something quietly. Dumbledore nodded, and stood. He muttered a few more words, and gave a quick, complicated flick of his wand. There was a palpable burst of powerful magic that reflected off of him like ripples in a pond, blowing all of their hair back.
Dumbledore heaved a weary sigh, "They are safe," he said. With a weary flick of his hand, he conjured a squashy purple armchair (as there was no room at the table) and sat down.
"Our house," Ginny said, her eyes beginning to fill with tears. She looked around the room, not seeming to meet anyone's eye, and then settled on Harry's. "Our house!" she sobbed, and broke down onto Ron's shoulder. He put his arms around her and patted her head.
"Come on now," Mr. Weasley said, his arms still around Mrs. Weasley, who had stopped crying now, and simply stared at the oak table, "It could have been worse! Much worse! We're all alive, and well. We have each other."
Fred, George, Bill, and Charlie were all exchanging glances. Ron was still preoccupied with a bawling Ginny.
"As long as we have each other," he continued, "We'll be fine."
There was a calm finality in the way he said it that seemed to soothe them all.
"Oh my Gosh!" Harry said, his heart giving a painful jerk of panic, "The Dursleys!"
Dumbledore went pale, and stroked Fawkes's feathery back.
"Number Four, Privet Drive," he said hoarsely, and with a flash of golden fire, he was gone.
In the silence that was left behind, Harry's insides squirmed with guilt. He had brought disaster to the people he most cared about – just an hour ago, Mrs. Weasley had called him family. The remnants of his sixteenth birthday cake were still laying on the floor, the broken plate and candles scattered haphazardly.
"Reparo," he said glumly, and the plate came back together. Standing slowly, he brought it over to the sink, and began to wash it.
"Harry dear, don't bother," Mrs. Weasley said, standing, "I'll do it."
"No," Harry said awkwardly, "You made it for me – I'll do it."
"Harry," Ron said quietly. Harry shuffled around to face him, but looked at the laces of his trainers.
"I...err..." Ron stammered, "Let me help."
He tried to stand up, but Ginny was still clinging to his arm.
"It's alright, Ron," said Harry, relieved, "I can do it."
"Sit down now." Mrs. Weasley said abruptly.
Harry meekly slunk back to his seat, as Mrs. Weasley took over cleaning up. They could hear her start to cry again, and Mr. Weasley went and stood next to her, his arm around her waist.
"It's just like when Mr. Weasley was attacked," thought Harry dismally, "Only ten times worse."
Their faces were illuminated by another flash of golden fire, and Dumbeldore rematerialized, though this time, safely in the corner of the room.
"The Dursleys are fine for now," he said, holding up a hand to stem Harry's anxious expression, "Tonks and Mad-Eye volunteered personally to stay the night on guard duty. But you will need to choose a Secret Keeper soon, Harry. Time is of the essence."
"It's alright! I've chosen!" Harry said, "Just...er...say the words."
"I cannot be your Secret Keeper, Harry," said Dumbledore sadly, and Harry felt his heart sink, "It's just what Voldemort would expect. Besides, I am now Hermione's Secret Keeper – if I were to crack, the both of you would be betrayed. As harsh as it sounds, Harry, I am not the best basket to put all of your eggs into."
"Fine then," said Harry, irritated, "Lupin."
"I would be honored, Dumbledore," said Lupin.
"Again," said Dumbledore, "Just what Voldemort would expect. You need to be very careful now, Harry, because the Dark Lord knows by now who you value and who you might choose.
Harry looked around the room at his friends – his family.
"But if – if I don't chose someone I care about," he said frustratedly, "How can I trust them?!"
"I cannot answer for you Harry," said Dumbledore gravely, "This is your decision alone. Choose carefully, but quickly. I will need an answer by the start of term. Until then, Tonks and Mad-Eye both have agreed to keep watch at your home as long as is necessary. I'm sure others in the Order, like Arabella, and Mundungus would be more than happy to volunteer as well."
"And what about our home?" said George levelly, deliberately trying not to betray any emotion.
"Where are we going to live?" Ginny said fearfully, her face still half- pressed into Ron's arm. There were small, dark spots all over the fabric of his T-shirt, and Harry felt his heart wrenched in half again with guilt.
"Well," said Mrs. Weasley, sounding a bit more like herself, "I suppose we'll just have to hunker down here for now. Oh, don't fret," she said at the horrified expression on their faces, "It's only for now, until we...well, until we can settled. And you'll all be off to school soon," she turned to Bill and Charlie, "And you two practically live here anyway..."
"We'll manage," Charlie said brightly, though a bit falsely.
"I am terribly sorry," said Dumbledore, "but I must return to the Burrow. The Minister is waiting there for me."
"Yes, of course, go!" said Mr. Weasley.
With another flash of golden fire, he was gone, yet almost immediately after, there was a flash of green fire in the fireplace, and Percy Weasley came tumbling head over heels into the kitchen.
"MUM! DAD!" he shouted, as he struggled to stand up.
"PERCY! OH, PERCY!" cried Mrs. Weasley, dashing from the sink, and throwing her arms around his neck.
Percy attached himself to her as though he would never let go, but quickly staggered around, his eyes scanning the room. Harry saw his lips moving – counting.
"We're all here, Percy," Mr. Weasley said stiffly.
Percy closed his eyes, and trembled as Mrs. Weasley wept onto his shoulder. When he opened them, though, his eyes alighted on Harry.
"YOU!!!" he shouted. He tore himself away from his mother's grabbing hands, and had half-way climbed over the table, before Charlie and Bill had dashed over, and flattened him over the edge of it.
"YOU!" he said again, "OUR HOUSE! M-MY...MY BABY SISTER! GET – YOU – "
"Impedimenta!" shouted Mr. Weasley, and Percy's legs were no longer of use to him. Clinging to the table, he turned to look at his father, stunned.
"I TOLD you!" he shouted, pointing at Harry, "I warned you about him, and did anyone listen to me?! We could have died tonight! We could have been burned alive, or worse, we've already lost our home—"
"Harry Potter is not to blame, Percy!" said Lupin sternly, "Voldemort is the cause of all this. Blaming Harry is like blaming your house for being flammable."
"He is flammable!" shouted Percy, "He's a target! I knew he and Dumbledore would be the ruin of this family, not because they're wrong, but because they are TARGETS! Do you really want to be hexed with the same wand that – "
"HARRY POTTER IS FAMILY, AND YOU ARE OUT OF ORDER!" bellowed Mr. Weasley. Harry felt himself slinking down in his chair, and saw that Ron, Ginny, and Hermione were doing the same.
Percy had gone white, and was shaking. He straightened himself up to his full height, and ran a hand over his hair, which was straggled all over his face.
"I am glad," he said, breathing heavily, "To see you are all well. I have to return to the Ministry – Fudge will be needing me. When you come to your senses...if you come to your senses...you know how to reach me."
"GET OUT OF THIS HOUSE!!" bellowed Mr. Weasley, "OUT!! YOU ARE NO SON OF MINE! I HAVE NO SON!!"
"Arthur!" cried Mrs. Weasley, clutching at Percy's shoulders, obviously anxious to have him stay, now that they had been so close to patching it all up.
But Percy detached himself firmly from his mother's grasp, and hastily threw some Floo Powder into the fire. "Ministry of Magic, main lobby," he said, through gritted teeth. And with another flash of flame, the kitchen went quiet.
They each took out their Hogwarts Letter and studied it carefully. Harry looked at his list of electives: Herbology Care of Magical Creatures Divination Astronomy Ancient Runes Arithmancy Muggle Studies
"Well," Harry said, "I didn't take entry level Ancient Runes, or Arithmancy, so those are out. I don't really think I need Muggle Studies..."
"Oh, are you [I]sure,[/I] Harry?" Mr. Weasley said with a pained expression, "It was my favorite course at Hogwarts."
"Daaaaad," Ron said, embarrassed.
"Right, sorry," Mr. Weasley said amiably, "It's just you know I'm a nut for eclectricity and what not— "
"Well, Care of Magical Creatures, definitely," said Ron, "Besides, Hermione's taking it too."
"Alright," Harry said, "So that leaves Herbology, Divination, and Astronomy."
"Well, I'm sick of star charts. You can always just buy them after you graduate anyway."
"Ron!" said Mrs. Weasley, "That is no substitute for knowing—"
"Mum," said Bill, "When was the last time you did any spellwork without using a star chart?"
Mrs. Weasley blushed, "That's not the point, Bill!"
"Right, so, no Astronomy. Are we done?"
"Looks like," Harry said, "Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology, and Divination with Firenze. Not too bad."
Ron screwed up his face for a moment, "D'you think I could take Astronomy and make Potions an elective?"
"Not if you want to take it in your seventh year, for a NEWT level," Hermione said.
There was an uncomfortable pause.
"Come on, Hermione," Ron said quietly, "It's over."
"Oh no it's not," Hermione said, and Harry saw the spark in her eyes that she most frequently had when she spoke about house elves, "If it's Auror you want, Ron, it's Auror you'll get. I'll make sure of it."
"What're you going to do, jinx Snape for me?" Ron said hopefully.
"No," she said icily, "I'm going to make you study for once."
"I study!" Ron protested, catching a stern glance from his mother, "I do! Loads!"
Hermione simply looked down at her place, and directed a very dubious expression at her leftover chicken.
"Oh man!" Ron said, sulkily, "Just what I needed this year, extra Potions homework." His expression brightened suddenly, "Well, at least I can do magic! That's something, isn't it?"
"Hang on," said Mrs. Weasley cautiously, "What do you mean you can do magic?"
"Oh, we got these passes, from Dumbledore, see?" Ron said gleefully flinging one across the table for his mother to look over. A dreamy expression took over his face, "I can't wait to tell Malfoy."
"Absolutely not," said Lupin sternly, "These aren't toys, Ron. If you abuse these privileges, the Ministry might revoke them. You're only to use magic in an emergency, or to help the Order."
"Would it be helping the Order if we were to turn Malfoy into a bouncing ferret again?" Harry said smirking. Ginny giggled, and Hermione tried to scowl, but the image was clearing tugging at the corners of her mouth.
"As appealing as that might sound," Lupin said, smiling, "I don't think it would help the Order very much, no."
"Ron," said Mrs. Weasley sternly, "If I hear of you...transfiguring anyone this year, so help me—"
"Molly," said Remus, diverting her attention, "I wonder if it isn't time for dessert?"
"What?" she said, irritatedly, "Oh! Oh, yes. Of course," she said, "I'll go get it." She gave Ron a stern poke in the back of the head as she walked by. He scowled and mussed up his hair again. Harry grinned and turned to Hermione.
"What are you going to take?"
"Well, I'm definitely taking Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. And I thought I'd carry on with Muggle Studies."
"Hermione?" said Ron, "You do realize your parents are Muggles?"
"And?" Hermione said defensively, her bushy hair seeming to poof up even more.
"Ron didn't mean anything by it," Harry said quickly, "But err, you do know how to operate a telephone by now, don't you think?"
"Well, yes...but...an outside perspective..."
"She's just trying to grub for more grades," Ron said dismissively, reaching for more biscuits, "Can't get ten NEWTS if you only sit nine exams, can you?"
"I—!" began Hermione, but seemed to get stuck with her mouth open, and abruptly closed it, blushing furiously.
Harry smiled, and tapped Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, and Herbology on his course list. No new books appeared, but the rest of the electives disappeared, and a small note in green ink read, "Your courses have been scheduled. See you soon." Harry looked up to see the others tapping their sheets.
Remus emerged from a conversation with Bill and smiled at them. "All settled then?"
"Looks like," Harry grinned. Suddenly, a searing pain ripped through his forehead. Hot burning anger surged through him – he was livid with rage and frustration. He curled his thin, long white fingers into a fist and slammed them into the table.
"M-M-Master – what could I do? I went there, I looked, there was nobody!"
"Luck," Harry hissed, "Dumb luck. No matter. We can still make...an example..."
"Harry!"
Harry abruptly came back to reality as though he fell there. He was standing at the table, and he felt a dull throbbing in his clenched fist. Everyone was staring at him. He instantly felt a hot wave of shame and sat down.
"What is it, Harry? Was it Voldemort?"
There was a loud crash. Mrs. Weasley stood in the doorway, her flowery housecoat and shoes covered in cake and icing which once read, "Happy Birthday, Harry."
"W-what happened?" she said.
"Voldemort," Harry said, shakily, "He...it's the Burrow."
Mr. Weasley sprang up out of his chair, as did Bill and Charlie.
"No!" shouted Harry, "He could be there right now! He's...he's angry. He sent Wormtail...Pettigrew...but nobody was home. He..."
He hesitated. Ginny, Fred, and George were looking at him with the same, mistrusting look, as though to say, "Now what? Every time you open your mouth..."
He took a deep breath, and reflected that now he knew how Dumbledore felt.
"He what?!" George said angrily, anxiously.
"He said he could still make an example out of you."
Suddenly there was a loud bang from the hallway, and seconds later, Pigwidgeon and Errol swooped into the room in a panic. Pig flew straight to Ron, landed in his lap, wiggled his way under his shirt.
"Oi!" said Ron, "What is it?! What's happened?" but Pig just stayed there, trembling.
"That's it!" Ron said, standing up, and whipping his wand out of his jeans pocket, "I'm going!"
"Oh no you're not!" said Mrs. Weasley.
"Yes we are!" said Fred and George standing up.
"Why did they give us these licenses then?" Ron bellowed angrily, "You heard Harry – Voldemort could be there right now!" Harry noticed that Ron said the name without even flinching.
"You can stop Ron," said Fred grimly. "But there's no stopping us. We're in the Order, now" said George.
"YOU MAY BE IN THE ORDER, GEORGE WEASLEY, BUT I AM STILL YOUR MOTHER!"
Bill stood and put a hand on their shoulders, urging them to their seats, "Come on you two, you said it yourself – you're in the Order now – you can't play right into his hands, even if you want to."
"So what?" bellowed Ron, "We just stay here?!" He turned to Harry and Hermione. "Are you coming?"
"What?" Harry said, completely startled out of all tact.
"VOLDEMORT!" bellowed Ron, and even Harry was thoroughly taken aback. "Are you two coming with me or not?"
"Ron," said Hermione, "We can't just go running off – remember last time, V- Voldemort might just be using Harry—"
"Even if he's not, Ron," said Harry, "if the Burrow is where he is, we need to be as far from there as possible...everyone's here," he said gesturing around the room, "We're safe for now."
"SAFE??" Ron bellowed, and he grabbed his chair and turned it over violently.
"Really!" said Hermione.
"SURE!" Ron said, "It's fine when we've got to go charging off to rescue some Sorceror's Stone, or run pell-mell into a Ministry full of Death Eaters to save Sirius, but when it's MY HOME you—"
"TAKE – THAT- BACK!" Harry roared, whipping out his wand and pointing it at Ron. Ron had gone quite pale and was shaking with anger. The silence in the room roared.
Suddenly, the fireplace roared to life, and Mad Eye Moody came tumbling out onto the kitchen floor. An instant later, there was a loud crack and Kingsley Shacklebolt and Tonks came speeding in from the hallway, just as a bright flame flashed, and a single red feather fell to the center of the table, where Dumbledore immediately materialized, Fawkes resting on his arm.
"Is everyone alright," Dumbledore said quickly, stepping down from the table, "Are you all accounted for?"
"We're here, Albus," said Mr. Weasley quickly, "Is everyone else alright?"
"They were gone by the time we got there," Mad Eye said, stumping over to the table. His magical eye focused on Harry, "You've all already heard then?"
"Harry had another vision," Lupin said quickly, "Albus, what's happened?"
"The Dark Mark," Tonks said, her eyes brimming with tears, "W..We saw it...over your house. We thought for sure...that y-you'd all..." and she sank to the floor, her back resting against the brick wall, sobbing quietly.
"She's never seen it before," Kingsley said quietly.
"Combat, I can handle," she protested gaspingly, "I'm not afraid I just...just..."
"It's alright dear," Mrs. Weasley said kindly, "We're all fine," but Harry could hear the tension in her voice.
"What happened?!" Ron demanded. Harry saw Ginny's eyes were wide as saucers, and unbeknownst to anyone else, she was clasping Ron's hand with both of hers.
There was an uncomfortable silence. Nobody seemed to want to say. Mad Eye said gruffly, "Burning. Right now. There's no saving it."
Mrs. Weasley let out a low moan, and sank into a chair next to Arthur, who put his arm around her.
"Now now, love...come on, it's only a house."
Ron, Fred, and George had already stood up and were walking purposefully to the fireplace.
"Boys!" said Dumbledore sternly. His expression softened, "The Aurors and Magical Law Enforcement are there now, they're trying to put out the fire. There's nothing else you can do."
"Like hell!" bellowed Fred, and strode towards the fire.
"FRED!!!" shouted Mrs. Weasley deafeningly, and all heads snapped towards her, "You will not speak to the Headmaster that way. Don't you think he has all our best interests at heart?"
Reluctantly, the three boys slunk back to the table and sat down.
"We should go back," Kingsley said slowly, and Harry noticed for the first time that his face was shiny with sweat and besmirched with smoke, "Tonks and I – well, we just wanted to see that you were alright. Come on then, Nymphadora," he said, extending his hand.
"S'Tonks," she said, sniffing and rubbing her tears in a business-like manner, "Not Nymphadora," and she took his hand. "Right," she said, sounding like her old self, "On the case. And don't you worry," she said to Ron, lowering her voice menacingly, "We're going to find those bastards, and we're going to nail them, and no mistake."
"Go!" said Arthur, and with a loud crack, they had Apparated.
Hermione jumped to her feet, "My parents! What'll I do? What if— "and she looked at Ron and then at Harry, horrified.
"You mean what if you're next?" Ron said coldly.
"Ronald Weasley, that will do!" shouted Mr. Weasley.
All the Weasley sons and daughters sat up straight, their eyes wide as saucers. Harry knew – when Mr. Weasley raised his voice, discussion had come to a close.
Dumbledore closed his eyes and muttered a few words under his breath. The whole room watched him.
"Hermione," he said, crouching next to her, "Tell me your address. Whisper it!" he added quickly, as she opened her mouth. Hermione put her hand to his ear and whispered something quietly. Dumbledore nodded, and stood. He muttered a few more words, and gave a quick, complicated flick of his wand. There was a palpable burst of powerful magic that reflected off of him like ripples in a pond, blowing all of their hair back.
Dumbledore heaved a weary sigh, "They are safe," he said. With a weary flick of his hand, he conjured a squashy purple armchair (as there was no room at the table) and sat down.
"Our house," Ginny said, her eyes beginning to fill with tears. She looked around the room, not seeming to meet anyone's eye, and then settled on Harry's. "Our house!" she sobbed, and broke down onto Ron's shoulder. He put his arms around her and patted her head.
"Come on now," Mr. Weasley said, his arms still around Mrs. Weasley, who had stopped crying now, and simply stared at the oak table, "It could have been worse! Much worse! We're all alive, and well. We have each other."
Fred, George, Bill, and Charlie were all exchanging glances. Ron was still preoccupied with a bawling Ginny.
"As long as we have each other," he continued, "We'll be fine."
There was a calm finality in the way he said it that seemed to soothe them all.
"Oh my Gosh!" Harry said, his heart giving a painful jerk of panic, "The Dursleys!"
Dumbledore went pale, and stroked Fawkes's feathery back.
"Number Four, Privet Drive," he said hoarsely, and with a flash of golden fire, he was gone.
In the silence that was left behind, Harry's insides squirmed with guilt. He had brought disaster to the people he most cared about – just an hour ago, Mrs. Weasley had called him family. The remnants of his sixteenth birthday cake were still laying on the floor, the broken plate and candles scattered haphazardly.
"Reparo," he said glumly, and the plate came back together. Standing slowly, he brought it over to the sink, and began to wash it.
"Harry dear, don't bother," Mrs. Weasley said, standing, "I'll do it."
"No," Harry said awkwardly, "You made it for me – I'll do it."
"Harry," Ron said quietly. Harry shuffled around to face him, but looked at the laces of his trainers.
"I...err..." Ron stammered, "Let me help."
He tried to stand up, but Ginny was still clinging to his arm.
"It's alright, Ron," said Harry, relieved, "I can do it."
"Sit down now." Mrs. Weasley said abruptly.
Harry meekly slunk back to his seat, as Mrs. Weasley took over cleaning up. They could hear her start to cry again, and Mr. Weasley went and stood next to her, his arm around her waist.
"It's just like when Mr. Weasley was attacked," thought Harry dismally, "Only ten times worse."
Their faces were illuminated by another flash of golden fire, and Dumbeldore rematerialized, though this time, safely in the corner of the room.
"The Dursleys are fine for now," he said, holding up a hand to stem Harry's anxious expression, "Tonks and Mad-Eye volunteered personally to stay the night on guard duty. But you will need to choose a Secret Keeper soon, Harry. Time is of the essence."
"It's alright! I've chosen!" Harry said, "Just...er...say the words."
"I cannot be your Secret Keeper, Harry," said Dumbledore sadly, and Harry felt his heart sink, "It's just what Voldemort would expect. Besides, I am now Hermione's Secret Keeper – if I were to crack, the both of you would be betrayed. As harsh as it sounds, Harry, I am not the best basket to put all of your eggs into."
"Fine then," said Harry, irritated, "Lupin."
"I would be honored, Dumbledore," said Lupin.
"Again," said Dumbledore, "Just what Voldemort would expect. You need to be very careful now, Harry, because the Dark Lord knows by now who you value and who you might choose.
Harry looked around the room at his friends – his family.
"But if – if I don't chose someone I care about," he said frustratedly, "How can I trust them?!"
"I cannot answer for you Harry," said Dumbledore gravely, "This is your decision alone. Choose carefully, but quickly. I will need an answer by the start of term. Until then, Tonks and Mad-Eye both have agreed to keep watch at your home as long as is necessary. I'm sure others in the Order, like Arabella, and Mundungus would be more than happy to volunteer as well."
"And what about our home?" said George levelly, deliberately trying not to betray any emotion.
"Where are we going to live?" Ginny said fearfully, her face still half- pressed into Ron's arm. There were small, dark spots all over the fabric of his T-shirt, and Harry felt his heart wrenched in half again with guilt.
"Well," said Mrs. Weasley, sounding a bit more like herself, "I suppose we'll just have to hunker down here for now. Oh, don't fret," she said at the horrified expression on their faces, "It's only for now, until we...well, until we can settled. And you'll all be off to school soon," she turned to Bill and Charlie, "And you two practically live here anyway..."
"We'll manage," Charlie said brightly, though a bit falsely.
"I am terribly sorry," said Dumbledore, "but I must return to the Burrow. The Minister is waiting there for me."
"Yes, of course, go!" said Mr. Weasley.
With another flash of golden fire, he was gone, yet almost immediately after, there was a flash of green fire in the fireplace, and Percy Weasley came tumbling head over heels into the kitchen.
"MUM! DAD!" he shouted, as he struggled to stand up.
"PERCY! OH, PERCY!" cried Mrs. Weasley, dashing from the sink, and throwing her arms around his neck.
Percy attached himself to her as though he would never let go, but quickly staggered around, his eyes scanning the room. Harry saw his lips moving – counting.
"We're all here, Percy," Mr. Weasley said stiffly.
Percy closed his eyes, and trembled as Mrs. Weasley wept onto his shoulder. When he opened them, though, his eyes alighted on Harry.
"YOU!!!" he shouted. He tore himself away from his mother's grabbing hands, and had half-way climbed over the table, before Charlie and Bill had dashed over, and flattened him over the edge of it.
"YOU!" he said again, "OUR HOUSE! M-MY...MY BABY SISTER! GET – YOU – "
"Impedimenta!" shouted Mr. Weasley, and Percy's legs were no longer of use to him. Clinging to the table, he turned to look at his father, stunned.
"I TOLD you!" he shouted, pointing at Harry, "I warned you about him, and did anyone listen to me?! We could have died tonight! We could have been burned alive, or worse, we've already lost our home—"
"Harry Potter is not to blame, Percy!" said Lupin sternly, "Voldemort is the cause of all this. Blaming Harry is like blaming your house for being flammable."
"He is flammable!" shouted Percy, "He's a target! I knew he and Dumbledore would be the ruin of this family, not because they're wrong, but because they are TARGETS! Do you really want to be hexed with the same wand that – "
"HARRY POTTER IS FAMILY, AND YOU ARE OUT OF ORDER!" bellowed Mr. Weasley. Harry felt himself slinking down in his chair, and saw that Ron, Ginny, and Hermione were doing the same.
Percy had gone white, and was shaking. He straightened himself up to his full height, and ran a hand over his hair, which was straggled all over his face.
"I am glad," he said, breathing heavily, "To see you are all well. I have to return to the Ministry – Fudge will be needing me. When you come to your senses...if you come to your senses...you know how to reach me."
"GET OUT OF THIS HOUSE!!" bellowed Mr. Weasley, "OUT!! YOU ARE NO SON OF MINE! I HAVE NO SON!!"
"Arthur!" cried Mrs. Weasley, clutching at Percy's shoulders, obviously anxious to have him stay, now that they had been so close to patching it all up.
But Percy detached himself firmly from his mother's grasp, and hastily threw some Floo Powder into the fire. "Ministry of Magic, main lobby," he said, through gritted teeth. And with another flash of flame, the kitchen went quiet.
