Chapter 4 A Leaded Reunion
When Harry felt like that they were beginning to slow down he braced himself, he knew how difficult it was to land with a Portkey. But he instantly knew which one he preferred when his feet touched the ground; it felt like he was gently dropping down onto his feet (from toe down to heel). Like when you look over a crowd in tiptoe and come back down. He realised that the only movement he felt was when the bird picked him up, he stood on tiptoe and was coming down now in a graceful landing.
With the Phoenix song still ringing in his ear he looked around to see a crowd of red heads standing in a half moon around him, all beaming and happy. Mrs. Weasley came running towards him and gave him his second Molly Hug for the summer.
'Mrs. Weasley, can I get some air, please?' Harry asked in a daze. He felt his lungs scream in relief when she let go of him, but they gave one colossal groan when he saw bushy brown hair moving towards him at an incredible rate. Hermione made contact and he staggered a few steps back from the force of the impact.
'Hermione!' He groaned 'You're becoming worse than Mrs. Weasley.'
'Sorry Harry, I was so worried about you.' She said almost in tears 'First the start of summer and then the attack. How can you come through that and still joke around?'
'Hermione, its all right! I'm fine, really' He said earnestly. She let go reluctantly and then he saw a mane of fiery red hair pouncing towards him like a feline hunter cat. She made a surprisingly soft impact considering that he hadn't seen her coming and she actually jumped, though seemed more like a pounce, towards him.
'My lungs are going to hate all of you after this.' He said in a melodramatic voice.
'Don't you scold us little man, its natural for a woman to feel obliged to comfort the uncomforted.' She said in a mock motherly voice
'Yeah, Yeah, just kidding,' he said 'Hello Ginny, nice to see you again'
'Hello Harry, hope you will have a better summer from now on.' She said in her usual tone. After she moved away he heard, from behind, 'Harry!' and saw Fred and George running towards him arms outstretched with Ron close on their heels, mocking the females. He braced himself and felt his magic moving towards his legs, ready to stand firm. They made impact and had clearly not expected Harry to stay standing because they bounded off of him and landed on a heap of tangled limbs on the ground.
'Harry mate! No need to become aggressive. We were only sharing our love.' One of the twins said in a mock hurt voice.
'He gives us the best idea of the century and doesn't even want to give us a big hug.' The other one said faking a sniff.
'Stop it you prats and get off my legs.' Ron said clearly not enjoyingsitting on the ground as much as the twins. He stood up.
'Hello mate, do warn me if I want to run you over ever again.'
'Come on, everyone in the kitchen, lunch is waiting.' Mrs Weasley announced over the crowd. As Harry walked over, Mr. Weasley stopped him and held out his hand.
'Your only normal greeting for today seemed to be mine.' He said shaking Harry's hand.
'Thanks Mr. Weasley, it's nice to be here again.' Harry told him still chuckling a bit.
'Come over to the kitchen, Molly prepared a feast and wouldn't let any male in the kitchen, I'm rather knackered.' He said already walking over. When Harry entered the kitchen he saw food that would make the Hogwarts house elves jealous. The table was full of different kinds of luscious foods with no place to eat. There was a stack of plates to one side and cutlery right next to it.
'Mrs. Weasley how are we going to eat all of this food?' Harry asked, thinking that there was enough to feed a few hungry dragons.
'Bill and Charlie are coming over in a few minutes.' She said absently handing out plates 'They will be staying here for a few nights.'
'We're here!' They heard a voice call from the sitting room. At once Ginny was running again like a lion, towards the sound, followed closely by the rest of the crowd. He saw Bill and Charlie standing in the middle of the room being hugged by Ginny simultaneously closely followed by Mrs. Weasley.
'Hullo Mum, Ginny. Can we greet the rest of our family?' Bill asked amused. After they let go of them they greeted everyone and came to a halt in front of Harry.
'Hello Harry, nice to see you again.' Charlie said
'Yeah, how's it going?' Bill asked
'Better at your house, I'll tell you that. Your mother made enough food to feed a herd of griffins.'
The older brothers shared an amused glance and headed for the small kitchen. After the rest of the family was in, Bill said
'Charlie and I will move some of the tables outside, we'll never fit in here.' heading for the door. Harry moved away when he saw Mr. Weasley lifting all of the food off the table and hover it outside. Once outside they moved to the newly moved tables, when Harry saw that the whole pile of food was going to fall over, He quickly pulled his wand from his pocket and kept it at his side pointing towards the food and held it upright with the same spell Mr. Weasley was using. He looked sideways and saw Ginny staring at him wide eyed, with a shocked expression on her face. Harry started to panic and when the food was safely on the table he turned to her and whispered
'I'll tell you later'
'How, what, the ministry, Harry you'll get expelled' She whispered urgently back
'Ginny, I'll tell you later, please.' He begged desperately.
'Harry dear come and sit down.' Mrs Weasley called from the table. He gave Ginny one last pleading look and when she nodded her head slightly he felt at ease once again. He went over to Ron and Hermione and sat down next to them.
'So, what's news?' he asked 'Anything new?'
'Yeah, the Chudley Cannons are in favour to win against P.U. in the next match.' Ron said clearly misunderstanding Harry 'It's about time that they win again.'
'Ron!' Hermione scolded 'Harry doesn't mean that.' She shot Ron a glare and continued 'Not that we know of. The order is really secretive and nothing we tried is working to listen in on their meetings, but we know that Voldemort is out there doing things. I saw on the Muggle news that a small family near Whiningham were killed with hundreds of cuts all over their bodies. Dumbledore was in an uproar and came and went giving everyone instructions.' Harry sat there stunned. So it has begun he thought the Second War has begun. He was glad that he was already starting to prepare for it. It was so near his house, maybe trying to draw him out.
'At least Fudge has got his act together and listens to people. The ministry is starting to enrol new trainees for the Auror department. Mostly young people in their twenties trying to do something to save their families.' Hermione trailed off. They were so young, not that he was older but they did it out of love for their families, they didn't have a choice. 'Fudge has sent envoys to France and Japan, asking for all the help they can give.' Harry couldn't believe that this wonderful place, the magical world he belonged in was being wrenched away from him by one evil thing. He would fight and he would kill that damn Monster, even if it was just so that he could live in the magical world in peace.
'Hermione, enough, cant you see Harry is suffocating under all the new information' Ron said.
Hermione looked over at Harry and saw his face and flung her arms around his shoulders and said
'Sorry Harry, I'm so sorry.'
'Hermione' Harry said 'It's all right. Let's eat now and talk about this later.' He said hoping to postpone this conversation to a more suitable time. The rest of the late lunch was one of the most enjoyable Harry had ever had. They talked about Quidditch, school and mostly about nothing in particular. Bill and Charlie had an animated argument of who the better seeker was, Charlie or Harry.
'Harry had never lost a game for his team except once and then he was in the hospital wing.' Ginny said becoming part of the conversation.
'Me neither, except once when some stupid Slytherin hit me off my broom with his bat.' He said proudly.
'Why don't we hold a competition tomorrow and see who the best is.' Mr. Weasley said excited.
'Yeah, then I can practice at the same time.' Ron said anxiously. Harry finished off his rhubarb crumble and pushed his plate forward. He sat back and closed his eyes for a moment enjoying the atmosphere of the burrow. He felt someone looking at him and looked up to see Ginny staring at him. She looked rather attractive in the sundown light, he thought, but pushed the thought aside.
She leaned over the table and said 'I know how you feel. I think of how lucky I am to have such a great family and just sit there enjoying it. You know that you are part of this family as much as me or Ron, don't you?' She looked truly honest when she said her last sentence And Harry couldn't help but feel the warm feeling inside of him grow.
'Thanks Gin, I'll remember that.' he said earnestly
'Harry have you taken your trunk up to Ron's room?' Mr. Weasley asked
'Oh…no. Thanks Mrs. Weasley the food was great, I'll come help you with the dishes in a minute.' He said standing up
'No Harry dear, enjoy a free afternoon, Ron can help you tomorrow.' She said collecting the empty plate as Bill took the leftover food to the kitchen.
Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny went up to Ron's room with his luggage and sat around not talking about anything specific. After a while the conversation turned towards the war again.
'What I don't understand is why You-Know-Who has been reasonably quiet.' Ron was saying 'I mean last time, I heard, he was walking around killing everyone.' Everyone was quiet until Harry broke the silence.
'He is trying to gain the same amount of power like he had last time.' He said startling the rest out of their reveries. 'Plotting ways to invoke fear in the people so that there is less resistance. If the world lives in fear they cannot do anything for themselves, they do what somebody tells them. If Voldemort can induce enough fear everyone will listen to him so that they don't have to die.'
'That sounds rather nasty if you ask me' Ron said with a tint of fear in his voice.
'Ron listen to me, we cannot fall into his trap.' Harry said strongly 'If he can accomplish that then he has a free reign, free to do whatever he wants to.'
'Harry's right' Ginny said 'we stand no chance against him if it happens. I'll rather die going down fighting than living in constant fear of avoiding the inevitable.'
'We're not going to die, not if I can do something about it.' Harry said
'But Harry there is nothing you can do, you can't change the world.' Hermione said
'Even if I can't I have to try, I'll try even if it takes my life.' Harry said 'I realised something this summer. Everything has been taken from me, my childhood, parents, peace and a lot more by one mad man. He did this to countless other people and I don't want to live in a world like that. I don't want to flee. I don't want to run, so I have only one other option, to fight. There is something I haven't told you and please I want to tell you when I am ready but it is essential that you listen to me, give me advice and help me. I can't do everything alone.'
'Harry you are never alone' Ginny said 'we'll help you with what ever you ask.'
'Yeah' Ron and Hermione said in unison.
'Thanks guys.' Harry said earnestly 'Come on its holiday, lets play chess or something.' They started to play but not one of them enjoyed it. All of them thought about what was said and each, minus Harry, came to a silent resolve that they would do whatever it takes to give their part for the world. With that thought Harry's friends went to bed that night committed to their cause, and ready to do whatever it took.
The next morning Harry sat at the windowsill in Ron's room and stared at the sunrise. It was phenomenal how pretty something could be, it was there everyday so a person thought of it as ordinary and didn't stop to look at it. He went downstairs, out of the back door leading to the pond and strolled around not really thinking where he was going. He went to the small forest and sat down in a clearing thinking how he would prepare his friends for the inevitable, that they could die because he was fifty percent of the war. He heard something behind him like a footstep and tensed up waiting for something to happen. He heard it again and sprung up in a flash, feeling the magic in his legs, wand drawn pointing at the offender's head. He realised with a start that it was Ginny looking terrified down the wrong end of his wand. He released his grip on his wand and let his arm drop down his side
'Ginny!' he exclaimed 'you scared me!' She finally came out of her stupor and looked into his eyes. They were big brown orbs with endless depths holding a lot of mystery and something Harry didn't recognise.
'Sorry, I shouldn't have crept up on you. How did you move so quickly, I hardly saw you.' She said hoping to let the awkward moment drop.
'There are some things I have to come clean about.' He said before he could stop himself. There was something about her gaze that told him it was all right, safe to speak with her, you could trust her.
'Are you going to tell me?' She said in a voice with the same qualities as her gaze.
'I've been training this summer.' He told her 'I want to be ready when we get attacked again. I don't want any of you to be hurt because you are friends with me. It's something I need to do, so I've started. Dumbledore gave me books, a lot of them mind you, to train. That's why I wanted to see him. He told me things last year that I wouldn't have ever expected, so I asked him to let me do magic. He cast a spell on my room to be able to do underage magic in my room. I've been training ever since, non stop.'
'Harry, I want you to know I thought about what you said last night.' Her small voice said 'I want to do my part. My piece for the peace… what did you tell Dumbledore to allow you to do magic? I want to start training too, I don't want you to protect me, I want to be able to protect others. I don't really know why I'm telling you this.' She said smiling slightly
'It's all right, I won't tell anyone else. But please Ginny don't tell Dumbledore I told you. Our relationship is hanging on a thin thread, I don't want it to break now, and we need him in the war. I've brought my books as you asked' He said 'come on, my collection will make Hermione jealous.' They went back to the burrow walking next to each other in comfortable silence. Once Harry got his trunk with all of his books out of Ron's room they went to the orchard and sat down on the benches between the fruit trees. He gave her some of the best books that he had already completed.
'Most of these books are Dumbledore's so please be careful with them.' He said looking at a particular one he thought about reading next.
'Harry, these books are ancient!' She said with awe
'Yeah, I read all of those so you can give them to Hermione when you're done. I thought Ron would like to read this one' He pointed to a book called Strategies For The Stratifying Strategist by Stratman O'Rourke
'One of these books, Harry, will take Hermione at least a week to read.' She said sounding like she wanted to put some reason into his head 'It isn't possible to read this amount in the weeks you were with the Dursleys'
'I know' He grinned at her 'but its possible if you know how to read.'
'Are you implying that I can't read?!' She said as if in a challenge.
'Ginny, what will you give me if I can read all of these books here, at the Burrow, before I leave,' He said, thinking aabout the positive side. He would be motivated to do more reading. Lately he had found a lot of silly reasons to put it off. 'You can test me once I'm done.' She looked like she thought for a moment and then said
'Your position at Quidditch back?' She asked hoping for it to be enough.
'And…?' He trailed off
'I'll see.' She pouted 'I don't know yet.'
'I'll give you a pet of your choice if you finish that,' he pointed towards three huge but handy books 'and if I can test you afterwards, if you pass you don't owe me anything.'
'You don't take your bets lightly, do you?' She asked worriedly. He just grinned at her and she reluctantly agreed
'Alright, alright you win.' They read for about an hour when Hermione and Ron came out
'What are you doing?' Ron asked looking wearily at the books.
'We're reading a bit. I got these books from Professor Dumbledore, here look at this.' Harry said giving him the book. Ron looked at the book while Hermione gave a squeal of delight and immediately grabbed a book from the pile next to Ginny.
'Harry, where did you find this book?' Ron asked sitting down on the ground with his back resting against the bench
'I told you, Professor Dumbledore lent them to me.' Harry replied
'Remind me to give him a box of lemon drops when we get back to Hogwarts!' Ron said already reading the book.
'Ron!' Hermione exclaimed 'I'm so proud of you.'
Ron blushed a shade of red mumbling something that sounded like thank you.
'Harry, can I borrow these?' She asked holding a small pile of books up for him to see.
'Yeah, sure.' He said, amused with her enthusiasm.
'Thanks.' She said while standing up 'I'm going to get some parchment and a quill so that we can make notes.'
'Oh yeah, Harry, mum said there is food in the kitchen if you want some.' He said, his usual appetite forgotten
'OK thanks.' He said and went on reading thinking that he had to find some time alone to really get reading.
Later that day at lunch Charlie confronted Harry and said
'How about a game of Quidditch?'
Harry thought for a moment and said 'Sure but I don't have my broom.'
'I got it for you last night from Professor McGonagall' He said walking over to the sofa and retrieving Harry's firebolt.
'Thanks Charlie.' Harry said happily. His baby was home, safe with him again. At that moment Ron and Ginny walked through the door with their brooms in their hands and talking with Bill coming in from behind. They went outside and met up with the twins and started to play.
Because of their few numbers they improvised a bit. The beaters (twins) hit bludgers towards everybody. Bill and Ginny were chasers scoring at the same goals, but against each other, while Ron tried to defend the goals from as many of the balls as he could. Harry and Charlie were seekers doing their normal jobs, catching the snitch while Hermione was referee.
The balls were released and the players shot upward, with Harry and Charlie leaving the rest of the players behind. They played for about ten minutes when the snitch made its first appearance. Harry looked over to Charlie and saw that he was looking the other way.
Harry and Charlie immediately shot at the same time towards the golden ball. He was startled to see Charlie right next to him but realised he had only made as if he hadn't seen it. They moved towards the centre of play, where the snitch was currently hiding and weaved through the terrified players who only saw two blurs shooting towards them at incredible speed looking like they wouldn't stop for the world. Harry saw the snitch shoot towards Harry's right and he immediately changed his course to follow the elusive ball.
…He didn't see Ginny right in front of him, and when he heard a terrified scream he realised that if he didn't do something right away, that they would crash. He rolled his body towards the underside of his broom and let his feet drop. He was hanging with his two hands placed near the front and back of his broom when Ginny was right in front of him. His broom was heading right for her and moving at an astonishing speed. He dropped his left hand, which was at the front of his broom and pulled down hard with his right hand forcing the broom to point directly upwards at a 90 degree angle. This change in direction forced Harry and the broom to shoot straight up, missing Ginny by a hair's width. In fact, Harry's head scraped the front of her broom. Once Harry's feet had cleared Ginny's head, he climbed back onto the broom and brought it back down directly behind her. If you were happening to look just at that moment it would look like he Harry had gone through Ginny because it had all happened in an instant. Once Harry was on his way again, he saw Charlie a meter in front of him with the snitch about three meters in front of Charlie. He started to ascend and when he was ten feet above Charlie he pointed his broom downwards and shot towards the snitch from above, like a bird of prey.
He grabbed the snitch right out of the air only a foot in front of Charlie's outstretched hand. Once he got it he levelled his broom and did a victory lap with all of the Weasley cheering madly for him except Ginny who was still at the same place when Harry overtook her, looking petrified. He went over to her and asked with concern
'Ginny are you alright?' She looked at him and let out a huge breath she was apparently holding.
'Harry?' she asked like a child looking for someone that was lost.
'Yes Ginny, I caught the snitch.' He said holding up the ball for her to see.
'What did you do?' She asked still in a daze
'I went by you.' He said starting to worry about her.
'Oh, Okay. Give me a minute to get my mind back.' She said starting to get better. At that moment the rest of the Weasleys came towards them shaking Harry's hand vigorously.
'That was incredible Harry, how did you do it?' Someone asked within the small crowd
'Harry, couldn't you fly over her.' Another asked
'Cough up Fred.' George said. Once they landed Hermione immediately started to scold Harry for his lack of responsibility.
'Harry!' he heard Ginny scream 'you could have killed me! What were you thinking? I can't believe you would do something like that.' She screeched and started to move closer to him. As one the rest of the Weasley boys backed off a few paces, obviously knowing how bad she could be.
'Ginny, I'm sorry.' He pleaded 'It was the only thing that came to mind. I would have killed you if I didn't do it.'
'Harry please don't do anything like that again.' She said 'I almost had a heart attack!'
'Sorry.' He said sheepishly.
The next day Harry read the morning away in a secluded spot where he had cast a Confundus charm to ward off the rest of the people. He had finished a book about how to improve your aim and mostly about sharpening your duelling abilities with small things everyone tends to forget, when he heard someone calling for him. He stood up and went towards the sound to find his three friends looking around for him.
'I'm here' He called looking for them.
'Where?' he heard and remembered the charm. He walked silently around them and crept towards them from the back. They looked so fragile; he could take all of them out before they could even realise it was him. He decided a lesson was in order and cast an illusion charm onto him self so that he looked like a bush. He walked slowly closer and he saw that Ginny was the only one looking at him when he had stepped onto a dry twig. After she shrugged it off he walked closer until he was a mere meter from them. He touched Ginny on the shoulder and put his finger on his mouth telling her to be silent. Next he touched Ron who said
'Ginny stop playing where's Harry?' He looked around and saw Harry and Ginny silencing him. Next he touched Hermione on the shoulder and when she looked around she gave a yell and said
'Harry! Where did you come from?'
'I was in front of you, walked right past you and could have taken all of you out without any one of you knowing who it was.' He said seriously. He had learned one thing this summer, you can't be too careful, no matter where you are.
'It's not like someone will attack us here.' Ron thought aloud
'Why not?' Harry said seriously 'Anyone can be here, anyone.'
'Harry you're becoming worse than mad eye.' He argued
'Ron it doesn't matter.' He argued back 'The war has begun, they can be anywhere.'
'Yeah I know, I know.' He agreed defeated 'I'm not used to being on guard at my own house.'
'But it is something that we have to do.' Hermione concluded for Harry.
'I know it's not fun and we like to slack off but we can't afford it.' Harry said
'We'll try to be more careful.' Ginny whispered thinking it all through.
'What did you want me for anyway?' Harry asked
'Mum said that lunch would be ready in 10 minutes.' Ron told Harry.
Once they were inside Mrs. Weasley piled their plates full of sandwiches and put a jug of pumpkin juice on the table. While they were eating Hermione let out a squeal of excitement and bolted for the window, knocking over several chairs in her haste. Harry looked over to see what she was on about and saw that there were three owls sitting on the windowsill waiting to be let in. Harry too got up. but in a more composed manner, and went to the window a bit anxious because he knew that the owls had brought their OWL results. It was obviously their OWL results because Harry didn't know what else would need three owls, looking rather well trained, and too proper for their own good. Ron however, stayed in his chair staring holes through the table, white as chalk, not moving a muscle.
'Ron it's not going to explode in your face.' Ginny teased
'And how would you know, you didn't take owls last year' He shot back earning a few snickers from around the table.
'Because, icle Ronnikins we took it a few years back and nothing except our own spells exploded.' Fred concluded for him.
'Fred, don't forget that we charmed the examiners hat to explode in lots of green butterflies.' George added
'George, mum's here!' Fred whispered urgently
'Why didn't you tell me?' George shot back softly
'You know boys, I did the same thing' their mother said loudly 'But it was an accident, how could you! The examiners are respected people and you do something like that!' At that moment Hermione chose to intervene with an ear-piercing shriek with tears starting to well up in her eyes.
'Hermione what's wrong' He asked moving swiftly towards her 'it cant be that bad can it?' he asked but swallowed his words when she looked at him eyes big and wet looking pale. She looked back at the letter clutched in her hand, which Harry noticed was addressed to Mr. Potter. He gave a bark of a laugh and saw Hermione looking at him again. He started to open his mouth but had to close it again as Hermione fainted and fell forward. He caught her just in time before she would have hit her head on the table and gently laid her down, with Mrs Weasley pressing a wet cloth on her forehead. Harry went over to the owls and retrieved Hermione's right letter holding it in front of her when Mrs Weasley muttered 'Enervate'. Hermione blinked her eyes and when she saw Harry again her eyes started to roll to the back of her head
'Hermione, it wasn't your letter.' He rushed the words out 'Here is yours.' Her eyes rolled back towards their normal state and looked at Harry. He held up her unopened letter for her to see and said
'You opened mine.' He gently tucked his own letter out of her clutches and opened hers for her. He passed it on towards Ginny who scanned it over and said with awe
'Almost a perfect score! Hermione you did a bit better than Percy you got twelve!' Right before Hermione could register her results there was a sharp flash of light and when Harry looked sideways he saw the twins with a camera looking joyous.
'Sorry' one of them said
'Yeah, to good to miss.' The other one said, while Hermione regained he composure and sat up looking her results over. Ron meanwhile, Harry noticed, sat there with an impish grin on his face and when Harry looked at him he said happily
'I got eight!'
'Harry you too!' Ginny screamed from where Hermione stood now also looking happy.
'That's great!' he said and turned towards Hermione 'you all right? Better than you initially thought?' She swatted him lightly on his shoulder also grinning now
'Why didn't you tell me?' she said laughing out right now
'I tried to but you fainted before I could say something.' He told her truthfully and then remembered something
'Goodness, Ginny, did I get an O in potions?'
She looked his results over once again
'Uh, no you got an E' She said looking at him. Harry couldn't help the sag in his shoulders when he heard that but realised that he was going to bring in dark wizards anyway, regardless of his career. With that thought he perked up again and said
'I was hoping to get an O, but it doesn't really matter.' He went back to his sandwich and started to chew thoughtfully. What would he do after Hogwarts? He didn't really know but decided that he would first deal with things his life compelled him to do and then worry about that.
'Did you get your supply list?' Mrs Weasley asked
'Yeah we did, why?' Ron asked.
'I thought it would be a good idea to go get them.' She said 'I'll talk to Dumbledore and ask if you can come with.'
'Great!' The four teens said at once.
The next morning Harry woke up well before Ron and wasn't even startled when he saw it was seven o' clock, he made it such a usual regular occurrence that it wasn't such an abnormal thing anymore. He grabbed his towel and went to shower. When the hot water was spraying onto his back he could finally relax. He felt like the shower was his solstice, one could stand for hours on end in a shower without any form of entertainment and still enjoy yourself, the one place were you can think all of your troubles through. He was just finishing off and wrapping the towel around him when he heard the door open and in strolled a very sleepy Ginny not even seeing him. He stood there terrified looking at her. Her eyelids were covering her eyes so much that if you didn't look closely at them you would think they were closed. When she finally realised that the bathroom was a bit damp considering that was not being used, she looked up sleepily and saw Harry. She looked back down and walked further as if nothing was wrong. When she reached the sink almost right in front of Harry she stopped dead in her tracks and looked at Harry. She looked up with a terrified gasp and a blush rising to her cheeks.
'Sorry Harry.' She squeaked
'I'll be leaving now…' Harry said slowly moving towards the door right past her with a flush to rival Ginny's. When he closed the bathroom door he could hear banging on the wall, it was as if she was bashing her head. When he entered Ron's room Ron was propped up on a pillow looking sleepy, but when
he saw Harry he asked with concern, 'what's wrong, you look like You-Know-Who saw you showering.'
'NO, not him.' He said still in a daze 'Ginny.'
'What!' he snorted 'Ginny saw you in the shower?'
'No, like this' He said indicating to his half naked body. Ron looked at him for a moment and burst out laughing clutching his side in glee. Harry's cheeks were burning enough to set his face on fire and he decided that if he was going to ignite, so would Ron. He concentrated most of the heat towards Ron and saw to his satisfaction that he stopped laughing and looked at Harry strangely.
'Harry how did you do that?' He asked seriously
'What?' Harry said
'Make it hot in here.' He said and suddenly saw how red Harry's cheeks were 'Oh'
'What?' Harry asked again hiding his amusement
'Well I don't know if you know this but every witch and wizard react in different ways when they are really embarrassed.' He said as if he had uncovered a great secret. 'You probably make it hot.'
'Really?' Harry asked trying and almost failing to hide his amusement. 'What do you do?' Ron turned a brilliant shade of red and mumbled something unintelligible.
After they dressed he and Ron went down towards the kitchen and when Harry saw Ginny sitting there he couldn't help the blush that rose up to his cheeks. Ron and Hermione exchanged amused glances earning death glares from Harry and Ginny in return. They started to eat in relative silence and then there was a knock on the door. Harry stood up to open the door and saw Lupin and Tonks talking about something. Harry thought it was about their last meeting with Harry. He waited patiently for them to finish their conversation but was not going to let them talk about him and plan a plot about him while he was right there.
'Are you coming in?' he asked 'or are you going to continue to talk about me?'
'Hello Harry, didn't see you there' Tonks said.
'Hay Harry.' Lupin said 'we're going with you to Diagon alley.'
'Great. Two people out for my skin accompanying us for protection.' He mumbled.
'It is, isn't it?' Tonks said
'Yeah sure.' He said 'come in.' When they entered the kitchen Ginny and Hermione made a beeline for Tonks, obviously intending ontelling them about Harry's escapade. What Harry couldn't understand was what Ginny was doing there because the whole thing was equally embarrassing for her. Then he realised that Tonks was doing most of the talking with Hermione and Ginny listening in rapt attention. When they were finally done they joined the rest at the table while Lupin and Mrs. Weasley talked about the trip to Diagon Alley. He went to his room and got the rest of his money, bound his gun to his left arm and put his wand in it's makeshift sheath (which consisted of strings) on his right arm. He made his way downstairs and passed by Ginny's room. He stopped in his tracks when he heard his name and listened.
'Can you believe that Tonks likes Lupin?' He heard Hermione say
'No, but I don't think she should do anything to Harry.' Ginny said 'It sounds like he only said it out of the blue. I'm sure if Harry knew, he wouldn't have said anything about it.'
'Yeah I know.' Hermione sighed.
'Lets go downstairs, we don't want them to wait for us.' Ginny said again. Harry heard footsteps approach the door and quickly went to the kitchen where everyone was waiting.
'Sorry to keep you waiting.' Ginny said from right behind him. He hadn't even heard her. They went towards the fireplace when Ginny cornered Harry and said
'Don't eat dinner tonight, Tonks is going to put a love potion in your food.'
'Okay, may I ask with who I'm going to fall in love with, if I eat anything tonight?' He asked
'Tonks' she said plainly
'Why are you telling me this?' he asked suspiciously
'Because Hermione and I don't think you would have done it if you knew.' She said and mumbled something like, 'stupid to put it in his drink'.
Harry decided that as soon as he got home he would take the strongest total control potion he had which will give him enough time to brew a counter potion. When they arrived at the Leaky Cauldron Harry couldn't help but see how different the people were acting when he really looked at it. People looking over their shoulders, others walking in closed formation with one another and some hunched up like they were expecting an attack any second now. They made their way towards Gringotts, while Harry couldn't help but notice the depressing feeling covering the once so joyous street like a blanket.
'Can you feel it?' he heard Ron whisper
'Yes.' Harry said sadly
'It's so different.' Ginny said
'It shouldn't really come as a shock but, it's still bad' Hermione added while they too closed ranks among each other. Later that day they were walking towards the ice cream parlour, bags of shopping hanging from their arms, and found a table big enough for them all to sit down at.
Harry rummaged through his bag and opened his book, of which the cover had the illusion of looking like a Quidditch Player Book. Mr. Flourish had told him it was hard to find, and illegal to an extent, but he could scrape together a rather healthy collection on Physical magic. He took the liberty to change their covers and told Harry that he knew he would put it to good use. Harry couldn't thank the man enough for his troubles and paid him a large amount for the books. Hermione looked jealously at Harry because he was talking with the owner of a bookstore as if they knew each other!
Harry started reading and at once saw the possibilities of this magic combined with the muggle martial arts. When he was almost done with the first chapter, he suddenly stiffened up like a board because something, something evil and disgusting, penetrated his sense charm. He shot out of his chair and went in the direction where he had sensed it, earning a few curious looks from his friends. Once he saw what had triggered it, his blood ran cold; there standing near the wall was a rat, a white rat with a silver paw. Harry lunged at it with a growl that would make a lion run and hide, while pulling his wand out of his 'holster', and shot a vast ball of fire towards the rat. Pettigrew scurried out of the way and ran through a crack in the wall successfully disappearing. Harry screamed in rage 'ACCIO PETTIGREW' while pushing his wand in the crack and waited a few seconds but when nothing happened he knew the rat had escaped again. He realised with a start that Pettigrew most probably went to his master telling him that Harry was in Diagon alley.
'Come on!' he screamed to his companions 'Death Eaters are on their way! We have to get out of here!'
'Harry what happened?' Lupin asked distressed
'There's no time. Pettigrew was here. I tried to catch him but he got away.' Harry said, his instinct kicking in.
'Where, Harry tell me, I'll kill him!' Lupin screamed out in rage
'Come on! He's probably at Voldemort's side right now!' he said 'Mrs Weasley, go tell Dumbledore immediately!' She looked at Harry but didn't question his command and disappeared with a "pop"
'Lupin come on, I can feel Voldemort's happiness, let's get to the leaky Cauldron and floo back!' Harry commanded. He led the way through the shop dropping ten galleons onto the table and went for the door. Once they were outside in the open Harry raced in front with Lupin right behind him then Ron, Hermione and Ginny with Tonks bringing up the rear. All the people parted while as they walked through the street, wands drawn and ready to fight for their lives. They walked until they were within sight of the Leaky Cauldron when Harry heard what he had been hoping he wouldn't hear. About a dozen of pops right in front of them with people giving terrified screams once they realised what was happening. There at the archway towards Diagon alley stood twelve hooded figures all dressed in black, wands pointing towards Harry and his friends in a half circle. Harry stepped a step forward at the same time as one of the death eaters and waited in anticipation.
'Potter' The Death Eater said 'come quietly and your friends walk away, unharmed.'
'And you wouldn't kill them the moment I'm gone?' He questioned sarcastically
'Our Lord wishes your company. You either come or die!' The death eater screamed in frustration. At that moment a mother and a small girl about three years old walked through the archway towards Diagon alley. The mother stopped dead in her tracks while the girl looked around and walked straight into a death eater. The sick, hooded person looked around and screamed in a voice filled with unearthly hate, wand pointed towards the little toddler's head 'CRUCIO'. The little girl fell on the ground screaming out in pain with the most heart wrenching voice. The mother squealed and ran towards her daughter and grabbed her, pulling her towards her bosom.
The Death Eater said in a drawling voice, 'Stupid woman! You could have left her and lived. AVADA KEDAVRA!' the woman fell lifeless towards the ground covering her child, protecting her, even in death. Harry couldn't take it. He gave an unearthly scream at the sickening site before him and attacked the Death Eaters ready to kill them all for what they had done. It was as if it was a mere fly they were swatting away. The other Death Eaters pointed their wands towards Harry and yelled various curses. While Harry was running forward he sent a stunning spell towards them and felt his magic in his legs. He jumped up high, about three meters, all of the curses missing him and turned in mid air. He pointed his wand toward his friends and put up the most strong protection charm he could muster, around his friends. Lupin and Tonks put up their own protection charms and were already shooting spells towards the enemy. Harry turned again in mid air and shot another stunner, dropping the one that stepped forward. He landed right in the middle of the death eaters and punched one in the gut, sending him flying backwards. He summoned his pistol with the loaded stunner bullets in an instant and pointed it directly towards the head of the sick Death Eater who had killed the woman and shot. The bullet hit him between his eyes and the man went flying backwards stunned, but already dead, as if in slow motion. He landed a few feet back with a puddle of blood already underneath his head. Harry jumped back again in a graceful arc over the Death Eaters' heads and landed right in front of Lupin and Tonks. He heard someone yell the killing curse and saw the sickly green light of death rushing towards Ginny. He ran faster than what he thought was humanly possible and pushed Ginny out of the way with the curse hitting a pole behind her that immediately exploded in a blast of green flames.
He pointed his gun toward the Death eaters and sent of a burst of bullets their way. The bullets that hit protego charms went through the shield but you could see the magic disappearing from them, weakening the shield. He realised that if they all wanted walk out of there alive they had to fight together and end it fast. He called quickly for Ron, Hermione and Ginny to fight back and not to worry about underage magic now, as Hermione had mentioned scared. They stood up, the four friends, shoulder to shoulder and started to fight. Lupin and Tonks were still flinging curses and shouting instructions towards bystanders to get away, to run.
Harry and his friends shot four stunners at a time making a powerful barrage that broke through any shield the death eaters summoned. They started at the side and worked their way towards the middle stunning everyone they aimed at. Whenever there came a curse towards one of the friends the remaining three summoned such a strong shield for their companions that Harry was sure it could stop most powerful curses. Harry, with his gun and wand made a lethal combination, shooting at the same time as casting spells. Once there were only three remaining Death eaters they started to get desperate and shot only killing curses. Harry shot one of them in the head with a reducto bullet he hadn't tried out, successfully beheading him and with a spray of blood going everywhere. Ron and Hermione shot two powerful stunners towards the second last one and sent him flying backwards through the air into a bench, followed by numerous cracks from his spine. It didn't really matter to them if they died, Death eaters killed without a second thought.
The last one standing looked at Harry and his friends slowly advancing on him and screamed out 'AVADA KEDAVRA!' with pure hatred.
The curse left his wand and rushed forth towards the closely packed friends while the Death Eater Apparated away. Harry panicked for a millisecond but quickly got his senses back. He summoned the largest amount of physical magic he could muster into his legs, grabbed onto his friends arms and jumped up high. He just managed to lift them high enough that the spell missed them; he abruptly let them go under the strain. As he dropped onto the ground with his feet he saw the Death Eater pull out what resembled a Portkey. Reacting quickly, Harry pulled out his gun and fired what he thought was a stunning bullet but it turned out to be another Reducto bullet. The bullet hit him in the shoulder successfully blowing his arm right off and sending it flying into the head of an unconscious Death Eater. The shoe Portkey, fell to the ground followed by the Death Eater who seemingly passed out from pure pain. Harry looked around and saw his friends, all three of them alive and well, although slightly blood spattered (the results of a certain enchanted bullet). He felt the greatest feeling swell up in the very core of himself, he felt happy and joyous, even though he had just killed several of the Dark Lord's followers. He saw his friends go through the whole experience too and they, as one grabbed each other and screamed out with joy. They were safe and alive.
'Seems that your training wasn't for nothing.' The voice of Albus Dumbledore said.
'Molly could you please see to them. I'll talk to fudge.' The wizened wizard said. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny finally let go of each other and looked over towards the scene before them. There were eleven death eater bodies lying either unconscious or dead before them and the dead mother covering the poor girl was still there, untouched. Hermione and Ginny immediately went over to the crying girl followed closely by Harry and Ron. When they reached her, Harry carefully removed the girl's dead mother from above her and Ginny immediately wrapped her arms around the trembling figure. She whispered small nothings into her ear hoping to soothe the ache that was impossible to heal. Ginny picked up the girl and Harry thought she looked like a grown up woman caring for her child. At that moment Harry knew that they were not children anymore. They were the ones soothing the children, helping them through their troubles. They together went to Dumbledore who was talking to fudge.
'Professor!' Harry said strongly, demanding attention.
'Ah, Harry what do we have here?' he asked.
'This girl's mother was murdered, a Death Eater killed her when she tried to protect her own daughter.' He said. At once the merry twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes were gone and he took the little girl from Ginny like a grandfather would do to a granddaughter. He turned towards Fudge and said
'Do you now see what I was trying to prevent? I will talk to you later. Clean up here and make a public statement about how you will do everything in you power to prevent another scene like this.' He walked away talking to the small girl in a soothing manner.
'Professor!' Harry called 'What are you going to do?'
'I will place her in her father's hands personally.' He said sadly.
Harry turned towards Fudge and said 'We won't be expecting any letters from the ministry.' With that said, Harry, with his friends, turned around and walked towards Mrs. Weasley
'Can we please go home?' Harry asked. Mrs. Weasley had never before been so proud in her life.
'Yes dears, go home. I'll be there shortly.' Harry nodded and picked up a piece of parchment from the ground. He muttered 'Portus' and motioned for his friend to touch it. As soon as all of them were touching the portkey they were whisked away in swirls of pretty colours.
(A/N: Hello Everyone, Thank you for all the reviews we have received so far, it really inspires us to write more for you.
A few things we want to get sorted first of all, is that someone moaned about us plagiarizing the Matrix with the book title we used. We had not; we put it in like that to add some humor to the story not to steal anything from the Matrix. Replies to reviews are on the Author notes of the group chapter as it is against the rules to reply to reviews in your author notes.
We hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and the little action we put in. Chapter 5 should be up within the next couple of days.
Cheers From Nex0r & Nifler.)
