Title: Harry Potter and the Staff of Merlin
Title: Legolas-gurl88
Disclaimer: Still don't own anything
Author Note: Ummmmmm… hi…
Story time!
5. To Diagon Alley
"Fleur?" Harry gasped, unable to believe what he was hearing. Dumbledore nodded, smiling at the disbelieving look on Harry's face.
"She joined the Order not but two months ago." Dumbledore said. There was a sudden crack and Harry jumped, looking around wildly. His eyes rested on Bill Weasley, the oldest of the Weasley children. He paused when he saw Dumbledore and Harry.
"Er--" he said, "Bad time?"
"Not at all, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore said politely, standing up, "Harry and I were just finishing. We were talking about you."
"Is that right?" Bill said, walking to the cupboard to get a teacup and a teabag.
"Oh yes," Dumbledore said, "Harry was quite surprised to find out about your marriage to Miss. Delacour."
"I thought Ron would have told you by now," Bill said, leaning up against the counter, his fang earring swinging around with his movements. "Well, he wasn't too happy. I suppose he's a bit embarrassed that he had, at one point, asked her out-- Yule Ball, I think he told me."
"Oh, yeah," Harry grinned, remembering too well Ron's look of pure horror when he told Harry about himself asking Fleur to the Yule Ball two years ago.
"Now I think he thinks it's a little odd that she's his sister-in-law."
"I would if it were me." Harry said. Bill took up the teacup and sipped at it for a minute.
"Well, I'd better be on my way. Good day Harry-- Bill." Dumbledore said and without another word there was a crack and Dumbledore was gone.
"Where's Fleur right now?" Harry asked.
"Upstairs sleeping." Bill said, taking another sip and repositioning his lean on the counter. "She's completely drained as she's been going around all the French wizard's houses and jobs to see if any would be interested in joining the Order."
Harry grunted, then said, "Well, Ron and Hermione are probably waiting for me. See you."
"Bye." Bill said and Harry left the kitchen.
The day slowly went by. Nothing much had been said or done by any of the residents. There were now so many people that lived in the house that Mrs. Weasley had made a big notice sign in the entryway that stated what time dinner would be served that night so someone wouldn't have to go around and find everyone to alert them. Tonight, it would be held at 6:17 due to a meeting that would take much longer than normal.
So, at quarter after six, Harry, Ron and Hermione made their way down the many stairs toward the kitchen. According to the notice board, it was going to be a finger food take-what-you-want-to-eat-then-walk-around-the-room dinner.
"Wotcher, Harry!" Tonks said as they entered. She already had her plate of food and was talking with Lupin, munching on carrot sticks. She still looked tired from the Harry-raid the night before, but perfectly happy. Harry, Ron and Hermione all went to the long table holding all sorts of foods and picked out what they wanted, then walked to a quiet corner and started to chat. About half-an-hour later, Moody made himself present in the middle of the room, right on top of Mundungus Fletcher.
"Stop Apparating on top of me!" Dung yelped like the dog he resembled.
"Stop standing where I plan to Apparate." Moody growled, clunking off to get his own dinner prepared. Then, Bill and Fleur entered, arm in arm.
"'Arry!" Fleur said, untangling herself from Bill and walking to Harry, kissing him on either side of the face. "It 'as been so long."
"Nice to see you too," Harry said, blushing slightly.
"'Ow 'ave you been?"
"Fine." It was hard to see the old Fleur that Harry had once known. The Fleur from almost two years ago had been all sulky and flirty, wearing slim robes. But now, she was wearing cotton robes like the rest of them, her silver sheet of hair tied back into a bun and was smiling beyond belief, nearly blinding Harry with her white teeth. Without another word, Fleur turned back to Bill and the two of them went off to the table. Also, Kingsly showed up as well as Dedalus Diggle, dropping his top hat excitedly as he, once again, shook Harry's hand. Even Professors McGonagall and Snape made an entrance.
"They're only staying here for a little bit. Since you can't Apparate back to Hogwarts, it takes a while to get there and they need to come to every meeting." Hermione whispered. Except for a quick sneer in Harry's direction, Snape paid no attention to them.
Ginny walked over to them, smiling broadly, a badge pinned to the front of her shirt. Harry didn't have to look at it long to figure out what it was.
"Prefect!" Ginny said gleefully, reaching them. "Mum's got me a new broom so I can try out for Chaser. Dumbledore told me you were allowed back on as Seeker, Harry! Well done!"
"Thanks," said Harry remembering all too well that Ginny had said becoming Prefect would have taken the fun out of life. He supposed that that was last year and her mind had probably changed since then. Then, he remembered, "Ron," he said, turning to Ron, "How come you didn't tell me you were Quidditch Captain?"
Ron looked stumped for a minute when realization dawned on him.
"I didn't? I could have sworn I did!"
"No,"
"Well, now you know, don't you? Anyway, I don't see why you weren't Quidditch Captain, Harry. You're so much better than I am."
"Yeah… well…" Harry stammered, not wanting to mention Defense Against the Dark Arts. "Congratulations."
"You're not sore about it?" Ron asked tentatively.
"No," Harry said, "Look, I'll have enough to be going on with, without having to worry about thinking up Quidditch moves."
"Well, if you ever want to become Quidditch Captain, I'd happily trade with you," Ron said, looking slightly terrified.
"Well, I'm off to get dinner," Ginny piped up, walking away.
McGonagall limped over to them. It seemed she had never fully recovered from being hit with several stunning charms at the same time from last year; but no one was complaining because the outcome of that could have been much worse.
"Hello Potter." McGonagall said, "Weasley. Granger."
"'Lo." They all replied.
"I expect you will be anticipating the return to Hogwarts?"
"Oh, yes!" Hermione said, "I've looked up some of the things we'll be learning this year. Just one thing, Professor," She pulled out her schedule from her pocket and showed it to McGonagall. "See? Our schedules have been mixed around a bit. Ron's is this way too, but the times and classes have changed and we have more of some classes than others at different times in the day and week. Why is that?"
McGonagall met Harry's eyes and Harry pleaded silently with her not to tell the truth to Hermione; about why her beloved schedule was messed up.
"Nothing to worry about, Miss. Granger." McGonagall said, "We have a new teacher and this is how the schedule must be for them to be able to teach you--"
"But-- I thought Fleur was the only new Professor. Why does the schedule need changing to fit in with her time?"
"There is a special teacher that will be teaching the sixth years only and it is necessary for the changes, Miss. Granger." With that, Harry let out a silent breath and McGonagall limped away to avoid any further questions.
"What was that about?" Ron asked. "She didn't even tell us who the new teacher was!"
"So, when are we going to Diagon Alley?" Harry changed the subject quickly…
The week went by without so much as another mention of the talk with McGonagall. Harry was thankful because Ron and Hermione had forgotten about it, trying to finish any last-minute summer homework before the return to Hogwarts (which was three weeks away). Lupin disappeared on the full moon and was put in Buckbeak's room whilst under the werewolf spell. However, since he had taken his potion constantly, Harry, Ron and Hermione went up to visit him and told him of what was going on downstairs while he curled into a ball and closed his eyes lazily as Hermione scratched him behind the ears.
However, he returned, fully shed and prepared to work again the next day, looking slightly as if he were recovering from the flu. No one paid any attention to it except Mrs. Weasley; "You really should have something to eat, Remus! You look half starved!"
"I am perfectly fine, Molly," Lupin would say, "It's just the effects. They will wear off soon enough." And they did because the next day, he borrowed one of Moody's old broomsticks, went out into the backyard (which couldn't be seen by Muggles) and played a makeshift game of Quidditch with Hermione, Tonks, Ginny and George on one side and Ron, Lupin, Fred and Harry on the other side whilst Bill controlled an apple (which was the snitch) to fly around crazily, trying to avoid Harry and Ginny (who were the Seekers) and Fleur bewitched two cantaloupes to fly around as Bludgers. Every time one of the twins hit one with their bats it would explode, showering everyone with pieces of fruit and Fleur would have to run inside for another one. It was great fun and they only stopped when it was dark out. Then, they trampled in, all covered in cantaloupe and sweat. Fred and George then Dissaparated back to Diagon Alley to manage their new shop 'Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.'
Then, on the notice board, they read; Diagon Alley Trip. Next week (August 18th).
"Excellent!" Ron said, "I need more ink and parchment!" He then pulled his booklist out of his pocket. "Well, this sounds interesting!" he said sarcastically.
"What?" Hermione asked.
"Difficult Defenses for Beginners Book 6 by Matilda Markshaw. We need it for that 'special teacher' teaching only the Sixth Years. Sounds like a real page turner, eh, Harry?"
"Oh-- er-- yeah." said Harry.
After another sleepless night of staring at the ceiling and listening to Ron's snores, Harry woke early and went downstairs. When he made it there, he heard a big commotion going on inside the kitchen. Inside, the whole Order was sitting at the table, arguing loudly. They stopped, however, when Harry entered. Mrs. Weasley jumped up from her chair.
"Harry! Oh, dear, did we wake you?"
"N- no. I wasn't tired so I got up."
"I'll make you some toast," Mrs. Weasley said, running around the kitchen for bread and butter.
"What's going on?" Harry asked, looking at Snape, Dumbledore and McGonagall, who he rarely saw anyway, even if Snape and McGonagall were staying at Grimmauld Place. The table went quiet and nervous glances were exchanged. Finally, Lupin stood up and walked to Harry, handing him The Daily Prophet. Harry glanced at the front page headline;
DEATH EATERS AND DEMENTORS ON THE LOOSE; FOUR PEOPLE KISSED
Then, below that, he read the first few sentences;
'Last night, the Death Eaters, that had been caught last May, were released by the Dementors. In the morning, four people were found that had been given the Dementor's Kiss, three of which were Wizards and one of which was a Muggle. Fudge was outraged; "I never thought Dementors would go to the Dark Side! No matter the fact that they helped Lord… Person… last time, but this is completely out of control!" Missing Death Eaters listed below…'
Harry looked up from the paper, gaping and Lupin, who was looking very grave and ill. Mrs. Weasley silently pushed the toast into Harry's hand with a barely audible "Eat." Harry, however, was too shocked to eat. The whole of the Order was watching him, waiting for a response, but he didn't give any. He just stood there, lost for words. Harry looked at the names and pictures of the escaped Death Eaters. Lucius Malfoy's name was at the top of the list.
"I don't believe it!" Harry gasped finally. Lupin took The Daily Prophet from Harry's hands and walked back to the table, staring at the words on the paper. Harry followed suit, dropping into an empty seat. Shock had overtaken him; shock and tiredness and hatred and so many other emotions that it was impossible for even him to identify them all.
"Who were the people the Kiss was given to?" Harry asked, looking at Lupin, who unfolded the newspaper to find the names.
"Derek Cooper was the Muggle," Lupin said, looking at Harry for any sign of recognition to the name. Harry's face stayed blank, so he looked down at the paper again. "And the three Wizards were Bethany Cauldwell and Michael Bruston from around Bristol and Cynthia Lyle from near Bath. Not too far from each other."
"What are we going to do about this, Remus?" Tonks asked. Her hair was a gray color and she had wrinkles, making her look like an old woman, if not for her teenage style clothes. Lupin rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Then, he looked at Harry.
"Well, I'm not sure about what we should do for the Death Eaters just yet, but-- Harry, you're going to hate me for this-- I think we should increase security for you."
Harry was so mad that he could almost feel steam coming from his ears. Everywhere he went, even when inside, someone had to go with him (except for the bathroom). He felt like a small child that needed extra protection at the zoo from the lions; a child that couldn't defend himself. Not only did he burn with anger, but with shame and embarrassment at the fact that it seemed no one trusted him to look after himself. Had he not gotten out of more scrapes than all of them put together? Why did they always treat him as if he were two?
To make him feel better, Ron and Hermione went with him everywhere to make it seem it was not only he that needed the security. To make matters worse, on the Diagon Alley trip, Mr. And Mrs. Weasley, Lupin, Tonks, Kingsly, and Fleur all had to accompany him to make sure he was safe. Over the next few days, Harry grew more indignant, snapping at anyone who followed him. Most pretended not to hear. Finally, Harry had a telling off from Tonks.
"It's not like I want to follow you! I've got better things to do than to listen to you whine at the fact that I'm giving my time to watch you!"
After that, Harry stayed in an angry silence, not talking to anyone and ignoring them. Almost everyone stayed out of his way.
Finally, the Diagon Alley trip rolled around and Harry was glad that he would be able to at least get out of Grimmauld Place, even if he had to be watched. Harry, Ron, Hermione and the selected Order members stood at the fireplace and Mrs. Weasley pulled a bag of Floo Powder from the mantle and told everyone to take a pinch. Once everyone had their Floo Powder, Mrs. Weasley turned to her husband.
"Arthur, you and Tonks go first. Then, Harry, Ron and Hermione will follow. After them, the rest of us will go. Go on, dear."
Mr. Weasley threw his pinch of Floo Powder into the fire and it turned green. He stepped inside and shouted, "Diagon Alley!" and disappeared. Tonks went after him.
"Alright now, Harry, dear, you next. Go on." Mrs. Weasley said, grabbing his arm gently and leading him to the hearth. He threw his powder into the fire and stepped in.
"Diagon Alley!" he yelled and the entrance of Grimmauld Place and the remaining peoples in it were gone in a whirlwind of color, light and dust. Harry closed his eyes and tucked his elbows in.
Before he knew it, his feet hit ashes and he tumbled out of a fireplace, hitting his head on the bricks of the top of the grate before stumbling to regain his balance. For the first time, he was able to stay on his feet after traveling by Floo Powder.
"Hey Harry!" he heard someone say. He looked up to see Fred and George standing next to Mr. Weasley and Tonks. Staring around, his eyes met some of the weirdest things he'd ever seen before. There were different objects, some Muggle, some Wizarding, and they were all sitting on dusty shelves surrounding the room. Some objects were displayed in the window.
"Welcome to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, Good Sir. How can we be of service to you?" George recited, shaking Harry's hand as though they'd never met before. Just then, Ron walked out of the fireplace, followed by Hermione.
"Welcome to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, Good Sir and Ma'am. How can we be of service to you?" Fred said, bowing to Hermione and shaking Ron's hand. Ron laughed out loud as he looked around the small store, seeing things that his brothers had invented, some new and some familiar.
"That's enough, boys," Mr. Weasley said, "Your mother's coming as well as Lupin, Fleur and Kingsly. Then, we'll be on our way."
"Very well, Kind Sir, but please, feel free to come again soon!" Fred said, looking a little downcast, but perking up as a tentative student (probably from Hogwarts) walked into the store, staring around. He looked somewhat familiar to Harry.
"Welcome to Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, Kind Student. How may we be of service to you?" George said, advancing on the student and putting his arm around the student's shoulder, leading the terrified boy further into the store. Harry thought he heard the student mumble something about the counter curse of a Canary Cream that, for some reason, didn't let the person turn back.
"Sure!" George said pleasantly. "Just out of curiosity, who did you give it to?"
"My Mum." The boy mumbled. "She's gonna kill me. Can I get my money back?"
"Fred and I'll have to think it over. If you see the notice over there--"
Harry directed his attention to a notice pinned on the wall. It said;
----WEASLEY'S WIZARD WHEEZES----
Welcome to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes for prankers of all ages! We do accept orders in advance. Any orders must be handed to personally by either Fred or George Weasley, or sent by owl along with the payment of the item or items.
Caution: We regret to inform you that you buy our products at your (and the prankee's) own risk. No refunds. Thank you and please come back for more laughs!
"Hey, Fred," George said.
"Yeah?" Fred responded.
"Kid got a dud Canary Cream. Refund or no?" Fred thought it over while he still shook Ron's hand from when Ron had entered.
"Sure. This once. But next time, he'll only get the counter curse."
"Okay," George turned back to the kid, "Did you get all that?"
"Thank you!" The boy squeaked. Mrs. Weasley, Lupin, Kingsly and Fleur walked out of the fireplace as George handed the student the money and the little boy ran out of the store, bumping into Lupin on the way and dropping some coins on the floor, but not noticing.
"What took you so long, Molly?" Mr. Weasley said.
"I'm sorry. McGonagall wanted to know when we'd be back and it took us longer than we'd hoped--"
"Greetings, Sister-In-Law!" exclaimed Fred suddenly, rushing to Fleur and grabbing her hand. "Welcome to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes! How may we be of service to you?"
Fleur giggled.
"Zat is alright, Fred. I am fine for now."
"You sure?" Fred asked. He pulled something out of his pocket. "Can I offer you a Canary Cream?"
"No. I am fine for now." Fleur said, giggling a little more.
"Fred, George!" Mrs. Weasley said. "It's fine that you can trick your customers. They're doing it at their own risk, but stay away from your family! Do you hear me?"
"Yes Mum." Fred and George groaned.
"Alright." Mrs. Weasley said, turning back to the group, "Let's go to Gringotts."
Almost two hours later, the shopping was done and at least five bags were dangling from Harry, Ron and Hermione's hands, holding all their books, new robes and things. Harry hadn't been able to sneak into Quality Quidditch Supplies as he so loved to do. The group wouldn't allow it and he didn't want to slow them down. It had been nearly two years since Harry had last been at Diagon Alley and it was a wonderful freedom (even if he was heavily guarded). They met up with the three other Gryffindor Sixth year boys, Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, and Neville Longbottom. After talking with them for a while, Harry was in such a good mood that he decided he wanted to treat everyone (including the three other sixth year boys and the Order) to an ice cream from Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor.
"Hello, Mr. Potter!" Florean said as Harry ordered for everyone. "How did your homework go?!"
"Er-- homework?" Harry asked.
"On medieval witch burning!"
"Oh! That!" Harry said, relaxing from a tense moment of thinking he had forgotten to do some homework. "Yeah, it went really well. Thanks for the help."
"Oh, it was no trouble, my boy!" said Florean. "Tell you what-- free sundaes for you and all your friends!"
So, they spent the next hour sitting under the flowery umbrellas, chatting away and eating ice cream. Florean even took some time off to sit and discuss medieval witch burnings with Hermione.
"Wendelin the Weird was fascinating!"
"Indeed, my girl, but she was just a little odd."
"Not as odd as Uric the--"
"Oddball, yes, my dear! Wore a jellyfish for a hat. You'd think he was hit with a memory charm-- probably couldn't remember his own last name."
"'The Oddball', isn't it?" Ron said, his mouth full of ice cream.
It went on like that until the sun began to sink. Mr. Weasley stood up.
"Well, it's about time we made it back to headquarters." he said. "Everyone to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. And be sure not to look the twins in the eye or they'll think you want to buy something…"
Well, this was a semi-slow kinda chapter, but I thought it would be fun to see Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, didn't you? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chappie! I'll try to get the next one up soon! I'm excited! I get to start my first day of work in a little less than an hour!
And I got my wisdom teeth out! I have absolutely no swelling whatsoever so I am REALLY lucky! It's still a little painful, but you can get the details at my bio page (if you want them!) Review time!
David305- Thanks! I sent you the chapter to see if that would work, so check your e-mail.
BloodRedSword- Thanks!
Ellen- Hey, thanks! That makes me feel great! I wrote Trin a letter, but I won't fit in the stupid envelope! Last year, I sent Daniel Radcliffe a pin that I cross-stitched of a snitch. I very much doubt he got it, but I was proud of it!
Facil Glow- Thanks for understanding. I don't live in Texas, I can tell you that. The state I live in is semi-small (I like that word!). It's not as small as Rhode Island, but not as big as Alaska. Thanks!
Mistopurr- Thanks a bunch, Misto! Talk to you later!
Jc 2021- Yup, Fleur is married to Bill. I thought it would add a twist to the whole thing. Really? You've read HP as much as me!? Right now, I'm reading book 5 for the 21st time, so that's pretty cool. Did you hear that the next book is gonna be called 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'? So cool!
Lady Game- Thanks so much for your compliments! I've gotten that a lot from reviewers (Dumbledore being OOC in the letter) but I don't see how. Could you tell me where he sounds OOC, and maybe, if I agree with it, I'll fix it? Thanks in advance. And I figured that Harry should get and Outstanding in potions, because Snape was not the one who held the exam and the only times Harry fails dismally is when in Snape's presence, so I figured if Snape is out of sight during exams, he's out of mind. But thanks for letting me know what you thought!
Leggylover03- Thanks!
Black Sentinel- You were right! Harry did break the mirror. That piece of information, somehow, escaped me through all the 20 times I've read the book! Amazing! I laughed out loud when you said that men were the rough draft and women were the final copy. It was so funny! Thanks again!
Lorelei- Hey, your computer is working! That's great! I can't wait to hear from you again!
Jeff- Hey, Jeff… um is this the Jeff that I know? If it's not, that probably sounded weird, but there is another Jeff that I am expecting a review from… if this is the Jeff that I know, Howdy and thanks for the review!
Thank you all for the reviews and I'll try to post A.S.A.P. Talk to you all later!
Please review!
May broomsticks be in your dreams!
Luv,
Legolas-gurl88