Fifth Fic, the Weasley's home was made with the same kind of protection as the Dursley's. Doesn't work with OOTP, I know. I'm stupid and crazy, this is no surprise. OOTP came out in the middle of my fifth Fic, so that Fic's a little crazy….
Harry Potter walked down the many flights of stairs. He hardly noticed where he was going; he'd been going up and down these stairs for nearly two months now.
Harry walked into a delicious-smelling kitchen. Mrs. Weasley was busy making eggs; the bacon to the right of her was making itself. The high-piled dishes were washing and drying themselves, getting ready to be used for breakfast.
"Good morning, Harry!" Mrs. Weasley said cheerfully.
"Mornin'," Harry said sleepily.
"H… h… hello, Harry," Harry's best friend, Ron, said through a yawn.
"Hello, Ron," said Harry as he sat down at the table next to Ron. He looked around and saw only Ginny, Ron's younger sister, and Hermione Granger, another of Harry's best friends, seated at the table.
"Hello, Harry," Hermione attempted, but failed, to say cheerily.
"Mornin', Hermione," Harry said, putting his head in his hands.
Ron's family far outstripped what Harry saw. Molly Weasley, Ron's mother, was married to Arthur Weasley, Ron's dad, who worked in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office in the Ministry of Magic. Bill, their eldest son, was now working for Gringotts in Egypt. Charlie, the next eldest, was working with dragons in Romania. Percy, born after Charlie, also worked at the Ministry of Magic, but as Junior Secretary to the Minister of Magic himself, so Harry last heard. Fred and George, born just before Ron and twins, had started their own joke shop in Diagon Alley; Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was a hit. Ron and Ginny were still attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; Ron, Harry, and Hermione were in their sixth year, Ginny in her fifth.
"Why don't you take a nap, Harry, dear?" Mrs. Weasley suggested kindly. "And you, too, Hermione. Breakfast may not be ready for a while."
Following Mrs. Weasley's suggestion, Harry tried to take a nap. He was just about to drift away into a dreamy wonder when a loud pop that made Harry jump announced Mr. Weasley's arrival.
"Good morning, Arthur!" Mrs. Weasley greeted.
Mr. Weasley just nodded and sat down at the table. He looked at everyone sitting around the table blankly before his head fell, revealing that he was asleep.
"Oh… poor Arthur," Mrs. Weasley sympathized. "The Ministry's been calling him nonstop, and it's all because of some hairbrush-hexer! The last time he got a descent amount of sleep must have been three weeks ago!" Though Harry already knew this, Mrs. Weasley seemed resolute at telling him every time Mr. Weasley came home from work in a worse state than when he had left.
Leaving Ginny in charge of the food, Mrs. Weasley took Mr. Weasley to their bedroom to get some proper sleep. Ginny rubbed her eyes, trying to keep herself awake as the lulling smell of breakfast filled her nostrils. Soon, in an effort to stay awake, she was pacing up and down the kitchen.
"Thank you, Ginny, dear," Mrs. Weasley said as she walked back into the kitchen. "Breakfast should be ready by now."
Ginny sat down and waited with Harry, Hermione, and Ron as Mrs. Weasley put the food on the table. When she was finished, she sat down, and they started eating.
"Thank you for the food, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said a quarter of an hour later as he swallowed his last piece of bacon. "It was delicious!"
"It wasn't a problem at all," Mrs. Weasley said, smiling. "Thank you for joining us this summer. It's too bad it's coming to a close.…"
And then Harry remembered: he would be leaving for Hogwarts tomorrow. As the reality of this sunk in, Harry felt both happy and sad. The Burrow, what Ron's home was called, had become like a second home to Harry. On the other hand, when he left for Hogwarts, he would be going to, what he considered, his true home.
But, of course, there were classes to take as well at Hogwarts, where at the Burrow you didn't need to unless they were de-gnoming lessons, which Harry didn't mind. At Hogwarts, he would be taking Transfiguration, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, and several other, sometimes annoying and pointless, classes. Harry would like to pretend that he wouldn't be taking Potions, but in order for a career as an Auror, he would have to. He'd miraculously received an "Outstanding" in his O.W.L.s in Potions. This meant he was going to take the subject. The only "Outstanding" that didn't surprise was in Defense Against the Dark Arts, where the year before he'd been the leader of a secret defense organization.
"Quidditch, Harry?" asked a fully awakened Ron.
"No," Mrs. Weasley interjected before Harry could reply. "Not until your bags are packed."
"But, Mum, that'll take all day!" Ron protested. "Our stuff's scattered all over the house!"
"Then I suggest you get going," Mrs. Weasley advised.
"What about Hermione and Ginny?" Ron asked, looking as though Mrs. Weasley might be excluding the girls from packing.
"They packed yesterday," Mrs. Weasley said defensively, "so that they would be free to do what they wanted today."
Harry and Ron slumped out of their seats and headed toward the stairs, now in gloomy moods. They'd both been looking forward to one final game of Quidditch before school started again, where the next game they played wouldn't be just for fun.
Harry trudged up the stairs until he reached Ron's room, where Ron opened the door. It revealed his very orange room, advertising the Chudley Cannons without a single wall marked untouched by the only team Ron supported.
Harry walked in and immediately started looking for things. He found Standard Book of Spells, Grade 6 by Miranda Goshawk near Pidwidgeon's cage. He also found about seven missing pairs of socks hidden near Ron's largest Chudley Cannons poster, smelling as though they had been Crookshanks' litter box. Ron claimed to have had no knowledge of this, but Harry thought he saw Ron's fingers crossed behind his back when he said this.
As Harry was searching, his eyes found a rolled up piece of parchment that he recognized instantly as the letter that had informed him of his O.W.L.s. Harry opened the slip of parchment and read through the list once more:
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Ordinary Wizarding Levels for Harry Potter
Astronomy- "A" Average
Care of Magical Creatures- "E" Exceeds Expectations
Charms- "O" Outstanding
Defense Against the Dark Arts- "O" Outstanding
Divination- "D" Dreadful "T" Troll
Herbology- "A" Average
History of Magic- "P" Poor
Potions- "O" Outstanding
Transfiguration- "E" Exceeds Expectations
Harry smiled. Potions had been, and still was, the biggest surprise of all, Defense Against the Dark Arts and Divination the least. Harry had almost choked over his breakfast when he read these almost a month ago. Harry put it back in his trunk, thinking over Ron and Hermione's as well. Ron had gotten tons of "Average", and had almost fainted at the single "Outstanding" in Defense Against the Dark Arts. He had failed Divination and History of Magic, and both of them were sure he'd been borderline for Potions, in which he got an "Average". Hermione had, of course, gotten "Outstanding" in almost everything, and nearly screamed at the one "Exceeds Expectations" in Astronomy. Harry and Ron tried to assure her that it was only because they hadn't had enough time to finish, but she was mortified that an "E" would go on her permanent record.
Harry also caught sight of a blown-out firework. Harry picked it up and smiled. A week ago they had gone to Diagon Alley, and he and Ron insisted on going to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. The store was definitely a sensation. Harry could hardly move about because it was so crowded. The Weasley's were flying about the place, attempting to fill everyone's order, and seemingly doing a decent job of it. Harry and Ron had been planning on buying the armloads of pranks they had picked out, but when the twins heard that Umbridge was gone, they gave it to them for free. Harry now had Scorpion Sprinklers, Frenzy Fireworks, Weasley's Wildcards, and a couple more of their fake wands to use at Hogwarts, naming the least of the items he now had in his possession.
Harry had most of his books and a few other random things packed when Mrs. Weasley called for lunch. Harry and Ron ate quickly and then ran upstairs again, hoping to finish packing so they could play one more game of Quidditch. They had a hard time concentrating when they heard the girls laughing outside.
"Harry, are these your pants?" Ron asked, pointing to a pair of blue jeans with lots of holes. Ron kept making furious glances toward the window, where the girls' laughing was still being carried. He kept making small movements towards Crazy for the Cannons, like he was ready to throw it at the girls outside.
"I don't think so, Ron," Harry said, shoving his robes into his trunk.
Ron looked loathingly at the pants. "Well, they're not mine, either."
Harry seriously doubted this, but kept on piling his robes into his trunk. He listened to Mrs. Weasley yell at someone from the Ministry, saying she wasn't going to wake Arthur up, as he hadn't gotten proper sleep for weeks. Laying his pajamas on his bed for that night, he continued packing.
It was half past five when Mrs. Weasley called for dinner. She had conjured a feast worthy of Hogwarts to say goodbye. With Mr. Weasley joining then, they ate to their hearts content of roasted chicken and turkey, corn, beans, potatoes, fudge, cookies, and cake.
"Are you boys done packing?" Mr. Weasley asked as he chewed some roasted turkey.
"Not yet," Ron answered. "But we're almost done. We're hoping to get in a game of Quidditch before we have to go to sleep."
"Ooh, can we play?" Ginny asked, excited at the prospect.
"Sure," Harry said before Ron could protest.
Ron glared at him. He started muttering about how he wasn't going to play Quidditch with a perfect prefect. Ginny had received an owl saying that she was the newest Gryffindor female prefect. Harry didn't bother to point out that Ron was a prefect as well.
"I doubt you'll be able to play," said Mr. Weasley. "It's getting late, and we'll be waking up early tomorrow." He added in a whisper, "And your mother probably won't let you."
Harry and Ron sighed and continued eating. They finished their meal half an hour later and trudged up the stairs again. Harry continued searching for his things, and at eight o'clock was done packing.
"Are you finished yet, Ron?" Harry asked, looking over at his friend, who was putting the last of his things in his trunk.
"I think so. You?" Ron asked.
"I'm pretty sure I've got everything," Harry said, looking around again.
"Do you think mum'll let us play Quidditch?" Ron asked hopefully.
Harry shook his head. "Not really."
"Wanna try anyway?"
Harry shrugged. "It's worth a go."
Harry and Ron trudged downstairs and found Mrs. Weasley tidying up the living room.
"Mum, can we play Quidditch?" Ron asked, putting a face he apparently thought his mother couldn't resist saying no to.
"No," Mrs. Weasley said without looking up. "You need to go to sleep now."
"Please, Mum?" Ron asked, emphasizing the "please" in an effort to get her to look up.
"No," Mrs. Weasley said, straightening a pillow.
"Mum, look at me!" Ron said, bending down on one knee.
Mrs. Weasley looked at him, bending on one knee, giving her an adorable face. She looked at him sympathetically for a moment, as though she was about to give in, but then there was a sharp "no" from her lips and she turned back to the couch.
"Aw, mum!" Ron protested, stopping his attempt at cuteness. "But we wanted one last game!"
"There'll be plenty of games at Hogwarts, Ron," Mrs. Weasley said.
"Nuh uh!" Ron moaned. "They'll be all for points! None for fun!"
"Well go ask the Ravenclaws if they'll do a match for fun with you, just for practice," Mrs. Weasley ordered.
Ron looked disgusted at the thought. "You don't just ASK something like that! If we lost, they'd never let us live it down!"
"Then don't lose," Mrs. Weasley said simply. "Now go to bed. Perhaps Ginny and Hermione are still asleep, if you haven't woken them up with your moaning."
Harry walked up the stairs, inwardly groaning. Ron, however, who was behind him, stomped his way up. If Ginny and Hermione weren't already awake, they were now.
"Really! What is going on down there?" Hermione exclaimed as she walked out of the room she shared with Ginny.
"None of your business!" Ron said harshly. "I'm not telling anyone who got to do what they wanted today because they think they're so smart to do it all yesterday!"
Hermione raised her eyebrows and looked at Harry. Harry mouthed "later" and continued walking up the stairs to bed, though not tired at all. With all the packing he'd been doing, he still had a lot of energy.
When he reached Ron's door, he opened it and walked toward his bed, where his green-and-white striped pajamas lay. Harry changed into his pajamas and sat down on his bed. He watched Ron in amusement for a while as Ron missed his pajamas pant leg six times before turning out the light and lying down on his bed.
Though Harry went to bed at eight-thirty, he didn't sleep until eleven. Harry allowed his thoughts wander. They drifted to Sirius, though he quickly changed them to the Burrow, to what he was going to do tomorrow, and the prophecy. He'd been replaying what he could remember over and over all summer. He hadn't told Ron and Hermione yet, still not ready to see their faces. He knew he would have to do it soon, it being a new school year, because Harry's years were never uneventful, and this would somehow come into play soon enough. Harry's thoughts drifted more and finally came to rest on Hogwarts. Harry thought of the warm Gryffindor fire and the cozy four-poster that he'd be sleeping in tomorrow night. He thought of the welcoming feast and fell asleep, thinking he could smell the aroma already.
A/N:
YAY! Chapter one is up! Everybody be happy. –sigh- I've been waiting to post this Fic for a while, so I'm really excited to see what everyone thinks! Probably a billion flames, because no one reads my pleading to say stuff nicely, but if that's what you think, it's not like I can stop you….
Next chapter you finally hear about the new girl. You don't see her until the chapter afterwards, but you do finally get a name. You'll just have to pretend I haven't told it to you already.
Yay… so I'm excited… might be because not even God should be up this late… but whatever works…. Please review and help make someone happy. I went shopping today for camp, and the happiness of my new clothes kinda died like… an hour ago. I need to be cheerful again! Help a girl in need!
Thankx for listening to the ramble! (Or did you just skim through to the end? xD)
Riles