Disclaimer Nothing is mine, you know? I think you do. However, this story is now an alternate universe. Book 6 doesn't exist here.
A/N: I know it has been a very long time and I don't really have an explanation for this. I hope that I still have some readers. Please tell me that you still exist! Give me reviews for this extra-long chapter! It's probably the longest chap in this story, so enjoy it!
Special thanks:
I have to say thank you to two great girls. Those are
Sheen Rox, my co-writer, who will continue this fic because I'm too lazy for that. If you didn't exist, this story would probably never be completed! (And this sentence is probably grammatically as wrong as it can only be, but I think you know what I want to say...) hugs and kisses
ERMonkey, my dear friend and beta who always listens to my silly little problems. Don't fear the cold, in summer you'll wish for it!
Chapter 07
Parties and Other Surprises
Harry was on his way to Mrs. Figg's. He escaped the Dursleys without being seen and didn't meet anybody outside their houses – not even Celina – while hurrying along the street.
When he turned around the corner, he nearly bumped into a strange figure. A man in scruffy wizard's robes stepped out of some bushes and Harry could only see a few rusty-red hairs under his hood. The guy took his hood down and grinned widely at Harry.
"'Ello, 'Arry!" Mundungus Fletcher said. Harry let out the anxious breath he'd been holding with relief and smiled at the familiar face.
"Hi, Mundungus, I nearly thought that you were some Death Eater and you were just about to kidnap me." Deep inside Harry wondered whether he suffered paranoia or was just becoming mad.
"Nay, but that's exactly why Dumbledore suggested I should accompany you to Figgy. We don't want you to be kidnapped by some filthy Death Eater, do we?" He laughed at his own joke, which Harry privately didn't think was particularly funny.
"What? Does this mean that you're the only one watching me?" Harry asked, suddenly feeling nervous again.
"Nonsense," Mundungus said with a snort, "I just have to escort you in public. The others are simply hidden" He bent down to whisper in Harry's ear. "You see that hydrant over there, yeah? Tonks is hiding behind it."
Harry nodded feeling slight better, although he didn't spot anybody. "Erm, Mundungus, why are you walking around in wizard's robes? Doesn't it make you look very suspicious to muggles?"
"Oh, they always ignore me, 'Arry, don't worry," he said blinking. "But we should hurry up. Figgy will kill me for sure if she ever learns that we've stood chatting on the open road."
The two of them continued their way down the road and soon reached Mrs. Figg's house. It seemed to be the same as it always had been, and if Mundungus hadn't walked him through the door, which wasn't locked, he would have thought that nobody was at home.
He was wrong. Mrs. Figg hurried through her kitchen and did the last preparations.
"'Ello, Bella, we're here!" Mundungus yelled, his barking voice echoing through the house.
"I hear you! I'm not deaf yet! But if I do turn deaf, it'll only be because of your yelling! Then I'll definitely strangle you." The old lady retorted, snappily.
"Hi, Mrs. Figg," Harry said, stepping into the kitchen, noticing straight away the absence of the strong smell of Mrs Figg's many cats.
"Oh, Harry! Good to see you! Actually we didn't think you'd come so early, but the Weasley's should be here soon... Happy birthday, Harry!" Mrs. Figg pulled him into a bone-breaking hug that no one would have imagined the old lady could do.
"Thank you, Mrs. Figg." Harry mumbled embarrassed.
When she finally released him from her hug, she wanted him to sit down in an armchair in the living room. She hurried back into the kitchen, preparing everything. Mundungus took a seat next to Harry.
"'Ey, 'Arry, I also wish you a happy birthday, kid. So tell me, how old are you now?" He asked, scratching his head.
"Sixteen," Harry said, watching the man closely who was lost in his own thoughts.
"Sixteen, hmm... a good age, kid, hmm... You know what? You can have this from me." He pulled a strange, black object out of his robes and gave it to him.
Harry took it gratefully but puzzled. "Thank you, but... what is this thing?"
"This is a folding-up cauldron, kid." He said emphatically. "I've still got a dozen of them, you can have this one." Mundungus grinned as Harry inspected the cauldron.
"Smuggled goods?" He asked curiously.
Mundungus wanted to reply, but he was stopped by Mrs. Figg who threw something against his head. "No word about smuggled goods in my house!" She barked, looking madly at Mundungus.
Fletcher howled in pain, rubbing his head, and grabbing the item. "You threw a rolling pin at me? A wooden rolling pin?" He complained.
"Well, at least you know what this thing was! Mind you that's probably only because you've dealt with them on the black market, huh?"
Mundungus sniffed as if offended. Harry thought that the situation was quite amusing, and stifled a laugh.
The crackling of the fireplace soon stopped their quarrelling and with three loud "POPS" Mrs. Weasley, Fred, and George apparated into the sitting room and Ron appeared in the fireplace.
"Hi, Harry! You're already here?" Ron commented, brushing ash off of his trousers.
"Harry, nice to see you!" Mrs. Weasley said, hurrying towards him and enveloping him in a warm embrace.
"Aloha, Harry!" the twins said in unison. The two of them had a nice tanned colour to their skin and wore ridiculous looking sunglasses.
"Hey, guys!" Harry said grinning.
Another crackle came from the fireplace, announced Ginny's arrival.
She fell out of the fireplace, looking nearly as tanned as the twins. She looked exotic with her flaming red hair, dressed in a flowing, navy blue dress.
"Oh, hi." She said. "You're here, Harry!" She looked to Ron nervously, who only shrugged.
Some more crackling of the fireplace and somebody falling out onto the hearth broke the awkward silence that followed. It was... Neville.
He fell onto his hands and knees, but stood up immediately, seemingly embarrassed by his clumsiness, he awkwardly brushed the ashes off his shoulders and smiling sheepishly at Mrs. Figg because of the mess he'd spread over her carpet.
"Neville, you're here too?" Harry asked in astonishment. "I didn't know anything about this!"
"Oh well, it was a spontaneous decision, you know? If I'm bothering..."
"No! Not at all! Hi Neville!" Harry said, making the round-faced boy smile appreciatively.
"Come with me for a short moment." Mrs. Figg said to Fred and George. "I need two strong men in order to help me."
Fred and George exchanged worried looks, but followed her into the kitchen after receiving a look from their mother.
Suddenly two more loud "POPS" could be heard followed by the appearance of Mr. Weasley and Charlie in the sitting room.
"Hello, Harry!" Mr. Weasley said, shaking his hand kindly.
"Hello, Mr. Weasley. It's good to see you. Er... Where's Hermione?" He asked, confused.
"Oh..." Mrs. Weasley sighed. She looked at her husband.
"Well..." Mr. Weasley began, biting his lip. "She has not arrived at the Burrow..."
Suddenly Harry heard the front door open and close itself. Somebody had entered the house. That must be Hermione! Harry thought optimistically. She came right here instead of first going to the Burrow!
"Grandma, I'm back!" a female voice from the hallway called. It wasn't Hermione's voice. A young woman with long, blonde hair and huge pink earrings entered the living room. She carried two bags full to bursting with things she had brought, smiling all over her face.
"Ah, you've got to be the Weasley family! I hurried so much to be at home before you arrive, but..." She smiled around at the Weasley's until her eyes came to rest on Harry. "Oh, Harry, we already know each other, don't we?"
Harry was confused. What had happened to Hermione? And who was this strange woman who claimed to know him? He looked in Ron's direction. He seemed to be as confused as he himself, though he seemed to know something Harry didn't about the situation.
"You know each other, Harry?" Charlie asked interested.
"Er, well..." Harry couldn't really say that he knew this woman. He didn't even know her name!
Meanwhile she had put down her bags and shook Charlie's hand. "I'm Anryn Hell, I'm Arabella Figg's granddaughter, and a witch."
"And from the United States." Charlie noticed her accent with mild surprise.
"That's true, but I think that since I've been here, I've adjusted myself a bit and you don't hear my accent too clearly any more..."
"I hear things like that easily, you know, I'm working in Romania. I've heard the strangest accents..." Charlie said still smiling brightly at the pretty young witch.
Arthur cleared his throat loudly. Charlie turned crimson and finally released Anryn's hand. Ron, Neville, Ginny and Harry grinned; Molly's expression seemed scornful and displeased.
"So what's up with Hermione?" Harry asked, quickly changing the subject. "You said that she didn't arrive at the Burrow. What's that supposed to mean?"
"We planned for Hermione to come straight from Bulgaria to England by plane. At the airport she was supposed to take the Knight Bus to the Burrow, so that we could come here by floo later." Mr. Weasley explained hesitantly. "But..."
Harry feared the worst. "Death Eaters?"
Mr. Weasley sighed heavily. "I don't know, Harry, I just don't know."
"Her plane had to make a forced landing near Paris." Charlie said. "But we haven't heard anything else. We're sure that she entered the plane in Sofia but there were problems in the cockpit of the plane. The ministry of magic won't let any information through though. They have enough problems with the attacks of the death eaters... without adding to the pressure."
"What!" Ron and Ginny shouted outraged that this new information had nt been shared with them. Charlie ignored them.
"However, the muggles are examining some thing called Black Box. This has to be in every plane and it saves any telephone calls and things like that. A few people from the French ministry are taking care of that. But it'll take a while for any information to reach England..."
"Bill has gone to Paris," said Mrs. Weasley. "He met Fleur there and the two of them are for searching Hermione and anyone else from the plane right now."
Harry nodded. It seemed to be logical that Bill and his girlfriend should be sent to look for Hermione, as they were familiar with Paris. The Delacours were a Parisian wizard family, Bill and Fleur had been a couple for a long time now, they were both strong wizards and they would make a good team.
"This all because of me." Harry said despondently.
"What?" They all looked at Harry confused.
"Just think about it!" He said, anger toward himself in his voice. "Hermione is a friend of mine, so she's an ideal target for Voldemort!" Upon stating his name, everyone winced. As usual.
For a short time, nobody said a word. Then Mrs. Weasley heaved a deep sigh. "Harry, it is not sure, if the forced landing was caused by death eaters or a problem in the muggle's techniques. And now stop it. Bill is doing his best in France, and here we've got to celebrate someone's birthday!"
"...For he's a jolly good fellow, and so say all of us!"
The party guests sang and cheered loudly. Harry thought that it sounded like a football stadium full of fan cheering a goal; maybe it was because there were only four women trying to be heard over seven men singing with all of their lung's forces (especially the twins). Still, it was the best birthday that Harry could recall.
The guests clapped their hands and eventually Ron shouted enthusiastically:
"Go, Harry, blow out the candles!"
"Yeah," Ginny yelled. "You've got to wish for something!"
So Harry breathed in deeply, blew out all the sixteen candles at once, gaining loud applause from the Weasleys and the Figgs.
"Now open your gifts!" Somebody said and Harry started unpacking every single one of the presents, while Mrs. Weasley handed out birthday cake for everyone.
From Ron he got new knee pads for Quidditch ("I'm sure that McGonagall will allow you to keep playing, Harry. Now that Fred, George, and the three girls have graduated, you're the only experienced Gryffindor!"), Neville gave him a book about defensive magic ("If you promise to tutor me again in DADA..."), from Ginny he got owl treats and self-made cookies ("I wanted to give you something useful and this was the only thing I could think of. Sorry. I hope you like it nonetheless."), Fred and George gave him a huge box full of charmed sweets ("We've added some new inventions." – "Yeah. If you aren't sure what they're good for, try them on Ron!"). Finally from Charlie he got a textbook about dragons ("This is from Bill and me. Bill wanted to give you a book about Egypt, but I said that you would probably be happier about this one.").
"Here, Harry, this is from Grandma and me," Anryn said, handing him another gift.
"Thanks, Miss Hell." Harry said, starting to unwrap it.
"No need to call me like that. I'm hardly older than you. Call me Anryn." She grinned.
"Okay, thanks Anryn" Harry answered, studying the title of the book carefully. "An Expert's Guide to Legilimens".
"I thought you might find this interesting, it's quite rare and I hear you know something about the skill." Anryn said with a voice full of secrets and a glimmer in her eyes.
"Harry," Mrs. Weasley said to him, "we know that you don't really enjoy living with those muggles. Well, we did everything that was possible, and Dumbledore agreed we should get you to the Burrow tomorrow, for the rest of the holidays."
"Really?" Harry's eyes shone with happiness.
"Yeah" Ron said. "We'll pick you up at 10 AM, won't we, dad?"
"Yes, Ron. Harry, we'll come here tomorrow to pick you up." He confirmed.
"That's wonderful! Thank you so much, Mr. Weasley!" Harry said joyfully.
As it became later, Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Neville found some time to talk about certain things.
"Well, boys, what about your OWLs?" Ginny asked.
"I've got the seventh OWL!" Neville grinned happily. "This means that later I can take up whichever career I want!"
"Cool" said Ron. "I even made the ninth OWL!"
"And I the tenth," Harry added grinning. "You all did get an Outstanding in DADA, didn't you?"
"Of course!" Ron replied vigorously. "We've had the best teacher ever!" Neville nodded enthusiastically.
"And what about Potions?" he asked. "I've got an Outstanding! I really did it! Now I can even become botanist or pharmacist!"
"But do you really need an Outstanding in Potions?" Ron asked interested.
"Yeah, and I've got to be good at Herbology," he answered. "Uh, why are you asking, Ron? You've never shown much interest in Herbology. You wanted to become Auror or something, didn't you?"
"Yeah, I did." Ron seemed to be resigned.
"So?" Harry asked.
"I can't."
"Why?" Neville and Harry asked in unison. Ron turned crimson.
"He's only got an E in potions," Ginny answered sympathetically.
"But an Exceeds Expectations isn't bad." Neville said defensively.
"True, but Snape only keeps on teaching those who got an O. And if I want to become an Auror, I'll need Potions, you see?" He sighed. "But wait, Harry, tell me, did you get it?"
"Did I get what?" Harry asked stupidly. He didn't want to tell Ron that he would become an Auror unlike his best friend.
"The O in Potions?" Ron said impatiently.
"Well..." Harry began, feeling like he was betraying Ron in some way.
"He did it!" Ginny squealed. Ron's expression turned dark, but only for a split second, he knew he should really be happy for Harry and smiled supportively.
"Hermione's surely got an O in Potions too" Neville said all of a sudden. "What do you think, how many OWLs did she get? 11? Maybe even 12?"
All of them became silent. Eventually Harry asked, "What about Hermione now? She was in Bulgaria, wasn't she?"
Ron examined his feet, still being jealous of Viktor Krum. Ginny answered for him. "The airport in Sofia says that she entered the plane. Then there was some incident so that the plane had to do a forced landing in Paris. From that time on we know nothing about her whereabouts."
"I'm sure that this Krum is a Death Eater and revealed her whereabouts to V-Voldemort so that he can get her." Ron stuttered. Neville, Ginny and Harry winced. Neville and Ginny, because he said HIS name, and Harry because of Ron's way of talking. It was obvious that Ron hated Krum with all his heart but not because he thought he was a death eater.
Nobody answered, but Fred and George saved the situation. They came back from the kitchen with old Mrs. Figg and headed to the small group immediately.
"Hey, guys, you look so depressed!" Fred stated in an oddly cheerful voice considering what they had been talking about.
"Cheering-up candy?" George asked, pulling out a handful of sweets from his pocket.
"No, thanks" Ginny said warily.
"How's business going?" Harry asked, George and Fred grinned at each other.
"Very good, dearest Harry" they answered in unison, dragging him away from the others.
"As you helped us so kindly, you will receive loads of extra info from us, Harry" Fred whispered, George nodded enthusiastically. "Well, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes in Diagon Alley is a real success."
"Yeah, and a short time ago Zonko called on us in person, because he wants to sell our articles in his shop too!" George whispered.
"But the best is still about to come" Fred said.
"Yeah, you won't believe it, but Dumbledore's one of our best clients!"
"What?" Harry asked astonished.
"Sssshhhhh! Be quiet, this is absolutely secretive! Only Dumbledore and a few certain people know about it, not including our mother!"
"And we don't want her to find out." Fred added glancing nervously in Mrs Weasley's direction.
"What? That Dumbledore buys sweets?" Harry asked confused.
"No... no..." the twins said quickly but were cut off by:
"What are you whispering about?" came Ginny's voice from behind their backs.
"Huh, Ginny, damn! What's that supposed to mean? Are you eavesdropping on us?" Fred asked accusingly.
"No, I just want to know what you have to talk about so secretively!"
"Well, if it weren't so secretly, you would know the secret and it wouldn't be one any more, would it, Harry?" George said.
"Sure" Harry said, looking apologetically at Ginny. She watched them furiously for a moment, and then walked back to Ron and Neville.
"Well" George whispered. "Dumbledore doesn't buy these sweets for himself."
Harry was confused, the twins grinned.
"He orders the sweets for the Order of the Phoenix!" George was talking so quietly now that Harry nearly had to read it from his lips. "This means that every now and then we get info that not even mum or dad know about!"
"Cool" Harry had to admit it. "But what can the Order do with canary creams?"
"Oh, they aren't interested in canary cream at all," Fred winked. "Dumbledore is interested in our latest inventions, they can be pretty useful when fighting against Death Eaters!"
"Really?" Harry said doubtfully.
"Oh yeah", George said. "Some of our less dangerous inventions are in the box you got from us. You can tell our latest sweets which flavour they should get. You can choose chocolate, strawberry and pumpkin; if you don't choose anything, they taste awfully, but they work nonetheless. You'll be as light as a feather for full 15 minutes. This means that you can walk without making any noise, as you don't weigh anything. That's nearly as good as an invisibility cloak." he said proudly.
"Exactly" Fred added. "And it was Dumbledore who told us to produce this stuff. If somebody searches your pockets, the sweets don't attract any attention, but if you carry a phial with light-as-a-feather-potion with you..."
"...you would be highly suspicious," Harry completed for him.
The twins grinned, "But not a single word to anybody who isn't supposed to know, okay?"
Harry nodded. He was looking forward to try the twins' new sweets. Altogether they went back to Ron, Ginny and Neville. They were talking about Mrs. Figg's granddaughter.
"...looks beautiful", Neville said with dreamy eyes. "What do you guess? How old is she?"
"Hmm…around Charlie's age," Ginny guessed, looking to Anryn and Charlie who were talking animatedly with each other.
"By the way, Fred and George, what did you do with Mrs. Figg in the kitchen?" Ron asked all of a sudden.
"Yeah, I want to know it too!" Ginny admitted.
"She needed help with her tin-opener" George answered promptly.
"Yeah, her cats need some food" Fred added.
"Haven't seen any cats here yet" said Neville.
"Right! Mrs. Figg's always had a lot of them!" Harry stated.
"She locked them out" Fred replied. "She said that because there are so many guests, she doesn't want to have them in here."
"What were you talking about? Charlie's new girl?" George wanted to know.
"You mean Anryn?" Ron asked grinning cheekily.
"Yeah, she's got a creepy name, huh?" George said. "Hell... Is she supposed to come from there, being Lucifer's daughter or something like that?"
"Hey, I heard that!" came an angel-like voice from behind his back.
George turned crimson. "I'm right, aren't I?" he said laughing.
"No, you're not" she said smiling. "My dad's from Germany, and hell means bright. He married a woman from England, my mom, and when I turned 2, we left England and went to Chicago, because my parents didn't want to raise me in a country full of war. You know, the Dark Lord terrorised Great Britain then..."
"So your parents were pretty prudent", Fred said.
"They were." Anryn smiled. "I finished my Auror training a short time ago. I wanted to visit my grandma again, you know, it's been a while. But I think I'll stay here. I've even found a job..."
"Er, Anryn?" Charlie asked, approaching the group.
"Yes, Charlie?" She smiled broadly at him.
"My dad and Mundungus want to talk with you," he said.
"Okay" She hurried to the two men.
"Why do they want to talk with her?" Ron asked his elder brother.
"Um" Charlie seemed unsure about whether or not to say anything, "Okay, I'll tell you."
He told them that Anryn wanted to support the Order of the Phoenix. But the Order wasn't sure yet whether to accept her or not. She had to prove first that she didn't support the Dark Lord.
Finally Mrs. Weasley came through the door, carrying a large tray full of snacks.
In the end Harry could tell that this had been his best birthday so far. Mrs. Figg hadn't allowed them to turn on loud music, and Harry worried a lot about Hermione (and he could tell that the others and especially Ron were feeling the same), but he didn't have to sit alone in his room in Privet Drive. He was looking forward to the rest of the holidays, which he would spend in the Burrow. And he was looking forward to receiving a new letter from Cho... his girlfriend...
Harry didn't realise that darkness had fallen. Finally Arthur Weasley laid his hand on Harry's shoulder. "Come on, Harry, we should go now."
"But dad!" Ron objected. "It's way too early!"
"Ron, we don't want anybody to know that there's been a party in here" Arthur said.
"Yeah, like the Dursley's... or Death Eaters..." Ron mumbled regretfully.
"Exactly."
Harry said good-bye to everyone and gathered up all his gifts.
"We'll pick you up at 10 AM, Harry" Ron reminded him as he was leaving.
"Fine, I can't wait for it. Bye!" Harry said, walking to Anryn, Mundungus, Charlie and Arthur, who were waiting for him to accompany him home.
Harry managed to arrive in Number 4 before dinner, so the Dursley's left him in peace.
Later that evening he lay in his bed and thought about the afternoon.
Of course he had been glad to see his friends again. He missed his best friend, Hermione, and worried about her, as she hadn't been at his party and seemed to be lost. But it had felt great to see Ron, Neville and Ginny again. Of course he would have been even happier if Cho could have come to Mrs. Figg's.
He realised that not a single word about Sirius had been spoken. Of course a discussion about Sirius' death would have cast a shadow over Harry's birthday, but if he was honest, he wanted to talk about it! He hadn't had a possibility to do this back at school and the only ones who were close enough to him to understand his situation, were Ron and Hermione.
I'm glad to be going to the Burrow tomorrow, Harry thought. I'll be able to talk about it with Ron and Hermione there. Assuming everything goes well in France and Hermione's safe.
Arthur, Charlie and Anryn arrived soon at Mrs. Figg's. Mundungus had disappeared in one of the bushes around Privet Drive. His shift ended at 9 PM. In the meantime, Molly and the teenagers had removed all the mess in the old lady's house.
"Well, are you ready?" Arthur asked.
"One more minute, dad" Ginny answered, carrying a full dustbin.
So Arthur turned to Anryn. "So I'll talk with Dumbledore again, I'm sure it won't be a problem for you to join the Order."
"That would be great" The young woman replied. Arthur could see that she was serious.
"There's nothing left to do for me, I think," Neville said. "I'll floo directly home to my grandmother. Thanks for everything, Mr. Weasley."
"No problem, Neville" Arthur said smiling. They shook hands; Neville said good-bye to Ron and Ginny, throwing a handful of floo powder into the fireplace. He stepped into the flames, flooing home.
Arthur told Ginny and Ron to go home via floo network, as they hadn't learned to apparate yet. Mrs. Weasley followed via floo.
"Well, dad, we're disapparating!" said the twins in unison and with a loud "POP" they were gone.
"Dad, wait a second" said Charlie. "Anryn accompanies us; I want to lend her some books, okay?"
"Alright, Charlie," the three of them apparated to the Burrow, where a scene of horror was awaiting them.
Next Chapter: Harry packs his trunk to go to the Burrow, and the Death Eaters come to Cho again and finally want her to do something. She has no choice and obeys, but in the end she regrets her decision and tries to stop the approaching catastrophe.