Disclaimer: Nope- still not mine.
Chapter 4: Old Friends and New Surprises
Harry looked around the familiar common room of the Leaky Cauldron, taking in every small detail as he tried his best to tidy up. He was in the middle of brushing himself off when two cold hands covered his eyes.
"Guess who!" Two voices called out in unison.
"Fred! George! Long time no see!" Harry cried, embracing the identical redheads.
"How ya been, Harry?" George asked, looking him up and down.
"You look horrible! All pale and blotchy!" Fred grinned.
"Yeah… You should really get that checked out, Harry… It's unnatural to have grey hair at eleven." George stuck out his tongue.
Looking behind him, Harry noticed that the whole Weasley family had arrived, excluding Bill and Charlie. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had crossed the room over to where James and Lily were. His mother seemed almost to glow. He wondered briefly why he hadn't noticed that before. She appeared unable to stop smiling as she whispered something to Mrs. Weasley, who, in turn, gave her a huge hug. Harry stared at this scene for a moment, perplexed, then concluded that it must be a girl thing and shrugged it off.
Harry then noticed Percy, who was off in a corner looking flustered, his fang rimmed glasses perched on the tip of his nose as he examined his prefects badge. Ginny smiled shyly at him and Ron was grinning as he walked over to Harry.
"Fred and George changed Percy's prefect badge to say-" Ron began.
"Humongous Bighead?" Harry guessed, remembering the first time this had happened.
"Um, yeah." Ron stated lamely.
"Ooh- uh, good guess?" Harry covered quickly. He forgot that this had never happened before in this new life. Ron grinned at him and they began talking about their summers, Harry feigning his by telling bits of his dream that he had the first night after his wish had come true. His explanations came to an end just as Mrs. Weasley insisted that they all go off to buy their new school supplies.
Everyone split off, arranging to meet back at the Leaky Cauldron for dinner. Harry could have sworn that both Mr. Olivander and Florean Fortescue had winked at him, but nothing else of much importance happened as Harry went around Diagon Alley, following his parents into each store.
By dinnertime, Harry was exhausted. He had everything on his list and more. He found a familiar snowy owl in Eeylops Owl Emporium, secretly thankful to have his friend back. Hedwig hooted in recognition and nipped lovingly at Harry's finger as he stroked her feathers. Somehow, Harry couldn't know how, she knew that they knew each other from before. This comforted Harry for some reason.
By the time Harry and his Parents arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, the Weasley family was already sitting down at a long table. Three empty seats were squished along the table, two together by Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and one in between Ron and Fred. Harry took his place and immediately stood up again.
"Told you he would sit on it," George laughed from across the table.
"I just didn't think he wouldn't look where he was sitting… I mean, who trusts us enough to just sit down without checking first?" Fred grinned at Harry.
"What is this?" Harry asked, rubbing his hand over his drenched bottom.
"That, my boy, is a Number Jelly. It turns anything it touches numb for up to four hours." George informed him. Harry joined in as all the Weasley children began to laugh. The parents didn't look up, however. They seemed deep in conversation.
Harry sat down, and, true enough, he couldn't feel his backside. His hands had also become numb from touching the substance. Fred, George, Ron and Harry all laughed as Harry struggled to use his utensils. Soon after they started eating, Sirius and Remus joined the group.
Once everyone had finished their meals and were talking merrily, Harry's parents called for everyone's attention. Silence fell on the table as everyone turned their attention to James and Lily.
"Well, first off, I'd like to say how happy we are to see you all again. It's always so great to see such a big group…"
"James! You're rambling again. Now spit it out!" Sirius boomed, grinning broadly at his friends.
"Don't be so cruel, Sirius. Perhaps he's going somewhere with this." Remus scolded. "Please continue, James."
"Uh, thanks, Remus. As I was saying…" He looked down at his wife and took her hand in his. "Well, this group will get just a tad larger, come next February." He beamed around at all his closest friends. An eruption of noise greeted his words as they all cheered and toasted the couple and their baby-to-be.
Harry's mouth opened as he took in a sharp breath. He had not even once considered the possibility of a sibling. He immediately joined in, getting up and embracing his parents. Harry believed that if he were a normally eleven-year-old only child, that he might be jealous- but he loved children. This sibling wouldn't be so bad, he reasoned. They were going to be eleven years apart, after all…
Author's note: Alright- so what do you think? Did you all see it coming:P Well, goodnight all!
Stay gold, Ponyboy!
TeenFictionist