Chapter 5: Ron and the Phoenix
"Harry! Did you see Fudge? He's actually crying! Brilliant!" Harry could hear Ron shouting through the noise. Cornelius Fudge, Ex-Minister of Magic, was being escorted out of the courtroom, his peers hissing and shouting at his back. Amelia Bones, however, was being cheered as she quickly exited the courtroom; she had much to do. Susan Bones stayed behind, so Harry, Ron, and Hermione went to see her.
"Isn't this so exciting?" Susan exclaimed.
"Yes, your entire family must be proud," Hermione said.
"Oh yes, we all are. I'd really like to stay, but I have to be going…see you at school!" Susan said, waving over her shoulder as she ran to join the new Minister.
"Ron, Harry, Hermione! Let's get going!" Mr. Weasley shouted from across the courtroom. The groups slowly made their way back to the Ministry's lobby; they spoke about nothing other than Fudge's removal from office. Harry could overhear witches and wizards saying how long they've waited to see Fudge removed. Ron was talking next to Harry.
"That was awesome! All those people really let Fudge have it, eh? I hope the new Minister will show V-Vol…eh, y'know…who's boss! Oh, Hermione, how are you? I didn't hear much about what happened yet," he said. Harry gave Ron a not-here-not-now look that Ron quickly understood, so he changed the subject. "So…what classes are you taking next year, Hermione? All of them?" he asked with a laugh.
"Funny, Ron, but I might as well inform you that I'm not taking them all. I'm taking Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Potions, Herbology and Arithmacy. How about you, Ron?" she added.
"Well, Tranfigs, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, and Care of Magical Creatures," he said.
"But Ron! That's only four classes!" Hermione said.
"Not all of us passed all of our O.W.L.s, Hermione," Ron said, clearly becoming defensive. Harry, seeing the tension rising changed the subject.
"Ron, you should see Grimmauld Place, it looks amazing!" he said.
"Well, I am seeing it, actually. My family is coming over tonight for dinner," Ron replied.
"Ooh, this should be so much fun," Hermione squealed.
So Tonks, Lupin, Hermione, Harry, and the Weasleys all piled into the Knight Bus. When they arrived at Grimmauld Place Ron let out an audible 'oh!' of surprise of how good it really did look. Harry and Hermione took the time to show Ron around, and when they arrived in the kitchen for dinner, everyone was waiting. Over dinner Ron talked endlessly about his summer.
"Harry, you should have been there, Fred and George's store is amazing! Gin and I go by there all the time, they give us a discount, y'know," he said.
"How's Percy?" Harry asked. Silence fell around the table. Mr. Weasley looked nervously over to his wife.
"He still thinks Fudge did what was right about Voldemort," Ron said, frowning. "Can't convince him otherwise," he added.
"That's because he's a big headed moron!" Fred said.
"Hush Fred, that's no way to speak about your brother," Mrs. Weasley said.
"Percy is no brother of mine," he replied. Everyone could only stare at him.
"You don't mean that, Fred," Mrs. Weasley said.
"Yes, I do, mother. Now if you'd excuse me, I have a store to run," and with that he left, George quickly followed behind.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring that up," Harry said.
"It's alright, Harry dear," Mrs. Weasley said, as she turned so no one could see the tears in her eyes.
After dinner Harry, Hermione, and Ron traveled up to Harry's room. Ron asked Hermione all about the attack on her neighborhood. She told him the same story she had told Harry, but this time she managed to keep her composure. At the story's finish, Ron could only sit in awe.
"This is crazy," he said "Crazy." At that moment an owl came soaring through the window with three letters attached to its leg. Each letter bore the Hogwart's crest; the list of school supplies had arrived. Harry opened his and read:
Dear Mr. Potter,
Next year you will need the following books:
Transfiguration, Level 6 by Olga Hindershloff
Deep Defense Against the Dark Arts, by Liev Tunnel
Charms, Level 6 by Henrietta Ritalew
Legilimency and Occlumency, by Albus Dumbledore
Difficult Potions by Miranda Faucet
Below that was a new list of ingredients he would need for Potions; many of which he had never heard of.
A shriek was suddenly heard from the room next door; Ginny and Hermione's room. Ginny came suddenly running into Harry's room. They looked up in alarm at her.
"I'm a school prefect!" she screamed, waving her badge in the air. "I have to go tell mom!" Ginny dashed from the room to tell her mom the great news. Harry, Ron, and Hermione followed behind her. They arrived in the kitchen just in time to see Mrs. Weasley proudly hugging her only daughter. After speaking with Mrs. Weasley, they decided to go to Diagon Alley the very next day for all their school supplies. She also decided that it would be much easier if the Weasleys stayed at Grimmauld Place for the remainder of the summer.
That night as Harry was getting into bed he heard Ron quietly say:
"Why are you guys so much better than me?"
"What?" Harry turned to look at Ron, who was clearly uncomfortable.
"I mean; you're both so much smarter than me. You're just always better. It's not fair," he said.
"Ron, don't be a prat, Hermione and I are no better than you. Why would you think otherwise?"
"Look at how many O.W.L.s each of you got!"
"That means nothing, Ron," Harry said. "I'd like to see Hermione outdo you in Quidditch," Ron laughed at this, "Or maybe me beat you in a game of chess," Harry said, smiling. "We've all got our strengths, Ron, don't forget that. Now go to bed!" he said.
"Thanks, Harry," Ron said, falling asleep.
The next morning brought a very frantic Mrs. Weasley into Harry and Ron's room.
"Wake up! Wake up! We have to catch the Knight Bus!" she said, nearly breaking down the door. Ron groaned in response and slowly got out of bed and got dressed. Harry slowly followed suit.
"Why so early, mom?" Ron asked as he made his was downstairs.
"Diagon Alley is going to be packed with students today, we have to get there and leave before it gets too crowded," she said. Hermione and Ginny arrived in the kitchen looking tired and grumpy, but as they ate their breakfast they soon looked much happier.
When they arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, it was almost empty. Harry looked at his watch, it was seven thirty in the morning; he groaned. As they walked through the secret entrance into Diagon Alley, it became apparent that Mrs. Weasley wasn't the only mother trying to get a head start. There were a number of mothers roaming the streets, groggy kids in tow. The first stop was Gringotts; Harry and Mrs. Weasley got into the cart. When they got to the Weasley vault, Harry noticed how it was much more full than the last time he'd seen it. Fred and George's business must be doing better than he thought. Harry grabbed a handful of Galleons and he and Mrs. Weasley returned to where the rest of the party was waiting. Hermione's parents were busy exchanging their money into Galleons at the counter. Once everyone was ready, they headed straight for the bookstore.
As they walked through the door, a nice young man came to help them find everything they were looking for; and for the first time in a long while, the Weasleys had no trouble footing the bill. On their way out, they ran into none other than Draco Malfoy and his mother.
"Proud of yourself, aren't you, Potter?" he spat. "Mark my words, you will pay for putting my father in Azkaban!" He looked up at Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys, glared, and walked away. Harry, who was often never afraid by Malfoy's words, took them seriously. This year is going to be hard, not only do I have to fight Voldemort, but also Malfoy.
After they had finished getting their school supplies, Harry caught the sight of a group of people standing around the Quidditch supplies store. A new broom had been released, no doubt. Despite Mrs. Weasley's desire to stay on track the group made their way to the display window. Harry had been right, a new broom had been released from the Nimbus Company. The broom itself looked marvelous. The handle was smooth, shiny, and sleek. The tail was magnificent, each piece was exactly the same size, and all facing the same direction. At the top Harry could read: 'Nimbus Phoenix'. Underneath the broom there was an advertisement:
The Phoenix is the fastest broom in the world, and now the international standard in Quidditch. The Phoenix can outturn, outrun, and can handle better than any other broom on the market. Made from only the best ingredients, the Phoenix is a must-have for any Quidditch player!
Harry didn't like the sound of that; it said something like that for the Firebolt. Harry never did find out how much it cost Sirius to get it for him. Sirius. Harry wished he hadn't thought about the Firebolt. Ron could be heard behind Harry:
"Wow! Harry, you have to get this broom. It must be amazing!" Ron was practically jumping up and down from excitement.
"It must be expensive, Ron; look: 'inquire within'" Harry said. But Harry was curious, if there was a broom better than his, he had to know how much better. Harry entered the store with Hermione and Ron, Mrs. Weasley agreed to meet them back at the Leaky Cauldron.
"Hello, young customers! How may I help…by George, are you Harry Potter?" the storeowner asked, looking straight at Harry.
"Uh…yes. I was just wondering about the Phoenix," Harry said.
"Oh, a magnificent broom! Yes, indeed! Would you like to give it a test run?" Ron gave out an excited yelp from behind Harry.
"I was only wondering about the price," Harry looked at Ron, who stared pointedly at him, "But I guess a test run would be fine," he added. Harry was led to the back of the store to a rather large and empty room.
"Wait here," and the storeowner left to get the broom. When he returned, he handed it to Harry. Without saying a word, Harry touched the broom. It felt warm under his fingertips; he let go, and it hovered at his height. Ron and Hermione could only stare as Harry mounted the broom. It vibrated underneath him; feeling suddenly powerful, Harry took off. It was like nothing he had ever felt before. The pure grace of the Phoenix was far beyond the Firebolt, the speed was indeed unmatched, and it turned at Harry's slightest command. Harry had to have this broom.
Harry landed next to the storeowner; now came the hard part.
"What is the price?" Harry asked.
"800 galleons," he said. Harry let out a gasp, did he even have that many? "But since you are…Harry Potter I think I can knock it down to…oh, let's say 500 galleons," Harry couldn't help but to think that that was still an awful lot of money, "We have a nice payment plan, Mr. Potter," the storeowner added hopefully. Harry looked back down at the broom.
"Okay," was all he could say.