Chapter Five
Summer's Eventful Close
For the next while, Harry sat at the kitchen table in silence. Mrs. Weasley had started preparing a feast that rivaled anything he had seen at school the second she had let go of him. Harry was surprised to notice that as worried as Mrs. Weasley was about him, the only other person awake in the house was Tonks, who apparently had been visiting. How Mrs. Weasley hadn't managed to keep everyone else in the house awake, Harry wasn't quite sure. It didn't matter though; he wasn't in any mood to discuss the night's events with Ron or Ginny just yet. Tonks wasn't being very talkative, for which Harry was thankful for, but quickly realized wasn't a good thing either.
While last year Tonks had been a happy-go-lucky person without a care in the world, it seemed that what had taken place at the Department of Mysteries in June had affected her quite deeply. Harry knew that she was related to Sirius, but she might as well have been married to him with the way she looked now. Her usually vibrantly pink hair was now a dull shade of green, and looked rather dirty. She had arranged her nose in such a manner that she now appeared to be almost twice as old as she had only a few weeks ago. Harry had half a mind to question her about the changes, but the subtle glances and quick subject changes Mrs. Weasley was firing in their direction told Harry otherwise. He would have to ask her another time. Tonks seemed to have the same idea.
"Thanks for the tea Molly," she said, her voice sounding very distant, "I have a lot of extra paperwork to finish up, so I'll just be running along now." Mrs. Weasley looked disappointed, but didn't try to keep her.
"Alright then, good night Nymphadora, do try to keep your head up though, he'll come around." Tonks slipped out the front door silently as Harry contemplated the meaning of Mrs. Weasley's remark. The thought quickly vanished from Harry's mind though, as Mrs. Weasley had begun talking to him again.
She explained how Mr. Weasley had been given a recent promotion at work, and was now investigating false charms and anti-jinx items that had begun popping up all over the place since the ministry had announced the return of Voldemort.
"It can be a difficult job, but it's such a wonderful advancement for Arthur," Mrs. Weasley beamed as she bewitched a few knives that started chopping through a large pile of carrots lying on the counter, "I've always said his talent was being wasted. It finally seems that someone agreed with me. I just wish he wasn't gone all hours of the night."
Harry noted that the odd clock on the wall that didn't tell time but instead showed the whereabouts of Weasley family now looked quite disheartening. All the hands were pointed at mortal peril. Harry assumed that the clock had been like this since the ministry had announced Voldemort's return, but he couldn't be too sure. Mrs. Weasley seemed rather anxious for her husband to return home, and Harry didn't want to cause her any more worry. He kept his mouth shut.
Just as Mrs. Weasley set an enormous plate of food down in front of him, Harry heard a knock on the front door.
"Who is it?" Mrs. Weasley asked in a tone that told Harry she knew exactly who it was.
"It's Arthur," a muffled voice said through the door which Harry immediately recognized as Mr. Weasley's. Mrs. Weasley made for the door and when she attempted to open it, she seemed to have a problem getting the job done.
"Ask me the question dear," Mr. Weasley said from the other side of the door. Harry guessed that he was holding it shut. He suppressed a laugh as Mrs. Weasley sighed and asked him the colour of his second dog's eyes. It was quite funny to see two grown adults behaving so odd in their own house. Then again, it made it quite clear to Harry how dangerous the times had become. He remained quiet and listened.
"Blue with a hint of Brown," Mr. Weasley answered, sounding very proud. Mrs. Weasley pulled on the door knob again and again the door remained shut.
"I haven't asked you my question yet dear," Mr. Weasley reminded his wife, to which she groaned.
"Arthur, this is ridiculous. If you were a Death Eater you could've just broken the door down. Do we really have to do this?"
"We must make a good example for others Molly, you know that."
Mrs. Weasley sighed again.
"Alright, ask the question Arthur."
"What do you like to be called when we're alone at night?" Harry saw Mrs. Weasley turn pink.
"Mollywobbles," she whispered into the crack of the door. Harry suddenly felt like he was intruding and quickly turned back to his dinner and began eating very noisily.
"Alright, you can let me in now," Mr. Weasley replied and Mrs. Weasley swung the door open to reveal a tall, balding red headed man with a quirky smile. Mr. Weasley stepped through the door and sat down at the table directly across from Harry.
Mrs. Weasley brought her Husband a plate that was just as full as Harry's. The look on his face told Harry that he was just as surprised as Harry had been at the amount of work his wife had gone through. He seemed to understand what the large meal meant however, for he shook his head and said "you didn't have to worry Molly, it was just an angry elephant dealer. There was no danger."
Molly Weasley frowned.
"I'm sorry dear," she said as she removed Harry's now empty plate from the table, "but with Harry arriving so late, and you suddenly having to work late, I didn't know what to do."
Mr. Weasley smiled and swallowed a mouthful of food.
"Well Harry has arrived and I'm home now. We're both quite safe, I can assure you." Mrs. Weasley gave her husband a weak smile.
"Well, I'm off to bed," Harry said, suddenly feeling very tired.
"Alright dear," Mrs. Weasley said, walking him towards the stairs, "You can sleep in Fred and George's room, there's plenty of room in there."
"Where're they sleeping?" he asked, confused.
"They have a loft over top of the shop; they've been really busy lately, and have been sleeping at the store to keep up with the demand." Harry could hear the worry in Mrs. Weasley's voice.
"Alright then, goodnight," He said, and scrambled up the stairs before anyone else could respond.
Harry's dreams that night were filled with the dreadful sound of tortured screams and the gruesome sight of horribly mutilated animal remains. He was glad to be woken suddenly by a familiar voice and a slap on the face.
"Come on mate, you gotta tell me what happened last night; why you were so late," Ron's voice echoed through Harry's now ringing ears, "you really had everyone worried."
Reaching for his glasses, Harry rubbed his eyes.
"What time is it?"
"Its half past ten, you've been asleep for nine hours 'arry," Ron said in a muffled tone. Harry threw on his glasses to see that Ron was woofing down a piece of toast.
"Did I?" Harry said, and Ron shook his head as he swallowed the rest of his toast.
"Nah, mum saved you a plate," He said plopping down on the end of the bed. Just as Harry was about to get out of bed, the door burst open and Ginny Weasley came plowing in with a look of utter disgust on her face.
"I don't see why she has to share a room with me," she groaned.
"It's only for another month dear," Mrs. Weasley said, coming through the door with a wonderful looking breakfast on a tray. "Here you go," she said, handing it to Harry who immediately began attacking it as if last night's meal hadn't happened.
"She's getting out as soon as Hermione shows up," Ginny said, slamming the door shut.
"Who's getting out?" Harry questioned the room as he loaded his fork up again. But before anyone could answer him, the bedroom door opened again, and a voice that Harry hadn't heard in a long time broke the silence.
" 'arry, I'm glad to see zat you are awake."
The graceful figure of Fleur Delacour trotted into the room and kissed Harry on the cheek. "I 'eard zat you were late. I thought you 'ad been 'urt."
Harry looked up to see Mrs. Weasley and Ginny scowling in his direction. Ron however, was staring dreamily at Fleur.
"Er-well I'm quite safe," Harry stammered, unsure of how to respond. It turned out to be a good response because Fleur smiled and spoke again.
"Gabrielle will be so happy to hear zat you are fine. You do remember my seester Gabrielle, no?"
"Yeah, I do," Harry croaked as he gobbled down more breakfast, "Is she here too?"
"No, no silly boy," she chimed, patting Harry on the head, "she will be 'ere next year, when Bill and I get married."
Harry began choking as Ginny and Mrs. Weasley exchanged disapproving looks.
"Anapneo," Fleur said, aiming her wand in Harry's direction. His airway was suddenly clear and he gasped for air. "I suppose zey haven't told you yet," she said giving Mrs. Weasley a reproachful look.
"Wow," Harry said, finally catching his breath, "I mean congratulations." Fleur smiled and kissed his cheek again.
"Enjoy ze rest of your breakfast 'Arry," she said as she turned, whipped her silvery hair back and moved gracefully out the door.
Harry finished up his plate while he listened to Ginny bad mouthing Fleur to Mrs. Weasley's amusement. Ron was still looking towards the door in a haze. Ginny slapped him in the back of the head, causing him to come around.
"What was that for?" He cried, rubbing the back of his head.
"You've known that she's part Veela for two years now, and you still can't deal with it," Ginny sneered, "that's pathetic." Harry could do nothing but smile laughingly as Ron looked over to him for support.
"Alright, then, time to do the dishes," Mrs. Weasley said, taking Harry's empty plate. Harry thanked her and she left the room.
Ron got off the bed and walked towards the window.
"Alright, so what happened last night," He asked, turning back towards Harry.
"It's kind of a long story," Harry said, trying to stall, "and I think Hermione should hear it too. We should wait for her."
Harry didn't like keeping anything from Ron, but he didn't want to have this conversation twice. It would be bad enough telling his friends that he would have to either destroy Voldemort or die. The fact that this sage girl, or whatever she was had shown up and predicted that terrible things were to transpire very shortly didn't help either. He would wait for Hermione to get to the burrow before confiding in his friends.
Just then the bedroom door opened yet again and Mrs. Weasley poked her head through.
"Ginny, come help with the dishes."
"But I'm talking to this lot," Ginny complained to no avail.
"Ginny, now." Mrs. Weasley steamed and Ginny sighed.
"You just don't wanna be alone with Phlegm," she seethed, heading out the door.
Harry heard Mrs. Weasley say 'stop calling her that' before the door shut. He turned back to see Ron giving him a hopeful look.
"So," he said, sitting down on the window sill, "what happened?"
Harry sighed and flopped back down onto the bed. He had a feeling this was going to be a very long day.
Hermione arrived on the same day their O.W.L results did. After a rather emotional reunion between the friends, including a suspiciously long hug between Hermione and Ron, and a slew of awkward comments by Fleur and Ginny, Ron suggested that they go hang out under a large Oak tree that he had said reminded him of their favourite outdoor place at school.
The sky seemed to be a perfect shade of blue as Harry crossed over a small stream that lined the side of a beautiful field full of daisies and dandelions. He wondered how many more times he'd get to see such tranquility; the flowers blowing in the wind, unknowing if tomorrow would bring rain or shine, a group of vandalizing children or a pair of lovers who would pick them, only to give them to each other in a scene of many smiles and much happiness.
'They're the exact same,' Harry thought, watching his two friends racing towards the large Oak tree at the far end of the field; Hermione laughing and throwing small pebbles she had picked up by the stream at Ron who was running backwards, dodging the precision aim of his friend, and making wise cracks about how she looked while running.
A powerful surge of remorse hit Harry as he passed the last of the flowers and moved into the clearing that lead out towards the Oak tree and beyond, into other fields just as full as this one. He knew what was going to happen when he told them about the prophecy, his dreams, the Crusader's Heart and now Professor Yewdine. Their world would never been the same again. They would have to live with the knowledge that eventually their friend, Harry, would have to face Voldemort and either defeat him, or die trying. They'd also have to live with knowing that this would probably be happening sooner rather than later. With the dreadful look Professor Yewdine had given him, combined with the sudden concern from Dumbledore, Harry wasn't even sure that he knew what would happen in the very next minute.
Ron and Hermione had reached the tree and were in the middle of yet another bickering when Harry arrived and flopped down beside them, releasing a sigh that blew all of his scattered hair out of his face.
"Harry, are you alright?" Hermione asked, pushing away Ron's hands which had been attempting to pull her hair. Harry felt his eyes starting to burn, and looked away.
"I," he said, watching a flock of birds that had just landed in the field peck away at the dry ground, "I need to tell you guys something."
At this, Ron stopped bothering Hermione. A look of concern crossed his face.
"This is about that night, isn't it mate?"
"What night? What're you talking about Ron?" Hermione asked, her voice quivering at the sudden seriousness of her two best friends.
"The night he was supposed to arrive," Ron said solemnly, "He was with Dumbledore. They were late."
"Did-did something happen to you Harry?" Hermione asked in a scared tone, reaching for Harry's shoulder.
He turned to face his friends and they could see that he was on the verge of crying.
"I," he said, quickly wiping a tear that had begun rolling down his cheek, "I cause everyone pain." As he listened to himself say this, everything that had happened in his life, every triumph, every defeat, every bit of happiness, and every painful moment of sorrow hit him, and he began sobbing. "My parents had to die because of me. I killed Professor Quirell. Ginny has almost been killed more than once because of me. Cedric is dead because of my mistakes. You two have been put in danger countless times because of me. S-Sirius…" The rest of his sentence was muffled by Hermione who had embraced Harry and was now crying as well.
"Don't say that Harry," she said looking at Ron and signaling him to join them, "you're not to blame for any of those things and you know that."
Harry continued sobbing into Hermione's lap as Ron embraced them, looking as if he was going to be sick.
"Hermione's right mate," he said in a wavering voice, "we all know that he who must-oh hell, Voldemort is to blame. No one has ever blamed you for what's happened in your life."
"I just can't help but think," Harry murmured, looking up at his friends, his eyes swimming behind his tear stained glasses, "that I could've-could've saved them."
"Harry," Hermione cried, her tears falling faster than she could wipe, "you've saved so many people. You saved Ginny from the Basilisk, you rescued your uncle and proved his innocence, you saved Gabrielle in the tournament, and you saved many lives in June. You're a hero Harry and you always will be." She laid her head on Ron's shoulder and felt a warm splash on her forehead. Ron was crying too.
"You'll never be anything less to us," He said before resting his head on Hermione's and crying with the both of them.
For the remainder of the afternoon, the three friends shared stories about the great times they had been through in the past five years. Harry told them about the prophecy and what Dumbledore had said after the Department of Mysteries. They seemed shaken by the news, but remained firm and reassured Harry that they would stay with him no matter what. This warmed Harry's heart. He felt something he hadn't felt in a long while, Loved. He had friends that he now considered his family; friends who'd be willing to do anything for him, even knowing that fate would most likely be placing them in considerable danger for an unknown amount of time to come. This is what Sirius wanted him to have. He smiled and promised himself that he would fight to the very end to protect and maintain the bonds of family and friendship he had developed with everyone he knew. It would, after all, be the best weapon against Voldemort; someone who knew nothing of the sort.
They arrived back at the burrow just before dinner. Their O.W.L results were lying on the table and the second Hermione saw the three letter, she screamed.
"Why didn't you tell me that they were coming today?" She squealed, shaking Ron from behind. "I would've been more concerned!"
"Concerned?" Ron said, grabbing the letter with his name on it, "You know you're going to have eleven O.W.L's, what's there to be concerned about?"
"I have a feeling that I've failed everything," she replied reluctantly reaching for her own letter. Harry laughed as he ripped open the envelope addressed to him. He scanned over the results.
He had passed everything except History of Magic and Divination, both of which he knew he was going to fail anyways. His Defence against the Dark Arts result was an "Outstanding", which he figured he would receive considering the mood during his examination. Charms and transfiguration had E's next to them and Astronomy's result was acceptable. He had even managed an "exceeds expectations" in potions; a welcomed surprise.
"Not bad, only failed History and Divination and those don't count," Ron said, grabbing Harry's paper from him, "let's see yours."
Harry scanned over Ron's results. There were no Outstandings on his paper. Hermoine, who had been feverishly examining her results, turned around with an expressionless face.
"Well?" Ron asked yanking the paper out of her hands, "Yup; ten outstandings and one exceeds expectations in Defence against the Dark Arts."
"I-er," Hermione began, but was cut off by Mrs. Weasley's shouts.
"Seven O.W.L's! Well done Ron! That's more than Fred and George got together!"
Just then Mr. Weasley showed up with Bill and Fleur. Ginny came down the stairs and everyone sat down at the table. The conversation at the table was light, allowing Harry to do some thinking.
He found it odd that the only E Hermione had received was in Defence against the Dark Arts. She had been the best student in the DA, had done amazing things at the Department of Mysteries and had done well in her exam. Something seemed wrong. Exceeds Expectations didn't seem fit for Hermione in DADA, it wasn't a true measure of her skill, Harry was sure of it.
The next day brought a trip to Diagon Alley for school supplies. Mr. Weasley had secured a bewitched car for the afternoon and by the look of things, wasn't planning on wasting anytime with it.
Harry climbed down the stairs and marched out the door to pile into the car behind Ron. Just like before, the car had much more space inside than its exterior would lead anyone to believe, and Ron, Harry and Hermione were taking no time enjoying the large amount of space. Ginny was sitting up front with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley who were chatting noisily about Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, their boys' shop, which the whole lot of them would be visiting that afternoon.Harry and Hermione joined in on the conversation while Ron decided to recline his full sized seat and nap all the way to London.
Diagon Alley had changed quite drastically since last year and Harry could see right from the get go that it wasn't for the better. Many of the stores were closed and boarded up; signs in their windows explaining that the owners had either left on vacation or had closed up shop permanently. Although none of the signs mentioned Voldemort or Death Eaters, Harry and everyone else knew that they were the exact reason for the change here. As the group passed other people in the streets, Harry caught snippets of conversations. Florean Fortescue who owned a particularly popular ice cream shop had packed up and left town, whereas Mr. Ollivander, the renounced wand merchant, the very man who had sold Harry his wand six years ago, had gone missing; having vanished without a trace.
Many shady looking stalls had opened up in the streets however, and Harry guessed that the supposed charms and amulets they were selling weren't delivering as advertised.
"If only I was on duty," Mr. Weasley muttered as a shabby looking wizard offered him a medallion for werewolf protection.
"Never mind that Arthur, we've got lots to do," Mrs. Weasley said, pushing her husband along. When the group reached Madame Malkin's they stopped and Mrs. Weasley spoke up.
"Alright everyone, we've got plenty of shopping to do today, and not a whole lot of time. Ginny, you and Hermione will come with me to Madame Malkin's and pick out dress robes. Harry, you can go and get your books with Arthur and Ron." Mr. Weasley, who had been keeping his eye on the medallion selling wizard who had followed them for at least a block, waved his hand.
"That sounds good Molly. We'll meet back up in an hour, and have lunch at The Leaky Cauldron before going to check out the boys' store." He said, hurrying the girls towards the door. "Don't want to have to deal with him now, do you?" The girls and Mrs. Weasley silently agreed and went inside.
When the door had closed, Mr. Weasley turned to Harry.
"Now I want you two to stay alert today, you never know who could be lurking-"
"Well, well Potter, I see you're still hanging around with scum," came a voice from behind that Harry immediately recognized as Malfoy's. Turning around, Harry stood face to face with Draco Malfoy, who seemed to have grown at least another two inches over the summer, and most certainly had lost weight. Ron growled and stepped for Malfoy but Mr. Weasley stopped him.
"What're you doing out here on your own Draco?" Mr. Weasley asked, looking past Malfoy as if expecting to see someone with him.
"I'm afraid to disappoint you," Malfoy sneered, giving the lot of them a wicked glance, "but my father is still in Azkaban. It's a pity really; I would've liked to see him come face to face with you two." He waved his hand in Ron's direction prompting Ron to step forward again, this time brandishing his wand.
"Anytime Malfoy," he muttered through his teeth, but Malfoy had already stepped past Harry and was walking away.
"Sorry Weasley, but I have some pressing business for a much greater cause than you. I'll see you at school." And with that, he crossed the road and vanished into a crowd of people on the other side.
"Pressing business," Harry said as Mr. Weasley started towards Flourish and Blotts, "What did that mean?"
"He's probably just buying some stupid charm or something to punish the first years with, him being a prefect and all. Come on then," Ron said as he took off after Mr. Weasley. Harry stood there, staring at the crowd of people Malfoy had entered before sighing and taking off after Ron.
Forty five minutes, and almost 40 galleons later, Mr. Weasley, Ron, and Harry left Flourish and Blott's with all the books needed for the coming year. As they crossed the street and started heading towards the Leaky Cauldron, Harry recognized a familiar face coming towards them. Towering well above most of the crowd, pushing his way through, was Hagrid.
"Hagrid!" Harry yelled, causing an older woman next to him to jump. Hagrid caught site of Harry, and began making his way over.
"Hey there Harry, shopping fer supplies I see." He bellowed, sounding quite excited.
"You could say that," Harry replied, fumbling with the large pile of books he was carrying. Just then Ron stepped up behind Harry, carrying an equally large stack of books.
"Hey Ron, another trip ter Diagon Alley is it? Havin' fun?"
"A right load of it," Ron muttered as he turned to face Harry. Hidden from view however, behind his tower of books, Ron bumped into Harry causing both stacks of books to topple over and sending both the boys to the ground. Mr. Weasley came scrambling out of a crowd of people who had stopped to see what the commotion was and started helping the boys clean up the mess.
"Sorry 'bout that boys," He wheezed. He had obviously been running around. "Had to take care of a pesky amulet merchant, didn't want to stop for the life of him."
"Arthur!" Hagrid bellowed, reaching out and shaking Mr. Weasley to his feet, "is Molly here too?"
"She's here," Mr. Weasley puffed as he looked at his watch, "We're meeting her and the girls at the leaky cauldron in fifteen minutes, care to join us?"
"I'd love teh," said Hagrid, taking Harry and Ron's books from them. The two stacks combined barely reached his chin. "I've been meaning to get somethin' ter eat all mornin' but 'ave been busy with some stuff."
Diagon Alley had cleared slightly by noon, making the trip back to the Leaky cauldron much quicker.
"What kinda stuff?" Harry asked Hagrid as they passed a store window full of ministry posters warning people of potential danger. Harry noticed a picture of Bellatrix Lestrange along with several other Death Eaters, all of whom were laughing sadistically. He quickly looked away.
"Well, I'm bidding on a rare creature yeh see?" Hagrid said ducking under the overhang of the store they were passing, "It's happenin' down in Knockturn Alley, goin' on all afternoon."
"Shouldn't you be getting new lessons ready or something?" Ron asked from behind.
"Yeah," Harry agreed, giving Hagrid an awkward look, "an auction sounds kind of fishy." Hagrid stopped and Ron, who was now watching his father heckling another shady looking booth owner, crashed into him, sending the pile of books to the ground yet again.
Hagrid sighed and began picking them up again.
"That's jus' the thing," he said rising to his feet again, "Dumbledore sent me here ter win the beast. Says no one else is fit fer handlin' it; I agreed." This comment caused Harry and Ron to exchange looks of concern. They both clearly remembered the troubles Hagrid had caused with rare creatures before. In their first year, Hagrid had won a Dragon egg in a card game and had almost caused Harry and Hermione to be expelled for helping set it free. Buckbeak the hippogryph had attacked Malfoy and Harry, Ron and Hermione had luckily saved it from execution. And no one of course, could forget the many nuances of the Blast-Ended Skrewts in their fourth year that had caused numerous injuries, as well as a fear of going to class.
"So um… What is it?" Harry asked reluctantly, as they crossed the street, the Leaky Cauldron now only a block away, "this creature I mean. Is it that dangerous?"
"It's a creature that's always fascinated meh, aside from Dragons o'course," Hagrid said, gazing dreamily off into the sky, "A nundu."
"A nun-what?" Ron stammered, screwing up his face in confusion.
"A nundu. Yeh don't know what a nundu is?" said Hagrid stopping in front of the Leaky Cauldron's entrance. "They're only one o' the most dangerous creatures in the world, Ron; wicked fast, poisonous breath that kills almost instantly and a right bad attitude teh boot."
"And you're going to be taking care of it?" Harry choked, unable to hide his concern. Ron's bewildered face told Harry that he agreed that Hagrid owning a creature this dangerous would only spell disaster. Hagrid frowned.
"I'll only be lookin' after 'er for a little while, you know, till she can be put back in ter the wild see? I wouldn't want ter put meh students in any real danger. Foul creatures, nundus are. I'll just be keepin' 'er till the ministry can send some people to bring 'er back to Africa." Harry and Ron didn't seem entirely convinced, but they didn't feel like hurting Hagrid's feelings.
"What if you don't win the bidding?" Harry asked as he opened the door, "What if someone else gets the nundu?"
"Well," Hagrid said, ducking through the doorway and lowering his voice, "then we'll be in a right bit of trouble."
For the first time in Harry's memory, the Leaky Cauldron was completely empty except for Tom the bartender who was chatting quite lively with Mrs. Weasley and the girls when Harry found them. Hermione gave Hagrid a big hug before allowing him to take his own side of the table. Mr. Weasley arrived just before lunch was served; out of breath and looking quite annoyed.
"Them damn peddlers," he complained, sitting down next to his wife, "They just don't know when to stop pushing for the sale." He looked over at Ron and Harry sitting with Hagrid. "Sorry about that boys. I just couldn't let it go." Mrs. Weasley shot her husband a furious glance but said nothing.
Just before dessert, Hagrid stood up, explaining that he would miss the bidding if he stayed any longer. He said goodbyes to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and thanked them for lunch before striding out the door. Hermione was curious as to what Hagrid had meant and Harry and Ron spent the entire dessert recalling the conversation they had had on the way to the Leaky Cauldron.
"That's terrible," Hermione gasped, pushing away her empty sundae dish, "Hagrid won't be able to handle a nundu." Harry wasn't surprised that Hermione had known what a nundu was and was even less moved by the fact that she agreed that Hagrid owning one wouldn't bode well for anyone.
Before another word come be mentioned however, Mr. Weasley spoke up.
"Alright, the boys should be expecting us anytime, let's get going." The group stood up and made their way to the exit.
Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was on the far end of Diagon Alley and when Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys approached the shop, they found it hard to see through the windows.
The shop was packed. People of all ages were strolling through the aisles, laughing and experimenting with the many objects on the shelf. As they approached the check out, George Weasley who was sporting a magnificent set of magenta robes walked up with a large smile.
"Hey mum, hey dad, hey you guys, bout time you lot arrived; we've been busy all mornin' and Fred would hear nothing of breaks. Luckily though, he's taking care of the customers at the moment, so I've snuck off to give you guys a tour of the place. What do you think?"
"Brilliant!" Ron exclaimed picking up a wand that instantly shocked him, causing his arm to go numb, "you two are gonna be rich!"
For the next twenty minutes, George led the group through the store, showing off many of the more popular items Harry had seen them tinkering with over the years, as well as some newer things. They even had a section for muggle magic items, which Mr. Weasley had become so engrossed in, that the rest of them had left him there.
"Take anything you'd like Harry, free of charge," George said to Harry when they had a free moment.
"I-I can't," Harry murmured turning red.
"It's the least we can do, Fred and I. You're the one who helped get this place started after all." Ron smiled and started filling his pockets with items from the shelf.
"I said Harry, not you; it's full price for you dear brother, and that bottle there," George said, pointing at jar that was labeled Instant Darkness Powder: the perfect escape partner, "will cost you 6 galleons, so I suggest you put it back."
Ron sighed as he emptied his pockets back onto the shelves.
"I helped him win that tournament money," he muttered under his breath.
When Harry had picked out a fair number of things, including a couple pairs of extendable ears which had come in handy last year, a set of decoy detonators, which he had be impressed to find, and a box of nosebleed nougats, which he had picked up in case class got boring, he and Ron headed for the check out.
Hermione and Ginny were in line both holding Daydream charms which Harry had seen them swooning over earlier. Ginny was also holding a small, pink ball of fluff which was slowly moving across her hand.
"What's that thing," Ron asked, still holding a few items he was intending to buy.
"A pygmy puff," said Fred Weasley from behind the counter, "Girls are going crazy over them. That'll be 2 galleons and 14 sickles for you," he added, glancing at the items in Ron's hands.
"I don't have that kind of money," Ron scowled, "and I'm your brother, I should get a deal."
"No deal, dear brother," Fred said with a slight smile, "now cough up or put it back." Ron threw the stuff back on the shelves and made a rude hand gesture in Fred's direction. Mrs. Weasley caught sight of the gesture and starting scolding Ron while Fred turned back to Ginny and Hermione.
"Daydream charms, gotta love them. Thirty minute daydreams, perfect for those boring classes with Binns" Fred whispered, causing Ginny to laugh, "I'm surprised that you aren't buying some love potions though, or is it that you have too many boyfriends already? What is it, something like five boys now?" Ginny gave Fred a look that reminded Harry so much of Mrs. Weasley that he was surprised Fred didn't jump away from her.
"I'm dating Dean Thomas right now and the last time I checked, that was one boy, not five. And you," she said, turning to Ron who had just managed to escape his mother, "can stop with the tales to your brothers."
Ron began saying something to Ginny but Harry had stop paying attention. Someone outside had caught his eye.
"Hey, look at that," he whispered to Hermione, tugging on her robes.
Walking down the street hastily, glancing over his shoulder every few steps was Malfoy.
"Where do you think he's going?" Hermione questioned, keeping her voice low.
"Why don't we find out?" Harry said, pulling his invisibility cloak from his back pocket, causing Hermione to frown.
"Why do you have that?" she asked wearily, looking back at Mr. Weasley who was watching them.
"I keep it on me all the time now," Harry said, gesturing for Ron to join them, "besides, we met Malfoy earlier today and he said he had urgent business. I, for one would like to know what it is."
"What's going on," Ron said stepping next to Harry.
"We've just seen Malfoy sneaking around," Harry explained, his voice barely audible now, "We're going to follow him, see what he's up to."
"Sounds good," Ron whispered, looking back over his should at Mr. Weasley, who was still eyeing them suspiciously, "but how're we going to get under the cloak with no one seeing us?"
"Leave that to me," Harry said, grinning. And with that, he pushed down hard on of the decoy detectors in his bundle of stuff and threw it across the store. A loud bang issued from the opposite end of the store, causing a few girls to scream and everyone to focus their attention away from them. "Okay, now!" Harry whispered loudly, and Ron and Hermione slipped under the invisibility cloak with Harry.
Malfoy was quite a ways down the street when they scrambled out of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes underneath the cloak.
"Quick, we're going to lose him!" Harry said, starting to run.
"Slow down, I think my shoes are showing," Hermione squeaked, trying to keep up. Malfoy took one last glance over his should before disappearing down a side street.
"He's going down to Knockturn Alley," Ron stammered, sounding winded, "this can't be good."
Knockturn Alley was completely deserted, to nobody's surprise. Harry figured that with the sudden concern from the Ministry of Magic, no one dared to be seen around anything dealing with the dark arts.
They were just in time to see Malfoy enter Borgin and Burkes, the only store in Knockturn Alley Harry had ever been inside. Malfoy could be seen through the window, talking with Borgin, one of the stores owners.
"Now what're we going to do?" Hermione asked anxiously, as the three of them ducked out of sight behind a few barrels lining a particularly dangerous looking pub.
"We can't just walk in there," Harry said in a frustrated tone, "If only we could hear what he's saying."
"Wait a sec-damn-" Ron stammered, as he dropped the last few boxes he was holding from his hands, "Harry look what you got from Fred and George!"
"That's right, Extendable Ears!" Harry exclaimed as he ripped open the box and started unraveling the flesh coloured strings and feeding them towards the door.
"Excellent," Hermione said happily, "now let's just hope the door isn't imperturbable-"
"It isn't!" Ron cheered, shoving an ear in her direction, "Listen!"
It seemed that Malfoy and Borgin were arguing about something.
"I told you that the auction started at quarter after one, why aren't you there yet?" Malfoy seethed, Harry could see a look of anger on his face through the window, "My mother will be wondering where I spent this money as it is, and you'd better win the damned thing."
"I just don't think it's a good idea to keep the creature here, Master Malfoy," Borgin moaned, sounding genuinely concerned, "It is an extremely dangerous animal."
"They couldn't be talking about-" Harry started, his heart jumping into his throat, but before he could speak again, his sudden fear was confirmed.
"I've already told you Borgin, Fenrir Greyback will be around tomorrow to pick up the Nundu. You can handle it until then, can't you?"
"Yes, I-" Borgin stammered before getting cut off.
"Good, then get a closed sign on the door, and get to that auction!" Malfoy screamed, heading for the door, "It's not like anyone's going to be around anyways."
"Harry, he's coming" Hermione warned, and Harry began reeling the extendable ears back towards them. Malfoy stepped out of Borgin and Burkes just as the last inch of the fleshy string had disappeared behind the barrels. He looked around quickly before taking off at full speed for the main street.
When he had disappeared, Harry stood up and removed the cloak. Ron and Hermione both had looks of deep concern on their faces; a look which was surely matched by the feeling inside Harry.
"Malfoy's bidding on the Nundu," he said dreadfully, "there's no way Hagrid is going to have more money him." Ron and Hermione looked at the ground.