The Adventure Continued

Chapter 2: 'We've been waiting for you'

A/N: Aww, no reviews. Oh well, I'm going to continue this anyways for my sake. You might not like reading, but I sure love writing this. I have two more chapters lined up, so there is something to look forward to. So, on with the story!

Clanking of dishes could be heard from the kitchen and a light shown from the crack under the door. Pulling out his wand, Harry tip-toed lightly to the door. In a flash, the door was flung open and Harry had his wand pointed at the intruders.

"Well, hello, Harry! We've been waiting for you," Mrs. Weasley smiled from the stove, taking out a teapot and filling it with water. Harry let out a relieved breath, but somehow, the disappointment stuck in his gut. He really had been hoping it was…well, he didn't want to think about it anymore. Well, he wanted to, but Tonks told him not to. Harry looked around the room, finding two more red-haired Weasleys, and Hermione's bushy brown hair. The three of them beamed at their long-time friend.

"How's the ministry, Harry?" Hermione asked casually, as if Harry had always barged into rooms, threatening his wand ominously at everyone. "We haven't seen you in days!"

Harry blinked. "You've been here for days?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Nitwit, of course not. You just haven't been to the burrow in a while. Mum was getting worried, so we decided to raid your house, but since we didn't find you, we then decided to wait." It was clear. Very clear. What were they doing here again? Harry shook his head, trying to get the sleep out of his eyes.

"You look like you haven't slept for days, either! Don't tell me Kingsley is making you work all night as well!" Ron meant it as a joke, but Harry didn't smile. "And what's that on your face? 'Strange?' Yes, we know you are, Harry, but you really don't have to advertise it!"

Harry ran for a mirror, and not finding one, he took the teapot that Mrs. Weasley was using to make tea. Not realizing that hot metal burns skin, Harry cried in pain as he retracted his hand away from the teapot. After shaking his hand and running cool water over it, he came back to look at his reflection from a safe distance. Indeed, 'strange' was written in dark black ink…backwards.

"What?" Harry gasped, but then it hit him like a dead pigeon falling from the sky in St. Mark's Square. His report! He had fallen asleep on his report! Grabbing a towel, he tried to rub the ink off, but to avail. The words stuck to his forehead, sharp black against his pale skin.

"Harry, I think you've been working a little too much. Did you fall asleep at your desk again?" Mrs. Weasley questioned gently.

"How did you know?" Harry looked surprised.

"Harry, Arthur works with Kingsley. He knows about all the crazy things you've been up to. From what we've heard, you haven't been home in days," Mrs. Weasley answered worriedly, the same look she had given him when he first came to the burrow the summer before his second year and realized how poorly he had been treated.

"Yeah," Harry admitted, "Tonks actually sent me out of office." Harry sat down next to his friends, taking the cup of tea Mrs. Weasley handed him.

"What have you been doing, Harry?" Hermione inquired, but Harry only shook his head in response. A book on the table caught Harry's eye: Magical Herbs and Their Uses. "For school, really," Hermione answered his look. "I have a test tomorrow and need to keep studying. You might be done in three years, but Healers take five years to get through school and then go through training and…"

"So, Harry, are you going to the World Cup?" Ron interrupted, leaving Hermione casting him a dark look. "We're swamped at the Ministry. It's in Ireland, but it might as well be here with the way we're slaving."

Harry grinned, "Yeah, the ministry is assigning us to watch over the game. Of course, it won't just be watching the game, but it should still be fun. Do you know who's playing? I've been…err…caught up lately."

"Ireland, of course, that was a no-brainer, but the other team is from Argentina. It should be a good game," Ron commented, picking up a biscuit from the pile that Mrs. Weasley put on the table. "I have prime tickets for the whole family. We'll have better seats than last time!"

Harry bit into a cookie, recalling the last World Cup he had attended. A flood of memories filled his mind. It had been the best summer in his life. "Argentina doesn't have a chance," Harry added knowingly. "Ireland has Joseph O'Malley. He's probably the best seeker next to Viktor Krum, in my opinion."

Ginny shook her head and shrugged. "You'd be surprised. I was reading Quidditch Monthly Magazine and they gave up three pages to the Argentina team. Apparently the seeker, Juan Ramirez, is a new talent on the team. You really just don't know about new players, do you? I mean, they can just pull off anything." Her look rested on Harry, remembering so many Quidditch games that seemed hopeless, but Harry still pulled it off. Three Quidditch Cups had been won with the help of the black-haired boy, directly and indirectly.

Harry shrugged. "Still, Ireland has a reputation. I wouldn't put it past them. I'd bet 5 galleons that Ireland will win," Harry challenged the table. Hermione rolled her eyes, and opened her book. However, Ron and Ginny had their feisty eyes fixed on Harry.

"And I'll bet you that Argentina wins, not only Ramirez getting the snitch, but also by 120 points!" Ginny answered spiritedly. Harry had seen that expression another time when a couple redheaded Weasleys decided to make bets.

"Are Fred and George going to bet?" Harry asked Ron curiously.

Ron shrugged, "I'm sure they will, but I don't know what they're betting. Ginny would know that, she works for them."

However, Ginny also shrugged and shook her head. "I wouldn't know; I haven't seen them in a while."

"Don't you work at the shop?" Harry asked, surprised by the response.

"Yeah, Ginny," Ron interrupted, "what's going on? You were still working for them last time I talked to you."

"Not anymore," Ginny answered, "I got another job."

Now all three were staring at Ginny (Hermione reluctantly pealing her eyes off her book) waiting to hear more. When she didn't continue, Hermione felt it was her job to prod more. Finally, after dozens of questions, Ginny budged.

"You guys are going to laugh," she was now grinning, her eyes still glowing with pleasure. "I got a job at Hogwarts. They opened the school again and I will be teaching Transfiguration in place of McGonagall."

"WHAT?"