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Summer '96

Chapter 4

Two hours later, the trio finally completed their plans and headed back to Mrs. Figg's house so Ron and Hermione could get back before the meeting at Number 12 was finished.

They had decided that the best time to leave for their risky vacation would be the day after tomorrow, which, according to Ron, was the date of another important meeting. Apparently, Snape was due back from one of his secret missions and had news about "things," as Mrs. Weasley had put it when telling Ron.

Hermione seemed a bit uneasy that no one in the wizarding world would know of their whereabouts, but Harry quickly assured her that Fred and George would have to be informed.

"We're going to need magic to get us out of here," he had said. "Fred and George can make us a portkey so we don't have to break a school rule by using magic during the summer. Oh, and Ron, you can just tell your mum that you're going to stay at Fred's and George's for a few days, that way she doesn't suspect anything."

They had then planned that Hermione would tell her parents that she was going to spend a few days at the Burrow so that she could visit with Ginny. Harry was the hardest to plan an alibi for. What could he possibly tell the Dursleys that they would buy into?

Hermione was the one who finally came up with an acceptable explanation. He would tell them that he had to go on a short trip for a while with a group of people from his school to go around London and pick up trash. The Dursleys would most likely not object to anything that put Harry to work. He would also throw in that this group would pick him up at a nearby bus stop, that way the Dursleys wouldn't have to put themselves out too much.

Little Miss Thinks-of-Everything then brought up the subject of money. They would have to stay somewhere and, for that, they definitely needed money. Not to mention, if they were planning to visit a totally different country, they would have to have the right form of muggle currency. The three each chipped in some wizard gold (Harry donating the most) and Hermione said that she could exchange it for whatever currency of the country they decided on once she got back to Diagon Alley. This brought them to their final decision; where to go? In the end, after numerous unhelpful discussions, Harry and Ron entrusted the decision to Hermione.

"You're handling the money anyway, "Harry said. "You should be the one to figure out the location. Just nowhere near here, please."

"Yeah, and nowhere too boring either," said Ron. "If I'm going to risk my life by sneaking off without telling Mum, I want it to be well worth it."

When they had reached Mrs. Figg's front door, Hermione still hadn't come to a decision about their destination.

"How about you just decide later and it'll be a surprise or something," Harry suggested, not willing to sit there all day waiting for her to make up her mind.

Hermione agreed, and she and Ron were about to slip inside the house when Harry added, "Hey, do you think you could ask one of the twins to apparate here tomorrow night?"

"Sure, why?" Asked Ron.

"Well, I was hoping that they wouldn't mind hanging onto my Hogwarts stuff for a while. There's no way I'm going to leave my Firebolt alone with the Dursleys for this long."

Ron grinned comprehendingly and said, "I'm sure they'll be fine with it."

"We don't even know for sure if they'll be fine with any of this," said Hermione seriously. "I mean, we can't just assume that they'll be fine with doing all this sneaking around for us."

"Hermione," Ron began, "you may be right about a lot of things, but evidently six years has taught you nothing about my brothers."


Ron, it transpired, had been right about that. At around one in the morning the day that they had scheduled to leave, Fred apparated into Harry's room, a proud grin on his face. Harry heard Uncle Vernon stir in his sleep when the crack of Fred's apparation sounded, but soon after there was a much welcomed snore.

"Excellent Harry," Fred whispered. "We were wondering if you were ever going to do something for yourself."

Harry smiled. "It's great to see you Fred."

"You too mate," said Fred. "Now, what all did you want me to take?"

"Well, Hedwig can just fly to your place," he began thoughtfully, "so all I really need you to bring is my trunk … if it's not too much trouble."

"Oh no Harry, this thing's as light as a feather!" Fred said sarcastically as he heaved the trunk into his arms.

Harry chose to ignore Fred's sarcasm and asked, "So everything's set right? No problems?"

"Nope," said Fred. "Everything's going as you guys planned it. George and I have made the portkey. You're just lucky that that was part of the small bit of knowledge that we retained from last year."

"So Hermione finally made up her mind then?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, but I'm not supposed to tell you. It's a 'surprise' you know. So, I'll see you in a few more hours then … in Figg's house?"

"At eight," Harry confirmed. "Ron said that the meeting is due to start at six … some big thing with Snape apparently."

"Slimy git," muttered Fred. "Anyway, I better get going. I'll see you then."

"Alright. By the way, Fred, thanks," said Harry gratefully.

"No problem; anything I can do to help a fellow mischief-maker."

And as Fred readjusted the trunk into a more comfortable position for travel, he added, "Oh, and Harry, thank you. This is a perfect way to make sure Ron doesn't get too caught up in his role as prefect. One more rule left unbroken and we'd have another Percy on our hands."

With that being said, Harry watched as Fred vanished with another crack, trunk and all. As Uncle Vernon grunted slightly in his sleep, Harry opened Hedwig's cage and released her into the night. He watched her soar out of sight, a ghost against the soft, starry, sky.


A few hours later, Harry found himself sitting in Mrs. Figg's living room, the all too familiar scent of cats filling his nostrils. He had had no trouble with his aunt and uncle at all. They completely bought the lie that Hermione had constructed for him to tell, and hardly acknowledged his leaving that morning.

Just five minutes after he arrived, the fireplace across the room erupted into emerald flames. One by one, he watched as his friends appeared in the grate and emerged from the flames to greet him.

Hermione looked slightly apprehensive, yet she also positively glowed with excitement. Ron greeted him with his usual, freckle-faced smile and stood back to make room for Fred and George as they moved past him into the center of the room.

"Hey Harry," said George. "You like the products we sent for you?"

"Loved 'em. In fact, I think I accidentally left one of your Canary Creams on the counter before I left," Harry laughed. "I don't think Aunt Petunia will be too pleased when Dudley molts all over her clean floor."

The twins and Ron broke out laughing while Hermione said, "Can we please get to business?"

"Right," said Fred, still recovering from his bout of laughter, "well, the portkey is set to leave at 8:30, so you still have a few minutes. It'll bring you back whenever you want, but that better be before Sunday, because Mum is expecting Ron and Ginny back by then."

"Ginny?" Harry asked quickly.

Ron sighed and said, "Yeah, Mum sent her to Fred's and George's this morning. She didn't want her to be bored and alone all day while she and Dad were at the meeting."

As Ron rolled his eyes, Fred added, "But she doesn't know anything, not yet anyway. We'll have to tell her when we show up without Ron and Hermione. Right now she's out cold on the couch. Mum sent her over at 5:00 and she's completely exhausted."

Well, at least Ginny won't find out till after we've left, thought Harry.

"We should get ready," announced Hermione. "It's almost 8:30."

So they each grabbed their bags and moved toward the center of the room where an old frying pan sat waiting on the coffee table. Harry picked it up and held it out for Ron and Hermione to touch.

After a few minutes, Harry glanced up at the clock on the wall just as only fifteen seconds remained. Suddenly, the fireplace behind them all burst into life once more, and before any of them could say anything, before they could even register their astonishment, a hand shot in between Harry and Hermione and landed in the center of the aged pan. As a shock of flaming, red hair whipped Harry in the face, he felt the familiar jerk behind his navel that meant that the portkey was moving. It dragged the trio forward in a rush of color and sound, Ginny Weasley along for the ride….


A/N- Come on people! I'm still looking for those reviews!!! Maybe I'm not being clear enough … PLEASE REVIEW! Anyway, thanks to those people who have been reviewing, it's greatly appreciated. Hope it's good so far!