Chapter 8: Wonky Weasel Thoughts & Plans

Ronald Weasley was in a bad mood; Ever since his father had indicated, that he would invite Harry Potter and the Greengrass family over for afternoon-tea, his grumpiness had increased day by day. He didn't know why they had to let that family into their house. You just couldn't trust a Slytherin, and that's exactly what they were, each and every one of them, their daughter would be no exception.

Considering the overall untrustworthiness of the family, Ron had no idea, why his father and the Ministry had allowed them to take in Harry Potter. Clearly, he should have come to the Burrow instead of the house of some dark family. And, he could have become friends with Harry Potter. That would have made him stand out from his brothers.

But no, he was living with them. Even worse, neither of his parents seemed to care: His father liked Xander Greengrass and his mother, while not convinced the Greengrasses were good, was ready to give them the benefit of the doubt. Everyone knew you just couldn't trust a Slytherin. Potter should have come to the Burrow instead and they would have been best friends. He, being best friends with the Harry Potter would have allowed him to finally stand out from his brothers.

It annoyed Ron to no end, and that was disregarding the state his sister had been in the last few days. All the stories of The-Boy-Who-Lived had obviously gotten to her and she had developed a major crush on the boy, without even knowing him. His baby sister had a crush. That was something he would not accept. So, instead of hanging around with him, she had spent an increasing amount of time locked up in her room, reading her old Harry Potter books and writing Merlin-knows-what in her stupid diary. He could deal with her later. For now, he was determined he would help Potter see the darkness of his hosts. After showing the light to Potter, he would then move to the Burrow and they would be best friends.

In the end though, Ron was nothing if not determined; He would help Harry Potter see the darkness of his hosts, then he would come to live at the Burrow and would be safe. With Ginny he could deal later.

Ginny was sitting in her room, anxiously waiting for the afternoon when her house would be visited by The-Boy-Who-Lived. From the moment, her father had told her he would come, she had dreamed about him how she could show him around the Burrow and the orchard maybe take him swimming in the stream.

She was sure the Burrow was not up to what he was used to as a hero of the wizarding world, but she still hoped he would like it and maybe even come back from time to time. However, she didn't share her brother's delusions about him coming to live with them. He was probably living in a palace, she thought, with an army of servants. No way would he exchange that for the Burrow. Neither did she think that the family he lived with was dark, because Harry Potter just couldn't be living with a dark family. Impossible! Fed up with Ron's ramblings, she had retreated to her room and wrote in her diary how she would make Harry love her.

Harry had just finished tidying up his room, as was custom to do with the children in the Greengrass clan. The house-elves just lacked the time and he was told it built character.

This afternoon, they were invited to the Burrow for tea. Harry had been told that Arthur Weasley had been the one to tip-off Professor McGonagall about the situation in Privet Drive, which Harry was incredibly thankful for. He was looking forward to meeting this man, who had played such an important role in liberating him from his aunt and uncle's care. Furthermore, the Weasleys were supposed to have a bunch of kids, and while Harry liked to spend time with Tori and loved to spend time with Daphne, he was looking forward to meeting some other children for a change. The youngest Weasley son was about Harry's age, so maybe there was the possibility of a new friendship there. The only girl was a little older than Tori and would attend Hogwarts the year after Harry and Daphne, also a possible friend. Finally, there were the older Weasley children, already in, or even finished with, Hogwarts. From the older children, Harry hoped to learn a little more about his future school, because all the adults he had asked about it had been less than forthcoming especially about the sorting. Even if it weren't for all these people, Harry was just excited to be able to see another wizarding home, and quite a different one, if he had heard right.

Just across the hall, Daphne was sitting at her desk. Her thoughts turned to the coming afternoon. She was looking forward to meeting a few more people from outside of the usual circles of her family and their allies, and these Weasleys should be a delightful bunch. Still, she was also worried. The youngest of the Weasley boys was exactly her age and she feared that he would rather be friends with a boy. The rest of the family she felt more positively about, especially the father, after all he had delivered news of Harry's mistreatment to McGonagall and her father. She would squeeze the older boys for information on the sorting.

That afternoon, the group met around the fireplace and her father smiled at them.

"Okay, now we are there as guests, so please behave accordingly. The floo address is The Burrow," and with a last "see you there", he vanished, whirling in the green flames. He was followed by her sister, squealing in delight. For some reason, Tori immensely enjoyed floo-travel. Tori and floo travel were a little like she was with the Gringotts carts, Daphne thought and stepped up to the fireplace.

"The Burrow," She intoned clearly, deliberately, and whirled away inside the green flames. She gracefully landed on her feet and quickly moved to the side, awaiting Harry's graceless entry any moment. Less than half a minute later, he stumbled out of the fire. To his credit, he stayed on his feet this time, so he was getting better. He was followed by her mother and the whole family was finally there.

As one, they turned towards their hosts and took in the Weasleys. Arthur Weasley, just as she remembered was a tall, balding man with red hair. Molly Weasley was a redhead as well, with a matronly figure and an inviting smile. Only her eyes told of her wariness towards their visitors. They were treated to a group of redheaded children. There was a rather tall, thin boy around fifteen who stared at her father unabashedly. Then there were the twins, because there was no doubt about that when looking at them: Orange-red hair, freckles and the same exact face with the same exact devious smile, twice. The youngest Weasley boy glared at them except at Harry. The sole Weasley girl's gaze was on Harry as he was prize to win and Daphne saw the creeped-out expression on Harry's face even if he was doing his best to retain a neutral expression. Daphne, for her part, had an idea about what was going on with the youngest Weasley, but decided to keep it to herself for the moment.

She was so focused on her observations, that she nearly missed her turn in the round of introductions going on. Snapping back to awareness at just the right moment, she shook the hand she was offered by Mr. Weasley and responded to his greeting, the same with his wife. The oldest boy present, for some reason he was wearing a prefect's badge on his shirt, mostly ignored her.

Then, she came to the twins. "Hello, Daphne Greengrass, nice to meet you," she introduced herself.

"Hello, Daphne Greengrass, nice to meet you too," they reciprocated in a perfect unison, that made her head spin.

"We're Gred…" one of them said.

"…and Forge," the other one completed, making her head spin even more. Obviously enjoying the chaos they induced when behaving like this, the twins sniggered and moved on to Harry.

Next, Daphne came to the youngest boy. She held out her hand for him to shake, but he just stood there, arms crossed and looked at her with contempt.

"Hello, I'm Daphne Greengrass, nice to meet you," she tried again.

"Ron Weasley," he answered gruffly, and he, too, moved on to Harry with way more enthusiasm.

For her last introduction, she moved over to the only Weasley girl, who she secretly hoped could be a friend to her sister, someone outside of the usual crowd, like Harry was to her. Well maybe not exactly like it, but a little.

"Hi, I'm Daphne," she told the girl in front of her, snapping her out of a daydream the girl had obviously had.

"Hey, I'm Ginny," the youngest Weasley introduced herself, still a little distractedly.

Stepping to the side after finishing all the introductions, Daphne watched as Harry drew nearer to Ginny, who became visibly agitated. As Harry reached her and held out his hand, she froze and, looked at him in slight shock and her cheeks grew increasingly flush.

"Hi, I'm Harry, Harry Potter," he announced in a friendly voice. Instead of an answer, Ginny turned tomato-red, let out a squeal and fled up the stairs, leaving behind a bemused Harry, staring at the spot previously occupied by the youngest Weasley.

Without further mention of the incident, the group was led to a small, slightly shabby sitting room where tea awaited them. Everyone sat down in a somewhat tense silence, while Molly Weasley started filling their cups.

"Ron, I hear this will be your first year too," Daphne tried to break the ice, with what she hoped was a safe topic. Every child liked talking about Hogwarts, right?

"Yes, why do you care," came the answer in a reproachful voice, earning Ron a glare from his mother. Some more moments of uncomfortable silence followed, interrupted only by clinking silverware and people slurping tea.

"Wow, the mood in here is…"

"...really depressing," the twins resumed their earlier antics, which Daphne was grateful for.

"Just a little bit," she conceded with a smile," I hear you can tell me a lot about Hogwarts, especially the, let's say, less known parts of the castle. If, in fact, you are the Weasley twins," she continued, earning a small snigger from the two.

"Fair lady, I am happy you know of our good reputation," at this, the Weasley matriarch scoffed a little," has reached you," one of the twins and both initiated a ridiculously deep bow.

"Through our time," the other twin continued," we have indeed learned many of the hidden parts of the castle, while running from Filch. Unlawfully pursued, every time of course," a twin said eliciting a small sigh from his mother, who obviously wanted her sons to be something else than pranksters extraordinaire.

"We would be delighted to…" the first twin now spoke again, but was rudely interrupted by his brother.

"You would be delighted to what? Show her around, tell her about pranking? You've never offered that to me, now you offer it to the snake?" Ron now accused his brother, every attempt at civility completely forgotten.

"Dear brother, you never asked!" one of the twins now shot back, clearly annoyed by how his little brother was acting. Without another word, Ron got up and stormed up the stairs, fuming. A few moments later, they heard the banging of a door.

"Mr. Greengrass, I do have to apologize for my siblings and their childish behaviour. Rest assured, not everyone in this family is like that. I hear you work at the auror office?" Percy now spoke up, using a voice that was so obviously used for boot-licking that it made Daphne sick. She recognized that tone of voice, and so did her father.

"That is no problem, Percy. After all, they still are children, and are allowed their fair share of childish behaviour," her father answered the pompous boy, in a polite yet cold tone she had heard from him before, when dealing with suck-ups. "And yes, you heard right, I am, indeed, an auror, but my position is not very high," he now told Percy, who looked decidedly unhappy about it.

The hosts and guests made some meaningless small-talk, and then Fred and George asked Harry and Daphne if they wanted to go for some broom riding. Harry and Daphne were given two old brooms, the older Weasley brothers' old ones, and instructed on their usage.

"You lay them beside you…"

"…and you say 'up'," they said.

So, Daphne and Harry had laid the brooms next to them, and both said, "Up!" Harry's broom had immediately risen into his hands, her broom had been more hesitant. After about five tries, delivered with increasing annoyance, she just shouted, "up!" and was hit by the handle in the shoulder.

Scowling at the chuckling group of boys, she mumbled, "It came up, didn't it? Could have been worse, like, if it hit the face and not the shoulder…"

They spent about an hour on the brooms first hovering on spot and, after getting acquainted, flying around cautiously. At least, that was what Daphne did. Harry, on the other hand, soared happily through the skies the first moment he sat on the broom. The totally free, absolutely happy look on his face warmed her heart, and while Daphne didn't particularly enjoy flying, his joy made her deliriously happy.

The following morning, Daphne awoke, still happy. Between her mixed feelings about the previous day's visit with the Weasleys, it was nice to be just simply ecstatic about something and her birthday had never disappointed in that regard.

She showered, dressed diligently and made her way towards the dining room, giddy with excitement. At the table, she was awaited by her parents, her sister, and her best friend. Waiting with them was a pile of presents, considerably larger than the one Harry had received earlier that week. She was a little sorry for that, considering what a nice guy Harry was, he should really have more than that.

"Good morning, sweetheart!" She was greeted by her mother," Happy Birthday!"

This prompted everyone, including an extremely uncomfortable looking Harry, to sing for her. Daphne felt her face redden. After the song had finished, they sat down for breakfast, this time with all of Daphne's favourites. Having eaten her fill, she turned towards her presents.

"Now, princess, start with ours," her father handed her a small, heavy package. She opened it, to find a nice, silver picture frame. It was empty, except for a pure black background. Questioningly, she looked at her father.

"Well, after your present for Harry, we thought you might like something like this. It is a picture frame, that can change its picture," he explained. With a chuckle, he added, "after all, we give presents that we secretly want ourselves, don't we?"

With his explanation, Daphne was extremely happy. It was true, while she had been working on Harry's present; she had indeed thought how great it would be to have something like that with her at Hogwarts. That her father had realized this only increased the worth this present would hold for her. With wet eyes, she looked at her father and nodded.

"Thanks, daddy," she managed to utter.

"Mine next," the emotional situation was interrupted by her eager little sister, Tori, who handed her nothing at first," For my present, I gave you Harry's journal. We both know how very much you dislike potions. With that journal in reach, at least you'll always have some useful notes for revision." She giggled and grinned at Daphne, a wink indicating that she was only partly serious.

"Very funny, little sis. Now, although your idea for the journal is great, what did you really get me?" she asked her sister, a smile gracing her face at her sister's antics.

"The bit about the journal was partly true; I do think it will be great for both of you. But, if you're gonna hang around this one," she indicated Harry, a mock frown on her face," you'll want to have some way to blow of some steam. Therefore, this."

She handed Daphne a big, rattling box adorned with garishly coloured wrapping paper and an oversized bow. Opening it, Daphne found an assortment of joke articles: There was nearly everything, from fireworks to stink-bombs. She waited for the glares from her parents at her sister to pass, then she turned towards her sister and smiled thankfully.

"Thank you, Tori! And don't underestimate Harry here, I have the feeling there is a mischievous, pranky streak somewhere in there," after a look at Harry and her sister's questioning faces, she added," deep down…"

With a chuckle, she turned towards Harry and looked at him expectantly. His face was a little unsure, and he squirmed under her gaze. Then, he got a small, mischievous smile.

"My present to you, in coordination with your sister, is a promise to always help you with potions; we both know you need it," he joked, as if trying to prove he indeed had a mischievous streak, but Daphne realized, that he was very nervous about his present. She decided to set him at ease by picking up his banter.

"Well, in that case, thank you very much. And in return, I promise to always take you down a peck, if you get a little full of yourself," she said, in mock-seriousness. Harry was more at ease now, if only, because he was distracted.

"Here, this is from me," he said, and handed her a small, black box. Daphne opened it to look at a small, silver locket. On one side, it displayed the Greengrass crest, a fess shield of green, with a crown and a crescent, and on the other side, it displayed the Potter crest.

"I… I thought this could stand for… us… as friends," Harry stuttered out.

At first, Daphne was unable to speak. She was completely surprised by the gift, never having gotten something like this. Maybe, she rationalized he didn't know what a gift like this meant, but still, putting both their crests on both sides meant he believed in their continuing friendship. Without another word, she flung herself into Harry's arms and, only with a small flinch, Harry reciprocated. She felt his arms wrap tightly around her and she laid her head comfortably on his shoulder.

"Thank you, Harry! I love my present; it is great," she said, putting all of her considerable thankfulness for his present in her voice. Despite the small snickers coming from the direction of Tori, Harry and Daphne stayed and enjoyed their hug for a bit more, before finally releasing their hold on one another, both with red faces as they looked at her parents. Her father was looking at her with his eyebrows raised while her mother was smirking.

Daphne's further presents were less elaborate, some books - one on politics from her uncle Adalbert Greengrass, who had a seat on the Wizengamot, and one named The Pureblood Directory by her great-aunt Amalda. It was on the remaining pureblood families, and it was her least favourite present. Some more books, and some assorted candy later, Daphne had opened all her presents.

With a content sigh, she looked at the pile of presents and at the people sitting at the table with her. In former years, she had always had a big birthday party, with many children from the other noble families in attendance. Having never really enjoyed the custom, as the company it brought with it just didn't suit her; she had less desire than ever to have such a gathering this time. She just wanted to spend the day with her family, with Harry and her presents. Just as Daphne had wished, they spent the rest of the day together.

Just as Daphne had wished, they spent the rest of the day together, with an enjoyable and considerable amount of time spent with teaching Harry the intricacies of exploding snap. To him, the constant danger of losing one's eyebrows certainly added to the thrill of the game.

After a particularly gruelling round, which proved to be fatal for Leo, the family cat's whiskers, they moved on to wizarding chess, Harry and Daphne versus Tori. However, their numerical advantage proved to be irrelevant, as the little rascal played with a deviousness and foresight unfitting for her age. This was soon mirrored in the chess pieces' mood.

"No, not me, I am way more important than that one," one of Harry and Daphne's white pawns exclaimed, pointing at the castle. The white king was in check, and the only way to end it, was to move either the pawn, or the castle in the way of the evilly smirking black queen. The smirk, Harry now noticed bore a striking resemblance to Tori, sitting across from him and Daphne, who had the same look on her face as her queen.

"Pawn, to F4," Daphne reiterated the order, and with a great sigh, the figurine marched towards the indicated square, only to be momentarily smashed to pieces by the laughing queen.

"You know, I kind of find her thirst for blood a little disconcerting," Harry commented, indicating towards the still laughing figurine, which was now happily twirling the sceptre, with which the enemy was slain, around.

"I know what you mean, Harry," Daphne answered and signalized for Harry to enter a small huddle with her for some much needed strategy talk. A few minutes later they, returned their attention towards the board, a small, wicked smile graced their features as they were anxious to try their strategy.

"Castle, to F4," Harry intoned, and, after the move had concluded, he added," Check!"

They game wound on for a few more turns, until the crucial point came. It was time to sacrifice the knight, to gain the winning advantage.

"Knight, to D5," Daphne ordered the shivering white knight, which was summarily slain by an especially vindictive black bishop.

"Queen, to D5," Harry said.

Watching the turn play out, Tori's constant smirk turned first into a frown and then into astonishment as Daphne continued," check mate!"

The black king took his crown, walked over towards Harry and Daphne and, in a fit of rage suited to a small child, threw it on the table hard enough to break it. Harry looked at Daphne, her face mirroring the same elation he felt at their teamwork finally playing out.

"Great you two. And it only took you, what, eight games," Tori interrupted with a smile.

The rest of the day played out in similar fashion, including four more games of chess, so Tori could make her number of wins an even dozen and more soon than anyone had expected it was time for supper and soon after, time for bed.

The remaining days until the 1st of September flew by. Most of them were very much the same as the ones they had spent in the manor before, sometimes as a trio and sometimes only Harry and one of the girls, or even completely alone, when he felt like it. The choice of being alone, without having to flee to a dusty old library, was something new and extremely enjoyable to Harry.

Soon however, it was the last day of August, which meant it was time to prepare. While dropping of a large amount of cleaned clothes at his room, he and the Greengrass ladies had been to muggle London, where Harry enjoyed having his own money to spend on things, he was stopped by Tori. She had grown increasingly moody the closer the day of Harry and Daphne's departure had come. Now, she was looking at him sadly, obviously very reluctant to let them go away and stay alone with her parents. Or, rather her mother, as Xander was to be away on assignment.

"Hey Harry," she started in a solemn voice," how is packing coming along?"

"Good," he answered, not sure where this conversation was leading, as she could clearly see through the open door of his room, that these were the last things to pack before he was ready for the trip to King's Cross. "What is it, Tori?" he asked the distraught looking girl.

"It's just… I don't… I don't want you and Daphne to go," she responded, trying her best to stare holes into the floor as she spoke. "I know you promised to write, but it's not the same. What if you meet all new friends there and forget about me?" she inquired dejectedly, in a voice so sad and small it broke Harry's heart.

"Look, Tori; I don't know if we'll be able to write all the time, but won't forget you, I promise. And in two years, you'll go there too," he said, in what he hoped was a sincere and consoling tone. Tori gave him a huge hug and left his room.

That night, sleep did not come easily to Harry, as he worried about the girl he had come to regard as a mixture between friend and little sister.

AN: Hello all,

I hope your new year started quite well.

Thank you to my great Beta haphne24, who actually thought of the headig for this chapter, as I was completely clueless about how to call it.

Thanks, of course to you all as my readers, too. If the chess sequence weirded you out a little, don't be concerned, it won't become standard occurrence. However, bear in mind the following: If it is there, it is important.

Have a nice start to work and classes, or whatever you're up to.

alexandertheII