DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter or any of it's Characters, and if you would be so kind as to review I would be very happy. Thank You
Chapter 15 -- Friends or Foes
Harry suddenly appeared just outside the door to his private suite at Flourish's. After pulling his wand he checked to see that Dobby was ready and with steely resolve, Harry pushed open the door and strode inside closing the door and waiting for it to seal before walking towards his three guests that were lounging in the corner, two of which were still stuffing their faces. Luna was the first to realize that Harry just entered the room as she stood up rather quickly, startling the twins who followed seconds later.
"Harry mate, long time no chat, how've you been?" Said George as Fred was wiping his face and brushing off the crumbs that was all over his robes.
Harry not wasting any time, raised his wand, and silently bounded all three to the chairs there were just sitting in with thick black ropes that shot out of his wand lightning quick.
"Whoa Harry Mate, I don't know what you have heard…" said George
"But we are on your side, we owe you more then we could ever pay back." finished Fred
Harry thought that over briefly before speaking.
"Guys, as much as I would love to believe that you are completely on my side, certain information has come to light that leads me to drastic measures. Rest assured that I take no pleasure in doing so, but I don't know who I can or who I can't trust, and this is the most reliable and quickest way to determine where your true loyalties lie." Finished Harry as he pulled out a long, thin, cylinder filled with Harry's special enhanced truth potion.
"Let me guess….truth potion. Go right ahead mate" said George
"We have nothing to hide" finished Fred as both he and his brother opened their mouths wide waiting for Harry to distribute the potion.
This kind of threw Harry off his game plan, he wasn't expecting them to take the potion willingly, maybe they were telling the truth and they actually were on his side. Nevertheless, Harry wasn't leaving anything to chance but he decided he didn't need to go full out like he did with the Headmaster. Putting the cylinder back in his robes, he then pulled out a much smaller tube of a less severe truth potion and closed the gap between himself and the three bound students. Once he was within reach, Harry paused and looked at Luna.
"You haven't said a word yet Luna, what do you have to say about all this?"
"Oh me Harry, I'm completely fine with you giving me truth potion, I already knew you would do something like this, in fact if you didn't then I would have been surprised, I only ask that you please don't ask me any question about who I fancy or any such things, I'm afraid of what I might say." said Luna slightly worriedly.
Both the twins burst up in laughter before George added.
"Yeah mate. I strongly recommend you don't ask her that, unless your ready to hear…I Fancy you Harry Potter, my strong, brave, drop dead sexy hero you." finished George in his best Luna impersonation as Fred started laughing again with George quickly following him. Luna simply smiled although Harry could have sworn he saw he complexion redden quite a bit.
Deciding it was best to get this show on the roll, Harry stepped up and placed three drops of potion on each of their tongues and waited for it to kick in before starting his interrogation.
"Do you now, or have you ever, supported the actions of Lord Voldermort or any of his followers?" asked Harry.
"No,No,No" answered all three as Harry continued.
"Do you work for someone that you give reports to about my self or the actions of any of my friends?"
"No,No,Yes" was his response. Harry immediately made his way to stand in front of Luna as the twins were craning their necks to stare at her in disbelief.
Harry pointed his wand at Luna's face an commanded in a dangerous tone of voice.
"Who do you report to, how long have you been giving reports, and what have you reported on me personally?"
Luna took a deep breath and without the hint of fear even while Harry was staring her down with his wand, she never wavered but when she spoke, it was slightly louder then a whisper.
"I report to my father as I am a reporter for the Quibbler and have been for the last two years, I write under the fake name of Anul Doogevol and have never reported anything you didn't want disclosed Harry, I refuse to spread lies." finished Luna very quietly.
This was not the answer Harry was expecting as he lowered his wand and looked a little bashfully for overreacting.
"I'm sorry Luna, I think that is amazing that you write those articles, in fact I have read some of your articles over the summer, I especially liked the one in regards to the Ministry of Magic and Voldermort's return, I wondered how the reporter knew such detailed information." said Harry with a small little smile, Luna simply blushed.
"Last Question, do you report for, or work for Albus Dumbledore or any other Hogwarts Professor?" Harry asked
"No,No,No" was the unanimous answer and Harry felt that was enough questioning under serum and quickly gave all three the antidote and unbound them before walking over to the table that was filled with suites and grabbed a slice of chocolate cake.
The twins stood up and began rubbing their arms where the ropes had them bound as Luna quietly walked over and sat beside Harry placing her hand on his knee as an eerie silence overtook the foursome. Finally, it was George that broke the silence.
"Harry, there are a few reasons why we came to see you today, although we really want to hear what you've been up to these past weeks, there are things you should know first."
"Yeah Mate, such as our dear youngest brother has been in correspondence with the Headmaster." said Fred.
"yeah, we've been spotting Fawkes flashing in and out of the Burrow quite frequently, especially after Albus awoke from his potions accident." continued George.
"Potions accident?" asked Harry
"Yeah, you didn't hear how he was attempting to brew a very complicated potion and the cauldron melted exposing the Headmaster to a highly unstable potion that wasn't yet complete, he's been incapacitated in the Hospital Wing for the past week and a half." informed Fred.
Harry's smirk was starting to show before he got himself under control to hide what he really knew about the Headmasters incapacitation. He began to wonder what Ron was up to in regards to his former Mentor.
"Anyways, were not really sure what he has been up to for he has been extremely secretive since the beginning of summer." said George as Fred Continued
"Also, we heard Ron talking to Hermione about a special Order meeting scheduled for tomorrow night at Grimmauld Place, from what we heard with our extendable ears before Hermione silenced the room.." said Fred as George continued.
"Is the main topic of discussion for this special Order meeting, is none other then Harry Potter."
Harry soaked this information in, there were many different avenues that he could take in regards to this new information, but as he recently learned the hard way, he would not rush into action anymore. Besides, the meeting was tomorrow night and he had time to seek council with his allies.
"Thank you guys for letting me know, it's nice to know that at least some of the Weasley's are on my side. Is there anything else?" asked Harry
"Actually there is, but it is of a business nature. I think we will let Luna have her say and then maybe we can have a little chat afterwards, in private?" asked George
"Absolutely guys, in fact I wanted to talk to you about that very same thing." finished Harry with the first true smile the Twins had seen today as Fred and George stood up and walked towards the food area leaving Harry alone to talk with Luna. Very nervously, Luna finally spoke in a barely audible whisper.
"Harry, something has happened to me these past few weeks, I don't know how to explain it. I…I..it seems I have been having what my father calls episodes again."
"Episodes? …Luna it's okay…you can tell me anything ..I promise that I will listen to you….tell me what's bothering you so I can help." finished Harry and this time he moved forward and put a hand on her knee, sitting very close to her so if she decided to use that whisper voice again, he was going to hear what was troubling her like this.
"Sometimes I have these wonderful dreams. But lately they seem to be getting longer and something tells me that the dream I'm having is not coming from me." Luna said in a light whisper as she stared hopefully into those stunning green eyes praying that he would not do what she feared and call her a nutter.
"do you have dreams…or is it just one dream playing over and over…..the same dream I mean?" said Harry as Luna just stared at him with a blank look on her face.
"You mean….you believe me?" said Luna bewildered.
"Of course I do Luna, believe me, I know all about dreams becoming reality, I have no problem believing that you are having someone else's dreams or even maybe seeing an event that hasn't even happened yet, you could be part seer." finished Harry with a slight smile hoping to relax the young Ravenclaw.
Suddenly Luna leapt out of her chair and straddled Harry sitting in his chair with such force that it toppled them both backwards as Luna still had her arms wrapped around Harry's neck.
To say Harry was shocked was the understatement of the year. Harry just laid there with the young Ravenclaw straddling his waist still trying to process what had happened and how he got himself in this position. Suddenly Harry heard snickering coming from the corner as he moved the blonde mass of hair from his vision and he spotted the Weasley Twins, attempting to stifle the laughter as they made their way over.
"Will you look at this dear brother…..what did I say….I knew there was chemistry between those two." said Fred as George simply snickered louder.
At hearing this proclamation by Fred, Luna realized how inappropriate this was and quickly got off of Harry and helped him up to his feat, blushing madly.
"I'm sorry Harry…I didn't mean to…" said Luna but she was cut off by Harry.
"Luna…it's okay really…I was just surprised is all, give me a couple of minutes to talk business with the Twins and then I can excuse them and we can finish our conversation in private, okay?"
Luna nodded her head as Harry grabbed each of the Twins by the elbows and dragged them to the corner of the suite and pulled up privacy wards around them before speaking.
"Don't even start you guys ..on to business, I wanted to see how the inventing has been coming and I wanted to see if you could help me with a few ideas I've had lately." Harry asked as the Twins laughter ceased and their smirks grew as they replied.
"Actually Harry, that's one of the reasons we wanted to see you today, we have really come along with our inventions, using Zonko's as a rough draft, we have made several modifications that I think will sell nicely." said Fred as George continued
"Two of our favorites are these." and George pulled out a small box and set it on his lap and opened it. Peering inside, Harry thought it was several extendable ears but he was mistaken as George continued to explain.
"New and improved Extendable Ears, this is the first box we made of these babies and we wanted you to have the honors." said George
"You see Mate, these are a lot better, and way more convenient. After out tenth Extendable was noticed by young Granger, we decided that we had to figure a way to get rid of the cord, thus you are holding the weeks and weeks of sleepless nights to rectify the situation." Said Fred beaming.
"Cordless Extendable Ears, or what we now call Ear Droppers. You see, you place this small drum core into your ear, this makes it hard to spot that you are listening to something else. Then you have fifteen ears per box that you can place anywhere, stick them to walls and place disillusionment charms over them and no one is the wiser." Added George with a wicked grin on his face.
"Wow Guys!!…..that is completely wicked!! How far do they work?" asked Harry as he was thinking off all the ways these could come in handy.
"there is no distance cut off as far as we know, but only those Ears will work with that ear core, right now we are packaging them as 15 Ears and 4 Ear cores to a box." said Fred.
"So only those four ear cores can pick up what these fifteen Ears hear?" asked Harry
"Right" said George as he wanted to show Harry one way him and his brother use the ears. He bent down and pulled out an ear core and an ear out of the box on Harry's lap before continuing.
"Here's another great way to use these, microphone check, one, two, one, two." said George as he was talking into an ear he was holding and right away Harry understood.
"Like Walkie Talkies!! That's bloody brilliant!!" said Harry who was getting even more excited. Fred and George just looked at each other and shrugged. They had no idea what Walkie Talkies were, but Harry was obviously pleased about their first invention and that's the goal they were trying to achieve, after all Harry had done for them, they just couldn't let him down.
George walked back over and placed his ear core and ear back into Harry's box as Fred walked over and pulled out a small black bag with a wicked smile.
"On to our second favorite invention, this is Instant Darkness Powder, simply grab a handful like this, and throw it around you spreading out as much as you can like this." and Fred threw the powder around them and instantly they were submerged into total darkness. Harry pulled out his wand and tried to do a Lumos to break through the blackness but it didn't seem to work. Suddenly, the blackness dissolved and they could see each other again.
"Woah, what just happened?" Asked Harry a little bewildered.
"It's pretty cool eh? We've been experimenting with this stuff ever since we imported it from Peru. Wickedly effective, nothing that we know of yet can penetrate the darkness it causes." said George as Fred simply nodded.
"That is cool but did everything go dark for you guys as well?" asked Harry as both the boys nodded that it did and that got Harry thinking.
"Well that is a problem then, you guys have to figure out a way that we can see through that blackness, otherwise we would be in the same boat as the Death Munchers would be in, although it is kind of impressive." said Harry as both the Twins smiled
"You're right of course Harry and we will work on that, but the problem is we are kinda running out of funds at the moment but we just rented a flat in Diagon Alley and we will open shop within the next few days or so. Most of our stock is some of our older inventions such as the Original Extendable Ears and Puking Pastilles and such, but once we put these two new items into our inventory, we will sure to turn a profit." Said Fred as George also agreed.
Harry was absorbing everything they had said and came to a quick conclusion.
"okay guys, here's what I want to do, I want to hire you, full time as my personal inventors. I think you guys are bloody amazing and I think some of your inventions can really help us in our battle to rid this world of evil." said Harry as both the boys got really excited at hearing this as Harry continued.
"I have a few stipulations to add though, first, those two new products you keep a secret and only supply to me until this war is over, then you can sell them to whomever you want. Second, you hire a staff to run your store so you can spend most of your time inventing and tinkering with your product line. At lastly, you will keep all profits from all your inventions and except a monthly fee of one thousand galleons as pay, each with bonuses and incentives to boot." finished Harry as the twins mouths dropped open in complete shock.
It was silent for awhile as what Harry just said sank into the Twins brains, still speechless they could only nod their heads that they agreed but Harry wanted verbal agreement. After a little more prodding, the twins finally spoke.
"it's a deal mate!" said George
"Absolutely!" said Fred as the two brothers shook hands with Harry making it official.
"Great, now as for your shop…..Dobby!" Harry called out as Dobby appeared before everyone almost before Harry finished calling him out, leading the twins to believe that he was there the whole time.
"Dobby, please go to Gringotts and Have Whiplock purchase the shop that the Weasley Twins just rented, paid in full, also have him set it up with the best Wards Gringotts has to offer and have him place the ownership of the store to Fred and George Weasley. Please pass along that this would be personal favor to me and that I would be in his debt if he were to put a rush on the whole process." Harry commanded.
Dobby simply nodded that he understood and vanished silently.
"Okay, that part's been taking care of, I had a few ideas that I want you to think about over the next couple of days." and Harry began to discuss a few things with them as he pulled out his Gringotts wallet and gave each of the twins their first month's salary with an extra thousand to keep them motivated.
"Thanks Harry, we are going to get right on those new ideas and get things rolling with the store. We already have a few friends that were hinting about wanting to work for us, especially Lee Jordan." Said Fred as George continued
"Yeah, and we will run by every new invention with you before selling them to the public."
"That's excellent guys, your product are just too sweet, I don't want them ending up in the enemies hands, if you know what I mean. I'm also going to need several more boxes of those Ear Droppers." said Harry
"Gotcha Mate, were on the case" said Fred as George stood up as well and mock saluted Harry as all three began to laugh.
"Ohh, one more thing before you leave. I am not sure how safe owl mail is right now, I don't know if it is being monitored or not. I would prefer to keep our little business venture on the down low so to speak. I wish to remain the SILENT-partner if your understanding my meaning." Harry finished as both the twins nodded that they understood and watched as Harry pulled something from his wrist and did something before suddenly a huge trunk materialized before them.
Harry opened the trunk and rummaged through it quickly, pulling out two small packages before closing the trunk lid and re-shrank it, then placed it back somewhere on his wrist.
"Whoa Harry, that was totally wicked!" said both the twins simultaneously.
Harry simply laughed as he handed over the two packages as he explained.
"Guys, these are muggle cell phones, do you know what they are?" as both twins shook their heads that they didn't, Harry continued to explain for several minutes until they understood and had his number saved in their phone's memory."
"Only contact me through these unless of an emergency, in that case call for Dobby and he will come, but only for an Emergency. I am planning on having a small get together early next week with all my supporters and I want you there, I will explain everything to you later okay, and guys….Thanks for joining me." said Harry as he smiled at them.
"No Harry…we should be the ones thanking you….you always believed in us when everyone thought our idea of a joke shop was completely nutters." said Fred as George continued.
"Yeah Mate….no mater how you put it….it's us owing you in the end….don't worry mate…we won't let you down!"
"I know you guys won't, because if you do, I will tell Dobby that you guys tried to harm me and that he has my permission to punish you however he sees fit to." joked Harry as both the boys shivered at the mere thought of what Dobby would do, making Harry laugh even harder.
As the Twins disappeared, Harry made his way over towards Luna and took a seat opposite her.
"You know, you are absolutely amazing. In all my life, I have never met someone so remarkable." said Luna slightly louder then a whisper this time.
"Thank you Luna, but I think the correct term your looking for is Rich. It is amazing what can happen when you say gold is not an issue, and actually have a Goblin appear suddenly to prove that you mean it." chuckled Harry as Luna laughed as well, the real funny thing was, Harry wasn't joking.
"Now Luna, the last we talked you were going to give me a little more information as to the type of dream or dreams you've been having, care to explain?" asked Harry and he genuinely seemed interested in her answer.
Luna was a little bashful, never had she had someone pay such rapt attention to her like the way he was doing right now, except maybe her father, but she knew he was only doing his parental duty. But this, was a new experience for Luna, and she needed a minute to gather her thoughts that were running a mile a minute.
"Well…okay…umm..well, at first it was just the same dream, over and over again….but since the….since…um the Death Eater encounter….I have been having several…and they are a lot longer. When they were short dreams, I thought….I thought they were just fantasies. But when they started to get longer…I soon realized that there were people in this dream…and that I had never seen these people ever before…..well that is when I guessed that it might be a dream or a vision of someone else's life. Oh Merlin, listen to me, even I think I am nutters!"
"Calm down Luna, I don't think your nutters….well not totally that is" said Harry as he chuckled and got Luna to smile before continuing, "lets break down the one dream you've been having over and over first, then we will tackle the others okay, so close your eyes and try to picture everything that happened in that vision from start to finish. No matter how insignificant you think it is, I want to hear about it. I will keep notes and we will seek council from some of my other friends, don't worry Luna, your not alone, we'll figure this thing out" finished Harry assuredly.
Luna nodded as Harry pulled his wand and conjured some parchment and a quill and waited for Luna to start describing her vision.
Thirty minutes later or so, Harry had a good amount of detailed information on Luna's visions. She was showing signs of fatigue and Harry was getting writers cramps in his hands from all the scratching. The two teenagers relaxed afterwards while Harry handed Luna a cell phone and explained how everything worked and stored some important phone numbers in her address book. The pure joy that shone on her face when she glanced at one of the contacts name in her new phone did not go un-noticed by Harry.
"Neville is on your side of things?" asked Luna in an excited yet cautious voice.
"He is, in fact, he is my best friend these days, there isn't anything going on in my life that he doesn't already know. I trust him completely with my life and I will gladly give it to save his if need be." Finished Harry with steely resolve.
Luna smiled and Harry had a feeling that maybe Luna has feelings for Neville, if she did, wait till she sees the new and improved Neville Longbottom. Harry and Luna were ready to part ways with Harry giving her a little bit of background first as to where he stood in regards to the Headmaster and the Order. Harry told her how he was planning on having an information meeting in a couple of days to decide what actions needed to be taken in regards to the will reading of his Godfather. Just as they were making their way to the door, the entire building shook aggressively as a loud rumble was heard followed by what sounded like an explosion coming from outside.
Luna thought it was some sort of earthquake or something, but Harry had pretty good idea as to what the cause was and he made his way to the side window that looked out towards Diagon Alley and sure enough, he was proved right.
"Death Eaters!" whispered Harry as his face turned to anger at witnessing the destruction that was taking place and watching horrified as people were scattering and running for safety.
"What are we going to do? How are we going to get out of here?" asked Luna looking slightly less confident then she was earlier.
"You are leaving this place and going somewhere safe." answered Harry as he turned away from the window as Dobby suddenly appeared right before them.
"Dobby, take Luna to Harrington Palace and make sure all security measure are on full force just in case this is a diversion tactic so they can attack Privet Drive." commanded Harry.
"What about you Harry, if your not leaving then I'm not either. I want to stay and help you!" proclaimed Luna with a little more confidence then she first showed upon seeing the Death Eaters.
"Luna, I appreciate that, really I do, but you haven't been training all summer like I have, but don't worry, I am not that reckless little kid anymore. I have a few tricks up my sleeve and I won't get hurt, trust me." Harry finished with a wicked smile.
Luna seemed to understand and Harry was right, she was not ready for this type of fighting. She knew how lucky they all were to escape the Ministry at the end of last term with their lives, but she silently made a vow to herself, that Merlin help her, she would o nothing else from now on but train and research new spells so then next time Death Eaters attacked, she would not be dead weight.
"Harry, please be careful…and good luck!" Luna barely squeaked out as the tears began to roll down her cheeks as she rushed forward and gave Harry another one of those fierce hugs. As the two finally broke apart, Harry looked her right in her teary eyes.
"I will Luna, don't worry…..and Luna….Thanks" Harry finished with a week smile.
Luna simply smiled as Dobby grabbed her hand and they disappeared.
Harry was making his way to the front door when his cell phone rang and he answered it.
"Harry, it's Neville, where are you?" said the voice on the other end.
"I'm in my suite at Flourishes, but I am about to make my way into the Alley, I can't stand by and do nothing while innocent people get slaughtered down there." Harry practically screamed into the phone.
"I wouldn't either, I just entered the Alley from the Leaky, I'm wearing an invisibility cloak, I will start taking out as many as I can on the way to Flourishes side entrance, what do you say about meeting me half way doing the same?" asked Neville
With a smirk growing on his face, Harry answered.
"Absolutely! Be careful Neville and we will meet up near the Owl Emporium, remember what we talked about, no stunners, this is war!"
"Got it Harry, you be careful as well, see ya mate!" and Neville hung up.
Harry put his phone in his pocket, then pulled out his own invisibility cloak and threw it over himself before rushing out the door and towards the chaos that was spreading outside. The final thought that went through his brain before opening the final door and rushing out to battle was:
"Mom, Dad, and Sirius, please protect over me and Neville, I want to see you more then anything in this world, but I can't leave my friends behind while this lunatic murderer is out there killing everyone." with one final deep breath, Harry pushed open the door that lead to Diagon Alley and rushed out to fight