Harry bit his lip, wondering if it was the right time to ask about what he had in mind. He sneaked a glance at his godfather who was currently working on his motorcycle which had been tucked away in Hagrid's care.
Sirius had gotten it back two days ago and was working on some upgrades. Harry had helped him with it of course and was taking a break at the moment.
It had only been a week since the Dursley trial and Harry had already gotten accustomed to life with Sirius.
The man was brilliant.
"And the winner of the staring contest is Harry James Potter!"
He was startled out of his reverie by Sirius' amused voice. He looked at his godfather who smirked at him teasingly. "Care to tell me what's on your mind, pup?"
Harry felt his cheeks heat up in mild embarrassment. He was still getting used to the fact that Sirius seemed to know him better than anyone ever had.
"The other day, when I was at Ron's, he asked if I could stay the night at his place this weekend. You know... a sleepover. It seems Fred and George have something really cool up their sleeve. So... can I go?" The last part was laced with uncertainty.
Sirius nodded easily. "Yeah, sure. I was going to ask if you'd want to have him over but yeah, go ahead, pup. And tell him he's welcome here anytime."
Harry felt his face hurt from the wideness of his grin. He hadn't expected Sirius to agree that easily.
"You're the best."
"And don't you forget it." Sirius pointed a finger at him in faux sternness and Harry couldn't quite control the rush of fondness he felt at that moment.
"Just try not to set the Weasley household on fire."
Harry rolled his eyes. "I promise."
Harry had never been to Ron's house before. Ron had been over to his place once. His best mate's house was somehow exactly the way he'd pictured it... homely. He stepped out of the fireplace and looked around.
His own home was near perfect. Literally. The house elves regularly cleaned the place, maintaining it to the impeccable standards that had been held up since centuries.
The Burrow was different. Mismatched and chipped crockery, an odd chair at the dining table, paisley carpets... the whole works.
"It's not much, but it's home." He turned to look at his best mate who suddenly appeared uncharacteristically self conscious.
"It's brilliant," he replied honestly.
A woman came into the living room just then and Harry knew she was Ron's mother. He'd seen her at the station when the term had ended, but he'd never actually spoken to her.
She smiled at him warmly and he felt more at ease. "Harry dear, it's wonderful to see you again."
For some reason, he felt his cheeks warm under her warm gaze. "Thank you, Mrs. Weasley. It's uh... it's nice to see you too."
"Ronald, take him upstairs and let him put his bag away. Wash up and come downstairs for lunch, dears."
"Yes, Mum."
They were just about to head up when the back door opened and the twins came in. "Hello there, Harry," one of them greeted. He wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to tell them apart.
Their identical grins were contagious and Harry found himself grinning just as wide.
"When Ronnie here told us t—"
"And just what do you think you two are doing in here? I specifically recall asking you to tend to the garden."
Mrs. Weasley sounded nothing like the kind, soft mother that she'd been only moments ago.
"Aw come on, Mum! Ron said Harry was coming over and we wan—"
"Whatever you want will have to wait until the garden is done. Out with you. And don't even think about trailing your muddy feet into my kitchen."
The twins seemed cheery despite the scolding they had just received. They waved merrily at Harry before escaping outside.
"What was that about?," he asked Ron as they went upstairs.
Ron snickered. "The twins got into trouble with Mum the other day. They were trying some new prank out in the garden and it didn't work out as planned and everything went boom!"
Harry grinned. "I feel sorry for your brothers." Mrs. Weasley seemed nice but he most certainly didn't want to get on her bad side.
"They got off bloody easy. I'll tell you later about the time they almost tricked me into making an Unbreakable Vow."
Harry felt someone poking his side, urging him to wake up.
"G' way, S'ius," he mumbled, turning away and burying his face deeper into the covers.
"Oi! I'm not Sirius. Fred and I have got something brilliant to show you two. Up, you sleepyhead!"
That's when he realised he wasn't in his bedroom. Instead, he was sharing a room at the Burrow with Ron and the twins.
With a yawn he sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He looked out and saw that it was still dark outside.
"It's the middle of the night. What could you want to show me?"
Even in the dimly lit room, George's eyes gleamed mysteriously. "You'll only find out if you get off your sleepy arse and come with us."
On the bed next to his, Ron was being prodded awake by Fred. The younger redhead mumbled unintelligibly and aimed a poor kick in his brother's direction.
"Oye! Wake up you idiot!"
Ron was more or less shoved off the bed and he landed on the floor in an ungraceful heap.
"Be quiet," George warned as they tiptoed down the stairs.
"What are we doing?" Harry whispered as he and Ron followed the twins.
Fred opened the back door and gestured for them to come outside. "Dad brought home a couple of muggle stuff last week from work: a rubber duck, one of those things muggles use to talk to each other when they're apart; I think it's called a tel-phony and something else much bigger. There wasn't room for it inside the house so he kept it in the barn. He showed it to us a couple of days ago but Mum wasn't too pleased with it."
"It's a muggle thing. Apparently the muggles use it to get around."
"Hold on! You two aren't t—"
"Yup. Now hurry up."
They reached the barn and sneaked in.
"Tada!"
In the dim moonlight that was streaming in from the door and windows, Harry made out a car. He recognised the model. One of the neighbours back at Privet Drive owned the same one.
It was a blue Ford Angila.
"I didn't know even wizards used cars," Harry remarked.
"They don't actually. This one's special." George smirked. "It can fly."
That piqued his curiosity. The only other flying vehicle he was aware of was his godfather's motorcycle.
"Dad took us out for a spin the other day. It was bloody brilliant. It was certainly faster than my old Cleansweep. And that's not even the best part, mate!"
Hardy raised his eyebrows at the twins.
"It can turn invisible!"
"Wicked!"
"Well what are boys waiting for? Get in!"
Ron gawked at his brothers. "Have you gone bonkers? Mum will skin all of us alive if she finds out!"
That much was certain. Whilst Mrs. Weasley was indeed a wonderful person, Harry had no doubt that she would indeed skin them alive if they were caught.
"Which is why we'll be careful. Besides, it's nothing dangerous. Fred knows how to drive this thing. We even took it for a quick test drive last night. We'll just take a quick spin and return in an hour. Mum will never know we ever left our bed. Don't be a spoilsport, Ronniekins. So? You coming or not?"
"Okay, but if Mum finds out; I'm telling her it was your idea," Ron warmed as he got into the backseat. George cuffed him on the head before getting into the passenger seat next to his brother.
"Sirius has a flying motorcycle," Harry commented.
"Brilliant! Did he ever take you for a ride?"
"Not yet. He's been working on fixing it up. Said it would be ready in a couple of days."
The engine came to life and Fred hit the accelerator.
They drove down the pebbled pathway that led to the Burrow. Once they well out on the road, George pushed a button and he felt the car rise up into the air.
He peered down from out of the window as they rose up higher. Once they were well above the ground, he watched as the car's outer body disappeared around them.
"Off we go."
Harry didn't know how long they were in the air. They flew over a couple of small Muggle areas. He caught the faint music from those parties that continued well into the next morning and even the occasional hoot of an owl as they flew over the quieter parts.
They drove around for about half an hour and just as they decided to turn back and head home, a loud, grating sound rattled the entire car.
"What was that?"
He turned to Ron who appeared just as clueless as him. "Fred, what the bloody hell was that?"
"Uh oh."
"What? What do you mean by that?" Panic leaked into the younger redhead's voice.
"It seems w— WHOA!"
The car dived down a couple of feet. The engine sputtered as Fred struggled to keep the vehicle in the air. Outside, the vehicle started to reappear around them, indicating that the invisibility booster was failing too.
"No no no no no NO!" Fred frantically hit a button next to the steering wheel but it wasn't working.
Hands shaking as he gripped the handle, Harry dared a glance out of the window. They were hovering about thirty feet above the ground.
And then they hurtled downward.
"We're all going to DIE!" Ron screamed.
"Will you SHUT UP!" Fred snapped, struggling to keep the vehicle upright.
Curling inwards, the boys braced themselves for the impact all the while screaming for their lives.
They hit the ground with a resounding crash. The vehicle balanced dangerously before it toppled onto its left with an unpleasant crunch.
Harry let out a painful grunt as Ron landed on top of him and the redhead's elbow was jammed into his ribs. His head hit the glass behind him hard and he felt a stabbing pain in the back of his head, eyes watering from the force.
From the front, there was a strained groan from one of the twins. Harry couldn't see. "Is everyone okay?" George panted.
Harry shoved at Ron weakly, attempting to get the other boy off him.
"Sorry," the redhead whispered, his voice rather choked up.
In the front, Harry heard one of the twins fumbling with the door, struggling to get it open.
"Ah bloody hell!" Fred cursed, kicking at the door in frustration. The boy managed to wrench it open and he tumbled out, coughing.
He watched as Fred helped George out before they pulled open the back door of the car.
First, they lifted Ron off Harry and dragged him out before extending their hands towards Harry.
Finally able to breathe, Harry stumbled out into the cool night, taking in huge gulps of air.
"Is everyone okay?" George asked again.
Fred had a gash on his shoulder from where a shard had cut into his skin, George was holding his left wrist rather awkwardly, Ron had managed to get away unscathed and Harry was pretty certain he had a cut on the back of his head.
"Relatively. Where the hell are we?"
"Hell if I know!"
It was a muggle neighbourhood, that much was certain. Independent houses were arranged in a neat grid and went on as far as they could make out. It somewhat reminded Harry of Privet Drive other than the difference that the houses were not all the same but of different heights. It was a miracle that half the residents hadn't come out of their homes to investigate.
Dim street lights illuminated the street. The flashlights of the Ford Angila flickered almost pitifully before giving out.
They were quite the distance away from the Burrow with absolutely no way of getting back in time. He was starting to get worried.
"How in the blazes are we supposed to get back?"
"You think anyone saw us?"
"I hope not. Let's pray no one he— can you hear that?" George suddenly looked uneasy.
"Hear what?"
But even as Harry asked the question, he heard it. The unmistakable sound of a siren. It only got louder and louder with every second.
A police car.
Dread pooled in Harry's stomach.
All too soon, the car rounded the corner and towards them.
Beside him, he heard George curse softly. This was definitely not how he'd expected their midnight adventure to go. He was regretting getting out of bed very much.
The car halted in front of them and the doors opened. Two officers stepped out, both middle aged men.
"Blimey Ed! You weren't kidding about the car!"
The one who had gotten out of the driver's seat glared at his partner. "Told you so, Frank. T'was a car falling out of the sky! I haven't been drinking!"
"For the last time, cars don't fall out of the sky, Eddie. Next thing I know, you're bloody seeing things."
Dammit! They had been spotted by muggles. Police officers no less. Harry's luck was truly spectacular.
The other one, Ed, turned to the four boys. "And what do we have here, lads? Underage driving, is it?"
"Er..."
"Any of you hurt badly? Anything broken?"
"No, sir," Fred answered and that was the first time he sounded worried.
"Which one of you two was driving?" The constable named Frank gestured between Fred and George, frowning at them
When neither of them replied, the other officer Frank spoke. "Okay, so here's what will happen. You boys will accompany us back to the station where we will call your parents and we'll wait for them together and in the meantime, we'll have the car towed back as well. Sound good to you lads?"
No. It didn't sound good at all. Judging by the matching expressions on the twins' faces, Harry wagered it was terrible.
Absolutely terrible.
I thought I was done with this fic. Turns out I'm not. I won't make any promises about regular updates. These fics will just pop up as and when I come up with ideas and have the time.
Let me know what you think will happen in the comments.
If you haven't already guessed, this is a canon divergence post First year, so a lot of things might happen differently.