Edit : Fixed a few mistakes here and there

"Talking"

Thinking

'Letters/Reading'

"Telepathy"

Spells

"Spirit Talking"


"Rennervate."

Harry groggily opened his eyes with a groan as he slowly sat up and shook his head to clear the dizziness.

"Damn. And here I had thought for a moment that I had managed to land a shot on you THIS time." he grumbled at Amelia, who looming above him with a slight smirk on her face.

"I will admit that you surprised me." she replied, still smirking. "Using my own conjured mirror to blind me with a focused Lumos was not something I expected from someone your age. The fact that you're able to think on your feet and improvise with the elements on the field is just as impressive as I found it when we first dueled." she complimented him as she helped him stand up. "I pity your poor classmate who will ever face you in a mock duel."

Harry pouted. "It still wasn't good enough. I couldn't hit you." he complained.

Amelia chuckled. "Harry, I was the best Auror in the field behind Mad-Eye Moody, I have two decades of experience on you in dueling and fighting. Even if my skills have dulled since the end of the war, the fact that you managed to surprise me at all, even -no- ONLY after two weeks of training, is nothing to be ashamed of. Not even your father managed to do that, and he was one of the most ingenious people on the battlefield that I knew."

He raised an eyebrow at her as he dusted his clothes. "What do you mean?"

"Just like your mother's strong point was Charms, your father's was Transfiguration. And on a battlefield, being able to transfigure rocks and debris into animals or other things to defend yourself makes you pretty much unpredictable." she explained. "A wave of your wand, and your enemy is suddenly surrounded by a pack of wolves, a conjured bird becomes a flying knife or the ground can suddenly turn into a swamp. The possibilities are endless." she continued as he listened with rapt attention. "Your father's aptitude for battle transfiguration was what made him feared by the Death Eaters during the war. It's also why your father was able to fight You-Know-Who and live to tell the tale. It wasn't by luck that your parents survived several encounters with him. Your father's combat prowess and your mother's brains along with their magical strength were more than a match for You-Know-Who's power." she concluded. "But enough talking. Let us clean ourselves up and join Susan upstairs. After all, you're leaving for the Burrow this afternoon."

Harry nodded with a sad frown. While he was looking forward to seeing Ron and the Twins again, the thought of having to leave the Bones so soon, even though he would come back after a week, darkened his mood a bit.

In the time he had lived with them, Harry had found both a mentor and another parent-like figure in Amelia. The head of the DMLE treated him just like she treated her niece (and MERLIN if it wasn't a breath of fresh air from the constant hero worship he was receiving from most of the wizarding population) and while she was strict as her job demanded it, she had a kind side that he felt privileged in seeing.

In Susan, he had found a new friend. Even though the first steps of their friendship had been kind of awkward, it hadn't been long until they overcame that obstacle. While Harry knew that Susan wasn't likely to become a part of the group that was constituted of Hermione, Ron and himself anytime soon, it still felt nice to have a friend outside of Gryffindor that wasn't Hagrid.

Harry banished the somber thoughts of his mind, taking comfort in the fact that he would write to them and see Susan again after the week was over, and followed Amelia upstairs. The last few days had gone by pretty fast, between the training sessions, the customs and manners lessons, studying and the various games Susan roped him into, but it had been the most enjoyable month of his life outside of Hogwarts.

Speaking of letters, they had found why his friends hadn't replied to his: they had never received them in the first place. Apparently, it was a work of a house elf. Though it was still unknown who it belonged to and why it was doing this. It also explained why Hedwig had seemed to get angrier and angrier every time she returned to him. The fact that it had forced Harry to give his letters to Amelia so that she could use a Ministry owl to send them only made it worse.

Harry pitied the poor creature if Hedwig was to ever get her talons on it.

A quick shower later, he joined Susan and her aunt in the living room.

"Still aren't managing to land a hit, are we?" Susan teased him.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Laugh it up, Susan." he replied before smirking. "At least your aunt is giving me a challenge. That's more than I can say about you."

She pouted cutely. "Just because you won all our duels so far doesn't mean you'll win every time."

"Perhaps if you had not neglected your training, Susan, you wouldn't be loosing to Harry." Amelia interjected. "I told you, time and time again, that you should learn how to defend yourself properly, but you've never been interested." She glanced at him. "Perhaps having a dueling partner closer to your age at Hogwarts will make you more motivated."

Susan grumbled at her aunt and Harry chuckled.

The first time Susan had dueled him, she had underestimated him. The second time, he had outsmarted her. The following duels after that had always ended up in him winning and if there was one thing Harry had learned about Susan, it was that she was a big sore looser. She won't give up until she manages to win at least one round against him.

"Don't worry, Amelia. I think she's plenty motivated right now." Harry said before sending a grin at Susan. "And if she isn't... well, I can always rub it in her face that even though her aunt is the head of the DMLE, she can't hold a candle to me. That should rekindle her fighting spirit."

"That's it! You're going down!" Susan shrieked before she pounced on him from the couch and the two started rolling on the ground, trying to playfully pin each other down.

Of course, it wasn't even five seconds later that they were stopped by a thoroughly amused Amelia who had, somehow, managed to tie them both back to back with a simple Incarcerous.

"Are you done?"

""Yes Auntie/Amelia.""

She nodded. "Good." with a wave of her wand, the ropes disappeared. "Now, I believe it is time for supper. All that morning practice made me quite hungry." she said as she turned and made her way to the dining room.

They ate quickly, both because they were quite hungry, but also because Harry wanted to make the best out of the few hours he had left with the Bones. With Susan, he played a few games, whereas with Amelia, he went over what he had learned so far and what she was expecting him to have learn during the rest of summer.

And, suddenly, it was time to leave.


"Thank you, Tipsy." Harry said as he took his shrunken and weightless trunk from the house elf. He had sent Hedwig out earlier, as he knew she preferred to fly all the way rather than travel through magical means.

The little creature shook her head. "It is nothing, Mister Harry Sir." she responded before fixing him with big, sad puppy eyes. "I is just sad Mister Harry is leaving so soon. There is lot much work to do with you here."

Harry blinked, then shook his head. He had yet to get used to the fact that for house elves, the more work and chores there was, the better. "I'm sure Susan will make up for my share of your work until I'm back." he said with a grin.

"Prat." Susan huffed playfully as she slugged him in the shoulder and then embraced him. "I'll miss you, even if it's only for two weeks."

He hugged her back, though he was still a bit uncomfortable at the physical contact, before drawing back with a slight frown marring his face. "Are you sure you can't come and visit once or twice? You know where I'll be, after all."

She shook her head sadly. "Sorry, but between homework, personal studies and what Auntie will teach me, I won't have much time for myself." She had gotten her initial month of fun with Harry and her friends and now there were more serious matter to attend to. "But, hey, we can still write to each other. You just have to ask Ron's father to give your letter to Auntie."

Harry nodded. That was the system they had come up with after discovering that a house elf was stealing his letters to his friends. He would give them to Amelia, who would then give Ron's to his father, who also worked at the ministry, while a ministry owl would deliver Hermione's. So far, it had worked.

Finally, Harry turned to Amelia, who was watching them with a small smile on her face. "Thank you for everything, Amelia. Without you, I'd probably still be a lost boy knowing next to nothing about the world I'm living in. I don't think I can ever repay you for what you've done."

The head of the DMLE gave him a warm smile. "You owe me nothing, Harry. It was the least I could do and something that should have been done the moment you were informed you were a wizard. Why Dumbledore gave that task to Hagrid, of all people, I'll never know. Minerva would- SHOULD have been the one to explain it all to you." she shook her head. "But enough about the past. I expect you to pick where we left in regard to your training and education on your own. You have the necessary material, now it's up to you."

Harry smile back at her. "I'll keep you updated, then. You won't be disappointed, you'll see."

"Of that, I have no doubt." she replied as she moved to hug him, and he returned her embrace.

At that moment, the fireplace flared green and a man with short red hair and freckles who looked quite similar to Ron stepped through.

"Good afternoon, Arthur." Amelia greeted the newcomer.

The man smiled. "And a good afternoon to you too, Amelia." he greeted back before turning his gaze to the two children beside her. "Susan" he dipped his head at the Bones Heiress and his eyes landed on Harry. "And you must be Harry." he said before extending a hand toward him. "Arthur Weasley."

Harry was a bit surprised by the man's laid back attitude and the fact that he didn't even glance at his forehead, but didn't show it and shook his hand. "Good to meet you, Mister Weasley."

"Ron told us much about you." Arthur said as he retracted his hand. "I trust you are all set?" at Harry's nod, he smiled. "Wonderful. We'll leave immediately then, if that is alright with you. They are waiting for you to start the game of Quidditch, after all." he said with a wink.

Harry chuckled. "Then let's not keep them waiting." he replied as he moved to stand beside Arthur before turning to Amelia and Susan. "See you in a week."

"See you, Harry. Take care." Susan responded, and Amelia simply nodded.

"Until next time, Amelia, Susan." Arthur said before he threw a handful of Floo powder in the fireplace. "The Burrow!"

Moments later, both males had disappeared in two flashes of emerald flames.


"Now that was the most impressive exit yet." Sylph giggled.

"Laugh it up, Sylph. Laugh it up." Harry replied dryly from his position, which was sprawled on the floor of what he assumed to be the Weasleys' living room. "It just seems like Floo travel and I just don't get along."

"That's putting it lightly." Gnome chuckled. "At least this time you didn't land on someone."

"Ugh, don't remind me." Harry groaned mentally as he remembered that incident.

How he had managed to fly from the Floo straight into a woman, leading to the both of them falling in quite a compromising position, he'd never know. That, and how she'd pack such a punch. He thought, remembering his sore jaw.

This time, he had exited from the fireplace rolling like a soccer ball that had been kicked by a professional player. He felt like one too.

"Blimey, Harry. You alright? Never saw anyone come in like that before." A familiar voice said from somewhere above him.

Harry blinked. "Ron? Is that you?" he asked "Sorry, but my head's still spinning." he added as he tried to stand up.

"I got you, mate." Ron said as he helped him stand up. Then looked him up and down. "Wow, Harry. You've gotten taller! How'd that happen?"

"Did I?" Harry replied before shrugging at his friend. "I hadn't noticed."

It wasn't exactly a lie. While he knew his potion regiment had done wonders on his stunted and malnourished body in only three weeks, he hadn't really paid attention to the changes, busy as he had been. But he also didn't want to explain to Ron why he had to take potions. That topic was still a bit too sore for Harry.

"Is Hedwig here yet?" he tried to change the subject. "I sent her out a couple of hours earlier."

Thankfully, his friend didn't seem to notice. "Yeah, she arrived a while ago. Bloody brilliant owl you've got there Harry, that's for sure."

"That she is." Harry agreed with a smile as the fireplace roared behind him and he turned to see Arthur dusting himself before the man blinked at Harry's state.

"Amelia was right, I see. Floo travel really DOES disagree with you." he commented as he took his wand and a quick cleaning charm cleared all the soot Harry's entrance had spread. "There, all gone." he said with a satisfied smile.

"What is all that noise?" a feminine voice called from upstairs. Harry recognized it as Mrs Weasley's.

"Nothing, Molly, dear. Just our guest who seems to have some... difficulties with Floo travel." Arthur replied loudly.

"In my defense, none of the tricks Amelia told me to ease the journey worked." Harry muttered as Molly came down the stairs.

"Harry dear, welcome." The Weasley matron greeted him with a warm smile before engulfing him in a bear hug. "I'm so happy to see you. How are you feeling? Did you eat already?"

"I'm alright, Mrs Weasley." Harry replied as he extricated himself from the woman's strong embrace. "And I'm not hungry at the moment, thank you."

It was then that he took a moment to examine his surroundings. The room was small and rather cramped. There was a scrubbed wooden table and chairs in the middle, a clock on the wall which had only one hand and no numbers at all, with things like 'Time to make tea', 'Time to feed the chickens' or 'You're late' written around the edges. Books were stacked three deep on the mantlepiece, with titles such as 'Charm Your Own Cheese' (what purpose could charming your cheese serve, he wondered), 'Enchantment in Baking' or 'One Minute Feats- It's Magic!'. And, unless Harry's ears were deceiving him, the old radio next to the sink had just announced that coming up was 'Witching Hour, with the popular singing witches band, The Weird Sisters'.

Compared to the order and neatness Harry was accustomed to from living with the Dursleys and the Bones (although the former were much more obsessed on that front), the chaos that seemed to surround the Weasleys' house was quite a refreshing change.

"It's not much," Ron said, having noticed his friend's wandering gaze. "but it's home."

"It's brilliant." Harry replied with a smile. "And fitting, I think. It feels like a magical home."

Ron's ears went pink, much to the raven-haired boy's amusement, and he decided to spare his friend further embarrassment.

"I think your dad said something about a game of Quidditch?"

Five minutes later, he, Ron, Fred and George found themselves in a two-on-two match featuring Harry and Ron against the Twins, which quickly descended into a free-for-all flying tag. The only bad side was that Harry had to tone down the speed of his flying, much to his and Sylph's disappointment, since his Nimbus Two Thousand was leagues above the Weasleys' best broom.

Though that didn't keep him from taking a few minutes to himself to fly without any restriction around the Burrow. From the outside, the house seemed even more chaotic: it looked like a large stone pigsty at first, but with extra rooms added here and there, making it several stories high and so crooked the only thing holding it had to be magic. The five chimneys perched on top of the red roof only added to the feeling of disorder.

Again, Harry thought, oddly fitting.

"I don't know who designed that house, but they have a... unique, shall we say, sense of architecture." Undine mused.

"You can say that again." Gnome agreed. "It looks as if the tiniest change in the equilibrium will make the whole thing topple down all at once."

"It hasn't so far." Efreet chimed in. "Let us assume it won't now."

"HARRY!" came a shout from the ground and the flying boy looked down to find Ron with his hands cupped around his mouth. "COME DOWN HERE! MUM MADE SCONES!" the red head shouted again.

"COMING!" Harry yelled back as he decided to have one last of moment of flying in diving straight down at top speed, ignoring Ron's alarmed shouts, before pulling up at the last second and stopping a foot from the ground. Then, he flipped up and landed on his feet, his broom secured in his hand.

"A Wronski Feint..." the youngest Weasley male muttered in shocked awe as he stared wide eyes at his friend. "A bloody Wronski Feint." he repeated as the youngest seeker in the last century of Hogwarts walked up to him.

"What was that, Ron?" said seeker tilted his head in confusion.

Ron slowly shook his head at him. "Mate, you have no idea what you just did, do you?" seeing Harry's confused look, he elaborated. "That's, like, one of the hardest Quiddictch move invented. Ever. And you just did one! Even though you didn't even know how to fly a broom ten months ago! That's brilliant!"

Harry blinked. Was that really so difficult to do? Had had just done that for fun, so it couldn't be that hard, right? Then, again, Sylph did improve my flying abilities.

"If you say so, mate." he shrugged, ignoring his friend's gobsmacked look at him dismissing what he had done like it was nothing. "Now, about those scones..."

As if a switch had been flipped, Ron's features did a one-eighty from awe and disbelief to hunger and eagerness before he quickly led Harry inside.

It was then that Harry laid eyes upon the female Weasley whom he knew to be Ginny, his friend's younger sister. Her hair was at shoulder blade length and a shade of red a bit deeper than the rest of her family. That was pretty much all he had the time to note about her however, as for when she saw him, she bolted out of the kitchen with a small squeal, her face the same color as her hair, faster than he could say 'hello'.

"She's been talking about you all day long since we came back from Hogwarts." Ron said in an undertone to him. "You wouldn't believe how much questions she asked about you."

"Yeah, it was always 'Harry this', 'Harry that'." Fred (or was it George?) commented from his seat.

"She'll be wanting your autograph, Harrikins." George (or was it Fred?) added.

Both twins were sporting teasing grins that were directed at him. To which Harry responded by rolling his eyes at them as he sat down.

He just hoped that Ginny's attitude wouldn't last for the whole week he was here.


This chapter was a bit shorter than the previous ones, unfortunately. But I guess that's to be expected of a transition chapter such as this one. Those after this should be longer (or at least 5k words.)

Review and give me your opinion. I accept everything beside baseless flaming.

This is MidnightFenrir, author of "Harry Potter and the Four Elemental Spirits", signing out.