Chapter 3: The Burrow

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"FINALLY!" Fred and George exclaimed.

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"Hogwarts isn't the only place where secrets aren't kept" Arthur said with a smirk "At least…that's what Fudge thinks."

"We are doing a good job keeping the fact that we're in the Order from him" Tonks admitted.

"Don't jinx it," Arthur told her.

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Molly sent her husband a glare at the reminder but continued to read.

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"You HONESTLY thought they drove from Ottery St. Catchpole just to CHECK on you?" Hermione gasped at her friend.

"I didn't think there was anything they could do. I didn't do a lot with Fred and George first year so I wasn't sure what ALL they were capable of."

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"That is one smart owl" Charlie said.

"Has she ever been checked for being an animagus?" Moody asked remembering hearing about Scabbers when Dumbledore told him that Pettigrew was alive and Black was innocent. "She seems a little too intelligent."

Harry wanted to speak up in defense of his owl, but remained silent as he remembered how fondly Ron had thought of Scabbers when they had believed that Hermione's cat had eaten him. Moody did have a point.

"I made a point to go up to the owlery before resigning" Remus admitted before turning to Harry. "Sorry Harry. I was going to tell you if something came up."

"Couldn't you have checked the…you know?" Ron asked.

"I wanted to be certain" Remus said. "Peter had been too close to Harry for comfort and he hadn't been seen on It when Harry got it."

"As much as I love Hedwig, I'm glad you did" Harry said "At least I can rest easily now knowing that my owl isn't out for my blood."

"More like ours" Ron whispered to Hermione. His fingers were STILL a bit sore from all the pecking Hedwig had done to him.

"Did we miss something?" Ginny asked.

"You'll learn in the next book" Harry said.

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"James felt the same way" Sirius praised "I just charmed my knife to be able to pick any lock. That way we wouldn't have to keep stealing hairpins. Mrs. Potter had noticed that her stash had been 'mysteriously' vanishing."

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"HARRY!" Hermione and Ginny scolded.

"It was a brief slip of the mind." Harry defended "Something was telling me I was forgetting something just a second before she screeched."

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"He's really intent on making you miserable" Flitwick observed.

"Sounds like a few others we know" Sprout whispered to her Ravenclaw and Gryffindor colleagues while sniggering at the Slytherin one.

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Everyone in the Old Order and the teachers (minus Snape who had closed his eyes trying to fight the grin and Dumbledore who was chuckling fondly) burst out laughing.

"I think we missed something" Tonks told Harry who nodded.

"Sorry Harry" Sirius apologized for laughing without a reason. "Just…"

Sirius fell into pearls of laughter again

"It was something Lily would have said" McGonagall said.

Harry smiled at the small connection between him and his mother. One good thing about reading these books was that some of the things he did that reminded the others of his parents led to small stories about them which he loved.

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"Interesting how you suddenly suspect Mr. Malfoy" Snape said.

"Get used to it Professor" Harry told his Potions instructor. "We do it up until Christmas."

"Why then?" Sirius asked

"You'll see" Harry said

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"No you weren't." Moody said "Constant Vigilance is the key. Always suspect a trap."

"Wish we knew that then" Ron said leaning over Sirius to whisper to Harry.

"And why is that?" Sirius asked.

"You'll find out" Harry said. "Let's just say it involves our favorite tree on the school ground."

Remus was about to suggest the old oak by the lake that he had caught the trio sitting under every so often on nice days when they were allowed outside. But then he realized that Harry's voice was drenching in sarcasm.

He wasn't sure he WANTED to know what Ron and Harry were talking about.

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Molly looked up at Arthur with tears in her eyes.

"Do you think that this was when we went wrong with him?" Molly asked. "Allowing him to shut himself out."

"I don't know Molly. I don't think so" Arthur admitted "Percy was getting along splendidly with Harry when he DID emerge."

"I think Percy took the different path when he was assigned to Crouch." Remus spoke up. "When I taught Percy's seventh year, he was a bright boy. But I noticed that he was too focused on the rules. Basically what I would have been if James, Sirius, and Peter hadn't befriended me. I also noticed that he was as ambitious as a Slytherin. Unfortunately Crouch was just as ambitious. And when you put two ambitious people together…it's as dangerous as putting two pranksters together. Especially when one has more experience."

"What do you mean?" Bill asked.

"It'll probably be explained in the fourth book" Sirius said. "But during the first war, Crouch was on a roll. He had the chance to be Minister because he was taking down so many death eaters. Sure the aurors caught them, but it was his say whether they stayed in jail or walked. It got to where he would just look at a guy or their name and just chunk them into Azkaban…like he did me."

"You were sent without a trial?" Molly gasped.

Sirius nodded.

"The knowledge I was innocent kept me sane" Sirius said. "Anyways, the only reason Crouch lost his standing for Minister was that his name was tainted when his son was proven to be a Death Eater. You know the rest."

"My point is," Remus said. "Crouch must have recognized the same…spunk in Percy as what he had when younger. So…he taught Percy the ways of the corrupted Ministry. And since Percy was so intent on following the rules…he ran with the crowd."

Molly sighed as she realized at least ONE thing she could have done differently: she could have let the kids get away with a few pranks or mischief making rather than screaming at them for every explosion or crash.

"No parent is perfect Molly" Dumbledore assured her knowing what she was thinking as he thought of his own parents: his father attacking those muggle boys who attacked Ariana and his mother for locking his sister up.

"You went right with six of us" Ron assured her.

"And Percy will come around" Harry said "Maybe not soon, but eventually."

"I hope so" Molly said before continuing to read.

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Bill and Charlie laughed as did Sirius.

"What?" Ron asked Sirius.

"Your mother reminds me just too much of James' Mum. And we couldn't get away with anything no matter how many times we cleaned up. I think the ONE thing we got away with was our transformations."

"Well…" Remus admitted sheepishly.

"You didn't tell her did you!?" Sirius gapped at his friend.

"No. She approached me at graduation" Remus said. "She told me that she knew about my condition and what you lot did to help me with and that she was proud of us for sticking together."

"Why didn't she say anything?" McGonagall asked.

"She thought James and Sirius were going to register when they got jobs" Remus explained "Couple of months later, she was dead, so she never got a chance to know if they registered."

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"It's not that boring" Arthur said. "Much more exciting than the Department of magical transportation where you do the same thing everyday. At least with the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts, there's always something different."

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"My thoughts exactly" Sprout admitted.

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"That it does" Molly sighed.

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Harry smiled at the description of his second home.

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"What's wrong?" Tonks asked.

"I know EXACTLY" Remus said with a smirk. "An angry, worried, redheaded mother."

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"Really?" Molly asked, eyebrows raised completely unaware of just how formidable she really was. She knew that an angry her scared the kids, but wasn't aware of just how much.

"Keep reading" Sirius said leaning forward attentively "And read your part the way you had said it when this was happening originally."

"ARE YOU MAD?!" Fred, George, Ron, and Harry chorused.

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Harry turned to his godfather wondering what Sirius was thinking asking Molly to act like she had. He found his godfather deep in thought as he nodded.

He then turned to Remus who seemed to understand, but gave Harry a hold on signal.

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"Mum." Bill sighed. "First, Fred, George, and Ron AREN'T us. Second, we didn't have a friend who wouldn't respond to our letters when we suspected abuse."

"I was just frustrated at the time." Molly informed her son before turning to her three younger boys. "When you children become parents, you'll understand."

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"Not quite, but pretty close" Sirius finally said.

"Huh?" everyone asked.

"Comparing Mrs. Weasley to Mrs. Potter" Remus explained. "Sorry Molly, but Mrs. Potter once was as angry as you had been and…well…Peter wasn't the only one to wet himself."

Sirius whacked his friend making Harry and Ron realize the hidden message and sniggered.

"Lily was just as formidable" Sirius added to Harry.

Molly was a bit glad for this distraction because rereading her lecture made her realize what was being said. Most of what she had said was well deserved except for the comparison between the three oldest brothers to the three youngest brothers.

It was no wonder Ron had an inferiority complex.

She made a mental not to stop that.

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"Wow. Talk about a mood-swing" Tonks muttered.

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Sirius frowned. The Potter home in Godric's Hollow was as magical as any pureblood home. After her last fight with Petunia during the Evans' funeral, Lily had decided to leave the muggle world behind with the declaration that she was a witch and she was going to live as one.

"That I remember" Harry added for his godfather's sake figuring that his home with James and Lily might have been as magical as the Burrow.

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"I honestly thought you boys were exaggerating" Molly sighed.

"It's okay Mrs. Weasley" Harry said. "Their track record was against them. And I should have said something, but I didn't think there was anything you could do."

"Harry" Molly said. "What they did to you is not okay. But if for some reason you do go back [she glared at Dumbledore] and they treat you just as badly, I want you to tell two people: your godfather and someone who can legally do something about this like Arthur or even Professor Dumbledore."

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"Who the hell was that?" Charlie asked.

"It couldn't have been Percy. The book said 'small redheaded figure in a long nightdress'" Bill added confused.

"Shut up" Ginny pouted.

"HUH?!" Her two oldest brothers exclaimed in shock.

"What's the matter?" Tonks asked.

"Ginny is NOT this shy" Charlie said. "You remember when you came over."

"Oh yeah" Tonks recalled as she remembered a small five year old who came down and pelted her with questions.

"I'll tell you what guys. When Fleur and Fiona show up unexpectedly and you two are in your nightwear, we'll talk" Ginny said.

"And just who are Fleur and Fiona?" Molly asked as Fred and George perked up.

"Nobody Mum" Bill said blushing red.

"Fiona MacFusty is the eldest daughter of the MacFusty clan that breeds Hebridean Blacks." Charlie said. "Basically what Ginny said is her showing up then for me is the equivalent to Harry showing up at the Burrow for Ginny. Remember Ginny's fifth Christmas gift?"

"CHARLIE!" Ginny shouted dangerous as her brothers laughed at the memory.

"I think we missed something" Harry called over to Hermione over Ron's laughter.

"YOU missed something" Hermione said with a smirk. "I saw what Charlie's talking about last summer."

"Hermione Granger! Don't you dare tell him!" Ginny yelled.

Molly decided to spare her children.

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Everyone who knew the truth about Lockhart groaned (except for Dumbledore, but including Snape).

"Did we miss something?" Tonks asked.

Molly shrugged.

"Gilderoy Lockhart?" Sirius asked before turning to Remus. "That blond Ravenclaw kid a year above us who tried to take credit for some of our more complex pranks."

"Yeah. He went into the defense field. Though I don't believe half of what he writes" Remus said.

"Why not?" Arthur asked.

"I read Wandering With Werewolves for kicks" Remus said. "Anyone who can do what he did and still come out with a pretty face HAS to have exaggerated some."

"Maybe he's just that good" Molly argued.

Harry and Ron shared a knowing smirk. By the end of the book between the pixies, the arm incident, and the fact he tried to back out of saving Ginny, Lockhart would not be one of Molly's favorites.

"You've never been close to a werewolf in wolf form have you?" Snape asked remembering his close call.

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"And how do you feel about this Arthur?" Tonks asked amused.

"It's fine" Arthur said much to (most) everyone's confusion.

"Really?" Moody asked.

"As long as she looks and doesn't touch" Arthur said. "It's an unspoken rule between us. If a hot girl comes up to me, I can look and drool all I want. I just can't touch. Same rule applies to her."

"REALLY?!" Remus asked even more stunned remembering all the small whacks both of his parents got from each other for looking at someone.

"It's one thing for young couples." Molly explained. "But when you've been together for as long as Arthur and I have been and have had as many children as we have, there are some things that are unspoken such as the fact that even though I might be infatuated with Lockhart, it's Arthur who holds my heart."

"It's just a matter of trust" Arthur continued. "I trust Molly not to do anything with Lockhart that she would do with me."

Ginny nodded hoping that one day she could have that same bond her parents had with each other with a certain black-haired boy sitting cattycorner from her.

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Ron leaned over Sirius' lap to Harry who also leaned for the whispering conversation.

"What do you think Lockhart would have done when faced against a troll before your luck rubbed off on him?"

Harry whacked his friend.

"Ran screaming" He answered.

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Sirius laughed loud and hard at that.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Your father's record was 45" Remus explained with his own chuckle. "He probably rolled in his grave when you beat him…and you're a seeker. Not a chaser."

"Is there ANY position you're not good at?" Charlie asked.

"He's not that great of a Keeper" Ron told his brother with a smirk.

"I can't be good at everything" Harry said sticking out his tongue at his friend.

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Molly glared at her husband.

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"Dung and his contraband." Arthur sighed.

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"You walked right into that Arthur" McGonagall chuckled as everyone had jumped since Molly had once again read as she had originally done.

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"First one to ever say that" Harry said.

"And last" Ron added.

Harry pouted at the reminder of his fame.

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The Marauders, Weasley boys, Ginny, Tonks, and even Moody and Dumbledore laughed (or chuckled in Dumbledore's case).

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"Sheesh Harry. It's no wonder you like the Weasleys so much" Remus said.

"What do you mean?" Arthur asked the question Harry was about to ask.

"That would have been something James and Mr. Potter would have said" Sirius said. "The fakeness of the lecture, the underline hint of pride…reminds me of when I got my bike."

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Ron breathed a sigh of relief at hearing that Harry didn't catch the Adventures of Harry Potter comics that had been under the Martin Miggs.

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"I'm glad you like our home Harry. It's a shame we couldn't be there this summer" Molly said closing the book indicating that was it for the chapter.

"We're at least safe and hidden here." Harry said "And together…for the most part."

"How much longer are we going to read until a break?" Bill asked.

"Let's go until halfway" Flitwick said. "Molly? How many chapters are there?"

Molly opened to the last page.

"Eighteen" she answered. "We just finished chapter 3 so six more and then we'll break for bed. However, I believe we should break for a meal. All those interruptions are taking up time."

"We're in a timeless space!" Fred and George chorused.

However, everyone decided to break for food. But there were a few people who would rather talk than eat.