Chapter 5: THE WHOMPING WILLOW

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"Really?" Ron asked.

"Have you not been listening to all that went on with the Dursleys?" Harry reminded his friend.

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"Mass chaos." Molly muttered under her breath.

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"And that is why you pack the night before" Tonks said. "Mum used to make sure I had everything in my trunk before I was allowed to head to bed that night."

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Arthur shifted uncomfortably as Molly glared at him.

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"Actually," Flitwick said. "That's a practical use of magic. Especially with your family Arthur."

"I took that into account when I did the charm" Arthur confirmed.

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"Apparently not as much as I thought" Molly said still glaring at her husband.

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"Should have left the damned thing behind" Ginny muttered under her breath, but loud enough to be heard thus confusing all but those few who knew.

Harry couldn't help but to mentally disagree with her. If she had left the thing behind, the basilisk would still be in the castle and Tom would have used the summer holidays to possess her. At least he had been able to destroy it for her.

If only the price hadn't been so high.

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"So if it was the middle of the night?" Fred asked his mother.

"We would be in bed and have no reason to fly" Molly answered.

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"I thought we agreed to read correctly." Sirius stated "That wasn't funny Remus."

Remus showed Sirius the five letter word in all caps.

"They really did crash." Remus informed him.

"They still had a minute though." Tonks argued. "Why'd the barrier close?"

"It's explained later." Harry said.

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"We could apparate from the platform" Arthur told his son.

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"They gave you pocket money?" Tonks asked

"People were watching" Harry explained.

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"That's what you should have done" Arthur told the two.

"Should have?" Sirius questioned as Remus read ahead a bit and resisted a laugh.

This was SO something James and Sirius would have done in their spot.

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"Yeah? What about it?" Charlie asked

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"WHAT?!" those who hadn't been there exclaimed (except for Remus).

"You're twelve at the time!" Bill pointed out. "Most MUGGLES don't learn how to drive until they're 15-16 years old!"

"Fred and George were 14 at the time" Ron argued.

"Leave us out of this" the twins chorused.

"You know, looking back, I seem to recall reading something in the Prophet about a flying car in London about that time." Tonks mused.

"Same here." Remus said. "But I just figured it was some other kid. I should have known though."

"How so?" Sirius asked.

"That was the same kind of stunt you and James would have pulled!" Remus told his friend.

"So…no harm?" Harry asked his godfather innocently.

"We'll see." Sirius said. "I'm not liking the fact the Willow is in the title."

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"It would have had a better chance of being condoned if neither of you had an owl." McGonagall said giving Harry a stern glance.

"It hadn't crossed my mind due to the lack of letters I had sent the past year." Harry defended himself.

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"Odd." Arthur mused.

"Don't even think it" Molly warned him.

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Hermione couldn't help but to giggle.

"What?" Charlie asked her.

"Just…the image of passengers' faces if they looked out the window and saw a flying car being driven by a twelve year old with another twelve year old in the front seat." Hermione said.

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Sirius and Remus couldn't help but to grin at that as Fred and George playfully glared at their younger brother and his best friend. They knew from experience the sensation what Ron and Harry had gone through.

Granted, it wasn't from flying an illegal car to school, but it was the same feeling they had as they waited for a prank to go off.

Of course, Sirius put the experience in a different time. It was the feeling he had when he had completed his animagus training. The prospect of going out at night with a werewolf with his friends…

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"That is a good question" Sprout stated.

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"It's a CAR!" Hermione reminded him.

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Everyone (expect Harry and Ron) gasped.

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Harry felt his godfather grip him tightly as the man had done in the last chapter of the last book.

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"Brilliant spell" George joked half-heartedly.

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"Were you okay!?" Molly and Sirius both asked Ron and Harry.

"We were fine" Harry said.

"For the most part." Ron added thinking of his wand.

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McGonagall was starting to wonder if she should have been more forceful to send them to the Hospital Wing. But then again, SNAPE should have taken them to the hospital wing rather than his office.

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"Why didn't you tell us!?" Molly demanded of her son. She had learned that her son's wand had snapped when the boy had returned with Ginny and Harry from the Chamber and had believed that the wand had broken down there.

"It's explained later" Ron admitted.

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"You crashed into the Willow didn't you?" Sirius asked with a groan.

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"I'd be more worried about Mum killing you" Bill said earning a look from his mother.

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"At least we don't have to hear you sing, Mate." Sirius teased his friend.

Remus whacked the ex-convict.

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"Who wears THAT?!" Charlie asked.

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"Looking for you" Snape answered.

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"Hopefully?" Molly asked her son sternly.

"Hey! You saw how he acted last book."

"Saving the life of your best friend I might add." Molly reminded him

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"Not likely." Snape told Harry.

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"He was standing right behind you wasn't he?" Sirius asked seeing the eyeroll Snape had just performed as if the man wasn't hearing this for the first time.

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"You really should have taken them to McGonagall's office or even the Hospital Wing considering it mentioned that Harry hit his head." Flitwick told the younger professor.

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Sirius couldn't help but to notice that Harry and Ron had tried to tell someone about the barrier, but had been interrupted. It was no wonder the kids wouldn't come to adults for anything.

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"You take too much pleasure in torturing Gryffindors" Sirius told Snape protectively.

Snape was about to respond with his own retort, but realized that everyone in the room looked as if they agreed with Sirius on this one.

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"It's too cold in that room" McGonagall told Snape.

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"One word sentences. Not good." Sirius said with a wince.

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"You probably would have been better off reminding us you're still getting used to our world" McGonagall informed Harry.

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Remus instantly recognized the amount of respect the boy had for the headmaster at the time and how much the man's approval meant to the kid. The werewolf wondered just how much of that was lost this summer with all the secrets.

Dumbledore was wondering the same thing himself.

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"You take Snape too seriously" Bill said.

"As he should" Snape said.

"The only authority you have over them are points and detentions and even I can override that." McGonagall said. "And after as many overrides you've done concerning Mr. Malfoy…"

Remus decided to keep reading. The heads could argue during the next break.

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"I wonder how the Dursleys reacted when they got the letter saying I flew in an enchanted car to school and nearly got killed by a tree." Harry mused.

"Well, if I had gotten that letter, you could expect me to have shown up to see if you were alright first hand" Sirius informed his godson.

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Everyone looked at the headmaster wondering why the two boys were still in school. They had OBVIOUSLY broken rules since then. How could they not?

"And I believe that since then neither of them had missed the train" Dumbledore stated almost proudly.

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The Weasleys (minus Molly) laughed. Even Sirius had to chuckle a bit at the visual.

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"Unless there was another werewolf in the school, that tree was NOT valuable." Remus interrupted himself before going back to the book.

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"I'm still under the impression you said that last bit to torture us" Ron told the Headmaster.

"Whatever helps you to understand the severity of what you had done."

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"Should have been more forceful" McGonagall muttered.

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"And what would you have said if I had been in Slytherin?" Ginny asked her brother.

"I…"

"Probably would have fainted from shock and hunger" Harry teased his friend before positioning himself so that Sirius was blocking any attempt from Ron.

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Harry felt his godfather tense.

"That's pushing it Harry" Sirius warned. "That's about as bad as arguing with her about the number of points taken away and the last time you did that…"

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"I'm beginning to wonder if you're letting him get away with everything now!" Sirius told McGonagall.

"Actually, upon hindsight, I wish she had taken points rather than what's coming up." Harry said remembering his detention.

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"Actually," Fred said.

"It's still told in the Common room" George said.

"The first years LOVE the story" Fred added.

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"They did crash a flying car" Tonks stated.

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"Should have ignored that" Hermione muttered.

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McGonagall shook her head as the younger crowd laughed at the reaction of the student body.

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"Thank Merlin you didn't" Molly said not knowing how she would have taken hearing that two more of her boys had been involved in the crash.

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"I know the feeling" Sirius said. "Whenever they weren't the victims and it was a good enough prank, our house mates would do that for us."

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"Of course you did." McGonagall said. "You're so much like your parents."

Harry smiled.

"I guess I'll read next." Ginny said taking the book from Lupin.

Ron paled. The next chapter would HAVE to have the howler in it. And with Ginny reading like she did…

He caught Harry's eye and noticed that Harry was looking just as nervous.