Chapter 1: Back to Normal
Harry was woken when a loud crack was heard in his room. He glanced at the clock 10am. He had barely gotten 4 hours of sleep. He sat up looking at the two red headed men standing in his room. "Hiya - " Fred stopped, staring at Harry with narrowed eyes.
"Do we have the wrong house?" George asked.
"No." Harry yawned, "You don't" He tossed his legs out of bed stretching upwards for a second before going to his trunk and grabbing the jeans and black shirt off the top of it.
"Are you sure?" both twins asked in unison, looking up at the man who was now 4 inches taller than them instead of 5 inches shorter.
"Yes" Harry said running his hand through his bangs getting them to cooperate and move up to the rest of his quaffed hair from their resting place on his forehead.
"Blimey Harry, what'd you do this summer?" Fred asked staring at the boy who looked more like a man now than a boy.
"You grew"
"You're tan"
"Did your voice get lower?"
"You cut your hair."
"You have muscles!"
"You don't look like a rake"
"What did you do?"
Harry laughed "Nothing too different" he shrugged "now how about we head back to the Burrow." They nodded as Harry thought for a second "give me just one more minute. I think leaving here deserves a, grand departure" The twins smirked nodding as they followed Harry to the door so they could watch. He walked to the landing on the stairs, where he could see uncle Vernon and his Aunt in the living room. Petunia was sipping her tea pretending she wasn't spying on the neighbor's dog whom she swore had been peeing on her tulips. While Vernon read his paper commenting on how awful the quarterly number were for the bank with all the chaos, and it was no doubt all those wizards. "Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia I'm headed out, and I just want to say I really hope I'll never see you again. And don't worry, Dudley will be fine in time for Smeltings this year." He said Holding up his wand and flicking it causing everything in the house to start levitating and floating around aimlessly "Don't worry this one will only lasts for 36 hours." Vernon was after him though, with his short stubby legs
"Potter!" His uncle yelled. Harry was up the stairs in a bound his long legs serving him well. He rushed down the hallway into Dudley's room using another time dependent spell transfiguring his ears into those of a donkey and hiding a box of puking pastilles in his dresser. He sprinted out back to his room narrowly missing Vernon's fat hand as his uncle yelled for him to fix it! He ran back into his room linking arms with Fred. Vernon had just gotten to the door to see George holding Harry's trunk and Hedwig's cage disappear with a crack, followed by a smirking and waving Fred and Harry before they too disapparated with a resounding crack and a nice little fireworks display in his room.
They landed in the grass on their feet before all three doubled over laughing at the prank that had just transpired. "Fred and George Weasley what is all this racquet!" Molly yelled from the door way to the kitchen holding a pan and stirring some thing in it with the spatula in her other hand wooden spoon when she saw the three boys walking up toward her.
"Hi Mum, What's for breakfast?" the twins asked reaching into her pan grabbing some food on their way by both being immediately rapt on the knuckles and back of the head by Mrs. Weasley's spatula before she turned to Harry. She stared at him for a moment before finally finding his scar and nearly dropped her pan as the spatula hit the floor.
"Harry! You're here! Happy Birthday!" she said shooing him in the door, setting her pan down hugging him tightly, the spatula already cleaning itself in the sink behind them.
"Hello Molly, its good to see you. And thank you." He said hugging her back, the spatula flying back into the pan stirring what he now saw were eggs.
"Is that Harry I hear?" Ron yelled from the living room running into the kitchen, Ginny following him into the room. "Bloody Hell mate!" Ron said walking into the room immediately getting a spoon to the back of his head as he walked over.
"Language Ronald!" Molly said. As Ron walked over to his friend rubbing the back of his head giving him a hug.
"Your taller than me!"
"I grew a bit?" Harry laughed
"That's more than a bit I'd say!" Ron cried, looking over his best friend.
"Well I think he looks good," Ginny said walking over to Harry. "Budge over Ron" Ginny remarked with a quick elbow to her brother's side. He moved over glaring down at her rubbing where her elbow had dug in.
"Thanks Gin," Harry laughed his lower voice rumbling. "Molly I'm going to go settle in."
"Oh of course Harry! Brunch is in 20 minutes."
"Thank you Molly" He said levitating his trunk up the stairs. He was halfway up the stairs when Ginny called up to him.
He looked down at her, she looked troubled, "Hey Harry?" he nodded telling her he was listening, "Can we talk tonight? There is something we need to discuss."
"Of course Ginny, I have something to talk to you about too, I have a feeling they are related, how does after dinner sound?" He asked. She nodded turning back to help her mother with brunch.
Harry reached Ron's room dropping his stuff off before collapsing onto the spare bed. "Did you hear about the Tri-Wizard Tournament?" Ron asked sitting on the bed next to him.
"Yea I did, I can finally put my own name in that cup. And see if it chooses me for real this time instead of some spell thats been put on the cup." Harry said with a slightly cynical laugh.
"And now you have to go against me too."
"Not just you, now we're up against Hermione and Ginny too. And those two are pretty stiff competition"
Ron shook his head. " Don't remind me, if Ginny gets picked I'll probably throw a fit." Harry laugh knowing that was a very good possibility. "I wonder what the other school is going to be?" he asked propping himself up on his elbow.
"What other schools are there?" Harry asked rolling over and sitting up to dig through his trunk.
"Well there is Castelobruxo in Brazil, the girls there are supposed to be absolutely beautiful! There is Ilvermorny, American girls, need I say more."
"Yea but the boys are probably more arrogant than Malfoy" George laughed from the door.
"Then there is Koldovstoretz the Russian school, a little up tight but the love potions and skiving snack boxes have been a huge hit so far. All beautiful though, if you thought Fleur is pretty these Russian birds are at least as pretty." Fred added.
"Or Uagadou they are a huge school but I doubt they'd be invited to much of a risk to the other schools. A school with on of their extracurriculars as learning to be an Animagus with students who can turn into elephants cheetahs and other safari animals isn't the safest for the other schools." Ginny had entered the conversation at the door. "Plus you all are forgetting one school, Grummerlich Academy, they are a divisive choice, they are known for teaching a wide range of subjects many of the other schools refuse to teach, they are an all girls school, and in the World rankings they are almost always on par or better than Hogwarts, we've taken 2nd and 3rd place to them or them and Beauxbatons the last 7 years, and Grummerlich has always taken 1st" She said. "Also Brunch is ready and getting cold."
"NO WAY!" Ron yelled. "They would never, never allow a school that is known to feed into the Voldemort's ranks at the Tri-Wizard Tournament" he argued as they walked down stairs.
"Actually I think that's exactly why they would. The tournament is about unity and community building, Grummerlich would be perfect in that case and they would give both Durmstrange and Hogwarts a serious run for the Cup.
"Parents would have a fit if it was Grummerlich." Ron countered.
"Why do you think they didn't say who the other school was." Ginny replied.
"You have to admit, Gin is making a lot of sense." Harry said sitting down between the two younger siblings grabbing the plate of pancakes loading a few onto his plate, then reaching for the eggs. "Thank you Molly this all looks amazing!"
"Oh Harry don't worry about it! It is your birthday after all." Molly said swatting him with a dish rag.
"Ah starting without me I see." Arthur said clapping his hands and rubbing them together. "Good to see you again Harry, and happy birthday, what would you like to do today?" He asked sitting down tucking into the eggs, pancakes, hash browns, bacon, sausage and his favorite frittata.
Harry swallowed his bite of bacon, "I was thinking we go to the Ministry so I can finally get my apparation license."
Arthur choked on a bite of egg, he cleared his throat taking a moment to think before he spoke. "How about we get someone from the ministry down here to administer the test. Less dangerous than us going there and running into Death Eaters."
"Sounds good." Harry laughed before returning to him food. He froze for a second "Also I need to go to the gym."
"Phst that's easy Harry, we can go to the gym with you!" Fred said clapping George and Ron on the shoulders.
"If you want to come you can." Harry shrugged.
"I wouldn't mind going either" Ginny said.
"Gryffindor gym date it is." Ron said kicking back in his chair lifting his legs.
"Ronald Weasley don't you dare put your feet on that table" Molly said glaring down the table stopping the youngest son in his tracks.
"Yes Mum." He said putting his feet back on the floor.
Harry nodded to Ginny before stepping outside to let his hair dry before dinner. He stood on the desk looking out at the garden, it had been a good full day, brunch, gym, apparation test, which he had passed, and now the talk with Ginny, the one thing he'd been dreading all day.
Ginny stepped outside already in her pajama bottoms and a white tank top, per the request of Harry to have a small laid back game night with close friends over a big party, even though Molly had insisted there still be cake. "Hey"
"Hey Gin" Harry replied. "Do you want to go first or should I?" he asked turning to face her.
"I need to get this off my chest," Ginny said taking a deep breath "Look Harry I'm sorry about the timing of this but… um.. Well there is no really good way to say this." Harry put his hand on her shoulder and nodded as if to tell her you can do this, she nodded back and took a deep breath. "Harry, I don't like you as I would like a boyfriend." She blurted out before starting to ramble. "I know my timing is terrible, its your birthday and I'm sorry, I just I was wondering if this is the way I should feel about a brother or about the man I want to spend my life with. So I owled Hermione, she broke up with Ron earlier this summer saying she didn't like him as anything more than a friend. So I had to ask her how did she know. What was the criteria and she said it was something I needed to judge and it was something that would answer its self if I stayed true to myself and asked the questions I really needed and wanted the answers too the most. So I looked at how I felt and what I wanted from a partner and what I expected from a family member and I'm sorry Harry but I only like you as a brother. A very hot brother, but that's it. I'm sorry. I know my timing." Harry chuckled putting his hand over her mouth.
"You're rambling Ginny." She nodded silently "and its ok, I was going to talk to you about this same subject. I think we are both on the same page, sibling from different parents. The boyfriend girlfriend relationship, while it seemed like a good idea at first, didn't work out." He smiled pulling Ginny into a sideways hug.
"I'm glad you feel the same way, I would've hated to be the person who broke your heart, on your birthday."
Harry laughed "No, no heart breaking but you did break up with me on my birthday." He laughed jostling her.
"Hey! You were going to break up with me too." Ginny simpered indignantly.
"Yea but its my birthday, I'm allowed to break up with some one on my birthday just not on theirs." He shot back with a perfect mix of arrogance and mirth, Ginny whacked his arm laughing.
"Oh hush you!" Ginny laughed shoving him harder making him tip sideways a little when he only laughed more at her playful shoves.
AN: Alright so if you haven't noticed the publish date for this was a while back.
I was going through my computer the other day and realized this story was still there and
1: It was TERRIBLY written. It was written, about 10 years ago, so I was in middle school; middle schoolers don't alway have the best concept of characters, plot line, and well how to make a cohesive story. And 10 years ago this site was quite a bit more difficult to use, for me at least.
2 : I had it up and I know I could rewrite it better. So that's what I'm doing, I took down all the chapters rewrote the Prologue then put it back up. Now I'm going through the process of rewritting chapters, and adding in more detail Also this takes place in a world where Deathly Hallows never happened. Hope you enjoy it and as always nothing is mine but the Plotline, Thomasina and the other characters.
Also this story doesn't have a Beta so I'm sorry if there are any mistakes, I am a Science major, not an English Major and that shows through most of the time.
