Hey all! Time for another chapter. I have to say, I'm incredibly disappointed, though. I know people have read this story, and some of you even added it to your alert list (for which I thank you profusely), but I have not gotten a single review. That makes me incredibly sad, because reviews are oftentimes the best part of posting a story. I'm posting this chapter because I'm incredibly excited about this story and can't wait to get going, but I won't post another one until I get some reviews!!! So PLEASE review!!! Thanks, read on...

Harry Potter and the Success of Unity

Chapter 2 – Return to Headquarters

The next morning, Harry woke up earlier than the sun. Lupin was coming to collect him soon, and Harry still had yet to pack. He soon went about the arduous task of throwing books, quills, and clothing haphazardly in the direction of his trunk. Two hours later, Lupin arrived, Portkey at the ready. He looked, if possible, more ragged then when Harry had last seen him. With his eyes sunken in and the grim, wary expression he wore on his face, he looked similar to a corpse.

"Alright, Harry?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Harry replied, firmly grasping Lupin's hand for a moment.

"All packed and everything?" Harry nodded. "Did it all this morning."

Lupin snorted. "Alright then," he laughed, shrinking Harry's bags to pocket size. He himself grabbed Hedwig's cage, of which the inhabitant was still absent from, still lost in the past night's hunt. They gripped the Portkey silently and waited. Soon, the familiar jerk behind the navel overtook them, and Harry was on his way back to Grimmauld Place.

When Harry and Lupin arrived, Ron was waiting anxiously for them. "I've been waiting all morning. It's good to see you," he said. Harry looked around, wondering where Hermione was. He had been expecting her to jump on him the second he crossed the threshold into Grimmauld place, but no such greeting came.

Sensing Harry's confusion, Ron piped up, "Hermione's fine, she just won't be here until tomorrow, but I imagine she'll be happy to see you when she gets here. She says she's bringing her cousin."

"But Hermione's family are all muggles. We can't bring a muggle into Order Headquarters!" Harry exclaimed.

"Actually," Ron replied, "She's not really her cousin cousin, more like a very distant cousin, and she's a witch.

While taking this all in, something suddenly dawned on Harry. "How do you know all of this?" he asked.

"Umm, well, Hermione has this thing; it's like a fellytone with no…what's the word…"

"Cords?" Harry put in.

"Yeah, that's it. And mum and dad gave Ginny one too, and I talked to them on it," Ron finished, puffing his chest out as if he had accomplished some major feat.

"Alright," Harry laughed, "speaking of which, where is Ginny?"

"Probably up in her room. Dean, the wanker, broke up with her last week; she's still a bit upset. Said she hexed him into oblivion though. His face might never be the same. I still want to kill him though, bloody git."

" I'll just wait until later to say hello," Harry cut him off, trying to change the subject in order to avoid Ron's imminent tirade at all costs. He would go up and say hello to Ginny later. He wouldn't want to bother her if she was so upset.

"Oh no. Go up there. Please. The prospect of you coming put her in better spirits actually. She'll want you to come up I imagine. Third floor, second door on the right."

Harry nodded, walking towards the stairs. Just then, he noticed another thing missing. "Ron," he asked, "where's Mrs. Black's portrait?"

"We finally got it down at the beginning of summer. Fred and George accidentally invented some sort of paste that turned out to be an antidote to the permanent sticking charm. It was actually quite fun to hear her scream in the fire," Ron mused.

Harry smiled and shook his head, continuing up the stairs to Ginny's room. He found her sitting on her bed, looking like she was deep in thought. Upon catching sight of him, however, she smiled. "Hello Harry," she said, patting the mattress next to her.

"Hello Gin," Harry replied, sitting down next to her. It seemed that Ginny was blossoming before his very eyes, and Harry found himself mesmerized by the gold-tinged highlights in her long red hair. He blinked, and moved his eyes to her face. "How are you?" he asked.

"I'm alright," Ginny replied. "Can I ask you a question?" she asked suddenly. Harry nodded. "Alright," Ginny said, pausing for a moment to collect her thoughts, "are there any decent guys out there, or are they all a bunch of dung?"

"Well," Harry said, "I like to think that I'm decent, and…hmmm…well, there's Neville," he smiled.

Ginny laughed. "Well, thanks for confirming my suspicions. Come on, breakfast should be about done, and I'm sure everyone'll want to see you," she said, hopping off the bed and heading for the door.

Harry smiled, nodded, and followed Ginny out the door and down the stairs. When they arrived in the kitchen, breakfast was indeed finished and on the table. Mrs. Weasley was bustling around the kitchen, and Ron, Bill, Charlie, the twins, Mr. Weasley, Lupin, and Tonks were sitting around the table, plates filled and ready to eat.

Breakfast, as well as the rest of the day, was a time for catching up and the telling of news from summer so far. Fred and George's joke shop was doing exceptionally well, almost as good as Zonko's, and Bill and Fleur were to be married. Harry found it hard to hold in his laughter at this news, and certainly did not miss the look on Ginny's face at this announcement either.

Harry, Ron, and Ginny spent a lot of time together, just talking. They talked about everything, from Quidditch to Voldemort to Hermione's mystery "cousin".

The day seemed to go quickly for Harry, and the next day seemed to come just as fast. In the middle of the afternoon, the doorbell rang. Knowing that everyone else was in a meeting with Dumbledore and Snape, Harry, Ron, and Ginny raced downstairs to open the door. The door was opened to find a pretty brunette in the doorway. She was tall, with flowing brown locks, and tanned skin, with big green eyes and glasses, and there was something familiar about her, something that Harry could not quite place.

"Hi," she said, smiling, "You must be Harry, Ron, and Ginny. Hermione's told me so much about you. I'm Hallie." She spoke with a British accent, and Harry wondered why she did not go to Hogwarts as well. Looking at her, Harry noticed that she was purposely not making eye contact with him. He chose to shrug this off. It was certainly better than most people, constantly ogling his scar when they were in his presence.

"So, erm, where's Hermione?" he shook himself out of his ponderings.

"Oh," Hallie smiled, "I think she's trying to shrink the car out of sheer will. I told her someone could do it later, but she doesn't want the muggles to see. I'll go get her."

A couple minutes later, she returned with an uncertain-looking Hermione at her heels. Hermione's skin also looked like it had been in the sun, and Harry vaguely remembered her saying something about a holiday in Australia. He assumed that was where she and Hallie had been before they came here.

Hermione was indeed worried about the car. Harry could hear her saying, "But what if a muggle sees an unfamiliar car and unwittingly tells a Death Eater and they find out where Headquarters is and…"

"Hermione, it is under the Fidelius charm. We'll be fine. Nobody but us will be able to see the car," Hallie rolled her eyes.

"Alright," Hermione said, "If you say so." She looked up, and upon seeing her friends, rushed into their open arms. Greetings were exchanged, and soon everyone was engaged in happy conversation.

Harry soon learned that Hallie was born and raised in England, which only served to make him wonder even more about where she went to school, so he posed the question to Hallie. Hallie looked over, and directly into Harry's eyes. They stared at each other, enraptured for a moment, before an odd expression took over her eyes, but it was gone as soon as Harry saw it. Hallie blinked, breaking their strange connection and stuttering, "I-I was actually home-schooled for my first five years, but I'm going to be joining all of you at Hogwarts this September," she smiled.

"Well that's great. We're glad to have you," Harry said, looking at Hallie once again. Seeing nothing, he brushed the moment off as a fluke for the moment, determined to find out as much as he could about this girl.

"Alright," Hallie smiled, then, seeing something behind Harry, her smile grew even bigger. "FREDDIE!!" she squealed, running into Fred's open arms.

"Hello, love," Fred said, letting her go. "I forgot you were coming today. Everyone will be happy to see you. The meeting's just getting out, so they'll be here soon."

"Cool," Hallie replied.

"Wait a second," Ron interjected, "How do you know my brother?"

Hallie laughed. "I've known him since I was a small child. I always had little play dates with the Weasleys when I was younger."

Comprehension dawned on Ron's face. "That was YOU!?" he asked, "I remember you. You and the twins were about joined at the hip."

"But we all know she likes Fred better," came George's voice entering the room, and in a second, Hallie was in his arms too.

Harry waited until she was deep in conversation with the twins before asking Hermione in a low voice, "How is it that she seems to know everyone she meets, and I've never heard of her before in my life?"

He could have sworn that Hermione snorted a little before answering, "You'd be surprised," and walking off. Harry stared after her, confused, but only for a second. As they moved their group us to his and Ron's room, his gaze was drawn back to Hallie, whose green eyes were shining with laughter at one of Fred's jokes. Something was familiar about her, but he just couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.