Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. I am not making any money off of writing this story.
Chapter Three
Gawain Robards
It took a long time for the Weasley's to comprehend what they had just been told. To be given that much money is a big deal for any family. But especially for a family with as little money as the Weasley's have. Once they finally wrapped their heads around this news, Harry began to speak again.
"And although I know you're not going to like what I'm about to say, you can't change my mind. For everything you've done for me the past seven years, I'm finally going to get to repay you. Although you can't put a price on the love you have given me, I think giving you twenty thousand galleons should be a good start."
"Harry dear we can't accept that… that's much to generous of you!" Molly protested.
"Mrs. Weasley, you need that money a lot more than I do. I have a lot of money leftover from my parents and Sirius, let a lone the eighty thousand I'll have left over after giving you this. Please don't put up a fight and just accept it." Harry stubbornly argued.
"Well Harry, that is a lot of money. But if you're completely sure we'll accept. I'll feel extremely guilty taking this but I know you're not going to change your mind. Thank you Harry, there's so many things I've wanted to do over the years and we've never been able to do them, but now we can." Molly said through yet another watery smile.
"It's the least I could do Mrs. Weasley." Harry said as they shared a tight hug.
"Well now that that's settled, I would really like to go to Diagon alley tomorrow. I need a new broom and a new owl. Any of you are welcome to come with me if you'd like. George, will the shop be open tomorrow? I'd love to take a look at the new merchandise." Harry asked.
"Well I wasn't planning on going in tomorrow. But I could come with you and show you all the stuff that's been tested but hasn't hit the shelves yet. How does that sound?" George said with a smile.
"That's great George I really appreciate it. Well I guess I'll head to bed, are you coming Ron?" Harry said as he was walking over to give Ginny a goodnight kiss.
"Yeah mate, I'll be up in a minute." Ron said.
Harry gave Ginny a hug and a kiss goodnight, looked back at her family for one last goodbye, and found them looking at him with their mouths hanging open again. Then he realized that through all the big news they had told that night they had forgot to tell them about Ginny and himself. Now the secret was out anyway, so he thought he should explain what just happened, but Ginny beat him to it.
"Well you all new that Harry and I were dating for a month last year. Now that Voldemort's out of the way there's no reason for us not to be together anymore, so we started things back up again."
They took it much better than Harry expected them to, knowing that Harry ended things last time. They seemed to understand that it was for the best before. With another couple congratulations Harry and Ron made their way up to Ron's room where they stayed up and talked a bit about what they were going to buy the following day. After they said goodnight Harry heard the familiar click of the Deluminator and he fell asleep quite fast.
"Get up dear, it's almost 10. You all should be there before noon or else it will be really busy." Molly said waking up Harry and Ron the next morning.
Harry got up and stumbled into the bathroom and had a shower to wake himself up. By the time he got out Ron had downstairs and ate already. Harry changed into some casual clothes and went down to eat breakfast.
"Good Morning Harry," said Arthur as he glanced up from the Daily Prophet.
"Morning Mr. Weasley, Morning Mrs. Weasley," said Harry noticing that they were alone. "Where are all the others?"
"Bill and Percy went back to their own homes last night. George left early this morning to clean up the shop because you lot are going there, and Ginny and Hermione are getting ready upstairs." Mrs. Weasley said from across the kitchen as she was levitating eggs and toast over to the table for Harry.
By the time Harry had finished his eggs and told Mr. Weasley about Ron and his meeting the following day, the rest of them were sitting alongside him at the table. They were able to leave only after hearing Mrs. Weasley's speech about being careful and how the world is still dangerous. They went and put on their shoes and went outside, thinking it would be safer to Disapparate into the Leaky Cauldron then risk flooing because they didn't know what shops were open.
They re-materialized right outside the door of the Leaky Cauldron. They were close enough to the building to make sure that muggles couldn't see them. Quickly after Harry and Ginny landed together, Ron and Hermione landed beside them with a faint pop. They all walked inside, greeted Tom the barman and walked into the back. Ron tapped the usual brick, three up and two across, and the wall melted away to reveal Diagon Alley. It hadn't yet returned to its usual brilliance, but it was no longer as gloomy as it was the week before. Most of the shops were still closed, but there wasn't wanted posters filling every window.
"Where do you want to go first?" Harry said, as the usual feeling of wanting to be at ten places at once gone through him.
"Well we all need to go to Gringott's. But seeing as the last time we were in there we left on the back of a Dragon that smashed up half the place I'm not to keen on going in there just yet." Hermione said.
"Have they even put our money in yet?" Harry wondered.
"They can't have for me, I haven't even made my account yet. I think I'll get Bill to take me to get an account this weekend, Harry you can come and we'll try to work things out between us and the goblins." Ron said.
"Yeah, I'll do that. But for now let's just look around for a while and go visit George then we'll go home."
The first store they walked by had something in the window that really caught Harry's eye. The Quality Quidditch Supplies store was jam packed even with the small amount of people in Diagon Alley. There was an amazing looking broomstick with a large notice beside it. Harry gripped Ron's arm and ran over to get a closer look. The notice read:
The Firestorm – New from Firebolt
It is made of ash wood treated with a diamond hard polish, with a tail of birch twigs. It's capable of going from naught to 175 miles an hour in 10 seconds. It comes customized for your height and weight, making it perfectly suited to fit you. It's fitted with an unbreakable Breaking Charm, making it so that when you reach its top speed of 300 miles an hour you can still stop on a dime. There has already been full team orders from some of the top Quidditch Teams. All this can be bought for the new and lower price of four thousand and ninety nine galleons.
"Well, I know what broom I'm getting." Harry said with a smile.
"So do I," Ron said. "The Cleansweep is fine, but this is going to be more than amazing."
"Oh, I wish I could have one. But I'm pretty sure mom wouldn't be willing to sell our house to get me a boom, so there goes that dream." Ginny said looking increasingly sad that the other three had so much money to spend.
"Well how about this Gin, I buy it for you. Happy early birthday!" Harry said as he walked inside the door before she could refuse.
The crowd of people inside the store had thinned out a bit since they took quite a while to take in the notice outside. Inside was spacious, and all the walls were filled with different makes and models of broomsticks. Harry walked up to the front desk and spoke to the small portly man behind the counter.
"Hello Sir, I'd like to set aside three Firestorm's please." Harry said seriously.
"Alright, you do know that will be almost thirteen thousand galleons don't you?" the small man said without looking up.
"Yes, I do. Could I pick them up sometime next week?" Harry said as he wondered when the money would get deposited.
"Could I get your address and name please?" said the man behind the desk as he opened a book.
"Number twelve, Grimmauld Place. And my last name is Potter" Harry said not wanting to draw to much attention to himself.
The small man looked up curiously, and his eyes wandered up to Harry's forehead.
"Merlin's beard. You're Harry Potter." He said as his jaw dropped.
"Well yes, I am. But please don't make a scene I'm not really wanting to much attention." Harry said as he cast a shifty look behind him.
"It's so very nice to meet you Mr. Potter. Please allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is Andrew Webber; I am the owner of this store. Thank you so very much for what you have done for the Wizarding World. And as my personal thanks, I will be giving you these brooms for free." Andrew finished with a huge smile.
"No, I couldn't let you do that. Just let me pay for them next week." Harry said awkwardly.
"No Mr. Potter. You have done me so much more; this is the least I can do. All I ask is that you don't spread around that they were free, and that if anyone asks where you got it, you tell them." Andrew said.
"Well, if you insist. But are you sure there isn't anything I could do for you?" Harry asked feeling extremely guilty.
"Well, I am hosting a Quidditch game in three weeks, the twenty fifth of May, in which all the proceeds will go to charity. There will be a couple of well known Quidditch players and celebrities attending, but none compared to you. If you came and told everyone I sold you the broom and how fantastic it is we will be completely even." Andrew said happily.
"That sounds great. But for me to do that I will need about 10 VIP tickets to it so I can bring my family. Can that be arranged?" Harry said thinking of what a treat it will be for the Weasley's.
"Yes, of course! I will need the three height's and weight's of whoever is going to be riding these brooms before I set them aside." Andrew said.
"Err, right. I'll be right back and ask my friends what they are." Harry said.
Harry decided that he was not going to tell the four of them that he had got the brooms for free just yet. He would wait till that night when he could tell them and the Weasley's together. When he returned he told Andrew their size and weight and they left the store. They briefly looked through the rest of the stores and made their way down to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.
The shop still strongly stood out amongst the rest of Diagon Alley, but wasn't as breathtaking as before. It looked as though it had been unused for a couple of months now, which was probably true. Harry was still very excited to see the stock that was yet to be released. They walked up to the front door and knocked. Half a minute later George appeared and let them in.
"Hello everyone," said George as he lead them upstairs into his flat above the store. "Now what you're about to see are products that were designed by Fred and I before we thought it was unsafe to stay here any more a month ago and left."
They came to a door that George pushed open. He led them into a side room, which was filled with merchandise. There was a couple things lying out on a table that looked like George just set up. There was a long brown cloak, a blue jacket, a normal looking pair of shoes and a package of Band-Aid's.
"These are all part of our practical line. This jacket here," George said pointing to the first item. "This jacket goes invisible when you wear it. But, we shrunk the field of invisibility making only the jacket invisible. It's a perfect place to hide items on you that you don't want to be seen with."
"Wow George, that's really good magic!" Hermione said fairly.
"Well thank you Hermione. Fred and I originally got the idea from you, last time you were in the shop. You pointed out how we made the field of invisibility stretch longer with the headless hats. Then we thought we could do the opposite. Now, this pair of shoes isn't your ordinary sneaker. When worn, it lets you change your appearance at will. But, if you take the shoes off you go back to how you looked before. There's thousands of different disguises in these." George said as he took a breath. "These Band-Aid's will heal any minor cut or injury they're put on. This is mainly for muggleborn's or those who can't do a healing charm."
"Wow George, that's really useful! Last year when I was packing for the last time, I cut my hand on a shard of glass and couldn't do anything about it because I was still living with the Dursley's." Harry said conveniently not mentioning that he didn't know a spell for that.
"Exactly!" George said as he moved over to a different table with a small box on in. "Now these are my favorite of all the objects we've made so far. I haven't named them yet, but essentially they're contacts. They broadcast an image that only the wearer can see. From muggle movies to wizarding radio, they also come with head phones so you can hear it."
"That's really cool George!" said Ginny with a smile.
They talked about more upcoming products and other things as George showed them around his place. When it was drawing closer to dinner they finally decided they'd floo back to the Burrow. They arrived there at 5:00, and Molly was already making dinner.
"Oh good you're all back, I was beginning to worry. Harry dear, there was an owl that came by the house about an hour ago and left a letter for you. It's sitting on the kitchen table." Molly said.
"Thanks Mrs. Weasley." Harry said as he went into the kitchen and grabbed it.
He returned to the other room finding Ron, Hermione and Ginny pretending not to want to know what the letter said. Harry laughed a little as he opened the letter, and began to read aloud:
Harry,
The meeting between you, Ron, Professor McGonagall and Gawain Robards will take place tomorrow at 3:00. Minerva has said that she is very busy so she would prefer the meeting to take place at Hogwarts, in her office. Kindly be prompt in arriving, for you all have a lot to talk about.
Also, it has been decided that your reception ceremony for the Order of Merlin will take place this Sunday, at the Ministry Banquet Building in London. Arthur will know where it is.
Sincerely,
Kingsley Shacklebolt.
Minister for Magic.
"I can't wait Harry. Just think, tomorrow around this time we'll have met the Head of the Auror Office and know what we'll need to do to become an Auror!" Ron said excitedly.
"I know! All of this is so surreal. Everything is happening so fast. I haven't been able to take it all in yet. We've also got a really busy couple of weeks ahead of us." Harry said.
"Well we better go change before dinner Ron." Hermione said as they both got up and left the room.
Harry waited before the other two were definitely out of earshot before he spoke.
"Gin, you haven't really been yourself these past few days. Are you okay?"
"Well, I just kind of feel a little left behind. You three have a lot going for you right now and I'm not really a part of any of it. And on top of that I really miss Fred." Ginny said softly.
"We all miss him Gin. But he'd want us to be strong and keep our heads up. I know I've been really busy the last couple of days and I probably will be for a while, but I don't want you to think you're any less important to me. Once everything calms down it will go back to normal. How about on Saturday we spend the day together, just you and me, we can go shopping for clothes because I need a whole new wardrobe pretty much." Harry said trying to cheer her up.
"That sounds great, thanks a lot Harry." Ginny said with a small smile as she leaned in for a kiss.
They kissed for about a minute, then broke apart and stared into each other's eyes until Harry spoke.
"No problem. Besides, I found something out today that I haven't told anyone yet which should definitely cheer you up."
Mrs. Weasley conveniently chose this time to walk into the room and tell them that dinner was on the table. They walked in hand in hand while Ginny was pestering Harry to tell her about what he hinted at. There was only the small group of them there, Ron, Hermione and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, but Harry couldn't contain this news any longer. He waited for them all to take their seats, and began to speak.
"Alright everyone, I have some news. Today when I was putting our brooms on hold I had to give my name and address. When he realized who I was he introduced himself, he was Andrew Webber, he owns Quality Quidditch Supplies. He said that he was giving me the brooms for free, yours to Ron, as a thank you for what we've done." Harry said.
"Well that was very nice of him." Mrs. Weasley said.
"But that's not all. When I asked if I could do anything to repay him he told me that he was hosting a charity Quidditch game, filled with celebrities and professional Quidditch players. He asked me if I would play in it! I told him for that to happen I'd have to be able to bring my family, so you're all coming with me and you have VIP passes! I asked for ten but if I need more I can ask" Harry finished excitedly.
"Wow mate, that's really cool!" Ron said.
"Wow Harry," Ginny said. "Congratulations! Do you know who else will be there?"
"No, I don't. He'll be sending me an owl with more information. But I'm starving, so let's eat." Harry said as he felt the usual rumble from his stomach.
There were no complaints, since they hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast that day. Everyone was talking excitedly about who they hoped was going to be at the Quidditch game. Once they had suggested everyone they could think of, Harry, Ron and Mr. Weasley began to talk about their meeting tomorrow. This only made them both a little nervous, and when they went up to bed they both had a very hard time falling asleep.
Harry woke up the next morning to find himself alone. He assumed Ron had gone down for breakfast already. He grabbed his glasses off of the side table and pulled them on. He noticed the freshly laundered clothes that were laid out on Ron's bed as he was clambering out of the room. Half an hour later he walked down the stairs showered and in the clothes that were laid out for him. He looked at the clock on the wall, which read 1:08.
"Good morning dear. Lunch is on the table." Mrs. Weasley said as she pointed to a tray of sandwiches.
"Thanks Mrs. Weasley. Morning Ron." Harry said.
"Morning mate. Fancy a game of chess?" Ron said as Harry sat down.
"Sure, set it up." Harry said grabbing a sandwich.
For the next hour Harry and Ron played chess and talked about what they thought Gawain Robards would be like. Ron figured he would look battle scared and tough like Mad Eye, maybe without the wooden leg. Harry thought he would be extremely tall and muscular. The girls joined them around 2:00 and explained that they stayed up late into the night talking, not getting much sleep. They talked for another half an hour, then Harry thought he and Ron should probably get going. They said their good byes, then Harry and Ron put on their shoes and went outside.
"Where do you reckon we should Disapparate to?" Ron said walking out the back door.
"Gryffindor tower should be fine. Let's get going." Harry said as he turned on spot into crushing darkness.
With a loud crack they stood in an empty Gryffindor common room. They walked towards the portrait of the Fat Lady and pushed it open. Harry began to walk towards the spiral staircase and noticed that there had already been considerable improvement in the school. It still had a long way to go, but for having a giant run through it, it was looking pretty good.
By the time they made it to the stone gargoyle outside the Headmistresses office it was 2:45, so they went up a little early. Ron was first, so he knocked on the door outside Professor McGonagall's office.
"Come in" was the faint reply from inside.
"Good afternoon Professor" Harry said as they walked inside.
"Hello Potter, Weasley. Mr. Robards will be joining us shortly. This meeting is just meet a short and greet and we will explain what will be happening next year. If you have any questions, feel free to ask." McGonagall said.
"Well actually Professor I was wondering something. But it's not anything to do with becoming an Auror. Will I be able to live at Grimmauld Place anymore? Can a Fidelius Charm ever be removed? Can we place another one on it and make me secret keeper?" Harry asked.
"I'm not to sure Potter. That is delving into extremely complex magic. But since all the Death Eaters have
safely been put back into Azkaban I don't see there being a problem with you staying there under the current Fidelius Charm." McGonagall reasoned.
There was a loud knock at the door, and Harry assumed Robards had arrived. He entered without waiting for a reply. He was reasonably tall, probably around six feet. He looked younger than Harry had expected, but was still reasonably battle scarred. He had short, messy brown hair and a large scar across his face. Harry and Ron got out of their seats and went to greet him.
"It's nice to meet you Mr. Robards" Harry said shaking his large, paw like hand.
"You as well Mr. Potter. And you must be Mr. Weasley." Robards said in a harsh deep voice.
"Yeah, nice to meet you Sir." Ron said nervously.
"Well let's get down to business. As you both know we have very few Aurors at the moment. Most of them were killed during the past year. Some of them are recovering from long stints under the Imperius Curse. There are a few who we have hand picked to go right into being an Auror, we were going to do the same with you two but you haven't even graduated yet. We barely had an Auror to spare to teach you two. Actually we don't have an Auror to spare to teach you. This is why you will be taught by Alastor Moody." Robards said and even he laughed at the extremely confused look on both Harry and Ron's faces, and went on.
"Before he died he agreed he would take this on, only for a year. So, as a precaution, we had three different portraits painted of him. One will hang in your classroom, one will hang in the Auror office in the Ministry. And there's one spare incase he is needed somewhere else, which for now will be hung in the Headmistresses office. He was one of the best Aurors we ever had, you two are lucky to be taught by him."
"Wow, that'll be a little weird to be taught from a painting but still it's Mad Eye!" Ron said enthusiastically.
"The tower," Robards continued like he didn't hear Ron. "Will be well protected. You will be able to Disapparate in and out of it from a special room. This is so if the Ministry needs you, you'll be able to be there as quick as possible. But another spell has been put upon the tower to make is so that you two will be the only ones able to access it, except for the staff and house elves of Hogwarts."
"You two will be able to leave the castle on weekends if you wish. But, you'll have to stay at an agreed location until you return, so we can reach you if necessary," McGonagall began. "You will be taking the five courses that are required in Auror training. You will receive a supplies list like usual this summer, but all the books will be waiting in your tower when you arrive."
"We don't want the wrong people reading our strategies, you see." Robards said.
"Well, that's all we can really tell you about the course so far. But we will need an answer about where you will stay outside the school before you come back. Kindly send an owl to myself, or Mr. Robards when you have chosen." McGonagall said.
"Alright Professor. Thank you both for your time." Harry said as he and Ron got up to leave.
"Nice meeting you Mr. Robards." Ron said before he turned to leave.
They walked back down past the stone Gargoyle, but before they Disapparated back to the Burrow Ron spoke to Harry.
"Well why don't we just go tell them right now. I mean we're obviously going to stay at the Burrow, right mate?"
"Well actually, Ron." Harry said with a smile. "I was thinking that you, Hermione and Ginny could move in with me at Grimmauld Place."
Thank you to everyone who is reading this story. I'm putting a lot of work into it and I really hope you like it! But, I'm very disappointed in the lack of reviews. There have been only 2 reviews so far, and it's really hard to know if I'm doing a good job or not if you don't tell me. So please if you enjoy this story so far, write a review saying what you'd like to see more or less of, it will really help! So I'll make you guys a deal. If I get more then 25 reviews for this chapter, I'll write 2 chapters by next Sunday instead of one! Get reviewing!