Chapter Two – Persuassion
After fervent greetings from Ron and Hermione and a brief enquiry from Mr. Weasley as to the workings of a doorbell, they grabbed Harry's things and apparated to the backdoor of The Burrow. There Mrs. Weasley came scurrying out of the house, whisk in one hand, with icing sugar down her apron and flung her arms around Harry who was surprised at the comfort he found in her warm embrace. Dusting sugar off his sweater, he ran into the house to find Ginny waiting nervously in the kitchen. They exchanged a long and tender hug, neither of them wanting to let go of each other before everyone else came bustling in from outside.
Bill entered the kitchen with Charlie and Harry gave each a hearty handshake before enquiring after Fleur who, he was informed, was staying with her French relations at Madame Maxime's summer residence in London.
"I have to go over tomorrow." Groaned Ginny "I'm a bridesmaid." Harry grinned at her, knowing how much Ginny hated dresses.
A deafening bang followed by a cloud of acid green smoke caused everyone to pull out their wands. Standing in the middle of the kitchen were, what appeared to Harry, to be a mini Fred and George. About eight years old, the two red headed boys burst out laughing and started chasing each other round the kitchen brandishing Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes fake wands. It was only when one of the young twins let out a particularly high pitched scream that Harry realised they were not boys at all, they were girls with short cropped hair and very cheeky grins.
"Our cousins… Frederica and Georgina." Explained Ron. "Dad's brother, Norman's youngest daughters…" Harry snorted.
"Frederica and Georgina? You can't be serious"
"Deadly serious." Ron grimaced. "They, obviously, like to go by the names of…"
"FRED! GEORGE!" A tall, bald man with bushy red eyebrows stormed through the door.
"What do you think you are playing at?"
"We're playing Die! Deatheater Die!" cried one.
"I'm the Deatheater!" Added the other whose sister promptly leapt on her head.
"Stop this at once!" A short blonde witch apparated into the middle of the kitchen and the twins fell silent and stood still immediately.
"Sorry Mum." They both muttered looking at the ground. The witch proceeded to confiscate the fake wands which both turned into toads and hopped out of the window. The twins giggled then, seeing the witch's face stopped instantly.
"Merlin's Beard!" Said that bald man striding over to Harry. "Mr. Potter it's wonderful to meet you at last!" He began pumping Harry's hand up and down.
"Please call me Harry." The witch came over to shake hands too.
"Norman and Autorita Weasley" She shook Harry's hand rather less vigorously than her husband did. "So sorry about our girls… we took them to Fred and George's shop yesterday. As you can see, it was a BIG mistake!" Harry laughed.
"Not as bad as they'll be when they get to Hogwarts!" Everyone laughed awkwardly. Harry wanted to bite his tongue: why did he have to mention the very thing that everyone was most worried about? Before he could dwell too long on this, however, Fred and George senior appeared outside the kitchen window, having just apparated in from Diagon Alley. They waved and came into the kitchen shrugging off their cloaks which, Harry noticed were not the garish dragon skin ones from the year before.
Harry was sharing Ron's room, which was a very tight squeeze as another of Ron's cousins, Gregory, who was nine, was sharing with them too. As Harry stored his things away (his trunk had been magically shrunk to an eighth of its original size) he felt incredibly happy to be back at The Burrow which was practically overflowing with Weasleys and members of Molly's family, the Prewetts. Harry noticed, though, that there were not very many Prewetts and remembered Mad Eye Moody pointing out, in an old photograph, the Prewetts as members of the Order who had died during the last war.
Dinner that evening was outside in the garden, which Fred and George junior had been sent to de-gnome as punishment for their earlier mischief. Harry helped Ron and Charlie conjure long tables and dozens of chairs before assisting Hermione prepare large jugs of Gillywater in which sparking ice cubes tinkled enticingly against the glass.
The evening was a warm one and everyone was glad to be outside in the fresh air. Harry sat between Fred and George senior, glad to be able to discuss the joke shop and business and take his mind off the horcruxes which constantly invaded his thoughts. It was such a change to the past few months to be laughing and smiling and feeling, if just for a short while, that no harm would come to you. After as much of Molly's home made ice cream as they could manage Mr Weasley stood up and raised a glass. Everyone fell silent.
"To those who have fallen." Everyone else got to their feet and drank to the many they knew who had laid down their lives fighting Voldemort. Harry thought of his parents, of Cedric, Sirius and Dumbledore, all too conscious of their courage. Despite the fact that most were drinking Madam Rosmerta's Mead by this point, the toast had a sobering effect and the younger children, sensing a change in mood, hurried off to bed; leaving everyone else to have the discussion they didn't want to face.
Harry remained silent as Arthur quickly recounted to everyone the events of the night Dumbledore was murdered. Harry noticed Autorita Weasley shift uncomfortably in her seat.
"The time has come," Arthur said quietly, "That I ask all of you to do what is necessary and declare allegiance."
"Now, see here, Arthur," started Norman Weasley. "You can't honestly expect us to openly make enemies of You-Know-Who? There have been two murders already this week: Hamish Macmillan and Dorathea Diggle… They weren't even Order members and that didn't stop Voldemort coming for them, did it?"
"That is precisely the point!" Bill Weasley came in angrily. 'No one is safe now so you might as well be on the right side! People are laying down their lives every week now and this is not the time for cowardice!"
"Don't you dare call my husband a coward!" Autorita snapped.
'That's not what Bill was saying." Everyone turned and stared at Harry. "What I assume Bill meant was that Voldemort…" Harry ignored the shudders and gasps. "wants us to be afraid and to divide and quarrel. If we are divided then he and the Deatheaters can quickly corner off individuals and gain power through intimidation and oppression. If we all stand united then we are the ones invoking fear in Voldemort. It's now the time for bravery and decisive action and there has never been a better cause to put aside your fears for. Of course we are all afraid but the important thing is that we are afraid for each other, not just for ourselves. The more members of the Order we have the safer we all are and the safer the future of the Wizarding World will be."
There were no pompous "Hear hear!" or churlish "You see!"s everyone sat in a sort of stunned silence for at least a minute. Hermione looked determined and Ron seemed slightly awed. Autorita spoke up again.
"So you really expect me to risk my children's necks for The Cause?" She sounded shocked rather than sardonic. Harry looked at her hard before replying.
"I don't expect it, no one does. I just know that my parents risked theirs and mine and that Arthur and Molly did and are doing so too. I also know that you're risking a lot more by standing aside and letting Voldemort take over."
"I'm not standing aside.…" Autorita looked incensed.
"If you're not in the Order then that is precisely what you are doing." Harry said very quietly before getting up and walking slowly away to bed.