A Sirius Situation

A Harry Potter Alternate Universe Story

And the sequel to "A Harry Situation," which is posted at

By Jill Weber AKA Jelsemium

All recognizable characters © J. K. Rowling.

Author's Notes: I'm very sorry that this is going so slowly.

Chapter Four: The Burrow is Too Quiet

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There were apple cores, books, bottles of pumpkin fizz, peach pits, scraps of parchment, writing quills, and two Weasley children dotted around the orchard that flanked The Burrow. There was a cool breeze coming from the pond and the summer sounds of birds, crickets, frogs and gnomes gave the setting a peaceful air. The youngest Weasleys were accustomed to coming to this semi-secret spot to escape the noise and bustle of the Burrow.

Last summer, they had retreated to the orchard to escape from numerous, escalating, arguments. When it wasn't their father and older brother Percy disputing the facts of You-Know-Who's return; their mother and the twins were having heated exchanges over Fred and George's "disreputable" career choice.

There were no arguments at the Burrow this summer.

There were no older brothers at the Burrow. Bill and Charlie had moved out years ago. Charlie was still in Romania. While Bill had moved back to England, he had decided that he was too used to living on his own to move back to The Burrow. The twins had moved to a flat above their new shop in Hogsmeade. Percy had moved to a flat in London, claiming that he wanted "to be closer to his important work."

Even when four of the five older boys came for a visit, there weren't any arguments. (Molly's pointed comment or two about the length of Bill's hair didn't count as an argument, it was more of a reflex.)

Molly Weasley was still not happy with the idea of a joke shop. However, even she had to admit that having the twins work in the same city as Percy, let alone the same Ministry building, was like putting Ashwinder eggs in a can of paraffin.

She also had to admit that maybe the Ministry wasn't as respectable a career as she'd always thought. Last year, Cornelius Fudge had incarcerated Harry Potter for the horrendous crime of reporting the return of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Lucius Malfoy, of all people, had helped Harry regain his freedom in time to get back to school. Now, there was talk of a vote of no confidence.

The idea of Fudge losing his job should have made the Weasleys feel satisfied, but with Lucius Malfoy pushing that movement, they were concerned as to whom the replacement would be. If one of You-Know-Who's followers managed to get elected, there would be the devil to pay.

So, Arthur was putting in a lot of overtime to justify his being at the Ministry for long hours. Bill had resigned his position as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher to take a desk job in Gringott's Bank. Both moves were planned so the Weasleys could keep an eye on developments. However, it also meant the only people at the Burrow were Molly, Ron and Ginny. Molly had projects of her own to take care of. Ron and Ginny assumed said 'projects' were for the Order of the Phoenix, but had not been encouraged to ask further questions.

Ginny and Ron had retreated from the unnatural silence in the Burrow to the relative noise and bustle of the trees. They'd degnomed the garden so many times that they were having trouble finding any. They'd weeded, they'd watered, but there were just so many chores that a body could do at one time. Molly finally told them that if they had nothing better to do, that perhaps Ron could start coaching Ginny for her O.W.L.s.

It was a sign of how desperately bored they were that they actually gave very serious thought to the idea. They'd gone so far as to take some of Ron's Practice O.W.L.s outside, along with a good supply of writing materials.

"This is scary, we're beginning to think like Hermione," Ron sighed. He laid flat on his back and looked up at the sky between the trees. He was certain that there was some form of Divination that foretold the future based on the way branches waved about, but he couldn't remember what it was called.

"As opposed to thinking of Hermione?" Ginny suggest archly. She was lying on her stomach, kicking her bare feet idly, and resting her chin in her hands.

She flipped through her history book, Really Stupid Things that Actually Happened, At Least According to the Same Historians Who Write the History of Magic O.W.L.s, So You'd Better Remember Them Until You've Passed looking for the most gruesome incidents to write her summer essay about. Binns always turned such an interesting shade of green when she handed in her assignments.

She wondered if he'd been in Slytherin House.

"At least I manage to get somewhere thinking about Hermione," Ron said. He was idly flipping through a book that he'd found in Percy's room, Careers That Are Utterly Boring But Will Impress Your In-Laws.

"Harry and I went on a date," Ginny said.

Ron snorted. "One crummy picnic," he said. "You didn't even get to snog him."

"How would you know if I've snogged Harry or not?"

"Ginny! I've just eaten!"

"Then don't ask about my love life, Ronnie-kins."

"I didn't ask about your love life! You brought it up!"

"Then don't insult my love life or I'll feel like I must contradict you," Ginny said serenely.

"How can I not insult your love life? I heard, from you, that so called date was a disaster!"

"It wasn't our fault, there was this dragon," Ginny said dryly. "Remember? Dragon?"

"I didn't get hit over the head with Gryffindor Tower," Ron replied. "So, why are you sitting around bothering your wonderful brother when you should be writing to the poor, injured love of your life?"

Ginny snorted, but before she could speak, Ron interrupted.

"Dear Harry," Ron said, writing in the air above his head. "I miss your lips. Kissy, kissy, Ginny."

"That's just plain disturbing," Ginny said. "I thought you didn't want to hear about my love life. Besides, aren't you supposed to be getting all big brotherly and protective of my virtue?"

Ron made a gagging sound.

Ginny threw a paper dart at him. "In this case, that means my virginity, not my general behavior," Ginny explained.

"Ewww, don't talk like that," Ron said. He sat up and picked up a half empty bottle of pumpkin fizz and looked like he was considering dumping it on his sister.

"You're the one who brought up Harry's lips!" Ginny retorted.

"Ehh… don't be so logical, you sound like Hermione," Ron said. He evidently decided against giving his sister a sugar shower and downed the remainder in one swallow.

"Are we back on the subject of Hermione again?" Ginny asked.

"Have we ever left it?" Ron asked. He chucked the bottle at the pile of rubbish they needed to bag and continued. "I mean, we're out here studying, for Merlin's sake! And it's still July!"

Ginny looked around. They'd read a little, started letters to their friends, compiled lists of potential joke products for Fred and George, made goofy sketches of each other and had turned a good number of scraps into paper darts, but not much in the way of studying had been done.

"We aren't nearly as good at being Hermione as Hermione is," Ginny said with mock solemnity.

"You're better at being Hermione than I am," Ron said, with considerable more earnestness than Ginny had managed.

Ginny's coppery eyebrows disappeared into her fringe. "Because I'm a girl?"

"Yeah, that, too."

"What else?" Ginny's brown eyes held curiosity.

"You're good with studying," Ron said, waving one hand vaguely. "You know, you're kind of book smart."

Ginny's ears turned pink at the unexpected compliment. "You're not exactly stupid, you know," she said.

"Yeah, well, books bore me," Ron said unhappily.

"There's nothing wrong with not being a swot," Ginny said.

Ron shrugged.

"Hermione's not going to hold that against you, you know," Ginny added.

Ron shrugged again. "Maybe. But she's so smart. Why would she want to get involved with me?"

Ginny squinted. "Have you been Obliviated? In case you forgot, Hermione is already involved with you."

"But I don't get it," Ron sighed. "Why me?"

"Why not you? You're good at chess and strategy," Ginny said. She sprawled on her side and plucked up a piece of grass to chew on.

Ron sighed. "She'll probably get twice as many O.W.L.s as I do."

Ginny giggled. "She'll probably set a school record," she said. "Maybe even get herself mentioned in that Hogwarts Storybook you're always saying that she's in love with."

"Hogwarts: A History," Ron muttered.

"Why don't you write to her?" Ginny said.

"She's on holiday," Ron said in such an off-hand manner that Ginny knew that he was upset.

"Pigwidgeon can find her," Ginny pointed out.

"She's with her cousins," Ron said.

"That won't stop Pigwidgeon," Ginny said. Idly, she began to braid her hair.

"Her cousins are Muggles, remember?" Ron said, a trifle annoyed. "They don't know about owl post, or the wizarding world. Statute of Secrecy, remember?"

Ginny blushed. "Oh, right. Can't you use Muggle post? Mum mailed Harry a letter. I'm sure we can work out the Muggle post office for ourselves."

Ron opened his mouth to make a cutting retort, and suddenly realized that his bratty little sister was making sense. He also thought it was scary to hear his bratty little sister talking like such a rational human being. "Maybe," he said. "First, I've got to think of something to write."

"Dear Hermione," Ginny said, writing in the air. "I miss your lips."

She managed to dodge the pumpkin fizz shower.

XXX xxx

Author's notes:

Thanks for sticking with me so far!

Nimbirosa

Hi, thanks for reviewing! (As you can see, I changed the ending.) Sorry that I'm not updating very fast. I'll try to be quicker!

Satchel

Thanks for the review. Yes, we'll be getting more romance stuff. Sorry, I'm really slow at the romance stuff.

Amiable Dorsai

Thanks! Glad you still want a sequel! Thanks for mentioning the parts that you liked.

I don't think Dumbledore needs insurance. He's a powerful wizard!

everpresent

Hi! Thanks for the review. Yes, it is a scary situation for a young woman.

Good call on the Weasleys.

LileeAlina

Hi! Thanks for the review. Good question about Belinda. Sorry I didn't make it clear, cousins are around Hermione's age. I think Bob is older and Belinda is a little younger, but not much.

nana-hedwig

Thanks for all of the reviews! Glad you liked "A Harry Situation" enough to look for the sequel. And thanks for saying what parts you liked!

cestmoi-lily

Thanks! Sorry that this is going so slow.

Samli

Thanks for the review! It means a lot to me to get comments from other writers. I'm so glad my characterizations work. I really appreciate all my readers!

Fiery Goddess of Ice

Thanks for the review! I'll try to step up the pace!