Breakfast at the Burrow was a warm busy affair. Arthur, Bill, Ron, Ginny, and Harry Potter were currently sitting at the table, while Molly attended to something at the stove. Arthur and Bill were reading and discussing The Daily Prophet. Ginny and Ron were discussing quidditch techniques and considering going out for a fly later. Harry was paging through the volume about defense against the dark arts that Remus Lupin had given him. The past months had found Harry reading anything he could about defense against the dark arts. He had the growing sense that time was quickly running out and he wanted to be ready for Voldemort's next move.

Arthur drained his coffee. "It looks like Bill and I should be leaving." He leaned over and kissed Molly goodbye. "Goodbye, love," he said and then he kissed Ginny on the top of her head.

"Bye, dad," she said.

"Bye," said Ron and Harry.

"Harry, do put that book away and eat something," said Molly, biting back a comment about the Dursleys and how they fed him.

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," said Harry gratefully as she spooned more oatmeal with lots of brown sugar and maple syrup into his bowl, and put a plate of crackling bacon on the table. Harry helped himself to more of the delicious food. Mrs. Weasley's cooking rivaled that of Hogwarts and she didn't even have a house elf.

A tapping at the window interrupted breakfast.

"That's probably from Hogwarts," said Molly, opening the window.

A brown owl flew into the kitchen and perched itself on the table, hooting and sipping from the orange juice pitcher. There were three letters. Harry scanned the book list.

"It looks like they've got a new defense against the dark arts teacher, we need a new book and gym clothes?" he said incredulously.

"What do they mean by 'gym clothes?'" asked Molly.

"I suppose they mean clothes to exercise in and trainers," explained Harry.

"Oh dear, I don't think we'll be able to get those at Diagon Alley," fretted Mrs. Weasley.

"Maybe Madam Malkin's will have some for Hogwarts students," said Ron.

"And if not there are lots of muggle places around Diagon Alley," said Harry. "We could get our money exchanged at Gringotts and then go out to muggle London."

"It'll be practice for my muggle studies class," said Ron, grinning.

"So Hermione talked you into muggle studies?" Harry smirked.

"It seemed like a good idea," shrugged Ron. "If I want to help stop You-Know-Who and protect muggles than I should probably learn about them."

"I'm taking it too," said Ginny. "Dad was really happy when he found out, he can't wait to see our textbooks."

"I wonder what they're going to be teaching you that would require gym clothes," said Molly.

"Maybe we're going to learn to fight," said Harry, grimly.

"Or Hogwarts has started a gym class," said Ron. "Imagine Crabbe and Goyle running laps," he snickered. "They can hardly fit their fat asses on their brooms."

"Ron, language!" scolded Mrs. Weasley.

"Uh-oh," said Ginny staring at her letter. There was something shiny in the folds.

"What's that?" asked Ron, reaching for the letter. "You've been made a prefect too, ha!" he said.

"Shut up!" said Ginny. "Now I'm not going to have any fun this year!"

"Ginny Weasley, you should be proud! Now all of my children have been prefects."

"Except Fred and George," said Ron, "But they've got a business and are making loads of money, so that makes up for it."

Ginny grumbled disgruntledly.

"Wait, if Ginny's a prefect, does this mean that Hermione's Head Girl?" asked Harry.

Ron shrugged. "Probably. She always owls us after she gets her list so we can meet at Diagon Alley, then we can find out."

"It's not so bad, Ginny," Harry said. "You can take off points now."
"That's true," said Ginny cheering up a little. "I wonder why they didn't make you Head Boy?"

"Dumbledore probably thought I would be too busy looking for the horcruxes with him."

Harry couldn't help feel a pang that he was chosen but he knew he would be way too busy this year to worry about managing prefects and patrolling.

"I'm still a prefect, so that leaves Malfoy, Ernie Macmillan, and Anthony Goldstein. I really hope it's not Malfoy," said Ron.

"I bet they won't make him Head Boy after his behavior on the Inquisitorial Squad," said Harry.

They continued to eat in silence, considering the possibilities.

"Harry, want to fly with us?" asked Ginny after awhile. "Ron wants to get some practice in."

"Sure," said Harry, finishing his orange juice.

"Ron and Ginny, before you go flying anywhere, don't forget to weed the garden," said Mrs. Weasley, setting a spell to wash the dishes.

"Awww, mom," said Ron.

"Ronald, I have enough to do here and with the Order. You said you wanted to help the Order, you can start by weeding the garden."

"It'll be ok," said Harry. "I'll help. Besides, we can use magic now," he grinned.

"Technically, you can," said Mrs. Weasley. "But I don't want you tearing up my garden, so be careful. You cast this spell at a patch of garden and only the weeds will be removed."

They moved into the large vegetable garden at the back of the house. Mrs. Weasley took out her wand and pointed it at a patch of the garden and said, "Semoveo." The weeds in a one-foot area flew out of the ground and landed in a neat pile outside of the garden.

"And when you're done don't forget to put the weeds in the compost heap."

"Semoveo," said Harry, and more weeds flew out with a slight popping sound as they left the earth.

"Not bad," said Harry.

Harry, Ron, and Ginny divided up and worked on different areas of the garden. With the help of magic they were done in about half an hour. Ron levitated the weeds into the compost heap (It was never a good idea to get too close to the Weasley's compost).

They went inside for glasses of water. Mrs. Weasley offered them fresh apples from one of their trees.

"Ginny, I was thinking, Ron get a present when he became a prefect, so what would you like? You guys already have Pig so an owl wouldn't do."

"Really, mum? I want a new broom," said Ginny instantly.

Mrs. Weasley frowned. "Are you sure you don't want a new pair of dress robes?"

"No, I want a new broom, the kind Ron has. I've been using George's ancient broom, it's ok but it pulls to the left."

"Ok," said Mrs. Weasley, "A new broom it is. I was thinking we could go to Diagon Alley tomorrow for your supplies, I'll buy it then."

"Thanks, mum," said Ginny, hugging Mrs. Weasley.

They spent the rest of the afternoon flying in the center of a grove of high-growing trees where no muggles would see them. Ginny and Harry would try to lob quaffles past Ron. It was moments like this when Harry felt the growing unease in his chest recede for a bit.

When they returned to the house there was an owl waiting for them.

"Yup," said Ron, "It's a message from Hermione."

He read the note and went red.

"Oooh, what's in the note?" said Ginny.

"Nothing," said Ron, clutching it to his chest. "Hermione has been made Head Girl and will be in Diagon Alley tomorrow, that's all."

"Then why are you clutching it like it's your firstborn child?" asked Harry.

Ginny was too fast for Ron.

"Accio, note!"

The note flew out of Ron's hand and into Ginny's. She skimmed it rapidly.

"Oh, that's not that bad, honestly Ronald."

"She's not calling him Won-Won is she?" asked Harry grinning.

Ginny showed him the note.

"There, at the bottom," she pointed.
Harry looked, "P.S. I miss you more than I'd like to admit, Ron. An owl from you would be nice."

"Aww, that's cute, our Ron is becoming a man," said Harry cheekily.

"Enough of that," said Ron snatching the letter back. "The Midget-Boy-Who-Lived."

"Hey!" said Harry, drawing himself up to his full height, which was still not as tall as Ron.

"None of that in my kitchen," said Mrs. Weasley briskly, entering with a basket of fresh-picked vegetables. If you want to stay in here, you'll make yourself useful helping me get supper ready."

The evening passed like that, with a homey comfort that Harry had never felt at the Dursleys. Dinner was loud with lots of debate and good food. It was times like this that Harry felt his troubles melt away. He slept soundly that night.

The next morning, after a hearty breakfast, Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Mrs. Weasley flooed into Diagon Alley. They headed towards Gringotts first. Hermione was waiting on the steps.

"Hi!" she said, and hugged Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, and Harry. She stopped in front of Ron and they hugged awkwardly and she gave him a quick kiss. He flushed to the roots of his hair.

Harry chose to ignore that and instead said, "Congratulations on being made Head Girl."

"Thanks, Harry," she said. "I wish you or Ron were Head Boy though. That would eliminate Malfoy's chances of being Head Boy. It's bad enough working with him as a prefect, he would never shut up about being Head Boy."

They went into Gringotts and got money from their vaults.

"Did you get gym clothes yet?" asked Ginny.

"I already have gym clothes but I got a new pair from Madam Malkin's. They have Hogwarts issued sweatpants and t-shirts and hoodies, you can get them based on your house."

"Ron, you're going to need new robes, I can't let yours out anymore," said Mrs. Weasley.

They stopped at Madam Malkin's first, where everyone picked up their gym clothes. There was a girl being fitted for robes so Ron had to wait. She had brown hair and looked to be close to their age.

"Have you seen her before?" whispered Ginny to Harry.

"No, she doesn't look familiar," said Harry. "I wonder what House she's in, I thought I knew everyone at Hogwarts."

"Honestly, it's so rude to talk about someone like they're not even there," said Hermione. Hermione didn't need to worry, though, the girl was oblivious to their conversation.

"Hello," said Hermione to the new girl.

"Hi!" she said, jumping and causing Madam Malkin to "tsk."

"I'm Hermione, we were just wondering if you go to Hogwarts?"

"Yes," said the girl, "I just got accepted. I'm Dawn, by the way."

"Oh, you're American," said Harry, after hearing her talk.

She nodded. "Yes, I've transferred here from Sunnydale in California."

"Transferred?" said Hermione with a frown. "That's very rare, Hogwarts hardly ever accepts transfer students."

"Is Sunnydale a school?" asked Ron.

"No, it's a town. I never went to a magical school, just one that was on a Hellmouth. I was kind of home-schooled in magic."

"You look like you're our age, I guess you'll be starting in our year? We're seventh years." asked Hermione.

"I'm going to be seventeen, so I guess I'll be a seventh year too. The only reason I'm going at all is because my sister, Buffy, is the new defense against the dark arts professor."

"What's she like?" asked Ginny. "She's not evil, is she? Because we've had a couple of evil professors."

"No I don't think she's evil, she takes my things sometimes though. Buffy's…different. But she really knows about the dark arts and bad things. She's stopped five or six different apocalypses back home."

"Wow, that's impressive," said Harry.

Madam Malkin finished with Dawn and gave her her uniform and gym clothes.

"The tie and gym clothes are charmed," explained Madam Malkin. "They'll become the color of whatever house you're sorted into."

"Cool," said Dawn, and paid Madam Malkin with some help from Ginny because she was still new to using wizarding money.

Dawn sat with Harry, Ginny, and Hermione while they waited for Ron to be finished.

"I'm Ginny Weasley," said Ginny "And that's my brother, Ron."
"I'm Harry Potter," said Harry.

"Harry Potter? The Harry Potter!" shrieked Dawn.

"Yes," said Harry, shrinking in his seat.

"I can't believe I'm meeting you," said Dawn, "You're like a rock star!"

"No, I'm really not," said Harry. "I'm just a regular guy, really."

"That's cool," said Dawn looking at him adoringly.

Ron covered up a snicker with a cough and Harry shot him a glare.

The bells on the door tinkled as someone else entered the shop. The blonde who entered looked around quickly, then located Dawn.

"Are you done, Dawn?" asked Buffy.

"Yup," she said getting up and grabbing her parcel.

"Meet my new friends, Buffy. These are Ron, Ginny, Hermione, and this is Harry Potter," said Dawn.

"Hi," said Buffy. "It's nice to meet you all."

"I told them that you'd be teaching at Hogwarts," said Dawn.

"Ok," said Buffy. "Well, I look forward to teaching all of you. Dawn, are you ready to get your textbooks?"

"Sure," said Dawn. "Bye, guys! It was really nice meeting all of you!"

"Well," Ginny said her eyes twinkling mischievously, "I guess I'd better watch out, Harry, I'm going to have to get past the Creeveys and Dawn to get to you."

"I'm glad you find this funny," said Harry, hoping to sound angry, though he never could really be angry with her.

She wrapped her arm around his and Harry didn't fight to remove it.

Why do you always have to be the martyr? He thought. I might as well enjoy what fun I can have. But a conflicting voice chimed in, She could get hurt. You are dangerous. Ginny twirled her fingers between his and that instantly shut up and conflict he may have been having.

Mrs. Weasley entered the shop. She stopped and eyed the way Ginny and Harry were sitting but didn't say anything.

"I have all of your schoolbooks," she said, holding several wrapped parcels.

"Now we just need to get our potions ingredients refilled," said Hermione.

"Ugh, don't remind me of potions!" said Ron. "You know that greasy git is going to work as hard as possible to make our last year hell."

"You're finished!" said Madam Malkin brightly. Mrs. Weasley paid for Ron and Ginny.

They left the store. "Hermione, if I give you the money, would you be able to refill Ginny's potion kit? Then I can take her to Quality Quidditch Supplies."

"No problem, Mrs. Weasley," said Hermione holding out her hand for the list, kit and money.

They were surrounded by various parcels.

"This is ridiculous," said Hermione. "Decresco!" she said at her pile of parcels. They shrunk until they were able to fit into her messenger bag.

"Excellent spell," said Ron, copying it.

They walked to the apothecary and entered the dark, pungent smelling room. They hurriedly refilled their kits in order to get out of the stench of the little shop.

"What time is it?" asked Harry.

"It's food time," said Ron, rubbing his stomach. "I hope mum takes us out to dinner."

Mrs. Weasley and Ginny were waiting in front of Quality Quidditch Supplies.

"I reckon you're hungry?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"You know me too well, mum," said Ron.

She ruffled his hair affectionately, even though she had to reach up to do it.

"Let's go to the Leaky Cauldron then," said Mrs. Weasley. "Your parents are staying their, right?" she asked Hermione.

"Yes, they're staying until I have to go to school."

They entered the Leaky Cauldron and Tom had to push two tables together to seat them all. Bill and Arthur eventually stopped in, hoping to catch up with Mrs. Weasley.

Dinner was going well for Harry until the door opened and he heard a familiar voice. His stomach sank.

Dawn entered with Buffy and four people that they didn't know.

Ron smirked, "Harry, shall I pull up a chair for your girlfriend?"

"Ronald, that is so rude," said Hermione. "So she's a little…enthusiastic. A lot of people at Hogwarts are like that when they first meet Harry, hopefully she'll grow out of it."

"I really hope you're right, Hermione," said Harry.

Harry didn't have to worry, though. Dawn didn't seem to notice their table. Instead, she sat deep in conversation with her sister, and four other people that he didn't know.

"You know," said Ron, "She seems really young to be a professor."

"You're right," said Harry. "Dawn said she's good with defense against the dark arts, but so are lots of people. The people in the D.A. turned out to be good at defense against the dark arts but I wouldn't hire most of them as a professor, especially now. I'd want someone like Moody, the real Moody, or Professor Lupin. I wonder why Dumbledore hired her."

"Maybe she has experience, maybe she worked with America's ministry," said Hermione. "Besides, Snape was only twenty-three when he was hired. She looks like she's in her twenties."

"Uhm, why do you know that?" asked Ron.

"It's in Hogwarts: A History. Snape was the youngest professor ever hired at Hogwarts, that's kind of momentous," said Hermione. "And that's another reason I will never read that book," said Ron.