A.N. : By the way, don't expect my stories to pick up too fast. I need to set the stage right first, so if you're the kinda reader who expects everything to jump into action and suspense, then sorry, but you'll have to wait for another 6 or 7 chapters for that.

Disclaimer: I've said it before, I'll say it again. I don't own the characters.

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CHAPTER 2: MUDDLED THOUGHTS

Beams of the hot Saturday sun peeked in through the curtains. It was the day. The day Harry would, once again, abandon this isolated hell and live with the Weasleys. Instantly, Harry sat up and, heeding the grumbling in his stomach, actually went out of the room and to the kitchen. It was barely dawn, and no one else was awake. He grabbed a cup of milk and made a sandwich for himself, bringing both into his room.

He sat on his bed, gazing into nothing, letting his memories consume him without really thinking about them. It was only when Vernon Dursley's car left the house for some meeting did Harry move from his musings and begin to pack his baggage unceremoniously. Before long everything he owned was stuffed into his bag, apart from a book about hexes and jinxes which he was reading while waiting for the Weasley's to come.

He read hex after jinx after curse. Some were rather dangerous; some did no more than cause one to stumble. He tried creating scenarios where each spell would come in handy, though he personally couldn't find a situation where he wanted someone's toes to be cold.

He was so engrossed in the book that he didn't realise it was half past one. Marking the book, he stuffed it into his over-crowded bag before, for the second time that day, he departed from his room, and for the first time all summer, ate lunch with his relatives.

From the top of the staircase he heard his aunt's loud and firm voice from the kitchen.

"Dudders, dear, you know that we're only doing this for your own good." Explained an irate Petunia Dursley as her son once again complained about the lack of food.

"I WANT FOOD! I'M BEING UNDERFED AND UNDERNOURISHED!" Harry's repulsive cousin responded.

Harry just shook his head in exasperation as he went down the stairs. Even as he went down he saw Dudley with his arms folded over his chest and his bottom lick stuck out, pouting petulantly like the spoilt brat he was. His mother's lips were tightly compressed in frustration as her son began a cold war.

Both relatives ignored Harry as he sat himself on the table and placed on his plate whatever was left of lunch. Food had long gone been eaten for pleasure, as was the case in Hogwarts, and he grudgingly spooned the food into his mouth for the sake of looking reasonably well-kept when he met his adopted family. Even as he finished eating the tasteless food, Aunt Petunia and Dudley continued their silent argument, neither willing to give in.

BANG!!!

"Ouch, Mum, that hurts." Yelled a familiar voice from the living room.

"Hey, George, think we should get the Canary Creams out now?"

"FRED AND GEORGE WEASLEY! YOU WILL DO NO SUCH THING WHILE I AM AROUND! AM I CLEAR!"

All that came out was a muffled response as Harry dashed into the living room only to see it covered in ash and five red-headed bodies coming out of the fireplace, their entire bodies covered in soot.

"Harry!" cried Ginny as she darted towards the green-eyed boy and hugged him tightly. Blushing slightly from the show of affection, he wrapped his arms around her in a brotherly fashion and greeted her in return. Ron then came forward and gave a one-armed hug to his best friend, followed by another bone-crushing squeeze, this time from Mrs Weasley. Before Harry could say a word to the twins, he say them in the kitchen approaching a gleeful Dudley Dursley, pointedly ignoring his mother's fuming glares.

"Feel like you don't have enough food?" George chimed, a cordial expression plastered to his face.

"Never fear! Fred-"

"-and George Weasley-"

"-are here!" Fred finished off, before taking out a cornucopia of treats, ranging from sweets to creampuffs to biscuits.

Before anyone could make a sound, Dudley grabbed as many of the foodstuffs as he could and stuffed them into his mouth. The Weasley children and Harry were grinning expectantly, while Petunia Dursley and Molly Weasley shared looks of horror, though the latter's was mixed with anger and frustration with her two sons.

It didn't take long for a reaction to arise.

Dudley immediately began expanding at an alarming rate. Much like his Aunt Marge three years ago, he soon became the size of a baby elephant. Instead of floating, however, he fell of his chair and rolled on the ground. His hair also turned a shade of pink which would have done Tonks proud. His bloated fingers formed wonderful gradients from the nail to the knuckle, each one uniquely coloured. In alarm, he tried to call for help, but all that came out was a canary's chirping, followed by an indescribable hissing sound.

Throughout Dudley's transfiguration, the Weasley twins were taking down notes.

"Interesting, the effects of taking both Canary Creampuffs and Boa Bites at once…" muttered Fred as he furiously scribbled on his parchment.

"Indeed, brother dear. Also note how the hair is changing when he took the liquorice-flavoured jelly." Replied George.

"Oh my! Of course! The liquorice must have reacted with the sugar from the Colour-changing Capsules and the Snake Soda!"

Amidst all the hubbub, Mrs Weasley quickly grabbed her two sons' collars and yelled at them.

"WHAT IN MERLIN'S NAME DO YOUR TWO THINK YOUR ARE DOING? THIS BOY, NO MATTER HOW REPULSIVE, MAY DIE FROM WHAT YOUR HAVE DONE! NOW GET HOME AND WAIT TILL YOUR FATHER HEARS ABOUT THIS!"

Fred and George's eyebrows rose to their fringe and they went to the living room where the Harry, Ron and Ginny were.

"Harry, mate, glad to see you ain't sulking over Sirius's death, I mean, it's not such a big deal, he…" Ron said before Ginny placed her hand over his mouth.

In truth, what Ron had said caused Harry to stiffen a bit. Sirius did mean a lot to him, so his death was a big deal. He was about to explain it to them but Ginny beat him to it.

"What my oaf of a brother here was trying to say," She began, earning her a glare from her Ron, "is that we'll always be here for you, so there's no need to be all moody and depressed even though we can't quite understand the loss you're feeling."

Somehow, that statement made Harry feel much better despite the loss. If there were two things he could trust Ginny about, it was to tell him off if he was doing something stupid, and to comfort him when he was down.

Harry gave a small smile. "Thanks."

Removing her hand capped over her brother's mouth, Ginny went over to peak into the kitchen, where Dudley was back in his normal form and Mrs Weasley was offering apologies to Mrs Dursley.

With a look of fright, Dudley's eyes scoured the room, unheeding the Weasley matriarch's words. After a while, his gaze rested on the Ginny, who was in front of Harry and Ron.

With a grin, he got up from his chair and quickly went to the red-headed girl.

"Hello, sugar." He greeted in a fake voice that was an octave lower than usual.

Ginny, however, was not a person up for such nonsense. Brushing aside the arm Dudley tried to put around her shoulder, she slapped him loud and hard on the cheek, before slapping him again on the other with her backhand.

"Don't you dare do that to me, Pigboy!" She screeched, before putting her arm around a stunned Harry Potter and kissing him on the cheek.

By then, both mothers had their attention on their children as the slap brought them out of Mrs Weasley's monologue. She turned a look towards Ginny and Harry which said "We'll talk about this later", before apologising to the Dursley's one last time, sending Fred and George to take Harry's luggage and taking her children and adopted son back to the Burrow.

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"Harry, dear, Arthur, Bill and Charlie all couldn't make it due to work commitments, so I hope you understand." Mrs Weasley explained as they dusted themselves after coming out of the fireplace.

"Of course, Mrs Weasley. Really, me coming here isn't such a big thing. I'm surprised that even five of your came down to pick me up." Replied Harry.

Molly Weasley didn't reply, but instead gave a warm smile before asking for why Ginny had slapped Dudley and kissed Harry. After a few blushes and explanations regarding Dudley's actions, the two of them, along with Ron, were sent up with Harry's belongings so that he could get his room ready.

"Harry with my little girl…I could wish for nothing better." Mrs Weasley thought, a large smile forming on her face.

Then, she saw the twins creeping up the stairs. Immediately frowning, she yelled, "FRED AND GEORGE WEASLEY! I HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN ABOUT JUST NOW, NO MATTER WHAT YOUR SISTER MAY HAVE DONE!"

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Ginny Weasley was joyful. No, elated. ECSTATIC. She had kissed Harry Potter, the Boy-She-Had-A-Crush-On, and unless her eyes were playing tricks on her, he was not remotely put off by it.

Don't be a fool, girl, just because he liked the way I handled his cousin doesn't mean that he fancies me.

But he does get along with me better than any other girl…perhaps if I just hint a bit, he'll come around.

Pathetic. Since when was Ginny Weasley the type of girl who chased after a man? Besides, I got over him two years ago. Why do I still have a crush on him? Why do I still have my stupid childhood dream that he'll notice me?

Because I love him.

"Ginny, are you ok?" Ginny heard Harry's concerned voice breaking through her thoughts. He was looking at her with a furrowed expression. "Ron and I were discussing what you did to Dudley."

"Oh, that…" She trailed, blushing from both the topic and the protectiveness ensuing from Harry's eyes. "I-I-I…Well, I mean he was just being a prat and all." She replied evasively, choosing to remain silent over what she had done after that.

Unfortunately, her brother noticed it, and was about to open it when Harry gave him a glance which clearly said "Later". Ron cocked an eyebrow at his friend, before turning his attention to the room he and Harry would be sharing.

Ginny saw Harry's face break into a grin as he surveyed the room. Everything, ranging from the Chudley Cannons posters to the untidy mess on the floor to the dishevelled blankets to the sunlight beaming through the window, gave any visitors a sense of homeliness. Discussion continued as Harry placed Hedwig's cage in a corner of the room and the two youngest Weasley children sat down, Ron on his bed and Ginny on Harry's.

"So, Harry, tell us in detail what you've been doing at those Muggles' house." Ron jovially piped up.

Harry wasn't surprised by Ron's question. "Oh, what else could you do when you're stuck in a disgusting room practically under home quarantine, waiting for the summer to end?" he replied evenly. "Thankfully it was only a week. I don't think I could stand writing letters and reading books anymore. I'm not Hermione you know" He added with a chuckle, drawing a similar response from the brown-haired girl's best friend and non-official boyfriend.

"That's good to hear, mate. All of us here were worried that, you know, with Sirius and all…"

Harry sighed. "I admit, it's still hard for me to take, but, I dunno, at least he died fighting Death Eaters, which I think is how he would have wanted it, rather than on a sickbed. I still feel a bit guilty about it, cause I could have prevented it, but…"

Harry left the sentence hanging as he gradually found it harder to find the correct words to say. After letting his "but" trail off, he glanced at Ginny and gave her a weak smile.

A strange silence hung in the air for a few moments, which Harry broke by releasing a deep breath.

"I'm going to take a bath now. After that we'll decide on what to do for the rest of the holidays." The only non-red-headed boy said while getting some Muggle clothes and setting out towards the bathroom.

Ginny also went out, but to her own room, preferring to elude any risky one-to-one talks with her over-protective brother.

Once in the comfortable cream of her own room, which contrasted greatly with the Chudley Cannons orange in Ron's, she tried to reason out her feelings for this boy who unknowingly obsessed her with his courage, loyalty, shyness, and a tirade of other chivalrous yet adorable characteristics.

Did she love him? Apparently, though it was a far cry from the crush she had on him five years ago, when simply being around him caused her to be a clumsy oaf. As proven earlier, she could retain a sensible head when around the boy, but that hardly meant that she had no ideas of snogging him in the privacy of a broom closet…

NO!!! Where on earth did that come from? She thought in alarm. I am NOT going to seduce him until we are both sure of our relationship, be it romantic or platonic. He needs comfort; someone he can trust and will accept him for who he is. Wherever my traitorous hormones lead me, I AM GOING TO BE WHAT HE NEEDS, NOT WHAT I WANT. He deserves as much.

Ultimately deciding that she needed female help, and that her mother, though experienced in such fields, was not the most reliable person to ask, she prayed desperately that Hermione would join them soon.

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(Being hereditarily Chinese, I actually can translate all dialogue into Mandarin, but for the sake of non-Chinese readers, take it as if it's all been translated into English)

"Cho, dinner will be ready in half an hour. Just to remind you, a few of father's old business colleagues will be coming over, so I expect you to make yourself look presentable and behave politely." Ting Chang said from the crack between the door and the doorway of her daughter's room.

"Yes, mother, I'll be ready. Hmm…I think I'll…Oh never mind" Cho Chang said, before watching the door close.

Cho inwardly groaned at the last part of what her mother said. She loved her native culture, but detested the slightly chauvinistic aspect about it. During meals, "behave politely" meant that the women kept quiet while the men discussed business, latest news, and whatever bland topics they wanted to talk about. Of course, as the daughter of the host, she had to help serve tea, wine and food. It wasn't so bad; she could hardly enjoy joining their discussions, but she missed it when there were other girls her age to talk to.

Naturally, that drove her thoughts to Hogwarts. Only a week away from it and she had a sense of homesickness with the famous, dark castle. She longed for the meaningless prattle of homework, parties and relationships which were heatedly debated about by her friends. She longed for the pressure of essays and studies which, like any Ravenclaw, helped her unwind a bit. She longed for the countless Quidditch matches. She longed for the light-hearted musings and thoughts.

Now, however, things would never be the same.

Not only was Lord Voldermort back, Hogwarts was quite clearly a target. With Dumbledore and Harry Potter in the same place, it was quite clearly a duck waiting to be shot.

What mattered was how prepared the duck was.

By now, she had worn a simple, ankle-length azure dress with a few white patterns. She had also decided to don a silver shawl, which she placed on the hanger. As she ran the brush through her luxurious black hair, her thoughts flickered traitorously to Harry, the boy she had a brief relationship with last year, ending catastrophically due to a whole range of reasons. Cedric Diggory was certainly a root cause, with her so eager to know everything while Harry felt pained to even mention the incident. There were also other misunderstandings, such as her failure to believe that Hermione Granger's relationship with Harry was not romantic, a grievance on the Ravenclaw's part.

Nonetheless, she would have carried on with life just fine. What befuddled her was Harry's letter that had reached her about a week into the holidays. He seemed to be sincerely expressing regret and sorrow, and, against Ravenclaw logic, she sensed a spark of hope within her.

Hope for what? That he'll love you? You don't need his love, nor does he need yours, Cho!

Once again, Ravenclaw syllogism fell short compared to her inexplicable attraction to the boy she had broken up with half a year earlier, and she had scribbled a letter which penned down her thoughts and feelings truthfully without revealing what should remain concealed.

But that was yesterday.

With her usual sensibility kicking in, she let her thoughts about the past flee her mind as she resolved to prepare for what was at hand. Just to add a finishing touch, she heard unfamiliar voices from outside, laughing at some probably dull joke. With a sigh, she got up from the seat at her vanity and went down to help her mother serve the guests.

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Draco Malfoy was about to get some potion ingredients from the cellar of Malfoy Manor when he heard an indistinguishable buzzing. Sensing the silencing charm, he went from room to room before stopping at the closed door of the kitchen. Using magic, he discreetly unravelled the silencing charm placed on the door and listened to two extremely familiar voices.

"The Dark Lord needs these potions, Severus." Lucius Malfoy insisted. "He has a whole army of Inferi waiting to be empowered, not to mention his own prophecy to fulfil. How soon can they be done?"

"You realise that what you ask is near impossible? Do you have any idea where I may happen to chance upon the recipe to create such complex potions?" Came the Potions teacher's voice.

"Yes, it will take much time, but, like I said, the Dark Lord NEEDS it. What the Dark Lord needs, or even wants, he gets. I don't think it really matters to him whether you get those stupid potions done in five days or five years; the Dark Lord wants the certainty of power, though I would still suggest that you get it out as soon as possible. The Dark Lord wants to end the lives of Dumbledore and the stupid Phoenix Club he started."

"But Lucius, there are far faster ways to take down Dumbledore and Harry Potter. With your son in the school, along with Nott, Parkinson, Zabini, Crabbe, Goyle and all those Slytherins, they could easily assist me to kill both wizards, whichever way the Dark Lord pleases."

"No, Severus. I am only a messenger, but I think the Dark Lord has lost faith in your ability to kill. That's why he's making you work on potions, because time and time again you have failed to dispose of Harry Potter, and the foolish Gryffindor only comes out stronger with every year. Just stick to the plan, Severus, or you will incur the Dark Lord's wrath."

There was a pause, followed by a near inaudible sigh.

"Very well, then. I will see you…whenever, Lucius." Snape replied.

"Same to you."

At this point, Draco got away from the door and went to get the potion ingredients he needed. He wanted to break into a mischievous, smug grin, but being the wonderful actor, controlled his lips to give a bored expression.

Sure, his father was one of highest-ranking Death Eaters in Voldemort's circle, but that hardly meant that he, Draco Malfoy, was going to follow in his footsteps. Slytherins are not evil, just ambitious, and for Draco, he would simply support whichever side seemed to have the upper hand.

Just like his godfather and mentor, Severus Snape.

While Draco detested the old fool Dumbledore with his overly forgiving ways and biasness towards Harry Potter and Gryffindor, the dark side was hardly appealing as Voldemort was hardly restrained when it came to killing and torture.

He hardly pondered about the matter. He wasn't like that blasted Harry Potter who stuck his unwanted nose into everything, then somehow coming out alive by some twisted luck. Right now, he had some toxins to brew.