Harry and Ginny were the first people up. Mrs Weasley still had not returned from Fleur and Bill's house. Moving around the room as quietly as they could, Harry and Ginny began to get ready.
"Ron, wake up. Hermione saved you some breakfast," Harry shouted into his best friend's ear.
"No, Mum, leave me alone. Can't you see Hermione and I are busy?" Ron muttered to Harry in his sleep.
"Whoa, Ron, up—now!" Harry shouted again.
This time Ron jumped out of bed to see Harry laughing and Ginny shaking in silent laughter in the doorway.
"What's so funny, Ginny?" Ron asked, annoyed. This was his room; why did it seem that the girls were taking over? They were always in his room. What was so bad about theirs?
"Oh, nothing. But I'll be sure to let Mum know you and Hermione are busy next time she asks me to wake you up on Christmas," Ginny threatened, and she laughed when she saw the look on Ron's face.
"Ron, ignore Ginny for now. Hermione has made you breakfast; you need to get up, eat, then get dressed. We're leaving today no matter what happens," Harry told him fiercely, staring at Ginny the whole time.
Ron was soon dressed and had eaten the meal Hermione had made for him. Harry had just placed a note on the mantle for the elder Weasleys to find upon their return. It read:
Dear Mr & Mrs Weasley,
Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and I (after much begging and threatening from Ginny) are going to complete the mission that Dumbledore charged me with before he died. As you may know—if Professor McGonagall has told you—I was with him the night he died, hidden under an Invisibility Cloak and immobilised. I can't tell you about the mission. I can only say this: we will be back soon. We'll return on Ron's, Hermione's, or Ginny's birthdays so you can see them. Ginny will be learning whilst we're out there, but we haven't told her that yet….
Please don't worry about anyone. We'll write often but we won't use the owls you recognise; sometimes we won't use owls at all, but maybe birds or other winged animals.
With love—
All your children, Hermione, and me (Harry)
"Hum, that should be okay," Harry thought. He was going to miss Mr and Mrs Weasley; they had been like a proper family to him, more than the Dursleys ever were.
As Harry reached the landing, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny sat out on the doorstep, ready to go.
"Ginny, you can Side-Along Apparate with Hermione. I'm going to send you all an image of the graveyard in a moment, and I want you to Apparate there, okay?" he told the group. He was actually glad he'd let Professor McGonagall teach him Occlumency as he submitted the scene that had played in his head during so many nightmares.
"Harry—is this where you went after the third task? Is this where Vol—Vol—You-Know-Who came back alive?" Hermione asked with fear in her eyes.
"Yes. I'd rather not talk about it," Harry replied darkly.
Ron, Hermione, and Ginny focused on the image Harry had placed in their heads just seconds ago and with a pop! they were gone.
Harry looked around the landing and checking off an imaginary list, making sure he hadn't left anything. Then—pop!—he, too, was gone.
Ron, Hermione, and Ginny landed with a thump. Ron stood quickly and helped his sister and Hermione up, then began to brush himself down. Harry popped into the grave yard a short distance away. He looked around, his eyes stopping at a dark patch of soil that looked as if a land mine had blown up on it, as scorched as it was. Harry knew this was the spot where Cedric Diggory had died. The cauldron and robes had been removed, and the soil over Tom Riddle Sr.'s grave was neat and smooth, as if a bone hadn't broken through its surface only a few years back.
"Are you okay, Harry?" Ginny asked, worry rising in her voice.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Let's just get this over with before I change my mind about being here."
The other three nodded and began to walk toward the old, creaky house on the hill.
