AN: HARRY'S NOT MINE.
*HERE IS CHAPTER 1. SORRY FOR THE DELAY. I WANTED TO GET THIS UP YESTERDAY, BUT IT'S BEEN STORMING REALLY BAD WHERE I LIVE, AND OUR INTERNET WAS OFF AND ON.
*I APOLOGIZE NOW FOR THE RATHER LONG RANT AT THE END OF THIS CHAPTER.
*HOPE YOU FIND THIS AS GOOD AS YOU DID THE PROLOGUE.
*ENJOY!
Harry and Ron gathered up their courage and headed toward the house. They were getting more nervous with each step they took. There would be explanations to be made, and new family to meet. They were excited to meet the new members of the Weasley family, especially the children. They knew that the year they left, Fleur had given birth to a little girl that she and Bill named Victoire, who looked like Fleur. The next year, Audrey, Percy's wife, had given birth to little Molly, named after the Weasley matriarch. How many kids were there in the five years with no contact?
Not keeping in touch with the family these last five years, neither Ron nor Harry knew if Charlie, Fred or George had married yet, or if they had any kids of their own. The last time they saw Charlie, he had a girlfriend, but was adamant that he would never marry. He felt his job was too dangerous to tie a wife or kids to, and if something happened to him, a girlfriend was just easier to leave to carry on with her life. Smart idea, but also a little stupid.
Fred had been trying to get Angelina Johnson to accept a date with him just before they left. George was already dating Katie Bell, and had been thinking of proposing. If Fred had succeeded in landing Angelina and if George had bit the bullet, as they say, and proposed, they didn't know. How they wanted to meet the twins' kids, though, if they had any yet. They were sure to be just like their fathers, and Harry and Ron wanted to see how the perpetual children at heart would deal with their own children. There was a playground, so there had to be a few more children than just Victoire and Molly, Ron figured.
Walking closer, they heard noises that sounded like someone was building something. Harry and Ron gave each other puzzled looks, and opened the door. As they entered the house, they couldn't believe their eyes.
It wasn't the Burrow at all. The house had been the same on the outside, but the inside had been cleared out. It was as if the Weasley's never lived here. They saw a bunch of men working, and wondered what exactly was going on? Ron walked toward a man looking at some blueprints, determined to find out what was happening.
"Excuse me? What's going on here?" Ron asked.
A middle age looking man turned around from the blueprints, and looked Ron up and down. "Who's asking?" he asked in a gruff voice.
"Ron Weasley. This is my family home. Now, answer the question. Who are you, and what's going on here?" Ron asked with a growl.
"You are a Weasley, ain't ya? I can tell by the red hair. Well, I'm Albert Metcalfe, owner of Albert's Magical Contractors. Arthur Weasley is paying me and my boys here to remodel this place."
"WHAT? YOU CAN'T DO THAT!" Ron yelled.
"I'm sorry, kid, but I can. Like I said, Arthur hired my company do a complete rebuild of this house according to how him and his wife designed it. Now that we got the inside cleaned out, we begin rebuilding tomorrow." Albert said.
"What's being done to it, then?" Ron asked.
"It's being straightened and leveled. Molly couldn't bear to see it torn down, though, so we're simply taking the rooms that were on the top three floors and putting them on the ground floor. Then, the remaining rooms will make up the second story. It will be the same house, just a different floor plan. Arthur and Molly designed it all on their own."
Just as Ron was getting ready to say something else, Albert got called away by one of his workers. Ron was shaking his head as he walked over to where Harry was standing.
"Well? What's going on, Ron?" Harry asked seeing Ron's red face.
"According to that man I was talking to, mum and dad are paying him to remodel the Burrow. They drew up blueprints and everything. It's being completely changed, Harry." Ron said in a sad voice. He then went on to explain what was being done to it.
"What? How can they do that? It won't be the Burrow anymore if they do that." Harry said. He had always thought of this house as his home, and the thought of it being changed was awful.
"Yeah, I know, mate. So now, we just need to find where they've been staying while all this is going on." Ron said.
"Maybe that guy you were talking to knows. I mean, I'd bet on Grimmauld Place, but I really doubt they'd be there after all these years." Harry said. He would have to check on Grimmauld Place now, maybe make it livable again.
"Alright. I shouldn't be long." Ron said and walked back over to Albert. "Umm…Albert?" Albert turned to look at Ron. "You wouldn't happen to know where my parents are staying, would you?"
"I would, actually. Hang on and I'll write down the address for ya." Albert said. He scribbled the address down on a scrap of paper, and handed it to Ron. "They've been staying at this address here, kid."
"Thanks. I'll see ya." Ron said. He walked out the front door, followed by Harry.
They were halfway to the edge of the property when Albert yelled for them. "Good Luck, kids."
"Thank you." Harry yelled.
They walked past the wards before Ron spoke again. He had been stewing about the house he grew up in being changed. "I want to go to Diagon Alley first. I mean, according to Albert, this place mum and dad are staying at is at the end of Diagon Alley, so we'd have to go there anyway."
"Sure, Ron. We'll go and walk through Diagon Alley, see what's different from the last time and then go find Arthur and Molly's place." Harry said. "Oh, if Fortescue's is still open, we'll stop for some ice cream first, alright? My treat."
"Yeah, alright. I could go for some ice cream." Ron said. He knew Harry was trying to cheer him up when he offered to buy Ron ice cream. That's always worked in the past when Ron would be upset.
"Great. Let's go." Harry said. He grabbed Ron's arm, and the pair disapparated to Diagon Alley.
Harry and Ron landed directly in front of the Leaky Cauldron. Walking in, they saw that it definitely wasn't the same as it was, either. Where it was once dirty and dingy, it was now nice and bright, and clean, as well.
"Harry? Ron? Is that really you two?" they heard. Turning to see who was asking about them, they saw Hannah Abbott walking toward them.
"Hey, Hannah. Yeah, it's really us." Harry said.
"My word. How have you been? I don't think I've seen you in…well, it must be more than five years now." she said.
"Something like that." Ron said. "How are you, Hannah?"
"Oh! I've been great. I own this place now. Bought it when Tom finally retired a few years ago." she said with a smile. "I also got married a while back. Justin's gonna be sorry he missed you guys."
"That's great, Hannah. About your marriage, and owning this place, that is." Harry said. "Justin's your husband, eh? Which Justin is that?" he asked, trying to figure out who she married in his head.
"Finch-Fletchley. We married about three years ago. Got a little boy, too. Brady." Hannah said, and showed them a picture of Justin holding their son.
"Congratulations." Ron said. "Can we use the entrance to Diagon Alley, or do we need to buy something first?" he asked with a grin to let her know he was joking.
"Nah, you can go ahead. But, if you're interested, today's special is cabbage stew." she said, with a smirk. Hannah knew that, for the most part, only older wizards and witches enjoyed cabbage stew.
"We need to get going, but thanks anyway, Hannah. Tell Justin we said hello, will ya?" Harry said.
"Will do. Bye, guys." Hannah said, and walked over to a table.
"Well. That was…interesting, yeah?" Ron asked once they were outside. Not hearing Harry saying anything, he looked at him. Harry's eyes were wide and his mouth was hanging open. "What is it, Harry?"
"Look at that." Harry said, pointing to something behind Ron.
Ron turned around to look at what Harry was pointing to, and saw a giant poster on the side of a building up ahead. His eyes got wide and his mouth hung open.
"Bloody hell, Harry! You know who that is?" he asked after he gained his composure somewhat.
"Yeah, Ron, I do. That's…"
"Hermione, Ginny and Luna." they said at the same time.
There was a poster of Hermione hanging on the side of a building they remembered being an antique store. It was at least three stories high, color, and was moving. In it, she was wearing a short dark grey wool skirt with a white tank top and black high heeled knee high boots. Her hair was straight, darker and longer than the last time, but it was definitely Hermione.
Then, there was Luna. She was wearing a neon pink sundress and was barefooted. Her hair was shorter, but still blonde and wavy. She still had that dreamy expression she had all through Hogwarts, but it wasn't as prominent. She was still Luna, but looked a bit more aware.
Next to Luna was Ginny. She was wearing black shorts and a white quarter sleeve shirt with black pumps. Her hair was straight, and cut into a bob that ended just below her chin. With the same red hair she always had, there was no doubt that was Ginny.
" 'Find all these outfits at Lavender Fields, the preferred clothing store of your three favorite witches. Mention this poster for ten percent off when you buy twenty galleons or more.' " Harry read. He and Ron watched as Luna said something and Hermione and Ginny threw their arms around her shoulders and they all laughed. Picture Hermione then winked, picture Ginny nodded and picture Luna waved. Then, it started all over again.
"Bloody hell, Harry. We're two steps into Diagon Alley and see the two people we really want to, even if it is in a picture. Not to mention, they look good after all this time. I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see them in person."
"Yeah, I know. Ginny looks as beautiful as I remember. And Hermione looks nice, too. Even Luna looks good. Let's keep going. See what else we find. Or who else we find." Harry said.
As they walked through Diagon Alley, they noticed small changes mostly, like with the addition of a sidewalk café next to Flourish and Blotts. There were also a few bigger changes. Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor was now The Weeping Wand, a lingerie store. They found Fortescue's a few blocks down, in a slightly bigger building, though. Harry went in and got the ice cream to go. He was hoping to cheer Ron up about the Burrow, still, even though he seemed in a better mood. He reckoned that a thirty foot tall poster of the girl you loved would do that, though. After seeing Ginny, he felt slightly better, as well.
Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes came into view. It was still the brightest store in Diagon Alley by far. The building itself took up almost a whole block now and was a bright yellow in color. There was still one of the twins likeness out front, except now he was pulling off his hat to reveal a bouquet of flowers. The boys were tempted to go in, but decided to hold off on that for now. They just wanted to find Molly and Arthur first and try to figure things out.
"Okay. According to Albert's paper here, mum and dad have been staying in a place called Maple Leaf Tower. It's part muggle, part wizard." Ron said, while looking at the paper Albert handed him.
"Well, I think we found it, Ron." Harry said, rolling his eyes. Albert could've just said to look for a 'big, tall building in Diagon Alley'. They were standing in front of a huge building now. "Well, it does say Maple Leaf Tower, and it's a tower, alright."
"Yeah, thanks for pointing out the obvious there, Harry. Now, all we gotta do is figure out where my parents are in this building, and we'll be home. Or, at least as close as we can get to home, anyways." Ron said. "How do…" Before he could finish that sentence, he was interrupted.
"Can I help you?" Ron and Harry looked up to see a tall wizard standing in front of them, guarding the entrance to Maple Leaf Tower. He had to be at least seven foot tall, they thought, seeing as they had to look up to talk to him.
"Oh, um…yeah. I suppose you can. We're looking for Molly and Arthur Weasley, and were told they were staying here?" Harry said in more of a question than anything.
"What's your business with the Weasleys?" the big man asked.
"They're my parents, and we want to visit them." Ron said, attempting to make himself taller by standing up straight and puffing out his chest.
"Should've known by the hair." the man mumbled. "You go in this door, down the hall to the lifts. Push the button on the left wall that says WP. That'll take you right to their front door. They're in the wizard penthouse suite." he said, opening the door for the boys.
"Thanks, mate." Harry said, dragging Ron behind him by is arm. "Come on, Ron. Not much further."
"Did giant boy back there say they were in the penthouse, or was I hearing things? Cause if the wizard penthouse is anything like a muggle one, bloody hell!" Ron said. He was really beginning to wonder how his parents were affording the house remodel and a stay in a penthouse suite.
Ron and Harry followed the bouncer's directions, and in just a matter of seconds, were standing in front of the penthouse door. Taking a deep breath, Ron knocked. They heard footsteps and the door swung open.
"Ronald!? Harry!?" After seven years, they were face to face with Molly Weasley once again.
"Hey." they said in unison. Before they could say anything else, they heard two voices yell "Stupefy!", and fell into nothingness.
WELL? REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW. XOXO
PLEASE DON'T HATE ME FOR HAVING THE BURROW REMODELED. ALBERT'S JUST GOING TO MOVE THE ROOMS AROUND, LIKE BUILDING BLOCKS. IT'LL STILL KINDA BE THE BURROW, JUST IN A DIFFERENT ARRANGEMENT.
ADVANCE NOTICE-HERMIONE'S NOT GOING TO SHY AWAY FROM THE PUBLIC IN THIS STORY. I'VE ALWAYS FELT THAT BEING A WAR HEROINE, AND FINALLY BEING ACCEPTED AS A WITCH BY THOSE WHO HAD PUT HER DOWN, SHE WOULD EMBRACE THAT. YOU KNOW, USE HER CELEBRITY TO HELP THOSE IN NEED, LIKE WAR ORPHANS AND HOUSE ELVES.
I'M HOPING TO HAVE THE NEXT CHAPTER UP SOMETIME TONIGHT.
THANK YOU ALL FOR THE WONDERFUL REVIEWS SO FAR, BTW. AND THE FAVORITES. AND THE FOLLOWS. YOU MADE ME SO HAPPY YESTERDAY.