A/N: Here is the next chapter for you! I'm sorry it took too long. Let's just say that JK Rowling's new book, The Casual Vacancy was a tiny bit addictive. Or maybe a lot.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Rights go to Joanne Rowling.
Chapter Two: Parachute
With a strangled sob, Grace fell against the back of her door and sunk heavily to the floor. It was Harry's day, his twelfth birthday, and now she had ruined it for him. Here she was, locked in her bedroom for trying to make his day special, while he slaved away for Aunt Petunia without any acknowledgement of his birthday.
Her snow white cat, Bellus strutted over to rub against her leg. It was Grace's turn to look after her for the summer, much to the displeasure of Aunt Petunia.
More than anything Grace wished, as she crawled her way over to her bed that they could have spent the summer at the Weasley's. Feelings of abandonment and loneliness flooded through Grace at the thought of her close friends. Not one of them had written to her over the summer. She had no way of writing to them herself, Hedwig was locked in her cage on Uncle Vernon's orders, but she desperately wanted to talk to any of her friends.
Right at the heart of her separation were her feelings for her boyfriend Nate after their argument on the Hogwarts Express. Trina had informed her, whispered covertly in Grace's ear; she had seen him storming away when she went to have a private talk with Oliver Wood. Part of Grace thought that that had been the end of their relationship, but somehow she knew it wasn't. To her it was over, she couldn't bring herself, no matter how hard she tried, to regain the feelings of like she once had.
"Why in the name of Merlin am I worrying about my idiot of a boyfriend on my brother's birthday?" Grace muttered to Bells who had leapt up to snuggle against Grace's neck.
She reached under her pillow to grasp and pull out the three moving photos she had stuffed there. The first one was a copy of the photo from Harry's sorting ceremony; the same one she had framed for his Christmas present. The other two were of Grace and her friends. One with Ciara, Miranda, Trina, Hannah and Lara at a picnic and the other of her crammed between Fred and George, the smile wide on her face in both pictures. The happiness that radiated from each giggling face made Grace smile ever so slightly. She laid back on her bed, with the pictures clutched to her chest, eventually falling back asleep.
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Grace woke several hours later to the sound of the ringing doorbell and Harry walking along the upstairs corridor. She supposed nobody had remembered to bring dinner up for her. It wouldn't necessarily matter to Grace but she couldn't let her little baby cat starve.
Through the floor she could hear Dudley ask, "May I take your coats, Mr and Mrs Mason?"
His simpering voice made Grace want to be sick.
She resigned to reading an old Muggle book to pass the time. Ignoring Aunt Petunia's shrill cackle and the odd squeals from Harry's room she relaxed until a particularly strange noise came from across the hallway. It sounded like someone was crying, restlessly and relenting.
Grace put her book aside and crossed the room in three strides. Gradually the crying died down to a couple of loud hiccups but Grace still stood, like a statue, at the door.
Only a minute later she heard a cry of "Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!", a couple of muffled bangs followed by a loud screech from Hedwig.
The more startling noises disappeared so Grace sank onto the end of her bed to listen. Talking could be heard through the walls, the words were indiscernible, Grace recognized Harry's voice but who the other speaker was she had no idea.
The conversation continued for a few moments, occasionally disturbed by thumps of something hard against wood. All of a sudden screams of pain echoed through the house.
Concern for the screamer swept through Grace, making her leap up and grab the doorknob before remembering it was locked. She pressed an ear against the door, just in time to hear Uncle Vernon's footsteps on the stairs.
"What-the-devil-are-you-doing?" came Uncle Vernon's voice. It sounded like he wanted to yell but didn't want the Masons to hear. "You've just ruined the punch line of my Japanese golfer joke... One more sound and you'll wish you'd never been born, boy!"
Next second his weighty feet stomped down the stairs. In lower, even harder to hear, tones, the conversation kept going. It ended shortly, however when Harry's bedroom door banged open and two different sets of footsteps ran down the stairs. None of this could be heard downstairs, where they were talking about American plumbers.
Grace listened to the joke about plumbers and didn't understand how someone could find it so funny. An ear-splitting crash of breaking china reverberated from the kitchen up to Grace's room. A shocked silence rang around. Grace didn't know what broke or what was happening but it sure as hell wasn't good. The Masons seemed to getting over the scare quickly enough from Uncle Vernon's suspiciously cheerful explanations of having an unbalanced nephew. It made Grace wonder what she was if Harry was 'unbalanced.'
As revenge Grace dearly held out for some other kind of misfortune to befall the Dursleys to ruin their night. Luck was upon her that night at the sound of an owls wings and an old lady's terrified scream.
Once the initial impact was over Uncle Vernon's laugh, as creepy as a serial killer's made its way up the stairs. Grace still smiled when she turned around and saw Bellus fast asleep on her pillow. Finally the Dursleys got what they deserved.
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The next morning Grace woke to find a plate of burnt toast and lukewarm water sitting on top of the washing machine for her. Bellus was already chewing on a piece of toast. It took all her effort to get piece for herself. Her day brightened when, during her allocated visit to the bathroom, she ran into Harry.
"Happy birthday!" she exclaimed but soon enough the worry that had built up over her restless night spilled out in a ramble of words. "I got you a present, and it's really good, and I really want to give it to you and it's in my room but I was locked in and I didn't know what was happening last night and I was worried and also there were some really strange noises coming from your room, did you know?"
Harry stood by the sink, a toothbrush sticking out of his mouth with utter confusion on his face. She may have talked a bit fast.
"Yeah," Grace breathed. To distract herself she grabbed her own toothbrush
"A house-elf was in my room last night," he said once he had spat out his toothpaste. "And thanks for the present; I know it'll be great from you. If only you didn't have to get punished for it."
"A house-elf was in your room? How?" Grace asked with a mouth full of toothpaste.
"I don't know. He came to warn me not to go back to Hogwarts because terrible things were going to happen. He wouldn't tell me who or why . . . but when I didn't promise to stay away he smashed Aunt Petunia's pudding. The Ministry thought I was doing underage magic and sent me a warning."
At every new piece of information Grace's mouth and eyebrows dropped even lower giving her a frowning slack-jawed face. Fists thumped on the door.
"Out! Get out of the bathroom already!" Uncle Vernon yelled through the door.
Grace rolled her eyes at Harry, enveloped him in a hug and walked across the room.
"Oh and Grace?" Harry said. "Dobby was keeping our letters as well."
"Damn that elf."
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Three days later, Grace had fallen into an uneasy sleep but at least she was sleeping. The news that her letters had been stopped made her feel much better. Her friends did care about her and they did write. It was just a house-elf that was trying to look out for Harry's safety. When Grace said that aloud she sounded like a crazy person.
"Gracie! Gracie! Hey, George, reckon we should empty a bucket of water on her head?"
Grace jolted upright, banging her head on the shelf above her head. Standing in her doorway, with wicked grins on their faces and twisted paperclips in their hands were Fred and George Weasley.
"Oh damn I was really looking forward to seeing you soaking wet Gracie," George remarked.
"Not even going to happen in your dreams," Grace smirked. "What are you doing here?"
"Coming to rescue you of course!" Fred said.
"Grab your stuff, we'll get your trunk and meet you in Harry's room," George told her. Grace's first reaction was to snatch the photos from under her pillow, clearly revealing the photo of the twins. "Naw you sleep with us."
"Bugger off," Grace threw a pillow at George's rapidly moving head.
Grace quickly jumped out of bed to grab the few possessions in her room. There wasn't even that many clothes in here as all of her nice stuff were in her Hogwarts trunk. The only things she needed from here were Harry's present, her leather bag and Bellus.
Once ready she crept daintily across to Harry's room, watching for the creaking floorboard right outside her door. George, Ron and Harry were at the window pushing the two trunks outside to Fred. Grace froze at what she was seeing. Fred was sitting at the wheel of an old blue car that was floating in mid-air.
"Gosh," Grace said.
With one final heave the boys managed to get the trunks into the boot of the car. The boot was shut as quietly as possible while Fred turned the car around so the passenger door was facing the window. Ron climbed in first, followed by Harry in the back with Hedwig.
"Ladies first," George invited with a small bow.
Grace dipped her head in thanks and held the edge of the window with one hand. She cautiously stepped onto the windowsill but her grip on Bellus slipped. Yowling loud enough to wake the whole street the cat leapt out of Grace's arms back into the bedroom.
"THAT BLOODY CAT!" Uncle Vernon's shout came.
George managed to grab Bellus in his arms before she reached the door.
"Quick, go!" he urged Grace while Bellus scratched his arms.
Grace swung out of window and slid into the seat next to Harry. George was halfway across the room just as Uncle Vernon pounded through the open door. Bellus was tossed into the Grace's lap as George climbed out of the window. He was half in the car, ready to go when Uncle Vernon latched into his foot. In an effort to escape George's foot collided with Uncle Vernon's nose.
The collision was enough to loosen George's foot and allow him to land in the car, slamming the door behind him.
"Well that was some good fun," he said. Glaring at Bellus, he rubbed the bright red cad marks on his arm.
Grace turned back to have one last glance at Uncle Vernon who was clutching his nose in pain. The only thought she had while leaning her head onto George's shoulder was that he truly deserved it.
Thank for reading! Hope you enjoyed it. Please review if you have any comments or questions.