A/N: This is a very long chapter indeed. It took me about two hours to write, what with horrible spelling, random ideas, and a need for lunch.
All a Dream
Chapter 6
As Ron and Harry walked up the stairs to the tea room, Harry realized just how accurate his dream was when he'd been to St. Mungo's in fifth year. Every detail was exactly the same. But Harry supposed that this came from him living in Mungo's for who knew how long. That was one of his first questions, once he and Ron sat at a table by the door.
"How long were you asleep?" said Ron. "Well, for about sixteen years now. Close to seventeen now, it's August 23rd."
"So, about eight years since we 'met'?" questioned Harry again.
"Nah, since we were born. Our parents were friends from when they were in Hogwarts. Mom and Dad were Head Boy and Head Girl. Your dad got into loads of trouble in first year with Peterson and Sirius, but Dad and them really hit it off, they both loved to cause trouble. They kept in touch after Dad left school, became good friends and all that."
So that explained why Ron had barely changed from the dream to life. They'd know each other from infancy. This also confirmed Sirius's existence, and Harry couldn't wait to see him after years of believing him dead. Unless...
"Is Sirius still alive?" wondered Harry aloud.
"Sure. I think he works here, actually, as a security guard for the violently insane. We could go see him, he's probably at the Burrow now, and he's guaranteed to be there for dinner Saturdays."
"Yeah, sure."
Their tea paid for, Ron and Harry headed to the St. Mungo's entrance, and stepped through the cool glass onto the almost deserted street.
Harry automatically headed right, but Ron stopped him. "I've got a car, it's this way."
It was the ugliest car Harry had ever seen. The two hubcaps left were corroding at the edges, and were painted mostly a sickly green, like badly mixed guacamole. The car itself was shaped roughly like a Jumbo Size Shreddies box set on its back, and the headlights were shaped like hearts. However, Ron walked right up to the car, looked up and down the street, and subtlety tapped the hood of the car three times saying, "Wake up, you bloody Lemonhead." At that moment, the car melted and reshaped itself into a Mazda Protégé with a small crack in the windshield. Ron frowned slightly, and fixed the windshield with a tap of his wand. "Harry, meet Lemonhead. Lemonhead, meet Harry."
Harry realized he was staring. Ron only smiled and said, "Did you know that when your jaw drops like that I can see your twelve-year molars?"
.:. :.: .:.
Once Harry and Ron got out of London, Ron sped up the car to something above 200 km/hour, took his hands off the wheel, and crawled into the back seat. "Keep driving, Lemonhead," Ron commanded the car. "I could've sworn I put it in the back seat."
A moment later, Ron reached over Harry's shoulder and handed him a tiny, carefully wrapped package. "Happy very Belated Birthday, Harry. From the whole Weasley family."
Harry ripped open the paper on his present as Ron clambered over his seat again to continue driving. When Harry opened the box, there was nothing but a small piece of paper inside. Harry picked it up and read the writing on it in Ron's familiar scrawl:
I O U 1 awesome book
Harry laughed, "One awesome book?"
"Yeah, I read it, it was awesome. It's called 'Twilight'. Quality Muggle fiction, that. When Mum asked me to get you something nice for your birthday, I didn't have enough money, 'cause of bills and stuff. So, after payday, I'll get you that book, you can read it, and then you can thank me properly for a good laugh."
Harry laughed again. "What is your job, by the way?"
"I'm working for the triplets, stocking shelves for-"
"Triplets?"
"Yeah, Fred, George and Anthony, the hell-raisers."
"I didn't remember Anthony. He didn't show up at all," said Harry. "It was just Fred and George."
"Really?" replied Ron. "Anthony's just as rowdy as the other two. Wonder why you didn't remember him."
"Probably just a random mistake."
.:. :.: .:.
The Burrow was just as Harry remembered, chickens, Wellington boots and all. As Ron and Harry walked in the door, there was a squeal of delight from the dining room table. Ginny, taller than Harry remembered sprinted up the stairs, yelling at the top of her voice, "Harry's here! Harry's here with Ron!"
A sound vaguely like thunder resulted as all the Weasleys in the house tried to come down the stairs at once. Judging by the variety of voices (the triplet's predominant), every single one of the Weasleys was at the Burrow, including the overage ones. The next few seconds for Harry were a blur of red hair, exclamations along the lines of "It's great to have you back", and hugs. Many, many hugs.
A/N: The longest chapter I have ever written for something. And, another few points:
-Ron's car is, in short, mine. A little Mazda Protégé with a much cluttered back seat. Things that don't go bad (like food) will stay there for about a week before they are remembered. I must, however keep in mind that I am not yet of legal age to drive. Sigh.
-Something I should have said before is that a lot of things in my writing are a part of my everyday life. Like Ron's beard. One of my friends that looks like Ron (I have two) says that he wants a beard. I laughed at him very hard when he said that, and I decided to incorporate this in my story.
-I also couldn't resist a Twilight reference. Best book in the world.
