August 4, 1992.
The Harry and Rose being felt pangs of hunger as they stared through the bars on their window at the setting sun, feeling a hopelessness but also a deep anger. It wasn't likely they would remain in that room when the full moon came around. The Dursley's didn't give any sign of what they knew would come, so the Harry and Rose being imagined using the Rose half to break out during the full moon, which would probably be easy. That was one thing to look forward to. They grinned a little as they imagined Uncle Vernon's terrified face.
They moved their eyes from the setting son to Hedwig in her cage. She wasn't too pleased about her treatment so far, though the good thing was, she didn't blame them for it. The Harry and Rose being were certain to make sure she knew and understood that her position wasn't their fault. The sound of the cat-flap Uncle Vernon had placed in the door made them turn. The Rose half stood feeling dizzy, moving to the single bowl of soup and bringing it back to the Harry half. They barely had enough food to stay awake let alone move, and was hoping that would change before they died from starvation. It wasn't looking as if it would, though. They felt determined to find other arrangements for a guardian.
Carefully, the Harry and Rose being drank the soup, making sure each half received an equal portion of the little food they were allowed. They left some for Hedwig who looked reproachful when they dumped the soggy vegetables in the bottom of her food tray.
"It's no good avoiding it." The Harry and Rose being said grimly. "I know you don't like it, but it's all we've got."
After the Rose half put the empty bowl by the cat-flap, she lay down on the bed next to the Harry half, closing their eyes against the dizziness they felt. Someone would be sent to get them if they didn't show up at Hogwarts, they thought hopefully. Exhausted and angry at the Dursley's, they turned toward one another and hugged, slowly drifting off to sleep.
They dreamt they were locked in a cage at a zoo with a card reading, Magical Freaks, Take Your Peaks. People would pass bye and goggle at them as they lay, starving and weak on an uncomfortable bed of straw. Dobby was in the crowd, too, and they shouted out for help. He only looked at them sadly and shook his head. Voldemort was also there, laughing in a high cackle and telling them this was better, more satisfying than watching them die. The Dursley's appeared and Dudley rattled the bars of the cage, laughing at them. The Harry and Rose being felt hot fury that no one would leave them alone and opened their eyes. The Rose half jumped up, not quite taking everything in before shoving the window open and grabbing the bars.
"Stop it, stop." She hissed in a growl.
"Okay, but I thought you might like to be rescued." The voice of Ron Weasley said through the window.
The Rose half sank against the bars of the window, tears of welcome relief streaming down their faces.
"Ron!" She choked, trying to collect herself. "You came!"
"Course, mate." Ron responded with a grin.
The Rose half blinked as the Harry half stumbled out of bed to join her, grabbing her shoulders to help him stay upright. They stared with wide eyes as the full impact of what they saw hit them. Ron Weasley was outside the window in a floating, parked car. He sat in the back, while a grinning Fred and George Weasley were in the front.
"All right, Harry and Rose?" George asked.
"Better, a lot better now that you're here." The Harry and Rose being responded.
"What's been going on?" Ron asked. "Why haven't you been answering my letters? I've asked you to stay about twelve times, and then Dad came home and said you'd got an official warning for using magic in front of Muggles..."
"It wasn't me... How did he know?" The Harry and Rose being asked.
"He works for the Ministry." Ron responded. "You know we're not supposed to do spells outside of school."
"Looks like a spell to me." The Harry and Rose being replied, staring at the floating car.
"Oh, this doesn't count. We're only borrowing this, it's Dad's. We didn't enchant it. But doing magic in front of those Muggles you live with..." Ron began.
"Again, it wasn't me." The Harry and Rose being stated. "Listen, I need you to tell them at Hogwarts that the Dursley's have locked me up. I dunno, get some help from someone, maybe Professor McGonagall."
"Like us?" Ron asked. "We've come to take you home with us."
"You can't get me out, you'll get a warning, possibly expelled." The Harry and Rose being responded.
"We don't need to." Ron replied as he glanced at Fred and George. "My brother's know a lot of tricks."
"Tie that around the bars." Fred said as he handed the Rose half a rope.
"If the Dursley's wake up, I'm dead." The Harry and Rose being said as the Rose half tied the rope tightly around one of the bars.
"Don't worry, and stand back." Fred said.
Fred started revving the car, which grew louder and louder. With a loud crunching sound, the bars were torn right out of the window as he drove straight up. Hedwig was remaining still and silent in her cage, perhaps realizing how important this was. The Rose half moved back to the window and spotted Ron hauling the bars into the car. They couldn't hear any sound from the Dursley's.
"Get in." Ron said after Fred backed the car as close as he could to the window.
"All my school things are in the cupboard under the stares, not here." The Harry and Rose being replied. "I can't go without them."
"No problem." George said from the front seat.
Fred and George climbed through the window and into the room. Immediately, George moved to the door and started to use a hairpin to pick the lock.
"A lot of wizards think it's a waste of time, knowing this sort of Muggle trick." Fred said. "We feel they're skills worth learning, even if they are a bit slow."
The door clicked, then swung open. The Harry and Rose being grinned.
"We'll get your trunk. You grab anything you need from your room and hand it to Ron." George whispered.
"Watch out for the bottom stair, it creaks." The Harry half whispered as the Rose half moved to start handing things to Ron.
Both then worked together to gather their items from the room and hand them to Ron. Hedwig's cage was last, then the Rose half went to help carry the trunk up the stairs. Uncle Vernon coughed and they felt icy dread. When they reached the room, Fred climbed into the car as the Rose half and George pushed from one end, Fred and Ron pulling it through from the other. Slowly, the trunk slid through the window and Uncle Vernon gave another cough.
"A bit more, one good push." Fred panted.
The Rose half and George shoved hard and the trunk slid into the vehicle from the window, landing on the back seat.
"Okay, let's go." George whispered.
He climbed through first, then the Rose half next. As the Harry half made to move, a footstep was heard outside the landing, the light clicked on, and the door was slammed open by Uncle Vernon.
He stood frozen in the doorway for a split second, then bellowed and dove for the Harry half, who had climbed on to the dresser and was clambering out the window. The Rose half grabbed him and held on tight, then Ron and Fred joined in the effort.
"Petunia!" Uncle Vernon roared. "There getting away! There getting away!"
With a heave from everyone, the Harry half slid into the car before Uncle Vernon could grab him. He slammed the door shut and the car shot toward the moon, accelerating into the air. They were free. Sighing with relief and exhaustion, the Harry and Rose being leaned against one another, then said, "Led Hedwig out will you? I'm sure she wants to fly."
Before they could hear anymore, they drifted off to sleep, still starving, weak, and exhausted from lack of food. But they were free, that was the important thing.
"Harry and Rose, hey. We're here."
The Harry and Rose being felt someone shaking them and blinked open their eyes, spotting Ron. They stared for a moment, then sat up and looked around, remembering what had happened. They grinned and looked up at Ron's house, which looked as if rooms had been added on to it in no particularly organized manner. It was very crooked. The only thing holding it up was probably magic. About five chimneys were on the roof, and a lopsided sign was in the ground near the entrance. It read, the burrow.
Around the front door was a pile of rubber boots and a rusty cauldron. Several fat brown chickens were pecking their way around the yard. Despite the somewhat desolate look of the entire place, it had a welcoming feel to it.
"It's not much." Ron said as they climbed from the car.
"It's wonderful." The Harry and Rose being replied. "Better than the Dursley's."
"Okay, here's the plan." Fred began. "We'll go upstairs really quietly, and wait for Mum to call us for breakfast. Then, Ron, you come bounding downstairs going, Mum, look who turned up in the night! and she'll be all pleased to see Harry and Rose, and no one need ever know we flew the car."
"That's a terrible plan." The Harry and Rose being responded, spotting Mrs. Weasley, who was a short, plump woman.
The Weasley's turned and spotted her as well as Ron's face turned a nasty shade of green.
"Ah." Fred said.
"Oh, dear." George added.
She came to stop in front of them staring at the guilty faces of the Weasley's. The Harry and Rose being only looked drawn and tired, and had nothing to feel guilty about. In fact, they were rather excited to be at the Weasley home. They felt sorry for the Weasley's, though, who were likely going to be yelled at. For her part, Mrs. Weasley looked furious, wearing an apron with her wand sticking out of a pocket.
"So!" Mrs. Weasley stated furiously.
"Morning, Mum." George responded in what he thought was a bright tone.
"Do you have any idea how worried I've been?" Mrs. Weasley asked in a cold whisper.
"Sorry, mum, but we had to..." George began.
Though the three Weasley children were taller than their mother, they cowered at her expression of fury.
"Beds empty! No note! Car gone! You could have crashed! I've been out of my mind with worry! Did you care? Never as long as I've lived, you wait until your father gets home! We never had trouble like this from Bill or Charlie or Percy!" Mrs. Weasley was shouting now and the Harry and Rose being carefully and quietly stepped back.
"Perfect Percy." Fred muttered.
"You could do with taking a leaf out of Percy's book!" Mrs. Weasley shouted as she poked Fred in the chest with her finger. "You could have died! You could have been seen! You could have lost your father his job! Out of all the irresponsible things you've ever done this has to be the most irresponsible one! This isn't some joke or a prank this is real life! How could you do this, do you like worrying me is that it? You must or I doubt very much you would have!"
Mrs. Weasley turned to the Harry and Rose being, who looked down quickly.
"I'm very pleased to see you, dears." Her voice was much gentler when she spoke to them. "Come in and have some breakfast."
As she turned and headed back into the house, the Harry and Rose being followed, both halves trembling a little from the hunger and weakness they felt. The kitchen was small and cramped, but welcoming as the rest of the house was. The Harry and Rose being sat down at a wooden table and gazed around, quite fascinated at the decor they saw.
The clock hanging on the wall facing them had no numbers and only one hand. Written around the face were things like, Time to make tea, Time to feed the chickens, and You're late. Many books were on the mantelpiece with strange titles they'd come to expect from those made in the wizarding world. A radio near the sink seemed to be playing and had announced that witching hour was coming, featuring a singing sorceress named Celestina Warbeck.
Mrs. Weasley was moving around the kitchen cooking breakfast, though was doing so somewhat forcefully and without the organization they were sure she usually used. They weren't surprised at this, since Mrs. Weasley was still quite angry with her sons. She continued to mutter things at them. When she reached the Harry and Rose being, she tipped some sausages on their plates.
"I don't blame you, dears." She assured. "Arthur and I have been worried about you, too. Just last night we were saying we'd come and get you ourselves if you hadn't written back to Ron by Friday." She turned to her sons after putting a couple fried eggs to their plates. "But really, flying an illegal car halfway across the country-anyone could have seen you..."
When she flicked her wand casually at the dishes in the sink, they started to wash themselves with gentle clinking sounds.
"It was cloudy, Mum." Fred said.
"You keep your mouth closed while you're eating." Mrs. Weasley snapped.
"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley." The Harry half said a little awkwardly, resuming eating with the Rose half.
"You're very welcome, dear." She said, giving them a soft smile.
"Mum, they were starving him." George added.
The young girl the Harry and Rose being had seen on the platform at King's Cross entered the room in a night dress. She squealed and immediately left again after catching sight of the Harry and Rose being.
"That's Ginny, my younger sister." Ron said in a quiet voice. "She's been talking about you all summer."
"Yeah, she'll be wanting your autographs, Harry and Rose." Fred said with a grin, but catching a look from Mrs. Weasley, bent his head over his plate again.
Nothing more was said until the Harry and Rose being had finished their plate. Still quite hungry, they asked, "May I have more, Mrs. Weasley?"
"Of course, dears." She responded kindly, then proceeded to quickly prepare another two plates for them.
"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley." The Harry and Rose being said with a smile before they started to eat.
"Blimey, I'm tired." Fred announced as he set down his knife and fork a few minutes later, yawning. "I think I'll go to bed and..."
"You will not." Mrs. Weasley snapped. "It's your own fault you've been up all night. You're going to de-gnome the garden for me, they're getting completely out of hand again."
"Oh, Mum..." Fred began.
"And you, too." Mrs. Weasley said, glaring at George and Ron. She then turned her gaze to the Harry and Rose being and said, "You two can go up to bed if you like. You didn't ask them to fly that wretched car."
"Oh, I'd be glad to help." The Harry and Rose being said, feeling more awake after the fabulous meal. "I've never seen a de-gnoming before."
"You speak just like Fred and George sometimes." Mrs. Weasley said, looking fondly at the Harry and Rose being. "And while it's very sweet of you to want to help, it's dull work. Now, let's see what Lockhart's got to say on the subject."
She pulled out a book entitled, Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests. A picture of a man with wavy blond hair and bright blue eyes grinned up at them. George groaned and Mrs. Weasley beamed down at him.
"Mum, we know how to de-gnome a garden." He said.
"Oh, he is marvelous. He knows his household pests, all right, a wonderful book..."
"Mum fancies him." Fred said in an audible whisper.
"Don't be so ridiculous, Fred." Mrs. Weasley said. "All right, if you think you know better than Lockhart, you can go and get on with it, and woe betide you if there's a single gnome in that garden when I come out to inspect it."
The Weasley's yawned and grumbled as they headed outside, the Harry and Rose being following behind them eagerly, both halves feeling stronger now that they'd had a proper meal.
The garden was large, with a great deal of weeds, long grass, gnarled trees around the walls, plants the Harry and Rose being didn't recognize, and a green pond full of frogs.
"Muggles have garden gnomes, too." The Harry and Rose being remarked to Ron as they crossed the lawn.
"Yeah, I've seen those things they think are gnomes, like fat little Santa Clauses with fishing rods." Ron said, bent over with his head in a bush. There was a scuffling sound and he straightened up after the bush shook a little. "This is a gnome."
"Gerroff me! Gerroff me!" The gnome squealed in a high voice.
It was small, leathery looking, its head large and bald, looking exactly like a potato. He held it at arms length as it kicked out at him with horny feet. Grasping it around the ankles, he turned it upside down.
"Here's what you have to do." Ron said, then started to swing the gnome in circles. The Harry and Rose being looked shocked and he added, "It doesn't hurt them, just makes them dizzy so they can't find their way back to the gnome holes."
He let go of its ankles and it flew twenty feet, landing on the other side of the hedge in a field.
"Pitiful." Fred said. "I bet I can get mine beyond that stump."
The Harry and Rose being quickly learned not to feel sorry for the gnomes. The Rose half made to drop one over the hedge until it sank its teeth into her finger. She swung it hard and it flew quite far.
"Wow, Rose, that must have been eighty feet at least!" Fred said with a grin. "I probably couldn't beat that!"
"A challenge!" The Harry and Rose being responded with a grin. "The Rose half's stronger than all of you, I doubt you'll beat her, but we shall see."
"So Harry and Rose, what happened with the spell and all, anyway?" Ron asked as more gnomes came to investigate what was happening.
"Not too bright are they?" The Harry and Rose being asked, grabbing some and swinging them round until they released them.
"Nope." Ron replied. "Quit stalling and tell me, I want to know."
"Yeah, tell us." Fred said, grabbing about three by the ankles and throwing them over.
"Okay." The Harry and Rose being said, smiling a little. "This house-elf named Dobby came to visit me on my birthday. He tried to warn me not to go back to Hogwarts, said something dangerous was going to happen. He was blocking all my mail, that's why I couldn't reply. He was the one that levitated a pudding and that's what the ministry was alerted to."
"Very fishy." Fred responded, watching for more gnomes.
"Definitely dodgy." George added in agreement. "He wouldn't even tell you who was plotting all this stuff?"
"He couldn't, I guess." The Harry and Rose being responded. "Every time he almost let something slip he shouldn't have, he started banging his head against the wall."
Fred and George glanced at each other, then Fred said, "Wow, Ron, beat your last record. Anyway, house-elves have powerful magic of their own, but they can't usually use it without their master's permission. I reckon Dobby was sent to stop you coming back to Hogwarts, someone's idea of a joke. Can you think of anyone at school with a grudge against you?"
"Yeah, Draco Malfoy." The Harry and Rose being responded as the Rose half let another gnome fly about seventy feet, shooting Fred and George a grin. "Beat that!"
"That wouldn't be Lucius Malfoy's son, would it?" George asked as he tossed another four gnome's over the hedge. They seemed to be swarming now.
"Maybe, it's not too common." The Harry and Rose being responded. "Why?"
They grabbed about eight gnome's, four with each half, swinging them hard over the hedge. The Rose half got hers much further than the Harry half, of course, shooting Fred, George and Ron a grin.
"I've heard Dad talking about him." George said. "He was a big supporter of You-Know-Who."
"And when You-Know-Who disappeared, Lucius Malfoy came back saying he'd never meant any of it. Load of dung... Dad reckons he was right in You-Know-Who's inner circle." George added.
The Harry and Rose being weren't surprised to hear this, as they'd heard roomers like that about Malfoy's family before. Draco Malfoy made Dudley Dursley look kind and thoughtful in comparison.
"I don't know if the Malfoy's own a house-elf or not." The Harry and Rose being said.
"Well, whoever owns him will be an old wizarding family that's rich." Fred responded.
"Yeah, Mum's always wishing we had a house-elf to do the ironing." George added. "But all we've got is a lousy old ghoul in the attic and gnomes all over the garden, like these here. House-elves come with big old manors and castles and places like that; you wouldn't catch one in our house..."
The Harry and Rose being could see Malfoy strutting around a large manor, ordering the family servant to stop them from going back to Hogwarts. It seemed exactly like the thing Malfoy would do.
"I'll tell you what." Ron said as he grabbed about six gnomes by the ankles and started swinging them around. "I'm glad we came to get you even though Mum's mad at us. I thought Errol wasn't getting the letters to you at first, I was getting pretty worried."
"Who's Errol?" The Harry and Rose being asked, the Rose half letting about six gnomes fly over the hedge.
"Our owl. He's ancient. It wouldn't be the first time he'd collapsed on a delivery. So then I tried to borrow Hermes, the owl Percy got when he became a prefect, but Percy said he needed him." Ron said.
"Wouldn't have been any use, I suppose." The Harry and Rose being replied. "What does your dad do at the Ministry?"
"He works in the most boring department, The Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office." Ron replied as the five of them watched the gnomes walking off, grabbing some stragglers.
"What's that?" The Harry and Rose being asked.
"Oh, it's to do with bewitching things that are Muggle-made, you know, in case they end up back in a Muggle shop or house. Like, last year, some old witch died and her tea set was sold to an antiques shop. This Muggle woman bought it, took it home, and tried to serve her friends tea in it. It was a nightmare, Dad was working overtime for weeks."
"What happened?" The Harry and Rose being asked curiously, grabbing a couple gnomes and throwing them into the field.
"The teapot went berserk and squirted boiling tea all over the place. One man ended up in the hospital with the sugar tongs clamped to his nose. Dad was going frantic, it's only him and an old warlock called Perkins in the office, and they had to do Memory Charms and all sorts of stuff to cover it up."
"Oh, wow." The Harry and Rose being replied. "What about the car, though, it flies."
Fred laughed and said, "Yeah, Dad's crazy about everything to do with Muggles; our shed's full of Muggle stuff. He takes it apart, puts spells on it, and puts it back together again. If he raided our house he'd have to put himself under arrest. It drives Mum mad."
"I can imagine." The Harry and Rose being responded. No more gnomes had come out of their holes and they looked around the garden carefully along with Ron, Fred and George. "Is that all of them?"
"Yeah, but they'll be back." Ron responded. "They love it here... Dad's too soft with them, he thinks they're funny..."
They heard a door slam, which was probably the front door.
"He's back, dad's home!" George said.
They hurried back into the house, spotting Mr. Weasley slumped in a chair with his eyes closed and his glasses removed. He was thin and going bald, but the hair he had was as red as his children. His green robes were dusty and warn.
"What a night." He muttered as he groped for the tea pot. "Nine raids. Nine! And old Mundungus Fletcher tried to put a hex on me when I had my back turned..."
After he drank deeply from his tea, he sighed, everyone sitting down around him.
"Find anything, dad?" Fred asked eagerly.
"All I got were a few shrinking door keys and a biting kettle." Mr. Weasley said as he yawned. "There was some pretty nasty stuff that wasn't my department, though. Mortlake was taken away for questioning about some extremely odd ferrets, but that's the Committee on Experimental Charms, thank goodness..."
"Why would anyone bother making door keys shrink?" George asked.
"Just Muggle-baiting. Sell them a key that keeps shrinking to nothing so they can never find it when they need it... Of course, it's very hard to convict anyone because no Muggle would admit their key keeps shrinking, they'll insist they just keep losing it. Bless them, they'll go to any lengths to ignore magic, even if it's staring them in the face... But the things our lot have taken to enchanting, you wouldn't believe..."
Mr. Weasley was interrupted by Mrs. Weasley, who's voice was cool with anger, and who was holding a poker like a sword.
"Like cars, for instance?" She asked.
Mr. Weasley's eyes sprang open and he looked at her, a guilty look on his face.
"C-cars, Molly, dear?" He asked with some nervousness in his voice.
"Yes, Arthur, cars." Mrs. Weasley responded with her eyes flashing with fury. "Imagine a wizard buying a rusty old car and telling his wife all he wanted to do with it was take it apart to see how it worked, while really he was enchanting it to make it fly."
Mr. Weasley blinked, then said carefully, "Well, dear, I think you'll find that he would be quite within the law to do that, even if, er, he maybe would have done better to, urn, tell his wife the truth... There's a loophole in the law, you'll find... As long as he wasn't intending to fly the car, the fact that the car could fly wouldn't..."
"Arthur Weasley, you made sure there was a loophole when you wrote that law!" Mrs. Weasley shouted. "Just so you could carry on tinkering with all that Muggle rubbish in your shed! And for your information, Harry and Rose arrived this morning in the car you weren't intending to fly!"
Mr. Weasley looked around and jumped as he spotted the Harry and Rose being, staring.
"Is it the Potter's? Very pleased to meet you. Ron's told us so much about..."
"Your sons flew that car to Harry's house and back last night!" Mrs. Weasley shouted furiously. "What have you got to say about that, eh?"
"Did you really?" Mr. Weasley asked eagerly. "Did it go all right?" Mr. Weasley faltered as Mrs. Weasley's eyes narrowed in an even greater fury. "I mean, that, that was very wrong, boys, very wrong indeed..."
"Let's leave them to it." Ron muttered to the Harry and Rose being. "Come on, I'll show you my bedroom."
As Mrs. Weasley's fury grew, they left the kitchen and entered a narrow hallway that led to an uneven staircase. It twisted and turned its way up the various levels. On the third, the Harry and Rose being spotted a pair of bright brown eyes through a door that was open a crack. It then closed with a snap.
"Ginny." Ron replied. "You don't know how weird it is for her to be this shy. She never shuts up normally."
They climbed two more floors until they reached a door with pealing paint. A small plaque on the door read, Ronald's room. They entered, the Rose half ducking, the Harry half's head almost touching the ceiling. Almost everything in the room was a violent shade of orange and the walls were covered in posters of the same seven witches and wizards. They wore bright orange robes and carried broomsticks, waving energetically.
"Your Quidditch team?" The Harry and Rose being asked.
"The Chudley Cannons." Ron replied, pointing to his orange comforter which had two giant black C's and a speeding cannonball on it. "Ninth in the league."
The Harry and Rose being caught sight of Scabbers, fat and gray as they remembered him. He was resting in a patch of son. The Rose half stepped closer and caught sight of his missing front toe and a curious thought passed through the Harry and Rose being's mind. Could people become animals somehow? They didn't discount anything in the realm of the magical world. But even if they could, it didn't prove that the rat was a person. Something nagged at their mind, though, but they couldn't quite remember what, or even why they had the thought of people becoming animals.
"Ron, how long have you had Scabbers again?" The Harry and Rose being asked. "I mean, had him in your family?"
"I'd say about eleven years. Why?" Ron asked.
"And he's just a rat?" The Harry and Rose being asked. "Nothing magical, if there are such things as magical rats, anyway."
"Yeah. Why?" Ron responded.
The Harry and Rose being glanced at Scabbers, then looked away. They didn't notice his eyes opening to look at them.
"Just curious." The Harry and Rose being said. "Guess magical rats live longer than Muggle ones. I suppose that's his power, increased longevity."
"Yeah, I suppose so." Ron replied as the Harry and Rose being moved to the window, gazing down into the yard where several gnomes were sneaking their way through the hedge and back into the garden. As they looked back at Ron, he seemed almost nervous, as if waiting for their opinion.
"It's a bit small. Not like that room you had with the Muggles. And I'm right underneath the ghoul in the attic; he's always banging on the pipes and groaning..." Ron spoke quickly.
The Harry and Rose being grinned widely, then said, "Ron, this is the best house I've ever been. I'd take it any day over the Dursley's."
Ron's ears went pink and he muttered, "Well, glad you like it."
"Of course I do." The Harry and Rose being said, the Rose half hugging him making his face grow pink along with his ears. The Harry and Rose being chuckled.
That evening at dinner, the Harry and Rose being were pulled aside by Mrs. Weasley, who smiled reassuringly at them.
"You're not in trouble, but I'd like to discuss your sleeping arrangements since it's clear you'll be staying with us the rest of the summer." She said kindly.
"I don't mind sleeping with Ron." The Harry and Rose being said.
"Well, Rose, dear, you know it's not appropriate for you to sleep in a boys room." Mrs. Weasley said.
The Harry and Rose being quietly sighed and frowned a little.
"Mrs. Weasley, I'm one person. It's hard to accept, I know, Ron had trouble. He only accepted it fully, I think, at the end of our first year." The Harry and Rose being responded.
"I know how you think of yourself." Mrs. Weasley responded. "Ron told us about that. But, Rose, it's inappropriate for you to sleep in Ron's room with Harry."
"If I'm not with my other half, I can't sleep." The Rose half responded after a moment. "Trust me, I tried it at Hogwarts. Professor Dumbledore made other arrangements."
"He may do that, but I won't." Mrs. Weasley responded. "I don't want you sleeping with the boys, Rose. I'm sure Ginny would be happy to let you sleep in her room."
The Harry and Rose being sighed, then stated, "Okay, then, but I won't get any sleep. And I'll warn you now, if that goes on too long, I start snapping at people and getting a temper like I do on the full moon."
"I'm sure you'll do fine, dears." Mrs. Weasley said in a placating manner. "You just have to adjust."
"If you insist." The Harry and Rose being said.
"I do." Mrs. Weasley replied. No doubt, her insistence was because she wanted to protect Ron. They didn't blame her.
"Um, Harry?" Ron asked hesitantly as the Harry half lay on a cot in Ron's room.
Ginny, for her part, hadn't said anything, only squeaked and turned over, facing away from the Rose half who lay on another cot which was in her room. It was silent in Ginny's room after that and the Rose half lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling.
"Yes, Ron?" The Harry half asked.
"I thought you couldn't sleep without Rose." Ron responded. "I mean, the Rose half."
The Harry and Rose being grinned a little, glad Ron was starting to understand them better.
"I can't." The Harry half replied.
"Then why isn't she with you?" Ron asked. "It might be a little uncomfortable, but... She already sees everything you do anyway, right?"
"It's a little more complicated than that, Ron." The Harry half said. "She doesn't see what I do, she is me and I'm her, but that doesn't even describe it well because we're one person, but with two bodies. It's hard to put into words."
"But basically she knows and sees what you do. So it wouldn't be any different than having her here anyway." Ron said.
"If that helps you understand it, the simple answer is yes." The Harry half said. Ron looked embarrassed, since the Harry half had seen him change earlier that night.
"Well I don't see why your other half isn't here." Ron muttered. "The Rose half of you."
"Mrs. Weasley is probably trying to protect you." The Harry half said.
"From what?" Ron asked.
"Well, Ron, if you really want to know I'll tell you." The Harry half said with a grin, looking mischievous. "Girls and boys both start getting these things called hormones, then they start thinking about each other and wanting to be with one another, to kiss, and touch, and..."
Ron threw a pillow at him, his face bright red.
"Okay, I don't need to hear anymore." Ron said, burying his face in his pillow. After a few minutes, he rose his head and said quietly, "Harry?"
"Yes?" The Harry half asked, gazing at the ceiling as he lay on his back, mirroring the Rose half's position.
"Have you ever felt that way about your other body, I mean... Man this sounds strange... Are you attracted to yourself or what?" Ron asked.
"Well, the Rose half is very pretty." The Harry half replied. "The Harry half, me, is looking more attractive. I've not done anything I told you, it might be strange but it feels like it wouldn't be at the same time. It's very complicated, and I don't know if a relationship of intimacy would be taboo in any way. It sounds odd to think of having a relationship with myself, but it feels like it's natural at the same time."
"That just sounds too weird." Ron said after a long moment, staring at the Harry half. "Well, I'm going to get some sleep. Good luck, mate."
"Thanks, Ron." The Harry half replied. It wasn't until Ron's snores were heard that the Harry and Rose being closed their eyes and attempted, unsuccessfully, to sleep.
August 6, 1992.
"Rough night, dears?" Mrs. Weasley asked as she gave the Harry and Rose being a second helping of food.
They blinked and gazed up at her, exhausted.
"I didn't sleep at all." The Harry and Rose being responded. "Isn't there something else I could do, Mrs. Weasley? Sleep somewhere else, maybe?"
"You could sleep on the couch, but I doubt you'd find that as comfortable." Mrs. Weasley replied. She then added in a low voice, "It's more that I'm trying to protect Ron and Ginny, and while I don't approve of you sleeping together, I can't stop either of you, though I don't prefer what you want to do. I'm not your guardian."
"I understand, Mrs. Weasley." The Harry and Rose being responded with a sigh. "But if we slept on the couch, or in some other area that people walked through, it's more public, you could see that I just want to sleep. That's all."
"All right, dears. We'll try that tonight, then." Mrs. Weasley said.
The Harry and Rose being decided to work on some of their homework that day, though Ron, Fred and George wanted to play games and do other things. Ron commented after they told him their decision, "Just like Hermione, always working on homework first."
"If I get it done now, more time to enjoy later. And besides, it'll probably only take a few days for me."
"Yeah yeah, go on and brag about how you can do things faster since you've got two bodies, not like the rest of us people with only one." Ron responded in a grumpy sort of way, but was grinning.
That evening, the Harry and Rose being lay on a bed Mrs. Weasley had conjured for them, though it was little more than a mattress, sheets, and pillows. They didn't care, though, this was far more comfortable than sleeping without a half of them. Mrs. Weasley tucked them in and looked down at them with a smile.
"Are you comfortable, dears, do you need another blanket?" She asked.
"No, Mrs. Weasley, I'm fine." The Harry and Rose being responded, hugging. "Thanks for doing this."
"It's no problem, dears." Mrs. Weasley responded. It didn't take the Harry and Rose being long to fall asleep, and unnoticed to them, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley quietly came to check on them throughout the night. Eventually, they were satisfied that their intentions were nothing but innocent, leaving to get uninterrupted sleep themselves.