Chapter 12:
Normal Pov
There was a loud knock at the door. Juliunna got up, and ignoring Mrs. Weasley's yell of warning, opened the door. "Harry!" She squealed. She reached forward and hugged him tightly. Harry laughed joyously.
Behind her was Mrs. Weasley, who had just jumped up from the table. Mrs. Weasley was short, plump, and wearing an old green dressing gown.
"Harry, dear! Gracious, Albus, you gave me a fright, you said not to expect you before morning!"
"We were lucky," said Dumbledore, ushering Harry, who was still trapped in Juliunna's tight hug, over the threshold. "Slughorn proved much more persuadable than I had expected. Harry's doing, of course. Ah, hello, Nymphadora!"
Harry hugged Juliunna back. "How have you been doing. I see your alive!"
"Yes, yes I am." He chuckled. She let him go and quickly ran over to the coat rack.
Harry looked around and saw that Mrs. Weasley and Juliunna were not alone, despite the lateness of the hour. A young witch with a pale, heart-shaped face and mousy brown hair was sitting at the table clutching a large mug between her hands.
"Hello, Professor," she said. " Wotcher, Harry." She added.
"Hi, Tonks."
Harry thought she looked drawn, even ill, and there was something forced in her smile. Certainly her appearance was less colorful than usual without her customary shade of bubble-gum-pink hair. Juliunna hurried over and handed Tonks her cloak.
"I'd better be off. Thank you dear," she said quickly, standing up and pulling her cloak around her shoulders. "Thanks for the tea and sympathy, Molly"
"Please don't leave on my account," said Dumbledore courteously, "I cannot stay, I have urgent matters to discuss with Rufus Scrimgeour."
"No, no, I need to get going," said Tonks, not meeting Dumbledore's eyes. "Night." She added. "You stay giggling kiddo." She added to Juliunna, rubbing the top of her head. Juliunna laughed. "You try and feel better Tonks."
"I will." Tonks said, trying to force a smile.
"Dear, why not come to dinner at the weekend, Remus and Mad-Eye are coming." Molly said, patting her on the shoulder.
"No, really, Molly. . . thanks anyway. . . Good night, every-one.
Tonks hurried past Dumbledore and Harry into the yard; a few paces beyond the doorstep, she turned on the spot and vanished into thin air. Harry noticed that Mrs. Weasley looked troubled.
Juliunna sighed. "She was in love with Sirius." Juliunna said to Mrs. Weasley, who chuckled.
"No she wasn't dear."
"I bet she's pregnant."
"She's not pregnant. Now stop asking. Your too young, and I'm not going to tell you. Well, Tonks left, so you should go to bed now." Mrs. Weasley said, and Juliunna groaned with disappointment.
"Not yet Juliunna." Albus said, stopping Juliunna mid step.
"Yes?" She smiled.
"Well dear, as you arrived entirely too late in the year to take your OWL's, which by the way, arrive sometime this afternoon," Dumbledore started. "You will take your owls with the same schedule as Miss Weasley this school year. For your protection of course. I suggest that if you start studying now, you will know enough. There are pamphlets and studying for owls that normal students wouldn't have access to. But seeing as if your going to have to learn five years worth of magic in one year, you should really focus on the work."
Juliunna's mouth dropped open. When she closed it, she took a deep breath. "Mrs. Weasley! I need to go to Diagon Alley! I have to buy books so I can study! Dumbledore, does it turn out that I have access to a volt at Gringotts?"
"Yes." He said. "I have warned the goblins that you are a descendent to Salazar Slytherin, which after a few generations were translated to Peverall of course. You have no key. Instead, all you have to do is prove a DNA test at the volt. Upon further investigation, each time you enter your volt, you must place a drop of blood on the lock. If you are of Peverall Blood, your volt will open."
"And if it doesn't?!" Juliunna snarled, crossing her arms. Mrs. Weasley threw her a warning look, but Dumbledore chuckled. "You truly are your father's daughter. Well, I shall see you at Hogwarts, Juliunna and Harry," said Dumbledore. "Take care of yourself, Molly."
He bade Mrs. Weasley a bow and followed Tonks, vanishing at precisely the same spot. Mrs. Weasley closed the door on the empty yard and then steered Harry by the shoulders into the full glow of lantern on the table to examine his appearance.
"You're like Ron," she sighed, looking him up and down. "Both of you look as though you've had Stretching jinxes put on you. Ron's grown four inches since I last bought him school robes. Are you hungry, Harry?"
"Yeah, I am," said Harry, suddenly realizing just how hungry he was,
"Sit down, dear, I'll make something up."
"Oh no you don't!" Mrs. Weasley snapped. Juliunna had tried to go quietly upstairs. "Yes?"
"You showed Professor Dumbledore very little respect! You need to sweeten up that attitude! Get working on these dishes."
Juliunna threw her head back in a groan and stomped over to the sink. "Fine!" She groaned. Harry chuckled quietly to himself.
As Harry sat down, a furry ginger cat with a squashed face lumped onto his knees and settled there, purring.
"So Hermione's here?" he asked happily as he tickled Crookshanks behind the ears.
"Oh yes, she arrived the day before yesterday," said Mrs. Weasley, rapping a large iron pot with her wand. It bounced onto the stove with a loud clang and began to bubble at once. "Everyone's in bed, of course, we didn't expect you for hours. Here you are."
She tapped the pot again; it rose into the air, flew toward Harry, and tipped over; Mrs. Weasley slid a bowl nearly beneath it just in lime to catch the stream of thick, steaming onion soup.
"Bread, dear? Use the blue soap." Mrs. Weasley said, raising an eyebrow at Juliunna, who rolled her eyes.
"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley." Harry smiled.
She waved her wand over her shoulder; a loaf of bread and a knife soared gracefully onto the table; as the loaf sliced itself and the soup pot dropped back onto the stove, Mrs. Weasley sat down opposite him.
"So you persuaded Horace Slughorn to take the job?"
Harry nodded, his mouth so full of hot soup that he could not speak.
"He taught Arthur and me," said Mrs. Weasley. "He was at Hogwarts for ages, started around the same time as Dumbledore, I think. Did you like him?"
His mouth now full of bread, Harry shrugged and gave a noncommittal jerk of the head.
"I know what you mean," said Mrs. Weasley, nodding wisely. "Of course he can be charming when he wants to be, but Arthur's never liked him much. Scrub it in circles! The Ministry's littered with Siughorn's old favorites, he was always good at giving leg ups, but he never had much time for Arthur ? Didn't seem to think he was enough of a highflier. Well, that just shows you, even Slughorn makes mistakes."
"Yes, its Slughorn who made the mistake." Juliunna laughed.
"If you don't control your attitude, I'm going to make you sleep in the attic with the ghoul! Anyway Harry, I don't know whether Ron's told you in any of his letters? It's only just happened, but Arthur's been promoted!"
It could not have been clearer that Mrs. Weasley had been bursting to say this.
Harry swallowed a large amount of very hot soup and thought he could feel his throat blistering. "That's great!" He gasped.
"You are sweet," beamed Mrs. Weasley, possibly taking his watering eyes for emotion at the news. "Yes, Rufus Scrimgeour has set up several new offices in response to the present situation, and Arthur's heading the Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects. It's a big job, he's got ten people reporting to him now!"
"What exactly ?"
"Well, you see, in all the panic about You-Know-Who, odd things have been cropping up for sale everywhere, things that are supposed to guard against You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters. You can imagine the kind of thing ?so-called protective potions that are really gravy with a bit of bubotuber pus added, or instructions for defensive jinxes that actually make your ears fall off. . . . Well, in the main the perpetrators are just people like Mundungus Hotelier, who've never done an honest day's work in their lives and are taking advantage of how frightened everybody is, but every now and then something really nasty turns up. The other day Arthur confiscated a box of cursed Sneakoscopes that were almost certainly planted by a Death Eater. So you see, it's a very important job, and I tell him it's just silly to miss dealing with spark plugs and toasters and all the rest of that Muggle rubbish." Mrs. Weasley ended her speech with a stern look, as if it had been Harry suggesting that it was natural to miss spark plugs.
"Is Mr. Weasley still at work?" Harry asked.
"Yes, he is. As a matter of fact, he's a tiny bit late. ... He said he'd be back around midnight. . . ." Juliunna said,.
She and Mrs. Weasley turned to look at a large clock. It was perched awkwardly on top of a pile of sheets, in the washing basket at the end of the table. Harry recognized it at once: It had nine hands, each inscribed with the name of a family member, and usually hung in the Weasleys' sitting room wall, though its current position suggested that Mrs. Weasley had taken to carrying it around the house with her. Every single one of its nine hands was now pointing at "mortal peril."
"It's been like that for a while now," said Mrs. Weasley, in an un-convincingly casual voice, "ever since You-Know-Who came back into the open. I suppose everybody's in mortal danger now. ... I don't think it can be just our family . . . but I don't know anyone else who's got a clock like this, so I can't check. Oh!"
With a sudden exclamation she pointed at the clock's face. Mr. Weasley's hand had switched to "traveling."
"He's coming!" Juliunna said, throwing the dishes down. She walked to the table and sat down next to Harry, looking as if she was about to watch an interesting show.
And sure enough, a moment later there was a knock on the back door. Mrs. Weasley jumped up and hurried to it; with one hand on the doorknob and her face pressed against the wood she called softly, "Arthur, is that you?"
"Yes," came Mr. Weasley's weary voice. "But I would say that even if I were a Death Eater, dear. Ask the question!"
"Oh, honestly..."
"Molly!"
"All right, all right. . . What is your dearest ambition?"
"To find out how airplanes stay up."
Mrs. Weasley nodded and turned the doorknob, but apparently Mr. Weasley was holding tight to it on the other side, because the door remained firmly shut.
"Molly! I've got to ask you your question first!"
Juliunna smirked.
"Arthur, really, this is just silly. ..."
"What do you like me to call you when we're alone together?"
Even by the dim light of the lantern Harry could tell that Mrs. Weasley had turned bright red; he himself felt suddenly warm around the ears and neck, and hastily gulped soup, clattering his spoon as loudly as he could against the bowl. "Stop!" Juliunna snickered quietly.
"Mollywobbles," whispered a mortified Mrs. Weasley into the crack at the edge of the door.
"Correct," said Mr. Weasley. "Now you can let me in."
Mrs. Weasley opened the door to reveal her husband, a thin, balding, red-haired wizard wearing horn-rimmed spectacles and a long and dusty traveling cloak.
"I still don't see why we have to go through that every time you come home," said Mrs. Weasley, still pink in the face as she helped her husband out of his cloak. "I mean, a Death Eater might have forced the answer out of you before impersonating you!"
"I know, dear, but it's Ministry procedure, and I have to set an example. Something smells good ?onion soup?" Mr. Weasley turned hopefully in the direction of the table.
"Harry! We didn't expect you until morning. Good morning Juliunna!"
They all shook hands, and Mr. Weasley dropped into the chair beside Harry as Mrs. Weasley set a bowl of soup in front of him too. Juliunna took hers from Mrs. Weasley with a smile. "Thank you… Mollywobbles."
"In bed now!" Mrs. Weasley shouted, pointing to the ceiling.
"Wait! Mrs. Weasley please. I'll be quiet." Juliunna cried out, standing up.
"One more chance." She said.
"Thanks, Molly. It's been a tough night." Arthur said when Juliunna and Mrs. Weasley sat down. "Some idiot's started selling Metamorph-Medals. Just sling them around your neck and you'll be able to change your appearance at will. A hundred thousand disguises, all for ten Galleons!"
"And what really happens when you put them on?" Juliunna asked, putting a spoonful of soap in her mouth.
"Mostly you just turn a fairly unpleasant orange color, but a couple of people have also sprouted tentacle like warts all over their bodies. As if St. Mungo's didn't have enough to do already!"
"It sounds like the sort of thing Fred and George would find funny," said Mrs. Weasley hesitantly. "Are you sure ?"
"Of course I am!" said Mr. Weasley. "The boys wouldn't do anything like that now, not when people are desperate for protection!"
"So is that why you're late, Metamorph-Medals?"
"No, we got wind of a nasty backfiring jinx down in Elephant and Castle, but luckily the Magical Law Enforcement Squad had sorted it out by the time we got there. ..."
Harry stifled a yawn behind his hand.
"Bed," said an undeceived Mrs. Weasley at once. "I've got Fred and George's room all ready for you, you'll have it to yourself. Juliunna, you can move your stuff into Ginny's room, like I told you months ago."
"What?! But there are twin beds! Harry doesn't mind. Right?" Juliunna asked, turning to Harry. He shook his head no. "Of course not."
"Problem solved."
"Why don't you want to sleep with Ginny?" Arthur asked.
"Its not that I don't want to. Its just that I felt much more comfortable sleeping by myself. I've got a set of rules and principles. Ginny didn't like to follow them."
"What kind of principles?" Harry asked.
"Oh, well I don't like to go to bed late, unless I'm up studying, which will take place once I get my books, Harry." Juliunna said. Harry snorted into his soup bowl, but didn't say anything. "And then there's the fact that I can only sleep in the dark. Usually I take clothes and cover up the tiniest of lights. I can only sleep when its pitch black. And you have to stay silent. And you have to go to sleep when I decide to. Unless you decide to go to sleep before me. Ginny kicked me out weeks ago."
"What?!" Mrs. Weasley snarled, standing up.
"Yeah. I thought you knew." Juliunna said with a shrug. "She got mad and didn't want me to do it anymore. I couldn't do that, so we decided that we would be friends, but not roommates."
"Oh that girl… Alright. Harry, think hard now. Do you really want to room with Juliunna?" Mrs. Weasley said. Harry frowned. He peeked at Juliunna's smiling face, and then back to Mrs. Weasley's knowing ones. "Yes. Um, about Fred and George, where are they?"
"Oh, they're in Diagon Alley, sleeping in the little flat over their joke shop as they're so busy," said Mrs. Weasley. "I must say, I didn't approve at first, but they do seem to have a bit of a flair for business! Juliunna go show Harry to your room. Harry dear, your trunks already up there."
"'Night, Mr. Weasley," said Harry, pushing back his chair. Crookshanks leapt lightly from his lap and slunk out of the room. "G'night, Harry, Goodnight Juliunna" said Mr. Weasley.
"Goodnight everybody!" Juliunna waved at them, and yet out a loud yawn. She lead him up the stairs and into a large room.
Harry saw Mrs. Weasley glance at the clock in the washing basket as they left the kitchen. All the hands were once again at 'mortal peril.'
A considerable amount of floor space was devoted to a vast number of unmarked, sealed cardboard boxes, amongst which stood Harry's school trunk. The room looked as though it was being used as a temporary warehouse. "Fred and George keep dropping off their junk. It's not ready for the shop." She said with a smile.
"How's the shop?" Harry asked her, sitting down on the bed near the window.
"I've only been there once. Back in June, when they were just getting started. The walls were all grey and there was barely anything there. It was only two weeks in to production. But every time they come here, they keep telling us that their adding things on. Apparently, it's a real business now! I heard its great!
Hedwig hooted happily at them both from her perch on top of a large wardrobe, then took off through the window. Harry knew she had been waiting to see him before going hunting. Harry bade Juliunna good night, made her stand outside the door while he put on pajamas, and when they came back inside, they got into one of the beds. There was something hard inside the pillowcase. He groped inside it and pulled out a sticky purple-and-orange sweet, which he recognized as a Puking Pastille. "Ooh, candy?" Juliunna asked, and held out her hand. He opened his mouth to tell her 'no', but she talked first.
"Well don't be a stranger, share it!" She smiled. Harry threw it on the floor, and Juliunna scowled.
"It would have made you puke a river." He said. Juliunna got up and left the room, probably to go talk to someone else. Smiling to himself, he rolled over and was instantly asleep.
…
Seconds later, or so it seemed to Harry, he was awakened by what sounded like cannon fire as the door burst open. Sitting bolt upright, he heard the rasp of the curtains being pulled back: The dazzling sunlight seemed to poke him hard in both eyes. Shielding them with one hand, he groped hopelessly for his glasses with the other.
"Wuzzgoinon?"
"We didn't know you were here already!" said a loud and excited voice, and he received a sharp blow to the top of the head.
"Ron, don't hit him!" said a girl's voice reproachfully. "Hermione! Ron!" Harry said, sitting up. He looked over to the empty bed on the other side.
"Where's Juliunna?" He yawned.
"I don't know. No one's seen her all day." Hermione said with a shrug. Harry sat up abruptly. "What?"
"Don't worry. It's a normal thing. She likes to go play in the garden and in the basement." Ron said.
"And go hide." Hermione said.
"And she's always playing around with magic objects."
"That she finds in the attic and basement." Hermione continued.
"I think she's trying to rebel hard, because Mom keeps trying to lock her up in the house, like Siri-!" Hermione hit Ron in the chest with her elbow hard, making him stop. "Oomph. Sorry Harry."
"It's alright." Harry sighed.
Twenty minutes Later
"Hello children." Mrs. Weasley called wearily. She had her wand pointed at something that the five of them, (Ginny, The Golden Trio, and Fleur Delacour- whom had joined them to bring up Harry's tray), couldn't see. Mrs. Weasley moved slowly into the room.
"Hey mom…Whoa." Ron finished. Floating higher then Mrs. Weasley's head, and lying on her back with her arms and legs lying lifelessly below her, was Juliunna. Her head was tilted back, her long, midnight hair spilling towards the floor. "I found her up on the roof. Dumbledore must have sent her owl requirements and tips books last night. She was asleep." Mrs. Weasley said. Everyone watched her softly lower her onto the bed by the wall, and with another flick of her wand, the blankets flew up to her chin. Mrs. Weasley was carrying a envelope in the other hand, which was roughly the size of a textbook. She placed it on the small dress next to Juliunna's bed, and walked off towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Ginny whispered. Juliunna twitched and turned around in her sleep. She snuggled into the pillow with a sigh.
"To lock the attic windows." Mrs. Weasley snapped back at her, and raised her wand as she walked off towards the attic. The kids chuckled to themselves, and went back to their conversations. But now they were whispering.
"I have to go downstairs. I need to send Bill an owl." Fleur said thickly, and then walked out of the door. Behind her, Ginny made rude gestures at her back, but they went unnoticed by the Fleur.. "I want to check these out. I never heard about owl requirements and tip books." Hermione said. She walked forward and grabbed the thick envelope. She opened the envelope, and ignoring Mrs. Weasley, who came back inside to retrieve Ginny, she plopped down next to a sleeping Juliunna, and started to read the first envelope. She read aloud the classes Juliunna had checked off when Ginny and Mrs. Weasley left.
The Following Exams I will be taking.
Ancient Runes
Herbology
Defense Against the Dark Arts
Charms
Astronomy
Potions
Care of Magical Creatures
History of Magic
Transfiguration.
Divination
Advanced Wizard and Witch Magic
Dark Arts
"Dark Arts? Advanced Wizard and Witch Magic? They didn't have that for us, but I suppose that under the circumstances… Dark Arts."
"Scratch it off. She doesn't need it." Ron yawned. Unbeknownst to Hermione, Juliunna's eyes snapped opened.
"No Ron. She obviously wants to study them. Why, even though we would never… Let's go on."
"She's really pushing herself. She's starting at a first year level. How's she gonna learn all this stuff?"
"Hard work, spaced out study times, and a plan." Juliunna muttered.
"Wakey bakey, eggs and bakey, sleepy head!" Ron cheered. She rolled her eyes and snuggled deeper into the bed. "Didn't you guys hear? I might not be going back to Hogwarts on time. I might just wait a month or so. It'll give me more time to study."
"You can't stay here!" Hermione whined. "You have to go to Hogwarts!" She said with a small smile.
"Yeah, but Dumbledore wants me to come in late, as I already said. The Death Eaters, or the Slytherins, could get me on the train." Juliunna yawned.
"Hmm." Hermione said, grabbing the next letter. "Dumbledore's really making this easy for you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Juliunna snapped, throwing her blanket off.
"What?!" Hermione said. Juliunna was glaring at her intensely. She was so scary, Hermione fought off the urge to flinch. "Um. I was just saying… I was just saying that he was kind enough to outline the things you have to learn for each subject, and give you instructions. And that you were lucky to get pamphlets, and booklists for each subject. Your taking one more class then me, and I'm taking eleven. It's lucky that your getting help-!"
Harry and Ron were shaking their heads no with wide eyes, trying to tell her to shut up.
"Help?! Help?! You may be somewhat intelligent, but you've been doing this thing for four years. And I'm taking twelve, and I'm just starting Wizarding Intelligence!" Juliunna snapped. She ripped the envelope out of Hermione's hand and rolled over, pulling the blankets over her head.
"I'm sorry if I offended you-!"
Juliunna's hand resurfaced, brandishing a wand. Hermione ran out of the boys room, shutting the door. When it was fully shut, Juliunna threw off the blankets and threw what Harry, Ron, and Hermione had mistaken for a wand. It was a stick.
"Ha!" Ron laughed loudly.
"Alright, everyone shut up." She said drowsily. "I'm gonna go to bed." She yawned. Ron and Harry stayed quiet as she rolled over and fell asleep the second her head hit the pillow.