Chapter Nine

"Come on," Harry said, trying to convince Alice that he hadn't gone completely crazy, "It's perfect timing. Thanksgiving break starts tomorrow and we'll have the whole week off from classes. You said yourself just yesterday that you weren't planning on going home for break anyway, since your parents are on vacation in Italy until Christmas. Come with me back home. I need to check on things there, see how the Death Eaters have affected things and get some supplies while I'm there. Plus, you can meet Molly and Arthur, and my best friend Ron. You've heard me talk about them as much as they've heard me talk about you. Please come with me?" Harry gave Alice a smile, knowing she wouldn't be able to resist an adventure. Alice smiled back and him and sighed, "Okay, to England we go."

Alice finished packing up her things while Harry waited. He had already made all the preparations they would need, not that there was much to do. He called Molly and told her they were coming (of course she was overjoyed to have him coming home, though she hadn't mentioned Ginny at once on the phone, not that he minded) and he had already packed everything he would need, making sure to include his wand and his meager notes on the Death Eaters, as well as the notes Molly and Arthur had written him, just in case. The last thing he wanted was for Eric to come back while he was gone and find them. Once Alice had finished packing up all her things they headed to the airport. "A plane? That's not a very magical way to travel," Alice teased Harry. He gave her a playful hug and kiss and they boarded the plane for England. Alice had never been on an airplane, but she seemed to handle it pretty well. They landed just before noon and Molly was already waiting for them at the airport.

"Harry! So lovely to see you!" Molly greeted him with a big hug. Harry hugged her back, he had really missed home. "And this must be Alice," she said, hugging Alice with just as much love, "Welcome, dear. I'm Molly, though I suppose you already knew. Arthur is at work, but he should be at home later this evening. Come on now, grab your bags both of you. I've got the car parked just out the door here, and we've got to get going." Harry and Alice grabbed their bags from the luggage carousel and headed out the door. Harry put their bags in the trunk and climbed into the back seat with Alice. The ride home was pretty short, but maybe that was just because they spent the whole time catching up. Molly already loved Alice, and Harry could tell they would get along wonderfully. Besides, Harry thought to himself, it's not Molly that I'm worried about.

When they pulled up to the house Ron was waiting for them on the front porch. He ran to the car just as Harry got out and they hugged each other. "Ron! Be a dear and help them with their bags," Molly said. Harry and Ron grabbed the bags out of the trunk and followed Molly and Alice into the house. "She's quite pretty, Harry," Ron said, referring to Alice. "Yeah," Harry said, smiling, "I know."

Harry made himself at home almost immediately. After all, it was his home. He wasted no time in going to the kitchen and making sandwiches for him and Alice. Harry could tell that Alice was a little uncomfortable being there, and he hoped that she would relax. They had just sat down to eat when Harry heard footsteps coming down the stairs. "Uh oh," Ron whispered. No sooner had he said that than Ginny appeared at the bottom of the stairs. She had a lot more makeup on than Harry ever remembered her wearing, and he noticed that her shirt must be new, and was a little too low cut for her style. "Harry, nice to see—"Ginny stopped mid-sentence, noticing Alice sitting next to him. "Who's that?" She asked coldly, gesturing towards Alice like she was some kind of dead animal that was left on the floor. Harry stood up and stepped back from Ginny a few steps before answering. "This is Alice, my girlfriend." That was all he really had time to get out before Ginny started screaming. "I knew it! I knew you didn't come back for me!" Ginny stormed upstairs and all anyone downstairs heard was a door slamming. "Well," Harry said, "that went better than I thought it would." Alice stood and said, "I can leave, if things are going to be that way the whole time. I don't want to bother anyone." Molly shushed her, "Nonsense. You're more than welcome here, dear. Ginny will just have to get over herself." Alice smiled at Molly and sat back down to finish her sandwich.

Arthur got home later than he usually did, but that was to be expected. He knew that Harry was coming home today and he had stopped by the store to get some things for the occasion. When Arthur got home, Harry, Alice, Ron, and Molly were sitting in the living room talking. Arthur smiled, it felt like home again. "Harry, so great to have you back home," he said as he walked into the living room. Harry stood and gave Arthur a hug and introduced him to Alice. Arthur sat and joined them, and the five talked for an hour or so more before Molly headed up to bed. Ron went to bed himself about 20 minutes later, leaving Harry, Alice, and Arthur alone in the living room.

"I'm not going to sugar coat things, Harry," Arthur began. "The Death Eaters have been showing signs of activity around Hogwarts again, and everyone assumes they're after you. If they knew you were back in town, I'd imagine they'd be knocking down the doors as we speak." Alice looked pretty frightened, and Harry put his arm around her to comfort her. "That's why I've come home for break. I wanted to see for myself what I might be up against, and figure out the best way to fight them once I'm back at University." Harry pulled his notebook from his bag and handed it to Arthur. Arthur looked over it and nodded. "That's all about right," he said, handing it back. "Though I did hear something strange today from Kingsley. Since you called and said you were coming home for break, it all seemed to stop. It's almost like they knew you were coming home." Harry shrugged his shoulder and looked at Alice, who was reading over his Death Eater notes. "Huh," she said, handing it back to him. "What?" Harry asked. "It's just weird. The part about the weird clothing and stuff I mean." "Why's that?" He asked her. "The last day of break, there was a new kid in my class. He didn't look any different from anyone else in the class, except that he was wearing a woman's blouse. We all just thought it was some kind of joke or something, but now…." Alice trailed off, and Harry knew exactly where she was going with this. "We need to be on the lookout when we get back from break. It sounds like the Death Eaters may already be at ASU."

Harry awoke early the next morning to the smells of breakfast cooking in the kitchen. His stomach growled and he got up off the couch and stretched. Alice had slept in his bed last night, and he had taken the couch. He walked into the kitchen in his t-shirt and pajama pants and found Alice already dressed and sitting at the table. She was wearing a green long sleeve shirt and blue jeans, and looked absolutely adorable. Harry gave her a peck on the lips and sat down next to her. Molly was at the stove making scrambled eggs to go with the bacon and pancakes that were already steaming on the counter. She had really gone all out this morning. "Where's Ron?" Harry inquired. "Oh, he left earlier this morning to go meet Hermione," Molly said. That got Harry thinking about how much he missed Hermione, and he let out a small sigh. He'd have to make sure to see her at least once before they headed back to ASU. Molly finished up the eggs and made plates of food for Alice and Harry. She was pouring orange juice into some cups when Ginny came down the stairs. She looked much more like herself than she had the night before.

"Harry. Alice." Ginny said curtly, grabbing a plate and scooping some eggs onto it. The kitchen was silent as she filled the rest of her plate and headed upstairs to her room. "She'll be fine," Molly said, not seeming to worry and Ginny at all, though Harry supposed she had been dealing with stuff like this for the past few months. The three of them sat down and began to eat breakfast. They had only been eating for a minute or so when Harry heard his cell phone ringing in the living room. "I must've left it in there. Better go see who's calling," he said, leaving the kitchen. Molly excused herself to the bathroom, leaving Alice alone in the kitchen. She got up and started looking around the kitchen. There was a lot to see in here. Molly had done a wonderful job decorating, and Alice took her time admiring it all. She was looking at an interesting painting in the corner when she heard a noise behind her.

Alice turned to see Ginny pouring some sort of clear liquid into Harry's orange juice. She gasped and hid behind the pantry door so Ginny wouldn't see her. Ginny finished pouring the liquid and headed back upstairs quietly. Alice went back to the table and smelled Harry's drink. It didn't smell any different, but she knew that she couldn't let Harry drink from it. Molly came back from the bathroom and sat down to eat her breakfast. Ginny came down a few moments later as if she hadn't just been down there putting something in Harry's drink and began refilling her glass with orange juice. "Ginny, while you're down here, can you help me with the laundry?" Molly asked. Ginny sighed and followed her mother into the laundry room around the corner. Alice saw her opportunity. She picked up Harry's juice and switched it with Ginny's, then resumed eating her bacon and eggs as if nothing had happened. Ginny came back into the kitchen and grabbed her juice then headed back upstairs to her room. Alice smiled to herself. It would definitely be interesting to see what would happen to Ginny.

Harry came back into the kitchen with a worried look on his face. "Harry, what's wrong?" Alice asked him. "That was the head of the dorm on the phone. Eric's been found dead." Alice hugged Harry. Molly looked worried as well. "Did they say what killed him?" Molly asked Harry. "They didn't know. No signs of anything, really. Which can only mean one thing, I'm afraid," Harry said, pacing around the kitchen. "The Killing Curse," Harry said, grimacing at the very thought of the spell." "What does that mean?" Alice said. "It means the Death Eaters may already be at ASU."

DUN DUN DUN! Cliffhanger! Thanks again for reading everyone, and as always feel free to review!

Until next time,

Eridium Blight