Chapter 7: the Goblet of Fire

Molly was happy to have her little ones back home, the house had been so lonely and quiet. She spent three lovely days, but on the fourth, when her son Ron got their permission to invite Harry to the Burrow on their holiday, her martyrdom began.

–Mum, when Harry comes, can you put another piece of furniture in my room? So that he can arrange his things well. – Molly almost knocked over the dish she was washing and saw her horrified at those words, despite knowing that the children shared the bed at school, she certainly wouldn't allow them to do it in the Burrow. However, due to the fear she had of cutting off progress in her relationship with her daughter (it was the first time her little girl had not called her mother in 1 year), she tried to soften her rejection.

–But, my dear, it is not proper for a lady to allow a young man who is not her husband to enter her bed, her room. – She said as he tried to smile kindly. –He'd better stay in Ron's room, don't you think? You can be together all day after all. In addition, Hermione will also come, and she will stay with you, my love.

–Ron's room smells bad and is messy, plus I only feel good when I'm with Harry, I can't sleep without him, and you don't like me sleeping outside my bed, so the only solution is for him to settle in my room, don't you think? By the way, maybe you haven't had a chance to notice, but Hermione is not a friend of mine, if Ron wants to invite his friend, he will have to make sacrifices to keep her comfortable. – Ginny said in a tone so innocent that she couldn't help but believe her. Molly felt too uncomfortable to say a resounding no, and could only mumble that she would think about it and go do her homework.

She tried to get Arthur to support her in her refusal, but he, too, was uncomfortable at the thought of saying no. He still remembered when she screamed at night, she still did, not so often, but he couldn't erase from his mind the memory of seeing her convulsing in pain with a sock in her mouth to stifle her screams at night.

So, unable to refuse their daughter's request, they tacitly gave their approval when Arthur went to Ginny's room and changed the closet to make it bigger, as well as enlarging the single bed. His daughter just smiled at him and thanked him.

And Ron, well, her little Ron sulked for several days when she told him that he would have to share a room with Percy and that he would have to show his best behavior so as not to interrupt his studious brother's duties. Ron's room would be cleaned and Hermione would stay there.

Bill and Charlie would return to the Burrow for the first time in a long time and stay in the old room they shared, while the twins would use the usual room.

o-o-o-o

Harry was concentrated, trying not to spit out the grapefruit he was eating for breakfast, forced by Aunt Petunia to share his obese cousin's strict diet.

–This has just arrived, – Uncle Vernon said, brandishing a piece of purple paper to Harry. –A letter. About you.

Harry's bewilderment grew. Who would write to Uncle Vernon about him? Did he know someone who sent letters in the mail?

Uncle Vernon glared furiously at Harry; Then he lowered his eyes to the paper and began to read:

Dear Mr and Mrs Dursley,

We have never been introduced, but I am sure you have heard a great deal from Harry about my son Ron.

As Harry might have told you, the final of the Quidditch World Cup takes place this Monday night, and my husband, Arthur, has just managed to get prime tickets through his connections at the Department of Magical Games and Sports.

I do hope you will allow us to take Harry to the match, as this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Britain hasn't hosted the cup for thirty years, and tickets are extremely hard to come by.

We would of course be glad to have Harry stay for the remainder of the summer holidays, and to see him safely onto the train back to school. It would be best for Harry to send us your answer as quickly as possible in the normal way, because the Muggle postman has never delivered to our house, and I am not sure he even knows where it is.

Hoping to see Harry soon,

Yours sincerely,

Molly Weasley

P.S. I do hope we've put enough stamps on

After reading the letter to him, Uncle Vernon began his usual rant about the phenomena and their whims, but in the end, he agreed to let Harry leave the next day, eager to get rid of him.

The next day at the right time, Harry was already packing his bags in his room.

–They'll come by car, I hope,– Uncle Vernon shouted from across the table.

Harry didn't know what to say. The truth was that he hadn't thought about that detail. How would the Weasleys go looking for him? They no longer had a car, because the old Ford Anglia they had owned was running free and wild through the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts.

–I think so, – he replied at last. Uncle Vernon's mustache stirred with his snort.

Normally he would have asked what car Mr. Weasley had because he used to judge other men by the size and price of their car. But, in Harry's opinion, Uncle Vernon wouldn't like Mr. Weasley even if he had a Ferrari.

Harry spent most of the afternoon in his room. He couldn't bear the sight of Aunt Petunia peering through the curtains every few seconds as if they had warned that a rhino was on the loose. At a quarter to five Harry came back down and entered the room. Aunt Petunia compulsively placed and repositioned the cushions. Uncle Vernon pretended to read the newspaper, but he didn't move his tiny eyes, and Harry guessed that he was listening intently to see if he heard the noise of a car. Dudley was slumped in an armchair, his piggy hands under him and his rump firmly grasped. Unable to bear the tension in the air, Harry left the room and went into the hall, to sit on the stairs, his eyes fixed on the clock and his heart pounding with excitement and nerves. But five o'clock came... Uncle Vernon, sweating lightly in his suit, opened the street door, peered back and forth, and put his head back into the house.

–They're late! – He growled at Harry.

–I know, – Harry murmured. –Maybe there are traffic problems, I don't know.

Ten minutes past five... A quarter past five... Harry was already beginning to worry.

At half-past five he heard Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia grumbling in the living room. –They don't have consideration. We could have had a compromise.

–Maybe they think we'll invite them to dinner if they're late.

–Don't even dream of it, – said Uncle Vernon. Harry heard him stand up and paced across the room. –They'll pick up the guy and leave. They won't be entertained. That... if they come. Maybe they've been confused during the day. I'd go so far as to say that people in his class don't place much importance on punctuality. Or is it that instead of a car they have a coffee maker that has broken down... Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Harry jumped. From the other side of the living room door came the noise of the Dursleys moving terrified and uncontrollably through the room. An instant later, Dudley burst into the hall like a bullet, utterly livid.

–What's going on? – Asked at Harry. –What's the matter?

He almost died of laughter when he realized that the Weasleys had entered through the chimney, and he kept up the urge to laugh the whole time of the exchange of words, even more so when his cousin ate the candy that the twins put in the suet and finally entered the chimney to get to the Burrow

–Did he eat it? – Fred asked anxiously as he held out his hand to help Harry up.

–Yes, – Harry said, rising to his feet. –What was it?

–Ton-Tongue Toffee, – Fred explained happily. –George and I invented them and spent the summer looking for someone to try them on...

Everyone burst out laughing in the small kitchen; Harry looked around for Ginny and saw that Ron and George were sitting at a weathered wooden table, with two redheads whom Harry had never seen before, though he soon guessed who they were: Bill and Charlie, the two older Weasley brothers.

–How's it going, Harry? – The one closest to him asked, smiling broadly and holding out a large hand that Harry shook. He was full of calluses and blisters. That had to be Charlie, who worked in Romania with dragons. His build was the same as that of the twins, and different from that of Percy and Ron, who were taller and thinner. He had a broad, good-natured face, his skin tanned by the Romanian climate, and so full of freckles that he looked tanned; The arms were muscular, and on one of them was a large, shiny burn.

Bill stood up smiling and also shook hands with Harry, who was surprised.

He knew that Bill worked for Gringotts, the only wizarding bank in Great Britain and that he had been an Annual Hogwarts Prize winner, and he had always imagined him as a grown-up version of Percy: picky about breaking the rules and inclined to boss everyone around.

But Bill was (there was no other word for it) cool: he was tall, had long hair in a ponytail, wore a fang earring, and was dressed appropriately for a rock concert, except for his boots (which, Harry admitted, were not leather but dragonskin).

Before any of them could add anything, there was a little bang, and Mr. Weasley suddenly appeared at George's side. Harry had never seen him so angry.

–It wasn't funny, Fred! What the hell did you give that Muggle kid?

–I didn't give him anything, – Fred replied, with another evil grin. –I just dropped it... It was his fault: he took it and ate it. I didn't tell him to do it.

–You dropped it on purpose! – Mr. Weasley shouted. –You knew he'd eat it because he was on a diet...

–How long did your tongue grow? – George asked, with great interest.

–By the time his parents allowed me to shorten it, it had reached more than three feet long.

Harry and the Weasleys burst into a loud laugh again.

–It's not funny! – Mr. Weasley shouted. –That kind of behavior seriously muddies relations between wizards and Muggles! I spend half my life fighting against Muggle abuse, and it turns out that my children...

–We didn't give it to him because he was a Muggle! – Fred replied indignantly.

–No. We gave it to him because he's a nasty bully, – George explained. –Isn't that true, Harry?

–Yes, it is, – Harry replied seriously.

–That's not the point! – Mr. Weasley said angrily. –You'll see when I tell your mother.

–When do you tell me what? – A voice behind them asked. Mrs. Weasley had just entered the kitchen. –Oh, hello, Harry! – She said, smiling at him when she realized he was there. Then she turned sharply to her husband. –What do you have to tell me?

Mr. Weasley hesitated. Harry realized that as angry as he was with Fred and George, he had no real intention of telling Mrs. Weasley what had happened. There was a silence as Mr. Weasley looked nervously at his wife. Then two girls appeared at the kitchen door, behind Mrs. Weasley.

Upon seeing Ginny, Harry immediately put himself on his best behavior and smiled at her as he extended his arms. And the young girl lunged at him while shrieking with excitement, Harry found that reaction very strange, she had never done that before in company, but she just went along with her and hugged her tightly.

An annoying throat clearing followed by the awkward Weasley boys, the two older ones. The Weasley brothers who were still at Hogwarts knew about their nocturnal habits and Harry admitted that they weren't particularly discreet about their relationship, at least since the end of last year, so Ron and Percy just rolled their eyes and snorted under their breath, ignoring the scene they were witnessing.

Fred and George smiled at each other, and Fred said, –Dear elder brothers, it is an honor to introduce you to the husband of our dear Ginevra, Mr. Harry James Potter.

Then they began to bow to Harry while the others laughed. Harry just smiled, a little awkwardly, but to some extent moved by these words, even though they were said as a joke.

Mrs. Weasley scolded them for embarrassing him and walked over to Harry, giving him a big hug, the boy just tried not to stiffen at that touch and smiled at him and thanked him for welcoming him.

–Oh, it's nice to have you here Harry, we're so excited, but go ahead dear, Ginny will take you to settle in. – Mrs. Weasley said with a smile as she ruffled his hair affectionately. –My dear, please take him.

–Yes, Mum, we'll go down in a moment. – Ginny said with an adorable smile, she took Harry's hand and started dragging him.

–Yes, we're going too, – said George.

–You stay where you are! – Mrs. Weasley growled. –Hermione dear, will you help me set the table for dinner? Ron, go clean it up, I'll be with you in a moment.

Harry and Ginny walked slowly out of the kitchen down the narrow corridor and up the rickety staircase that zigzagged up the upper floors.

–What's this about the Weasley Spells? – Harry asked as they climbed upstairs.

Ginny laughed in a singsong voice.

–My mother found a bunch of order coupons when she was cleaning Fred and George's room, – she explained quietly. –Long price lists of things they've invented. Joke items, you know: fake wands and trick candies, lots of stuff. A long time ago we heard explosions in their room, we thought they just liked the noise.

–The thing is, most of the inventions... well, all of them, actually... they're kind of dangerous and, you know, they were thinking of selling them at Hogwarts to make money. My mother has been furious with them. She has forbidden them to continue manufacturing anything and has burned all the order coupons... Also, she's angry with them because they didn't get as good grades as she had hoped... There have also been problems because my mother wants them to enter the Ministry of Magic like Dad, and they have told her that all they want is to open a joke shop.

They both entered the room on the first floor, much to the surprise of Harry, who had just realized that Ginny had taken him to her room.

Before closing, Harry saw a face with bone-rimmed glasses and an angry expression.

–Hello, Percy, – Harry greeted.

–Oh, hello, Harry, – Percy said. –I wondered who was making such a fuss. I try to work, I have to finish a report for the office, and it's really hard to concentrate when people keep going up and down the stairs making so much noise.

–We don't make that much noise, – Ginny replied, as she walked up to Percy and took his arm, kissing him on the cheek.

–What are you working on? – Harry asked politely, as he always did when he spoke to him.

–It's a report for the Department of International Magical Co-operation, – Percy replied smugly. –We're trying to standardize the thickness of the cauldrons. Some of the imported cauldrons are somewhat thin, and the dripping has increased by about three percent per annum...

–Percy got so excited about it because he's the best at potions, and he knows how important cauldrons are. – Ginny said, interrupting him with a smile as she began to close the door. –I'll see you at dinner in a moment, brother.

As Harry and Ginny sorted things out in the closet, they heard echoes of screams coming from the kitchen. Mr. Weasley must have told his wife about the candy.

–Shall I sleep here? – Harry finally asked, not daring to break the calm atmosphere.

–Of course, honey, I managed. – She said with a smile, which increased when she saw his blush. They soon caught up on everything that had happened in their summer, both venting their anger, and sadness and sharing their joy.

At seven o'clock in the evening, the two tables creaked under the weight of endless plates containing Mrs. Weasley's excellent food, and the nine Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione took their seats to dine under the clear, deep blue sky. For someone who had been eating all summer on cakes that Mrs. Weasley sent him, this was heaven, and at first, Harry listened more than talked as he helped himself to a chicken patty with ham, boiled potatoes, and salad. At the other end of the table, Percy was acquainting his father with all that had to do with his report on the thickness of the cauldrons.

He seriously adored Gin, but her favorite brother was too tedious, he was so surprised how she could pay attention to him for so long. He wasn't surprised at all when the rest of the Weasley brothers made fun of him, and he tried with all his might not to laugh at him, he knew that made her angry, so he decided to ignore how the older Weasley brothers teased Percy.

Ron watched the rest of his family carefully to make sure they were all distracted talking and asked Harry in a very low voice, –Have you heard from Sirius lately?

Hermione kept an eye on the others while not missing a word.

–Yes, – Harry said quietly, –Twice. Looks like it's perfect. The day before yesterday I wrote to him. You'll likely send the reply while we're here.

He suddenly remembered why he had written to Sirius, and for a moment he was about to tell Ron and Hermione that the scar had hurt again and the dream he had had. But he didn't want to worry them at that moment when he felt so calm and happy.

–Look what time it is, – Mrs. Weasley said suddenly, consulting her wristwatch. –You should all be in bed by now because tomorrow you will get up at dawn to get to the Cup. Harry, if you leave me the school list, I can buy you things tomorrow in Diagon Alley. I'm going to buy everyone else's because maybe there's no time left after the Cup. Last time the match lasted five days.

–Jo! I hope it's the same this time! – Harry said excitedly.

–Well, I don't, – replied Percy in a moralistic tone. –I'm horrified to think what my to-do tray would be like if I missed five days of work.

–Of course, someone could put dragon poop on you again, huh, Percy? – Fred said.

–It was a sample of fertilizer from Norway! – Percy answered, blushing. –It wasn't anything personal!

–Yes, it was, – Fred whispered to Harry, as they rose from the table, trying not to let his sister hear him. –We sent it.

.