AN: A few days earlier because of my upcoming holiday trip. Enjoy!

"Dora, are you ready?" Harry called down the hallway towards the open door of the young woman's rooms.

"I'll be right there. Just need to use the loo," came the reply.

Harry rolled his eyes. He'd never understand why girls always had to use the loo before leaving the house. "I'll wait downstairs," he called back and headed down to the kitchen to say goodbye to his mother and sister.

"Lucky you," Emily pouted, giving Harry a wistful glance. "You've found a friend of your age while I'm stuck at home all day. Surely, I'm going to die an old maid."

Laughing, their mother countered, "Emm, you're only 13. There's plenty of time for that. I don't know if I'm ready for a young man hanging around the house, fawning over you all day."

Rolling her eyes, Emily shook her head. "Mum, where am I even supposed to meet this young man? I'd be over the moon if I found a girl my age to talk to."

"You never know, Emm. Things might change soon," her mother replied with a playful smile.

"Yeah, sure," Emily muttered grumpily. "And Easter Bunny will be delivering Christmas presents this year."

"Just yesterday, I met Dumbledore again, and our plans to open a small school are slowly shaping up. Oh, and Dora," Harry's mother glanced at Tonks, who'd just walked into the kitchen, her hair bright pink except for the clean-shaven left side of her head. "Could you please tell Molly I'd stop by later this afternoon to fill her in on my meeting with Dumbledore?"

"Sure thing!" Tonks replied, turning to Harry. "Ready to go?"

"I've been waiting for you," Harry muttered as he waved goodbye and headed out the back door. "You know where we're going, right?"

"Don't worry," Tonks said with a grin. "I met up with Charlie there last Wednesday. Come on, give me your hand. I'll Apparate us to the Burrow."

And with a soft pop they disappeared.

"I didn't know you'd been here before," Harry said, amazed, giving Tonks a pouty look once they were safely on the ground again.

"Oops, I forgot to ask for your permission," Tonks replied in mock horror.

"Haha, you know what I mean," Harry said, slightly accusatory. "I could've met Ron if you'd brought me along."

"I didn't realize you two wanted to meet," Tonks said, gesturing toward the weird-looking house ahead. "Look, that's where your friend lives."

"Oh," Harry murmured, astounded. The Weasley house was nothing like what he had imagined. Well, not that he'd given it much thought, but if he had, it certainly wouldn't have looked like this.

The footpath led to a somewhat ramshackle multi-story dwelling. It looked as if several smaller houses had been stacked on top of a stone cottage, almost looking like small towers, each with its own roof. Someone must have magically lifted these houses and then fixed them there, slightly off-kilter. Harry was sure only a good dose of magic was holding the place together.

As they got closer, the door opened, and a red-haired girl stepped out.

"Hello, Ginny," Tonks greeted her. "Do you remember me? I'm Dora Tonks. I visited your brother Charlie last Wednesday. And this is Harry." Tonks gave a warm smile as she gestured toward Harry.

"Uh, hi..." Harry stammered, staring at the girl. She was really pretty, dressed in faded jeans with a few rips and a green t-shirt that contrasted nicely with her long red hair. Her brown eyes darted from one visitor to the other with curiosity.

After a moment, the girl nodded. "Yeah, I remember you. But you looked different. Your hair was black and a little longer."

"I enjoy changing my looks," Tonks replied with a grin. "But if you prefer my hair black hair..." Her pink hair instantly turned black and lengthened, even on the shaved side. "Better?"

"No, no. It's fine. You can wear your hair however you want," Ginny said, rolling her eyes. "I'm home alone. Mum is in the greenhouses, and Charlie isn't back from work yet." She shrugged. "Do you want to wait or leave him a message?"

"Ron's not home either?" Harry asked, surprised. "We wanted to meet here." Frowning, he wondered if he'd gotten something wrong. But that couldn't be. They'd exchanged several letters during the week and agreed to meet on Saturday.

"Ron usually goes with Charlie to work on Saturdays. They're not back yet," the girl explained. Glancing at her watch, she added, "They're late. Usually, they're back by noon."

"I'll wait, then," Harry replied, looking at Tonks. "What do you think?"

With a sigh, Tonks shrugged and nodded. "I've got nothing else to do."

Harry turned back to the girl, wondering if she was home alone as often as he was. "If I'd known you were alone, I would've brought my little sister," he said with a friendly smile.

Frowning, Ginny protested, "I'm not a babysitter."

"What?" Harry asked, bewildered. That wasn't what he'd meant. He quickly clarified, "She's not a baby. She's your age, 13."

Crossing her arms, Ginny shot Harry an icy look. "I'm 14."

Tonks laughed. "Oh, Harry. You need to work on your pick-up lines."

Harry shot her an annoyed look. "I just thought she might appreciate some company since she's home alone as often as we are."

With a grimace, Ginny muttered. "Sorry. Of course, your sister is welcome if she's bored at home."

Not sure if she really meant it, Harry gave Ginny a scrutinising look before finally replying, "I'll ask her."

"I'll go and let my mum know we have visitors," Ginny said. Slipping on a pair of wellies by the door, she walked off without another word. Harry couldn't help but watch her backside until she disappeared around the corner of the house.

"And now?" Harry asked, turning back to Tonks.

"If they're not here in fifteen, we're leaving," she replied with a shrug.

"Okay." Harry nodded, a bit disappointed that he might miss seeing Ron. To pass the time, he began to look about and slowly wandered around the house, careful not to take the corner where the red-headed girl had disappeared. The backyard resembled a meadow, part of which served as a chicken coop. Wondering if it would come across as nosy to linger behind the house, Harry glanced over at Tonks, who was sitting on the bench in front of the house, when he heard voices. Turning around, he spotted Ron and his brother Charlie walking up the footpath.

From the distance, Ron called out, "Hey, mate. Glad you made it. Sorry, we're late. Charlie's jeep broke down, and it took a while to get it going again. Hope you didn't wait too long."

"No, no," Harry replied. "We just got here." He ran his hand through his hair. "Your sister already told us you were running late."

"Ah, Ginny," Ron said with a nod. "Yeah, she's home today. Normally, she'd be with our brother Bill, but he's in France for two weeks for the goblins."

"She didn't seem to be in the best of moods," Harry mentioned.

Ron gave him a surprised look. "Really? She's usually in a good mood." Chuckling, he added, "Maybe she's just bored because she couldn't visit Bill." Glancing down at his dirty hands, Ron said, "I just go wash my hands and change. I'll be right back."

"Take your time. I'm not going anywhere," Harry reassured his friend with a grin. As Ron disappeared through the front door, Harry noticed Tonks and Charlie breaking apart from an embrace, both grinning widely at each other.

"What are you two up to today?" Harry asked, interrupting them before they were doing anything embarrassing.

Glancing at Tonks, Charlie shrugged and suggested, "We could Apparate to Dartmoor and watch the wild ponies." Waggling his eyebrows, he suggested with a playful grin, "No one would disturb us there."

"Charlie Weasley," Tonks replied, laughing. "You're still as cheeky as ever."

"We could also walk to Ottery, have some ice cream or a drink if you're afraid to be alone with me." Charlie offered, shrugging. "Whatever you want."

"Alright," Tonks said, pretending to ponder. "Let's see the ponies first, and then maybe we can get something to eat in Ottery, or wherever you want."

"Deal," Charlie said with a satisfied grin.

"Hello, Mrs Weasley." Tonks called out, waving as Charlie's mother emerged from behind the house with Ginny in tow.

"Hello, Dora," the woman greeted her warmly. "And you must be Harry, right? Ron's been talking about you all week." She looked around. "Where's Ron?"

"Uh, Ron's getting changed," Harry replied. "He'll be right back."

"Oh, good," said Mrs Weasley.

"Lily asked me to let you know she'll stop by later," Tonks interjected. "Something about a meeting with Dumbledore."

"Ah, that's good," Mrs Weasley nodded. "I was wondering if she'd managed to meet with Albus." She turned to Ginny, "Ginny, dear. Please be so kind and water the cucumbers and tomatoes in the greenhouses. I need to prepare something to eat since we have guests."

"But that's Ron's job on weekends," Ginny protested indignantly. "I wanted to go flying."

"Ron has a guest, Ginny, dear," Mrs Weasley said in a warning tone. "Please, do your brother a favour."

"I already did his laundry today," Ginny grumbled, stomping off in a huff.

"I could've helped Ron..." Harry began, glancing over as Ron emerged from the house.

"Nonsense," Mrs Weasley interrupted him. "You're here to visit Ron, not to work."

"She's right, Harry," Ron said, patting him on the shoulder. "Come on, mate. If you want, I can show you our Quidditch pitch."

"Oh yes. I'd love that," Harry exclaimed with a broad smile and followed Ron as he led the way across an orchard.

"If you're up for it, we can fly," his friend suggested enthusiastically.

"Sounds great," Harry agreed, equally excited, before stopping abruptly, "But I didn't bring my broom."

"Don't worry about it," Ron reassured him. "We'll find something for you. Our brooms are a bit older, because, you know, we can't really afford new ones, but nowadays you won't find broom shops anyway."

Following his friend through the orchard, Harry asked, "Have you ever tried to restore an old broom?"

"Nah," said Ron. "I've tried to find books on it, but no luck so far. Do you have any books on the subject?"

"Yeah. My dad did some research on the subject. He was good at Charms. We still got several books about it in the library."

"You have a library?" Ron gave him an incredulous look. "Wow."

A meadow opened up behind the orchard, small but big enough to fly. Ron led Harry towards a shed on the edge, surrounded by bushes.

"In here, we keep our brooms, an old Quaffle and the Bludgers we use to play Quidditch," Ron explained, pulling open the door.

The shed really wasn't that big. In a corner, Harry spotted two worn-out Cleansweep Six models and a broken broom on the floor that looked like a Nimbus 1000.

"Charlie tried a Wronsky Feint with that one," Ron chuckled when he noticed Harry's gaze. "He had to stay in bed for a whole week to recover, and Mum grounded him for two more. These are Bill and Percy's brooms. Fred and George took theirs to Hogwarts. We never saw them again."

"D'you mean the brooms?" Harry asked, confused.

"The Fiendfyre..." Ron began.

"They were in the castle when...?" Harry asked, eyes wide in shock.

"Yeah," Ron nodded sadly. "The twins and Percy were in the castle when it burned down. Charlie had snuck out to join the fight. That's what saved him."

Harry met Ron's gaze, who gave him a crooked smile. "Percy never was much of a flier," Ron said with a melancholy smile. "When he became a prefect at school, he stopped flying altogether and left his broom at home. That's why we still have it."

"My dad and his friends died in the battle," Harry said, his voice cracking. "My sister and I use their brooms. I have my dad's, and Emily has Sirius's." He paused before adding, "I'm not sure if Uncle Remus ever had a broom."

Ron took a deep breath and gave Harry a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Come on, mate. Let's get up in the air and leave our worries behind for an hour." He gestured toward one of the Cleansweeps. "You can take Bill's broom. I've gotten pretty used to Percy's over the years."

Harry glanced around but couldn't spot another broom. "Your sister said she also wanted to fly."

"Don't worry about it." Ron said, waving off the concern. "Ginny will be busy in the greenhouses for a while."

"Okay," Harry replied, still a bit hesitant. "If you say so."

"You really don't need to worry." Ron chuckled. "I'm sure Ginny will be fine. She won't rip your head off because you're using her broom. And once she's done with her work and wants to fly, we two could always play a game of chess."

"You play chess?" Harry asked, surprised.

"Yeah. My dad taught me when I was little," Ron said. "I usually play with my sister. She's a great player, it's nice to play against someone else once in a while."

"Makes sense," Harry agreed. "My sister loves chess, too, but to be honest, I prefer flying."

"Alright then," Ron said, grinning. "Would you rather play with the Quaffle or the Bludgers?"

"Don't you have a snitch?" Harry asked. "I'd rather play Seeker."

"Sorry," Ron said, a bit sheepishly. "Our snitch got lost last year, and we never found it again."

"That's too bad," Harry said, looking about. His eyes landed on a pair of Beater's bats hanging on the wall. "I've never played Beater. How about we give it a try?"

"Why not?" Ron agreed and handed Harry one of the bats, and they made their way out to the pitch. "I usually play Keeper. If you want, you can try scoring against me." He pointed to a post in the middle of the meadow with a rectangular wooden lath frame on top. "It's not exactly a goal hoop, but..."

"That's perfect," Harry interrupted. "We can hit the Bludger back and forth through the goal. Whoever misses gets a penalty point, and the first who has 10 points loses."

"Deal," Ron replied, grinning, mounted his broom and took off and Harry hurried to follow him.

A good hour of fun later, Harry was leading by 5 to 4. Their arms were getting tired, so they agreed to take a break.

As they landed by the shed, Harry quickly leaned his broom against the wall and dashed toward the nearby bushes, unable to ignore the pressure on his bladder any longer. "I'll be right back," he called. "I need to pee."

"Is it really that urgent?" laughed Ron.

"You have no idea," Harry called with a grimace. "I was about to wet myself."

Ron chuckled at Harry's predicament as he waited for him to return. "If you want, I can show you around our property," he suggested when Harry returned looking relieved. "We can go on our brooms, but we'll need to stay low so the Muggles don't see us."

"Yeah, sounds great." Harry nodded enthusiastically and reached for his broom. "How big is your property anyway?"

"You'll see," Ron said with a chuckle. Mounting his broom, he rose into the air and halted to wait for Harry to join him. Gesturing towards a group of trees a little further away, Ron said, "Over there, where you can see the poplars, is our pond. We often go swimming there."

"Are you the only wizards in this area?" asked Harry.

"As far as I know, yes," Ron replied. "The Lovegoods used to live nearby. When we were little, their daughter sometimes visited to play with Ginny, but I can't remember her name. And one of Dad's colleagues from the Ministry lived around here too, but I haven't heard anything about them in years."

"Where we live, in Godric's Hollow, there are still a few wizarding families," Harry said. "But most of them keep to themselves as they don't trust each other. Mum says you never know which side they were on during the war." He paused before adding, "That's why I've never had a close friend."

"It's the same here," Ron confirmed. "We are also cautious when strangers show up here. But we at least know a few Muggles from Ottery we met when we helped Mum sell our veggies at the market."

They flew on their brooms along the edge of the orchard until they reached the stand of poplars, where a body of water came into view. Descending slightly, they followed the bank of the pond. "The old bathing jetty's pretty rotten. Bill plans to replace it next year," Ron explained. "It's nice and shady under the trees in the summer."

"I like it a lot here," Harry said as he was hovering in place to take in the surroundings. "Our Quidditch pitch is a bit bigger than yours, but we don't pond to swim in," he said, genuinely impressed.

"When we were younger, and the twins were still alive, we used to have a lot of fun swimming here," Ron recalled. "Now it's mostly me and Ginny because Bill and Charlie are often away for work."

"It's nice here," Harry said, grinning. "Too bad it's too cold to swim."

"C'mon, I'll show you the greenhouses," Ron said, moving towards where Harry spotted the Weasley house a little way off.

As they passed the house, Ron pointed to the garden. "Our chicken coop. Most of the eggs Mum sells at the market in Ottery. We live off what we grow here, but we sell most of it because we need the money. Mum has a stall in Ottery every Wednesday. Ginny and I help out, and we get to keep the tips. It's not much, but I can buy a few things at the Muggle supermarket every once in a while." Chuckling, Ron added, "I've even thought about joining the local football team since there's no Quidditch anymore, but I don't have the time."

"Now that we've met, maybe we can find a few more friends to play Quidditch. Emily would definitely be in, and how about your sister?" Harry asked, getting excited about their idea.

Laughing, Ron said, "Ginny loves to fly. If she doesn't get at least half an hour on her broom each day, she's in a terrible mood." With a short laugh, as if recalling something specific, Ron shook his head and pointed to two large glass buildings. "Let's keep moving. Those are our greenhouses. We grow vegetables all year round. Thanks to magic, it's always warm and bright inside." Ron chuckled. "Now, in the autumn and winter, we make the most money. Muggles have to ship the veggies from somewhere south, which is expensive. If Mum keeps her prices just a little lower, we make more than double what we do in the summer."

Struck by the pure size of the greenhouses - together they took up the space of an entire Quidditch pitch - Harry hovered about 50 feet off the ground.

"Are you use magic for the gardening?" asked Harry, curious. "Otherwise, it must be a lot of hard work."

"Yes, of course," admitted Ron, nodding. "The Ministry of Magic is gone, and no one's monitoring the trace anymore. So, why not? Unfortunately, Ginny and I only have our grandparents' old wands. They work, but not so well. Bill and Charlie got new wands before they went to Hogwarts but now, there are hardly any wands left to buy anymore, and the ones that are available are too expensive."

"My sister and I have old wands, too," Harry said gloomily. "Sometimes, we must repeat spells several times to get them right."

"Looks like Ginny's done with her chores," Ron said, nodding toward a greenhouse where his sister had just emerged. Glancing up at them, she frowned and hurried back to the house.

"What is wrong with her?" asked Harry, struggling the odd feeling that he'd done something wrong. Again.

"She's probably in a bad mood because Bill's away, and she can't visit him. She usually spends weekends in London with him," Ron said, though he didn't seem entirely sure. Changing the subject, he added, "Come on, mate. How about a broom race on the Quidditch pitch?"

Later, after they had put their brooms back and returned to the Burrow, Harry, now feeling hungry, found his mother and sister sitting in the living room.

"Hi, Mum. Hi, Emm," he greeted them as they entered. Turning to Ron, he asked, "You remember my mum and my sister, right?"

"Sure", his friend replied and nodded at them. "Nice to see you again."

"There you are at last," Ron's mother called from the kitchen. "The tea is ready. Go wash your hands."

"Where's Ginny?" Ron asked.

"She's freshening up and changing. She'll be back in a moment," Mrs Weasley replied.

Glancing discreetly around the living room, Harry asked Ron quietly, "Where's the bathroom?"

"First floor, the first door on the left," Ron replied. "Go ahead. I need to wash my hands, too."

As Harry carefully climbed the creaky stairs, he paused when he reached the top. Was it the left door or the right? What had Ron said? Opting for the door on the right, he opened it - and froze.

With her back to Harry, Ginny was standing in front of her wardrobe, wearing only in her knickers. "What the hell..." she yelled, hastily grabbing a bath towel to cover herself. Her wet hair suggested she had just showered.

"Sorry," Harry stammered, unable to tear his eyes away. "I didn't mean to...I..."

"Get out!" Ginny hissed, throwing him a murderous glare.

"Yeah, of...of course," Harry stuttered, horrified, as the door slammed shut behind him.

His heart pounding in his chest, Harry stared down at the wooden floorboards until the sound of footsteps jolted him back to reality.

"Finished?" asked Ron, eying Harry curiously. "You okay?"

"No. No. I mean, yes..." Harry took a deep breath. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Take your time," Ron replied, looking worriedly at Harry. "I'm just heading up to my room. I'll be right back."

When Harry returned to the sitting room, the tea was already laid out, and Mrs Weasley was levitating a teapot from the kitchen.

Harry took a seat across from his sister, leaving the chair next to him for Ron.

After setting down a plate of scones and two bowls of clotted cream and strawberries, Mrs Weasley poured the tea just as Ron and Ginny joined them at the table.

Harry overheard Ginny hiss, "At least you could have asked!" before Ron dropped down beside him, looking unfazed.

Mrs Weasley, obviously to the tension, smiled warmly at her guests. "Lily, this is my daughter, Ginny." She gestured toward her visitors. "Ginny, this is Harry's mother, Lily Potter and his sister, Emily."

Ginny forced a friendly smile, welcoming them, but cast a dark look in Harry's direction before sitting next to Emily.

"Enjoy your tea, dears," said Mrs Weasley. "The strawberries are fresh from our greenhouse. Ginny was kind enough to pick them this morning."

Emily's face lit up. "Can you show me the greenhouse when we're done with tea?" she asked hopefully.

"Sure," Ginny nodded, winking at Emily. "I have to lock up the chicken coop anyway."

"Perfect," Emily grinned. "I love plants."

Harry, catching this exchange out of the corner of his eye, was relieved to see Ginny being so friendly, even if her earlier glare still stung. Ron nudged him with a grin. "Come on, mate. Better hurry, or you'll starve."

Harry's mother turned to Mrs Weasley after taking a sip of tea. "Molly, Albus sends his regards and approves of our plan to organize lessons for the children."

"So, he will help us?" asked Mrs Weasley, spearing a strawberry with her fork.

"Yes," Harry's mother confirmed. "He also tracked down the Hogwarts Student Register. It wasn't at the school when it was destroyed. With the help of the register, we can find other children who might want to attend classes. And he suggested older students, 14 and up, learn to Apparate for easier travel."

Nudging Ron, Harry grinned at his friend. "Wow. Did you hear that? We'll learn to Apparate."

"That sounds wicked," Ron replied enthusiastically, as Mrs Weasley voiced her concern.

"Isn't that dangerous?" she asked, still sceptical.

"I asked Albus the same thing," Harry's mother admitted. "But he's confident and said he has a good teacher. Of course, parents will have to give permission."

Mrs Weasley still seems unsure. "Isn't there any other way?"

"It's easier than providing portkeys to everyone daily," Harry's mother pointed out. "And, as you know, the floo network isn't reliable ever since the ministry is gone and the floo isn't maintained anymore. We haven't used ours in years."

Harry shot Ron a wide grin, but his gaze drifted to Ginny, who wore an unreadable expression. Wasn't she excited to learn to Apparate?

"That's so unfair! Why do you have to be 14?" Emily grumbled, her face falling in disappointment. "If I can't learn to Apparate yet, at least let me watch! I don't want to be left behind."

Her mother smiled gently at her. "You'll be 14 soon enough, Emily. Then you can join in and learn just like the others."

Mrs Weasley changed the subject. "We don't have a suitable room for the classes, do we?"

"Not yet," Harry's mother admitted. "But I'll keep an eye out for something suitable. Dumbledore has offered us the use of his library and a room in his basement, but it'll be too small once we have more students. The Potters owned a few properties we inherited, and Harry's godfather left us some as well. I'm sure we can find a good spot. After James died, I didn't have the heart to sort through everything. But I really need to reach out to Gringotts and get it all sorted, especially if we want to start the classes by spring." She sighed. "James always handled these things. Between the kids and work, I've had more than enough on my plate."

"As much as I'd love to help, we don't have room for so many students," Mrs Weasley said regretfully.

"We'll find something," Harry's mother reassured her. "Albus also mentioned it's important the students have proper wands, not family heirlooms. They don't work as well."

Harry grinned at Ron, flashing a thumbs-up. Ginny's interest piqued at the mention of new wands, and she shot his mother a curious look, biting her lower lip.

"Where are we supposed to get new wands?" Mrs Weasley asked. "Ollivander's been gone for years, and I don't know of any other wand makers. I'm not sure we can even afford new wands either."

"Albus said he has a source and funding wouldn't be a problem!" Harry's mother replied confidently.

Mrs Weasley sighed and moved to pour more tea. "Anybody wants more tea or scones?"

When everyone politely declined, she turned to Ginny. "Ginny, dear. Would you be so kind to collect the eggs from the chicken coop? I want to give some to Lily."

"That's really not necessary," Harry's mother protested.

"Oh, nonsense," Mrs Weasley waved her off. "We have plenty, we even have to sell some."

"Want to come with me?" Ginny asked Emily, who eagerly agreed.

Once they'd gone outside, Mrs. Weasley said, "Lily, I think our fireplace is still usable. It's been ages since we used it, though. It might need some work."

Harry's mother nodded. "I'll ask Albus if he knows someone who can check it out. It would be easier for the kids to travel that way. They wouldn't always need someone to Apparate."

Ron leaned over to Harry. "Fancy a game of chess, mate?"

Before Harry could answer, his mother spoke up. "No time for that, I'm afraid. I'll help Molly clean up, and as soon as the girls are back, we'll go home."

"Next time, then." Ron huffed. Grabbing the last scone, he broke it in half. "Come on, let's share, mate."

Shaking her head in amusement, Harry's mother used her wand to levitate the dishes into the kitchen.

When Ginny and Emily returned, giggling with a basket of eggs, Harry's mother hurried them along. After saying goodbye, Harry hesitated as he glanced at Ginny, who was whispering something to Emily.

"Bye," Harry muttered awkwardly, raising a hand.

Ginny returned his farewell with a smile that left him puzzled. Still wondering if he'd ever understand girls, Harry followed his mother and sister.