Chapter One

Like all previous years Harry's birthday went by unacknowledged by the Dursleys. Harry found himself spending the day doing his huge list of chores, which included weeding the garden for the third time that week. After his customary grapefruit quarter (Dudley was still on a diet) he slumped off to his room to finish his potions essay. He only had another two and a half days before he would be going to the Weasleys. He couldn't help but wonder how they would be picking him up, though. Being a wizarding family, they never arrived in what the Dursleys would class as a `normal' manner. Last year they had picked him up by Floo, blowing up the living room wall in the process. Harry had a feeling they wouldn't be doing that again in a hurry. It wasn't as if he could be picked up by car either, as he and Ron had managed to wreck Mr. Weasley's Ford Anglia in their second year. That pretty much left apparition and portkey. Harry wasn't keen on either option. He didn't know how to apparate yet, and a portkey would bring back bad memories of the Triwizard Tournament.

After finishing his essay (`Name and explain the twelve uses of dragon's blood') Harry decided to get some sleep. The dream from last night had taken a lot out of him, and he knew he would have to be up early in the morning to cook the breakfast and paint the garage door. Rolling over, he fell into a peaceful sleep and dreamt of flying Ford Anglias.

August 3rd arrived relatively quickly, and Harry was relieved to finally be leaving the Dursleys. Uncle Vernon hadn't been too pleased when Harry had told him the Weasleys were coming. He had flat out refused to allow them to come until Harry brought up Sirius. Sirius was Harry's secret weapon. He had never told the Dursleys that he was actually innocent, so they were still afraid of having an escaped murderer turn up on their doorstep. If they ever tried to stop Harry from seeing his friends or going to school he would threaten to tell Sirius he was being mistreated. Uncle Vernon, upon hearing `that murderous lunatic' mentioned, agreed to let Harry go with the Weasleys, providing he left quickly and discreetly.

At 11:45 Harry was sat on his trunk by the front door. His aunt and uncle were in the living room, discreetly looking out of the window every few minutes. Dudley had refused to go anywhere near the Weasleys after the Ton Tongue Toffee incident last year and was currently locked away in his room. Harry was thankful for this. Normally Dudley would be taking this opportunity to give Harry a last beating before he left. Dudley had been particularly afraid of Harry this year, though, and had left him more or less alone.

Twelve o'clock rolled by and there was no sign of the Weasleys. By five past the Dursleys were getting restless. Harry could hear his uncle muttering about `inconsiderate freaks'. At ten past twelve Harry was getting a little concerned. The Weasleys were often a little late, but never this late. The hall clock tolled 12:15 and there was a sudden knocking on the door. Harry, being in front of it, opened the door before his uncle had a chance to get there first. There on the step was Ron Weasley. He had grown in the short time since Harry had last seen him. Harry grinned at his friend, and grabbed one handle of his trunk while Ron grabbed the other. It was at that moment that Uncle Vernon came storming out of the living room.

“ Are all of you freaks this inconsiderate? We have better things to do than stay at home all day because you aren't courteous enough to turn up on time,” he bellowed as the two teenagers were going out of the door. Ron gave him a funny look before turning to Harry.

The two boys lugged the trunk to the side of the road. Harry looked back to see Uncle Vernon with a smug look on his face. He assumed his uncle was thinking that they didn't have any transportation. Harry couldn't wait to wipe the smirk off his face, and quickly raised his wand. With a flash and a loud bang a large triple decker bus appeared in Privet Drive. Unlike the Knight Bus the Day Bus was bright pink instead of purple, and had armchairs instead of beds. Harry glanced back at Uncle Vernon to see a look of fear and amazement on his face before following Ron onto the bus, which left Privet Drive with another bang.

In what seemed like no time the Day Bus came to a halt with another thunderous bang. Grabbing one end of his trunk he heaved his belongings off the bus and thanked the conductor. Another flash and bang later the bus was gone and Harry was left with a perfect view of the Burrow. The Burrow was one of Harry's favourite places in the world. It housed all sorts of examples of wizarding life under one roof which, since Harry had been raised by Muggles, was quite fascinating.

Before Harry had chance to make a move towards the house a short dumpy woman with flaming red hair came flying down the path towards him. In no time he was wrapped in the motherly embrace of Mrs. Weasley. After she pulled away and led him back to the house, Harry was assaulted by a barrage of questions.

Stove where a meaty stew was bubbling away, releasing an exotic aroma. After weeks of grapefruit slices Harry was looking forward to getting some decent food. Turning back to Ron, Harry grabbed his trunk, and with the help of one of Mrs. Weasley's charms pulled the now floating trunk towards Ron's room. It was the same bright orange as it had been the other times he had visited. It was nice to know that in Harry's hectic world, some things always stayed the same.

The first few weeks at the Borrow were fairly quiet, filled mainly with long Quidditch games in the fields and the occasional bout of homework when the weather was bad. It seemed like no time at all until Hermione came tumbling out of Weasleys' fireplace, a screeching Crookshanks flying across the floor. Grumbling, she got to her feet and just had time to brush herself off before being enveloped in the arms of Mrs. Weasley. When she let go of Hermione, Mrs. Weasley moved out the way to allow Harry and Ron to greet their friend. Harry gave her a brief hug, whereas Ron shook her hand, then grabbed her trunk. Looking questioningly at Harry, Hermione received only a shrug in return. The pair moved to follow Ron, with a quick `behave yourselves' from Mr. Weasley.

Upstairs, the trio moved into Ron's room, Ron and Hermione sitting on Harry's bed, and Harry sitting on the floor in front of them. When it seemed like no-one was going to start the conversation, Harry took the initiative.

This was the right thing to say. Hermione's eyes lit up with the prospect of telling a lengthy story. Ron's eyes glazed over in anticipation, a slight frown marring his forehead with the thought of his friend spending so much time with `Viky'.

“ Oh, it was wonderful,” she gushed, “ Viktor was so sweet. He took me to all the best places. The wizarding district in Sofia was amazing. That's where I got your birthday present. It had the most amazing book shop, with thousands of old texts. I bought some of the ones in Latin, but there were loads I wanted to get that I couldn't read. It's a shame I don't speak Bulgarian. Oh, and one time Viktor took me to one of his Quidditch practices. He's really good. The whole team is. You should have seen it!”

By this time Harry's gaze was slightly glazed as well. He loved Hermione like a sister, but sometimes her enthusiasm for culture was a bit too much for him to handle. He tuned her out and absently noticed Ron's darkening look at the repeated mention of how wonderful Krum was. He knew his friend liked Hermione. And not in the sisterly sense. Just as he was about to intervene and change the subject before Ron blew up, there was a timid knock on the door. A few seconds later a pretty face framed in long red tresses was poked around the doorframe. Ginny. Harry had found himself noticing how attractive she was on several occasions over the last three weeks. Not that he would ever do anything about it. She did have six older brothers after all. Anyway, she was Ron's little sister, and by default practically family. He was brought out of his thought when she told them the reason she was there.

“ `K Gin,” came the slightly annoyed voice of Ron. He quickly turned back to Hermione, with whom he had started a rather heated argument about older Bulgarian seekers. Harry found himself wanting to avoid the ranting pair and turned to the slowly retreating redhead.


	Luna the Moon Monster's Fanfiction Archive \| home Prologue \| Chapter One \| Chapter Two \| Chapter Three \| Chapter Four \| Chapter Five \| First Interlude \| Chapter Six \| Chapter Seven \| Chapter Eight \| Chapter Nine \| Chapter Ten \| Chapter Eleven \| Chapter Twelve \| Chapter Thirteen \| Chapter Fourteen \| Chapter Fifteen \| Chapter Sixteen \| Chapter Seventeen \| Chapter Eighteen \| Chapter Nineteen \| Chapter Twenty \| Second Interlude \| Chapter Twenty-One \| Chapter Twenty-Two \| Chapter Twenty-Three \| Chapter Twenty-Four \| Chapter Twenty-Five \| Chapter Twenty-Six \| Third Interlude \| Chapter Twenty-Seven \| Chapter Twenty-Eight \| Chapter Twenty-Nine \| Epilogue \| Timeline Chapter One The Weasleys Like all previous years Harry's birthday went by unacknowledged by the Dursleys. Harry found himself spending the day doing his huge list of chores, which included weeding the garden for the third time that week. After his customary grapefruit quarter (Dudley was still on a diet) he slumped off to his room to finish his potions essay. He only had another two and a half days before he would be going to the Weasleys. He couldn't help but wonder how they would be picking him up, though. Being a wizarding family, they never arrived in what the Dursleys would class as a `normal' manner. Last year they had picked him up by Floo, blowing up the living room wall in the process. Harry had a feeling they wouldn't be doing that again in a hurry. It wasn't as if he could be picked up by car either, as he and Ron had managed to wreck Mr. Weasley's Ford Anglia in their second year. That pretty much left apparition and portkey. Harry wasn't keen on either option. He didn't know how to apparate yet, and a portkey would bring back bad memories of the Triwizard Tournament. After finishing his essay (`Name and explain the twelve uses of dragon's blood') Harry decided to get some sleep. The dream from last night had taken a lot out of him, and he knew he would have to be up early in the morning to cook the breakfast and paint the garage door. Rolling over, he fell into a peaceful sleep and dreamt of flying Ford Anglias. ~~* August 3rd arrived relatively quickly, and Harry was relieved to finally be leaving the Dursleys. Uncle Vernon hadn't been too pleased when Harry had told him the Weasleys were coming. He had flat out refused to allow them to come until Harry brought up Sirius. Sirius was Harry's secret weapon. He had never told the Dursleys that he was actually innocent, so they were still afraid of having an escaped murderer turn up on their doorstep. If they ever tried to stop Harry from seeing his friends or going to school he would threaten to tell Sirius he was being mistreated. Uncle Vernon, upon hearing `that murderous lunatic' mentioned, agreed to let Harry go with the Weasleys, providing he left quickly and discreetly. At 11:45 Harry was sat on his trunk by the front door. His aunt and uncle were in the living room, discreetly looking out of the window every few minutes. Dudley had refused to go anywhere near the Weasleys after the Ton Tongue Toffee incident last year and was currently locked away in his room. Harry was thankful for this. Normally Dudley would be taking this opportunity to give Harry a last beating before he left. Dudley had been particularly afraid of Harry this year, though, and had left him more or less alone. Twelve o'clock rolled by and there was no sign of the Weasleys. By five past the Dursleys were getting restless. Harry could hear his uncle muttering about `inconsiderate freaks'. At ten past twelve Harry was getting a little concerned. The Weasleys were often a little late, but never this late. The hall clock tolled 12:15 and there was a sudden knocking on the door. Harry, being in front of it, opened the door before his uncle had a chance to get there first. There on the step was Ron Weasley. He had grown in the short time since Harry had last seen him. Harry grinned at his friend, and grabbed one handle of his trunk while Ron grabbed the other. It was at that moment that Uncle Vernon came storming out of the living room. “ Are all of you freaks this inconsiderate? We have better things to do than stay at home all day because you aren't courteous enough to turn up on time,” he bellowed as the two teenagers were going out of the door. Ron gave him a funny look before turning to Harry. “ Where does he get off calling us freaks? Come on Harry, you don't want to stay here any longer than you have to.” But Harry was still trying to figure out where they were going. Ron was apparently alone, and there was no sign of any form of Muggle transportation. “ Er, Ron. How are we getting to your house?” “ Oh, that. We'll be taking the Day Bus. It's the daytime version of the Knight Bus, only it usually takes longer as more people travel during the day.” Harry thought that this made sense. He would be glad when he could learn to apparate. It would save a lot of trouble when travelling. The two boys lugged the trunk to the side of the road. Harry looked back to see Uncle Vernon with a smug look on his face. He assumed his uncle was thinking that they didn't have any transportation. Harry couldn't wait to wipe the smirk off his face, and quickly raised his wand. With a flash and a loud bang a large triple decker bus appeared in Privet Drive. Unlike the Knight Bus the Day Bus was bright pink instead of purple, and had armchairs instead of beds. Harry glanced back at Uncle Vernon to see a look of fear and amazement on his face before following Ron onto the bus, which left Privet Drive with another bang. ~~* In what seemed like no time the Day Bus came to a halt with another thunderous bang. Grabbing one end of his trunk he heaved his belongings off the bus and thanked the conductor. Another flash and bang later the bus was gone and Harry was left with a perfect view of the Burrow. The Burrow was one of Harry's favourite places in the world. It housed all sorts of examples of wizarding life under one roof which, since Harry had been raised by Muggles, was quite fascinating. Before Harry had chance to make a move towards the house a short dumpy woman with flaming red hair came flying down the path towards him. In no time he was wrapped in the motherly embrace of Mrs. Weasley. After she pulled away and led him back to the house, Harry was assaulted by a barrage of questions. “ Harry dear! It's so good to see you. Have the Muggles been treating you well? Have you finished your homework yet? Ron hasn't even started his. Have you been getting enough to eat? You look a little thin.” “ I'm fine Mrs. Weasley, really. The Dursleys have pretty much ignored me this summer.” “ That's good dear. Now, get Ron to help you take your trunk upstairs. Dinner will be ready in half an hour.” And after giving him a gentle push in the direction of the stairs Mrs. Weasley turned back towards the Stove where a meaty stew was bubbling away, releasing an exotic aroma. After weeks of grapefruit slices Harry was looking forward to getting some decent food. Turning back to Ron, Harry grabbed his trunk, and with the help of one of Mrs. Weasley's charms pulled the now floating trunk towards Ron's room. It was the same bright orange as it had been the other times he had visited. It was nice to know that in Harry's hectic world, some things always stayed the same. ~~* The first few weeks at the Borrow were fairly quiet, filled mainly with long Quidditch games in the fields and the occasional bout of homework when the weather was bad. It seemed like no time at all until Hermione came tumbling out of Weasleys' fireplace, a screeching Crookshanks flying across the floor. Grumbling, she got to her feet and just had time to brush herself off before being enveloped in the arms of Mrs. Weasley. When she let go of Hermione, Mrs. Weasley moved out the way to allow Harry and Ron to greet their friend. Harry gave her a brief hug, whereas Ron shook her hand, then grabbed her trunk. Looking questioningly at Harry, Hermione received only a shrug in return. The pair moved to follow Ron, with a quick `behave yourselves' from Mr. Weasley. Upstairs, the trio moved into Ron's room, Ron and Hermione sitting on Harry's bed, and Harry sitting on the floor in front of them. When it seemed like no-one was going to start the conversation, Harry took the initiative. “ So, Hermione, how was Bulgaria?” This was the right thing to say. Hermione's eyes lit up with the prospect of telling a lengthy story. Ron's eyes glazed over in anticipation, a slight frown marring his forehead with the thought of his friend spending so much time with `Viky'. “ Oh, it was wonderful,” she gushed, “ Viktor was so sweet. He took me to all the best places. The wizarding district in Sofia was amazing. That's where I got your birthday present. It had the most amazing book shop, with thousands of old texts. I bought some of the ones in Latin, but there were loads I wanted to get that I couldn't read. It's a shame I don't speak Bulgarian. Oh, and one time Viktor took me to one of his Quidditch practices. He's really good. The whole team is. You should have seen it!” By this time Harry's gaze was slightly glazed as well. He loved Hermione like a sister, but sometimes her enthusiasm for culture was a bit too much for him to handle. He tuned her out and absently noticed Ron's darkening look at the repeated mention of how wonderful Krum was. He knew his friend liked Hermione. And not in the sisterly sense. Just as he was about to intervene and change the subject before Ron blew up, there was a timid knock on the door. A few seconds later a pretty face framed in long red tresses was poked around the doorframe. Ginny. Harry had found himself noticing how attractive she was on several occasions over the last three weeks. Not that he would ever do anything about it. She did have six older brothers after all. Anyway, she was Ron's little sister, and by default practically family. He was brought out of his thought when she told them the reason she was there. “ Mum sent me up to tell you we'll be going to Diagon Alley after lunch.” “ `K Gin,” came the slightly annoyed voice of Ron. He quickly turned back to Hermione, with whom he had started a rather heated argument about older Bulgarian seekers. Harry found himself wanting to avoid the ranting pair and turned to the slowly retreating redhead. “ Why don't you stay, Gin. It doesn't seem like they'll be letting up for a while.” Ginny looked at him askance for a few seconds before lowering herself to the floor next to him. Harry decided to open the conversation with something he had been meaning to say to her since he got there. “ Thanks for the birthday present, by the way. It'll come in really useful at the next Gryffindor/Slytherin match.” Ginny blushed. She still hadn't quite gotten over her crush on the Boy-Who-Lived. “ You're welcome, Harry. I was thinking of trying out for the team this year. I hear there's a need for a Keeper.” Harry brightened as the conversation turned to his favourite topic - Quidditch. They were still discussing Gryffindor's chances at that year's cup when Mrs. Weasley called them down for lunch. Previous chapter Next chapter