Change the Future

DH 4

“The Trace’ll break on the thirty-first,” Harry said. “That means I only need to stay here four days. Then I can”

“Five days,” Ron corrected him firmly. “We’ve got to stay for the wedding. They’ll kill us if we miss it.

"It’s one extra day Harry" Rory told him whilst he looked mutinous.

“Don’t they realize how important?”

“’Course they don’t,” said Ron. “They haven’t got a clue. And now you mention it, I want to talk to you about that.” Ron glanced toward the door into the hall to check that Mrs. Weasley was not returning yet, then leaned in closer to Harry. “Mum’s been trying to get it out of Hermione, Rory and me. What we’re off to do. She’ll try you next, so brace yourself. Dad and Lupin’ve both asked us as well, but when we said Dumbledore told you not to tell anyone except us, they dropped it. Not Mum,
though. She’s determined.”

"Rorys helping you" Lily looks between her children.

"She was supposed to" Hermione said quickly.

"Why didn't you" James looks at his daughter.

"Let's just say you'll find out soon and it's not going to be good" George tells him after looking at Rory.

Ron’s prediction came true within hours. Shortly before lunch, Mrs. Weasley detached Harry from the others by asking him to help identify a lone man’s sock that she thought might’ve come out of his rucksack. Harry had told her Dumbledore didn't want anyone else knowing what he had to do.

From that moment on, Mrs. Weasley keep Harry, Ron, and Hermione so busy with preparations for the wedding that they hardly had any time to think, she was completely unaware that Rory was going with them and Charlie agreed not to tell her. After two days of nonstop cutlery cleaning, of colour-matching favours, ribbons, and flowers, of de-gnoming the garden and helping Mrs. Weasley cook vast batches of canap´es, however, it started to look like she had a different motive. All the jobs she handed out seems to keep Harry, Ron, and Hermione away from one another so they didn't get much chance to talk.

“I think Mum thinks that if she can stop the three of them getting together and planning, she’ll be able to delay you all leaving,” Ginny told Rory and Harry quietly, as they helped her lay the table for dinner on the third night of Harry's stay. They had told Ginny the plan for Rory to go as well but to keep it quiet.

“And then what does she think’s going to happen?” Harry muttered. “Someone else might kill off Voldemort while she’s holding us here making vol-au-vents?” He had spoken without thinking, and saw Ginny’s face whiten. Rory looked at Harry for a moment before Ginny spoke.

“So it’s true?” She said, “That’s what you’re trying to do?”

“I was joking,” Harry said evasively. They stared at each other, and there was something more than shock in Ginny’s expression.

"Oh dear" Sirius says looking between Harry and Ginny

"Gin" Rory started as the door opened making them jump as Mr. Weasley, Kingsley, and Bill walked in. They were often joined by other Order members for dinner now, because the Burrow had replaced number twelve, Grimmauld Place as the headquarters. Mr. Weasley had explained that after the death of Dumbledore, the Secret-Keeper, each of the people to whom Dumbledore had confided Grimmauld Place’s location had become a Secret People in turn.