𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

𝟑.𝟏 - 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰

You shared a look before jumping to your feet and traversing into the hall. Standing on the other side of the railing in front of Ginny's room stood Ron. His hair had grown out a bit in the summer, but it was still short enough to be almost entirely hidden underneath his wool cap. He, like you and Hermione, was clad in pajamas. He didn't look up as you entered the hall, too engrossed with whatever was happening at the very bottom of the stairs.

With a confused smile, you leaned over the railing and looked down to see Ginny looking up at you, hands folded around her eyes. "What's going on?"

"Is Harry up there with you and 'Mione?" She called up. Ron's head snapped up and he squinted, trying to see into the doorway behind you. 

"Harry? He's here?"

"His trunk's in the kitchen. And his owl," Ginny looked into the kitchen and pointed. You leaned out even further over the stairwell but still couldn't even begin to see into the first floor.

"Really?" You and Ron asked in near-perfect unison.

"Really," a fourth voice answered, reverberating up from the first floor and answering your question. You could have recognized that voice anywhere. 

It was just then that Hermione stumbled out of the bedroom and joined you on the landing. All three of you looked between each other before an excited grin broke out on your face and you raced to the stairs, trampling down them three steps at a time until you were standing beside Ginny in the living room.

In front of you, surrounded by only his trunk and an occupied birdcage, was Harry Potter. His hair was slicked back with rain-water and his threadbare navy blue pullover appeared to have been through a lot of wear and tear in the past few hours. As soon as you made an entrance, his eyes lit up and his smile widened, shoulders shrugging as if shaking off the weight of whatever happened prior to his impromptu arrival.

"Harry!" You exclaimed, rushing forward to capture him in a tight hug that nearly toppled you both over. You didn't mind that your pajamas would be soaked-through or that you would pull away smelling like pond water. You hadn't expected to see him again until school started in a few weeks and it was worth it just to feel him so close again. He laughed into your hair and the sound warmed your heart, compelling you to hug him tighter. 

 "It's good to see you," Harry chuckled, his hands ghosting over your lower back. You held each other for another minute before Ron cleared his throat expectantly, urging you to give him a chance to hug his best friend too. 

 After everyone had gotten a chance to greet the newcomer, the four of you ascended back up the stairs toward Ron's bedroom which was right across the hall from Ginny's. With everyone conveniently gathered in one place outside of school, it was clear that many things needed to be discussed.

 Ron's bedroom was a lot smaller than Ginny's with a low ceiling and a small square window that contrasted with his sister's larger bay window that overlooked the grassy meadow that surrounded the house. Dimly lit by a lantern on his bedside, you quickly spotted an impressive collection of Quidditch trading cards that were pinned carelessly to the space above his headboard.

You and Hermione sat directly across from the boys. The four of you had kicked aside dirty laundry and colorful foil candy wrappers in order to spread yourselves out comfortably in a wide semicircle on the floor. In the middle of your gathering was a silver serving platter and hovering a few inches above it was a copy of the newest issue of The Daily Prophet. 

 Harry produced it from his pocket, where it had already been crumpled up into a tight heap before casting the Fire-Making Charm. It crinkled and burned but hardly any smoke emitted from the orange cinders.

At first, you talked of fond memories and recalled the few light-hearted moments from the previous year. As the conversation quieted, you realized that the joyful mood had left with it. The excitement you felt upon seeing your friends for the first time in months was slowly wearing off, leaving more room for you to dread the events that had occurred only hours before in your home. 

How could you have forgotten, even for just a moment, that you were to be married to Draco Malfoy in less than a year's time?

"So," Harry pulled his legs up in front of him and rested his wand-brandishing hand onto his knee. He turned to look at you and nodded. "When did you get here?"

"Tonight, same as you," you answered, forcing yourself to stop playing with the strings of your pajama pants. Harry looked over to Hermione, silently asking her the same question. "A few days ago. But for a while, I wasn't sure I was coming."

She shot you a sideways glance and you shifted your weight under you. You knew exactly what she was referring to. Harry furrowed his brows and turned to Ron who only shrugged solemnly. His usually casual and comedically-frumpy attitude had washed away. "Mum sort of lost it last week," he said, voice strangely quiet. "Said Ginny and I had no business going back to Hogwarts. That it's too dangerous."

"Oh come on," Harry shook his head and groaned, leaning back against the dresser behind him.

"She's not alone," you quipped, staring at the burning newspaper in front of you. "Even my parents almost pulled me from school." You could barely see one of the enchanted black and white photos from between the seared creases of the newspaper. 

 It was a photograph that had been taken the night of the battle in the Hall of Prophecies and for a split second you could have sworn you'd seen the image of your own face as you were escorted out of the Ministry along with the remaining members of Dumbledore's Army. "This is getting serious," you whispered as if realizing it for the first time. 

Ron folded his hands and cleared his throat. "Anyway, dad stepped in. He told her she was being barmy and it took a few days but she came around."

"But this is Hogwarts we're talking about!" Harry argued heatedly. "It's Dumbledore! What could be safer?"

You bit your lip and nudged Hermione with your arm. You and she had a similar discussion when you first came to The Burrow and she was catching you up on all of the wizarding news you had missed during your three months of isolation. "There's been a lot of talk recently that Dumbledore's gotten a bit...old."

"Rubbish," Harry scoffed in denial. "Well, he's only..." he paused and blinked before slouching down further. "Well, how old is he?"

You shook your head. Out of anyone there, you were probably the least likely to know anything like that. "Hundred and fifty? Give or take a few years."

There was a split second of silence before the four of you burst out laughing, filling the room with the happy sound. Hermione leaned into your shoulder and grabbed your forearm to keep steady as her body wracked with giggles. You wrapped both of your arms around your gut, the smile on your face becoming nearly painful after a while. It had been a very long time since you'd laughed that hard.

As the laughter died down, you uncrossed your legs and looked once again into the balled-up newspaper. It spun slowly in the air as it burned, piles of ash collecting on the platter below it. It spun just slow enough that you could see a familiar face in one of the enchanted photographs.

It was Draco. Above the photograph was a bold headline. Malfoy Wife and Son Appear at Trial.

If any of your friends noticed that you had stopped laughing, they didn't say anything. Draco's pitiful saddened expression erupted into flames and you swore for a split second that it made eye contact with you before turning to ash. When you blinked away from the fire, you realized that you had brought a hand up to cup the ring around your neck. 

 (A/N: So technically I don't have a winter break because my online school is self-paced and I have to have all my work completed by January 4th. But I'm still gonna slack off and prioritize my books like the idiot I am. I feel like this chapter is super wordy so if you have any criticisms please let me know so I can fix them! Otherwise, feel free to just tell me how you think of it so far!)