PRISON BREAK
"Prison break?" Many stared at the title slightly confused.
"Oh, you mean like they broke Harry out from his room," James realized what the title meant.
"Yup," Ron nodded her head.
"Ron!" breathed Harry, creeping to the window and pushing it up so they could talk through the bars. "Ron, how did you – what the –?"
Harry's mouth fell open as the full impact of what he was seeing hit him. Ron was leaning out of the back window of an old turquoise car, which was parked in mid-air. Grinning at Harry from the front seats were Fred and George, Ron's elder twin brothers.
"Is that the flying car you said?" Evan asked in shock to the demiwitch.
"No, you idiot. It's a shooting star," Regulus answered for his niece with sarcasm.
"What the bloody hell is that?" Bellatrix asked, after the temporary silencing spell (Name) casted wore off.
"It's a car," Sirius rolled his eyes, repeating what was said and his expression turned to excitement. "I've never drove one before, but I really want one."
"We have one," (Name) and Percy shared a smile. "But we rarely use it to fly, because of you know... Zeus?"
Sirius was in awe, but he nodded in understanding at what she meant.
"Besides, we also have a 'superbike' back at home too," Percy boasted, (Name) nodded her head with a smile on her face. "Her name is Mrs. O' Leary."
James, Sirius and the Prewett twins gaped at them in awestruck but were confused a bit. "Why that name though? And what do you mean she?"
"You'll see in the next few books," (Name) smiled. The children and a few of her friends around her perked up when the name was mentioned, they liked the 'superbike'.
Molly and Arthur's eyes widened in shock at the screen.
"Oh, Merlin. Get back in that thing!" Molly shouted at her son.
"Mum... I was still inside the car," Ron blinked at his mother with a deadpan look.
"All right, Harry?" Fred asked from the front seat.
"What's with the metal grills?" said Ron. "We're here to rescue you in actual fact. (Name) told me something may have happened since her owl had been frantic with her when your letters went missing and then Dad came home and said you'd got an official warning for using magic in front of Muggles ..."
"It wasn't me – and how did he know?"
"He works for the Ministry of course," the Prewett twins explained and smiled at their nephew since they said the same thing.
"He works for the Ministry," said Ron. "You know we're not supposed to do spells outside school –"
"Bit rich coming from you," said Harry, staring at the floating car.
"Oh, this doesn't count," said Ron. "We're only borrowing this, it's Dad's, we didn't enchant it. But doing magic in front of those Muggles you live with ..."
"So I own one too," Arthur perked up with excitement since he enjoy looking and researching for muggle items. "That's amazing."
Molly's reaction was a mix of disapproval and disappointment at her husband.
"I told you, I didn't – but it'll take too long to explain now. Look, can you explain to them at Hogwarts that the Dursleys have locked me up and won't let me come back, obviously I can't magic myself out, because the Ministry will think that's the second spell I've done in three days, so –"
"Stop gibbering," said Ron, repeating what he was saying in the first part, "we're rescuing you."
"But you can't magic me out either –"
"Not everything needs to use magic to be solved, Harry," Lily shook her head at her son's one sided thinking.
"I know that now," Harry smiled at his mother.
"We don't need to," said Ron, jerking his head towards the front seats and grinning. "You forget who I've got with me."
"Tie that round the bars," said Fred, throwing the end of a rope to Harry.
"If the Dursleys wake up, I'm dead," said Harry, as he tied the rope tightly around a bar and Fred revved up the car.
"You won't be when you've got the twins or (Name)," Ron said. "The three of them are good at manipulating their way out of trouble."
The demiwitch and George shared a smile with their friend// brother at the praise.
"Don't worry," said Fred, "and stand back."
Harry moved back into the shadows next to Hedwig, who seemed to have realized how important this was and kept still and silent. The car revved louder and louder and suddenly, with a crunching noise, the bars were pulled clean out of the window as Fred drove straight up in the air – Harry ran back to the window to see the bars dangling a few feet above the ground.
Panting, Ron hoisted them up into the car. Harry listened anxiously, but there was no sound from the Dursleys' bedroom. When the bars were safely in the back seat with Ron, Fred reversed as close as possible to Harry's window.
Many were impressed at the twins and Ron, but Molly was worried sick for them since they were up the sky and Ron might fall if he accidentally slip off the window.
"Arthur, Molly, I'm definitely stealing your kids," Sirius declared making the Weasley kids laugh at him.
"Get in," Ron said.
"But all my Hogwarts stuff ... my wand ... my broomstick ..."
"Where is it?"
"Locked in the cupboard under the stairs, and I can't get out of this room –"
"No problem," said George from the front passenger seat.
"Out of the way, Harry."
Fred and George climbed carefully through the window into Harry's room. You had to hand it to them, thought Harry, as George took an ordinary hairpin from his pocket and started to pick the lock.
(Name) shared a smirk with George, knowing that she had taught him and his twin how to use that after she learnt from the seniors at camp when she was younger.
"What is he doing?" Rabastan asked in confusion.
"A lot of wizards used to believe that understanding Muggle tricks was pointless," Fred explained, "However, (Name) showed us how to do it last year, saying that it's worth learning even if muggles tend to grasp things at a slower pace."
There was a small click and the door swung open.
"That's so cool!" Sirius and James exclaimed in unison.
"You've got to teach me that," Sirius looked at his daughter with stars in his eyes. He was impressed with what his daughter had learnt in the future all those years being in camp.
"Sure thing," (Name) smiled back.
"So – we'll get your trunk – you grab anything you need from your room and hand it out to Ron," whispered George.
"Watch out for the bottom stair, it creaks," Harry whispered back, as the twins disappeared onto the dark landing. Harry dashed around his room, collecting his things together and passing them out of the window to Ron.
Then he went to help Fred and George heave his trunk up the stairs. Harry heard Uncle Vernon cough. At last, panting, they reached the landing, then carried the trunk through Harry's room to the open window.
Many sucked in a breath with worry when they heard Vernon.
Fred climbed back into the car to pull with Ron, and Harry and George pushed from the bedroom side. Inch by inch, the trunk slid through the window. Uncle Vernon coughed again.
"A bit more," panted Fred, who was pulling from inside the car, "one good push ..."
"That's what she said," Percy whispered in (Name)'s ear.
"Shut up," (Name) smacked his chest making him snicker at her when her face and hair turned pink.
Some noticed, but didn't know what they were talking about.
Harry and George threw their shoulders against the trunk and it slid out of the window into the back seat of the car.
"OK, let's go," George whispered.
But as Harry climbed onto the windowsill there came a sudden loud screech from behind him, followed immediately by the thunder of Uncle Vernon's voice. "THAT RUDDY OWL!"
"MERLIN!" Sirius jumped with his friends.
Everyone jumped too at the sudden shout.
"I've forgotten Hedwig!"
"Wow... What a wonderful pet owner," Annabeth snorted at her husband who rolled his eyes at her, but he has a smile on his face.
"Quick! Get him and run!" Many shouted for the bespectacled boy to run.
Harry tore back across the room as the landing light clicked on. He snatched up Hedwig's cage, dashed to the window and passed it out to Ron. He was scrambling back onto the chest of drawers when Uncle Vernon hammered on the unlocked door – and it crashed open.
For a split second, Uncle Vernon stood framed in the doorway; then he let out a bellow like an angry bull and dived at Harry, grabbing him by the ankle. Ron, Fred and George seized Harry's arms and pulled as hard as they could.
"C'mon! Pull!"
"Let go of him fatty!"
Many shouted at the screen, even if Vernon couldn't hear them.
"Petunia!" roared Uncle Vernon. "He's getting away! HE'S GETTING AWAY!"
"Then, let him get away if he's not wanted there, idiot!" Annabeth sneered at the screen.
"Preach Ann!" (Name) cheered for her friend.
Harry and Percy was laughing at the women next to them, the others in the crowd were more worried for Harry on the screen than listening to the comments.
The Potters and some others turned to glare at Dumbledore, blaming him for causing the Potter heir to be in that situation.
The Weasleys gave a gigantic tug and Harry's leg slid out of Uncle Vernon's grasp.
"Yess!" James cheered passing his grandson to his girlfriend who took him in her arms, before jumping up and down.
Many were cheering along with the current Potter heir, glad that Harry was free from the man's grasps.
As soon as Harry was in the car and had slammed the door shut, Ron yelled, "Put your foot down, Fred!" and the car shot suddenly towards the moon.
"Wow, that's awesome," Barty said with awe.
"I know right?" Evan and Rabastan agreed. Regulus nodded his head.
Harry couldn't believe it – he was free. He wound down the window, the night air whipping his hair, and looked back at the shrinking rooftops of Privet Drive. Uncle Vernon was hanging dumbstruck, out of Harry's window when Petunia and Dudley were going to pull him back.
It was then the wife and child screamed out of a sudden when Vernon fell face first down the window and into the bushes.
Petunia and Dudley leaned their heads out of the window, "Dad!" Dudley cried.
Everyone was laughing when they saw what happened to the fat man.
"Take that you filthy animal!" Sirius exclaimed, pointing to the man.
"Ha! You Weasleys are brilliant! Same as my goddaughter. I said it once and I will say it again until you prove me wrong," James laughed.
Vernon squirmed around on the hushes in the garden like a turtle stuck on it's back before he finally pushed himself onto his feet.
The four boys looked back out of the window in pure amusement.
"See you next summer!" Harry yelled. The Weasleys roared with laughter and Harry settled back in his seat, grinning from ear to ear.
"Let Hedwig out," he told Ron, "she can fly behind us. She hasn't had a chance to stretch her wings for ages."
George handed the hairpin to Ron and a moment later, Hedwig had soared joyfully out of the window to glide alongside them like a ghost.
"So – what's the story, Harry?" said Ron impatiently. "What's been happening?"
Harry told them all about Dobby, the warning he'd given Harry and the fiasco of the violet pudding. There was a long shocked silence when he had finished.
"Their life is never boring," someone in the crowd said.
"Very fishy," said Fred finally.
"Dodgy," Fabian said.
"Definitely," Gideon continued too.
The Prewett twins perked up, noticing that George almost said the same thing as them.
"Definitely dodgy," agreed George. "So he wouldn't even tell you who's supposed to be plotting all this stuff?"
"I don't think he could," said Harry. "I told you, every time he got close to letting something slip, he started banging his head against the wall."
He saw Fred and George look at each other.
"What, you think he was lying to me?" said Harry.
"Nah... Most house elves can't lie to others. Even to their masters because they're forced and used to inflicting pain onto themselves," Regulus shook his head.
"Well," said Fred, "put it this way – house-elves have got powerful magic of their own, but they can't usually use it without their masters' permission. I reckon old Dobby was sent to stop you coming back to Hogwarts. Someone's idea of a joke. Can you think of anyone at school with a grudge against you?"
"Yes," said Harry and Ron together, instantly.
"Draco Malfoy," Harry explained. "He hates me."
"I wouldn't say I hate you, Potter. I just dislike your presence," Draco looked at Harry at the corner of his eyes.
"Likewise, Malfoy," Harry replied, coming to an agreement with the platinum blonde guy that he called a rival.
Many didn't understand how the two of them can be civil with each other, but Remus, Narcissa and Regulus came to a conclusion that (Name) would've been the one who led them to become friends in the following books, even if she dislike Draco's personality as what she said in the first book.
"Draco Malfoy?" said George, turning round. "Not Lucius Malfoy's son?"
"Must be, it's not a very common name, is it?" said Harry.
"Why?"
"I've heard Dad talking about him," said George. "He was a big supporter of You Know Who."
Narcissa looked at her husband and sighed, but her frown deepened when she saw Lucius, who had the audacity to look proud of himself now and in the future.
Many of those who were afraid of Voldemort or the Death Eaters scooted away from Lucius, not liking the fact that he was one of the biggest supporters. Some were also sending glares to Lucius.
"And when You Know Who disappeared," said Fred, craning around to look at Harry,
"Lucius Malfoy came back saying he'd never meant any of it. Load of dung – Dad reckons he was right in You Know Who's inner circle." Harry had heard these rumors about Malfoy's family before, and they didn't surprise him at all.
Many (other than Narcissa, the Blacks, and a few more) gasped and looked at Lucius in fear and disgust, they had figured that he was one of the Death Eaters since the Weasley twins said that he was one of Voldemort's henchmen.
"He's a Death Eater," Professor Slughorn gaped in fear at one of the old student in his House joined in his past student into his schemes.
"I don't know whether the Malfoys own a house-elf ..." said Harry.
"Well, whoever owns him will be an old wizarding family, and they'll be rich," said Fred.
"Yeah, Mum's always wishing we had a house-elf to do the ironing," said George. "But all we've got is a lousy old ghoul in the attic and gnomes all over the garden. House-elves come with big old manors and castles and places like that, you wouldn't catch one in our house ..."
Harry was silent. Judging by the fact that Draco Malfoy usually had the best of everything, his family was rolling in wizard gold; he could just see Malfoy strutting around a large manor house.
Draco and Narcissa deadpanned at what Harry thought they would be doing in their manor.
Sending the family servant to stop Harry going back to Hogwarts also sounded exactly like the sort of thing Malfoy would do. Had Harry been stupid to take Dobby seriously?
"You not stupid actually, the only thing is you should've taken Dobby's warnings seriously," Annabeth stated, she understood the fact that in her husband's second year, Dobby wanted to keep Harry safe by keeping him away from his friends but if Harry didn't go back, that thing that happened to Ginny would still occur and the students there would not be safe.
"Yeah. I should've," Harry nodded his head, agreeing with her.
"I'm glad we came to get you, anyway," said Ron. "I was getting really worried when you didn't answer any of my letters. I thought it was Errol's fault at first –"
"Who's Errol?"
"Our owl. He's ancient. It wouldn't be the first time he'd collapsed on a delivery. So then I tried to borrow Hermes –"
"Who?"
"The owl Mum and Dad bought Percy when he was made a prefect," said Fred from the front, he snickered a bit as he continued, "(Name) said it's a dumb name for an owl."
Many turned to look at the demiwitch with a questioned look.
"I still agree with that," (Name) pointed out.
"Me too, Hermes is not just the messenger of the Gods, he is the God of thieves, travelers, trade, luck and language. I'm not sure though, but I'd think he'd be offended if someone named an owl after him," Annabeth explained.
"Yup, what she said," the demiwitch pointed to her best friend at the answer.
"But Percy wouldn't lend him to me," said Ron. "Said he needed him."
Toddler Percy Weasley was confused on why did he do that to his brother.
"Percy's been acting very oddly this summer," said George, frowning. "And he has been sending a lot of letters and spending a load of time shut up in his room ... I mean, there's only so many times you can polish a prefect badge... You're driving too far west, Fred," he added, pointing at a compass on the dashboard.
Fred twiddled the steering wheel.
"So, does your dad know you've got the car?" said Harry, guessing the answer.
George and Ron flinched a bit, knowing that their mother was glaring daggers on their heads, but they ignored her looks and continued watching.
"Er, no," said Ron, "he had to work tonight. Hopefully we'll be able to get it back in the garage without Mum noticing we flew it."
"Don't get your hopes up, Ronny boy,--" Gideon said.
"She'll definitely find out," Fabian continued, knowing that his sister would always catch them off guard most of the times.
"I know," Ron groaned, leaning into Hermione with a sigh.
Molly was smiling at what her brothers said, knowing that it was true.
"What does your dad do at the Ministry of Magic, anyway?"
"He works in the most boring department," said Ron. "The Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office."
"The what?"
"It's all to do with bewitching things that are Muggle-made, you know, in case they end up back in a Muggle shop or house. Like, last year, some old witch died and her tea set was sold to an antiques shop. This Muggle woman bought it, took it home and tried to serve her friends tea in it. It was a nightmare – Dad was working overtime for weeks."
"Waste of time and money if you ask me," Lucius boasted, earning himself a few laughs from his friends.
"At least he is putting in the effort to provide for his family, which is more than can be said for you all who seem to have been born into privilege with a silver spoon in your mouth, using your titles as a shortcut to fulfill your desires," (Name) pointedly directed her disapproving gaze towards her uncle and a handful of people in his group, highlighting the contrast between hard work and entitlement in their family dynamics.
'Bloody arrogant asshats,' she thought internally, while Percy and Kai tried to calm her down.
Arthur sent a grateful smile at the demiwitch, which he received one in return.
"What happened?"
"The teapot went berserk and squirted boiling tea all over the place and one man ended up in hospital with the sugar tongs clamped to his nose. Dad was going frantic, it's only him and an old warlock called Perkins in the office, and they had to do Memory Charms and all sorts to cover it up ..."
"But your dad ... this car ..."
Fred laughed. "Yeah, Dad's mad about everything to do with Muggles, our shed's full of Muggle stuff. He takes it apart, puts spells on it and puts it back together again. If he raided our house he'd have to put himself straight under arrest. It drives Mum mad."
"It really does," Molly said in exasperation which made a few laugh at her comment.
"That's the main road," said George, peering down through the windscreen. "We'll be there in ten minutes ... just as well, it's getting light ..."
A faint pinkish glow was visible along the horizon to the east. Fred brought the car lower and Harry saw a dark patchwork of fields and clumps of trees.
"We're a little way outside the village," said George.
"Ottery St Catchpole ..."
Lower and lower went the flying car. The edge of a brilliant red sun was now gleaming through the trees.
"Touchdown!" said Fred as, with a slight bump, they hit the ground. They had landed next to a tumbledown garage in a small yard and Harry looked out for the first time at Ron's house. It looked as though it had once been a large stone pigsty, but extra rooms had been added here and there until it was several Storeys high and so crooked it looked as though it was held up by magic (which, Harry reminded himself, it probably was).
"You called that a house?"
"That looks messed up."
"Is it even safe to live there?"
The harsh whispers from the rich people in the hall cause the Weasleys to frown and look away.
"At least they have a home to live in and the house looks quite cozy. I wonder if the interior looks nice," Narcissa defended the Weasleys which made them and many others look at her in shock.
"Thank you, Cissa," Molly said with a small smile which she received one in return.
Four or five chimneys were perched on top of the red roof. A lop-sided sign stuck in the ground near the entrance read 'The Burrow'. Round the front door lay a jumble of wellington boots and a very rusty cauldron. Several fat brown chickens were pecking their way around the yard.
"It's not much," said Ron.
"It's brilliant," said Harry happily, thinking of Privet Drive. They got out of the car.
"It is," Annabeth agreed with the young Harry which made Molly smile at them.
Many also made a sound of agreement, agreeing with the Potter couple.
"Now, we'll go upstairs really quietly," said Fred, "and wait for Mum to call us for breakfast. Then Ron, you come bounding downstairs going, 'Mum, look who turned up in the night!' and she'll be all pleased to see Harry and no one need ever know we flew the car."
"Right," said Ron. "Come on, Harry, I sleep at the –"
Ron had gone a nasty greenish color, his eyes fixed on the house. The other three wheeled around. Mrs. Weasley was marching across the yard, scattering chickens, and for a short, plump, kind-faced woman, it was remarkable how much she looked like a saber-toothed tiger.
The Prewett twins sucked in a breath at the sight of their sister. They knew that she was going to chew them out just as what they said earlier, she'll always find out about everything.
"You guys are in so much trouble," Percy looked at his friends who shrunk into their seats, knowing their mother on the screen and the physical one with them were both staring daggers at them.
"Thanks for stating the obvious, Jackson," George grumbled.
"Yer welcome," Percy said back.
"Ah," said Fred.
"Oh dear," said George.
Mrs. Weasley came to a halt in front of them, her hands on her hips, staring from one guilty face to the next. She was wearing a flowered apron with a wand sticking out of the pocket.
"So," she said.
"Morning, Mum," said George, in what he clearly thought was a jaunty, winning voice.
"Have you any idea how worried I've been?" said Mrs. Weasley in a deadly whisper.
"Sorry, Mum, but see, we had to –" All three of Mrs. Weasley's sons were taller than she was, but they cowered as her rage broke over them.
"WHERE HAVE YOU THREE BEEN!?" Molly roared.
Everyone in the Great Hall jumped in fright at Molly's sudden outburst. Molly, however, quickly recovered and smiled sheepishly, her embarrassment evident at her future self.
"Merlin, Molls," Fabian said, placing a hand on his chest.
"That shout will give someone a heart attack, ya know?" Gideon continued as Molly looked away from them when they were staring at her teasingly.
"Beds empty! No note! Car gone ... could have crashed ... out of my mind with worry ... did you care? ... never, as long as I've lived ... you wait until your father gets home, we never had trouble like this from Bill or Charlie or Percy ..."
"Perfect Percy," muttered Fred.
"The opposite of our Perry Johnson," Grover commented which made Percy glared at him for the nickname. His friends were snickering at the name given by Mr. D.
"What do you mean?" Tyson asked his satyr friend.
"From what I've heard from (Name), Percy from the wizarding world is Perfect Percy while from what we know your brother is a complete mess," the satyr explained, in which Tyson nodded in understanding.
"I'd rather prefer a complete messed up Percy than a proud and arrogant pompous a-hole," (Name) stated, looking at her husband with love.
"Of course you'd do," Annabeth shook her head and snickered at her best friend.
"YOU COULD DO WITH TAKING A LEAF OUT OF PERCY'S BOOK!" yelled Mrs. Weasley, prodding a finger in Fred's chest. "You could have died, you could have been seen, you could have lost your father his job –"
"OOK! I get that you're angry, Molly, but the only thing you should be doing is relieved that your children returned back safe. Besides, you are comparing your children and it's not fair for them since they are very different from your older ones," Fabian said, bothered at how his sister was acting.
"True, you also can scold them later instead of shouting at them right in front of a visitor," Gideon sighed.
Molly was about to defend her actions when her husband and some of the future generations shook their heads agreeing with what the Prewett brothers were saying.
The future Weasley siblings felt a deep sense of ease and familiarity with their previously unknown uncles, appreciating how effortlessly they seemed to comprehend and connect with them on a level that transcended any prior acquaintance or formal introductions.
It seemed to go on for hours. Mrs. Weasley had shouted herself hoarse before she turned on Harry, who backed away.
"I'm very pleased to see you, Harry, dear," she said.
"Man, those mood swings slightly reminded me of when you were pregnant with Kai," Percy whispered softly to (Name), his voice carrying a touch of nostalgia mixed with amusement.
(Name) reciprocated with a whisper, playfully retorting, "Good to know. But hey, at least I don't act like her, right?"
Percy chuckled lowly, nodded in agreement, and added, "Definitely true, and the way you handle things is completely opposite on how she does it."
"They're starving him, mum." Ron said, trying to reason with Molly. "There were bars on his window!"
"Well, you'd best hope that I don't put bars on your window, Ronald Weasley!" Molly scolded.
The Prewett twins' eyes widened and stared at their sister in shock.
"Merlin, Molly," her twin brothers shook their head at her again.
"I don't like this scary lady for now," Tyson whispered lightly.
"Me too, big bro," Estelle whispered back. "I don't get her at all by watching this."
"I'm sorry for not believing you, Ron," Molly said with disappointment.
Ron waved his mother off, "I don't blame you, mum, after all I was with the twins and we all know what they were like."
"Oi!" George glared at his brother who stuck his tongue out at him.
Molly started softening instantly, "Come in and have some breakfast."
She turned and walked back into the house and Harry, after a nervous glance at Ron, who nodded encouragingly, followed her. The kitchen was small and rather cramped. There was a scrubbed wooden table and chairs in the middle and Harry sat down on the edge of his seat, looking around. He had never been in a wizard house before.
The clock on the wall opposite him had only one hand and no numbers at all. Written around the edge were things like 'Time to make tea', 'Time to feed the chickens' and 'You're late'. Books were stacked three deep on the mantelpiece, books with titles like Charm Your Own Cheese, Enchantment in Baking and One Minute Feasts – It's Magic!
"The house looks nice," James hummed and smiled, admiring the interior of the house. His friends nodded and agreed with him.
And unless Harry's ears were deceiving him, the old radio next to the sink had just announced that coming up was 'Witching Hour, with the popular singing sorceress, Celestina Warbeck'. Mrs. Weasley was clattering around, cooking breakfast a little haphazardly, throwing dirty looks at her sons as she threw sausages into the frying pan.
Every now and then she muttered things like 'don't know what you were thinking of' and 'never would have believed it'.
"I don't blame you, dear," she assured Harry, tipping eight or nine sausages onto his plate. "Arthur and I have been worried about you, too. Just last night we were saying we'd come and get you ourselves if you hadn't written back to Ron by Friday. But really" (she was now adding three fried eggs to his plate), "flying an illegal car halfway across the country – anyone could have seen you –"
She flicked her wand casually at the washing-up in the sink, which began to clean itself, clinking gently in the background.
She started cutting Harry bread and buttering it for him. At that moment, there was a diversion in the form of a small, red-headed figure in a long nightdress, who appeared in the kitchen.
"Aww... Look at little Ginnykins," (Name) teased.
"She looks so cute when she was younger," George followed on with a baby voice. "What happened to the wittle innwocent Gwinny?"
"She grew up and became a baddie," Ginny said in a dead tone, rolled her eyes and flipped her red hair at the two.
"Mummy, have you seen my jumper--" Ginny said, noticing Harry siting at the table.
"Yes dear, it was on the cat," Mrs. Weasley said. Ginny looked at Harry wide eyed and stunned.
"Fan-girl behavior," Annabeth coughed out, teasing her friend.
Ginny tried to send her a slap on the hand, but end up hitting Harry by accident.
"Ow-- Ginny what the bloody hell--" Harry rubbed his arm.
"That was meant for your wife, you idiot! I was about to bloody apologize, but you deserved it now," Ginny retorted, Harry slumped back into his chair as Annabeth and (Name) were laughing at him.
"Hello," Harry said and waved slightly.
Ginny slowly backed up and then dashed back upstairs. Harry then turned to Ron and asked, "W-what did I do?"
"Ginny," said Ron in an undertone to Harry. "My sister. She's been talking about you all summer. Dead annoying, really."
"Yeah, she'll be wanting your autograph, Harry," grinned Fred, but he caught his mother's eye and bent his face over his plate without another word. Nothing more was said until all four plates were clean, which took a surprisingly short time.
"Blimey, I'm tired," yawned Fred, setting down his knife and fork at last. "I think I'll go to bed and –"
"You will not," snapped Mrs. Weasley. "It's your own fault you've been up all night. You're going to de-gnome the garden for me, they're getting completely out of hand again."
"Oh, Mum –"
"And you two," she said, glaring at Ron and George. "You can go up to bed, dear," she added to Harry.
"You didn't ask them to fly that wretched car."
But Harry, who felt wide awake, said quickly, "I'll help Ron, I've never seen a de-gnoming –"
"That's very sweet of you, dear, but it's dull work," said Mrs. Weasley. "Now, let's see what Lockhart's got to say on the subject."
Many turned to Gilderoy Lockhart who was sitting on his seat in confusion.
"I wrote a book?" Gilderoy asked with delight. "Am I a real celebrity in the future?"
His fangirls and fanboys were wondering the same, they were giggling and smiling at each other. However, his questions went unanswered.
(Name) couldn't help but roll her eyes and fake vomit by pointing a finger in her mouth. Her friends, the children and husband around her were snickering at her dramatic stunt.
And she pulled a heavy book from the stack on the mantelpiece.
George groaned. "Mum, we know how to de-gnome a garden." Harry looked at the cover of Mrs. Weasley's book. Written across it in fancy gold letters were the words: Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests. There was a big photograph on the front of a very good-looking wizard with wavy blond hair and bright blue eyes.
As always in the wizarding world, the photograph was moving; the wizard, who Harry supposed was Gilderoy Lockhart, kept winking cheekily up at them all. Mrs. Weasley beamed down at him.
"Eww..." The future generations cringed at the picture.
"Oh my gods... That doesn't look charming at all," Annabeth recoiled at the sight of Gilderoy winking.
Many fangirls and fanboys swooned at the older Gilderoy in the picture.
"Of course I became a celebrity. I look hot and I'm smart," Gilderoy flaunts.
Some were cringing at the sight of him saying it.
"Nah... He doesn't look smart at all, even if he was in Ravenclaw. Just by the look of his picture, he already looks like a fraud," Percy commented. "I know that he would've written rubbish in those books."
"You're very right about that," the future generation wixens said in unison.
The fangirls and boys gasped in shock and started shouting at the future generations. Lockhart gasped at what the future generations were saying and felt insulted by their words.
The marauders knew where they were future generations were coming from, since they didn't really like Lockhart's personality and how cringy he acted in school.
"I even burned his books after I finished that year," (Name) said with a cheeky smirk, proud of her defiant act.
"No wonder you said that you were taking out the trash; that was you burning his books," Annabeth gasped, feeling a bit insulted by the unexpected revelation that she was responsible for destroying them.
"Yes," (Name) snickered, reveling in her mischief as she shared a high-five with George and Ron, who found humor in her daring deed. Hermione sat stunned, sharing Annabeth's disbelief at her friend's audacious action. Kai and Estelle finally understood the demiwitch's mischievous nature started when she was a child.
"But why? I haven't even read them. I want to understand how bad his books were, and it's quite insulting that you burned them in front of a child of Athena," Annabeth said, her curiosity piqued by the mysterious contents of the destroyed books.
"Oh, you're not going to like them at all. Burning books like that does nothing to a child of Athena since the contents inside are all rubbish," Percy interjected.
"How'd you know what was written in the books?" Hermione asked Percy, intrigued by his knowledge of the situation.
"I remembered when (Name) IM-ed me before school started. She read me some excerpts, and we realized they were all nonsense; he was boasting a lot and it made no sense at all," Percy explained, illuminating the underlying absurdity of the books that were now nothing more than ashes.
"Oh, he is marvelous," she said, "he knows his household pests, all right, it's a wonderful book ..."
"Mum fancies him," said Fred, in a very audible whisper.
"What??" This made many baffled at the revelation. Molly flushed as red as her hair. The present Weasley siblings cringed at their mother, slightly disgusted at knowing the truth. "Mum! You're married!"
The Lockhart fanclub were glad that there was another one of them that was revealed in the future was none other than Molly Weasley.
"Well, well, well..." Fabian raised a brow at his sister.
"Someone has a crush," Gideon continued.
"I'd be jealous if I were you Arthur/ Mr. Weasley," Sirius and (Name) said in unison, they brightened up and laughed at how similar they thought.
"Haven't seen Molly looking at you like that since you two got together all those years ago," James pitched in with a tease.
"Enough!" Molly shouted, her face was redder than a cherry.
Many were snickering at the Weasley couple.
"Don't be so ridiculous, Fred," said Mrs. Weasley, her cheeks rather pink. "All right, if you think you know better than Lockhart, you can go and get on with it, and woe betide you if there's a single gnome in that garden when I come out to inspect it."
"Of course we know better than him. He's a bloody fraud," George scoffed and sighed. "And gnomes would've still returned back to their homes after we de-gnomed them from their houses."
Lockhart felt more offended at the words said by George.
Yawning and grumbling, the Weasleys slouched outside with Harry behind them. The garden was large and, in Harry's eyes, exactly what a garden should be. The Dursleys wouldn't have liked it – there were plenty of weeds, and the grass needed cutting – but there were gnarled trees all around the walls, plants Harry had never seen spilling from every flowerbed and a big green pond full of frogs.
"Muggles have garden gnomes, too, you know," Harry told Ron as they crossed the lawn.
"They do?" Many purebloods asked in confusion.
"Of course we do," Annabeth said. "Ours are not alive though unlike the ones in your world."
"Yeah, I've seen those things they think are gnomes," said Ron, bent double with his head in a peony bush. "Like fat little Father Christmases with fishing rods ..."
"Oh... That's what they look like? Weird," Sirius said with a hum.
There was a violent scuffling noise, the peony bush shuddered and Ron straightened up.
"This is a gnome," he said grimly.
"Gerroff me! Gerroff me!" squealed the gnome. It was certainly nothing like Father Christmas. It was small and leathery-looking, with a large, knobby, bald head exactly like a potato. Ron held it at arm's length as it kicked out at him with its horny little feet; he grasped it around the ankles and turned it upside-down.
The muggleborn wixens frowned at the look of the gnomes, it was not what they expected at all.
"Families with dignity, charm their gardens to prevent gnomes from living there," Lucius commented making many rolled their eyes.
Arthur was about to comment, but Molly stopped him, not wanting to get into an argument, but (Name) decided to speak her mind by saying with a mocking tone, "Families with dignity, doesn't enslave themselves to a psychopath."
Her comment made many laugh and Lucius fell silent but he was angry that she had a final say in everything.
"Ohhh! She roasted you!" Sirius laughed with his friends.
"Potato looking people are so weird," Tyson commented with a confused look.
"Why do they look like that?," Estelle whispered into the Jackson couple's ears who shrugged at her with a smile.
"This is what you have to do," he said. He raised the gnome above his head ('Gerroff me!') and started to swing it in great circles like a lasso.
Seeing the shocked look on Harry's face, Ron added, "It doesn't hurt them – you've just got to make them really dizzy so they can't find their way back to the gnome holes."
He let go of the gnome's ankles: it flew twenty feet into the air and landed with a thud in the field over the hedge.
"Pitiful," said Fred. "I bet I can get mine beyond that stump."
Harry learned quickly not to feel too sorry for the gnomes. He decided just to drop the first one he caught over the hedge, but the gnome, sensing weakness, sank its razor-sharp teeth into Harry's finger and he had a hard job shaking it off until – "Wow, Harry – that must've been fifty feet ..."
The air was soon thick with flying gnomes.
Many were watching the scene with amusement.
"That looks fun," Teddy said with a smile.
"Yeah," Estella smiled agreeing with the boy.
"See, they're not too bright," said George, seizing five or six gnomes at once. "The moment they know the de-gnoming's going on they storm up to have a look. You'd think they'd have learned by now just to stay put."
Soon, the crowd of gnomes in the field started walking away in a straggling line, their little shoulders hunched.
"They'll be back," said Ron, as they watched the gnomes disappear into the hedge on the other side of the field. "They love it here ... Dad's too soft with them, he thinks they're funny ..."
"It's true, they're interesting creatures," Arthur said with a shrug.
Just then, the front door slammed.
"He's back!" said George. "Dad's home!"
They hurried through the garden and back into the house. Mr. Weasley was slumped in a kitchen chair with his glasses off and his eyes closed. He was a thin man, going bald, but the little hair he had was as red as any of his children's. He was wearing long green robes which were dusty and travel-worn.
"What a night," he mumbled, groping for the teapot as they all sat down around him. "Nine raids. Nine! And old Mundungus Fletcher tried to put a hex on me when I had my back turned ..."
Arthur frowned at what Fletcher did to him, but was shocked to hear that many raids he had that day.
Mr. Weasley took a long gulp of tea and sighed.
"Find anything, Dad?" said Fred eagerly.
"All I got were a few shrinking door-keys and a biting kettle," yawned Mr. Weasley. "There was some pretty nasty stuff that wasn't my department, though. Mortlake was taken away for questioning about some extremely odd ferrets, but that's the Committee on Experimental Charms, thank goodness ..."
(Name) raised a brow in amusement and shot Draco a sidelong glance, a sly smirk appearing on her lips at the mention of ferrets. When he met her gaze, he silently clicked his tongue, and rolled his eyes.
Some were confused on the interaction, but those who remembered what happened that time snickered at the memory.
"Why would anyone bother making door-keys shrink?" said George.
"Just Muggle-baiting," sighed Mr. Weasley. "Sell them a key that keeps shrinking to nothing so they can never find it when they need it ... Of course, it's very hard to convict anyone because no Muggle would admit their key keeps shrinking – they'll insist they just keep losing it. Bless them, they'll go to any lengths to ignore magic, even if it's staring them in the face ... but the things our lot have taken to enchanting, you wouldn't believe –"
"LIKE CARS, FOR INSTANCE?" Mrs. Weasley had appeared, holding a long poker like a sword. Mr. Weasley's eyes jerked open.
He stared guiltily at his wife. "C-cars, Molly, dear?"
"Someone's in deep trouble~" The Prewett twins sang to Arthur who scoffed jokingly at them.
"Yes, Arthur, cars," said Mrs. Weasley, her eyes flashing. "Imagine a wizard buying a rusty old car and telling his wife all he wanted to do with it was take it apart to see how it worked, while really he was enchanting it to make it fly."
Mr. Weasley blinked. "Well, dear, I think you'll find that he would be quite within the law to do that, even if, er, he maybe would have done better to, um, tell his wife the truth ... There's a loophole in the law, you'll find ... as long as he wasn't intending to fly the car, the fact that the car could fly wouldn't –"
"Very nice excuse, Arthur," Frank mused, making the red-haired man sighed and gave him a 'would you let this situation go' look, but Frank shook his head in answer to his look.
"Arthur Weasley, you made sure there was a loophole when you wrote that law!" shouted Mrs. Weasley. "Just so you could carry on tinkering with all that Muggle rubbish in your shed! And for your information, Harry arrived this morning in the car you weren't intending to fly!"
"Harry?" said Mr. Weasley blankly. "Harry who?"
"That would be... Me!" Harry waved his hand with an amused look. Some of his friends were shaking their heads at him with an amused smile on their face.
He looked around, saw Harry and jumped.
"Good Lord, is it Harry Potter? Very pleased to meet you, Ron's told us so much about –"
"Your sons flew that car to Harry's house and back last night," said Mrs. Weasley darkly, "What have you got to say about that, eh?"
"Did you really?" said Mr. Weasley eagerly. "How'd it go!?"
Molly shook her head and sighed heavily, muttering quietly, "I'm the only one with common sense I see."
Arthur caught his wife's angry eyes. The four boys were hiding their laughs when they noticed it too.
The four boys said in unison, "Oh, it..."
"Arthur!" Molly shouted.
Everyone except Molly were trying very hard to stop their laughter.
"I mean... That was very wrong, indeed boys," Arthur stuttered a bit. "Very wrong of you. --"
"Let's leave them to it," Ron muttered to Harry, as Mrs. Weasley swelled like a bullfrog. "Come on, I'll show you my bedroom."
They slipped out of the kitchen and down a narrow passageway to an uneven staircase, which zigzagged its way up through the house. On the third landing, a door stood ajar. Harry just caught sight of a pair of bright brown eyes staring at him before it closed with a snap.
"Ginny," said Ron. "You don't know how weird it is for her to be this shy, she never shuts up normally –"
"I was not shy, I'm just surprised and I didn't know how to act because there was a freaking celebrity in the house, okay?? Don't forget that you were also fanboying Krum when you saw him for the first time too," Ginny retorted.
This time Ron flushed red making the future generations laugh in amusement when they remembered how talkative he was about Viktor Krum in their fourth year.
The past generations were confused on who Krum was.
They climbed two more flights until they reached a door with peeling paint and a small plaque on it, saying 'Ronald's Room'. Harry stepped in, his head almost touching the sloping ceiling, and blinked. It was like walking into a furnace: nearly everything in Ron's room seemed to be a violent shade of orange: the bedspread, the walls, even the ceiling.
Then Harry realized that Ron had covered nearly every inch of the shabby wallpaper with posters of the same seven witches and wizards, all wearing bright orange robes, carrying broomsticks and waving energetically.
"Your Quidditch team?" said Harry.
"The Chudley Cannons," said Ron, pointing at the orange bedspread, which was emblazoned with two giant black Cs and a speeding cannonball. "Ninth in the league."
"Mine is the Ballycastle Bats," James said. "What's yours, Harry?"
"I don't really have a favorite," Harry answered sheepishly, "I just go with whatever my team my friends like to be honest."
"What??" James gasped in shock. "The horror Siri, Remmy... My son doesn't have a favorite team!" He then fake fainted into Sirius' and Remus' arms.
His dramatic acts made some chuckled at him until Euphemia smacked his head from behind and said, "Get up, Jamie. Stop with the dramatics. Your son doesn't really need to be exactly like you in the future. I like him just the way he is."
Euphemia's words, filled with love and wisdom, sparked a radiant smile on Harry's face. It warmed his heart to know that his grandmother, whom he had never even met, could still connect with him on such a profound level. Annabeth, catching his eye, reciprocated his smile, knowing what he was thinking at that time.
Ron's school spell books were stacked untidily in a corner, next to a pile of comics which all seemed to feature The Adventures of Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle. Ron's magic wand was lying on top of a fish tank full of frogspawn on the windowsill, next to his fat grey rat, Scabbers, who was snoozing in a patch of sun.
The future generations and the marauders were glaring at the rat with pure hate and distaste.
"Wish the sun burned him alive," (Name) muttered under her breath. Kai heard and turned to look at her with confusion, but she just smiled at him and booped his nose.
Harry stepped over a pack of Self-Shuffling playing cards on the floor and looked out of the tiny window. In the field far below he could see a gang of gnomes sneaking, one by one, back through the Weasleys' hedge. Then he turned to look at Ron, who was watching him almost nervously, as though waiting for his opinion.
"It's a bit small," said Ron quickly. "Not like that room you had with the Muggles. And I'm right underneath the ghoul in the attic, he's always banging on the pipes and groaning ..."
But Harry, grinning widely, said, "This is the best house I've ever been in."
Ron's ears went pink.
"Absolutely," Marlene enthusiastically interjected as she looked around the cozy rooms of their house. "It has such a warm and inviting atmosphere that truly reflects a strong sense of family. Your home stands out from the grand mansions of the pureblood families, boasting a unique charm and comfort that surpasses many we've seen so far. Your home is truly a gem among them all."
Many of their friends nodded their heads in agreement, voicing out their compliments about the Weasley's home.
"Thank you, everyone," Molly said with a bashful smile along with Arthur.
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Author's note
Helloooooo! Next chapter's up and ready!
Anyways~ how was this chapter so far?
Quite excited to post Chapter 3, hope you're exciteddddd!
If you like this chapter comment, '⛓️💥'.
Well, gtg now, bye!