A/N- hello! and here's another chapter for you. i'm realising this story is getting very long ahaha. whoops. anyways, this chapter doesn't have much action, and for the moment i'm just following the book, but scenes of my own will be coming shortly!
please comment here any suggestions or questions you might have!!! enjoy the story :)
———————
Word Count: 2084
The Dursley's departure was not one of tearful goodbyes, but rather of begrudging handshakes and irritated glances. Once they were gone, Harry and I wandered about the house, reliving old memories in silence. I stood in the middle of our now abnormally clean bedroom while Harry was downstairs staring into the cupboard under the stairs where the both of us used to sleep for eleven years before our first trip to Hogwarts.
Though we were halfway across the house from each other, my thoughts were with him and his with me as we strolled through the house in which we had spent many nights going to bed hungry or facing far worse punishments from our dearest Aunt and Uncle. I was quite thrilled to be rid of the place with all it's awful memories, and felt no remorse in knowing I was never to return again.
I was starting towards the kitchen to put handprints on Petunia's pristine appliances, and just as I walked past Harry leaning over something inside the cupboard under the stairs, there was a deafening roar from outside. Startled by the sound, Harry straightened so abruptly that he smacked his head on the low hanging ceiling of the cupboard. I let out an unrestrained roar of laughter, to which he responded by chucking a small toy at my face while clutching the back of his head and muttering a few of Uncle Vernon's choicest swear words. He walked toward the door to allow whoever it was to enter while I trailed behind him, still silently chuckling to myself.
Rather than going to the door with Harry, I first went to the kitchen window where I could see figures popping into existence one by one as their Disillusionment Charms fell. Hagrid towered over everyone else, and was easily seen against the orange glow of the horizon and its setting sun. He was standing beside an abnormally large motorcycle, while the others were clutching brooms or standing near large winged beasts I knew to be Thestrals. I jogged back to the front door just as Harry flung it open to greet the familiar, battle worn faces of our friends.
Before my smile could finish making its way across my lips, a body slammed into mine while making a general cry of greeting, and I received a mouthful of the unruly brown hair belonging to my best friend. I immediately let my hands grip the back of her light pink jumper like a lifeline while breathing in the sweet vanilla scent of her shampoo and the faint smell of jasmine from her perfume. I wasn't entirely sure why, but I had the feeling she was in desperate need of a real embrace rather than our usual side hugs and cheek pecks, and wasn't surprised when she returned the hug with just as much ferocity.
"Hey, 'Mione," I say as she pulls back to look at me.
"Hey, Y/n." she answers, beaming at me, then turning to hug Harry as Ron wraps me in a short hug with both of his lanky arms, grinning down at me in the process.
"Change of plan," said Mad-Eye Moody from the door beside Harry, holding two bags stuffed to the brim. At the sight, I remembered immediately what Remus had told me not too long ago without Harry's knowledge. Not making him privy to the information was smart, seeing as he would not take it well anyway. "Let's get undercover before we discuss it."
Harry and I led them into the kitchen where they placed themselves atop counters, tables, and chairs. I couldn't help but think of what the expression on Petunia's face would be if she were here to witness such a sight.
Ron stood beside Hermione while Fred and George were grinning identically off to the right. Bill Weasley with his badly scarred visage had an arm around Fleur, his inhumanely beautiful fiancé with long silvery blonde hair and a slender figure. Mad-Eye, battle worn and one legged stood near the entrance to the kitchen with his magical blue eye whizzing dizzyingly fast in its socket. Kingsley was standing near Mad-Eye with a fond smile on his gentle features as he too scanned the lot of us, and despite his height and broad shoulders, gave me a sense of comfort in his presence. Hagrid just barely fit through the doorway of the kitchen, but was now standing off to the side with his head brushing the ceiling and staring pointedly at the small, mousy Mundungus Fletcher who I had hit with my A History of Magic textbook the last time I saw him. Lastly, I glanced to the countertop beside the oven where Nymphadora Tonks was perched, wearing her hair in her favourite shade of pastel pink, and talking with my tall and badly scarred godfather, Remus Lupin. I beamed at the sight of him, and ran to wrap him in a bone crushing embrace which he returned immediately, and I felt the gentle rumble of his chest as he chuckled lightly at my enthusiasm.
"What's new with you, Moony?" I ask after pulling away and grinning up at him. His grin doesn't falter, but he glances over at Tonks who was already looking at the two of us fondly.
"Well, actually—"
He cut himself off when Tonks lifted her left hand and wiggled her fingers in front of my face. A thin band of glimmering silver was wrapped around her thin ring finger and was glittering vibrantly even in the plain lighting of the kitchen. My face changed from one of confusion to one of ecstasy instantaneously.
"You got married!" I exclaim, grabbing her hand in my own to study the ring better while she laughs and looks fondly at Remus. The ring was simple, as was to be expected of Moony, but embedded in the silver was a miniscule band of colour changing metal. I could immediately tell it was magic. No Muggle ring would have such an intricate ability to change colours so fluidly, and it reminded me distinctly of the way her hair switched colours based on her mood.
"I'm so sorry you couldn't be there, Y/n," said Lupin. "It was very quiet."
"It's no problem," I say with a shake of my head, still grinning from ear to ear. "Congrat—"
"All right, all right, we'll have time for a cozy catch-up later," Moody bellowed from his stance at the entrance. The room went silent, and I gave the couple a smile before moving to stand beside my brother and my best friend. Mad-Eye stared pointedly at Harry and I as he spoke. "As Dedalus probably told you, we had to abandon Plan A. Pius Thicknesse has gone over, which gives us a big problem. He's made it an imprisonable offense to connect this house to the Floo Network, place a Portkey here, or Apparate in or out. All done in the name of your protection to prevent You-Know-Who getting in at you. Absolutely pointless, seeing as your mother's charm does that already. What he's really done is to stop you from getting out of here safely.
"Second problem. You're both underage, which means you've still got the Trace on you."
I tilted my head with a look of confusion directed at him, seeing as I had no idea what a 'Trace' was. Unlike me, Harry voiced his confusion.
"I don't—"
"The Trace, boy, the Trace!" Mad-Eye repeated impatiently. "The charm that detects magical activity around under-seventeens! The way the Ministry finds out about underage magic! If you, or anyone around you, casts a spell to get you out of here, Thicknesse is going to know about it, and so will the Death Eaters.
"We can't wait for the Trace to break, because the moment you turn seventeen you'll lose all the protection your mother gave you. In short, Pius Thicknesse thinks he's got you cornered good and proper."
"Well, it seems like he'd be right then," I say, putting words to what I knew my brother was also thinking. Harry nodded.
"So what are we gonna do?" he asks. I had a general idea of the answer to that. Remus had been unable to say much in the short time he'd had to explain, but I knew what we were going to attempt, and given this knew information, it seemed even more impossible, but necessary as well.
"We're going to use the only means of transport left to us, the only ones the Trace can't detect, because we don't need to cast spells to use them: brooms, thestrals, and Hagrid's motorbike." Mad-Eye explained, and I could see Harry's evident distrust in the plan, but he held his tongue. I drowned out the rest of Mad-Eye's explanation, seeing as I already knew what was meant to happen, and instead studied the lowering sun outside the kitchen window. I watched the sun peak over the horizon, spreading tendrils of warmth into a grateful sky. Rich hues of red blended with oranges, violets, and crimsons. Involuntarily, I let myself meld with those hues, studying the slowly changing colours, and wondering how something can be so vibrant and temperate in a time like the one we're living.
"No!" Harry shouted, his stern voice echoing through the small room, and successfully jerking me from my daydreaming for the second time that day. "No way!"
"I told you he'd take it well." I muttered, crossing my arms over my chest. He whirled on me with an angry and hurt expression. This isn't even the worst of it, I thought, looking away from his burning green gaze.
"You knew about this?" he asks. Before I can respond, Fred cut me off, an unusually serious look on his face.
"Well, none of us really fancy it, mate," the Weasley twin said earnestly. "Imagine if something went wrong and we were stuck as specky, scrawny gits forever."
I snorted, but turned it into a convincing cough when I noticed Harry wasn't smiling.
"You can't do it if I don't cooperate. You need me to give you some hair." said Harry defiantly. I laughed this time while Fred and George rolled their eyes in sync.
"Well, that's that plan scuppered," said George while twirling his wand in between his middle and forefingers. "Obviously there's no chance at all of us getting a bit of your hair unless you cooperate."
"Yeah, thirteen of us against one bloke who's not allowed to use magic? We've got no chance." said Fred with a smirk.
After he argued for a bit more with Mad-Eye, Harry ended up begrudgingly placing a few strands of his hair inside the mud like liquid that is Polyjuice Potion.
"What'll you be doing, then?" my brother asks me, still seemingly quite annoyed by this entire process. I had to hold back a grimace.
"Fred will be taking the potion and I'll go with him on a broom," I answer, wondering if he'll be able to tell just why he should be upset about it. His face goes blank for a moment before turning back to Mad-Eye.
"I'm hexing all of you and getting the hell out of here." he says deadpan, but I grab him by the arm.
"Harry, I'll be alright—" I start, but he cuts me off.
"The Death Eaters will expect you to be with me, which means they'll think Fred is the real one. They'll hurt you to get to him!" Harry exclaims, shaking off my hand. I frown, but look down when I find I have nothing else to say that can reassure him.
"We have to do this, Harry," I say. He just scoffs and turns away from me. Fuming, I directed my attention towards where Mad-Eye was pouring the clear, bright gold liquid into six small cups for Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Fleur, and Mundungus to drink.
"Altogether, then..."
All six grimaced as the potion slid down their throats, and the effects were almost immediate. Their features began to bubble like boiling water as Hermione and Mundungus grew taller and the others shrank with their hair darkening and changing length.
It was over as soon as it started, and now six Harry Potter's stood in front of a seventh, all wearing the same expression of mild discomfort. I let out a low whistle of approval.
"Well, this is something you don't see everyday."