Realistic Harry Potter - 105 The Real Summer Break Part Two

Bokuboy

Amelia sat in her office and she stared down at the three magically sealed items on her desk that continuously glowed red. She wasn’t sure what to make of them, considering the results of the extensive tests that the Unspeakables Department had performed on them. Two of the items she easily discerned the uses of, however.

The first item was a six inch long black-bladed dagger that was enchanted with some of the deadliest spells known to man, some of which were one way tickets to Azkaban. It was a weapon used to torture and kill people. Why someone would invest so much time and magic into creating the thing with runes wasn’t something she wanted to try to work her mind around.

The second item was something she had only heard stories of. It was labelled as a ‘fey lantern’ for some reason and the thing emitted a harsh yellow light. Kingsley Shacklebolt had almost lost one of her Aurors when he had entered the thing’s range and the innate illusion spells had grasped the man’s mind and caused him to freak out and start attacking everything in sight, object and person alike.

Luckily, Kingsley was in charge and had seen the cause of the man’s sudden snap and had stunned him before the Auror had done any real damage. He had also cast a sealing spell, as if the lantern was a wound that was bleeding, and then he levitated it out of the hidden room at the Malfoy Manor and dropped it into a conjured sack and then into a metal trunk. The Auror was fine and no lasting effects were found by the healers.

The third and last item was a complete puzzle to her. The other two items were class four forbidden objects and easily categorized; but, the small black book in front of her was something entirely different. As far as the Unspeakables were concerned, there was literally nothing in it. No writing, no spells, and no engravings. It was nothing and shouldn’t even have appeared on their detection spells.

Unfortunately, it had. It was treated just like the other two items and put through the same rigorous tests. All of them came up negative, except for one. One very important one. It was a dark object and the inherent power inside the thing rivalled that of one of her Aurors. It was extremely dangerous and it was also the first class five magical object that she had ever seen.

Amelia sat at her desk with her arms crossed and stared at the thing and waited for her last appointment of the day. It had been a late one, because of the time difference for travelling, and she heard her time piece beep at the appropriate time. She stood and walked around her desk as the door to her office opened.

“Madam Bones, your appointment is here.” Her secretary said and led a very oddly dressed man into the room. He wore a stylish muggle business suit and a long brown leather trench coat, which was both eye-catching and off-putting at the same time, because they were not the traditional combat robes she was used to seeing. His face had distinct Native American features, despite being fairly light skinned, and it made him strikingly handsome combined with his long chestnut hair done up in a braid.

“Thank you. Bring in the tea and biscuits, please.” Amelia said and the secretary nodded as she left. “Professor Fontaine, thank you very much for coming on such short notice.” She said and held a hand out for him to shake.

“Agilbert, please.” The man said as he accepted the hand and shook it. “Thanks to the travel connections from the International Confederation of Wizards, the trip here from Ilvermorny was an uneventful one.”

Amelia chuckled at the casual mention of travelling halfway around the world from the United States as uneventful. She waved to the chair in front of her desk. “Have a seat and my secretary will be back momentarily with the refreshments.”

“Thank you.” Agilbert said and sat in the offered chair. He did his best to not stare at the three glowing red items on the desk in front of him. He didn’t want to be rude or try to rush the woman before she was ready to let him do his work.

The secretary came in with a tray and an unfolding table. She served tea to them both, left a large plate of cookies and sweets, then left as quietly as she had entered.

Amelia sat and had a sip of tea and nibbled at a cookie as she tried her best to assess the man in front of her as he drank the tea and ignored the cookies. He looked very professional and held a certain air about him, as if he was ready for battle at a moment’s notice. She liked that and let a smile appear on her face as she easily noticed his slight impatience with her for stalling him.

Agilbert saw her smile and had to chuckle. “You’re making me wait on purpose.”

“Of course. How else can I determine your suitability for this little exchange?” Amelia said with a bit of a twinkle in her eye.

Agilbert laughed. “Of course you have my interest piqued, Madam Bones. A class five magical object with no markings or indications that it’s actually a cursed object?” He shook his head. “I was on the first transport I could book as soon as I heard!”

Amelia put her tea down and used a bit of magic to push the three items onto his side of the desk.

Agilbert waved his hand and the lantern and the dagger were pushed to the sides and he had eyes only for the book. “I assume you have a list of detection spells you used?”

Amelia waved her wand and a piece of paper appeared on the desk.

Agilbert took it and read the long list and his eyes widened. “It still didn’t show any indication?”

Amelia shook her head. “It’s a puzzle that I hoped an outside expert could help us deal with.”

Agilbert gave her a crooked smile. “You’ve already arranged for a work room for me, haven’t you?”

Amelia nodded. “I want this to be your top priority. Help me figure out what the hell that is, so I can charge the people that had all three of the objects.”

Agilbert glanced at the dagger and the lantern. “Those looked to be unused for years, so I assume they’ve been stored for a long time. Have the owners claimed as such?”

“The dagger is apparently a family heirloom that was hidden away specifically because of the dark nature. The lantern… well, they claim they didn’t know what it did.”

Agilbert gave her a searching look. “It was found in front of the dagger, wasn’t it?”

“On top of the case it was in, actually.” Amelia said with a smile.

“A deterrent, assuredly.” Agilbert said with a nod. “This, though…”

“In a drawer from a desk covered in dust.” Amelia said.

“You’re joking!” Agilbert exclaimed and then chuckled. “No, you’re not joking.” He looked at the black book. “They had no idea what they had.”

“Not a clue. They said a family friend gave it to them over a decade ago and it’s been in that desk ever since.”

“Good lord, almightly.” Agilbert whispered. “They are either very lucky or this thing has a very specific activation to work.”

“My bet is on both, since none of the people that have worked on it have gotten it to react at all, no matter what spells they used on it.” Amelia said.

Agilbert looked at her with surprise on his face. “They attacked it?”

“The first spell was a sure sign of frustration, according to the testers. It was a blasting hex, too.” Amelia chuckled at the look Agilbert gave her. “Yes, I’m completely serious.” She waved her wand again and produced another piece of paper. “These are the spells they tried to use on it.”

Agilbert stared at the very long list of charms, hexes, and even curses they tried on the thing. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Perhaps you should say to lead you to your new work space?” Amelia asked with a grin.

Agilbert couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes, please. I should get started right away.”

Amelia called in Kingsley to take possession of the other two dark artifacts and then she led Agilbert to his spacious work room with the levitated book. “If you need anything, let me know.”

“I will.” Agilbert said and cancelled the spell to let the black book drop to the table with a thump. He put the two pieces of paper to the side and took out his wand. He had always loved a good challenge.

*

Harry was a bit speechless as he read Hermione’s note for the tenth time. Hedwig had come back to him much quicker than he had anticipated and he wasn’t sure what he was going to do about the note’s contents. He had never had a problem before and he was a bit at a loss about what to do.

“I can’t believe this.” Harry said and looked at Hedwig. “I paid for the floo connection months ago! It should be there already!”

“Hoot hoot.” Hedwig said. Not work. Friend sad.

Harry sighed and shook his head. The ministry was closed now and he knew he wouldn’t get an answer from official channels until at least tomorrow or the next day, assuming they got to his letter as soon as it was sent. However, he knew a couple of people in the ministry, so he chose the one with the best chance to know all of the goings on there.

“Let me just write up a couple of notes and you’ll have more work to do.” Harry said and Hedwig preened a little. He chuckled and wrote out a note to Bertha, then Hedwig hooted and begged for a longer letter. “All right, fine.” He said and wrote out a quick note to Hermione and gave it to his owl. “I might be done telling Bertha all about the parties I went to by the time you get back.”

“HOOT!” Hedwig hooted loudly. THANK BIG!

Harry laughed and Hedwig took off. He got to work and extended the parchment out, then he began to write. He started with how sorry he was that she couldn’t make it to his party, thanked her for the dark detector called a Sneak-o-scope, and described all of the goings on at both his and Neville’s parties.

*

An hour later, Hermione heard the tapping on her window and she hopped up to look at Hedwig with surprise on her face. She opened the window and Hedwig dropped the letter in her hands.

“I hope he’s not begging me to reconsider.” Hermione said and wiped at her tears. “I really can’t go.”

“Hoot.” Hedwig said and a tip of her wing touched Hermione’s face.

Hermione blinked her eyes at what she thought was a caring look from the owl and she smiled. “Thank you.” She said and opened the letter. She read it and sighed. “Even if he gets the maintenance department off their butts to do mine before the others on the list that they are installing, it’ll still be a week or two before the magic settles enough for safe travel.”

“Hoot.” Hedwig said.

“I know, I know. I hate saying no. I really do.” Hermione said, accurately guessing what Hedwig answered. “I can’t ask my parents to drive me, either. It’s just too far for a couple hours of studying and then having to drive home.”

“Hoot?” Hedwig asked.

“I’ll write him and make sure he knows why.” Hermione walked over to her desk and wrote out a longer note than she intended, reminded Harry to read the bottom of her previous note more carefully, and then sealed it and gave it to Hedwig. “I’m going to bed, so if he sends me something else, you can leave it on the window sill.”

“Hoot.” Hedwig replied.

“If it’s urgent, which it won’t be, you can knock. It should wake me.” Hermione clarified for the owl and Hedwig hooted again and took off. She watched the owl until it disappeared from sight before she closed the window and went back to her bed. She climbed under the thin bed sheet and took several deep breaths before she closed her eyes. Her mind and heart were much calmer now, knowing that Harry was trying to get her floo connection up and running.

She had tried to protest about him paying for it, she really had. Harry pretty much silenced her when he claimed that he needed it, just so he would always have a permanent physical connection to her when they weren’t in school. He told her that if he had to stay at home and couldn’t leave until school started, because of the protections on the house, then he wanted to know that she was right there, just a short trip away by floo.

She had tried to research how the floo operated and it was a closely guarded Ministry secret, so she was at a loss to how any of it was done, not even how they made the magical connections between places. She dozed off with the image of Harry writing endless letters to help her and she had a smile on her face all night.

*

The next morning, Bertha almost laughed as a heavy and quite thick roll of parchment was delivered to her. “Hedwig, you dear owl!” She said and held out the small box of real mice that she had preserved just for her visits.

“HOOT!” Hedwig said and gobbled one immediately.

Bertha laughed at her pleased expression and motioned with the box again. Hedwig preened a little and accepted another that she held in her beak.

“No, no. You go on. It’s going to take me ages to read that monster.” Bertha said and Hedwig’s eyes went to the box. “Oh, all right. Go on. One more for the size of the thing.”

Hedwig gulped the one she had in her beak, grabbed another mouse and let out a muffled hoot, then took off with a squealing mouse that apparently didn’t like heights.

“That bird.” Bertha shook her head and closed the box to put it back beside the window. She sat down at the kitchen table to enjoy her morning tea and opened the seal on the roll of parchment. “That boy.” She chuckled and started to read. “I wish I could have been there.”

*

Luna Lovegood sat in the corner of the Weasley’s living room, well out of the way of all the traffic and hubbub that was the Weasley family, and slowly unpacked the gift bags she had received from the two birthday parties that she got to attend. She had snuck her way into the first and somehow was taken along to the second without even being asked.

She honestly couldn’t believe her luck. She knew her mother had been right to tell her to go with her gut, whatever it told her. After her mother’s death, Luna took the advice to heart. The first time she had ever felt the urge so strong was when she had to come over to the Weasleys. She hadn’t really known why, only that she felt like she was going to meet someone really important. Then she met him.

Harry Potter.

She didn’t know what to make of him at first, until he shook her hand. It was then she knew that their lives would be forever touching each other. She didn’t know how or why, only that the feeling made her genuinely smile at him. Since the party went on for most of the day, something she had never experienced before, she had enjoyed it immensely.

The second day rolled around and she went to yet another party with him involved. She knew then that her feeling was both accurate and true. She would be somehow gravitating towards him and floating around him in some capacity for years to come, which made her very happy. Unlike everyone else she had ever met, he treated her like she was normal. Not even Ginny treated her like she was normal and they had grown up together.

Luna looked over the piles of treats and little gifts from those bags and she had a hard time not casting protection spells on everything to keep them exactly as they were. She wanted to treasure them for as long as possible and made her decision. She started to do just that and carefully put each item right back into the respective bag it came from.

When she was done, she daintily picked them up by the handles, and walked across the living room. No one noticed her, so she went into the kitchen and then left the house through the kitchen door. She ducked as a nasty looking gnome, that looked like a gnarled potato, was punted out of the garden and over the white picket fence.

“Nice one, George!” Fred called and laughed when the gnome sat up and shook its little fist at them and cursed at them in Gnomish.

“I think he did a nice mid-air tumble.” George responded. “Want me to try again?”

“Go for it!” Fred said and held his arms up like a Quiddich goal post. “I bet you can’t get it in the hoop.”

“Watch me!” George said and hefted a gnome up, dropped it, and swung his foot to punt him. The little gnome flipped end over end and let out a squeal of fright as it went right through Fred’s arms. It landed on its head and bounced before laying flat on the ground, unconscious.

“Oho! Nice one! You stunned it!” Fred exclaimed.

“Yes!” George said and did a little victory dance.

Luna smiled at their antics and opened the gate in the white picket fence. Two other gnomes snuck in and Luna made a shush sound as they giggled. The two gnomes gave her a thumbs up gesture and ducked back into the garden.

Luna walked all the way back to her home and used her key and a touch of magic to enter. She closed and locked the door and brought the two bags up the stairs to her bedroom. She cast preservation spells on the bags as well and opened her hidden stash under her bed. She kept all of her important things in there.

Most of them were keepsakes from her mother, a few preserved plant clippings she knew she would need later, a couple of mementos from the Weasleys, and now two very full bags of treats and little gifts were added. She closed it up and let a brilliant and beaming smile grow on her face as they were now safe from being used or lost. She would keep them for as long as she could and she left her room and then the house at a leisurely walk.

Luna made her way back over to the Weasleys just in time for George and Fred to finish clearing the squatting gnomes from their mother’s garden and followed them inside. She didn’t bother telling them that the two gnomes that had sneaked back in earlier had already started to dig a nice hole on the far side of the garden beside the fence to let their families and friends back in.

Who was she to stop the twins and the gnomes from having their fun?

She sat down at the kitchen table and lunch appeared in front of her and everyone else that seemed to appear from the chaos in the house to have a sit down meal. She ate wordlessly and listened to everyone talking at once with several different conversations going on, with some crossing over into each other. She smiled because unlike at the parties she had attended, she didn’t bother trying to speak up. They wouldn’t hear her soft voice anyway.

*

Harry woke up from a fitful and restless sleep that he had forced to last until noon and he sighed. He had been up most of the night writing several letters and had sent Hedwig off first thing that morning, with the last one to be delivered to Bertha. He padded barefoot to the kitchen and was careful to not wake a sleeping Hedwig that had been very busy yesterday and that morning.

He took the milk out of the refrigerator to pour himself a glass. He wasn’t very fussy on plain milk, since he had gotten quite used to all of the odd flavored juices at the school. Unfortunately, Ela had ordered that he follow her ‘at home’ meal plan and she had been so sincere in her concern that he hadn’t refused.

He was kicking himself that he hadn’t snagged a jug or two of pumpkin juice or something similar while in school and would remember to try and get some this year for his stash. He set to making breakfast, even though he was quite tired. His brand new bed was comfortable and he had rolled over dozens of times and couldn’t get to sleep. He had even created a nest and it didn’t work, which was frustrating.

Harry wasn’t sure why he felt so frustrated and it irked him that he couldn’t figure it out. He had to assume it was Hermione’s last letter that explained if she had the floo installed today, which wasn’t going to happen, it would still need a couple of weeks for it to become safe to use and the connection to stabilize. He was not going to see his good friend until at least a week before school started and that did not make his mood improve at all.

He sat at the table and ate his breakfast for one. He sighed because he barely tasted it and ate it on autopilot. When he was done he used magic to clean the dishes and banished them back to their places. He looked down at his pyjamas and didn’t feel like getting dressed at all. The floor and carpets had heating charms on them, so he didn’t have to worry about staying barefoot.

Harry had no motivation, now that his immediate indignation on Hermione’s behalf had worn away. He had really hoped that she would have accepted his invitation to visit every day and perhaps even stay over for a night or two, just so he could have his best friend right there with him while he suffered. At the very least, he wouldn’t be alone with someone else there.

He caught his breath and quickly wrote out a note. When he was done with it, he had the brilliant idea to write out another one and almost laughed at not thinking about it before. He wouldn’t be able to write a third one until he got responses to the other two letters, though. He set them in envelopes and put them in front of Hedwig’s perch. He wasn’t going to wake her on a whim, especially if the recipients didn’t agree. If they did, he suspected that they were both going to be happy.

Harry went to the bedroom and grabbed the Defense Against the Dark Arts schoolbook and went back out into the living room to recline and relax as he waited for Hedwig to wake. He smiled at the thought of her possible indignation that she had letters to deliver and he had let her sleep instead. He was two chapters into the book before he heard Hedwig stir, then a loud hoot cut through the silence.

Harry chuckled as she ruffled her feathers and hooted at him several times, barely able to string a sentence together for him to understand. “It’s all right, girl.” He said in a soothing tone to calm her down and went over to her perch to pet her. “You did a lot of travelling last night and there’s no rush. It’s only afternoon.”

“Hoot.” Hedwig said. Late.

Harry smiled and offered her an owl treat. “If it makes you feel better about it, I should have another letter when you come back with their responses.” He held the envelopes up and told her who they were for. “Like I said, there’s no rush. You can stick around for a response, just like with Hermione.”

Hedwig almost sighed as she accepted both letters, then she took off through the open window.

*

“I’m sorry, that’s just not possible.” Professor Agilbert Fontaine said to Amelia Bones as he finished his first shift with overtime at the ministry.

“I’m telling you it is. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.” Amelia said with a bright smile.

“You have to be joking. Accidental magic doesn’t comfort people.” Agilbert said. “It lashes out and damages things. It always has.”

“I don’t know how else to describe the phenomenon.” Amelia admitted. “I can show you the memory if you want.”

“I would be honored to witness something that’s completely unheard of. Again.” Agilbert said and she laughed softly.

“Any luck with the object yet?” Amelia asked and he handed her several pieces of paper.

“My preliminary report on the tests so far. It’s quite the conundrum to have something that’s nearly completely impervious.”

“What do you mean nearly?” Amelia asked, curious.

“Look at the eighteenth test results.” Agilbert said and tapped the second sheet.

Amelia flipped the top sheet over to look at the correct spot and her eyes widened. “Are you serious?”

“Completely.” Agilbert said with a smile. “It can absorb ink.”

“What in the world could make it do that?” Amelia asked, her mind rolling over what it could mean.

“I have no idea; but, once I stared at the thing for a good half an hour after experiment seventeen, I realized that all of the pages were blank. Every single one.”

“What does that mean?”

“It’s quite simple, Madam Bones. Can you think of nothing that you can easily buy that’s full of blank pages?” Agilbert asked with a grin.

“I can think of several things that…” Amelia stopped talking and her eyes widened. “It’s a personal journal!”

“Or a diary. We don’t know the source, male or female, and the inks on the pages are either vanished or spelled to remain hidden until somehow coaxed into revealing itself.”

“Sweet merciful Merlin.” Amelia whispered and looked at the last few experiments. “Did you try anything along that line?”

“No, not yet. I plan to get a good night’s sleep first.” Agilbert said and Amelia smiled. “Yes, yes. I know. I’m still living in a different time zone. I’ll catch up over the next few days, I’m sure.”

“You were smart to schedule shift times to gradually bring you into sync with us here in Britain.” Amelia said. “I’ve already noted the acclimation technique and registered it for all of the ministry’s foreign correspondents and field agents.”

“I’m glad my discomfort will help so many.” Agilbert said with a sly smile and Amelia had to laugh.

“Go on to the safe house and get some much needed rest. You’ve done some great work here and I’ll hopefully get through reading all of this before you come back tomorrow.”

“Goodnight, Madam Bones.” Agilbert said and left her office. He had already formulated several ideas and he couldn’t wait to see what the results of his new experiments were going to show him. He hadn’t felt this excited in a while and he was sure that when he got to the bottom of whatever that journal actually was, it was going to be a revelation to everyone.

*

Neville came back from talking to his parents and his grandmother and wrote out a quick note. He had to apologize to Harry, because he was pretty much in the same position and wasn’t allowed out of his house for the remainder of the summer. It wasn’t nefarious like Harry’s forced sequestering, though. It was the first summer he had to spend with his parents, ever, and they didn’t want him to disappear from their sight for the rest of the summer.

“Tell him I’m really sorry.” Neville said and gave the owl the note. Hedwig took it and hooted before flying out the window.

“You’re really sad that you can’t go, aren’t you?” Alice asked her son.

Neville nodded and hadn’t jumped from his mother suddenly speaking from behind him. His nerves had calmed down significantly during the school year after he, Hermione, and Harry had cleaned the castle of nearly all of the ghosts.

“I wouldn’t have objected to a few hours once or twice a week.” Alice said and hugged her son from behind. “All day and every day is just a bit too much, even if you used the floo to come home every night.”

Neville sighed and reluctantly nodded again. He couldn’t say no to his mother if she wanted him home. He hadn’t had her in his life since he was a baby and he had to stay with her when he could.

“Come on. Your father’s in the mood to teach you a few more things.” Alice said with an enticing smile as she let him go and turned him towards the drawing room.

“You’re already trying to distract me?” Neville asked and his mother laughed.

“You’re so smart, my cute little boy.” Alice said and led a blushing Neville to his father.

*

“Oh, wow.” Ginny said as she read Harry’s letter over her brother Ron’s shoulder. “He’s really asking you to come over every day!”

“This is great news!” Molly exclaimed and hugged her son. “You’ve finally become good friends with him! I’m so happy!”

“Me, too!” Ginny said.

Ron rolled his eyes, not really understanding why his mother and sister were so happy.

“You have to respond right away and gather up your things.” Molly said and handed him a piece of parchment and a quill that she had gotten from somewhere.

“Mom, I’m just going over to…”

“Now, now. I know what’s best. He’s desperate for your company and I’m sure that he’ll let you stay over for a few nights, too.” Molly said and tapped the letter. “He’s practically begging for you to be there for him and you are going to be.”

Ron sighed. “Mom, you can’t just expect…”

“Dumbledore has always known what’s what, you know that.” Molly insisted. “He said Harry would be desperate for a friend last year and now look. There’s the proof.”

Ron was smart and refused to point out that it had taken nearly half the school year last year for him to have Harry speak civilly to him, let alone pay enough attention to him to be called a friend.

“I want to go, too!” Ginny said, happily.

“No.” Ron said, sternly.

“Ron!” Molly gasped. “Don’t be mean to your little sister!”

“I’m not bringing her.” Ron said with a shake of his head. “You don’t want me to piss him off, do you?”

“Ron, I’m sure that…” Ginny started to say.

“I’m not showing up with you right away.” Ron said, adamant. “It’s a bloke thing, all right? Just guys hanging out. Just. Guys.”

Molly rolled her eyes this time. “It wouldn’t hurt to ask if you can bring Ginny along.”

Ron growled and sighed at the same time. “Mom, are you even listening?”

“Tut tut. Of course I’m listening. Now write back that Ginny’s coming as well.” Molly said and gave him the ‘listen to me now’ stare.

Ron, for the first time in his life, didn’t listen to her. He knew without a doubt that if he showed up with his little sister right off the bat, he wouldn’t be asked to come back. It was one thing for Harry to entertain while a party was going on, since there were so many people around. It was a completely other thing to just hang out with someone and then tell them that you were bringing along someone else. That was just rude.

Ron wrote out the note of acceptance and folded it over before his mother could read it, darted over to the window, and gave it to Hedwig. “Quick! Go!” He said and Hedwig hooted and took off.

“NO! MOOOM! He didn’t write it!” Ginny yelled and pouted as she pointed to her brother. “I watched him over his shoulder and he didn’t mention me at all!”

“Of course I didn’t!” Ron spat back. “He wants a friend to visit, not have you along to babysit!”

“Ronald Bilius Weasley.” Molly said, her voice as hard as steel. “How dare you snub your sister like that!”

“Mom, he didn’t invite her. It’s not right to…” Ron said.

“You are to write another note and send it right away.” Molly ordered and handed him another piece of parchment, then stood right over him and watched him write out that he and his sister would be pleased to come and visit later. She nodded and sealed it up in an envelope.

“I’ll send it off right now.” Ron said and stood.

“No way! I’ll do it!” Ginny said and grabbed the envelope as she ran to the door outside. “Errol’s going to be so happy that he’s got something to deliver!”

Luna had watched the whole thing from her practically invisible position right beside everyone and she smiled, because she knew that it would take Errol at least a day to fly that far. It wasn’t the distance, it was that he was really old and lost direction fairly easily, so he would circle multiple times to try and remember where he was supposed to go. Ron’s delay tactic had worked perfectly and Ginny wouldn’t be getting her way today.

*

Bertha sat in her office and shook her head at the six opened envelopes from one Harry Potter. He had sent two formal letters to each of the relevant departments, one general for the staff and one specifically for the head of the department. He had very politely asked why a floo connection he purchased way back in February, nearly six months previously, hadn’t been installed yet.

She was surprised at the wording, unsure how he had cottoned on so well to the same type of language that the ministry used in all of their correspondence, then she chuckled. Her mind immediately went to Amelia’s influence and also Harry’s quite intelligent best friend, Hermione.

Bertha thought about if she should let them handle it themselves or send him a personal response. She didn’t want anyone to think that she was interfering in the workings at the ministry, even though she was, since the evidence was literally right in front of her.

“I’ll send missives to them and let the departments know I’ll handle it.” Bertha said and looked at the installation timetable to get the numbers right.

The summertime was their busiest time and things didn’t slow down again until Hogwarts was back in session. She sighed and saw the appointment wasn’t scheduled until mid-September. Even with Harry’s prominent name attached to it, it couldn’t cut through all of the bureaucracy and red tape that installing a new floo connection into an existing muggle home entailed.

Harry’s magically expanded two bedroom apartment had been an exception, because they were creating the space and adding in the floo connection came with the package he had bought. It was easily installed, since the magic was fresh and modifying it to accept it was simple.

Adding a magical connection to an initially non-magical dwelling and sorting out all of the problems with modifying the fireplace, not to mention fixing the huge thing into an existing structure without drastically changing the wards and protections the house already had, was a daunting task and had been pushed back to a less busy time for the departments handling it.

Bertha wrote out a quite long letter to explain everything to Harry, in the hopes that he understood all of the intricacies and problems that arise when doing things like this, and also included the projected dates and times for the floo connection to be installed. After she had sent it off with a ministry owl, she wrote out the missives to the departments and let them know that she was taking the headache from their hands.

*

Hermione wasn’t surprised when she hadn’t found a note on her windowsill that morning and tried her best to put it out of her mind. She was a bit worried that Harry still hadn’t commented on her revelation about the prophecy and it wasn’t something that he should ignore. She wasn’t going to wait around for Hedwig to show up, though. She had some studying to do and did just that.

She had a lot of experience working around and through her emotions to get her work done. She had lunch and kept at studying until supper. She had made some progress through her school books and she ate a mostly silent meal with her parents. When she went back to her room, Hedwig was there and stared at her through her bedroom window.

Hermione opened it for her. “I’m sorry. I was downstairs eating.”

“Hoot.” Hedwig said and hopped inside.

“I hope you weren’t waiting long.” Hermione said and Hedwig held out her leg. She took the rolled note and had to smile. Harry had asked Ron to come over to visit and he agreed. She had to chuckle that Neville had to refuse because of his parents as well, so her heart wasn’t as pained over refusing such a simple request for a visit. Now Harry wouldn’t be alone, even though he had preferred Hermione to be there instead.

Her heart went pitter-patter as she read that part. She remembered that she was why his mind was so well shielded and she hugged the note. “I’ll write up a nice letter for you to take back, all right?”

“Hoot!” Hedwig responded and Hermione went to her desk and started writing.

*

The Weasley’s fireplace lit up for a second and then a paper airplane flew out.

Ron flinched when it hit the back of his head. “Hey! Who hit me?”

Luna picked up the plane and admired the design, because she had never seen anything like it before, then she politely held it out to Ron.

“What’s that?” Ron asked and unfolded it. He almost shouted out loud when he saw it was from Harry.

“What is it?” Ginny asked and tried to snatch it.

“Nothing. Just a prank.” Ron said and crumpled it up before his eyes caught Luna’s smile.

“He’s waiting.” Luna whispered.

“I need a distraction.” Ron whispered back.

Luna gave him a beaming smile and took a deep breath. “Is that a gnome in the garden?!?” She said loudly.

Molly gasped and started yelling for the twins. The twins weren’t far away and showed up within moments, then a heated argument broke out.

“Thanks, Luna.” Ron whispered and grabbed his overnight bag, jumped into the fireplace, and tossed some powder down. “Privet Drive.” He whispered and disappeared in a gout of green flame.

Luna hummed under her breath and went back over to the side of the room to stay in plain sight and out of sight at the same time. No one noticed Ron was gone until later that night when he was ordered to go to bed and didn’t answer. They also didn’t notice the blonde girl in the corner trying hard to not laugh at them.

*

“Thanks a lot for coming over.” Harry said as he brushed his teeth at one of the double sinks in the huge bathroom. He and Ron had hung out all evening watching television and talking about school.

“No problem, mate.” Ron said as he brushed his own teeth. “It gets me out of the madhouse for a while.”

Harry chuckled and accidentally spit out some froth onto the sink. “Oops.”

Ron laughed at him and sprayed froth over part of the mirror. “Oh, damn! I’m sorry!”

Harry flicked his wand and the stuff disappeared. “It’s okay. Everything’s spelled for protection.”

“Sweeeeet!” Ron said in appreciation. “You’ve sure got the life now, Harry.”

Harry shook his head. “Does it look like I’m enjoying it?”

“No, you looked a bit pathetic when I showed up, actually.” Ron admitted and Harry had to laugh.

“Being alone sucks.” Harry said.

“Being surrounded sucks, too.” Ron countered.

“It’s too bad we can’t split the difference.” They said together, then laughed.

“Are you sure you’re okay with Ginny coming over tomorrow?” Ron asked. “Mom’s pissed enough at me as it is for not bringing her over right away.”

Harry nodded. “Just make sure you sneak Luna in, too. That distraction was brilliant.”

“It’s funny that I barely notice her most times when she’s around.” Ron said with a shrug. “Then out of nowhere she helped me like that. It’s weird.”

“You don’t think she planned it, do you?” Harry asked.

“Naw, she had no clue what that paper airplane was.” Ron said and rubbed the back of his head. “Nice shot, by the way.”

Harry laughed and they left the bathroom. “If I was aiming for your head, I’d take that compliment. I was just trying to get the message to you.”

“Well, it worked.” Ron looked at the nice couch. “That doesn’t look too bad for sleeping on. Where do you keep the extra blankets?”

Harry smiled and opened the door to the second bedroom. “On the spare bed, of course.”

Ron’s eyes widened. “Did you say spare bed?”

Harry nodded and opened the door to his room. “This is my room.”

“Oh, wow.” Ron said and looked around. “It’s bigger than our living room.”

“I’ll have more original books on the shelves by the start of school year.” Harry said as Ron looked them over.

“Did you buy out Flourish and Blotts?” Ron asked and Harry laughed.

“Not even close.” Harry said. “I’ll show you some of the new ones tomorrow.”

Ron nodded and left the bedroom, picked up his overnight bag, and went to the spare room. “Are you sure I’m allowed to sleep in here? It’s awfully big for just me.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Get changed and go to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Night, Harry.”

“G’night.” Harry said and went back to his own bedroom. He climbed into bed, since he had worn his pyjamas all day, and laid down under the sheet. He fell asleep almost right away and wouldn’t realize he had been asleep until the next morning.