Harry Potter and The Long Strange Journey

Chapter Three: Unexpected Guests

Harry thought he was dreaming, but slowly comprehension dawned on him, as he realized that Mrs. Weasley was indeed standing in his living room, her hand on his forehead, with Mr. Weasley and Ron watching nearby.

"He's DRUNK, Arthur! Look at the poor thing!" Mrs. Weasley was saying in a shrill voice while lifting Harry's limp torso, and setting him upright on the couch.

"He'll be alright, Molly. Just needs to rest. He's been through a lot. Probably just drowning his sorrows, so to speak..." Mr. Weasley was sitting on the other side of Harry now, scribbling a note. Molly took Harry's face in her hands, and spoke gently to him.

"Harry? Harry, dear? Harry?" Harry opened his eyes half an inch, and saw Mrs. Weasley's smiling face staring back at him.

"Oh, hello, dear. How're you feeling, honey? Everything's going to be alright now; we've come to take you to the Burrow with us, alright?" Mrs. Weasley was hugging Harry's head to her shoulder now. Harry wished he could just fall asleep there. The lights in the living room were blinding.

"Hey, Harry! Where'd you get the FireWhiskey anyway, mate?" Ron was laughing and smiling in front of Harry now. Harry opened his eyes a bit and grinned.

"Ronald! You go upstairs right now, and get Harry's things together!" Mrs. Weasley scowled. She smiled at Harry again.

"Can we...go...now?" Harry asked groggily. Arthur had just returned from somewhere else in the house. Harry could tell that he was beaming about something.

"Yes, I just finished writing your Aunt and Uncle a note, which I have affixed to the front door, using muggle tape! I suppose they won't miss it that way!" Arthur smiled.

"No, they won't miss it...or me..." Harry spoke quietly with a parched mouth.

"Oh, dear, dear, you mustn't say such things. Now you know they love you...er...deep...deep down in their hearts..." Mrs. Weasley was still holding Harry's head against her shoulder, and she kissed him on top of it. A thought drifted quickly through Harry's mind that he wished Molly was his mother. That she had always been his mother. That he could be just another one of the Weasley boys. Just then, Harry saw Dudley come slowly down the stairs looking highly apprehensive.

"What's going on down here, I'm trying to watch..." Dudley broke off at the sight of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and he froze at the bottom of the stairs, a horrified look in his eyes.

"Oh, hello dear! You must be Harry's cousin. We're just--" Mrs. Weasley attempt to calm Dudley seemed to have just the opposite effect.

"NO! I'm not! I don't even live here!" Dudley yelled, and ran up the stairs. When he'd gotten halfway up them, Ron came thumping down the stairs with Harry's trunk, and Hedwig's cage, and he must've collided with him, because a second later everyone heard a crash, then Ron said loudly,

"What the bloody HELL!?" And Dudley came tumbling back down the stairs with a scream. Harry laughed loudly, and Mrs. Weasley started to get up to help him, but he jumped up, and ran up the stairs, screaming something like "Fuckin' Freaks!"

Not fazing Harry much at all, he instead wondered blurrily if he should try and smuggle the rest of the FireWhiskey back to the Burrow with him. However, the thought was gone in an instant. Along with all the other thoughts in his head. Looking back, Harry never did remember the journey to the Burrow that night.

Chapter Four: A Hang-over, a Lecture, and a Secret Meeting

Harry opened his eyes, and then shut them tight again quickly. Everything around him seemed to be bursting with flames. Then he realized he was lying in Ron's room in the Burrow, and was surrounded in all of Ron's bright neon orange Chudley Cannon gear. The curtains on the window were flung wide, and the sunshine was pouring into the small room, burning what felt like every cell in Harry's body. Harry let out a loud moan, hoping, since at the moment he felt paralyzed, that someone, anyone, would close the damn curtains.

"Uuunnnhhh!"

"Harry! Are you alright, mate?" Ron's voice came from somewhere near the door.

"Close the bloody curtains, will you?!" Harry felt agitated and sick.

"Oh! Right! Sorry about that!"

Harry heard Ron scramble across the crowded room to the window, and quickly close the curtains. The dimness of the room felt cooler immediately, and Harry felt able to sit up. He put his glasses on, and as the room came into focus, he ran a hand through his untidy hair. His mouth was parched, and he was extremely grateful for the glass of cool water Ron brought him. He drank deeply as Ron sat down at the end of his bed. Harry looked into the corner of the room, and saw both Hedwig and Pigwidgeon's empty cages. He looked down next to his bed, and saw his school trunk.

"So, did you like it?" Ron asked in a voice of admiration and curiosity.

"What? The FireWhiskey?" Harry replied, almost laughing.

"Yeah! I mean--I tried some once, when my parents left it out at a party...tasted like fire, really..." Ron reflected. Harry Laughed.

"Yeah, it does. It was wicked though. I suppose I just drank a bit too much..."

"Well, that's obvious." Ron chortled. Harry and Ron chuckled for a moment, and then Ron added,

"Next time, invite me along, eh?" Harry smiled.

"Actually, I've still got some other things we can try together...some Valerian Sipper, and..." Somehow Harry thought it might make Ron jealous to hear that he had gotten yet another special magical object from Fred and George. Ron didn't notice Harry trailing off, however.

"Oh! I've heard about that Valerian stuff! It sounds brilliant!" A thought struck Harry suddenly.

"Hey Ron, is Hermione going to come and stay here this summer?"

"Oh, yeah! She's gonna be here later tonight actually! I'm...um, really excited...er, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I am." Harry grinned inwardly. Maybe this would be the year when Ron and Hermione finally got together properly.

Harry dressed and followed Ron downstairs. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were sitting at the kitchen table, discussing something in lowered voices. Harry only caught a part of what they were saying as he climbed the last few stairs.

"That's twenty-four already, Arthur! How awful!"

"Well, Molly, it's not nearly as bad as we expected, yet..."

"Exactly!--Yet!"

When they reached the bottom stair, Harry noticed that they stopped speaking immediately. Mrs. Weasley seemed to jump a bit as well, although she had a smile on her face as she looked upon Harry.

"Harry, dear! Are you feeling better sweetheart? We thought we'd let you have a bit of a lie-in this morning..."

"Oh, thank you, yeah, I am feeling better..." There was awkward silence, and Harry shuffled his feet a bit, looking at the floor, and playing absentmindedly with a chunk of his hair. He suddenly felt very guilty for allowing Mrs. Weasley to have seen him in such a state the night before.

"Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, I'd really like to apologize--I uh, didn't realize you'd be stopping by--um..." Harry looked at the floor again, trying to think of what else to say, but luckily, Mrs. Weasley cut him off.

"Yes, well, we understand you've got a lot of things you're trying to work through right now, dear..." She crossed over to Harry's side, and led him by the shoulders over to the table where Mr. Weasley was reading the paper. He looked up, and Harry saw Mrs. Weasley give him a meaningful stare. Harry got the impression they'd planned what they were going to say beforehand.

"Oh...right. Well, Harry, we do know you've been through a lot...and as one grows older, one tries different methods for...alleviating certain...stresses..." Ron shifted awkwardly in the chair next to Harry, while Harry was avoiding Mr. Weasley's eyes.

"However, you should know that alcohol is never a good solution to any problem. In fact, in most situations, it will only serve to make matters more confused and complicated. Also, at your age, it is illegal in the Wizarding world, which you may not have known." Harry considered lying to Mr. Weasley, and saying he didn't know. He decided it sounded too stupid. Mr. Weasley continued.

"Now, we know we aren't your parents, or your legal guardians for that matter, however..." Mrs. Weasley took the reigns again.

"We love you as one of our own dear, and we want to see you succeed, and to make the right choices in your adult life..." Harry's heart glowed in spite of himself, and he decided it was time to put an end to the conversation.

"You don't need to worry about it--or me--you've always been so kind to me, and I want you to know that I'm sorry, and I won't let you down again." It all rushed out at once. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley smiled.

"Alright then, dear. Time for a spot of breakfast!" Mrs. Weasley turned, and began conducting a symphony of pots, pans, eggs, and bacon.

"Ron, would you go and get Ginny please?"

"Okay." Ron stood up, and Harry followed suit, not wanting to be left alone with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.

As they walked up the stairs, Harry realized how unusually quiet the Burrow seemed to be.

"Ron--where are Fred and George?"

"Oh, well, their shop's been doing so well, they're just going to stay there. That is, they live in a loft above it. From what they've told me about it, it's fantastic. I haven't seen it yet of course." Harry smiled. The thought of Fred and George's success with their joke shop made him particularly happy, since he'd contributed all of his Triwizard winnings to the cause.

"And, um...have you heard from...Percy?" Harry knew the subject was a bit dodgy, but hoped that Percy had softened up a bit after the Ministry's acceptance of Voldemort's return.

"Oh--yeah--He sent an owl about a week ago. Told Mum and Dad he was sorry if he'd been a prat. He's still working for the Ministry of course...sounded a bit weird though. He said something about 'big changes' coming in the near future...wonder what he was on about..." Harry wondered too. They reached Ginny's door, and Ron knocked softly.

"Gin, breakfast!" Harry heard someone jump off a bed, and walk to the door. The door swung open, and Ginny was standing in her p.j.'s. Her hair was very messy, and she looked as though she'd just awoken. Harry smiled, and thought to himself that she looked prettier than ever. When she saw Harry, he noticed her eyes popped out reminding him of when his first visit to the Burrow--when she used to like him, he thought as a strange ripple of bitterness flowed through his psyche that he couldn't explain.

"Oh! Harry! When did you get here?!" But before he could answer, her arms were around his neck tightly, hugging him.

"I...uh...just got here last night..."

"Sorry I'm in my pajamas...I didn't know you'd be here..." Ginny looked at the floor.

"Oh, I, um...who cares..." Harry felt a bit anxious for some reason. Ron rolled his eyes heartily, and scoffing outwardly, turned and began walking down the stairs. Harry and Ginny followed.

After eating breakfast, Mr. Weasley turned to Ron, as Mrs. Weasley finished cleaning up.

"Now, Ron, your mother and I have urgent business to attend to, as you already know. We won't be returning until tomorrow afternoon. So, I expect you, and Harry, and Ginny, (he looked at each in turn) to be on your best behavior while we're away. If you need anything, use the fellytone in the garage, or send an owl. Understand?"

"Yes dad, you've only told me this about a hundred times already." Ron rolled his eyes. Harry was very curious where the Weasley's were headed to.

"Um, excuse me Mr. Weasley, but does your business...does it have anything to do with...the Order?" The room went to a deadly silence a these words.