Harry Potter and the Gryffindor Challenge

Chapter Three

At Home with the Weasleys

When Mr. Weasley opened the front door Harry was assuaged by that at home feel of the Burrow almost immediately. That is, until he heard the shouting.

"RONALD WEASLEY! Come down here right this minute and explain to me why Ginny's hair is GREEN!!" Mrs. Weasley was hollering up the stairs.

Harry grinned. This kind of yelling he could handle. Harry looked around and spotted Hermione in a rocking chair working on knitting what suspiciously looked like elf hats. Ginny sat at her feet rubbing Crookshank's head and indeed bearing very green hair. Hermione looked up and saw Harry. With a squeal she was up and out of the chair and in Harry's arms. Embraced embarrassingly in a tight hug, Harry's face turned beet red.

"Oh, Harry! Thank goodness you're alright. I had been frantic with worry when I never received any owl post from you," Hermione admonished. She pushed back and looked at his face.

Harry felt very uncomfortable. He hated knowing he had worried them all, especially Hermione. He was saved from answering by the rumble of feet on the stairs.

Ron bounded down the stairs two at a time and ducked under his mother's arm and ran up to them. He looked at Hermione's hand still lying on Harry's arm. Hermione dropped her arm and stepped back, clearing her throat. Mrs. Weasley looked like she lost what she was going to say at the sight of Harry. Wiping her hands on her apron she followed her son.

"Harry, dear. How wonderful to see you," she said beaming, hugging him too. He was surprised at how much he had needed her motherly concern.

"Hey Mrs. Weasley, hey Ron," Harry replied, stepping back from Ron's mother. His friend had seemed to grow up and out since he had last seen him. His red hair was longer and the freckles on his face more prominent. Harry realized how much he had missed Ron at this moment.

Harry smiled at them all.

"I'm thankful to be here, guys, trust me. And I am okay. You needn't worry about me."

Ron looked at Harry carefully. "It looks like they took better care of you this time around," he said, grinning. He was happy to have his friend here.

"They did. I'm just glad to be gone from that house. Dudley was more annoying than ever now that he has his driver's permit. I wouldn't drive with him for all the galleons in the world," Harry said, trying awkwardly trying to make an a attempt at conversation, desperately hoping to keep the name Sirius out of it.

"Harry, dear. Are you hungry? You must be famished. That was a long ride. Let me fix you some breakfast," Mrs. Weasley asked, hurrying away without getting an answer from him as she headed towards the kitchen, mumbling under her breath about how skinny Harry looked.

"So you turned your sister's hair green, did you?" Harry asked, smiling. "How are you guys?"

"We're good Harry," Hermione responded for all of them.

"How are you Harry? We have all been on pins and needles for you to get here this morning. Hermione especially," Ginny told him, ignoring the prompt from Harry for an explanation about her hair, leaving Harry to feel like there was something about it he might not want to know.

Hermione blushed. "I was worried, that's all."

"What a load of rubbish," Ron replied, glowering at the girls. Harry shook his head, not understanding.

"Would someone mind telling me why Ginny's head is the color of gillyweed?" Harry asked again, frustrated. He sensed there was something behind the unnatural hair color that had to do with him. He just didn't know why. They started moving through the living room towards the kitchen. Harry saw his name on the famous Weasley clock and was pleased to see his hand pointing at Home.

"If he would just turn it back, I will tell you all about it," Ginny answered, throwing a nasty look in Ron's direction.

Harry looked at Ron again. Something was bothering him. He reminded himself to ask Ron about it when they were alone.

Ron looked at Ginny sheepishly. "I'm afraid I can't."

"Why ever not?"

"Well, you see, I got the trick from Fred and George and I lost the reversal capsule for it," Ron admitted, gingerly. He knew his sister would send a stinging bat-bogey hex at him if she could. He only hoped her anger would be directed at their twin brothers instead of him.

At the sound of their names, Fred and George Weasley apparated into the room with a soft pop.

"Do our ears deceive us? Did someone mention our names?" Fred asked, helping himself to a biscuit from the basket lying on the large kitchen table.

"Yes, dear brother. You sure did. And if you don't want to feel our mother's wrath I suggest you give me the reversal capsule for this green hair!" Ginny threatened.

George sat down at the table and reached for the pitcher of milk. "I just happen to have it right here, sister of mine," he said, reaching into a bag with the name Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and handed her the small brown pill. She sat down and took it gratefully and her hair automatically turned back to red again. She reached for the glass of milk George had just poured for himself.

"Hey!"

"Now Harry, I will tell you why my brother," she spit out the word "brother" like she had a bad taste in her mouth, "decided to turn my hair green."

"Oww!" Ginny exclaimed. Hermione had kicked her under the table. Harry looked back and forth between the two girls, still as confused as ever.

Ginny reached under the table and rubbed her shin. She shot a look at Hermione before answering, "I was teasing Hermione about something and Ron got offended by it and decided to treat me to a nasty little trick to pay me back."

Harry knew that Ron fancied Hermione, even if he wouldn't admit to himself. He thought this was definitely a good sign that the feelings were still there.

Ron looked at Ginny and opened his mouth to speak. Just then there was a large crash in the other room followed by a muttered oath. Tonks had tripped over Harry's trunk.

"I'm okay! Everything's okay," Tonks yelled out from the other room. Harry grinned. He was reminded of glad he was that they had gotten to the Burrow in one piece.

Soon the conversation turned to everyone's summer events and the impending school year. Harry sat back and let everyone talk to him. He found it easier that way. Food was passed back and forth and the mood around the table was less hostile than it was when he first arrived. Mr. Weasley was talking about a raid he had been on that had gone terribly wrong. Everyone at the table laughed as he told it, everyone but Harry. His mind was wandering. He was thinking back to the reason Ron had turned Ginny's hair green. He was pretty sure there was something missing from that story. He just didn't know what.

"Well Harry," Ron addressed him, snapping Harry back to the people around the table with him.

"Uhh, yeah?" he asked.

"Let's get your stuff and head up to my room," Ron replied, looking at the girls. The look between the three told Harry there were some things they needed to tell him without Ron's parents in range. He followed them up the stairs dragging his trunk behind him. He wished he could use magic, as his trunk was heavy and Ron's room was at the top of the house. Hermione was carrying Hedwig's cage. When they finally reached Ron's room, Harry and Hermione both collapsed onto Ron's bed.

Harry was very aware of Hermione lying next to him and that Ron and Ginny were staring at the two of them. He sat up quickly.

"So what's going on? Is there something you're not telling me?" Harry asked them. Again the other three looked back and forth between themselves. They all looked nervous, he thought. Maybe they were afraid to talk to him. He hoped this wasn't about Sirius.

Unfortunately, it was.

"Look Harry. We're really sorry about Sirius and we know you miss him. But what you did to us this summer was really uncalled for mate," Ron started nervously.

Harry's first instinct was anger. They couldn't begin to understand how he felt...the grief and anger he felt were beyond their imaginations. But he remembered last year when he took everything out on them and nearly cost himself their friendship. He sighed heavily, feeling his anger subside.

"I know. And I am very sorry. I just really wanted to be left alone. I realize now that was the worst thing for me. I don't want to talk about Sirius though," Harry said, looking at the others, hoping they saw that he meant what he said.

"We know, Harry and we will leave it be. Just know that if you need to talk...about anything, that I am here for you," she said, blushing. She looked at the others. "We're all here for you."

"I appreciate it and when I am ready to talk about it you guys know you're the first ones I will come to," he told them. Harry smiled then, knowing he could count on them to help him. He was counting on them to help him a lot this coming year.

The four of them got more caught up in Ron's room. The rest of the afternoon flew by. He learned that Hagrid and Madame Maxime were out on another mission for Dumbledore; they went to the mountains again to try and rally the rest of the giants. Harry wondered if Dumbledore was out of his mind sending them back. He remembered what happened to Hagrid the last time he went. His mind went back to the large man on the front of his uncle's newspaper.

"You guys. I think I saw Hagrid on the front page of the newspaper my uncle was reading yesterday," Harry said, explaining to them how he saw a picture of a large man on a hill but wasn't able to read the caption.

"If Voldemort finds out Hagrid is in the mountains again, he won't be safe up there," Hermione said, glaring at Ron when he gulped loudly at the name Voldemort. Hermione had been able to say the name for some time now but Ron still refused.

"You're right, Hermione. We need to go down and tell Mr. Weasley right away," arry exclaimed, getting up and racing out the door. The others followed him down the stairs and into the kitchen where Mrs. Weasley was preparing dinner. Tonks was sitting at the table talking to her, sipping tea.

"Slow down, slow down. What's the rush?" Mrs. Weasley asked, looking alarmed.

"Where is Mr. Weasley?" Hermione asked, panting. She was bent over at the waist grabbing what looked to be a stitch in her side.

"He is outside with Mad-eye. They are looking at something Mr.Weasley brought home from his last raid. I swear if they enchant it...." Ron's mother trailed off when she saw the serious looks on the young wizard's faces.

"We need to contact Dumbledore, now. It's an emergency. Hagrid's life may depend on it. Tonks can you floo his office?" Harry inquired hastily.

"What's this all about, Harry?" Tonks asked.

"I saw a picture of Hagrid in a muggle newspaper yesterday. We need to tell Dumbledore that Voldemort might be aware of what Hagrid is doing, right away."

Hermione, Ron and Ginny all nodded. Tonks looked at Mrs. Weasley, who motioned to a bowl of floo powder on the mantle.

She rushed over to the large kitchen fireplace, reached into the bowl of floo powder and tossed it into the flames. She knelt down and put her head into the green flames.

"Dumbledore's office," she cried out. Harry could see fireplaces rushing past Tonks' head. When she got to Dumbledore's office he look up in surprise.

"Tonks. Everything okay?" Dumbledore asked urgently.

"Professor Dumbledore. Harry said he saw a picture of Hagrid in a muggle newspaper yesterday. Voldemort could know what Hagrid is up to right now," Tonks choked out quickly.

"Thank you Tonks. I will take care of this matter, immediately," Dumbledore replied. Before Tonks could take her head out of the fire she heard Dumbledore telling Fawkes to contact the Order members.

She quickly stood up. "Molly. We need to go get Arthur and Mad-Eye and floo to Dumbledore's. He is calling all the Order members now." Tonks was already grabbing her wand off the table. They went out to get the others and came back to the kitchen.

"We need to go now. Floo your brothers at their shop and tell them to come home. We will be back as soon as we can," Arthur Weasley told his children. One by one they stepped into the fire and flooed to Hogwarts.

"Well I see Voldemort is already ruining my trip here," Harry sighed. "I wish we could go with them."

"So do we Harry but we are not Order members," Hermione told him.

Harry looked at the others. "No," he said quietly, "we aren't. But that is going to change...soon."