Harry Potter and the Reign of Darkness

Harry Potter and the Reign of Darkness

Chapter Three - Birthday Wheezes

Harry struggled to get to sleep after the meeting had adjourned as a lot had happened in the past hour since his arrival at the new headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix. Hermione's face had turned white as a sheet when Harry told her that Draco Malfoy would be Head Boy. Ron was furious, and had made to have a row with Professor McGonagall, but Hermione quickly put on a professional face. "No, no. I'm sure there's a very good reason that they selected Malfoy. Who knows, maybe his father getting caught for a second time might just shatter some of that ego of his."

"Not likely," Ron had whispered to Harry.

Now Harry tossed and turned. Beyond all the business with Hermione and Draco Malfoy as Head Boy and Girl, he, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were full fledged members of the Order now. Would they be assigned guard duty? Special training? Harry couldn't decide whether to be excited or frightened. He had fought so long to be treated like an equal by those around him, proving himself time and time again in the struggle against Voldemort, and now he finally was on equal footing. Feeling a little more-reassured, Harry finally drifted off to sleep.

In front of Harry laid a long and twisted corridor, one wall was exposed to the Hogwarts Courtyard. It was dusk and a slight dew was settling in the air. Harry began walking out into the courtyard when he began to hear screams erupt from all around. Wizards in dark robes and masks floated towards him in great numbers. They were dragging bodies behind them, and as they got closer Harry could see they were dragging the limp bodies of his friends: Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and others. The masked wizards encircled him and dropped the bodies to the ground with an audible thud. Harry reached down for his wand but found that it was missing. As he began to panic, one of the masked wizards took a step forward and reached up to remove its mask. As the expressionless mask was peeled away, Harry saw the face of Professor McGonagall staring back at him, her lips pursed as usual. The wizard to her right stepped forward and followed suit, revealing the face of Lucius Malfoy. The nex! t wizard was "Mad-Eye" Moody, followed by Barty Crouch, Jr. and other members of the Order and various Death Eaters. Harry stood dumbfounded, and then felt a nudge in his back. Turning around, Harry cried out. Standing in flowing robes of black stood Professor Dumbledore, his wand pointed at Harry. Without a second's notice, Dumbledore muttered, "Avada Kedavra." The last thing Harry remembered was a flash of green light.

Harry shot upright in his bed, his head engulfed in sweat. Scrambling for his glasses, Harry quickly put them on and started to drop his head over the side of the bunk bed to see if Ron was still there when his scar ignited in searing pain. Harry cried out, falling back onto his pillow and clutching his forehead as if ready to peel the scar off. As Voldemort's power grew more and more, Harry had noticed an increase in both the amount of times his scar flared up as well as the intensity with which it burned. He laid awake, staring at the ceiling for what looked like hours. His scar's burning sensation slowly waned, and finally, exhausted, he drifted off to sleep.

Harry awoke with a start, his half-opened eyes inundated with carrot tops. "Happy Birthday, Harry!" cried Ron who was perched next to his head.

"Cheers, mate!" said Fred, who, like his brother George, had their chins resting on the end of the bed.

Ron grasped Harry's left arm and tugged. "Come on down! Mum's preparing a special breakfast."

Harry pushed off of the bed and leaned forward on his knees, absentmindedly scratching the back of his head as he put his glasses on. "Alright, alright. I'm comin'." Harry climbed down the stairs as Ron and the Twins, already dressed, headed downstairs. Harry threw on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt and sauntered out of the sunlit bedroom and clear into Ginny.

"Oh! Oh, I'm so sorry Ginny!" Harry took a step back and his eyebrows immediately shot up. "Ginny?"

Ginny's eyes were wide open with surprise, anger or embarrassment, Harry couldn't determine. What soon grabbed his attention, however, wasn't her shocked eyes but the large amount of green paste that was covering the rest of her face, not to mention the blue foam oozing out of her mouth.

"Ezghuze me!" she cried, bent down and then stood up and scurried off into a room with a slightly ajar Orange door. Right before it slammed, Harry noticed Ginny carrying a dirty toothbrush. He had knocked it right out of her mouth!

"How clumsy of me," Harry thought and grinned, shaking his head before turning to walk down the steps.

As Harry reached the bottom step, he was greeted by an overwhelming array of aromas. Mrs. Weasley must have been cooking a feast from the looks of things, as there were pots and pans strewn about with various fruits and vegetables across the countertop and a sack of flour here and there. Mrs. Weasley herself was at the sink and Ron, Fred, George, Professor Lupin were at the table. Mr. Weasley, who was standing from his chair with a piece of toast in one hand and a briefcase in the other, walked over to Mrs. Weasley.

"I'm off, Molly...." Mr. Weasley turned to leave when he saw Harry. "..oh! Harry! Happy birthday, my boy!" Mr. Weasley gave Harry an earnest smile and then Disapparated with a crack.

Mrs. Weasley turned at the sound of Harry's name and smiled at him. "Happy Birthday, Harry!" She set down the plate she'd been scrubbing and walked over to give Harry a hug, squeezing him.

"Mum....let him go." Ron pleaded, Fred and George only stifled a laugh.

Paying no attention to her sons, Mrs. Weasley grabbed Harry by the shoulders. "How does steak and eggs sound, Harry? It's about time you had something proper to eat on your birthday."

"That sounds wonderful, Mrs. Weasley. Thanks." Harry smiled and Mrs. Weasley ran her right hand through Harry's hair before returning to the sink.

Lupin stood up out of his chair having just finished a piece of toast with marmalade and walked over to Harry, smiling. "I've got to be going, myself, Harry...." Lupin produced a small box from his patchwork overcoat, wrapped in old editions of the Daily Prophet. "....but I managed to find this for you. I hope you like it. Just wait to open it until later." He smiled warmly at Harry and then walked over to Mrs. Weasley, whispering in her ear. She turned to smile at Lupin and nodded and then, with another crack, Lupin Disapparated. Harry tore off the assorted newspaper, revealing a picture in a small, ramshackle frame. In it, a young Lupin, alongside Sirius and Harry's father James were sitting and laughing. There was a fourth chair in the picture, Harry assumed it used to seat Peter Pettigrew, but Lupin must have forced him off frame. Harry smiled at the picture of the three Marauders, as they had called themselves back at Hogwarts, and he couldn't help but think ! of how he, Ron and Hermione were carrying on the Marauders' tradition.

As Mrs. Weasley finished preparing the eggs and was bringing them over, the floorboards on the stairs began to squeal and soon Hermione emerged from the staircase, brandishing her Head Girl badge on her sweater. She smiled first at Harry, then at Ron as she sat down next to him. Ron looked at Hermione with a confused look. "Where's Ginny?" Hermione giggled for a moment and then pointed back at the stairs. Both Ron and Harry followed where she pointed to see Ginny descending the staircase. Her hair had been curled and her make-up done. Fred and George looked up from their whispers and immediately shut their mouths. Harry and Ron's jaws were both wide open and staring.

"Ginny!" Ron cried. "You....you look...." Ginny smiled sweetly as she walked over to the empty seat next to Hermione.

"Very nice." Harry said, rolling his tongue back into his mouth.

Ron nodded, shaking himself out of a stupor. "Yes. What Harry said."

"What's this all abo-Ginny!" cried Mrs. Weasley, surprised to see her daughter had aged a few years since the evening before.

"Mom!" Ginny said as her eyes gazed down at the table. "It's no big deal, Hermione and I just wanted to see how it looked...." She smiled weakly at Hermione and then Harry before spearing a small piece of steak. Fred and George, then the rest followed suit.

Twenty minutes later, with relatively little talking, Harry was stuffed. As he brought his dishes up to the sink, he addressed Mrs. Weasley. "I really appreciate this, it was great."

Ron's mouth was stuffed with scrambled eggs as he spoke. "Yeah, mum, s'great." Mrs. Weasley smiled warmly and beckoned to Harry for a hug. Harry set his plate down on the countertop and then leaned in.

Mrs. Weasley set her silverware down. "So, what are your plans for the day? You know you can't be out of the house, but there is a small backyard that Remus managed to conjure, at least you can get some fresh air."

Harry only smiled at Mrs. Weasley as she stood to bus her plate and then shot a pleading look back to the table. Ron shrugged and Hermione looked unsurprised by the statement, but Fred and George were grinning from ear to ear.

"Actually, mum...." said Fred, cautiously. "Harry said that he's been too excited to get to the summer reading he needs to do for school. Isn't that right, Harry?"

Harry looked dumbfounded and stuttered for a second before Ron kicked him in the shin. "Uh...."

Mrs. Weasley turned around from the sink, looking confused. "But Harry! It's your birthday, don't you think you should relax?"

Harry stumbled for words once more. "Um....oh....yes, I mean no! No, I've really been bad about it this year. Hermione and Ginny said that....that they'll be able to help me. The Dursleys wouldn't let me look at my books, you see. I'm really behind."

Ron chimed in as Harry searched for more excuses. "It's true, mum. Hasn't seen heads nor tails of his schoolbooks all summer. It's a real shame for him to be so far behind, must weigh on his mind terribly, you know...." .

"Besides," Ginny interjected, "We'll be having a party tonight! Cake and ice cream and presents. Better to have it when Dad can be home, right?" She winked at Harry.

Mrs. Weasley smiled and shrugged. "I suppose so, dear," Mrs. Weasley paused, gazing at Harry, "Such a hardworking young man, you are Harry," Mrs. Weasley turned to look at Ron as she rambled on, "You could learn a lot from Harry's example, Ronald."

Ron frowned. "But I've already got all of my homework done!"

Mrs. Weasley tilted her head to one side and sighed. "After I hounded you all summer, you barely cracked a book until Hermione arrived."

Ron smiled briefly at Hermione, who was eyeing him suspiciously. "Let's go. Lots for you to catch up on, Harry," Ron blurted out. Fred and George nodded at him and were the first to leave the table, disapparating with two cracks.

Mrs. Weasley frowned as she turned back to the countertop. "Those boys...." Harry and Ron grabbed the rest of the plates and put them into the sink, and then turned to follow Hermione and Ginny upstairs.

The door to the boys' bedroom was open and Hermione led the group in to see Fred and George going through their trunks, there was a slam as Ginny closed the door behind them. Hermione looked extremely vexed. "What is all this nudge, nudge, wink, wink business going on?" Hermione received no answer. "Ron?" she said defiantly.

Ron swallowed. "Fred....and George....us....Diagon Alley....COME ON Hermione, It's Harry's birthday! He shouldn't be cooped up in here, we'll get to see what happened first hand." Hedwig cooed in apparent agreement, but Hermione looked shocked.

"Are you seriously thinking that we, that Harry, that I will go to Diagon Alley after what happened? First off, your mother would be furious. Second, Harry's WANTED by the Muggle police, so he can't go galavanting around! Third, Voldemort's already shown that Diagon Alley isn't out of his reach! If anyone sees Harry dawdling in Diagon Alley, who KNOWS what will happen."

George stuck one hand out in Hermione's direction. "Hang on a minute, Hermione. We've got all that covered."

Hermione swung around to face the twins. "What are you talking about?"

Fred stepped forward and produced what appeared to be a small chocolate that had been bit in half. "We've got about nine or ten of these, chewed in half. We call 'em Switcher Sweets. Get someone to bite off the red half, like this one, and then another person swallows the green half and poof, they're sporting the facial features of the person who took a bite off the red side, but the face and hair ONLY. Lasts about 20, 25 minutes each, so Harry'll have to keep popping these every so often, but that'll give us a good two hours. I figure we can show Harry a good time and no one'll be the wiser!"

Hermione looked more impressed than angry. "You managed to do that all in a little chocolate?" She looked closer at the half-eaten candy in George's hand.

"They take a little while to make," said Fred. "No easy task to simplify a polyjuice potion and then mix in some chocolate, not to mention the caramel...."

George rose his head up like a giraffe. "Can't forget the caramel!"

Fred nodded in agreement, then continued. "That's why it's only the face and hair. Just couldn't manage the full monty, I'm afraid." Hermione was obviously searching for another objection.

"Well, how....How do you expect to get by your mother!" She cried.

Fred chuckled. "Well that's easy! We'll just Apparate!" With a crack, Fred appeared next to his Ron, and continued. "And the rest of you can sneak by under Harry's invisibility cloak."

Hermione put her hands on her hips and huffed. "Four of us can't fit under Harry's invisibility cloak!"

Ron interjected weakly. "Only....only three....actually.."

Hermione turned to Ron. "What do you mean three? There's seven of us Ron!"

Fred patted his brother's shoulder as George called out. "Show 'em Ronny."

Ron swallowed audibly and with a crack, he Disapparated, appearing next to George a moment later.

"Ron!" Hermione called out, looking very surprised. "You passed your Apparation test!"

Ron nodded, looking a little queasy. Hermione stepped up to him. "What's the matter?"

Fred and George laughed. "He'll be fine. It throws his stomach for a loop, that's all. Doesn't like to do it," said George, grinning.

Ron swallowed once more, looking very strained as he did so. "I barely passed, can't go too far yet but I can manage alright, I suppose."

Hermione looked impressed, despite Ron's discomfort with apparating. "Why didn't you tell us, Ron?"

Ron shook his head and shrugged. "I don't care for it enough to even cross my mind. I only use it in emergencies...." He shrugged.

Hermione stared at Ron for a minute longer, and then turned back to look at Harry. "I don't like it one bit, but it IS your birthday, Harry. I do know you hate being stuck at the Dursleys all summer. What would you like to do?"
As soon as Ron had mentioned Diagon Alley, he had immediately wanted to go. He fancied a closer look at what happened the day prior and getting out of the confines of the new Order headquarters sounded very appealing, even if he had already been there for a day. Being stuck at Privet Drive all summer had given him an itch of wanderlust that the short trip to the Order's headquarters hadn't begun to scratch. "I think it sounds like fun, I never get to go out, much less do anything special on my birthday. We'll just be careful."

Ron, Fred and George all cheered. Ginny looked pleased as well and Hermione only sighed. "Oh, alright. I'll just be a minute to get ready." Ginny followed Hermione out, grinning wildly. Ron looked shocked as he glanced in Harry's direction.

"I can't believe she just agreed. Can't ruddy believe it."

Fred and George walked over to Harry with a small felt bag. "We've got ten of 'em in here, Harry, I don't figure you'll need 'em 'til we get to Diagon Alley. Should last you a little more than three hours, just remember to pop one in your mouth every twenty minutes or so or else we'll cause quite a scene," said Fred, looking as if he inwardly hoped Harry would forget.

Harry nodded, and then looked confused for a moment. "Hang on a minute, you said that when I eat these halves of the chocolate, my face'll become like the person who bit the other half off," Harry paused for a moment, swallowing nervously, "So who bit the other half off?"

Fred and George's eyebrows rose high on their foreheads, and Ron looked as curious as Harry. "Ah, right. We couldn't go marching around the Order asking them to sample our treats or else mum would have a fit, and we don't have any first years to experiment on anymore, however, ol' Mundungus was more than happy to accommodate our final tests for a nominal fee," said George, who, along with Fred, was looking very accomplished.

Ron made a face of absolute disgust. "Mundungus! Are you sure you want to go through with this, Harry?"

Harry sighed, looking at the bag Fred was extending out to him. "After masquerading as Crabbe and Goyle, Ron, I think I can handle resembling Mundungus Fletcher if it means we get to have some fun." Harry took the bag from Fred. "Thanks."

Ron smiled weakly. "It's your face, mate." As Harry walked over to Hedwig's cage to feed her, Ginny walked through the door into the boys' room.

"Are we ready?" she asked.

Fred and George nodded enthusiastically. Ron looked anything but thrilled, but he nodded as well. After rummaging through his things for a few moments, Fred produced a small Muggle doll and placed it to the right of the door. "Alright everyone, real quiet now. Respondum." Fred waited a moment while everyone looked on, Harry looking very confused, before continuing. "We'll be down later for lunch, mum. Leave us alone!" Fred flicked his wand at the doll and then nodded to the group. "That should be sufficient."

"Quite sufficient," added George.

Harry walked over to Ron and whispered. "That's a wicked spell." Ron only nodded once more, obviously dreading his coming Apparation.

With a slight creak, Hermione walked in and stood next to Ginny. Ron looked up from his shoes and the look of disgust on his face melted away, replaced by a mix of shock and something....else, Harry couldn't deduce just what. When Harry followed Ron's eyes, he saw a Hermione that looked much like Ginny did: older and more mature, less of a girl and more a woman. Her make-up had been done as well, but not as dramatically as Ginny's. Her hair also looked more under control than usual, and she had a small, nervous smile as she looked over at Harry and Ron. Harry couldn't tell if it was just the blush making Hermione's cheeks so red or if she really was blushing.

"So, are we ready?" She said sheepishly.

Ron, at an apparent loss for words, looked to Harry. "Are we?"

Harry smiled at Ron, noticing Fred and George nudging each other as they looked at their brother, and nodded. "Let's do it." Harry pocketed the bag of Switcher Sweets and grabbed his invisibility cloak from his open trunk, stealing one more glance at the picture of the Marauders that Lupin had given him before setting it on a stack of socks. Beckoning Ginny and Hermione over, Harry was quickly surrounded by perfume. Unable to tell if it was coming from Ginny or Hermione, but relatively sure both were responsible, Harry gave one more reassuring look to Ron and then donned the cloak.

"We'll be waiting outside," said George. Fred nodded, and then with two cracks they Disapparated. Ron swallowed, and with another crack, he was gone as well.

"Alright," Harry said encouragingly, "This'll be easy. Just follow me." Ginny and Hermione nodded and the three left the bedroom, shut the door and then quietly descended the staircase. Judging from the sound of it, Mrs. Weasley was in the abandoned family room, possibly cleaning. Inching slowly over to where Harry had dropped through the dumpster, Harry realized he didn't know how to leave. He turned to whisper to the girls. "Where's the exit in this place?"

Hermione pointed over to a small doorway towards the back corner of the kitchen. The three edged over and Ginny slowly turned the knob, which was creaky with old age. The three of them cringed with each small turn until the latch let go and the door swung open with a low moan. Approaching footsteps from the family room caused Harry to quickly shuffle through the door with Hermione and Ginny close behind. Mrs. Weasley reentered the kitchen looking confused and then, with a moment of recognition, made her way over to the door, mere inches away from the three of them, and closed it without a second thought. When Harry turned around, he was greeted with another, much narrower staircase which they climbed in a single file line. At the top was a small sheet of metal nailed into the wood. Harry reached out and pushed on the metal and a hatch slowly swung open, revealing the same alley way Harry had arrived in with Hagrid the evening before. The three quickly climbed out and Harr! y tucked his invisibility cloak inside his jacket.

"What took you so long?" George called out from the other side of the dumpster, a hand on Ron's back. Ron was hunched over, looking slightly green in the face. Hermione stepped over, putting her hands on Ron's cheeks and forcing him to look up at her.

"Are you okay?"

Ron nodded. "I'll be alright....Let's....let's get moving."

Fred and George turned to look at Harry. "Well, mate, let's see it," said Fred.

Harry took the felt bag out of his pocket and opened it, removing one of the half-eaten chocolates. "Here goes," he said, and with one quick bite, Harry swallowed it. Immediately, his face began to bubble and contort, his hair beginning to struggle between the color of black and white before settling on a deep smoke. The rest of his face began to grow slightly round, his cheeks puffed out and his eyes changed to a deep brown. Harry removed his glasses, realizing that his vision had improved considerably without them on, and he stowed them in his pocket. Reaching up to run his hands over his face, he discovered wrinkles running over a good portion of his forehead and a surprising amount of stubble around his chin.

Fred and George looked absolutely thrilled. Ron looked as if he may be sick again and Ginny was doing her best not to smile. Hermione, however, looked duly impressed. "Well done, Fred, George," she said approvingly.

The twins bowed, and George chimed in. "Shall we?"

The walk to the Leaky Cauldron was fairly short, only about ten minutes. It was a pleasant August day, the sun was shining and there was a gentle breeze about. Hermione and Harry took it in stride, but Ron and Ginny were actively looking about at the various Muggle activities taking place around them. Even Fred and George looked slightly curious. "Don't get out in the Mu....well, the world too often. You know." said Fred.

"I think it's fabulous," said Ginny, who began walking next to a very ugly Harry. "What is that big box that man's in, Harry?" Ginny was pointing at a crimson telephone booth where a young man in a suit was speaking on the phone. Harry couldn't help but chuckle at the picture being painted, it was hard to remember that the Weasleys had grown up in an exclusively magical world, and here they were, a bunch of wizards walking down a Muggle street in downtown London having a merry old time. He only hoped his Uncle Vernon didn't drive by and recognize the Weasleys. "Harry?" Ginny said, still waiting for an answer.

"That's a telephone booth, Gin. Mu....People like my Aunt and Uncle use them to talk to other people with telephones. You see, you talk into the little black thing that man's holding to his ear, and the person you've called can hear you and talk back." Ginny didn't respond, but latched onto Harry's right arm with both of her hands and pulled herself a little closer, grinning at him briefly before looking elsewhere in amazement. As soon as Ginny turned her attention elsewhere, Harry turned his head around behind him, his mouth open to ask Ron a question when he noticed something curious. While both Ron and Hermione were looking in opposite directions, they were walking very close together. After a second or two of staring, Ron looked at Harry and noticed Ginny's arm around his. He immediately gave Harry a very quizzical look, but eventually just shrugged and smiled weakly. Harry started to nudge his head ever so slightly at Hermione, but Ron only looked confused.

"Ah, there it is!" cried Fred. "The Leaky Cauldron." Harry turned around before Ron could deduce what he was getting at, and the group marched through the front door to the Cauldron, trying not to draw much attention. They were lucky, as the pub was packed. Harry noticed a few people he had seen during his first trip to the Ministry, when he had been tried by Cornelius Fudge for using magic in a Muggle neighborhood in front of his cousin, Dudley. He had been cleared of all charges thanks to Dumbledore's timely appearance. The officials he recognized seemed to either be asking questions of the Cauldron's clientele, or were simply keeping their eyes open for suspicious witches and wizards. While Harry looked curious enough, a group of young wizards didn't seem to be of the Ministry officials' concern. Hermione led the group through a small door to the brick wall in the back of the building, tapping the five bricks with her wand. Immediately they began to rotate and twirl ba! ckwards, revealing the entrance to Diagon Alley.