Soul Weaver

“Come along everyone, it’s time to go,” Arthur Weasley announced as he waited patiently for his family to hurry up and exit the house. It was Friday and mid-afternoon; they were set to leave The Burrow and arrive at the Delacour Manor before midnight.

“But Dad … Hermione’s not here yet. What if something has happened?” Ron announced as he trudged out of the house with his luggage; he seemed very cross and worried.

“Ron, come along. They’ll be here shortly, I’m sure,” Arthur stated as Ron put his bag down beside his father’s. “Where is your mother? What is taking her so long?” he asked repressively.

“I don’t know … she’s worried about that tiara thing. That jeweled headgear Fleur is going to wear … Mum hasn’t heard from Great Auntie Muriel yet,” Ron muttered. “Aunt Muriel can just bring the thing when she comes, can’t she? It’s not like a live person is missing,” he complained.

“Ron, nobody is missing. There is no use getting worried about the Grangers. Ah look, I see a Muggle car. I’m sure it’s them,” Arthur stated. Ron turned to watch the car approach the house.

“That’s a nice motorcar, isn’t it, Ron?” Arthur praised as the car drew closer and a moment later stopped at the front gate. The Granger family exited the car and Hermione’s father helped her with her luggage as Arthur moved forward to greet Hermione and her parents; he then studied the car with interest.

After the greeting Hermione moved forward to stand with Ron. She took out her wand and levitated her luggage so it would land alongside the others sitting in the grass near the gate.

“HERMIONE!” Ron announced in shock. “Y-you’ve cut your hair!” he stammered. Hermione quickly reached up and touched her hair nervously.

“Hermione!” Harry and Ginny both called as the two exited the house with their bags and moved quickly to greet her.

“Oh, your hair! It’s lovely!” Ginny stated as she set one of her bags down.

“Is it really alright?” Hermione asked warily as she turned to look at Ron. He twisted his mouth up on one side and studied it for a few moments.

“You changed the color a little,” Ron noticed; he seemed to be trying to decide if he liked it or not. It was a little darker with lighter highlights in front that made her hair appear golden in the afternoon sunlight.

“Mum took me shopping and I just decided at the last minute I wanted a change. Is it really alright? Please tell me if it’s horrible,” Hermione begged depressively.

“I think it’s great,” Harry declared and smiled at Hermione’s new hairstyle with approval.

“It’s not really a huge difference, just a little but I think it suits you. It makes you look older,” Ron said, sure that would please her.

“Older?” repeated Hermione uncertainly.

“I mean … mature, sophisticated … yes … that’s really what I mean,” Ron corrected and hoped she was not going to be displeased with his choice of words.

“Really?” Hermione asked smiling brightly.

“Yeah, definitely,” Ron stated firmly. Hermione’s smile widened and she seemed relieved.

A moment later Fred and George emerged from the house carrying their mother’s bags. Molly followed a second later.

“We’ve got Mum’s bags,” Fred announced. He and George headed over to the group with four bags floating behind them, and between them they carried one large trunk.

“You’ve chopped off your hair,” Fred said to Hermione as he and George joined the assembled group. The twins set down the trunk and lowered the bags to the ground.

“Hermione … tarted up?” George teased and then he squeezed Ron’s cheek. “Isn’t she lovely, Ron … how do you like her new mop?”

“Shove off, you prats. She’s not a tart … and she hasn’t got a mop,” Ron snapped as he pushed George away.

“Oh, not a mop says he,” George said in a mocking tone.

“And his brothers are prats,” Fred finished in the same tone of voice.

“Troublemakers more like it,” Molly accused as she studied them reproachfully. “You two have promised me you’ll not cause any mischief at Fleur’s wedding, I hope you remember that,” she complained in a harsh tone.

“It’s Bill’s wedding too, isn’t it?” George asked defensively.

“Think we’d ruin our own brother’s wedding?” Fred fussed in a voice filled with mock offense.

“I think you two would do anything if you thought it a fine joke,” Molly insisted darkly.

“That hurts, Mum. Really, your own sons …” Fred said, pretending that she had hit him with an arrow through his heart.

“What’s in that trunk then?” Molly asked as she stared down at the large trunk the twins had arrived with.

“Our clothes, of course,” George answered innocently.

“Then you wouldn’t mind if I had a look,” Molly stated as she moved towards the trunk. The twins dashed over and sat on it before she could attempt to open it.

“Really Mum! We’re adults now,” Fred complained sharply.

“We can pack our own things, and besides, we don’t want our underpants shown publicly, thank you,” George went on as they stared defiantly at their mother.

Ginny giggled, Ron and Harry snorted with humor. Arthur and Molly glanced at the Grangers a bit nervously who in turned seemed to be taking in the Weasley family’s antics with curious humor.

“I hope you two will at least behave respectably for your brother’s wedding. Remember we are going to be guests of the Delacour family,” Arthur stated firmly. “I don’t want the family embarrassed by what you two consider fun,” he added, still glancing at the Grangers nervously.

“Don’t worry, Dad, it’s just business. We’ll be respectable and uphold the family name,” the twins replied in unison.

“Right,” Ron muttered, as everyone seemed to have a very skeptical expression on their faces.

The Grangers stayed for another few minutes and chatted with Arthur and Molly and then Hermione and her parents bid each other a fond goodbye.

Arthur and Molly walked back over to the house as the Grangers left. Harry watched them and assumed they were putting some sort of ward on the house for when they would all be away. Harry turned back to find Hermione staring after her parents’ car as they drove off.

For the first time he wondered why they would leave her so easily. He had never really thought about it before, but now his mind began to question why they would leave Hermione when she was sure to be a target of Voldemort.

“Hermione, have you told your parents about the war?” he asked. She turned her head back to look at him for a few moments as if she had not heard his question. Upon hearing Harry’s question, Ron, Ginny and the twins stared at her with a curious expression. They seemed as if they might also be wondering the same thing.

“Hermione, do your mum and dad know about the things going on with us … that the Headmaster was killed … do they know anything about the war?” Ron questioned when Hermione did not reply to Harry.

“I’ve told them some of it,” she said a little stiffly, as if she really did want to talk about it.

“Some of it?” Harry asked.

“If I told them everything, I doubt they’d be likely to leave me. Not that it would really matter, I could come on my own anyway,” she began in a matter of fact tone.

“Hermione,” Ron cut in sharply before she could go on. “Do they know a war is going on and that you might be a target, or even they might be?” he asked.

“Not exactly,” she replied in a defensive tone.

“Hermione, you should at least…”

“At least what, Ron?” she interrupted shrilly. “They don’t understand about what we are, not really. They’ve always supported me but they’ve never been very comfortable with what I am … a witch,” she informed depressively. She again stared off into the direction her parents had driven.

“I think it’s easier for them when I’m gone. Nobody asks questions and I can’t mess up and do magic that would have to be explained away later. They don’t have to invent excuses or make up stories about me to their friends if I’m not around,” she went on in a depressive tone.

“You’ve never told us that before,” Harry said as he studied Hermione’s face. He could see that she was upset now, her eyes had watered up and he was sure she might cry at any moment.

“Why didn’t you tell us, Hermione?” Ron asked gently. She turned her head back to stare at Ron sadly.

“With everything going on … every year we’ve had to battle something to just stay alive. When have I had time to bother anyone with my problems?” she asked in a sad voice. “You don’t understand, none of you do really. I told Ginny a little, but none of you are like me, you’ll never understand what it’s like,” she insisted and wiped at her eyes; two solitary tears slid down her cheek as she went on with her explanation.

“I’m trapped between two worlds and I’ll never really be accepted in either. You both come from magical families, but I don’t,” she described, indicating Ron and Harry with a hand motion and then wiping another tear away as she tried to compose herself.

“Not really, I don’t remember my family,” Harry asserted. He was not angry with her comments, just concerned about why she felt this way. Harry had never even thought that Hermione’s parents could be anything like the Dursleys, but maybe it was still hard on her even though her parents must love her.

“I know you grew up with Muggles but your parents were still magical,” she countered and gave a slight sigh. “I am still always going to be a Muggleborn. No matter what happens with Voldemort, the prejudice will still always be there,” she said sadly.

“It doesn’t matter,” Ron insisted in a stern tone.

“I know that,” she snapped. “I know all of you are my friends and that it doesn’t matter to you,” she stated in a gentler voice. “But none of us can just wave our wand and make the prejudices go away. If we could, we wouldn’t have to stay hidden all the time,” she explained. “Or be in this war,” she added.

“Hermione, why are you so upset, what’s bothering you really?” Ron asked. He stepped closer to her and laid a hand very gently on her shoulder.

“Do you want a list?” she asked in a shaky voice. “The war … the headmaster being murdered … everything …” she trailed off because her voice broke with fear and worry. She had not said she was scared but it was very evident to them that she was.

The proof of her own fear seemed to make it real for each of them; even Fred and George for the first time seemed a little shaken by Hermione’s emotional state.

“Hermione, you’re with us now. What would we do without you?” Harry insisted because he was not sure what else to say. “You keep us all in line and hold us together. I couldn’t have made it through half the messes I’ve been in without you, Hermione,” he praised.

The twins nodded in approval of his statement and Ron and Ginny also nodded in agreement as well.

“We’re all scared,” Ginny admitted as she reached up to take Hermione’s hand. “But we love you, Hermione. We’re your family too … like always,” she offered as she squeezed Hermione’s hand.

“We all have each other, like Mum says,” George stated.

“Yes! We’re all family here!” Fred cheered. “And Mum knows best of course!” he added hastily since Arthur and Molly had started back over to join them. He said it loud enough so that Molly would hear him.

“Mum knows best?” she repeated in astonishment. “Whoever thought that those words would come out of your mouth?” she said as they stopped among the assembled group. It only took a moment for her to notice that Hermione seemed upset and she stared at Hermione a little worriedly.

“Is everything alright?” she asked with concern.

“Everything’s fine, Mum,” Ron replied and gently squeezed Hermione’s shoulder before he let go and lowered his hand back to his side.

“Well, let’s be off, we don’t want to arrive too late,” Arthur said.

“Dad … where’s the Portkey?” Ron asked curiously.

“Actually, there is a slight problem with that,” Arthur said quickly.

“There has been a change of plan,” Molly informed. “We’ve decided to travel as publicly as possible,” she explained.

“Not public transportation!” Ron complained in a tone of displeasure.

“It’s the safest way, Portkeys can be meddled with,” she declared darkly.

“So can public transportation,” Ron grumbled.

“The Ministry has put restrictions on Portkeys, son. It wouldn’t matter either way, since there is a one month waiting period to even get them,” informed Arthur.

“What’s wrong with public transportation?” Harry asked.

“Why can’t we just apparate?” Ron muttered.

“To France? Really Ron, you can’t be serious … are you trying to get us killed?” Hermione asked, trying to get her mind off her worries.

“How would that get us killed?” he grumbled.

“We’ve never been to the Delacours’ home for one thing … and that’s a long way to try and apparate,” Hermione answered. “We have to know where we’re going to apparate: a person needs a firm grasp on where the place is they’re going to be reappearing,” she stated. “You don’t want to splinch yourself inside a wall or a tree, do you?” she added.

“He’d be much more agreeable if he did,” Fred suggested.

“Most of you haven’t developed the skill enough to apparate properly yet, and I don’t want any accidents before the wedding,” Molly insisted. “So we’ll just take the bus to Waterloo Station in London, then we’ll take the Muggle train to France. It’s only a bit over a three hour ride on the train,” she explained.

“I’m told the Muggle train is an express. I’ve read about it, it’s supposed to go quite fast when it’s on the French side and we’ll get to see what a Muggle train is like … Won’t that be fun?” Arthur suggested.

“The bus? The Knight Bus?” Harry asked as Arthur moved through the gate and held out his wand into the road.

“Yes, well…a little different I’m told. It’s a new Knight Bus. It’s supposed to be more secure and safer than the older bus,” Molly informed.

A few minutes passed as Arthur stood at the edge of the road with his wand out. As if on cue, like the old Knight Bus that had appeared to Harry the night he had decided to run away from his aunt and uncle’s, a loud bang was followed by the arrival of a very bright yellow bus.

Harry was repulsed by how bright yellow the bus was, he even had to shield his eyes from its very obnoxious color.

“The new color is quite scary,” Fred muttered mischievously.

“I’ll say, no self respecting Death Eater would climb aboard this thing,” George added.

Harry noticed one other difference besides the color and that was that the bus had a number on the side - number thirty-two and a half.

“Why a half?” Harry wondered aloud as they all brought their bags forward. Arthur greeted the conductor and paid him the money for their passage.

“Because it’s only half as bad as walking,” Ron muttered.

“It’ll be fun to travel all together, I think,” Hermione stated, trying to sound upbeat. But as their luggage was put away and they climbed onto the bus they all stopped just inside the door because the bus was already crowded.

“Come on there, hurry along,” Arthur said sternly.

“It looks like we’re not the only ones wanting to travel publicly,” Molly informed Arthur in a whisper once she got a glimpse of the full bus.

“We’ve two Aurors on our bus … safest way to travel at the moment,” the conductor stated from behind them as he waited for them to get on the bus.

Harry knew right away who they were as he filed down the aisle behind Ron and Hermione. One man was at the front and just from the way he stared at Harry told him that this man was an Auror. The other appeared to be at the back and was gawking at Harry as if he had seen a scary monster.

Harry found a seat with Ron, Ginny and Hermione sat together; Arthur and Molly sat across from them and Fred and George took a seat at the back across from the Auror. Once they were all settled the bus was off.

Much like the regular Knight Bus, this one traveled quickly; another difference was this bus had seats and not beds. So it mostly had the appearance of a Muggle bus except for the very fast speed it was traveling.

“Why are they staring at me like that?” Harry whispered because the two Aurors kept glancing at him and Harry got the feeling they did not like seeing him.

“Who would want Harry Potter on the bus they are in charge of keeping safe?” Ron replied in a whisper. “Probably they’re scared to imagine what might happen with us on board,” he added.

Harry frowned, realizing Ron was probably right. He noticed that even some of the other passengers had become nervous; quite a few were now glancing at him in the same manner the Aurors were.

“Being famous really stinks,” Harry muttered.

“Being a famous sidekick is worse,” Ron informed with humor. Harry grinned a little and patted Ron on the shoulder. He in turn simply shrugged his shoulders, “Well, we’ve been together from the first, no sense in breaking the consistency now,” Ron stated, also grinning.

Harry gave a laugh and stared out the window as the ground flew by. Having friends made it all worth it. Hopefully he’d live long enough to really enjoy them in the future, without having to worry every minute about who wanted to kill him next.


Once they arrived at Waterloo Station they had to collect their tickets. The station was very crowded so Arthur set Harry and Hermione the task of picking up the tickets while the rest of them would start the check-in process. They got the tickets and returned to the group while they were being processed.

After they’d managed to scrape through check-in and passport control; they had one passport officer who did not seem to like the look of them. Harry was reminded of Snape because the man had a nasty sneer on his face and did not seem to want to let them through.

When he really could not find any reasonable excuse to stop them, he finally had to simply allow them to pass.

They all followed Hermione as she found their seat locations on the train; it was already quite full but luckily their seats were all together. Most of the Muggles seemed disinterested in their group, to Harry’s relief.

The car was not divided like the Hogwarts Express compartments; everyone sat together on this Muggle train. It was a large open car and they could see the other passengers, which seemed to be a treat in and of itself for the Weasley family who now got to study the Muggles with curiosity.

To Harry, most of the Muggles appeared to be people of business class leaving work or those perhaps traveling to France for a weekend vacation. One man a little ahead and to the left of them had headphones on his head and he seemed to be very much into his music as he bobbed his head about cheerfully.

“Seems a bit disturbed, does he?” Ron commented as he stared at the same man.

“He’s listening to music - it’s a Muggle device that lets you hear music,” Hermione explained. “The things on his head mean that only he can hear it,” she added.

“Oh,” Ron replied but still stared at the man warily.

“Harry, would you ask that Muggle if you might have his newspaper? I see he’s put it down and seems to have finished with it,” Arthur asked hopefully.

“I’ll do it,” Hermione offered and stood to make her way to the man. Harry was thankful he did not have to go. The man graciously gave the paper to Hermione and smiled at her kindly and she returned with it and handed it to Arthur.

Mr. Weasley seemed utterly thrilled to have it and began to read and review it excitedly. Arthur studied the front page thoroughly and as he opened it Harry noticed the head story on the front of the paper was about major flooding across Europe.

“These Muggles … they don’t realize what’s causing this really, do they?” muttered Arthur under his breath.

“Rain maybe,” George suggested.

“Yeah, You-Know-Who doesn’t cause every natural disaster, Dad,” Fred added as he grinned at a Muggle girl who was sitting across the car just in front of them. She had glanced back at him and was now blushing because she had got caught looking.

"Mind your manners," Molly whispered sharply to her son.

"I haven't done anything," Fred complained and pretended interest in the newspaper.

"This is going to be an entertaining trip," Ginny commented.

"It doesn't really seem to be a complete family," Molly suggested, all of a sudden appearing quite sad. "It's a pity that Percy could not be here with us," she continued. Arthur gently patted her arm. All the Weasley children rolled their eyes at the mention of their wayward brother's name.

"What a shame he's not here to help with the wedding," Fred insisted, nudging his twin mischievously. Molly cut them a cool glare, seeming to know some smart remark would soon follow.

"Yeah, at the reception we could transfigure him into a snail, and then some French person could eat him," George explained.

"Oh, honestly," Molly snapped, as everyone else gave a stifled laugh. Even Molly seemed to be fighting a giggle, but after a moment her sad expression resumed.

"He'll come round, dear. Eventually Percy will see the truth and come back to us," Arthur insisted in an upbeat tone. She nodded and looked as if she had convinced herself that her husband had to be right.

"I hope these Muggle trains are safe," Ron said nervously as the car shook slightly.

"It's no different from the Hogwarts Express, no need to be nervous," Hermione said in a soothing tone.

“Seems a bit more posh if you ask me,” George noticed as he studied the seats and then grinned at the same girl Fred had; the two began to whisper to each other and then laugh.

“Alright, behave yourselves,” Arthur scolded without looking up from his newspaper.

Harry stretched and then yawned. “Wake me up when we get there,” he said to Ron. Harry made himself comfortable and closed his eyes.

Ron also made himself comfortable in the same manner Harry did but then glanced over at Hermione. “Wake us up when we get there,” he said to her and then closed his own eyes.

Harry laughed because Hermione made a grumpy noise but thankfully did not scold them.

A couple of minutes later the train gave a slight movement and then they were on their way.

“France, here we come!” Fred announced and he said it loud enough that it caused a few Muggles to chuckle. Molly gave a hiss of disapproval in reaction to this.

A little while later the motion of the train, the soft murmur of people talking lulled many of the passengers to sleep, including Ron and Harry.



“You might have warned me,” muttered Ron as he stepped down from the train once they had arrived at the station in France.

The Muggles that exited from the same car on the train were glaring at him with dislike. Molly and Arthur appeared quite exasperated. Hermione held a concerned expression but she seemed to be doing her best not to laugh. Ginny and Harry also wore expressions much like hers. The twins however were laughing and making squealing noises as if they had been horribly frightened by something.

“The train’s under attack!” Fred cried in a mocking imitation of his younger brother.

“What’s that noise…MUM! DAD! What’s happening? Is it a Death Eater attack!?” George mimicked in the same manner his twin had.

“Alright, that is enough,” Arthur demanded sternly.

“Your father is right, it is not funny … I think we nearly frightened the Muggles to death,” she accused in a quiet tone.

“How was I supposed to know we’d be going through a tunnel?” Ron complained depressively. “I wake up and … oh never mind,” Ron added.

“No harm done … but you did pull your wand out, Ron. I’d praise you on your quick action if we hadn’t been on a train full of Muggles,” reminded Arthur; he patted Ron affectionately on the shoulder. “Now let’s be off, we still have a little more traveling to do before we get to the Delacour Manor,” he informed.

All around people were speaking French and Harry had a very limited ability to understand it. He knew a few words and a couple of very simple sentences. He studied the people as they spoke and felt overwhelmed to realize so many people were speaking a language he did not understand.

“It’s a little weird, isn’t it?” Ginny commented. “Gabrielle has taught me some French but I feel stupid all of a sudden … I should have tried to learn more,” admitted Ginny as she and Harry followed the group.

“I’m sure you know more than me … I kind of feel like I’m on another planet,” Harry replied.

Once they were out of the train station Arthur looked around and seemed to be searching for something. Molly pointed to the left and they headed in that direction. The younger group followed. They turned down a street and made their way into a small but dense cluster of trees. Arthur stopped and glanced around, pulled out his wand and tapped the trunk of one of the trees three times.

Harry watched as the tree trunk turned black and then seemed to reveal a doorway. Arthur walked on through.

“W-what is it?” Harry asked curiously.

“It’s a little like a Portkey, or really the Floo network,” Molly informed as the twins went on through, followed by all the luggage. “This will take us directly to an area very much like Diagon Alley. It’s called Rooh Treek, or something like that,“ she went on.

“Rude trick?” exclaimed Ron, looking bewildered. “That doesn’t sound good.”

“No, Ron,” said Hermione with a heavy sigh. “Let me explain, I’ve read about it. It’s actually called Rue de la Trique; ‘trique’ means a cudgel, like a Beater’s bat. It used to be a very rough area during the Middle Ages, but now it’s a fashionable shopping street. French wizards sometimes refer to it jokingly as Rue Tric after the Tricolore - the blue, white and red French flag. You’ll see…”

Harry stared at the hole in the tree with concern as Hermione jauntily walked through; Ron rolled his eyes and followed wearily.

“Not to worry dear, you’ll not go off track this time … it’s just like walking through a door into another room,” Molly advised Harry and patted him on the arm.

Harry walked through and it was just as Mrs. Weasley described; one second he was in darkness, the next it was like he had just walked out of a house into the sunlight. As he stood and gawked at the street he now stood on Ginny and Molly came through behind him.

Harry looked back and watched the black doorway on the wall of a building disappear. He turned to study the street curiously.

It was similar to the buildings of Diagon Alley, except Harry was reminded of something out of a children’s storybook. Everything was quite dramatically painted in very bright vivid colors. Bright reds and blues seemed to be the favorite but every other color seemed to show up somewhere.

“It’s delightful,” Hermione said with excitement.

“Arthur, will you get the taxi?” Molly asked hopefully. “I need to buy one more thing for the gift we’re bringing to the Delacours and I want to pick up something extra for Bill and Fleur,” she explained.

“One more, dear?” he stated with concern but because of her expression he gave in. “Alright, dear. I’ll go get the taxi,” he submitted.

“A gift for them? Why … they’re rich, aren’t they?” Ron asked in a perplexed tone.

“We’re going to be guests and I want to thank them for their hospitality. We might not have as much money as they do, but we do still have our good name and our manners. You remember that, Ronald Weasley,” Molly insisted sternly as she glared at him.

“Sorry, Mum,” Ron said and appeared somewhat depressed as his mother headed off.

“Alright children, I’ll go hire us a taxi to take us to the Delacours. You’ve got a few minutes to look around, but don’t go far. I’ll not be long and hopefully neither will your mother,” Arthur said as he walked off in the opposite direction from where Molly had gone.

“Poor Ronnie … he’s having a hard luck day,” Fred said in a soothing tone, grinning madly at his younger brother.

“We’ve got just the solution for you, little brother,” George announced as he moved to his trunk that sat among their luggage.

“No … I don’t want any tricks or junk you guys have made to do anything for me, thanks,” Ron declared defiantly.

“Suit yourself, we were going to give you a Galleon to go buy us all some sweets,” Fred complained as he opened the trunk and pulled out a small bag of what seemed to be full of Galleons.

“You can stay here and mind the luggage then,” George said as the twins went off to a shop on the left side of the street.

After they had left Ginny and Hermione were attracted to a small shop close by that had very beautiful dresses in the window. The two girls went over to stare up into the window and chat together.

To Harry, Ron appeared more cross than normal - he was watching Hermione with an expression something between annoyance and desperation.

“Ron, are you alright?” Harry asked.

“Er …” Ron mouthed and then turned to stare at Harry. “Yeah, I’m alright,” he stated firmly.

“You sure?” Harry pressed.

“Yeah, I just wish everyone would stop treating me like a child; other than that I’m fine,” he insisted.

Harry nodded but was not really sure what to say to Ron to make him feel better. The twins returned a few minutes later and Ginny and Hermione came back right after them.

Molly was next to return with what appeared to be some sort of basket with flowers in it; she also had a wrapped package under her arm. She stopped in front of the luggage and opened one of her and Arthur’s bags. She took out a shinny gold metal tin and placed it in the basket.

She handed Ron the package she’d been holding under her arm and then searched till she found what appeared to be a bottle of Firewhisky, then another small packaged wrapped in red and gold paper. She arranged the things in the basket and then closed her luggage.

“They’ll think it’s Christmas, Mum … did you knit them matching sweaters as well?” Fred asked, grinning at his mother.

“Take that attitude and see if I knit you anything from now on,” Molly scolded, giving the twins a devious smirk.

“Oy … watch it brother, we need those sweaters,” George proclaimed playfully.

Molly fussed with making the basket look nice while they all waited for Arthur.

He appeared a little way up the street and waved his hand for them to come to him. The twins brought the luggage as they all made their way up to his location.

A large carriage approached and stopped beside him as they waited. The huge winged horse snorted at Harry when he got close to it, so Harry gave it a wide girth as he moved by it.

“A flying carriage!” Ginny said a bit excitedly and giggled as the large winged horse stomped its front hoof nervously.

A tall man came round and patted the side of the animal and then nodded his head to the group. He helped with the luggage then held the door as they all climbed up inside the carriage.

The inside of the carriage was much like their tent at the Quidditch World Cup, Harry noticed. Outside it looked small, but once they had all climbed inside it was roomy and spacious enough for everyone.

“Is it bumpy to ride, when we’re in the air?” Ginny asked as she made herself comfortable.

“No dear, it’s got a special spell on it that makes the inside a smooth ride, or at least that’s what I’ve been told since I’ve never ridden in one,” Molly informed. “Was it expensive, Arthur?” she asked as he climbed in and sat beside her.

“No, not to worry, dear,” he said patting her hand.

A few moments later they were off and Harry watched out the side window as they lifted into the air and he saw the buildings slowly get smaller and smaller and then they began to glide across the landscape gracefully.

They all studied the ground as they flew along, taking notice of all the buildings and scenery as they zipped along.

“How long until we get there?” Hermione asked curiously.

“The man said probably about a little under to maybe an hour as long as the wind is good. I thought this would be a nice way for us to go … a treat for everyone … and we’ll be able to see outside … at least until it gets dark,” Arthur informed cheerfully.

“It’s great, Dad, thanks,” Ginny said and everyone else thanked him as well. He smiled and seemed glad to know everyone was pleased. They all watched the ground pass by until it got a little darker but then as lights flicked on below it became just as lovely, seeing the golden glow of homes below them.

It was approaching midnight when they landed. Harry could not make much out of the area since it was too dark to really tell where they were. Once they were all out of the carriage it moved off and then disappeared into the darkness. They all walked down a very short path off the road they had landed on and came to a high stone wall with a pair of black iron gates; Harry assumed this must be where the Delacours lived. Two very elegant lamps burned brightly and stood on black poles near the gates.

As they approached the gates Harry noticed two large black statues of lions up on top of the stone wall beside the gates. Harry did not pay them much mind as Arthur walked up to the gates and seemed a little perplexed about whether he should open them and just walk in.

Ginny and Hermione both gave a startled cry and Arthur backed up because the two lion statues jerked and seemed to come alive; instead of gray stone, their bodies gained the tan fur of living lions. Everyone just stared as the two lions leaped down from the wall.

They all took a few steps back but the two statues growled at them and moved forward. One of them leaped over in front of the gates, the other circled behind the group.

Molly and the girls yanked out their wands at the same time as Harry did; he noticed the twins, Arthur and Ron did the same.

They were all unsure over what to do it seemed, so they all grouped together and watched as the lions circled them and seemed quite ready to take a bite out of them.

The sound of a man’s voice could be heard and the gates opened abruptly. Then everyone noticed the familiar voice of Fleur who was speaking French frantically. As the voices drew closer they all noticed that the man also was speaking French in the same manner.

Fleur appeared first and a second later a man followed through the open gates. He growled something very loudly in French. Bill came charging out of the gates only to stop abruptly beside Fleur.

The two lions turned and leaped back up onto their pedestals and became statues again. Bill seemed relieved and stared at the group for a moment as if to see whether someone might have been hurt.

“Sorry, Mum, Dad … we forgot to tell you about them,” he apologized. “Everyone alright?” he asked with worry as he continued to scan each of their faces.

“That was scary … but yes, we are all alright,” Arthur informed as they all put their wands away. “Very nice gargoyle guards though … quite impressive,” he stated, still sounding a bit shaky.

“Welcome to my home, I am Monsieur Delacour,” the man informed as he extended his hand to Arthur Weasley. “I believe you are Bill’s father, Arthur Weasley. You may call me Renaud,” the man said as he shook Arthur’s hand.

The man was tall and elegantly dressed. His hair was brown and was pulled back neatly from his face. As the man turned to greet Molly, Harry noticed the man’s hair was braided in the back and it hung down to about the middle of his back.

Renaud Delacour made a slight bow to Molly and took her hand in greeting; he kissed it once and Molly blushed as the man let her hand go.

Billy moved forward and began to introduce everyone. When he got to Harry, Mr. Delacour stopped and studied Harry a moment curiously.

“So, you are ze one zey all speak of, ze one that ees advertised in ze papers?” he asked. Harry noticed the man was staring at him as if he were not very impressed.

Fleur made a comment in French to her father and he glanced over to her and nodded.

“My daughter has corrected me that advertised ees ze improper word and that I should ’ave said written about … please forgive me … my English ees not as eet should be,” Renard informed. “Zer are many stories about you, Mr. Harry Potteur. I have wondered how many are true … and how many are ze media’s fabrications,” he alleged.

“Unfortunately some of them are quite true, Mr. Delacour. Harry is the target of You-Know-Who,” Mr. Weasley stated. Mr. Delacour turned to stare at Arthur for a moment then turned back to Harry.

“Zis ees the one zat causes so much trouble in your country … Did zis man really kill your parents and attempt to kill you?” Mr. Delacour questioned.

“Yes, sir … along with many other people. Usually whoever he thinks is in his way,” Harry informed.

“I have heard zis before,” began Renaud Delacour and he waved a hand as if he understood. “I also have been informed zat ze headmaster of ’ogwarts has been murdered. You were zere when zis happened?” he asked Harry.

“Yes, I was there,” Harry replied. He felt uncomfortable all of a sudden; Mr. Delacour stared at him very intensely for a moment but then nodded as if accepting this reply.

“Very unfortunate. Albus Dumbledore was ze best of men … and ze best of British wizards zat I know. Eet ees a sad event and we ’ave lost an excellent friend in him,” Mr. Delacour declared.

In that moment Harry liked this man, simply because of this expression of concern and compliment to Dumbledore.

Fleur spoke French to her father and he again nodded.

“You all ’ave had a long trip, you are all welcome and please let us enter. We will be glad to ’ave you as guests een our home,” Renaud said in a friendly manner and held out a hand towards the gates to encourage them all to enter.

They all made their way through the gates and headed up toward the Delacour manor. In the dark it was hard to tell exactly what the house looked like, but Harry could see light coming from many windows, giving him the impression it was a large house.

The driveway leading up to the house was marked with elegant lanterns to light their way. As they drew nearer to the house the sound of water splashing caught Harry’s ear and he thought there must be some sort of fountain nearby. A few moments later he saw that his vision had partially been obscured by neatly trimmed hedges. Once they were around them he saw a brightly lit water fountain centered in front of the house.

This area was brightly lit on the other side of the hedges and as they entered it they were all struck by the beauty of the garden directly in front of the entrance. The fountain was a winged horse leaping into the air. The water shot out above the animal’s head and then fell back down gracefully to cover the statue. Lights in the pool below gave it a haunting glow; around the base were all sorts of colorful flowers.

“Beautiful,” Molly mouthed in awe of the surroundings.

“Eet ees much lovelier during ze day … but eet has a mysterious nature in zee night,” Fleur said cheerfully.

“Your home is beautiful, Mr. Delacour,” Arthur commented as they stopped at the front door.

“Eet ees ze family home, eet ees the family’s many generations before me of ze Delacours … we are very proud of eet. I have done my most to keep eet a place of harmony and ’appiness for my children, as I remembered eet for myself,” Mr. Delacour explained.

They all followed Mr. Delacour inside and as they entered they were all struck by how beautiful and elegant the home was, just by first entering the door. They walked through a small foyer into a huge room. Above them hung a grand chandelier filled with soft cream-colored candles that did not blow out as they entered and the door was closed behind them.

A woman appeared through a doorway to the right and walked towards them. Harry was stuck by how beautiful she was. At first he did not even realize she was talking, he was so dumbfounded by her graceful movements as she glided to stand beside Renaud Delacour.

She spoke in French and Harry shook himself mentally as he regained his senses. This must be Fleur’s mother, he thought. Her long blond hair hung down her back and looked like glossy silk. A braid of her hair circled her head like a golden crown. If anyone could be a queen, Harry was sure this woman could play the part convincingly.

Renaud smiled at her as she gazed at the group a little warily; Harry got the impression at first she was a little afraid of them. She said something again in French and Renaud nodded.

“I will introduce you to my wife, Ariane…she knows only a very leetle English so I hope you will understand why she may not speak eet to you,” he stated. “She wishes me to welcome all of you and she ees glad to meet Bill’s family at last,” he said.

Harry had the impulse to bow but restrained himself from doing it.

Molly Weasley moved forward and held out a basket to Mr. and Mrs. Delacour; Harry recognized it to be the gifts she had brought for them.

“We’re very glad to be here and I thought I should bring something to celebrate our two beautiful children’s forthcoming matrimony … just something small … I hope you like it,” Molly informed cheerfully.

The Delacours stared at the basket reprehensibly; Fleur spoke hastily and waved her hand swiftly at her father. Mrs. Delacour gave a nervous laugh and took the basket as if someone had handed her a screaming baby.

“We … zank you for ze gift very much,” Mr. Delacour said as he stared in the basket and seemed slightly amused.

An awkward silence fell over the group for a moment and it took Fleur’s quick prompting again to get her father to speak.

“You may all leave your luggage here. We have servants who will take zem to your rooms,” Mr. Delacour commented. He waved his hand back toward a large grand staircase. “If you wish to refresh yourselves after your long journey, Fleur would be kind to take you and show you your rooms. We have all been awaiting you and we will have ze meal prepared now,” Mr. Delacour informed.

“Yes, that would be nice,” Molly replied hopefully.

Fleur moved to the staircase and they all followed her. A few moments later they found themselves moving down a wide hallway.

Similar to Hogwarts, there were many portraits down this corridor and the people in them began to whisper in French and seemed quite excited to see new people.

Fleur led them each to different rooms: Ginny and Hermione seemed to be sharing a room with Gabrielle; Ron, Harry and the twins would also share a room; Molly and Arthur would have their own separate room.

“I am sorry you have to share … but we have many family members to come, along with many of your own family members,” Fleur reminded.

“Just like home,” Ron suggested. Fleur smiled slightly and nodded.

Once they had freshened up and had a chance to relieve themselves, they followed Fleur down to join Bill, who had waited patiently for them.

“We have some other family members already ’ere,” Fleur began as they followed her to the dining room. “Gabrielle ees of course, and our grandmother too … she ees very old so she might not hear you … so you will have to speak loudly to her. Also Uncle and his wife and zer young daughter are ’ere as well,” she went on.

A few moments later they entered the dining area. A large table sat in the center of a room. On one wall a row of long windows ran from ceiling to floor; Harry was sure in the daytime it must be very bright and sunny in this room. On another wall sat an empty fireplace; since it was summer it was not lit.

All round the room were candles that illuminated it with a warm friendly glow. Everyone that was sitting down at the table now stood up except for a very old-looking woman. Harry found out later it was not Mrs. Delacour’s mother, but instead Mr. Delacour’s mother.

Once they all entered and found a seat at the table the rest of the group sat down. Harry noticed a man and woman who he assumed was Fleur’s aunt and uncle. To their left sat a small girl who Harry was sure could not be more than one or two years of age. Beside her sat Gabrielle, who, upon seeing the group, issued a squeak of happiness and waved furiously at Ginny and then the rest.

“Hello, new family,” she proclaimed cheerfully and as she did this the little girl proceeded to wave and try to repeat what Gabrielle had said but it came out, “Eweo ew awwey”.

“Isn’t she darling?” Molly said as she made her way to sit across from the little girl. Molly waved back at the girl excitedly, as if she were quite happy to see a little one.

Mr. Delacour began to introduce everyone to each other; without warning the food appeared in the middle of the introductions, startling them. Fleur’s mother spoke harshly in French and Harry was sure she was complaining about something to do with how the food had appeared abruptly.

Mr. Delacour hastened around the table offering wine to al his guests; even Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione got to have a glass.

Once he had filled everyone’s glass he waved a hand as if to submit to the early arrival of the food. Everyone took this as the cue to go ahead and eat.

Harry was very hungry and a few moments later the sound of plates being moved and forks scraping them filled the dining room.

Harry had to admit the food was excellent, even better than Hogwarts. The wine was exceptionally good as well. Silence filled the room as everyone ate and seemed to be thinking the same thing - how good the meal was.

Harry felt a little awkward because the little girl was watching him intently. Harry had not been around small children very much, not really at all that he could remember. The little girl burst into giggles a few seconds later.

“She likes you, ’arry,” Gabrielle said cheerfully. Harry blushed and the little girl said something but he could not understand her since she was speaking French.

“Another girl charmed by an English wizard,” Fred announced with humor.

Fleur giggled, her mother and father were slightly amused by the comment; the grandmother seemed to be asking what he said to her son and Renaud explained Fred’s remark. Mr. Delacour’s mother gave a great “Humph” and eyed Fred and George suspiciously.

After that the meal seemed to go smoothly with minor chit chat and talk about the wedding and the events for the weekend. After everyone had finished, Arthur and Renaud began to talk together about the war and what had happened to Dumbledore.

Harry did not really want to hear it explained again, so he asked to be excused and rose to his feet. Hermione and Ron also got up, Ginny followed and the twins seemed to think they also should go.

“Eet appears zees young ones move as a group,” Renaud commented and smiled at them kindly.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way, considering the state of things at home,” Arthur explained. Renaud nodded and waved his hand in a manner that said they were all excused.

“I am sure everyone ees tired from ze long journey, please … if you are tired, eet ees alright to go to bed … please treat zis as your ’ome while you are here,” Renaud said to them.

“Go along children, your father and I will be up to bed soon as well,” Molly informed.

They all headed out of the dining room and made their way upstairs again to find their rooms.

“Harry … can I talk to you?” Ginny asked as they all were about to enter their rooms.

“Ah … OK,” Harry said nervously as she moved to stand beside him.

“Oooooooh,” Fred and George said in unison and nudged each other. Ron made an uncomfortable noise and entered their room. Fred and George followed and were laughing as they closed the door. Hermione simply grinned as she moved into hers and Ginny’s room and closed the door behind herself.

“I just wanted to tell you something … important,” she said as she stepped up in front of him and was grinning. Harry’s mouth went dry as he stared down at her; he had not realized it, but he had stepped back and he was now pressed against the wall.

Ginny launched herself at him and he could not react quickly enough. She had wrapped her arms around him and was kissing him before he could stop her, not that he wanted to.

After a moment of this he sank down slightly on the wall; as he did so, he also wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him.

It seemed like forever they were linked together. Harry did not want to break away from her, but he had to take a breath. Once he did, they both were gasping and stared at each other as they tried to control their panting.

“Ginny …”

“I know, I know,” she replied hastily. “I just couldn’t resist … and besides … we’re in France, so I thought while I could … I should,” she explained but then giggled at her own statement.

“I thought while I could … I should … so I did,” Harry announced with humor, which caused them both to laugh. “Too bad I missed the opportunity to become a great poet, instead of the chosen one,” he added.

Ginny hugged him tightly and laid her head on his shoulder. They stood for a long while, both thinking about the future and what might happen.

“I don’t want any regrets between us, Harry. I love you and I want you to know it,” she said in a shaky voice.

Harry tightened his grip on her and hugged her to him. “I love you too, Ginny,” he said softly against her hair.

The sound of someone approaching forced them to break apart. Ginny moved to her bedroom door and glanced back at him. “Goodnight, Harry,” she said as she closed the door.

A moment or two later Mr. and Mrs. Weasley appeared at the top of the stairs; they paused in front of him as they crossed the landing.

“Everything alright, Harry?” Mr. Weasley asked curiously.

“Great, sir. Actually, better than great,” Harry replied with a lazy grin. Then he realized it was Ginny’s father he was talking to and he straightened up.

“Excellent then,” Arthur said cheerfully. Molly wished Harry goodnight and moved on to the door to hers and Arthur’s bedroom. Once she had gone inside, Arthur patted Harry on the shoulder.

“Now, Harry, about your Portkey,” began Arthur. “We’ll get up bright and early in the morning and head to the French Ministry of Magic. Then after that we’ll have a few hours before the rehearsal for the wedding,” he explained.

“Erm … rehearsal?” Harry questioned nervously.

“Yes,” Arthur said with a laugh. “Weddings are a rather serious business … so there is generally always a practice for big things like this,” he stated with another laugh.

“Of course you could do as Molly and I did, and run off and just get married,” he informed. “Ah … not that I should encourage that … Molly would probably murder me for telling you that,” he admitted a little depressively.

“Seems like a lot of work for a few minutes doesn’t it, Mr. Weasley?” Harry said absently as he moved to the bedroom door.

“It’s for the women mostly, I imagine. Anything to make them happy … you’ll understand much later about that, I think,” suggested Arthur with a sideways grin at Harry.

“I’ll wake you boys in the morning, so best warn them it will be early,” Arthur said cheerfully. “Goodnight, Harry,” he added as he moved to his own bedroom door and disappeared inside.

As Harry opened the door to his room the twins jumped back and hurried over to their beds, pretending innocently that they had not been listening at the door. They remained silent as Harry got ready for bed.

Ron said nothing and was already in bed, but he seemed a little cross as the twins snickered. Once Harry got into bed he knew the twins had heard what he and Ginny said, because as the lights went out the two began to sing a rousing tune:

“I thought while I could …I should …so I did.”

Ron made a noise of distress, but for whatever reason Harry was not embarrassed and instead of being cross with the twins he joined in singing along with them. He knew that Ginny loved him and that made everything worth it; even the twins’ teasing could not destroy this wonderful feeling.