Endless Summer

Endless Summer

Chapter One – Noisy, Noisy Burrow

* * *

There was a definite buzz of excitement going on in the Burrow. It was the beginning of the summer holidays, and all of the Weasley children were at home. Even though Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were busy with the Order of the Phoenix, their five sons and only daughter were doing a triumphant job of keeping themselves occupied.

Ginny and Ron Weasley were chasing each other in the house and knocking chairs down, because Ginny had hidden away Ron’s broom. Fred and George were doing an experiment involving their new product – ‘Sleepy Drippy Bar’ – a candy bar that could place someone into deep sleep for one and a half hours; systematic for Hogwarts students, as their lessons were one and a half hours long. "Most Hogwarts professors love candy bars, with the exception of Professor Snape and Professor Binns," Fred had explained to Ron and Ginny, who were the remaining Weasleys attending Hogwarts. "You can give it to the candy loving professors and after they take a small bite, they will immediately fall asleep… with their eyes opened."

"And everyone will be enthralled!" Fred broke in, exhilarated.

Occasionally, loud, violent explosions could be heard (although the two had assured their parents that it was ‘harmless’). Charlie and Bill were busy playing with Gobstones with Bill trying not to get too distracted by the flurry of letters coming from Fleur Delacour. However, the third child of the Weasleys, Percy, was absent.

Everyone knew why, but none of them wanted discuss about it, especially in front of their parents. Percy had taken the Minister of Magic's side by announcing that his family members were 'traitors' and that Harry Potter was a liar. Percy had ignorantly turned away from them and denied that Voldemort had come back. But now, news was spreading from England to New Zealand that the Dark Lord had indeed resurrected himself. The Weasleys had not heard from Percy since the Daily Prophet published the article about Voldemort, but according Ron, ‘he could care less about Percy’ because of the disgusting letter he had received from his elder brother during his Fifth Year.

"Could you all calm down for a minute, please?" Charlie shouted above the madness. "I’m trying to concentrate!"

Fred lifted his goggles (according to him, it made him look more ‘professional’) and smirked. "God, Charlie, get a girlfriend." Ron and Ginny stopped chasing each other and sniggered uncontrollably. Charlie, with a disgruntled sniff, returned to his Gobstones game without another word. He was usually good-natured, but when it came to Gobstones, he could be strict as Professor McGonagall. "I mean," Fred continued, putting his goggles back on and stirring the small-sized cauldron. "Bill has Fleur, Ginny has Dean – or is it Harry? – I have Angelina while George has Katie. Ron, of course, has Hermione."

Ron choked, taken aback. "We’re just friends."

"And so he says," George said scornfully. "Everyone knows you’ve got a thing for Hermione, ickle Ronniekins."

Ron blushed furiously and opened his mouth to say something, but Ginny quickly interrupted, flashing him an assuring smile. "I actually like Dean, Fred."

"But you like Harry!" Ron exclaimed, scandalized. "You told me – "

Ginny shot him a dangerous look and slouched off. "Why do you all live in the land of denial?" George asked empathetically, his eyes still glued on their experiment. "More Mrs. Diggin’s red spice, Fred." Fred was about to say that too much of Diggin’s red spice would cause a serious concussion, but Fleur’s snowy owl flew in for the tenth time that day, interrupting his thoughts. In its beak was a heart-shaped radiant red envelope. The owl landed on Bill's shoulder, and with a smile, he tore open the envelope. Charlie sighed and waited impatiently for him to finish reading. To Charlie's disdain, Bill took out a bottle of ink, his eagle-feather quill and a piece of parchment, preparing to reply Fleur's letter.

"You know, you could just reply to her letters another time," Charlie said irritably.

Bill looked up apologetically. "Sorry."

"You know," Ron said thoughtfully, forgetting about his broom. "I wonder how Harry’s doing. I haven’t heard from him for two weeks now."

"Maybe he’s still upset about Sirius," Bill said, looking up from his letter. "He has a right to be, you know? Harry was his godson," he shook his head sympathetically and continued, "he’s lost his mother, father, and now his godfather. I wonder how Harry will carry his burden?"

"Stop acting like he has a lot of weight on his shoulders," Ron snapped. "It makes me feel stressed out for him."

"Oh, but he does have lots of responsibilities, Ron," Charlie corrected.

"Tell me what they are, then!" Ron said challengingly. "It’s not like he’ll have to kill V – Voldemort! Professor Dumbledore will take care of that."

"Mmm," Charlie looked down at his Gobstones, now silent. Bill had finished writing a reply to Fleur and they were again engrossed in their game.

"Harry writes to Hermione," Ginny whispered from behind him. Ron turned around to see Ginny’s uneasy face.

"How did you –"

"She sent an owl to me yesterday, telling me that Harry has been writing to her quite constantly and that she was very worried about him. Sounds like he’s spilling all his problems to Hermione, don’t you think?"

Ron swallowed a lump that had gathered in his throat. "Harry and Hermione are best friends…"

"God, Ron, shut up!" George shouted from his working space. "We’re all sick of your ‘they’re just friends’ and ‘we’re just friends’ crap. It makes me feel weak and unmanly."

Ginny broke into a fit of giggles and Ron closed his mouth, looking darkly at the wooden floor. "Are you sure about this, Ginny?" he asked, his voice slightly hoarse.

Her face changed and she started laughing more loudly. "Oh, Ron! Oh, Ron!" she shouted breathlessly. "The look on your face! Oh – you’re priceless!" Ron clenched his teeth and growled threateningly. Ginny squealed and jumped away from him. "Okay, okay, don’t be mad!" she said. "It was a joke. I’ll tell you where your broom is, and where I hid your chess set – "

"GINNY!"

They began to run around the house again, breaking numerable things in the process. "Hey, Bill – do you know when we’re due to go to Grimmauld Place?" Fred called.

"We’re not going there," Bill answered. "In fact, you will not be able to enter that house again."

"WHY?" George demanded indignantly.

Charlie heaved a sigh and murmured, "Let’s end this game, Bill," in an annoyed tone, and with a flick of his wand, the Gobstones were cleared away. He got up and Apparated with a small ‘pop’. Ginny looked anxiously at the Weasley Clock and saw that Charlie’s arrow pointed at ‘travel’ then ‘play’.

"I bet he went to the Quidditch Arena in Manchester," George murmured. "Charlie has lots of pals there. He’ll keep himself occupied in Quidditch now, that bloody jock."

"Why aren’t we allowed to go to Sirius’s house anymore?" Fred asked curiously.

"Professor Dumbledore decided to change the location." Bill answered simply.

"Where is it located now, then?" George prodded.

"I can't tell you. You're not in the Order." Bill smiled at them briefly.

"Damn you, Bill." Both the twins said together, gritting their teeth.

"So," Ron’s voice piped up, "so, we’re stuck here, then?"

Bill nodded. "Dumbledore placed a protection charm on our house. We should be safe."

"Oh, I’m going to be so bored," Ron complained. "And after that awful O.W.L. examination too! I need some entertainment…"

"You should be worried," Ginny said haughtily, entering the living room with Ron’s broom and chess set. "You’ll be getting your results next month!"

"Stop being such a Hermione," he dryly said.

"I don’t think you’re going to be bored at all," Bill interjected, a smile on his face. "You see – mum and dad went off to Johannesburg today to negotiate with some wizards there for three weeks. They have left me in charge of all of you."

Fred and George’s faces lit up. "Wonderful!"

"They used to love going to South Africa," said Fred, remembering. "Spent their honeymoon there. Weird."

"You'll get to boss us around, then, Bill." Ron said gloomily.

"It so happens that I have invited Hermione and Harry to stay here for the rest of the summer holidays," said Bill lightly. "And they are very excited about it."

"Why didn’t you tell us earlier?" Ron exclaimed, half-astonished and half-delighted.

"Charlie and I wanted to surprise you," Bill scratched his head sheepishly.

"I thought Harry wasn’t allowed to come here," said Ginny tentatively. "Orders from Dumbledore, you know?"

"Well, apparently he's changed his mind. Mum and dad told me that Dumbledore thinks it's better for him to come here… I suppose he wants to make up for last summer's disaster. You know how angry Harry was. Anyway," Bill paused as Fleur's snowy owl flew through the window with another letter. "I'll be picking Harry up tomorrow, while Charlie will be fetching Hermione."

"Why do they trust us?" Fred questioned, amused. "They know that we're not little angels!"

"They don't," Bill waved his hand with a dismissive gesture. "They trust me."

"And everyone knows what happens when Bill's trusted."