The Coming of Age

"Where are we going?" Harry repeated for the third time that night.

"Why?" Fred asked over his shoulder, voice nearly carried away by the wind. "Are you worried?"

"Three Weasleys and Tonks, of all people. Yes, I'd think that that would worry me. Just a little," Harry responded, unable to keep the grin off his face. "Besides, it's the middle of the night, we're on an illegal flying carpet, and you claim that your mother has no idea you've gone out."

"We've got Tonks. She's our responsible adult," Ron said defensively, as the cool night air turned his face pink.

"We're responsible!" the twins announced indignantly.

"I seem to recall Ginny telling me about how she nearly died when you had that mud fight," Harry said dryly as he absently tugged at one of the sleep knots in his hair. They hadn't given him much time other than to get dressed before they dragged him out of his bedroom window.

"She was laughing when she fell into that puddle!"

"George, when you see bubbles, you pull the baby's head up."

Tonks snorted at Harry's words from where she was directing the carpet with wand taps. Tonight, her long, metallic gray hair was neatly braided behind her and the tail danced along the rug. Fred stuck his tongue out at her back.

"How much further, Tonks?" Ron called to their 'responsible adult'.

"We're here. Stop."

The four boys behind her nearly took headers off the edges of the finely woven rug at the abrupt halt. Eventually, they all stood on the rippling, quivering rug. Harry glanced over the edge and wondered why carpet travel had ever been popular when the transport seemed so unstable.

"Okay, boys." Tonks rubbed her hands together eagerly. "Ron, sorry we couldn't do this on your birthday, but the twins didn't think they could sneak out more than once without your Mum noticing." The youngest Weasley son waved her apology off, eyes bright. Harry suddenly realized that his best friend had little more idea of what was about to happen than he did.

"Right then. Up." She grinned as the carpet rose even higher than it had been previously. Harry gulped as he looked over the edge.

"We're pretty high. What exactly are you three planning?"

"Don't worry your head about it, Harry!" George said brightly. "Bill and Charlie did this for us when we came of age!"

"Wha?" Harry was totally confused and stumbled when the carpet came to a stop.

"Have fun Harry, Ron!" Tonks waved enthusiastically, her eyes glittering merrily. "Don't mess your trousers!"

"What the Hell?!" Harry heard Ron's exclamation just as Fred shoved him roughly off the edge of the carpet, cackling evilly. He never even had the opportunity to scream.

~*~

The wind roared past his ears and the carpet grew darker and darker until its bright pattern vanished into the night. Slowly, as though lost in a dream, he saw Ron falling next to him, face pale as the half moon above them, mouth open in a silent shriek, eyes wide with horror. Turned as he was, Ron could see the ground reaching up to catch them. Unwillingly, Harry felt himself turn over until he too was facing the rapidly approaching ground.

Half-spells, panicked ideas and every desperate thought in his head seemed to be torn away by the wind. Even if he had been carrying his wand, Harry realized that he could not have halted his fall. His mind was a total, helpless black.

He thought he was dead the instant he struck, since all he could see was blackness. But a moment later, he heard his own breathing rattling painfully loudly in his ears and his eyes shot wide open. The ground was less three inches away from his nose. At that point, he did scream, long and loud.

And promptly hit the ground on his stomach.

Shuddering and unbalanced, he sat up and cradled his head in his hands. However, the surprises were not over. Preceded by the sound of a run-away freight train, a huge blue trampoline appeared next to him and the twins smashed into the netting and bounced lightly as though they had only hopped onto it. Harry wondered if he had ever heard them laughing with more glee.

With a loud pop, Tonks Apparated next to the three, grinning like a Cheshire cat. "Wotcher, Harry! Have fun?"

"Ngh." He responded, feeling quite ill. He finally realized that his magic had caused him to stop an instant before he struck the ground. Harry suddenly remembered the story of how Neville had discovered his magic-- by bouncing down the street after his uncle had been dangling him out of the bathroom window and dropped him. A bubble of mirth blossomed in his chest and before he knew it, he was laughing as loudly as the two Weasleys.

"Where'd your brother drop?" Tonks was asking the twins. Harry stopped his uncontrollable laughter and tried to calm himself as he looked around. Where was Ron?

"Saw him over there right before we hit. You'll get a laugh out of what he did."

They quickly jogged a short distance in the direction that George had indicated and a moment later, saw that Ron's life-saving magic had produced a massive red pillow, complete with gold trim, and he was currently lying in the center of it.

Scrambling and huffing, they climbed their way onto the pillow and walked over its surface to the prone and pale form of Ron. He was breathing shallowly when they reached him and didn't flinch even as their weight pressed the feather down stuffing into a crease next to them.

"Alright there, Ron?"

Without opening his eyes, he responded, "I hate maroon."

Everyone laughed, even Ron.

"Wanna go again?" Tonks asked mischievously after a few moments of amused silence.

"Yeah," Harry said instantly.

"Me too," Ron added.

~Fin~