Hogwarts Trilogy Part One: Secrets and Sorceresses

My greatest thanks to Chris, Parker and Sphinx, who made this story so much more readable! Chocolate to you, ladies!

 

 

 

Chapter 1

 

Holidays in the Sun

 

By: Lilith Morgana

 

In which we meet members from our little gang,

learn about Pansy’s obsession, Susan’s uncle,

follow Lisa to Diagon Alley,

and visit the Burrow where everyone is preparing for Bill’s birthday party.

* * * * *

 

"Rise and shine, sunshine!"

 

If fifteen-year-old Susan Bones had set out to chose one expression in the English vocabulary she wanted to erase, it would be a toss-up between the one mentioned and "a friend in need is a friend indeed"- both frequently used by her uncle Daniel. The same uncle that had now entered her bedroom with a loud noise as his faithful companion- the yellow-brown dog Isaiah- at full pelt jumped up on a pile of books and of course upset them. Susan sighed when she looked around in the small room that was hers during her holidays at her uncle’s. He owned a terraced house in the outskirts of Hull, a little city in Humberside, not famous for anything in particular (unless you found Muggle telecommunications and a once-great shipbuilding industry extremely hot) and definitely not a meeting place for witches and wizards. Apart from a very old and deaf lady a few blocks away, Susan didn’t know any other non-Muggle in Hull.

While the rest of the house was suffering from a peculiar interior design, vaguely inspired by the 50’s and 70’s in a strange mix, Susan’s room was filled with modern Muggle decorations. Being an artist at heart it was hardly surprising that she wanted nice surroundings. The walls were painted blue with stars and she had managed to cover one side of the room completely with posters, photographs and drawings of various objects but most of all the punk group Sex Pistols, much to Daniel’s despair. His niece looked at him in extreme annoyance.

 

"When are you going to tell that dog that he isn’t a cat! Look at this mess now! Why can’t you make him stay away from me and my things! It’s a stupid, stupid animal! No, Isaiah, you’re not welcome here!"

 

The dog didn’t seem to care the slightest bit about her protests though, and in less than five seconds he had placed himself in her bed, lovingly licking her face. Susan groaned and pushed him away.

 

"Isaiah!"

 

Daniel hurried to the poor dog’s rescue with a worried expression in his kind face. He remembered only too well what Susan had done to his pet before when he -insensitive as only a dog could be- had put large paw marks all over her still wet painting. It had been her best ever and the loss of it made Isaiah to a frog for several hours until Daniel could figure out the countercurse and Susan herself got an angry letter from the Ministry of Magic. Ever since, the furry dog seemed to enjoy teasing the girl.

 

"Come here, sweetie…" Daniel said to the happy animal and changed the tone as he thereafter spoke to Susan who was glaring at him. "There is no need for you to yell at him, Susan! You know perfectly fine that he-"

 

"-is a very clever dog and of the same breed as famous Animagus Maeve Moonbeam when she was transfigured," Susan sighed and pulled a tired face to the short and bald man. "Yes, I know that but it doesn’t matter very much when he’s playing Demolition Man in my room!"

 

"Demolition Man?"

 

"Never mind…"

 

She sat up, scratching her head. With two weeks left of the summer holidays she’d much rather stay in bed sleeping than being dragged up from it by a overly enthusiastic uncle who wanted to take her for walks or teach her how to make a strawberry tart. He was like that, Daniel Bones. So much like a Muggle that he sometimes seemed to forget that he actually could use a simple spell to clean up the kitchen, instead of scrubbing the floor with a broom. Not that it showed in the house though, they could show off as the most well polished and cosiest place in the entire area. Every Wednesday evening, a couple of neighbours arrived at six o’clock sharp to get their weekly update of gossip, recipes and exciting events in Hull. Susan suspected the last topic to be pretty easy to get over with since the News of the Year still was Mrs Greenfire’s broken leg back in February. Daniel, however seemed to enjoy the evenings more than anything else, so Susan wouldn’t dream of saying something negative- as long as she was liberated from them, of course.

 

"What time is it?" she asked as she slowly started to accept the fact that any more sleep was out of the question. "Are you aware that kids need their sleep?"

 

Daniel cocked an eye at her while he carefully caressed Isaiah who had settled down at his feet.

 

"It’s eight o’clock, dear. And if you got to bed in time last night you’ve had just enough sleep as it is."

 

Oh, holy Goddess, she thought and managed to find her wand under the bed before she slowly forced her body out of its warm little nest. Her uncle remained in her room, smiling at her until she gave him a black look.

 

"Do you mind?"

 

"Oh, right. See you in a minute then!"

 

"Don’t be too sure…" Susan mumbled after he had closed the door behind him and finally left her alone. She pulled the quilt aside, stretched out her back and got to her feet with a yawn. The room was already warm from the sunlight outside and a fly desperately tried to get out through the closed window. Funny how it kept trying and trying even though the glass never let anyone out or in, she thought and smiled before she opened the window for it to escape. On her way to the closet her green eyes fell on a framed photo at the desk, next to her bed. Her parents, waving in her direction as they always did when the saw her, and left a hapless feeling in the girl’s stomach. Mum and dad. Two people she didn’t even remember anymore but who’s memory still caused sadness when she thought of them, especially now that the wizard who murdered them fourteen years ago, was up and about again. It had been a horrible summer for them all, but for the Hufflepuffs who knew Cedric Diggory, nothing could be described as normal. Susan knew it would be a lie to say that she had been a good friend of his, but the mere tragedy, that someone she knew could get killed, showed the danger that lay ahead of them. A danger that she, living in a place like Hull, had been away from most of the summer. She was awaiting the upcoming school year with anticipation at the moment, curious to meet all her friends but afraid that they would have a harder time than any of them could imagine. As that thought was formed in her head, her eyes fell on another photo, and filled her with another, much more pleasant feeling. Her best friend Hannah Abbott smiled at her from the picture and Susan felt the same kind of light as she always did around the girl. Not even now, with dark threats around them, did the Hufflepuff manage to possess many negative thoughts. The letters they had been exchanging were bubbling with news, ideas and gossip- as though nothing had happened. She unfolded one of them.

 

Dear Susan,

I can’t believe it- I was going to write you like a month ago! So sorry about that, but I hope you found a way to survive without my brilliance. Just kidding. How are you getting along with uncle Dani? Still going peppy is he?

My family and I have had the best time lately. You know my cousin Maximillian? We’ve been sunbathing at his parents’ friend’s summerhouse in Jersey. Can you believe the class of everyone there? Walking the streets in your old clothes makes you feel like a beggar or something! Typical Muggle lawyers and doctors- how can they fit in all of them? I mean, someone has to make their living from something else than medicine and law, otherwise they wouldn’t survive. I’m sure they hire cleaners and assistants from outside and ship them in, because they don’t belong on the island. Snobbish pack, if you ask me, which- of course- you do.

Anyway, it’s been kind of crazy ever since we split up for this summer and I miss you all. Toni came home for a short visit last week too and my parents are thrilled that she’s showing up. I mean, seeing their daughter once a year must be tough. Although they are proud of her being so successful and important now (Toni told me she’s going to correspond with Professor McGonagall when she goes to the US for a job now in October. McGonagall apparently trusts my sister that much, Susan! Toni is going to help out now with the whole You-Know-Who thing. She’s so brave!) I reckon they would like to have her at home too.

I want to meet you before school starts again, do you think that’s possible? Owl me will you?

Yours ever and always,

Hannah

XXX

 

No, Susan thought. The danger couldn’t be that big, not if Hannah and her family were this calm and peaceful. Hannah’s sister Toni worked as a secret agent, specialising in Muggle weapons, for Professor Dumbledore and Hogwarts and she of all people would have noticed if things were going out of hand. It had to be that way. Susan Bones was at least going to pretend, even if everything around her pointed in another direction.

 

 

^#^^^^^^^^^^^#^

 

 

If it hadn’t been for the jet black clouds far away in the blue sky, threatening with thunderstorms, Millicent Bulstrode would have enjoyed her day at the beach a lot more. Apart from them, nothing was wrong. The water was bearable to swim in, her body felt completely calm in the sand and the breezes were soft and welcome; it was a perfect frame for yet another day of rest and vacation. She was stretched out lazily like a cat on her bath towel, listening to rock music from one of those Muggle electronics her mother –under heavy protests- gave her permission to buy last summer. Everything felt very peaceful- well, everything except Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zambini on the towels beside her, constantly nagging and giggling.

 

"This song makes me think of Draco!" Pansy exclaimed with an impassioned voice that reminded Millicent of bad films where the heroine always had the pleasure of trembling a little as she spoke out the last words.

 

"Every song we ever listen to makes you think about Dragon", Blaise answered, careless of any sort of sentimentality. "Really, Pansy, if he hasn’t been showing you any romantic interest the last four years, what makes you think he suddenly would explode with tender feelings for you this term?"

 

Pansy looked extremely offended.

 

"He took me to the Yule Ball, remember?"

 

Blaise shrugged and gave Millicent an amused look.

 

"Oh, for heaven’s sake! If you mention that bloody ball one more time I’ll have to use this on your lips!"

 

She picked up her wand with a grin and pointed it in Pansy’s direction. The tall, blond girl seemed to think that she was serious and sighed melodramatically.

 

"It was a turning point in our relationship, Blaise, mind you. I’ve been trying to explain this so many times but you don’t understand. Draco is such a shy person…he really is. Not once during our date did he try to kiss me or even embrace me, but Blaise- I could feel that he wanted to!"

 

The mere thought of Pansy in her sickening pink Ball robes brought out loads of empathy and neither Millicent nor Blaise had the heart to tell her another theory about the ‘shyness’. To have looked like something you drink when you feel sick for an entire night must be punishment enough, Millicent thought and decided to forget that she didn’t even go to the ball.

 

Pansy turned to her instead of to Blaise who was hiding her face behind the latest issue of "Young Witches" and a long article titled "Get the body of your dreams and the face of your desires- without magic!"

 

"Millie, tell her how he looks at me!"

 

Millicent hesitated for a brief moment. Draco and his looks was her least favourite subject in the whole world and yet they always seemed to have it up for discussion. During the week she had spent here at the Parkinson’s residence with her two best friends from school, the name Draco Malfoy had been mentioned at least a billion times. For some reason it was her job to listen, to stare at the designated boy in school and analyse his facial expressions and secret undertones in the sentences he spoke to Pansy. The curse of being one of the girls that no boy ever laid his eyes upon, other than to look away again in disgust, she thought, heavy-hearted.

 

"Well, I guess he looks at you…" she said monotonously.

 

Blaise giggled and found a chance to joke.

 

"Oh, yes Pansy. He looks at you with all the hidden passion only a Malfoy can possess!" she said with played emphasis. "And all he can think of when he see you is to grab you and pull you in his…er…manly arms and silence your gabbling little mouth with a long, emotional kiss before he kneels down and proposes to you right there and then."

 

The ‘hmpf’-ing sound that came from their friend made both Millicent and Blaise peal with laughter.

 

"Pansy, darling", Blaise continued and illustrated her speech with gestures and mimicry. This was so typical of her, always to joke about everything and everyone and provoke just for the sake of provoking. "My beloved. From you I have been absent in the summer and it broke my frosty heart to pieces…"

 

Pansy pulled a wry face and looked as though the entire world was in a big conspiracy against her when she reached for the sun lotion in her pastel coloured bag.

 

"Well, excuse me if I’ve got feelings! At least I’m not a stone-faced, icy girl like you. And by the way- don’t call him Dragon!" she snarled at Blaise.

 

After Pansy had carefully oiled her already tanned body she rolled over to her back and put her sunglasses on while Millicent couldn’t stop a little grin from appearing on her face. Pansy was a good friend, however cruelly they treated each other from time to time. Although she knew the bond between Blaise and Pansy were much stronger than any bound she would be able to make with them. Growing up together in Liverpool with parents once sharing a Magic Carpet company it was unavoidable that they become like sisters. They didn’t look, nor act, like sisters though. Whilst Pansy was a blond, thin girl with icy blue eyes and thin lips, always covered in lipgloss; Blaise had a thoroughly different appearance. She was at least one and a half head shorter, clumsier and darker than most of the people in Britain. A Spanish mother was the origin of her exotic looks that gave her curly black hair and brown eyes. She was very pretty in an unusual way even though this was much more a result of her personality than her face. Pansy’s girlish manners were badly matched by Blaise’s rebellious actions. Pansy was the one who had to apologise for everything that her friend ever did on impulse, while Blaise’s part in their long-term friendship consisted in making up plans and getting them out of any trouble that required brains.

 

"Have you heard anything about who’s going to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts this year, then?"

 

Pansy looked up, surprised that they had changed subject but not too unwilling to start another conversation. She nodded.

 

"No, nothing. Mum told me it could be Professor Lupin again," she said, searching for a hair clip that had fallen out of her bag and disappeared in the sand. "In fact, she went up to the Ministry to make them forbid him ever to teach at Hogwarts again, but I don’t know if they realised the horror for us of having a werewolf as a teacher!"

 

Blaise rolled her eyes and gave a rather nasty laugh.

 

"Come on, Pansy, admit that you liked Professor Lupin! Just because your little Draco doesn’t fancy anyone who isn’t a pureblood or a descendant of Salazar Slytherin, it doesn’t mean that you’re not allowed to disagree!"

 

Pansy snorted.

 

"I won’t even degrade myself to your level and answer that, Blaise."

 

Touchy topic, Millicent thought as she watched Pansy’s face get a little pinker than usual. Draco had never tried to hide his or his family’s sympathies for the Dark Lord and so far Pansy had supported him, though not very strongly. After what had happened with Cedric Diggory, both Blaise and she had noticed a change in that. Pansy was pretty one-dimensional and fairly stupid but she wasn’t evil and had been shocked to see a fellow student get killed. Nobody knew exactly where the Parkinsons stood on the question either, but to suspect them of being Voldemort supporters felt wrong, even for Millicent who knew perfectly well that even the best of wizards could join the Dark side.

 

"Oh, well, we’ll find out in two weeks anyway. Have any of you bought your books yet?" Millicent said trying to lead them onto safer ground.

 

"Not yet", Blaise answered, "and I would be very surprised if my beloved parents will remember that I need new books this year since they seem to have forgot about my existence! Grandpa might take me to London next week though. He’s very interested in my education, as we all know…"

 

The girls laughed when the picture of the tiny little man came into their minds. He was known for his gushy interest in anything that had to do with Blaise and her life.

 

"Has your mum moved out yet?" Pansy asked with a concerned voice, usually reserved for the discussions about Draco. "If you feel like talking about it…"

 

Blaise shook her head.

 

"No, I don’t. Really…it’s…thanks for asking Pansy but I prefer not to talk about it. A classical Suppression, you know."

 

Pansy didn’t know and Blaise had to smile. Millicent masked hers, though not very well.

 

"Muggle psychology. You should read a book every now and then, for a change…"

 

The blonde wrinkled her face.

 

"I do read. This, for example-" She held up a shabby pocket book that surely had seen its better days. Blaise took it and got a tired look in her face as she read the cover.

 

"The Scarlet Series: ‘The Potent Potions Master’- oh, come on, Pansy!" she exclaimed in shock. "’All alone in the world, Miss Lovesick is lost until she meets him- the wizard of her dreams. But why does he reject her? Is he already lost to someone else?’ No wonder your head is so full of mushy fantasies about Draco!"

 

Pansy grabbed her book with a sour smile.

 

"You’re always making fun of me, Blaise!"

 

The chubby girl blew a little kiss and – Millicent felt certain of it- knew that her friend only got slightly upset during their quarrels, never furious or seriously offended.

 

"That’s just because I love you so much, PP!"

 

A loud groan came over Pansy’s lips. She used "The Potent Potions Master" to smash against Blaise’s backside, and both of them rolled away from the towels as they started tickling each other. Pansy gasped for breath.

 

"Don’t. Ever. Call. Me. PP. You. Little. Brat." she panted and watched her friend sit up and try to get the sand off her bikini, which was pretty impossible. She turned to Pansy and smiled.

 

"Do I have to drag you down to the water or are you coming voluntarily?"

 

Millicent remained at the beach, watching her two friends play in the water with a feeling of loss that she couldn’t get rid of. Being three wasn’t a problem but being alone was. Somehow they shared something that she could never reach no matter how close friends they became. They were always levels ahead of her, higher up than she could get and while the others flew around she was still standing on the ground. I’m Tantalus, she grinned to Blaise’s "Young Witches". Now isn’t that classic!

 

 

^#^^^^^^^^^^^^#^

 

 

Diagon Alley swarmed with people. Smells and sounds and even some strange tastes came from all over the crowded streets and Lisa Turpin looked at her mum and dad who were deeply involved in a discussion with four hawkers. Apparently they were selling wand accessories of various sorts and dubious practicality, and had spread their things all over a large table almost smothered by its burden. Around them, she could grasp isolated words from other conversations and entertained herself with that for a while. She thought that it was an underrated occupation to listen to strangers and try to picture their lives, their thoughts and their relation to each other. These days, most people talked about You-Know-Who, though, so it wasn’t funny anymore. The return of the Dark Lord had revived old memories and painful experiences from the past for them all. Lisa sighed and poked her dad in the ribs so hard that the Turpin’s cherished pet- the black raven Bess- changed position on his shoulder.

 

"Can we go to Flourish & Blotts now, please?"

 

Mr Alexander Turpin smiled.

 

"I didn’t know you were that excited over your new books…"

 

"But we’ve been standing here for hours!"

 

Mrs Turpin paused in the middle of something she was telling one of the wizards, and gave her daughter a sharp look. Lisa had given name to that expression when she was younger but was forced to never mention it ever again, unless she wanted to be grounded until her 20^th birthday. The man her mum had been talking to suddenly turned to the younger woman and held up a garishly purple wand cover with an engaging smile that made her think of Professor Lockhart.

 

"Something to cheer the young lady up, maybe? You can get it for half the price- only five sickles. What do you say?"

 

Lisa had a good mind to tell the hawker that he could pay her to take it, but was too polite to say anything at all. Her dad took the horrible thing in his hands and looked at it, smiling.

 

"Nice colour, don’t you think?"

 

"Dad!"

 

"What? Purple is trendy this autumn, isn’t it, Judith?

 

Mrs. Turpin seemed pained, as she once again had to stop her speech and look at her husband.

 

"If you are this raring to get away from here, Alexander Turpin, I suggest that you take your daughter, move your legs and stop riling me before I have a nervous breakdown and start behaving like a wild animal on this street! I’ll see you in a few minutes."

 

Lisa had to bury her face against her father’s robes to hide her outburst of laughter, and judging by the speed in which they walked away from the spot, she could tell that she wasn’t the only one who found it funny. Judith Turpin was a wonderful mother and a highly appreciated life partner, but you didn’t mess with her unpunished. Being the only child in a family with former socialist-hippie-radicals as parents, Lisa had grown up without Barbie dolls but with self-confidence enough to take anyone down a peg or two. Sometimes it cut both ways, since she had got a month of detention after calling Professor Snape a fascist during her first year at Hogwarts. Judith and Alexander had behaved like the Disappointed Parents, of course, but Lisa noticed a chuffed look in her mother’s face when she, safely back home for Christmas, told her about the incident. "Did he really call you a uneducable idiot for failing with a potion? And you called him fascist? That’s my girl! But naturally you shouldn’t repeat it…"

Inside Flourish & Blotts, Mr. Turpin got absorbed in the promotion for latest book by the British-French author Pandora de Vindicatif, who had got her big breakthrough with a collection of short stories called "Wrongly Accused- the fear of Female Curiosity". Lisa looked at the cover of the new instalment and could tell by the title that both her parents would praise this. "The Confession or How Epimetheus Admits That He Opened The Box" had a black and white picture of a serious Pandora on the front and a long text on the back, explaining the purpose of the novel. Alexander nodded as he read and handed it to his daughter.

 

"Isn’t she brilliant?"

 

Lisa put the book down with a sigh and tried to find someone she knew in the bookstore. Mandy and Terry had both said that they would be doing their shopping this weekend and any of them would be most welcome right now. Her dad was in love with books and knowing him very well she feared the worst. He could camp inside Flourish & Blotts any day if his family didn’t drag him out and remind him of real life.

 

"I’ll go and have a look at the things I need for school, dad," she said without expecting a response since the tall, dark man had his eyes in yet another shelf, searching for titles he hadn’t already read.

 

"Magical Drafts and Powerful Potions- grade 1" by Arsenius Jigger

"The Advanced Book of Spells- grade 1" by Mathilda Goshawk

"Fighting the Dark- how to learn it" by Rosalind Tamaro

"Muggle History" by James Glittery

"Advanced Transfiguration"- by Emeric Switch

 

The list was shorter than usual and Lisa noticed with a satisfied smile that the word ‘advanced’ appeared in two of the titles. She loved the thought of finally learning the hard things, the difficult and demanding charms and potions, and that she was becoming a real witch. From her earliest childhood when she discovered how funny it was to watch her mum and dad doing housework with their wands, up to now, she had dreamed of the day she could graduate and be able to use magic whenever she wished.

 

After gathering her books, Lisa returned to her dad who now was standing with her mum. As she reached them, they both had an interested look at the collection of books she- with a big effort- managed to carry in her arms. Judith Turpin read the author’s names out loud and made a special little sound when she read the name James Glittery.

 

"Jamie?" she said, incredulous. "Alex, look- it’s our Jamie! I always knew he would end up writing…"

 

Alex nodded.

 

"You see, Lisa- James Glittery is an old house mate of ours. Your mum and I went to Hogwarts with him…and Lucius Malfoy and what was her name- Rosmerta…?"

 

"Varmint," Mrs Turpin added. "Rosmerta Varmint. I think she’s working in Hogsmeade now. And James writes books…What a nice little crowd we were-"

 

Lisa had just come to think of something and interrupted her mum again.

 

"Rosmerta…Madame Rosmerta? The one who owns The Three Broomsticks?"

 

Her parents seemed stunned.

 

"She owns it? Did you know that, Judith?"

 

"No, indeed I didn’t. Well, that was good news! I think we must take up our old contacts again, Alex, we never know anything anymore!"

 

Lisa couldn’t help but laugh at that comment. Her mum knew everything there was to know about most of the things in London and her dad wasn’t someone she would call uninformed either. Both of them worked as librarians at London’s Magical Encounter- a meeting place for witches and wizards that not only sold but also rented books and any kind of material one might need. Nothing that ever happened passed their four ears unnoticed and Lisa wondered if they in fact used some sort of magic to do that, but hadn’t asked. She felt tired of Diagon Alley now and knew that they had a bunch of other things to do before an ice cream and a nice book were possible, so she handed the books to her mum with a determined smile.

 

"Here. I’ll go to Madame Malkin’s while you pay."

 

 

^#^^^^^^^^^^^#^

 

 

The old funny looking house, also known under the name ‘the Burrow’, was currently filled to the brim with homecoming children, visiting children and children who made more trouble than anyone thought possible. Fred and George Weasley had been taunting the rest of the family during the entire summer and Molly was on the edge of nervous collapse as the family was going to celebrate Bill’s birthday.

 

"You two!" she yelled over the chaotic noises, to the twins who were occupied with cursing every pot and plate within view. "Get out of my sight! This INSTANT!"

 

Ginny grinned when she saw Fred’s little charm that made two of the pots dance a tango with the knives, but her mum was less than amused.

 

"When will you grow up, Fred?" she sighed without waiting for an answer. "Please, can you and your brother get out of here now? And I mean NOW!"

 

Fred smiled and looked at George who just had finished his silent cursing of the teacups.

 

"Let’s go. They don’t appreciate good humour here!"

 

George pinched Ginny’s nose on his way out and made her groan.

 

"Watch out, Gin," he whispered. "Or you will end up like mum…"

 

Ginny shook her head and felt- for the thousandth time that summer- a longing for someone else from school, someone like Hermione. Ron had been busy with Harry who finally could spend most of the summer at their place, talking about things Ginny wasn’t allowed to hear. Fred and George were like they always were- nice but annoying. And they also kept things from her, most likely because of an order from their parents who thought their youngest child was too young to hear about You-Know-Who. Percy and Penelope didn’t come home from the Ministry unless they really had to, both of them eager to help Arthur on his mission and forgetful about everything else. "Workaholics", Bill had called them the other day and got a dark scowl from Molly who was prouder than ever of her son. He and Charlie weren’t much better, for that matter. While Charlie took part in whatever group that needed him, Bill was overloaded with work from Gringotts and it was doubtful whether he’d have time to celebrate his twenty-fourth birthday at all. Ginny got up from her chair.

 

"I think I’ll take a walk, mum," she sighed and noticed that her mum looked surprised.

 

"I thought you were going to help me with the dinner, dear? Charlie took Harry and Ron to go and pick up Hermione at her place, I told them we could eat as soon as they got back."

 

This was something they entrusted her with- helping out in the kitchen. She couldn’t hear the news about what was happening in the world but she could cook. It made her feel irritable.

 

"Why can’t someone else help you? Bill? Dad?"

 

Molly looked amused.

 

"Is your father going to cook? Please, Ginny, last time I saw him do that he almost burned down the house! Don’t you remember the pancakes he was…creating? Or the hot chocolate he managed to get us all covered in when you were little? If your father is going to assist me in any way in here, it will take the whole day to get the food ready. He’s no use for this."

 

"You’d better teach him then!" Ginny retorted. "I’m going out."

 

She left the room without caring about her mum’s protests. It felt good to object for once, it left a feeling of independence inside her that she loved. Walking outside she found Bill sitting in the garden furniture with his head buried in a large pile of papers. He worked almost as hard as Percy these days, entirely swallowed by the demanding task he had got from Professor Dumbledore- to summon every capable witch and wizard in Egypt and make them understand what was going to happen. Ginny had never made a secret of her special bond with her oldest brother and when she cleared her throat he looked up with a little smile.

 

"Gin, how did you emerge from the kitchen? Take a pew!"

 

He moved some of the papers and made more space for her at the sofa. As she sank down beside him she realised how tired he looked and how old he suddenly seemed.

 

"Do you really have to work today?" she asked. "Come on, Bill, it’s your birthday!"

 

Bill Weasley put the quill down and watched his sister carefully. She wondered if he could see her worries in the blue eyes or if he just read her mind.

 

"I’m not pushing myself too hard, Gin, I swear. Look at Percy- there you have someone who refuses to sleep if it will give him more opportunities to work. And yes, it is my birthday but we celebrate it later, right? Bet mum would tie me up and force me to eat even if I wanted to work."

 

Ginny wasn’t completely satisfied but she leaned her head against Bill’s shoulder for a second and decided to ask something she had been trying to find out ever since Dumbledore’s speech at the end of her last school year.

 

"Bill, how bad is it?"

 

"With You-Know-Who?"

 

"No, with Secret Sean, my imaginary friend! Of course I meant You-Know-Who. How strong is he? Will he be able to repeat what he did before I was born? What will happen?"

 

For the first time after his return to the Burrow, Bill looked downright sad as he slowly gathered himself together for an answer. Ginny almost held her breath. He would tell her, of course he would tell her. All her life this had been an imperishable truth- Bill was someone who gave her reality when everyone else came up with soothing lies. Only now she could have coped with some comfort, she thought.

 

"From what I’ve heard, Ginny," he began, seriously. "most witches and wizards are still believing in what Mr Fudge and his colleagues over the world are telling them. That nothing has happened, nothing to worry about and nothing to prove that You-Know…, that Voldemort has risen again. Some of the owls I’ve sent out have returned with concerned questions about my mental health! But at the moment I don’t think the Dark Lord is strong enough to found the same kind of terrorism as last time. Not yet, Ginny, but probably in a short time. He’s got some of his servants back; they want this to happen even if all of them are hiding at right now. You know that dad has been trying to get as much information as possible about Malfoy…"

 

"I bet that has been a success," Ginny answered sarcastically.

 

Bill shared an askew smile with her.

 

"Absolutely…I’m most disturbed that the smarmy son of his is in Ron’s year! From what I’ve heard he is…"

 

"…obnoxious, inane and absolutely plug-ugly?" Ginny filled in with a wrinkled nose that made them both laugh. "Draco Malfoy is horrible!"

 

"Agreed!" they both heard a familiar voice behind them. A voice that belonged to a smiling Hermione Granger, who was framed by Ron and Harry, both of them looking more pleased than they had done for the whole summer. Ginny jumped up from the sofa and ran to hug her friend while Bill reached out a hand with a sweet smile.

 

"Ah, clever Miss Granger," he said playfully and Ginny watched Hermione’s cheeks turn slightly red while she returned the handshake. "Nice to see you again, Hermione!"

 

"Ditto," she returned. "And happy birthday!"

 

Bill watched her with interest. Ginny almost got enervated before he finally did something besides staring. Right, Hermione had changed since last time he saw her, but she wasn’t a reason to drop his usual cool behaviour.

 

"Thanks."

 

Ron looked at Hermione and Harry who immediately nodded. Ginny knew that this meant secrets she couldn’t know about so she just sat down again, looking at Bill who also watched the three musketeers walk away. Annoyed and familiar with the situation she just placed her arms on the table, upon Bill’s papers, before she glared at him.

 

"This is how it’s like being me, Bill!" she sighed. "I never get to know anything!"

* * * * *

That was our girls, and Bill. Next chapter: We meet the woman on the Haunted Hill, the worst house-elf in history and sneak in on a meeting for the famous Order of the Phoenix. And yes, that’s where Snape enters this story for good.