The Dementors' Kiss

The next morning, Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys gathered around the fireplace. As it was a Saturday, Mr Weasley would be joining them on their trip to Diagon Alley, which would be followed by dinner at the Three Broomsticks, where Bill and Percy would join them.

Ron stepped first into the fire. In a clear voice he shouted "Diagon Alley!" and threw his Floo Powder at his feet. With a flash of green flame, he was gone.

One by one, the rest of the group proceeded into the flames. When Ginny, with a small smile for Harry, disappeared, Mrs Weasley turned to Harry and held out the pot of powder.

"Here you go, dear," she said. "I know it's not your favourite way of travelling, but just remember, nice clear voice, and you'll be fine. Oh, and don't stop 'til you see the others."

Harry reached into the pot, and withdrew a pinch of powder. Stepping into the magical fire, he roared "Diagon Alley!" and threw the Floo Powder at his feet. There was a flash of green flame, and he found himself spinning, spinning, spinning as unfamiliar faces and fireplaces whirled around him.

Suddenly, he saw a cluster of redheads staring anxiously at him, and he threw his hands out, eager to catch something, anything that would break his fall. He felt strong hands grab him as he stumbled to a halt, and realised Fred and George had caught hold of him. Staggering out of the fireplace, he looked down in dismay at his soot-covered clothes. He straightened, and gave a smile of thanks to Hermione as she pulled a clothes-brush from her bag, and began to work on the worst of the dirt.

"I thought I might need this, after what you told me about Floo travel," she said, "but it's really easy to do, Harry..."

She trailed off as Harry looked at her. "I don't like it. I think after ending up in Knockturn Alley last time, I've just got a block about it."

"What's that, Potter? Another thing you're afraid of?"

Harry didn't need to turn to recognise that voice. Instead, he drew his wand as he span on his heel, finding himself face to face with Draco Malfoy, his least favourite person in the entire world.

"Hear this, everyone? Not only is Potter scared of the Dementors, not only does he get a headache whenever someone mentions Lord Voldemort, now it seems he's turning into such a little wimp that he's scared of using the Floo network."

Harry glowered at Malfoy, determined not to rise to the bait. His wand tingled in his hand as curses and jinxes rose unbidden to the tip of his tongue. Instead, he forced a grin onto his face.

"Last time I saw you, Malfoy," he said, "you were face down in the corridor of the Hogwarts Express. Did it cost your Dad a lot to have those tentacles cut off your face?"

Draco glowered. Harry, Hermione, Ron and the twins had cursed him and his friends Crabbe and Goyle on the way back from Hogwarts months before, and the incident was still fresh in everyone's minds.

"You want to watch it, Potter. Now the Dark Lord is risen once more, you needn't think you can hide behind a few stupid hexes. But I don't want to scare you too much," he went on. "I'll leave you to your pet Mudblood and that disgrace of a wizarding family you see fit to hang around with."

With that, Malfoy and a crowd of other Slytherin pupils swept out of the Leaky Cauldron, in the direction of Diagon Alley. Harry turned to face the others, and realised that Fred and George had hold of Ron's arms, the younger Weasley struggling to break free of their grip.

"Get off," he said, tearing one arm free. "One chance, that's all I want. Just one!"

"Ron, calm down," George said, catching his brother's arm again. "You know what Dad said.

"Is everyone alright?" she asked. "Oh, never mind

"Did you meet one of your friends?" she asked, absently as she dug deep in an effort to find Ginny's letter.

"Oh yeah," Fred said. "Someone we know and love."

"That's nice, dear," Mrs Weasley said, oblivious to the sarcasm in Fred's voice. "Always good to catch up with your friends."

"Looks like Malfoy's got a few more bodyguards this year," Ron muttered to Harry. "All those Slytherins... Just one good curse would have made this year so much happier..." he added wistfully.

Harry grinned, but Hermione looked scandalised.

"Ron!" she hissed, so that Mrs Weasley wouldn't hear. "You shouldn't even joke about that! People might think you're serious."

"You didn't seem to mind too much when we jinxed them a couple of months back," Ron pointed out.

"Yes, well, we shouldn't have done that," Hermione said. "What if they'd complained? We could have been in so much trouble!"

"Hermione, don't worry!" Ron said, as they walked into the alleyway behind the Leaky Cauldron. "It's not like anyone is going to think we've gone Dark just 'cause we put Malfoy in a Full Body Bind."

But Hermione didn't look convinced, and even when Mrs Weasley tapped the wall with her wand, opening the many wonders of Diagon Alley to them, she seemed far from happy.

*

Money pouches jingling as they left Gringotts, the group began to make plans for the day.

"Don't get into trouble, and be in the Cauldron by half five at the latest," Mrs Weasley said to each of them. "And stay away from Knockturn Alley," she added, to Fred and George.

"Yes, Mum," they chorused, looking unusually subdued. "We'll see you later," Fred added, as Lee Jordan hailed them from the other side of the street.

"What are you up to today?" Mrs Weasley asked, as she turned to face the others.

"Well, I need to get Colin Creevey something for his birthday," Harry said. "Could you help me, Ginny?" he added, determined to start fulfilling both resolutions at once.

Ginny looked startled, Ron shocked. "Me?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah," Harry said, smiling at the look of surprise on her face. "You're in his year and all. Is that okay?"

"Yes! I mean, yes, of course," Ginny said, blushing bright red. "I'll be... happy to help."

"Good," Harry said. "I'm rubbish at buying presents," he added, for the benefit of Ron, who was looking at him with glassy eyes.

"What about you two?" Mrs Weasley asked, looking at Ron and Hermione.

"Um..." Ron said, looking at Hermione as though suddenly realising they were the only two left. "I don't..."

"We're going to get our things, then get ourselves a sundae at Florean Fortescue's, if you two want to join us," she added to Ginny and Harry. Ginny nodded fervently, and Harry grinned.

"Sure. I can buy you an ice cream to say thanks," he said to Ginny. Her eyes went wide, and Harry coloured slightly as he imagined what Fred or George would say about the idea of Ginny having to be thanked for spending time with him. Another resolution, he thought with a grin: Get those two some new material.

*

Harry and Ginny walked quietly along Diagon Alley, weighed down by their purchases. Harry had had to once more buy new robes, in addition to his usual books and potion ingredients. He had agonised once more over the gorgeous working model of the solar system, until Ginny had dragged him away, laughing.

Now they just had Colin's present left to buy, and Harry huffed silently along beside Ginny, his face red with exertion and embarrassment.

"You really have no idea? He's been in your House for four years, and you don't know anything about him?"

"He's in the year below me. I don't know much about the people in the other years," Harry said, trying to justify his ignorance.

"I noticed," Ginny said, dryly. Harry coloured even deeper.

"I'm trying," he mumbled, looking down at the pavement as they stood in the middle of the street. "I've had a lot of time to think, this summer. About Voldemort-" Several adult wizards turned and stared at him at the sound of the Dark Lord's name "-and Cedric, and stuff."

"Yes?" Ginny said.

"Well... I said it to Charlie and your Dad, and it still sounds conceited now. It's, oh, it's so hard to say right. I have to live right, because people look at me. Does that make sense? If they see me trying to live my life, they might realise that Voldemort-" more stares "-being back doesn't necessarily mean we have to hide our heads under the covers. And part of living my life is, well, having a life. I want to get to know people like Colin, and his brother, and the other kids at our school."

He looked up at Ginny, amazed to have opened up so much to someone he didn't know very well. She was looking at him with a quizzical expression.

"You know, you never stop surprising me," she said, slowly.

"What do you mean?"

Ginny looked at him, blinking suddenly. What did I say that for? she thought. Now he's expecting some rational thought from me, when all I can think about is how green his eyes are, how handsome he is. Oh well, here goes nothing...

"Well, anyone else in your position might agonise about their role in life. They might decide to run away, or just hold themselves in, so that no one much would get hurt if they were hurt. But you decide that you can live a normal life, and make a difference at the same time, just by being you." She blushed, as though such a long speech embarrassed her.

"Does that make any sense at all?" Harry asked, suddenly eager to hear her reply.

"I think so," she replied. "It's like what Dad did at the Ministry all those years. He made a difference without making a big fuss about it. It's a little like what Percy tried to do as a prefect, too. . ." she added, with a mischievous glint in her eyes. Harry grinned.

"I think that was a compliment, so thank you."

"You're welcome. And I know what to get Colin for his present, but we might have to go out into the Muggle world to get it."

"Do you want me to hold your hand?" Harry said, laughing. He caught her eye, and finally saw what Ron had said to him years before. Ginny was the type of girl who had a simply irrepressible sense of humour.

"Have to catch me first, Harry," she said, dropping her parcels on the street and streaking off towards Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlour. Harry groaned, and tried to pick up her things while struggling with his own.

*

Ginny burst into the ice cream parlour, and collapsed into a chair, gasping for breath as she fought down the waves of laughter that threatened to crack her ribs in two. She looked around the parlour and saw Ron and Hermione sitting and staring at her.

She got up, and walked over to them, bent almost double by the burgeoning stitch in her side.

"What's wrong?" she asked, looking from one to the other. Hermione tutted and looked away from Ron while he toyed listlessly with his half-eaten sundae. Ginny grimaced, realising that her brother and friend had had another fight, and a bad one from the looks of it.

"Isn't Harry still with you?" Ron asked, suddenly. Hermione looked around as she too realised that Ginny had come in alone.

"He's carrying the bags. He'll be here soon. Now, what-"

Ginny's question was interrupted by Harry, slamming through the door, heavily encumbered by two people's packages. What with Ginny's new school books as well as his own, He was panting, and looked on the verge of collapse, and Ginny grinned wickedly as Ron jumped up from his chair to help him.

"It's working then," Hermione said quietly. Ginny turned and nodded simply. She had had a long talk with Hermione before Harry's arrival at the Burrow, and they had reached the conclusion that Ginny was best off thinking about Harry as another Weasley as much as possible. It was working, in a way. Harry was as conscientious as her father, as lawless as Fred or George, as clever as Charlie, as earnest as Percy, as kind as Bill, and as fiercely protective as Ron.

She sighed. All the best bits of her family, topped off with something unique to Harry himself. How could she help but feel crazy about him? She giggled as Harry tried to extract his head from the bundle of Arithmancy books he'd looped around his neck, but yearned to be the one helping him. The conversation she'd just had with him had truly surprised her. He'd grown so much in the time she'd known him, and every day she seemed to love him just a little bit more. She'd lied to Hermione. Looking at Harry as a brother didn't help much. It just made him a little easier to be around without embarrassing herself. And that just made her like him more, as well.

Shaking her head, she pushed forward to help Ron extricate Harry from his burden, joining in with her brother's laughter as she did so.

*

Dinner that evening was a raucous affair. Nine Weasleys in any space would create a lot of noise. With their guests as well, and the multitude of friends that kept coming up to them, it was well after dark before they finished up. As Mr Weasley went off to settle the bill, Mrs Weasley turned to her children and grinned.

"Arthur and I have been talking," she announced. "Those of you going to Hogwarts this year will be back here in a couple of weeks. You'll spend the last night of your holidays here in the Leaky Cauldron, before going on to Hogwarts the next day. I suppose that that's okay with everyone?"

A great cheer from Fred, George and Ron greeted the news. "I knew you were up to something," Fred said, grinning at his mother. "All those late night chats with Dad. Was this what you were setting up?"

"It was," Mr Weasley said, as he returned to the table. "Now, listen you six. I've booked in three rooms, so you girls can share, and you boys can sort it out amongst yourselves, I'm sure."

Harry was delighted by the news that the six of them would be returning to Diagon Alley before they went back to school. He and Ron began making plans for their day there, and Harry knew that he'd once more find himself in front of the model solar system, dreaming of an uninterrupted night's sleep each Wednesday. He was dimly aware of Fred and George discussing how Lee would be staying in the Leaky Cauldron as well, and Hermione mentioned that Padma and Parvati Patil would be staying at one of the other hotels. Ginny suddenly looked at her parents.

"Mum, is there something we should know?" she asked.

"Whatever do you mean, dear?" Mrs Weasley replied.

"Well, everyone we know from school seems to be staying here on August 31^st," Ginny replied, her eyes narrowing.

"Hey, she's right," Fred said. "What's going on, Dad?"

"It's..." Mr Weasley began, looking helplessly at Mrs Weasley. "Oh, it's no good,

Mrs Weasley nodded, biting her lip. Mr Weasley turned back to face the rest of the group.

"You will be taken from Diagon Alley to Platform 9 and ¾ by Portkey this year," he said, his expression sober and serious. "Professor Dumbledore considers the risk of attack by You Know Who or his forces too great to risk your being exposed in such a public place as Kings Cross station. Plus, it would put so many Muggles at risk that it would be impossible to cope with."

Ron looked unusually serious as he raised his hand.

"What happens once we're on the train, Dad? Me and Harry followed it a few years back, so what if You Know Who does that this year?"

"You'll have teachers with you on the train," Mrs Weasley said, her face pale. "Dumbledore sent all the parents letters assuring us that you'd be safe on the journey. He may even be on the train himself."

"I'm not worried then," Harry said, his voice ringing clear amid the hubbub of the Cauldron. "No-one is in danger if Professor Dumbledore is around."

"That's the spirit, Harry," Mr Weasley said, relieved not to have been met by a storm of objections. "Dumbledore would no more let anything happen to his students then your mother or I would our own children, or you two either," he added to Harry and Hermione.

"We should be going anyway," Mrs Weasley said. "It's been a long day for all of us."

The group gathered slowly around the fireplace, the huge piles of purchases making it difficult to keep track of who was where. Slowly, Mrs Weasley counted them off, watching her offspring and their friends vanish into the green flames. Once Charlie had gone through, she turned to Mr Weasley and pulled him into an embrace.

"Oh, Arthur," she murmured into his chest. "Tell me we're doing the right thing, sending them back to school this year."

"Of course we are, Molly," he replied, holding her tight against him. "We've been over this. There's nowhere safer than Hogwarts. Even if I thought they'd be safer staying with us, it's still important for them to live their own lives. They'll be under Dumbledore's guard, and there's no place safer in this world."

Mrs Weasley relaxed slightly, and they took the last pinches of Floo powder from the pot. Together, they stepped into the flames and vanished.