Harry Potter and the Prophecy of the Strinx

Harry Potter and the Prophecy of the Strinx

By Moon Weasley

Chapter Two:

Like bats out of hell

Vernon Dursley's much-anticipated barbeque was a smashing success. Harry had seldom seen his aunt and uncle looking more pleased as they walked around the garden shaking hands and doing their best to suck up to potential new drill-customers. The garden was literally abuzz with conversations and laughter. Or at least it had been until Hermione Granger showed up.

Now complete and utter silence reigned and all eyes were on the teenage girl on the patio, wearing the (by Muggle standards) very peculiar attire. The deadly quiet however only lasted a few seconds. Excited whisperings soon broke out, fingers began pointing and heads were shaking ferociously like they couldn't quite believe what they were seeing.

Hermione however didn't appear to take any notice of the ruckus her presence was making. Her eyes quickly scanned the garden and finally she spotted Harry standing in the back balancing a large tray filled with Margaritas (though he'd spilt most of them in pure shock) and looking thoroughly stunned.

"Harry!" she yelled rushing towards him, her robes whirling around her as she ran.

"Thank goodness you're okay! I was so worried about you!" She nearly knocked him straight over, hugging him as if he'd just escaped mortal peril.

"Hermione!" Harry whispered unbelievingly unable to keep the confusion and surprise out of his voice. "What on earth are you doing here?"

He stole a glance at his aunt and uncle and wasn't at all surprised to see a mixture of shock and confusion topped of nicely with large amounts of pure and blatant fury written all over their faces. Obviously they didn't approve of Hermione's arrival to say the least. Uncle Vernon's face had turned a very nasty shade of scarlet and Harry just knew he was in for his longest punishment ever.

Dudley however was (unsuccessfully) attempting to hide behind his mother all the while staring as if transfixed at Hermione's wand. His porky face was frozen in an expression of fear.

Harry sniggered silently. It wouldn't surprise him if his cousin was experiencing some very vivid flashbacks from his previous encounters with members of the wizarding world. Dudley and magic hadn't exactly gotten off on the best of terms. Harry fondly remembered Hagrid giving him a pig tail and the Weasley twins supplying him with a Ton Tongue Toffee.

Hermione hadn't even let go of her (rather painful) embrace before Uncle Vernon seized their arms and dragged the pair of them back into the house. Harry knew there was no use resisting but Hermione was protesting loudly all the way much to Aunt Petunia's obvious dismay. She unsuccessfully tried to shut her up by covering Hermione's mouth with her bony hand. This of course only managed to enrage Hermione further.

Once inside the house Aunt Petunia closed the door behind them with an apologetic smile to their curious guests and Harry braced himself for the upcoming yelling.

Uncle Vernon seemed to have difficulty speaking at first. It appeared as though he was about to explode at any minute, spit foaming at the mouth. He finally found his voice and Harry couldn't help thinking that Aunt Petunia had closed the garden door to no avail. Vernon Dursley's thundering voice was sure to carry all the way to Magnolia Crescent and then some.

"Who the hell are you, and why did you have to show up now, and in that ridicules get-up?"

Purple-faced and fuming Uncle Vernon pointed at Hermione's robes and hat, looking repulsed. Harry could tell Hermione didn't appreciate being spoken to in this manner, and wasn't at all surprised when she answered him back in that bossy and arrogant tone of voice that had annoyed Harry and Ron to no end during their first year at Hogwarts.

"Excuse me," she said with a superior look on her face, "but it is of great importance that I speak to Harry about a pressing matter. I would appreciate it if you and the rest of your family could give us some privacy, thank you very much. I did not come here to speak to either of you and I would be grateful if you left us alone now."

Uncle Vernon clearly hadn't expected this smug reply, and his beefy face turned even redder. After a brief pause where he clearly struggled not to lose his temper completely, he spoke again.

"I have made it very clear to Harry that I don't want your sort hanging about our respectable home waving that ridiculous cane of yours around creating all sorts of mayhem. In case you didn't know we do not approve of- you know...ehh..."

Uncle Vernon seemed to be searching through his vocabulary in hope of finding a suitable synonym so that he wouldn't be forced to say the forbidden m-word. His search was clearly unsuccessful because he finally spat out "magic", but as he said it looked almost as frightened as most wizards when saying the name Voldemort.

Harry could tell that Hermione was outraged by his uncle's attitude and behaviour. Although Harry had many times described his miserable life with his relatives, she still seemed honestly surprised to see that his every word was true.

And so with Harry, Dudley and Aunt Petunia as respectively amused, frightened and outraged bystanders Hermione and Uncle Vernon continued to argue loudly. Hermione as opposed to Harry didn't hold back her opinion one bit, and he was pleased to see that his uncle often got tongue-tied by his bossy friend. This however only enraged Uncle Vernon further.

The guests' curiosity had by now taken completely over and Harry could see their snooping noses clamed against the windows looking at the scene playing out in the sitting room. Aunt Petunia (who herself enjoyed spying and eavesdropping immensely) noticed them, and tried desperately to intercept between the two fighters while simultaneously drawing the curtains to block the view. She finally got Vernon's attention, pointing indiscreetly at the windows.

Hermione however had obviously reached the end of her patience where his uncle was concerned because she suddenly turned on her heel and dragged Harry into the hall.

"What an insufferable man!" she exclaimed with rage. "How do you stand this all summer? I think I would go mad in about a week if I had to put up with that every day." She grimaced in disgust.

Harry ignored her questions. "Why are you here?" Harry still hadn't gotten an explanation as to why she'd all of a sudden appeared in their backyard.

"I thought you were in Bulgaria."

"I will tell you all about that, but I don't think you should stay here for another minute. Honestly, what could Dumbledore be thinking insisting that you come back here every summer? Where's your stuff? Let's pack immediately and get the hell out of her!"

Now Harry was alarmed. Hearing Hermione resort to swearing was not a good sign!

"But where would we go?" Harry was very confused.

"Well, I can only think of one place," she said with determination in her voice. Harry looked at her expectantly.

"Where?" he asked again whereupon Hermione promptly answered: "The Burrow!"

* * *

Half an hour later they had packed up all of Harry's stuff, dragged his trunk and Hedwig's cage down the stairs and into the sitting room. They were pleased to see that the Dursleys had returned to the barbeque, and through an open window they heard Aunt Petunia's shrill voice desperately trying to smooth the situation over.

"She's just a girl from the gang of delinquents that Harry hangs around all summer. You do off course know that he attends St Brutus Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys? Yes, he's quite impossible to handle and I'm afraid there's just no cure for his misbehaviour. It's all a shame, really. Thank goodness for my dear Dudley, he would never hurt a fly, you know..."

Hermione grimaced. "The sooner we leave these buffoons, the better," she proclaimed.

"Well I for one am all in favour of that," Harry said. "But how are we going to get to the Burrow. And do they even know we're coming? Ron told me in his letter that there will be relatives staying there the next couple of weeks."

"No, they don't know that we are coming, but if we're not welcome, then we can just stay for the day and leave for Diagon Alley this evening. You see it is really important that I speak to you, and somehow this place just isn't right for important wizard conversations." She looked at him to see whether or not he would agree to her reasoning.

Well, Harry thought, she was right. If they couldn't stay with the Weasleys they could stay in Diagon Alley or maybe even Hogsmeade.

"Okay, I agree, but how do we get there? I don't have any Floo Powder, and even if I did the fireplace is blocked anyway".

Hermione reached inside her robes and pulled out a small green bag.

"Floo powder," she said and smiled. "And since when is blocked fireplaces an obstacle for the Great Harry Potter? Are you a wizard or not?"

Harry laughed, grabbed his wand and smiled mischievously at Hermione. "Yeah, and if the Dursley's found it difficult explaining about the girl in the strange attire, I would like to know what lies they come up with to explain a smashed up fireplace. It might earn me a warning for using magic outside of school though. I already have one against me and another could get me expelled."

Hermione looked to be thinking hard for a moment.

"You're right, better not risk that. I'll do it then. After all I do have a clean slate and I don't suppose they'll expel me for one measly little spell."

Harry smiled and gave her a reassuring pat on the back. Hermione pointed her wand at the fireplace and cast the spell. A loud noise echoed as it exploded and loud gasps could be heard from the garden. Hermione quickly conjured a fire and then threw some floo powder into the flames turning them emerald green. They grabbed the trunk and cage between them and stepped into the flames.

"Lets get out of here," Harry said.

"Yeah," Hermione replied. "Like bats out of hell," she said smiling and in unison they both yelled "The Burrow!"

* * *

Harry and Hermione spun around with increasing speed, and as always when travelling by Floo Harry soon started to feel slightly nauseous. Concentrating hard not to let his elbows hit the wall while keeping both his eyes and mouth firmly shut he felt absolutely positive that he'd never in a million years get used to this.

So far none of the methods of Wizard transportation he'd tried (with the exception of the Hogwarts Express) had been terribly pleasant. It was safe to say that neither Floo nor Portkey were among his favourite pastimes, and he was seriously hoping Apparition would be more pleasurable. It was just too bad that option was still years away.

As they continued to twirl in a haze of soot and grunge, Harry could feel Hermione tighten her grip on his arm. Apparently nor she was accustomed to this way of travelling having lived in the Muggle world for most of her life.

As swiftly as the spinning had started, it stopped and Harry and Hermione tumbled out of the Floo Network and on to solid ground. Unable to keep their balance at the impact they jolted ungracefully out of the fireplace landing hard on the floor in the Weasley's small kitchen.

Harry's trunk and Hedwig's cage landed with a loud bang smack in the middle of Mrs. Weasley's basket containing her famous knitwear, making it fly several feet scattering yarns and knitting needles all over the room.

This off course made a terrible racket, and before they'd even managed to get to their feet, a flock of people could be heard running through the hall and soon after about a dozen red-haired and freckled Weasleys had appeared in the doorway watching thunderstruck as Harry and Hermione scrambled to their feet and desperately tried to dust of some soot.

"Harry? Hermione?"

Ron Weasley, tall and gangly, pushed his way through the crowd of stunned family members with a mix of shock and worry written all over his face. Finding his two best friends in a heap on the kitchen floor was clearly not something he'd expected and judging by the very uncomfortable tension that now had descended on the room this was a notion shared by the rest of his family.

Even Mrs. Weasley, whom Harry had never experienced tongue-tied seemed surprised beyond words. Exchanging a nervous look with Hermione he was starting to feel that perhaps this surprise visit wasn't such a good idea after all. Hermione clearly shared this sentiment and stuttering profusely they both started to apologize for the uninvited arrival. A near frantic Ron cut them of in mid sentence.

"What are you doing here? Has something happened? Is everybody all right? Is it... is it your scar again? Or the Dursleys? Did the Death Eaters find you?"

Ron didn't give Harry much time to respond before he turned his attention over to Hermione.

"Has there been an attack on your house? Are your parents okay? Or did something happen in Bulgaria? If that good-for-nothing son of a bitch hurt you in any way, I swear I'll hunt him down and..."

"Ron, for Godric's sake calm down!" Hermione hurriedly interrupted. Ron was babbling and making absolutely no sense. Obviously he was having trouble thinking straight and he rushed over to them with terror in his eyes plainly craving some sort of explanation.

"Don't tell me to calm down! I couldn't possibly be calm when you won't tell me what's wrong!" he yelled in panic.

"We're fine," Harry answered reassuringly and smiled at Ron.

"Really?" Ron looked sceptically from one to the other.

"Yes, really," said Hermione with a smile and put her hand on Ron's. "We're just fine".

"Thank god!"

Looking thoroughly relieved Ron flung his long arms around Hermione giving her an overwhelming hug. This rare display of affection was however over within seconds. Loud catcalls from the twins along with amused giggles from Ginny quickly made Ron let go of the embrace and jump away as if he'd just received a third degree burn.

Blushing hard Hermione quickly busied herself with tiding up Mrs. Weasley's knitwear and did her best to avoid looking at Ron. Doing a striking imitation of a ripe tomato Ron glared daggers at his brothers who by now had put on their most innocent facial expressions. But as soon as Ron had turned his back the twins started to make kissy faces and Harry had to bite his lip to hold back a snicker.

Mrs. and Mr. Weasley had so far not said a word, but now Mr. Weasley approached the trio.

"Hello Harry, hello Hermione. To what do we owe the unexpected pleasure of your visit?"

Judging be the look on his face he was just as anxious for an explanation as Ron was. Mrs. Weasley had by now started to usher the others out of the kitchen and into the garden. Harry caught her eye and swallowed hard when he saw the worry and concern they conveyed.

"We weren't expecting you for about two weeks, you know," Mr. Weasley continued. "Did you mix the dates or something?"

At this Hermione's face turned to stone and for the first time since the hug she faced Ron looking nothing short of murderous.

"You invited Harry to stay with you this summer? Weren't you going to invite me?"

Harry could hear that she was really hurt by this, and crossed his fingers hoping that Ron had realized that their stupid argument over Viktor Krum had gone far enough. Ron's reply however made Harry grimace.

"Well, "Ron began bitingly. "You chose to go traipsing all over Bulgaria with your sassy boyfriend Vicky, and as I recall you don't have the ability to be two places at once, now do you? At least not any more and thank Merlin's Heel for that! Third year was hard enough without your stupid Time Turner adding to the chaos." He shot Hermione an angry look. Harry thought she looked alarmingly like a Hungarian Horntail about to attack. Ron however didn't have the sense to drop it.

"Besides I didn't particularly fancy spending my summer with a traitor, anyway."

Oh no, Harry though. This time Ron had really pushed it to far. Hermione looked as if she was ready to hex him right then and there.

"So I'm a traitor am I?" she asked in a dangerously calm voice that made Harry shudder. Strained calmness like this was never a good sign and Ron was sure to know this by now. But hearing Ron's reply Harry seriously wondered if his best friend had a memory problem. Could it possible be an after effect of Lockhart's failed charm back in second year?

"Yeah that's precisely what you are. You had a choice: The Burrow or Bulgaria and where do you go? Your actions speak louder than words, Hermione. You're voluntarily hanging out with a Slytherin wannabe - that qualifies as a traitor in my books."

Although Harry knew that it was the jealousy in Ron that possessed him to lash out and that deep down he didn't really mean it, it still sounded horrible. Bracing himself for a thunderous retort from Hermione, Harry started to back away from the duo. But instead of yelling Hermione just stared at Ron, hurt shining from her eyes. Eventually she turned away from him, lifted her head and quickly exited the room with Ginny at her heels. As soon as the door had slammed behind them, they heard Hermione break out into heavy sobs.

"Why did you do that?" Harry looked accusingly at his best friend. Ron's face was now just about the same colour as his hair, and he sat down resignedly on one of the chairs.

"Just felt she deserved to hear the truth, that's all," Ron muttered unconvincingly. Harry could see that he was already regretting his outburst. But knowing Ron Harry figured that even though he already was sorry, he wasn't about to admit to this any time soon. The Weasley family members were widely known for their stubbornness and Ron was by no means an exception.

"Well, I'll tell you this much," Harry said sitting down next to Ron. "Until you make peace with her neither of us will know exactly why we are here."

Ron looked confused. "What do you mean by that?"

Harry leaned back and let out a sigh. "She just showed up in the Dursley's backyard during my uncle's long planned barbeque and dragged me off, telling me she has something important to tell us."

Harry snickered despite himself. "She really turned that barbeque upside down, though. I don't think I've ever seen my aunt and uncle looking more upset. She got into a nasty argument with Uncle Vernon, which he lost spectacularly by the way, and after that she decided that I wasn't to stay there anymore, and we ended up here."

Ron was running his hand through his thick red hair making it stand out in the back, while shaking his head.

"So let me get this straight. She didn't say anything at all to you before eh...she turned all mad and left?"

Harry gave Ron a piercing look and Ron seemed to take the hint.

"I'll just give her some time to calm down before I start to grovel, then," he said miserably, the thought of having to beg Hermione for her forgiveness making him look positively sick. Serves him right for being such a prat not realizing why he reacts like this, Harry thought grinning privately.

Mr. Weasley was now looking as though he wanted to say something but before a single word had left his mouth he was interrupted by the arrival of two owls. They swooped past him and circled the room twice before dropping their letters on the floor beside Ron. He quickly bent over and picked them up.

"What's this then?" he asked curiously.

"That looked like Ministry owls to me," Mr. Weasley answered and looked from his son to Harry. "Whom is it addressed to? It might be for me, I'm expecting some rather urgent parchments from the Unspeakables, actually..."

"Nah, dad it's not for you," Ron said dumbfounded. "It's for Hermione."

Immediately Harry realized what the letters would say and truthfully he couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty about it. Obviously Hermione wouldn't have purposely broken Wizarding Laws by performing magic outside of school if it weren't for him. Harry himself had gotten a similar letter two years ago when Dobby, the notoriously strange house elf had made a complete mess of his Aunt Petunia's kitchen. He'd gotten away with a warning saying that any more violations of this law and he'd be expelled from Hogwarts. Hermione though had broken the Law not just once but twice today and that within the space of a single minute and in close vicinity to Muggles. Would that be enough to be expelled?

"Eh, I know what that's all about," Harry said and pointed to the two letters currently clutched in Ron's hands. Ron looked from the letters to Harry with an inquisitive look on his face.

"What then? Has she gotten herself a scholarship of some sort?" Ron asked. "Knowing Hermione she's probably aced all her exams and been awarded some stupid plaque for getting the highest score ever on fourth year finals or something terribly snotty like that."

He snorted and Mr. Weasley shot him a questionable stare. "Honestly, she's a walking talking library that one," Ron said shrugging.

"I can assure you it's nothing like that," Harry said quietly. He paused and shot Mr. Weasley an anxious look. "Hermione used magic today to get us here. Twice."

Ron was gaping at Harry totally lost for words. Mr. Weasley nearly choked on his own breath. "What are you saying, Harry? She used magic? Whatever did she do that for?"

"To get us here by Floo powder," Harry answered quickly. "How many warnings can you get before they expel you?"

"Normally they won't resort to that before you've received at least three official warnings," Mr. Weasley said sternly. Both Ron and Harry looked thoroughly relieved.

"But," Mr. Weasley continued, "That really depends upon the severity of the laws broken. And that in turn depends on how advanced the magic performed was and whether or not there was Muggles present to witness it."

Ron's eyes were now wide with worry. What if Hermione was expelled? That would be just terrible!!

"Well, let me know how severe it is once she's opened them will you," Mr. Weasley said silently while glancing worriedly towards the kitchen to make sure his wife wasn't listening. "I might be able to reduce the sentence or even make one of the warnings go away." He chuckled slightly while stroking the little hair he had left.

"Old Mafalda owe me a favour or two if I don't remember incorrectly. Between us boys the old witch had a little mishap with an ancient refreezegator or whatever the Muggle term is for that box they use to store food in. Seemed to have a will of it's own that thing. Kept hitting poor Mafalda in the head every time she tried to open it."

Ron and Harry raised their eyebrows and shared an amused look. Mr. Weasley's fascination for all things Muggle might just turn out to save Hermione's continued academic career at Hogwarts, Harry thought brightly. He silently promised to be more forthcoming in explaining Muggle contraptions for him in return.

A door suddenly opened and turning his head Harry realized that Percy was re-entering the kitchen. He hadn't changed much Harry noticed. He still had the same smug and superior look on his face, and he was adjusting his glasses importantly as he approached the fireplace.

"You two got here by Floo powder?" he asked pompously and Harry nodded. "How is that possible? You live with Muggles during the summer don't you? Muggle fireplaces aren't connected to the Floo Network, everybody knows that," Percy said matter-of-factly. "Didn't know there were wizard houses in the near proximity of your relatives. Being with the Ministry, you know I surely would know of these things."

Percy appeared extremely satisfied with his observation and looked self-righteously from one to the other. Percy was of course right. Harry knew perfectly well that his Uncle's fireplace wasn't connected to the Floo Network. Uncle Vernon would rather eat slugs than allow such a thing. Why hadn't he thought of this before?

"Well," Mr. Weasley got up from his chair and started to pace nervously in front of Harry and Ron. "Remember last summer when we came for you before the Quidditch World Cup?"

Harry could never forget and nodded in recognition. Half the Weasleys had turned up inside Uncle Vernon's blocked up fireplace to collect Harry one Sunday afternoon. They had to burst the whole thing open leaving his aunt's perfect sitting room looking like a war zone.

"Yeah," Harry said. "You pulled some sort of favour with the Floo Department and had the fireplace connected to the network for the day".

"That's right," Mr. Weasley answered proudly. "Only... I never really unconnected it, if you know what I mean. Thought it might turn out useful some day if we had to collect you urgently or something...."

This statement from his father clearly left Percy lost for words. He was really fuzzy about rules, Harry knew, and to Percy this was simply outrageous.

"This can take a while," Ron whispered to Harry as Percy and his father launched into a very loud argument involving much flailing of arms and adjustments of spectacles.

"Let's go upstairs with your stuff. You will have to stay in my room. Fred and George are also in there as they had to give up their room for our relatives."

They started climbing the stairs.

"Wonder what Hermione wants to tell us," Ron continued.

"If you plan on hearing about it any time soon, you know what you have to do, right?" Harry looked at Ron and to his relief Ron nodded though it was in an entirely resigned way.

They stopped outside Ginny's room and Ron turned to Harry.

"You go ahead up to my room. I'll try to get on Hermione's good side again." Ron took a deep breath. "Wish me good luck," he said as he turned to knock on the door.

"Good luck," Harry said and gave Ron an encouraging pat on the back before heading for the stairs. Chances were he was really going to need it!