The Forest of Mysteries

Chapter 3- The Reunion

Harry was so glad to be back in the wizarding world, he couldn't put how happy he was into words. He spent the whole afternoon in the Headmaster's office talking to Sirius and Dumbledore. Finally, many stories and laughs later, they were surprised to find it was very late.

"Harry, it's getting late. You want to head back to Grimmauld Place with me?" Sirius asked.

"I don't have to go back to the Dursleys'?" inquired Harry.

"No, I think you'll be just as safe at Headquarters as Privet Drive. I mean, if a prat like Umbridge can send Dementors to attack you at Privet Drive, and Voldemort can trick you into coming with him, I shudder to think of what Voldemort might be planning. Don't you agree, Dumbledore?"

"It is my belief that you are more than safe at Grimmauld Place, yes," Dumbledore replied. He then became very interested in an owl soaring by the window, apparently heading to the Owlery.

"Well, I suppose it's ok if we travel by Floo Powder," Sirius said. It was partially a statement and partially a question.

"I'm sure the Ministry isn't monitoring us as closely as they were, so it's fine," Dumbledore added. "I might drop by Headquarters later on. Bye Harry. Bye Sirius." As he said this, Dumbledore pulled out a pouch of Floo Powder from somewhere within his robes' expansive pockets and handed it to Sirius. Sirius threw it upon the fire, and it turned emerald green. "12 Grimmauld Place!" Sirius barked, and then he was gone.

Harry went to leave but was stopped by Dumbledore. "Harry, be careful, and stay on your toes," he said. He then took a sherbet lemon from a basket on his desk and popped it in his mouth. Harry then stepped into the fire and said, "12 Grimmauld Place!" He found himself once again in a swirling of ash, brick, and soot. He saw the light of many fireplaces, before closing his eyes from nausea. He finally found himself once again on the floor, this time in Sirius' house.

Harry picked himself up, and walked into the kitchen. He was surprised to find Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley already there eating.

"Oh Harry, dear, so good to see you! How was your summer?" Mrs. Weasley said as she held him in a motherly hug.

"Hey Harry! How are you doing, mate?" Ron asked next as he came over too.

"I'm fine, thanks, and my summer was very, er, eventful, Mrs. Weasley," Harry replied. "How did your visit in Romania go?"

"It went well, thank you. We cut it short, though, because Dumbledore asked us to come back to Headquarters," Mrs. Weasley explained. "He also told us all about those.... that scum... er, You-Know-Who showing up, although, he never told us why he wanted us to come back."

"Oh, Harry! We've been so worried!" said Hermione as she hugged him and kissed his cheek. Harry hugged her back and looked back at Ron. He was looking a little jealous, but then gave Harry a big smile and settled Harry's mind. Ginny came over to Harry, too, no longer too embarrassed to speak to him.

"Hello, Harry!" she said cheerfully.

"Hi, Ginny," he replied, and for some reason, he felt himself turning red. He wasn't left to dwell on these feelings long, though. Everyone became quiet as Sirius came into the kitchen from somewhere deep within the house. Everyone gasped. Apparently Sirius hadn't come into the kitchen yet.

"Oh my god, Sirius!" Hermione exclaimed and left Harry to rush over to his godfather.

"You know, Harry responded the same way," joked Sirius. Mrs. Weasley then came over and hugged Sirius. Ron was obviously blown away by the fact that a dead man was standing there before him because he was goggling at Sirius. Ginny was reacting in the same way, but managed to ask the question at the tips of all of their tongues.

"Sirius! What happened?" she asked somewhat awkwardly. So, Sirius explained everything that had happened, with help from Harry along the way. At the end of his story, everyone was more or less left speechless. Everyone just couldn't believe it. They probably would've continued to stare there and wonder, had there not been two small pops. Fred and George, Ron's older twin brothers, had apparated to Grimmauld Place, accidentally ending up on the table.

"Hey everyone! Sorry we're...,"George began, but his eyes found Sirius.

"Whoa! What the heck?" asked Fred, and Sirius and Harry found themselves telling the story once more. After everyone now knew the story, the room became noisy again. Harry sat down at the table and helped himself to large portions of shepherd's pie. Halfway through dinner, Dumbledore showed up and joined the party. Harry found himself immersed into telling Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all about Voldemort and Bellatrix showing up. They were so much fun to tell the story to. They gasped in all the right places, and Hermione and Ginny had very frightened looks on their faces by the end of the story.

"Harry, aren't you frightened?" Ginny asked.

"Well, I was kind of afraid that I was going to be blocked in and killed right there in your kitchen," Harry said laughingly.

"Harry, that's not funny," Hermione said reprovingly. After they had finished their shepherd's pie, the rest of their dinner, and a tasty custard, the four kids decided to head up to the room Ron and Harry shared to talk about everything that had happened.

"So Harry, how did the Dursleys treat you this summer?" Ron asked.

"Er, they've been more or less ignoring me, not like I mind," Harry said. "How have your summers been?" he asked them all.

"Well it was smashing to see all the dragons with Charlie!" Ron exclaimed.

"Yeah, they were all over the place," Ginny added. Once again, Harry felt a feeling in the pit of his stomach that he didn't think felt all that bad. "What's going on with me?" Harry thought. He dismissed the thought as Hermione began talking about her summer.

"My parents took me to Germany! The history of the country is so fascinating, even though it's quite dark. I bought so many books there!" she explained. Ron was staring at Hermione, however Harry had a feeling he was not interested in what she was saying.

"Hey Hermione, you want to go take a walk before we have to go to bed?" Ron asked as he blushed to the roots of his fire colored hair.

"Sure!" Hermione replied, as they both headed out the door. Harry was left alone with Ginny for the first time in a while.

"Er, so what have you been doing over the summer?" Harry asked, sounding embarrassed.

"Not too much. I've been helping Fred and George a little bit in their shop!" she said enthusiastically. "Oh, they even have a line of candy that is named for you, since you paid for them to start it after all"

"Oh really? Wow!" Harry said truly impressed. However, a thought occurred to him right after that. "Ginny, what do they do?"

"What do what do, the candies?" Ginny asked.

"Yes, I mean what do they do to the person who eats them? I know they do something, being made by those two," Harry said laughingly, remembering the Canary Creams.

"Oh, I'm not supposed to tell you. They asked me to wait till they could show you themselves, but I can tell you this: I think it's really funny and sort of flattering." Harry and Ginny spent about an hour just talking and stuff. Ginny showed Harry some books she had found about Defense against the Dark Arts. After awhile, they began to wonder about what the others had been doing. Meanwhile, Ron and Hermione had been doing some catching up themselves.