Bedknobs and Broomsticks

The weeks following the kiss seemed to drag on for a lifetime, and there wasn't a single moment that passed that didn't include either Ron and Hermione bickering or complete silence between the young quartet. Ever since Harry's birthday party, Ron had been acting oddly and Harry had hardly seen Ginny or Ron at all. They always seemed to disappear and neither Harry nor Hermione could explain their odd behaviour. Hermione was almost certain that it was to do with the fact that she and Harry had become a couple, but Harry couldn't see why that would bother Ron in the least. He did wonder if perhaps Ginny might still harbour feelings for him which would explain her behaviour. Hermione was quick to explain to him that wasn't the case as she had moved on from her crush.

Late into the summer, Harry, Ron and Hermione received their OWLs results. Hermione had done the best out of the three of them, receiving all "O"s except for an "E" in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry had done poorly in only two of the subjects but the biggest disappointment was getting an "E" in Potions, which derailed his plans to become an Auror. Snape required an "O" to go on to NEWT level Potions, which were required to become an Auror. He could only hope that all his dealings with Voldemort would lend to the training and they would overlook the lack of required schooling. Tucked in with their list and OWL results was a note to all of the students informing them that there would be a special announcement at the start of term feast.

The time seemed to fly by in the days leading up to the Diagon Alley trip. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley planned to take all four of them to Diagon Alley as soon as they received their letters. It was two weeks before the start of school when they finally arrived and Mrs. Weasley bustled about, getting them ready as quickly as possible for their shopping trip. While she tried to hide it, Harry could see that Mrs. Weasley was anxious about stepping foot in Diagon Alley. Nowhere seemed to be safe anymore, especially public places. Death eaters could be lurking anywhere. Mr. Weasley spoke with her quietly, trying to calm her fears but Harry could see that she didn't want them to go.

The Ministry for Magic sent a car for their trip, ensuring Harry got there in one piece. After what seemed to be a very short ride, the group found themselves at The Leaky Cauldron and out the back door to Diagon Alley. Ron and Ginny dragged Mr. Weasley down the street, heading towards Flourish and Blotts. The alley was not as bright and colourful as it once had been. Shop windows were covered with "Wanted" posters for various Death Eaters or advice from the Ministry on staying safe in these dark and difficult times and a few shops were boarded up, including Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. It gave Diagon Alley an eerie and almost dangerous atmosphere that was reminiscent of being in Knockturn Alley.

Mrs. Weasley directed Harry and Hermione towards the apothecary first. Neither Harry nor Ron had managed to get an "O" in Potions on his OWLs, so the only one of the trio that would be taking the class was Hermione. Mrs. Weasley made her way inside the store and while she was purchasing potions ingredients for Hermione and Ginny's upcoming year, Hermione pulled Harry aside to talk to him about the situation with Ron.

"Hermione, I just don't understand why it would upset Ron if we were together. I would have thought he would be happy for us. He has to know that we would abandon him as a friend."

"Well, Harry, maybe that is exactly what he thinks is going to happen. He's sort of become a third wheel without wanting to. We really didn't even ask him how he'd feel about it, not that we really had to... We didn't consider his feelings about this before we jumped right in." Hermione sighed as they exited the shop and walked towards Flourish and Blotts to purchase their schoolbooks for the year.

"Hermione, Ron's our friend, but why should anything that's between us have anything to do with him. He should be happy for us, shouldn't he?" Harry asked.

"Things can be much more complicated than that. I think we may just have to let this play out as it's meant to. Things will work out one way or another. It will just take some time," Hermione answered. It was clear she really didn't know the answer to Harry's question but she wanted to give him some sort of hope that it would all work out in the end. "Ron and Ginny just need time and we should give it to them. They're family looking out for one another."

Harry hadn't thought about it that way. He didn't have any siblings and Dudley had always treated him more like the gum stuck to the bottom of his shoe rather than a brother. In fact, Harry had always been Dudley's favourite punching bag. Harry had no idea what it was like to have someone like a brother or sister, and he realised that as much as he could try, he would never truly understand the bond between Ron and Ginny. The Weasleys were the closest thing he had ever had to a real family, and Ron was almost like a brother. It was as close as he would ever get.

"Oy! Harry!" Harry turned at the sound of his name and saw Seamus and Dean waving and walking towards him.

"Sorry I couldn't stay long at your party," said Dean. "Ginny was in a right foul mood and I didn't want to end up on the receiving end of one of her curses. I think she was already angry with me for... well, I'm not sure what, but when I left with Parvati, it looked as if she was ready to spit fire."

"I honestly don't know how you two are going to manage to stay together if you keep that up," Hermione interjected.

"Actually, we split up just a few minutes ago. I kept getting the feeling from her that she would rather be unattached. That, and we were fighting like cat and dog near the end." Dean admitted, shrugging his shoulders and sounding a bit dejected.

"Oh, Dean, I'm so sorry to hear that," Hermione spoke up.

"It's alright, I guess. Best not to dwell on it and all," Dean replied quickly. It was clear that he didn't want to talk about the situation.

"She's one gorgeous lass, if I do say so myself," Seamus remarked. "Been thinking about asking her to Hogsmeade when we get back to school. Of course, if it's all right with you, Dean. From the looks of it though, there's going to be lots of competition." Seamus nodded towards the front of Quality Quidditch Supplies where Ginny was standing outside talking to a small handful of boys, one of whom Harry recognized as Zacharias Smith.

"I didn't realise she was so popular..."

"Blimey Harry, where have you been? Surely you've noticed. You practically spend the entire summer with her and her family every year." Seamus was looking at Harry with wide eyes.

Harry looked to Hermione for help, but it was apparent that he wasn't going to get any. Hermione was too busy looking at Ginny with a calculated glance, as if she was trying to figure out some puzzle. "She's just Ron's little sister..." When it looked as if Dean and Seamus were about to argue with his statement, Harry cut them off before they said a word. "Hermione and I had better get going. We still have loads of supplies to get. We'll see you on the train."

Harry and Hermione turned away as Dean and Seamus headed towards Quality Quidditch Supplies, whilst they walked into Flourish and Blotts. There wasn't as much of a crowd in the store as they had expected and they were able to get their school books quickly. Hermione mused that it was likely very few people were out and about as they once would have been. With another wizarding war seeming to be on the horizon, people were staying home more and more. Most people that were out were simply getting their supplies and heading home. No one was staying around to socialize or browse the shop windows.

Mrs. Weasley caught up with them and ushered them back out into the street again to finish up their lists. A tense silence had developed between Harry and Hermione, and Harry had no idea where it had come from. As he was trying to figure out what could be wrong, Mrs. Weasley guided the pair into another store. It took a moment for Harry to figure out where he was when he looked around at the most brightly coloured shop he had never seen. It seemed as though this shop was the place where everyone in Diagon Alley was hiding. The store was booming with business, customers crowded into every nook and cranny, looking through all the brightly coloured displays and items on the shelves.

"Harry!" The sound of two almost identical voices shouted over the rather large crowd that had accumulated in the small store. Harry looked over the heads of the other patrons to see Fred and George Weasley heading straight for him. The pair shared identical mischievous grins as they made their way through the crowd.

"Harry, so glad you could make it." Fred shook Harry's hand rather enthusiastically before he wrapped an arm around his shoulder and started to lead him towards the back of the store. "Since you are the very reason we are here today, besides our incredibly brilliant ideas of course, we figured that you should be the first to see some of our brand new products. They really are quite brilliant. Of course, you're free to have anything you fancy, since it was your winnings that helped us open our store."

"We've got the best stuff hiding in the back, of course. Most of it isn't ready for the general population just yet and some of it may never see the shelves, but just for our favourite benefactor, you get the pick of whatever we have in stock," George piped up.

"I can't do that," Harry stated.

"Harry, you gave us our start-up capital and we haven't forgotten. Take whatever you like, and just remember to tell people where you got it, if they ask." Fred smiled at Harry and clapped him on the back as the two men showed him to a backroom in the shop hidden behind a dark curtain.

Before disappearing into the room, Harry glanced back to discover that Hermione had somehow managed to find Ron in the dense crowd and was now bickering with him once again. Harry sighed as he was led away. He wasn't sure he'd be able to take any more of it. Ron and Hermione were his best friends and he hated how they were fighting with no end in sight. As the twins showed him product after product, Harry's mind was going over everything that could possibly be done or said to make things go back to how they were before, without having to give up what he had with Hermione. It wasn't an easy task and Harry wasn't sure there was a solution.

Harry's attention was pulled back to the present moment by a little shove from Fred. He looked around at the products lining the shelves which were much more subdued than those in the main room. The products boasted of protection and defense. He spotted a pair of Shield Gloves on a shelf, seemingly the last pair left, as well as a few other products that were of some interest. Harry reached for a canister on the shelf in front of him to inspect it further.

"Ah, yes. That's our Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder you've got there. You just throw it into the air and it covers everything around it in darkness. Handy if you want to make a quick escape. We've got loads more. It's our defensive line of products. We made a Shield Hat for a laugh and the Ministry's been buying them up and ordering more. We couldn't keep up but it gave us a great idea to launch a whole line of defensive stuff. It's been selling really well. Take a jar with you," George explained.

Harry stuffed the canister into his pack, thanking the two of them before Fred was called away to help a customer find a joke cauldron. Even with the state of the wizarding world, they were doing well and for that, Harry was glad. George showed Harry back out to the main room of the shop, spying Hermione over by a line of boxes of Patented Daydream Charms. She had one in her hand, reading the box with wonder.

"Oy! Ginny, get away from there. No sister of mine is going to buy that stuff." Ron's voice cut through Harry's thoughts. He looked over where he spotted her long red hair near the WonderWitch products. One of the girls she was standing with had grabbed a bottle of Love Potion off of the shelf to look at when Ron spotted them.

"Knock it off, Ron. I was only looking. I don't need this stuff to get a date, unlike, perhaps, you." Ginny stuck out her tongue at her brother before she flounced away with a couple of Gryffindor girls in her year.

"One of our latest projects. Love potions. They're a bit on the weak side, but we figured we may get into a lot of hot water with anything stronger, not that we haven't tried it... but you never know. We're waiting to see how well these ones sell," Fred explained. Harry now understood what the big deal was. He supposed that any older brother didn't want their little sister getting involved with anyone. It made a bit of sense in a way. By the time Harry had shaken himself out of his own thoughts and looked up, the twins were gone.

Harry walked around the shop some more, taking in all the sights and sounds. He was amazed at what the twins had done with the money he had given them from the Triwizard Tournament. He knew he'd made the right choice. As he wandered around, he overheard Ginny and Ron arguing over the Love Potions again.

"You've got enough boys on the go," Ron spoke angrily.

"Whatever you think I do or do not have on the go is bollocks. You need to stay out of my business and worry about your own."

"Don't turn this around on me. I saw you standing outside at Quality Quidditch -"

"Enough, Ron. I can take care of myself. I am a Weasley after all," Ginny interrupted. It was clear she was putting an end to this particular argument.

"Ron! Ginny! Harry! It's time to go." Mrs. Weasley called over the crowd as she tried to drag Mr. Weasley away from the display of Muggle magic tricks. Hermione was already waiting at the door when Harry caught up to her.

"He is utterly impossible," Hermione muttered darkly. "He just won't give it up, and he can't be bothered to tell me what's wrong. All he says is 'you know bloody well what'. It's infuriating."

Harry glanced back at Ron and he couldn't help agreeing with Hermione. Ron did have the tendency not to tell anyone what was wrong; making everyone assume what was bothering him, which sometimes wasn't even close to the real reason he was upset. Harry sighed a bit as he and Hermione stepped out of the shop. If things were going to keep up the way they were, this would be one of the worst years at Hogwarts yet.

When Harry stepped out onto the street, he chanced a glance toward Knockturn Alley, wondering if anyone would dare go down there now. As he looked, he spied a shock of blond hair disappear around the corner.

"Hermione! Malfoy." Harry whispered urgently as he discreetly pointed towards the alley. The two of them looked around. Mrs. Weasley had been pulled back into the store by Ginny and were both looking over a cage of pink and purple fluff balls. Mr. Weasley had made his way back to the Muggle magic tricks while Fred and George were nowhere to be seen, likely off helping other customers.

Harry pulled his invisibility cloak out of his bag and after checking to make sure no one was paying them any attention, pulled it over himself and Hermione. They moved quickly down Knockturn Alley, trying to follow Malfoy but they'd already lost him. Harry led them down the alley in hopes of figuring out where he'd disappeared to. Suddenly, Hermione nudged him in the ribs and pointed into the window of Borgin and Burkes. There was Draco Malfoy at the shop counter speaking with Borgin himself. At that moment, Harry wished he had grabbed a pair of Extendable Ears from the twins' shop.

"I wish we could hear what they were saying," Harry whispered as they got closer to the window, trying to read their lips. It was clear that Malfoy was not happy about something and Mr. Borgin didn't look as though he was being very forthcoming with information. Suddenly, Malfoy moved with his back to Harry and Hermione so they were unable to see what was going on, but Mr. Borgin's demeanor seemed to change almost instantly. After a few moments, Malfoy was turning away and leaving the shop. He brushed past Harry and Hermione, just missing them as he strode towards the alley exit.

Harry looked back through the window where Mr. Borgin was still standing at the counter, his face a mask of worry. Whatever it was that Malfoy had said to him clearly had not sat well with the man. Whatever it was, it had unsettled him and now Harry wanted to know what it was.

Unable to come up with any answers where they were, Harry and Hermione decided to head back to Weasley Wizarding Wheezes. Harry whipped off the cloak as they waited outside the doors. Mrs. Weasley came swooping out of the store, demanding to know where the two of them had been. Hermione managed to convince her that they had been standing there the whole time and she must have missed them the first time she was looking.

The group gathered together outside of Fred and George's shop, laden with their parcels of school supplies. It seemed as though everyone was ready to go.