Chamber of Secrets 4

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Life at the Burrow was as different as possible from life on PrivetDrive. The Dursleys liked everything neat and ordered; the Weasleys'house burst with the strange and unexpected. Harry got a shock thefirst time he looked in the mirror over the kitchen mantelpiece and itshouted, "Tuck your shirt in, scruffy!" The ghoul in the attic howledand dropped pipes whenever he felt things were getting too quiet, andsmall explosions from Fred and George's bedroom were consideredperfectly normal. What Harry and Jason found most unusual about life at Ron's,however, wasn't the talking mirror or the clanking ghoul: It was thefact that everybody there seemed to like them.

Mrs. Weasley fussed over the state of their socks and tried to force them to eat fourth helpings at every meal. Mr. Weasley liked Harry and Jason to sitnext to him at the dinner table so that he could bombard them withquestions about life with Muggles, asking them to explain how thingslike plugs and the postal service worked

Toni looks over at Arthur and offers to teach him about how stuff worked much to Arthur's joy. It was the least she could do since they helped her sons.

"Fascinating." he would say as Harry talked him through using atelephone. "Ingenious, really, how many ways Muggles have found ofgetting along without magic."Harry and Jason heard from Hogwarts one sunny morning about a week after they had arrived at the Burrow. They and Ron went down to breakfast to findMr. and Mrs. Weasley and Ginny already sitting at the kitchen table.The moment she saw Harry and Jason, Ginny accidentally knocked her porridgebowl to the floor with a loud clatter. Ginny seemed very prone toknocking things over whenever Harry or Jason entered a room. She dived underthe table to retrieve the bowl and emerged with her face glowing likethe setting sun. Pretending they hadn't noticed this, Harry sat down andtook the toast Mrs. Weasley offered him

Ginny blushes at the reminder of her crush on the Potters. Though she considers Jason more like an older brother after the events of third year, she did have a crush on Harry still.

"Letters from school," said Mr. Weasley, passing Harry, Jason and Ronidentical envelopes of yellowish parchment, addressed in green ink."Dumbledore already knows you're here, boys - doesn't miss a trick,that man. You two've got them, too," he added, as Fred and Georgeambled in, still in their pajamas.

For a few minutes there was silence as they all read their letters.Harry's told him to catch the Hogwarts Express as usual from King'sCross station on September first. There was also a list of the newbooks he'd need for the coming year.SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS WILL REQUIRE:The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2by Miranda Goshawk Break with a Banshee by Gilderoy LockhartGadding with Ghouls by Gilderoy LockhartHolidays with Hags by Gilderoy Lockhart4 ",3Travels with Trolls by Gilderoy LockhartVoyages with Vampires by Gilderoy LockhartWanderings with Werewolves by Gilderoy LockhartYear with the Yeti by Gilderoy LockhartFred, who had finished his own list, peered over at Harry's

Groans fill the room as the list was read. "I forgot we had that idiot second year." Jason says, it was clear he very much did not like Lockhart at all. Jason considered him a disgrace to Ravenclaw.

"You've been told to get all Lockhart's books, too!" he said. "The newDefense Against the Dark Arts teacher must be a fan - bet it's awitch."At this point, Fred caught his mother's eye and quickly busied himselfwith the marmalade."That lot won't come cheap," said George, with a quick look at hisparents. "Lockhart's books are really expensive ......"Well, we'll manage," said Mrs. Weasley, but she looked worried. "Iexpect we'll be able to pick up a lot of Ginny's things secondhand.""Oh, are you starting at Hogwarts this year?" Harry asked Ginny.

Jason and Luna traded subtle glances at each other. They very much planned to get Harry and Ginny to admit their feelings to each other. 

She nodded, blushing to the roots of her flaming hair, and put herelbow in the butter dish. Fortunately no one saw this except Harry,because just then Ron's elder brother Percy walked in. He wasalready dressed, his Hogwarts prefect badge pinned to his sweatervest."Morning, all," said Percy briskly. "Lovely day."He sat down in the only remaining chair but leapt up again almostimmediately, pulling from underneath him a moulting, gray featherduster - at least, that was what Harry thought it was, until he saw thatit was breathing

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