Hogwarts is my Home

Chapter 17: The Best Summer Ever! (CS CH1-3)

Life at the Burrow was positively amazing. I was surrounded by my favorite family... and Percy.

Most of the days, Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, and I played Quidditch so we could get our practise in.

Ron wanted to play Quidditch for Gryffindor- preferably Keeper, but I told him there wasn't an open position this year. All I could do was train him, and once I did he could've given Oliver a run for his money.

The five of us would switch our positions around every game so we could all learn more and also to purely laugh off the mistakes we made. It wasn't a serious sort of thing at all. There was also only enough to play one team, unless Percy wanted to join, which he never did. 

He'd locked himself in his room the second we got to the Burrow. I couldn't help but to think I was to blame for this. What little attention he already got from being the third oldest was only diminished more by me being there.

I was the talk of the house- Molly and Arthur saying they'd heard about how I died in the chamber and asked if I was okay. They begged to know how I was brought back to life, so I told them. The parts I understood, that was. 

"Nicolas Flamel's finally died, then," Arthur muttered. The sadness I felt must've been very visual, because he added, "Don't worry- he lived over six-hundred years, I think he was more than ready to go at that point."

I stayed in Ginny's room. Every other day, one of us would sleep in her bed and the other one would get the floor. You'd think a ten-year-old girl would be displeased with this, but in her words, "I've always an older sister! I've often thought about who I would trade. I know my answer, but I'll never tell."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "It's Percy, isn't it?"

She threw her hands up in defense as she leaned back in her bed. "Hey, you said it, not me."

"Well, I've always wanted a younger brother. Even before I met Ron, I felt like he was mine."

"He's happy you're here. We all are."

"Thanks. It's a lot better being here than my own house."

I'd written all my friends letters and they all answered and we talked back and forth. Rian was going on holiday in Greece next month, Hagrid was planting some pumpkins in preparation for Halloween, and Hermione got all her homework done in the first week she was home.

The only one who never replied to me was Harry. I'd sent him about six letters asking how he was doing and all the fun things he's tried to pull on his aunt, uncle, and cousin, but nothing in return. 

I was worried he'd forgotten about me, thought nothing about how we tried to save each other in the castle; so I stopped writing- not wanting to feel the sting of abandonment anymore, and chose instead to live in the moment with the Weasleys.

Though the more I tried to forget about it, the harder it was. Finally one day on our hike to the paddock to play Quidditch, I brought this up to Ron.

"Hey, Ron, have you gotten anything from Harry?"

"No, and I know it's not Errol, because I've got stuff from all my other friends, although a bit later than I would've wanted."

"Same. You don't think he could've forgotten about us, do you?"

"After you saved his life last month, no way," Fred chimed in. "He'd be stupid to."

"Yeah, the Dursleys probably just told him not to write to his friends," George said.

"Oh, great! I feel loads better knowing they're trying to cut him off from people who actually care about him."

"Easy on the sarcasm, I was only trying to help."

It was the worst I'd ever played Quidditch. I stop thinking about Harry, suffering in that house. Being locked in his room with no food. 

By lunch, I knew I had to do something, but couldn't think of anything. The rest of the day was spent with me sitting on the couch, staring at the fireplace. Maybe I could use Floo Powder- but I never had before and didn't know how it worked. My only option was to talk to Molly and Arthur.

That night when we all went to bed, I stayed awake until I thought everyone else was asleep. I heard shuffling feet a few times, but didn't think anything of it. 

I checked the digital clock that was one of the few muggle items in this house. 11:36 

I got up quietly so I wouldn't wake Ginny, and snuck into Molly's room.

I tapped her arm to wake her up. She shot up, and ripped the eye mask off her head. "Fred and George, what've you done now?" she started angrily. She saw it was me and changed her demeanour instantly. "Oh, Toni. What is it?"

"I have to talk to you and Arthur." 

I was scared of what her next words were going to be. If I went to my own mother and asked her to help free one of my friends in the middle of the night, she'd just laugh in my face and go right back to sleep. Molly, however, sat up and put her slippers on. "Well, he'll be home any moment. Let's go downstairs, I'll make you some tea."

When Arthur walked through the door, he was worried. "Why are you two up? Has something happened?"

"Toni has to tell us something, Arthur."

He sat beside me on the couch. "What's wrong, dear?" 

"Well, Harry's in danger. I don't know how I know other than this feeling I have." 

"A gut instinct?" Arthur asked. 

I shook my head. "No. It's almost as if I can feel his pain..." I blinked away my tears. "He hasn't written to me or Ron, and we're his best friends. With tomorrow being his birthday, I don't think he should have to spend it with them." 

"Actually, today's his birthday- it's after midnight." 

"You're not helping, Arthur. We will get him in three days if you still haven't heard anything." I nodded. "Off to bed, now."

The guarantee that Harry was going to be here on August 2 at the latest made me fall straight to sleep that night. The quilt dividing me from the floor had never felt comfier. 

"Toni. Tone. Get up, we've got a surprise for you." It was one of the twins.

I slowly opened my eyes. "I never trust when you say that."

"You will be happy this time. I promise."

Fred grabbed my hands and pulled me to my feet. We walked down and when we got to the kitchen, he covered my eyes from behind and said, "Bring him in." Him?

"Okay," spoke Ron's voice. 

Fred took his hands away, and said, "Ta-da!" Before me stood the person I had missed the most.