The Potter Twins and the Half-Blood Prince {6}

3. An Excess of Phlegm

"Destiny is overrated, so I think I'll write my own" ~ Reflections, We Are The In Crowd

Harry, Dumbledore, Dad, Sirius and I approach the back door of the Burrow, which is littered with a collection of old Wellington boots and rusty cauldrons; I can hear the soft clucking of sleepy chickens coming from a distant shed. Dumbledore knocks three times, and I see sudden movement behind the kitchen window. 

"Who's there?" calls a voice I recognise to be Mrs Weasleys. "Declare yourself!"

"It's James, Sirius, and Dumbledore," Dad calls back, "bringing Harry and Haylee."

The door opens at once. There stands Mrs Weasley, short, plump, and wearing a green dressing gown. 

"Harry and Haylee, dears! Gracious, you three gave me a fright, you said not to expect you before morning!"

"We were lucky," Dumbledore says, ushering Harry and me over the threshold. "Slughorn seemed much more persuadable than I had expected, Harry and Haylee's doing, of course. Ah, hello, Nymphadora!"

I look around and see that Mrs Weasley isn't alone, despite the lateness of the hour. A young witch with a pale, heart-shaped face and mousy brown hair is sitting at the table clutching a large mug between her hands. 

"Hello, Professor," she says. "Wotcher," she then adds, nodding at Harry, Sirius, Dad, and I. 

"Hi, Tonks."

She looks drawn, even a little ill, and there's definitely something forced about her smile. Certainly, her appearance is less colourful without her usual outrageous pink hair. 

"I'd better be off," she says, rising quickly. "Thanks for the tea and sympathy, Molly."

"Please don't leave on our account," Dumbledore says courteously. "I cannot stay, I have urgent matters to attend to with Rufus Scrimgeour."

"Well, we can afford to stay," Sirius says. "Stay, Tonks, we'll have a cup of tea."

"No, no, I need to be going," she says insistingly, meeting only Sirius' eyes. "'Night."

"Dear, why not come to dinner on the weekend, Remus and Mad-Eye are coming, and James and Sirius, too."

"No, really, Molly...thanks anyway...Good night, everyone."

Tonks hurries past Dumbledore, pausing only briefly to allow Sirius to pat her back for a moment. And then, only a few steps into the yard, she turns and vanishes on the spot. I notice Mrs Weasley, Dad, and Sirius all look troubled. 

"Well, I shall see you both at Hogwarts," Dumbledore says. "Take care of yourself, Molly, your servant."

He gives a gallant bow, and then follows Tonks out of the house, vanishing at precisely the same spot she had. 

"I suppose you'll be staying?" Mrs Weasley says to Dad and Sirius. 

"Just for a while," Dad says. "We'll be off once Harry and Haylee are all settled."

She then closes the door on the empty yard and steers Harry and me by the shoulders to the full glow of the lantern on the table to examine our appearance. 

"You're like Ron," she says, looking Harry up and down. "Both of you look like you've had Stretching jinxes put on you - I swear Ron's grown four inches since I last bought him school robes."

I look at Harry from the corner of my eye; now that it's been pointed out, he really has grown over these past few weeks. He's been taller than me for many years now, but he's closer to Dad and Sirius' height now, quite literally towering over me.