Disclaimer: I have an unhealthy obsession with a fictional boy. Ah well, at least I’m not alone. You all know I’m not JKR, so there’s no use telling you otherwise. If you cared who I was, you’d read my author information, or whatever it’s called. If you’ve seen it in a HP book, it’s probably not mine.
Chapter Nine: Stranded
George grabbed Ron and Luna, and disapparated. Everyone else had linked arms, I was on Harry’s shoulder, dreading the trip back, when the entrance to the shop flew open, and a blond haired boy ran inside.
Everyone turned around.
“Malfoy,” whispered Fred in disgust.
“Malfoy?” asked Rachel quizzically.
“Draco!” exclaimed Harry, Hermione, and Ginny.
“They’re after me,” gasped Draco. ““ I’ve been running “ have to hide.”
“Who’s chasing you “” began Harry, but he was cut off.
“Like we’d hide you!” said Fred, pulling out his wand.
“Wait!” shrieked Ginny. “He’s on our side!”
“Yeah, right,” said Fred.
Harry began explaining to Fred and Rachel, while Hermione got Draco a glass of water. Before Harry had finished explaining, a booming voice came out of nowhere:
“DEATH EATERS HAVE BEEN SIGHTED IN DIAGON ALLEY. ALL STORES WILL BE SEALED IMMEDEATLY. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO APPARATE. DO NOT PANIC. DO NOT ATTEPT TO SEND ANY MESSAGES. MINISTRY AURORS WILL BE SEARCHING ALL SHOPS FOR DEATH EATERS.”
“What the bloody “,” began Fred.
“Death Eaters!?” exclaimed Harry. His wand was out from under his belt before I knew it, and he lunged toward the door. I flew off him, screeching indignantly, and flew to the top of a shelf. Hermione, who had looked taken aback for a moment, sprang at Harry, knocking him over.
“Just where do you think you’re going, Harry?” she demanded, pinning Harry to the ground by the shoulders.
“I was going after the Death Eaters,” spluttered Harry.
“Are you mad?” asked Hermione.
“No, but it’s “ it’s “ well, you know,” said Harry.
“The directions are to stay here!” said Hermione pleadingly. “You can’t go anywhere!”
“Well, I think that’d be a bit difficult, considering you’ve got me on the ground,” said Harry.
Fred coughed, “The door’s already been sealed. Same as the windows.”
Both Harry and Hermione turned to face the group, who were staring at them. Hermione hastily moved away from Harry, who got up looking bemused.
Later on, two Aurors came by to search the shop. Upon seeing Draco, they pounced on him. Ginny and Hermione had shrieked, and everyone else had yelled. Finally, after the Aurors had pulled up Draco’s sleeve and found no dark mark, they were satisfied he wasn’t a Death Eater.
Everyone asked them if they could try to apparate home, or at least send a message to their family, but the Aurors said stubbornly that it looked as though they would have to spend the night. The majority of the Aurors under the Ministry were stationed other places, and there weren’t very many left to search Diagon Alley. The sun was setting as the Aurors left.
“Mum’s probably going berserk,” said Fred. Harry and Ginny nodded in agreement.
“Do you reckon we should set out some sleeping bags?” suggested Rachel.
“Yeah, all right,” said Fred. He and Rachel waved their wands, conjuring six very comfortable looking sleeping bags.
“And we’ll need these,” said Rachel, waving her wand again. A pile of pajama pants, t-shirts, and sweaters appeared at her feet.
Everyone chose a different row between shelves to change in, and then they all sat on their sleeping bags. Hermione began to braid her hair. Ginny and Harry sat next to Draco. Fred finally seemed to have been convinced that Draco was trustworthy.
The group talked through half the night, until Rachel dozed off and tipped over backwards, hitting her head on a shelf. Laughing, the group got into their sleeping bags, and one by one, fell asleep.
All except Draco and Ginny. After everyone had fallen asleep, Ginny scooted over to Draco, and they talked until they couldn’t hold their eyes open any longer.
I looked at them all sleeping from my perch on a shelf. They all looked peaceful, despite the day’s hectic events. I thought somewhat longingly of my more comfortable perch at Grimmauld Place… but we’d be going home tomorrow.
It amazed me how sleeping could make a mischievous boy like Fred look completely innocent. Or how it could make Draco’s sharp features look friendly. When they had first gone to sleep, they had been organized in a circle, but such was not so the next morning…
I woke up early the next morning, but I wasn’t the only one.
Fred was sitting up in his sleeping bag, and Rachel was still asleep, her head resting on his chest. Fred had one arm around her, stroking her bed-head hair absentmindedly with the other hand and smiling.
Hermione was picking a loose strand from the arm of Harry’s sweater in her sleep. They were both lying on their sides, and during the night, Harry had unconsciously laid his arm across Hermione. He wrapped it tighter around her, murmuring something that sounded like “…my…oh…knee…”
Draco and Ginny, thought both asleep, were in a sitting position, her head on his shoulder, and his head on hers.
Fred softly rumpled Rachel’s hair, and kissed the top of her head. I flew down to sit on Fred’s knee. We both watched as Rachel’s eyelids fluttered open, then closed again. Smiling sleepily, she snuggled closer to Fred until her eyes flew open, and she lifted her head abruptly, staring at Fred. He smiled tenderly.
“Morning, love,” he whispered to her look of mortified embarrassment. And without any warning, he leaned forward and kissed her. Rachel gave a quiet gasp of surprise, but wrapped her arms around Fred’s neck all the same.
Looking over at the others, I saw that Hermione had woken up. Her face was split by a wide and delighted smile. But then one of her hands found Harry’s arm wrapped around her, and the smile slowly faded as her eyes teared. She wiped her eyes hastily on her sleeping bag as Ginny and Draco began to stir. I didn’t understand why Hermione would be crying. If she really did ‘love Harry with the white hot intensity of a thousand suns’ why would she cry if he had his arm around her?
Rachel and Fred broke apart quickly, but not before the others had seen.
“You sure that you don’t ‘have a thing’ for anyone now?” asked Ginny, sitting forward. Draco fell over behind her. “Ooh, sorry Draco,” she said.
“Well, I think I might after all,” said Rachel, smiling and looking completely unashamed. “And it looks like I’m not the only one,” she said, eyeing Harry’s arm around Hermione.
But at this point, Harry woke up. “Erm, sorry, Hermione,” he said, withdrawing his arm and pulling away. “Must’ve done it while I was asleep…” he said, fumbling for his glasses. Both Harry and Hermione looked embarrassed. Ginny and Rachel both smirked and raised their eyebrows at one another.
“What?” asked Fred, Harry, and Draco, seeing this exchange.
“I think you and I might be the only ones that aren’t hopelessly blind!” exclaimed Ginny to Rachel.
“I think you must be right,” smiled Rachel. “So,” she said, stretching her arms and yawning, “How did you all slee“” But she was interrupted by the booming voice from the day before.
“THE DEATH EATERS HAVE BEEN CAUGHT AND TAKEN TO AZKABAN. PLEASE RETURN TO YOUR HOMES. MORE INFORMATION WILL BE GIVEN SHORTLY. THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC APOLOGIZES FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE.”
“I forgot about them,” said Harry, looking stunned.
“Should we go back then?” asked Hermione.
“We can’t just leave Rachel,” said Fred.
“Or Draco,” added Ginny.
“That’s no problem,” said a voice from the door.
Everyone jumped up and faced the door. Lupin and Tonks were standing in the entrance, smiling.
“Wotcher, Harry,” said Tonks, winking at him.
“Dumbledore said you’d probably have guests, and that we were to escort them to headquarters,” said Lupin. He pulled a slip of paper from his pocket, and motioned for Rachel and Draco to come over. They did, and read the writing on the parchment.
“Got it?” asked Tonks.
They nodded their heads.
“All right then, Rachel “ you apparate with Fred. Ginny, Draco “ you with me, and Harry and Hermione go with Tonks,” said Lupin.
“Hedwig’s here too,” said Harry. “She flew to my shoulder the last moment when we were apparating here yesterday.”
“Let’s go then,” said Tonks, looking expectantly up at me. I flew obligingly to her shoulder, closing my eyes and bracing myself for the short “ but torturous journey ahead.
Before I knew it, all of us were back in Number Twelve’s kitchen, and I saw Mrs. Weasley sobbing at the table. She sprang up when she saw us, and ran over to her sons and daughter, hugging them, and continuing to cry into their shoulders.
George, Ron, and Luna appeared in the kitchen. Much hugging ensued, so I flew over to the windowsill, where Pig and Hermes immediately joined me.
“Oh Hedwig! I was so worried! Are you all right!” shrieked Pig.
“I’m fine Pig!” I hooted.
Mrs. Weasley had just finished hugging Hermione. Rachel and Draco were standing awkwardly in the corner.
“Oh Mum, this is Rachel Whittingheimer,” explained Fred quickly. “And Draco “ er “ Malfoy.”
Mrs. Weasley looked shocked, but hugged both Rachel and Draco all the same.
After Mrs. Weasley had finished fussing over everyone, she started making lunch. Everyone had disappeared as she started bustling around the kitchen, and I flew to investigate.
Ron, Luna, Harry, Draco and Ginny were all sitting in the bedroom that Harry and Ron shared. Hermione had burst out, tears running down her cheeks when I had flown in, and the rest were discussing it.
“What is it with her?” asked Ron to nobody in particular.
“I dunno,” said Harry, looking worried.
“Honestly! You are both blind!” said Ginny angrily, heading out the door after Hermione.
“I’d better go help and cheer her up,” said Luna, sounding serious for once.
“What did I do?” asked Ron. “All I did was kiss Luna on the cheek!”
“Never try to fathom the inner-workings of a woman’s mind,” said Draco wisely.
Harry didn’t say anything. I wanted to know what was going on, so I flew after Ginny and Luna.
Hermione was sitting on her bed, hugging her knees to her chest, and staring out the window. I flew to the windowsill, and saw that her tears had stopped. Ginny was patting her on the back.
“I’m so tired of this,” said Hermione dryly as Luna sat down beside her.
“’Mione, you cant expect him to figure out all on his own that he loves you,” said Ginny.
“Yes. I had to tell Ronald!” said Luna. “But I never exactly got all the words out, because he kissed me before I could.”
“See! Everything just fell into place for you!” said Hermione. “He sees you once in radish earrings and he’s madly in love with you!”
“Well, you both looked pretty cozy this morning,” said Ginny.
“He said it was an accident. He didn’t mean to, he was asleep!” said Hermione.
“Then why, may I ask, did he keep pulling you closer and murmuring “’Mione” last night? I saw it and heard it. So did Draco,” said Ginny matter-of-factly, as though this settled the matter. “All right, after lunch “ Luna, get Ron away from Harry and Draco, snog him, whatever “ I’ll talk to Draco and Harry, and get Draco out, leaving you and Harry. Hermione, I expect you to tell him.”
“Lunch time!” came Mrs. Weasley’s voice up the stairs.
“Perfect!” said Ginny. “Let’s go.”
Ginny and Luna exited, Hermione stayed behind a while to collect herself. As she stepped onto the landing, George came down the stairs alone, and joined her.
“Where’s Fred?” asked Hermione.
“With Rachel, of course,” said George cheerily, “And about time, too. He’s been talking about her for ages.”
Hermione smiled, and they walked downstairs together. A few moments later, as I myself was exiting the room, Fred and Rachel went down the stairs, hand in hand.
Author’s Note: Whew! I’m finally finished with this chapter. Took me long enough! But school started, and I got homework the second day! How wrong is that!? VERY. Please tell me what you think! I personally love this chapter, but I want to know if you did too! Pretty please with Harry Potter on top review!