Chapter 1: Hogsmeade
Four years have past since Harry’s seventeenth birthday and every day is more difficult that the last. Only five of the seven Horcrux have been destroyed. The daily prophet has news pouring in about yet another dementor attack. The rate of werewolf bites increases every day. The amount of death eaters is growing, and the survival death toll is growing. Far worst than anything else in the universe, Lord Voldemort’s powers increase daily and more and more people have to learn to survive without those they love. Fear quenches every witch and wizard in the world, and yet somehow, life goes on.
Amongst the fear in the world, happiness arises. Molly and Arthur Weasley find themselves as grandparents, with a second grandchild on the way. Bill and Fleur are expecting their second child, after their first was born nearly a year ago. Charlie and his new Romanian bride fight for the order in Romania. Percy stays along the ministry with his new job as junior minister. Fred and George’s shop thrives with business, having expansions all over the country. Both of them along with their girlfriends Angelina Johnson (Fred) and Katie Bell (George) fight the battle against Voldemort for the Order. Lupin and Tonks found themselves say “I do” over two years ago, and now have their own little purple-haired twins. But best of all, spirits rise to the occasion of two very joyous times due in the spring; the weddings of the Weasley’s youngest children.
***
Torture, death, and loss spread throughout the world. Every day, dozens of people find themselves mourning due to the sinister works of the death eaters. As the death eaters gathered, not even the aurors could stop them. Massive breakouts from Azkaban happened every day, leaving none but the insane sitting in their cells. Dreams filled Harry’s head of the war throughout the wizarding world, and how in the time coming, he will have to face Voldemort and put a stop to the torture, a stop to the pain, and perhaps even a stop to his own life.
The whole house was suddenly awoken by the crying of a little Baylee Weasley. This was the usual routine at the burrow, where Harry had stayed while not out adventurously searching for the missing Horcruxes. The sun barely moved across the horizon when Harry got out of bed to go downstairs and start breakfast. When he got down there, there was the 6-month pregnant Fleur sitting down feeding a bottle to her baby girl.
“Get zhat cloth for me, would you?” Fleur asked Harry, pointing to a little baby rag in the corner. Fleur’s English had improved very much since Harry had met her seven years ago in the Triwizard Tournament. Little Baylee Weasley had cute little blonde curls, big blue eyes, and tons of miniature freckles across her cheeks that made her look as pretty as her mother.
Ron came downstairs followed closely by Ginny, who had already gotten dressed and ready for the day.
“Hey, Harry, up for a day in Hogsmeade, Hermione and I have agreed to meet Fred and George at their shop there today.” Ron said joyfully. Harry started at Ginny, trying to see what her plans for the day were.
“I’m free, up for it, Harry?” Ginny responded, looking gleeful.
“Fine with me!” Said Harry. Hermione came downstairs and started to discuss something with Ginny, while Harry and Ron were left to watch Baylee while Fleur went upstairs to get Bill.
“So, have you guys decided if you’re coming with me in a few weeks?” Said Harry.
“You mean, to find it, but Harry, I mean,” Hermione muttered, “We don’t have any leads on it, and no idea where it could be. Don’t you think it would be better if we just took things calm around here for a while, just until we have a better idea of what we are doing.”
“Of what we are doing? Hermione, we have been doing this for the last five years! We had no idea where anything was at first! We didn’t at first where the locket was, or where to find Nagini! But we did!” Harry exclaimed, trying not to bounce around Baylee sitting in his lap.
“Calm down Harry, you know how mad mum gets when we wake them!” Ron said, trying to calm Harry down. “Ever since the little tyke started crying all the time, she has been a bit cranky.”
“Here, give me Baylee. I’ll take her upstairs and then we can get going, okay.” Ginny said sternly, taking her niece upstairs. She looked quite upset.
“Harry, you should be a bit more sympathetic around Ginny. She is really starting to worry about you. I mean, you always go off on rows and you do seem a bit preoccupied at times. She is your girlfriend!” Hermione stated, trying to make Harry feel guilty in some sense.
“Of course, you and Ron don’t have your problems, do you? The perfect couple, you two are? Well, believe me, if Ginny and I had as many rows as you two, we would have grown apart long ago!”
Ginny came downstairs looks happier than she had a moment earlier. “Ready to go?” she asked them, “Hogsmeade gets crowded these days, so best go early.”
They walked outside to the edge of the Weasley’s yard and apparated into Hogsmeade.
Hogsmeade had lost some of it’s beauty over the years, mainly due to many empty shops and large posters of the names of death eaters who had broken out of Azkaban. There would not have been much of a point of going to Hogsmeade, except for a few things. Madam Rosmerta, older yet still beautiful, kept the Three Broomsticks opened, saying that it would take you-know-who himself to make her close down the bar. The Hogs Head, the very strange pub, remained open due to the fact that it was probably run by death eaters anyways (It was always a strange place, though Harry.”
Despite the gloominess of Hogsmeade, there was one main reason for coming; Weasley Wizard Weezles. The one shop in Hogsmeade that had hundreds of colors and was full all the time. Fred and George had certainly gone to a great extent with their shops, and had hundreds of new items sitting on the shelves.
“Well good morning, fancy seeing you again.” Angelina Johnson, Fred’s longtime girlfriend, came out from behind the back room with arms full of products, getting ready to stack the shelves.
“Hey Angelina! Long time no see, and how’s Katie?” Harry responded, trying to bring up a conversation. Katie was at the present time dating George Weasley.
“Oh, she’s good, a bit freaked out though. Did you hear in the news, one of her cousins was cursed by something some death eater left in a store, thank goodness he got to St. Mungo’s in time. She was afraid he wouldn’t make it. As you recall, she doesn’t exactly have the best luck with dark objects.” Angelina stated. Harry did recall, in his sixth year she had spent half the year in St. Mungo’s after touching some cursed necklace.
“Well, I’d better be off, I promised Katie I’d meet her at St. Mungo’s. I don’t thinks he likes that place much anymore, so I wouldn’t want to leave her there alone.” Angelina sped outside the store and vanished with a “crack”.
Fred and George came out from the back. “Well, finally, we’ve been waiting for you! We need to have a little chat with you, Harry.”
Harry followed Fred and George to the back of the store, where Ron followed. “Excuse me Ron, but is YOUR name Harry?” Fred said, slamming the door in Ron’s face.
“Well, Harry, we got what you asked for. It’s all here.” George said, opening a bag.
“Excellent, how did you get it all?” Harry asked.
“Invented it, every single thing. We may have never “officially” graduated from Hogwarts but we know a bunch more than some think!” Fred retorted.
Harry looked inside the bag. In it were two invisibility cloaks, many bezoars, and simple healing kits. However, there was one square object Harry did not know what it was. “What’s this,” asked Harry, “I didn’t ask for this, whatever it is.”
“We made that one specially for you Harry! It’s an emergency teleport. Much easier than appartation if you ask me, and wherever that take you, nobody you don’t want can follow you there! Like being unplottable, if you know what I mean.” George said, looking pleased with himself.
“Well, we best be going. Fred and I have to make a little business deal with old Mundungus. Bye!” George said, as he and Fred strolled out of the shop, closing it down for the time being.
Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione spent the day looking in the open shops, before returning to the burrow before nightfall.