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Chapter 3: Arrival at the Burrow
Harry stumbled out of the Weasley’s fireplace. He coughed from the dust and dirt as he brushed himself off. Before he could even catch his breath, Mrs.Weasley had smothered him in a huge hug.
“Harry! I’m so glad you’re alright! I thought something might be wrong. I was afraid your aunt and uncle weren’t letting you leave. I was just about to come over when you arrived. I’m so relieved you’re alright. It’s so nice to see you.”
Harry chuckled to himself at the thought of Mrs.Weasley at Privet Drive as she let him go.
Fred, George, and Ron all popped out of the fireplace one right after another.
“What took you so long?” Mrs.Weasley asked a little harshly as they stood before her in the room.
“We were just visiting,” Fred said casually.
“Yeah, Mum, we thought it’d be the polite thing to do,“ George added. “By the way, Fred brought something back for Dad.” As George said this, Fred produced the plug he had cut off of the Durselys’ lamp from his robe pocket.
“Fred, I highly doubt the Durselys’ gave you that plug. How did you get it?” Mrs.Weasley asked warily.
“Oh, it wasn’t hard to get at all. I just chopped it off with a pair of scissors,” Fred said merrily as if he regularly chopped plugs off of Muggle lamps.
“Fred! I can’t believe you! You can’t just do that! Honestly, I don’t know why I sent you two over there in the first place! I should have gone myself.” Mrs.Weasley continued to rant as Ron motioned for Harry to follow him upstairs.
As they walked up the stairs, Harry asked, “So, what did Fred and George do to the coffee table after they turned it into a pig?”
“Oh, they set it up so that it will turn back into a coffee table in exactly three hours, which Fred and George cheerfully informed your horrified aunt and uncle as they were stepping into the fireplace to leave.” Ron and Harry laughed, and by the time they reached Ron’s room, they were practically in a fit of hysterics
As soon as Harry entered Ron’s room, he was embraced in his second rib-cracking hug of the day by Hermione.
“Harry! I’m so glad you’re alright! I was starting to get worried. How are you?” Hermione asked as she let him go.
Harry looked at her. He saw all of the feelings that he had been suppressing displayed clearly on her face; sadness, anger, confusion. But instead of telling her any of this, he simply said, “Fine, I guess.” He sat down on Ron’s bed and looked around the room. It looked the same as it always had, messy with tons of moving posters of Qudditich players adorning the walls.
“So, Harry…Er… how has your summer been so far?” Ron asked tentatively.
Hermione shot him a look that clearly said, “How can you be so thick. Of course his summer has been terrible. He has to go after a maniac killer at the end of summer!” “Fine,” Harry said. Then, without thinking, he asked abruptly, “How’s Ginny been?”
Ron frowned slightly. Harry remembered Ron’s reaction when Harry had told him that he and Ginny were no longer going out. “I can’t believe you!” Ron had yelled “She’s got a terrible temper, you know! I wouldn’t be worried about You-Know-Who killing you since I’m sure Ginny will get the job done first!”
Harry immediately wished he hadn’t asked the question.
“She’s been… ok,” Hermione answered for Ron.
Harry quickly changed the subject. “How have you two been this summer?”
“Fine,” Hermione and Ron said simultaneously, but Harry noticed that Ron had a happy grin on his face. He had been in a much better mood since he and Hermione had become a couple at the end of last year.
Harry nodded and an awkward silence fell. “What are the plans for Bill and Fleur’s wedding?” he finally asked. Ron sighed, apparently glad to have something to talk about. “It’s on the fifteenth of this month. Bill wants you, Fred, George, Percy, Charlie and me to be groomsmen. Apparently Fleur wanted a big wedding.” Ron shrugged. “Also, Hermione and Ginny are going to be bridesmaids along with Gabrielle, you know, Fleur’s sister, and three of Fleur’s friends, Pricilla, Elizabeth, and Elizabeth’s twin sister, Lauren.”
Hermione was now wearing the most peculiar expression on her face. It was a cross between anger and the look someone gets when they have a very bad taste in their mouth.
“Hermione, what’s wrong?” Harry asked, concerned.
“It’s her,” Hermione scowled.
Ron, seeing that Harry was still confused, said helpfully, “Hermione doesn’t like Pricilla.”
“It’s more then just dislike!” Hermione cried. “I loathe the very ground she walks on! Do you know what she said the moment she got here? She took one look at me and said to Fleur ‘Is that one of the other bridesmaids? How could you choose her? She looks like a beaver!’ I can’t stand her! She’s so prissy, always looking at herself in the mirror. She’s so vain!”
Hermione sat, fuming in the corner, while Ron said, “Ginny and Hermione have been calling her ‘Miss Priss.’ I have to agree with them, Harry. That girl is a monster. Always going on about how things are so much better in France, ordering us- Hermione, Ginny and me- around like we’re her slaves. It’s terrible, really.”
Harry did not want to meet Pricilla. “What about Elizabeth and Lauren? What are they like?” he asked, wanting to get Hermione off the subject of Pricilla.
“They’re the complete opposite of Miss Priss. They’re always sticking up for us and helping us do things. But they strike me as though they have a rebellious streak,” Hermione stated, forgetting all about Pricilla.
“Oh, Harry, one more thing,” Ron added, seeming a bit uncomfortable.
“What?” Harry asked.
“Well... you know how in a wedding the bridesmaids and groomsmen walk down the aisle in pairs?”
“Yes…” Harry said slowly. He did not like where this was going.
“Well…” Ron cleared his throat. “I’m paired with Gabrielle. She’s so young, you know, and it would look strange if one of my brothers was paired with her. Percy is paired with Hermione.” (Ron frowned as he said this, obviously annoyed) “Charlie is paired with Pricilla, much to his displeasure, George is paired with Elizabeth, and Fred is paired with Lauren.” Ron stopped, waiting for the obvious to sink in with Harry
“So that leaves me with…” Harry’s voice trailed off. He didn’t want to say it out loud.
“Yeah,” said Ron. “Ginny.”
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A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! Also, a big thanks to Vickie (a.ka. jynx67) for being my beta reader for this chapter. Please read and review!