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Author: KEDme Story: Home Alone: Shadow Rising Rating: Teens Setting: Pre-HBP Status: Completed Reviews: 15 Words: 85,731
His temper boiling over with the oppressive July heat, he silently cursed Ginny for leaving. While he was at it, he also cursed stupid Muggle Studies and Hermione for offering to help. That thought stopped him cold, and an image of his best friend's still, lifeless face flashed before his eyes. 'No… Not Hermione. Never Hermione…' Hermione Granger had been the bane of Ron's existence since their first meeting on the Hogwarts Express five years before. Know-It-All Hermione Granger with perfect marks, flawless wand skills, an enormous intelligence, beautiful brown eyes… soft, fluffy hair that smelled of flowers… the way she smiled at him from across the Gryffindor table at breakfast… Ron smacked his hand hard on the table. What was it with him lately? Since leaving her at King's Cross three weeks ago, Ron had barely been able to think of anything else. He didn't even like Hermione in that way… did he? Last year Hermione and Ron had both been made Prefects. Ron still had not got over the shock of that one, but he supposed Dumbledore had his reasons. He had to admit he had been flattered by the prestige of the position (and excited about the new broom his Mum had bought him), but he found it much more work than he had anticipated. Hermione had kept him in line, though - making sure that Ron always remembered the weekly meetings and goading him into performing his obligations. Hermione was good at responsibility… There he went again! Hermione, Hermione, Hermione, Hermione! Why couldn't she just bloody well leave him alone! Even in his thoughts, she was tormenting him! In exasperation, Ron pulled out parchment and quill. If he couldn't get her out of his mind then he'd just have to take matters in his own hand and write her a letter. That'd show her! She wasn't the only one who could write a bloody good letter! Maybe after writing this he could finally stop thinking about her…. Ron first wrote about the weather, then Harry, his family, and O.W.L.s. Soon, however, he ran out of things to say. With a sudden burst of inspiration, he inquired about Ginny. Yeah… his sister was a safe topic! Two lines later, he found himself stuck again. Scratching his head caused him to catch sight of the faint scars left after the brain attack in the Department of Mysteries. Seeing the scars reminded Ron of things he would rather forget. Death Eaters… He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named… Sirius… Harry… Hermione lying hurt, possibly dying… What would he have done if he had lost her? Ron shuddered. Some scars may not be visible but would remain forever. Not for the first time, he marvelled at Harry's ability to shoulder so much burden and responsibility. Harry had lost more and lived through more than Ron could even fathom - yet he still went on, living each day as normally as possible. Sure, he cracked every once in a while, but who could blame him? Having come so close to losing… someone… he could not even imagine the grief that Harry was going through. Sirius had been like a father to Harry and now he was gone. Ron was startled out of his revelry by two loud 'pops'. The twins had just Apparated into the kitchen of the Burrow and were smirking at him with identical irritating expressions. "Well, hello there, youngest brother!" George exclaimed robustly. "Oi, Ronald!" Fred piped in. "Doing some serious thinking it appears. Don't strain yourself… The brain is a delicate thing - unless of course it's wrapped around a human body! 'Course you know all about that, don't you, little bro?" he added sarcastically. "Shut it, you two," Ron said good-naturedly. Ron didn't really mind the teasing. He was proud of the part he had played in exposing the Wizarding world to the return of You-Know-Who. "What are you two doing home this time of day?" he asked curiously. "Working on our new invention," Fred said. "Lee is minding the store. We made him a junior partner, you know." "In fact, we've just finished working out most of the kinks on this new item. It's a game, typically used at parties - purely for entertainment purposes. Still not perfect, though… We have to find some test subjects to try it out on. Interested?" George asked. "Umm… no," he said hesitantly. "Don't you even want to know what it is?" Fred asked with a fake hurt expression. "I've had more than enough experience being your test subject lately," he answered. "That engorging spider trick was just not funny," he said with a grimace. "Matter of perspective," Fred reasoned matter-of-factly. "Yeah," George agreed. "We thought it was hilarious. The look on your face! Wish I had a camera so that we could send it to dear Hermione!" "Yeah, well…" Ron said, flushing and moving a hand over the parchment to cover it from view. He did not need to be teased about writing to Hermione. Fred and George had been getting more and more obnoxious ever since they quit school and opened their joke shop. "I'm still not interested," he said more firmly. "Suit yourself," George shrugged. "What's that you've got there, little bro? A letter to your lovely lady?" Fred asked wickedly, moving to take a closer look. "No!" he exclaimed a little too quickly, jumping slightly and sending the parchment flying onto the floor. Ron made to grab it, but George was too fast. Smiling widely - a toothy, sinister smirk - he began to read out loud in a devilish voice: "Dear Hermione, Hope the heat is not bothering you too badly. It's bloody hot here…" "Oooh Ronnie!" Fred exclaimed in a fake falsetto voice. "You're so hot!" he teased. "Stupid gits! Give it here," Ron said angrily, grabbing the letter out of George's hand. His face was red, both from embarrassment and anger. Nobody pushed his buttons like the twins. "I just wanted to see how she and Ginny were getting on…" he explained feebly. "Sure, sure you were," Fred said, patting his shoulder condescendingly as if he were speaking to a simpleton toddler. "Look," Ron said in a warning voice. "I'm not discussing this with you! I don't like Hermione in that way. We're friends. There's nothing going on, and… I don't want to talk about it!" he finally yelled in frustration. "Well, George," Fred said to his twin. "I have to say I do believe Ickle Ronnikins when he says there's nothing going on…" "I have to agree with you Fred," said George, crossing his arms. "As for the rest… well, our young brother is a bit thick, so maybe he really believes it." "Tell you what Ron," Fred said, putting his arm around his brother's shoulders. "We won't say anything more about this if…." "If what?" Ron asked suspiciously. "…if you agree to test our new game," Fred finished. "Do I have to?" Ron complained in a whiny voice, his face a picture of dread. "Unless you want us to keep up this line of questioning," George said slyly. "You know, it could be a long summer…" "Oh, all right," he said, exasperated. "What do I have to do?" He felt like a lamb being led to slaughter. "Well—" Fred began excitedly. He was interrupted by a loud 'pop' outside the Burrow. Three red-heads swung around as one, pulling their wands out and moving stealthily towards the door, peeking through the window, trying to determine what or who had made the noise. With the return of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, nobody in the Wizarding world was taking any chances, least of all the Weasley family who were already very active in the Order, and well known to be associated with Harry Potter. "Who's there!" George yelled. "Show yourself!" Fred warned. "We're armed, and I wouldn't mess with us!" "Who'd be crazy enough to?" a female voice laughed. Tonks appeared from nowhere, underneath the cover of an invisibility cloak. "Sorry if I scared you lads," she said sheepishly. "I forgot to take my cloak off before I Disapparated." "Tonks! Come in, come in," George said eagerly. Nymphadora Tonks was one of their favourite people from the Order of the Phoenix. "Love the get-up!" he exclaimed, motioning towards her wild hair, body piercings, and clothing. "Tonks special," she chuckled, indicating her attire. "How's guard duty treating you?" Fred asked, sheathing his wand. The others likewise did the same. All four moved into the kitchen and sat down around the Weasley dinner table. "Fine, thanks. Actually, that's what I came to talk about…" she said uncertainly. "Everything all right with Harry?" Ron asked anxiously. "Not really," she began slowly. "From the little I've talked with him, and from what I've seen when he doesn't know anyone is watching, I'd say he's far from fine." "How so?" Ron asked, concerned. "Well… he's really moody for one thing…" she said. "That's nothing new," Fred scoffed. "Yeah," George agreed, "Harry's never been all sunshine and daisies - especially since… well, you know… since He came back." "And this thing with Sirius… Harry's taking it really hard," Ron added. "Who wouldn't?" she said sadly. "We're all taking it badly." "Yeah, but with Harry it's different. He's never exactly had a good family life and Sirius was the closest thing to a father that he ever had. He was really beginning to rely on Sirius - even risked expulsion last year by breaking into Umbridge's office just so he could talk to him," Ron explained. "Harry doesn't trust people easily…" he trailed off. As Harry's best mate, he didn't want to say too much. He knew how Harry guarded his feelings and rarely confided in anyone apart from Hermione and him. Even then, Ron got the feeling that lately Harry was holding something back… something he didn't want to talk about yet. "That's another thing," Tonks said, interrupting Ron's thoughts. "Did you know that the Dursleys are out of town?" she asked. "No," Ron answered, surprised. "Yeah, they are. Left this morning, only they left Harry's ogre cousin behind to keep an eye on him," she informed them. "I wanted to tell Dumbledore, but Harry absolutely refused. Says he doesn't want to bother him…." "That sounds familiar," Ron mused. "He said stuff like that last year. I wanted him to go to Dumbledore when his scar hurt but Harry flat-out refused. Something's up with those two, I'd lay odds on it. Harry used to really idolise Dumbledore but lately he's been… well… indifferent towards him." He paused, as if a thought had suddenly just hit him. "Come to think of it, it kind of goes both ways. Dumbledore hasn't exactly been there for Harry either lately. I dunno… maybe Harry feels like Dumbledore doesn't care about him," Ron shrugged. He had never really thought about it before, but Dumbledore hadn't been there for Harry much last year. Ron knew that Dumbledore was busy with the Order of the Phoenix and all that Umbridge business. But Harry had implied several times that Dumbledore was acting strangely, and that he even refused to look at him directly on the occasions last year when they had come into contact. Ron had just passed it off as the actions of an important man, with more important things to do than pay attention to a teenager. If he put himself in Harry's shoes, however, he could see how Dumbledore's indifference might hurt Harry. "I said as much to him. He admitted that he knew Dumbledore cares. Don't know if I believe him though…" she said anxiously. "Then there's this business with Dudley…" "What business with Dudley?" George asked, speaking up. "Well, Dudley is a bit of a bully," Tonks said. "Harry's always saying what a stupid bloody plonker he is…" Ron said distastefully. "Yeah, well… I overheard him and Harry talking out in the garden. Dudley was taunting him, but Harry was holding his own. Then they sort of made a deal," she explained. "What kind of deal?" Fred asked. "Basically, they called a truce to their mutual hatred of each other. Harry's even hanging out with Dudley and his friends tonight," she told them. "What!" Ron exclaimed. "That's ludicrous! I can't believe that Harry'd make a deal like that. How many times has he told me what a lying, bullying prat his cousin is and how Dudley would do anything to get him in trouble?" "That's just it," she explained. "I think that Dudley's intention is to get Harry in trouble - or at least do something to really embarrass him. I heard Dudley talking to his other bully friends on the porch while Harry was inside and none of it sounded good. "Harry may be in real trouble, and with his emotional state the way it is..." she sighed. "Well… I'm afraid Harry might lose it and get himself into trouble with the Ministry again. Fudge is looking for any opportunity to discredit him, even through everyone knows now that he and Dumbledore were telling the truth all along. Any sort of magic at Privet Drive - accidental or not - will not go unnoticed, especially with a houseful of Muggles around. I'd go to Dumbledore and ask to get him out of there, but Harry might see that as a betrayal. He's already withdrawn as it is, and I don't want to push him away further." "Yes," Ron agreed. "Harry likes to handle things on his own. Getting Dumbledore involved probably isn't such a good idea. But there must be something we can do…" "If only Sirius were here," Tonks said, wringing her hands. "He'd know what to do." She was startled out of her reverie by the twins, who stood abruptly as a unit. "Weasley brothers," Fred said looking at Ron and George, puffing out his chest like a politician about to make a speech. "I think it's up to us to do something about this situation." "Yes, my brother," George chimed in, like he knew exactly what Fred had in mind. "I think you're quite right. Our business partner needs us." "But how are we supposed to get there?" Ron asked. "I can't Apparate, and you can forget leaving me behind," he warned. "Harry may be your investor but he's my best mate. It's not as if we can fly the car this time." "If you hadn't lost the car, Ronald-" Fred reminded him. But Ron wasn't listening. "And what are we going to do anyway?" he said out loud to no one in particular, feeling very much like Hermione's voice of reason. Why did that girl affect him so? He pushed those thoughts aside as he said plainly, "We can't use magic there. You heard Tonks." He sent his brother's a stern glare. "We wouldn't have to," George said. "Just the sight of us'll scare the pants off the big oaf. He needs a reminder of who he's messing with, right Fred?" "Yeah," Fred added forcefully. "No one messes with the Weasley brothers! And Harry may not have red hair, but he's as good as a Weasley. He wouldn't let us down." "We'll have to wait for dark. I'll get the brooms," Ron said, determined. "No, wait!" Tonks interjected, stopping him before he went to retrieve the brooms from the shed. "I have a better idea," she said smiling. "You can Floo." "No, no, that's no good," Ron said, shaking his head. "We tried that once and it was a disaster! Besides, the Dursleys aren't even connected to the Floo network. Dad made special arrangements just for that one day." "I'm not talking about the Dursleys' fireplace," she clarified. "The Order has an operative who lives close by. Her name is Arabella Figg, or Figgy for short. I've already spoken to her and she's agreed to let you use her fireplace, if need be. She has a soft spot for Harry… used to be his babysitter, you know." "That's settled then," Fred said like a general leading his troops. "Let's go!" Suddenly aware of the letter he had clutched in his hand, Ron paused before dashing off. His mind was a blur, but he knew he might not be back for awhile and he wanted to make sure Hermione knew where to find him. "Just let me finish this letter and send it out," Ron told them. "We'll pack a few things and meet you back here in ten minutes," George said, grabbing Fred's arm and pulling him upstairs to their room. "I'll call your mother and let her know what's going on and where you'll be," Tonks said, moving towards the fireplace. Quickly Ron picked up his Quill and scribbled three final lines at the bottom of the crumpled note. 'Tonks just arrived here at the Burrow. Seems Harry's in trouble so Fred, George, and I are going over there to sort it out. I'll write more later and explain. Got to go. Ron' 'Yeah,' he thought, 'that should do it.' He folded the parchment and hurried up to his room to send Pig off to Hermione's with the letter, pleased with himself for keeping her informed. He'd write her with the details later, once he knew more.
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